Read A Will Eternal - Chapter 996 - Arriving At Giant Ghost City! online free - Novel Full
The two arcane guards only had the wherewithal to let out cries of alarm before instinctively retreating.
They knew that they couldn't possibly fight back against the power of Bai Xiaochun's shout!
The destructive power contained in his voice surpassed anything they could imagine, and left them overwhelmed with horror!
Unfortunately, no matter how fast they reacted, it wasn't fast enough. Expressions of unimaginable terror and despair filled their faces as they were overwhelmed by the deadly soundwave!
They were simply too weak to stand up to it…. They exploded, their bodies turning into ash… and their nascent divinities unable to escape. Being trapped within their fleshly bodies, their nascent divinities… were also wiped out of existence!!
It happened too quickly for anyone to process. Two proud arcane guards were exterminated in the blink of an eye…. The old man with the horn almost couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"He's… he's not a deva!!" In his estimation, there was simply no deva who could exterminate two other late Deva Realm experts simply by shouting…. Only a demigod could do that!!
So terrified that he was instantly bereft of courage, the old man with the horn unhesitatingly backed up. His level of speed was too slow when it came to Bai Xiaochun, but thankfully for him, Bai Xiaochun wasn't in the mood to pay him even a bit of attention. He was only concerned with getting to the battlefield as quickly as possible!
As he shot head-first toward the golden life-severing grand spell formation, the old man with the horn looked on in complete shock. However, it was also in that moment that a spark of hope appeared in his heart.
"So, he's going to break through…. However, even a demigod who gets inside will still be suppressed. He's definitely courting death!!" The old man stopped retreating, and his eyes began to shine with killing intent. After all, he was in the great circle of the Deva Realm, and an arcane guard from Heavenspan Island. He was a shrewd schemer, the type who could kill others without hesitation. Suddenly more confident than before, he flew toward Bai Xiaochun as if to block his way.
However, even as he closed in, Bai Xiaochun used his Undying Hex, enabling him to shoot forward as though the spell formation didn't even exist.
The old man with the horn couldn't react in time. Face filling with far more terror than before, he tried to back away. Unfortunately for him, it was now too late to start retreating again….
Bai Xiaochun used the Undying Hex and the Mountain Shaking Bash without even thinking about it. In the briefest of moments, he slammed into the horned old man.
A boom rang out as the man felt something like an infinitude of heavenly mountains slamming into him. Screaming miserably, he exploded. His nascent divinity had no time to flee before it was also sucked into the blast of power, and was completely destroyed.
This was Bai Xiaochun at his peak!!
After piercing through the spell formation, Bai Xiaochun didn't so much as look back to see had what happened to the horned old man. The man had blocked his path, and had thus rushed to his own death. Furthermore, the encounter didn't slow Bai Xiaochun down at all.
With his Undying Hex, the life-severing grand spell formation might as well have not existed. Without the slightest pause, Bai Xiaochun appeared… 25,000 kilometers away from Giant Ghost City!
His ears could already detect the sounds of shouting and fighting far off in the distance. Furthermore, it was possible for him… to see the battlefield!!
Immediately, he was shaken to the core!
Countless cultivators from the eastern Heavenspan region were there, eyes bloodshot as they fought with madness. Savage giants and soul cultivators were present in abundance. Everyone seemed to have been pushed to their limit, and were fighting with the understanding that one side would come out alive, and the other would be dead.
Some would resort to self-detonation before being killed, taking their opponent with them into death!
The explosions on the battlefield were deafening, and yet, that didn't matter…. Hearing was not required to kill the enemy!
Virtually the entire area from his current location to Giant Ghost City, a stretch of 25,000 kilometers, was all a huge battlefield. Bai Xiaochun had never seen any sort of fighting on this scale before.
Shouts, screams, wild laughter, and a cacophony of other sounds melded together into a symphony of death. It was as if the will of heaven and earth was simply holding back and watching… as the mountains of corpses built up!
It was already hard to find intact corpses. The enemies tore each other apart… and blood flowed in rivers….
There were hundreds of thousands of cultivators fighting madly, making the battlefield like a giant millstone that was constantly crushing life out of existence.
There were no troop formations, nor any officers issuing orders. Everyone was simply fighting like wild animals.
Nascent Soul experts almost didn't count for anything in this type of fighting, much less Core Formation cultivators, who could be exterminated in the blink of an eye.
War chariots and other precious treasures of war were visible, most tattered and damaged, but still capable of unleashing destructive power!
The most terrifying fighting went on high in the air, where the demigods were locked in combat. The Giant Ghost King's enormous frame was covered with wounds and scars. In one place, a spear had stabbed right through him, which currently belched out black smoke that formed nine black dragons that stabbed at him constantly. Despite the grievous nature of his injuries, the Giant Ghost King continued to fight with bitter madness against the demigod patriarch from the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect!
The demigod patriarch was in equally bad shape. His chest was partly caved in, and one of his arms was missing. He was rife with an aura of death, and yet, his killing intent continued to rage as brightly as ever.
Every time the demigods came back around for another volley, their fighting would cause rifts to spread out in the sky, and would cause all the lands to tremble.
The mere shockwaves spreading out from their attacks were like tempests that could destroy everything in their path
Below the level of the demigod fighting were the devas from Giant Ghost City and the eastern Heavenspan region. Their deadly battle caused thunderous booms to fill heaven and earth at every moment.
Mistress Red-Dust was there, as were Patriarch Spirit Stream, Bai Zhentian, Chen Hetian, and the child deva!
Patriarch Steel Veins was nowhere to be seen, nor was Duke Netherworld!
There were four devas from the Heavenspan side, and only two on the Wildlands side: Mistress Red-Dust, and a heavenly duke that Bai Xiaochun remembered from Arch-Emperor City.
The fighting between the six devas had reached a deadly crossroads, and was actually the focus of much attention within the life-severing grand spell formation.
In the moment that Bai Xiaochun arrived, a deafening explosion filled the air. The source was the heavenly duke, who, in the face of death, chuckled bitterly and chose to self-detonate. As the destructive power of his death swept out, the child deva from the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect was too slow to escape… and was killed in body and soul!
As the two devas met their end, Mistress Red-Dust coughed up a mouthful of blood under the combined attack of Chen Hetian and Bai Zhentian. Injuries worsening, she laughed sadly and tried to back up.
Gasping for breath, Chen Hetian shouted, "Frigidsect, if you keep holding back like this, then after the fighting is over I'll exterminate your River-Defying Sect!!"
With that, he and Bai Zhentian began to chase Mistress Red-Dust. Clearly, their goal was to cut down the daughter of the Giant Ghost King, the sergeant-major and leader of the Giant Ghost Legion!
"Killing her will distract the Giant Ghost King! That will give the patriarch the chance he needs to kill him!!"
Patriarch Spirit Stream looked on bitterly as Chen Hetian and Bai Zhentian began to chase down Mistress Red-Dust. The River-Defying Sect had suffered the least casualties of all thanks to her mercy, although the patriarch wasn't sure why that was. However, at this moment, he was on the side of the lands of Heavenspan, and as such, his hands were tied. Sighing, he took a step forward.
As the three Heavenspan devas began to make their move, and as Mistress Red-Dust sighed and prepared to use her most powerful divine ability. However….
That was when a howl of rage split heaven and earth, shattering the air.
"Stay your hand!!"
Along with these words came a bright beam of light that shot across the battlefield, bursting with energy that could shake heaven and earth.
It was only moments away!
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The explosive voice preceded the arrival of the speaker!
It was so loud that even Chen Hetian felt his ears vibrating and his mind reeling on the verge of collapse. Blood began to ooze out of his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, and before he could react to what was happening, he felt as though his brain had been hit with a sledgehammer.
Bai Zhentian was in equally bad condition. His five yin organs and six yang organs quivered on the verge of collapse, and as he coughed up a huge mouthful of blood, his soul twitched as though it might shatter.
Only Patriarch Spirit Stream wasn't affected. However, his shock at hearing that familiar voice caused an expression of disbelief to cover his face. Even as he contemplated whether to look over his shoulder at the source, the air in the area rippled and distorted.
Bai Xiaochun shot onto the scene with speed that seemed capable of ripping apart heaven and earth. In the blink of an eye, he was upon Chen Hetian and Bai Zhentian, who were combining forces to try to kill Mistress Red-Dust!
He seemed like a razor-sharp arrow that could pierce through anything that got in his way. Before anyone could react, he was next to Mistress Red-Dust. Wrapping her up in his right arm, he waved his left index finger at Chen Hetian and Bai Zhentian!
He was not attacking in full force, but instead, merely waving his finger. Even still, the sky went dim, and a huge wind kicked up. At the same time, battle prowess that surpassed the level of a deva cultivation base exploded out.
A deafening boom filled the entire battlefield, accompanied by miserable shrieks from Chen Hetian and Bai Zhentian.
Blood sprayed out of Chen Hetian's mouth as an unimaginable force entered him. It was so powerful that he became like a bag of water, with his blood being the water! Under the intense power of that force, the water was immediately ejected out of the bag!
Blood began to rush out of his eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and even his pores….
He was thrown backward beyond his control, accompanied by cracking sounds as his bones broke and shattered. Chen Hetian wasn't even able to stand up to a single attack from Bai Xiaochun!
His entire body began to break apart, until even his bones were nothing more than powder. At that point, there was nothing left to sustain his physical form, and he became little more than a lump of flesh and blood!
And yet, things weren't over yet! Having no bones or blood left, he could do nothing other than scream as the rest of his body shattered to pieces!
He now existed only in nascent divinity form! Screaming in fear, he fled, mind gripped with terror and shock.
"You're… Bai Xiaochun!? You're… a demigod?!?!" He could only speak incoherently, shocked as he was that a single wave of Bai Xiaochun's finger could be so terrifying.
Of course, Chen Hetian wasn't the only one to be injured. Bai Zhentian suffered a similar fate. His blood exploded out of his body, and his bones shattered as he was thrown backward violently. No amount of defensive magical items or magics did anything to help him.
Luckily for him, he only lost about half of his body. Even as his blood showered down onto the ground, he backed up, having survived in fleshly body form, unlike Chen Hetian.
Although devas could survive in nascent divinity form, that didn't mean that their fleshly bodies weren't important. Not only would the loss of a fleshly body significantly reduce their battle prowess, the process of forming a new body would be extremely costly. For all intents and purposes, existing in such a state meant that their overall cultivation base level was greatly weakened.
"Bai Xiaochun!?!?" Bai Zhentian shouted, trembling in disbelief.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye. Bai Xiaochun arrived, waved his finger, and within a few breaths of time, completely reversed the situation on the battlefield. Everyone who was present to witness it was completely bowled over.
Furthermore… this was him showing restraint. Although he was furious, he hadn't come here to kill anyone. No, he wished to do the same thing he had done with the Spirit and Blood Stream Sects. He wanted to end the war between the Wildlands and the Heavenspan region!
Therefore, he didn't exterminate Bai Zhentian and Chen Hetian. Although he hated Chen Hetian with a vengeance, he spared his life. He had only added a bit more power into the attack against him, ensuring that his fleshly body was destroyed.
"Xiaochun…." Patriarch Spirit Stream murmured, his heart battered by waves of shock as he hovered there in midair, looking over at Bai Xiaochun. Bai Xiaochun had been missing for years now, and hadn't sent back any word at all. Although Patriarch Spirit Stream would never say it out loud, he had missed him during that time. But he could never have been prepared to see him back all of a sudden, and with such shocking battle prowess.
Patriarch Spirit Stream was also a deva, and thus knew exactly how powerful Chen Hetian and Bai Zhentian were. The fact that both of them had been so grievously injured, simultaneously, and with only the wave of a finger… led him to the only possible explanation.
Bai Xiaochun must be a demigod!
It seemed completely absurd. Patriarch Spirit Stream had always had faith in Bai Xiaochun, and had long looked forward to seeing him grow into his potential. But what good fortune could he possibly have come across that propelled him, in only a few short years, from the early Deva Realm… into the Demigod Realm!?!?
Equally shaken was Mistress Red-Dust, who rested against his shoulder looking up at him, her eyes both exhausted and confused. She almost didn't dare to believe that what was happening was real.
Looking down at her with mixed emotions, he softly said, "I'm back."
When she heard his words, and felt the warmth of his body against hers, she smiled. Suddenly, the weight of all the years of battle seemed to fade a bit. Then, the exhaustion hit her with mountain-toppling, sea-draining force, and she lapsed into unconsciousness.
To see her pass out from fatigue in such a way caused prickles of pain to hit Bai Xiaochun in the heart. He put her down carefully, then looked up at Patriarch Spirit Stream.
"Greetings, Patriarch!" he said, clasping hands and bowing.
Patriarch Spirit Stream could hardly breathe straight, and his expression was that of complete incredulity. He opened his mouth to speak, and yet couldn't find any words to do so. The level of Bai Xiaochun's cultivation base was so preposterous that it almost seemed like a dream.
"Patriarch, please call together all the disciples of the River-Defying Sect. We… will not be fighting in this war!" Bai Xiaochun had been in a bad mood to begin with, but it was only made worse by the situation around him on the battlefield.
Patriarch Spirit Stream gasped in response to his words, but then his eyes began to shine. Considering the level of his own cultivation base, he had not been able to lead the River-Defying Sect in a show of conscience in this war.
But with Bai Xiaochun back with a cultivation base as lofty as the starry sky itself, a person who could unleash shocking power with a mere wave of his hand, all of a sudden, Patriarch Spirit Stream's heart was filled with hope.
Without the slightest hesitation, he spoke out over the battlefield, bolstering his voice with the power of his cultivation base.
"Disciples of the River-Defying Sect. To me!"
Moments before, his voice would hardly have been heard on the battlefield. But now, even though there was still fighting going on, Bai Xiaochun's shocking appearance had caused many people to pause in place and look up. Furthermore, the words that Bai Xiaochun had spoken moments ago had been heard by many.
The River-Defying Sect disciples' hearts began to pound as they flew into the air toward Patriarch Spirit Stream. Numerous beams of light appeared, within which were many familiar faces, such as Shangguan Tianyou, Beihan Lie, Song Que, Master God-Diviner, and… Song Junwan.
Few people had as complex of an expression as Song Junwan, who couldn't stop looking at the unconscious Mistress Red-Dust. Bai Xiaochun noticed her glances. In fact, he had locked onto her with his divine sense much earlier, and had noted that Song Que was doing his best to keep her safe.
Although he felt somewhat proud of how things were going, he knew that now was not the time to let his guard down. Moments ticked by, and the River-Defying Sect disciples began to gather together.
No one dared to get in their way.
Chen Hetian only existed in nascent divinity form now, and was still trembling in fear. However, when he saw what was happening, his hatred for Bai Xiaochun bubbled up, and he said, "What is the meaning of this, Bai Xiaochun? Don't tell me you're rebelling against the Heavenspan Realm?!?!"
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Chapter 998: I Will… Make You Stop!
Off to the side, Bai Zhentian gasped for breath as he looked over at Bai Xiaochun. Merely thinking about what that simple wave of a finger had done to him caused his heart to tremble with foreboding.
Seeing that Bai Xiaochun was ignoring him, Chen Hetian's eyes blazed with anger, and he said, "You can't stop this war, Bai Xiaochun. You can't possibly deal with the consequences of betraying the Celestial!!"
Bai Xiaochun looked over at him coldly. "Unless you feel like dying… shut up!"
His gaze caused Chen Hetian to shiver in fear. Despite his fury, he didn't dare to keep speaking. Furthermore, he also realized that it had been quite impulsive of him to run his mouth. Bai Xiaochun was obviously the type of person he couldn't afford to provoke.
Ignoring the livid Chen Hetian, Bai Xiaochun picked Mistress Red-Dust up again and then handed her over to Song Junwan.
"Wan'er, take care of Zimo for me…. After everything's taken care of here, I'll explain." With that, Bai Xiaochun looked up into the sky!
Up above, the Giant Ghost King was fighting the demigod patriarch of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect. Although both of them were aware that Bai Xiaochun had come, they didn't have time to pay much attention to him. Both demigods knew that the slightest lapse in concentration could lead to terrible consequences.
At the moment, Bai Xiaochun had the beginnings of an idea regarding how to stop the war, but wasn't completely confident in being able to succeed. Whether it was the Celestial or the gravekeeper, there was little he could do other than try to persuade them to agree with his viewpoint.
Regardless, he couldn't allow the River-Defying Sect to participate in the fighting. Furthermore, he needed the fighting in the immediate vicinity to stop first.
"Everybody, stop fighting!" he said loudly. His voice sounded like millions upon millions of thunderclaps, and caused everything in the area to shake violently. The entire battlefield filled with the echoing sound of his voice, almost like the combined shouting of an innumerable host of people.
"Stop fighting!!"
"Stop fighting!!!"
"Stop fighting!!!!"
The cultivators on both sides of the conflict were deeply shaken, and could sense something in those words that seemingly surpassed heavenly might. On an instinctive level, they were forced to stop in place and obey the words they heard.
However, even after forcing everyone to stop fighting, Bai Xiaochun's heart was still in chaos. He knew that the most important aspect of the fight was not on the battlefield below, nor was it the conflict between the devas…. The most important fight was overhead, between the two demigods. Forcing himself into a state of calm focus, he looked up and spoke in a voice even louder than before.
"Giant Ghost, old pal. Patriarch Starry Sky. Listen to me for a moment. Stop fighting!!"
His voice was propelled by urgency, sweeping up into the sky to form a tempest of violent wind. Earlier, the Giant Ghost King and Patriarch Starry Sky had been able to sense some of Bai Xiaochun's level of power, and had also noticed how he stopped everyone from fighting. But now that they heard his voice in their own ears, how it thrummed with focus and determination, both of them gasped in shock.
However, considering how involved they were with fighting each other, they couldn't afford to be distracted. The Giant Ghost King was right in the middle of waving the hand of his gargantuan giant ghost form, which caused it to collapse into black smoke that re-formed into a larger, autonomous ghost hand that shot forward toward Patriarch Starry Sky.
Patriarch Starry Sky waved his remaining arm, causing an illusory starscape to materialize behind him, making it seem as if he were shouldering the entire starry sky. Eyes burning with killing intent, he performed an incantation gesture and then pointed out, sending countless stars from behind him shooting toward the Giant Ghost King.
When Bai Xiaochun saw that they were just continuing to fight, his eyes flashed, and his fury built. Holding his breath, he shot up into the air.
As he did, he unleashed all of the power of his cultivation base, causing the fluctuations of the great circle of the Deva Realm to roll out. At the same time, he began to pulse with fleshly body power, his qi and blood merging with his cultivation base to reveal… power that surpassed that of a deva. This was… demigod power!
As of this moment, Bai Xiaochun… was not technically a demigod, but in terms of battle prowess… was no different than one!
He became a vertical beam of light that shot up like a reverse falling star, heading right toward where the demigods were fighting!
Down below, Patriarch Spirit Stream and everyone else from the River-Defying Sect watched with visible excitement. All of them were thinking back to the scene in which Bai Xiaochun raced out to stand between the Spirit and Blood Stream Sects.
"Can he do it again…?" Patriarch Spirit Stream murmured. Considering how exhausted everyone on the battlefield was, if the fighting truly stopped… it would be a blessing to both the Heavenspan cultivators and the Wildlanders.
The River-Defying Sect cultivators weren't the only ones who felt that way. After the lull in the fighting created by Bai Xiaochun's shout, all of the cultivators down below were now looking up into the sky with keen anticipation.
Bai Xiaochun accelerated rapidly until he was like a burning ball of fire, streaking up into the sky, surrounded by wave-like ripples.
"Cloud Lightning Forefather Transformation!"
As he climbed to the heights of the firmament, he began to grow larger and larger!
60 meters tall. 90 meters. 120 meters….
As he grew taller, his frame filled in with muscle, and he began to radiate a powerful energy. Even as everyone looked on, he reached a height of 210 meters!
"Cloud Lightning Forefather, Eighth Transformation!" he shouted, continuing to grow until he was 240 meters tall, powerfully built, with a wild and barbaric air.
270 meters…. 300 meters…. 330 meters….
Things weren't over yet! 360 meters. 390 meters….
By the time he reached the area where the Giant Ghost King and Patriarch Starry Sky were fighting, he had reached the last of the Cloud Lightning Forefather Transformations!
"Eleventh Transformation!!"
Intense rumbling sounds echoed out that were so loud it that seemed like they might end the heavens and crush the earth. At that point, Bai Xiaochun was 510 meters tall, and truly looked like the forefather of all humanity.
Each of the Cloud Lightning Forefather Transformations increased one's height by thirty meters. Therefore, normally speaking, the eleventh transformation would push a cultivator to a height of 330 meters. However, because Bai Xiaochun cultivated the Sun-Moon Vast-Sky Incantation, each of his eyes added the power of an additional three transformations. By adding that power of six further transformations, he was propelled to a height of… 510 meters!
His cultivation base surged, and his fleshly body power caused boundless blood-colored light to surround him like clothing. In all respects, he was completely eye-catching.
Furthermore, the entire world had begun to tremble, and a new energy appeared that only the demigods could sense. It was as if… the entire world approved of Bai Xiaochun!!
It was something that, previously, only the gravekeeper, the Hell-Emperor, and the Celestial had been able to wield… the power of the world itself!
The Giant Ghost King's face fell, and Patriarch Starry Sky looked over in complete disbelief as Bai Xiaochun, completely oblivious to any divine abilities being unleashed… lunged in between the two of them!!
"Stop fighting!" Bai Xiaochun growled. Because of his Forefather Transformation, he looked completely barbaric. Face twisting viciously, he clenched his right hand into a fist and punched out at Patriarch Starry Sky's divine ability, the dazzling starry sky!
A deafening boom could be heard as his fist smashed into the countless heavenly bodies, sending all of them spinning away!
Bai Xiaochun shivered from the force of the blow. After all, this was a demigod he was dealing with. However, thanks to the regenerative powers of his Undying Blood, it took only a single breath of time for him to be back at his peak level.
"I said stop it!!" he shouted, clenching his left hand into a fist and striking out at the black smoke hand coming from the Giant Ghost King!
Winds screamed as the black hand of smoke was ripped to pieces.
And yet, things still weren't over! Even as his Undying Blood healed him, Bai Xiaochun waved both of his hands out in front of him, shoving both of the demigods apart. For the third time… he spoke in a voice that echoed like thunder in the ears of the Giant Ghost King and Patriarch Starry Sky.
"I told you two… to stop fighting!!!"
RUUUUUUUUMBLE!
The two shocked and injured demigods could do nothing other than fall back!
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Chapter 999: Fighting A Demigod!
The cultivators on both sides of the conflict all gasped reflexively. Although they had already been shaken by Bai Xiaochun's power, none of them could ever have imagined that he would reach such an unbelievable level!
"This… this is impossible!!" Chen Hetian in nascent divinity form was shaking uncontrollably. Although he had already guessed that Bai Xiaochun was a demigod, he had assumed that he would be on roughly the same level as the Giant Ghost King and Patriarch Starry Sky, and could potentially fight one of the other two demigods. How could he have ever guessed… that Bai Xiaochun could actually sustain divine ability attacks from both of them, and not even be injured!?!?
Only the most powerful among demigods could possibly attempt to interfere with two other fighting demigods, much less forcibly stop them from fighting!
Bai Zhentian was equally shaken. He was also well-versed in knowledge of demigods, and thus, was completely terrified by Bai Xiaochun.
"How could this be?" Bai Zhentian murmured to himself. "He's only been away for a few years…." His mind was in complete chaos, and he could hardly think straight.
Few people in the River-Defying Sect knew much about the subject. However, Patriarch Spirit Stream had a much better understanding of things, and was being battered by waves of shock. The fact that Bai Xiaochun had demigod battle prowess was so preposterous that he almost wondered if he was seeing things.
More shocked than anyone down below were the Giant Ghost King and Patriarch Starry Sky. The Giant Ghost King was especially taken aback; his eyes nearly bulged out of his skull as he pointed at Bai Xiaochun and said, "You little punk! How… how did you change so much!? You're so strong!!"
Patriarch Starry Sky was not as familiar with Bai Xiaochun as the Giant Ghost King was. However, Bai Xiaochun was a member of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, and had made a deep impression on the sect after becoming a deva.
Therefore, Patriarch Starry Sky was just as shocked, and was even trembling with apprehension!
The fact that Bai Xiaochun had reached such a level of power so quickly was astonishing to the ultimate level.
"He's not a demigod!" Patriarch Starry Sky murmured, his pupils constricting. As a demigod himself, his keen senses enabled him to detect that, despite having the battle prowess of a demigod, he had not formed a true demigod divine soul.
Patriarch Starry Sky wasn't the only one to reach this conclusion. The Giant Ghost King could also see the clues. And yet, that didn't reduce the level of shock that either of them felt: it actually increased it!
"He's… not actually a demigod!!"
"The great circle of the Deva Realm…. How is this possible? In my entire life, I've never seen anyone in that level as strong as him!!"
Even as the two demigods reeled in shock, Bai Xiaochun took a deep breath, then hurried to clasp hands in formal greeting to both of them.
After rising from his bow, he spoke in a bitter voice. "My old pal Giant Ghost. Patriarch Starry Sky. Stop fighting. Enough people have been killed. There's no point in this war between the Wildlands and the Heavenspan region!!"
Both the Giant Ghost King and Patriarch Starry Sky frowned, but didn't respond immediately. A long moment passed, whereupon Patriarch Starry Sky snorted coldly. Eyes flashing, he said, "Fellow Daoist Bai, if the River-Defying Sect wishes to stay out of the war, fine. I have the authority to make a decision on the matter. Take your people and leave. However, even with your demigod battle prowess, you can't end the war just by telling everyone to stop fighting!"
Although it didn't seem like Patriarch Starry Sky was being particularly polite, anyone who was familiar with him would realize that he was actually restraining himself to a considerable degree.
He had no choice but to admit to how powerful Bai Xiaochun was. Furthermore, as the demigod patriarch who controlled the entire eastern Heavenspan region, he had the power to allow a Middle Reaches sect to be exempt from the fighting. As far as he was concerned, that was more than enough of a concession.
It was also a method to prevent Bai Xiaochun from defecting to the Wildlands.
Even as Patriarch Starry Sky spoke, the Giant Ghost King looked deeply at Bai Xiaochun. Visible within his eyes was a flicker of warmth; he knew that Bai Xiaochun had the best of intentions, and hoped to stop the war. However, the Giant Ghost King happened to agree with Patriarch Starry Sky. The war couldn't be stopped just because Bai Xiaochun demanded it.
"The enmity between the Arch-Emperor Dynasty and the lands of Heavenspan goes back many years, Xiaochun," he said. "I know you mean well, but you should just leave. And please, take Zimo with you…." With that, he turned to face Patriarch Starry Sky.
When the gazes of the two demigods met, they both flashed as if with fire. Neither of them had prevented their words from echoing down onto the battlefield. Down below, the cultivators from both sides, whether they wanted to or not, no matter how bitterly they felt about it, began to stoke their killing intent.
Bai Xiaochun could see that fighting was only moments from breaking out again. At that point, the determination in his eyes grew more intense. He knew that if he couldn't even stop this one battle, then he couldn't possibly do anything to make the Celestial and the gravekeeper agree to stop the war as a whole.
Furthermore, he couldn't allow the situation to end in an unbalanced way…. If he did, then it would make it even more impossible to convince the Celestial and the gravekeeper to agree with him.
Lowering his head, he spoke in voice that pulsated with determination. "You people want a fight…? Well then… fight me! Kill me in whatever way you'd like. I'm done with all this!
"But, if you can't beat me… then I don't care if you're a 'majestic' demigod, you'd better not try to fight anyone else in my presence!
"You're up first, Patriarch Starry Sky. If I can't convince you with words, then I'll have to beat you into submission. And as for you, Giant Ghost, old pal, you just wait until I'm done putting Patriarch Starry Sky in his place. Then you'll have your turn!" Chuckling coldly, he looked up at the two demigods, his eyes completely bloodshot.
Both Giant Ghost King and Patriarch Starry Sky were visibly taken aback. However, the Giant Ghost King knew Bai Xiaochun better than his demigod counterpart. Although he wasn't very happy with what Bai Xiaochun had just said, he did nothing more than glare at him.
But Patriarch Starry Sky did more than that. He began to laugh with increasing volume, until the sky vibrated and distorted. Moments ago, the sun had been shining brightly, but now it seemed as dark as night. Furthermore… an unfamiliar starry sky was visible overhead!
This was Patriarch Starry Sky's Daoist magic, something that could replace the starry sky overhead. It was as if his will had surpassed the will of the world itself!
"What you just felt a moment ago was only a tiny fraction of the power of my divine ability, Bai Xiaochun. Other than the Celestial and the gravekeeper, no one alive qualifies to talk about beating me into submission!"
"Time will tell," Bai Xiaochun replied coolly. Based on his brief interchange with the two demigods, and seeing the regenerative powers of his own Undying Blood in action, Bai Xiaochun was fairly certain… that he was even stronger than he had thought before.
"Fine!" Patriarch Starry Sky said. Chuckling angrily, he pointed up at the starry sky above him, and then waved his finger down. In response, the stars began to shine dazzlingly, and then, seemingly in response to Patriarch Starry Sky's orders, sent streams of starlight down from above.
It was a majestic sight to behold. Everyone below shivered nervously at the seemingly transcendent power of this demigod patriarch. It was as if the power of a divine being were on display, power that could rock the foundation of the very world!
