Wayfarer

Chapter 490: He's Weaker

In the Spirit Emperor's hidden realm, two moons shone in the sky.

Xiao Nanfeng's red and blue spiritual moons crashed into each other time and again in bursts of red and blue light, as though two sets of cavalry were charging at each other in a fiery tempest.

Blue Lantern guarded Xiao Nanfeng from the side, glancing in surprise at the deific domain that was forming.

Xiao Nanfeng sat cross-legged in meditation in the red and blue domain. Then, his body flickered as he vanished from sight.

"Have you succeeded, Your Majesty? You've harmonized with the world!" Blue Lantern exclaimed.

As Xiao Nanfeng vanished from sight, his two moons revolved in the air. The disturbance down below slowly settled, quelled by a mysterious force. The red and blue light split apart into the shape of taiji and began to revolve slowly.

The next moment, Xiao Nanfeng's figure shimmered into existence once again. His domain vanished as his red and blue moons flew into his mindscape.

"Congratulations on reaching True Yin with your avatar, Your Majesty." Blue Lantern smiled.

"I finally don't have to deal with my color-changing robes any longer." Xiao Nanfeng returned the smile.

"Your red and blue domain was truly something. I've never seen their like before. Both moons wanted to crush the other!"

"Oh? You've seen others with multiple spiritual moons, too?"

"There are a few specialized techniques that allow it in far less volatile a fashion. Your twinned red and blue domain gives off a frightening amount of energy, and I suspect you might even be able to threaten a True Yin cultivator," Blue Lantern said seriously.

"Let's hope so," Xiao Nanfeng replied.

He didn't want to explain his ability in too much detail. He looked all around him. "It's been too long since I returned to the Spirit Emperor's hidden realm. It looks like the heavens have dealt with it."

"Oh?"

"Compared to the first time I was in here, everything's been destroyed. But this is for the best, I suppose. You won't have to worry about anything else."

"What will you have me do, Your Majesty?"

"I requested your presence not just to guard me, but also to help me set up a killing formation in this realm."

"A killing formation?"

"Indeed. I intend to lay an ambush for a True Immortal here."

Blue Lantern grew serious. "Is a True Immortal about to head to Yongding?"

"One or more should be here shortly. Have you advanced in your cultivation again? Will you have trouble setting up a formation that can kill a True Immortal?"

"I've recovered to the realm of a Heaven Immortal, and my formation can trap a True Immortal at best. It'll take me time to be able to kill one."

"That's fine. We have plenty of time." Xiao Nanfeng smiled.

"I'll start laying out the formation, then."

"Let me know what you need and I'll have it prepared for you." Xiao Nanfeng nodded firmly.

In a hall on Thousand-Spirit Island, Tang cried out in excitement, "Your Highness, all ten Heaven Immortal crocodile spirits from the crocodile valley have set off for the frontlines with a large group of ordinary Immortal spirits in tow. As long as Sir Mo can use them effectively, Dazheng will surely suffer heavy losses!"

"How did you manage to persuade them to attack?"

"I simply had to identify the relationships between the various spirits in the ecosystem. One Human Immortal crocodile spirit that passed away in Dazheng was the son of a Heaven Immortal crocodile spirit. I simply had to stoke the flames of revenge to get the Heaven Immortal to strike and bring its comrades in as well." Tang smiled.

"Well done," Yin Tianci praised.

"Whether the plan succeeds will now depend on Sir Mo. Too many Immortal spirits have died under his purview. I hope he won't fail again," Tang said.

Tang's words reminded Yin Tianci of Mo Lengxuan's failure. "Mo Lengxuan is a little disappointing. He's been responsible for the frontlines and keeps claiming that both sides have suffered defeat, that Dazheng will run out of troops soon enough, but despite all their losses, they still seem to be going strong. He's not trying to trick me, is he?"

"Your Highness, please don't be suspicious of Sir Mo. He's loyal to you, and doing his best."

Yin Tianci gave him a complicated look. "He is loyal, but his best might not be good enough."

"Your Highness, Xiao Nanfeng's simply too wily an opponent. Sir Mo isn't to blame!"

"There's no need for you to defend him. Keep securing more reinforcements while I think about what to do next," Yin Tianci said.

"Understood!" Tang retreated from the hall.

After more than half a month, Mo Lengxuan returned to report to Yin Tianci.

"Your Highness, I fear we've been tricked. Something's wrong with the frontlines." Mo Lengxuan frowned.

"What's wrong? Didn't Tang help recruit ten Heaven Immortal crocodile spirits to the cause? What happened?"

"We were ambushed. The ten Heaven Immortal crocodile spirits divided into three groups, each of which was caught in an ambush and killed. Only one heavily injured crocodile spirit managed to escape."

"Three groups and three ambushes? And this was all part of Ye Dafu's plan?" Yin Tianci demanded.

