Chapter 687: Deranged and Demented

After hearing Xiao Nanfeng's shout, countless cultivators all over the city swarmed toward his location. Of course, chasing after them were even more spectral soldiers.

"Die!" the twelve golden cultivators shouted as they charged forward.

The spectral soldiers were particularly strong foes who didn't die even when their bodies were blown to pieces. Rather, they dispersed into fragments of ghostly flame and fled. The cultivators snuffed out what fragments they could, but a significant portion was nevertheless allowed to flee.

"Thank you, Martial Aspect Xiao," the rescued cultivators chorused.

"All of you who are injured, get your injuries treated first. Otherwise, if you can fight, come join in," Xiao Nanfeng said.

"Understood!"

More and more spectral soldiers found their way toward Xiao Nanfeng as the fighting grew more intense. The spectral soldiers were of varying strength; some were even early-stage True Immortals. When they all flocked forward, even the golden cultivators were stymied. Fortunately, some of the unaffiliated cultivators stepped forward and filled any gaps in the defense.

Zhao Yuanjiao made his way over as well. He sighed in relief as he found Xiao Nanfeng. "You really made it here quickly, Nanfeng."

"What's the situation like?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

"There are far too many of these spectral soldiers to kill, and they simply don't die—tens of thousands of them! Ordinary civilians lie dead on the streets, nothing more than desiccated skin and bones. I expect the majority of them have already been killed, and the bulk of the cultivators remaining in the city are strong enough to defend themselves against them to have made it this far. I expect there's a blood sacrifice of some sort."

"A blood sacrifice? What's Li Qianjun planning?" Xiao Nanfeng frowned.

"I don't know, but I saw traces of a foundation being laid out around the city lord's manor."

"Let's make our way there and have a look, then. If we can get the word out, this will be a huge scandal for the divine empire of Hongyue," Xiao Nanfeng said.

Zhao Yuanjiao nodded.

Just then, Ye Dafu shouted, "Your Majesty, there are too many spectral soldiers! We aren't going to be able to handle them much longer!"

"Don't worry about it. Follow me. We're heading to the city lord's manor!"

He drew his divine undying blade and raised it into the air as he cut a path forward. A huge number of spectral soldiers were blown to pieces around him.

"Die!" Zhao Yuanjiao, Ye Dafu, and the golden cultivators shouted.

"Die!" The ordinary cultivators of Taixu were following in the wake of Xiao Nanfeng's group as they rushed through the city.

They all knew that, if they didn't fight their way out, they would all perish in Taixu that day. The strength of Xiao Nanfeng's group gave them the hope they sorely needed to keep pushing forward.

More and more spectral soldiers appeared, but they were quickly whittled down as the group grew larger and larger. Eventually, they were being cut down faster than they could regenerate. The cultivators gasped in relief, all eyeing Xiao Nanfeng with respect and reverence.

The cultivators continued to head toward the city lord's manor.

Just then, a ferocious spectral tiger emerged from the black fog.

It sucked in a deep breath, absorbing all the fragments of ghostly flame in the vicinity. The more of them the tiger absorbed, the larger it grew, and the more overwhelming its aura.

"There's something wrong with that tiger. Kill it!" Xiao Nanfeng shouted.

"Let me!" Ye Dafu charged forward.

The spectral tiger leapt at Ye Dafu, only to be sent reeling from a punch.

"A True Immortal?" Ye Dafu exclaimed.

The tiger roared again. Even more of the spectral soldiers were sucked into its maw as it grew stronger and stronger.

"Something's wrong. It can absorb spectral soldiers to strengthen itself!" Ye Dafu exclaimed.

He leapt forward, charging toward the spectral tiger once more. This time, both parties were forced back from the confrontation.

"It's growing stronger too quickly!" Ye Dafu shouted.

As the tiger devoured even more of the spectral soldiers, it grew in fits and spurts, then leapt toward Ye Dafu again. A flaming tempest was unleashed in mid-air as man and tiger fought. The more specters the tiger devoured, the more troublesome the fight became for Ye Dafu.

Xiao Nanfeng frowned. Sensing that something was amiss, he stepped forward and slashed down with his sword.

Threatened, the tiger roared and leapt toward Xiao Nanfeng, but Xiao Nanfeng was too strong for him. He easily bisected the tiger, only to have it disperse into countless fragments of ghostly flame that vanished into the fog.

"Your Majesty, I'm afraid these tigers can regenerate too..." Ye Dafu murmured.

"Keep heading toward the city lord's manor!" Xiao Nanfeng shouted.

"Understood!" Everyone followed Xiao Nanfeng onward.

Before long, another bout of roaring could be heard from within the black fog.

Ten ferocious spectral tigers emerged.

They sucked in deep breaths, absorbing all the spectral soldiers in their vicinity as they suddenly grew to multiple times their original size.

The ten tigers roared in unison, producing a wave of such intensity that all the cultivators reared back in shock.

"How can they be this strong?!" someone cried out.

Xiao Nanfeng stared at the tigers coldly as he waved a hand.

Ten golden crows emerged from his dantian.

Considering that the city was surrounded by thick black fog, he hadn't expected the golden crows to be able to absorb any sunlight and display their true strength. However, as the golden crows emerged, their surroundings grew even darker.

The golden crows swelled in size as golden flames erupted from them. They blazed like ten suns as they shot toward the tigers and sent them flying.

