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

27. 836

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Chapter 836: Daoist Magic Of Heaven And Earth!

From a distance, it was possible to see that the vortex of wind filled most of the sky, and caused rumbling sounds to be heard in all corners of the earth. Down below, the lands quaked. As for the Grand Heavenmaster and everyone else who could see what was happening, they were profoundly shaken.

The vortex of wind spun dramatically, unleashing power that struck fear into the hearts of all onlookers. As for the little girl, she was like a rowboat in a sea of violent waves, teetering on the verge of capsizing.

And that was what everyone was hoping would happen. Unfortunately, that was when the girl suddenly looked up, her eyes as red as blood. Then she opened her mouth wide. In fact, her mouth opened wider and wider in exaggerated fashion, to the point where, in the blink of an eye, she seemed like nothing more than a gigantic mouth!!

The mouth became like a vortex, with a shocking gravitational force that spread out in all directions!

BOOOOM! CRAAASH!

When that gravitational force locked onto the gravekeeper's wind vortex, an ear-splitting boom filled the air. Then, the wind vortex began to slow down, and even tilt to one side… as the girl began to consume it!!

The hearts of the onlookers seized, and Bai Xiaochun gasped. This was a battle that surpassed the level of demigods, and was the most shocking thing he had ever seen in his life. This little girl seemed almost completely unkillable, whereas the gravekeeper seemed to have infinitely powerful techniques.

The thought that this terrifying girl had been following him around since his days in the Heavenspan River region left him feeling both frightened and also relieved that nothing bad had happened along the way.

"It's a good thing I didn't offend her too badly in the past. If I had, she could have killed me as easily as breathing…." Even as he shivered in fear, intense booming sounds filled the air. By this point, the wind vortex had completely collapsed, and… had been consumed by the little girl!!

The faces of the onlookers fell. However, the gravekeeper simply sighed, as though this was no surprising development for him. With that, he waved his finger, and yet again spoke in an ancient voice.

"Rain!"

It was one simple word. However, as soon as it left his mouth, countless dark clouds sprang into being, stretching out to fill almost all of the Wildlands!

Those dark clouds contained absolutely no lightning, only water!!

Great, bean-sized drops of rain began to pour down, almost as if there were a giant far above, overturning a huge bucket. In the very shortest amount of time possible, the entire world became a world of violent downpour!!

Furthermore, this was not ordinary rain, this was… magical rain!!

The rain contained shocking force, almost like a divine ability or magical technique…. There was so much rain, it was almost impossible to see. Bai Xiaochun's eyes turned wide at the mere shocking feeling of how much energy it contained.

"So… so awesome!!" He wasn't the only one to be shaken. The Grand Heavenmaster and all the other powerful experts were completely bowled over by how shockingly strong the gravekeeper's rain was.

The little girl's face fell. This rain filled her with an intense sensation of deadly crisis, and she immediately fell back. Unfortunately, no matter how quickly she moved, she couldn't escape it!

In fact, none of the rain actually reached the ground. Each drop spun in the air and began to race directly toward the girl.

Her hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture, causing a defensive shield to spring up. Then, booms rang out like that of an enormous drum being beaten as countless drops of water slammed into the shield!

The sound grew louder and louder, and the rain fell harder and harder! Before long, the rainwater had formed into something like a solid sheet that shot forward in attack!

A sphere of water began to form around the girl, causing her expression to flicker. Her defenses were crumbling, and the sphere was growing larger, filling with more and more water.

300 meters. 3,000 meters. 15,000 meters….

From a distance, it was like a terrifying ball of water surrounding the little girl, crushing her defenses and growing larger by the moment.

Bai Xiaochun could hardly keep his breathing in check. The girl's defensive shield was almost completely destroyed, and all of the onlookers were getting excited. However, it was in that moment that the girl's face twisted and shrank as she transformed into…

A sword!!!

It was the most ancient and archaic of swords, so much so that rust was visible on its surface. It almost seemed ordinary in nature, and yet, as soon as it appeared, billowing waves began to sweep across the surface of the sphere of water.

No one present recognized the sword, except for Bai Xiaochun! As soon as he saw it, his eyes went wide.

"The fallen sword!!" he shouted in shock. Back when Bai Xiaochun had reached Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment… it had been in the eastern Lower Reaches of the Heavenspan River… in a huge sword!!

That was the place where this strange girl had first appeared!!

Although the sword was vastly smaller than the first time he had seen it, Bai Xiaochun recognized it immediately. In the same moment that the words escaped his lips, the girl in fallen sword form spun in place and then slashed through the remnants of her destroyed shield at the sphere of water!!

As the sword descended, a gigantic sword materialized in the sky up above. It was so huge that only part of the blade was visible, streaking down from above, filling the vision of everyone present as it attacked the sphere of water!!

A massive boom rang out as the water sphere collapsed. Countless drops of rain showered out, filling the lands below with mist. As for the girl, she was clearly weaker than before, and could not maintain the form of the fallen sword for very long. Amidst the swirling mist, she quickly reverted to her normal appearance, and then shrieked, "I'm an unkillable soul, gravekeeper! Since you can't cut me down, I might as well consume you right here and now!!"

The faces of the onlookers fell, and Bai Xiaochun began to tremble. He even thought about trying to escape. However, that was when the mist which filled the world began to rush toward the girl, as if it were under her control.

A sea of mist began to converge on her in shocking fashion, gradually taking the shape of a gigantic ghost head!

Despite being made of mist, it was very lifelike, with a vicious expression and curved horns. Furthermore, closer examination revealed that it did indeed resemble the young girl in some fashion. Just like the enormous sword from moments before, it filled the sky, obscuring the sun as it looked down at the grounds below and then sucked in a breath!!

In response, the sky distorted and the lands shifted. It was as if all creation were about to be absorbed into the mouth of this huge ghost head. Some people felt their bodies beginning to move beyond their control, something that left Bai Xiaochun feeling completely stunned.

Even the Grand Heavenmaster and the other demigods were shaken.

However, the gravekeeper merely shook his head, and then murmured something in a voice that only he could hear.

"Still hiding your face, huh…?" With that, he performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, and then waved his finger again.

"Lightning!"

The instant the word left his mouth, a bright red bolt of lightning appeared in the twisting sky. As soon as it appeared, another followed it….

In the briefest amounts of time, there were three lightning bolts. Then 100. Then 10,000…. There was no sound to accompany them, and yet they were so densely packed that they looked almost like the rainwater had moments before. The entire world slowly began to glow with the red light they cast!!

Then, the countless red lightning bolts shot toward the misty ghost formed by the little girl. As Bai Xiaochun looked up, what he saw was something that almost looked like a hand formed from lighting… reaching toward that gigantic ghost head!

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Chapter 837: The Celestial Cometh!

Although the ghost head was huge, the enormous hand made of bright lightning was bigger!

It almost looked like the hand of an adult compared to the head of a baby! And as that hand reached out, intense rumbling sounds filled heaven and earth, as did the sensation of crackling lightning!

It seemed like the hand didn't care at all that the girl was attempting to consume heaven and earth. The ghost head's mouth suddenly ceased breathing in, and screamed as though it were going all-out to avoid the lightning hand. But the surging energy of the hand contained the pressure of all creation, allowing it to easily wrap around the misty head!

The hand clenched into a fist, and cracking sounds rang out. The ghost head tried to fight back, but couldn't, and collapsed. As it did, the girl appeared, fleeing backward at top speed. Terror was visible in her eyes, fear of the converged power of heaven and earth contained in that hand of lightning.

However, no matter how fast she fled, it didn't seem enough to evade the hand, which clearly aimed to blot her out of existence!!

The entire area seemed sealed, leading to complete terror on the part of the girl. Her hands flashed with a double-handed incantation gesture, causing countless shadowy ghosts to appear around her. However, the ghosts were quickly dissipated by the crimson lightning.

The onlookers were enlivened; what was happening now was profoundly shocking, a battle which surpassed the Demigod Realm. Bai Xiaochun's heart raced as his eyes tracked the huge hand, and the shadowy ghosts. As for the girl, she shrieked as the huge hand came closer and closer.

That was when, all of a sudden, an enormous rift appeared in the sky. It was fully 3,000 meters long, and looked almost like a gigantic eye!!

As the eye stared out at the gravekeeper, cold and emotionless, a second rift opened up. Then a third, and a fourth….

In the briefest of moments, countless rifts opened up in the sky, revealing numerous eyes!

All of them were cold and emotionless, and all of them stared directly at the gravekeeper!

This sudden development led to widespread shock among the onlookers. As for the Grand Heavenmaster, his face fell, and he blurted, "The Celestial!!"

In the same moment that his voice echoed out, the countless eyes blinked, sending numerous beams of sword light shooting out toward the gravekeeper!

It was impossible to count exactly how many beams of sword light there were. The sky seemed filled with them, until that light surpassed everything else. It was like a web of swords that immediately slashed into the enormous lightning hand and began to tear it to pieces!

That hand contained the converged power of heaven and earth, and therefore, only similar power could affect it. And in this world… there was only one person other than the gravekeeper who could use such power.

He was…

The Celestial from Heavenspan Island!

Rumbling booms filled the Wildlands, causing the ground to shake and the sky to vibrate. The innumerable beams of sword light sliced the gigantic hand apart, saving the girl, and then proceeding on to attack the gravekeeper himself!

Although all of these things take some time to describe, from the moment the sword light appeared until it destroyed the hand and then proceeded on toward the gravekeeper, only a single breath of time passed.

Any one of those beams of sword light would be enough to kill a deva, and yet here were countless beams, interlocking into a gigantic pillar of light!

Massive waves of shock battered Bai Xiaochun's mind. From the moment this fight had begun until now, he felt like he had been made privy to some of the most important secrets in the entire world!

But it was an urgent moment, and there wasn't time to ponder the implications right now. He could only watch as the gravekeeper turned his head, his eyes flickering with profound light. He didn't seem surprised at all, as though he had been expecting the Celestial to arrive. Lifting his hand toward the incoming sword light, he spoke again in an ancient voice.

"Thunder!" Again, it was only one word. However, as it left his mouth, it grew in volume until it was like a roar uttered by countless voices. Vengeful souls and living beings alike, Bai Xiaochun included, voluntarily or not, shouted the same word in their hearts!

The Grand Heavenmaster, the Giant Ghost King, Chen Haosong and the other demigods and devas… all of them did the same!

The sound reached an unbelievable level in a short time. Heaven shook, the earth trembled, and ripples spread out everywhere. As for the incoming sword light, as soon as it encountered those sound waves, it began to shatter into something that looked like innumerable tiny stars!

Innumerable beams of sword light all collapsed at the same time, and yet, the sound waves did not disperse. They continued on with heaven-rending, earth-crushing power, assailing the little girl's ears, causing her to tremble violently and begin to grow transparent. Meanwhile, in another part of the sky, the air began to distort, as though a veil were being lifted to reveal… a person who had been concealed there!!

He was a spectacularly handsome middle-aged man wearing a suit of golden armor, with sword-like eyebrows. He seemed threatening without being angry, with eyes that shone like the sun and moon!

He wore an imperial crown, and had flowing black hair that swirled around him. In sharp contrast to his black hair, he had one lock of red hair which curled down across his forehead. Now that he had been revealed by the parting of the veil of heaven and earth, he stepped forward, reached out, and pushed his hand up into the air!

Thunderous crashing filled the sky, as though an enormous, invisible hand were ripping it apart. At the same time, a bright blue spear appeared from within the resulting rift. It didn't fly toward the armored man, though. Instead, it shot with lightning-like speed to stab down into the ground.

The lands quivered, and cracks spread out left and right. The sound of the impact, combined with the previous sound of the thunder, became like an invisible attack that blasted out in all directions.

Although Bai Xiaochun was rather far away, the blast of energy hit him and caused blood to spray out of his mouth as he tumbled backward. Chen Haosong and the other devas staggered back, blood oozing out of their mouths. Even the Grand Heavenmaster and the other demigods were forced back, their faces turning pale.

As for the soul cultivators from Giant Ghost City whose cultivation bases were below the Deva Realm, they had no time to react, and most were instantly transformed into ash….

Mistress Red-Dust would likely have been killed too, were it not for the fact that the Giant Ghost King stood protectively in front of her.

"The Celestial!!" The Giant Ghost King looked up at the armored man, his eyes flickering with fear.

The War Champion King, Spirit Advent King, Nine Serenities King and the Grand Heavenmaster, as well as the heavenly dukes, were all staring at the same person, their hearts pounding with fear!

"The Celestial!?" Bai Xiaochun thought, gasping in shock. He wasn't quite sure what to think as he looked up at that shocking figure who looked down from the sky with arrogance and disdain!

He was none other than the ruler of all of the Heavenspan regions, the Celestial from Heavenspan Island!!

This was Bai Xiaochun's first time actually seeing him, and at first glance, he could see that he was the type of person who had become one with the world. In fact, the man's eyes were as piercing as the sharpest of blades or needles.

Even as Bai Xiaochun looked on, the little girl flew over to the Celestial. Keeping her distance, she said, "You're late, Daoist Heavenspan!"

The Celestial smiled. Ignoring the girl, and everyone else, he kept his gaze fixed on the only person he had been looking at the entire time, the gravekeeper.

"You knew what I was planning all along, didn't you old man?"

"As clear as day," the gravekeeper replied calmly, his expression the same as ever. However, his eyes flickered with profound light, and his words were thought-provoking to the extreme.

Bai Xiaochun's heart was pounding. Obviously, the little girl and the Celestial had been in league for a long time. As for this day's battle, it wasn't just one being fought by the little girl. She was allied with the Celestial in opposition to the gravekeeper!

As for why, it was presumably because of what the girl had mentioned earlier… that mysterious Worldgate!

"So many secrets…." he thought. At the moment, he felt himself to be in a very awkward position. In fact, he almost wanted to yell out loud to the Celestial that everyone here was basically on the same side…. However, such thoughts were immediately crushed when he thought about how the girl had been following him to find the gravekeeper, and that the Celestial must have known that.

"I was being used…." he thought, his heart trembling as he looked at the three powerful entities floating up above in the sky.

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Chapter 838: What Right Do You Have To Withhold Your Approval!?

Even as Bai Xiaochun scowled on the verge of tears, the Celestial looked at the gravekeeper and coolly said, "So what if you knew? Whether I lured you into the open, or you did it to me, in the end… it will all come down to who wins the fight!"

Even as he spoke, a domineering air exploded out from him that made him seem like the ultimate entity in heaven and earth!

In the moment that he finished speaking, the little girl chuckled oddly and began to blur into the form of a black hole. At the same time, that odd voice of hers which seemed to be composed of countless living things spoke.

"Void Devouring Grand Magic!!"

Black light erupted from the black hole that was the little girl, filling a 30,000-meter area and pulling everything toward it. Plants, vegetation, rocks, mountains; everything began to fly through the air toward her.

The gravekeeper was in that 30,000-meter-area, and was actually the focus of her Void Devouring Grand Magic. From the look of things, it had him locked in place and incapable of moving!

Even as the girl attacked, the Celestial took a step forward. He knew that this battle needed to be ended quickly, and was prepared to make that happen. As his foot descended, the lands quaked. At the same time, he reached out with his right hand and made a grasping gesture.

"Heavenspan Sea!" he said coolly. Rumbling sounds could be heard, and ripples filled the air, along with a golden color that bore the appearance of a sea!

Bai Xiaochun's jaw dropped and his mind began to reel. He immediately identified that golden, illusory body of water. It was none other than… the Heavenspan Sea!

"What kind of magical techniques are these?" he thought, his heart racing. "He's actually using the Heavenspan Sea as a weapon?!" As of this moment, he came to the conclusion that the techniques being used by these three were true divine abilities. In fact, they made the magical techniques he usually used seem almost embarrassing. But then he reminded himself how amazing the Waterswamp Kingdom and Undying Emperor's Fist were, and felt a bit better. If he had a higher cultivation base, his Waterswamp Kingdom would probably crush these people like dry weeds.

"Ai, my cultivation base is really just too weak." he thought with a scowl. At the same time, he backed up as quickly as possible. The Grand Heavenmaster and the other powerful experts all had very serious expressions on their faces. They too realized that the Celestial was making drastic transformations to heaven and earth by using a projection of the Heavenspan Sea itself!

The entire sky became a huge sea, with churning water and huge waves. Within moments, that golden water transformed into the shape of a massive hand, which began to crush down toward the gravekeeper!

The sky had become a sea, and the sea had become a hand. With the little girl's Void Consuming Grand Magic locking the gravekeeper in place, it seemed impossible for him to evade that all-destructive attack.

It was a moment of crisis that had Bai Xiaochun's heart leaping into his throat. However, that was when the gravekeeper looked up, his eyes flickering with profound light as he lifted both hands above his head and spoke in a gravelly voice.

"Underworld River!"

A powerful aura of death sprang up around him, along with raging black river water that quickly filled all creation. Then he took a step forward, and the river water roared forth like a black dragon!

The gravekeeper was like the source of the Underworld River water, which erupted like a fountain, growing more numerous by the moment. The water seethed madly around him as he climbed into the sky to meet the gargantuan hand that was the Heavenspan Sea!

They grew closer and closer together, and then collided with force to shatter mountains, destroy the sky, and crush the land. Countless lines spread out across the surface of the hand as deafening rumbling sounds filled the air. It was an attack in which the gravekeeper and the Celestial were facing off using the Underworld River and the Heavenspan Sea as their weapons.

A black dragon was fighting a golden hand!

The golden hand was the first to lose out. It shattered into pieces which, as they fell apart, revealed the sinister Celestial floating up above!

As for the Underworld River, it was clearly stronger. After destroying the hand, it continued onward like a black lightning bolt, striking directly at the Celestial, with the gravekeeper in the forefront!

A boom rang out as the Celestial backed up. However, in the moment before impact, the gravekeeper turned to the side, revealing that his target wasn't actually the Celestial, but instead, the little girl!

The girl's face fell, and she immediately fell back with incredible speed. Unfortunately for her, her shocking speed still wasn't a match for the gravekeeper. A moment later, a huge boom rang out as the majestic Underworld River slammed into the unkillable soul that was the little girl.

The girl screamed as the river made contact with her, and she shattered into countless motes of light. The light shot off into the distance and reformed into a soul shadow. She had not been destroyed. After all, she called herself unkillable. However, the gravekeeper's blow had clearly wounded her seriously!

In fact, it seemed likely that if she sustained enough blows of that level, she actually could be destroyed!

The Grand Heavenmaster and other powerful experts were all enlivened by that revelation. Furthermore, it was now possible to see how powerful the gravekeeper truly was. If he hadn't had another purpose in mind requiring the Celestial to be present, he very likely could have defeated the young girl.

When the Celestial saw that the gravekeeper in Underworld River form was shooting toward the newly reformed girl, his expression turned very grim. He couldn't just look on while the girl was killed; not only were they allies, but he had an oath binding him. Most importantly, he wasn't confident in being able to take on the gravekeeper by himself. He needed help!

Therefore, his eyes immediately began to shine with fierce determination.

"If the Heavenspan Sea can't put you in your place, then how about… the Heavenspan continent!" His hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture, and then he pointed at the sky. Instantly, the sky began to peel back, layer by later, as if it were completely transforming!

Then… the Heavenspan Sea appeared again!!

This time, it was even more magnificent, shining with boundless golden light. Shockingly, a black island was visible in the middle of the sea. Furthermore, there were four mighty rivers stretching out from it in four directions. Land surrounded those rivers, which contained rolling mountains, vast plains, and thick jungles!!

Close examination would even reveal the four enormous sect headquarters at the mouths of the rivers. But that wasn't it. The Middle Reaches, the Lower Reaches, and even the delta regions were all clearly visible!

Bai Xiaochun stared in shock as he realized that even the River-Defying Sect was there! Projected right there in the sky… were all the lands of Heavenspan!

"Gravekeeper! You said in the past that you wouldn't open the Worldgate for me because I was illegitimate! But all you are is a gravekeeper! You're an old ghost who watches over the Worldgate. I might not have the blood of the Arch-Emperors in me, but the lands of Heavenspan approve of me! What right do you have to withhold your approval!?!? You will either open that gate for me right now, or die!!" The Celestial blurred into motion, merging into the projection of the lands of Heavenspan, becoming something like their soul!

Massive energy began to build up, as if the will of the Celestial were drawing upon all the power of the entire world!

At that point, a gleam of madness appeared in the eyes of the little girl. Seemingly ready to put everything on the line, she shrieked loudly as she transformed into a paper crane!

Black mist surrounded her, within which existed innumerable howling ghost projections. In fact, it was obvious to Bai Xiaochun that this was… power from beyond the heavens!

Such power did not conform to the nature of this world. It was like a black glob of ink on a white sheet of paper. It was instantly obvious!

The black paper crane surged with power from beyond the heavens, joining the Celestial in an attack on the gravekeeper.

"Are you gonna open that gate or not, you old ghost?!?!"

The Grand Heavenmaster and the other experts were all completely shocked by the divine abilities and energies on display. As for Bai Xiaochun, he was wailing inwardly, filled with incredibly uneasy feelings as he fell back at top speed.

The gravekeeper looked up at the Celestial, his expression the same is it had been the entire time. However, there was a certain exhaustion visible within his eyes as he sighed and said, "You still don't understand. You are illegitimate, not because of matters of bloodline or approval, but because… you lack the legacy!"

For some reason, the retreating Bai Xiaochun suddenly had the feeling that upon uttering those words, the gravekeeper… was looking at him.

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Chapter 839: Unmatchable Battle!

"That can't be right…." Bai Xiaochun thought, his heart pounding. If the gravekeeper really had looked at him, it would mean he was in great danger. That would mean he was part of this dangerous fight between the gravekeeper and the Celestial!

"A little nobody like me couldn't possibly matter to almighty people like that!" He immediately ducked his head down and hurried backward even faster. As he focused on fleeing, the battle above once again reached a fever pitch. Behind the projected image of the lands of Heavenspan, a figure appeared.

It was none other than the Celestial, and he appeared to be controlling every aspect of the lands of Heavenspan. Waving both hands out in front of him, he sent those lands rumbling toward the gravekeeper!

At the same time, the little girl in paper crane form erupted with black mist as she also shot toward the gravekeeper.

All onlookers were shaken to the core by what was happening. As for the gravekeeper, he sighed, and a glint of determination appeared in his eyes. He knew he had reached the point where hesitation wasn't an option. The Celestial had manipulated things to provoke him into coming out into the open, and yet, it was also an opportunity for the gravekeeper to put an end to something profoundly problematic for the Heavenspan Realm.

"It's ahead of schedule, and will disturb the balance. It will also harm the world itself. But my time… is limited. I need to do this for the future generations." The gravekeeper sighed in his heart, but his eyes gleamed with decisiveness. Even as the paper crane and the projected lands of Heavenspan closed in, he closed his eyes!

As he did, an intense, explosive rumbling sound filled the Wildlands and the lands of Heavenspan alike. All sects, all living things, all cultivators, all beasts, even the mortals could hear it!

RUMBLE!!

The volume seemed too intense for the world to sustain. The ground in the Wildlands shook as intense force erupted from the ground beneath Bai Xiaochun's feet, causing his face to fall. In Arch-Emperor City, in the four kingly cities, in countless tribes and clans, everyone was shocked by the violent quaking.

"What is that sound?!?!"

"The ground is shaking…. Don't tell me that earth dragons are on the move!?!?"

It wasn't just the Wildlands. The enormous Great Wall that had been built by the four riversource sects began to tremble. The armies encamped on the four major sections of the wall were rocked by astonishment, especially when they realized that the restrictive spell formations built into the wall itself were filled with cracks and vibrating dramatically.

"What's going on?!?!"

"The enemy is attacking!!"

The effect wasn't limited to the Wildlands and the Great Wall. Everywhere in the Heavenspan River region, from the delta regions, to the Lower Reaches, to the Middle Reaches, all the way to the riversource sects and even the rainbow structure of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, began to shake.

Countless individuals were in an uproar. Every living thing in the entire world was filled with shock!

As of this moment, there was only one way to describe the shocking divine ability that the gravekeeper was using… it was shaking the entire world!

The Celestial's face fell, and the little girl in paper crane form lurched to a halt, a sensation of deadly crisis filling her heart.

"What magical technique is this?!?!" The girl didn't dare to fly any closer to the gravekeeper, and in fact, began to fall back rapidly. However, even as she did, cracking sounds filled the sky as an enormous rift opened up. It quickly spread out, reaching the nearly indescribable length of 300,000 meters!!

Everyone in the Wildlands could see it. Everyone on the Great Wall could see it. And as for the sects in the lands of Heavenspan, although they couldn't see it directly, they could sense that drastic transformations were underway!

The rift almost looked like a wound… that would remain eternally in place in the heavens of the Heavenspan Realm!

The instant the rift appeared, the gravekeeper's eyes snapped open, and he spoke in a voice that echoed like thunder!

"Spleen. Earth!"

The moment the words left his lips, the rift widened, and a buzzing sound filled the air as… a huge mountain descended!!

It was so enormous that it seemed like a heavenly body. It was such an unbelievable sight that Bai Xiaochun and everyone else were completely taken aback.

"There's a mountain… falling from the heavens?" Not too far away from the stunned Bai Xiaochun, Mistress Red-Dust and the Giant Ghost King were also looking on in complete astonishment.

The mountain was not a mountain from anywhere in the land around them. It was truly… descending from the heavens!

Deafening rumbling sounds echoed into the ears of all onlookers as the pitch-black mountain began to drop down aggressively toward the Celestial's projected lands of Heavenspan, and the girl in paper crane form!

The Celestial's face fell; this was not his first time fighting with the gravekeeper, but it was his first time ever seeing a divine ability like this. His hands began to flash in a double-handed incantation gesture, sending the projected lands of Heavenspan flying forth in a deadly counter attack.

However, when the lands of Heavenspan reached the enormous mountain, they simply passed right through it! It was as if they existed in different dimensions from each other! The mountain proceeded along as if nothing had happened, until it was directly above of the girl in paper crane form.

A scream escaped the girl's lips; she knew that she couldn't avoid this blow. Eyes shining with naked ferocity, she sent the paper crane flying toward the mountain, surrounded by dense black mist.

When the two of them made contact, Bai Xiaochun could see firsthand what was meant by the expression a mantis trying to stop a war chariot!

The girl simply didn't qualify to challenge the weight of that enormous mountain. Her paper crane shattered into fragments, and the soul of the little girl screamed miserably as… the mountain crushed her back down onto the ground!

Her soul collapsed into motes of light. This time… only about half of the motes of light survived the blow, and when they formed back into the shape of the girl, she was even more blurry than before. She looked like the slightest wind might blow her away, and her eyes were filled with profound terror. Turning her head and not looking back, she fled.

The gravekeeper glanced at her, then ignored her. Voice cool, he spoke for a second time.

"Kidneys. Water!"

A second world-shaking sound echoed out, astonishing all living beings in the world. Many mountains crumbled, and vast gulches and ravines were opened up in the land. More cracks appeared on the surface of the Great Wall, and many mountain ranges in the Heavenspan River region began to shake violently.

At the same time… a second wound-like rift opened up in the sky. Cracking sounds could be heard again, and the Celestial gasped as… a huge river descended!!

This was neither the Heavenspan River nor the Underworld River. It was… a river of blood!!

Fresh, flowing blood shot toward the Celestial, who roared as he sent the projected lands of Heavenspan out to defend himself.

However, as soon as the two made contact, the Celestial's projection proved completely powerless. The lands of Heavenspan were destroyed as easily as twigs!

Bai Xiaochun stared in mute shock at what was happening. First a huge mountain descended from the heavens, and then a river….

By now, the Celestial was alone up in the sky, an unsightly expression on his face that was a mixture of disbelief and shock. However, unlike the little girl, he didn't flee, he shot toward the gravekeeper!

Voice cold and filled with mad killing intent, he said, "Let's see how many times you can unleash a divine ability that eternally harms the world itself!"

As he closed in, he waved his hand in the direction of the gravekeeper.

Expression bitter, the gravekeeper sighed and spoke a third time.

"Heart. Fire!"

A third immense sound filled the entire world. As it did, the four sections of the Great Wall which separated the Wildlands from the Heavenspan region began to shake. Countless cultivators had been rushing in an attempt to repair the cracks that had begun to spread out on the Great Wall, but at this point, the wall couldn't hold any longer. The Great Wall… collapsed!!

From the time the four sections of the Great Wall had been constructed until now, they had been breached and even broken in places. But they had never collapsed. But now, in the east, south, west, and north… the four sections of the Great Wall fell!

Countless cultivators stared in terror and shock at what was happening.

"Celestial phenomena!"

"The Great Wall… is collapsing…."

It wasn't just the Great Wall. Many of the mountains in the Heavenspan region shook so violently that they began to collapse. At the same time, back in the Wildlands, Bai Xiaochun watched as… a third wound-like rift opened up!

From within that rift descended… not a mountain, and not a river, but rather… a globe of fire!!

More precisely, it was a sun!

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Chapter 840: Lock Of Blood Hair!

"The sun is falling?!?!" Bai Xiaochun's eyes nearly bulged out of his head as he watched the sun shooting down from the rift toward what remained of the Celestial's projected lands of Heavenspan.

It didn't matter how the Celestial tried to avoid the blow, it was impossible. It only took a moment for the sun to slam into the projection!

The projection trembled violently, and immediately collapsed into fragments. The Celestial himself was revealed, his face ashen, blood oozing out of the corners of his mouth. This time, it was without the slightest hesitation that he turned and fled.

Although he could hardly bear to do so, he knew that his plan had failed. Even he and the little girl working together had not been a match for the gravekeeper, which caused rage to burn in his heart.

