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

35. 1092

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Chapter 1092: Too Kindhearted

"This is impossible!!" Prince Ur-Demon shrieked, so close to the verge of collapsing mentally that he could do nothing other than stare at the minotaurs around them.

Despite being a high-ranking celestial in the Vile-Emperor Dynasty, the type of person that countless individuals looked up to in awe, to be surrounded by more than 1,000 minotaur monsters was something he could hardly handle.

The truth was that this many minotaur monsters… was something that would cause even the Vile-Emperor to gasp if he were here. It was a level of power that could very well destroy the Eternal Immortal Domains as a whole.

And although they were actually illusory, to Prince Ur-Demon and Reverend Devourer, they seemed very real.

"Is this really the twentieth level?!?!"

"This must be the fiftieth or eightieth level. Or maybe the hundredth!!"

"Why is this happening? This level of difficulty is ridiculous!!"

Ironically, Celestial Virūpākṣa was taking things even worse than Prince Ur-Demon and Reverend Devourer.

Those two had never been specifically targeted by Bai Xiaochun, whereas Celestial Virūpākṣa had. His confidence had been crushed earlier, and that was not something that could be recovered from easily. And thus, the situation was even more terrifying for him.

The only comfort he had was that this time… he had someone to accompany him in misery….

In their dismay, they fled. Their goal was not to fully escape, but to wait for the teleportation function to activate. After all, despite being mentally crushed by the increase in difficulty in the level, they weren't afraid of dying. Everyone knew that in this trial by fire, death wasn't a possibility.

The worst outcome was failure and injury.

And these celestials were decisive people by nature. Therefore, they immediately took to flight, giving up on any hope of possibly winning. Besides, running away might help them to avoid some level of injury. As they fled, the minotaur monsters swarmed them.

However, not even Celestial Virūpākṣa could ever have guessed that the current situation was like nothing compared to the nightmare which was to come….

Bai Xiaochun was furious at how everything had played out, and furious at Celestial Virūpākṣa for figuring out a better way to cheat than him…. He was also worried about the implications of dealing with a celestial who could find loopholes within the damaged fan's systems. Therefore, he decided that he absolutely, positively could not allow him to pass the level.

"It's too bad you can't kill people. I guess the best thing to do is trap him in there!" With every moment that passed, he became more convinced that this was the best thing to do. Meanwhile, inside the level, the light of teleportation had begun to build up, causing the three celestials' eyes to brighten.

In sharp contrast, Bai Xiaochun was not happy at all. Eyes glittering, he called upon his connection to the damaged fan to limit the teleportation function. Even as Celestial Virūpākṣa, Reverend Devourer and Prince Ur-Demon began to fade away….

Rumbling sounds echoed out, and they became clear again. Then, the light of teleportation vanished!

"Impossible!!"

"What's going on?!?!" Gasping, they began to dodge the attacking minotaurs, intense unease rising up in their hearts. They were now more nervous than they had been when they first saw the 1,000 minotaur monsters.

Bai Xiaochun was very pleased with the level of control he had. Still not completely sure of what he could do, he began to carefully push harder to see what was possible.

"Lock down the teleportation power. Lock down the teleportation power!!" His thoughts were like orders to the fan. Immediately, ripples filled the twentieth level, to the point where Celestial Virūpākṣa, Reverend Devourer and Prince Ur-Demon all noticed.

To their shock, rumbling sounds could be heard, and although it was impossible for the three celestials to understand why it was happening, all teleportation power in the twentieth level… was completely locked down!

Although it wasn't permanent, until the spirit automaton awoke, there was no way that Celestial Virūpākṣa, Reverend Devourer and Prince Ur-Demon would be able to leave the twentieth level!

"You wanted to challenge this level, right? Well fine then. You can challenge it day and night!" Gritting his teeth, Bai Xiaochun prepared to retract his divine sense, but then stopped.

"Wait, that's not quite enough. I want to make sure that even when the spirit automaton wakes up and frees them, those three villains are too worn out to attempt any more challenges." After some thought, he pulled out a handful of… Aphrodisiac Pills.

"It's too bad I don't have many Aphrodisiac Pills left, otherwise I would use some more. Ah, whatever. This should be enough. I refuse to believe that when the dust settles, they'll have the energy to do anything else!" Snorting coldly, he crushed the pills and sent the dust flying over to the minotaur monsters….

As the powder spread out… Bai Xiaochun retracted his divine sense. Although he wasn't interested in watching the results, he couldn't help but savor the knowledge of what a bitter place the twentieth level would shortly become….

Although Bai Xiaochun wasn't watching, Celestial Virūpākṣa, Reverend Devourer and Prince Ur-Demon were right there. After a brief moment, the minotaur monsters suddenly began to charge them with greater fervor.

Their eyes were bright red, and their howling pants caused the celestials' scalps to tingle.

"What's going on with the minotaur monsters?!?!"

"Why… why do I have such a bad feeling about this!?!?"

"Dammit, have they gone crazy or something?"

To the shock of the celestials, even more bizarre things began to happen to the minotaur monsters. They began to grow larger, with blue veins bulging out all over their bodies. As this happened, their howls reached the point that the celestials were trembling violently in fear.

"Not good!!"

From he way the minotaur monsters looked at them, it seemed that they were the most beautiful and enticing things in all creation. Soon, the minotaur monsters began to fight amongst themselves in madness to get to the front of the group.

As for what happened after that, the story was never publicly revealed….

Bai Xiaochun didn't pay much more attention to the twentieth level. He occasionally sent some divine sense over to check on it quickly, and would usually shiver and look away.

"You can't blame me. Those three bastards took it upon themselves to mess with me. And they even tried to compete in cheating!" Clearing his throat, he chose to focus his energy on the other cultivators. Over the following days, he got much pleasure from preventing them from advancing through any more levels. Soon, everyone was sighing.

Half a month passed by in a flash. By now, more than half of the total allotted time had passed. Eventually, people realized that Celestial Virūpākṣa, Reverend Devourer and Prince Ur-Demon had gone missing, to the shock of everyone, and the unease of the Vile-Emperor Dynasty cultivators.

Even Gu Tianjun and Sima Yunhua had no idea what was going on, and felt the need to be more on guard than ever.

When Bai Xiaochun heard everyone whispering about the missing celestials, he started to feel a bit guilty. For a moment, he considered going to check on the twentieth level, but in the end, decided it wasn't a good idea.

"I really am just too kindhearted. What would happen if I felt bad and then let them out…? That wouldn't be good…." Sighing, he once again began to ponder why he had this big weakness….

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Chapter 1093: An Invitation

Bai Xiaochun had a very fulfilling life in the following days. Preventing people from passing the levels, and thus protecting his personal wealth, made him come to the conclusion that it had definitely been worth it to come to this damaged fan.

Furthermore, the fact that he really could prevent people from passing the levels seemed to indicate that he truly was the owner of the fan.

Such thoughts, and the anticipation that came along with them, kept him in very high spirits. Even better was that nobody knew what was going on. The dismal look he kept on his face, and his constant sighs, were a thing of habit now.

Another half a month passed by. Bai Xiaochun was simply counting the days until the time limit passed. However, that was when Gu Tianjun and Sima Yunhua, who up to this point had almost completely ignored him, came for a talk.

They showed up so suddenly that he was startled. However, he kept his facial expression smooth. Heart pounding, he tried to discern if the other two celestials had picked up on any clues about what was happening…. That didn't seem likely, though, as Gu Tianjun's expression was as grim as it always was, whereas Sima Yunhua was smiling.

After shooing away any nearby cultivators, Sima Yunhua looked Bai Xiaochun up and down and then said, "Fellow Daoist Bai, we noticed that you've been stuck on the seventh level for two months now, and were wondering if you'd be interested in working out a deal?"

In response, Bai Xiaochun's eyes narrowed.

Sima Yunhua didn't take offense. In fact, his smile grew broader as he went on to offer further explanation.

"Fellow Daoist Bai, you must have heard that Celestial Virūpākṣa, Prince Ur-Demon and Reverend Devourer have disappeared!"

Those words caused Bai Xiaochun's heart to begin to pound. For one thing, he knew exactly where those three celestials were. However, there seemed to be some hidden implication in Sima Yunhua's words that he wasn't picking up on.

Glaring a bit to cover up his guilty conscience, he coldly said, "Fellow Daoist Sima, if you have something you want to say, just say it!"

"Please, don't misunderstand me, Fellow Daoist Bai," Sima Yunhua replied, smiling just like before. "I bear no ill intentions. Fellow Daoist Bai, you're originally from the Heavenspan Realm, but right now, we all represent the Saint-Emperor Dynasty.

"Regarding the situation with Celestial Virūpākṣa, Reverend Devourer and Prince Ur-Demon, well, I won't keep anything from you. Fellow Daoist Gu and I already looked into the matter a while ago. Based on the clues we discovered… we are certain that the other three celestials found a loophole that let them enter the challenge levels together, and join forces to pass them!" Sima Yunhua spoke his words with much confidence, and then waited to see how Bai Xiaochun would react.

Bai Xiaochun quickly put a confused and suspicious expression on his face.

"Most likely," Sima Yunhua continued, "the three of them are either stuck in one of the higher levels, or… have used another trick to get into a different part of the damaged fan!

"Either way, the time limit is rapidly approaching. We only have about a month left. If the three of us don't join forces right now, then I'm afraid none of us will have a shot at the good fortune available!" By this point, Sima Yunhua was not smiling anymore, but rather, spoke in a very serious tone.

"I spent a considerable bit of time trying to figure out what loophole Celestial Virūpākṣa discovered. At long last, I'm confident that I can do the same thing. I can definitely get the three of us into the same level!

"As you may know, Fellow Daoist Gu and I are both in the eighteenth level. We've been stuck there for a while, unable to make any progress. And thus, we've come to ask for your help, Fellow Daoist Bai!

"We can help you past the seventh level, as well as all the levels after that. Then, once we get to the eighteenth level, the three of us can go all out for the rest of the month that's left!" Back when Bai Xiaochun was a demigod, Sima Yunhua would never have directly asked him for help like this, nor told him the truth of matters. But now, Bai Xiaochun was a celestial, and although none of them had worked together before, it was obvious to Sima Yunhua that Bai Xiaochun was no weakling.

Clearly, he felt that it was important to tell the truth to someone he planned to work with, and therefore, revealed all of the details up front. Then, he waited to see what Bai Xiaochun would decide.

He was very confident that Bai Xiaochun would agree. In fact, after discussing the matter with Gu Tianjun, he was absolutely sure that Bai Xiaochun had no reason to refuse. After all, Bai Xiaochun was stuck in the seventh level, which had nothing to do with his cultivation base. It was a maze, and therefore, was difficult to pass through without a set strategy.

If Bai Xiaochun agreed to the proposal, then he would at least get to the eighteenth level without any problems. And considering he would be working with Gu Tianjun and Sima Yunhua, it was very possible they would get farther.

As far as Gu Tianjun and Sima Yunhua were concerned, they would be the ones offering help up front. Therefore, they didn't see any reason why Bai Xiaochun should refuse.

Bai Xiaochun sat there quietly for a moment. From Sima Yunhua's perspective, it seemed he must be thinking about the possible benefits. However, what he was really thinking about was the frustrations that would come if he refused.

"These guys are just looking to cause trouble, aren't they? Just let me stay in the seventh level! Then, when the month is up, the fan will be mine. Why'd they have to come looking to team up…?

"And I can't really refuse, can I? That wouldn't really make sense, and would only serve to rouse their suspicions. And considering how smart they are, they might start guessing what's really going on, and that could be a problem." Although he didn't really want to accept the offer, he knew that he couldn't refuse.

"How do we split the rewards from the seventh to seventeenth levels?" he asked coldly. "And what about the rewards after that?!"

When Sima Yunhua heard this question, he smiled.

"Fellow Daoist Bai, you can keep the rewards for all of the levels you pass on your own. Once we start working together, we'll just split things evenly! Do you agree, Fellow Daoist Gu?" With that, Sima Yunhua looked over at Gu Tianjun. As for Bai Xiaochun, he was not feeling very happy about the arrangement, but didn't let that show as he also looked at Gu Tianjun.

Gu Tianjun said nothing in response. He merely snorted and nodded.

Sima Yunhua seemed very pleased to have achieved his goal, and was also convinced that Bai Xiaochun wouldn't regret joining them. And even if he did regret it, Sima Yunhua had ways of convincing him to change his mind.

Having no further compunctions, Sima Yunhua quickly told Bai Xiaochun the secret to passing the seventh level.

"You destroy the maze?" Bai Xiaochun said, stunned. The truth was that he hadn't even thought about the seventh level lately. However, after hearing Sima Yunhua's explanation, and thinking about it for a bit, he realized that it did seem like a good method. And it also explained why Celestial Virūpākṣa had passed the level so quickly; that conformed fully with his personality.

He couldn't find the exit, so he broke one open.

Of course, only a celestial cultivation base could be used to do that. Demigod cultivation bases wouldn't be able to.

Smiling, Sima Yunhua went on to explain how to pass through all of the rest of the levels from the eighth to the seventeenth. In fact, from how quickly he spoke, it seemed he was much more anxious that Bai Xiaochun get through them than Bai Xiaochun himself was….

Considering the power Bai Xiaochun had to control the levels, he could tell that Sima Yunhua was not holding anything back. In the end, although he still didn't really want to, he had no choice but to rise to his feet and head toward the seventh level.

However, he still did his best to kill as much time as possible. There was a whole month left, so therefore, every extra day he could buy was important.

And yet, Bai Xiaochun had underestimated how anxious Sima Yunhua and Gu Tianjun were. After three days passed in which he had only gotten as far as the eleventh level, the other two celestials lost their patience, and used a special secret magic to offer direct assistance.

Bai Xiaochun actually didn't need to do anything. With their secret magic, the level was vanquished like an ice cube crushed by a hammer. Bai Xiaochun wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry as, in the shortest of times, he reached the seventeenth level in a single day.

Rewards in hand, he looked around blinking.

"Those two bastards really have it out for me, don't they?" he thought, maintaining full vigilance. If Sima Yunhua weren't so anxious, he would never have done things so blatantly. But Bai Xiaochun had just been going too slow. At that speed, it would have taken him half a month to get to the seventeenth level.

"This guy plays it too safe…." Sima Yunhua thought. "But even so, once he gets into the eighteenth level…." Although he was snorting coldly inside, his expression was one of enthusiastic friendliness.

"Fellow Daoist Bai, I know you're a bit suspicious about all of this, but I'm being very honest. I really don't think we can get past the eighteenth level unless we work together. Plus, the clock is ticking. Therefore, why don't we go into the level immediately?"

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Chapter 1094: You Tricked Me?

Bai Xiaochun looked suspiciously at Sima Yunhua. As for Gu Tianjun, whether it was intentional or not, he was the type of person who always went around looking like his Daoist partner had just been killed, making it impossible to tell what he was really thinking.

"Maybe Gu Tianjun's Daoist partner really was killed recently," Bai Xiaochun thought. "But if not, what's the deal with that facial expression? Doesn't his face get tired?" He cleared his throat. On any other occasion, he would have come up with some way of parting ways with Sima Yunhua.

But he was feeling particularly confident right now. Perhaps things might be different beyond the twentieth level, but up to that level, he wasn't worried about anything unexpected happening.

To make sure that neither of the other celestials suspected him in any way, he pretended to think about the matter a bit more before finally nodding.

At that point, Sima Yunhua finally breathed a sigh of relief. Smiling warmly, he clasped hands to Bai Xiaochun. Then the three of them headed toward the fan rib that Sima Yunhua had selected in the beginning. After reaching the entrance to the eighteenth level, Bai Xiaochun looked over at Gu Tianjun to see that his expression was as unreadable as ever. Up to this point, Sima Yunhua and Gu Tianjun had entered the levels to help him only after he had gone in ahead of them.

Therefore, he had no idea how they went about doing it.

However, after watching Sima Yunhua's double-handed incantation gesture, he had an idea of what was about to happen. A glowing ball of light emerged from the man's bag of holding. Before Bai Xiaochun could get a close look at it, it spread out, covering the three of them, and causing rumbling sounds to fill Bai Xiaochun's ears. His vision blurred, and when it became clear… they were in the eighteenth level!

Yellowish desert sand spread out in all directions. A desolate, screaming wind hit their faces, and off in the distance, a sandstorm raged. At the moment, the only thing they could see was flying sand that seemed filled with killing intent.

"Did you see how I did that just now, Fellow Daoist Bai?" Sima Yunhua asked, casting an enigmatic smile in Bai Xiaochun's direction. Inwardly, he was chuckling coldly. He had noticed Bai Xiaochun paying attention to him, and could tell that he was interested in the trick to entering the levels. However, he had long since taken precautions to make sure that no one, neither Bai Xiaochun nor Gu Tianjun, would be able to unlock the secret.

Bai Xiaochun also snorted inwardly, and was about to say something in response when, all of a sudden, a howling sound echoed out from within the sandstorm.

The ground quaked violently as, off in the distance, the sandstorm churned, slowly taking the shape of enormous head.

From the pressure radiating off of the head, it clearly had the power of a celestial!

Gu Tianjun and Sima Yunhua had somber looks on their faces as they looked at the head. As for Bai Xiaochun, he blinked a few times, but then quickly put a similarly serious expression on.

"That one little sand head has kept you stuck here all this time?" he asked, looking out of the corner of his eye at Gu Tianjun and Sima Yunhua, sneering slightly.

"Don't underestimate this eighteenth level, Fellow Daoist Bai," Sima Yunhua said. "If there were only one sand head here, then either Fellow Daoist Gu or myself could have passed the level on our own. Once you defeat the first head, ten more appear. And after that, there are ten giants. That level of power is what has us stuck.

"The real point of the level is to defeat the ten sand giants!" He was about to add some further information, but the howling sand head had begun to charge toward them.

Gu Tianjun's eyes flickered, and before either Bai Xiaochun or Sima Yunhua could act, he took a step forward and simultaneously reached out with his right hand. As he did, an illusory sword projection formed, which rapidly solidified into an ancient greatsword!

With the sword in hand, his energy surged to shocking levels. Even Bai Xiaochun was taken aback. The Gu Tianjun of this moment looked so powerful, and his sword so sharp, that he seemed almost unstoppable.

Staring through narrowed eyes at the incoming sand head, Gu Tianjun unhesitatingly slashed his sword through the air toward it!

The sound of the sword screaming through the air caused the sandstorm to lurch to a halt, and the sky to tremble on the verge of collapse. Then, a boundless stream of sword qi slashed forward, destroying all the sand and rock that it touched.

Crevices opened up in the ground as the sword qi moved with blinding speed, appearing directly in front of the sand head a moment later.

The head shivered, and then exploded from the forehead out. In a short few breaths of time, the entire head had been destroyed by the slashing blow from Gu Tianjun!

Afterward, Gu Tianjun stood there panting a bit. Obviously, this sword blow of his was something extraordinary, and not easy for him to unleash. As for Bai Xiaochun, he stood off to the side, stunned by what he had seen.

Based on the performances he had seen earlier from Celestial Virūpākṣa and the others, Gu Tianjun's sword was far more incredible. Bai Xiaochun's scalp actually tingled with a bit of fear after seeing it.

"I can't believe this guy is so powerful…. Although, some of it is because he keeps his secrets just as good as that villain Virūpākṣa…. Plus, Gu Tianjun is a sword cultivator, so when he unleashes an explosive attack, it's pretty unique." Bai Xiaochun forced himself to calm down a bit. After the destruction of the sand head, another sandstorm sprang up, and it was possible to see numerous heads forming.

Then, the ground began to shake as hands and arms stretched up.

Even as Bai Xiaochun pretended to be shaken by what he was seeing, the gasping Gu Tianjun hefted his sword… and slashed it at Bai Xiaochun!

"What's the meaning of this, Gu Tianjun!?" Bai Xiaochun blurted. Naturally, he was a lot quicker to react than the sand head, and managed to dodge out of the way of the sword qi.

Unfortunately, as he did, Sima Yunhua smiled and performed a double-handed incantation gesture, summoning a blinding globe of light.

"Captivating Radiance!" Sima Yunhua shouted, thrusting his hands in Bai Xiaochun's direction, and causing the light to shoot toward Bai Xiaochun. Clearly, he had calculated the range and trajectory of Bai Xiaochun's retreat to match his attack perfectly with Gu Tianjun's sword.

They were giving Bai Xiaochun no opportunity for escape. If that were all there were to it, it might not be a big deal. But it was at this moment, howls erupted from the sandstorm as the ten giants rose to their feet. Ignoring Gu Tianjun and Sima Yunhua, and seemingly captivated by the dazzling light, they charged in Bai Xiaochun's direction!

In the blink of an eye, the ten incredibly fast giants had Bai Xiaochun surrounded in much the same way that he had seen Celestial Virūpākṣa surrounded in the past.

If this had occurred before Bai Xiaochun performed a spirit enhancement on the damaged fan, he would have been in major trouble. But things were different now. And he had already guessed what was going on.

"This isn't what you said was going to happen, Sima Yunhua!" he roared in rage.

"Calm down, Fellow Daoist Bai. The truth is that there is a problem with the teleportation function in the eighteenth level. Just hang in there for a short bit. Buy a bit of time for Gu Tianjun and I. Afterward, our cooperation can continue." He and Gu Tianjun backed up at top speed, both of them performing double-handed incantation gestures as they prepared divine abilities.

Bai Xiaochun's eyes widened into a glare. "You tricked me!"

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Chapter 1095: I'd Rather Die

These were two celestials of the Saint-Emperor Dynasty, and yet they had brazenly led Bai Xiaochun right into a trap.

Sima Yunhua wore a kind smile, and if you looked closely, he even seemed slightly apologetic. Of course, it was all for show. Inwardly, he was chuckling coldly.

What he was really thinking was that the best way for he and Gu Tianjun to pass the eighteenth level was either to have someone willingly sacrifice themselves, or somehow distract the sand giants. With the extra time that would give them, Gu Tianjun's astounding sword qi, combined with Sima Yunhua's long-range magical techniques, might be enough to succeed.

Up to this point, they had tried every option they could think of. Unfortunately, although the sand giants themselves were not very intelligent, making them relatively simplistic opponents, spell formations and restrictive spells didn't work in the eighteenth level.

Getting a demigod to come in and help buy time didn't seem to be an option. Therefore, Bai Xiaochun was their best shot.

"Don't blame me!" Sima Yunhua thought. "I didn't force you to get greedy for the rewards from level eighteen and beyond!" Sighing, he went about with his magical techniques, keeping an eye on Bai Xiaochun at the same time. Right now, he was just as confident that Bai Xiaochun could handle the sand giants as he had been that he would agree to the proposal to begin with.

After all, they were both anything but ordinary cultivators. Although his little scheme would cause a grudge, he was confident in being able to resolve that grudge later. And he wouldn't give up on the possible profits of the moment just because of that.

Furthermore, Sima Yunhua had also resolved that, if the plan worked out, and they passed the level, he would still give Bai Xiaochun the share he had been promised.

As he pondered the entire matter, his smile grew wider.

Bai Xiaochun saw that smile and snorted coldly. The truth was that if he wanted to get past this level, it would have been the simplest of matters. But that smile, and Gu Tianjun's look of scorn, caused him to pick a different course.

"Lord Bai has treated these two scoundrels with far too much benevolence. Considering what I did to Virūpākṣa and his buddies, the fact that I did nothing more than make it harder for these two to get through the levels clearly shows how easy I went on them. I didn't push them to the point of despair!

"After giving them a break like I did, they go and do this to me?!" Bai Xiaochun knew that without his authority over twenty percent of the damaged fan, if he got into this position, it would have been very, very bad. He would have been unable to escape, and worse, even if he managed to hold off the giants, he would have ended up seriously injured.

Even if he was given roughly thirty percent of the reward for the eighteenth level, it wouldn't be worth it. His injuries would have made him useless in the nineteenth and twentieth levels, and he would definitely have been prevented from going in.

"Well, whatever. Maybe if they had been honest about this from the beginning, I could have accepted it. But instead they try to take advantage of me? Do they really think that Bai Xiaochun is that easy to push around!?" Eyes narrowing, he backed away from the incoming sand giants. As they attacked, and he dodged, he could tell that unless he started using some divine abilities, he wouldn't be able to hold out for much longer.

"This is my territory! How dare they try to screw me over here!" Bai Xiaochun took a deep breath and decided not to leave. That would be going too easy on these two bastards. Letting out a shout, he shifted his momentum and began to rush toward the sand giants.

At the same time, he called upon his strange connection to the damaged fan. Ripples spread out around him in the air as he slammed into the giants, upon whose faces blank expressions appeared.

A moment later, a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering boom filled the air as Bai Xiaochun screamed, staggered backward and coughed up blood!

"I can't handle it!" he shouted. "You two have to think of something! These giants are so strong! I'm hurt! I'm gonna die!" Then he toppled over, and lay there completely unmoving.

Apparently, the sand giants believed Bai Xiaochun to have perished. Ignoring him, they turned, looked at Sima Yunhua and Gu Tianjun, and began striding toward them, vicious expressions on their faces.

"Dammit, that bastard is actually feigning death!" Sima Yunhua's scalp tingled at the sight of the ten giants rushing toward him and Gu Tianjun. There was no time to ponder why the sand giants believed Bai Xiaochun to be dead. He quickly finished his incantation gesture and unleashed the magical technique he had been preparing, sending a wall of flame out. At the same time, he began to back up at top speed.

Gu Tianjun acted similarly. As they fell back, Bai Xiaochun lay there, expression grim.

"We're all celestials here!" Gu Tianjun shouted, his eyes glimmering with disgust. "If you didn't want to work with us, you could have just said so. I can't believe you're pretending to be dead. How completely shameless! You might have a celestial cultivation base, Bai Xiaochun, but you don't have the heart of a true powerful expert!"

As far as Gu Tianjun was concerned, a celestial shouldn't feign death even in the direst of circumstances. In fact, he was so angry that he was just about to shift directions and try to head away from the giants and toward Bai Xiaochun.

Bai Xiaochun lay there getting angrier by the minute. Sending out a thought, he caused a hundred giants to suddenly rise up out of the sand.

Roaring, they converged on Gu Tianjun before he could go through with his plan. When he saw what was happening, he gasped and fell back at top speed.

Sima Yunhua was equally stunned.

"There's actually a third phase!!"

When Bai Xiaochun heard that, he sighed at the fact that he had too few Aphrodisiac Pills in his bag of holding. Otherwise, he would have made sure there was a fourth phase too.

Meanwhile, more than a hundred sand giants were blasting Gu Tianjun and Sima Yunhua backward across the battlefield. Blood sprayed out of the mouths of the celestials, who despite being anxious, were simply trying to hold on for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, whereupon they would be teleported out.

If it had been ten sand giants, they wouldn't have had any problems holding out. But the sight of more than a hundred had their scalps tingling in fear. Unfortunately, they had no other ideas of what to do.

"Dammit," Sima Yunhua growled under his breath, "how could things have changed so quickly?!" Finally, he gritted his teeth and fell over, simultaneously causing his aura to vanish. Apparently, he was choosing to imitate Bai Xiaochun in feigning his death….

Bai Xiaochun was very pleased with this. He immediately had the giants who had been attacking Sima Yunhua turn to the only other 'living' target in the level… Gu Tianjun.

Gu Tianjun's jaw dropped….

With Bai Xiaochun and Sima Yunhua both pretending to be dead, Gu Tianjun's fate was sealed. More than a hundred sand giants closed in on him with raging madness and terrifying energy. Just before they reached him, Gu Tianjun gritted his teeth, fell over, and retracted his aura. He had also chosen to feign death….

Sadly, his attempt to feign death didn't work. The sand giants apparently weren't fooled, and before long, Gu Tianjun was screaming in agony. Blood sprayed out of his mouth as he was knocked back and forth across the battlefield, his heart filled with bitterness.

"Dammit. This isn't fair! Look, Sima Yunhua isn't really dead! Why don't you go after him!?!?" Gu Tianjun was already hovering on the brink of madness.

When Bai Xiaochun heard Gu Tianjun's words, he realized that they made sense. Therefore, he sent some of the sand giants charging back toward Sima Yunhua.

Sima Yunhua's eyes nearly fell out of his skull, and he began to curse like mad. What was happening seemed completely beyond reason. The giants had never seemed very intelligent, but now it was almost as if they were toying with them!

It wasn't that he didn't suspect Bai Xiaochun had something to do with it, but rather… it never occurred to him that Bai Xiaochun could possibly already be the owner of the damaged fan!

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Chapter 1096: The Return of Virupaksa

Because of the more than 100 sand giants, Sima Yunhua and Gu Tianjun had no way to cause any problems for Bai Xiaochun. In fact, they didn't even have time to think about him.

If they lost focus for even a moment, they would be in real and profound danger. They alternated between coughing up blood and consuming medicinal pills until, finally, the teleportation power kicked in.

As the teleportation light built up, they suddenly felt the relief of having escaped a dangerous experience by the skin of their teeth. At the same time, their hope of getting past the eighteenth level vanished completely.

As they left, Bai Xiaochun opened his eyes and stood up, looking very pleased with himself. After brushing the sand and dust off of himself, he stuck his chin up, flicked his sleeve, and coolly said, "With the flick of a sleeve, I, Bai Xiaochun, reduced celestials to ashes. Their biggest mistake was pissing me off to begin with!"

Bai Xiaochun was extremely pleased with this latest addition to his usual monologue, and decided he should use it again in the future if he could.

