A Will Eternal

"Not a bad cultivation base, this Core Formation soul cultivator!” Eyes widening and heart beginning to race, Zhou Yixing looked at the figure speeding out from the jungle and licked his lips. After weighing matters, his eyes shone with determination.

“If he goes in a different direction, then I’ll ignore him. But if he enters the range of my restrictive spells, I can consume him with ease!

“Absorbing him would be the equivalent of consuming over a hundred Foundation Establishment soul cultivators. Not only would that completely heal me, but it would push my cultivation base to the peak!” He quickly backed up into the darkness of the cave, keeping his attention focused on the incoming figure, who was none other than Bai Xiaochun.

Bai Xiaochun followed the map out of the jungle, and upon emerging into the open, he saw the evening sky up above, and a barren landscape stretching out in front of him. There were mountains everywhere, all of them the completely inhospitable type that left one with a choking sensation.

Occasionally, spheres of mist that were vengeful souls could be seen floating here and there. The entire area seemed very sinister....

“This place looks wilder than the places I visited outside the Great Wall!” Sighing, he proceeded forward.

Meanwhile, Zhou Yixing was crouching in his cave on the barren mountain. When he realized that the cultivator who had just flown out of the jungle wasn’t heading in his direction, he hesitated for a moment, after which a brutal gleam appeared in his eyes.

“I'm thinking too much into it. I just need to consume him, and then I’ll be back to normal.... Considering that I’m a necromancer, and he’s just a soul cultivator, I should be able to crush him with ease!” Having reached this point in his train of thought, Zhou Yixing’s expression turned even more fierce. Waving his hand, he summoned his ninefold-enhanced black greatbow, and then leaped out from the cave, shooting eighteen arrows in quick succession at Bai Xiaochun!

Bai Xiaochun sensed him as soon as he leapt out in the open. Spinning, he looked in Zhou Yixing’s direction, and when he saw him, his jaw dropped.

The eighteen soul arrows screamed through the air, eighteen beams of light that bore down so quickly on Bai Xiaochun that, before he could react, they were right in front of him.

“Zhou Yixing?” he thought. Almost immediately, excitement rose up in his heart. How could he have possibly imagined that he would actually run into a familiar face here? Even more surprising was that the familiar face was none other than his lucky star! Bai Xiaochun was already exuberant at how considerate Zhou Yixing was to show up in such a way.

However, he quickly came to a decision. “I can’t let him figure out who I am....”

Not hesitating any further, he waved his right index finger at the eighteen soul arrows.

Instantly, a vortex sprang up to meet the arrows, and intense rumbling sounds rang out as the arrows exploded. The resulting shockwave blasted out, sending dust up in all directions. At the same time, Bai Xiaochun continued forward, completely unharmed.

Zhou Yixing’s eyes nearly popped out of his skull, and his heart began to pound so hard he started shaking. All of a sudden, a very bad feeling filled him.

“Dammit,” he cursed inwardly, “this guy’s way stronger than me!” Already regretting his impulsiveness, he shot back toward the safety of his restrictive spells on the mountain.

However, that was when Bai Xiaochun chuckled darkly and strode forward. As he did, his visage blurred, and in the blink of an eye, his wood clone stepped out and shot toward the barren mountain in a blur of light.

At first, Bai Xiaochun hadn’t noticed the restrictive spells on the mountain, but now that they had caught his attention, he could see how deadly they were. And yet, that didn’t bother him. Waving his hand, he sent another clone speeding toward the mountain.

Because he was currently wearing his mask, the clones he produced also looked like Bai Hao.

When Zhou Yixing saw all of this happening, his face fell dramatically.

“Clones!!” From what Zhou Yixing understood, anyone with a clone was an extraordinary individual, and shockingly, this person had two. Then he remembered whose territory he was currently in, and came to the conclusion that this person must somehow be connected to the giant ghost king. It probably wouldn’t have mattered if he absorbed him, but now that it was obvious he wasn’t a match, his regret only continued to grow more profound.

“Stay your hand, Fellow Daoist! I'm Zhou Yixing from the eastern Zhou Clan. This was just a misunderstanding! I mistook you for an old enemy of mine!”

