A Will Eternal

Bai Xiaochun closed his eyes, almost as if he weren’t worried at all about the incoming Cai Clan patriarch. Instead, he sank into the feeling of becoming one with everything around him.

He was heaven, he was earth, he was the will of all creation.

“So, this is what it’s like to be a deva.... One with everything....” Right now, he felt like the wave of his hand could draw upon all the power of heaven and earth to crush anything in his path.

It was almost as if heaven and earth were an empty body, and a deva could become the will of that body, controlling it in every aspect.

Of course, there was more than just a single will within that heaven and earth, controlling it. There were other devas who also vied for control. In fact, Bai Xiaochun could sense another such will right there in front of him, drawing upon the incredible energy of heaven and earth to attack him.

Bai Xiaochun’s eyes snapped open, and when he did, his entire person thrummed with power!

RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!

His energy surged, and not only did that put him on equal footing with the Cai Clan patriarch, but his four clones were also powering up in exactly the same fashion.

“Return!” Bai Xiaochun said, waving his sleeve. Immediately, his four clones merged back into his body, causing his energy to rise even higher. He had already been half a step into the Demigod Realm, but now that he had merged with his clones... he became even more powerful. Rumbling sounds echoed out as he broke through another level, and an aura appeared which shocked even the giant ghost king.

The giant ghost king had been teetering on the verge of unconsciousness. However, he bit his tongue to produce some clarity, which was exactly when that terrifying aura erupted out from Bai Xiaochun. The giant ghost king gasped, and his heart became completely filled with incredulity.

“He used only one drop of my soul blood to actually produce a demigod aura.... How is this possible? He’ll only get one attack out of it, but... it still shouldn’t be possible!!”

If the wide-eyed giant ghost king had such a reaction, there was little need to mention the Cai Clan patriarch. His mind was reeling, and his scalp was tingling so hard it felt like it might explode.

“You....”

Before he could say anything else, though.... Bai Xiaochun’s eyes shone with intense light; his heart was pounding wildly as he felt the fusion between himself and heaven and earth. However, there was something a bit fuzzy, as if.... the previously wide world was now cramped and narrow. It almost felt as if using all the power at his disposal would break beyond this heaven and earth.

“So, this is the difference between a deva and a demigod, huh...?” Bai Xiaochun knew that what he was experiencing was something beyond precious. Extending his right hand, he made a grasping motion, whereupon a red spear emerged from his bag of holding!

The instant that spear appeared, the entire sky filled with thunderous rumbling. At the same time, the sea of lightning up above stopped moving, and even began to distort, as though something were interfering with it.

The wind, the land, the air, everything grew still. Even the Cai Clan patriarch stopped moving, causing his face to fill with a mass of shock and disbelief.

The only thing in the world that could move... was Bai Xiaochun... and the long red spear!

This red spear was how the giant ghost king had made a name for himself. Normally speaking, Bai Xiaochun should never have been able to wield it, but now that he held it in his hand, piercing howls could be heard coming from inside of it, almost as if it thirsted to taste blood.

Further, it was now possible to just barely make out nine blood dragons on the surface of the spear, all of them roaring at the Cai Clan patriarch. Those nine dragons were why this spear was named... the Nine Dragons Godslaying Spear!

Bai Xiaochun’s eyes gleamed with killing intent, and as everything in the world went still, he gripped the spear and stabbed it toward the Cai Clan patriarch.

That simple stabbing motion became a rapidly spinning black hole that unleashed terrifyingly destructive power of heaven and earth!

In the same way that a canvas painting could be shredded to pieces, the silence was broken, the wind shattered, and the earth quaked. The destructive power was such that the nearby members of the Cai Clan began to cough up massive volumes of blood, and some of them were even shredded into masses of gore, destroyed in body and soul!

Even more shocking, the sea of lightning in the sky was destroyed as easily as if it were made of dried twigs! The black hole completely consumed all of the lightning....

