Chapter 477: Hide My Traces

By the surface of the sea, the three True Immortals continued to attack the Martial Aspect of Silverfrost amidst a howling tempest.

By the side of the Purpleflame Gourd some distance away, an Earth Immortal three-headed serpent shouted, "King, no one has left the Purpleflame Gourd after they went in, and the flames coming out of the gourd look really unstable. Something bad might have happened!"

The serpent king, in the middle of the fighting, roared back, "Seal the gourd completely .Even if there's something wrong, trap everyone within. I'll have a look once I finish off the Martial Aspect of Silverfrost!"

"Understood!"

The Earth Immortal serpents outside the gourd sealed its lid and infused all their energy into its bindings.

Two hours later, the flames emerging from the Purpleflame Gourd vanished completely, causing the serpents to fret.

"They're all gone! What do we do now?"

"What else? We have to wait! Keep infusing energy into the gourd and make sure it's sealed shut.

"Got it!"

The three-headed serpents continued to encase the Purpleflame Gourd with their energy.

Within the gourd, after his breakthrough, Xiao Nanfeng walked around the interior of the gourd with Zhang Lingjun in tow.

"This gourd really is an impressive treasure. Even without the flames, it hasn't lost its structural integrity," Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed.

"It's a True Immortal relic, and the flames aren't part of it. It might have been used to store the quintessential purpleflame, but the contents of the gourd aren't linked to the gourd itself," Zhang Lingjun analyzed.

They found the gourd's opening sealed shut. Purple restrictions demarcated a formation that blocked the two cultivators' path.

The two cultivators flew up to the formation and probed at it.

"It's a strong formation. I suspect we won't be able to get out," Zhang Lingjun murmured.

"Getting out isn't a problem, but I wonder if I can claim this relic for myself...?" Xiao Nanfeng murmured.

Zhang Lingjun was astounded. "You're only at early-stage True Yin, which is comparable in strength to a Heaven Immortal. Mid-stage True Yin would make you on par with a True Immortal. This gourd can likely trap even True Immortals, so how would you ever escape? How can that be?"

"And what if I can bring you out with me?" Xiao Nanfeng asked, smiling.

"Can you? Are you sure?"

"Of course! If we manage to escape, you'll help me hide my strength and uncover why the Martial Aspect of Silverfrost is so insistent on killing me. Deal?"

"Deal." Zhang Lingjun accepted without any hesitation.

She glanced curiously at Xiao Nanfeng. Just how many secrets did he possess?

Xiao Nanfeng's body flickered as he transitioned to his True Yin body. He probed the formation again. Although it blocked his spiritual power, his candleflame powers superseded that restriction. His spiritual power passed straight through.

He didn't establish an opening in the gourd because he wanted to attune to the relic first. After bypassing the barrier, his spiritual power rapidly dispersed itself throughout the interior of the gourd.

Very quickly, he sensed the source of the restrictions at play and found a special blend of spiritual energy that the owner of the gourd must have left behind to control it.

He washed away those markings with his own spiritual power, then filled the gourd to the brim.

Outside the gourd, the Earth Immortal three-headed serpents were sent flying from a sudden shake of the gourd.

"It's not obeying our commands anymore!"

"The Purpleflame Gourd is resisting our spiritual energy?"

"Something's wrong. Inform the king immediately!"

"The king's fighting all the way over there!"

"Go regardless!"

The serpents began to panic upon sensing that something was amiss.

Just then, the gourd suddenly opened up as two figures flew out.

"Xiao Nanfeng's not dead yet? We have to let the king know, now!" the serpents cried out.

Xiao Nanfeng summoned the Purpleflame Gourd to his hand and activated it. "Entrap!"

Tremendous suction drew in all the Earth Immortal serpents in the vicinity.

"How could he be in control of the Purpleflame Gourd now?!"

"We have to flee!"

𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Save us, King!"

The serpents cried out as they attempted to run, but the suction of the Purpleflame Gourd was too great for them to handle. They were completely unable to resist its power and found themselves sucked within.

Xiao Nanfeng capped the gourd and secured it tightly.

"Just how did you do it?" Zhang Lingjun exclaimed, astonished.

"I didn't do it. You were the one who attuned to the Purpleflame Gourd before giving it to me. We agreed on that, so make sure you remember it," Xiao Nanfeng corrected her.

"Are you really going to treat me like your shield?" Zhang Lingjun gave him an odd look.

"I have no choice. I'm in danger, after all. I haven't interacted with the Imperial Court before this, but they're already out for my blood. I suspect that this danger stems from you or your father, or because you haven't secured the position that now belongs to me. You must help," Xiao Nanfeng said.

Zhang Lingjun frowned, but nodded. "Let's leave it at that, then."

What happened in the Purpleflame Gourd left Zhang Lingjun exceptionally curious about Xiao Nanfeng, and she was grateful for his saving her. She didn't mind helping out with this small favor.

Xiao Nanfeng looked toward the battlefield afar at the masked cultivators who were attacking the Martial Aspect of Silverfrost in conjunction with the three-headed serpent king. The Martial Aspect seemed to be in dire straits.

