Wayfarer

Chapter 274: Raiding Jingtao

Xiao Nanfeng was taken by surprise, but he was warmed by the gesture. He patted Yu'er on the back, calming her down. Yu'er slowly relaxed.

Suddenly, she found that she was being hugged by Xiao Nanfeng. Her face blushed red as she pushed him aside. "Don't take advantage of me, Nanfeng!"

She felt a surprisingly sharp pang of loss as she pushed him aside, but she shook her head and began to inspect his body all over. "Are you really alright?"

Xiao Nanfeng was simultaneously touched and moved to laughter. "Don't worry. I wouldn't be able to bear leaving you all alone."

"You!" Yu'er's face flushed crimson.

Xiao Nanfeng glanced at the beauty before him, the tears still glimmering in her eyes. Moved, he grabbed her hands.

"W-What are you doing?" Yu'er panicked as she attempted to free herself.

"Come. I'll treat you to a sumptuous meal," Xiao Nanfeng said.

Yu'er stopped struggling. "What meal?"

"You'll see once we get there. Follow me!" Xiao Nanfeng said, tugging on Yu'er's hand as he flew toward a forest in the distance.

You Jiu, Croak, and Warble followed swiftly behind. They vanished into the forest.

Yu'er was a little anxious at the thought that she would be enjoying a private meal with Xiao Nanfeng, but when she noticed the increasing group of people following behind them, she realized that something was amiss.

"Are we really going to have a sumptuous feast?"

"What else?" Xiao Nanfeng replied.

Yu'er pinched Xiao Nanfeng's waist. "It had better be good, or I'll teach you a lesson."

"Trust me, it'll be great!" Xiao Nanfeng laughed.

Behind them were Croak, Warble, You Jiu, and Ye Dafu and his lackeys, who had just finished cleaning up the battlefield at Mt. Swallowtail. They soared into the air in a secluded location. Once they reached the clouds, they flew forward at a rapid clip

for four hours, until they stopped by a mountaintop. Afar was a huge city, one several times larger than Yongding, with tall walls and a formation of fog protecting it.

"This is the city of Jingtao, in Cui Haisheng's titled lands? Isn't this his home?!" Yu'er exclaimed.

"That's exactly right. Hasn't he been eyeing Yongding? I'll give him a taste of his own medicine." Xiao Nanfeng smiled.

"You're going to raid Cui Haisheng's home after killing him?" Yu'er exclaimed.

"That was just one of his avatars. His main body has been in Jingtao all this time."

"Really?"

Just then, a black-robed figure flew over from afar. The figure bowed upon drawing near.

"King Xiao, four hours ago, Cui Haisheng roared in outrage as a frightening aura emanated from his estate. He left with the Wingform-realm cultivators in the city and simultaneously activated a formation that enveloped it," the figure reported.

"I knew that killing his avatar would be able to agitate him to this extent. Well, now that he's gone, let's enter Jingtao." Xiao Nanfeng smiled.

"But the formation..." Yu'er trailed off in worry.

"We don't need to be concerned about that. The spectral guards have infiltrated Jingtao for some time, and they've been spying on those cultivators responsible for maintaining the formation. We're well aware of how to deal with it by now. Come on, let's go!"

The group of cultivators flew toward Jingtao. When they were in position, You Jiu commanded, "Strike now!"

The spectral guards in the city struck at once. The formation around Jingtao shattered in almost no time at all.

"Someone's trying to destroy the formation around the city!" a citizen exclaimed. "Catch those infiltrators!"

The cultivators of the city flocked around in a mess.

As Xiao Nanfeng and his group flew over the city, a number of patrolling guards shot forward to stop them.

"Who are you? Halt!" one guard shouted.

Ye Dafu launched himself at the guard and sent him flying.

"An enemy raid!" Even more guards flew into the air, but none of them were any match for Ye Dafu and his lackeys. They struck the guards down one after another, and the arrows shot toward them were unable to even penetrate their qi barrier.

The guard that had been sent flying rushed up to a middle-aged man in a small cottage.

"Sect Master Qi, enemies have attacked us. They're all Spiritsong-realm cultivators, and we can't stop them. Please lend aid, Sect Master Qi!" the guard begged.

Sect Master Qi looked toward Xiao Nanfeng and the other assailants. His eyebrows twitched. "They knew that Cui Haisheng would leave? They're taking advantage of his absence to raid his city—no, I'm afraid I won't be able to help."

"Sect Master Qi, didn't you promise the marquis that you would aid in Jingtao's defense?" the guard pressed.

Sect Master Qi's eyebrows twitched again as he shook his head. "If they were only at Spiritsong, I would be more than happy to help out, but there's a group of Wingform-realm cultivators out there as well. Do you intend for them to kill me?"

"But, but—"

"They aren't attacking people indiscriminately, only forcing you guards back. I won't be able to stop them. The best thing you could do now is inform Cui Haisheng immediately. Don't bother attacking them and sacrificing yourself needlessly.

"But..." The guard was visibly struggling as to what he should do.