"Dammit! I already suppressed him in the past. But this time he resorted to a divine ability that can eternally damage the world! He clearly… will stop at nothing to kill me! What makes me illegitimate isn't bloodline or approval, it's the legacy? I knew that a long time ago!" However, the Celestial didn't dare to stick around any longer.

The gravekeeper seemed to not care that he was trying to make a getaway. Voice cool, he spoke a fourth time.

"Lungs. Metal!"

A fourth world-shaking sound erupted into the Heavenspan Realm, and a fourth wound-like rift opened in the sky. Even as the Celestial began to accelerate, golden light spilled out of the rift and… a huge golden cauldron descended!

The cauldron emitted blinding light, along with intense rumbling sounds. It seemed capable of locking down everything in the air around it, which made it impossible for the Celestial to flee. It was a critical moment, and a fierce gleam appeared in the Celestial's eyes as he performed a double-handed incantation gesture. Instantly, a multitude of eyes appeared around him, which all blinked, sending streams of sword light blasting toward the cauldron.

The powers of the cauldron were mysterious and enigmatic; when the countless streams of sword qi from the Celestial slammed into it, they were like eggs slamming into a boulder. They shattered, and the golden cauldron wasn't harmed at all. A moment later, the cauldron then slammed into the howling Celestial himself.

A huge boom echoed out in all directions, and a shockwave blasted out. Blood sprayed out of the Celestial's mouth; he instantly withered visibly, and his eyes turned completely bloodshot. However, he was the Celestial, the most powerful person in this world other than the gravekeeper.

It didn't matter that the huge golden cauldron had slammed into him, all it did was cause him to cough up some blood. Without hesitating, he continued to speed away into the distance.

Everything was happening so quickly that Bai Xiaochun and the other onlookers had no time to react. The little girl fled, the Celestial ran away, and it seemed as if the fight was already over!

However, it was in this moment that, for the first time, a cold light appeared in the gravekeeper's eyes as he spoke for a fifth time.

"Liver. Wood!!"

A fifth world-shaking noise echoed out. Most of the mountains in the Wildlands collapsed, along with all of the cities connected to them. By this point, there were absolutely no barriers between the Wildlands and the Heavenspan River region!

Countless cultivators had been rocked over and over again by what was happening, and now, many began to cry in alarm and flee from the region of the Great Wall.

Many of the mountains in the Heavenspan River region also collapsed, and one of the branches of the river itself was blocked off by changes to the land!

The entire world had been severely wounded, not to mention the sky, which now had four gaping wounds in it, the likes of which would strike fear into the hearts of anyone who could see them.

However, it was in this moment that a fifth wound-like rift opened up. Then, cracking sounds could be heard as a 3,000-meter-thick vine began to droop down. It was covered with countless leaves, and brimmed with life force as it slashed toward the area where the northern Great Wall had once stood.

It moved with blinding speed, shattering the air around it, and filling the world with heaven-shaking, earth-shattering noise.

It was an attack that completely shattered the air, landing directly onto the Celestial and forcing him out into the open!

More blood sprayed out of the Celestial's mouth. His ashen face was a mask of fear and dread. Never could he have imagined that the gravekeeper would use a divine ability this incredibly powerful!

"Gravekeeper, you old ghost!!" he howled angrily. He turned and attempted to flee in a different direction, but the vine immediately slashed at him again!

Even the Celestial was shocked by the speed with which it moved. His hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture, causing golden light to spring out around him, which was none other than Heavenspan Sea water! The water rapidly formed together into the shape of a huge spear, which he stabbed toward the incoming vine!

The attack caused all light in the world to grow dim. Furthermore, the Heavenspan Sea off in the distance howled as the water within it began to rise up into the air!!

The entire Heavenspan Sea became an empty basin!

All of the water had risen into the air, and began to move with vast power and speed toward the north section of the Great Wall. Apparently, that spear within the Celestial's hand was the nucleus of the Heavenspan Sea; wherever it was pointed, the sea would follow!!

Countless cultivators in the Heavenspan River region saw the Heavenspan Sea flying overhead, and began to cry out in shock!

"That's…."

"Heavenspan Sea water!!"

"Heavens, what's going on?!?!"

Only the cultivators in the north could clearly see what was happening. They saw the Celestial, they saw his spear, and they saw that huge vine!

Although all of this takes some time to describe, it happened in the briefest of moments. As the Celestial stabbed out with his spear, Heavenspan Sea water filled the air behind him, rolling forward like a wave, with shocking power that defied description.

The resulting collision with the vine sent out a boom that shook the entire world. As it happened, more than half of the vine was completely destroyed!!

However, the vine also managed to slash the Heavenspan Sea water in two!!

The Celestial remained in between the two halves, trembling and coughing up blood. Furthermore, the red lock of hair hanging down his forehead was severed, and began to float down. He reached out to grab it, but before he could, it vanished, seemingly grabbed up by someone else.

"No!!" he screamed in rage, his eyes flashing with madness, terror, and fear.

The source of all that emotion was the fact that the red lock of hair had been severed!! That was no ordinary hair. It was a life-saving blood-hair that he had spent his entire life cultivating, a precious treasure filled with life force that could be used almost like a second life!!

In fact, the blow he had sustained just now had actually been enough to kill him…. He had used the blood-hair in the last moment to save his life!

Had he been able to catch the hair before it vanished, he could have continued to cultivate it. It would have been very costly, but once he absorbed it back into his body, he would have been able to use it again.

But now, that critically important blood-hair had been snatched by someone else. As a result, the Celestial was left trembling and in a rage. As of this moment, he didn't dare to stay in the Wildlands. Filled with frustration and rage, he fled back to Heavenspan Island to recover.

As he did, he looked at the collapsed Great Wall and then waved his hand, sending some of the Heavenspan Sea water streaming out to form a barrier that protected the lands of Heavenspan. For now, that barrier would act like the Great Wall had, and create a restrictive spell that would prevent the Wildlands from entering!

Because he had personally set the restrictive spell in place, only someone higher than a demigod, with a cultivation base as powerful as the Celestial, would be able to get past it!

Face ashen and unsightly, he shouted, "Gravekeeper, you old ghost, you win this round. But next time, I refuse to believe that you'll be able to use that divine ability again. Next time, I'll cut you down!!"

With that, he vanished to begin the lengthy and difficult process of recovery.

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Chapter 841: Master, Save Me!

Back on the battlefield in the Wildlands, the Grand Heavenmaster and the other powerful experts stood there with very serious expressions on their faces. Bai Xiaochun's mind was still reeling from the sight of that huge vine. However, the northern part of the Great Wall was too far away, so he hadn't been able to see how the vine defeated the Celestial.

However, the Celestial's enraged voice had echoed out to fill the Wildlands, and therefore, everyone back on the battlefield had gasped and looked over at the gravekeeper.

Bai Xiaochun had known before that the gravekeeper was powerful. But to see it with his own eyes was a different thing. Now, he truly knew that the gravekeeper's battle prowess was at an unimaginable level!

"That girl joined forces with the Celestial… but in the end, they were both injured and forced to flee…." Suddenly, Bai Xiaochun swallowed hard. He wished he could run over and grab onto the gravekeeper's leg. After all, his identity had been revealed to everyone.

After thinking about everything he had done in the Wildlands, his heart began to pound with anxiety. His actions as Bai Hao had caused countless people to hate him, and now that they knew he was the notorious fugitive Bai Xiaochun, there would be no shortage of people who wanted to kill him even more than before. In fact, if they lined up and took turns, it would probably take over a hundred years to get through them all….

"The only person who can save me is Great-Grandpa Gravekeeper…. I have to think of a way to get him to pay attention to me…." Muttering to himself, he took advantage of the fact that nobody was paying attention to him to start inching toward the gravekeeper.

Everyone else was still stunned from the shocking battle they had just witnessed. As for the gravekeeper, he sighed and declined to pursue the Celestial. It wasn't that he didn't want to; he simply couldn't. If possible, he wished to avoid that level of conflict with the Celestial right now!

The truth was that he actually didn't have very much time left….

He had been very reluctant to use that divine ability of his which inflicted eternal injuries onto the world itself. There were now five gaping wounds up in the sky.

And on the ground, there was a huge mountain, a river of blood, a golden cauldron… and a sun!

All of them were eternal objects. And of course, the gravekeeper knew that it was just as the Celestial had said; he couldn't use that divine ability again.

The five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, earth, which were closely connected to the five yin organs, were unique, but were also classified as a trump card even for the gravekeeper.

"What a pity that I only managed to hit that blood-hair," he murmured to himself, "and didn't manage to kill him completely…." He looked much older than he had earlier, and his aura was clearly fading away in a way that could not be replenished.

The Celestial had laid a trap for him, and he had turned that trap around into a deadly ambush!

But in the end, neither of them had completely succeeded in their aims.

The fact that the little girl had escaped wasn't very important to him, and in fact, he had let her go. He knew exactly where she came from, and it was actually a safety precaution to refrain from killing her. Besides, he had another goal in mind, and knew that he could get her to unwittingly help him.

The main thing he cared about was the Celestial!

Even as the gravekeeper sighed and contemplated these things, the cold voice of a woman suddenly echoed out, breaking the silence.

"You think you can get away, Bai Xiaochun!?!?" It was none other than Mistress Red-Dust, who had finally awoken from her reverie. When she looked over and saw Bai Xiaochun slinking away from her, she thought back to their encounter back in the labyrinth, and immediately grew angry.

Her shout caused everyone else to come to their senses, and all of them turned to look over at Mistress Red-Dust and Bai Xiaochun. A strange expression could be seen on the Giant Ghost King's face. A glimmer passed through the Grand Heavenmaster's eyes, and he looked over at the gravekeeper. As for the War Champion King and the Nine Serenities King, they both wore frowns on their faces. The only person who was smiling was the Spirit Advent King, and it seemed like a genuine, jovial smile.

Chen Haosong and the other heavenly dukes had unsightly expressions on their faces. Back during the shocking battle which had just played out, they had not been able to spare any attention for Bai Xiaochun. But now that the fighting was over, they thought back to how he had been using the name Bai Hao, and how he had wreaked bloody havoc all through the Wildlands. That caused gleams of ill intent to appear in their eyes.

Terror gripped Bai Xiaochun's heart, and his expression flickered. Rushing backward a few paces, he cried out loudly, "Everybody calm down! I can explain!"

The demigods didn't move, nor did the heavenly dukes. However, the rage on Mistress Red-Dust's face couldn't have been more dramatic. When she thought back to what he had done to her in the labyrinth, and how he was now her fiancé, it made her so angry that she couldn't hold back from racing directly toward him.

"You owe me an explanation, Bai Xiaochun!!" she screamed.

"Zimo, you… I saved your life! I'm your greatest benefactor!!" Anxiety mounting by the moment, he backed up even faster.

Turning to the Giant Ghost King, he shouted, "Father-in-law, save me!!"

His words caused even more strange expressions to appear on the faces of the demigods. The Giant Ghost King cleared his throat in embarrassment and pretended he hadn't heard. However, Mistress Red-Dust's rage increased.

"Shut up!!" she shot back, accelerating as she headed toward Bai Xiaochun. Wracked with nervousness, Bai Xiaochun turned and started running in the direction of the gravekeeper.

"Master, save me!!"

When he said the word Master, the Grand Heavenmaster gasped, and the Giant Ghost King's jaw dropped. The expressions of the Nine Serenities King, War Champion King, and Spirit Advent King all flickered, and the hearts of Chen Haosong and the heavenly dukes began to pound.

Even Mistress Red-Dust was caught off-guard, and lurched to a stop. Eyes wide, she watched Bai Xiaochun hurry over to the gravekeeper and then offer him formal greetings the way an apprentice would to a Master.

The gravekeeper wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. He looked at Bai Xiaochun staring at him in melodramatic fashion, and couldn't help but shake his head. Waving his sleeve, he declined to say anything, and simply vanished, taking Bai Xiaochun along with him.

The Grand Heavenmaster and everyone else stared at the spot the gravekeeper had just disappeared from, their hearts shaking with shock. The fact that Bai Xiaochun had used the word Master left them deeply and profoundly shocked.

Chen Haosong suddenly felt profoundly nervous, and dispelled any thoughts of causing problems for Bai Xiaochun in the future. Although the gravekeeper hadn't admitted the truth with words, the fact that he had taken Bai Xiaochun away with him explained everything.

Of course, the Grand Heavenmaster had long since come to the realization that the gravekeeper had taken an interest in Bai Xiaochun. After a short moment of silence, he transmitted messages to the four heavenly kings. Out of respect for the Hell-Emperor, they all agreed to keep the matter of Bai Xiaochun's identity a secret!

The only news which would be allowed to spread was that the little girl had been impersonating Bai Xiaochun. His true identity would not be revealed.

After making the agreement formal, everyone departed. The battle which had just been fought had been too sudden, and too important. Troops needed to be deployed. After all, the fact that the Great Wall had fallen… meant that big changes were coming.

The last to leave were the Giant Ghost King and Mistress Red-Dust. Mixed emotions could be seen on the Giant Ghost King's face as he turned to his stunned daughter. He sighed.

"Mo'er, I didn't think things through carefully enough. About the marriage agreement… let's just cancel it, alright?"

Mistress Red-Dust stood there quietly, looking off into space. She didn't say anything. Her mind was filled with an image of Bai Xiaochun pulling her to safety in a moment of deadly crisis. Instead of just fleeing on his own, he had taken it upon himself to protect her….

Eventually, everyone was gone, and silence filled the lands. However, the five wounds in the sky were still there, and the vast gulches which had been hewn in the lands during the course of the fighting remained. The evidence of the world-shaking battle was still there.

Back in the Underworld River Restricted Area, two figures stepped out of thin air onto the bank of the river. They were none other than the gravekeeper and Bai Xiaochun.

Bai Xiaochun was feeling as nervous as ever. He knew that the matter of his identity had been declared a secret, and at the moment, he was clasping hands in formal and very polite fashion to the gravekeeper.

"Great-Grandpa Gravekeeper…. Um… it's not that I wanted to trick everyone. You understand, right, sir? I, Bai Xiaochun, am a very kind-hearted person! I don't like causing problems! I'm very well-behaved. I just want to get back to the River-Defying Sect. They're the ones who all want to kill me. I disguised myself to try to be able to get home safely. Proclamation of Universal Grace? Inspections commissioner? Shakedowns? I never meant to do any of those things. Ai. Sometimes in life, you just have to make some compromises!" As he spoke, he kept his eye on the gravekeeper to try to assess his attitude. However, the more he went along, the more he really felt like he had the short end of the stick. He had just been going with the flow, which ended up forcing him to do a lot of things he didn't really want to do.

No expression could be seen on the gravekeeper's face as he listened to Bai Xiaochun. Finally, he waved his hand, summoning a black command medallion that he tossed toward Bai Xiaochun.

"The Celestial used Heavenspan Sea water to create a barrier where the four sections of the Great Wall once stood. No one will be able to get through that barrier any time soon. I am unable to leave the Wildlands, so I can't escort you home. If you really want to get back to the River-Defying Sect, you'll need to go through the Deadmire. And the only way you'll get through it safely is with this command medallion."

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Chapter 842: I'm Not Really That Outstanding...

Surprised, Bai Xiaochun accepted the command medallion. As soon as it touched his skin, intense coldness rushed into him. Clearly, it was some sort of precious object. Bai Xiaochun had heard of the Deadmire before. There were even some people who called it the Emptymire, as it was a location between the Heavenspan region and the Wildlands that was completely empty of all life.

There were only four areas where the Deadmire was accessible, all of which were near the Great Wall. With the command medallion he now possessed, he could enter it, and thus leave the Wildlands. Furthermore, it would actually speed up his journey back to the River-Defying Sect. After all, his original plan had been to cross the Great Wall, which would have eventually required that he travel back to the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect by boat.

The fact that the gravekeeper was treating him so well was moving. Obviously, the command medallion was no fake; if the gravekeeper wanted to get rid of him, he wouldn't have needed to resort to some trap to do it.

"Great-Grandpa… you really are like my own great-grandfather…. Well, I guess I'll take my leave now!" With that, he prepared to leave. After all, the Wildlands was a dangerous place, and considering that everyone was currently a bit stunned by who Bai Xiaochun's Master was, it seemed like the perfect time to get away.

Of course, the Celestial's attitude gave him pause. But considering that he was a very unimportant person in the grand scheme of things, it seemed unlikely that important people like the Celestial would pay much attention to him. Besides, he hadn't done anything to offend the Celestial directly.

"If I just slip back quietly, it should be fine." Although he felt a bit hesitant, now that his identity had been revealed, the Wildlands was definitely much more dangerous than the River-Defying Sect.

However, just as he made his decision, the gravekeeper suddenly started talking again. He stood there on the bank of the Underworld River, his hands clasped behind his back as he said, "Do you remember how I answered you all those years ago when you asked for my name…?"

"Huh?" Bai Xiaochun said, stopping in place and looking back.

"This world is basically a huge tomb, buried within which is a sovereign known as the Arch-Lord…. I am he who watches over his grave. The gravekeeper." For some reason, the gravekeeper looked older than ever as he spoke.

"Upon that sovereign's death, he closed the Worldgate and left instructions that only someone who cultivated his legacy all the way to the Mahayana Realm, a celestial, could open that gate. Until then, no one is permitted to leave this world!" He spoke softly, an ancient gleam in his eyes as though he were contemplating the past.

"A tomb?" Bai Xiaochun said with a soft gasp. Although he had learned a bit about the world in scattered bits throughout the years, this was his first time getting such a detailed explanation. The fact that the world he lived in was actually a tomb caused his eyes to widen, and his heart to race.

"His descendants became the imperial clan," the gravekeeper continued. "And that is the origin of the Arch-Emperors, and also why this world's true name is… the Arch-Emperor Realm!" The gravekeeper wasn't looking at Bai Xiaochun, which made it seem like he was talking to himself as he contemplated ancient times.

"Were it not for certain unexpected events, this world should have long since seen an emperor who rose from the Demigod Realm to the Mahayana Realm…. Unfortunately, unexpected events did occur. A cultivator with spectacular talent created a new technique, a type of celestial magic. He forged his own path of cultivation, and eventually toppled the Arch-Emperor Dynasty!" Although the Gravekeeper was speaking very quietly at this point, Bai Xiaochun could tell that there was a touch of praise in his voice when he mentioned this certain cultivator. Obviously, that cultivator was so spectacular that he was deserving of praise by the gravekeeper. Furthermore, Bai Xiaochun knew exactly who he was.

"I was unable to interfere with the matter. In fact, there are many things that I can't interfere with. I'm just a gravekeeper after all. I watch over the sovereign's tomb, I tend to the cycle of reincarnation, and I defend the Worldgate. The first time I took any action at all was to ensure that the imperial clan wasn't exterminated, and that the Joss Flame of the world continued to burn here in the Wildlands. However, the price I paid for interfering was that my time of existence was cut in half.

"That cultivator I mentioned spent years trying to find me. When he did, he asked me to open the Worldgate. He was illegitimate, so naturally I refused, but I did tell him the proper method to achieve his goal!

"However, the Arch-Lord's legacy was not suitable for him. He came to me over and over again, and tried many ways to convince me. But in the end, he finally came to the conclusion that the only way to leave this place would be to kill me.

"Presumably, you know who that cultivator is. He is Daoist Heavenspan, also known as… the Celestial." At this point, the gravekeeper turned and looked at Bai Xiaochun.

The gravekeeper's words already had Bai Xiaochun reeling in astonishment, and yet, that astonishment grew more intense when Bai Xiaochun saw the gravekeeper's face.

"Great-Grandpa, you…."

The gravekeeper seemed even older than before, so much so that he looked like he had just climbed out of a grave. He was very different from before, and fairly radiated a sense of weakness.

"I'm very old…. I've been around for far too long. I suspect that when that sovereign created me, he didn't expect for me to exist for this much time. My original fate was to perish along with the opening of the Worldgate." It seemed as if the gravekeeper didn't mind the fact that he was growing extremely old at all.

"I don't have much time left, so I decided to take action earlier. Unfortunately… not even calling upon forbidden magic was I able to kill him.

"Acting in the way I did reduced my time even further…. In addition, the wounds caused by the forbidden magic have pushed the world closer to the brink of collapse." The gravekeeper shook his head, regret shining in his eyes.

As of this point, Bai Xiaochun felt like he understood everything. The gravekeeper was not just regretful for having failed in killing the Celestial in the recent battle. He regretted not having done so earlier. Because of the various limitations he faced, he had allowed the Celestial to keep living and grow into what he was today.

In fact, he had taken action today in the hopes of making up for some of those past mistakes!

"I knew from the beginning that I might fail to kill him. But I decided to try anyway…. The truth was that, even before you came to the Wildlands, I had already begun to make arrangements for what happens after I die." The gravekeeper sighed and looked over at Bai Xiaochun.

"The successor of the Hell-Emperor?" Bai Xiaochun asked hesitantly, his heart beginning to pound. The gravekeeper nodded, causing Bai Xiaochun's heart rate to increase even more. As far as Bai Xiaochun was concerned, if he hadn't been able to put the puzzle pieces together, it would have meant he was a complete idiot. After all, it seemed obvious that the gravekeeper had noticed how outstanding he was, and that he wanted him to accept his legacy and become the next Hell-Emperor!

The mere thought of becoming the Hell-Emperor got Bai Xiaochun profoundly excited. However, he cleared his throat and humbly said, "Um… Great-Grandpa, the truth is that I'm not really that outstanding…. However, I can say that I'm ready! Uh, right. What does the successor of the Hell-Emperor actually have to do?"

The gravekeeper looked deeply into Bai Xiaochun's eyes and said, "He will enter the Underworld River, and deliver his soul to the Underworld Palace. He will guard the sovereign's tomb and watch over the cycle of reincarnation. He will defend the Worldgate, and refuse to open it for anyone who is illegitimate!"

Bai Xiaochun was a bit taken aback. The last part of what the gravekeeper had just said seemed interesting, but there was something a bit unsettling about the first part.

"Great-Grandpa, what do you mean by 'deliver his soul to the Underworld Palace'? If his soul goes into the Underworld River, doesn't that mean… that he has to die?" When he saw the gravekeeper nod in response, he gasped, and his face turned as white as a sheet.

"Great-Grandpa, er…. Look, I'm really not very outstanding. I'm just a regular person! I get restless easily, and have a lot of faults. If I'm in charge of the Underworld River, bad things will probably happen. It's too big of a responsibility for a kid like me. Um… why don't you pick someone else? I'll… I'll see you later, Great-Grandpa!" He took a step back, but before he could do anything more, the gravekeeper's hand shot out toward him as if to grab him.

Bai Xiaochun let out a yelp.

"I'm really not the best choice, Great-Grandpa! Wherever I go, I accidentally cause huge disasters! I don't want to cause a disaster for you! I--"

"Pipe down! I'm not so much of an idiot that I would pick you to be my successor!" As it turned out, what the gravekeeper had grabbed was not Bai Xiaochun, but his bag of holding. All of a sudden, Bai Hao's soulhoarding pagoda flew out into the open and came to rest on the gravekeeper's palm.

"The person I've picked to be my successor isn't you," he said coolly, "it's Bai Hao."

"Huh?" Bai Xiaochun replied, visibly stunned.

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Chapter 843: The Celestials Blood-Hair

Bai Xiaochun wasn't the only one to be stunned. Bai Hao sat there inside his soulhoarding pagoda, his jaw hanging open and his mind spinning.

The sudden dramatic turn of events was almost too much to take. During the dramatic battle, Bai Hao hadn't dared to come out into the open. Upon returning to the Underworld River, he had cautiously peered out into the world, listening to the gravekeeper and even feeling excited that his Master was about to become the Hell-Emperor.

Never could he have imagined that the gravekeeper would suddenly grab him… and then say that he was the one who was supposed to be the successor.

Worried that Bai Xiaochun might misunderstand the situation, he anxiously said, "Senior, sir… you must have made a mistake, I--"

Off to the side, Bai Xiaochun looked on, stunned. Actually, he wasn't displeased at all. In fact, there was only one thing he was thinking. "My apprentice is going to be the next Hell-Emperor? Heavens, is this really happening…? If my apprentice becomes the next Hell-Emperor, then nobody in the Wildlands will ever dare to provoke me!!"

He was feeling very excited about the whole thing. Obviously, nobody would ever dare to cause problems for him from now on. If they did, he could have his apprentice wave his hand and crush them! He was essentially going to become invincible….

"Nine Serenities King? Grand Heavenmaster? Chen Haosong? Who will dare to provoke me? Who will dare to glare at me!?!" Profoundly pleased, he slapped his thigh, threw his head back and laughed uproariously.

"Wonderful!" he said loudly. "You have made an excellent choice, Great-Grandpa. This apprentice of mine is the perfect fit to be the Hell-Emperor! In fact, nobody in all the Wildlands is more suitable!" Seeing that Bai Hao was about to jump in and say something, Bai Xiaochun waved his hand dismissively in the way that a Master should.

"As your Master, Bai Hao, I will represent you to accept the offer. It's set!"

A profound gleam could be seen in the gravekeeper's eyes as he looked at Bai Xiaochun and then Bai Hao. No one would ever have been able to guess the gravekeeper's plan ahead of time. The truth was that he had never considered Bai Xiaochun as a possible successor. Furthermore, Bai Hao was only one of several that he had been watching!

For example, there was Zhou Yixing, and the soul of the Luochen Clan chosen that Bai Xiaochun had killed. And there were others…. He had many candidates, including the people on the Hell-Emperor Stele. However, the reason that Bai Hao had risen up from among all those candidates to become the official successor had less to do with the gravekeeper and more to do with… Bai Xiaochun!

The truth was that Bai Xiaochun was more important to the gravekeeper than any of the other people on the list of candidates. Naturally, the gravekeeper didn't want him to become the Hell-Emperor. He had a more important mission in mind for Bai Xiaochun….

It was for this reason that Bai Xiaochun happened to encounter Bai Hao when he was teleported into the Wildlands. Back then, when Bai Xiaochun had made his departure, the gravekeeper had appeared, with a very profound look in his eyes.

It was also for this reason that Bai Xiaochun ended up encountering Bai Hao's soul in the Necromancer Kettle….

The gravekeeper wanted Bai Hao and Bai Xiaochun to meet, and to make that happen, he had interfered behind the scenes several times. Although Bai Xiaochun had been suspicious about certain things over the years, the clues had been too vague for him to come to any conclusions.

Of course, not even the gravekeeper could have anticipated that Bai Xiaochun and Bai Hao would become apprentice and Master, would accomplish so many things, and would develop such deep feelings for each other. All the gravekeeper had done was ensure that they met. And if Bai Hao could gain Bai Xiaochun's approval… well then, he would become the chosen successor!

If he was unable to do that, then the gravekeeper wouldn't have hesitated to discard him and pick another candidate. He would have then ensured that the next candidate encountered Bai Xiaochun and got to know him. And he would have continued to do that until he found a successor that Bai Xiaochun approved of.

In fact, as far as he was concerned, Bai Xiaochun's approval was the only main requirement to become his successor!

Of course, he didn't explain that to Bai Xiaochun. After looking closely at Bai Hao and Bai Xiaochun, he turned his attention to Bai Hao, to whom he spoke in a voice that seemed to echo out from ancient times.

"Bai Hao, are you willing to become my successor?"

Looking very nervous, Bai Hao looked over at Bai Xiaochun. "Master…."

Bai Xiaochun was worried that the opportunity might pass. Besides, he really did feel that this was a wonderful thing for Bai Hao. "Hurry up and agree, my little apprentice," he said. "This is good fortune for you!"

Bai Hao hesitated for a moment, mixed emotions in his eyes as he looked at his Master. The truth was that he didn't care too much about the supposed position of being the successor to the Hell-Emperor. What he was more worried about was losing out on the happiness he felt by being able to accompany his Master.

His Master was his only family, and the only person he truly liked. That relationship was the most important thing in his entire life.

However, he also realized that his Master had offended too many people in the Wildlands. By becoming the Hell-Emperor, he could make sure that no one ever dared to cause problems for his Master.

Having reached the conclusion that this was definitely the best way of looking at the matter, he gritted his teeth and looked back at the gravekeeper.

"Senior, I am willing to become your successor. However, sir… I can't view you as my Master. For all eternity, I will only ever have one Master!!" Both his voice and his eyes brimmed with determination. He was willing to become the next Hell-Emperor so that he could protect his Master, but that didn't mean that he could change his allegiances.

Bai Xiaochun was shocked to hear Bai Hao's words, and his gaze turned even softer as he looked at his apprentice. However, he knew his apprentice well, and understood how importantly Bai Hao viewed their Master-apprentice relationship.

Although no expression could be seen on the gravekeeper's face, he was smiling inside. The truth was that despite what he knew about Bai Hao, he still wasn't absolutely convinced that he was the perfect person to be the next Hell-Emperor. After all, it was a very important position. As such, he was still performing a few tests.

However, Bai Hao's answer conformed perfectly with what the gravekeeper was looking for. There were no false feelings in them, and they caused the gravekeeper to be even more satisfied.

"Good!" the gravekeeper said, nodding. Although Bai Hao had a lot of questions, the gravekeeper didn't give him an opportunity to ask them. He waved his hand, causing a streak of red light to fly out toward Bai Xiaochun.

Bai Xiaochun's eyes widened as he reflexively reached out to catch… a lock of blood-colored hair!!

As soon as it was out in the open, intense rumbling sounds filled heaven and earth. The sky dimmed, and a whirlwind sprang up around Bai Xiaochun!

