Chapter 357: Retribution from Distrust

Outside Tianwu, a beam of light shot toward the city. The city guards immediately activated a formation in an attempt to halt the unwelcome intruder.

"Make way!" a cultivator within that beam of light shouted.

Only then did the guards see that there were two figures within the light. One was an Immortal of Taiwu, and the other was Xiang Shaoyin. Both of them were bleeding profusely, especially Xiang Shaoyin. He was immobile and so grievously wounded that he might well be dead.

"Deactivate the formation! No one is to delay them!" the guard captain cried out.

The beam of light shot into the city, straight toward the palace.

"Your Majesty, help! King Shaoyin's life is hanging by a thread. Your Majesty!" the profusely bleeding Immortal cried out.

The whole palace was in an uproar. Many cultivators flocked to the scene of the commotion, but the bloodied Immortal rushed deep within the palace.

Xiang Shaoyang, the Emperor Taiwu, was so startled by the commotion that he stepped out of the hall right away. He noticed the bleeding, unconscious Xiang Shaoyin immediately.

"What happened?" Xiang Shaoyang demanded.

"We were ambushed! Xiao Nanfeng was a liar. He allied with the Tianshu Empire and was lying to us all along. King Shaoyin had us tail Xiao Nanfeng, but we fell straight into his ambush. We were badly hurt and scattered from the pursuit. Cui Haitang struck King Shaoyin with one of the Spirit Emperor's peerless treasures, and his life is hanging in the balance. Please help, Your Majesty!" the bleeding Immortal cried out.

"What? Xiao Nanfeng!"

"He tricked us deliberately?"

"Damn it!"

The Xiang cultivators were all in an uproar.

Xiang Shaoyang, worried about his brother's safety, immediately rushed over.

While he was panicking and attempting to use his aura to examine Xiang Shaoyin's injuries, Xiang Shaoyin's eyes suddenly opened wide. He thrust his palm toward Xiang Shaoyang like a blade.

"What?!" the cultivators all around them cried out.

Xiang Shaoyang's eyes widened, but he was too close to 'Xiang Shaoyin' to react in time. All he could do was defend himself with Immortal qi.

'Xiang Shaoyin''s palm blade penetrated Xiang Shaoyang's qi barrier and through his chest. Blood sprayed out of his lower back.

Xiang Shaoyang slammed his other palm into 'Xiang Shaoyin', forcibly separating the two cultivators. A frightening burst of power struck the cultivators nearby in the form of a shockwave, sending them flying.

Xiang Shaoyang clutched his bleeding chest and thundered, "You're not Shaoyin. Who are you?!"

'Xiang Shaoyin' smirked as he faced him. "Who do you think I am, Xiang Shaoyang?"

"You're—Nalan Qiankun!" Xiang Shaoyang exclaimed.

"As expected, I can't fool you—but that's a rather serious injury you have there."

'Xiang Shaoyin''s body flickered as it transformed back into Nalan Qiankun's appearance. He shot toward Xiang Shaoyang without any hesitation.

The two cultivators smashed into each other in a wave of energy that shattered the buildings all around them. They shot into the air.

They fought more and more quickly, both retrieving their Spirit Emperor's peerless treasures and using them to attack the other cultivator.

"Protect His Majesty!"

The Xiang Immortals shot into the air to protect Xiang Shaoyang, but Nalan Qiankun wasn't alone. Tianshu Immortals flew into the city from afar to block the Taiwu Immortals.

"Nalan Qiankun, you truly are a schemer. Not only did you bribe my subordinates, you even impersonated my brother in an attempt to assassinate me!" Xiang Shaoyang shouted.

"Xiang Shaoyang, you're too petty. You had Xiang Shaoyin keep an eye on Xiao Nanfeng while you remained in Tianwu yourself. Aren't you supposed to be allies with Xiao Nanfeng? You should have helped him out, then. And if you were going to betray him, you should have done that decisively, too. Instead, you stayed right here, almost like you were deliberately making yourself a target." Nalan Qiankun roared in laughter.

"Nonsense! If I hadn't discovered your Immortals hovering around Tianwu, if I hadn't been intending to nab them all in one fell swoop, why would I remain in the capital? You simply acted before I did, impersonating my brother and stoking my emotions! How could you have impersonated him so well? Your aura was exactly like his!" Xiang Shaoyang howled.

