“But they have three devas!” Hou Yunfei said remorsefully.
“Three… devas?” Master God-Diviner replied, suddenly not so convinced.
However, that was when Song Que turned back and said, “As long as they aren’t in the late stage, Bai Xiaochun will demolish them!”
Few people knew how terrifying and powerful Bai Xiaochun had become in the Wildlands. In fact, even Master God-Diviner assumed that most of the stories Bai Xiaochun had told him were exaggerations. But Song Que was different. Although he didn’t know every single detail about how powerful Bai Xiaochun was, he had a fairly good idea.
His father-in-law was a demigod, and his apprentice was the Hell-Emperor. In Arch-Emperor City, he had fought bitterly with devas, and had made enemies of the entire nobility and aristocracy. Not only did he come out of all of that unscathed, but his cultivation base had climbed the entire time. A person like that… couldn’t possibly be afraid of three little devas.
Besides, Song Que had seen Bai Xiaochun fighting Mistress Red-Dust. Although neither of them had been using full force, considering that Song Que himself was in the Nascent Soul stage, he could easily tell that Bai Xiaochun’s battle prowess surpassed that stage, and made him equivalent to a deva!
After all, Mistress Red-Dust was a chosen in the Wildlands, the daughter of the Giant Ghost King, and very close to the mid Deva Realm!
Although Song Que still didn't like Bai Xiaochun very much, the urgency in Hou Yunfei’s voice was very telling. Song Que knew what to say and how to say it, and therefore it was with iron determination that he spoke his words of confidence. In response, all hearts were shaken, and many eyes went wide with incredulity!
To these people… devas were paramount entities in all creation, people who could shake heaven and earth, and crush all opponents!
“That’s right,” Master God-Diviner added. “As long as Bai Xiaochun gets there in time, he’ll fix everything!” With that, he turned and raced after Song Que in the direction of the River-Defying Sect.
Back in the Spirit Stream Sect’s spell formation, Hou Yunfei’s mind rang with the words Song Que had just spoken. On the one hand, he was sure that Bai Xiaochun wouldn’t do anything rash. But at the same time, he could see that Song Que was already in the Nascent Soul stage, and yet didn’t seem fazed at all by how Bai Xiaochun seemed to view the three mighty devas of the Middle Reaches. However, it was still difficult to believe.
“Is it real…?” Hou Yunfei thought. It was roughly at this time that one of the other Core Formation cultivators suddenly started, his eyes going as wide as saucers.
“I remember now! That… that was the legendary… Bai Xiaochun!! I heard that a whole bunch of spirit tail chickens went missing because of him!”
“Heavens, I remember now too! That was Bai Xiaochun?!?! 10,000 Snakes Valley is completely empty because of him!”
“He was the one who combined the four great sects into the River-Defying Sect! He’s the soul and the hope of the River-Defying Sect, their number one chosen…. He was eventually taken as a hostage to the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, where he went to the Great Wall and became a major general! Eventually he went missing in the Wildlands…. Bai Xiaochun!”
More exclamations of shock could be heard. Before long, all of the disciples of the Spirit Stream Sect began thinking about that familiar name, and recalled the various stories they had heard about him. After all, Bai Xiaochun was still very famous in the Spirit Stream Sect.
His deeds were retold almost like myths among the new, low-ranking disciples.
Even as the disciples of the Spirit Stream Sect reeled in shock, Bai Xiaochun was flying through the air toward the River-Defying Sect, moving with incredible speed, his eyes bloodshot and his breath coming in ragged pants.
“Uncle Li. Elder Brother Sect Leader. Patriarch Spirit Stream. Patriarch Blood Stream…. Hang in there, all of you!! Junwan. Xiaomei…. Bruiser….” Countless faces flashed through his head, causing his madness to increase. At the moment, he wasn’t thinking at all about matters of life and death. Although he feared dying, he would never run for his life when his sect was in peril.
Back when he was young and powerless, the sect had protected him. But now… he qualified to protect the sect!
Because he didn’t have to worry about Song Que and Master God-Diviner being injured by the process, he was capable of adding teleportations to his movements, lending him even greater speed.
Rumbling booms filled the air as he relied on teleportation after teleportation!
The result was shocking speed which surpassed anything ordinary devas were capable of. Not even someone in the mid Deva Realm would be able to achieve it.
