Chapter 127: Killing the Old Eunuch
By the forest beyond Mt. Liangjie, the spectral guards had just rescued a group of Taiqing disciples and sent them toward a certain valley. Ye Sanshui was carefully examining each disciple's injuries. Fifty had been saved in all, but many had been tortured beyond recognition. Some had even been crippled, infuriating Ye Sanshui beyond belief.
"Thank you for rescuing us, Senior Brother." Several of the Taiqing disciples who were still somewhat lucid felt as though they had been granted a new lease on life.
"I wasn't the one who saved you. It was the young—it was Nanfeng. Thank him," Ye Sanshui immediately corrected.
"It was Nanfeng?" The disciples glanced at each other in shock, then gratitude.
"Although all of you are heavily injured, once we return to the sect, the elders may be able to help you recuperate and treat your wounds. If nothing else, you're all still alive," Ye Sanshui consoled.
"Understood!" the cultivators replied.
"Where's Nanfeng now?" one disciple asked. "I'd like to thank him in person."
"Nanfeng's currently meeting with all the clan heads at the moment. He's already arranged a place to stay for us all, so just follow behind me," Ye Sanshui instructed.
"Understood!" The disciples nodded gratefully.
At the foot of Mt. Liangjie, the soldiers of the two kingdoms had rushed up to the white fog covering the area.
"Save us!" the clan heads cried out from within.
"Quick, the clan heads are in danger! We have to rush inside!" the soldiers shouted.
A huge sword slash shot at them from within the mist, killing the soldiers in the vanguard instantly.
"Those who charge forward will die!" the old eunuch's voice boomed from within the fog.
The soldiers turned to each other in fear, then backed away in unison. Even so, more soldiers appeared, intending to rush into the mist to save their clan heads.
Just then, a few clan heads walked out of the mist, causing the gathered soldiers to bow respectfully.
"Guard the perimeter and prevent anyone from entering," they commanded.
"Yessir!"
The soldiers at the foot of the mountain had quickly divided into two factions, one of which intended to charge into the mist to save the clan heads, and the other of which was guarding the mist from the first faction.
Though more and more soldiers were gathering by the foot of the mountain, there were also clan heads continuously walking out of the mist and ordering their soldiers to guard the interior instead.
Within the mist, the few clan heads remaining that were stubbornly resisting the mental possession let out expressions of despair.
"Elder, if you let me go, I'll give you anything!" Crown Prince Yan begged.
"If I control you, I'd get the same thing," the old eunuch replied, scoffing.
"No!" Crown Prince Yan clutched his head in agony.
Finally, even he was unable to hold out any longer. He suddenly collapsed. By the time he clambered back up, his gaze was soulless.
"Master!" Crown Prince Yan bowed toward the old eunuch.
The old eunuch smiled, then turned to the remaining clan heads. Eventually, everyone succumbed to the mental compulsion. He unsealed their cultivation and had them order their subordinates to stand down.
Very quickly, all the clan heads and the crown prince returned and bowed toward the old eunuch. "Master!"
"All of you, listen up. You're still the clan heads of your respective families. You won't speak of what has happened today to anyone. If anyone doubts who you are, kill them. Obey my every instruction and kill those who stand against you," the old eunuch commanded.
"Yes, Master!" the crowd chorused.
The old eunuch nodded in satisfaction, then turned toward a large blaze not far away. The Red Dragon's Immortal Bell within the flames seemed to be... thinning?
"Hm?" The old eunuch raised an eyebrow. "Lad, are you still alive?"
Xiao Nanfeng, still within the Red Dragon's Immortal Bell, had reached the final stage of absorption of the relic. He had no time to waste answering the old eunuch's question. He opened his mouth wide and sucked, causing the bell to grow thinner, to the point of transparency.
"Something's wrong with the bell. Rise!" the old eunuch commanded.
The Red Dragon's Immortal Bell hummed and attempted to rise before it simply collapsed. Roiling flames surged toward Xiao Nanfeng, who absorbed it all into his abdomen.
"What?!" the old eunuch cried out.
Xiao Nanfeng's body burst with flame. A wave of superheated air shot toward the old eunuch, who quashed it with a palm. "You've eaten the Red Dragon's Immortal Bell—and advanced your cultivation as a result?!"
"Thanks to you, I now have my third sun," Xiao Nanfeng replied, smiling.
He was now in the third stage of Ascension, and three suns filled his dantian. His strength surged.
"A technique passed down from Emperor Wei's inheritance? His inheritance must be a treasure indeed. Lad, I was going to let you accept your fate in peace—but now, it looks like I'll have to cripple you." The old eunuch thrust a sword at Xiao Nanfeng, sending countless arrows of sword qi cutting at Xiao Nanfeng's limbs.
Xiao Nanfeng snorted, waving an arm and sending a burst of golden light forward.
The Seal of Great Wei formed a golden shield of spiritual power that deflected the old eunuch's attack.
"What?!" the old eunuch cried out.
The Seal of Great Wei sped up, moving faster and faster. Sensing that something was amiss, the old eunuch instinctively attempted to dodge, but the Seal was too fast for it. It smashed into the old eunuch's head with blazing speed.
The old eunuch's head caved in as he was rammed into the ground.
"How can you control the Seal of Great Wei?!" the old eunuch cried out, not having died despite the serious injury.
The Seal of Great Wei smashed into his head once again in a fountain of blood. The old eunuch's limbs spasmed, but the pressure from the Seal only mounted.
"Impossible! The Seal of Great Wei can only be controlled with fortune. How could you have a source of fortune to control the Seal? Impossible!"
"Haven't you considered that Emperor Wei's inheritance might include some of that very fortune?" Xiao Nanfeng replied disdainfully.
"Impossible! All the fortune would have dissipated after Emperor Wei's death. You claim that he left you this fortune? Then he must be alive—or not yet fully dead!"
Xiao Nanfeng raised an eyebrow.
Emperor Wei's inheritance contained no information about the founding of a kingdom, and he was unaware of such esoteric principles and fate and fortune. The old eunuch's words made him entertain a possibility that he had previously discarded.
"How could there be any fortune left? This can't be. This was beyond the scope of my planning!" the old eunuch cried out.
A gigantic sword slash split the old eunuch's body into two pieces.
Xiao Nanfeng had immediately targeted the old eunuch with the Immortal's Destruction, worried that he might have found a way to escape if things were to drag out. He inspected the old eunuch's corpse to confirm that he was actually dead before storing the Seal of Great Wei again.
Xiao Nanfeng glanced all around him. The clan heads and crown prince he had controlled stood stock-still, as though they were wooden dummies. It was a sinister sight. Xiao Nanfeng frowned, temporarily ignoring them as he picked up the box that the old eunuch had grabbed. He could hear the clan heads' shrieks and screams from within the bell. The old eunuch had to have controlled them all with something within this box.
"He was planning something, after all!" Xiao Nanfeng frowned.
The box had had many protective seals layered over it, but the eunuch had destroyed them all before his death.
Although Xiao Nanfeng didn't know why he had done so, it was clear that it was meant to be a way of dealing with Xiao Nanfeng. He carefully took out a length of rope, red as blood and equally sinister, from within the box.
"We greet our master!" The clan heads all around suddenly bowed toward Xiao Nanfeng.
Xiao Nanfeng held the red rope in his hand as he stared at the crowd in confusion. Were they all puppets that would listen to him as long as he held the rope?
"Why did the old eunuch try to destroy this box?" Xiao Nanfeng frowned in contemplation.
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