A Will Eternal

However, the Dark Concocters were tenacious to the core, and definitely not the type who would surrender easily. That was only to be expected from a people who had so thoroughly impressed the sovereign to whom the damaged fan once belonged.

Most other folk would have collapsed by this point. After all, the Dark Concocters had already suffered so many setbacks that it didn’t seem possible for it to get any worse.

First was the deluge of acid rain, then the violet lightning, both of which left the entire world riddled with pits and craters. It was so bad it seemed like the land might be wiped out of existence soon.

The mountain peaks were equally devastated, full of holes, and almost devoid of vegetation. The entire world had been severely damaged.

Furthermore, the medicinal mist which had begun to spread out now filled the mountains. It was like the final straw for the Dark Concocters, something that pushed them to the point of wishing they could die….

And that was not even to mention that pill furnaces continued to explode here and there, the noise and reverberations of which made it impossible for the imps to get any rest.

It was torment that most living beings would not be able to endure. And yet, despite that, and despite the moaning and groaning that could be heard constantly, the Dark Concocters endured!

For an entire month!

In the end, even Bai Xiaochun had to admit that he admired them. Although they were infuriating, each and every one had what it took to be a good apothecary.

“I should really show some respect to apothecaries like this.” Bai Xiaochun was fully convinced that he needed to use his remaining supplies to continue working, to continue researching new side-effects. Only by doing that could he show that he was a truly mighty apothecary.

And therefore… he sank deeper into his work, producing even more mystery pills and freakish side-effects. It was truly a thing of nightmares.

Three long months passed. By this time, the Dark Concocters wept on a daily basis. Some of them seemed to be gasping their last breaths, wracked by despair. During the months which had passed, they had used every trick in the book to try to negate the medicines assailing them, all to no avail. They were completely demoralized by the terrifying entity they were up against.

“We’re not afraid of dying. Nor are we afraid of our people being wiped out of existence. We’re not even afraid of humiliation. But being crushed by medicinal pills in this way leaves us stripped of our ideals, stripped of our passion in life! This is truly the worst of all possible nightmares!”

“He’s not human! He’s a pill devil! He’s a monster of medicinal pills!!”

“We thought early on that he had shown his truly terrifying nature. How could he possibly have only become more and more terrifying?!”

“Oh, heavens! How could a person like this even exist?!?!”

“Why did we Dark Concocters have to meet this person?!?!” For the first time since this world was created, the leaders of the various tribes all met together. They braved the terrifying toxic smoke and mist, somehow controlling their impulses to have a short meeting.

During the meeting, the leaders all reached an agreement. Originally, none of them had been willing to surrender, but now, they all agreed that the mystery pill devil had to be driven away!

All of the Dark Concocters agreed on this point. As soon as the news broke, all of the imps, even the ones who seemed to be on their last legs, began to shout out at the tops of their lungs.

“Make him leave!”

“We can’t afford to provoke him anymore. Get him out of here!”

“Make him leave! We’ll do anything!”

This world was part of the damaged fan, and had been created by a sovereign from the Immortal World. Furthermore, it had been forged using the Dao Essence of Life and Death, and therefore, as long as the Dark Concocters all agreed, then not even the spirit automaton could do anything to change the result.

As for that spirit automaton, he had reached a state of madness even earlier than the Dark Concocters, and that was just from watching things play out.

He finally realized that he had underestimated Bai Xiaochun. Not only was Bai Xiaochun just generally shameless, but he was especially shameless in his pill concocting. In all the years the spirit automaton had existed, this was definitely the most shameless entity he had ever come across.

The mere thought of how the Dark Concocters had surrendered was profoundly shocking to him.

“They… they were even praised by the sovereign for the way they would never surrender. But now, they’re actually… giving up!!” The boy was almost crying. He had originally planned to trap Bai Xiaochun in this level for 10,000 years or so, but now, in only a few days, the Dark Concocters had given in, and the world around them was almost completely destroyed….

Even as the boy looked on begrudgingly, the Dark Concocters came to an agreement, and Bai Xiaochun, who was completely immersed in concocting pills, suddenly began to dematerialize.

“I refuse to accept this!!” the spirit automaton said through gritted teeth, feelings of depression exploding into being inside of him. “How shameless of you, Bai Xiaochun, you despicable bastard! How could you possibly be named Bai Xiaochun? You… you sully that name! Your surname should be Hei! And your given name should be Dawu! Damn you, Hei Dawu! You just wait until the next time I wake up. I’ll destroy you! I’ll end you! I’ll eradicate you for all time!!” The boy’s face twisted with the ultimate level of madness and rage. [1]

Meanwhile, on the fan rib outside of the thirtieth level, Bai Xiaochun faded into being, a shocked look on his face.

“Huh? How did I get out?” Shaking his head in surprise, he quickly checked his bag of holding, and just as he had suspected, the pills he had successfully concocted during his time in the thirtieth level were nowhere to be seen.

“Well, I guess this means I passed the thirtieth level.” He couldn’t help but sigh. After all, the thirtieth level had been filled with people who had the same calling in life as himself. Being able to duel with them using medicine had been a real joy. He almost wished he hadn’t been teleported away.

“That was the perfect place to concoct pills. It’s an illusory world created by the will of the sovereign, in which I don’t have to bear any responsibility for the results of my pill concocting. That’s what I’ve always wanted…. Wait. Hold on. I should check to see if I can go back in.” He tried to do just that, but quickly found that there was a powerful force of expulsion pushing back at him that made it impossible for him to get inside.

Meanwhile, within that thirtieth level, the Dark Concocters looked up at the sky rippling, and began to tremble in fear. But soon, they realized that the mystery pill devil was unable to enter their world again. Sighs of relief could be heard, and many eyes brimmed with tears of excitement. Many of them even produced drums and gongs and began to celebrate loudly.

“Finally…. He’s finally gone. And he can’t get back in!”

“The heavens do have eyes! That crazy devil was the worst plague to ever hit us. We Dark Concocters are always honest and kind-hearted. We’re good people! Good people aren’t supposed to be subjected to bullying!”

“What a nightmare. I can’t even bear to think of what happened over the past few months. And I’ve also decided to stop concocting mystery pills. I swear it! From now, I’ll only concoct ordinary medicinal pills!!”

As the Dark Concocters rejoiced, Bai Xiaochun slumped dejectedly outside on the fan rib. After thinking about the matter for a while, he sighed.

“Ah, whatever. One day when I’m the true owner of the fan, I’ll go back to have another pill duel with them.” Sighing, he realized that he had been in the damaged fan for quite some time. Wondering what might have happened in the Eternal Lands during that time, he prepared to leave. However, it was in that very moment that he realized that out in the void beyond the damaged fan, something was moving in his direction. It was… an enormous palace!!

It was severely damaged, but still emanated a grandiose aura, as well as dazzling blue light!