Chuckling bitterly, the Saint-Emperor flew away from the enormous sovereign, his mood already having plunged to the ultimate depths. “It seems that deadly catastrophe is about to befall the Eternal Immortal Domains….”
He could only hope that Bai Xiaochun would succeed. After all, if the final bloodline sealing strip was destroyed, then… it would mean the end of the Eternal Immortal Domains.
Everyone in the Eternal Immortal Domains was left shaken. The Saint-Emperor had failed, the second sealing strip had been destroyed, and the gigantic sovereign was now struggling with more intensity than ever.
“The Arch-Emperor is our only hope!!”
“The Arch-Emperor must succeed!!!”
Everyone was now praying for Bai Xiaochun, even the Saint-Emperor.
Inside of the energy passageway, Bai Xiaochun had come to a temporary stop as he realized that something had changed. In the blink of an eye, the number of shadowy specters around him had begun to increase dramatically.
Although he had no idea what had occurred with the Saint-Emperor, he had a bad premonition. Feeling more anxious than ever, he let out a shout, and took advantage of the time it was taking the shadowy specters to materialize to shoot onward as quickly as possible.
He had no choice but to burn his cultivation base power, becoming a tempest that crushed anything in his way. As he followed the bloodline sealing strip, he got closer and closer to the dantian region.
From the thirty percent point of advancement, he proceeded to the fifty percent mark. Then he reached sixty percent, and seventy percent….
His Undying Codex was working in overdrive as he destroyed countless shadowy specters that blocked his way.
Soon, he had passed the seventy percent mark, and was reaching eighty percent, when suddenly, he stopped in place as he realized that among the shadowy specters was a woman with her head bowed!
She wore a royal gown, and was very graceful and elegant. None of the shadowy specters in the area dared to get close to her, creating a wide open space around her.
As soon as Bai Xiaochun saw her, she looked up, revealing a spectacularly beautiful face.
“Immortal Imperatrix!” he blurted, his eyes widening, and subconsciously placing his hand on his bag of holding. This woman was none other than the Immortal Imperatrix, except, she was different from the version he had in his possession…. This Immortal Imperatrix was formed by the Mortal Renegade’s divine sense, and looked exactly like she had when she was alive!
She had archaean fluctuations that were somewhat overwhelming, and as soon as her eyes locked onto his, she waved her hand, sending all of the shadow figures around her shot straight toward Bai Xiaochun.
Then, she took a step forward, turning into a beam of light that also closed in on Bai Xiaochun!
“Dammit, there’s no way this shrew is gonna beat me!” He charged forward, the tempest that surrounded him decimating all of the shadowy specters that were in the way.
However, the Immortal Imperatrix didn’t seem to be affected by the tempest at all. It didn’t even slow her down. Moments later, she slammed directly into Bai Xiaochun.
Booms echoed out, and Bai Xiaochun tumbled backward, blood oozing out of the corners of his mouth. Although his Undying Codex was hard at work regenerating him, he was already feeling very frustrated.
It was even worse considering that after the interchange, the Immortal Imperatrix didn't seem to be dissipating, but rather, growing more solid. Bai Xiaochun sighed.
“I have one more trump card to try. If it doesn't work, then I’ll resort to the Waterswamp Kingdom!” Still hoping to conserve cultivation base power, he looked at the incoming Immortal Imperatrix, took a breath, and closed his eyes.
Just when she was almost on top of him, he opened his eyes and unleashed an aura that was very different from anything before. It was ancient, and completely beyond compare to anything else!
It was none other than… the aura of the Worldly Daoist!!
“Little Junior Sister….” he murmured softly, his eyes flickering with reminiscence.
Instantly, the seemingly cold and emotionless Immortal Imperatrix shivered and lurched to a halt. As she stared at Bai Xiaochun, it was clear that she was struggling inside.
When Bai Xiaochun saw that his tactic seemed to be working, his heart started to pound. Trying to make the situation seem even more realistic, he forced out more of his sovereign aura, and tried to make himself seem exactly like the Worldly Daoist.
“It’s been a long time, Shanshan….” he said softly. Gazing at her, he began to walk forward.
Soon he was right in front of her.
“Worldly… Daoist….” she said.
When Bai Xiaochun heard that, his heart suddenly seized.
His inspiration for this tactic came with the previous incident with the crocodile. The crocodile had seemingly possessed some of its previous instincts, and he had assumed it would be the same with the Immortal Imperatrix.
However, hearing her speak the name of the Worldly Daoist made him realize that he was likely wrong! Apparently, she didn’t possess mere instinct, but rather, true memories of the past!
“How is this even possible? We're inside of the Mortal Renegade, right? What exactly are all of these shadowy specters?” Despite being shaken, he knew that now wasn’t the time to sit around analyzing the situation. Forcing himself to remain calm, he continued to speak in a soft voice.
“Wait here for me, okay Shanshan?” he said. “Don’t go anywhere, Little Junior Sister….” Hoping to maximize his effectiveness, he resorted to two forms of address instead of just one.
The Immortal Imperatrix’s gaze was still blank, but she was clearly struggling. Taking advantage of the moment, Bai Xiaochun burst into motion, flying right past her, and preparing his Waterswamp Kingdom just in case she started to chase him.
To his delight, though, she simply stood there, unmoving.
“So, the honey trapping technique works even better than the Waterswamp Kingdom!” Speeding up, he passed the eighty percent mark within the bloodline sealing strip, and closed in on ninety percent!!
Meanwhile, everyone down in the Eternal Immortal Domains was affixed on his progress. Although they couldn’t see exactly what he was doing, they could see when he paused, and then kept moving.
As he neared the dantian region, many people realized that he had already endured much more difficulty than the Saint-Emperor, who had actually started much further along the sealing strip.
“He’s got to make this work!!” the Saint-Emperor murmured, trembling. He wished he could go and help, but knew that the only person in the Eternal Immortal Domains who could enter the sealing strip created by the Arch-Ancestor was Bai Xiaochun!
“May the Eternal Mother bless and protect you….” Many people were murmuring such prayers, and quite a few were weeping.
Everyone in the entire world was watching!
Eventually, Bai Xiaochun reached the ninety percent point. He had only ten percent to go. And that was when… he encountered someone that he never could have guessed he would see!
In fact, it was a person that he would have assumed he couldn’t see!!
Just as the Saint-Emperor had encountered the Saint-Ancestor, Bai Xiaochun suddenly found himself facing what at first appeared to be a mountain!
But it was no mountain, it was a giant, sitting there cross-legged, eyes closed.
As Bai Xiaochun approached, the giant’s eyes opened, and they burned like the sun. His skin was covered with complex designs, indicating that he had mastered the Undying Skin, Undying Heavenly King, Undying Tendons, Undying Bones and Undying Blood!!
The blood and energy fluctuations rolling off of him were boundless and majestic, and his fleshly body was clearly at the ultimate peak!!
“Arch-Ancestor!!” Bai Xiaochun blurted.
This giant was none other than the Arch-Ancestor, the source of Bai Xiaochun's bloodline. And as he opened his eyes… he slowly rose to his feet!