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Chapter 1124: Just Go, Sir
However, the Dark Concocters were tenacious to the core, and definitely not the type who would surrender easily. That was only to be expected from a people who had so thoroughly impressed the sovereign to whom the damaged fan once belonged.
Most other folk would have collapsed by this point. After all, the Dark Concocters had already suffered so many setbacks that it didn't seem possible for it to get any worse.
First was the deluge of acid rain, then the violet lightning, both of which left the entire world riddled with pits and craters. It was so bad it seemed like the land might be wiped out of existence soon.
The mountain peaks were equally devastated, full of holes, and almost devoid of vegetation. The entire world had been severely damaged.
Furthermore, the medicinal mist which had begun to spread out now filled the mountains. It was like the final straw for the Dark Concocters, something that pushed them to the point of wishing they could die….
And that was not even to mention that pill furnaces continued to explode here and there, the noise and reverberations of which made it impossible for the imps to get any rest.
It was torment that most living beings would not be able to endure. And yet, despite that, and despite the moaning and groaning that could be heard constantly, the Dark Concocters endured!
For an entire month!
In the end, even Bai Xiaochun had to admit that he admired them. Although they were infuriating, each and every one had what it took to be a good apothecary.
"I should really show some respect to apothecaries like this." Bai Xiaochun was fully convinced that he needed to use his remaining supplies to continue working, to continue researching new side-effects. Only by doing that could he show that he was a truly mighty apothecary.
And therefore… he sank deeper into his work, producing even more mystery pills and freakish side-effects. It was truly a thing of nightmares.
Three long months passed. By this time, the Dark Concocters wept on a daily basis. Some of them seemed to be gasping their last breaths, wracked by despair. During the months which had passed, they had used every trick in the book to try to negate the medicines assailing them, all to no avail. They were completely demoralized by the terrifying entity they were up against.
"We're not afraid of dying. Nor are we afraid of our people being wiped out of existence. We're not even afraid of humiliation. But being crushed by medicinal pills in this way leaves us stripped of our ideals, stripped of our passion in life! This is truly the worst of all possible nightmares!"
"He's not human! He's a pill devil! He's a monster of medicinal pills!!"
"We thought early on that he had shown his truly terrifying nature. How could he possibly have only become more and more terrifying?!"
"Oh, heavens! How could a person like this even exist?!?!"
"Why did we Dark Concocters have to meet this person?!?!" For the first time since this world was created, the leaders of the various tribes all met together. They braved the terrifying toxic smoke and mist, somehow controlling their impulses to have a short meeting.
During the meeting, the leaders all reached an agreement. Originally, none of them had been willing to surrender, but now, they all agreed that the mystery pill devil had to be driven away!
All of the Dark Concocters agreed on this point. As soon as the news broke, all of the imps, even the ones who seemed to be on their last legs, began to shout out at the tops of their lungs.
"Make him leave!"
"We can't afford to provoke him anymore. Get him out of here!"
"Make him leave! We'll do anything!"
This world was part of the damaged fan, and had been created by a sovereign from the Immortal World. Furthermore, it had been forged using the Dao Essence of Life and Death, and therefore, as long as the Dark Concocters all agreed, then not even the spirit automaton could do anything to change the result.
As for that spirit automaton, he had reached a state of madness even earlier than the Dark Concocters, and that was just from watching things play out.
He finally realized that he had underestimated Bai Xiaochun. Not only was Bai Xiaochun just generally shameless, but he was especially shameless in his pill concocting. In all the years the spirit automaton had existed, this was definitely the most shameless entity he had ever come across.
The mere thought of how the Dark Concocters had surrendered was profoundly shocking to him.
"They… they were even praised by the sovereign for the way they would never surrender. But now, they're actually… giving up!!" The boy was almost crying. He had originally planned to trap Bai Xiaochun in this level for 10,000 years or so, but now, in only a few days, the Dark Concocters had given in, and the world around them was almost completely destroyed….
Even as the boy looked on begrudgingly, the Dark Concocters came to an agreement, and Bai Xiaochun, who was completely immersed in concocting pills, suddenly began to dematerialize.
"I refuse to accept this!!" the spirit automaton said through gritted teeth, feelings of depression exploding into being inside of him. "How shameless of you, Bai Xiaochun, you despicable bastard! How could you possibly be named Bai Xiaochun? You… you sully that name! Your surname should be Hei! And your given name should be Dawu! Damn you, Hei Dawu! You just wait until the next time I wake up. I'll destroy you! I'll end you! I'll eradicate you for all time!!" The boy's face twisted with the ultimate level of madness and rage. [1]
Meanwhile, on the fan rib outside of the thirtieth level, Bai Xiaochun faded into being, a shocked look on his face.
"Huh? How did I get out?" Shaking his head in surprise, he quickly checked his bag of holding, and just as he had suspected, the pills he had successfully concocted during his time in the thirtieth level were nowhere to be seen.
"Well, I guess this means I passed the thirtieth level." He couldn't help but sigh. After all, the thirtieth level had been filled with people who had the same calling in life as himself. Being able to duel with them using medicine had been a real joy. He almost wished he hadn't been teleported away.
"That was the perfect place to concoct pills. It's an illusory world created by the will of the sovereign, in which I don't have to bear any responsibility for the results of my pill concocting. That's what I've always wanted…. Wait. Hold on. I should check to see if I can go back in." He tried to do just that, but quickly found that there was a powerful force of expulsion pushing back at him that made it impossible for him to get inside.
Meanwhile, within that thirtieth level, the Dark Concocters looked up at the sky rippling, and began to tremble in fear. But soon, they realized that the mystery pill devil was unable to enter their world again. Sighs of relief could be heard, and many eyes brimmed with tears of excitement. Many of them even produced drums and gongs and began to celebrate loudly.
"Finally…. He's finally gone. And he can't get back in!"
"The heavens do have eyes! That crazy devil was the worst plague to ever hit us. We Dark Concocters are always honest and kind-hearted. We're good people! Good people aren't supposed to be subjected to bullying!"
"What a nightmare. I can't even bear to think of what happened over the past few months. And I've also decided to stop concocting mystery pills. I swear it! From now, I'll only concoct ordinary medicinal pills!!"
As the Dark Concocters rejoiced, Bai Xiaochun slumped dejectedly outside on the fan rib. After thinking about the matter for a while, he sighed.
"Ah, whatever. One day when I'm the true owner of the fan, I'll go back to have another pill duel with them." Sighing, he realized that he had been in the damaged fan for quite some time. Wondering what might have happened in the Eternal Lands during that time, he prepared to leave. However, it was in that very moment that he realized that out in the void beyond the damaged fan, something was moving in his direction. It was… an enormous palace!!
It was severely damaged, but still emanated a grandiose aura, as well as dazzling blue light!
1. The characters in Bai Xiaochun's name mean "white, small, pure" and Hei Dawu means "black, big, impure". The readers created the nickname Hei Dawu very early on for Bai Xiaochun, so when Er Gen actually put it into the story, they went crazy. The comment section on this chapter exploded in the Chinese version
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Chapter 1125: Archaean Soul
Bai Xiaochun's expression turned serious, and his heart began to pound with anticipation. Although he hadn't spent much time on the damaged fan, on previous occasions when he was not inside one of the levels, he had often looked out into the inky darkness of the void.
At first, it had been with curiosity, but later with boredom. After all, it wasn't even a starry sky; it was just darkness.
It was like an enclosed room in which all the candles had been extinguished. It was terrifyingly quiet, with nothing at all visible except the sea of darkness.
Therefore, this palace with its blue light seemed almost like a bright star, and was eye-catching to the extreme!
How could Bai Xiaochun not be excited by this sudden development? In fact, he blurred into motion, heading to the edge of the fan, where he stood and watched the huge palace flying closer and closer to him.
As it neared, he could see that it was actually only one corner of an even larger palace structure, as if it had broken off from the whole. And as it got closer, it was clear that the entire thing was hovering on the brink of falling apart.
Black bloodstains were visible, dried up for what must have been many, many years. All-in-all, it looked like this palace had undergone a catastrophe of world-destroying proportions.
After observing it for a bit, Bai Xiaochun felt the impulse to go explore it. But the cautious side of him quickly squashed that dangerous idea.
But out here in this strange, dark void, this sudden spot of light that was the palace was profoundly intriguing. And he couldn't dispel the notion that it would be a real pity to abandon it.
"What if there's some good loot inside?" he thought. After looking down at the damaged fan, and then up again at the palace, his eyes glittered as he came up with an idea.
"That palace is obviously not very sturdy. And definitely not as strong as this sovereign-level precious treasure." With that, he drew upon his ability to control the damaged fan, which was now at thirty percent.
After all, he had already passed the thirtieth level, and was thus able to somewhat influence the direction the fan moved in.
As he sent his divine sense out, the fan vibrated a bit. Thankfully, the spirit automaton had already fallen into slumber, otherwise it would have been very difficult for Bai Xiaochun to succeed in this effort.
Just like that, the fan changed directions, and began to head directly toward the palace!
In that very moment, Bai Xiaochun could see that the previously calm and quiet palace suddenly began to tremble. The blue light that had been shining out of it was sucked back in, and then a moment later was projected back out in the form of an enormous, vicious head with two horns sticking out of it. Looking in the direction of Bai Xiaochun and the damaged fan, it let out a soundless roar.
At the same time, a burst of holy archaean power erupted out from the illusory head!
"An archaean soul!!" Bai Xiaochun blurted, his eyes going wide.
Few other people would be able to identify such a thing. But Bai Xiaochun was a heavenly necromancer, and had immense experience working with souls. Therefore, it only took a single glance for him to realize that the head being projected out of the palace by means of the blue light was none other than… an archaean soul!!
Presumably, some archaean expert of the past had died in this palace. Then, because of some unique characteristic of the palace, or perhaps because of other reasons, the soul of that dead expert remained behind, fused with the palace itself. Although the soul was no longer intelligent and aware of its surroundings, it still existed!
The blue light was obviously some sort of defensive trap. If Bai Xiaochun had blithely tried to enter the palace, he would have been attacked by the archaean soul. Instead, with the damaged fan barreling toward it, the archaean soul had no choice but to reveal itself.
As it howled noiselessly, ripples spread out through the void, a formless attack aimed at the damaged fan. Bai Xiaochun's face fell, and he backed away from the edge of the fan. However, as soon as the ripples reached the fan itself, it was to his delight that he realized that they didn't do anything to it at all, not even slow it down. In fact, they apparently suffered from an automated backlash attack by the fan.
The fluctuations which rolled out from the fan surpassed those of the archaean soul, filled with a power that caused Bai Xiaochun to gasp. He was even slightly injured just from their presence. This… was something far, far beyond the power of an archaean.
It was something Bai Xiaochun had never felt before… the power of a sovereign!
The void vibrated in response, and the eyes of that enormous blue head went wide with shock. It tried to retreat, but couldn't do so quickly enough, and the sovereign-level power slammed into the palace.
The enormous palace shuddered to a stop in the middle of the void. Then, to Bai Xiaochun's shock, it rippled and distorted until it transformed into a beam of light that shot toward the fan. It was almost as if the fan was dragging it toward itself! Moments later, the palace vanished!
Bai Xiaochun looked around, barely able to breathe. He was fairly certain he knew what had happened. He looked down at the fan, beads of sweat dripping down his face as he realized that he had definitely underestimated this precious treasure!
Before, the image on the fan's face had featured a mountain and a river with a boat in it, within which two people were playing Go. But now, at the source of that river… a palace was visible!!
"It became a part of the picture… it became a part of the face of the fan!" His eyes went wide, and his mind spun. This development completely surpassed his powers of imagination. After taking a moment to let it all sink in, his face fell.
"I just wanted to explore it and see if it had any treasures inside. Even if it didn't, an archaean soul would be great to have. But this fan just went and ate it…." He almost felt like crying at how badly he had lost out. Not quite willing to give up, he sent some divine sense over to the palace, drawing upon the thirty percent of the fan that he could control to see if he could pull the palace out of the picture.
As soon as he sent his divine sense out, the river stopped flowing for a short moment. When it resumed flowing a moment later, a drop of water shot out from it and flew toward the palace. When it hit it, the palace flickered with bright light, and emitted what sounded like a defiant roar. The water spread out, covering the blue light. Then it began to wrench at the palace, ripping away fully a third of it. Then it vanished, to reappear in Bai Xiaochun's hand!
Heart racing, Bai Xiaochun stared in shock at the drop of water floating above his palm, within which was a bit of blue light. Upon examining it closer, he could see a vicious head within that blue light, radiating an aura of anger and violence.
The head couldn't escape from the water no matter how much it battered at it. Furthermore, based on the aura it emitted, Bai Xiaochun could tell that this was the archaean soul!
However, it was only about thirty percent as powerful as a true archaean soul!
For Bai Xiaochun, that was more than enough!
"I can't believe I can do this!" he said, licking his lips. Then he threw his head back and laughed uproariously. "A fan that shares! I love it!"
He was very excited to understand how truly strong this fan was. And after it absorbed things, it would share those things with him in proportion to how much he controlled the fan!
One day, when he was truly its owner, he could easily dominate all existence! It was a truly exciting thought.
Yet again, he realized that everything he had done to get this fan was definitely worth it!
"Alright. I need to go back and get some rest!" Savoring the beauty of the fact that he had acquired a portion of an archaean soul, he sent out a thought, and vanished.
After reappearing in his private chamber in Mistysea Prefecture in the north, he sent some divine sense out to find that the Grand Heavenmaster had apparently sensed his return, and was hurrying over to talk with him.
"What happened?" Bai Xiaochun wondered, surprised.
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Chapter 1126: Hit The Nail On The Head….
Bai Xiaochun couldn't help but be shocked. After all, Mistysea Prefecture had become a place of utmost importance. To the people from the Heavenspan Realm who now lived in the Eternal Immortal Domains, it was like a holy land!
As long as it stood, it was like a beacon of hope for them!
Bai Xiaochun's heart was already pounding as he sent his divine sense out to fill much of Mistysea Prefecture. However, everything seemed ordinary. Rising to his feet, he took a step forward, appearing in the grand hall, outside of which the Grand Heavenmaster stood.
"I, Situ, request an audience, exalted Celestial! I have an important matter to report!"
The Grand Heavenmaster's voice quavered in almost completely undetectable fashion as he spoke, as though the matter of which he spoke was of the most weighty significance. Feeling more alarmed than ever, Bai Xiaochun waved his hand, causing the door of the hall to open. When the Grand Heavenmaster rushed in, he was so anxious that he completely forgot to clasp hands in greeting.
"Celestial, something bad has happened, and Mistysea Prefecture is in incredible peril!! If we don't solve this problem, then this foundation we have worked so hard to build will be lost for all time. In fact, it might even completely change our standing within the Saint-Emperor Dynasty!!" His forehead was covered with sweat as he apparently thought back to the recent days in which Bai Xiaochun had gone missing, leaving him and the Giant Ghost King incapable of doing anything. And now, a most critical moment had been reached.
As far as Bai Xiaochun could remember, the only time an expression like this had appeared on the Grand Heavenmaster's face was when Arch-Emperor City was being besieged. That fact in itself caused his heart to pound even harder.
"What happened?!" he asked immediately.
"Exalted Celestial, Mistysea Prefecture's reputation as the best place for spirit enhancements has already spread far and wide. However, the Saint-Emperor Dynasty has come to covet us as surely as a hungry man might covet a juicy steak. Clearly, they are only waiting for the right time to swoop in and take control!"
Bai Xiaochun nearly gasped. Of course, he had long since assumed that something like this would happen, which was why he was trying so hard to achieve a breakthrough.
"Over the past few months," the Grand Heavenmaster continued, "it has become apparent that we only have one path available in front of us. If we don't move forward along that path, we will face profound difficulties. But if we do move forward, then it will only be a matter of time before the Saint-Emperor Dynasty comes for us! Worst of all is that recently, the Saint-Emperor issued a series of decrees that strongly suggest that he is thinking of taking action soon. We have no time to work with!!
"Exalted Celestial, you absolutely must reach the Archaean Realm in less than half a year. The only other option would be to create a second possible path of action, and do so as quickly as possible. The key to that second method would be to establish relations with the Vile-Emperor Dynasty. If we do that, the Saint-Emperor will have even more misgivings than before, and we can buy ourselves time!
"Unfortunately, we have no ways to establish relations with the Vile-Emperor Dynasty. That's especially true considering that the other prefectures in the north all belong to them. And although our spirit enhancement abilities are important to them, that's not enough for them to open up to us. The Vile-Emperor Dynasty is tightly locked down. The Giant Ghost King and I have been racking our brains recently about what to do, but haven't been able to think of anything. What do you think, exalted Celestial?" The Grand Heavenmaster seemed to be virtually beating his chest in frustration and helplessness. Bai Xiaochun had also been very nervous throughout the explanation. However, upon reaching the end, he relaxed a bit. After all, although he was still a bit suspicious about his relationship with Gongsun Wan'er, he still knew that he could fall back on that.
"Ai, you really had me scared there for a minute," he said. "But in the end, it's all about the Vile-Emperor Dynasty, right? I'll just go work out a deal with Gongsun Wan'er. After that… wait…. Hold on a second!"
However, before he could say anything else, the Grand Heavenmaster cleared his throat. No trace of his previous anxiety could be seen as he looked somberly at Bai Xiaochun, clasped hands and bowed. Speaking at a rapid-fire pace, he said, "Once a celestial speaks, his orders will be strictly enforced. Exalted Celestial, please establish business negotiations with Celestial Ghostmother as soon as possible. The best option would be to get to know her a lot better on a personal level. If things went well, you never know, the Heavenspan Realm might end up with another celestial on our side. In fact, the best thing would be for the two of you to become husband and wife!
"Well, exalted Celestial, I know that you have just emerged from seclusion. Please rest up a bit. I won't bother you anymore. I'll take my leave now…." Chuckling, he bowed his head, and then hurriedly departed from the hall.
Bai Xiaochun was left there standing by himself, his jaw gaping and his eyes wide.
"Situ, you old bastard, you conned me!!" Bai Xiaochun wanted to get mad, but somehow couldn't. Apparently, there was no crisis at all in Mistysea Prefecture. All of the Grand Heavenmaster's alarmist talk had just been a ruse to try to get Bai Xiaochun get closer to Gongsun Wan'er.
Clearly, he had heard rumors about their vague relationship. And being the wily fox that he was, he knew that if he made the suggestion directly, Bai Xiaochun would balk. Of course, the truth was that Bai Xiaochun was actually a bit terrified of Gongsun Wan'er.
The Grand Heavenmaster truly did want to get Gongsun Wan'er to join the Heavenspan Realm. With two celestials on their side, their position in the Eternal Immortal Domains would be stronger than ever!
Some of what he had said was very true. They couldn't just rely on trade with the Saint-Emperor Dynasty to keep Mistysea Prefecture going. Even if the Saint-Emperor wasn't very happy about it, they had to establish trade relations with the Vile-Emperor Dynasty.
And that was where the crux of it all lay. They needed to prioritize their safety. Otherwise, they could find themselves in a dangerous situation without even realizing it.
Of course, the Grand Heavenmaster's other assessments of the danger they were in were not untrue. However, it would be some time before they were actually a material threat.
After analyzing the matter for a bit, Bai Xiaochun wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry at how the Grand Heavenmaster had handled the matter. After all, unless it was really important, he didn't want to have any dealings with Gongsun Wan'er.
"I always end up having to spank her…." he sighed. What he worried about most was that, one day, the spanking might lead to something even more significant….
Unfortunately, thanks to the Grand Heavenmaster's little trick, he had already opened his big mouth. Therefore, it was with a light sigh that he looked north, braced himself, and then disappeared via teleportation.
To an ordinary cultivator, the prefecture that housed Gongsun Wan'er's palace of operations was so far away from Mistysea Prefecture that it could take a lifetime to go from one to the other. But for Bai Xiaochun, it only took a few hours.
Furthermore, thanks to his Undying Hex, no amount of sealing formations did any good to slow him down. By the time he arrived, it was evening. Even as he stood there frowning, trying to decide how to enter, he heard an overly sentimental voice drifting out from inside.
"Why are you here at such a late hour to see me, sweetie? Could it be that you actually do want to spend the night with me?" Her voice was so pleasant that Bai Xiaochun's heart immediately trembled. However, by now, he had come to realize that Gongsun Wan'er seemingly had two personalities. One version liked to call him sweetie, and the other was shrewish and murderous.
"She didn't use to be like this. Could it be that fusing with Ghostmother changed her in some way?" He already felt a headache coming on. Fearful that the situation would progress like it had the last time he came to see her, he cleared his throat and said, "Stow it, Wan'er. I'm here on official business."
"Official business? That's what you said the first time you visited, but in the end, all you wanted was my help to slander a demigod. Later, we met in Mistysea Prefecture, and you also said it was official business. But then, you ended up taking over my prefecture." Although her voice was still as flirtatious as ever, there was a bit of anger within it.
"What, aren't you even going to come inside? Is the mighty Arch-Ancestor, a majestic celestial, really that cowardly? Ohhh, right. I forgot you're afraid of ghosts." Even as her words rang out into the evening, ghostly images appeared from within the palace, and Bai Xiaochun's headache immediately got worse. The strange thing was that, considering he had his Sutra of Former Reincarnation, you would think she wouldn't want him to get near her.
"Don't tell me she's bluffing?" he thought, growing more vigilant.
Sighing dramatically, he stared at the palace and said, "Come on, Wan'er, are you doing this on purpose? Are you really trying to piss me off so that I burst in there, use my Sutra of Former Reincarnation and then start spanking you?" With that, he slipped into a defensive stance of readiness, convinced that his words would provoke her into rushing out to fight him. However, after a moment passed, his jaw dropped when he realized that Gongsun Wan'er… wasn't saying anything in response.
"No way…. Don't tell me I hit the nail on the head?!"
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Chapter 1127: Grandmaster Zhou?
Bai Xiaochun blinked a few times, his heart racing. He still wasn't sure if he could believe how things were playing out, and also couldn't understand why Gongsun Wan'er would act so strangely when it came to his Sutra of Former Reincarnation.
"Don't tell me that my divine ability has some sort of fatal flaw?!" All of a sudden, he felt very nervous. The truth was that he had had suspicions very early on. Whenever he used his Sutra of Former Reincarnation, it seemed to result in very unusual and shocking results, and if word about that spread, it could damage the reputation of the technique.
"I created a grand divine ability, a magical technique that surpasses anything ordinary!" Not wanting to pursue that line of thinking too far, he decided that it must have something to do with Gongsun Wan'er herself, and her memories.
"That's got to be it. I, Bai Xiaochun, am an upright and proper person. Of course the techniques I create are upright and dignified. How could I possibly make anything shady or underhanded?" Having comforted himself in this way, he looked back at Gongsun Wan'er's palace of operations, and considered whether or not to go inside. As he did, the main door quietly slid open.
Panting a bit, he looked up at the evening sky, then back at the door, torn about what to do. Finally, he sighed.
"Ah, whatever. This is for the sake of all the countless citizens of Mistysea Prefecture, and for the good of everyone from the Heavenspan Realm! How could Bai Xiaochun ever put his personal issues above those things!?" Gritting his teeth, he threw caution to the wind and strode forward into the palace of operations, a very serious expression on his face.
As he entered the depths of the palace, he felt as if he were doing something very moving and tragic. Eventually, he found Gongsun Wan'er, sitting there clad in a pink garment, her face expressionless.
For some reason, this Gongsun Wan'er seemed completely different from the Gongsun Wan'er who had called him sweetie only moments ago. This version was staring at him with a gaze as cold as ice.
"Unless you can make that despicable magical technique of yours work forever," she said grimly, "then don't even think about using it on me again. If you do, I'll immediately mobilize all of my forces in the north and destroy your Mistysea Prefecture!" Her eyes shone with frigid coldness, and she even rotated her cultivation base. As of this moment, Bai Xiaochun realized that Gongsun Wan'er seemed almost exactly like the old Ghostmother!
"If you think I won't follow through with the threat, then give it a shot and find out." Her gaze remained icy cold, and her words were spoken with unwavering determination.
Bai Xiaochun frowned. This version of Gongsun Wan'er seemed exactly like Ghostmother, to the point where he began to suspect that something had gone wrong with Gongsun Wan'er's efforts to absorb her. She was acting so differently from before that she almost seemed like a stranger.
"Although," he thought, "I do have plenty of ways to deal with cold personalities. After all, Song Junwan and Zhou Zimo both started out that way." He blinked a few times, but then his expression turned very somber, and he tucked his hands behind his back, his veins of steel pulsing to full effect.
All of a sudden, he looked completely different from before. His gaze hardened, and he spoke in a voice that sounded exactly like a celestial's voice should.
"Yes, you could mobilize all of the north to destroy Mistysea Prefecture. But remember: back when I kidnapped you the first time, I was only a demigod. Do you really think… I couldn't kidnap you a second time if I wanted to?!"
Before she could answer the question, he continued to speak.
"The reason I've come here, Gongsun Wan'er, is not to spar verbally with you. In Mistysea Prefecture, our spirit enhancement abilities are renowned under all heaven. We have a sterling reputation in the Saint-Emperor Dynasty. I'm sure your northern prefectures could make use of such abilities, but right now, the borders are locked down, making it impossible for us to have any dealings with the northern cultivators!
"I've come here today to discuss a trade deal, not to beg or plead for anything! Therefore, you need to keep yourself in check as well!" Bai Xiaochun spoke very sharply, which had not been his original intent upon coming. Instead of asking Gongsun Wan'er for help, he was making it seem like she was the one who needed help from him.
Instantly, Gongsun Wan'er's gaze sharpened, and she laughed coldly. "Are you kidding me? You take one of my prefectures away from me, and then come back to me and make it seem like you're offering alms to the poor? Did you cultivate yourself into stupidity, Bai Xiaochun?!"
"Stop worrying about the loss of Mistysea Prefecture," Bai Xiaochun replied confidently. "You lost a single prefecture, but the profit from the spirit enhancement trade that you can gain now will vastly surpass anything that you would ever have gotten from a single prefecture!"
"Trade?" Gongsun Wan'er replied icily. "You have your borders closed to us, not the other way around. And any trade deal would benefit Mistysea Prefecture, but would be useless to me!"
"Useless? Gongsun Wan'er, I know full well that you've lost the trust of the Vile-Emperor. You can pretend that you came here of your own volition, but the truth is that you are being marginalized. In fact, you're in much the same position as me. And I refuse to believe that you're happy with the situation. If you were content to leave things as they are, you wouldn't have made such a scene in invading the north. In any case, I have a better solution, something that can allow both of us to advance our positions by leaps and bounds. And the key to it all is cooperation!
"Open up trade between Mistysea Prefecture and the other northern prefectures. Not only will it increase your overall power, it will also benefit you financially. Furthermore, you can be the sole agent for Mistysea Prefecture in the rest of the Vile-Emperor Dynasty! You would essentially control all spirit enhancement outside of the Saint-Emperor Dynasty!
"I'm talking about good faith cooperation here. So tell me, Gongsun Wan'er, what possible reason could you have to refuse?" As Bai Xiaochun spoke, a thoughtful expression appeared in Gongsun Wan'er's eyes. The truth was that everything he said made sense, and conformed with her needs. The development of spirit enhancement in Mistysea Prefecture was important to her, and furthermore, the potential profits of being an agent to the entire Vile-Emperor Dynasty defied imagination!
It could significantly change her standing within the dynasty. Because of all that, she had no choice but to calm down a bit and think about the trade proposal.
Although she could tell that he was spinning things to make it seem like everything was in her favor, it was also possible to tell that she could profit as well. Therefore, there was definitely room for negotiation.
When Bai Xiaochun saw that Gongsun Wan'er was considering the matter, he breathed an inward sigh of relief. He was glad to see her acting reasonable and willing to communicate.
After a long moment passed, she frowned and said, "I need to think about the matter in detail. I'll give you an answer tomorrow!"
Bai Xiaochun's eyes glittered. By this point, his chances of success were high. The fact that she told him she needed to think about the subject and reply the next day was a show of good faith.
Nodding, he said, "For the time being, I won't return to Mistysea Prefecture. I'll wait in the city until tomorrow morning, then return here to get your answer."
Just as he was turning to leave, Gongsun Wan'er's eyes flickered, and she waved her hand. In response, a beautiful handmaiden walked out and clasped hands in greeting.
"Qing'er, we have a guest from afar. King Heavenspan. Please take care of him." With that, Gongsun Wan'er rose to her feet and vanished. As for Bai Xiaochun, he rubbed his nose as he pondered that, although this version of Gongsun Wan'er was perfect for negotiating with, he actually liked the version of her that called him sweetie. Although she was less reasonable, he actually missed her.
"Hold on," he thought. "No. I have to keep my distance from this Gongsun Wan'er. She's changed too much." Dispelling any such thoughts of missing her, he looked over at the pretty young Qing'er, who was nothing less than a feast for the eyes.
When Qing'er saw him looking at her, she seemed a bit frightened. Giving a curtseying bow, she led him out of the palace of operations and toward a tavern outside of it.
The palace was located on top of a huge mountain, and had other buildings and structures around it. Further down, at the base of the mountain, was the largest city in the prefecture, which was roughly the same size as Mistysea City. Despite being evening, it was still a lively and bustling place.
