Meanwhile, the Vile-Emperor returned to the Eternal Immortal Domains, filled with rage. Word was already spreading about how Bai Xiaochun had cut down Celestial Deadfall, captured Prince Ur-Demon, executed the Vile-Prince, and thrown the city into chaos. Not a single person in either the Vile-Emperor Dynasty or the Saint-Emperor Dynasty who heard about what had occurred was not astonished or shaken!
“He killed Celestial Deadfall? Heavens! It’s been a long time since any celestials fought and killed each other!!”
“He captured Prince Ur-Demon? Damn! Prince Ur-Demon used to be loyal to the Saint-Emperor Dynasty. He was Celestial Chen Su’s apprentice, but turned traitor. Well, I guess he got what he deserved!”
“This King Heavenspan has really got some guts! From what I remember, he was only a demigod when he arrived in the Eternal Immortal Domains….”
“He executed the Vile-Prince…? How shocking!!”
Tensions rose between the two dynasties, and many cultivators came to the conclusion that war would soon break out!
The wrath of the Vile-Emperor caused hatred for Heavenspan cultivators to grow in the Vile-Emperor Dynasty. However, most of those who had openly declared their identity were now safe in the Greatsword of the North. As for those who kept their identity secret, they were not under immediate threat, and yet, many of them began to make their way to the Saint-Emperor Dynasty. As such, those who suffered persecution were actually few and far between.
Most importantly… Gongsun Wan’er lived up to the trust Bai Xiaochun had placed in her. She even took Big Fatty Zhang with her. Although she didn’t technically betray the Vile-Emperor Dynasty by her actions, she came close.
During the time in which the Vile-Emperor was fighting with Bai Xiaochun on the damaged fan, she delivered the Greatsword of the North to the Grand Heavenmaster.
Thanks to the advance notice she gave him before arriving to deliver the sword, he had plenty of time to make certain preparations. Overnight, virtually all of the people of Heavenspan vanished from the Eternal Immortal Domains.
Their place of hiding was none other than the Greatsword of the North, which Gongsun Wan’er kept on her person as she fled as a fugitive to parts unknown….
Of course, the Saint-Emperor was a hypocritical liar down to the core. Considering how cruelly the Vile-Emperor Dynasty was treating the Heavenspan Realm cultivators, and considering that Bai Xiaochun was missing and possibly dead, the Saint-Emperor took advantage of the situation to open his arms in welcome.
Because of this, the situation was less of a disaster for the Heavenspan Realm cultivators than it might have been.
Regardless of the Saint Emperor’s motives, his actions benefited the Heavenspan cultivators, and were just the help they needed.
War did not break out between the two dynasties. After all, Celestial Deadfall was soon resurrected by the Vile-Emperor. And Prince Ur-Demon had been captured, not killed. Although that still left the Vile-Emperor Dynasty down a celestial, it didn’t swing the balance of power completely in the favor of the Saint-Emperor Dynasty.
Many people said that things would soon go back to normal, and generally speaking, that was what happened. Ten years passed. Eventually, the Vile-Emperor’s fury toward Gongsun Wan’er was sated, and he stopped searching for her. He even issued a proclamation stating that her crimes would be forgiven if she simply returned to him!
Ten more years passed. People still talked about Bai Xiaochun occasionally, but not as often. Another decade went by. In total, half of a sixty-year-cycle passed. By this point, tensions had completely eased between the two dynasties, and everything was mostly back to normal.
People were starting to forget about Bai Xiaochun, although the cultivators from the Heavenspan Realm would often talk about him with deep sighs.
The Giant Ghost King and Grand Heavenmaster, Li Qinghou, Patriarch Spirit Stream, and others who had been close with Bai Xiaochun were now in the Greatsword of the North, and they missed him dearly. However, they knew one thing!
Bai Xiaochun was not dead! And he would return eventually!!
It was a hope that burned inside of them, fueling their faith and their strength to endure!
That half of a sixty-year-cycle flew by on the damaged fan just as quickly as it had in the Eternal Immortal Domains. During that time, Bai Xiaochun remained on the mountain in the face of the fan, sitting in front of the tower, meditating!
