Bai Xiaochun was stunned to hear that Big Fatty Zhang had actually done so well in the Vile-Emperor Dynasty. As for the Giant Ghost King, although he had never heard of Big Fatty Zhang before, he was also taken aback.
“This Big Fatty Zhang sounds like a brilliant character! He single-handedly made a place for himself in the Vile-Emperor Dynasty! I guess people with good names are just destined for greatness!” In the Giant Ghost King’s opinion, the fact that Big Fatty Zhang had the character big in his name went to prove how much of a manly fellow he was. It was much better than the character small. He couldn’t help but sigh with regret at not having met him back in the Wildlands. [1]
At this point, the Giant Ghost King suddenly seemed to think of something, and excitedly said, “Um… hey, Celestial Gongsun, does Big Fatty Zhang have a Daoist partner?”
Bai Xiaochun was not very happy, and immediately cast a glare in the Giant Ghost King’s direction. He knew how much the Giant Ghost King liked to play matchmaker. After all, he’d pushed his own daughter on him. Now he was asking about Big Fatty Zhang, leading to an obvious question: did he have another illegitimate daughter out there somewhere?
When the Giant Ghost King noticed Bai Xiaochun staring at him, he chuckled guiltily. The truth was that he had no illegitimate daughters. However, he had become quite used to being connected to powerful people through female relatives.
Just now, he had been considering trying to adopt a new daughter, and then somehow get her together with Big Fatty Zhang as a Daoist partner. That would give him a new son-in-law, and if that son-in-law could go on to subjugate the world, and if his daughter could subjugate her husband, then that would put the Giant Ghost King in a position unparalleled under heaven.
Bai Xiaochun could guess much of what the Giant Ghost King was thinking, and was of the opinion that it was a complete disgrace. At the same time, he felt bad for Big Fatty Zhang. Gongsun Wan’er had only provided a brief description of where he ended up, but it was easy to imagine the difficulties and dangers he had faced along the way.
After all, Big Fatty Zhang had started out in a strange world, away from his friends and family, with only a Nascent Soul cultivation base. Step by step, he had established himself and earned a place in the Vile-Emperor Dynasty, all because of his spirit enhancement abilities. It was something that not every spirit enhancer could do.
As for Hou Xiaomei, Bai Xiaochun could finally rest at ease. Although he didn't quite consider himself friends with Gongsun Wan’er, they were at least allies. And it didn’t seem like she was hiding anything from him. Therefore, he actually felt happy with how things had turned out for Hou Xiaomei.
In the Eternal Lands, where danger abounded, Hou Xiaomei had managed to stay safe the entire time. And considering her talents, whether it was Ghostmother or Gongsun Wan’er, both would have good reason to take care of her in the future.
Feeling a bit better about things, Bai Xiaochun looked at the clouds whizzing by, and thought back to his other friends and family from the Heavenspan Realm.
“Wan'er, you’re a celestial, so… can you tell me what’s involved in becoming like you?” Although Bai Xiaochun was currently a quasi-celestial, his situation was not ideal.
He had reached the great circle of the Undying Codex, but not the Live Forever Codex. And his cultivation base was still in the Demigod Realm. Even he wasn’t quite sure of where he stood in terms of cultivation ranking.
He did know that when he reached the great circle of the full Undying Live Forever Technique, he could rise to the level of a celestial. But in terms of the exact process, he wasn’t very clear.
Being in the early Celestial Realm, Gongsun Wan’er obviously knew a lot more about the situation than Bai Xiaochun. The Giant Ghost King’s ears also perked up. Considering how long he had been a demigod, he knew a bit more about the subject than Bai Xiaochun, but was still very interested in learning more.
Gongsun Wan’er laughed softly and began to toy with a stray lock of her hair. That simple action made her seem even more beautiful than ever, perhaps even flirtatious. Her captivating eyes and long black hair would make anyone who looked at her itch with desire.
The licentious Giant Ghost King’s eyes were already shining brightly.
Even Bai Xiaochun’s heart was beating a bit faster. But then he thought about Gongsun Wan’er’s past, and he reminded himself that he had to be vigilant. She was a demoness, and he was in a much different position than he had been in the past.
Then again, he couldn’t let himself be intimidated just because she was a beautiful woman.
