A Will Eternal

The beating of his heart echoed out into the Blood Ancestor, becoming the Blood Ancestor’s heart. The blood vessels around him began to tremble as his consciousness spread out through them. He could soon sense the Foundation Establishment cultivators in the 108 major acupoints, the prime elders in the 72 apertures, the blood rippers in the 36 meridians, and even the 7 patriarchs who had become the physical soul!

“I… am the Blood Ancestor!” Bai Xiaochun roared. Although his voice couldn’t be heard on the outside, all Blood Stream Division cultivators inside could hear it clearly!

It was like a signal calling out to them, prompting all of them to roar at the tops of their lungs, and unleash all of the blood qi they possessed!

The blood qi began to surge through the Blood Ancestor, starting from the acupoints, then moving through the blood apertures, then the qi passageways, and into the seven physical souls. Then it converged upon Bai Xiaochun’s consciousness. No other person could do this but him, the Blood Lord. When he received the legacy of the Blood Ancestor, he became connected to the Blood Stream Sect, and thus, all of the cultivators in it. He was related to the Blood Ancestor!

The only thing they had lacked was the consciousness, something that could link everyone together. The only person who could do that was obviously the Blood Lord!

Rumbling sounds echoed out from inside the body of the Blood Ancestor as his enormous frame twitched, a motion that sent countless waves surging across the Heavenspan River, and caused the headquarters of the Blood Stream Division to quake violently.

The countless Blood Stream Division disciples who had long since packed their belongings and evacuated the headquarters now stood on the banks of the river, watching excitedly as the scene played out.

“Stand up!!”

“Stand up!!!” It was hard to say who said it first, but soon, all of the cultivators of the Blood Stream Division were shouting it. The other three sects looked on with complete astonishment.

However, controlling the Blood Ancestor was no simple task. Even with all the preparations they had made, for the following seven days, the only thing that happened was that the Blood Ancestor continued to twitch here and there.

The Blood Stream Division cultivators’ nervousness mounted, and eventually, they stopped shouting. However, in their hearts, they were cheering as loudly as ever.

The other three divisions stopped paying very close attention, especially the Profound and Pill Stream Divisions, who were focused on working with their Heavenspan Battleships.

Suddenly, on noon of the seventh day, the hand which had once been the headquarters of the Blood Stream Sect moved, accompanied by muffled rumbling!!

That simple movement was enough to cause the Blood Stream Division cultivators to let out shouts of joy. The cultivators of the other three divisions looked over in shock to see Middle Peak slowly bending over!

As it did, countless buildings and structures were destroyed and began to fall down. However, no one seemed to care about that. Everyone was paying attention to the Blood Ancestor’s body, submerged beneath the surface of the Heavenspan River, as it slowly twitched again.

River water churned, and huge waves rolled out. Slowly but surely, the other fingers on the hand began to move. The cultivators of the Blood Stream Division were going mad with excitement, and the other cultivators were gasping constantly.

Indescribable rumbling sounds echoed out. Everyone who was witnessing this event felt as if they were watching a myth play out before their own eyes.

Despite having prepared mentally, the shock which rose up in the hearts of those present was impossible to avoid. All cultivators, even the patriarchs of the other three divisions, looked on with flickering expressions and wide eyes.

Founding patriarch Frigidsect was sweating as he murmured, “If the Blood Ancestor of the Blood Stream Sect can truly stand up….”

As it turned out, Bai Xiaochun was even more important to the Blood Stream Division than he had previously imagined!

Patriarch Crimsonsoul also gasped when he saw the huge fingers bending. He swallowed hard, and beads of sweat popped out on his forehead. Suddenly, he felt relieved that the Spirit and Blood Stream Sects hadn’t mobilized the Blood Ancestor to attack the Profound Stream Sect. If that had happened, they would have been lucky to come out of the fight with even half of the people they currently possessed.

Things didn’t end with the moving of the finger. In the following days, boulders continue to fall down into the waters below. The former Blood Stream Sect headquarters didn’t just look like mountains anymore, but rather, an actual hand!

