Everyone in the city who heard his words instantly grew hesitant. He had uttered similar words after injuring the Bai Clan patriarch, and although few people had believed him, it still put them a bit on guard.
But now... the Chen Clan patriarch had suffered a similar fate. Everyone was completely shaken.
As for the Cai Clan patriarch, he had been in the middle of speeding toward Bai Xiaochun as quickly as possible, but was now hesitating.
The fact that Bai Xiaochun had seriously injured the deva patriarchs of the other two clans caused fear to pulse in his heart. However, after a moment, his eyes glittered with cold light.
“There might be some danger involved, but it also means this is an opportunity for the Cai Clan to rise to prominence.... Neither the Bai Clan nor the Chen Clan can do anything at the moment. I'm the only one left who can kill the giant ghost king. If I do... who would dare to refuse to bow to me!?
“The Cai Clan would dominate everyone! We could unite Giant Ghost City, and officially swear fealty to the imperial city! I would be the new giant ghost king, and with the resources of a heavenly king at my disposal, I would almost certainly become a demigod!” He couldn’t help but pant in anticipation of that day. Chuckling evilly, he shot in the direction Bai Xiaochun’s voice had just come from, simultaneously issuing orders to the Cai Clan to converge on the same spot.
Rumbling sounds once again filled Giant Ghost City as Bai Xiaochun began to teleport back and forth. However, the Cai Clan patriarch was actually a bit faster than the Chen Clan patriarch, and before Bai Xiaochun could even escape ten times in a row, he caught up. When he did, he instantly destroyed the spell formation before Bai Xiaochun could activate it.
Blood sprayed out of Bai Xiaochun’s mouth as he turned and began to flee at top speed. As for the Cai Clan patriarch, he chuckled coldly and began to chase after him, joined by numerous other members of the Cai Clan.
The clan chief and clan elders were there, ensuring that numerous beams of light were now converging on Bai Xiaochun.
“I'm finished. Kaput. There’s definitely no hope now....” Bai Xiaochun was on the verge of tears as he contemplated how the nearest teleportation formation was at least 3,000 meters away. Considering how close his pursuers were, there was no way he would make it there. That was especially true considering that the Cai Clan patriarch was a deva. In fact, were it not for the fact that the patriarch was leery of approaching too closely and quickly, he would have already attacked Bai Xiaochun directly.
“I'm out of options...” he thought. “King Giant Ghost, you can’t blame me for what happens next. The Cai Clan wants you, and although I don’t trust them to honor a trade, if I just throw you at them, then I might have a chance to escape.” Although he didn’t really want to do this, his poor little life was the most important thing, so he sighed and prepared to take action.
However, that was when the voice of the little turtle was transmitted into his ears.
“Calm down, little punk. There’s something you don’t realize about this giant ghost king.... He’s a slippery character, I tell you. Lord Turtle was sure before that he was hiding something, and it took me a while to figure out what it was. Hmmmphh. At this point I can see it clearly.
“Listen, punk, the giant ghost king was lying. He doesn’t need a month for his cultivation base to recover. He’s fooled everyone! Lord Turtle’s eagle eyes can tell that he only needs five days! Maybe even three! Hmph. This guy really knows how to keep his secrets!
“If you abandon him to the three clans, he definitely has a way to last for four or five days in the hands of those devas. At that point... well, then things would get ‘interesting’.”
Shaken, Bai Xiaochun stole a glance at the giant ghost king. The man’s face was ashen, and he wore a bitter, pained expression. Bai Xiaochun immediately hesitated. The little turtle seemed very confident in what he had just said, and it did all make sense. After all, the giant ghost king was a profound schemer....
Finally, Bai Xiaochun chuckled.
“Quite the act you’ve pulled off!” he thought. “Five days, huh? If I give up now, it would really be a big waste.” A month was too long, but it might be possible to last for four or five days. In any case, the possible payoff in the end was worth the gamble.
“I guess I need to smooth things out with him....” After looking up in thought for a moment, he cleared his throat inwardly, then plastered a vicious expression onto his face.
“King Giant Ghost!” he shouted at the top of his lungs, his veins of steel pulsing.
Coughing up another mouthful of blood, the giant ghost king looked over at Bai Xiaochun and sighed.
“He’s going to break his promise and hand me over to the three clans, isn’t he...?” However, even as he thought this, Bai Xiaochun’s voice rang out into the air.
