Chapter 307: Cui Haitang

Xiao Nanfeng then questioned the other cultivators and confirmed that their stories were in alignment before he truly believed what they told him.

"Young Master Xiao, we've already helped you identify the cause of Xiang Qisha's death. You said you would let us go if we did so...?"

"Young Master Xiao is a paragon of virtue. He'll surely keep his word," another cultivator said, though he fidgeted as he glanced askance at Xiao Nanfeng.

They were all afraid that Xiao Nanfeng would go back on his word.

"Don't worry. I intend to follow through with my promises. However, I will seek compensation in the form of your sects' draconic veins. Is that satisfactory to all of you?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

"Of course, of course!" The cultivators' eyes lit up in gratitude.

"Very well. My forces shall head to your sects in the coming days to claim them. We'll let bygones be bygones, then." Xiao Nanfeng freed the cultivators from their seals.

"Thank you, Young Master Xiao!" the cultivators shouted.

Xiao Nanfeng inclined his head and left with Xiang Qisha's corpse, leaving the freed cultivators behind.

"It's a pity. If only he had left us our storage treasures and weapons, too..."

"Be happy that he was our enemy. The Nalans and the Xiangs would have killed us without mercy. It's incredible enough that Xiao Nanfeng doesn't do that," another cultivator said.

"He really freed us... Isn't he worried that we would take revenge? Is he a fool?"

"You're the fool. Considering his strength, he has no reason to be afraid of our retaliation. Rather, he knows that we entered the Spirit Emperor's hidden realm alongside the Xiang clan, and many of us have avatars. Killing us would only destroy his reputation. He's trying to recruit from the Immortal sects of the Eastern Sea at present. Not only does he need to be known as a generous and merciful leader, his word must be impeccable."

"Oh? Is this an avatar of yours, then? Your main body's outside the hidden realm?" another cultivator asked.

"That's right."

"For Xiao Nanfeng not to kill us and to pay such careful attention to his reputation—could he be trying to recruit us?"

"I think that's quite likely. We're currently on the Xiang clan's side. If the Xiang clan were to be destroyed by the Nalan clan, we would suffer as well. After that, if Xiao Nanfeng were to take on the Tianshu Empire, we might need to side with him in order to protect ourselves. I have the feeling that he's trying to seize all of the Xiang clan's assets once it's destroyed."

"The Xiang clan, destroyed? Surely not. And would Xiao Nanfeng go against the Tianshu Empire?"

The cultivators glanced at each other. Now that someone had brought it up, that possibility did seem surprisingly likely.

Xiao Nanfeng walked up to the black fog surrounding the Divine Emperor's palace and glanced around him to ensure that there was no one else around before he stepped past the boundary.

The moment he did so, he felt his strength increase dramatically. Clearly, the interior of the hall was another liminal realm between the real and the illusory, and he could use his spiritual power as qi.

Just then, a sword of radiant light shot toward him.

He reacted quickly and defended with a hastily thrown punch. He was sent flying by the force of the attack, and he stumbled a few paces back before he caught himself once again.

He frowned as he saw who had struck him. "Cui Haisheng?"

"Xiao Nanfeng, you were able to defend against one of my attacks? How could that be?!" Cui Haisheng demanded.

"You've become an Immortal, after all?" Xiao Nanfeng retorted.

"Shouldn't that have been within expectations? On the other hand, your strength is surprising," Cui Haisheng replied.

"Did you prepare an ambush for me? How did you know I was coming?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

Cui Haisheng was just about to speak when a woman's voice interrupted, "Xiao Nanfeng has Immortal relics on his body. He destroyed an Immortal relic to misdirect Xiang Qisha just now, and he also has the Divine Emperor's bell in his possession. Be careful."

Xiao Nanfeng turned to the speaker, a small white snake floating in the air. The snake's surface was wrinkled, as though it had been folded out of paper, and its eyes had been drawn on. It didn't seem at all alive, so the fact that it was speaking was incredibly sinister.

"A paper snake? Were you the one who assassinated Xiang Qisha?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

"Why does someone who's about to die need to know about that?" Cui Haisheng replied, smirking. He struck again with his sword.

Xiao Nanfeng dodged to the side and punched the blade, deflecting Cui Haisheng's attack.

"You're not much weaker than I am. How could that be?" Cui Haisheng exclaimed.

"It's because of spiritual power. He's at the peak of Lunar Deluge, and this liminal place allows the use of spiritual power as qi. There's something special about his spiritual power, too, which is why he seems so strong," the paper snake analyzed in the air.

"Again!" Xiao Nanfeng shot toward Cui Haisheng.

The two cultivators began to fight. Cui Haisheng had only recently become an Immortal, and he was hardly as strong as Xiang Tanlang or Xiang Qisha. With his deep understanding of Hegemon's Fist, Xiao Nanfeng was, incredibly, able to take the upper hand.

Dozens of fists struck Cui Haisheng's head, sending him flying back.

"I've already become an Immortal. How could you be my opponent? I don't believe it. Again!" Cui Haisheng howled.

"Did you kill Senior Uncle Hong Lie with this paper snake?" Xiao Nanfeng demanded, his eyes sparking with rage.

