After finishing with the introduction of the Fallen Sword Abyss, Bai Xiaochun felt more than ever that the place was profoundly dangerous. Frowning, he went on to peruse the numerous images of the various disciples from the other three sects. As he did, he would occasionally look up to identify that disciple within the crowd and make a quick comparison.
The more he learned about the disciples of these sects, the more jumpy he got.
“Zhao Rou from the Pill Stream Sect, adept with illusion forms. She once simultaneously fought three disciples in the same cultivation stage, and slaughtered them all! Wow, so incredible! Her abilities seem on par with Gongsun Wan’er’s illusion magic.” Bai Xiaochun blinked a few times, and then looked furtively over at a young woman in the Pill Stream Sect group. She was incredibly beautiful, with soft, supple skin. Currently, she was staring into the eyes of Gongsun Wan’er; clearly, the two of them were already measuring each other up.
“Lei Shan from the Profound Stream Sect, a body refinement cultivator with a Lightningflame Profound Clone. Incomparably powerful, with exquisite magical techniques. He was once chased down by a Foundation Establishment cultivator, but survived for seven days without being killed. Is suspected to possess a Firespirit body, and has extraordinary healing abilities.” After reading the description, he looked over at the Profound Stream Sect disciples and quickly spotted Lei Shan. He was a burly, muscular young man, who was sitting there cross-legged, lightning and flame swirling around him. He looked impressive to the extreme. Seemingly sensing Bai Xiaochun’s gaze upon him, he looked over and smiled viciously, his eyes flickering with killing intent.
“He’d be a good opponent for Lu Tianlei,” Bai Xiaochun thought. “They both love their lightning.” Looking away, Bai Xiaochun continued on with the information in the jade slip.
“Fang Lin from the Pill Stream Sect, their number one Chosen of the current generation. Relatively unknown half a year ago, whereupon he suddenly rose to fame. Adept with the Dao of poison, and a decisive killer. Successfully cultivated the Heaven-Earth Furnace Cauldron, and has power that exceeds the peak of Qi Condensation. Very difficult to match. Has only fought two true battles. In one, he slaughtered eight rebel cultivators, all of them in the great circle of Qi Condensation. He wasn’t even harmed during the fighting. In the other battle, he destroyed a defensive treasure comparable to the Foundation Establishment level, and killed a spy sent by the Spirit Stream Sect.” Bai Xiaochun’s eyes went wide, and he quickly identified Fang Lin in the crowd, a young man with an expressionless face.
“Nine-Isles from the Profound Stream Sect. The first Chosen in the Profound Stream Sect in the last 3,000 years to successfully cultivate the Exterminating Obliteration Technique. Supposedly, that technique can obliterate all life forms, and leaves nothing behind in its wake. It creates obliteration threads that not even Mortal-Dao Foundation Establishment cultivators can match up to!” Scalp tingling, Bai Xiaochun looked over and caught sight of a cold-faced young man sitting there in the crowd. Bai Xiaochun wasn’t sure if he was seeing things or not, but it seemed like he had faintly visible magical symbols surrounding him that formed something like chains.
Just looking at him for a few moments caused Bai Xiaochun’s eyes to hurt, and his vision to begin to fade. He quickly looked away from the terrifying young man. It was at this point that Bai Xiaochun realized that there were descriptions of almost all of the disciples from the Pill Stream Sect and the Profound Stream Sect. However, the information on the Blood Stream Sect disciples only had two entries.
“Xu Xiaoshan from the Blood Stream Sect. Ordinary talent, but a direct descendant of the founding patriarch of the Blood Stream Sect. Incredibly high position, silkpants personality. Possesses endless magical items!
“Song Que from the Blood Stream Sect. Number one Chosen, sometimes called Ascendant Limitless. Closely resembles Master Limitless. No details about his techniques, but in one heaven-defying battle, he killed a Foundation Establishment cultivator while he was only in Qi Condensation. An unprecedentedly dangerous threat to all Qi Condensation disciples. Special reward for killing him!” The first entry among the Blood Stream Sect disciples wasn’t very impressive, but the second caused Bai Xiaochun to gasp, and his eyes to open as wide as saucers.