“King Giant Ghost, you are a most honorable king, and a demigod as well. I, Bai Hao, am a nameless nobody, with a lowly Core Formation cultivation base.... The gap between the two of us is like the gap between heaven and earth. It’s impossible to even compare the two of us. In fact, were it not for the events playing out right now, the paths of our lives would likely never have crossed.” Bai Xiaochun’s voice contained a mixture of bitterness and profundity that left the giant ghost king feeling a bit stunned.
Even the people from the Cai Clan were now staring at him with serious looks on their faces.
Voice hoarse, Bai Xiaochun began to speak as if he were recalling old times, “In the beginning, I was a pawn, dragged unwillingly into your little game. I am aware that it was not an expression of kindness. However, I do know that it was... the sowing of karma!
“Perhaps I removed you from the stone turtle out of resentment, or greed. It’s hard to determine if that was a mistake or not. However, I do know that it was... the reaping of karma!
“Karma. Karma! A mysterious and indescribable thing.... Let’s forget about all of those things.... Right now, there is one thing that Bai Hao will not do, and that is forget about his promise, or his agreement with you, King Giant Ghost!”
Bai Xiaochun’s words caused the giant ghost king to shiver; never could he have guessed that he would say things like this. He had anticipated being thrown over to the three clans.
Instead, Bai Xiaochun went into a description of everything leading up to this point. Furthermore, his words were sincere in many ways. Even an old fox like the giant ghost king couldn’t help but be a bit touched. After all, everything this Bai Hao had said was true. Originally speaking, the two of them would likely never have crossed paths.... Furthermore, it was the giant ghost king himself who ended up dragging Bai Hao into the whole mess.
“I said that I would keep you safe for a month.... I said that I wouldn’t abandon you.... And now, I say this: what does death count for!? King Giant Ghost, please allow me to address you as old pal! Old pal... if we fail to pass through this tribulation alive, and end up in the Yellow Springs, then I’ll still protect you for an entire month!” Flicking his sleeve, he threw his head back and laughed uproariously. It was a laughter filled with both madness and obsession. His expression, his wording, and everything else immediately caused waves of shock to batter at the giant ghost king!
It had been a long time since he felt moved in this way by anyone. Although he could also sense that something about the situation was a bit off, and seemed to go contrary to what he knew about this Bai Hao, in his current state of physical and emotional exhaustion, and after having experienced numerous betrayals and unexpected mishaps, he could do nothing else but accept Bai Xiaochun’s sincerity!
“Bai Hao....” he said, his heart trembling and overflowing with emotion. There were actually many factors that had led to the current situation, and normally speaking, the ruthless giant ghost king would never allow such warm feelings to erupt inside of him.
It was possible to see that from how he had kept even the loyal Duke Deathcrier in the dark about everything.
In the giant ghost king’s moment of profound emotion, the Cai Clan’s deva patriarch looked over with cold eyes and then growled, “Well, the both of you can just die together then!”
Then he waved his finger through the air.
Rumbling sounds echoed out as an attack shot toward Bai Xiaochun and the giant ghost king. Bai Xiaochun quickly snapped open his Eternal Parasol to block the attack. However, he still ended up coughing up blood and staggering backward under the force of the blow, seriously injured.
“Bai Hao!!” the giant ghost king shouted, stunned at the fact that he hadn’t been thrown out in front by Bai Xiaochun to block the attack....
“The reason I used you to defend myself earlier, old pal,” Bai Xiaochun said grandly, “was not because I feared death. No, I simply wanted to save energy to get you out of this situation....” Inwardly, of course, Bai Xiaochun was grumbling about how thoroughly realistic he was making his act seem....
“Don’t despair, old pal! I still have more tricks up my sleeve!” Eyes flickering with sharp light, he looked back at the Cai Clan cultivators only 300 meters behind him.
Inside, he grumbled, “I'm really shedding some blood, sweat and tears to get this old fox to trust me....”
Gritting his teeth viciously, he waved his right hand, summoning a flying sword from his bag of holding, which glittered with the golden light of an elevenfold spirit enhancement.
However, things weren’t over yet. Even as he threw it out, he continued to extract magical items from his bag of holding. All of them were things he had acquired after arriving in the Wildlands, and although some had elevenfold spirit enhancements, most had only five or sixfold enhancements. However, there were dozens of them.
“DETONATE!!!”