Major Metropolitan City:
Imperial Emperor Xi Yu swung his saber and knocked Gu Hai back, separating Gu Hai from the scroll.
“We did say that we would let you go and allow you to take Bing Ji away. You should be content with that. You cannot take away anything else of the Yuan Nation!” Imperial Emperor Xi Yu’s voice suddenly boomed out.
Mo Yike, Qin Zibai, and Chang Sheng showed confused expressions at Imperial Emperor Xi Yu’s cold shout.
“What scroll?” Mo Yike asked in surprise.
Buzz!
Imperial Emperor Xi Yu withdrew his saber and took a deep breath.
“Your Reverence, what treasure scroll is there?” Chang Sheng also asked in surprise, showing a frown.
Imperial Emperor Xi Yu shook his head and said, “See for yourself.”
As Imperial Emperor Xi Yu spoke, a dragon roar came from his body. Then, the golden blessings dragon flew out of his body to the blessings cloud sea above.
“Roar!”
The golden blessings dragon opened its mouth and spat, the scene in the distant Vacant City appearing before everyone.
“The Slaughter Heavenly Emperor held that scroll earlier. Since the Bat Ancestor and Xi Kang value it so much, showing such anxious expressions, it should be a treasure belonging to the Slaughter Heavenly Emperor,” Imperial Emperor Xi Yu said with a frown.
Imperial Emperor Xi Yu had concluded that out of instinct, as the expressions of Archduke Xi Kang, the Bat Ancestor, and the others were too intense. He had not seen what happened earlier, only knew that the scroll came from the Slaughter Heavenly Emperor.
He could let Gu Hai go, but he could not lose any more of what the Slaughter Heavenly Emperor left behind.
“The Bat Ancestor, Archduke Xi Kang, and the Chang Clan elders? To think that they even gave up on pursuing Gu Hai and rushed to the scroll instead?” Mo Yike appeared slightly confused.
“Is it some incredible treasure? Perhaps a cultivation technique?” Chang Sheng likewise appeared slightly confused.
“It must be extraordinary,” Qin Zibai said with anticipation.
Everyone watched the scene from a distance.
They saw the Bat Ancestor open the scroll, unable to wait any longer.
A beast-skin parchment fell out of the scroll, and the scroll was empty.
“A beast-skin parchment? What is it?” Qin Zibai said in confusion.
Everyone felt confused. The people by the throne in Vacant City—the Bat Ancestor and the others—also had puzzled expressions.
——
“An egg?” the Bat Ancestor said blankly.
“A painting of an egg?” Archduke Xi Kang opened his eyes wide, at a loss.
“An egg? What does that mean? Let me take another look!” the Chang Clan elders said anxiously.
Their subordinates craned their necks, trying to see from further behind.
An egg?
This can’t be the secret behind the Slaughter Heavenly Emperor sealing himself for six millennia, right? The secret that could get him to abandon everything to seal himself has to be something extraordinary.
It was not just the Bat Ancestor and the others; the surviving citizens in the surroundings also appeared curious as they watched from afar.
Although they did not help the Bat Ancestor deal with Gu Hai, everyone was interested in the scroll. Unfortunately, the surrounding citizens were not qualified to gaze upon its contents.
An egg?
Confusion filled the faces of the Bat Ancestor, Archduke Xi Kang, and the Chang Clan elders. Is there a secret behind this? Why can I not understand this?
Just as everyone felt confused, Chang Ming’s second uncle suddenly held his abdomen. “Ouch!”
“What’s up? Did you figure something out?” the Bat Ancestor called out, pleasantly surprised.
“My-my-my belly hurts! Argh! It hurts!” Chang Ming’s second uncle clutched his abdomen in pain.
The Bat Ancestor: “…”
“Ouch! My belly hurts as well. What’s going on? Argh! It really hurts!” Chang Ming’s third uncle cried out as well.
“Hurry, look! The egg painting is fading!” Archduke Xi Kang said anxiously.
Fading? Will the painting completely vanish?
“Hurry! Everyone, look at it and memorize this painting. Remember every single detail about it!” The Bat Ancestor’s face sank.
Everyone took another look.
“Ouch! Ouch! My belly hurts as well!” Chang Ming’s fourth uncle held his abdomen as he goggled.
“Argh! Prime, my…my belly hurts as well!” a bat spirit exclaimed.
“Clan Head, my belly hurts as well. Argh! It hurts really bad!” one of Archduke Xi Kang’s subordinates cried out.
