Chapter 219: Fortune Follows the People
Back in the illusory realm, Xiao Nanfeng had stopped moving. After Madam Rouge devoured about five hundred lengths of red rope, what remained stopped trying to fight back and began to flee instead.
However, Madam Rouge had tampered with the illusory realm, and none of the lengths of red rope were able to escape. She continued to teleport between the lengths of red rope, then scattered their cursed spiritual avatars with a punch. Fragments of red rope filled the air; from afar, they looked like crimson fireworks.
Ao Zhou glanced at the incredible sight of crimson fireworks blooming all around itself.
"Xiao Nanfeng, this is an elder of the Qitian Alliance, isn't she? Will she attack us too?" Ao Zhou cried out.
Xiao Nanfeng shared the same concern. Although he was in cooperation with Madam Rouge, Madam Rouge's strength would surely grow considerably after consuming three thousand lengths of red rope. Would she still need his help then? Madam Rouge wouldn't hurt him, would she?
Before Madam Rouge made her move, however, he would be able to continue hoodwinking Ao Zhou.
"See that? Every member of the Qitian Alliance is a cultivator of immense strength. You're the only one who's as weak as a chick," Xiao Nanfeng chided the serpent.
Ao Zhou stiffened. "Aren't I stronger than you are?"
"Are you? If I hadn't suppressed Prime Minister Turtle just now, you would have been eaten to death. If you still think you're stronger, we can fight each other right now and see who the winner is. Would you like to have a go?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.
"Forget it!" Ao Zhou's face twitched.
It knew that its spiritual power was no match for Xiao Nanfeng; only its physical cultivation was superior. Furthermore, it was counting on Xiao Nanfeng to prevent Madam Rouge from eating it, so there was no reason to go against him for now.
As the final firework went off, Madam Rouge finished her meal.
She flashed over to the two of them.
Ao Zhou was so scared that he rushed behind Xiao Nanfeng. Xiao Nanfeng himself grew alert.
"What are you hiding for? Do you think Madam Rouge will hurt us? She's not an ingrate like you! She's my friend," Xiao Nanfeng chided.
Madam Rouge: ...
She knew that Xiao Nanfeng was deliberately extolling her virtues to compel her against doing otherwise. She glared at Xiao Nanfeng for some time, then manifested a series of words. "Xiao Nanfeng, I know what you're doing. If you don't succeed at my task, there will be consequences."
Xiao Nanfeng: ...
Then, Madam Rouge waved a hand and broke the illusion.
The next moment, Xiao Nanfeng and Ao Zhou returned to reality.
"I'm awake? Thank goodness. I was so scared!" Ao Zhou shuddered.
Xiao Nanfeng arduously sent the giant purple rock into his storage ring. Although he was able to manipulate the rock now, it would take him an inordinate amount of time to attune it before he could use it in an agile manner.
"Xiao Nanfeng, what did that Madam Rouge want with you?" Ao Zhou asked.
"It's an exchange between members of the Qitian Alliance. There's no need for you to learn about the details. Rather, you should be thinking about how to compensate me for the ancestral dragon's blood," Xiao Nanfeng replied pointedly.
"I don't have anything to compensate you with! Look at me. I've lost my tail, and my bones are crushed! What a sorry state I'm in!" Ao Zhou attempted to evoke sympathy from Xiao Nanfeng.
"I don't care. Figure it out yourself. Otherwise, I'll drain you of your blood and extract my portion of ancestral dragon's blood from you!"
Ao Zhou's eyes lit up. It immediately spat out a vat and began to drain its blood into it.
"You should have told me earlier! Here, look. There wasn't even a full vat of ancestral dragon's blood before, but I'm giving you a full vat now. It's more than sufficient to cover your half of the deal," Ao Zhou immediately replied.
Xiao Nanfeng frowned. "I want the ancestral dragon's blood, not yours."
"The ancestral dragon's blood has been combined with mine. My blood is the ancestral dragon's blood. This is it!" Ao Zhou emphasized.
Xiao Nanfeng's frown deepened. "You're processing the ancestral dragon's blood and preparing to swap out your own blood in the process, aren't you? That's why you don't care about losing your own blood any longer. Your blood isn't particularly precious or worth distilling, so you might as well try to hoodwink me by giving me blood of inferior quality."
"What? How could that be? Am I that sort of dragon?" Ao Zhou retorted. It sighed inwardly. Xiao Nanfeng was far too shrewd to be tricked by such means!
"Forget it. I don't have the attention to spare on you right now. I'll record it in the ledger. You can compensate me later."
"In the ledger?" Ao Zhou's face stiffened.
"The internal ledger of the Qitian Alliance. Anyone who attempts to defraud another member of the alliance will be subject to forty-nine cuts over their heart," Xiao Nanfeng threatened.
"What? What sort of alliance is this? Why are the rules so strict?"
It had still harbored doubts about whether the Qitian Alliance was real before Madam Rouge showed up. It had witnessed the 'friendship' between them, and had no choice but to believe in this new reality. If not for the Qitian Alliance, why would a cursed effigy of supreme strength like Madam Rouge work together with them? It would have no choice but to pay off its debt to Xiao Nanfeng!
Xiao Nanfeng reached over for the vat of Ao Zhou's blood and stored it.
"What? Aren't you going to record this transaction in the ledger? What are you doing with my blood?" Ao Zhou immediately asked.
"This is interest."
Ao Zhou: ...
Xiao Nanfeng was even more of a scammer than it was!