Meanwhile, the sand giants had all stopped moving, and were just standing there, motionless. Bai Xiaochun looked them over, and felt a bit sad. It wasn't that he hadn't considered taking them with him. Sadly, based on the powers he had gained from the damaged fan, he knew that such puppets could exist only in the eighteenth level. Outside, they would be mere illusions.

"I wonder how the sovereign who made this fan was able to do all this." At this point, Bai Xiaochun contemplated passing the eighteenth level just to annoy Sima Yunhua and Gu Tianjun.

After a bit of thought, he decided that doing so would be too suspicious. Therefore, he sighed and gave up on the idea. Moments later, he was teleported away.

The instant he reappeared outside, a beam of sword qi slashed toward him.

Thankfully, he had been prepared for such a thing. Glaring, he unleashed a fist strike right into the sword qi.

A boom rang out, and he staggered backward several hundred meters. However, the sword qi collapsed, and Gu Tianjun, who had already been injured and relying on the power of medicinal pills to keep going, was hit by the backlash, and sent tumbling several thousand meters away. When he ground to a halt, he looked up at Bai Xiaochun with a glare.

"You tricked us, Bai Xiaochun!" he growled.

Sima Yunhua appeared next to Gu Tianjun, eyes shining with cold light as he too stared at Bai Xiaochun.

If the two celestials hadn't been injured, Bai Xiaochun would have played it a bit safer. But they were both badly hurt, so he wasn't scared of them at all.

Glancing at them snidely out of the corner of his eye, he said, "First we need to clear up the issue of who tricked who! If the two of you want to keep causing trouble, then fine, bring it on! I've had enough of the likes of you."

With that he raised his voice loudly. "Alright, everyone, pay close attention. I'm not picking a fight with these two, they're bullying me! When we get back to the Saint-Emperor Dynasty, I'll ask His Majesty to make a fair judgement about it!"

Gu Tianjun could offer no response to Bai Xiaochun's sharp words, other than a few guttural grunts. However, the killing intent in his eyes grew explosively strong. Sima Yunhua, on the other hand, was a bit more rational. After staring at Bai Xiaochun for a moment, he smiled.

"Apparently I underestimated you, Fellow Daoist Bai." With that, he clasped hands and bowed, then turned and headed off to meditate.

Gu Tianjun remained standing there for a long moment. Eventually, he snorted coldly, suppressed his killing intent, and walked some distance away. For one thing, he knew that he was too badly injured to fight Bai Xiaochun. For another thing, he somehow had the feeling that, in this place, it didn't matter that he had a higher cultivation base. He was still in great danger when it came to dealing with Bai Xiaochun.

After Gu Tianjun and Sima Yunhua backed down, the other cultivators who had gathered to watch the scene could already guess what had happened.

That was especially true of Preceptor Seadeep and the others from the Saint Emperor Dynasty. The fact that Sima Yunhua and Gu Tianjun had conceded, and also the sight of Bai Xiaochun's fist strike, left them all shaken.

"Obviously there was some friction between those three…. And in the end, Bai Xiaochun came out on top!"

"He seems relatively harmless, but the truth is that from the moment Bai Xiaochun entered the damaged fan, he hasn't lost any major conflicts!"

"And he just got all the way to the eighteenth level without expending any effort at all!!"

Everyone looked over at him with fear lingering in their hearts. When Bai Xiaochun realized that, his heart swelled with pride.

"Ai, what can I do? Wherever I go, I end up the center of attention. It's not like I do it on purpose!" Shaking his head, he found a place to sit cross-legged and relish his victory. At the same time, he was starting to get antsy about the time limit ending. There was only about half a month left.

Things went just as Bai Xiaochun had prayed they would. Time flew by, and before long, it was only two days before the time limit ran out. By this point, just about everyone had given up on the challenges. Only four or five people refused to quit. For them, there was no longer any excitement to be found in their attempts, only dogged persistence.

Gu Tianjun and Sima Yunhua eventually recovered and went back to try to handle the eighteenth level again. But after failing a few times, they sighed and gave up.

Everyone was talking about Celestial Virūpākṣa, Reverend Devourer and Prince Ur-Demon. They were still missing, and no one had any idea where they were stuck. Many people had come to the conclusion that they had come across some other good fortune. Even Gu Tianjun and Sima Yunhua seemed to believe that.

When Bai Xiaochun heard such talk, he merely cleared his throat.

Two days passed. It was at that point that, for the first time since the trial by fire began, everyone could use their divine sense again!

It was a strange and wonderful sensation for everyone.

Gu Tianjun and Sima Yunhua were particularly delighted. They had participated in too many trials by fire to count in their lives, but had never been as frustrated as they had in this damaged fan.

They could accept defeat, but this damaged fan almost seemed to hate them. No matter how hard they tried, the fan just wouldn't let them succeed.

Not a single person seemed to regret that the end of the trial had come. In fact, many of them breathed sighs of relief. The past two months had been like a torment for most of them.

"Maybe it's Celestial Virūpākṣa, Reverend Devourer or Prince Ur-Demon who will get the ultimate good fortune!" That was what many people were thinking.

When the final moment came, the fan's spirit automaton again awoke. It had been gone for a long time, and therefore, it was a bit startling. However… it was to everyone's shock that, in that very same moment, the light of teleportation rose up in the main square, and three people crawled out of it….

Yes, they literally crawled….

Their clothing was in tatters, and they had blank looks on their faces. They were also trembling, although they didn't realize it, and were spattered with blood. These were the very three people that everyone had suspected of acquiring the good fortune of the trial by fire. Celestial Virūpākṣa. Prince Ur-Demon. Reverend Devourer.

Everyone stared over in shocked silence at the three celestials, who looked as if they had been trampled by an army of tens of thousands of men and horses. Moments later, people began to cry out in surprise and alarm.

"This… this…."

"Heavens. Wait, they didn't actually get any good fortune? What happened to them!? I can't believe they were tortured to this state!!"

"Look at their expressions. That's what you look like when you fall into despair over and over again. And look at all the blood…."

Bai Xiaochun's voice could be heard amongst the others. Sounding dramatically shocked, he pointed and said, "How could this have happened!? I thought I had it bad, but it turns out you three had it way worse!"

No one was really paying attention to him, though. The demigods from the Vile-Emperor Dynasty, including Li Donghao, hurried over to help the celestials to their feet.

Prince Ur-Demon and Reverend Devourer seemed to be in a slightly better state. Although they were gasping for breath, they were already recovering mentally. However, Celestial Virūpākṣa seemed to have been the focus of special attention…. As soon as Li Donghao reached out to him, Celestial Virūpākṣa noticed his towering frame and shrieked, "Don't touch me! I said don't touch me…!"

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Chapter 1097: It Was Definitely You, Bai Xiaochun

Celestial Virūpākṣa recovered quickly. A moment later, he rose to his feet, his eyes blazing as he looked around at the crowd.

Prince Ur-Demon and Reverend Devourer did the same. Their eyes were filled with boundless madness and hatred, to the point where it seemed likely that, if they found out who was responsible for their plight, they would unleash insane rage.

The two months of torment they had experienced had frequently left them wishing they could die. At the same time, they had come to the conclusion that there was only one explanation for what had occurred: someone had been targeting them specifically.

They weren't sure how the deed had been done, but they were sure someone was behind it.

The shocked onlookers could see that something strange was going on, and began to consider what it might be. At the same time, Bai Xiaochun was feeling a bit guilty, and was marveling at how powerful these three must be to have endured what they had.

"I can't let them find out it was me. Otherwise they'll definitely go crazy." Having reached this point in his train of thought, he looked around quickly, and began to imitate the expressions on some of the other cultivators' faces.

But then….

"It was definitely you, Bai Xiaochun!"

Bai Xiaochun whipped his head around to find Celestial Virūpākṣa glaring at him with bright red eyes.

His heart leaped with fear, but he simply frowned.

"What exactly do you mean?!" he said, slowly rising to his feet, and trying to look confused. Celestial Virūpākṣa took a step forward, but Prince Ur-Demon quickly reached out to block his path.

Prince Ur-Demon looked closely at Bai Xiaochun for a moment, then looked around at the crowd.

"Ladies and gentlemen, presumably all of you experienced some strange situations in this trial by fire. For example, in the trial that only had nine stairs, there was a moment when one hundred stairs appeared. And in another, one puppet became ten, or even a hundred!

"I'll be honest with you all. We three celestials joined forces to get past the eighteenth and nineteenth levels. But in the twentieth level, we faced an unending horde of minotaur monsters. That might have been something we could accept, but then we found that we couldn't perform teleportations. Fine, maybe we could accept that too. But after four hours passed, we were unable to leave. We were stuck in there all this time, up until a few moments ago!

"Clearly, something very abnormal is going on, something that should never have happened!

"Of course, anomalies are always possible, but there shouldn't have been more than one such strange occurrence!" Everyone was shaken by what they were hearing, especially Gu Tianjun and Sima Yunhua.

It was definitely true that a lot of strange things had occurred within the past few months. Although everyone had suspected something strange was going on, no one had any proof, nor any way to provide an explanation.

Now that Prince Ur-Demon was speaking things aloud, people began to occasionally glance over at Bai Xiaochun, who simply blinked and tried to maintain a serious, suspicious expression on his face.

As for Prince Ur-Demon, he was virtually staring at Bai Xiaochun the entire time, his eyes flickering with hatred.

"I suspect that someone in our midst somehow became the owner of the damaged fan. In fact, that person has likely already secretly passed the twentieth level!

"That is the only explanation, the only way that someone could target all of us, and keep us three celestials trapped in the twentieth level!"

As everyone looked on in stunned silence, Gu Tianjun shivered and suddenly said, "The person most likely to be responsible is Bai Xiaochun!"

"I can't be certain if Fellow Daoist Bai is the one responsible," Sima Yunhua added coldly. "However, it wasn't very long ago that Fellow Daoist Gu and I joined him in attempting to pass the eighteenth level. Once inside, the sand giants completely ignored him!" At this point, many in the crowd began fanning out, as if to surround Bai Xiaochun.

Bai Xiaochun was very nervous, and knew that if he wasn't very careful, he could make a deadly mistake. Taking a deep breath, he tried to look furious as he shouted, "This is all because I'm from the Heavenspan Realm, isn't it? It's because I'm the only celestial from the lands of Heavenspan!

"You two laid a deadly trap for me in the eighteenth level! And did you forget how the sand giants also ignored you, Sima Yunhua? It wasn't just me!

"As for you, Celestial Virūpākṣa, you were the one targeting me, from the very beginning! That makes me the perfect person to frame!

"You think I passed the twentieth level already!? Well everyone can see the standings, and look, I never got past the seventeenth level!" Bai Xiaochun was just beginning to add some more when Reverend Devourer narrowed his eyes and cut in.

"We'll all know very soon whether or not it was you," he said. "The time limit is almost up, and soon everyone will find out who the new owner of the fan is! Then everything will be made clear!"

Everyone else in the crowd seemed to agree with Reverend Devourer.

Bai Xiaochun was feeling very nervous, but couldn't think of anything to do. Not only was he surrounded here, but people would surely continue to be angry with him once they were back in the Saint Emperor Dynasty.

He actually didn't want to have anything to do with the damaged fan now, but now that everyone had their divine sense back, his hands were tied.

As Bai Xiaochun stood there nervously, Virūpākṣa's eyes glittered with killing intent, and Sima Yunhua chuckled coldly. A moment later, the fan began to vibrate, and a force of expulsion appeared, pushing the group out of the main square of the damaged fan.

As they were propelled in the direction of the Eternal Immortal Domains, the Saint-Emperor and the Vile-Emperor appeared. Although they were there to escort their people home, they also took advantage of the moment to try to get to the fan, which now seemed unprotected.

However, it was in that very moment that the fan tipped to the side and then flew off of the hand of the enormous sovereign. Instead of heading toward any given person, it began to sail off into the darkness of the void.

Bai Xiaochun breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time was a bit shocked. Based on everything that had happened, he had assumed the fan would come to him.

Of course, he didn't let his surprise show.

After all, the Vile-Emperor and Saint-Emperor were speeding off into the distance, using unknown techniques to try to reach the fan and enter it.

Bai Xiaochun was nervous, but because of the presence of the two emperors, and also how everyone was suspicious of him, he didn't dare to try to reach out and connect with the fan. Feeling very frustrated, he glanced at Celestial Virūpākṣa, Prince Ur-Demon, and Reverend Devourer, and then settled his gaze onto Gu Tianjun and Sima Yunhua.

"Do you people see that?!?!" he said, almost shouting. "First of all, I didn't perform any incantation gestures. Second of all, I didn't use any divine sense. Third of all, I didn't even move a muscle. That fan… didn't even move in my direction!

"The person who tampered with the trial by fire was obviously not me! And I clearly didn't get past the twentieth level, much less become the new owner of the fan!

"I met with the same misfortune as all of you. Obviously, I'm not the one to blame!

"Someone used you, Celestial Virūpākṣa!!

"And you misjudged the situation, Prince Ur-Demon!

"What about you, Reverend Devourer? Why haven't you said anything yet? And then there's you, Sima Yunhua. Things aren't settled between the two of us!"

His words were met with silence. None of the celestials could offer a single retort.

Everyone looked in the direction of the disappearing fan. Although Bai Xiaochun hadn't directly mentioned either the Saint-Emperor or the Vile-Emperor, based on what he had said, and what was happening now… people had come to their own conclusions about the matter.

Unfortunately, there was no way to confirm the theory. Celestial Virūpākṣa said nothing. He simply turned and left. Mixed emotions could be seen in Prince Ur-Demon's eyes, and Reverend Devourer's face was extremely grim as the two of them left.

Sima Yunhua and Gu Tianjun exchanged a glance, then sighed inwardly. Shaking their heads, they left. Before long, everyone was taking advantage of the magical light left behind by the two emperors to return home to the dynastic capital cities in the Eternal Immortal Domains.

After returning to Saint-Emperor City, Bai Xiaochun finally breathed a true sigh of relief. The crisis had passed. However, the matter of who controlled the fan had him feeling very anxious.

"How come it didn't come to me? Is it because I didn't call out to it?"

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Chapter 1098: Twelve Celestials

"But it's a sovereign precious treasure!" Bai Xiaochun felt his heart dripping with figurative blood. He considered trying to make contact with the fan, but in the end, decided not to. He would bide his time until the Saint-Emperor returned.

After all, if he tried to make contact and failed, it wouldn't matter. But if he succeeded and the Saint-Emperor noticed, it could have major repercussions.

Sighing, he returned to his blessed land in Saint-Emperor City. All of the cultivators he saw were clearly edgy in his presence. And Heavenly Marquis Liu was obviously keeping a close eye on him. But he was in no mood to care about that. He simply sat there in his blessed land, waiting.

Half a month later, the Saint-Emperor had still not returned. That was when something happened that affected all of the Eternal Immortal Domains. A feeling descended upon all living beings, seemingly from the heavens above. Furthermore, a voice began to whisper into the ears of everyone alive!

The Vile-Emperor Dynasty and Saint-Emperor Dynasty began to stir in just the way they had when Bai Xiaochun became a celestial!

However, this time, the source was not Saint-Emperor City, but rather… Vile-Emperor City!

"Someone… is becoming a celestial!"

"Heavens! Two celestials in one year!?!?"

When the cultivators in the Saint-Emperor Dynasty realized what was happening, they looked in the direction of Vile-Emperor City, crying out in alarm and shock. Gu Tianjun, Sima Yunhua and Chen Su had all been meditating in their respective blessed lands. But now, their eyes were wide with astonishment.

Bai Xiaochun was also ripped out meditation as a voice began to speak to him. He could also sense that all of the Eternal Immortal Domains were being shaken. Eventually, the voice speaking into the ears of all beings in the world became very clear!

A twelfth celestial exists in the world, named… Daoist Heavenspan!

The people in the Saint-Emperor Dynasty were shaken, and gasped in shock. As for those in the Vile-Emperor Dynasty, they fell into wild jubilation.

"Another… another celestial!?!?"

"Daoist Heavenspan? That name… sounds familiar. That's someone from the Heavenspan Realm, right? But I thought he was dead?!?!"

"Heavenspan Realm…. So in only one year, and only a few months apart, it produced two celestials!! What terrifying reserve powers they had built up. It's a good thing the two of them don't get along."

As the buzz of conversation filled the world, Bai Xiaochun slowly rose to his feet, his expression grim and filled with insane killing intent!

His eyes were bloodshot as he stared off into the distance, and it was only after a long moment that he managed to get his killing intent under control.

"Heavenspan, you bastard," he grated. "So… you really aren't dead!!" All of a sudden, he thought back to everything from the Heavenspan Realm. He thought back to the climactic final battle. He thought back to Bai Hao. He thought back to Du Lingfei. He thought back to all of the other painful images.

No, Daoist Heavenspan was not dead!

Back when the Heavenspan Realm collapsed, his cultivation base was at the quasi-celestial level. However, he had spectacular talent. And because of his deep understanding of the Undying Live Forever Technique, he had already formed part of his Daoseed!

Bai Xiaochun had actually laid eyes on it! When Daoist Heavenspan's body collapsed at the end of their final battle, he had seen a clump of magical symbols which was none other than a Daoseed!

Normally speaking, after the world was destroyed, and Daoist Heavenspan received a mortal blow, it shouldn't have mattered that he had part of a Daoseed. He should have perished then. But it just so happened that he was teleported into one of the immortal domains controlled by the Vile-Emperor Dynasty. And the first person to detect the fluctuations of his Daoseed was the Vile-Emperor.

The Vile-Emperor took him in, a secret that was kept from even the other celestials. As far as the Vile-Emperor was concerned, Daoist Heavenspan was like a rare treasure worth keeping in his back pocket.

Back when Bai Xiaochun had made his breakthrough, Daoist Heavenspan was trying to do the same thing, and had even sensed Bai Xiaochun's breakthrough. For Daoist Heavenspan, making that breakthrough from demigod to celestial was extremely difficult. He got stuck in the third tribulation, and repeatedly failed to get the approval of the Eternal Mother.

However, at one point, the Vile-Emperor gave him a chunk of black stone that miraculously gave Daoist Heavenspan what he needed, right in the moment when he believed he had failed!

And therefore, when Daoist Heavenspan made his breakthrough and became a celestial, all people in the Vile-Emperor Dynasty became aware of his existence.

The voice of the Eternal Mother spoke into the ears of all living beings, leading to widespread shock in both of the imperial dynasties.

Most shocked of all though… were the people of Heavenspan scattered throughout the rest of the Eternal Immortal Domains!

Mixed emotions of all sorts rose up in their hearts.

Deep within a private chamber in Vile-Emperor City, Daoist Heavenspan opened his eyes, then threw his head back and laughed maniacally. Rising to his feet, he slowly looked in the direction of Saint-Emperor City, his eyes flickering with bizarre emotions.

Despite being separated by an entire world, he and Bai Xiaochun could somehow sense each other, and both of their eyes began to glow with icy coldness and killing intent!

"Bai Xiaochun…. You being a bit faster won't matter in the end!" He waved his hand, causing a black robe to settle down over his shoulders, including a deep hood that covered his face.

"How wonderful that the Eternal Mother speaks of new celestials. That way, everyone who knows me… has been told that I'm back!" Looking away from Saint-Emperor City, he turned and vanished into the darkness.

It was at that exact same moment that, back in Saint-Emperor City, Bai Xiaochun also retracted his gaze.

"The fact that you're alive just means that I can kill you again!" Closing his eyes, he settled back down cross-legged to continue meditating.

Time passed. Ten days later, the Saint-Emperor returned. No one knew if he returned with anything in his possession. Furthermore, he didn't hold court. A few days passed, whereupon he issued a single Dharmic decree!

Bai Xiaochun was named a celestial guardian in the second immortal domain of the Saint-Emperor Dynasty. He would hold authority over the entire immortal domain!

The truth was that the Saint-Emperor Dynasty only controlled most of that immortal domain, not all of it. Its northern prefectures had been occupied by the Vile-Emperor Dynasty for many years. That state of affairs had resulted from a situation similar to when the Saint-Emperor acquired a handful of prefectures in exchange for handing over Gongsun Wan'er. Therefore, although the Saint-Emperor Dynasty maintained control of the immortal domain as a whole, the Vile-Emperor Dynasty had a foothold there.

That immortal domain had to remain on constant guard against the Vile-Emperor Dynasty. Furthermore, small-scale warfare played out on the actual border regularly. Whoever was appointed the celestial guardian would be responsible for overseeing such war efforts. For many years, the person to hold that title was one of the most qualified celestials, Zhao Yuanhan, who bore the Daoist name Aged Spirit.

Celestial Aged Spirit had been in the second immortal domain for years, and had never rotated out to give the position to another celestial. And the Dharmic decree which had just been issued did not relieve him of his duties. Instead, both he and Bai Xiaochun would serve as celestial guardians at the same time!

Therefore, it was obvious to Bai Xiaochun what this 'appointment' really indicated.

It was essentially sending him to the second immortal domain with no actual power or authority. He could have access to cultivation resources, and could maintain a high status, but… wouldn't have any power!

"It makes it seem like I'm there to defend one of the immortal domains, but really, it's more just to keep me busy…." He wasn't angry. In fact, it was actually a good thing. After all, the Giant Ghost King was in the second immortal domain, and it had been a long time since the two of them had seen each other.

He still felt the urge to try to contact the damaged fan, but being as cautious as he was, he forced himself not to. He would at least wait until he was away from Saint-Emperor City before giving it a shot.

Thus, he packed his bags, and without any fanfare, left the next day at dawn, a beam of bright light shooting through the air.

His departure led to many sighs of relief in Saint-Emperor City. Although there were no drums or gongs, there was much cheering and laughter.

"The walking disaster is walking away!!"

"Hahaha! Celestial Aged Spirit is in for a big headache!"

"Ah, what a pity. King Heavenspan has his upsides. It's too bad we couldn't send him to Vile-Emperor City! I'd be willing to bet that, if he were given the right set of circumstances, he could destroy the entire place!"

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Chapter 1099: A Key

Some distance away from Saint-Emperor City, Bai Xiaochun hovered in midair, looking back over his shoulder. Considering the level of his cultivation base, it was easy for him to hear the sound of rejoicing behind him, although not perfectly clearly.

"Haven't experienced this feeling for a long time!" He couldn't help but clear his throat a bit. After all, he knew exactly what was going on, and it was somewhat embarrassing. Thankfully, he knew exactly how to deal with that embarrassment.

"It's all my fault." In his heart, he sighed deeply. After all, it had been a long time since he realized that no matter what he did in life, he couldn't stop being outstanding.

"What other explanation could there be? How come whenever I stay anywhere for a bit of time, people always get so emotional?

"Mount Hood, the Spirit Stream Sect, the Blood Stream Sect, the River-Defying Sect, the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, the Wildlands…. And now, even the people in the Eternal Immortal Domains realize how outstanding I am." Swishing his sleeve, he turned around and continued on his way.

"Ah, whatever. Now that I'm heading into the second immortal domain, I definitely have to keep a low profile." As he moved along, he thought about the Saint-Emperor's decree, and no matter what angle he considered it from, it left him feeling like he had been kicked out into the cold.

"I'm afraid that if I reveal my outstanding nature to the people of the second immortal domain, the Saint-Emperor will just find another way to oppress me." It was easy to see what kind of situation he was getting into.

"The second immortal domain already has a celestial in charge of it. If I end up having any problems with this other celestial… the Saint-Emperor definitely won't take my side." Having reached this point in his train of thought, he realized more than ever that he had to keep a low profile.

"Being too outstanding isn't a good thing. Well, I guess it's like that old phrase. How does it go? Everyone is jealous of the tallest tree in the forest!" It caused him to think back to how everyone had targeted him in the damaged fan, and indignation grew stronger in his heart. However, he forced himself to calm down and proceed on his way.

Half a month sped by. Bai Xiaochun wasn't in a rush, so he kept a moderate pace and enjoyed the scenery. With his celestial cultivation base, there weren't very many things in the Eternal Immortal Domains that could cause problems for him.

Nor was he worried about people trying to kill him. The number of people who qualified to try to do that could be counted with a few fingers. Another seven days went by, and he was finally in the second immortal domain.

At this point, it was getting very hard to stop thinking about the damaged fan. That was especially true considering that, based on his analysis, the danger involved in trying to reach out to it was minimal.

Furthermore, if he ended up losing the fan because he had ignored it, it would be a huge travesty.

"I can't wait any longer!" he thought. After making his decision, he waited three more days, then gritted his teeth and reached out to the fan via the strange connection between the two of them.

At first, he was fidgeting with nervousness, but after a moment passed, his expression flickered. He made a few more attempts, and then started to get flustered.

"How come there's no reaction at all?! Don't tell me the fan flew too far away? Or did one of those emperors steal it? Dammit! I worked myself to the bone to get that fan and keep it safe!" Unwilling to give up, he tried a few more times. And thus, what should originally have been a journey of about half a month turned into a full month, as every day, he would spend time reaching out to the damaged fan.

Thankfully, his efforts were not in vain. On the tenth day, he was delighted to discover that he felt something stirring between himself and the fan, although the fan was clearly in a very distant location.

"So, I'm not too late!" Enlivened, he used more divine sense and spent more time trying to get a reaction. As he did, the capital city of the second immortal domain grew closer and closer.

He saw endless numbers of towering mountains, and countless flowing rivers. There were innumerable wild beasts, sects, and cities. It was almost like a veil being lifted, revealing all of the details of the Eternal Immortal Domains.

Just as he had learned before, the second immortal domain was divided into northern and southern parts. The part closest to the Saint-Emperor Dynasty was the south.

The immortal domain as a whole contained sixteen prefectures, with the Saint-Emperor Dynasty controlling eleven of them. The other five, those in the north, were sparsely populated, and were as separate from the others as if they had been cleaved away from them with a sharp blade. Those five were either occupied by the Vile-Emperor Dynasty, or were disputed teritory.

Five prefectures in the north, and eleven in the south!

Every prefecture had different topography and terrain, but at the moment, Bai Xiaochun wasn't interested in looking at the scenery anymore. Although he appeared to simply be hurrying on his way, virtually all of his attention was focused on the damaged fan. Eventually, after repeated attempts, it was when he was only about three days out from the capital city that he finally made direct contact with the slip of divine sense he had left on the fan!

The instant it happened, it felt like his mind was being struck by lightning. He stopped flying through the air and began panting as, all of a sudden, he experienced a vision.

He saw a starry sky that was completely dark, and stretched on without end.

The enormous damaged fan was slowly floating through that starry sky, going in some unknown direction on a never-ending journey!

"My precious fan…." he thought, his heart pounding at the sight of it. At this point, the vision began to ripple. Worried that the fan might float too far away, he quickly added more power to his divine sense in the hopes of stopping it from moving.

Unfortunately, he had overestimated his level of control. Originally, he had assumed that after the trial by fire ended, the twenty percent control he had acquired would be enough to earn the fan's approval.

But now, it was obvious that that was not the case. The fan was still without an owner, and Bai Xiaochun's control over it was minimal. In fact, his level of authority had apparently slipped down to ten percent. And within a few months, he would lose even that.

"It's definitely the spirit automaton of the fan! It's taking advantage of my absence to erase my branding mark!" More anxious than ever, he exerted more effort. As he did, the previously smoothly-floating fan suddenly began to vibrate and shine with flickering light.

Excitement flooded through him, and yet, before he could do anything else, a roar of rage filled his ears, its source being the spirit automaton of the damaged fan!

Clearly, the spirit automaton had awoken after their previous conflict, and was now doing its best to fight back again. Once it succeeded, the mere ten percent of the fan that Bai Xiaochun occupied would be taken away from him.

Although his branding mark was indeed being slowly erased, that didn't take away his control of the fan!

"Dammit!" he growled angrily. Despite the huge distance involved, he used his divine sense to fight with the spirit automaton. Although he knew he couldn't win such a fight, as long as his branding mark remained, he wouldn't just give in!

As howls of rage filled his mind, he found a convenient place to sit cross-legged, whereupon an indeterminable amount of time passed. It was evening when he finally opened his eyes, his robes soaked with sweat.

His eyes were bloodshot and exhausted, and he was gasping for breath. But there in his hand was a glowing sphere of light that gradually shrank down into the form of a command medallion.

That command medallion was what he had gained after this round of conflict with the spirit automaton of the fan, after it had been forced back to sleep.

"This spirit automaton is definitely tough. No wonder I don't qualify to be the owner of the fan yet!

"If it weren't for that automaton, I definitely would have been able to bring the fan back. This time, all I got was this command medallion." He wasn't very pleased about it, which was compounded by the fact that he didn't understand it. However, he did get the feeling that it was some sort of key….

A key that represented his level of power!

After a long moment passed, he sighed and prepared to put the command medallion away. However, it was at that point that his expression flickered, and he looked down at the command medallion.

"That aura…."

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Chapter 1100: I Must Keep A Low Profile

"That aura… what is it?" Bai Xiaochun closely examined the aura of the command medallion, and as he did, was shocked to find that his fatigue was rapidly fading away.

This was different from the powers of regeneration of his fleshly body. This was mental fatigue, and at the moment, his mental state was rapidly returning to its peak.

Delighted, he continued to focus his attention on the command medallion, but wasn't able to find any more detailed clues. All he knew was that its aura really could help him recover his vitality!

"It's not spiritual energy…." he decided. From what he could tell, it was energy from the world that the previous owner of the fan had come from, and was similar to the spiritual energy in the Eternal Immortal Domains.

