After all… he had given tacit approval for the three sects to act. Furthermore, the alliance had been designed to suppress the child-deva from Sky Quarter. Therefore, how could Li Xiandao simply allow Bai Xiaochun to ruin everything?
“Very well,” Chen Hetian said, his eyes flickering with cold light. “Since you agree, Brother Li, then there’s no time to lose. After all, we’ve had Fellow Daoist Li Yuantian suppressed for years now. We don’t want him to get any thoughts now.”
Among the five devas of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, there were two with the surname Li. However, they didn't come from the same clan! [1]
In response to Bai Zhentian’s words, Li Xiandao nodded. Then, the three of them communicated a bit more, whereupon powerful deva fluctuations erupted from the rainbows of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect.
Li Xiandao, Bai Zhentian and Chen Hetian all became bright beams of light which shot off into the distance. Following them were the patriarchs of the Dao and Starry River Court. In total, there were five devas, three in the front, two in the back, streaking through the sky!
Their destination was the River-Defying Sect, and their intention… was to punish Bai Xiaochun!
The fact that five devas had burst out into the open caused quite a commotion in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect. Countless disciples were shaken, and many cries of alarm rang out.
“What’s going on!?”
“That was Patriarch Chen, Patriarch Bai and Patriarch Li… Then there were two other devas who I’m pretty sure are from Middle Reaches sects….”
Even as the disciples began to discuss the matter, Zhao Tianjiao shot up into the air, looking anxiously off into the distance after his Master. He too had heard that Bai Xiaochun was back, and that the River-Defying Sect had made a spectacular comeback.
He had already been feeling guilty about everything, so when he saw his Master and the other devas heading toward the River-Defying Sect, his heart began to pound with nervousness, and his eyes turned crimson.
“I don’t care what happens, Bai Xiaochun is my brother. He didn’t do anything wrong! Don’t tell me it’s against the rules to defend oneself! Don't tell me it’s wrong to save your sect!” Shouting in anger, Zhao Tianjiao shot toward the River-Defying Sect. Although he knew he couldn't do anything to stop his Master, he was determined to stand by Bai Xiaochun’s side!
His Daoist partner Chen Yueshan flew by his side, as resolute and determined as him!
Even as Zhao Tianjiao and Chen Yueshan took off, someone else in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect was reacting with complete madness to the situation. It was none other than Bai Lin!
When Bai Lin sensed that his grandfather was heading to the River-Defying Sect on a killing mission, Bai Lin’s anger exploded.
“Bai Xiaochun is one of my major generals, grandfather! Maybe I couldn’t do anything to stop you from trying to exterminate the River-Defying Sect when he was missing. But now that he's back, I can’t believe you're going to do this…. Well… you’re forcing my hand!” Bai Lin had a short temper to begin with, so once it sparked, he flew into the air… and headed toward the Hall of Steel Veins!
Bai Xiaochun wasn’t just a subordinate of Bai Lin. He was also… a member of the Hall of Steel Veins! The major generals of the five legions were all part of the Hall of Steel Veins!
In the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, there were four devas attached to the four major branches of the river. But they weren’t the only devas. There was another! He was… Patriarch Steel Veins, a person who took orders only from the sect’s demigod patriarch!
It was impossible to say how Bai Lin went about making his report. However, moments later, fluctuations began to roll out that far surpassed those which had come from Chen Hetian and the other devas. The source: the Hall of Steel Veins!
At the same time, a middle-aged man appeared, clad in blood-colored armor that made him look like he had climbed mountains of corpses and swam through seas of blood to reach his current state.
“Summon the five legions!” he said coolly.
As his words echoed out through the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, countless figures suddenly appeared, speeding through the air in his direction. Hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands…. Within the space of a few breaths of time, nearly 100,000 people appeared. They were none other than… the cultivators of the five legions!
Many of them personally knew Bai Xiaochun, and many had fought alongside him in battle. In fact, many of them had been part of the 10,000-man corps he led as a major general.
At the same time, Bai Lin also appeared, clad in a suit of armor, flanked by his fellow generals, all of them looking very grim.
Patriarch Steel Veins looked around, and then spoke in a voice that echoed like thunder into the ears of the tens of thousands of cultivators. “If someone wants to attack the River-Defying Sect, we can’t do anything about that. But when someone makes a move against a major general of the Hall of Steel Veins… is that something we can stand for?”
“Never!!” came the response, a swell of voices that shook the entire Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect. With that, the patriarch waved his hand.
“Very well. Let’s go take a look… and see who dares to trifle with one of our major generals!”
Terrifying battle cries filled the sky as the massive army from the Hall of Steel Veins followed their patriarch into action.
The Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect was completely and utterly shaken by what they were seeing. Countless disciples looked up with shocked expressions….
“Something big is about to happen!!”
“River-Defying Sect? Bai Xiaochun? Wait, I remember. Bai Xiaochun used to be a major general at the Great Wall!!”
“This… this is a battle amongst devas!”
As everyone devolved into chaos, the child-deva sat in a private chamber on Sky Quarter Rainbow, his eyes flickering with hesitation.
The truth was that he was actually the main reason all of this was happening, and at the moment, was weighing the pros and cons of taking action. In the end, he shook his head.
“Forget it. If I interfered and won, then it wouldn’t matter. But if I lost….” With that, he closed his eyes and went back to meditating, ignoring all of the clamor outside.
The truth was that he had long since abandoned the River-Defying Sect in his heart. As far as he was concerned, the fact that Bai Xiaochun had returned didn't mean anything. And from what he could tell, although the Hall of Steel Veins might protect Bai Xiaochun, they wouldn’t protect his sect.
Even if Bai Xiaochun could get out of the situation alive… the River-Defying Sect would not be able to escape.
Four of the five devas in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect had taken action, causing the sky to fill with ripples.
Devas could move with incredible quickness, especially Chen Hetian and his companions. It didn’t take long before… they were in sight of the River-Defying Sect’s headquarters!
Chen Hetian and the other devas exchanged glances, and then began to transmit a conversation among themselves.
“It’s no surprise that the Hall of Steel Veins took action. But they can only do so much. Even if they save Bai Xiaochun, they can't get too involved with other sect affairs!!”
“Patriarch Steel Veins is just going through the motions. If he had come alone, he could have caught up with us already. The fact that he’s bringing the five legions with him shows that he’s actually giving us time to take care of things before he gets here.”