A Will Eternal

In the moment that the Blood Ancestor and the three Heavenspan Battleships appeared in front of the headquarters of the Sky River Court, the entire Heavenspan River seemed to go quiet.

At first no one from either side said a thing. They only looked at each other, gazes burning with killing intent.

Whether it was the Sky River Court or the River-Defying Sect, neither could be considered in the right or in the wrong.

As the silence wore on, an intense pressure built up until the air itself seemed to solidify. At the same time, numerous organizations that existed within the territory of the Sky River Court were all watching to see what would happen.

After a long moment, an illusory version of the Blood Stream arch-patriarch appeared out in the open. Facing the Sky River Court, he clasped hands and bowed deeply. “I, Master Godwind, offer greetings to the presiding sect!”

Next, the Spirit Stream founding patriarch appeared in person. Bowing, he said, “I, Frigidsect, offer greetings to the presiding sect!”

After him were the strongest patriarchs from the Profound and Pill Stream Divisions. Their expressions were wistful as they clasped hands and offered formal greetings.

“I, Crimsonsoul, offer greetings to the presiding sect!”

“I, Sievepill, offer greetings to the presiding sect!”

At first, the Sky River Court maintained silence. Of the countless gazes emanating from the Dire Skybanyan, many were filled with mixed emotions. After a long moment passed, a hoarse voice echoed out.

“Master Godwind, Frigidsect, Crimsonsoul, Sievepill. It’s been a long time, Fellow Daoists….” As the voice filled the air, an old man emerged from the Sky River Court, hovering tall and straight. He had long white hair, and a malicious air to him. Especially terrifying was the fact that, on the left side of his face, he had a huge growth of flesh the size of an infant’s head.

Eight people appeared along with him, just behind him; shockingly, each one was a Nascent Soul cultivator. The strongest of them all was the old man, who was clearly in the great circle, and even had a bit of a Heaven-Dao aura to him. Given enough time, that old man would most likely be able to reach the Deva Realm.

The old man flashed a bitter smile. Eyes filled with profound ancientness, he said, “This fight doesn’t need a lengthy preamble. I know that you have come to offer greetings today because of the judgement set forth by the presiding sect. There is no right or wrong here today, at least, not that exists between our two sects….

“However, there is one thing that I’m certain of. And that is…” As the man spoke, mixed emotions could be seen on his face. His voice grew softer and softer, until Master Godwind and the other patriarchs were straining to hear what he said. However, in that very moment, a crimson eyeball suddenly opened on the tumor on the side of his face, and it radiated venomous hatred and madness. Then the old man shouted, “… you people will all die here today!!”

Even as the words left his mouth, the air around the three Heavenspan Battleships began to twist and distort as tens of thousands of people materialized. All sorts of cultivation bases were present. However, each and every person was extremely fast, and was adept at using spatial manipulation magic. In the blink of an eye, they were already attacking the battleships.

Even more such figures appeared in the vicinity of the patriarchs, and those figures’ murderous auras were especially intense!

Clearly, the Sky River Court was attempting to take advantage of the River-Defying Sect’s moment of unpreparedness to launch a sneak attack, and hopefully, seize the upper hand!

However, in the very moment that the Sky River Court’s cultivators attacked, rumbling echoed out as an enormous sword materialized. Almost as soon as it appeared, it divided into tens of thousands of smaller greatswords which slashed through the air toward the Dire Skybanyan!

This was the Profound Stream Division’s sword formation, which normally took a significant amount of time to prepare. The fact that it had suddenly appeared right here and now indicated that the four patriarchs’ politeness earlier had just been for show!

This was a situation of fighting viciousness with ferocity! This was a war that would determine the fate of two sects, and there was no room for righteousness or morality. Any such weakness would come at a bitter price!

Rumbling booms filled the air as shields of light sprang up around the Heavenspan Battleships, completely blocking the attacks of the Sky River Court cultivators and preventing them from advancing toward the ships. Simultaneously, blood-colored light erupted from the Blood Ancestor, protecting the patriarchs.

In the direction of the Sky River Court, the Dire Skybanyan began to glitter with light, and then countless leaves flew out to block the sword formation. The mutual sneak attacks launched by both sides had failed to secure the upper hand for either one of them. Neither sect was showing any consideration for the other, nor was anyone interested in having a discussion. The fighting had begun!