"A group of Heaven Immortals in tandem with three True Immortals is sufficient to trap the Martial Aspect of Silverfrost? Is this how weak the Martial Aspects of the Imperial Court are?" Xiao Nanfeng frowned.

Zhang Lingjun scoffed. "You might be at early-stage True Yin, but surely it's not your place to criticize the Martial Aspect of Silverfrost. He's far stronger than you are."

"My cultivation is rather weak, but that's just because I haven't been cultivating for long. If all Martial Aspects are on this level, how can the Imperial Court make its subordinate divine empires pay tribute? This would be nothing overwhelming to them," Xiao Nanfeng pointed out.

"The Martial Aspect of Silverfrost was heavily injured not too long ago, so he must still be recovering," Zhang Lingjun replied.

"That's more like it." Xiao Nanfeng nodded. "Go hide. I have to go over and help."

"You're going to help the Martial Aspect of Silverfrost? But he was trying to kill you!"

"Oh, I'm going to help alright. If I don't, he's going to win."

Zhang Lingjun: ...

"It might look like he's in dire straits, but he's actually just conserving his energy. His opponents are the ones that are going to suffer, and I don't intend to let him seize this opportunity. Hide yourself with fog, then fly into the air."

Zhang Lingjun gave him an odd look, but did as he ordered. She glanced down at Xiao Nanfeng, who was activating the Purpleflame Gourd while no one was paying attention to him.

"Entrap!" he commanded.

A wave of suction surged toward the battlefield.

The cultivators were taken aback by the sudden attack. Xiao Nanfeng easily figured out who their leader was.

In a flash, their leader was captured by Xiao Nanfeng and sucked into the gourd.

"Let His Highness go!"

"Was that Xiao Nanfeng? He attacked His Highness?"

"How could the Purpleflame Gourd be in his control?!"

The masked cultivators gaped at Xiao Nanfeng.

"Got him!" Xiao Nanfeng's eyes lit up. Without any hesitation, he dove into the sea and vanished from sight.

Zhang Lingjun watched everything unfold from high in the clouds. The masked cultivators gave up on the Martial Aspect of Silverfrost and dove into the sea after Xiao Nanfeng. They searched all over, causing giant swells all over its surface, but were unable to find any trace of Xiao Nanfeng.

The only one left assaulting the Martial Aspect was the three-headed serpent king. It cried out, "You damn bastards, you're leaving me behind?!"

The Martial Aspect of Silverfrost sent it reeling with an attack. Its three heads spat out mouthfuls of blood as one of its heads split open, a heavy injury. It turned to flee immediately.

"You won't get away!" the Martial Aspect roared.

However, the three-headed serpent king was exceptionally skilled at fleeing. It dove into the sea and vanished from sight in the blink of an eye.

The Martial Aspect gave chase for quite some time, but was forced to retreat without any success.

Meanwhile, the masked cultivators expanded their search and soon disappeared from sight.

"Princess? Are you still around?" the Martial Aspect of Silverfrost cried out, floating above the sea's surface.

Zhang Lingjun didn't respond. She remained within the clouds, wholly distrustful of this guard of hers.

With a splash, Xiao Nanfeng flew out from the sea. He shouted into the clouds, "Princess, it's safe now! You can come out now!"

Zhang Lingjun slowly descended from the skies.

The Martial Aspect of Silverfrost frowned, sensing that Zhang Lingjun was on guard against him. He immediately flew toward her and bowed. "I apologize for my lack of ability, Princess. You must have been caught by surprise."

"I'm alright. Where's everyone else?" Zhang Lingjun frowned.

"The other officials are all dead. Fortunately, we divided our group in two. Those officials that were bringing the Martial Aspect of Sunblaze's corpse back to the Imperial Court have gone to fetch his relatives, and they should all be alright."

"They're all dead?" Zhang Lingjun frowned mightily.

"Their corpses should be by that island over there." The Martial Aspect of Silverfrost pointed at an island in the distance.

Xiao Nanfeng immediately flew over to reclaim their corpses.

The moment Xiao Nanfeng left, the Martial Aspect told Zhang Lingjun, "These masked cultivators and three-headed serpents both seemed to have come for Xiao Nanfeng. It's a disaster that he caused."

Zhang Lingjun gave the Martial Aspect of Silverfrost a severe look. "Martial Aspect Xiao noticed that something was awry and requested that we flee immediately. You were the one who decided against that idea and caused all this commotion. If anyone is to blame, surely it must be you."

The Martial Aspect of Silverfrost grimaced, not understanding how Zhang Lingjun's attitude toward Xiao Nanfeng had changed so suddenly. Just what had happened?

Xiao Nanfeng flew back from afar. "Princess, I've gathered up the officials' corpses. We shouldn't stay here any longer. Let's move on and discuss things later."

Zhang Lingjun nodded.

The Martial Aspect of Silverfrost frowned, but said nothing. The trio departed quickly.