The shout was so powerful that it shook heaven and earth, startling both Celestial Virūpākṣa and Sima Yunhua, and leaving their ears ringing.
Most bizarre of all was that Sima Yunhua didn’t recognize this voice, and couldn’t help but wonder… who this person was that he was good friends with.
Gu Tianjun, Chen Su and Aged Spirit were also completely taken by surprise, as were the Vile-Emperor and Saint-Emperor, who were just outside of the exit. To all of them, it seemed like a completely ridiculous situation.
Of course, the person who had just shouted out was none other than Bai Xiaochun!
To him, the sovereign flesh wasn’t very important anymore. In contrast, friendships were. That was why he had shared the flesh with the other celestials of the Saint-Emperor Dynasty, and even with Gongsun Wan’er.
He was actually very pleased with how it seemed to be changing the other celestials’ opinion of him. Right now, Sima Yunhua was in danger. Although he likely wouldn’t die, if Virūpākṣa captured him, Sima Yunhua would likely lose the sovereign flesh that Bai Xiaochun had given him.
Furthermore, it would happen right in front of the Vile-Emperor and Saint-Emperor. Virūpākṣa would shine, and although he would have lost out overall inside the spiderweb, he would at least have performed some meritorious service worthy of a reward.
In contrast, Sima Yunhua would lose not just the sovereign flesh, but also a lot of face too. To celestials, that type of thing was very important.
Bai Xiaochun realized all of that in the briefest of moments. To him, this opportunity was like a little sheep, and he was a big gray wolf… Eyes shining, he snatched at the opportunity as soon as it presented himself. Without hesitation, he produced the Greatsword of the North and slashed it out toward Virūpākṣa.
And of course, he didn’t forget to shout something appropriate as he attacked.
“Run, Sima, old pal! Don’t worry about me, I’ll hold him off!!”
Although his words seemed a bit melodramatic, anyone who was watching could see that he intended to follow through in action. He really was placing himself in danger and going all out in an attempt to help Sima Yunhua.
Sima Yunhua was usually a grim individual, but in this moment, he was uncharacteristically moved, and suddenly experienced feelings that were very foreign to him.
“I won’t leave you behind, Bai, my friend!!” he shouted.
And thus, both Bai Xiaochun and Sima Yunhua drew upon their most powerful trump cards to strike back at Celestial Virūpākṣa.
Booms rang out in all directions, and massive winds swept the area. Although Sima Yunhua was no match for Virūpākṣa in terms of cultivation base, he had a huge amount of experience, and thus, attacked in a very effective manner.
Bai Xiaochun, despite being in the mid Celestial Realm, had a world treasure, which shone with blue light as he viciously attacked Virūpākṣa.
Power that seemed capable of destroying the heavens and extinguishing the earth was unleashed. Sima Yunhua bore the brunt of the attacks, causing his chest to cave in and blood to spray out of his mouth. In the critical moment, Bai Xiaochun defended him with his sword and then grabbed his shoulder.
Then, sonic booms could be heard as the two of them flew backward at high speed.
Sima Yunhua was feeling genuinely moved, and thought back to when he had been working hard to oppose Bai Xiaochun. For the first time, he felt a bit guilty about that. Meanwhile, Virūpākṣa, whose divine abilities had been vanquished by the two of them, was descending into a rage.
“Feeling suicidal, Bai Xiaochun?!?!” he shouted. Then he thought about how his arm was now gone because of Bai Xiaochun, and his eyes turned bloodshot with rage. Slapping himself hard on the chest, he damaged his Daoseed even more to fuel his cultivation base and achieve another burst of speed. Throwing his arms out in front of him, he aimed, not for Sima Yunhua, but Bai Xiaochun!
“Let’s see if anyone will come to save you!!”
However, even as Virūpākṣa prepared to attack, Sima Yunhua gritted his teeth and beat him to the punch. He couldn’t simply abandon Bai Xiaochun after having just been saved by him. Perhaps if the two of them had been alone, he might have considered it, but with so many people watching, that would be too much of a disgrace.
