A Will Eternal

RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!

It was impossible to determine whether he intentionally did it in response to Bai Xiaochun’s words. Either way, Master Cloud Lightning transformed several times in a row, causing intense, thunderous rumbling to echo out as he grew from a height of 60 meters to 90 meters.

Then, he went from 90 meters to 120 meters, and finally 150 meters. Although the two halves of his body were not perfectly symmetrical, they now matched much better than before.

His surging energy had reached a shocking level, and as he hovered there in the air, he actually looked like the forefather of all humanity, burly and tough, emanating intense pressure that would shake the minds of anyone who could sense it. Clearly, this version of Master Cloud Lightning was vastly more powerful than before.

Furthermore, he was surrounded by a glittering shield of light that was so dazzling that it seemed… completely impenetrable!

Bai Xiaochun was stunned…. And he was also convinced that Master Cloud Lightning had intentionally transformed multiple times in a row to mock him.

“It’s time for you to die, Bai Xiaochun!” Master Cloud Lightning shouted in a voice that shook all heaven and earth.

Bai Xiaochun shivered, his eyes crimson from the humiliation he had just suffered, and his rage mounting by the second.

“You’re pushing things too far, Master Cloud Lightning. If you can do all that shapeshifting, why not do it all from the start? There was no need to wait until now and then intentionally humiliate me!” Without any warning at all, he launched into the Throat Crushing Grasp, backed by the Mountain Shaking Bash.

In the blink of an eye, he was blasting forward with lightning speed. He even used the Undying Hex, adding more speed, and placing him directly in front of Master Cloud Lightning.

A thump sounded out as the Throat Crushing Grasp landed on the multicolored shield of light surrounding Master Cloud Lightning. Then, indescribable force shot back into Bai Xiaochun’s arm, like a wave of power that completely destroyed the power of the Throat Crushing Grasp!

He actually pierced through three layers of the shield, only to be stopped by the fourth.

In almost the same moment, Master Cloud Lightning attacked in quick and violent fashion. He waved his arms, causing numerous lightning bolts to shoot out, which transformed into silver snakes that slammed into Bai Xiaochun.

Bai Xiaochun’s stone golem form couldn’t stand up to the force, and collapsed, sending countless bits of rubble and rock showering out in all directions. Even as Bai Xiaochun’s true form was revealed, the lightning bolts lashed toward him.

Shaken by how perilous the situation was already, Bai Xiaochun quickly performed a double-handed incantation gesture and then waved his hand out in front of him. Frigid qi exploded out, and nine frigid projections appeared, which leaped to intercept the lightning. Bai Xiaochun didn’t retreat by even a step; he currently wasn’t really thinking, and was acting on fighting instinct alone. Ignoring the lightning, he took a step forward, and simultaneously clenched his right hand into a fist!

A black hole sprang up that sucked in all of his aura, all of his qi and blood, all signs of life. His body twisted and distorted, withering in bizarre fashion.

He was unleashing… the Undying Emperor’s Fist!

The intense pressure that suddenly weighed down on the area caused Master Cloud Lightning’s face to fall. Panting, he gave up on any thoughts of fighting, and began to back up as quickly as possible.

Even as he began to move, intense rumbling sounds filled heaven and earth as a huge, shadowy figure appeared behind Bai Xiaochun. He wore imperial robes and an imperial crown, and seemed to be looking down condescendingly on all creation.

Master Cloud Lightning’s heart began to pound, and his mind spun. The shield of light around him flickered as he sped away, and yet, his retreat had begun too late….

The fist struck!

A projection of Bai Xiaochun’s face filled the sky, and a paramount energy spread out. Rumbling filled heaven and earth, and all of the lightning bolts which had surrounded him shattered into pieces!

The image of a fist appeared, an image which caused Master Cloud Lightning’s mind to be overtaken by madness. Crushing all the lightning in its path, it sped forward and then slammed into the multi-colored shield!

The shield was capable of rebuffing Bai Xiaochun’s Living Mountain Incantation, even when combined with the Mountain Shaking Bash and the Throat Crushing Grasp. But… it was incapable of standing up to a quintuple-power Undying Emperor’s Fist!

A massive boom echoed out as the shield shattered into bits! Then, the fist went on to smash into Master Cloud Lightning, sending him tumbling backward like a kite with its string cut, blood spraying out of his mouth. As he flew backward, he shrank from his previous 150-meter height down to 120 meters.

Apparently, that was his only way of standing up to the domineering, destructive power of Bai Xiaochun’s Undying Emperor’s Fist.

And yet, that wasn’t enough! As Master Cloud Lightning skidded to a halt, he coughed up another mouthful of blood, simultaneously shrinking from a height of 120 meters down to 90 meters. Then he coughed up a third mouthful of blood… and shrank to 60 meters, 30 meters… and then returned to his original size! Finally, he coughed up a fifth mouthful of blood! It took all of that to survive Bai Xiaochun’s Undying Emperor’s Fist!

300 meters away, he finally righted himself and looked up, eyes flickering with venom. Then, he chuckled coldly.

“That was what I was waiting for. The fist strike my other half described…. Very strong indeed. But… not strong enough to kill me. Next… I’m going to combine with my other half. When that happens, Bai Xiaochun… you’re dead!” His eyes flickered as he snorted coldly, then suddenly shot away with a spectacular burst of speed.

He left some divine sense behind though, apparently waiting for a response from Bai Xiaochun. He was also prepared for a situation in which Bai Xiaochun started to chase him. However, he was confident in making him regret such a decision by severely injuring him with another trump card.

“Based on what my other half told me,” he thought, “if he gives chase, he’ll be doing so in a severely weakened state…. In that case, I might not even need to combine with my other half to kill him!” Even as he plotted about what to do next, Bai Xiaochun heard the words he had uttered moments ago, and his pupils constricted.

This version of Master Cloud Lightning was far stronger than the last one he had faced. Therefore, it was easy to imagine what level of cultivation base and battle prowess he would achieve by combining. He would definitely be very difficult for Bai Xiaochun to deal with.

His best option was to end the fight right now.

Just when he was about to start moving, though, he hesitated. “Did he say that on purpose to try to trick me?”

But then, his eyes shone with determination.

“Even if it’s a trick, I still need to do something. I can’t give him a chance to combine with his other half!” Considering what type of enemy he was facing, he knew that he only had one option, no matter how much it pained him to resort to it. Without the slightest hesitation, he locked down on one of his drops of Undying Blood, and then used the method described in the Undying Codex… to crush it!

As the Undying Blood shattered, a shocking blood qi erupted, filling his entire body. A red mist surrounded him as… he felt himself accelerating at rapid speed.

At the same time, his current state allowed him to rapidly absorb the energy of heaven and earth in the area, turning him into something like a black hole that could absorb all living things.

The air around him distorted and cracked, and at the same time, his energy surged. Master Cloud Lightning nearly let out a shriek of terror. Trembling, he realized that the sensation of deadly crisis which was rising inside of him vastly surpassed what he had felt when facing the Undying Emperor’s Fist.

“What divine ability is that? Dammit! That fist strike of his actually wasn’t his trump card!!” Master Cloud Lightning felt like every inch of him was screaming in terror. There was no time for thought or planning. Even as Bai Xiaochun closed in, surrounded by swirling red mist, Master Cloud Lightning drew upon every ounce of energy he could muster to flee in the opposite direction!

At the same time, Bai Xiaochun looked up at him. His eyes were red, almost like blood. He looked completely different from before, a vicious predator… whose eyes shone with bloodthirsty light!