A Will Eternal

Not even forty hours had passed since the outbreak of rebellion in Giant Ghost City!

During that short period of time, drastic changes had occurred, which the people of the city found outrageous and terrifying.

First the nine serenities king had made his probing attack. Then the six marquises revolted. Four devas joined the fray. The giant ghost king had not even been able to make a stand, and yet, that was only the beginning. When it was revealed that the giant ghost king was only a clone, the second phase of the event began.

The entire city was turned upside down as the rebels searched for the giant ghost king’s true self. That was when Bai Hao showed up on the scene, holding the giant ghost king’s true self captive. Everything which occurred after that... would be fixed for all time in the memories of those who had been present.

Three powerful devas were seriously injured, and then... Bai Hao and the giant ghost king escaped the city!

From that moment on, Bai Hao would be completely famous within Giant Ghost City. In fact, it was easy to imagine how his name would soon spread to the Wildlands at large.

In a mountain range about 50,000 kilometers away from Giant Ghost City, Bai Xiaochun could be seen speeding along, face ashen, carrying an old man on his back. The man was withered and wrinkled, and his aura was virtually undetectable. In fact, even close examination would lead one to think that he was actually a corpse.

Of course, that old man was none other than the giant ghost king. It was hard to say if his current condition was a result of him sacrificing a drop of soul blood, or because of his decay period. Either way, he was completely and utterly unconscious. His virtually indestructible body was now so profoundly weak that it seemed possible for an ordinary knife to cut through him and end his life.

Bai Xiaochun’s aura was also unstable. The giant ghost king had slipped into unconsciousness right after the two of them teleported out of the city, several hours before. Bai Xiaochun had also been seriously injured, and the soul blood had done nothing to heal him. Although he had received vital enlightenment, after he slipped out of the Demigod Realm, his injuries all flared up, leaving him feeling incredibly weak.

Thankfully, his fleshly body was very strong, so he gritted his teeth and forced himself to stay conscious. After seeing that the giant ghost king was unconscious, he decided not to drag him around by the neck any more, and instead slung him over his back.

Bai Xiaochun knew that he was still wrapped up in a momentous event. The three great clans would not rest until he was dead, and it was the same with the six heavenly marquises. As for the latter, because none of them had a deva, and he had been zipping around the city via teleportation formation, he hadn’t encountered any of them. But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t in the future.

It was easy to imagine... that both the three great clans and the forces of the six heavenly marquises would do everything possible to find him.

“It’s a good thing I don’t need to hold on for very much longer. Just a few days. Then the giant ghost king will recover.... Although, I wonder if that drop of soul blood will change things.” He sighed. If the giant ghost king hadn’t given him that drop of soul blood, and he had been forced into a corner, then maybe he would have given the man up. At that point, he wouldn’t have felt too bad. But considering how things had developed, he simply couldn’t do that.

Bai Xiaochun had deeply ingrained principles when it came to paying back debts. He felt moved by how the giant ghost king had helped him, which was actually a bit contrary to how he had planned for things to turn out.

“Ah, whatever.” Sighing, he continued onward through the mountains, the giant ghost king on his back.

Soon it was evening, and the sky was starting to grow dark. Bai Xiaochun wanted to keep going, but his injuries were so bad that he couldn’t. Furthermore, the giant ghost king’s aura was getting so weak that at times that he couldn’t even sense it. The man’s body was also starting to grow cold.

Nervous, Bai Xiaochun found a suitable spot to hew out a cave for use as a temporary shelter. Using what scant bit of his cultivation base was left, he made a small bonfire and then propped the giant ghost king up in front of it.

Unfortunately, the giant ghost king’s complexion was ashen, and he only seemed to be getting colder as time progressed. His aura was currently very weak.

“You can’t die!” Bai Xiaochun said. Standing up, he patted his bag of holding to produce some medicinal items useful for treating injuries. Unfortunately, even after forcing them into the giant ghost king’s mouth, nothing happened.

“What do I do, what do I do...?” He thought about asking the little turtle for some advice, but there was no trace of him. No amount of angry threatening got him to stick his head out, so Bai Xiaochun finally gave up. Then he sat there looking at the ice-cold giant ghost king for a while before finally slapping his own thigh.

“I know what to do!” he thought, his eyes shining. There was definitely something that could heat the giant ghost king up, but as he contemplated it, he hesitated.