“Killed... killed a Foundation Establishment cultivator?” Bai Xiaochun’s heart trembled with disbelief. After some thought, he decided that Song Que would be the perfect opponent for Ghostfang. As for his own poor little life, he most certainly wouldn't throw it away by taking him on.
The terrifying nature of the disciples from the other sects was difficult to accept. Then, his heart suddenly trembled.
“Do the other three sects’ jade slips have information about me? I wonder what they say?” As his curiosity grew, he was just considering trying to find a friendly disciple from one of the other sects to trade jade slips with when suddenly, a wave of pressure descended from above.
The sky turned completely blood red as... the Blood Stream Sect arrived!
Their spell formation was very different from the Spirit Stream Sect’s. A shocking, blood-red severed hand appeared up above, blotting out the sky and obscuring the sun. Everything up above became completely crimson.
Shockingly, in the palm of the severed hand was a huge eye, completely bloodshot, and coldly bizarre to behold. The eye blinked, and all of Mount Flamecrane trembled. Moments later, a group of over a hundred figures began to materialize in a fourth location at the top of the mountain.
As they became visible, more pressure weighed down from above. Apparently, if anyone dared to launch a sneak attack at this moment, the enormous severed hand would descend with destructive power to destroy the ambushers.
Heaven and earth shook violently as the Blood Stream Sect appeared. They had the largest group of any of the three sects, a total of 121. Without the Foundation Establishment expert who was their leader, they had brought a total of 120 disciples.
They all wore long red robes, and had icy expressions on their faces. They all seemed ready to kill at any moment, and looked at the disciples of the other sects the way that wolves will look at sheep.
Each and every one of the Blood Stream Sect disciples seemed fierce to the extreme, with intensely murderous auras. None of them seemed to trust each other, either. As soon as they materialized, they edged away from each other and then sat down cross-legged to meditate.
The disciples of the Pill Stream Sect seemed shaken, except for Zhao Rou and Fang Lin, whose eyes glittered with interest and vigilance.
The Profound Stream Sect disciples had a similar reaction. Other than the Chosen disciples, everyone trembled at the intimidating sight of the Blood Stream Sect.
Gasps could also be heard among the Spirit Stream Sect disciples. Bai Xiaochun’s eyes went wide, and he instantly thought back to the introductions he had just read.
The Blood Stream Sect and the Spirit Stream Sect couldn’t be more opposed in their philosophies. The Blood Stream Sect was ruled by the law of the jungle, and the threat of brutal violence and even death constantly hung over the heads of their disciples. They were almost a devilish sect, and the disciples who rose through the ranks were all brutal and merciless.
“What a bunch of devils....” Bai Xiaochun thought, swallowing hard. “They even allow disciples to kill each other. How terrifying! The Spirit Stream Sect is definitely way better!” Resolving to be very careful around the Blood Stream Sect, he began to look for the two faces he recognized from the descriptions.
Obviously, the person to watch out for most was the heaven-defying Chosen named Song Que, who had killed a Foundation Establishment cultivator. It didn’t matter how he’d accomplished such a task, the mere fact that he’d succeeded showed how terrifying he was.
It didn’t take long to find him. He was a young man with ordinary features, but who radiated intense coldness. He wore different garments than his fellow disciples. His were not pure crimson, but instead, a darker magenta color. When he sat down cross-legged to meditate, not a single disciple dared to sit within three meters of him.
His murderous aura was intense to the extreme, and vastly surpassed all of the disciples around him. It even seemed to physically distort the air around him.
As soon as Bai Xiaochun spotted Song Que, Song Que looked back at him, as if he had been waiting to lay eyes on him. Their gazes met, and Bai Xiaochun was instantly filled with such terror that he almost wanted to flee in the opposite direction. It was the same feeling he had experienced when he was being chased through that nameless jungle by the murderous Chen Heng.