Bai Xiaochi was visibly stunned. He might have taken Bai Xiaochunâs words to be mere ravings, except for the fact that his divine sense was actually connecting to the sovereignâs arm!
That connection seemed completely and utterly inconceivable.
âHeâs⌠heâs just a celestial! He's not even an archaean. And yet heâs actually connecting to that sovereignâs arm!!â He almost couldnât believe his eyes. Despite the fact that he had sensed the sovereignâs aura influencing Bai Xiaochunâs cultivation over the years, he still couldnât wrap his mind around what was happening.
âWhat secret is he hiding!?!?â
âCould it have something to do with the fact that he's from the Eternal Immortal DomainsâŚ? Maybe heâŚ.â Bai Xiaochiâs eyes went even wider than they had been before. He hadnât thought much of the Eternal Immortal Domains, but as of this moment, he couldnât help but recall⌠a legend that his previous master had spoken of!
Even as the spirit automaton stood there shaken, Bai Xiaochunâs divine sense connected fully to the sovereignâs arm, and he began to pour his thoughts into it.
What had previously been only a vague outline of the arm now became clearer, and he began to absorb it into his mind!
It was very similar to the way that he had meditated on the face of the beast statue in the Spirit Stream Sect all those years ago.
Time began to pass. One year. Three years. Five yearsâŚ.
Before long, ten years had passed!
During that decade, Bai Xiaochun didnât move. He was completely immersed in his pursuit of enlightenment. Although he hadnât fused with the sovereignâs arm completely, his understanding of it was becoming drastically more complete!
Eventually, Bai Xiaochun emerged from his trance, and when he did, his eyes shone with light that struck Bai Xiaochi down to his very soul.
As of this moment, Bai Xiaochun was emanating an aura that Bai Xiaochi could not possibly mistake for anything else, weak as it was!!
âThe aura of a sovereign!!â he said with a gasp.
Ignoring Bai Xiaochiâs shock, Bai Xiaochun slowly rose to his feet and looked down at his right arm. His eyes glittered with the light of augury for a long moment, and then he clenched his hand into a fist!
As he did, an enormous, shadowy emperor appeared behind him, clad in imperial robes and wearing an imperial crown. As for his facial features, they were an exact match for Bai Xiaochunâs!
The Undying Emperorâs Fist!
However⌠this emperor was different from the emperors that had appeared in the pastâŚ. His right arm did not match the rest of his body. It looked⌠exactly like the sovereignâs wolf-like arm!!
Everything down to the bones, the flesh, and the blood were all exactly like the sovereignâs, and it radiated a sovereign aura that made it seem vastly more powerful than before!
It was an aura that could shake celestials and archaeans alike!
This was what Bai Xiaochun had gained after ten years of meditation. He had incorporated the sovereignâs arm into his Undying Emperorâs Fist, fusing the two together! Clenching his hand into a fist, he punched out into the air!
Instantly, the sovereign aura erupted, filling the void with dazzling light, and sending a massive tempest of wind out across the damaged fanâŚ. Any celestial or archaean who saw this⌠would be shaken to the core!
The fan itself trembled, and Bai Xiaochiâs eyes bulged on the verge of popping out of his skull.
âHe actually did itâŚ.â
Bai Xiaochun looked down at his new right arm, and softly said, âFrom now on, my Undying Emperorâs Fist is going to be called⌠the Undying Sovereignâs Fist!
âIt combines the power of my Sutra of Former Reincarnation and my Sutra of Present Life and Death. It will be a trump card that I can use to fight archaeans!â Eyes flickering with determination, he flew off of the sovereignâs arm and back to the Daoist Tower of Life and Death. There, he sent his divine sense out, anticipation burning in his heart.
Zhou Zimo and Song Junwan were still asleep. However, much of the color had been restored to their faces, indicating that much of their Life Essence had been restored. Bruiser was similarly recovering well. As for Song Que, he looked exactly the same as he had before, prompting a light sigh from Bai Xiaochun.
At this point, his eyes flickered with cold light as he waved his hand, producing a faintly glimmering soul from his bag of holding.
It was the Vile-Princeâs soul, which had long since lost self-awareness, and didnât even have the power to struggle against Bai Xiaochun as he held it.
âHow could I possibly allow you to die a quick death?â All of his time up to this point had been focused on reaching the late Celestial Realm and creating his Undying Sovereignâs Fist. Up to now, he hadnât had any spare time to deal with the Vile-Prince!
âYou like switching bodies, right? And puppets?â Eyes shining with merciless anger, he waved his hand, causing an array of materials to fly out from the damaged fan, which he rapidly transformed into a puppet to put the Vile-Princeâs soul in.
At that point, the Vile-Prince regained some of his self-awareness, and after realizing that he was now trapped in a puppet body, looked up in terror at Bai Xiaochun.
âHow dare you do this to me, Bai Xiaochun! My father the emperor will never let you get away with it! He's definitely going to find you!!â
âYour father the emperor? Hmph. The emperor is no longer your father. But don't worry, I'm still your enemy.â Performing an incantation gesture with his right hand, he forced the puppet-form Vile-Prince to dance wildly in front of the huge tower, just as the princeâs puppets had been forced to do back in the imperial palace.
Those puppets had lost their lives to perform that dance, and the Vile-Prince had lost his soul to perform his. As he danced wildly, his terror mounted. After all, the wildness of his dance was causing his soul to slowly disperse. Clearly⌠he was being killed in the same way that he had tormented his own victims!
âThatâs bullcrap!â he suddenly blurted. âWhat do you mean the emperor isnât my father?!â
Bai Xiaochun simply snorted coldly and started walking away. He would let the Vile-Prince dance his way into death, as his soul dispersed.
âYou like dancing, donât you?â he said over his shoulder. âDance away.â
âNo! This canât be happening. Let me go, Bai Xiaochun. I wonât ever bother you again, I promise. I guarantee itâŚ.â Unfortunately for him, his pleas fell on deaf ears. Bai Xiaochunâs hatred for him simply ran too deep.
And thus, the Vile-Prince danced madly for nine days. At that point, the puppet body continued to dance, but his soul was almost completely faded away. He almost had no self-awareness left. On the tenth day⌠he danced into death, and his soul dispersed.
At that point, the materials which had made up his puppet body stopped moving, and then collapsed onto the groundâŚ.
Bai Xiaochun watched from a distance, with Bai Xiaochi standing at his side, more terrified than ever.
âDeath cannot wipe out your crimes!â Bai Xiaochun said through gritted teeth, his hatred still festering in his heart. Finally, he stood up and went over to collect the materials that had once made up the puppet body. Even as he did, Bai Xiaochiâs face suddenly flickered dramatically, and he flew up off the surface of the fan to look out into the void.
Rumbling fluctuations rose up which caused the damaged fan to tremble, and suddenly change directions of its own volition.
âThe other half of the fan!â Bai Xiaochi shouted excitedly. âThe other half!â
Jaw dropping, Bai Xiaochun left the fan face and appeared on one of the ribs. Looking out into the void, he saw a glowing light off in the distance, rushing toward them at high speed.