Chapter 214: Breaking Out
The cultivators sucked in a breath. The crown prince of the Eastern Sea dragons was commanding Prime Minister Turtle to kneel? Wasn't it being too arrogant?
Two centuries ago, Prime Minister Turtle was nothing more than an old servant to the royal family of the Eastern Sea dragons. It would have been perfectly within reason for it to kneel to a core member of royalty—but how about now, two centuries later?
All the cultivators stared at the two spirits, as did the Wingform-realm spirit kings.
"What are you looking at? Have you forgotten your identity? Aren't you going to kneel upon seeing me, your rightful crown prince? Don't make me slap you!" Ao Zhou chided.
Prime Minister Turtle slapped the serpent and sent it smashing into the ground. A plume of dust appeared.
Ao Zhou sprayed out a mouthful of blood and cried out, "You dare hit me?!"
Prime Minister Turtle made a gesture with a flipper, causing the blood that Ao Zhou spat out to congeal into a ball of blood.
"And so what if I did? Do you think nothing has changed from two centuries ago? Who do you think I am, to command me to kneel?" Prime Minister Turtle replied acidly.
"Aren't you an old servant of my family? You're disrespecting your superior!" Ao Zhou cried out.
"The times have changed. The draconic clan has fallen—and I'm in the position of power, now!" Prime Minister Turtle laughed.
"You!"
"I thought that the royal dragons had all perished. I had given up hope on trying to find any of the royal bloodline, but to think that one would appear right by my doorstep! The heavens have truly blessed me, haha!" Prime Minister Turtle continued.
"What? What are you planning?!" Ao Zhou cried out.
"Don't worry. I won't kill you, at least not just yet. You'll be very safe with me."
Within the crowd, Xiao Nanfeng had already retrieved a corroded Immortal relic and was planning to cause it to self-destruct. When he heard that Ao Zhou would be safe for the time being, however, he stopped short.
All the spirit kings' attention were focused on Ao Zhou, so he was naturally going to raid Prime Minister Turtle's lair and see if there were any treasures that it had kept hidden away.
Xiao Nanfeng retreated from the crowd and vanished from sight.
Meanwhile, Ao Zhou didn't back down. He replied proudly, "Kill me? You don't stand a chance. Do you think I'm here alone? Haven't you investigated my background?"
The turtle raised an eyebrow. "Are there other Eastern Sea dragons still alive?"
"Ha! Are those the only allies you can think of? Even if there were other Eastern Sea dragons around, I wouldn't want to associate with them. I have my own backers. If you dare strike me, none of you will live to see tomorrow!" Ao Zhou threatened.
Prime Minister Turtle narrowed its eyes. "You have backers?"
"Of course!" Ao Zhou promised. "If I reveal who my backers are, all of you will wish you were dead."
Prime Minister Turtle frowned. It turned toward the spirits that Ao Zhou had been fighting with. "Which of you have seen this black serpent's companions?"
"We all saw him. He was still here moments ago," the sea spirits immediately replied.
"Prime Minister Turtle, the crown prince's companion looked like this!" A crocodile spirit conjured an image out of fog.
"Xiao Nanfeng?" the turtle exclaimed.
"Isn't that the Ascension-realm kid I caught not too long ago? He's not dead?" the green lobster king exclaimed.
"Xiao Nanfeng's here as well? Search for him. Everyone, find this lad! The cultivator or spirit who brings him to me will be lavishly rewarded," Prime Minister Turtle promised, laughing in excitement.
Xiao Nanfeng's appearance was quickly conjured all over the valley, allowing everyone to familiarize themselves with his appearance. Many cultivators were shocked.
"I just saw him over here. Where did he go?"
"I saw him too!"
Cries rang out from all over, but none could find any trace of Xiao Nanfeng any longer.
At the top of the mountain, by a dark, hidden corner of the hall in which Prime Minister Turtle resided, Xiao Nanfeng had just bound two small spirits with red rope. He turned to see his appearance conjured out of fog in the valley below.
"This serpent's crazy. Why is he dragging me into this? Does he think I can actually fight them off?" Xiao Nanfeng gave it a strange look.
Ignoring the cultivators looking for him, Xiao Nanfeng dealt with the two small spirits, then used his spiritual perception to avoid encountering any of the other spirits nearby. He snuck into Prime Minister Turtle's residence.
The residence was guarded, of course, but even the guards didn't expect that anyone would dare to raid it with Prime Minister Turtle and the spirit kings right in the vicinity.
Xiao Nanfeng's spiritual perception was particularly strong, and he quickly examined every corner of the hall. He found a small tortoiseshell barrier in a side room, within which were five corroded Immortal relics. A golden sheen of light covered the relics, as if repairing them.
"Prime Minister Turtle's repairing these relics for the spirit kings?"
Xiao Nanfeng reached for the barrier, but his hand couldn't pass through.
He experimented with all sorts of techniques, but the barrier was hard and sturdy. Not only was he unable to break it quietly, it seemed linked to the mountain somehow and was fixed in place. It couldn't be budged at all.
"Then let me try the red rope..." Xiao Nanfeng murmured.
With a buzz, his ethereal red rope passed through the tortoiseshell barrier without any obstruction whatsoever. It successfully picked up the Immortal relics within. Xiao Nanfeng retreated the red rope—but although the red rope could enter the barrier, the relics couldn't leave it.
