Chapter 119: Sect Leader You Jiu
As expected of a kingdom's prized relic, the Red Dragon's Immortal Bell boasted a near-inexhaustible supply of flame. The four flaming dragons blazed ardently with overwhelming strength.
If not for the fact that Xiao Nanfeng had chosen to study Sky of Ten Suns, it was all but guaranteed that he would have become a pile of ash.
His hundred divine channels shook as the endless flames were forcibly absorbed into the golden sun in his dantian. The golden sun was like a huge furnace that burned away all the impurities of the flame, then distilled it to form new pure yang qi. The golden sun in Xiao Nanfeng's dantian grew larger and larger.
Xiao Nanfeng's body absorbed the fire from all around him. To him, this was no hell, no predicament—but rather a haven within which he could develop his new technique to the utmost.
The four flaming dragons cried in agony. So much flame had been sucked from their bodies that they were turning translucent, but the Red Dragon's Immortal Bell was a font of flame. It quickly replenished what had been consumed.
Outside the bell, the three black-robed cultivators were still infusing all their spiritual power into the bell. They were clearly growing impatient and exasperated.
"Hasn't Nanfeng died yet? Why does it feel like it's getting harder to activate the relic?"
"Look! The bell seems to be... melting? Is that Nanfeng's doing?!"
"The Red Dragon's Immortal Bell was forged from a piece of flame essence and contains a near-inexhaustible source of fire. How could Nanfeng ever do any damage to it?"
The three cultivators continued to infuse their spiritual power into the bell, but in just two hours, it had grown so thin, like a cicada's wing, that they could even see the flames within the bell.
"How could this be?" one black-robed cultivator gasped.
The bell collapsed with a huge crash from the inside, as though it had succumbed to the endless flames. The three cultivators were forced back from the impact and the shock.
The four flaming dragons that the bell summoned were rapidly shrinking, revealing Xiao Nanfeng at their heart. He opened his mouth and sucked in the flames and even the dragons themselves.
"He ate the four flaming dragons?"
"No, he ate the Red Dragon's Immortal Bell? Impossible!" the cultivators cried out.
A wave of energy burst from Xiao Nanfeng's body, shielding him in a fiery barrier that forced the cultivators back.
Xiao Nanfeng glanced at his dantian, only to see that a second golden sun had formed within it. Both were orbiting his dantian and releasing an immense aura of flame. He felt that he had grown at least twice as strong as before.
"The second stage of Ascension?" Xiao Nanfeng opened his eyes, which shone with golden light.
"Kill him!"
The three black-robed cultivators, after a momentary shock, slashed toward Xiao Nanfeng simultaneously.
Xiao Nanfeng dodged, then punched forward. Dozens of flaming fists materialized in the air and shot straight toward the three men.
"No!" To their shock, they were unable to block the fists.
All three men were sent flying, grievously injured. They vomited out blood in mid-air as they collapsed to the ground.
Their bodies swelled all over from Xiao Nanfeng's punches. His single attack had disrupted their qi circulation and scorched their skin until it was bright red all over.
"Didn't the serpent claim that he was only an Immanence-realm cultivator?!" the three black-robed men cried.
They couldn't even run away; Xiao Nanfeng had crippled them all.
Xiao Nanfeng ignored the three of them and turned toward the other combatants.
You Ba was fighting against one black-robed cultivator. Both of them were injured and battered, but worst of all was You Jiu in the distance. His cultivation was inferior to You Yi's, and he was being suppressed on every metric. Blood drenched him, and the peeling flesh all over his body was a gruesome sight to behold. Even so, he had left a bevy of wounds all over You Yi's body as well.
When Xiao Nanfeng emerged from the bell, everyone was shocked.
"Impossible. How could he have escaped from the Red Dragon's Immortal Bell?!" You Yi cried out.
"Sir Xiao, you're still alive! Please, help me protect You Ba," You Jiu exclaimed in delight.
Xiao Nanfeng waved a hand, sending countless white-mist specters surging out toward You Ba's opponent.
"No!" the black-robed man screamed.
He was instantly surrounded by the specters. As they charged into his body, he froze up. You Ba cut off one of his arms and was about to deal him a killing blow when You Jiu cried out, "Not yet, Senior Sister! Let Sir Xiao decide how we should deal with him."
You Ba nodded tersely, but cut off both his legs in grievance
before turning to support You Jiu. However, Xiao Nanfeng was even faster than she was. He instantly appeared behind You Yi.
"No!" You Yi cried out.
With a bang, as Xiao Nanfeng struck the center of You Yi's back, the latter froze up. He was unable to move, as though his internal organs had been shattered by Xiao Nanfeng's strike.
"What sort of fist technique is this...?" You Yi spat out blood as he fell paralyzed to the ground, staring at Xiao Nanfeng with disbelief.
You Jiu slashed at You Yi's prone body, completely crippling him.
"Thank you for the assistance, Sir Xiao." You Jiu bowed respectfully despite his wounds.
"You've done well as a bodyguard."
You Jiu smiled wryly. Was that so? Not at all. Xiao Nanfeng had resolved the problem himself; he had barely done anything.
"I'm far too weak," You Jiu replied.
"No, you're not. Considering that your cultivation was weaker than You Yi's, the fact that you held on for so long is admirable. Improving your cultivation is only a matter of resources, which you can easily supplement later," Xiao Nanfeng consoled him.
"How should we deal with them?" You Jiu asked.
"Sir, we were mistaken! You Yi forced us into cooperation!"
