The Only Light

Xuan Li stood at the top of the ferry, his expression dazed.

In just a short moment, he had witnessed too many incredibilities.

First was the shock brought by the torrent of millions of dead souls, then the despair as the ferry exploded and the cultivators died. Earlier, several dead souls had lingered around him.

And just now, he saw a figure abruptly appear high up in the starry sky. It then fiercely swung out a sword.

This one sword split open the torrent of millions of dead souls, cutting it directly in half and slashing the millions of dead souls back.

Xuan Li didn't have much experience, so that sword strike could be considered the fiercest move he had ever witnessed. It was simply breathtaking.

If he wasn't mistaken, the figure standing high up in the starry sky just now should have been that Senior's silhouette, right?

But wasn't that Senior a cultivator who specialized in supreme lightning laws?

Could it be that he dual cultivated both the Sword Path and Lightning Path?

Judging by that one sword strike just now, it seemed like his swordsmanship was even more fierce and powerful than his lightning mastery!

Xuan Li clicked his tongue in wonder. He didn't dare think any further. In his opinion, such fierce masters were already as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns in the entire Great Death Realm. Only supreme prodigies like the Gods' Realm's Divine Son and the Immortal Realm's Xu Zheng could overwhelm him.

If he knew that Chen Xia wasn't proficient in swordsmanship or lightning laws at all, he wouldn't know what to think.

The reason why the sword qi and lightning laws were so formidable was actually quite simple.

Nothing more, just an immortal sword and a streak of dark purple heavenly thunder. Their power was destined to be great.

Xuan Li was still shaken. After a long while, he witnessed an even more shocking scene.

A pure white celestial dragon rose up from the ferry, its whole body wrapped in terrifying dark purple thunder. It charged straight into the starry sky, then as if entering its home waters, it actually mobilized the celestial bodies of hundreds of dead stars nearby. It chased in the direction the millions of dead souls had departed in.

Xuan Li's complexion was blank. After a long pause, he fiercely slapped himself and mumbled,

"Don't let the dark turmoil confuse my consciousness. Return my clarity to me!"

After a moment.

There was still no movement at all.

Xuan Li shook his head. Finally, he accepted it. Dazed, he murmured,

"So fierce. One sword strike wasn't enough, he still has to chase and keep attacking?"

So this was what a real supreme prodigy was like. As expected, it was an existence he was far from understanding. Truly too powerful.

This could also be considered the first time Chen Xia's celestial dragon form had revealed itself in the universe, instantly displaying the innate advantages celestial dragons possessed in the universe.

The dark turmoil had no effect on him at all. Even the long-dead stars would pass on the last bits of their spiritual energy to him, to allow him to roam the universe.

Its speed was also extremely fast, more than ten times that of the ferry. A true master of the universe.

The torrent of millions of dead souls was not fast. Very quickly they were hunted down by Chen Xia. He couldn't locate Ma Xiaohong's exact position, but based on the thousands of flying swords left behind with Ma Xiaohong, he could make a rough guess. She was in the center of the torrent of dead souls.

He frowned slightly, not expecting that right after he had summoned away half the immortal sword, Ma Xiaohong would be taken away by the dead souls. And even thousands of flying swords couldn't block them. This meant that the dead souls who had taken Ma Xiaohong were not weak.

That is to say, there was something on Ma Xiaohong that greatly attracted the dead souls.

Was it her feminine charm?

Probably not. More likely it was the physique and innate skills that allowed her to heal injuries and even revive the dead.

What the dead souls wanted most was rebirth.

Ridiculous.

Chen Xia's brows twitched. Holding the broken half of the immortal sword in his left hand, his crimson left eye blazed, and pure white aura enveloped his body. His right hand held the bronze sword level.

"This time, don't quarrel first. There are enough for you to kill."

"Okay."

He reconciled with him.

Then, bringing three million flying swords, he began...

To charge!

Consciousness hazy, eyes lowered.

Ma Xiaohong sat at the center of the dead souls, the cruel shrieks around her ears constant, as if urging her to hurry up and die.

