Hou Xiaomei had long since been an apprentice of Gongsun Wan’er, and had been in seclusion ever since Bai Xiaochun had arrived in the Eternal Immortal Domains!
They hadn't seen each other for many years, and Hou Xiaomei looked somewhat different. Perhaps it was because of the technique she cultivated, but she was now even more eye-catching than before. There was also a frigid aura to her that resembled Gongsun Wan’er’s. Despite that, as soon as she laid eyes on Bai Xiaochun, her eyes lit up with a smile of excitement and happiness.
There was a warmth in her gaze that had always been there, and it was now even more intense than it had been back in the Heavenspan Realm.
When that warmth combined with the frigid coldness she had now, it made her even more bewitchingly attractive than ever.
“Big Bro Xiaochun!” Her eyes seemed red as if with tears as she looked at him. He was very different to her from before, older and more mature. Although other people might not be able to tell, to her, he looked like another person altogether than the Bai Xiaochun she remembered from the Ovens back in the Spirit Stream Sect.
She knew the reason for all of it. Her Master had explained everything after she came out of seclusion. It had been difficult for Hou Xiaomei to accept; although she seemed strong on the outside, she was actually very sensitive. But in the end, she had no choice.
Upon hearing that Bai Xiaochun was in Vile-Emperor City, her heart began to pound with strange emotions. And before she could even ask it, Gongsun Wan’er brought her here.
Once she saw him in front of her, the rest of the world disappeared, and time slowed down. As she stepped forward and slowly wrapped her arms around him, he looked down and embraced her.
They said nothing. It was as if, during all the years that they had been apart, they had simply been waiting to reunite, and hold each other in their arms.
Mixed emotions flickered in Gongsun Wan’er’s eyes as she looked on. Then she backed up to give them a slight bit of privacy.
Bai Xiaochun noticed that, and his eyes flickered to meet hers. They shone with gratitude, thankfulness for how she had taken care of Hou Xiaomei, and appreciation for bringing her here now.
The truth was that Gongsun Wan’er had feared Bai Xiaochun might do something drastic after the events in the imperial palace. Therefore, she had brought Hou Xiaomei here in the hopes of bringing him a bit of consolation.
Bai Xiaochun knew that Hou Xiaomei would be much safer with Gongsun Wan’er than she would with him. But for the moment, he lowered his head and began to whisper softly into her ear, telling her about everything that had happened since their separation.
Soon, evening had fallen, and the time had come for Hou Xiaomei to leave with Gongsun Wan'er.
Looking into Hou Xiaomei’s eyes, Bai Xiaochun quietly said, “Wait for me, Xiaomei…. I’ll take you away with me soon… very soon!”
Hou Xiaomei was not the ditzy girl she had been in the past. Whether it was her personal experiences on Heavenspan Island, or the things that Gongsun Wan’er had told her later, she was very well aware that Bai Xiaochun couldn’t afford to have people near him who could be used against him, or who might hold him back.
Although she didn’t want to leave him, she knew she had to. Tears welling up in her eyes, she kissed him on the lips, then turned to leave.
As she departed, Bai Xiaochun savored the warmth of her kiss, and her lingering fragrance. Moments passed, and his eyes began to shine with determination!
“Strength. And cultivation base!!” After returning to his private chamber, he vanished and reappeared on the damaged fan, where he began to challenge the levels again. They were all very difficult, to the point where he failed numerous times before passing them.
There was no need for the spirit automaton to interfere. Furthermore, he had interfered too many times in the past, and currently was not even close to matching up to Bai Xiaochun in terms of authority.
The automaton had said he would only interfere once, and the truth was that, because of his waning authority, he truly could not do so more than once in the last ten levels!
Days slipped by. Bai Xiaochun was completely absorbed in challenging the levels. Whenever he was forced to rest for a bit, he would take advantage of the time to research twenty-three-colored flame.
In this manner, half a year passed.
During that time, the Vile-Prince kept a very low profile, and didn’t cause problems for Bai Xiaochun. Because of the incident in the imperial palace, most of the other celestials were warier of Bai Xiaochun than ever, and resolved never to offend him if at all possible. After all, the Vile-Prince had already openly shown his hostility. Therefore, all they needed to do was wait and watch the sparks fly whenever their inevitable showdown occurred.
Most relevant in the entire situation was that the Vile-Emperor had apparently reached a critical moment in cultivating a certain Daoist magic, and had gone into protracted secluded meditation. There was something different about this session of seclusion. The Vile-Emperor had left orders explicitly stating that unless a matter that pertained to the possible fall of the entire Vile-Emperor Dynasty occurred, he was not to be disturbed.
And thus, Vile-Emperor City quieted down. However, to those who were in the know, it seemed like the quiet that came before a storm of monumental proportions!
Please go to
install our App to read the latest chapters for free
Chapter
1180: The Spirit Automaton Makes His Move
As time passed, Bai Xiaochun slowly slipped into a state of complete frenzy. It was as if the only thing that existed in his life was his desire to pass the levels in the damaged fan, and to conjure a twenty-three-colored flame.
He rarely went back to Vile-Emperor City. Because of how focused he was on cultivation, and the rewards he got at the ends of the levels, his cultivation base advanced in shocking fashion.
In terms of the levels, his progress was not rapid. But considering how hard he was working, and his powers of regeneration, he eventually reached the ninety-sixth, ninety-seventh, and ninety-eighth levels….
A few days after that, he finally passed the ninety-eighth level and reached… the ninety-ninth level!!
The spirit automaton never showed his face. However, the more progress Bai Xiaochun made, the more on guard he was. He knew that the automaton would most likely make his move in one of the final two levels.
Bai Xiaochun’s guess was that it would come in the hundredth level. However, as it turned out, it was when he reached the ninety-ninth level that the spirit automaton woke up for the first time after drawing upon the powers of the damaged fan to acquire that sovereign’s arm.
“The ninety-ninth level!?” he blurted as soon as he opened his eyes. The truth was that he had left a marker behind in the ninety-ninth level that would awaken him if Bai Xiaochun reached it.
Under normal circumstances, he would have just rested until he was fully recovered from the extremely draining ordeal. However, he hated Bai Xiaochun so much that he had arranged for a way to be woken up if necessary.
“Alright, Bai Xiaochun. Lord Automaton is going to make one last-ditch effort to stop you. If you succeed… then I guess I’ll have to resign myself to the fate the heavens have decreed.” The spirit automaton took a deep, shaky breath. He was not confident at all in this, his final attempt to interfere. On too many occasions in the past when he had been completely certain he would come out on top, Bai Xiaochun had gone on to show him what was meant by the unexpected, shamelessness, and … cheating!
By this point, the spirit automaton had actually begun to believe that everything had been fated. Sighing, he vanished from his current position to reappear within the ninety-ninth level.
**