Master God-Diviner could see how anxious Bai Xiaochun was, and knew how important Big Fatty Zhang was to him. Shivering, he replied, “Big Fatty Zhang is trying to reach Core Formation, and fell into a deadly crisis!”
Looking equally anxious, Xu Baocai offered further explanation. “Last month, Elder Brother Zhang could tell that he was on the verge of reaching Core Formation, and went into secluded meditation. Master God-Diviner and I stood as Dharma protectors outside of his immortal’s cave. At first, everything seemed normal, and we assumed he would only need a couple of months to finish the process. But for some reason, on the third day, his aura began to weaken. As of now, there’s only a faint bit of it left!!”
“I went too,” Chen Manyao said anxiously, “but his immortal’s cave is sealed tight, and we can’t get in. We didn’t want to blow up the door either, in case that would cause further problems.” Considering how long she had been part of the group, she considered herself part of them now, and was just as anxious as they were about Big Fatty Zhang being in danger.
After hearing their explanations, Bai Xiaochun didn’t hesitate for even a moment. Transforming into a beam of prismatic light, he shot through the air at high speed toward Big Fatty Zhang’s immortal’s cave.
Master God-Diviner, Xu Baocai and Chen Manyao all followed along as fast as they could. After enough time passed for an incense stick to burn, Big Fatty Zhang’s immortal’s cave appeared up ahead. Bai Xiaochun’s heart was pounding with nervousness; Big Fatty Zhang was his Eldest Brother, and the two of them had a deep connection. After all, the two of them had begun their friendship on the very day Bai Xiaochun joined the Spirit Stream Sect.
His mind was almost a complete blank as he landed in front of the immortal’s cave, the door of which was sealed tightly. Bai Xiaochun quickly sent out some divine sense, backed by the power of his mid Gold Core stage cultivation base. Almost instantly, he could sense Big Fatty Zhang’s aura, and how weak it was. Apparently, the flame of his life force was on the verge of being snuffed out.
It almost looked as if he had made repeated efforts to reach Core Formation, and had failed each time, causing much of his life force to waste away.
“How could this be happening?!” Bai Xiaochun said. Eyes bloodshot, he clenched his hands into fists and then called upon the explosive power of his Undying Hex, as well as the frigid qi that came from being on the verge of the Frigid Master level. Almost instantly, the door of the immortal’s cave was covered with spider-web like cracks, before exploding into bits.
Bai Xiaochun charged inside, to find Big Fatty Zhang sitting there as ashen as death, looking like little more than a skeleton!
A faint mist surrounded him, some of which would occasionally be sucked into his body before flowing out again. As that happened, Big Fatty Zhang’s aura slowly faded, to be replaced by an increasingly strong aura of death. From the look of it, he was hovering on the very brink of perishing.
“Eldest Brother….” Bai Xiaochun murmured. It felt like his heart was being cut in half by the sharpest of blades. Without hesitation, he reached out and put his right hand on the top of Big Fatty Zhang’s head, then poured life force into him, hoping to bolster the flickering flame of his life force.
It only took a moment for Bai Xiaochun to realize that there was some sort of strange power inside of Big Fatty Zhang, something that was repelling the outside life force. That power felt like some sort of complete and utter determination. Furthermore, there in Big Fatty Zhang’s dantian region was a dense cloud of mist that looked almost like a sphere.
Every so often, the mist would converge together into the shape of a core, after which it would fall apart.
Apparently, the mist swirling around Big Fatty Zhang had been created by the same force.
“What’s going on!?” Bai Xiaochun said, stunned. Because of the force of expulsion inside of Big Fatty Zhang, any life force he sent in was almost completely dispelled. At best, he could slightly reduce the speed at which Big Fatty Zhang’s life force was fading away. At the current rate, it would likely be only two hours or so before Big Fatty Zhang wasted away into death.
It was in that moment that Master God-Diviner and Chen Manyao arrived. When they saw Big Fatty Zhang’s appearance, they both gasped.
“How is this possible?” Master God-Diviner said, looking shocked. “Big Fatty Zhang was only in secluded meditation for a month! How could he have been reduced to this state? It looks like he made ten failed attempts at reaching Core Formation!!”
Chen Manyao looked a bit more closely at the mist, and then suddenly, she said, “That mist…. Big Fatty Zhang is a spirit enhancer. Could it be… that he’s trying to form a Will Core?!”
“Will Core?” Bai Xiaochun looked up at Chen Manyao, his expression fierce, not because of Chen Manyao, but because he was hovering on the brink of madness because of Big Fatty Zhang.
Chen Manyao immediately revealed everything she knew about Will Cores. “In ancient times, spirit enhancers often attempted to form Will Cores. However, it’s fundamentally very dangerous, and nowadays, virtually no one even tries. Only someone completely and utterly confident in their spirit enhancement abilities could attempt it successfully. It’s basically like creating something from nothing!
“If the spirit enhancer successfully forms the Will Core, he will experience incredible good fortune afterward. But if he fails, he will be killed beyond the shadow of a doubt!”
Upon hearing the explanation, a tremor ran through Bai Xiaochun, and he suddenly realized he had sensed a form of utter confidence within the mist inside Big Fatty Zhang. Suddenly, a look of regret appeared on Bai Xiaochun’s face.
“Will Core….” He couldn’t help but think back to the Spirit Stream Sect, and how he had tricked Big Fatty Zhang into thinking he had succeeded, all to prevent his feelings from being hurt. From that moment on, Big Fatty Zhang’s journey along the path of spirit enhancement had completely changed.
As of this moment, Bai Xiaochun realized that Big Fatty Zhang’s path of spirit enhancement was closely related to his confidence, and that his confidence had been significantly affected by Bai Xiaochun himself.
“You guys keep feeding him as much life force as you can. I’m going to get a Nascent Soul Daoist master!” With one final glance at Big Fatty Zhang’s dwindling aura, Bai Xiaochun raced out of the immortal’s cave and headed toward the Hall of Devil Slayers.
Master God-Diviner and Chen Manyao immediately began to pour life force into Big Fatty Zhang, as did Xu Baocai, who had only just arrived.
Bai Xiaochun’s eyes were bloodshot as he raced along, his mind empty except for a single thought: he could not allow Big Fatty Zhang to die!!
A whistling sound echoed out in all directions on Sky Quarter Rainbow as he shot at top speed toward the Hall of Devil Slayers.
The Hall of Devil Slayers was some distance from Big Fatty Zhang’s immortal’s cave, and Bai Xiaochun couldn’t have been more anxious. Therefore, he used as much speed as possible, unleashing the Mountain Shaking Bash and also relying on the power of the Undying Tendons in his left leg.
Before long, he was nearing the Hall of Devil Slayers. However, it was at that point that, just up ahead, five cultivators were being blocked from passing through the area.
The people blocking their path were three disciples wearing long green robes, with cold expressions on their faces. When they saw Bai Xiaochun hurrying in their direction, one of them realized who he was, and hesitated a moment before calling out,