It almost seemed like the hair was trying to escape his grasp, prompting him to quickly clasp his hand down to hold it. As he did, he was certain that he could sense something howling, and even detected a dramatic thrum of life force from inside of it.

The gravekeeper's eyes sparkled. He waved his sleeve, and the howling ceased. An invisible seal had been placed on the lock of hair, making it impossible for it to flee, not even if it had more life force than it already did. All it could do was lay there meekly on Bai Xiaochun's palm!

A mere brush with the life force inside the hair caused Bai Xiaochun's entire body to thrum. Of course, he recognized this hair. It was… the very same blood-hair which he had seen on the Celestial!

"The life force in that hair should push your Undying Bones to the peak. Think of it as a gift of good fortune from me to you!" The gravekeeper then took Bai Hao with him as he stepped toward the Underworld River. The water surged as they entered, and then they floated off into the distance until they were gone.

The Underworld River slowly faded away, revealing the dry riverbed. Everything in the area was completely quiet….

Bai Xiaochun was alone on the dry riverbank, holding the blood-red hair, looking off in the direction his apprentice had just vanished in.

Everything had happened so quickly. Although Bai Xiaochun wasn't interested in becoming the Hell-Emperor, he did hope that his apprentice would succeed at it. However, to have Bai Hao gone so suddenly had him feeling a bit lonely and disappointed.

"When the baby eagles grow up, they have to leave the nest eventually, and soar in the sky…." He sighed, reminding himself that at least he had become someone very important because of everything that had happened. "There's nobody more powerful than me in the Wildlands now…. My Daoist partner is a deva, my father is a demigod, and my apprentice is the Hell-Emperor! Not even the Grand Heavenmaster could match up to me!"

When he thought about it in this way, his heart began to race with excitement.

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Chapter 844: Undying Bones Skyrocket

Happy for his apprentice, and excited about his new status, he looked down at the hair he held, and his heart yet again began to thump.

"A lock of the Celestial's hair… It was the only red hair on his head…. I can only imagine how important a treasured item like this would be to the Celestial…." Having reached this point in his train of thought, Bai Xiaochun glanced around subconsciously.

The cultivators that had previously been stationed here to guard the Underworld River Restricted Area were nowhere to be seen, leaving him completely alone. Perhaps it was the doing of the gravekeeper, or perhaps they left because of the shocking battle and the destruction of the Great Wall. The entire structure of the Wildlands would be changing. At this point, he gritted his teeth.

"Fudge. What the hell am I afraid of? Great-Grandpa Gravekeeper gave this to me! It's mine now! Besides, according to what Great-Grandpa Gravekeeper said, if I absorb this life force, my Undying Bones will climb to the very peak. Even if this hair belonged to someone more powerful, I would still absorb it!"

After the tempering he had experienced in the Wildlands, Bai Xiaochun had become somewhat more courageous than he had been in the past. Therefore, he found an area in the Underworld River Restricted Area that was suitable to hew out a temporary immortal's cave, and then went into seclusion to cultivate!

Somewhere else in the Wildlands, in what seemed like a different dimension, there was a huge black river that was none other than the Underworld River.

It was as black as night, and yet, it was still possible to see a huge palace at the very end of the swirling river water.

The palace was also black, and very sinister in appearance as it rose up over the river water. There was something consummately powerful about it, and there was a constant stream of souls which flew toward it, encircled it, and then vanished on their way to being reincarnated.

This was none other than the Hell-Emperor Palace!

This place controlled reincarnation, and determined matters of life and death!

In one of the grand halls in that palace, two rows of statues could be seen lining the walls, that looked like underworld generals. At the very end of the hall, beyond the statues, was a huge throne made of black bones!

Suddenly, the gravekeeper appeared, walking through the hall until he was at the throne, upon which he sat down. He was surrounded by a domineering aura, making him seem like a paragon or a god. He wore an imperial crown, as well as a black robe embroidered with an underworld dragon!

With the wave of a sleeve, he caused Bai Hao to materialize right in front of him.

He was clearly ill at ease. He looked around at the awe-inspiring hall with its profound aura of death, and then turned to look at the gravekeeper, who sat there on his throne, face completely expressionless. Bai Hao quickly bowed his head and clasped hands in greeting.

"Bai Hao!" the gravekeeper said, his eyes shining brightly, and his voice echoing like heavenly thunder.

The gravekeeper seemed very different than he had when talking with Bai Xiaochun earlier. Right now, he absolutely seemed like the mighty Hell-Emperor!

Bai Hao could tell that, and a very serious expression overtook his face.

"Listen well, Bai Hao!" the gravekeeper continued, his voice thrumming with mysterious power that pierced into his soul body and resonated with his very soul. Because of this, the gravekeeper would be able to see the tiniest fluctuations in Bai Hao's soul, and would know instantly whether or not he was lying or telling the truth!

"Bai Xiaochun is currently your Master, and will be in the future! Although I took it upon myself to change your fate, all I did was place you at Bai Xiaochun's side. He was the one who took you as an apprentice; it was not my arrangement. It was simply your destiny!

"Furthermore, the reason you have become my successor is not because I approve of you, but rather… because your Master Bai Xiaochun approves of you!

"Remember well: your mission is not to guard the Underworld River, nor is it to look over reincarnation. Instead… you are to help your Master in caring for the Underworld River. You are to defend your Master! And if you ever betray him, the Underworld River itself will ensure that you are killed in body and soul!" As he spoke, the gravekeeper's voice grew louder and louder until it was a crashing boom that caused everything to shake violently, and even caused the water of the Underworld River to vibrate.

Countless souls began to tremble and shake, and then offer obeisance to the Underworld Palace.

Bai Hao was shaken, but it was without the slightest hesitation that he said, "The word betray doesn't exist for Bai Hao!"

His words were spoken with the utmost solemnity and honesty. In his world, nothing was more important than his Master Bai Xiaochun, who was his only family!

In fact, he wasn't offended or worried at all by what the gravekeeper had said. In fact, it conformed perfectly with how he felt. And his answer could not have been more forthright!

A flicker of praise passed through the gravekeeper's eyes. This had been his final test of the Bai Hao. The position of Hell-Emperor was too important, and he had to ensure that he didn't make any mistakes. As of this point, he was convinced that Bai Xiaochun had made the right choice!

"Next month… you will be the Hell-Emperor!" With that, he waved his finger at Bai Hao, sending his legacy and his divine abilities into him!

Furthermore, outside of the Underworld Palace, countless magical symbols could be seen, flickering brightly until they transformed into a huge vortex. The spinning of that vortex indicated… that the passing of the legacy had begun!

As the Hell-Emperor's legacy began to be passed on, Bai Xiaochun was in his immortal's cave in the Underworld River Restricted Area, absorbing the life force from the Celestial's blood-hair.

The Undying Codex was divided into Skin, Muscle, Tendons, Bones, and Blood!

Bai Xiaochun had started from the foundation and worked all the way up to the fourth volume. And right now, he was in the Powered Bones level. After that came Heavenly Bones, and in the end, the true Undying Bones!

The key to cultivating his Undying Technique was life force. Only by having access to enough life force could one achieve the meteoric rise that one sought!

In the past, he had relied on his Eternal Parasol to absorb life force from the Wildlander chosen. That was what had helped him to break through from the Tempered Bones level to Powered Bones.

But now… with the life force that the Celestial had gone through countless trials and tribulations to cultivate into his blood-hair, Bai Xiaochun was making shocking progress.

Intense rumbling sounds could be heard, and he shook physically as his bones creaked and cracked. It was as if he were completely changing his skeleton, causing him to rise rapidly through the fourth volume of the Undying Codex.

In fact, he immediately broke through to the Heavenly Bones level!

He became like a black hole, absorbing all of the life force from the blood-hair, and then using the Undying Codex techniques to send it rushing into his bones, utterly transforming them!

RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!

No one outside could hear any of the shocking sound, but Bai Xiaochun could hear it as clear as day. Furthermore, he could sense his Heavenly Bones rapidly absorbing the life force that continued to pour into them.

His Heavenly Bones instantly went into the third stratum, then the fourth, fifth, seventh… and ninth!!

It was skyrocketing!

Another breakthrough!

He was now in the first stratum of the Undying Bones, and yet, had only absorbed a portion of the life force from the Celestial's blood-hair. Now, that life force continued to propel him through the Undying Bones level!

The final level of the Undying Bones required a massive amount of life force, more than all three of the previous levels put together. Furthermore, once he reached the peak… it meant that his fleshly body would be at an astonishingly high level!

His fleshly body would be comparable to a deva! His skin, muscles, and bones… would be at a level that would make them almost impossible to destroy!!

Later on would come the Undying Blood, which came with dramatic restorative powers. At that point, his fleshly body would be very close to the truly undying level…. Then, he would be at the same level as the Blood Ancestor back in the River-Defying Sect!

At that point… his cultivation of the Undying Codex would be complete!

Right now, he relied on the blood-hair of the Celestial to advance by leaps and bounds. His Undying Bones advanced from the first stratum to the fourth, and then continued!!

Fifth stratum, sixth, seventh….

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Chapter 845: Shaking The Wildlands

The blood-hair was slowly transforming into ash, and Bai Xiaochun was completely wrapped up in his cultivation. As such, he didn't even know how much time was passing. By the time he reached the seventh stratum of the Undying Bones, half a month had gone by.

There was simply too much life force within that lock of blood-hair, and as it poured into Bai Xiaochun, he continued to advance through the levels of the Undying Codex.

In fact, by the time he reached the peak of the Undying Bones, there would still be life force left over, which he could then use as fuel for his future Undying Blood!

Meanwhile, word was spreading through the lands about how the Celestial, along with an imposter Bai Xiaochun, had fought with the Hell-Emperor. The news spread like wildfire, and was the subject of discussion among soul cultivators, necromancers, and savage tribes alike.

It was a monumental event, and anyone who heard about it for the first time would gasp in response.

Although not everyone in the Wildlands and the Arch-Emperor Dynasty knew who the Celestial was, many did. He was widely understood to be the emperor ruling in the Heavenspan River region, someone similar in status to the Arch-Emperor Dynasty, with a cultivation base that surpassed the Demigod Realm.

He was the reason that, years ago, the Arch-Emperor Dynasty had relocated to the Wildlands. Despite how many years had passed since then, the two sides of the conflict had continued to fight.

The endless sieges of the Great Wall had created seas of blood, as well as constant enmity. Although the conflict hadn't reached the point where no resolution was possible, it was nearly at that point.

The common people of the Arch-Emperor Dynasty yearned to fight their way back into the Heavenspan River region and reestablish the glory of their dynasty. And now… the emperor of that Heavenspan River region had joined forces with a ghost to fight the Hell-Emperor. It was truly a shocking matter.

Even more astonishing was how the ghostess who had impersonated Bai Xiaochun ended up being seriously injured, and fleeing. The Celestial was also hurt. It was a matter of great excitement to the Wildlanders, and caused their morale to soar.

The fact that the four sections of the Great Wall had collapsed caused countless people in the Wildlands to be filled with the urge to charge forth in battle! In fact, many suggestions and proposals were made to that effect.

But the Grand Heavenmaster was a wise person, and knew that a world war like that would be very costly. Besides, upon making his escape, the Celestial had placed temporary defensive measure in the place of the collapsed Great Wall.

Those defenses… could not be broken through!

However, that didn't hold the Grand Heavenmaster back from taking advantage of the opportunity to begin preparing for war!

It would be a war in which even the common people fought. Furthermore, it gave the Grand Heavenmaster a further reason to continue the enforcement of the Proclamation of Universal Grace. That made him more popular than ever among the people. In a rare turn of events, the four heavenly kings supported him. The truth was that the coming war would be vastly important. And one of the main things on the minds of the Giant Ghost King and other demigods was that they knew very well who the current Hell-Emperor was… but weren't sure about who the next one would be….

Because of the support offered by the four heavenly kings, the entire Wildlands was shaken, and everyone thirsted to do battle.

It was at around this time that a third bit of news began to make the rounds. It was hard to say where it started, but the nature of the news was even more shocking than the first two. Whether it was in Arch-Emperor City, the four kingly cities, or in the various clans and tribes, soon, everyone was talking about it.

The news pertained to Bai Xiaochun. Supposedly, he had another identity in the Wildlands, and although no one knew the exact details, they were sure that it was a position of incredible power and authority!

"If that ghostess who fought the exalted Hell-Emperor was impersonating Bai Xiaochun, then… where has the real Bai Xiaochun been hiding all these years?"

"Hey, that's right! Bai Xiaochun must have been in hiding somewhere here in the Wildlands! But who exactly is he disguised as!?"

As this news spread, people began to speculate about the matter, and before long, people were saying that Bai Xiaochun… was actually the former inspections commissioner of Arch-Emperor City, the earthly necromancer Bai Hao!

It was a shocking concept that shook the whole Wildlands. Heavenly marquis clans, heavenly duke clans, and the countless other people who had formed grudges with Bai Xiaochun over the years, especially the direct bloodline successors and the chosen, almost couldn't believe what they were hearing. However, they were also elated. As far as they were concerned, whether Bai Hao really was Bai Xiaochun or not, it gave them the perfect chance to kill him. Even being an earthy necromancer wouldn't keep him safe!

"Hahaha!! I knew that Bai Xiaochun was up to no good. He impersonated Bai Hao! How evil-minded and devious!"

"It doesn't matter whether you're really Bai Hao, or Bai Xiaochun! I refuse to exist under the same sky as you! I'll never forget the humiliation of that Aphrodisiac Pill!!"

"Kill Bai Hao!!" The direct bloodline successors were particularly riled up, and immediately began searching high and low for Bai Xiaochun.

The marquises such as Zhao Xionglin and Liu Yong were particularly excited, especially Zhao Xionglin. After he heard the news, he laughed so loud that it filled the entire Zhao Clan mansion.

As for the people who had developed close relationships with Bai Xiaochun over the years, they were simply stunned. That was especially true of many people in Giant Ghost City.

The Spirit Advent King's daughter Xu Shan was completely flabbergasted.

As for Zhou Yixing, he had long since gone into hiding, his heart filled with bitterness. He took Song Que with him. When Song Que heard the speculation that Bai Xiaochun was Bai Hao, he felt completely and utterly thunderstruck!

However, many people noticed that neither the Grand Heavenmaster, nor the four heavenly kings, nor the ten heavenly dukes would say a single word about the matter of Bai Xiaochun.

Before long, the heavenly marquises mysteriously stopped talking about the matter, and they even restricted their clan members from discussing it. Zhao Xionglin appeared to be frightened by something, and unhesitatingly went into secluded meditation.

As these two wild situations regarding Bai Xiaochun's identity appeared, a fourth bit of news spread, news that surpassed everything else and shook the Wildlands to the core!

In fact, it was something that struck every Wildlander deep in the soul!

"The Hell-Emperor picked Bai Hao… to be his successor!!"

"Bai Hao isn't Bai Xiaochun. He's the next Hell-Emperor!!"

This news was like an invisible slap to the face to countless individuals in the Wildlands who had longed to kill Bai Hao. They felt the world spinning around them as they realized that they would never again be able to give voice to any thoughts about killing Bai Hao.

"Heavens! He's the next Hell-Emperor! This… this means that no one in the Wildlands will ever dare to offend him!"

"Dammit! Why does it have to be this way!? The Bai Clan from Giant Ghost City wanted to kill him, but in the critical moment, the Giant Ghost King protected him! The chosen of Arch-Emperor City wanted to kill him, but in the critical moment, the Grand Heavenmaster saved him!"

"Then he committed the grave offense of killing a heavenly marquis, and all of the aristocracy in the entire dynasty teamed up against him. But then, his status as an earthly necromancer saved him. Now… when his identity was brought into question, and everyone wanted to kill him… Fudge! I can't believe he's going to be the next Hell-Emperor!!" Everyone who had grudges with Bai Xiaochun harbored similar thoughts upon hearing the news.

Whether it was Zhou Hong, Little Wolfgod, Zhao Xionglin, or others, they were struck mute with fear, and could do little more than wail inwardly in grief.

Furthermore, they couldn't stop from wondering what would happen now that someone like him, someone who had caused trouble wherever he went, now had such a position of authority….

Bai Xiaochun had rocked the Wildlands and established a legend…. In fact, many people now viewed Bai Xiaochun as so fantastic… that he was like a god!!

Of course, Zhou Yixing was beyond delighted. Song Que breathed a sigh of relief, and was very glad that everyone had been wrong in their speculations. Clearly, it had been the right decision after all to follow Bai Hao. He was going to be the next Hell-Emperor!

"Hmph!" Song Que said arrogantly in his heart. "How could Bai Xiaochun possibly be Bai Hao? He doesn't even qualify to polish his shoes!"

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Chapter 846: The Hell-Emperors Successor

Only the Grand Heavenmaster and the other most powerful figures were privy to the general truth of the matter. To them, the matter of the Hell-Emperor's successor was no big surprise. The main thing they weren't sure about was whether the Hell-Emperor would arrange for Bai Xiaochun to continue to use the identity of Bai Hao.

After all, the name Bai Xiaochun was very sensitive, and therefore, having someone named Bai Hao as the next Hell-Emperor would resolve many issues.

As the news was still rocking the Wildlands, roughly a month into Bai Xiaochun's session of secluded cultivation, the Underworld River materialized in the sky above the Wildlands!

It took only a moment for everything to turn dark, and massive pressure to weigh down.

Everyone looked up into the sky and saw the huge Underworld River, churning and seething as countless souls inside turned in a specific direction and prostrated themselves in worship!

They weren't the only souls to do so! All of the souls in the Wildlands in general all did exactly the same thing!

The direction they bowed in was none other than Arch-Emperor City!

Numerous structures in Arch-Emperor City had begun to shine with black light, including the heavenly marquis pagodas, the heavenly duke pagodas, and the imperial palace. The old dragon in the clouds above the city let out a massive roar, but didn't dare to fly up into the sky.

The common people, the nobility, the aristocracy, the Grand Heavenmaster, and even the Arch-Emperor, all walked out into the open and looked up at the river.

Gasps could be heard in the city, as well as in other locations in the Wildlands….

Everyone knew exactly what was happening….

The Hell-Emperor's legacy was being passed onto his successor!

With the Underworld River having taken over the sky, everything was cast into darkness. Neither sun nor moon were visible, although, there was something like starlight that spilled down onto the lands below.

Anyone who looked closely would see that the supposed starlight actually came from innumerable souls within the Underworld River. Soul fire burned on them, which from a distance, made them look like stars. It was something most people were seeing for the first time in their lives!

It was with bated breath that everyone stared up at the huge river. They felt pressure that seemed to come from within their bones, or their souls, a pressure that resulted in feelings of reverence. Soul cultivators and savages alike, regardless of the level of their cultivation bases, including even the Grand Heavenmaster and other powerful experts like him, all felt their hearts pounding with awe.

It was something instinctual, something branded into their blood, something that even the wild beasts in the Wildlands possessed.

It was hard to say who did it first, but soon, endless crowds of people were dropping to their knees in worship. Everywhere in the Wildlands, people bowed in the direction of Arch-Emperor City. Common people and aristocrats alike, the Grand Heavenmaster and the four heavenly kings, all bent over in worship!

All living things offered obeisance!

It was a show of respect to the Underworld River, and an expression of reverence for the Hell-Emperor!

Bai Xiaochun didn't participate, because he was still in secluded meditation. And there was one other person who refrained from offering worship. The Arch-Emperor! Despite being a mere figurehead in the modern age, he was still the Arch-Emperor, and he was the only person who qualified to continue to look up somberly into the sky.

Gradually, a figure appeared within the seething, howling Underworld River up in the sky. It was the gravekeeper, and this was the first time he had ever shown his face to the throngs of living beings in the Wildlands!

He didn't look at all like he had when dealing with Bai Xiaochun. He wore a black robe, but this one was decorated with swirling underworld dragons. It made him seem like a supreme and venerable being, an effect which was enhanced by the imperial crown he wore. He truly seemed like an emperor, the type who could shake all of the Wildlands!

The people in the Wildlands were all deeply shaken by the sight of the gravekeeper. Gasps could be heard, and many eyes began to shine with passion and veneration. The truth was that, to these people… the Hell-Emperor was in some ways more important than the Arch-Emperor!

After all, the position of Arch-Emperor was hereditary, and passed down from generation to generation. But up til now… there had only been a single Hell-Emperor in heaven and earth!

To the people of the Arch-Emperor Dynasty, the Hell-Emperor… was like a divine figure, a god to whom they prayed!

"Hell-Emperor!"

"Hell-Emperor!!"

"Hell-Emperor!!!"

The sound of their voices joined together, rolling out across the Wildlands and causing everything to tremble.

Their god was present, causing everyone to be deeply moved!

As the thunderous sound of their voices filled all creation, the gravekeeper waved his right hand, causing a silence to fall.

At that point, the Underworld River seethed, and a second figure came into view!

He was young and handsome, with fair skin, wearing a long black robe, and emanating an energy that seemed capable of suppressing the boundless light of the soul fire. As he stood in front of the gravekeeper, there was nothing about him that seemed out of place. In fact, it almost seemed… like he belonged there.

The instant he came into view, countless people in the Wildlands gasped in shock, and there were many who couldn't hold back from blurting out their thoughts.

"Bai Hao!"

"Earthly Necromancer Bai Hao!!"

"So the rumors were true! Bai Hao… is going to be the next Hell-Emperor!!"

Zhou Hong, Little Wolfgod, and the other chosen were all shaking visibly, their hearts filled with bitterness. If they had such a reaction, there was little need to mention the others who had had conflicts with Bai Xiaochun. Thankfully, most people had been prepared for this outcome, otherwise there would have been many more people who lost their composure.

However, the Grand Heavenmaster and the four heavenly kings, those who were more familiar with Bai Xiaochun than the average person, were actually stunned by what they were seeing.

"That's not Bai Xiaochun! That's the soul slave who always kept him company…." The Grand Heavenmaster was the first one to understand the truth. It was for the sake of this Bai Hao that Bai Xiaochun had killed a heavenly marquis! That was how the Grand Heavenmaster had come to learn that Bai Hao was Bai Xiaochun's apprentice!

"His apprentice is going to be the Hell-Emperor!!" Even the powerful Grand Heavenmaster was shaken by the development.

The four heavenly kings had similar reactions, especially the Giant Ghost King.

They had seen Bai Xiaochun close up. That, coupled with their powerful cultivation bases, ensured that they detected the differences between Bai Hao and Bai Xiaochun!

Although such differences might not be visible with the naked eye, they were as plain as day to the acute divine sense of the demigods.

"They're not the same person!" the Giant Ghost King thought with a gasp. This turn of events was something he could never have predicted. He had assumed that Bai Xiaochun would be the one to succeed the Hell-Emperor! He was also aware of who Bai Hao was, and therefore, was just as stunned as the Grand Heavenmaster!

Chen Haosong and the other top most powerful experts were also incredibly perceptive, and were thus able to come to the conclusion that Bai Hao and Bai Xiaochun were not the same person!

As for Zhou Yixing, he knew Bai Xiaochun better than anyone in the Wildlands. Although his cultivation base wasn't sufficient to perceive the truth, there were other ways for him to tell!

"That's… milord's apprentice Bai Hao?!" Zhou Yixing was stunned. In contrast, Song Que didn't notice any differences at all, and remained as excited as he had been before.

Of the people who had witnessed that spectacular battle recently, some did not notice the clues, and had mixed feelings as a result. Others did notice the clues, and were shocked. Regardless not a single person wasn't shaken in some way as they looked at those two figures high up in the sky! At the same time, the Hell-Emperor Stele in the middle of Arch-Emperor City slowly faded away into nothing.

It was in that exact same moment that, back in the Underworld River Restricted Area, in Bai Xiaochun's temporary immortal's cave, a tremor ran through him, and intense rumbling sounds filled his body as the Celestial's blood-hair transformed into ash.

Indescribable levels of life force coursed through him, pushing his Undying Bones all the way to the very peak!

When that happened, his eyes opened. He currently felt power swirling within him the likes of which defied imagination! And it was ready to explode out into the open at any moment.

When it did, he could topple mountains and drain seas!

"The great circle of the Undying Bones!"

His eyes began to shine like heavenly bodies, illuminating the entire immortal's cave!

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Chapter 847: Taking Off The Mask

The qi and blood inside of him was powerful to an indescribable degree!

Furthermore, he yet again felt as though a mountain were crushing down onto him from above, which was none other than… the fourth of the five shackles inside of him!

He couldn't break through that shackle right now. He would need to wait until he became a deva!

At that time, he would finally be able to cultivate the last level of the Undying Codex…

Undying Blood!!

"I finally mastered the Undying Bones!" He laughed heartily, but before he had a chance to feel very pleased with himself, he sensed that the passing of the Hell-Emperor's legacy was occurring up in the sky.

Stunned, he blurred into motion, appearing outside of his immortal's cave to see the gravekeeper up above, as well as… his apprentice, Bai Hao!!

Bai Xiaochun's eyes went wide with anticipation and well wishes.

High up in the Underworld River Restricted Area, Bai Hao suddenly sensed that Bai Xiaochun was looking at him. Shivering, he turned his head to look at Bai Xiaochun down in the Wildlands, and his eyes shone with respect and deep emotion. Furthermore, there were many people who noticed that, and were quite taken aback.

It was at this point that the gravekeeper reached up, took off his imperial crown and then tossed it over to Bai Hao.

When it landed on Bai Hao's head, he had no choice but to look away from Bai Xiaochun.

As the crown settled down, Bai Hao shivered, and his energy suddenly skyrocketed. Intense pressure weighed down, pressure that surpassed that of devas or even demigods!

Intense rumbling sounds filled heaven and earth, and the Underworld River churned madly, as though the source of that river were being changed. Instead of coming from the gravekeeper, it came from Bai Hao!

At the same time, nine underworld dragons appeared on Bai Hao's black robe, all of them howling as Bai Hao's energy continued to rise!

As for the gravekeeper, as soon as he took the crown off, his robe turned into an ordinary black garment. His aura suddenly seemed vastly weaker than before, and he looked like an old man rotting away into death.

Smiling, he looked at Bai Hao, who in turn looked out over the Wildlands and then spoke four words.

"I am the Hell-Emperor!" After speaking the words, he added a line in his heart!

"And I shall protect my Master!"

Shocking rumbling sounds echoed out as if to bear witness to his words. At the same time, the countless souls in the Underworld River all bowed to him, their eyes shining with passion as they cried out in piercing voices.

"Greetings, Hell-Emperor!" The living beings who could hear the sound were all shaken. And then, one by one, they joined in, until their voices caused all heaven and earth to tremble.

"Greetings, Hell-Emperor!!"

Everyone from the Grand Heavenmaster to the four heavenly kings all clasped hands and bowed in Bai Hao's direction. They knew that for many years to come, this person would be the Wildlands' Hell-Emperor!

Zhou Yixing's heart trembled as he bowed, and Song Que was filled with excitement. Although Song Que was still loyal to the River-Defying Sect, the fact that he was the pet of the Hell-Emperor meant that from now on, no one in the Wildlands would ever dare to provoke him.

Even the Arch-Emperor and the gravekeeper now bowed their heads respectfully to Bai Hao!

Not only was it a show of respect to the reigning Hell-Emperor, it was a long-standing tradition within the Arch-Emperor Dynasty!

Soul cultivators and wild beasts alike, all living things, did the same thing. With the exception of one person….

One person didn't bow.

He stood there looking up with a smile on his face. Bai Xiaochun! He was the only person in all of the Wildlands who didn't offer formal greetings!

After all, despite the fact that Bai Hao was now the Hell-Emperor, he was still Bai Xiaochun's apprentice. Of course, Bai Xiaochun couldn't have been more pleased for his apprentice. And in terms of his own life, it really felt like he had reached another major milestone.

"My Daoist partner is a deva. My father-in-law is a demigod. And my apprentice is the Hell-Emperor…." A wonderful feeling of smug contentment filled his heart. It was almost like he was the secret overlord of the Wildlands!

"What a pity that hardly anyone knows Bai Hao is my apprentice." He sighed regretfully. Although he didn't know about how the Grand Heavenmaster had recently issued orders to quell the talk about him, he did know that very few people were aware that he had actually been impersonating Bai Hao.

Even as he stood there sighing, Bai Hao, the gravekeeper, and the Underworld River all faded away, and the sky returned to normal.

Although the ceremony of succession had been short, it was profoundly significant. Furthermore, it was easy to imagine how, from this day on, stories about Bai Hao would abound. As time went on, his position as the Hell-Emperor would ensure that everyone in the Wildlands revered and respected him.

After watching his apprentice fade away, Bai Xiaochun sighed and then looked down at the transmission jade slip he had in his hand. That jade slip had vibrated numerous times during his session of cultivation, but he hadn't had time to pay much attention to it. But now, he was in the great circle of the Undying Bones, and his apprentice had become the Hell-Emperor. Therefore, he now had time to take it out for inspection.

The instant he looked closer, his jaw dropped. Almost all of the messages were from Zhou Yixing, and provided all of the details of what had happened while he was in seclusion.

After perusing the messages, Bai Xiaochun came to the realization that his identity… had not been revealed!!

"I can't believe people don't know!" he thought, his eyes widening. He immediately drew the conclusion that it was the work of the gravekeeper. Either that, or the Grand Heavenmaster had taken steps to make sure that the public didn't realize who he was.

When he saw what Zhou Yixing had said about how some people had guessed that he was Bai Hao, but that the rumor had not gone very far, he realized the truth.

It was all a protection for him!

After all, he had done many momentous things in the Wildlands, things that could be detrimental to him after returning to the Heavenspan River region. If word got back there about who he was, it could make things difficult. On the one hand, it was a bit disappointing to have done so many amazing things but not be able to brag about them.

