Chapter 107: You Jiu's Request
The skeleton's claws struck Xiao Nanfeng in a burst of energy, sending him stumbling back.
"How are you so strong? Shouldn't your spiritual power be suppressed by the realm?" Xiao Nanfeng's face fell.
Madam Rouge ignored Xiao Nanfeng as she flashed toward him, striking him with incredible force. Xiao Nanfeng was barely able to block her blows thanks to his mastery of Hegemon's Fist.
"It should be as strong as you are," You Jiu suddenly said from close by.
"Oh?" Xiao Nanfeng gasped.
My specter's eyes can see that its spiritual power is on par with yours, but it's using some technique unknown to me to augment its strength and knock you back," You Jiu continued.
Xiao Nanfeng waved an arm, causing countless specters wreathed in white mist to surge toward Madam Rouge. However, she moved too rapidly for them. Any specters that occasionally interacted with it quickly dissipated with a shake of its bones.
"An advanced fist technique indeed..." Xiao Nanfeng murmured.
Madam Rouge's fist technique was superior to Xiao Nanfeng's for the moment, but the difference was minimal considering Xiao Nanfeng's recent achievement. Killing intent filled the arena. The frightening melee caused even You Jiu to stumble back.
"What's your situation?" Xiao Nanfeng shouted.
You Jiu's eyes brightened. "They've kidnapped one of my companions. Because I almost rescued her once, in an attempt to guard against me, they've detained her somewhere far from their camp, with crow spirits serving as communication between the two locations. Please save my companion, and you will have my deepest gratitude."
"You're an Ascension-realm cultivator?"
"I am!" You Jiu anxiously awaited Xiao Nanfeng's response.
Xiao Nanfeng was shocked. You Jiu had to be a frightening force in reality, if the Spiritsong-realm crow king was so on guard even against a cultivator one full realm lower.
"If you haven't lied to me, I'll do my best. On a successful rescue, I'll send you a signal comprising three bursts of thick smoke or flares."
"Thank you," You Jiu replied gratefully.
"You'd better leave now. It's been too long, and they might be suspicious," Xiao Nanfeng replied.
"Do you need any help?" You Jiu asked. If Xiao Nanfeng were to perish to the cursed effigy, he wouldn't be able to help him out.
"I don't."
You Jiu nodded, a complicated expression on his face. He didn't hesitate. His arms morphed into claws as he raked at his own body, sending blood splashing and exposing raw flesh. Then, You Jiu slapped the spasming Captain Wu, who suddenly came to his senses.
"We need to leave!" You Jiu cried out, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
Captain Wu, who had awoken only to see You Jiu's terrible appearance, immediately activated the seal and sent both of them out of the illusory realm.
Except for the still champion, only Xiao Nanfeng and Madam Rouge were left in the plaza.
Xiao Nanfeng was repeatedly pushed back and suppressed by Madam Rouge's fist technique, but he was rapidly improving and learning from her. Whenever Madam Rouge struck, each of her bones vibrated to a different extent, causing her to generate an unusually large force.
After six hours, having been struck by Madam Rouge countless times, Xiao Nanfeng finally finished memorizing Madam Rouge's fist technique. To learn it to the same level of mastery as she possessed, however, would require far more fortune than Xiao Nanfeng was willing to spend. His fortune had to be used to develop Hegemon's Fist to its fullest extent, and he couldn't squander it here.
"Let's end it now!" Xiao Nanfeng called out.
A burst of black light emanated from his palms and surrounded Madam Rouge, slowing down her movement as if she were mired in a swamp, until she seemed to be frozen solid.
Xiao Nanfeng had summoned a black lotus from his arm, which now floated above Madam Rouge's head as it gave off black light that formed a seal around her.
"I will soon reach the quintessence of Hegemon's Fist. If you had waited just a few more days, I wouldn't have needed to use this relic—but as impatient as you were, I have no choice but to use it now."
