Chapter 163: Reappearance of the Red Rope

"Senior Brother Qi?"

"Senior Brother Qi's the official apprentice of the division leader, and he's monstrously strong."

"I always thought that he would be the next seniormost Ascended. This should be an interesting fight."

The disciples whispered to one another. It was clear that this Senior Brother Qi was a name known to one and all.

"Of course, Junior Brother!" Xiao Nanfeng replied.

Senior Brother Qi flashed a brief smile. "We haven't yet fought, and who is to be the seniormost disciple hasn't yet been decided. Don't you think you're being a little too hasty, Junior Brother Xiao?"

"Actions speak louder than words," Xiao Nanfeng replied coolly.

"On expeditions against foreign enemies, a fist technique need not be the crux to victory. In many circumstances, a treasure or relic will have decisive impact. Do you agree?"

"What are you trying to get at?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

"With my master here, and various junior and senior disciples gathered, I'd like to clarify things in advance in case others challenge me for being underhanded later," Senior Brother Qi replied, smiling.

"Oh?" Xiao Nanfeng replied curiously.

"I intend to use a treasure. Be careful," Senior Brother Qi replied.

"A treasure?" The disciples all around were astounded.

Wasn't Senior Brother Qi aware that Xiao Nanfeng was in possession of the Immortal's Destruction? The other disciples had chosen to fight with solely their fist techniques to avoid him winning with the advanced treasures in his possession. What was Senior Brother Qi intending to do...?

"A treasure? You may try it," Xiao Nanfeng replied.

Senior Brother Qi retrieved a wooden box, one which caught everyone's attention.

"Just now, the seniormost Mortal disciple Nalan Feng lent me this treasure," Senior Brother Qi explained.

Everyone fell silent, then turned to Nalan Feng in surprise. What pettiness!

Nalan Feng froze stiffly, not expecting that Junior Brother Qi would divulge his identity and reveal his pettiness for everyone to see.

Junior Brother Qi eyed Nalan Feng. "Thank you for the loan of your treasure, Senior Brother."

Upon hearing from Nalan Feng that this treasure would render Xiao Nanfeng unconscious for a year, Junior Brother Qi had been preparing this contingency. He knew that Zhao Yuanjiao and Elder Ku would surely make life difficult for him while Xiao Nanfeng remained unconscious, and he had no intention of taking responsibility for this. He simply wanted the benefits of winning.

Nalan Feng, having guessed Junior Brother Qi's intentions, realized that he had been duped. Even so, under the crowd's watchful gaze, he could hardly do anything but reveal an embarrassed smile.

"Junior Brother Xiao, I'm going to get started," Senior Brother Qi announced, smiling.

Xiao Nanfeng gave him a strange look. This was a rather malicious—no, a rather foolish—disciple, wasn't he? His actions would only offend both his backers and Nalan Feng. Even if he were to win, no one would think highly of him.

"Come, then," Xiao Nanfeng replied breezily.

Senior Brother Qi opened up the box, which shone with red light.

A wave of red light crested toward Xiao Nanfeng, making him feel as though he had been struck by a tsunami. He had no time to counterattack; all he could do was defend with a barrier of spiritual qi.

"What?" Xiao Nanfeng cried out.

Xiao Nanfeng found himself sent flying by the red light. As he fell from the sky, he quickly stabilized himself, then looked all around. The Ascended disciples, and indeed the plaza itself, had vanished. All that remained was thick fog.

"An illusion?" Xiao Nanfeng was just about to break out of the illusion when he suddenly sensed a particularly strong aura before him. He raised his head to see a sixty-meter long red rope floating before him.

The red rope twisted as it released a tremendous aura, like a python poised to strike. It looked ready to strike at Xiao Nanfeng at any moment.

"A cursed effigy? A red rope?" Xiao Nanfeng narrowed his eyes.

He too possessed a cursed effigy in the form of a red rope, and he could easily recognize its twin. Xiao Nanfeng was very surprised that Nalan Feng was in possession of a cursed effigy himself.

The red rope twisted its body and shot toward Xiao Nanfeng's spiritual avatar.

His eyes cold, Xiao Nanfeng punched forward, the tremendous force of the blow causing the red rope to quiver and retreat. Clearly, Xiao Nanfeng's current level of spiritual power was stronger than the rope's.

The red rope roared and shot toward Xiao Nanfeng again, who counterattacked without any fear whatsoever. The red rope was sent flying into the fog.

Xiao Nanfeng didn't chase after it. Rather, he inspected the status of his physical body. He could barely sense pure yang qi shielding his physical body from harm. He was just about to break out of the illusion when he heard Junior Brother Qi's shrill cry from a distance.

"Help! Save me!" Senior Brother Qi cried out.

His head cocked in confusion, Xiao Nanfeng stepped into the fog to see what was going on.

In reality, a different scene was taking place.

All the disciples saw a flash of red light as Senior Brother Qi opened the box. The red light was exceptionally strange; it formed a hemispherical dome about fifteen meters in radius, encapsulating Xiao Nanfeng and Senior Brother Qi.

