Chapter 201: Toward the Draconic Palace
Thick fog surged within the illusory realm. Xiao Nanfeng could hear desolate screams coming from within the fog.
"Don't kill me! Help!"
"Help!"
Xiao Nanfeng rushed into the fog to see over twenty cultivators herded together by a giant red rope. The red rope, like a python, opened its maw wide, ignoring the cultivators' screams, and swallowed them all.
The red rope twisted its head. When it saw Xiao Nanfeng, it shrunk back. "Xiao Nanfeng? Don't come over. Do you know who sent me?"
The red rope, recognizing the threat that Xiao Nanfeng possessed, didn't dare strike carelessly.
"Why should I care who sent you?" Xiao Nanfeng retorted disdainfully.
"If you dare do anything to me, the king would never let you go," the red rope threatened again.
"If I were to see your cursed king, I could deal with him as well," Xiao Nanfeng retorted.
"The king was the premier cultivator in the world thirty thousand years ago, as well as the creator of the Whip of Order. He wields the fundamental force of order, and he has already awakened. He is soon to reach his peak—and when he does, the entire world shall belong to him. The king would never let you go if you were to attack me," the red rope continued, even as it retreated.
"Do you think I'll believe you? If it were truly the premier cultivator of the world, how could it have been sealed away in the Eastern Sea?" Xiao Nanfeng replied.
"How did you know we were sealed in the Eastern Sea? No, you don't understand. Every ten thousand years, the world suffers a calamity that wipes away all Immortals. We only survived because our king transformed us all into cursed effigies. Now, he has awakened and shall control the world once again. No one can stop him. If you attack me, the king will know," the red rope shouted fiercely.
Xiao Nanfeng forged forward, not believing the red rope's words. Spiritual power massed around him as if he were about to punch the red rope into shreds with a fist.
The red rope cried out anxiously, "Don't come closer! I used to be an Immortal in the past. If not for those dragons' schemes, how could I have landed in such dire straits?"
Xiao Nanfeng was just about to continue when a skeleton punched the red rope.
The red rope exploded into shards. A skeleton rushed forward and sucked it all up.
"Madam Rouge?" Xiao Nanfeng glanced at the skeleton before him in disbelief.
Madam Rouge turned to him and formed work with her signature black smoke. "What nonsense the two of you were talking about."
"How could you show up here? This is an avatar of mine. Shouldn't you be by my main body instead?" Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed.
Madam Rouge scoffed. "I'm not like the other cursed effigies in your body. I live in your mindscape. Although you might have two bodies, you only possess one consciousness and one mindscape. I can naturally appear in any illusion any of your bodies are in."
Xiao Nanfeng sighed. He wasn't in control of this illusion, and he didn't have access to superior yin frost to break out of it. Was he finally trapped with Madam Rouge?
"Are you afraid, lad? Haha!" Madam Rouge cackled, continuing to form words with her black smoke.
"Afraid? What would I be afraid of? I treat you like a friend, Madam Rouge. Surely you'd recognize that?" Xiao Nanfeng replied, smiling.
Despite his smile, Xiao Nanfeng was very wary of her. He prepared for a life-and-death struggle.
"A friend? Who, me? I'm in control of this illusion. You won't be able to get out. It's time to settle our score." Madam Rouge flashed to Xiao Nanfeng's side.
Xiao Nanfeng punched at Madam Rouge with Hegemon's Fist. His fist glowed with crimson light. As his attack met hers, a cloud of dust mushroomed out from the point of impact. Xiao Nanfeng retreated.
His face fell. He was still quite a bit weaker than Madam Rouge at the moment, and he was in danger.
However, Madam Rouge didn't continue to strike. She glared at him.
"Madam Rouge, as I've stated, our initial conflict was a misunderstanding. For you to have followed me after so long—why, it's almost like I jilted you! We don't bear such deep enmity against each other, do we? Can't we settle this some other way?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.
He was still tense and prepared for a fight, but he did hope he would be able to convince Madam Rouge.
This time, Madam Rouge didn't charge forward. With her black smoke, she asked, "Can you promise to uphold any condition I might ask for?"
Xiao Nanfeng stilled. What? Madam Rouge was actually willing to negotiate with him?
"What are those conditions?" Xiao Nanfeng asked in a guarded fashion.
"Retrieve something for me, and I'll consider the score between us settled. What say you?"
"Oh?" Xiao Nanfeng's eyes lit up.
This was a good sign. Madam Rouge wasn't being unreasonable and asking for him to kill himself. Retrieving an object couldn't be too hard, could it? And she likely wouldn't strike before he had successfully done so.
"If you perform this task for me, I won't hound you any longer."
Xiao Nanfeng's eyes brightened. "That's fine. We're friends, aren't we? I'll take care of it."
"Aren't you going to ask what I want, or where it's located?"