"I wonder if this energy has any other uses." Eyes sparkling, he did a few tests, even performing some breathing exercises while holding the command medallion in hand. To his shock and delight, absorbing the energy from this command medallion helped him practice cultivation at a much faster speed.

Not only did it flow through him especially quickly, he was able to absorb it much faster than ordinary spiritual energy. Furthermore, the complete mental clarity it brought made it obvious that this command medallion was a valuable treasure.

"The energy in this command medallion is better than any medicinal pill I've ever seen. If this little command medallion is so awesome, you can only imagine how incredible the fan itself is. It's too bad there were so many people in it last time, making it impossible to study closely." The next day at dawn, he opened his eyes. He was now more excited than ever, and more determined to wrest the fan away from the will that existed in it.

He put the command medallion away and looked around to see where he was. A moment later, he was flying at rapid speed toward the capital city of the second immortal domain.

Three days later, he saw an enormous statue rising up in front of him, surrounded by crisscrossed mountain ranges, a huge city at its feet that looked like a crouching beast.

There were many cultivators in the city, and as evening fell, the din of their voices rose up high into the sky.

Bai Xiaochun eyed the city, and then cleared his throat. Although he was attempting to keep a low profile, he was a celestial after all, and one of the two most important and powerful people in this entire immortal domain. As such, keeping a low profile was really strange.

"Well, I guess I just need to get used to it. Low profile is the way to go." Sighing, he kept his divine sense reigned in and headed toward one of the main gates of the city in the same manner that an ordinary cultivator would.

It was a very large city, with eight main gates. Usually, five of them were kept open to allow the hosts of traveling cultivators in and out. Squads of guards manned the gates, keeping an eye on the bustling throngs.

This was the capital city, where a celestial presided over the entire immortal domain, so no one would dare to act poorly here. Furthermore, the city guards all had extraordinary cultivation bases. As for the guards at the gates, they wore spectacular suits of armor, and were all in the great circle of Core Formation.

There were even deva fluctuations coming from the watchtower high above the gate. Clearly, a deva was inside who was tasked with watching over what was happening outside. It all formed a powerful threat that would surely intimidate any visitors into being very cautious.

Bai Xiaochun could see cultivators with all sorts of cultivation bases around him, waiting to pass through the strict inspection before entering the city. Although they kept their voices down, it was possible to overhear some of their conversations.

"I can't believe they even have a deva inspecting people. I guess times really are unstable."

"Ai, I wonder when we'll have true peace."

"Did you hear that war broke out in the north again…?"

"That Vile-Emperor Dynasty really is repulsive. It seems war breaks out every few years in the north…."

When he heard the things they were talking about, he blinked a few times. Most of what he knew about the second immortal domain came from reading the official records. As for the specific details of what was happening right now, he wasn't too clear. However, talk of war didn't interest him much, so he paid little attention to that sort of gossip. As the line inched forward, he looked left and right to take in the new sights.

Occasionally, a particularly important cultivator would fly overhead and land directly in front of the gate. Even as such cultivators brushed the dust off of their shoulders, the guards at the gate would offer respectful greetings, and immediately let them in.

Such cultivators would always draw the envious attention of the crowd. As for Bai Xiaochun, he was itching to do the same thing, but continued to remind himself that he was keeping a low profile.

"I really need to get used to this low profile thing…." he thought. Gradually, the line moved along, and soon it was Bai Xiaochun's turn. First, he paid some spirit stones, then he allowed the deva's divine sense to scan him. Just as he was about head into the city, beams of light suddenly began to streak toward the city gate from off in the distance.

As they neared, incredible pressure radiated out in all directions, causing clouds of dust to rise into the air. Soon, the beams of light faded, revealing dozens of figures.

Most were in the great circle of the Nascent Soul stage, but five of them were deva experts. They reeked of blood, as though they had just come from a battlefield. Leading them was a particularly burly fellow, stalwart and broad-shouldered, with a violet robe. He was the type who seemed threatening without being angry, and as soon as the guards saw him, their expressions flickered with shock. Then they treated him with even greater courtesy than any of the other important people they had let into the city earlier.

"Well met, Marquis Zi Lin!"

Suddenly, the deva flew out from the watchtower and approached. Clasping hands with utmost respect, he said, "Well met, Marquis Zi Lin!"

When the other cultivators lined up at the city gate heard this, they were visibly shocked, and even began to cry out in surprise.

"That's Marquis Zi Lin? He serves as the preceptor of the northernmost prefecture!"

"Yeah, that's definitely him. I saw him from a distance once, when the Saint-Emperor bestowed him with the title marquis!"

Despite how shocked the crowd was, not even this burly Marquis Zi Lin was allowed to simply fly into the city. He also had to walk through the gate.

It was very thought-provoking to Bai Xiaochun, and really served to emphasize how different the capital city was. According to the rules, not even a demigod expert was allowed to fly inside of it!

Marquis Zi Lin smiled faintly, and quickly clasped hands in salute to the deva. Without saying anything else, he and his men walked toward the gate, fairly radiating murderous auras.

The guards turned to push everyone else to the side so that they wouldn't get in Marquis Zi Lin's way. Of course, they didn't actually need to do that; the crowd respectfully began to back up without any urgings.

Bai Xiaochun was right there in the crowd, but was already starting to feel a bit irritated. After all, he had already paid the spirit stone tax and been scanned, and therefore, should have been allowed to proceed into the city. As the crowd backed up, he remained standing in place, until he was conspicuously out in the open.

The guards were not pleased, and one of them yelled, "Hey, what are you doing standing there!?"

He even walked forward with the intention of pushing Bai Xiaochun back.

At this point, Bai Xiaochun glared at the guard, causing the man to shiver. His mind even went a bit blank. Although he didn't recognize Bai Xiaochun, his gaze contained power that struck him all the way down to the soul, resulting in him simply standing there unmoving.

"I already paid my spirit stones!" Bai Xiaochun said loudly. "Why the hell should I have to get out of the way!" Swishing his sleeve, he ignored the crowd and turned to enter the city.

Everyone in the area was completely stunned, even Marquis Zi Lin. At the moment, none of them could assess his cultivation base, and yet, nobody seemed worried about that. In their shock, many of them began to look over at the deva expert who oversaw this particular gate.

The deva frowned. He knew that Marquis Zi Lin was a direct descendant of Celestial Aged Spirit, and therefore didn't dare to offend him. Waving his right hand, he caused a glowing shield to spring up and block Bai Xiaochun's way.

Bai Xiaochun didn't do anything rash. He simply turned around, an enigmatic smile on his face as he looked at the deva and asked, "What are you doing?"

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Chapter 1101: Bullying Me?!

As Bai Xiaochun stood there, smiling enigmatically at the deva, no one even thought to consider who he was. Not a single person realized that he was one of the five celestials of the Saint-Emperor Dynasty!

Bai Xiaochun suddenly realized that keeping a low profiles was great, and in some ways, was better than doing things the normal way.

"No wonder a lot of big shots like to secretly mingle with the common people. It's a really wonderful feeling." It was truly nice to be in a situation like this in which he faced absolutely no danger.

When the deva saw his seemingly pleased smile, and heard his words, he suddenly got a very strange feeling. However, he didn't pay too much attention to that feeling.

"This shady character is trying to sneak into the capital city!" the deva announced. "Arrest him for further inspection. If he checks out, send him on his way, and if he resists, execute him on the spot!" The crowd began to back up even further. Some of them were looking at Bai Xiaochun sympathetically, but more had looks of open scorn.

"Is this guy an idiot, or what? Who would dare to make a scene right here?"

"Why would he do this? That's Marquis Zi Lin! All he has to do is step to the side. It's not like they asked him to cut his own arm off or something."

"He's finished. Nowadays, anybody who gets arrested like this ends up getting thrown in prison and never coming out again!" Cold gleams appeared in the eyes of the guards, all of whom, with the exception of the one who had already been stunned into immobility by Bai Xiaochun, hurried forward.

Bai Xiaochun actually hadn't expected the deva to just immediately have him arrested. A strange expression appeared on his face as he sighed.

"What's the point of all this? I just wanted to get into the city…. And I was trying to keep a low profile." Shaking his head, he waved his hand. He didn't reveal his celestial cultivation base, he just used some nascent soul-level power, one level above these Core Formation guards. A windstorm sprang up, pushing the guards so hard that they were shoved back across the ground. One of them even coughed up some blood.

"What gall!" the deva shouted. "Get on your knees immediately!" Blurring into motion, he shot forward, fueling his hand with a burst of deva power to slap Bai Xiaochun!

In the deva's mind, this blow would probably not be deadly, but it would at least force this person onto his knees!

Derision filled his heart. If this person had simply backed down, he would have just been punished a bit. But since he decided to resist, then it meant he was foolishly asking to be killed. Therefore, the deva's actions were all in accord with the strict laws of the capital city!

However, even as the deva's hand began to move, Bai Xiaochun sighed and sent his right hand flying toward him.

"How about you kneel instead?" Even as the words left his mouth, a smacking sound filled the air. The deva's vision swam as a massive, unavoidable force hit him. His mind went blank, and he was nearly deafened. Blood then sprayed out of his mouth as he was smacked out of the air to land hard on the ground, right in front of Bai Xiaochun, his knees shattered, and blood oozing out all over him!

The intense pain he felt prompted a hoarse scream. He wanted to stand up, but his broken knees wouldn't permit it. Worse, his cultivation base was teetering on the point of collapse.

Everyone in the crowd was stunned, and many a gasp could be heard.

"Fine, you're not a Nascent Soul cultivator!" the deva cried. "But even if you are a deva, you're still dead!!" Trying to ignore the intense pain, he pulled out a jade slip, which he crushed.

Of course, that jade slip acted like an alarm trigger, and instantly caused numerous beams of light to rise up from within the city and head toward the main gate.

Bai Xiaochun was a bit at a loss as to what to do. He had just wanted to enter the city, but had already caused quite a scene. Shaking his head, he turned and prepared to pass through the shield and enter the gate.

However, before he could move, Marquis Zi Lin, who had been standing off to the side completely silently up to this point, finally spoke.

"Stop him."

Immediately, his subordinates rushed forth with coldly gleaming eyes. Five devas and more than ten Nascent Soul cultivators all stepped forward, giving rise to shocking energy. For many of the onlookers, this was an incredible scene the likes of which they would rarely be able to see.

"What a pity you didn't reveal your deva cultivation base earlier," Marquis Zi Lin continued. "Clearly you're trying to show off. Finished? My subordinates have all grown up on the battlefield. Each of them have killed more than 10,000 enemies!"

As some in the crowd sighed about what was surely to come, Bai Xiaochun's anger flared. After all, he hadn't caused any trouble for this Marquis Zi Lin. Yet despite that, the man was clearly singling him out.

"Think you can bully me?" Bai Xiaochun said, glaring. He waved his right hand, allowing the power of the great circle of the Deva Realm to sweep out across the incoming subordinates of Marquis Zi Lin. Immediately, their hearts filled with wild shock.

Deafening rumbling sounds filled their ears, and their vision swam as a mountain-toppling, sea-draining force assailed them. There was literally nothing they could do to defend themselves. The five devas in the lead position coughed up mouthfuls of blood as they were forced to the ground in a kneeling position.

As for the ten Nascent Soul cultivators, they were even less able to resist. As they slammed into the ground, bloodcurdling screams echoed out in all directions.

It all happened in the blink of an eye, much to the shock of the onlookers. It was almost unthinkable to see so many powerful cultivators kneeling, right there at the main gate to the city.

"How amusing," Marquis Zi Lin said, his eyes sparkling, and a slight smile of derision appearing on his face. He strode forward, moving so quickly that a massive wind kicked up. Arriving in front of Bai Xiaochun, he unleashed an energy far more terrifying than what Bai Xiaochun had just unleashed. This was not the early Demigod Realm; it was the power of the great circle!

However, Bai Xiaochun's expression remained the same as ever as he reached out with his right hand and casually waved his hand toward Marquis Zi Lin.

"You kneel too!" he said coolly. His hand became something like an all-destructive mountain that could crush everything. Marquis Zi Lin seemed like he had been moving quickly, but to Bai Xiaochun, it was nothing more than a snail's pace. As for the wind he had kicked up, it felt like the breath of a child, and the massive force that caused the air to ripple was so weak he could dispel it with ease!

That was the difference between demigods and celestials, and showed how vastly superior a Daoseed was.

Rumbling sounds echoed out as Bai Xiaochun's palm hit, not the Marquis Zi Lin there in front of him, but something obscured behind him!

The air rippled and distorted as a second Marquis Zi Lin stumbled out. That was how Marquis Zi Lin operated. When he appeared in public, he would keep his true self hidden, and have a clone act openly. Of course, demigods in the Heavenspan Realm couldn't normally create clones, and it was the same for demigods in the Eternal Immortal Domains, which made this strategy particularly effective, and also rare.

Just now, he had sent his clone over to test Bai Xiaochun a bit!

Never could he have imagined that his test would be crushed as if by a mountain!

The buzz of conversation rose up as both Marquis Zi Lin and his clone had their cultivation bases nearly destroyed. The intense force he could now sense caused him to tremble, and his eyes to shine with disbelief. He wanted to ask this person who he was, but before he could, the energy slammed into him, forcing him down. Blood sprayed out of his mouth as well as his clone's mouth as both of them were slammed into the ground.

Thud!

Dust billowed out as the audience looked on, stunned. Marquis Zi Lin's subordinates were in a daze, but even more shocked was the deva in charge of this gate. Waves of shock battered him as he realized that there was only one explanation for this, as unbelievable as it seemed. As soon as the idea entered his head, it nearly drove him mad!

"Ce… celestial…."

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Just outside of one of the main gates of the capital city….

Everyone stood dumbstruck, unable to believe their eyes. There Bai Xiaochun stood, looking like some kind of divine spirit, causing everyone to forget to breathe.

It had been shocking enough to see his one palm knock several Nascent Soul guards down only moments ago. At that point, they had assumed that he was some wandering master. Then another palm forced the deva expert to kneel, causing them to gasp with the realization that this young man was actually a powerful expert!

Subsequently, another palm forced five devas and a host of Nascent Soul experts to kneel, and the crowd was flabbergasted. At that point, they had assumed that Bai Xiaochun was a demigod. Never could they have imagined that he was actually a celestial…. After all, celestials were not a common thing. In all of the Eternal Immortal Domains, there were only twelve!

More shockingly, this person only needed one palm to deal with Marquis Zi Lin's attack!

The sight of Marquis Zi Lin and all of the other powerful experts kneeling in front of the city gate caused the onlookers' minds to simmer on the verge of exploding. They felt like they were being struck by a million lightning bolts, until their minds went blank…. None of them dared to even think. What was happening right in front of them was so profoundly shocking that they would never forget it for the rest of their lives!

At this point, the deva in charge of the gate muttered something, tearful words spoken as if in the ultimate despair. Because of the deathly silence that filled the air, his muttered words echoed like thunder into the ears of the already stunned audience, causing many of them to gasp.

"Ce… celestial…."

It took only a moment for the silence to be broken, replaced by a massive commotion.

"How is this even possible!?!?"

"Am I dreaming? Is this a hallucination? Am I actually looking at a celestial?!?!"

The gathered group of kneeling cultivators were all trembling, and some of the weaker ones, those in Core Formation, were so terrified that they simply passed out.

Marquis Zi Lin's subordinates were so terrified their faces were as white as sheets, and they were soaked with sweat. Merely being looked at by Bai Xiaochun filled them with unprecedented levels of terror, and infinite regret.

"He's… he's a celestial…."

"Dammit! If he's a celestial, why didn't he say so earlier!? Why'd he have to do it this way!?!?"

They all felt like they were about to go mad. However, the one who was taking it worst of all was Marquis Zi Lin. His face was currently so red it was turning magenta, and the bitterness he felt in his heart knew no end.

Perhaps some in the audience were still unconvinced, and believed Bai Xiaochun to simply be in the great circle of the Demigod Realm. But having actually been struck by Bai Xiaochun's palm, Marquis Zi Lin was absolutely certain what level of cultivation base he was dealing with.

Only a celestial would be able to so easily deal with a group of Nascent Soul cultivators, devas and demigods. With one casual move, he forced all of them to kneel before him on the ground!

Now that he knew the level of Bai Xiaochun's cultivation base, he didn't even need to put any thought into the matter to figure out who he was.

After all, it had only been a few months since the Saint-Emperor appointed King Heavenspan, Bai Xiaochun, as the second celestial to be stationed in the second immortal domain. Furthermore, Marquis Zi Lin had personally seen all of the other celestials in the Saint-Emperor Dynasty. Bai Xiaochun was the only one he had never laid eyes on.

After putting all of the pieces of the puzzle together, Marquis Zi Lin's heart nearly shattered. He felt like he had just swallowed a whole cupful of bile, making him as bitter as bitter could be, inside and out.

Smiling bitterly, he gritted his teeth and, being unable to feel or move his legs, clasped hands and said, "I, Zi Lin… offer greetings, King Heavenspan!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, the babbling of the crowd ceased. All eyes turned to fall on Bai Xiaochun. Silence prevailed for a short moment, and then the hubbub began again.

"King Heavenspan? He's… Bai Xiaochun!?!?"

"The eleventh celestial!? Bai Xiaochun!?"

"Bai Xiaochun from the Heavenspan Realm!?!?"

Meanwhile, Bai Xiaochun stood there looking at the people all lined up and kneeling in front of him. Inside, he sighed, thinking about how he really had a lot of progress to make in keeping a low profile.

But these people just had to go and refuse him entry. If that had been all there was to the matter, he might have been able to accept it. But then they attacked him. That was what got him really angry.

It was no surprise to him to hear Marquis Zi Lin saying his name out loud. In fact, Bai Xiaochun would have found it odd if the man didn't finally realize who he was.

Glaring at the man, he said, "So, you do know who I am. And you attacked me anyway? Well, you've certainly got some guts, don't you, Marquis Zi Lin?" It was all thanks to this Marquis Zi Lin that his plan of keeping a low profile had been completely ruined. If only he had come a bit earlier or a bit later, then none of this would have happened.

"Please, quell your anger, King Heavenspan…." Marquis Zi Lin wanted to explain things, but he knew that in this moment, all he could do was bow his head. At the same time, hatred for Bai Xiaochun took root in his heart, although he didn't dare to reveal that.

"You celestials…" he thought, "always toying with people like me…." Although Marquis Zi Lin felt profoundly unlucky, the deva responsible for this gate felt even more unlucky. To him, it was like the entire world had been turned upside down, and all he could do was stare pleadingly at Bai Xiaochun.

It was at around this time that the people in the city who had received the distress messages approached. Before they even arrived, their voices rang out by the city gate.

"Who is it that wishes to die!?"

"How dare you try to invade the capital city! What outrageous gall!"

"Get on your knees immediately!!"

There were eight in total, five men and three women, all of whom were in the great circle of the Deva Realm. When they saw the host of people kneeling on the ground, their anger burned, but soon they noticed that one of those people was Marquis Zi Lin. At that point, they each felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured on their heads. They began to tremble, and immediately lurched to a halt and backed up a bit. Eventually, they caught sight of Bai Xiaochun, whereupon the shock in their eyes grew greater.

Frowning, Bai Xiaochun looked up at the eight new arrivals, and tried to decide whether or not to drag them down and make them kneel too. Even as he pondered what to do, the eight devas shot backward, and simultaneously pulled out and crushed jade slips.

Subsequently, a massive, majestic divine sense swept out from the city.

It was like a tempest that could shake the heavens and topple the earth, that could crush anything and everything in the area! It made the devas seem like ants, and the demigods like dogs.

All of the cultivators in the capital city were shaken to the core, and began to tremble as their cultivation bases were suppressed.

It was the same with everyone at the gate, including Marquis Zi Lin, who began to shake visibly. As a direct descendant of Celestial Aged Spirit, how could Marquis Zi Lin not recognize this divine sense? As for everyone else, it wasn't difficult for them to guess its origin. In the capital city, there was only one person on this level!

The entire world shook as everyone bowed their heads.

However… Bai Xiaochun stood apart. He simply looked into the capital city, toward the source of the divine sense. Clearly, the person who had sent it out was not happy. Sighing, Bai Xiaochun said, "Well met, Fellow Daoist Aged Spirit."

Ten breaths of time passed. Finally, a cold voice echoed out into heaven and earth.

"Your way of making an entrance is quite out of the norm, Fellow Daoist Bai. Men, go escort King Heavenspan, Bai Xiaochun, into the city!"

Each of Celestial Aged Spirit's words echoed like heavenly thunder, shaking the entire city. And in response, several beams of light shot up into the air.

Within those beams were ten demigod experts stationed in the capital city, and all of them shot directly toward the city gate!

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Chapter 1103: Keep A Low Profile

Ten demigods who served under Celestial Aged Spirit here in the capital city arrived in beams of bright light.

Seven were men and three were women, and they were a variety of ages. One was a beautiful woman. They all had somber expressions as they looked at Bai Xiaochun. Ignoring Marquis Zi Lin and the other kneeling cultivators, they clasped hands and bowed deeply to Bai Xiaochun.

"Greetings, King Heavenspan!"

Many gasps could be heard in the stunned crowd. What was happening right in front of their own eyes seemed completely unbelievable.

As for Bai Xiaochun, he sighed in his heart. He was no longer the puny cultivator he had been back when he first stepped into the cultivation world. He was a celestial, and although he couldn't actually read people's thoughts, it was easy for him to guess what they were thinking.

Although these ten demigods were acting with respect, from the way they addressed him, it was easy to judge their attitude. They were welcoming him to the city out of formality, but didn't really want him there.

Moments later, a large number of devas approached, as well as tens of thousands of ordinary guards. As they formed ranks outside the main gate, the sound of tolling bells filled the city. Then, cultivators clustered around him to escort him inside.

Marquis Zi Lin never rose to his feet the entire time. Although people like him weren't necessarily required to follow the orders of someone like Bai Xiaochun, in his presence, they had to act with utmost respect.

Considering that Bai Xiaochun had personally punished him, no one would possibly show him any goodwill right now. After all, no one wanted to share in his punishment.

And thus, it was with a show of great pomp, and yet with little passion, that Bai Xiaochun was received into the city. Everyone was shaken as he was led to a location in the city center, where an extremely luxurious mansion sat.

It covered an area of at least 30,000 meters, and rose high into the sky. Its grounds contained ornamental rocks, deep pools of water, and small streams with bridges over them. Verandas existed everywhere. Intense pressure filled the entire mansion, as well as strong spiritual energy. There were also spell formations which would extract the earthstring energy from the second immortal domain. All-in-all, this place was a wonder.

There were more than a thousand menservants and maidservants lined up outside the entrance, who were tasked with caring for Bai Xiaochun's daily needs. Of course, all of the men were very handsome, and the women were beautiful. Any one of them could be described as extraordinary.

Bai Xiaochun couldn't find a single thing wrong with any of it. There were only two mansions like this within the capital city. One of them was his, and the other… had even more abundant spiritual energy. It was the home of the person who oversaw all of the second immortal domain, Celestial Aged Spirit!

The two mansions weren't very far apart; in fact, they were within eyesight of each other.

All of the important cultivators from the city were very polite. After escorting Bai Xiaochun to his mansion, they bid him farewell. The entire time, Celestial Aged Spirit didn't show up. Toward the end, he simply sent a greeting via divine sense.

That made it more than obvious to Bai Xiaochun that the man wasn't very pleased with his presence. After all, the second immortal domain had once been home to only one celestial, but now, two were present. That meant that it would be difficult to avoid power struggles and conflicts.

Because of how many years Celestial Aged Spirit had been in charge of the second immortal domain, it was safe to assume that all of the devas and demigods worked for him. In some ways, this wasn't the second immortal domain of the Saint-Emperor Dynasty, it was… Celestial Aged Spirit's personal fiefdom!

Furthermore, it didn't matter that Bai Xiaochun had a similar rank and title to Celestial Aged Spirit, he was a foreigner. Therefore, if he caused disasters here like he had in Saint-Emperor City, whether it was intentional or not, Celestial Aged Spirit would definitely not stand for it.

"Ah, whatever. I wanted to keep a low profile, right? I was living under someone else's roof before, and now I don't really have much authority. Although I'm not really in charge of anything… I doubt anybody will cause any problems for me." Sighing, he thought about it, and decided that he was duty-bound to not cause any conflicts here in the second immortal domain. He would keep to himself and work on his cultivation.

"Sooner or later, I'll get my chance to kill you a second time, Daoist Heavenspan!" That was the second reason he was so interested in furthering his cultivation, the first being to give the Heavenspan cultivators a choice about their future.

Having made his decision, he settled down quietly in his mansion. Although the mansion was large, there were a thousand servants there to tend to it, so it didn't seem depressingly empty. Before long, half a month had gone by.

During that time, virtually no one came to visit him, and Celestial Aged Spirit didn't send any messages. It was almost as if no one was even paying attention to his existence.

Normally, the ten demigods would tend to day-to-day matters in the second immortal domain, and then compile reports for Celestial Aged Spirit, which he would use to provide further direction.

Bai Xiaochun didn't pay any attention to that. He remained in a private chamber, practicing cultivation with the command medallion from the damaged fan.

The cultivators in the capital city had originally assumed they were in for a big commotion. But eventually, they realized that didn't seem likely. Obviously, this newly-arrived King Heavenspan was deferring to Celestial Aged Spirit.

That attitude earned Bai Xiaochun a bit of benefit. All he had to do was ask for something, and virtually anyone in the capital city would do everything possible to comply with his request.

For the cultivators in the second immortal domain, life seemed exactly the same as before Bai Xiaochun had arrived. He remained happily in seclusion, using the command medallion to advance his cultivation. He also had access to large numbers of immortal pills and spirit plants that helped his cultivation base.

In addition, he spent time researching flame conjuring techniques again. He hoped to find something in the Eternal Immortal Domains that could be used as a substitute for souls, and as it turned out, that wasn't very difficult.

The Eternal Immortal Domains had a complete cycle of reincarnation that made it difficult to get access to souls. However, there were other things which could be used instead. For example, there were combustible soulstones. Although they were somewhat rare, they could be altered to create multi-colored flame.

Actually, Bai Xiaochun wasn't the only one to have come to this conclusion. There were other Wildlander necromancers in the Eternal Immortal Domains who had figured out the same trick. Even spirit enhancers like Big Fatty Zhang had come to use similar techniques.

One upside to this method was that it made performing spirit enhancements easier. However, there was also a downside. After a sevenfold or eightfold spirit enhancement, it was virtually impossible to find the necessary multi-colored flame.

Even back in the days of the Wildlands, it was possible to see how spirit enhancement and necromancy were connected, and now that fact was even more obvious.

"What a pity. There just aren't enough souls." Bai Xiaochun shook his head as he looked down at Bai Hao's spark-shaped scar on the back of his hand. Bai Hao was still sleeping, and Bai Xiaochun was slowly coming to the conclusion that it was only by means of flame conjuring that he could wake him.

It wasn't possible to create high-level multi-colored flame, but he did create plenty of eightfold-enhanced magical items and medicinal pills. He even refined the Greatsword of the North.

He didn't have much free time. Before long, three months had gone by. One day when he was practicing cultivation with the command medallion, he suddenly heard the sound of bells ringing in the capital city!

There was an urgency to how they rang, and they instantly caused a commotion in the city.

Somewhat taken aback, Bai Xiaochun opened his eyes and left his private chamber. Almost immediately, one of his servants ran over, looking very alarmed. Clasping hands and bowing, he said, "Exalted one, only an hour ago, Celestial Ghostmother from the Vile-Emperor Dynasty led an army to attack the last northernmost prefecture we control!

"It looks like henceforth… not a single one of the five northern prefectures will belong to the Saint-Emperor Dynasty!

"True war is about to begin!" From the way his voice trembled, it was clear how much despair he felt.

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Chapter 1104: Intolerable Bullying

"What are you so worked up for!?" Bai Xiaochun barked, glaring. The servant shivered, then took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself down.

As far as Bai Xiaochun was concerned, this wasn't a big deal at all. Whether or not the Vile-Emperor Dynasty and the Saint-Emperor Dynasty went to war had nothing to do with him. Besides, it didn't seem likely to him that the two dynasties would actually launch a full-scale war anytime soon.

If there was nothing else to worry about, perhaps they would. But the enormous sovereign visible in the sky was no mere myth. In a situation like that, why would the two dynasties possibly go to war with each other?

Besides, four prefectures had already been lost in the north of the second immortal domain, so if the final northern prefecture went too, why would anyone be surprised? Perhaps it was the fact that it had been a long time since any of the prefectures in question had changed hands that had people so wound up.

The truth was that his analysis of the matter was quickly proven correct. Celestial Ghostmother simply occupied that final prefecture, and didn't make any other hostile moves, much less start a war. In fact, she didn't even kill anyone. The demigod in charge of the prefecture, as well as many of the cultivators under his command, were summarily deported to the Saint-Emperor Dynasty.

"What is Gongsun Wan'er doing over here?" Bai Xiaochun thought. Matters of war didn't interest him, but he was definitely curious about what Gongsun Wan'er was up to. Whenever he thought about the fact that Ghostmother was actually Gongsun Wan'er, he felt very pleased with himself. And he couldn't help but wonder how angry the Vile-Emperor must have been to find out what had happened.

