Bai Xiaochun truly was revolted by the situation. Gritting his teeth, he said, “Hmph! Who cares who your Master is? If I hadn’t killed you, you scoundrel, you would have eventually gotten stronger and then come for revenge. Then what? Even if you couldn’t beat me, what if you went to pick on my friends?!”

At that point, the little turtle stuck his head out of Bai Xiaochun’s bag of holding.

“You know, Lord Turtle has some experience with things like this. Based on what that guy was shouting before he died, I’d guess he has a powerful Master who will show up at any moment and--”

“Shut up!” Bai Xiaochun said, looking around nervously. For some reason, he felt very unsafe at the moment, and just when he was about to head toward the teleportation portal at top speed, a thunderous howl of rage ripped through the air.

“Who killed my beloved apprentice!?!?” The words were spoken at such a high volume that a powerful wind blasted through the lands, dimming the sky and causing many of the trees down below to sway back and forth.

Bai Xiaochun’s face fell. “This is your fault, little turtle! Why’d you have to go and open your big mouth!”

Based on the terrifying nature of the words which had just been spoken, Bai Xiaochun was sure that they didn’t come from the mouth of a Core Formation cultivator, but rather, a Nascent Soul Daoist master.

The mere idea of a Nascent Soul cultivator caused his hair to stand on end. Shrieking, he drew upon all the power he possessed to flee toward the teleportation portal.

“How dare you look down on Eccentric Earthvile! And how dare you kill my beloved apprentice right outside of my very own immortal’s cave! Are you looking to die?!?!” Based on the volume, Bai Xiaochun could tell that whoever was speaking was now much closer to him.

Looking over his shoulder nervously, he saw a 3,000-meter-wide black cloud that clearly contained the power to topple mountains and drain seas. It was filled with countless vengeful souls, all of them screaming and tearing at each other with their teeth. It was a very shocking sight.

Standing on top of the cloud was an old man in a black robe, who was clearly Zuo Hengfeng’s Master, Eccentric Earthvile. His hands were clasped behind his back, and his eyes flashed like lightning. His grim expression did nothing to conceal his rage, and despite the fact that he was more than 3,000 meters away, as soon as their gazes met, Bai Xiaochun felt his mind reeling and his cultivation base destabilizing.

“He’s really a Nascent Soul expert!!” Tears were welling up in Bai Xiaochun’s eyes, but at the same time, he couldn’t help but feel that he was being falsely accused.

“I was leaving!” he thought. “He was the one who started picking on me....

“Why did the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect give me this mission anyway!? It looked like nothing more than killing someone in late Foundation Establishment, but the truth was that the despicable bastard had a Master who’s a Nascent Soul expert!” Feeling more wronged than ever, he unleashed his Undying Live Forever Technique, and even sent some frigid qi roiling out to call upon his minor teleportation abilities. And yet, nothing could prevent the black cloud from catching up to him.

“Time to die!!” As the words echoed out, the black cloud began to envelop Bai Xiaochun. At the same time, a huge, 300-meter-wide hand stretched out toward him.

It was a shocking sight, and the pressure weighing down in the area was immense, enough to lock down everything around it. The lands quaked, and the plants and vegetation down below began to wither. Bai Xiaochun also felt the life force inside of his body stirring, as if it were about to be sucked away.

The hand got closer, and in the critical moment, Bai Xiaochun screamed, unfurling his Landscape of Nine Provinces, which gave him another burst of power similar to teleportation.

In the moment that the hand was about to land on him, Bai Xiaochun vanished, reappearing a few dozen kilometers away, face completely ashen. Not bothering to even look behind him, he began to flee at top speed.

Behind him, Eccentric Earthvile stamped his foot down onto the black cloud, sending it racing toward Bai Xiaochun.

“You can’t escape! “ he shouted. “Once I get my hands on you, I’ll skin you alive and turn you into a lantern!”

𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

As he neared, Eccentric Earthvile’s right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, and then he waved his finger toward the ground.

Instantly, the plants and vegetation beneath Bai Xiaochun withered, transforming into black mist which rose up into the air. In the blink of an eye, it transformed into a huge circle that resembled a sealing mark, and made it impossible for Bai Xiaochun to proceed past its borders.

Bai Xiaochun’s face fell as another enormous black hand rumbled toward him. Screaming, he once again used the Landscape of Nine Provinces.

Yet again, he vanished, but when he reappeared, he wasn’t 3,000 meters away. Instead, his path was blocked by the perimeter of the black circle that had just formed.