On the other hand, the people who really needed to know, did know. The upper echelons in the Wildlands all knew his true identity, and also knew who his apprentice was.

"As long as the important people know, I guess that's enough. Hmmmphh! If I have the chance, I'm going to go visit the Grand Heavenmaster. This time he'll be the one offering greetings to me! And as for that Nine Serenities King, I'll have to make sure my apprentice teaches him a lesson sooner or later!

"Otherwise, how could I possibly remain safe in the Wildlands?" At this point, his heart began to pound a bit harder. When all was said and done, he was still tied to the River-Defying Sect. Although there were some people in the Wildlands that he would miss dearly, there were even more people in the River-Defying Sect. Whether it was Li Qinghou, Hou Xiaomei, Song Junwan, Big Fatty Zhang… all of them were faces that popped up in his thoughts constantly.

"I've been away for a long time…." he thought, sighing. Actually, the more he thought about it, it wasn't the Heavenspan River region in general that he cared about, it was the River-Defying Sect.

"Ah, whatever. I guess I should just get back to the River-Defying Sect. If I end up missing the Wildlands too much, I can always just figure out a way to bring the River-Defying Sect back here…." Having reached this point in his train of thought, he patted his bag of holding to produce the command medallion the gravekeeper had given him, which would allow him passage through the Deadmire.

"There are still a few things I have to take care of before leaving. And now that I think about it, it wouldn't be good to use my apprentice's face to do them." It was a bit frightening to think about going back to his true appearance. However, considering his high status, he decided that the time had come. Flicking his sleeve, he took off his mask.

As of this moment… his true face was visible for all to see!

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Chapter 848: Farewells

"Zhou Yixing has been my follower for years now. Since I'm leaving, I'll need to make sure he's taken care of.

"And then there's Song Que. Since I'm his uncle, I have no choice but to take him with me.

"And what about the Giant Ghost King…?" He wanted to go say his goodbyes to the Giant Ghost King, but the thought of Mistress Red-Dust made his head swell with frustration. After some thought about the matter, he sighed.

"Ah, whatever. I'm going to see my sweetie again later anyway.

"I brought a reign of terror to the Wildlands that lasted for many years. Now it's time to leave… and there's no need to make it a solemn occasion."

Shaking his head, he clasped his hands behind his back and contemplated how it actually made him a lot more mysterious to vanish without a trace. Enjoying his ability to revel in his success, he sent a message to Zhou Yixing, telling him to come to the Underworld River Restricted Area.

Zhou Yixing was currently holed up in Giant Ghost City, and when he got the message, his jaw dropped, and his heart began to race. He was suddenly struck with the premonition that Bai Xiaochun… was going to leave.

Obviously, now that Bai Xiaochun's apprentice had become the Hell-Emperor, he was going to go home. And the fact that he was asking Zhou Yixing to come see him beforehand was very telling.

Zhou Yixing's excitement began to build. He felt more than ever that his decision all those years ago had definitely been the best decision he had ever made!

Filled with anticipation, he tossed Song Que into his bag of holding and then hurried off in the direction of the Underworld River Restricted Area.

While Bai Xiaochun waited for Zhou Yixing, he sat down on the bank of the river and thought back to everything he had done in the Wildlands. Then started reminiscing about the River-Defying Sect, and before long, he felt his heart tugging him in the direction of home.

Eventually, it was midnight, and vast quantities of mist appeared, as well as an intense aura. The Underworld River… once again became visible, seething and churning right there in front of Bai Xiaochun.

For the first time, Bai Xiaochun actually felt some connection to the Underworld River water. He could just barely sense the aura of his disciple, which then began to grow stronger and stronger. A moment later, Bai Hao materialized right in front of him.

He wore an imperial crown, and imperial robes, but in every other way, looked just like he always had. An emotional look could be seen in his eyes, as well as a gleam of respect. As soon as he appeared in front of Bai Xiaochun, he clasped hands and bowed.

"Master!"

Bai Xiaochun could see that his apprentice's feelings toward him had not change just because he had become the Hell-Emperor. He wasn't surprised at all that his apprentice had shown up, and in fact, would have been surprised if he didn't.

"What does it feel like to be the Hell-Emperor?" he asked, smiling broadly.

"I have a lot to learn from Senior Gravekeeper," Bai Hao replied softly. It was clear in his eyes that he already missed Bai Xiaochun. "I'm still not able to unleash the divine abilities of the Underworld River yet, and--"

Before he could say anything else, Bai Xiaochun waved his hand dismissively and interrupted, "Make sure to treat Great-Grandpa Gravekeeper with the same respect you treat me. Pay good attention to what he teaches you, that way you can learn to be a good Hell-Emperor. Unfortunately, Master has to leave. Otherwise I would pass on some more of my special divine abilities to you."

He sighed, already realizing how much he missed his apprentice.

Bai Hao stood there silently for a moment, his mind filled with all sorts of memories of the things he and his Master had done. However, he knew that his Master was from the Heavenspan River region, and that getting back home to his sect had been his goal all along.

"Master," he said in a serious tone, "you need to be careful on your way back…. The Heavenspan River region is a very different place. I'll do my best to master the Underworld River divine abilities, and before long, I'll be able to send my mind anywhere in the world!"

Bai Xiaochun laughed heartily. The two of them chatted a bit more. Obviously, the moment of departure was coming. Bai Xiaochun spent most of the time exhorting Bai Hao to become a good Hell-Emperor. As for Bai Hao, he was obviously worried that the trip back to the Heavenspan River region wasn't going to be safe, and offered a lot of advice about what to do.

It was just like old times when they would work on various problems and issues together. After a bit of time passed, Bai Hao suddenly said, "Master, remember Zhao Xionglin and Liu Yong? And that Chen Haosong? They treated you disrespectfully on multiple occasions. I'll definitely make sure they regret that!

"And as for… Sect Mother Xu Shan, and Sect Mother Chen Manyao, and Sect Mother Zhou Zimo… I'll watch out for them for you. If anybody dares to harbor any evil intentions, I'll take action immediately!

"Apprentice will also take good care of the Giant Ghost King.

"About those chosen like Zhou Hong, well, they provoked you over and over, Master! Don't worry, I won't let them get away with what they did!" Bai Hao had clearly paid very close attention to everyone who had either caused problems for his Master, or who had treated him with kindness.

Most other Masters in the world would remind their apprentices of the old saying a great man does not bear petty grudges. But Bai Xiaochun was actually very pleased by what he was hearing, and his eyes gleamed with approval.

"Excellent. Don't let any of those people off the hook easily! And don't forget that codger the Nine Serenities King. Make sure to find an opportunity to give him a good thrashing!" Master and apprentice went on to have a long discussion about how to teach all of these people a lesson. In the end, Bai Xiaochun was very pleased, and couldn't help but marvel at how well his apprentice understood him.

"Oh right, Master, I almost forgot. With the power of the Underworld River that I have at my disposal, and with the advice of Senior Gravekeeper, I've already created the formulas for twenty- and twenty-one-colored flame!" Although he spoke the words casually, the truth was that one of the reasons he hadn't mastered the Underworld River divine abilities yet was that he had been spending so much time using the Underworld River power to work on those flame formulas.

He had produced both formulas in only a month!

"Unfortunately, it seems that twenty-one-colored flame is the limit. I'm not sure why, and I think you won't be able to tell for sure until after you actually conjure that flame. As for twenty-two colored flame, even Senior Gravekeeper didn't have anything to say about it. Twenty-two colored flame is just too difficult for me right now. Hopefully you can give me some more time to work on it." Bai Hao made a grasping gesture, and a jade slip materialized out of thin air.

Bai Xiaochun was shaken. Considering how high his skill in flame conjuring already was, he knew that things got more difficult as they went along. The fact that Bai Hao had been able to create these two formulas in such a short time meant that he must have expended significant effort.

A warm look could be seen in his eyes as he accepted the jade slip and then looked at his apprentice.

"How thoughtful of you, Hao'er!" he said softly.

Bai Hao was very pleased with these words. Although he had become the Hell-Emperor, in his heart, everything was just like before. A kind word of approval from Bai Xiaochun was enough to make him very happy.

"Master, it's still early. Since nobody understands twenty-colored flame better than me right now, let's take advantage of this opportunity to conjure it together. What do you say?"

After a moment of thought, Bai Xiaochun nodded. Right there on the banks of the Underworld River, Master and apprentice worked on their last flame conjuring together. Everything went very smoothly. After all, they had been thinking about this type of flame for a very long time. And now that Bai Hao commanded the Underworld River, he had plenty of souls at his disposal.

In only a few days' time, Bai Xiaochun successfully conjured a twenty-colored flame, which caused bright light to fill the sky, and the lands to shake.

Twenty-colored flame was the highest level for earthly necromancers. In the current Arch-Emperor Dynasty, there was only one other necromancer who could conjure it. With Bai Xiaochun able to do so, there were now two!

If he pushed past this level and conjured a twenty-one-colored flame, then he would become a legendary, never-before-seen… heavenly necromancer!

According to the legends, if one could use a twenty-one-colored flame to perform a spirit enhancement on a nascent soul, one could immediately break through to the Deva Realm. Of course, it was just a legend. No one had done it successfully.

Filled with excitement, Bai Xiaochun went on to work on a twenty-one-colored flame.

However, twenty-one-colored flame was very difficult. Even with the formula and Bai Hao's help, Bai Xiaochun could do nothing more than start to get familiar with the process. Success was not something that could be had in a few short days.

In order to make sure that his Master could continue to work on flame conjuring after leaving the Wildlands, Bai Hao hid the fact that he was gritting his teeth from effort, and finally called upon the Underworld River divine abilities he knew. He summoned a mind-boggling number of souls from inside, which he gave to Bai Xiaochun to use in flame conjuring.

Even Bai Xiaochun gasped at the number of souls. As long as he didn't fail too many times, he definitely had enough to eventually conjure a twenty-one-colored flame.

It was at just about this time that Zhou Yixing finally showed up.

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Chapter 849: Is This Some Sort Of Mistake...?

Bai Xiaochun sensed Zhou Yixing almost as soon as he stepped into the Underworld River Restricted Area. As for Zhou Yixing, he immediately caught sight of both Bai Xiaochun… and Bai Hao!

In that instant, Zhou Yixing's heart leapt. He knew exactly who Bai Hao was; he was a figure of unparalleled power and importance in the Wildlands.

"So, Bai Hao really is the Hell-Emperor…. And milord really is his Master!" Although he had speculated all of these things before, to see it confirmed with his own eyes caused his heart to tremble with shock.

Normally speaking, he would never be able to even enter the presence of someone as important as the Hell-Emperor. Trembling, he hurried forward toward the two. However, he didn't forget the relationship between Bai Xiaochun and Bai Hao. The first person he offered formal greetings to was Bai Xiaochun, and after that, Bai Hao.

"Yixing offers greetings, milord! Greetings, exalted Hell-Emperor!" He ducked his head nervously, unable to conceal his excitement.

Zhou Yixing's respectful and excited attitude was quite pleasing to Bai Xiaochun. Although he couldn't go and tell everyone how important he was now, to be so adored by people close to him was good enough.

"What about my Que'er?" he asked. "Did you bring him along too?"

Of course, he couldn't wait to see how Song Que would react upon finding out who he was.

As for Bai Hao, a strange expression could be seen on his face. However, he understood his Master well, and cooperated in full, allowing the impressive aura of the Hell-Emperor to erupt out in full force. Zhou Yixing gasped, his respect deepening as he quickly pulled Song Que out of his bag of holding.

Song Que had only been in the bag of holding for a few days, so when he came out, he wasn't gasping for breath like he often had in the past. He had grown used to spending time inside bags of holding, and actually liked it to some degree. Besides, considering all of the cultivation resources he had benefited from, all traces of his previous ordeal were gone, and his cultivation base had even made progress. He was now very close to the mid Nascent Soul stage.

As soon as he was out in the open, he plastered an expression of respect onto his face, laying eyes, not on Bai Xiaochun, but Bai Hao.

He was aware of the fact that Bai Hao had become the Hell-Emperor, and it filled his heart with excitement. However, it was at this point that he noticed a familiar face next to Bai Hao.

His eyes widened, and he even wondered if he was seeing things. When he looked closer, he began to tremble, and then slowly reached out and pointed at Bai Xiaochun.

Zhou Yixing remained off to the side in silent introspection, not daring to interfere with this reunion. As for Bai Hao, his expression grew more awkward. However, he knew that Bai Xiaochun was obviously relishing this moment, and therefore, he held back from saying anything.

"You…." Song Que breathed. He really had not expected to see Bai Xiaochun here; it was so unexpected that it threw his mind into chaos. In fact, because of that, he didn't notice at all how Zhou Yixing and Bai Hao were reacting.

Bai Xiaochun cleared his throat, smiled, and said, "Hi, Que'er!"

Inside, he was feeling incomparably wonderful.

As soon as Song Que heard himself being called Que'er, he was pushed to the point of exploding. However, after everything he had experienced in the Wildlands, he felt as if he had grown up quite a bit. Therefore, he suppressed his displeasure and, brimming with confidence, he yelled, "How dare you show up here in the Hell-Emperor's presence!"

After all, he and Bai Xiaochun were both fellow disciples of the River-Defying Sect. Although he was not very happy to see him, and in fact didn't even speak his name, he at least decided to vaguely point out that Bai Hao was the Hell-Emperor.

"I gave him his chance," he thought. "If he's smart, he'll flee immediately, or at least figure out a way to resolve the situation. If not, then he'll be dead, and it won't be my fault." With that, he simply stared at Bai Xiaochun, inwardly shaking his head at how the two of them now existed on totally different levels.

The fact that he had come to be the Hell-Emperor's pet gave him a status that Bai Xiaochun couldn't even compare to. In fact, it was highly likely that he would soon have the chance to crush Bai Xiaochun underfoot, just like he'd always wanted to.

"It's just fate," he said to himself. "Bai Xiaochun, ah, Bai Xiaochun. You're just unlucky. You never managed to be anything more than a fugitive in the Wildlands, with everyone running around trying to kill you. As for me, I managed to become the pet of the Hell-Emperor! Considering my important position, I'm more powerful than you can even imagine." A look of pity appeared in Song Que's eyes as he looked down his nose at Bai Xiaochun. Then he sighed inwardly. Considering their past, he knew that if he could manage to save Bai Xiaochun, he probably should. After all, they were both from the River-Defying Sect.

It was roughly at this point that, all of a sudden, he began to wonder why it was that Bai Xiaochun was right here in Bai Hao's presence, and that there didn't seem to be any conflicts or tension. Just when he was about to ponder the subject, Bai Xiaochun cleared his throat. By this point, Bai Xiaochun could tell based on what he knew about Song Que that he wasn't going to try to do anything villainous.

Considering that, his impression of Song Que improved. Furthermore, considering that they were at a critical moment, and that he was Song Que's uncle, he suddenly felt a bit protective.

"Ah, whatever," he thought. "I guess I can do without his respect." Feeling very much like he was acting in the best interests of his nephew, he glanced at Bai Hao and then pointed at Zhou Yixing.

"Hao'er, this Zhou Yixing has been my follower for years. He was always there to support me, and did many things for me. Since I'm leaving, I hope that you can accept him as a follower."

When Zhou Yixing heard that, it was like music to his ears. His heart trembled with joy, and he felt like he had been struck with the greatest luck in the world. Profound gratitude welled up in his heart, to the point where his knees began to shake.

"Milord… many thanks! Many thanks, milord!!"

He was a true Wildlander necromancer, and therefore, felt complete adoration and fervor for the Hell-Emperor, more so than Bai Xiaochun would ever be able to comprehend. Therefore, when he heard Bai Xiaochun's words, he simply couldn't remain calm.

He knew that if he worked for the Hell-Emperor, he would essentially be like an emissary in the world of the living. It was an extremely high honor that would put him very close to the level of the four heavenly kings.

In fact, from now on, his clan would never again dare to treat him as the crown prince of the clan. That title wouldn't befit someone of his standing.

He would be the person his clan relied on, both patriarchs and ordinary clan members alike! Everyone would treat him with the utmost respect!

As Zhou Yixing went wild with joy, Song Que stared with eyes as wide as saucers. In that moment, his confidence and arrogance all faltered, and he suddenly felt like he might collapse mentally. A sensation of disbelief rose up in his heart, and he actually began to wonder if he was hallucinating….

"Did you… just call the Hell-Emperor Hao'er?!" he asked. Then turned from Bai Xiaochun to look at Zhou Yixing. "And did you… just call him milord?!

"Is this some sort of mistake? This… this seems off…." He drifted off into speechlessness, grabbing his head in his hands to stop it from spinning. He was feeling so profoundly and utterly shaken that he could hardly take it.

Startled, and a bit worried, Bai Xiaochun realized that this was clearly a huge blow to Song Que, and quickly tried to come up with a way to explain the situation.

Despite how excited Zhou Yixing was, Song Que's words caused a strange expression to appear on his face. Sighing inwardly, he suddenly felt very sorry for Song Que….

Bai Hao felt the same. However, he smiled wryly, turned to Bai Xiaochun, and offered formal greetings with clasped hands.

"Orders received, Master!" When it came to who was his emissary in the world of the living, if anyone else had provided the suggestion, Bai Hao would have put a lot of thought into the matter. But since Bai Xiaochun had suggested it be Zhou Yixing, he didn't bother to worry about it.

Furthermore, he accepted the instructions from Bai Xiaochun in the same way that he always had in the past. And his response struck Song Que like zillions of lightning bolts!

"Did you… just call him Master?!"

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Chapter 850: Calm Down, Que'er...

Song Que wasn't even aware that he was talking. He stood there, staring blankly at Bai Hao, shaking physically and almost forgetting to breathe.

"No. This has to be a mistake…." The world seemed to be spinning around him, as though he had broken through some barrier of incredulity that he hadn't even realized existed.

He didn't want to think to deeply about how these three people were connected, but… he simply couldn't control his own train of thought.

Bai Hao was the only person who Zhou Yixing would call milord. And the fact that Bai Hao had called Bai Xiaochun Master made everything even more clear…. Bai Xiaochun was Bai Hao's Master, and was Zhou Yixing's lord.

Song Que felt like his mind was filled with crashing bolts of lightning, leaving him standing there with a blank look on his face. As for Bai Xiaochun, he couldn't let that happen, so he hurried forward to explain.

"Calm down, Que'er, let me explain…."

"You… you…." Song Que pointed at Bai Xiaochun, his eyes turning red. Before Bai Xiaochun could offer any sort of explanation, Song Que shouted, "Bai Xiaochun!! Tell me the truth. Were you impersonating Bai Hao before?!?!"

Song Que was teetering on the verge of madness as the question of Bai Hao's identity pounded at his mind. If it was true that Bai Hao was Bai Xiaochun, and that he had become Bai Xiaochun's pet, and had even stretched his head out to have his hair tousled more deeply by him, then Song Que's world would surely collapse.

"Absolutely not!" Bai Xiaochun said without a moment of hesitation, shaking his head vigorously. Worried that Song Que wouldn't believe him, he pointed back at Bai Hao and Zhou Yixing.

"I'm serious! Ask them. I wasn't impersonating Bai Hao at all. And this is my first time seeing you here in the Wildlands. I'm not joking! It's the truth!" As he spoke, he didn't blink even a single time, making his words seem very sincere.

Panting, Song Que glared at Bai Xiaochun for a moment, and then turned to look at Bai Hao.

Bai Hao blinked a few times. He knew that Bai Xiaochun was Song Que's uncle, and therefore didn't dare to tell him the truth. He quickly nodded, which caused Song Que to relax a bit. However, he still wasn't completely convinced, and looked to Zhou Yixing for further confirmation.

Zhou Yixing was actually feeling quite stunned himself, although not as much as Song Que. Bai Hao's words of 'orders received' were still ringing loudly in his mind.

Neither Bai Hao nor Bai Xiaochun had thought very much about that. It was the way Bai Hao usually spoke. But when Zhou Yixing heard it, it filled his heart with pounding waves of shock that threatened to overwhelm him.

In fact, he almost wondered if he had been hearing things. Bai Hao was the Hell-Emperor! As far as Zhou Yixing was concerned, even if he did accept directions from Bai Xiaochun, there was no need for him to say anything more than 'alright' or something like that. Maybe he could even just nod. Never could Zhou Yixing have imagined that Bai Hao would outright say that he would follow orders!!

In fact, just about anyone in the Wildlands who heard that would be stunned. It immediately led Zhou Yixing to the realization that the true overlord of the Wildlands was… Bai Xiaochun!

Zhou Yixing simply couldn't get control of himself at the moment. Therefore, when Song Que looked over at him and realized that he wasn't saying anything, his heart suddenly began to pound, and he started shaking again. White steam even began to rise from the top of his head.

Bai Xiaochun's nervousness mounted. Worried that Song Que had been offended too deeply, and couldn't handle the truth, he glared over at Zhou Yixing.

"What are you doing, Zhou Yixing?!" he shouted. "I said that I wasn't impersonating Bai Hao, and this is my first time seeing Song Que in the Wildlands. Back me up here!"

Bai Xiaochun's shout tore Zhou Yixing out of his reverie. He immediately began to nod, and in fact, worried that Song Que wouldn't believe him, he thumped himself on the chest and loudly said, "I, Zhou Yixing, hereby swear that milord never once impersonated Bai Hao!"

When Song Que heard Zhou Yixing's words echoing back and forth, he relaxed some more. His mind was in chaos, and he could hardly think straight. Therefore, the 'evidence' provided by Bai Hao and Zhou Yixing was like a branch extended to a drowning man. He didn't even want to think about the matter too closely.

Bai Xiaochun was very relieved to see Song Que finally calming down a bit.

"Ah, Que'er," he said, "there's no need to get so excited. It's just fate that the two of us have met here in the Wildlands. You've grown up quite a bit, Que'er. Getting worked up like this really isn't good for you. Look, you even have steam coming off the top of your head!" Without even thinking about it, he reached out to brush Song Que's head free of steam.

It was exactly the way he had reached out to tousle Song Que's hair in the past, and Song Que even reflexively stretched his head forward to meet Bai Xiaochun's hand….

However, in that instant, both of them froze….

Bai Xiaochun's heart immediately began to pound wildly, and he pulled his hand back. And Song Que instantly let out a howl that could shake heaven and earth.

"This feeling… it's you, Bai Xiaochun! You tricked me!! It was you all along!!!"

By this point, Song Que was fully convinced that everything had been an act for his sake. The speed and familiarity with which Bai Xiaochun reached out toward his head had revealed the truth. And the idea of himself being Bai Xiaochun's pet, and that he had reflexively stuck his head out to have his hair tousled, caused masses of white steam to explode from the top of his head. Mind reeling, he let out a howl and then passed out.

Stunned, Bai Xiaochun hurried over, pried open his mouth, and shoved a medicinal pill inside. Then he looked over helplessly at Bai Hao and Zhou Yixing.

Bai Xiaochun already felt a headache coming on. "It's not my fault… You two help me figure out what to do!"

"Um… Master, I've already been here for quite a while. I'm pretty sure Senior Gravekeeper is waiting for me…. See you later!" Bai Hao simply couldn't take anymore, and had convinced himself that he had already followed his Master's orders…. A strange look appeared on his face as he flew toward the Underworld River.

Zhou Yixing quickly clasped hands to Bai Xiaochun and then followed Bai Hao. The instant he reached the Underworld River, both he and Bai Hao began to fade away. As they did, Bai Xiaochun's voice echoed behind them.

"Hao'er, remember to help me track down the other cultivators who were teleported out into the Wildlands!"

Bai Hao voiced his assent in the moment before vanishing.

After watching the two of them rush off, Bai Xiaochun looked back down at the unconscious Song Que. Tousling his hair, he sighed.

"Ah, whatever. The child just got too worked up, and passed out. That's all. In any case, it's not the first time. Once he wakes up, he'll be fine." After setting up some defensive spell formations around Song Que, he went back into his immortal's cave and sat down cross-legged.

"He just needs some time to recover. Now that I have twenty-colored flame, it's time to push my cultivation base to the great circle of the Nascent Soul stage!" Without any hesitation, he produced his turtle-wok and then sent his nascent soul into it. Then he produced his twenty-colored flame, which he looked at for a moment, eyes shining with anticipation.

As soon as the flame touched the wok, dazzling golden light shone out, enveloping his nascent soul. Then, a shocking energy of heaven and earth began to pulse.

Rumbling sounds could be heard, but quickly passed. At the same time, the golden light faded away, revealing a shining, crystalline nascent soul!!

The nascent soul looked like Bai Xiaochun in every respect, and pulsed with Heaven-Dao fluctuations. This was the great circle of the Heaven-Dao Nascent Soul stage!

It was a state of power that could not be compared to anything else in heaven and earth!

The air rippled and distorted around the nascent soul as a tenth golden design appeared!

Each and every one of the designs on its surface pulsed with shocking magical fluctuations. Furthermore, it was possible to imagine what would happen after the twenty-onefold spirit enhancement was performed. Those golden designs would merge into a single… violet design!

In that moment, something legendary and unheard-of would occur. He would become… the perfect deva!

"The legends say that a twenty-onefold spirit enhancement on your nascent soul will break you through to the Deva Realm…. Whether it's true or not, I'm going to try!" Eyes flickering with anticipation, he continued, "Once Que'er wakes up, we'll leave the Wildlands. And since there's no Great Wall to go through, we'll have to traverse the Deadmire!

"After that, I need to get familiar with the formula for twenty-one colored flame, and find an opportunity to become a deva!" At this point, Bai Xiaochun couldn't have been more filled with excited anticipation.

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Chapter 851: Why Wont You Accept It, Song Que?

"I'm so close to being a deva!" The idea of becoming a deva somehow made the world a more perfect place for Bai Xiaochun. That was especially true when he thought about the fact that the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, a majestic riversource sect, only had five devas. Any one of those five devas could be considered supremely important.

"They're all almighty figures who live on the blue rainbow." The more he thought about it, the more exciting it seemed. Then he thought back to his time at the Great Wall, and how the deva Chen Hetian had so brazenly screwed him over. [1]

"Just wait until I'm back. It won't be long before I'm a deva. And then… hmmmphh! It's been decades, but it's still not too late to get my revenge, Chen Hetian!" Bai Xiaochun felt extraordinary. His time in the Wildlands had propelled him toward the very peak of life. As of this moment, it would be very difficult to find very many chosen in heaven and earth who could match up to him.

"What a lonely feeling!" Clasping his hands behind his back, he shook his head and savored the wonderful sensation. Then he swaggered out of his immortal's cave and walked over to the unconscious Song Que.

Just looking at Song Que caused his head to ache. After a bit of thought, he waved his finger, sending a stream of spiritual energy into him. Song Que shivered and slowly opened his eyes. At first, his expression was blank, but when he saw Bai Xiaochun, he began to tremble. His eyes turned bloodshot, and his mind began to spin as he recalled everything that had occurred before he had passed out.

Bai Xiaochun quickly said, "Let me explain, Que'er, I--"

However, before he could say anything more, Song Que shouted, "You… you…!"

The thought of him having become Bai Xiaochun's pet was the most horrific thing to ever happen in his life. The anger and resentment he felt because of it had him teetering on the verge of completely exploding.

Bai Xiaochun's headache worsened. Seeing that Song Que was about to erupt, he scrambled to come up with a plan for what to do. Suddenly, his expression flickered. Instead of looking like he was trying to provide an explanation, he seemed somber, even sorrowful. Before Song Que could say anything, he spoke with such enormous volume that Song Que's madness was stifled.

"Song Que, I know you refuse to accept this. But. Why won't you accept it!? It's true that I, Bai Xiaochun, have reached incredible heights, in the Blood Stream Sect, the River-Defying Sect, the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, the Great Wall, and here in the Wildlands. But you've only seen me in my best moments! Do you know how I got to those moments? I'll tell you. Fudge! The only reason I reached such heights was by sacrifice!" This sudden outburst by Bai Xiaochun caught Song Que completely off-guard. He had never seen Bai Xiaochun acting like this before.

"In the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, you people all abandoned me! I had only my own skill and ability to rely on. I started an inn, and even got you promoted to the rainbow district. I didn't owe you anything back then!

"At the Great Wall, it was my skill with medicinal pills that saw me reach the rank of major general. Do you think the deva there was a complete idiot? Do you think the sect is full of fools? Do you think they just randomly allowed me to become a major general? No! I earned that rank with my success!" He swished his sleeve to emphasize his words, and his voice thrummed with intense decisiveness. Despite the fact that Song Que was hovering on the verge of madness, he couldn't help but be shaken by Bai Xiaochun's words.

"You saw for yourself how many people in the Wildlands want to kill me, right? Do you know how many deadly crises I faced? All of the nobility and aristocracy hate me down to their marrow! I even risked exposing myself to save you!

"So what if I tousled your hair? What's so wrong with that? I'm not allowed to touch your head or something? I don't qualify? Not only am I your uncle, I have a demigod for a father-in-law! I'm the Master of the Hell-Emperor! I'm the overlord of the Wildlands! You want to talk status? I'm on the same level as the Celestial! Who out there dares to talk to me about qualifications?!" By this point, he was shouting. Song Que's face was devoid of blood, and his humiliation and rage were collapsing. Bai Xiaochun's tirade caused him to edge backward, his eyes bloodshot, but his heart pounding as if with thunder.

He had to admit that everything Bai Xiaochun had just said was true. Bai Xiaochun didn't owe him anything, and yet had blessed him with good fortune. He had even saved him on multiple occasions. In fact, if it weren't for Bai Xiaochun, Song Que would either be dead, or at the very least, wallowing in abject misery.

