A Will Eternal

Bai Xiaochun had made up his mind, and there was no time to waste. The next morning at the crack of dawn, he left Middle Peak for Lesser Marsh Peak.

Lesser Marsh Peak was the pinky finger on the enormous hand that housed the Blood Stream Sect. Although it was smaller than the other fingers, the cultivators there all practiced body refinement, and were far more powerful and ferocious than their contemporaries in the sect.

Almost as soon as Bai Xiaochun arrived on the mountain, he could see how much taller and burlier the cultivators there were. They exuded an aura of qi and blood that filled all of Lesser Marsh Peak.

Bai Xiaochun was a bit shocked to be surrounded by so many mighty individuals. All of the cultivators were like that, regardless of whether they were male or female. Although he was a bit nervous, he refused to be intimidated.

“You people think you’re as strong as me? Hmph! What good is there in being big and burly? I have the power of four berserk ghosts!” Blinking a few times, he hurried up one of the mountain paths. All of the cultivators he passed had wary expressions on their faces, as well as cold gleams in their eyes.

Obviously, the reputation of Plaguedevil had reached all ears on Lesser Marsh Peak, and the people there recognized him immediately.

Before long, Bai Xiaochun was on the upper finger of Lesser Marsh Peak, where Grand Elder Han Chundong was waiting for him. After some pleasantries were exchanged, Han Chundong led him to Lesser Marsh Peak’s Blood Master Temple.

Inside the temple, Lesser Marsh Peak’s blood master was sitting cross-legged. As soon as Bai Xiaochun stepped inside, he rose to his feet and smiled broadly.

“Junior Brother Nighcrypt!”

The blood master was a powerfully built middle-aged man who radiated a power and energy that seemed to surpass Han Chundong. Bai Xiaochun felt almost like he was looking at a giant whose aura caused all of the blood qi in the area to surge into motion.

The sudden pressure that Bai Xiaochun felt caused him to pause in mid stride and look in shock at the blood master, who was currently hurrying over to meet him.

Bai Xiaochun paid close attention, and immediately picked up on some clues regarding his body refinement technique.

“It’s similar to the second level of the Undying Heavenly King?” Despite being shaken inwardly, his expression remained the same as ever. Smiling broadly, he clasped hands and bowed in greeting.

“Nightcrypt offers greetings, Blood Master.”

The blood master looked at Bai Xiaochun with shining eyes, and then spoke in a booming voice. “There’s no need for such formality, Junior Brother Nighcrypt. I’m a straightforward person, and hate beating around the bush. I need you to concoct me a batch of tier-4 Blood Body Pills!

“Such pills only serve one function: to rapidly propel you to the next level in Lesser Marsh Peak’s secret body refinement technique!

“War is upon us, and everyone is working hard to prepare. Unfortunately, this pill won’t be hugely effective unless it’s tier-5, and tier-4 versions are unavailable for purchase inside the sect. Therefore, what I need is not a single pill; I need at least a hundred tier-4 Blood Body Pills!

“Nightcrypt, are you confident enough to concoct me a hundred tier-4 Blood Body Pills?!” The blood master’s eyes glittered as he looked at Bai Xiaochun, his words echoing back and forth in Blood Master Temple.

Bai Xiaochun’s ears hurt a bit from the blood master’s booming voice. Not willing to accept that, he raised his own voice into a virtual roar and replied, “If I have enough medicinal plants and pill furnaces, then a hundred pills should be no problem!”

At first, the blood master was surprised by Bai Xiaochun’s roaring voice. He was used to using a booming voice when talking with others, but wasn’t used to the opposite happening. After looking Bai Xiaochun up and down for a moment, he started laughing.

“Oh I have plenty of medicinal plants,” he said. “As far as pill furnaces are concerned, come, Junior Brother Nighcrypt. I want to show you the one-of-a-kind pill furnace we’ve prepared for you!” The blood master’s subsequent laughter shook the entire mountain peak. Waving his sleeve, he swept up both Bai Xiaochun and the grand elder, who had been standing respectfully off to the side. All three of them then flew through the air toward a wide-open space which had been set aside on the upper finger.

It was protected by a powerful spell formation, the fluctuations and aura of which were so intense that even the hallucinatory mist that had appeared on Corpse Peak would not be able to escape it.

Clearly, Lesser Marsh Peak had taken many precautions before inviting him over to concoct pills. Seeing all of that, Bai Xiaochun coughed dryly, but didn’t say anything. Following the blood master, he entered an immortal’s cave inside of the spell formation.

It was a newly built immortal’s cave, in the depths of which was a vast hall set aside for a single object!

Almost as soon as Bai Xiaochun laid eyes on it, he gasped, and his eyes glittered with bright light. He immediately began to circle around the object, and was unable to hold back his gasps as he did.