“Argh! Argh! It hurts! Milord! My belly hurts so bad!” A number of their subordinates suddenly held their abdomens, crying out in pain.
“What’s going on? What’s going on?” Archduke Xi Kang appeared anxious.
However, the painting on the beast-skin parchment faded further. Archduke Xi Kang immediately showed an anxious expression as he took another careful look.
“Argh! Argh! Argh! My belly!” Archduke Xi Kang’s face froze.
“What’s going on?” The Bat Ancestor’s expression changed.
The people here suddenly fell over while clutching their abdomens in pain.
“Bat Ancestor, hurry, save me! My belly hurts really badly! Hurry!” Archduke Xi Kang cried out.
“Primogenitor, save me!” the Chang Clan elders exclaimed.
“Argh! My belly!” Everyone collapsed.
Now, the egg in the beast-skin parchment was already extremely faint. The Bat Ancestor’s expression changed. Could it be because of this beast-skin parchment?
The Bat Ancestor lowered his head and took another look. After that look, the egg disappeared.
“Indeed!” The Bat Ancestor’s face sank.
His expression suddenly changed in the next moment.
“Argh!” the Bat Ancestor suddenly cried out, clutching his abdomen.
The Bat Ancestor’s abdomen started hurting. Furthermore, the pain was excruciating, sapping him of energy.
“What’s going on? Why is my belly hurting as well?” the Bat Ancestor exclaimed.
“Argh! It hurts! Save me! Someone, save me!” Some of those with lower cultivations sat doubled over on the ground, holding their abdomens in horror.
This strange scene confused the surrounding citizens.
What…what is this situation?
Archduke Xi Kang, the Bat Ancestor, the Chang Clan elders, and their fifty thousand subordinates suddenly slumped to the ground, holding their bellies.
“Are they poisoned?”
“That does not look like it. How could they be shouting so loudly if they were poisoned?”
“However, if they are not poisoned, why did they collapse?”
The citizens appeared shocked. There was no logical explanation for this.
Archduke Xi Kang, the Bat Ancestor, the Chang Clan elders, and their fifty thousand subordinates were all ferocious and ruthless people. Why were they crying out so miserably? No one had hit them at all.
“Your Reverence! Your Reverence! Save me!” Archduke Xi Kang roared, in so much pain that he despaired.
——
At the Great Sigh Palace Hall’s entrance in Major Metropolitan City:
Imperial Emperor Xi Yu scanned the scene but did not find any assassins.
“They…what’s going on with them?” Chang Sheng frowned.
“Ah! This… Could it be…” Mo Yike’s expression congealed as he looked at Qin Zibai.
Qin Zibai had not reacted yet. When Mo Yike called out, Qin Zibai immediately startled awake.
“It can’t be, right?” Qin Zibai said with a strange expression.
“Did Mister Gu swap out that scroll?” Mo Yike’s expression changed.
“That…that can’t be, right?” Qin Zibai’s complexion changed rapidly.
“What’s going on? What is happening to them?” Imperial Emperor Xi Yu asked, bewildered.
“It seems like… It seems like…” Qin Zibai found this hard to say.
“Speak! What is happening to them?” Imperial Emperor Xi Yu glared. If you know, why are you hiding it?
“They should be pregnant,” Qin Zibai said with a strange expression.
Pregnant?
Imperial Emperor Xi Yu: “…”
Chang Sheng: “…”
“There should be an egg painted on that beast-skin parchment. Anyone who looks at it will get pregnant, one embryo for every look.” Qin Zibai’s face twitched.
Imperial Emperor Xi Yu: “…”
Chang Sheng: “…”
——
In Vacant City:
Just as everyone was perplexed about what was happening, one of them suddenly opened his eyes wide.
“There is something in my belly! There’s something in my belly! That thing is absorbing the energy of my nascent souls and is growing!” someone exclaimed.
“Ah! It’s the same in my belly too! It is connected to my various apertures and dantian! Ah! It is growing! It is growing!” another person cried out in fear.
“There is one in my belly too!”
Everyone discovered that there was something new in their abdomen.
“Why do I feel that there are eight in my belly?” Chang Ming’s second uncle said blankly.
“I sense nine!” Chang Ming’s third uncle said.
“Ten for me!” Chang Ming’s fourth uncle said.
“Mine is… Mine is twenty?” Archduke Xi Kang said with a hint of horror in his voice.
The Bat Ancestor showed a dark expression, not saying anything. He sensed that he had the most in his abdomen.
“Why did something suddenly appear in my belly? What is it? Argh! It hurts!” Everyone was in intense pain, unable to focus on investigating.