His refusal to accept the truth came mostly from his own pride. And the fact that he didn't like Bai Xiaochun was because of his own inability to measure up to him!

As for the last thing Bai Xiaochun had just said, about qualifications, there was literally nothing Song Que could say by way of retort. All he could do there was stand there, his chest heaving.

When Bai Xiaochun saw that Song Que had been cowed, he breathed an inward sigh of relief. He really had had no other choice than to say what he had. And the fact that it had worked had him feeling quite pleased with himself. However, he kept that somber expression on his face.

"You don't have to like me, Song Que. In fact, just think of me as a mountain that you will overturn one day in the future! Bai Xiaochun… will be waiting for you! But… before you acquire the proper qualifications, you _will _behave!" With that, he waved his sleeve dramatically. His voice resonated in profoundly domineering fashion, and in fact, he even secretly threw in a bit of energy from the Undying Emperor's Fist. That, coupled with the actual words he had spoken, made him seem like a powerful king or emperor, the type who everyone would respect.

His devastating verbal attack slammed into Song Que's mind, causing him to back up a few more paces. Trembling, he looked at Bai Xiaochun,and suddenly realized that there was a bit of respect rising up in his heart!

"I'm going to be leaving the Wildlands and going back to the River-Defying Sect," Bai Xiaochun continue. "So, Song Que… do you want to come with me? If not, I won't force you!" Snorting coldly, he looked away from Song Que and began to float slowly up into the air as he waited for a response.

"Everything I said should work," he thought. "Ai… what a headache! Oh, Junwan, how truly I care for this nephew of ours!" Blinking a few times, he rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed.

As for Song Que, he stood there on the bank of the Underworld River, mixed emotions playing out in his eyes. Finally, he sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, they shone with determination.

"Sooner or later, I'm going to surpass him!" The truth was, even he didn't believe that. However, he was used to saying such things, and it would feel too strange to not say them. Snorting coldly, Song Que flew up into the air after Bai Xiaochun.

When Bai Xiaochun saw that, he breathed another inward sigh of relief. The truth was that he felt bad about the mistake he had made in reaching out to to touch Song Que's head….

"Well, I didn't ask him to stick his head out toward me. He did that on his own!" Of course, he didn't say that out loud. If he did, Song Que would likely explode, and he had just worked hard to calm him down.

"Ai, he flies off the handle too easily." Shaking his head, he began to fly off into the distance, Song Que in tow. The two of them flew along silently for some time, heading toward the location where the eastern and northern sections of the Great Wall had once met. That was the location where they would head back to the River-Defying Sect. Their pathway home led through… the Deadmire!

Based on the speed they were capable of, it would only take a few months for them to reach it!

Two months passed in the blink of an eye. They didn't see any cities, only rugged and crumbling mountains and sprawling jungles. There were few soul cultivators, and only the occasional tribe of savage giants.

Bai Xiaochun was already beginning to sigh at how quietly he was making his departure. It was almost as if no one cared about him….

"Ah, whatever. Keeping a low profile is always the best thing to do." Sighing again, he looked off at a distant mountain range. According to the map he had, after passing through those mountains, they would be on the very border of the Wildlands.

However, even as he was preparing to lead Song Que in that direction, he stopped in place. Song Que, whose expression had been very grim during the last two months, suddenly looked off in a certain direction, his pupils constricting.

At this point, the two of them realized that, standing right there at the peak of one of the nearby mountains, was a woman! She had long hair and a red robe, and was as beautiful and elegant as an immortal!

She was none other than… Mistress Red-Dust, Zhou Zimo!

1. Hey everyone, this chapter contains a detail that was never included in the original descriptions of the SSDPS. Apparently, each of the seven rainbows is a different color. I need to go back to check earlier references to see if I missed something in the earlier chapters, or if this is indeed a detail that was added later on. I vaguely remember some of the individual rainbows being described as having different colors in them. I will do that at some point, perhaps after the translation is completely done and I got back for a final edit. In any case, the rainbow that the devas live on is the blue one.

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Chapter 852: You Owe Me An Explanation, Bai Xiaochun!

As soon as Bai Xiaochun saw Mistress Red-Dust, his heart began to pound, and he scowled.

Of all the people he feared in the Wildlands, Mistress Red-Dust was at the top of the list. Furthermore, thanks to the Giant Ghost King playing matchmaker between the two of them, things were even more complicated.

At first, he had found the whole thing to be a bit exciting. But after everything that happened with Gongsun Wan'er, and afterward, matters with Mistress Red-Dust came to be a big headache.

He wasn't even sure how he should act around her. On the one hand, he felt like he should attack her. It wasn't as if she were a match for him in combat. But on the other hand, he felt like he couldn't bring himself to do such a thing….

"I'm trying to leave, and Zhou Zimo is actually blocking my path…." His initial reaction was to just flee.

In fact, as soon as that idea popped into his head, he found it impossible to get rid of.

"Que'er, this person isn't up to any good. She's probably here to try to capture you. Let's skirt around her." With that, he turned and headed off in a different direction.

Inside, Song Que was sneering in ridicule. After all, he knew about some of the things that had gone on between Mistress Red-Dust and Bai Xiaochun. However, he didn't say anything, and even slowed down a bit. He didn't want to get involved.

Mistress Red-Dust stood atop the mountain, looking coldly at Bai Xiaochun, complex emotions in her eyes. She wasn't any more certain of how to view things between herself and Bai Xiaochun than he was. Everything that had gone on had her feeling very confused.

She also knew that she shouldn't have come here. And yet, here she was. Then, she saw him looking at her with a scowl, and an indescribable fire began to burn inside of her. Moments later, she realized that he wasn't even going to come talk with her. Instead, he turned and headed in a different direction. Her anger erupted.

"Bai Xiaochun!!" she screamed, her voice echoing like a clap of thunder. In response, Bai Xiaochun shivered and picked up speed. As for Song Que, he backed up.

Mistress Red-Dust became a beam of red light that shot off of the mountain toward Bai Xiaochun, indescribable rage filling her as she whistled through the air. Then she waved her right index finger in Bai Xiaochun's direction, causing the sky to turn red as her will filled the area, locking everything down.

Bai Xiaochun frowned, but didn't slow down in the slightest. The air around him shattered as the power of a deva descended, and yet, it could do nothing to hinder him!

In the past, it would have required him to rely on some divine abilities to get away. But now, he was in the great circle of the Nascent Soul stage, and was fully capable of fighting someone in the early Deva Realm!

In fact, he could even fight someone in the mid Deva Realm if he used his most powerful divine abilities!

As soon as Bai Xiaochun blasted through the barrier of deva power, Mistress Red-Dust's eyes shone with cold light, and she performed an incantation gesture, causing the power of her Red Dust Violet Road technique to appear.

It was a consummate divine ability, a giant ghost secret magic that she had previously used to seal Gongsun Wan'er. Instantly, a miniature version of Giant Ghost City appeared around Bai Xiaochun, stifling his aura and preparing to seal him.

Bai Xiaochun's face fell. He knew that this magical technique was a trump card of Mistress Red-Dust's, and that it required a significant wastage of longevity. It was a hexing magic that most ordinary devas would never have access to.

"Are you crazy or something, Zhou Zimo!?" he shouted angrily.

In response, Mistress Red-Dust picked up speed. As she closed in, her hand flashed with an incantation gesture, causing the sealing powers of Red Dust Violet Road to grow stronger.

Rumbling sounds could be heard as an immense gravitational force sprang up around him. The truth was that he had no desire at all to tangle with Mistress Red-Dust.

"Just what do you think you're going to accomplish, Zhou Zimo?! Do you really think I'm scared of you or something?!" Even as the gravitational force gripped him, he spun in place, and began to grow larger! At the same time, countless rocks began to fly in his direction as he transformed into a stone golem.

It was none other than the Living Mountain Incantation!

He launched into motion, his fleshly body power bursting out. This was the great circle of the Undying Bones, which surpassed the Nascent Soul stage, and was similar to a deva. As soon as he attacked the Red Dust Violet Road illusion, it shattered, completely decimated by his fleshly body power.

"You owe me an explanation, Bai Xiaochun!" Zhou Zimo yelled. Not pausing for even a moment, she performed an incantation gesture and spat out a mouthful of blood, which transformed into ten blood-colored spears. Then, the ten spears became streaks of red light that swirled through the air at top speed toward Bai Xiaochun!

Seeing the dangerous situation caused Bai Xiaochun to sigh. He waved his hands out in front of him, causing the stones surrounding him to explode outward, and then speed to meet the ten blood-red spears. The instant they met, a boom echoed out, and the spears were sent spinning off to the side.

Bai Xiaochun was now in the open, and instead of fleeing, he blurred into motion, shooting directly toward Mistress Red-Dust, hand clenched in a fist!

"Can you just not flip out!?" he yelled as his fist strike landed.

A boom rang out as Mistress Red-Dust was shoved backward several paces. When she came to a stop, her expression looked more complex than ever. Bai Xiaochun's progress was shocking; although she had not attacked with full force right now, it was obvious that Bai Xiaochun hadn't either. The complexity of her emotions deepened as she apparently remembered something important.

Phoenix-like eyes radiating rage, she looked at him and coldly said, "I'm not flipping out! We're engaged, remember!? My father arranged it. Maybe you can just up and leave, but what do I do then?! And what does my father do?! Look at you! I didn't even say a single word to you, and you upped and ran? Are you even a man, Bai Xiaochun?!"

Bai Xiaochun's headache grew more intense as he rushed to offer an explanation.

"Listen, Zimo. You're a beautiful, outstanding girl. You can definitely find another Daoist partner better than me. And as for Big Bro Giant Ghost, this was all just a misunderstanding! The old man will definitely understand…. Look, I wasn't running away from you, I'm just in a hurry to get home…. Oh, and yeah, I'm definitely a man. I--"

Before he could say anything else, Mistress Red-Dust exploded again. "Bai Xiaochun!! Do you really not get it? Or are just pretending to be thick? Well?! Everybody in the Arch-Emperor Dynasty thinks that my Daoist partner is your apprentice, Bai Hao! And that means they think I'm an empress! Everybody's watching me! What do you want me to do, marry your apprentice!?" Mistress Red-Dust was very angry, and therefore, her shouting echoed out very loudly in all directions.

Some distance away, Song Que had been watching the two of them fight. Although he had been aware that Bai Xiaochun was strong, to see it with his own eyes left him shaken.

And then he heard what Mistress Red-Dust just said, and a strange expression appeared on his face. He even started to get a bit excited.

"Bai Xiaochun, ah, Bai Xiaochun. You've had this coming for a long time!" With that, he simply stood there, watching the fireworks.

Meanwhile, Bai Xiaochun was standing there, feeling a bit taken aback. The truth was that he hadn't put much thought into the matter that Mistress Red-Dust had just brought up. And everything she had just said made sense, leaving him feeling more than a bit awkward.

"Zimo, I--"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Mistress Red-Dust flicked her sleeve, gritted her teeth, and said, "You either stay here in the Wildlands and take my hand in marriage, or… you give me a damn good explanation!"

Feeling very much in the wrong, and very embarrassed, Bai Xiaochun promptly tried to calm her down.

"Zimo, just calm down. I swear that I'll come back. Really…. Don't worry. I'll definitely return!" Worried that she might not believe him, he thumped himself loudly on the chest to emphasize his words.

However, both his wording and his gesture seemed a bit too exaggerated…. Mistress Red-Dust immediately realized that he was just putting on a show, and it cause the rage in her heart to slip out of control.

"Bai Xiaochun!" she said through gritted teeth. Then she burst into motion, unleashing all of the power she could muster to attack him. The will of a deva spread out into the area, causing Song Que to gasp and back up further.

Bai Xiaochun let out a yelp as he retreated. On any other occasion, he would fight back, but right now he actually felt very guilty, and simply couldn't retaliate. All he could do was dodge left and right and throw out some more explanations.

"Zimo, you need to listen to me…."

"I'll come back, really…."

"You have to trust me…."

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Chapter 853: You Absolutely, Positively Must Not Crush That!!!

No amount of explanation on the part of Bai Xiaochun could resolve the situation. Mistress Red-Dust refused to believe anything he said. As she attacked and he evaded, they got closer and closer to the distant mountains.

Song Que watched them go, his heart quivering in both fear and excitement. To see Bai Xiaochun in a predicament like this significantly reduced some of the frustration and humiliation that had been festering there.

Although he was interested in getting closer to see what exactly was happening, Mistress Red-Dust was on a rampage, and she was a deva. Song Que knew that his own cultivation base wasn't high enough to get close safely, therefore, after a moment of hesitation, he decided to stay put. Before long, Bai Xiaochun and Mistress Red-Dust vanished into the mountains.

That particular stretch of mountains was covered with a lush jungle. Currently, booms rang out in the jungle, as well as flashes of bright red light, as Bai Xiaochun fled pell-mell.

Each and every beam of red light that Mistress Red-Dust launched was powerful enough to severely injure an ordinary cultivator in the great circle of the Nascent Soul stage. But Bai Xiaochun had immense fleshly body power. Therefore, the attacks that hit him didn't do very much other than destroy portions of his clothes. Before long, he was looking very bedraggled.

"Don't be like this, Zimo…." he cried anxiously. Seeing that nothing she did was having any effect, she snorted coldly and then spat out some more magical blood, summoning a host of spears that she sent flying in his direction.

As the spears flew through the air, they interlocked, creating something like a net of blood. Shocked, Bai Xiaochun fled at top speed; the danger had suppressed the guilt that he felt, and his anger was starting to burn. It was at this point that Mistress Red-Dust performed a double-handed incantation gesture, causing the numerous blood spears to accelerate rapidly toward him.

Enraged, Bai Xiaochun unleashed a fist strike with his right hand, causing a tempest to spring out and destroy more than half of the spears. However, a portion made it through and slammed into him.

Shaking physically, he fell back several paces. Although he wasn't seriously injured, his clothing couldn't stand up to the force, and was mostly destroyed. Some of the blood spears even stabbed into his bag of holding!

A boom could be heard as his bag of holding was torn open, allowing countless objects to spill out from inside.

There was multi-colored flame, countless soulhoarding pagodas, and boxes of soul medicine, plus a variety of medicinal pill bottles, pill furnaces, medicinal pills, command medallions, and hosts of other magical items. All in all, there were tens of thousands of items.

"This is ridiculous, Zhou Zimo!" Waving his sleeve angrily, he began to pull back all the items that had fallen out of his bag of holding.

Mistress Red-Dust seemed to be on the verge of running out of breath. She knew that she had gone a bit too far, but was too thin-skinned. But to hear Bai Xiaochun insult her the way he had, and the thought of all the bitterness of her recent days, made it impossible for her to calm down.

"Is all that crappy stuff important to you?" Snorting coldly, she waved her sleeve at some of the miscellaneous items that he hadn't collected up yet. Instantly, some of the weaker medicinal pills exploded.

"My medicinal pills!!" he shouted angrily, gritting his teeth. "Y-y-you…!"

Seeing him reacting in this way was exactly what Mistress Red-Dust wanted. Without paying much attention, she reached out and grabbed a random pink medicinal pill. Considering she had no skill in the Dao of medicine, she had no idea what kind of pill it was.

However, Bai Xiaochun recognized it immediately, and it caused his eyes to go wide. Gasping, and having no time to worry about the medicinal pills which had just been destroyed, he immediately shouted out, his voice rising a few octaves past normal.

"Zimo! You need to be very, very careful! Do not crush that pill! If you do, something really bad could happen!!" Tears threatened to leak out of Bai Xiaochun's eyes. After all, the pill that Mistress Red-Dust had picked up was none other than… an Aphrodisiac Pill!!

Bai Xiaochun had drawn deeply on his stockpile of Aphrodisiac Pill during his time in the Wildlands, and didn't have very many left. And yet, somehow, Mistress Red-Dust had managed to grab one of them.

It was a very weak pill… the slightest pressure would cause it to explode, sending a pink mist out that would affect anything it touched. It was a fact Bai Xiaochun was very well aware of. Based on his experiences in the prisons of the Wildlands, he knew that virtually no one could resist that power. Instantly, his heart began to pound.

Mistress Red-Dust was taken aback by his reaction, and his words. Looking down, she saw what appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary medicinal pill.

The moment Mistress Red-Dust looked down, Bai Xiaochun anxiously opened his third eye. When the power of his Heavenspan Dharma Eye erupted out, he immediately used it to wrest control of Mistress Red-Dust's movements.

Without the slightest hesitation, he shot forward, using all of the power of his cultivation base and fleshly body. In the blink of an eye, he was right in front of Mistress Red-Dust, reaching out to grab the Aphrodisiac Pill.

However, a gleam passed through Mistress Red-Dust's eyes as she slipped out of the control of his Heavenspan Dharma Eye!

Seeing that Bai Xiaochun was trying to grab the pill, Mistress Red-Dust immediately began to draw her hand back. However, it was in that moment that their two hands collided.

"No!!" Bai Xiaochun screamed. He had been too late to retract his own hand, and when he saw it slam into Mistress Red-Dust's, his eyes went wide, and his mind began to spin. As for the Aphrodisiac Pill… it burst open….

"I'm finished. Kaput…." he wailed inwardly as he lurched backward. However, no matter how fast he moved, he couldn't avoid the pink mist which spread out to envelop both he and Mistress Red-Dust.

Bitterness filled his heart, but no amount of screaming could do anything about what was happening. In fact, a moment later, he began to pant…. As for Mistress Red-Dust, her face fell; she wasn't sure what medicinal pill she had been holding, and did everything she could to avoid breathing in the pink mist. However, there was some strange property to the mist that allowed it to be absorbed through the skin. Almost immediately, a flush covered her face.

She began to pant, and her eyes opened wide, revealing an expression of terror as she suddenly thought back to the things Bai Xiaochun had done at the Great Wall.

"What pill was that!?!?" she shrieked, immediately backing away. However, as she moved, she began to tremble; she had been at the epicenter of the pill explosion, and the mist had instantly been absorbed through the palm of her hand.

She suddenly staggered in place as the mist continued to spread out, enveloping her, causing her mind to spin. At the same time, an uncontrollable heat rose up within her….

Bai Xiaochun was also in the mist, breathing heavily, struggling against its effects. His bag of holding did not contain an antidote to the Aphrodisiac Pill, but he did have some broad-spectrum neutralization pills. Unfortunately, his bag of holding had exploded, and he hadn't had the time to gather everything back…. Flying toward the edge of the mist, he began to search frantically for the specific medicinal pills.

Unfortunately, the Aphrodisiac Pill was simply too powerful. A wave of dizziness hit him, along with a powerful heat inside his body. He was halfway out of the mist by now, and could see a neutralization pill over in the nearby bushes. However, that was when a hand reached out and grabbed his tattered clothing. Moments before, that hand had been as white as jade, but now it was flush from heat. Even as Bai Xiaochun screamed… the hand dragged him back into the mist.

"No! Aaaiiiieee! Don't rip my clothes off…. This… this is my first time!!

"Be more gentle! Aiieee… it hurts…."

Hair-raising screams escaped Bai Xiaochun's lips, as though he were experiencing the most dangerous of crises….

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Chapter 854: Is That?

Time passed….

The pink mist lasted for a few hours. When it finally began to dissipate, the first person to become visible was Mistress Red-Dust.

Her face was flushed, and a slight frown could be seen on her face. She seemed out of sorts, with mixed emotions in her eyes. After a moment, she looked over her shoulder at the fading pink mist, and then stamped her foot. That prompted a slight hiss of what might have been pain to escape her lips. Then, looking a bit shy, she turned into a beam of light that shot off into the distance.

An incense stick's worth of time passed, whereupon the mist faded completely away, revealing… a scene of complete chaos.

Bai Xiaochun lay propped up against the trunk of a tree, staring listlessly into the sky, his face occasionally twitching.

"So rough…." he murmured, wishing he could cry, but finding no tears to do so. A moment passed, and he began to gather his clothing. "She definitely did that on purpose! Well, that's what I get for being so outstanding. I can't believe I actually awakened the beast within her. She even went so far as to use an Aphrodisiac Pill against me…."

At this point within his bitterness, he finally began to feel a bit pleased with himself. Then he thought about the enchanting scene which had just played out, and his heart actually began to beat a bit faster.

"Ah, whatever. I guess that will have to count as the explanation Zhou Zimo asked for." Sighing, he began to collect all of his scattered items from the jungle around him. Then he got a new robe from his bag of holding, and made his way off.

"Those Aphrodisiac Pills are really too dangerous…." This was his first time experiencing the Aphrodisiac Pill which he himself had created. Normally, he gave the pill to others to consume, but having done so himself now, he finally understood how terrifying it was. At the same time, his admiration for Zhou Yixing grew.

"I guess Yixing is more formidable than me in this area. Despite consuming multiple pills back then, he still kept himself under control when I put that pig-beast in front of him!"

After flying out of the jungle, he tracked down Song Que, who had been waiting nearby. When Song Que saw the flush on his face, and the wry expression he wore, he wasn't quite sure what to make of it.

Of course, he knew it must have had something to do with Mistress Red-Dust. And based on the way Bai Xiaochun looked, it didn't seem likely that anything good had happened to him.

And thus it was that Bai Xiaochun and Song Que flew through the mountains, drawing ever closer to the Deadmire.

Another half a month went by, and they were in a very remote locale. Although they saw the occasional soul cultivator, the mere cultivation base fluctuations rolling off of them caused any such people to immediately flee.

There were only a few savage tribes, who immediately dropped down to offer obeisance when they saw Bai Xiaochun and Song Que flying through the air.

These remote border regions were actually where most savages tribes originated. Song Que even saw a few tribes that were clearly matriarchal in nature. The women of the tribe were extraordinarily ferocious and mighty, and also physically large.

It was Song Que's first time being in such a place and seeing things like this, and his gaze often lingered on the stunning things he was seeing. As for the savages, they viewed Bai Xiaochun and Song Que almost like gods.

Before long, Song Que realized that Bai Xiaochun seemed to be lost in a daze most of the time. In his curiosity, he couldn't help but wonder what had happened. Obviously, only Bai Xiaochun had returned from the fight with Mistress Red-Dust.

"Don't tell me he actually killed her?" The mere thought struck him with fear, but he didn't dare to ask any further questions. The only thing he could do was be more on guard in case there were repercussions.

And thus they proceeded onward, Bai Xiaochun in a daze, and Song Que on full alert. At one point when they were roughly four or five days away from the Deadmire, Bai Xiaochun suddenly stopped in place. Then, his blank expression turned into a curious one as he looked off toward a savage tribe located at the foot of a nearby mountain.

It was a small, matriarchal tribe. Whether it came to the warriors in the tribe, or the other important people, they were all women. The men seemed weak, and were apparently kept only for reproductive purposes.

The tribe wasn't very populous either. There were less than a hundred members, ninety percent of whom were women. The men all seemed gaunt and weak. Although they were big-boned like most savages, they seemed listless and exhausted. Most of them were gathered in one location in the tribal lands, where they lay quietly, occasionally chatting with each other.

Some distance away from them was a stack of hay bales. Leaning up against them was a man who was clearly not a savage. He looked more like a soul cultivator. However, he was clad in a grass skirt, and was incredibly weak, little more than skin and bones. He clearly hadn't bathed in some time, and lay there staring at the sky with listless eyes, seemingly resigned to his fate.

As soon as Bai Xiaochun caught sight of him, his jaw dropped.

"Que'er, does something seem familiar about his aura?!"

Surprised, Song Que sent his divine sense out to check, after which his eyes went wide. "Master God-Diviner!!"

Song Que gasped in incredulity. Although Bai Xiaochun had asked Bai Hao to help track down the other Heavenspan cultivators who had been teleported into the Wildlands, the truth was that Bai Hao had only just succeeded as the Hell-Emperor, and could not fully wield the powers of the Underworld River. Tracking down all those cultivators was not something he could easily do in a short time.

"It really is Master God-Diviner!" Bai Xiaochun said, smiling. He immediately flew over to the tribe, followed closely by Song Que. Within moments, they were in the air over the tribe.

Of course, the savages were immediately thrown into a frenzy. They all scrambled to offer obeisance as if to gods, including the many burly and rather ugly females.

It was an interesting and unique tribe, but it didn't take long for Bai Xiaochun to identify one female savage as the leader. Based on the fluctuations rolling off of her, she was comparable to the Core Formation stage.

When Master God-Diviner's previously listless eyes came to rest on Bai Xiaochun and Song Que, a tremor ran through him, and his eyes widened. Seemingly worried that he might be hallucinating or dreaming, he rubbed his eyes, then looked back. At that point, he leapt to his feet.

"Song Que! "Bai Xiaochun!!" His voice quavered, and he was clearly too excited to control himself. Tears began to stream down his cheeks as he cried out in a hoarse voice. "Save me! Save me!!"

The savages were shocked, and Bai Xiaochun was delighted. Waving his hand, he caused Master God-Diviner to fly up into the air. As for the savages, they trembled in reverence, and didn't dare to do anything to hinder him.

"You're finally here!! I… I almost went crazy! Heavens! Is this really happening? I divined some time ago that people would come to rescue me… I've been waiting for years and years. I thought I wouldn't be able to hold out until you got here…." More tears of excitement welled up in Master God-Diviner's eyes as he chattered on. Close up, it was possible to see how terrifyingly gaunt he had become, to the point where bones were visible everywhere beneath his skin.

Bai Xiaochun was deeply shaken by the condition Master God-Diviner was in. As for Song Que, considering that he and Master God-Diviner were both from the Blood Stream Division, his face turned particularly grim. Then he turned toward the savages, and seemed about to take action, when Master God-Diviner hurriedly got in his way.

"Let them be…. Many of them are my own blood." Years ago, when Master God-Diviner had been teleported into the Wildlands, he had been so severely injured that his cultivation base had dropped to the Qi Condensation level. Then this matriarchal tribe captured him, and the leader laid a restrictive spell onto him, making it impossible for his cultivation base to recover. Furthermore, because he was a cultivator, they viewed him with great importance, and made him a reproductive slave of the tribe….

He had worked so hard at his job that he was slowly drained empty and driven to despair. It was made worse by the fact that the savage women were extremely ugly, and very rough. At the same time, the savage men were extremely jealous of him. Master God-Diviner had a hard time not collapsing mentally. If it weren't for the fact that he had divined that someone would come and save him, he might have killed himself.

And it was finally here on this day that he saw Bai Xiaochun and Song Que again, both of whom were clearly doing much better than him.

Song Que's jaw dropped in response to what Master God-Diviner had just said, and soon, feelings of sympathy rose up within him. As for Bai Xiaochun, he suddenly realized that compared to Master God-Diviner, he didn't have it very bad at all. When it came to being forced, nobody could match what Master God-Diviner had dealt with….

"I understand, Master Snortsnort!" Bai Xiaochun said. Sighing in compassion, he clasped Master God-Diviner's gaunt shoulder.

End of Book 5: The Peak Of Life

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Chapter 855: Journey Of Three

Book 6: The Strongest Deva

Bai Xiaochun felt great compassion for the gaunt and bedraggled Master God-Diviner. At the same time, he couldn't help but compare Mistress Red-Dust with the female savages of this matriarchal tribe.

When he did that… he suddenly felt blessed.

Of course, he didn't show that on his face. Instead, his compassion grew more obvious. And thus, he took Song Que and Master God-Diviner, and left the tribe.

By means of medicinal pills, Bai Xiaochun helped Master God-Diviner remove the restrictive spell that had been placed on him, and helped him recover from his injured and weakened state. Gradually, the color returned to his face, and more importantly, excitement filled his heart because of his escape from calamity.

It was as if new life had been breathed into him. He was in a wonderful mood, to the point where the sky even seemed bluer than normal, and the sunshine brighter. Everything was going well. However… that good mood only lasted for a few hours…. After the group of three was a short distance away from the matriarchal tribe, Bai Xiaochun began to talk.

"Master God-Diviner, you really ended up in rough situation! Ai. Before running into you, I thought that Que'er had it worst. Who would have thought that you…?" As he sighed, Song Que snorted coldly in his heart, convinced that Bai Xiaochun was preparing to show off to Master God-Diviner.

And that was exactly right. However, even after the hours which had passed, it was to Bai Xiaochun's irritation that Master God-Diviner didn't ask any questions about how he had fared in the Wildlands. His heart itched with the sensation of having his exploits unlauded, and he was starting to get jumpy in the hopes that Master God-Diviner would make some inquiries.

A strange expression appeared on Master God-Diviner's face. It had been many years since he had been around Bai Xiaochun, but he knew him well. Furthermore, although he hadn't looked closely at the cultivation bases of Bai Xiaochun and Song Que earlier, when he did now, he was shocked at their progress. Then he thought about all of the events which had played out back in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect and the Great Wall, and at that point, he decided to change the subject.

"Ah, don't worry about me. I'll recover fine after I do a bit of cultivation." With that, he laughed heartily and rotated his cultivation base a bit.

Bai Xiaochun was less than pleased at Master God-Diviner's complete lack of loyalty. All Bai Xiaochun wanted was to show off a bit, and yet the man wasn't cooperating at all. That made him suddenly think about Xu Baocai. Xu Baocai would definitely have cooperated!

Song Que, on the other hand, was very pleased with how Bai Xiaochun was reacting. Time passed, and the three of them got closer and closer to the Deadmire.

Eventually, when they were only a day away, Master God-Diviner, who still had not given Bai Xiaochun any chances to revel in glory, finally couldn't hold back from asking a certain question.

"Um… were exactly are we going?"

