The stars dimmed.
Chen Xia's rebellious period had entered its late stage.
It wasn't that he was about to be cured, but that he was already terminally ill.
He and his inner demon were too lazy to argue now. They knew it would be futile, so they just gave up altogether.
His inner demon would occasionally rap diss lyrics at him, saying nasty things, but Chen Xia was too lazy to listen.
It could only be said that his inner demon was really hip, which was actually similar to Chen Xia in that regard.
However, Chen Xia also had some doubts. If, according to Wang Yangzi's words, the inner demon was just the opposite side of himself, then his inner demon wasn't actually that opposed to him.
It was also possible that their consciousnesses had become mixed at this point, influencing each other.
Chen Xia didn't think about it too much. He leaned against the window, looking at the dim stars outside the ferry.
As expected of the Great Death Realm, they hadn't seen a hint of vitality along the way. Only occasionally could the sparse screams of dead souls be heard, which fit Chen Xia's imagination of the Great Death Realm.
Ma Xiaohong in the next room would chat with him from time to time. Perhaps from being together for so long and getting familiar with each other, Ma Xiaohong wasn't as scared as before. She could even crack a couple jokes with Chen Xia.
Although they were corny jokes, Chen Xia would still politely smile in response.
Ma Xiaohong held half of an immortal sword, smiling at the corners of her mouth, her brows raised flirtatiously. She was truly very happy to be able to talk with Chen Xia like this.
Chen Xia blinked. He could also see that Ma Xiaohong was very happy, but he didn't understand why.
The days passed like this, and Chen Xia didn't feel the flow of time, just like the unmoving dead stars outside.
The ferry's sailing wasn't fast. When traveling between Star Regions, there were too many things that had to be considered, like clusters of dead stars, turbulence of dead stars, dark invasions and other major dangers along the way.
Also, the number one requirement for traveling between Star Regions was that you couldn't be impatient and had to take it step-by-step.
Chen Xia didn't mind this. After all, the ferry kept moving forward, even if slowly.
Until halfway through the month, he discovered that the ferry had started sailing backwards.
Huh?
Was it that he didn't understand?
Chen Xia felt like that shouldn't be the case. No matter what, it shouldn't be sailing backwards!
Fortunately, Dao Master XuanLi soon gave him an explanation, otherwise Chen Xia was going to go steer the ship himself.
"According to other interface ferries that came back to report, there is a flood of dead souls at the Quasi-Saint Level ahead, and several ferries have already been destroyed. For now we have to retreat first and hide at the edge of the Dead Star Cluster to avoid the flood of dead souls. After it passes, we'll continue on our way."
Dao Master XuanLi explained in a deep voice. Seeing Chen Xia's indifferent expression, he thought that Chen Xia still didn't realize how terrifying the flood of dead souls was. He continued explaining with clasped hands:
"A Quasi-Saint Level flood of dead souls means that at least one former Quasi-Saint Level dead soul is leading it. In addition, millions of dead souls are passing through, devouring all vitality along the way. So we have to hide near the Dead Star Cluster to conceal our vitality."
Chen Xia sat by the window. His eyes flickered indistinctly in the gloom as he spoke:
"It's just a Quasi-Saint dead soul, not a real Saint. There's still an obvious difference in strength. Also, I've always believed in one saying:"
"Seeing is believing, hearing is doubting."
He stood up and directly pushed open the window behind him, sticking half his body out. He turned his head towards XuanLi and smiled:
"I'll go take a look at this so-called flood of dead souls."
That was the first second Chen Xia left.
Thirty seconds later.
He came back, nodding in agreement.
"We really should run."
Because there was a Quasi-Saint Level dead soul leading this flood of dead souls, its desire to slaughter far exceeded that of ordinary dead souls. It rushed forward relentlessly.
It wasn't that Chen Xia was afraid of the flood of dead souls, but there was no benefit in fighting it and he would get injured. Compared to that, it was better to retreat and hide for now.