Thanks to the resources he had acquired from the various levels of the fan, and his own talents and abilities, his cultivation base climbed steadily. However, breaking through into the late Celestial Realm was turning out to be very difficult.
Only after thirty years did he finally sense an impending breakthrough. Although that might seem like a long time, if word of it got out, other celestials would have been completely shocked. After all, most celestials would spend three hundred years going from the mid Celestial Realm to the late Celestial Realm. Taking only thirty years was completely unheard of.
Some of it had to do with the resources at his disposal, and some of it had to do with the sovereign’s arm, which constantly emitted a sovereign aura that benefited his cultivation base and sped up his cultivation.
And thus, he made rapid progress with his Sutra of Present Life and Death. Eventually, his eyes snapped open and he took a deep breath, his cultivation base rotating rapidly the entire time. As of this moment, he had reached the great circle of the Sutra of Present Life and Death!
The signs of an imminent breakthrough were more obvious than ever!
“I’m going to break through!!” Bai Xiaochi suddenly materialized next to him, his eyes glittering. Although Bai Xiaochun had spent most of the past thirty years in meditation, Bai Xiaochi was still happy to have someone with him in the damaged fan. He still found Bai Xiaochun to be somewhat repulsive, but it was to Bai Xiaochi’s delight that he finally agreed to let him pick a new name.
Unfortunately, even after thirty years, Bai Xiaochi hadn’t been able to come up with a good new name. None of the ideas he came up with seemed to fit. For one thing, he needed to come up with a name that, if someone came along in the future and changed it, would still sound good.
Even as he was pondering the issue of a new name, he sensed the aura of Bai Xiaochun’s breakthrough, and hurried over to see him.
“This guy takes too many risks. However, if he keeps up this level of cultivation… then he might actually reach the Archaean Realm. In fact… he might even become a sovereign!” He suddenly thought back to Bai Xiaochun’s previous breakthrough, when he had emanated the Essence of Time.
At this point, Bai Xiaochun opened his eyes, whereupon an intense rumble rolled out to fill the entire damaged fan. As his aura roiled, the river, the boat, and even the sovereign’s arm all began to glitter with bright light.
As the light shone brighter and brighter, and as his aura grew stronger, he passed a certain barrier, and finally climbed into the late Celestial Realm!
The light shining from Bai Xiaochun’s eyes surpassed the one shining from the fan, becoming the brightest thing in the dark void that surrounded them. Rising to his feet, he threw his head back and let loose a long, piercing cry.
Late Celestial Realm!
Bai Xiaochi assumed that Bai Xiaochun’s session of cultivation was over. However, that was when Bai Xiaochun sent his divine sense out into the Daoist Tower of Life and Death to check on Song Junwan, Zhou Zimo and Bruiser, as well as Song Que. Then, he blurred into motion, coming to a stop on top of the sovereign’s arm. There, he sat down cross-legged, unleashed his divine sense, and began to merge with the arm!
“What are you doing?!” Bai Xiaochi blurted in shock.
“Fusing with the arm of a sovereign…? Heavens! That’s impossible!!”
“Nothing is impossible!” Bai Xiaochun said, looking at Bai Xiaochi with a look of crazed determination. Thirty years of cultivation might not seem like a lot to many cultivators, but it was the longest period of time that Bai Xiaochun had ever spent cultivating.
Despite the time that had passed, he was still possessed with madness because of the death of Song Que, and the danger that his wives, children, and Bruiser had been placed in.
He was worried about Li Qinghou, the Giant Ghost King, the Grand Heavenmaster, Gongsun Wan’er, and everyone else he knew. And he understood that the only way to do anything about the situation was to get stronger!
After thirty years of practicing cultivation that was aided by a sovereign aura, he had come to a much better understanding of the nature of that arm. And he had long since come up with a new idea!
“I’m going to fuse with that arm…. If it works, then my battle prowess… will skyrocket!! I’m going back…. And I’m going to do some killing!!”
