A Will Eternal

Bai Xiaochun’s jaw dropped, and he looked back and forth disappointedly.

“What are you guys doing…?” Coughing dryly, he continued, “It’s for the sake of the mission! Besides, I’m really awesome at concocting medicine….”

People were already calling out advice.

“Sect Uncle Bai, there’s no need to concoct any medicine, alright…?”

“Exalted Blood Master, let’s just let this cultivator clan off the hook, okay…?”

Everyone all started talking at once, even Master God-Diviner.

Snorting coldly, Bai Xiaochun waved his hand to produce a pill furnace. “No way. I refuse to believe that they’ll keep their doors closed to me!”

As soon as the pill furnace appeared, the surrounding cultivators of the two sects backed up even further. Bai Xiaochun looked at the Xuanguang Clan, then chuckled darkly. Slapping the pill furnace, he produced a large quantity of medicinal plants and began concocting!

The disciples of the two sects were still backing up, panting, looks of fear flickering in their eyes. And yet, at the same time, they seemed to be looking forward to the outcome.

“What a tragedy for the Xuanguang Clan….”

“I can’t believe they dared to provoke the Plaguedevil!!”

“Did you guys know that back when Bai Xiaochun concocted medicine in the Spirit Stream Sect, he invoked lightning from the heavens, and even acid rain…?”

“How could we not know? Back in the Blood Stream Sect, he almost blew up Lesser Marsh Peak!”

Bai Xiaochun had a pill furnace, a bag full of flame crystals, and plenty of plants and vegetation. Considering his skill in the Dao of medicine, he quickly produced a batch of spirit medicine.

Based on what he recalled, this particular type of spirit medicine was one that he had first concocted on Corpse Peak, and could cause hallucinations. It only took a day before the pill furnace was trembling, and wisps of black smoke began to spread out from it.

When the disciples of the two sects saw the black smoke, they gasped and backed further away.

Even people in the Xuanguang Clan itself were starting to get nervous. They had heard of Bai Xiaochun’s nickname ‘Plaguedevil,’ and as such, were completely on guard. Although they had never faced an assault such as this one, they were ready.

Another half a day went by, and then Bai Xiaochun threw his head back and roared as he slapped the pill furnace with both hands. A huge cloud of black smoke rose up, whereupon he waved his sleeve, sending it toward the Xuanguang Clan’s mountain.

When the black smoke touched the glittering shield of light, the shield vibrated, but only blocked about half of the smoke. The rest passed right through. However, such a small amount of smoke was negligible considering the size of the mountain, and nothing much happened.

Bai Xiaochun felt more down than ever, especially when he heard the jeering calls coming from the Xuanguang Clan.

“I always thought the Plaguedevil moniker sounded really impressive. But it turns out to be just for show. Bai Xiaochun, our Xuanguang Clan might have surrendered to the Blood Stream Sect, but that doesn’t mean you can come extort us any old time you want. You think we’ll open our doors wide just because of your title? Screw off, and don’t come back until you reach Core Formation!”

Bai Xiaochun was now more irritated than ever. After glaring at the Xuanguang Clan’s mountain for a moment, his eyes began to shine brightly.

“If one stream of smoke isn’t enough, then I’ll make a hundred! No, hundreds!” Considering how many people were watching him, Bai Xiaochun felt as if he had really lost some face. With that, he waved his right hand and began to concoct more medicine. This time, he produced even more black smoke. However, he didn’t send it swirling toward the spell formation shield. Instead, he performed an incantation gesture, and at the same time, used his powers of gravity and repulsion to produce a glowing sphere.

Bai Xiaochun’s cultivation base had reached the point where he could prevent the sphere’s power from shredding clothing to pieces. By inverting the power inward, it created a flowing cycle that made the sphere very suitable as a vessel to hold things.

Now, he poured smoke into it until it was completely full. Having accomplished that, Bai Xiaochun waved his sleeve, sending the sphere shooting back toward Jia Lie.

“Take it!” he said, not even turning his head. Trembling with fear, Jia Lie caught the sphere. Then, Bai Xiaochun continued to concoct. Astonishingly, five days passed in which he produced hundreds of the glowing spheres, all of them packed with hallucinatory smoke. Every sphere produced was tossed back to the group of two hundred cultivators.

When everyone was well armed, Bai Xiaochun looked up at the Xuanguang Clan mountain, eyes bloodshot. Then he extended his right hand and pointed at the mountain.

“Xuanguang Clan,” he yelled, “if you’re that tough, then don’t even think about coming out from behind your shield! Unleash the spheres!” Immediately, the cultivators launched the spheres with all the force they could muster, happy to be rid of the terrifying objects.