"Sir, we're willing to assist you with all our effort. Please, spare our lives!"
The other four black-robed cultivators begged for mercy.
"Can I command the Hall of Specters with the Seal of Great Wei?" Xiao Nanfeng suddenly asked severely.
You Jiu bowed and kowtowed. "I greet my lord."
"Very well. I hereby declare you the new sect leader of the Hall of Specters. You shall oversee its entire operation," Xiao Nanfeng announced.
"Yessir!" You Jiu replied.
"As for these traitors, I'll leave them to you."
"Yessir!"
You Jiu drew his sword as he walked over to the wounded black-robed cultivators, his gaze cold.
"Don't kill me, You Jiu! I taught you the sword in the past. You can't kill me!" one of them shouted.
Blood sprayed through the air as the four cultivators died to You Jiu's sword.
"No! You can't kill me! If I die, the royal family of Great Yan will never forgive you!" You Yi cried out.
The next moment, with a clean snick, You Jiu killed You Yi as well.
"Sir, there's still some fighting outside. You Ba and I will handle it," You Jiu reported.
Xiao Nanfeng nodded. "Go."
You Jiu and You Ba rushed out of the cottage.
Xiao Nanfeng watched You Jiu as he departed. He wasn't sure if You Jiu would be truly loyal to him, but his actions and speech had at least deepened Xiao Nanfeng's trust in him.
Outside the cottage, You Jiu's subordinates were being killed by strong cultivators from Great Yan. With You Jiu and You Ba's appearance, however, the tide of battle quickly turned in their favor.
Cries resounded as one Great Yan cultivator after another died to You Jiu and You Ba.
"You Jiu, Sir Xiao is tremendously strong. Has he really just reached Ascension?" You Ba gaped.
You Jiu suddenly stopped short and turned to You Ba, his face cold.
"You Jiu, w-why are you looking at me like that?"
"I had you contact You Wu and You Qi, and you claimed to have settled affairs with them. You promised that they would help me protect Sir Xiao. And this was the result of that promise?" You Jiu challenged her.
"They betrayed me at the last minute—there was nothing I could have done. They promised me that they would serve Sir Xiao just as we do," You Ba replied.
"Senior Sister, don't treat me like a fool. Your fighting against You Qi—were you just trying to test each other and drag things out? How could you do this? Were you waiting for Sir Xiao to die?!"
"No, of course not! Why would I?" A flash of panic skirted over You Ba's face.
"Sir Xiao might be young, but he's intelligent and resourceful. What I've noticed, he surely has too. Why do you think he only praised me, speaking nothing of you? When you came to assist me, why was it that he rushed ahead of you? Don't you understand?"
"No, I didn't! I, I—" You Ba was flustered and speechless.
"Fortunately, you hindered Sir Xiao only by inaction, not by explicit interaction. Otherwise, he would never have spared you. Furthermore, did you realize that he only saved you on my request? Don't be foolish, Senior Sister. What are you thinking? Sir Xiao saved your life—are you really going to be this ungrateful?"
"I..." You Ba began to tear up.
"Why would you do this, Senior Sister?" You Jiu asked again.
"He saved me because you asked him to. The one I needed to thank was you, not him. I wanted you to gain the Seal of Great Wei, to learn the complete technique of the Specter King, to gain power and might, to conquer the world. I didn't want you to be trapped under his aegis for a decade as a slave..." You Ba couldn't help the tears from flowing down her face.
You Jiu couldn't help but soften. He smiled wryly. "You only witnessed him saving you because of me. Were you unaware that he saved my life too? Isn't my life worth ten years of service?"
You Ba stilled. Regret flashed in her eyes.
"You were attempting to take advantage of You Yi's ploy to free me from service, interrogate Sir Xiao's spiritual avatar, and hence claim his secrets, but were you aware of just how fragile the plan was? If Sir Xiao had perished, I would be under You Yi's control. Compared to Sir Xiao, You Yi is far inferior in terms of generosity, intelligence, means, skill, and potential. The Seal of Great Wei holds immense value in the humans' domain, yes, but did you notice that Sir Xiao just gave me a disdainful glance when I brought this up?"
"What?" You Ba was shocked.
"It was apparent to me that the humans' domain alone was far too insignificant to be worth Sir Xiao's attention. He must have set his sight on something even loftier, so much so that I feel like a frog in a well. Do you really think he was unable to see through your antics, that you were trying to kill You Qi to prevent him from revealing the truth? Sir Xiao saw it all; he's only ignoring it on my account. That's why he left You Yi and You Qi for me to handle—it's a token of generosity. I would be a fool to continue to pretend that I don't know anything," You Jiu explained.
"H-How could that be? Is he really that perspicacious?" You Ba cried out.
"You Ba, from now on, don't bother with the affairs of the Hall of Specters. I'll reclaim your name as well. You are freed from the Hall of Specters," You Jiu told her calmly.
"What? I, I—" You Ba's panic was reflected in her eyes.
"You'll always be the woman I love most in the world. Once the situation stabilizes, let's get married—but I don't think you should involve yourself with the Hall of Specters any longer, both for me and for you," You Jiu replied sternly.
You Ba's eyes flashed with a series of complex emotions, but in the end, she nodded lovingly. "I'll listen to you."
"Good." You Jiu smiled in relief. Just then, however, he blanched. Above the cottage in which Xiao Nanfeng was located, a golden glow appeared. Countless arcane runes revolved within it.
"The Immortal's Destruction? This isn't good!" You Jiu cried out.
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