Chapter 112: Seal of Great Wei
Xiao Nanfeng was silent for long moments after seeing that tattoo-like storage ring.
"Is this ring permanently bonded to you now?" Yu'er was very concerned for Xiao Nanfeng.
Xiao Nanfeng shook his head. "Forget it. There isn't a huge difference between being haunted by a single cursed effigy compared to two of them. I just have to get used to it."
"That's a positive attitude you have," Yu'er replied, a strange look on her face. She didn't know how to comfort Xiao Nanfeng.
Xiao Nanfeng smiled wryly. A positive attitude was all that he could have. It wasn't as though he could choose to get rid of the cursed effigy, after all. Fortunately, the Red Emperor had given him a black lotus that could seal such effigies. He wasn't in dire straits yet.
Xiao Nanfeng inspected his surroundings. The beast in the ring hadn't just devoured You Shi; it had also swallowed up the majority of the energy imbued in You Shi's formations. The copper doors had previously shown signs of being inscribed with a formation, but those signs had now all vanished. Xiao Nanfeng picked up a dragon-quelling spike by the front of the copper doors.
"This must be the array-breaking artifact that Xiang Kun had in his possession. To have entered the illusory realm with a dragon-quelling spike in tow... no wonder he was possessed by You Shi," Xiao Nanfeng murmured, sighing.
"Nanfeng, shall we open the doors?" Yu'er asked.
"Let's do it."
The two cultivators slowly pushed the doors open.
This time, no flash of blue light was emitted. The interior was just like in the Red Emperor's tomb. The moment the doors were opened, the countless treasures within corroded and decayed.
Within this cave was another golden dragon head, but this one was severely diminished. Draconic aether was rapidly dissipating through the surroundings.
"No wonder this mountain peak had the highest density of spiritual qi—it all came from the draconic aether in the tomb! You Shi manipulated all three draconic aether veins. He truly is a traitor to the crown!" Xiao Nanfeng murmured, frowning.
Above the golden dragon's head was a large copper coffin, within which was clearly Emperor Wei's corpse.
Directly overhead was a floating dragon-quelling spike, which was surrounded by a blue glow.
"Is it that spike that created and maintained the Plaza Stairway?" Yu'er asked curiously.
"Your Majesty, my senior sister and I have arrived," Xiao Nanfeng called out to the spike.
The spike shook and the blue light flared in response, but the Red Emperor didn't show herself.
"Master is accompanying Emperor Wei for the last moments of her life. I suppose she doesn't want to be disturbed," Yu'er murmured.
Xiao Nanfeng nodded in understanding. He looked toward the final object in the chamber, a golden seal placed atop a stone pedestal, with a coiled dragon engraved around it. It was shining with a pale golden glow, and even the dragon-quelling spike's corroding aura didn't affect it.
"Is this the emperor's seal of the divine empire of Great Wei?" Yu'er wondered.
"According to Emperor Wei, it's called the Seal of Great Wei, and is part of the inheritance he left to me." Xiao Nanfeng nodded.
"Oh?"
Xiao Nanfeng walked up to the seal and reached out for it. The seal didn't budge.
"As the Red Emperor said, without receiving the acknowledgement of Emperor Wei, it's impossible for me to move it. No wonder You Shi was waiting outside the doors to trick me even though he could easily get in..."
Xiao Nanfeng retrieved the golden orb of light that Emperor Wei's remnant had passed to him. The orb possessed an imprint of the Seal of Great Wei. As Xiao Nanfeng placed it against the seal, the orb melded with it. The Seal of Great Wei shone with blinding golden light that swelled toward Xiao Nanfeng, as though it were attuning to him.
The golden dragon coiled around the seal seemed to come to life. It keened once as the seal transmitted countless information straight into Xiao Nanfeng's mindscape, turning his thoughts sluggish as he attempted to process it all. Even so, he shouldered the burden. This was part of Emperor Wei's inheritance. Countless secret techniques that Emperor Wei had left behind were now making themselves known to Xiao Nanfeng, as though opening up a brand-new dimension to him.
Xiao Nanfeng even discovered that a golden cloud had been placed within the seal, the fortune of the empire of Great Wei, which he had seen once before in the illusory realm.
With the seal's acknowledgement of Xiao Nanfeng, that fortune naturally belonged to him. Xiao Nanfeng would be able to absorb it at any moment.
Suddenly, Xiao Nanfeng opened his eyes.
"Nanfeng, have you already processed the inheritance? This quickly?"
"Emperor Wei has far too many secret techniques for me to absorb so quickly, but the seal has acknowledged me as its master. I discovered a method of preserving spiritual aether among Emperor Wei's collection. We can't waste the draconic aether that's here."