The question caused Song Que's heart to thump, and he was just about to jump in to provide the answer when Bai Xiaochun's eyes lit up. Leaping to his feet, he loudly said, "We're going to the Deadmire! That's the way back to the River-Defying Sect. Have you heard of the Deadmire? It's super dangerous! Devas won't even step inside a single pace, let alone Nascent Soul experts!"

"The Deadmire?" Master God-Diviner said, his eyes widening. He had indeed heard of the Deadmire, and knew that what Bai Xiaochun had said was no exaggeration. According to what he had heard, not even demigods would dare to set foot inside!

It was a forbidden region where life did not exist!

"Why don't we just go to the Great Wall…?" Master God-Diviner asked, swallowing hard. Although he had divined that he would be saved, he hadn't come up with any information regarding what would happen afterward. After escaping the greatest calamity of his entire life, he couldn't help but worry about his fate.

Off to the side, Song Que sighed. He knew… that nobody would be able to stop Bai Xiaochun from showing off now. And he was right. As soon as the second question left Master God-Diviner's mouth, Bai Xiaochun's eyes began to shine even more brightly.

"Hahaha! So you have heard of it! Alright, Master God-Diviner, listen up while I explain!" Feeling very pleased with himself, he slapped his bag of holding to produce a command medallion.

At this point, Master God-Diviner's eyes went a bit blank as he realized that he had given Bai Xiaochun the opportunity he had been looking for….

"See this? With this command medallion, we can get through the Deadmire easily and safely!" Bai Xiaochun waved the command medallion in front of Master God-Diviner's face, his eyebrows jumping up and down with excitement.

"I know what you're wondering. What kind of command medallion is this? And how did I get it? Well, it's a long story, but we have plenty of time. I'll explain everything in detail. It all started back when we were teleported here into the Wildlands…."

Bai Xiaochun spent most of the following day recounting his adventures in great detail, putting special emphasis on the status and position he had attained.

At first, Master God-Diviner sighed in regret. However, by the time it got to the part where Bai Xiaochun kidnapped the demigod Giant Ghost King, his eyes nearly popped out of his skull. And eventually, he came to realize that the Giant Ghost King kidnapping was like nothing compared to the rest of the story!

"Did you just say… that you kidnapped all of the chosen in the Wildlands?!?! And the Giant Ghost King gave you Mistress Red-Dust's hand in marriage!?

"You… you actually became the inspections commissioner of Arch-Emperor Dynasty? And performed countless shakedowns?!?!

"You helped the Grand Heavenmaster enact a Proclamation of Universal Grace? You're an earthly necromancer?!?!

"You…. Heavens! You're not kidding about this, are you? Your apprentice is the Hell-Emperor?!?!?!" Master God-Diviner was thoroughly shaken, and could hardly believe what he was hearing. The story was so unbelievable it was almost like a fairy tale.

Bai Xiaochun was very pleased with the look in Master God-Diviner's eyes. At this point, he finally felt he could leave the Wildlands without any regret in his heart.

However, he also decided it would be better to err on the side of modesty.

"Yeah, I did okay. Actually, I wasn't even trying very hard." Swishing his sleeve, he stuck his chin up and said, "You know I can reduce most things to ashes with the swish of a sleeve. It's not the first time."

To Master God-Diviner, it felt like thunder crashing in his ears, and the truth was, he didn't really believe it. But… then he noticed the unsightly expression on Song Que's face, and how he wasn't saying anything at all. At that point, Master God-Diviner's heart was struck by great waves of shock. That was especially true considering the final part of the story regarding Bai Xiaochun's apprentice being the Hell-Emperor.

It was to Master God-Diviner's grief and shock that he realized the cruel truth: Bai Xiaochun really did rock all creation wherever he went!

In the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, he formed a powerful underworld organization!

At the Great Wall, he fought his way to the coveted rank of major general!

And in the Wildlands, he shockingly ended up as the Master of the Hell-Emperor!

Master God-Diviner almost couldn't wrap his mind around it all. Even just one of the things Bai Xiaochun had done would be enough to shake anyone to the core, let alone all of them together.

It was roughly evening when the group of three, including the dazed Master God-Diviner, arrived at the location where the Heavenspan River region's northern and eastern Great Walls had once met. This was the entrance to… a land devoid of life!

It was actually a towering and winding mountain range that, upon being entered… led to a location no one had ever been to. The Deadmire!

As soon as they caught sight of the mountains, Bai Xiaochun patted his bag of holding, confident that the gravekeeper had been telling the truth. Gritting his teeth, he flew into the mountains!

Song Que took a deep breath. He didn't particularly feel like going into the Deadmire, but knew he had no choice. The Great Wall had collapsed, and the Celestial had sealed the area, making passage back to the Heavenspan region that way impossible.

If they didn't go through the Deadmire, it would be impossible to say how long they would have to wait to get home. Eyes flickering with determination, Song Que followed Bai Xiaochun.

Master God-Diviner shook off his daze, and as he did, his eyes were filled with awe and veneration. To him, Bai Xiaochun actually seemed like a god. As of this moment, he was far more confident in Bai Xiaochun's ability to traverse the Deadmire than Song Que was, and therefore, it was without hesitation that he followed along!

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Chapter 856: Singing From The Bone Galleon

There were many stories and opinions about how the Heavenspan Realm's Deadmire had been formed. No consensus had ever been reached, and it was entirely likely that only a handful of people in the entire world knew the truth about its origin.

For one thing, it was an enigma as to why any living being that entered the area would die. Neither devas nor demigods who entered the Deadmire ever came back… that much was confirmed fact.

Although there were people who had taken an interest in the Deadmire, and devised certain ways to study it, the only thing that they came to find out was that it was filled with a white sea.

It was a sea composed, not of water, but… bones!

From the peaks of the mountains that bordered the Deadmire itself, all one could see was vast, endless fog. Beneath the fog was an endless stretch of white bones that looked almost like a sea of water.

There were human bones and beast bones, although in general, it was difficult to distinguish exactly what types of bones there were. Furthermore, the entire area was deathly quiet, and filled with a palpable rancor.

No living beings existed. No sound existed.

And the silence was terrifying.

Many of the legends regarding the Deadmire involved some war of epic proportions that was fought even before the world came to exist. Supposedly, the battlefield upon which that war had been fought eventually came to be the sea of bones that was the Deadmire.

There were actually four Deadmires in the world, and they were all the same….

In the Deadmire that existed on the border between east and north, it was possible to see three figures. The first was Bai Xiaochun, who trembled in fear and anxiety as he walked across the bones. The crunching sounds that came with each step broke the silence, echoing out in bizarre and eerie fashion.

Despite his confidence in the gravekeeper, Bai Xiaochun was still terrified, and gripped his command medallion until his hands were white. Following behind him were Song Que and Master God-Diviner, both of whom trembled in anxiety.

Thankfully, as soon as they had stepped into the Deadmire itself, the command medallion had lit up like a candle, sending light out for dozens of meters in all directions, and pushing the fog away from them.

That had eased their fear to some extent. As they walked along, the odd crunching of their footsteps echoed out constantly. Considering that they were new to this place, they didn't dare to attempt flying, and moved along on foot, casting vigilant glances around them as they went.

Because of the thick fog, it seemed to Bai Xiaochun and his companions that they were walking along through the dead of night, with their small, lit area making them very conspicuous….

Bai Xiaochun's face was ashen as he crunched along. Based on what he could tell so far, there really were no living things in the Deadmire.

Three days passed. Although they weren't flying, they still moved along quickly. By this point, Song Que seemed used to the crunching of the bones, and the stifling pressure of the fog and darkness. His expression was actually somewhat calm. Master God-Diviner also seemed to be doing well. Bai Xiaochun was the only one who was on full alert.

Song Que couldn't help but snort coldly in his heart at Bai Xiaochun's anxiety. It also seemed to fuel his own bravery, and he began to stomp his feet down a bit louder. However, Bai Xiaochun was not pleased with that.

Master God-Diviner also happened to feel that his actions were a bit extreme, and quickly said, "Keep it down, Song Que!"

Song Que snorted, and was just about to offer a retort when, all of a sudden, the hyper-vigilant Bai Xiaochun blurted, "Did you guys hear that?!?!"

Song Que stopped walking, as did Master God-Diviner. Everyone focused on listening, and although they couldn't hear anything at first, it only took a moment for both of their faces to fall. Somewhere off in the fog… there was singing!?!?

It sounded like a woman. However, she was apparently so far away that they couldn't quite make out what she was singing. Regardless, the mere presence of the singing caused Bai Xiaochun's face to drain of blood.

"No way. There's no way that Gongsun Wan'er could have fled to this place, is there!?!?" However, as the singing continued, he realized that it didn't actually sound like Gongsun Wan'er.

Song Que and Master God-Diviner looked around nervously, trying to identify the direction the singing was coming from. After a moment, Master God-Diviner's eyes widened, and he pointed in a certain direction.

"There!"

Bai Xiaochun and Song Que immediately turned to look in that direction, which was when they saw… countless corpses! These corpses were not just bones laying around among the other bones, they were walking upright. There were thousands upon thousands of them, bent at the waist, black ropes strung over their shoulders, making them look almost like boatmen pulling a huge galleon!!

Behind the more than ten thousand human-sized corpses were more than a thousand corpses of giants! All of them had black ropes strung over their shoulders too, and were tugging them along!

However, there was more! Behind the thousand giants were more than a hundred beast corpses, each one more than 3,000 meters tall! All of the beasts looked different. Shockingly, in the very back, there were three bone dragons!

To the astonishment of all three cultivators, what next appeared before their eyes, right behind the three bone dragons… was a massive galleon, fully 30,000 meters in length, and crafted entirely of bone!!

The galleon was pitch black, and in very bad condition, with tattered flags attached to dilapidated flagpoles. However, despite its condition, it still radiated a shocking energy!

Strangely, despite the fact that the corpses were pulling the galleon across the surface of the sea of bones, no resulting sound could be heard. The entire Deadmire was still completely quiet… with the exception of the sound of singing coming from within the galleon itself!

Bai Xiaochun was already trembling with intense fear, and had begun to back up.

"Something's off here," he said nervously, his face pale white. "What's a warship like this doing in the Deadmire?! And what are all those corpses pulling it for? This is terrifying! Why don't we go back. I think… maybe the Great Wall is a better idea after all!" However, even as he words left his mouth, the enormous galleon suddenly vanished….

The corpses went with it, and even the singing was gone, as if it had never existed to begin with.

Bai Xiaochun's jaw dropped.

Song Que and Master God-Diviner were also frightened. There was something very strange about it all. As for Song Que, when he looked over at Bai Xiaochun and saw how scared he was, his own fear vanished. Snorting derisively, he said, "The Deadmire is supposed to be strange. What's so scary about some boat?! It was just an illusion, that's all. Just ignore it and it goes away. What, Bai Xiaochun, are you scared or something?"

When Bai Xiaochun heard that, he glared back.

"Me? Scared of ghosts?" He swished his sleeve. "I'm virtually a heavenly necromancer, and the most important ghost in the world is my apprentice. Why would I be afraid of ghosts? Are you kidding me!?"

Song Que chuckled coldly, but didn't say anything else. Grabbing Master God-Diviner, he continued on the way they had originally been heading. Master God-Diviner looked back and forth between Song Que and Bai Xiaochun, but did nothing more than smile wryly and follow Song Que.

"Maybe it really was an illusion…." Bai Xiaochun thought, feeling a bit embarrassed. How could he have ever guessed that a galleon like that would appear so randomly, and then just vanish? Rubbing his nose, he reminded himself that he outranked Song Que, and therefore, needed to watch out for him. Sighing, he hurried along after the other two so that they would remain in the protective perimeter created by his command medallion.

An entire month flew by, during which time the strange galleon never appeared again. Gradually, Bai Xiaochun was starting to calm down. At the same time, the group began to pick up speed.

However, only a few days after that, their faces all fell when they yet again heard the sound of a woman singing!

This time, the song was much clearer. In fact… they could hear the lyrics clearly!

It was a strange song, the type that could not be forgotten once heard. It told the story of a mother whose arm was eaten by her own child!

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Chapter 857: River-Defying Sect In Peril

The song and its lyrics caused Bai Xiaochun's hair to stand on end. Song Que and Master God-Diviner were visibly shaken. That was when the enormous bone galleon appeared again, and this time, it was much closer to them!

It was only about 1,500 meters away, allowing them to see it very clearly. Even as they stared, reeling in shock, the singing ended, and the galleon vanished.

This time, Song Que didn't offer any cold snorts. Even his face was a bit paler than usual. The group of three exchanged glances, and clearly, they were all convinced that something very strange was going on. The first time they had seen the boat, it had vanished roughly 3,000 meters away from them. The second time, it was only 1,500 meters away.

None of them dared to ponder… how close it would get the third time!

By now, it would take a full month to retrace their steps, and furthermore, they had no way to guarantee that something might not happen on the way back. According to the map of the Deadmire Bai Xiaochun had, it would only take them a total of about three months to cross.

That meant that they were very close to being at the halfway point.

Finally, Song Que gritted his teeth and said, "That ship showed up twice in a month. If we pick up some speed, we can probably make it out of here before it comes again!"

In response, Master God-Diviner nodded vigorously. Bai Xiaochun muttered to himself a bit, still convinced that the gravekeeper wasn't out to harm him. Finally, he agreed, whereupon the three of them finally flew up into the air, becoming beams of light that shot off into the distance.

Another half a month went by, during which time the galleon never reappeared. However, Bai Xiaochun didn't let his guard down at all. He looked around vigilantly as they sped along. Master God-Diviner wasn't capable of the same speed as Bai Xiaochun and Song Que, so Bai Xiaochun had to pull him along.

One evening after the half-month of travel, they suddenly heard that bone-chilling song for a third time!

The singing was even more clear, and shockingly, the bone galleon appeared in front of them again, less than a thousand meters away!

It was now very clear. In fact, Bai Xiaochun could clearly see the three flags flying on the galleon, each of which was embroidered with a ghost face!

The one in the middle had green skin and long fangs, and appeared to be glaring ferociously straight at them.

Song Que and Master God-Diviner were both visibly shaken as the huge galleon was dragged closer and closer to their group. 900 meters. 600 meters….

As it neared, Bai Xiaochun could see the corpses more closely. Although their faces were completely expressionless, they emanated a deep-seated aura of resentment!

Some of the corpses were little more than bones, but some had rotting flesh attached to them, and even clothing. There were all different types of clothing present, some from modern times, some from ancient. Clearly some of these corpses had been soul cultivators, and some had been ordinary cultivators….

Furthermore, as for the pitch-black galleon itself, Bai Xiaochun could now see that it was riddled with holes, as though it had been involved in some dramatic battle.

After the initial shock, the group of three all began to back away from the galleon. However, that was when the song ended, and the galleon faded away.

This time, it vanished when it was only 300 meters away from them!!

Bai Xiaochun's heart was pounding, and Song Que and Master God-Diviner were trembling. By this point, sensations of imminent crisis were alive in all of them.

"It's only been half a month!" Song Que said. "And it got even closer. The next time, it will probably hit us!!"

"Dammit, what the hell kind of place is this?!?!" Master God-Diviner added. "I don't want to be one of those corpses pulling that galleon!!"

Glaring, Song Que continued, "Didn't you say that we would be safe with that command medallion of yours, Bai Xiaochun!?"

Bai Xiaochun's eyes were bloodshot. Spinning, he yelled at Master God-Diviner and Song Que, "Stow it, you two. We've been going too slow. I'll carry you. That way, we can definitely get out of here in half a month!"

Bai Xiaochun still trusted the gravekeeper, but considering the current circumstances, his fear was getting the better of him. Grabbing Song Que and Master God-Diviner, he unleashed speed comparable to a deva and shot through the air along their original path.

He flew without stopping for seven days!

And yet, it didn't matter how incredibly fast Bai Xiaochun was moving. On evening of the seventh day, the group of three… yet again heard that bizarre song!

It was so loud and clear it almost seemed like the woman was singing it right into their ears. At the same time, the enormous bone galleon appeared, only 300 meters away in the fog.

This time, none of the group of three even had time to look at it. A massive gravitational force sprang out and grabbed ahold them. At the same time, the corpses pulling the galleon tugged it forward at incredible speed. To the shock of Bai Xiaochun, Song Que and Master God-Diviner, the corpses slammed right into them!

Bai Xiaochun screamed as his vision blurred. Then things became clear again, and he found himself standing on the deck of the galleon along with Song Que and Master God-Diviner!

The corpses down below pulled the galleon through the fog, with them standing right there on it!

As they stood there on the ghost galleon, something else was happening far away from the Deadmire. In the eastern Heavenspan River, in the Middle Reaches, the sound of bells filled the River-Defying Sect.

The sound was like a great weight pressing down onto the numerous cultivators in the sect. Everyone knew that the River-Defying Sect was in a very precarious position.

Up to this point, not a single one of the sect's patriarchs had been able to break into the Deva Realm. Because of that fact, the other great sects in the Middle Reaches, the Starry River Court, the Dao River Court and the Polarity River Court, had become restless. Frictions had increased, and conflicts grew more intense, until some River-Defying Sect cultivators were even killed.

Back when the River-Defying Sect had first arrived in the Middle Reaches, they had disturbed the other three great sects' profits. And then there was the matter of Bai Xiaochun causing problems in the legacy zone, which led to the River-Defying Sect taking away vast amounts of resources from the other sects. Worse was how the chosen from the other three sects all had turtle marks on their bodies that couldn't be removed. Because of all this, the other three sects' hatred of Bai Xiaochun and the River-Defying Sect eventually seeped down into their bones.

It was now nearing the time when the legacy zone would be opened again. Therefore, the other three great sects had secretly contacted the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect and received tacit approval… to begin a war of sect extermination!!

Bells were being rung in the River-Defying Sect because of information recently sent by spies, informing them of what was happening. In the past, the River-Defying Sect had sent emissaries to the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect to plead for leniency. After all, Bai Xiaochun had been a major general, and there were certain people in the sect who owed him favors. Those people had managed to care for the River-Defying Sect to some extent. Had they not, the other three Middle Reaches sects would have made a move earlier.

Unfortunately, Bai Xiaochun was nowhere to be found. Although stories about his exploits in the Wildlands had circulated, and people knew he was alive, it was as the ancient saying went, distant water won't put out a fire close at hand.

And thus, the patriarchs all emerged from secluded meditation, activated the sect's grand spell formation, and prepared to fight to the death!!

No one in the River-Defying Sect was confident in being able to hold their own…. After all, the other sects had three devas on their side. Although they had used the easiest and least powerful method to become Mortal-Dao devas… they were still devas!

"The sect's survival will be decided during this war!"

"We'll defend the sect to the death!!"

As the bells tolled, and the River-Defying Sect cultivators let out battle cries, a powerful roar erupted out from somewhere in the sect. A huge beast appeared, hundreds of meters long, completely violet in color, with black flames spreading out beneath his feet. He looked like a mix between a dragon and a qilin, and had soaring energy that even the patriarchs in the great circle of the Nascent Soul found exciting. Those fluctuations… were those of a beast king!

It was Bruiser!

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Chapter 858: The Bizarre Bone Galleon

The River-Defying Sect had been at odds with the other three great sects for years, and now, open conflict was imminent. Even as the fighting was just about to break out, Bai Xiaochun, Song Que and Master God-Diviner were in the Deadmire, struck with terror even as they longed to be back in that very same sect.

The three of them stood on the deck of the battered and damaged ghost galleon, their expressions flickering as they sized up their surroundings.

There were holes in the pitch-black deck itself, evidence of what must have surely been an fantastic battle fought at some point in the ancient past. Despite the galleon's dilapidated state, it still thrummed with a powerful aura that filled Bai Xiaochun with the same type of fear he had experienced when in the presence of the Celestial. In fact, the galleon seemed even a bit more powerful than that!

It shook him all the way down to his soul!

After looking around nervously for a moment, Bai Xiaochun blurred into motion, heading toward the side of the galleon, where he planned to simply leap over the edge. Song Que and Master God-Diviner joined him, and yet, as they got close to the edge, a black shield of light sprang up, which they thumped into!

It didn't matter that Bai Xiaochun could crush early Deva Realm cultivators, and fight toe-to-toe with those in the mid stage. As soon as he made contact with that shield, he simply bounced right off of it.

He bashed into it again, and the same thing happened.

It was the same with Song Que and Master God-Diviner. Panting, they all began to look around, extremely serious expressions on their faces.

The deck of the galleon was almost completely empty, with no major structures on it whatsoever. There was what appeared to be a cabin or bridge, which was the only way to get to the lower decks. From the look of it, other structures had once existed on the deck, but had long since been destroyed!

Sticking up from the cabin was the flagpole with those three ghost face flags. And above the doorway was a primitive eight trigrams mirror.

Other than that, there was nothing else visible.

Song Que had a very unsightly expression on his face as he began to walk around and inspect the galleon. As for Master God-Diviner, he was gasping for breath and shivering. He had already been in a weak state before, and once on the deck of the galleon, felt something like a boundless coldness seeping into him.

"Hurry up and do some divinations, Master God-Diviner," Bai Xiaochun said. "See if you can figure out a way off of this galleon!" He glanced over at the cabin door, and was struck with the feeling that the ghost galleon was in control of his very life. Furthermore, he was convinced that the galleon wanted the three of them to enter the cabin door!

Master God-Diviner's terror mounted with every moment that passed. After hearing Bai Xiaochun's suggestion, he reached into the fold of his robe and pulled out a copper coin, which was a magical item that he used to perform divinations. Normally speaking, he was very protective of the copper coin. In fact, back in that savage tribe where he had been held captive, he had been allowed to keep the coin on his person when performing his duties. As soon as he pulled it out, he drew upon the various magical techniques and divine abilities that he used for divination.

Unfortunately, it was in that moment that flag with the green-skinned, long-fanged ghost face suddenly rippled.

As a result, Master God-Diviner's hand trembled, and the coin slipped through his fingers! It landed on the deck, rolled on its side, and then fell into one of the cracks and disappeared!

"My magic coin!" Master God-Diviner shrieked. "It's completely one-of-a-kind! It's my life essence magical item, with my name engraved on it!" He rushed over to the crack into which the coin had fallen, but could see only darkness below. It was impossible to determine where exactly his magic coin had landed. Master God-Diviner immediately began to weep. Even during his torment in the savage tribe, he had managed to keep his copper coin safe, only to lose it on this bizarre galleon.

The sight of Master God-Diviner losing his copper coin right before trying to divine some important information instantly caused Bai Xiaochun's mood to drop. After looking around, he finally came to focus on the cabin.

As for Song Que, he had surveyed the deck and found nothing, and also turned his attention to the cabin. Walking over, he stood in front of the door and examined it with a frown.

Master God-Diviner had a scowl on his face and tears in his eyes, and was feeling very irritated at Bai Xiaochun. However, he didn't dare to say anything. Eventually, his gaze came to rest on the cabin, whereupon his eyes lit up.

His attention was especially drawn to the eight trigrams mirror. The mirror was dark, and did not seem capable of projecting any light or images. Furthermore, there was something eerie and sinister about it. From what Master God-Diviner could tell, it was clearly something extraordinary.

"That must be some sort of treasure!" he thought. Master God-Diviner's understanding of the arts of divination led him to the conclusion that this eight trigrams mirror was perfectly suited to him. That was especially true considering how depressed he was at the loss of his magic coin. Eyes widening, he hurried over and reached out toward the mirror.

"Hold on!!" Bai Xiaochun shouted, surprised at Master God-Diviner's fearlessness. However, he was too late to interfere. Master God-Diviner had already grabbed the mirror.

Bai Xiaochun felt his head spinning from how dangerous everything seemed. Even Song Que was struck with fear by Master God-Diviner's impulsiveness.

"What are you doing, Master God-Diviner?!" he said, rotating his cultivation base at full readiness. However, nothing unusual happened. The corpses outside continued to pull the galleon along at the same speed as before.

When it was clear that nothing would happen, Bai Xiaochun breathed a sigh of relief. As for Master God-Diviner, he realized he had acted rashly, and felt a bit guilty. However, he quickly put the eight trigrams mirror into his bag of holding.

"My magic coin fell into that crack," he said defensively, "so I'm going to take this copper mirror as a replacement."

Bai Xiaochun rubbed the bridge of his nose, and Song Que glared briefly at Master God-Diviner before scanning the deck once again. Then, his eyes flickered with determination.

"We're on a weird boat that is taking us who-knows-where," he said. "And it's not letting us off. I say… let's go below decks and explore a bit. Maybe we can figure out what exactly is going on!" With that, he ignored Bai Xiaochun and Master God-Diviner, and stepped toward the cabin door.

"Wait a minute, Song Que!!" Bai Xiaochun said loudly.

However, Song Que completely ignored him, and disappeared into the cabin.

Bai Xiaochun was starting to get angry at how impulsive Master God-Diviner and Song Que were being. Bai Xiaochun was the leader of the group, right? They should definitely be listening to his orders.

"Are these guys crazy or something? One glance at some stupid mirror and he puts his life on the line? And the other one runs right off into the jaws of death?!" As Bai Xiaochun stood there feeling anxious, Master God-Diviner hesitated for a moment. The truth was that he was still feeling bad about his magic coin, and for all he knew, it was there below decks, waiting to be found. Gritting his teeth, he walked toward the cabin door.

"Song Que is right. It doesn't seem like this galleon wants to hurt us. If it did, we would be dead already. The best thing is to check things out below decks."

With that, he disappeared into the cabin, leaving Bai Xiaochun completely alone on the main deck.

His expression grew more unsightly by the moment as he stood there staring at the cabin door. For some reason, it seemed like the sinister and vicious mouth of some evil ghost.

Suddenly, a cold chill ran up his spine. "Wait a second," he thought. "Song Que has never been very impulsive. And neither has Master God-Diviner…. If they were, they wouldn't have survived for so long in the cultivation world. Why did they start acting so unusual on this weird galleon!?"

He looked around, but didn't see anything unusual. Off in the distance, the fog was as thick as ever, and everything was as quiet as it usually was.

After a long moment of hesitant thought, he finally clenched his jaw and made his decision. Since the galleon wasn't letting him leave, he would enter the cabin. He couldn't just watch as Song Que and Master God-Diviner delivered themselves up to calamity. Eyes bloodshot, he slapped his bag of holding to produce some spare paper talismans, and then slapped them down all over his body. He also pulled out some suits of armor, which he donned. Then he charged through the door!

After Bai Xiaochun disappeared into the cabin, the green-skinned, long-fanged ghost face on the middle flag suddenly smiled!

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Chapter 859: Mural. Live Forever.

Just inside the cabin was a staircase leading down. Upon entering, Bai Xiaochun couldn't see Song Que, but did catch a glimpse of Master God-Diviner at the bottom of the stairs.

He hurried forward and then climbed cautiously down the stairs, which put him on the first deck below the main deck!

The instant he stepped onto deck 1, he caught sight of both Song Que and Master God-Diviner, looking around with wide eyes.

The fact that they were both there unharmed caused Bai Xiaochun to breathe a sigh of relief. Without any hesitation, he hurried over to their side.

Deck 1 wasn't very large, and much like the main deck, was completely empty, except for another staircase off in the distance, leading further down.

However, the bulkheads were covered with a massive mural!

It depicted the sky. It was not an ordinary blue sky, but rather, looked more like an ocean covered with waves. In fact, were it not for the occasional clouds floating about, Bai Xiaochun wouldn't even have been able to tell that it depicted a sky.

Most shocking of all was that the enormous mural also depicted a huge hand. The hand occupied nearly half of the sky, and was pushing down from it toward the land below!

Just looking at the mural caused Bai Xiaochun's mind to start spinning. For some reason, it instantly filled him with a pressure that was difficult to put into words.

Furthermore, he experienced a sensation of utter despair, as though this hand contained the power… to destroy the world!!

The ground in the mural was parched and cracked. Standing upon it were three astonishing giants, whose expressions didn't contain even a hint of the fear of death. All of the giants' hands were stretched up to fight back against the enormous hand descending from the sky!

There was nothing else in the mural except for that. Bai Xiaochun had no idea exactly what it meant, nor did Song Que or Master God-Diviner. However, it was a shocking sight to look at.

A long moment passed. Bai Xiaochun was the first to come to his senses. Face ashen, he backed up a few steps, mind spinning with both fear and pain.

"How can a mural have such shocking power!? It stabs you all the way to the heart and soul!!" At this point, he realized that Song Que and Master God-Diviner were just standing there trembling, their eyes bloodshot and filled with despair. Therefore, he swished his sleeve and sent a burst of power into them.

Song Que shivered, blood oozing out of his mouth as he regained his senses. He staggered backward, his expression one of confusion. As for Master God-Diviner, his cultivation base wasn't even close to the level of Song Que's right now, so he coughed up a mouthful of blood and sagged in place.

"What kind of mural is this!?!?" he said, gasping for breath and not daring to look at it again.

At this point, Bai Xiaochun looked at his companions and, realizing that Master God-Diviner was a bit closer, edged over to his side. "This place is too weird!" he said. "Let's go back. We can look for a way off the galleon back on the main deck. I have the feeling things will only get more terrifying the further down you go!"

However, even as the words left Bai Xiaochun's mouth, Song Que suddenly burst into motion, heading directly toward the stairs leading to deck 2. It only took him a moment to reach them, whereupon he instantly began to climb down.

Master God-Diviner did the same thing, completely ignoring Bai Xiaochun. Bai Xiaochun reached out and grabbed Master God-Diviner, but the moment he did, Master God-Diviner spun in place, a vicious expression on his face as he let out a soundless howl.

As he did, a green-skinned, long-fanged ghost face appeared on top of Master God-Diviner's face. Bai Xiaochun felt a blast of power pushing his hand away, and then Master God-Diviner was gone down the stairs!

