Chapter 197: Changing Avatars

Xiao Nanfeng's main body stepped outside the Vault of Scriptures on Taiqing Island, with another ten jade tablets in hand. He had already finished the scriptures that Zhao Yuanjiao had loaned him, and his concentrated and dedicated effort over this period of time had resulted in an explosive growth in his repertoire.

"Senior Brother Xiao!"

"Senior Brother Xiao!"

As he walked out of the Vault of Scriptures, all the disciples he encountered greeted him. He replied with a smile and a nod.

"Senior Brother Xiao, the Eastern Sea Draconic Palace has opened. Did you hear about it?" one disciple stepped forward and asked.

"You know about it too?" Xiao Nanfeng was surprised.

This was the sixth conversation of this sort he had had today.

"That's right. We're not the only ones who know, either. Word has spread throughout the sects of the Eastern Sea, and strong cultivators have been heading in in search of treasure," the disciple said expectantly.

"Senior Brother Xiao, are you going to spearhead an expedition? We're all happy to join you."

"That's right! If you lead an expedition, Senior Brother Xiao, we'll all join you. We can't just watch the other sects' disciples take everything of value, can we?"

"Senior Brother Xiao, are you going to head there?"

Everyone watched Xiao Nanfeng expectantly.

Xiao Nanfeng frowned. "Has everyone learned of this?"

"Yes!" The disciples all nodded.

Xiao Nanfeng frowned. Something seemed amiss. Two months ago, when Zhao Yuanjiao told him the news, he had stated that only a few elders in the sect were aware of this secret information. Now, however, it seemed that everyone was aware of it.

Had the news spread far and wide in just two months? Something seemed amiss. Even those who learned of the news should have kept it to themselves so they could get a head start. How could everyone have learned about it?

Xiao Nanfeng felt certain that there had to be some conspiracy at play.

Looking toward the expectant Taiqing disciples, Xiao Nanfeng took a deep breath. "I don't intend to head to the Eastern Sea Draconic Palace at the moment."

𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"Ah?" The Taiqing disciples' faces fell in disappointment.

"I know that many of you are tempted, but the Eastern Sea Draconic Palace boasts both great opportunity and great danger. I advise you not to go, at least not for the time being. Of course, the decision is ultimately up to you."

The Taiqing disciples turned serious.

"As you say, Senior Brother Xiao!"

"I'll listen to you, Senior Brother Xiao."

Many of the disciples nodded, but others frowned unwillingly, or even in disdain.

Xiao Nanfeng didn't make any further remarks. He had already warned them against heading to the draconic palace; if they insisted, he wouldn't stop them.

He continued his rigid schedule studying the near-endless scriptures of the Vault of Scriptures. As a result of his accumulated knowledge, he had reached mid-stage Lunar Deluge, both with his main body and with his avatar as well.

In the governor's manor back in the city of Shuntian in the undying realm, Xiao Nanfeng's avatar was looking into a mirror.

He had been in the undying realm for two months, and livor mortis had set in all over his rapidly decaying body. It looked as though it wouldn't survive much longer.

"The stronger my spiritual power, the faster the decay? I've only used this body for three months or so. How could it already be wearing out?" Xiao Nanfeng smiled wryly.

Because of the red moon, his avatar's physical strength was restricted to that of his main body, and its maximum limit would be the eighth stage of Ascension. Considering the decay, however, his physical body could hardly produce that level of strength any longer. He felt that, if the situation were to persist, his avatar could collapse at any time.

"It's a pity. I don't think I can use this avatar any longer..." Xiao Nanfeng sighed.

Xiao Nanfeng looked at his storage ring, the one that Marquis Wu had once possessed. He had given it to his avatar to wear. His avatar pulled out another skin, the other one that the Pestilence Sage's avatar had left behind when it perished.

Xiao Nanfeng frowned. "I had better save this one in case of emergencies."

He put the skin aside, then retrieved a length of red rope.

"I wonder if I can forge the cursed spiritual avatar of a cursed effigy into a body for my avatars...?" Xiao Nanfeng fell deep in thought.

He sat cross-legged as he manipulated the red moon in his mindscape. The red moon slowly flew out with all its spiritual power in tow. Simultaneously, his avatar turned pitch-black and rapidly decayed, then burst into a cloud of black fog that dissipated in the hall.

That part of Xiao Nanfeng's consciousness attached to the red moon was shocked, but he didn't have the time to be worried about the physical body of his avatar, which had since decayed. He would have to find another body as soon as possible.

The red moon, surrounded by spiritual power, headed toward the red rope. Xiao Nanfeng had a backup plan in mind: if the transfer wasn't successful, he would head straight into the other skin that he had obtained from the Pestilence Sage.

With a buzz, the transfer was successful. The red moon passed into the interior of the red rope, which suddenly seemed to come to life. It twisted and morphed. As the red moon released crimson light, the red rope grew limbs and a head, transforming into a human body.

In no time at all, the red rope had taken the form of Xiao Nanfeng.