Technically, Ghostmother and Gongsun Wan'er were one and the same, but not in all respects. Ghostmother was loyal to the Vile-Emperor, and was vicious and merciless. As for Gongsun Wan'er, she was also vicious and merciless, but considering everything that had gone on, she was much more closely connected to Bai Xiaochun.

"Why do I feel like I've heard about this prefecture before…?" Bai Xiaochun thought carefully about the matter before he realized the connection, and it caused him to laugh.

"That was where Marquis Zi Lin was stationed, wasn't it?" Marquis Zi Lin had indeed been the preceptor of the last northern prefecture. After the incident at the city gate, Bai Xiaochun had been somewhat interested in his fate. A few days after he had been forced to kneel, Celestial Aged Spirit finally ordered him to leave the capital city.

From that, Bai Xiaochun could see Celestial Aged Spirit's attitude in the matter. Although it seemed like he was respecting Bai Xiaochun's feelings, that wasn't really the case. Furthermore, Marquis Zi Lin's hatred of Bai Xiaochun only continued to deepen.

As for the demigods in the other prefectures, they joined with their compatriot in hating him. It was something that couldn't be changed easily.

Bai Xiaochun was aware of all of this, and although he wasn't too happy about it, he didn't feel that it was appropriate to do anything. As far as he was concerned, he was the type of person who did monumental things. How could he possibly lower himself to the point of quibbling over minor grudges?

"Hmph. Back when I was a government official in the Wildlands, there were some people who called me the Venomous Magistrate!" Flicking his sleeve proudly, he ignored the matter and went back into his private chamber to continue his cultivation.

After a few days of tension due to the matter of that one northern prefecture, the people in the second immortal domain seemed to accept the matter, and things calmed down.

One afternoon as Bai Xiaochun was meditating in his private chamber, his transmission jade slip vibrated. After taking it out and scanning it with divine sense, his face lit up. Hurrying out of the chamber, he headed to the main entrance of his mansion, where he saw someone familiar, standing there tall and straight. It was the Giant Ghost King!

"Giant Ghost, old pal!" Bai Xiaochun said, laughing heartily. He quickly rushed over and embraced him. He had sent a message to the Giant Ghost King as soon as he arrived in the capital city, and although the Giant Ghost King had been very happy to hear from him, he had replied that he was unable to come visit. The prefecture he presided over was quite some distance away, and considering his responsibilities there, it wasn't an easy thing to travel. Afterward, Bai Xiaochun had devoted himself to practicing cultivation with his command medallion, and hadn't paid much attention to the passage of time.

He was obviously very pleased to see the Giant Ghost King, but the Giant Ghost King didn't seem to respond the same way. After a long moment of hesitation, he forced a smile onto his face. Surprisingly, he didn't correct Bai Xiaochun's form of address. After all, in the past, he would often glare at Bai Xiaochun when he called him 'old pal', and then remind him that he was his father-in-law.

Bai Xiaochun quickly picked up on the awkwardness, but didn't say anything. Grabbing the Giant Ghost King by the arm, he dragged him into the main hall, where the two of them sat down and were served some wonderful alcohol and fruit by the servants. After shooing the servants away, Bai Xiaochun raised his cup to the Giant Ghost King and said, "Father-in-law, allow your humble son-in-law to offer a toast. To your health!"

Hearing Bai Xiaochun address him in this way softened the Giant Ghost King's heart to some degree. After offering some good-natured cursing, he accepted, and they drank together.

And thus they continued to drink and recall old times. At one point, they began to talk about the little village back in the Vile-Emperor Dynasty where they had reunited, and that one particular widow. Laughing, the Giant Ghost King went on to point out how, after being assigned a prefecture to manage, he was almost like an emperor himself. They drank and chatted some more, until eventually the Giant Ghost King thumped himself on the chest and said, "Let me tell you, Bai Xiaochun. Over in Godsifter Prefecture, your father-in-law is the top dog. All of the beautiful women have fallen in love with me!"

Bai Xiaochun rolled his eyes a bit, as if he didn't believe the Giant Ghost King. However, he didn't say anything, and just took a drink. The Giant Ghost King was not happy at this, and went on to angrily describe everything he had done in Godsifter Prefecture in very exaggerated and melodramatic fashion.

Bai Xiaochun tossed in the occasional sarcastic remark, provoking quite a few scolding taunts in return. Eventually, Bai Xiaochun began to tell his stories about Saint-Emperor City, starting with his fishing exploits, then moving on to the lotus seeds and then the seed pods. Finally, he finished with the lotus roots….

Although the Giant Ghost King had heard the stories from afar, to hear them right out of Bai Xiaochun's mouth caused him to slap the table in amazement on numerous occasions. More than ever, he was convinced that it didn't matter where Bai Xiaochun ended up, he always became a calamitous god of calamity….

They drank deep into the night, at which point they had both gone through most of their good stories. During the course of the conversation, it had become obvious to Bai Xiaochun that the Giant Ghost King wasn't in good shape. It was almost as if he had suffered some great blow of some sort. Lowering his voice, he quietly said, "My dear father-in-law. Why don't you tell me what's going on? Is someone bullying you?"

The Giant Ghost King didn't respond at first. He lifted his alcohol jug and swished it around to see how much was left, then downed it all. Finally, he took a deep breath and, his eyes bloodshot, viciously slapped his hand down onto the table.

"Complete and utter bullying!

"If Celestial Aged Spirit wants to imprison all of the Heavenspan cultivators he finds, so be it. I'm no match for him in a fight anyway.

"If he wants to completely ignore Godsifter Prefecture, so be it!

"He's basically hinted that I'm supposed to be isolated from the other prefectures. And every time I'm summoned for official audiences, he always berates me left and right. Fine, so be it!

"But that bastard has gone too far this time!

"That moron Marquis Zi Lin lost the northernmost prefecture, and instead of getting punished for it, he was sent over to my Godsifter Prefecture. Fine. So be it!

"But fudge! That Celestial Aged Spirit went and appointed Marquis Zi Lin as the preceptor of Godsifter Prefecture! What the hell? What gives him the right to demote me from preceptor and force me to be Marquis Zi Lin's assistant?!

"I put my heart and soul into running Godsifter Prefecture. I was going to make it the foundation of the new Heavenspan Realm! But now all that work is for nothing…." The Giant Ghost King chuckled bitterly, his hands clenching into fists as he told the story. Originally, he hadn't planned to tell Bai Xiaochun the news, but now that Bai Xiaochun was a celestial, he had a very strong foundation. Furthermore, in this immortal domain, he had as much authority as Celestial Aged Spirit.

Bai Xiaochun would eventually hear about the matter, and the Giant Ghost King didn't want that to cause more problems. However, after being prompted by Bai Xiaochun, the Giant Ghost King couldn't keep his bitterness locked inside.

After the Giant Ghost King finished speaking, Bai Xiaochun stood there, motionless. Not even his cup of alcohol moved an inch. However, his eyes began to shine so brightly that they seemed to catch on fire.

Startled, the Giant Ghost King said, "Hey, don't do anything rash, Xiaochun."

He already regretted telling Bai Xiaochun the truth.

Bai Xiaochun shook his head, then turned to look in the direction of Celestial Aged Spirit's residence. Gradually, the fire in his eyes turned into an extremely grim expression.

"If I don't do something about this, father-in-law, then you can only imagine what will happen for the people of Heavenspan in the Saint-Emperor Dynasty. Things will only get worse and worse.

"This is bullying, plain and in the open. How could I possibly turn a deaf ear to it?"

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Chapter 1105: Agree? Or Not?

When the Giant Ghost King saw the look in Bai Xiaochun's eyes, he suddenly got a bad feeling. Then he thought back to some of the things Bai Xiaochun had done in the past, and his heart began to pound. He definitely regretted telling him the truth.

"Xiaochun, don't do anything rash! Even without Godsifter Prefecture, we still have options. I got my position from the Saint-Emperor himself! There's no way that this Celestial Aged Spirit will push things too far! He'll surely give me some compensation…."

Bai Xiaochun rose to his feet, slowly shaking his head.

The Giant Ghost King anxiously moved to block his path. "Xiaochun, even if you do something, we need to think of the long-term plan. Killing Celestial Aged Spirit won't solve anything."

At this point, a strange expression appeared on Bai Xiaochun's face.

"I never said anything about killing Celestial Aged Spirit," he said. "That bastard works in underhanded ways, so I'm going to go embarrass him a bit, that's all. Listen, old pal, you don't need to worry about anything at all. Just rest up a bit while I head out." With that, he sidestepped the Giant Ghost King and left. The Giant Ghost King couldn't quite envision what Bai Xiaochun planned to do, and before he could decide whether or not to try to continue to persuade him to stop, he was gone.

The Giant Ghost King stood there alone in the main hall, sighing. Finally, he stamped his foot. In the end, his cultivation base was too low to catch up to Bai Xiaochun, so therefore, he sat back down, grabbed an alcohol jug, and kept drinking.

Things had been so wonderful in Godsifter Prefecture at the beginning, but now, all of that was gone. Even his ambition had taken a significant blow because of what had happened. It affected him so badly that Bai Xiaochun was able to tell that something was wrong just by looking at him.

By now, Bai Xiaochun was far from the capital city, speeding northward!

Considering that he was a celestial, and that he was pushing all-out, there was nothing that could match him in terms of speed. Although the northern prefectures weren't very close, they also couldn't be considered to be very far away. Dawn hadn't even come by the time Bai Xiaochun caught sight of the northern part of this immortal domain.

It was an icy and snowy place, incredibly cold. Snowflakes filled the air, and a bleak wind whimpered in the night air…. After arriving, Bai Xiaochun scanned the area with divine sense, and then locked onto one specific area.

In one particular city, in a seemingly ordinary immortal's cave, Gongsun Wan'er sat cross-legged in meditation. As the celestial in charge of this northern part of the second immortal domain, she didn't actually need to be present in the north all the time. But after returning to the Vile-Emperor Dynasty from being kidnapped, the Vile-Emperor had realized that she was slightly different than the old Ghostmother, and had become slightly suspicious of her.

In order to prove herself, and to solidify her position within the Vile-Emperor Dynasty, she had come here and taken over the fifth prefecture to prove her loyalty.

Even as she sat there in meditation, her heart stirred, and her phoenix-like eyes opened. She was inherently beautiful, an effect that was even more pronounced as she looked coldly out of the corner of her eye at the entrance to her immortal's cave. For some reason, despite her beauty, she seemed profoundly icy and cold.

Before long, Bai Xiaochun's voice could be heard outside.

His only company as he stood outside of her immortal's cave was the gently falling snowflakes. As he looked at the entrance, he cleared his throat, not sure of what to say that would be completely appropriate. After all, he had come to ask for help. Therefore, he decided to try to play on their somewhat close relationship.

"Wan'er, you know it's me. Why don't you open the door?"

When she heard his words, she smiled. Although she was inclined to ignore him, she finally waved her hand, causing the entrance to swing open.

He hurried in to find Gongsun Wan'er smiling at him. None of the coldness from before was present, although her eyes were as mysterious as always.

"What are you doing here so late, sweetie?" she said, somewhat flirtatiously. "Don't tell me you want to spend the night with me?" Eyes flickering with a mysterious light, she gently licked her lips.

"You'd let me spend the night with you?" Bai Xiaochun answered, his heart starting to pound. The truth was that if he didn't need Gongsun Wan'er's help, he would never have come to see her.

Before he could say anything else though, his expression flickered, and he backed up. At the same time, Gongsun Wan'er chuckled.

"You're a celestial now, sweetie. I'm very interested to see if you qualify to spend the night with me." She suddenly blurred into motion, appearing in the spot where he had just stood, her right hand flashing with an incantation gesture. A whooshing sound then rang out as the air began to distort around her, tugging the light toward her to form a vortex.

"What are you doing?" Bai Xiaochun blurted. "I'm not spending the night with you!"

However, Gongsun Wan'er didn't even respond. Flashing a radiant smile, she closed in on him again.

"Are you crazy, Gongsun Wan'er?! I saved your life!" Heart pounding, he dodged out of the way again, only to find her coming around for another shot. At this point, he was starting to get angry.

"You psycho! We've known each other for a long time, have you forgotten? I don't have any ill intentions! I saved your life! And I'm here to ask for your help!" Gongsun Wan'er's eyes glittered in response to his words. However, having discovered that he continued to dodge her, she increased her speed, becoming like a shooting star that headed toward him, her right hand extended like a claw toward his forehead!

Now truly angry, Bai Xiaochun stopped evading. Performing an incantation gesture with his right hand, he imbued it with the power of his Sutra of Former Reincarnation, then struck out at her.

A boom rang out as Gongsun Wan'er was struck. She yelped in shock as a host of magical symbols appeared around her, which were none other than her memories. As they rotated, it felt to her like she was being struck by lightning.

Bai Xiaochun wasn't in any better shape. Her meteor-like blow seemingly stabbed through him, creating something like an invisible black hole. Instantly, he was surrounded by streams of death energy that Bai Xiaochun's divine sense revealed to be innumerable evil ghosts!

"Dammit, you know I'm afraid of ghosts! I can't believe you're trying to scare me!" However, because of how close Gongsun Wan'er was to him, and how she was bound in place by all the magical symbols, he quickly pulled his hand back and then slapped her on her attractive rear end….

A loud smacking sound rang out, and Gongsun Wan'er's expression distorted. As a result, the evil ghosts stopped in place. Meanwhile, true killing intent appeared in Gongsun Wan'er's eyes. Seeing that his strategy had been effective, Bai Xiaochun pulled his hand back again to deliver another blow.

"Feeling suicidal, Bai Xiaochun?!?!" she said furiously. However, how could Bai Xiaochun not take advantage of the fact that she was completely immobilized by his Sutra of Former Reincarnation? Therefore, he let swing another slap, and another, and another…. After spanking her ten times, Gongsun Wan'er's anger suddenly vanished, to be replaced by a somewhat dazed expression.

That dazed look struck fear into Bai Xiaochun's heart. However, as soon as he stopped spanking her, the killing intent appeared in her eyes again, so he quickly struck her rear end again.

And thus, she calmed down again. Soon, the dazed look turned into complete blankness, and she was even panting a bit. At that point, Bai Xiaochun was truly struck with fear.

"Wan'er, can you do me a favor? Tomorrow, find an opportunity to publicly announce that the reason you took over this prefecture is that the demigod preceptor Marquis Zi Lin has been secretly working for your Smile-Emperor Dynasty."

"Forget it!" she said, the blank look in her eyes fading a bit. Feeling very anxious, Bai Xiaochun hardened his heart and spanked her another dozen or so times. By this point, she was starting to go a bit limp. In fact, without Bai Xiaochun holding her up, she would have just sagged down to the ground.

Heart racing, Bai Xiaochun growled, "Agree? Or not?!"

Panting for breath, Gongsun Wan'er gritted her teeth and refused to speak. After spanking her some more, her eyes went almost completely blank. Finally, she hissed, "Fine, I agree… now get the hell out of here!!"

As far as Bai Xiaochun was concerned, this interaction with Gongsun Wan'er had been bizarre to the extreme. After finally getting her to agree, he quickly left her immortal's cave, feeling slightly guilty, but at the same time, almost in a bit of a daze.

"I can't believe Gongsun Wan'er is so resilient…." he muttered to himself, blinking a few times. For some reason, there was some sort of vile fire burning in his heart now, something he couldn't get rid of.

"Vixen! She just seduced me, didn't she!?" In the end, he could only sigh at how outstanding he was. Sometimes, he frightened even himself.

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Chapter 1106: Crazed

By the time Bai Xiaochun returned to the capital city, it was daytime. The Giant Ghost King hadn't slept the entire night. He'd sat there drinking, occasionally looking up at the sky, and fretting over what Bai Xiaochun was doing. He couldn't stop worrying that he would do something impulsive and cause some sort of disaster.

The Giant Ghost King detected Bai Xiaochun's arrival, and hurried out to meet him. Grabbing him by the shoulders, he said, "You…."

Shrugging the Giant Ghost King off, Bai Xiaochun pulled out a jug of alcohol, took a drink, and then proudly said. "Calm down, old pal. Just wait a bit for the fireworks to start. When Bai Xiaochun makes a move, he never comes up short. Giant Ghost, old pal, you'll have your position back within seven days!"

The Giant Ghost King was a bit taken aback by how confident Bai Xiaochun seemed. But then he thought back to all the things Bai Xiaochun had done in the Wildlands, and didn't feel any more confident. In fact, he felt even more unsettled.

"You… you killed Marquis Zi Lin?" he asked.

"Are you kidding me?!" Bai Xiaochun said with a glare, irritated at how much the Giant Ghost King was underestimating him. "I just smeared some muck on his face that he'll never be able to wash off."

Bai Xiaochun's plan was outrageous and seemingly beyond belief, and that thought made him chuckle. After all, Celestial Aged Spirit was being a real nasty fellow, and as a result, Bai Xiaochun didn't even want to come up with some perfectly executed scheme. He just wanted to do a bit of muckraking.

The Giant Ghost King still had no idea what was going on, and for the life of him couldn't figure out what Bai Xiaochun was up to. However, Bai Xiaochun was clearly not going to give him any details. Therefore, the Giant Ghost King simply had to hope that Bai Xiaochun's self-confidence was warranted. Perhaps the clouds really would part soon to reveal the blue sky beyond.

Over the course of the following days, the Giant Ghost King stayed in Bai Xiaochun's mansion, completely wrapped up in anxiety.

In contrast, Bai Xiaochun was edgy with excitement to see what would happen.

On the afternoon of the third day, in the north of the second immortal domain, the door of Gongsun Wan'er's immortal's cave opened.

Her expression was the same as ever as she calmly walked out into the open. As a celestial, any public appearance she made would attract quite a bit of attention.

The first thing she did was issue orders summoning all of the preceptors and devas under her command for a meeting.

All of the demigods in the five prefectures she commanded jumped to follow her orders. Quickly abandoning whatever other tasks were at hand, they took their devas with them to the meeting.

Gongsun Wan'er sat in a throne in the position of honor, her eyes closed, her hands resting on the arms of the throne. She was tapping the throne with her index finger, creating a thumping sound that filled the area, causing great pressure to weigh down on her gathered subordinates. None of them even dared to breathe, and just waited there respectfully.

Enough time passed for an incense stick to burn, during which time the pressure mounted. Finally, she opened her eyes.

"Thank you all for coming," she said. "As you know, it was literally overnight that I took over this final northern prefecture in the second immortal domain!"

Although she spoke slowly and calmly, the truth was that inside, she felt extremely uncomfortable. The incense stick's worth of time just now had been spent struggling internally, and it was almost an accident that she had begun speaking.

Her subordinates were immediately taken aback by her words, and were unsure of their implications. A few exchanged awkward glances, but none dared to speak. They just kept their heads bowed and waited for more to come.

Bracing herself, Gongsun Wan'er went on. "The only reason it went so smoothly is that… the preceptor previously in charge of this prefecture, Marquis Zi Lin of the Saint-Emperor Dynasty, is secretly loyal to the Vile-Emperor Dynasty. I will definitely report the matter to the Vile-Emperor… so that he gets the credit."

Even she found these words to be particularly bizarre, but there was nothing else she could do. Rising to her feet, she left the main hall.

Silence reigned. The demigods and devas all looked around with wide eyes, their jaws hanging open. They had assumed that Ghostmother would summon them to a meeting for some important reason, and simply couldn't imagine why she would call them here just to say this….

A long moment passed before everyone recovered enough to start talking. Many a strange expression could be seen on their faces.

"Did Marquis Zi Lin… offend the exalted Celestial?"

"That has to be it! And he must have offended her badly!"

"But considering she's a celestial, couldn't she just directly kill a trifling figure like Marquis Zi Lin? Why the intrigue…?"

"Um… besides, isn't accusing him publicly too obvious? Who would possibly believe it?"

The demigods and devas alike were all stunned, and no matter how they considered the situation, they could only come to the conclusion… that Ghostmother hated Marquis Zi Lin for some reason.

However, after talking the matter over, they all agreed that Ghostmother had clearly called them to this meeting because she wanted their help in spreading the information.

They didn't need to worry about what happened afterward, they just needed to spread the news as quickly as possible.

Having come to this agreement, they quickly left and headed back to their respective prefectures, where they worked very hard to make sure the news traveled quickly. Before long, all of the northern prefectures were abuzz with the rumor that Marquis Zi Lin was loyal to the Vile-Emperor Dynasty. Of course, the north was only a subsection of the second immortal domain. And of course, both dynasties had spies in the other. So it only took about four hours for the news to reach the southern prefectures, including the capital city.

It immediately caused quite a stir, and in fact, everyone who heard it was completely stunned.

Demigods, devas, Nascent Soul experts, and Core Formation cultivators alike were all completely taken aback.

The truth was that… this rumor seemed completely fabricated! It was ridiculous!

"Ghostmother called all of her preceptors together to tell them that? That's… that's crazy…."

"Marquis Zi Lin helped her take over the final northern prefecture? That's total nonsense! Considering she's a celestial, who could possibly stand against her?"

"Celestial Ghostmother wants Marquis Zi Lin to get credit for taking over that prefecture? It's not like Marquis Zi Lin is an idiot! If he wanted to turn traitor, he could have just gone to the other side. Why would he stay in the Saint-Emperor Dynasty?"

Word spread quickly through the southern part of the second immortal domain. It wasn't that everybody disbelieved it. There were a few naive people here and there who thought it was true.

But they were in the minority. Most just turned up their noses disdainfully and assumed it was a smear tactic by Ghostmother!

And unfortunately, this smear tactic didn't have any weight at all. It was so ridiculously fake that it made everyone furious….

However, the incredibly fake nature of the news ensured that some intelligent people realized that there must be more to the story. And at that point, suspicions began to build.

Of course, the person who was most angered was the new preceptor of Godsifter Prefecture, Marquis Zi Lin himself. When he heard the news, his jaw dropped, and he wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. At first, he simply believed himself to have been wrongly accused, but then he realized that someone might be out to hurt him specifically.

Whoever it was, that person somehow got Celestial Ghostmother to make false charges. And whoever that person was, he would likely have realized that the ridiculous smear tactic wouldn't work. And yet, he had done it anyway…. The whole situation made Marquis Zi Lin completely furious.

And of course, he already had his suspicions about who was behind it. Eyes flickering, he murmured, "Don't tell me it was that King Heavenspan?"

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Chapter 1107: Xiaochun Makes A Scene

As word spread through the capital city, more and more slanderous talk about Marquis Zi Lin could be heard.

When the Giant Ghost King finally caught wind of it all, his jaw dropped. Of course, he immediately assumed that Bai Xiaochun was responsible, and sighed at how useless it all seemed.

"Of course nobody would believe that," the Giant Ghost King thought. Feeling a headache coming on, he headed over to ask Bai Xiaochun about it. However, as soon as he arrived, he saw Bai Xiaochun walking out of his private chamber, clad in a violet robe adorned with dragons. He wore a kingly crown, and fully radiated the aura of a celestial.

There was something profoundly magnificent about him that caused the Giant Ghost King's breath to catch in his throat. For some reason, this version of Bai Xiaochun seemed completely different from anything he had seen before.

He seemed to radiate an aura that placed him above all other living beings. Furthermore, Willpower swirled in his eyes. It was as if everything else in existence were mere bugs compared to him. He stood on the peak of the highest mountain, wielding powers that could crush everything else in existence!

The Giant Ghost King was so profoundly shocked that all of the words he had been about to say completely escaped him. He simply stood there looking at this completely different Bai Xiaochun.

The clothing he wore was the Daoist robe of a celestial, which had been bestowed upon him by the Saint-Emperor after he became a celestial. In the entire Saint-Emperor Dynasty, only five people qualified to wear such clothing. However, they would normally only wear this specific Daoist robe every ten years, during special rites held in Saint-Emperor City.

The crown he wore was a similar item.

Upon donning this precious treasure of an outfit, Bai Xiaochun's energy transformed, making him very different from before.

When Bai Xiaochun saw the Giant Ghost King's reaction, he felt very proud of himself, and nodded grandly.

"Come with me," he said. With that, he headed out of his mansion.

Hardly able to breathe, the Giant Ghost King hurried after him. He had an inkling of what Bai Xiaochun planned to do, and although he still wasn't completely confident, Bai Xiaochun's current appearance… somehow made the Giant Ghost King think back to the first time he had ever seen the Arch-Emperor back in the Wildlands.

Back before the Arch-Emperor had been supplanted by the Grand Heavenmaster, he was the overlord of all the Wildlands, and his gaze could cause all creation to either tremble, or go completely still.

As the Giant Ghost King followed along, his eyes slowly began to shine. He even subconsciously bowed his head the way a government official would in the presence of an emperor.

As Bai Xiaochun walked along, his servants noticed him, and were struck to the core. Many of them forgot to breathe, and dropped to their knees to kowtow.

As he emerged from his mansion onto the street, his magnificence did not decline in the least. In fact, it grew more prominent as he walked… toward Celestial Aged Spirit's mansion.

Along the way, everyone who saw him was deeply shocked. Regardless of the level of their cultivation base, they gasped and bowed in greeting.

"Greetings, Celestial!"

"Greetings, Celestial!!"

"Greetings, Celestial!!!"

At first, the greetings were called out here and there, but eventually, a chorus filled the air. It wasn't necessarily that they wished to greet him this way, but rather, it was an instinct born from the pressure that weighed down on them!

Thankfully, his mansion wasn't very far from Celestial Aged Spirit's mansion, and even as his energy reached its peak, he arrived.

Ignoring the stunned devas who stood guard out front, Bai Xiaochun entered. Still shaken, the Giant Ghost King hurried along behind him. The guards' job was to stop people from entering, but at the moment, Bai Xiaochun's surging energy erased any thoughts in their minds of attempting to do such a thing.

And thus, he strolled casually into Celestial Aged Spirit's residence. Upon entering, he found that about a dozen or so people were engaged in a discussion in the main hall, Marquis Zi Lin included. One of them was intentionally masking their aura, but to Bai Xiaochun's eyes, they stuck out like a torch on a moonless night.

Even as Bai Xiaochun determined who Celestial Aged Spirit was, that very same beleaguered celestial looked up. As he did, the doors to the main hall suddenly slammed open, attracting the attention of the demigods inside, including Marquis Zi Lin. All of them looked around, and what they saw struck them like bolts of lightning. Standing there at the entrance of the hall was Bai Xiaochun, clad in his celestial's Daoist robe, wearing a kingly crown, and looking like a divine being.

Marquis Zi Lin reacted the same; he was completely stunned.

Ignoring all of the demigods, Bai Xiaochun focused his gaze on the old man who held the seat of honor!

He wore a violet robe, not the special Daoist robe of a celestial, but spectacular nonetheless. He radiated the aura of a celestial, and as he sat there, it was questionable whether he was corporeal or illusory. Anyone who looked at him for more than a moment would be convinced they were looking at a god!

The demigods all stood there, their minds reeling. None of them would ever have guessed that Bai Xiaochun himself would come here, nor that he would do so in a celestial's Daoist robe. As of this moment, he looked exactly like the king that the Saint-Emperor had appointed him to be.

Even more difficult for them to take was the pressure that was building up between Bai Xiaochun and Celestial Aged Spirit. It left them wanting to scream.

Celestial Aged Spirit's eyes narrowed as he looked at Bai Xiaochun, but other than that, his expression didn't change. Despite all the time that had passed, this was their first time meeting in person.

"My apologies for coming late to this meeting," Bai Xiaochun said calmly, keeping eye contact with Celestial Aged Spirit. Taking a few steps inside, he waved his hand, causing countless stones to suddenly materialize and form together into a huge throne!

Then he flicked his sleeve, sat down, and then turned his gaze back to Celestial Aged Spirit.

Now, there were thrones on either side of the hall, both of equal height and equal distance from the center!

"By all means, carry on," Bai Xiaochun said coolly. "I'm just fulfilling my obligations to the Saint-Emperor. No need to pay attention to me."

Everyone else in the hall felt like a catastrophic disaster was about to occur. None of them dared to talk, or even breathe. As for Marquis Zi Lin, when he saw the Giant Ghost King standing behind Bai Xiaochun and off to the side, he could only hope that Celestial Aged Spirit would be able to strike fear into Bai Xiaochun's heart.

Celestial Aged Spirit looked coldly at Bai Xiaochun for a moment, and then suddenly laughed, a cold laughter filled with scorn. Then he looked away from Bai Xiaochun and said two words.

"Carry on!"

The demigods hesitated for a moment, but considering what Celestial Aged Spirit had just said, they had to brace themselves and continue their discussion.

"Exalted one, I've already begun to investigate the matter regarding Marquis Zi Lin. It's definitely slander!"

"That's right. It's a tactic the Vile-Emperor Dynasty uses a lot. If we cast suspicion on Marquis Zi Lin, then we'll be playing right into the Vile-Emperor Dynasty's hands!"

"Your humble servant requests that we make an official proclamation in the second immortal domain, declaring Marquis Zi Lin's innocence!"

After everyone had their say, Celestial Aged Spirit's lips curled up into a cold smile.

"Request granted!" he said. Then he rose to leave.

However, it was at this point that Bai Xiaochun looked up and said, "Hold on!"

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Chapter 1108: Forced Defamation

"This is very inappropriate, Fellow Daoist Aged Spirit!" Bai Xiaochun said, his voice echoing back and forth in the enormous main hall. "We must act on evidence! Marquis Zi Lin has been slandered, and we need proof of who did it! I find it hard to believe that the mighty Celestial Ghostmother of the Vile-Emperor Dynasty would slander a trifling demigod!

