Moments before....
The demigod patriarch of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect was a tall, thin man with long, steel-gray hair. He wore a white robe, and while handsome, currently flew along with a completely expressionless face. Furthermore, a glint of anxiety was just barely visible deep in his eyes.
Apparently, he was somewhat unsettled by whatever it was he had learned on his most recent trip to Heavenspan Island.
Although he was currently still above the Heavenspan Sea, he could clearly see the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect off in the distance.
Every time he left the sect and then came back, he liked to spend a bit of time marveling at the seven scintillating rainbows that made up the sect.
This time, though, when he finally caught sight of the sect up ahead, his jaw dropped, and he stopped flying.
No longer did he see seven dazzling rainbows. Instead, he saw seven black, shadowy objects floating on the horizon. In fact, his first reaction was to mistakenly think that he had gone to the wrong sect.
And yet, before he could even react, an intense boom echoed out from what had once been the blue rainbow. The sky trembled as if from thunder, and a huge wave began to roll out across the Heavenspan Sea and River!
The demigod patriarch’s face fell, and he took a step forward, placing him right above the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect!
Mere moments had passed since Bai Xiaochun had let out a powerful shout as more than a thousand pill furnaces exploded, sending a blast of pollen out in all directions.
Almost immediately, color had begun to spread out across what had once been the blue rainbow. A look of joy had erupted on Bai Xiaochun’s face, but as of this moment, he went deathly pale.
“Not again….” Perhaps it was because of how many pill furnaces had exploded on the rainbow recently, weakening it, or some other reason. In any case, the explosion of this latest group of 1,500 pill furnaces, along with the influx of power from Bai Xiaochun’s cultivation base, was simply too much for the rainbow to take.
Even as the shockwave of the initial blast still continued to echo out, the rainbow… began to crumble!
From a distance, it was possible to see a huge crater open up, into which tumbled the structures which had existed on top of it moments before. As that happened, the demigod patriarch up above, and the countless cultivators down below, all stared in mute shock….
The crater widened into a hole, consuming even Bai Xiaochun’s immortal's cave….
Meanwhile, rumbling sounds continued to echo out as the incredible power of the pollen cleansed the other parts of the rainbow, and restored their color.
However, all the disciples in the four cities could look at was the rubble of the immortal's cave falling down through the enormous hole which had been punched in the blue rainbow. As for Bai Xiaochun, he hovered there watching the same thing happen, trembling in fear….
Soon, the shocked silence in the cities gave way to a huge commotion.
“It… it collapsed?”
“Dammit, how did he restore the colors? Hmph! Like I said from the beginning, the River-Defying Sect is nothing but a backwater sect. This Bai Xiaochun isn’t one of us! This was actually a good chance to see him punished. How the hell did the bastard manage to turn things around at the last minute?”
“What right do these River-Defying Sect interlopers have to run amok in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect!? Bai Xiaochun got lucky, that’s the only way he became a deva. If he kept his head down it would be one thing, but look how brazen he is! He completely looks down on our Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect! We definitely need to join forces and submit an official request to the court to have his cultivation base crippled!” When the demigod was gone, no one would have dared to say such things aloud. But now, they couldn’t hold back any longer.
Bai Zhentian, Li Xiandao, and Patriarch Steel Veins all had varying expressions on their faces. They could sense that the demigod patriarch was back, and after exchanging nervous glances, they flew up into the air together.
At that point, a voice erupted that caused the sky to turn dim, and the lands to quake.
“What are you doing, Bai Xiaochun?!?! Do you have a death wish or something?!”
Bai Xiaochun currently hovered at the edge of the 300-meter wide hole in the blue rainbow, looking down at the lands on the other side. Profound anxiety currently gripped his heart, and his mind raced as he scrambled to come up with an explanation.
Thankfully, the pollen had the desired effect of cleansing the rainbow, and by now, the seven colors of the seven rainbows had been restored. Furthermore, the disciples who had been previously affected by the smoke from his medicine concocting were now coming to realize that their cultivation bases had actually been refined because of the torment they had been through.
Bai Xiaochun realized that too, and it alleviated a bit of his guilt. However, before he could say anything in his defense, the gaze of the demigod patriarch fell upon him, as sharp as the sharpest sword. Clearly, the man was furious beyond belief.
As the demigod’s divine sense continued to spread out, and he heard all the things the disciples down below were saying, he came to realize what had occurred while he was away.
