A Will Eternal

by Srtyi

One will to create oceans. One will to summon the mulberry fields. One will to slaughter countless devils. One will to eradicate innumerable immortals. Only my will… is eternal. Translator: Deathblade

26. 804

Read A Will Eternal - Chapter 804: Ganging Up online free - Novel Full

Chapter 804: Ganging Up

The Grand Heavenmaster wore a grim expression, and was feeling very irritated. He was actually very angry at what Bai Xiaochun had done, and especially his timing; right at one of the most important moments of the Proclamation of Universal Grace.

Everything had been going well and according to plan. The important clans in the Arch-Emperor Dynasty were beginning to fall. But now… thanks to Bai Xiaochun, the aristocracy was now more united than ever!

Earlier in the meeting, they hadn't said it outright, but had clearly implied that if Bai Xiaochun didn't die, they would reject the Proclamation of Universal Grace!

Although the Grand Heavenmaster was the type who would normally agree to such a demand, the fact that Bai Xiaochun's two vicious plans had benefited him so much caused him to hesitate.

A moment passed, and then the Grand Heavenmaster said, "Bai Hao, I've called you here today to provide an explanation regarding the matter of Zhou Wudao. Please clarify the situation."

Obviously, he was giving Bai Xiaochun a chance to try to resolve the situation on his own, which would save himself a lot of effort and frustration.

"Grand Heavenmaster," Bai Xiaochun began, "your humble serv--"

Before he could get any farther than that, one of the heavenly marquises laughed coldly and then cast a murderous gaze at him. Stepping forward, the man clasped hands formally to the Grand Heavenmaster!

"There's no need for you to try to defend yourself, Bai Hao," he said. "The penalty for murder is death! It's a law of the heavens! Grand Heavenmaster, I would like to submit an official request to the court that Bai Hao be stripped of his title of inspections commissioner and executed on the spot. Only in this way can justice be served to Heavenly Marquis Zhou's spirit in the heavens!"

Bai Xiaochun glared at the man, and yet, before anything else could happen, another heavenly marquis stepped forward.

"I completely agree. Grand Heavenmaster, this Bai Hao acted without any official permission to kill one of the heavenly marquises of our grand imperial dynasty. It was a foolhardy and illegal act that should be punished by death!"

"Grand Heavenmaster, I would like to submit an official request to the court that Bai Hao be executed!"

"Grand Heavenmaster, I would also like to submit an official request to the court to have Bai Hao put to death immediately!!"

The heavenly marquises were acting like hornets whose nest had been disturbed. It only took a brief moment for eight of them to step forward with biting words, using the incident with Zhou Wudao to demand that Bai Xiaochun be put to death.

Bai Xiaochun's eyes were already starting to get tired from all the glaring, so eventually he looked away, and just waited for them to submit their requests. The entire time, his anger continued to burn hotter and hotter.

Gritting his teeth, he murmured to himself, "It seems that I didn't visit enough clans during my rescue of Hao'er. I should have gone to a few more!"

The Grand Heavenmaster sat there silently, and the wily old foxes who were the heavenly dukes didn't say anything. A moment passed, and some more heavenly marquises stepped forward to make requests. One of them was named Liu Yong.

"Grand Heavenmaster," he said, "according to my calculations, this Bai Hao has committed over 100 serious crimes. I would like to take this opportunity to recite that list in front of all the other government officials here today!"

Everyone gasped in response to his initial words. Heavenly Marquis Liu Yong was actually ranked in the middle of the heavenly marquises in terms of his cultivation base, roughly the same as Zhou Wudao. However, he was an outgoing person, and was actually very excited to be participating in this rare alliance of the aristocracy.

Therefore, he hoped to take advantage of this moment to make a big scene, and hopefully earn a bit of respect.

Even the heavenly dukes were paying attention to him now. As for the Grand Heavenmaster, he looked him over, both intrigued and shaken by the idea of hearing Liu Yong list all of the supposed 100 crimes.

Bai Xiaochun was startled, and couldn't hold back from gasping slightly. Looking over at Liu Yong, he noted that he seemed familiar. However, he couldn't place his face, and was very surprised to hear that he planned to list out 100 supposed crimes.

When Liu Yong saw that he was now the center of attention, his excitement grew, and he took a few steps forward.

"This Bai Hao killed members of his own clan," he began loudly, "and gravely breached social norms. This is the crime of clan rebellion!

"In Giant Ghost City, he was known as a wife-stealer who was completely devoid of conscience. This is the crime of aggravated robbery!

"He actually took the soulgrounds of the Cai Clan by force, and inflicted grave injuries in the process! This is the crime of larceny!

"He plundered the treasures of the Chen Clan, causing them to sustain grievous losses. This is the crime of burglary!"

Liu Yong talked at high speed and without stopping. His words filled Heavenmaster Hall, until everyone's eyes slowly began to glaze over.

As Bai Xiaochun listened, he began to pant, and to stare at Liu Yong with gritted teeth. Obviously, Liu Yong had done a lot of research in preparation for this moment, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to list off all of the crimes so quickly.

"In the Necromancer Kettle, he absorbed the life force of a whole host of chosen by means of an evil cultivation technique. This is the crime of taboo cultivation!

"Furthermore, after coming to Arch-Emperor City, he threw the Giant Ghost Legion into chaos, and set the entire place on fire. This is the crime of arson!"

The more excited Liu Yong got, the louder his voice grew. In fact, as he looked around and saw the other heavenly marquises and dukes looking on in complete silence, he became more confident, and spoke even louder.

"In his spirit enhancement shop, he charged exorbitant rates for soul medicine and spirit enhancements. This is the crime of price gouging!

"After becoming the inspections commissioner, he stuffed his own pockets by shaking down clans. This is the crime of embezzlement!"

As Liu Yong listed out crime after crime, time ticked by. Eventually, enough time had passed for an incense stick to burn, and yet, he still wasn't finished. Furthermore, instead of slowing down as he spoke, he actually began to speak faster and faster.

Everyone was shaken, and Bai Xiaochun was completely stunned. In fact, he even began to admire Liu Yong a bit….

A strange expression could be seen on the Grand Heavenmaster's face, and he had to admit that Heavenly Marquis Liu's ability to dig up information and compile it was completely beyond ordinary.

"…. This is the crime of dereliction of duty!"

"…. This is the crime of abuse of power!"

"…. This is the crime of accepting bribes!"

"And finally, he slaughtered an innocent heavenly marquis, in the most brutal fashion imaginable. This is the crime of murder!!"

Another incense stick's worth of time had passed, and Liu Yong was finally finished. After catching his breath, he looked around proudly, then clasped hands to the Grand Heavenmaster.

"Grand Heavenmaster, this concludes my report. Bai Hao is the amalgamation of all types of evil. Any one of those hundred crimes could be punished by death with a thousand cuts. Therefore, I would like to submit an official request to the court that this supervillain Bai Hao be executed on the spot! Let him be hacked into a million pieces to serve as a warning to any who would follow in his vile footsteps!!"

Everyone was completely and utterly shaken. For many, a new world had just been opened up, and they felt like they were coming to know Liu Yong for the first time. A moment passed, whereupon more people began to step forward and clasp hands toward the Grand Heavenmaster.

"I second the motion!"

"I also submit the same request to the court!"

"The 100 crimes listed by Heavenly Marquis Liu are damning evidence! I also second the motion!"

It wasn't just one or two people; dozens of heavenly marquises all stepped forward to say similar things. As of this point, more than half of the heavenly marquises had joined in the effort.

As for everyone else, they exchanged glances, then clasped hands and, in unison, said, "We second the motion! Execute Bai Hao!"

Their voices were like a sound wave that crashed back and forth in all directions. Bai Xiaochun looked around at the group, and especially at Liu Yong, and suddenly felt fear rising up inside of him.

"Can this guy shapeshift into a rat or something? I can't believe he scurried around and dragged up all of that information about me!!" Bai Xiaochun immediately decided that he would not forget this Liu Yong, and would be sure to teach him a good lesson.

The Grand Heavenmaster frowned. The entire aristocracy was united in opposition to a single person. Before, he might have been able to think of a way to resolve the situation. After all, Bai Xiaochun was now completely and utterly isolated, which meant that if the Grand Heavenmaster managed to save him, he would earn eternal loyalty.

But right now, the Proclamation of Universal Grace was the most important thing to consider. If the dynasty truly became unstable, it would have a big effect on the Grand Heavenmaster. Only by having an unassailable position of reason could he save Bai Xiaochun. Even if Bai Xiaochun was his adopted son, it would still be difficult to defend him.

Inwardly, he was sighing, and was also cursing Bai Xiaochun for getting himself into this situation. Furthermore, he began to hesitate and waver about what to do.

And yet, things still weren't over. After the heavenly marquises finished speaking, Chen Haosong's eyes glittered at the sight of the Grand Heavenmaster hesitating. Stepping forward, he clasped hands formally.

"I was a bit stunned to hear what Heavenly Marquis Liu just had to say. Our Arch-Emperor Dynasty has lasted for many generations, and in any generation, a person who committed 100 serious crimes would definitely suffer the penalty of clan extermination. Therefore, I would also like to submit an official request to the court that Bai Hao be killed!"

The bearded heavenly duke, as well as the other eight, also stepped forward and clasped hands. Although none of them said anything, their actions alone spoke to their stance.

The Grand Heavenmaster's eyes flickered, and the hesitation vanished. Just as he was prepared to state his decision… Bai Xiaochun's voice rang out!

"Is your little show over now? It's my turn!"

He didn't seem anxious or nervous at all because of what he had seen, and in fact, a cold smile could be seen on his face.

Note from Er Gen: Ahem, this chapter has a secret in it….

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Chapter 805: Conjuring Flame In The Hall!

Bai Xiaochun's words had the same effect as a cup of water thrown into a vat of boiling-hot oil. The heavenly marquises all exploded in rage.

"What incredible gall you have, Bai Hao!"

"You committed 100 crimes! How dare you act so impudently here in Heavenmaster Hall!!"

Liu Yong's eyes shone especially brightly. Apparently thinking he had Bai Xiaochun in a no-win situation, he pointed at him and yelled, "You have no respect for elders and superiors, Bai Hao! In this hallowed place, you go so far as to reduce our righteous indignation to nothing more than a show? These are the crimes of defaming royalty, of weaving lies, and of outright slander! As of this moment, you have committed, not 100 crimes, but 103!"

Everyone else in the hall seemed enlivened by what they were hearing, and as far as they were concerned, Liu Yong was like an immortal god in their little alliance.

Everyone began to join in the shouting and clamoring.

Smiling coldly, Bai Xiaochun ignored the enraged heavenly marquises, and turned to clasp hands and bow to the Grand Heavenmaster.

"Grand Heavenmaster, I have something I'd like to give you!"

Everyone else in the hall began to chuckle coldly, and most of them were thinking the same thing: "What, is he going to pull out proof that Zhou Wudao was a traitor or something? Even if he did, he still couldn't avoid the death penalty!"

After all, Bai Xiaochun was not the one who would be making the decision about what happened!

The Grand Heavenmaster's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at Bai Xiaochun. He had been watching him this entire time, and had noticed that, while he did seem nervous, there was no despair in his eyes. That went contrary to what the Grand Heavenmaster would have expected, so therefore, he nodded, curious about what Bai Xiaochun planned to give him.

Having acquired permission from the Grand Heavenmaster, Bai Xiaochun slapped his bag of holding to produce a portion of soul medicine. It was bright and colorful, dazzling to say the least, with the light it cast instantly filling all of Heavenmaster Hall. It almost looked like a precious gem, a gem that emanated soul power fluctuations of the ultimate level!

This was none other than… a portion of supreme-grade soul medicine… which required the watershed ingredient of eighteen-colored flame to produce!!

Upon seeing the soul medicine, the Grand Heavenmaster's eyes began to shine brightly. And he wasn't the only one to react in such a way. Chen Haosong and the other heavenly dukes all looked shocked, and the heavenly marquises' eyes went wide.

The heavenly marquises immediately began to shout out loud in surprise and shock.

"Supreme-grade soul medicine!!"

"You need eighteen-colored flame to concoct that…. It's supreme-grade soul medicine!!"

"Supreme-grade soul medicine can also be called earthly soul medicine. Even a single portion of it can be considered extremely rare! And yet this Bai Hao actually has one…."

Almost immediately, though, they began to wonder the same thing. "What does that portion of earthly soul medicine have to do with the death of Zhou Wudao?"

At this point, Liu Yong spoke out loud, a cold expression on his face. "Offering a portion of soul medicine isn't enough to wipe out more than 100 grave crimes! What are you trying to say, Bai Hao?! Don't tell me you're going to say that you concocted it!?"

In response to his words, the faces of many of the heavenly marquises began to flicker. Then, all sorts of expressions of shock and astonishment could be heard within Heavenmaster Hall, along with expressions of anger.

"He did make a very faint eighteen-colored flame before…."

"Impossible! Earthly necromancers don't just show up out of nowhere!"

"Don't even think of trying to pull a fast one, Bai Hao. Do you think that pulling out a portion of soul medicine will make you an earthly necromancer or something?! Completely preposterous!"

At this point, Bai Xiaochun threw caution to the wind and shouted, "All of you shut the hell up!"

His sudden outburst caused many people to look at him in shock.

Obviously, his plan was not to use the soul medicine itself to try to convince people that he was an earthly necromancer. He actually wanted them to question him and accuse him. That way, when it came time to slap them with the truth, it would be even more thrilling.

His secret weapon was none other than his status as an earthly necromancer!

Since these people were trying to use the laws of the Arch-Emperor Dynasty against him, then he would pull the rug right out from under them, and strike back with those very laws!! In the current age, there were only three earthly necromancers in the entire Arch-Emperor Dynasty. In fact, even in the distant past, around the time when the dynasty had just been transplanted into the Wildlands, there had only been five.

It was easy to imagine the status that earthly necromancers occupied, and it went without saying that in the codified laws of the Arch-Emperor Dynasty, earthly necromancers… had the power to do anything they wanted, as long as they didn't betray the dynasty itself!

This was the power that Bai Xiaochun had to rely on, the authority of an earthly necromancer!

"Since you people don't believe that I made this portion of soul medicine, then on this day, right here in Heavenmaster Hall, in the presence of everyone here, I… will conjure an eighteen-colored flame!!" He accompanied his words with the proud flick of a sleeve, and he also bolstered his words with his cultivation base. As a result, the clamoring heavenly marquises were instantly silenced.

The Grand Heavenmaster's eyes began to sparkle brightly. As for the ten heavenly dukes, and especially Chen Haosong, their breaths caught in their throats. Obviously, they found it hard to believe that this Bai Xiaochun could actually be an earthly necromancer.

"A cornered beast will still fight," Chen Haosong said with narrowed eyes. "You're bluffing!"

The other heavenly dukes quickly began to suspect that Chen Haosong was right. As for the heavenly marquises, despite being shaken, they gritted their teeth and began to speak out in anger.

"That's a big claim, Bai Hao. If you can concoct an eighteen-colored flame, then I, Zhao Xionglin, will drop to my knees and kowtow to you!"

"That's right. Struggle on your deathbed if you wish. Becoming an earthly necromancer isn't a simple thing!"

"You overestimate yourself!"

They were all completely confident that this was the end of the line for Bai Xiaochun.

Bai Xiaochun smiled coldly as he looked the group over, his gaze lingering on Zhao Xionglin. Then he ignored them, slapping his bag of holding to produce ten tongues of seventeen-colored flame!

These seventeen tongues of flame had been acquired by Zhou Yixing, with the help of many of the bastard children in the city, while Bai Xiaochun had been looking for Bai Hao.

Actually, this was only a portion of the stockpile he had. In order to be fully confident in his secret weapon, he had put together three full sets of the ingredients necessary to conjure eighteen-colored flame. That way, he could be confident in success even if some mishap occurred. Right now, it was without the slightest hesitation that he sent all ten of the seventeen-colored flames flying out. He also made sure to send the flames perilously close to Zhao Xionglin, Liu Yong, and some of the others who had been particularly vocal against him.

Everyone backed up, even the heavenly dukes. Only the Grand Heavenmaster remained in place, and in fact, he actually leaned forward, his eyes sparkling.

"If he actually conjures an eighteen-colored flame," he thought, "and becomes an earthly necromancer… then this so-called tribulation facing him will be completely nullified!" The Grand Heavenmaster's eyes narrowed as he paid close attention.

Bai Xiaochun knew that it was a critical moment, and was also confident that no one would dare to interrupt him. After all, this was Heavenmaster Hall, and he was attempting to rise to the rank of earthly necromancer.

"You just watch how I cause all your jaws to drop. I'll strike you mute with shock! Maybe your eyes will even pop out of your skulls!" At the moment, he was filled with intense, seething anticipation.

After all, he really liked being the center of attention like this….

At the same time, he knew that although he couldn't afford to make any mistakes, he was actually in a fairly safe position at the moment.

Therefore, he tuned out everything except for the flame. Performing a double-handed incantation gesture, he looked at the flames, and then pushed his hands down.

Instantly, the tongues of seventeen-colored flame began to merge together. Bai Xiaochun couldn't have been more focused. Enough time passed for an incense stick to burn, during which time the ten tongues of seventeen-colored flame turned into a seventeen-colored sea of fire!

At the moment, his expression was utterly serious as he performed more double-handed incantation gestures, causing his cultivation base power to erupt out. He was moving on to the next step of the process… compressing the flame!

RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!

Intense rumbling sounds filled Heavenmaster Hall as the majestic seventeen-colored sea of fire caused everyone who looked at it to be filled with shock. And yet, none of them were yet ready to believe that Bai Xiaochun really would become an earthly necromancer!

In fact, they couldn't afford to believe it!

However, what happened next caused many unsightly expressions to appear on the faces of those present, especially Zhao Xionglin and Liu Yong. Gasps and curses alike filled the air.

Such curses did little good. After all, Bai Xiaochun had already succeeded once at this. Perhaps it was because of that, or perhaps because he knew his life was on the line, but either way, his conjuring efforts were going much more smoothly than last time.

Rumbling sounds filled the air as the sea of fire was compressed to a size of 90 meters. And it kept shrinking.

84 meters. 78 meters. 72 meters!!

Even as everyone looked on with various suspicions and doubts, the sea of fire reached a size of 60 meters!!

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Chapter 806: Shaking The Dukes And Marquises!

As the sea of fire was compressed, it writhed madly. But Bai Xiaochun's hands contained the power to seal and suppress anything in existence, so even had the fire reacted more violently, he would still have been able to control it.

The rumbling sounds continued as the sea of fire shrank down to 51 meters. Then it continued on… 45 meters. 39 meters…. Howling, Bai Xiaochun pushed it down smaller and smaller. The sea of fire continued to react with explosive violence, but at this moment, Bai Xiaochun was a sovereign of flame. Under his control, the power of the fire didn't erupt outward, but was re-focused inward to continue the compression.

In the shortest of moments, it shrank from 39 meters… to 24 meters!!

Within moments, it would surely be at 15 meters!!

As it shrank down… the flickering beginnings of an eighteenth color could be seen!

Everyone in Heavenmaster Hall waited with bated breath to see what would happen. Although the heavenly marquises couldn't necessarily see what was happening within the fire, the heavenly dukes and the Grand Heavenmaster absolutely could….

It was hard to say who did it first, but hisses of amazement could soon be heard.

When the heavenly marquises heard such sounds, they were taken aback and looked over at the heavenly dukes. Soon, they realized that the ten heavenly dukes all wore expressions of unprecedented solemnity. It was even true of Chen Haosong, whose hands were clenched so tightly into fists… that blue veins bulged out on the backs of his hands!

The heavenly marquises' eyes went wide, and yet, before they could even wrap their minds around what it all meant, Bai Xiaochun let out a shout at the top of his lungs.

"Compress!" His eyes were completely bloodshot as the power of his cultivation base erupted, sent out through both of his hands as he pushed the flame down again, compressing it to a size of… 15 meters!!

15 meters was a line of demarcation. After this point, as long as he found the new color and latched onto it with his divine sense, then the eighteenth color would appear in full, and an eighteen-colored flame would appear!

At the moment, it was possible to see that eighteenth color flickering within the 15-meter sea of fire. By now, everyone could see that unimaginable and indescribable new color….

Although it would only appear for the briefest of moments, it was enough for the heavenly marquises to realize what was happening, and it caused their minds to reel.

"This… this…."

"It's not going to work. He has to fail!"

"He absolutely must fail!!" The heavenly marquises were starting to get very nervous. Today was the first time they had all joined forces and worked together, and yet something was happening that surpassed anything they could have ever imagined. Although not all of them lost control, many of them couldn't hold back from shouting in alarm.

At some point, Hei Ming had come to stand nearby the Grand Heavenmaster. When he heard everyone talking, he waved his hand swiftly through the air, causing the babbling heavenly marquises to shiver and bite their tongues.

The Grand Heavenmaster looked over at Hei Ming, but didn't say anything. A moment later, his gaze was back on Bai Xiaochun, the strange light in his eyes growing stronger by the moment. As for the ten heavenly dukes, they could hardly breathe as they waited to see how things would turn out.

As everyone looked on with rapt attention, Bai Xiaochun sweated profusely and stared deep into the 15-meter sea of fire. After a few breaths of time passed and he failed in his attempts to grab the eighteenth color, he decided that there was no need to waste time. Without any hesitation, he braced himself, and then shrank the sea of fire down again!

Without any stopping, it compressed to a size of… 9 meters!!

The 9-meter sea of fire struggled with violent force, causing intense and shocking rumbling sounds to echo out. The flickering of the flames was slowing down, making it possible for people to see it more clearly. As for Bai Xiaochun, his eyes shone with joy as he sent his divine sense shooting into the fire!

In the blink of an eye, his divine sense was all the way inside the flame, where it latched onto… the eighteenth color!!

An ear-splitting noise rang out, causing everything to shake. The eighteenth color had seemed weak moments before, but as soon as Bai Xiaochun's divine sense entered it, it exploded with dazzling light. It was as if that color had desired to rise to prominence no matter what the other seventeen colors thought!!

It was almost like fireworks. Bai Xiaochun threw his head back and laughed uproariously as the eighteenth color grew strong and stable within the 9-meter sea of fire, shining with dazzling intensity alongside the other seventeen colors!!

Also in that same moment, in the sky above Heavenmaster Hall, the clouds began to swirl as numerous bolts of lightning began to slash back and forth.

Thunder boomed, shaking all of the imperial palace. Even the golden dragon high in the clouds was shocked, and flew some distance away.

The booming thunder also reached Heavenmaster Hall. And yet, nobody paid any attention to it at all. They might as well have been deaf. Everyone was filled with waves of shock, completely ignoring everything in the outside world as they focused fully on Bai Xiaochun.

Bai Xiaochun was feeling quite excited. Even he had never thought that everything would go so smoothly. And because he didn't use his mask to cover up the effects, everything turned out vastly more shocking than anyone could have imagined. And that was exactly what he wanted!

Struggling to control his breathing, he flashed a double-handed incantation gesture, causing the eighteen-colored sea of fire to slowly stabilize. Laughing heartily, he reached out toward the 9-meter sea of fire and made a grasping motion.

"Form!!" he said. The sea of fire rushed down into his hand, and the thunder outside Heavenmaster Hall grew more intense. As for everyone inside the hall, they had seemingly lost the ability to even think, and they stared wordlessly as Bai Xiaochun… collected up the sea of fire!

It started out at 9 meters, and swirled around and around until it was 6 meters. 3 meters. 2 meters. 1 meters. Half a meter….

Shouting at the top of his lungs, Bai Xiaochun then slowly closed his fingers around the sea of fire!

"Time for eighteen-colored flame!!" he shouted, his voice surpassing the heavenly thunder to shake the entire hall. At the same time, the fire disappeared within his fist!!

The moment that his fingers closed around the fire was one of profound anxiety for everyone inside Heavenmaster Hall. It was almost as if what he held in his hand was not fire, but rather… the hearts of the 89 heavenly marquises, the 10 heavenly dukes, and even the Grand Heavenmaster!!

All eyes were fixed on his hand, and not a single voice could be heard. The grand hall was completely silent except for the rumble of the heavenly thunder. It was almost as if it existed outside of the passage of time….

Bai Xiaochun thrummed with excitement and nervousness, and his bloodshot eyes were alive with joy.

That was especially true when he noticed how everyone was staring at his right hand. He could see the serious look in the eyes of Chen Haosong and the dukes, and the nervousness of Zhao Xionglin and the other marquises. The pride Bai Xiaochun felt in this moment simply couldn't be described with words.

He took a deep breath, and under the watchful eyes of all of the surrounding aristocrats, he very, very slowly began to open his fingers…. However, even that tiny motion revealed some of the flame inside, and it provoked sharp gasps.

Bai Xiaochun could not have been more pleased with the sound. Heart swelling, he continued to move with utmost slowness as he opened his fingers, revealing more and more of the flame, and causing even more gasps to ring out.

Although he was hoping for more gasps, he could only move his fingers so slowly. Eventually… the full flame was revealed, floating above his palm!

Raising his voice, he said, "Would anyone like to tell me… how many colors you see in this flame?!?!"

The words were spoken in an overbearing and domineering tone, the type that brooked no disrespect, and was filled with incredible arrogance!

The flame in his hand was visible for everyone to see, clear and there for all to behold!!

Within his pupils, vivid and clear and beautiful, was the reflection of an eighteen-colored flame!

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Chapter 807: Earthly Soul Flame Tribulation

The entire hall was as silent as death…. Bai Xiaochun's words, plus the scintillating eighteen-colored flame, caused all hearts to pound with indescribable levels of shock. The heavenly dukes and marquises were so stunned that they felt like their minds were being struck by 100,000 bolts of lightning!

In fact, it was almost as if everyone present had been slapped in the face by a gigantic hand!!

It didn't take long for the silence to be broken by exclamations of shock.

"Impossible. This… this is impossible!!"

"Eighteen…. eighteen-colored flame…."

"He's an earthly necromancer!!"

"The heavens have no eyes! There's no way that this is really happening!!"

The first voice to ring out in the hall was like an ice cube thrown into a vat of boiling oil. Almost immediately, a cacophony of shouting filled the hall. The heavenly marquises' faces were all as ashen as death, their expressions those of utter disbelief!

"This isn't real!!"

"Dammit, dammit, DAMMIT! I can't believe he's actually an earthly necromancer!!"

"How could this be happening?! He was backed into a corner, faced with deadly calamity, and yet managed to come out on top!?!?!? Where hath gone the laws of the heavens? Where hath gone the truths of the great Dao!?!?"

The heavenly marquises felt as though their psyches had been battered by entire mountain ranges, and some of them even collapsed mentally.

It wasn't that they lacked willpower, or that they were completely brainless. It was merely the fact that Bai Xiaochun had done something completely unexpected and heaven-defying. The decisive and dazzling way he had completely turned the situation around was something that they fundamentally couldn't accept!

A moment ago, they had all been absolutely, positively confident that Bai Xiaochun would end up dead. Then, a moment later, that supreme confidence had been crushed into absolutely nothing!

This was especially true of Zhao Xionglin, who was trembling and twitching, his eyes so bloodshot they were crimson. He looked crazed, possessed, as though the disbelief in his heart was so intense that he literally couldn't believe what Bai Xiaochun had just done.

Then, in a rare moment of intelligence, he shouted, "You were always an earthly necromancer, Bai Hao!! You did this on purpose!! You knew before you killed Zhou Wudao that you could conjure eighteen-colored flame. That's why you were so confident. You did it all on purpose! Dammit! You conned all of us!!"

Liu Yong was equally unwilling to accept the situation.

"Shameless! Despicable!!" he shouted. Of course, fear had already come to grip his heart. In his attempt to earn a bit of glory for himself, he had been the one to offend Bai Xiaochun more than anyone else.

Although not all of the heavenly marquises were completely bowled over, most were. As they shouted, Bai Xiaochun stood there, proud and aloof, looking around with pride as everyone experienced a mental breakdown. Then he thought about how much difficulty they had brought him, and how they had done everything possible to get him killed, and he felt more and more pleased.

"Now you people know what it really means to be slapped silly, don't you?!" he said with a thunderous harrumph. "Think you can fight with me?!?! Think you can casually say that my eighteen-colored flame is a counterfeit?! All of you fools can just shut the hell up!" His voice echoed like thunder into the area, causing all of the heavenly marquises who had been shouting and yelling to suddenly close their mouths.

"With the snap of a finger, I, Bai Xiaochun could reduce all of you to ashes!" Of course, that was what he said in his heart, although he emphasized the unspoken words with the flick of a sleeve.

He was feeling so pleased that it caused his skin to tingle. He was now free and uninhibited in a way that he had never been before, not even in the Heavenspan River region.

With such thoughts on his mind, he threw his head back and laughed uproariously. It was laughter that acted like needles stabbing into the hearts of everyone present, leaving them feeling so mocked that they almost couldn't handle it.

And yet, Bai Xiaochun didn't care how maddened they felt. He wanted them to feel that way…. In fact, he felt like he should actually be even more pleased than he already was. Continuing to laugh, he suddenly pointed at Zhao Xionglin.

"Heavenly Marquis Zhao, what did you say you would do if I conjured an eighteen-colored flame!?!? Come come. Get over here, drop to your knees, and kowtow!"

By this point, Zhao Xionglin's face was a dark reddish-purple, and he was gritting his teeth so hard they were about to shatter. At this point, he wished that there were cracks in the ground that he could simply squeeze down into and disappear.

The heavenly marquises weren't the only ones to be driven into madness by the eighteen-colored flame. Chen Haosong and the other heavenly dukes were panting in shock. In fact, there were even some who were looking at Bai Xiaochun with expressions of admiration!!

Although they had their differences with him, as of this moment, they simply couldn't help but feel some reverence for what he had done!

Even they had assumed that there was no way for Bai Xiaochun to get out of the situation alive, and yet he had, and in shocking fashion! Now he had earned the respect that they would only give to someone more powerful than themselves.

In fact, to them, it didn't matter if it was true that Bai Xiaochun could already conjure eighteen-colored flame before everything happened. In fact, that just went to show how terrifying he really was!

Not all of the heavenly dukes felt that way. Some had very grim expressions, especially the bearded duke and Chen Haosong, who could do nothing but grit his teeth and refrain from speaking.

The frustration he felt was driving him mad. He was a powerful expert in the great circle of the Deva Realm. He was a heavenly duke in the Arch-Emperor Dynasty, one of the highest positions possible. And yet, he had been thwarted over and over again by Bai Xiaochun, and then in the moment in which he was sure he would end up dead, this happened. One could only imagine how defeated he felt.

"I can't believe that this kid beat me!!" he thought bitterly. By now, he knew that it would not be possible to make a move against Bai Xiaochun casually. All he had done was kill a heavenly marquis. Most people would have to pay a heavy price for such an act, but not an earthly necromancer…… Although he would face some type of punishment, he would definitely not lose his life!

To be an earthly necromancer meant that he had a dazzling level of protection that no one could do anything about!

In fact, not even the Grand Heavenmaster would be able to kill Bai Xiaochun, not unless he did it secretly. If he did, the common people in the Arch-Emperor Dynasty would all revolt violently!!

After all, in the Arch-Emperor Dynasty, earthly necromancers were like rare and valuable gems!

At the moment, there were only three other earthly necromancers in the Wildlands. They were divine dragons who could only occasionally be glimpsed from afar, wanderers who constantly strove to break through to the next level of necromancy. They were legends! They were all focused solely on doing that which had never been accomplished after Arch-Emperor City moved out into its current location: break through to the heavenly necromancer rank!!

When an earthly necromancer appeared, the heavenly dukes would treat that person with incredible respect and courtesy, and so would the Grand Heavenmaster. Anyone who dared to kill an earthly necromancer would be messing with the very foundation of the Wildlands!

