Chapter 299: The Spirit Emperor Appears

Xiang Tanlang punched forward disdainfully, his fist as heavy as a mountain and bursting with strength. Xiao Nanfeng's eyes flashed as he executed Hegemon's Fist, filling the air with his fists. They shot toward Xiang Tanlang like a thousand rockets fired in unison.

"What?!" Xiang Tanlang exclaimed.

The stream of fists smashed into Xiang Tanlang in explosions of force. Although Xiang Tanlang had managed to repel Xiao Nanfeng, he had taken a few dozen blows as a result.

"Hegemon's Fist? Impossible. How could your Hegemon's Fist be so strong?" Xiang Tanlang exclaimed.

He had studied Hegemon's Fist as well, but his understanding of the technique could hardly compare to Xiao Nanfeng's own. How could it be possible for Xiao Nanfeng to conjure up thousands of punches with just one fist? Even an Immortal like him was taken aback upon seeing the air full of punches!

"Are all Immortals this weak?" Xiao Nanfeng demanded.

The two cultivators exchanged blows again. The more Xiao Nanfeng fought, the more comfortable he became. At the start, Xiang Tanlang had easily knocked him flying, but now, he was fighting on equal footing with the Immortal. Shockingly, as he familiarized himself with Xiang Tanlang's fist technique, he gradually gained the upper hand.

Xiao Nanfeng knocked Xiang Tanlang flying with a punch.

"Impossible. No mortal could ever be a match for an Immortal. How could you be this skilled? Die!" Xiang Tanlang roared, launching himself forward once more.

𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

After exchanging countless blows, hundreds of punches struck Xiang Tanlang's head and sent him flying once again. He spat out a mouthful of blood in mid-air.

Nalan Yunhai and Qiangwei, both hidden in the distance, gaped.

"How could Xiao Nanfeng have become so strong?" Nalan Yunhai asked disbelievingly.

"It must be because of spiritual power. Within the peach orchard, spiritual power is comparable to physical qi. His spiritual cultivation must be infinitesimally close to Yin Body," Qiangwei declared.

"Is his advantage in terms of spiritual power alone?" Nalan Yunhai asked, frowning.

"His fist technique, too. It's frightening to behold," Qiangwei whispered.

In the distance, Xiang Tanlang wiped at the blood by his mouth. His gaze turned chilly. "I thought I wouldn't need my full strength to deal with a mortal like you. You asked for this."

He drew a blade and slashed at Xiao Nanfeng. A sword slash dozens of meters wide shot straight toward him like a huge wave.

Xiao Nanfeng dodged to the side and blocked the rest of the qi with his fist. He was sent flying, but he stabilized himself immediately. Then, he shot toward Xiang Tanlang once more.

"Even Qiangwei was unable to dodge my blade. How could you have done so?!" Xiang Tanlang exclaimed.

"There's nothing special about it, is there? It's simply a bit stronger than usual." Xiao Nanfeng charged forward.

As Xiao Nanfeng drew near, Xiang Tanlang's features twisted in a scowl. "Die!"

He waved his blade rapidly and sent countless slashes of energy toward Xiao Nanfeng. Xiao Nanfeng retaliated with his fists, tearing apart the energy as he gradually grew used to Xiang Tanlang's attacks and closing in on him.

"Impossible! I'm an Immortal, the peak of all cultivators! How could you challenge me?!" Xiang Tanlang shouted.

The blades of energy shot toward Xiao Nanfeng in the form of towering waves, but Xiao Nanfeng easily tore them apart and approached Xiang Tanlang.

Xiang Tanlang blanched. Countless punches met his face.

"No!" Xiang Tanlang cried out.

He was sent flying once more. Even with an Immortal's qi barrier, two of his teeth had been punched right out of his mouth. He was a sorry sight to behold.

Xiang Tanlang fell to the ground, a barrier of rainbow light shimmering into existence around him. He gaped at Xiao Nanfeng in shock. Even at full strength, he was no match for Xiao Nanfeng!

"Xiang Tanlang, your understanding of the fist and the blade are far too weak. You've lost!" Xiao Nanfeng declared, charging forward with a smile.

Xiang Tanlang flew into the air, wiping at the blood by his mouth as killing intent surrounded him.

"An Immortal's might isn't for the likes of you to disparage," Xiang Tanlang replied.

He retrieved the dragon-quelling spike and infused his qi into it, causing it to expand in size into a three-hundred-meter-long gigantic spike that struck Xiao Nanfeng.

A frightening aura descended, causing even the ground to sink from the enormity of the pressure it exerted. Xiao Nanfeng slammed into the ground, his organs badly injured. He spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Is the dragon-quelling spike that strong?" Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed.

Without any hesitation, he swung his divine undying blade.The resistance that it encountered caused his hands to go numb, and he barely avoided losing its grip on it. Taking advantage of the knockback, he barely avoided the dragon-quelling spike's attack.

The spike shot into the ground, leaving a furrow hundreds of meters deep. The ground and rocks in the vicinity cracked and split open. Xiao Nanfeng flew back, sustaining another injury to his body.