Bai Xiaochun chuckled. Intentionally keeping his voice a bit raspy, he said, “Misunderstanding? Is that what you say to everyone surnamed Bai? I was just passing through here, and I'm supposed to believe this little ambush of yours was a mere misunderstanding?”

Then he waved his hand, sending his two clones slamming down onto the mountain peak, where they began to batter the restrictive spells into oblivion.

However, these were no ordinary restrictive spells, so the two clones couldn’t accomplish the task immediately. Overall, it took them the time it takes half an incense stick to burn before breaking through them all.

From Bai Xiaochun’s perspective, things were going very slowly, but to Zhou Yixing, it was the opposite. The restrictive spells he had used were a specialty of his clan, and were particularly powerful. The fact that this person could break the formations so easily left him completely shocked.

Even as he tried to keep his restrictive spells operational despite the onslaught of the two clones, he nervously called out, “Fellow Daoist Bai, please, just listen... I'm a necromancer, and a master necromancer at that! I can compensate you with some soul medicine....”

At the moment, the fact that this person was surnamed Bai didn’t really make him pause for thought. After all, Bai was a relatively common surname.

Inwardly, Bai Xiaochun was smiling broadly; dealing with Zhou Yixing actually gave him a warm feeling of familiarity. On the outside, however, he maintained a proud expression as he waved his hand and caused shocking soul power fluctuations to roil out. The fluctuations were so domineering that it was instantly obvious that they weren’t from a soul cultivator, but rather, a necromancer.

“I'm a necromancer too!” he said in a cool voice that abounded with dignity. When Zhou Yixing heard it, he shivered, and his eyes turned more bloodshot than before.

“You think I’m scared of you or something!?” he roared. Performing a double-handed incantation gesture, he sent a black mist pouring out of his greatbow, which formed into a black arrow with a vicious ghost face on it. Then, Zhou Yixing pulled back the bowstring.

“Feeling a bit cocky, huh?” Bai Xiaochun responded loftily. He blurred again as his water clone stepped out, transforming into a third beam of light that shot toward the mountain.

“You have another clone!?!?” Zhou Yixing blurted. With three clones battering at the restrictive spells, it was obvious they wouldn’t last for much longer. Finally, Zhou Yixing let out a shout as he unleashed a black arrow toward Bai Xiaochun.

The ghost face arrow howled as it closed in. As it did, Bai Xiaochun proudly lifted his chin, fully confident that even Zhou Yixing in his peak state wouldn’t be a match for him. Considering that he was currently injured, he was even less in a place to fight him. After all, Bai Xiaochun was now even stronger than he had been back in the labyrinth.

As such, he didn’t even pay attention to the arrow. He simply reached out and grabbed it forcefully.

The arrow lurched to a halt, and the ghost face screamed miserably. However, no struggles on its part did any good. Zhou Yixing’s mind was already spinning by this point.

“Impossible!!”

Even as he gaped in shock, a series of explosions rang out as the three clones finally broke through the last of the restrictive spells, and then surrounded Zhou Yixing.

Zhou Yixing struggled a bit, but within moments, had been subdued, and his cultivation base sealed. Then, Bai Xiaochun’s true self stepped over into the cave, clearing his throat as he looked him up and down.

Zhou Yixing’s heart immediately began to beat wildly. Glaring up at Bai Xiaochun, he gritted his teeth and said, “My Zhou Clan has served the nine serenities king to stand guard over the east for years. Plus, I'm from the clan’s direct bloodline! If you kill me, the Zhou Clan will definitely avenge my death!!”

Smiling faintly, Bai Xiaochun ignored Zhou Yixing’s threats and picked up his bag of holding. After erasing the branding mark, he opened it and looked inside.

Unfortunately, it was mostly empty except for some miscellaneous objects. There were four tongues of seven-colored flame, which Bai Xiaochun was happy to collect, along with the greatbow.

Zhou Yixing stared angrily at Bai Xiaochun as he rifled through his bag of holding, grief pulsing in his heart. He simply couldn’t figure out why he would be bullied by Bai Xiaochun in the labyrinth, only to escape and be bullied by someone else named Bai.

“I hate people named Bai!!” he wailed inwardly, tears streaming down his cheeks.