Chapter 571: Hoarding the Opportunity

Two Golden Immortal guards defended against the lightning strikes, but were overwhelmed by the assailant's strength. What's more, the assailant had quite a few Golden Immortal relics and was strong beyond compare.

The two Golden Immortals were sent flying as the violet dragon with the lightning storm flew toward Mo Shanhe.

Mo Shanhe defended himself with an aegis that radiated with golden light, obviously a relic of no small value. However, the violet dragon suddenly spat out a golden spiked mace, which he slammed into the shield.

"The Buddha of Dual Cultivation's relic!" Mo Shanhe exclaimed.

He suddenly realized that his assailant was the culprit behind the destruction of the Buddha of Dual Cultivation's Grotto.

The spiked mace shattered the shield, then dealt Mo Shanhe himself a heavy blow.

Mo Shanhe was sent flying. He spat out a mouthful of blood in mid-air.

"Prime Minister!" A group of cultivators rushed over to him, but before they could provide any assistance, the violet dragon's sharp claws caught the flying Mo Shanhe as he soared into the air.

"Hold it, Martial Aspect of Violetfrost!"

"Put the prime minister down!"

The Dayin cultivators hurriedly gave chase.

Mo Shanhe, caught in the violet dragon's clutches, shouted, "Take Ao Shuai as hostage!"

On the mountain peak in the distance, Ao Shuai stiffened. What did any of this have to do with him?!

Behind Ao Shuai, the true Martial Aspect of Violetfrost wasn't able to take it any longer. He shot into the air and roared, "What manner of bandit are you? Who dares impersonate me, the Martial Aspect of Violetfrost? Die!"

The true Martial Aspect of Violetfrost struck at his impersonator with a blade, causing a river of lightning to crackle as it surged forth. The impersonator's tail flicked at the river of lightning, causing it to dissipate in the form of small balls that scattered beneath them and caused the mountains in their vicinity to collapse.

The sudden appearance of the true Martial Aspect of Violetfrost shocked everyone.

"Two Martial Aspects of Violetfrost? What's going on?" everyone exclaimed.

Mo Shanhe frowned. He too had noticed something amiss. It was obvious what was going on—his assailant had impersonated the Martial Aspect of Violetfrost. Mo Shanhe had lured Xiao Nanfeng into a trap and subverted Xiao Nanfeng's plan by implicating Ao Shuai and the Imperial Court. Now, however, it was his turn to be entrapped by another.

The violet dragon roared, "How much more shameless can Dayin get? Who dares impersonate me?!"

The Martial Aspect of Violetfrost was outraged beyond belief. Not only had that cultivator impersonated him, that cultivator was even claiming to be the real one!

The Martial Aspect of Violetfrost transformed into a violet dragon as he slammed his bulk into Emperor Feng's draconic form.

"Die!" the Martial Aspect of Violetfrost howled.

"You die!" Emperor Feng retorted.

The two violet dragons struck each other amidst the void like the clashing of continents. A lightning storm formed around them, charging up the air as destruction rained down over their surroundings.

The Martial Aspect of Violetfrost was sent flying, smashing a mountain in his wake.

"Impossible. How could this be?" he exclaimed.

Lightning was his domain of expertise. How could he lose to this impersonator?

"Whoever you are, for daring to impersonate me, I'll deal with you later!" Emperor Feng shouted.

Then, he vanished over the horizon with Mo Shanhe in tow. Mo Shanhe's guards gave chase in shock.

"Hold it right there, you bastard!" the Martial Aspect of Violetfrost shouted as he gave chase.

Not only had he lost to his impersonator, his impersonator had maligned him! He was so incensed that his scales were trembling. He would let that impersonator pay for this!

"Violetfrost, don't leave! Save me!" Ao Shuai suddenly shouted.

The Martial Aspect of Violetfrost turned to see a group of Dayin cultivators heading for Ao Shuai.

He frowned. Exasperated, he had no choice but to give up on pursuing Emperor Feng and headed to defend Ao Shuai instead. With a sweep of his tail, he sent all the incoming cultivators flying, then took on human form again.

"Are you all crazy? A madman impersonated me. This is none of our business!" the Martial Aspect of Violetfrost howled.

The Dayin cultivators were taken aback. They couldn't help but meet this remark with skepticism. How could the real Martial Aspect of Violetfrost have lost to his impersonator when it came to mastery over lightning?

Meanwhile, beams of golden light shot out from the capital of Dayin, hovering right above the barrier erected for the martial tournament. An imposing aura swelled from the cultivators, suppressing the dust and revealing countless injured.

Many of the wounded spectators were groaning, clearly badly hurt. They looked toward the air and saw golden-armored cultivators surrounding a man dressed in golden draconic robes. The man had a wide face, sharp features, hulking physique, domineering aura, and divine might.

"Call back your subordinates, Yin Shenhua!" the Martial Aspect of Violetfrost cried out.

"We greet the Immortal Emperor!" All the officials and soldiers of Dayin bowed down immediately.

