Wayfarer

Chapter 206: For Fortune

After killing Nalan Feng, Xiao Nanfeng finished off Mr. Qi as well. He disposed of the two cultivators' corpses, then checked his spoils.

Mr. Qi's treasures were all ordinary, and Xiao Nanfeng had no interest in them. Nalan Feng had quite a few treasures in his storage ring, but the majority was only of passing interest to Xiao Nanfeng. There were only two treasures of note.

One was a mirror, the back of which was engraved with the words 'Mirror of Truth.' As he infused his qi into the mirror, truth was revealed on its glassy surface.

"No wonder they could find me. If I shine this mirror at my surroundings, the fog all around appears to dissipate!" Xiao Nanfeng played with the Mirror of Truth with growing interest.

The back of the mirror looked as though it had been corroded, but Xiao Nanfeng didn't mind. He stowed the treasure carefully.

The other Immortal relic was the golden orb that had formed a barrier around Nalan Feng.

Xiao Nanfeng carefully inspected the golden orb to discover spots of rust around its surface. It was pitted and filled with holes.

"An Immortal relic, Nalan Feng said? But the strength of this barrier only looks to be around the peak of Spiritsong, if that. No, it's likely because of the corrosion. How strange. Are all the Immortal relics of the draconic palace corroded in this fashion? The pagoda from before was like that too..." Xiao Nanfeng murmured.

He could sense that the golden orb's interior had been badly corroded, and the formations within it were damaged. If he wielded it carelessly, it might even explode on him.

"I have to be particularly careful with this..." Xiao Nanfeng frowned.

As Xiao Nanfeng carefully manipulated it, it began giving off radiant, multicolored light, giving it the appearance of a true relic.

Suddenly, his muscles bunched up. He looked up to see a monstrous creature appearing through the fog—the skeletal dragon that a group of cultivators had been attacking.

The skeletal dragon was drenched with blood and its bones were cracked. It looked as though it would fall to pieces at any moment. However, the fact that it had arrived before him made it evident that it had won the fight against the cultivators, all of whom were either dead or running.

The skeletal dragon glared at Xiao Nanfeng, gusts of killing intent emerging from its nostrils.

The skeletal dragon roared at Xiao Nanfeng.

Xiao Nanfeng frowned. "I haven't bothered you at all! Why are you roaring at me?"

Xiao Nanfeng turned and ran for it, but the skeletal dragon was too fast. It shot toward him within moments, then raked at his back. Xiao Nanfeng blanched as he immediately activated the golden orb to form a barrier around him.

The force of the skeletal dragon's attack, however, had been fully transferred to his body. He smashed into a mountain in the distance, sending rubble all over.

The mountain collapsed and buried him within it. He held his breath and didn't dare move, hoping that the skeletal dragon would ignore him and fly away.

Unfortunately, the skeletal dragon seemed to be fully focused on him. It swiped its tail at the mountain, smashing apart the rocks in the rockslide, as it continued to attack Xiao Nanfeng.

"Are you crazy? I've been trying to hide from you, but that doesn't mean I won't fight! Talisman of Phantasmagoria!" Xiao Nanfeng cried out.

A huge surge of purple light shot toward the skeletal dragon, but as it struck its body, the light was absorbed by its pitch-black skeletal frame. The skeletal dragon was completely unaffected.

"Why didn't it work?" Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed.

Xiao Nanfeng turned and ran, but the skeletal dragon's attention was fully focused on him. It rushed to his back, causing Xiao Nanfeng to activate the golden orb again.

He was sent flying once more. If not for the barrier formed by the golden orb, he would have suffered greatly from the skeletal dragon's last two blows.

Just then, the golden orb vibrated violently, and the multicolored light flickered. Clearly, the orb wouldn't be able to take many more such blows. Meanwhile, as the skeletal dragon continued to smash into Xiao Nanfeng, the cracks around its body grew larger as well.

"Is this dragon crazy? Why is it so focused on me?" Xiao Nanfeng shouted.

Xiao Nanfeng continued to run. He encountered a few cultivators along the way, but the skeletal dragon ignored them. It focused solely on Xiao Nanfeng and continued to attack him.

The chase proceeded for a whole hour. Xiao Nanfeng felt as though the golden orb was about to break, but he still hadn't managed to hypnotize the dragon with the red light under his control. He knew that he would suffer when the golden orb broke once and for all.

His eyes slitted, Xiao Nanfeng shot toward the skeletal dragon.

The skeletal dragon roared and bit forward at Xiao Nanfeng. Just as its teeth were about to land, Xiao Nanfeng dropped his shield, activated the tattered formations within the golden orb, and then threw it into its mouth.

The golden orb suddenly radiated with light, then burst apart.

Xiao Nanfeng had chosen to detonate the Immortal relic to kill both it and the skeletal dragon.

