No more than Three

When legends come alive right in front of you, I guess no one can keep a steady heart.

This was the scene in front of them.

As the group of cultivators stared at the pitch-black figure before them, they really could not believe it. Yet as they looked at the seriously injured green-haired woman, unwilling to just leave like this, they hemmed and hawed for a good while but did not say anything coherent, though they did not retreat either.

Chen Xia's tone grew slightly heavier. "Didn't you hear me when I told you to scram?"

A rather large ghost writhed at his feet, prostrating itself under his toes as if worshipping a true god.

The green-haired woman absentmindedly sized him up, the corners of her mouth oozing fresh blood again as she hurriedly circulated her remaining spiritual energy to nurse her wounds.

The red-haired cultivator who had been chasing her gritted his teeth, unwilling to just leave like this. He explained to Chen Xia,

"We did not intrude into the Dead Star Region to disturb you, sir. We only wanted to hunt down our enemy. I hope you can...make an exception for us?"

Chen Xia did not reply. His entire body was shrouded in dark fog and no one could see his expression.

Silence.

Only the occasional faint shrieks from the surrounding ghosts could be heard.

As if impatient urging.

Cold sweat broke out on the red-haired cultivator's back as immense pressure weighed down on him. He already had the intention to retreat, but when he saw the seriously injured woman in front of him, he was truly reluctant.

This was like he had been chasing prey for a long time and it was almost within grasping distance, yet suddenly an unrelated person came along and told him to scram.

How could he resign himself to that?

In any case, the red-haired cultivator was definitely not willing to resign himself. He wanted to try again. He had also heard that this lord of the Dead Star Region was at most a cultivator at the 6th or 7th level of the Chaotic Tides Realm - already an unattainable existence to him, but his sect still had old patriarchs at the high realms of the Chaotic Tides.

At the moment when the red-haired cultivator was struggling with his thoughts,

The light in the eyes of the cultivator behind him in blue robes flickered again, seeming to reveal a trace of a smile before sinking back into impassiveness just as quickly.

Another three breaths passed.

The shrieks from the ghosts grew louder, no longer sounding like urging but more like driving away.

The red-haired cultivator suddenly steeled himself and raised his head to look straight at the pitch-black figure, speaking louder with a hint of pleading in his tone.

"We can leave if that's what you want, but please understand - we have to take this woman with us. As long as you agree, we'll be on our way immediately and won't overstay our welcome."

After he finished speaking, the scene lapsed into silence again.

Chen Xia asked in an extremely indifferent tone, "Who gave you the courage?"

The red-haired cultivator's back was drenched in cold sweat all over and even his body started trembling.

The other cultivators didn't even need mentioning - if not for the red-haired cultivator blocking them, they probably would have already run away.

With no response, Chen Xia held out his hand and, instead of making a scissors gesture, said plainly,

"Strike three and you're out - that's already two times. Think carefully."

The red-haired cultivator clenched his fists tightly. Finally, he steeled himself and spoke,

"I am a true lineage disciple of White Armor Mountain, one of the Seven Great Sects. My sect's old patriarch is also a Da cultivator at the 7th level of the Chaotic Tides Realm. I hope you can make an exception!"

By revealing his own sect like this, he had played his final card.

The former sites of the Seven Great Sects were not far from here and their heyday was only about three thousand years ago, so he believed this lord of the Dead Star Region must have heard of them and would also be apprehensive now.

After all, the Seven Great Sects could be considered top sects in the star regions, and they had been particularly closely connected over these thousands of years, basically forming an alliance where if one sect was attacked, the other six would come to their aid.

Offending one sect was equivalent to offending the other six.

And it was precisely because of this that the Seven Great Sects still occupied an important position in the star regions.

The red-haired cultivator looked up at Chen Xia, hoping to hear his desired reply from amidst that dark fog.

After a while, an extremely indifferent voice sounded.

"Strike three."

The screeches from the ghosts began growing more and more intense!

The red-haired cultivator's expression greatly changed. Before he could even plead, his figure was swallowed up by millions of ghosts, as if swept away by the flood of ghosts to the outer reaches of the Dead Star Region.