As they walked along, Bai Xiaochun looked down at the city below, and Qing'er would occasionally glance at him curiously out of the corner of her eye. As they reached their destination, a local tavern, Bai Xiaochun chuckled and looked at her.
"Is there something you wanted to ask me?"
Qing'er took a hesitant breath and then replied, "Exalted one, you are the number one most powerful expert from the Heavenspan Realm. I even heard that you're a grandmaster of spirit enhancement. You see… I'm very curious about the subject of spirit enhancement. I've seen some enhancements performed, and it's a very mysterious thing. Is it true what people say, that spirit enhancement runs in the blood of the people of Heavenspan?"
"You've seen spirit enhancements being performed?" Bai Xiaochun asked.
Qing'er nodded. Unable to prevent a look of worship from appearing in her eyes, she said, "Of course! Right here in this very city, we have Grandmaster Zhou. The only person more famous than him is you, King Heavenspan. If you have time, you should go watch him perform a spirit enhancement."
"Grandmaster Zhou?" Bai Xiaochun replied, a look of shock appearing on his face.
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Chapter 1128: Startled
"Yeah! Grandmaster Zhou is super awesome! I'm sure you've heard of him before, Exalted Celestial." Merely mentioning this Grandmaster Zhou caused Qing'er's beautiful eyes to light up with reverence. Apparently, she believed this Grandmaster Zhou's skill in spirit enhancement to be so incredible that he must be world-famous.
"People say that back in the Heavenspan Realm, Grandmaster Zhou was one of the most powerful spirit enhancers in existence. Everywhere he goes, the people of Heavenspan treat him with the ultimate respect.
"Furthermore, the natural laws of the Heavenspan Realm showed special favor to him. When his world was destroyed, he wasn't hurt at all. Even more miraculous is that after he reached the Eternal Immortal Domains, his spirit enhancement abilities grew even more powerful.
"I also heard that Grandmaster Zhou has a dear acquaintance, a person whom he has been searching for ever since the destruction of his world….
"Oh, and there's another thing. I did see him perform a spirit enhancement once. The sky went dim, and wild winds screamed across the lands. His every movement seemed to affect the entire world! And that was when he produced a spirit enhanced treasure!" Qing'er almost couldn't stop talking about this Grandmaster Zhou, and the look in her eyes grew more and more intense the entire time. From all of that, it became obvious to Bai Xiaochun that she adored him.
At the same time, his curiosity was piqued, especially about why Qing'er, a cultivator of the Vile-Emperor Dynasty, would be so entranced with a spirit enhancer. He almost couldn't believe it.
"How many people are there like you," he asked, "people who are interested in spirit enhancement?"
"Oh, tons! We don't have many spirit enhancers in the Vile-Emperor Dynasty, but every one of them has a very high standing. Any time they make public appearances, they attract huge crowds.
"Spirit enhancement is really a miraculous thing, and completely unheard-of in the Eternal Lands. It can change something rotten into something magical. It's too bad that only people with the blood of the Heavenspan Realm can do it, otherwise I would definitely start studying it!
"In fact, I've already decided that when the time comes for me to pick a Daoist partner, I'm definitely going to find a spirit enhancer!" By the time she got to the last part, Qing'er's face was a bit flush.
Bai Xiaochun was quite shaken. Back before he had started spending a lot of time in secluded meditation, he didn't remember spirit enhancers being so popular. Apparently, a lot had changed in the world during his months of seclusion.
"The Grand Heavenmaster told me from the very beginning that he wanted Mistysea Prefecture to rise to prominence, and also elevate the position of spirit enhancers in the world. But man, he really outdid himself. I can't believe he changed things so much in such a short time!" Seeing how flush Qing'er's face was caused Bai Xiaochun to feel somewhat proud.
But then he realized that this might be the case because of how close this prefecture was to Mistysea Prefecture. Perhaps people in other immortal domains didn't feel this way at all.
Either way, it was a good start. Bai Xiaochun was in a great mood, and realized that getting the cultivators of the Eternal Immortal Domains to like spirit enhancers was definitely a good thing. And the more he could do to promote that attitude, the better.
Having reached this point in his train of thought, he was more interested than ever in this mysterious Grandmaster Zhou. Furthermore, he decided that by using his spirit enhancement abilities to elevate his own position, Grandmaster Zhou had also improved the view of spirit enhancers in general, which was a good thing. The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to meet the man.
"Qing'er," he said with a smile, "you said you've seen Grandmaster Zhou before, right? Do you think you could take me to see him?"
Qing'er's eyes glittered brightly in response. The truth was that if Gongsun Wan'er hadn't asked her to take care of Bai Xiaochun's housing arrangements, she would have already gone to watch Grandmaster Zhou perform a spirit enhancement.
"Sure!" she said, nodding eagerly. "You're lucky, because today, Grandmaster Zhou will perform a public spirit enhancement. If you want to go watch, Exalted Celestial, I can definitely show you the way." Bai Xiaochun could see how happy Qing'er was. She seemed like a simple and pure young woman, and all of a sudden, it made him realize that the cultivators in the Eternal Immortal Domains weren't all unreasonable and fierce.
And thus, Qing'er led Bai Xiaochun from the mountaintop to the city below. As one of the handmaidens of Celestial Ghostmother, it was only natural that she had special privileges there.
As for Bai Xiaochun, he didn't want to reveal his identity. After all, he was in Vile-Emperor Dynasty territory. Therefore, he disguised himself with a magical technique, ensuring that no one other than Gongsun Wan'er would be able to deduce his true identity.
It was evening, but the streets were still packed with crowds of people. It was very lively. Most of the inhabitants were actually natives to this prefecture, people from local cultivator clans. So to them, there was little difference between living under the Saint-Emperor Dynasty or the Vile-Emperor Dynasty. Regardless of which government controlled the area, this was their home.
Although the laws of the Vile-Emperor Dynasty were somewhat different, in terms of daily life and cultivation practices, there were few differences. Of course, there were also cultivators who had come from far-off places with Celestial Ghostmother, who hoped to set down roots here in the north of the second immortal domain.
There was a buzz in the air. Shops were open, with patrons going in and out constantly. Laughter could be heard, as well as the shouts of peddlers hawking their wares.
In fact, if Bai Xiaochun had been forced to guess, he would have had a hard time determining if this place was under the control of the Vile-Emperor Dynasty or the Saint-Emperor Dynasty. Despite the exciting atmosphere, he was very calm inside. He couldn't help but think back to the Heavenspan Realm, to the sects he had been a part of, to Mount Hood and the little village at its foot. Back in the Heavenspan Realm, the atmosphere had often been like this as New Years approached.
Qing'er didn't notice Bai Xiaochun's absent-mindedness as she deftly led the way through streets and alleys until they arrived at a large public square.
On the right sight of the square was a newly constructed mansion residence, with a few hundred people gathered outside. Although most were whispering to each other as they stood there waiting, the collective volume was relatively loud. All eyes shone with anticipation as they stared at the door of the mansion.
The door was open wide, allowing a view of the main hall within, where a few dozen people waited respectfully. Occasionally they would look at the crowd outside, and occasionally they would look at the middle-aged man seated cross-legged in the position of honor at the far end of the hall.
He wore a Daoist robe, and despite his somewhat emaciated appearance, had brightly shining eyes. He had the demeanor of a transcendent being as he clasped hands and bowed to one of the people in the hall, who happened to be a demigod.
This middle-aged man was only in the Nascent Soul stage, and yet, the demigod treated him with utmost respect. Waving his hand, the demigod said, "Grandmaster Zhou, back when I was in Vile-Emperor City, I acquired a threefold spirit enhancement for this flying sword. Despite searching the nation high and low, I couldn't find anyone to perform the fourth spirit enhancement. If you're able to do it, Grandmaster Zhou, then I can pay any price you set!"
An enigmatic smile could be seen on Grandmaster Zhou's face as he looked back at the demigod.
"Although I've never personally met Grandmaster Zhang Dahai, I've heard that he can perform fourfold spirit enhancements."
Looking a bit embarrassed, the demigod said, "You've heard the old saying you can see the divine dragon, but never from head to tail, right? That describes Grandmaster Zhang perfectly. It's almost impossible to get an audience with him. In fact, I've never even seen him."
With that, he clasped hands and bowed again, then went on to promise handsome compensation for the job. After a long moment, Grandmaster Zhou nodded.
"Very well. Let me see the sword in question."
Visibly enlivened, the demigod produced a crimson flying sword, which he handed to Grandmaster Zhou for inspection. It was at around this time that Qing'er and Bai Xiaochun appeared near the door of the mansion.
Considering the level of his cultivation base, Bai Xiaochun didn't need to be in the hall to see everything going on inside, including Grandmaster Zhou.
The instant he saw him, he blinked a few times, and then the corners of his mouth turned up in a smile.
Qing'er was already gazing at Grandmaster Zhou with a bright expression. "Exalted One," she said to Bai Xiaochun, "that is the incredible Grandmaster Zhou, our number one spirit enhancer. You must have met him before in the Heavenspan Realm, right?
"Unfortunately, no one knows his full name. He said long ago that if he ever found that long-lost dear acquaintance, then he would announce his name to the world."
"Yeah," Bai Xiaochun said, nodding. "I know him." With that, he cleared his throat.
Perhaps because of a sudden hush in the crowd, the sound of Bai Xiaochun clearing his throat was a bit louder than he had intended it to be. It drifted into the hall, causing Grandmaster Zhou to frown. After all, when he performed spirit enhancements, he required peace and quiet, which was a generally known rule.
At this point, his eyes shifted from the crimson flying sword to the crowd outside. He looked irritated at first, but when he caught sight of Qing'er, his heart softened a bit. He had long since come to realize that she liked him, and it caused a smile to appear on his face. Then his gaze shifted to the person standing next to her… Bai Xiaochun.
Suddenly, Grandmaster Zhou's eyes went wide, and his mind began to spin.
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Chapter 1129: Come Home
"Bai… Bai…." Grandmaster Zhou almost couldn't breathe correctly, and his eyes bulged so wide they looked like they might fall out of his skull. Waves of shock battered his mind like blasts of heavenly lightning.
The surrounding crowd was immediately taken aback by his unusual reaction. That was especially true of the demigod, whose expression flickered as he turned to look at Bai Xiaochun, hoping to identify him.
No one else in the crowd recognized Bai Xiaochun, but no one could miss the shock on Grandmaster Zhou's face. Immediately, hushed discussions broke out.
"What's wrong with Grandmaster Zhou?"
"I've never seen him look like that."
Qing'er was also visibly taken aback. However, before she could do anything, Grandmaster Zhou jumped out of his chair and tossed the flying sword to the side. He hadn't quite reached the point of being visibly out of his mind, but he was almost there as he scrambled toward the door.
Jaws dropped as he moved with blinding speed to appear in front of Bai Xiaochun. There, he flopped to the ground in front of Bai Xiaochun, grabbed his legs, and began to weep openly.
Voice quavering, he said, "Milord! Yixing has missed you to death!! I thought I would never meet you again, milord! The heavens do have eyes! They actually permitted me to see you once again!"
Grandmaster Zhou was none other than Zhou Yixing!
His words were spoken loudly and with the utmost sincerity, ensuring that everyone in the area could hear them clearly. Many gasps could be heard as audience members turned their attention to Bai Xiaochun.
"Grandmaster Zhou… called him milord?"
"Heavens! Grandmaster Zhou is awesome enough as it is! I wonder… how powerful his master is?!?!"
"Who is this person…? How come he seems so familiar…?"
Qing'er's jaw currently hung wide open. Although she had paid lip service to the fact that Bai Xiaochun was the ultimate spirit enhancer, in her heart, the Grandmaster Zhou that she had become smitten with was the best in the world.
As of now, her thoughts were thrown into complete confusion, to the point where she almost couldn't accept what was happening.
"Grandmaster Zhou… called him milord…?"
Zhou Yixing's heart was pounding in unprecedented fashion. The truth was that he was very nervous. Obviously, he was aware of what was going on in Mistysea Prefecture, and also knew that Bai Xiaochun, the Giant Ghost King and Grand Heavenmaster were all there.
However, he had come to enjoy his current lifestyle, and couldn't bear to part with it. He liked how people fawned over him, and even after much deliberation about the matter, had not yet been able to bring himself to go seek asylum with Bai Xiaochun.
As of this point, though, there was no need for deliberation. Bai Xiaochun was right here in front of him, and therefore, Zhou Yixing knew that his days of comfort were over. Now, he was worried that Bai Xiaochun would be displeased that he hadn't taken the initiative to go to Mistysea Prefecture.
Zhou Yixing wouldn't have given a moment's consideration to any other person. But he had been present to witness Bai Xiaochun's rise to prominence in the Wildlands. Whether it was the chaos he caused in the Arch-Emperor Dynasty, his path to becoming a heavenly necromancer, the fact that his apprentice had become the Hell-Emperor, or the fact that he had won over Mistress Red-Dust… all of it ensured that he felt deep reverence for Bai Xiaochun. It was something that reached down to his bones, and even his soul. And that was the reason for his nervousness, and why he was trying to make himself seem as pitiable as possible.
"I hope that Bai Xiaochun will go easy on me for old-times' sake…." he thought, tears flowing down his cheeks as he stared up miserably at Bai Xiaochun.
"You have no idea how long I searched for you, milord," he said. "I dreamed every night of how wonderful it would be to reunite with you!"
Although Bai Xiaochun was smiling at him, Zhou Yixing trembled and loudly added, "Milord, Yixing has missed you so much!"
Bai Xiaochun blinked a few times. From the moment he had laid eyes on Zhou Yixing, it was obvious that he had come to enjoy life here, and didn't want to bear the hardships that would come with living in Mistysea Prefecture.
Considering his dramatic performance, Bai Xiaochun could see that Zhou Yixing was obviously scared. However, Zhou Yixing had misjudged the situation. After all of the things Bai Xiaochun had experienced, he knew more than ever that the longer the people of Heavenspan lived in the Eternal Immortal Domains, the more people would make the same decision as Zhou Yixing.
He didn't want to force people to join him in Mistysea Province. After all, they were not enemies. As long as they ended up living a life they enjoyed, Bai Xiaochun was content. That had been his stance all along.
When he saw how much Zhou Yixing was humiliating himself already, Bai Xiaochun sighed and revealed the power of his cultivation base. Instantly, something like a windstorm sprang up within the city.
Looks of shock appeared among the members of the crowd as they edged backward. As people sensed the cultivation base fluctuations, and realized what type of person was in their midst, cries of alarm began to ring out.
"A celestial!!"
"That's Bai Xiaochun! He's King Heavenspan, Bai Xiaochun!!"
"Heavens! It turns out Grandmaster Zhou's lord and master is actually a celestial!!"
The crowd was completely shaken by his aura and cultivation base fluctuations. Furthermore, not a single one of them looked down on Zhou Yixing in the least. In fact, their reverence toward him increased!
Some people might look down on those who served another. But when one's lord was a celestial…. That was no disgrace. In fact, most people wished to be able to have such a privilege.
Many gasps could be heard, and the envy in their eyes was clear. They now respected and revered Zhou Yixing even more than before!
However, Bai Xiaochun's show wasn't over yet. Reaching forward, he helped the dazed Zhou Yixing to his feet.
Smiling he said, "Yixing, I already told you that we're Fellow Daoists and friends. There is no master-servant relationship between us anymore. I know you're grateful for what I did for you in the past, but from now on, I don't want see you acting like this. Not ever again! You've done well for yourself here, and I'm happy for you."
He made sure to boost his voice with his cultivation base so that everyone could hear. Zhou Yixing wasn't sure how everyone else was reacting to all of this, but he knew that Bai Xiaochun was intentionally wiping away any humiliation. In fact, Zhou Yixing's reputation would increase because of this. Instantly, his heart began to tremble.
His eyes teared up even more, and he suddenly felt ashamed. He knew that Bai Xiaochun had seen through his act, but instead of reproaching him, had helped him. Zhou Yixing opened his mouth to say something, only to find that no words would come.
"Yixing, spirit enhancement is something special from the Heavenspan Realm. I hope that you can accomplish grand things with it here. And never forget: no matter where you are, I always have your back! Alright, I need to go now. If you ever have time, come to Mistysea Prefecture, and we can catch up on old times." Thumping Zhou Yixing on the shoulder, Bai Xiaochun smiled, then turned and walked off.
Qing'er was still standing there with her mouth hanging open, staring in shock at Zhou Yixing. Then she looked over at Bai Xiaochun and hurried after him.
Meanwhile, Zhou Yixing stood there, watching Bai Xiaochun walk off, trembling. Everything Bai Xiaochun had said and done left Zhou Yixing feeling completely ashamed of his behavior. After a moment, just when Bai Xiaochun was about to disappear, Zhou Yixing gritted his teeth, and his eyes shone with determination.
With that, he severed any desires to stay where he was and enjoy life. Bursting into motion, he began to chase after Bai Xiaochun!
"Wait for me, milord. I want to go to Mistysea Prefecture!!" Bai Xiaochun stopped in place and looked over his shoulder to see Zhou Yixing hurrying toward him, conviction burning in his eyes.
Bai Xiaochun smiled and nodded. "Come… let's go home!"
"Home…?" Zhou Yixing murmured, shivering. Suddenly he smiled; a pure, genuine smile. "Yes. Let's go home!"
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Chapter 1130: Get Away, Vixens!
It was a life-changing moment for Zhou Yixing. His impression of Bai Xiaochun had changed, and he now felt profound hope for what was to come in Mistysea Prefecture.
Although he would miss the life he had come to enjoy, the truth was that despite the good position he had created for himself, he had always felt alone. There were many times late at night when he thought about how strange these lands were compared to the Heavenspan Realm, and he would sigh deeply.
Now, when he heard the words go home, his heart and mind trembled, and he hurried along after Bai Xiaochun.
From the very beginning, Bai Xiaochun had thought of Zhou Yixing as his lucky star, and as it turned out, his return did indeed bring great luck. The following morning at dawn, the negotiations with Gongsun Wan'er went very smoothly.
Not only would trade be allowed, but she would also permit a portion of each of the prefectures under her control to have an area in which Mistysea Prefecture could do business directly. They would all be under the supervision of Gongsun Wan'er, and she would get a large share of the profits.
Perhaps the advantage they had gained would not be obvious at first. But as trade flourished, Mistysea Prefecture would truly be forging its own path. Before long, the Grand Heavenmaster's ultimate plan would come into effect, and they would rise to prominence!
Bai Xiaochun was very pleased with how everything had played out. Not only did he establish trade relations with Gongsun Wan'er, he also brought Zhou Yixing back into the fold.
And thus, the two of them returned to Mistysea Prefecture. Everything in Mistysea Prefecture was new to Zhou Yixing. However, as soon as he got to Mistysea City, it was much to his delight that he recognized old acquaintances from the Wildlands. Bai Xiaochun knew that now would be a time for reuniting with friends, and therefore, left Zhou Yixing to his own devices, and headed back to his mansion alone to meet with the Grand Heavenmaster.
As Bai Xiaochun proudly recounted the details of his victory, the Grand Heavenmaster frowned slightly. After waiting for him to finish speaking, he asked, "What about things between you and Gongsun Wan'er? Any progress? Did you stay the night at her palace of operations?"
Bai Xiaochun frowned, well aware of what the Grand Heavenmaster was hinting at. However, there was no way that he would get closer to Gongsun Wan'er. "Progress? Uh… I guess you could say that. But why would I stay at her palace of operations? I stayed in the city, obviously."
The Grand Heavenmaster sighed in response. The truth was that his main purpose in having Bai Xiaochun go see Gongsun Wan'er had nothing to do with trade. There was no way that she would refuse a business proposal that would be beneficial to both of them. What he truly wanted was for Bai Xiaochun and Gongsun Wan'er to develop a romantic interest in each other.
If Bai Xiaochun had stayed the night at her palace of operations, the Grand Heavenmaster could have arranged for rumors to be spread that would cause the Vile-Emperor to distrust her even more. He even had a whole string of events planned for afterward that he was sixty percent sure would result in Gongsun Wan'er and Bai Xiaochun bearing a few children. Once that happened, Bai Xiaochun's foundation in the Eternal Immortal Domains would be even stronger than before.
Unfortunately, despite all of his preparations, it seemed Bai Xiaochun wasn't up to the task….
If something like this had happened back in the Wildlands, the Grand Heavenmaster would have been furious, and might have taken direct action to force Bai Xiaochun to go along with his plan. But now, their roles had been reversed. Bai Xiaochun was the ruler of the nation, and the Grand Heavenmaster was one of his ministers. Therefore, he could only sigh and try to come up with a new plan, one that would conform better to Bai Xiaochun's style. Later on, when the moment was right, he could try to get him together with Gongsun Wan'er.
Sadly, coming up with a new plan would not be easy. Rubbing the bridge of his nose, he smiled wryly and took his leave, mind already spinning with ideas.
Had Gongsun Wan'er been aware that there was a wily old fox in Mistysea Prefecture plotting against her, she would have come after him and killed him, even if she died in the process….
Bai Xiaochun watched the Grand Heavenmaster leaving, and sighed. He knew what the man was thinking, and knew that everything he was doing was for the good of the Heavenspan Realm. He just wanted Bai Xiaochun to forge a strong foundation. But Bai Xiaochun couldn't help but balk at the plan; it just wasn't the type of thing he did.
"Ah, whatever. I won't let it bother me. The most important thing now is to improve my cultivation base!" Driving his worries from his mind, he took a deep breath and headed back to his private chamber. He knew that the key to raising the level of his cultivation base were the rewards from the damaged fan. He had acquired quite a few medicinal pills from the thirtieth level, not to mention the rewards from all the other levels. Plus, he now had an archaean soul.
All it took was a thought, and he was back in the void on the damaged fan. After the incident with the archaean soul, he had come up with the idea of trying to acquire other images from within the fan face. Unfortunately, it didn't work.
Although he was a bit disappointed by that, he didn't waste any time; he immediately began challenging the levels. The difficulty continued to increase, but he actually enjoyed the process of analyzing the situation and coming up with new strategies. If he failed, he would try again. If he failed again, he would try a third time. In a few short days, he had progressed from the thirty-first level to the thirty-ninth!
However, the thirty-ninth level turned out to be a nightmare….
The entire world was pink, including the sky and the lands. Even the mist which filled the air was pink. And then, Bai Xiaochun noticed figures walking toward him through the mist.
As they became clear, he saw enticing curves. One, two, three, four, five….
In a few short breaths of time, he found himself surrounded by more than a hundred beautiful women!
Each and every one of them could be described as spectacularly attractive. Some could even rate higher than Song Junwan or Mistress Red-Dust, probably because they were illusory in nature. In fact, that surreal aura made them so captivating it was difficult to put into words.
They were not motionless illusions. As they moved through the mist, their soft laughter rang out like chimes. Whether it was their physical appearance or their voices, these women were attractive to a shocking degree.
There was also something about the pink mist that seemed capable of arousing the desires of cultivators, and made it difficult to think. When Bai Xiaochun sensed that, and saw everything around him, his eyes went wide.
"Heavens, what kind of level is this?!" He shivered as the women drew closer, making it easier to see them, and at the same time, making their beauty even more enticing.
Eyes flashing, he backed up and performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, causing the ripples of a magical technique to spread out. However, it didn't affect the women at all. They merely chuckled, getting closer and closer, some of them licking their lips, some of them sucking on their fingers.
"Get away, vixens!" he shouted. From what he could tell, the point of this level was being able to resist desire.
"Seems you've underestimated Bai Xiaochun! I can pass this level with ease!" Chuckling coldly, he pulled out a Breakup Pill and then popped it into his mouth. Then he stood there casually looking at the women getting closer and closer.
Nothing they did moved him at all. But after enough time passed for an incense stick to burn, a woman appeared off in the distance who began to dance gracefully. Then, all of the other women started to dance.
There was something entrancing about the dance, as though it contained the hidden power of some great Dao. Almost immediately, Bai Xiaochun's heart began to pound, and the effects of the Breakup Pill were negated.
"Heavens, what dance is that?!?!"
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Chapter 1131: Succubus Queen
"The Dance of the Succubi!" Up in the air above the thirty-ninth level was the spirit automaton of the damaged fan, in the form of a boy. He had been awake for a while now, but hadn't interfered in any of the previous levels, worried that even increasing the difficulty level wouldn't slow down the shameless Bai Xiaochun.
He had been waiting patiently for him to get to the thirty-ninth level, which he deemed the best place to gain a victory!
The thirty-ninth level tested the challenger's determination!
There were many aspects to determination. For example, some people would be tempted by profit. Seeing precious materials of heaven and earth laid out in front of them would stir their desires on a deep level. Others could be affected by different temptations.
Only someone who had completely severed all of the seven emotions and six sensory pleasures could possibly be unaffected by the thirty-ninth level.
The women Bai Xiaochun was seeing were only soul projections, given corporeal form by the Dao Essence of Life and Death. However, they had originally come from a very advanced civilization. After all, the void had not always been dark. Before the great catastrophe, there had been a matriarchal world ruled by a race called the Succubi!
The Succubi were invaders. After taking over another world, they would kill all the women and imprison all the men, whom they would then torment day and night. Before death, a male cultivator's life force would be converted into a soul seed, which the Succubi would then use to propagate their own people.
Eventually the Succubus Queen arose, a Succubus who achieved unheard-of levels of power. With almost no effort, she could cause any living being to be attracted to her on an instinctive level!
In the thirty-ninth level, the final woman to appear would be veiled, revealing only her sensuous form. And she was… the Succubus Queen!
As soon as she appeared, Bai Xiaochun felt like he was about to go crazy. Not even his Breakup Pills could suppress the instincts within him.
When the spirit automaton saw Bai Xiaochun's expression changing, he immediately got excited, and couldn't wait to see how things played out. He had been waiting for this level for quite some time, and was looking forward very much the despair that was surely to come within it.
"If you fall into her hands a single time, I have my ways of making sure that it happens over and over again. You'll be eternally entrapped by your own desires, and will only come to your senses in the moment before you are killed in body and soul!" The boy threw his head back and laughed uproariously. Considering the lesson he had learned with the Dark Concocters, he no longer took Bai Xiaochun lightly. Normally speaking, the Succubus Queen would never appear in this level. However, just to be safe, he had adjusted the difficulty to the highest degree. Even then, he had been a bit worried, and had spent a few extra months in slumber to be able to gather the power necessary to push the difficulty level beyond its previous limitations.
Because of that, even as Bai Xiaochun was struggling to control himself, the dancing women around him… all turned into Succubus Queens!!
The power that had drained his determination suddenly appeared a hundred times greater than before, and the pink mist writhed as a mysterious force assailed him.
His eyes instantly turned bloodshot, and he began to pant heavily. His heart pounded so hard it felt like it might explode from inside his chest. With what little control he still had left, he pulled out all of the Breakup Pills he had and stuffed them into his mouth. Only by doing that was he able to cool down the immense heat within.
"Heavens, this is just too hard!" He could almost immediately sense that these women were affecting his soul. The desires within him were like a steadily burning flame that never went out. If it had been a chaotic inferno, there might have been less to worry about, as raging flames are usually quickly extinguished. But this steadily burning fire only continued to build in intensity.
If he lost control, then he would lose his soul. And he shuddered to think about what would happen in that scenario. He almost considered teleporting out of the level, but then his expression flickered as he realized that the teleportation function wasn't working!
"Dammit. It's definitely that spirit automaton messing with things!" Although consuming all of the Breakup Pills had cooled him down for a moment, he was more nervous than ever.
"They're affecting my soul…. This place is fundamentally illusory…. I'd say there's a high likelihood these women are souls of some sort!" Considering that he was a heavenly necromancer, he was seventy percent certain that his assessment of the situation was correct.
"If they're souls, then I have plenty of ways to deal with them!" He knew time was of the essence, so he quickly produced a Soul Convergence Pill from his bag of holding and threw it out.
A popping sound could be heard as it exploded, and although it had some effect on the surrounding souls, it wasn't much. The Succubus Queens were pulled toward the convergence spot, but then their eyes glittered, and they used some mysterious power within their voices to negate the gravitational force!
That caused Bai Xiaochun's heart to pound even harder, but at the same time, it confirmed his theory.
"They really are souls!" He bit his tongue hard to regain some lucidity, then fished through his bag of holding to produce a mask, the same treasured item that had kept his identity hidden during his time in the Wildlands. It also would make him invisible to souls in the area. That was the only thing he could think of to do in the moment.
As soon as he put the mask on, the Succubi stopped dancing, and looked over in confusion to the spot Bai Xiaochun had just occupied.
Feeling wonderful, he backed up. However, he knew that although he could hide from the women, he couldn't hide from their power. At the moment, he had only bought himself a little bit of time.
Sure enough, the spirit automaton could see exactly what was going on. Drawing upon the power at his disposal, he quickly forced the Succubus Queens to start dancing again, which caused soul fluctuations to roll out in all directions.
"It's too bad I don't have time to concoct some pills," Bai Xiaochun thought, "otherwise I could try to make a more powerful version of my Soul Convergence Pill. Although I don't even have enough ingredients anyway." With that, he racked his brains trying to figure out a way to resolve the situation. Sadly, there were just too many limitations, and the level of difficulty was too high. No matter what ideas he came up with, they didn't seem good enough.
