Chapter 53: Bravery!
Bai Xiaochun’s face was pale and his heart was pounding. The sensation of danger left him so alarmed that he felt like he might die at any moment, leaving him shaking uncontrollably.
He had never been this frightened before in his entire life. Not when he had left his village to light the incense and brave the lightning, not when Li Qinghou had taken him to 10,000 Snakes Valley, not even when he had seen all those fantastic and powerful creatures while traveling.
In all those situations, he had been nervous, but he had also been confident that… he wouldn’t die!
But today, he had the distinct sensation… that he was really going to die!!
As he flew along, he suddenly realized that he was alone. Then he looked back in shock to see that the seven members of the Luochen Clan had surrounded Du Lingfei and Hou Yunfei, several hundred meters back.
He also saw that Du Lingfei was coughing up blood. Anyone in this situation would be able to tell that she and Hou Yunfei wouldn’t be able to hold on for very long before they were cut down.
A tremor ran through Bai Xiaochun as he stood there watching. He began to shake even harder, and his eyes were completely shot with blood. He could feel his very soul screaming at him to run away as quickly as possible.
In fact, Bai Xiaochun was quite sure that, considering the speed he could maintain, and given that Du Lingfei and Hou Yunfei were preventing the enemy from giving chase, there was actually a good chance… that he could get away.
If he did, he could keep on living, he could continue to practice cultivation, and he could pursue what he really wanted: eternal life with no death. Not only would the sect not punish him if he survived, they would even reward him.
However… if he simply ran away, leaving Du Lingfei and Hou Yunfei to their deaths, he would feel guilty for the rest of his life. He felt as if his entire body had been split in half, with one half telling him to flee at top speed, otherwise he would die. The other half was telling him that if he left his fellow sect members to die, that he would never be able to rest at ease for the rest of his life!
Panting, he let out a frustrated cry of anger. Blue veins popped out on his forehead, and he was shaking as hard as a tumbling die. At the moment, he wasn’t thinking much about the specifics of the situation, or the potential consequences. His hands clenched into fists as a single thought ran through his head….
“I, Bai Xiaochun, might be afraid of dying, but… I’m not gonna just run away!” He suddenly began to beat at his chest with his fists. His eyes were completely bloodshot, and he let out a thunderous roar as he suddenly… shot back toward Du Lingfei and Hou Yunfei!
He moved so quickly that whistling sounds echoed out in all directions. Hou Yunfei trembled at the sight of Bai Xiaochun’s sudden reversal in course, and his expression was hard to read. He looked astonished, thankful, and all of a sudden, he started laughing. Then, determination glimmered in his eyes, and without even thinking about defense, he charged toward the Luochen Clan members with everything he had.
Simultaneously, Du Lingfei, whose body was splattered with blood from where a flying sword had slashed across her, looked up to see Bai Xiaochun, eyes bloodshot, roaring as he charged in their direction.
She felt as if she had been struck by lightning, and her jaw dropped. Tears began to roll down her cheeks as numerous emotions flooded through her. She was touched, excited, and shaken.
She knew how much Bai Xiaochun was afraid of dying, so when she saw him flying toward them, physically trembling, eyes crimson, she could only imagine how much bravery he had summoned… to stop running away, turn around, and then come back for them.
“Get out of here, you idiot! Run! Don’t get yourself killed!!” Tears streamed down her face. As Bai Xiaochun ran toward them bellowing at the top of his lungs, she didn’t notice that one of the Luochen Clan disciples in the sixth level of Qi Condensation was unleashing a palm strike toward her back.
A boom rang out, and blood sprayed out of her mouth. Her vision swam as she tumbled to the ground. Then, one of the Luochen Clan cultivators’ flying swords began to speed through the air toward her head.
When Bai Xiaochun saw what was happening, he let out an even more violent roar, and pushed forward with another burst of speed, reaching his very limit. He streaked through the air, turning into a beam of light that shot toward Du Lingfei. Even as the flying sword bore down on her, Bai Xiaochun landed at her side, scooped her up with one arm, then clenched his right hand into a fist and punched out toward the flying sword.
A boom echoed out as the flying sword was sent spinning away by the force of Bai Xiaochun’s blow.
The Luochen Clan members were all greatly shocked. Chen Yue’s eyes flickered with surprise, but then quickly began to radiate icy killing intent.
“Nice. An expert in disguise. I should have noticed you back when you were in the Shadowhell Formation! Listen up everyone, ignore the other two and kill this guy!” As soon as the words left his mouth, murderous looks appeared in the eyes of the other Luochen Clan members, and they began to close in on Bai Xiaochun.
Du Lingfei was in a bit of a daze as Bai Xiaochun held her in his arms. Before she could do anything, he put her down off to the side and then shot toward the incoming Luochen Clan cultivators.
