A Will Eternal

The power of the five yin organs came from the five elements!

As the five beams of colorful light shot out of the Arch-Ancestor’s torso, they became a canopy that completely covered him. At the same time, his fleshly body power began to rise higher and higher. That was when he looked directly at Bai Xiaochun, his eyes glittering.

Bai Xiaochun had originally been planning to dodge out of the way. However, the Arch-Ancestor moved with even greater speed than before, closing in with a clenched fist that slammed into Bai Xiaochun’s chest. 

Blood sprayed out of Bai Xiaochun’s mouth as he flew backward, and before he could land on his feet, the Arch-Ancestor was on him again. Grabbing him by both shoulders, the Arch-Ancestor prepared… to rip him in two!!

The sensation of imminent crisis Bai Xiaochun felt provoked a shaken howl, and caused blue veins to bulge out on his face and neck. The terror of possible death was so intense that it provided the perfect fuel for a crazy counter attack!

“I never created a sixth volume for the Undying Codex, but… I did make a follow-up to the entire technique. The Time Immemorial Codex!

“You might have pushed the Undying Codex to the ultimate limit, but… it definitely doesn’t match up to the new path that I forged!!” Hands flying in a double-handed incantation gesture, he unleashed the Sutra of Former Reincarnation, causing countless magical symbols to appear on the Arch-Ancestor. As the symbols tightened, they began to form a magical seal. However, before that sealing process could be completed, a vicious glint appeared in Bai Xiaochun’s eyes.

“DETONATE!!”

Each and every one of the magical symbols exploded. If it had been only two, or a few dozen, it might not have been very impressive. Maybe even a few hundred or thousand might not have been a big deal. But there were simply too many to count. Tens of thousands of them. And as they exploded, the force they unleashed was something the Arch-Ancestor simply couldn’t withstand.

As booms rang out, the Arch-Ancestor shivered violently, the force shoving him backward, and destroying two layers of the five-colored canopy around him.

However, the Arch-Ancestor was doughty; he had his Undying Codex to regenerate himself, and also never seemed to get tired. Without even a pause, he lunged back in Bai Xiaochun’s direction, clenching his hand into a fist as he approached.

Bai Xiaochun was panting for breath, but his expression was vicious as he performed an incantation gesture to unleash the Sutra of Future Pāramitā.

Because of the blood resonance between himself and the Arch-Ancestor, the Sutra of the Future worked perfectly. As the Arch-Ancestor’s fist struck home, Bai Xiaochun coughed up a mouthful of blood, but so did the Arch-Ancestor.

“Bring it on!” Bai Xiaochun shouted, jumping right back into the fight. As they went back and forth, the injuries Bai Xiaochun sustained were also inflicted on the Arch-Ancestor. However, the reverse didn’t happen. In essence, the Arch-Ancestor was receiving double the amount of injuries!

Even with his powers of regeneration, he was gradually being worn down. And Bai Xiaochun was attacking like mad, causing the Arch-Ancestor to cough up one mouthful of blood after another. Two more of his defensive canopies were now gone, which was when Bai Xiaochun let out a shout and attacked with a destructive fist strike. At that point, all of the defenses created by the Arch-Ancestor’s sixth volume of the Undying Codex… were destroyed!

Having accomplished this, Bai Xiaochun staggered backward and then toppled to the ground, blood oozing out of his mouth as he gasped for breath. Looking over at the bedraggled Arch-Ancestor, who was also lying there prone, he said, “In terms of techniques, I'm definitely stronger than you!”

The Arch-Emperor didn’t say anything. He struggled to his feet, looked coldly at Bai Xiaochun, then clenched his hand into a fist, causing an enormous shadowy form to appear behind him.

At the same time, a spectacularly domineering aura erupted out.

It was none other than the Undying Emperor’s Fist!

“I’ve got one of those too!” Bai Xiaochun shouted, standing up and clenching his own hand into a fist. Immediately, a shadowy figure appeared behind him as well. Except, this figure was different from the Arch-Ancestor’s Undying Emperor’s Fist. This was… the Undying Sovereign’s Fist!