In the blink of an eye, hundreds of beams of light were shooting toward the Xuanguang Clan’s spell formation. As soon as they made contact, rumbling booms echoed out. The spheres shattered, and the powers of gravity and repulsion within them caused the shield to distort and ripple, breaking open numerous rifts.

Although the rifts quickly mended themselves, the hallucinatory smoke that belched out of the exploding spheres had plenty of time to pour into the spell formation.

Before long, cries of alarm began to rise up from the mountain, reaching a cacophony. Then, the mountain suddenly went silent. Bai Xiaochun’s eyes went wide as he looked over at the Xuanguang Clan. All of the two hundred or so cultivators at his back, including Beihan Lie, Master God-Diviner, and Jia Lie, were nervously doing the same thing, their eyes shining. This was their first time cooperating with Bai Xiaochun in the act of concocting medicine, and considering they had personally unleashed the glowing spheres, they were eager to see the results.

After a protracted moment of silence, cackling laughter suddenly rose up from the mountain. Then the sound of weeping. And then roaring. All sorts of strange and unthinkable sounds could be heard.

The mere sounds were enough to cause Beihan Lie’s skin to crawl. Gasps could be heard from the other cultivators, especially those from the Blood Stream Sect who had witnessed the tragedy of Corpse Peak.

The cultivators who had actually come from Corpse Peak had complicated expressions on their faces as they thought back to past events.

Three days later, the Xuanguang Clan surrendered. They didn’t offer any stipulations; they simply opened up the mountain and received Bai Xiaochun. In addition, they offered copious amounts of gifts. The fear and dread in the eyes of the their cultivators as they looked at Bai Xiaochun couldn’t have been more clear. Those three days had been a nightmare that they wouldn’t forget for the rest of their lives….

The name Plaguedevil had now been established in the Heavencraft Continent, and the stories were already spreading….

Surprisingly, the cultivators of the two sects soon fell in love with this magic that only Bai Xiaochun seemed capable of providing.

That was especially true of Beihan Lie, Master God-Diviner, and Jia Lie.

Bai Xiaochun was an honest and straightforward person, so he split up the extortion profits among all of his followers. Of course, he was quite pleased at how everyone seemed to approve of his tactics. As a result, he spent some time making more glowing spheres, for defensive purposes of course, until everyone had at least four or five….

There were different types of glowing spheres. Some had acid rain in them, some had hallucinatory smoke, some could summon lightning, and some would strike the victims with instant diarrhea….

Gradually, the general attitude of the entire team was influenced by Bai Xiaochun. Even Beihan Lie, Master God-Diviner, and Jia Lie were all subconsciously being corrupted….

Time passed. Two more months went by. During that time, there were a few injuries and casualties among the team. At one point during an inspection of one of the cultivator clans, they ran into a large group of Profound Stream Sect disciples who were just about to complete a large teleportation portal.

If that teleportation portal were completed, Profound Stream Sect cultivators from the front lines would be able to teleport into the area and cause major problems.

During the battle, the team tossed out a large number of his glowing spheres, then took advantage of the enemy’s weakness to follow Bai Xiaochun into battle. The result was an astonishing and shocking victory!

Although Bai Xiaochun didn’t go to the front lines to fight, his name spread far and wide throughout the conquered territories.

Furthermore, it wasn’t just his glory that increased. The other cultivators in his team also benefited. Their ability to use long-range poison spheres, and the terrifying things that resulted, ensured that they gained much the same reputation. They fairly radiated fiendish, murderous auras as they dominated the enemy.

That caused them to grow even more fervently supportive of Bai Xiaochun. They had truly fallen in love with this new style of battle that he had created.

Before they realized it, they had finished their mission, and their long path of destruction had led them very close to the front lines.

Bai Xiaochun was surrounded by a completely transformed group of cultivators. The two months of fighting alongside him had changed them significantly.

Their bags of holding were packed with the spoils of war, and in addition, they had all grown very close to each other. Cultivators of both sects could often be seen laughing and chatting with each other, discussing which of the various poison spheres was the best. They even cooperated well with each other in battle.

A few months ago, no one in either sect would ever have believed that such a level of cooperation was possible.

However, it was a reality in Bai Xiaochun’s team.

Although Beihan Lie, Master God-Diviner, and Jia Lie often had cold smirks on their faces, in their hearts, they viewed him differently than before, although none of them were quite sure exactly how.

That was especially true of Beihan Lie. As he looked around at the disciples, some of whom were in the Qi Condensation stage, and some of whom were in Foundation Establishment, he was somewhat surprised to find that the previously injured and disorganized group now brimmed with battle prowess.

It was a battle prowess that surpassed that of some of the elite cultivators that he had seen on the front lines. Considering how much they loved this fighting style, he was sure that if they did go to the front lines, they would make a huge scene!

And all of that was because of Bai Xiaochun!