Both combatants froze stiff.

"Are they in an illusory realm?"

"Is the wooden box's effect to create an illusory realm?"

"Nalan Feng's rather smart, isn't he? He knows that he won't be able to beat the Immortal's Destruction, so he intends to fight Xiao Nanfeng in an illusory realm!"

"What such illusions test is spiritual power. Xiao Nanfeng's only been in the sect for a year. He can't have improved his spiritual cultivation much in that time, could he?"

The disciples began to discuss matters with each other once again.

Zhao Yuanjiao frowned in worry, while Zhao Tianheng took a sip of his tea with satisfied pleasure.

Just then, an object emerged from the wooden box.

"What's that?" someone cried out.

It was a red rope that swam agilely out of the wooden box like a serpent, heading straight toward Xiao Nanfeng.

"What sort of treasure is that? It can move on its own within the domain of the red hemisphere!" someone cried out.

The elders' eyes widened. They all looked toward Zhao Tianheng, guessing that it might be a cursed effigy.

Zhao Tianheng raised an eyebrow at Nalan Feng. "Nalan Feng, have you subdued this treasure?"

Considering Nalan Feng's status, Zhao Tianheng didn't point out that this was a cursed effigy. Rather, he was asking obliquely if the cursed effigy would kill Xiao Nanfeng.

"There's no need to worry, Division Leader Zhao. I've subdued this treasure, and it listens to my commands. You can think of it like an Immortal-restraining rope," Nalan Feng explained.

"An Immortal-restraining rope?" The disciples all around him glanced at the red hemisphere curiously.

This rope didn't seem like an Immortal-restraining rope, which had to be controlled with mantras...

The next moment, the red rope had swum over to Xiao Nanfeng's side and coiled around him.

Xiao Nanfeng's physical body began to flare with flame. The three suns within his body, sensing the imminent danger, automatically released their energy to protect their master. Flaming waves of energy surrounded Xiao Nanfeng, forcing the closest disciples to retreat.

"Xiao Nanfeng's qi barrier is particularly potent!"

"The seniormost disciple's barrier is really impressive!"

Many disciples praised Xiao Nanfeng's strength, but the red rope didn't seem afraid of the flames. It formed a lasso around his neck and drew taut, distorting the flaming barrier of qi, which shrank to protect Xiao Nanfeng's neck. The lasso grew tighter and tighter as the qi by Xiao Nanfeng's neck fought valiantly to protect him.

One end of the red rope rose into the air, pulling Xiao Nanfeng's body upward.

Everyone's eyes widened in alarm—it looked as though Xiao Nanfeng was committing suicide before their eyes.

"Is this cursed effigy trying to kill Xiao Nanfeng?!" Zhao Yuanjiao cried out, stepping forward.

"Step down, Zhao Yuanjiao! If you disrupt their illusory confrontation by force, you might very well hurt both disciples," Zhao Tianheng shouted.

"Uncle, that's a cursed effigy, one that can kill others!"

"Nalan Feng has confirmed that he has subdued that red rope, and it won't kill Xiao Nanfeng. Back down. If Xiao Nanfeng is in life-threatening danger, I'll step in myself," Zhao Tianheng replied coolly.

Zhao Yuanjiao was frustrated. He was certain that something was amiss, but Zhao Tianheng was clearly siding with Senior Brother Qi. He couldn't do anything, because he couldn't prove that Xiao Nanfeng was indeed in life-threatening danger.

Not far away, Nalan Feng smirked to himself. He wouldn't kill Xiao Nanfeng, certainly, but wounding his spiritual avatar and forcing him into a coma for a year or so was a trifling affair. He was confident in the red rope's strength.

The plaza was silent as everyone watched the fight play out with bated breath.

Within the illusion, Xiao Nanfeng frowned. What he saw after passing through the fog wasn't just the red rope and Senior Brother Qi, but also Madam Rouge as well.

𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Madam Rouge had torn off half of Senior Brother Qi's body and swallowed it, leaving half of his body remaining. Unable to escape from the illusory realm, Senior Brother Qi cried out in fear.

"Save me, Senior Brother Xiao! Save me!" Senior Brother Qi panicked.

However, Xiao Nanfeng ignored Senior Brother Qi. He looked toward Madam Rouge, understanding that he was likely no match for her as is without calling on the power of his own cursed effigies.

"What horrible luck. This Nalan Feng must be crazy to use a cursed effigy on me. Madam Rouge's going to gain a windfall again," Xiao Nanfeng cursed.

Xiao Nanfeng schooled his features and hid his inner thoughts. He smiled in a friendly manner. "Madam Rouge, look! I've brought you another cursed spiritual avatar, a feast! I hope you enjoy your meal and will take this as a sign of my dedication to you!"

Madam Rouge glanced disdainfully at Xiao Nanfeng, forming words with her signature black smoke. "Liar. I can see your fight taking place in the plaza in physical reality. You're trying to trick me."

Xiao Nanfeng: ...