Chapter 876: Back Home
Very little time had passed in the River-Defying Sect since Bai Xiaochun’s shocking performance. In fact, even including the shakedown, it had only been a handful of hours.
The cultivators of the three sects were still fleeing, and the disciples of the River-Defying Sect were still chasing them down. The area surrounding the River-Defying Sect was in complete chaos.
There was nothing the patriarchs could do to get the disciples to calm down. Earlier, they had been in a situation of deadly crisis, and under the most incredible stress imaginable. Now, they were finally able to vent!
250 kilometers. 500 kilometers. 1,000 kilometers….
Before long, the cultivators of the three sects were completely driven away. Those who could not escape chose to surrender.
After the chase reached the 1,500-kilometer-mark, the enthusiasm of the River-Defying Sect cultivators began to fade. They were also starting to get exhausted. Eventually, at that 1,500-kilometer mark, the patriarchs issued orders to cease the pursuit!
The fleeing cultivators of the three sects could finally breathe sighs of relief, and scatter in terror.
All of them knew… that the River-Defying Sect was going to rise to prominence!!
Bai Xiaochun had completely turned the tables on them, and although the River-Defying Sect had sustained heavy losses, in the end, they had achieved victory!!
Any disciples from the other sects who ran into River-Defying Sect cultivators in the future would be filled with terror, and not dare to do anything to provoke them. The battle had seen them completely defeated, both physically and in spirit!
As could be imagined, news of the conclusion of the battle spread like wildfire throughout the cultivation world of the Middle Reaches. The Lower Reaches were shocked, and the general structure of the Middle Reaches was already changing.
Obviously, it created a stir back in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect as well. After all, the three great sects had obtained their tacit approval before making their move.
In addition to that, Bai Xiaochun wasn’t just a member of the River-Defying Sect. He was a disciple of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect as well, and had also served as a major general at the Great Wall.
Historically speaking, major generals would always join the Hall of Steel Veins, and become the most powerful of elders back in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect. And that was not to mention the fact that Bai Xiaochun had friends in the sect. For example, there was Zhao Tianjiao and his Daoist partner Chen Yueshan, as well as Bai Lin from the Great Wall, among others.
In the past, before Bai Xiaochun made his return, such friends had done their best to keep the River-Defying Sect safe. Now that Bai Xiaochun was back, one could only imagine what the reaction would be in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect on the part of his friends!
The Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect would definitely be very interested in Bai Xiaochun’s explosive battle prowess. Furthermore, he knew that it wouldn’t be long before orders came down about what was to happen next.
However, regardless of what stance the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect would take, the River-Defying Sect currently needed stability after its huge fight. They needed to rest and recuperate; their victory had come at great cost.
The spell formation cast by the Dire Skybanyan had been almost completely destroyed, and required extensive repairs. The reserve powers of the four divisions had been either seriously damaged or completely eradicated. Most of the sect headquarters had been destroyed. Of the mountain ranges belonging to the four divisions, two and a half had collapsed, and would need significant help from the patriarchs to rebuild.
By the time Bai Xiaochun and Li Qinghou got back, the repair work was already underway. Many people were thrilled to see Li Qinghou, including Zhao Yuandong, Patriarch Spirit Stream, and many other friends. Xu Meixiang was especially happy. She had been in despair before, so to finally see Li Qinghou again caused tears to stream down her face.
Li Qinghou was deeply moved to finally see Xu Meixiang after more than half a year of being locked away. As soon as their gazes locked, Bai Xiaochun blinked a few times and then smiled. On the way back, he had given Li Qinghou a deva soul, and had done more work treating his injuries. Therefore, he felt comfortable leaving him alone with Xu Meixiang, and instead took Bruiser on a tour through the sect.
As soon as he saw the extensive damage close up, and all of the wounded disciples, his mood sank.
The truth was that the sect had sustained bitter casualties and many deaths. However, they had made gains as well. They took tens of thousands of captives, and had also seized numerous magical items and other resources.
Even better than that were the numerous reserve powers and precious treasures belonging to the three sects, items that their deva patriarchs had left behind, and which had been collected by River-Defying Sect disciples.
Bai Xiaochun wasn’t the only one to have performed dramatically in battle. Although he had been the one to turn things in the favor of the sect, Bruiser was actually one of the main ones who had kept the sect going until Bai Xiaochun got there.