Such thoughts were now running through the minds of the heavenly marquises and dukes, as well as the Grand Heavenmaster. The Grand Heavenmaster was looking at Bai Xiaochun, thinking about the two great services he had performed in the past, and feeling profoundly moved and grateful.

"Completely stunning!!" he murmured inwardly.

Bai Xiaochun was feeling very, very pleased. This was his most glorious moment so far in the Wildlands, and in fact, he was just preparing to do some more things to aggravate the crowd, when suddenly, a deafening boom rang out!

It was so loud that it shook the entire imperial palace, and was so shocking that everyone inside Heavenmaster Hall looked up, their gazes piercing through the ceiling to observe the sky overhead.

What they saw caused everyone's faces to fall!

As for Bai Xiaochun, he could immediately sense that something extremely dramatic was occurring in the sky over the imperial palace!!

"Lightning tribulation!" someone cried out.

"It's… Earthly Soul Flame Tribulation!"

"Hey, wait a second. Bai Hao isn't actually an earthly necromancer yet! You can only be an earthly necromancer after you transcend Earthly Soul Flame Tribulation!!"

"Hahaha! We still have a chance!!" Before long, Zhao Xionglin and many of the heavenly marquises were shouting aloud in joy.

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Chapter 808: If Youve Got What It Takes, Bring It On!

When Bai Xiaochun heard what people were saying, he angrily yelled, "Like hell you have a chance!"

He made sure to memorize the faces of all of the heavenly marquises who looked excited, and then took a moment to glare angrily at Zhao Xionglin.

Considering how vile Zhao Xionglin was, he immediately decided that from now on, he would make him kowtow every time he saw him!

However, now was not the time to be overly worried about Zhao Xionglin. Up in the sky, the clouds had vanished, to be replaced by countless lightning bolts!

They looked like tens upon tens of thousands of angry serpents, filling the sky with deafening thunder.

The sky now looked like a sea of lightning, covering Arch-Emperor City in a fashion that attracted the attention of everyone in the city.

"What's going on?!?!"

"Heavens! What is that!"

"How come… how come that looks like… like the legendary…."

An aged necromancer in the city suddenly began to tremble violently, and then cried out in disbelief and agitation: "Earthly Soul Flame Tribulation!!!!"

The city was instantly gripped by a huge uproar. The eyes of all necromancers began to burn with passion and excitement as they looked up at the forming soul flame tribulation.

"Heavens, that really is Earthly Soul Flame Tribulation!! The only time soul flame tribulation will show up is when someone forms an eighteen-colored flame for the first time, and becomes an earthly necromancer!!"

"Whoever passes a tribulation like that will then be able to conjure eighteen-colored flames without ever provoking tribulation again!"

"Who is it…? Which grandmaster… is stepping into the earthly rank!?!"

"It's going to happen! It has to happen! And then… our Arch-Emperor Dynasty will have a fourth earthly necromancer!"

The uproar created something like a sound wave that filled the entire city. And soon, word also began to spread to the rest of the Wildlands, leading to similar scenes elsewhere.

When Sun Yifan and Sima Tao heard about it, they both rushed outside and headed toward the nearest teleportation portals. They were actually more excited than anyone else.

"It's definitely Grandmaster Bai!!"

"It must be him!!"

Throughout the Wildlands, all of the celestial necromancers were rushing crazily toward teleportation portals to go to Arch-Emperor City. It was almost as if some great pilgrimage were beginning.

Being able to personally witness Earthly Soul Flame Tribulation would be of great benefit to them!

As the Wildlands was being shaken, a serious look overtook Bai Xiaochun's face. Although he had been aware that conjuring eighteen-colored flame would provoke lightning tribulation, he hadn't ever guessed… that it would be so monumentally shocking.

"If I really fail at this tribulation… then I'm finished for sure!" That thought instantly caused his heart to tremble with anxiety.

As for everyone else in the hall who had just witnessed the spectacular turn of events, they had now reverted from a state of despair to a state of hope.

Without the slightest hesitation, Bai Xiaochun pulled out a Heavencleaving Good Fortune Pill and popped it into his mouth, pushing his cultivation base to its peak. "I refuse to believe that a trifling soul flame tribulation can hurt me now that I can conjure eighteen-colored flame!"

He was confident, the reason being, not himself, but… the fact that he was in Heavenmaster Hall!

The heavenly tribulation provoked by eighteen-colored flame was the type that could shake heaven and earth. A few rare celestial necromancers like the Miao Clan patriarch would have ancestral legacies that they could use to deal with such tribulation. But most other celestial necromancers would attempt to conjure their first eighteen-colored flame in a secluded meditation facility, with spell formations and trusted associates nearby to help them stay safe.

To a necromancer who planned to conjure eighteen-colored flame, it would be an easy matter to get trusted people to help. After all, many powerful experts would be willing to do so as a way to build up good will.

From the time the Arch-Emperor Dynasty had moved locations, down to the modern day, none of the various necromancers who had reached the earthly rank had faced tribulation in the way that Bai Xiaochun was doing!

He was actually using Heavenmaster Hall as his primary defense!

Even as he looked up at the sea of lightning which filled the sky above Arch-Emperor City, it began to pulse, and then slowly shrink.

As it shrank, the snake-like bolts of lightning formed together, gradually creating one enormous lightning bolt as thick as a bucket! Then, that lightning bolt descended toward Heavenmaster Hall!

This… was the true Earthly Soul Flame Tribulation!

The massive lightning bolt thrummed with shocking power, and when it slammed into Heavenmaster Hall, the entire thing trembled, and then glowed with a spectacular, multi-colored light.

That light was a powerful defensive mechanism which fought back against the heavenly lightning!

Heavenmaster Hall wasn't damaged at all, and as for the heavenly lightning, it transformed into countless silver sparks, every single one of which faded away.

Bai Xiaochun blinked a few times and then looked over at the Grand Heavenmaster, who sat on his throne with a slight smile on his face. All of the surrounding heavenly marquises had looks of blank shock on their faces, especially Zhao Xionglin, who looked as pale as a sheet…. All of them were cursing, but only in their heads; none of them dared to say a single word.

"Morons!" Chen Haosong murmured to himself. It didn't take much thinking to realize the reality of the situation. The Grand Heavenmaster would obviously be delighted to have another earthly necromancer in the Wildlands, and would naturally support that person.

And such support would be of monumental importance in a moment of crisis like this!

Bai Xiaochun also understood that, and was deeply moved. Turning to the Grand Heavenmaster, he clasped hands and bowed. By now, the pride and joy he had felt earlier were gone. The things which had occurred with Bai Hao had caused him to grow up a bit. He also knew that he was now very important to the Grand Heavenmaster!

However, just when everyone assumed that the heavenly tribulation was over, the lightning up above seethed and began to grow more intense.

Then it shrank down again, so much so that, instead of covering all of Arch-Emperor City, it only covered the imperial palace.

Everyone's breath stuck in their chest. It was already obvious that the newly forming lightning bolt would vastly surpass the original one. Intense rumbling sounds could be heard as countless lightning bolts merged together into something like a ball!

As the ball of lightning formed, and the various bolts merged together… they turned black!

A power similar to the early Deva Realm began to weigh down from the black heavenly lightning, growing stronger and stronger until it was equivalent to the great circle!

Everyone in Arch-Emperor City who could see it gasped in shock.

"This Earthly Soul Flame Tribulation seems different from the way it's described in the records…."

"Heavens, how did past earthly necromancers deal with tribulation like this!?!?"

Bai Xiaochun was stunned, but didn't worry about it too much. With Heavenmaster Hall to protect him, he assumed he would be fine. Of course, he didn't drop his guard, and in fact, rotated his cultivation base madly as the lightning bolt began to fall.

As the black lightning approached, the light surrounding Heavenmaster Hall didn't just act as a shield. It actually exploded out to attack the incoming heavenly lightning.

When the two met, a deafening explosion filled all of Arch-Emperor City!

Heavenmaster Hall's shield twisted and distorted, and was even shoved downward significantly. However, the heavenly lightning clearly suffered a massive backlash, and soon shattered into countless sparks of electricity that showered down onto the imperial palace….

At this point, the sea of lightning began to show signs that it would soon disperse, so Bai Xiaochun decided that it was the perfect opportunity to show off a bit. Looking up with pride, he pointed at the sky and shouted, "Hey! If you've got what it takes, bring it on!"

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Chapter 809: Were Both Fellow Masters

In the instant that Bai Xiaochun's words left his mouth, the sea of lightning up above suddenly emitted intense rumbling sounds, and then began to rotate at high speed.

At the same time, it started shrinking down. Furthermore, something like a black hole appeared right in the middle of it!

The black hole almost resembled an eye, which was staring down at Bai Xiaochun there in Heavenmaster Hall.

At that point, the fluctuations emanating out went beyond that of the great circle of the Deva Realm!

Clearly, the lightning really was going to bring it on!!

Even the Grand Heavenmaster had a very serious look on his face as he sat there on his throne, frowning slightly.

As for Bai Xiaochun, he looked up at the shrinking lightning, and the black hole, and his heart began to pound with fear.

"Me and my big mouth…. Oh God, I… I didn't do it on purpose. Please, don't bring it on. Don't bring anything on at all…."

He had no idea how previous earthly necromancers had successfully fought back against tribulation lightning like this. As of this moment, he realized that the first bolt was simple, and the second was the type that he could probably defend himself against if he held nothing back. However, the process would have left him very weakened, to the point where the third lightning bolt… would be impossible to fight back against. Even a deva would be struck chill in the heart by the sight of it.

"I screwed up… I really screwed up…." As of this moment, he realized that he really shouldn't have gone and taunted God. It was really too dangerous…. All of a sudden, he thought back to that time in the Spirit Stream Sect when he had been flying along on a sword and been struck by lightning. [1] [2]

Everyone else in the hall was gasping, and had strange expressions on their faces. As far as they were concerned, Bai Xiaochun really did have a big mouth. Just when the tribulation was about to vanish, he actually invited it to strike again.

Many of the heavenly marquises were feeling quite pleased. However, Chen Haosong and the heavenly dukes were shaken, even more so than when Bai Xiaochun had initially conjured the eighteen-colored flame.

"How is this even possible!?!?"

"He says one thing… and the heavenly tribulation came back for him? What… what kind of heavenly tribulation is this? It's like it's playing games!?!!"

"This Bai Hao… has some other secrets. Incredible, unfathomable secrets! Something strange is going on…."

Even as the heavenly dukes pondered the matter, the sea of lightning up above shrank down into the black hole area. Then, to Bai Xiaochun's shock and terror… a violet-gold lightning bolt appeared!

It wasn't as large as the other two lightning bolts, and looked ordinary in nature. And yet, as soon as the soul cultivators of Arch-Emperor City laid eyes on it, their minds began to spin.

The heavenly marquises all gasped, and even the heavenly dukes' faces flickered!

"Demigod-level lightning tribulation!!" The Grand Heavenmaster was the one to speak the words. Then he shot to his feet, vanishing to reappear outside of Heavenmaster Hall.

In that same moment, the golden dragon which had fled off into the distance let out a roar as it became a golden beam of light that shot toward the Grand Heavenmaster. As it neared, it shrank down, transforming into a golden trident which the Grand Heavenmaster grabbed.

Even as those things happened, the violet-gold lightning bolt from up above began to shoot toward Heavenmaster Hall!

As it did, deafening rumbling sounds echoed out, and the air around the lightning bolt was destroyed!

The Grand Heavenmaster's eyes narrowed. Hefting the golden trident, he blurred into motion, heading directly toward the lightning bolt!

BOOM!

A sonic boom rolled out in all directions. At the same time, the image of an enormous, illusory trident appeared behind the Grand Heavenmaster. Fully 30,000-meters tall, it seemed large enough to fill all creation as it slammed into the violet-gold lightning bolt.

RUUUUUUUUMBLE!

Arch-Emperor City was shaken by intense rumbling sounds as the violet-gold lightning bolt began to shatter bit by bit. Before long, it was gone, and the Grand Heavenmaster remained there, not having been injured in the least bit!

However, as the lightning bolt dissipated, it created a massive tempest that blasted out in all directions.

At this point, the ten heavenly dukes, despite not wanting to help, realized that they had no choice. They all vanished, to reappear in various locations around Heavenmaster Hall. There, they performed double-handed incantation gestures, and then unleashed vicious attacks to neutralize the blast of wind!

As of this point, not a bit of lightning could be seen in the sky. Everything had gone back to normal….

Back in Heavenmaster Hall, Bai Xiaochun took a deep breath, and didn't dare to again provoke God in any fashion. He simply watched as the Grand Heavenmaster and the ten heavenly dukes returned.

Bai Xiaochun rushed forward, clasped hands and bowed deeply. "Many thanks, Grand Heavenmaster. You are truly mighty and grand!"

At this point, he pondered whether or not he should go into a bit more flattery, but the Grand Heavenmaster waved his hand to stop him.

"Congratulations on reaching the earthly rank, Grandmaster Bai," he said, a politeness in his tone that hadn't been present before. "As of this point, the position of inspections commissioner doesn't befit you anymore. It would be much better for you to go practice cultivation in one of the Arch-Emperor Dynasty's five restricted areas, all of which would be ideal locations for you to seek further enlightenment.

"Grandmaster Bai, I think it would be wonderful for you to go the Underworld River Restricted Area. Don't you agree?"

Bai Xiaochun was now an earthly necromancer, and although he would not be put to death because of what happened with Zhou Wudao, he would still have to provide some sort of compensation.

There was no death penalty for earthly necromancers, and it truly didn't make sense for him to remain as the inspections commissioner. Sending him to the Underworld River Restricted Area would solve the problem of so many people being angry with him, and would also get him out of a major vortex of intrigue.

However, the Grand Heavenmaster was worried that Bai Xiaochun might not view this as an expression of goodwill. Leaving the aristocracy completely out of the loop, he transmitted a message directly to Bai Xiaochun.

"Bai Hao, I have a personal division of troops in the Underworld River Restricted Area, 3,000 men in total. I'll give you command of them. Lay low for a bit until I call on you. After all the arrangements are made, you can return."

Bai Xiaochun blinked a few times in displeasure. It didn't seem right that he should be made to leave right after becoming an earthly necromancer and achieving new heights of glory.

However, what the Grand Heavenmaster said made sense. Furthermore, he had already used up his secret weapon. And as the ancient saying went, it is easy to dodge the spear in the open, but hard to avoid a stab in the dark. He couldn't constantly be on guard against every possible conspiracy.

Although leaving Arch-Emperor City would cause him to lose out on a bit of glory, it was definitely the best option.

Having reached this point in his train of thought, Bai Xiaochun took a deep breath, clasped hands and bowed to the Grand Heavenmaster.

"I will follow any arrangement you wish, Grand Heavenmaster!"

The Grand Heavenmaster smiled and then looked over at the heavenly dukes and marquises.

"What do you think?" he asked them.

As for Chen Haosong and the heavenly dukes, although they were sighing inwardly, none of them hesitated for even a moment to clasp hands and say, "We will follow any arrangement you wish, Grand Heavenmaster!"

Considering that the heavenly dukes had already agreed, there was no way the heavenly marquises could dare to voice any displeasure. Bowing their heads, they agreed.

As of this point, the conspiracy to have Bai Xiaochun killed had been completely defeated. As everyone left Heavenmaster Hall, Bai Xiaochun looked up into the sky and felt freer than ever.

Not only had he won a victory, he had done so in spectacularly beautiful fashion!

He had entered Heavenmaster Hall as the inspections commissioner, a person feared by countless individuals, and had left it as an earthly necromancer, someone that everyone in the Wildlands would support with wild enthusiasm!

"Hmmmphh! The Grand Heavenmaster called me a grandmaster…. Looks like we're both fellow masters!" More pleased than ever, he began to walk away. However, it was at this point that he remembered something, and looked back to see Zhao Xionglin, still in Heavenmaster Hall, clearly trying to hide from him. Clearing his throat, Bai Xiaochun… decided to stay right where he was, blocking the doorway.

1. To forestall any questions in the comments section, I would like to point out that Bai Xiaochun uses a word that rarely comes up in Er Gen's works. In addition to "God," it could also be translated as "heavens" or "nature," but specifically seems like a term referring to a person in Chinese, which is why I went with "God". It's intended to be a colloquial expression, and is not supposed to reflect the nature of the world/universe AWE takes place in

2. BXC was struck by lightning in the last couple lines of chapter 76. Chapter 77 goes on to describe the results.

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Chapter 810: I'm Going To Miss You All!

Zhao Xionglin was feeling so frustrated it was a torment. And when he realized that Bai Xiaochun was blocking the way out, his heart swelled with curses, and his face began to turn a reddish-purple color. Obviously, neither staying nor leaving was a viable option….

Eventually, the Grand Heavenmaster got tired of the situation. Waving his sleeve, he sent Zhao Xionglin flying out of Heavenmaster Hall, and the imperial palace in general.

Bai Xiaochun grumbled to himself about that, and then strutted out the door. However, he had already decided that he wouldn't let Zhao Xionglin off the hook so easily.

"And then there's that guy Liu Yong. Just wait till I catch up with him!" Snorting, he hurried away.

When Zhao Xionglin appeared outside of the imperial palace, he was very moved that he had been spared at the last moment. Employing the greatest speed he could, he hurried toward his clan, stewing in more frustration than he had ever felt in his entire life. The thought of how he had loudly declared in front of all of the aristocracy that he would kowtow to Bai Hao if he conjured an eighteen-colored flame was like a slap in his face.

By the time Zhao Xionglin got back to his clan, word of Bai Xiaochun becoming an earthly necromancer was already beginning to spread through Arch-Emperor City.

In the briefest of moments, everyone was talking about it!

"We finally have a fourth earthly necromancer in the Wildlands!!"

"A fourth! Even back in the golden age, we only had five!"

"Bai Hao. Grandmaster Bai. Even back when he conjured that faint tongue of eighteen-colored flame, it was obvious that he would eventually reach the earthly rank!"

It wasn't just Arch-Emperor City that was shaken. All of the Wildlands was in a huge stir as the news spread. That was especially true of the necromancers. Virtually all of the necromancer clans began to do everything in their power to try to reach out to the new earthly necromancer and establish relations.

News even reached the Heavenspan River region, and left many people stunned. The four great riversource sects all placed the name Bai Hao onto their Execution List!

The reward for his head was incredible. After all… he was now one of only four earthly necromancers in existence. To the four riversource sects, the fact that someone so young had reached such heights ensured that they all felt the need to see him dead!

Unfortunately, he was too far away for any of them to do anything about it other than sigh regretfully.

If people in the Heavenspan River region got wind of the news, there was no need to even mention Zhou Yixing's clan. Although they were located far, far away from Arch-Emperor City, when they heard about the matter, and learned that Zhou Yixing was one of this Bai Hao's followers, they were ecstatic. In fact, the clan chief issued immediate orders promoting Zhou Yixing to the position of crown prince!

The clan elders agreed with his decision, and it didn't matter how disgruntled Zhou Yixing's clan siblings were. In the world of necromancers, being the subordinate of an earthly necromancer was a very important thing.

Furthermore, with Bai Xiaochun's help, Zhou Yixing's necromancy had advanced by leaps and bounds; he was now just a hair away from the celestial rank himself.

Of course, the Proclamation of Universal Grace had not been rescinded. However, Zhou Yixing had enough power to ensure that there was no fighting or backlash from his relatives in the clan. After all… everyone in the Wildlands also knew that this Bai Hao was the one behind the Proclamation of Universal Grace.

Zhou Yixing didn't just rise to prominence in his clan. Wherever he went in Arch-Emperor City, people would clasp hands in greeting, leaving him feeling very pleased. By now, he was absolutely, positively convinced that his original decision to side with Bai Xiaochun had been the best one!

If Zhou Yixing was reveling in glory, then there was no need to even mention Bai Xiaochun. Although he was supposed to be heading to the Underworld River Restricted Area, he delayed and delayed, giving him plenty of time to stroll through the city and appreciate the worshipful gazes people cast in his direction. Furthermore, he would constantly be swamped by visiting necromancers, who showered him with congratulatory gifts. All in all, Bai Xiaochun felt wonderful about how everything was going.

He also went back to visit the street where his spirit enhancement shop had been located, where he received loads of adoration and worship. Eventually, when he had gone to just about all of the important places in Arch-Emperor City, he thought back to Zhao Xionglin and Liu Yong.

Unfortunately, Liu Yong was very crafty…. Aware that Bai Xiaochun would try to get revenge, he had long since left Arch-Emperor City and enlisted in the army at the Great Wall. Although Bai Xiaochun was a bit surprised by that, he had to admit that it proved Liu Yong to be a very decisive person.

Zhao Xionglin was not as decisive. He merely went into secluded meditation, and assumed that Bai Xiaochun would forget about him. Unfortunately for him, he underestimated Bai Xiaochun's tenacity. Bai Xiaochun took daily trips to the Zhao Clan, causing problems for everyone, much to the delight of the bastard children.

Considering his new status, he was the center of attention wherever he went. All sorts of rogue cultivators sought to become his followers. Most importantly, news of the altercation between him and the aristocracy right before his rise to the earthly rank began to spread. From that point on, whenever bad things happened in Arch-Emperor City, everyone pointed their fingers accusingly at the nobility and aristocracy!

Also, because he was the subject of wild devotion by all Wildlander necromancers, even heavenly dukes who had problems with Bai Xiaochun were forced to simply endure the situation.

At the moment, he was safer in his position than he ever had been. Therefore, Bai Xiaochun refused to give up on Zhao Xionglin. Unfortunately, the man was like a turtle with his head hidden in his shell; he remained in his heavenly marquis pagoda and wouldn't come out no matter what Bai Xiaochun said.

Eventually, Bai Xiaochun started to get angry.

"Alright, you coward. Do you really think that Lord Bai will just let you hide away from him?" Bai Xiaochun glared up angrily at the heavenly marquis pagoda, grumbling about how ridiculous Zhao Xionglin was acting. He had clearly lost, and yet continued to act shamelessly.

"If you were a real man you would do like Liu Yong and go hide on the front lines of the war at the Great Wall! That would at least earn you some of my respect. But instead you hide in a wimpy heavenly marquis pagoda! Well, you just wait and see how I get you to come out!" Flicking his sleeve, he went on to visit the other heavenly marquis clans. Whenever he ran into one of the heavenly marquises, he would bluster and brag to the point of inducing nausea. Furthermore, he made a point to hint that as long as Zhao Xionglin didn't come out and kowtow to him, he would stay in Arch-Emperor City. Gradually, the heavenly marquises began to get extremely frustrated and angry with Zhao Xionglin.

Eventually, after Bai Xiaochun had threatened virtually all of the heavenly marquises, Chen Haosong sighed and sent a message to Zhao Xionglin urging him to just give in. Zhao Xionglin wanted to cry, but no tears would come. Guts twisting with regret, he braced himself and went to find Bai Xiaochun, to whom he kowtowed in dramatic fashion.

Bai Xiaochun was very happy with what he saw. Afterward, he decided to let the other heavenly marquises off the hook. Swishing his sleeve, he took Zhou Yixing with him on his way out of the city. They didn't go to the teleportation portal, but rather, used Arch-Emperor City's heavenly airship, accompanied by a contingent of the Grand Heavenmaster's personal guard, as they headed toward… the Underworld River Restricted Area.

A huge group of necromancers came out to escort Bai Xiaochun away. As for all of the heavenly marquises, they breathed sighs of relief, and hoped that after he left, he would never come back.

Zhao Xionglin had to hold back from breaking out drums and gongs to express his excitement.

There were many varied reactions within Arch-Emperor City. As Bai Xiaochun left, he thought back to everything that had occurred there, looked back at the city, and sighed.

"I shall miss all of you…."

When he came to Arch-Emperor City, he was a nobody from Giant Ghost City. Upon leaving, it would have been difficult for it to be in a grander fashion. He was now the opposite of a nobody, one of the most important people in all the Wildlands.

Many other people in the city were thinking the same thing, and it caused them to sigh.

"He's the kind of person who you might hate, but simply have no choice but to admire!" Chen Haosong said with a sigh.

"He's the kind of person that only appears every so often in the Arch-Emperor Dynasty. Someone who causes waves wherever he goes, someone who reaches the highest pinnacles, someone who no one dares to trifle with!" All of the heavenly marquises were sighing deeply.

He had kidnapped the heavenly king of Giant Ghost City, and subdued a crowd of chosen in the Necromancer Kettle. He had dueled celestial necromancers, and shaken down the most powerful clans in his time as the inspections commissioner!

He threw all creation into chaos during the ancestral sacrifices, incited the rage of heavenly marquises, made enemies of the entire aristocracy with the Proclamation of Universal Grace, and had become an amazing earthly necromancer!

The stories of those things did not fade away because Bai Xiaochun left Arch-Emperor City. In fact, they continued to be told with even more fervor. As he departed, the Grand Heavenmaster looked at him go and murmured to himself, "I really want to know… why the Hell-Emperor picked him!?"

Standing next to him, Hei Ming murmured, "I have no idea!"

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Chapter 811: A Pet...

The Underworld River Restricted Area was one of a few restricted areas in the Wildlands…. The reason such areas came to be called 'restricted' was that ordinary soul cultivators would have a difficult time even getting into them, and if they succeeded in that effort, would most likely die as a result. The only way to safely traverse such areas was with special command medallions.

Not surprisingly, the Underworld River Restricted Area actually contained a river. During the day, it looked like nothing more than an ordinary, dried up riverbed. However, after midnight passed… the Underworld River would manifest, flowing through the area for some distance before disappearing off into the night.

Thus, the area came to be a restricted area. After all, the Underworld River was normally illusory, and would only appear in the world of men under special circumstances or using special techniques.

But in this area, the Underworld River would naturally appear every night after midnight!

Of course, all of the Wildlands' restricted areas had unique objects which would appear. Such objects were used in the Arch-Emperor Dynasty both for cultivation purposes, and also as a means of repairing the enormous magical device that was Arch-Emperor City.

For example, in the Underworld River Restricted Area, there were underworld rainbows which would appear over the river at night. They were illusory, and also temporary, but by using special techniques, it was possible to harvest them.

Because of this general state of affairs, the restricted areas were encamped by military forces from Arch-Emperor City year-round. As for the Underworld River Restricted Area, there was a brigade of 3,000 men garrisoned there.

The most powerful of the soldiers was in the great circle of the Nascent Soul stage. He was not a heavenly marquis, but rather, one of the Grand Heavenmaster's private guards. Most of the other soul cultivators were in the Core Formation stage.

Although it might seem like a stretch to say that these 3,000 could protect Bai Xiaochun, the truth was that since they reported directly to the Grand Heavenmaster, they were more powerful than they appeared based on cultivation base alone. Although there were definitely members of the nobility and aristocracy who would secretly make a move against Bai Xiaochun, not even the four heavenly kings would casually cross the Grand Heavenmaster.

Wiping out that force would be equivalent to declaring war on the Grand Heavenmaster.

As for the brigade's general mission, it was simply to harvest underworld rainbows.

Bai Xiaochun and Zhou Yixing spent a few days traveling to the Underworld River Restricted Area. Bai Xiaochun wasn't in a hurry, and proceeded along at a steady pace in the heavenly airship. Although the landscape in the Wildlands was barren and bleak, that didn't dampen Bai Xiaochun's mood at all. In fact, he took time to visit many of the necromancer clans along the way, and they would always shower him with gifts. Overall, it was a lovely trip.

When they finally reached the Underworld River Restricted Area, it was evening. The 3,000 soldiers stationed there had been notified that he would be arriving, and were waiting in ranks to receive him.

There were five men standing out in front of the brigade, all of whom were Nascent Soul experts. One of them was a middle-aged man, who was none other than the colonel in command of the brigade. Standing a pace behind him were the four other Nascent Soul experts, two of whom were in the late stage, and two in the mid stage.

They were already well-informed as to who Bai Xiaochun was. They knew that he was not only an earthly necromancer, but he was also the type of person who could shake all of the Wildlands with a single stamp of his foot.

Furthermore, because they were from the Grand Heavenmaster's private guard, and had received special orders from him to do anything that Bai Xiaochun said, none of them hesitated for even a moment to treat him with the utmost respect.

As the group waited, Bai Xiaochun's heavenly airship appeared off in the distance and then floated toward them through the air. When it came to a stop, Zhou Yixing flew out, landed on the ground, and then looked around vigilantly, the way that a loyal attendant would. When his gaze came to rest on the brigade of 3,000 men, he looked surprised.

After studying the situation more closely to ensure that there were no hidden dangers, he took a few steps backward, then turned to the heavenly airship and clasped hands.

"Grandmaster Bai, your presence is requested!" he said in a loud voice. The colonel of the brigade hesitated for only a moment before clasping hands and calling out in similar fashion. Afterward, the entire brigade gave voice to the same words.

"Grandmaster Bai, your presence is requested!"

At that point, Bai Xiaochun appeared up above on the deck of the heavenly airship, his hands clasped behind his back. After giving an approving glance at Zhou Yixing, he flew out and landed in front of the 3,000-man brigade.

"I am your humble servant Wu Dao," the colonel said. "Greetings, Grandmaster Bai! If you have any requests, then your humble servant will do anything and everything possible to see them fulfilled!" With that, Colonel Wu Dao clasped hands and bowed even more deeply than before.

Bai Xiaochun felt wonderful about how everything was playing out. Laughing heartily, he hurried forward to pull the colonel up from his bow.

"There's no need for all that, Fellow Daoist Wu," he said with a sincere smile. "I actually have a very weak cultivation base! The Grand Heavenmaster sent me here to work on my necromancy, and I'm sure that I'm going to need a lot of help from you in the days to come!" This was just how Bai Xiaochun was. When people treated him courteously, he would treat them even more courteously in return.

Of course, Wu Dao responded by looking even more respectful and awestruck than before. Inwardly, he was actually a bit impressed with this Grandmaster Bai. Despite being an earthly necromancer, he wasn't arrogant at all. The colonel could immediately tell that there was more to him than met the eye. He had first mentioned his own weakness, then brought up the Grand Heavenmaster, and had then gone on to imply that he was only here to work on necromancy, and not stay long-term. That went to show that he wasn't interested in usurping the colonel's position or power.

Actually, even Wu Dao himself didn't feel that the force he commanded was worth much, therefore he was very pleased to be treated in such a way.

Bai Xiaochun had already succeeded at making a good impression. The soldiers quickly clustered around him and led him toward the military base in the Underworld River Restricted Area.

After all the formalities were taken care of, Wu Dao gave Bai Xiaochun the best residence, as well as a detailed explanation about everything to do with the Underworld River Restricted Area. Eventually, evening began to fall, whereupon he handed over two command medallions and then took his leave.

Bai Xiaochun's residence was not out in the open; it was enclosed by high walls. That, coupled with the fact that it was in the middle of a military base, made it seem particularly safe and secure.

Furthermore, it didn't consist of just a single room, but rather, a main room and two side rooms.

Bai Xiaochun was very pleased. After Wu Dao left, Zhou Yixing set up some spell formations to secure the area. Then he reported in to Bai Xiaochun.

"Wu Dao was telling the truth, milord," he said, keeping his voice down. "Every night at midnight, the Underworld River manifests here. When that happens, you can only get close to the river itself if you have a special command medallion.

"Supposedly, this location isn't the source of the Underworld River, but it's still a powerful convergence between life and death. That's why the Underworld River appears here. In fact, it's the only place in all of the Wildlands where the river will manifest naturally.