Cui Haisheng was sent flying once more. Xiao Nanfeng pressed the assault, his Hegemon's Fist growing stronger and stronger as he pummeled Cui Haisheng's head. Cui Haisheng was swiftly reduced into a bleeding mess.

"Help me, Sister!" Cui Haisheng shouted anxiously.

"Cui Haisheng, you really are a piece of trash. Can't you even handle a mortal on your own? Why did I waste time helping you become an Immortal?" The paper snake snorted as it flew toward Xiao Nanfeng.

The paper snake shot quickly behind Xiao Nanfeng and was right about to launch a sneak attack when a pitch-black palm appeared from nowhere and caught it.

"Who's there?!" the paper snake exclaimed.

The Divine Emperor had made her move right in the nick of time. She considered the paper snake curiously. "What an interesting cursed effigy..."

"You're the Divine Emperor?" the paper snake exclaimed.

"Oh? You know quite a bit, don't you?"

She spat out a mouthful of black smoke, as though attempting to probe what was so special about the paper snake.

"Damn it! Has the Divine Emperor regained so much of her power? Run, Cui Haisheng!" the paper snake shouted.

The next moment, the paper snake spontaneously combusted as it turned into a pile of ash. The Divine Emperor pinched the ash, but it slowly faded away into the air.

"Oh? It was able to escape from my grasp?" the Divine Emperor exclaimed.

Meanwhile, Xiao Nanfeng continued beating up Cui Haisheng. Cui Haisheng, who had expected the paper snake to rescue him, despaired as the paper snake vanished from sight. He fled from Xiao Nanfeng.

"Hold it!" Xiao Nanfeng chased after the fleeing Cui Haisheng,

but Cui Haisheng was an Immortal. He moved more rapidly than Xiao Nanfeng and was just about to escape when the Divine Emperor appeared before him. She kicked at him and sent him flying back, smashing into the ground as he spat out a mouthful of blood. He was grievously injured.

Grimacing, he summoned a multicolored barrier around him as he clambered up and attempted to flee.

"This barrier is useless against me," the Divine Emperor said, smiling coldly.

She kicked him down again, causing Cui Haisheng's qi barrier to disperse as his chest caved in. He spat out a mouthful of fresh blood; it seemed as though he had lost all ability to resist further.

"I'm the left division leader of the Taiqing Demonic Sect! Xiao Nanfeng, the Taiqing Immortal and Demonic sects are allied with each other. You can't kill me!" Cui Haisheng exclaimed in fear.

"Don't you think that's a rather laughable excuse?" Xiao Nanfeng replied, raising his blade high and slashing down.

"I can tell you all sorts of secrets—about Hong Lie's death, about your mother's assassination! I'll tell you everything!" Cui Haisheng shrieked.

The divine undying blade halted right before Cui Haisheng's face. Wind scattered his hair. Cui Haisheng felt his scalp prickle; he had been moments from death.

"What was that paper snake? How did Senior Uncle Hong Lie die? And how was my mother assassinated?" Xiao Nanfeng asked coldly.

"Let me go and I'll tell you the truth." Cui Haisheng began to negotiate immediately.

Xiao Nanfeng frowned. He didn't trust Cui Haisheng, and was worried that he would deliberately make up nonsense.

"There's no need for so much trouble. Let me take charge," the Divine Emperor said.

She lifted Cui Haisheng up and grabbed ahold of his head with both hands.

"You're going to wrench my head off my body? No, don't!" Cui Haisheng exclaimed.

"Silence!" The Divine Emperor sent a cloud of black smoke from her hands toward Cui Haisheng's head.

Suddenly, he stopped speaking. His eyes became vacant.

"Answer me this: what is that paper snake?" the Divine Emperor asked.

Cui Haisheng replied in a calm, uninflected tone, "The paper snake is a cursed technique that my sister, Cui Haitang, possesses. I don't know how she acquired this ability, but she can portion out a fragment of her will and imbue it into a paper snake. She deliberately had Xiang Qisha acquire one such snake in order to spy on him at all times. When I came in conflict with Xiang Qisha at the Divine Emperor's hall, the paper snake saved me but caused Xiang Qisha to doubt its allegiance. As a result, while Xiang Qisha was being hounded by the Immortal-realm divine slave, my sister activated the paper snake to kill him. Then, the paper snake told me that Xiao Nanfeng was approaching and to lay an ambush for him here.

"You're hypnotizing Cui Haisheng?" Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed.

The Divine Emperor nodded. "I am. What else do you want to ask him?"

"How did Hong Lie die?" Xiao Nanfeng asked immediately.

Cui Haisheng continued, "My sister wrote a letter to Hong Lie with a paper snake hidden within. Then, my sister had someone tell Xiang Pojun that Hong Lie was cursed by an enemy. If an Immortal were to fight him, once the curse struck, Hong Lie would surely die. Xiang Pojun was incited to attack Hong Lie; at an opportune time, my sister activated the paper snake to kill him. Everyone thought that Xiang Pojun had been responsible, and no one would suspect my sister."

"Senior Uncle died to a paper snake, then? No wonder Nalan Qiankun tried to protect the killer despite knowing who she was—his wife, Cui Haitang!" Killing intent blazed from Xiao Nanfeng's eyes.