A week from nearly getting caught around a star, Xaliima and her crew were still following Daria and the cultivators from the Holy Stars. It was likely they would have to go several times that far, given how far general scouting efforts had gone. Estimating from the time Aniello’s trip might have taken to when Daria returned with him, they still had a pretty wide range.


    Ultimately, the main issue was that Xaliima was confident that they wouldn’tst that long. They had to stay perfectly hidden for months yet, and Daria only had to catch them <em>once</em>. If she actually noticed any ws, she would doubtless focus her perception more strongly. Choosing unpredictable locations to fuel might be helping, but the powerful cultivator could fill a whole system with her aura. Even if she could only <em>focus</em> it in a smaller area, if the scouting vessel was off guard for even a moment they could bepromised.


    Daria didn’t have any particrly intrusive habits they could take advantage of. She appeared to still be paranoid about being followed. They <em>hoped</em> she merely suspected something of the sort. If she had found them, there really wouldn’t be any reason for her to let them continue. She might simply be the cautious sort. If it was the first option, she would hopefully rx eventually, but she didn’t <em>just</em> focus on stars.


    She would scan every in seemingly random orders, and not always just once. That meant if they were refueling by converting gaseous matter from a gas giant, they could be caught just as much as they could near a star- perhaps more easily, as stars were a more overwhelming energy signature. The first incident, Xaliima had thought that Daria focused on the star because of Anton. Now she wasn’t so certain. Either way, her searches were broad enough that Xaliima had to always be on her toes. Even asionally when they were between systems, Daria would spread out her perception broadly.


    After once again trembling beneath the probing gaze of Daria, Xaliima addressed her crew. There wasn’t much point in a long preamble, so she got to the heart of the matter in a few moments. “With no intent to aggrandize or exaggerate the power of our quarry, she is too powerful. Eventually, we will be caught. I’m not strong enough to do this,” she exined.


    Predictably, she got outcries of support from the crew.


    “We’ll support you with everything we have!”


    “Any time you need to rest, we will take over.”


    “You <em>have</em> to rely on us.”


    Xaliima smiled. She couldn’t havee this far in her cultivation without them. Even if the crew of a scouting ship was far smaller than that of an Ascension-ss battleship, their bonds weren’t any weaker. Though they might not have many life-and-death battles in their history, they still had important aplishments that strained their abilities.


    “I understand all that,” Xaliima said. “But my words are still true. But I’m not asking for us to give up. I am asking specifically for your support. I am not strong enough. <em>We</em> aren’t strong enough. So I need you to be prepared when I attempt something foolish. I <em>need</em> to advance to Enrichment, but even if I’m sessful that might be our downfall.”


    Those with a less adventurous spirit might have outright rejected such a risk. Even if Xaliima had flown with some of them for several centuries, she was still worried that they might not agree. But of course, they were excited. Advancements under time of pressure were the things of stories.


    Some of the stories were true. But Xaliima knew that the vast majority of Alliance leadership, while they did well under pressure and pulled out the best of their abilities, still made their advancements away from areas of conflict. There were a few exceptions, but they <em>were</em> exceptions. And importantly, Xaliima and her people weren’tbat cultivators with the sort of mad singlemindedness of sword cultivators that tended to be the most prominent examples.


    Stealth and observation focused cultivators were supposed to advance after long periods of practice in a safe environment. But they didn’t have that option. Xaliima didn’t know <em>when</em> she would make the attempt, but it had to be soon. Maybe in the next week, maybe in a month near the end of their journey. Pushing things too fast would be a risk, the same with dying.


    She just had to let the crew know, because they had to be ready as well. They could cover for her in a few moments of intense energy, or help stabilize her, or follow along with their own advancements. Or, if the <em>second</em> worst happened, they could take over for her. Worst was if she revealed them, of course. At that point, her death wouldn’t matter. No, it would be preferred.


    -----


    Xaliima awoke to energy flooding over the ship. Even if it was carefully deflected and the ship’s actual functionality was being properly managed by the rest of the crew, she couldn’t stay asleep during such an event. They were moments away from having attacks rain down upon them, even if they were also perfectly safe.


    A contradiction, but a cultivator couldn’t ignore danger any more than a pre-cultivator human could. Her brain simply wouldn’t ignore it, not that it <em>should</em>. She made her way to the bridge, out the door of her room and down apact corridor.


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    Rather than take over from her subordinates, she simply monitored the situation. They were between systems. With the distance they kept, Daria had to cover a wide area to even be a threat to them. At the moment, she was sweeping a wide ne around her in a circle. The speed varied and she appeared to randomly change directions, so they couldn’t afford to rx. However, even if she could extend her senses a bit further that way they were still far enough it wasn’t easy. And she clearly didn’t know they were actually around. It was just another of her series of probes.


