A Will Eternal

“What kind of fish are these?!?!” Bai Xiaochun’s eyes went wide, and despite the fact that he was on an ice plain, sweat broke out all over him. Back and forth he dodged as the air was ripped to shreds by the flying fish, who all seemed dead set on poking him full of holes.

It was almost like Bai Xiaochun was a huge target, and the arrowfish were countless arrows trying to hit it. No matter how he dodged or how fast he went, they kept coming toward him in full madness.

If it were a short-term thing, it wouldn’t have been a problem. But after dodging fish for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, it was to his shock that he realized the fish weren’t slowing down at all. In fact, it was at that point that he heard loud cracking sounds, which came from large portions of the ice plain collapsing, revealing even more arrowfish than before.

“Dammit,” he gasped, “why is this twenty-first level so hard!?” He had no choice but to keep trying to dodge. Soon an hour had passed. Then two hours. Then six hours….

Bai Xiaochun was beyond stunned. He distinctly remembered that the trials had a time limit of two hours, but by this point, more than half a day had gone by…. And yet, there seemed to be no end in sight.

From a distance, it almost looked like he was in a world of arrowfish, filled with silvery light that reflected the sun in dazzling fashion.

Bai Xiaochun really wanted to cry. Suddenly, he recalled the heavenly dragonfish, and wondered if perhaps this was happening because he had eaten too many of them. He continued to dodge the fish nonstop for another few hours. After an entire day passed without him being able to leave the level, he was starting to feel like he was going crazy.

“Something strange is going on here. Something very strange!!”

Meanwhile, high in the sky above Bai Xiaochun, invisible to him even if he had looked up, was a boy. He was good-looking, and might have seemed charming if it weren’t for the cold smile he wore. He seemed very pleased with himself as he hovered there with hands clasped behind his back, staring down at Bai Xiaochun dancing around like a monkey.

“I thought this brazen thief had left for good, and was a bit disappointed. And yet, he dared to return. Hmmmphh! Well, I might have been powerless in the first twenty levels, but from here on out, I’ll make sure you know the meaning of despair!” Looking a bit excited, the boy waved his hand, causing ripples to flow through the ice plain. Moments later, ten times as many arrowfish as before appeared!

Heaven and earth trembled under the storm of fish!

Bai Xiaochun was scowling on the verge of tears, and was considering just teleporting out of the level. However, he wasn’t quite willing to give up just yet. At one point, he got distracted, and one of the arrowfish pierced through his arm, causing unimaginable pain, and provoking a miserable shriek.

“Dammit! I didn’t want to resort to cheating, but you’re forcing my hand! Moonflower, baby, I need you!” Flying backward, he tapped his bag of holding, causing a thick stem to fly out. It only took half a breath of time for the stem to grow larger and larger, with a huge moonflower on top of it!

A howl rippled out from within the moonflower, and all of its petals shivered as if in anticipation. Apparently, whether it was the ice plain or the arrowfish, the moonflower considered them all to be food it could only find in its dreams.

Bai Xiaochun was very pleased by this.

“Moonflower, destroy this place!” he shouted. At this point, he really couldn’t think of any other way to deal with the twenty-first level other than to place his hopes in the moonflower.

The truth was that not even Ghostmother was very sure about where the moonflower originally came from. After all, the battleship where Bai Xiaochun had found it was only a temporary dwelling place.

In the blink of an eye, the moonflower grew to an enormous size. However, it only took a moment for the countless arrowfish in the area to stab through it so many times that it exploded. It didn’t even seem to fight back. The resulting bits dropped down onto the ice, and then sank down into the water beneath.

The entire scene left Bai Xiaochun stunned.

“No way…. You were so strong before, moonflower, baby….” Crestfallen, he began to back up, and at the same time, decided that he might as well concede defeat. As far as he could tell, not even a cultivator in the great circle of the Celestial Realm could possibly pass this level.

After all, his fleshly body power was essentially unparalleled among celestials, and yet, these fish could actually pierce it. There was little need to mention other celestials.

However, just when he was about to throw in the towel, his eyes suddenly lit up.

All of the fragments of the giant moonflower that had fallen down into the ice and the water… began to bloom!

It happened with indescribable speed. Within moments, the entire ice plain was covered with moonflowers, and then began to melt!

If that were all there were to it, it might not be a big deal. But the moonflowers in the water began to send stems out, creating something like a huge net that prevented the arrowfish from flying out. There were simply too many of the moonflowers. They filled the entire world, growing and growing with every moment that passed. Soon, the ice plain was completely melted, and the water was almost completely full of moonflowers….

As the net widened and grew denser, more and more fish were unable to fly out of the water. Essentially, the water below was being completely sealed!

And yet, things weren’t over. After the water was sealed tight, the moonflowers began to absorb all of the frigid qi in the area. Although the ice plain was gone, there was plenty of frigid qi in the water, as well as in the arrowfish!

It was almost as if there were a huge furnace underneath the water, causing it to grow hotter…. As for the arrowfish, they were completely flabbergasted….

Soon, Bai Xiaochun’s eyes were as wide as saucers, as were the eyes of the boy up in the air. In a very short period of the time, not a single fish was able to fly out of the water!

Eventually, nothing was left of the water, not even water vapor. The arrowfish were completely powerless. By this point, the twenty-first level… was reaching the point of being a desert….

“Moonflower, baby, you really are awesome….” Bai Xiaochun was so excited he was almost dancing with joy.

High up in the air, the boy’s eyes were on the verge of exploding, and his heart trembled on the verge of collapse. What had seemingly been the perfect scenario had all been wrecked by a legendary immortal moonvine.

“An immortal moonvine!?!?!?” he exclaimed to himself. “How is this even possible!? Even in the days of the Immortal World, immortal moonvines were virtually extinct. According to the legends, they were very picky when it came to bonding with a master. They would only choose people who were pure and honest. Dammit! How could this shameless cheater qualify to bond with an immortal moonvine!?!?”

Despite how much it frustrated the boy, there was nothing he could do other than watch the twenty-first level turn into a scorching desert. And there was nothing he could do to prevent Bai Xiaochun from simply passing the level!

Upon watching the excited Bai Xiaochun fade away from the level along with his moonflower, the boy nearly burst into tears.

“Damn that shameless cheater! I hereby swear an oath that I won’t let you succeed! You’ll never become the successor of the sovereign. A person like you would only stain the glory of the Immortal World. And I would never, ever, ever acknowledge a person like you as my lord and master! You’re the most shameless person I've ever encountered in my entire life!! Next time I awake, I’ll definitely destroy you! I swear it!!” Of course, the boy was none other than the damaged fan’s spirit automaton. After swearing his oath, he ground his teeth as he faded away and went back to sleep.