"I was just about to bring that up! It's such a waste to see all this draconic aether dissipating. Master told me that all the draconic aether here was yours, but it doesn't look like there's much left. I have more sealed away in my body than is out here..."
"Make sure the coffin is stable, please," Xiao Nanfeng requested, as he activated the technique he had just learned to store spiritual aether. The eight divine channels and seventy-two divine capillaries that he had unblocked activated at full force, giving rise to a tremendous suction that targeted the golden dragon's head.
With a huge crash, the golden dragon's head transformed into a golden river that Xiao Nanfeng swallowed whole.
"You're absorbing that draconic aether even faster than I am!" Yu'er gasped.
The copper coffin slowly floated to the ground. Yu'er caught it and held it in her hands.
Not too long later, Xiao Nanfeng had completely absorbed the golden dragon's head, and all the draconic aether remnant in the cave was absorbed into his dantian.
"Senior Sister, I need to be in secluded cultivation for some time."
"I'll guard you. Don't worry." Yu'er nodded at once.
Xiao Nanfeng held the Seal of Great Wei in his palm as he sat cross-legged.
On the mountain peak where Emperor Wei's tomb was located, following You Shi's death, the might of the formations he had created began to dissipate. The chains of energy that held the serpent down dimmed.
With a crack, the serpent broke free.
"What's going on? Why did that formation suddenly weaken?" The serpent looked at its surroundings in surprise.
The mist around the mountain peak was rapidly dissipating, and it vanished within moments.
"The formations all around the emperor's tomb are gone!"
The serpent soared into the air and circled the peak as it found the entrance to the emperor's tomb.
"Did Xiang Kun do all this? He managed to break that formation and enter the emperor's tomb?" The serpent narrowed its eyes.
It was a little fearful of Xiang Kun; after all, it had almost died at his hand.
"No, there's nothing to be scared of! The only reason he was able to trap me was because of the copper spike in his possession, which could manipulate the formations all around the mountain. Now that they're gone, he won't be able to do anything against me! These puny upstarts—I'll take revenge, I'll eat them all! And now that the emperor's tomb is open, there must surely be treasure inside. It's all mine now!" The serpent, having recovered its confidence, excitedly swooped down toward the entrance to the tomb.
As it headed inside, it discovered a series of forked paths. It tried to sense the right path with spiritual power, but the walls within still bore traces of You Shi's formations. They prevented the serpent from sensing anything.
"I hate mazes," the serpent muttered.
It had developed a trauma against the formations in this mountain, and it didn't dare try to break through by force. All it could do was dart through one path after another, attempting to find the right path forward.
Simultaneously, two giant toad spirits were headed straight for Emperor Wei's tomb. The Lady Arclight stood at the head of one of the toad spirits.
"Lady Arclight, can you find where Nanfeng is?" Croak asked anxiously.
The other toad, Warble, rolled its eyes. "How many times have you asked that question on the way here? Aren't you getting tired of it?"
"Warble, I'm serious! Nanfeng makes amazing roast meat. I haven't been able to eat right ever since!" Croak replied, drooling as it spoke.
"Was it really that good? What you've been making these last few days is so bitter I can barely choke it down. I feel like I'm consuming lethal poison whenever I eat it," Warble replied, clearly disbelieving.
"It's true! You'll see what I mean if you try it just once, when we find Nanfeng!" Croak desperately wanted to prove to its mate that it wasn't lying, but Warble refused to believe it. Croak sighed.
"Lady Arclight, can you find where Nanfeng is?" Croak repeated.
Warble rolled its eyes once again upon hearing Croak's near-constant refrain.
The Lady Arclight frowned. "Nanfeng has gone to rescue the Taiqing disciples, which means he has to have clashed with the black-armored cultivators. As long as we find them, we can interrogate them as to Nanfeng's whereabouts. Otherwise, we can catch a few crow spirits."
"Right, Lady Arclight, you're really smart! Nanfeng left on a crow spirit. We can just ask them!" Croak's eyes lit up.
"We're headed to Emperor Wei's tomb at the moment. Marquis Wu's three children have been searching for it, so we should be able to find black-armored cultivators and crow spirits there. We'll learn of Nanfeng's situation after that." The Lady Arclight frowned in worry.
"A crow spirit!" Croak pointed toward the distance.
The Lady Arclight's eyes lit up. Indeed, there were a few crows in the air! They might be native to the realm rather than from Mt. Crow, but any chance was better than none.
"Take them all down!" the Lady Arclight commanded.
Croak blazed over to find two golden crow spirits that had escaped after the crow king's death, along with the ordinary crow spirits that they led. They were flying through the nearby forests in an attempt to report for Xiang Kun, but hadn't been able to find him.
As a fearsome aura suddenly appeared in their vicinity, they turned their heads, only to find themselves smacked into the ground and grievously wounded by a gigantic toad spirit.
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