Simultaneously, Celestial Aged Spirit and Chen Su both hesitated for a moment, then turned around. After all, if their inaction caused Bai Xiaochun and Sima Yunhua to be captured, the Saint-Emperor would not be pleased with them at all.
Furthermore, considering how things had developed, it was likely that Sima Yunhua would hold a grudge against them if they didn’t help.
Gu Tianjun also hesitated for a moment, then sighed and also turned to help. The three of them all attacked at the same time, which, when combined with the counter attack by Bai Xiaochun and Sima Yunhua, created a massive storm of magical techniques that bore down on Celestial Virūpākṣa!!
“How could this be happening!?!?” Celestial Virūpākṣa said with a gasp. He knew all of the celestials from the Saint-Emperor Dynasty, and was sure that unless there was some benefit at stake, they wouldn’t possibly work together like this. And if they had conflicting interests, they definitely wouldn’t do so.
What he was seeing now seemed completely implausible. Unfortunately, even the mighty Virūpākṣa couldn’t stand up to the combined attacks of five other celestials. Coughing up blood, he tumbled backward, body on the verge of collapse.
With Virūpākṣa having been taken out of the picture temporarily, Bai Xiaochun grabbed Sima Yunhua and sped toward the exit as quickly as possible. Then, to the shock of the Vile-Emperor and Saint-Emperor, the five of them all emerged into the open, gasping for breath!
At this point, even Gu Tianjun breathed a sigh of relief. As for Sima Yunhua, he seemed relieved, and quickly clasped hands and bowed to Bai Xiaochun. He said nothing, but from the look in his eyes, it was obvious that he would not forget what had just played out!
Bai Xiaochun felt immensely proud, but didn’t let it show on his face. Instead, he lowered his voice and asked all of the other celestials how they were doing, and if they were alright.
As for the Vile-Emperor and the Saint-Emperor, one looked livid, and the other surprised. Neither spoke.
Before long, Celestial Virūpākṣa emerged from the exit, clutching at his stomach, his expression as dark as could be. Shortly after came Reverend Devourer and Prince Ur-Demon.
And then were Celestial Deadfall, Daoist Heavenspan, and Gongsun Wan’er. Soon, all of the celestials were out in the open, with the exception of the old woman. When Celestial Virūpākṣa produced her Daoseed and handed it over, the Vile-Emperor simply could not cover up the grim expression on his face.
In sharp contrast, the Saint-Emperor gave a hearty belly-laugh.
Looking at his celestials, he said, “Very well. Excellent work, my celestials. And now, please produce the fruits of your labor. As I said before, everyone who participated will be rewarded for their meritorious service!”
Gu Tianjun cleared his throat and stepped forward excitedly. Waving his sleeve, he sent several chunks of sovereign flesh out. At the same time, Chen Su, Celestial Aged Spirit and Sima Yunhua all did the same. Seeing this, Bai Xiaochun joined them.
Perhaps to intentionally annoy the celestials from the Vile-Emperor Dynasty, Gu Tianjun took the lead in assembling all of the pieces…. At that point, Bai Xiaochun’s heart began to pound, but sadly, there was nothing he could do to stop what was happening.
Before long, a big lizard took shape, causing the Saint-Emperor’s eyes to shine brightly, and killing intent to appear in the Vile-Emperor’s.
However, after putting all of the pieces together… strange expressions appeared on the faces of all present, as they realized that the lizard appeared to be missing half of a leg, along with its tail….
Off to the side, Gongsun Wan’er’s face was bright crimson. A moment passed, then she stepped forward. Then, to the amazement of her compatriots, she pulled half of a leg out of her bag of holding and tossed it out in front of her.
The Vile-Emperor’s expression brightened at that, and he looked over at Gongsun Wan’er and nodded approvingly.
However… even with the missing half of a leg provided by Gongsun Wan’er, the lizard… wasn’t whole.
At that point… the celestials of both dynasties slowly turned to look at Bai Xiaochun… causing the jaws of both the Vile-Emperor and the Saint-Emperor to drop.
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This is the official "Ghostmother/Gongsun Wan'er" image that Er Gen released on his official WeChat. I'll add this to the AWE art gallery when this chapter goes live.