As the Succubus Queens danced, he felt his soul stirring, and his heart slowly losing its calm. The heat inside him grew stronger, and soon, not even biting his tongue did anything to help.
"Dammit, I guess you have to fight the wicked with wickedness!! They're just some sexy souls, right? If I have to, I can just call that old ghost out of the Greatsword of the North and let him deal with his own kind!" By this point, he was really out of ideas. Quickly pulling out the Greatsword of the North, he sent his divine sense inside and, in the blink of an eye, summoned the quasi-archaean ghost that had once existed on the flag on Ghostmother's ship. When the ghost face appeared, he looked around in confusion.
"Hey old ghost…." Bai Xiaochun said. At first, he had assumed he would have to negotiate a bit with the ghost face. But before he could even begin talking, the ghost face shivered, and then his eyes began to shine with unprecedented brightness.
"Succubi!?!? Heavens. They're actually Succubi! I can't believe… they're all Succubus Queens! This aura… this place has the aura of a Dao Essence!!" At this point, he trembled with incredible anticipation.
"It's been a long, long time since I've enjoyed the flavor of Succubi!" The ghost face didn't need any orders from Bai Xiaochun. Like a hungry wolf, he pounced on the nearest Succubus Queen.
Bai Xiaochun was completely stunned, but not as stunned as the spirit automaton was.
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Chapter 1132: An Unexpected Turn Of Events
Only when pushed into a corner did Bai Xiaochun think to fight fire with fire. Furthermore, he made the decision only after some detailed consideration, as well as the understanding of souls that being a heavenly necromancer gave him.
Back in his flame conjuring days, he had seen souls consume each other on numerous occasions, and yet hadn't been completely certain of his new strategy. But when he saw the ghost face's excited expression, and heard his exclamation, he blinked a few times, then breathed a sigh of relief. For a moment, he felt a bit sorry for the Succubus souls.
"This old ghost has probably been hungry for tens of thousands of years…."
As the ghost face lunged forward with an excited shout, the beautiful, flirtatious Succubi looked at him with flashing eyes. Then, instead of fleeing, they actually began to rush toward him and surround him.
Bai Xiaochun looked on, stunned, unsure of who was making the first move, the ghost face or the Succubi. The group of souls tumbled off into the mists, until they were impossible to see clearly….
Excited shrieks and shouts echoed out, leaving Bai Xiaochun bewildered as to what was going on.
"Can that old ghost handle it…?" he thought. A moment ago, he had felt sorry for the Succubi, but now, he wasn't really sure what to think. As of this moment, he could still feel their power tugging at his soul. Knowing that he couldn't dare to get any closer to them than he already was, he gritted his teeth, sat down cross-legged, and began to focus on meditating, ignoring anything else that was happening.
Bai Xiaochun could ignore what was happening, but the spirit automaton could not. He anxiously descended into the mists to see what was happening, and then… didn't come back out.
Twenty hours passed. Eventually, the ghost face appeared, shivering and looking very pleased with himself. His cultivation base was almost completely back to normal. After returning to Bai Xiaochun, he looked at him for a long moment and briefly considered doing something to him. However, even though he had his cultivation base back, Bai Xiaochun had left a deep shadow on his heart, and after muttering to himself a bit, he decided not to interrupt him. Instead, he floated quietly back into Bai Xiaochun's bag of holding.
Next to emerge from the mists was the spirit automaton. His expression was a mixture of fear, disbelief, and shock as he looked over at Bai Xiaochun, and specifically, his bag of holding.
"Heavens! How could a soul like that even exist…?" The spirit automaton had apparently suffered an unimaginable blow, and was not able to recover at the moment. Thinking back to what he had witnessed within the mists, he suddenly felt a bit sick.
It was in that moment that, without warning, the ghost face floated back out of Bai Xiaochun's bag of holding.
"Hold on, I need a bit more…." Licking his lips, he shot back toward the depths of the mists.
The spirit automaton shivered, and had to suppress the urge to cry. To most people, this place was a pink hell, but to this old ghost, it was like a holy land.
The spirit automaton couldn't help but worry what would happen if the old ghost kept going. He could theoretically wreck the entire level, and completely deplete the bit of the Dao Essence of Life and Death that the sovereign had left behind in it.
"Damn you, Bai Xiaochun. You shameless cheater! You and everybody you have working for you are all completely and utterly shameless!" Gritting his teeth helplessly, he chose to let Bai Xiaochun simply pass the level. Performing a quick incantation gesture, he caused the light of teleportation to spring up. Not daring to wait for even a moment longer, he sent Bai Xiaochun and the old ghost out of the level immediately.
As soon as they appeared out on the fan rib, the ghost face looked around in shock, then wailed, "No! I'm not fully recovered yet…."
Sadly for him, he wasn't able to get back into the level no matter how hard he tried.
As for Bai Xiaochun, the fluctuations that had been tugging at his soul vanished as soon as he appeared outside. The heat inside of him faded away, and he opened his eyes to see the ghost face going crazy. At that point, his surprise turned into joy.
"Hahaha! It turns out I really am perfectly pure and clean. That couldn't have gone smoother. Only a genius like me would have thought to fight fire with fire. Even a hard level like that was super easy to pass." Shivering, he looked at the scowling ghost face, and suddenly found him to be much more charming than before. Grabbing him, he put him back into the Greatsword of the North. Of course, the ghost face wasn't particularly happy about that, but because of the slave seal on him, he couldn't even struggle.
Looking very pleased, Bai Xiaochun considered the overall situation again, and came to the conclusion that the spirit automaton was probably awake, and that he was the reason why the level had been so dangerous. Assuming that the spirit automaton was currently watching him, he cleared his throat and loudly said, "Hey little automaton, thanks for all your hard work. You know, there's no point in resisting. Just wait until the grand and mighty Lord Bai has thoroughly subjugated you."
With that, he sent out a thought, and vanished from the damaged fan.
After he was gone, the spirit automaton appeared, utterly discomfited, his face viciously twisted with rage. Clearly, Bai Xiaochun's parting words had been particularly irritating to him.
"Shameless cheater! I'm never going to let you reach the end!! I swear that next time, I'll definitely destroy you! Destroy you, ya hear!? Destroy you!" A howl of rage then echoed back and forth in the damaged fan.
The spirit automaton had been defeated so many times by Bai Xiaochun that he was being driven crazy. In fact, it was at this point that he started reviewing all of the later levels to try to figure out a way to screw Bai Xiaochun over.
Bai Xiaochun had just returned to Mistysea Prefecture, and already, something unusual was happening not very far away. One of the northern prefectures that bordered Mistysea Prefecture was Murkbreak Prefecture, which was controlled by the Vile-Emperor Dynasty. On the very edge of Murkbreak Prefecture, where it bordered Mistysea Prefecture, was a county by the name of Murknine County!
Murkbreak Prefecture had a total of fifteen counties, three of which bordered Mistysea Prefecture, and this was only one of them. Currently, it was evening, and one would have expected the entire county to be bustling with activity. Instead, the place was deathly silent!
There was nothing alive in the entire county; not even a single aura could be detected. Nor could a sound be heard from animals or cultivators. Furthermore, Murknine County was filled with masses of spiderwebs.
There was so much spiderweb that the paths leading in and out of the county were completely impassable. Not even divine abilities or magical techniques could destroy the webbing. Any damage done to it was almost immediately repaired.
In the northeast corner of Murknine County were two old men with demigod cultivation bases and somber expressions.
"This spiderweb showed up three days ago, and in only a few days, has filled the entire county. The place is now completely sealed up, except for this spot right in front of us. Presumably, it's very dangerous inside. No one has come out, nor have any messages been received from inside. Should we go in, Brother Chen?"
"Celestial Ghostmother has given orders for us to go investigate. If we don't go in too far, and only stay for about an hour, we should be fine. We just need to find some clues and then get out." Exchanging a glance, they blurred into motion, carefully entering Murknine County.
An hour passed, and the two demigods were nowhere to be seen. They had disappeared as surely as a clay bull tossed into the ocean. Except, not even a wave or ripple spread out to give any clue as to what had occurred. There were no fluctuations from magical techniques, and no sounds to be heard.
A few more hours passed, and the spiderweb began to spread to cover that final gap through which they had entered.
Just when that gap was about to close up, a head popped out from inside. It was none other than one of the old men from earlier, his expression that of terror.
"Celestial Ghostmother, save me…!" he screamed. Just as he was about to break free from the spiderweb, something grabbed him from behind and dragged him back in. "Noooo!!"
Then, the gap closed, and the man's scream faded away. Murknine County was now completely sealed. In fact, from a distance, it almost looked like an enormous egg sac!
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Chapter 1133: The Crisis Of Murknine
As the egg sac formed, a strange aura began to pulse out from within Murknine County, giving birth to a gray mist.
Normally, Gongsun Wan'er would have personally come to investigate the events in Murknine County, but she was at a critical juncture in her cultivation, and thus had dispatched the two demigods in her stead.
When it became clear that the demigods weren't coming back, she realized that the situation was worse than she had initially thought.
At the same time, the gray mist was spreading into Mistysea Prefecture, leading the Grand Heavenmaster and Giant Ghost King to realize that something was going on in the neighboring prefecture.
There was some power at work within that mist that cultivators couldn't detect. It turned the lands gray, and even caused crevices to open up. Furthermore, the mist killed anything it touched, even the plants!
Mistysea Prefecture immediately went on high alert, and the Grand Heavenmaster personally went to the border to investigate, as did the Giant Ghost King and certain other powerful experts. After seeing the situation personally, they came up with a theory about what was to come.
If the mist wasn't brought under control, it would only take half a month for it to cover Mistysea Prefecture!
It was a monumental turn of events. After all, Mistysea Prefecture was in the middle of rapid development, and if the momentum stalled at this early stage, it could have devastating long-term consequences.
It was at this time that Bai Xiaochun returned from the damaged fan, and sent out his divine sense to notify the Grand Heavenmaster and Giant Ghost King that he was back. Those two had long since come to realize that he had some mysterious reason for disappearing occasionally.
Of course, neither had presumed to ask about it. Once Bai Xiaochun's divine sense touched them, they somberly explained the issue with the mist, and Murknine County.
"The entire county is covered with spiderwebs? And anyone who touches the mist dies!?" Bai Xiaochun was visibly shocked. Clearly, this was not a small matter, and therefore, the first thing he did was send a report to Saint-Emperor City.
Not wanting to waste time waiting for a response, and worried about how Mistysea Prefecture might be negatively affected, he forced himself not to think about how dangerous the situation was, and flew over to check it out personally. Of course, he brought various subordinates with him, including the Grand Heavenmaster and Giant Ghost King.
Soon, they were near the border of the prefecture, right outside of the expanding gray mist. When Bai Xiaochun saw it, he felt very shaken.
"What is that stuff?!" he thought, immediately beginning to curse inwardly. The mist was moving at incredible speed, roughly that of a deva. And his divine sense couldn't penetrate it at all.
Back in the Heavenspan Realm, he would have simply fled in the face of this level of danger. But now, he was the most powerful expert in Mistysea Prefecture. How could he possibly run away?
Torn about what exactly to do, he gritted his teeth and ordered his subordinates to back up. Then he unleashed all of the power of his cultivation base to surround himself in defensive fashion. Finally, he tried to enter the mist to investigate further.
The Giant Ghost King anxiously considered urging Bai Xiaochun not to do something so dangerous. However, considering that the mist was spreading rapidly into Mistysea Prefecture, both he and the Grand Heavenmaster were very worried.
"He'll be fine," the Grand Heavenmaster said quietly. "He's a celestial, and he's very cautious. Considering the level of his cultivation base, he shouldn't face anything truly deadly." The Giant Ghost King merely sighed and nodded. And thus, they waited behind as Bai Xiaochun entered the mist.
As soon as he entered the mist, he felt something dragging against him, almost as if he were walking through seawater, significantly reducing his speed.
Apparently, there was a powerful pressure weighing down everywhere.
To his relief, though, his celestial cultivation base made him like a boulder that the seawater could do nothing but flow around.
Gaining a bit of confidence, he began to pick up speed, and before long was nearing the source of the mist. Murknine County!
His first impression was that it looked like an enormous, webby egg sac. Furthermore, he found the wicked aura it emanated to be profoundly disquieting.
"Dammit, what exactly is going on here?" Trembling in fear, he edged closer to Murknine County, keeping an eye on the dense, impenetrable spiderwebs. Considering how uneasy he felt, he didn't do anything rash, and simply flew along the edge of the county to inspect the webbing.
After six hours passed, he had almost made a complete circle of the county, but hadn't found any entrances. Eyes flashing, he considered striking at the web to see how strong it was. But that was when his expression flickered, and he turned to look in a different direction in the mists.
Gradually, a woman became visible off in the distance, although he couldn't quite see who she was. When she saw Bai Xiaochun, she approached. Soon, she was close enough to make out her face.
"Gongsun Wan'er," he said by way of greeting, keeping his voice down. [1]
"Bai Xiaochun!" she replied. Soon she was right in front of him. Obviously, there was no need for an explanation of why the both of them were here.
Considering how bizarre things were at the moment, Bai Xiaochun was actually happy to have Gongsun Wan'er around. Not wasting any time on small talk, he quickly went on to tell her everything he knew.
"This mist is expanding with the speed of a deva, corrodes the land it covers, and sucks the life force out of anything it touches. The strangest thing is that it extracts life force by teleporting it away, or at least, by using something that resembles a teleportation.
"This web is one huge structure with no entrances. I haven't unleashed any attacks to test it, but I'm guessing that any divine abilities used against it will provoke some sort of response. If we hit it hard enough, maybe we could get through in one shot. Otherwise, it will probably take a long time to get through."
Gongsun Wan'er took a moment to digest all the information, then went on to tell Bai Xiaochun a few things she had come to discover.
Lowering her voice, she said, "Two days ago, I sent two demigods here to investigate. Back then, the webbing hadn't yet formed into a single structure, and there were ways to get in. However, after the demigods went inside… I never heard from them again!
"Furthermore, this mist is transforming. I suspect that within three days, it will be expanding at the speed of a demigod. And that's probably not its full limit!"
Bai Xiaochun was visibly shocked by this.
The two of them exchanged a glance. Obviously, there was no time to sit around waiting for either the Vile-Emperor Dynasty or the Saint-Emperor Dynasty to send reinforcements. They had to do something immediately!
There were few options. Bai Xiaochun gritted his teeth, and Gongsun Wan'er's eyes flashed with determination. If Gongsun Wan'er had been on her own, she wouldn't have been willing to face the danger. But considering they were celestials, there were few places in the Eternal Immortal Domains that they could not go.
They discussed the particulars and came up with a simple plan, and then drew upon the powers of their cultivation bases. Booms rang out as divine abilities were unleashed, striking one particular spot on the webbing.
A shockwave blasted out in all directions, and the web rippled, seemingly standing up to the power of the combined attack.
But the web barrier had only been erected recently, and Bai Xiaochun and Gongsun Wan'er were celestials with matchlessly powerful divine abilities. A moment later, the web shuddered, and a hole opened up.
Instantly, vast quantities of gray mist poured out of the hole, which began to close up the moment it opened.
"Go!" Gongsun Wan'er said, blurring into motion to enter the hole. Bai Xiaochun suppressed his unease, braced himself, and followed!
1. I know this is a really odd place to put this footnote, but I don't think I've ever mentioned that, in Chinese culture, the main way to greet people you know is to say their name. The common word for hello (ni hao), is more used to get someone's attention, or to greet people who are strangers to you
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Chapter 1134: Creepy Village
Only about ten breaths of time after Bai Xiaochun and Gongsun Wan'er entered the web, the hole closed up behind them. Not even the slightest mark remained behind to indicate that it had once existed there.
Now, they were separated from the larger world outside.
Inside of the enormous webby chrysalis, Bai Xiaochun and Gongsun Wan'er had very serious expressions on their faces. Currently, they stood on a vast plain.
There were no plants visible, nor any mountains. Even the land was parched and cracked, and seemingly devoid of any life force. In fact, other than the drifting mists, it didn't contain anything!
Gongsun Wan'er looked around quietly, then pointed off into the distance. "Last time I was in Murknine County, I passed by this area, and I distinctly remember there being a mountain range over there…."
Bai Xiaochun looked at the area toward which Gongsun Wan'er was pointing and saw absolutely nothing.
The two of them exchanged a glance, and both could see the fear and bewilderment in each other's eyes.
"Interesting," Gongsun Wan'er said. "There aren't many things in the Eternal Immortal Domains that can be disturbing to celestials like us. A few days ago, Murknine County was the same as ever, only to suddenly become like this…. As far as I can remember, nothing like this has ever happened before!" Eyes flickering, she sent some divine sense out. Being the domineering person she was, she did nothing to conceal her presence, and even unleashed the power of her cultivation base, announcing to any entities within Murknine County that she had arrived.
Of course, Bai Xiaochun's personality was very different. Squatting down, he scooped up a handful of soil.
It almost felt like nothing more than ash. He blew on it, and it dispersed into the air. Everything as far as the eye could see was the same, covered with layer upon layer of ash.
"This is even worse than the areas outside that the mists have covered," he murmured.
Gongsun Wan'er retracted her divine sense, a frown on her face. Strangely, after sending her divine sense out past a certain level, she was unable to retract it, and was forced to simply dispel it.
Performing an incantation gesture with her right hand, she reached up and touched her forehead, then sent out some more divine sense.
"There's a village up ahead," she said. "Something's alive there, but my divine sense can't enter the area, so it's hard to say what."
With that, she blurred into motion. As for Bai Xiaochun, he suppressed his unease, took a deep breath, and followed her.
Everything was absolutely still and quiet, without even the hint of any wind. Strangely, it wasn't very dark, as the webby chrysalis which made up the sky actually glowed with bright light. Although mortals wouldn't be able to see it, considering the level of Bai Xiaochun and Gongsun Wan'er's cultivation bases, they were able to see everything very clearly.
They moved with speed that vastly surpassed demigods. In overall size, Murknine County was actually about the same size as the Heavenspan Realm, but at their current speed, it only took an incense stick's worth of time before they saw the village up ahead!
In the past, the village might not have been very eye-catching, but now, it most certainly was. Absolutely nothing existed around it other than ash. In contrast, the village was perfectly preserved, and there even appeared to be lamps flickering, and smoke rising up into the air from chimneys.
That only served to make Bai Xiaochun more uneasy. However, no sensation of crisis arose within him as he and Gongsun Wan'er sped closer and closer.
They stopped outside of the village, and as they did… the sound of a young girl laughing suddenly drifted out into the silence!
"Hehehe…." The sudden laughter caused Bai Xiaochun and Gongsun Wan'er's expressions to flicker.
What was even stranger was that the laughter continued on without cease. Eventually, Gongsun Wan'er snorted coldly.
"Who dares to try to act spooky in front of me!?" A mysterious, ghostly fire sprang up in her eyes as she flew into the village. Now that Bai Xiaochun thought about it, all other types of ghostly beings paled in comparison to Ghostmother. Calming down a bit, he headed into the village after her.
It wasn't very large, only enough to fit about a hundred households. The streets were clean, very different from the dusty world beyond its borders. There were even many lights twinkling in the windows of the buildings.
But then Bai Xiaochun sent some divine sense out, and realized that he couldn't sense any actual living beings. His face sank a bit.
Gongsun Wan'er began to push open some of the doors of the buildings, and soon found that they were completely unoccupied. Some of the tables were set with food, but no one sat at them to eat it.
If that were all there were to it, it might not be a big deal. But the endless laughter of that girl continued to assail their ears. And even after entering the village itself, it was impossible to ascertain its source. It was as if it existed everywhere at once.
Divine sense couldn't even determine its general origin, much less find the girl herself.
Even more unsettling was that the laughter began to come faster and faster, until it caused a sense of impending crisis in Bai Xiaochun's heart. Then, with no warning whatsoever, it ceased!
Before Bai Xiaochun and Gongsun Wan'er could look around to investigate, the same girl's voice could be heard again. But this time, she wasn't laughing, she was crying!
Her sobs were filled with bitterness, despair, and even madness, and were far louder than the laughter had been. At that point, the previously still Murknine County was suddenly filled with a gale force wind!
Sounds like muffled thunder filled the air, which was now filled with endless ash and grit. At that point, a hair-raising feeling of danger rose up in Bai Xiaochun.
"Gongsun Wan'er, you're Ghostmother, right? Can't you hurry up and find whatever ghosts are around here?" At that point he turned to look at her, only to find that she had vanished!
His heart immediately began to pound. Considering the level of his cultivation base, if Gongsun Wan'er had left the area, he should have been able to tell. And yet… she was nowhere to be seen.
"This place is too creepy!" he thought. "Gongsun Wan'er couldn't have left, which means there's only one thing that could have happened! There must be a spell formation here that causes space to overlap!" He quickly sent his divine sense out again, simultaneously slapping his bag of holding to produce a fifteen-colored flame. Even as the light of the flame illuminated the area, he threw it down at the ground.
A massive explosion ensued, much like when a drop of water is thrown into a vat of boiling oil.
Flame rippled out in all directions, ripping away at something that was like a veil of concealment. As that happened, Gongsun Wan'er became visible.
She looked shocked, but at the same time, relieved to see Bai Xiaochun. Meanwhile, the explosion of the fifteen-colored flame engulfed the village, causing many of the buildings to dissolve into ashes, and leaving Bai Xiaochun and Gongsun Wan'er within a raging sea of fire.
Even as the fire burned, the weeping continued. However, as the roughly one hundred houses in the village were burned to the ground, Bai Xiaochun realized that in the second story of one of the buildings was a wooden cot. Laying on that cot was a marionette, who was looking at Bai Xiaochun… and weeping.
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Chapter 1135: Murknine County
As the fire consumed the marionette, its wailing battered Bai Xiaochun's ears, causing his heart to fill with indescribable coldness.
Perhaps it was because he had been attuned to danger from a very young age. Or perhaps it was because of his dream of living forever. Either way, his ability to sense impending danger had improved throughout his years of cultivation, and had always surpassed cultivators in the same level as himself.
And right now, his intuition was telling him that something was very, very wrong in Murknine County!
Even as his heart sank, Gongsun Wan'er looked over and said in a hoarse voice, "There's no ghost qi here. That marionette… is not a ghostly soul!"
Although she didn't have Bai Xiaochun's intuition, as Ghostmother, she was innately attuned to matters of ghosts and souls.
"More precisely, it isn't a complete ghostly soul…. I can actually sense a soul linkage on it, and the source… is in that direction!" She pointed off into the distance, then looked over at Bai Xiaochun. Although she didn't say anything more, her intention was clear.
They had two choices. One was to leave, and wait for other celestials from the two dynasties to come help, or perhaps even the archaean emperors. The other option… was to go investigate on their own, and try to resolve the issue!
The former was the safest of the two decisions. Unfortunately, neither Gongsun Wan'er nor Bai Xiaochun had the luxury of time.
Bai Xiaochun wasn't sure whether Gongsun Wan'er would be willing to give up her place in the north, but he did know that if he didn't resolve this situation, then he might as well forget about turning Mistysea Prefecture into a beacon of hope for the people of Heavenspan!
Frowning slightly, he blurred into motion in the direction Gongsun Wan'er had pointed out.
Gongsun Wan'er didn't hesitate to follow. After winning the struggle over the true form of Ghostmother, she had lost the trust of the Vile-Emperor. Her entire purpose in coming to the north of the second immortal domain was to try to win back that trust. If she didn't join Bai Xiaochun, she would be throwing away all of the progress she had already made.
Therefore, she made the same decision he did.
The more they flew along, the more unsightly their expressions became. Even after flying for some time, they never saw a single person. Everything was gray, with no plant life or mountains. Nothing.
They saw towns and villages, but most seemed devoid of life. A few times, mysterious voices floated out from within a location they passed.
Presumably, those places were similar to the first village they had encountered.
And thus, they proceeded along in silence and vigilance. Eventually, a city appeared up ahead!
It was none other than the capital of Murknine County!
"This is the source of the soul linkage," Gongsun Wan'er said. "I just can't tell exactly where it is." Both of them sent their divine sense out to check out the location, and when they did, their faces fell!
What they saw was very different from the towns and villages they had seen up to this point. There were living cultivators in the city, except, they were trudging around the streets and alleys like the walking dead.
Even more odd was that many people in the city were constantly eating food as they ambled along.
Most shocking was that some people had apparently finished eating their food, and had begun to devour their own fingers and hands! It was as if they were starving!
When Bai Xiaochun and Gongsun Wan'er saw that, they accelerated until they were in midair above the city, where they could observe the situation with physical sight.
After a moment, Bai Xiaochun flew down and landed on one of the streets of the city. In front of him he saw a Core Formation cultivator, a woman who was slowly devouring her finger. Blood dripped down her arm, but she didn't seem to notice. She was apparently so starving that the only thing she cared about was eating.
Shaken, Bai Xiaochun reached out and put his right hand onto the woman's head, then sent some divine sense inside her. He wanted to see for himself what had happened, and confirm his speculations about the matter.
As he searched the woman's mind, his expression grew grimmer and grimmer.
Meanwhile, Gongsun Wan'er had landed on the ground too, and was similarly searching through the mind of another cultivator. When they were done, they exchanged a glance, then quickly recounted to each other everything they had learned.
"Nothing odd!?"
"Still conscious and aware, just muddled?!"
"No signs of being controlled? They're acting on instinct alone?!"
"Their life force is slowly being drained away!?"
Unfortunately, neither of them had any idea how to solve the problem.
Everything that was happening was truly strange!
At one point, Gongsun Wan'er reached out and grabbed a Nascent Soul cultivator, then bound his hands up. The man struggled for a bit, and when he realized he couldn't reach his arms, began chewing on his lip until blood ran down his chin.
Both Gongsun Wan'er and Bai Xiaochun looked grimmer than ever. Gongsun Wan'er unbound the Nascent Soul cultivator, and Bai Xiaochun continued onward.
Gongsun Wan'er looked around, then followed Bai Xiaochun. Right now, the safest thing for the both of them was to stick together.
With each moment that passed, they felt more and more shaken by what they saw. They almost felt like they weren't in the Eternal Immortal Domains anymore. Everyone around them was completely focused on eating, and some of them even had bloated bellies from it.
It was only those who had bloated bellies that seemed capable of coming to their senses to some degree. At one point, they caught sight of someone off in the distance with an exaggeratedly bloated belly. He was an old man who lay on the ground, so stuffed he couldn't move. His eyes shone with terror and despair, indicating that he was at least somewhat lucid.
When he noticed Bai Xiaochun and Gongsun Wan'er, he shivered and managed to gather enough energy to call out to them.
"Celestial, save me…."
That old man was one of the two demigod's Gongsun Wan'er had dispatched to investigate Murknine County!
When Gongsun Wan'er realized who the old man was, she hurried toward him, followed by Bai Xiaochun. However, before they could get very close, the man's face twisted as if with pain, and he screamed at the top of his lungs. Then… his belly exploded!!
Blood and gore splattered out in all directions, along with a host of innumerable, colorful spiders that had human faces!
Bai Xiaochun's eyes flickered. Suppressing the revolting feeling that swept through him, he performed an incantation gesture with his right hand and waved his finger through the air. The grim-faced Gongsun Wan'er also unleashed an attack.
When two celestials joined together to unleash an attack, it was like a destructive tempest. Winds screamed as the spiders began to collapse, unleashing unsettling screams as they did.
As the screams of the spiders echoed out, everyone else in the city shivered, then stopped eating and turned to look at Bai Xiaochun and Gongsun Wan'er. Pained expressions could be seen on their faces as they howled, their bellies bulging. Then, one by one, they began to explode!
A horde of countless spiders appeared, filling the city, pouring over everything as they raced madly toward Bai Xiaochun and Gongsun Wan'er!
The lands quaked due to the sheer numbers involved. Shocked, both Bai Xiaochun and Gongsun Wan'er flew up into the air and looked down at the city, which now looked as though it had been covered by a colorful, writhing blanket!
It was a ghastly and horrible sight!
All of the spiders emanated Foundation Establishment auras. Although individually they were completely insignificant to celestials… there were just too many of them!
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Chapter 1136: Massive Crater
"Are these things causing the problems in Murknine County?" Gongsun Wan'er asked with a frown. There were so many of the spiders that even a celestial would have trouble dealing with all of them.
However, it didn't seem likely that things were so simple, especially considering the matter of the soul linkage.
"Let's take care of these spiders first, then worry about everything else later!" Bai Xiaochun performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, and then waved his finger, causing frigid qi to spread out in all directions. Everywhere it went, the buildings in the city were frozen!
As for the spiders, they instantly went rigid and unmoving. At the same time, Gongsun Wan'er took action, sending black flame down toward the city. This type of flame was different from the multi-colored flame that Bai Xiaochun would conjure as a necromancer. It seemed purer. In fact, as Bai Xiaochun looked at it, he could tell that it contained the power of the seven emotions and six sensory pleasures.
The black fire quickly became a sea of flames that spread out in the area. Instead of interfering with Bai Xiaochun's frigid qi, it actually complemented it.
Roaring sounds echoed out as countless spiders were killed. However, there were still plenty of spiders left, and they began to clump together, transforming into eight towering piles that rose into the sky!
Soon, the piles formed into eight 300-meter-tall spiders composed of innumerable smaller spiders. Howling, the gigantic spider constructs rushed toward Bai Xiaochun and Gongsun Wan'er.
