A Will Eternal

The flying snake was roughly 3,000 meters long and 30 meters thick. It almost looked like a flood dragon as opposed to a serpent, especially considering that it had two long, curved horns, and three-clawed talons!

Its scales reflected dazzling sunlight, and if one examined it closely, they would detect a holy air to it.

The beast king aura which roiled out from it made it seem like the monarch of all beasts, and caused all of the River-Defying Sect’s battle beasts to tremble. The pressure weighing down on their blood made it such that none of them dared to even think about fighting back against the huge snake.

The only exception was the Heavenhorn ink dragon, whose scales stood on end as it howled in defiance.

Heaven and earth went dim, and a huge wind kicked up. Down below, the cultivators of the River-Defying Sect were completely astonished, and began to cry out in surprise.

“That’s….”

“Another beast king!!”

In the cultivation world of the Lower Reaches, beast kings were rare, and few people even had a chance to see a single one in their entire lives. Bruiser’s birth had been unexpected and quite coincidental.

In the Middle Reaches, beast kings were also rare. However, considering how vast of a territory the Middle Reaches covered, they were not impossible to find. In fact, quite a few roamed the depths of the mountains and jungles.

In the moment that the flying snake beast king appeared, Li Zimo’s face flickered, and he rose to his feet, brilliant light shining in his eyes. His Nascent Soul aura erupted out, and he flicked his sleeve, sending a powerful gale force wind shooting toward the flying snake.

Behind him, Bruiser threw his head back and howled, causing his own beast king aura to surge, almost as if he wished to outshine the flying snake.

However, it was obvious that whether it was in terms of aura or cultivation base, the flying snake far surpassed Bruiser. Bruiser was like a baby, and the flying snake was like an adult.

Behind Li Zimo and Bruiser, there was another aura that rumbled out, which transformed into a beam of blood-colored qi that shot up into the clouds. It was… Bai Xiaochun!

That pillar was formed from the power of Bai Xiaochun’s qi and blood, and because of his Heaven-Dao Gold Core cultivation base, it was even tinged with golden light.

“How dare you!!” Bai Xiaochun shouted, his eyes crimson. Flying up into the air, he performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, sending a black light flying out of his bag of holding. It was none other than the Renegade Dragon Horn, which shot toward the flying snake, fueled by the full power of Bai Xiaochun’s cultivation base.

At the same time, he opened his third eye, causing violet light to spill out onto the creature.

Rumbling sounds filled heaven and earth as Li Zimo’s tempest bore down on the flying snake. A moment later, Bai Xiaochun’s Renegade Dragon Horn also closed in, bursting with a Heaven-Dao aura. The flying snake’s eyes widened, and it quickly coiled up, apparently relying only on its fleshly body power to defend itself.

Incredible rumbling echoed out as the tempest collapsed, and the Renegade Dragon Horn was sent spinning off to the side. At the same time, the flying snake was shoved backward by a full 300 meters.

Bruiser let out another roar of rage, turning to glare at the flying snake with a look of utter ferocity. However, he also had his misgivings; he was currently at a critical juncture as his Violet Core continued to form.

The flying snake was a big threat, and made Bruiser very, very uneasy. In that moment, a tiny figure suddenly appeared next to him, reached out, and placed a hand on his side.

Bruiser was currently 300 meters tall, so that figure was miniscule in comparison. However, the hand which reached out to him seemed powerful enough to shake mountains, and as soon as it touched him, all of his anxiety and nervousness vanished.

That figure was none other than Bai Xiaochun!

“Focus on your Core Formation,” he said. “I’ll take care of everything else!” As he spoke, his gaze fell upon the greedy flying snake some distance away.

Moments later, Li Zimo appeared next to Bai Xiaochun, and the Core Formation Dharma protectors flew up into the air as well.

At the same time, the Profound Stream Division’s spell formation erupted with power, materializing nine greatswords which immediately locked onto the flying snake.

The flying snake’s cold eyes widened. It was a beast king, and in the Nascent Soul level at that. However… this was the River-Defying Sect, one of the four great sects of the Middle Reaches, and the flying snake wouldn’t intentionally provoke them unless it was absolutely necessary.

