A Will Eternal

When the lightning bolt struck Bai Xiaochun, he felt an explosive force coursing into his head and then erupting throughout his body.

Sparks of electricity showered off of him in all directions.

It was a terrifying sight that caused him to shriek in terror. But then, he looked around, blinking for a moment before his eyes lit up.

“I’m fine?” Not only was the electricity not hurting him, but it was actually causing his cultivation base to advance…. “I can absorb it!”

This lightning had a different type of life force power than the lightning in Lightning Penitentiary, an energy that caused his Undying Blood to leap as if with joy.

Bai Xiaochun was delighted. Clearly, this lightning existed on a different, higher level than the stuff in the Nine Heavens Cloud Lightning Sect. It was much the same way that certain medicinal pills were of higher quality than others, and could help advance one’s cultivation in a different way.

Although he was very happy, the ghost face was right behind him, just about to enter the area of thunderclouds. Therefore, it was without the slightest hesitation that Bai Xiaochun threw his head back and let out a bellow of agony, as if he were experiencing the most horrific torture. The mere sound of it caused the ghost face to shrink back.

“Is the lightning that powerful?” the ghost face wondered. “I feel like allowing him to get struck by lightning is actually letting him off the hook a bit.” The ghost face quickly realized that it was impossible to send his divine sense into the lightning or the thunderclouds. Therefore, he could only wait on the outskirts for Bai Xiaochun to be killed, then dash in to retrieve his body.

After all, he was very interested in that turtle-wok he’d seen.

As the ghost face waited for Bai Xiaochun to be struck to death by lightning, Bai Xiaochun was still moving forward, being struck over and over again by lightning. Despite how lovely it felt, he continued to emit blood-curdling screams left and right.

After discovering that the cowardly ghost face wasn’t going to chase him, he couldn’t help but feel a bit of scorn. Apparently, his acting really was doing the job.

“That bastard is too cautious. That won’t do. I need to give him something to work with!” With that, he slowed down a bit, and when the next lightning bolt struck, screamed at the top of his lungs and staggered in place, as though he might not be able to continue forward.

The ghost face’s eyes flickered. He had been watching Bai Xiaochun closely this entire time, but still had not dared to enter the field of lightning.

When Bai Xiaochun saw his reaction out of the corner of his eye, he gritted his teeth, allowed some more lightning to strike him, and then sagged visibly as he took a shaky step forward.

“He’s almost dead!” the ghost face thought with a cold chuckle. However, a moment later, he frowned as Bai Xiaochun, who he assumed would be killed at any moment, took another lurching step forward. Then he took another step as he began to walk off into the distance….

Eventually the ghost face’s eyes began to flicker with suspicion. However, it was at that point that more lightning bolts struck Bai Xiaochun, causing him to shudder and then flop over onto the ground, where he lay twitching.

Finally, the ghost face unhesitatingly blurred into motion, shooting through the lightning toward Bai Xiaochun. However, even as he closed in, Bai Xiaochun struggled to his feet, his eyes bloodshot as if with exhaustion.

“Bring it on!” he shouted hoarsely. “Bai Xiaochun will never give in!!” Then he took another step forward.

The ghost face’s suspicions were dispelled by Bai Xiaochun’s act, and he pushed forward with greater speed. “He’s a tough cookie, that’s for sure!”

However, as he closed in, much of the lightning began to focus on him, and no matter how he dodged back and forth, he couldn’t avoid being hit.

Furthermore, it was to his shock that, despite how powerful he was, the lightning struck him all the way down to his divine soul. Worse, it actually weakened his life force to a certain degree.

“This lightning is very strange!” he thought. He immediately started to get nervous. After all, he was sort of like a tree with no roots; although he had a huge reserve of life force, he had no way to rebuild it once it was used up.

“This isn’t worth it. I’ll just go back, wait until he’s dead, and then come get his corpse!” With that, the ghost face prepared to turn back.

Just as he did, though, Bai Xiaochun let out a trembling scream that was like the tiny burst of flame an oil lamp would emit before winking out. Then, instead of staggering unstably, he lurched forward with a burst of speed, going nearly 3,000 meters in one shot.

That attracted even more lightning than usual, which all struck him at once. Twitching spasmodically, he screamed and toppled over onto his face, where he lay unmoving.

The ghost face stopped in place and looked over. Unfortunately, divine sense didn’t work within the lightning, forcing him to examine the scene with his physical sight only. A moment later, his eyes shone with determination as he headed in Bai Xiaochun’s direction.

Despite how the lightning struck him, he endured, getting closer and closer. When he was only about 3,000 meters away, Bai Xiaochun suddenly let out a muffled cry.

“I refuse to go out like this! I still have a bit of energy left!!” It was as if he were shouting out with the last bit of life he had left in him. Then, to the complete incredulity of the ghost face, he rose shakily to his feet, and then began to trudge forward like the walking dead.

“How come you’re not dead!?!?” the ghost face growled angrily. He had been moving fairly quickly, but at the same time, keeping his speed in check. After all, the more quickly one moved in this area, the more lightning one attracted!

But now, in his irritation, he decided to go all out. Just as he was beginning to pick up speed, Bai Xiaochun suddenly began to chuckle bitterly, as if he were about to throw caution to the wind.

“I know what you’re after, you old ghost! You want my Heaven-Earth Dao-Polarity Nine-Provinces Wok! But even if I die, I’m going to make you pay the price to get it!!” Cackling madly, he smacked himself on the chest and spat up a huge mouthful of blood to unleash a secret magic. Making it seem like he was burning the last bit of life he had left, he shot forward with a burst of speed, heading directly into a huge convergence of lightning.

In the blink of an eye, he was several tens of thousands of meters away, and being struck by numerous lightning bolts. Finally, he collapsed to the ground, dropping the turtle-wok down next to him.

The ghost face was initially stunned, and his suspicions were starting to grow. After all, the coincidences were really starting to pile up. Now he was faced with a decision: believe, or not believe?

“Maybe he’s trying to lure me further in, all in the hopes that I get killed along with him, or at the very least, that I pay a bitter price. Hmph! Well, it’s hard to say for sure. And in the end, there’s no reason to rush things!” Eyes flickering, he began to back up. Eventually, he was free from the life force-draining lightning, where he turned back to look at Bai Xiaochun.

“If you’re dead, then considering the strange properties of this place, I can understand why your corpse would remain there the same as before. But if you’re not dead, then I refuse to believe that you can just lay there motionless with that lightning striking you!” Chuckling coldly, the ghost face decided to wait for a whole month.

During that time, Bai Xiaochun didn’t so much as twitch. At that point, the ghost face was finally convinced.

“That treasured wok is mine now!” Eyes shining with greed, he entered the lightning for a second time. This time, he didn’t hold back at all. He allowed the lightning to strike him constantly as he sped toward Bai Xiaochun.

The area where Bai Xiaochun lay was particularly dense in terms of lightning, striking a bit of fear into the ghost face. However, he ignored his fear, and actually picked up speed.

It was at that point that a voice could be heard that caused the ghost face’s mind to spin.

“I refuse to die…. I still have a bit of energy left!!”