Nalan Qiankun smirked. "I'll tell you once I behead you."

A storm formed in the air above the city of Tianwu. The Tianshu Immortals decisively suppressed the Taiwu Immortals, leaving the Taiwu Empire at a stark disadvantage.

By then, the defensive formation around Tianwu had activated, but too many enemies had already entered Tianwu. It shook and trembled violently, as though unable to withstand the Immortals' mass assault.

Under the eaves of a small cottage in Tianwu stood a man in red: Xiao Nanfeng's avatar.

Behind him was You Jiu, in black.

"Master, as you expected, Nalan Qiankun struck at Xiang Shaoyang. It looks like Xiang Shaoyang won't be able to last much longer after being so badly injured by Nalan Qiankun from the beginning." You Jiu frowned.

"Xiang Shaoyang was a fool. If he had followed the terms of our alliance and headed into the desert with Xiang Shaoyin, Nalan Qiankun would certainly have followed along. By then, I'd have deeply wounded Nalan Qiankun with my heavenly tribulation, and we'd be able to take down the gathered Tianshu Immortals together. It'd be a huge victory on our part—but in trying to backstab me, he became Nalan Qiankun's prey instead."

"They must have been intending to take both you and Nalan Qiankun down, only to have lost any control over the situation..." You Jiu murmured.

Xiao Nanfeng shook his head. "No. They were simply too petty. Their field of view was simply too narrow. All they cared about were immediate gains and grudges. Xiang Pojun and Xiang Lianzhen died because of me—but they've forgotten that their biggest enemy is Nalan Qiankun. They failed to see the big picture and tried to scheme against others at will, only to end up falling prey to their own scheme instead."

"Sir Xiao, should we interfere?" You Jiu asked.

"We won't. They brought this upon themselves; why should we help him?"

"Yessir!" You Jiu replied.

"Sir Xiao, your main body's still in the desert. Is it in any danger?" You Jiu asked.

"The desert's fewer than fifty kilometers away, and it's within the range of the Immortal's Destruction. If Xiang Shaoyang had hewn to the terms of our alliance and lured Nalan Qiankun there, I could have used the Immortal's Destruction as a backup plan to deal Nalan Qiankun a devastating blow. Unfortunately, Nalan Qiankun didn't head over, but it means that my main body is relatively safe. That said, we'll have to set up the Immortal's Destruction. It'll come into play later."

"Understood, Sir Xiao!" You Jiu nodded.

Back in the desert, Xiao Nanfeng's main body lay splayed on the ground.

"Cui Haitang really was crazy. To think she would cause the Hundred-Beast Flaming Dome to implode! I didn't even have time to enter the purple seal. Thankfully, I dealt with her and avenged my mother and senior uncle." Xiao Nanfeng huffed out in relief.

He turned and looked toward a forest in the distance. Blue Lantern was desperately trying to fend off the black skeleton.

Just then, beams of light shot over.

On guard, Xiao Nanfeng stood as he glared at Xiang Shaoyin and the nine Immortals around him.

"Xiao Nanfeng, what were those ten three-legged golden crows?" Xiang Shaoyin called out from afar.

"Xiang Shaoyin, your attitude toward our alliance has been truly disappointing," Xiao Nanfeng called back.

"Alliance? Who said we would ally with you? What does the Xiang clan gain by doing so? You've already killed eleven Tianshu Immortals. The Tianshu Empire's might has been curtailed dramatically, and we've achieved our objective. What's more, your potential shocks me. Leaving you alive will only hurt us in the long run," Xiang Shaoyin said, chuckling coldly.

𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"In other words, you're here to kill me?"

"Hand over your treasures and I'll spare your life," Xiang Shaoyin replied.

Xiao Nanfeng began to laugh. "What, are you worried that I'll emulate Cui Haitang, cause my treasures to self-destruct, and kill all of us together? Or are you trying to get me to relax before you launch a sneak attack on me? Your tricks are too easy to see through!"

"Hm?" Xiang Shaoyin narrowed his eyes.

"My physical body might be badly injured, but it's not hard for me to deal with the likes of you."

Xiao Nanfeng's body flickered. All his wounds suddenly seemed to vanish as a silver robe appeared around his body, and a silver moon behind his head. The aura of a Yin Body cultivator spread out around him.

A burst of frost struck the Xiang Immortals, causing them to shiver.