The man who had arrived was none other than the Immortal Emperor of Dayin, Yin Shenhua.

"Where is Mo Shanhe?" Yin Shenhua demanded.

"Immortal Emperor, an assassin appeared in the guise of the Martial Aspect of Violetfrost and attacked the prime minister. He left with the prime minister and fled in that direction. The prime minister's guards immediately gave chase," an official reported, pointing into the distance.

Yin Shenhua frowned. This was a serious matter. He looked toward his surroundings. "Secure the perimeter. No one is to enter or exit the area. Leave everything untouched and await my return."

"Understood!" the cultivators replied.

Then, Yin Shenhua flew off, vanishing into the horizon in the blink of an eye. The golden-armored cultivators arrayed around him swiftly followed suit.

The remaining Dayin soldiers quickly formed troops and locked the area down.

Everything was to remain in stasis.

Even the Martial Aspect of Violetfrost and Ao Shuai were surrounded by a large group of cultivators.

The sudden circumstances left everyone overwhelmed.

Back on a floating island in Dayin's capital, Yin Tianci, who had watched the entire affair unfold from afar, frowned at Tang. "You were right. Something did happen. Thank goodness I didn't head over there myself."

"Your Highness, given how things are developing, to avoid any further disturbances, I recommend that you return to your manor and inform the guards in the city to be on alert. This may yet be a ploy to get the emperor and prime minister away from the city," Tang warned.

"You're right. With Father lured away, if anyone were to make a mess in the city now... We'll return immediately," Yin Tianci stated.

The two cultivators left at once.

The barrier erected for the martial tournament remained stable. It had blocked the shockwaves and aftermath that resulted from the lightning strikes a moment ago, and nothing within had been damaged. However, the competitors were all in shock. Who would have expected that so much would happen in so little time?

What were they to do now? Was the tournament going to continue?

Xiao Nanfeng stopped his interrogation, knowing that the martial tournament would surely be canceled. He reached out for the pagoda of quintessential solarfire immediately.

Plenty of competitors stared at him, wanting to stop him, but knowing that they would only fail to do so.

The pagoda of quintessential solarfire gleamed with golden light, repulsing Xiao Nanfeng's hand. He wasn't able to manipulate the relic at all.

"It really is being remotely controlled, isn't it?" Xiao Nanfeng snorted.

He activated the golden net and flung it at the pagoda of quintessential solarfire, which gleamed with bright light as it tried to shake off the net. However, the golden net was an incredible relic in its own right. It glowed more and more brightly, suppressing the pagoda as the two relics fought for dominance.

One of the competitors was secretly controlling the pagoda of quintessential solarfire, but he was unable to free the pagoda from the net, and he didn't dare show himself, either. He fretted, not knowing what to do.

Not only did the golden net have the ability to bind whatever it caught, it could also suppress or seal the strength of any bound entities within. The pagoda of quintessential solarfire was unable to exert its power.

Xiao Nanfeng walked up to the pagoda and struck at it with his divine undying blade, causing the pagoda to tremble as sparks flew everywhere.

"Martial Aspect Xiao, you can't destroy the pagoda of quintessential solarfire!" the hidden cultivator cried out.

"Is the pagoda yours? Or do you intend to compete with me for the grand prize?" Xiao Nanfeng demanded.

The cultivator stiffened and retreated to the side. He didn't dare admit that he was responsible for controlling the pagoda; he could sense that Xiao Nanfeng would have struck him down if he were to continue talking.

The other competitors, however, were glancing askance at each other. Though they acknowledged Xiao Nanfeng's strength, it was likely that the tournament would be canceled now that such a fracas had broken out. At that point, would Xiao Nanfeng still be able to claim the pagoda for himself?

Was Xiao Nanfeng attempting to destroy the pagoda if he couldn't claim it?

Xiao Nanfeng struck the pagoda dozens of times in an instant, causing a crack to form on its surface. Roiling golden flames surged forth.

Xiao Nanfeng began to absorb those flames without any hesitation. Soon, he was engulfed by them.

"The pagoda contains a supply of quintessential solarfire. Is Xiao Nanfeng trying to destroy the relic and claim all of those flames for himself?" Many competitors were astounded by the sight, but none dared to step forward and stop him. The golden flames surged like the raging sea. Waves of heat emanated from Xiao Nanfeng, which the cultivators were barely able to tolerate even from afar.

Xiao Nanfeng sat cross-legged within the flames, absorbing them all steadily.

"Tigers, pack up my things and guard me!" Xiao Nanfeng commanded.

The three tiger spirits gulped and nodded. "Understood!"

They didn't dare to attack Xiao Nanfeng at all. After all, Xiao Nanfeng had an avatar. If they were to strike him, he would surely take revenge.

The three tigers guarded Xiao Nanfeng as he meditated and began to break through even as everyone watched him.

They gaped at him even as they gave him a strange look. Even those spectators watching from beyond the barrier were casting him envious glances.