He wore a Daoist robe, and despite his somewhat emaciated appearance, had brightly shining eyes. He had the demeanor of a transcendent being as he clasped hands and bowed to one of the people in the hall, who happened to be a demigod.
This middle-aged man was only in the Nascent Soul stage, and yet, the demigod treated him with utmost respect. Waving his hand, the demigod said, “Grandmaster Zhou, back when I was in Vile-Emperor City, I acquired a threefold spirit enhancement for this flying sword. Despite searching the nation high and low, I couldn’t find anyone to perform the fourth spirit enhancement. If you’re able to do it, Grandmaster Zhou, then I can pay any price you set!”
An enigmatic smile could be seen on Grandmaster Zhou’s face as he looked back at the demigod.
“Although I've never personally met Grandmaster Zhang Dahai, I've heard that he can perform fourfold spirit enhancements.”
Looking a bit embarrassed, the demigod said, “You’ve heard the old saying you can see the divine dragon, but never from head to tail, right? That describes Grandmaster Zhang perfectly. It’s almost impossible to get an audience with him. In fact, I've never even seen him.”
With that, he clasped hands and bowed again, then went on to promise handsome compensation for the job. After a long moment, Grandmaster Zhou nodded.
“Very well. Let me see the sword in question.”
Visibly enlivened, the demigod produced a crimson flying sword, which he handed to Grandmaster Zhou for inspection. It was at around this time that Qing’er and Bai Xiaochun appeared near the door of the mansion.
Considering the level of his cultivation base, Bai Xiaochun didn’t need to be in the hall to see everything going on inside, including Grandmaster Zhou.
The instant he saw him, he blinked a few times, and then the corners of his mouth turned up in a smile.
Qing’er was already gazing at Grandmaster Zhou with a bright expression. “Exalted One,” she said to Bai Xiaochun, “that is the incredible Grandmaster Zhou, our number one spirit enhancer. You must have met him before in the Heavenspan Realm, right?
“Unfortunately, no one knows his full name. He said long ago that if he ever found that long-lost dear acquaintance, then he would announce his name to the world.”
“Yeah,” Bai Xiaochun said, nodding. “I know him.” With that, he cleared his throat.
Perhaps because of a sudden hush in the crowd, the sound of Bai Xiaochun clearing his throat was a bit louder than he had intended it to be. It drifted into the hall, causing Grandmaster Zhou to frown. After all, when he performed spirit enhancements, he required peace and quiet, which was a generally known rule.
At this point, his eyes shifted from the crimson flying sword to the crowd outside. He looked irritated at first, but when he caught sight of Qing’er, his heart softened a bit. He had long since come to realize that she liked him, and it caused a smile to appear on his face. Then his gaze shifted to the person standing next to her… Bai Xiaochun.
Suddenly, Grandmaster Zhou’s eyes went wide, and his mind began to spin.
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Chapter
1129: Come Home
“Bai… Bai….” Grandmaster Zhou almost couldn’t breathe correctly, and his eyes bulged so wide they looked like they might fall out of his skull. Waves of shock battered his mind like blasts of heavenly lightning.
The surrounding crowd was immediately taken aback by his unusual reaction. That was especially true of the demigod, whose expression flickered as he turned to look at Bai Xiaochun, hoping to identify him.
No one else in the crowd recognized Bai Xiaochun, but no one could miss the shock on Grandmaster Zhou’s face. Immediately, hushed discussions broke out.
“What’s wrong with Grandmaster Zhou?”
“I've never seen him look like that.”
Qing’er was also visibly taken aback. However, before she could do anything, Grandmaster Zhou jumped out of his chair and tossed the flying sword to the side. He hadn’t quite reached the point of being visibly out of his mind, but he was almost there as he scrambled toward the door.
Jaws dropped as he moved with blinding speed to appear in front of Bai Xiaochun. There, he flopped to the ground in front of Bai Xiaochun, grabbed his legs, and began to weep openly.
Voice quavering, he said, “Milord! Yixing has missed you to death!! I thought I would never meet you again, milord! The heavens do have eyes! They actually permitted me to see you once again!”
Grandmaster Zhou was none other than Zhou Yixing!
His words were spoken loudly and with the utmost sincerity, ensuring that everyone in the area could hear them clearly. Many gasps could be heard as audience members turned their attention to Bai Xiaochun.
“Grandmaster Zhou… called him milord?”
“Heavens! Grandmaster Zhou is awesome enough as it is! I wonder… how powerful his master is?!?!”
“Who is this person…? How come he seems so familiar…?”
Qing’er’s jaw currently hung wide open. Although she had paid lip service to the fact that Bai Xiaochun was the ultimate spirit enhancer, in her heart, the Grandmaster Zhou that she had become smitten with was the best in the world.
As of now, her thoughts were thrown into complete confusion, to the point where she almost couldn’t accept what was happening.
“Grandmaster Zhou… called him milord…?”
Zhou Yixing’s heart was pounding in unprecedented fashion. The truth was that he was very nervous. Obviously, he was aware of what was going on in Mistysea Prefecture, and also knew that Bai Xiaochun, the Giant Ghost King and Grand Heavenmaster were all there.
However, he had come to enjoy his current lifestyle, and couldn’t bear to part with it. He liked how people fawned over him, and even after much deliberation about the matter, had not yet been able to bring himself to go seek asylum with Bai Xiaochun.
As of this point, though, there was no need for deliberation. Bai Xiaochun was right here in front of him, and therefore, Zhou Yixing knew that his days of comfort were over. Now, he was worried that Bai Xiaochun would be displeased that he hadn’t taken the initiative to go to Mistysea Prefecture.
Zhou Yixing wouldn’t have given a moment's consideration to any other person. But he had been present to witness Bai Xiaochun’s rise to prominence in the Wildlands. Whether it was the chaos he caused in the Arch-Emperor Dynasty, his path to becoming a heavenly necromancer, the fact that his apprentice had become the Hell-Emperor, or the fact that he had won over Mistress Red-Dust… all of it ensured that he felt deep reverence for Bai Xiaochun. It was something that reached down to his bones, and even his soul. And that was the reason for his nervousness, and why he was trying to make himself seem as pitiable as possible.
“I hope that Bai Xiaochun will go easy on me for old-times’ sake….” he thought, tears flowing down his cheeks as he stared up miserably at Bai Xiaochun.
“You have no idea how long I searched for you, milord,” he said. “I dreamed every night of how wonderful it would be to reunite with you!”
Although Bai Xiaochun was smiling at him, Zhou Yixing trembled and loudly added, “Milord, Yixing has missed you so much!”
Bai Xiaochun blinked a few times. From the moment he had laid eyes on Zhou Yixing, it was obvious that he had come to enjoy life here, and didn’t want to bear the hardships that would come with living in Mistysea Prefecture.
Considering his dramatic performance, Bai Xiaochun could see that Zhou Yixing was obviously scared. However, Zhou Yixing had misjudged the situation. After all of the things Bai Xiaochun had experienced, he knew more than ever that the longer the people of Heavenspan lived in the Eternal Immortal Domains, the more people would make the same decision as Zhou Yixing.