"Spear of the Starry Sky!" he said coolly. In response to his words, the swirling starlight converged in front of him, radiating intensely powerful energy as it took the shape of an enormous spear!
The spear seemed to fill the entire sky, and as Patriarch Starry Sky pointed his finger in Bai Xiaochun's direction, the spear began to rotate, and then stabbed toward him!
An intense sensation of imminent crisis filled Bai Xiaochun's heart. At the same time, the ground trembled, causing rocks and rubble to rise up into the air, and filling the hearts of the cultivators with profound sensations of dread.
"Be destroyed!" Patriarch Starry Sky said, his eyes shining with cold light.
Intense energy exploded out, causing cracking sounds to fill the air around Bai Xiaochun. Almost immediately, his skin began to sink in, revealing countless spinning vortexes. His hair began to whip about, and as the spear closed in, his eyes began to shine with blood-red light!
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Chapter 1000: Heaven-Defying Regeneration!
"You might qualify to tangle with demigods, Bai Xiaochun. But you certainly don't qualify to prevent us from fighting!" Patriarch Starry Sky's voice echoed like thunder from the highest heavens. His hands flashed with incantation gestures as he sent his Spear of the Starry Sky speeding closer and closer to Bai Xiaochun!
The air around Bai Xiaochun couldn't withstand the force, and shattered, and even the land far beneath him began to quake.
No one on the battlefield uttered a single word. Everyone was looking up to see what would happen. Meanwhile, Bai Xiaochun took a slow breath, and the burning, blood-colored glow in his eyes began to intensify. At the same time, his energy began to rise!
Rumbling sounds filled the air, and his hair whipped about him, making him seem like a god of battle. Directly facing the enormous spear… he extended his right hand!
"Like I said. Time will tell whether or not I can beat you into submission." With that, he violently clenched his hand into a fist.
At the same time, the moon sigil in his left eye shone with dazzling light, and the sun mark in his right eye blazed to life. With his Cloud Lightning Forefather incarnation, and the full power of his fleshly body and cultivation base at play… he had battle prowess that could transform the heavens and temper the earth!
All of this takes a bit of time to describe, but happened in the mere blink of an eye. The Spear of the Starry Sky closed in with indescribable energy, until it was right in front of Bai Xiaochun!
The spear was impossibly huge, fully 30,000 meters long. It radiated intense levels of energy that made it seem like countless heavenly mountains were about to crush Bai Xiaochun out of existence. In fact, it seemed strong enough to end the world. It was easy to imagine a scene in which that spear hit Bai Xiaochun and crushed him out of existence as easily as a dried weed.
However, it was in that moment that, instead of backing up, Bai Xiaochun actually shot forward, becoming a meteor that headed directly toward the Spear of the Starry Sky.
"Cloud Lightning Forefather… Sun-Moon Binary Brilliance!"
A wild and barbaric aura erupted out of Bai Xiaochun, along with a howl that truly seemed to come from the forefather of all humanity. At the same time, each of his eyes shone with the brilliance of both a sun and a moon! Dazzling light erupted out as Bai Xiaochun… slammed into the Spear of the Starry Sky!
The Giant Ghost King was visibly shaken, and Patriarch Starry Sky had a very serious expression on his face. The cultivators down below forgot to breathe as they watched the spectacular scene playing out up above!
An indescribably loud boom echoed out, shaking everything in the entire area, and causing the air to vibrate in shocking fashion.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The 30,000-meter-long Spear of the Starry Sky stopped in place. Then, cracks spread out across its surface, making it obvious from the very outset that it couldn't sustain a single blow from Bai Xiaochun. However, it lasted for several breaths of time, during which the rumbling sounds grew more intense. Finally… the spear collapsed into pieces!
Innumerable starry sparks showered out everywhere as Bai Xiaochun was thrown backward by the force of the impact. Blood oozed out of the corners of his mouth, and his chest was mostly caved in. His cultivation base was also in chaos, and his skin was covered with countless rips and tears.
However, when he planted his foot in an attempt to stop his backward motion, the rips and tears in his skin closed up, and his chest was no longer caved in. He took a second step back, whereupon his cultivation base stabilized, and his fleshly body power was back at its peak.
Then he took a third step, stopping his momentum and looking up. As he did, his energy surged mightily…. It was as if he hadn't even been hurt to begin with!
Eyes glittering brightly, he looked at Patriarch Starry Sky, still surrounded by the cascades of shattered starlight.
"That's all you've got?" Bai Xiaochun said. Countless gasps could be heard from the congregated cultivators below, many of whom also cried out in shock….
"He's not hurt at all!!"
"Heavens! This Bai Xiaochun… he recovered almost immediately from Patriarch Starry Sky's divine ability!!"
"This… this…."
They weren't the only shocked ones. The Giant Ghost King was equally stunned.
He looked over at Bai Xiaochun, eyes wide with disbelief, completely taken aback by what he was seeing.
"With regeneration abilities like that… who could possibly kill him?!"
Patriarch Starry Sky was nearly overwhelmed by massive waves of astonishment, and immediately began to pant.
As a demigod, he had been able to see how badly Bai Xiaochun had been injured by his spear. Although the destruction of the spear was not surprising, it was most certainly a shock to see Bai Xiaochun recover in the time it took to step backward a few times.
It defied belief, and at the same time, cause fear to bubble up deep in his heart.
"His battle prowess is that of a demigod, but… his regeneration abilities surpass even the Celestial's!! Dammit, where did he get regeneration abilities like that!? I refuse to believe that he can keep doing it over and over! He has to have limits!" Patriarch Starry Sky stared at Bai Xiaochun through narrowed eyes as he rotated his cultivation base. A moment later, he threw his hands out, causing even more spectacular energy than before to fill the air.
"So, you can stand up to the Spear of the Starry Sky. Very well, try this!" He bit his tongue and spat out a mouthful of blood, which exploded into a blood mist. After the blood mist merged into the starry sky above, the stars began to shine with such intensity that they seemed as bright as daylight!
As the starlight spilled down, it converged upon itself into something ten times as majestic as the Spear of the Starry Sky. The energy which radiated out surpassed anything from before as… a 300,000-meter-long dragon appeared! It was… the Dragon of the Starry Sky!
Roar!
The dragon's eyes shone like the most brilliant of heavenly bodies, shaking the entire sky as it looked in Bai Xiaochun's direction and roared.
As it began to speed toward him, Bai Xiaochun looked at it, his own eyes shining brightly.
"Patriarch Starry Sky, it doesn't matter what divine abilities you use on me. They're all… useless!" With that, he strode forward, becoming a blazing meteor that shot toward the Dragon of the Starry Sky just as he had gone to meet the spear moments ago.
As he blurred into motion, his right hand clenched into a fist, and he punched out. A black hole sprang into being, sucking in all of the power of his cultivation base and fleshly body. At the same time, a shadowy emperor appeared behind him.
The emperor's head seemed to touch the top of the sky, and his feet were planted firmly on the ground. All creation trembled violently, causing Patriarch Starry Sky's face to fall.
The domineering air which radiated out from that shadowy emperor was terrifying to the ultimate degree!
Bai Xiaochun's fist rocketed toward the Dragon of the Starry Sky, joined by the fist of the shadowy emperor!
This was none other than… the Undying Emperor's Fist!
Mountain-toppling, sea-draining energy was unleashed onto the seemingly unkillable dragon, which let out a howl that shook the entirety of the Wildlands!
The cultivators below were deafened, and their minds spun. Many began to cough up mouthfuls of blood.
Furthermore, the power of Bai Xiaochun's fist strike was so incredible that, apparently, it neared the limits that governed the entire world. As a result, the very same world net appeared in the sky as had appeared during the battle between the gravekeeper and the Celestial!
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Chapter 1001: Truce. No fighting.
The Dragon of the Starry Sky howled beneath the world net. Despite how powerful it was, it still felt like it was trembling on the verge of collapse.
However, as it exerted control to keep its body intact, and even prepared to counterattack… Bai Xiaochun's eyes flashed, and his regenerative powers kicked in. Instead of falling back in the face of the dragon, he clenched his fist and… in completely unprecedented fashion, unleashed another Undying Emperor's Fist!
After mastering the Undying Blood, Bai Xiaochun could tell that his Undying Emperor's Fist was not limited in the way it had been in the past. Thanks to his regenerative powers… he could unleash it over and over again!
Three punches. Four punches. Five punches!!
A series of five domineering fist strikes was more than the Dragon of the Starry Sky could take, and its entire 300,000-meter body exploded, sending a blast of energy raging onto Bai Xiaochun.
The force of the detonation shocked even the Giant Ghost King, who considered trying to interfere, but couldn't react quickly enough. This was one of Patriarch Starry Sky's trump cards, something he had planned to use on the Giant Ghost King, but was now forced to use on the troublesome Bai Xiaochun.
From a distance, it was possible to see that the detonation of the Dragon of the Starry Sky created a massive vortex, almost like an enormous mouth that loomed over Bai Xiaochun to swallow him up. The destructive power of that vortex would be shocking to even a demigod, much less any cultivator under that level.
The disciples of the River-Defying Sect were getting very anxious. Song Junwan's face was ashen, and she trembled in fear and disbelief. Patriarch Spirit Stream panted as he stared nervously at the huge vortex.
However, even as everyone watched in anxiety and anticipation, Bai Xiaochun's voice rang out from inside of the vortex.
"That's all you've got?" he said, striding out into the open. His hair was in complete disarray, and he was seriously injured. However, with each step he took… his aura grew stronger, and his wounds healed.
By the time he emerged fully from within the vortex, he wasn't harmed at all, and his aura was all the way back at its peak.
"Impossible!!" Patriarch Starry Sky gasped, staggering backward in complete disbelief.
He could accept that his Spear of the Starry Sky had been defeated. And he could even handle the destruction of his Dragon of the Starry Sky. But the fact that even the detonation of that dragon hadn't killed Bai Xiaochun was something that seemed to defy all reality. He didn't even look like he had been hurt!
Patriarch Starry Sky's scalp tingled in fear, and his heart pounded in terror. He finally had to admit that this was an enemy he couldn't defeat. Even worse, he was finally coming to the realization that Bai Xiaochun might actually be able to beat him into submission!
"This guy can recover from any injury! None of my divine abilities can do anything to him…. I guess… I've lost the initiative, which means that the next thing which will happen is… he'll attack me…." Having reached this point in his train of thought, Patriarch Starry Sky's eyes began to shine with terror and fear.
All of a sudden, he thought back to a powerful expert from years past, a person who all of the demigods in the lands of Heavenspan had feared. That person… was very much like this Bai Xiaochun, a person with terrifying regenerative capabilities.
"The famed Blood Ancestor…." Patriarch Starry Sky murmured.
He could well imagine that, with regenerative abilities like this, Bai Xiaochun wouldn't necessarily be invincible in this heaven and earth. However, the only people who could possibly be a match for him would be the Celestial or the gravekeeper.
No demigods could possibly qualify to tangle with Bai Xiaochun, not even the most experienced and qualified of them. In fact… it wouldn't even be a certainty that demigods could team up to defeat him!
"The only way to beat him would be to defeat his regenerative powers, or handle him like the Blood Ancestor…. Have the Celestial crush him, pierce through the power of his undying body to directly slaughter his nascent divinity!"
The Giant Ghost King was reacting similarly, and simply couldn't control his facial expression. Bai Xiaochun's powers of regeneration surpassed all imagination, and left the Giant Ghost King completely aghast.
Furthermore, if Patriarch Starry Sky suddenly thought about the Blood Ancestor, then it made even more sense for the Giant Ghost King, one of the four heavenly kings of the Arch-Emperor Dynasty, to… think of exactly the same thing!
Years ago, the Blood Ancestor… had vied for the throne with one of the Arch-Emperors, but had eventually ended up dying in the lands of Heavenspan!
Bai Xiaochun could see how shocked the two demigods were. Taking a deep breath, he looked at Patriarch Starry Sky and said, "Any more divine abilities you want to try out? If not, then I guess I'll take my turn."
"Oh, yes, I have more," Patriarch Starry Sky said, his eyes bloodshot. Suddenly, he reached up and touched his forehead, causing his divine soul to fly out into the open and shoot up into the starry sky above.
As his divine soul merged with the starry sky, starlight that was even more blinding than anything before began to shine down.
"This is my most powerful divine ability, Bai Xiaochun. Let's see if your regeneration powers can save you from this!" In the blink of an eye, Patriarch Starry Sky began to descend in the form of a starry sky!
It was as if the heavens were embodied, and falling down toward the earth!
"Most powerful divine ability, huh…?" All of a sudden, the desire to do battle surged strong in Bai Xiaochun. His previous two clashes with Patriarch Starry Sky had been defensive in nature. He hadn't even tried to unleash a counter attack. But now… he was done holding out. Without any hesitation, he shot up to meet the descending starry sky.
Shouting, he used the Mountain Shaking Bash and the Undying Hex to pick up speed.
Rumbling sounds echoed out as the power of countless heavenly bodies came to focus on Bai Xiaochun. He was shaking on the verge of collapse, and yet, after only a breath of time passed, was fully recovered. And that was when he unleashed his Undying Emperor's Fist!
If one fist didn't work, he would use ten!
If ten failed, he would use a hundred. Then a thousand. Then ten thousand!
"You will be destroyed!" he shouted. Fist after fist struck, causing the starry sky to tremble violently. Inside, Patriarch Starry Sky's divine soul was rapidly reaching a point of instability. Gritting his teeth, he rotated his cultivation base to try to hang on, causing destructive power to surge out to meet Bai Xiaochun. However, no matter how badly Bai Xiaochun was injured, his Undying Blood made him terrifyingly resilient!
He quickly recovered from any injury, and his aura always returned to the peak. He seemed completely indomitable, utterly domineering. Everyone watching the scene was dumbstruck. The Giant Ghost King's jaw hung open, and Patriarch Starry Sky was as shocked as if the heavens had collapsed!
Finally, the starry sky shattered…. The stars exploded, and Patriarch Starry Sky's divine soul fled out into the open, terrified!
Bai Xiaochun also appeared, moving so quickly that he transformed into a series of afterimages… that headed directly toward Patriarch Starry Sky's divine soul!
His goal was not to kill him, but to beat him into submission!
Patriarch Starry Sky looked over at Bai Xiaochun, who seemed to be clad in World Raiment, with his will having surpassed the will of the world itself. He seemed impossible to defend against, to the degree that Patriarch Starry Sky's battle spirit immediately vanished. As of this moment, he truly feared Bai Xiaochun!
"Fine, I agree, I agree! It's too tiring fighting you. Truce! A truce!! No fighting!"
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Chapter 1002: The Hand Of The Celestial
Patriarch Starry Sky couldn't help but feel a bit depressed about the situation. After all, under normal circumstances, Bai Xiaochun would be so far beneath him that he would likely be able to kill him, given enough time.
But… these were not normal circumstances. Bai Xiaochun's terrifying powers of regeneration essentially negated any injuries. And although his divine abilities and magical techniques were not impossible to defend against, getting hit with them over and over again was profoundly frustrating.
"Fighting with him isn't worth it…. You can't even hurt him!" Patriarch Starry Sky sighed, fairly certain of how the fight would end if it continued to play out.
With that, he flickered into motion, falling back a bit while his divine soul returned to his body. Clearly, he was agreeing to a ceasefire while here outside of Giant Ghost City.
When Bai Xiaochun saw that, he sighed, and then looked over at the Giant Ghost King.
"Now it's your turn, Giant Ghost, old pal."
The Giant Ghost King smiled wryly and shook his head, feeling very much the way that Patriarch Starry Sky did.
"No, I'll do whatever you say. A cease fire it is…."
With the two demigods having made their decision clear, the cultivators on the battlefield began to back away from each other, mixed emotions on their faces.
The cultivators from the River-Defying Sect likewise stood down. As for the disciples from the Spirit and Blood Stream Divisions, they couldn't help but think back to how Bai Xiaochun had single-handedly stopped a battle between their sects all those years ago.
"But can he really stop this war…?" Patriarch Spirit Stream thought.
When Bai Xiaochun saw the two sides backing away from each other, he sighed in relief. At the same time, the hope in his heart grew stronger.
"Stopping this battle is only the first step. The next thing I need to do is go talk to the gravekeeper…." Having reached this point in his train of thought, he turned to leave. However, it was at that point that the entire world shuddered, and massive pressure suddenly began to weigh down on the entire area!
The cultivators from both sides of the conflict were all shocked. Everyone, including the Giant Ghost King and Patriarch Starry Sky, all looked up into the sky.
There, high above everyone's heads, was… a gigantic eye!
The enormous eye was looking down at the battlefield, and specifically… at Bai Xiaochun!
The presence of the eye made the pressure weighing down seem even more intense. All of a sudden, the countless cultivators down below began to tremble, and felt terror rising up from within their very souls. In fact, they were so shaken that their minds went completely blank.
It was as if the entire world had gone still, and ceased to exist. The only thing that existed was that gigantic eye!
The gaze of the eye was cold to the extreme, like the biting freezing iciness of winter!
It was a gaze that could pierce through anything, and could see into the hearts and minds of everyone, even the devas.
The powerful Giant Ghost King was actually panting as a result of the eye.
"The Celestial…." he murmured, backing up, a look of madness appearing in his eyes. He rotated his cultivation base immediately, as though the gaze of that eye put him in such unprecedented danger that he instinctively had to protect himself from it.
Patriarch Starry Sky was shaking visibly, but in contrast to the Giant Ghost King, he immediately bowed formally to the eye.
Bai Xiaochun looked up, his aura already unstable, his entire person trembling in terror. He could already tell that the Celestial was more powerful than the last time he had seen him in the north. Although he still was not back to the level he had been when he had fought the gravekeeper, he was close.
Clearly, acquiring the clone of the laughing-crying ghost face had been of great benefit to his recovery.
"Well met… Celestial." Bai Xiaochun felt as if the Celestial could see every aspect of him, inside and out. Thankfully, he wore the World Raiment, and thus somehow had a bit of the will of the world with him. Because of that, he was able to resist the assault of the gaze to some degree. Clasping hands respectfully, he bowed.
In response to his bow, the gaze of the Celestial suddenly changed. Instead of being ice cold, it became warm in a way that Bai Xiaochun had never experienced before. "Bai. Xiao. Chun…."
When the Celestial spoke, his voice contained… something encouraging, as well as other mixed emotions!
Not only could Bai Xiaochun detect those mixed emotions, but the others in the area could as well.
Far, far away from Giant Ghost City, in the middle of the Heavenspan Sea, right on Heavenspan Island, there at the peak of the mountain, in the Palace of the Dao, the sound of heavy breathing could be heard. Also, two eyes lit up with the brightness of suns.
The aura of the entire world seemed to tremble as those eyes looked out, and waves began to surge on the surface of the Heavenspan Sea.
"So… he's appeared. Of all the times to show up, he picks now." The Celestial sat cross-legged in the Palace of the Dao, a blood-colored flag stretched out in front of him, within which was the sealed soulclone of the ghost face. The laughing-crying appearance of the face inside the flag was bizarre, to say the least.
"So those fluctuations I sensed really did indicate that someone mastered the Undying Codex. This Bai Xiaochun… actually did it!
"He's ready…. I don't need to push him anymore. He's truly ready, even before I've made my final decision….
"It seems… that when he went missing, he must have gone into hiding somewhere in the north…. And that apprentice of mine is not dead after all… although that's not important now….
"I really don't want to take that final step…. She's my only flesh and blood, after all…." Looking torn, the Celestial cast his gaze out of the Palace of the Dao in the direction of one of the other mountain peaks on Heavenspan Island. Standing there was Du Lingfei, who seemed so forlorn that she was like a mere husk of her old self, as if her divine soul was dead, and only her physical body remained.
"The war is nearing its end… and I'm not sure if I'll be able to open the Worldgate. After that damned gravekeeper perishes, will I be able to open the door on my own? Or will it remain closed for all eternity because of his departure? There's no way to tell ahead of time….
"Perhaps… this really is my last chance… and my best possibility to succeed… an opportunity just waiting to be taken advantage of…." After a long moment passed, the Celestial's eyes turned as red as blood, and his expression twisted ferociously.
"I have to get out of here! Even if the price were higher, I would still pay it. Considering my talents and qualifications, if I were in the world beyond, I could easily make another breakthrough. Then I would reach the true Mahayana Realm. In fact, the Archaean Realm might not even be impossible to reach!
"And my current longevity… can no longer be increased by the use of longevity pills…." His expression twisted into an even more ferocious display of determination and madness. Having made his decision, he rose to his feet.
"You're forcing me to do this, gravekeeper!" He threw his head back and roared, causing the entire world to tremble. The waves on the Heavenspan Sea reached frightening heights. As for Du Lingfei, she shivered, and tears began to stream down her face…. If one looked closely, it would be possible to see two magical symbols hovering deep within her vacant eyes….
"Xiaochun… I'm sorry…." she murmured, her face as pale as death as tears streamed down her cheeks.
In that moment, the Celestial reached out in the direction of Giant Ghost City and made a grasping motion!
A massive vortex sprang into being, with one side on Heavenspan Island, and the other… in the air above Giant Ghost City!
What had once appeared to be the eye of the Celestial transformed into that other vortex, which span furiously as a huge hand reached out of it toward Bai Xiaochun!
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The Celestial's hand was descending from the heavens!
It seemed to supplant all creation, as though the only things in existence were that vortex… and that hand, which thrummed with enough power to destroy the world!
The hand grew larger and larger, until it seemed that it would surpass the vortex. The lands quaked from the pressure, and crevices began to open up everywhere.
It was even possible to see the fingerprints on the hands, which were almost like enormous mountains and valleys, all of which threatened to crush the world.
Intense fluctuations spread out in all directions, causing all the cultivators to be so shocked that they could do nothing other than stare blankly.
It wasn't just the people near Giant Ghost City who could see this amazing scene. In the cities belonging to the three other heavenly kings, cultivators on all sides of the conflict could see what was happening!
Although the vortex and the hand were not large enough to cover all of the Wildlands, they were large enough to cover nearly seventy percent of it. It was truly an astonishing sight.
"What is that?!?!"
"Heavens! That's… that's a huge hand…."
"The Celestial! It's definitely the Celestial!!" Cries of alarm rose up from both Wildlanders and Heavenspan cultivators alike. However, it only took moment for the Heavenspan cultivators to start getting excited.
"The Celestial is making a move! We're definitely going to win the war!!" As such cries rang out, the soul cultivators and savage giants suddenly looked profoundly worried.
In fact, their eyes began to glitter with despair.
The Nine Serenities King, War Champion King, and even Xu Shan's father, the Spirit Advent King, were all deeply shocked. As for their opponents, the demigod patriarchs from the other three riversource sects, they couldn't control their reactions.
"That's… the direction of Giant Ghost City!"
"What's happening in Giant Ghost City!?!?"
"Something strange is going on!!"
Virtually everyone in the Wildlands was completely focused on that enormous hand emerging from the vortex.
A very serious expression could be seen on the face of the Grand Heavenmaster as he stared out of Arch-Emperor City and up into the sky. As for the reigning Arch-Emperor, he stood in the imperial palace, eyes flickering with intense hatred.
Meanwhile, Bai Xiaochun hovered in the air above Giant Ghost City, hardly able to breathe as he stared up at the vortex and the hand. Already, a sense of deep foreboding filled him.
As that sensation grew more and more intense, it reached the point where he was sure something catastrophic was about to happen.
"The Celestial… is going to attack me!!" Bai Xiaochun had no time to try to figure out why the Celestial would do such a thing. Without any hesitation, he prepared to flee.
However, the hand was too big. It was far larger than Patriarch Starry Sky's magic of the starry sky. After all, that starry sky was a Daoist magic, whereas the Celestial's hand contained the power of the world itself!
Even as Bai Xiaochun prepared to flee, the hand began to close in on him. Clearly, it didn't matter where in the world he went, that hand would catch him!
A look of shock could be seen on the Giant Ghost King's face, and Patriarch Starry Sky was stunned. By now, both of them could tell that the Celestial's hand… was going after Bai Xiaochun!!
"The Blood Ancestor…." All of a sudden, both of them thought back to what the Celestial had done to the Blood Ancestor years ago. Of the two demigods, the Giant Ghost King reacted the most dramatically.
"Get to Arch-Emperor City!!" he shouted. "The Celestial is going to try to kill you!!"
Bitterness gripped Bai Xiaochun's heart as he thought about how he had never done anything to offend the Celestial too badly. Furthermore, he was in a relationship with his daughter, Du Lingfei. He just wanted to stop this war, and had been just getting ready to go talk to the gravekeeper about opening the Worldgate to let the Celestial leave.
Although he had made an agreement with the Frigid Matriarch, Bai Xiaochun had pointed out from the beginning that he didn't have any beef with the Celestial, and therefore, wouldn't take the initiative to try to kill him.
He didn't like fighting and killing. He only wanted to figure out a way to resolve all of the issues everyone had with each other….
"He… wants to kill me!" However, despite his bitterness, he wasn't very surprised…. It was as if, based on all his experiences, he had somehow been prepared for this on a very deep level.
Whether it was his relationship with the gravekeeper and Bai Hao, or the matters pertaining to the world treasure and the Frigid Matriarch… the Celestial had plenty of reasons to want to attack him.
Rumbling sounds echoed out as the hand got closer and closer, filling the sky. In turn, Bai Xiaochun fled, although it didn't seem to do him any good.
In that critical moment, he drew upon the full power of the Cloud Lighnting Forefather Transformation.
"Damn you, Celestial!!" he howled. Aware that fleeing would do no good, he decided to do the only thing possible: fight back.
Meanwhile, in the most ultimate reserve power of the Arch-Emperor Dynasty, the magical treasure that was Arch-Emperor City, deep in the third subterranean level of the city….
Within the ruins, in a place that had been buried ever since the original war between the Heavenspan region and the Arch-Emperor Dynasty, there was a crumbling pagoda. Inside of that pagoda sat an old man.
He wore a long black robe, and had hair so white and old that it emanated an aura of decay. His face was crisscrossed with wrinkles, and he emanated a powerful aura of death. Were it not for the fact that his eyes were open, and glittering dully, he could easily be mistaken for a corpse.
However, despite the glittering of his eyes, he still seemed like he was mostly dead, an oil lamp just on the verge of winking out. He might be able to survive for a bit longer, but soon, would return to dust.
He was none other than… the gravekeeper!
He had lived for many, many years, as if he had been born along with the very world in which he lived. He had seen many changes throughout his life, and had seen many generations come and go. Generations were born, and generations died… but he remained. It was an enormous weight to bear.
In his spectacular battle with the Celestial and Ghostmother's soulclone, heaven and earth had been significantly damaged. He had used his magic of the Five Yin Organs, calling up metal, wood, water, fire, and earth in a way that weakened him even more than he already had been.
Afterward, he had passed his title on to Bai Hao. At the moment, he only had a tiny bit of energy left… energy which might vanish at any moment. In fact, he couldn't even move. He could only sit there cross-legged.
That was the reason why he hadn't appeared during the true battle between the Celestial and Ghostmother on the ghost galleon. It wasn't that he didn't want to; he simply couldn't.
However, in the moment that the Celestial made his move in the Wildlands, the decrepit gravekeeper took a breath. Then he slowly looked up. It seemed to take profound effort, but as he did, his eyes began to shine with increasingly bright light.
He was like kindling that had been sparked into flame. His lips twitched as though he were speaking, although no words could be heard.
Back outside of Giant Ghost City, the Celestial's hand continued on toward Bai Xiaochun, who was struggling to fight back…. But then, the lands shook, and powerful fluctuations spilled out everywhere as… the earth broke apart, revealing an enormous hand that reached upward!
This new hand seemed comparable to the Celestial's hand in all ways. As the lands collapsed, the hand shot up and slammed into the Celestial's hand!
The Wildlands shook violently as a huge boom echoed out. A massive shockwave rippled out into all the cultivators watching the event. Thankfully, the demigods and devas were there to absorb some of the energy, otherwise all of the other cultivators would have been either seriously injured or killed.
"Gravekeeper, you old bastard!!"
"Celestial…."
Two voices filled all creation, one shaking with rage, the other quivering with extreme weariness!
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Chapter 1004: Your Destiny!
As the two voices echoed out through heaven and earth, it felt very much like the last time the Celestial and the gravekeeper had fought each other. And this time, they were fighting a battle the likes of which could end the world!
The Celestial was returning to the Wildlands in much different circumstances than when he had left. He had recovered from his injuries. Furthermore, the gravekeeper was now extremely exhausted.
However… despite how weak he was, he was still the gravekeeper!
As the enormous hand stretched up from the earth and slammed into the Celestial's hand, a massive shockwave rippled out. The sky went dark, and tempests screamed across the lands. Yet again, a certain limit of power was reached, and the protective world net appeared up above!
As the net appeared to fill the sky, Bai Xiaochun's expression flickered. He could clearly sense that because of everything that the world net had experienced throughout the years, it was weakening in many places.
Because of the explosive power being unleashed by the gravekeeper and the Celestial, the only people who could remain in the area were Bai Xiaochun, the Giant Ghost King, and Patriarch Starry Sky.
Only those three could bear witness to the shocking spectacle of the Celestial and the gravekeeper fighting!
However, Bai Xiaochun didn't wish to remain behind. He actually borrowed the momentum of the blast to fall back. The Celestial's hand shifted as if to follow him, but the gravekeeper's hand moved to intercept it again.
