Chapter 524: Bossy and Arrogant

On the Eastern Sea, Xiao Nanfeng and five thousand purple-furred monsters flew toward Thousand-Spirit Island, followed by a thousand cultivators from the Imperial Court.

Ao Shuai chased after them from the back for quite a while before realizing that something was wrong. He flew up to Xiao Nanfeng's side and shouted, "Xiao Nanfeng, Thousand-Spirit Island's right ahead. Are we going to charge toward the island just like that? Are you crazy?"

"Ao Shuai, mind your manners. If you dare rebuke me like that again, I'll censure you for making light of the chain of command," Xiao Nanfeng retorted coolly.

Ao Shuai frowned, but continued patiently, "With the Martial Aspect of Silverfrost gone, there are only two True Immortals in our army besides me. As for Thousand-Spirit Island, it boasts not only an island lord of immense strength, but also almost a dozen True Immortal spirit kings that lead various factions on the island. If we charge forward so recklessly, we're going to die!"

He hadn't yet had time to contact his subordinates that were lying in ambush around the island. If they weren't able to take down Thousand-Spirit Island in one fell swoop and instead caused it to heighten its defenses, that would be troublesome. He was also worried about whether the island lord had indeed returned.

"Command of the army belongs to the commander. You're nothing but a lowly general. Why are you making such a fuss? If you don't want to accompany me, simply leave. No one will stop you."

Ao Shuai stiffened. He murmured inwardly, "Leave? As if the officials taking part in the expedition are blind! They'll record my lack of participation, and I'll surely be blamed for your death. Do you think me a fool?"

"I have no intention to become a deserter. If you wish to forge ahead, do so. Don't blame me for not warning you about the danger ahead."

"I shouldn't have been the one to tell you this, but I have no choice considering that you're the son of the Eastern Aspect, a heroic man. How could he have given birth to a coward like you? Why are you in hysterics after encountering just a small problem? If you keep this up, you'll never make a name for yourself!"

Ao Shuai's face twitched in annoyance.

Xiao Nanfeng was the commander in charge of this expedition, and he could hardly refute his words considering the power dynamics between them. If he were to start a fight, the officials around Xiao Nanfeng, in charge of records, would note the altercation down. If word spread to the Imperial Court, he was the one who would suffer as a result.

Ao Shuai could only sniff in annoyance as he retreated.

When he returned to the back of the army, he was surrounded by a group of his subordinates.

"Master, one of our spies with an avatar sent word saying that Sage Yellowbrow and the Martial Aspect of Silverfrost are fighting outside Yongding..." a subordinate reported.

"What? The lord of the Thousand-Spirit Island has headed to Yongding? Xiao Nanfeng really is malicious. He tricked the Martial Aspect of Silverfrost and sent him there as a shield!" Ao Shuai cried out.

"Right? No wonder Xiao Nanfeng's rushing toward Thousand-Spirit Island now. However, even if the island lord is gone, the island is protected by a group of True Immortal spirits. Aren't we going to die if we charge in just like this?" his subordinate replied, frowning.

Ao Shuai fumed when he thought back to his conversation with Xiao Nanfeng. "Ignore that madman. I hope he dies within the clutches of those spirits!"

"More importantly, if we charge forward at this rate, the forces we have in wait won't be able to rush toward the island in time," one of his subordinates murmured.

"It'll be fine even if they're late. At any rate, we have to let Xiao Nanfeng die first. As for the treasures of Thousand-Spirit Island, we'll claim as much of it as we can," Ao Shuai said.

"Very well." His subordinates all nodded.

At the same time, in the vicinity of Thousand-Spirit Island...

The countless islands that were scattered around the main island were home to various spirit kings and countless spirits. There were so many spirits that each island might as well have been a kingdom in its own right.

The various spirit king leaders had all gathered by the plaza in front of the Thousand Spirits' Hall on Thousand-Spirit Island.

They glanced at each other curiously and began to converse.

"You're here early, aren't you?"

"Didn't the island lord summon us? He said that there were important arrangements, so we had to come early."

"But it's strange, isn't it? Why was Commander Mo the one who sent word to inform us? That's out of the ordinary—and those messengers were unfamiliar, too."

"They were, but they did have Commander Mo's token with them. Surely nothing's wrong?"

The spirit kings chatted with each other. Many were perplexed, but Thousand-Spirit Island was home for them, and they weren't concerned about any subterfuge.

However, some of them occasionally shot curious glances at Ao Zhou. He was the one who had informed them of the news. At that moment, Ao Zhou was still busy sending small spirits around to urge the other spirit kings to convene.

Just then, a small spirit flew over. It said anxiously, "King, something's wrong. My avatar is in Yongding. The island lord and Commander Mo are waging war over there. How could they have convened a meeting here?"

The spirit kings all frowned as they looked toward Ao Zhou, intending to ask him what was going on.

However, Ao Zhou retorted, "So what if the island lord is in Yongding? He'll be sending a subordinate over to assign a task to every spirit king in charge. What sort of place do you think this is? You're spouting nonsense without even confirming the facts! Are you trying to cause a disturbance?"

"Ah?" The small spirit hesitated, momentarily at a loss.

Ao Zhou then turned toward the spirit kings. "Please wait. Someone familiar to all of you will soon come to explain the situation."

The spirit kings frowned, but nodded.

