Chen Xia had been feeling unwell recently. His main symptoms were that his consciousness would suddenly become chaotic, then he would start staring blankly, with one eye turning jet black, appearing abrupt like a dead star, continually swirling.
His consciousness spread, gradually elongating, as if wanting to cross the restrictions of boundaries, heading towards the distance.
Whenever this happened, Chen Xia would give himself a slap, as this could forcibly pull his consciousness back.
This was called the violent treatment method.
Later on though, Chen Xia didn't need this method anymore, because he discovered that when his consciousness was collapsing, he could see an entire stretch of dim space.
The further back he went, the clearer this vague and blurry space became.
A lifeless space, withered stars, screaming souls.
Chen Xia knew what this place was.
The Dead Star Region!
He lowered his head, raising both hands covered in thick black fog. These were the deathly energies of the Dead Star Region.
He was currently having an out-of-body experience!
The connection between the main body and the out-of-body form had been reconstructed again, allowing consciousness transmission between the two.
Chen Xia experimented a little and found that consciousness transmission between the two required an extremely long time, at least half a month.
This was probably because the distance between the main body and the out-of-body form was truly too great, separated by the boundary of an entire realm, so the consciousness transmission needed so much time.
He slowly rose, his body wrapped in black fog, slowly standing up from the Million Lost Souls High Tower in the Dead Star Region.
Just this act of standing up caused millions of souls in the Dead Star Region to scream, some larger souls who had regained awareness even directly knelt down before Chen Xia who was on the throne.
To them, Chen Xia who had absorbed most of the Dead Star Region was their one and only king!
Chen Xia moved his stiff arms, his eyes as dark as dead stars suddenly looking towards the outskirts of the Dead Star Region. There was spiritual energy blossoming there, some movements.
An elongated hand formed from the black fog stealthily stretched out from above the Dead Star Region, a single eye opening in the center of the palm, starting to examine the outskirts, sending the images to Chen Xia.
At the very front was a green-haired woman, her clothes tattered, covered in blood stains, madly rushing towards the Dead Star Region, a panicked expression as she kept looking back.
Thirty kilometers behind her was a group of cultivators closely chasing after her, biting at her heels without falling behind at all.
The green-haired woman gritted her teeth, softly spitting out, "Flash."
A slender flying sword at her waist flashed out, glowing with faint purple light. It actually directly flashed the green-haired woman twenty kilometers away.
Although not too far, she had managed to pull some distance.
She utilized a mystic art, heavily coughing once, blood flowing from the corner of her lips, falling onto the starry sky, disappearing to some unknown place.
The group of pursuing cultivators were completely unhurried, only closely following while laughing.
"I want to see where she can escape to. It's hard to find this kind of opportunity, I have to bring her back no matter what."
"This girl really can run. We've been chasing her for two months right? We've only caught up to her once, and almost let her get away."
"Her movement techniques are pretty powerful, but what use does being good at running away have? In the end she'll still fall into our hands."
"That's true. The Dead Star Region is right ahead. Rumors say the Lord there is secluding himself to cultivate. I don't believe she actually dares to run inside."
The cultivators chatted and laughed while speeding up, even utilizing mystic arts to accelerate.
Just like they said, the green-haired woman moved slower and slower until finally stopping outside the Dead Star Region, cautiously watching the few people.
A cultivator in blue robes mocked, "Run, why aren't you running? Weren't you so good at running? Why stop here? Heh."
Next to him, a red-haired bare-chested cultivator bared his teeth in agreement.
"I actually thought you could run back. Turns out this is it huh. What a waste of time, shouldn't you have just given up earlier? It would've saved us some time."
"Boring. I thought she could really run. Turns out it was only two months. She's stopped here, truly intending to wait for death it seems?"
The cultivators' words were filled with mockery.
The green-haired woman clenched her teeth as she watched them, not saying a word. She held her continuously bleeding left arm while slowly retreating backwards.
The cultivator in blue robes continued mocking, "Don't back away now. Behind you is the Dead Star Region. Legend says there's a Lord of the Dead Stars inside. Dying in his hands isn't just normal death alright? What if he refines your soul into a slave for eternity without chance for reincarnation? Hahaha!"
Echoing mocking laughter also rang out.
"That's right, if you die in our hands, your next life can continue the cycle. But if you die by that so-called Lord, there won't be another chance."
The green-haired woman clenched her teeth, eyes filled with the gaze of a cornered beast about to desperately counterattack as she stared at the people before her without the slightest hint of weakness.
Buzz!
A blazing blue hammer suddenly erupted from her side, the rolling thunder accompanying it as it smashed down aggressively.
