A Will Eternal

For the next several days, Bai Xiaochun continued to pretend to be unwell. Every so often, he would leave the immortal’s cave, look around at the world, and sigh deeply in his heart.

“I doubt there are many disciples such as myself who understand how things work. The patriarchs don’t want me going off to war, so I’ve taken the initiative to pretend to be injured.” He shook his head slowly. In his mind, he really had grown up and come to understand the world a lot better.

“If Uncle Li and my Elder Brother sect leader knew about this, they would definitely praise me.” After some more thought, he realized that he shouldn’t stay outside for too long, otherwise it might make his act seem unrealistic. Hou Xiaomei and Song Junwan hadn’t come yet, so the best thing to do was go back inside to sleep. If they showed up, he would definitely get the short end of the stick.

Every time he thought about Hou Xiaomei and Song Junwan, his heart trembled.

“Terrifying,” he thought. “The way they look at me, it’s like they want to cut me in two pieces to share with each other.” With that, he turned to hurry back inside. However, that was when Song Junwan came floating over.

Bai Xiaochun’s eyes went wide, and his heart began to pound.

“This isn’t right. They never show up at this time….” Turning his head nervously, he saw that Hou Xiaomei had also come.

Taking a deep breath, he put a somber expression on his face and then, before they could get too close, loudly said, “I have to go see the patriarchs!”

Even as the words left his mouth, he blurred into motion, flying toward the patriarchs at top speed. About halfway there, he suddenly realized that he was being careless. He quickly began to weave back and forth as wobbly as possible, as if he were having problems flying. Finally, he landed on the ground with a thud, then walked the rest of the way, panting as he went.

In this part of the Luochen Mountains was a mountain with two peaks that jutted up, not very high, and not very far away from each other. This was where the Song Clan patriarch and Patriarch Ironwood were staying.

As soon as Bai Xiaochun appeared, both patriarchs looked down at him from the mountain peaks above.

“Bai Xiaochun offers greetings, patriarch!” he said, clasping hands and bowing.

“Are your injuries getting any better?” Patriarch Ironwood asked with an enigmatic smile.

Just when Bai Xiaochun was about to respond, a cold snort echoed out from the Song Clan patriarch on the other mountain peak.

As soon as Bai Xiaochun heard it, his heart trembled, and he sighed. Without hesitation, he offered formal greetings again.

“Nightcrypt offers greetings, Father!”

The Song Clan patriarch smiled and said, “I saw that you had some trouble flying on your way over here. You still haven’t recovered yet?”

“I’m better,” he replied, feeling a bit guilty. He knew that he couldn’t truly deceive the patriarchs, so after some hesitation, he decided to push the envelope a bit and added, “But…. I think there’s still a bit that’s not better?”

Patriarch Ironwood laughed and said, “Ah, it doesn’t matter. Since you’re not fully recovered, just take some more time to rest.”

With that, he waved his hand, sending a medicinal pill bottle flying toward Bai Xiaochun

Bai Xiaochun caught it and blinked a few times. After opening it, he was instantly moved; inside were tier-4 medicinal pills with excellent medicinal efficacy. However, they weren’t designed for treating injuries, but rather, to help increase one’s cultivation base.

The Song Clan patriarch’s eyebrows shot up, and then he waved his hand, sending two medicinal pill bottles flying out. Licking his lips, Bai Xiaochun grabbed them, then opened them. His eyes went wide.

These bottles also contained tier-4 medicines, but they were supreme-grade, bordering on tier-5. They were fairly bursting with blood qi, and would be of significant benefit to his Undying Live Forever Technique.

Bai Xiaochun looked excitedly at the two patriarchs. They were definitely treating him very well. Obviously, they knew that his injuries had recovered, and in response, gave him spirit medicine to help improve his cultivation base.

“It seems I really have grown up,” he thought. “I was worried about the patriarchs, and here they are hinting for me to continue to pretend to feel unwell.” Sighing, he clasped hands and bowed deeply.

“Patriarch, Father, don’t worry, you’ve done the right thing to trust me!” Giving them a meaningful look, he turned and left.

The Song Clan patriarch chuckled, and Patriarch Ironwood smiled and shook his head. Although they wanted Bai Xiaochun to go to war, they were worried about his safety. Therefore, they wouldn’t force him to make any decision he didn’t want to.

After returning to his immortal’s cave, Bai Xiaochun found that Hou Xiaomei and Song Junwan had left. Sighing in relief, he sat down cross-legged and began to work on his cultivation.

He soon discovered that his cultivation base had already improved some compared to before he lost consciousness. Furthermore, his Undying Live Forever Technique had grown stronger.

“If things keep going like this,” he thought excitedly, “then late Foundation Establishment is right around the corner!” Then he thought about how he had single-handedly stopped his two sects from going to war, and he felt very proud. However, just when he was about to pop one of the medicinal pills into his mouth, he suddenly heard Hou Xiaomei’s voice coming from outside the immortal’s cave.

“Big bro Xiaochun, I cooked up some medicine for you….” With that, the door of the immortal’s cave opened, and Hou Xiaomei entered, her face a bit flushed, a bowl of medicine held in her hands.

The steam from the medicine caused Hou Xiaomei’s face to be even more flushed than it might have been, and as soon as Bai Xiaochun saw her fair, pure features, his heart began to pound.