"Martial Aspect Xiao is incredible. He defeated those tigers in just a single blow!" the cultivators exclaimed.

Xiao Nanfeng looked up at the sky. He murmured to himself, "It might be dark here, but sunlight can apparently still filter in. Can the birds draw power from their surroundings and use facsimile solarfire as long as it's daytime outside...?"

The crows cawed in unison as the tigers were sent back again and again.

"Let's keep going. Don't stop now—head for the city lord's manor!"

"Got it!" everyone replied.

More and more cultivators joined Xiao Nanfeng's group, and more and more spectral soldiers gave chase. It felt as if all of Taixu's forces were congregating around them.

The fighting continued as they rushed toward the city lord's manor. Along the way, they saw countless collapsed buildings and the desiccated remains of those who had been killed by the spectral soldiers, a harrowing sight.

Although the ten spectral tigers were strong, Xiao Nanfeng's ten golden crows were stronger. Before long, the crows caused them all to burst apart.

"Thank goodness!" the cultivators cheered.

Along the way, it felt as though the number of spectral soldiers coming at them had suddenly dropped dramatically, but as the cultivators closed in on the city lord's manor, they couldn't help but feel a dangerous aura encroaching upon them. They shuddered in fear.

Suddenly, another set of roars could be heard from afar.

Ten more spectral tigers were roaming outside the city lord's manor. No one knew whether they had just been revived or were a different set of ten entirely.

Rather than rush forward headlong, the tigers were absorbing the spectral soldiers and fragments of ghostly flame all around them. They seemed to have summoned all the spectral soldiers in the city and were devouring them all as they grew stronger and stronger.

"Your Majesty, they'll become Golden Immortals in no time at this rate!" Ye Dafu exclaimed.

"It doesn't matter," Xiao Nanfeng said, eyeing them coldly.

The ten golden crows rushed forward and knocked aside countless spectral soldiers. Even so, all they did was scatter the resulting fragments of ghostly flame about and make it even easier for the tigers to absorb them.

It took them quite some time before they finally made it to the tigers.

They crashed into the tigers in an incredible wave of heat and flame. This time, the crows and tigers seemed to be on equal footing. Neither was able to definitively take down the other.

The tigers were still continuing to devour the spectral soldiers and growing stronger even in the midst of the fighting. The ten golden crows tried their best to stop their tiger counterparts, but were unable to do so. The spectral soldiers had no sense of self-preservation and obeyed commands without fail.

With all the spectral soldiers having ended up in the tigers' bodies, they grew stronger than they had ever been.

Together, they swiped at the golden crows and sent them flying.

𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Ye Dafu and the golden cultivators leapt forward, but to no avail. The tigers were simply too strong. With a swipe of their claws and tails, they easily dispatched the cultivators.

"These tigers are slower than Golden Immortals, but they're just about as strong," Ye Dafu shouted, worried.

The tigers roared.

The sound waves alone were enough to badly injure many cultivators. They staggered about and spat out mouthfuls of blood.

"All of you, retreat! Protect everyone. I'll take on these tigers," Xiao Nanfeng shouted.

The cultivators retreated as the ten golden crows shot toward the tigers once more, falling like meteors and causing facsimile solarfire to surround the tigers.

However, the tigers didn't fear the flames at all. They even caught the crows in their paws and bit down, intending to eat the crows whole.

"Be careful, Your Majesty!"

"Be careful, Martial Aspect Xiao!"

The cultivators fretted—it was apparent that the golden crows couldn't take down the tigers in their current state.

"Die!" Xiao Nanfeng shouted.

The ten golden crows suddenly exploded in a torrential wave of flame, causing the ten golden tigers to burst apart as well. The black smoke was expelled from the surroundings, revealing the city lord's manor in full.

Even with Xiao Nanfeng's subordinates protecting the ordinary cultivators, many were struck by the shockwaves in the aftermath of the explosion. Their internal organs were badly injured, and they vomited out blood.

Then, everyone saw something that left them stunned.

A huge palm emerged from within the city lord's manor, blocking the shockwaves from the explosion. The loss of the black smoke uncovered a huge, wide-open area with countless black-armored guards and soldiers encircling an altar glowing with red light. Fresh blood was being funneled into the altar through the black smoke. A huge red cocoon had formed on top of the altar, but it wasn't clear what lay within.

To the north, right up ahead, were Li Qianjun and Sage Green Lotus.

Li Qianjun was holding a pagoda in his hand. A huge quantity of spectral flame was flying into the first layer of the pagoda. Spectral soldiers reformed on the second layer, and eleven spectral tigers leapt out of the third.

Li Qianjun gaped at the cultivators, not having expected to be revealed in plain sight.

Sage Green Lotus yelled, "Xiao Nanfeng, are you crazy? You've just crippled yourself and your cultivation of the Sky of Ten Suns!"

Xiao Nanfeng's eyes brightened. This was precisely the scene he had been hoping for, one that he had now revealed to all those cultivators behind him.

"So you're the ones responsible for killing all the citizens of Taixu. You're both deranged and demented!" Xiao Nanfeng thundered.

The cultivators' eyes widened in shock.

"This was Li Qianjun's doing all along? He tricked us all!"

"City Lord, how could you kill us all just for the sake of your relic?"

"Li Qianjun, you're a demon! You don't deserve to call yourself human!"

Countless cultivators raged at what they were seeing.