A Will Eternal

Almost exactly when Bai Xiaochun cut down the last of the four Foundation Establishment cultivators who had just ambushed him, a strange cry rose up from the distant Sky River Court.

“Hehehe. Hehehe....” Everyone who heard the bizarre, echoing laughter felt a cold chill spreading out across their body, almost as if they were being frozen.

As the laughter rang out, a beam of light rose up from within the Sky River Court, which came to a stop high in the air. Visible there was a cloth doll!

It was only about a meter tall, and dressed in a ragged garment full of holes. It only had a few tufts of hair on its head, and a bizarre smile on its face!

It seemed like something completely ordinary, the type of toy any child might have at hand. But as it hovered there, it emanated a terrifying aura, and let out cackling laughter.

Its eyes shone with red light, making it seem viciously bloodthirsty. Almost as soon as it appeared, it flickered, vanishing, to reappear in front of one of the River-Defying Sect cultivators. The cultivator’s eyes went wide, and then his head exploded, sending blood spraying out in all directions, accompanied by mad laughter.

Everyone who saw the scene play out gasped. As for Bai Xiaochun, his scalp was tingling so hard it felt like it might explode.

“Is that the Sky River Court’s reserve power precious treasure?” he thought. At the same time, Gongsun Wan’er was in another location in the jungle, looking up at the doll with scorn flickering in her eyes.

That was when, all of a sudden, another beam of light cut through the air, speeding rapidly toward the cloth doll. Within that beam of light was the Blood Stream Division’s reserve power, the scarecrow!

It also wore a bizarre smile, and held a patch of skin in its hand. As it flew along, it threw the patch of skin on as if it were a garment, and then sped toward the doll.

Shocking rumbling echoed out as the two bizarre beings slammed into each other and started fighting. The freakish laughter which rang out was bizarre to the extreme!

Many of the River-Defying Sect cultivators breathed sighs of relief. However, Bai Xiaochun, along with the Gold Core experts and some of the particularly quick-thinking Foundation Establishment cultivators, all had anxious looks on their faces!

“If that doll is the Sky River Court’s reserve power, then good. But what if it’s not the reserve power, but rather a lower-level precious treasure? If a mere low-level precious treasure requires the Blood Stream Division’s reserve power to handle, then what would their true reserve power look like?!” Based on what Bai Xiaochun could see, the doll didn’t really seem like a reserve power. If the Dire Skybanyan was considered a reserve power, then Bai Xiaochun couldn’t even imagine what other types of reserve powers the Sky River Court might have.

Even as shock gripped his heart, a piercing scream rang out through the air, and something else flew out from the Sky River Court headquarters. It was a shroud, complete with brownish blood stains and a terrifying, indescribable aura.

Clearly, this shroud was on the same level of power as the cloth doll!

As it screamed through the air, a stream of smoke suddenly rose up from below. Golden light poured out from the smoke, which formed into the shape of a middle-aged Daoist. The Daoist immediately strode forward to intercept the shroud!

That projection was the reserve power of the Profound Stream Division!

The lands were filled with the rumbling of combat, which caused Bai Xiaochun to start to pant. He was feeling anything but safe at the moment, so he quickly produced some more talismans. After collecting the four bags of holding from his enemies, he cautiously made his way forward across the battlefield.

Doing his best to avoid looking up at the fighting in the air above, he focused on his surroundings, trying to move as quickly as possible. At one point, his eyes suddenly flickered, and he performed an incantation gesture with his right hand. Waving his finger, he summoned a violet cauldron, which then smashed down toward the ground.

A huge crater opened up. Snorting coldly, Bai Xiaochun opened his third eye, and immediately saw something standing next to the cauldron that was only visible because of the power of the Heavenspan Dharma Eye.

Not pausing for even a moment, he burst forward, clenching his hand into a fist and unleashing a fist strike backed by the power of his Asura Body.

The figure up ahead seemed shocked, and fell back at top speed. However, the force of the blow still slammed into him, causing blood to spray out of his mouth. The figure solidified into a middle-aged man, who was looking at Bai Xiaochun with shock.

“You can see me!?!?” Even as the words left his mouth, he turned to flee. However, a pair of wings sprouted out behind Bai Xiaochun, and a single flap sent him rocketing forward, his right foot spinning through the air in a powerful, swiping kick.

The cultivator tried to defend himself, even pulling out a large collection of defensive magical items. However, a boom rang out as the magical items were easily destroyed by Bai Xiaochun’s kick. The kick then smashed into the cultivator, crushing the life out of him instantly.