Bruiser’s cultivation base was already in the great circle of the Nascent Soul stage, and he was a beast king, meaning that he could fight with devas if he really needed to. Although he couldn’t come out on top in such a fight, his battle prowess was still shocking.
Furthermore, since he was a beast king, as long as enough time passed, he would eventually reach the Deva Realm, which would be of indescribable benefit to the sect as a whole!
In addition to Bruiser, Song Junwan had performed spectacularly. Although she wasn’t in the Nascent Soul stage yet, only the great circle of Core Formation, she had wielded the Middle Peak blood sword with precision and valor. She had surpassed the leaders of the other mountain peaks to become a virtual blood fiend, leading the entire Blood Stream Division in their fight against the enemy!
There were also chosen from the Spirit Stream Division who had fought valiantly. Shangguan Tianyou was one of them. He was now in the pseudo-Nascent Soul stage, and forgetting Bai Xiaochun and the most powerful experts, was the strongest disciple in the sect, and quite famous. After all, the patriarchs said that Shangguan Tianyou was the reincarnation of a sword immortal! Furthermore, his personality had changed dramatically. He was much more silent and serious, something that made the other disciples respect him even more.
And then there was Beihan Lie. Although he had never been the strongest of the chosen, he had risen to prominence in the Fallen Sword Abyss by reaching Earthstring Foundation Establishment. He was now in the late Core Formation stage, and although he couldn’t surpass Shangguan Tianyou, was still considered far beyond the others of his generation!
The other divisions also had chosen who had risen to the heights of glory. It went without saying that the sect would soon dole out rewards for them, and that they would have a bright future in the days to come.
As Bai Xiaochun saw one familiar face after another, and saw everyone looking back at him with fervor and passion, he suddenly felt a warm feeling rise up within him. It was the feeling of being home.
It was something he had never really felt back in the Wildlands. And that was because… for all eternity, this would be the place he called home.
As the sect went about the repair work, Bai Xiaochun joined in. At one point, he ran into the Heavenhorn ink dragon, who had been seriously injured and was gasping for breath. Others in the sect had attempted to treat him, but at the moment, he seemed like he might slip into death at any moment. Bai Xiaochun immediately went to work, calling upon the power of his Heaven-Dao Nascent Soul to gradually heal his wounds.
Bruiser had disappeared, but he came back around the time Bai Xiaochun finished treating the old dragon. When Bai Xiaochun saw him, his eyes went wide. Bruiser was flanked by a large number of strange spirit beasts. Some were large and some were small, but without exception, all were female….
“Are these your wives?” Bai Xiaochun asked, stunned. Bruiser made a whinnying sound, which caused Bai Xiaochun’s heart to tremble in shock.
“And them…?” Bai Xiaochun continued, pointing at… a group of more than a thousand strange-looking little beasts behind the females.
An expression of pride appeared on Bruiser’s face, and he made a few chuffing sounds. Although many people in the sect had already come to guess the truth, none of them understood the situation better than Bai Xiaochun….
“Well damn…. Those are all your children?” Tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth, Bai Xiaochun looked at the female beasts, and then all the tiny beasts, and was suddenly completely convinced of how amazing Bruiser was.
Bruiser was very pleased to see Bai Xiaochun reacting this way. Looking back at all the female beasts, he made a few barking sounds. Immediately, all of the spirit beasts dropped down onto their knees and howled at Bai Xiaochun.
There was nothing fierce about it. It was a cry of respectful greeting given to someone of the senior generation.
Bai Xiaochun smiled wryly, fully aware of what Bruiser was trying to say. Bopping Bruiser on the head, he sighed. Since Bruiser was his son, then these beasts… were his daughters-in-law and grandchildren.
Having reached this point in his train of thought, Bai Xiaochun patted his bag of holding to produce some Wildlands soul medicine to give out as a gift of greeting. After all, soul medicine could be used like spirit stones by soul cultivators, but could also be very effective for spirit beasts. Furthermore, it was very rare in the Heavenspan River region.
The spirit beasts were all very excited to receive soul medicine from Bai Xiaochun, and began to cry out in joy. Bruiser was obviously very happy, and looked exactly like someone from the senior generation who had been given a lot of face.
Seeing Bruiser so happy put a smile on Bai Xiaochun’s face, and he sighed.
“Yeah, I really am home….”