"That's irrelevant. You're a friend, so I'll help you no matter what." Xiao Nanfeng smiled. I offer my aid, not a guarantee of success. If it's too difficult or I fail to do so, you surely wouldn't blame me, would you?
"It's in the Eastern Sea Draconic Palace. When will you set off?" Madam Rouge asked.
Xiao Nanfeng's smile slipped. Out of the frying pan and into the fire... The Eastern Sea Draconic Palace was the stronghold of the red rope. If he headed there now, wasn't he essentially committing suicide?
"Don't worry. Once you reach the Eastern Sea Draconic Palace, I can guide you to the object's location."
Xiao Nanfeng: ...
"Didn't you say that we were friends, that you would take care of such a trifling affair? Well? Do you intend to go back on your word?" Madam Rouge threatened.
Xiao Nanfeng's face twitched. Madam Rouge had laid a trap for him!
"That's right. We are friends, and I'll be happy to take care of this for you. However, as you know, I'm busy with administration at the moment, and I have to be here to take care of the affairs of my nascent kingdom. I'll head there once I'm finished over here," Xiao Nanfeng proposed.
"Even if you don't go, your avatar won't survive for much longer."
"Oh? Why not?"
"This red moon that you've cultivated is particularly odd. It's been devouring the vitality of your physical avatar. I know not whether this is an omen of good or evil, but the situation will only worsen. Cursed avatars possess a great deal of vitality, but the red moon is about to absorb it all. You'll have to continue changing avatars repeatedly, so you might as well go to the Eastern Sea Draconic Palace now and get lengths of red rope as backup. If you can catch the cursed king, then you'll be set for life."
Xiao Nanfeng: ... Is it trying to lure me to kill myself? Catching a cursed king? I'm not invincible, you know!
"I have the divine undying blade. That's the cursed spiritual avatar of a cursed king, too..." Xiao Nanfeng replied.
"Oh? That one? Try it. I guarantee you that it'll immediately awaken and kill you if you try to send your avatar into it."
Xiao Nanfeng: ... Is it trying to scare me?
"Will you go, or will you not?"
"I'll go, of course! You've made it clear how important this is to you. We're friends, and I'm more than happy to help you." Xiao Nanfeng patted himself on the chest.
Madam Rouge suddenly fell silent. She felt as though Xiao Nanfeng had accepted the request too quickly; something was wrong.
"I'll handle affairs here as quickly as I can, and we'll set off shortly. Now that we're friends and I'm helping you out, will you help me out when I'm in danger, too?"
Madam Rouge stared at Xiao Nanfeng. Is he trying to make me his helper?
"That will depend on your performance," Madam Rouge replied with black smoke.
"Of course! You've seen my ability to get things done, haven't you? Would you dispel this illusion for now?" Xiao Nanfeng asked politely.
Madam Rouge waved a hand. The illusion cracked as Xiao Nanfeng woke up in his avatar.
He let out a long breath, then suddenly frowned. "What's wrong with Madam Rouge? Why was she so willing to negotiate with me today? Was there something I hadn't noticed?"
Madam Rouge seemed to be able to see Xiao Nanfeng's form in reality while remaining in his mental world. She was smirking.
"How foolish. He could have broken out of the illusion himself with the red moon's power. Luckily, I stopped fighting him in time, or he would have realized this secret—damn it, I got too used to speaking with him with my smoke! I'm starting to vocalize my thoughts that way now, too!" Smoke had twisted into words before her.
Madam Rouge quickly waved a hand and scattered the smoke. She continued staring at Xiao Nanfeng's visage.
Xiao Nanfeng took a stroll around the forest and picked up a length of red rope on the ground, the cursed spiritual avatar of that red rope cursed effigy.
Just then, Ye Dafu and the others, having heard the commotion, rushed over.
"King Xiao, where's the cursed effigy?" Ye Dafu asked worriedly.
"Everything's resolved. See if there's anything else in the vicinity," Xiao Nanfeng replied.
"Yes!"
Everyone scouted around the vicinity and quickly discovered a pile of corpses. By then, Clan Head Hou, who hadn't run off too far, rushed back.
"They must be the clan heads who were preparing to assassinate Ye Dafu and the other generals. Have they all died?" Clan Head Hou cried out.
"Who are you?" Ye Dafu and the others stared warily at Clan Head Hou.
"I've been loyal to King Xiao since long ago. Aren't you aware? I was responsible for helping King Xiao obtain the Immortal's Destruction," Clan Head Hou immediately asserted.
Ye Dafu and the others turned to Xiao Nanfeng. Evidently, only the spectral guards were aware of his identity.
Xiao Nanfeng nodded. "Clan Head Hou, you've done very well. You'll be rewarded once the invasion is over."
"Thank you, King Xiao!" Clan Head Hou immediately replied.
He understood that he had successfully pledged his allegiance to Xiao Nanfeng. The Hou clan might have lost its former prestige and authority, but it would be safe in the upcoming transfer of power.
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