Because of the conglomeration of spiders that made them up, these larger spiders were no longer at the Foundation Establishment level. They were more like quasi-celestials, and they looked vicious to the extreme.
Anyone other than a celestial who faced a situation like this would have no way to come out alive. Thankfully, the suspicious activity in Murknine County had attracted the attention of not one celestial, but two. Most likely, the ultimate culprit behind everything had not considered that such a thing would transpire.
As the eight enormous spiders neared, Bai Xiaochun prepared to fight. However, Gongsun Wan'er had been holding in her frustration from what had occurred in the first village they encountered. The fact that Bai Xiaochun had ended the impasse before she could had left a deep impression on her. Therefore, she quickly performed an incantation gesture before he could do anything, sending masses of black smoke flying toward the spiders.
Along the way, the smoke broke up into eight ghost hands, which clenched into fists as they smashed into the spiders!
Cracking sounds rang out as the huge spiders collapsed, sending innumerable smaller spiders to their deaths. Before she could do anything to attack those that survived, they landed on the ground and, seemingly completely ignoring how the ground had been frozen and sealed by Bai Xiaochun, began to burrow down into the earth!
To them, the ground was as weak as soft tofu. Within moments, all of the spiders had vanished, leaving behind only fist-sized holes in the ground.
Right now, the earth below almost looked like a giant sieve!
Eyes flickering, Bai Xiaochun dropped down to investigate. Meanwhile, Gongsun Wan'er snorted coldly, performing an incantation gesture that brought all eight of her ghost hands back together to make a larger, vicious-looking hand. That hand clenched into a fist, and then slammed into the ground below Bai Xiaochun!
A massive boom echoed out as the land quaked violently, causing the countless holes that riddled the ground to collapse into a 300-meter-wide cavity!
Dozens of crevices spread out from the cavity in all directions, causing cracking sounds to fill the air. Soon, the entire city was almost completely enveloped!
By this point, the land was little more than a shell supporting the city. As the crevices spread out, the sprawling capital of Murknine County began to collapse.
Shockingly, the area beneath the ground was actually empty. Vast amounts of dirt, tiles, bricks and dust fell downward, and yet, not even that could fill in the huge hole below.
As the dust began to settle, what appeared before Bai Xiaochun and Gongsun Wan'er was a massive crater that instantly struck them to the core with a profoundly wicked sensation. Gray mist poured out of the crater, seemingly without end. Clearly, this crater… was the source of the mist!
It was possible to see little spiders scuttling to and fro, as if this crater were an enormous spider nest!
As Gongsun Wan'er looked down at the massive crater, her expression flickered.
"The source of the soul linkage is down there!" With that, she turned into a blur of motion that headed down into the crater. As for Bai Xiaochun, he blinked a few times, once again aware of the uneasy feeling inside of him. After all, it was a lot more frightening to be unaware of what enemy you were about to face.
Bai Xiaochun didn't mind at all that Gongsun Wan'er had seized the initiative. Actually, he would prefer it if she could just resolve the whole situation on her own.
However, he followed her down into the crater. It was a massive thing, and also filled with mists that would cause even a demigod to shrink back. Only experts with a celestial cultivation base could possibly travel through it.
As they continued forward, they heard what sounded like the sounds of crunching and chewing. Both Bai Xiaochun and Gongsun Wan'er felt their anxiety mounting, and circulated their cultivation bases as the chewing sounds got louder and louder.
Unfortunately, the gray mists interfered with divine sense, making it impossible for them to know what was happening around them.
The chewing sounded like it was right next to them. At one point, Gongsun Wan'er stopped and looked over at him, and he slapped his bag of holding to produce a tongue of fourteen-colored flame.
Unfortunately, he was really running low on multi-colored flame, and needed to conserve his stockpile. After all, if he ran out, he would be in big trouble when it came to performing spirit enhancements.
But right now, he was in a tight spot, and the ordinary fire produced by various magical techniques didn't seem as effective as multi-colored flame. And considering how effective the flame had been back in the first village they explored, it was a bit comforting to have some right there in his hand, ready to use.
Now was not the time to be stingy. Therefore, he clenched his hand into a fist, destabilizing the flame and causing bright light to spread out in all directions. Then he hurled the tongue of fourteen-colored flame ahead of him into the depths of the crater.
It moved with incredible speed, exploding in size as it did, and casting out dazzling light that clearly revealed everything it touched. Eventually, it landed in a spot deep in the crater and exploded, sending fourteen-colored flame out in all directions.
As the sea of fire spread out through the crater, Bai Xiaochun and Gongsun Wan'er accelerated, soon reaching the area of impact. Thanks to the brightness of the fire, they were able to see everything clearly. And they were completely shocked!
In the depths of the crater was a huge spiderweb, upon which crouched an enormous spider with a leg span of nearly 10,000 meters. This was the source of the chewing sounds! The spider was brightly colored, and had numerous magical symbols covering it as well as… countless human faces!
There were men, women, young and old, and all of them had expressions of tormented pain. Their mouths were open as though they were screaming, and yet no sound came out. It was bizarre to the extreme!
There were countless smaller spiders in the area as well, marching into the mouth of the huge spider, which was chewing them up and swallowing them. With every smaller spider that was consumed, another human face would appear on the surface of the larger spider!
In fact, Bai Xiaochun even spotted the face of the demigod who had exploded in front of him only a short time ago in the city!
And the bizarreness wasn't over yet! Behind the huge spider was what appeared to be an egg sac, which was pulsing almost like a beating heart. Apparently, the reason that the huge spider was consuming everything in Murknine County was because of that egg sac!
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Chapter 1137: Intense Fighting
Even as Bai Xiaochun and Gongsun Wan'er laid eyes on the shocking scene, the egg sac began to wriggle. Apparently, there was some unimaginable living thing inside that was being helped by the huge spider to absorb everything in Murknine County. The living beings, the mountains, the plants, and all the life force that existed therein, was all being absorbed!
The amount of life force that existed in this one county was roughly equivalent to that which had existed in all of the Heavenspan Realm, and it was being used to feed whatever existed in that egg sac!
Both Bai Xiaochun and Gongsun Wan'er were visibly taken aback. At the same time, they both came to the same conclusion. If the living being inside of the egg sac emerged… then it would lead to a catastrophe the likes of which neither of them were equipped to handle!
At the same time, the light and heat of the fourteen-colored flame continued to spread out in the massive crater. The fire caught many of the small spiders, who screamed as they were burned to a crisp. However, when it came to the spiderweb, there was some strange property to it that caused it to simply shrink back a bit from the heat of the flame. Not even the fourteen-colored flame could break the web!
As many of the small spiders died, and as the spiderweb shrank back, the enormous spider king suddenly looked up, fixing its cold gaze on Bai Xiaochun and Gongsun Wan'er.
Roar!
Its terrifying cry was filled with killing intent and ferocious brutality. Completely disregarding the fourteen-colored flame, it began to rush toward them.
Despite being so huge, it advanced with lightning-like speed. Having no time to consult with Bai Xiaochun about a plan, Gongsun Wan'er performed a double-handed incantation gesture, causing black smoke to surge out and make an enormous ghost hand, which shot toward the spider.
However, the spider was powerful to a shocking degree, and simply head-butted the ghost hand. The ghost hand, which had been fueled by Gongsun Wan'er's celestial cultivation base, simply shattered!
"It's got a celestial-level fleshly body!" Bai Xiaochun blurted, shocked. However, he didn't slow down. Unfortunately, he and Gongsun Wan'er had no time to work out a plan for how to deal with the situation. And yet, considering that they were teamed up on this endeavor, there was no need to discuss certain things. While Gongsun Wan'er fought the spider, Bai Xiaochun blurred into motion, heading toward… the wriggling egg sac!
The huge spider saw what was happening, and was immediately enraged. It turned as if to intercept, but before it could, Gongsun Wan'er performed an incantation gesture, sending numerous vicious ghost faces flying out. Formed from back smoke, and radiating the dreadful power of demigods, they fearlessly lunged forward and began to bite the huge spider.
Meanwhile, Bai Xiaochun was nearing the egg sac. Clenching his right hand into a fist, he unleashed a fist strike backed both by his celestial cultivation base and powerful fleshly body. The air was shattered as his fist flew through the air and then landed on the egg sac.
Shaking visibly, the egg sac sank down where the punch had landed. However, thanks to some unknown means, it somehow captured some of the force of Bai Xiaochun's blow, then redirected it into a powerful backlash attack. However, it was impossible for it to completely negate a full-force blow from Bai Xiaochun, and the egg sac was left vibrating.
That vibration seemed to tug at the attention of the enormous spider, who let out a piercing cry. Ignoring the ravenous ghost faces, it barreled toward Bai Xiaochun, moving so quickly that he had no chance to jump out of the way.
A huge boom could be heard as Bai Xiaochun was struck, his five yin organs and six yang organs trembling painfully. As he staggered backward, his eyes turned bloodshot. But before he could do anything else, the enormous spider leaped toward him again. From the look in its eyes, it was possible to see how much it hated him. Then its mouth opened as it prepared to swallow him alive!
However, the spider wasn't necessarily very intelligent. Even as it lunged at Bai Xiaochun, Gongsun Wan'er chuckled coldly, and turned into a streak of light that shot toward the egg sac. Taking advantage of how the spider was distracted by Bai Xiaochun, she swung her hand violently toward the egg sac, backing it with the full power of her celestial cultivation base.
As rumbling sounds filled the air, the huge spider realized that it had been distracted, and its anger flared. As it turned toward Gongsun Wan'er, Bai Xiaochun finally realized what was most important to the spider. And how could he let the thing protect that egg sac? Rushing forward, he grabbed one of the spider's legs and pulled on it as hard as he could.
HIIISSSS!!
All of the spider's momentum was killed by Bai Xiaochun, who used the full power of his fleshly body to prevent it from moving. The spider's claws scraped the ground as it tried to break free, but Bai Xiaochun was holding it in place with a vice-like grip.
It was no easy task for him to utilize such explosive force against the spider. In fact, if he was even slightly careless, or loosened his grip even a little, the spider would surely break free. From what Bai Xiaochun could tell, this was like some primordial beast who would rather die than submit.
"You hold on to that thing while I destroy this egg sac!" Gongsun Wan'er shouted, her eyes flashing. Her hands flashed in an incantation gesture, and at the same time, a statue flew out of her bag of holding. As soon as the statue was out in the open, it began to belch out black smoke that quickly filled the area.
Moments later, wailing howls could be heard from within the smoke, and terrifying energy fluctuations began to roll out. The spider's anxiety mounted, and it even turned to snap at Bai Xiaochun.
Beads of sweat popped out on Bai Xiaochun's forehead, and he had no choice but to let the spider go to avoid the attack. Then, as the spider prepared to lunge back in the direction of the egg sac, he quickly grabbed another of its legs and dragged it backward.
The spider's claws created huge gulches in the ground as it was slowly dragged away in the opposite direction of its goal. The spider seemed to be going completely mad as it struggled in vain to free itself. Meanwhile, the black smoke surrounding Gongsun Wan'er began to spin, turning into a huge vortex that seemed capable of sucking in everything around it.
The aura coming from within that smoke was chaotic, primeval, and ancient. It almost seemed like a profound aura of death.
What the vortex was specifically tugging at, though, was the huge egg sac. However, it was at this point that the maddened spider yet again turned and snapped, not at Bai Xiaochun, but at the leg which he was holding. Crack! The leg was severed!
As Bai Xiaochun tumbled backward in surprise, the huge spider lunged toward Gongsun Wan'er.
However, that was when Gongsun Wan'er smiled coldly. Waving her arms out in front of her, she suddenly shifted the focus of the black vortex from the egg sac to the huge spider!
"You fell for my trap!" she chuckled, eyes blazing with killing intent as she shoved her hands out in front of her!
The spider trembled as a sensation of incredible danger filled it. It made to fall back, but unfortunately for it, Bai Xiaochun and Gongsun Wan'er were working in perfect unison. Back when she had shouted out to him earlier, he had immediately picked up on what she actually wanted to do. After all, back when he had struck the egg sac, he had sensed that it was not something that he could destroy. Obviously, Gongsun Wan'er would have detected the same thing.
Only their combined powers could possibly do something to harm it. And with the huge spider around, that wasn't possible.
Therefore, in the heat of the moment, the egg sac wasn't important. The huge spider had to be disposed of first.
Gongsun Wan'er realized the truth the instant she struck the egg sac for the first time, and therefore, she and Bai Xiaochun quickly reached an unspoken agreement to take advantage of the spider's low intelligence and its weakness to hatch a simple ambush!
Even as the huge spider flinched away from the vortex, Bai Xiaochun threw his arms out and drew upon the Mountain Shaking Bash and the Living Mountain Incantation. Transforming into a huge stone golem, he shot forward with incredible fleshly body power to slam into the huge spider.
There was no time for the spider to react, much less dodge out of the way. A boom rang out, and it screamed miserably as it was struck. And then Gongsun Wan'er's divine ability prepared to devour it.
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Chapter 1138: Are You Crazy, Bai Xiaochun!?
This was Bai Xiaochun's first time seeing Gongsun Wan'er use a magical technique like this. The black vortex radiated an ancient, deathly aura as it became like a huge mouth that widened to consume the huge spider.
The spider let out an agonized shriek as its body began to collapse into pieces. It only took about ten breaths of time for the entire thing to be completely sucked up by the vortex.
Bai Xiaochun's scalp tingled in shock as he watched it happen. After all, the spider had fleshly body power equivalent to a celestial, and yet Gongsun Wan'er's divine ability completely destroyed it with impunity. Clearly, that divine ability was extraordinary beyond belief.
Meanwhile, Gongsun Wan'er staggered back a few paces, her face draining of blood; unleashing that ancient vortex had not been any simple task, and had been very draining. And considering how long it took her to unleash it in full, it must not be something that she could casually call upon. Although Bai Xiaochun was now sighing in relief that the fight was over, his fear of Gongsun Wan'er increased.
"That ability must be unique to Gongsun Wan'er herself. Otherwise, Ghostmother wouldn't have been so easy to kidnap." However, now was not the time to sit around contemplating the matter. Eyes flashing, he looked at the egg sac.
Panting for breath, Gongsun Wan'er also looked in the same direction. There was no need for them to discuss what to do next. In almost the same instant, they both unleashed attacks.
Gongsun Wan'er summoned her bone battleship, except it was shrunk down to the size of a hand. As soon as it appeared, black smoke shot out from it toward the egg sac. As for Bai Xiaochun, he knew that it was a critical moment, so he summoned the Greatsword of the North and backed it with his early Celestial Realm cultivation base to slash at the egg sac!
Two trump cards were unleashed, landing on the huge egg sac in almost the exact moment. First was Gongsun Wan'er's battleship. Although that initial blow didn't break the exterior of the trembling egg sac, it got twenty percent through!
Then came Bai Xiaochun's greatsword, which slashed down from a different angle. Sword qi raged as the egg sac was sliced thirty percent open. Then forty percent, fifty percent, sixty percent…. In the blink of an eye, the egg sac was seventy percent open! As of this moment, its surface was now translucent enough to see something inside, alive and wriggling!
Meanwhile, a massive booming sound rang out because of their combined attack.
It was so loud that the vibrations would likely have killed even a deva, and caused blood to spray out of the mouth of a demigod. Even celestials would be shaken. Thankfully, Bai Xiaochun and Gongsun Wan'er were among the most powerful experts in the entire world, and therefore, quickly recovered.
However, despite nearly being able to break open the egg sac with their combined attacks, they didn't complete the job. And in the following handful of moments, the egg sac quickly healed itself!
Such powers of regeneration caused both Bai Xiaochun and Gongsun Wan'er to gasp.
Of course, Gongsun Wan'er was shaken by the terrifying nature of Bai Xiaochun's world treasure, but had no time to contemplate the subject right now. The two of them exchanged a glance, then once again unleashed simultaneous attacks. This time, Bai Xiaochun didn't beat around the bush. He poured fleshly body power and cultivation base power into the Greatsword of the North, as well as various divine abilities and other techniques.
Gongsun Wan'er popped some medicinal pills into her mouth, bringing some of the color back to her face. Phoenix-like eyes radiating murder, she sent massive amounts of black energy swirling out of her. Yet again, her battleship appeared, and at the same time, it was possible to see something like black veins bulging beneath her skin, indicating that she was going all out!
As they attacked, the egg sac's surface was reduced by thirty percent, fifty percent, seventy percent, ninety percent!!
However, at that point, its ridiculous powers of regeneration kicked in, as well as a backlash defense. Rumbling booms echoed out as Bai Xiaochun and Gongsun Wan'er were sent stumbling backward, and the egg sac once again returned to its normal state, as if nothing had happened!
"Impossible!!" Gongsun Wan'er breathed. The defensive powers of this egg sac were horrifying, to say the least. Bai Xiaochun stood off to the side, panting for breath, wondering why its powers of regeneration seemed similar to his own powers from the Undying Codex. Although there were some differences, they were definitely very close.
Clearly, the egg sac was making use of the life force that had been gathered from Murknine County. In fact… it reminded Bai Xiaochun very much of how he had been forced to collect life force when cultivating the Undying Codex.
Because of all of this, he was starting to wonder… if his Undying Codex was somehow derived from this huge egg sac!
Otherwise, why did it feel like his technique was somehow connected to it, despite being different!?
If there had been enough time, Bai Xiaochun and Gongsun Wan'er might have been able to analyze the matter a bit more to figure out how to break the egg sac open. But right now, as the sound of the egg sac's struggling grew louder and louder, it seemed likely that whatever was inside was about to break out!
Bai Xiaochun and Gongsun Wan'er were visibly worried. Although they couldn't be absolutely certain of all the circumstances, it seemed likely that whatever being had absorbed all of the life force of Murknine County would be terrifyingly powerful!
If the mere surface of the egg sac was so heaven-defyingly strong, then it could only be imagined what was inside.
Gongsun Wan'er's face was as pale as a sheet, and for the first time since entering Murknine County, she decided that retreat was the best option.
"Let's go," she said. "this is beyond us. I have a feeling that whatever is growing inside of that egg sac is something profoundly wicked. I doubt anything less than an archaean could deal with it. We've done all we can!" She began to back up, worried that if they delayed too long, they wouldn't be able to escape.
At any other time, Bai Xiaochun would have been the first to suggest leaving. But right now, he simply stood there, staring at the struggling egg sac.
A crazy idea had begun to brew in his head, an idea that he simply couldn't stop thinking about. No one but him could possibly have ever come up with such a concept, and it was only because of how the egg sac seemed so similar to the Undying Codex.
"Time to go for broke!" he shouted, seemingly throwing caution to the wind. He just couldn't allow Mistysea Prefecture to be brought to ruin, which would most certainly happen if the being inside of the egg sac were allowed to grow to completion.
Furthermore, considering what he had already done to prevent this thing from entering the world, if it ever succeeded, it would definitely come after him for revenge.
"If I hadn't done anything to offend it, maybe I could give up here. But since I already did, I need to go all out to kill it. And if I can't kill it, I need to make it scared of me!!" He gritted his teeth.
"Wan'er, help me out here. If this doesn't work, then we'll leave!" With that, he hefted the Greatsword of the North and prepared to attack. In resopnse, Gongsun Wan'er nodded and prepared to join him.
Intense rumbling sounds echoed out as trump cards were yet again unleashed. The attacks slammed into the egg sac, breaking the surface all the way until the ninety percent mark, whereupon the backlash and regeneration began.
But this time, even as Gongsun Wan'er backed up, Bai Xiaochun ignored the effects of the backlash attack. Blood spraying out of his mouth, he shouted at the top of his lungs as he produced… the Eternal Parasol!
Even as the egg sac began to repair itself, he viciously stabbed the Eternal Parasol right into it!!
In that moment, the backlash attack and the powers of regeneration surged. Bai Xiaochun felt like mountains were slamming into him, causing him to shiver and cough up multiple mouthfuls of blood. His own powers of regeneration were in full swing as his own Undying Codex vied with the egg sac!
At this point, the Eternal Parasol's ability to absorb life force erupted out. Although the surface of the egg sac had not yet been pierced, a bit of life force had already begun to pour out of it. As Bai Xiaochun shoved the parasol down with all his might, the egg sac's backlash attack and powers of regeneration continued to rage in conflict.
Blood flowed out of his mouth like a fountain, much to the astonishment of Gongsun Wan'er.
"Are you crazy, Bai Xiaochun?!?!"
Eyes bloodshot, Bai Xiaochun used the Living Mountain Incantation and the Cloud Lightning Forefather Transformation, pushing himself all the way to the peak. Fleshly body power and cultivation base power erupted, until finally the egg sac's surface reached a limit. Shouting, Bai Xiaochun pushed the pointed tip of the Eternal Parasol… through the surface! A popping sound rang out as its tip stabbed into the interior of the egg sac!
At that point, life force more powerful than anything Bai Xiaochun had ever encountered in his entire existence began to pour through the Eternal Parasol into him!
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Chapter 1139: Fatty Bai….
This life force was so strong that the Eternal Parasol started shaking visibly. As for the ghost face on the canopy, its eyes began to widen, making it almost seem alive. It wasn't crying, it wasn't laughing, it's eyes were just growing exaggeratedly large.
It was almost as if, after an entire lifetime of absorbing life force, it had never imagined a day in which it would encounter life force as shockingly powerful as this.
Off to the side, Gongsun Wan'er looked on in astonishment.
"You're… you're stealing it's life force…?" she murmured, her mind almost a complete blank. To see Bai Xiaochun exhibiting this level of daring and madness surpassed anything she could ever have imagined.
In sharp contrast, Bai Xiaochun seemed to be taking everything in stride. Of course, that was only because of the mountain-toppling, sea-draining life force that was pouring into him, battering his mind and making it almost impossible to think.
It was like his brain was being struck by a million bolts of heavenly lightning. Any other person, even a celestial, would have been unable to accept this much life force. But considering the level of his fleshly body, and his foundation with the Undying Live Forever Technique, dealing with this life force was like a walk in the park.
Moments later, his bones began to emit cracking sounds, and his flesh and blood began to swell. Already, he felt like he was absolutely stuffed to the limit. And so far, only one breath of time had passed!
However, despite being stuffed, the life force continued to flow into him. Apparently, the egg sac had previously reached a state of almost full completion. Therefore, when the Eternal Parasol stabbed into it, it was like a balloon that suddenly lost its stability, causing the life force to rush out in maddening fashion.
In the second breath of time which passed since stabbing the egg sac, the foundation of his Undying Live Forever Technique seemed to tremble on the verge of collapse, and then solidify, almost as if it were being tempered. As a result, his Undying Live Forever Technique, which had already reached the ultimate limit of its power, began to transform!
Rumbling sounds echoed out as Bai Xiaochun's aura climbed, growing more intense. Although he was still in the early Celestial Realm, anyone who could assess his level would probably place him at the peak of the mid Celestial Realm!
Then came the third breath of time. The foundations of Bai Xiaochun's body had seemingly reached their limit, and yet the life force continued to flow into him, causing him to inflate almost like a balloon. In the blink of an eye… Gongsun Wan'er watched as the previously well-proportioned Bai Xiaochun transformed into a huge fat person!
He wasn't a mountain of flesh, but rather a round, ball-like fatty!!
By this point, he was large enough to count for ten of his previous selves. In fact, if he had gained lucidity in that moment, he would surely have looked at himself and thought of what Big Fatty Zhang had looked like back when he first met him in the Ovens of the Spirit Stream Sect.
All of this takes some time to describe, but actually happened in only three short breaths' worth of time. When the fourth breath of time arrived, the egg sac let out a roar that shook all of Murknine County!
It was a roar filled with unprecedented rage, fury, and defiance. There was also a touch of incredulity within it, as well as shock. When the roar reached Gongsun Wan'er's ears, it made her feel like her divine sense and even her physical body were about to be ripped apart.
Blood sprayed out of her mouth as she sped backward, a look of shock on her face. The power contained within that roar of rage surpassed that of a celestial, and it caused a look of despair to appear in her eyes. She could only retreat, blood oozing out of her eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and even her pores.
It all happened too quickly. As Gongsun Wan'er fell back, Bai Xiaochun felt the power of the roar assailing him, and the Eternal Parasol felt a massive force heading toward it from within the egg sac!
Cracks began to spread out on the parasol's shaft, and its ribs began to show signs of shattering. The ghost face was trembling as it realized it was dealing with an entity far more terrifying than itself.
Only Bai Xiaochun seemed to be able to deal with what was happening. He was now so exceptionally fat, and had so much life force in him, that the sound of the roar only made him feel slightly dizzy. However, after a few breaths of time passed, and he began to regain his lucidity, the intensity of the roar increased. More blood sprayed out of Gongsun Wan'er's mouth, and she teetered unstably, as though she might fall over at any moment. At that point, Bai Xiaochun was fully back to normal, and could sense the madness in the roar.
He could also feel something like a tempest screaming inside of him, both causing his face to fall and blood to ooze out of the corners of his mouth. Thankfully, despite his increased size, he was still quite nimble. After noticing that Gongsun Wan'er was drenched in blood and seemed to be about to pass out, he waved his sleeve to pull her over and hold her up against his enormous belly….
Heart pounding, he fell back, hoping to get out of the massive crater as quickly as he could. At the same time, the howling egg sac began to rip apart. Cracks spread out across its surface, mostly from the spot where the Eternal Parasol had stabbed into it. Clearly, the living being which had been growing inside of it was about to emerge!
Gasping for breath, Bai Xiaochun drew upon all the power of his cultivation base, as well as the reserves of life force within him, to attain incredible speed.
Just as he was about to leave the crater, an immense cracking sound filled the air as a portion of the egg sac exploded, and a scaled, blood-colored hand reached out, dripping with viscous fluid!!
It only had four fingers, with razor-sharp claws at the ends of them, and it radiated a sense of profound and deadly evil.
As the hand appeared, the sky flickered, both within Murknine County and in the outside world.
And then, the crimson, scaled hand shot out in the direction of the fleeing Bai Xiaochun!
It was an attack of heaven-destroying, earth-extinguishing force, something that surpassed the Celestial Realm!
Bai Xiaochun's eyes went wide as an intense sensation of deadly crisis filled him. His first instinct was to go to the damaged fan, even if that meant revealing the secret of the fan to Gongsun Wan'er.
Unfortunately, the spiderweb that had the entire county sealed up also severed all types of energy connections, a barrier that Bai Xiaochun couldn't get past at his current level of power.
In that moment of crisis, Bai Xiaochun felt himself going completely mad. Howling, he summoned the Greatsword of the North and slashed it through the air behind him, causing it to change shape into a protective shield. As for Gongsun Wan'er, despite being on the verge of passing out, she bit down on her tongue and unleashed a magical technique that sent black smoke swirling out in all directions. A world of ghosts was created, with innumerable vicious ghosts joining forces to create a defensive barrier, bolstered by her battleship.
A moment later, a massive boom erupted out. Bai Xiaochun and Gongsun Wan'er were like rowboats in a hurricane, with the shockwave from the blow like a massive wave that swept over them with incredibly destructive power.
They weren't the only ones to be affected by the eruption of force. Because Bai Xiaochun had absorbed some of the life force of the entity in the egg sac, its development had been hindered. It had a fatal weakness now: despite its incredible power, it couldn't focus properly. Therefore, when it unleashed its divine ability, it was something that could destroy everything around it.
Rumbling sounds filled the air as Murknine County came under the attack of a massive hand larger than the county itself! As a result, the entire place began to fall apart!
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Chapter 1140: The Destruction Of Murknine County!
As Murknine County began to collapse, Bai Xiaochun and Gongsun Wan'er flew out of the massive crater. They were the ones bearing the brunt of the massive attack, more specifically, the black smoke Gongsun Wan'er had summoned, which seemingly opened the gates of hell to unleash innumerable vicious ghosts.
However, upon facing the massive blast of force, those ghosts were weak, and couldn't even fight back. In the blink of an eye, they were crushed out of existence, as was the entire area of black smoke.
The destructive attack continued, smashing into Gongsun Wan'er's bone battleship. That bone battleship was almost at the same level as a world treasure, and had astonishing defensive properties. Years ago, Bai Xiaochun had only been able to break through it by using the Greatsword of the North, and also severely draining his energy reserves.
As of now, the battleship's defensive shield sprang up, but all it did was cause the explosive attack to pause for a moment. Then the shield shattered, and the battleship was sent spinning off to the side before Gongsun Wan'er managed to snag it back. Despair was now visible within her eyes; she knew that all of her hopes rested in Bai Xiaochun.
Howling, Bai Xiaochun thrust out the Greatsword of the North. When it hit the windstorm of the attack, heaven-shaking, earth-shattering rumbling sounds echoed out in all directions. The Greatsword of the North was called a world treasure, and right now, it lived up to that name. Despite the fact that this attack surpassed the Celestial Realm, it still managed to stand up to it.
However, the price Bai Xiaochun had to pay was immense. To him, it felt like countless divine abilities slamming into him, causing him to gasp, and his eyes to turn crimson. He howled as the Undying Codex's powers of regeneration raced through him to resist the destructive power. At the same time, he staggered backward, with Gongsun Wan'er clinging desperately to his arm as he held the Greatsword in front of him defensively.
