Unexpectedly... this young woman... was Du Lingfei!!!

Bai Xiaochun would never forget that face. He

couldn’t

forget it. This was the very same person who had gone missing all those years ago... Du Lingfei!

Bai Xiaochun felt like his mind was spinning, as if his heart were being battered by massive waves of shock. Never could he possibly have imagined that such a familiar face would be beneath that mask.

At the same time, when Bai Xiaochun said “boo”, the unmasked Xuemei was equally shaken. An indescribable expression gripped her face, as though she had just been struck by lightning from heaven. She also felt as if waves of shock were battering her heart and mind.

There was only one person who would ever call her such a thing, and that was... Bai Xiaochun from the Spirit Stream Sect!

“Bai Xiaochun!?!?” she blurted.

She had long since come to believe that she would never see Bai Xiaochun again. Back when they had parted, she had wished that she could sever her own thoughts, erase her memories of him. However, when she heard him call her “boo”, it caused her to shake visibly. At that moment, she knew... that she would never be able to forget the Spirit Stream Sect, or the events in the Luochen Mountains. She would never be able to forget... Bai Xiaochun.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl in the world of the heart cavity as Bai Xiaochun and Du Lingfei looked at each other.

Bai Xiaochun had been in the middle of unleashing the Throat Crushing Grasp with all the power of his cultivation base, but now, he did everything he could to alter the trajectory of the attack. A backlash hit him, and cracking sounds rang out from the bones in his arm as they shattered. Intense pain surged through him, but he still managed to twist the Throat Crushing Grasp so that it passed by Du Lingfei.

Unfortunately... although Bai Xiaochun was able to call upon his incredible battle prowess to change the direction of the Throat Crushing Grasp... Du Lingfei’s Golden Touch magic had been fueled by her own life force. Because of that, it surpassed the limits of her own Dao. In much the same way that a child could never control a raging tiger, she could do nothing to stop the magic once it had been unleashed.

“No!!” she screamed, thrusting her trembling left hand out in an attempt to change the direction of the divine ability. Cracking sounds rang out as her arm twisted sickeningly. Although she managed to slightly change the trajectory of the huge hand, she couldn’t slow it down at all, and it continued on directly toward Bai Xiaochun.

Although all of this takes some time to describe, it all happened within the briefest of moments. Within the blink of an eye, the huge hand was directly in front of Bai Xiaochun. A huge boom filled the air, and blood sprayed out of Bai Xiaochun’s mouth as he tumbled backward like a kite with its string cut.

The Heavenly Demon Body was destroyed as Bai Xiaochun was simultaneously hit with his own backlash and Du Lingfei’s mysterious divine ability!

His body was now being turned into gold. This was not the golden light of the Undying Gold Skin, but rather, the fundamental structure of his body was rapidly changing, transforming him into a statue of golden metal.

Tears began to stream down Du Lingfei’s cheeks. Terrified, she flew toward Bai Xiaochun.

“Xiaochun....”

Although it was shining with golden light, Bai Xiaochun’s face was deathly pale as he looked over at Du Lingfei. There were many questions he wished to ask her, and many things he wanted to say. The complex emotions could be seen in his eyes, but as he opened his mouth to speak, blood sprayed out. His body was currently beyond his own control. His cultivation base was in chaos, and his vision was growing dim.

In her anxiety, Du Lingfei completely forgot about the trial by fire. Her mission was now the last thing on her mind. The only thing she was thinking about was Bai Xiaochun as she sped toward him. However, at that very moment... the blood crystal apparently sensed that Bai Xiaochun was coughing up blood. The crystal suddenly began to burn, emitting thunderous rumbling sounds as it moved toward him so quickly it was almost a teleportation. The air shattered as the blood crystal... appeared directly in front of Bai Xiaochun.

The crystal seemed to thrum with excitement and joy as, without pausing for a moment, it shot toward his chest. As it neared, blood qi spread out and stabbed into him, fusing with his heart!

Bai Xiaochun trembled visibly as intense pain spread out from his heart. He let out a hoarse shout as he was thrown backward, slamming into one of the huge blood vessels. Just before he hit the withered blood vessel, it erupted with life force, a soft power that simultaneously grabbed ahold of Bai Xiaochun and pulled him toward it....

Bai Xiaochun was sucked into the blood vessel. Blood-colored light flared, spreading out in all directions as the blood vessel seemed to be restored to its original condition.