It was a pill furnace of enormous size. It was fully 90 meters in diameter, green in color, and engraved with countless magical symbols. There was something majestic about it that made it seem profoundly and shockingly sturdy.

“This pill furnace….” Bai Xiaochun reached out and touched it, and the awe-inspiring feeling he got left him even more excited than before. One of his main problems had always been exploding pill furnaces, leaving him no option other than to reduce the medicinal strength of his concoctions, and preventing him from unleashing his full skill in the Dao of medicine.

The moment he saw this pill furnace, however, he was deeply shaken.

“Junior Brother Nightcrypt, many generations ago, a blood master of Lesser Marsh Peak robbed this precious treasure from the Pill Stream Sect. The truth is that it isn’t the original precious treasure, only a replica. However it’s a replica of none other than the Heaven-Earth Furnace Cauldron!

“I personally arranged for you to be able to use it today. With this furnace, you can be as bold as you wish in your medicine concocting. Don’t worry, a precious treasure like this won’t explode under any circumstances!” The blood master threw his head back and laughed proudly. He was a body refinement cultivator, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t a cautious person. He was very familiar with the moniker Plaguedevil, and had prepared a pill furnace that couldn’t explode, placed inside of a spell formation so impenetrable that not even the slightest scrap of an aura could escape from it. Only after having made these preparations was he confident that no mishaps would occur.

Bai Xiaochun took a deep breath as he walked around the pill furnace a few more times, examining it. He was already itching with the desire to go all out, to experiment with medicinal strength that, up to this point, had been impossible for him.

And yet, he was still a bit nervous. Looking over at the blood master, he said, “Are you sure that this pill furnace will never explode!?”

“Of course I’m sure!” the blood master replied, smiling proudly.

Patting the pill furnace gently, Bai Xiaochun laughed and said, “Fine. If you’re absolutely sure, then Nightcrypt will concoct your medicine for you!”

The blood master joined him in his laughter, then gazed at him deeply for a moment before throwing over a bag of holding.

Then he turned and left. The grand elder clasped hands formally, then also left.

Bai Xiaochun was now alone in the immortal’s cave, looking at the enormous pill furnace, his excitement building. After a moment passed, he examined the bag of holding, which was full of medicinal plants and bloodflame stones. It also contained a jade slip.

In addition to the pill formula for the Blood Body Pill, the jade slip also contained Lesser Marsh Peak’s secret body refinement technique!

“Way of the Blood Fiend Body!” Bai Xiaochun immediately set about studying it. By the time he finished, it was nighttime, whereupon he closed his eyes to think.

After a long moment passed, his eyes opened, and they shone with enlightenment.

The Way of the Blood Fiend Body had been studied by generation after generation of cultivators on Lesser Marsh Peak, and was derived from the huge hand that the sect rested on. It was essentially an inferior version of the Undying Codex, an imitation.

It derived power based on totem tattoos, and was divided into power levels of the ancient mammoth, the berserk ghost, the heavenly demon, and the blood fiend!

By absorbing blood qi into one’s own flesh and blood, then catalyzing it with the secret technique, the body’s basic structure would transform, and eventually be capable of unleashing powerful fleshly body power.

Although it seemed to have a lot in common with the Undying Codex that Bai Xiaochun cultivated, the truth was that it was extremely counterproductive. The Undying Codex didn’t change one’s basic body structure, it directly unleashed inner power to create a powerful combination of offense and defense!

“However, the Way of the Blood Fiend Body does have some redeeming qualities. Maybe I can even use them to make an early breakthrough in the second level of the Undying Heavenly King!” After a bit of further examination, Bai Xiaochun’s spirits rose, and he even tested out some of the cultivation practices. When he did, rumbling sounds could be heard as blood qi rushed toward him. By using the secret techniques of the Way of the Blood Fiend Body, he stimulated his flesh and blood, but instead of allowing his basic body structure to be changed, he used the power to drive the Undying Heavenly King.

The night passed. The next morning at dawn, Bai Xiaochun’s eyes snapped open, and they shone with delight.

“That one night of cultivation was like three days of ordinary cultivation!

“So it does work! Hahaha!” Excited, Bai Xiaochun mused that the Blood Stream Sect truly was his personal Holy Land. Looking over at the enormous pill furnace, his eyes shone with a strange light, and he suddenly smacked his hand down onto the furnace. A bang could be heard as the furnace’s lid opened up. Without any hesitation, he flew up to stand on the edge of the furnace and looked down inside, which left him even more shocked than before.

“If this furnace really can’t explode, then I think I need to test the limits of the medicinal strength I’m capable of producing!” Just when he was about to start, he suddenly paused for a moment.

“It really won’t explode?” he thought, hesitating.

“Ah whatever. The blood master guaranteed that it wouldn’t explode. It probably won’t.” Taking a deep breath, he tossed caution to the wind. A look of madness appeared in his eyes as prepared to concoct a huge batch of pills.