A Will Eternal

A blank look could still be seen in Bai Xiaochun’s eyes. Although his consciousness had returned, he still hadn’t completely recovered from the experience of being in the illusory world of deep enlightenment. The real world around him almost didn’t seem real at first.

Soon the disciples from the Hall of Justice noticed what was happening, and looked over at him. As for the Outer Sect disciples in the audience, their eyes went wide, and they began to cry out in shock.

“130 days!”

“He took five times as long as Eldest Brother Ghostfang to enter deep enlightenment, and spent five times as long inside!”

The clamoring Outer Sect disciples quickly produced jade slips to send word to their friends that Bai Xiaochun had awakened. Soon, a tempest raged in the north bank as countless disciples got the messages and began to race over to the trial platform.

As he sat there beneath the trial platform statue, his eyes blank, he slowly lifted his right hand and then pushed it out in front of him.

“Waterswamp...” he whispered.

Few people could hear him, but as soon as the word left his mouth, massive rumbling sounds echoed out that could shake heaven and earth. They were like peals of heavenly thunder crashing in everyone’s ears.

BOOOOOM! BOOOOOM! BOOOOOM!

Three massive crashing sounds shocked everyone to the core. At the same time, a boundless field of water vapor spread out in all directions.

9 meters. 30 meters. 150 meters. 300 meters.... All the way to 600 meters!

Bai Xiaochun was surrounded by a boundless field of water vapor 600 meters wide. The water vapor instantly reduced visibility, making it difficult to see anything clearly. Furthermore, all of the disciples within the vapor suddenly gasped as a powerful force suddenly pushed against them.

The pushing force was so powerful that none of the disciples could fight against it. In the blink of an eye, they were pushed away until not a single person remained within 300 meters of Bai Xiaochun.

The haze created by the water vapor rose up high into the sky, even altering the energy of heaven and earth in the area. A huge vortex began to spin, completely shaking all the observing disciples, who couldn’t help but think about the clawed ghost hand which appeared when Ghostfang unleashed Ghosts Haunt the Night.

That was a secret magic that didn't seem possible for Qi Condensation disciples to unleash, and left the north bank disciples not only with a feeling of deep respect for Ghostfang, but also, fear. Furthermore... they were experiencing exactly the same thing with Bai Xiaochun right now!

Gasps could be heard as more and more disciples rushed over to the scene. Many of them were Inner Sect disciples, including Beihan Lie, the Gongsun siblings, and Xu Song.

As soon as they saw the vortex, and Bai Xiaochun, their faces flickered with astonishment.

“Waterswamp Kingdom!”

“He must have succeeded in cultivating it! But what kind of life essence spirit did he get...?”

Ghostfang hovered there, staring down at Bai Xiaochun. The desire to fight sprang up in his eyes, but he quickly suppressed it.

As the disciples watched, trembling, the four peak lords of the north bank arrived, as well as Li Qinghou.

“I really look forward to seeing Bai Xiaochun’s life essence spirit!”

“He’s only unleashed the waterswamp, and yet the energy is astounding. I wonder what’s inside....”

Li Qinghou’s eyes shone with delight; he keenly anticipated what would result now that Bai Xiaochun had awoken from deep enlightenment.

As everyone looked on, Bai Xiaochun slowly lifted his head. His eyes were still blank as he suddenly... lowered his right hand!

“.... Kingdom!” he murmured.

In that very instant, a series of gasps rang out among the audience as an indescribable aura erupted out from within Bai Xiaochun to fill the entire area.

Within that 600-meter-area, everything was hazy, making it difficult to see anything clearly. But now... the dense water vapor transformed into... a swamp!

The roar of a beast could be heard from within the waterswamp, bizarre and seemingly filled with the voices of countless other beasts.

ROAR!!

The sky trembled and the ground shook. Everyone who heard the sound, regardless of the level of their cultivation base, was left shaken. At the same time, varying levels of pressure began to push down on everyone.

As the roar echoed out, the battle beasts belonging to the various disciples of the north bank all reacted by throwing their heads back and howling aggressively. All of them were instantly thrown into chaos.

In the Beast Conservatory, the nearly one thousand beasts all began to howl. It didn’t take long before all of the beasts on the north bank had joined together, sending deafening howls out in all directions. The north bank disciples were trembling.

“Just what kind of life essence spirit does Bai Xiaochun have in his Waterswamp Kingdom!?!?”

“Heavens, how is he doing this!?” The disciples, faces flashing with shock, struggled to keep their battle beasts under control. That was especially true of the Inner Sect disciples, whose battle beasts were of a different blood order, making their reactions even stronger and more violent, to the point where they seemed crazed.

The crowd struggled with their beasts, and the sound of roaring filled the air.

