Chapter 177: More Cursed to Death
While the demonic disciples chanted "Omen of calamity!" at Tang, a tremendous aura suddenly surged behind them. Everyone turned around in shock to see a giant golden serpent swim toward them, its eyes fierce.
"What are you doing here, serpent?" one of the disciples asked in fright.
"I just digested that radiant monk's body and distilled his essence. What happened to the island while I was gone? Where's the Pestilence Sage?" the serpent countered.
It was surprised by the calamity that had struck the island, but responded calmly. Rather than charge forward into the melee, it wanted to figure out just what resources were at the disposal of the invaders. The Pestilence Sage is an ally; why isn't he helping out? Could he have fled because of the danger?
"The sage is dead. His corpse is by that person's waist," Tang began.
The golden serpent blanched. The Pestilence Sage had died? Just how strong did his opponent have to be?!
When it saw the figure to whom Xiao Nanfeng was pointing, however, it was shocked.
"Are you certain the Pestilence Sage died to him?" the golden serpent asked in disbelief.
"It's true! The sage was unable to do anything before he was killed in just a single blow. His spiritual avatar was extracted from his body!" The demonic disciples nodded and recounted what had occurred.
The golden serpent narrowed its eyes. "Impossible. He has the strength of a cultivator at the peak of Ascension, but he's not at Spiritsong yet. The difference between realms is massive; there's no way he could have killed the Pestilence Sage. I see how it is. He must possess a treasure that targets the spirit."
"Oh?" The demonic disciples considered this new piece of information.
"The serpent king told us that the Pestilence Sage is particularly skilled at making ghostly avatars of himself, and this body that perished is only one of his avatars. His opponent's treasure must have countered him perfectly," the golden serpent explained.
"Countered him perfectly?" The demonic disciples nodded at this explanation.
"Xiao Nanfeng's only an Ascension-realm cultivator, and he isn't as strong as I am. We'll charge down there and kill him together," the golden serpent suggested.
"But..." The cultivators were still hesitant given what had happened to the Pestilence Sage. They didn't want to risk their lives!
"Xiao Nanfeng might have killed an avatar of the Pestilence Sage, but the Pestilence Sage himself is surely still alive. That skin of his is particularly precious, and I'm sure he'll reward you handsomely for it. On the other hand, if you refuse my request to help him retrieve it, he'll punish you for inaction," the golden serpent warned.
The demonic disciples continued to hesitate.
"We can't! Xiao Nanfeng's slain a giant golden serpent before, don't you remember? He possesses the Immortal's Destruction and can attack anywhere on the battlefield with just a moment's thought. Do you all want to die? Don't you see how quickly he's slaughtering the serpents down there?" Tang cried.
The giant golden serpent peered at Tang with a chilly gaze. It was well aware of the strength of the Immortal's Destruction—one of its companions had died to it. It was attempting to lure these disciples down into the fray as its targets.
"I can block the Immortal's Destruction," the giant serpent boomed. "The Pestilence Sage told me that you possessed a certain formation, Nightfall of Demonic Fog, that can allow you to occlude an opponent's senses. Use this formation on Xiao Nanfeng and he won't be able to command the Immortal's Destruction accurately. I'll eat him in a single gulp and help you retrieve the Pestilence Sage's skin. Well?"
The disciples' eyes brightened, thinking that the golden serpent's plan was flawless. If they struck, they would surely be able to kill Xiao Nanfeng!
"We'll do it!" they shouted.
"No, don't! Have you already forgotten how the Pestilence Sage died? Xiao Nanfeng's sinister, I told you!" Tang cried out.
"You're the sinister one, Tang. Stay away from us. You cursed the sage to death. This time, we won't let you accompany us," one disciple threatened.
Tang wanted to continue arguing, but the golden serpent glared at him fiercely, as though it would eat him if it said anything more.
"But he, he really is sinister!" Tang's voice grew weaker and weaker. Given the oppressive pressure, he didn't dare attempt to persuade them any longer.
"We charge now!" the golden serpent shouted.
"Now!" the disciples echoed, rushing down the mountain.
Below them, Xiao Nanfeng alone was holding back tens of thousands of serpents. The ground was littered with the bodies of the sea serpents, whereas he was perfectly uninjured. Gradually, the serpents all around began to shrink back in fear. A mountain of serpent carcasses stood before them.
"Stay right there. Don't you dare run!" Xiao Nanfeng shouted, chasing after them.
Just then, the hairs on his back suddenly stood on end. He felt tremendous pressure. He turned to see a golden serpent charging his way.
"Another golden serpent?" Xiao Nanfeng swung at it with his blade.
Xiao Nanfeng was sent stumbling a few steps back, only stabilizing himself after he crushed a boulder underfoot. However, he reacted quickly and counterattacked with the Immortal's Destruction.