    When she stopped, Xaliima waited. Ten minutes, then Daria began again. Not exactly of course, but she didn’t keep up her efforts constantly. No doubt they would tire her out, forcing her to rest longer in each system.


    Xaliima waited until she stopped once more. Ten minutes. Twenty. At around twenty-five minutes, she began again. The whole time, Xaliima was assessing Daria’s technique. Her perception abilities were decent, but clearly not her main training. That would be widespread defense. Solid energy, not flexible. A perfectly viable path- it had clearly worked for her as she was still alive.


    Everything was so different from Xaliima’s abilities… except for one thing. Her power came from those around her. A little bit from everyone- and no doubt much more from the citizens of the Holy Stars. Detecting devotion, especially devotion for others, was not so easy that Xaliima could confirm that. But she still <em>knew</em>.


    Yet outside of her crew and a small number of others, nobody really knew Xaliima’s name. Maybe thousands, as she had been active for a long time, but not trillions or more. She had a stronger connection to far fewer individuals.


    Enrichment was about growth. Not just for the cultivator themself, or it would be just the standard cultivation path. It was the growth of the cultivator <em>and</em> their Assimtion targets. Different nuances might have a different name depending on the region. Ultimately, the point was studiously growing the source of power external to the cultivator themself.


    Xaliima had never been stingy with her crew, but there was a huge difference between Enrichment and merely training together and sharing resources. The exact details weren’t easy to enumerate. Xaliima had been studying it for many years, and she only <em>partially</em> understood.


    This was a moment of necessity for the sake of survival- for the crew. And to some extent, a necessary step for the Lower Realms Alliance as a whole- she wasn’t willing to give up on those that had assigned her the task. Any information that they could provide might save wholes, if there really were more ‘divinities’ out there.


    Just a few minutes after Daria stopped her scans, Xaliima knew it was time. She informed the crew. Her conviction was such that nobody asked if it was good timing or made sense. They just epted it.


    She wouldn’t disappoint that trust. After all, this was for them. Breaking through subtly wasn’t something that was done often, as even scouts just did so in safe territory. Fortunately for Xaliima, she merely had to enhance the ship;s stealth systems with the energy flooding out of her. The only things that could be detected in their region of space would be precisely the tiny molecules and rays of light that should be there.


    There was nothing <em>exciting</em> about Xaliima’s breakthrough. Maybe that meant she should have made the attempt long before… or perhaps the precise moment was what she needed. Her energy flowed out of her into the crew- humans and void ants- until she was drainedpletely. It had only barely starteding back afterwards when Daria struck again.


    A cone of perception that almost directly focused on them. Perhaps there were extra fluctuations caused by her breakthrough that the ship and void ants hadn’t been able to cover. Perhaps it was a coincidence- they were simply <em>behind</em> Daria, after all. That was a much smaller region of space to cover, but they of course were wiser than to be directly behind her. A parallel course might have been appropriate for stealth, but it was harder to follow just her traces unless they were near somewhere she had been.


    Xaliima couldn’t do anything about the sensory energy. She was drained. Nothing except direct her crew. Her words were insufficient, though she did her best. “We are not here. All are in agreement. We are just as empty as every other section of space until the nearest system.”


    She was weaker at the moment, but her crew was a bit stronger- or perhaps <em>more connected</em> was what was relevant. After all, if it was a challenge of strength theirbined capabilities would be nothing more than a wisp of breath against a tornado.


    They wanted to project a certain feeling. Daria shouldn’t actually think <em>there’s nothing special in this region of space</em>. She should actually think nothing at all. That was what they wanted. She could simply move along her perception. But instead it got closer, narrowing down. Did they need more power or…?


    The beam swept away from them. Xaliima wasn’t sure how long she’d been holding her breath. Seconds? Minutes? It could have been an hour, but probably not much more than that just because of her physical limitations.


    “Drop back a little,” Xaliima suggested. They decelerated just slightly, pulling further back. However, that <em>should</em> be fine. Even if her crew hadn’t advanced to a whole new stage, even if they probably didn’t even advance a small rank immediately, they should be a bit <em>more</em> because of Xaliima. She wouldn’t always be able to consciously support every activity they performed, but things were better.


    It wouldn’t be <em>simple</em> tost all the way to the end of the journey, but they were heading towards a system where everyone would be replenished. Then the odds would settle slightly more in their favor, and every bit counted when a single mistake would be their end. Their overall risk of failure could be halved now, or less, while barely even affecting any single incident’s numbers.


    Of course, it wasn’t random to begin with- but observing the probabilities was still a method to judge things. Mistakes were still what mattered, and while not <em>entirely</em> random, they were close enough. Less chance of making a mistake meant they didn’t have to recover from said mistakes.


    The nervousness of the crew didn’t go away, but it diminished over the following weeks. They reached barely charted systems, not the end of their journey but they felt it was close. Something about the changing energy in the region hinted at poptions not too far away. At least in gctic terms.


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