"Unless… our Marquis Zi Lin managed to offend Celestial Ghostmother. But if he did, then it wouldn't matter if he felt it was safe in Godsifter Prefecture. Ghostmother could easily slip in without anyone realizing it and just kill him!"

Bai Xiaochun left the demigods in the hall deeply shaken, including Marquis Zi Lin. As for Celestial Aged Spirit, he simply narrowed his eyes and allowed Bai Xiaochun to speak. He knew that Bai Xiaochun had been appointed to serve in the second immortal domain by the Saint-Emperor himself, and possessed the same official authority as himself.

At the moment, he didn't regret demoting the Giant Ghost King to provoke Bai Xiaochun. In his opinion, the second immortal domain should only have one voice of authority, and in fact, the Saint-Emperor himself had hinted that he also felt the same. Regardless, Celestial Aged Spirit knew that he had to strike a blow to Bai Xiaochun's credibility and reputation.

It didn't matter that Bai Xiaochun had been keeping a low profile, and spending all his time practicing cultivation. To Celestial Aged Spirit, that wasn't enough. He wanted to actually make a move, and therefore, he stripped the Giant Ghost King of his title of preceptor. When Bai Xiaochun was then powerless to do anything about it, it would ensure that everyone in the second immortal domain knew that Celestial Aged Spirit was the only true authority.

However, he had to admit that in some ways, he had underestimated this King Heavenspan. That was something that he had begun to realize as soon as the rumors about Marquis Zi Lin reached his ears.

"Don't you see how suspicious this all is!?" Bai Xiaochun said, forcefully slapping his hand down onto the arm of his throne. The demigods in the hall all struggled to breathe. Although Bai Xiaochun's words weren't particularly incisive, considering his status and the level of his cultivation base, they were still like deadly weapons that pierced all the way to the souls of the demigods.

"The ten of you oversee the capital city. Are you telling me you really can't see how odd this all is? Just think for a moment!

"It's a good thing I'm here. I can only imagine how things would be with only the ten of you around. Is this really how you usually handle affairs? Fine, let me ask the ten of you a question…. You say that Marquis Zi Lin hasn't betrayed our country, but… would you stake your life on it?!" He virtually yelled his final sentence, causing something like a tempest to whip through the main hall. The ten demigods' faces went pale in response, and they shivered and subconsciously stepped back a bit.

None of the demigods dared to act as a guarantor for Marquis Zi Lin. However, Marquis Zi Lin was under enough pressure as it was, so therefore, he braced himself, clasped hands, and said, "Celestial Bai, I'm innocent! Someone is slandering me!"

Inwardly, though, he was cursing. He might have had his doubts before, but as of this moment, he was convinced that Bai Xiaochun was the one responsible for the slander. He didn't dare to say it, of course. Nor did anyone else in the hall, although they all had come to the same conclusion…. Everyone was thinking the same thing, but saying it aloud was a different story.

A demigod could not openly criticize a celestial, no matter the circumstances. And therefore… this interchange was doomed to be one-sided.

"I'm not qualified to pronounce your innocence," Bai Xiaochun continued. "We need proof. Perhaps in other situations we could let the matter slide, but this is different…. This is a matter of treason! A matter of losing an entire prefecture! Without evidence to rely on to judge the matter, we will have to let His Majesty the Saint-Emperor make the final judgement!" He didn't even look at Marquis Zi Lin when he spoke; he stared straight at Celestial Aged Spirit.

Marquis Zi Lin was about ready to explode, but barely managed to keep control.

"The loss of that prefecture has nothing to do with me!" he said. "When a mighty celestial like Ghostmother makes a move, a demigod like me can't do a thing about it!!"

Bai Xiaochun's eyes widened into a glare. "Shut up! It would have been better to keep your mouth shut. But now that you mention it, I'm curious why Celestial Ghostmother didn't actually kill you! And not only did she not kill you, she just let you go!? You say you didn't betray our nation. Fine. Where's the evidence?!"

Marquis Zi Lin was truly about to go mad. He was trembling where he stood, blue veins bulging out on his face. He could sense the killing intent in Bai Xiaochun, and also realized that the other demigods seemed to be edging away from him. He opened his mouth to say something, but that was when Celestial Aged Spirit finally intervened.

"Enough!" Frowning, Celestial Aged Spirit looked at Bai Xiaochun with narrowed eyes. "I'll be Marquis Zi Lin's guarantor," he said coldly. "Satisfied, King Heavenspan?"

Marquis Zi Lin couldn't have been more excited, and immediately decided that he would devote his life to serving Celestial Aged Spirit!

"No, it's not okay!" Bai Xiaochun replied. Although he hadn't anticipated that Celestial Aged Spirit would do this, he was quick to make adjustments to his plan. Thanks to all of his experiences in recent years, he was quickly able to change the speech he had planned earlier.

Rising to his feet, he began to speak in a thunderous voice that seemed laced with pain and bitterness.

"I'm not satisfied with your attitude, Celestial Aged Spirit!

"I'm not satisfied that the Saint-Emperor Dynasty has apparently become a place where evidence doesn't count for anything, and a simple guarantee can resolve all issues!

"I'm not satisfied that your trust is worth more than the safety of the countless citizens of the Saint-Emperor Dynasty!!"

His words were spoken with courage and conviction. For most of the demigods present, it was as if a completely different Bai Xiaochun had come, and they were visibly shocked.

Celestial Aged Spirit's eyes were as cold as ice as he stared at Bai Xiaochun. He opened his mouth to respond, but there was no way Bai Xiaochun would give him that opportunity. Flicking his sleeve, he continued with his speech.

"Now that this matter has come to light, it doesn't matter whether or not you guarantee that Marquis Zi Lin is innocent. The door has been opened for many criticisms to be laid forth. For one thing, isn't it very suspicious that Ghostmother would say what she did, and that such a commotion would result?!

"You're the guarantor, Celestial Aged Spirit? Very well. In that case, I won't soulsearch Marquis Zi Lin. But until all of the investigations have been carried out, we need to prevent anything unexpected from happening. Therefore, to live up to the responsibilities assigned to me by the Saint-Emperor, and also to protect the safety of the innumerable citizens of the Saint-Emperor Dynasty, I hereby order that Marquis Zi Lin be imprisoned immediately! Only after the investigations are complete and the truth comes to light can he be released!"

At this point, the gathered demigods realized what was happening.

"So, it's because Marquis Zi Lin took Giant Ghost's position as preceptor of Godsifter Prefecture…. This is Bai Xiaochun's counter-strike!" The ten demigods all bowed their heads and averted their gazes, hoping to avoid being drawn into a conflict between two celestials. Although they were all loyal to Celestial Aged Spirit, they also needed to avoid offending Bai Xiaochun.

Earlier, when Bai Xiaochun was keeping a low profile, they might have had the guts to say something offensive. But now, they realized that he was truly a wolf in sheep's clothing. His methods were a bit crude and cruel, but they were effective. Furthermore, he apparently had the ability to convince Celestial Ghostmother to help him.

His counter-strike was a bit too obvious, and very lacking in finesse. It was almost as if he had just picked up a glob of dog excrement and smeared it across the face of his opponent.

A person who would resort to such cruel methods was frightening to even think about, and was the type that no one would intentionally provoke.

Marquis Zi Lin also realized what was happening, and as a result, his eyes were bloodshot with panic.

He knew that if he was imprisoned as Bai Xiaochun had ordered, than there was no way he would be able to clear his name easily. In fact, who knew what other things could happen on the outside that would make things worse for him? His intuition was telling him that if he was imprisoned, there was probably an eighty percent chance he would never again see the light of day.

"Exalted Celestial," he said shakily, "I'm being unjustly accused! Really!" Perhaps if Bai Xiaochun had handled things with finesse, he wouldn't be as terrified as he was. But seeing how effective his bald-faced smear tactics were made him fear that Bai Xiaochun would go to any lengths to achieve his goals.

As his terror mounted, he looked over at Celestial Aged Spirit. After all, it was Celestial Aged Spirit who had sent him to Godsifter Prefecture to begin with. He had initially been leery of going there, but Celestial Aged Spirit had given the orders, and he had had no choice but to abide by them.

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Chapter 1109: Confrontation And Compromise

Celestial Aged Spirit looked at Bai Xiaochun wordlessly, and Bai Xiaochun said nothing further. Meanwhile, the pressure in the main hall built higher and higher, until it seemed like a windstorm raged therein.

The ten demigods were particularly uncomfortable, and as for Marquis Zi Lin, he was just about to start crying.

The only calm one was the Giant Ghost King. He almost couldn't believe the show that Bai Xiaochun had put on. Now, the Marquis Zi Lin who had put him in such a bad position was as weak as a bug. Of course, this was the Saint-Emperor Dynasty, and Marquis Zi Lin was backed by a celestial.

And yet, everything that Bai Xiaochun had said made sense, making it impossible for Celestial Aged Spirit to offer a retort. Moments ticked by, and the Giant Ghost King was starting to feel very pleased with how things were going. However, that was when Celestial Aged Spirit's vision shifted from Bai Xiaochun to him!

"Very well, lock him up. Master Dustcity, you shall serve as the preceptor of Godsifter Prefecture!" As soon as the words left his mouth, one of the demigods in the hall stepped forward, a fat man who was currently trembling in fear. Inwardly, he was grumbling about being dragged into the affair, and was even considering trying to refuse somehow…. But considering how livid Celestial Aged Spirit looked at the moment, he simply clasped hands and offered a thankful affirmation.

Despite feeling bad for Master Dustcity, the other demigods edged away from him.

Marquis Zi Lin looked like all the energy had drained out of him. His face was pale and his expression listless as he stood there trembling.

As for Bai Xiaochun, he frowned slightly. He had to admit that this Celestial Aged Spirit was not an easy opponent to deal with. Not only did he not bicker about locking up Marquis Zi Lin, but instead focused on the Giant Ghost King. Clearly, he had no intention of allowing the Giant Ghost King to have the title of preceptor ever again. Presumably, he would eventually make some other move against him in the future.

"Wily old fox!" Bai Xiaochun thought, snorting inwardly.

"Locking up Marquis Zi Lin isn't sufficient," he said loudly. "This matter pertains to the loss of a prefecture, to the endangerment of all of the citizens in the nation, as well as the trust of His Majesty the Saint-Emperor. Therefore, I'm afraid I must ask some further questions.

"If Marquis Zi Lin has indeed been falsely accused, I would be happy to personally clear his name. But if he is truly a traitor, then I refuse to believe that he was acting alone. He would obviously have some accomplices backing him up!

"His Majesty the Saint-Emperor stationed me here in the second immortal domain, and there is no more loyal official here than me!" With that, he flicked his sleeve and glared at Celestial Aged Spirit much like a tiger eyeing its prey.

When Marquis Zi Lin heard those words, he was suddenly paralyzed by despair.

The other demigods gasped inwardly. Naturally, all of them understood the hidden threat in Bai Xiaochun's words, and knew that they were all suddenly in danger. With Marquis Zi Lin in his clutches, he could easily drag anyone else into the situation in the name of justice. Trying to prove their innocence later wouldn't do much good. And who knew what sorts of things could happen after they were imprisoned.

In the end, Bai Xiaochun might suffer some negative repercussions if the truth came to light, but he was a celestial, and at worst would receive a minor punishment. All he would have to do was claim that he had misunderstood the situation, and the Saint-Emperor would likely praise him for his loyalty.

Bai Xiaochun had made his threat very clear. If Celestial Aged Spirit dared to do anything to the Giant Ghost King, then Bai Xiaochun would respond in kind. In fact, he might even make a move against Celestial Aged Spirit himself. Although it wouldn't result in any concrete harm, it would definitely be a big embarrassment.

It would also throw the entire second immortal domain into chaos. It was an alarming thought. After all, Bai Xiaochun was a celestial, so there was little they could do to him! And this wasn't his home, so he didn't care much about what happened overall!

By this point, Celestial Aged Spirit was quivering in rage, and there was even killing intent in his eyes. This new tactic was as crude and cruel as the way he had slandered Marquis Zi Lin. And yet, it was explosively effective, and profoundly threatening!

Celestial Aged Spirit would never even think of doing something like this. He was calculating and fastidious, and virtually epitomized the sanctimoniousness of the Saint-Emperor Dynasty. Therefore, Bai Xiaochun's cruel, rude methods had caught him completely unprepared. They were also particularly effective.

After a long moment passed, Celestial Aged Spirit reigned in his killing intent. He closed his eyes momentarily, and when he opened them again, he looked completely calm.

"Preceptor Giant Ghost, you have done excellent work managing Godsifter Prefecture. Master Dustcity, are you absolutely set on going there?"

The demigod Master Dustcity was very excited. The truth was that he wasn't set on going to Godsifter Prefecture. In fact, he had no desire whatsoever to do so. Stepping forward, he clasped hands and bowed deeply.

"Your humble servant can't even compare to Fellow Daoist Giant Ghost. Whether in terms of talents, virtues, cultivation base, governing ability, et cetera, I don't even come close to him. I am more than willing to forego the position of preceptor. In all of the second immortal domain, only Fellow Daoist Giant Ghost possibly qualifies to serve in Godsifter Prefecture."

The other demigods quickly stepped forward and began to say similar things.

"Godsifter Prefecture simply cannot function without Fellow Daoist Giant Ghost there!"

"I truly hope that the two exalted Celestials present will agree that Fellow Daoist Giant Ghost is clearly the best option!"

"How wise and brilliant, oh exalted Celestial. Fellow Daoist Giant Ghost is a rare gem here in the Saint-Emperor Dynasty, and is obviously the best choice!"

After everyone spoke, Celestial Aged Spirit nodded his head.

"Let it be so!"

Finally, the Giant Ghost King had his position returned to him, although he didn't take much pleasure in it. Having seen this confrontation with his own eyes, he knew that it meant Bai Xiaochun could no longer maintain a low profile in the second immortal domain.

Furthermore… there was likely more to come!

As for Bai Xiaochun, he was shivering inwardly with apprehension. He would rather Celestial Aged Spirit fly into a rage. That would have been less nerve-wracking. Instead, he got very calm, which seemed far more sinister and foreboding.

But now that they had come to an agreement, it did no good to look back with regret. Looking around at the demigods, as well as Marquis Zi Lin, he smiled.

"After some thought, I've come to the realization that, considering all of the services Marquis Zi Lin has performed for the Saint-Emperor Dynasty, it seems silly to be so hard-hearted over such a small matter. Marquis Zi Lin, I for one believe that you were slandered!"

His words caused all of the demigods to breathe sighs of relief. All of a sudden, they realized that this King Heavenspan wasn't impossible to work with after all. And he wasn't the type to push matters to the bitter end.

Most excited of all was Marquis Zi Lin, who had been struck by one wave of misfortune after another this day. As of this point, he was furious with Celestial Aged Spirit, and although he had mixed feelings about Bai Xiaochun, mostly respected him.

Rising to his feet, he clasped hands and bowed deeply to Bai Xiaochun several times in a row.

Of course, Celestial Aged Spirit noticed all of this, and a grim look once again appeared in his eyes. As of this point, both he and Bai Xiaochun viewed each other as wily foxes.

Matters of face had just barely been handled properly in the interchange. However, both of them knew that they were now rivals, and that if the opportunity presented itself, a major conflict would result.

Finally, Celestial Aged Spirit turned and left. As for Bai Xiaochun, he wasn't somber like before. He smiled as he said a few words to the demigods, then took the Giant Ghost King with him back to his mansion.

Once inside, the Giant Ghost King let out a long sigh of relief. Bai Xiaochun had originally intended to ask him to stay for a few more days, but he was too anxious to get back to Godsifter Prefecture. After all, if he was gone for too long, who knew what problems might arise there?

Before leaving, the Giant Ghost King stepped forward and embraced Bai Xiaochun.

"Xiaochun, you've… you've really grown up." With that he stepped back, threw his head back and laughed heartily. Then he became a beam of light that shot toward the capital city's teleportation portal.

Bai Xiaochun watched him leave. For some reason, the Giant Ghost King seemed to be getting much older, causing Bai Xiaochun to sigh and think back to everything that had happened in Giant Ghost City.

Eventually, he headed back into his mansion, where he sat down cross-legged in his private chamber and pulled out the command medallion from the damaged fan. Even after studying it in much detail, he hadn't found any other function to it than the spiritual energy it emitted.

"It seems like the spiritual energy is slowly running out. But what exactly does this thing have to do with that fan?" After thinking about it for a bit more, he went back to cultivation.

With the help of the command medallion, the immortal pills, and the spirit plants, his cultivation base had advanced significantly. He was now getting very close to the peak of the early Celestial Realm.

And much of that speed was because of the energy in the medallion!

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Chapter 1110: Reuniting With The Grand Heavenmaster

Days passed. The matter between Marquis Zi Lin and the Giant Ghost King didn't cause a huge controversy in the capital city. In fact, few people had even been aware that the Giant Ghost King had been stripped of his title and position.

The rumors about Marquis Zi Lin quickly died down. In accord with the approval of both Celestial Aged Spirit and Bai Xiaochun, all of the power and resources of the second immortal domain were employed to get rid of the rumors and any ill effects they had.

To people who weren't in the know, the second immortal domain seemed very peaceful and quiet. However, the preceptors from the various prefectures, as well as the ten demigods stationed in the capital city, all knew that a storm was brewing.

At the center of that storm were Bai Xiaochun and Celestial Aged Spirit. They were like gods to everyone else, so the mere idea of them at odds with each other had people trembling in fear.

No one knew when the storm would hit. Perhaps it would be soon, or perhaps it would take some time. But they knew… that it would come sooner or later!

Pressure mounted, and everyone who was aware of the tension between the two celestials acted with extreme caution in everything, doing everything they could to avoid setting one of the celestials off.

As alarm built in the hearts of the people aware of the conflict, an old man in the capital city was paying close attention to everything.

He normally wore a nondescript green robe, and would sit at a table on the second floor of one of the taverns in the city. He would arrive in the morning, and would sit there sipping alcohol and staring off into the sky.

No one knew his name, but there was something tranquil about him that made it seem obvious his cultivation base was extraordinary.

Because of the gleam of intelligence that existed in his eyes, anyone who thought to probe him out and perhaps do him harm would give up on such thoughts immediately. After all, within his calm gaze, there was also something profoundly incisive.

There was something about him that surpassed ordinary cultivators. Clearly, he had once held a position of incredible power and authority. That was the only way he could possibly have the extraordinary air to him that he did.

He was none other than the Grand Heavenmaster!

He had originally been looking for the Giant Ghost King, but after arriving in Godsifter Prefecture, he found that there was a new preceptor. Thus, he had come to the capital city. Although he had not been there to personally witness Bai Xiaochun's counter attack, he could pick up on the clues and hints. First there were the strange rumors. Then the Giant Ghost King's position had been restored, and Marquis Zi Lin seemed to have fallen out of favor. From that, he could guess much of what had occurred.

Although he wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry at Bai Xiaochun's methods, he had to sigh a bit. After all, Bai Xiaochun was a natural born trickster, and in that regard, was worthy of praise.

Although things seemed peaceful and quiet, after everything the Grand Heavenmaster had seen in the Arch-Emperor Dynasty, how could he not tell that a storm was brewing? Therefore, he changed his plans. Instead of seeking out the Giant Ghost King, he took up residence in the capital city, both to keep an eye on Bai Xiaochun, and also to size up the city around him, which was the center of power in the second immortal domain.

On one particular afternoon as he sat there in the tavern, the Grand Heavenmaster put down his cup of alcohol, and his eyes began to glitter brightly.

"It's just about time…." he murmured. With that, he left the tavern and headed toward Bai Xiaochun's mansion.

Bai Xiaochun wasn't paying attention to the outside world. He was completely focused on the damaged fan's command medallion. The energy within the medallion was slowly being emptied out, and as it was, a faint gravitational force was being revealed.

It wasn't powerful enough to affect any physical objects around it, but Bai Xiaochun's keen senses detected it. Shocked, he realized that the command medallion likely was an object that could be used to gain access to the fan.

It was in the midst of his study of the command medallion that he suddenly sensed a familiar aura outside of his mansion.

As soon as he detected it, his eyes snapped open.

"The Grand Heavenmaster?" There were a few people from the Heavenspan Realm who had left a deep impression on him. One was the aloof gravekeeper, and the other, the cruel, callous Daoist Heavenspan. And then there was the Grand Heavenmaster, who came in second only to Daoist Heavenspan when it came to ambition and ruthlessness.

He had turned the Arch-Emperor into a mere figurehead, and had even kept the four heavenly kings under control, despite the fact that they were so distanced from him physically.

In a time when the Wildlands' true leader was weak, he managed to keep the place fully united. Of course, that only lasted until Daoist Heavenspan sent all four of his main armies against the Wildlands. Even then, they had fought back for years. Some of the Grand Heavenmaster's success in all that had to do with the existence of the gravekeeper, but not much.

Any person like him, whether they were from the Heavenspan Realm or not, could be considered extraordinary even in the Eternal Immortal Domains. If he had thrown his lot in with the Saint-Emperor, he might not have ended up being as important as Bai Xiaochun, but would still have been shockingly valuable.

In fact, had he truly been willing to sell out, he could have caused major waves in either of the dynasties.

But now, here he was outside of Bai Xiaochun's mansion. He was still in the peak of the Demigod Realm, but due to some good fortune he had come across in the Eternal Immortal Domains, when he concealed his aura, only a celestial who was actively probing him would be able to tell his level.

Shocked, Bai Xiaochun put away the command medallion, vanished, and reappeared outside of his mansion!

The first thing he saw was the Grand Heavenmaster, standing there tall and straight in his green robe, his eyes glittering with wisdom and insight!

He looked like an ordinary old man, albeit somewhat older than before. As soon as Bai Xiaochun appeared in front of him, he smiled.

"Greetings, Celestial." This was not at all how he had acted in the Wildlands, but it didn't seem difficult at all for him to offer formal greetings to Bai Xiaochun in this way. The truth was that back in Arch-Emperor City, when Bai Xiaochun had become the Arch-Ancestor, the Grand Heavenmaster had immediately understood his own place in the grand scheme of things. Now here they were in the Eternal Immortal Domains, with Bai Xiaochun a celestial. And therefore, the Grand Heavenmaster knew exactly how he should treat him.

"Grand Heavenmaster!" Bai Xiaochun said, a smile of joy breaking out on his face.

The Grand Heavenmaster shook his head and sighed. "Oh, I wouldn't dare go by my old form of address…. Just call me Situ."

Bai Xiaochun laughed heartily. "Oh, that kind of stuff isn't important. Come in, Grand Heavenmaster!"

The truth was that Bai Xiaochun really didn't care much about forms of address. Grabbing the Grand Heavenmaster's arm, he led him into the mansion.

Along the way, a warm smile covered the Grand Heavenmaster's face as he looked around. Eventually, they reached the luxurious and extravagant main hall. At this point, the Grand Heavenmaster couldn't help but sigh again. Whether it was in terms of cultivation base or temperament, Bai Xiaochun had clearly changed a lot. The Grand Heavenmaster couldn't help but think back to that cautious scoundrel of the past with all of his vicious plans. But now what he saw was a young man deserving of praise. In fact, he was the type of person that the Grand Heavenmaster was willing to forgo his own personal gain to assist.

Looking at Bai Xiaochun with his wise eyes, he slowly said, "Celestial, you currently have three major problems that I can help you solve!"

Moments ago, he had seemed like nothing more than an ordinary old man. But now, he suddenly seemed capable of doing anything! Anyone who saw him now would realize that he was absolutely an extraordinary individual!

"Please, tell me everything!" Bai Xiaochun said, eyes glittering expectantly.

"First. Your relationship with Celestial Aged Spirit is not particularly important, but you definitely need to establish a solid foundation in the second immortal domain!

"Second. The Eternal Immortal Domains are vast, and there are many obstacles preventing the people of the Heavenspan Realm from reuniting. If they aren't gathered soon… they will be assimilated into the other dynasties!

"Third. Although it may seem that you are working toward a goal, the truth is that… you don't have any specific direction!" With each of these three points, his voice grew louder and louder, until it rang back and forth in the hall.

"Celestial, did I get close to hitting the mark?!"

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Chapter 1111: The Grand Heavenmaster's Three Strategies

Bai Xiaochun didn't say anything. He sat there on his throne looking at the Grand Heavenmaster, a slight smile on his face that contained a hint of approval.

Bai Xiaochun had not always possessed this skill. He had learned it from the Saint-Emperor. Actually, Bai Xiaochun was a very quick learner, something that had benefited him a lot in his life. Whenever he encountered someone who was more outstanding than him in some way, he would imitate that facet of their personality or behavior.

Of course, he wouldn't sit there quietly smiling if he were dealing with the Giant Ghost King, or other people he was close to. But this was the Grand Heavenmaster, an ambitious and ruthless political master. Although he had come to offer help of his own initiative, Bai Xiaochun knew that a powerful cultivation base alone would not be enough to keep him in check.

And thus, he subconsciously imitated the Saint-Emperor, smiling in warm and encouraging fashion.

When the Grand Heavenmaster saw that, he also smiled. It was a sincere smile, backed by an emotional sigh. Earlier, he had been committed to his plan, but now he was absolutely convinced that this was the right thing to do. Just like the Giant Ghost King, he truly felt that Bai Xiaochun had grown up.

Almost as soon as that thought entered his head, though, he realized that it wasn't appropriate. Although he and Bai Xiaochun would not have a strictly formal political relationship, there was still a need to maintain propriety. If he always thought of Bai Xiaochun as a child who had grown up, then one day that could lead to a major disaster.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, the only thing they held was deep and sincere respect. Clasping hands, he bowed to Bai Xiaochun, and then somberly continued speaking.

"Celestial, the way to resolve the first problem, the key to establishing a firm foundation, is actually very simple. Whether it comes to winning the hearts of the people, or gaining the political upper hand, I can help you do that very easily." From the way the Grand Heavenmaster spoke, and from the intelligent gleam in his eyes, it seemed he was absolutely confident in being able to do as he had said.

"The simplest method would be to call upon your authority as a celestial to issue a decree stating that every government official in the second immortal domain, from the Foundation Establishment stage up to the Demigod Realm, will have their monthly stipend doubled. And the expense will be paid by the capital city!

"If Aged Spirit refuses to agree, then it will arouse public anger. If he agrees, then your reputation will increase. He will definitely have a tough time deciding what to do. After all, the money actually isn't yours, Celestial, you'll just be delivering it."

When Bai Xiaochun heard this, his eyes brightened. It was definitely a ruthless move. He could use someone else's money to win the hearts of the people, and give his opponent an unsolvable dilemma. It seemed just as vicious of a plan as his smear campaign.

"That having been said, Celestial, I feel that establishing a foundation here is actually of little value. With Celestial Aged Spirit so close, no matter what advantage you gain, Aged Spirit can always figure out a way to bypass the law and attack you directly.

"Thankfully, your cultivation base gives you a measure of protection against petty plots and schemes. And that is also one of your greatest strengths.

"Therefore, I would like to ask you to consider carefully what you want to do. Our true goal is not to just establish a foundation here. We want to take advantage of your position to make plans for the future. We want to secure something truly beneficial, for example… the northern part of this immortal domain, which now no longer belongs to the Saint-Emperor Dynasty…." At this point, he gave Bai Xiaochun a meaningful look.

Bai Xiaochun thought about the vague words the Grand Heavenmaster had just spoken, but after a moment, still didn't understand fully. However, he did get the point that their true goal should be… the north!

"Acquire more than just titular power," he said.

The Grand Heavenmaster smiled and bowed to Bai Xiaochun again.

"Before getting into more details, allow me to address the second of the problems I mentioned earlier. Because of the interference of the two imperial dynasties, there is only one way to prevent the people of Heavenspan from being assimilated. And that is to achieve… independence!

"That is all we need. We don't even need to ask for an equal split of the Eternal Lands with the other dynasties. We just need a place for the people of Heavenspan to gather.

"However, if you show even the slightest hint of having that goal, Celestial, it will bring sure disaster! Sadly, every day that goes by in which we don't have our independence, the weaker our position gets!

"So, to return to talking about the first problem, if you can solve that one, Celestial, then we will have made major progress. At that point, we can easily do something to establish our independence!

"Furthermore, in order to avoid arousing the suspicions of the Saint-Emperor, I believe that we should strive, not for political independence, but rather… financial independence!

"The Saint-Emperor Dynasty won't mind if a prefecture exists that is devoted to spirit enhancement!" A faint smile of confidence could be seen on the Grand Heavenmaster's face. To him, it was almost being like back in his early days in the Arch-Emperor Dynasty, when he had single-handedly shaken the world.

"In terms of the third problem I mentioned, in the world we live in, respect is given to the powerful. If one day you can become an archaean, then all of our problems will be much easier to solve. Therefore, I wish to wait for that day to truly make our move. Once you are an archaean, then you will have the power you need to succeed!" With that, the Grand Heavenmaster stepped back a few paces, clasped hands, and bowed.

"Celestial, if you approve of my plan, then please appoint me as a vice-preceptor in Plumflower Prefecture! Of all of the eleven prefectures controlled by the Saint-Emperor Dynasty, Plumflower Prefecture is closest to the north, and is also the most suitable prefecture to act as a buffer between the two existing dynasties!

"It is like a bridgehead, a prefecture from which armies can easily march northward if necessary! I've already done a thorough analysis of the devas under the command of the prefecture there, and am confident of how to work with them. Within three months… that prefecture will belong to the Saint-Emperor Dynasty in name only. We will be the ones who truly control it!" The Grand Heavenmaster seemed completely and utterly confident in his plan.

