A Will Eternal

Bai Xiaochun’s eyes went wide, and his heart and mind were battered with tidal waves of shock.

The enormity of what he was witnessing defied anything he could have imagined. Considering how nervous Big Fatty Zhang had been, he had been prepared for something momentous.

But this went beyond all expectations.

There were actually two Vile-Emperors!

They looked the same, but one was the real thing, and the other was an imposter!

It was impossible to say how many years ago this event had taken place, but from the way the dying Vile-Emperor had shouted about letting his ancestor down, Bai Xiaochun’s intuition was telling him… that he was not the imposter!

Even as Bai Xiaochun stood there, completely and utterly shaken, the vision faded, as though whatever secrets were locked in the trident were being thoroughly transformed into ashes thanks to this fourth spirit enhancement.

No future enhancements would reveal any further visions.

As Bai Xiaochun slowly regained his senses, the shock in his heart made him completely forget about the spirit enhancement. He pulled his hand back, and the four-colored flame fell to the ground and sputtered out.

The trident stood there, still and unmoving.

He felt completely out of sorts, and was unable to quell the chaos he felt in his heart. As for Big Fatty Zhang, he had been unsure of whether or not Bai Xiaochun would experience the same vision, but considering his reaction, it seemed he had.

The Vile-Emperor was an archaean, a level that completely surpassed that of a celestial. His Will was powerful to an unimaginable degree. If celestials could be likened to mountain peaks, then archaeans were like the clouds that floated above them!

Their Willpower could encompass entire immortal domains, could transform heaven and earth, and could drive countless hosts of living things completely mad.

For some unknown reason, the real Vile-Emperor had been unable to notify the world of the truth of his passing. And yet, before his death, he had succeeded in passing a bit of his consciousness into the trident that killed him.

That fleeting wisp of consciousness had remained undetected by whoever it was that killed him, and was not something that people could find by examining the trident directly.

Only performing a spirit enhancement, which would restructure the trident on a fundamental level, would result in dredging up that slight bit of consciousness, and the memories therein.

And thus, something which had remained secret for many years became known to Bai Xiaochun.

After a very long moment passed, he forced himself to calm down, whereupon… questions began to pop up in his mind that had terrifying implications.

“If the real Vile-Emperor was killed,” he thought, “then… who exactly is the current Vile-Emperor…? And when precisely did it happen…? How come something as monumental as the death of the Vile-Emperor happened without anyone knowing…?”

At this point, he looked up at Big Fatty Zhang, who had been standing there quietly the entire time. He could see the confusion and anxiety in Big Fatty Zhang’s eyes, and at the same time, realized that his previous caution had been thoroughly justified.

If the current Vile-Emperor realized what he knew… the consequences would be too dire to contemplate.

After another long moment passed, he left. He didn’t want to stay with Big Fatty Zhang for too long; this sensitive matter was something that didn’t just involve the two of them, but rather, the fundamental existence of the Eternal Immortal Domains as a whole.

By the time he got back to the main hall in the embassy, it was late. His two demigod subordinates greeted him, at which time he forced himself to put his thoughts in order.

One of the demigods stepped forward and respectfully extended an invitation card.

“Exalted one, while you were in secluded meditation, the Vile-Prince… sent you several invitations.

“Apparently, someone noticed that Grandmaster Zhang came to visit you, as he yet again sent someone with an invitation…. Exalted one, he has invited you to Vile-Prince Mansion for a banquet, this very evening.” With that, the two demigods went on to explain more details about what had gone on while he was in seclusion.

Bai Xiaochun looked at the invitation card, his brow slightly furrowed. He had spent most of his time as ambassador in seclusion, and had politely refused all invitations.

However, the Vile-Prince had sent numerous such invitations, and as Bai Xiaochun’s two demigod subordinates had said, he had noticed that he had accepted a visit from Big Fatty Zhang. In that case, refusing more invitations would likely lead to complications.

“Ah, whatever. I've been in Vile-Emperor City for a while now, I guess I might as well go check out this Vile-Prince.” Having made his decision, he reached out and took the invitation card.

“Since the Vile-Prince has sent so many invitation cards, why don’t the two of you go with me?” Of course, the two demigods didn’t dare do anything but comply. Immediately voicing their assent, they left the embassy with Bai Xiaochun.

The demigods led the way to a location on the skull of the bone dragon. By the time they arrived, the moon hung high, and the night felt deep and somber.

As a celestial, Bai Xiaochun’s every move and action was subject to observation. And since he had made no effort to be stealthy in any way, the people in Vile-Prince Mansion knew he was coming.

Before he arrived, dozens of individuals flew out of the ornate, luxurious mansion, the weakest of them being devas, and with five being demigods.

As they neared, they all clasped hands and bowed formally to Bai Xiaochun.

“Greetings, Ambassador Bai!”

“After you, Ambassador Bai! Everyone in Vile-Prince Mansion is eagerly awaiting your arrival!”

From their formality and respect, it was clear to see that the Vile-Prince was taking Bai Xiaochun's visit very seriously. That was especially true considering who was standing outside the main entrance of Vile-Prince Mansion.

There were seven people lined up, with one standing in front of them all. He was middle-aged, and dressed in a robe embroidered with dragons. Although he wasn’t as domineering and impressive as the Vile-Emperor, he looked very similar to him.

At a glance, Bai Xiaochun knew without a doubt that this was the Vile-Prince!

Bai Xiaochun nodded in greeting from afar. The Vile-Prince noticed the gesture, and in response, laughed heartily.

“Ambassador Bai,” he said, hurrying forward, “I sent so many unanswered invitations! If you refused this one, I might have just had to come visit you personally.” Bai Xiaochun could immediately see how much younger the Vile-Prince was than the Vile-Emperor. He didn’t appear sinister to the bones like the Vile-Emperor, nor was he very domineering. He almost seemed to have mastered the smooth-faced demeanor of the people of the Saint-Emperor Dynasty.

“Trying to intimidate the new guy, huh?” he thought coldly. “Blaming me for not coming to visit you earlier? Lousy prince. You don’t count for crap!”

Although he didn’t have a very good impression of the Vile-Emperor Dynasty so far, he was very proficient when it came to putting on a pretense of civility and interest.

“How could I possibly inconvenience you by make you come visit me, Vile-Prince!?” he said. “You see, my cultivation base had reached a bottleneck, and thus, upon arriving, I was very anxious to get right to cultivation. Many apologies for all the delays.” He ended with a slight chuckle. Considering how much higher his cultivation base was than the Vile-Prince, that laughter, despite not being very loud, contained significant weight. In fact, it was more than enough to dissolve the domineering air contained in the Vile-Prince's false courtesy.

Eyes sparkling, and smile growing more radiant than ever, the Vile-Prince clasped hands and said, “I only invited two individuals to my banquet this night, Ambassador Bai. Please, come in!”

With that, he escorted Bai Xiaochun into his mansion.

Bai Xiaochun was very used to this sort of environment, and smiled broadly in return as he followed along. The two of them began to chat, and soon it was clear that neither were inferior to the other when it came to such arts. However, were it not for the fact that he had a high standing by birth, the Vile-Prince would not have been able to keep up with Bai Xiaochun. Soon the underlings who were following them began to respect Bai Xiaochun more and more.