A Will Eternal

The black-robed young woman’s control over plants and vegetation had to do with her Dao of medicine. Coupled with the technique she cultivated, it created something like an innate divine ability that she could use to communicate with and manipulate all types of plants.

Although the Sky River Court was adept with spatial manipulation magic, their ultimate reserve power was the Dire Skybanyan. It was only natural for people who practiced cultivation on the huge tree to develop a connection with plants and vegetation. In fact, all disciples of the Sky River Court eventually formed a bond with a lesser skybanyan, which they could use as a weapon in battle!

Such an arrangement was less of an external manipulation of the plant, and more of a bonding in which the plant assisted the cultivator!

However, Bai Xiaochun’s abilities were completely and utterly different. Using his skill in the Dao of medicine, and the Magic Plant Arsenal, he didn’t seek to bond with or gain assistance from the plants, he sought total control!

He was skilled with techniques of mutual augmentation and suppression, and was familiar with how to fuse different types of plants and vegetation together. Coupled with his Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment cultivation base and nine crystallized spiritual seas, he was capable of domineering feats that were beyond other Foundation Establishment cultivators!

This young woman was a Chosen from a Middle Reaches sect. Were it not for that, she would have long since been crushed by Bai Xiaochun. Even still, her struggles were proving useless!

“Begone from me!” he said, voice echoing like thunder, his eyes shining with strange light. With that, he waved both hands.

In response to his berating words, the tempest of plants and vegetation had no choice other than to turn in place and shoot back toward the black-robed young woman.

Complete incredulity could be seen in her eyes, and she almost seemed incapable of accepting the situation. By this point, she also realized that she had been tricked into the situation with the black parasol.

She was already becoming terrified of Bai Xiaochun’s battle tactics, especially that parasol. However, what was worst of all was that Bai Xiaochun hadn’t given her any chance to effectively utilize her spatial manipulation magic. His third eye made her feel like she was completely and utterly exposed no matter what she did.

Without spatial manipulation magic, it was difficult to utilize any assassination techniques, and also impossible to become invisible. It was almost like trying to fight with a limb having suddenly been crippled. She felt weaker than ever.

After experiencing so many setbacks, she finally decided to resort to her magic of plants and vegetation to kill Bai Xiaochun. And yet, contrary to anything she could have imagined, he wrested control over her plants and vegetation as well!

“I refuse to accept this!!” she shrieked, her eyes more bloodshot than ever. She was almost on the verge of going crazy. As a Chosen of the Sky River Court, she had always been a proud and arrogant person, someone who could easily crush anyone in the same cultivation level as her. In fact, she was only a hair away from Gold Core. Never before had she ever encountered a situation in which someone in the same stage as her could control her so easily!

As the tempest closed in on her, she let out a miserable shriek. Then, she suddenly dropped to the ground and planted both hands down in front of her. Looking up, she shouted, “Treesoldier Incantation!!’

Suddenly, brown tendrils began to spread out from her feet and bore into the ground, tendrils that almost looked like roots!

At the same time, every portion of skin visible on her body was suddenly filled with bulging green veins, to the point where her skin looked like the surface of a plant!

As her skin turned green, her life aura suddenly erupted, transforming from that of a cultivator to that of a treant!

The Treesoldier Incantation was a legendary secret magic of the Sky River Court that allowed a cultivator to transform into a treant!

“I refuse to believe that you can wrest away my control of plants and vegetation!!” she yelled hoarsely. As of this point, she had completely transformed into a huge treant!

Rootlets spread out from her feet into the ground, causing the energy of the plants and vegetation to surge toward her.

In the blink of an eye, she was huge, fully 300 meters tall. From a distance, she almost looked like a true skybanyan!

When the tempest of plants and vegetation hit her, it instantly submitted to her, swirling around her before converging onto her right hand, where it formed the shape of a battle-axe!

It was a green battle-axe formed from countless types of plants and vegetation, and it radiated power that caused the surrounding jungle to tremble. By this point, the battle between this young woman and Bai Xiaochun was starting to attract quite a bit of attention.

“Time to die!!” she roared in a sonorous voice, her killing intent surging. With that, she lifted her tree-like arm into the air and then slashed the battle-axe down toward Bai Xiaochun.

