Despite having possessed the chieftain of the Seastars, it seemed that Bai Li wasn’t very informed. At the very least, he hadn’t heard that during the initial battle in the Merfolk Isles, Seven Blood Eyes had unfurled… the War Banner of Humankind!
The mere sight of that banner scared Bai Li out of his mind. He suddenly started struggling to free himself from the Sixth Peak and flee.
Master Sixth’s eyes were cold as his hands flew through incantation gestures, causing the War Banner of Humankind to glow with blinding light as it loomed over the mountain. Unfortunately, he wasn’t Master Seventh, and his cultivation base was insufficient. Because of that, he couldn’t use it the same way Master Seventh did. He needed time to tap into the power of the banner.
Seeing that, Xu Qing’s eyes glittered with determination, and he burst into motion. The Captain took a deep breath and looked at Bai Li stuck beneath the Sixth Peak. Then his eyes lit up with a crazy expression.
“Godliness! Pure, unadulterated godliness!! Godliness without even a speck of mutagen!!!” The Captain’s eyes were now completely bloodshot.
The two of them shot toward the Sixth Peak, and Bai Li, who was struggling with all his strength, caused pulses of godliness to stream out that were so powerful they would instantly kill low-level cultivators.
Thankfully, Xu Qing had the pendant; with its light surrounding him, he was able to stay safe, though it took work.
The Captain was also having difficulty. Every movement forward caused blood to spray out of his mouth, and he was forced to use a shield to keep himself safe. Despite that, the crazy look in his eyes never dissipated.
Not paying attention to the Captain, Xu Qing approached the base of the mountain, and Bai Li. Waving his hand, he sent forth a stream of black beetles.
Unfortunately, Bai Li’s godliness was too powerful, and the beetles died before they could even get close to him. By this time, Bai Li had noticed Xu Qing and the Captain, but had no time to deal with them. Tapping into everything he was capable of, he pushed up against the mountain. The mountain trembled as it moved up a few meters, which was enough room for Bai Li to be able to run out from under it.
However, it was at that moment that Xu Qing shoved his hand down on the patriarch’s calligraphy scroll.
“Nose!”
Of the four characters on the scroll, Nose With Living Flame, the ‘flame’ character was already faded. Now, the ‘nose’ character rippled and distorted, then caused the projection of a huge nose to appear, which shot toward Bai Li. It moved with such incredible speed that, before he knew what was happening, it was right in front of him.
Bai Li’s expression flickered as the nose slammed into him. A boom rang out as blood sprayed from his mouth. As he was shoved backward, he lost his chance to flee, and the mountain smashed down on him again. Bai Li screamed as the mountain crushed him, and the sea of fire began to melt him.
“Damn you, human vermin!!” Gritting his teeth, he shoved with all his might against the mountain. At the same time, the Captain took advantage of the moment to rush toward him with all the speed he could muster.𝘦𝘯.𝘰𝘳𝘨
Bai Li’s mere aura caused the Captain’s skin to start corroding as he got close, but he didn’t care. Ignoring all of that, he lunged in and took a bite out of the trunk of Bai Li’s plant form. A crunch rang out, and Bai Li shivered.
Meanwhile, the Captain shrieked and shot backward. As he did, his lower half exploded, his right hand shattered, half of his torso was destroyed, he lost an eye, his intestines spilled out, and the rest of his teeth crumbled into nothing. However, he did keep a chunk of Bai Li’s flesh in his mouth, and as he swallowed it, a crazy smile covered his face.
Bai Li howled in rage, but the crushing weight of the mountain and the persistent fire made it impossible for him to do anything. And he was getting weaker. Eyes bloodshot, he once again released a burst of godliness, causing the mountain to once again move upward. Then Bai Li split into two, each of them speeding in a different direction.
In the blink of an eye, he was racing out from under the mountain. However, Xu Qing had been watching him closely the entire time, and chose this moment to make his move. Instantly, the ‘with’ character from Nose With Living Flame rippled, transforming into a huge fist that shot toward Bai Li. [1]
Xu Qing was planning to unleash the next character as well, but the fist didn’t need any help distinguishing which of the two Bai Li’s was real and which was an illusion. It instantly closed in on the real one, provoking a cry of despair and rage as it slammed into him. Blood sprayed out of his mouth as the mountain smashed back down onto him.
RUMBLE!
This time, Bai Li couldn’t fight back. As he tried to struggle to his feet, blue fire raged toward him, melting his skin. Meanwhile, the Captain’s eyes were bright red as he used his remaining hand to propel himself back toward Bai Li. He actually moved faster than before. However, just when he was about to take another bite, Bai Li suddenly looked at him and released a frenzied shout.
