Chapter 221: Xiao Nanfeng the Wastrel
"The area around here has been surrounded by a large formation that Zhao Tianheng established," Tang began.
"Oh?"
"I heard that this was something that Mr. Wen of the Tianshu Empire set up. He and the men of the Tianshu Empire were the first to enter the draconic palace, and they used the Immortal relics they obtained to set up formations around the halls of the draconic palace, the Ancestral Dragon's Hall excluded. The formations are supposedly extremely strong, and no one else can get inside."
"Mr. Wen set up these formations using Immortal relics, you say? Why is Zhao Tianheng maintaining them, then?"
"Mr. Wen is at the other hall, so he left the formations around the Crystal Hall to Zhao Tianheng. It's allegedly a gift to the Taiqing Immortal Sect as gratitude from Emperor Tianshu, though Zhao Tianheng's reaping much of the benefit for himself. Mr. Wen doesn't care. The Pestilence Sage was helping Zhao Tianheng and attempting to break open the barrier surrounding the Crystal Hall to retrieve the treasure within," Tang continued.
"You mean that Zhao Tianheng's already made it past the skeletal dragons' defenses? How?"
"I heard that Mr. Wen gave him a token, Long Ba's token, which used to belong to the eighth elder of the draconic clan. It stops the skeletal dragons from attacking him."
"To think Mr. Wen would have such a treasure..." Xiao Nanfeng frowned.
The advantage that he had by possessing Long Jiu's token would be greatly reduced as a result.
"Zhao Tianheng and the Pestilence Sage tasked us with collecting souls from the vicinity via this soul-claiming banner. It can absorb the souls of the recently deceased into the fabric. I heard that Zhao Tianheng's trying to break the barrier protecting the Crystal Hall with them."
"In that case, Zhao Tianheng's request for assistance was just part of his scheme?" Xiao Nanfeng's face turned dark.
"I don't know exactly what's going on, but I heard the Pestilence Sage mention that Elder Ku and Zhao Yuanjiao were lured deep into the formation and trapped in there," Tang reported.
"How can I get deep into the formation?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.
"I don't know, but the Pestilence Sage surely does."
"In that case, I'll help you take care of him first."
"Thank you, Senior Brother Xiao!"
Two hours later, Tang fled through the fog with the soul-claiming banner in tow. Suddenly, a figure stopped him—the Pestilence Sage.
"Tang? What are you doing here?" the Pestilence Sage asked coldly.
"Master? You're finally here! I barely managed to escape from Xiao Nanfeng's clutches. Thank goodness you're around!" Tang exclaimed in relief.
The Pestilence Sage kicked Tang to the ground, causing blood to spray out of his mouth.
"Master, what's the matter? What have I done wrong?" Tang's face was a mask of fear.
"You're a good actor, aren't you? You're conspiring with Xiao Nanfeng to ambush me!" The Pestilence Sage sneered.
"Master, you must be mistaken. How could I ever do such a thing?" Tang instantly grew far more alert, but his acting was excellent. He didn't reveal any of the emotions that he was feeling.
"You knew that I've been working on your body. Haven't you considered that I could hear everything you said and did?"
"Y-you can?!"
"I've all but finished preparing your body. Of course I have a secret technique to keep an eye on you. You and Xiao Nanfeng plan on ambushing me in the valley ahead, and he's laid out a trap for me there. You're responsible for luring me into the valley, aren't you?"
"M-Master, please spare me!" Tang begged.
"It looks like I can't keep you any longer. If I do, you might deliberately hurt yourself to ruin this body. In that case, I'll have to take it over today!" the Pestilence Sage hissed.
He placed both palms on Tang's head, causing him to freeze. Ghostly blue light filled his body as his eyes widened in fear.
"Nascent spirit, emerge!" the Pestilence Sage commanded.
He spat a golden orb of light out of his mouth and forced it into Tang's. Tang was unable to resist. Despair filled his gaze. The Pestilence Sage's aura weakened, as though he had transferred his essence directly into Tang's body.
"Soul swap!" the Pestilence Sage continued.
A ghostly blue orb emerged from the Pestilence Sage's mindscape and crept toward Tang's. With the transfer complete, Tang would be completely possessed.
Just then, an Immortal sword appeared out of nowhere, cutting off the Pestilence Sage's arms. An ethereal red rope formed around Tang and pulled him away from the ghostly blue orb.
As the orb snapped back into the Pestilence Sage's mindscape, he suddenly shook and opened his eyes.
Tang gasped in surprise. "Senior Brother Xiao? What are you doing here?"
Xiao Nanfeng shoved Tang behind him as he looked toward the armless, wilting Pestilence Sage.
"Xiao Nanfeng? Shouldn't you be in that valley over there? What are you doing here?" the Pestilence Sage exclaimed.
"What do you think?" Xiao Nanfeng replied.
He slashed forward with the Immortal sword in his hands. The Pestilence Sage tried to flee, but he had just transferred his nascent spirit into Tang's body and was in a drastically weakened state. With both his arms gone, how could he hope to defend against Xiao Nanfeng's sword?
