Although his voice quavered weekly, his eyes shone with the determination to keep speaking.
“But don’t worry, Your Highness, all I need is half a year, and I’ll be back to normal!” Seemingly summoning the effort, he slapped his chest to emphasize his words, looking like the type of person who wouldn’t hesitate to die for his sovereign. At the same time, he was secretly sizing up the giant ghost king, and vowing that he wouldn’t go into any dangerous areas no matter what happened. Giant Ghost City was definitely the safest place to be….
The giant ghost king’s expression flickered as he pondered the situation. After looking Bai Xiaochun up and down, he finally decided that everything was just too coincidental. How could it be that, right when the Ghost King Orchid bloomed, causing a huge stir among all the chosen in the land, that Bai Hao’s cultivation base would suddenly have a problem? However, now was not the time to go picking apart Bai Xiaochun’s words. Waving his hand, he summoned a medicinal pill.
It was pure white, and shone with dazzling light. Inside of it could be seen the image of a dragon, and it emanated a shocking medicinal aroma. As soon as Bai Xiaochun saw it, his eyes went wide, and he even gasped. This was the first time he had ever seen a medicinal pill in the Wildlands.
As an grandmaster apothecary , he could instantly tell that this was some sort of holy medicine designed to heal injuries. In fact, it appeared to surpass the Godly Vestige Pills he had used in the past. It was completely unprecedented!
A medicinal pill like this could be considered rare even in the Heavenspan River region, let alone in the Wildlands, where medicinal pills virtually didn’t exist. Clearly, it was a treasured item to the giant ghost king.
“This pill’s name is Heavencleaving Good Fortune Pill. You can only eat nine in your lifetime, and the reason that my decay period was so short was because I consumed nine at once. Anyone else who consumes it under normal circumstances will experience a full recovery from all injuries in only one breath of time.
“Take a minute to think. Even if you’re seriously injured, you’re going on this mission, whether you want to or not. If you refuse to take the pill, and fail in the mission, I won’t cause any problems for you. But if you do consume it, then you definitely must succeed in the mission!” The giant ghost king spoke in a tone that brooked no argument, then looked at Bai Xiaochun with glittering eyes as he flicked his finger and sent the medicinal pill flying toward Bai Xiaochun’s mouth.
Bai Xiaochun shivered in fear, but still managed to reach out and snatch the pill out of the air. Scowling on the verge of tears, he looked back at the king, cursing inwardly, but knowing he had no choice in the matter. Considering how decisively the giant ghost king was acting, Bai Xiaochun could tell that it was just as the man had said: he would be going on this mission whether he wanted to or not….
Although he felt very wronged about the whole thing, he didn’t let that show on his face. In fact, it was at this point that some cracking sounds suddenly rang out from inside of him, and his previously unstable cultivation base suddenly returned to normal.
“Don’t worry, Your Highness, I’ll definitely accomplish the mission!” he said loudly.
“You’ve recovered?” the giant ghost king asked, his eyes narrowing as he smiled.
“Eee? You said it even before I noticed it, Your Highness! Wow, this is great! My cultivation base breakthrough came because I had an audience with you, and now I've recovered for the same reason! Both of these developments occurred because of meeting with you face-to-face! Your Highness, your might surpasses all creation, like a dragon flying to the highest heavens. A mere glance from you is like consuming a holy medicine of healing!” All of Bai Xiaochun’s flattery was delivered without the slightest blush, and was spoken with utmost sincerity.
The giant ghost king sighed, well aware of what Bai Xiaochun was doing. Not concerned about how crafty Bai Xiaochun was trying to be, the giant ghost king’s expression turned somber as he went on to give some more information about what was to come.
Bai Xiaochun listened with rapt attention, and afterward, actually breathed a sigh of relief. After all, he knew that, considering how incredible he was, he could crush anyone who tried to make a move against him.
The more he listened though, the wider his eyes went, and the more his heart began to pound at the fact that virtually everyone was teaming up against the giant ghost king.
“We're talking about multiple heirs apparent to heavenly kings, plus chosen from the nobility and aristocracy in Arch-Emperor City! Although not all of them reached the Nascent Soul stage with deva beast souls, there are bound to be a few…. Plus, they're all going to be working together against me….” Soon his scowl returned. All of the cultivators who would be going to this trial by fire were powerful chosen. Even though Bai Xiaochun knew himself to be incredible, even a tiger couldn’t fight a pack of ravenous wolves. The slightest misstep on his part, and his poor little life would be in danger….
“Dammit, how come only Nascent Soul cultivators can go!? It would be much better if most of the people were in the Core Formation stage….” Although he wished to cry, no tears would come. The truth was that even if he were stronger than he was, he still wouldn’t be confident. However, considering the stubborn look on the face of the giant ghost king, he knew that there was nothing he could do other than nod in agreement.
The giant ghost king could sense Bai Xiaochun’s pensiveness, so after a moment, he sighed and said, “However, don't feel too much pressure. With my trusty spear, and some Heavencleaving Good Fortune Pills, you should be very safe. Furthermore, I will make other arrangements to make sure that everything goes smoothly in the Necromancer Kettle.”
However, not even such assurances wiped the scowl off of Bai Xiaochun’s face. At this point, the giant ghost king lowered his voice and said, “Don’t forget about that restrictive spell that connects the two of us. Do you really think I would send you somewhere to get killed?”
Upon hearing that, Bai Xiaochun’s mood brightened a bit. The more he thought about it, the less likely it seemed that anyone would try to cause problems for him. Besides, based on what the giant ghost king had just said, it seemed there would be people on the inside who would help him if he needed it.
After offering a few more words of instruction, the giant ghost king handed Bai Xiaochun a medicinal pill bottle, within which were eight Heavencleaving Good Fortune Pills! Including the one he had given him moments ago, that made a total of nine!
After seeing all of those pills, Bai Xiaochun felt even more confident than before.
With that, the giant ghost king left, simultaneously passing orders to Duke Deathcrier to accompany Bai Xiaochun on a giant ghost battleship to the Necromancer Kettle.
**
The giant ghost battleship was an enormous black airship that pierced through the sky with incredible speed. It had a giant ghost statue on it that radiated black light, as well as a fearsome aura.
Bai Xiaochun was currently standing on the deck of the battleship, sighing listlessly. Next to him was Duke Deathcrier, who was looking at him with a bemused expression. Chuckling, Duke Deathcrier said, “What’s with the furrowed brow, Majordomo Bai? You didn’t frown like that even when three devas were chasing you down.”