"Because of its unique properties, this area is a perfect place for necromancers to seek enlightenment. Whenever the Underworld River manifests, countless souls will appear, which can be harvested using special methods. Of course, there is danger involved, as one might expect." All of these things had been told to Bai Xiaochun by Wu Dao. However, Zhou Yixing had used his own special ways of verifying the information to make sure it was true.

Bai Xiaochun nodded. He was already feeling a lot more relaxed now that he was away from the maelstrom that was Arch-Emperor City. No longer did he have to constantly worry about how to deal with the aristocracy, nor did he have to be on guard all the time. Although he didn't have his corpse trooper army to rely on, he was still in high spirits.

After a moment passed, Zhou Yixing lowered his voice even more and said, "Milord, um, what about Song Que…?"

Bai Xiaochun smacked himself on the forehead when he realized that he had once again forgotten about Song Que. Back when they had left the city, he had instructed Zhou Yixing to put Song Que in a bag of holding to take along, but in the months since then, he hadn't released him into the open even once.

"What a bad uncle I've been!" he thought guiltily. He immediately told Zhou Yixing to bring Song Que out of the bag of holding. When he appeared in the open, he looked a bit pale, and was even gasping for breath. Being stuck in a bag of holding for so many months had almost suffocated him. After getting his bearings, he glared resentfully at Bai Xiaochun.

In response, Bai Xiaochun cleared his throat in embarrassment and then reached out to tousle Song Que's hair. Although this felt very strange to Song Que, he didn't dare to dodge out of the way.

Actually, he had come to realize that, from the moment he had arrived in the Inspections Manor, this Bai Hao had actually treated him quite well. Not only had he given him cultivation resources, as well as a measure of safety, but he had also allowed him quite a bit of freedom.

After all the time that had passed, he had mostly recovered from his previous ordeals. In fact, his cultivation base had even progressed some. He was even convinced that, although he had not yet surpassed Bai Xiaochun, as long as he continued to follow this Bai Hao and benefit from the cultivation resources he provided, it was entirely likely that he soon would.

"Hmph! Even if I can't surpass Bai Xiaochun right away, I'm definitely in a much better position than he is. He might be well-known, but he's obviously scurrying around like a mouse, running from everybody and scared to even show his face! In fact, if he does show his face, he'll definitely be killed within the blink of an eye!" All of a sudden, Song Que came to the conclusion that meeting this Bai Hao had been a stroke of good luck. Even if he was being treated somewhat like a pet, it was worth it, and he would do everything he could to stick with Bai Hao.

"A pet? So be it. This is the Wildlands, and nobody knows who I am anyway…. Hmph! Maybe I'm a pet, but at least I'm the pet of an earthly necromancer! Bai Xiaochun doesn't even qualify to be a pet right now!" Comforting himself in this way, he pushed his head up a bit farther so that Bai Xiaochun could tousle his hair a bit more deeply….

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Chapter 812: Theres... Someone There!

Of course, Bai Xiaochun could immediately tell what he was thinking.

"Is this guy really thinking about stomping me beneath his feet…?" Blinking a few times at how amusing the situation was, he contemplated what would happen if Song Que ever found out who he really was…. What kind of expression would appear on his face?

However, even Bai Xiaochun felt that such a thing would be too evil.

"Ah, whatever. I'm his uncle after all, and the type of person who is very pure at heart. I can't tell him the brutal truth right now." Sighing, he mused about how wonderful of a person he was, and also about how loyal and devoted he was to Song Junwan. In the end, it was just like the old saying: if you love me, you have to love my dog too.

"Very well then. You'll be living here now. Focus well on your cultivation." After offering a few more words of advice, he had Zhou Yixing arrange for Song Que to act as a spirit servant.

Song Que took a deep breath, clasped hands and bowed deeply. Sighing, he reminded himself that as long as he stuck close to Bai Hao, then Bai Xiaochun didn't count for anything!

Although he couldn't consider himself to truly be on Bai Hao's side, he knew that right now, he had to do anything he could to stay alive.

After sending Song Que away, Bai Xiaochun looked around the main courtyard. As the darkness of night deepened, the Underworld River Restricted Area grew increasingly quiet.

Back in Arch-Emperor City, the city would be bustling at this time of night. Although the Inspections Manor itself would be quiet, even the areas around it would be alive.

But here, everything was dead quiet. Considering how unused Bai Xiaochun was to such a thing, he quickly patted his bag of holding and produced a soulhoarding pagoda, from which Bai Hao flew out.

Bai Hao could tell that this area was very unique. After looking around, he lowered his voice and said, "Master, this Underworld River Restricted Area seems very similar to the Necromancer Kettle…. The aura… is like that of life and death at the same time. It's very strange, and also, very nourishing to souls."

"Nourishing?" Bai Xiaochun said, looking over at Bai Hao and noticing how he looked a lot more corporeal than normal.

Surprised himself, Bai Hao nodded, then sat down cross-legged and began to breathe deeply. Almost immediately, he could sense some sort of energy in the area that Bai Xiaochun was oblivious to, which quickly began to pour into his soul body.

Bai Xiaochun was very happy about this. Although this whole Underworld River Restricted Area seemed like a boring place so far, if it was helpful to Hao'er, then that would make things a bit more bearable.

As Bai Hao continued with his cultivation, Bai Xiaochun sent his divine sense out into the Underworld River Restricted Area. It actually wasn't a very large area. It consisted of an expansive bluff, at the top of which was the military base. From the military base, the ground sloped down gradually, until a dry riverbed was visible off in the distance.

After midnight, that riverbed was where the Underworld River would appear. Retracting his divine sense, Bai Xiaochun sat down cross-legged next to his apprentice to stand guard. As he did, he reviewed the steps necessary to conjure eighteen-colored flame, and mentally rehearsed them to attempt to get more familiar with the process.

Time passed. Before long, midnight was approaching. Zhou Yixing had gone out earlier to confer with Wu Dao about a few matters pertaining to the defenses of the military base. Upon returning, he saw Bai Xiaochun and Bai Hao both sitting there cross-legged, with Bai Xiaochun clearly standing watch.

The night deepened, until the only light visible was that of the stars and the moon. It was at that point that a knocking sound could be heard on the door of the residence. Bai Xiaochun opened his eyes and watched as Zhou Yixing stepped over and opened the door. After he did, Wu Dao entered, then clasped hands in Bai Xiaochun's direction.

"Grandmaster Bai, the Underworld River will become visible soon. Considering it happens every day, we soldiers are used to it. But since this is your first time, Grandmaster Bai… I suggest you not miss it."

"You're absolutely right, Fellow Daoist Wu," Bai Xiaochun replied. "Considering I've never seen it before, I should definitely take a look. How about you stay here, and we can observe it together?" In response to Bai Xiaochun's friendly invitation, Wu Dao sat down next to him and offered some further explanations.

"The first time I saw the Underworld River, I was completely shaken," he said, an entranced gleam appearing in his eyes. "It was almost as if heaven and earth were being opened up in front of my very eyes. It was really shocking." Just when he was about to say more, rumbling sounds could be heard from the sky.

It sounded like heavenly thunder, and immediately caused Bai Xiaochun and Zhou Yixing to both look up into the sky. Wu Dao was the only one whose expression didn't change.

"Ah, it's midnight. The Underworld River is about to appear!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, another intense rumbling sound filled the air. The sky distorted, sending ripples out for tens of thousands of meters in all directions, filling nearly half the sky.

Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle….

Something like the sound of water could be heard, which rapidly grew louder and clearer. At the same time, a mist began to fill the Underworld River Restricted Area…. It was a mist that seemed to be filled with an aura of death, the type which could cause frost to appear wherever it went.

In fact, it quickly became so cold that the impure vital energy which everyone breathed out transformed into white clouds that floated up into the air….

Bai Xiaochun could immediately tell that the aura of death in the area was unprecedentedly strong. In any other location, such a strong aura of death would indicate that a huge number of vengeful souls was present.

But at the moment, Bai Hao was the only soul body visible anywhere.

As Bai Xiaochun looked around curiously, the sound of rushing water grew stronger, and the rippling in the sky more intense, as if both space and time were being distorted. The ripples reached the dry riverbed, and then suddenly, river water exploded out from nowhere….

Incredible rumbling echoed out as a majestic river came into being right in the middle of that dry riverbed. Surging and seething, it flowed off into the distance.

The river wasn't clear, but instead, black. As it surged, the restricted area was filled with an even more intense aura of death, and the mists grew denser. The military base on the bluff wasn't affected, though, allowing Bai Xiaochun and everyone else present to have a very clear view of what was happening.

Shockingly, masses of vengeful souls were now visible in the water. Some screamed, some slept, some struggled viciously, some laughed. However, all of them moved with the flow of the river to disappear off into the distance.

Bai Xiaochun was shocked, and even Bai Hao had opened his eyes in surprise.

Zhou Yixing's response was a sharp gasp. However, Wu Dao was clearly used to the scene. Expression the same as ever, he smiled and said, "We traced the river to its end, a few dozen kilometers away. There's an ordinary mountain there that the river simply disappears into. This is what happens every night, and it lasts all the way until dawn…."

Focusing his attention on the river, Bai Xiaochun rose to his feet. He was already very curious about the matter. He had heard many things about the Underworld River since he'd come to the Wildlands, but this was his first time hearing about anything like this.

"According to the legends," Zhou Yixing muttered, "at the true end of the Underworld River… is the Hell-Emperor Palace, within which is that figure which everyone in the Wildlands worships…. The Hell-Emperor!" Bai Xiaochun also thought about the legends of the Hell-Emperor, and couldn't help but peer through the mists at the Underworld River.

As soon as he did, a tremor passed through him, and his eyes widened in disbelief. Pointing down at the river, he gasped and said, "There's… someone there!!"

Zhou Yixing and Wu Dao were both shocked, and looked down at both banks of the river. However, neither of them could see anyone.

"I don't see anybody…." Zhou Yixing said.

"You guys don't see him? Look, right there! It's an old man…. He's wearing a black robe… and just sitting there…." Bai Xiaochun closed his eyes for a moment, and then reopened them. Sure enough, sitting right there on the bank of the river was an old man in a black robe, with his back to them. It looked like he was… fishing!

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Chapter 813: Great-Grandpa Gravekeeper...

Zhou Yixing was convinced that Bai Xiaochun was not simply trying to frighten them, and was thus deeply shaken. And yet, no matter how he looked, he couldn't see anything along the bank of the river.

Wu Dao's expression flickered, and after a moment of hesitation and further examination, a strange expression appeared on his face.

"Grandmaster Bai, um… there really isn't anyone there."

Stunned, Bai Xiaochun looked at Zhou Yixing for confirmation, who simply smiled and nodded. Heart pounding, Bai Xiaochun looked back. The black-robed old man was still sitting there just like before. By this point, Bai Xiaochun realized that there was something familiar about him, although he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.

"Am I the only one who can see him?" he said, face turning pale and scalp tingling. However, it was at this point that Bai Hao's nervous voice was transmitted into his mind.

"Master, I… I can see him too…. There's an old man there, fishing…."

After a moment, Wu Dao took his leave, still a bit suspicious about everything. He even took some subordinates over to the Underworld River bank to search around, but none of them found anything.

As for Bai Xiaochun, he could clearly see an old man sitting next to where Wu Dao was now standing by the riverbank, and yet, Wu Dao didn't seem to be able to see the old man at all.

Feeling very nervous, Bai Xiaochun watched the old man the entire night. He simply sat there, fishing until dawn came, whereupon he faded away along with the Underworld River.

The next day, Bai Xiaochun was completely jumpy, and even plastered himself with some paper talismans he had in his bag of holding. And yet, that didn't make him feel much better.

When Bai Hao saw how nervous his Master was, he hesitated for a moment before saying, "Master, why don't we go over tonight to take a closer look? It almost seems like he's calling me…."

"You really have the guts to go for a closer look?" Bai Xiaochun said nervously. "Hao'er, you listen to me! That guy's not a soul, he's a ghost! Souls aren't very scary. After all, I've used a lot of souls in my necromancy. No, that's a ghost!! Don't let him hypnotize you! In fact, considering that old ghost has shown up, we need to get out of here. This place is dangerous.

"Hao'er, back when your Master was in the Fallen Sword Abyss, I saw a girl ghost…. Even thinking about that causes chills to go up my spine."

Whenever Bai Xiaochun thought about it, he realized that one of the main reasons he was so afraid of ghosts was because of that little girl back in the Fallen Sword Abyss.

Then he thought about how that girl had possessed Gongsun Wan'er, and then done all those strange things in the labyrinth, and his heart trembled with even more fear than before.

Bai Hao hesitated for a moment, and then said, "But I'm a ghost too!"

"You're different. That's… an old ghost! Old ghosts like that who have existed for many years are always very vicious!" Even as he spoke, he smacked a few more paper talismans down onto himself.

Bai Hao blinked a few times, but didn't say anything more to try to convince Bai Xiaochun. And thus the day passed in relative agony for Bai Xiaochun. Eventually, midnight came again… and the rumbling sounds filled the sky. The sky rippled, and the Underworld River began to rush through the riverbed. And then… once again, Bai Xiaochun saw that black-robed old man sitting on the river bank.

"There he is again!!" he gasped, his face falling. Turning, he called out to Zhou Yixing, absolutely convinced that this evil place was haunted and that they shouldn't stay there. "I'm an earthly necromancer! Any ghost that would dare to appear in front of me must be incredibly powerful…."

With that, he immediately sent Zhou Yixing and Song Que to work packing bags to get ready to leave. However, moments later, he realized that their small party was missing someone.

"Where's Hao'er!?" he blurted. Spinning, and eyes widening, he noticed that Bai Hao was floating down toward the Underworld River, seemingly in a trance!

He was almost halfway to the bank, and was only a few hundred meters away from the black-robed old man.

"This is ridiculous bullying, you old ghost!!" Bai Xiaochun growled angrily. Although he was afraid, his anger over the fact that this old ghost was hypnotizing his apprentice caused him to start shaking physically. Letting out a shout, he began to speed toward the Underworld River.

As he moved, he smacked his bag of holding, producing numerous paper talismans, which he smacked down all over himself.

"Let go of my disciple, you old ghost!"

Although he was moving quickly, it was to his surprise that he found he couldn't perform any teleportations. Even still, he was like a beam of light that shot toward Bai Hao, who was now only about 300 meters away from the old man. After closing in, he reached out and grabbed him.

Bai Hao shivered as he came to his senses. Then his face fell. As for Bai Xiaochun, he was relieved to see Bai Hao regain his senses, and yet, it was only a moment later that his terror spiked as he realized that the old man had noticed him. Oh so slowly, the man began to turn around. As of this moment, Bai Xiaochun felt a sensation of terror that was impossible to even comprehend. Gripping Bai Hao tight, he screamed and prepared to flee.

However, that was when the old man's face became visible, and although his expression was cold and sinister, as soon as Bai Xiaochun caught sight of his features, his scream died, and he stood there with an incredulous look on his face.

"Great-Grandpa Gravekeeper…." he blurted.

This old man was none other than the mysterious black-robed figure who had saved him back in his Spirit Stream Sect days! During the fighting in those nameless mountains, he had been mortally wounded by a chosen of the Luochen Clan, and had then encountered this very black-robed old man!

This old man had not only saved his life, he gave him part of… the Undying Codex!

Never could Bai Xiaochun have imagined that after all the years that had passed, he would encounter this benefactor right here on the banks of the Underworld River!

Instantly, his fear vanished, and was replaced with joy. Meanwhile, the gravekeeper looked at Bai Xiaochun coolly for a moment, then looked back toward the river and started fishing again.

"Master, you… you know him?" Bai Hao had been struck with fear merely by looking at this old man; were it not for his master, he would probably have fallen right into the Underworld River because of the daze he had entered.

"Of course I know him! This is the benefactor that I've told you about so many times!" Bai Xiaochun's eyes were already shining. He could tell that this gravekeeper was an incredible individual; after all he had been able to pull Bai Xiaochun back from the very brink of death.

Despite how his own cultivation base had climbed far beyond the level it had been that year, even now he couldn't ascertain the gravekeeper's level.

That was saying a lot, considering that Bai Xiaochun had encountered demigods before. And yet, the feeling he got from the gravekeeper… was that he was beyond the demigod level.

"More powerful than a demigod…. Heavens! What level of cultivation base does Great-Grandpa Gravekeeper have?!" Enthused, he hurried over to the gravekeeper's side.

"Great-Grandpa Gravekeeper," he said, "it's me, Bai Xiaochun! Um… I'm wearing a mask, so you can't see my real face. Sir, do you remember what happened back in those mountains…?"

It seemed like the gravekeeper hadn't even heard him; he simply went on fishing.

Bai Xiaochun was nervous, but also knew that he had to seize this rare opportunity. After a moment of hesitation, he said, "Um… Great-Grandpa Gravekeeper, can you help me out here? Send me back to the Heavenspan River? Whaddya say…?"

However, the gravekeeper didn't seem to be listening. No matter what Bai Xiaochun said, he didn't respond at all. Bai Xiaochun kept talking until his mouth turned dry and dawn was approaching. And yet, the entire time, the gravekeeper never even looked at him. Eventually, he faded away along with the Underworld River.

"What do we do now, Master?!" Bai Hao said. He had been standing there the entire time while his Master uttered countless words.

Bai Xiaochun sighed and waved his hand dismissively.

"Master is going to teach you a lesson today, my apprentice. It's called if you set your mind to it, you can crush rocks and tear apart metal!"

During the course of the following half month, Bai Hao came to fully understand exactly how focused his Master could be. Every single night at midnight, Bai Xiaochun would go find the gravekeeper and go through another round of entreaties just like he had the first night.

Zhou Yixing and Wu Dao were completely taken aback by what was happening. Of course, all they could see was Bai Xiaochun acting like a maniac, standing by the bank of the river talking to himself. And since they couldn't hear what he was saying, it made the whole scene even stranger.

On one occasion, an underworld rainbow appeared near Bai Xiaochun, and when Wu Dao and the others went to harvest it, they could see up close what it looked like when he muttered to himself. It was really shocking, and they left as soon as they could.

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Chapter 814: If You Have Any Questions...

Bai Xiaochun ignored all of the stares. After all, he knew that the remarkable powers of the gravekeeper made him vastly more powerful than even the Grand Heavenmaster.

However, not even half a month of fawning prompted the gravekeeper to pay him even an iota of attention. By this point, Bai Xiaochun felt like a ball of fire that was starting to sputter out.

It was also obvious that only he and Bai Hao were able to see the gravekeeper, who simply sat there the entire time fishing. Of course, what he was fishing for was vengeful souls, not fish.

The vengeful souls would always struggle mightily to take the bait, and yet, the gravekeeper only took away one vengeful soul per day.

Bai Xiaochun sighed and looked at the gravekeeper, then turned with a frown to glance at the Underworld River. Next to him was Bai Hao, who had witnessed his Master working hard for an entire month, with no results to show for it.

Lowering his voice, he said, "Master, this member of the senior generation is anything but ordinary. Don't feel discouraged…."

"I know," Bai Xiaochun replied through gritted teeth. "This guy is definitely anything but ordinary. However, you don't need to worry. Master has a lot of experience dealing with old guys like this!" Bai Xiaochun was mostly convinced that he had just taken the wrong angle. Therefore, the next night, he found a fishing pole, sat down next to the gravekeeper, and started fishing with him.

"Becoming kindred spirits with someone can work wonders!" Fully convinced, he sat there fishing with the gravekeeper for another half a month while Bai Hao looked on, not sure what to make of the situation.

By this point, an entire month had gone by, and yet no matter what Bai Xiaochun did, the gravekeeper didn't pay him any attention. Finally, Bai Xiaochun sighed and decided to just give up.

Scowling, he said, "Hao'er, in this instance I've chosen to teach you an important lesson via my own actions. It's true that if you set your mind to it, you can crush rocks and tear apart metal! However, sometimes the wrong person comes along, and you'll end up wasting your time."

Bai Hao blinked a few times, but ended up holding his tongue and nodding in response.

And yet, despite Bai Xiaochun claiming that it was time to give up, he simply couldn't bring himself to actually do it. Not wanting to waste time, though, he decided to practice working with nineteen-colored flame.

"Well, sometimes when you want to get something done, you have to do it yourself. If this old codger is going to be too stubborn to help, then my only other option is to improve my flame conjuring ability, and achieve a cultivation base breakthrough. Once I step into the Deva Realm… then I can easily cross the Wildlands on my own." He sighed inwardly. Despite the fact that nineteen-colored flame could only be conjured by earthly necromancers, the fact was that Bai Hao's formula still wasn't complete.

Over the following few days, Bai Xiaochun and Bai Hao discussed flame conjuring and nineteen-colored flame, right there next to the Underworld River and the gravekeeper. Although, as far as they were concerned, the gravekeeper might as well have not been there.

Bai Hao had his theories, and Bai Xiaochun had his experience. Working together, they began to make progress. Not quickly, but not slowly either.

Unfortunately, there were certain areas that left them stymied and at an impasse, no matter what new angles they came up with.

"This isn't going to work," Bai Xiaochun said. "When conjuring eighteen-colored flame, I can only get it to work in the 9-meter state. However, if I do things the same with nineteen-colored flame, then its seems to me that it would only work in a 3-meter state. That's the only way I would be able to spot the new color. And that would be so difficult it would basically be impossible."

Bai Xiaochun was getting frustrated, and Bai Hao was lost in thought.

"If only there were a way to get those colors to stop flickering so quickly…." Bai Hao muttered. "Unfortunately, it would probably require a lot of outside force." His eyes flickered with the light of augury, but even after a protracted period of time, he didn't come up with any new ideas. Bai Xiaochun also wracked his brains, and yet, it was to no avail.

Another seven days went by, during which time they continued to remain stuck in the same place. That night, Bai Xiaochun finally began to consider giving up on his work with nineteen-colored flame, and just let the ideas come naturally over time. However, it was in that exact moment that the gravekeeper, who hadn't said a single word during all of these weeks, suddenly spoke in a gravelly voice.

"Why are you trying to get the flames to flicker more slowly? Why don't you try to split the new color into multiple parts? That way, you'll have more chances of spotting it."

His words struck both Bai Xiaochun and Bai Hao like a bolt of lightning. Master and apprentice both stared at each other, their eyes shining brightly!

It all made complete sense! In Bai Xiaochun's attempts to conjure eighteen-colored flame, he had always worked with a single portion of that new color. However, if there were a hundred such portions of color, or even ten, then even if the flickering occurred more quickly, he would still have plenty of chances to get lucky and latch onto the new color!

"That's right! It makes perfect sense! Master, let's rework everything from fifteen-colored flame upward. Then, by the time we get to nineteen-colored flame, there will be plenty more of the new color to work with!!" Delighted, Bai Hao's eyes began to flicker with even more augury light. Clearly, he was very moved.

Bai Xiaochun was equally excited. It seemed like a simple idea, the type that anyone would be able to understand upon first hearing it. But considering how much of a rut they had been stuck in, without someone to point it out to them, they might have wasted a huge amount of time coming up with it on their own.

Bai Xiaochun took a deep breath, stood, and then clasped hands to the gravekeeper, as did Bai Hao. However, the gravekeeper didn't have anything more to say, and simply continued fishing.

At the moment, Bai Xiaochun didn't have the time to ponder the gravekeeper. He continued to contemplate the matter as Bai Hao performed auguries. Several days later, they resolved the issue. That didn't mean that Bai Xiaochun was completely ready to work with nineteen-colored flame, but it did provide immense help to his ability with eighteen-colored flame!

In fact, it immediately improved his success rate. Now, the only main limitation he faced was getting all of the seventeen-colored flame he needed to create an eighteen-colored flame. From now on, he wouldn't be able to use any type of seventeen-colored flame other than tongues conjured by himself.

Generally speaking, the whole method needed to be started from fifteen-colored flame. However, that wasn't necessarily a huge problem for Bai Xiaochun. Although he had only come up with this new idea recently, the boost it gave him when working with eighteen-colored flame was worth it.

After all, each failure with eighteen-colored flame meant a massive loss of resources.

A few words from the gravekeeper had resolved a major issue for this Master and apprentice team. Therefore, after exchanging a glance, they began to continue their discussion about various issues regarding nineteen-colored flame, all right there in front of the gravekeeper.

"When you take ten tongues of eighteen-colored flame and combine them, the fluctuations and instabilities make it difficult for them to merge together…."

"The pressure created after merging them, and the way they contract, are both big problems. What are we supposed to do? It would be difficult considering my current cultivation base level…."

"Also, I wonder if nineteen-colored flame comes with lightning tribulation…."

All sorts of questions poured out of their mouths, and after each one, they would cast sidelong glances at the gravekeeper. As long as he didn't say anything, they could continue the discussion along related subjects.

Eventually, it was with a bit of a begrudging expression that the gravekeeper offered some more advice. Every time he did, Bai Xiaochun and Bai Hao were thrilled. Slowly but surely, all of their issues were being resolved.

With the help of the gravekeeper, Bai Xiaochun's skill in flame conjuring slowly improved, and Bai Hao's understanding of the theories involved grew more profound. In fact, Bai Hao seemed to benefit even more than Bai Xiaochun. Everything the gravekeeper said seemed to strike him like lightning, leaving him more confident, and his formulas more complete.

Eventually, he realized that what he was doing was very specific and unique. The formulas he was creating were all based on Bai Xiaochun's cultivation base, divine sense, and strong suits.

In all of the Wildlands, Bai Xiaochun would be the only person who would actually be able to use this formula to concoct flame.

Another few months sped by. Bai Xiaochun was completely immersed in his flame conjuring research, as was Bai Hao. Although they still took time to rest when necessary, they worked so hard that Bai Xiaochun's skill grew significantly on a daily basis!

Master and apprentice both advanced by leaps and bounds in a very short period of time. It was almost impossible to describe how much they were benefiting. And although no expression could be seen on the gravekeeper's face, deep within his eyes was a gleam of a smile. He appeared to be ignoring Bai Xiaochun and Bai Hao, but the truth was that he was actually paying more attention to them than to his fishing.

As Master and apprentice discussed various matters, it was impossible for Bai Hao to hide the reverence and love in his eyes. At the same time, it was also impossible for Bai Xiaochun to disguise how much he cared for his apprentice. When the gravekeeper saw that, the smile deep within his eyes grew wider.

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Chapter 815: Advancing By Leaps And Bounds

Time became a blur as several months passed. The better part of a year had now passed since Bai Xiaochun came to the Underworld River Restricted Area, and most of that time, he and his apprentice had been completely immersed in their flame conjuring research. In fact, neither of them really had any idea how much time had passed.

During the day, they would discuss nineteen-colored flame, and during the evening, they would hurry over to the bank of the Underworld River to continue their discussion in the presence of the gravekeeper, making sure to emphasize all of the difficult areas they had been unable to resolve earlier.

Sometimes the gravekeeper wouldn't help them with a certain issue. But when that happened, they would continue to chatter about the matter until he gave in and offered some advice.

Both Bai Xiaochun and Bai Hao experienced an increase in their flame conjuring skill, and also grew more confident when it came to nineteen-colored flame. That was especially true of Bai Hao, who knew that he was just on the verge of producing the formula.

As for Bai Xiaochun, he was so immersed in the process that… he knew that as soon as the formula appeared, he would be able to conjure a nineteen-colored flame immediately!

In the past, Bai Xiaochun could never have imagined that he would reach the point of being able to conjure nineteen-colored flame so quickly after mastering eighteen-colored flame. Despite his strong faith in Bai Hao, he had assumed the process would take years.

Nineteen-colored flame was even more rare than eighteen-colored flame. In fact, it was possible to say that while eighteen-colored flame might occasionally be seen at huge auctions in the Wildlands, as for nineteen-colored flame… it only came around once in a hundred years!

For all intents and purposes, nineteen-colored flame was a thing of the past. Any such flames which currently existed would have been conjured by previous generations of earthly necromancers and then hidden away like buried treasure.

Currently, there were only three people in the Wildlands who could conjure eighteen-colored flame. Of those three, two were actually stuck at that level, with only one of them ever having succeed with nineteen-colored flame!

From this it was possible to see how incredibly rare nineteen-colored flames were!

If Bai Xiaochun succeeded, and word spread out into the Wildlands, it would cause a major stir. In fact, it might even cause a greater stir than when he had reached the earthly rank. That mere thought got him even more excited than before.

After all, never before in history had an earthly necromancer made progress as quickly as Bai Xiaochun was right now!

However, he wasn't really thinking about such things at the moment, nor did he have time to feel pleased with himself. He was completely focused on nineteen-colored flame, to the exclusion of almost everything else.

By now, Zhou Yixing, Wu Dao, and the others present were used to seeing Bai Xiaochun muttering to himself on the banks of the Underworld River. Occasionally, people would go eavesdrop, but all they would hear was talk of nineteen-colored flame, most of which was unintelligible even to necromancers such as Zhou Yixing.

Thanks to Bai Xiaochun's mask, Wu Dao didn't even notice Bai Hao. The better part of a year passed, and talk of Bai Xiaochun's escapades within Arch-Emperor City was finally starting to die down.

Of course, all it took was for someone to mention necromancers, or heavenly marquises and dukes, or for someone to say the name of Bai Hao, and it would be easy to see how much he had shaken the city.

During the time which passed, there were certain people in Arch-Emperor City who continued to scheme against him. After all, their hatred for him was not something that would easily dissipate because of a bit of time passing.

That was especially true because… the Grand Heavenmaster continued to enforce the Proclamation of Universal Grace throughout the Wildlands. Slowly but surely, things were stabilizing. Unless something very drastic happened… it would only take a few more years for the very structure of the Arch-Emperor Dynasty to completely change!

No one could say for sure whether that change would be a good thing for the dynasty, or a bad thing. Although the influential clans had seemingly been dismembered, the truth was that the constant struggles of the bastard children and the common people showed… that the Wildlands' overall battle prowess was as formidable as ever.

There were some people, for example those from the direct bloodlines of important clans, who were becoming more desperate than ever to do something to Bai Xiaochun. However… whenever they tried to send people into the Underworld River Restricted Area, those people went missing!

Not even Wu Dao and his men were aware of that fact. They didn't even know people had infiltrated the area. If they didn't know, there was even less need to mention Zhou Yixing or even Bai Xiaochun. No one had any idea how many people had come to the Underworld River Restricted Area to harm Bai Xiaochun, only to vanish.

That was quite a shock to the people who had been plotting against him, and soon none of them dared to do anything further.

No one disturbed Bai Xiaochun as he worked on his flame conjuring. Several more months went by. One night, a look of excitement lit up Bai Hao's face.

Bai Xiaochun was also so excited he was trembling.

"It worked!! Master, we did it!! We created the formula for nineteen-colored flame!! This formula belongs to you and you alone, Master. Even with the formula, no one else would be able to conjure this type of nineteen-colored flame. It's yours, Master!"

Not only was Bai Xiaochun excited, he also knew that the past year had been one of drastic progress in flame conjuring skill. And of course, the main reason for it all was the help of the gravekeeper.

"Many thanks, Great-Grandpa Gravekeeper!" he said, bowing deeply. Bai Hao also excitedly clasped hands and bowed to the gravekeeper.

The gravekeeper sat there, face expressionless as he continued to fish.

Of course, Bai Xiaochun and Bai Hao were used to that. Bursting with excitement, they continued to discuss the finer details of nineteen-colored flame for a bit. Then Bai Xiaochun calmed himself and prepared… to actually conjure a nineteen-colored flame, right there next to the Underworld River!!

There was no tribulation that came with nineteen-colored flame!

That was something that the gravekeeper had explained recently, and which Bai Xiaochun didn't doubt at all. Besides, even if some sort of tribulation came, he was sure that it wouldn't count for crap with the gravekeeper there….

It was with complete and utter confidence that Bai Xiaochun went on to begin conjuring nineteen-colored flame. Eyes glittering, he performed a double-handed incantation gesture to produce a vast quantity of fifteen-colored flame.