A strange expression could be seen on Bai Xiaochun's face. Although most of what the Grand Heavenmaster said made sense, the last part seemed the most credible. After all, when it came to seizing control and manipulating a puppet ruler, then if the Grand Heavenmaster was called second best in the Eternal Immortal Domains, there would be no one to occupy first place.

After a moment of thought, Bai Xiaochun nodded and said, "Let's do it!"

As he did, the Grand Heavenmaster smiled and rose from his bow. Subsequently, Bai Xiaochun called upon his authority as a celestial to make the necessary arrangements for the Grand Heavenmaster. Earlier, it wouldn't have been very easy, but right now, the demigods in the capital city were terrified of Bai Xiaochun, and were all scared of offending him. Therefore, all his demands were quickly met.

Surprisingly, Celestial Aged Spirit didn't interfere either. Apparently, he was waiting for the right moment to strike his own fatal blow.

A few days later, the Grand Heavenmaster got his official appointment, and left the capital city for Plumflower Prefecture. Before leaving, he offered Bai Xiaochun some advice based on his speculations about what Celestial Aged Spirit would do.

Bai Xiaochun considered the advice, and after the Grand Heavenmaster left, decided that he couldn't sit around passively. Clenching his hands into fists, he said, "I can't just let that Celestial Aged Spirit sit around waiting to make a move. I need to force him to come to a compromise!"

Having made his decision, he took action. The first thing he did was follow through with the vicious plan that the Grand Heavenmaster had come up with.

He was a celestial, so although he didn't really have any direct subordinates of his own, it wasn't a difficult thing to have news about something spread. Before long, everyone in the second immortal domain was talking about the same rumor.

"Did you hear? King Heavenspan suggested that all cultivators in the second immortal domain have their stipends doubled!!"

"Heavens! That means expenditures in the second immortal domain are going to skyrocket! There's no way Celestial Aged Spirit will agree to that, is there!?"

"If this happens, I'm definitely going to go offer my thanks to King Heavenspan in person!!"

Talk spread so rapidly that it was like a windstorm. Some people tried to suppress it, but that turned out to be impossible.

Anyone who tried to quell the rumors became suspect…. After all, it was a matter that would benefit everyone involved!

The demigods in the capital city were quite alarmed. But this was an even more ruthless move than the matter with Marquis Zi Lin, and therefore none of them dared to do anything.

When Celestial Aged Spirit heard the news, his anger burned hot, and he very nearly erupted into a rage. Just as the Grand Heavenmaster had predicted, Aged Spirit would come out on the bottom whether he agreed to the matter or not!

"Damn that Bai Xiaochun!!"

When it came time for the next official governmental meeting in the capital city, Bai Xiaochun calmly proposed the matter openly!

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Chapter 1112: What Do You Want?

The ten demigods who served in the capital city all had their heads bowed and were staring at their toes. From the somber expressions on their faces, one might assume that there was some profound secret to be discovered within their feet.

As Bai Xiaochun's words echoed in the hall, and as Celestial Aged Spirit's fury rose, the ten demigods almost seemed to be in a trance, not willing to participate in what was happening right in front of them.

God-level conflicts like this were not the kinds of things they would interfere with even if they had ten times the guts they already had. In fact, most of them wanted to just run out the door.

Celestial Aged Spirit glared at Bai Xiaochun, unable to control his rage at how disgustingly he handled matters.

Whether it was the incident with Marquis Zi Lin, or this matter of increasing the stipend for cultivators, it made his guts twist as surely as if he had unknowingly eaten a pile of feces.

"What a vicious plan…." Celestial Aged Spirit thought, gnashing his teeth, and yet unable to give vent to his feelings. If he refused to go along with the arrangement, then he would be playing right into Bai Xiaochun's hand. But if he agreed, the cost would be horrific. And since the second immortal domain didn't actually belong to Bai Xiaochun, he obviously didn't care about the expenditure. But Celestial Aged Spirit actually did view the second immortal domain as his own, and therefore, the thought of what was to come filled him with piercing pain.

Heart burning with nearly uncontrollable killing intent, he rose to his feet, flicked his sleeve, and walked out. He neither agreed nor disagreed. When Bai Xiaochun saw this, he felt quite pleased, and didn't even feel the need to press the matter, confident that Celestial Aged Spirit would provide a response sooner or later.

And that was exactly what happened. Not even three days passed before Celestial Aged Spirit issued a decree stating that all officials within the second immortal domain would have their stipends doubled.

It immediately caused a huge commotion, and countless cultivators felt profound gratitude toward Celestial Aged Spirit and King Heavenspan Bai Xiaochun. Of course, there were many people who were in the know, and realized that although it seemed like Bai Xiaochun had fought for the benefit of the people, the truth was that this was a battle between the two celestials!

And obviously, Bai Xiaochun had won this round. Gradually, opinions were shifting regarding Bai Xiaochun, and some people were even considering throwing their lot in with him.

And thus it was that with two major events, Bai Xiaochun made a deep impression on the cultivators in the second immortal domain. The key benefit for him was that when people talked about celestials, they didn't just talk about Celestial Aged Spirit like they had in the past. Bai Xiaochun too was now a frequent subject of conversation.

Celestial Aged Spirit noticed that, and it made him pause for thought. Earlier, when Bai Xiaochun had first arrived, he wouldn't have cared so much. Back then, he had assumed Bai Xiaochun was essentially a naive member of the younger generation, someone who had caused some annoying problems in Saint-Emperor City, but who wouldn't do much in the second immortal domain.

That was why, when Bai Xiaochun chose to keep a low profile, Aged Spirit had taken it as a sign of weakness. And thus, he had chosen to demote the Giant Ghost King, hoping to take advantage of that weakness to cut Bai Xiaochun down even further.

His attitude remained the same after the incident with Marquis Zi Lin. Although Bai Xiaochun had struck back at him, and it had been frustrating to the say the least, he still looked down on him. Back then, Celestial Aged Spirit has assumed that Bai Xiaochun's crude methods were nothing to fear, and that he could slowly but surely put him in his place.

But then… Bai Xiaochun made a formal proposal that was in fact a vicious and decisive plot. Only then did Celestial Aged Spirit finally start to view Bai Xiaochun as somewhat of an equal to him.

At this point, he took the time to seriously consider what protracted conflict with Bai Xiaochun would entail. In the end, it wouldn't really benefit either of them, and would in fact only help the Saint-Emperor.

As a celestial, he understood more than just how to crush others with power. He also knew how to compromise and make deals. Therefore, it was without the knowledge of anyone that he secretly projected an image of himself into Bai Xiaochun's private chamber.

Bai Xiaochun was there meditating. When he opened his eyes and saw a ball of mist in front of him, and the smiling face therein, he knew that, at long last, Celestial Aged Spirit had come to negotiate.

After his chat with the Grand Heavenmaster, Bai Xiaochun knew what it was that he needed and wanted, and also knew that he couldn't do it with only his own current status. And he also knew that the person who least desired for him to stay around in the capital city was Celestial Aged Spirit.

When the smoky form of Celestial Aged Spirit saw the smile on Bai Xiaochun's face, it was confirmation that his assessment had been correct. As a result, he breathed a sigh of relief. Clearly, Bai Xiaochun didn't have some complex ulterior motives. In fact, Celestial Aged Spirit's impression of him actually improved a bit.

They were both celestials, and both knew that sometimes, a word and a smile could impart volumes.

A moment passed, and Celestial Aged Spirit asked a single question.

"What do you want?"

Bai Xiaochun replied with one short sentence. At that point, Celestial Aged Spirit's eyes glittered, and he spent a thoughtful moment before fading away. He didn't give his response right then and there.

No one knew that he had come to visit Bai Xiaochun, and he never came for a second visit. Everything appeared to go on as before. He and Bai Xiaochun still seemed to be at odds, and during the occasional meetings that Bai Xiaochun attended, they would always end up having big arguments. As a result, the demigods were constantly shivering in fear at the prospect of actual fighting breaking out.

A few months later, the preceptor of Plumflower Prefecture paid a visit to Celestial Aged Spirit. Sullen and depressed, he said that he wanted to resign. When Celestial Aged Spirit asked for the reason, he said that Bai Xiaochun had sent a demigod named Situ to serve in Plumflower Prefecture as a vice-preceptor.

This Situ was vicious and merciless, and profoundly crafty. By using a multitude of plots and schemes, he had turned almost everyone in the prefecture against the preceptor in only about three months. In fact, the preceptor was actually terrified of Situ, and thus, wished to resign and leave Plumflower Prefecture.

Upon hearing this, Celestial Aged Spirit began to pant in seeming rage. Apparently, this was a final straw of some sorts, pushing Celestial Aged Spirit to the point where he couldn't hold on any longer.

"What incredible gall! You're pushing things too far, Bai Xiaochun!!"

Without any hesitation, he issued orders that the Giant Ghost King and the Grand Heavenmaster were to lead armies from their respective prefectures to wage war in the north. Furthermore, if they failed to capture all of the northern provinces, they would be imprisoned!

When the news got out, the capital city began to simmer on the verge of exploding. The demigods were all left gasping, convinced that something big was going to happen between the two celestials!!

"Not good! Something crazy is going to happen!!"

"Heavens! The Saint-Emperor Dynasty has rules, right? Celestials aren't allowed to fight with each other within the borders of the nation…."

As the news spread through the second immortal domain, Bai Xiaochun caught wind of it, and his eyes glittered. Then he put an enraged expression onto his face and burst out of his secluded meditation chamber, his celestial cultivation base raging out to fill the city. Without any hesitation, he aggressively headed over to Celestial Aged Spirit's mansion.

"Aged Spirit, you villain, this level of bullying is outrageous!"

Even as Bai Xiaochun sent his divine sense smashing forward, another stream of divine sense came out to meet his. When they clashed, a deafening boom filled the ears of all the cultivators in the capital city!

"Have a death wish, Bai Xiaochun?!?!"

Apparently, the conflict between the two had finally reached a boiling point. Rumbling sounds filled the entire city, and clouds of dust screamed in the air. To the people in the city, it seemed like the end of days had come!

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Chapter 1113: Lord Of The North

Thankfully, the two celestials had apparently not yet reached the point of fully losing control. After the initial cathartic impact, both of them backed down. And yet, the residents of the capital city were still gripped with terror.

Everyone knew that if Bai Xiaochun and Aged Spirit truly came to blows, and didn't control themselves perfectly, then it could cause a cataclysmic catastrophe.

Of course, the Saint-Emperor was also notified of the tensions between the two, and Saint-Emperor City as a whole was shaken by the news.

There were rules prohibiting celestials from fighting each other, especially in their own territory. But rules could not govern self-control, and the consequences of violating such rules could be immense.

It was at around this time that official requests came in to the Saint-Emperor from both Bai Xiaochun and Celestial Aged Spirit. Then, perhaps because of the persuasiveness of Celestial Aged Spirit's request, or perhaps of other secret methods he employed… the Saint-Emperor issued a decree!

"King Heavenspan is hereby appointed as the king of the north in the second immortal domain. As the immortal lord of the realm, he shall restore the glory of the five northern prefectures!"

Everyone in the Saint-Emperor Dynasty was stunned by this sudden development, not because it was an amazing promotion for Bai Xiaochun, but rather… because none of the five northern prefectures in the second immortal domain were controlled by the Saint-Emperor Dynasty. Bai Xiaochun would be the king of the north, but he would have no territory to rule over!

And that wasn't even mentioning that his mission was to 'restore the glory' of the north. Some people were puzzled, but most shook their heads at the realization that because Bai Xiaochun was not well-liked in the Saint-Emperor Dynasty, he was essentially being expelled from it.

That was the general consensus as word spread through the second immortal domain. However, the Giant Ghost King and the Grand Heavenmaster reacted differently. They were quite excited.

"The time has finally come!"

Equally excited was Bai Xiaochun. Although no one realized it, this new appointment was crucially important. Not only did it get him out of the capital city of the second immortal domain, but it also gave him quite a bit of ostensible freedom. Everything was going according to the Grand Heavenmaster's plan!

Instead of wasting time locking horns with Celestial Aged Spirit, it would be better to start out on a new path in the north, where no one would be looking over his shoulder! That was where he would build his strong foundation!

It was a good plan. That was why, when Celestial Aged Spirit had come for his visit and asked Bai Xiaochun what he wanted, the answer had been simple.

I want the north!

It was no skin off of Celestial Aged Spirit's back. He could get rid of Bai Xiaochun, and end the exhausting conflict between the two of them.

The two of them had put on a bit of a show of hating each other in order to reach their mutual goal. Furthermore, Celestial Aged Spirit had worked very hard to make sure that his request was granted immediately. After all, there were many intelligent people in the empire who could see through Bai Xiaochun's plan, including the Saint-Emperor. In fact, the only reason the Saint-Emperor had agreed to the request so quickly was because of all the pressure from the groups Celestial Aged Spirit had called in favors from.

"This Celestial Aged Spirit isn't a bad guy," Bai Xiaochun thought. "It must not have been easy to get that request approved so quickly." He sighed. Not only would staying in the capital city have made it hard to carry out his plan, it would have been a bit of a loss of face.

Therefore, two days after getting the Dharmic decree from the Saint-Emperor, he left. He didn't take anyone with him, nor did he say farewell to anyone. At dawn, he turned into a brilliant beam of light that shot off into the distance.

His destination: the north!

An army of cultivators had already begun to gather in Plumflower Prefecture, some of them from that prefecture itself, and others from the nearby Godsifter Prefecture.

This was the army that the Giant Ghost King and the Grand Heavenmaster had begun to gather in preparation for Bai Xiaochun's arrival.

That was also part of the plan to resolve his differences with Celestial Aged Spirit. Because of Celestial Aged Spirit's orders, it was possible for the Grand Heavenmaster and the Giant Ghost King to openly gather an army, and not worry about doing it secretly, as had been the original plan.

The army was already 50,000 cultivators strong. Although the Giant Ghost King and the Grand Heavenmaster were the only two demigods, they had quite a few devas under their command. There were also some cultivators from the Heavenspan Realm. Although it was difficult for them to seek asylum with the Giant Ghost King and the Grand Heavenmaster, some were able, and they were treated as precious gems.

The assembled armies didn't have to wait for long. Bai Xiaochun soon appeared in a gust of wind, and as he hovered in the air, his celestial cultivation base rippling out, all of the cultivators from the Heavenspan Realm looked up in both astonishment and reverence.

Bai Xiaochun looked over the group until his gaze came to rest on the Grand Heavenmaster. "Have the preparations been made, Grand Heavenmaster?"

Although neither the Grand Heavenmaster nor the Giant Ghost King had been in the capital city recently, they had been in communication with Bai Xiaochun the entire time. They already had a detailed plan in place, and the first phase of it was to take over a prefecture!

"Yes, exalted one. Everything is ready. We are confident in being able to take Mistysea Prefecture, as long as you can hold off Ghostmother. Exalted one, we should be able to achieve victory within one month!"

Bai Xiaochun gave the Grand Heavenmaster a long look, and then they looked at the Giant Ghost King, who seemed eager to start fighting. Then he nodded. And with that, he headed north, alone.

As soon as Bai Xiaochun was gone, the Grand Heavenmaster and the Giant Ghost King mobilized their troops and began moving. Clouds of dust rose into the air as they headed through Plumflower Prefecture… north toward Mistysea Prefecture!

As for Bai Xiaochun, he entered Mistysea Prefecture alone, and found a mountain peak where he sat down cross-legged to meditate. He didn't move, but he sent his celestial cultivation base fluctuations out to fill the prefecture. Within moments, he became like a blazing fire in the dark night, visible clearly even from a distance.

His energy instantly attracted the attention of the preceptor and other powerful cultivators in Mistysea Prefecture, as well as those beyond. As a result, the armies that had immediately mobilized with the intention of entering Mistysea Prefecture to bolster the Vile-Emperor Dynasty forces there were too scared to do anything!

None of them dared to even get close to Mistysea Prefecture.

With a celestial present, even demigods could do little more than bow their heads. None of them qualified to fight back!

At this point, a cold voice suddenly echoed through heaven and earth. "Bai Xiaochun!"

The hearts of the Vile-Emperor Dynasty troops swelled as this voice echoed through the air, and a red-robed woman appeared in Mistysea Prefecture. She headed… straight toward the mountain peak where Bai Xiaochun sat.

She was extremely beautiful, but at the same time, radiated an intense murderous aura that was like a mist of ghosts. She even had numerous ghost faces surrounding her, and rode upon a battleship that looked like a huge lizard!

She was Celestial Ghostmother!

As she sped through the sky, her mist of ghosts filled the air around her!

Bai Xiaochun took a deep breath as he saw her approaching. Ideally, he would like to refrain from fighting her. However, he was dead set on taking Mistysea Prefecture. This was where he intended to set down roots, and therefore, he gritted his teeth, looked up, and waved his hand through the air, causing blue light to flash.

The Greatsword of the North appeared in his hand as he slowly rose to his feet. Then, he slashed the sword out in front of him.

Rumbling sounds filled all creation as blue light erupted out. Backed by a celestial cultivation base, Bai Xiaochun could now fully utilize the power of the world treasure of the north. It was something that demigods couldn't even comprehend. Sword qi erupted out that could sunder the heavens and crush the earth. As it slashed into the mist of ghosts surrounding Gongsun Wan'er, the entire world seemed to vibrate.

Then, an enormous ravine opened up in the ground between Bai Xiaochun and Gongsun Wan'er!

"You will not pass this mark!" Bai Xiaochun said coolly, flicking his sleeve, and then putting his hand behind his back. In his opinion, he had worded things in a very domineering way, and couldn't wait to see Gongsun Wan'er's reaction….

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Chapter 1114: Very Strange….

The ravine split the lands apart, including even a mountain range. Currently, the intense rumbling sounds created by the hewing out of the ravine still echoed in the air.

Even the sky distorted, seemingly on the verge of cracking just like the earth below. Meanwhile, the blue light of the sword filled the ravine, rising up high like an enormous wall separating Bai Xiaochun and Gongsun Wan'er!

Behind Gongsun Wan'er were the Vile-Emperor Dynasty troops who wished to enter the prefecture to come to the aid of their compatriots. Currently, they were all edging backwards, looks of fear on their faces as they watched events playing out. After all, the insignificant Mistysea Prefecture was definitely not worth giving up their lives for.

Besides, if they really wanted to enter the prefecture, they could simply go to another location to attempt do so. There was no need to enter it right here.

But as a celestial, Bai Xiaochun's intentions were key to everything. Clearly, he wanted to keep everyone out of Mistysea Prefecture, and therefore… no matter how they tried to get in, the result would likely be the same.

The only chance they might get would come if Ghostmother kept him busy. Then they might be able to engage the forces of the Grand Heavenmaster and Giant Ghost King.

But this enormous blue shield of light, and the greatsword Bai Xiaochun held in his hand, were shocking to the extreme. After all, he was one of only twelve celestials in the Eternal Immortal Domains, and was already quite famous.

"Is he holding… a world treasure?!"

"I heard that it was forged from one of the continents of the Heavenspan Realm…."

"Not every celestial has a world treasure. This means that King Heavenspan's battle prowess is thirty percent greater than before!"

As the buzz of conversation spread, Gongsun Wan'er hovered there looking at Bai Xiaochun. A moment passed, and she smiled. However, the mysterious light didn't leave her eyes. Waving her hand, she sent sinister ghost qi roiling out everywhere.

"Very well, sweetie. Let's see how strong you are now that you're a celestial!" Chuckling, she stepped off of her battleship, her red gown fluttering in the wind, as well as her long, black hair. She was stunning to look at, but at the same time, terrifying. The effect was only more pronounced when she licked her lips, which somehow caused Bai Xiaochun to think back to their last encounter.

Meanwhile, Gongsun Wan'er performed an incantation gesture with her right hand and waved her finger at him, causing intense rumbling sounds to fill heaven and earth as a mist sprang up. Howling sounds erupted from within that mist as numerous ghost hands reached out toward Bai Xiaochun.

Then, she performed another quick incantation gesture and opened her mouth. Instantly, a bizarre sound filled the air. It was like the sobbing of a ghost, which caused everything in the area to twist and distort, and sent invisible sound waves flying toward Bai Xiaochun!

And yet, things weren't over. She also thrust her right hand out, which began to grow larger and larger, transforming into the clawed hand of a ghost that snatched at Bai Xiaochun.

All of this takes some time to describe, but actually happened in the shortest of moments. Shaken, Bai Xiaochun once again chopped out with his greatsword, causing rumbling sounds to fill the air. Simultaneously, he stepped forward and unleashed the Undying Emperor's Fist with his left hand. The ghost mist was vanquished, and Bai Xiaochun accelerated, using the Mountain Shaking Bash for a burst of speed. He was like a mountain peak in bodily form, appearing directly in front of Gongsun Wan'er and sweeping his sword toward her.

Shockingly, Gongsun Wan'er didn't dodge out of the way, but instead, opened her mouth wider. In bizarre fashion, her mouth grew impossibly wide, transforming into a black hole that began to drag Bai Xiaochun toward it.

To Bai Xiaochun's surprise, he felt his life force being sucked out of him.

"Are we really doing this, Gongsun Wan'er?!" he said, drawing on the Cloud Lightning Forefather Transformation. In the blink of an eye, he was 300 meters tall, and using his formidable fleshly body power to fight against the gravitational force.

Just when he seemed about to break free, Gongsun Wan'er chuckled.

"You tell me, sweetie." Even as her words floated through the air, she blurred into motion, moving so quickly it was almost impossible to see her. At the same time, her left hand became illusory, as though it were made from a mysterious mist. Anyone who could see it would see something like a viper, complete with fangs and forked tongue, that closed in on Bai Xiaochun's chest with lightning speed.

Bai Xiaochun's expression flickered as he fell back. From what he could tell, killing intent really did flicker in Gongsun Wan'er's eyes. It was actually somewhat frustrating. All he wanted to do in this venture was take Mistysea Prefecture. Unfortunately, this area in the north had been a point of contention between the Vile-Emperor Dynasty and the Saint-Emperor Dynasty for many years.

"You're forcing my hand, Gongsun Wan'er!" He quickly performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, sending out power that could distort time. All of the dust and debris in the area was shoved away from him in bizarre fashion as he waved his hand at Gongsun Wan'er.

"Sutra of Former Reincarnation!"

"Dammit!!" Gongsun Wan'er blurted, her face falling. What she feared most about Bai Xiaochun was not his world treasure greatsword, but rather, this divine ability!

She had ways of handling the greatsword, but this marvelous divine ability that was somehow connected to time itself was something she didn't know how to deal with. That was why she had taken the initiative in the fight, in the hopes that she could prevent him from unleashing it.

But Bai Xiaochun's progress in the Celestial Realm was shocking, to say the least. Only a short time had passed, and he was already very close to the peak of the early Celestial Realm. Therefore, she immediately fell back. Unfortunately for her, she didn't understand how this particular Daoist magic worked. Once it was unleashed, it was almost impossible to evade!

In the shortest of moments, Bai Xiaochun finished waving his finger, and countless flickering magical symbols appeared around Gongsun Wan'er. Instantly, Gongsun Wan'er began to tremble, and a dazed look appeared in the depths of her eyes!

It was almost as if her memories were being extracted and transformed into magical symbols!

Bai Xiaochun could see that Gongsun Wan'er was trapped by the magical symbols, and that she was looking dazed. And he didn't actually want to hurt her. After all, that could cause problems in the future, and he didn't want to damage their relationship permanently.

"I guess it only took that one move!" he thought. Not bothering with the fact that there were a lot of people around to see, he flew over to Gongsun Wan'er, reached his hand up, and to the wide-eyed shock of the people from the Vile-Emperor Dynasty, he spanked her rear end.

The smacking sound echoed out in bizarre fashion, causing all onlookers' minds to go completely blank.

Gongsun Wan'er shivered, and in her daze, tried to struggle.

"Bai Xiaochun!!" she screamed. Somewhat frightened, Bai Xiaochun spanked her again, causing her to spasm.

"Give me Mistysea Prefecture. Okay?" he yelled.

"You're… completely shameless…." she began. With that, he spanked her again, leaving the Vile-Emperor Dynasty cultivators flabbergasted beyond belief.

Eventually, Gongsun Wan'er's dazed expression turned into complete blankness. Seeing that, Bai Xiaochun let loose another flurry of spanks. It was at this point that Gongsun Wan'er apparently unleashed some sort of secret magic. A whoosh could be heard as her entire body transformed into black smoke, which shoved Bai Xiaochun away and then shot off into the distance.

"You just wait, Bai Xiaochun!!" she shrieked from within the smoke. However, she didn't dare to stick around any longer, and continued off into the distance.

Somewhat shocked, Bai Xiaochun cleared his throat, and then looked over at the cultivators from the Vile-Emperor Dynasty. After blinking a few times, he flew back to the mountain peak and sat down, as sober as ever. He even tried to look a bit cold and merciless.

The Vile-Emperor Dynasty people exchanged awkward glances, and then slowly retreated. They really had no other option. Ghostmother was gone, so their presence was irrelevant. Besides… all of them could see that apparently, Bai Xiaochun and Ghostmother… had a very strange relationship….

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As they left, the Vile-Emperor cultivators began to discuss the matter in hushed tones.

"You know, I heard that when Bai Xiaochun kidnapped Ghostmother, some really unspeakable things happened…. I guess those stories were true!"

"Heavens! If that's the case, then this Bai Xiaochun's incredible!!"

"It seems highly likely! Otherwise, why would Ghostmother leave Vile-Emperor City of her own initiative, and set up camp all the way over here…?"

Regardless of their speculations, they left, and Mistysea Prefecture was virtually sealed to the outside. No one came to offer aid to the Vile-Emperor Dynasty forces within it, who were struck with fear by the fight between Bai Xiaochun and Gongsun Wan'er.

With their will to fight having been sapped, the Grand Heavenmaster and Giant Ghost King were able to easily crush any resistance they met. As for the demigod from the Vile-Emperor Dynasty, he made a hasty retreat with his forces, worried that Bai Xiaochun might capture him. After all, such things were not uncommon.

And thus, the campaign which the Grand Heavenmaster had estimated might take a month… only took a few days.

When Bai Xiaochun came to the heart of the prefecture, Mistysea City, the Giant Ghost King was waiting for him there, hardly able to contain his excitement. Even the Grand Heavenmaster was having a hard time remaining calm.

Bai Xiaochun felt the same way. At long last, they really had a place where they could settle down, a place that no one would simply take away from them. After all, the Saint-Emperor Dynasty paid close attention to law and matters of face. Since Bai Xiaochun had conquered this territory in an open and aboveboard manner, anyone who wanted to challenge him over it would have to think twice.

The Giant Ghost King looked around at the city with open excitement. After all of the years he had been in the Eternal Immortal Domains, this was the first time he felt somewhat stable.

"Although we technically still belong to the Saint-Emperor Dynasty," he said, "we're no longer living on someone else's charity!"

"Only the strong qualify to carve out their own destiny," the Grand Heavenmaster said. "Exalted one, if you can achieve a cultivation base breakthrough, then Mistysea Prefecture… will only be the beginning!"

Bai Xiaochun nodded. He knew that the only way to truly have a stable foundation in the Eternal Immortal Domains was to get stronger. That counted both for him, and also for the people of the Heavenspan Realm.

"One's cultivation base is the key to everything!" Bai Xiaochun thought, taking a deep breath.

No matter how boring or tiring it was to practice cultivation, the things he had seen in his life ensured that he would by no means slack in his cultivation. Furthermore, even he knew that he was not the most qualified person to manage the affairs of Mistysea Prefecture. That was the specialty of the Grand Heavenmaster and Giant Ghost King.

After officially assigning all of the various responsibilities to those two, he went into secluded meditation. His goal: to finish absorbing the energy in the damaged fan's command medallion, and then see if that caused any further developments.

Time passed. As Bai Xiaochun went about his work in seclusion, Mistysea Prefecture transformed on an almost daily basis. The Grand Heavenmaster and Giant Ghost King were the leaders and planners, and they worked perfectly together. Furthermore, as news spread that Bai Xiaochun had occupied the prefecture, Heavenspan Realm cultivators from all over began to head there.

In the past, Celestial Aged Spirit might have tried to interfere, but after his conflicts and dealings with Bai Xiaochun, he decided not to. In some cases in which large groups tried to make it to Mistysea Prefecture, he would stop them, but most of the time, he turned a blind eye to what was happening.

The Grand Heavenmaster and Giant Ghost King worked hard to improve relations with the surrounding prefectures, both those who were part of the Saint-Emperor Dynasty, and also the Vile-Emperor Dynasty. There were no personal grudges with either side, and most of the time, cultivators would prefer to keep a peaceful balance in situations like this.

Because Bai Xiaochun was stationed there, the Grand Heavenmaster and Giant Ghost King usually took a hard line in negotiations, but that just earned them the respect of the surrounding prefectures.

And thus, in the second immortal domain of the Saint-Emperor Dynasty, Mistysea Prefecture transformed on a daily basis. Although Bai Xiaochun remained in secluded meditation most of the time, he occasionally came out for a break. He could sense the changes in the prefecture, and could see the increasing number of Heavenspan cultivators bustling about. To many of them, it finally felt like they had a home again, and sometimes they even forgot that they weren't in the lands of Heavenspan.