By then, Xiao Nanfeng and his group had arrived by a well-defended plaza filled with guards. Ye Dafu and his lackeys, however, dealt with them all in no time.

They then began to set up the Immortal's Destruction. Xiao Nanfeng activated it and sent eight Immortal-binding chains burrowing deep into the ground.

As the ground rumbled, a dragon howled from deep underground. Jingtao shook as though struck by an earthquake.

"Rise!" Xiao Nanfeng commanded.

A gigantic fifteen-hundred-meter-long draconic vein was excavated from underground.

"What an enormous draconic vein. It's almost the size of that from the Jingang Temple!" Ye Dafu exclaimed.

"Cui Haisheng's the emperor's brother-in-law, after all. How could his estate's draconic vein be inferior?" Xiao Nanfeng replied.

Yu'er seemed very worried. "Nanfeng, if Cui Haisheng's main body has brought a number of strong cultivators to Yongding, won't it be in danger?"

"Don't worry. It's very safe. I've taken precautions," Xiao Nanfeng replied confidently.

"Really?" Yu'er seemed surprised, but she trusted in Xiao Nanfeng's abilities. She didn't question him further.

"Dig in!" Xiao Nanfeng commanded.

The cultivators and spectral guards dun in with gusto.

Following Xiao Nanfeng, they began to absorb the draconic aether. The draconic vein keened as its bulk was consumed. It disappeared very quickly as the cultivators' bodies glowed with golden light.

Outside the city of Yongding, the furious Cui Haisheng and dozens of his Wingform-realm subordinates approached the city in a haze of power. Cui Haisheng was determined to take revenge for the death of another avatar.

"Xiao Nanfeng, you're dead meat! Even if Emperor Tianshu were to punish me, I'll kill you today!" Cui Haisheng roared.

The other Wingform-realm cultivators beside him unleashed their killing intent as they descended toward Yongding.

Their descent, however, was quickly blocked by a hemispherical dome of fog around the city.

"A formation? How?" one Wingform-realm cultivator exclaimed.

Two of Cui Haisheng's subordinates struck at the formation with a palm, which grew to the size of mountains on impact with the formation.

However, the formation only trembled. It easily blocked the two cultivators' blows.

"Impossible. We're both at Wingform. Why can't we break through this formation?" one cultivator exclaimed.

"This is an Immortal-grade formation, one that a sect might use in its own right! How could Xiao Nanfeng have such a treasure?!" the other cultivator shouted.

"No, something's wrong. There hadn't been a formation even a day ago. It's only been four hours. Who set this up? Something's wrong," Cui Haisheng intuited.

Just then, Xiao Nanfeng's avatar walked out of the Xiao manor and into his courtyard. He looked up at Cui Haisheng and the others.

"Cultivators, if I'm not mistaken, you must be the sect masters or elders of some sects across the Eastern Sea. My feud with Cui Haisheng, large though it has grown, is an internal matter of the Tianshu Empire; outsiders have no bearing on it. It's true that Cui Haisheng has been trying to pester me in every way possible, but even then, all that he's done is make a fuss in my lands with the disciples of the Taiqing Demonic Sect. On the other hand, your presence is much more meaningful. If you dare take part in this internal struggle between Cui Haisheng and me, I'll let the entire world know. It would give me more than adequate reason to lead an army to invade your sects," Xiao Nanfeng warned.

"You dare?!" the two cultivators that had struck the formation shouted.

"I was able to annihilate the Jingang Temple, and I can well do the same to your sects. If you dare strike, I promise I'll do so. Rogue bandits like the cultivators of the Jingang Temple will be killed without mercy!" Xiao Nanfeng declared.

"You!" The two cultivators blanched.

"You might not know this yet, but the Jingang Temple has been eradicated fully. All the Jingang disciples at Mt. Swallowtail have just been killed. Would you like to experience that treatment for yourselves?"

"What?!" the two Wingform-realm cultivators exclaimed.

The sects they represented were weaker than the Jingang Temple. If even the Jingang Temple had been annihilated, would their presence here lead to the downfall of their sects? They instantly began to panic as they looked toward Cui Haisheng.

"Do you really think Cui Haisheng will protect you? Don't you know why he's here?" Xiao Nanfeng continued disdainfully.

Everyone considered what Xiao Nanfeng had stated carefully. Cui Haisheng had already lost two avatars to Xiao Nanfeng. Would he really be able to protect their sects?

"Are you scared just because of a few threats? If we kill him right here and now, there's nothing he can do against us!" Cui Haisheng shouted at the two Wingform-realm cultivators.

Even so, the cultivators remained uneasy. Although they acquiesced to Cui Haisheng, their domineering air had vanished. They intended to leave themselves an escape route.

"Xiao Nanfeng, this is the Jingang Temple's main protective formation, isn't it? Were you planning to kill my avatar from the beginning?" Cui Haisheng demanded.

Xiao Nanfeng glanced at him coldly. "Cui Haisheng, if you didn't intend to harm me, you wouldn't have perished."