Chapter 254: Time’s Up!
The volume of the Undying Heavenly King was divided into five different body types, and four levels. The body types were the Mammoth Body, Berserk Ghost Body, Heavenly Demon Body, Asura Body, and finally the Heavenly King Body!
In terms of the levels, ten mammoths became one berserk ghost, ten berserk ghosts became one heavenly demon, ten demons became one asura, and ten asuras became one heavenly king!
Very few people in the cultivation world could fully cultivate the Undying Heavenly King. The resources required were incredible, such that most sects could never dream of sustaining it.
If Bai Xiaochun had stayed behind in the Spirit Stream Sect, it might not have been impossible for him to cultivate to the level of the Heavenly Demon Body, but at the very least, it would have taken him a sixty-year-cycle, and would have required much in terms of luck and fortune.
But… because of how things had played out in the Blood Stream Sect, that time had been significantly reduced. Furthermore, because of the seven blood-colored keys, he was now already at the peak of the second level of the Undying Heavenly King!
At that level, ten berserk ghosts merged together to form… the Heavenly Demon Body!
RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!
Each breath that Bai Xiaochun took as he stood there seemed to fill the entire world with intense rumbling sounds. Behind him appeared a pure white heavenly demon, its head thrown back as it roared. Ripples spread out that could topple mountains and drain seas, and the power radiating from Bai Xiaochun swept out in all directions, creating a tornado that stretched high up into the heavens.
Massive wind battered the other cultivators, all of whom were forced to stop in place, their expressions flickering with shock. Dread could be seen in the eyes of Song Zhen and Xiao Qing.
“Don’t tell me that’s the body refinement magic of Lesser Marsh Peak…?”
“Heavens! That energy… can Foundation Establishment cultivators even produce something like that?”
“Just how many secrets does Nightcrypt have buried inside of him!?!?” Even as gasps rang out, killing intent flickered in Song Zhen’s eyes, and he took a step forward, his right hand flashing in an incantation gesture. In response, blood qi surged out to form a stream of crimson sword qi that shot directly toward the tornado.
In almost the same instant that he made his move, Song Que and the other cultivators gritted their teeth and attacked as well. In the blink of an eye, numerous divine abilities and magical items caused multicolored light to blast toward the tornado.
Massive rumbling sounds echoed out, and the ground quaked. The sky trembled, and the tornado distorted momentarily before exploding. Bai Xiaochun was revealed, blood oozing out of the corners of his mouth as the heavenly demon roared. At the same time, killing intent flickered in his eyes.
“We’re all in the same sect together, so I didn’t want to start fighting and killing. I didn’t absorb those keys on purpose! You people are pushing things too far!
“We still have an incense stick’s worth of time before the fourteenth hour is up. Let’s see whether you people can wipe me out in that amount of time, or whether… I can wipe you out!” Bai Xiaochun seemed like he was on the verge of unleashing complete carnage. He had been in the Blood Stream Sect for years now, and after mingling with such ferocious cultivators for so long, he had come to understand a truth about them.
The only way to get them to listen to reason was to be more brutal than they were!
Even as the words left his mouth, he burst into motion, appearing directly in front of Song Zhen. Song Zhen’s pupils constricted, and his hands turned bright red as he struck out at Bai Xiaochun.
“Back off!” Bai Xiaochun growled, unleashing the Mountain Shaking Bash. Song Zhen’s face fell as Bai Xiaochun bashed into him; a boom rang out, and blood oozed out of the corners of his mouth as he was shoved out of the way. Bai Xiaochun flew past him to the rest of the dozen or so Dharma protectors, where his right hand clenched into a fist. When he struck out, the full power of the Heavenly Demon Body was unleashed.
That was the power of ten berserk ghosts, and a hundred giant mammoths. It was a level of fleshly body power that any Foundation Establishment cultivator would find unbelievable. A sonic boom echoed out as the fist slammed into a late Foundation Establishment cultivator. His eyes immediately went wide as he realized he was powerless to defend himself. In the blink of an eye, his bones were completely shattered, and blood sprayed out of his mouth as he tumbled backward like a kite with its string cut.
Even as a scream rang out from the man, Bai Xiaochun took another step forward. By this point, the magical techniques and divine abilities from the surrounding cultivators were closing in. There were six blood swords, a blood dragon, and three ordinary flying swords.
As they neared, Bai Xiaochun took a deep breath and then stepped forward to appear in front of another Foundation Establishment cultivator. His hand snaked out and latched onto the man, whose eyes widened with terror as Bai Xiaochun viciously head-butted him.