"Yes, Your Highness! They tricked all of us. Something's wrong with our intelligence."

"Ridiculous! Even a pig wouldn't fall into the same hole thrice. Those were all Heaven Immortals, Heaven Immortals! How could they have died even without Xiao Nanfeng doing anything?!"

Mo Lengxuan stiffened. "The five kingdoms' intelligence networks are all flawed and filled with false information. I suspect that Xiao Nanfeng might have planned all this from the beginning. There are countless strategists in Dazheng scheming against us and tricking our spirits into their traps. This was premeditated!"

"You mean that Dazheng has been aware of everything you've done?!" Yin Tianci demanded.

"I don't want to admit it, but that appears to be the case, Your Highness. Perhaps helping the five kingdoms against Dazheng was a mistake to begin with. Over three hundred Immortal spirits have fallen, and nine Heaven Immortal spirits among them. If we had attacked Yongding with all these spirits at once, Xiao Nanfeng would long since have been destroyed. We wouldn't be ambushed time and again!"

"You mean our tactics were flawed from the very beginning?"

"Yes, Your Highness. If we had attacked Yongding from the start, the Immortals of Dazheng would have been scattered across the empire and unable to come to Yongding's assistance."

"Continue."

"Tang's to blame. He suggested a nonsensical idea that has caused us to be slowly devoured by Dazheng!" Mo Lengxuan sighed.

"Enough!" Yin Tianci shouted.

Startled, Mo Lengxuan glanced sharply at Yin Tianci, then continued, "Your Highness, I stand by my claim. The fault lay with Tang from the very beginning!"

"Mo Lengxuan, I don't blame you for being unskilled, but your attempt to deflect the blame for this outcome is despicable."

"I, I—" Mo Lengxuan blanched. He wasn't deflecting the blame; this was the truth!

"Tang reminded you several times to be careful when dealing with Xiao Nanfeng, to attack him at full force with the strongest Immortal spirits. You were the one who treated things too lightly, claiming that he was crazy. How can you blame Tang now after having lost so many fights repeatedly? Didn't he make things clear from the start?"

"But—"

"But what? Tang is clearly capable. You were unable to get any Heaven Immortals, but he did his best and even succeeded in doing so. How could you still blame him for your failures? Don't you see that he's been helping you deal with them all along and attempting to uphold your reputation? Meanwhile, you blame him for everything that goes wrong!"

"I—"

Wasn't he telling the truth? Tang had proposed the main stratagem that had been flawed from the beginning. Why was Yin Tianci defending Tang now? How had Tang managed to gain Yin Tianci's trust?

Just then, a series of footsteps resounded outside the hall.

"Your Highness, I heard that Sir Mo has returned!" Tang rushed into the hall.

Mo Lengxuan was incredibly upset. He glared daggers at Tang.

Yin Tianci was extremely upset as well. To him, Tang was an incredibly capable subordinate who had succeeded at everything he did, whereas Mo Lengxuan's repeated failures were shameful and grating.

"Sir Mo, you're here too! A Heaven Immortal crocodile spirit just returned to the crocodile valley to seek out the crocodile king's assistance. This is our chance. We'll be able to spur the True Immortal crocodile king into combat against Dazheng. It'll surely be able to take down Dazheng's forces in no time!" Tang exclaimed.

"You can get a True Immortal to attack Dazheng?" Mo Lengxuan gaped.

"Of course! I've been working on it all this time. All I need is a little push—and its son just perished on the battlefield! We just have to stoke its rage a little."

"Why should we send a True Immortal to the border? Wouldn't it be better to have it head to Yongding and capture Xiao Nanfeng?" Mo Lengxuan demanded.

"But doesn't this deviate from our plan? It's easy for something to go wrong if we change things up so suddenly."

"Nothing will go wrong. We've already wasted too many Immortal spirits sending them to the border! There's no time to waste. We should catch Xiao Nanfeng directly!"

"But, what if—" Tang fretted.

"None of that. I command the frontline. You simply have to convince the crocodile king to act."

Tang glanced around anxiously. He looked toward Yin Tianci, seeking his support.

Although Yin Tianci felt that Tang was on the same page as him, and had even just chastised Mo Lengxuan for his failings, he ultimately chose to side with Mo Lengxuan. After all, Mo Lengxuan's loyalty to Dayin was indubitable.

"We'll follow Sir Mo's plan," Yin Tianci said.

"Ah? Very well," Tang replied, sighing in exasperation.

No one realized that his eyes were shining as though his plan had just succeeded.

Yin Tianci turned to Mo Lengxuan. "Mo Lengxuan, I'll give you one final chance. Don't let me down."

Mo Lengxuan gave Yin Tianci a confident look. "Don't worry, Your Highness. I'll succeed without fail!"