And yet, in the end, he couldn't wipe out the power of the attack. After all, that attack was strong enough to destroy all of Murknine County!
The Greatsword of the North held fast for a long moment, but then began to tremble unstably. Meanwhile, Bai Xiaochun struggled to breathe, blue veins bulging out on his face and neck. He knew that he could theoretically bring out his turtle-wok, but it would provide roughly the same protection as the Greatsword of the North at this moment. It could stand up to the power of the attack, but couldn't vanquish it.
Thankfully, he had been transformed into an enormous fatty moments ago, filled with unimaginable levels of life force. Therefore, no matter how much fuel his powers of regeneration burned, there was more to keep it going.
And thus things went for an indeterminable period of time. Bai Xiaochun held fast before the attack, slowly being pushed backward, his powers of regeneration working like mad the entire time. Eventually, the wind began to fade, and Bai Xiaochun realized that the attack was reaching its end.
By the time it was all over, he felt like he could hardly breathe. He was shaking visibly, as was Gongsun Wan'er. The two of them exchanged a glance, and could both see how relieved they were to have escaped with their lives. Fear still lingered in both of their eyes.
It seemed that the things they had just experienced had taken their relationship to a new, more complicated level. It was something Gongsun Wan'er wasn't used to, and she quickly averted her gaze and pushed herself away from Bai Xiaochun. As for Bai Xiaochun, he cleared his throat, put away the Greatsword of the North, and then looked off into the distance.
Murknine County was gone. It had been wiped clean of both spiderwebs and dust alike. There was no trace of anything, not even the massive crater. After scanning it with divine sense, neither Bai Xiaochun nor Gongsun Wan'er could detect anything other than a bit of dried up, once-viscous fluid in the spot where the crater had once existed.
Both of them were profoundly unsettled, and felt a sense of impending danger. Whatever being had existed inside of the egg sac was profoundly threatening even to them, and now it was on the loose.
However, the thing hadn't pressed the attack, leading them to wonder if perhaps there was something wrong with it that was preventing it from harassing them further. Perhaps it had gone into hiding to lick its wounds.
At this point, Gongsun Wan'er looked at the extremely fattened Bai Xiaochun, and thought back to the scene of him absorbing life force from the egg sac. All things said, it seemed that if Bai Xiaochun hadn't made the decision he had, the two of them would have had much more difficulty escaping the catastrophe which had played out.
Gongsun Wan'er might have ended up slightly better off, considering that the Vile-Emperor had a scrap of her Daoseed. Even if she died, she would have been resurrected. However, she also worried that if she were resurrected, the Vile-Emperor would secretly make an attempt to re-awaken Ghostmother.
On the other hand, Bai Xiaochun was in full possession of his Daoseed, a fact which was now known to the powerful experts of both of the imperial dynasties.
"We need to report this matter as quickly as possible," Bai Xiaochun said, his heart pounding with lingering fear.
Gongsun Wan'er nodded. They proceeded on their way until they reached a fork in the road, one way leading to Mistysea Prefecture, the other leading in the direction Gongsun Wan'er planned to take. There, they paused for a moment.
Finally, Gongsun Wan'er quietly said, "Thank you."
Not waiting for a response, she turned and headed back toward her palace of operations.
Under normal circumstances, Bai Xiaochun would have felt very pleased with himself to have Gongsun Wan'er thanking him. But right now, he wasn't in the mood for anything like that. Although the matter of the deadly mist had been resolved, he had provoked a terrifyingly powerful entity that seemed as powerful as an archaean.
Furthermore, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't actually see his feet when he tried to look down at them. He was simply too fat. However, if he could thoroughly assimilate all of the life force he had gained, then his fleshly body and cultivation base would likely climb to a higher level, which was an exciting thought.
Not having any desire to stick around alone, he headed back toward Mistysea Prefecture.
The Grand Heavenmaster and Giant Ghost King were waiting for him in keen anticipation. After they had parted ways earlier, the mists eventually faded away, but then Murknine County was wiped out in bizarre fashion, leading to shock on the part of everyone who witnessed it.
Afterwards, they had been waiting anxiously on the border in the hopes of making contact with Bai Xiaochun again.
When they saw the enormous sphere of flesh whistling toward them through the air, some of them moved to intercept it, until their divine sense revealed to them who it was. Both the Giant Ghost King and Grand Heavenmaster looked on in complete shock.
"You…."
Bai Xiaochun landed in front of them, teetering back and forth a bit in an attempt to stand upright. Looking a bit embarrassed, he said, "Ate a bit too much back there. Oh, by the way, it was really dangerous. For the time being, don't let anyone go out there unless absolutely necessary. Alright, I'm heading into secluded meditation. I actually benefited quite a bit from this crisis!"
After that, he resorted to a teleportation to vanish.
The Giant Ghost King and Grand Heavenmaster exchanged awkward glances, as did the other experts present. Not only had Bai Xiaochun not been hurt after entering this critically dangerous area, but he actually came out looking like a huge fatty. It was almost completely unbelievable.
Soon, Bai Xiaochun was back in his blessed land in Mistysea City. He was still feeling very unsettled by the strange entity from the massive crater. Although he had already notified the Saint-Emperor of the situation before investigating on his own, he pulled out two jade slips to provide more detailed information of what he had seen and experienced. One of them he arranged to be sent to Celestial Aged Spirit, the other to Saint-Emperor City.
"Only the archaean emperors can truly handle this situation." He shook his head. Thankfully he had stabbed the thing with his Eternal Parasol. Presumably, that had left a powerful impression, leaving the thing injured, and preventing it from giving chase.
"Seems I'm safe for now. Hopefully the Saint-Emperor will come to check the situation out himself soon." He sighed, aware more than ever that time was of the essence. The events of the day yet again proved that not even being a celestial could keep him safe. If he wanted to truly put down roots in the Eternal Immortal Domains, he needed a more powerful cultivation base.
Gritting his teeth, he murmured, "If I assimilate all of that life force, I should break through to the mid Celestial Realm!!" Eyes glinting with determination, he settled down cross-legged in his private chamber and made contact with the damaged fan. A moment later, he was gone.
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Chapter 1141: Mid Celestial Realm
Out in the dark void, the only visible light came from the softly glowing damaged fan. On the main square of the fan, the air rippled and distorted, whereupon Bai Xiaochun appeared, ridiculously fat because of all of the life force he had absorbed.
From a distance, he looked like a trundling sphere of flesh.
"I need to assimilate this life force as quickly as possible. I'm way too fat." Yet again, he tried as hard as he could to look down at his feet, but all he could see was his belly. In fact, he was so fat that it was actually difficult for him to touch his belly with his hands. It was all very uncomfortable.
Eyes flashing with determination, he flew toward the fan ribs to start challenging the next level.
He had benefited from the events in Murknine County in a very unique way; normally speaking, going from the early Celestial Realm to the mid Celestial Realm was a very difficult process that would take an extended period of time. It would also usually require vast amounts of precious materials and good fortune.
But now, he was filled with an astounding level of life force, and although he couldn't be sure of exactly how far it would take him, he needed to give it a shot. He would only have one shot, and if he didn't take advantage of it properly, it was impossible to say when the next chance would come along.
Before getting this life force, his plan had been to use the rewards given by the fan to propel him along in his cultivation. But after recent developments, he changed his mind.
"My only chance is to go all out. I'll get as far as I can in the levels, and then try to break through!" Gritting his teeth, he stepped into the next level.
He failed levels numerous times, but didn't give up. He would analyze the reasons for his failures, perform tests, and then continue challenging the levels. Roughly two months flew by, during which time he would frequently go back to Mistysea Prefecture to make sure nothing unexpected had occurred.
The Saint-Emperor and Vile-Emperor had long since learned of the events in Murknine County, but neither of them did anything about it. Bai Xiaochun continued to worry about the matter, but reminded himself that although Mistysea Prefecture was important to him, all of the territories in the second immortal domain were of importance to the two emperors.
And thus, Bai Xiaochun continued to pass one level after another. Eventually he passed the fiftieth level. Finally, at the fifty-first level, he reached a limit, and was unable to pass the level no matter what he did.
He performed a few more tests before giving up on the fifty-first level. "Ah, whatever. I guess I can only pass the fiftieth level in my current state."
At this point, he assessed all of the rewards he had earned, and was very impressed, especially by the reward from the fiftieth level!
There were many medicinal pills that he didn't recognize, but could identify as immortal pills thanks to his skill in the Dao of medicine. There was also a bamboo slip which was carved with two magical symbols. Although he didn't understand what they meant, when he looked closely at the first magical symbol, he felt like he was descending into depths of hell. It was as if his mind filled with nothing but death.
After a moment passed, he recovered. Panting, he didn't dare to look at the second magical symbol. However, he already had an idea about what this bamboo slip was.
"The reward for the fiftieth level is… a portion of the Dao Essence of Life and Death!!" Gripping the bamboo slip tightly in his hand, he sat down in the main square of the fan to meditate. Previously, it had always been an easy thing to meditate, but now that he was extremely fat, it was difficult to settle down cross-legged. Somehow, he managed.
Quickly performing a double-handed incantation gesture, he rotated his cultivation base and began to work on the first level of the Time Immemorial Codex, the Former Will. His energy passageways instantly began to vibrate as cultivation base power surged into them. The power converged on the main energy passageway within him, and then ended up in his heart. During this process, his mind began to thrum, building up into a roar that made it seem like a huge dragon was inside of him.
The dragon surged with explosive power in his heart, and occasionally in his dantian region.
Of course, Bai Xiaochun knew that this supposed dragon was actually his Daoseed, which was different from that of other celestials. His Daoseed was full and complete, and was becoming more powerful with every advancement he made with his cultivation base.
Unfortunately, he was still very far away from a breakthrough.
"In the Celestial Realm, the Daoseed first lays roots, then sprouts, then blossoms and bears fruit!
"Upon becoming a celestial, the Daoseed takes shape. The energy passageways in the body become like rootlets. Only after they integrate do they become the root!
"In the early Celestial Realm, the rootlets spread and eventually become the root. In the mid Celestial Realm… the root is given nutrients, and the Daoseed sprouts!
"That is exactly what is happening now!" His eyes flickered as the dragon that was his Daoseed finally began to center on one location, his dantian region.
As it shrank down, a strange energy coursed through him, which was apparently the power caused by his Daoseed sprouting. Shivering, he realized that the critical moment had arrived, and that the life force which had been locked away inside of him for the past months was now about to be released.
Rumbling sounds like heavenly thunder filled him as the vast stores of life force surged out.
As he worked with the Former Will of his Time Immemorial Codex, the life force rushed unimpeded toward his Daoseed!
His Daoseed began to tremble with incredible intensity, like parched earth that had suddenly encountered sweet dew, or a starving person who came across a feast set for immortals. It became a black hole that ravenously devoured all of the life force that came its way.
As it shrank down on itself with greater speed, Bai Xiaochun slowly began to deflate. At the same time, the aura of his Daoseed grew stronger and stronger.
Apparently, a dramatic metamorphosis was taking place!
However, it was at this point that something which Bai Xiaochun had been worried about all along happened. His Daoseed was based on the Undying Live Forever Technique, which was different from the legacy magics of the two imperial clans. What was unique about the Undying Live Forever Technique was the drastic levels of life force it required. In fact, even with the enormous amount of life force he currently had at his disposal, it seemed unlikely that he had enough life force to cause his Daoseed to fully sprout!
He had already shrunk down to his original size and shape, and was still shrinking. It was as if his own life force, cultivation base and everything else of which he was made, were being absorbed into the Daoseed. And if it kept going in this way, he would be destroyed in body and soul before the Daoseed sprouted!
Even worse, he could not attempt to interrupt this breakthrough process, or reverse it. Now that he had started down this path… he had to succeed!
Thankfully, Bai Xiaochun had anticipated something like this happening. Although he had never made an attempt to achieve a breakthrough in the Celestial Realm, nor had he been given any advice about it, based on what he knew about the Undying Live Forever Technique, and his past experiences, he had guessed that he might reach a critical point in the process in which he ran out of resources.
Having prepared for this possibility, he wasn't alarmed. As his body continued to shrink in on itself, he slapped his bag of holding to produce a medicinal pill, numerous immortal grasses, and other rewards he had acquired from the first fifty levels of the damaged fan. He had given some of the rewards to the Grand Heavenmaster and others among his subordinates, but he had kept many for himself, and right now, he threw them all into his mouth without hesitation.
The pills and grasses immediately caused life force to flow into him, halting any withering process. As for the Daoseed, it was already very close to completion, and therefore, after enough time had passed for an incense stick to burn… it began to shine with radiant light.
The light filled him, and then spread out, creating something that surpassed the brightness of the damaged fan itself!
From a distance, Bai Xiaochun was like a burning lamp within the dark void, dazzling to the extreme!
At that point, he opened his eyes, and excitedly checked his Daoseed… which now had a tiny sprout sticking out of it!!
"I've mastered the Former Will. My Daoseed has sprouted. Mid Celestial Realm!"
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Chapter 1142: Present Will
As soon as the sprout appeared, powerful fluctuations rolled out, filling Bai Xiaochun and causing cracking sounds to ring out as they passed. He even grew slightly taller, and began to emanate a strange aura.
It was none other than the aura of Willpower. Before, that aura had been hidden within his Daoseed, but now that his Daoseed had sprouted, it was released into the open!
Bai Xiaochun was now able to affect the world around him on a fundamental level. He could even influence the emotions of people around him. It was an unfathomable level of power!
And there was more to it! In addition to the changes in Willpower, his cultivation base improvement meant that his battle prowess was now roughly ten times greater than before!
Before, Bai Xiaochun could use the Greatsword of the North to fight someone in the mid Celestial Realm, and perhaps hold his own against the late Celestial Realm. But now, he could do the same thing without the Greatsword of the North!
And if he did use the sword, he would definitely occupy the peak level among cultivators in the mid Celestial Realm!
As Bai Xiaochun analyzed his cultivation base fluctuations, and tested his new control of Willpower, he could see how different he was from before, and his heart swelled with excitement. He also knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that, without the events in Murknine County, this breakthrough would have taken much longer, and would have required more resources. Perhaps even saving up for a hundred years would not have been enough.
The damaged fan also played into it. As for the Former Will of his Time Immemorial Codex, normally speaking, he would have had to wait until passing the hundredth level and becoming the true owner of the damaged fan before breaking through.
And unfortunately, an early Celestial Realm cultivation base could only get him to the fiftieth level. But now, everything had changed!
"My next cultivation base breakthrough will also come much more quickly…. It might even come after I pass the hundredth level…. Then I'll be in the late Celestial Realm, or perhaps even the great circle!" Having reached this point in his train of thought, his eyebrows danced up and down in delight. He almost didn't dare to think of how wonderful that future development would be.
"If I can ever become the true owner of the damaged fan, and reach the great circle of the Celestial Realm, then, with the fan and the Greatsword of the North… I could theoretically smash archaeans!!" He simply couldn't stop himself from thinking about how it was possible for him to be incredibly powerful without even being an archaean!
After a bit of time passed, he managed to bury such thoughts in his heart. After all, daydreaming about such things now would do little good.
"Thanks to the good fortune I came across, my Former Will is in the great circle. Since I'm already in the mid Celestial Realm, I need to work on the second level of my Time Immemorial Codex, which will eventually get me to the late Celestial Realm!
"The first level of the Time Immemorial Codex is the Former Will… which is perfect for the sprouting of the Daoseed!
"For the second level, I need to get the Daoseed to bloom!
"Everything up to this point was for the Former Will, but now that the Daoseed has sprouted, the time has come for the Present Will!" Of course, Bai Xiaochun knew that when it came to creating new techniques, there had to be a basis. For example, his Former Will was based on his memories and experiences in the Heavenspan Realm.
Now he was working on the second level of the Time Immemorial Codex. Unfortunately, his cultivation base breakthrough had come earlier than expected, and therefore, he didn't have the proper foundation to work on a new technique. Eyes glittering, he slapped his bag of holding and brought out one of the rewards for the fiftieth level, the bamboo slip.
"But I have this!" he murmured. Originally, he had never intended to become the true successor of the sovereign from the Immortal World by acquiring his Dao Essence. He had hoped to learn from it to forge his own path.
If the bamboo slip had contained the full Dao Essence of Life and Death, he could only have acquired it with enlightenment, and plenty more power than he currently had. But considering that it was only a portion of it, he felt much more comfortable trying.
Taking a deep breath, he relaxed, then sent some divine sense into the two magical symbols carved onto the bamboo slip. Instantly, the powerful aura of death once again appeared. Then, when his divine sense reached the second magical symbol, a sensation of flourishing vitality also came into being.
This convergence between life and death was Bai Xiaochun's first experience with Dao Essences. As he sank into the feeling, he lost track of time, and forgot where he was. The only thing he didn't forget were his thoughts regarding the Present Will.
He remained in that state for an unknown period of time, seeking enlightenment. At one point, unbeknownst to him, the spirit automaton appeared out of thin air.
The boy glared at Bai Xiaochun, feeling extremely helpless. After all, as the spirit automaton of the damaged fan, he could interfere with things in the levels, but was completely powerless to do anything to Bai Xiaochun in his current position.
He had been thwarted over and over again inside of the levels…. something that nearly drove him mad every time he thought about it.
He could punish trial-takers, but Bai Xiaochun had already taken control over a portion of the damaged fan. Therefore the spirit automaton was helpless to do anything to him, and in fact, was already forced to consider him his master to some extent!
It didn't matter that he didn't like the arrangement. And it was even worse now that Bai Xiaochun had passed the fiftieth level, putting him on almost equal footing.
"What if things keep going like this? What am I supposed to do…?" The spirit automaton really felt like crying. The mere thought of this shameless cheater becoming his master was a horror. He also started wondering what he would say if he was asked to reveal his name….
After all, he had already sworn an oath to adopt the same surname as Bai Xiaochun if he passed that one certain level….
He let out a sigh, then gritted his teeth and looked closer at Bai Xiaochun. After a moment, he blinked a few times, and then raised his eyebrows in delight.
"Hahaha! What a fool! Is he actually trying to gain enlightenment of the Dao of Time? Using the Dao Essence of Life and Death to be enlightened regarding time? He's dead! It's settled! What he's trying to do is impossible. The Dao of Time is one of the most powerful Daos there is. It can even control life and death! What a fool! Hahaha!" Clapping his hands in delight, he looked closer to confirm that his analysis was correct, then snorted coldly and left in extremely high spirits. To him, it was like the clouds had parted and the sun was now shining down brightly upon him.
A month later, Bai Xiaochun was still sitting there, cross-legged and unmoving. At one point, a tremor passed through him, and the bamboo slip which contained the Dao Essence of Life and Death dissolved into ashes. Bai Xiaochun opened his eyes and looked around, and as the air around him rippled and distorted, fluctuations began to roll out that were very different from his Former Will.
Because of those fluctuations, any place where he existed, no matter how ancient it might be, could be affected by his Will to stand in place in the stream of time, and exist eternally in the present!
It was as if the passage of time simply couldn't affect him at all!
To some extent, his Willpower… could cause time to stop!
"The Present Will!" he murmured. "So domineering!" Meanwhile, the spirit automaton yet again stepped out into the open, albeit in a way that Bai Xiaochun couldn't see. When he sensed the fluctuations of the Dao Essence of Life and Death, and then saw Bai Xiaochun, his eyes almost plopped down onto the ground.
"The Dao of Time?! Heavens! That exists on a higher level than the Dao Essence of Life and Death! A great Dao! How could a shameless cheater like that gain enlightenment of it?!?! Are you blind, God?!" The spirit automaton was really descending into madness. Howling defiantly in his heart, and his eyes crimson, he decided that he would pay any price to defeat this shameless individual.
"You just wait!!" he muttered, tugging at his hair in frustration. Then he went to find the perfect level to tweak, looking very much like a defeated gambler dead set on making a comeback.
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Chapter 1143: Sutra of Present Life and Death
Although Bai Xiaochun had a certain level of control over the damaged fan, he had never surpassed the spirit automaton in that regard. Because of that, he was never able to see him. But now that he had passed the fiftieth level, and also risen to the Mid Celestial Realm, his senses were more acute.
Although he still couldn't see the spirit automaton, he could sense him. All of a sudden, he looked over toward the fan rib where the spirit automaton was actually standing.
The boy noticed this, and stepped back in shock, then vanished.
Bai Xiaochun narrowed his eyes, and then gave a soft snort.
"That was definitely the spirit automaton spying on me. The thing must have mental problems or something. Otherwise why would he be so into peeping on people!?" Muttering to himself a bit, he looked away and focused his attention on the benefits he had achieved during this session of enlightenment.
"The Dao Essences of sovereign cultivators sure live up to their reputation. This is only a scrap of one, and yet I was able to use it to fuel the auguries of my Present Will. It even contains some of the meaning of life and death within it. This is my second powerful divine ability!
"The Sutra of Present Life and Death!" Taking a deep breath, he rose to his feet and waved his right hand, causing the air around him to distort and tear. It even seemed as if the surrounding void were rippling in his direction.
At the same time, an enormous stone gate appeared behind him, black in color and awe-inspiring in appearance. Countless carvings of vicious ghosts covered its surface, as well as a marionette that was clearly the very same strange entity Bai Xiaochun had seen in Murknine County.
There was also the head of a dead old man carved right in the middle of the gate. Considering the profound aura of death that this gate emanated, it obviously represented death!
This was none other than the Gate of Death!
The evil ghosts that festooned it were various terrifying ghostly creatures that Bai Xiaochun had encountered throughout his life. As for the face of the old man, he had been formed by the Dao Essence of Life and Death, and was the ultimate representation of death!
Next, Bai Xiaochun's eyes glittered as he waved his right index finger in the direction of the fan ribs, and the spot where he was certain the spirit automaton had been spying on him.
Instantly, a second stone gate appeared in that very spot.
This gate was white, and was festooned with all sorts of plants and vegetation that Bai Xiaochun had seen in his life, which represented life force, vitality, and that which flourishes.
In the middle of the white gate was a carving of the face of a newborn child!
Anyone who looked at that face would suddenly hear the cry of a baby. This gate was… the Gate of Life!
Bai Xiaochun's Sutra of Present Life and Death created two stone gates, one for death, and one for life. He would stand in front of the Gate of Death, and would force his opponents to approach him from the direction of the Gate of Life. Their approach to him signified their approach to death, in which they grew weaker with every step. Because it also contained the Dao of Time, it was even more powerful. Anyone who approached him from the Gate of Life would grow older and older, just like a sun descending into evening!
The power to arbitrarily push someone from life toward death was immense. Even Bai Xiaochun was shocked by it. And of utmost importance in it all was that Dao Essence of Life and Death which had once belonged to that sovereign of the past!
Bai Xiaochun took in a long breath, and probed at his cultivation base power. Then he stuck his chin up, resolving that, in the future, he wouldn't hide his cultivation base from people ever again.
"When people realize I've achieved a breakthrough, they'll probably guess that I came across some sort of good fortune. But who cares? I'll just tell them I got a bunch of life force from a weird egg sac I ate!" After some thought, he decided that this was definitely the best strategy. At this point, he glanced out of the corner of his eye at the Gate of Life, thought for a moment, then made a beckoning gesture with his finger.
"Bring it on!" he said proudly.
The spirit automaton was standing next to the Gate of Life in the form of a boy, staring hatefully at Bai Xiaochun. Had he possessed the power, he would have killed Bai Xiaochun a thousand, no, a million times over already. Unfortunately, he was powerless to do anything.
"Complete and utter bullying!! he growled, trembling physically. This was definitely the most shameless person he had ever met in his entire life, and he had already sworn countless oaths to see him dead.
Although Bai Xiaochun couldn't see the spirit automaton, he could sense him standing there. Therefore, he wouldn't even think about challenging the levels. He would wait until the boy was asleep again. Exercising a thought, he vanished from the damaged fan.
After he was gone, the spirit automaton let out a howl of rage that echoed from one end of the fan to the other. He very much looked like a child throwing a tantrum as he then proceeded to fly around furiously, screaming about how he was going to destroy Bai Xiaochun.
Meanwhile, Bai Xiaochun materialized in his private chamber in Mistysea City. The first thing he did was look at the messages from the Grand Heavenmaster and Giant Ghost King detailing the things that had occurred while he was gone.
After scanning the jade slip, he frowned.
"Seven days ago, the Vile-Emperor reassigned Celestial Ghostmother to Vile-Emperor City? And Celestial Deadfall was dispatched to oversee the north!?" Bai Xiaochun's eyes narrowed as he pondered the matter. For one thing, he would miss Gongsun Wan'er. For another thing, he didn't know this Celestial Deadfall. Of course, since there were only twelve celestials in all of the Eternal Immortal Domains, he had obviously heard of him.
The Vile-Emperor Dynasty had seven celestials, and Bai Xiaochun had personally met five of them. Other than Gongsun Wan'er and Daoist Heavenspan, there were Celestial Virūpākṣa, Prince Ur-Demon, and Reverend Devourer.
According to the jade slip, with Gongsun Wan'er having departed, the spirit enhancement trade in the northern prefectures was temporarily suspended. The Grand Heavenmaster had responded cautiously to this development. Instead of going to try to handle it personally, he made contact with one of the demigods from the Vile-Emperor Dynasty and arranged for a message of good will to be sent to Celestial Deadfall, as well as some introductory gifts.
They were still waiting to hear back.
According to the Grand Heavenmaster's analysis, it was possible that Gongsun Wan'er's departure could actually be a good thing. Perhaps she could help to spread word of the spirit enhancement trade to the other immortal domains of the Vile-Emperor Dynasty, and increase the reputation of Mistysea Prefecture.
After finishing with the reports, Bai Xiaochun realized that there was no new information about Murknine County. Overall, the second immortal domain had been very peaceful and quiet. Apparently, the incident in Murknine County had been a coincidence.
But Bai Xiaochun still felt uneasy about it all. He knew that whatever entity had stretched its red-scaled hand out of the egg sac possessed power which could destroy the heavens and extinguish the earth, power that celestials couldn't defend against.
Although absorbing some of the thing's life force had obviously caused some problems for it, such problems could likely be resolved eventually. Muttering to himself, he rose to his feet with the intention of performing a quick inspection of Mistysea Prefecture.
However, that was when some divine sense from the Grand Heavenmaster shot over. Clearly, he was very anxious about something. Not wasting words, the Grand Heavenmaster said, "Exalted Celestial, I have important news!!
"Celestial Deadfall bears extreme animosity toward the people of Heavenspan! The demigod who helped me send him a message of good will was immediately imprisoned!
"And two hours ago, Celestial Deadfall issued orders that anyone from the Heavenspan Realm found in his territory was to be arrested! Most of the people who were arrested were employees of the stores we opened there!!
"Even worse is that, apparently, he is having them all sent further into the Vile-Emperor Dynasty to give as a tribute to the Vile-Prince, to aid in his research of the secrets of spirit enhancement!
"If my analysis is correct, there is more to the situation than that. We can probably expend a bit of wealth to resolve the situation, but you'll definitely need to take the lead."
Even as the Grand Heavenmaster's words echoed in Bai Xiaochun's ears via divine sense, the man was flying over to meet him in person. As for Bai Xiaochun, he looked in the direction of the north.
"Extortion?" After probing his own cultivation base, he sent some divine sense over to the incoming Grand Heavenmaster. "What's his cultivation base?"
"Early Celestial Realm," was the reply.
"You're sure about that?"
"Absolutely. I've already prepared the necessary gifts to give him. Exalted Celestial, you–"
However, before he could say anything else, Bai Xiaochun's eyes tightened into a glare.
"Gifts? Yeah right. This Celestial Deadfall is certainly full of himself, isn't he?!" Energy surging, he flew off toward the north!
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Chapter 1144: How Dare You Extort Me!
"Deadfall, you fool. You only have a trifling early Celestial Realm cultivation base, and yet you dare to cause problems for me?!" Snorting coldly, Bai Xiaochun shot northward in a beam of prismatic light.
Back in Mistysea City, the Grand Heavenmaster, the Giant Ghost King and Zhou Yixing emerged only in time to see him disappearing off into the distance. All of them exchanged awkward glances.
"Uh… was that our celestial…?" Zhou Yixing asked. "Bai Xiaochun?" He truly could not remember a time when he had seen Bai Xiaochun act in a domineering fashion like this.
The Giant Ghost King looked equally suspicious, and actually knew more about him than most. For example, back in the Ghost King Orchid incident, Bai Xiaochun had seemed like he would have done anything to avoid going to to the trial by fire. Back then, the Giant Ghost King had assumed Bai Xiaochun had been trying to fish for greater rewards before going. Only later did he realize that Bai Xiaochun was just simply petrified of death.
If there was even a hint of danger involved in some activity, he would refuse to participate. In most situations, he would only go into danger as a last resort.
In this situation, Celestial Deadfall's actions were a bit excessive, but it wasn't as if the situation couldn't be resolved. There wasn't necessarily a need to resort to violence. Therefore, the Giant Ghost King was truly confused about what was going on.
The Grand Heavenmaster was equally befuddled. The three of them exchanged another glance, and clearly, all of them felt that Bai Xiaochun was acting strange.
"Uh…." The Grand Heavenmaster was usually a quick thinker, but not even he was sure about what was happening. After a bit of time passed, the Giant Ghost King, who of course was Bai Xiaochun's father-in-law, and understood him the best, slapped his thigh.