The cultivation base power backing those two gargantuan hands vastly surpassed the Demigod Realm. They were in the Mahayana Realm, which was also referred to by some as… the Celestial Realm!
Years ago, Ghostmother had mentioned that Daoist Heavenspan called himself "the Celestial", but was in fact only a quasi-celestial. Even still, he could unleash power that could change the face of heaven and earth. Therefore, not only did Bai Xiaochun attempt to flee the area, but the Giant Ghost King and Patriarch Starry Sky also began to back away.
They could all tell that the gravekeeper was on his last legs, and wouldn't be able to hold out for very much longer. Patriarch Starry Sky hesitated for a moment as he considered whether or not to stop Bai Xiaochun from fleeing. However, considering how the Giant Ghost King was glowering at him, he simply sighed and decided not to make things complicated….
After all, even he was a bit frightened by the sudden and unexpected appearance of the Celestial.
"You are weak, gravekeeper," the Celestial said, his voice laced with arrogance. "You should be in the Underworld River, waiting to die. How dare you show up here and try to interfere with my plans!" The golden light of Heavenspan River water shone out in all directions as the Celestial's hand once again shot toward the gravekeeper's hand.
As the resulting boom echoed out, and Bai Xiaochun accelerated in the opposite direction, a fourth boom could be heard. Looking over his shoulder, he was shocked to see that the earthly hand of the gravekeeper was collapsing into pieces.
As for the Celestial's golden hand, it once again filled all heaven and earth as it headed toward Bai Xiaochun.
"You can't escape, Bai Xiaochun…. The gravekeeper is forcing me to do this…. It is not my wish, but I have no choice. Therefore… you will submit, and become the medicinal pill I need!"
Bai Xiaochun knew that he couldn't escape, and as he stared back at the Celestial's enormous hand, he had no time to think of anything other than fight!
"Godkiller!!" Eyes bloodshot, he called upon the trump card that came with his Undying Blood. Now that he had mastered the Undying Codex, he could control the Godkiller technique, and would not lose consciousness when using it.
As blood qi surged in his body, and he accelerated rapidly, the Celestial laughed coldly.
"The Arch-Ancestor's secret Undying Codex…. If you had the Live Forever Codex, then not even I would be able to fight you…. But without it, you have no way of escaping the destiny I have prepared for you!" The enormous hand formed from Heavenspan Seawater sent golden light shining out that suppressed Bai Xiaochun's blood qi and completely ignored the Godkiller technique.
"Damn you, Celestial!!" Bai Xiaochun howled, throwing his hands out in front of him. Instantly, water vapor erupted out in all directions, turning the area into a huge swamp. Suddenly, a howl erupted into the air that seemed to come from the ancient past, a howl that combined with Bai Xiaochun's shout to shake everything in the area.
Curved mountain peaks rose up from that swamp, the manifestation of none other than… the Waterswamp Kingdom.
Bai Xiaochun's cultivation base now was in the great circle of the Deva Realm, which meant that his Waterswamp Kingdom was vastly more powerful than before. As the mountain peaks arced through the air, a huge beast hand appeared in full, rushing to meet the golden hand of the Celestial.
Unfortunately… the fact that Bai Xiaochun was a deva meant that he was vastly below the Celestial. When the Waterswamp Kingdom met the Celestial's hand, a huge boom echoed out. The Celestial snorted coldly, and the beast hand shattered. A howl of pain and rage erupted out from the watery swamp, which roiled violently, as if the creature inside wished to free itself.
But the Celestial's hand was too powerful. Thrumming with energy, it continued onward toward Bai Xiaochun!
Soon, the entire 5,000-kilometer-area around Bai Xiaochun was nothing more than that hand, closing around him!
The air shattered as though it were corporeal, causing cracking sounds to echo out. Meanwhile, Bai Xiaochun's vision was obscured, allowing him to see only the five, mountain-like fingers surrounding him.
Compared to the size of that hand, he was like nothing more than a bug!
If the world were likened to a sea, then the Celestial's hand would be reaching down into that water to pick up the tiny shrimp larva that was Bai Xiaochun.
There was literally nothing he could do to fight back or resist!
Blood sprayed out of his mouth because of the intense pressure weighing down on him, and cracking sounds rang out as his bones began to shatter. The watery swamp around him was thoroughly defeated by the golden hand, and simply collapsed!
There was simply no way for Bai Xiaochun to escape, and as such, a feeling of despair began to grip his heart.
However, even as the hand closed in around him… black water suddenly appeared out of nowhere!
In the blink of an eye, it created a shocking Underworld River! A stream of energy erupted from the river, wrapping around Bai Xiaochun as if to take him away.
"The new Hell-Emperor?" the Celestial said. "If you had 10,000 years to prepare, you might qualify to face me, but right now… you're simply courting death!" The Heavenspan Seawater that made up the enormous hand exploded, creating a powerful attack that slammed into the Underworld River and crushed it. Bai Xiaochun could even hear a muffled cry of anguish and pain from Bai Hao.
"Hao'er!!"
In the blink of an eye, the Heavenspan Seawater overwhelmed the Underworld River water and drove it away. The only thing left was the Celestial's huge hand, closing in around Bai Xiaochun!
As it closed into a fist, it seemed prepared to crush anything within its grasp out of existence!
In that moment, Bai Xiaochun went mad. Although he was already grievously injured, his powers of regeneration defied imagination. Without any hesitation, he resorted to the Cloud Lightning Forefather Transformation!
"Eleventh Transformation!!"
As he grew larger, rocks began to fly toward him as he used… the Living Mountain Incantation!
His fleshly body power skyrocketed, combining with his cultivation base to somehow manage to keep him going. However, he couldn't hold on for very long. A moment later, his Forefather Transformation and Living Mountain Incantation collapsed, and he was badly injured. With his regeneration powers, he recovered, but in a moment, was back to being injured.
It was a seemingly endless cycle. In the briefest of moments, he went back and forth from being injured to his peak state about a hundred times! And there seemed to be no end in sight!
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Chapter 1005: A Second Chance
"The Undying Codex truly is extraordinary!" When the Celestial saw how Bai Xiaochun was able to fight back against someone vastly more powerful than himself, and consistently regenerate despite his injuries, he was quite moved.
"Thankfully, this isn't my first time encountering someone who has mastered the Undying Codex…." Back on Heavenspan Island, the Celestial's eyes suddenly flickered with a crystalline glow.
As he did, Du Lingfei shivered. Even as she stood there, as mute and numb as the walking dead, a crystalline light suddenly shot out from the depths of her eyes, and the two bizarre magical symbols that existed there.
There was a strange power inside of her that the Celestial seemed capable of drawing upon because of those magical symbols. Back outside of Giant Ghost City, as his hand remained closed around Bai Xiaochun, a crystalline glow suddenly appeared.
In the blink of an eye… the entire hand turned crystal, and then crushed down harder!
Rumbling sounds echoed out as Bai Xiaochun, his hair wild and disheveled, called out to the world treasure of the north. Unfortunately, the Frigid Matriarch was still sleeping, and didn't respond. Worse, it seemed that because of the incredible pressure weighing down on him, his regenerative powers were faltering!
Whatever magical technique was involved with this crystal seemed to be at complete odds with the Undying Codex!
Without his regenerative powers working fully, Bai Xiaochun couldn't stand up to the raw power of the Celestial. A popping sound rang out, and he was crushed!
At that point, he couldn't remain conscious, and passed out.
The Celestial began to slowly retract his hand. As it headed back toward the vortex… everyone in the area looked on, completely shaken.
Devas and demigods alike were completely floored!
Everyone from the River-Defying Sect was trembling, and many of them had their hands clenched tightly into fists at their sides. Song Junwan's face was wet with tears, and yet there was nothing she could do except watch while everything happened. When the vortex disappeared, she coughed up a mouthful of blood and then toppled forward, unconscious.
As the Celestial's hand vanished, his voice rang out to fill the Wildlands, cold and emotionless in all aspects.
"All Heavenspan cultivators are to join forces… and exterminate every living thing in the Wildlands!"
The Celestial did not like being in a passive position. He preferred to be in control. That much was possible to see from how things had played out with the bone galleon.
This current matter was playing out exactly the same. All of his hopes were wrapped up with Bai Xiaochun, and although he was only about eighty percent confident in being able to succeed, that didn't mean he would let his guard down. Since there were still two paths available… he would leave both open to pick from!
"If neither path works… then since my longevity is running out, I will just bury this world along with me!" With that, his hand vanished completely.
The cultivators from the Heavenspan region were shaken. However, no matter how tired they were from all the fighting, they had to follow the orders of the Celestial. And of course, there were some who were very enthusiastic about following such orders, and immediately began to fight with murderous fervor!
The morale of the Wildlanders had suffered a severe blow upon the defeat of the gravekeeper. From what they could tell, there was absolutely no way out for them now….
The lands of Heavenspan would accept no captives. The Celestial wanted everything in the Wildlands dead, all the way down to the grass and the roots!
Savages and soul cultivators alike, even the animals, would all be killed.
The only choice the Wildlanders had now… was to fight to the death!!
The sound of battle resumed, accompanied by bitter chuckling, roaring laughter, and the sounds of self-detonation…. Blood once again began to stain the ground, and the death count rose…. It seemed as if the end of days had come; the sky was dark, and the lands were shattered. It wouldn't take long before Giant Ghost City fell, as well as the other three kingly cities. When that happened, the Wildlanders would be forced to retreat… all the way to Arch-Emperor City!
Far beneath the surface of Heavenspan Island was… an enormous necropolis!
In the depths of the necropolis was a pool of black liquid surrounded by a huge spell formation, fully 30,000 meters from side to side. It was a spell formation created, not by spirit stones, but by human bones!
Some of the bones were golden, and some were crystalline… and despite being dead, all of them seemed to radiate an air of holiness!
Around the perimeter of the pool of liquid were three deep pits, each of which contained a skeleton!
Shockingly, all of those skeletons were partially gold and partially crystal. Although none were perfectly fused together, the pressure they emitted was enough to cause even demigods to tremble. That pressure… was extremely close to the level of the quasi-celestial Daoist Heavenspan.
Although none of them were quite as powerful as him, all of them were only about half a step from being in the true Mahayana Realm!
If the reigning Arch-Emperor were able to see this place, he would instinctively recognize who those three corpses were.
They were… the remains of the three most powerful Arch-Emperors of the past!
Clearly, the Celestial had located their sepulchers and exhumed their skeletons, then used them to create the most ultimate of spell formations!
The rotting, holy bones had been collected throughout the years from people who had cultivated either the Undying Codex or the Live Forever Codex!
In the very middle of the spell formation, within the black pool of water, Bai Xiaochun sat cross-legged, his eyes closed. He was breathing, but not conscious. The water swirled slowly around him, rippling as magical symbols slowly floated about within.
The magical symbols almost seemed alive, and many of them would crawl up onto Bai Xiaochun and move around on the surface of his body.
It was a very ghastly scene, made even worse by the flickering lamps which lit the area.
All of a sudden, Bai Xiaochun shivered, and then opened his eyes. As soon as he did, the magical symbols that had been crawling all over him flew back into the water, apparently having been startled.
At first, his expression was blank. However, as he breathed, his eyes began to glitter. Then he looked around at the pool of water, and the bones that made up the spell formation.
He wanted to rise to his feet, but soon found that he couldn't control his own body. It was impossible for him to leave the pool of water. Apparently, the energy of the Undying Codex and Live Forever Codex in the bones around him created an aura that disturbed his mind.
At that point, a raspy voice filled the air. "Don't struggle. This pool of water… is made from the blood of countless descendants of the Arch-Emperor, back when I drove his dynasty out of the lands of Heavenspan. It's been fermenting here for many, many years." Bai Xiaochun then saw the air up ahead ripple, and the Celestial walk slowly out into the open.
The Celestial's eyes burned with excitement and anticipation as he looked at Bai Xiaochun, as if he were some consummately important medicinal pill to be consumed.
Panting, Bai Xiaochun looked at the Celestial, his heart pounding with foreboding. Just when he was about to say something, the Celestial looked around at the bones and kept talking.
"I killed many of these people myself in the final battle at Arch-Emperor City. And some… are cultivators I ran tests on after I started researching the Undying Live Forever Codex.
"Sadly, despite the fact that the Undying Live Forever Codex is a technique that anyone can cultivate, for some reason, I am not able to. Perhaps it's because I've killed so many people with the blood of the Arch-Emperor in them.
"I can only research it by having other people cultivate the technique. I even exhumed the corpses of these three Arch-Emperors, and brought their skeletons here to learn a thing or two from them.
"You see, I stole the Live Forever Codex from the Arch-Emperor Dynasty. And as for the Undying Codex, the gravekeeper made it public for some reason. Perhaps it was an attempt to resist me, or perhaps an attempt to continue the line of the Arch-Emperor Dynasty. In any case, I added fuel to the fire by making sure the Undying Codex was available in the lands of Heavenspan as well…. The trickiest thing was the Live Forever Codex. It is very, very difficult to cultivate. In fact, few people have ever managed to master it. Most would fail along the way, after which I would place their remains in here to make the best use of them.
"Over all the years, only two people have ever completely cultivated it. One of them was an apprentice of mine, and the other… is my daughter." By this point, the Celestial didn't really seem to be talking to Bai Xiaochun, but rather, muttering to himself.
As Bai Xiaochun listened, his shock mounted until he felt like his head was being struck by lightning. After seeing Du Lingfei's bones years ago, he had already begun to suspect the truth. But to hear the Celestial say it out loud was a different matter.
"Sadly, I wasn't quite prepared last time. Furthermore, my apprentice discovered what was going on. Therefore, my first attempt to concoct an Undying Live Forever Pill was a failure before I even started. But that doesn't matter. I have a second chance now…."
With that, he turned to look at Bai Xiaochun with glittering eyes.
"Fei'er," he said.
At that point, Du Lingfei stepped out from behind the Celestial.
Upon seeing Du Lingfei, a bitter smile spread out across Bai Xiaochun's face. He understood. He understood everything….
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Chapter 1006: Reasons
Or perhaps the truth was slightly different. Upon seeing Du Lingfei, Bai Xiaochun smiled bitterly, and was fairly certain that he understood.
Many years ago, the Celestial rebelled, waging war against the entire Arch-Emperor Dynasty. The forces of the Arch-Emperor were soundly defeated, losing not just the lands of Heavenspan, but also one of their most important legacies, the Live Forever Codex from the Undying Live Forever Technique!
After relocating to the Wildlands, the Arch-Emperor Dynasty only had the Undying Codex. Perhaps in an attempt to resist the Celestial, or perhaps just to foster hope… the gravekeeper had taken steps to allow people who were not direct descendants of the Arch-Emperor to cultivate the Undying Codex. And as the technique became more widespread, incomplete copies eventually showed up in sects in the lands of Heavenspan.
As a result, the Undying Codex lived on. At the same time, everyone in the Heavenspan Realm had a chance to cultivate a secret magic that had once belonged only to the Arch-Emperor.
The Celestial didn't do anything to stop it, focused as he was on the Live Forever Codex. However, it was only after attempting to actually cultivate the Live Forever Codex, and failing, that he came up with an idea that could only be described as insane.
He would encourage more and more people to cultivate both the Undying Codex and the Live Forever Codex. Then he would fuse those people together and use them to concoct an Undying Live Forever Pill. By consuming that pill, he would then get access to the hidden power offered by the Undying Live Forever Technique.
Both the bones scattered in the necropolis, and the remains of the three Arch-Emperors, had all been used in his extensive research.
Unfortunately for him, the Live Forever Codex was much more difficult to cultivate than the Undying Codex, and also more powerful. Despite all the years which had passed, none of the countless cultivators who had cultivated it had ever succeeded. At most, some of them made superficial progress.
But then his top apprentice came along…. She was the Frigid Matriarch of the north, and once she mastered the Live Forever Codex, the Celestial's heart began to burn with avarice.
It was at around that time that a mighty hero rose up in the Wildlands, a person called the Blood Ancestor. Perhaps it was his own spectacular talent, or perhaps he had the blood of the Arch-Emperors in him. Either way, he mastered the Undying Codex, and made a spectacular breakthrough, reaching the fleshly body level of a demigod!
If it wasn't for the fact that the Celestial had brought ruin to the Arch-Emperor Dynasty, it was entirely possible that the Blood Ancestor would have eventually gone on to cultivate the Live Forever Codex.
If the Blood Ancestor had succeeded with both codices, then he would have been able to break through to the Celestial Realm!
He would have met the qualifications enforced by the gravekeeper to leave the Heavenspan Realm!
The Frigid Matriarch should have been the Blood Ancestor's greatest enemy. But somehow, they fell in love with each other. And when they discovered the truth of the Celestial's schemes… well, Bai Xiaochun had already been told that story by the Frigid Matriarch herself.
The Frigid Matriarch betrayed her Master, and joined with the Blood Ancestor to try to kill him!
In the end, the Blood Ancestor died, and sank to the bottom of the Heavenspan River, with only one, defiant hand stretching out above the surface of the water…. The Frigid Matriarch also perished. However, she managed to create a soulclone that possessed a true spirit. Afterward, she remained hidden in the Spirit Stream Sect, forever gazing into the distance at the Blood Ancestor… her Daoist partner.
Because of how things played out… the Celestial's first chance to concoct the pill he desired ended in a failure.
But the Celestial didn't give up. In the years that passed, he tried to come up with other ways to escape the world in which he was trapped. But at the same time, he kept the Undying Live Forever Pill in his back pocket, ready to use as a last resort.
If no one else came along who could master the Live Forever Codex, then perhaps the Celestial would have been forced to eventually abandon his insane plan. But then, his daughter, Du Lingfei… became the second person who was able to cultivate the technique!
Du Lingfei's bones slowly became crystal. And although she didn't advance by leaps and bounds like Bai Xiaochun had done with the Undying Codex, her rapid advancement in her cultivation proved that she wasn't very far behind him.
After all… she had the backing of the Celestial, and therefore, it was only natural that her cultivation would go easier than it would for others.
The Celestial was not completely cold-hearted when it came to the fact that his daughter was succeeding with the Live Forever Codex. On the one hand, he deeply desired to escape the Heavenspan Realm. But on the other hand, he still hesitated at the thought of sacrificing his own child.
It was that hesitation which led to the spectacular battle in the Wildlands, and his alliance with Ghostmother's soulclone. All of it had been an attempt to either kill the gravekeeper, or escape to the world beyond by using Ghostmother's battleship.
Unfortunately for him, all of his plans had failed. The Celestial began to descend into utter madness, and at the same time, constantly muttered, "Gravekeeper, you bastard, you're forcing me to do all of this!!"
As far as the Celestial was concerned, the gravekeeper really was forcing him down this path. It wasn't what he truly wanted, but he felt that he had no other choice. And thus, he had gone to war with the Wildlands.
He would end all life in the Wildlands, kill the gravekeeper, dispel the Underworld River, and end the bloodline of the Arch-Emperor Dynasty. In the middle of all that, Bai Xiaochun became the next person after the Blood Ancestor to master the Undying Codex!
In the end, the Celestial had two choices. Sacrifice his own flesh and blood, or watch his longevity run out, and his hopes of escaping the Heavenspan Realm be dashed to pieces. Finally, he picked the former…. And considering how his initial attempt at this plan had failed, as soon as he made his decision, he placed a magical slave seal on Du Lingfei!
Then he simply waited for Bai Xiaochun to show up. After confirming that Bai Xiaochun had succeeded with the Undying Codex, he made his move. There was no one to stand in his way, and thus, he brought Bai Xiaochun from the Wildlands to Heavenspan Island.
Bai Xiaochun watched bitterly as Du Lingfei stepped out from behind the Celestial. Her expression was vacant, making her seem almost like a marionette or puppet. Furthermore, deep within her eyes, it was just possible to see the flickering slave seals.
"Boo…." he said, thinking back to how the Celestial had used the both of them to lure out the ghost face. He would never forget the disappointment and bitterness he had seen in her expression back then.
"Don't hate me…." the Celestial said. "I never wanted to do this. It's all the fault of the gravekeeper!!" Suddenly, he threw his head back and laughed uproariously, although it was possible to detect bitter sadness within the laughter, as well as madness.
The Celestial had truly gone crazy. It was visible in his eyes, as well as his smile, which looked completely different than it had in the past. Eyes bloodshot, he performed a right-handed incantation gesture and then pointed at Du Lingfei!
In response, Du Lingfei shivered and looked up slowly. Expression blank, she began to walk slowly toward Bai Xiaochun, who could do nothing other than watch her approach. When she stepped into the blood in the pool, it immediately stained her white garments black. At the same time, the greedy magical symbols began to crawl onto her and pass to and fro on her skin.
She stopped right in front of him, where she slowly reached out… and put her hand on top of his head. As she did, she began to glow with crystalline light….
At that point, the aura of the Live Forever Codex erupted out.
Chuckling endlessly, the Celestial shoved his right hand down onto the ground, causing the entire necropolis to tremble. The spell formation began to radiate dazzling light, and the bones which formed it melted. Even the remains of the three Arch-Emperors started melting away….
The melting of the bones caused the spell formation to glow even brighter. At the same time, the black blood began to bubble and seethe, sending more magical symbols wriggling onto Bai Xiaochun and Du Lingfei!
They began to pour into their eyes, ears, noses and mouths. The pain caused Bai Xiaochun to shiver, but what was worse was the anguish and rage he felt!
His anguish was because of what was happening to Du Lingfei, and his rage was because of the cruelty of the Celestial!
"Am I going to die…?" he thought. Again, he tried to call out to the Frigid Matriarch, but there was no response. Magical symbols rushed into him, causing him to glow with golden light that seemed to correlate perfectly to the crystalline glow coming off of Du Lingfei.
A resonance formed with the light of the spell formation, whereupon a shocking gravitational force erupted from Du Lingfei!
The gravitational force spread through Du Lingfei and into Bai Xiaochun, causing him to shiver. Looking dully at Du Lingfei, he… slowly closed his eyes.
However, when that happened, a look of intense struggle appeared in Du Lingfei's eyes. A tremor ran through her, and suddenly she seemed like she might lift her hand off of his head. Apparently, despite the slave seal that had been placed on her, she instinctively refused to harm Bai Xiaochun!
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Chapter 1007: A Teardrop
The human body was still capable of reacting even under the control of a slave seal. Clearly, Du Lingfei had a tenacious determination in her heart to avoid hurting Bai Xiaochun.
When Bai Xiaochun felt the hand on the top of his head trembling, he opened his eyes to see Du Lingfei's face twitching. Furthermore, the magical slave seals in her eyes were flickering dramatically…. A moment passed, and then, she moved her hand away!
"Boo…." he murmured. Off to the side, mixed emotions could be seen in the Celestial's eyes. However, he quickly wiped them away with madness. Reaching his hand out, he pointed at his daughter.
She shivered, and the slave seals overwhelmed any sensation of pain she felt. She went still, and then… calmly put her hand back down on Bai Xiaochun's head.
She looked at him with eyes that didn't contain even a scrap of emotion, and yet, Bai Xiaochun could still sense her inner pain.
His lips parted as if he were about to say something, but instead, he stayed silent. This time, he didn't close his eyes. He knew that his life was nearing its end, and therefore, in that final moment before he died, he would create an eternal memory of what he was seeing.
Rumbling sounds filled the necropolis as the bones melted into the spell formation. Then, an explosive force left Du Lingfei's hand and entered Bai Xiaochun's head.
Intense pain raged through him as his life force, cultivation base, flesh, blood, and soul all began to rush toward Du Lingfei!
It was as if his body were being destroyed. His bones, blood, energy passageways, and everything else that made him up were being transformed into the ultimate type of life force….
That life force was what the Celestial needed, and what was currently rushing toward Du Lingfei….
Bai Xiaochun was the undying medicine, and Du Lingfei… was the pill furnace that could live forever….
After that pill furnace sucked in the medicine, it would sacrifice itself, withering up into death to produce… an Undying Live Forever Pill!
"Soon," the Celestial muttered. "Very soon now…. I've been waiting my whole life to get this Undying Live Forever Pill…." He began chuckling loudly, his expression twisted and distorted in bizarre fashion as he watched his daughter absorbing Bai Xiaochun.
Bai Xiaochun was shaking violently, and was wracked with unprecedented levels of pain. He had endured much pain to cultivate the Undying Codex, but none of that could even come close to comparing to what he was feeling now.
He was beginning to wither up. His hair was even turning dry and brittle. His Undying Blood began to fade away, and his Undying Bones were turning dull and dark. His Undying Tendons, Undying Flesh, and Undying Skin… were all melting….
He couldn't struggle or fight back. As he was emptied out, as his life force was sucked away, he slowly began to lose consciousness.
He suddenly thought back to everything he had done in the Wildlands. He thought of Bai Hao, the Giant Ghost King, Mistress Red-Dust and Zhou Yixing…. Then he thought of the River-Defying Sect….
He pictured Li Qinghou, Song Junwan, Master God-Diviner… and so many other faces. They seemed so vivid to him that he was sure he could reach out and touch them.
"The River-Defying Sect…." he murmured in a voice that only he and the dead could hear. As he weakened, his hair began to fall out, transforming into dust before it could even touch the surface of the black blood.
By now, he was so withered that he was like a candle flickering on the verge of winking out….
He wasn't thinking about the River-Defying Sect anymore…. He was thinking about the eastern Lower Reaches… and the Spirit Stream Sect. It was as if all the memories of his life were flowing past him. He saw himself in front of the stone steles of plants and vegetation. He saw himself licking his lips as he eyed some spirit tail chickens….
He saw himself with Big Fatty Zhang. He saw his Master, who had perished before even taking him as an apprentice. He saw Hou Xiaomei. He saw so many things….
By now, he couldn't breathe. He looked like brittle skin wrapped over dry bones. Rotting patches of death were spreading out to cover him… and his teeth began to fall out. As of this moment, he looked like a desiccated corpse that had been left in the grave for years and years….
The hand on top of his head was like a black hole sucking away at everything that was him, and filling him with a pain that he had already grown used to.
The Undying Codex was now eighty percent extracted from him, and it was the same with his life force. In his fading consciousness, he no longer saw the Spirit Stream Sect, but instead… Mount Hood.
On top of the mountain was a boy who was somehow holding seven or eight axes and cleavers, all at the same time. At the top of the mountain, he tossed the weapons aside… and even as thunder crashed in the sky, he lit a stick of incense.
It was a comical sight that made him want to smile. But he couldn't control his body, and was thus incapable. Perhaps that was a good thing, considering his current appearance. Smiling would have made him look even more horrifying.
As his consciousness continued to fade, he was fairly certain he could sense his soul beginning to rise up from inside of him, toward an all-consuming vortex….
He only had about ten percent of his life force left…. Cracks had begun to appear on his dried-up skin, to the point where the slightest brush of a hand would likely turn it into ash. It was the same with his five yin organs and six yang organs.
The power of the Undying Codex was now almost completely gone. Only a tiny scrap of it remained in his bones, which caused the faintest glimmer of gold to be visible through the ragged openings in his skin….
In that moment, he saw what would likely be the last image he ever saw…. A child crouched next to a bed, tears streaming down his face. As his parents began to breathe their last breaths, he began to weep, and then to wail….
"Xiaochun," a weak voice murmured, "don't be afraid…." A cold hand came to rest on his forehead. "Take this stick of incense…. Haven't you always dreamed of becoming an immortal…? Here, take it…."
The boy looked up through his tears to take the incense. Then, the hand which had moments ago lifted the incense up to him slowly dropped down. The boy's tears flowed even harder.
The boy remained at the bedside in a daze. Eventually, the neighbors came into the room and carried him out. He saw many sympathetic gazes as his parents' bodies were carried away…. The boy sat down in a corner, wrapped his arms tightly around his knees, and looked at the incense….
"Why do people die…? I… I want to live! I want all the people around me to live…. I want everyone to be happy! I want… to live forever!"
The boy's voice echoed away into silence inside of Bai Xiaochun's mind, a figment of eternity….
He felt more tired than he ever had been in his entire life….
However, in that moment right before his consciousness disappeared… a teardrop fell down onto the parched skin of his arm. As it was absorbed into his skin, it seemed to merge into his rapidly devolving consciousness.
"A teardrop…." he murmured. He could sense the bitterness in it. Using his last scrap of energy, he opened his eyes, and could just barely make out… Du Lingfei, struggling against the slave seal. Even if it destroyed her, she was determined to remove her hand from the top of his head! Oh so slowly, her hand began to rise up!
Then she spoke in a voice laced with the utmost despair. "Daddy… I beg you…."
Although her words were spoken softly, they struck the Celestial like lightning. He began to tremble.
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Chapter 1008: How Could You Be So Selfish?
The Celestial's heart felt like it was about to be ripped to pieces. Things which had once been the most important in his life, but had vanished along the way, were suddenly brought right back to the forefront thanks to Du Lingfei's words.
He suddenly saw her as a child, tugging at his garments and calling him daddy in her cute, girly voice…. He wasn't sure exactly when it happened, but somewhere along the line… she had stopped calling him daddy, and started calling him father.
"Fei'er…." he said, trembling physically, his pupils constricting.
After all… this was his daughter, his own flesh and blood.
The Celestial was the mighty ruler of the entire world, and yet, had never had many Daoist partners. Over all the years, he had never had a son. Du Lingfei was his only daughter, and in fact, his only child.
