Zhou Zimo had crushed an Aphrodisiac Pill, as had Song Junwan. But Hou Xiaomei had crushed two. And she had done so in the confines of a private chamber….
It was easy to imagine the result…. The pink mist was particularly dense, and wouldn’t dissipate. Bai Xiaochun and Hou Xiaomei breathed it in… for days. When it finally faded away, the door to the private chamber opened, and Hou Xiaomei emerged. She looked a bit limp, but her face was flushed, and her eyes were sparkling. After glancing over her shoulder, she patted her tummy and then giddily left.
A few minutes later, Bai Xiaochun staggered out of the private chamber, then stood there looking disconsolately up at the sky.
“I’m the grand and mighty Arch-Emperor, one of the three most powerful experts in the Eternal Immortal Domains….” He could only sigh at how his defeat at the hands of Aphrodisiac Pills seemed to have become a recurring theme in his life.
“If only Aphrodisiac Pills didn’t exist….” he moaned inwardly. A moment passed, and he realized that he shouldn’t think that way. Without Aphrodisiac Pills, he would probably be alone in life. After all… he was simply too pure and honest of a person.
“Ah, whatever. If they exist, they exist.” Shaking his head, he sighed. By now, he felt that he understood Hou Xiaomei’s way of thinking. She had been the first to get to know him, but Song Junwan and Zhou Zimo were already pregnant with his children. Unwilling to be left behind, Hou Xiaomei had resorted to extreme methods to even things out.
“Ai. It’s not their fault that they’re all fighting amongst each other to have my children. It’s my fault really.” Shaking his head, he took a short walk before returning to his private chamber.
The Arch-Emperor Dynasty was now in a very stable state. The Grand Heavenmaster and other important figures had divided up the various responsibilities of running the nation, ensuring that everything was working smoothly and efficiently. The biggest asset the Arch-Emperor Dynasty had was spirit enhancement, and now that a peace treaty had been reached amongst the various dynasties, trade began to be carried out.
Also, Gongsun Wan’er’s Daoseed had been sent over by the Vile-Emperor. He really had no choice but to do that. The peace treaty was a good thing for the Vile-Emperor, and he didn’t want to give Bai Xiaochun or the Saint-Emperor an excuse to cause trouble for him.
In general, things were peaceful and quiet. As for Zhou Zimo and Song Junwan, their due dates were approaching, which was a matter of incredible importance, even to the Vile-Emperor and Saint-Emperor.
The fact that Bai Xiaochun had mastered the Undying Live Forever Technique was no secret, and the incredible powers and abilities which came from that hereditary technique of the Arch-Emperors were shocking, to say the least. And if he ended up passing those innate talents on to his children, the results would be terrifying.
That was especially true of spirit enhancement!
The ability to perform spirit enhancements depended on one’s bloodline, and considering that Bai Xiaochun was now expecting two children, just about everyone in the Eternal Immortal Domains was wondering what would happen.
Bai Xiaochun was also extremely nervous. He never left the imperial palace, and even had his normal meditation chamber moved closer to where Song Junwan and Zhou Zimo were staying.
Although he was fairly certain that no one in the Eternal Immortal Domains would dare to do something to hurt them, he still wanted to be completely ready and on guard.
Unfortunately, because of the power contained within Bai Xiaochun’s blood, the pregnancy terms were incredibly long, causing the days to seemingly drag by without end.
Half a month later, while everyone was still waiting for Song Junwan and Zhou Zimo to go into labor, Xu Baocai and Master God-Diviner arrived.
They came in very unique fashion…. Xu Baocai had kidnapped Master God-Diviner! It wasn’t until he actually arrived in the Arch-Emperor Dynasty that he revealed his identity. After that, it didn’t take long for him and Master God-Diviner to be whisked to Arch-Emperor City.
Upon arriving, Xu Baocai offered greetings to Patriarch Spirit Stream and the others, and then asked to see Bai Xiaochun. Master God-Diviner, who Xu Baocai kept securely tied up, didn’t say anything the entire time, and did not seem to be very happy.
It was a very strange scene, and somewhat suspicious as far as Patriarch Spirit Stream was concerned. As word was passed up through the ranks, Bai Xiaochun was informed, and summoned Xu Baocai and Master God-Diviner to a side chamber for an audience.
When the doors opened, Bai Xiaochun saw Master God-Diviner tied up with ropes and looking very anxious, with Xu Baocai behind him, shoving him forward through the corridor. Bai Xiaochun blinked a few times at the strangeness of the scene.
As soon as Xu Baocai caught sight of Bai Xiaochun, he excitedly shoved Master God-Diviner into the room, then rushed forward and kowtowed, “Greetings, Arch-Emperor!”