Ao Zhou turned toward the small spirits on his other side. "Two spirit kings haven't yet arrived. Hurry up and summon them."

"Got it!" A group of small spirits rushed away.

Just then, a man flew over. He cried out, "I'm one of Commander Mo's subordinates, and I have an avatar by his main body. He said that he never convened such a meeting. Something's wrong with this spirit! Catch him!"

The spirits all looked toward Ao Zhou, but Ao Zhou didn't seem nervous at all. He thundered, "Do you want to die? Commander Mo assigned me this task himself, and he even gave me his identification token! You're making a fuss about this because Commander Mo stripped you of your position and left me in charge! That's a grudge between the two of us—how could you make a fuss right here and now? Do you intend to ruin my task? Beat him up!"

The spirit kings were taken aback and momentarily confused. They knew the person who had just spoken; he was one of Commander Mo's usual messengers. Had he really been stripped of his position? Ao Zhou's token wasn't fake, either. Had things really happened the way Ao Zhou described them?

"He's ly—" The person tried to expose Ao Zhou, but Croak sent him flying with a fist.

Croak began to pummel on him before he could get a word out.

"Beat him to death! Beat up this double-crossing fool! Commander Mo just appointed me to this position—I won't let him make a fuss and ruin my plans! Beat him up!" Ao Zhou shouted.

Just then, another cultivator rushed forward and shouted, "He's lying!"

Before the person could say more, however, Warble sent him flying with a punch. He shrieked as he landed in the distance.

Ao Zhou thundered, "Is everyone against me today? Do you really think Commander Mo won't punish you for what you're doing? I'm telling you, now that I've risen to prominence and all of you have lost your backer, I'll replace every last one of you stubborn fools! Who else wants to make a fuss? Come on!"

Ao Zhou's bossy and domineering behavior caused the spirit kings to titter at each other as they watched. Seeing Mo Lengxuan's subordinates fighting each other was the best of entertainment.

Two more spirit kings approached from the distance. The other spirit kings explained to them what was going on, and they watched the development unfold with interest.

Ao Zhou clearly wasn't satisfied with grandstanding alone. He began to take part in the melee of his own accord, beating up the 'troublemakers' with Croak and Warble. The spirits all around them began to laugh.

Just then, seventy-two pillars of light rose into the air around the Thousand-Spirit Island. The pillars of light shot into the sky and arced toward the center, joining together in a structure that looked like an umbrella frame.

"What's this?" Some of the spirit kings frowned.

"Spirit kings, there's no need to worry. Commander Mo arranged for this defensive formation to protect the island.

The spirit kings frowned. They suddenly looked around in unease, but if they were so scared they fled from nothing but a defensive formation, they'd never hear the last of it from the other spirit kings. All they could do, for the sake of their pride, was to remain and watch on.

Just then, a small spirit suddenly shouted, "King, forces are rapidly approaching us! Their leader is Xiao Nanfeng!"

"What?" The spirit kings whirled around to see Xiao Nanfeng approaching from afar with a huge army.

Sensing that something was wrong, the spirit kings attempted to flee, but it was already too late. The seventy-two pillars of light transformed into a membrane, establishing a giant blue barrier that trapped the strongest spirits of Thousand-Spirit Island within.

"Something's wrong. Break!" a spirit king roared, striking at the barrier with a palm.

The barrier trembled briefly, but didn't seem to suffer damage otherwise.

"Have we been trapped? We'll strike together!" the spirit king shouted.

The spirit kings combined their attacks in a huge explosion that caused the barrier to tremble violently—but not to break.

"Isn't this the Hall of Martial Aspects' Cursed Earth formation? When Martial Aspects from the Imperial Court are out on missions, they can borrow important relics from the Hall of Martial Aspects, which must be returned at the end of the mission. This is one of the formations that the Hall has available for public use!" one spirit king shouted, recognizing it.

"This formation has to be set up days in advance. Why did no one notice?"

"A spy! He's a spy for the Imperial Court!"

"Damn it, is the Imperial Court attacking Thousand-Spirit Island now?!"

The spirit kings were all in a fuss.

They attempted to break down the formation, but failed to do so at all. They immediately shouted to those spirits outside the formation, "Attack this foundation of this formation! Hurry!"

"Understood!" The spirits gathered outside the formation rushed toward it.

Ao Zhou frowned. He shouted into the distance, "Xiao Nanfeng, hurry up! We won't be able to guard the foundation of the formation for long!"

Ao Zhou, Croak, and Warble faced off against the gathered Immortal spirits. However, there were simply too many spirits on the island, all of whom were rushing toward the formation after hearing about the news.

From afar, Xiao Nanfeng shouted, "All forces, protect the Cursed Earth formation! Kill anyone who dares draw near!"

"Understood!" The five thousand purple-furred monsters rushed forward.

Intense fighting ensued all over Thousand-Spirit Island. A howling tempest formed, and tsunami-like waves filled the surrounding ocean.

𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Ao Shuai and the others gaped at Xiao Nanfeng. "You were laying out the Cursed Earth formation all this time?"

"Ao Shuai, aren't you going to make a move? If you allow those spirits to close in on the formation, I'll punish you for being in cahoots with the enemy!" Xiao Nanfeng shouted at Ao Shuai and his subordinates.

Ao Shuai and his subordinates: ...