The Essence Xing World’s Will was suppressed! At the same time, however, the suppression was also an instinctive act of self-preservation by the World’s Will. No World’s Will would willingly allow a Sage to run rampant within it without consequence, even if that Sage’s strength was significantly weakened. The most update n0vels are published on NoveI[F]ire.net Likewise, the alliance formed by the Essence Ling Heavenly Field and the Essence Du Heavenly Field was starting a conquest. They were plundering and splitting up the Essence Xing World. They were doing it in a gradual, systematic manner, not outright annihilation. After the fall of the Qi Dynasty, and with the help of the traitorous Secret Talisman Gate, the alliance managed to establish a foothold within the Essence Xing World. With the hope of driving them out quickly becoming impossible, the battlefield for cultivators in the Martial Void Realm or above shifted to the void beyond the heavenly screen, while the interior of the world gradually devolved into a battlefield for elite Martial Dipper Realm cultivators. But everyone understood clearly. The fate of the Essence Xing would be determined by the struggle between the Sages. Unlike the battle between those in the Martial Dipper Realm or those of True Immortals in the void, the battle between the Sages had plunged into a specially separated chaotic space. Whether within the world or in the void, battles between Sages were capable of shaking an entire world and causing catastrophic damage. Though the confrontation between the five Sages took place in a region of separate chaotic space, the Essence Xing World’s Sages could still draw on the power of their world and partially control the World’s Will to reduce the gap between themselves and their opponents. That had been the foundation of their confidence in resisting their enemy. However... Everything unraveled with Yuan Ling becoming a high-level Sage, when the Secret Talisman Gate betrayed them from within, when the Qi Emperor was ambushed and slain by Yuan Ling, and when the Qi Dynasty Dao Field was destroyed. By then, the resistance from the Essence Xing World’s Sages looked more like a desperate hope for a miracle, a miracle in the form of outside intervention. Though many Sages beings were watching the battle, and four of them had already secretly entered the space around the Essence Xing World, none had stepped in. Even as the Sages of the Essence Xing World teetered on the edge of collapse. The three never directly asked for help from the hidden observers. Nor did they waste time making hollow promises to lure support, knowing such tactics would only earn them contempt. In truth, anyone truly willing to help would not have waited until the situation deteriorated so far. Moreover, Yuan Ling’s advantage was already evident. No one would choose to antagonize a high-level Sage over a broken world. That said, while saving the Essence Xing World might not be worth the cost, many of the hidden observers did seem to be harboring thoughts of taking advantage of the chaos. Even with the heavenly screen breached, it would still take time for the alliance to fully suppress all resistance within the Essence Xing World. Yuan Ling and Yan Yu likely wouldn’t risk pushing the Sages too hard in the short term, lest they lash out in desperation. It was under such circumstances that, as the alliance expanded its control, guided by the Secret Talisman Gate, into the territories once belonging to the Qi Dynasty, a qualitative shift occurred within the Essence Xing World. Two sects located in the northwest border continents abruptly submitted to the alliance of the Essence Ling Heavenly Field and Essence Du Heavenly Field in exchange for preserving their legacies. They voluntarily relinquished control of their World Origin Source. With the fall of the Qi Dynasty, the betrayal of the Secret Talisman Gate, and the internal invasion of the Essence Xing World, the world’s resistance had already been pushed to its limits. The surrender of these two major sects became the final straw that broke the camel’s back. The once unified will to resist collapsed swiftly. With new paths to survival open, various forces within the Essence Xing World began reaching out to the alliance in secret, each seeking its own way out. As for the alliance, though pleased by these developments, it did not accept every offer of surrender blindly. Instead, it adopted a strategy of selectively recruiting some, delaying others, suppressing a few, and even inciting infighting to further weaken the Essence Xing World from within. After all, the alliance wanted to grow rapidly, but not at the expense of its own ability to absorb what it conquered. As a result, the Essence Xing World’s Will began to sharply weaken. The Sages, who could partially sense and control their World’s Will, felt the fall more acutely than anyone. With that, Chen Ji and Yu Tang, whose fates were deeply tied to the Essence Xing World, suddenly erupted with ferocious strength. Even at the cost of burning their foundations, they launched a desperate counterattack against Yuan Ling and Yan Yu. At the same time, the Chen Dynasty Emperor, who had shown elementary strength of the Martial Emptiness Realm during the battle, suddenly withdrew from the fight and returned to the Essence Xing World. Along his escape route, two masses of fog-like chaos surged upward from within the Essence Xing World and crashed into the ongoing battle in the chaotic void. The sudden appearance of those two chaotic sources immediately stirred the previously silent Sages around their world. "It’s the foundation of both Dao Fields, no doubt about it! Yu Tang and Chen Ji used a secret technique, sacrificing the foundation of their Dao Fields to gain a temporary boost in combat strength! They would rather destroy those Dao Fields than let them fall into enemy hands." "And they did it for another reason, to buy time for the Chen Dynasty Emperor to escape!" Shang Xia withdrew his gaze from the chaotic void and looked back toward the Essence Xing World. There, in the northern and southern territories of the Chen and Yu Dynasties, he saw two massive landmasses beginning to split from the land, rise, and float into the sky... Shang Xia raised an eyebrow and frowned. "Surely the Chen Dynasty Emperor isn’t foolish enough to think he can escape with just a fragment of the Chen and Yu Dynasties’ essence?"