"I know! Bai Xiaochun achieved a cultivation base breakthrough. His aura was much stronger than before. He must have acquired some sort of good fortune that he took advantage of in his latest session of meditation. The process of going from extreme obesity back to his normal self actually improved his cultivation base!"
Both Zhou Yixing and the Grand Heavenmaster seemed surprised by this, but after some thought, they realized that it explained everything.
"If that's true, then given Bai Xiaochun's personality…." Both Zhou Yixing and the Grand Heavenmaster weren't sure whether to laugh or cry.
Even as they sighed awkwardly, Bai Xiaochun was flying through the air feeling very pleased with himself. He accelerated with every moment that passed, surging with confidence, as well as the desire to do battle.
He had been waiting for this day for some time. Before, when he was in the early Celestial Realm, he had always been forced to slink around with his tail between his legs, and rely on the Greatsword of the North to make himself seem threatening.
But now that he had broken through to the mid Celestial Realm, he would still need to be cautious in general, but was not worried at all about someone in the early Celestial Realm. After all, with the Greatsword of the North on his side, it would be like a Foundation Establishment expert fighting a Qi Condensation cultivator.
From a distance, he looked like a shooting star piercing through the sky, causing rumbling sounds to fill heaven and earth.
The ground even quaked because of his passage, and sonic booms echoed out ceaselessly. Furthermore, his passage caused the clouds to seethe and wrap around him almost like a cloak!
It was a cloak that ran 5,000 kilometers from end to end and obscured the pre-evening light, creating something like a huge shadow.
Down below, the northern cultivators were all shocked by what they saw. Regardless of the level of their cultivation base, even experts in the great circle of the Demigod Realm all gasped and looked up.
"It's King Heavenspan!!"
"Heavens! What's happening? Don't tell me war is breaking out!!"
"It must be those orders from Celestial Deadfall to arrest all of the people of Heavenspan! King Heavenspan must be here with deadly intentions!"
As countless gasps could be heard down below, Bai Xiaochun accelerated, passing mountain ranges and plains until he was closing in on the largest city in this region!
Celestial Deadfall's official mansion was very different from Gongsun Wan'er's temporary palace of operations. It was an enormous statue of a fierce avian beast with wide-spread wings and glaring eyes. The creature's mouth was open, making it seem almost like it was letting out a heaven-shaking cry.
Different celestials had different blessed lands that they called their own, and when they were assigned to oversee a specific area, they would often move their blessed land to the new location by means of magical techniques.
Celestial Deadfall was currently seated cross-legged in his blessed land. He looked middle-aged, which meant that he looked younger than the average celestial. However, the Willpower fluctuations rolling off of him were by no means weak. Even though he was only in the early Celestial Realm, he was still an outstanding and powerful individual, roughly equivalent to Ghostmother.
He was skinny, with a long, hooked nose and very thin lips. He was clearly a harsh individual, his expression gloomy and cold. As soon as he sensed Bai Xiaochun arriving, his eyes snapped open, revealing bright blue eyes.
There was something about his blue eyes that made him seem particularly dashing, the type who would immediately attract the gazes of any females in the area.
"What's with the hysterics!?" he growled. Snorting coldly, he prepared to rise to his feet when, all of a sudden, a thunderous voice filled the air.
"Deadfall, you fool, how dare you try to extort me!" Bai Xiaochun was still a great distance away, but his voice still slammed into the enormous avian statue belonging to Celestial Deadfall.
At that point, Bai Xiaochun accelerated to a speed ten times greater than before!!
In the past, Bai Xiaochun had clearly been in the early Celestial Realm. But now, he went all out with his mid Celestial Realm cultivation base. It only took a short moment for him to be right there at Celestial Deadfall's blessed land. The instant he arrived, he reached out with his right hand and slapped the statue!
A huge boom echoed out, filling all the lands around it. Shockingly, many cultivators in the second immortal domain subconsciously reached out with their own right hands and mimicked Bai Xiaochun's movement!
This was none other than… Willpower magic!
Bai Xiaochun might not seem like much when he chose to hold back. But now that he was making a move, he immediately used his Willpower. As a result, an enormous hand appeared in the sky, which rumbled toward the statue and immediately crushed all of its powerful defensive magics and other protections, causing it to start to fall to pieces.
Shock gripped the mind of Celestial Deadfall, who let out an angry shout as he unleashed the power of his early Celestial Realm cultivation base. When Bai Xiaochun saw that he was preparing to fight back, he snorted coldly. There was no way he was going to give the man a chance to start a true fight. He would crush him right from the beginning!
Just as Celestial Deadfall prepared to shoot out from the crumbling statue, Bai Xiaochun waved his hand, producing the Greatsword of the North. Blue light shone off of it in scintillating fashion, along with the powerful ripples of a world treasure. Not hesitating for a moment, he slashed the sword at the statue!
"Deadfall, ya punk, you've got real guts to go and provoke me!" Bai Xiaochun was particularly proud of these words, and felt them to be quite impressive. Meanwhile, the huge sword was now descending onto the statue.
The statue, which had been in the middle of crumbling, suddenly exploded, sending fragments and rubble out in all directions to reveal the shocked Celestial Deadfall, right in the middle of it all.
His hair was disheveled, and blood oozed out of the corners of his mouth. His hands were splayed out in front of him, and he thrummed with the Willpower he had just used to defend himself. The expression of shock on his face was almost impossible to describe.
"Mid Celestial Realm?! How is this possible?!?!?!"
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Chapter 1145: Difficult To Deal With
"Do you know what you've done wrong, Deadfall?!" Bai Xiaochun said, his voice echoing like heavenly thunder as he hovered there in midair, energy surging in dramatic fashion.
Celestial Deadfall's blessed land was located in the exact center of the capital city of this prefecture, and Bai Xiaochun had controlled his attack perfectly, limiting its destructive effects to the statue itself. None of the rest of the city was affected. Of course, all of the numerous cultivators from the Vile-Emperor Dynasty who occupied the area were looking over in utter shock.
Bai Xiaochun was of the impression that he must look quite awe-inspiring. However, Celestial Deadfall was extremely enraged, and with a howl, prepared to attempt to slip free from the power of the Greatsword of the North.
Bai Xiaochun snorted. Performing an incantation gesture with his right hand, he tripled the might of the Greatsword of the North. As he did, the 300-meter-long sword slowly began to inch down toward Celestial Deadfall's head.
As a result of this process, the lands quaked, and Celestial Deadfall struggled mightily. He looked like his body might collapse at any moment; blood sprayed out of his mouth constantly, and crevices snaked out in the ground around his feet, which seemed just on the verge of crumbling into a crater.
The pressure from the greatsword was so intense that he wasn't sure he could handle it. And he could tell that the slightest misstep on his part would lead to the sword cleaving him in two!
Being in the mid Celestial Realm, Bai Xiaochun could actually handle Celestial Deadfall on his own. And yet, he was using the Greatsword of the North. Therefore, he wasn't just handling him… he was crushing him!
"I'll ask you one more time, Deadfall," he said, his voice as cold as ice, as were his gleaming eyes. "Do you know what you've done wrong?!"
"I refuse to believe that you would ever dare to kill me, Bai Xiaochun!!" Celestial Deadfall shouted, his face crimson with rage. It wasn't that he didn't want to make his escape. The truth was that the one fist strike backed with some Willpower had been enough to both destroy his blessed land, and also seal him tight. The only way he would possibly be able to get out of this situation was if his cultivation base were higher.
And yet, he refused to back down. He really didn't believe that Bai Xiaochun would kill him. Not only would Celestial Deadfall be resurrected if that happened, but the tensions and friction between the Vile-Emperor Dynasty and Saint-Emperor Dynasty would be affected. Even the most unreasonable person would have to take that into consideration.
"I wouldn't dare?" Bai Xiaochun said. Suddenly, he chuckled coldly. "I guess you've forgotten who I am. Screw it, let's see if I would dare to kill you!"
His aura surged as he performed a double-handed incantation gesture and then waved his finger at the Greatsword of the North, his killing intent boiling.
In response, the Greatsword of the North began to vibrate, bolstered by Bai Xiaochun's cultivation base to release a powerful sword qi that was clearly enough to slaughter anyone in the early Celestial Realm.
Celestial Deadfall began to shiver. He had already been pushed to his limit, so when this sword qi appeared, his five yin organs and six yang organs trembled painfully. Blood sprayed out of his mouth as the Greatsword of the North which hung above him increased in size to 3,000 meters, and began to radiate the might of the world itself. Then, it started to chop down toward him!
Considering the speed with which it moved, this was clearly intended to be a fatal blow!
"Bai Xiaochun, you…." Even as he spoke, a halo of seven-colored light spread out from him, which transformed into a seven-colored dragon that rushed, howling, toward the greatsword. At the same time, a host of magical items flew out of Celestial Deadfall's bag of holding, creating a powerful defensive barrier.
And things weren't over yet! He even used a trump card; blue veins bulged out on his face and neck as an enormous black bull materialized behind him.
Radiating shocking devil qi, the bull bellowed and slammed its head into the sword.
This was Celestial Deadfall's life-saving divine ability, Devil-Bull Shakes the Heavens!
Although this trump card was easy to describe, it was very difficult to employ, and was severely draining. Even though he was in the early Celestial Realm, it was almost too much for Celestial Deadfall to take, much less considering that his Willpower magic and cultivation base were restricted. However, there wasn't time to worry about those things; he had to go all out with everything he had at his disposal.
Rumbling sounds filled heaven and earth as the breathless audience looked on. First, the seven-colored dragon slammed into the greatsword, only to be slashed to pieces instantly. Then came the magical items, which were equally as useless!
A series of booms rang out as the Greatsword of the North destroyed everything in its path, and then prepared to meet the black devil-bull!
At that point, the sword paused for the briefest of moments. Then, Bai Xiaochun snorted and sent more cultivation base power out, causing the sword to slice completely through the devil-bull, and continue toward Celestial Deadfall!
The gap between these two celestials was just too vast. No matter what Celestial Deadfall did to resist the battle prowess being used against him, he was like a mantis trying to stop a war chariot. Popping sounds rang out as any magical items he threw out were destroyed, and any divine abilities he unleashed were shattered. As he looked up at the Greatsword of the North, his heart finally began to pound with shock.
"Dammit! He's from the Heavenspan Realm, not the Saint-Emperor Dynasty!! He's gonna kill me! He's really gonna kill me! He actually wants the Vile-Emperor Dynasty and the Saint-Emperor Dynasty to go to war!!" All of a sudden, Celestial Deadfall felt a sense of impending crisis. He knew the Vile-Emperor could resurrect him with his Daoseed if he died, but at the same time, he was well aware that such a thing would result in a permanent drop in battle prowess.
It would also affect his future cultivation in a majorly negative way. Therefore, if he had any other option than dying, he would pick it!
When he realized how much of a lunatic Bai Xiaochun was, fear began to grip his heart, and he suddenly regretted his attempt to extort him.
As he raced to come up with a solution, the greatsword got closer and closer, and the sensation of imminent fatal crisis grew stronger. A long line of blood even appeared on his forehead, as though he might be cut in two!
Gritting his teeth, he finally said, "Just take your people with you and go, Bai Xiaochun!!"
Although it was not a direct admission of guilt, in some ways, it was.
But that was not what Bai Xiaochun was looking for. He had come here to put on a display of might, and make sure that everyone knew two things: first, he was no longer in the early Celestial Realm, and second, that if someone offended him deeply enough, he was the type of crazy person who would kill them because of it.
On the other hand, he was also aware that he shouldn't actually cut down a celestial unless it was absolutely necessary. If he did something that drastic, the Saint-Emperor would surely step in and seize Mistysea Prefecture as punishment, or at least take control of it. Bai Xiaochun didn't want to give him that chance. And yet, he also didn't want to let Celestial Deadfall off scot-free.
Therefore, despite the words of concession he had uttered, Bai Xiaochun's eyes merely flickered, and his murderous aura flared as he pushed the sword downward!
"Maybe I can't kill you," he thought, "but I can scare you half to death!" Bai Xiaochun's facial expression, his actions, and his killing intent, all seemed completely and utterly realistic, to the point where Celestial Deadfall's heart started pounding even harder.
"Dammit. Dammit! I already agreed to let them go!!" He had his cultivation base rotating at full power, but the rift on his head only continued to grow wider and longer. Knowing that his body was about to be destroyed, he gritted his teeth.
"I… I know what I did wrong!!" Despite the words that came out of his mouth, Bai Xiaochun's eyes remained as cold as ever, and his sword didn't change direction or momentum. Celestial Deadfall's head began to split open, provoking a scream of pain and frustration.
"There's no grudge between us, Bai Xiaochun!" By this point, he was absolutely convinced that Bai Xiaochun was a lunatic, and that there was no hope of escaping his situation.
However, in that very moment of despair, Bai Xiaochun twisted the Greatsword of the North to the side. Instead of slicing Celestial Deadfall's head in half, it chopped down toward his right shoulder, cutting his arm off!
Blood sprayed everywhere as Celestial Deadfall let out a muffled grunt. The blast of energy sent him tumbling backward, blood spraying everywhere. When he came to a stop, he looked up at Bai Xiaochun, resentment flickering in his eyes, but more so, relief at having survived. And then he saw the murderous look that still existed in Bai Xiaochun's eyes, and his heart pounded even harder.
"Lucky for you I changed my mind," Bai Xiaochun growled. "Now get the hell out of here while you can. If you want a second round, come find me in Mistysea Prefecture. I'll be waiting!" Waving his finger, he caused the Greatsword of the North to shrink back down and fly toward him. When he grabbed it by the hilt, the tip vibrated and released an intense humming sound.
Celestial Deadfall sighed inwardly at how unlucky he had been. No one would ever want to provoke a psycho like this. It wasn't worth it. Now, he was in very bad shape, and had lost a lot of face. The only way he could comfort himself was to remind himself that his opponent was in the mid Celestial Realm. Without another word, he grabbed his severed arm, turned, and became a bright beam of light that shot off into the distance.
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Chapter 1146: Kill You? Exactly!
Bai Xiaochun stood there proudly, hands clasped behind his back as he watched Celestial Deadfall fleeing off into the distance. Then he looked down at the lands below, and mused that he was now the number one figure in the north. In fact, all of the cultivators from the Vile-Emperor Dynasty were bowing their heads and clasping hands to him in formal fashion.
Bai Xiaochun might not be from the Vile-Emperor Dynasty himself, but in the Eternal Immortal Domains, respect was given to the powerful. It was something that happened on an instinctual level.
Bai Xiaochun didn't need to say a single word; the local cultivators immediately released all of the people of Heavenspan who had been apprehended, whom he took with him back to Mistysea Prefecture. Meanwhile, news of the fight between him and Celestial Deadfall was spreading through the north. Before long, information began to filter back to the Grand Heavenmaster through his spies.
The Grand Heavenmaster could do little more than smile wryly at how Bai Xiaochun had handled things. However, after thinking the matter through, he realized that there could be some benefit to how he had done things. At the least, people would be impressed.
Although he hadn't handled everything perfectly, there were certainly some unsavory characters who would be cowed by his display. Furthermore, as word spread, it would make Mistysea Prefecture a more desirable destination for the people of Heavenspan who lived in other parts of the lands.
The issue with Celestial Deadfall had been resolved, and nothing else had come of the situation with Murknine County. Bai Xiaochun was still suspicious about the latter, but neither the Vile-Emperor nor the Saint-Emperor had done anything further about it. In the end, Bai Xiaochun couldn't help but suspect that the two of them had expected something like that to happen.
Unfortunately, he still had no clues or ideas to pursue. Perhaps Gongsun Wan'er might have learned more about it in recent days, but she wasn't in the second immortal domain anymore. Bai Xiaochun could only bury his suspicions in his heart.
"I'm in the mid Celestial Realm. I wonder if I should challenge the fifty-first level now. Based on my calculations, the spirit automaton is probably asleep." After a bit more consideration, he made his decision, and headed to the damaged fan to challenge new levels.
Time flew by. Another two months passed.
During that time, Bai Xiaochun would occasionally return to the second immortal domain between levels, but spent most of his time on the fan. In one big spurt of energy, he went from the fifty-first level to the fifty-eighth!
He was moving even faster than he had in the past, which made sense, considering that his battle prowess had improved significantly. Furthermore, he had long since grown used to the process of challenging the levels.
At the same time, he was being very cautious. Based on how much time had passed, he was fairly certain that the spirit automaton would be waking up soon. Therefore, after finishing the fifty-eighth level, he decided to take a short break.
As it turned out, his suspicions and calculations had been spot on. Only a few days after he left the fan, the spirit automaton woke up. When he found that Bai Xiaochun was nowhere to be seen, his anger flared, and yet, there was nothing he could do. Assuming that Bai Xiaochun had just gotten lucky, he waited around for quite some time before going back to sleep again.
And thus, something of a cycle began in which Bai Xiaochun would calculate when the spirit automaton would be awake, and would make sure to never be there during that time. And that was how he got from the fifty-ninth level… all the way to the sixty-seventh level.
"Hmmmphh! When Bai Xiaochun wants to challenge some levels, there's no way some spirit automaton can stop him!" Twice in a row, the spirit automaton woke up to find that Bai Xiaochun wasn't on the fan, and yet, had made significant progress. At that point, his eyes turned crimson, and he used some unknown but significantly costly method to force himself to stay awake for longer.
"I refuse to believe that I'll miss the shameless Bai Xiaochun this time!" He sat there in torment, waiting, for an entire month. At that point, Bai Xiaochun finally returned to the fan.
"The spirit automaton should be asleep again," he thought. Looking around briefly, he blurred into motion toward the sixty-ninth level. Before entering, he looked around one last time.
Inside, and before he even had a chance to see the level clearly, he suddenly felt a wave of killing intent that vastly surpassed anything from any of the previous levels. It was almost like a windstorm that sprang into being before Bai Xiaochun even fully materialized.
He gasped at the sudden sensation of deadly crisis. However, there was no time for thought or planning. Drawing on 120 percent of his cultivation base and fleshly body power, he moved backward in a 9-meter teleportation!
In that exact same moment, waves of pain ripped through him, as something like countless sharp blades slashed at him, reducing much of his skin to ribbons of bleeding flesh. And that was after he had completed the teleportation backward!
The spot he had just occupied collapsed into nothing. As for the so-called blades, they were actually numerous tree leaves, each of which radiated battle prowess equivalent to a celestial. There were thousands of them, whipping about like a cyclone.
Both shivering and howling at the same time, Bai Xiaochun continued to back up, convinced he had fallen into a trap. Obviously, this level was heaven-defyingly difficult.
"It's you isn't it, damned spirit automaton!?" He immediately tried to leave the level, but found that he couldn't leave via teleportation. That seemed to confirm his suspicion.
Ignoring the pain which still coursed through him, he flew backward as his Undying Live Forever Technique healed him. Meanwhile, the thousands of leaves were now shooting in his direction.
And yet, things weren't over. Suddenly, another cyclone of tree leaves appeared behind him, radiating infinite killing intent as they headed toward him. Further off in the distance… was a third, a fourth, a fifth… all the way to a ninth cyclone of leaves! He was now completely surrounded, and seemingly bereft of any hope.
The source of the leaf cyclones was an enormous tree even further off in the distance. It seemed high enough to prop up the heavens, and was immeasurably thick.
That tree was the only thing that existed in the sixty-ninth level, and would not ordinarily be this terrifying. But with the spirit automaton in control, the tree was withered almost to the point of death to fuel so many leaf cyclones.
It might be possible for Bai Xiaochun to fell the tree with a single fist strike, but right now, he was facing such a deadly attack that not even being in the great circle of the Celestial Realm would have been enough to stand up to it!
Only an archaean emperor would be powerful enough!
"Dammit! Is he trying to kill me?!" As he looked around anxiously, the spirit automaton stood atop the huge tree, fused with it on a mental level as he controlled it. By now, Bai Xiaochun's level of control over the damaged fan had increased to the point where he would normally be able to see the spirit automaton. However, because of the way the spirit automaton was fused with the tree, he was not visible.
"Kill you? Exactly!" The spirit automaton stared angrily at Bai Xiaochun, absolutely sure that it didn't matter that Bai Xiaochun had achieved a cultivation base breakthrough, or that he had gained some enlightenment of the Dao of Time. The spirit automaton had devolved into such a level of madness that he was willing to pay any price, even make the later levels easier, if only it meant he could push this celestial into a position of true hopelessness!
"I refuse to believe that you'll pass this level. If you do, then fudge, I'll definitely change my surname to match yours!" Chuckling coldly, he stood there with hands clasped behind his back, completely proud and confident.
Bai Xiaochun had no attention to spare to try to figure out where the spirit automaton was within the level. He could only look at the surrounding leaves, which came closer with each moment that passed.
The leaves were inherently terrifying, much less the fact that there were more than 100,000 of them, all of which contained the attack power of a celestial.
Suddenly, his eyes went red, and he shouted, "You're forcing me to do this, spirit automaton!"
Howling, performed an incantation gesture, sending out a stream of black light, which became….
A big wok!
It was none other than his invincible… turtle-wok!!
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Chapter 1147: Despicable, Shameless, Incorrigible
Even now, Bai Xiaochun wasn't sure exactly where the turtle-wok came from. He only had some guesses, and no real proof.
However, there was one thing he was certain of, and that was that from the moment he had acquired the wok from the Ovens, he had never encountered anything as sturdy.
No divine ability, no magical technique, no level of fleshly body power, no magical items could destroy it. Of that much he was convinced.
In the face of the seemingly endless tide of deadly leaves, Bai Xiaochun's heart pounded with fear, and yet, not despair. Howling, he produced his turtle-wok, and then dropped to the ground with the wok on top of him.
"It's a good thing I'm skinny again, otherwise I would be in quite a pickle." As he sighed and settled down under the wok, the spirit automaton stood on the tree, watching. When he saw what was happening, his initial reaction was that of shock, but then he started howling with laughter.
"Has this shameless Bai Xiaochun suddenly been struck stupid?" he said, his eyes shining with a gleam of ridicule. "Does he think a wok like that can block 100,000 of these leaves!? Soon, it will be to his despair that he finds I paid the ultimate price to make sure this level has been replaced with nothing but despair! He will never, ever be able to pass it!"
However, almost as soon as that gleam of ridicule appeared, and at the same time as Bai Xiaochun plopped onto the ground, the countless early Celestial Realm-level leaves slammed into the turtle wok. And then, the spirit automaton's eyes bulged.
"Impossible!!" he gasped, shivering in incredulity.
The scene playing out was so shocking that it seemed to defy all imagination. Not a single leaf could affect the wok, and in fact, the backlash attack caused them to shatter and crumble.
It was as if the leaves were arrows made of glass, and the turtle-wok was a boulder. No matter how many times the wok was hit, it wasn't hurt.
At this point, the spirit automaton's confidence was in almost complete shambles.
"Impossible. How could this be happening…? Dammit, dammit, DAMMIT!!
"This guy is a shameless cheater! This Bai Xiaochun, h-h-he…. Don't tell me I really am powerless to do anything to him!?" The spirit automaton only continued to edge closer to madness.
"First, he stole power away from me, then he drove away all the other challengers. He nearly destroyed the entire world of the Dark Concocters, and behaved even more shamelessly with the Succubi. And now… he has a precious treasure that can do this?! Dammit!! What kind of wok is that?!?!"
Although nothing seemed to be happening to the wok, underneath, Bai Xiaochun was still coughing up blood. The wok couldn't be hurt by any sort of divine ability, but the vibrations caused by all the blows caused Bai Xiaochun's five yin organs and six yang organs to tremble painfully.
If he weren't in the mid Celestial Realm, with an exceptionally powerful fleshly body and heaven-defying powers of regeneration, then he would probably have been reduced to a pile of bloody gore even before all of the leaves finished striking the wok.
And even with his current level, it was still incredibly difficult to deal with. He continued to cough up blood, and his eyes were completely bloodshot. As for his powers of regeneration, they were working at their limit. Every breath of time seemed to stretch into an entire year for him.
"You just wait, spirit automaton! One of these days, I'll make sure you know exactly how awesome Lord Bai is!" As pain stabbed through his body, he cursed and gnashed his teeth at the spirit automaton.
And thus, both Bai Xiaochun and the spirit automaton went about cursing each other, separated only by the wok and the shattering leaves.
Bai Xiaochun wasn't sure how much time had gone by, but eventually, he recovered fully. And it seemed as though the attacking tree leaves were now completely gone.
After double-checking to make sure things were calm, Bai Xiaochun took a deep breath and slowly tipped up the edge of the turtle-wok. Confirming that the coast was clear, he rose to his feet.
Surrounding him was a powder that was all that remained of the countless leaves, dry and withered, almost dust-like. When he looked up, the entire world had that same withered sensation.
It was as if it had existed for just a bit too long, and was now crumbling away. Sighing, Bai Xiaochun put his turtle-wok away, stuck his chin up and loudly said, "Can you really handle me, you little rascal?!"
He knew that the spirit automaton was surely in the area to hear him, and even sent some divine sense out in the hopes of catching sight of him.
As expected, a roar of rage echoed out from the huge tree, whereupon a face materialized on its surface!
Its eyes glared with rage at Bai Xiaochun, filled with bone-deep hatred, madness, and defiance. It was as if this face wished to eat Bai Xiaochun alive.
"You're shameless! A cheater!!" It was none other than the face of the spirit automaton. Unable to appear physically in front of Bai Xiaochun at the moment, he chose this method to reveal himself.
He hadn't originally intended to show himself, but in his horrific despair, and having been completely infuriated by Bai Xiaochun, he lost control to a certain degree.
Startled, Bai Xiaochun backed up a bit as the enormous tree lurched forward as if it were about to attack him.
At the moment, though, he still wasn't completely certain that the face of the tree belonged to the spirit automaton.
"I guess there's one way to find out." Ignoring the raging tree, he cleared his throat, approached, and began to walk around it and examine it from different angles. As for the face, it moved across the surface of the tree to maintain its glaring stare.
After a moment, Bai Xiaochun blinked a few times, and then asked, "Hey, what did you say just now?"
Fury burning, the spirit automaton said, "I said you're a cheater, and that you're shameless. Complete scum!!"
"Cheater? All I did was put a wok on top of me to defend myself. Let me tell you a secret. The reason I have so much control over this damaged fan is that I'm here by myself, with no one to compete with me. Now that is cheating." Chuckling at his intentional attempt to provoke the spirit automaton, he looked over at the face on the tree.
As soon as the words left his mouth, the face seemed like it might collapse.
"You have the nerve to say it openly? Y-y-you… you actually admitted it?! What cheek! A despicable cheater. That's what you are! I hereby swear an oath that I'll never let you succeed!!" It wasn't that the spirit automaton hadn't ever encountered shameless people before. But none of them could possibly compare to Bai Xiaochun.
The spirit automaton's outburst had confirmed to Bai Xiaochun who he was. "Fudge, it is you!"
Glaring, he lunged forward, pulled out the Greatsword of the North and slashed it toward the tree.
A huge boom echoed out, accompanied by cursing and swearing from the spirit automaton.
"You just wait, Bai Xiaochun!! Dammit, I'm gonna kill you! Shameless. Despicable. Incorrigible!!"
The spirit automaton was coming to find that he didn't seem to have much to say, only those few words that he repeated. Either way, Bai Xiaochun was starting to get a bit angry. Furthermore, he had just undergone quite a painful torment because of those leaves. Therefore, he didn't hesitate to slash his Greatsword of the North into the thing, reducing it, as well as the spirit automaton's face, into countless splinters of wood.
At that point, he could sense the spirit automaton's aura leave the tree, whereupon he stood there proudly.
"You'd better be careful, you little rascal. You just wait until I'm your master, and then see how I put you in your place!"
Up in the air, the completely maddened spirit automaton heard that, and nearly coughed up a mouthful of blood. "You just wait! Next time, I'll definitely, definitely destroy you! I swear it!!"
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Chapter 1148: Drastic Upheaval
After the spirit automaton left, the level faded away, and Bai Xiaochun snorted coldly as he was teleported back out onto the damaged fan.
"That spirit automaton has gone for too long without someone in charge of him. How rude! Seems I'll have to discipline him a bit more in the future." The more he thought about that analysis, the more correct it seemed. Furthermore, now that he knew the spirit automaton was currently awake, it didn't seem like a good idea to challenge any more levels.
"I'll wait another month. He'll be asleep by then, and I can go back in." Having reached this point in his train of thought, he looked around one last time before heading back to Mistysea Prefecture.
By now, nearly a year had passed since the incident in Murknine County. Mistysea Prefecture advanced on a daily basis, becoming more and more of a bustling place as increasing numbers of Heavenspan cultivators found their way there.
Both the Grand Heavenmaster and the Giant Ghost King were proud and excited by how things were taking shape, as was Bai Xiaochun.
Considering he was taking a break from challenging the levels in the damaged fan, he spent most of his time working with the Grand Heavenmaster and Giant Ghost King to manage affairs in the prefecture. Soon, a month had gone by.
Just when Bai Xiaochun was thinking about going back to the fan, something dramatic occurred!
Overnight, spiderweb appeared in the four northern prefectures controlled by the Vile-Emperor Dynasty. It was just like what had happened back in Murknine County. The difference was that last time, only a single county had been affected, but this time… sixteen entire counties in the northern four prefectures were covered so quickly no one had a chance to react!
