Chapter 588: Greeting Their Master

Zhao Yuanjiao turned to the demonic sect master in surprise.

"When did you discover it?" the demonic sect master asked.

"I was already a little suspicious in the past, but I couldn't be certain until a few hours ago, when I saw you fight. You used exactly the same techniques and tricks that you taught me."

The demonic sect master sighed. "It looks like I'm not quite as skilled at deception as I would like."

Slowly, the demonic sect master removed his cowl to reveal his true appearance.

"You—Master!" Zhao Yuanjiao exclaimed.

Revealed underneath the cowl was Ku Jiang, long thought dead—though his eyes now shone brilliantly with light.

"Master, it really is you! I knew you hadn't perished," Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed.

"You knew?" Ku Jiang was taken by surprise.

"In the past, after I had returned to Taiqing Island from the undying realm and was being targeted by Nalan Qiankun's son, I recall that you had left the sect in order to break through. Everyone thought you were ascending to the Yin Body realm, but upon your return, you told me that you had been granted opportunities from the heavens themselves. That surely indicated a tribulation, but your corpse wasn't that of an Immortal. I had a sense that something was amiss then," Xiao Nanfeng began.

"So my deception was already flawed by then," Ku Jiang murmured, smiling.

"How did you end up becoming the demonic sect master, Master? Were you the demonic sect master we encountered last time as well?" Zhao Yuanjiao asked, astonished.

"It was me," Ku Jiang replied, nodding.

"Oh?" This drew frowns from both Xiao Nanfeng and Zhao Yuanjiao.

"Do you remember the tribulation that the Taiqing Sect faced, the one I talked about?" Ku Jiang asked.

"I remember, Master. Two centuries ago, the Taiqing Sect had built up sufficient reserves to advance into a holy land, and the sect had funneled its resources into a disciple to found a divine empire and become an Immortal Emperor. That Immortal Emperor then betrayed the sect and caused internal strife. In the end, only a few weak disciples remained. They managed to escape to Taiqing Island and were tasked with the revival of the sect."

"Not only that, the resulting strife exacerbated a schism. The Taiqing Sect split into two, the Taiqing Immortal Sect and Taiqing Demonic Sect," Zhao Yuanjiao added.

Ku Jiang nodded. "Despite the subsequent protection of the Yuqing holy land, the traitorous Immortal Emperor continued to send his subordinates into both Taiqing sects as he attempted to destroy both sects to the last."

"Oh?"

"The previous demonic sect master was assassinated in that manner. Before his death, he had me take over as the new demonic sect master to identify the culprit," Ku Jiang said, sighing.

"And no one else was aware of this?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

Ku Jiang nodded. "No one knows of this. All these years, I've been operating with two bodies as I cleared away what traitors remained in the two sects. Last time, I chose not to reveal myself because Nanfeng had had the strength to deal with Nalan Qiankun himself."

"In that case, was that red-robed elder who betrayed Taiqing Island today a subordinate of that traitorous Immortal Emperor?" Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed, caught by surprise.

Ku Jiang nodded. "That is likely so. In the past, with the Taiqing sect's power waning and able to be snuffed out at any moment, few of its past enemies paid much attention to it. Your meteoric rise has drawn the attention of that traitor. Though he's not quite wary, he doesn't want to see you grow any further, either."

"That damn traitor," Xiao Nanfeng spat out.

"As for Mo Lengxuan, whom you killed, that's not much trouble at all. Actually, I've known for quite a while that he was abusing the privilege of his station as the right division leader of the Taiqing Demonic Sect, but I didn't strike at him because he wasn't a concern. Not only that, I could use him to attract the attention of the traitorous Immortal Emperor, and as a shield for loyal disciples. After you killed him—well, I suppose it's for the best," Ku Jiang said.

"Master, did you intend for your other body to be killed by Nalan Qiankun, too?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

Ku Jiang nodded. "My other body was in the red moon illusory realm. I had to enter it and investigate its depths for personal reasons, so I triggered that whole series of events."

"Thank goodness." Xiao Nanfeng sighed, relaxing. Then, he took out a coffin. "Master, this is your avatar's physical body."

"Thank you." Ku Jiang stored the coffin away, then sighed again. "You've grown too strong too quickly. That traitorous Immortal Emperor will surely strike at us once more, and Taiqing is bound to suffer more calamity. What's more, you've truly offended the divine empire of Dayin. With attacks from two fronts, your situation will only grow more precarious."

"Please relax, Master. The cursed effigies of Dayin won't be able to live for long," Xiao Nanfeng promised.

"Oh?"

"My plans are coming to fruition, and they should be ready momentarily."

"Wonderful! Very well. I look forward to seeing how you intend to topple an empire," Ku Jiang said, smiling.

"Would you like to remain to spectate?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

Ku Jiang shook his head. "I've been in the capital of that traitorous Immortal Emperor's divine empire, and I need to keep an eye on the situation there. I won't be able to stay for long."

"Do you need my assistance, Master?" Xiao Nanfeng and Zhao Yuanjiao both asked.

"There's no need. I've accumulated sufficient resources after all these years, but the rest of you should be careful," Ku Jiang warned.

"Understood!" the two cultivators replied.

"I'll be leaving, then," Ku Jiang said.

"Take care, Master!" Both his disciples bowed.

