Chapter 251: My Plan
Thanks to Bai Xiaochun, the trial by fire for blood master had been thrown into utter chaos….
In the Endless World of Blood, only poor Jia Lie had been struck with such ill luck… but now, in the Blood Wasteland, even Song Junwan and Xuemei were shocked by what was happening.
Everyone was going mad, and all of it was because of Bai Xiaochun….
It wasn’t that Bai Xiaochun wanted it that way. He was just as nervous as everyone else. But his Undying Live Forever Technique was in full operation, and because of the rapid growth of his fleshly body power, Bai Xiaochun’s berserk ghosts… increased in number yet again!
The power of eight berserk ghosts caused cracking sounds to ring out from inside of him. Even as his energy surged, Song Que and the others gritted their teeth and joined the group that was chasing Bai Xiaochun!
Bai Xiaochun was getting more nervous than ever, and his mind was racing as he tried to decide what to do. Finally, he howled, “Song Que, go attack the person who got the first key! If you get that one, and I consume the rest, then Xuemei will never get onto the Ancient Blood Path!
“It’s called divide and conquer! If you’re focused on attacking them, they’ll have to focus on defending, and I can just eat the keys. If you guys get your hands on the first key, I’ll consume all the others. If you don’t get it, then I’ll make sure to leave the last two. That way, we’ll definitely come out on top, and they’ll be exterminated!
“That’s my plan! Hahaha! We’ll definitely win that way!” The more Bai Xiaochun spoke, the more he made sense.
Song Que and the others were shaken. They were no fools, and as soon as they heard Bai Xiaochun’s plan, their eyes glittered.
As for Xuemei’s Dharma protectors, their faces fell, especially the one who had acquired the first key, a middle-aged man whose complexion was now as pale as death.
Xuemei, who was completely tangled up in her fight with Song Junwan, was now getting more nervous.
“Nightcrypt, are you looking to die?!?!” she shouted. As for Song Junwan, she chuckled charmingly.
“We do things Nightcrypt’s way!” she declared. Although her smile was lovely, her attacks were incisive, and she immediately began to push Xuemei back across the battlefield, who could do nothing to stop her. In fact, she couldn’t even come up with a plan to deal with Bai Xiaochun.
It was an anxious moment. Song Que and the others gritted their teeth, ceased chasing Bai Xiaochun, and shot toward the Dharma protector with the first key. Xuemei’s other Dharma protectors were then forced to cease chasing Bai Xiaochun and offer defense. Immediately, chaotic fighting broke out.
Booms echoed out, and the brilliant light of divine abilities and magical techniques rose up into the air.
At long last, Bai Xiaochun was able to breathe a sigh of relief.
“It’s a good thing I reacted so quickly, otherwise I would have been in way too much danger…. There are people with higher cultivation bases and powerful magical treasures, and some of them are secret experts. If they gang up on me, how am I supposed to fight them?” Bai Xiaochun immediately began to flee, and yet, in that very moment, his pupils constricted. Although no one was visible in the area, he unhesitatingly unleashed the Mountain Shaking Bash, gathering a huge amount of power and unleashing it in an explosive burst that pushed him forward at top speed.
Even as he shot forward, a blood-colored hand suddenly appeared out of thin air and unleashed a stream of 30-meter-long sword qi.
“Eee?” someone said. An old man stepped out of thin air, a man with a long violet robe and age spots on his face.
Sweat was pouring down Bai Xiaochun’s face. The sensation of imminent danger he had just experienced was one of the most intense he had felt so far. If he hadn’t dodged at just the right time, that attack would have stabbed into his forehead.
“Xiao Qing!” he said, eyes shining with vigilance. This old man was another of the three people Song Junwan had mentioned, the same old man who could supposedly break through from Foundation Establishment at any time!
Xiao Qing smiled and said, “I’ve been in secluded meditation for many years, and just came out. Even still, I’ve heard a lot of stories about you.”
Although he was indeed a Foundation Establishment cultivator, he was unlike the others. If he reached Core Formation, he would definitely become a prime elder. When he looked at Bai Xiaochun, Bai Xiaochun felt more on guard than ever; the man’s gaze felt like two sharp swords.
“His spiritual seas are just a hair away from reaching full crystallization…. If I used everything in my repertoire, I could probably fight him. But considering how limited I am right now… I’m no match for him!” Without the slightest hesitation, Bai Xiaochun began to flee.
“Why are you in such a hurry to leave, Junior Brother Nightcrypt?” Xiao Qing smiled and took a step forward with speed that matched Bai Xiaochun’s. Then he waved his sleeve, and a stream of blood-colored sword qi appeared and slashed down toward Bai Xiaochun.
“What crap are you spewing?!” Bai Xiaochun asked. “If I don’t leave, then what else am I supposed to do? Sit around and wait for you to kill me? Did your cultivation cause you brain damage or something?” With that, he blurred into motion, avoiding the blood sword.