The Celestial had been so focused on escaping the Heavenspan Realm that Du Lingfei's mother had never meant much to him. She had long since passed away.
The Celestial's heart was currently being ripped two ways; in one direction by his humanity, and in the other by his desires.
The part that represented his humanity was screaming at him furiously. "You're really willing to sacrifice your own flesh and blood just to live a bit longer? Just to get off of this world? Is it really worth it…?"
On one side was his daughter, and on the other was his longevity, and his deep, insane desire to escape this prison he was in….
Du Lingfei was currently in the middle of a struggle… and so was the Celestial!
"Daddy… please…." Du Lingfei had begun to weep. She trembled physically as she fought against the slave seal. Every time she pushed against the magic of the seal, intense force slammed into her mind, making it feel like her soul might collapse at any moment.
And yet, she wouldn't give up. She didn't want to hurt Bai Xiaochun, and also didn't want to see her father like this. In her pain, she was like a helpless child who could do nothing more than beg and plead….
The father she remembered was not like this. Worse, she couldn't remember when he had changed…. When had he become a stranger, a person who would actually hurt her?
Upon parting with Bai Xiaochun in the north, she had returned to Heavenspan Island. Gradually, she came to find that her mind was slowing down, and eventually, she heard a complex, emotional howl from the Palace of the Dao. It was her father, the Celestial. That was when she lost control of her own body. And yet, she never lost her consciousness. Eventually, she watched herself consuming Bai Xiaochun's life force, and watched him dying, and the pain became too much to bear.
"Daddy…." she said, trembling as the slave seal began to slowly collapse as she fought back against it. However, it was at this point that the Celestial looked up, his eyes burning with madness.
"Shut up! Shut the hell up!!" As his shout echoed out like thunder, the madness in his eyes grew even more intense, and all the warmth of humanity that existed inside of him was wiped away!
He shoved his memories of Du Lingfei away as surely as if he had cut them with a blade!
He was no longer Du Lingfei's father. He was the Celestial, someone who didn't care about anything other than his longevity and his hopes for the future!
"Fuse with Bai Xiaochun. That is your mission. Combine the undying with that which can live forever. That is the entire purpose of your existence!" Face twisting with vicious coldness, he waved his finger out in front of him.
The slave seals in Du Lingfei's eyes glowed so brightly they turned red. It was as if her mind was being suppressed, and as she lost control, she slowly reached back out toward the top of Bai Xiaochun's head.
As her hand neared, it trembled, and Du Lingfei's eyes twitched. Despite how furiously the slave seals were controlling her, she was still trying to resist. Crystalline light shone brightly as she murmured, "I… won't…."
Tears streamed down her face and fell onto Bai Xiaochun. Blue veins bulged out on her face from the effort of speaking, and bloody wounds could be seen as her skin ripped and tore from the effort of fighting against the slave seals. She looked like she was about to collapse both physically and in terms of her divine sense. And yet, she wouldn't stop fighting.
As of this moment, it was possible to see Du Lingfei's unswerving determination. She had made her decision. She would rather destroy herself than betray what she believed in!
Bai Xiaochun could barely see what was happening. Virtually all of his life force was gone, and his mind was in chaos. His lips parted to speak, and yet, he didn't even have the energy to say a single word.
The tears falling onto his parched skin created rippling waves in his heart….
When the Celestial saw that Du Lingfei was about to destroy herself, his anger flared.
"Unfilial bitch!" he shouted, striding forward into the black pool of liquid.
The black liquid began to swirl about even faster, and the magical symbols all shied away from the Celestial.
Ignoring them, he stepped up to Du Lingfei and put his left hand onto her head, and then placed his right hand onto Bai Xiaochun's.
Tightening his fingers, he pushed both of their heads toward each other!
"You know, according to my original plan, after I refined you into an Undying Live Forever Pill and left this prison of a world, I would eventually become an archaean, and then figure out a way to resurrect you….
"Why must you rebel against me? Why?!?!
"Why do you go so far as to defy me?!?!"
The Celestial's twisted expression was terrifying. He radiated a sensation of complete madness. As for Du Lingfei, she tried to fight back, but was powerless to do so. With the Celestial forcing her head toward Bai Xiaochun's, there was nothing she could do, not even kill herself.
As the Celestial forced Du Lingfei and Bai Xiaochun closer to each other, the radiant golden and crystalline lights began to swirl together with glittering radiance.
"All I wanted you to do was consume Bai Xiaochun!" the Celestial raged. "All I asked you to do was become an Undying Live Forever Pill…. If I had any other choice, I wouldn't do this!" Apparently, it was only by shouting at the top of his lungs that the Celestial could convince himself that what he was saying made sense.
"I can't simply gamble that the Worldgate can be opened after the gravekeeper dies. What if it's sealed for all eternity? At that point, it wouldn't matter if I got the technique! Therefore, I have no choice but to refine you two into a pill now. Then, I can finally acquire the Undying Live Forever Technique, and be unstoppable!
"I can't bet on what I don't know! If the world ends up sealed, I'll never be able to change it. I have no choice here. If you were in my position, you would do the same thing!!
"With that pill… I will no longer be a quasi-celestial. I will be a true celestial! I will conform to the requirements of the will of this world, and will be able to leave!
"Why are you defying me!?!? You're just like your Eldest Sister! She defied me too! Why!?!? She did it for the Blood Ancestor, and you for Bai Xiaochun? Why?!?!
"All I have to do is get out of here and become an archaean! Then I can resurrect you!!
"How can the two of you… be so selfish!!?" The Celestial was screaming so loudly that in the outside world, wild colors flashed in the sky, and raging winds screamed across the Heavenspan Sea, causing huge waves to rise up.
In the depths of the Palace of the Dao, the Celestial's energy radiated out, provoked by his emotions. The spell formation was reaching its pinnacle of power, and as the black liquid in the pool spun faster and faster, the bones in the necropolis melted, and began to fuse with Bai Xiaochun and Du Lingfei!
Apparently, the spell formation was now acting like an enormous pill furnace, refining the ingredients therein to create…
An Undying Live Forever Pill!
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Chapter 1009: Twenty-Two-Colored Flame!
This was the most intense moment of deadly crisis Bai Xiaochun had ever experienced during his entire life. There was nothing he could do to stop what was happening. He didn't even have the strength to struggle. With the Celestial having physically taken matters into his own hands, it seemed a foregone conclusion how things would end up.
Bai Xiaochun's path of cultivation would end with Du Lingfei, the two of them refined into a medicinal pill by this enormous spell formation, which the Celestial would then use to transcend the bounds of the world in which he lived.
Never could he have imagined that things would end up like this, not even after having been told by the Frigid Matriarch that he would eventually have a falling out with the Celestial.
Bai Xiaochun had always naively believed that because of Du Lingfei, the Celestial wouldn't do anything too harmful to him. Furthermore, he had the gravekeeper and Bai Hao on his side, and a vast array of secret weapons that had filled him with confidence.
Except… all of that had been as realistic as the reflection of the moon on a shimmering lake….
He was losing consciousness, yet strangely, Du Lingfei's aura also gave him a strange sense of clarity.
"What if all of this… is part of the gravekeeper's plan…?" he murmured.
Seemingly in concert with Bai Xiaochun's speculation, the gravekeeper, who sat cross-legged in the pagoda in the ruins of the third level of the subterranean Arch-Emperor City, opened his turbid eyes.
"Bai Xiaochun," he murmured bitterly, "I hope… that you won't hate me. This is my mission… and the mission of the Hell-Emperor." His gaze penetrated the void, passing to the ends of the Wildlands, to a huge river that no one could see. There in the inky, endlessly flowing darkness was the antithesis of all of the life force of the Heavenspan Sea. This river… represented death.
Its waters were filled with infinite vengeful souls, all of them howling and screaming as they were carried along by the river water into the cycle of reincarnation….
Its name: the Underworld River.
At the furthest end of the Underworld River… was a pitch-black palace, rife with an aura of death. It was cold beyond belief, without even the slightest hint of a flame anywhere.
It was the… the Underworld Palace!
Sitting inside of the palace, clad in imperial robes, was the reigning Hell-Emperor, Bai Hao. Radiating off of him was an intense aura of death.
He normally wore a stern expression, but now, his face was a mask of anxiety. His mood affected the Underworld Palace and the Underworld River, causing waves to spread out across its surface.
He had personally witnessed the Celestial's enormous hand defeat the gravekeeper, as well as his own attempt to interfere.
He had watched helplessly as the sinister Celestial took Bai Xiaochun away, and although he couldn't be sure of all the details, he was convinced that his Master was in critical danger!
And he knew that the only person in the world who could save his Master… was himself!
He well knew how weak the gravekeeper was, and that he could pass away into death at any moment. Sadly, Bai Hao also knew that, despite being the Hell-Emperor, he was currently not a match for the Celestial….
"Master…." he murmured bitterly. Many memories floated up in his mind, memories of the time he had spent with his Master in the Wildlands.
Bai Xiaochun was his only family, and there was no one who Bai Hao felt more gratitude to than him. He had even sworn an oath to protect him with his own life….
His days spent with his Master… were the happiest he had ever experienced.
The memories faded away… leaving behind a single image, an image that would always be a part of his soul.
It was an image of Bai Xiaochun standing there with his back to him, calmly accepting him as an apprentice….
"Master…." Bai Hao murmured, smiling. It was a smile filled with staunch determination!
He knew that if he wanted to go to Heavenspan Island and take his Master away from the Celestial… then there was only one way to do it!
And that was… to concoct something that could break through the limitations of the world itself…. Twenty-two-colored flame!
It hadn't mattered to Bai Hao that Bai Xiaochun was already a deva. He had continued his auguries and research into twenty-two-colored flame. Eventually, he had come to the realization that in this world, the limit for flame conjuring was twenty-one-colored flame.
With the exception of some special circumstances, it would be impossible to succeed with twenty-two-colored flame. According to the limitations of the world, everything from twenty-one-colored flame and below was considered mortal fire. However, everything from twenty-two-colored flame onward was immortal fire!
There could be nothing more powerful in this world than a twenty-two-colored flame, if it appeared. In fact, it could burn anything that existed.
Fire like that could be used to fight the Celestial, and could enable Bai Hao to rescue Bai Xiaochun!
Unfortunately… there were no souls within this world that could be used to concoct a twenty-two-colored flame. Even using all of the souls within the Underworld River would yield nothing more than the limit of twenty-one.
"There's only one way…." he thought, shivering with fear. After a moment, though, the determination in his eyes grew stronger!
It was a method Bai Hao had come to understand due to two reasons. The first was that Miao Lin'er's clan had attempted to use him to conjure a flame. The second was that he was now the Hell-Emperor. That method was to use his own soul… to conjure that most consummate of flames… a twenty-two-colored flame!
That was the only way!
And since Bai Hao was the Hell-Emperor, and had complete control of the Underworld River, that meant that he controlled all of the souls that were part of the cycle of reincarnation!
"Master… I can save you…."
As he smiled, tears streamed down his cheeks, but his decision had been made.
The price to pay was enormous, but he could accept it… without any regrets!
Soon, Bai Hao… would cease to exist. And yet… he had no complaints!
Bai Xiaochun was his Master. In the moment that he had kowtowed to become an apprentice, he had decided… that he would do anything to pay back that kindness!
His tears were not corporeal. As they fell from his face, they became a part of the Underworld River. Sighing, he rose to his feet, then threw his hands wide.
"Souls, come to me!" The endless torrent of vengeful souls outside of the Underworld Palace surged and began to head in his direction, forming a massive vortex.
Bai Hao performed an incantation gesture with his left hand, then touched his forehead, which caused his entire body to burst into flames!
It was a one-colored flame….
His hands began to blur with incantation gestures as the surrounding sea of souls spun and spun. One soul after another entered Bai Hao, causing the flames that surrounded him to flicker in astonishing fashion.
Two-colored flame. Three-colored flame. Four-colored flame….
In only a few breaths worth of time, the sea of fire surrounding Bai Hao reached epic proportions. It was soon featured sixteen colors!
And things kept going!
If there was anyone in the entire world who could surpass Bai Xiaochun when it came to conjuring flames… then that person was his apprentice, the Hell-Emperor Bai Hao!
Rumbling sounds continued to echo out as the flames burned around Bai Hao. Countless souls dove madly into him as a seventeenth color appeared, then an eighteenth and a nineteenth….
Things weren't over yet!
The determination in Bai Hao's eyes couldn't have been more intense. Waving both arms out in front of him, he caused the entire Underworld River to shudder from beginning to end.
Twenty colors!
Twenty-one colors!
At that point, Bai Hao looked out into the void and unleashed an incredible howl.
At that point… his soul began to burn. With that power, along with the souls from the Underworld River, and with the river itself as the base, Bai Hao's eyes slowly lit up with twenty-one colors…. And then, another color appeared!
It was… a twenty-two-colored flame!
Nothing happened out in the Wildlands when the twenty-two-colored flame appeared. Everything seemed normal. The cultivators continued to fight, and yet, their hearts suddenly quivered. It was as if their souls were trembling due to the imminent arrival of some powerful, invisible force!
Nascent Soul cultivators. Devas. Even the demigods…. All of them were so shaken that they gasped!
It wasn't just in the Wildlands that such things happened. All living beings in the lands of Heavenspan, from cultivators to animals, even the vegetation and the mortals, all reacted similarly. Then, high in the sky appeared… the world net!!
At that point, all beings in the world heard a voice. Although it was only a murmur, the pressure weighing down on them was impossible to even describe!
"Master… I'm coming to save you!"
Er Gen released this picture of Bai Xiaochun and Bai Hao around when this chapter originally came out, so I thought it was good to save this one for here. It depicts the moment recalled in this very chapter. I'll add this to the AWE art page after this chapter gets released publicly.
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It was a voice filled with the deepest faith!
It was a voice filled with fearless madness!
It was a voice that revealed a deep reverence for a Master, the type that could not be erased even by the destruction of the body!
Heaven and earth rumbled as flames spread out across the sky of the Wildlands. Cultivators from both sides of the conflict looked up in utter shock, with many of them gasping aloud!
"The sky… is on fire?!?!"
"The heavens are aflame! How… how could this be happening?!?!"
"Look… there's a person inside that fire!!"
The enormous figure which appeared inside of the flame slowly looked up, fixing his gaze on the distant Heavenspan Sea. As he did, his features became clear to the cultivators down below in the Wildlands.
Soon, the savages, soul cultivators, heavenly marquises and heavenly dukes began to cry out in astonishment.
"That's… the Hell-Emperor!!"
"The Hell-Emperor!!"
As everyone in the Wildlands reeled in shock, Bai Hao began to speed toward the Heavenspan Sea with mountain-toppling, sea-draining energy radiating around him in the form of the sky-wide sea of fire!
The fire was spectacular to an indescribable degree, to the point where anyone who looked at it would assume that it could burn the entire world to a crisp.
As for the Heavenspan Sea, the incoming fire instantly whipped it up into a frenzy, as though it wished to block its path. However, any such efforts were useless!
The fire closed in from the direction of the Wildlands, covering the entire sky above the Heavenspan Sea. The flames, which contained Bai Hao's will, then began to rush toward Heavenspan Island!
The sea didn't seem capable of standing up to the burning heat of the fire, and began to evaporate, releasing boundless energy of heaven and earth.
It was so unprecedentedly strong that it quickly spread out into the entire world, reaching even as far as the Wildlands….
Plants suddenly sprouted, and flowers bloomed. Animals roared, and all living things were deeply shaken!
However, they also felt instinctively uneasy. After all, these levels of spiritual energy were clearly not a natural occurrence. They were more like when a cultivator burned his or her own soul to gain dangerous levels of power!
The Heavenspan Sea was not without end, and as it evaporated and poured incredible spiritual energy out into the world, it did so in a way that couldn't be replenished!
And yet… Bai Hao didn't care about that. He had surpassed the limits of the world by creating twenty-two-colored flame, and had even placed his own soul on the road to sacrifice to do it.
And there was only one reason for all of that….
Bai Hao knew that he didn't have much time to work with!!
Just like the evaporation of the Heavenspan Sea, using his own soul to conjure twenty-two-colored flame was a path that could not be returned from. Now that his soul was aflame, it would only be a short period of time before it was burned into nothing. At that point, the twenty-two-colored flame would vanish!
Time was of the essence, and therefore, Bai Hao immediately made his move on Heavenspan Island!
If this moment were frozen in time and depicted artistically, the sky would not be visible, nor would the Heavenspan Sea. The only thing visible would be… an endless sea of fire, descending with ultimate madness onto Heavenspan Island!
As of this moment, Heavenspan Island did not exist within the Heavenspan Sea. Instead, it existed within heavenly flame! Its beaches melted, its lands were scorched black, and crevices ripped open everywhere!
A roar like that of a furious giant echoed out in all directions as the fire completely engulfed the entire island.
Many parts of the island began to explode, sending rock and rubble flying about, which was almost instantly transformed into ash!
It was as if Bai Hao's plan to save Bai Xiaochun was to simply burn Heavenspan Island completely away!
Rumbling sounds filled the world as the sea of fire became a huge mouth which consumed Heavenspan Island!
The plants on the island vanished…. Mountains turned bright red and then shattered, the resulting debris instantly becoming ash!
There was little need to mention the beautiful buildings which filled the island. They were burned away within moments. The valuable medicinal plants that had once grown in abundance were destroyed, as was the lake of Heavenspan Sea water, and the waterfall.
Thankfully, Bai Hao was by nature a kind person, and controlled the fire in a way that spared the special guards, who fled in complete astonishment.
"This… this…."
"Someone's attacking Heavenspan Island…?"
There were two old men among the special guards who were actually demigods! They were none other than the famed Heavenspan Island divine guards! And yet even they were completely flabbergasted by this raging fire. They couldn't even approach the flames, and were forced to watch from a distance as the flames engulfed the island, and rushed specifically toward… the huge statue of the Celestial, his Palace of the Dao!
The two mountains to either side turned bright red, and then exploded into ash. At the same time, the flames engulfed the statue of the Celestial.
Everyone watching could see it melt. Within a few breaths of time, the statue which had stood for so many years was reduced to a lump of slag, which then dissolved into ash….
The entire Palace of the Dao… was wiped out of existence!
The moment the Arch-Emperor Dynasty had been driven out of the lands of Heavenspan, this island had become a holy land…. But now, fire rained down from the heavens and wiped it out of existence….
On what was left of the island, many of the flames converged together, revealing… an enormous flame giant, radiating an aura that caused the entire world to tremble!
The giant wore imperial robes made of flame, and a fiery imperial crown. When he spoke, it was in a roar that caused everything in the area to shake violently.
"Master, I'm here to save you!"
The special guards were struck to the core, and their minds began to spin out of control.
And yet, the burning destruction wasn't over yet!
As the giant roared, the rest of the sea of fire, having destroyed everything on the surface of the island, began to pour into the crevices which had opened up in it!
Their destination was none other than the huge spell formation in the necropolis!
The spell formation was in full operation at the moment. The bones, and the remains of the three Arch-Emperors, had fully melted, and were now part of the spell formation.
Roughly half of the black liquid was gone, having turned into countless magical symbols that crawled over Bai Xiaochun and Du Lingfei.
As for the Celestial, he stood there, a vicious expression on his face as he kept his hands locked onto the heads of Bai Xiaochun and Du Lingfei.
"Fuse! Fuse!! Fuse, dammit!!!"
Bai Xiaochun and Du Lingfei were trembling nonstop, and seemed just on the verge… of fusing together….
And that was when the necropolis began to split apart. It was as if doomsday had arrived! The rock walls began to glow red, and then simply exploded, allowing torrents of fire to burst inside!
It was as if… the world were descending into a fiery apocalypse!
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Chapter 1011: Raging Blood Qi
How could the Celestial not be aware of what was occurring outside of the necropolis? However, the critical moment in the fusion process had come, and he couldn't afford to be distracted. At the moment, he wouldn't care if the entire world and everyone in it died, much less Heavenspan Island. To him, only the task at hand was important!
"Fuse, dammit!" he shouted, sending some of his cultivation base power out to block the sea of fire, and using some of it to try to force Bai Xiaochun and Du Lingfei to fuse together.
"Master!!" Bai Hao cried from within the flames. The first thing he had seen upon entering the necropolis was his Master, unconscious and in the hands of the Celestial, who was trying to force him to fuse with Du Lingfei….
It was a scene that almost immediately drove Bai Hao into utter madness. Howling, he advanced toward Bai Xiaochun with increased speed from within the twenty-two-colored flame. As he did, the rock walls melted, and intense rumbling sounds echoed out.
The burning heat and shocking aura of the flame immediately caused the Celestial's expression to flicker.
Shockingly, the defensive measures he had thrown up with his cultivation base were absolutely powerless against these flames.
"What kind of fire is that?!?!" The Celestial's heart was already starting to pound because of this intense flame, the power of which surpassed anything he could ever have predicted.
In the blink of an eye, the fire was inside of the Celestial's defenses, past Du Lingfei… and right next to Bai Xiaochun!
Then… it let out a blast of power!!
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Power which surpassed the limitations of the world created something like a wall of fire that shoved violently against the Celestial!
The Celestial's face was one of vicious fury, and his eyes blazed with cruelty and madness.
"Feeling suicidal, Bai Hao?!" he roared, unleashing the energy of a quasi-celestial. He hoped to destroy the fire, but it was too hot, and in fact, filled him with a sensation of imminent, deadly crisis!
"Just… just what kind of fire is this?!" Even the Celestial was forced to retreat in the face of the heat. Also pushed away was… Du Lingfei!
She had long since lost consciousness, so as soon as the force pushed against her, she was ripped away from Bai Xiaochun and thrown off into the distance!
Rumbling sounds echoed out continuously as the wall of flames continued to push the Celestial away. Although all of this takes a bit of time to describe, it actually happened in only a split second!
After Du Lingfei and the Celestial were pushed away, the flames once again formed into the shape of Bai Hao, who stood there… right in front of the unconscious Bai Xiaochun!
Because of the shock which came from the interruption of the fusion process, as well as the heat of the flames, Bai Xiaochun suddenly regained a bit of consciousness.
He forced his eyes open, and although they were listless and mostly blank, when he saw the fire and Bai Hao, he weakly murmured, "Hao'er…."
In response, Bai Hao shivered, and his eyes flickered with profound grief. As for Bai Xiaochun, it seemed that his life force was on the verge of being completely exterminated, and he slowly closed his eyes. At that point, the pain Bai Hao felt in his heart reached the ultimate pinnacle.
"I'll take care of everything, Master!" he said through gritted teeth. By this point, he could sense that his soul was on the verge of vanishing, which meant that the twenty-two-colored flame would only last for a bit longer.
Right now, the most important thing to do was save his Master. And Bai Hao could sense that Bai Xiaochun's injuries were unprecedentedly severe…. His life force was ninety-nine percent gone!
He only had a tiny scrap of energy left….
Any delay could lead to Bai Xiaochun being killed in body and soul! His body would cease to live, and his Dao would vanish forever!
It was the most critical of moments, and therefore, Bai Hao didn't hesitate for even a moment. Howling, he retracted the wall of flames, which caused a sudden burst of teleportation power to appear.
He was using twenty-two-colored flame, something that surpassed the limitations of the world itself, to perform a teleportation, and whisk Bai Xiaochun away!
"How dare you, Bai Hao!!" To see all of his hopes about to be taken away caused the Celestial to descend into further rage and madness.
How could he possibly just sit there and watch as Bai Hao saved Bai Xiaochun?!
"Disperse, you trifling sea of fire!"
The Celestial was shocked by the power of the flame, but that didn't stop the pressure of his will from exploding out. It caused the air to split and rip, and the sky overhead to shake. In fact, all of the lands of Heavenspan began to tremble.
At the moment, the Celestial possessed the power of an entire world, as well as its fury!
His energy skyrocketed, and in the blink of an eye, the seawater began to seethe, and the lands began to quake so hard that crevices opened up everywhere!
The Celestial's aura, his cultivation base, and all of the pressure roiling off of him reached a fever pitch as he lifted his right foot and then took a step forward!
As he did that, his aura, his cultivation base, and the pressure took physical form. An enormous Dharma Idol materialized, which then lunged toward the flames!
Radiant color shone off of the Dharma Idol, which seemed to encompass the power of wind, rain, thunder and lightning! Shockingly, this was the will of the world itself, which was now attempting to contest with the twenty-two-colored flame!
Energy levels like this could destroy the heavens and extinguish the earth!
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The fire which surpassed the limitations of the world suddenly trembled. Inside of it, Bai Hao was shaking visibly, as though an enormous invisible hand were closing around him to crush him out of existence!
Bai Hao wanted to keep his soul burning to power the flame, but the power of the Celestial was too incredible. With every step the Celestial took, the twenty-two-colored flame was forced backward, and also shrank down!
"Nobody can stop me from saving my Master! Not even you… Daoist Heavenspan!!" As the Celestial approached, Bai Hao howled and stretched his arms wide. He glanced back at Bai Xiaochun with a look of sorrow and departure, then decisively waved both hands through the air in front of him!!
"Burn! Burn my soul! Burn all of me!!" Laughing loudly, Bai Hao… ignited the forty percent of his soul that remained!!
He was going all out! He was holding absolutely nothing back!!
The twenty-two-colored flame which the Celestial had been battling against suddenly flared to life with madness. The Celestial's face fell.
"Noooo!!" he screamed. But the twenty-two-colored flame was just as fear-inspiring as before, despite how he had suppressed it to a certain degree. And now that Bai Hao was burning his entire being, even the Celestial was forced to back away.
His eyes were completely bloodshot, and filled with madness as he watched the power of teleportation building up inside of the sea of fire. At that point, a howl of rage erupted from his lips that everyone in the world could hear.
"Four rivers form the heavenly bones!" All of a sudden, the Heavenspan Realm began to tremble, and ghost images of the four rivers and the lands that bordered them rose up into the sky, almost like enormous souls!
"A golden sea to act as flesh!" Blue veins bulged out on the Celestial's face and neck as he waved both hands through the air. Instantly, the waters of the Heavenspan Sea began to float up. In the blink of an eye, they connected with the souls of the four rivers. Shockingly, the souls of the four rivers were like bones, and the seawater was like flesh, creating an enormous, golden hand!
The hand emitted an aura that caused all living things in the Heavenspan Realm to tremble. This was… really and truly, the hand of the world!!
And it was now moving toward Heavenspan Island!
It blotted out the heavens as it moved with incredible speed toward the sea of fire on the island, which had still not teleported away!
Despair rose up in Bai Hao's heart, and he smiled bitterly. Although his burning soul was powerful enough to contend with the hand of the world itself… he couldn't evade it. The teleportation would be interrupted, and his soul… would be gone. There would be no second chance for escape….
However, it was in that very moment that… from the direction of the eastern Heavenspan River, or more precisely, from the sect headquarters of the River-Defying Sect, a blood qi suddenly appeared…
That raged into the highest heavens!!
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Chapter 1012: Blood Ancestor, Resurrected!
Along with the raging blood qi, a blood-red beam of light appeared in the air over Heavenspan Island. It came from the east, causing all the lands to tremble and quake as it pierced through the air!
Within that blood-colored light was… an enormous blood spear!
It was fully 30,000 meters long, and as it closed in, it became clear that its target was not the island itself. Instead, it was the enormous world hand formed from the souls of the four rivers and the Heavenspan Sea!
It moved with shocking speed, and when it slammed into the world hand, it unleashed a deafening boom.
"Blood Ancestor!" the Celestial howled, his face twisted with rage. "You're not dead!?!?"
Unfortunately for him, his shout could do nothing to prevent the blood spear from hitting the world hand. The spear began to crumble into pieces upon impact, and yet, it caused the hand to falter slightly on its path toward Bai Hao and Bai Xiaochun!
That slight pause was enough!
Bai Hao, who had been in the middle of smiling bitterly, suddenly caused his soul to burn with even more intensity, instantly completing the buildup of teleportation power!
Bai Hao's flame form wrapped Bai Xiaochun up and then vanished from Heavenspan Island!
The unconscious Bai Xiaochun struggled to open his eyes, but all he could see was vaguely flickering flames. And yet… he was still able to detect a raging blood qi that was very similar to his own!
Back on Heavenspan Island, the Celestial howled with rage and madness, causing the world to shake, and icy coldness to spread out in all directions!
"Damn you, Blood Ancestor! You… you're not dead!?!?" The Celestial was filled with so much rage it defied description. He had sacrificed his own flesh and blood, had paid the highest of prices, and yet, in the end… he yet again failed in the critical moment.
He failed every time, a fact that pushed him into pure insanity.
"Damn all of you! I hope you all die!! You won't escape, Bai Xiaochun!!" As the Celestial howled, the world hand began to grow larger, and simultaneously speed in the direction of the Wildlands in pursuit of Bai Hao.
However, it was in that very moment that another surge of blood qi erupted from the sect headquarters of the River-Defying Sect! And this time, the levels of energy involved vastly surpassed the last eruption!
The entire world turned the color of blood, and the source was…
The eastern Heavenspan region!
The sect headquarters of the River-Defying Sect!
All of the disciples who were still in the sect were completely and utterly shaken. In fact, they began to flee, their expressions those of incredulity and shock. The focus of their gazes… was something towering up in the very middle of the River-Defying Sect, something that was viewed as a precious treasure of the sect itself… the fleshly body of the Blood Ancestor!
