Xu Xiaoshan was so far away that he couldn’t quite make out who was in the group up ahead of him. However, he could see the enormous blood sword, and sensed the unique blood auras of Blood Stream Sect cultivators. Without any hesitation, he shot toward them.

When he made out Bai Xiaochun, he looked like he was about to weep with joy.

“Bai Xiaochun!!” he shouted.

At almost the same time, Nine-Isles also spotted Bai Xiaochun. At first his eyes widened, but then they shone with joy!

“I can’t believe Bai Xiaochun’s here!! I thought I would capture Xu Xiaoshan today, but who could have guessed that we would also run into Bai Xiaochun? He’s dead!” Nine-Isles laughed loudly as he led his group of roughly 200 cultivators forward. If they had encountered some of the elite forces of the Spirit and Blood Stream Sects, it might have been a different story. However, he could tell that Bai Xiaochun’s group was filled with cultivators of all different levels. Other than Beihan Lie, Master God-Diviner, and Jia Lie, the rest of them were obviously disciples of no note in their sects.

Nine-Isles was completely confident in being able to wipe such a group out. Laughing loudly, he continued to chase Xu Xiaoshan toward Bai Xiaochun.

Quite a few among Nine-Isles’ group of cultivators recognized Bai Xiaochun, and although they were shocked, their desire to kill him burned bright.

All of them knew that this was a war of sect extermination, and they were aware that one of the main reasons why the Spirit and Blood Stream Sects had struck an alliance was because of Bai Xiaochun!

Xu Xiaoshan also realized this, and it caused him to hesitate for a moment. However, he had no other options. If he didn’t join Bai Xiaochun, he would die. Indecision flickered in his eyes, and he cursed himself for getting into this situation. But then he realized that Bai Xiaochun’s expression was the same as always, and that the cultivators in his group didn’t seem scared at all. In fact, many of them were even looking at Nine-Isles and his cultivators with contempt and derision.

“Huh?” Xu Xiaoshan muttered, confused.

Bai Xiaochun clasped his hands behind his back. Looking very proud of himself, he said, “Fear not, Xiaoshan! The Blood Lord is here to save you!”

Clearing his throat, he looked at the cultivators surrounding him, then waved his hand outward. To Xu Xiaoshan’s shock, all the cultivators on Bai Xiaochun’s team began to produce glowing spheres.

“Attack!” Bai Xiaochun roared. The cultivators of the two sects roared in response, and began to throw the glowing spheres. In the blink of an eye, hundreds of them were flying through the air like shooting stars.

Nine-Isles’ jaw dropped, and the group behind him hesitated for a moment. Some in the group unleashed attacks to block the glowing sphere, but the spheres seemed to be impervious to magical techniques. They began to explode, sending vast quantities of smoke out to cover Nine-Isles and everyone around him.

The smoke instantly reduced the visibility in the area, but it didn’t stop the miserable shrieks and howls from echoing out.

“My stomach....”

“Heavens! I’ve become an immortal....”

𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

“Stay away everyone! Get away from me! What is this place...?”

Xu Xiaoshan’s expression flickered, and he cried out, “Corpse Peak Plague Smoke!!”

Trembling visibly, he screamed and used all the power he could muster to fly away from the smoke, his face as white as a sheet of paper. He more than anyone was intimately familiar with that smoke, and his experiences had been especially memorable.

The scene which had played out because of that smoke was like a nightmare that would haunt him for the rest of his life. To see it showing up again here filled his heart with terror.

However, even as he fled from the smoke, the air began to clear. The 200 Profound Stream Sect disciples became visible, and it was a bizarre scene. Some of them were waving their arms, some seemed drunk, some looked as ashen as death, and some were surrounded by noxious odors.

Some were even hugging each other. As for Nine-Isles, he hovered there trembling, surrounded by a rippling shield of light that somehow protected him from the smoke. He almost couldn’t believe what he was seeing around him.

“What divine ability is this? Impossible! It’s impossible! How could there be a magic like this!?!?” Profound fear of Bai Xiaochun rose up in his heart. He suddenly thought back to the Fallen Sword Abyss, and it provoked a hoarse scream. Before Bai Xiaochun could even attack, he pulled out a jade pendant and pushed down to activate it.

