Chapter 760: The Bloodstained Sieve of Heaven

After the battle ended, Xiao Nanfeng emerged from spiritual harmony and reclaimed his silver moon.

All the Martial Aspects glanced at him in shock and awe. He had slain two of the saint's avatars by himself. Even if they were as moths to a flame, and even if Xiao Nanfeng had used Yu Fuli's heart sword, it was an impressive accomplishment.

Ao Canghai's eyes twitched. What if Xiao Nanfeng had another heart sword. Would his Snowborne assassin still dare to assassinate Xiao Nanfeng?

"Be careful!" Yang Chuan exclaimed. "The saint's main body is within the cauldron. Now, pass it to me!"

Yang Chuan claimed the red cauldron and drew everyone's attention.

"Why not keep the cauldron in a storage treasure?" a Cardinal Aspect asked.

"It needs to be supervised at all times. If we drop our guard even a little, he might escape. We can't store the cauldron in a storage treasure," Yang Chuan replied.

Everyone nodded seriously.

"Demon Child, Ye Sanshui, head back for the moment," Xiao Nanfeng instructed.

The Demon Child nodded.

"Understood!" Ye Sanshui replied.

The two cultivators flew off.

The Martial Aspects all turned to Xiao Nanfeng. Had he just commanded two Boundless Immortals?

They eyed Ao Canghai furtively. Everyone knew that Ao Canghai and Xiao Nanfeng were on bad terms with each other, and Xiao Nanfeng seemed to be growing stronger and stronger. Would Ao Canghai be able to suppress him?

Ao Canghai didn't speak, but he was starting to feel more and more pressured.

"The Heavenly Emperor has arranged for us to guard you," a Martial Aspect began. She recounted what had happened in court.

Yang Chuan nodded. "Since His Majesty is awaiting us, let's head back to the Imperial Court immediately."

"Understood!" everyone shouted.

Over a stretch of the sea, Lou Yujing and the others reunited with the saint's last avatar.

"Why did all of you retreat?!" the saint's avatar roared. "Didn't you hear me command you to keep fighting?"

"You saw the Martial Aspects of the Imperial Court yourself! All four Cardinal Aspects were gathered. If we were to keep fighting, we would all have died!" Lou Yujing exclaimed.

"I lent all of you a Boundless Immortal relic each. How could you not have been able to beat them? Lou Yujing, you must have been going easy on Yang Chuan. How could you fail to take him down with Tu Jiuniang assisting you?" the saint demanded.

"Wouldn't it be easier for me to simply refuse to assist you? It's true that I didn't fight with Yang Chuan to the death, but you have to understand that I'm merely here to help, not to get killed. What would I have done if Yang Chuan had a heart sword himself?"

He had gone easy on Yang Chuan, but he could hardly admit that outright to the saint. He had his own plans in mind.

"You!" the saint accused.

"You must realize that my subordinates and I were holding back Yang Chuan, the Demon Child, and Ye Sanshui for you. Your only opponent was Xiao Nanfeng. Were you unable to take him down even with three of your avatars? It looked like you were about to succeed. If you had a fourth avatar, you would have been able to steal the cauldron and even kill Xiao Nanfeng. Why didn't you use your full strength?"

"I don't have any other avatars. Don't you think I would have mobilized them if I did?!"

"Is that so? I must have been mistaken, Saint." Lou Yujing acknowledged his mistake readily, though he was inwardly exuberant. This was what he most wanted to hear.

"What now?" The saint was going mad with fury.

He didn't know what to do. The other saints were ignoring him, and he couldn't rescue his main body on his own. He could only watch on as it approached the Sieve of Heaven.

"There's one more thing we can try," Lou Yujing said.

"Oh?" The saint was grasping at straws.

"The Martial Aspects are responsible for bringing the cauldron to the Sieve of Heaven. If a Martial Aspect were to open up its lid, perhaps you may be able to flee. I have a spy among the Martial Aspects who can help you."

"You're right. There's still hope! Have Tu Feng assist me, now!" the saint's avatar said urgently.

"Saint, how did you know that Martial Aspect Tu Feng was my spy?" Lou Yujing frowned.

The saint momentarily panicked before replying, "Why wouldn't I know? I keep a close eye on all the Martial Aspects of the Imperial Court. Tu Feng is Tu Jiuniang's brother, isn't he? Now isn't the time for all this. Tell him to make a move!"