No one managed to flee the affected areas, nor send messages of warning. Overnight, the northern four prefectures became a land of death!
Because of how quickly it happened, and because Celestial Deadfall was gone, leaving no other celestial behind to watch over the area, it all happened literally overnight!
What made Bai Xiaochun shiver with fear the most was that, even though he was so close in Mistysea Prefecture, and had acute celestial senses, he hadn't been able to detect anything happening!
Only after the spiderwebs had appeared in full did he suddenly realize that all heaven and earth was filled with something like a sensation of rot, something that could absorb life force… some familiar, evil aura!!
It was the very same aura he had personally encountered back in Murknine County!
And yet, the crisis continued to build. Apparently, those four northern prefectures were not the limit. Almost as soon as Bai Xiaochun detected the aura… he realized that spiderweb had already appeared in places in Mistysea Prefecture!!
Shaken, he immediately dispelled any thoughts of going to the damaged fan, and instead rushed toward the border. Meanwhile, the Grand Heavenmaster and Giant Ghost King were already getting information about what was happening, and they were both stunned.
Word quickly began to spread through the second immortal domain, leading to widespread astonishment. There were many people who didn't even dare to believe it was true.
After all… it was a matter involving four entire prefectures!
There was no celestial in those four prefectures, but there were dozens of demigod experts, and hundreds of devas, not to mention the countless other cultivators of lower levels. Collectively, they made up nearly a third of the entire second immortal domain.
For so many cultivators, and so many powerful experts, to suddenly vanish overnight, without a single one being able to escape or send news, was a terrifying event that struck fear into the hearts of everyone in the second immortal domain.
Events continued as the spiderweb expanded. It was around evening by the time Bai Xiaochun reached the border. The spiderweb was visibly expanding, building up in various areas in Mistysea Prefecture.
The Grand Heavenmaster, the Giant Ghost King, and Zhou Yixing all looked around in despair, and yet, Bai Xiaochun was actually more nervous than they were. He had personally witnessed what went down in Murknine County, and as he closed his eyes and thought back to all of that, it only served to reinforce how he couldn't let it happen in Mistysea Prefecture.
"Dammit!! What are the Saint-Emperor and Vile-Emperor up to?!?!" Bai Xiaochun couldn't keep breathing calmly as the spiderweb expanded at rapid speed, and was in such a state of helplessness that his face was pale white.
Even though he was in the mid Celestial Realm, and also had the Greatsword of the North, whatever had come out of that egg sack could destroy all of Murknine County with a single palm strike. From what Bai Xiaochun could tell, only an archaean could deal with that level of power.
Bai Xiaochun could already surmise that there was no life left in the northern four prefectures. Eyes bloodshot, he set about trying to set up a spell formation to prevent the spiderweb from expanding.
Unfortunately, even if his spell formation had been stronger, it would still have crumbled in the face of the spiderweb. It already covered a large portion of Mistysea Prefecture, causing the land to turn gray, the mountains to crumble, the rivers to dry up, and the vegetation to wither away. Everything was wasting away into dust.
"Xiaochun, we have to take our people and go. That's our only option!!" The Grand Heavenmaster had poured blood, sweat, and tears into the development of Mistysea Prefecture, so it caused his heart to drip blood to utter words like this.
Gritting his teeth, the Giant Ghost King added, "Xiaochun, the Grand Heavenmaster is right. Leaving is the only option. Neither the Vile-Emperor nor the Saint-Emperor will do anything right now. To them, it would be worth it to have this spiderweb erase us from Mistysea Prefecture!"
Even Zhou Yixing offered similar bitter words of advice.
Somewhat in a daze, Bai Xiaochun looked around at Mistysea Prefecture. Everything was happening too quickly. Never could he have imagined that the land that, over the past few years, had been slowly transformed into a foundation for his people, would change almost overnight.
He even sent some divine sense out to check on the cultivators in the prefecture, and found that some of them had blank expressions, and seemed on the verge of ravenously devouring everything around them. Eyes bloodshot, he closed his eyes and said, "Fine. We leave."
His voice was filled with pain and helplessness. No one wanted to leave, not any more than they had desired to leave the Heavenspan Realm.
Mistysea Prefecture had become their new home, but now… in the face of certain peril, they had no other choice.
His heart twinged with pain, but he knew that he was powerless to reverse the situation. Gritting his teeth, he took out the Greatsword of the North, and then used the power of his mid Celestial Realm cultivation base to send the cultivators from Mistysea Prefecture inside of it.
The truth was that the people were the foundation of Mistysea Prefecture, and therefore, no matter where they went, it wouldn't be long before they could create a second Mistysea Prefecture!
The Grand Heavenmaster, the Giant Ghost King, Zhou Yixing and other powerful experts forced themselves to keep a good attitude as they issued orders. Although Mistysea Prefecture was large, the Grand Heavenmaster had organized it well, and hadn't slacked off in any regard. Therefore, as the spiderweb kept expanding, and Bai Xiaochun worked as hard as he could, virtually all of the people in the prefecture were sent into the greatsword.
Soon, the Greatsword of the North was nearly full to capacity. Meanwhile, Bai Xiaochun hovered there in the air, watching the spiderwebs continue to fill the prefecture….
All of the buildings and structures, even Bai Xiaochun's mansion, were slowly swallowed up.
And of course, things didn't stop there. After finishing with Mistysea Prefecture, the spiderweb began to expand further south into the second immortal domain. And for some unknown reason, it began to move more quickly through the other prefectures.
Bai Xiaochun had no choice but to retreat in the face of the spiderweb. The entire time, his face was grim and his eyes sharp. He was simply waiting to see what would happen. From what he could tell, it was definitely a case of the Saint-Emperor and the Vile-Emperor holding back for some specific purpose.
Whatever it was, the loss of an entire immortal domain did not seem like a price either would be willing to pay.
"They have to come!" he thought, clenching his hands into fists. Expression flickering, he realized that Celestial Aged Spirit had appeared some distance off, his expression one of undisguised grimness and anger.
Upon nearing, he looked at Bai Xiaochun and said, "The emperors really are cruel, aren't they!?"
By now, his own prefecture was filled with cries of shock as the spiderweb spread through it. Many cultivators attempted to flee, but weren't fast enough.
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Bai Xiaochun hovered there quietly with Celestial Aged Spirit.
Aged Spirit knew that help would come eventually. After all, he understood a bit more about the situation than Bai Xiaochun. But at the same time, he knew that his cultivation base was not high enough to do anything about the catastrophe that was already playing out, other than save those of his people who he already had.
Eventually, Bai Xiaochun couldn't even see the end of the spiderwebs. Everything was covered with the stuff, which emanated an aura of rot that wanted to take away all life force that it touched.
By this point, the spiderweb covered about half of the second immortal domain, and was moving with a speed that only celestials could evade.
Mixed emotions could be seen in Celestial Aged Spirit's face, especially defiance. To him, the second immortal domain was home, and now, he was being forced to watch it slowly being destroyed.
"King Heavenspan, the incident in Murknine County that you reported to me was something both the Saint-Emperor and the Vile-Emperor had predicted would happen. As for the current situation, they have been secretly pulling strings to make it play out exactly like this!
"That is why your report to the Saint-Emperor went completely unanswered, and also why he prevented the news from spreading. After all, you are not a celestial of the Saint-Emperor Dynasty, and therefore, and are not as in the know as the rest of us!
"Within that enormous egg sac is… the clone of a sovereign!!"
When Bai Xiaochun heard that, he turned to look at Celestial Aged Spirit, eyes flashing. "Sovereign?"
At this point, Celestial Aged Spirit looked up into the sky that hung above the Eternal Immortal Domains, and the enormous giant that filled most of it!
"Back when the damaged fan came, it hit that enormous sovereign's hand and knocked off a chunk of black stone. Remember how both emperors went missing after that incident? It was because they were fighting over that stone!
"Hmph. To an archaean, a chunk of the skin of a sovereign would be extremely valuable. It could very well hold secrets regarding the way to break through to the Sovereign Realm. Even the vaguest of clues would still be indescribably precious, and could drive an archaean to madness!
"Despite how cautious the two archaeans were in their struggles over the chunk of skin, it managed to escape. Afterward, the two vicious archaeans realized that unless that chunk of skin grew to maturity, the secrets of the Sovereign Realm within it would not be unlocked!
"They knew that, eventually, it would reach the point where it would begin to devour life force. And thus, they knew that the incident in Murknine County was that very chunk of skin trying to grow.
"Neither of them were happy with the level of growth it achieved, though, and thus left it to its own designs. They wanted it to grow into a true sovereign clone. In fact… they decided to allow the second immortal domain to become food for it!
"They're simply waiting. When the sovereign clone stops growing… that's when they'll finally show up!" In his fury, Celestial Aged Spirit didn't hold anything back, and revealed everything he knew to Bai Xiaochun.
As Bai Xiaochun heard the story being told, he began to breathe heavily, and his heart sank. His eyes also began to glow with intense cold light.
To be plotted against and abandoned in the end made him feel much the same as when he had been dealing with Daoist Heavenspan.
"Letting that clone consume so much life from an immortal domain is nothing less than the Saint-Emperor and the Vile-Emperor playing with fire!" Although he had already had speculations that something like this was happening, to hear it right out of Celestial Aged Spirit's mouth caused Bai Xiaochun's heart to grow icier with every moment that passed.
Although he wasn't the overly compassionate type, to hear that so many lives were being sacrificed was something he just couldn't take. Even if it was all for the sake of pushing someone into the sovereign realm to fight back against the Enemy from Beyond, it was still too much for him.
Bai Xiaochun felt profoundly unsettled, and Celestial Aged Spirit's anger continued to build. Meanwhile, the spiderweb expanded and expanded. It was at around this time that a 3,000-meter-long lightning bolt appeared in the sky, rushing toward them at top speed.
The sky seemed to rip apart from the shocking sound of the thunder that accompanied it, and even the spiderweb stopped moving for a moment.
Bai Xiaochun and Celestial Aged Spirit looked up at the lightning bolt to see the Saint-Emperor, his eyes shining with dazzling, holy light.
Next to him was the cold and ruthless Gu Tianjun, and Sima Yunhua, with a soft, gentle smile on his face. And finally, there was the white-haired but sharp-eyed Chen Su.
With Celestial Aged Spirit, four celestials from the Saint-Emperor Dynasty were present!
A flicker of excitement could be seen in the Saint-Emperor's eyes that he just couldn't conceal. Completely ignoring Bai Xiaochun and Celestial Aged Spirit, he blurred into motion toward the spiderweb and began to inspect it more closely. Sima Yunhua and the other celestials headed over to Celestial Aged Spirit to offer greetings, and despite how much they disliked Bai Xiaochun, gave him polite nods.
Before anyone could say anything, an intense rumbling sound filled the sky as a black cloud spread out, quickly settling into the form of a huge statue.
Towering devil qi surged out from the statue, causing everything to rumble as eight individuals took form!
One of them wore imperial robes, and an imperial crown. He was middle-aged, the type who looked threatening without being angry. His eyes were especially noteworthy; they seemed to contain the transformations of all heaven and earth, and when he looked at Bai Xiaochun and the other celestials, they couldn't help but gasp a bit.
Although Bai Xiaochun had never seen him up close before, he immediately knew that this man was none other than… the Vile-Emperor!
His imperial garb and archaean aura made him seem like a burning sun hanging in the sky. He actually looked very similar to the Saint-Emperor, just colder and more callous, so much so that it seemed as if he could cause frost to build up everywhere around him. There was also something a bit more domineering about him than the Saint-Emperor.
If you looked closely, you could see that his pupils consisted of two pitch-black swords.
He had not come alone any more than the Saint-Emperor had. Behind him hovered seven individuals, some men, some women, but all of them… celestials of the Vile-Emperor Dynasty!
Gongsun Wan'er. Reverend Devourer. Prince Ur-Demon. Celestial Virūpākṣa. Celestial Deadfall. They were all there. There was also a stooped old woman with brown age-spots on her face. However, all of those people faded into a blur to Bai Xiaochun as he focused on one particular middle-aged man in a black robe!
He clearly emanated the fluctuations of a celestial, and seemed impressive in a way that was second only to the Vile-Emperor. As soon as Bai Xiaochun saw him, the man saw Bai Xiaochun. They were only about 600 meters away, after all.
"Daoist Heavenspan!!" Bai Xiaochun growled, his eyes turning bloodshot. This man was none other than Du Lingfei's father, Daoist Heavenspan!
"Bai Xiaochun!" Daoist Heavenspan murmured, his eyes narrowing as he looked coldly at Bai Xiaochun.
Bai Xiaochun had often thought about where he might encounter Daoist Heavenspan again, and whether or not he would be able to control the hatred in his heart.
And as of this moment, he realized that he couldn't. It didn't matter that it wasn't an appropriate moment to take action. The instant he saw Daoist Heavenspan, both his cultivation base and his killing intent seemingly erupted of their own accord.
He didn't say anything. He didn't hesitate. He didn't hold back. He stepped forward, blurring into motion toward Daoist Heavenspan.
Daoist Heavenspan didn't seem surprised at all by this. Eyes flashing with sinister light, he stepped forward and performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, summoning his nine Daogates.
Dazzling light shone out as the Daogates created a spell formation in front of him. Then he pushed out with his hand, revealing the fluctuations of the early Celestial Realm. However, based on his battle prowess, he was very close to the mid Celestial Realm!
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Chapter 1150: Fighting Daoist Heavenspan
Stories about Bai Xiaochun's battle with Celestial Deadfall had long since begun to spread, and therefore, Daoist Heavenspan knew that he was in the mid Celestial Realm. Thus, he immediately resorted to a trump card, holding nothing back to seize the upper hand.
Unfortunately for him, despite his general understanding of Bai Xiaochun's battle prowess, he had not personally fought him in a long time. And therefore, not even the full power of his nine Daogates were sufficient in this situation!
Bai Xiaochun moved too quickly, and he was too focused on striking a fatal blow. Instead of resorting to fancy tactics, he simply unleashed a vicious fist strike!
It was none other than… the Undying Emperor's Fist!
It wasn't a quintuple power version, but rather, quindecuple! Fifteen times the original level!
It was the most perfect fleshly body fist strike possible within the mid Celestial Realm. And yet, things weren't even close to over. Bai Xiaochun also poured the power of his cultivation base into this fist strike, making it even more effective. The heavens thrummed, and massive winds swept about. Those present in the early Celestial Realm were flabbergasted, and even the mid Celestial Realm experts were visibly stunned. As for those nearby like Celestial Virūpākṣa who were in the late Celestial Realm, they were also unable to conceal their surprise.
Some considered stepping in to interfere, but none of them could possibly do so quickly enough. It took only moments for Daoist Heavenspan's nine Daogates to shatter into fragments. At the same time, blood began to ooze out of the corners of his mouth as he fell back as quickly as he could.
Bai Xiaochun's eyes flickered with killing intent. He had attacked in a devastating burst of energy, but Daoist Heavenspan was no ordinary opponent. Although his first nine Daogates had been destroyed, they quickly formed back together into a tenth Daogate.
Howling, Daoist Heavenspan sent it forward to block Bai Xiaochun's path. At the same time, Celestial Virūpākṣa, Celestial Deadfall, Prince Ur-Demon and Reverend Devourer all rushed forward to do the same.
Under any other circumstances, Gu Tianjun and his fellow celestials wouldn't have done anything. But with both emperors present, and with Bai Xiaochun holding at least a nominal position as a celestial in the Saint-Emperor Dynasty, they had no choice but to suppress their aversion for him and step into the fray. Of course, the objective of the celestials on both sides was not to start a huge battle, but rather, to interfere with Bai Xiaochun and Daoist Heavenspan.
"King Heavenspan, calm yourself a bit!"
"Celestial Du, don't sink to the same level as that brat!"
Even as they barked various words such as these, Bai Xiaochun looked contemptuously at Daoist Heavenspan's tenth Daogate, and before anyone could get close to him, pulled out the Greatsword of the North.
"Take this!" he shouted, slashing the sword toward the Daogate. Even as everyone looked on in visible shock, the Greatsword slashed through the Daogate as surely as if it were made of paper. Then, the raging sword qi continued on toward Daoist Heavenspan!
Bai Xiaochun was gambling that the Vile-Emperor Dynasty celestials wouldn't personally interfere with a shocking sword strike like this simply for the sake of Daoist Heavenspan. And he was right. Daoist Heavenspan's face fell as Celestial Virūpākṣa and his compatriots simply looked on with furrowed brows.
Of course, there was no way that Bai Xiaochun could fight a battle to the death with Daoist Heavenspan right here and now. Even as his sword continued to fall, a cold snort exploded into heaven and earth.
In the blink of an eye, the Vile-Emperor appeared in front of Daoist Heavenspan. All he had to do was wave his sleeve, and the entire world went dim as an unimaginable power appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, and backed by natural law.
That natural law would not permit any magical items to be near the Vile-Emperor. As a result of his mere gaze, heaven and earth seemed to be reversed, and everything trembled violently. For the first time ever, the world treasure that was the Greatsword of the North left Bai Xiaochun's control. Shivering, it flew backward of its own accord, not willing to even stay in the same place it had just occupied.
Bai Xiaochun was also hit by a backlash. His entire body vibrated, and blood oozed out of the corners of his mouth as he staggered backward several steps. Even as he did, his Undying Live Forever Technique went to work, healing his wounds. A moment later, he came to a stop and looked up, shifting his gaze to focus on the Vile-Emperor.
At the same time, the Saint-Emperor appeared in front of Bai Xiaochun, seemingly there to defend him from the Vile-Emperor.
Clasping his hands behind his back, he snorted coldly and said, "You're pushing things a bit too far, Vile-Emperor!"
The Vile-Emperor merely chuckled in response. Then he looked at Bai Xiaochun and coldly said, "Still interested in fighting?"
The Saint-Emperor looked on with the slightest of frowns, his eyes narrowed.
Back when Bai Xiaochun had first stepped into the cultivation world, and had little experience in life, he might not have been able to detect the sinister implications in what the Vile-Emperor had just said. But he was not that inexperienced person anymore, and instantly grasped the vicious trap contained therein.
If Bai Xiaochun disregarded the Saint-Emperor and responded directly to the Vile-Emperor, then it wouldn't matter what he said, it would cause the Saint-Emperor to lose face. On the other hand, Bai Xiaochun did not qualify to refuse to respond to the Vile-Emperor. Only the two archaeans themselves had a high enough position to ignore each other.
As soon as the puzzle pieces clicked into place for Bai Xiaochun, he snorted coldly, looked away from the Vile-Emperor, and took a few steps forward. Turning, he clasped hands and bowed deeply to the Saint-Emperor.
"Saint-Emperor, I await your judgement in the matter!"
In response to his words, the Vile-Emperor's eyes flickered, and the Saint-Emperor's narrowed eyes returned to their normal state.
"He might be able to stop things this time," the Saint-Emperor said coolly, "but he can't interfere every time. There can only be one ruler of the people of Heavenspan." That simple statement made his stance clear.
Bai Xiaochun bowed again, then respectfully said, "Thank you for your support, Saint-Emperor!"
Seeing how well Bai Xiaochun was handling things softened the Saint-Emperor's heart a bit.
"However," he continued in a kind voice, "now is not the time for such things. Please be patient, King Heavenspan. After we attend to matters at hand, I'll arrange for you to get the chance you need."
With that, he looked over at the Vile-Emperor.
The two emperors were old rivals who could each guess what the other were thinking by merely looking into each other's eyes. The matter between Bai Xiaochun and Daoist Heavenspan was an issue of face only, and compared to the sovereign clone, was inconsequential.
Based on their previous investigations, they had confirmed that the sovereign clone's cultivation base was only at the level of an archaean, and that it was definitely in the region covered by spiderweb.
"It belongs to whoever finds it first!" the Saint-Emperor said. Then he vanished, to reappear down below on the surface of the spiderweb. The Vile-Emperor snorted coldly and did the same thing, indicating his agreement with the Saint-Emperor.
The power of two archaean cultivation bases were unleashed, instantly punching a hole into what had seemed the nearly impregnable spiderweb. Then, the two emperors became streaks of bright light that vanished inside.
The Vile-Emperor Dynasty celestials all flew down to the hole in the hopes of observing the fight between the two emperors. Obviously, they wouldn't enter without a direct Dharmic decree issued by the Vile-Emperor.
The Saint-Emperor Dynasty celestials followed suit. As for Bai Xiaochun, he stared coldly at Daoist Heavenspan before joining Celestial Aged Spirit to head down toward the entrance hole.
He tried to catch Gongsun Wan'er's eyes, but she was pretending not to notice him. However, it was very telling that, back when Bai Xiaochun began to fight with Daoist Heavenspan, and the Vile-Emperor Dynasty celestials interfered, she had placed herself in an unusual position. Although it had seemed like she was blocking Bai Xiaochun's path, to him, it seemed more like she was preventing Daoist Heavenspan from retreating.
That was enough for him to guess where she stood on the matter. Upon reaching the hole, he settled down cross-legged and looked inside, suspicious about what secrets this sovereign clone possessed.
And thus, the celestials from the two dynasties waited. Hours passed. Eventually, a shriek rang out from the depths of the spiderweb that caused the minds of all of the celestials to tremble. The vibrations of magical combat also reached them from far off in the distance.
Everyone outside of the gaping hole excitedly tried to make out the details of what was happening. Although they couldn't see the fight itself, they could tell from the fluctuations that a massive, earth-shattering battle was taking place.
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Chapter 1151: Celestial Pill
The massive boom caught the attention of all of the celestials outside of the spiderweb, including Bai Xiaochun. Although they were unable to directly see what was happening, from the nature of the sound, they were able to determine that the Vile-Emperor and Saint-Emperor were currently fighting a battle with the sovereign clone!
"It's fighting against two archaean emperors…? This clone is so strong!" The booms and vibrations of the battle lasted for a full six hours, leaving both Bai Xiaochun and all of the other celestials shocked.
Everyone kept their cultivation bases rotating and their guard up, just in case something unusual happened.
All of them were convinced that with two archaeans working together, everything should go smoothly. However, as time dragged on, their confidence began to waver.
Apparently, the prevailing thought was that the matter should have been handled much more quickly. Eventually, three days had gone by, during which booms and vibrations continued to shake the spiderweb. Furthermore, although the spiderweb wasn't expanding, and was in fact shrinking, there were many areas which seemed to be solidifying into something like the surface of an egg.
This strange sight caused the hearts of Bai Xiaochun and the other celestials to race, and to fill with sensations of increasing unease.
Close to where Bai Xiaochun was seated were Gu Tianjun and Sima Yunhua.
"This is taking too long," Gu Tianjun said in a hushed tone.
"You wouldn't think anything too unexpected could have occurred," Sima Yunhua replied.
Celestial Aged Spirit was chuckling inwardly in cold schadenfreude, but wasn't saying anything. As for Bai Xiaochun, he simply sat there thoughtfully. On the other side of the hole, the celestials from the Vile-Emperor Dynasty were similarly engaged in hushed conversations, or were analyzing the situation as best they could.
Eventually, the fourth day came, and everyone was coming to the conclusion that something strange was going on. It reached the point that Gu Tianjun and Celestial Virūpākṣa were both getting ready to go inside to investigate the situation.
However, that was when a rumbling boom erupted out that vastly surpassed anything from before. It was like a million lightning bolts striking at the same time. And it was accompanied by a shriek that caused all of the celestial's minds to spin.
At that point, two beams of light shot out from the hole in the spiderweb. Before anyone could react, the two beams had separated and appeared in the midst of the forces from the two different dynasties.
They were none other than the Saint-Emperor and the Vile-Emperor!
Their faces were ashen, and both were clearly injured, with blood oozing out of their mouths, and their eyes grim.
All of the celestials looked on, hearts pounding. Before anyone could ask any questions, the Saint-Emperor glanced at Gu Tianjun, Bai Xiaochun and the other celestials, and in a very serious tone said, "The clone of that sovereign is a crimson, reptilian entity. Its cultivation base is in the mid Archaean Realm, just on the verge of a breakthrough!
"The Vile-Emperor and I joined forces to attack it, and even used our trump cards. In the end, the worst we could do was injure it, and drop its cultivation base down into the Celestial Realm. Seriously wounded, it fled, using some unknown divine ability to evade us completely. No amount of searching turned up any clues.
"I need the five of you to go in there and search for it. The ideal outcome would be for you to find and capture it. But if necessary… its corpse will do. Either way, you must get it!!
"If any of you find it, then I'll reward all five of you with… a Celestial Pill!" The Saint-Emperor knew that if he wanted the full support and cooperation of his celestials, he needed to offer a good reward. Although it pained him to some degree, he didn't hesitate to do just that!
"A Celestial Pill!?" Sima Yunhua blurted, unable to restrain himself. Bai Xiaochun wasn't completely sure of what that was, but considering the name, he could at least guess.
Seeing Bai Xiaochun's facial expression, the Saint-Emperor went on to provide further explanation.
"From the moment the Saint-Emperor Dynasty was founded to this day, I have only concocted a total of seventeen Celestial Pills. As of now, I have nine left. Consuming one will give you a sixty percent chance of achieving a breakthrough within the Celestial Realm!"
When Bai Xiaochun heard that, his eyes went wide, and his heart started to pound. Apparently, a Celestial Pill could provide him with just as much benefit as the life force he had taken from the egg sac.
"I can't believe pills like that exist!!" he thought. The mere looks of excitement on the faces of Gu Tianjun and Celestial Aged Spirit showed what kind of pill it was. After all, they were already in the late Celestial Realm.
"I wonder if it would help a celestial who was trying to break into the Archaean Realm?" Glancing over at the forces of the Vile-Emperor Dynasty, he could see that those celestials looked equally excited. And of course, Gu Tianjun and the other Saint-Emperor Dynasty forces noticed the same thing.
Glances were being exchanged on both sides as everyone measured each other up.
Clearly, although the two archaean emperors had injured the sovereign clone, they had also been severely drained in the process. Furthermore, they were still intent on winning the overall prize. Because of that, both were worried about the other coming out on top, and also worried about the reptilian clone escaping.
What had been most unexpected in the entire thing was that the sovereign clone turned out to be at the peak of the mid Archaean Realm, which was much more powerful than they had expected. What worried them the most was the possibility that, if it escaped, it would get even stronger, which could lead to a true disaster.
After much consideration, the two of them came to an agreement. Neither of them would take action. They would stand guard outside in case the sovereign clone tried to escape, and have their subordinates go inside to compete over the chance to capture or kill it.
Of course, it was obvious that because of how the Vile-Emperor Dynasty's forces outnumbered the Saint-Emperor Dynasty's, there must have been some other agreement reached by the two emperors to make up for the disparity. However, Bai Xiaochun couldn't think of what that might be. In either case, the chance at a Celestial Pill was enticing, and on top of that, he was actually very interested in the sovereign clone that the two archaeans took so seriously.
"It might contain clues about how to break through to the Archaean Realm…. Although I'm quite a way away from that, it would be a big pity to see that good fortune go to someone else." Of course, he wasn't the only one thinking that way. Celestials from both sides were all considering the same thing.
And yet, no one was willing to get too greedy. Obviously, the two archaeans were aware that one of their subordinates could potentially try to take the prize for themselves. Because of that, it seemed obvious that one of the unspoken prizes up for grabs was a portion of the sovereign clone's flesh and blood, with the rest going to one of the emperors.
It was mere conjecture, but seemed highly likely to the celestials.
After all, such arrangements had been made on more than one occasion in the past.
"Your Dharmic decree shall be adhered to, Saint-Emperor!" Gu Tianjun said, clasping his hands solemnly. Then he turned into a beam of sword light that shot into the spiderweb. Sima Yunhua, Chen Su, and Celestial Aged Spirit all made similar declarations, and then joined Gu Tianjun to fly inside.
Similarly, the Vile-Emperor Dynasty celestials, Gongsun Wan'er included, all shot into the hole. Not having any logical reason to refuse to go in, Bai Xiaochun also turned into a beam of light that shot into the world within the spiderweb!
After they left, the Saint-Emperor and the Vile-Emperor sat down cross-legged and exchanged glances. Then they sent their divine sense out in all directions to make sure the lizard clone didn't escape from some other location.
They were not giving it any wiggle room to flee.
"Might as well stop dreaming," the Vile-Emperor said suddenly, a cold smile playing out on his face. "That sovereign's flesh and blood will be going to me. And as per our agreement, I'll give you twenty percent."
The Saint-Emperor looked over, and all of the warmth drained away from him. Looking cold and even furious, he said, "You were the one who intentionally let it go earlier. Otherwise we wouldn't be in this annoying situation!"
In response, the Vile-Emperor chuckled.
"Just wait and see what happens," he said. Then he closed his eyes.
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Chapter 1152: Fighting
Because of how the spiderweb made up the sky of the world therein, everything was as dark as late evening. Mortals might have had difficulty seeing, but of course, cultivators had no such problems.
However, everything was gray and dusty, from mountains to plants. Other than Bai Xiaochun and Gongsun Wan'er, all of the celestials found it somewhat unsettling. Anyone who entered a place like this for the first time would feel alarmed.
