Chapter 110: Ten-Year Guard
The three cultivators headed to another mountain valley, where they had temporarily deposited You Jiu's companion.
"She was like this when we rescued her," Xiao Nnafeng explained.
You Jiu's companion was unconscious, icy-cold all over and in a severely weakened state.
You Jiu clutched his wounds as he rushed over.
"Thank goodness she's still alive." You Jiu sighed in relief.
He seemed to have guessed that his companion would have been in such a state, and wasn't unduly concerned. He turned to Xiao Nanfeng and gave him a deep bow. "Thank you, sir. I am yours to command."
"In that case, I'll cut to the chase. You Jiu, I need a bodyguard, and I'd like to request that you take on that role for a ten-year stint. Will you accept?"
You Jiu gave Xiao Nanfeng a doubtful look. For his companion's safety, that was a wholly reasonable price to pay, but... Does he know anything about me? How can he be willing to make me his bodyguard even though we just met this very day?
"Ten years? I will accept, Sir, but will need some time to settle my affairs before I may depart," You Jiu replied.
"Naturally. I could never have brokered such a deal if not for the circumstances at play," Xiao Nanfeng replied, smiling.
It was true that Xiao Nanfeng knew little about You Jiu, but he had saved both his life and that of his companion. He was rightly deserving of repayment, and this was his best option at the moment. The fact that You Jiu was willing to obey Xiang Kun to such an extent for the fate of his companion meant at least that he was someone who was loyal and faithful.
"You are well within reason to do so, Sir. If I might make another request, however..." You Jiu glanced hopefully at Xiao Nanfeng.
"What is it?"
"The reason I struck at the crow king wasn't just because of the grudge I bore it, but also because I wanted its inner core. My companion is unconscious because she suffers from an unusual frost-based terminal illness, the effects of which can only be ameliorated by treasures of pure yang. The inner core of the crow king is one such. I would like to claim the crow king's inner core, Sir, and am willing to double the duration of my service to do so," You Jiu pleaded.
"No wonder you fought so intensely..." Xiao Nanfeng frowned.
Just then, the ground rumbled.
You Jiu hurriedly shielded his unconscious companion, gritting his teeth despite the pain wracking his body. The rumble continued for quite some time before belatedly stopping.
"It's the mountain where Emperor Wei's tomb is located. Could something be wrong?" Yu'er glanced toward the mountain with worry.
Xiao Nanfeng frowned. "We must head there immediately."
Yu'er nodded.
Xiao Nanfeng turned to You Jiu. "I was intending to use the crow king's inner core to advance my cultivation, but your companion's illness should take priority. You may have it as part of your fee, tendered in advance—I don't need any additional service on your part."
Xiao Nanfeng retrieved the crow king's carcass, quickly pulled out a resplendent inner core from it, and handed it to You Jiu.
You Jiu was aware that Xiao Nanfeng was attempting to buy his loyalty with this precious gift, but even so, he was touched by his new employer's gesture.
"Worry not, Sir. I won't disappoint you," You Jiu vowed.
"In that case, take some time to rest and recuperate. I'll come back for you later," Xiao Nanfeng replied.
"Sir, have you received Emperor Wei's inheritance?" You Jiu continued.
"Hmm?" Xiao Nanfeng frowned at You Jiu.
"Considering your skill, Sir, I suspect you have succeeded. I have critical information for you. Sir, you must claim the Seal of Great Wei. If you can successfully gain command over the empire of Great Wei, the entirety of the humans' domain shall also belong to you."
"The entirety of the humans' domain?" Xiao Nanfeng blinked in surprise.
You Jiu nodded. "I cannot tell you more information, Sir, or I will be divulging the secrets of the organization to which I belong. If you can claim the Seal of Great Wei and truly become the successor of Emperor Wei, however, I will reveal everything to you then."
Xiao Nanfeng nodded. He left with Yu'er, confident that You Jiu would be able to protect himself even in his critically weakened state.
The two cultivators darted through the forest.
"You Jiu promised to guard you for double the duration. Why would you be against it? That was an inner core of a Spiritsong-realm spirit king! You just gave it to him for nothing?" Yu'er asked, frowning.
"Who knows if he'll even guard me for ten years? It's far too early to be thinking about an extension. A promise like this is worthless, even if he pledges to protect me for ten times the duration. Furthermore, I think that something may have gone wrong with Emperor Wei's tomb, and I would hardly be able to focus on cultivation for the moment. Rather than allowing the inner core's essence to dissipate, why not do him this favor?" Xiao Nanfeng explained.
"Will he really protect you for ten years?" Yu'er asked with some concern.
"I don't know. We'll see, I suppose."
"If he dares break his promise, I'll teach you a lesson on his behalf!" Yu'er clenched her fists tightly, her eyes shining with confidence.
Xiao Nanfeng laughed. "If that really is the case, I'll have to rely on you." His face turned serious. "Something's wrong. The serpent should have shown itself by now after such a large disturbance."
"Could it have caused the earthquake just now?" Yu'er wondered.
"We need to be careful," Xiao Nanfeng warned.
Yu'er nodded.