Xu Baocai was not feigning his excitement; when he was back in the Saint-Emperor Dynasty and heard that Bai Xiaochun had become the Arch-Emperor, he almost couldn’t contain his enthusiasm. Considering his own relationship with Bai Xiaochun, it meant that he would likely benefit as well.
In order to show how truly devoted he was, after he finished offering formal greetings, he quickly said, “Your Majesty, I didn’t come to you empty-handed. I brought this traitor along with me! What traitor, you might ask? Master God-Diviner, that’s who!”
Bai Xiaochun looked at Xu Baocai, and then at Master God-Diviner. Clearly, there was some sort of conflict between the two.
“I’m no traitor!” Master God-Diviner shouted. “Bai Xiao– er, Your Majesty, I didn’t betray you. I–”
Before he could proceed with any explanation, Xu Baocai glared at him and interrupted, “Shut up, Master God-Diviner! As you well know, I’m an expert when it comes to gathering intelligence, so don’t even think of trying to pull a fast one!
“Your Majesty, this evil Master God-Diviner definitely betrayed us. And even more infuriating, he tried to bribe me to keep me quiet!
“Your Majesty, you have no idea the humiliation I endured in my efforts to capture him. In order to get on his good side, I accepted the more than one hundred female cultivators he gave me, which nearly corrupted my spirit and toppled my Dao heart. Thankfully, my loyalty to you never wavered, Your Majesty!” As Xu Baocai’s words echoed about in the chamber, Master God-Diviner glared at him angrily.
“That’s right, I did arrange for you to have a hundred female cultivators. But every time I sent you one, you weren’t happy, and kept asking for more! That’s why you got more than a hundred!”
“That’s because my Dao heart is strong!” Xu Baocai shot back. “It was all for the mission. It was all to catch you, you traitor! That’s why I endured all of that humiliation! I had no choice but to accept your bribes. That was the only way to capture you!”
A full-scale argument had erupted, with both sides hurling accusations at the other, and denying the accusations made against them.
“Don’t feel pity for this Master God-Diviner, Your Majesty!” Xu Baocai said loudly. “The reason I went to him in the first place was to ask him to join me on the journey to Arch-Emperor City. But because he had a demigod Daoist partner, he refused! Therefore, I had no choice but to suffer all of that humiliation to gain his trust. When the moment was right, I poisoned him, tied him up, and brought him here by force!”
Sighing, Master God-Diviner said, “Who said I didn’t want to come? I have a big family, and lots of business interests! I couldn’t just abandon them all! But that doesn’t mean I didn’t want to come!”
“Don’t even think of trying to fool His Majesty! You’re a traitor, Master God-Diviner. You’ve been having kids left and right, spreading the blood of the Heavenspan Realm without even thinking about it. Thanks to you, the secrets of spirit enhancement aren’t going to be a secret for much longer!”
Bai Xiaochun found the whole thing to be quite amusing, but could tell that the argument was about to devolve into an actual fight. In fact, Master God-Diviner was so weak that when Xu Baocai kicked him to the ground and started to trample him, he couldn’t defend himself. At that point, Bai Xiaochun intervened.
The situation was obvious. Master God-Diviner had been living a comfortable life in the Eternal Immortal Domains, unlike many other cultivators from the Heavenspan Realm. Therefore, he was torn about whether to come to the Arch-Emperor Dynasty.
Untying Master God-Diviner, Bai Xiaochun said, “Listen, Master God-Diviner. We’re like brothers, right? Just tell me the truth. Do you want to join us here, or not? If not, then have someone escort you back. All I want is for the people from the Heavenspan Realm to be happy, that’s all. As long as you don’t betray me, we’re friends, no matter where you are!”
With the wave of a hand, Bai Xiaochun then dispelled the poison, and Master God-Diviner’s weakness along with it.
Shivering, Master God-Diviner stood there at a temporary loss for words. Then he took a deep breath and said, “I want to join you. But, not alone. I want… to bring my family with me!”
Laughing heartily, Bai Xiaochun stepped forward and embraced Master God-Diviner. “No problem at all! Bring as many people as you want!”
Then he embraced Xu Baocai.
Master God-Diviner seemed to want to say something more, but held back. As for Xu Baocai, he also hesitated about whether to add additional information. However, seeing how happy Bai Xiaochun was, he didn’t.
Before long, Master God-Diviner left, an official decree in his hand from Bai Xiaochun, allowing him to bring all of his belongings and wives to Arch-Emperor City.
Looking over his shoulder at Arch-Emperor City, he muttered, “I hope he doesn’t pass out from shock when I come back….”