These flames had been conjured during his research and study during the past year or so with Bai Hao. As for other necessary ingredients… although he had ceased to be the inspections commissioner after rising to the earthly rank, and had thus been incapable of performing shakedowns, he had still been showered with gifts by well-wishers.

Everyone from Sima Tao to Sun Yifan had come, as well as many other outstanding individuals. Therefore, when the time had come to leave Arch-Emperor City, he did so with no less wealth than he had accumulated after all the shakedowns.

Beyond that was everything he had been given by the clans he had visited when taking the heavenly airship trip. It was really impossible to count how much he had built up before actually arriving at the Underworld River Restricted Area.

And that was what he would rely on to build up to a nineteen-colored flame. He settled his qi and cleared his mind, then began to slowly work with the fifteen-colored flames….

His process was completely innovative. He was taking an entirely new path to get to nineteen-colored flame, to the point where he even used new methods to conjure the sixteen- and seventeen-colored flames. Before long, he actually had ten tongues of seventeen-colored flame hovering around him, which he then began to compress.

When he merged the flames together, creating a huge sea of fire, immense pressure began to weigh down on him. However, he clearly knew exactly what he was doing. He casually compressed the sea of fire down to a size of 15 meters. The flames began to flicker, and yet, that was exactly what he had been expecting. Furthermore… eighty percent of them were made up of the eighteenth color!

It almost wasn't even necessary to look at them. Bai Xiaochun sent some divine sense out, and the flickering of the flames didn't bother him at all. Almost instantly, he found the eighteenth color, and then reached out and grabbed it.

The sea of fire began to shrink down into his palm, after which he opened his fingers, revealing a full eighteen-colored flame.

After breathing a sigh of relief, he marveled at how smoothly it had gone, then threw his head back and laughed heartily. He now felt more confident than ever about conjuring nineteen-colored flame!

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Chapter 816: Nineteen-Colored Flame

Things didn't stop here. Bai Xiaochun immediately began working on a second tongue of eighteen-colored flame. Time passed. Throughout the course of the night, he conjured a total of ten eighteen-colored flames!!

Every single one succeeded. He didn't even come close to a failure!!

If word of this got out, the entire Wildlands would be shaken, and countless necromancers would be thrown into a frenzy. No one had ever seen anything like it!

And yet, here, on the banks of the Underworld River, it was happening!!

It would have been impossible for Bai Xiaochun to do this all on his own. And although some of it had to do with the formula, most of it was because of the advice given by the gravekeeper!!

When coupled with Bai Xiaochun's ability to focus, and his familiarity with medicine formulas, it made things go even more smoothly. In the end, he did something that could shake all of heaven and earth!

He conjured ten high-level flames in a row, without making a mistake!

Perhaps it was because of Bai Xiaochun's mask, or perhaps because of the gravekeeper, but when those eighteen-colored flames appeared, the only other person who could see them was Bai Hao.

And of course, Bai Hao was overwhelmed with joy. Although he knew that his Master had already succeeded twice in the past, he hadn't been present the first time, and the second time, he hadn't dared to come out to observe.

But this time, he could see clearly, and it led him to the realization that nobody in all of the Wildlands could possibly stand on equal footing as his Master. Not even the other three secretive and elusive earthly necromancers could hold a candle to him!

To be able to casually conjure such flame ten times in a row was a completely and utterly shocking matter!!

Bai Xiaochun now had full and unshakable control over eighteen-colored flame!

He was very excited, and yet, he knew that this was only the first step. The ten tongues of eighteen-colored flame that he had just conjured… were the building blocks with which he would conjure a nineteen-colored flame. Unfortunately, those ten tongues of flame represented a massive amount of resources.

Furthermore, he had lost his source of income. Right now, he only had enough to try one time. Although he would still have some resources left over in the end, they would only be about ten percent of what he needed to make another attempt.

"No wonder earthly ranked flames are so rare. It's not just because of the number of earthly necromancers, it's because of the vast amount of resources required to make them…." Although he wasn't sure how other earthly necromancers conjured flame, based on his current skill and experience, he knew that, regardless of what technique was used… the cost would be roughly the same.

Bai Xiaochun sat there quietly for a moment, looking at the ten tongues of eighteen-colored flame. Suppressing his excitement, he closed his eyes for a moment to settle his thoughts. He knew… that the moment of truth had arrived!

"Nineteen-colored flame…. I've done months upon months of research, and had help from Bai Hao and Great-Grandpa Gravekeeper. I… have to make it work!!" A moment later, his eyes snapped open. Spreading his hands wide, he pulled the ten tongues of flame together.

Although it didn't seem difficult to merge them into one, Bai Xiaochun and Bai Hao had spent a huge amount of time working on the various details and steps required. The entire process had been mapped out via augury, with numerous critical issues resolved with advice from the gravekeeper.

Only with hard work and a bit of luck did Bai Xiaochun reach the point where he could so smoothly conjure flame. And thus it was that the ten tongues of eighteen-colored flame slowly merged together in front of Bai Xiaochun, right above the surface of the Underworld River.

His hands flashed constantly with various incantation gestures. Occasionally he would pull out a special soul to add into the mix according to the method that he and Bai Hao had devised. As he made these constant adjustments, the sea of flames gradually became more and more perfect.

Time marched on, and everything went according to plan. However, conjuring a nineteen-colored flame was still no easy task. It required utter concentration on Bai Xiaochun's part, to the point where his eyes were completely bloodshot. Not daring to make the slightest slipup, he proceeded along carefully for about two hours until all ten tongues of eighteen-colored flame had been perfectly combined.

Although the heat of this sea of fire vastly surpassed that of an eighteen-colored flame, Bai Xiaochun's ability to control the heat had also increased.

The beads of sweat which popped out on his forehead quickly evaporated. Taking a breath, he drew upon the power of his cultivation base to crush the sea of fire down!

"Compress!"

Rumbling sounds filled the air, and yet, neither Zhou Yixing nor anyone else in the area noticed. As far as they were concerned, the scene on the banks of the Underworld River was the same as ever!

Bai Xiaochun wasn't aware of that, though. He was fully concentrating on the process of compressing the sea of fire. Meanwhile, Bai Hao remained off to the side, watching nervously.

"Considering all of the auguries we performed, there shouldn't be any problems…." Although Bai Hao was constantly worrying about what would happen, he didn't let that show on his face, for fear of it affecting his Master.

His eyes remained fixed on the sea of fire, which writhed defiantly like some primordial beast. However, no matter how it struggled, it couldn't break free from Bai Xiaochun, and was forced to be tamed.

It took time for the sea of fire to compress, although Bai Xiaochun actually had no idea how much time had passed. All he knew was that his exhaustion was rapidly mounting. Before long, the sea of fire was only 300 meters across!!

That was his limit! His cultivation base had been almost completely sucked dry, and he was so tired that his mind was about to shut down.

"Hao'er!" he cried out.

In almost immediate response, Bai Hao flicked his sleeve, sending a medicinal pill flying out into Bai Xiaochun's mouth, which he consumed in one gulp!

Warmth immediately began to flow through him, returning his cultivation base to its peak, and settling his mind.

Enthused, and eyes shining brightly, he sent out more cultivation base power, and also shoved his hands closer together. As a result, the beast-like sea of fire struggled as it shrank.

270 meters. 240 meters. 210 meters…. Bai Xiaochun didn't hold anything back from his cultivation base. The sea of fire struggled mightily, and yet nothing changed. It continued to shrink all the way until it was only 120 meters across!

After that, it shrunk to 90 meters. 60 meters… 30 meters!!

By this point, his cultivation base was again almost completely drained. And yet, that was exactly what his apprentice's auguries had predicted would happen.

"When it gets down to 24 meters," Bai Xiaochun thought, "I'll consume another Heavencleaving Good Fortune Pill. That should be enough! It's too bad that I can only consume a total of nine Heavencleaving Good Fortune Pills. After that, they won't work…."

Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about the matter now. He had to take advantage of this opportunity. If he could enhance his nascent soul and thus increase his cultivation base, then eventually he wouldn't need any Heavencleaving Good Fortune Pills! He could just directly conjure nineteen-colored flames!

"Compress!" he growled, his eyes blood red. Rumbling sounds echoed out as the sea of fire shrank down until it was 24 meters across!!

"Hao'er!" Bai Hao knew exactly what to do, and sent a second Heavencleaving Good Fortune Pill over to Bai Xiaochun. After consuming it, Bai Xiaochun's eyes shone, and he continued to work on shrinking the fire.

RUUUUUUUUMBLE!!

21 meters. 18 meters. Finally… 15 meters!!

It was at 15 meters when the sea of fire began to struggle most viciously. Bai Xiaochun's cultivation base was being drained rapidly, and his exhaustion was again mounting. However, it was at that point that… another color appeared within the 15-meter sea of fire!!

The fact that he had begun his endeavor with fifteen-colored flames was no waste! As of this moment, there wasn't a single portion of the nineteenth color, but rather, ten!

That ensured that the chances of success were increased significantly. Although Bai Xiaochun was panting nervously as he stared at the new color, he used the method devised by Bai Hao's augury to analyze it.

After studying it for about ten breaths of time, his eyes began to shine, and it was without the slightest hesitation that he sent some divine sense power into the fire…. He didn't make the slightest mistake! His divine sense immediately locked onto the nineteenth color.

RUUUUUUUUMBLE!!

The nineteenth color began to shine with blinding brightness, like a dragon flying up into the heavens. That nineteenth color… soon completely distinguished itself from the other eighteen colors!

"It worked!!" Bai Hao shouted excitedly.

Bai Xiaochun laughed hoarsely, but with passion as he reached out to grab the flame.

"Come to me, nineteen-colored flame!" he shouted. Rumbling sounds echoed out loudly as his hands closed around the fire.

The flame sank down into his hand until it couldn't even be seen. His fingers trembled slightly, and Bai Hao looked on, completely nervous. Although Bai Hao was convinced that his Master couldn't fail, he was still worried about what would happen.

Master and apprentice exchanged a glance, and then Bai Xiaochun took a deep breath and… slowly opened his fingers!

As he did, a tongue of nineteen-colored flame was clearly visible above his palm!

Nineteen-colored flame… success!

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Chapter 817: Bai Xiaochun?!

No one knew that he had conjured a nineteen-colored flame. After coming to realize this, Bai Xiaochun came to the conclusion that it wasn't his mask which had concealed the fact, but rather, the gravekeeper.

Furthermore, after the nineteen-colored flame appeared, the gravekeeper himself was nowhere to be seen. The Underworld River also vanished.

It was almost as if his presence during the past year had only been in order to give advice to Bai Xiaochun and Bai Hao. Now that Bai Xiaochun had succeeded in conjuring nineteen-colored flame, there was no further need for the gravekeeper to stay.

However, the night before disappearing, he had broken from his usual practice of being tight-lipped to give extensive advice about flame conjuring. Therefore, although Bai Xiaochun and Bai Hao felt a bit strange to be alone, they were moved by all of the information he had imparted.

"Master, all of the advice from Great-Grandpa Gravekeeper was incredible. Twenty-colored flame is the peak of the earthly rank, and although it will be very difficult, I feel quite confident that I can create the formula for you! In fact, I'm going to go into secluded meditation to work on it." Clasping hands, he bowed and said, "Master, take care of yourself while I'm away, sir!"

Bai Xiaochun took a deep breath, patted him on the shoulder, and nodded. Then, Bai Hao became a beam of glowing soul light that vanished into his soulhoarding pagoda.

A few more months went by, but the gravekeeper never returned, and Bai Hao remained in seclusion.

Bai Xiaochun didn't have enough ingredients to practice with any multi-colored flame, but he was able to perform auguries, and spent a lot of time doing research in that fashion.

"The only reason I succeeded in one shot was because of the Heavencleaving Good Fortune Pills…. If I try again, it won't work as smoothly." Patting his bag of holding, he contemplated the fact that although he was running very low on resources, he at least had everything from thirteen- to nineteen-colored flame on hand.

Some flames he only had one of, whereas he had multiple tongues of others. It was a collection that, if it were to be placed on public auction in the Wildlands, would cause a massive commotion. In fact, even earthly necromancers would likely scramble to get their hands on it. After some thought, Bai Xiaochun decided that trying to auction his flames off wasn't a good idea. He could really only sell them directly.

On another note, Bai Xiaochun had not forgotten his earlier promise to Zhou Yixing. In recent months, Bai Xiaochun had given him enough help and advice that he was now able to conjure his own fifteen-colored flame!!

That indicated that Zhou Yixing was now a celestial necromancer, which put him in a very excited and happy mood.

In Zhou Yixing's clan, the only other celestial necromancer was one of the patriarchs. In fact, before meeting Bai Xiaochun, he wouldn't even have been able to dream of reaching that rank.

But here he was, only a handful of years later, at that very level. Zhou Yixing knew that all of it… was because of Bai Xiaochun's kindness. That filled his heart with gratitude, and further reinforced his conviction that he had made the right decision!

As for Song Que, he had spent the year or so of time resting and continuing to use soul medicine to advance his cultivation, something he was able to do because of how the Chen Clan had forced his earlier breakthrough. Although he was still in the early Nascent Soul stage, his foundation was actually much stronger than before.

Although he didn't have much hope of becoming a deva, with his foundation back to normal, there was still a possibility. Therefore, he felt extremely grateful for the chances he had been given, and felt more closely tied to the Wildlands than ever.

A few more months went by. Bai Xiaochun had been in the Underworld River Restricted Area for far more than a year now, and was starting to get bored. He had avoided opportunities to make a scene, and was starting to wonder if he should send a message to the Grand Heavenmaster and ask to return to Arch-Emperor City.

Even if he couldn't, he at least hoped he could get back to Giant Ghost City.

However, even as Bai Xiaochun contemplated the subject, something happened in the Wildlands… which nobody could ever have anticipated!!

It all happened because of a single person, a young man who appeared first in the northern part of the Wildlands. He wore a white robe, and had flowing black hair and fair skin. He was always expressionless, and seemed profoundly arrogant. Bitter coldness surrounded him wherever he went, and his mere presence would cause gusts of wind and other heavenly phenomena.

His cultivation base was very strange. Sometimes it seemed to be in the Nascent Soul stage, and other times… not!

Wherever he went, slaughter ensued. In a short three-day period, he exterminated seven mid-sized tribes, and even one large tribe. On top of that, he wiped out a whole necromancer clan.

He had already killed tens of thousands!!

It was a brutal type of slaughter. Everyone who died ended up as desiccated corpses, as though all of their life force had been completely drained away. Even their souls were completely gone.

The northern Wildlands were immediately thrown into chaos. However, most shocking of all was that on the fourth day, the culprit vanished without a trace, only to appear in the eastern Wildlands, where more slaughter ensued.

Days passed, and the death toll rose close to 100,000. The entire Arch-Emperor Dynasty was enraged; this was clearly a bald-faced provocation!!

Most shocking of all was that the person carrying out these acts looked exactly like one of the most wanted people in the Wildlands. Bai Xiaochun!

It didn't take long before just about everyone came to the conclusion that this person really was Bai Xiaochun, who occupied 1st place on the Hell-Emperor Stele, who had enhanced his own nascent soul to crush all other chosen beneath his feet!

"Bai Xiaochun has appeared again!!"

"He's been holed up for years. Finally, he shows his face again!!"

"Dammit. This is so brutal! He slaughtered 100,000 people! Bai Xiaochun has to die!!"

"Kill Bai Xiaochun!!"

The news spread like storm winds, and it didn't take long before everyone in the Wildlands had heard. It quickly became the main subject of discussion in both Arch-Emperor City and the cities of the four heavenly kings.

However, despite the slaughters which were being carried out, none of the four heavenly kings, nor the Arch-Emperor Dynasty, felt inclined to muster troops to do something about it. Considering the level of cultivation base of the most powerful experts, they felt it wouldn't be difficult at all to take care of the issue.

"Now that he's out in the open, it's time to just kill him!"

"If he had remained in hiding, it would have been difficult to find him. But now he has the impertinence to do this? Does he really think the Wildlands couldn't handle a measly Nascent Soul cultivator like him!?"

Such word spread quickly among the nobility and aristocracy. As for Mistress Red-Dust, she was particularly agitated by the news, and immediately requested of the Grand Heavenmaster that she be allowed to take action to put an end to Bai Xiaochun!

The Grand Heavenmaster was busy with the Proclamation of Universal Grace. However, he knew about the bad blood between Mistress Red-Dust and Bai Xiaochun, so after only a short hesitation, he agreed to her request.

Shortly thereafter, Mistress Red-Dust took to action. She didn't go after Bai Xiaochun alone. After all, her fight with him in the past made her realize that he was very crafty and had many trump cards at his disposal.

Therefore, she mustered nearly half of the Giant Ghost Legion that was garrisoned at Arch-Emperor City to go track Bai Xiaochun down and kill him.

"This time you're definitely going to die by my hands, Bai Xiaochun!" she said through gritted teeth as she left Arch-Emperor City.

Eventually, Zhou Yixing caught wind of the situation. He had been close to Bai Xiaochun for more than a year, but had many subordinates on the outside constantly feeding him information. Therefore, he was actually one of the first people to hear the news. At first, he was shocked, but managed to get himself under control. Although he wasn't sure about all the details, he knew that this was a very important matter, and immediately went to Bai Xiaochun to break the news.

"Bai Xiaochun?!?!?!" Bai Xiaochun said, his eyes widening with disbelief. Then he simply stared mutely at Zhou Yixing.

Zhou Yixing was equally stunned, and was also well aware that the news spreading about Bai Xiaochun must be false…. There was no way that the person in front of him could have just killed 100,000 people.

"Yeah," he said. "After appearing in public, he killed more than 100,000 people. Zhou… Zhou Zimo took nearly half of the Giant Ghost Legion to go kill him…." With that, he went on to explain everything he knew.

The more Bai Xiaochun listened, the more surprised he became. It seemed completely unbelievable.

"Who's impersonating me?!" he thought. Something definitely seemed fishy. This was clearly an imposter who was intentionally causing problems for him! The fact that someone was killing tens of thousands of people in his name instantly made Bai Xiaochun furious.

"You're trying to screw me up one side and down the other!! No. No way. I have to go see what bastard is doing this!"

Anger burning, he made his decision about what to do.

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Chapter 818: Its Her!

One of the reasons he wanted to go see who was impersonating him was because he was angry. The other was because he was worried. As far as he was concerned, there could only be two types of people who might impersonate him: either a friend, or an enemy!

If it was a friend, he might still be angry, but would still need to determine who it was, and why they were doing something so stupid. If that person was still alive, and deserved saving, then he would save them.

If this person was an enemy… then he still wanted to know who exactly it was!

Furthermore, he was confident that after all the spirit enhancements his mask had received, it was definitely powerful enough that a demigod wouldn't be able to see through it. As long as he didn't slip up accidentally, no one would be able to determine his true identity.

At the moment, he was a very important person in the Wildlands. He was the former inspections commissioner of Arch-Emperor City, as well as an earthly necromancer. Either one of those positions was one that would put him in a position to trample the Wildlands beneath his feet.

"I can't just go off by myself. The best thing would be to go with Mistress Red-Dust and the Giant Ghost Legion. Going with them… will make my cover impossible to break." Having made his decision, he calmed himself down, and then left with Song Que and Zhou Yixing, borrowing the Underworld River Restricted Area brigade's heavenly airship.

He didn't pause for even a moment along the way. The Underworld River Restricted Area was located in the central Wildlands, not very far from the eastern regions. In the very moments in which Mistress Red-Dust was making her final preparations for departure, he transmitted a polite message to her indicating that he wished to escort her along her way.

At first, she was inclined to ignore him. However, she was still angry about what had gone on between her and Bai Hao in the Inspections Manor, and decided that this would be the perfect opportunity to teach him a lesson or two.

Smiling coldly, she agreed to meet up. And thus, only a few days later, Bai Xiaochun arrived at the appointed meeting location with Mistress Red-Dust.

It was one of the many ordinary teleportation portals scattered throughout the Wildlands, a place guarded year-round by powerful soul cultivators. As soon as Bai Xiaochun arrived, everyone recognized him, and offered respectful greetings.

Bai Xiaochun was completely wrapped up in thoughts about who was impersonating him, and was in no mood for chatting. He simply waited outside of the teleportation portal for some time until it began to shine with bright, flickering light. Moments later, numerous figures began to pour out of it, who were none other than the soldiers of the Giant Ghost Legion.

They all nodded in greeting upon seeing him, after which they fanned out to seal down the area. After everything was secured, the teleportation portal flickered again, and more forces poured out to reinforce the perimeter. Soon, there were more than 10,000 people present.

Last to emerge were Mistress Red-Dust and her private guard. As soon as Bai Xiaochun laid eyes on Mistress Red-Dust, he thought back to what had occurred back in the Inspections Manor, and cleared his throat. Of course, he was a different person than he was back then. He was now an earthly necromancer, and therefore, he looked over at Mistress Red-Dust and gave her a friendly smile and nod.

She looked at him coldly and let out a snort. She knew that if she wanted to teach him a lesson, she needed to be patient. Furthermore, her main priority was to find Bai Xiaochun. Therefore, she sent some divine sense out into the area to inspect it, and after confirming everything was in order, flew up into the air.

The more than 10,000 members of the Giant Ghost Legion followed her. Under normal circumstances, the fact that she was ignoring him would have prompted Bai Xiaochun to cast a glare back at her. But right now, he was in a precarious political situation. Furthermore, he was very anxious about the matter of the Bai Xiaochun imposter. Therefore, he simply endured the situation and followed the soldiers.

Nobody spoke as they sped along behind Mistress Red-Dust. Anger burned in her beautiful eyes as she proceeded along, a jade slip in hand which constantly gave her updates and news. After a few hours passed, she suddenly pointed off into the distance.

"All clues point to the fact that Bai Xiaochun is still in the east Wildlands. He was last seen in a location roughly 5,000 kilometers from Mount Amity…. Clearly, his next target is none other than that very mountain!" With that, she picked up speed, as did the grim soldiers she led. They became thousands of beams of bright light which streaked through the air at top speed.

"This Zhou Zimo is no good at all at leading soldiers!" Bai Xiaochun thought. "Unless the imposter Bai Xiaochun is a complete idiot, there's no way he would just stick around waiting for people to come after him…."

He was just about to offer his opinion on the matter when Mistress Red-Dust looked at him with cold eyes.

"The villain Bai Xiaochun has already been in this area for about half a month," she said. "Every time he shows up, he sticks around in the same area for a certain period of time before leaving. So whatever it was that you were about to say, just stow it!"

Bai Xiaochun felt a bit awkward. It was obvious that Mistress Red-Dust was still brooding over the events in the Inspections Manor. However, he couldn't help but be shocked by what she had just told him, and, feeling that he had no other choice, he hurried over to speak with her more privately.

"Something's off here!" he said. "Why would he stay in one place? What if he's waiting for us? Zimo, this sounds like a trap!" The more he thought about it, the stranger it seemed. Based on what he had been told before, he assumed that the imposter Bai Xiaochun was randomly going around committing crimes. Therefore, this new information seemed very disconcerting.

Mistress Red-Dust snorted coldly. "Of course it's a trap! That's why I didn't come alone. I brought an army with me!"

Now that Bai Xiaochun was getting a better idea of the details of the situation, he was feeling more and more nervous. Taking a deep breath, he decided to offer some more advice, "Hold on. No, something is really off. Zimo, I recommend you hold back. Send in the army to scout around first. Or maybe ask his highness the king to come!"

"Shut up!" Mistress Red-Dust said with an impatient wave of her hand. "Nobody asked you to come along. You came on your own! Besides… who knows Bai Xiaochun better, me or you?"

Inwardly, Bai Xiaochun rolled his eyes about a hundred thousand times. He really wished he could point out to this Zhou Zimo that of course she didn't understand Bai Xiaochun better than Bai Xiaochun himself!

However, there was no way he could say such a thing, and he merely had to let the fires of frustration burn in his heart as Mistress Red-Dust flew off into the distance.

Of course, it wasn't as if Mistress Red-Dust hadn't made any advance preparations. In fact, she felt herself to be completely and utterly prepared. Furthermore, she hated Bai Xiaochun deep in her bones, and wanted nothing more than to kill him. At the moment, she was completely confident that, even if he did have some unknown superhuman abilities, considering she herself was a deva, she should definitely be able to crush him!

"Maybe if he were somewhere else I could ignore it. But this is the east Wildlands! My father the king is right around the corner in Giant Ghost City. If anything unexpected happens… father will come immediately to help me!" Laughing coldly inside, she felt more confident than ever about what was going to happen. Ignoring Bai Xiaochun's words of warning, she continued on toward Mount Amity.

Bai Xiaochun was already starting to regret how things were turning out. The intelligence reports he had read earlier had been very vague, leaving him mostly in the dark. But now that he knew more, he was in a very tough position. Finally, he stamped his foot in frustration and followed after Mistress Red-Dust, his vigilance growing by the moment.

"If anything weird happens, I'm out of here…." he thought nervously. As he proceeded along, he surveyed the area constantly, both with eyesight and divine sense. To him, everything in the area seemed cold and sinister, which caused a sensation of imminent crisis to rise up in his heart.

"It's so cold…. It's a frigid qi that seems… familiar…." Even as he pondered the matter, Mount Amity appeared up ahead!

Mount Amity featured five mountain peaks that looked almost like a hand. It rose up out of the dense jungle into the evening sky, creating a stark silhouette that immediately filled one with a sense of foreboding.

The jungle was extremely quiet, even after the Giant Ghost Legion arrived. As for Bai Xiaochun, he looked around, scalp tingling at the realization that all of the trees in the jungle… were withered up and dead!!

It was almost as if all of their life force had been completely sucked away!

Mistress Red-Dust and the Giant Ghost Legion also noticed this fact, and their expressions turned even more serious than before. However, they didn't slow down. Instead, they shot out over the jungle toward Mount Amity!

Before they could reach the mountain, however, sinister laughter suddenly erupted from the third of Mount Amity's looming peaks!!

"Hehehe…. You people certainly took your time…. So few of you…. I'm actually still a bit hungry…." It was impossible to tell whether the voice belonged to a man or a woman. It was piercing, and almost sounded like a man, woman, and child all talking at the same time. Even as the voice erupted out into the open, a figure appeared on the third mountain peak.

It was a young man in a long white robe, with flowing black hair. Shockingly, he had two pupils in each eye, and his mouth was twisted in a bizarre smile. Then, he stuck his tongue out and licked his lips.

As for his facial features, he looked exactly like… Bai Xiaochun!!

However, as soon as Bai Xiaochun saw this person, his mind was battered by tsunamis of shock! He even shivered, and his pupils constricted as he breathed, "Gongsun Wan'er!!"

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Chapter 819: Fishing!

This person was none other than… Gongsun Wan'er! She looked different, as she was impersonating Bai Xiaochun. But as soon as he laid eyes on her, he recognized her!

It was mostly because of her smile, the way she licked her lips, and the way she talked about being hungry. The enormity of it all struck him like a lightning bolt.

He suddenly thought back to the labyrinth, and all of the indescribably terrifying things he had seen there….

"A ghost…." he thought, shivering uncontrollably. In fact, he almost screamed. Back in the labyrinth, Gongsun Wan'er had revealed everything to him, confirming that she was the very same young girl from the Fallen Sword Abyss, the one with the little teddy bear!

"Where's Lei Shan…?" he thought.

In almost that exact moment, a figure appeared behind Gongsun Wan'er, a tall, burly man!

However, he was bright red, because of the fact that he had no skin on his body. His face was expressionless, as if he couldn't even feel pain. As he stood there next to Gongsun Wan'er, he emanated the most terrifying of auras.

He was none other than… Lei Shan, whom the girl had captured and skinned alive in the Fallen Sword Abyss!!

Bai Xiaochun's heart was beginning to pound even harder. He knew how terrifying Gongsun Wan'er was, and was sure that Mistress Red-Dust was not a match for her. Without any hesitation, he pulled out a jade slip to send a message, only to find that the jade slip wouldn't work.

His breath stuck in his throat, and he considered whether or not to just flee. From what he could tell, Gongsun Wan'er hadn't recognized him, and therefore, getting away and sending word to the Giant Ghost King seemed like the best plan at this point.

However, before he could even begin to flee, Mistress Red-Dust narrowed her eyes and made a grasping motion to summon a red lotus.

"So, you finally show your face, Bai Xiaochun. Prepare to die!" Although Mistress Red-Dust could tell that there was something different about this Bai Xiaochun than before, she didn't have time to think about the matter. She quickly performed an incantation gesture, causing deva fluctuations to roll out. Then she waved her finger, and the air rippled as the enormous illusory image of a finger appeared and shot toward Mount Amity.

In the instant that the finger appeared, Lei Shan looked up, and a brutal gleam could be seen in his eyes. Throwing his head back, he howled, a heaven-rending, earth-crushing sound which rolled out in a wave-like attack. Then he stamped his foot down, causing the third peak of Mount Amity to collapse as he shot upward into the air!

Intense rumbling sounds echoed out as the sky went dim. Amidst the rushing wind, Mistress Red-Dust's pupils constricted, and she performed another incantation gesture.

"Deploy formation!" she shouted.

Instantly, the more than 10,000 soldiers of the Giant Ghost Legion fanned out around Mount Amity, creating a massive spell formation.

In order to avoid attracting attention, Bai Xiaochun tried to stick close to one of the soul cultivator soldiers. However, it was in that moment, when the third peak was still crumbling to the ground, that Gongsun Wan'er vanished. When she reappeared, she wasn't near Mistress Red-Dust, but rather, next to a Core Formation soldier who was powering the spell formation.

She moved with such incredible speed that the Core Formation soul cultivator couldn't even react. Gongsun Wan'er breathed in, and the soul cultivator shivered. In the briefest of moments, his body withered up, and soul light emerged from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. At that point, he was nothing more than a desiccated corpse….

His life force, his soul, and everything else about him had been absorbed by Gongsun Wan'er. At that point, eerie laughter rang out over the battlefield, causing all hearts to shudder.

Bai Xiaochun already felt like he was going crazy from fear, and was wailing inwardly. As for Mistress Red-Dust, her face fell as she performed another incantation gesture, unleashing deva power in a deadly attack on Gongsun Wan'er.

However, before she could move very far, the burly Lei Shan blurred into motion, striking at her with a meaty fist.

Booms rang out as Lei Shan and Mistress Red-Dust began fighting. As for Lei Shan, he seemed almost indestructible; although Mistress Red-Dust's magical techniques slammed into him, his expression didn't change at all, and he continued to attack without letup.

"Dammit!!" Mistress Red-Dust said, her expression flickering. Gongsun Wan'er's laughter continued to float out across the battlefield as she flitted back and forth between the soul cultivators, transforming each and every one into a withered corpse.

As she did, her aura grew stronger and stronger!

At this point, Gongsun Wan'er's voice began to float out. "Your people have just the qi and blood I was looking for, and cultivation base too. The tribal savages have incomplete spiritual and physical souls. Even a hundred of them don't match up to a single one of you!"

The Giant Ghost Legion soldiers' expressions flickered with shock as they realized that their spell formation was completely useless. Furthermore, when their divine abilities landed on Gongsun Wan'er, they didn't affect her or slow her down at all.

No one could fight back against her! The soldiers could only watch helplessly as their comrades were shriveled up into corpses and absorbed!

It was a terrifying sight. Within a very short period of time, hundreds of people had been transformed into dried-up corpses. Even more horrifying was that after absorbing so many soul cultivators, Gongsun Wan'er was transforming. Chuckling bizarrely, she no longer had to teleport back and forth, but instead, sent her hair flying out in all directions, simultaneously attacking nearly a thousand people at once.

