Wayfarer

Chapter 529: All of You, Leave

The tiger king shot toward the gathered spirit kings and attacked them fiercely. A howling tempest formed, and endless smoke and flame seeped out of the barrier.

"Tiger King, wake up! You're a True Immortal. How could you have been controlled?!"

"Quick, take down the tiger king!"

"No, go kill Xiao Nanfeng! Perhaps the tiger king will awaken after Xiao Nanfeng's death!"

The interior of the Cursed Earth formation was a mess of fire, dust, and dirt. No one from the outside could clearly see what was happening within.

Ao Shuai's eyes twitched. "I couldn't have been mistaken. Those were the death chants, weren't they? No wonder Xiao Nanfeng dared to risk heading to Thousand-Spirit Island as nothing more than a Heaven Immortal. He had the help of cursed effigies!"

"Didn't Xiao Nanfeng kill countless lotus hoods that day? Why would the golden lotus hood help him?"

"Just who was he addressing as Senior?"

The cultivators seemed perplexed as well.

"Keep an eye on him. I'd like to see how he enlisted the cursed effigy's help," Ao Shuai said expectantly.

The golden lotus hood was frightening, but if he could get it to obey him, it would be a tremendous boon. He watched on in anticipation, trying to see through what lay behind the dirt and flames.

"Seal all light and sound leaving the formation," Xiao Nanfeng suddenly commanded.

"Understood!" the cultivators manning the formation replied.

Large quantities of fog filled the Cursed Earth formation again, and no sound leaked out.

The cultivators who had been hoping to get a sense of what Xiao Nanfeng was hiding: "..."

"Damn you, Xiao Nanfeng!" Ao Shuai cursed angrily.

Within the formation, a cursed king managed to fight its way to Xiao Nanfeng and punch forward. "Die!"

Xiao Nanfeng was sent flying, but the Imposing Avatar of Rulai left him unharmed.

"He's only a Heaven Immortal. How can he block my fist? That's impossible!" the spirit king cried out, staring at its fist in shock.

Xiao Nanfeng frowned. Although he could block a True Immortal's blow, it was clear that he wasn't as fast as one, and he didn't want to remain so passive, either. He quickly clouded himself with fog as he hid within the roaring flames.

"Stand right there!" the cursed king shouted, giving chase.

Two other spirit kings came chasing after Xiao Nanfeng as well.

The tiger king was likewise in dire straits. Although it boasted significant combat ability, there were far too many spirit kings for it to handle on its own. The tiger king was quickly suppressed and lay paralyzed on the ground.

"We've suppressed it!" a spirit king cried out in excitement.

The tiger king narrowed its eyes. "Explode!"

The tiger king self-destructed in an explosion that caused the entire island to quake. A group of cursed kings were sent flying from the explosion, blood splattering everywhere as they roared in pain.

The spirit kings chasing after Xiao Nanfeng not too far away blanched as they stopped short. With a wave of their hands, they dispelled the dirt, smoke, and wind from the air.

Everything fell silent, leaving only a destroyed mountain range and bleeding spirit kings behind.

"Did the tiger king self-destruct? Just who was controlling it? Wouldn't it have perished alongside the tiger king?" the spirit kings cried out in disbelief.

"Catch Xiao Nanfeng and we'll understand everything," a spirit king said.

"Right, where's Xiao Nanfeng?"

The spirit kings whirled around in search of Xiao Nanfeng.

"Where is he? Where did Xiao Nanfeng go?" a spirit king howled.

"I don't know. He suddenly vanished out of nowhere," another spirit king murmured.

Back outside, Ao Shuai and the others were still fuming about Xiao Nanfeng occluding what lay within the formation. The next moment, Xiao Nanfeng emerged.

"Xiao Nanfeng, what are you doing out here? Is the fighting within over?" Ao Shuai asked, rushing over immediately.

"Not yet. I sent my senior into the formation and am now waiting for it to deal with all the spirit kings within. I'll handle it thereafter."

Ao Shuai's eyes lit up. He asked expectantly, "I can still hear the death chants. Is this senior you're talking about the golden lotus hood? How did you reach an accord with it? Why is it helping you?"

"Are you crazy? Why would I tell you my secrets?" Xiao Nanfeng retorted, then turned to leave.

Ao Shuai: ...

Within the Cursed Earth formation, just as the spirit kings were looking all over in search of Xiao Nanfeng, one of the spirit king's eyes suddenly glinted with light as it struck, sending another spirit king flying. Although the latter reacted fast enough to defend itself, the blow still caused it to reel and vomit out blood. That spirit king fell paralyzed to the ground.

"Leopard King, what are you doing?!" the other spirit kings shouted.

"No, hold on. It's not the leopard king any longer. It's been controlled!"

The leopard king rushed toward the gathered spirit kings.

"Quick, catch it!" the other spirit kings howled, charging over.

Very quickly, the leopard king was suppressed just like the tiger king had been.

"Explode!" the leopard king yelled out.

The leopard king self-destructed in a huge explosion that caught all the other spirit kings in its midst. They spat out mouthfuls of blood as they reeled back and fell to the ground.

"How are we supposed to beat something like this?!"

"We can't! Quick, let us out! We surrender!" another spirit king shouted.