A boom could be heard, and then the Foundation Establishment cultivator screamed as he was lifted up into the air to block three blood swords and two flying swords. As for the other incoming swords, they all hit Bai Xiaochun.
Bai Xiaochun trembled slightly, but otherwise seemed unaffected. In fact, his left hand even shot out to grab the magical blood dragon.
When his fingers crushed down onto it, it shattered. However, at almost the exact same instant, the besiegers attacked again. This time, Yang Hongwu unleashed his incense, and Zhang Yunshan called upon his powerful magical treasure. Song Que was in the group as well.
Bai Xiaochun snorted coldly, and once again used the Mountain Shaking Bash. He was like an ancient wild beast that dodged the incoming attacks and closed in on Song Que. Blood sprayed out of Song Que’s mouth, along with a choked cry. He was at the peak of eight Earthstring Tideflows, and had life-saving magical items, and it was only because of those things that he managed to come out relatively unharmed. Then he looked on in shock as Bai Xiaochun borrowed the momentum of the Mountain Shaking Bash to speed past him.
“Trying to run?!” Xiao Qing said, eyes flickering with killing intent. Just when he was about to follow, Bai Xiaochun suddenly looked over his shoulder and chuckled coldly.
“Who said anything about running?” Without any hesitation, he yet again called upon the Mountain Shaking Bash. The image of the heavenly demon roared as Bai Xiaochun shot toward Xiao Qing, whose face instantly fell. He was rather frightened of this particular move of Bai Xiaochun’s, especially considering how he was able to use it repeatedly. Gritting his teeth, he considered fleeing, but there were too many people blocking his path.
A boom rang out as more than half of the group of pursuing Dharma protectors were sent staggering backward as they jointly diffused the energy of the attack. Even as that energy faded away, Bai Xiaochun was upon them, and miserable shrieks began to ring out. By the time Bai Xiaochun was fleeing again, another Foundation Establishment cultivator had been killed.
There Bai Xiaochun was, off in the distance, covered with blood, none of which was his own. Although a bit of blood was oozing out of the corners of his mouth, any injuries he had sustained were already healing.
Although he was slightly out of breath, his two successive attacks in which no one could do anything to stop him, combined with his intense murderous aura and the fact that he was now soaked in blood, caused everyone who could see him to gasp in shock.
None of them were even sure of how many divine abilities and magical techniques had hit him, and none of them had even slowed him down. His defenses were unimaginable. Not only had the combined efforts of everyone present failed to force him into retreat, he’d actually started attacking with even more power than before!
Of course, this group of cultivators wasn’t accustomed to fighting together, so their combined attacks weren’t as powerful as one might imagine. However, it was still something that ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators shouldn’t be able to fight back against.
And yet, not only could Bai Xiaochun hold his own, he was bringing the fight to them. The fear in the hearts of the other Dharma protectors only continued to mount.
Xiao Qing’s eyes narrowed, and yet they still flickered with killing intent. Even as he snorted coldly in his heart, he looked over at Yang Hongwu and Zhang Yunshan. All three of them were clearly holding back, as if they were waiting for something.
Even as the three of them exchanged a glance, two beams of light suddenly appeared off in the distance.
Bai Xiaochun looked up silently, and dispersed the power of another Mountain Shaking Bash that he had been planning to unleash.
It was Song Junwan and Xuemei, both of whom looked like devilish gods as they glared at Bai Xiaochun. Song Junwan’s face was ashen, and blood still caked the corners of her lips from the fighting with Xuemei. Currently, the look on her face was one of confusion and mixed emotions.
Next to her was Xuemei, whose face was also caked with blood beneath her mask. A wound could be seen on the back of her right hand, from which blood qi leaked. Song Junwan had inflicted that wound with her blood sword, and although the injury seemed small, it had destabilized Xuemei’s cultivation base. Clearly, the fighting had taken its toll on Xuemei, and yet her eyes still glittered with cold sinisterness as she stared at Bai Xiaochun. But then, she gritted her teeth for a moment and started laughing.
As her laughter rang out, the fourteenth hour ran to a close, whereupon… an indescribable feeling rose up in the world, as if a huge hand were pressing down on everything.
Everything went still. Bai Xiaochun shivered. The other Dharma protectors were locked in place, unable to even think. They were now as motionless as statues.
Only Song Junwan and Xuemei seemed unaffected, apparently because of their glittering command medallions.
A boundless will seemed to be comparing the two parties to determine who had won and who had lost. After a few breaths of time passed, the will seemed incapable of making a decision, and faded away. At the same time, something like a force of expulsion wrapped around the immobilized cultivators. Apparently, they were about to be expelled from the body of the Blood Ancestor.