Ku Jiang gave them a faint smile, threw his cowl over his head, and vanished across the sea.

"Thank goodness Master's still alive! I never expected he would be so strong," Zhao Yuanjiao murmured.

"Master really is very strong. Although he seems to have tricked everyone, I believe the sect master Lu Yan had some knowledge of what was happening," Xiao Nanfeng said.

"Oh?"

"Remember? When he had to leave the sect, he gave Master the sect master's token. Master had the authority and trust to command the sect in his absence," Xiao Nanfeng said.

"I did forget," Zhao Yuanjiao murmured. "No wonder the sect master trusts Master to this extent."

"However, I don't think the sect master knows the extent of our master's strength. Several years ago, he underwent what I now believe is the True Immortal tribulation. In just a few years, he's already grown to the level of a Golden Immortal. Master's opportunities are no inferior to ours," Xiao Nanfeng analyzed.

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"It is, but it's too dangerous for him to deal with that traitorous Immortal Emperor in his own right. We'll have to do our best to advance our own cultivation and follow in his footsteps."

Zhao Yuanjiao nodded firmly. "You're right."

"Senior Brother, I'll leave Taiqing Island in your care, then. I need to head to the Imperial Court at once," Xiao Nanfeng said.

"Very well!" Zhao Yuanjiao nodded.

The two cultivators flew back to the remote island.

Xiao Nanfeng bade his farewell, then flew off toward the Imperial Court with his five purple-furred monsters in tow.

Back in Dayin's capital, within the Thunderclap Hall, Yin Shenhua sat atop his draconic throne, his face dour beyond belief. Word had been received from Taiqing Island: all the subordinates he had sent there had been killed. In other words, Xiao Nanfeng had escaped again.

"Have you found Tang?" Yin Shenhua demanded.

"Not yet," a golden-armored cultivator replied.

"Hm?"

"We've been keeping track of His Highness all along, and we have a record of Tang's behavior as well. That day, if Tang had goaded His Highness out of the city, we would have done our best to stop him. However, Tang was far too sly. He feigned unconsciousness on account of his injuries, causing us to drop our guard. When His Highness was reported missing and we wanted to search for him, we learned that he was long gone. Only then did we determine that there was something wrong with him," the golden-armored cultivator reported.

Yin Shenhua scowled. "Xiao Nanfeng really did plan this all out."

"The prime minister was responsible for maintaining our military might. Now that he's been captured by Xiao Nanfeng, what are we going to do?" the golden-armored cultivator asked in worry.

"Send your subordinates to Yongding and negotiate with Xiao Nanfeng's avatar. Ransom back Mo Shanhe and Yin Tianci at any cost!" Yin Shenhua demanded.

"Understood!" the golden-armored cultivator replied.

Back in the Imperial Court, by the Eastern Gate, all the purple-furred monsters that had left Dayin were waiting outside, no one having entered.

Only when Xiao Nanfeng arrived did they swarm around him and call out, "We greet the Martial Aspect!"

𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"Let's go!" Xiao Nanfeng said.

"Understood!" the nearly-ten-thousand-strong group of purple-furred lifeforms replied.

Their combined shouts caused even the Eastern Gate to rumble, surprising the soldiers in charge of guarding it. Although they were curious and surprised by the purple-furred monsters' regained intelligence, they were even more shocked by Xiao Nanfeng's arrival.

Xiao Nanfeng's accomplishments had already spread throughout the Sieve of Heaven.

He had recovered 60% of Dayin's fortune, a crippling sum for any divine empire. Not only that, he had managed to retreat in full and unharmed—and was allegedly holding the prime minister and crown prince of Dayin hostage. This would have been unimaginable for any inhabitant of the Sieve of Heaven beforehand, but Xiao Nanfeng had truly done it.

No one believed that this was out of luck; surely there were no Immortal Emperors who would be so foolish. Despite the fact that he was only a Heaven Immortal, the guards of the Eastern Gate nevertheless treated him with fear and respect.

"We welcome Martial Aspect Xiao back to court," the guards said, bowing.

Xiao Nanfeng nodded, then led his army of purple-furred monsters through the Eastern Gate.

All the Immortals who were entering or leaving the Sieve of Heaven by the Eastern Gate pointed at those troops, clearly shocked by their presence.

The news that Xiao Nanfeng had returned to the Imperial Court quickly spread across the Sieve of Heaven. Countless Immortals watched on curiously.

Meanwhile, things were completely different within Ao Canghai's manor in the Sieve of Heaven.

A large number of Martial Aspects had gathered to witness Ao Shuai's corpse, their faces grim. When they heard the Martial Aspect of Violetfrost recount how Ao Shuai had perished, they raged with killing intent.

Not far away, Ao Canghai sat expressionlessly as he stared at his son's corpse. His hand gripped his armrest with such strength that veins protruded from his skin, his anger deeply repressed.

"Eastern Aspect, I apologize for being useless. I allowed Xiao Nanfeng to scheme against the young master and kill him," the Martial Aspect of Violetfrost said, kneeling on one knee, his voice wretched.

The entire hall was filled with silence; no one dared speak.

Just then, a report was delivered from outside the hall. "Eastern Aspect, Martial Aspect Xiao has returned with his army. Countless Immortals within the city are bearing witness to his return and congratulating him. It's a bustling scene outside."