A Will Eternal

“You’re always looking at me like that, you lecherous little rascal,” Song Junwan said with a flirtatious smile. “What exactly do you think you’re going to do?” Although she didn’t seem to technically be flirting, her spectacular beauty and sparkling eyes would stir the emotions of anyone who saw them.

In his heart, Bai Xiaochun wanted to tell her that she was a vixen. However, if he didn't somehow manage to become grand elder himself, then the only way to get the relic of eternal indestructibility would be to sneak in through her bedchamber. Therefore, he looked down shyly, lowered his voice and said, “Big Sis Song, you’re peerless and sublime. I don’t know why, but I just can’t stop myself from staring....”

With that, he stared at her a bit more. The way he treated her differently was exactly what Song Junwan found so amusing.

Their flirtatious exchange caused all of the Foundation Establishment cultivators to grumble bitterly inside. In addition to the hatred they felt for Bai Xiaochun, there was also a bit of envy....

That was especially true of Master God-Diviner, whose eyes widened into a near glare. Panting, he suddenly wished he could switch places with Bai Xiaochun. He wanted to be the one standing in front of Song Junwan, the Middle Peak grand elder who was in fact a rare beauty. He wanted to be the one flirting back and forth with her!

Xuemei looked at the two of them, and the coldness in her eyes grew more intense. Snorting coldly, she said, “I'm also curious about something. What foul wind was it that brought Song Junwan over here? Get out of my way!”

With that, she waved her hand, and the blood-colored plum blossom suddenly began to move again.

Song Junwan’s smile suddenly turned icy. “Du Xuemei, this is Middle Peak. Don’t let your presumptuousness get the better of you!” [1. At this point you can now see why it’s Xuemei and not Xue Mei, because Xuemei is her given name, with her surname being Du. Since I’m sure people will ask, yes, it’s the same Du character as Du Lingfei. Don't forget that a shared surname doesn't necessarily confirm a relation or connection. For example, Xu Xiaoshan and Xu Baocai share the same surname, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're from the same family.]

She waved her right hand, and the spell formation that covered the area suddenly flared to life. Earlier, Xuemei had just barely forced some of it to work, but now, the entire thing was in motion. The blood-colored plum blossom shattered, transforming into massive amounts of blood qi. Most of it scattered, although some of it was absorbed back by Xuemei.

Xuemei stuck her chin up and arrogantly said, “I'm in the middle of something here, why don’t you mind your own business?”

The expression on her face when she looked at Song Junwan was different than when she looked at others; it was one of derision, and even intentional provocation.

“This is my business. I dare you to do something to Nightcrypt! Try it, and see what happens!” Laughing coldly, Song Junwan’s right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, and she waved her finger toward the ground. Instantly, the spell formation expanded, and in the blink of an eye, all of the lower finger was lit up. Song Junwan’s eyes shone with just as much derision and provocation as Xuemei's.

Moved, Bai Xiaochun remained behind Song Junwan, glaring hatefully at Xuemei.

Xuemei took a step forward, and her cultivation base erupted with power, becoming a tornado of nine vortexes that stretched high up into the sky. This was the awe-inspiring power of Earthstring Foundation Establishment and nine Tideflows. “I’d originally planned to simply sever his hands to teach him a lesson. But since you're protecting him now, I think I’ll end his life!”

Bai Xiaochun’s eyes flickered, and inwardly, he despised Xuemei even more. If he could reveal his Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment, then the snap of his finger would leave her shocked into a daze.

“Other people might fear your status, but not Song Junwan. I couldn't care less. If you harm a single hair on Nightcrypt’s head, I’ll cut off one of your fingers!” Song Junwan also took a step forward and unleashed the power of her cultivation base. Although she didn’t have the vortexes of nine Tideflows, she was in the great circle of late Foundation Establishment; the quality of the power at her disposal couldn’t match up to Xuemei’s, but the sheer volume was overwhelming!

Cracking sounds emanated out as the power from the two slammed into each other. Plants and trees in the area were shredded to pieces, and as the shockwave spread out, the Foundation Establishment cultivators’ hearts trembled.

Xuemei was clearly not a match, and after their initial clash, she staggered backward.

Bai Xiaochun was so shaken than he didn’t know what to do or say. He almost couldn’t believe that the beautiful grand elder was treating him so well. For him, she had offended Xuemei and even put herself on the line. Although Bai Xiaochun was of the opinion that one of his hairs was worth a lot more than a finger, he was still very moved by the grand elder’s goodwill.

“She’s really treating me too well,” he thought. “What am I supposed to do...?” Feeling a headache coming on, he hovered behind Song Junwan and stared somberly at Xuemei.

Xuemei gave a cold harrumph. Eyes burning with fury and killing intent, she waved her right index finger, causing a white beam of light to shoot out from her bag of holding. It transformed into a little white bell which had a smiling face engraved on its surface. Upon closer examination, however, the face almost seemed to be crying. If you started at it for too long, your scalp would begin to tingle, and your heart would fill with fear.

As soon as the bell appeared, a bizarre aura spread out in all directions. As it merged into the nine Tideflow vortexes, the Tideflow power erupted, and massive rumbling sounds filled the area. Strangely, the power from the bell seemed to be combining with the nine Tideflow vortexes.

Instantly, the energy in the area skyrocketed, and the bell began to grow larger until it was fully 30 meters tall. As it hovered there in midair, it radiated boundless might and pressure.