"Ha!" The golden serpent grinned fiercely as it prepared a barrier all around its body. It was propelled backwards from the impact, but the strike didn't break its barrier.
"Is that all you've got?" The golden serpent laughed.
"Again!" Xiao Nanfeng cried out, tossing his divine undying blade toward the serpent. At the same time, he launched another attack with the Immortal's Destruction. Xiao Nanfeng intended to use both weapons in sync in order to combat the giant golden serpent.
Suddenly, a cloud of black fog suddenly surrounded Xiao Nanfeng, obscuring his sight.
"What?" Xiao Nanfeng frowned.
Xiao Nanfeng's initial volley landed with pinpoint accuracy, both his blade and the blow from the Immortal's Destruction striking the serpent and causing it to stagger back.
"Serpent, we've activated the Nightfall of Demonic Fog! Xiao Nanfeng can't see us any longer, and his spiritual power won't be able to sense us, either. Can you identify his location?" one demonic disciple asked, the sound permeating through the fog.
Xiao Nanfeng raised an eyebrow. He attempted to probe his surroundings with spiritual power. Indeed, the demonic fog was able to disrupt his spiritual power, but his spiritual cultivation was bolstered by the radiant moon of his Lunar Deluge. It felt as though there were a bright moon illuminating the sky, one which only he could see. Where it shone, he could see everything within the fog clearly.
There were dozens of robed men with flags in their hands as they erected this formation. They stood with a flag in one hand and a drawn blade in the other as a contingency. Clearly, they were unable to discern Xiao Nanfeng's location within the fog as well.
"Are these people crazy? They're intending to turn this into a blind free-for-all?" Xiao Nanfeng murmured to himself. "No, I would have more to lose if I hadn't progressed this far with my spiritual cultivation. It's to cancel out my advantage with the Immortal's Destruction."
"All you need to do is to maintain this fog. I can sense where he's located," the serpent hissed.
It emitted countless tiny particles of ice that revolved around its body and shattered against every cultivator's barrier. The particles had little strength of their own, but were able to provide much-needed sensory information for the serpent within the fog. Furthermore, the serpent's hiss would disrupt Xiao Nanfeng's ability to hear.
"I've found him! I'm going to eat him now!"
The golden serpent slithered behind Xiao Nanfeng, then struck at him.
Xiao Nanfeng frowned. Are these demonic disciples trying to help me...? He deftly avoided the serpent's attack, then launched a talisman for the Immortal's Destruction straight into its mouth.
By the time the golden serpent realized that something was amiss, it was already too late. Golden light had erupted in its mouth as the Immortal's Destruction struck it.
The golden serpent shrieked in pain, its mouth a bloody mess.
Suddenly, it felt a threatening sensation encompassing it, but its eyes were blinded by the demonic fog, and it couldn't discern in which direction the threat was coming from. Once more, it sent sprays of ice into the air, but it was too late. Another bolt from the Immortal's Destruction landed, breaking through its barrier and injuring its neck. Xiao Nanfeng was able to 'see' clearly despite the demonic fog, and his divine undying blade struck at almost the same time.
The golden serpent was beheaded amidst the fog of darkness.
Even to its death, the golden serpent couldn't believe that it had died in such a fashion.
"Serpent? What's the matter? Have you already eaten Xiao Nanfeng?" one demonic disciple asked, suddenly struck with an uneasy premonition.
"It's dead. Now, it's your turn to die," Xiao Nanfeng replied coldly.
"What?!" the disciples cried out.
Waiting for them was a charged blow.
"Mercy! Please don't kill me!"
"I'm a Taiqing disciple too! Don't kill me!"
"Spare us, Senior Brother!"
The demonic disciples screamed piteously, but Xiao Nanfeng ignored their pleas. The remaining disciples scrambled to escape as Xiao Nanfeng methodically caught and killed each one.
Some of the ones who had run away fastest suddenly looked up. Their eyes grew wide as a bolt from the Immortal's Destruction split them in two.
From the mountain peak, Tang watched as the black fog dissipated, revealing the golden serpent's prone carcass. The demonic disciples were likewise lying in pools of blood, and Xiao Nanfeng was chasing the last few remaining. He clutched his face in shock. "I told you, Xiao Nanfeng's a sinister fellow! Don't provoke him—but all of you did it anyway!"
Within the valley, the demonic disciples that were about to die shouted in despair, "Tang, it's all your fault!"
Tang's face spasmed. "What do you mean, it's all my fault?!"
"Kill!" Xiao Nanfeng shouted.
Before the others died, they too said the same thing.
"Tang, I'll haunt you for the rest of your life!"
"Tang, you omen of calamity!"
Xiao Nanfeng killed all the remaining demonic disciples. Standing amidst a pile of corpses, he frowned. "What does this have to do with Tang?"
As if sensing something, Xiao Nanfeng suddenly looked up toward a mountain peak. His gaze met Tang's constipated expression.
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