Just as had been the case back in Murknine County, some of the villages, towns, and cities were not covered with dust, and contained cultivators and mortal citizens. However, they all ambled around like the walking dead, making for a very shocking scene.
Bai Xiaochun and Gongsun Wan'er has seen such things before, but the others had not. Therefore, the two of them were much quicker to acclimate, and almost immediately headed out in two different directions to start their search.
After all, this wasn't a single county like Murknine. It encompassed more than half of the entire second immortal domain, at least seven prefectures. The area to be covered in the search for the injured sovereign clone was vast, to say the least.
Of course, the search was being carried out by twelve celestials. In the immortal domains, that was a level of power that could not be rivaled. Furthermore, each celestial could search a huge area with divine sense. The fact that the sovereign clone had been injured by two archaeans meant that the fluctuations it emanated would be even easier to detect, and also, it would be weaker. Therefore, the group searched the world within the spiderweb with full fervor, aware that, at worst, it might take some time to find their quarry.
As Bai Xiaochun and Gongsun Wan'er headed off, the other celestials picked different directions and followed suit. Everyone hoped to succeed on their own, and would join forces only if it became necessary later.
The Vile-Emperor and Saint-Emperor had intentionally set things up so that their subordinate celestials would avoid working together. After all, the rewards would be given out regardless of who actually did the deed.
It was easy to imagine conflict breaking out between the forces of the two dynasties if celestials from opposing sides both came across the sovereign clone at the same time. But considering the huge territory involved, that didn't seem likely.
Bai Xiaochun sped through the air, his divine sense sweeping the area as he looked for clues.
"This is a sovereign clone. Maybe it's injured, but all we have to go on is the word of the Vile-Emperor and Saint-Emperor." Bai Xiaochun couldn't help but analyze the matter as he went along. After all, only he and Gongsun Wan'er had personally dealt with this sovereign clone before.
When he closed his eyes, he could picture that single palm strike reducing all of Murknine County to ashes. He also had the feeling that the reason why the clone was only a hair from being in the late Archaean Realm was because of that bit of life force he had stolen with the Eternal Parasol.
"I bet if that lizard had actually been in the late Archaean Realm, the Vile-Emperor and Saint-Emperor would be in even worse condition than they are now…." The more he thought about it, the more he realized that the sovereign clone most likely hated him to a very profound degree.
"It's not like I did it on purpose! Who asked it to set up shop right at my front door?" He really felt like he was getting the short end of the stick in the matter, but realized there was nothing he could do about it. If he found traces of the lizard, he would simply send a message to the other celestials and wait for them to come help.
Others among the celestials might be considering trying to take the clone for their own, but not Bai Xiaochun. In fact, he actually hoped the Vile-Emperor Dynasty celestials tracked it down first. Let them be the ones who tested out the thing's current battle prowess.
Because of all of these thoughts, he wasn't actually going about his search efforts very thoroughly. To him, safety was the priority. He wasn't even paying very close attention to what his divine sense was telling him of his surroundings.
The area covered by the spiderweb was huge, and before long, three days had passed. The twelve celestials were all searching in different areas, and were also keeping in touch. By maintaining full vigilance, they weren't giving the sovereign clone any chances to slip through their grasp.
Many of the celestials assumed there was more to the situation than the two archaeans had let on, and some had surmised that they might have been thrown out as bait. That thought caused everyone to be even more on guard than normal.
Bai Xiaochun was being especially cautious. Although he hadn't found any clues about the clone, he had come across seven or eight villages like the one he had entered in Murknine County. From outside, everything looked normal in such places, except for the laughter that echoed out from inside of them. He always avoided such places when he saw them.
He headed in the general direction of Mistysea Prefecture, and as the days passed, he gradually began to see familiar areas. He recognized certain cities, and although none of them contained cultivators ravenously devouring each other, they still caused his mood to sink.
Sighing, he continued northward. At one point, his expression flickered, and he pulled his transmission jade slip out of his bag of holding. After scanning it with divine sense, he heard Celestial Aged Spirit's voice echoing in his ear.
"I found it!" he said excitedly. "All of you, hurry over here!" At that point, a stream of divine sense appeared that led off in a certain direction.
Bai Xiaochun blinked a few times hesitantly, then turned and followed the divine sense. During the past few days, he had been maintaining a speed that could be described as neither fast nor slow. But the situation was urgent now, so he immediately blurred into motion, resorting to teleportations to move even faster.
Thankfully, the distance involved wasn't immense, and with the regenerative powers of the Undying Live Forever Technique to help him, he was able to maintain incredible speed. Streaking through the air, he continued to follow the stream of divine sense for six hours!
During that time, his speed helped him travel a distance that would take days for average celestials. Eventually, he sensed Celestial Aged Spirit's aura up ahead of him.
In addition, there were shocking fluctuations that indicated a spell formation was sealing down a huge area!
As Bai Xiaochun approached, he saw the glowing red light of the spell formation, which was intermingled with a thick black mist. It almost looked as though an enormous, upside-down bowl were covering the area, which was about 500 kilometers from side to side.
Just barely visible above the black mist were three huge faces, which belonged to none other than Celestial Deadfall, Prince Ur-Demon and Daoist Heavenspan, all of whom were staring coldly at Celestial Aged Spirit, as well as Gu Tianjun and Sima Yunhua, who stood off to the side, expressions flickering as they waited anxiously.
When Bai Xiaochun appeared, the three of them immediately looked over at him, and their expressions brightened.
"Chen Su is still about four hours away…."
"There's no time to wait!" The other three celestials quickly began to update Bai Xiaochun on the situation. Celestial Aged Spirit had been the first to locate the flesh and blood clone of the sovereign. However, the clone moved too quickly, and escaped. As Celestial Aged Spirit gave chase, Celestial Virūpākṣa arrived, and called other Vile-Emperor Dynasty forces to his aid.
The Vile-Emperor Dynasty celestials had the advantage of numbers, and had showed up before Gu Tianjun and Sima Yunhua. Not only had they set up a spell formation to keep Celestial Aged Spirit out, but Celestial Deadfall was maintaining it in a way that sealed whatever was inside.
That being a number of celestials who were trying to capture the sovereign clone!
"We can't wait any longer," Gu Tianjun said through gritted teeth, his eyes flashing with determination. "Let's attack and see if we can figure out what's going on inside the spell formation!" Sima Yunhua and Celestial Aged Spirit nodded in agreement. As for Bai Xiaochun, he realized that this was a rare opportunity, and that if he didn't help out, it might also be their last. Waving his hand, he summoned the Greatsword of the North!
Even as the sword light glittered, the four of them became glittering beams of light that shot toward the spell formation!
Daoist Heavenspan, Prince Ur-Demon, and Celestial Deadfall were clearly surprised, and focused more power on maintaining the spell formation. Just as the two sides were about to clash, something dramatic happened!!
A bloodcurdling scream echoed out from the mists that filled the spell formation!
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Chapter 1153: Breaking The Formation
The agonized shriek was not the type that would come out of the mouth of a human. It was the piercing cry of some sort of beast that had encountered a deadly crisis, the type of howl that came in the final moments of life.
As it pierced through the mists of the spell formation, causing them to ripple and twist, the enormous faces that represented Celestial Deadfall and his comrades all flickered in astonishment.
Similarly shaken were Gu Tianjun and Sima Yunhua.
"That's the sovereign clone!!"
"Dammit, they're about to succeed!"
As the two of them picked up speed, Gu Tianjun sent a blast of sword qi slashing out, powerful enough to rip apart worlds.
As for Sima Yunhua, he performed an incantation gesture, summoning nine clones that joined his true self to unleash shocking battle prowess.
Things weren't over yet, though. Celestial Aged Spirit went all out, summoning a multicolored light that contained a magical law of destruction!
Bai Xiaochun was starting to get nervous. If the sovereign clone had indeed been killed, then considering that the Vile-Emperor Dynasty forces had the advantage of numbers, it would be impossible for the Saint-Emperor Dynasty people to take it away from them.
The only hope they had would be if the clone hadn't been killed yet.
"This sovereign's clone is a lot weaker than you would expect!" Not having time to analyze the situation much, Bai Xiaochun slashed out with the Greatsword of the North, joining forces with the other celestials. The attack created by the four of them was like a wild tempest that slammed directly into the spell formation.
Heaven and earth shook violently as a massive rift was torn open in the misty surface of the spell formation.
Normally, their combined attack wouldn't be so effective. However, the cry of the sovereign clone moments ago had weakened the spell formation significantly, laying the perfect groundwork.
The reason why Celestial Deadfall, Daoist Heavenspan and Prince Ur-Demon had not entered the spell formation to join in the fight earlier was because they had been tasked with preventing the Saint-Emperor Dynasty forces from entering. All of them immediately poured more power into the formation, causing dozens of huge hands to reach out and grab at the enemy celestials!
The hands were backed by the spell formation itself, and the cultivation bases of the Vile-Emperor Dynasty cultivators, making them as powerful as someone in the mid Celestial Realm. Roughly half of them headed directly toward Gu Tianjun, with some of them heading toward Celestial Aged Spirit, and only six swerving off to meet Bai Xiaochun and Sima Yunhua.
Despite the power backing them, the hands didn't attack offensively. They merely defended and harassed the Saint-Emperor Dynasty celestials. Clearly, the goal of the Vile-Emperor Dynasty forces was merely to give Celestial Virūpākṣa and the others time to complete their task.
Booms rang out here and there. Bai Xiaochun swung the Greatsword of the North, slicing one of the huge hands in two and forcing the other two to back up.
At the same time, Celestial Aged Spirit and Gu Tianjun both faced severe resistance, making it impossible for either of them to enter the spell formation.
The spell formation was powerful to begin with, and was being bolstered by three celestials. Unless something unexpected happened, it was likely that it would take several hours tangling with it before they could break through.
It was at this point that another piercing cry echoed out from inside the mist, even more intense than before. Because the mist of the spell formation had already been damaged, its fluctuations devolved into further instability, and it even began to rock back and forth.
Many places on its surface were growing visibly thin. Eyes glittering, Bai Xiaochun released more of the sword qi of the Greatsword of the North. At the same time, the other celestials unleashed trump cards in the form of shocking divine abilities.
Deadfall, Daoist Heavenspan, and Prince Ur-Demon were visibly taken aback. Aware that a critical juncture had arrived, they bit their tongues and spat out blood, drawing even more deeply on their cultivation bases to add power to the spell formation, and hopefully stabilize it.
It was a moment of fierce conflict between the two sides, all centered around the spell formation.
Despite the booms and rumbling sounds, this spell formation was clearly extraordinary, and the three celestials operating it were not holding anything back. Even though Bai Xiaochun and his comrades were attacking with shocking levels of power, and making progress, the more they advanced, the more hands appeared to resist them, and the more energy resisted their progress.
In fact, that energy was rapidly turning into a force of expulsion.
"Dammit, what kind of spell formation is this?!"
"If this keeps up, we'll never have enough time to get inside!"
"And even if we do, how will we stop them from succeeding!?"
The three celestials from the Saint-Emperor Dynasty gritted their teeth and kept fighting. As for Bai Xiaochun, he hadn't said a word this entire time, but had continuously been eyeing the mist, trying to decide if it was worth it to take a bit of a risk.
He knew that his Undying Hex wasn't powerful enough to completely disregard the mist of the spell formation, but at the least, it could get him inside to where the fighting was going on.
Unfortunately, it would be too draining to take the others with him. And thus, he was torn. Even as he tried to make a final decision, a whistling sound rose up from behind him.
Off in the distance, a white beam of light approached, within which was an old man in a Daoist robe, who bore the semblance of a transcendent being. He was none other than Chen Su!
He was the last of the Saint-Emperor Dynasty celestials to arrive. Earlier, Gu Tianjun had sent him an urgent message to come, and he had employed a very taxing Daoist magic that drew on the power of teleportation to get him here as quickly as possible.
The other celestials were visibly enlivened, whereas the Vile-Emperor Dynasty celestials had quite the opposite reaction!
The three of them could handle four enemy celestials with difficulty, at least in an attempt to delay them. But five celestials was different. Were the spell formation in perfect shape, it would be one matter, but right now, it was unstable, and every shriek of the sovereign clone weakened it further. Now, it seemed unlikely that it would last for long.
Even as the three Vile-Emperor Dynasty celestials reacted with shock, Chen Su arrived. Not slowing down for a moment, he performed a double-handed incantation gesture that sent numerous bolts of golden lightning flying out, which quickly formed into a string of lightning spheres. Each ball of lightning contained heaven-destroying, earth-extinguishing power that joined the combined attack of the other Saint-Emperor Dynasty celestials.
The resulting boom caused looks of shock to appear on the faces of the enemy. With the massive power of their combined divine abilities, Bai Xiaochun and his fellows were getting closer and closer to entering the spell formation.
"Dammit!!" Prince Ur-Demon shouted, his eyes crimson. Performing a double-handed incantation gesture, he spat out some pure energy. He was joined by Deadfall and Daoist Heavenspan, who went all out to try to stabilize the spell formation. It was at that point… that all of a sudden, a third shriek rang out from the sovereign clone.
This third shriek surpassed the other two by far. It was astonishing to hear, and immediately caused the spell formation to begin to vibrate dangerously. It even seemed that it might collapse at any moment.
"This is our chance!" Gu Tianjun said, his eyes flashing brightly. There was no need for further words. Bai Xiaochun, Chen Su, Aged Spirit and Sima Yunhua all joined forces, unleashing the full power of their cultivation bases and their most powerful divine abilities. Their attack created something like an evil dragon that viciously attacked the spell formation!
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
An ear-splitting explosion occurred as the evil dragon blasted a huge hole into the teetering spell formation, which then began to collapse!
Celestial Deadfall, Daoist Heavenspan and Prince Ur-Demon all coughed up mouthfuls of blood and fell back at high speed. In that moment, the mist dissipated, and the battlefield was revealed. What they saw… was something completely unexpected!
A miserable scream could be heard, coming, not from the sovereign clone, but from one of the seven celestials from the Vile-Emperor Dynasty, the old woman.
Her cultivation base was in the mid Celestial Realm, and yet, she was currently being cleaved in two! Blood spattered out as her top half flew backward in retreat, a look of profound terror and astonishment appearing on her face!
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Chapter 1154: The Perfect Opportunity!
The old woman's face was turning dark, as though she had been poisoned. Black blood dripped out of her, and even more telling, a black magical symbol had appeared above the top of her head.
The magical symbol flickered rapidly, and anyone who looked at it closely would see that it was suppressing a projected image that looked exactly like the old woman!
It was none other than her nascent divinity, as projected by her Daoseed!!
Apparently, the magical symbol was sealing her Daoseed inside of her broken body, which was currently being eaten away by the poison. If she died, the Daoseed would not be able to free itself, and would eventually be wiped away. As such, the old woman would lose her chance to be resurrected.
Bai Xiaochun and everyone else present was completely shocked. And yet, things weren't over yet. Even as the old woman tried to flee, someone else appeared who was attempting to flee, face covered by a mask of terror.
It was none other than Reverend Devourer!
He was coughing up blood like mad, and his aura was weak beyond compare. He seemed terrified, and although he was moving at top speed, a black magical symbol floated above his head that looked similar to the one connected to the old woman. The main difference was that this symbol apparently contained the power of some magical law that was corroding Reverend Devourer's body!
Further behind him was a burning red light that was already starting to speed out of the area of vanishing mist.
As soon as Bai Xiaochun saw that red light, he sensed something familiar; it was obviously an evil and explosive entity that was actually attempting to flee into the distance.
Last to appear was Celestial Virūpākṣa, who was missing an arm, and whose face was as pale as a sheet. However, he seemed to be defiant to the point of madness as he chased after the red light.
"Get it!" he shouted. "It's almost dead!!"
As soon as Celestial Virūpākṣa began to give chase, Celestial Deadfall, Daoist Heavenspan and Prince Ur-Demon gritted their teeth and dashed to block the path of the red light. Gu Tianjun, Sima Yunhua, and Celestial Aged Spirit also split up in an attempt to block its other paths of retreat.
Bai Xiaochun joined them. However, even as they moved into position, the blood-colored light stopped moving, and a piercing shriek echoed out from within it!
Now that the light had stopped moving, something became visible, a freakish creature that seemed to be part human and part lizard!
It had the limbs and torso of a person, but was covered with blood-colored scales. Its facial features became clear, revealing it to be male. However, its eyes had double pupils, and a long, forked tongue snaked in and out of its mouth.
The windstorm caused by the thing's shriek contained power similar to the late Celestial Realm, and as it swept out, the weaker celestials like Deadfall had no choice but to back up. As for Bai Xiaochun, he immediately swung the Greatsword of the North out to protect himself.
Only Gu Tianjun and Celestial Virūpākṣa were strong enough to stand up to it, and in fact, continued onward, unleashing trump card attacks onto the clearly weakened sovereign clone.
Eyes filled with madness, the clone began to fight back, causing booms to ring out everywhere. Bai Xiaochun backed up a few paces, not willing to engage him. However, that did little good, as the clone suddenly turned and charged in his direction.
Its dual pupils were filled with hatred, and as soon as Bai Xiaochun realized that, his heart began to pound.
"He really does want revenge on me!" However, Bai Xiaochun also knew that retreat was not an option. Bracing himself, he raised the Greatsword of the North over his head and slashed it down toward the sovereign clone!
Shrieking, the clone fell back, and was once again surrounded by the other celestials. Now was not the time to be taking sides; everyone went all out in this effort to cut down the sovereign clone.
"Don't let it get away!" Celestial Virūpākṣa shouted urgently. "Its powers of regeneration are incredible. Don't give it the time to heal!"
All of the other celestials attacked with full urgency, holding nothing back. Their combined battering continued to weaken the sovereign clone, slowly wearing it down.
After all, the scene which the newly arrived celestials had just witnessed was shocking to the extreme. The dismal fate of the old woman, the sight of Reverend Devourer's body melting, and Celestial Virūpākṣa's missing limb all went to show how shockingly powerful this clone was!
Furthermore, if the thing escaped and they lost this opportunity, then considering its powers of regeneration and ability to absorb life force, then by the time they found it again, it would either be fully recovered, or close to it.
If that happened, then none of them would be able to accomplish their mission. And if the Vile-Emperor and Saint-Emperor ended up having to come to finish the job themselves, then the rewards that had been offered would likely be withheld or limited.
A look of despair appeared in the eyes of the sovereign clone. Knowing that it couldn't escape, and seeing itself being weakened by the moment, it threw its head back and roared.
As that happened, it began to grow larger, inflating until it was like a huge balloon made of skin. It was a shocking sight that caused everyone to inch back nervously.
Even as they did, the body of the sovereign clone suddenly exploded, causing a huge boom to ring out in all directions.
Celestial Deadfall, Prince Ur-Demon, Celestial Virūpākṣa and Daoist Heavenspan all coughed up mouthfuls of blood. Gu Tianjun, Sima Yunhua, Chen Su, Celestial Aged Spirit and even Bai Xiaochun all did the same. Everyone was sent tumbling backward.
"This thing is so powerful!" Bai Xiaochun gasped, keeping a firm grip on the Greatsword of the North as twinges of pain swept through him. Looking over in shock, he saw Daoist Heavenspan some distance off, coughing up blood as he fell back.
At that point, his eyes glittered.
"Everyone is fighting over this sovereign's fleshly body. Maybe I can use this chance to kill Daoist Heavenspan." Immediately, killing intent began to rise up within him.
After the clone self-detonated, another shocking development occurred. A roughly one-meter-long lizard appeared in the spot where the detonation had occurred. It was clearly on its last legs, and had only one bit of energy left, which it used to try to escape.
Unexpectedly, the direction it picked was where Daoist Heavenspan was located. As soon as the lizard got close to him, his eyes flickered with black light, and he rapidly performed a double-handed incantation gesture.
"Ten Gate Synthesis!" Even as everyone was still being shoved backward by the force of the detonation, Daoist Heavenspan summoned a vast assortment of magical symbols that grouped together into a huge magical gate. Rumbling sounds filled the air as that gate shot toward the lizard, radiating the power of sealing!
The lizard wasn't intelligent, and was acting on instinct alone. As such, it headbutted the huge magical gate, which immediately began to bend under the force of the impact!
The gate shattered, transforming back into countless magical symbols that wrapped around the now unconscious and possibly dead lizard, and then began to drag it toward Daoist Heavenspan.
"Daoist Heavenspan! How dare you!" That was the enraged reaction of both Gu Tianjun, Sima Yunhua, Celestial Aged Spirit and Chen Su. However, they had been pushed too far away by the force of the blow, and had no time to do anything. As for Celestial Virūpākṣa and his fellows, they all rushed to defend Daoist Heavenspan.
As far as the Vile-Emperor Dynasty cultivators were concerned, as a new celestial, there was no way Daoist Heavenspan would dare to try to keep the corpse for himself. And Celestial Virūpākṣa was dead set on getting the reward they had been offered.
If Gu Tianjun and his fellow celestials managed to get the corpse, it would be a big headache.
Everything was happening too quickly. As people began to take action, Bai Xiaochun took a deep breath, and his heart began to pound. The truth was that he had been plotting this entire time, and slowly edging closer to Daoist Heavenspan!
"The perfect opportunity!" After only the slightest moment of hesitation, he used the Mountain Shaking Bash, the Undying Hex, and all of his fleshly body power to achieve speed even greater than the sovereign clone had. He even rotated his cultivation base to add more power to his motion. Rumbling sounds echoed out as he suddenly appeared right next to Daoist Heavenspan, toward whom he viciously slashed his Greatsword of the North!
"I'm here for your life, Daoist Heavenspan!!" he shouted loudly.
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Chapter 1155: Got It
To Bai Xiaochun, it was the type of opportunity that would only come once in a blue moon. And if he killed Daoist Heavenspan right now, even the Saint-Emperor would surely support his decision.
After all, Daoist Heavenspan currently held an object that both of the archaeans wanted for themselves. As Bai Xiaochun swung the Greatsword of the North, rumbling sounds filled heaven and earth, and scintillating blue light shone in all directions. This was battle prowess equivalent to the late Celestial Realm, all of it directed solely against Daoist Heavenspan!
Everything happened too quickly. Even as Daoist Heavenspan was reaching out toward the lizard, Bai Xiaochun's greatsword slashed out. Before Daoist Heavenspan could react, an intense sensation of deadly crisis rose up from the bottom of his heart.
Although he could be resurrected if he died, it would come at the cost of ten percent of his cultivation base, a price he would not pay unless absolutely necessary. After all, a permanent ten percent loss in cultivation base would also mean he was ten percent less likely to reach the Archaean Realm!
Achieving that breakthrough was difficult enough without reducing the chances by ten percent. And Daoist Heavenspan was ruthlessly ambitious; how could he possibly dash his own hopes just for the sake of a lizard?
Without the slightest hesitation, he let out a shout and threw his hand out to the side. Instead of tossing the lizard into his bag of holding, he thrust it out to block Bai Xiaochun's Greatsword of the North.
Rumbling booms filled the air as the unstoppable greatsword made contact with the lizard. For the first time, instead of severing that which lay in its path, it only hewed out a great chunk of flesh!
The lizard blocked the greatsword and sent a massive backlash attack into Bai Xiaochun, causing his qi and blood to vibrate violently. However, Daoist Heavenspan was hurt even worse. Blood sprayed out of his mouth as he was flung backward, simultaneously releasing the lizard!
He had no other choice than to release it. If he greedily tried to keep it, then Gu Tianjun and the other Saint-Emperor Dynasty celestials would certainly give chase. Even if they were initially blocked from doing so, Bai Xiaochun would have another chance to strike a fatal blow. Therefore, releasing the lizard not only made him less of a target, it would also make it much harder for Bai Xiaochun to continue the fight.
Although all of this takes a bit of time to describe, from the moment Bai Xiaochun made his move to the point when Daoist Heavenspan let go of the lizard, only enough time elapsed for a spark to fly off of a piece of flint. As Daoist Heavenspan sped off, Bai Xiaochun lurched to a halt, aware that giving chase would be difficult.
Most importantly, he now had the lizard! And as soon as his hand touched it, he gasped at the realization that his Undying Live Forever Technique was stirring thirstily. Apparently, the lizard contained good fortune of a monumental level for the Undying Live Forever Technique!
There was no time for thought or planning. He quickly threw the lizard into his bag of holding, only a moment before Celestial Virūpākṣa, Prince Ur-Demon, and Celestial Deadfall closed in with killing intent burning.
"Have a death wish, Bai Xiaochun?!?!"
"Hand over that sovereign-level fleshly body! You don't qualify to sully that with your touch, Bai Xiaochun!!"
Even Gu Tianjun, Sima Yunhua, Celestial Aged Spirit and Chen Su approached, eyes flickering with avarice.
"Throw me that clone, King Heavenspan!"
"We have your back now, King Heavenspan!!" Although they seemed to be working in Bai Xiaochun's interests, and were even intercepting the celestials from the Vile-Emperor Dynasty, all of them were thinking of ways to get the lizard from him.
The truth was that Bai Xiaochun's status was a sensitive subject; he wasn't truly a celestial of the Saint-Emperor Dynasty. If any of the other celestials had acquired the lizard, they would have all stood together no matter who had it in hand. But if they had a chance to get it from Bai Xiaochun, they would obviously do so.
In the briefest of moments, Daoist Heavenspan was no longer the target, and Bai Xiaochun was. Although it was somewhat of a predicament, all he had to do was hand over the lizard, and everything would be resolved. Except… the profound thirst of the Undying Live Forever Technique caused his heart to start pounding with anticipation.
"Dammit, I've got to go for broke!" he growled inwardly, his eyes completely bloodshot. He feared death, and didn't like to take big risks, but there was too much to gain in this situation. If he gave up now, he would regret it forever!
"As long as I have even a scrap of energy left, I won't give it to them!" Bai Xiaochun hadn't even considered trying to take the sovereign clone for himself earlier. But now, he realized that if he could buy enough time, he might be able to benefit in unimaginable ways.
Howling, he utilized the Mountain Shaking Bash to achieve a huge burst of speed.
Filled with rage, Celestial Deadfall and Prince Ur-Demon shot forward to block his path. However, as soon as they got close, he unleashed the Living Mountain Incantation and the Cloud Lightning Forefather Transformation. As he became an enormous giant, he hefted the Greatsword of the North and slashed it out with vicious determination!
Rumbling sounds filled heaven and earth as sword qi descended upon the already-wounded Prince Ur-Demon and Celestial Deadfall. Yet again, blood sprayed out of their mouths as they were flung backward. And yet, Bai Xiaochun was also hit with a backlash, and lurched to a halt.
That brief pause was all that was needed for Celestial Virūpākṣa to close in. Turning, Bai Xiaochun performed an incantation gesture, and then waved his finger!
"Waterswamp!"
Rumbling sounds could be heard as water vapor roiled out, and the entire area was turned into a huge swamp!
"Kingdom!!"
A roar could be heard that seemed to echo out from many years in the past. At the same time, an indescribably large beast appeared, with an upper and lower jaw that resembled a crocodile, or perhaps even a dragon. The entire world shook as the beast slammed into Celestial Virūpākṣa.
Virūpākṣa tried to dodge out of the way, but the beast was too big, and moved with indescribable speed.
A huge boom echoed out from the impact, and Bai Xiaochun shot past.
"Listen, Gu Tianjun," he shouted, "if you guys run interference for me, we can all benefit!" With that, he began to pick up speed.
Gu Tianjun and the other celestials hesitated for a moment. Aware that now was not the time for infighting, they suppressed their thoughts of taking the lizard from Bai Xiaochun, and went all out to block the enemy celestials. Before Virūpākṣa and the others could give chase, Gu Tianjun and his comrades were there to stop them.
Bai Xiaochun was simply too fast. A moment later, he was 30,000 meters away, and kept going until he vanished.
Within moments, he was nowhere to be seen.
At that point, Gu Tianjun and the other celestials from the Saint-Emperor Dynasty backed up. As for Celestial Virūpākṣa and his fellows, they exchanged grim glances, aware that chasing Bai Xiaochun down now would be difficult.
Celestial Virūpākṣa was not ready to give in though. "We might not be able to find Bai Xiaochun," he said, "but Gu Tianjun and the others probably can. I bet they all agreed to split the lizard amongst themselves. That's why they helped him escape!
"Celestial Ghostmother is on the way. She's probably close by now. Send her a message to go wait by the exit and intercept Bai Xiaochun! And we should get to the exit as quickly as possible too!"
Prince Ur-Demon and the others agreed, and they quickly flew off.
Reverend Devourer had finally been able to stop his body from melting, and followed along. As for the old woman, during the fighting moments before, her entire body had been reduced to a pile of blood and gore. Although the sealing magic which had been placed upon her had not successfully destroyed her Daoseed, it had been significantly harmed. But at least it still existed. The other celestials took her Daoseed with them, and gave the matter no more thought.
The Vile-Emperor Dynasty celestials rushed toward the exit, their faces as grim as could be, and their hearts pulsing with hatred for Bai Xiaochun. They were also quite displeased with Daoist Heavenspan.
"If Daoist Heavenspan had lasted for a bit longer, and maybe put more on the line, then we would have gotten that clone's body!" Celestial Virūpākṣa looked at the stump of his severed arm, and then at Daoist Heavenspan. Eyes glinting with cold light, he thought, "I'll make sure he gets what's coming to him after we get back!"
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