Bai Xiaochun’s words had the same effect as a cup of water thrown into a vat of boiling-hot oil. The heavenly marquises all exploded in rage.

“What incredible gall you have, Bai Hao!”

“You committed 100 crimes! How dare you act so impudently here in Heavenmaster Hall!!”

Liu Yong’s eyes shone especially brightly. Apparently thinking he had Bai Xiaochun in a no-win situation, he pointed at him and yelled, “You have no respect for elders and superiors, Bai Hao! In this hallowed place, you go so far as to reduce our righteous indignation to nothing more than a show? These are the crimes of defaming royalty, of weaving lies, and of outright slander! As of this moment, you have committed, not 100 crimes, but 103!”

Everyone else in the hall seemed enlivened by what they were hearing, and as far as they were concerned, Liu Yong was like an immortal god in their little alliance.

Everyone began to join in the shouting and clamoring.

Smiling coldly, Bai Xiaochun ignored the enraged heavenly marquises, and turned to clasp hands and bow to the Grand Heavenmaster.

“Grand Heavenmaster, I have something I’d like to give you!”

Everyone else in the hall began to chuckle coldly, and most of them were thinking the same thing: “What, is he going to pull out proof that Zhou Wudao was a traitor or something? Even if he did, he still couldn’t avoid the death penalty!”

After all, Bai Xiaochun was not the one who would be making the decision about what happened!

The Grand Heavenmaster’s eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at Bai Xiaochun. He had been watching him this entire time, and had noticed that, while he did seem nervous, there was no despair in his eyes. That went contrary to what the Grand Heavenmaster would have expected, so therefore, he nodded, curious about what Bai Xiaochun planned to give him.

Having acquired permission from the Grand Heavenmaster, Bai Xiaochun slapped his bag of holding to produce a portion of soul medicine. It was bright and colorful, dazzling to say the least, with the light it cast instantly filling all of Heavenmaster Hall. It almost looked like a precious gem, a gem that emanated soul power fluctuations of the ultimate level!

This was none other than... a portion of supreme-grade soul medicine... which required the watershed ingredient of eighteen-colored flame to produce!!

Upon seeing the soul medicine, the Grand Heavenmaster’s eyes began to shine brightly. And he wasn’t the only one to react in such a way. Chen Haosong and the other heavenly dukes all looked shocked, and the heavenly marquises’ eyes went wide.

The heavenly marquises immediately began to shout out loud in surprise and shock.

“Supreme-grade soul medicine!!”

“You need eighteen-colored flame to concoct that.... It’s supreme-grade soul medicine!!”

“Supreme-grade soul medicine can also be called earthly soul medicine. Even a single portion of it can be considered extremely rare! And yet this Bai Hao actually has one....”

Almost immediately, though, they began to wonder the same thing. “What does that portion of earthly soul medicine have to do with the death of Zhou Wudao?”

At this point, Liu Yong spoke out loud, a cold expression on his face. “Offering a portion of soul medicine isn’t enough to wipe out more than 100 grave crimes! What are you trying to say, Bai Hao?! Don’t tell me you’re going to say that you concocted it!?”

In response to his words, the faces of many of the heavenly marquises began to flicker. Then, all sorts of expressions of shock and astonishment could be heard within Heavenmaster Hall, along with expressions of anger.

“He did make a very faint eighteen-colored flame before....”

“Impossible! Earthly necromancers don’t just show up out of nowhere!”

“Don’t even think of trying to pull a fast one, Bai Hao. Do you think that pulling out a portion of soul medicine will make you an earthly necromancer or something?! Completely preposterous!”

At this point, Bai Xiaochun threw caution to the wind and shouted, “All of you shut the hell up!”

His sudden outburst caused many people to look at him in shock.

Obviously, his plan was not to use the soul medicine itself to try to convince people that he was an earthly necromancer. He actually wanted them to question him and accuse him. That way, when it came time to slap them with the truth, it would be even more thrilling.

His secret weapon was none other than his status as an earthly necromancer!

Since these people were trying to use the laws of the Arch-Emperor Dynasty against him, then he would pull the rug right out from under them, and strike back with those very laws!! In the current age, there were only three earthly necromancers in the entire Arch-Emperor Dynasty. In fact, even in the distant past, around the time when the dynasty had just been transplanted into the Wildlands, there had only been five.

It was easy to imagine the status that earthly necromancers occupied, and it went without saying that in the codified laws of the Arch-Emperor Dynasty, earthly necromancers... had the power to do anything they wanted, as long as they didn’t betray the dynasty itself!

