Chapter 653: Hanging as a Means of Attack

A group of monks hung in the air, dangling as if they were hanging themselves.

All the spectators were taken aback, and the Yuqing disciples around the scene stopped chatting with each other.

"All of you, listen up! I'm perfectly happy to welcome you to celebrate Mountain Lord Xiao's birthday, but I don't intend to allow you to extend an offer of marriage to Holy Maiden Xia Yu'er," Xiao Nanfeng said coldly.

Xiao Nanfeng didn't want to kill anyone in the Yuqing holy land, especially leading up to Xia Xingchen's birthday celebration. Otherwise, the monks would already have perished.

"Ha! Do you think you can really take us on all by yourself? You must not have much of this red rope. Everyone, charge him together! Let's see if he can overwhelm us then!" someone shouted.

A large group of cultivators immediately shot forward.

Xiao Nanfeng eyed them coldly. "Ignorant fools."

More lengths of red rope descended from the heavens—not dozens, but hundreds.

"Be careful!" the cultivator in the lead shouted.

He cut apart a length of red rope, only for another one to swoop toward him from the back.

Yelps and pained cries rang out as cultivator after cultivator found themselves hung. What was once sinister now seemed majestic as over a hundred cultivators found themselves being hung. The Yuqing disciples arrayed around the battlefield gaped in shock.

"These lengths of red rope vanish instantly after being cut. They have to be conjured out of spiritual power. I bet he isn't that strong. Charge forward!" someone else called out.

The cultivators continued to advance, one after another. Even so, more lengths of red rope unfurled from the sky in ever greater quantities. Soon, there were a thousand coils of red rope in all.

Heaven Immortals found themselves hung in the blink of an eye, unable to muster any resistance.

True Immortals were strong enough to defend against the attack for a few moments, slashing apart the red rope that shot toward them, but a moment's carelessness would see their limbs and subsequently neck bound. The rope grew taut, giving them a sense of the intense pain that would come from having their bodies torn apart.

Xiao Nanfeng strode across the air, staring arrogantly at the gathered cultivators. A tremendous pressure overwhelmed everyone.

Xia Lan gaped in shock as he ascended Chiyang Peak.

"The man Yu'er has her eyes on is... remarkable," Xia Lan murmured.

He reached the peak of the mountain in no time at all.

There, the Chiyang Mountain Lord Xia Xingchen was staring coldly at the fighting occurring down below. Han Bingdie and the two other women were beside their husband, smiling in satisfaction.

"Did you have him make such a fuss?" Xia Xingchen demanded.

Xiao Nanfeng is my nephew when it comes to cultivation, and he's come here to pay respects to you for your birthday celebration. He's a guest from afar, as are those other prospective suitors. Do you intend to help out one group of outsiders over another? Xiao Nanfeng might as well be half a relative of ours. If you help those outsiders instead, I won't spare you," Han Bingdie declared, her head held high.

"That's right!" The other two women stood by her side as well.

Xia Xingchen watched on. He looked toward the distance. "What he's doing now means little against this motley group of low-tier Immortals and a few True Immortals. That Golden Immortal over there hasn't even made a move yet."

"That Golden Immortal from the Southeastern Aquatic Palace? Who's to say Xiao Nanfeng won't be able to win against him?" Han Bingdie retorted, frowning.

Just then, Xia Lan flew by from the side.

The three women's eyes lit up. One of them beckoned at Xia Lan, motioning for him to hide in the back.

Xia Lan did so, hiding from Xia Xingchen's gaze.

Then, one woman pointed at the hall to the back. Xia Lan nodded gratefully and flew over.

Just then, one Chiyang Peak disciple saw Xia Lan and was just about to shout out a greeting when Xia Lan blanched and cupped a palm over his mouth. He froze, belatedly understanding the situation, before stepping back and feigning ignorance. This wasn't the first time that Xia Lan had snuck back, after all.

Xia Xingchen glanced in the direction in which Xia Lan had flown, then looked elsewhere as if he had never seen Xia Lan in the first place.

Xia Lan crept toward the halls in the back of the manor to find a group of maids standing guard outside one of them in particular. That hall was sealed with a formation that prevented anyone from hearing what was going on within.

"What are you all doing?" Xia Lan exclaimed.

"The Mountain Lord had us keep guard over this hall and prevent anyone from drawing near," one maid said.

"You can all go now," Xia Lan said.

"But the Mountain Lord's orders—" the maid replied.

Xia Lan ignored the maid and pushed past her. He rapped on the formation. "Yu'er, come out!"

The formation trembled, but there was no response.

"Miss locked herself within after her confrontation with the Mountain Lord, stating that she was going to go without food for ten days and only emerge after the Mountain Lord's birthday celebration," the maid reported.

"What a girl," Xia Lan murmured, not knowing whether to laugh or to sigh.

He reinforced the outermost layer of the formation that isolated any sound, then retrieved a relic and struck Yu'er's formation with it.

The formation shook violently.

"I won't come out! Stay away from me. I won't show myself even if you beat me or starve me to death!" Yu'er shouted, hearing the commotion.