Bai Xiaochun didn’t stop moving. Grabbing the enemy's bag of holding, he proceeded onward, keeping his Dharma eye open. Any enemies who had concealed themselves in his path were completely incapable of escaping. Soon, Bai Xiaochun changed his trajectory, taking advantage of his sight to help out any fellow sect members who were in trouble.

He saw many corpses along the way. Some were Sky River Court cultivators, others belonged to members of the River-Defying Sect. Some of them were people he knew, which caused him to sink further into silence.

He was unsure of how to express the emotions he was feeling, but he was sure of one thing: his murderous aura was growing more intense by the moment....

“So, this is what cultivation brings...?” he murmured. He understood the truth of matters. He had come to that understanding long ago, based on what he had experienced with the Luochen Clan, in the Fallen Sword Abyss, and fighting outside the Profound Stream Sect city. However, whenever he came face to face with reality, it filled him with complex emotions.

Even as he sank further into silence, he suddenly heard a shrieking call off in the distance. It was a scream of anxiety and grief, and as soon as he heard it, his heart trembled painfully.

Although other people might not be sensitive to that cry, to Bai Xiaochun, it was like thunder crashing into his mind. He recognized that call!

“A phoenix?” Bai Xiaochun sped up, heading as fast as he could in the direction of the anxious cries. As he neared, he saw the very same phoenix that had consumed his Aphrodisiac Pill all those years ago. It seemed to be completely maddened; despite being injured and soaked with blood, it was doing everything it could to attack a black-robed young woman from the Sky River Court.

The young woman’s face was grim, and there was a long, ugly scar on it that marred her beauty. Her eyes gleamed with a murderous light, and she radiated a sensation of intense danger.

Held in her hand was the severed head of an old man, whose eyes were still filled with the disbelief that had struck him in the moments before death.

On the ground at the young woman’s feet was a headless body, clad in the robes of the Spirit Stream Division, blood pooling up around it.

As soon as Bai Xiaochun saw the head, his eyes went wide, and he began to tremble. “Elder Zhou!!”

The severed head belonged to none other than the Spirit Stream Division’s Elder Zhou from Fragrant Cloud Peak, who had taken over as peak lord from Li Qinghou!

Bai Xiaochun was shaking visibly, his lips trembling, his mind filled with countless scenes from the past....

He remembered back in the ovens when he and Big Fatty Zhang had pilfered the precious materials that had been meant for Elder Zhou....

He thought back to when this very phoenix had led Elder Zhou to the Medicine Concocting Pavilion to accuse him....

He thought back to Elder Zhou’s enraged howls as he shot off of Fragrant Cloud Peak to chase Bai Xiaochun, and how he had screamed miserably the entire time....

Back in the qualifying round before the north and south bank Chosen Battles, he had intended to come in last. However, it had been Elder Zhou’s provocation that caused him to flee and take first place....

The memories filled his mind, and then shattered in a burst of indescribable grief. That grief filled his heart, until it was ready to explode out like lightning from the heavens.

Glaring at the young woman, his hands slowly clenched into fists.

When the phoenix saw Bai Xiaochun, it shrieked in anguish and then began to fly toward him. That was when the young woman slowly raised her hand and pointed at the phoenix.

A black stream of light flew out, transforming into a huge mouth that shot toward the phoenix to consume it.

“Are you looking to die!?!?” Bai Xiaochun roared. He took a step forward, and his veins of steel began to pulse. Another step, and he was past the phoenix, where he unleashed a fist strike onto the enormous black mouth.

A boom echoed out as the black mouth collapsed, sending black mist pouring out in all directions. However, the mist didn’t dissipate. In the blink of an eye, it reformed into the shape of the young woman!

The version of her off in the distance was nothing more than an afterimage. Her true body was now right in front of Bai Xiaochun, sneering with disdain as she stabbed her index finger toward his forehead!

Because of how close she was, dodging the move wasn’t an option. And yet, Bai Xiaochun hadn’t even considered doing such a thing. His Undying Live Forever Technique erupted with power, and his Asura Body manifested behind him. Instead of retreating, he headbutted her!

The young woman’s face fell. Never could she have imagined that he would do something so vicious. Before she could react, his head slammed into her finger, causing a cracking sound to ring out. The young woman immediately sped backward, her finger mangled and her eyes shining with a very serious look.

“I don’t have time to waste tangling with you!” she said hoarsely, turning to leave.

“Yeah, well tangling with you is exactly what I feel like doing!” Although Bai Xiaochun’s forehead was injured, he didn’t seem to notice. His right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, and then he shoved his palm out. “Blood Annihilation World!”

Instantly, boundless blood qi erupted out from him, forming sealing marks which then took the shape of a whole world that blocked the young woman’s path of retreat.