A Will Eternal

Outside the temple and the stone spell formation, the Nascent Soul cultivators were waiting anxiously for the disciples to emerge. Suddenly, beams of light descended from above, within which were the disciples of all the sects.

Without a single exception, the disciples all had black turtle marks on them, either on their faces, or on other parts of their bodies. The Nascent Soul cultivators from the three sects couldn’t stop their eyes from widening at the sight.

Frigidsect, Crimsonsoul and Master Godwind instantly had a very bad feeling….

“All of you….” Before any of the Nascent Soul Daoist masters from the three sects could inquire into the matter, another beam of light shot up from one of the enormous stones in the spell formation. Then, Bai Xiaochun appeared. The instant he was fully materialized, he shot at top speed toward the patriarchs of the River-Defying Sect.

“They’re trying to kill me!” he shouted as he neared. “Save me, patriarchs! I almost lost my poor little life! They want me dead!”

Even as the words left his mouth, the other disciples atop the enormous stones devolved into madness. Disregarding the fact that they were in the presence of members of the older generation, they all shot toward Bai Xiaochun.

“I’m gonna kill you, Bai Xiaochun!!” Rumbling sounds echoed out as the nearly one hundred cultivators who had just returned all launched attacks. All of the Nascent Soul cultivators were completely taken aback.

As for Frigidsect, Crimsonsoul and Master Godwind, their expressions turned very grim. Considering that all these people wanted to kill Bai Xiaochun, they could only imagine what dangers he must have been facing just now inside the legacy zone.

“Humph!” Crimsonsoul said, taking a step forward and stomping his foot onto the ground. A massive shockwave spread out in all directions, sending the cultivators of the three sects tumbling off their feet.

“Bai Xiaochun is the junior patriarch of the River-Defying Sect! Which of you dares try to kill him!?!?” These cultivators were all Chosen, but they were still just in the Core Formation stage, and couldn’t possibly compete with Crimsonsoul. The fearsome aura emanating out from him now caused them all to tremble inwardly.

Even as Bai Xiaochun cowered behind Crimsonsoul, Frigidsect, and Master Godwind, he felt very moved, and couldn’t help but muse that all the dangers he had faced in the legacy zone were worth it.

Frigidsect’s eyes glittered, and his expression was grim as he looked over at the Nascent Soul cultivators from the other sects and said, “Dao River Court. Polarity River Court. Starry River Court. You three had better give us a good explanation for this!”

Master Godwind stepped over to Bai Xiaochun and put his hand on his shoulder, using his cultivation base to scan Bai Xiaochun for injuries. At first, he seemed surprised, but then he gave Bai Xiaochun a look that no one else noticed.

Bai Xiaochun instantly understood his intention. Forcing his face to look even paler than before, he let out a wail, then bit his tongue and coughed up some blood.

Placing his hand onto his chest, he began to pant for breath. Pointing at the cultivators of the three sects, he said, “They’re… so vicious! They… they tried to kill me… I… I just….”

When the other cultivators saw this, the fury they had been suppressing raged even higher than before. They had all seen how tough Bai Xiaochun was with their own eyes. Furthermore, he had been as quick as a six-legged rabbit, which had made him very difficult to hit in the first place.

And yet here he was claiming to be seriously injured….

“Bai Xiaochun, you–”

Although several people began to shout in rage, before they could say more than a word or two, the white-haired old man from the Dao River Court grimly shouted, “Shut up, all of you!”

His thunderous voice instantly crushed down on everyone, causing the disciples’ hearts to tremble. Averting their gazes, they quickly went silent.

“The Dao River Court will provide an explanation within one month’s time. Fellow Daoists from the River-Defying Sect, I hope you will take some time to consider the matter we discussed earlier, and provide an answer as soon as possible.” Looking over at Bai Xiaochun, he forced a smile onto his face, then left along with the other Dao River Court cultivators.

As for all of the turtle marks on the disciples, he completely ignored them….

As the Dao River Court cultivators were leaving, the group from the Polarity River Court offered some similar words about providing an explanation, then left. Last was the Starry River Court. As for the expression on the face of the red-haired old man, it couldn’t have been more unsightly….

Glaring at the disciples of his sect, he was just about to turn and leave when Master Godwind suddenly said, “Fellow Daoist, I expect that Starry Meteor to be delivered within the month!”

Without even looking back, the red-haired old man said, “I wouldn’t go back on my word for a paltry Starry Meteor!”