As soon as he was out in the open, the huge black hand once again shot toward him, causing an expression of despair to appear on his face. Considering his pursuer was a Nascent Soul cultivator, he was incapable of fleeing.

“Do you really dare to try to kill me!?” he shouted. “I’ve got powerful people backing me up! If you dare to harm me, you’ll get killed for sure!” In response, Eccentric Earthvile simply snorted more coldly than ever and sent the black hand speeding toward Bai Xiaochun.

“Not even my turtle-wok will be able to block this....” Bai Xiaochun thought, tears leaking out of the corners of his eyes at how unfair all of this was. As soon as Zuo Hengfeng said something threatening, his Master showed up. But when Bai Xiaochun tried the same thing, nothing happened....

In that moment of critical danger, Bai Xiaochun’s eyes were completely bloodshot as he prepared to throw all caution to the wind and make a final move. But then....

“How dare you, Eccentric Earthvile!!” The voice which spoke came from a distance, and seemed to be flustered on the verge of going mad.

Instantly, the huge black hand faltered, and Eccentric Earthvile turned his head, a look of complete shock in his eyes. He even gasped.

Bai Xiaochun was similarly shocked, and looked off toward the horizon, where a huge army had just appeared. Winds screamed and the lands shook as ten enormous battleships appeared, speeding toward him over the jungle.

The battleships were teeming with more than 10,000 cultivators, all of them bursting with cultivation base fluctuations. The ripples streaming out from them made heaven and earth seem as if it were an ocean covered with surging waves.

Shockingly, the prows of all ten battleships suddenly lit up with blinding light. Even as Bai Xiaochun looked on, that light transformed into stabbing blasts of energy that shot through the air toward Eccentric Earthvile. Deafening rumbling could be heard, and all creation shook violently as the beams closed in with lightning speed.

In the blink of an eye, they were right in front of Eccentric Earthvile. Face falling, he waved his sleeve, completely ignoring Bai Xiaochun, as he hurtled backward at top speed.

Even as he fell back, rumbling sounds echoed out as the black hand shattered under the force of the light beams. The black clouds were destroyed, and as for Eccentric Earthvile, although he managed to defend himself, he was still shoved backward 3,000 meters until he slammed into the ground, opening up a massive crater.

Everything in the area shook violently, leaving Bai Xiaochun gasping in shock. Then, a figure blurred into motion off of one of the battleships, simultaneously shouting, “Eccentric Earthvile, how dare you harm one of the disciples of the Hall of Devil Slayers!!”

The voice belonged to none other than the kindly-faced Feng Youde, hallmaster of the Hall of Devil Slayers, who suddenly appeared directly in front of Eccentric Earthvile, toward whom he unleashed a vicious palm strike.

“Are you crazy, Feng Youde?!” Eccentric Earthvile roared, falling back yet again, his face a mask of terror and confusion. As far as he was concerned, no matter what he might have done to provoke Sky Quarter’s Hall of Devil Slayers, it couldn’t possibly have elicited a response of this level!

However, even as the words left his mouth, the ten battleships once again powered up and unleashed piercing beams of light toward him. Booms rang out, and blood sprayed out of Earthvile’s mouth as he fell back anxiously. By this point, his hair was in complete disarray, and he was clearly in bad shape. One of his arms had been ripped off, and his expression was one of both rage and frustration.

“Ten Devil-Slaying Battleships?! Y-y-you’re... y-y-you’re crazy!! How many resources did you waste to deploy them?! You paid that price just to kill me? Is it really worth it!?!?” Trembling in fear, Eccentric Earthvile unleashed all of his secret magics in his attempt to flee, and yet, his heart was gripped by despair. From what he could tell, he would most likely perish this day. Never in his wildest dreams could he have imagined that the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect would go to such lengths to try to kill him.

“I have to admit that dying under the volley of ten Devil-Slaying Battleships is--” It was in that moment of despair, and just when Earthvile was about to start begging for his life, that he suddenly realized something seemed off. Looking over his shoulder, he realized that Feng Youde wasn’t pursuing him.

Elated, he sped off into the distance, heart pounding with lingering fear.

Bai Xiaochun looked on in complete shock at the ten battleships, and the hallmaster of the Hall of Devil Slayers. The impressive sight left him completely and utterly moved.

“This sect really does treat me great....” he thought, his eyes turning red with emotion. Earlier, he had harbored some suspicious about the sect, but now, in his excitement, he turned toward the hallmaster, clasped hands and bowed.

“Disciple--”

Before he could even get a single sentence out, Feng Youde rushed over nervously and asked, “Bai Xiaochun, how are you doing!?”