Unsure of whether the giant ghost king could hear him or not, he said, “Um... hey, King Giant Ghost old pal, I'm only doing this to save you, alright? No hard feelings.”

With that, he pulled out... and Aphrodisiac Pill, which he then placed into the giant ghost king’s mouth.

Bai Xiaochun remembered how all the prisoners who consumed Aphrodisiac Pills always got very hot, and even sweated profusely. At the moment, he was in a desperate situation and was grasping at straws, but had no other alternatives. Worried that one pill might not be enough, he pulled out a few more, and then stuffed them into the giant ghost king’s mouth.

Almost immediately, the giant ghost king shivered, and got a bit warmer. His previously fading aura began to fluctuate, and a bit of color even returned to his skin.

Bai Xiaochun breathed a sigh of relief, and at the same time, his face shone with pride at the fact that, in his genius, he had created a medicinal pill that could be used both to interrogate prisoners, and save lives.

“Geniuses like me are always lonely. Ai.” At this point, he was finally starting to relax. If the giant ghost king had died, then everything he had done up to this point would have been for nothing.

As he calmed down, he thought back to everything which had occurred in Giant Ghost City, and his heart trembled with lingering fear. Frowning, he reviewed all of his actions.

“I got too impulsive. I shouldn’t have listened to the little turtle.... Three devas? I... I can't believe I actually escaped from three devas.” The thought of how he had put everything on the line left him gasping. Even the slightest mistake, and he would have died.

“I always say that I'm not going to do anything dangerous ever again. How come I always do, though...?” Frowning, he realized that his personality was changing, and that he was actually becoming braver.

“Wait a second, that’s not a good thing!” Deeply worried, he looked over at the giant ghost king, and then up at the evening sky, and the moon, which was just barely visible. Finally, he sighed.

“I sure hope that what the little turtle said is true.... The giant ghost king had better recover in the next couple days.” And so he sat there nervously, surrounded by silence. Considering how exhausted he was and how quiet the area was, he soon began to think back to what it had been like to rise to the deva level, and then beyond that, to the demigod level.

Eventually, his eyes began to shine with both confusion and desire.

“The Deva Realm.... So that's what it feels like. And the Demigod Realm.... It almost seems possible to break through heaven and earth....” The sensations he felt after absorbing the soul blood, and the enlightenment he had received, were forever branded onto his heart. At the same time, his desire to grow stronger increased.

“I want to become a deva.... I want to become a demigod....” Remembering that he needed to change his way of thinking, he tried to inwardly focus on the longevity aspect. “Umm, I guess becoming a demigod would mean I could live even longer, right?”

Time passed. Even before the night was through, Bai Xiaochun felt rested. After checking on the giant ghost king to make sure he wasn’t getting any colder, he once again put him on his back and then flew out of the cave.

It was in that manner, only resting when absolutely necessary, that Bai Xiaochun proceeded along for three days.... The giant ghost king was unconscious the entire time, and didn’t show any signs of waking up. As for Bai Xiaochun, thanks to his powerful fleshly body, his wounds were recovering nicely.

However, the anxiety in his heart continued to mount. He knew that with every bit of time that passed in which the giant ghost king didn’t wake up, it meant that the three great clans would be getting closer.

Eventually, on evening of the third day, as he was flying along, the sky above him began to rumble loudly.

A voice filled with boundless venom suddenly echoed out. “Bai Hao!!”

Bai Xiaochun looked up into the sky and saw... three enormous faces, each of them hundreds of meters tall!!

They were none other than... the patriarchs of the three great clans!

The one who had spoken was the Cai Clan patriarch, who had lost his fleshly body. His eyes burned with killing intent, and he was surrounded by a sea of lightning that pulsed with metal-type power. That indicated that this lightning could give birth to metal, and supreme-grade metal at that!

Next to the Cai Clan patriarch were the patriarchs from the Bai and Chen Clans. Both of them had very serious expressions on their faces, without a trace of the derision with which they had previously looked at Bai Xiaochun. In fact... they almost seemed to view him as an equal!

Anyone unfamiliar with the situation who saw that would surely be shocked. After all, these were devas, and Bai Xiaochun was only in the great circle of the Gold Core stage. This... was simply the kind of respect that Bai Xiaochun could earn when he used full force!

As for the Bai Clan patriarch, a strange, mysterious light flickered through his eyes.