Chapter 200: The Whip of Order
Almost thirty cultivators had gathered in a hall within the capital of Yan. Each of them was poised and clearly accustomed to power. All were focused on the man in a draconic robe who sat before them.
The man was reading a missive. Suddenly, he slammed it down on the table and gritted his teeth. "Xiao Nanfeng, that damned bastard!"
"Your Majesty, what has infuriated you so?" one cultivator asked.
"A few days ago, our kingdoms simultaneously proclaimed that the previous kings of Yan and Qi had been controlled by Xiao Nanfeng using demonic arts, forcing them to acknowledge Xiao Nanfeng as the successor of King Wei and to invite him into their kingdoms for a hostile takeover. We swore to muster a cooperative defense against the demonic mastermind Xiao Nanfeng to thwart his plan of dominion. Do you remember this?" the new kingof Yan asked.
"Has Xiao Nanfeng issued a proclamation as well?"
"Indeed. According to him, the kingdoms of Yan and Qi have been taken over by opportunistic traitors who killed the former rulers of Yan and Qi. Xiao Nanfeng further claims that he'll avenge those rulers and is summoning all valorous fighters in his crusade against evil!"
"Ridiculous!"
"The pot calling the kettle black!"
Angry shouts rang out through the hall.
"Calm down, everyone. There's no point in getting angry. We need to figure out how to resolve the problem," a man in black shouted over the commotion.
"Clan Head Hou, you're quite right. Rather than get upset, we should think about how to resolve the situation. Xiao Nanfeng has already taken down twenty-one cities, and he's invading more and more at a rapid clip. If we allow this to continue, our kingdoms will be destroyed," King Yan stated.
"I fought against them on the frontlines. The enemy commanders, Ye Dafu, and Ye Sanshui, are at late-stage Ascension. In addition to them are a group of generals who, like Ye Dafu, radiate golden light when they fight. No weapon can take them down. They fight like ferocious beasts, unstoppable in their charge," one noble cried out.
The other clan heads all spoke of their own worries and frustrations.
"This meeting was convened by Clan Head Hou. Clan Head Hou, what do you think?" King Yan looked toward the man dressed in black.
Clan Head Hou nodded. "I was the one who contacted the royal families of Qi and Yan to organize this meeting. Does anyone intend to surrender to Xiao Nanfeng's army?"
"We own all the land in this domain. Why should we surrender to him?"
"Giving up our authority? Forget it! We won't surrender!"
The heads of each clan made their stance clear.
"If no one is willing to surrender, then we have to take action. There are twenty-eight of us here, twenty-eight Ascension-realm cultivators, and we can easily take down their leader!" Clan Head Hou suggested.
"Take down their leader?" The other clan heads blanched.
"Clan Head Hou, have you forgotten how strong Xiao Nanfeng is? We saw how strong he was for ourselves by the foot of Mt. Liangjie. He has the Immortal's Destruction in his possession as well. Who among us would be a match for him? How would we assassinate him?" one clan head gritted out.
"I never proposed assassinating Xiao Nanfeng. Let's assassinate Ye Dafu, Ye Sanshui, and the other generals."
"Oh?"
"As long as Xiao Nanfeng's subordinates perish, his troops won't be able to continue invading our cities," Clan Head Hou asserted.
The others considered this proposal and thought it sound.
"After that, we'll be able to retaliate and reclaim all the cities that we've lost. Without any Ascension-realm generals, how will he stop us?" Clan Head Hou smiled.
The other clan heads nodded.
"And once Xiao Nanfeng has been stripped of all his generals, we can easily think of plans to deal with him. Someone will come up with something, I'm sure. The most important thing at present is to dampen his momentum. What do you think, everyone?"
The clan heads nodded again, then turned to King Yan and the representative of King Qi.
"Since there are no objections, then you'll all head out immediately and attempt to assassinate Ye Dafu and the others," King Yan commanded.
"Understood!" everyone shouted.
"I recommend that we work together rather than splitting up. Better that we be slow and prioritize our safety. Although they have fewer Ascension-realm cultivators, theirs are all very strong," Clan Head Hou continued.
"I'll thank everyone in advance for your assistance, then!" King Yan stated.
The banquet was aborted midway through as the clan heads began concocting plans instead. Four hours later, they were on their way.
The party took only two days to arrive outside a certain city. They patiently waited within a forest for nightfall.
"According to our reports, Ye Dafu lives in the governor's manor of this city. We'll sneak inside and attack him at full force, then leave once we succeed," one clan head said.
Everyone nodded and began polishing their weapons.
"Clan Head Hou, are you alright? You've been looking rather anxious these past two days," one of the other clan heads asked.
"I'm fine." Clan Head Hou wiped at the sweat on his head and smiled. Even so, he was visibly anxious as he looked all around him.