His eyes were bright red, and it almost seemed that as of this moment, he wasn’t thinking about dying at all. In fact, he wasn’t thinking about anything except: Save Hou Yunfei. Save Du Lingfei. And kill all the enemies!
The nearest of those opponents was in the sixth level of Qi Condensation, and as he closed in, his hands flickered in an incantation gesture. In response, a glowing awl suddenly appeared, which shot viciously toward Bai Xiaochun.
“Screw off!” Bai Xiaochun roared, unleashing a ferocious palm strike. The little awl began to wobble, and when Bai Xiaochun’s palm slammed into it, the glowing light shattered, and the awl was sent spinning away.
The cultivator who had summoned the awl gasped, and an expression of shock flickered across his face. Just when he was about to fall back in retreat, Bai Xiaochun performed an incantation gesture and pointed out. His wooden sword appeared and shot out like lightning. It didn’t matter that his opponent was in the sixth level of Qi Condensation; he was incapable of evading, and in fact, didn’t even have time to react before the sword stabbed into his forehead.
A miserable shriek echoed out as the wooden sword stabbed all the way through him, coming out the other side in a spray of blood. Then, it circled through the air and headed toward the next enemy.
At the same time, one of the Luochen Clan members in the seventh level of Qi Condensation performed an incantation gesture, causing mist to roil up around him, making him look like an enormous mist giant. Even as he closed in, Bai Xiaochun’s hand suddenly shot out, and his thumb and index fingers connected. Black light flickered, and the defenses provided by the mist could do nothing to stop the black light.
Throat Crushing Grasp!
Cracking sounds rang out as the mist dissipated. The cultivator’s eyes went wide at the sight of the arm grabbing his neck. Then, his throat was completely crushed.
Everything happened with incredible speed. Only a few breaths of time had passed since Bai Xiaochun had begun his charge, and already, two members of the Luochen Clan had been killed!
Hou Yunfei, who had already fallen back to stand at Du Lingfei’s side, gasped, and his eyes went wide with shock.
Du Lingfei was completely and utterly taken aback. The Bai Xiaochun she was seeing right now was completely different from the one she remembered, causing her to pant in disbelief. Was this really the same Bai Xiaochun who was so afraid of dying?
At this point, the remaining shocked members of the Luochen Clan finally unleashed their killing moves. These were their most powerful trump cards, one being a flying sword, another a pearl, and the last, a little cauldron, all of which shot toward Bai Xiaochun.
Astonishingly, the three of them were joining forces to attack simultaneously!
Of that group of three, two were in the sixth level of Qi Condensation, and one was in the seventh. Their combined attack was completely vicious as they went all out with everything they had to try to strike down Bai Xiaochun when he couldn’t dodge.
Bai Xiaochun’s eyes were glowing red as the three closed in on him. Even as their magical devices bore down on him, he curled his arms and legs up until he looked like a ball. Previously, Du Lingfei had mocked the big black wok he wore on his back, but now, it covered him up completely.
The little cauldron which had been unleashed by the cultivator in the seventh level of Qi Condensation slammed into the black wok, causing a boom to echo out that could shake Heaven and Earth. Cracks spread out across the wok, but it held strong against the cauldron.
Next was the pearl. Rumbling sounds echoed out as it slammed into the wok. The wok couldn’t hold up any longer, and exploded, transforming into countless black fragments that showered out in all directions. Bai Xiaochun shot out from the wreckage, flying toward the Qi Condensation seventh level cultivator.
When the man saw Bai Xiaochun flying toward him, his face fell. He immediately fell back, but couldn’t move fast enough.
None of the magical protective items the man had could do anything to stop Bai Xiaochun, who slammed into him, causing the cracking sounds of breaking bones to ring out. Instantly, Bai Xiaochun went in for another attack, butting him with his head.
BOOOMMMM!
“No!!” screamed the man. Blood sprayed out of his mouth, and a look of despair filled his eyes, but he couldn’t break free from Bai Xiaochun.
Off to the side, his fellow clan members in the sixth level of Qi Condensation were nearly scared out of their minds. Trembling, one of them sent a flying sword toward Bai Xiaochun.
Bai Xiaochun completely ignored it as he once again lunged toward the middle-aged man.
The flying sword slammed into Bai Xiaochun, and in a completely shocking twist, it didn’t stab into him, but rather, bounced off and was sent spinning away.
Bai Xiaochun let out a roar, striking the middle-aged man once more. A bloodcurdling scream echoed out as the man died.
To the other two clan members in the sixth level of Qi Condensation, Bai Xiaochun, with his bloodshot eyes and disheveled hair, looked like a wild beast. Their scalps began to tingle as he slowly turned to look at them. Without the slightest hesitation, they turned and fled.
Off in the distance, Chen Yue was completely shaken by what had just occurred, and he could scarcely even believe what he had just witnessed.