“Hurry! Someone over there, come over and check us! Any alchemists around, hurry over!” Chang Ming’s second uncle shouted in horror.
Some of the citizens shrank back in fear. However, someone eventually flew over.
That old man said respectfully, “This old man is an alchemist of Vacant City. I’m the Original Vacant Pill Institution’s—”
“Cut the crap and quickly check me. Hurry! Argh! It hurts so bad!” Chang Ming’s second uncle roared in rage.
I’m dying of pain, and you still take the time for formalities?
“Yes, yes!” The old man immediately placed his hand on the wrist of Chang Ming’s second uncle to take the pulse.
The old man closed his eyes, and this continued for some time due to uncertainty. However, his expression turned strange.
“What’s going on?” Chang Ming’s second uncle glared.
The old man’s face twitched. “Congratulations, Milord. Milord has…has…”
“Speak!” Chang Ming’s second uncle roared while glaring.
“Has impending joy!” the old man said with a strange expression.
[TL Note: The Chinese way of saying that someone is pregnant is by saying there is joy/delight.]
Chang Ming’s second uncle’s expression froze; he could not react. What do you mean by impending joy?
The surrounding people howling in pain suddenly fell silent. What’s going on?
“Milord has…octuplets.” The old man backed off slowly.
“Oct…oct…octuplets?” Chang Ming’s second uncle’s face turned completely stiff.
Octuplets?
When the distant citizens heard that, they felt startled.
The old man walked to one of the bat spirits at the side and checked it.
“Yours is twins!” the old man said.
“You have triplets!”
“Yours? Unfortunately, you only have one.”
Previously, everyone only suspected that they were pregnant. Now, the old man shattered their final hopes. Am I really pregnant?
“No! I’m a man! I don’t want to give birth! Archduke! Archduke, save me!”
“I don’t want to give birth, either. I already have three children! I don’t want to give birth!”
“Save me! Your Reverence, save me!”
“To think that I have triplets. No! I don’t want this!”
The subordinates howled in pain, sorrow, and despair.
Chang Ming’s second uncle felt stupefied. Octuplets?
Chang Ming’s third uncle felt stupefied. Nonuplets?
Chang Ming’s fourth uncle felt stupefied. Decuplets? Am I a pig?
Archduke Xi Kang felt stupefied. Vigintuplets?
[TL Note: Vigintuplets is twenty embryos in one pregnancy.]
The Bat Ancestor’s expression turned extremely dark. He had no idea how many he had.
How can it be like this?
“The embryo is growing bigger! Argh! I’m going to give birth! I’m going to give birth!”
“Me too! I’m giving birth soon! It’s going to come out!”
“But I’m a man! How do I give birth?”
“We don’t have the organs for giving birth! How do we give birth?!”
“You only have one. I have three! There’s no way I can do this!”
Everyone wailed in sorrow, pain, and despair. Everyone’s abdomen grew extremely large in the blink of an eye, looking like they would explode. However, they were all men. Their physiological structure did not permit this.
One embryo was fine; it was still bearable. The abdomens of those with twins grew terrifyingly large. The abdomens of those with three grew so large that speaking was difficult. Those with quadruplets already started foaming at the mouth.
“Argh! Huff! Huff! Huff!” the Bat Ancestor, Archduke Xi Kang, and the Chang Clan elders panted in despair.
The countless citizens in the surroundings: “…”
When the surviving citizens saw these fifty thousand people about to give birth, their current emotions were indescribable.
Sorrow? They could not feel sorrow. We were even more miserable than these people previously.
Happiness? They could not feel happy, either. This is not a comedy, alright? We are still very upset. Stop joking around.
We are still grieving over our dead family and friends, feeling mournful. However, your getting pregnant made the atmosphere so awkward.
——
Major Metropolitan City:
Imperial Emperor Xi Yu: “…”
Mo Yike: “…”
Qin Zibai: “…”
Chang Sheng: “…”
——
In Vacant City:
“Argh! Argh! My hands are weak. Old man, what should we do? What should we do?!” Archduke Xi Kang lay limp on the ground, looking in despair at the old man who diagnosed them.
The old man’s face kept twitching. When he heard Archduke Xi Kang’s question, he returned to his senses. “Ah! Hah… A man giving birth…this old man…this old man has not come across this before. Ah! Wait, there seems to be a method that has spread in the north recently, called a cesarean section or something.”
“Cesarean section?” The Bat Ancestor, Archduke Xi Kang, and the Chang Clan elders immediately saw hope.