Xiao Nanfeng frowned. The relics were right before his eyes, but he couldn't claim them! He would have to destroy the barrier, but if there were a commotion, he would be exposed.
"Or... perhaps?" Xiao Nanfeng's eyes suddenly brightened.
Just then, Prime Minister Turtle brought Ao Zhou back to his residence.
The doors to the hall slammed shut. Prime Minister Turtle hadn't managed to find Xiao Nanfeng, but he didn't want to make his objective for kidnapping Ao Zhou known to the other spirit kings.
"You old bastard, I'm backed by an elder of spacetime! You're dead! I have the same status as the red rope cursed effigy. If you dare attack me, you'll suffer for it!" Ao Zhou howled.
"What nonsense are you talking about? An elder of spacetime? The red rope cursed effigy? That's my ally. I and the red rope were the ones who killed all you dragons," Prime Minister Turtle retorted disdainfully.
"Impossible! You have to be lying. The red rope is my ally!" Ao Zhou shouted back.
"You're crazy! Forget it. I can't be bothered to argue with you. I'm going to be taking some blood from you. Divine Turtle Seal!" Prime Minister Turtle intoned.
A golden turtle seal formed around the serpent's body, flaying it and extracting the fresh blood that spurted out.
"Argh! Save me! Elder of divination, elder of spacetime, elders of the Qitian Alliance! Save me!" Ao Zhou cried out.
"No one can save you. The draconic palace is forbidden to Immortals, and I'm the strongest spirit here below Immortal-realm. No one is my opponent—no one can save you." Prime Minister Turtle roared in laughter.
"Red Rope! We're both members of the Qitian Alliance now, aren't we? Come save me! The other elders might not be around, but you have to be! Please, save me!" Ao Zhou cried out.
"The red rope? Dream on."
Just then, a length of ethereal red rope rushed out from nowhere and tangled around the serpent's body.
"What?" Prime Minister Turtle's eyes widened.
One sharp end of the red rope snapped toward Prime Minister Turtle's flippers.
The blow wasn't particularly strong; it was meant to convey the red rope's 'emotions', to make Prime Minister Turtle think that the red rope was chiding it for what it had done. The turtle released the serpent.
"Red Rope! You're finally saving me?" the serpent cried out, bloody all over.
It was dragged into a side room, causing the turtle to look over.
He saw Xiao Nanfeng grabbing ahold of the serpent and activating a corroded shield relic, from which radiant light burst forth.
"Xiao Nanfeng? Saving me the effort of looking for you, I see, and trying to impersonate the red rope's techniques too? You won't be getting away today!" Prime Minister Turtle shouted in excitement.
"Catch me if you can." Xiao Nanfeng sneered.
As the turtle leapt toward Xiao Nanfeng, it suddenly felt a sense of danger. The five Immortal relics within the tortoiseshell barrier were tangled up with a length of red rope. The red rope suddenly glowed with light, causing the five Immortal relics to light up as well.
"You're going to destroy them? Don't!" the turtle shrieked.
The five Immortal relics suddenly burst apart. The resulting explosion destroyed the tortoiseshell barrier, and the entire hall was drowned in roaring flames.
Prime Minister Turtle, right beside the tortoiseshell barrier, suffered grievous injuries. It shrieked in agony.
Xiao Nanfeng and the serpent were protected by the Immortal shield, but after the devastating blow, it looked as though it could break at any moment.
The serpent screamed.
Outside the hall, many cultivators were still reeling in shock at the crown prince of the Eastern Sea dragons' reappearance and subsequent capture by Prime Minister Turtle when they suddenly saw the hall, along with the mountaintop, explode in a mushroom cloud.
The Wingform-realm spirit kings outside the hall were sent flying, and the explosion was so intense that even they spat out mouthfuls of blood. A few smaller spirits imploded in an instant.
The cannon fodder at the bottom of the valley were likewise sent flying from the shockwaves that resulted from the explosion.
After that, everyone saw a multicolored shield burst into a shower of fragments to reveal Xiao Nanfeng and the serpent within. They too were stunned and disoriented, but largely uninjured.
The bloodied serpent seemed to barely be clinging on to life.
"Xiao Nanfeng, you bastard! You used my body as your shield! You've almost killed me!" the serpent cried out, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
"I just saved your life. Are you going to complain about that? You ingrate!"
The serpent looked at him aggrieved. "Should I not be upset that you've used me as a shield?!"
Xiao Nanfeng flew toward the Ancestral Dragon's Hall with the serpent in tow.
"Seize them!" Prime Minister Turtle roared from the epicenter of the explosion.
However, all the spirit kings, taken aback by the sudden explosion, were slow to respond to the turtle spirit's commands. By the time they did, Xiao Nanfeng had already flown into the distance. He was right by the Ancestral Dragon's Hall.
"I'm right here, you turtle bastard! Catch me if you can!" Xiao Nanfeng taunted.
Then, he rushed into the fog with the serpent.
Only then did Prime Minister Turtle emerge from the epicenter of the explosion, its body bruised, battered, and bleeding. Angry beyond measure, it roared, "I'll kill you! I'll kill you both!"
It furiously gave chase. The spirit kings followed after it.
The cultivators in the valley were taken aback. "That's Xiao Nanfeng? Is he that strong?"
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