He was matchlessly tall, a giant who stood right next to the Dire Skybanyan, and had remained in place for countless years without moving of his own volition. For all intents and purposes, he was a corpse.
But right now, the Blood Ancestor was actually moving! Soil and dirt that had built up on his skin over the years began to crack and fall off in pieces, falling down to the earth far below.
His hand, once the home of the Blood Stream Sect, twitched, causing more dirt and soil to crumble down toward the ground.
Deep within the Blood Ancestor, his withered heart suddenly began to beat….
Thump thump! Thump thump!
The pounding of his heart echoed out as blood-colored light poured from it into his blood vessels. Streams of fresh blood then began to flow out into his body!
His blood vessels were… regenerating!
The process happened extremely quickly, with maddening speed. Soon, the beating of his heart became so loud that it was audible outside of his body!
The cultivators in the River-Defying Sect all gasped, and began to cry out in alarm.
"The Blood Ancestor… the Blood Ancestor… he…."
"Heavens, what's going on here?!?!"
"He's… he's alive?!"
The Blood Stream Division was especially shocked. After all, this was their reserve precious treasure, something that had aided all of them in their cultivation over the years. They had imitated the Blood Ancestor, and used him to create all sorts of divine abilities. And now… he was coming back to life!!
In the past, the Blood Ancestor could move when the disciples of the Blood Stream Division pooled their power to control him. But now… no one was controlling him. Therefore, the sound of his heart beating cause waves of shock to rise up within all of the disciples who were present to observe.
Soon, the sound was as loud as thunder from the heavens. Even more shocking was the heaven-shaking, earth-shattering life force which began to burn inside of him!
Because of it, and because of the raging blood qi, all heaven and earth became stained as if with blood! The Blood Ancestor was coming back to life!
No longer did he radiate an aura of death. Instead, he thrummed with astonishing fleshly body power!
However… it was only a resurrection of his fleshly body. The Blood Ancestor was coming to life physically, but… he had no soul!
And yet… as the Blood Ancestor's fleshly body awoke, and his life force flourished, a monkey appeared on a mountain in the Spirit Stream Sect. This monkey had first appeared years ago when Bai Xiaochun concocted medicinal pills in the Spirit Stream Sect!
An unprecedentedly serious expression could be seen on his face right now, as well as a look of determination.
"It's time for me to pay back what is owed…. I should be dead, so it's been a true blessing to be able to come back for these short years…. The gravekeeper wants me to restore your soul? That's a fair trade!" The monkey laughed as his body withered up and then transformed into ash, revealing a soul!
It was not the monkey's soul, but rather, the discarnate soul of some unknown entity. And it immediately began to fly toward the Blood Ancestor!
In another location in the River-Defying Sect was a rabbit. A wistful smile could be seen on his face as he closed his eyes and collapsed into ash, revealing another soul that also began to fly toward the Blood Ancestor!
It wasn't just the monkey and the rabbit that did this. In another location in the lands of Heavenspan was a winged tiger, crouching in a mountainous valley. A tremor ran through it, after which it threw its head back and howled. As it did, it collapsed into ash, and a discarnate soul flew out!
The same thing happened with a certain flock of birds, a colony of ants, and a group of geese…. All of the bizarre entities that had come into existence thanks to Bai Xiaochun's pill concocting efforts all transformed into ash….
As they did, the souls they had been carrying in their bodies flew up into the air and headed toward the River-Defying Sect!
Countless discarnate souls flew into the River-Defying Sect, and then entered the body of the Blood Ancestor. When the final one arrived, the Blood Ancestor shivered.
Then, a growling sound echoed out from his throat to fill the entire world!
"I held my breath yesterday, to awaken today…. Finally, I'm back!" In that moment, the Blood Ancestor… opened his eyes!
A shocking murderous aura erupted out like a tempest, a murderous aura filled… with tempestuous hatred!
"I've come back for you… Celestial!!!" All of the soil and dirt which had once existed on the Blood Ancestor was gone, revealing a god of battle who leaped into the air and began to fly in the direction of Heavenspan Island, seething with hatred and madness!
It was in that moment that, in the imperial palace of Arch-Emperor City, the Arch-Emperor stood looking in the direction of Spirit Advent City, which had fallen, and was burning to the ground. In fact, streams of soul cultivators were fleeing from there toward Arch-Emperor City.
All of a sudden, at tremor passed through the Arch-Emperor, as he sensed a type of blood qi which existed in legends.
"That's… that's…." The Arch-Emperor was so shocked he almost couldn't speak.
Far below, in the third level of Arch-Emperor City, within the ruined, crumbling pagoda, the gravekeeper sat there cross-legged in meditation. Yet again, his eyes slowly opened to look at Bai Xiaochun and Bai Hao, who were materializing in front of him, wreathed in flames.
"The final phase of the plan… can now begin…."
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Chapter 1013: Three Kowtows Of Gratitude
Everyone in the River-Defying Sect was completely stunned as the Blood Ancestor launched into the air, radiating an astonishing blood qi that caused all creation to turn the color of blood.
Within his eyes burned madness and vengeance that originated from countless years in the past. He was a bright beam of light that cut through the air and headed directly toward… Heavenspan Island!!
Mountains crumbled because of his passage, and the Heavenspan Sea parted as surely as if it had been cut with a gigantic blade. A huge line appeared, stretching directly from the eastern river all the way to Heavenspan Island!
It was so deep that the seafloor was visible at the bottom, with two cliffs of water on either side!
Even the powerful Celestial was shocked, and instantly ceased any attempt to chase after Bai Hao and Bai Xiaochun!
However, there was something different to this blood qi compared to Bai Xiaochun's. Although the Blood Ancestor had reached the great circle of the Undying Codex, he currently had no cultivation base to back it up. And yet, because of his bloodline, his fleshly body power was even more shocking…. He was a descendant of the original Arch-Emperor, and therefore, the power he could draw upon from the Undying Codex actually surpassed Bai Xiaochun's!
After all, the Undying Codex had originally been designed for use by the Arch-Emperor's descendants!
Furthermore, the Blood Ancestor had been famous for many years. He had built up much more blood qi throughout his extended cultivation of the Undying Codex. And back when he had died, although it seemed like his blood qi vanished, it had actually remained hidden, deep within him. Bai Xiaochun, who had just made his breakthrough, couldn't possibly compare to that.
Now, all of that power erupted out into the open, and it was far greater than the power of an ordinary demigod. It was very close to the great circle, and created an aura that even Daoist Heavenspan was surprised by!
If that were all there were to it, it might not have been a big deal. However, when the Blood Ancestor awoke, he could sense Bai Xiaochun's existence, and could tell that he was not a descendant of the Arch-Emperor. Because of that, he immediately had an idea of what the gravekeeper was planning to do. It was a different plan than the gravekeeper had explained to him on the eve of his own death. But the Blood Ancestor didn't care about that.
"If the gravekeeper picked him… then that's fine…. I brought shame to the original ancestor. I don't deserve to lead the people of this world out into the heavens…. I don't deserve to fulfil the founder's wishes… I just wanted to live an ordinary life with Ling'er….
"The Celestial murdered Ling'er right in front of me. But now I'm awake…. I won't stay alive for long… but I must see the Celestial dead!!" The Blood Ancestor was laughing and crying at the same time, his eyes shining with madness!
"Maybe I can't kill him myself… but I can prevent him from ruining the gravekeeper's plan. I can stop him… from gaining control of the world treasure that Ling'er is fusing with!" Rumbling sounds echoed out as the Blood Ancestor burst into flames. Shockingly… he was burning every aspect of himself to further increase his battle prowess!
"My only regret… is that I can tell that Ling'er's soulclone is asleep inside the world treasure of the north…." After casting a glance in that direction, the Blood Ancestor pushed forward with greater speed.
He was a burning giant that pulsed with battle prowess that surpassed the great circle of the Demigod Realm. He was very close to being… a quasi-celestial!
Within mere moments, he caught sight of Heavenspan Island, as well as an enormous hand whose bones were made of the souls of the rivers, and whose flesh was seawater. In front of that hand was none other than… the Celestial!
"Celestial!!" the Blood Ancestor howled, accelerating.
The Celestial's eyes narrowed, but they still pulsed with a murderous aura. The frustration and hatred he felt for the gravekeeper in this moment defied description. Although the gravekeeper's cultivation base had declined in recent years, the man had not lost any of his ability to scheme. In fact, every twist and turn in which the gravekeeper came out on top caused the Celestial to sink to further depths of failure.
To be deprived of hope over and over again had pushed the Celestial into a state of insanity. Growling, he waved his arm, causing the enormous world hand to shoot toward the Blood Ancestor!
10,000 years ago… these two had fought a battle to the death. And now, 10,000 years later… the same spirit of battle could be seen!
This would be a shocking fight the likes of which the world rarely saw!
As it began, the gravekeeper was in the depths of the precious treasure that was Arch-Emperor City. He had been looking out in the direction of the Heavenspan Sea, but now he retracted his gaze… and looked at Bai Hao and Bai Xiaochun.
There had been nowhere else in the world for Bai Hao to flee to. This was the only place where he felt he could escape the deadly pursuit of the Celestial!
Although the gravekeeper was hovering on the brink of death… he was still the previous Hell-Emperor. And despite his age… he was still the gravekeeper of this entire world!
After the teleportation finished successfully, Bai Hao breathed a sigh of relief. The twenty-two-colored flame being fueled by the burning of his soul was now starting to fade away.
Bai Hao knew that his remaining time… was very, very limited….
He didn't want to leave, but had no choice. He looked at his Master, sitting there cross-legged, his life force as weak as could be, his skin like wrinkled parchment and his hair fallen out, and Bai Hao wept.
"Master…." he murmured. As a soul body, he would normally not be able to truly shed tears. But now, in this final moment of his life, a miracle occurred, and tears began to roll down his face.
As they fell, they turned into fire. And yet, the stabbing pain in Bai Hao's heart ensured that they only continued to flow.
Eventually, Bai Xiaochun apparently heard his apprentice. Groggy and weak, he barely managed to crack open his eyes. The mere effort caused a fresh wave of exhaustion to sweep through him.
Although he could barely open his eyes, he was still able to see his apprentice standing there in front of him…. Bai Xiaochun was mostly in a daze, almost soulless, and yet, his gaze locked directly onto Bai Hao.
"Master!!" Bai Hao said excitedly, kneeling down in front of Bai Xiaochun. As he did, his soul began to fade away, and yet, a happy smile could be seen on his face.
It was the pure smile of a young one looking at the most important person in his life. It was a smile of respect that originated from deep within his body and soul. And as he smiled, he placed his hands onto the ground and kowtowed.
One kowtow!
"Thank you, Master… for saving my soul…." Even as he murmured the words, his head touched the ground, and he thought back to the moment he had regained consciousness, and seen Bai Xiaochun standing there. I'm your Master, he had said.
It was an eternal memory for Bai Hao.
Bai Xiaochun shivered, sensing that something unusual was happening. He struggled against his confused state, wishing he could think clearly, and wishing he could open his eyes further.
Bai Hao straightened from his kowtow and looked deeply at Bai Xiaochun. His smile was radiant, but at the same time, contained the sorrow of departure. With that, he kowtowed again.
Two kowtows!
"Thank you, master… for keeping me company…." Bai Hao's voice was weak now, and his soul had almost completely faded away. The twenty-two-colored flame was now almost completely gone.
In his mind, he saw the spirit enhancement shop back in Arch-Emperor City. He thought about all the things that he and Bai Xiaochun had done there, memories which would never leave him.
It had been the first time in his life that he had truly experience familial love. The warmth he had felt then was something that would always be part of him….
Bai Xiaochun shivered. It was as if, deep within him, his consciousness was struggling to free itself. A deep feeling of unease had overtaken him, the type that came when someone realized that something supremely precious was about to disappear. Despite his weakness and the befuddlement that gripped him, Bai Xiaochun was starting to regain his senses!
Bai Hao looked up at Bai Xiaochun for the final time. His gaze was deep, as if he hoped to burn this image into his mind for all eternity. He didn't want to leave, but now, his time was up. As his soul began to fade away for good, he kowtowed for the last time….
Three kowtows!
"Thank you, Master…." he murmured. He wasn't able to finish speaking the sentence. In the middle of his kowtow, he faded away. It started with his feet… and spread to his legs… and then his torso. Finally, his head disappeared from view….
Three kowtows of gratitude!
The rest of his sentence would only ever exist within his mind.
If I get another life after this one, Master… I hope I can be your apprentice again….
In the moment that Bai Hao faded away, Bai Xiaochun suddenly reached out with his withered hand….
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His hand… grasped at nothing but air….
"Hao'er!!" Bai Xiaochun's consciousness began to rise up from within the blankness, pushed by an indescribable wave of grief!
His eyes snapped open to see… nothing. The twenty-two-colored flame was gone, and Bai Hao along with it.
Only a tiny wisp of the fire remained, a spark, the last trace of Bai Hao that remained in the world. As it fell onto the back of Bai Xiaochun's hand, it burned him, leaving a small mark.
Bai Xiaochun shivered, his hand frozen in midair in front of him, his eyes filled with tears.
Although he had not been able to see Bai Hao's final moments clearly, he could sense that his apprentice was now no more….
Tears fell down onto his withered skin, and the ground beneath his feet, as more grief than he ever imagined could exist overwhelmed him.
It wasn't that Bai Xiaochun had never experienced the death of a friend or loved one. But this was different. Bai Hao's passing filled his mind with a deep, deathly stillness….
It was a grief the likes of which led, not to screaming and yelling, but to silence and the shedding of tears….
He thought back to the first time he had ever seen Bai Hao. He thought back to the moment when his soul awakened. He thought back to how they had relied on each other to survive in the Wildlands….
From now on, Bai Hao, I'm your Master!
Hao'er, how do you think Master did this time around!?
Hahaha!! Don't worry, your Master has a lot of experience with this kind of thing.
As the memories flitted through his head, he shivered uncontrollably. He still couldn't pull his hand back, and in fact, made another attempt to grab hold of Bai Hao. He refused to believe that his apprentice had truly perished….
"Hao'er…." he murmured, tears streaming down his face. Then he began to weep, the sound of which echoed out with the most profound grief and pain possible….
"Why? Why are people always fighting and killing each other…? Why do people have to die…? Why…? Immortal cultivation is about living forever, isn't it…? Why…?"
As he wallowed in his tears and grief, he couldn't help but ask the same questions he had wondered about from the moment he started down the path of cultivation. Time passed, and his voice grew weaker and weaker.
He only had the tiniest scrap of life force left in him. Bai Hao's departure had inundated him with grief, a grief that was not the type that could be expunged with mere tears.
And thus, the grief built upon itself, becoming a cold wind that extinguished the last spark of warmth left inside of him. It became a tempest that sealed away anything and everything….
In the moment before the tempest sealed away his life itself, Bai Xiaochun looked up at the gravekeeper, and within his gaze… was profound grief and… hatred!
By now, he understood that, whether it was Du Lingfei or Bai Hao, the person responsible for how everything had turned out… was the gravekeeper….
He didn't know why the gravekeeper had done all these things, but it didn't matter. There was no way he could forgive him!!
The hatred within Bai Xiaochun's eyes was something that had never before appeared, or even existed within him!
He was a happy-go-lucky person, with a simple heart. And yet, all of that was now overwhelmed by the hatred, locked away and sealed within his memories.
He chuckled, and then closed his eyes.
The gravekeeper saw the hatred, and could sense the life force in Bai Xiaochun withering like an unbloomed flower because of the grief…. The gravekeeper sat there in the crumbling pagoda, and he sighed.
Had it been possible, he would never have let Bai Hao perish. But not even he could save Bai Hao's soul after it became the fuel for a twenty-two-colored flame. He might have been able to secretly feed a bit of life force into him in the end… but even he wasn't sure if that would have done anything.
"Bai Xiaochun…." he murmured, his ancient voice echoing out into the ruins of the third portion of the city, which was spread out around him.
"Please know that, although I came up with this plan… I didn't orchestrate every single detail….
"The reason why all of this is happening is… the Undying Live Forever Technique….
"The undying aspect corresponds to Yang, and the live forever aspect corresponds to Yin…." Although his voice entered Bai Xiaochun's ears, it could not reach his grief-stricken consciousness.
It almost was as if the gravekeeper wasn't directing his words at Bai Xiaochun… but rather, himself. It was as if he was attempting to bolster his own convictions and faith.
"These two codices of Arch-Emperor's magic were passed down for many years. They are partly that which is eternal, and partly that which is tribulation. Perhaps both, perhaps neither. They represent… hope…." The gravekeeper seemed more ancient than ever in this moment..
"Sadly, one codex alone is difficult to master. It would be rare to find someone who could succeed even among those with a strong bloodline tracing back to the Arch-Emperor, much less those in the world today, in which the bloodline is weak…. And even if someone succeeded… they would be unable to combine the Yin and the Yang, and achieve the next breakthrough. After mastering one codex, there could be no more progress.
"To cultivate the Live Forever Codex after the Undying Codex would be difficult beyond imagination…. From ancient times until now, no one has ever done it…. After all, the only way to practice such cultivation… would be to die first!
"The reason for that is… the opposite of that which is undying, is that which dies. And the opposite of that which lives forever is that which lives for a short time. Both of those equate to death….
"The connection between that which is undying and that which lives forever… is death! However, that death is not a true perishing. For example, the Blood Ancestor. He held his breath in the past to awaken today!" Normally speaking, the gravekeeper would not give voice to words such as these. But there was little need for propriety now. Bai Hao was dead, and thus, the Hell-Emperor was dead. Because of that, the gravekeeper knew… that the end of the world was at hand.
From this moment on, there would be no cycle of reincarnation. Dead souls would roam the lands now that the Underworld River had dried up, and Bai Hao had passed away….
As for any souls which had remained in the river, they would be unleashed on the world….
"Only by experiencing death can someone who has mastered the Undying Codex build the bridge…. Only then can that person qualify to cultivate the Live Forever Codex. However, to truly master that codex… requires time. Too much time…." The gravekeeper sighed.
Time was not something he had in abundance. Nor did he have any way to predict what other unforeseen circumstances could arise that would destroy his hopes and plans.
Before Bai Xiaochun, there had been the Blood Ancestor. The gravekeeper and the Blood Ancestor had only been able to discuss this plan, not carry it out…. But now that Bai Xiaochun was here, and had mastered the Undying Codex, things were different.
He had given up on the Blood Ancestor, and focused all his hope on Bai Xiaochun!
Because of that, and because of other important factors, the gravekeeper had adjusted his plan, and was now more confident than ever.
"Ah, Daoist Heavenspan…. If you ignore his evil, he is truly spectacular…. I would never have thought of his plan to concoct an Undying Live Forever Pill…." The gravekeeper closed his eyes.
He wanted Bai Xiaochun to take the Blood Ancestor's place, to become the new hope. He would have Bai Xiaochun cultivate… the Live Forever Codex!
It would not be done in the usual fashion, but… it would work!!
Even the gravekeeper marveled at Daoist Heavenspan's plan to create an Undying Live Forever Pill. It was a technique he had learned from, and modified! He had made a new plan, to plant the scrap of an aura from the Live Forever Codex into Bai Xiaochun!
That aura would be a seed that the gravekeeper could use other methods to catalyze, and push to completion faster than ordinary!
The gravekeeper opened his eyes and looked at Bai Xiaochun.
"In the end…" he murmured, "it was Daoist Heavenspan's desire to leave this world, and the way I foiled his efforts, that forced him to resort to his final backup plan….
"In his madness, he went so far as to sacrifice his own child…. And I… will take this opportunity to make use of the Celestial and Du Lingfei…. I will plant just a bit of the aura of the Live Forever Codex into Bai Xiaochun…."
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Chapter 1015: Eternal Turtle
"Your fusion already reached a certain critical point…. It doesn't matter that your body has run out of life force, you still have a bit of the aura of the Live Forever Codex in you!" Although the gravekeeper's eyes were cloudy, they still glittered with bright light as he looked into Bai Xiaochun. There, inside of Bai Xiaochun's withered flesh and blood was… a scrap of the aura of the Live Forever Codex.
"That… is the seed! I will make that seed sprout, and turn it into the most towering of trees!" With that, the gravekeeper slowly rose to his feet. As he did, the cloudiness in his eyes vanished, and all of a sudden, he pulsed with a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering energy!
"Everything I do is for this world and the people who live in it. And also, for my true self… the first generation Arch-Emperor!
"Even more so, I do it for that which is eternal…. The only person I am letting down is you, Bai Xiaochun…. Therefore, allow me to bestow upon you the most beneficial of good fortunes, the type that can allow you to span the heavens!
"Once you leave this world, you'll come to understand everything!"
The gravekeeper began to laugh, a laughter filled with both anticipation and shocking focus!
As his aura grew stronger, an unimaginably powerful life force erupted out of him, apparently a burst of energy like the final radiance from a setting sun. It was so intense that it seemed likely he would burst into flames at any moment.
As the gravekeeper's aura skyrocketed, a massive wind kicked up in the ruins of the third level of the city. Buildings and structures began to crumble away into nothing.
Eventually, the third level of the city was in such a state of ruin that it seemed likely that it would collapse. At the same time, though, the entire precious treasure that was Arch-Emperor City began to tremble.
"I'm not strong enough anymore. And although I can't completely control this precious treasure left behind by my true self, I can definitely extract the magical power stored inside of it!" With that, he waved his finger at Bai Xiaochun, who seemed completely bereft of any life.
Just as the final tiniest drop of Bai Xiaochun's life force seemed about to wink out, the gravekeeper waved his finger, and Arch-Emperor City vibrated. At the same time, Bai Xiaochun suddenly spasmed bodily.
His heart had already gone still in death, but now, it twitched. And then, his bag of holding opened of its own volition, and the two skeletons he had acquired on Ghostmother's battleship flew out into the open!
As the gold and crystal skeletons shone with scintillating light, the gravekeeper spoke in a voice that echoed like heavenly thunder,.
"Eternal Turtle regnant! You are the companion spirit of the Eternal Mother! Get out here immediately!"
The little turtle immediately flew out of Bai Xiaochun's bag of holding, although whether or not it did so willingly was impossible to tell.
"Dammit, you old fogey. I knew something fishy was going on. That's why I've been hiding recently. Who would have thought… that you would actually recognize me!?" The little turtle looked over at Bai Xiaochun, and an expression of guilt could be seen in his eyes.
Ignoring the little turtle's words, the gravekeeper reached out with his right hand. In response, the little turtle shrieked and tried to dodge out of the way.
"Your fate is on the line here too, Eternal Turtle," the gravekeeper said. "If you weren't asleep just now, then why the hell didn't you show your face?!"
The little turtle seemed to be struggling about what to do, but a moment later, he sighed, as though resigning himself to his fate.
"Fine. Fine!" he shouted. "What do you want from me!?"
"Your blood!" the Gravekeeper replied, his eyes flashing with sharp light. The little turtle clenched his jaw, stuck his head as far as he could out of his shell, then twisted around and bit down hard on his own neck.
He bit down so hard that his head flew off to the side, and a geyser of blood erupted out from the gaping wound. His body immediately began to turn dark, until his head flew back and attached to his neck again. Within moments, there wasn't even a trace of any sort of wound.
"There you go, you old bastard!" he said weakly. Then, he turned into a white beam of light, ignoring the gravekeeper as he shot back into Bai Xiaochun's bag of holding. A moment later, his head popped back out. "You know what, you old bastard? Based on what I know of Bai Xiaochun, it's not a common thing for him to hate somebody. But once he does, he hates them for all eternity…."
The gravekeeper looked coldly at the little turtle, then waved his right hand, causing the blood that had just spilled out to converge into a blood sphere. Next, he sent the blood sphere toward the two skeletons. As it merged into them, the golden and crystalline light shining out grew more intense.
At the same time, the auras of both the Undying Codex and the Live Forever Codex flared to life!
These two skeletons had a very extraordinary background. Back when Ghostmother originally came to the Heavenspan Realm, she ended up trapped in the Deadmire, and thus, made a deal with the gravekeeper.
The terms of that deal stipulated that, one day, the gravekeeper would help Ghostmother leave this world!
In return, Ghostmother agreed to keep these two skeletons on deck 2 of her ghost galleon. There, they could absorb the spiritual energy present in the ship, spiritual energy which came from beyond the heavens.
Because of that specific spiritual energy, the two skeletons grew much stronger than they had been originally. In some ways, they became refined! Another part of the deal between the gravekeeper and Ghostmother was that she would occasionally use her Celestial Realm cultivation base to personally advance the fusion of the two skeletons!
Many years passed during which, although no physical change could be detected, those two skeletons actually did merge together and became… a consummate high-level medicine!!
The reason for the gravekeeper's complicated plan was that he had gained an inkling of what the Celestial would attempt to do. And the gravekeeper's ability to understand matters relating to an Undying Live Forever Pill surpassed the Celestial's.
Furthermore, he had selected two very specific skeletons to be used in this plan of his. Somehow, he had acquired the skeletons of two Arch-Emperors, and kept the matter hidden from the Celestial!
Unfortunately, the skeleton with the Live Forever Bones was lacking in the requisite energy, which was why he had asked for assistance from Ghostmother.
Now, as the gravekeeper watched the little turtle's blood fuse with the skeletons, he performed a double-handed incantation gesture. Eyes shining brightly, he thrust his hands out and pushed them down onto the skeletons.
"Merge!!" he shouted. The little turtle's blood ignited, fully fusing the two skeletons on an internal level. Impurities were expelled, and then, the skeletons began to transform into ash….
The only thing left behind was the raw life force power of the Undying Live Forever Technique!
It was visible in the form of golden and crystalline streams of smoke, which curled and twisted together. It almost looked like what happened when a pill was concocted! As the smoke intertwined, and the blood vanished… a medicinal pill appeared that existed halfway between illusory and corporeal!
It looked both golden and crystalline at the same time, and its aura was that of the undying, and that which can live forever!
This pill… was the very pill that the Celestial thirsted for. An Undying Live Forever Pill!
The Celestial had failed in his attempts to make it, but the gravekeeper, thanks to his astounding plotting and preparations, succeeded!
When the gravekeeper saw the pill form, he chuckled hoarsely. From the look in his ancient eyes, he was preparing to say goodbye to the world around him. Waving his hand, he sent the medicinal pill flying toward Bai Xiaochun!
Bai Xiaochun had no control over the matter whatsoever. The pill hit his forehead and merged into his body, causing massive rumbling sounds to explode out into his mind!
A tremor passed through him as life force similar to his own Undying Live Forever Technique began to course through him!
He had been as immobile as if he had been sealed moments ago. But now that freezing seal shattered, and his eyes snapped open. Gasping, he looked over at the gravekeeper.
"Why?!" he asked.
"You can hate me, Bai Xiaochun," the gravekeeper replied. "But once you leave his world, you will understand everything…. To me, there is nothing more important than my mission!" With that, the gravekeeper reached out and placed his hand onto the top of Bai Xiaochun's head.
His cultivation base erupted with power, and all of the remaining life force he had, all of his remaining latent energy, left his body! All of Arch-Emperor City trembled violently as everything that made up the gravekeeper… poured into Bai Xiaochun!
Not only was the gravekeeper giving up his life to heal Bai Xiaochun, he was also catalyzing the Live Forever seed that existed within him!
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Chapter 1016: There Was Never A Worldgate!
Rumbling sounds filled Bai Xiaochun's mind and spread through his entire body. His expression flickered as he realized that boundless life force was flowing through him.
This life force conformed with his Undying Live Forever Technique, and therefore, met no obstacle within him. It almost seemed like it belonged with his cultivation base, and as a result, it only took a brief moment for his withered and nearly destroyed body to be almost completely healed.
During the process, his fleshly body power skyrocketed. In the blink of an eye, he went from Qi Condensation to Foundation Establishment, and then Core Formation!!
As it happened, his Undying Skin, Undying Heavenly King, and Undying Tendons… all recovered completely. Furthermore, Bai Xiaochun could sense that this version of the Undying Codex was somehow different than what he had cultivated before!
It was… stronger! The life force was more vibrant, and its energy was the type that could shake heaven and earth!
Were it not for his previous experiences, it would have been difficult to detect. But considering how many years he had cultivated the Undying Codex, the sensation of fusing with this new energy left him completely shocked!
If his previous mastery of the Undying Skin had led to him to a level of one hundred percent of his possible battle prowess, then after recovering now, it had increased… to one hundred and fifty percent!!
It was a terrifying upgrade which would make him vastly more powerful than anyone in the same cultivation level as himself. It could only be described as heaven-defying!
And it all came from the two skeletons which had turned into ash, and then become a consummate Undying Live Forever Pill!
Apparently… this amazing pill was not just helping him recover his fleshly body and life force. It was also refining him in an incredible way. Now, his fleshly body power didn't just match someone who had the pure blood of the Arch-Emperors, it surpassed it!
Cracking sounds echoed out as his Undying Tendons solidified, and he rose rapidly through the levels of the Undying Bones. Within mere moments… he had reached the great circle!
He looked almost completely recovered. His hair was now back, long and full, and instead of being skinny and emaciated, he thrummed with vitality.
The cracks on his skin were gone, and furthermore, he glowed with golden light. Anyone who could see him in this moment would definitely be shaken by the holy air that he exuded.
At this point, he passed from the Undying Bones into the Undying Blood level!
More cracking sounds echoed out as his blood once again transformed into Undying Blood. That in turn aided in his regeneration, making it speed up even more.