Things didn’t stop there, though. As the light filled the world of the heart cavity, all of the other blood vessels were enveloped in it, and began to emanate strong life force as well. Within moments, the blood vessels began to twitch, sending bursts of power... toward the heart itself!

Thump-thump!

The withered heart moved, emitting thunderous pounding that echoed out throughout the entire body of the Blood Ancestor.

At the same time, that movement seemed to suddenly shove Bai Xiaochun along through the blood vessel, propelling him along toward some unknown destination.

That having been accomplished, the heart once again withered up, as did the surrounding blood vessels. An incredibly powerful force of expulsion then appeared, wrapping around Du Lingfei. No matter how much she might have wanted to stay behind, she was completely incapable. Mixed emotions could be seen in her eyes as she looked at the spot where Bai Xiaochun had disappeared, and sighed. Although Bai Xiaochun was injured, she knew that the other legacy which had taken hold of him would not fail.

She slowly reached down and picked up her mask as her body faded away, and she was expelled from the body of the Blood Ancestor.

Song Junwan, who was still outside the heart cavity on the Ancient Blood Road, also began to fade away as she was removed.

As of this moment, the only people who remained inside the world of the Blood Ancestor’s body were the dead, and... Bai Xiaochun!

As for the beating of the heart which had thundered out moments ago, although it only happened once, the sound echoed out into the outside world. The sky went dim, and the lands quaked. Waves even appeared on the surface of the Heavenspan River!

Countless cultivators in the blood Stream Sect felt their hearts begin to pound, and their cultivation bases suddenly freeze up.

From the Outer Sect disciples to the patriarchs, everyone was affected!

“What’s going on!?!?”

“Something’s wrong! My heart is beating out of control!”

“My cultivation base stopped working! It’s destabilizing! How could this be happening?!? And what was that sound just now!?” On Lesser Marsh Peak, Nameless Peak, Middle Peak and Corpse Peak, all cultivators, grand elders and blood masters flew out, their expressions flickering. On Ancestor Peak, the prime elders were shocked, and the blood rippers were all shaken from their trances in secluded meditation. Even the patriarchs were astonished.

The Song Clan patriarch was in the middle of meditating, but his eyes snapped open, and his expression flickered. Patriarch Limitless emerged from his immortal’s cave and looked off into the distance, his eyes shining brightly.

“Has the Middle Peak blood master been selected?”

“Even if the blood master was selected, something extreme like this shouldn’t be happening....”

Even as everyone looked around in shock, Xuemei and Song Junwan appeared in midair, alongside Song Que and all of the other surviving Dharma protectors.

Song Junwan was panting as she looked over in Xuemei’s direction. However, Nightcrypt was nowhere to be seen. Assuming that Nightcrypt had failed, Song Junwan’s heart began to pound. But then, she realized that Xuemei didn’t seem to have reached the blood master level.

Behind her mask, her eyes seemed filled with confusion, almost as if she had lost control of her soul.

The arrival of the group from within the Blood Ancestor, as well as the sudden deafening sound from moments ago, left the cultivators of the Blood Stream Sect initially confused. But then, a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering beam of blood-colored light shot up from Middle Peak, rising up into the air to form the image of a face.

It was none other than Nightcrypt!

“Blood-colored light from Middle Peak! That’s the sign of the blood master!!”

“That... that means that somebody succeeded in becoming the new blood master. But that face, it’s Nightcrypt! Did he... become the new blood master? How is this possible?!?!”

“The Middle Peak blood master isn’t Xuemei

or

Song Junwan! How could it possibly be... Nightcrypt!?!?”

Eyes went wide, and mind spun. People cried out in shock. Everyone was completely and utterly astonished.

That was especially true of the people on Ancestor Peak. Numerous streams of divine sense exploded out, even from the stunned patriarchs.

Despite the widespread shock, the cultivators of Middle Peak were all deeply moved. To them, it was a moment of profound solemnity. No matter whether they wished it or not, they felt a sudden uncontrollable impulse that caused them to drop down and kowtow to the face of Nightcrypt.

Song Que, Song Zhen, Song Junwan, Xuemei, Master God-Diviner... they all dropped to their knees. Everyone who cultivated the secret magics of Middle Peak had no choice but to give obeisance. They even felt as if their blood qi were on the verge of collapsing.

That was the power of a blood master! A person who could control the entire mountain peak!