Luckily there were still many flying swords around her, using all their sword qi to block the dead souls' invasion.

But the flying swords were decreasing without stop.

The dead souls' mad collisions caused endless sword ringing intermixed with shrieks. It was chaotic and piercing to the ears.

Ma Xiaohong pursed her lips, unable to say a word.

She knew she had been captured.

This was not the first time.

Last time was in the Domain, and it was actually quite similar to this.

There was nothing much to fear. After all, she had already experienced it once before.

She slowly raised her head to look at the flying swords around her that were decreasing. She reached out a trembling hand to gently caress them, softly murmuring,

"You are all pained too, right?"

The flying swords did not respond, only the constant sword rings rose up. The sounds were not crisp, but somewhat noisy instead.

Ma Xiaohong gave a faint smile, no happiness in it at all. It was like a smile of resignation. She hugged herself, curling up amidst the flying swords. Her hair covered her eyes as she mumbled,

"Actually, I'm not that scared right now. I was very scared when I was taken by the Domain back then. But now, it's the opposite. Maybe it's because I've grown up."

Her soft eyes were lowered, reflecting a faint light. She gave another self-mocking chuckle and murmured to herself,

"Nothing to be scared of. Just being taken away again. Should be locked up again, restricted by formations again, urged again and again to agree to their demands. Sign contracts, drain my consciousness, temper my body and bones..."

Her body trembled slightly. She forced a laugh and said,

"Nothing to be scared of. Nothing to be scared of."

After a long silence.

The mournful sword rings seemed to be the final straw weighing down her heart.

Crystal teardrops welled up in Ma Xiaohong's eyes. She hurriedly wiped away her tears and gritted her teeth.

"Not scared. I'm not scared."

Really not scared?

False.

Her hands were already uncontrollably shaking. The flying swords around her grew fewer and fewer, and so the light grew dimmer and dimmer.

The dead souls and darkness would soon flood her world.

The flying swords decreased without cease.

A hundred.

Ten.

...

One!

Ma Xiaohong wiped her tears dry. Head lowered, in the last moment before the darkness arrived, she murmured,

"At least you should let me say goodbye to him first, right?"

...

...

Silent, wordless.

The pitch dark stillness engulfed her.

Ma Xiaohong kept her eyes open the entire time. She had said she was not afraid, so she wanted to try her best not to be scared, even as her body shook uncontrollably.

Was this her fate?

Hum—!

A timely sword cry.

Followed by the only light amidst the pitch dark stillness!

"Damn it, give my support back!"

A loud angry roar.

The light expanded!

Ma Xiaohong's widened eyes froze. The light shone on her face, reflecting the constant flow of teardrops.

The pitch dark stillness was forcefully torn open.

Chen Xia tangled with the millions of dead souls. Covered in blood, with an extremely deep wound on his chest. Half his head was drenched in his own blood, and even his eye pupils seemed damaged.

He really looked miserable.

But Ma Xiaohong knew this was her only light.

Very bright.

"Elder, shall we still wait? The cultivators of the other two realms are already urging us."

"That Senior probably won't be coming back. Elder, let's leave first."

"..."

Such words were constant this half month. Xuan Li also began to lose confidence, because they really had waited too long.

He looked up at the sky. After a long pause, he gave a soft sigh.

Perhaps their fates were used up.

That afternoon.

A figure flashed atop the tranquil ferry.

The cultivators below looked up.

This person's whole body was stained with blood. His left arm was severed, his clothes tattered and torn. Looking extremely miserable.

His right arm held Ma Xiaohong. Although she also had some blood stains on her, she seemed completely uninjured. Even her clothes were untouched.

This was Chen Xia.

After half a month, he had slaughtered all hundred million dead souls and killed Saint stage dead souls.

Leaving the starry river empty.

Three months later.

News of another nigh-invincible prodigy spread between the Great Death Realms.

Name unknown, abilities unknown. Only one deed.

Slaughter of a hundred million dead souls!