In the blink of an eye, the two of them shot into motion. This was the Arch-Ancestor fighting the reigning Arch-Emperor. It was the Undying Emperor’s Fist versus the Undying Sovereign’s Fist. This was something that could never happen except for in this exact time and place!

From a distance, it was possible to see, not only Bai Xiaochun and the Arch-Ancestor closing in on each other, but also the two shadowy figures they had summoned, also approaching each other. When they collided, a deafening boom rattled out, and the figure behind the Arch-Ancestor shattered into pieces.

As that happened, the Arch-Ancestor withered visibly, and he coughed up a huge mouthful of blood as he staggered backward. Bai Xiaochun was also significantly drained, and seemed almost completely bereft of energy and power. Bending over and resting his hands on his knees, he gasped for breath.

After a moment, he looked up and said, “I know you have some of your senses, Arch-Ancestor! I don't want to fight you. Let me pass! I need to repair this sealing strip!!” 

He wasn’t sure if there were more powerful entities waiting after the Arch-Ancestor, and therefore, had been relying almost completely on fleshly body power in this fight. If at all possible, he wanted to hold back from using his cultivation base or his magical techniques.

The Arch-Ancestor was about 300 meters away from him, weak to the point where he looked like he might disperse at any moment. It almost seemed like Bai Xiaochun’s words hadn’t registered at all, as he slowly got back to his feet, his face completely expressionless. Trembling visibly, he began to stride over toward Bai Xiaochun.

As he did, his Undying Codex worked hard to regenerate his body, but unfortunately, he had been hurt so badly that it was like throwing a cup of water on a burning cart of firewood.

By this point, Bai Xiaochun knew that if he didn’t keep fighting, there was always the chance that the Arch-Ancestor might fully regenerate. After staring at him for a moment, he gritted his teeth and performed an incantation gesture with his right hand. Waving his finger, he unleashed the Sutra of Present Life and Death, summoning a huge stone gate behind him, which was none other than the Gate of Death!

The Gate of Life appeared behind the Arch-Ancestor, and as he continued to walk forward, he began to weaken visibly, to the point where his powers of regeneration couldn’t keep up at all.

And yet, the Arch-Ancestor continued to approach. Step by step he came, weakening, fading, until, to Bai Xiaochun’s shock, he was standing right there in front of him.

During the process of becoming so weak, something had changed. Before, all of his thoughts had been suppressed, but as of this moment, the coldness in his eyes had faded, and it was possible to see something profound and ancient within them.

To Bai Xiaochun’s shock, he began to speak.

“The Mortal Renegade assimilated the last bits of my consciousness, and sealed them inside himself, to fuel his ability to exterminate worlds….

“I thought that I had been lost for all eternity, only to encounter you….

“Please don’t blame me for this. I needed you to defeat me, utterly and thoroughly. Only by dying can I be freed from the control of the Mortal Renegade. Only then will things truly become clear for me….

“I have no regrets. Did you… see when I used the sixth volume of the Undying Codex just now?” The Arch-Ancestor spoke calmly, and yet warmly. Before Bai Xiaochun could respond, he smiled, reached out, and then faded into nothing….

However, in the moment before he disappeared forever, five glittering crystals, each one a different color, emerged from his torso and floated over to enter Bai Xiaochun’s….

Bai Xiaochun stood there for a long moment, then rubbed his chest. He could sense that his five yin organs had changed, although in some ways, that change seemed illusory.

After some thought, he clasped hands and bowed to the spot where the Arch-Ancestor had disappeared. Mixed emotions filled him, making it impossible to decide exactly how he felt. Finally, he took a deep breath and continued on his way!

He was now… only a short distance from the dantian region. As of this moment, the sealing strip was ninety percent repaired!

Back in the Eternal Immortal Domains, the despairing populace suddenly felt hope once again, and a cheer rose up.

As for the Saint-Emperor, he suddenly seemed to age a bit as he hovered there in mid-air, looking up at the bright light which represented Bai Xiaochun.

“He defeated… his original ancestor….” he murmured.