He also realized almost immediately that all seven of the rainbows were completely unoccupied, and that everyone had moved down into the cities below.
He almost couldn’t believe that Bai Xiaochun’s pill concocting could be so powerful and dangerous. But then he looked at the gaping hole in the blue rainbow, and his fury spiked.
“Cat got your tongue?!” he yelled in a voice that rumbled like thunder. He emphasized his words with a flick of his sleeve, which caused the seven rainbows to tremble, and left the disciples down below shivering with both fear and anticipation.
The other devas hesitated for a moment, with both Bai Zhentian and Li Xiandao thinking back to how, considering the disasters Bai Xiaochun had caused, it might be a good time to hit him while he was down.
Patriarch Steel Veins also held back, trying to decide whether or not to try to help Bai Xiaochun explain himself. But then he looked at the gigantic hole in the rainbow, and merely smiled bitterly.
Bai Xiaochun’s heart pounded as he looked back at the furious demigod patriarch. Steeling himself, he prepared his reply.
“Hey, Patriarch. I, um… well this is what happened: I didn’t really like my old immortal's cave. Yeah. That's what caused this!
“My old immortal's cave wasn’t a very good place to stand guard over our Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect. Therefore, I decided to tear it down completely and replace it with this hole. This way, I can look up at the violet rainbow to bask upon your glory, sir, but at the same time, can look down to the four cities down below. Now, I can keep track of everything that goes on in the entire sect!
“Only by doing this can I truly feel at ease, and it goes to show that in my heart, I care only about the patriarch up above, and the disciples down below. My entire being is devoted to our Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect!”
Although he had started out somewhat haltingly, as the words came out, he spoke more confidently, even thumping himself on the chest to emphasize his words. It really seemed like he would spare no effort to work hard for the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect.
When the disciples in the four cities hear his words, they immediately erupted in anger….
“Shameless!!”
“Completely incorrigible!!”
“He obviously wants to destroy our entire sect! It's a crime deserving of ten thousand deaths!”
The lower-ranking disciples weren’t the only ones to react in such a way. The other three devas had strange expressions on their faces. However, the demigod patriarch actually seemed amused. He considered providing a harsh reprimand, but then he thought back to his trip to Heavenspan Island, and how Du Lingfei had once again reminded him to care for Bai Xiaochun.
That reinforced his impression that the two of them had a special relationship, and it caused him to hesitate over how to resolve the current situation.
After a moment passed, he snorted and said, “If you ever think of concocting medicine inside the sect again… I’ll personally make you wish you hadn’t!”
With that, he swished his sleeve and turned to leave.
When Bai Zhentian and Li Xiandao saw the demigod patriarch turn what everyone had expected to be a high crime with a severe punishment into a minor offense, they gasped in shock.
Patriarch Steel Veins was also taken aback.
Even Bai Xiaochun was stunned. Never could he have guessed that the demigod patriarch would say something like that, and in fact, not even ask any questions about what had happened. His heart began to race at the improbability of it all. Then he started wondering if, perhaps, the patriarch was doing it all because of his potential for future growth….
The disciples down below were flabbergasted.
When the demigod patriarch noticed how people were reacting, he realized that he might have let Bai Xiaochun off a bit too lightly. Looking back at him with a glare, he said, “Since you like this hole of an immortal's cave, then go ahead and keep living inside of it!”
With that, he headed back up to the violet rainbow.
Bai Xiaochun looked at the gaping hole, and his face fell. He had originally assumed he would be getting off scot-free. Instead, it turned out his punishment was to live inside of a big hole….
“Ah, whatever. This really was my fault, so I’ll just grin and bear it….” Bai Xiaochun had been so nervous because of the demigod patriarch that he didn’t notice at all how angry everyone was down below.
As for the other devas, they couldn’t help but look at Bai Xiaochun a bit more closely. Based on what they knew of the demigod patriarch, they were sure that if any of them had done something like what Bai Xiaochun had just done, they would have faced severe punishments.
And yet, with Bai Xiaochun, he played everything down…. That led all three of them to the conclusion that Bai Xiaochun had some mysterious and unprecedented backers!
The disciples down below were all crestfallen. They had been itching to see Bai Xiaochun struck with bad luck, and some had even hoped he would be killed.
However, in the end, most people realized that no one had actually been hurt. The truth was that Bai Xiaochun, originally a nobody from the River-Defying Sect, had truly risen to prominence in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect. That became the source of quite a bit of jealousy.