The entire third level of the city around him was stained the color of blood, mixed within which was a tinge of gold!
After about ten breaths of time passed, his veins were completely filled with Undying Blood, and a tremor passed through him. As of this moment, the sensation of fleshly body power that existed within him surpassed anything from before!
RUUUUUUUUMBLE!!
Early Demigod realm. Mid realm. Late realm…. Great circle!!
As the cracking sounds continued, his battle prowess rose higher and higher, to degrees difficult to even imagine.
Bai Xiaochun couldn't be absolutely sure, but he was fairly certain that, despite the fact that he currently had no cultivation base, his fleshly body power… was far, far higher than it had been before!
The last time he had reached the great circle of the Undying Codex, he had only become a demigod in fleshly body, and only the early realm at that. But now…. things were completely different! It came very close to being the same as the difference between heaven and earth!
Although he could feel the pressure of the world weighing down on him, it wasn't very shocking at all. Furthermore, he felt like, if he wanted to, he could will himself to grow to incredible physical height!
He could become as large… as the original Blood Ancestor!
This was the true Undying Codex!
This was what the descendants of the original Arch-Emperor had cultivated, a technique which gave them the power to prop up heaven and earth!
Bai Xiaochun was even fairly certain… that he was now stronger than the Blood Ancestor himself!! Normally speaking, these developments would have elated him. However, at this moment, his heart was as cold as ice. The death of Bai Hao had filled him with pain that couldn't possibly be wiped away.
"Things aren't over yet!" the gravekeeper said softly. "After the Undying Codex is… the Live Forever Codex!"
Even as the words left his mouth, Bai Xiaochun spasmed. Although the medicinal pill had been eighty percent absorbed, there was still twenty percent left, which contained energy that did not belong to the Undying Codex. And now… that power erupted!
It was the energy of the Live Forever Codex!
As that power spread through him, Bai Xiaochun realized that it was familiar. A twinge of pain stabbed through him, the source being that scrap of power from the Live Forever Codex!
"Boo…." he murmured. The life force from the Live Forever Codex poured into the scrap of energy inside of him, which then began to grow.
Within only a few breaths of time, the Live Forever power caused his energy passageways to thrum, and his cultivation base to rise to the Foundation Establishment level!
This type of Foundation Establishment surpassed his previous Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment. This was… Live Forever Foundation Establishment!
The moment he reached the level of Live Forever Foundation Establishment, he sensed… the five seals of the human body!
A boom echoed out, and the first seal was destroyed!
At that point, the remaining twenty percent of the power of the medicinal pill continued to flow through him, propelling him toward a Live Forever Core!
"Listen well, Bai Xiaochun!" the gravekeeper said as he passed his cultivation base, life force and everything about himself into Bai Xiaochun. Thanks to the power of the magical item that was Arch-Emperor City, he was able to continue to push Bai Xiaochun's cultivation base higher, even beyond what the energy of the medicinal pill could do.
Then, his voice echoed with focus and determination as he spoke his last words.
"I know you have many questions. And I know you hate me. Furthermore, you are surely curious… why I didn't just comply with the Celestial, and let him leave this world!
"The reason is that… this world… actually has no Worldgate!
"The so-called Worldgate… is nothing more than a fabrication I invented specifically for the Celestial!!!" His words echoed out like peals of heavenly thunder into Bai Xiaochun's mind.
"WHAT?!?!" Despite the fact that his cultivation base was rising rapidly, his mind was in complete chaos.
"If there was a Worldgate," the gravekeeper continued, "I would have opened it long ago, and let the Celestial leave. There would have been no need for this complicated plan of mine!
"The whole reason for all of this is because there is no Worldgate!
"It is entirely possible for the living beings in this world to leave it. In fact… there are actually two ways!
"The first would be for someone with the blood of the Arch-Emperors to cultivate the Undying Live Forever Technique all the way to the Mahayana Realm, and become a celestial. The world net which binds this world would not be able to resist a true celestial, and would collapse!
"However, what would also collapse in that scenario… would be the entire world in which we live! All of the mountains and rivers, all of heaven and earth!
"At that time, the celestial-level Arch-Emperor would gather up all of the living beings from the destroyed world, all of his people… and bring them with him as he left!
"In the wider world outside, the Arch-Emperor Dynasty would then continue to prosper!" The gravekeeper spoke quickly, ensuring that his words battered at Bai Xiaochun's mind without stop.
Furthermore, they were finally revealing… a profound and tightly-kept secret!!
It was in this moment that Bai Xiaochun's cultivation base broke through from the Live Forever Foundation Establishment level. At that point, something new appeared within him. It was… a Live Forever Core!
As his Live Forever Core took shape, the second of the seals appeared, and was destroyed!
It was also in that moment that the power of the medicinal pill began to falter. Clearly, it could not push him to the level of a Live Forever Nascent Soul!
Therefore, it was now the gravekeeper's cultivation base that erupted with power and continued to bolster the power within him that could live forever!
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Chapter 1017: I Still Hate You!
The Undying Codex surpassed all other body refinement techniques in this heaven and earth. Similarly, the Live Forever Codex… surpassed all other divine abilities and cultivation practices!
Even someone as confident as the Celestial would have no choice but to stay silent in the face of the Live Forever Codex….
From the Frigid Matriarch and Du Lingfei, it was possible to see how shocking the Live Forever Codex was. Of course, Bai Xiaochun had never fought Du Lingfei, but he was now very familiar with her energy and power.
Now, as the energy of the Live Forever Codex flowed through him, he couldn't help but gasp. For one thing, the gravekeeper's words were shocking to the core. In addition to that, though, with the power of the Live Forever Codex inside of him, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth that existed in this world suddenly seemed weaker!
In fact, Bai Xiaochun also got the sensation that, with this power, he was like the monarch of all the peoples of this world!
All he had to do was exercise a single thought, and all entities in the world would lend him their cultivation base power!
Although it wouldn't increase his own cultivation base, it would allow him to crush almost any opponent!
Clearly… neither Du Lingfei nor the Frigid Matriarch had ever cultivated the Live Forever Codex to the point of manifesting a divine ability like this. This… was something that came only if someone mastered the Undying Codex first!
As the gravekeeper had said… before Bai Xiaochun, the only people to have ever cultivated this technique were the Arch-Emperors!
As Bai Xiaochun reeled in mute shock, the gravekeeper continued, his voice weak and hoarse. "There is a second way to leave…."
"And that is with… the battle prowess of a celestial! One wouldn't need to be a true celestial, but would need power of that level. Someone that powerful could simply destroy the world… and thus leave it!"
Bai Xiaochun only continued to feel more shaken with every moment that passed, to the point where he almost didn't notice that he had reached the Live Forever Nascent Soul stage.
The third seal appeared, even more resilient than the previous ones, and yet it was also absolutely powerless to prevent itself from being destroyed!
As his cultivation base rose higher and higher, Bai Xiaochun was certain that a mere thought on his part could cause winds to scream in the area, and the sky to grow dim!
The gravekeeper was trembling as his energy faded. He panted for breath as his eyes grew cloudier. And yet, he continued to pour everything he had into Bai Xiaochun, causing his cultivation base to rise higher and higher!
Rumbling sounds could be heard as Bai Xiaochun's Live Forever Nascent Soul emerged… and began to climb toward the Live Forever Deva realm!
"Both methods involve destroying the world. As for all of the living beings within the world… they would be ejected out into the wider world beyond…." The gravekeeper was weak beyond measure now, but he gritted his teeth and continued with his explanation, as if to provide a defense for everything he had done in his life!
"There are only two options, Bai Xiaochun. So you tell me… could I really just destroy the world to let the Celestial out?!?! As for Ghostmother, she possessed the coordinates to this world all along, which was why she could leave! It would not have been possible for her to take someone as powerful as the Celestial past the world net!
"My mission is still not complete. I must create a celestial via the Undying Live Forever Technique, or perhaps a quasi-celestial. Without that person… how could I possibly agree to destroy the world!?!?"
As his voice echoed out, he began to fade away. Despite how his energy flagged, he gritted his teeth and drew upon his scant remaining cultivation base and life force, as well as the powers of the precious treasure that was Arch-Emperor City, to transform his own energy into Live Forever power that Bai Xiaochun could absorb!
As a result, Bai Xiaochun broke through into the Live Forever Deva realm… a level which surpassed his previous Heaven-Dao level by far!
At this point, the fourth sealing mark of the Live Forever Codex appeared… and was destroyed!
After his breakthrough, the Live Forever power within him continued to surge!
The next watershed mark was… the Live Forever Demigod realm!
"Live Forever Demigod realm… Live Forever Demigod…." The gravekeeper chuckled weakly. Although he was fading away into nothing, he still refused to give up, a fact which was evidenced by the happiness and contentment within his laughter!
"Bai Xiaochun, I will use my last bit of energy… to push you into the Live Forever Demigod realm!
"I only regret that I cannot use the power of this world to push your Undying Live Forever Technique all the way into the true Celestial Realm…. I suppose… that a quasi-celestial will still do!" Laughing contentedly, he performed an incantation gesture with his left hand and pointed out.
"Arch-Emperor Treasure!"
All of Arch-Emperor City began to tremble, filling the hearts of the people inside it with shock. That included the Grand Heavenmaster, the Arch-Emperor, and the four heavenly kings, as well as the heavenly dukes and marquises!
Even more shocking was that all of the heavenly marquis pagodas and heavenly duke pagodas… simultaneously collapsed!!
A shocking energy burst into the third portion of the city, pouring into the gravekeeper and then passing through him into Bai Xiaochun.
Bai Xiaochun felt like his mind was being struck by lightning, and he could barely breathe. Massive amounts of energy pushed into him, causing his Live Forever power to climb higher and higher. In the blink of an eye, he went from the early Deva Realm to the great circle!
Then, the Live Forever power converged and prepared for a final assault!
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
Bai Xiaochun felt like the world was spinning. Crashing booms filled him with heaven-rending, earth-crushing intensity as his cultivation base… broke through again!!
The Live Forever Demigod!!
This was the final level of the Live Forever Codex!
The final sealing mark of the Live Forever Codex appeared, and was crushed with impunity! Bai Xiaochun trembled as every portion of his body seemed to link to each other perfectly!
The time had come for the gravekeeper to meet his ultimate end; his right hand was already transforming into ash. The magical power of Arch-Emperor Dynasty seemed incapable of fully transforming into Live Forever power….
Bai Xiaochun's place in the Live Forever Codex was equivalent to the early Demigod Realm, and seemed incapable of progressing further. However, things were not over yet. It was at this point that Bai Xiaochun's demigod cultivation base began to fuse with his Undying Codex fleshly body!
When that fusion was finished, the Undying Live Forever Technique would be whole!
If he had achieved all of this by normal cultivation, there would have been no need to fuse them. That process would have occurred naturally along the way. But now… a proper fusion was vitally important!
Bai Xiaochun trembled violently, a look of fear flickering on his face as he sat there cross-legged, incapable of moving. He was fully concentrated on fusing the complete Undying Live Forever Technique, to the point where his consciousness began to fade. The Undying Live Forever Technique became like a vortex trying to suck him into it, to completely transform him, to make him… the ultimate successor of the Undying Live Forever Technique!
He was not an Arch-Emperor… he surpassed the Arch-Emperors!
As his consciousness faded, his heart filled with complicated emotions. At that point, he looked over at the gravekeeper, and noticed that the man was smiling.
As he smiled, the gravekeeper began to fade away as surely as if some huge hand were erasing him out of existence.
"Mission… accomplished…." he murmured. Looking at Bai Xiaochun for the final time, he clasped hands in respect.
He felt guilty about what he had done to Bai Xiaochun, but not guilty about his overall success. He knew that the day would soon come when Daoist Heavenspan realized the truth about how to leave the world. At that time, a deadly battle would surely take place, which would end in the destruction of the world.
The gravekeeper's mission had been to ensure that, before the world ended, a celestial appeared who had cultivated the Undying Live Forever Technique to completion. Or at the very least… a quasi-celestial.
He couldn't stop Daoist Heavenspan, but he could ensure that such a quasi-celestial appeared before the end of the world. It was all to simply accomplish his mission.
To do that, he would use anyone and everyone in any way he could….
He clasped hands respectfully, and bowed. It was a bow he never rose up from. Bai Xiaochun watched as he transformed completely into ash.
A long moment passed. Bai Xiaochun was wrapped up in the Undying Live Forever Technique, and yet, he still managed to murmur, "I still… hate you!"
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Chapter 1018: The Despair Of Arch-Emperor City
As the process of completing the fusion of the Undying Live Forever Technique was going on… war still raged outside!
And the fierce fighting at Heavenspan Island had not yet ended!
The entire world was gripped with madness and slaughter!
Although this war between the lands of Heavenspan and the Wildlands had only been going on for a few years now, in terms of the bitterness of the struggle, it was something the likes of which had never occurred before in the history of this world!
A great war had been fought when Daoist Heavenspan rebelled against the Arch-Emperor Dynasty. The dynasty had fallen, and what remained of it had fled to the Wildlands. But not even that war could compare to this one.
Never before had a war been fought in which so many cultivators died in such a short period of time. It virtually defied imagination!
The Wildlands was the battleground, and it had long since been stained crimson with blood. The aura of death and the stench of gore was so intense… that not even the most powerful of winds could dispel it.
More than half of the cultivators from the four regions of the lands of Heavenspan… were dead. Were it not for the strict control maintained by the Celestial, such a high death rate would have already destroyed the morale of the Heavenspan cultivators.
Devas fell in battle left and right, to the point where among the Heavenspan forces, only half of their original force of devas remained…. As for the four demigod patriarchs, so far, none had been killed. However, all of them had taken severe injuries.
Considering that the Heavenspan forces had suffered such mind-boggling casualties, and yet still maintained the upper hand, it was possible to imagine… how disastrous this war was for the Wildlands!
Of the savage tribes that had once made up the bulk of the Wildlands forces, most had been wiped out….
Seventy percent of the heavenly marquises had perished, and nearly half of the heavenly dukes had been killed in body and soul….
All of the cities of the four heavenly kings had been burned to the ground. The Giant Ghost King's army was mostly intact, but the armies of the other three heavenly kings had suffered roughly eighty percent casualties….
The vast difference between the Giant Ghost King's forces and those of the other heavenly kings was all because of Bai Xiaochun. Not only had he stopped the fighting between the eastern Heavenspan cultivators and the Wildlanders at Giant Ghost City, but he had also killed three of the Heavenspan arcane guards, and destroyed their spell formation.
The other three cities had been routed, and the flight of their armies hampered because of the spell formations. And thus, those battles had nearly turned into massacres.
By now, the Wildlanders were completely surrounded, with ninety percent of their territory lost. The only thing that remained… was Arch-Emperor City!
Arch-Emperor City was where the Wildlanders would make their final stand. If that city fell… then it would mean that the bloodline of the Arch-Emperors was gone forever!
The cultivators from the four rivers were encamped around Arch-Emperor City. Of course, the Heavenspan cultivators still couldn't help but feel exhausted, and were filled with mixed emotions.
It was an exhaustion that ran so deep that most of them were expressionless and numb….
As the years of fighting wore on, virtually all of the cultivators had lost friends and loved ones…. However, there was another death that none of the cultivators from either side of the conflict were aware of. Bai Hao…. Because of his death, the Underworld River had dried up, and the dead souls within it could no longer return to the cycle of reincarnation. They had no choice but to wander heaven and earth…. It was easy to imagine how such a situation quickly became another catastrophe to plague the world.
It also became a powerful portent…. Eventually, the Wildlander soul cultivators began to speculate about what it meant….
"The new Hell-Emperor… must have perished!!" Such speculations inundated the soul cultivators like floodwaters, causing them to tremble and sink further into the darkness of despair. To them, it seemed like the end of the world was nigh. Even the Grand Heavenmaster and the demigod experts felt their hearts being overtaken by anxiety and gloom.
The four heavenly kings' cities had been routed. Ninety percent of their armies were dead. The Heavenspan forces had Arch-Emperor City surrounded. To the people of the Arch-Emperor Dynasty, those things all became a massive blow to any hope for survival that anyone had…. But the death of the Hell-Emperor was even more unimaginable. It was like an attack that landed directly on their hearts and minds!
Those two heavy blows had the Arch-Emperor Dynasty reeling…. In fact, if the Celestial had offered an opportunity for surrender, the Grand Heavenmaster and the other leaders would have definitely been tempted to take it.
Except… the Celestial didn't seem to care about human life at all. He would accept no surrender. He wanted the Wildlands wiped away, all the way down to the grass and roots!
Such orders had long since been passed down to the demigod patriarchs of the four riversource sects. In their exhaustion, they had begun the assault on Arch-Emperor City with all the power they had at their disposal. Their task… was to completely destroy it!
The decisive battle… was beginning!
Booms rang out constantly outside of Arch-Emperor City. It was a precious treasure with powerful defensive shields, but they were being worn down, and could not stand forever against the divine abilities and magical techniques that battered them.
The Giant Ghost Legion, and the armies of the other three heavenly kings, bolstered the innate defensive powers of Arch-Emperor City, giving it the power to make its final stand!
Bloodcurdling shrieks rang out. Booms of self-detonation filled the air. Shouting and howling could be heard all over the battlefield!
The corpse troopers that had once struck fear into the hearts of the Wildlanders were now fully deployed onto the battlefield, and yet, they didn't seem to have much effect on the conflict as a whole.
High above, the demigods fought with utter desperation. The four heavenly kings and the Grand Heavenmaster had all suffered horrific injuries, and yet, were still going all out. As for the Heavenspan forces, they had their four demigod patriarchs, as well as two divine guards from Heavenspan Island!
A total of eleven demigods clashed above, causing the entire world to tremble as if it might collapse….
The Arch-Emperor stood in the highest tower of the imperial palace, looking out at the fighting. A gloomy expression covered his face, but he had a bit of hope in his eyes, hope that the gravekeeper would eventually show his face.
He had no idea that Bai Xiaochun was already in Arch-Emperor City. In his mind, the gravekeeper… was the only hope of the Arch-Emperor Dynasty….
The Arch-Emperor wasn't the only one who waited with such anticipation. The Grand Heavenmaster and the four heavenly kings all harbored a similar hope, as did many of the soul cultivators fighting down below.
The new Hell-Emperor Bai Hao was important in the Arch-Emperor Dynasty. But to the soul cultivators, he was like the earth, whereas the gravekeeper… was like the vast heavens!
Only if the gravekeeper appeared… could the tide turn!
But even as the cultivators of the Arch-Emperor Dynasty continued to place their hope in the gravekeeper… all of Arch-Emperor City suddenly shook violently. The lands around it quaked, and massive crevices snaked out everywhere. In the blink of an eye… an aura of death spread out from Arch-Emperor City, filling all of the Wildlands….
And things were just beginning. That aura of death… continued on to fill all of the lands of Heavenspan….
Mountains seemed to lose their strength and collapse…. Jungles began to wilt and crumble into ash….
It was as if the surface of the world were collapsing! Although it didn't explode… the aura of death that filled it was plain for everyone to detect!
It wasn't just the ground that was affected. The sky in the Wildlands and in the Heavenspan region… began to turn as gray, as if no life force existed in it at all!
Apparently… the entire world… was dying!!
Cultivators, mortals, and all other living beings were suddenly filled with the most profound unease. It felt as if… the entire world were about to fade away into eternity….
All of the cultivators in and around Arch-Emperor City suddenly stopped fighting, and looked around in shock. Those from the Heavenspan region seemed confused, whereas the Wildlander soul cultivators were so stunned that many of them staggered in place. Looks of terror could be seen in their eyes, as well as profound grief that soon turned into rage.
The Arch-Emperor shivered, his eyes lighting up with disbelief as he murmured, "The gravekeeper… has perished. The world… is dying!"
Then he began to laugh bitterly for a moment before a wave of exhaustion overcame him. Staggering backward, he coughed up a massive mouthful of blood.
"There will be no more Arch-Emperors…. We will burn along with the imperial city…." He closed his eyes.
The Grand Heavenmaster and the four heavenly kings looked around with blank expressions and blanker minds. They had all known that the gravekeeper was very weak, but the realization that he had actually perished filled them with despair.
It was made worse by the fact that, along with the death of the gravekeeper… the world itself seemed to be crumbling.
The demigod patriarchs of the four riversource sects were all shaken to the core. However, after looking around momentarily, their eyes lit up with determination. Taking advantage of the sudden blow to the morale of the Wildlanders, they joined forces in a final salvo to destroy the city!
In the briefest of moments, fierce fighting broke out again…. Mountain-toppling, sea-draining force… slammed into Arch-Emperor City!
The defensive shields of the city finally shattered, and the city walls began to fall. The Wildlanders were being pushed back by defeat after defeat. As for the Heavenspan cultivators, most of them just wanted to be done with the fighting, and thus, killing intent once again rose from within their numbed minds and hearts.
The four demigod patriarchs and the two divine guards reacted similarly. Blood sprayed out of the mouths of the four heavenly kings, and even the Grand Heavenmaster was shoved backward.
There was no hope for the Wildlanders. Only despair. There was no way they could defend themselves from this onslaught. At this point, their minds and wills began to collapse, forcing them to howl in madness.
Even as Arch-Emperor City seemed to be on the verge of falling… fluctuations exploded out from within it that seemed to affect the rapidly spreading aura of death!
Down below in the third section of the city, Bai Xiaochun… opened his eyes!
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His left eye was golden, and his right eye was crystalline!
They were eyes that were no longer pure and innocent!
After opening, heaven and earth went dim, and the entire world quaked, as if from the hatred contained therein!
As Bai Xiaochun opened his eyes, a blast of wind filled the third level of the city, which rose higher and higher, and then erupted out into the open!
The intensity of the fluctuations caused everyone outside… to be shaken to the core!
On Heavenspan Island, the Blood Ancestor was still fighting the Celestial, but had been seriously injured, and was hovering on the verge of death. But when he felt those fluctuations, he suddenly began to laugh hoarsely.
"Heavenspan, you lowlife, do you feel that…?"
The Celestial's face had already been green and livid, and now, it turned even more unsightly. Turning to look in the direction of Arch-Emperor City, he said a single name through gritted teeth….
"Bai Xiaochun…."
In Arch-Emperor City, the Giant Ghost King shivered. Expression flickering with disbelief, he looked down toward the ground, clearly more shaken than he had been when he had detected the death of the gravekeeper.
He wasn't the only one to react in such a way. The Spirit Advent King, Nine Serenities King and War Champion King all gasped and looked down at the ground, their expressions those of disbelief.
The Grand Heavenmaster was also shocked, and despite the level of his willpower, couldn't stop from uttering an exclamation.
"This aura…."
The entire world shook as the grayness of death which filled the sky began to swirl into a huge vortex. It was as if the world, in its final death throes, was using its last bit of energy to cry out for the final time….
The demigod patriarchs of the four riversource sects, as well as the divine guards from Heavenspan, were visibly taken aback. All six suddenly felt profoundly uneasy, a feeling which rapidly transformed into terror!
Patriarch Starry Sky was especially terrified. Glancing down at the ground in astonishment, he realized that this aura was very familiar to him.
"Bai. Xiao. Chun…."
Meanwhile, the Arch-Emperor was in the imperial palace, his eyes shining with astonishment. He could sense much better than everyone else that, deep beneath the ground, there were fluctuations… that resonated with the aura of his own blood!
In fact, the intensity of these fluctuations surpassed his own…. To the Arch-Emperor, it seemed completely impossible, and yet… it was happening right here and now!
As the world was shaken, winds screamed in the lower regions of Arch-Emperor City. Bai Xiaochun sat there cross-legged, his eyes open, unmoving. Instead of rising to his feet, he simply took in a long, deep breath.
With that breath, his Undying Live Forever Technique completed the last of its fusion. His cultivation base was now in perfect condition. He was at the peak of the demigod level when it came to his fleshly body, and his cultivation base was in the early Demigod Realm. When those powers merged, his aura seemed ancient and archaic, and so powerful… that the entire world was willing to acquiesce to him!
He felt like… the ruler of the entire world! It felt like… the entire world approved of him!
A single thought from him could cause all living things to submit. His gaze could cause mountains and rivers to rise up out of nothing!
It was a level of power Bai Xiaochun had never experienced before. And yet, it didn't make him happy. Instead, his complicated feelings grew even more gloomy.
This power had come at the sacrifice of Du Lingfei and Bai Hao. In fact, countless other lives in the world had been cast away. Had he been given the choice, Bai Xiaochun would never have chosen to do this.
But the gravekeeper made the choice for him. The gravekeeper had been willing to sacrifice anyone and everyone to accomplish his mission. Therefore, Bai Xiaochun was both grateful, and at the same time, filled with hatred. The emotions he felt were profoundly complicated and conflicted. He was grateful to the gravekeeper for saving his life, and for bestowing incredible good fortune onto him. But that gratitude could not make up for the death of Bai Hao and the misery of Du Lingfei.
And thus, he was filled with hatred. Hatred at his own powerlessness, and hatred toward the gravekeeper for everything he had done to accomplish his so-called mission. And yet, that hatred could not wipe away his gratitude for having his own life saved, and for being blessed with good fortune. In the end… he could only be battered by complicated and mixed emotions.
However, in the final analysis, it was Daoist Heavenspan who had truly orchestrated the greatest villainy. And therefore, Bai Xiaochun's hatred for him towered to the heavens!
Bai Xiaochun knew that with the gravekeeper having perished… it wouldn't be long before the entire world crumbled. When that happened… it would truly become an enormous tomb for everyone who lived on it.
He could sense the epic battle being fought on Heavenspan Island… and he could sense the bad condition Arch-Emperor City was in.
A long moment passed, and then he spoke in a voice that surpassed heavenly thunder in its intensity. "So many people dead…. Daoist Heavenspan, why… are you still alive?!?!?!"
Energy surging mightily, he slowly stood up!
As he did, the cultivators outside of Arch-Emperor City felt as though earth dragons were writhing beneath the ground. Everyone was so shocked that they didn't dare to keep fighting; they all began to back away from each other.
They instinctively began to feel terror and dread, regardless of the level of their cultivation base. Even the demigods felt that way!
As the ground quaked, Bai Xiaochun took a step forward!
The instant his foot touched the ground in front of him, he vanished, to appear… in midair above Arch-Emperor City!
In that same moment, the vortex up above began to emit intense rumbling sounds. Even as the world seemed to be descending into the gray of death, multi-colored light erupted out from Bai Xiaochun to shine on everything around him!
This light filled the world, deeply shaking all cultivators. Gasps could be heard as everyone looked up at Bai Xiaochun, their cultivation bases trembling, their souls shaking. Deep within the very being of everyone present, they suddenly felt something tugging at them, as if from within their blood!
It was… reverence for the first generation Arch-Emperor!
Within the imperial palace, the reigning Arch-Emperor trembled, and his eyes began to shine. He more than anyone else could sense that he was not looking at the same Bai Xiaochun that he had seen in the past. This Bai Xiaochun seemed like… the first generation Arch-Emperor!
"Arch-Ancestor…."
It was a reverence and respect that came from within his blood! Because of it, the reigning Arch-Emperor immediately… dropped to his knees!
Although he had been turned into little more than a puppet ruler by the Grand Heavenmaster, and would never have bent the knee to the man, he was now kneeling to Bai Xiaochun! In the past, the only person he would ever have done the same thing to was… the gravekeeper!
"Kui Endao offers greetings, Arch-Ancestor!" [1]
As the Arch-Emperor dropped to his knees, other figures flew up into the air to offer enthusiastic greetings, all of them descendants of the Arch-Emperor bloodline.
Their cries rolled out into Arch-Emperor City, to be heard by the soul cultivators, heavenly marquises, and heavenly dukes…. As they heeded the instinctual calls from their souls, they began to drop down and kowtow to Bai Xiaochun.
"Greetings, Arch-Ancestor!"
"Greetings… Arch-Ancestor!!"
As the fanatical cries of the soul cultivators filled the air, the Giant Ghost King and his fellow demigods, as well as the six demigods from the lands of Heavenspan, all reacted with open shock. Even they, mighty demigods, felt their souls tugging at them, telling them to do what all of the other cultivators down below were doing.
It was something that was branded into their souls as people of this world, a mark left upon anyone and everyone from the moment they were born. As of this moment, it was telling them that Bai Xiaochun was their emperor!
The power radiating out from Bai Xiaochun's blood caused their hearts to fill with reverence, and left them totally shaken by the unprecedentedly powerful pressure that weighed down from him.
The Giant Ghost King was the first to react. Bowing deeply, he said, "Greetings, Arch-Ancestor!"
Next came the Spirit Advent King, the Nine Serenities King, and then the War Champion King. After that was the Grand Heavenmaster, whose eyes were filled with profound emotion, and deep respect!
There was even more pressure crushing down onto the six experts from the lands of Heavenspan. They trembled both from the pressure of the Celestial, and the instinctual reverence that came from their souls. All six were almost immediately overwhelmed.
They struggled for a long moment, until Bai Xiaochun looked over at them, seemingly connecting to their souls, and filling their reeling minds with waves of shock.
At that point, all of them, even Patriarch Starry Sky, averted their gazes… and bowed in respectful greeting!
As they did, all of the cultivators from the Heavenspan region felt similar prompting from their souls, and began to bow…. Mighty waves of sound filled the entire Wildlands….
"Greetings… Arch-Ancestor!!"