Opening his eyes wide, he looked at her solemnly. Then, after a moment of thought, he quickly sized up her body.
When Gongsun Wan’er realized that two sets of eyes were checking her out, she smiled charmingly. Looking a bit flushed, she then said, “Don’t look at me like that, sweetie. If you want to see more, why don't we go into the cabin, and I’ll let you have a closer look. What do you say?”
The Giant Ghost King shivered and swallowed hard, whereas Bai Xiaochun’s eyes widened, and he subconsciously inched backward a bit.
“It’s a good thing I’ve got a lot of self-control!” he thought. “This Gongsun Wan’er is more of a vixen than Song Junwan or Mistress Red-Dust, but thankfully, I’m immune to this type of stuff. And I have a big sword!” Casting a contemptuous glance at the Giant Ghost King, he cleared his throat, smacked his bag of holding, and produced the Greatsword of the North in a blue flash of light.
With that, he jumped up and made a few practice swings before looking back at Gongsun Wan’er in what he hoped was a very intimidating fashion.
“What were you just saying? You wanted me to have a closer look at something?”
The Giant Ghost King wasn’t quite sure whether to laugh or cry, but at the same time, couldn’t help but admire Bai Xiaochun. To pull out the Greatsword of the North in such an intimate moment could not have been an easy thing to do.
A mix of fear and bitterness could be seen in Gongsun Wan’er’s eyes as she looked at the sword.
“The cultivation system in the Eternal Lands is the same as in the Heavenspan Realm,” she said quietly. “After Nascent Soul is the Deva Realm, then Demigod, and finally Celestial.
“What’s different is the source of power. In the Eternal Lands, the source of all power is Will!
“Devas overtake the will of the heavens, and use the power of heaven and earth. That process is what awakens Willpower within them. As for demigods, their will surpasses that of the heavens. They don’t borrow it, they take it! That further awakens their Willpower, and allows a Willroot to form!
“As for celestials… after breaking out of the Demigod Realm and entering the Mahayana Realm, they will take their Willroot and use it to form a Daoseed!
“During the course of cultivation, the Daoseed will eventually grow roots and sprout, merging with the body. In the final breakthrough, it will blossom, which creates Dao Will!
“When that happens, you break out of the Celestial Realm. If anyone accomplished that, they would become the third Archaean Realm emperor in the world!
“Unfortunately, that is extremely difficult. Right now, we only have two emperors, both of whom have Dao Will, and are Archaean Realm experts!”
Both Bai Xiaochun and the Giant Ghost King were completely shaken by what they had just heard.
“Willpower. Willroot. Daoseed. Dao Will!” Bai Xiaochun murmured.
“All things in the world have Willpower,” Gongsun Wan’er continued. “It’s a foundation that can come in infinite forms. Heaven, earth, the world, all living things that exist! All plants and all types of vegetation. The world is like a mountain, with those on the top easily crushing everyone beneath them. As for those on the bottom, they have to struggle relentlessly to climb higher. First, turn Willpower into a root, and bury it in the spiritual sea. Eventually, it becomes a Daoseed, which gives birth to Dao Will!
“There is no limitation to the divine abilities and Daoist magics that celestials wield, the reason being that anything in creation can be used as the basis for their magic. That is because of the Daoseed!
“Only when the Daoseed appears is a person a truly mighty celestial, a person who surpasses all heaven and earth!
“When it comes to the Willpower which exists as a fundamental part of all living things, from ancient times until now, there have been different understandings and explanations. Most people believe that Willpower is similar to faith. For example, when Ghostmother used her Daoist magic, she drew upon the power of the faith of all the people in the Vile-Emperor Dynasty!
“Faith is also a fundamental reason why the imperial dynasties stand to begin with. Although I don’t fully understand how the Archaean Realm works, I do know that the more lands an archaean controls, and the more people live in those lands, the stronger that archaean can be!
“Also… Daoseeds are more important to celestials than their divine soul. It is the foundation of everything. Anyone who has a Daoseed, but dies, can be resurrected by an Archaean Realm expert!” Both Bai Xiaochun and the Giant Ghost King were visibly moved by her words.
“Resurrected?” the Giant Ghost King asked.
1. Don’t forget that in Bai Xiaochun’s name, the character xiao means small.