Xiao Qing’s smile went stiff. Throughout all the times he had fought people in his life, no one had ever spoken to him like this before. Expression turning grim, he let out a cold harrumph and said, “Ill-mannered cur! When I get my hands on you, I’m going to rip out your tongue! Let’s see what quips you come up with then!”
Chuckling coldly, he took another step forward in pursuit. At the same time, his right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, summoning a stream of blood qi that shot toward Bai Xiaochun.
Despite his anxiety, Bai Xiaochun was still trying to come up with a plan as he flew along. “Seems you really did suffer from brain damage while you were cultivating. If I had no tongue, I might not be able to speak, but I could still use divine will to say something!”
As they sped through the Blood Wasteland, Xiao Qing attacked multiple times. On a few occasions, his magical techniques actually hit home, and yet, Bai Xiaochun’s terrifyingly powerful fleshly body defenses left Xiao Qing in shock.
With Xiao Qing’s current battle prowess, he could dominate any other Foundation Establishment cultivator. And yet, Bai Xiaochun was incredibly fast and abnormally tough. In fact, as the chase went on, he kept going even faster. His reserves of spiritual power were simply unbelievable.
“How could mid Mortal-Dao Foundation Establishment possibly unleash such power!?” Xiao Qing’s eyes flickered. The battle prowess being put on display by Bai Xiaochun in the Blood Wasteland was completely and utterly shocking to him. Even more bizarre than that, though, was the situation with the blood-colored keys.
If there was only one strange oddity with Bai Xiaochun, then it would be much easier to determine the cause, and then ascertain a method to deal with the situation. But with so many strange things happening, it was hard to decide where to start, and very easy to get going in the wrong direction.
Xiao Qing’s eyes narrowed as he once again gave chase. As for Bai Xiaochun, he was grumbling and complaining to himself. It felt like Xiao Qing was stuck to him with glue; no matter how Bai Xiaochun tried to shake him, he would continue to pursue him. Were it not for the fact that Bai Xiaochun had an incredible fleshly body, and was actually at Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment, he would never have been able to sustain the speed he had been keeping up so far.
“Just wait until I make a major breakthrough with my fleshly body. Then I’ll definitely show that old fogey how awesome I am!” Bai Xiaochun gritted his teeth. By now, he actually looked forward to the arrival of the tenth hour. Now that he already had the power of eight berserk ghosts, for some reason, it didn’t feel good enough. He actually wanted to consume that key and solidify the power of his berserk ghosts.
Time passed. Eventually, the seventh and eighth hours passed, and the ninth hour approached. As expected, a dot of blood-colored light appeared, which shot toward Bai Xiaochun’s forehead. In the blink of an eye, it was only a few inches away from him.
He didn’t pause for even a moment as he sped on, and the red dot instantly sank into his forehead. Although bright red light initially filled the area, it rapidly dimmed. At the same time, the second level of the Undying Heavenly King was in full operation.
Rumbling sounds exploded out from within his body as the energy of nine berserk ghosts formed. Xiao Qing’s eyes widened as he sensed the growing power within Bai Xiaochun.
“There are many strange things about him. Now that he’s absorbed that key, he’s probably even more confident in fighting me.” Xiao Qing closed in at top speed, and yet, before he could get close, Bai Xiaochun looked back, eyes flickering with the desire to do battle. At almost the exact same instant, his fleshly body power skyrocketed.
“Xiao Qing, you old fogey, do you dare to fight with me, Nightcrypt?!” Bai Xiaochun waved his right sleeve and pointed at Xiao Qing, as if challenging him to a duel!
“So, you’re finally confident that you can fight me? Fine. I’ll give you a chance!” Xiao Qing took a step forward, and the power of his cultivation base erupted.
“Alright, Xiao Qing, here I come!” Bai Xiaochun roared, eyes bursting with the will to fight. However, even as he faced Xiao Qing, he began to speed backward. Drawing upon the incredible power of his fleshly body, he unleashed even greater speed than he had in the past.
Xiao Qing’s jaw dropped, and his eyes went wide. Bai Xiaochun was letting out a battle cry, and yet simultaneously fleeing off into the distance.
“Completely shameless!!” Xiao Qing howled. His eyes burned with flames of rage, and yet the slight delay had put a huge distance between him and Bai Xiaochun. At that point, Bai Xiaochun stopped backing up. Turning his back on Xiao Qing, he fled at even greater speed than before.
“I want to fight you,” he called out, “but can’t at the moment. Just wait a bit. Once the eleventh hour arrives, and I’ve completed nine berserk ghosts, then I’ll wipe the floor with you, you old fart!” Bai Xiaochun didn’t feel that he was being shameless at all. Instead, he felt that he had just out-strategized Xiao Qing.