Xia Lan sighed again. Starve to death? An Immortal? She'd survive for a whole year without food! What tricks she had employed as a child wouldn't work any longer.

"Yu'er, it's me. Open up!" Xia Lan called out.

"Third Brother? You aren't here to help Father get me out, are you? I won't!" Yu'er called back.

"You ingrate! Have you forgotten who it was who stood up for you? Open up!" Xia Lan fumed.

"I won't! I'm going to starve myself until they're all gone!"

"Xiao Nanfeng's here," Xia Lan said in exasperation.

The door to the hall opened up in an instant.

Xia Lan was speechless. Yu'er hadn't been willing to open up for him, but would do so immediately for Xiao Nanfeng!

Yu'er, dressed in red, slipped out. Her mouth was gleaming with oil. She had a roasted chicken wing in her hand and had finished half of it.

"You, you were cooking for yourself in your room? You call that starving yourself?" Xia Lan exclaimed.

Yu'er's eyes were aglow. "What did you say? Xiao Nanfeng's here? Where?"

"Where else? Beating up those suitors of yours out there. Didn't you know?"

"What? What if he gets hurt?!"

Xia Lan gaped. His sister was showing more care for a stranger than her own brother!

Yu'er immediately dispelled the formation and ran toward the outside of the peak.

"You're going to take that roast chicken wing with you?" Xia Lan shouted.

"Ah, I forgot!"

She hurriedly deposited the chicken wing in her brother's hands, wiped her mouth with his sleeve, then ran off before he came to his senses.

Xia Lan's face twitched. He grimaced, then cursed, "Xiao Nanfeng, just you wait! You'll pay for stealing my little sister away!"

Meanwhile, the fighting—one-sided beatdown, rather—reached its climax.

𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

No matter how many cultivators showed themselves, they were all hung one after the other.

The Yuqing disciples watched on raptly.

"This is crazy. I never thought hanging could be used as a form of attack!"

"Doesn't it seem incredible to have so many cultivators being hung at once?"

"To think Xiao Nanfeng alone could hang them all to death..."

"Is Xiao Nanfeng here as a suitor, too? Given his strength alone, he's qualified to claim Xia Yu'er's hand."

Countless Yuqing disciples whispered to themselves as they watched the show unfold.

The commotion had drawn the attention of not just ordinary disciples, but also a few Mountain Lords.

"Old Xia, that suitor seems rather impressive, doesn't he?"

"Holy Maiden Yu'er is truly an asset."

"This lad isn't bad. Have you done a background check on him?"

Several of the Mountain Lords had gathered beside Xia Xingchen.

Xia Xingchen frowned at them. "I've got to teach all of you a lesson, too. Who among you revealed that Yu'er became a holy maiden? We're the only ones who knew!"

"Ah? I don't know. It wasn't me!"

"It's none of my business!"

The Mountain Lords all denied any responsibility.

Xia Xingchen grimaced, ignoring them as he continued to watch the fighting down below.

Of the twelve prospective suitors beside Xiao Nanfeng himself, eleven had been taken down. Only the final suitor and his delegation remained.

Xiao Nanfeng noticed them as well. He called out to the hung cultivators, "Have you all taken my warning to heart, everyone?"

"We have!" one cultivator called out. "We aren't skilled enough to qualify to ask for Holy Maiden Xia Yu'er's hand in marriage. We're simply here to congratulate Mountain Lord Xia!"

Then, all the cultivators begged for mercy.

"In that case, let's stop here."

Xiao Nanfeng waved a hand. All the red rope loosened as hundreds of cultivators were freed, shivering as they glanced at Xiao Nanfeng.

Just then, a figure stepped into the air, shining with golden light. An impressive aura emanated from him, causing raging winds to form in his vicinity. Many cultivators were forced back.

"A Golden Immortal?" Countless Yuqing disciples were astounded.

A difference of a single major realm was like that between heaven and earth. Xiao Nanfeng was a True Immortal; how could he beat a Golden Immortal?

"Xiao Nanfeng, is it? Rather strong you are," the Golden Immortal commented.

He was a middle-aged man of middling looks, though his eyes seemed extraordinarily sharp.

"Are you here to test the strength of my ropes, too?" Xiao Nanfeng demanded.

"Not to test them, but to beat you. I was going to wait until ten days passed before formally propositioning the Yuqing holy land, but I suppose there's no need now. All this fuss of yours is perfect timing. I chose not to make a move back then so no one could criticize me for using numbers against you. Now, however, you will fall." The Golden Immortal smirked.

He transformed into a beam of golden light and flashed right up to Xiao Nanfeng, striking him with a palm. The palm emanated an imposing aura as it shot toward him like a meteor of annihilation.

"Nanfeng!" Yu'er cried out anxiously from atop Chiyang Peak.

She too was an Immortal; she knew how frightening Golden Immortals were. She glanced at the scene in despair.

Countless disciples watched on with bated breath, even Han Bingdie and the two women beside her.

Only Xia Xingchen raised an eyebrow. He murmured to himself, "This isn't Xiao Nanfeng's body at all! It's a double he made with spiritual harmony..."