The 600-meter-wide waterswamp twisted and distorted, as if it were being projected from some outside world. Furthermore, there seemed to be some unseen beast struggling to break through a barrier from another world to burst out into this one.

Suddenly, the waterswamp shook violently, and a huge mountain peak rose up from the very middle of it!

It was enormous, but upon closer inspection, it seemed obvious that... because the waterswamp was only 600 meters across, this was only the very tip of the mountain!!

But then, further examination revealed a spine-tingling truth. It wasn’t a mountain peak, it was... the tip of a bone spur!!

“A bone spur! Heavens! That’s the tip of a bone spur!”

“The tip of that bone spur is 600 meters wide. How big is the beast itself? This life essence spirit... what exactly does it look like?!”

Energy that could shake heaven and earth exploded from the Waterswamp Kingdom. As the blast spread out in all directions, the battle beasts went completely out of control. Howling at the tops of their lungs, they began to throw themselves down to the ground in prostration!

“Impossible!!”

“How could this be happening?!?!” The disciples were completely shocked as, one after another, each and every battle beast on the north bank dropped down in worship. At the same time, threatening howls began to emanate from the four mountain peaks of the north bank.

The seven-colored phoenix shot out into the air, where it stared vigilantly at the mountain peak rising from Bai Xiaochun’s Waterswamp Kingdom. A moment later, the phoenix was joined by the black, three-eyed raven.

Simultaneously, the huge lizard appeared and let out a powerful roar in the direction of the mountain peak.

The Ghostfang Peak mountain ghost also appeared, clutching its bone trident, surrounded by black mist. Although it seemed nervous, if you looked closely, it and the other of the four spirit beast guardians all had gleams of respect deep in their eyes.

Meanwhile, in the depths of the Beast Conservatory, down in the Ancient Beast Chasm, two eyes suddenly opened. They were huge, and shone with a piercing light that seemed to reach all the way through the stone walls to gaze upon Bai Xiaochun’s Waterswamp Kingdom.

Those eyes belonged to none other than the sect's holy beast guardian, the Heavenhorn ink dragon!

Even it looked with profound solemnity at Bai Xiaochun’s Waterswamp Kingdom life essence spirit.

The entire north bank was completely and utterly shaken. The elders of the four mountain peaks were astonished as they emerged to watch the scene play out. Atop Mount Daoseed, several profoundly powerful gazes also turned to look at Bai Xiaochun.

The four peak lords were panting, their scalps tingling in shock.

“Just what type of life essence spirit is that!?”

“This is unheard-of!!”

“That type of power can’t be controlled by a Qi Condensation cultivator. This is similar to Ghostfang! No, wait, it exceeds Ghostfang!”

Under the shocked gazes of all present, the Waterswamp Kingdom mountain peak slowly sank back down. The 600-meter-wide Waterswamp Kingdom was too small, making it impossible for Bai Xiaochun’s life essence spirit to appear in full. As it sank down, the waterswamp around it gradually faded away.

Bai Xiaochun sat there cross-legged, his face pale, his eyes wide. He was now fully awake; even he seemed to be astonished at the bone spur which had emerged from the Waterswamp Kingdom.

As the Waterswamp Kingdom vanished, the surrounding battle beasts gradually calmed down. However, their masters, the disciples of the north bank, were left with minds spinning. After a moment of protracted silence, everyone burst into a pandemonium.

“Was I... was I just seeing things...?”

“That was the Waterswamp Kingdom?!?!”

“Bai Xiaochun’s life essence spirit only revealed the tip of a single bone spur...?”

“That energy just now could shake heaven and earth! Did that really come from... a Qi Condensation disciple like me? Ai. It's too bad he’s not a north peak disciple.”

Amidst the hubbub, the four peak lords exchanged glances, and then looked over at the equally shocked Li Qinghou.

“The younger generation will surpass us in time.... I really am dying to find out what that life essence spirit looks like.”

“You can only imagine what it will be like to see Bai Xiaochun fully unleash the power of the Waterswamp Kingdom!”

“His cultivation base is insufficient, and the waterswamp was only 600 meters wide, so his life essence spirit only revealed the tip of a single bone spur. If he’s ever able to reach the Gold Core stage... and unleash a 500-kilometer Waterswamp Kingdom, I can only guess what his life essence spirit will be like when it appears.”

“If he eventually uses that Waterswamp Kingdom against people at the same level as himself... one can only imagine how powerful he’ll be!”

Li Qinghou felt very proud of Bai Xiaochun, although he didn’t show it. Keeping his excitement and happiness to himself, he turned and left the north bank. After all, he had his own preparations to make. He needed to attempt to break through into the Gold Core stage within ten years.