Chapter 308: Greed

"Why did Cui Haitang kill Hong Lie?" Xiao Nanfeng continued.

Cui Haisheng, still hypnotized by the Divine Emperor, admitted truthfully, "Because Hong Lie was overstepping his bounds. He had questioned Nalan Qiankun about the truth of Xiao Nanfeng's mother's assassination, about his neglect of your care, and about his promise to share the empire with the Xiao clan when Xiao Hongye voluntarily gave up on the position of monarch. To preserve Nalan Qiankun's right to rule, Cui Haitang assassinated Hong Lie."

Xiao Nanfeng couldn't help but swallow a gulp of saliva. Hong Lie had done so much for him—so much that he had been assassinated as a result.

"Who assassinated Xiao Hongye's wife?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

"It was also Cui Haitang." Cui Haisheng said.

"Why did she do so?"

"Years ago, Xiao Hongye was the first to discover the Spirit Emperor's hidden realm. Xiao Hongye had undertaken tremendous research on cursed effigies, and he, Hong Lie, and Nalan Qiankun researched the Spirit Emperor's hidden realm in depth. After doing so, they concocted a plan to deal with the Spirit Emperor. Xiao Hongye intended to lead everyone to claim all the opportunities in the realm in order to advance to incredible heights. They had divided up the opportunities in advance: Nalan Qiankun would obtain the treasures that the divine slaves possessed, Hong Lie the quintessence of solarfire, and Xiao Hongye the Spirit Emperor's cursed spiritual avatar. However, Cui Haitang wanted Nalan Qiankun to claim all the treasure within the realm. She attempted to assassinate Xiao Hongye's wife, but left her barely clinging to life so that Xiao Hongye would have no choice but to seek immediate regeneration and revival for her," Cui Haisheng explained.

"How malicious. And Nalan Qiankun acceded to all this? Such greed—" Xiao Nanfeng cut himself off, fuming internally.

He continued the interrogation. "How did you become an Immortal? And how did the Xiang cultivators become Immortals?"

"I consumed an Immortal pill the shadow cursed effigies provided. The cost was that I would have to carry a batch of shadows out of the hidden realm with me. The Xiang cultivators used a different approach. They had entered the realm before we did, and they became Immortals by claiming a few Immortal pills that a group of special divine slaves possessed."

Xiao Nanfeng nodded thoughtfully. This was about what he had expected.

"What other questions do you have? Ask them now. My hypnosis has a cost. He won't be able to speak for much longer," the Divine Emperor said.

"Why did you sneak into the Divine Emperor's hall? What are you trying to do?" Xiao Nanfeng said quickly.

"When Xiao Hongye and Hong Lie came to the Divine Emperor's hall for the first time, they retrieved some treasures. Hong Lie obtained quintessence of solarfire in this hall, and my sister told me that there was more present. She had me secretly claim some in order to cultivate an associated technique."

"Did you succeed?"

"Not yet. The Divine Emperor's hall is guarded by formations, and we haven't been able to make it inside."

"You don't have any fire-attuned cultivation techniques. How would you claim the quintessence of solarfire for yourself?" the Divine Emperor asked disdainfully.

"My sister gave me a parcel of fortune, allowing me to cultivate the technique immediately upon acquiring the quintessence of solarfire."

"Cui Haitang has been inordinately generous to you, even if you're her brother," Xiao Nanfeng sighed.

"Where are the shadow cursed effigies here?" the Divine Emperor asked.

"I don't know. I never saw any on my way here," Cui Haisheng replied.

Suddenly, the Divine Emperor dragged Xiao Nanfeng back with her as she retreated.

"What's the matter, Divine Emperor?" Xiao Nanfeng asked, perplexed.

Just then, Cui Haisheng's head bulged as it exploded.

Xiao Nanfeng, now some distance away, wasn't splattered by Cui Haisheng's blood and bodily fluids.

"This is the cost of your hypnosis?" Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed.

The Divine Emperor nodded.

"Hypnosis followed by an exploding head? This technique really is quite something..." Xiao Nanfeng murmured.

"That's why I only use it rarely," the Divine Emperor replied.

Xiao Nanfeng walked over to Cui Haisheng's corpse and claimed his storage treasure.

"Be careful. There's something wrong about this place," the Divine Emperor warned.

"Oh?"

"Cui Haisheng has been here for a few days, but he never saw a single shadow cursed effigy. Don't you think that odd?"

Xiao Nanfeng looked at the black fog that surrounded the two of them and immediately grew wary.

"Let's head to my hall," the Divine Emperor said.

Xiao Nanfeng nodded and followed closely behind the Divine Emperor. They quickly arrived by a large hall, with a signboard proclaiming it as the Divine Emperor's hall.

Outside the hall was a hemispherical dome that glowed with multicolored light, with a few marks left behind that served as evidence of Cui Haisheng's attempt to break through the formation.