Bai Xiaochun had long dreamed of having so many people looking at him, to have crowds worshipping his glory. But right now… these things gave him no pleasure. He looked around at the groveling masses for a moment, then turned his attention to Heavenspan Island.
Almost immediately, his eyes turned as red as blood, and began to radiate an intense murderous aura. Ignoring everyone else, he blurred into motion, becoming a blast of wind that left even the demigods shaken as he headed toward Heavenspan Island.
As he closed in, he spoke in a voice that battered the ears of everyone in the world, a voice filled with hatred and madness.
"Daoist Heavenspan, why… are you still alive?!?!"
1. In this case "Kui" is the character that I translate into "Arch" in Arch-Emperor. Technically, it's supposed to be a name. When used as a name, it doesn't make sense to translate it into "Arch". However, in the grand scheme of things, I didn't want to transliterate it for use in the title and the name of the government. Otherwise we would have the Kui-Emperor, which has no meaning. There is importance in the meaning of this name, and considering that it virtually never gets used as a name, I chose early on to translate it
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Rumbling sounds echoed out without cease!
Crevices and ravines continued to open up everywhere in the Wildlands, made worse by the shocking energy radiating out from Bai Xiaochun. Countless mountain peaks crumbled, and numerous plains caved in. The entire world seemed to be breaking apart!
The energy at play here seemed to be more than the world could handle, to the point where even the sky began to crack into pieces. All living beings were overwhelmed by the sensation that they were experiencing an apocalypse.
Cities trembled, and sects were shaken. Living creatures everywhere sensed that the end was nigh!
Cultivators from both the Wildlands and the Heavenspan region all sensed the same thing… that the world was dying around them….
Unless someone or something intervened, it wouldn't be very long… before the world cracked to pieces!
It actually had nothing to do with Bai Xiaochun himself. The process began… in the moment that the gravekeeper died!
As everyone in the world looked around in astonishment, Bai Xiaochun sped through the Wildlands toward Heavenspan Island, his energy skyrocketing the entire way….
There almost seemed to be no end in sight, as though the hatred and anger in Bai Xiaochun's heart would continue to push his energy higher and higher no matter what happened!
Soon, he was in the Deadmire. There were no longer any restrictive spells locking the area down or protecting it, and as such, it was also beginning to fill with crevices and rifts….
Heaven and earth were changing. The end of days had come! Bai Xiaochun could tell that beyond the shadow of a doubt!
The hatred and anger in his heart manifested as a virtually undispellable murderous aura. His killing intent toward the Celestial burned with the ultimate madness.
He yelled at the top of his lungs as he shot through the air, his eyes crimson with rage. He had never been like this before in his life, so consumed with hatred that it didn't even occur to him to be scared of death. He didn't care about his desire to live forever. The only things he could think about… were Du Lingfei's bitter tears, and how Bai Hao had kowtowed to him before passing away….
Those two images were like sharp knives that stabbed through his heart all the way into his soul!
He was truly insane!
"Daoist Heavenspan!!" It was as if Bai Xiaochun had been reborn out of death, and none of his happiness had been passed on to the new version of him. The only thing that had been passed on… was his desire to kill the Celestial!
He demanded blood. The blood of the Celestial!!
Never could he forget the look in Du Lingfei's eyes when the Celestial pushed her head toward his. She hadn't wanted to hurt him, but had been given no choice. He could never forget how Bai Hao had burned himself into nothing to save him. Bai Xiaochun wanted to cry, but at the moment, there were no tears. Rage and enmity had burned them away, turning him into a being that sought only vengeance!
Although he had been driven into madness, he still possessed all his faculties. He knew that the Celestial was incredibly powerful, and that although he himself had reached the great circle of the Undying Live Forever Technique, he would probably die if he fought him.
Unless he achieved a cultivation base breakthrough, and truly stepped into the Mahayana Realm… he wouldn't have the battle prowess to crush the Celestial!
But that didn't reduce his killing intent by even an iota. After all… he still had a trump card at his disposal, that being the world treasure of the north. Normally speaking, he wouldn't use it, considering the heavy price that would be paid to do so. But now, the world was already crumbling around him….
"I have other tools at my disposal as well… other than the world treasure of the north!" Even as Bai Xiaochun burst of the Deadmire and entered the lands of Heavenspan, his mind spun with numerous ideas and plans.
"The Undying Codex has five secret magics. As for the Live Forever Codex… it also has five powerful divine abilities. However, they're manifested in a different way. Once someone has mastered the entire Live Forever Codex, then the magic will take shape according to their personal Dao!" Within Bai Xiaochun's mind floated five divine abilities that he had created after mastering the Live Forever Codex, divine abilities which were powerful enough to destroy anything in creation!
Each person who cultivated the Live Forever Codex would produce different divine abilities. As for Bai Xiaochun's, they were an amalgamation of his subconscious mind, and the Daoist magics that he had cultivated in his life. And he was confident that… by combining them with the fleshly body power provided by the Undying Codex, they would make him far more formidable than anyone who had mastered a single one of the codices!
"And I also have… my moonflower!" Eyes shining as he pierced through the air, he suddenly waved his finger in the direction of the north, and sent a stream of divine sense in that very direction!
"Moonflower, baby!"
In response to his call, countless moonflowers suddenly burst into the air from the jungles and ravines in the north.
They became like a cloud of dandelion seeds that streamed high up into the sky….
From what he could tell, there were millions upon millions of them, filling the sky as they swirled together into the shape of an enormous moon.
At a certain point, they vanished… to appear right next to Bai Xiaochun!
Seemingly delighted, the moonflowers swirled around Bai Xiaochun, each and every one of them radiating a sense of familiarity and love. For the first time, Bai Xiaochun's freezing heart warmed slightly.
"Moonflower, baby, are you willing… to help me fight!?" The response from the massive collection of moonflowers was a burst of fearless battle spirit!
Bai Xiaochun smiled in response. However, his eyes were fixed on Heavenspan Island, and they were as cold as ice. Without the slightest hesitation or anxiety, he suddenly summoned his turtle-wok!
In response to the calling of his will, the millions upon millions of dandelion seeds began to converge together, eventually transforming into a single seed, which shot toward the turtle-wok!
Bai Xiaochun had already made the decision that, in order to make his moonflower stronger… he would bless it with a spirit enhancement!
Although he couldn't conjure a twenty-two-colored flame, considering the level of his cultivation base, producing a twenty-one-colored flame was nothing difficult!
He waved his hand, causing countless vengeful souls to stream toward him. As they did, he started with a one-colored flame, and conjured all the way up to a twenty-colored flame, using them to push the moonflower all the way to a twentyfold spirit enhancement. Then he conjured a twenty-one-colored flame!!
He didn't hesitate for a moment to throw that flame into the turtle-wok. Instantly, rumbling sounds echoed out, and bright light began to shine out of the lines on the wok. Gradually… the design of the spirit enhancement appeared on the moonflower!
Its aura was now vastly different than before. As its energy surged, it began to grow larger and larger, until it was a 30,000-meter-tall, shocking flower….
Even more astonishing was the fact that it radiated the aura of the great circle of the Demigod Realm!
However, it still seemed to view him just as lovingly as before. Accelerating, he had the moonflower shrink down, and then tossed it in his bag of holding. Soon… he was flying over the Heavenspan Sea!
Cracks could be heard as rifts were torn open into the air, none of which showed any signs of closing back up!
As he passed over the sea, the nearby water froze up…. Bai Xiaochun's explosive aura was reaching a pinnacle!
And his eyes were completely fixed on Heavenspan Island!
As he closed in, he could see the Blood Ancestor, his entire body wreathed in flames, going all out to deliver a shocking fist strike. When the blow landed, a huge vortex sprang up, and the Blood Ancestor began to fade away.
"You're finally here, Bai Xiaochun! My mission is accomplished…. Help me… to take care… of her…." The Blood Ancestor threw his head back and laughed uproariously. He had given his life to lock down the Celestial, and therefore a gleam of contentment could be seen in his eyes as he looked in the direction of the north, and then faded out of existence….
He didn't specify who he wanted Bai Xiaochun to take care of. He was sure that Bai Xiaochun already knew.
Bai Xiaochun nodded at the Blood Ancestor as he faded away. Then, he fixed his bloodshot, livid gaze… at the Celestial, who hovered in the air above the island!
"Daoist Heavenspan!" he said, the words crackling like heavenly thunder!
Heaven and earth crumbled around them!
The most breathtaking battle of all time was about to begin!
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Chapter 1021: Crocodilian Head!
Daoist Heavenspan was in the nastiest of moods. Originally, he had assumed that the Blood Ancestor wouldn't be able to delay him for more than a short moment. However, the Blood Ancestor had been saving up life force for 10,000 years, and also had some secret methods imparted to him by the gravekeeper. Combined with his madness and the fact that he had ignited himself for a final burst of power, he had been able to keep Daoist Heavenspan completely locked down.
"Bai Xiaochun!" Daoist Heavenspan said through gritted teeth. He seemed supremely frustrated, and also no less furious than Bai Xiaochun. Over and over again, he had watched his ultimate desires crushed by the gravekeeper at the last minute, turned into nothing more than pipe dreams.
However, this time, things were playing out slightly differently!
In addition to the anger in his eyes, there was something else shining brightly.
"Who would have thought that you would come here of your own volition? At least you've saved me the trouble of tracking you down myself. At last… I can refine you into an Undying Live Forever Pill!" Licking his lips, he chuckled and waved his hands out in front of him, causing rumbling sounds to fill heaven and earth as the will of the world itself converged on his person. Then, he began to walk toward Bai Xiaochun.
With every step he took, the will of the world grew stronger, until it became a mountain-toppling, sea-draining pressure that weighed down on Bai Xiaochun.
Earlier, not even the Blood Ancestor, a descendant of the Arch-Emperors, had been able to stand up to this.
In fact, it was because of the will of the world that the Blood Ancestor had burned his own blood to get the power he needed to drive his Undying Technique. That was what had enabled him to lock Daoist Heavenspan down for so long.
But now… the will of the world didn't seem to affect Bai Xiaochun at all! He had mastered the Undying Live Forever Technique, and could now accept the title of Arch-Ancestor. He also conformed to the will of the world, and in fact… was also the ruler of this heaven and earth!
Bai Xiaochun's eyes were bright red as he stared at the Celestial walking toward him. His killing intent raged as he too took a step forward, whereupon the will of the world began to bless him!
It was as if the entire world had been split in two because of Bai Xiaochun and the Celestial. They strode toward each other until they were only 300 meters apart, both of them surging with different aspects of the power of the very world in which they lived!
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
When they slammed into each other, it was like mountains and rivers colliding, creating a deafening boom that echoed out across the frozen Heavenspan Sea. Seemingly incapable of sustaining the force, the sea began to split apart….
At the same time, Heavenspan Island, which had already been mostly destroyed by Bai Hao's flames, had reached the point where it couldn't stand any longer, and collapsed!
It was a holy land that represented the ultimate authority and power in the Heavenspan Realm, but now… it sank down into the Heavenspan Sea. As it did, a huge whirlpool formed, like a giant mouth of seawater.
"How amusing!" the Celestial said. With that, he threw his head back and laughed uproariously. Despite having just fought bitterly with the Blood Ancestor, he was clearly just as powerful as before. Striding forward, he pointed up into the sky!
"Four rivers form the heavenly bones! A golden sea to act as flesh!" His voice seemed to contain the might of the heavens, a boundless power that would force reality to conform to his wishes. All of a sudden, what appeared to be the soul projections of the four rivers of the lands of Heavenspan shot toward the Celestial.
At the same time, Heavenspan Seawater began to rise up into the sky, taking shape around those souls…. to shape the enormous hand that had caused despair to rise up in Bai Hao's heart, and kept the Blood Ancestor in check!
Unfortunately for the Celestial, the gravekeeper had died, and the world was withering away. Because of that, his Daoist magic had faltered during his battle with the Blood Ancestor, and had been destroyed.
But now, the gravekeeper was gone, along with his influence. As a result, there was now nothing to interfere with the Celestial's control of the will of the world, despite how it was split. Furthermore, he was far more familiar with that will than Bai Xiaochun.
The Celestial waved his arm, and the gigantic hand began to fall down onto Bai Xiaochun from above!
Bai Xiaochun looked up with a very somber expression. He could sense the pure power of the four rivers within that huge hand, as well as the aura of the Heavenspan Sea. Although it looked like nothing but a hand, in truth… it was like all of the lands of Heavenspan combined!
He could not withstand such a blow! It didn't matter how powerful his fleshly body was, he would be felled by such power!
At the same time, he knew that he couldn't compare to the ancient Celestial when it came to control over the power of this world. However, he did not shrink back. Eyes crimson, he looked up at the huge hand, threw his head back and shouted, "Who cares if I can't match up to you, Celestial!?!?"
The power of the Live Forever Technique coursed through him, which he then channeled into a Daoist magic called… the Waterswamp Kingdom!
"Waterswamp!" he said, waving his arm through the air. He was confident that, with his powerful cultivation base, the mysterious divine beast… would come forth with more power than ever before.
Rumbling sounds immediately echoed out as the Heavenspan Sea… transformed into a vast, watery swamp!!
"Kingdom!!" Without any hesitation, he slapped his hands together, a sound which was accompanied by the roar of a beast from another world. Heaven and earth trembled from the sound of it, a sound that even the powerful Celestial was shocked to hear.
It was a howl of excitement and joy, as a moment came which that mysterious beast had been waiting a long time for! Thanks to Bai Xiaochun's current cultivation base, he could now open a true gap to allow the beast into the world!
The entire Heavenspan Sea seemed to become a huge mouth that howled with deafening volume. This time, instead of mountain peaks rising up… an entire content became visible!!
It was pitch black, not because it was covered with soil, but because it was covered with a forest of scale-like ridges! This continent was so large it was almost impossible to describe!
Each scale that covered the continent was as large as Heavenspan Island had been! As the continent rose up into the air, it was possible to see that, on its bottom, were row upon row of what looked like inverted mountain peaks!!
If one looked closely, it was possible to see that this was actually not a continent. And the mountain peaks… were not mountain peaks! They were actually razor-sharp teeth! This continent… was the upper jaw of an enormous beast!!
Next came the lower jaw…. When it was all visible, it looked like the mouth of a gigantic crocodile, rising up from within the Heavenspan Sea! Furthermore, its eyes were bright red… making them look exactly like Bai Xiaochun's eyes!!
The crocodilian head rose up and opened its mouth; compared to it, Bai Xiaochun and the Celestial were like tiny bugs! Howling, the crocodilian head lunged toward the enormous hand of the world… and chomped it up!!
Bai Xiaochun was deeply shaken by what he was seeking. Looking at the enormous crocodilian head, he couldn't help but marvel at how everything was playing out. Never could he have imagined that his life essence spirit was so big… that it seemed capable of almost filling the entire world he lived in!
On any other occasion, he might have been happy, but right now, there was no time for such thoughts. He looked up as the enormous hand of the world met his Waterswamp Kingdom beast, whereupon a heaven-rending, earth-crushing boom erupted out!
The shockwave created a tempest that filled the entire Heavenspan Sea region as… the hand of the world collapsed into pieces!
As that happened, almost all of the mountains in the four river regions collapsed. However, Bai Xiaochun's life essence spirit also couldn't sustain the force. After chomping down on the hand of the world, it faded away.
It was gone, not dead, of that Bai Xiaochun was certain. Up til now, his life essence spirit had only come as a projection; he would need a higher cultivation base to summon it in full.
Eyes glittering, he considered summoning it again, but before he could, the Celestial threw his hands up, an unprecedentedly serious expression on his face. On the finger of one of his hands was a ring which he took off and threw down toward the Heavenspan Sea!
"Seal!" he shouted coolly.
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Chapter 1022: Four Beasts!
As the words left the Celestial's mouth, the falling ring erupted with seven-colored light, which spread out to illuminate all of the Heavenspan Sea, and the collapsing heaven and earth seemed to solidify. However, this was not because of any show of goodwill on the part of the Celestial. No, he just wanted to seal the world!
Even he was shocked by the Daoist magic Bai Xiaochun had just unleashed, and therefore, he would ensure that no strange gates to other worlds could be opened, and no enormous beasts could appear!
"Apparently I underestimated the Daoist magics that can be unleashed here…. Waterswamp Kingdom…." The Celestial's eyes glittered with bright light as he spoke. "Unfortunately for you, that magic won't work now!"
With the wave of his hand, the Celestial unleashed the sealing power of the ring, causing it to rush in Bai Xiaochun's direction.
Bai Xiaochun had an equally serious expression on his face. He knew that the Celestial had been the lord of this world for many years, and had all sorts of reserve powers at his disposal. Not only could Bai Xiaochun not match up with him in terms of control of the power of the world, but he could also tell that the Celestial had so many techniques and items that it defied imagination.
The ring he had just used emanated the most ancient of auras, something that left Bai Xiaochun with no doubts that it was a precious treasure. Although it likely couldn't match up to a world treasure, it surely had a very shocking origin.
The sealing power which was currently descending onto him had a will of extermination in it, and yet, Bai Xiaochun didn't shrink back. Instead, he stepped forward… and used the Undying Hex to slip past it!
Virtually all types of seals and restrictive spells were useless against Bai Xiaochun. Even as he passed through the sealing power, he utilized his Mountain Shaking Bash, which caused him to accelerate rapidly toward the Celestial. Then he unleashed the Throat Crushing Grasp.
However, it was at this point that Bai Xiaochun's expression flickered. Without any hesitation, he suddenly danced backward! However… he was too slow. A cynical smile spread out on the Celestial's face.
"You really think someone like me would be scared of that life essence spirit of yours?! And how could I not know that the Undying Hex of the Undying Codex can allow you to pierce through all types of sealing magic…? You might be able to avoid the sealing mark, but you can't avoid the true power of my magical item! You've fallen right into my trap!" Laughing uproariously, he waved his arms, causing the sealing power to suddenly fragment and shatter…. As it did, it became a destructive force that rushed toward Bai Xiaochun from all sides.
The use of the sealing power had just been a ruse! The Celestial's true goal had been to distract Bai Xiaochun, get him close, and then use the true power of his precious treasure!
If one could view the scene from high above, they would see that Bai Xiaochun was now surrounded by mountain-toppling, sea-draining force that formed something like a huge ring around him, growing smaller and smaller with every passing moment….
The destructive power skyrocketed with every moment that passed, causing Bai Xiaochun's face to fall from the sensation of deadly crisis that filled him.
There was nothing he could do to fight back. The ring closed down in the blink of an eye, and the only thing he could do was reach out with his right hand, using it as a stand-in for his entire body!
Intense pain stabbed through his right arm as the ring closed in around his flesh. As it did, the powers of regeneration within his flesh fought back against the ring.
The Celestial frowned at how quickly Bai Xiaochun had reacted in this moment of crisis. Not only was he frustrated because of how difficult Bai Xiaochun was to deal with, he was left marveling at the shocking powers of the Undying Codex.
"So, I still need to pay a bit of a price to end things…." The Celestial shook his head, then blurred into motion. Even as Bai Xiaochun's powers of regeneration worked against the binding of the ring, the Celestial unleashed another spectacular divine ability!
Booms rang out as Bai Xiaochun fought back, and shockwaves spread out in all directions. However, Daoist Heavenspan's energy continued to rise; despite only being a quasi-celestial, he had plenty of reserve powers that could push his battle prowess very close to the true Mahayana Realm.
Bai Xiaochun's cultivation base was lower than his, and he also had his right hand bound up. He shouldn't have been a match for Daoist Heavenspan, and yet, because of the heaven-defying powers of regeneration that came with the Undying Live Forever Technique, he could recover from injuries far more quickly than even the Blood Ancestor. As a result… he was on equal footing with the Celestial in a fight!
Blue veins bulged out on Bai Xiaochun's face and neck as his right hand clenched into a fist. By pouring all of the powers of regeneration he had at his disposal at the ring, as well as the full might of his fleshly body, he was finally able to overwhelm the precious treasure until it exploded!
When that happened, Bai Xiaochun's battle prowess began to rise rapidly yet again. Clenching his hand into a fist, he struck out, causing a huge vortex to rumble toward the Celestial.
The Celestial snorted coldly and backed up. Performing a right-handed incantation gesture, he waved his finger and spoke in a cold voice.
"Gluttonous flood snake!"
All of a sudden, from within the depths of the significantly depleted Heavenspan Seawater, a roar erupted that shook heaven and earth, accompanied by a shocking aura.
Water showered down in all directions as a 30,000-meter-long creature appeared. It was very much like a flood dragon, with the body of a snake, and a huge 3,000-meter-long head that was vaguely dragon-like in appearance. Overall, it looked fierce to the extreme!
Instantly, powerful fluctuations rolled out in all directions!
"Fantastic crocodile!"
Things weren't over yet. The Celestial performed another incantation gesture, causing roars to echo out from all four of the Heavenspan Rivers. Along with the roars came four golden crocodiles, which merged together to form a single… 30,000-meter-long, four-headed golden crocodile!
"Gloom bird!"
All of a sudden, a huge roc appeared in the sky, howling in such a way that it caused everything to tremble!
Closer inspection revealed that the roc was covered with rotting flesh, beneath which were dry bones! This bird… was actually a creature that had been dead for countless years!
"Sludge giant!"
Next, the lands in the southern part of the Heavenspan region exploded, and an enormous stonebeetle crawled up from their depths. Everything around it immediately fossilized, causing massive white streaks to be left behind it as it crawled forth.
"I fought the gravekeeper for many years, Bai Xiaochun. I have profound reserve powers the likes of which no one in the world could possibly contend with. As for you… what the hell makes you think you can come fight me!?"
The Celestial waved his finger at Bai Xiaochun, sending all four of the beasts rushing in his direction!
Three of the animals were of little note to Bai Xiaochun. However, he had seen one of those golden crocodiles on numerous occasions. Of course, he could never have imagined that there were four of them… and that they belonged to the Celestial!!
Shockingly, all of these beasts pulsed with the power of the great circle of the Demigod Realm!
Clearly, the fact that the Blood Ancestor had fought with the Celestial for so long was suspicious, considering how powerful the former was…. Granted, the Blood Ancestor was extraordinary, and had succeeded in buying time. However, the Celestial couldn't possibly have been so out of sorts after fighting him. Obviously… the Celestial had been waiting for the gravekeeper to succeed with his plan!
The gravekeeper had been plotting against the Celestial, but the Celestial… had also been plotting against the gravekeeper!
He had been waiting for Bai Xiaochun to arrive, but more importantly, had been waiting for the gravekeeper to die! The person the Celestial feared the most was the gravekeeper, a fear that had only grown deeper over the years in which the gravekeeper, despite growing weaker and weaker, had defeated him at every turn.
Now that the gravekeeper was dead, the Celestial could finally breathe a sigh of relief. Everything had been complicated before, but now, all he had to do was consume Bai Xiaochun to get his Undying Live Forever Pill!
Such thoughts flashed through Bai Xiaochun's mind in the shortest of times.
"Considering how much of a schemer Daoist Heavenspan is," he thought, "he must have something up his sleeve to make him completely and utterly confident in being able to win in the end! And there's no way… that his true secret weapon is these four beasts!" He immediately began to back up. In this life-or-death battle with the Celestial, he had to maintain complete concentration. The Celestial… was the paragon entity in this world, and Bai Xiaochun knew that there was no room for slip-ups. If he made a mistake now, he would be dead forever!
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Chapter 1023: Heavenspan Daogates
Unfortunately, only the gravekeeper had the ability to outthink the Celestial. Bai Xiaochun had only spent a few short years on the path of cultivation, making it impossible for him to compare to the Celestial in terms of plotting and scheming. Although he had somewhat of an idea of what the Celestial was thinking, there were too many clues that he couldn't pick up on.
Furthermore, there was no time to sit around thinking about the matter. The fight between the two of them was one in which life and death hung in the balance at every moment. Bai Xiaochun couldn't afford to be distracted, and therefore fully concentrated on the four beasts that were currently charging toward him.
The gluttonous flood snake and the fantastic crocodile were both fantastically large, and were currently coming at him from the left and the right, clearly intent on ripping him to shreds!
At the same time, the sludge giant and the gloom bird were coming at him from the front and behind, their piercing cries shattering the air around them!
All of them radiated the fluctuations of the great circle of the Demigod Realm, giving birth to windstorms that could change the face of heaven and earth. From the look of things, they were not going to give Bai Xiaochun even the shadow of a chance to escape!
In that moment of crisis, Bai Xiaochun unhesitatingly slapped his bag of holding and said, "Moonflower!"
The instant the words came out of his mouth, an aura erupted out that, even on its own, surpassed the auras of the four incoming beasts!
Rumbling sounds could be heard as nine bright green vines shot out at high speed. Following the vines… was an enormous moonflower made of an infinitude of flower petals!
An aura from beyond the heavens shook the entire area as the huge flower towered overhead! If the gravekeeper were alive, and the world were not withering to death, the world would instinctively attempt to crush this flower. But now… the will of the world was fragmented, and the moonflower erupted with shocking, otherworldly power!
In fact, it seemed to pulse with something like a Heaven-Dao aura!
RUUUUUUUUMBLE!
It was fully 30,000 meters tall, and radiated an aura of complete savagery. In addition, it glittered with brilliant designs…. In that moment, a shocking roar erupted from the moonflower!
Roar!
Everything in the area began to shake, and the tempest that the four beasts had created was ripped to shreds!
The moonflower didn't even need any direction from Bai Xiaochun. Even as the roar echoed out, the flower broke up into countless petals that streamed out in order to wipe all traces of the beasts out of existence!
In the blink of an eye, the moonflower and the four beasts began to fight with utter ferocity.
Daoist Heavenspan's eyes glittered in surprise because of Bai Xiaochun's moonflower. However, he merely glanced at it for a moment before heading directly toward Bai Xiaochun.
Bai Xiaochun also began to head toward Daoist Heavenspan, and the two of them began to fight. Surrounded by the battling moonflower and four beasts, they performed incantation gestures and unleashed shocking divine abilities and Daoist magics!
It only took a short time for all parties involved in the fighting to have exchanged thousands of blows.
Although the moonflower was powerful, it was fighting against four opponents, and was gradually losing ground. Eventually, a howl erupted from inside of the flower, and it exploded, creating something like a sea of dandelion petals that surged toward the four beasts.
The four beasts' expressions flickered as they lurched away. Unfortunately for them, they were too slow. In the blink of an eye, they were overwhelmed. The flying seeds slammed into them, boring into their bodies and seemingly drawing them up as food!
When the four beasts began to scream miserably, Daoist Heavenspan noticed, and frowned. The sight of his four beasts rapidly withering away caused his heart to pound in his chest.
"What an incredible seed from beyond the heavens!" Snorting coldly, his eyes flashed with determination as he performed an incantation gesture with his right hand. Voice as cold as ice, he said, "World relics, to me!"
As the words left his mouth, the four beasts suddenly shuddered and exploded into bits!
From inside of the four beasts emerged millions upon millions of streams of sword energy, which screamed through the air like a tempest and then slashed into Bai Xiaochun. Wounds opened up everywhere, and although his powers of regeneration went to work immediately to heal him, his eyes still widened….
Then, the sword energy shot back, and became six beams of light that swirled around Daoist Heavenspan. Shockingly… six colorful swords could be seen, all of them unique in design and appearance.
They seemed incomparably sharp, and Bai Xiaochun could tell from just looking at them that they were ancient and powerful to the extreme!!
"Were those four beasts embodiments of the Celestial's magical items…? Wait, no. Maybe the Celestial hid the six ancient swords inside of them…?" Even as he shot backward, the countless flying seeds swirled back, converging into the shape of a damaged and bedraggled moonflower. Its aura was weak, and it looked to be in bad shape thanks to the injuries inflicted by the explosion of sword energy.
"Interesting…." Daoist Heavenspan said, hovering in midair, looking at Bai Xiaochun with coldly shining eyes.
"No wonder the gravekeeper chose you…. In all the years, no one other than him has ever forced me to use my life essence Daoswords!
"The Undying Live Forever Technique has its five shackles and five sealing marks…. Spectacular, to say the least. However, the very reason why I can change my own fate in heaven-defying fashion is… the nine Daogates that I created!
"I have cultivated these Daogates for my entire life, and they require the use of these six Daoswords to employ…. In fact, it was by using the Daoswords to open the Daogates that I was able to kill the Arch-Emperor and slaughter countless numbers of his people!
"Today… I will similarly use my life essence Daoswords to open the Daogates and… end your life!" Even as he spoke, his energy began to rise higher and higher. Rumbling sounds filled all creation, and wild colors flashed in the sky. Massive waves covered the surface of the Heavenspan Sea.
It was as if he had become the origin of all energy and power in the world, as if his every action or move could cause the Heavenspan Realm to respond!
Bai Xiaochun panted, a sensation of danger filling him the likes of which he had never experienced before. And the source was none other than the Celestial. Based on what he could sense, not even his powers of regeneration would allow him to recover from the next attack!
And yet, he did not show any signs of backing down. The Celestial had a trump card… but so did Bai Xiaochun!
The Celestial's energy caused the entire world to shake around him. Strange light erupted from his eyes as he threw his arms wide and spoke in a voice that filled the world!
"Daogate… Palace of Water!"
His words seemed to thrum with the power of a great Dao! As they did, his six swords flew forth, linking together to form a design with three rows!
The top row featured two swords in a line, with a gap between them!