However, Bai Xiaochun knew that despite how nice things seemed, they lacked stability. One day, if he ever possessed the power to actually stand up to the Vile-Emperor and Saint-Emperor, then he would truly have a strong foundation. Only then… could he think about proactively seeking out all of the missing Heavenspan cultivators.

It was that thought that kept Bai Xiaochun completely focused on his cultivation. A few months later, when he was securely within the peak of the early Celestial Realm, he finally absorbed the last bit of energy from the command medallion.

It had taken nearly a year of study and hard work. In the very moment that the energy left the medallion, all Bai Xiaochun had to do was send some divine sense into it, and it began to vibrate.

His mind began to tremble, and if anyone else had been in the private chamber to observe him, they would have seen him suddenly turn translucent. Bai Xiaochun, in contrast, didn't notice it at all.

He was now completely sunk into a vision in his mind. It was like an out-of-body experience, in which he was flying through a starry sky!

The damaged fan was already far, far away from the Eternal Immortal Domains, drifting slowly through the void. Although it seemed to be moving slowly, it was actually moving faster than either of the two archaean emperors.

This was Bai Xiaochun's first time encountering the fan in this fashion. As he continued to speed closer and closer to it, he realized that… he was probably going to enter it!

That feeling got stronger and stronger, until he started to imagine what it would be like. As soon as that thought appeared, his body in the Eternal Immortal Domains distorted, and then vanished from the private chamber!

There were no fluctuations or other signs. In fact, even if one of the archaean emperors came to investigate, they wouldn't find any evidence that he had vanished!

When he reappeared… it was to his shock that he found himself standing… in the main square of the damaged fan!

Everything looked very familiar. It was exactly the same place where he had spent those months with the others from the Eternal Immortal Domains. Except… that he was now alone!

It was almost too much to take in. Taking a few steps forward, he looked up, and saw the darkness of the void….

"I can't believe I'm actually on the fan!" Almost immediately, his heart began to pound as he worried that he might not be able to get back to the Eternal Immortal Domains.

That made him extremely nervous. He quickly pictured himself leaving the fan and returning to his private chamber in the Eternal Immortal Domains, and as soon as the thought rose up, the command medallion in his hand turned into a black hole. His vision blurred, and when he could see again… he was back in the private chamber!

"This command medallion… is actually a key to enter the damaged fan!!" He rose to his feet and began to pace back and forth excitedly. After he calmed down, he pondered the significance of this development and realized… that he actually did fully qualify to acquire the legacy of the fan!

After all, he was the only one who could challenge the trial by fire now!

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Chapter 1116: Dao Essence Of Life And Death

After that, he made another attempt to use the key. However, nothing happened, no matter what he did. No sort of teleportation effect occurred.

Bai Xiaochun's face fell, and his heart began to pound.

"No way! Don't tell me it will only work that one time…?" Immediately fretting about the implications, he tried a few more tests. When they all failed, his guts began to twist with regret.

Over and over again, he nervously tried to get the key to activate, all to no avail. The command medallion now seemed completely useless and unresponsive.

He spent an entire day and night scowling on the verge of tears, and filled with regret. As dawn approached, he was about ready to give up. Sighing defiantly, he performed one more test, which was when his face lit up.

After the passage of a whole day, he was now able to sense the same fluctuations he had sensed with the original teleportation. However, he decided to be more cautious this time. Retracting his divine sense, he began to study the medallion a bit more.

A few days later, he was certain he had come to understand the medallion as best he could. Apparently, the medallion could only be used once per day, at roughly the same time each day. If an opportunity was missed to activate the teleportation, the only option would be to wait for another day.

Apparently, the command medallion wasn't powerful in and of itself, and needed to recharge by absorbing energy from its surroundings.

"Only once per day? That's not really enough." He sighed, but then pursed his lips to suppress his laughter as he realized that if he wanted to take more trips to the fan in a given day, he could probably just perform a spirit enhancement on the medallion.

Sadly, after performing a few test enhancements, he didn't notice any significant changes to the medallion. Eventually, he decided to give up on the idea.

"If once it is, then once it shall be…." Sighing, he focused his thoughts on entering the damaged fan, and instantly, his vision began to swim. When it became clear, he was yet again on the fan!

The void outside of the damaged fan was pitch black, with the only light visible coming from the fan itself. Although it wasn't very bright, it was plenty for a celestial like Bai Xiaochun to see.

Clenching his hands into fists, he took a breath, stilled his excitement, and examined his surroundings closely. Then he cautiously proceeded toward the same fan rib as he had before.

As soon as he stepped onto the fan rib, the fan flared with bright light, as did the command medallion in his hand.

As soon as that light shone on him, he lost the ability to move, and felt himself yet again having an out-of-body experience as he flew into the world inside the fan.

He could even see what lay at the very far end of the fan, after all of the one hundred levels. Shockingly, there was a stone platform, upon which was a gold-colored jade slip!

It shone with boundless, holy light that instantly attracted Bai Xiaochun's attention.

As soon as he examined it more closely, he was as shocked as if his mind had been struck by lightning. Inscribed on the surface of the jade slip was a line of characters!

"Dao Essence of Life and Death!"

Bai Xiaochun had never seen these particular words before, but for some reason, he understood their implication. In fact, as soon as he looked at the jade sip, the voice of an ancient consciousness spoke into his mind.

"I am the only sovereign from the Immortal World. But the Immortal World has perished, and the dome of the heavens has gone dark. By the Joss Flame of my world, I leave this fan behind as my legacy. Anyone who is connected to it by destiny may learn of that which existed in the Immortal World, the Dao Essence of Life and Death."

Shaken, Bai Xiaochun immediately attempted to peruse the contents of the jade slip, but unfortunately, it was all a blur. And any attempt to make closer contact with the fan itself resulted in a powerful force of repulsion pushing him away.

It was almost like a dream. Shivering, he opened his eyes, and realized that he was still standing in the same place as before on the fan rib, and that only a moment had passed.

However, after peering off toward the end of the fan rib, he realized that what he had seen was no illusion. After the one hundredth level, the legacy really was the Dao Essence of Life and Death.

"I can only get it if I become the true owner of this fan, huh…?" At that point, determination flashed in his eyes.

"I wonder if the levels will be the same as before…?" As it turned out, the first level was exactly as he remembered it. Eyes glittering, he proceeded on, and found that it was the same with the second, third and fourth….

It took no time at all to reach the twentieth level. Nothing posed even the slightest obstacle. These twenty levels couldn't even be considered a challenge.

Soon, he was back on the fan rib, with the twenty-first level in front of him. At this point, his expression turned serious. He knew that the power he had gained earlier had been equivalent to the first twenty levels. Therefore, everything after this point would be a true test of skill.

"Thankfully I don't have anyone to compete with, so I don't have to worry about the time limit…." With such thoughts on his mind, he decided not to immediately enter the next level. Instead, he searched all of the previous levels to make sure there were no rewards that had gone unclaimed by previous challengers. After placing such rewards into his bag of holding, he felt very pleased.

"This way, even if I have to go back home without completely succeeding, this journey will have been worth it."

With his preparations complete, he looked around calmly. But then, an expression of hesitation appeared on his face as he thought back to the spirit automaton he had squared off against in the past, and wondered if it was awake now.

After thinking about it for a bit, he gritted his teeth and strode forward into the twenty-first level. Almost immediately, the thunderous sound of a roaring wind filled his ears. Everything went blurry, and when things became clear, he was in a world of ice!

The sky was gray, and the lands that stretched out in all directions were white. A whimpering wind blew snowflakes everywhere.

Perhaps this place had once been a sea that ended up being frozen. There were no mountains or valleys, only a wide, flat plain.

The frigid qi was incredible, to the point where even Bai Xiaochun shivered. And that was with him being a celestial with an incredibly powerful fleshly body. Despite that, it felt like he was being stabbed all over, and he even wondered if the flame of his life force was going to be frozen. Any other ordinary cultivator would have been unable to take this level of cold.

"It's freezing here!" he thought. Looking around, he tested to see if the power he had over the fan could help him here, but absolutely nothing happened.

Even as he sighed regretfully, his expression flickered, and he backed up a few paces. As he did, a hole opened up in the ice ahead of him, and a fish flew out of it in his general direction. It moved with blinding speed, brushing against his arm as it flew past. Strangely, it looked almost exactly like an arrow.

Despite the level of his cultivation base, if he hadn't reacted quickly enough, he would likely have been stabbed through by the arrowfish!

Things weren't over yet! His face continued to flicker with shock as more holes opened up around him. In the blink of an eye, numerous arrowfish were all flying toward him at incredible speed!

They were silver, and really did look like arrows as they flew through the air with incredible speed. Bai Xiaochun could tell that he absolutely had to dodge out of their way, and that if they touched him, it would have catastrophic consequences.

They moved so quickly it was almost like teleportation. And it only took moments until there were so many of them he couldn't count them, a host of glittering silver fish that was shocking to behold.

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Chapter 1117: I'll Definitely Destroy You, I Swear It

"What kind of fish are these?!?!" Bai Xiaochun's eyes went wide, and despite the fact that he was on an ice plain, sweat broke out all over him. Back and forth he dodged as the air was ripped to shreds by the flying fish, who all seemed dead set on poking him full of holes.

It was almost like Bai Xiaochun was a huge target, and the arrowfish were countless arrows trying to hit it. No matter how he dodged or how fast he went, they kept coming toward him in full madness.

If it were a short-term thing, it wouldn't have been a problem. But after dodging fish for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, it was to his shock that he realized the fish weren't slowing down at all. In fact, it was at that point that he heard loud cracking sounds, which came from large portions of the ice plain collapsing, revealing even more arrowfish than before.

"Dammit," he gasped, "why is this twenty-first level so hard!?" He had no choice but to keep trying to dodge. Soon an hour had passed. Then two hours. Then six hours….

Bai Xiaochun was beyond stunned. He distinctly remembered that the trials had a time limit of two hours, but by this point, more than half a day had gone by…. And yet, there seemed to be no end in sight.

From a distance, it almost looked like he was in a world of arrowfish, filled with silvery light that reflected the sun in dazzling fashion.

Bai Xiaochun really wanted to cry. Suddenly, he recalled the heavenly dragonfish, and wondered if perhaps this was happening because he had eaten too many of them. He continued to dodge the fish nonstop for another few hours. After an entire day passed without him being able to leave the level, he was starting to feel like he was going crazy.

"Something strange is going on here. Something very strange!!"

Meanwhile, high in the sky above Bai Xiaochun, invisible to him even if he had looked up, was a boy. He was good-looking, and might have seemed charming if it weren't for the cold smile he wore. He seemed very pleased with himself as he hovered there with hands clasped behind his back, staring down at Bai Xiaochun dancing around like a monkey.

"I thought this brazen thief had left for good, and was a bit disappointed. And yet, he dared to return. Hmmmphh! Well, I might have been powerless in the first twenty levels, but from here on out, I'll make sure you know the meaning of despair!" Looking a bit excited, the boy waved his hand, causing ripples to flow through the ice plain. Moments later, ten times as many arrowfish as before appeared!

Heaven and earth trembled under the storm of fish!

Bai Xiaochun was scowling on the verge of tears, and was considering just teleporting out of the level. However, he wasn't quite willing to give up just yet. At one point, he got distracted, and one of the arrowfish pierced through his arm, causing unimaginable pain, and provoking a miserable shriek.

"Dammit! I didn't want to resort to cheating, but you're forcing my hand! Moonflower, baby, I need you!" Flying backward, he tapped his bag of holding, causing a thick stem to fly out. It only took half a breath of time for the stem to grow larger and larger, with a huge moonflower on top of it!

A howl rippled out from within the moonflower, and all of its petals shivered as if in anticipation. Apparently, whether it was the ice plain or the arrowfish, the moonflower considered them all to be food it could only find in its dreams.

Bai Xiaochun was very pleased by this.

"Moonflower, destroy this place!" he shouted. At this point, he really couldn't think of any other way to deal with the twenty-first level other than to place his hopes in the moonflower.

The truth was that not even Ghostmother was very sure about where the moonflower originally came from. After all, the battleship where Bai Xiaochun had found it was only a temporary dwelling place.

In the blink of an eye, the moonflower grew to an enormous size. However, it only took a moment for the countless arrowfish in the area to stab through it so many times that it exploded. It didn't even seem to fight back. The resulting bits dropped down onto the ice, and then sank down into the water beneath.

The entire scene left Bai Xiaochun stunned.

"No way…. You were so strong before, moonflower, baby…." Crestfallen, he began to back up, and at the same time, decided that he might as well concede defeat. As far as he could tell, not even a cultivator in the great circle of the Celestial Realm could possibly pass this level.

After all, his fleshly body power was essentially unparalleled among celestials, and yet, these fish could actually pierce it. There was little need to mention other celestials.

However, just when he was about to throw in the towel, his eyes suddenly lit up.

All of the fragments of the giant moonflower that had fallen down into the ice and the water… began to bloom!

It happened with indescribable speed. Within moments, the entire ice plain was covered with moonflowers, and then began to melt!

If that were all there were to it, it might not be a big deal. But the moonflowers in the water began to send stems out, creating something like a huge net that prevented the arrowfish from flying out. There were simply too many of the moonflowers. They filled the entire world, growing and growing with every moment that passed. Soon, the ice plain was completely melted, and the water was almost completely full of moonflowers….

As the net widened and grew denser, more and more fish were unable to fly out of the water. Essentially, the water below was being completely sealed!

And yet, things weren't over. After the water was sealed tight, the moonflowers began to absorb all of the frigid qi in the area. Although the ice plain was gone, there was plenty of frigid qi in the water, as well as in the arrowfish!

It was almost as if there were a huge furnace underneath the water, causing it to grow hotter…. As for the arrowfish, they were completely flabbergasted….

Soon, Bai Xiaochun's eyes were as wide as saucers, as were the eyes of the boy up in the air. In a very short period of the time, not a single fish was able to fly out of the water!

Eventually, nothing was left of the water, not even water vapor. The arrowfish were completely powerless. By this point, the twenty-first level… was reaching the point of being a desert….

"Moonflower, baby, you really are awesome…." Bai Xiaochun was so excited he was almost dancing with joy.

High up in the air, the boy's eyes were on the verge of exploding, and his heart trembled on the verge of collapse. What had seemingly been the perfect scenario had all been wrecked by a legendary immortal moonvine.

"An immortal moonvine!?!?!?" he exclaimed to himself. "How is this even possible!? Even in the days of the Immortal World, immortal moonvines were virtually extinct. According to the legends, they were very picky when it came to bonding with a master. They would only choose people who were pure and honest. Dammit! How could this shameless cheater qualify to bond with an immortal moonvine!?!?"

Despite how much it frustrated the boy, there was nothing he could do other than watch the twenty-first level turn into a scorching desert. And there was nothing he could do to prevent Bai Xiaochun from simply passing the level!

Upon watching the excited Bai Xiaochun fade away from the level along with his moonflower, the boy nearly burst into tears.

"Damn that shameless cheater! I hereby swear an oath that I won't let you succeed! You'll never become the successor of the sovereign. A person like you would only stain the glory of the Immortal World. And I would never, ever, everacknowledge a person like you as my lord and master! You're the most shameless person I've ever encountered in my entire life!! Next time I awake, I'll definitely destroy you! I swear it!!" Of course, the boy was none other than the damaged fan's spirit automaton. After swearing his oath, he ground his teeth as he faded away and went back to sleep.

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Chapter 1118: Autonomous Mistysea Prefecture

Naturally, Bai Xiaochun couldn't hear the oath sworn by the boy, nor had he seen him in the twenty-first level. However, he was very suspicious of how things had gone.

"I wonder if that spirit automaton changed the difficulty level on me?" Although he had his suspicions, he was pleased to have passed the level.

"It's hard to say. The spirit automaton can't stay awake for very long. I'll wait a bit and then try another level, and see how hard it is. That should answer the question." Having reached the conclusion that this was definitely the best idea, he sent out a thought and vanished from within the damaged fan. When he reappeared, he was in the north of the second immortal domain, back in the Eternal Lands.

Three months passed in which he mostly cultivated via breathing exercises, but also spent some time going out to check on things in Mistysea Prefecture. By now, it was very clear that, under the leadership of the Giant Ghost King and Grand Heavenmaster, the prefecture was making rapid progress.

It was also obvious that Mistysea Prefecture was becoming more popular in the region. People from the Heavenspan Realm showed up on almost a daily basis. Furthermore, just as the Grand Heavenmaster had planned, they began to promote Mistysea Prefecture as the best place to get spirit enhancements. Even now, it was possible to see that it would eventually be known as the Prefecture of Spirit Enhancements.

As Mistysea Prefecture developed, many merchants from the second immortal domain began to do business there. As a result, the booming prosperity of the prefecture was clear for all to see.

Bai Xiaochun was very pleased with it all, and was aware that none of it would have been possible without the hard work of the Giant Ghost King and Grand Heavenmaster. If he didn't have them helping him, especially the Grand Heavenmaster with his profound administrative skills, things would have been a complete mess.

Also during the three months that passed, Bai Xiaochun would occasionally challenge the trials in the damaged fan. Soon, his previous speculations were confirmed. After the twenty-first level, he quickly passed six levels in a row. Although they were difficult, they all seemed to conform to the same general rule systems, unlike the twenty-first. The twenty-first had been a maddening fluke.

Sometimes, he would fail to pass a level immediately, but after challenging it a few times, would figure out the specific rules governing the level, and would pass it easily. That seemed to prove that something suspicious had been going on earlier.

"It was definitely that spirit automaton making mischief. It'll just never be satisfied, will it?" After that, he was much more careful when challenging the trials. Another month passed, and he reached the twenty-ninth level. After that much time without any increase in the level of difficulty, he breathed a sigh of relief.

As Mistysea Prefecture continued to grow and develop, Bai Xiaochun encountered another problem.

Manpower!

Mistysea Prefecture's population was simply too low, and there weren't enough people from the Heavenspan Realm to perform spirit enhancements. Because of that, the Grand Heavenmaster's plan was not being carried out as quickly as it could have been.

Bai Xiaochun had an idea about what to do. In the following days, he didn't spend much time working on the challenges in the damaged fan. Instead, he spent some time discussing the matter with the Frigid Matriarch in the Greatsword of the North.

Back when he had initially summoned the Greatsword of the North back in the climactic battle with Daoist Heavenspan, all of the people in the north had been sucked into the sword.

Of course, most of the northerners had already been mobilized to fight in the war, but there were still more people inside the sword than were currently in Mistysea Prefecture. If those people could be brought out and added to the population of Mistysea Prefecture, then development would advance by leaps and bounds.

Excited, Bai Xiaochun spent a lot of time talking with the Frigid Matriarch about the subject. A month later, when his cultivation base reached the peak of the early Celestial Realm thanks to his gains made in the damaged fan, an agreement was finally reached.

The Frigid Matriarch approved of the level of his cultivation base, and although she didn't say it openly, Bai Xiaochun could sense that his control of the Greatsword of the North was now different than before.

Specifically, he could sense that a mere thought on his part could bring all of the northern cultivators out of the sword and into his presence.

After performing some initial tests, he excitedly summoned the Grand Heavenmaster and Giant Ghost King. Together, they went to a wide, mountainous valley within Mistysea Prefecture, whereupon Bai Xiaochun produced the sword and prepared to free all the people therein.

Rumbling sounds filled heaven and earth as blue light spilled out of the Greatsword of the North. The entire valley trembled as one figure after another emerged into the Eternal Immortal Domains, confused expressions on their faces.

Of course, neither the Grand Heavenmaster nor the Giant Ghost King were familiar with any of these cultivators. But Bai Xiaochun had spent time in the north, and was essentially a household name there. Of course, these cultivators didn't know about how the Heavenspan Realm was no more, and neither did they know anything about the enormous sovereign in the sky above. Therefore, they were all visibly confused and shaken.

In the end, the Grand Heavenmaster and Giant Ghost King were actually more skilled in allaying the confusion of the masses than Bai Xiaochun was. Therefore, they sent their divine sense out to explain the situation. Half a month later, everyone was out of the Greatsword of the North, and whether they found the situation easy to accept or not, had no choice but to begin their new lives in the Eternal Immortal Domains.

Actually, they were luckier than the rest of their fellow Heavenspan cultivators, who had experienced the destruction of heaven and earth, and had been teleported out into strange lands to be lost, enslaved, or worse.

The newly arrived cultivators had a long road in front of them, and the Grand Heavenmaster did his best to inspire and motivate them to help in the development of Mistysea Prefecture.

Although not as many of them were adept at spirit enhancement as there would have been if they were Wildlanders, there were still some. Furthermore, the Grand Heavenmaster and Giant Ghost King were both connoisseurs of the art. And there was little need to mention Bai Xiaochun, who was the Heavenspan Realm's only heavenly necromancer. All of that ensured that Mistysea Prefecture would only continue to develop rapidly in the days to come.

The prefecture flourished, and more merchants came to do business. Thanks to the promotional efforts of the Grand Heavenmaster, people were already starting to call it by the moniker Prefecture of Spirit Enhancements. People in the know all over the Eternal Immortal Domains were saying that Mistysea Prefecture was the only place to get spirit enhancements!

Although there were people from the Heavenspan Realm in other locations who could perform spirit enhancements, the Grand Heavenmaster convinced Bai Xiaochun to spread word that he was the Ultimate Enhancer in the Eternal Immortal Domains! And who could compete with that?

Once people began talking about the Ultimate Enhancer, it had a profound effect on Mistysea Prefecture!

It was virtually on a daily basis that people from the Heavenspan Realm came to join them. As for Celestial Aged Spirit, he and Bai Xiaochun already had a tacit agreement. As far as Celestial Aged Spirit was concerned, as long as the profoundly troublesome Bai Xiaochun didn't interfere with his interests directly, then it wasn't worth it to offend him.

And then there was the Saint-Emperor. He could only sigh at the news of Mistysea Prefecture's development. Although he could guess what Bai Xiaochun's ultimate plan was, in the end, it would benefit him as well. As such, there was little he could do. Perhaps if he wasn't aware of how much of a disaster Bai Xiaochun could be, he might have tried to interfere. But those days were long gone.

Bai Xiaochun was a celestial, and could be profoundly dangerous. He was also the true master of the Eternal Turtle. The Saint-Emperor could only imagine what would happen if he stopped Mistysea Prefecture from progressing, and then Bai Xiaochun came to Saint-Emperor City for any length of time…. That was the final factor that made his decision.

"Let him do whatever he wants!"

And thus, Mistysea Prefecture buzzed with activity. More and more people were talking about the Prefecture of Spirit Enhancements, even in the Vile-Emperor Dynasty. When Bai Xiaochun saw that nobody was coming to cause any trouble, he sighed with relief, and then focused more energy on the damaged fan.

In one incredible run, he got all the way through the twenty-ninth level. After catching his breath, he excitedly stepped into the thirtieth level. However, it was in that exact moment that the spirit automaton, which had been asleep for months now, woke up again.

"You shameless villain! I'm back! And this time, if I don't destroy you, I'll change my surname to match yours!! I swear it!" It was with narrowed eyes that the spirit automaton boy headed directly toward the thirtieth level.

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He was in the thirtieth level!

Leaden clouds filled the sky, and endless mountains stretched out in all directions. Occasionally, certain mountains would rise high above the others, almost like smokestacks. In fact, the thick smoke that belched from those mountains made the entire world murky and gray.

The smoke had a medicinal aroma to it, but the medicinal effects were varied and chaotic, almost toxic. Perhaps because of how that toxic gas filled the world, there wasn't any life visible.

The lands were barren, and any plants which existed seem to be withered and stunted because of the toxins.

No birds could be seen flying in the sky, and countless skeletons of various creatures covered the mountains. The entire place seemed almost like a huge tomb.

Bai Xiaochun was stunned, both by the toxic smoke, and also a strange, thumping sound.

"That sound is so familiar… what's this level about?!" There was indeed something very familiar about this place, and as for the toxins in the smoke, he remembered creating such elements himself on numerous occasions.

However, this toxic smoke seemed much stronger than the type he had created in the past. After only being in the level for half an incense stick's worth of time, he felt as uncomfortable as if a sharp knife were slicing at his throat.

And then he realized what the thumping sounds were: exploding pill furnaces….

"Heavens! I can't believe a place like this exists…." Shivering, he jumped out of the way of a passing cloud of toxins, and then began searching for a way out of this wasteland.

Because of how strange this level was, he was being even more careful than usual. Unfortunately, no amount of searching revealed an exit of any sort. Furthermore, his passage tended to kick up larger amounts of toxic smoke. On more than one occasion, he saw a mountain get covered with the stuff, and by the time the smoke cleared, all of the vegetation on the mountain had been melted.

And that was only the beginning. As time progressed, Bai Xiaochun came to find that the effects of the smoke were unbelievably dramatic.

For example, on one occasion, he saw a quaint little stream hit by the smoke, after which it turned pitch black, and began to emanate an aura of profound toxicity.

On a few occasions when he wasn't paying close attention, he breathed in some of the smoke, which caused his guts to twist painfully. Face falling, he quickly ingested some antidotal medicinal pills to counteract the effects. Sadly, the rumbling sounds in his belly didn't go away, and he was forced to find a random cave…. Sometime later he emerged, clearly physically weaker than before.

"Dammit! I can't believe there are laxative properties in that smoke too! I'm a celestial! I mastered the Undying Codex! How could I possibly be affected by this kind of stuff!?" He was now nervous about running into some toxic smoke that had the same properties as his Aphrodisiac Pills. The consequences of that happening were simply unimaginable.

"Dammit! I'm supposed to be the one giving pills to other people! This thirtieth level is really strange. I can't believe that it can actually hurt me!" Shaken by how difficult this level was, he cautiously sent out some divine sense to try to get a better understand of the place.

Before long, a strange expression could be seen on his face as he realized that there were tribes of living beings located in the mountains!

The reason he called them tribes was because they wore crude, ancient-style clothing, much like the savage giants in Wildlands had worn. And yet… the creatures in these tribes could concoct medicinal pills!

Even more unbelievable was that, although these living creatures resembled people, they were very small. They were imps, the largest among them only about the size of an average person's hand.

Most of them were actually thumb-sized. Many of them, in the middle of their pill concocting, would suddenly jump up and dance with joy, seemingly crazed. They would also jabber in a way that he found impossible to understand.

It was actually a somewhat familiar scene, and reminded him of himself when he passed certain critical points in concocting medicine….

As for the streams of smoke, they were rising up from the tribes as a result of their pill concocting.

When Bai Xiaochun noticed the expressions on the faces of the imps, he was shocked, but at the same time, understood everything. This world had once been a wonderful place, but it had been ruined by the imps' pill concocting. Countless living creatures had been killed by the toxic poison, and innumerable plants had been driven to extinction. Even the land and sky itself was withering because of it.

"Utterly terrifying," he murmured, blinking a few times. Considering how horrifying his own pill concocting often went, he actually felt quite a bit of respect for these imps. At the same time, now that he had found someone on a similar level as himself, he was almost itching to see if they were a match for him.

Considering the types of problems that happened when he concocted pills, he had held back for a long time. But after catching a whiff of the toxic odor caused by the imps' concocting efforts, he suddenly felt like he couldn't control himself any longer. He really felt like he had to show these imp apothecaries how awesome he was.

"Wait. No. I have to control myself!" After all, his goal was simply to get past this level, so having a competition with the imps would be pointless.

Suppressing his impulses, he tried to think seriously about the level around him. Looking up at the toxic smoke, and then back down at the pill concocting imps, he murmured, "Is the point of this level just to survive in hostile conditions?"

Meanwhile, up in the air, the damaged fan's spirit automaton was there in the form of a boy, invisible and undetectable by Bai Xiaochun. Hands clasped behind his back, and looking very pleased with himself, he eyed Bai Xiaochun down below.

"The Dark Concocters caused a big headache for the exalted sovereign years ago. Their natural talents in pill concocting are unrivaled, and each and every one of them is completely obsessed with concocting pills. Worse, the medicinal pills they concoct are the type that no one under heaven would dare to eat. Even they won't consume their own pills.

"Hmmmphh! Back in the day, the sovereign would say that if the Dark Concocters were given the right circumstances and resources, they could destroy the entire starry sky. Although this place is only an illusion created with the power of the Dao Essence of Life and Death, it's almost the same as if it were real. Unless this shameless cheater has the cultivation base of a sovereign, then he definitely won't last for long here!

"Normally speaking, the requirement is to stay in this land for three days. But I'll change the requirement from three days to 10,000! Alright, you rogue. If you manage to pass this level, I'll change my surname to match yours!! I swear it!" At this point, the boy couldn't help but laugh uproariously.

This time, he was absolutely convinced that he would come out victorious. No one could last for long when dealing with the toxic smoke created by the Dark Concocters. And unless they were careful, one could die a horrifying death. Furthermore, because the entire place was bolstered by the Dao Essence of Life and Death, the Dark Concocters could not be killed by means of the cultivation base. They could only be affected by medicinal toxins similar to their own. That was actually the only weakness to the level. One could theoretically pass the level by forcing all of the tribes that made up the Dark Concocters to surrender. If they all agreed to expel Bai Xiaochun, then according to the rules that governed the level, not even the spirit automaton could interfere.

"But that's impossible. The Dark Concocters have never surrendered to anyone. Even the sovereign of years past only managed to reach an agreement with them. They're not the type who will bow their heads." Having reached this point in his train of thought, the boy began to laugh even harder. He simply couldn't wait to see a look of true despair on Bai Xiaochun's face.