The sound slammed into the Captain, who screamed as more of his torso collapsed, and his remaining hand was destroyed. Now, all that was left of him was a nearly fleshless head that tumbled in the opposite direction. However, he wasn’t dead, and his eyes gleamed with a defiant look.
“Throw me back, Xu Qing! Throw me back!”
As the words left the Captain’s mouth, Bai Li went absolutely manic thanks to the deadly sense of crisis. Rumbling sounds echoed from inside of him before he exploded, sending a shockwave out in all directions, including against the mountain. As he self-detonated, a single threadworm appeared, taking advantage of the moment in which the mountain lifted up slightly to speed away. Nothing was left of the evil plant seed.
Obviously Bai Li was paying an extreme price to try to stay alive. However, he had no other options. Just as he seemed like he was going to make his getaway, though, Xu Qing’s eyes glittered coldly and he unleashed the last of the patriarch’s calligraphy.
“Living!”
A huge hand appeared in front of Xu Qing, which shot toward the fleeing threadworm at incredible speed. A boom rang out as it slammed onto its target. Broken teeth sprayed out of the threadworm’s mouth as half of its body was ripped to shreds and it was sent spinning off to the side. Afterward, it struggled to start moving again, but that was when the mountain smashed onto it again. This time, Bai Li was being utterly and completely crushed.
Seeing that, Xu Qing breathed a sigh of relief. At the same time, a sense of extreme weariness swept through him like a tide.
Given the level of his cultivation base, unleashing the patriarch’s calligraphy had been extremely draining. What was more, he hadn’t even unleashed all of its potential. Thankfully, he had been able to buy Master Sixth the time he needed.
Up in the air, Master Sixth waved his arms out in front of him, and as his eyes flickered with killing intent and animosity, a finger stretched out from the 300-meter-long War Banner of Humankind. Wild colors flashed in heaven and earth, and winds screamed. A terrifying aura appeared from the finger, imbued with a spirit that could conquer mountains and rivers. The finger pushed down onto the surface of the mountain, causing the entire thing to viciously move downward. Unrivaled blue fire erupted from the mountain, sweeping out over all of the Seastars.
As for Xu Qing and the others from Seven Blood Eyes, it didn’t harm them at all. However, it inundated all of the nonhumans on the island, causing bloodcurdling screams to rise up into the air as they melted. The screams of countless threadworms filled the air as they were wiped out of existence.
“I hereby assimilate this person and all other living beings on this island, starting with their blood!” Master Sixth said, his voice echoing as he performed an incantation gesture and pointed out. The mountain shook, and streams of energy and blood rose from the island. That included a powerful stream from Bai Li himself.
As Bai Li screamed, the threadworms tried to burrow deeper into their nonhuman hosts, but it did no good. All living beings were being melted and assimilated! Even the rivers and lakes on the island disappeared.
“I hereby assimilate this person and all other living beings on this island! Next, their bones!”
Master Sixth waved his hand, and his cultivation base erupted with power. As it entered the mountain, the bones of the nonhumans melted, also destroying the threadworms that were hiding there. The lands received the same treatment, as mountains collapsed, and earth shattered. As everything fell apart, it rushed into the Sixth Peak itself, making the mountain even more glorious.
“I hereby assimilate this person and all other living beings on this island! Finally, their souls!”
Master Sixth waved his hand, and the bottle gourd overhead shook free from the lightning and floated into his hand. He took a mouthful of alcohol, then sprayed it out of his mouth. The mountain trembled as the lands below collapsed, and souls streamed upward. Any threadworms that had concealed themselves in their hosts’ seas of consciousness howled in grief. There was nowhere left to flee!
The island was now shrinking, and the entire thing was covered with endless flames.
“Assimilate reincarnation!” Master Sixth bit the tip of his tongue and spat out some blood which landed on the mountain.
The rest of the island collapsed and was sucked up into the Sixth Peak. All living things, and every part of the island, was swept up and disappeared. There was no Seastar Island anymore! It had been completely wiped out! The only thing left behind was a massive crater. As the seawater swept into it, filling it, the Sixth Peak rose up into the air, glittering majestically.
Bai Li had been killed in body and soul!
The Seastar people had been exterminated!
1. In Chinese, there is some wordplay connecting the character from the calligraphy to the word for ‘fist.’ I couldn’t think of a way to make a similar play on words in English and also make the poem work. Furthermore, the final character in the poem ‘living,’ is used later in a way that doesn’t involve any sort of wordplay, so… ultimately that wordplay isn’t very important. ☜