The green-haired woman's eyes turned sharp. The slender flying sword at her waist automatically shot out to meet the attack while her left hand gestured, unleashing an enormous mystic art that blew up, working together with the flying sword to block the giant hammer.
Clang!
The flying sword spun around to deflect the blow, but the residual shockwaves still made the green-haired woman tremble once, more blood spilling from the corner of her mouth while her face grew even paler.
Not giving the green-haired woman any chance to recover, two more mystic arts bombarded towards her, blasting her flying until she crashed into a nearby meteorite, blood flowing unstoppably from her wounds.
The group of cultivators surrounded and besieged the green-haired woman, laughing once more.
"Just at the mid stage of Mountain Moving Realm. Did you really think that relying on some treasures to travel the starry sky meant you could compare to us peak experts at the Mountain Moving Realm?"
Peak Mountain Moving Realm cultivators could briefly travel the starry sky for about half a year. If they exceeded that time, they were very likely to be disturbed by the darkness, affected in mind until they went mad, becoming lost souls drifting amidst the stars.
Only Life Overturning Realm cultivators could truly roam the starry void. As long as their Dao Heart remained undamaged, they didn't need to worry too much about the darkness.
As long as they wished, Life Overturning Realm cultivators could even live within the starry sky with no issues.
This Lord of the Dead Stars was approximately at this stage.
The green-haired woman gasped heavily. She took out an orange medicinal pill from her storage treasure, swallowing it to nurse her vital energy and blood.
The encircling cultivators shrank their encirclement, killing intent showing on their faces as they slowly approached the green-haired woman.
In their perspective, the green-haired woman now was no different from a turtle in a jar. There was no hurry to kill her, even a bit of toying with their prey.
The green-haired woman's eyes kept shifting around, sweeping over the few people. Suddenly raising her hand, blood seeping from the corner of her lips, she dripped it onto the slender flying sword before her and shouted, "Flash!"
Her figure blurred as she vanished from within the encirclement, instantly moving twenty kilometers away.
No matter which direction she went, twenty kilometers was absolutely not enough distance to survive. She would still be caught up by them and meet a terrible end.
Thus, she used this last twenty kilometers to enter the Dead Star Region!
Even if she died inside, even if she died by the hands of the Lord of the Dead Stars, she didn't want to die in these people's hands.
Staggering, she fled into the Dead Star Region. Souls had already gathered around her, emitting soft screams.
These screams were very soft, they could even be said to be unpleasant, but they couldn't be considered noisy.
They were more like...greetings?
The green-haired woman had no time to think so much about this. She took out another medicinal pill from her storage treasure, swiftly swallowing it down before continuing to explore deeper into the Dead Star Region, hoping to exit from the other side and grasp at a chance for life.
Outside the Dead Star Region, the group of cultivators were dumbstruck. They didn't expect the green-haired woman to actually dare enter the Dead Star Region. Exchanging looks with each other, they asked, "What now, do we chase her inside or retreat?"
"I heard the Lord of the Dead Stars is in there. The place also has many souls, it might be bad for us cultivators. Do we really want to go inside?" One cultivator was very apprehensive, feeling like nothing good existed within the Dead Star Region.
The red-haired cultivator with the highest cultivation frowned deeply and spoke in a low voice. "While it's said there is a terrifying Lord of the Dead Stars, has anyone in all these years been killed by him? Most return safely. I feel something is off. If this Lord doesn't kill people, what's so scary about him? We're just going inside to kill an escaped fugitive, I don't think the Lord will care."
There were still some cultivators who felt something was not right and mumbled hesitantly: “But...but shouldn’t we notify our sect and wait for cultivators at the Inverted Sea Realm to come?”
“Wait for what?!” The red-haired cultivator shouted angrily, scolding: “Her head is worth thirty thousand Spirit Stones! If we kill her, can’t we divide the thirty thousand Spirit Stones among ourselves? If we notify the Inverted Sea Realm cultivators, the thirty thousand Spirit Stones will definitely be taken by one person. It’s not worth it!”
After scolding them, the red-haired cultivator let out a breath and persuaded further: “We’ve already chased her this far, I believe everyone doesn’t want to quit halfway. Let’s go in, not provoke anything, just kill one cultivator, then leave immediately afterwards.”
“Those willing to go in will split the thirty thousand Spirit Stones evenly afterwards. Those unwilling can leave quickly, and don’t even think of getting a share of the Spirit Stones. Cultivation is always a balance of risk and opportunity. If you don’t want to take risks, I advise you to go home and raise pigs.”
After thinking it over, the few cultivators felt he had a point. The one in blue robes was the first to nod and shout: “Good!”
Seeing this, the others also nodded in agreement.
After getting ready, they summoned spirit energy and magic treasures to protect themselves and started probing into the Dead Star Region.
