A Will Eternal

Three days later, Bai Xiaochun was still flying around over the blood ocean. He could sense that, off in the distance, there were strange fluctuations which were obviously coming from the location of the world’s will.

“I wonder why that Jia Lie hasn’t shown up over the past few days?” Bai Xiaochun actually missed him a bit. Every time he showed up, it was a chance to see how the world would protect him.

Because of his anticipation, he made sure to fly along even more slowly than usual. On the evening of the third day, when the blood-colored sky was starting to grow dark, the sea water beneath Bai Xiaochun suddenly exploded with a shocking aura. Water showered up into the air, along with raging killing intent and a powerful roar.

“Prepare to die, Nightcrypt!!” It was a voice filled with indescribable hatred, and along with it, a black-armored figure appeared. It was Jia Lie, who seemed to flicker between corporeal and illusory. As he flew out of the water, he rapidly increased his speed, shooting directly toward Bai Xiaochun.

All of the power of Jia Lie’s late Foundation Establishment cultivation base exploded out. That, coupled with the boost provided by the Ghost Body armor, put him incomparably close to the great circle of Foundation Establishment, and caused intense pressure to weigh down in all directions.

Bai Xiaochun was delighted, and as Jia Lie closed in, he stuck his chin up and waved his sleeve. Pointing at Jia Lie, he said, “Back off!”

To see Bai Xiaochun posing in such a way enraged Jia Lie even more, and caused him to accelerate even more rapidly. By this point, he was already about 9 meters away from Bai Xiaochun, and not even a lightning bolt could intervene quickly enough to stop him. As far as he was concerned, Nightcrypt was going to die, beyond the shadow of a doubt.

Mouth twisting into a vicious smile, he cried, “Like hell I’ll--”

However, before he could even finish his sentence, a blood-colored hand suddenly shot up from the sea down below. It moved with indescribable quickness, forming a palm that slapped Jia Lie like a human would a mosquito.

A resounding smack could be heard. Jia Lie’s black armor shattered, and blood sprayed out of his mouth. The bitterness of his scream would shock to the core anyone who could have heard it.

“No!!” Despairing, Jia Lie coughed up a mouthful of blood as he tumbled away. His body was already on the verge of exploding, and his recently recovered cultivation base power was instantly damaged. He was now weaker than ever....

Bai Xiaochun gasped and blinked a few times as the enormous blood hand sank back down into the water. As Jia Lie spun away off into the distance, Bai Xiaochun’s expression turned into one of admiration.

“You’re really persistent, aren’t you?” Sighing, he proceeded along, looking forward to the next time Jia Lie showed up....

Off in the distance, Jia Lie hovered above the ocean water, looking confused, tears of frustration welling up in his eyes. Throughout all his years of cultivation, he had always shed blood, never tears. And yet, here he was, crying.

In his perspective, this world was completely and utterly evil. All he wanted to do was kill Nightcrypt! As a result, he had been struck by lightning, flayed by wind, and then slapped by some terrifying bloodbeast.

By this point, he was starting to think that it would take a miracle for him to get out of this place alive.

“My cultivation base is higher than his! I’ve been in the Blood Stream Sect for much longer! Why is this world treating me like this!?!?” Tears continued to flow down his cheeks. From the moment he had entered this world, he had felt like he was in a living nightmare.

By this point, he was completely and utterly terrified of Nightcrypt, and couldn't have been convinced by anybody to try to provoke him. Furthermore, he completely hated the blood master of Lesser Marsh Peak, as well as Xuemei. The only reason he was here was because of Xuemei. Otherwise, he would never have been forced to tangle with Nightcrypt, nor would he have accepted the mission from the Lesser Marsh Peak blood master. He wouldn’t have attempted to kill Nightcrypt so many times, and wouldn’t have ended up in this state, targeted by the very world around him.

“This isn't fair!!” Jia Lie was actually quite close to the mountain peak, and the will of the world. However, there were so many bloodbeasts on the mountain that he obviously had no hope of even getting near it.

As Jia Lie despaired, Bai Xiaochun was flying casually through the air some distance away. Looking at the mountain in front of him, he felt the strong sensation that all he had to do was head up to the top of the mountain, and he would be able to pass the first stage of the trial by fire.

However, even as he closed in, the same huge dragon from before stuck its head out from behind the mountain and stared at Bai Xiaochun. At the same time, countless terrifying auras surged out from the mountain itself, locking down onto Bai Xiaochun. Apparently, if he got any closer, all of those bloodbeasts would charge into action.