This was the power that Bai Xiaochun had to rely on, the authority of an earthly necromancer!

“Since you people don’t believe that I made this portion of soul medicine, then on this day, right here in Heavenmaster Hall, in the presence of everyone here, I... will conjure an eighteen-colored flame!!” He accompanied his words with the proud flick of a sleeve, and he also bolstered his words with his cultivation base. As a result, the clamoring heavenly marquises were instantly silenced.

The Grand Heavenmaster’s eyes began to sparkle brightly. As for the ten heavenly dukes, and especially Chen Haosong, their breaths caught in their throats. Obviously, they found it hard to believe that this Bai Xiaochun could actually be an earthly necromancer.

“A cornered beast will still fight,” Chen Haosong said with narrowed eyes. “You’re bluffing!”

The other heavenly dukes quickly began to suspect that Chen Haosong was right. As for the heavenly marquises, despite being shaken, they gritted their teeth and began to speak out in anger.

“That’s a big claim, Bai Hao. If you can concoct an eighteen-colored flame, then I, Zhao Xionglin, will drop to my knees and kowtow to you!”

“That’s right. Struggle on your deathbed if you wish. Becoming an earthly necromancer isn’t a simple thing!”

“You overestimate yourself!”

They were all completely confident that this was the end of the line for Bai Xiaochun.

Bai Xiaochun smiled coldly as he looked the group over, his gaze lingering on Zhao Xionglin. Then he ignored them, slapping his bag of holding to produce ten tongues of seventeen-colored flame!

These seventeen tongues of flame had been acquired by Zhou Yixing, with the help of many of the bastard children in the city, while Bai Xiaochun had been looking for Bai Hao.

Actually, this was only a portion of the stockpile he had. In order to be fully confident in his secret weapon, he had put together three full sets of the ingredients necessary to conjure eighteen-colored flame. That way, he could be confident in success even if some mishap occurred. Right now, it was without the slightest hesitation that he sent all ten of the seventeen-colored flames flying out. He also made sure to send the flames perilously close to Zhao Xionglin, Liu Yong, and some of the others who had been particularly vocal against him.

Everyone backed up, even the heavenly dukes. Only the Grand Heavenmaster remained in place, and in fact, he actually leaned forward, his eyes sparkling.

“If he actually conjures an eighteen-colored flame,” he thought, “and becomes an earthly necromancer... then this so-called tribulation facing him will be completely nullified!” The Grand Heavenmaster’s eyes narrowed as he paid close attention.

Bai Xiaochun knew that it was a critical moment, and was also confident that no one would dare to interrupt him. After all, this was Heavenmaster Hall, and he was attempting to rise to the rank of earthly necromancer.

“You just watch how I cause all your jaws to drop. I’ll strike you mute with shock! Maybe your eyes will even pop out of your skulls!” At the moment, he was filled with intense, seething anticipation.

After all, he really liked being the center of attention like this....

At the same time, he knew that although he couldn’t afford to make any mistakes, he was actually in a fairly safe position at the moment.

𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Therefore, he tuned out everything except for the flame. Performing a double-handed incantation gesture, he looked at the flames, and then pushed his hands down.

Instantly, the tongues of seventeen-colored flame began to merge together. Bai Xiaochun couldn’t have been more focused. Enough time passed for an incense stick to burn, during which time the ten tongues of seventeen-colored flame turned into a seventeen-colored sea of fire!

At the moment, his expression was utterly serious as he performed more double-handed incantation gestures, causing his cultivation base power to erupt out. He was moving on to the next step of the process... compressing the flame!

RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!

Intense rumbling sounds filled Heavenmaster Hall as the majestic seventeen-colored sea of fire caused everyone who looked at it to be filled with shock. And yet, none of them were yet ready to believe that Bai Xiaochun really would become an earthly necromancer!

In fact, they couldn’t afford to believe it!

However, what happened next caused many unsightly expressions to appear on the faces of those present, especially Zhao Xionglin and Liu Yong. Gasps and curses alike filled the air.

Such curses did little good. After all, Bai Xiaochun had already succeeded once at this. Perhaps it was because of that, or perhaps because he knew his life was on the line, but either way, his conjuring efforts were going much more smoothly than last time.

Rumbling sounds filled the air as the sea of fire was compressed to a size of 90 meters. And it kept shrinking.

84 meters. 78 meters. 72 meters!!

Even as everyone looked on with various suspicions and doubts, the sea of fire reached a size of 60 meters!!