Chapter 207: The Ancestral Dragon's Hall
Everyone fell silent as they looked at the red rope cinched to Xiao Nanfeng's waist. Even the green lobster king thought that Xiao Nanfeng was dead meat.
It clearly knew that the red rope was a cursed effigy, but it hadn't stopped Xiao Nanfeng from picking it up, and it hadn't dared to malign it. It was worried that the red rope would overhear what it said and end up being targeted instead.
"Do you know what I'm doing here, then? All of you, follow me!" the green lobster king commanded.
"No, please! We're only passersby. Please let us go!"
"We're innocent. This has nothing to do with us!"
The cultivators let out identical looks of panic.
The green lobster king snarled. "You've encountered me, haven't you? That's fate. If you want to resist, I'll kill you all right now."
"We—" The cultivators fretted anxiously.
The green lobster king's horns suddenly released a cloud of greenish-brown fog that surrounded the cultivators.
"No!" they cried out.
The fog rushed into their chests as the cultivators shook.
"I've marked you all with my spiritual power. Don't try to run. Within the draconic palace, I'll be able to sense you no matter where you are. If you run, I'll kill you. On the other hand, if you listen to me obediently and participate in three fights against the skeletal dragons, I'll free you."
The hunters stared at each other in despair.
"You, detain them. The rest of you, come catch more cultivators with me," the green lobster king commanded.
"Understood!" a Spiritsong-realm lobster spirit replied.
It, along with twenty ordinary lobster spirits, detained the cultivators as the green lobster king and its other subordinates left.
Xiao Nanfeng glanced at the brown spots of fog imprinted on his chest. Was this sufficient for tracking him? He sent a wave of spiritual power at it, washing it away.
However, with the lobster spirits in his vicinity, he didn't dare make a move.
"Do you know where the lobster spirits are bringing us?" Xiao Nanfeng asked the cultivator by his side curiously.
"Where else? The Ancestral Dragon's Hall, of course. You've really ruined us. This is the second time I've been caught by a sea spirit. Why am I so unlucky?!" the cultivator grumbled.
"What's the Ancestral Dragon's Hall?" Xiao Nanfeng continued.
"You really are new, aren't you? You don't even know about this?"
"Please enlighten me," Xiao Nanfeng requested.
"The draconic palace is made up of three large halls, each of which is guarded by countless skeletal dragons. The Ancestral Dragon's Hall is one of the halls. Spirits surround the Ancestral Dragon's Hall, but they don't have the numbers to take down the skeletal dragons standing guard. As a result, they hunt down cultivators and other scattered spirits from all over to serve as cannon fodder—that's us," the cultivator finished.
"Where did the skeletal dragon I took down come from?" Xiao Nanfeng asked curiously.
"Someone must have lured it out from one of the halls. That's why it was alone," one cultivator said.
"It's all your fault! If we hadn't seen you take down that skeletal dragon, we wouldn't have been caught."
"You already have an Immortal relic, don't you? Why are you wasting time here at the draconic palace?"
The cultivators cursed Xiao Nanfeng.
Xiao Nanfeng: ...
He had no intention of responding to these idiotic cultivators; if anything, they were to blame for trying to take advantage of his kill.
Xiao Nanfeng had already wiped clean the spiritual mark that the green dragon king had left on his body and could leave at any time, but he did want to check out the Ancestral Dragon's Hall..
Along the way, the ground that Xiao Nanfeng saw was pitch-black, as though anything on top of it had been burnt to a crisp. There were also the ruins of other buildings nearby, which seemed to have been destroyed as well. Everything around the draconic palace appeared to have decayed away.
The cultivators traveled for two days and were resting in a valley when the red rope around Xiao Nanfeng's waist suddenly made a move.
As though alive, the red rope emitted a burst of scarlet light that surrounded Xiao Nanfeng and brought him into an illusion. Thick fog surrounded him; he looked warily around. A roar came from within the fog.
"No!" a pained scream rang out. A wave of energy swept aside the fog and revealed Madam Rouge, who was devouring fragments of red rope that had just been scattered.
"You work quickly!" Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed.
The red rope cursed effigy had been trying to attack him, but Madam Rouge had eaten it before it could do much of anything.
After Madam Rouge swallowed up the last of the red rope, she turned to Xiao Nanfeng. "This cursed spiritual avatar must have been sealed away for many years. It's incredibly weak. You had better find other lengths of red rope instead."
"Do you know what's going on here, Madam Rouge? Why is it that Immortal relics and lengths of red rope spawn after we defeat these skeletal dragons? And why did it take two days for this length of red rope to revive?"
Madam Rouge was silent for a moment, as though contemplating whether or not to tell Xiao Nanfeng the information he sought.
"Madam Rouge, we're friends, aren't we? What's more, even if you don't tell me, I'll be able to uncover the truth sooner or later. Aren't you just wasting my time by withholding this information?" Xiao Nanfeng coaxed.
Madam Rouge was silent again before she replied, "If my guess isn't mistaken, the Eastern Sea dragon king attempted to take the red rope cursed king with it as it died."