But then, Song Junwan appeared right behind her, smiling broadly as she also brought in a bowl of medicine. The clothes she wore were different than what she usually wore back in the Blood Stream Sect. They were more conservative, and yet, couldn’t conceal her curvaceous form.

“Little bro Nightcrypt, I cooked up some medicine for you….”

The two women approached Bai Xiaochun, each one holding out a bowl of medicine. Song Junwan had a faint smile on her face, whereas Hou Xiaomei looked a bit shy.

Bai Xiaochun’s heart immediately began to pound, and even as he was cursing their treacherous ways, he realized that Song Junwan had uttered the exact same words as Hou Xiaomei. He couldn’t stop his eyes from going wide.

He looked left. He looked right. He hesitated. Finally, he decided that since Hou Xiaomei had come in first, that he might as well take her medicine first. With that he reached his hand out toward Hou Xiaomei’s bowl.

Hou Xiaomei’s eyes instantly brightened with excitement, and she glanced furtively over at Song Junwan, looking very pleased with herself.

When Song Junwan saw what was happening, she glared at Bai Xiaochun, and then gave a cold harrumph. Instantly, an intense killing aura sprang up around her. Bai Xiaochun gasped, and quickly changed the direction his hand was moving, sending it toward Song Junwan’s bowl.

Before his hand could even touch the bowl, Hou Xiaomei’s eyes turned red as if from grief. Trembling, tears welling up in her eyes, she said, “Big bro Xiaochun, I spent all day cooking up that medicine.”

Bai Xiaochun felt bad, and without even thinking about it, yet again changed the direction his hand was moving.

“Nightcrypt, do you remember all the things you said to me on Middle Peak?” Song Junwan said softly. “Drink my bowl of medicine first. I believe that everything you said to me was true.” Unswerving determination could be seen in her eyes. Apparently, if he didn’t drink her medicine first, then she would instantly leave, and henceforth refuse to believe anything he told her.

“I….” Bai Xiaochun’s hand stopped in place, and he looked at the two bowls of medicine, feeling almost like he was going insane.

“Did they plan to come at the same time or something?” he thought. “ARRGGHHH!!” He felt like he was about to collapse. Despite how much he’d grown up, he had never been in a situation like this, where no decision he made was the right one….

Eyes bloodshot, he gritted his teeth, and then reached out and grabbed one bowl with each hand. Weeping inwardly, he somehow managed to start drinking from both bowls, being careful not to spill any of the burning hot medicine on himself.

To drink from two medicine bowls at the same time felt very odd, but inside, Bai Xiaochun was sighing with relief, and couldn’t help but marvel at how quickly he had adapted to the situation. This way, neither Hou Xiaomei nor Song Junwan would be able to find fault with him.

However, after finishing the medicine, he realized that Song Junwan’s killing aura was pulsing even more explosively than before. Glaring at him angrily, she spun and walked off. Hou Xiaomei looked completely heartbroken. Eyes flashing with bitter grief, she turned slowly and walked out of the immortal’s cave.

Bai Xiaochun watched in shock as the two women left. Grabbing his hair in both hands, he cried, “What… what did I do wrong? I drank them both! I didn’t drink either one before the other….”

Scowling on the verge of tears, he stared at the closed door of the immortal’s cave.

“If things keep going like this I’m gonna go crazy! I’m… I’m just gonna go into secluded meditation!!” Having made his decision, he gritted his teeth and sealed the door of his immortal’s cave as tightly as was possible. Taking a deep breath, he sat down cross-legged and took some time to calm himself down. Then he opened the bottles of medicinal pills given to him by Patriarch Ironwood and the Song Clan patriarch and began to meditate.

Days passed. In the blink of an eye, half a month went by. During that time, Bai Xiaochun made constant progress in his cultivation. Bit by bit, he got closer to late Foundation Establishment.

His fifth spiritual sea was now fully crystallized, and his sixth sea was halfway there. Once his sixth spiritual sea crystallized, then he would officially break through the peak of mid Foundation Establishment and into the late stage.

Furthermore, during his meditation session, the power of the medicines he’d consumed for the purpose of treating his injuries also helped push his cultivation base higher.

Then there was the little turtle. Bai Xiaochun would take it out every day and give it a thorough shaking. The fragrant aroma emitted by the turtle would cause boundless streams of spiritual power to flow into him, further hastening the crystallization of his sixth spiritual sea!

Sixty percent. Seventy percent. Eighty percent….

Another half a month passed. One morning at dawn, rumbling sounds filled Bai Xiaochun as his sixth spiritual sea fully crystallized. Spiritual power that vastly surpassed anything from before flowed unceasingly through him, causing cracking sounds to fill the air around him. It was almost like a baptism.

His Heaven-Dao aura grew stronger, such that strange colors flashed in the sky. Patriarch Ironwood and the Song Clan patriarch noticed, as did other cultivators in the Luochen Mountains. All of them looked over in the direction of Bai Xiaochun’s immortal’s cave, where a boundless Heaven-Dao aura seemed to be connecting in the heavens above!

Thunder rumbled, and a vortex appeared up above, spinning rapidly. Bai Xiaochun’s eyes opened, and they glowed with brilliant, lightning-like light. His sixth spiritual sea was fully crystallized!

Late Foundation Establishment!