Xiao Nanfeng then headed to Prime Minister Turtle's carcass and searched it over, but the divine purple rock's suppression ability was so frightening that it even shattered Prime Minister Turtle's inner core. All he retrieved from its carcass was a storage orb.
"Is this all that Prime Minister Turtle possessed? It doesn't even have an Immortal relic in its storage orb—just a bunch of ordinary trinkets!" Xiao Nanfeng scowled.
He didn't know that Prime Minister Turtle had possessed countless Immortal relics, but had destroyed them all in the process of entering the Ancestral Dragon's Hall.
"I deserve a share of these ordinary trinkets as well. I'm a member of the Qitian Alliance, and I stalled Prime Minister Turtle to give you the chance to suppress it. Furthermore, you weren't the one who destroyed its spiritual avatar. These trinkets might not be worth much, but they're better than nothing. I want some too!" Ao Zhou cried out.
Xiao Nanfeng pocketed the storage orb. "Forget it. You can have Prime Minister Turtle's carcass instead. It'd help you with your transformation, at least."
"Why are you suddenly being so nice?" Ao Zhou seemed a little hesitant, as if this were a trap.
Xiao Nanfeng looked toward Prime Minister Turtle's carcass. Its body had been mashed into meat paste by the divine purple rock. Only its head was intact, but Xiao Nanfeng couldn't stomach the thought of consuming something like it. He'd do Ao Zhou a favor and give it to him instead. [1]
At that point, the barrier surrounding the Ancestral Dragon's Hall suddenly faded away, and the multicolored glow emanating from the hall dimmed considerably.
Outside the hall, the skeletal dragons immediately sensed the presence of an outsider. They rushed over and howled at Xiao Nanfeng. He immediately raised Long Jiu's token up high as the skeletal dragons bowed and slunk out.
"Oh? These dragons aren't targeting me any longer! Could it be because I've grown these dragon's horns? Or because I consumed the ancestral dragon's blood?" Ao Zhou wondered.
Xiao Nanfeng frowned. "Be careful."
"Of what?"
"Don't you remember? The ancestral dragon's blood is charged with its desire for vengeance. The blood actively attacked us when we first saw it, but you managed to absorb it without a hitch. Haven't you felt any of the ancestral dragon's emotions?"
"I haven't. Perhaps it's because of my good looks. Maybe the ancestral dragon's remaining grudges were pleased with my looks and the reappearance of an heir to the Eastern Sea dragons."
Xiao Nanfeng glared at Ao Zhou. The serpent was more thick-skinned than anyone else he knew!
"Alright, I'll be leaving now. Are you going to accompany me?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.
"I won't! There are countless skeletal dragons out here to serve as my guards. It's better for me to distill and refine that ancestral dragon's blood right here. Look at how injured I am! I'll be safest here."
"In that case, I'll be leaving first. Think carefully about how you'll pay back your debt to me."
Ao Zhou didn't reply. Only when Xiao Nanfeng had left the Ancestral Dragon's Hall and vanished into the depths of the fog did it glance disdainfully at where Xiao Nanfeng had vanished. I absorbed the blood fair and square. What's there to repay? Ridiculous!"
Deep in the fog, Xiao Nanfeng glanced back toward the Ancestral Dragon's Hall. He sighed in relief. "Ao Zhou's rather easy to fool, isn't it? However, it's a Wingform-realm lifeform. If it were to guess that the Qitian Alliance was fake, I'd likely not be able to make it out of its grasp. Better for me to stay away."
Outside the Ancestral Dragon's Hall, the spirit kings had been paying careful attention to the depths of the fog. When they saw the radiance emitting from the hall weaken, they were all shocked.
"Something must have happened. Prime Minister Turtle must have obtained the primary treasure within!"
"We'd better have a look ourselves to see if there are any treasures we can pick up."
The spirit kings rushed into the fog, only to come face to face with countless skeletal dragons that were keeping guard. Within moments, explosions rang out from all over.
Xiao Nanfeng avoided the explosions and secretly snuck out of the Ancestral Dragon's Hall.
"The draconic palace has three large halls, and the Ancestral Dragon's Hall is only one of them. With Long Jiu's token and Ao Zhou's blood, I should check out the other two halls." Xiao Nanfeng's eyes flashed with anticipation as he headed into the depths of the fog.
Within the undying realm, Xiao Nanfeng's main body was holding court. After tremendous effort, he had managed to weed out the worst of the officials. As the children of the Xiao Academy continued to grow and to learn the art of being an official, the entire world was undergoing tremendous change around them.
The abolition of slavery, in particular, seemed to upend the status quo.
Xiao Nanfeng's main body sat within a hall. Suddenly, he felt a series of golden dots of light surging toward him out of nowhere. They shot into his body, making him feel unbelievably warm and comfortable.
"This is... fortune?" Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed.
Beside him, Zheng Qian's eyes brightened. "Congratulations, King Xiao. Your edict to abolish slavery has sparked gratitude among the former slaves, and that gratitude is now accumulating in your body as fortune."
"Fortune? From the people's will?" Xiao Nanfeng's eyes widened.
He knew that this day would eventually come, but hadn't expected it to arrive so quickly.
After seeing Zheng Qian off, he closed his eyes and began to sense the fortune in his body. There wasn't much fortune, but it was more than enough to begin eroding at his karmic consequence.
He used that fortune as he contemplated important scriptures that he had already read. He felt as though his understanding of those scriptures had been renewed and given novel perspectives that he had never considered. His spiritual power grew rapidly as the two moons of his mindscape shone even more brightly.
1. 龟头 (lit. turtle's head) refers to the glans of the penis. ?
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