Bruiser’s Core Formation had been so enticing that it simply followed its feelings and tried to grab the Violet Core. With Bruiser’s beast king core, a breakthrough from Nascent Soul into the Deva Realm would have been much more possible.

The cultivators of the River-Defying Sect were equally leery of the snake. Even Li Zimo didn’t wish to tangle with a fully-developed beast king unless absolutely necessary.

Beast kings were capable of summoning countless lesser beasts to fight for them, and if that happened, it would put the River-Defying Sect in a very unfavorable situation.

The two sides were in somewhat of a deadlock as they stared at each other. However, that was when even more streams of Nascent Soul divine sense flew out and locked onto the flying snake.

Although the River-Defying Sect didn’t want to tangle with a beast king, if it truly attempted to attack the sect, then they wouldn’t hold back in the fighting. They would kill the beast no matter the cost.

Li Zimo’s eyes narrowed, and he began to speak in a voice as cold as ice. “Considering you’ve practiced cultivation all the way to your current level, your excellency, it’s only appropriate to address you as a Fellow Daoist. Today, the River-Defying Sect’s champion battle beast is stepping into Core Formation. In order to prevent any misunderstandings, Fellow Daoist, would you kindly take your leave?!”

The snake’s eyes glittered defiantly, and it looked over at Bruiser. By that time, the Violet Core above Bruiser was shining with dazzling light.

The strange aroma continued to billow out in all directions as the Violet Core… formed!

In that moment, Bruiser’s eyes shone with intense excitement as he watched the Violet Core shoot toward his open mouth. Just when he was about to swallow it up, the air next to him distorted and… a hand reached out to grab the Violet Core!

Everyone was shocked by this sudden development. As for Bai Xiaochun, his eyes were completely bloodshot, and a cry of rage escaped his lips as he unhesitatingly unleashed a fist strike onto the outstretched hand.

At the same time, three cold snorts echoed out from Mount River Defiance, and Master Godwind, Frigidsect, and Patriarch Crimsonsoul instantly teleported out. Surprisingly, none of them showed any signs of having recently been in secluded meditation; apparently, they had actually been watching over the proceedings the entire time. As soon as they appeared, they surrounded the hand and unleashed powerful divine abilities.

Master Godwind spoke, his voice hoarse and echoing with killing intent. “You’ve been surveilling the River-Defying Sect for some time now, haven’t you, your excellency!? Did you really think we wouldn’t be able to deal with you!?”

The attacks of the three patriarchs caused deafening roars to fill the air. The hand shattered to pieces, and the Violet Core continued downward toward Bruiser. However, at the same time, laughter rang out in the clouds as three beams of light suddenly shot down.

Within those beams of light were indistinct figures, all of whom were moving with lightning speed toward the Violet Core.

“I originally thought some unique treasure had appeared. I can’t believe it’s actually the Violet Core of a beast king!” Bizarre laughter echoed out from within all of the beams of light. However, it was in that moment that the spell formation rumbled, and a huge greatsword appeared that slashed toward the incoming beams of light.

Next, even more patriarchs of the River-Defying Sect appeared. Everyone had assumed that they were in secluded meditation, and yet, just like Master Godwind and the others who had just appeared, that was clearly not the case!

The flying snake’s eyes glittered as it once again shot toward Bruiser.

As of this moment, Bai Xiaochun understood what was happening. Over the last months, everything in the sect had seemed peaceful, but the truth was that numerous hidden entities had been infiltrating and spying on them. Bruiser’s attempt at Core Formation was a unique situation that was drawing all of them out of hiding.

The patriarchs hadn’t been in secluded meditation at all, and had actually hoped for this to happen.

The patriarchs were willing to take advantage of Bruiser for their goals, but to Bai Xiaochun, he was too important. Even if the sect was completely prepared for what would happen, he was too anxious to take any risks. Eyes bloodshot, he let out a roar of rage as he shot toward… the Blood Ancestor!