Xiao Nanfeng slowly stood up and looked at himself in a mirror. He was certain that the red rope hadn't taken on his form; rather, the red moon had forged the red rope's cursed spiritual avatar into him.

"What in the world...?" Xiao Nanfeng gasped.

He retrieved the storage ring from the decayed body, found a new set of clothes inside, and put them on. Xiao Nanfeng looked hale and hearty, with no sign of livor mortis at all.

"Why does it feel like the red moon is even more sinister than a cursed effigy?" Xiao Nanfeng wondered.

He tidied up his surroundings as he familiarized himself with his new body. He felt the same way as when he had first manifested an avatar three months ago: the body felt just like his own, and it was natural to manipulate. Even so, he was still restricted to a physical cultivation at the eighth stage of Ascension.

"There doesn't seem to be much of a change." Xiao Nanfeng frowned.

Suddenly, almost instinctively, he activated his qi and saw it slowly condense into the form of a red rope. The qi seemed almost ethereal in form and took on the shape of a red rope. He whipped it forward; it passed through the wall and wrapped around a pillar outside the hall.

"What?" Xiao Nanfeng gasped.

He retracted the rope, sending it flying back. The wall in front of him, however, was entirely undamaged. The red rope seemed to have manifested in spiritual form, able to pass through the wall without causing any damage to it.

"Is this the special property of a cursed effigy, or some sort of unique mutation caused by the combination of the red moon and a cursed effigy? Can I create spiritual and physical attacks at will, then?" Xiao Nanfeng wondered.

He suddenly raised his eyebrows and glanced underground. "Is this a coincidence, or is someone scheming against me? I just recently entered secluded cultivation, but there are already assassins at my door..."

Xiao Nanfeng's uncommonly strong spiritual power allowed him to sense the disturbances underground.

Two black-clad cultivators were digging a hole underground.

Xiao Nanfeng manifested an ethereal red rope and tossed it underground. It passed through layers of earth and wrapped around one cultivator in a sinister fashion.

"Argh!" the cultivator cried out.

He was pulled up toward the earth above him. As his body smashed into the earth, it was as though he had been struck by a giant boulder. His flesh pulped and his bones broke.

He was dragged all the way up out of the floor, whereupon he spat out a mouthful of blood and lay paralyzed on the ground, heavily injured.

The earth caved in, burying the other man in the tunnel alive.

"No!" the cultivator who had been buried alive furiously dug at the earth, attempting to escape from the mouth of the tunnel.

"It's too late!" Xiao Nanfeng called out.

Another ethereal rope passed through the ground, grabbed the cultivator, and sent him hurtling up into the hall. By the time he emerged, he too spat out a mouthful of blood and lay paralyzed.

"Two Immanence-realm cultivators..." Xiao Nanfeng murmured.

"King Xiao? Has there been an assassination attempt?" Worried voices came from outside the hall.

"Come in!" Xiao Nanfeng commanded.

A few spectral guards rushed into the hall to see two large holes through the floor, along with two bloodied bodies. They were shocked, but it was more or less clear what had happened.

"Please pardon us, King Xiao!" the guards cried out.

They were responsible for keeping guard over the governor's manor, but had failed in their duties and allowed assassins to get close to Xiao Nanfeng.

Just then, You Jiu rushed over, having heard the commotion. He was shocked to see what had happened.

"Sir Xiao, something's wrong. We have treasures that can detect seismic activity and underground motion around the governor's manor, and we would have known if they were digging a tunnel underground. However, we didn't sense anything at all."

"You Jiu, investigate what happened. Interrogate these two cultivators and figure it out."

"I understand, Sir Xiao!"

When You Jiu and the others left with the assassins, Xiao Nanfeng turned back to the ethereal red rope in his palms.

"This red rope can pass through physical matter, but not living matter with souls. What an interesting technique," Xiao Nanfeng commented, very pleased with his discovery.

Five days later, You Jiu reported back to Xiao Nanfeng.

"Have you figured out what was going on, then?"

"Those two 'assassins' used to be grave robbers who came here to steal our wealth. They had a secret technique for digging holes underground, which was able to avoid our detection," You Jiu reported wryly.

"Just thieves?" Xiao Nanfeng remarked in surprise.

"That's right. I didn't think the matter would be so simple, so I interrogated them a few more times, but this was the conclusion. Here's the transcript of their testimony," You Jiu said, handing over a sheaf of notes.

Xiao Nanfeng frowned. Not assassins, but common thieves?

"Sir Xiao, the governor's manor isn't protected by a formation, and similar matters might keep happening. Although we've secured the treasures of King Yan, King Qi, and the various family heads, none of them are of particularly high quality. However, I remember that King Yan's capital-defending formation is rather well-made. Shall I use the red rope to command him to give it to us?" You Jiu asked.

"Very well. Be careful along the way." Xiao Nanfeng handed You Jiu another length of red rope.

"Don't worry, Sir Xiao. I'm the only Spiritsong-realm cultivator left in the undying realm. Who would be able to threaten me?"

Only then did Xiao Nanfeng nod.