There was no vitality in the Dead Star Region.
There were only lost souls.
Even Chen Xia had lost the aura of a living person after being immersed in the black fog for so long, and was full of the aura of lost souls.
A million lost souls wandered aimlessly in the Dead Star Region every day.
Chen Xia was studying the so-called portal array that could connect to other star regions.
He didn't know much about portal arrays, let alone building the Grand Portal of Myriad Heavens that required millions of spirit stones. He felt somewhat troubled for the time being.
It was impossible to just build it randomly, right?
Chen Xia frowned. It seemed that it was not impossible either. After all, he had cultivated medicinal pills randomly.
But it seemed a bit inappropriate to do the same with portal arrays, because they required foundations to be built properly, while medicinal pills could just be thrown together randomly.
Fortunately, Chen Xia had plenty of time, so he started self-studying portal arrays. He didn’t start with the basics, instead he had the lost souls spend a lot of money to buy the portal array that could connect to other star regions.
This portal array was extremely high grade, with a simple name: Star Region Portal.
Although the name was simple, it was extremely difficult to study.
Chen Xia had no foundations in portal arrays, so directly learning the “Star Region Portal” was like having a Foundation Establishment cultivator fight against a Mountain Moving Realm cultivator.
It was not to say that there was no chance of winning, just that it relied on luck.
If the luck was in place, it was actually possible.
Such were the affairs within the Dead Star Region.
The changes outside were even greater.
Ever since the battle between the Hundred Souls Sect and the Li Family ended by the Lord of the Dead Star’s intervention, the entire Hundred Souls Sect had completely declined.
Not only were Sect Leader Jia Bai and the Blue-Robed Cultivators heavily injured, they also had to pay out a million spirit stones in compensation, which could be considered a devastating blow.
After this incident, the Hundred Souls Sect officially shut its doors and no longer participated in the battles within the star regions. The previously rampant Jia Bai also went silent, presumably only appearing again once he reached the fifth level of the Firmament Realm or higher.
The Li Family side did not gain much either, it could only be counted as barely defended.
But this defense had little to do with the Li Family itself, at most it could be considered that the Li Family paid for it.
As for Emperor Capital and Qiu Li, it goes without saying that they went into secluded cultivation directly.
There was only one entity that profited from this round of battles.
The Lord of the Dead Star.
Someone counted afterwards and discovered that the Lord of the Dead Star had earned one million seven hundred thousand spirit stones from this trip, which could be called terrifying.
It seemed that there had never been such a huge profit made at one time in the entire star region before.
This was mainly because the Lord of the Dead Star was too daring to rob others, even forcing the observing cultivators to give him one thousand spirit stones each without any fear of offending other sects.
This was normal, because after all the Lord of the Dead Star was a lone ranger without any relatives or friends, disciples or sect members, so naturally he did not fear retaliation from others.
If you wanted to retaliate, you could only look for the Lord of the Dead Star. How could you possibly go around killing some lost souls?
Moreover, the Lord of the Dead Star was clearly unafraid of retaliation. With the strength he had demonstrated, there were not many figures in this star region of the early Great World Era capable of fighting against him.
Also, the Lord of the Dead Star had no emotional ties or apprehensions, which made him even more terrifying. Even if you could beat him, he could still attack your relatives, friends, descendants or disciples.
But what could you do to kill the Lord of the Dead Star?
From the current perspective, he was just a lone orphan.
This also indirectly showed how undefeatable a powerful cultivator could be when they had no emotional ties.
If the Old Man Who Fishes had escaped earlier instead of being so loyal to Blue Sky Sword Sea, he probably would have become the leader of this star region already.
But this was obviously impossible. It was precisely because of his loyalty to Blue Sky Sword Sea that he could become the future Old Man Who Fishes.
This also destined that he would die.
Everything was predestined.
The powerful figures of the star regions usually had some restraints that kept them from acting recklessly. Except for this newly emerged Lord of the Dead Star.
Robbing one million seven hundred thousand spirit stones was a huge matter, offending hundreds of sects, yet no sect actually dared to go find the Lord of the Dead Star for an explanation.
In the future when some sects went and saw lost souls inside the Dead Star Region beckoning them from afar as if welcoming them, those sect cultivators would leave extremely quickly.
Afterwards the star region became very calm, with no major incidents occurring. All sects focused their efforts on cultivation, striving to seize the advantage during the early Great World Era.
Another thirty years passed, Li Yue came to the Dead Star Region again, only watching from afar this time. She stood with her hands behind her back and head lowered without saying a word.
The light roars of lost souls passed to her ears, the same as when she first came to the Dead Star Region back then.
Now sixty years had passed in the blink of an eye since those times.
The path of cultivation was truly long and arduous.
Li Yue raised her head and stared straight at the Dead Star Region. She didn’t know what emotions she was feeling.
Was it admiration so she wanted to pursue that goal?
Perhaps.
She pursed her lips into a line, remaining silent and left with a turn.
The roars of lost souls grew fainter and fainter.
The starlight in the distance did not seem as bright either.
This just so happened to also be the first year that Chen Xia started setting up the portal array, with spirit stones filling up the Dead Star Region, gathering to form the Star Region Portal.
This was an extremely lengthy and tedious endeavor that could not be rushed and did not need rushing.
The shaping of the portal array was also a form of cultivation.
Everything outside was changing.
Only the Dead Star Region remained no different from the past, still filled with roars of lost souls and pitch black miasma, accompanied by a lonely figure.
He would often sit in the center for a long time, occasionally glimpsing at the profound starlight coming from a distant star river he could also see sometimes back at Blue Sky Sword Sea.
It was said that the star river buried countless ferrying boats.
Chen Xia did not know if this was true or false. He only felt that the starlight was very beautiful, profoundly bright.
Another thirty years passed.
Li Yue came again. She stood from afar without approaching the Dead Star Region close-up. Her face carried a radiant smile as she gave a thumbs up towards the entire Dead Star Region.
“You really are amazing!”
Still no response as usual.
She lowered her head again with a wry laugh and said softly in resignation.
“I won’t come again in the future.”
And indeed this was her last time coming.
Sixty years.
She only said two sentences.
But it was enough.
This just so happened to also be the first year that Chen Xia finished constructing the portal array.
The million-spirit-stone portal array was crookedly built, but functional. There was an opening in the middle like a portal, and due to the constant pull from the Dead Star Region, deathly energy poured out incessantly from the portal.
Only now did he understand that the important thing was not the portal array itself, but the million spirit stones used to build it.
Li Yue had already walked far away.
Chen Xia did not turn his head to watch her leave. There was no need.
A cultivator’s life was like a pond, where every ripple and stir could be clearly distinguished and counted.
But Chen Xia was different. His life was an ocean. If he really tried to remember every single ripple, after the ripples stilled, what would be left of him?
It would only increase sorrow.
Chen Xia lay inside the black coffin, gazing at the entire Dead Star Region and an entire sky full of stars. He said softly.
“Good night.”
The black coffin closed.
He chose to begin forgetting time.