A Will Eternal

Bai Xiaochun’s face was a bit flushed, and his heart was pounding. The realization that he was considering kidnapping a celestial… confirmed that he had changed a lot from his old self.

After all, this was a true celestial, not a quasi-celestial like Daoist Heavenspan. This was Ghostmother, a Mahayana Realm expert with an astounding bone galleon at her command.

“Fudge! What’s there to be scared of? I’m the Arch-Ancestor, a quasi-celestial with the Greatsword of the North. Besides, when I was in Core Formation, I kidnapped a demigod. When I was a deva, I smacked Daoist Heavenspan across the side of the face. This wimpy Ghostmother… should be easy to kidnap!”

It all seemed completely crazy, and yet that only served to get Bai Xiaochun’s heart racing in excitement.

It really was just like that time all those years ago in the Wildlands when he and the little turtle had kidnapped the Giant Ghost King. It was the exact same feeling, except stronger! Taking a deep breath, he turned to look at the Giant Ghost King, his eyes crimson.

“Don’t worry, Giant Ghost, old pal,” he said through gritted teeth, “I have a lot of experience kidnapping people.”

The Giant Ghost King’s eyes were just as bloodshot, and to be honest, he wasn’t very happy about what Bai Xiaochun had just said, particularly the ‘have a lot of experience’ line…. Expression unsightly, he barked, “What, you think I’m scared of some old shrew like Ghostmother?”

Ignoring him, Bai Xiaochun stroked his chin, eyes glittering as countless ideas raced through his mind, especially thoughts about what had worked so well when he had kidnapped the Giant Ghost King all those years ago….

Lowering his voice, he said, “Based on my kidnapping experience, I think the best thing to do is get it all done in one shot. Sort of like how I did with you. Strike like lightning!” He was so wrapped up in his ideas that he didn’t notice how the Giant Ghost King was clearly sinking into a very angry mood.

“Hit the battleship hard, get inside, grab Ghostmother, and then get out of there. Either that… or get Ghostmother to come out of the galleon…. Just like when I dragged you out of the spell formation in that big stone turtle.” The Giant Ghost King snorted coldly as he thought back to what it had been like being kidnapped. Every time such memories floated up into his mind, he felt the impulse to beat the crap out of Bai Xiaochun. Right now was no exception. However, the differences in their cultivation bases ensured that all he did was sigh.

“Once she’s off of that bone galleon, I can distract her temporarily. And that’s where you’ll come in, Giant Ghost, old pal. You see, we’re not just going to kidnap Ghostmother, we’re going to steal her bone galleon! And all her magical items too! If we’re going to do something monumental, then monumental it’s gonna be!” With that, he went on to explain the plan in detail, especially certain critical aspects that required particular attention.

As the Giant Ghost King listened, his eyes got wider and wider, and he suddenly realized how unlucky Ghostmother was to have encountered Bai Xiaochun….

At the same, hearing the plan laid out eased a bit of his nervousness. Although it wasn’t a perfect plan, it seemed highly likely that it would work.

Before long, black mist filled the sky behind them, and the bone lizard appeared, racing toward them from off in the distance.

Bai Xiaochun gritted his teeth as the moment of truth arrived. When it came to kidnapping Ghostmother, he knew that his battle prowess was a problem. Therefore, as the bone lizard approached, he smacked his bag of holding to make contact with the Greatsword of the North. Then he sent his thoughts inside to try to contact the Frigid Matriarch.

A moment later, his eyes lit up. Although the Frigid Matriarch wasn’t responding, he sensed a reaction from the laughing-crying ghost face.

Suddenly, blue light flashed inside of his bag of holding as the sealed laughing-crying ghost face was released.

Bai Xiaochun had left the laughing-crying ghost face inside of the world of the sword, and had never given him much thought later. However, after the Frigid Matriarch became the spirit automaton, she simply couldn’t do nothing about the old ghost that had competed with her to become the spirit automaton. She didn’t torment him endlessly, but did enslave him.

Once the ghost face was out in the open, it was clear that he had changed. There was no trace of a smile on his face, only a frown. However, as soon as he came into contact with the aura of the Eternal Lands, he began to recover from his previously weakened state.

