It would not be correct to use the idiom every day sees new developments to describe what was happening within the Heavenspan Realm’s one and a half immortal domains. And that would be because the events taking place surpassed anything that idiom could describe.
The population included the hundreds of thousands of cultivators who had formerly been living in the Greatsword of the North, as well as the original population of the immortal domain, whom the Vile-Emperor had treated with such ruthless coldness. With all of those people present, things were in a constant state of change for the people of the dynasty!
Old mountains were leveled, and new mountain ranges rose up. And in accord with the plan laid forth by the Grand Heavenmaster, construction began on a centrally located city that, although it was not publicly announced, everyone knew was the future… imperial city!!
Within that city, a large group of cultivators was currently working on a huge statue that depicted Bai Xiaochun, wearing imperial robes and an imperial crown!
More Heavenspan cultivators streamed in from the Saint-Emperor Dynasty on a daily basis,
all of them completely focused… on the new imperial dynasty that was rising to prominence!
In contrast to how everyone else was buzzing with activity, Bai Xiaochun had little to do. He had already brought Song Junwan and Zhou Zimo back from the treasured fan, who were treated like the ultimate royalty as soon as they appeared. The Giant Ghost King, the Grand Heavenmaster, Li Qinghou, Patriarch Spirit Stream, and other members of the senior generation immediately took to caring for them with the utmost consideration. A host of servants was also assigned to care for their needs.
In many way, the two of them were treated even better than Bai Xiaochun was.
Bai Xiaochun could only sigh wistfully in response to how much the old-timers seemed to favor the unborn children inside of Song Junwan and Zhou Zimo.
“They’re just kids,” he thought, “and I’m their dad. So I can’t get jealous!” Feeling a bit miffed, but aware that he shouldn't be competing with his own children, he shook his head and left with Bruiser, who was feeling just as bored as he was. They toured the immortal domains they controlled, and could see how excited everyone was as they went about their work. He even tried to help out on a few occasions, but whenever people saw him, they would immediately start bowing and scraping.
Eventually, the Grand Heavenmaster and Giant Ghost King asked him to stop making such public appearances, worried that it would negatively influence all of the construction and renovation work….
And yet… despite how well the wily Grand Heavenmaster understood Bai Xiaochun, in this situation, he made an error in judgement…. Bai Xiaochun was now in the late Celestial Realm, and had archaean-level battle prowess, but the truth was that deep in his bones… he was still the same person he had been in the Spirit Stream Sect, who loved to be the center of adoration.
And thus… no amount of persuasion on the Grand Heavenmaster’s part could convince Bai Xiaochun to stay out of the public eye. He chuckled and agreed at first, but as soon as no one was looking, he would clear his throat and go for a stroll.
Cries of adoration could be heard wherever he went. And whatever area he stayed in for too long would immediately suffer a lag in efficiency.
In the end, it was Li Qinghou who came to the rescue. He understood Bai Xiaochun the most, and he was also the one who Bai Xiaochun respected the most. Bai Xiaochun could be evasive with just about anyone, but not with Li Qinghou….
After the case was made, Bai Xiaochun said, “Ah, whatever. I guess I don’t need to take walks after all.”
Having nothing else to do, he took Bruiser to a relatively remote area in the hopes of relaxing a bit. Unfortunately… Bruiser was quite charmed by the various creatures that inhabited the Eternal Immortal Domains. Earlier, he had been too occupied with protecting Song Junwan, and hadn’t dared to accumulate an army of Daoist partners…. But now that he had nothing else to do, he managed to slip away from Bai Xiaochun, and get to work.
That got Bai Xiaochun feeling even more down. Eventually, he found himself all alone in the grand hall of Megarock City, as bored as one could be. Just when he was considering going back to the treasured fan, he suddenly felt his bag of holding vibrating.
Shocked, he scanned it with divine sense, and then pulled out a transmission jade slip. Moments later, a familiar voice echoed in his mind.
“Help me, Bai Xiaochun!!”
As soon as he heard the voice, he shivered and rose to his feet. That voice belonged to none other than… Gongsun Wan’er!!
“What’s wrong? Where are you?!”
Not only did he owe her a big favor, there had always been something vaguely romantic to their dealings. Therefore, as soon as he heard her voice, he started to get nervous.
“The Vile-Emperor is trying to kill me! He--” Her voice was suddenly cut off, causing Bai Xiaochun’s breath to catch in his throat. Without any hesitation, he vanished, reappearing up in the sky, where he sent his divine sense spreading out in all directions.
“Transmission jade slips have limited range. At most, they might be able to cover two immortal domains! If the Vile-Emperor’s going to make a move, then… it must be in that direction!” His flashing eyes did not focus on the Vile-Emperor Dynasty. After his previous fight with the Vile-Emperor, he had attempted to locate Gongsun Wan’er during his search for the Greatsword of the North, but she hadn’t responded to any of his messages.
At the time, it had seemed unlikely that she would be in hiding in the Vile-Emperor Dynasty. After all, if the Vile-Emperor discovered her, it would be difficult for her to escape.
Neither would she hide in the Saint-Emperor Dynasty. That meant that the most likely location of her hiding place was the Eternal Sea.
However, he didn’t have much more to work with than that. Moving at top speed, he headed toward the Eternal Sea, sending his divine sense out to search for any relevant fluctuations.
If an archaean was attacking someone, there would definitely be evidence!
Sure enough, after enough time passed for half an incense stick to burn, he detected powerful fluctuations from a certain location in the Eternal Sea. They were fluctuations he was familiar with… they belonged to the Vile-Emperor!
“How dare you, Vile-Emperor!” Eyes bloodshot, he unleashed the full power of his cultivation base, causing heaven and earth to tremble as he sent a message to the Saint-Emperor. Then, he rocketed forward with all the speed he could muster!
The Vile-Emperor hovered over a certain location in the Eternal Sea, his facial expression grim, and his eyes as cold as ice. Anxious, he looked down at the waters below as he waved his right hand, causing the water to begin to swirl into a vortex.
At the depths of the vortex was a sphere of water covered with magical symbols, within which Gongsun Wan’er sat cross-legged, her expression that of terror and despair.
“I’m not going to kill you, Ghostmother. I’ll just suppress your soulclone and allow your true soul to awaken!” The Vile-Emperor had lost too many celestials recently, and in his anxiety, had used a secret magic to locate Gongsun Wan’er’s hiding place.
Never could he have guessed that in the years Gongsun Wan’er had spent hiding, she had been building up a powerful spell formation around her, a formation powered by half of a sixty-year-cycle’s worth of time. Although it could not hold out against archaean-level power forever, it was strong, and would last for at least half an incense stick’s worth of time.
Because of that, the Vile-Emperor was not able to snatch her. It was also how she had enough time to send a message to Bai Xiaochun. When the Vile-Emperor realized what she had done, his expression flickered with rage.
“If I can’t capture you alive, then I’ll just kill you. Afterward, I’ll use your Daoseed to resurrect you back in my imperial palace!” Snorting coldly, he thrust his hand out, summoning an enormous hand that shot down in the direction of the sphere of water that protected the despairing Gongsun Wan’er!
As it descended, the water below began to sink down in the shape of a hand!