Not enough to kill, but injuries and drops in cultivation base were inevitable.

This was the principle of strike three and you're out.

Chen Xia had given them chances.

The green-haired woman looked up blankly at the pitch-black figure in the sky above, unable to comprehend what just happened.

Chen Xia didn't say anything either. He turned back towards the heart of the Dead Star Region.

He had saved her only because of Li Yang, not for any other reason - much less would he strike up a conversation with her. She could recover and leave by herself once healed.

"Wait..." The green-haired woman suddenly cried out, "Why...why did you save me?"

Chen Xia halted and half-turned, asking her, "Has no one ever told you not to speak with strangers?"

The green-haired woman was startled, then frowned, trying to recollect. She slowly shook her head. "My family members only told me not to kill strangers."

Most likely silence had reigned for about half a moment.

Chen Xia nodded slightly. "Your family knows how to educate."

"I guess so," the green-haired woman agreed, frowning again and continuing to ask, "So then why did you save me?"

"Simply because I have a little bit of a connection with your Li Clan. I won't go into what that connection is, because there truly is very little of it. I was just repaying my debt to your clan. You just need to heal your wounds and leave by yourself." Chen Xia answered truthfully. This was not anything that had to be hidden, and he also worried that the green-haired woman might want to repay the favor and cause trouble for him.

The green-haired woman was startled for a moment, but seemed to have understood as she nodded knowingly and said, "I see...thank you. My name is Li Yue. You're welcome to visit the Li Clan in the future—I can come to receive you."

Most likely silence had reigned for a good while again.

Chen Xia nodded. "Your family knows how to name people."

One Li Yang, one Li Yue.

What, the Sun and Moon twins?

Li Yue let out a soft chuckle. Her clear brows furrowing slightly, she said, "My family must have given me this name hoping I could catch up to Aunt Li Yang—the genius who appeared once every three thousand years in the Li Clan's history. Unfortunately, she left the Li Clan in the end."

"Li Yang is your aunt? How could she have left?" Chen Xia curiously asked her. He was quite interested in these sorts of intra-clan intrigues.

Li Yue recalled for a moment, first swallowing an elixir pill, then proceeding to speak.

"I was still very little then and can only remember that Aunt Li Yang was already the number one celestial prodigy in the entire Li Clan, outstripping the second place by who knows how much.

"I heard it later from my old nanny that Aunt Li Yang didn't have it easy at all when she was little. At the time, she even had to scavenge for leftovers to eat—and it wasn't because the Li Clan didn't have any food, just that some people deliberately made things difficult for her.

"Aunt Li Yang was pretty fierce too. When she didn't have food, she would scavenge for it; if she couldn't find any, then she stole. She made her way through stealing all over the Li Clan.

Li Yue couldn't help but snicker at this point. "To mimic Aunt Li Yang when I was little, I also stole my way through the entire Li Clan."

Chen Xia cracked a smile. "Is it possible that this might not actually be a worthy behavior to emulate?"

"Not sure," Li Yue responded noncommittally, continuing with a laugh,

"Afterwards, Aunt Li Yang started showing her talent. Her terrifying inborn gift was also revealed and she steadily fought her way up to become number one among the Li Clan's younger generation--becoming the sole celestial prodigy of the Li Clan.

"No," Chen Xia abruptly shook his head with a frown. "Your story lacks thrill; you shouldn't tell it this way. Let me teach you."

He coughed lightly and cleared his throat, narrating:

"The celestial prodigy Li Yang - originally the guiding star of the clan's future, yet in the span of one morning fell to become useless trash, abandoned on all sides. Even her betrothed personally came to annul the engagement.

"And it so happened that a mysterious existence had awakened within the girl's sealed artifact—an ancient powerful being from times long past.

"Next, watch how the girl obtains treasure, learns fantastic abilities, and battles her way to smashing through the Vault of Heaven!"

At this point, he finished speaking.

Li Yue was startled for a moment, then reached into her bosom and shyly took out a bag of spirit stones. "If you tell some more for another fifty spirit stones, would that work?"