With a huge rumble of energy and spray of fire, Xiao Nanfeng was sent flying from the impact and struck the ground some distance away.

He sprayed out a mouthful of fresh blood as he landed, having been dealt a serious injury from the shockwaves that were the aftermath of the attack.

In the distance, the skeletal dragon's head exploded. Its body fell to the ground and dissipated in a cloud of black smoke.

"That monster's dead!"

"That lad destroyed an Immortal relic?"

"Decisive, isn't he?"

Cries rang out from around Xiao Nanfeng. Clearly, many cultivators had heard the commotion and were lying in wait for an opportunity to descend. They emerged only after Xiao Nanfeng had finished off the skeletal dragon.

"Quick! Where's the Immortal relic?" One cultivator rushed toward where the skeletal dragon had fallen.

Dozens of cultivators accompanied him. They were just about to reach the center of the explosion when a frightening aura descended from the heavens.

Subsequently, dozens of green rays struck the greedy cultivators.

The cultivators were sent flying amidst a cacophony of screams. Dust billowed from the ground. The cultivators fell paralyzed as they spat out mouthfuls of blood.

"Who's there?!" Everyone looked toward the air, where a huge, sixty-meter-long figure was descending from the sea above.

"A Wingform-realm sea spirit!" the cultivators cried out.

"What a gigantic lobster," Xiao Nanfeng murmured.

The new opponent was a large lobster spirit, with two antennas that looked like draconic horns. It was fierce and clearly belligerent.

"A green lobster king! The king of the green lobster sea spirits!" one cultivator shouted, recognizing the threat.

Just then, another group of green lobsters appeared from all around. Many were Ascension-realm, but two, floating in the air, were clearly at Spiritsong. They were backed up by sheer numbers. Killing intent filled the air as they brandished their green pincers and encircled the cultivators.

"Don't eat us!" the cultivators cried out.

The green lobster king glared at the cultivators disdainfully before turning to Xiao Nanfeng. "Lad, you're rather daring to be using Immortal relics within the palace. Don't you know that these skeletal dragons hate those who use Immortal relics in their vicinity? They'll give chase forever."

"What?" Xiao Nanfeng immediately grew alarmed.

No wonder that skeletal dragon had been eyeing him! It was because he had been protecting himself with the Immortal relic.

"At least you knew to destroy the relic. I'm surprised you weren't killed yourself, though." The green lobster king chuckled.

"I'm new to the draconic palace and know little of its rules. Thank you for the advice, lobster king," Xiao Nanfeng replied, bowing.

"Advice? Haha. Very well. You'll follow behind me as I give you more advice." The green lobster king mocked Xiao Nanfeng, laughing as though it had heard a funny joke.

It flew toward the center of the explosion. Xiao Nanfeng followed behind curiously; the other lobster spirits didn't bar its way.

At the center of the explosion, as the fragments that formed the skeletal dragon dissipated away, were two items: a length of red rope and a longsword glowing with radiant light.

"An Immortal longsword? These skeletal dragons really can produce loot when they die? What's going on? How is this possible?" Xiao Nanfeng gasped.

The Immortal relic had been corroded almost to the point of unusability. The hilt of the sword was entirely gone, and the blade itself was pitted near-completely.

"Another corroded Immortal relic, and to such an extent...?" the green lobster king spat out.

It grabbed the Immortal sword with its pincers, stared at it, then tossed it toward Xiao Nanfeng. "Take it."

"Me?" Xiao Nanfeng was surprised.

He was shocked that the green lobster king would be so charitable.

"Right. Keep it with you. You'll be responsible for luring other skeletal dragons around to attack you," the green lobster king continued.

Xiao Nanfeng: ...

He had clearly thought too highly of the green lobster king, who intended to use him as bait!

"Can I have that red rope instead?" Xiao Nanfeng pointed at the red rope that the Immortal relic had landed on.

The green lobster king seemed taken aback. "You want that red rope?"

"I do. If you don't mind, could I have both of the relics?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

The green lobster king glanced at Xiao Nanfeng in surprise. "Take them if you'd like. This is the first time I've seen someone dare to provoke the red rope in my few months here."

"What do you mean?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

Just then, one cultivator that the green lobster king had badly injured began, "Whenever a skeletal dragon is defeated, an Immortal relic and a length of red rope are dropped. Those who claim the Immortal relic will be beset upon by other skeletal dragons, and the majority of those who claim the red rope will be strangled to death. Aren't you aware?"

Xiao Nanfeng stilled. How would I have known? This entire place is weird! However, it was evident that even the green lobster king was rather fearful of the red rope.

"Then I'll thank you for your generosity, lobster king. Red is my lucky color." Xiao Nanfeng took the red rope and cinched it around his waist.

The cultivators all around: ...

The green lobster king: ...

Did he not understand what they said? Everyone avoided these lengths of red rope; he thought they would bring him fortune?