The second row featured two swords together, with no gap!
The third row looked exactly like the first row! [1]
Even as the design was completed, seemingly infinite streams of water vapor began to rise up from the withered lands of Heavenspan. It was as if all the water in the world… were forming together into an ocean. That much water carried indescribable weight, and all of it began to fall onto Bai Xiaochun!
Bai Xiaochun backed up in the face of the seemingly endless amount of water filling the sky. It was water that thrummed with destructive power, power that seemed capable of eradicating any life force that got in its way.
"Celestial magic? Nine Daogates…? Am I supposed to be impressed?!" Eyes bloodshot, he threw his head back and roared, clenching his right hand into a fist that caused a black hole to explode into existence. At the same time, a shadowy emperor appeared behind him, bursting with a domineering air.
"Undying… Emperor's Fist!
1. The swords form the shape of one of the eight trigrams which looks like this . It is specifically the "kan" trigram which represents, among other things, water.
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The Daogate Palace of Water was part of the Nine Ruins!
The water of the Nine Ruins made the Palace of Water boundless!
The endless amounts of water around Bai Xiaochun thrummed with explosive, destructive power, and seemed indefatigable. It was seemingly capable of crushing anything and everything, and absorbing it to become part of the water.
Water was innately a Yin and feminine element, but Bai Xiaochun still unleashed the Undying Emperor's Fist. It was an attack backed with unyielding, dominating might, and was a convergence of both his fleshly body and cultivation base power!
No longer was this a quintuple power fist strike, but at the moment, Bai Xiaochun didn't have time to calculate exactly how powerful it was. His only thought was that he needed to break this seemingly endless flow of water around him!
Even as his fist struck out, the fist of the shadowy emperor also struck out!
Colors flashed and winds screamed. The world shook as a tremor ran through the water, which turned into vibrations that increased in intensity with every moment!
Bai Xiaochun's eyes were completely bloodshot as he then shouted, "Stronger this time!"
Howling madly, he unleashed another Undying Emperor's Fist, which was even more shockingly powerful than before!
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
An indescribably powerful tempest erupted out into the ocean of water created by the Yin powers of the Palace of Water. Within moments, a limit was reached, and a series of explosions occurred!
The enormous sea immediately began to break up!
As it did, heavy rain began to fall in all parts of the world!
The Wildlands was no exception, nor Arch-Emperor City. Countless individuals looked up to see rain falling down toward them as the world shook beneath their feet.
Back at the Heavenspan Sea, Daoist Heavenspan's eyes narrowed. Over and over again, Bai Xiaochun's might caused his unease to build.
Snorting coldly, he didn't hesitate to say, "Daogate: Palace of Mountains!"
At that point, his six swords once again began to move toward each other.
However, before Daoist Heavenspan could finish creating the Palace of Mountains, Bai Xiaochun turned into something like a meteor that shot forward in attack.
In response, Daoist Heavenspan snorted and performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, causing the six swords to rapidly lock together in the form of a design different from the last!
Shockingly, it caused a mountain to materialize out of nowhere, which then slammed into Bai Xiaochun!
It was thousands upon thousands of meters tall, and thrummed with shocking energy. The moment of impact caused a deafening boom to ring out, and also caused Bai Xiaochun's expression to flicker. Howling, he unleashed another fist strike, only to find that more and more mountains were falling down toward him!
Each one was larger than the last! In the blink of an eye, more than a hundred mountains filled the sky, with the last one being tens upon tens of thousands of meters high! And all of them were smashing down toward Bai Xiaochun, clearly giving him no room to evade!
Even more shocking was that the Heavenspan Sea began to rumble as a mountain rose up from beneath its surface. More mountains appeared on either side of him as well! As of this moment, countless mountains became like magical items under the control of Daoist Heavenspan, to attack Bai Xiaochun!
Bai Xiaochun could destroy one mountain. But as soon as he did, ten more appeared, and then a hundred, and then more! Each mountain was larger and more powerful than the one before it!
Bai Xiaochun's eyes continued to flicker with shock. Daoist Heavenspan's Daogates were virtually beyond compare! It was something the likes of which Bai Xiaochun had only seen during the spectacular battle in the Wildlands, when the gravekeeper had used his five elements Daoist magic!
Bai Xiaochun's expression was unprecedentedly serious as his Undying Blood began to burn. Blood qi immediately began to swirl out from his skin, and a maddened, bloodthirsty look sprang up in his eyes. And yet, he didn't even come close to losing consciousness!
He now had complete and full control of the Godkiller technique!
As he unleashed the Godkiller, blood qi towered to the heavens. Bai Xiaochun howled at the top of his lungs as he sent the burning blood mist out to meet the mountains!
Every mountain that touched the mist shattered, its energy completely drained away as it transformed into ash….
The blood mist began to grow stronger, casting the whole world into red light. Even as the mountains shattered, the Celestial frowned. Snorting coldly, he waved his sleeve and said, "Daogate: Palace of Lightning!"
The booming of heavenly thunder exploded out, along with numerous black lightning bolts. In the blink of an eye, they filled the sky, and then began to fall onto Bai Xiaochun!
There was so much lightning that it seemed to have no end, like the most ultimate of heavenly tribulations! As this Daogate opened, Daoist Heavenspan seemed to become the monarch of all lightning and thunder!
This was a celestial magic that Daoist Heavenspan had personally created, and was one of the reasons why the gravekeeper had described him in such dramatic terms to Bai Xiaochun in the past!
This celestial magic that bordered on a great Dao was also one of the reasons that Daoist Heavenspan had been able to overthrow the Arch-Emperor Dynasty. It was the reason he was so confident that, if he left this world and went to the world beyond… he would be able to become a true celestial. He would definitely make his breakthrough! Furthermore, he would eventually be able to reach the peak level of power, the likes of which were as rare as phoenix feathers or qilin horns even in the world beyond. He would become an archaean!
"With my talent, I am destined to become an archaean! Why do I have to be stuck in this cramped bug's nest of a world!? Why do I have to struggle on death's door, just waiting for my longevity to run out…? I… refuse to accept this!!" A vicious, insane expression covered the Celestial's face as he strode forward, surrounded by crashing thunder and lightning. 100,000 bolts. 1,000,000 bolts. 10,000,000 bolts of lightning!
Bai Xiaochun had his Godkiller technique, and had previously consumed lightning to advance his cultivation. But this… was lightning created by the Celestial's Daoist magic, and was something he could not simply shrug off.
As the boundless sheets of heavenly lightning dropped toward him, Bai Xiaochun looked up at them, his eyes shining with no less madness than Daoist Heavenspan's.
"Nice magical technique," he growled. "But… I have something just like it!" Eyes burning with killing intent, he threw both hands out in front of him! Drawing all of the blood qi back into him, he unleashed the power of the Live Forever Codex.
The Undying Codex had its five divine abilities. But the Live Forever Codex had five Daoist magics!
As of this moment, he was using the first of the magics that he himself had created as part of the Live Forever Codex. They were… world-shaking Daoist magics of his own creation!
"One Glance Abyss Crystallization!" As Bai Xiaochun's voice rolled out, it sounded like an expression of the Dao, as though a great bell had been struck that resonated through all heaven and earth…. This was the heavenly reverberation of a true Daoist magic!
In the briefest of moments, the entire Heavenspan Sea… emitted loud cracking sounds as it transformed into crystal!
All the waves and ripples in it became solid and crystallized! Inside and out… the Heavenspan Sea was now as transparent as glass!
The Heavenspan Sea now looked like a land of ice, glowing with radiant and shocking light!
That blinding light shot up to meet the lightning above… whereupon more cracking sounds rang out. Suddenly, it was in completely shocking fashion that the entire crystalline sea shattered into millions upon billions upon trillions of crystalline swords!
Shining with boundless light, and multitudinous razor-sharp manifestations of sword energy, the crystalline swords all turned upward and shot toward… Daoist Heavenspan!
At this point… Daoist Heavenspan's face fell!
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Chapter 1025: Live Forever Lamp!
Countless crystalline swords began to rise up into the air from the crystallized abyss that was the Heavenspan Sea, creating a screaming whistle that filled the world.
The swords cast dazzling light in all directions, to such blinding effect that Daoist Heavenspan's face fell from the shock of it all.
Although he was very familiar with how the divine abilities of the Live Forever Codex worked, this was his first time seeing one of Bai Xiaochun's personalized Daoist magics.
Furthermore, Daoist Heavenspan was very well aware that the power of the Daoist magics of the Live Forever Codex surpassed any other ordinary techniques by far. In addition, the specific way that such divine abilities were created had to do with the Dao and will of the individual cultivator.
Each cultivator had a different Dao and a different will, and thus, the Daoist magics they could create would all be different. Therefore, it didn't matter how deeply Daoist Heavenspan had researched the Live Forever Codex, there was no way he could be familiar with Bai Xiaochun's Daoist magics before they were revealed!
"What will Bai Xiaochun's Daoist magics accomplish in the end?!" Daoist Heavenspan didn't dare to look down on Bai Xiaochun in this moment. Looking around at the endless cloud of crystalline swords, he prepared to flee.
However, the swords were too fast, and before he could do anything, they were upon him.
Looking slightly nervous, he performed a double-handed incantation gesture, causing the lightning from the Palace of Lightning to shrink down. Instead of using that lightning to attack Bai Xiaochun, he threw it up as a shield against the crystalline swords.
Rumbling sounds filled all heaven and earth as the millions upon billions upon trillions of crystalline swords smashed into the lightning shield. The Dao Gate: Palace of Lightning was immediately weakened and began to shrink down, and yet, managed to stand against the assault of swords.
The crystalline swords slammed against the shield and then toppled down, falling one on top of the other to create a huge pile underneath Daoist Heavenspan!
The pile of swords grew higher and higher until finally, the lightning shield shattered. By the time it was all over, the masses of swords had created something like a small mountain beneath Daoist Heavenspan's feet.
"So, that's your Daoist magic, Bai Xiaochun?!" Although Daoist Heavenspan was panting a bit as he stood there on the mountainous pile of swords, his eyes shone with piercing light.
Bai Xiaochun looked back at him coldly, then extended his right hand, pointed out with his finger, and said, "Heavenly Canopy Lampshade!"
As soon as the words left Bai Xiaochun's mouth, the sky began to tremble and grow murky. Then, the sky seemed to break up into numerous layers, almost like cloth!
In the blink of an eye, the lowermost of the layers began to drop down and cover Daoist Heavenspan!
The heavenly canopy was difficult to see clearly at first, and was identifiable mostly by how it twisted and distorted the air around it. In response, the Celestial's expression flickered, and he quickly performed an incantation gesture to unleash the Daogate: Palace of Wind. As he did, a black wind sprang out of nowhere to block the descending heavenly canopy.
However, even as the Celestial's Daoist magic was unleashed, a second heavenly canopy began to fall, and then a third. Soon, the sky itself was starting to seem thin! Before long, the eighth canopy had dropped down toward the Heavenspan Sea, and seemed just on the verge of sealing Daoist Heavenspan!
Daoist Heavenspan now stood on a pile of crystal, surrounded by a black wind, struggling to escape. Meanwhile, the eight heavenly canopies dropped down, spreading over him just like a lampshade!
Despite being a manifestation of the fallen sky, the lampshade wasn't blue, but rather light gray. By this point, enough of the sky had peeled away from above that it was possible to see the black void beyond!
Daoist Heavenspan panted heavily, his heart filled with unease and a sensation of crisis. Bellowing, he sent the black wind to batter this way and that, and yet, it did no good.
Even as Daoist Heavenspan's shock intensified, Bai Xiaochun's eyes turned even icier. Performing an incantation gesture with his left hand, he waved his finger and spoke in a voice that echoed like thunder.
"Boundless Longevity, Endless Life!" As the four words left his mouth, the aura of the Live Forever Codex erupted out into the world, filling the air with… innumerable longevity characters! [1]
Although the characters were very small, they all pulsed with the aura of the Live Forever Codex. Furthermore, there were literally too many to count! In fact, there were far, far more than the crystalline swords from before!
A moment later, rumbling sounds could be heard as the longevity characters shot toward the heavenly canopy lampshade that covered Daoist Heavenspan, and merged into it!
As they fused with the lampshade, the characters emanated a shocking aura which strengthened the lampshade and made its sealing powers vastly more incredible than before!
Inside, Daoist Heavenspan was starting to get very nervous. All of a sudden, he had the premonition that if he didn't get out of this heavenly canopy lampshade… he would be in profound danger!
"I have to get out of here. Now!!" He tried to move, but no matter what he did, he was incapable of freeing himself. Overwhelmed by a sensation of danger, he howled and performed an incantation gesture to unleash the Daogate: Palace of Fire.
Instantly, Daoist Heavenspan was surrounded by majestic heavenly fire that sent indescribable heat out in all directions, setting the heavenly canopy ablaze!
It was in that moment that the killing intent in Bai Xiaochun's eyes blazed. Ignoring the blazing heavenly canopies, he reached out to point at the sealed Celestial.
"Thou Art The Candle!!"
His voice crashed like deafening thunder, and slammed directly into Daoist Heavenspan's body!
Daoist Heavenspan let out a miserable shriek. His eyes were crimson, and his hair in complete disarray as… without any warning whatsoever… a layer of wax appeared all over him!!
It was sinister and white, and in the blink of an eye, it covered him completely. With every moment that passed, it grew thicker and thicker, as did the Celestial's unease. Unleashing the power of his cultivation base to try to protect himself, he shouted, "Daogate: Palace of Marshes!"
The Palace of Marshes didn't summon water, but rather, a swamp!!
As Daoist Heavenspan opened his mouth to utter the words, white wax spilled into it! However, the area surrounding him still turned into a marshy swamp, filled with decay and rot. It was the type of thing that could melt anything within its bounds, and apparently, he hoped that it would neutralize the wax and cause the seal of the heavenly canopy to melt away!
Rumbling sounds filled heaven and earth as the power of the rotting swamp combined with the effects of the previous Daogates, causing the heavenly canopies to begin to break apart. However… with the bolstering of the longevity characters, the lampshade held!
No matter what techniques Daoist Heavenspan used, no matter how strong his Daogates were, as of this moment, he simply couldn't fight Bai Xiaochun's Live Forever Daoist magic!
Despite being counteracted to a degree by the rotting swamp, the wax continued to build up around Daoist Heavenspan. Soon, he was completely white, and looked like… he was made of wax!!
"Dammit. DAMMIT!!" he shouted, his expression twisting ferociously. Drawing on what appeared to be an even more powerful magic than before, he blasted away at the white wax, which began to crumble and crack. At the same time, the heavenly canopy lampshade also seemed to be on the verge of shattering….
However, that was when Bai Xiaochun took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them… fire blazed to the heavens!!
"Live Forever Lamp, Integrate!"
The Celestial's body was the waxy candle, and Bai Xiaochun's eyes… were the spark!!
This was none other than the personalized divine ability that Bai Xiaochun had created after mastering the Live Forever Codex. It was… the Live Forever Lamp!
1. The character for longevity looks like this: 寿
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Chapter 1026: Peerless Daoist Magic!
Bai Xiaochun was panting, and his face was ashen. This was his first time unleashing his Live Forever Codex Daoist magic, the Live Forever Lamp. However, he had visualized the process numerous times, and therefore, felt quite proficient in its use. This was one of the things that made the Live Forever Codex so unique: the fact that it could create a peerless Daoist magic based on the individual cultivator .
However, it was difficult to deal with how draining it was. After unleashing it only once, the power of the Live Forever Codex within him had been drained by more than seventy percent!
Cultivation base drainage was not something that the powers of the Undying Codex could help with. The Undying Codex only helped him recover from injuries of the fleshly body. The cultivation base could only be restored by means of breathing exercises or similar means.
The power of this Daoist magic was shocking even to Bai Xiaochun. His eyes flashed like lightning as his gaze fell on the Celestial. As of this moment, the entire world… looked very different!
The pile of crystal was… the lampstand!
The massive size of the lampstand was enough to cause pressure to weigh down on anyone who looked at it. Furthermore, the gravitational force it emitted ensured that no entity in existence would dare to get too close to it.
The heavenly canopy from above had descended, surrounding the lampstand to act as… the lampshade!!
Countless longevity characters were visible on the lampshade, which represented long life!
However, all of those things only constituted part of the Live Forever Lamp. The most important part… was right in the middle. The white, glowing candle!
Daoist Heavenspan's life force, his body, and everything else that made him up became that white candle! The final bit of the lamp was the spark from Bai Xiaochun's eyes, which lit the candle, providing the fire and the light!
As Daoist Heavenspan's body burned, fiery radiance spilled out, hitting the lampshade and accenting the longevity characters. Furthermore, the powerful gravitational force from the lampstand made it impossible for the Celestial to move a muscle.
Shockingly, Daoist Heavenspan had become the Live Forever Lamp!
He trembled violently, his mind and heart assailed by waves of shock. The indescribable sensation of imminent crisis that filled him was stronger than anything he had ever experienced. He could sense that his life force, his body, his cultivation base, and even his soul, were being burned by the Live Forever Lamp. He was wasting away rapidly, and in fact, it was to his shock that, only moments later, he felt unprecedentedly weak.
"This divine ability…. This Daoist magic…." At this point, he howled like a wild animal. "Insignificant Live Forever Lamp! How dare you burn my soul!!"
Amidst his struggling, he threw his head back and howled, and Bai Xiaochun stood there looking at him coldly.
"Alright, Daoist Heavenspan," he murmured to himself, "it's about time to use your final trick. The one you thought would earn you the win!"
Daoist Heavenspan glared back at Bai Xiaochun, burning, his skin and flesh slowly melting until bones became visible beneath. His hair was pure white, and his face was covered in wrinkles, and yet, the madness and insanity in his eyes had not been reduced by even a smidgen.
"Watch and learn, Bai Xiaochun. Pay attention to how I break your Daoist magic!" He extended both of his burning hands and pushed them together, palm to palm, as if he were praying!
"Seventh Daogate: Palace of Earth!" As the words left his mouth, a muffled rumble echoed out that seemed to come from far beneath the surface of the ground. Moments later, the energy of the land erupted out!
The Palace of Earth represented all of the lands in the world!
Energy poured from every square inch of the ground, which then began to stream toward Daoist Heavenspan!
The energy of the earth swirled around him, causing the flame to show signs of weakening. As for the crystalline lampstand, it began to darken, as though it would soon turn into ordinary stone!
It wasn't just the lampstand that was affected. The lampshade was also affected by the earth energy, and began to turn brown. Within a few breaths of time, it looked like soil! And then, Daoist Heavenspan no longer looked like white wax, and the burning of his life force… ceased!
A boom rang out that seemed capable of rending heaven and earth in two! The Live Forever Lamp, which had been created with Daoist Heavenspan… exploded into bits!
"Did you really think you could trap me with that Daoist magic of yours, Bai Xiaochun!?!?" Daoist Heavenspan appeared to be in very bad shape, and was even gasping for breath. But after a moment, he threw his head back and began to laugh maniacally.
Bai Xiaochun stood in place, not moving, his eyes flickering with cold light, and also… derision.
"You really think you broke free?" he said, gesturing casually up at the sky.
In that instant, Daoist Heavenspan's face fell as he realized that his life force, his cultivation base, and his soul… were still fading away! He suddenly looked up into the sky, his mind reeling as he staggered backward.
"How is this even possible!?!?"
High up in the sky… countless Live Forever Lamps had appeared. They stretched to the farthest corners of the Heavenspan Realm, to the point where it was impossible to see where they began or ended….
And in each of the Live Forever Lamps was a tiny version of Daoist Heavenspan, laughing and crying simultaneously, snarling and howling at the same time!
The bizarre nature of the sight was terrifying to behold!
Daoist Heavenspan's aura suddenly flared to life, and he burst into motion, flying up into the sky and throwing both of his hands out wide.
"Eighth Daogate: Palace of Heaven!!
As he unleashed the eighth of his Daogate magics, the entire world went dim, and a massive wind kicked up. At the same time, the Celestial's hand transformed into a massive, illusory hand that reached up and began to tear open a huge rift.
As the rift opened, it was as if the sky were being sliced open by an enormous, razor-sharp blade.
Shocking energy fluctuations poured out, causing the Live Forever Lamps to tremble. Simultaneously, the miniature versions of Daoist Heavenspan within the lamps all howled at the tops of their lungs and joined together… to power the magic of the Palace of Heaven!
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
One by one, the countless Live Forever Lamps began to explode. Within moments, they were gone, and Daoist Heavenspan hovered there, gasping for breath. He was clearly exhausted and profoundly weak, and yet his eyes glittered brightly. As the moments passed, he began to recover, and he turned his gaze to Bai Xiaochun, looking very much like the most domineering figure in all heaven and earth.
"Unless you have some other trick up your sleeve, Bai Xiaochun, then… the time has come for you to be a good boy and transform into the high-level medicine I need!"
Bai Xiaochun looked as calm as ever, except for the raging killing intent in his eyes. Then he spoke, and it sounded as if he were saying the funniest thing in the world. "You really think you broke free?"
Based on what he could tell, the secret move that Daoist Heavenspan believed would gain him victory had still not been employed.
As for Daoist Heavenspan, a look of blank shock appeared on his face. Backing up, he looked up, and realized that the world net had appeared overhead.
Then he looked down and realized that the lands below looked almost like an enormous lampstand….
Countless emotions flickered across his face, and he began to tremble. For the first time, bitterness and regret began to rise up in his heart.
"This Live Forever Lamp is truly amazing. And the Live Forever Codex, even moreso!"
As of this moment, the entire Heavenspan Realm had been turned into a gargantuan, unparalleled Live Forever Lamp!!
The lands below were the lampstand, and the world net was the lampshade. And Daoist Heavenspan… was still the white candle. He… was still burning, providing the lamplight!
This was… the third form of the Live Forever Lamp!
First, the self. Second, the heavens. Third, the world!
It was a peerless Daoist magic!
Breathtaking and unrivaled!
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Chapter 1027: Tenth Daogate
"Apparently I underestimated the Live Forever Codex…. Or perhaps I underestimated your Live Forever Codex, Bai Xiaochun!" Daoist Heavenspan looked around at the world, which had become an enormous Live Forever Lamp, and suddenly his heart was awash with numerous complicated emotions. He knew quite a bit about the Live Forever Codex, and yet neither his top apprentice, nor his daughter Du Lingfei, had ever been able to do anything as shocking as this during their cultivation of the same technique.
The world was the Live Forever Lamp, and Daoist Heavenspan was the flaming candle. As he burned, his control over the will of the world began to slip away. Apparently, the Live Forever Lamp was causing him… to lose his place as the ruler of the world. Instead of acknowledging him, the world now wanted to crush and kill him!!
Bai Xiaochun remained in place off in the distance, looking on with a slight frown. As of yet, he had still not seen anything that seemed like something Daoist Heavenspan would rely on to gain ultimate victory!
"You definitely have a true trump card! I refuse to believe that you'll continue to hold it back in the face of my Live Forever Lamp!" Eyes flickering with cold light, he waved his hand, causing the world-level Live Forever Lamp to begin to shine even more brightly.
"I still have one Daogate left of the nine, Bai Xiaochun!" Eyes completely bloodshot, Daoist Heavenspan threw his head back and roared, simultaneously throwing his arms out, placing one hand above and one below, with the palms facing each other.
"Daogate… The Palace Within!!" Howling, he shoved his hands out in front of him, causing the six swords to produce another strange design with three sections. As soon as it appeared, it radiated an air of both life and death. One half of it was alive, the other dead, and as they swirled around each other, they created an image that seemed to encompass the entire circle of life. Then, rumbling sounds echoed out as that image of life and death shot toward the enormous world lamp.
As soon as the air of life and death began to fill the world, the area around Daoist Heavenspan was demarcated into two halves. One half withered away into death, and in the other half, life force flourished.
If anyone were able to look at the scene from far above, it would be possible to see the entire world of Bai Xiaochun's Live Forever Lamp transforming, with one half dying and the other half growing.
As this bizarre scene played out, Daoist Heavenspan ripped his hands apart from each other!
"Open!" he shouted. If the world represented both life and death, then Daoist Heavenspan was ripping the two halves apart, and thus tearing the Live Forever Lamp in two!
"If this is your secret weapon, Daoist Heavenspan," Bai Xiaochun said slowly, "then I'm afraid you're doomed to perish this day!" Even as the Celestial ripped the world to pieces, Bai Xiaochun closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, the world-scale Live Forever Lamp… was extinguished!!
In that instant, all of the light in the world vanished, leaving behind only Daoist Heavenspan, who still burned with fire. Before, it had been difficult to make out with the naked eye, but now, with the entire world cast into darkness, it was more obvious than ever!
"Extinguish the lamp, extinguish the person!" Bai Xiaochun murmured. As the words left his mouth, the entire world of darkness filled with an unimaginably powerful will of extermination. Then that darkness rushed toward Daoist Heavenspan with mountain-toppling, sea-draining power, ignoring the Palace Within, ignoring all defensive measures, ignoring the will of Daoist Heavenspan himself. This darkness would extinguish the fire! It would snuff out the flame of his life force!
"Noooo!!" Daoist Heavenspan shrieked. His life was about to end, and therefore there was no time for thinking or planning. His right hand shot up in a blur to touch his forehead, from within which he extracted an iron sword!
It was none other than… the fallen sword of Gu Tianjun!
Hefting the sword which had fallen from the world beyond, Daoist Heavenspan howled and slashed at the darkness of extermination which threatened to darken the flame of his life force!!
The slash of his sword split open the darkness, causing cracking sounds to erupt out. However, it was within the blink of an eye that, to the utter disbelief of Daoist Heavenspan, the fallen sword… shattered into pieces!
The darkness couldn't be blocked! In the briefest of moments, it poured into Daoist Heavenspan, inundating him… and extinguishing the candle flame!
The lamp was extinguished, and the person was extinguished, killed in body and soul!
The entire world went silent. Gradually, the darkness faded away, and light once again began to fill the world. The Live Forever Lamp was gone, and Bai Xiaochun hovered there above the Heavenspan Sea. However, there was no joy on his face. Instead, he was staring at the spot where Daoist Heavenspan had been wiped away. It was only at this point that… he suddenly realized why he had been feeling so uneasy. He now realized why he had begun to speculate that there was a hidden truth at play!
"That laughing-crying ghost face that he snatched… still hasn't shown up yet…." Gaze sharpening, he looked down at the nearly dried up Heavenspan Sea, performed an incantation gesture, and waved his finger. In response, the surface of the sea suddenly bulged, as though some boundlessly powerful force were inside of it, just about to emerge.
All of a sudden, a whirlpool erupted in that very spot, spinning rapidly until the seawater around it screamed loudly.
In the very center of the whirlpool appeared… Daoist Heavenspan, striding up from the bottom of the sea!!
"You are very near the level of being able to kill my true self!" Daoist Heavenspan's aura was back to normal, but his eyes were bloodshot, and within them could be seen a glint of lingering fear. In the very last moment, he had switched places with the discarnate soul of the laughing-crying ghost face. Were it not for that substitution magic, the might of the Live Forever Lamp would have definitely wiped him out of existence.
"Discarnate soul life replacement!" Bai Xiaochun said, his face unsightly to the extreme. The sight of Daoist Heavenspan rising up from the bottom of the sea… confirmed that he had always had a trump card to rely on!
He had used a discarnate soul to stand in his place, just as he had used his blood-hair to survive his world-shattering battle with the gravekeeper in the Wildlands.
Daoist Heavenspan took a deep breath, his eyes shining with intense killing intent, as well as madness. Oh so slowly, he raised his hand up toward the sky.
"Now that I understand your Live Forever Lamp, the time has come… for my own ultimate Daoist magic! Call it survival of the fittest! Call it the law of the jungle! The world is withering away, and will die soon. Instead of simply allowing all the living things therein to die along with it, it would be better… to take those lives for myself. I created a Daoist magic long ago that I've never used, a Daoist magic that can destroy the world! It is… my tenth Daogate!"
Daoist Heavenspan's voice was like the final crack of thunder to hit the world. A massive vortex appeared in his outstretched hand, pitch black and spinning madly. An indescribably powerful gravitational force then erupted out to fill the entire world.
The sky had already been damaged severely, and was bereft of almost all life force. And now, it began to wrinkle and crumble….
Within the already withering world, the plants and vegetation all began to die. Every bit of life left in the mountains and lands began to vanish. The rivers and lakes began to go dry. Even the Heavenspan Seawater started evaporating.
Next were the animals, the cultivators, and all other living things…. All of the sects, including those in the east, west, south and north. Everything in the Wildlands, and everyone inside and near Arch-Emperor City. The Grand Heavenmaster. The Giant Ghost King. All the cultivators from the lands of Heavenspan, and the demigod patriarchs.
Everyone began to tremble as their life force began to seep out of them and float through the air….
As all of this happened, Daoist Heavenspan's vortex began to turn from black to red. At the same time, a heaven-destroying, earth-extinguishing energy began to build up. Underneath the red glow, the Celestial's face looked particularly vicious.
"This is my last move, Bai Xiaochun. Open, my tenth Daogate!!" In concert with his voice, the vortex began to pulse with the most destructive of airs.
Bai Xiaochun could sense the vortex pulling away at the life force of all living things in the world. He could sense the River-Defying Sect in the Wildlands, as well as everyone else he knew, trembling and withering up. At that point, it was with completely bloodshot eyes that, without any hesitation, he reached out in the direction of the north!!
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