A Will Eternal

The blood cloud seethed and churned as it shot back to the Blood Stream Sect. Everyone was wrapped up in their own thoughts, and no one spoke. Bai Xiaochun was most taciturn of all, although he would occasionally turn to look back in the direction of the Spirit Stream Sect.

By the time he got back to his immortal's cave on Middle Peak, it was evening. He sat there quietly until it was late in the night and the moon hung high. Unfortunately, the matter of war between the two sects was something he had no say in. It was a game being played between the patriarchs of the two sects.

He felt tired. He didn’t even like to think about fighting and killing, but he also knew that sometimes, certain things couldn’t be avoided, no matter how much you wanted to.

He shook his head in frustration. The only thing he could do now was get to the relic of eternal indestructibility before the war started, and then get back to the Spirit Stream Sect.

He took a deep breath and calmed himself down, then began breathing exercises. Blood qi began to rise up and flow toward him as he continued to advance through the first level of the Undying Heavenly King.

That first level was the ten mammoths Berserk Ghost Body, and because of his constant cultivation, he was growing more and more powerful. By now, he had the power of two berserk ghosts.

After the power of ten, he would break past the first level and transform his Berserk Ghost Body into the Heavenly Demon Body!

At the same time, the Heavenspan River water in his first spiritual sea was continuously being absorbed. By now, less than half remained, and from the look of it, it wouldn’t take much longer before that portion was fully absorbed.

Time passed. In the blink of an eye, two months went by. During that time, the Blood Stream Sect continued to make preparations for war. Of course, war was no laughing matter. Once it started, it would be difficult to stop, and everyone knew that the future of the two sects were involved.

The Blood Stream Sect wasn’t completely united in its desire to wage war. There were eight patriarchs, and of that group, four were of the mindset that war should be avoided if possible. That group consisted of the Song Clan patriarch, Patriarch Limitless, and two other patriarchs.

However, one faction, made up of three patriarchs, were staunchly for the war. One of the patriarchs, Daoist Sage Droughtflame, had similar standing to the Song Clan patriarch, being one of the most powerful experts of the older generation. His words carried much weight.

Daoist Sage Droughtflame and the other two patriarchs in his faction were very much for declaring war. The fact that the Song Clan patriarch and his faction had so many problems with the war led to friction between the two groups.

The person who had the final say in the Blood Stream Sect was the arch-patriarch of the generation, and he hadn’t said a word on the subject. His opinion on the matter was of vital importance, but even he seemed to be hesitating.

As the discussions and friction between the patriarchs persisted, the Blood Stream Sect as a whole continued to prepare for war.

Eventually, the day arrived in which the final bit of Heavenspan River water merged into Bai Xiaochun’s first spiritual sea.

Rumbling sounds filled him that only he could hear. He began to shake, and could sense that his first spiritual sea was shining with boundless golden light. Cracking sounds emanated out, and a moment later, his first spiritual sea began to crystalize!

Crystallized spiritual sea!

Bai Xiaochun shivered. Panting, he performed a double-handed incantation gesture and then pushed his hands down onto his dantian region. Instantly, the crystallization process sped up, and the cracking sounds grew more intense. Moments later, his entire first spiritual sea had become solid.

Instead of liquid, it now was a mirror-like crystal!

In the instant that it completely crystallized, it erupted with a power ten times the level of the original spiritual sea. That power filled Bai Xiaochun, causing him to tremble, and making him feel completely different than before!

In Mortal-Dao Foundation Establishment, there was only one spiritual sea. In fact, there was so little water in it that it was more like a spiritual lake.

Only Earthstring Foundation Establishment cultivators could use Tideflows to form multiple spiritual seas.

The difference between spiritual lakes and spiritual seas was one reason for the huge disparity between Mortal-Dao and Earthstring Foundation Establishment.

When it came to advancing through the Foundation Establishment stage, the crystallization of the spiritual seas was the hallmark of mid Foundation Establishment. The crystallization was a major transformation that caused the basic foundation to become ten times stronger. Because Earthstring spiritual seas were already vastly more powerful than Mortal-Dao spiritual lakes, the disparity between the two levels of Foundation Establishment only grew greater from that point on.

At the same time, the number of Earthstring Tideflows affected the number of spiritual seas, and that in turn made the difference between those different levels even more clear. When it came to Earthstring Foundation Establishment, three crystallized spiritual seas marked the mid level!

To reach late Foundation Establishment, one had to reach six crystallized spiritual seas. The great circle of Foundation Establishment was nine!

Of course, people with nine spiritual seas were as rare as phoenix feathers or qilin horns, so the above standard would apply only to them. The same general principles applied to the other levels of Foundation Establishment.