"Oh?" Xiao Nanfeng replied curiously.
"Do you know what the draconic palace was like in the past?" Madam Rouge asked.
"What was it like?"
"There was coral and radiant light everywhere. Immortal trees and herbs grew out of every corner of the palace; treasures were everywhere to be found. This was where the draconic veins around the Eastern Sea were most concentrated, and they were present to such an extreme that physical fog formed from draconic aether was commonplace. Now, however, the draconic palace is but a shell of its former glory. All is ash. The draconic aether here is even less concentrated here than outside. It's clear that the dragon king must have expended everything in and around the draconic palace for a curse of extreme proportions."
"A curse?"
"This curse must have separated the red ropes' cursed spiritual avatars from their cursed effigies."
"Oh?"
"These skeletal dragons are formed from curses, and they seal away the red rope's cursed spiritual avatars. The Immortal relics serve as lynchpins that suppress the cursed spiritual avatars' might. After two centuries, everything has begun to corrode thanks to the curse."
"And what about the red rope's cursed effigy?" Xiao Nanfeng asked curiously.
"The curse must have sealed it somewhere else. It's consistently being corroded by the curse. Only with the cursed spiritual avatars free can the cursed effigy itself escape, return to its physical body, and regenerate. The aura of the curse is strongest ariynd here. Even if the red rope is free, the curse will continue to suppress it.
"Is this curse that incredible?" Xiao Nanfeng gasped.
"You can catch these cursed spiritual avatars and I'll devour their souls. We can split these lengths of red rope up," Madam Rouge suggested.
"Is this what you wanted me to claim in the Eastern Sea draconic palace? Just a few more cursed spiritual avatars from these lengths of red rope?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.
It was difficult enough for him to deal with Madam Rouge as she was; the problem would only deepen if Madam Rouge were allowed access to countless red ropes' souls. This didn't seem to be a winning proposition.
"Don't worry. I'll let you know what I need from the palace when it's time, but this isn't in conflict with my plans. What's more, aren't we friends? Friends should help each other for a win-win situation."
Xiao Nanfeng goggled at Madam Rouge. Wasn't that what he had said in the past to trick Madam Rouge? She was using those tricks on him now!
"Don't forget to catch more red ropes," Madam Rouge requested.
Then, she broke the illusion apart, causing Xiao Nanfeng's consciousness to remain to his physical body. He didn't see that Madam Rouge had a tiny smile on her face.
Xiao Nanfeng woke up in physical reality. He pursed his lips at hearing what Madam Rouge had to say. She was rather thick-skinned, wasn't she?
Suppressing his negative emotions, he stored the red rope on his waist.
"Alright, that's about enough time to rest. We'll be continuing. Move faster, now!" the lobster spirits shouted.
The cultivators had no choice but to stand up in exasperation. Just like Xiao Nanfneg, they were Ascension-realm lifeforms. It would be impossible to resist them for the time being.
"Eh, what happened to the red rope around your waist?" One cultivator discovered that something was amiss.
"I don't know myself," Xiao Nanfeng replied, feigning confusion. "It was gone when I woke up and looked for it. Have you seen it?"
The cultivators gave Xiao Nanfeng an odd look before one of them finally spoke up. "How lucky you are, for that red rope to escape on its own."
"The red rope is a cursed effigy. Count yourself lucky that you're still alive."
"Be quiet! Have you forgotten how vengeful these spirits are? Don't let it target you, next!"
"Right, don't mention it anymore!"
The cultivators chatted with each other. Clearly, it was common knowledge that the red rope was a cursed effigy. They didn't dare speak poorly of it, just like with the green lobster king.
After another day, the lobster spirits led the detained cultivators toward the outskirts of the Ancestral Dragon's Hall.
From afar, the fog seemed to be shrouding a humongous hall shining with radiant light. Thick fog surrounded the hall, and the roars of dozens of skeletal dragons, along with the shouts and screams of countless men and spirits alike, could be heard from within. The sounds alone were testament to the strenuous fighting.
Just then, there was a huge boom. Another skeletal dragon had been taken down. The fog dissipated, revealing hundreds of wounded and dead cultivators and spirits. They were still on a battle high and inordinately anxious about the rewards. They had just managed to take down another skeletal dragon.
As the skeletal dragon's body burst apart, an Immortal relic glowing with rainbow light and a length of red rope slowly fell to the ground.
"This Immortal relic doesn't seem to have corroded too much! Let me claim it," one cultivator shouted in excitement.
"Nonsense! All the Immortal relics belong to I and the other sea spirits. You have no claim to them," a sea spirit thundered.
The sound of fighting rang out anew as thick fog covered the scene.
"Are they all blind? They're going for a broken Immortal relic rather than that length of red rope? It's mine, then!" Xiao Nanfeng's eyes lit up.
Everyone in his surroundings turned toward him.
Xiao Nanfeng suddenly froze, realizing that he had been too excited. He continued, "Ah, my red rope ran off, so I'd like to get a new length to play with."
The cultivators and spirits goggled at Xiao Nanfeng. Did he not fear death?
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