As it descended, the power of plants and vegetation surged and grew, until nearly half of the power of the entire jungle was converged into that deadly blow!

An intense sensation of deadly crisis erupted inside of Bai Xiaochun. By this point, his control over the Blood Annihilation World had weakened to the point where it had collapsed. The resulting blast caused even more people to take notice of what was happening.

“That’s Sect Uncle Bai!!”

“Elder Sister Tong!!”

As cultivators on both sides of the conflict began to cry out in alarm, Bai Xiaochun took a deep breath and then closed his eyes. Then he raised his right hand, not to perform an incantation gesture, nor to rotate his cultivation base. Instead, the image of a huge spike appeared in his mind!

As that spike appeared, the water vapor in the area began to swirl, growing denser and thicker, filling an entire 50-kilometer area.

Within that area, cultivators of both the River-Defying Sect and the Sky River Court trembled as a sensation of crushing pressure began to weigh down on them.

Even the Gold Core cultivators up in midair looked shocked!

The young woman in treant form was also shaken. However, there was no time to ponder the situation at the moment. Instead, she focused fully on sending the battle-axe slashing down toward Bai Xiaochun.

Closer and closer it neared….

Bai Xiaochun’s clothing and hair were even being destroyed by the power of the incoming battle-axe….

When the axe was only about nine meters away from Bai Xiaochun, his eyes suddenly snapped open, and when they did, a terrifying wind sprang up as the entire 50-kilometer area was filled with a watery swamp!!

“Waterswamp Kingdom!” he murmured, almost as if he were calling out to something or someone. Although his words were spoken softly, they caused even Nascent Soul cultivators to tremble…. A roar suddenly echoed out, a roar like that from ancient times, a roar that filled the world with profound ancientness!

Heaven and earth trembled as the roar increased in intensity. In the blink of an eye, heaven-shaking, earth-shattering rumbling filled all creation. Every cultivator in the area was trembling, and the young woman in treant form had a look of complete and utter incredulity on her face.

The moment that look appeared on her face, and even as her battle-axe descended, the image of a huge spike suddenly appeared around Bai Xiaochun!

30 meters. 300 meters. 3,000 meters. 30,000 meters!

Rumbling sounds echoed out in all directions as the spike rose higher and higher. Furthermore, after it reached 30,000 meters in length, more rows of spikes became visible beneath it. All light dimmed, and a huge wind screamed across the lands!

The young woman had no chance to land a blow on Bai Xiaochun. The spike stabbed through her, and she screamed as she was pushed higher and higher into the sky!!

Even as despair washed through her, the young woman reverted from treant form back into human form. Blood sprayed out of her mouth, and her eyes began to grow dim. She was panting on the verge of death!

Powerful fluctuations rolled out across the lands. Just barely visible within the dense water vapor were row upon row of spikes, as well as an enormous body!

However, even the 50-kilometer wide swamp wasn’t large enough to contain that enormous body, making it impossible for anyone to tell exactly what type of creature it was!

In any case, compared to that enormous creature, the young woman impaled on its spikes was almost too small to see….

All cultivators in the area looked on with total shock. The process didn’t last long, only a few breaths’ worth of time. Then the Waterswamp Kingdom creature let out a bellow before slowly fading away. The water vapor vanished, and everything returned to normal. The pressure disappeared, and the body of the young woman fell down from the sky and landed in front of Bai Xiaochun with a thud.

Blood was oozing from wounds all over her body. She was now hovering on the brink of death, her eyes filled with bitterness and rage as she stared at Bai Xiaochun. Using her last bit of energy, she opened her mouth to curse him.

However, even as her lips moved, he waved his sleeve, and the blood sword which he had formed from Elder Zhou’s blood slashed down and took off her head!

Her head tumbled off to the side, her eyes growing dim. She was dead in body and soul!

The blood sword slowly faded away….

Just as Bai Xiaochun had said, he used that sword to take her life away. Blood for blood!

Without saying a word, he collected her bag of holding, then sighed and turned to leave. However, it was in that very moment that an anguished howl echoed out from off in the distance.

“Junior Sister Tong!”