For example, in Mortal-Dao Foundation Establishment, the great circle was a single crystallized spiritual sea. However, that level of power was, at best, the same as a single crystallized spiritual sea of Earthstring Foundation Establishment! That was one of the main reasons why it was virtually impossible for any Mortal-Dao Foundation Establishment cultivator to reach Core Formation.

It was the same with Earthstring Foundation Establishment cultivators who only completed a single Tideflow. However, because they had a true spiritual sea, it was theoretically possible for them to crystallize it and break through to the next cultivation stage. However, the likelihood was very small.

When it came to two spiritual seas, that likelihood increased. Five spiritual seas was considered the standard, and anyone with seven was deemed highly likely to succeed. Eight spiritual seas was very rare, and even more likely to break through, and those with nine were considered ninety percent likely to break through.

However, all of that pertained to Mortal-Dao and Earthstring. When it came to the extremely rare peak of Foundation Establishment, those cultivators who used heavenstring energy to create a Heaven-Dao aura were not only ten times as powerful, but their crystallized spiritual seas could crush Earthstring Foundation Establishment. That was especially true of Bai Xiaochun, who had achieved nine Tideflows. Essentially, he could crush any and all fellow Foundation Establishment cultivators!

In early Foundation Establishment, the disparity wasn’t as obvious. However, mid Foundation Establishment involved an explosive increase in power, and once in the great circle of Foundation Establishment, he could be called invincible.

“Crystallizing the sea is the sign of stepping into mid Foundation Establishment!” Excited, Bai Xiaochun took a deep breath; the crystallization didn't stop with the first spiritual sea! It continued on into the second spiritual sea, which immediately began to show signs of solidifying.

Intense cracking sounds filled his mind for the following several hours. His cultivation base grew explosively, and soon, his second spiritual sea was crystallized, and the process progressed to the third!

RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!

The process continued until the following morning. As the first rays of sunlight landed on the earth below, rumbling sounds filled Bai Xiaochun, and his eyes snapped open.

At that point, he could feel a level of spiritual power coursing through him that vastly exceeded what it had been before. Now that he had three crystallized spiritual seas, every breath he took seemed to fill his surroundings with thunderous booms.

He now felt like the simple wave of his hand could crush everything around him. Furthermore, his forehead tingled with pain, as though his Heavenspan Dharma Eye wished to open.

Bai Xiaochun had the intense premonition that if he did open that eye, it would erupt with shocking fluctuations.

Eyes glittering, he burst into motion. Spiritual power surged through him, and rumbling sounds could be heard as he turned into nothing more than afterimages. A moment later, he was outside in front of one of the blood trees.

The blood tree shivered and began to rattle off fawning praise. Unlike usual, Bai Xiaochun didn’t pay any attention to the tree. Instead, his right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, and he pointed out, causing streams of blood qi to converge into a blood sword.

“I can form blood swords way faster than before!” Excited, he mentally recalled Middle Peak’s secret magic, the Blood Annihilation World. After performing another incantation gesture, he waved his hand, and even more blood qi converged in the area, and another blood sword appeared.

Things weren’t over yet, though. A third blood sword appeared, swirling around him, causing the entire area to surge with a bloody, murderous aura.

Intense pressure also weighed down in the area, causing all of the blood trees to tremble.

“In mid Foundation Establishment, I'm not limited to one blood sword. I can summon three. And furthermore, I can even combine them together into one larger sword!” Eyes flashing, he performed another incantation gesture with his right hand, and the three blood swords merged together into a gigantic blood-colored greatsword.

Even when the blade was still forming, its energy fluctuations were filled with brutality and madness. Everything in the area trembled, and even before it could finish forming, Bai Xiaochun waved his hand to dispel the sword and the pressure.

“According to the description of the secret magic, if I can summon six swords, I’ll be able to step into late Foundation Establishment.... Although I cultivate the Violet Qi Heavenspan Incantation, because of the Undying Live Forever Technique, once I reach late Foundation Establishment, I can use the Blood Annihilation World along with it!” Bai Xiaochun was very pleased with how quickly had progressed from early Foundation Establishment to mid Foundation Establishment. Some of that was because of the medicinal pills the mysterious sect had given him, but another reason was the blood qi in the Blood Stream Sect.

Not only could he rapidly cultivate the Undying Heavenly King, it also provided benefits to his cultivation base.

Bai Xiaochun clasped his hands behind his back and stuck his chin up. Looking very proud of himself, he thought about how incredible he was with his three crystallized spiritual seas. Of course, if he could reach six, or nine, then he would be even more powerful.