Bai Xiaochun stopped in place. Earlier, he’d only caught a glimpse of that huge hand, but now that he could actually see the bloodbeasts face to face, he realized that they looked very much like the kind of wild beasts you might see in the outside world. The only difference was that they were completely the color of blood. Actually, they seemed similar to banebeasts in certain ways.

Unexpectedly, the bloodbeasts were looking at Bai Xiaochun with animosity, which caused the despairing Jia Lie to suddenly go wild with joy. Panting, his eyes widened, and hope gleamed therein.

“He can’t get onto the mountain either!!” Jia Lie exclaimed excitedly. At last, his chance had arrived. Quickly covering up his aura, he fixed his eyes on Bai Xiaochun and began to search for another opportunity to snatch victory.

Bai Xiaochun felt a headache coming on as he looked at the mountain full of bloodbeasts. After a moment of hesitation, he decided that the best thing to do would be to test out how much the world would protect him. Having made his decision, he carefully proceeded forward. If the bloodbeasts reacted too violently, then he could always retreat.

He slowly got closer and closer, until he actually stepped onto the mountain itself. That was when he really started to get nervous. However, the nervousness quickly began to fade as he realized that the bloodbeasts were just looking at him, and none of them were moving to block his path.

Joy rising, he began to stroll forward, completely unhindered. Meanwhile, Jia Lie hovered over the ocean, eyes wide with shock.

Moments later, a thoughtful expression appeared in his eyes, and then hesitation, and finally, an intense glowing light.

“I get it now! Although there are a lot of bloodbeasts here, as long as you don't exude any killing intent, the bloodbeasts won’t interfere. That's definitely how to do it!

“For example, here I am floating on the surface of the ocean, right next to the mountain, and yet none of the bloodbeasts under the water are attacking me. It's obviously because I have no killing intent!” Jia Lie still felt a bit hesitant and unconvinced. However, if he gave up at this point, his newfound hope would be dashed. Therefore, he clenched his jaw and flew up into the air with an expression of determination. Making sure he had no killing intent, he proceeded forward with the utmost caution.

Soon he was nearing the mountain, and the numerous bloodbeasts turned their gazes upon him. Jia Lie stopped in place, scalp tingling, limbs trembling. However, he forced a smile onto his face.

“No ill will here!” he said. “I'm just passing through....”

However, in the instant he opened his mouth, the enormous, blood-colored dragon suddenly howled, flying up into the air and then charging down toward Jia Lie. At the same time, the countless other bloodbeasts erupted with murderous auras and flew toward Jia Lie.

Eyes snapped open down in the ocean water, and countless blood-colored giants rose up from the depths, howling as they surrounded Jia Lie.

Jia Lie let out a bloodcurdling scream, and tears streamed down his face.

“This isn't fair! You’re cheating!!” Jia Lie wept at how the world around him was toying with him. As the bloodbeasts pounced, his screams echoed out far and wide.

Bai Xiaochun’s heart was trembling. The sudden outburst among the bloodbeasts had startled him so much that he almost took to flight. But then he realized that the bloodbeasts were merely attacking Jia Lie.

He had been worried about Jia Lie in the beginning, but after realizing his own importance to the world around him, he stopped paying much attention to him. However, as of this moment, he started to feel a bit bad.

When he heard Jia Lie accusing him of cheating, he coughed dryly, but didn’t attempt to make any explanations. After all, Jia Lie was actually right.... After arriving in this world, he hadn’t done a single thing except fly around.

Even on the mountain, the bloodbeasts just let him pass by....

Bai Xiaochun really felt that the world had treated him well. Looking back down at Jia Lie amidst the bloodbeasts, he considered throwing an Aphrodisiac Pill down....

“Ah, I shouldn’t. I'm a good person, after all.” Sighing, he proceeded on toward the peak of the mountain, where he found a stone stele, which emanated pulsing light that seemed to be calling to him.

After some thought, he approached the stele and placed his hand onto its surface. Instantly, his divine sense seemed to spread out to fill the entire world....

It was as if the world had somehow become a part of him....

In that moment, the blood ocean began to seethe, the sands of the desert floated up into the air, the sky trembled, and the lands quaked. Plants, mountains, everything in the world began to shake with joy, with approval, with worship!!

The bloodbeasts kowtowed, roaring as they acknowledged allegiance to Bai Xiaochun standing there on the mountain....

His life having been spared, Jia Lie trembled and looked up at Bai Xiaochun, and knew that he would never, ever be able to forget this experience, nor the image of Nightcrypt standing there like the emperor of the entire world!