In the blink of an eye, numerous strands of hair had stabbed into the foreheads of the soul cultivators, and began to suck them dry. Screams rang out, but were quickly silenced as everyone became a withered corpse!!

Gongsun Wan'er's face glowed more healthily than ever, and her eyes shone with a bizarre light.

"Still a bit hungry…."

The remaining Giant Ghost Legion soldiers were visibly shocked, and began to fall back, not willing at all to face this creature in battle. Bai Xiaochun was among them, his heart pounding with vigilance. However, as of this moment, Gongsun Wan'er still didn't seem to have noticed him.

Gongsun Wan'er retracted her hair from the nearly one thousand corpses, and then took a breath. Meanwhile, Mistress Red-Dust, her eyes shining with red light, performed a double-handed incantation gesture, summoning an enormous figure behind her, a Dharma Idol that bore her visage.

"Get the hell out of here!" she shouted. The Dharma Idol radiated a murderous air as it performed an incantation gesture, causing it to shine with boundless light and then transform into an enormous red spear which was launched toward Lei Shan.

Not even Lei Shan could defend against that spear, which stabbed directly into his chest, then carried him flying toward Mount Amity.

A moment later, he and the spear slammed into the mountain, whereupon a bright red light exploded out, along with heaven-shaking, earth-shattering rumbling sounds. All four of the remaining peaks of the mountain shattered, sending out a shockwave that turned the surrounding jungle into nothing more than ash….

A moment later, the dust cleared, revealing an enormous crater, at the bottom of which lay Lei Shan, completely motionless, a head-sized hole in his chest!!

Mistress Red-Dust was left ashen-faced and gasping for breath after unleashing this particular divine ability. However, her phoenix-like eyes shone with murder as she unhesitatingly shot toward Gongsun Wan'er.

The surrounding soldiers were enlivened at the sight, but not Bai Xiaochun. He knew that Lei Shan was nothing more than a puppet, and that if it took a divine ability the likes of which Mistress Red-Dust had just unleashed to kill him, then that only went to show how difficult it would be to take out Gongsun Wan'er.

"Well, let's see what happens," he thought nervously. "If Mistress Red-Dust can seize the advantage, maybe I'll jump in and help her…. If not, then I'll try to get her to escape!" Bai Xiaochun had long since begun to think about making his own escape. However, he had the feeling that unless he did it with the entire group, it would attract unwanted attention from Gongsun Wan'er.

It was very worrisome that not only had she been following him for such a long time, but she had also begun impersonating him. If Bai Xiaochun didn't grasp the implications of that, then he didn't deserve to have practiced cultivation for so long.

"She's fishing. Fishing for me!!" The mere thought caused his scalp to tingle violently, and his heart to pound with regret.

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Chapter 820: Intense Fighting

Bai Xiaochun was trembling in fear. It was obvious that Lei Shan was vastly more powerful than he had been in the past, although it had clearly come at incredible cost. However, whether or not he had been killed in the interchange just now, one thing was clear; he had already died in battle in the past.

"Can dead people… die again?" he thought, terrified as he looked over at Lei Shan's corpse. However, Lei Shan wasn't moving at all, whereas Mistress Red-Dust and Gongsun Wan'er were fighting more fiercely than ever.

By this point, Mistress Red-Dust realized that she was up against a formidable opponent, and was performing constant double-handed incantation gestures to send out beams of red light that seemed capable of slashing the air into bits.

The red lotus that was her magical item swirled around her, occasionally sending out bursts of flower petals. As a result, she was constantly surrounded by deva power that could exterminate anything it touched.

And yet, that was only secondary. Most important was her own deva cultivation base, which sent out pressure that could crush onto Nascent Soul cultivators like a mountain. Whether physically or mentally, that pressure would be difficult to bear. Most opponents who faced it would likely be destroyed in body and soul without even being able to fight back.

However, Gongsun Wan'er was no ordinary opponent. The magical technique she currently employed was bizarre; she launched rings of black light out into the air, each and every one of which was filled with destructive power that sucked away at Mistress Red-Dust's life force.

One of the most shocking things was Gongsun Wan'er's speed. She moved so indescribably quickly that she was little more than a blur that left a string of afterimages behind. As the battle progressed, more and more black rings began to build up around Mistress Red-Dust.

Rumbling sounds echoed out without cease. Clearly, Gongsun Wan'er's cultivation base was not at the level of a deva's, and yet, she didn't seem to feel any pressure at all when fighting Mistress Red-Dust. Even more strange was that Bai Xiaochun could just barely make out a Dharma Idol behind the afterimages of Gongsun Wan'er. The Dharma Idol depicted a woman in a black robe, spectacularly beautiful, with a look of incredibly arrogant contempt in her eyes.

The fight was actually getting closer to Bai Xiaochun, and the magical techniques they were using made the area very dangerous. Shockwaves blasted out constantly, making it impossible for him or any of the other soldiers to even get close.

Bai Xiaochun actually had it better off than many of the other soldiers. Some of them were being affected by some sort of gravitational force that sucked away at their life force, turning their hair white.

If people nearby were having trouble, then there was little need to mention how badly things were going for Mistress Red-Dust. She had a very unsightly expression on her face, and yet, had no time to even speak. Every bit of her concentration was focused on the fighting.

This Bai Xiaochun that she was fighting was far more difficult to deal with than she had anticipated. He almost didn't seem like the same person she had fought in the past. In fact, although he looked physically like Bai Xiaochun, when it came to his aura, he seemed like a different person.

He was definitely very different from anything she remembered.

Mistress Red-Dust's divine abilities didn't seem capable of harming him at all. Furthermore, the black rings of light being sent against her actually affected her mentally.

"He's definitely not in the Nascent Soul stage!!' she thought, shocked. The entire time, a strange smile could be seen on Gongsun Wan'er's face, and her eyes flickered with a strange light. She continuously licked her lips, as though she were thinking about how delicious Mistress Red-Dust was, and how wonderful it would be to consume her.

Bai Xiaochun was shocked by what he was seeing, and began to back up as quickly as possible. As he watched the women fight, he noticed that the Dharma Idol from before was now nowhere to be seen. He even wondered if he had actually been seeing things. By now, he had come to the realization that Mistress Red-Dust was not going to be able to keep the fight going for very long. Heart pounding, he began to consider how to convince her to flee.

However, it was at that point that the situation suddenly changed. Mistress Red-Dust's eyes erupted with a murderous light, and she suddenly lurched backward. In response, Gongsun Wan'er smiled, and was about to charge after her, when her expression suddenly flickered, and she backed up.

As she did, Mistress Red-Dust's chest heaved, and her eyes shone with a light of madness. Suddenly, deva fluctuations rolled out of her with explosive force and speed, merging with creation around her, making her seem like she was the overlord of all heaven and earth.

"You will be killed beyond the shadow of a doubt, Bai Xiaochun!" she shouted, seemingly filled with a sudden burst of determination. With that, she performed an incantation gesture, causing her face to turn pale as a drop of blood flew out from her index finger.

The blood glittered as brightly as a precious treasure, and as it appeared, all light in the area went dim. It was clearly no ordinary blood. In fact, this was a magical technique of Mistress Red-Dust's, something that combined the power of her cultivation base and her life essence to create a drop of… magical blood!

It wasn't soul blood. However, this magical blood contained elements of Mistress Red-Dust's enlightenment regarding the great Daos of heaven and earth. As soon as it appeared in the open, it transformed into a blood-red spear!

At first glance, it was far more shocking that the spear she had just used to cut down Lei Shan. In fact, it even caused Gongsun Wan'er's expression to flicker, which caused a bit of hope to rise in Bai Xiaochun's heart. Without any hesitation, Mistress Red-Dust hefted the spear and then launched it at Gongsun Wan'er.

Sonic booms echoed out as the spear pierced through the air, appearing almost instantly right in front of Gongsun Wan'er. And yet, Gongsun Wan'er then erupted into a blur of speed, dodging out to the side so that the spear stabbed halfway into the ground behind her.

Bai Xiaochun gasped. The mere sight of the spear filled him with a sensation of danger, and he almost couldn't believe it had failed to hit its mark.

Even as Gongsun Wan'er backed up from the spear, Mistress Red-Dust hovered in midair, her eyes shining with red light as another drop of blood appeared at the tip of her middle finger.

It was… a second drop of magical blood!

It immediately turned into a second spear, which shot forth in attack. Then blood emerged from her ring finger, pinky finger, and thumb. In the end, four more spears were flung out, and although Gongsun Wan'er managed to evade all of them, they ended up stabbing into the ground in a rough semi-circle!

They were like a barricade that caused Gongsun Wan'er's expression to flicker. Just when she seemed inclined to flee, a sixth spear appeared, and then a seventh…. More spears of magical blood flew out, stabbing into the ground around Gongsun Wan'er until… they formed a complete circle!

By the time this was accomplished, Mistress Red-Dust was breathing heavily, and her face was virtually devoid of any color. Using magical blood to power such techniques was very draining, and wasn't something she could use in a protracted fight.

However, the results were shocking. Gongsun Wan'er was clearly in trouble, and wanted to flee, but as soon as she got near any of the spears, black mist would begin to rise up from her, almost as if she were beginning to melt, and she would be forced to back up.

The surrounding Giant Ghost Legion soldiers were enlivened, and began to edge forward to offer assistance, Bai Xiaochun among them.

However, that was when the trapped Gongsun Wan'er glared over at Mistress Red-Dust and let out a shrill scream that pierced into the minds of everyone present, filling them with pain.

As for the ten spears, they suddenly began to crack and splinter.

Mistress Red-Dust's expression flickered, and yet, she didn't seem alarmed. Phoenix-like eyes shining with murderous intent, she performed a double-handed incantation gesture and then waved her fingers toward the spears!

"Shatter and destroy!" she said. Blood-red light erupted from the ten spears as they ripped out of the ground and shot toward Gongsun Wan'er. Before she could do anything, they stabbed through her, and then circled back around for another attack!

From Bai Xiaochun's perspective, it was like countless beams of red light forming a blood-colored net around and through Gongsun Wan'er! Obviously, she would soon be killed in body and soul!

At the same time, Gongsun Wan'er's screams echoed across the battlefield.

It was a frightening sight to Bai Xiaochun, and suddenly he was struck by how powerful Mistress Red-Dust was. Clearly, she was about to win this fight, and it caused both her and everyone else present to sigh with relief….

And yet, for some reason, Bai Xiaochun felt like it was all a bit too ruthless.

"After all, Gongsun Wan'er never did anything to hurt me…."

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Chapter 821: Cant See Me...

As Bai Xiaochun stood there hesitating, the ten spears stabbed through Gongsun Wan'er over and over again. Blood sprayed everywhere, and she seemed to be hovering on the brink of exploding completely. Her screams grew more intense, and powerful fluctuations began to roll off of her.

Everyone in the crowd seemed very worked up by what was happening.

"Die, Bai Xiaochun!" Mistress Red-Dust growled through gritted teeth. Then she bit her tongue and spit out a mouthful of blood. Performing an incantation gesture, she waved her finger and sent the ten spears whizzing forward with increased speed, to the point where they burst into flames.

The blood-colored spears shot toward Gongsun Wan'er, who was teetering on the verge of collapse, and then suddenly exploded, releasing a terrifyingly destructive force right onto her.

As everyone watched, Gongsun Wan'er's body collapsed into pieces!!

The force of the explosion was so intense that not even Mistress Red-Dust was able to control it fully. Everything in the area was destroyed, and all of the Giant Ghost Legion soul cultivators were sent tumbling away.

Many of them were even coughing up blood. Bai Xiaochun wasn't affected very much, but he didn't want to stand out, so he screamed miserably and sent himself tumbling backward before staggering to a stop.

However, deep in his eyes, a complicated expression could be seen that was a mixture of pleasure and concern. Looking over at the area where Gongsun Wan'er had fallen to pieces, he murmured, "Is she really dead? It couldn't have been that simple…."

His heart pounded with suspicion as exclamations of joy rose up around him.

As for Mistress Red-Dust, her face was pale white, but she forced a smile onto it. Then she took a breath, and was about to go inspect the dead Bai Xiaochun, when suddenly her face fell, and she backed up.

"You…."

Without any warning, an intense beam of blood-red light erupted up into the air from the spot where Gongsun Wan'er had collapsed. It was a vicious, abominable light, accompanied by a terrifying aura that seemed to pulse with rage!!

The sky was stained red, making the entire world seem like a vile ocean of blood!

Mistress Red-Dust had reacted a moment too late, and was affected by the beam of light, causing her to tremble as blood sprayed out of her mouth.

As shouts of alarm filled the air, Bai Xiaochun's eyes widened to the point where they seemed like they might pop out of his head. Earlier, he had been pretending to be staggering around, but now he really could hardly stand up. Screaming, he fell backward, his heart pounding as he tried to get his mask to make it seem like he was dead….

As Bai Xiaochun tried to fake his death, the blood-red beam of light began to contract. In the blink of an eye, it became a shadowy, blood-colored figure standing right on the spot where Gongsun Wan'er had fallen to pieces. Then, that figure pounced on a nearby Giant Ghost Legion cultivator with speed that vastly surpassed anything which had been on display before.

As the light stabbed through the soul cultivator, he shivered, and his hair turned white. Then his teeth began to fall out, wrinkles filled his skin, and a moment later, he was nothing but a desiccated corpse.

His soul, life force, cultivation base, and everything else that made him up had been absorbed by the blood-colored figure…. And yet, that was only the beginning. The figure became a red streak of light that began to stab through one soul cultivator after another….

Every cultivator it touched screamed before shriveling up into a corpse….

Although all of this takes a bit of time to describe, it actually happened within the blink of an eye. In the shortest of moments… the blood-colored figure that was Gongsun Wan'er stabbed through numerous soul cultivators.

1,000. 2,000. 3,000….

5,000. 6,000. 7,000….

Little more than a red streak was visible, which was almost like an embroidery thread that stabbed through countless soul cultivators, seemingly linking them together.

Bai Xiaochun lay on the ground pretending to be dead, but he could see everything clearly, and his scalp was tingling so hard it felt like it might explode. Any mixed emotions he had felt because of the possible death of Gongsun Wan'er earlier had now completely vanished.

"She can't see me. She can't see me…. I'm already dead…." That was what he kept muttering to himself as he tried to get the mask to keep up his facade of death. By now, it was very obvious that Gongsun Wan'er… was not someone that Mistress Red-Dust could fight!

"Dead! Only a few people are left of nearly 10,000…. The rest… were killed in an instant!! I told you people! You should have listened to me!" Bai Xiaochun was so nervous he almost couldn't take it. The sight of Gongsun Wan'er killing so many people had him trembling inwardly, filled with a sensation of deadly crisis to the point where he simply lay there trying not to move, hoping that Gongsun Wan'er wouldn't notice him.

Perhaps it was because of the mask, or perhaps it was his excellent acting skills, but either way, the red streak that was Gongsun Wan'er didn't pay any attention to him. Nor did she pay any attention to the handful of people who had been injured earlier and were lying motionless on the ground.

Eventually, the red streak of light shot back up into the air, where it formed back into the image of Bai Xiaochun.

However, by this point, the fluctuations emanating out were no longer that of the Nascent Soul stage, but rather, those of a deva!!

The sky went dim, and winds screamed. Half of the sky was now magenta, and was trying to consume the other half of the sky, which was blood-red.

Of course, the entire sky had once been in the control of Mistress Red-Dust's will, but now, that control was being wrested away!

"Bai Xiaochun!!" Mistress Red-Dust cried, trembling visibly. The fact that her mind was being driven out of heaven and earth caused a backlash that sent blood spraying out of her mouth. Her eyes shone with murderous light; it wasn't that she didn't want to save the men under her command, she was just too slow. Furthermore, the attack she had just sustained from the red beam of light had completely destabilized her own qi and blood. She barely had time to wrest herself under control, let alone go save anyone else.

When Bai Xiaochun heard Mistress Red-Dust yelling his own name, his sighed bitterly inside at how unfair it was that he was being made the scapegoat….

"I have to get out of here," he thought, his heart pounding. "Fudge! I'm gonna enhance my nascent soul immediately and get into the late Nascent Soul stage…. That way I can keep my poor little life out of danger…." Although the fact that Gongsun Wan'er had shown up wasn't necessarily a good thing for him, there were at least some benefits to be had.

For example, if he enhanced his nascent soul, then few people would suspect his true identity. After all, they already had their sights set on someone they believed to be him….

"Well there's no use fantasizing about what will happen. First things first: I have to figure out a way to escape." Unfortunately, he was currently surrounded by corpses, which meant that if he moved, he would stick out more than ever.

He could only try to keep up his act of being dead, and hope that things ended soon. Once Gongsun Wan'er left, he would probably be able to flee. Or perhaps some other circumstances would arise that would give him a chance to make an escape.

Even as Bai Xiaochun stewed in his anxiety, Gongsun Wan'er looked up and smiled broadly at the shivering Mistress Red-Dust.

"My profound thanks! I'm finally feeling a bit sated. If I eat a few more of you… then I'll finally be full." With that, she blurred into motion toward Mistress Red-Dust.

She didn't move quite as quickly as she had when she was a red streak of light, but she still moved with lightning-like speed. As she closed in, Mistress Red-Dust performed a double-handed incantation gesture, causing her red lotus to swirl around her. However, the mere wave of Gongsun Wan'er's hand caused blood to spray out of Mistress Red-Dust's mouth, and she was shoved backward several dozen meters.

"You've lost a lot of blood," Gongsun Wan'er said. "That's not good. If I eat you now, you won't taste very good." As Gongsun Wan'er's voice drifted eerily across the battlefield, Bai Xiaochun lay there looking at her out of the corner of his eye, his heart gripped with coldness.

Mistress Red-Dust wasn't a match for Gongsun Wan'er at all. Booms rang out one after another as she was shoved backward again and again, blood spraying out of her mouth constantly until she was in very bad shape.

The magical item that was her red lotus was shattered by Gongsun Wan'er, and eventually turned into ash. Mistress Red-Dust was now pale-faced and teetering back and forth. By now, it looked like she wanted to flee, and yet it was obvious that Gongsun Wan'er was so fast that escape was impossible!

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Chapter 822: Xiaochun Makes A Move!

It was clearly a moment of grave crisis, and yet Bai Xiaochun understood that if he revealed himself now, it wouldn't do any good. Not only would he fail to save Mistress Red-Dust, but he would also most likely end up perishing.

However, it was very troubling to see Mistress Red-Dust continuously shoved backward by Gongsun Wan'er's attacks. Mistress Red-Dust was clearly getting weaker and weaker, and was hovering on the brink of death.

As Bai Xiaochun struggled over what to do, Gongsun Wan'er continued to get closer to Mistress Red-Dust, and was just about to launch another attack when she suddenly stopped in place. Then, her eyes glittered as she shot backward.

Even as she did, the weakened and suppressed Mistress Red-Dust suddenly looked up. Her beautiful features were ashen, but her eyes glittered with something dark, sinister, and icy cold!

"You finally got close enough…." Mistress Red-Dust said. Then, her arms shot out to either side as two images appeared, one in each pupil! They were images that depicted, not a person, but a city!!

It was a city that was every bit a match for Giant Ghost City in terms of size and splendor. It was perfectly constructed, with four towering walls and, if one looked close enough, countless bustling residents.

"Red Dust…." Mistress Red-Dust said. As soon as the words left her lips, rumbling filled the sky, and a shocking energy erupted from her eyes.

At the same time, the air beneath Gongsun Wan'er's feet suddenly began to transform. An illusory, hand-sized city appeared which was an exact copy of the cities within Mistress Red-Dust's eyes. Out of the city shot numerous illusory iron chains, which instantly wrapped around Gongsun Wan'er….

Gongsun Wan'er's face fell as she realized that she was locked in place and couldn't even struggle. Then, the city began to drop down to the ground, dragging her and the chains with it.

As she descended, she… began to shrink!!

From the look of it, she would soon become so small that she would actually fit inside the city, and then be eternally sealed inside of it! This magical technique was Mistress Red-Dust's trump card!

However, what had been unleashed so far was only half of the trump card; there was still more to come before its true power would be fully manifest.

This trump card was vastly more terrifying than the magical blood from earlier, and also came at great cost to Mistress Red-Dust. She had to waste a significant amount of longevity to power it, plus, she was using it after having been significantly injured. Blood sprayed out of her mouth as she seemed to weaken further. She almost couldn't breathe, and even staggered backward. Biting down on her tongue to try to remain conscious, her hands flashed with a double-handed incantation gesture as she prepared to complete the technique!

As for Bai Xiaochun, he lay there, transfixed by the sudden shift in the tide of battle.

In that moment, though, Gongsun Wan'er, who was continuing to shrink as she dropped toward the city, suddenly smiled.

"A giant ghost secret magic. Nice. Red Dust Violet Road…. Going all out, I see…. Well that's good. Let's see if you have enough life left in you to finish unleashing it!" Even as she spoke, she raised her hand into the air. As she did, her index finger turned pitch black, and she pointed it at Mistress Red-Dust. [1]

The lands quaked and the sky seethed as a huge black ring of light suddenly materialized around Mistress Red-Dust. Instantly, Mistress Red-Dust began to tremble, and life force began to pour out of her eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. It even came out of her pores, a white mist which began to surge toward the black ring!! She could hardly breathe properly, and her face was as pale as death. She quickly performed an incantation gesture, sending a blast of red light out against the black ring, weakening it but not destroying it.

Its gravitational force continued to tug at Mistress Red-Dust, no matter how she struggled or attacked it. Apparently, she couldn't destroy it!

The fact was that she was too heavily injured, and had reached her limit. It had been a huge drain to begin to use her trump card, dropping her longevity to the point where she was like a candle flickering in the wind.

At this point, Mistress Red-Dust smiled bitterly. She knew that she had been careless, and had believed that, despite heading directly into a trap, the addition of over 10,000 soldiers from the Giant Ghost Legion would give her the advantage. Never could she have imagined that the deaths of those soldiers would actually give her opponent even more deadly power!

Before consuming all of the Giant Ghost Legion soldiers, Gongsun Wan'er had possessed a Nascent Soul cultivation base. Afterward, though, she rose to the deva level, making her strong enough to not only defeat Mistress Red-Dust, but prevent her from even fleeing!

Upon coming to this place, there was no way Mistress Red-Dust could have ever predicted that it would be where she died!

She had hoped to rely on her Red Dust Violet Road technique to at least seal her opponent, even if she herself died in the process. And yet, so far, she had only been able to use part of it.

The gravitational force exerted by the black ring of light was too strong, and was sucking away her life force without any signs of slowing down. In fact, her hair was already white, and her skin covered with wrinkles. Right now, she actually looked like an old woman.

Her life force, her soul, her cultivation base, everything about her was now being taken away. Her vision began to grow dim, and she began to gasp for breath. She couldn't bear to give in, and yet, had no options at her disposal; she had only been able to unleash half of her trump card.

"Am I really going to die like this…?" she murmured to herself. Her eyelids began to grow heavy, and she knew that it would only be moments before she couldn't keep them open.

Gongsun Wan'er was continuing to shrink down, and yet, her bizarre chuckling still filled the air.

Other than that, silence filled the air. There were only a few dozen people still left alive, and all of them were sinking into despair. However, from Bai Xiaochun's unsteady breathing, it was possible to tell how conflicted he was. As his eyes remained fixed on the image of Mistress Red-Dust turning old and decrepit, he made his decision. Whether it was for her, or for himself, he knew that he couldn't just lay there faking death any longer.

Even if it ended up exposing his true identity, he had to do something. If he didn't, Mistress Red-Dust would die, and Gongsun Wan'er would be released, after which she would surely slaughter any remaining survivors.

"Dammit, dammit, DAMMIT!!" he thought, his eyes turning bloodshot. Suddenly, he leaped to his feet, shouting at the top of his lungs, blue veins bulging out on his face and neck as he shot toward the shrinking Gongsun Wan'er with all the speed he could muster.

His hand clenched into a fist, around which appeared a black vortex. He drew upon all of his fleshly body power and all of his life force, causing a figure to appear behind him, a figure wearing imperial robes and an imperial crown, a figure that seemed like a paragon entity in all heaven and earth!

A domineering aura erupted around him as he howled, accelerating madly until he was right on top of the black ring of light that had Mistress Red-Dust trapped. There… he unleashed his fist strike!!

This was none other than… the Undying Emperor's Fist!!

It contained double his normal amount of fleshly body power, a mad level of strength that caused the entire area to tremble, and send the clouds above churning. Dirt and pebbles began to rise into the air off the ground as a huge vortex formed.

The shadowy emperor behind Bai Xiaochun, and the fist strike that was being unleashed, caused a domineering will to fill the area. As of this moment… there was now a third will present!

"Be destroyed!!"

BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!

Gongsun Wan'er's face fell as an enormous booming sound exploded out. The black ring of light surrounding Mistress Red-Dust had already been weakened, so when Bai Xiaochun unleashed a deva-level fist strike against it, it immediately crumbled into pieces and collapsed!!

All of the life force it had absorbed from Mistress Red-Dust was released. In the blink of an eye, much of it returned to her, with another large portion entering Bai Xiaochun. Because of that, Bai Xiaochun's Undying Bones immediately broke through all the way to the third stratum of the Powered Bones!

Mistress Red-Dust's hair returned to its previous black color, and the wrinkles vanished from her skin. She was beautiful again, and her eyes flickered with the excitement of having passed through a life-or-death struggle. Without any hesitation, she threw her arms out and performed incantation gestures, then pointed at the tiny city down on the ground.

"Violet Road!!"

1. A quick reminder that Mistress Red-Dust's name comes from a line of poetry that literally reads "Violet Road Red Dust" and refers to the scenery along the road leading to the capital city of China. In this case, the order of the characters is reversed to read Red Dust Violet Road. Also, her given name Zimo uses those two characters for Violet Road.

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Chapter 823: Sweetie

Blood sprayed out of Mistress Red-Dust's mouth as her finger dropped. Then, unable to maintain control of her mind and body, she lapsed into unconsciousness.

Red Dust Violet Road!

Even Mistress Red-Dust could only utilize this technique by overdrawing on her deva cultivation base and also draining her longevity. As the final words left her mouth, and she was beginning to collapse, red light shot out from her finger, becoming a red smoke that instantly enveloped Gongsun Wan'er.

Gongsun Wan'er shrank down and down, dragged by the chains until she was inside of the tiny city!

To any observer, that city would be the size of a hand, but to Gongsun Wan'er, it now looked like any ordinary city. In fact, as she looked, a horse cart sped by, sending dust roiling up to cover everything in sight.

This was none other than… Red Dust Violet Road!

It was a city that was both illusory and corporeal, and was in reality… a shocking sealing magic!

Anyone sealed in that city would be locked inside of an illusion from which they could not escape. In fact, even if they managed to break free from the city, they wouldn't find themselves free, but rather, outside of the city in another world!

As the dust from the passing horse cart filled Gongsun Wan'er's vision, she calmly looked up into the sky at the gigantic forms of Bai Xiaochun and Mistress Red-Dust. Then she smiled.

Despite the fact that Bai Xiaochun had been protected by his mask, when he had attacked just now, she… had sensed his true aura!

"Sweetie…." she said with an odd smile. Then she began to chuckle, the sound of which floated out of the city to fill the area.

The sound of the chuckling filled Bai Xiaochun's heart with dread. Obviously, even the powerful sealing magic at work could not contain Gongsun Wan'er for very long. Furthermore, with his own current battle prowess, he was obviously nowhere near a match for her.

Therefore, it was without the slightest hesitation that he picked Mistress Red-Dust up into his arms and shot away with blinding speed.

As he disappeared, Gongsun Wan'er was back in the tiny city, about to be covered over by dust. And yet, she was still chuckling. As she did, she extended her right hand, performed an incantation gesture, and waved her finger.

In response, the burly Lei Shan, who had remained unmoving at the bottom of the nearby crater this entire time, suddenly opened his eyes, which were expressionless and dark. Then, he rose to his feet!

Rumbling sounds could be heard as he flew up into the air, the massive wound in his chest rapidly healing. Then, he looked in the direction of the fleeing Bai Xiaochun, his face expressionless

"Bring him back to me!" Gongsun Wan'er said from within the city, even as the dust settled down onto her. At that point, with her voice still echoing out into the world, it was for the first time that her eyes turned blank.

She was now completely immersed within the sealing of the Red Dust Violet Road technique!

Outside of the city, Lei Shan's eyes flickered with dark light as he unhesitatingly drew upon all the power he could muster to shoot after Bai Xiaochun with lightning-like speed!

A piercing whistling sound filled the air as he flew along, and the air around him even distorted! Several thousand kilometers ahead of him, Bai Xiaochun gasped for breath as he sped along, carrying the unconscious Mistress Red-Dust on his back.

Afterimages spread out behind him as he pierced through the air.

At one point, he pulled out a transmission jade slip and tried to send a message to the Giant Ghost King. However, the entire area was still locked down by some unknown technique employed by Gongsun Wan'er.

Even as he huffed and puffed, he could feel Mistress Red-Dust's lithe, supple body suddenly turn stiff. At that point, he realized that she had regained consciousness.

When Mistress Red-Dust awoke to find herself laying on Bai Xiaochun's back, it felt very strange. Struggling a bit to speak, she said, "Put me down. I don't need your help!"

"Shut up!" he said angrily. "This is all your fault. I told you I had a bad feeling. Don't waste my time, woman! You don't need my help? Can you even stand on your own?!?!" With that, he reached back and spanked her on the rear end….

In his dismay and anxiety, the feeling of his hand bouncing off of her caused a strange heat to rise up inside of him.

"You!!" Zhou Zimo spat. Considering how weak and anxious she was, the fact that Bai Xiaochun had berated her and then struck her rear end caused anger to burn in her heart. However, she was so weak that she could barely breathe, so the spike of emotion actually caused her to pass out again, whereupon she lay motionless on his back.

"Hmph. If it weren't for the sake of big bro Giant Ghost, do you really think I would have saved you? You're always looking at me like you want to kill me, you know. What, do I owe you money or something?!" With another cold snort, he ignored Mistress Red-Dust and focused on speeding along as quickly as possible.

By this point, he had already detected Lei Shan following him a few thousand kilometers back. Bai Xiaochun had mixed feelings about Lei Shan. He knew that he was obviously dead, and had been transformed into something like his own corpse troopers.

And corpse troopers were virtually impossible to kill!!

Unless one was vastly more powerful than a corpse trooper, and could literally rip it to pieces and transform it to ash, it would be impossible to wipe out.

"Ah, Lei Shan. We tangled once when you were alive. Now, even after you're dead, you still want to keep at it…. I guess my only option is to pick up some extra speed!" Sighing, he slapped his bag of holding to produce a heavenly airship, and then began to head in the direction of Giant Ghost City!

As soon as he leaped onto the deck, he tossed Mistress Red-Dust off to the side and then poured all his cultivation base power into the airship. It immediately began to glow with bright light, and then shot forward with speed that vastly surpassed the speed he himself was capable of.

However, even as Bai Xiaochun accelerated, Lei Shan threw his head back and let out a shocking howl. Suddenly, he burst into flames, and then picked up speed at an alarming rate. In the blink of an eye, he was moving far faster than the heavenly airship, a bright beam of light that bore down right onto Bai Xiaochun!

With every moment that passed, he got closer! 1,000 kilometers. 750 kilometers. 500 kilometers. 250 kilometers. In a flash, he was only about 50 kilometers away!

The sight caused Bai Xiaochun's eyes to turn as wide as saucers. Gulping, he muttered, "What kind of medicine did this guy take!? I can't believe he's so fast!!"