And yet, things weren’t over yet. There was no way the Cai Clan patriarch would be able to complete the blow with his lightning axe. Cracking sounds could be heard as the axe began to fall apart, and then, the Cai Clan patriarch... physically exploded!!

A piercing scream could be heard as his body collapsed into a mass of blood. At that point, he flew out in nascent divinity form, his face a mass of shock and terror as he tried to flee.

But the black hole’s power was formidable, and no matter what the nascent divinity patriarch did to try to escape, he was sucked backward.

“No... NO!!” he screamed, overwhelmed by fear and terror. Never could he possibly have imagined that one drop of the giant ghost king’s soul blood could push someone all the way to the demigod level.

It was completely absurd and unbelievable.... In fact, it really was impossible for the giant ghost king to do something like that, to the point where the patriarch wondered if the giant ghost king’s cultivation base was actually beyond the demigod level and had reached... the Mahayana Realm!! [1]

But that was completely impossible!!

Therefore, the only other explanation... was that there was something uniquely special about this Bai Hao!

Regardless of the explanation, the Cai Clan patriarch was now in a deadly situation. His nascent divinity screamed as he was sucked toward the black hole. However, just before he was pulled all the way in... a tremor ran through Bai Xiaochun, and his demigod cultivation base began to drop. In the blink of an eye, he was all the way back in Core Formation, where he had started.

The sensation of vast power from moments ago was gone. Suddenly being wrenched back into Core Formation was not easy to handle, and he immediately coughed up a massive mouthful of blood. As he staggered backward, the long red spear faded, and the nine howling dragons disappeared.

“What a pity....” he murmured to himself. The feeling of incredible power that he had just experienced had been entrancing, to say the least.

The black hole vanished, and the Cai Clan patriarch in nascent divinity form shivered, feeling like he had just stepped halfway into the gates of the netherworld. He instantly burst into motion, traveling 3,000 meters away in the blink of an eye. When he turned to look back, he saw the light of teleportation completely washing over Bai Xiaochun.

The patriarch shivered again, fear lingering inside him at the sensation of having nearly been killed. He knew without a doubt that if Bai Xiaochun’s aura had lasted even a moment longer, he would have been killed.

As of this moment, his fleshly body was destroyed, but his nascent divinity remained. His life was saved. However, the only thing he felt inside was bitterness, terror, and madness.

“They... made it out of Giant Ghost City.... If we don't find them, then the giant ghost king will be back in only a few months.... Demigod.... Demigod.... He can kill devas with the simple swipe of a spear....” Trembling, the patriarch threw his head back and howled. Then, he turned and headed toward the Chen Clan. After all, the tribulation to come would rain down on all three great clans, and therefore, they all needed to work together to resolve the situation.

They needed to come to an agreement that, even if one of them were to be seriously injured, the other two would still make a move. There could be no more infighting between them. Right now... they had to focus all their resources on hunting down the giant ghost king and Bai Hao!

Furthermore, the Cai Clan patriarch felt confident that the teleportation formation couldn’t have taken them extremely far away. His guess was that, at most, its range was roughly 50,000 kilometers!

As the Cai Clan patriarch left to confer with the patriarchs of the Chen and Bai Clans, countless people within Giant Ghost City were reacting to what had just occurred with Bai Hao. All of the power groups, all of the soul cultivators, came to hear about the matter, and were struck with indescribable shock.

“He seriously injured the patriarchs of the Bai and Chen Clan, and even destroyed the fleshly body of the Cai Clan patriarch!!”

“This Bai Hao... is so strong!”

“Heavens! This Bai Hao single-handedly dominated all three of the great clans!!”

“The giant ghost king escaped.... If he recovers and comes back, the three great clans and the six heavenly marquises will all be crushed like weeds.... And Bai Hao... well, it doesn’t matter how he might have offended the giant ghost king in the past, after risking his life the way he did, he’ll definitely become one of the most important people in all of Giant Ghost City!!”

1. Very astute readers may remember that the Mahayana Realm was actually brought up way back in chapter 180