The Pestilence Sage's body was chopped in two and sent flying.
"You were acting all along? You never headed to that valley—you were hiding beside Tang all this time! How did you know?!" the upper half of the Pestilence Sage's body cried out.
The Pestilence Sage thought that he had uncovered a plan to ambush him, but that was all misdirection!
"Do you think you're the only one who knows how to forge these avatars?" Xiao Nanfeng replied disdainfully.
He slashed at the Pestilence Sage's body vertically, killing his fourth avatar.
"Senior Brother Xiao, you knew that the Pestilence Sage was able to spy on our conversation, so you deliberately misled him?" Tang was taken aback.
How could Xiao Nanfeng have guessed such a secret?
Xiao Nanfeng's current body was that of an avatar itself. He naturally suspected that the Pestilence Sage could have the ability to listen in on their conversation, and had planned around it as a result.
"The nascent spirit that the Pestilence Sage gave you should be able to help you break through in your physical cultivation. Distill it now. If I'm not mistaken, the Pestilence Sage's final avatar will be making its way here shortly."
"Understood!" Tang replied.
Just then, a radiant Immortal sword shot out of the thick fog straight at Xiao Nanfeng. It struck Xiao Nanfeng's Immortal sword in a gust of wind.
Xiao Nanfeng stabilized himself and looked into the distance, where the Immortal sword flew back into the clutches of a figure—the Pestilence Sage's final body.
"Xiao Nanfeng, you've destroyed all my avatars. Prepare to die!" the Pestilence Sage roared.
"Come at me, then!" Xiao Nanfeng retorted.
However, the Pestilence Sage didn't rush over heedlessly. He seemed to be considering something as he stared at Xiao Nanfeng and made sure he didn't escape.
"This is your main body, isn't it? You must have quite a few treasures in addition to the Immortal sword in your hand. Are you here to donate all your belongings to me?" Xiao Nanfeng mocked, trying to taunt his opponent.
"Laugh away. You'll die soon enough," the Pestilence Sage retorted.
Xiao Nanfeng raised an eyebrow. He felt that something was amiss. The Pestilence Sage had to be planning something considering how calm he was. Xiao Nanfeng's top priority had to be to escape.
Suddenly, he heard skeletal dragons bellowing. Ten of them emerged from the fog and flew up to Xiao Nanfeng.
Behind the dragons, a demonic sect disciple held a token high up in the air. He flew toward the Pestilence Sage. "Sage, I've herded these dragons over from that valley!"
The ten skeletal dragons roared in outrage as a frightening aura descended. They snarled menacingly, as though intending to kill everyone present.
The Pestilence Sage grabbed the token from his disciple's hand, causing the dragons to bow to him.
"Long Ba's token! Senior Brother Xiao, run!" Tang shouted.
"Run? Do you think you'll be able to escape? Xiao Nanfeng, you might have avoided certain doom by not heading into the valley, but you won't be able to escape now. You'll die today, right here, right now! Dragons, kill him!" the Pestilence Sage commanded, raising Long Ba's token high up in the air.
The skeletal dragons roared and swooped down toward Xiao Nanfeng and Tang.
"Senior Brother Xiao, we're dead," Tang cried despairingly.
"Haha! Of course you're dead. Even Wingform-realm cultivators wouldn't be able to survive such an assault. Ten skeletal dragons would be enough to take down an Immortal. No one will be able to save Xiao Nanfeng—but as for you, your body will be mine! Kill Xiao Nanfeng!" the Pestilence Sage commanded again.
"No!" Tang shouted. Was this to be the end?
Xiao Nanfeng gave the Pestilence Sage an odd look. He retrieved Long Jiu's token.
The ten skeletal dragons stopped short; the air displaced by their incredible speed swept over Xiao Nanfeng and Tang in the form of a gale.
"What? You have one of these tokens too?!" the Pestilence Sage cried out.
"And here I thought you had some amazing trump card—but it was just this?" Xiao Nanfeng replied disdainfully.
He cocked his arm back and sent the Immortal sword in his hand flying toward the Pestilence Sage in a beam of light.
The Pestilence Sage narrowed his eyes and slashed at the sword. The next moment, however, his eyes grew wide. "You're destroying this Immortal relic too? No!"
The Immortal relic exploded in a mushroom cloud. The demonic disciples by the Pestilence Sage's side were blown apart. The Pestilence Sage tried to avoid the blow, but he was far too late. Despite immediately trying to protect his body, he was grievously injured. He fell to the ground, blood gushing from all over.
Xiao Nanfeng and Tang were sent flying by the shockwave from the explosion, but they were sufficiently far away from the explosion that they merely coughed out blood. Once the shockwave dissipated, Xiao Nanfeng walked over to the Pestilence Sage.
He was clutching a corroded Immortal sword as he lay in a pool of his own blood, gasping for breath. He looked toward Xiao Nanfeng in astonishment. "That was an Immortal relic. Don't you realize what a waste—you wastrel!"
How could he have expected that Xiao Nanfeng would fight in such an underhanded manner?
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