Seven-colored light spread out, along with cracking sounds. Teleportation power surged, wrapping Nine-Isles up to teleport him away.

Bai Xiaochun’s pupils constricted. He was well aware that jade pendants which could teleport Foundation Establishment cultivators off of the battlefield were extremely valuable to any sect. Virtually priceless. He quickly opened his Heavenspan Dharma Eye, sending a golden beam of light shooting toward the departing Nine-Isles.

As soon as the golden beam of light slammed into Nine-Isles, he let out a bloodcurdling scream. Although he was still teleported away, the control power exerted by Bai Xiaochun’s Heavenspan Dharma Eye managed to grab onto his arm and rip it clean off of his shoulder.

Even as Nine-Isles was whisked away, Bai Xiaochun’s followers began to attack the cultivators who had remained behind.

Beihan Lie looked over at one of the Foundation Establishment cultivators who was clutching at his stomach, a noxious odor surrounding him. “I remember you! You were one of the people who ganged up on me on the front lines!”

Grinning viciously, he closed in for the kill.

Jia Lie and Master God-Diviner unleashed magical techniques with murderous intent.

It was the same with all the other cultivators, and furthermore, by cooperating, they ensured that their own group sustained virtually no injuries.

Bai Xiaochun’s team had become intimately familiar with combat and fighting. Before long, the miserable shrieks faded away, and the fighting was over.

The only thing Bai Xiaochun regretted was that Nine-Isles had escaped. As for Xu Xiaoshan, he was so completely shaken by what he had just seen that he forgot to breathe. Then he noticed that the cultivators of the two sects were all cooperating in the fighting. He even saw Beihan Lie and Master God-Diviner working together to fight an enemy.

“How is this even possible...?” he gasped, rubbing his eyes to clear them.

An hour later, the battlefield had been cleared of loot, and the group was on their way again. Xu Xiaoshan joined them, flying along next to Bai Xiaochun and offering numerous fawning words of praise.

“Blood Lord Nightcrypt? Junior Patriarch Bai Xiaochun? Sect Uncle Bai? Um, what do you think about giving me some of those glowing spheres everyone used back there...?”

Bai Xiaochun looked very pleased with himself. He felt quite a sense of accomplishment at how his team was fighting so hard and well together.

“It’s all a big meritorious service on my part....” he sighed to himself. Looking over at Xu Xiaoshan, he waved his sleeve and threw him a few glowing spheres.

“Take them and have fun!”

Xu Xiaoshan gingerly took the glowing spheres, heart pounding with anticipation. He couldn’t wait to run into some Profound Stream Sect cultivators to use them on. He would show those Profound Stream Sect cultivators how awesome the Plaguedevil’s poison smoke was!

Time flew by. Another two months passed. The war had been going on for half a year already, but the deadlock still hadn’t been broken. Furthermore, more and more small-scale battles were being fought throughout the Heavencraft Continent. Most of those battles were between groups that numbered in the dozens or hundreds.

Bai Xiaochun’s name spread far and wide during that time. Every single battle he fought ended in victory. Eventually, his glowing poison spheres were also becoming famous. Profound Stream Sect cultivators on all fronts of the battle knew of the terrifying name of the Plaguedevil.

Beihan Lie, Master God-Diviner, and Jia Lie also earned their own glory. As for Xu Xiaoshan, he joined the group a bit late, but also rose to fame. He fell in love with Bai Xiaochun’s glowing spheres, and used them more enthusiastically than anyone else, especially the ones that induced hallucinations....

As for the Profound Stream Sect’s patriarchs, and the other leaders holed up in their final headquarters, they also heard of the glowing spheres. However, all they could do was gnash their teeth; none of them dared to go out and fight.

Not even the Profound Stream Sect’s prime elders and legacy echelon cultivators could shake their fear of the Spirit and Blood Stream Sects. All of them were waiting for the final decisive battle to show their faces.

Everything was reaching a boiling point. Bai Xiaochun’s fame grew, and his group of followers grew more and more zealous as they wiped out the teams of Profound Stream Sect cultivators who still lurked about. Even the patriarchs of the Spirit Stream Sect and the Blood Stream Sect were shocked by how things were playing out.