"You won't be able to escape now. Die!" Xiang Tanlang demanded.

He activated the dragon-quelling spike and sent it toward Xiao Nanfeng again.

"Using your artifacts because you can't beat me without them, are you? Do you really think you're the only one with artifacts?" Xiao Nanfeng gave Xiang Tanlang a disdainful look.

Just then, Xiao Nanfeng's storage ring flew out of his finger and transformed into a giant bell. It tolled as it enveloped Xiao Nanfeng with its mouth, protecting him from the dragon-quelling spike, which struck its surface.

A metallic cling echoed throughout the entire orchard. Flames flared up all around the Divine Emperor's bell.

The dragon-quelling spike's attack had been fruitless.

"The Divine Emperor's bell? Let's see just how long you can remain hiding in there. Die!" Xiang Tanlang demanded.

The dragon-quelling spike launched blow after blow at the bell, but the bell seemed impenetrable. The situation frustrated Xiang Tanlang to no end.

Within the mouth of the bell, Xiao Nanfeng looked toward the Divine Emperor in surprise. He suddenly smiled. "Thank you for the assistance, Divine Emperor!"

The Divine Emperor was surrounded by black smoke. She looked toward Xiao Nanfeng in disbelief. "You really are a puzzle, aren't you? You can defeat an Immortal despite not having reached Yin Body? You must have an unparalleled spiritual cultivation technique."

"I simply got lucky," Xiao Nanfeng replied, smiling. He didn't want to expose his spiritual cultivation technique, Body of Yin.

"No, there is something unusual, isn't there? If your avatar's at Yin Body, how could your main body not be at that stage too? The only explanation is that your main body's spiritual cultivation technique is even more sinister than your avatar's..." the Divine Emperor trailed off. She scrutinized Xiao Nanfeng carefully.

"How could that be? You must be overthinking things, Senior," Xiao Nanfeng immediately replied.

"No, I'm not! There are far too many oddities about you. Your Taiqing red moon bears a particularly concentrated aura of misfortune, and it'll lead to a frightening horror on the horizon that even I would have a headache trying to resolve. Could your main body's spiritual cultivation hide an even more sinister truth? You're asking to die!" the Divine Emperor exclaimed.

"Are you sure you're not overthinking things, Senior?" Xiao Nanfeng asked immediately.

"Believe me as you will," the Divine Emperor replied, refusing to explain further.

Xiao Nanfeng was about to press her when the Divine Emperor suddenly tensed up.

"What's the matter? Is the dragon-quelling spike about to penetrate your bell?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

"It could never," the Divine Emperor replied proudly.

"Could Xiang Tanlang have another artifact that could threaten it?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

The Divine Emperor shook her head. "No. Xiang Tanlang's done for."

"What?"

"Xiang Tanlang's dead meat. He's here."

"Who?"

"The Spirit Emperor!" the Divine Emperor whispered.

On the outside, Xiang Tanlang repeatedly struck at the Divine Emperor's bell with the dragon-quelling spike in mounting frustration.

"Xiao Nanfeng, get out here!" he howled.

However, no response came from the Divine Emperor's bell. Not far away, by the blood peach tree, Qiangwei silently appeared. She respectfully bowed toward the ink-black pond water, as though giving an account of events to someone.

Suddenly, the water shook violently as a ball of golden flame emerged from it.

A ten-meter-tall three-legged golden crow was at the heart of the flame. Its body shone with golden luster, as if it had been forged of gold. It spread its wings and flew into the air.

"You've returned, Divine Emperor?!" The golden crow's voice was tinged with excitement.

"Who is it?" Xiang Tanlang whirled around in surprise, only to see the golden crow flashing straight toward him.

"You dare attack the Divine Emperor? You're done for!" the golden crow cawed.

With a flap of its wings, raging flames shot toward Xiang Tanlang.

"The Spirit Emperor?" Xiang Tanlang cried out, having guessed who was present.

He immediately activated his dragon-quelling spike and dissipated the flames coming straight at him.

The golden crow's eyes flashed with killing intent. It slashed at the dragon-quelling spike with a golden wing, cutting the spike in half and sending its two halves flying. As it fell to the ground, the shadows that had been absorbed by the spike broke free and fled.

"Argh!" Xiang Tanlang shrieked.

The strength of the golden crow's wings had been immense. Not only had the dragon-quelling spike been cut in half, so too had Xiang Pojun's body.

"No!" Xiang Tanlang shouted. The top half of his body attempted to flee.

"It's too late to run!" Qiangwei shouted, flying right up to him and blocking his path.

With a palm, Qiangwei sent that half of Xiang Tanlang's body into the ground.

The shadows that had just been freed swarmed Xiang Tanlang. They restrained him within moments.

"Feed Xiang Tanlang to the blood peach tree as fertilizer," Qiangwei said.

The shadows didn't object. They brought the two halves of Xiang Tanlang's body toward the blood peach tree.

"No! Please, spare me, Divine Emperor!" Xiang Tanlang cried out in shock.

The golden crow ignored Xiang Tanlang. Rather, he flew toward the Divine Emperor's bell.