“This… this….” he stammered excitedly, then turned and noticed Bai Xiaochun.

He immediately shivered as he recalled the dark memories of what Bai Xiaochun had done to him. Then he noticed the bone lizard closing in.

“Heavens! Everybody’s here….” Never could the ghost face have imagined that, right upon being released, he would run into so many familiar faces. His initial instinct was to run, but before he could, Bai Xiaochun glared at him.

“Didn’t you say that you’re a quasi-archaean? With a cultivation base like that, what are you scared of?” He emphasized his words with a cold snort that resonated with the enslavement seal that had been placed onto the ghost face by the Greatsword of the North. Before the ghost face could even react, he spun in place and then shot toward the bone lizard.

“Noooo!! I haven’t fully recovered yet! And I was exaggerating back then…. When the Vile-Emperor captured me, I was a quasi-archaean, but then he refined my soul, and Ghostmother imprisoned me. And later, Daoist Heavenspan ripped a part of me away! I’m not a quasi-archaean anymore! I’m sorry for everything. I can’t do this. Aiiieee….” Unfortunately for the ghost face, he couldn’t control himself at all, and immediately closed in on the bone lizard.

Meanwhile, the Giant Ghost King let out a shout as he became a bright beam of light that also charged toward the bone lizard.

The moonflower joined him, radiating the fluctuations of the great circle of the Demigod Realm, as well as boundless ferocity.

Then Bai Xiaochun gritted his teeth, drawing upon fleshly body power that surpassed the quasi-celestial level!

When Ghostmother saw the sudden, coordinated attack, she frowned. She had already seen the Giant Ghost King and the moonflower fighting earlier, but was very surprised to see the laughing-crying ghost face.

“I can’t believe Bai Xiaochun has that old ghost working for him!” Eyes narrowing, she performed a double-handed incantation gesture, causing a sea of flames to erupt from the lizard’s mouth.

The laughing-crying ghost face was the first to meet the sea of flames. He seemed to be on the verge of weeping as he howled, forced to go all out. Opening his mouth, he sent out an evil wind that slammed into the fire and cut it completely in half.

This ghost had once existed as the primary flag on the bone lizard battleship, and therefore had a good understanding of it. After slashing the sea of flames in two, he found himself facing the black beam of light. Roaring, he slammed into it, consuming the light in one huge gulp. Meanwhile, the other two ghost faces were so scared that they struggled against Ghostmother’s control to back up.

Without anything blocking the way, the laughing-crying ghost face and Bai Xiaochun appeared right above the main deck of the bone galleon. As for the ghost face, he had no control of himself, and lunged forward to slam into the ship.

Chuckling coldly, Ghostmother said, “So, that old ghost is another of your trump cards!”

Waving her hand, she summoned the crimson defensive mist, which could block all divine abilities launched by Bai Xiaochun and his allies.

The laughing-crying ghost face hit the crimson mist and suffered a significant backlash attack that sent him flying backward, screaming. Next up was the moonflower!

A second boom rang out as cracks spread out on the moonflower’s stalk! Howling, the Giant Ghost King put everything on the line to transform into a giant ghost that head-butted the shield.

After sustaining three blows one after the other, the blood mist was beginning to weaken, which was exactly when Bai Xiaochun unleashed his Undying Emperor’s Fist.

A thunderous boom rang out as the blood mist sent out another backlash attack. However, it was not very strong, considering the repeated attacks it had just taken.

Blood oozing out of the corners of his mouth, Bai Xiaochun extended his right hand to once again summon the Greatsword of the North!

The blue sword radiated the aura of a world treasure as… he slashed it into the blood mist!!

Ghostmother gasped, and a strange light appeared in her eyes. She had been waiting for some time for Bai Xiaochun to use the Greatsword of the North; in the last several months, she had heard many stories about it, and had come to a basic understanding of what it was.

“So, you’ve finally pulled out that sword!” Chuckling, she performed a double-handed incantation gesture and then shoved both hands down toward the bone galleon!