However, the black lotus quickly possessed a third spirit king, causing the fighting to resume.

As the death chants resounded, so did the fighting continue.

The cultivators outside eyed the formation and Xiao Nanfeng with a complex mix of emotions. Only Xiao Nanfeng remained calm. After the black lotus had consumed the Past Buddha and so many golden lotus hoods, it was stronger than even the Past Buddha had been. It would be trivial for the black lotus to handle the spirit kings.

Before long, the death chants dissipated anew.

"Alright. Clear away the fog and let me see what remains within."

The fog around the Cursed Earth formation dissipated, revealing the sounds coming from within.

The smoke and dust scattered. What remained of the Thousand-Spirit Island was a pile of ruins.

The majority of the spirit kings had been wounded and killed, and only three of them had had their cultivation sealed. They had been rendered immobile.

Not far away, a cloud of black fog floated in the air, waiting for Xiao Nanfeng.

"It's that cursed effigy in the cloud of black fog, not the golden lotus hood! No, perhaps a golden lotus hood lies within the black fog. What sort of situation is this? An internal conflict between cursed effigies of the same type?" Ao Shuai exclaimed. He finally realized what was going on, and suddenly grew far more fearful of Xiao Nanfeng.

"Let me in," Xiao Nanfeng said.

The cultivators manning the formation surrounded him in blue fog and sent him into the formation, while the black fog retreated to Xiao Nanfeng's forehead.

"Thank you, Senior," Xiao Nanfeng said.

The black lotus replied, "I possessed a spirit king and sealed all the remaining spirits on the island, then self-destructed the body I possessed. Unfortunately, they counterattacked too vigorously, and only three remain alive."

"Three is more than I had expected," Xiao Nanfeng replied.

Just then, one of the spirit kings cried out fearfully, "Xiao Nanfeng, we're willing to submit to you and join your service. Don't kill us!"

Xiao Nanfeng ignored the spirit king. He turned to the cultivators waiting outside. "Dispel the formation!"

The Cursed Earth formation vanished as the cultivators outside swarmed in.

"Take these spirits away," Xiao Nanfeng commanded the remaining purple-furred lifeforms.

"Understood!"

The purple-furred lifeforms escorted the three spirit kings and remaining spirits on the island onto a series of ships, surrounded them with fog, and then carried them into the air.

Xiao Nanfeng's subordinates watched the surroundings to prevent the purple-furred monsters from being followed until they had all vanished into the clouds.

Ao Shuai walked over to Xiao Nanfeng. "Thousand-Spirit Island has been razed to the ground. Your subjugation was a complete success!"

Xiao Nanfeng nodded.

"I just received word that Sage Yellowbrow is returning. We need to leave!" Ao Shuai continued.

Xiao Nanfeng nodded. "It is time for you to leave."

"Right—wait, what?"

"All of you should leave first. Return to the island we garrisoned at and wait for me there. I'll head there momentarily."

"All of us, but not you? Are you intending to wait here for Sage Yellowbrow?" Ao Shuai exclaimed.

"That's a military secret that you don't need to be privy to. Now, leave," Xiao Nanfeng commanded.

Ao Shuai frowned. The reason he was urging Xiao Nanfeng to leave wasn't because he was worried about Xiao Nanfeng, but because the true treasures of Thousand-Spirit Island had yet to be uncovered. He was waiting for Xiao Nanfeng to depart before his hidden forces claimed them for him.

However, Xiao Nanfeng was motioning for Ao Shuai to leave instead while he himself stayed behind.

"What do you know?" Ao Shuai demanded, frowning.

"Are you intending to disobey a direct command from me, Ao Shuai?"Xiao Nanfeng demanded.

Ao Shuai's frown deepened. He was certain that Xiao Nanfeng had learned of the secret of the island, and that he was chasing them off so he could profit from the treasure himself.

"Commander, might I ask where your token of authority is? On what grounds do you command us?"

He had just received word that Xiao Nanfeng's token was in Yongding. Without the token, he would be able to cast reasonable doubt on Xiao Nanfeng's authority. Of course, this was clearly unreasonable doubt that would earn him a reprimand at the very least. Even so, given Ao Canghai's backing, he was confident the treasure was well worth the limited punishment he would receive. He had to disobey Xiao Nanfeng!

Xiao Nanfeng retrieved a document. "This is a writ that commands you to return to the garrison immediately, stamped with my token of authority. If you disobey it, you'll be a deserter. I'll kill you immediately!"

Ao Shuai huffed. This was no writ at all, but a document that allowed Xiao Nanfeng to kill him with impunity! Xiao Nanfeng wouldn't be punished even by the Imperial Court.

Had Xiao Nanfeng prepared this writ long in advance? How could he do something so devious?!

In the past, Ao Shuai wouldn't have worried about Xiao Nanfeng's abilities, but now that he knew that the cursed effigy within the black fog was able to possess others at will, he didn't dare to make a fuss.

"Understood," Ao Shuai spat out. 

He and his subordinates were forced to leave. Only Xiao Nanfeng and his subordinates remained behind on Thousand-Spirit Island.

Ao Shuai grew madder and madder the more he stewed, cursing Xiao Nanfeng for his shameless behavior.