The two of them rushed straight toward the mountain, but they saw no trace of the serpent along the way.
"This shouldn't be the case... Master told me that there should be a misdirection array by the entrance. How could it have vanished?" Yu'er wondered.
There was an extremely visible cave by the foot of the mountain.
"Is that the entrance to Emperor Wei's tomb?" Xiao Nanfeng asked Yu'er.
"That's right, but where have all the arrays and formations gone? Master said that this formation was particularly powerful, that You Shi himself laid it the year it was created. Even an ordinary Immortal would have a hard time dispelling it..." Yu'er's frown deepened.
"Let's go in and have a look." Xiao Nanfeng was growing increasingly worried that there would be something wrong with the Seal of Great Wei.
"There are plenty of formations in the cavern. Follow me. I know how to avoid them." Yu'er took the lead.
The two cultivators unsheathed their weapons and walked carefully into the cavern. The cavern stretched for a long distance, and there were many branching paths ahead of them. Yu'er had been tutored by the Red Emperor herself, and she knew the route ahead.
"Someone's dispelled all the arrays along the way..." Yu'er murmured.
The two cultivators walked deeper and deeper through the tunnels leading from the cavern. Not too long later, they heard a noise coming from the other end. They plastered themselves by the walls of the tunnel as they slowly inched forward.
The other end of the tunnel led to another large cave, three hundred meters in diameter. In the air was a light source illuminating it, a remnant of some formation or another. Embedded deep in the cave was a huge pair of copper doors engraved with draconic patterns. Six figures stood before the copper doors: Xiang Kun and five black-armored cultivators.
"Young Master, we can't open these doors!"
"Young Master, don't you have a formation-breaking artifact? You managed to dispel so many formations on the way here. Can you open this pair of doors too?"
The five black-armored cultivators gathered around Xiang Kun as he inspected the doors carefully.
"Who is it?" one of the black-armored cultivators suddenly shouted.
Everyone looked toward the entrance to the tunnel, where a bolt of golden light was headed straight for the six figures.
"Be careful!"
The golden light moved so rapidly that the cultivators couldn't dodge in time. It arrived before Xiang Kun, who made an abortive gesture and managed to get his body out of the way, but his legs were blown off in the resulting explosion.
"Argh!" Xiang Kun gasped in pain.
"Young Master!" The black-armored cultivators ran to help him even as they stared warily at the entrance to the cave, only to see Yu'er and Nanfeng slowly walk out.
"Nanfeng, this is the final dragon-quelling spike with the power of Emperor Wei imbued in it! We're still so far away—you were all but guaranteed to miss. Why did you use it then and there?" Yu'er seemed perplexed.
The beam attack was as strong as a single blow from a Spiritsong-realm cultivator, and it could easily kill a group of Ascension-realm ones if used properly. It was rather a waste for him to have used it just to destroy Xiang Kun's legs.
"I was hoping that the preemptive strike would deal You Shi a lethal blow while he was still acting in an attempt to trick me. Once he's on his guard, this attack might not have had any effect. It's a pity that I only managed to destroy his legs rather than kill him outright." Xiao Nanfeng sighed.
"You Shi? Isn't that Xiang Kun? What acting?" Yu'er was stunned.
The five black-armored cultivators were equally perplexed. What nonsense was Xiao Nanfeng talking about?
At that point, Xiang Kun stopped letting out pained cries. His face spasmed. "How did you discover my identity?"
"What?" The five black-armored cultivators blanched as they stepped away from their 'young master'.
"You perished too quickly at the cursed effigy's hands. Furthermore, I was fighting against the Specter King, and I could see all his white-mist specters," Xiao Nanfeng replied coldly.
"You—" You Shi blanched. He had hidden Xiang Kun from sight with white-mist specters when he possessed him. He thought that he had pulled it off perfectly, but Xiao Nanfeng had discovered what he was doing far in advance!
"If I'm not mistaken, the reason you didn't open this pair of doors was because you were waiting for me, hoping to mislead me with your newfound identity," Xiao Nanfeng guessed.
"Ha! So what if that's the case? Will you be able to leave?" You Shi called out. He was feeling rather upset—he had planned a great deception, only for Xiao Nanfeng to nip it in the bud.
"Nanfeng, something's wrong with the aura around here. We had better leave!" Yu'er cried out, feeling a great sense of danger envelop her.
"We can't. If I'm not wrong, You Shi has co-opted, rather than dispelled, the formations in this area," Xiao Nanfeng replied, shaking his head.
Suddenly, the tunnel from which they had entered roiled with black smoke that seeped into the tunnel and surrounded everyone.
Xiao Nanfeng's face fell. He shouted at the five black-armored cultivators, "He's not Xiang Kun. Xiang Kun's already dead—he possessed him! What are all of you doing, staying so close to a man like that? Do you want to die?!"
The five black-armored cultivators, stunned, quickly ran from You Shi.
Within moments, there was a clear line of sight between You Shi and Xiao Nanfeng. With his legs gone, it was difficult for You Shi to move. Xiao Nanfeng's Immortal Cicada shot forward in a beam of light, straight toward You Shi.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