Countless vine-like branches shot out from the Skybanyan like vicious, bloodthirsty snakes. Accompanying them were numerous cultivators, almost blurs as they shot through the air toward the River-Defying Sect.

The Sky River Court cultivators were skilled with spatial manipulation magic, and were far faster than ordinary cultivators. Furthermore, they were very skilled at concealing themselves. The truth was that in the Middle Reaches of the cultivation world, the Sky River Court was known for being able to kill anyone, anywhere!

It was even correct to say that the Sky River Court was a sect of assassins!

In the blink of an eye, more than ten thousand Sky River Court cultivators appeared, blotting out the sky as they unleashed deadly attacks. They flitted through the air as if they were performing teleportations; almost as soon as they became visible, they would vanish to another spot.

This was the first time that the River-Defying Sect was facing such techniques, and that gave the Sky River court a clear advantage!

Then there were the vines, which brimmed with astonishing strength as they screamed through the air. At the same time, numerous smaller skybanyans on the two banks of the river emerged from the ground and transformed into treants. Howling, they launched themselves out over the Heavenspan River toward the River-Defying Sect.

Some of the treants were dozens of meters tall, some of them were hundreds of meters tall. In each and every one of them, Sky River Court cultivators could be seen, sitting there meditating as they unleashed power to control the treants’ shocking strength.

Even as the Sky River Court forces charged forth, Bai Xiaochun sent the Blood Ancestor leaping up into the air. As a result, massive waves rolled out across the surface of the Heavenspan River water. Many of the Sky River Court cultivators were simply impeded by the waves, but others who didn’t evade them quickly enough screamed miserably as they were inundated and then melted by the water.

How could the Sky River Court possibly ignore the fact that the Blood Ancestor had just leaped up into the air? The truth was that the Blood Ancestor was actually the focal point of this fight. Instantly, countless vines shot out from the numerous skybanyans, which flew through the air and began to wrap around the Blood Ancestor.

Those vines emanated shocking strength, and were backed by the will of the Dire Skybanyan itself.

Bai Xiaochun’s eyes flickered with cold light. Without the slightest hesitation, he unleashed all of his blood qi, viciously waving his right hand and snapping all of the vines. Bai Xiaochun was well aware that his mission in this battle was to neutralize the Dire Skybanyan!

As he proceeded forward toward the enormous tree, more and more vines snaked out, speeding toward him with wild abandon as they attempted to impede his progress.

At the same time, the 300,000-meter-long Heavenspan Battleship shot forward, glittering with the light of spell formations as countless giants rose up on its deck. Roaring, the giants leaped out to fight with the Sky River Court cultivators.

A similar thing occurred with the second battleship. A vast host of puppets flew out, smashing into the forces of the Sky River Court.

More sword formations appeared up in the sky, and then a rain of swords began to fall. Then came the Pill Stream Division. An enormous cauldron materialized up in the air, which began to bathe everything in the area with soft light.

There was something toxic about the light, and any Sky River Court cultivator who it touched began to shake violently. In contrast, the River-Defying Sect cultivators who the light touched felt their cultivation bases rising and their wounds being healed.

Chen Manyao’s voice rang out as she gave orders to the Pill Stream Division, and toxic gas immediately began to spread toward the enemy.

In the blink of an eye, massive rumbling sounds rose up to the heavens.

Up in the air, the patriarchs from all four divisions began to fight with the Nascent Soul cultivators from the Sky River Court. Booms rang out. In the initial fighting, it wasn’t clear which side had the upper hand among the patriarchs. Although the Sky River Court was outnumbered, the old man who was half a step into the Deva Realm actually gave them a bit of an advantage.

The prime elders, legacy echelon cultivators, and Gold Core experts of the River-Defying Sect formed the backbone of the army. They outnumbered the Sky River Court, and thanks to their constant attacks, the Sky River Court’s Gold Core cultivators were suffering one defeat after another!

If that were all there were to it, it might not be a big deal. But then, the three Heavenspan Battleships erupted with blinding light, beams of destruction fully 300 meters wide.

The power source for the beams of light were the skeletal parts of the Deva Realm beast that formed their keels. As the light shot forth, rumbling sounds filled the air, and any Sky River Court cultivator who got in the way was instantly transformed into ash.

The target of those destructive beams of light was none other than the Dire Skybanyan!