The main issue was that his external incarnation that specialized in the Death Dao could not come to the Great Death Realm, otherwise this flood of dead souls would have been its nourishment.
"Yes, yes, let's hide first. It won't be too late to continue after the flood of dead souls passes. There's still time." Dao Master XuanLi hurriedly nodded in agreement.
"Hide my ass! I'll kill all those dead bastards myself. They're already dead and can't die again anyway. Am I supposed to be scared of them?!"
Chen Xia suddenly roared furiously. Clearly his opinions were in conflict again.
Dao Master XuanLi watched this dumbfoundedly, not knowing what to do.
The argument continued with Chen Xia holding opposing views.
Dao Master XuanLi didn't know how to intervene, so he could only silently leave to go command the ferry.
Ma Xiaohong peeked through a small hole in the wall, curiously watching Chen Xia argue. She always found it quite interesting and could see the usually calm Chen Xia turn red with anger.
But the result always seemed to be the same in the end. They couldn't argue their way to any conclusion.
Well of course, how could one possibly win an argument against oneself?
How silly.
Ma Xiaohong shook her head. She hugged the half immortal sword as some slightly overgrown hair fell onto her shoulders, partially covering her vision.
She gently reached up and swept the strands behind her ear, tidying them up into a small neat bun at the back.
Then she continued watching the argument on the other side of the wall, an unconscious smile at the corners of her mouth.
Those accustomed to darkness are attracted to even a glimmer of light after all.
Perhaps it's phototaxis.
But that's hard to say.
Two days later.
Over ten ferries successfully docked near the Dead Star Cluster. All the cultivators concealed their auras, without a sound, as if the entire fleet of ferries had become dead stars themselves.
On the third day.
Over a thousand dead souls charged forth. The spiritual energy along the way was completely devoured without a trace, even the meager starlight was swallowed up.
This was the first wave of dead souls.
What followed was a surge of millions of dead souls!
Like the fiercest flood, they rampaged recklessly between the stars, not only devouring spiritual energy, but even pulverizing obstructing dead stars until only tiny fragments remained.
The intense death aura continuously washed over them. Some dead souls even wandered directly among the ferries, causing discomfort in the concealed cultivators' bodies. In addition, the constant dark invasions threw their minds into turmoil, and some cultivators even began uttering delirious ravings.
Ma Xiaohong sat upright in her room. The half immortal sword in her embrace emitted a faint sword glow that blocked all the death aura and dark invasions.
This was the first breath since the arrival of the flood of dead souls.
Cultivators who couldn't stabilize their minds were instantly annihilated, becoming part of the flood.
Second breath.
An exposed ferry suddenly exploded. All eighty-three cultivators aboard became dead souls.
Dao Master XuanLi held his breath, his back drenched in cold sweat, not daring to move an inch.
Half a minute later.
A dead soul entered Chen Xia's room, facing him directly.
There was no issue at first.
But upon seeing Chen Xia's crimson eyes, the dead soul violently shuddered, not because it was scared, but because it was horrified.
This was quite rare for a mindless dead soul. It frantically tried to flee the room to notify other dead souls.
Dead souls weren't very intelligent, but could at least convey messages.
However before it could let out its first shriek, it had turned to flying ash and dust.
But the sound still escaped, causing the sky full of dead souls to abruptly turn their attention to this ferry, their momentum astonishing.
Chen Xia's left eye flashed with crimson light. He stretched out a hand and made a grabbing motion.
In the half minute before the flood of dead souls arrived, he was holding a broken sword, charging out of the ferry towards the millions of dead souls.
With one sword slash, he cut open the millions of dead souls, splitting apart a bright, blazing galaxy.
The slash forced the millions of dead souls to rapidly retreat.
Chen Xia sheathed his sword.
It was an extremely simple process, yet also caused some irritation between Chen Xia and his inner demon.
When he flashed back into the ferry, he discovered something was off.
The room across from his was empty with no sign of Ma Xiaohong.
"Where's my assistant?"
Damn!
His home had been robbed!