Even as Bai Xiaochun's nervousness mounted, Mistress Red-Dust woke up again and looked over at him with mixed emotions in her eyes. Then she noticed Lei Shan closing in on them, whereupon her eyes shone with decisive light.

"Get this heavenly airship going faster, Bai Hao! With enough speed, you won't have to worry at all about that puppet!"

"Shut the hell up, would you!?" Bai Xiaochun shouted back in frustration. Mistress Red-Dust's bossy tone was really getting on his nerves. At this point, he was the one who had saved her, and yet she still dared to toss around orders like she was in charge.

It left him feeling far from pleased.

"You!!" she said, glaring daggers. By this point, she had actually realized that her tone of voice wasn't completely appropriate, and yet considering how proud she was, there was no way she would admit it openly.

Before she could say anything else, Lei Shan burst forward with another flash of speed, putting him… right above the airship!!

There, he shoved his right hand down!

Instantly, a massive force erupted out from him, becoming a blast of wind that descended onto the airship.

"Screw the hell off!!" Bai Xiaochun shouted. By now, his veins of steel were pulsing, and his murderous aura seethed. Clenching his right hand into a fist, he leapt up into the air and punched!

Rumbling sounds spread out that could shake heaven and earth. The wind attack collapsed, and Bai Xiaochun, who hadn't even slowed down a bit, continued onward toward Lei Shan!

As for Lei Shan, his eyes flickered with black light as he shot downward, slicing his hand in a deadly attack toward Bai Xiaochun!

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Chapter 824: Full Scale Retreat!

When they made contact, a massive boom rippled out that almost tore the sky open. Then, Bai Xiaochun's face fell as the force of the blow sent him plummeting back down onto the deck of the heavenly airship, which shuddered violently.

Aura flickering unstably, Bai Xiaochun looked up to find that he had only shoved Lei Shan back upward a few paces.

Not pausing for a second, he shot back toward Lei Shan, whereupon the two began to fight back and forth fiercely. As they did, the heavenly airship continued to shoot along at top speed until it was a good distance away.

At that point, Mistress Red-Dust struggled up to take the helm, whereupon she slowed the airship to a stop. The way she gasped from the effort made it obvious how weak she was. Turning, she looked back nervously at Bai Xiaochun and Lei Shan fighting in midair.

Rumbling booms echoed out constantly through the sky as Lei Shan relied, not on magical techniques, but only on his fleshly body. However, that alone made him an opponent the likes of which Bai Xiaochun had never faced!

"Deva-level fleshly body, huh?!?!" Bai Xiaochun's murderous aura grew stronger as he was shoved backward by attack after attack. None of the blows he landed on Lei Shan seemed to have any effect, and yet every blow he sustained was shockingly damaging.

"This Lei Shan has some really uncanny power…. I can't keep this up. I have to end things quickly! Even if I can't kill him, I at least need to slow him down!" He was mostly worried that if things went on too long, Gongsun Wan'er would break free, and that any advantage he had built up would disintegrate. At that point… he would almost surely die!

His eyes were completely bloodshot as he contemplated whether or not to reveal who he was. After all, it wouldn't make any sense to lose his poor little life just to keep his identity secret!

Furthermore, Gongsun Wan'er still looked like him. Therefore, anything he did to reveal his true identity wouldn't cause any problems immediately.

Having reached this point in his train of thought, he threw his head back and roared, performing a double-handed incantation gesture that was unlike anything he usually did. Immediately, the splendor of his Heaven-Dao Nascent Soul sent spiritual power coursing through his body, nearly an ocean of if that then spilled out into the open.

That spiritual power immediately transformed into frigid coldness. Cracking sounds rang out in all directions as the area around Bai Xiaochun froze over! The entire area instantly became like a frozen lake!

This was none other than… the Frigid School Will-Evolving Incantation!

Bai Xiaochun had never dared to use this divine ability, not even with the power of his mask to disguise what it was. But now, madness flickered in his eyes as frigid qi poured out around him. Then, he extended his right hand and pointed at Lei Shan, who was already being slowed down because of the frigid coldness!

"Seal!" Bai Xiaochun shouted. All of the frigid qi in the area exploded into motion toward Lei Shan. It took only a moment to completely inundate him, covering him with frost so rapidly that, a moment later, he was completely covered with a layer of sealing ice.

More cracking sounds rang out over the course of the following few breaths of time. Soon, Lei Shan was covered with multiple layers of ice. Although he struggled, with each layer that he damaged, more layers piled on top, until he was like an enormous ice statue!!

He was a huge chunk of ice hovering in midair, hundreds of meters tall, completely unmoving. Of course, closer inspection would reveal many cracks filling the ice; clearly, the sealing would only last for a short time.

Although Mistress Red-Dust was shocked by what she was seeing, the technique didn't actually make her think of Bai Xiaochun.

As for Bai Xiaochun, he threw his head back and roared in shocking fashion as his fleshly body power spiked dramatically. Intense fluctuations rolled out in all directions, along with shocking energy.

Everything in the area shook violently, and small pebbles began to rise up into the air. Even some enormous rocks began to float up into the air. Fissures appeared on some nearby low-lying mountains, and they began to collapse into rubble, which also floated up into the air.

Moments later, large boulders began to rise up, almost as if Bai Xiaochun's body had become a black hole dragging everything toward him.

RUUUUUUUUMBLE!!

In the blink of an eye, the rocks began to form up around Bai Xiaochun, layer upon layer. A 300-meter tall giant appeared… right there in the middle of the Wildlands!

This was none other than… the Living Mountain Incantation!!

Bai Xiaochun hadn't dared to use this technique in the Wildlands up to this point. But now was not the time to worry about such things. Fueling it with the power of his cultivation base, he grew larger and larger until he was not 300 meters tall, but rather, more than 2,100 meters tall!!

Although he currently wasn't powerful enough to literally shake all of heaven and earth, he certainly came close to that level. His fleshly body power combined with the Living Mountain Incantation put him at his very peak!

Since he was currently incapable of unleashing the Undying Emperor's Fist, he needed to close some of the gap between his own level and Lei Shan's, and this was the only way!

"Get ready to die!" he shouted through the mouth of the gigantic stone golem. With that, he lunged forward to bash at the sealed Lei Shan!

This was none other than… the Mountain Shaking Bash!!

Bai Xiaochun couldn't bother to conceal the effects of the Mountain Shaking Bash. He unleashed all of the explosive power he was capable of, becoming something like a stone beast that lunged forward with astonishing madness.

Meanwhile, the cracks in the ice had grown more plentiful. Even as Bai Xiaochun closed in, the ice suddenly exploded!!

Lei Shan burst out into the open right as Bai Xiaochun arrived, incarnated as the stone golem giant from the Living Mountain Incantation.

The moment of collision caused a boom that shook everything in the area. The heavenly bodies went dim, and doughty Lei Shan was flung backward violently, leaving loud cracking sounds echoing behind him. However, things weren't over yet. Relying on the power of the Living Mountain Incantation and the divine ability of the Mountain Shaking Bash, Bai Xiaochun continued forward, reaching out with his thumb and index finger. As he did, black light appeared, and he pinched his fingers together in the direction of Lei Shan's throat!

This was none other than… the Throat Crushing Grasp!!

Although all of this takes a bit of time to describe, it actually happened in the briefest of moments. Starting with the Frigid School Will-Evolving Incantation, he had quickly and smoothly unleashed a whole series of techniques. And now, as the Throat Crushing Grasp bore down onto Lei Shan, he howled and threw his hands out in front of him to block the thumb and index finger of the stone golem that was Bai Xiaochun!!

Cracking sounds rang out from inside of Lei Shan, and the black light in his eyes grew stronger. Even as he fought back, Bai Xiaochun went all out to unleash the power of the Throat Crushing Grasp.

Then, he unhesitatingly jerked his hand to the side, sending Lei Shan flying down toward the ground, where he slammed into the dirt and opened up a huge crater. Before Lei Shan could react, Bai Xiaochun dropped down and delivered ten fist strikes in quick succession!

The ground quaked as fissures and crevices snaked out from within the crater.

At that point, another shocking howl erupted out from within the crater as Lei Shan blocked Bai Xiaochun's final fist strike. The backlash sent Bai Xiaochun's fist swinging backward, and yet, Lei Shan was now covered in wounds, his hair in disarray and black blood seeping out all over his body. However, the black light in his eyes caused his fleshly body power to rocket once again to new heights.

Even as he prepared to leap up into the air, a mark suddenly appeared on the forehead of Bai Xiaochun's stone golem form. Meanwhile, inside the golem, Bai Xiaochun's true self likewise had a mark on his forehead, which opened up… into a third eye!

The Heavenspan Dharma Eye!!

Instantly, the power of that third eye erupted out from the stone golem's forehead, and latched onto Lei Shan!!

Lei Shan shivered as an indescribable force enveloped him, taking control of his entire body! His pupils quivered as he was suddenly stuck in place in midair, unable to move!

In that exact moment, Bai Xiaochun sent his stone golem form leaping up. A roar could be heard as he then reached out and slapped Lei Shan, sending him hurtling back toward the ground!!

As the blow landed, Bai Xiaochun unleashed his… Undying Hex!!

The Undying Hex became countless black threads that flowed out from his palm and into Lei Shan. As Lei Shan slammed down into the crater below, Bai Xiaochun's stone golem form collapsed, sending numerous rocks and boulders falling down. Within the space of a few breaths of time, those rocks covered Lei Shan as surely as a mountain!!

Inside of the mountain, black threads swirled, completely locking Lei Shan in place!!

Having accomplished these things, Bai Xiaochun staggered backward a few paces before retreating to the heavenly airship. There, Mistress Red-Dust stood, her mouth agape as Bai Xiaochun took control of the ship and sent it screaming through the air like some wild beast!

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Chapter 825: Risking It All!

As the heavenly airship sped through the air, Mistress Red-Dust continued to glance over at Bai Xiaochun, her mood fluctuating unstably. Conflicting emotions appeared in her eyes as she thought back to the battle prowess and techniques he had just put on display.

In the end, she decided not to say anything. Instead, she closed her eyes and focused on trying to recover as quickly as possible. She had received serious injuries, and wouldn't be back to normal any time soon. Although she could temporarily suppress the effects, that would only work for a short time before she experienced an intense backlash.

As she sighed bitterly in her heart, Bai Xiaochun focused on piloting the heavenly airship. At one point, he suddenly looked over his shoulder in the direction of Lei Shan.

That was when the sound of a shocking explosion could be heard. Everything behind the heavenly airship shook violently as a massive shockwave rolled out.

Several thousand kilometers back, the mountain of boulders exploded out in all directions as the Undying Hex collapsed… and a tall, burly figure appeared!

It was none other than Lei Shan!

No expression could be seen on his face, but he was visibly injured, and seriously at that. Gaping holes could be seen all over him, some of which passed through his entire body. This time, although the wounds continuously healed themselves, it caused the black light in his eyes to begin to fade. And yet, that didn't stop him from flying up into the air to give chase.

"Impossible!" Mistress Red-Dust blurted in shock. "All those divine abilities you used just now injured that corpse trooper even more than I did! How could he still be chasing us!?!?"

Bai Xiaochun didn't say anything in response, but his expression turned grimmer. Inwardly, he already knew the answer to the question: it had everything to do with Gongsun Wan'er herself. Although he wasn't sure of the exact details, he was convinced that it was the case.

"Gongsun Wan'er probably isn't free yet… hopefully…." However, he couldn't be sure. Eyes bloodshot from mounting anxiety, he released the helm of the heavenly airship, allowing it to slowly come to a stop. Then he turned and went to stand at the stern, where he looked out at Lei Shan, who was closing in on them from a distance of several hundred kilometers away.

"If I don't kill him," he thought, "it's going to be hard to get away. The longer he continues to hound us like this, the more danger we'll be in."

Calming his aura, he reached out with both hands. Eyes glowing, he drew on the power of his cultivation base and simultaneously said in his heart, "Waterswamp!"

Instantly, mist began to roil out in all directions, covering the airship and spreading out to fill a 500-kilometer area!

At the same time, because of how the airship had stopped moving, Lei Shan entered that very 500-kilometer area, and was within the world of mist!

As he entered, Bai Xiaochun's eyes glittered with killing intent. Dropping his hands, he uttered the next word in his heart.

"Kingdom!!"

Waterswamp Kingdom!

As soon as the full technique was called upon, the entire 500-kilometer area became an enormous, watery swamp. At the same time, the howl of some beast could be heard, seemingly echoing from the distant past, filling the area with power that would be shocking to anyone who could hear it!

Lei Shan's eyes flickered with black light as he suddenly stopped in place and prepared to back up. However, before he could, the howling of the beast grew more intense, and spikes like enormous mountain peaks began to rise up in the entire 500-kilometer area!

Each and every spike contained mountain-toppling, sea-draining power which filled the air with rumbling sounds as they sped madly toward Lei Shan.

Lei Shan shivered violently, and all of the wounds which had been in the middle of recovery split open, causing black blood to spray out everywhere. He tried to fall back, but before he could, five curved spikes encircled him!

Those five spikes looked like mountain peaks, and they were not arranged in a neat row, but rather, were staggered! Furthermore, as soon as the spikes shot up in to the air, they were followed by what appeared to be an entire continent!

If one looked carefully, it would be possible to see… that it was the clawed hand of some enormous beast!!

The spikes that were the mountain peaks grew off of the clawed hand, and considering how big they were, one could only imagine how huge the hand was!

Those so-called mountain peaks were actually the talons!

As for the 'continent', it was actually… the palm of the hand! Although it was clearly visible, it was only a portion of it. And despite the fact that Bai Xiaochun had already glimpsed his life essence spirit on numerous occasions, he was just as shaken this time as he always had been in the past.

As of this moment, that enormous clawed hand seemed to surpass heaven and earth as it closed around Lei Shan!!

The events playing out virtually defied description! No matter how Lei Shan struggled, no matter how he tried to flee, he couldn't escape. He howled in defiance, and the black light in his eyes grew more intense. Black smoke even began to rise up off of him, which formed into the shape of a young girl's head, hovering above his own.

That head let out a miserable shriek as the enormous beast hand slammed into Lei Shan!

A deafening boom echoed out. The ground quaked violently, and then shattered into countless pieces. As for Bai Xiaochun, he coughed up a mouthful of blood and staggered backward. He had already used his Undying Emperor's Fist to save Mistress Red-Dust, and now he was using this divine ability. This combination had him completely and utterly drained and exhausted.

The clawed hand faded away, leaving behind… nothing but an enormous crater!

It was hundreds of meters wide, and was devoid of mountains, of plants, of vegetation, of anything! It was completely shattered and empty, except for… the corpse of Lei Shan!

He was completely shattered. He lay there unmoving, his legs crushed, his head twisted oddly to the side, his body hardly recognizable as human. And yet, that black glow still flickered in his eyes. It was almost as if the blow Lei Shan had just received was stimulating to him, and actually caused him to recover faster. In the blink of an eye… he yet again flew up into the air!!

The black glow had clearly been reduced by almost half. Furthermore, his aura was greatly weakened compared to before. And yet, the fact that he was still in the fight caused Bai Xiaochun's heart to fill with despair.

"What kind of recovery power does he have?!?!" he thought, his eyes flickering with madness. Lei Shan could be beaten down relatively easily, but could not be killed. It was enough to leave anyone bristling with anger. Anyone, even a deva, who sustained such injuries would be teetering on the verge of being wiped out for good. And yet here Lei Shan was, rapidly recovering.

Mistress Red-Dust remained silently off to the side, looking at the rapidly recovering Lei Shan as he flew out of the crater. As of this point, she knew that he could not be killed, and that it would be difficult to escape him. Time was of the essence, and she wasn't sure how long the sealing effect of her Red Dust Violet Road would last.

As soon as that person who bore the visage of Bai Xiaochun emerged, then Mistress Red-Dust knew that she and Bai Hao… would be killed beyond the shadow of a doubt.

With such thoughts on her mind, she looked over at Bai Xiaochun. The divine abilities and magical techniques he had used, including the Waterswamp Kingdom, had caused the gears in her head to begin to turn. But now was not the time to ponder the issue deeply. As of this moment, both of their lives were on the line! She closed her eyes for a brief moment, then forced them to open again. When they did, they shone with the desire to do battle. Without any hesitation, she forcibly suppressed all of her injuries and leaped up into the air.

Instantly, her deva cultivation base roared to life. All of a sudden, she seemed back to normal, like she was once again the sergeant major of the Giant Ghost Legion. Flicking her sleeve, she coolly said, "Get out of here, Bai Hao. The sealing effect limiting communications can only stretch for so far. You absolutely must report this matter to my father the Giant Ghost King. And notify the Grand Heavenmaster too. The person controlling this puppet… has consumed vast amounts of life force, and is clearly intent on bringing disaster to the Wildlands!!"

Not bothering to wait for a response from Bai Xiaochun, she flew off of the heavenly airship toward Lei Shan!

A tremor passed through Bai Xiaochun. All of a sudden, a familiar feeling filled him. Watching Mistress Red-Dust flying off made him feel like he was back in the Luochen Mountains, nothing more than a trifling Qi Condensation cultivator!

A moment later, he spoke, his veins of steel audible in his voice as he said, "Give me the time it takes an incense stick to burn, Zhou Zimo! After that… I'll take care of everything!"

Instead of piloting the heavenly airship away, he quickly entered a private chamber below the main deck, set up a spell formation, and sat down cross-legged. Then… he took out his turtle wok!

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Chapter 826: Late Nascent Soul Stage

It had been some time since Bai Xiaochun performed a fifteenfold spirit enhancement on his nascent soul, breaking through to the mid Nascent Soul stage. Fearful of pushing things too far, he hadn't dared to go any further than that. Considering that his name was listed on the Hell-Emperor Stele, everyone in the world would have known if he performed even a single more enhancement.

Later on, as he came to acquire everything from sixteen- to nineteen-colored flame, he had been forced to do nothing more than look at the product of his hand. He hadn't dared to enhance his nascent soul, at least not until he found the right opportunity.

His original plan had been to wait until he could advance directly into becoming a deva. But now… it was a moment of deadly crisis, and there was no time for lengthy consideration about the consequences.

When it came to keeping his poor little life safe, revealing his identity was of secondary importance. Even more importantly… Gongsun Wan'er was impersonating him. Considering that everyone was paying attention to her, Bai Xiaochun hoped that further enhancing his nascent soul wouldn't attract as much attention and suspicion.

"I don't have time to think about all that stuff!" he thought, his eyes bloodshot. As for how Mistress Red-Dust would react, at the moment, they were both in the same predicament. There would be time to worry about her later. He simply felt too much pressure because of Gongsun Wan'er. She could free herself at any moment, and if she chased them down… the consequences were too grim to contemplate.

Right now, Bai Xiaochun knew that he had to become as powerful as he possibly could. He needed to cut down the seemingly unkillable Lei Shan, which would give them the opportunity to truly escape.

Time was extremely limited, and Mistress Red-Dust was severely injured. In fact, every moment that she fought with Lei Shan was one of extreme danger to her. A grim look could be seen on Bai Xiaochun's face because of the booming sounds of combat from outside. Gritting his teeth, he patted his bag of holding to produce a sixteen-, seventeen-, eighteen- and nineteen-colored flame.

The appearance of so many multi-colored flames caused the private chamber to instantly turn bright red from the heat. Bai Xiaochun quickly performed an incantation gesture and then touched his head, causing his nascent soul to fly out into the open!

After reaching the mid Nascent Soul stage, and especially after the fifteenfold spirit enhancement, his nascent soul was much stronger and solid. No longer was it so easily shaken by being outside of his body, nor was it affected by the cold.

In fact, there was little difference between it and his fleshly body. However, Bai Xiaochun wasn't really paying attention to that. As soon as he was out in nascent soul form, he sat down cross-legged in his turtle-wok, and then waved his hand in very practiced fashion toward the sixteen-colored flame.

When the sixteen-colored flame touched the turtle-wok, countless complex designs sprang up on the surface of the wok, and golden light rose up to cover Bai Xiaochun's nascent soul.

Intense, ear-splitting rumbling sounds filled his ears. However, it didn't spill out into the open, where Mistress Red-Dust and Lei Shan were continuing to fight.

Back in Arch-Emperor City, there weren't very many cultivators gathered around the Hell-Emperor Stele. The fact that Bai Xiaochun had performed a fifteenfold spirit enhancement on his nascent soul and taken 1st place left everyone in a state of despair. Afterward, few people had the spirit to try to compete….

As far as most people were concerned, it was a complete miracle that anyone could survive fifteen spirit enhancements…. Virtually no one alive would have the gumption to risk their lives for a competition.

Although there weren't as many people around the Hell-Emperor Stele as there had been in the past, there were still a few present. Four or five soul cultivators were in the area, and although they initially weren't paying attention to the stele, when it suddenly began to shine with black light, all of them looked over with odd expressions in their faces. When they did, their eyes nearly popped out of their skulls.

"Bai Xiaochun…? He… he did another spirit enhancement on his nascent soul!?!?"

"This… this…."

"Sixteenfold. After all this time, he's actually doing another spirit enhancement? Is he crazy!?!?" None of them could understand why Bai Xiaochun, who already was in 1st place, and who had vastly surpassed the sevenfold spirit enhancement of the 2nd place holder, would continue to risk his life!

Although they were puzzled, it didn't stop them from sending messages to people they knew, and before long, word was spreading. It took only a short time for everyone in Arch-Emperor City to be talking about it.

"Sixteenfold??"

"Didn't Goddess Red-Dust go after Bai Xiaochun just recently? How could he be performing spirit enhancements right now!?!?"

However, even as Arch-Emperor City was rocked by surprise, Bai Xiaochun's name once again began to glow with black light. When the light faded away, the number next to his name had changed. Instead of sixteen, it read seventeen!!

"Heavens! He's doing more enhancements?!"

"Maybe Goddess Red-Dust has him pushed into a corner so badly that he decided to risk death to perform more spirit enhancements!!"

Meanwhile, back in the private chamber on the airship, Bai Xiaochun's nascent soul had seven golden designs on it! Clearly, his aura was more powerful than before, and he was rising up to the peak of the mid Nascent Soul stage!!

As of this point, he was only a short step away from breaking through to the late Nascent Soul stage. Without the slightest hesitation, he waved his finger, causing the eighteen-colored flame to fly over. As soon as it touched the turtle-wok, a brilliant golden design appeared that surpassed anything up to this point, and filled Bai Xiaochun's ears with deafening rumbling sounds.

When the light faded away, Bai Xiaochun's nascent soul radiated heaven-shaking, earth-shattering energy that caused a whirlwind to pick up in the room. At that point, Bai Xiaochun in nascent soul form opened his eyes. He had achieved a cultivation base breakthrough!

He was no longer in the mid Nascent Soul stage; he had risen to the late stage!!

Of course, he could have achieved this breakthrough long ago, even before he left Arch-Emperor City. However, he had been holding back. Now that he had achieved this drastic transformation, his eyes shone with brilliant light, and his aura surged as mightily as the sea. As for his battle prowess, it was far, far higher than before.

However, things weren't over yet. Since he had decided to perform spirit enhancements on his nascent soul, he figured he might as well… perform as many as he could. Waving his finger, he pulled the nineteen-colored flame over, which, as soon as it touched his turtle-wok, caused golden light to spill out that was even more dazzling than that from the eighteen-colored flame!

In fact, the private chamber he was in almost seemed like it had become gold!

Outside, Mistress Red-Dust's eyes widened in surprise, and even Lei Shan looked over. Neither of them could sense the fluctuations of spirit enhancement. However, both could tell that a drastically powerful force was brewing in the heavenly airship, something that would likely explode out at any moment.

Lei Shan's eyes flickered with black light, and he was just about to fly past Mistress Red-Dust in an attempt to stop whatever was about to begin. However, Mistress Red-Dust seemed enlivened by the newfound hope, and immediately did everything she could to block his way.

As the rumble of battle grew more intense, countless individuals back in Arch-Emperor City were expressing their shock. A massive uproar was sweeping through the city as people found out that Bai Xiaochun had gone from a fifteenfold enhancement all the way to an eighteenfold one. It was a commotion no less intense than that caused by Bai Xiaochun using Bai Hao's identity to become an earthly necromancer.

Countless soul cultivators were flying over to the Hell-Emperor Stele, where they gasped at the sight of Bai Xiaochun's name at the top of the list, glowing with black light.

Soon, the light faded away, and yet again, the number next to his name was different. As it became clear, people could see that it read… nineteen!!

Silence prevailed for only a moment before a massive uproar began!

"Nineteenfold… that's impossible!!"

"Forget about nascent souls, even ordinary magical items are hard to perform nineteenfold spirit enhancements on. In all the Wildlands, there are probably only two or three!! Any one of them would be considered a precious treasure of antiquity in the Arch-Emperor Dynasty!!"

"Where did this Bai Xiaochun get an eighteen-colored flame, let alone nineteen-colored flame?!?! The only person in the Wildlands who can conjure nineteen-colored flame is Earthmaster Wan Pin!!"

No greater commotion could have occurred. The Grand Heavenmaster was affected, as was the Arch-Emperor. There was little need to even mention the four heavenly kings. Perhaps such people could overlook the fact that Bai Xiaochun had performed a fifteenfold spirit enhancement on his nascent soul, but a nineteenfold enhancement was something completely awe-inspiring.

Furthermore, the Giant Ghost King and the Grand Heavenmaster were both aware that the situation involved Mistress Red-Dust, and began to make inquiries.

However, as they tried to make contact, the Grand Heavenmaster frowned, and the Giant Ghost King's expression flickered. Then both of them rose to their feet in shock.

They… couldn't reach Mistress Red-Dust!!

"Something's gone wrong!!" The Giant Ghost King's eyes flickered with a dangerous light as he flew out of Giant Ghost City and sent his divine sense streaming out in all directions. Then, he shot off into the distance, heart gripped with fear and anxiety as he tried to locate his only daughter!

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Chapter 827: You Broke My Teddy Bear

Normally speaking, Bai Xiaochun would have realized that performing spirit enhancements on his nascent soul would automatically alert people about the danger he and Mistress Red-Dust were in.

However, because of drastic circumstances he was in, the main thing on his mind was figuring out how to get away. Therefore, that plan never even entered his head. As he sat there in the turtle-wok in nascent soul form, his eyes snapped open, and they shone with explosively brilliant light!

They looked like suns shining there within the private chamber, which echoed with sounds like rumbling thunder.

Intensely powerful fluctuations filled the area as his power rose from that of the mid Nascent Soul stage to the late stage!

Furthermore, because he had gone all the way to a nineteenfold spirit enhancement, he was actually very, very close to the great circle.

If he performed a twentyfold spirit enhancement, then he would break through into the great circle. After that… was the legendary twenty-onefold spirit enhancement, which would make him a deva!

Of course, that was only a legend. To date in the Arch-Emperor Dynasty, no one had ever done it. Whether it was because people lacked the information about how to do it, or whether there were other obstacles, it was impossible to say.

In fact, throughout the history of the Arch-Emperor Dynasty, it would be easier to find a phoenix feather or a qilin horn than to find another person who had done the same thing Bai Xiaochun had by performing a nineteenfold spirit enhancement on their nascent soul.

Already, Bai Xiaochun could tell that enhancing his nascent soul to this level had somehow caused him to be linked to heaven and earth.

"Twenty-onefold…. Well, maybe it's not like the legends say, where you automatically break through. Maybe it just dramatically increases your chances of becoming a deva!" However, now was not the time to ponder the issue. His nascent soul rose to its feet, leaped out of the wok, and returned to his fleshly body.

He took three breaths, and then slowly opened his eyes, whereupon intensely powerful cultivation base fluctuations rolled out of him in all directions!

RUUUUUUUUMBLE!!

Not only did the power of his cultivation base cause everything around him to tremble, his battle prowess also rose dramatically. Before, he had been in the mid Nascent Soul stage, and had been capable of fighting with devas. Although he might not have been assured of victory, he could at least survive to make an escape. But now… he had broken through, and was half a step into the great circle. As of this moment, he… could definitely crush anyone in the early Deva Realm!!

That was because of the power of his Heaven-Dao Nascent Soul, and also the boundless strength provided him by the Undying Codex!

"Lei Shan!" he growled. Taking a deep breath, he put his turtle-wok away and burst out of the private chamber like a bolt of lightning, leaving the chamber in ruins behind him.

In the moment that he dashed out into the open, Lei Shan was glittering with black light as he unleashed a fist strike onto Mistress Red-Dust.

Blood sprayed out of Mistress Red-Dust's mouth as she finally lost control of her injuries. Immediately, her vision began to grow dim, and she groaned. Exerting all effort possible, she once again tried to suppress her injuries. However, it was in that moment that Bai Xiaochun shot out into the open, scooped her up into his right arm, and then shoved his left hand in Lei Shan's direction.

"Screw off!!" The movement of his hand seemed like an ordinary motion, but it caused all the light in the area to go dim, and a huge wind to kick up as a powerful attack swept toward Lei Shan.

Lei Shan's eyes flickered with black light, and he tried to back up, but was just a bit too slow. Before he could move, the wind slammed into him.

Intense rumbling sounds filled heaven and earth as Lei Shan coughed up a massive mouthful of black gore. Cracking sounds echoed out from inside of him as fissures opened up all over his body. Simultaneously, he was sent spinning backward by several hundred meters before landing hard onto the ground.

Mistress Red-Dust was already in a bit of a daze as she looked up at Bai Xiaochun holding her. She seemed like she wanted to say something, but before she could, blood oozed out of her mouth and she lapsed into unconsciousness.

Bai Xiaochun descended to the ground and gently put Mistress Red-Dust off to the side. Then he looked up, his expression grim, his murderous aura raging in such a way that the sky distorted, and black clouds roiled above him.

A terrifying aura pulsed out of him as he began to walk slowly toward Lei Shan.

The black light in Lei Shan's eyes flickered with increasing rapidity. Only enough time had passed for an incense stick to burn, and yet Bai Xiaochun was completely different. Despite the fact that Lei Shan couldn't die, he suddenly felt an instinctual reverence inside of him.

"Undying body?" Bai Xiaochun said slowly. Then he suddenly launched himself forward with incredible speed, leaving only a string of afterimages behind him. It was almost like a teleportation! In the blink of an eye, he was right in front of Lei Shan, his right hand rocketing forward in a fist strike!

Lei Shan raised both hands in front of himself in defense, and for the first time, let out a growling shout like that of a cornered animal.

A huge boom filled the area when Bai Xiaochun's fist strike made contact with Lei Shan's crossed arms. Instantly, Lei Shan realized that he couldn't defend against this blow, and before he could even react, began to shatter!

Within the blink of an eye, his arms were shredded to pieces, and he was shoved backward across the ground. Then, before he could do anything else, Bai Xiaochun stepped forward again, placing himself right in front of Lei Shan.

"Undying body?" Bai Xiaochun repeated. Then he smashed his right foot into Lei Shan's left leg. To Lei Shan, it felt like the weight of the heavens, and it was so powerful that his leg immediately exploded into a cloud of blood and gore. And that was when Bai Xiaochun headbutted him!

BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Black gore exploded out of Lei Shan as more than half of his torso was destroyed. By now, the black light in his eyes was on the verge of flickering out.

"I refuse to believe that you have a truly undying body!" Bai Xiaochun said, his eyes as cold as the winter wind. With that, he clenched his right hand into a fist, stepped forward, and struck the bedraggled Lei Shan yet again!

Heaven and earth filled with a sound like booming thunder. The clouds above churned violently, and rain even began to fall down to the ground. As for Lei Shan, he stood there trembling, the black light in his eyes fading away. As it did, he looked at Bai Xiaochun and said, "My owner will come looking for you…."

