“Heavenspan, you bastard,” he grated. “So… you really aren’t dead!!” All of a sudden, he thought back to everything from the Heavenspan Realm. He thought back to the climactic final battle. He thought back to Bai Hao. He thought back to Du Lingfei. He thought back to all of the other painful images.
No, Daoist Heavenspan was not dead!
Back when the Heavenspan Realm collapsed, his cultivation base was at the quasi-celestial level. However, he had spectacular talent. And because of his deep understanding of the Undying Live Forever Technique, he had already formed part of his Daoseed!
Bai Xiaochun had actually laid eyes on it! When Daoist Heavenspan’s body collapsed at the end of their final battle, he had seen a clump of magical symbols which was none other than a Daoseed!
Normally speaking, after the world was destroyed, and Daoist Heavenspan received a mortal blow, it shouldn’t have mattered that he had part of a Daoseed. He should have perished then. But it just so happened that he was teleported into one of the immortal domains controlled by the Vile-Emperor Dynasty. And the first person to detect the fluctuations of his Daoseed was the Vile-Emperor.
The Vile-Emperor took him in, a secret that was kept from even the other celestials. As far as the Vile-Emperor was concerned, Daoist Heavenspan was like a rare treasure worth keeping in his back pocket.
Back when Bai Xiaochun had made his breakthrough, Daoist Heavenspan was trying to do the same thing, and had even sensed Bai Xiaochun’s breakthrough. For Daoist Heavenspan, making that breakthrough from demigod to celestial was extremely difficult. He got stuck in the third tribulation, and repeatedly failed to get the approval of the Eternal Mother.
However, at one point, the Vile-Emperor gave him a chunk of black stone that miraculously gave Daoist Heavenspan what he needed, right in the moment when he believed he had failed!
And therefore, when Daoist Heavenspan made his breakthrough and became a celestial, all people in the Vile-Emperor Dynasty became aware of his existence.
The voice of the Eternal Mother spoke into the ears of all living beings, leading to widespread shock in both of the imperial dynasties.
Most shocked of all though… were the people of Heavenspan scattered throughout the rest of the Eternal Immortal Domains!
Mixed emotions of all sorts rose up in their hearts.
Deep within a private chamber in Vile-Emperor City, Daoist Heavenspan opened his eyes, then threw his head back and laughed maniacally. Rising to his feet, he slowly looked in the direction of Saint-Emperor City, his eyes flickering with bizarre emotions.
Despite being separated by an entire world, he and Bai Xiaochun could somehow sense each other, and both of their eyes began to glow with icy coldness and killing intent!
“Bai Xiaochun…. You being a bit faster won’t matter in the end!” He waved his hand, causing a black robe to settle down over his shoulders, including a deep hood that covered his face.
“How wonderful that the Eternal Mother speaks of new celestials. That way, everyone who knows me… has been told that I’m back!” Looking away from Saint-Emperor City, he turned and vanished into the darkness.
It was at that exact same moment that, back in Saint-Emperor City, Bai Xiaochun also retracted his gaze.
“The fact that you’re alive just means that I can kill you again!” Closing his eyes, he settled back down cross-legged to continue meditating.
Time passed. Ten days later, the Saint-Emperor returned. No one knew if he returned with anything in his possession. Furthermore, he didn’t hold court. A few days passed, whereupon he issued a single Dharmic decree!
Bai Xiaochun was named a celestial guardian in the second immortal domain of the Saint-Emperor Dynasty. He would hold authority over the entire immortal domain!
The truth was that the Saint-Emperor Dynasty only controlled most of that immortal domain, not all of it. Its northern prefectures had been occupied by the Vile-Emperor Dynasty for many years. That state of affairs had resulted from a situation similar to when the Saint-Emperor acquired a handful of prefectures in exchange for handing over Gongsun Wan’er. Therefore, although the Saint-Emperor Dynasty maintained control of the immortal domain as a whole, the Vile-Emperor Dynasty had a foothold there.
That immortal domain had to remain on constant guard against the Vile-Emperor Dynasty. Furthermore, small-scale warfare played out on the actual border regularly. Whoever was appointed the celestial guardian would be responsible for overseeing such war efforts. For many years, the person to hold that title was one of the most qualified celestials, Zhao Yuanhan, who bore the Daoist name Aged Spirit.
Celestial Aged Spirit had been in the second immortal domain for years, and had never rotated out to give the position to another celestial. And the Dharmic decree which had just been issued did not relieve him of his duties. Instead, both he and Bai Xiaochun would serve as celestial guardians at the same time!
Therefore, it was obvious to Bai Xiaochun what this ‘appointment’ really indicated.
It was essentially sending him to the second immortal domain with no actual power or authority. He could have access to cultivation resources, and could maintain a high status, but… wouldn’t have any power!
“It makes it seem like I'm there to defend one of the immortal domains, but really, it’s more just to keep me busy….” He wasn’t angry. In fact, it was actually a good thing. After all, the Giant Ghost King was in the second immortal domain, and it had been a long time since the two of them had seen each other.
He still felt the urge to try to contact the damaged fan, but being as cautious as he was, he forced himself not to. He would at least wait until he was away from Saint-Emperor City before giving it a shot.
Thus, he packed his bags, and without any fanfare, left the next day at dawn, a beam of bright light shooting through the air.
His departure led to many sighs of relief in Saint-Emperor City. Although there were no drums or gongs, there was much cheering and laughter.
“The walking disaster is walking away!!”
“Hahaha! Celestial Aged Spirit is in for a big headache!”
“Ah, what a pity. King Heavenspan has his upsides. It's too bad we couldn't send him to Vile-Emperor City! I’d be willing to bet that, if he were given the right set of circumstances, he could destroy the entire place!”
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Chapter
1099: A Key
Some distance away from Saint-Emperor City, Bai Xiaochun hovered in midair, looking back over his shoulder. Considering the level of his cultivation base, it was easy for him to hear the sound of rejoicing behind him, although not perfectly clearly.
“Haven’t experienced this feeling for a long time!” He couldn’t help but clear his throat a bit. After all, he knew exactly what was going on, and it was somewhat embarrassing. Thankfully, he knew exactly how to deal with that embarrassment.
“It’s all my fault.” In his heart, he sighed deeply. After all, it had been a long time since he realized that no matter what he did in life, he couldn’t stop being outstanding.
“What other explanation could there be? How come whenever I stay anywhere for a bit of time, people always get so emotional?
“Mount Hood, the Spirit Stream Sect, the Blood Stream Sect, the River-Defying Sect, the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, the Wildlands…. And now, even the people in the Eternal Immortal Domains realize how outstanding I am.” Swishing his sleeve, he turned around and continued on his way.
“Ah, whatever. Now that I’m heading into the second immortal domain, I definitely have to keep a low profile.” As he moved along, he thought about the Saint-Emperor’s decree, and no matter what angle he considered it from, it left him feeling like he had been kicked out into the cold.