"This is your hall? My father brought you out of the hidden realm from here?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

"That's right. Fifty thousand years ago, after I was betrayed, a replica of my weakened will flew out of the patch of black fog with an illusion of my bell. However, I had actually transformed my bell into a ring and remained within the hall. The most dangerous hiding spot is often the safest; I hid in the ring, so weak that I fell unconscious. I only awoke much later, but had become so weak by then that I couldn't even leave this place until your father and Hong Lie barged inside. They fought many shadow cursed effigies in the region, and Hong Lie almost died as a result. Your father rescued Hong Lie, and I took the opportunity to send my ring spinning toward their feet. Your astute father, realizing that there was something special about the ring, left with me in tow."

"Is the cursed spiritual power you're looking for within the hall?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

"That's right—and the quintessence of solarfire that you want as well. We have to get inside."

"Is this formation difficult to break through?" Xiao Nanfeng prodded the hemispherical dome tentatively.

"Cui Haisheng's simply too weak. Your father made it through in the past."

"Oh?"

The Divine Emperor placed a palm on the radiant barrier. Roiling black smoke covered the hemispherical dome. As it filled the surface of the dome uniformly, the barrier shattered like glass.

Xiao Nanfeng glanced expectantly within. The two of them stepped toward the entrance of the hall—only to have its doors suddenly open up. A golden palm shot out.

"Be careful!" the Divine Emperor shouted.

She hurriedly intercepted the attack for Xiao Nanfeng, retaliating against the palm strike with one of her own. The confrontation sent a burst of flame and wind around the area.

The Divine Emperor was sent flying. She fell to the ground and stumbled a few steps back to regain her balance. Even so, she kept Xiao Nanfeng protectively behind her.

"The Spirit Emperor?" Xiao Nanfeng gasped.

A man in a golden robe slowly emerged from the pitch-black doors, the splitting image of the Spirit Emperor.

"After absorbing the cursed spiritual power of the peach orchard, Divine Emperor, you seem to have grown quite a bit stronger." The Spirit Emperor suddenly smiled.

"We have to flee!" The Divine Emperor dragged Xiao Nanfeng away.

"To flee? I think not. How do you intend to flee at this juncture?" The Spirit Emperor smirked, then commanded, "Come out!"

Shadows emerged from the depths of the darkness, all of whom seemed to have been lying in ambush for some time.

The shadows gave off a tremendous aura, and there were at least a dozen Immortal-realm ones. They blocked Xiao Nanfeng and the Divine Emperor's way.

"Spirit Emperor, did you command them to hide?" the Divine Emperor asked coldly.

"Of course. If they didn't, you would already have eaten them." The Spirit Emperor smiled.

"What are you doing here?" the Divine Emperor pressed.

"The Divine Emperor's hall is your living area. I had a fragment of my will in the peach orchard; why wouldn't I have one here? You should have predicted my appearance." The Spirit Emperor's smile deepened.

"You were never in my hall in the past," the Divine Emperor said.

"No, I've always had a fragment of will here. I just never awakened it. That year, I thought that you had escaped from the hall and sent countless spirits chasing after you. What folly! If I had searched the area for a bit longer, I would have found the ring in which you were hiding. It's a pity that I missed it—but in the end, you're here now."

The Spirit Emperor turned to Xiao Nanfeng. "Kid, you really aren't afraid of death, are you? Was it your copper blade that managed to slay my fragment of will? I really did underestimate you, didn't I?"

"Beware—your blade!" the Divine Emperor cried out.

However, it was too late. The divine undying blade in Xiao Nanfeng's hand vanished.

"What?!" Xiao Nanfeng glanced at his hands in shock.

He had been gripping his blade tightly. It had vanished out of nowhere—he hadn't even felt any resistance!

The next moment, the blade somehow appeared in the Spirit Emperor's hands, as though by magic.

"How?!" Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed.

"This is the power of his cursed spiritual avatar. He can reclaim objects across a short distance in spacetime."

"In spacetime? What a terrifying power!" Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed.

The Spirit Emperor rapped at the blade with his fingertips, causing it to resonate.

"A cursed king's cursed spiritual avatar? How could it have unleashed such tremendous power without the cursed king actively guiding it? It must have been because of the cursed spiritual power stored within that dragon-quelling spike. I didn't realize its true worth," the Spirit Emperor murmured.

He sneered at Xiao Nanfeng. "This blade is part of my collection now. Lad, you'll pay for what you've done."

"Spirit Emperor, I'm the one responsible!" The Divine Emperor immediately stepped in front of Xiao Nanfeng.

"Hiding behind a woman is pointless. No one will be able to save any whom I wish to kill." The Spirit Emperor smirked and shouted to his back, "Strike now!"

"Understood!" The shadows shot toward Xiao Nanfeng immediately.