The Lord of the Dead Star, as the rumors sold in the Star Region over the past two thousand years went, lived inside the largest Dead Star Region.
Legend has it there is a great terror in the largest Dead Star Region who goes by the title “Lord of the Dead Star”. His cultivation level and boundaries are unknown. All that is known is that he is a great terror.
As for the Lord of the Dead Star’s strength, some guessed he was at the fifth layer of the Inverted Sea Realm or above. Some guessed he was at the ninth layer of the Inverted Sea Realm.
There were even those who said he was at the Heaven Mending Realm, but at most the fifth Heavenly Layer of the Heaven Mending Realm or below.
Most did not believe the Lord of the Dead Star was above the fifth Heavenly Layer of the Heaven Mending Realm, because why would a cultivator at the fifth Heavenly Layer of the Heaven Mending Realm stay in a godforsaken place like this?
What concept is the fifth Heavenly Layer of the Heaven Mending Realm?
He would be considered an unparalleled patriarch of an upper-class sect. Even in the former top sect Blue Sky Sword Sea, he would be at the level of Supreme Elder.
Cultivators at the fifth Heavenly Layer of the Heaven Mending Realm are influential figures in the entire Star Region. How could they possibly stay in a place like this?
The Dead Star Region, could this be a place for normal people to stay?
Judging by the name alone.
So the cultivators felt even more strongly that the Lord of the Dead Star must be a great cultivator at the sixth layer of the Inverted Sea Realm or above, closed up cultivating in the godforsaken Dead Star Region.
But even if he was at the sixth layer of the Inverted Sea Realm, in the eyes of these few cultivators, he would still be a very formidable existence, at least one they felt was unattainable. Hence they were very nervous about entering the Dead Star Region.
The red-haired cultivator leading them flicked his hand up and a faint red blood streak emerged, shining brightly.
“She went this way. Let’s hurry up and catch her, try to kill her early and get out of this ghost place!” The red-haired cultivator shouted and speeded up. He was starting to feel uneasy, because he saw ghosts approaching him and faintly heard them howling as they stuck out grayish tongue-like mist.
It made his scalp tingle and he quickened his pace, following the blood streak.
The cultivator in blue bringing up the rear had ordinary looks. He was the one mocking in glee just now and also the first to echo the red-haired cultivator about entering the Dead Star Region.
At this moment, his eyes flashed with a hint of chill smile.
What chase? What thirty thousand Spirit Stones?
It was just a simple scheme.
They were all going to die!
Die in this Dead Star Region. And the killer would of course be the great terror, the legendary Lord of the Dead Star the cultivators spoke about.
Afterwards, when those sects investigated, it would still be the Lord of the Dead Star’s fault. If anyone needed to pay, they’d have to find the Lord of the Dead Star. It had nothing to do with him.
Ahead in the Dead Star Region
The green-haired woman was struggling to press on. Her vital energy had almost depleted, and even her consciousness was starting to blur. More and more ghosts surrounded her, taking turns to howl, as if singing a song.
As if welcoming her soon joining of their ranks.
She finally ran out of strength to escape and sat down on a tiny dead star, gasping heavily for breath.
“Humph! Run, let’s see where you can run!” A cold snort made the green-haired woman feel despair.
The red-haired man caught up and sneered coldly: “You really made us work to find you. Your thirty thousand Spirit Stones are hard-earned. I will put them to good use, perhaps even use the thirty thousand Spirit Stones to break through to the Inverted Sea Realm.”
The green-haired woman gritted her teeth and threatened: “If you kill me, the Li Family will not let you off and you will die too!”
“Li Family?” The red-haired man disdainfully laughed, “They just rose to prominence by relying on some Big Emperor’s descendent called Li Yang. What’s so impressive about them? Let me tell you the truth. Half the reason for killing you is also because of Li Yang.”
“There cannot be two prodigies in the Li Family. Li Yang is enough, forget about you.”
He sneered coldly one last time as killing moves condensed on his hand, spiritual energy exploding violently. It was his ultimate move.
The ghosts around them suddenly started howling desperately to the sky of the Dead Star Region.
More and more ghosts gathered here, surrounding them.
The red-haired man looked warily at the ghosts around them, unclear about the situation.
A pitch black mist suddenly emerged.
Blocking the sky.
Everything was pitch black. Ghosts wandered freely, ceaselessly howling.
A pitch black figure stepped on the ghosts, the black mist becoming his robes, dragging behind him as he strode to the top, like the king of millions of ghosts looking down at them all and said indifferently:
“Scram!”
The cultivators were dumbstruck. After a long while, one of them cried out in horror:
“The...the Lord of the Dead Star!”