Lu Yun shrank in on himself.
“I am not a senior!” Bai Zhaoju repeated seriously. “Don’t call me that!” He gave the matter some deliberation. “Call me brother… but we ain’t friends. Call me White Emperor then! That’s right, White Emperor! An emperor of his territory… Hahaha, that’s a fantastic name!”
Lu Yun stared at him dumbly, at a loss for words. “The… White Emperor?”
“Yah, that’s right!” Bai Zhaoju nodded earnestly. “Once I reach the chaos realm, the title of White Emperor will be known throughout the great wilderness!
“Ling Weiyang will be the Azure Emperor, Chi Biaonu, the Crimson Emperor, and Zhi Guangji, the Black Emperor! Hahaha, we’ll be the emperors of four cardinal directions. How grand will that be!” He puffed out his chest as he spoke, raking a self-satisfied gaze over Lu Yun.
This legendary Bai Zhaoju is quite different from what I’d imagined him to be…
Lu Yun stuck out his tongue. “Then I’d like to ask Your Grand Majesty the White Emperor to escort me to the huge mountain at the heart of Suncrows Plain!”
“You’re going to Yi’s tomb?” Bai Zhaoju flicked him a sideways glance. “You really do have a death wish! Listen, if it was Chi Biaonu here, he might be able to protect you, but I certainly cannot!”
His cultivation methods veered toward the metal element, which happened to be countered by the fire elements here. He could probably protect himself in Suncrows Plain, but he wouldn’t be able to protect Lu Yun.
“Don’t worry, White Emperor,” said Lu Yun. “I’ve received Holy Emperor Fuxi’s tutelage about feng shui and identifying landscapes. Perhaps I’ll be of some use when dangers arise.”
“Fuxi passed all of that onto you?” Bai Zhaoju nervously covered the youth’s mouth and continued gravely, “Don’t ever say that out loud again. What Fuxi knows is coveted by even the most powerful connate demon gods and other beings who are almost as great as the creators. You must keep your skills a secret, understood?”
Lu Yun nodded.
“Is it just me, or does that fox look a little like that troublemaker of a woman, Tushan?” Bai Zhaoju muttered, glancing at the little fox in Lu Yun’s arms. “Stay close behind me and don’t go anywhere by yourself.”
He rose to his feet and moved forward.
“Wait,” Lu Yun called out, pointing in the direction obstructed by the flock of Bi Fang. “That way!”
Bai Zhaoju rolled his eyes and changed course, running up to the birds.
“Troublemaker of a woman?” Lu Yun raised a brow at the little fox, who met his gaze with innocent wide eyes.
“Git!!” Bai Zhaoju snarled at the Bi Fang. He’d exceeded true divine realm and entered the celestial divine realm, making him much more powerful than the phoenix they’d encountered earlier.
Although the Bi Fang’s combined strength overwhelmed his, the gap between their cultivation realm was too great. His roar sent the hundreds of startled Bi Fang into the air for a speedy escape.
“You mustn’t take flight in these plains,” Bai Zhaoju commented as he started moving again. “Otherwise, something may come out of nowhere and swallow you whole.”
“Awoooo!” As if in response to his warning, a giant mouth emerged in the air. Roaring and howling in challenge, it swallowed a mouthful of Bi Fang before vanishing into thin air.
Lu Yun shuddered.
“Regret things yet?” Bai Zhaoju asked with a half smile.
“No.” Lu Yun shook his head. “What was that?”
“No clue.” Bai Zhaoju shrugged. “This is my first time here.”
It was at this time that Lu Yun realized this White Emperor wasn’t as reliable as he’d thought.
The two of them carefully navigated their way through the grassland, narrowly escaping a few powerful beings they couldn’t afford to disturb. Some of the giant fire beasts were far more powerful than Bai Zhaoju and even Ah Bao.
Thankfully, Lu Yun had already identified the safest route through this treacherous territory. Otherwise, even Bai Zhaoju would die here.
The sun slowly sank beneath the horizon and was nowhere to be seen, but the plains grew increasingly brighter. Not only due to the flames dancing on the ground, but because of an even greater light source some distance away.
It was an enormous mountain surrounded by flames, which illuminated Suncrows Plain in place of the sun in the sky.
“Tsk, tsk, what a fiery mountain. I wonder what’s going on with it. Apparently, it’s been burning for a hundred thousand years.” Bai Zhaoju smacked his lips as he tore into a roasted Bi Fang drumstick.
Lu Yun smiled wryly at the spit-roasted Bi Fang; its essence was too powerful for him to consume. He might have reached peak golden core under the great dao, placing him a step away from entering the true divine realm, but…
This was the heart of the Suncrows Plain, where true divines could be found everywhere and celestial divines as plentiful as dogs. There were even a good number of divine kings—ones who could rival Ah Bao.
Lu Yun wasn’t sure what would happen when he ascended to the true divine realm, but he was certain the powerful beings here would be alerted, and he would get Bai Zhaoju killed.
Gulping, he turned away from the feast.
The little fox, on the other hand, clambered out of Lu Yun’s arms and sat on top of the dead Bi Fang, tearing into it with reckless abandon.
“This fox really isn’t that troublemaker of a woman, is it?” Bai Zhaoju gave her a speculative look.
“Troublemaker of a woman? What do you mean?” Lu Yun couldn’t help his curiosity while the little fox glared at him.
“It’s no big secret. People say that Taiyi wanted to make Tushan his concubine, but Tushan refused. The great god Yi fought Taiyi in order to protect her. After killing nine suncrows, they had a massive final battle in Suncrows Plain, which ended with Yi’s demise.
“Tushan yielded to Taiyi’s prowess after that, but in order to have her, he had to retrieve the bow from Yi’s tomb. Taiyi returned gravely injured, and died shortly thereafter in an ambush staged by the other connate demon gods.
“Yi was one of the greatest among the connate gods, while Taiyi was the first celestial emperor of the great wilderness. Both of them died because of Tushan… She is thus known as the greatest femme fatale in the great wilderness.” Bai Zhaoju peered at the little fox and gave her a close onceover, who batted back innocent eyes at him.
Lu Yun was reminded of the little fox’s human form… She was, barring none, the most beautiful being he had ever met. He wholeheartedly believed Bai Zhaoju’s story.
“It’s said that Tushan’s true form is a nine-tailed fox. You have only one…” He reached out to grab the little fox’s furry tail, who burrowed herself into Lu Yun’s arms in a flash of white.
“Alright, let’s enter the tomb.” Lu Yun changed the subject. “Dig down for sixty-eight kilometers, that’ll be our entrance!”