Bai Xiaochun was shaken, and an unsightly expression could be seen on his face. His heart was also starting to pound. After all, his words from moments ago had actually been a test!

He had noticed on the main deck that something odd was going on, and decided to see if he could figure out what it was. Obviously, this galleon was controlling both Master God-Diviner and Song Que!

"That green-skinned, long-fanged ghost just now… looked exactly like the one on that flag outside!"

With that, he turned to go back up the stairs to the main deck, only to find that… the staircase was gone!

Goosebumps broke out all over him, and his face turned as ashen as death. All of a sudden, this place seemed even more sinister than before, and his heart was pounding so hard and loud it was like a drum.

"What do I do, what do I do!?" All he could do was grip tight the command medallion the gravekeeper had given him. That was where all his hope lay.

"I'm the Hell-Emperor's Master! There aren't any ghosts or souls in this world that would dare to provoke me!!" Scowling on the verge of tears, he tried to work up some confidence by pulling out a tongue of multi-colored flame. Then, he gritted his teeth and headed toward the staircase leading to the next deck.

It was really too terrifying to be alone. Furthermore, he couldn't just sit around and watch Song Que and Master God-Diviner be controlled.

"Dammit. If I had known things would turn out like this, I would have gone back to the River-Defying Sect alone!" Regret pricking at his heart, he advanced cautiously toward the staircase, at the bottom of which… was deck 2!!

As soon as he arrived, he exercised the utmost caution possible. He rotated his cultivation base and sent some divine sense out in all directions in the hopes of detecting anything unusual. He absolutely did not want to be surprised by anything like that mural.

However, deck 2 was a bit different than he had imagined. There didn't seem to be anything dangerous about it all. Furthermore, it was a lot bigger than deck 1.

There were no murals, only flickering, yellow candlelight that made the area a bit dim.

Furthermore, right in the middle of the deck, there was a rocking chair!

It sat there, still and unmoving, seemingly completely ordinary in nature. Right in front of the rocking chair were two corpses which were little more than skeletons!!

They were on their knees in front of the chair, one corpse apparently that of a man, the other, a woman. One skeleton appeared to be made of gold, the other crystal. Although they were kneeling, from their posture, it looked like they had been embracing each other.

It was a terrifying scene to begin with, but it was made more bizarre… by the fact that the two embracing corpses' heads… were fusing together! The process wasn't complete; they were only half-fused. But it was bizarre nonetheless!!

The mere sight caused Bai Xiaochun's heart to seize with fear. To top it all off, Song Que and Master God-Diviner were standing motionless right in front of the two corpses.

"Are they going to get fused together too!?!?!?" Bai Xiaochun had no idea what was going on, but he was convinced that this place was terrifying and bizarre beyond reason.

Something seemed very strange about the whole situation, and it had his heart pounding. After studying the scene for a moment, his gaze slid from Song Que and Master God-Diviner to the corpse with the golden skeleton.

After looking at it more closely, his eyes widened dramatically!

"That's the aura of the Undying Live Forever Technique!! It's… the manifestation of the complete Undying Codex!!" Bai Xiaochun's adam's apple bobbed up and down with fear as waves of astonishment crashed around in his mind. He was by no means mistaken. After all, he cultivated the Undying Codex of the Undying Live Forever Technique, just like the Blood Ancestor and this golden skeleton!

"If this golden skeleton mastered the Undying Codex, then… the corpse with the crystal skeleton must have cultivated…." Almost immediately, he realized that the corpse with the crystal skeleton still had abundant life force left in it, as if it were the type of thing that could live forever!!

"The Live Forever Codex!!" Bai Xiaochun had known from the very beginning that the Undying Live Forever Technique was broken up into the Undying Codex and the Live Forever Codex. However, he had never encountered the latter, only the former. Never could he have imagined that he would unexpectedly encounter two corpses that had both cultivated the Undying Live Forever Technique!!

His mind felt like countless bolts of lightning were striking it. However, he still didn't understand why these two people, who had cultivated the Undying Codex and Live Forever Codex respectively, would be fusing their heads together….

But then, a chill ran up his spin, and his hair began to stand on end as… the previously unmoving rocking chair… suddenly began to rock back and forth!!

Furthermore, it was just possible to make out the shadow of a person sitting in it….

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Chapter 860: A Ghost!

Deck 2 of the ghost galleon was as silent as death. As the rocking chair slowly began to rock back and forth, a sensation of dire creepiness immediately filled Bai Xiaochun.

He shivered from head to toe, and almost couldn't hold back from screaming.

There was obviously nobody sitting in the chair, and yet, it was acting as if there were. Furthermore, Bai Xiaochun was almost certain that he could see the shadowy image of an old woman there, face pale, staring at him with a ghastly smile.

"A ghost!!" Bai Xiaochun shrieked. Heart pounding, he reached out, grabbed Song Que and Master God-Diviner, and pulled them away with him as he rushed away from the rocking chair.

His two companions seemed completely bereft of their senses. Their eyes were blank and their bodies were stiff, and they did nothing to resist Bai Xiaochun as he pulled them away.

At the same time, the rocking chair began to rock back and forth with increased urgency.

Even more shocking, the two corpses began to quiver, and glow with both golden and crystalline light.

Bai Xiaochun was wailing inwardly. The sight of the rocking chair going back and forth caused his scalp to tingle madly. Tossing both Song Que and Master God-Diviner into his bag of holding, he fled back to the staircase and ran up to the deck above.

He moved with blinding speed, and within the blink of an eye, was at the top of the staircase. Just as he lunged past the last step, his vision blurred, and before he could even breathe a sigh of relief, his eyes widened as much as a cat's whose tail had been stamped on.

Shockingly, he found himself looking at two corpses and a rocking chair. He… was still on deck 2!!

The rocking chair was rocking back and forth rapidly, and this time, it was to Bai Xiaochun's utter shock that he could hear a strange moaning howl coming from it.

"How could this be happening!?!?" Spinning in place, he ran back down the stairs, drawing upon both his cultivation base and fleshly body power. However, at the bottom of the stairs, his vision blurred again, and when he could see clearly again, he was looking at the corpses and the rocking chair!

It was still deck 2!!

Clearly, he would end up back on the same deck no matter what he did. By now, the rocking chair was rocking back and forth so vigorously that it was edging forward, as if it were trying to catch him!

Bai Xiaochun was so scared he was about to collapse. Letting out a shout, he waved his hand, sending out a blast of air toward the rocking chair.

However, the air simply passed right through it. By this point, he was sure that he was in a moment of deadly crisis. There was no time for thought or planning. He needed to get out of here immediately, before the rocking chair got too close to him and ended his life!

"Time to go for broke!!" Yet again, he burst into motion, leaving a trail of afterimages behind as he raced back up the stairs. This time, though, he didn't go to the end of the stairs. Instead, he clenched his hand into a fist, which caused a black vortex to spring into being!

The air around him immediately distorted. It didn't matter that he was in a ghost galleon in the Deadmire, there was still some energy of heaven and earth present. Thanks to the gravitational force created by the black vortex, that energy was sucked in, along with the power of his cultivation base, his qi and blood, and even his soul!

A shadowy image appeared behind him, wearing imperial robes and an imperial crown. At the same time, a domineering aura erupted out.

This was none other than… the Undying Emperor's Fist!

Bai Xiaochun was already in the great circle of the Undying Bones, and therefore, his urgent unleashing of this fist strike contained, not just the previous double level of power… but five times!

Five times his normal fleshly body power gave him terrifying battle prowess that even late Deva Realm experts would gasp at.

"Open up!!" he shouted, slamming his fist into the stairs!

As he punched out with his fist, the shadowy emperor joined him, their fists superimposing in a massive attack!

BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

A huge blast of wind erupted out, along with a roaring sound like that of an enormous dragon. As his fist landed on the staircase, it shattered like a mirror, and he leapt through the resulting hole.

His vision swam, and when it cleared, he was in an unfamiliar location!

Seeing that he was no longer on deck 2, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"What the hell kind of place is this? I shouldn't have come here! I shouldn't even have come to the Deadmire!!" His heart was filled with regret, and he was finally starting to think that the gravekeeper had actually screwed him over. If he had known that the Deadmire had a weird ghost galleon like this, he would never have come here!

However, he had few options at hand. Song Que and Master God-Diviner had clearly lost their minds; if he hadn't grabbed them and put them in his bag of holding, they would probably still be back on deck 2.

"What am I supposed to do…?" he thought, scowling on the verge of tears. Using the Undying Emperor's Fist had drained his fleshly body power; thankfully, now that he was in the great circle of the Undying Bones, he didn't feel dangerously weak like he had been in the past.

Although he had just breathed a sigh of relief, that only lasted for a moment before he started to tremble again. His eyes widened, and his mind reeled with even more terror than before at the fact that… he was not on deck 2, or even deck 1!

He wasn't on any specific deck at all, but rather, a private cabin. It was… a woman's dressing room!!

The room contained a dilapidated bed covered with dust and spiderwebs, next to which was a vanity!

The vanity looked ancient, and was also covered with dust. It also had cracks on its surface, and one of the corners looked like it had been chopped or broken off. Furthermore, closer examination revealed that there was also black, dried-up blood on it!

There was a mirror propped up on the vanity, which was also covered with countless cracks. The strangest thing of all was that… the mirror was the only thing in the room that didn't have even a speck of dust on it!

The dressing room had only a bed, a vanity, and a mirror, nothing else. However, as soon as Bai Xiaochun looked around, he started to tremble violently.

And that was because, as soon as he laid eyes on the vanity… he heard singing!!

It was that same song about the mother whose arm was eaten by her own child!!

He could hear the song with absolute clarity, as though it were being sung in the very room in which he stood.

"Whoever you are, stay put! My apprentice is the Hell-Emperor!!" He felt like he was about to cry, and quickly turned to leave. Apparently, after having left deck 2, he ended up in the very nucleus of the entire ghost galleon!!

This dressing room was where the singing originated!

In fact, it came from the vanity!

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Chapter 861: A Woman Combing Her Hair

Bai Xiaochun looked back at the dilapidated vanity, and all of a sudden… he saw a woman!

Her back was to him, making it impossible to see her face. She wore a red gown, and was combing her long, black hair. And she was singing a song….

Shockingly, the woman… only had one arm!!

Along with the woman came a coldness like the depths of winter. Worried that he might shriek with terror and interrupt the woman's singing, Bai Xiaochun clamped his hands down over his mouth.

He couldn't have been more terrified. He could immediately sense that his cultivation base wasn't high enough to fight this woman; she made him feel like he was being crushed by a mountain from the heavens.

Tears welled up in his eyes and then began to drip down his cheeks as he wondered why he always ended up encountering such bizarre situations. He wanted to flee, but after looking around the room, he realized that there were no doors or exits.

"What do I do, what do I do!?" he wailed inwardly. Suddenly, the woman seemed to realize that she wasn't alone, and stopped combing her hair. She also stopped singing.

Bai Xiaochun's heart began to race.

"It's not what you think, Senior!" he blurted. Then he began to gush incoherently. "I didn't mean to interrupt you…. Hey, I'm an important person too. My apprentice is the Hell-Emperor. Do you know the gravekeeper? He sent me here…."

The pressure he felt from this woman actually surpassed that which he had felt from the Celestial.

Worried that he wasn't explaining things clearly enough, he went on to say, "I didn't even want to come here! Don't mind me. You… you sing really well! Very pleasing to the ear…."

It was at this point that the women turned her face, provoking a shrill scream from Bai Xiaochun!

Her face… had no nose, no eyes, no mouth, nothing!!

It was a complete blank!!

Bai Xiaochun felt like his head was about to explode. Shrieking, he stumbled backward and shoved his command medallion out in front of him. Black light spilled out, causing his vision to blur….

At the same time, he began to fade away, vanishing from within the private cabin!

Even as he reappeared in another location, countless hairs slashed through the air into the spot he had just occupied, causing popping sounds to ring out.

Each and every one of those hairs thrummed with power that surpassed the Deva Realm.

Clearly, if Bai Xiaochun had stayed behind and been hit, he would have been killed!

A moment later, the hairs wriggled and vanished. Meanwhile, the faceless woman at the vanity turned back to face the shattered mirror, and slowly began to comb her hair again… and sing.

When Bai Xiaochun appeared, he was on top of the sea of bones, only about two days away from the eastern delta region of the Heavenspan River.

As he materialized, a blank look could be seen in his eyes. However, that look slowly faded into clarity. Gasping, he looked around to find himself off of the galleon. Everything which had just occurred seemed almost like a hallucination or dream.

And yet, he knew it was no hallucination. Whether it was the ghost galleon or the faceless woman combing her hair, it had all been very, very real. At this point, he suddenly realized that he had been extremely lucky.

"So, Great-Grandpa Gravekeeper wasn't lying after all!!" Looking down at the command medallion with lingering fear, he realized that it was the only reason he had escaped death.

"This Deadmire is really an evil place. And what was that ghostess all about!?!?" The mere thought of her caused terror to grip his heart. With that, he slapped his bag of holding to pull out Song Que and Master God-Diviner.

"This was all your fault!" he said. "If it weren't for me going to save you two, I wouldn't have been in any danger at all!!"

As soon as Song Que and Master God-Diviner were out in the open, they began to regain their senses.

Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Song Que said, "What happened? We're out? How come I don't remember anything…?"

Master God-Diviner hesitated for a moment, then looked quizzically at Bai Xiaochun. "I remember being on the main deck, but after going in the door… I don't remember anything at all."

Bai Xiaochun sighed and then told them everything that happened below decks. As he did, their eyes widened, and they even gasped.

Not only was the story completely stunning, they could tell that he wasn't lying.

"I was the first one to go in?" Song Que asked. Next to him, Master God-Diviner shivered as he heard about the green-skinned, long-fanged ghost face appearing on top of his own face.

Bai Xiaochun snorted and said, "If it weren't for me, you two would still be on that galleon!"

He was just about to go on berating them for a bit when he remembered that they were still in the Deadmire.

"Look," he said hurriedly, "we'll talk about it more when we're out of this place. This place is just too evil!" With that, he sped off into the distance, followed by the terrified Song Que and Master God-Diviner.

Considering the speed they maintained, it didn't take long before they were closing in on the border of the Deadmire. Soon, fewer and fewer bones could be seen, and eventually, Bai Xiaochun was sure that they only had about a day left to go!

"How far did we get when we were on that galleon?" Based on what he recalled, they had only been on the galleon for three or four hours, and yet, it had taken them almost all the way to their destination. Based on that, a quick calculation revealed that the galleon itself could likely traverse the entire Deadmire in only a day.

As Bai Xiaochun, Song Que and Master God-Diviner were preparing to leave the Deadmire, war broke out in the Middle Reaches of the eastern Heavenspan River!

It was a war in which the three other great sects joined forces against the River-Defying Sect, who was simply incapable of fighting back. It was a war of sect extermination!!

Rumbling booms filled the air in the regions surrounding the River-Defying Sect. A glittering spell formation shield protected the sect, which was powered by the Dire Skybanyan. Countless divine abilities and magical techniques battered the spell formation, which was already twisting and distorting on the verge of collapse!

Outside of the spell formation were two suns, one white and one black, as well as a scarecrow which flitted back and forth. All of that, combined with the power of almost all the disciples of the River-Defying Sect, ensured that fierce fighting went on everywhere!

However, it was very obvious who had the upper hand. There were more than 100,000 cultivators besieging the sect, who were organized into three armies that attacked from three directions. Each army had a terrifying aura backing it, an aura that seemed to surpass the will of the heavens.

Those auras belonged to powerful experts in the early Deva Realm. They were only Mortal-Dao devas, roughly comparable to Mistress Red-Dust, the type of people Bai Xiaochun would fight without even getting nervous. However, to the River-Defying Sect, they were like insurmountable mountains.

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Chapter 862: Dangerously Unstable

Hordes of Blood Stream Division disciples entered the body of the Blood Ancestor and began to power it with their cultivation bases. The patriarchs of the Blood Stream Division were preparing to send the Blood Ancestor into the action!

On top of the Blood Ancestor's head was a rabbit, who stared out at the deva fluctuations on the other side of the spell formation.

The disciples of the Spirit Stream Division did things a bit differently. Depending on which faction of the sect they belonged to, they formed different types of spell formation giants. Enormous swords in hand, the giants fought fiercely beyond the spell formation.

The Pill Stream Division offered auxiliary support, often stepping in to relieve disciples from the Spirit and Blood Stream Divisions. Last was the Profound Stream Division, whose primary task was to ensure that the Dire Skybanyan continued to maintain the spell formation shield.

Because of the vast resources the River-Defying Sect had at its disposal, Song Junwan had already reached the great circle of Core Formation. Currently, her hair was in disarray, and her face smeared with blood. She was clearly in bad shape. Xuemei fought next to her, and was also seriously injured. They were flanked by dozens of guards as they fell back into the protective perimeter of the spell formation, whereupon more disciples rushed over to help them.

"Pill Stream Division," someone shouted, "get people over here to treat Sect Aunt Song!! Hurry!!"

Song Junwan waved her hand dismissively and said, "I'm fine, take care of Xuemei first!"

Eyes flashing with anger, she refused any help, and instead sat down cross-legged on one of the leaves of the Dire Skybanyan. As her injuries recovered, she surveyed the battlefield, and her eyes flickered with despair.

Patriarch Limitless of the Blood Stream Division wielded a shining, blood-colored blade that destroyed anything that got in his way. He was actually one of the most powerful patriarchs in the entire River-Defying Sect. However, at the moment, he was being ganged up on by a total of three Nascent Soul patriarchs from the other sects!

Most of the other Nascent Soul patriarchs of the River-Defying Sect were in various locations on the battlefield, fighting fiercely. Because of the spell formation shield, the fighting was somewhat at a deadlock. However, it was easy to imagine what would happen if the spell formation fell. The River-Defying Sect would be crushed as surely as if by Mount Tai!

Sighing, Song Junwan murmured, "Xiaochun… I don't know if I'll be able to hold out long enough to see you again…."

Her injuries weren't completely healed, but she was the most powerful expert of the Blood Stream Division's Middle Peak, and therefore, she was the only one who could wield that peak's enormous blood sword. There was no time for rest; the fight had to continue!

Each of the Blood Stream Division's five mountain peaks of the past had all contained powerful precious treasures, and now, they were all being used in the fight. Animated corpses and gargoyles alike were all fighting without mercy!

There was one particular animated corpse with long, green hair, who caused particular frustration for the cultivators of the three sects. That corpse possessed shocking fleshly body power, and could also control other corpses. On top of that, it was being supported by hordes of gargoyles.

Generally speaking, gargoyles weren't intelligent. However, there was one particularly wily gargoyle among the group who took it upon himself to lead the gargoyles into battle, making them a very effective fighting force.

As for the Spirit Stream Division, their spell formation giants were mighty, and wreaked havoc among the enemy wherever they went. One of them bore the semblance of Shangguan Tianyou, and another, Beihan Lie. All of them fought with valiance and bravery, and drove the enemy backward constantly.

Spirit beasts of all types howled as they fought alongside the Spirit Stream Division. One of them was an ancient, mighty dragon, who was flanked by a phoenix, a lizard, and a ghost.

Perhaps because of the Spirit Stream Division's impressive showing, the Dao River Court sent three Nascent Soul patriarchs against them, like razor-sharp knives ready to take the heads of anyone they encountered.

However, in the instant that they began their charge, a howl erupted from inside the spell formation that could shake the heavens.

A huge beast appeared, dozens of meters long and growing larger by the moment. He moved as quickly as lightning, and had a sea of flames beneath his feet. As soon as he appeared out in the open, fluctuations rolled out which bordered on the deva level.

The cultivators from the other three sects were all shocked. As for the Nascent Soul experts who had just been preparing to attack the Spirit Stream Division, their eyes went wide, and they turned to flee. However, before they could, that beast pounced on them!

A boom rang out as one of the Nascent Soul experts exploded. His nascent soul flew out into the open, but before it could flee, was consumed by the beast. The other two cultivators were severely injured, and immediately began to retreat.

However, before they could do little more than move, a stream of sword qi, a huge hand, and a beam of black light shot out from the three sects, and headed toward the beast!

The will of the heavens filled the area: these were deva-level divine abilities!

The beast spun in place, dodging the huge hand and avoiding the black beam of light. Unfortunately, the sword qi slashed right into him!

Blood sprayed out of a wound on his back! In fact, closer examination would reveal that he had many wounds on him already, some which had healed and scarred over, but others which were fresh. Most shocking of all was one of the fresher wounds which went from one side of the beast's neck all the way to the other. It was a sword wound that had clearly been inflicted by the very same sword blast that had just been unleashed.

If the sword which had hit the beast's neck had been moving any faster, it would likely have decapitated him!

Thankfully, the beast was incredibly quick, and was soon back in the safety of the spell formation. He resembled a qilin in some ways, and had large, charming eyes. He was none other than… Bruiser!

Serious expressions could be seen in the eyes of the three deva patriarchs from the three great sects.

"It's him!"

"He's just like the spies described…."

"It took him less than a sixty-year-cycle to reach the deva level…. He's a paragon beast king!!"

"It's too bad he's so fast. In any case, that beast will be mine! He'll either submit, or die!"

Back in the River-Defying Sect's spell formation, the current sect leader, the Spirit Stream Division's Zheng Yuandong, was anxiously treating Bruiser's wounds.

"Don't go back out into the fighting, Bruiser," he said. "The only thing we can do is buy time right now. We don't even know if Qinghou is alive or dead, so if something bad happened to you, what would I tell Xiaochun?!" Zheng Yuandong's eyes flickered with sorrow at the sight of all the wounds and scars covering Bruiser.

Bruiser didn't care much about his wounds. However, when Zheng Yuandong brought up Li Qinghou and Bai Xiaochun, he shivered, and grief filled his eyes. His neck wound had come when he had tried to save Li Qinghou, an effort which had failed, and ended with him watching Li Qinghou being taken away to the Dao River Court.

Bai Xiaochun's name caused his eyes to be even more bloodshot. Warm feelings rose in his heart, and at the same time, he remembered how Bai Xiaochun had entrusted him with the job of defending the River-Defying Sect!

Even as he gasped for breath, he cast a hostile glance at the three sects, his eyes glittering with both hatred and fear because of the three devas.

The battle was reaching a fever pitch. It was a war of extermination in which differences could never be resolved. Meanwhile, on the invisible ninth mountain of the River-Defying Sect, Patriarch Spirit Stream stood there with a bitter look on his face. He knew that the three devas were beyond his ability to fight, and that the only reason they were currently holding out was because of the sect's reserve powers. Because the River-Defying Sect had no deva, they had to pull out all the stops to even threaten someone in the early Deva Realm.

Clearly, they were calling upon their reserve powers one by one, and only using them when they were absolutely sure that they would be successful!

"Master, do you think… that a miracle will occur?" Even as the words left Patriarch Spirit Stream's mouth, a monkey appeared behind him, hands clasped behind his back as he looked off into the distance, wisdom and foresight gleaming in his eyes.

"Definitely!"

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Chapter 863: Give It Back

As the River-Defying Sect was being besieged by the three great sects of the Middle Reaches… Bai Xiaochun, Song Que and Master God-Diviner were making their way through the Deadmire, completely unaware of the war. Because of the lingering terror they felt about of the ghost galleon, they flew along as quickly as startled sparrows.

Their journey was almost over; only a few more hours, and they would be free of the Deadmire. There were so few bones down below that they were already able to see patches of dark soil.

Bai Xiaochun couldn't have been more excited. And as for Song Que and Master God-Diviner, the way they had temporarily lost their minds still had them trembling in fear.

However, as they flew along, Bai Xiaochun's face suddenly fell as… he yet again heard that singing echoing in the fog behind them!

The strange sound of it caused everyone's hair to stand on end. Song Que and Master God-Diviner nearly choked from fear.

"Dammit, what is the ghost galleon doing back!?" Scalp tingling with fear, Bai Xiaochun grabbed Song Que and Master God-Diviner and pushed forward at top speed.

This time, they only caught a glimpse of the galleon about 3,000 meters behind them. However, it was still a terrifying moment.

The first time the ghost galleon had appeared to them, it disappeared 3,000 meters away. The fourth time, it teleported them on board. The fact that it had appeared again at 3,000 meters away was something they didn't really want to think about. Furthermore, they had to wonder if they might see the galleon again in the following few hours.

It was a lot of pressure, so much that none of them felt like talking. Expression grave, Bai Xiaochun put all the energy he could into flying along. After the time it takes an incense stick to burn, though, the singing once again reached their ears.

"What's going on!? Why is it back so soon!?!?" Looking over his shoulder in terror, he saw that the galleon was now 500 meters away. Then it vanished.

Looking at the galleon this time, he realized that there was no way the massive thing only had two decks. At the very least, it probably had five. As for what would happen if they got teleported on board again, not even the gravekeeper's command medallion left him feeling very confident.

There was little need to mention Song Que and Master God-Diviner, whose hearts were pounding with anxiety.

"Hold on a second," Bai Xiaochun muttered, "something is off here!" Unfortunately, there was no time to ponder the situation. Heart as taught as a bowstring, he continued to flee, feeling more under pressure than ever. Song Que and Master God-Diviner were actually more nervous than Bai Xiaochun.

After enough time passed for half an incense stick to burn, the galleon appeared again. And this time it was only 300 meters away!!

The corpses pulling the galleon led it directly toward Bai Xiaochun, and this time, it didn't seem at all like the galleon was going to fade away. In fact, as it barreled toward them, the three flags on the cabin flapped, and the green-skinned, long-fanged ghost face suddenly began to laugh noiselessly.

Despair filled Bai Xiaochun's eyes, and yet, that was when he happened to look at the cabin door. When he did, his eyes went wide, and an idea popped into his head. Considering the danger they were in, he didn't hesitate to follow through on the idea. Turning to Master God-Diviner, he shouted, "Master God-Diviner, give back that eight trigrams mirror you took!!"

As soon as Song Que heard Bai Xiaochun's words, he thought back to how Master God-Diviner had taken the mirror, and immediately yelled similar words.

There was no time for Master God-Diviner to even worry about how much it pained him. He quickly pulled the eight trigrams mirror out of his bag of holding and hurled it at the huge galleon with all the force he could muster.

The mirror became a beam of light that shot directly toward the galleon and, in a very strange coincidence, perhaps because of some unknown power, landed in the exact spot where it had been taken from!

When that happened, the three wildly flapping flags all suddenly drooped down motionless, and the green-skinned, long-fanged face on the middle flag let out a noiseless howl of defiance.

At the same time, the countless corpses and the ghost galleon itself all faded away into the fog.

Bai Xiaochun, Song Que and Master God-Diviner all looked back jumpily to confirm that the galleon was finally gone, whereupon they breathed sighs of relief. Then, Song Que spun and angrily grabbed Master God-Diviner.

"You nearly got us killed!!" he shouted.

"What are you yelling for!" Master God-Diviner shot back, his voice quavering a bit. "It's not like I did it on purpose…. Who knew that ghost galleon would be so stingy? It took my copper coin, so I took the mirror in exchange, that's all…." As he spoke, his voice became quieter and quieter until it faded away.

Bai Xiaochun wiped the sweat from his brow. It had been a very dangerous close call, and if he hadn't thought to remind Master God-Diviner about the mirror, then all three of them would likely have been dragged on board the galleon, never to return.

Glancing at the angry Song Que and the dispirited Master God-Diviner, he said, "Alright, enough is enough. Let's worry about it after we're out of this place!"

Then he blurred into motion. Song Que gave Master God-Diviner another good glare, then let him go and followed. As for Master God-Diviner, he rubbed his nose in embarrassment and joined them.

The galleon never returned. An hour later, not a single bone could be seen beneath their feet. They shot out of the mountains, and were in another world. All of them felt as if a big weight had just been lifted from their shoulders.

As of this moment, they knew… that they were out of the Deadmire!

"Finally free!" Master God-Diviner whooped. Song Que took a long, deep breath of fresh air. As for Bai Xiaochun, he looked around at the lush vegetation and smiled. There were no vicious plants or terrifying creatures like back in the Wildlands. It almost looked like a celestial paradise, complete with singing birds and blooming flowers.

Off in the distance, a charming, deer-like animal suddenly looked up at the three of them, and then sprang off into the trees.

Bai Xiaochun was very pleased with what he could see. Furthermore, there was something here that was very different from the Wildlands…. Spiritual power from the Heavenspan Sea!!

Although it was faint, it was indescribably stronger than in the Wildlands. He took a deep breath, and cracking sounds filled him as his energy-starved body was repaired.

"Ah, spiritual energy. It's been a long time since I could absorb it so freely." He had been in the Wildlands for so many years that he had almost forgotten what the Heavenspan River region looked like. Even here in the delta region, it was still a wonderful place.

Master God-Diviner and Song Que both shivered at the sensation of spiritual energy, and complicated emotions could be seen in their eyes.

"We're back!" Song Que said.

"River-Defying Sect, here we come!!" Master God-Diviner said loudly.

Laughing heartily, Bai Xiaochun waved his hand, sending a flying airship out into the open. It was something he had acquired long ago in the River-Defying Sect, but which didn't work in the Wildlands because of the lack of spiritual energy. "Hahaha! Que'er, Master Snortsnort, my genius has done it again. I'm going… to take you home!"

Now that the ship had access to spiritual energy, it began to shine with brilliant light. Bai Xiaochun leaped up and took the helm. In rare fashion, Song Que didn't bristle at all because Bai Xiaochun had called him Que'er. He was simply too excited to get back to the River-Defying Sect, and shot like an arrow onto the airship.