With that, more rumbling sounds could be heard, and then Lei Shan exploded into bits. Blood, flesh, and bones scattered about in all directions to land on the ground.

The black blood soon began to be washed away by the rain. Meanwhile, the thunder above grew more intense, and the rain… fell harder.

Bai Xiaochun's aura slowly grew steadier as he looked off in the direction where Gongsun Wan'er was still sealed. A moment later, he went back to pick up the unconscious Mistress Red-Dust, then flew back to the heavenly airship. Beneath the falling rain, the airship rumbled to life, and became a bright beam of light that shot off into the distance.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of kilometers in a different direction, a muffled boom could be heard in the location where Mistress Red-Dust had sealed Gongsun Wan'er with her Red Dust Violet Road technique.

A shockwave spread out in all directions, razing the ground as it went along. At the same time, the hand-sized city suddenly shattered!

Black smoke rose up from the remnants of city, which quickly formed together into the shape of a young girl. A moment later, the girl was gone, replaced by Gongsun Wan'er. And then, she yet again became Bai Xiaochun.

"Why did you run away, sweetie? All I needed for my plan to be complete was for you to show up." Covering a smile with her mouth, she blurred into motion. A short while later, she appeared in the location where Lei Shan had been killed!

As she hovered in the air, looking down at the ground, a frown grew on her face.

"So, you went and broke my teddy bear…. Well, I guess I'll have to get a new one."

When she looked up, her eyes shone with mysterious killing intent. Looking in the direction Bai Xiaochun had fled in, she began to move!

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Chapter 828: Save Me, Father-In-Law!

The moment that Gongsun Wan'er looked in Bai Xiaochun's direction, he was tens of thousands of kilometers away, fleeing in the heavenly airship. Suddenly, he shivered and looked over his shoulder. Although he couldn't see anything, from the cold chill that ran up his spine, he was convinced that Gongsun Wan'er was looking at him.

"She's coming!!" Expression flickering, he looked over at the unconscious Mistress Red-Dust. Then he pulled out a transmission jade slip, only to find that it still didn't work.

At this point, he was getting truly flustered and anxious. Whether because of the events in the Fallen Sword Abyss or in the labyrinth, he was completely terrified by the grim specter that was Gongsun Wan'er.

Worst of all was that he couldn't tell the true level of her cultivation base. At first, she hadn't seemed very strong, but the more cultivators she consumed, the more powerful she got, until she reached an unbelievable level.

She had soundly defeated Mistress Red-Dust, and had even escaped her trump card sealing technique. Bai Xiaochun could only imagine how terrifying she would get as she got stronger.

"Just where did she come from? Back when she showed up in the Fallen Sword Abyss, she seemed just like all the other banesouls. All she did was eat one of my medicinal pills…." By this point, his heart was filled with regret because of it all. Drawing deeply on his cultivation base, he sent the heavenly airship accelerating forward with greater speed.

However, despite that great speed, he was fairly certain that he could hear the sound of chuckling behind him. It started very faintly, but then grew more and more clear.

Heart trembling, he looked over his shoulder and saw a black stream of smoke far off in the distance. As the smoke roiled and churned, it gradually turned into a face… that of Bai Xiaochun!

However, there was something bizarre and even sinister about it as it closed in with incredible speed. It almost looked like an evil ghost.

"Ah, so you're hiding over here, sweetie." More bizarre chuckling echoed out.

"I'm not your sweetie!" Bai Xiaochun said, his voice quavering. "Um… you're just seeing things!" Despite having battle prowess that could crush the early Deva Realm, he was still convinced that he wasn't a match at all for the bizarre Gongsun Wan'er.

"What do you mean, seeing things? I've worked hard trying to track you down, sweetie. But then you went and broke my teddy bear! You need to pay me back." The face of black smoke continued to chuckle, accelerating until it was only a few hundred meters behind the heavenly airship!

To see it close up had Bai Xiaochun scared out of his mind. His scalp was tingling so violently his hair nearly stood on end, and he was actually shaking down to his toes.

"No, you're really seeing things!" Suddenly, he pointed off in a certain direction. "Oh, hey. Arch-Emperor City is right over there! There's a guy there named Chen Haosong! I bet that's who you're looking for…. Oh, there's also someone named Zhao Xionglin. He's really tough-looking. One glance, and you'll be convinced he's the perfect teddy bear. If you hurry, you'll be able to find him!"

Gongsun Wan'er smiled, a sinister smile that caused waves of terror to batter Bai Xiaochun's mind. At this point, the enormous face's mouth opened, and the smoke seethed, making the face rapidly grow larger. In the blink of an eye, it was thousands of meters tall, surging forward as if to consume the entire heavenly airship!

The face seemed to supersede heaven and earth as it lunged forward. Shrieking, Bai Xiaochun grabbed up Mistress Red-Dust and shot away as the mouth closed around the airship.

From a distance, the heavenly airship was so small that it looked like a scrumptious pastry entering the huge mouth. Then, crunching sounds could be heard as the heavenly airship… was crushed to pieces!

As for Bai Xiaochun, he was a blur that sped away in the opposite direction, Mistress Red-Dust in his arms.

"Why are you always so naughty, sweetie? You always have to play hide-and-seek, don't you…?" More chuckling from Gongsun Wan'er reached Bai Xiaochun's ears, causing goosebumps to spread out across his skin. He tried to accelerate, but after the enormous face destroyed the heavenly airship, it grew larger, until it was fully 30,000 meters tall!!

30,000 meters is a size easy to describe with words. But to depict it visually is a different matter. The face was shocking to the extreme as it surpassed all heaven and earth, its ghastly mouth opening wide as it moved toward Bai Xiaochun.

At the same time, an astonishing gravitational force appeared, causing everything in the area to tremble and shake. Even hills and mountains were ripped up out of the ground!

Bai Xiaochun shuddered as he tried to push forward, but no amount of speed on his part could fight the gravitational force, and he began to inch inexorably back toward the mouth.

He wanted to scream and cry, especially considering that the face resembled him in every aspect. The idea of being eaten up by himself was terrifying, to say the least.

"Complete and utter bullying!!" he shouted, his eyes bloodshot as he held Mistress Red-Dust tight in his arms. As of this moment, a profound sensation of deadly crisis gripped his heart; he knew that he couldn't rely on luck to save him, and that he couldn't hesitate. If he didn't put everything on the line right now, his poor little life would definitely be lost.

"Do you really think Lord Bai is scared of you, Gongsun Wan'er!?!?" he roared. Although he was still trembling, his veins of steel were now pulsing. The energy in his Powered Bones began to thrum as he called upon his fleshly body power and his late Nascent Soul stage cultivation base. The sky dimmed, and a screaming wind kicked up, sending rocks and dirt flying around everywhere. Although he was not truly a deva, as of this moment, his energy was powerful enough to interfere with the will of the heavens in this area!

His right hand clenched into a fist, and a black vortex appeared, which immediately sucked away all of his aura. Then, the image of a shadowy emperor appeared behind him.

Intense rumbling sounds filled the area because of that shadowy figure, which seemed to possess a power of will like that of a deva! It could fuse with the heavens and alter the natural laws of all creation.

Although all of this takes a bit of time to describe, it took place in the short amount of time it took Bai Xiaochun to turn in place.

Roaring, Bai Xiaochun suddenly leaped toward the incoming 30,000-meter-tall face… upon which he unleashed a fist strike of mountain-toppling, sea-draining force!!

The Undying Emperor's Fist!!

With double his normal fleshly body power!!

The shadowy emperor also punched out, and the domineering energy which began to surge was so incredible that the emperor himself began to fade away. Everything was focused on that fist, which Bai Xiaochun directed to land directly onto the huge face.

A deafening boom erupted out, along with a massive blast of wind. It was almost like earth dragons were spasming under the surface of the ground, which quaked violently as far as the eye could see.

Blood sprayed out of Bai Xiaochun's mouth as he tumbled backward several hundred meters. Even as he did, he righted himself, and then sped away as fast as he could.

As for the face, cracks and fissures appeared on its surface, and then… it collapsed into pieces!

Those pieces became black smoke, which rapidly formed back together…. to reveal Gongsun Wan'er, disguised as Bai Xiaochun!

A mysterious light could be seen in her eyes, and a strange smile covered her face.

"I knew I recognized that smell. You… definitely have traces of that old codger on you…." Chuckling, she prepared to give chase.

Meanwhile, Bai Xiaochun was speeding along, anxious and ashen-faced.

It was at this point… that Gongsun Wan'er's face fell. Turning her head in a certain direction, she saw an enraged figure piercing through the air in her direction.

"Who is it that dares to lay a finger on my beloved daughter and honorable son-in-law!?!?"

It was none other than the Giant Ghost King!

Bai Xiaochun's eyes went wide with joy, and he immediately shouted, "Father-in-law, save me!"

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Chapter 829: Ghostform Lifedrain

An enormous, invisible hand ripped the sky open. Then, an enraged shout echoed out as the Giant Ghost King himself appeared!

He wasn't alone. Flanking him were Duke Deathcrier and the patriarchs from the Bai and Chen Clans. Clearly, those two patriarchs had been thoroughly brought under control by the Giant Ghost King after the rebellion.

Further back were six half-devas, and beyond them, tens of thousands of ordinary soul cultivator troops. For all intents and purposes, this was the full reserve power of Giant Ghost City! The Giant Ghost King had come out in full force!

He had begun trying to track down his daughter earlier, but despite being a demigod, was still a single person. Therefore, he had also ordered some of his subordinates to join him.

The stir Bai Xiaochun had caused in Arch-Emperor City had attracted the Giant Ghost King's attention, and had caused him to hasten his search. Worried that he might not be able to handle the situation on his own, he had brought all of these subordinates with him, hoping to use their divine abilities and magical techniques to bolster his own power.

As soon as the Giant Ghost King arrived, the might of a demigod weighed down in the area, causing all heaven and earth to shake. Furthermore, a sound like a shattering mirror could be heard as a semi-transparent shield of light suddenly appeared, fracturing and cracking. Then the shield exploded!!

That shield was the sealing method Gongsun Wan'er had used to prevent any outside communication or interference. When Bai Xiaochun saw that, he suddenly felt like a great weight had been lifted off of his shoulders.

As Bai Xiaochun's spirits lifted, Gongsun Wan'er's face became very serious. However, that greedy gleam in her eyes didn't go away, and she even licked her lips as if she were looking at a delicious snack.

"Ah, finally…" she said, her voice vibrating in bizarre fashion, "at long last, I've hooked a really big fish…." Then she began to speed in the Giant Ghost King's direction!!

Bai Xiaochun gasped at the realization that Gongsun Wan'er was going so far as to directly attack a demigod! Mind reeling, his newfound hope suddenly faded away.

"Father-in-law, be careful!" he shouted. "This creature is bizarre, and really powerful!!"

The Giant Ghost King's eyes narrowed as his heart burned with fury. He could see his daughter lying there unconscious, and could see Bai Xiaochun standing over her protectively, and it only made his rage grow.

However he couldn't afford any distractions at the moment. As soon as he had arrived, he could sense powerful fluctuations coming from Gongsun Wan'er, as well as an aura that struck even him with fear!

"You must be the soulclone of some almighty being. Am I right? Well, whether you come from this heaven and earth, or from the beyond… it doesn't give you the right to run amok here!" As the Giant Ghost King spoke, his words transformed into a magical symbol which rushed toward Gongsun Wan'er, accompanied by intense rumbling sounds.

At the same time, the Giant Ghost King strode forward, extending his right hand in a way that caused all heaven and earth to grow dark. An enormous ghost hand appeared, stretching down from the sky with all-destructive power, heading toward Gongsun Wan'er and simultaneously locking down the entire area.

This was power that surpassed that of a deva, and caused all creation to tremble violently. Devas could insert their will into heaven and earth, and supplant the will of the heavens. But demigods could surpass the will of the heavens, and bend it to their own desires. They could replace the sun and moon, and create their own version of creation!

Intense rumbling sounds assaulted the ears of all present as dozens of lightning bolts appeared, all of them filled with power that could destroy devas. Before anything else could happen, the lightning bolts all began to shoot toward Gongsun Wan'er.

Strangely, Gongsun Wan'er didn't do anything to dodge. She allowed the heavenly lightning to strike her, and let the gigantic ghost hand crush down onto her!

A boom could be heard as her body shattered into countless pieces!

The sight of it caused Bai Xiaochun's eyes to go wide. Although this wasn't his first time seeing a demigod in action, it definitely surpassed anything he had experienced so far.

Demigods… were people whose single attack, an attack that wasn't even on the level of a trump card… could cut down a deva!!

And yet, Bai Xiaochun had the feeling that things couldn't be that simple. It didn't make sense that Gongsun Wan'er would be taken out so easily….

Even as he wondered about that, the Giant Ghost King's expression flickered, and his eyes began to shine. At that point, it was possible to see something like strands of red muscle growing within the giant ghost hand!!

The muscles seemed to be building up from inside of the hand itself, and yet, even as it squirmed… the entire ghost hand began to wither!

"What gall!" the Giant Ghost King roared. With that, he performed an incantation gesture and pointed out, causing the ghost hand to explode. As the resulting shockwave spread out, giggling laughter joined it as Gongsun Wan'er yet again appeared in her guise as Bai Xiaochun, completely unharmed!

In fact, not only was she unharmed, she seemed remarkably healthy. On top of that, the greedy gleam in her eyes remained. Licking her lips, she murmured, "Finally… I feel a bit full…."

The Giant Ghost King's heart was beginning to pound, and a very unsightly expression could be seen on his face. In fact, this was the first time that fear had ever been seen in his eyes. All of a sudden, he seemed to put all the pieces together, and slowly said, "That was the Ghostform Lifedraining technique! Who exactly are you!?"

Gongsun Wan'er seemed surprised by his words. She looked closely at him, her eyes turning pitch black for a moment. Then the blackness faded away, and she smiled.

"Oh, you actually cultivate an incomplete form of the Ghostform Lifedraining technique…. Interesting…. Heh. I wonder if my true self has some secrets that even I don't know about…." She chuckled, and the greedy glint in her eye grew stronger.

The Giant Ghost King's expression grew more unsightly, and his breathing became irregular. Clearly, what Gongsun Wan'er had just said was incredibly shocking. The truth was that the technique he cultivated, the Giant Ghost Incantation, had been passed down orally by his predecessors from one generation to the next. No one other than the Giant Ghost Kings knew the truth, which was that… the Giant Ghost Incantation had been created by the first generation Giant Ghost King when he came across some incomplete ancient records from beyond the heavens.

The very fact that it was incomplete was why it contained a fatal flaw. At the same time, it made the Giant Ghost Incantation so powerful that it gave birth to the line of Giant Ghost Kings in the Arch-Emperor Dynasty!

"As for who I am," Gongsun Wan'er continued, "well that's simple. I'm Bai Xiaochun." Laughing, she blurred into motion as she sped toward the Giant Ghost King!

Although their small interchange had been somewhat confusing to all of the Giant Ghost King's subordinates in the area, they could tell that there was some enormous secret at play.

Furthermore, the fact that Gongsun Wan'er was this strong had them all gasping in astonishment.

However, Bai Xiaochun felt like he was about to go crazy, and could hardly control his emotions. Although he didn't completely understand everything they had said either, he did know that the little girl came from the Fallen Sword Abyss, and that that sword… had fallen from beyond the heavens….

"She's from beyond the heavens!! And did she just say something about her true self…?" Bai Xiaochun's eyes went wide, and his heart began to pound. As of this moment, he felt convinced that the little girl had actually come from beyond the heavens. Furthermore, she wasn't complete. She was actually the soulclone of some almighty being!!

It was a shocking thought. Furthermore, it explained why Gongsun Wan'er hadn't even needed to use her full power to handle both him and Mistress Red-Dust earlier. She had really been… fishing!

That mere thought caused him to shiver in fear, look up at the sky, and wonder what exactly existed beyond the heavens…. It was also in that exact moment that the Giant Ghost King waved his hands violently out in front of him.

"Get out of here, all of you! And keep back!" A massive wind sprang up that pushed away all of the Giant Ghost King's subordinates, as well as Bai Xiaochun.

At that point, the Giant Ghost King's expression turned unprecedentedly serious. Lifting his right foot, he stamped down, causing a powerful boom to echo out. At the same time, he began to grow larger. In the shortest of moments, he went from the size of an ordinary person to being 30 meters tall. Then he was 300 meters tall. Then 3,000! In the end… he reached a height of 15,000 meters!!

In addition to becoming an enormous giant, a vortex sprang up around him that sucked in all of the energy of heaven and earth in the area.

Beyond that, his skin turned green, he grew enormous tusks, and two curved horns grew out of his forehead. As of this moment… he looked exactly like the statue back in the city which bore his name. He looked like… a giant ghost!!

The explosive energy which surrounded him caused all heaven and earth to shake. Lightning bolts danced across the surface of his body. And most shocking of all was that, after fully powering up, it was as if he had touched something that acted as a limit of the world in which he lived.

Unexpectedly, numerous magical restrictive symbols appeared in the sky, forming something that looked almost like a net. They were blood-red, enormous, and seemed to contain the most ancient of wills.

It was as if they were the guardians of this world!!

With them in place, this world would always stand firm and stable!

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Chapter 830: Thats Not Bai Xiaochun!

The instant the enormous restrictive sealing spell appeared in the sky above, the Giant Ghost King roared and unleashed the full power of his cultivation base in the form of a trump card….

"Giant Ghost World Extermination!" He threw both of his enormous hands up into the air, whereupon a black sun appeared!

It contained terrifying power that was clearly capable of destroying all heaven and earth, and anyone who saw it, deva or demigod alike, would be shaken down to their very soul.

The Giant Ghost King was putting everything on the line, and was completely ignoring any effects this attack might have on the world around him. Apparently, if he didn't wipe out this bizarre opponent, the consequences would be too severe, even more so than the possibility of his trump card destroying the world!

Bai Xiaochun was so shocked that his tongue stuck to the top of his mouth. The spectacular nature of the Giant Ghost King's divine ability defied description, and Bai Xiaochun could actually sense the rage in the aura that emanated off of him. And there was little need to even mention that black sun!

When Bai Xiaochun looked at the sun, he could visualize endless charred lands filled with agony and death!!

If that sun landed onto the surface of the ground, he couldn't be exactly sure of what would happen, but he was fairly certain that a large portion of the Wildlands would end up in complete ruins!!

"How… how could this be happening!?!?" he thought, his face draining of blood. Stunned by the Giant Ghost King's dramatic choice, his heart began to pound, and then he quickly transmitted a message. "Your Highness, be careful if she explodes! She'll turn into a blood shadow that absorbs life force!!"

Although the Giant Ghost King didn't show any sign of having heard, his eyes flickered slightly.

Even Gongsun Wan'er gasped, and a very serious expression appeared on her face.

"Well, this is what I would expect of a demigod…. It hardly took you any time at all to find… my one weakness…." Although her pupils constricted with shock, it was still possible to see the same glimmer of greed therein. Letting out a high-pitched shriek, she leapt up into the air, performing an incantation gesture that caused a spinning black vortex to appear in her palm!

"I'm an indestructible soul! Nobody can kill me! All divine abilities and all living things are nothing more than food for me…. I get stronger with each fight, and the only way to kill me is to make me absorb so much energy that I explode…. Alright, let's see what happens. Will you exploit my weakness to kill me, or… will you help me get rid of that weakness!?!?"

A crafty smile could be seen on her face as she flew forth and then slammed directly into the black sun.

As they connected, the terrifyingly destructive power released by the black sun was actually absorbed into the black vortex in Gongsun Wan'er's palm!

As it happened, Gongsun Wan'er trembled, and was pushed backward relentlessly. And yet, she continuously absorbed the destructive power, her eyes flickering with bizarre light as she did.

When the Giant Ghost King saw what was happening, his expression flickered. And yet, a cold smile touched his eyes, and he waved both hands out in front of him.

"Since you like it, I'll help you absorb your fill!!"

With that, he shoved the black sun toward her. At the same time, black smoke roiled off of him, merging into the sun and lending it more power.

The process caused the Giant Ghost King to shrink. And yet, his goal of making the sun more powerful was met. Intense rumbling sounds spread out, causing heaven and earth to grow dark, and a massive wind to kick up. All spectators in the area began to fall back, their faces pale with fear.

From a distance, it was possible to see the Giant Ghost King shrinking down and down while the black sun grew larger and larger. In the blink of an eye, it was thousands of meters across, and the Giant Ghost King was the size of a normal person, pushing the sun toward Gongsun Wan'er.

A scream escaped Gongsun Wan'er's lips. Her body seemed to be swelling from the influx of destructive power, and as she struggled to maintain control, she lost her ability to maintain the appearance of Bai Xiaochun.

Cracks spread out across her face, and then the rest of her body. In the blink of an eye, the surface of her body… shattered like a mirror!

As the pieces fell, Bai Xiaochun's face disappeared, revealing that she was not a man, but rather, a beautiful young woman!

She had smooth, fair skin, and a sinister gleam in her eyes. Furthermore, anyone who could look closely enough would see that she had a second pair of smaller pupils within her pupils!!

All onlookers gasped in shock.

"That's not Bai Xiaochun!"

"Who is that?!?!"

By this point, Mistress Red-Dust had regained consciousness, and her face was a mask of shock at the bizarre nature of Gongsun Wan'er.

Bai Xiaochun looked up at her nervously, aware… that now everyone knew she wasn't him!

More intense rumbling sounds echoed out as the black sun began to shrink down rapidly. The Giant Ghost King was focusing all of its destructive power onto Gongsun Wan'er, forcing her to absorb it whether she wanted to or not!

Soon, the black sun was only 3,900 meters across, and Gongsun Wan'er, who was inflated almost like a balloon, trembled violently. Cracks appeared on her face, neck, and body, as she began to yet again crumble like a shattering mirror. It only took a moment before she let out a shrill shriek… and collapsed into pieces!!

This time, as the pieces fell away, something else appeared… a young girl wearing a red robe, with a face so pale it seemed to be completely devoid of blood!!

As soon as that girl appeared, the entire world seemed to grow colder. Furthermore, ice appeared everywhere, causing everyone in the audience to shiver from the nearly unbearable cold.

"She has another body!!"

"Who is she!?!?!"

Bai Xiaochun's scalp felt like it was being stabbed with pins and needles, and he gasped. He would never be able to forget this little girl, whom he had first seen in the depths of the Fallen Sword Abyss.

At this point, the Giant Ghost King's eyes glittered, and he quickly performed an incantation gesture with both hands, causing the 3,600-meter black sun to enter the girl's body with explosive force!

The girl panted, her eyes gleaming with bone-like sinisterness. Then she let out a scream that cause the souls of all present to tremble as, for the third time, cracks began to spread out over the surface of her body!!

At the same time, the black sun continued to shrink. Soon it was only 1,500 meters. 1,200 meters. 900 meters… 300 meters. 150 meters. When it was only 30 meters across, the Giant Ghost King roared and shoved it forward with even more force!

The little girl trembled violently as cracks filled the surface of her body, and then, she finally collapsed!!

Revealed beneath the crumbling pieces was a shadowy form that looked like a conglomeration of fresh blood. Almost immediately, that blood exploded into something like a sea, that emanated a vile aura as it swept out rapidly in all directions.

The Giant Ghost King bore the brunt of the attack. Even with his demigod cultivation base, he still coughed up a mouthful of blood, and flew back at top speed.

"Get out of here!!" And yet, the crimson sea of blood spread out faster than even the Giant Ghost King's voice. It didn't matter how quickly everyone fell back, it only took the blink of an eye for the sea to overwhelm them. As it did, any soul cultivators who it touched, regardless of the level of their cultivation base, were instantly transformed into desiccated corpses!

Their life force, cultivation base, soul, and everything else about them were absorbed by the sea of blood. As for Bai Xiaochun, he had been relatively far away to begin with, and had been on guard, so as soon as the sea of blood appeared, he fled at top speed.

However, his heart was pounding with even more shock and fear than before.

"Not even a demigod can kill her!!" he thought, terrified. He knew that this ghostly girl had taken an interest in him on more than one occasion. It was all very mysterious, and in fact, upon analysis, it really seemed as if the girl should be thankful.

"Biting the hand that feeds you!!" Looking back at the corpses in the sea of blood, he saw the deva patriarch of the Bai Clan, which caused him to tremble and accelerate. Others were near him in the same area, and were also fleeing in terror.

Even as everyone fled, an enormous face appeared within the seething sea of blood. It was the face of the young girl, and she had a crooked smile on her face as she looked up at the grim Giant Ghost King.

"You… lose!!" she said in a bizarre voice that sounded like a combination of men, women, old ones, and young children!

The Giant Ghost King suddenly smiled. "Oh really?"

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Chapter 831: Experts Unite!

The Giant Ghost King was a profound schemer and expert strategist. That much was possible to see from the game he had played with the three great clans back in Giant Ghost City.

Heart pounding with fear, Bai Xiaochun turned back to watch what was happening on the battlefield. After all, he found it hard to believe that the Giant Ghost King would so blithely shoot himself in the foot.

"My big bro Giant Ghost is a wily old fox, that's for sure…." he told himself. However, he hoped that the Giant Ghost King could actually be a bit more wily than he normally was. Otherwise, Bai Xiaochun was certain that he would end up losing his poor little life.

Even as he pondered the possible outcomes, the Giant Ghost King's cool voice echoed out into the area.

"How's that speed of yours doing?!"

Even as the words left his mouth, the girl's pupils constricted, and her face fell. In the process of absorbing the full destructive power of the Giant Ghost King's black sun, she had lost several bodies. Although she had survived… even she could not quickly absorb all of that power. As a result, she was now much less quick and agile than she had been before.

Furthermore, she was now spread out into the form of a sea of blood, which essentially meant that she was locked in place. Although that wouldn't last for long, at the moment, she was incapable of going anywhere. She might as well have been sealed!

And that had been the Giant Ghost King's plan all along. This opponent was too powerful, and shockingly fast. Furthermore, her origin was too terrifying to ponder deeply at the moment. He had known all along that ordinary methods could not be used to defeat her, and therefore, he had to take a bit of a risk. That was why he had summoned his world-exterminating sun. If the sun ended up destroying her, then all would be well and good. But if it didn't… then it would show that he was absolutely incapable of defeating her on his own, and that… he needed help!

And the truth was that the Giant Ghost King had long since used a demigod secret magic to send word to the Grand Heavenmaster!

Therefore, he only needed to buy enough time for the Grand Heavenmaster to come with reinforcements. If he could keep the girl locked in one place for long enough, that would give enough time for his allies to arrive and then join him in cutting her down!

And yet, all of that was only two thirds of his full plan.

The final step of the plan had not yet been enacted…. It was at this point that the Giant Ghost King suddenly reached out, summoning yet another gigantic ghost hand that stretched down from the sky toward the sea of blood.

A vicious expression appeared on the face of the girl as she suddenly caught on to what the Giant Ghost King was doing. Feeling both humiliated and enraged, she let out a piercing shriek, causing the sea of blood to seethe as it surged toward the ghost hand.

Bai Xiaochun was watching all of this happen, and when he heard what the Giant Ghost King just said, breathed a sigh of relief as he realized what he was up to.

"The Giant Ghost King really does deserve his reputation…." he thought excitedly. Everyone else in the area also seemed to be filled with hope. A moment later, four figures suddenly stepped out of thin air!

The first one wielded a massive battle-axe. He was burly and tall, with a frightening murderous aura. He wore a black suit of armor, and a helmet with two long, curved horns sticking out on either side. He was the type of person who caused the air to shatter around him wherever he went.

He was none other than… the Nine Serenities King!

The second figure was like a pile of flesh, fat to the extreme. And yet, that didn't seem to make him any less nimble. Every step he took caused windstorms to spring up. It was as if the will of the heavens would bow to him wherever he went, and make way for his passage.

This person was none other than Xu Shan's father, the Spirit Advent King!!

The third figure moved with incredible quickness, and radiated a fearsome desire to do battle. He was surrounded by countless sword projections that seemed capable of crushing worlds. Rumbling sounds echoed out in all directions, and in the middle of it all was a middle-aged man in a long green robe. He was handsome, and stood tall and straight, with features that somewhat resembled Gongsun Yi's. This man was none other than… the War Champion King!!

The fourth figure came from Arch-Emperor City. He had white hair, and a wrinkled face, and yet his aura clearly placed him at the forefront of the other four. He was the person whose every deed and thought could shake the Wildlands. He was none other than… the Grand Heavenmaster!!

Behind the Grand Heavenmaster were the ten heavenly dukes, including Chen Haosong. All of them had extremely grim expressions as they strode forward!

A short time earlier, they had received messages from the Grand Heavenmaster, with information that caused dread to fill all of their hearts.

"A soul has appeared which is suspected to be from beyond the heavens!! It has terrifying powers of absorption and consumption!! It has an unknown cultivation base that can consume demigods!!"

It was a matter that left the Grand Heavenmaster feeling very shaken. Never could he have imagined that the person suspected of being Bai Xiaochun would be so powerful. After receiving the report from the Giant Ghost King, he hadn't wasted a moment to summon all of the most powerful experts to go deal with the situation!

Although it all takes some time to describe, they all began to arrive in the roughly same moment that the Giant Ghost King once again began to fight with the young girl. The first person to reach the scene wasn't the Grand Heavenmaster, it was… the green-robed War Champion King with his towering sword energy!!

A sword slashed through the air, creating an opening through which he stepped. The first thing he saw was the young girl in the form of a sea of blood, locked in place down below.

"Aberrant soul, how dare you cause trouble in the Arch-Emperor Dynasty!" The War Champion King's voice was as cold as ice, and as he spoke, he extended his right hand. Immediately, the sky behind him grew blurry, and then a massive green greatsword materialized, which he grabbed and slashed down toward the sea of blood!

A gold sword light appeared that seemed capable of ending all forms of life. Anyone who saw it would be shocked, regardless of the level of their cultivation base. Even devas. They all knew that if they were the ones to face this sword, they would be powerless to defend against it, and would surely perish!

The Giant Ghost King chuckled. Although his face was pale from all the exertion, he immediately joined the War Champion King to attack the enemy.

The girl's expression flickered, and she began to howl piercingly. The sea of blood began to surge as two blood-colored hands stretched up from within it toward the War Champion King and the Giant Ghost King!

Intense rumbling sounds filled the air as that shocking sword made contact with the blood-colored hand. The hand grabbed it, but subsequently shattered into pieces. And yet, even as it shattered, it reformed!

Bai Xiaochun was so shocked his scalp had gone numb. Every time he assumed this girl had reached her limit, she would do something even more shocking than before. Astonishingly, she was using these two blood-colored hands to fight against two demigods!

"She absorbed that black sun, which made her stronger…. Although she fell into a bit of a trap, it could be that she did it intentionally… all to be able to consume more energy!" Forcing his thoughts into order, he grabbed the recently awakened Mistress Red-Dust and began to flee again. However, that was when a howl ripped through the air, along with a black battle-axe, which slashed down toward the sea of blood.

The power of that battle-axe defied description. Bai Xiaochun could tell just from looking at it that it had the power to destroy the heavens and extinguish the earth. Clearly, any deva who tried to accept a blow from that axe would be destroyed in body and soul.

And yet, as the axe fell, the girl in the sea of blood let out another soul-trembling scream, whereupon a third arm rose up to meet the attack of the Nine Serenities King!!

Three demigods were fighting this young girl!!

Things weren't over yet, though. The battle caused the sky to darken and winds to scream, and yet, that was when a cold snort ripped through the air. A gigantic sealing mark appeared, larger even than the sea of blood. As it descended from the sky, the eyes of the young girl finally… focused into a very serious look.