Xuemei’s eyes flickered. Thanks to the assistance of this magical item, her cultivation base power was rising until it was on the same level as Song Junwan’s!

Apparently, the ringing sound of the bell could influence the emotions of those who heard it. The faces of the onlookers flickered, and even Song Junwan’s pupils constricted.

This was clearly not a magical item designed for Foundation Establishment cultivators. Considering Xuemei’s status, it was obvious to everyone that this was a precious treasure which had been gifted to her by her father Patriarch Limitless.

It was only possible to imagine how powerful of a precious treasure a patriarch would give to his beloved daughter.

Song Junwan gritted her teeth. She had never gotten along with Xuemei, and both of them were currently engaged in a broader struggle for power. Although their mutual dislike had festered for years, Song Junwan currently had a far more powerful cultivation base than Xuemei. And yet, a precious treasure provided by Patriarch Limitless was enough to fill her heart with fear.

However, Xuemei’s heart also trembled in fear. She might have her precious treasure, but in terms of cultivation base, she wasn’t a match for Song Junwan. Furthermore, when it came to official status in the sect, she couldn’t really compete.

The two of them stared at each other, both of them scared, and neither one willing to make the first move.

Bai Xiaochun remained off to the side, shocked, staring in amazement at the precious magical item.

The two women stared at each other for a while before Song Junwan finally chuckled coldly. Smiling a beautiful smile, she spoke words that cut as deeply as a razor-sharp blade.

“You wear a mask all day, and a mask carved with a plum flower at that. You might as well carve your own ass on that mask, Xuemei. You’re obviously so ugly you don’t dare to show your face in public!” Everyone in the area gasped. It was almost as if they were listening to a stranger, and not the grand elder.

Bai Xiaochun’s jaw dropped, and he looked over at Xuemei, wondering how she would counterattack.

Xuemei snorted coldly. Completely ignoring Bai Xiaochun, she glared at Song Junwan and said, “Oh yeah? Well your good looks are probably why you're so easy! The only way you got to be grand elder of Middle Peak was by losing your virtue in 10,000 affairs! Everybody in the sect knows it! I wouldn’t be surprised if you’d sleep with 100,000 people to become a blood master! Wouldn’t you?!”

Countless gasps echoed out, and the cultivators of Middle Peak stared with wide eyes. As of this moment, Xuemei also seemed like a complete stranger.

Xuemei’s counterattack struck Bai Xiaochun mute. Gasping, he couldn’t decide which one of them was superior. They actually seemed to be evenly matched....

However, something seemed odd about the situation, and suddenly, he wondered if he had felt moved for no reason. By now, the two shrews seemed to be completely ignoring him, and were consumed by hatred for each other....

“Hey, hold on!” he thought. “I’m supposed to be the center of attention. Did they forget about me?” Blinking, he decided to remind them of what was going on.

“Listen, ladies--”

However, before he could finish, both Xuemei and Song Junwan snapped, “Shut up!”

Bai Xiaochun was initially frightened, but then enraged. However, before he could say anything else, Song Junwan laughed coldly. “Shut your ass up, Du Xuemei. I'm not the easy one. The easy one was your mother. She had to do a blood test just to figure out that Patriarch Limitless was your father. That’s the truth, and everybody knows it! Other people might not dare to say it out loud, but go ask any of your father’s friends. They all know!”

Song Junwan laughed coldly. This time, there were no gasps. Everyone was completely dumbstruck. Considering that a patriarch had just been mentioned, they felt almost like they had been struck by thunder. There were even some who started to slowly edge away.

Obviously, in a brutal organization like the Blood Stream Sect, a secret the likes of which had just been mentioned was the kind that people got killed for hearing. Song Junwan might not be afraid, but that was because one of the Blood Stream Sect patriarchs was from her clan. Nobody else present had such a background!

Not willing to be outdone, Xuemei spat, “Slanderer! You think I don’t know the truth about you? Song Que is your love child! And Nightcrypt is your secret lover! If that weren’t the case, you never would have showed up so quickly. You probably stepped out the back door and then just hurried back, didn’t you!? You disgusting slut-bucket!”

This second batch of unverifiable news caused the scalps of all onlookers to tingler in fear. Moments ago, people had been edging away quietly, but at this point, they didn’t dare to hear anything more. Hearts pounding, they fled, convinced that if they listened any further, they would end up dead.

Bai Xiaochun was also trembling in terror, and was wondering if he would also be silenced in death to keep the news from spreading.

He began to carefully sneak away, hoping to put as much distance between himself and these two women as possible. The truth was that, in this moment, he was just as scared as he had been back in the Luochen Mountains.

Even as he prepared to flee at top speed, Song Junwan and Xuemei continued to curse each other, revealing even more explosive bits of information. Bai Xiaochun’s skin crawled as he heard all sorts of sordid history regarding the Blood Stream Sect.

By this point, the Blood Stream Sect patriarchs were aware of what was happening. Eventually, it seemed they weren’t interested in hearing any more, and one of the patriarchs cleared his throat. The sound transformed into rumbling thunder, and a lightning bolt even split the sky overhead.

Song Junwan and Xuemei knew what that meant. Neither of them wanted to back down, but they had no choice. With a final vicious glare at each other, they snorted coldly and parted ways. One flew up to the upper finger, the other left Middle Peak.

Unexpectedly, neither of them spared a second glance for Bai Xiaochun....

Soon, everything was quiet. Bai Xiaochun hovered there in shock for a moment before looking around and sighed. There were few things in life as terrifying as two women who hated each other....