Master God-Diviner reacted similarly. Moments later, Bai Xiaochun sent his near-deva-level cultivation base power into the ship, and it sped through the air until it was over the horizon!

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Chapter 864: Wont Count For Crap!

The airship moved so quickly through the delta region that it left sonic booms behind it as it flew along.

The sound startled countless beasts, many of whom flew up into the air to investigate. However, when they sensed the cultivation base fluctuations coming from Bai Xiaochun and the others, they immediately retracted their auras and went into hiding.

As for the cultivators who occupied the sects in the delta, they wouldn't even dare to provoke the animals in the area, let alone Bai Xiaochun and his party.

The delta sect cultivators trembled in fear, and a few of them went out to offer formal greetings as the airship passed.

All of them could tell that the ship was being piloted by someone of incredible power and status, whose cultivation base fluctuations left them feeling deeply shocked.

A few hours passed, and the airship was approaching the Lower Reaches.

Bai Xiaochun felt like every tree and every bush was familiar to him. After all, his path in life had begun in the delta area close to the Spirit Stream Sect.

When he was finally in Spirit Stream Sect territory, everything felt even more familiar. He saw the Heavenspan River, and he saw a mountain-sized giant laying there, who was awoken by his passage!

The giant's eyes opened, and he was about start howling when he sensed Bai Xiaochun's aura, whereupon he closed his mouth, shivered, and put his head down.

Bai Xiaochun recognized that giant, whom he had seen when he left the Spirit Stream Sect on a training mission all those years ago. Back then, he had been very cautious about the giant, but now, he could see that its battle prowess was only around the Nascent Soul level.

However, the blood of Wildlands savages ran in its veins, which, in combination with the energy of the Heavenspan River, allowed it to grow very large.

"Hahaha! I'm so much more powerful now!" he thought, feeling very pleased with himself. As they sped through the territory that had once belonged to the Spirit Stream Sect, Song Que and Master God-Diviner were extremely excited. They were almost jumping up and down in anticipation of getting back to the River-Defying Sect.

Before long, Bai Xiaochun actually caught sight of the Luochen Mountains!!

Emotions roiled up in his heart, but they quickly passed as he focused on the road ahead. Spirit Stream Sect territory had once seemed like an enormous place, but with his current cultivation base, it wasn't very large at all.

It only took about two hours… to go from one end of Spirit Stream Sect territory to another. It was at this point that Bai Xiaochun began to frown. Something seemed off.

Song Que also noticed the same thing. Frowning, he said, "What's going on? There were cultivators in the delta. How come nobody's around here in the Lower Reaches? I haven't seen a single person!"

Master God-Diviner's eyes widened. Unfortunately, without his copper coin, his divinations weren't very effective, and didn't provide any information. Suspicions built as they finally reached the location of the Spirit Stream Sect's former headquarters!

When Bai Xiaochun caught sight of the mountains on both banks of the river, he was shocked to see that the sect's defensive spell formation was active!

Numerous cultivators could be seen inside, many of them disciples that had been left behind by the River-Defying Sect because of their low cultivation bases. Their charge was to protect the foundation of the Spirit Stream Sect!

The Blood Stream Sect, Pill Stream Sect and Profound Stream Sect had all done the same thing. The disciples left behind were supposed to guard the foundation of the four divisions of the River-Defying Sect, and also serve as a place to groom new disciples.

But right now, the Spirit Stream Sect seemed like they were anticipating the arrival of a major enemy. Bai Xiaochun's heart immediately began to pound. As for Song Que and Master God-Diviner, they were from the Blood Stream Sect, but they could well imagine that similar circumstances were playing out there.

As the airship approached, the disciples of the Spirit Stream Sect looked up with vigilant expressions on their faces.

There were a few disciples in the Core Formation level who flew up out of the crowd and gave instructions to strengthen the spell formation. The one who was clearly in a leadership position was a middle-aged man who was in mid Core Formation. He seemed weak, perhaps even sick, as he anxiously sized up the airship.

It looked familiar to him, and he quickly identified it as having come from the River-Defying Sect. But the River-Defying Sect… was not in the position to be sending out airships right now. Therefore, his vigilance did not lessen.

Bai Xiaochun instantly recognized that middle-aged man. "Big Bro Hou!"

This man was none other than Bai Xiaochun's Elder Brother Hou Yunfei, who was the older brother of Hou Xiaomei!!

Without the slightest hesitation, Bai Xiaochun leapt off of the airship.

When his voice reached the ears of the disciples in the spell formation, their jaws dropped. Hou Yunfei looked especially surprised. He stared at Bai Xiaochun for a long moment, and the incredulity in his eyes grew. Then he shouted, "Bai Xiaochun!!"

The other Core Formation cultivators were clearly shocked. Although the name 'Bai Xiaochun' sounded familiar to them, neither they nor any of the other disciples in the Spirit Stream Sect were quite sure what was happening.

Even as everyone looked on in confusion, Bai Xiaochun took a step forward, blurring for a moment and then reappearing inside the spell formation, right in front of Hou Yunfei!

The spell formation hadn't hindered him in the least. It may as well have not existed.

The Core Formation cultivators all braced themselves for an imminent attack, and all the other disciples waited nervously. Bai Xiaochun's actions just now had been very shocking, to say the least.

"Xiaochun, it's really you!!" Hou Yunfei said loudly. As he looked Bai Xiaochun over, his excitement began to build as he realized he couldn't assess his cultivation base. All he could tell was that the fluctuations seemed even more shocking than those of Patriarch Spirit Stream, whom he had met in person in the past.

Bai Xiaochun was very excited at being able to see such a close friend after all these years, and was just about to begin talking, when Hou Yunfei suddenly said, "Xiaochun, what's the level of your cultivation base?!"

"Huh? Uh, the great circle of the Nascent Soul stage…." Even as the words left his mouth, Song Que and Master God-Diviner flew off of the aircraft to hover in the air.

An excited expression appeared on Hou Yunfei's face, only to be replaced by a bitter smile. "You need to get away from here, Xiaochun. Don't stay here, and don't go to the River-Defying Sect. Get as far away from the eastern Heavenspan River as you can."

Bai Xiaochun's face fell, and his heart began to pound. "What happened?!"

Hou Yunfei shook his head bitterly. He knew that he couldn't keep the information from Bai Xiaochun. Furthermore, Bai Xiaochun's status in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect actually gave Hou Yunfei a bit of hope. After a moment of hesitation, he explained the danger the River-Defying Sect was in!

When Bai Xiaochun heard that the three great sects had joined forces to try to exterminate the River-Defying Sect, his eyes turned crimson, and his killing intent began to burn. Trembling, he flew out of the spell formation and back to the airship. Ignoring Song Que and Master God-Diviner, he unleashed the full power of his cultivation base to send the airship speeding… toward the River-Defying Sect!

"Xiaochun!!" Hou Yunfei shouted, but he was too late. Bai Xiaochun moved so quickly that he was gone in the blink of an eye. As for Song Que and Master God-Diviner, when they heard what Hou Yunfei had just said, expressions of madness appeared on their faces, and they also began to fly in the direction of the River-Defying Sect.

As they sped off, Master God-Diviner turned to Hou Yunfei and, aware of his close relationship with Bai Xiaochun, yelled, "Elder Brother Hou, don't worry. Once Bai Xiaochun gets there, those three sects… won't count for crap!"

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Chapter 865: How Dare You People!

"But they have three devas!" Hou Yunfei said remorsefully.

"Three… devas?" Master God-Diviner replied, suddenly not so convinced.

However, that was when Song Que turned back and said, "As long as they aren't in the late stage, Bai Xiaochun will demolish them!"

Few people knew how terrifying and powerful Bai Xiaochun had become in the Wildlands. In fact, even Master God-Diviner assumed that most of the stories Bai Xiaochun had told him were exaggerations. But Song Que was different. Although he didn't know every single detail about how powerful Bai Xiaochun was, he had a fairly good idea.

His father-in-law was a demigod, and his apprentice was the Hell-Emperor. In Arch-Emperor City, he had fought bitterly with devas, and had made enemies of the entire nobility and aristocracy. Not only did he come out of all of that unscathed, but his cultivation base had climbed the entire time. A person like that… couldn't possibly be afraid of three little devas.

Besides, Song Que had seen Bai Xiaochun fighting Mistress Red-Dust. Although neither of them had been using full force, considering that Song Que himself was in the Nascent Soul stage, he could easily tell that Bai Xiaochun's battle prowess surpassed that stage, and made him equivalent to a deva!

After all, Mistress Red-Dust was a chosen in the Wildlands, the daughter of the Giant Ghost King, and very close to the mid Deva Realm!

Although Song Que still didn't like Bai Xiaochun very much, the urgency in Hou Yunfei's voice was very telling. Song Que knew what to say and how to say it, and therefore it was with iron determination that he spoke his words of confidence. In response, all hearts were shaken, and many eyes went wide with incredulity!

To these people… devas were paramount entities in all creation, people who could shake heaven and earth, and crush all opponents!

"That's right," Master God-Diviner added. "As long as Bai Xiaochun gets there in time, he'll fix everything!" With that, he turned and raced after Song Que in the direction of the River-Defying Sect.

Back in the Spirit Stream Sect's spell formation, Hou Yunfei's mind rang with the words Song Que had just spoken. On the one hand, he was sure that Bai Xiaochun wouldn't do anything rash. But at the same time, he could see that Song Que was already in the Nascent Soul stage, and yet didn't seem fazed at all by how Bai Xiaochun seemed to view the three mighty devas of the Middle Reaches. However, it was still difficult to believe.

"Is it real…?" Hou Yunfei thought. It was roughly at this time that one of the other Core Formation cultivators suddenly started, his eyes going as wide as saucers.

"I remember now! That… that was the legendary… Bai Xiaochun!! I heard that a whole bunch of spirit tail chickens went missing because of him!"

"Heavens, I remember now too! That was Bai Xiaochun?!?! 10,000 Snakes Valley is completely empty because of him!"

"He was the one who combined the four great sects into the River-Defying Sect! He's the soul and the hope of the River-Defying Sect, their number one chosen…. He was eventually taken as a hostage to the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, where he went to the Great Wall and became a major general! Eventually he went missing in the Wildlands…. Bai Xiaochun!"

More exclamations of shock could be heard. Before long, all of the disciples of the Spirit Stream Sect began thinking about that familiar name, and recalled the various stories they had heard about him. After all, Bai Xiaochun was still very famous in the Spirit Stream Sect.

His deeds were retold almost like myths among the new, low-ranking disciples.

Even as the disciples of the Spirit Stream Sect reeled in shock, Bai Xiaochun was flying through the air toward the River-Defying Sect, moving with incredible speed, his eyes bloodshot and his breath coming in ragged pants.

"Uncle Li. Elder Brother Sect Leader. Patriarch Spirit Stream. Patriarch Blood Stream…. Hang in there, all of you!! Junwan. Xiaomei…. Bruiser…." Countless faces flashed through his head, causing his madness to increase. At the moment, he wasn't thinking at all about matters of life and death. Although he feared dying, he would never run for his life when his sect was in peril.

Back when he was young and powerless, the sect had protected him. But now… he qualified to protect the sect!

Because he didn't have to worry about Song Que and Master God-Diviner being injured by the process, he was capable of adding teleportations to his movements, lending him even greater speed.

Rumbling booms filled the air as he relied on teleportation after teleportation!

The result was shocking speed which surpassed anything ordinary devas were capable of. Not even someone in the mid Deva Realm would be able to achieve it.

He was soon closing in on the border between the Lower Reaches and the Middle Reaches, and beyond it… the River-Defying Sect!

The situation was bad in the River-Defying Sect. The glow of magical technique rose high in the sky, and rumbling booms echoed far and wide. The army of 100,000 cultivators from the other three sects was pushing the offensive hard from three directions.

The River-Defying Sect simply wasn't a match. They were forced to fall back over and over again, relying on their spell formation to hold out. Even still, casualties mounted.

The sect itself was like a wounded giant who only had a bit of energy left to keep fighting!

The spell formation shield cast by the Dire Skybanyan was heavily damaged, constantly distorting, and filled with rapidly spreading cracks.

With every new crack that appeared, the Profound Stream Division disciples who powered the formation would cough up mouthfuls of blood. And yet, howling, they would hold nothing back to repair and sustain the formation.

Unfortunately, despite their efforts, it didn't seem like the shield would hold out for more than the time it takes an incense stick to burn.

The disciples of the Pill Stream Division were so exhausted they were hovering on the brink of collapse. And yet, they continued to roam the battlefield both inside and outside the spell formation, healing disciples from the other divisions, and occasionally getting involved in deadly conflicts themselves.

The Spirit and Blood Stream Divisions had it most bitter of all. They were the powerhouses of the River-Defying Sect, and took the brunt of the attacks. Less than thirty percent of the Spirit Stream Division's spell formation giants still stood, and those disciples who powered the remaining giants were spattered with blood.

Shangguan Tianyou's eyes were bloodshot, but he had many kills to his name. Beihan Lie was in similar condition; tears flowed from his eyes as he howled in savage fashion.

The disciples of the Spirit Stream Division were fighting with full madness. The Blood Stream Division was in a similar state. Animated corpses, gargoyles, and even the blood masters, all had suffered casualties!

Only the blood sword from Middle Peak remained strong. Song Junwan, Master Limitless and Xuemei led the fight against their enemies, and did their best to save whatever fellow disciples they could.

Song Junwan was exhausted and seriously wounded. She had consumed numerous medicinal pills provided by the Pill Stream Division, and yet, was reaching the limits of her ability to endure. Despair had already begun to shine in her eyes.

The scarecrow had been destroyed. The black and white suns had been crushed, the crows inside of them killed. The old dragon was gasping for breath. Only Bruiser continued to fight viciously, breaking holes in the enemy lines left and right.

In the Nascent Soul battles, the River-Defying Sect had been defeated at every turn. Unable to hold their own when it came to one-on-one battles, the Nascent Soul experts stayed in groups, and inflicted as many casualties as possible on the enemy.

From a distance, the armies of the three great sects were like three enormous hands crushing down onto the River-Defying Sect. High up in the sky, the fluctuations of the three devas caused heaven and earth to shake violently.

"Their spell formation will fall shortly…."

"We can't let things drag out any longer. There were differing opinions back in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect. If we don't secure victory soon, something unexpected could happen."

"At this point, why don't the three of us just attack? We can destroy the spell formation, and then… wipe the River-Defying Sect off the map for good!"

After a bit more discussion, their eyes began to shine, and they attacked! A destructive stream of sword qi, a massive hand, and a black thundercloud all shot toward the spell formation!

The speed of the attacks left the River-Defying Sect in despair. When they slammed into the Dire Skybanyan's spell formation, it held out for only a moment before collapsing!

In response, the enemy army shouted in delight and then charged forward in attack. The River-Defying Sect was immediately shoved backward across the battlefield. Worse, the three devas shot toward the sect, with only Bruiser to stand in their way.

It was at this point that the Blood Ancestor's eyes opened, and he leaped into action. He was joined by a rabbit, a monkey, and Patriarch Spirit Stream! They were going all out to defend the sect!

Everyone was in critical danger!

The disciples of the Spirit and Blood Stream Divisions were being shoved backward by the enemy forces, their faces covered with despair. Five Nascent Soul cultivators were closing in on Song Junwan, hoping to destroy her blood sword, and then kill both her and Master Limitless!

Song Junwan smiled bitterly at the sight of the five Nascent Soul enemies. Master Limitless was coughing up blood and could hardly defend himself. At this point, both of them knew that they were about to die…. However, that was when a voice rang out that caused heaven to shake and the earth to tremble. The clouds churned, and a thunderous roar filled the entire battlefield.

"How dare you people!!"

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Chapter 866: Its Bai Xiaochun!

Virtually the entire Middle Reaches began to shake because of the voice. Countless embattled cultivators felt their minds reeling. Before anyone could react, Bruiser suddenly shivered, then threw his head back and let out a howl of joy.

Song Junwan's jaw dropped, and the despair of death that had existed in her eyes was replaced by incredulity. She suddenly turned to look at the horizon, where an airship was speeding through the air, with a person just barely visible on the deck!

Of course, a battlefield with tens upon tens of thousands of combatants would obviously be filled with shocking levels of noise. Therefore, Bai Xiaochun's voice was like a rock dropped into a lake, which only sent a few ripples out. The enemy forces didn't take it very seriously.

In fact, a group of several hundred cultivators from the three sects spun and then began to fly toward Bai Xiaochun to block his path. Two in that group were Nascent Soul cultivators, who closed in on him from two different directions.

Even Song Junwan, after her initial excitement, came to the conclusion that Bai Xiaochun wouldn't make much of a difference in the fight. Furthermore, the five Nascent Soul cultivators who had been closing in, after their initial pause, snorted coldly and pressed the attack. Two of them focused on Master Limitless, and three on Song Junwan!

Because she wielded Middle Peak's blood sword, Song Junwan was able to fight back against Nascent Soul experts. Furthermore, she led a group of Middle Peak disciples who were adept at sword formations that could inflict injuries on anyone under the Nascent Soul stage.

They were a formidable force that the enemy disciples knew they had to completely crush before they could proceed onward into the sect headquarters.

The three Nascent Soul experts who were targeting Song Junwan closed in with immense speed. Even at peak condition, the Middle Peak disciples that Song Junwan commanded wouldn't be able to stop them. Therefore, they could only watch helplessly as Song Junwan… was put in imminent life-or-death danger!

No one was capable of turning the situation around….

When Bai Xiaochun saw what was happening, and realized what critical danger the River-Defying Sect was in, he was gripped with uncontrollable madness. Eyes crimson, he pushed the airship forward with such speed that it began to burn up. Then, he slammed into the group of hundreds of disciples who were besieging Song Junwan.

Rumbling booms echoed out. Of those hundreds of disciples, none could even get close to Bai Xiaochun. In fact, because of the intense flames which surrounded the airship, the entire group was instantly transformed into ash, killed in body and soul!

The airship shot through the sky like a deadly sword, crushing anything in its path as it descended toward the ground.

No one could block it, or even get close to it. Any who tried to were wiped out of existence! And then… he arrived right in the middle of the battlefield, next to the Blood Stream Division and Song Junwan!

He moved so quickly that he arrived just when the three Nascent Soul experts were bearing down on Song Junwan. Before they could actually unleash their attacks, an ear-piercing sound assaulted their ears. Two of them were in the early Nascent Soul stage, and one in the mid stage. They only had time to turn their heads, whereupon they saw nothing but the image of an enormous, burning airship.

The airship didn't slow down at all. It slammed into the three Nascent Soul experts, a destructive force that didn't even allow them to cry out in pain. They were engulfed by flame and force, and transformed into nothing more than ash!

The two cultivators who had been focusing on Master Limitless coughed up blood. Expressions of disbelief appeared on their faces, and their eyes nearly bulged out of their skulls as they began to fall back.

Bai Xiaochun strode out from the flaming wreckage of the airship to appear in front of Song Junwan. Wrapping his arm around her waist, he waved his hand, isolating nearly a thousand streams of destructive power that had been unleashed by the destroyed airship. Then he sent those streams of destruction smashing into anyone in the area who wasn't a member of the River-Defying Sect.

Not even the two Nascent Soul cultivators could escape, and were enveloped by pure death.

Miserable screams erupted onto the battlefield as thousands of cultivators were engulfed by flames, and then burned down to ash!

Although all of this takes a bit of time to describe, it happened in the briefest of moments. It took only the blink of an eye for Bai Xiaochun to kill five Nascent Soul experts, and thousands of other cultivators.

It happened so quickly that nobody could even react. Shock immediately began to spread across the battlefield, and countless gazes shifted to focus on Bai Xiaochun.

After an initial hush, the cultivators from the three sects began to gasp and cry aloud.

"Heavens!! What just happened!?"

"Dammit, who is that?!?!"

"He looks familiar…."

As the enemy cultivators reacted in shock, the River-Defying Sect disciples began to cry out loud in excitement.

"Bai Xiaochun! It's Bai Xiaochun!!"

"Sect Uncle Bai! It's Sect Uncle Bai!!"

"Bai Xiaochun!!"

Before long, everyone was crying Bai Xiaochun's name. Shangguan Tianyou, Beihan Lie, Patriarch Spirit Stream, Patriarch Blood Stream, the monkey, the rabbit, and countless other people were shaken to the core.

Powerful experts who had once been chosen in the three sects were now pillars of their respective organizations. Hatred existed in their eyes, for on their faces and other body parts… existed the mark of a turtle!

The three deva patriarchs all wore frowns, but at the moment, didn't have time to deal with Bai Xiaochun. Although they were shocked by his sudden appearance on the battlefield, and his unusual battle prowess, they were still confident… that he was only in the great circle of the Nascent Soul stage.

"Ignore him. Once we destroy the foundation of the River-Defying Sect, then we can kill him!" Having made their mutual decision, the three devas looked away from Bai Xiaochun and continued on with their original plan.

Patriarch Starry River was the one using the sky-obfuscating hand to unleash crushing power onto Patriarch Spirit Stream, the monkey, the rabbit, and the Blood Ancestor.

Patriarch Dao River bristled with sword qi, and his eyes glittered with greed as he eyed Bruiser!

Then there was Patriarch Polarity River, beneath whose feet roiled a black cloud. Under his destructive attacks, the main entrance to the River-Defying Sect was already on the verge of being reduced to ruins!

Those three devas had already surpassed the will of the heavens, causing the sky to vibrate and the clouds to churn.

Song Junwan was deeply shaken as she looked up at Bai Xiaochun, her mouth hanging open, but no words coming out. She felt like she was dreaming.

There were a million things Bai Xiaochun wanted to say to her, but currently, it was a moment of grave crisis for the sect, and there was no time. Waving his hand, he summoned a shimmering shield to surround her, something that not even a deva would be able to break through. Then, he looked over at the three devas who were unleashing unbridled destructive power onto the River-Defying Sect. He knew that they were the key to everything. If he could crush them, the tide of battle would be turned!

"They're only in the early Deva Realm. How dare they behave rudely in front of me!" Bai Xiaochun's eyes were completely bloodshot, especially when he saw all of the streams of sword qi surrounding Patriarch Dao River, and how he was trying to hard to cut down Bruiser. Bai Xiaochun opened his Heavenspan Dharma Eye, sending violet light spilling out. Then, he blurred into motion, moving faster than lightning in the direction of the sect headquarters itself.

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Chapter 867: Fleshly Body Destruction!

Bruiser was there in the sect headquarters, bursting with excitement despite the danger he currently faced. His enthusiasm even seemed to give him an extra burst of power, and yet, he knew how to refrain from being impulsive. The black sea of flames beneath his feet roared to life, surrounding him as he backed away from the fighting.

At the same time, Patriarch Dao River performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, causing the sword qi around him to converge into the shape of an illusory greatsword, which thrummed with the will of the heavens as it slashed toward Bruiser!

Patriarch Dao River didn't deign to pay any attention to Bai Xiaochun, nor the violet beam of light that shot out from his third eye. The man simply waved his sleeve, sending a portion of sword qi out to intercept it.

However, the instant the sword qi touched the violet light, the sword qi shattered, completely incapable of standing up to the violet light. Shocked, Patriarch Dao River tried to back up, but couldn't avoid the light. It latched onto him, and instantly took control of his body.

His face fell, and his heart began to pound as Bai Xiaochun blurred to a stop… right in front of Bruiser!

Bruiser let out an excited howl, unable to prevent the joy from burning in his eyes. Bai Xiaochun was essentially Bruiser's father, someone who could solve any problems!

Bruiser depended on Bai Xiaochun in the way that only relatives could!

Bai Xiaochun immediately let out a shout, shoving his right fist out toward the greatsword. When Patriarch Dao River saw that, he immediately relaxed a bit, and his eyes began to shine with coldness.

"This violet light is strange, but this kid is too young and inexperienced. I can't believe he didn't take the opportunity to try to injure me. For him to make contact with my incisive sword qi is simply courting--" However, before he could even finish his inner monologue, his eyes bulged as surely as if he had seen a ghost.

When the sword qi in which he had placed so much confidence struck Bai Xiaochun's fist, a popping sound could be heard, and the sword qi shattered!

It couldn't have collapsed more surely if it had encountered a metal wall. As for Bai Xiaochun, he wasn't harmed at all as the remnants of the sword qi scattered in all directions.

Patriarch Dao River shivered and gasped. The fact that Bai Xiaochun wasn't harmed at all by power comparable to the will of the heavens was shocking, to say the least.

"You're a deva too!!" he blurted. When the people in the area heard that, they were immediately shaken, and looked over with disbelieving eyes. As for the River-Defying Sect disciples, their excitement began to mount.

Inside the Blood Ancestor, Patriarch Spirit Stream and Patriarch Blood Stream were both delightedly shocked, as was the monkey. In contrast, Patriarch Starry River and Patriarch Polarity River were both shaken, and their killing intent grew more pronounced.

"Have a death wish?!" Bai Xiaochun growled, his eyes completely bloodshot because of all the wounds and scars he could see on Bruiser, especially that vicious neck wound. Howling in rage, he shot toward Patriarch Dao River.

Patriarch Dao River's heart sank. However, he was a deva. It didn't matter that he was only in the Mortal-Dao level, he was still proud and arrogant. Therefore, he performed an incantation gesture with both hands, causing more streams of sword qi to erupt out. Numerous greatswords appeared, fully 100,000 of them, which then descended onto Bai Xiaochun like rain.

Any one of those swords could seriously injure a Nascent Soul cultivator. They contained Patriarch Dao River's will, which surpassed that of the heavens, and also contained a huge convergence of the energy of heaven and earth. His goal was obviously to kill Bai Xiaochun as quickly as possible.

Meanwhile, Patriarchs Starry River and Polarity River began to rush over to help cut this cocky Bai Xiaochun down to size!

As the two other patriarchs took to motion, Patriarch Dao River's 100,000 greatswords bore down on Bai Xiaochun.

As for Bai Xiaochun, he strode forward, unleashing the explosive fleshly body power of the great circle of the Undying Bones! With that power, he utilized… the Mountain Shaking Bash!!

It was an incredible level of energy that caused heaven to shake and the earth to rumble. He shot forward with blinding speed, looking very much like a vicious beast from primordial times.

The air shattered around him as he moved, and to the shock of Patriarch Dao River, he was right in front of him before the rain of swords could even land!

A boom rang out, and blood sprayed from Patriarch Dao River's mouth. He tried to fall back, but before he could, Bai Xiaochun took advantage of the momentum he had built up to reach out with this thumb and index finger. Black light flashed, along with a powerful gravitational force.

It was none other than… the Throat Crushing Grasp!

A tremor passed through the retreating patriarch, and his eyes lit with terror as Bai Xiaochun closed in on his neck with lightning-like speed.

It was a critical moment, and Patriarch Dao River had no time to ponder what to do. It wasn't that he had never fought with other devas before; it was that he had never encountered someone as shockingly fast as Bai Xiaochun. He seemed brutal, as though he had veins of steel that made him willing to die fighting with his enemy. It was a madness that seemed bereft of any and all reason. And yet, at the same time, there was something crafty and intelligent within his killing intent, something that was like battle instinct!

The massive waves of shock that battered at Patriarch Dao River's mind caused him to gasp loudly. Patriarchs Starry River and Polarity River had no time to offer backup. Roaring, Patriarch Dao River sent the 100,000 greatswords swirling through the air to try to block Bai Xiaochun.

As the rain of swords closed in, Bai Xiaochun's eyes flickered, and he completely ignored them! Instead, he dashed forward, reached out, and grabbed the patriarch's right arm. Then, he squeezed down!

The shocking power of the Throat Crushing Grasp caused cracking sounds to fill the air as the deva's arm was ripped to shreds! His entire arm was completely destroyed!

A shrill scream escaped his lips, and his face turned ashen. Madness lit up his eyes, and yet, within that madness was shock; this was the most powerful enemy he had encountered since becoming a deva!

All of a sudden, he had no desire to fight Bai Xiaochun one-on-one. Taking a deep breath, he burned longevity to power a secret magic that propelled him backward at incredible speed.

However, in the moment that he took to motion, Bai Xiaochun unhesitatingly utilized his Undying Hex. Everything in the world suddenly slowed down, with the exception of himself. Then, he burst into motion as he chased after the fleeing Patriarch Dao River!

What everyone else saw was Bai Xiaochun seemingly moving faster than sound as he pursued the patriarch!

He caught up in the briefest of moments, whereupon he clenched his hand into a fist and then punched out with deva-level fleshly body power, adding in energy from his cultivation base.

Blood sprayed out of the deva's mouth as his chest caved in. His life force was fading rapidly, and his expression was one of complete terror. He immediately began to contemplate other ways to flee.

As of this moment, he could clearly sense… the shadow of death!!

Patriarchs Starry River and Polarity River were urgently rushing over, but Bai Xiaochun had attacked with such unbelievable speed that they still hadn't arrived. Unfortunately, they were very close. Realizing that, Bai Xiaochun's eyes flickered, and a tremendous burst of frigid qi appeared, filling everything within a 3,000-meter area!

It was like a frigid lake, or… a frigid domain! Furthermore, within that domain… appeared nine projections of Bai Xiaochun!

They shot like lightning toward Patriarch Dao River, and before he could do anything, pierced through him multiple times, provoking a bloodcurdling scream!

Booms rang out as the patriarch's head flew through the air, and the rest of his body exploded. He remained in existence only in nascent divinity form, utilizing a secret magic and other life-saving magical items to evade destruction. Flickering weakly, and screaming in terror the entire time, he flew away, leaving behind the shattered remnants of his fleshly body.

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