Just then, ethereal red rope looped around a clan head's neck. The clan head was just about to scream when the red rope tightened and dragged him up toward a branch above.
"Who is it?!" someone shouted, having noticed something amiss.
Everyone glanced around them, brandishing their swords and gaping as they saw the man hanging from the tree. Only Clan Head Hou ran off without any hesitation, firing a flare into the air as he did so.
"Clan Head Hou, what are you doing?" someone thundered.
Just then, dozens of lengths of ethereal red rope shot toward the gathered clan heads.
"What?!" The clan heads swung their swords at the rope, but the rope was too fast for them all. They were all hung.
"What's this?"
"Clan Head Hou's a traitor!"
The clan heads shouted and screamed, but they were quickly brought into an illusory realm. Their physical bodies hung motionless.
A man in red appeared by the tree and looked at the hanging cultivators in satisfaction. "All of you really enjoy running around, don't you? I rushed toward the capital of Yan but found no one there. It took me a few tries before I finally caught up to you."
The man in red turned and looked toward Clan Head Hou, who had rushed into the forest. He smirked. "Do you think you can run? None can hide from me."
The man in red sent a rapidly elongating length of rope toward Clan Head Hou.
"Help! Save me!" Clan Head Hou cried out, innate fear taking over his mind.
He deflected the red rope with a golden glow, one that sent a slash from the Immortal's Destruction toward it.
The blow from the Immortal's Destruction destroyed the red rope and saved Clan Head Hou's life.
"A heavenly blade? From Xiao Nanfeng's Immortal's Destruction?" The man in red was stunned for a moment before he blanched. "You're in cahoots with Xiao Nanfeng! Is this a trap?!"
He quickly shot out another length of red rope at Clan Head Hou.
"Save me, King Xiao!" Clan Head Hou screamed.
Another length of red rope appeared from afar and struck the man in red's technique.
The man in red turned to where the attack had come from. A man was rushing over and appeared by Clan Head Hou in the blink of an eye—none other than Xiao Nanfeng.
"You're finally here, King Xiao! I've lured him out!" Clan Head Hou exclaimed.
"Good. Leave now and let me handle the rest."
"Yes, yes, at once!" Clan Head Hou ran off without even turning back.
Xiao Nanfeng turned toward the man in red. "So you're the cursed effigy? You've taken human form? Trying to find you has been quite the challenge."
Xiao Nanfeng shot toward the man in red.
The man in red, sensing that something was amiss, attempted to flee through the air, but Xiao Nanfeng hooked the man in red's leg with a length of red rope. Simultaneously, he sent a talisman from the Immortal's Destruction straight at him.
The man in red whirled to the side, barely dodging the blow. Xiao Nanfeng lassoed the man in red with his other hand.
"Impossible! How can you use the Whip of Order?" the man in red shouted, using the same technique as a counter.
The two techniques clashed in the air in a wave of energy. The man in red stilled.
"What? You're only a late-stage Ascension-realm cultivator? Do you really think I'm that weak?" The man in red suddenly grew much bolder.
"Then why run?" Xiao Nanfeng taunted.
The man in red stared at Xiao Nanfeng, then, as though making up his mind, he smiled and pounced at him, so fast he appeared within the blink of an eye.
The man in red slammed a palm toward him, which Xiao Nanfeng countered with one of his own. Xiao Nanfeng was sent flying. The man in red seemed surprised.
"What's wrong with your body? Why is it glowing with red light?" He shot forward again.
Xiao Nanfeng sent another slash from the Immortal's Destruction at him as he clutched the Talisman of Phantasmagoria in one hand. He held the man in red at bay; he was able to bring him into the illusion straight away, but considering how shocked the man in red was by the red light he emitted, he felt as though he could wait a little longer.
Xiao Nanfeng was sent stumbling back.
"It's growing brighter! What sort of technique is this? The red light's blinding my eyes!" the man in red exclaimed.
Xiao Nanfeng ignored him and continued to attack. Just then, an unusual sight occurred.
The man in red gasped. "Come out, Xiao Nanfeng! Stop hiding. Why's everything turning red? Get out here!"
Xiao Nanfeng was standing right by his side. He glanced at the man in red in surprise. "What incredible hypnotic power the red moon possesses! Even cursed effigies aren't immune..."
The man in red attacked at random, smashing apart the rocks and boulders in his vicinity—but he seemed completely unable to see Xiao Nanfeng beside him.
Xiao Nanfeng's eyes flashed as he made to toss a talisman from the Immortal's Destruction at him, but the man in red seemed to see something monstrous then. He thundered, "No! Illusion of Red Fog!"
A cloud of red fog burst from his body and shot toward Xiao Nanfeng. Xiao Nanfeng's body was sent flying. As he landed, he found thick fog rising all around him.
"An illusory realm?" Xiao Nanfeng murmured.
He wasn't afraid of illusory realms; he was stronger in them than in reality.
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