He was soon closing in on the border between the Lower Reaches and the Middle Reaches, and beyond it… the River-Defying Sect!
The situation was bad in the River-Defying Sect. The glow of magical technique rose high in the sky, and rumbling booms echoed far and wide. The army of 100,000 cultivators from the other three sects was pushing the offensive hard from three directions.
The River-Defying Sect simply wasn’t a match. They were forced to fall back over and over again, relying on their spell formation to hold out. Even still, casualties mounted.
The sect itself was like a wounded giant who only had a bit of energy left to keep fighting!
The spell formation shield cast by the Dire Skybanyan was heavily damaged, constantly distorting, and filled with rapidly spreading cracks.
With every new crack that appeared, the Profound Stream Division disciples who powered the formation would cough up mouthfuls of blood. And yet, howling, they would hold nothing back to repair and sustain the formation.
Unfortunately, despite their efforts, it didn't seem like the shield would hold out for more than the time it takes an incense stick to burn.
The disciples of the Pill Stream Division were so exhausted they were hovering on the brink of collapse. And yet, they continued to roam the battlefield both inside and outside the spell formation, healing disciples from the other divisions, and occasionally getting involved in deadly conflicts themselves.
The Spirit and Blood Stream Divisions had it most bitter of all. They were the powerhouses of the River-Defying Sect, and took the brunt of the attacks. Less than thirty percent of the Spirit Stream Division’s spell formation giants still stood, and those disciples who powered the remaining giants were spattered with blood.
Shangguan Tianyou’s eyes were bloodshot, but he had many kills to his name. Beihan Lie was in similar condition; tears flowed from his eyes as he howled in savage fashion.
The disciples of the Spirit Stream Division were fighting with full madness. The Blood Stream Division was in a similar state. Animated corpses, gargoyles, and even the blood masters, all had suffered casualties!
Only the blood sword from Middle Peak remained strong. Song Junwan, Master Limitless and Xuemei led the fight against their enemies, and did their best to save whatever fellow disciples they could.
Song Junwan was exhausted and seriously wounded. She had consumed numerous medicinal pills provided by the Pill Stream Division, and yet, was reaching the limits of her ability to endure. Despair had already begun to shine in her eyes.
The scarecrow had been destroyed. The black and white suns had been crushed, the crows inside of them killed. The old dragon was gasping for breath. Only Bruiser continued to fight viciously, breaking holes in the enemy lines left and right.
In the Nascent Soul battles, the River-Defying Sect had been defeated at every turn. Unable to hold their own when it came to one-on-one battles, the Nascent Soul experts stayed in groups, and inflicted as many casualties as possible on the enemy.
From a distance, the armies of the three great sects were like three enormous hands crushing down onto the River-Defying Sect. High up in the sky, the fluctuations of the three devas caused heaven and earth to shake violently.
“Their spell formation will fall shortly….”
“We can’t let things drag out any longer. There were differing opinions back in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect. If we don’t secure victory soon, something unexpected could happen.”
“At this point, why don’t the three of us just attack? We can destroy the spell formation, and then… wipe the River-Defying Sect off the map for good!”
After a bit more discussion, their eyes began to shine, and they attacked! A destructive stream of sword qi, a massive hand, and a black thundercloud all shot toward the spell formation!
The speed of the attacks left the River-Defying Sect in despair. When they slammed into the Dire Skybanyan’s spell formation, it held out for only a moment before collapsing!
In response, the enemy army shouted in delight and then charged forward in attack. The River-Defying Sect was immediately shoved backward across the battlefield. Worse, the three devas shot toward the sect, with only Bruiser to stand in their way.
It was at this point that the Blood Ancestor’s eyes opened, and he leaped into action. He was joined by a rabbit, a monkey, and Patriarch Spirit Stream! They were going all out to defend the sect!
Everyone was in critical danger!
The disciples of the Spirit and Blood Stream Divisions were being shoved backward by the enemy forces, their faces covered with despair. Five Nascent Soul cultivators were closing in on Song Junwan, hoping to destroy her blood sword, and then kill both her and Master Limitless!
Song Junwan smiled bitterly at the sight of the five Nascent Soul enemies. Master Limitless was coughing up blood and could hardly defend himself. At this point, both of them knew that they were about to die…. However, that was when a voice rang out that caused heaven to shake and the earth to tremble. The clouds churned, and a thunderous roar filled the entire battlefield.
“How dare you people!!”