Madam Rouge arduously lifted her head to look at the spinning black lotus above her. Black aura surged from her body, as though she were experiencing intense frustration.
"Seal!" Xiao Nanfeng infused spiritual power into the black lotus at full strength.
Madam Rouge's figure quivered. She seemed about to be sucked into the black lotus without being able to do anything about it. Clearly enraged to the extreme, she mimed tearing Xiao Nanfeng apart.
Suddenly, Madam Rouge's bones inflated as strength exploded from her.
Xiao Nanfeng watched her in shock and dismay. "What are you doing?!"
Just then, the skies rumbled. The outline of a giant copper spike in the air flashed into existence, as though triggered by Madam Rouge's burgeoning energy, in an attempt to suppress her.
With a huge boom, Madam Rouge self-destructed.
The huge explosion formed waves that sent Xiao Nanfeng and the black lotus flying. He crashed against the nearby plaza. The black lotus revolved around him, protecting his body.
Madam Rouge had vanished, having exploded into a pile of smoke that dissipated in the air.
The dragon-quelling spike, no longer sensing Madam Rouge's aura, likewise disappeared from sight.
Xiao Nanfeng stood up and looked all around himself, but Madam Rouge was nowhere to be seen. "Did she self-destruct? Is she dead?"
Xiao Nanfeng shook his head. His master had once warned him that cursed effigies wouldn't be able to die. In other words, Madam Rouge was sacrificing her body in order to escape.
Xiao Nanfeng looked at the black lotus in his palm. "Madam Rouge would rather self-destruct than be sucked into this black lotus? Is she that scared of this relic?"
Xiao Nanfeng grew even more curious about the mysteries of the black lotus. He stored it once again, calmed himself down, and stepped up onto the next plaza. He was going to continue ascending the stairway.
Madam Rouge's sudden growth in strength made him feel a pressing sense of danger. He had the premonition that, the next time he saw her, she would have become even more dangerous.
Back in reality, in the black-armored cultivators' tents, You Jiu and Captain Wu suddenly woke up.
"Crow King, they're awake!" a cultivator quickly called out.
The crow king instantly appeared before them. "What took you both so long?"
"I don't know. I seem to have been possessed by those white-mist specters, and I fell unconscious. When I woke up, I saw that You Jiu was critically injured, slumping before me while vomiting blood," Captain Wu reported.
You Jiu immediately added, "Captain Wu was knocked unconscious by Nanfeng's white-mist specters. The cursed effigy was chasing after us, having killed everyone else. I almost died to the cursed effigy. As I left, I saw Nanfeng getting chased by it. It was far too strong! I barely managed to resuscitate Captain Wu and flee."
The crow king narrowed its eyes at You Jiu. "Don't mess with me."
You Jiu's face was cold. "You've sealed my cultivation. What would I be able to do?"
"You're exceptionally dangerous, and you almost wounded me in the past. I can't treat you lightly. I'll impose another seal on your body," the crow king informed him. A huge quantity of red light surged from the crow king's claws and into You Jiu's body. You Jiu shrieked in pain. The red light had made it difficult for him to even move.
"Chain him up and watch over him!" the crow king commanded.
"Yessir!" a group of black-armored cultivators quickly escorted You Jiu away.
Just then, Xiang Kun emerged from a tent—no, he had been possessed by You Shi.
"Young Master, we'd better not enter the illusory realm while the cursed effigy is on the loose. Shall we try to find Emperor Wei's tomb first?" the crow king asked.
"Emperor Wei's tomb is within that mountain. Keep guard over here. I'll take a few men in to have a look myself."
The crow king was a Spiritsong-realm cultivator, and You Shi was worried that it would notice that something was amiss if it remained by his side.
"Very well. If the serpent were to notice that I've recovered from my injuries, it would surely force me to the divine domain at once. Be careful, Young Master," the crow king replied.
You Shi nodded, then left with a small group of his subordinates.
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