Rumbling sounds could be heard as a fourth and fifth blood-colored arm stretched up to deal with the sealing mark. That was when the Grand Heavenmaster himself stepped out into the open from within the sealing mark!

Heaven and earth trembled in response to his appearance. Fluctuations that vastly surpassed ordinary demigods rolled out as he extended his right hand and pushed down, causing afterimages of the magical sealing symbol to appear as more than 100,000 duplicate layers of it came into being!

"Be destroyed!" he said, his eyes narrowed. Then he pushed his hand down, and the 100,000 sealing marks descended toward the blood-colored hands with mountain-toppling, sea-draining power.

When the hands met the sealing marks, the hands shattered instantly. The sealing marks destroyed them like a boulder crushing a drinking glass!

At this point, Bai Xiaochun's heart began to pound with excitement. For the first time, he finally felt hope!

"Nice one, Giant Ghost King. Your scheming powers are terrifying! You got the enemy stuck in place. Then the War Champion King and the Nine Serenities King attacked with full force. And yet, just in case they couldn't complete the job, the deadliest blow was launched… by the strongest of all, the Grand Heavenmaster!!"

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Chapter 832: Second Deadly Blow!

This was Bai Xiaochun's first time ever seeing multiple demigods joining forces to attack like this, and it wasn't quite what he had expected. After all, the political climate in the Arch-Emperor Dynasty was very delicate, and the demigods all had tenuous relations with each other at best.

He could never have imagined that they would all join forces so quickly to deal with a foreign enemy. In fact, the Giant Ghost King had paid a huge price just to buy an opportunity for the others to gain victory!

Then, the War Champion King and the Nine Serenities King were willing to play mere supporting roles, using their battle prowess merely to keep their opponent in check for a short moment. They even risked being injured to do so. Even the Grand Heavenmaster, who already had the ultimate level of prestige in the Wildlands, didn't hesitate at all to unleash his most powerful blow to cut down the enemy!

Although the fight seemed to be happening very quickly, there was clearly a high level of cooperation between these various demigods. Although they all had separate goals in their political struggles, when it came to fighting a foreigner, they were all on the same page!!

Bai Xiaochun was both moved and enlivened. Everything around him was shaking and rumbling, and there was also the shriek of the young girl as her blood-colored hands collapsed. Then, the sealing mark descended onto the sea of blood!!

The lands quaked, and yet the effect didn't spread very far; the Grand Heavenmaster controlled everything perfectly to keep the effect localized. Even still, the resulting shockwave blasted out for tens of thousands of meters, destroying all plants and vegetation in the area.

In the face of the blast, Bai Xiaochun and the others near him all fell back even further. At the same time, he anxiously craned his neck to see whether or not the girl had been destroyed.

Even as he looked over, the Grand Heavenmaster's 100,000 sealing marks caused the sea of blood to shatter. However, as it happened, a terrifying aura erupted out that sent Bai Xiaochun's emotions spinning!!

The Grand Heavenmaster's face fell, as did the faces of the Giant Ghost King, the War Champion King, the Nine Serenities King, and the ten heavenly dukes!

Without the slightest hesitation, all of them prepared to fall back. And yet, before they could, an eerie, sinister voice spread out that seemed to be composed of countless other voices….

"Unfortunately, you couldn't quite pull it off…." As the voice rang out, the sea of blood erupted. In the blink of an eye, it transformed into something like a blood sphere that grew larger with every moment that passed. Rumbling sounds echoed out, filling the Wildlands to the point where it seemed like they might collapse as a result!

Despite being some distance way, blood sprayed out of Bai Xiaochun's mouth, as well as from everyone around him. As for the Giant Ghost King, he had been severely drained, and was very weak, so he was sent tumbling backward, blood also spraying out of his mouth.

Blood oozed out of the mouths of the War Champion King and the Nine Serenities King, with the Grand Heavenmaster being the only one who seemed less affected. However, he was clearly having a tough time dealing with it, and his face turned a paler shade of white.

But then, the exploding blood sphere suddenly began to shrink back down. Soon, it was a sea of blood again, and then it was half of its previous size! And yet, it was far more viscous than before!

The young girl's face appeared again, and she laughed in sinister fashion.

"Truly a pity…. However, I have to offer you people my thanks. You really helped me to absorb a lot…. Well, you still have one more chance. If you don't take it… then I won't have any weakness at all."

Bai Xiaochun's eyes nearly popped out of his skull. What was happening seemed almost completely unbelievable.

"Four demigods, including the Grand Heavenmaster… and they can't kill her!?!?"

Even as Bai Xiaochun's mind reeled, the injured Giant Ghost King looked up with shining eyes. Then he reached out and waved his finger at the girl.

Although he didn't speak even a single word, the War Champion King, the Nine Serenities King, and even the Grand Heavenmaster all unhesitatingly unleashed the full power of their cultivation bases, causing demigod fluctuations to spread out as they charged again toward the sea of blood.

The Grand Heavenmaster, who actually occupied the most prominent position among them all, didn't seem to be paying attention at all to his status as he joined forces equally with everyone to try to kill the enemy!

As the three demigods closed in, the Giant Ghost King waved his finger. In response, ten blood-colored arms stretched up from the sea of blood. At the same time, the face of the young girl suddenly changed, going somewhat slack, as though her thoughts were muddled.

Gasping, she looked at the Giant Ghost King!

"You!!"

Another flicker of blankness passed through her eyes, and her thinking seemed to slow even further. In fact, the blood-colored hands also appeared to decelerate.

This was the third part of the Giant Ghost King's plan, after the unleashing of the black sun!!

The black sun contained part of the Giant Ghost King's cultivation base power. After consuming that power, the girl couldn't digest it quickly, and therefore, the Giant Ghost King could use a special technique… something that the first generation Giant Ghost King had created, a divine ability used to control the Giant Ghost Incantation!

Bai Xiaochun was unfamiliar with that technique, but the weakened Mistress Red-Dust was not. In fact, it was the very same technique that the Giant Ghost King had told her could help her achieve a cultivation base breakthrough!!

Now, the very same thing that occurred with Mistress Red-Dust was occurring with the girl. Furthermore, the Giant Ghost King was exercising even stronger control; he was affecting all of the girl's thoughts!

Bai Xiaochun's eyes widened as he got an inkling of what was happening. Even as the young girl's mind was cast into chaos, and her blood-colored arms slowed down, the War Champion King, Nine Serenities King, and Grand Heavenmaster unleashed the full power of their cultivation bases to attack her, joined by the ten heavenly dukes! It was a deadly trump card attack!!

And yet… they weren't the ones to be delivering the final blow!

By combining all of their divine abilities and magical techniques, they managed to shatter the blood-colored arms, which collapsed back down into the seething sea of blood. That was when, all of a sudden, a massive mountain of flesh appeared on the ground beneath the sea!!

That ball of flesh contained the power of a demigod, violent and explosive as it shot up into the air, destroying the ground that it left behind. The Grand Heavenmaster and other demigods and devas attacked from above, and the ball of flesh attacked from below. There was no way for the sea of blood to avoid the blow!

The ball of flesh smashed into the sea of blood, causing it to explode out into countless bits!

Rumbling sounds filled the air as the ball of flesh sped up higher into the air, transforming into an enormous, fat man who was… the Spirit Advent King!!

Bai Xiaochun's eyes went wide as he was once again shaken by how these demigods all worked together.

"This time she's definitely going to die!" Even as Bai Xiaochun looked on nervously, the Grand Heavenmaster and the other demigods and devas called upon their previous experience to prevent the sea of blood from scattering. Instead, they unleashed intense power to reduce it to flying ash!

And yet, even as they destroyed the blood, all of a sudden, one particular clump of violet-colored blood suddenly rose up, moving with such incredible speed that it left behind nothing but afterimages. As it moved, it seemed possible to see something like an arm inside of it. Moments later, the arm vanished, to be replaced by the young girl's face, which was twisted with rage!

"All of you are going to die!!" she shrieked, creating an indescribable sound wave that rolled out in all directions.

The sound was like the wailing of a ghost, and filled the entire 500-kilometer area, seemingly cutting it off from the rest of the Wildlands as surely as if an invisible blade had severed it!

From the pressure radiating down, it didn't seem like a magical technique that originated from this world. The sky began to shatter, and the intense noise caused the air to ripple and distort!

And yet, that wasn't even the most terrifying thing. As the ripples of the sound filled the area, numerous shadowy souls appeared…. None of them seemed to possess intelligence, but they instinctually began to move toward that 500-kilometer area of sound, as if it were a holy place!

In fact… all of the souls in the Wildlands that were not controlled by some owner or master… began to fly in the same direction!!

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Chapter 833: Ow... Oww...

The Wildlands was a huge place, and there were so many vengeful souls there that no one could ever possibly count them. Furthermore, even with all of the soul cultivators in the Wildlands using them in necromancy and cultivation, their numbers would continually be replenished, or even increase.

Right now, all of the unfettered vengeful souls in the Wildlands, regardless of where they were, all looked up and let out soundless shrieks. Then, they began to fly in the same direction, almost as if they had been summoned!!

It didn't matter how close or how far away they were. They seemed to be acting on instinct as they drew upon all the power they could to fly through the air. Some of them even began to teleport, lending them even greater speed than before!

The place that all the souls in the Wildlands were heading toward, as if it were a holy place… was the conglomeration of blood with the face of the young girl on it, and the 500-kilometer-area that had become a lake of soundwaves!

The fact that a collection of soundwaves in a 500-kilometer area could affect all of the Wildlands was hard to even imagine!!

The Giant Ghost King's face fell. "Ghost Harmonization!!"

Blood sprayed out of his mouth as he staggered backward, helpless to do anything other than rotate his cultivation base to protect himself from the sound!!

He was trembling, seemingly hovering on the verge of collapsing completely, and it was the same with the War Champion King, Nine Serenities King, and Spirit Advent King, although all of them seemed to have it a bit better off than the Giant Ghost King!

The intense level of the sound battered at the demigods… to the point where they almost couldn't handle it.

"She's just a soulclone! How could she be so powerful!? And… what is the cultivation base of her true self!?!? It must be beyond the Demigod Realm!!"

"This magical technique doesn't belong to our world!!"

The War Champion King panted, madness rising up in his eyes, his sword qi erupting out to defend himself, and yet was completely suppressed by the sound.

The Spirit Advent King's body was shrinking down, his fat disappearing, his facial features changing; clearly, he wasn't holding anything back in his attempt to defend himself.

If they were affected in such a way, there was little need to mention Chen Haosong and his compatriots. The ten heavenly dukes were all trembling and withering up, their eyes filled with disbelief and terror. They were obviously completely powerless to defend themselves against this sound.

The face of the girl in the violet glob of blood shrieked continuously, and as she did, a look of scorn appeared in her eyes.

"This is legendary Archaean divine magic…. You're the subordinate of an archaean from beyond the heavens? But which one?!" The Grand Heavenmaster gritted his teeth as a glittering defensive shield of light sprang up around him. Although he was still capable of movement, he could only do so with great difficulty, and every movement of his feet made him feel like he had mountains attached to them.

In response to his words, the little girl's pupils constricted. Then, despite the fact that she continued to scream, that voice which seemed to contain many voices rang out from within the conglomeration of blood.

"You're very well-informed…."

Even as the power of the sound within the 500-kilometer area continued to surge, a sea of vengeful souls was converging on the area. None of them hesitated for a moment to pour into the sound and then into the young girl, making her even stronger than before.

Everyone on the outside was shivering with terror, their faces pale and their minds reeling as if they had been struck by lightning. Never could they possibly have imagined that the most powerful forces in the Wildlands, five demigods, would all join forces in attack, and yet fail to destroy this one strange girl!!

In fact, not only did they fail to kill her, but they were all placed in mortal danger!

"Father!!" Mistress Red-Dust shouted, trembling in anxiety. She tried to wrest herself out of Bai Xiaochun's arms, but he held her tight.

"Get your hands off me!!" she yelled. But she was too weak, and no matter how she struggled, she couldn't break free. She could only watch her father stuck in a position of imminent death within that lake of sound.

Furthermore, the Giant Ghost King had been injured and weakened more than anyone else, and was clearly not going to be able to hold out much longer.

"Calm down!" Bai Xiaochun barked, his eyes bloodshot. "If you go over there now, you're dead for sure!"

Tears filled Mistress Red-Dust's eyes. At the moment, she didn't seem at all like a mighty deva. She seemed heartbroken. Turning to Bai Xiaochun, she angrily said, "My father showed you immense kindness, Bai Hao! If you don't want to save him, fine, but how dare you stop me! You--"

"Shut up!" Bai Xiaochun shouted, unable to prevent the anxiety in his heart from showing in his bloodshot eyes. Perhaps he could ignore what was happening to everyone else, but not the Giant Ghost King. Staring bitterly at the 500-kilometer lake of sound, he wracked his brain trying to come up with ideas. At that point, the Giant Ghost King coughed up some more blood, and then swayed weakly. Mistress Red-Dust began to struggle even harder, and tears began to pour down her face.

"Father!!"

Apparently, the Giant Ghost King heard her. He opened his weary eyes and looked over at Bai Xiaochun and Mistress Red-Dust, and a faint smile could be seen. He opened his mouth as if to speak, and yet, just like everyone else in the same predicament as him, was working too hard to fight back against the sound to say anything.

Mistress Red-Dust redoubled her efforts to free herself. However, it was at that point that Bai Xiaochun threw his head back and roared. Depositing Mistress Red-Dust off to the side, he shot through the air toward the 500-kilometer lake of sound.

He simply couldn't stand idly by and not try to save the Giant Ghost King. The Giant Ghost King had treated him too well, and now was the time to try to repay that kindness. He couldn't just watch him weaken and die right there. Furthermore, the little girl actually didn't seem to be moving!

"I'm gonna go for broke!" he shouted. "Go for broke!" As he closed in on the 500-kilometer lake of sound, the Giant Ghost King noticed. Although his gratitude was visible, he mostly seemed anxious.

"Get back, Bai Hao!! This ghostess is using a magical technique from beyond the heavens! We can't move, nor can she! Just get out of here! Go back to the Underworld River Restricted Area!!"

Speaking out loud caused his defensive powers to waver. A tremor ran through him, and blood sprayed out of his mouth.

All of the onlookers got even more nervous than before, especially Mistress Red-Dust, who trembled, and seemed like she wanted to speak, but was too overwhelmed by tears. However, Bai Xiaochun continued on as if he hadn't even heard the Giant Ghost King. Soon, he was at the border of the lake of sound. Not bothering at all about what secrets he might reveal, he sent his turtle-wok flying out from inside of him. Hefting it overhead, he charged into the lake of sound.

As soon as he was inside, he dropped to the ground and put the wok on top of him. It was exactly the same method he had used back when he was in the River-Defying Sect, when the Middle Reaches sects had been fighting each other in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect's legacy zone.

It was the only tactic he could think of that might work. Of course, as soon as he stepped into the area of the sound, it affected him, and blood sprayed out of his mouth. However, when he dropped down and placed the turtle-wok over himself, all of the sound around him disappeared!!

"No sound?" After a moment of feeling stunned, his blood-spattered face lit up with delight. At first it almost seemed too good to be true, but after a moment, he began to cautiously move forward. When the Giant Ghost King and everyone else saw what was happening, they were completely taken aback. Everyone observing from afar was so shocked they forgot to breathe.

As for Mistress Red-Dust, she began to gnaw on her lips in anxiety.

As he moved along, Bai Xiaochun realized that since he was on his way to save someone, he should try to make himself seem a bit braver. For that purpose, and in order to forestall any suspicions, he lifted the corner of the wok up and began to shout out as if in pain, making sure to be loud enough that everyone could hear him.

"Ow… Oww…! Dammit…. OWW…. I'm not holding back anything for you, father-in-law!! Ow…. Oh father-in-law… ow! Your son-in-law's poor little life is going on the line to save you…. Owwww…."

And thus it was that on that bitter and somber battlefield, Bai Xiaochun's voice echoed out for all to hear. He looked like a turtle as he crawled along, getting closer and closer to the Giant Ghost King. As for the onlookers, whether they were inside the lake of sound or outside, they all stared in complete shock.

Even the girl in the conglomeration of violet blood was stunned. The Giant Ghost King was the closest to the turtle shell…. Despite the intensity of the sound waves battering him, he could clearly hear the exaggerated cries of pain coming from inside, and it caused his jaw to drop slightly.

"Don't worry, Zimo. Even if I die, I'll definitely… ow…! I'll definitely save our father!! Ow… Oww…!

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Chapter 834: The Hell-Emperor Cometh!

Everyone present was dumbfounded, including the Giant Ghost King, the War Champion King, and even the Nine Serenities King. Although they were exerting all their effort to fight back against the sound attack, strange expressions still appeared on their faces. That was saying a lot, considering that this was a deadly battle in which no one knew who would come out alive and who would end up dead.

Everyone felt incredible pressure weighing down on their hearts because of the bizarre little girl, and they were all wondering about what serious consequences there could be depending on how things turned out.

And yet… in the middle of such a dramatic and bitter struggle, Bai Xiaochun showed up… yelping in exaggerated fashion as he crawled along underneath a turtle shell. It left everyone completely flabbergasted.

The Giant Ghost King's tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth, and the Spirit Advent King's jaw hung wide open. There was little need to mention how shocked the Grand Heavenmaster was.

All eyes were glued to the hollering Bai Xiaochun as he and his turtle shell got closer and closer to the Giant Ghost King.

"Bai…." the Giant Ghost King began. And yet before he could even think of what to say, Bai Xiaochun grabbed his leg, turned around, and began dragging him away.

The Giant Ghost King was already weak enough as it was. When Bai Xiaochun began pulling on him, he didn't resist. He was like a statue underneath the eyes of all present, being inexorably pulled toward safety.

"Ow… Oww…! I'll get you out of here even if I die in the process, father-in-law!! Owe… Oww…!"

Of course, Bai Xiaochun continued to shout as he dragged the Giant Ghost King along.

"Whatever works…." That was what everyone was thinking, whether they were inside of the lake of sound or outside. As for the little girl, her eyes were blank with shock. Not even she could ever have guessed that Bai Xiaochun would use a method like this to drag someone to safety….

If he only saved the Giant Ghost King, it might not have been a very big deal. However, just as he was closing in on the border of the lake of sound, the Spirit Advent King, who was being shrunken down with every moment that passed, took a deep breath and shouted, "Bai Hao, uh… how about you drag me out too!?"

The expressions of blank shock on the faces of the onlookers grew even more pronounced, and many jaws dropped. Although the bitter and tragic feeling that had gripped the battlefield still remained, it was fading.

Bai Xiaochun ignored the Spirit Advent King. Pushing forward with all the speed he could manage, he physically threw the still-shocked Giant Ghost King out of the lake of sound. Mistress Red-Dust hurried forward excitedly to catch him.

Seeing that the Giant Ghost King was now safe, Bai Xiaochun breathed a sigh of relief and prepared to crawl out to safety.

"Hey, Bai Hao. Um… don't you remember Shanshan? She's waiting for you back in Spirit Advent City!" More odd expressions appeared on the faces of the onlookers. Feeling a bit annoyed, Bai Xiaochun looked out from under the turtle-wok at the Spirit Advent King. Then he thought about how nothing had been done to block his path to the Giant Ghost King, so, gritting his teeth, he turned around and headed back in.

More cries of pain could be heard as he approached the Spirit Advent King and then grabbed his leg just as he had the Giant Ghost King. Amidst the battering sound waves, he dragged the Spirit Advent King toward the edge of the lake and then threw him out.

Grumbling curses echoed out from beneath the turtle-wok the entire time.

"Spirit Advent King you… ow! You're so fat!! Can't you lose a bit of weight!? I can barely move you… ow!"

The Spirit Advent King was feeling very embarrassed about it all. However, he continued to shrink as he moved along, until he was roughly the size of an ordinary person. That was when Bai Xiaochun threw him out of the lake of sound.

By this point, the ten heavenly dukes were feeling extremely anxious. Their cultivation bases were too low, making it impossible for them to even speak. All they could do was cast piteous, imploring glances at Bai Xiaochun. When Bai Xiaochun saw that, his heart softened.

"Ah, whatever. You people all hate me, but I'm a generous guy. Besides, as the saying goes, if you're going to herd sheep, you might as well collect the whole flock…." Sighing at how important his mission was, he continued to shout and holler as he crawled back and forth through the lake of sound…. Before long, he had dragged away the dumbfounded Grand Heavenmaster and the proud and arrogant War Champion King, as well as Chen Haosong and the other devas.

Everyone watched as Bai Xiaochun saved them all one by one. Before long, the only person left within the 500-kilometer area… was the Nine Serenities King, who stood there with a blank look on his face.

He had long since begun to curse inwardly; however, he quickly realized that Bai Xiaochun seemed to be ignoring him and saving everyone else.

Although he knew about everything that had gone on between Bai Xiaochun and his son Zhou Hong, he didn't think that it would earn him treatment like this. At least a few people should have been left behind to accompany him….

By this point, the little girl was about to go crazy, and her face was twisted with fury. She might have been able to accept the fact that her technique didn't affect him, but then he had gone and rescued everyone else….

Even as she began to sink into hysteria, the Grand Heavenmaster and everyone else settled down cross-legged and began to recover. By use of demigod secret magic, the process went very quickly. Soon, the Giant Ghost King didn't look weak anymore, and was mostly recovered.

If nothing happened to interfere, it wouldn't be long before all of the demigods were back at peak battle prowess.

"Bai Xiaochun!!" the girl screamed. Everyone in the area went stiff at the sound of her voice, and Bai Xiaochun shivered anxiously. However, before anything else could happen, the Grand Heavenmaster, War Champion King, Spirit Advent King, and Giant Ghost King all opened their eyes. Four demigods all rose to their feet and strode forward to attack the 500-kilometer lake of sound.

Meanwhile, the Nine Serenities King howled at the top of his lungs and went all out to join the other four demigods in the assault.

Shocking booms rang out in all directions as the 500-kilometer lake of sound began to tremble and collapse. After only ten breaths of time, it completely shattered. Blood sprayed out of the mouth of the Nine Serenities King as he staggered backward, visibly aged, and obviously seriously injured.

As soon as the lake of sound collapsed, the Grand Heavenmaster and the other demigods attacked in full force, unleashing one divine ability after another. In response, the little girl screamed, and the violet conglomeration of blood writhed as it took human shape. Then the girl waved both of her hands up into the air.

As she did, the sky distorted, and intense rumbling sounds echoed out everywhere. All of the Wildlands souls which had been rushing in her direction increased their speed significantly, hundreds upon hundreds of millions of them all closing in on the girl.

The sky grew dim from all of the howling vengeful souls. Soon, there were billions of them, swirling around the little girl like a cyclone!

The souls soon began to take the shape of a face, a face that filled the entire sky. It was the little girl, her eyes sinister and filled with anger and resentment that caused the entire world to tremble.

"Nobody can save you!" she howled, borrowing the voices of all of the countless vengeful souls to speak. At the same time, she opened the mouth of the face of souls, and a black wind sprang out.

Shocking power filled the gusts of wind, power that caused the Grand Heavenmaster and the other demigods to look on in shock. Bai Xiaochun also gasped, and began to back away.

That wind carried the power to destroy everything in existence, and yet, before that could happen… a sigh echoed out, a sigh of profound ancientness!

A figure appeared within the swirling black winds. He wore a long black robe, and at first, it was impossible to see his face. He was so old that anyone who looked at him would immediately come to the conclusion that he had just stepped out from profoundly ancient times.

"Great-Grandpa Gravekeeper!" Bai Xiaochun said, stunned.

"Hell-Emperor!!" cried the Grand Heavenmaster and the other demigods, expressions of profound reverence on their faces.

When Bai Xiaochun heard what they were calling the gravekeeper, his jaw dropped.

Although all of this takes a bit of time to describe, it all happened in the briefest of moments. The gravekeeper seemed to exist in a different dimension than the black wind, which didn't affect him at all. He strode forward until he was right in front of the enormous face of the young girl. Then he reached out with his ancient, withered hand, and pushed down onto it.

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Chapter 835: Cause And Effect

When the gravekeeper pushed his hand out, there was no screaming wind, nor any smoke or fire. However, the entire world seemed to go completely still and silent.

The sky didn't tremble. The lands didn't quake. The winds which had surrounded the gravekeeper vanished. As for all of the countless vengeful souls, their resentment seemed to vanish, and they prostrated themselves in worship to the gravekeeper.

Everyone who saw what was happening was shaken. As for the little girl, the souls which made up her face scattered as they too prostrated themselves to the gravekeeper.

Then, an enormous manifestation of the Underworld River appeared, waves glistening as it filled the world. The countless souls which filled the area then began to float toward the river, like stars returning to their place in the sky.

The face of the girl faded away, revealing the violet conglomeration of blood. A moment later, the face reappeared in the blood, eyes shining with strange light as she looked at the gravekeeper. Then, she unleashed the very same technique that had destabilized the divine souls of the demigods, that which the Grand Heavenmaster had referred to as… Archaean divine magic!

"So you finally decided to show up, Hell-Emperor!! I knew it! I could sense traces of you on that Bai Xiaochun over there! I knew that if I followed him around long enough, he would lead me to you!!"

Shocked looks appeared on the faces of all present in response to her words. At the same time, the same sound waves appeared as last time, except instead of spreading out for 500 kilometers, they were focused in an attack on the gravekeeper.

The girl had previously mentioned Bai Xiaochun, but that had been a dramatic and frenzied moment, leaving people little time to contemplate the implications. But now, he who was like a god to the Wildlanders had appeared, the Hell-Emperor. Therefore, the words which had just been uttered by the girl caused everyone to turn their gazes onto Bai Xiaochun.

"Bai Xiaochun!?!?"

"Grandmaster Bai is Bai Xiaochun?!"

The soul cultivators from Giant Ghost City were all completely shocked, to the point where their jaws hung open….

"Bai Xiaochun…?" Chen Haosong and the other heavenly dukes had strange expressions on their faces as they looked over at him.

The Nine Serenities King, War Champion King, and Spirit Advent King were all stunned.

Only the Grand Heavenmaster and the Giant Ghost King didn't have any reaction, as though this news wasn't surprising to them at all…. However, mixed emotions could be seen on Mistress Red-Dust's face.

Although this possibility had existed in the bottom of her heart for a long time, she hadn't been willing to devote any thought to it. But now, having heard the little girl essentially say the same thing twice, it caused Mistress Red-Dust to begin to pant. The fact that her own father had given her hand in marriage to Bai Xiaochun… turned her world completely upside down.

Bai Xiaochun's heart began to pound because of all the eyes looking at him. However, there was nothing he could do to change how events were playing out. After blinking a few times, he put on a blank expression, as though he didn't understand what was being talked about. Then he looked around as if trying to figure out who in the crowd was really Bai Xiaochun…. In response, many strange looks could be seen on the faces of the others present.

At the moment, Bai Xiaochun didn't have time to worry too much about what exactly everyone was thinking. At long last, he had realized why this ghostly girl had been following him for such a long time… she had been using him to find the Hell-Emperor.

"No wonder…." Although it was a bit of a shock to find out that the gravekeeper was the Hell-Emperor, when he thought about how mysterious the man was, it all made sense.

"When she said she noticed traces of Great-Grandpa Gravekeeper on me, was she referring to how he saved me from the Luochen Clan?"

As Bai Xiaochun was wrestling with these thoughts, the girl's Ghost Harmonization erupted out, causing the sky between her and the gravekeeper to shatter. The gravekeeper sighed, waving his hand to cause the shattering sky to transform into a huge black hole. The black hole began to explode, releasing power that seemed capable of destroying the entire world. Thankfully, the same world-sealing net existed as had appeared when the Giant Ghost King unleashed his black sun. The illusory net easily dispersed the world-destructive power, and it faded away!

The gravekeeper shook his head and spoke in an ancient, weary voice, "I've been avoiding you at every turn. Why do you insist on hounding me?"

"If you want me to stop hounding you, then open the Worldgate! Allow me… to leave this place!!" Sound waves continued to stream out, destroying the air as they went along. However, the young girl's bizarre, echoing voice could still be heard.

Her eyes were filled with focus, determination, and madness. Furthermore, there was no deceit in her words. She was not a person of this world. She had come from beyond the heavens, a discarnate soul who had fallen down into the world along with an enormous sword.

She had once been confused and unintelligent, with no hope of ever regaining her senses. But then Bai Xiaochun had entered the Fallen Sword Abyss, and she had consumed his medicinal pills. Her soul body had been stimulated, and her mental faculties had recovered. At that point, she remembered everything about her past!

She found the world she was in a very strange place, and instinctively wanted to keep Bai Xiaochun next to her, considering that he had been the one to restore her mental faculties.

However, despite the fact that her soul body was indestructible, her battle prowess wasn't sufficient. Because of that, Bai Xiaochun escaped. She had later escaped the Fallen Sword Abyss to roam the world on her own, whereupon she learned more about the truth of where she was. She eventually came to realize… that if she wanted to escape, if she wanted to get home, she needed the gravekeeper to open the gate to this world.

Unfortunately, she wasn't powerful enough to locate the gravekeeper. However, she remembered the traces of the gravekeeper that she had sensed on Bai Xiaochun!

At that point, she came to the conclusion that Bai Xiaochun… had been looked upon kindly by the gravekeeper. And she also realized that if she followed Bai Xiaochun for long enough, that she would likely find the person she was looking for.

And that was what led to the entire situation…. It was also why she had sometimes even protected Bai Xiaochun. Unfortunately, after the labyrinth spell formation was activated, something unexpected happened. She lost track of Bai Xiaochun!

No amount of searching had turned up any clues. Therefore, she eventually decided to impersonate him, all with the goal… of luring him out into the open, and thus, getting access to the gravekeeper!

It almost didn't matter how things played out, she would succeed. Furthermore… when Bai Xiaochun had attempted to flee earlier, she had not unleashed the killing techniques she was capable of, all because her true goal was to force the gravekeeper out into the open!

When the demigods attacked, it was to further her main goal that she had summoned all the souls of the Wildlands, in order to shake the foundation of the world.

It was something she could not do in the Heavenspan River region. After all… the souls that existed only in the Wildlands were the best tool for her to aid her recovery, and also the best advantage she had in a fight!

More important than anything else… she had another friend out there somewhere….

With such thoughts on her mind, she chuckled. Even as her Ghost Harmonization continued, she opened her mouth, causing the air behind her to distort as the enormous head of an evil ghost appeared behind her. The ghost immediately opened its mouth and lunged toward the gravekeeper.

The evil ghost radiated battle prowess equivalent to a demigod, which left the Grand Heavenmaster and everyone else in the area completely shocked.

However, the appearance of the gigantic evil ghost only caused the gravekeeper to shake his head. With that, he extended his ancient right hand and pointed at the ghost head.

All creation began to tremble. The air around the evil ghost then began to collapse, creating what appeared to be the shape of an enormous mouth, which instantly gobbled up the ghost!

At the same time, the gravekeeper performed an incantation gesture and waved his finger at the girl.

"Wind!" he said. It was one simple word, but when it came out of the mouth of the gravekeeper, it seemed to contain the power of the natural laws of heaven and earth. Almost immediately, the entire sky filled with a wind capable of destroying all living things!

The terrifying power in that wind surpassed that of a demigod, and caused even the little girl's face to fall. As for Bai Xiaochun, his eyes went wide, and he gasped at how unbelievably powerful the gravekeeper was!!

"The Hell-Emperor…." he murmured to himself.

Massive energy surged, energy that surpassed the ability of all onlookers to even react to it. When the gravekeeper uttered that single word, wind, it was as if all the wind in the world reacted with explosive fury.

The world became a place of wind, with the gravekeeper being the eye of the storm, a mountain-toppling, sea-draining vortex that crushed toward the little girl!

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