In order to speed things along, the boy decided to 'help' Bai Xiaochun by alerting the Dark Concocters to his presence.

"Hmmmphh. Tribulation is coming your way, you shameless cheater!" Feeling very excited about what was to come, he performed an incantation gesture and pointed at the ground, causing invisible ripples to spread out through the world of the level.

Almost immediately, the imps in the various Dark Concocter tribes shivered and looked up. Despite the fact that Bai Xiaochun was hiding his cultivation base, they all suddenly looked in his direction, and could see him clearly!

"Someone finally came!"

Countless Dark Concocters poured out into the open, excited looks on their faces as they clamored at the tops of their lungs.

"He's mine! I need him to be a test tube for my medicine! Don't even think of trying to fight me for him!"

"Get out of my way, all of you. This test tube belongs to my tribe!!"

"Don't run, test tube, we're coming for you!"

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Chapter 1120: Who's Patriarch Mystery Pill?

Some of the imps wielded wooden rods that they would normally use to mix medicines. Others rode atop vicious beasts who had blank eyes but moved with surprising quickness. A few of them even carried pill furnaces with them.

Many of them had flamestones in hand. All looked particularly excited as they raced toward Bai Xiaochun. Apparently, now that they had ruined the world in which they lived, they were very excited to see a new 'test tube' arrive.

Furthermore, considering how large of a test tube he was, it meant that countless medicinal pills they had created over years of research could finally be properly tested. The imps couldn't keep from hooting and hollering in excitement.

They were looking at Bai Xiaochun like a wolf looking at a beautiful woman, their eyes shining with passion, as if they wished to experiment with him and learn every little thing about him.

They were even struggling with each other to be first among the crowd, to the point where fights were breaking out. It was really very dramatic.

Before, heaven and earth had only been filled with the muffled boom of exploding pill furnaces, and had been relatively peaceful and quiet. But now, the entire place was buzzing, filled with shouts and cries of all sorts.

Bai Xiaochun looked around at the countless imps rushing out of the mountains like mice. Most of them were so smudged with dark soot from the exploding pill furnaces that they were pitch black. After a moment, their shouts and cries brought Bai Xiaochun back to his senses.

"Test tube?" At first he thought perhaps he had heard wrong, but after hearing the same thing a few times in a row, he started to get angry. "They're calling me their test tube? Dammit! You people are the test tubes! Everyone in your clan is a test tube!!!"

Most people wouldn't get so angry at being called something like that, but Bai Xiaochun was a grandmaster in the Dao of medicine, and had performed countless tests on animals.

It would be like if a pig butcher faced a mob who said that he was a pig that needed to be butchered. It was a level of insult that caused his hair to stand on end.

Even as Bai Xiaochun began to devolve into a rage, the incoming imps smiled, revealing yellowish teeth. At the same time, they began to pull out medicinal pills to throw at him.

"Hey, test tube, why don't you try this pill? It's been passed down for nine generations in my family? It's called a Yin-Yang Retroversion Pill!"

"Don't even think of trying to steal what's mine, you! Come over here, test tube. Try my pill. I just perfected the formula recently. It's called a Burping Pill. After you consume it, your burps will smell like food you ate last year!"

"Get the hell out of my way! It took me a hundred years to successfully concoct this Nine Lives Reincarnation Pill!"

Although none of the imps seemed to get along, they were all pulling out medicinal pills and throwing them at Bai Xiaochun. Clearly, it was a skill they possessed, and they had experience doing this sort of thing. Because of that, the medicinal pills would explode before they actually reached Bai Xiaochun, creating a toxic cloud that threatened to envelop him.

Shivering, Bai Xiaochun backed up. And yet, before he could even move, another wave of medicinal pills shot in his direction.

Booms rang out left and right, forcing Bai Xiaochun to dodge as quickly as he could. Unfortunately, there were a lot of imps, and thus, a lot of medicinal pills. Within only a few breaths' worth of time, the entire area was covered with a powerful cloud of medicinal powder that was virtually impossible to escape.

Some of the imps were too slow, and couldn't get close enough to throw pills. When they saw that Bai Xiaochun was just about to be overwhelmed by the medicinal pills, they started to get very nervous.

"Hold on, test tube! Try my medicinal pill!"

"Dammit, take mine too!" The multicolored cloud was quite a shocking sight to behold.

As for Bai Xiaochun, he was in a very tight spot, and was just about to make his escape, when the cloud caught him and rolled over him….

But that wasn't all. Many of the imps were intent on capturing him alive, and were therefore a bit nervous about how things were playing out….

"You people are outrageous! Just when we got this great new test tube, you're going to go and kill him!?"

"Hold on! If we can't catch him alive, we should at least try out this pill I've been working on for my entire life. It's called a Resurrection Pill!!"

"Hang in there, test tube. Try out my Integrated Super-Tonic Pill! That should keep you going for at least an incense stick's worth of time!" And thus… even more medicinal pills shot forth and exploded.

The imps looked at the shocking cloud, eyes burning with anticipation and passion. They truly wanted to see what would happen when Bai Xiaochun absorbed the medicines they had researched and created, and if there were any unexpected developments. They were so excited that they began to argue amongst themselves.

"Do you know how hard it is to come across new test tubes? This might be the last one!"

"Aiya. I just hope that before this test tube dies, he can inhale some of my medicinal smoke…. It's all your fault, people. How embarrassing for us Dark Concocters. Have you never seen a test tube before or something?"

As the imps argued, the boy that was the spirit automaton gasped and backed up a bit. Although he didn't need to fear the medicinal smoke, it was so terrifying that even he felt chills.

"The sovereign was right. The Dark Concocters really are horrifying. Give them the right circumstances and resources, and they could definitely destroy the entire starry sky! They should make short work of that shameless bastard!" With that, the boy excitedly looked on to see what happened to Bai Xiaochun. Even just imagining what was to come was quite pleasurable to him.

The Dark Concocters likewise all craned their necks, causing countless gazes to fall on the roiling smoke. It was at this point that, all of a sudden, a boom rang out as smoke erupted out in all directions. At the same time, Bai Xiaochun shot out from inside, his hair disheveled, his face smudged with black patches. His face was a mixture of red, pink, and yellow colors, almost as if he had been dyed. He really didn't look to be in good shape at all.

In addition to fleeing, he was sneezing loudly. Even more exaggerated was the noxious stench which spread out in all directions, and the fact that tears were streaming down his cheeks. Then he opened his mouth as if to shout, only to spit out a ball of fire….

He was itching everywhere, especially in his private parts, enraging him to the point where he was nearly senseless. All of these were things that he had never experienced before in life.

Worst of all was that a multitude of marks had appeared on his face…. There was a tortoise, a bird, a dog, a tree leaf, and many others. Some even looked like pill furnaces. Some were even repeats of other marks.

"That's my mark! Hahaha! The test tube got one of my medicinal pills! I'm definitely the newest Patriarch Mystery Pill!"

"Hey, my mark is there too! See that little tortoise!? This is awesome!"

"Dammit! Why isn't my mark there? Why?!?! I threw out over a hundred pills!"

"Don't even try to compete with me. I'm definitely the Dark Concocters' new Patriarch Mystery Pill!!"

Of course, the Dark Concocters had long since reached a point in the Dao of medicine where they could cause personal marks to appear on people who had consumed their medicinal pills. Thus, those who didn't see any marks were beating their chests and stamping their feet in lamentation.

Bai Xiaochun was feeling all sorts of strange sensations, from tickling to torment. And then he heard the things the imps were saying, and his eyes turned crimson. Unheard-of levels of rage began to course through him as he descended into madness.

He was the one who used medicinal pills to deal with people! Now, for the first time, he was being harmed by the effects of unusual medicinal pills. It was a feeling that had him hovering on the verge of insanity.

Plus, as a grandmaster of the Dao of medicine, the vicious banter and ridicule of the imps was even more humiliating.

"Complete and utter bullying!!! Dammit, you people are forcing my hand! Let me tell you, when I get pissed off, I frighten even myself!! I'll show you who's the true… Patriarch Mystery Pill!!!" Slapping his bag of holding, he produced a handful of medicinal pills.

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Chapter 1121: Xiaochun Makes A Move!

Bai Xiaochun forced himself to simply deal with the incredible itchiness he felt. To deal with those areas where he couldn't scratch, he simply clamped his legs together tightly. His face was a purplish-red color, and tears continued to flow down his face as he sneezed over and over again. There was also a burning heat that filled him that was driving him crazy.

"This is ridiculous bullying! You people are all bullies!!" As he shivered, rage coursed through him, battering at his mind, filling him with thunderous rumbling sounds.

Finally, he howled and slapped his bag of holding to produce a handful of pills. He wanted revenge! He wanted these imps to realize that on the treacherous path of concocting mystery pills, Bai Xiaochun was the top expert!

And experts don't like to be challenged!

As it happened, the first thing he pulled out was the strange soul medicine he had used in the Wildlands when he was in conflict with the other two celestial necromancers. It was a toxic medicine that led to flatulence and even diarrhea.

However, as soon as he pulled the pills out, he realized that there was a problem. When inventing and concocting this type of medicine, he had never come up with a name for the pill. Now that he was using it in public fashion, it definitely needed a name!

"You people are going to know exactly what makes Bai Xiaochun terrifying!" he shouted. "Body-Purifying Filth-Expelling Pill!!"

The pills flew forth, and then he waved his sleeve, causing them to explode and become a fine powder that spread out on the wind.

In order to make the best use of the effects of the medicine, he employed the greatest speed he possibly could to fly around and throw out as many of his Body-Purifying Filth-Expelling Pills at the Dark Concocters as he could.

Cracking sounds rang out, and the imps looked around in astonishment. After all, most of them had a hard time recalling how long it had been since someone had dared to use pill concocting to challenge them.

In fact, it actually got them excited, and many threw their heads back and laughed uproariously.

"Hahaha! Who would have thought that we would find a kindred spirit here? Nice job, test tube. Very nice job!"

"I like you, test tube. I think I'll try your medicinal pill to see exactly what it can do!"

"Don't even think of trying to steal this pill. This is a pill duel! I can't believe that there's a cultivator who actually dares to take on us Dark Concocters. Hey, test tube, I really admire your bravery!" The Dark Concocters didn't seem afraid at all, and excitedly struggled to be the first among their fellows to get to the medicine. It was with almost drunken passion that they tried to inhale the crushed powder.

Bai Xiaochun almost couldn't believe what he was seeing. Furious, he threw out even more medicinal pills, not even bothering to worry how it might affect his overall supplies. Before long, nearly the whole area was covered with the powder from the Body-Purifying Filth-Expelling Pills. The imps struggled excitedly to breathe in the powder, and then began to wait in anticipation to see what would happen. Soon, strange expressions broke out on their faces.

In the blink of an eye, phhhhhhrt sounds began to ring out, and some of the imps even clutched their stomachs and squatted into a sitting position….

"Ah, it causes diarrhea! Hey, test tube, you're plagiarizing our medicinal pills! Is that all you can do?!"

"I'm impressed. Not a bad medicinal pill. However, definitely not on the level of our pills!"

"You think this kind of pill will earn you the title of Patriarch Mystery Pill? I can think of 1,600 different ways of neutralizing this thing." Numerous imps began pulling out a variety of different antidotes, which they calmly consumed. Clearly, their level of endurance surpassed anything Bai Xiaochun could have imagined. Many of them continued to loudly expel noxious gas, and yet, simply stood there, looking completely calm and unfazed.

Furthermore, the derisive looks and sarcastic comments made the entire thing even more humiliating.

"Hold your horses!" Bai Xiaochun said, snorting coldly. "Do you really think I would challenge you with only one medicinal pill?!" With that, he waved his hand to produce some of the medicinal pills he had created in the Blood Stream Sect when trying to work with refined corpses, that caused long hair to grow out everywhere on one's body.

A vast number of such pills flew out, followed by popping sounds as they exploded. As the powder spread out, the imps seemed to be taking everything completely in stride. They didn't even attempt to prevent the medicinal power from landing on them.

Before long, they began to grow long, luxuriant hair of various colors. Within moments, many of the Dark Concocters looked like big balls of puffy fur.

"Eee?! This medicinal pill isn't bad at all!"

"So, it grows hair. Heavens! How come I never thought of that? It's a bit itchy though!"

"So, you do have a bit of skill after all, test tube. It won't do you much good though. Check out this antidote!"

Although the imps were initially shocked, they quickly realized they could neutralize the medicinal pill, causing the newly grown hair to begin to shrink back.

Bai Xiaochun wasn't very worried yet. He hated these imps quite a bit already, and was also a grandmaster in the Dao of medicine. Furthermore, he knew that using one medicinal pill wouldn't be as effective as using many. Therefore, he began to throw out more pills.

Before the entire group of imps could completely deal with the previous pill, his eyes glittered as he resorted to using one of his three super-pills… the Breakup Pill!

Incredible rumblings sounds shook heaven and earth as the Breakup Pills exploded, transforming into a powder that filled the area. It didn't even need the wind to move, and it was immediately absorbed into the bodies of any of the imps that it touched.

Breakup Pills were very unique, and the Dark Concocters almost immediately noticed this. Even from the way it disseminated, they could tell that there was something different about it.

And yet, they were still confident, and didn't even back up. Some of them were even laughing loudly, and intentionally breathing it in. It didn't take long before, among those who had intentionally breathed it in, strange expressions appeared.

"This medicinal pill… has some very strange qualities!"

"It actually affects your emotions! What pill is this!?" Before any of the imps could begin to study the matter closely, the medicinal effects of the Breakup Pills began to manifest.

"Get away from me! I've decided that my true love is the path of medicine! I'm not meant for you. Let's break up!"

"Break up! From now on, you do your thing, and I'll do mine. And by the way, give me back all those medicinal pills I gave you!" A buzz of conversation immediately filled the Dark Concocters. The emotional changes among the imps were clearly visible, and as for those who hadn't been infected by the Breakup Pill, they were clearly shocked to see what was happening. Furthermore, they quickly took out various antidotes to see if they could neutralize the effects.

However, for the first time, their incredibly effective ability to neutralize medicinal effects did not go as smoothly as before. Although there was some success, it wasn't possible to completely negate the effects in a short time.

By now, Bai Xiaochun's strategy was starting to take effect. Not only did they have to worry about the growing hair, but there was also the effect of the Breakup Pills. And there were even some who were still dealing with diarrhea and flatulence.

As the cries of alarm rose up, the Dark Concocters finally began to show signs of fear. Even the spirit automaton up in the air was surprised, and was finally starting to realize that he might have underestimated Bai Xiaochun.

And yet, not a one of them had truly come to understand Bai Xiaochun. Of his three most powerful pills, he still had two more to choose from, both of which were so shocking that even ghosts and gods would fear them!

They were his trump cards when it came to medicinal pills, his Fantasy Pill and his Aphrodisiac Pill!

They were equally vicious, and it was hard to say which was more powerful. If he had greater reserve stocks, he wouldn't have saved this pill, but now, he gritted his teeth and produced…

An Aphrodisiac Pill!

As soon as the pill appeared, it was as if the spirit of the world around him shuddered in terror. Thunderous rumblings filled the area, provoking a gasp on the part of Bai Xiaochun. But then, a look of pity appeared on his face as he flicked his sleeve and tossed some Aphrodisiac Pills out.

"Weep. Struggle. It will do no good. You think a lot of yourselves, Dark Concocters, but in a moment, you will know who your true patriarch is!"

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Chapter 1122: Next Up…!

The Aphrodisiac Pill, one of Bai Xiaochun three most powerful pills, had proved its formidability on numerous occasions; there could be no doubt that it was peerless in its ability to drive people to complete insanity. If it weren't for the fact that his stocks were running low, he would have thrown out even more than he had, just to make sure that these bastard apothecaries knew what it meant to tremble in despair.

Besides, whether it was in terms of the physical size of the pills, or their strength, they were far beyond anything that these diminutive Dark Concocters could bear. Even the relatively small amount that he had tossed out effectively counted for ten times what it normally would have!

With one flick of his sleeve, Bai Xiaochun deployed roughly one third of the total number of Aphrodisiac Pills he had left in his bag of holding. It was even as the Dark Concocters were still dealing with the Breakup Pills that this new pill arrived, a pill that would lead to a catastrophic tribulation the likes of which they could never conceptualize, even in their wildest imaginings!

Thumping bangs could be heard as the pills exploded, resulting in something quite different than the explosion of the Breakup Pill, or any other pill for that matter. This pill created a pink smoke that was somehow indescribably enticing. Thanks to repeated testing and improvement over the years, that pink smoke moved with freakish speed, almost instantly covering the entire area.

Even those imps who were quick to react still felt their hearts beginning to race in unusual fashion. They quickly performed incantation gestures, either utilizing certain techniques to negate medicinal effects, or producing medicinal pills that could create wind, which they hoped would drive the pink smoke away, or melt it. Unfortunately for them, the smoke created by an Aphrodisiac Pill was not the type that could be negated by ordinary wind!

As the Dark Concocters struggled in complete futility against the Aphrodisiac Pill smoke, time seemed to slow, and all heaven and earth came to be covered with pink smoke.

In the blink of an eye, it became apparent that no matter what techniques or medicinal pills the Dark Concocters used, they were like peasants meeting an emperor. They were the ones to be driven away as the entire world became pink!

Some of the imps tried to back up, but by the time they did, it was too late…. Some of them, upon inhaling the smoke, began to shiver in unprecedented fashion, and their eyes turned crimson. From the expressions on their faces, it seemed like they would lose their minds at any moment.

"What pill was that!?"

"Heavens! Something's wrong. Very wrong! Why do I feel myself heating up? What's going on here?!"

"Agggghhhh! I'm gonna lose my mind! I can't control myself! I'm gonna blow. I'm gonna blooowww!"

Soon, the Dark Concocters had devolved into a complete uproar of madness and disbelief. Many of them simply began howling as if they had gone completely insane.

Bereft of thinking ability, they were overcome by waves of intense heat, and began to pant heavily. Those among them who were unusually tall and burly seemed to have transformed into something completely different than before. Howling, they turned and pounced on their fellows.

If everyone within the smoke caused by the Aphrodisiac Pill had been affected, it would have been less horrific…. But there were simply too many imps, and only a portion of them had breathed in the smoke. That meant that many of the imps who were pounced on had never ingested any of the Aphrodisiac Pills….

Bloodcurdling screams erupted out, as well as bellows of madness and terror!

"What are you doing? Hey! Y-y-you…."

"No! Get back! Heavens! How could you be doing this!?!?"

"Dammit! Five of you at the same time!? Get away from me! Get away!"

The world was thrown into complete and utter chaos, to the level that it defied description. Anyone who could see it would likely begin to question the meaning of life.

What was even worse was that many of the imps were still under the effects of the Breakup Pills. When those effects were combined with the effects of the Aphrodisiac Pills, there was no way to dispel them. It would push the victim back and forth between lucidity and mental derangement, a volcanic mental bombardment that few could withstand.

If that were all there were to it, it might not have been much to worry about. But at the moment, there were simply too many pills in the mix. When the pills that grew hair were added in, along with the Body-Purifying Filth-Expelling Pills, it was like pouring oil onto a fire. Howls of grief, swearing, cursing, agonized shrieks, and other sounds of struggle caused heaven and earth to shake violently.

Those imps who were some distance away, and had thus managed to avoid being affected as much, had it easier off. But those near the epicenter were in absolute pandemonium.

To those among the Dark Concocters who were still in possession of their mental faculties, it seemed like they were now in the depths of hell. As they looked around, they trembled, they gasped, and then they focused on Bai Xiaochun, their expressions those of both astonishment and rage.

"Are you looking to die, test tube?!?!"

"How dare you duel with us in medicines! You're dead, test tube! You're going to lose for sure!!"

"These medicinal pills might be terrifying, but we can negate them!"

The lucid imps were shaken, but they were a proud lot, and their confidence bolstered them. Although the Dark Concocters had long since broken up into numerous smaller tribes, they could still work together towards a common purpose when necessary. Therefore, the lucid ones among them began to pull out their most treasured medicines to neutralize the effects of the Aphrodisiac Pills.

True to their word, they were very skilled, and as the treasured pills flowed out, the toxins were slowly neutralized. The smoke from the Aphrodisiac Pills began to disperse, and its medicinal effects were being suppressed.

Slowly, the imps who had been affected by the Aphrodisiac Pills began to come to their senses, and when they realized what they were doing, screamed so loudly in rage that the sky went dim.

Things were going exactly as Bai Xiaochun had predicted. As he hovered there in midair, he laughed coldly, his expression that of complete pride as he waved his sleeve to produce another collection of medicinal pills!

"Oh Dark Concocters, do you really think that your patriarch would only have those pills on him? As I told you, when I get pissed off, I frighten even myself! Next up, Fantasy Pills!!"

With that, he tossed out all of the pills he had just produced!

Rumbling sounds filled the air as the Fantasy Pills were unleashed. Although Fantasy Pills weren't necessarily as famous as Aphrodisiac Pills, they could technically be considered the first mystery pill that Bai Xiaochun had ever concocted!

If one said that Aphrodisiac Pills could unleash ultimate catastrophe, then Fantasy Pills could be said to unleash all of the potential of one's desires. The smoke spread out in the blink of an eye, pushed by the power of Bai Xiaochun's celestial cultivation base to rapidly fill much of the world around him!

Tribulation… was nigh!

Before, there had been some lucid Dark Concocters who could use their vast stores of medicinal pills to aid their maddened fellows. But now… as the smoke from the Fantasy Pills spread, all of them began to tremble, whether they had been lucid or not….

Gasps could be heard, and eyes went blank, and then… the Dark Concocters began to descend into hallucination.

One of the imps curled up into a ball and tried to throw himself around like a medicinal pill. "Throw me! I'm a medicinal pill! Hahaha! I'm the first godly pill in all creation!"

Another one began bashing his head against a nearby rock.

In another area, a group of five imps linked hands and began to sing.

They were all going crazy…. The Dark Concocters had gone mad. The final unleashing of the Fantasy Pills completely stripped them of their mental faculties. Because of the stacked effects of the pills, many had long hair, and some were still plagued by horrific flatulence. Those who had been temporarily saved from the Aphrodisiac Pill once again were gripped by its madness. Even powerful gods who saw this scene would be struck by the sheer preposterous nature of what was happening….

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Chapter 1123: What Sin Did We Commit?

Bai Xiaochun only looked at the scene for a moment before averting his gaze. And it almost wasn't necessary to mention the spirit automaton up in the sky. Originally, he had been proudly waiting for Bai Xiaochun to make a fool of himself.

But now, he was completely and utterly stunned, to the point where he almost didn't dare to believe that what he was seeing was true. The Dark Concocters had gone completely mad. The screams, the gasps, the bellows, and even the occasional sighs of contentment mixed together until the spirit automaton shivered and rubbed his eyes.

"This is impossible…" he muttered to himself. "I'm definitely seeing things…. Hahaha! That's right. It's an illusion. Just an illusion…."

As of this point, his understanding of life was changing completely.

Unfortunately for him, after double- and triple-checking, and even checking his ears to make sure they were working properly, he realized that the scene in front of him was real. At that point, he gasped, his mind reeling.

"They're… they're the Dark Concocters! Even the sovereign feared them! Dammit! They… they must not be the realDark Concocters!" He wanted to cry. Never could he have imagined that the shameless cheater Bai Xiaochun would actually be more terrifying in pill concocting than the Dark Concocters.

"It's fine. I'll still be the victor here. The Dark Concocters' true strength lies, not just in their ability to concoct mystery pills, but in their tenacity and unyielding nature. That is what makes them truly terrifying!

"I can say with absolute confidence that, once the Dark Concocters come back to their senses, they will work hard to rise to the top again. They will not allow anyone to pass this level!" The spirit automaton was almost going hysterical trying to comfort himself. After all, even though he wasn't ready to admit it, Bai Xiaochun was almost too terrifying to deal with.

As for Bai Xiaochun, as he hovered in midair, he contemplated throwing out some more medicinal pills. However, after patting his bag of holding, he realized that his stores were running too low.

"No. As an apothecary myself, I understand how people like us think. Successful apothecaries have to be tenacious and unyielding. Giving up is not an option. You must have obsessive focus!" He glanced worriedly back at the Dark Concocters, well aware that although he could temporarily put them at a disadvantage, they would eventually regain their senses. And when that happened, the fact that he was running low on pills would be problematic. Eventually, he would run out, and then he would most likely suffer a defeat at the hands of these imps. And he could hardly stand to think about what that would entail.

After some thought, his eyes glittered, and he patted his bag of holding.

"How could I have forgotten that I have another outstanding asset other than my medicinal pills? And that is none other than my concocting methods themselves…. Strange things always happen when I concoct. In the past, I would have to work hard to avoid such scenarios, or contain the effects. But here… strange effects are exactly what I need!

"As far as the ingredients… I don't have too many, but the Dark Concocters surely do…." Having reached this point in his train of thought, he burst into motion. Taking advantage of the how the Dark Concocters were in the grip of madness, he headed toward the nearest of their tribal headquarters.

Just as he had guessed, the mountain homes of the Dark Concocters were filled with endless supplies of medicinal ingredients. There were beast bones, medicinal plants, strange rocks and pebbles, and other things that he had never seen before. A quick glance proved that, although these things looked real, just like the entire world around them, they were actually partly real and partly illusory.

However, they would suffice to concoct some medicinal pills. As for what kinds of pills they would make, it was hard to say at the moment. But Bai Xiaochun didn't need to spend time considering the subject. He just needed the Dark Concocters to surrender!

"If I want to get past this level, I have to make these Dark Concocters bow their heads!" Taking a deep breath, he sped from one tribal headquarters to another, using all of the skills he had developed in the Wildlands to perfect effect. He was like a locust that swept through the mountains, taking everything down to the grass and roots.

Unfortunately, there was a huge number of tribal headquarters, some large and some small. Despite how skilled he was at this sort of thing, he didn't have time to visit them all. After about two hours passed, he had gone through about seventy percent, which was when the imps began to regain their senses.

As they regained lucidity, and thought back to all of the dreadful things that they had done in the past two hours, they began to shout loudly in rage.

"I'm gonna kill you!!"

"The Dark Concocters will destroy you or die in the attempt, test tube!!"

"You're dead! Aaaaaaggggghhhhh. I hereby swear that in the end, either you will exist, or the Dark Concocters will, but not both!!"

Innumerable imps raged with more madness than they ever had in their entire lives. It was a level of fury that reached into the heavens, spawned by a humiliation the likes of which could never be expunged!

By now, they no longer wanted Bai Xiaochun to be their test tube. The only thing they wanted to do was torment him for 10,000 years!

All of them began to produce mystery pills that had either been passed down through the generations in their clans, or that they had personally concocted. From the way their murderous auras raged to the heavens, it seemed they would be willing to destroy the world if it meant getting their hands on Bai Xiaochun.

One could only imagine the battle of medicinal pills that would erupt if they found him!!

However, by the time the Dark Concocters devolved into a maelstrom of anger, Bai Xiaochun had already taken steps to prevent them from finding him. Having learned from his initial mistake of staying in one place, he was now moving from place to place via teleportation. On the one hand, he was truly shocked by how quickly the imps had recovered, but on the other hand, wasn't willing to just give up.

"Hmph! You people just wait. Things aren't over yet!" He quickly produced a collection of small pill furnaces, as well as a few larger ones, and began to concoct.

"You think I'm afraid of a little war of attrition?" Gritting his teeth, he performed a double-handed incantation gesture and began to divide the medicinal plants up and then throw them into the pill furnaces, which quickly began to vibrate.

Once Bai Xiaochun started concocting medicine, he would quickly sink into a state of madness. His eyes were already bloodshot as he focused, not on making pills, but on creating unusual side-effects.

Before long, the Dark Concocters found his current hiding place, where the pill furnaces were already bright red, and showing signs of imminent explosion. In the past, Bai Xiaochun would have been shocked and terrified at such a sight, but now, he was beaming with joy. Flicking his sleeve, he sent the pill furnaces flying out into the open.

He didn't even aim them. He just sent them flying out randomly. Moments later, booms began to ring out one after another, followed by the enraged roars of the imps. At that point, he vanished, reappearing in another hiding place, where he continued his concocting work.

Three days passed, and the Dark Concocters were even more angry than before. To them, the past three days had been pure torment. Not only was the force of the exploding pill furnaces tremendous in general, but Bai Xiaochun had especially large pill furnaces that were extremely shocking to the diminutive Dark Concocters.

And there was more to it than that…. On the third day, dark clouds formed in the sky, and acid rain began to fall.

When the acid raid hit the imps, their clothing melted, and they were wracked with incredible pain. Even the ground began to corrode, as did the mountain peaks.

"Heavens! This is no ordinary acid raid. This stuff is hypertoxic!!"

"Dammit, dammit, DAMMIT!!"

The imps were completely swept up in raging madness. But then, violet lightning bolts began to fall from the sky, smashing into the ground over and over again in completely relentless fashion….

Soon, none of the Dark Concocters dared to even go out into the open. They could only cower in their mountain caves. And yet… the biggest tribulation of all had yet to come.

Mist began to seep into their caves….

It was extremely pungent, and to the horror of the Dark Concocters, it contained some of the effects of both Aphrodisiac Pills and Fantasy Pills. In the past, they had experienced this horror for two short hours, but now… it was happening without stop!!

"Heavens, how could this be happening!?!?"

"No, just let me die…."

"This is impossible! What sin did we Dark Concocters commit!? Why is God punishing us in this way!?!?"

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