With that, he gave a cold harrumph and left with his disciples.

In the silence which followed afterward, Frigidsect, Crimsonsoul and Master Godwind looked over at Bai Xiaochun with incredulity written on their faces.

Bai Xiaochun continued to clutch at his chest. Complexion ashen, he looked piteously over at the three patriarchs.

“Patriarchs, you have no idea how miserable I was in there. If things had gone on for even a moment longer, it would have been the end of me. You would have needed to pick a new junior patriarch for the River-Defying Sect.”

The three patriarchs weren’t sure whether to laugh or cry. After a moment, Crimsonsoul said, “How did you do pull it off?”

“Huh? Oh. Well, even I’m not sure. They wanted to kill me almost as soon as they saw me. It was really bewildering.”

“I’m talking about the legacy seals.”

“Oh, the legacy seals! Look, I don’t want to brag, but as soon as I went inside, the legacy seals acted is if I were their master or something. They just kept rushing toward me. I didn’t even need to go after them. It was a real headache.” Bai Xiaochun’ braggadocio caused the three patriarchs to simply stand there staring at him. Unsure of the situation, he cautiously probed, “So, did we win? I got all the legacy seals, and I even got this thing called the Living Mountain Incantation.”

Frigidsect, Crimsonsoul and Master Godwind all exchanged glances, and then suddenly burst out laughing. The truth was, they didn’t care how Bai Xiaochun had managed to get all of the legacy seals. However, he did it, he was the junior patriarch of the River-Defying Sect, and they were all on the same team!

“You didn’t just win. You won big!!” Master Godwind laughed heartily.

Relieved, Bai Xiaochun also started laughing, feeling prouder of himself than ever.

“Alright, let’s get back to the sect!” Frigidsect said excitedly, his eyes shining with approval of Bai Xiaochun. With that, he swept Bai Xiaochun up into the air toward the Heavenhorn Sword.

On the way back to the River-Defying Sect, the patriarchs told Bai Xiaochun about everything which had happened outside. It was almost unbelievable. They had acquired one hundred percent of the resources, which meant that all of the other three sects had to take the shares they’d acquired in the last competition and send them to the River-Defying Sect.

There was nothing they could do to complain about the matter. After all, the rules set forth by the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect at the request of the three sects themselves. In addition to all that, the River-Defying Sect was also to get a Starry Meteor.

Because of all of that, the River-Defying Sect’s overall power would continue to grow stronger.

As of now, they were in a good position whether to wanted to act aggressively or be more defensive. Furthermore, because of the situation with the resources, there would be more interactions with the Dao and Polarity River Courts. In the negotiations which would eventually come regarding the redistribution of resources, they could not only make the other two sect’s happy, but probably get better benefits for themselves.

Most importantly of all, because of the heaven-shaking, earth-toppling events which had just occurred, the River-Defying Sect was now much closer to having a Deva Realm patriarch.

They had enough resources, and enough information. It wouldn’t be long before Crimsonsoul, Frigidsect, and Master Godwind all had their chance to become devas!

With the solid foundation they were establishing, the River-Defying Sect was finally in a position to have a true position of power in the Middle Reaches.

Bai Xiaochun wasn’t interested or skilled in politics or scheming, so as far as he was concerned, the dealings with the other three sects were best left in the hands of the wily foxes Frigidsect, Crimsonsoul and Master Godwind.

In terms of what the patriarchs wanted him to focus on, they made it clear right away.

“Matters between all the sects aren’t really important. What you need to do now is work on understanding the Living Mountain Incantation. It’s one of the three hundred secret legacy magics in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect!”

“If you can master the Living Mountain Incantation, your battle prowess will increase to a shocking level!”

Bai Xiaochun immediately began to meditate upon the Living Mountain Incantation.

However, as he contemplated the technique, he realized that it came with some very harsh requirements in terms of cultivation.

Furthermore, it needed to be cultivated in a special environment. Based on the description that came along with the technique, that environment could only be found in a land of mountains within the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect itself.

Bai Xiaochun was a little depressed about that, but knew that there was nothing he could do about it now. Even as he let the matter drop, he realized that they were nearing the sect headquarters!

There, the Blood Ancestor towered over the lands, and the aura of the Dire Skybanyan suppressed everything in the area. The four mountain ranges stretched out like dragons.

That was the River-Defying Sect!