In fact, some places on its surface truly resembled skin!

The Profound and Pill Stream Divisions had finally completed their work with their Heavenspan Battleships, and just like the cultivators from the Spirit Stream Division, they were now ready to begin traveling. It was at that point that the Blood Ancestor’s entire hand moved!

On that day, under the eyes of countless onlookers, the five fingers which had once been the headquarters of the Blood Stream Sect slowly clenched together into an enormous fist!

Intense rumbling echoed out, and countless boulders were shattered, causing a hail of rubble and rock to rain down. Countless cries of shock rang out as, unexpectedly, the entire arm moved!

Although it was only a simple motion, because the arm was actually connected to both the land and the river, everything quaked violently, and huge rifts snaked out in all directions. Massive portions of land surrounding the Heavenspan River simply collapsed.

The river itself surged with huge waves, waves so powerful that the Pill Stream Sect’s Heavenspan Battleship actually began to rock back and forth.

“What’s happening…?”

“The arm just moved. Don’t tell me….”

“Don’t tell me that hand is going to push down onto the ground and lift up the rest of the body!” After the words left Patriarch Crimsonsoul’s mouth, everything went silent. By now, everyone could see what was about to happen. The patriarchs of the three divisions, as well as all of the other disciples, could do nothing but watch in muted silence. As for the Blood Stream Division, they yet again began to call out.

“Stand up!”

“Stand up!!”

“Stand up!!!”

Their voices were louder this time as they gave voice to the emotions which had been building up for the past half month.

Amidst the cheering, the Blood Ancestor’s arm continued to move. Cracking sounds rang out, and more boulders and rubble fell. Inside of the Blood Ancestor, the Foundation Establishment and Gold Core cultivators, along with the patriarchs, were all sending explosive cultivation base power out, which was continuously fusing with the Blood Ancestor.

The most difficult job, though, was up to Bai Xiaochun!

Not only did he have to merge the consciousnesses of everyone present into one, he had to send that merged consciousness back out into the rest of the Blood Ancestor’s body. He was the crux of it all, and every time he made even the slightest mistake, it led to failure.

During the past half month, he had performed numerous tests, and had failed on countless occasions. However, he never gave up. The cultivators of the Blood Stream Division were giving him their support, their strength, and their divine sense. What he had to do was take that and use it to give the Blood Ancestor the strength to stand up!

Currently, he was sitting cross-legged in the heart of the Blood Ancestor, trembling visibly. His heart was pounding, and boundless blood qi was flowing through the blood vessels out into the Blood Ancestor.

“I… am the Blood Ancestor!!” he roared. Everything he had experienced in the past half a month had led up to this moment. Not only was he guiding the consciousnesses of everyone present, he was doing so without the slightest misstep, sending power to all corners of the Blood Ancestor’s body.

His eyes were completely bloodshot as he howled at the top of his lungs. His mind was reeling as he experienced something very similar to when he had received the legacy. He was now the Blood Ancestor!

The feeling was even more intense than before. Bai Xiaochun took a long, deep breath as he seized hold of the feeling, then lifted his right hand and pushed it forward.

In that exact same moment, the cultivators of the three divisions were looking on with wide eyes. Suddenly, people began to cry out in shock!

“It’s….”

“It’s moving!!”

Everyone watched as the enormous hand which had once housed the headquarters of the Blood Stream Sect rose up, angled down, and then planted itself onto the ground. It was almost as if the body attached to that hand were about to use it to push itself into a standing position!!

Deafening booms filled the area, and countless crevices opened up in the ground. Dust billowed out in all directions, sweeping about like a cyclone as a huge depression opened up in the land.

Massive waves rolled out over the surface of the river in completely unheard-of fashion. At the same time, two enormous beams of light suddenly shone up from beneath the surface of the Heavenspan River!

They were eyes! The eyes of the Blood Ancestor, and the eyes of Bai Xiaochun!

After countless years of silence, the two eyes on the enormous head down below had opened!!