"Don't worry, Saint. I've already informed him of what's going on, and I'll have him do his best to rescue your main body. He'll make a move when there's an opportunity to strike."

"Good. Good! You are thoughtful indeed," the saint's avatar said.

"Let's return to Hongyue's capital," Lou Yujing suggested. "We can await the good news there."

"Very well!"

Lou Yujing and the others returned to Hongyue's capital.

Yang Chuan personally guarded the cauldron during the journey back to the Imperial Court.

Though the cauldron continued to vibrate, the saint within was unable to escape at all.

Before long, they had arrived at the Eastern Gate.

The guards there hardly dared to stop the Martial Aspects, who were quickly allowed through the gate.

Martial Aspect Tu Feng eyed the cauldron, though he revealed no particular emotion on his face.

Just as the Martial Aspects passed through the gate and relaxed fractionally, Martial Aspect Tu Feng made his move. He attacked the cauldron.

"What?!" Everyone was caught off-guard save Yang Chuan, who narrowed his eyes and defended with a palm strike. "I knew you were a problem, Tu Feng."

The two Martial Aspects' attacks struck each other in a burst of fire and wind. Shockingly, Yang Chuan hadn't managed to send Tu Feng flying.

"No—you're not a Golden Immortal, are you? You're a Boundless Immortal! You hid it well," Yang Chuan exclaimed.

Not only that, Tu Feng retrieved a relic and activated it.

"He's going to detonate that relic!" the other three Cardinal Aspects shouted. "Be careful!"

"Southern Aspect, let me guard the cauldron on your behalf!" one of Yang Chuan's confidantes called out.

"Explode!" Tu Feng commanded.

A huge explosion erupted by the Eastern Gate.

Yang Chuan passed the cauldron to his confidante as he defended himself to the best of his ability. The other Cardinal Aspects simultaneously made a move to help him.

The Martial Aspects barely deflected the explosion as they struck Martial Aspect Tu Feng simultaneously. Tu Feng spat out a mouthful of blood in the air.

"Tu Feng, you're done for now." Yang Chuan smirked.

Tu Feng stabilized himself and wiped away the blood by the corner of his lips. He laughed. "Are you certain about that?"

The Martial Aspects narrowed their eyes. They felt as though something was about to happen.

Yang Chuan's confidante suddenly opened up the cauldron, causing a potent aura to gush out from within.

"No! Close the lid!" Yang Chuan shouted.

The Martial Aspects all rushed over to the cauldron, but it was too late.

The lid exploded from the cauldron, sending the Martial Aspects flying.

"Well done, Tu Feng, well done! Haha!" The saint's laughter echoed from the cauldron.

A sea of blood shot out of the cauldron and flooded the Sieve of Heaven. At the same time, a pillar of piercing red light emerged from it and left the Martial Aspects in shock.

"The saint has escaped!" someone cried out.

Yang Chuan roared at his confidante, "What are you doing? Do you intend to betray the Imperial Court?!"

"He's been possessed," Xiao Nanfeng called out. "I was carefully observing Tu Feng. He and your confidante didn't communicate with each other, but were able to cooperate perfectly. I suspect he's been possessed by Tu Feng's avatar!"

"What?!" everyone cried out.

The Martial Aspect suddenly rushed toward the Eastern Gate alongside Martial Aspect Tu Feng. Even the saint did the same the moment he emerged from the cauldron.

"Seal the Cardinal Gates!" Yu Fuli commanded from the Heavenly Palace.

The Eastern Gate flashed and vanished from sight.

The saint and Tu Feng had both barely failed to escape.

"Yu Fuli, do you think you'll be able to trap me like this? Heavenly law, I invoke your strength!" the saint declared.

The pillar of red light that surrounded him grew brighter and brighter as a deluge of seawater surged into the pillar. The saint appeared to be trying to flee via that pillar of light—but the next moment, the seawater gushed out of it.

"Impossible. How could I have failed to invoke heavenly law? Yu Fuli, what have you done?!" the saint roared.

"Now that you're within the Sieve of Heaven, you might as well not leave. You won't be able to escape," Yu Fuli declared calmly.

"Do you really think I won't be able to break out?" the saint thundered.

His sea of blood roiled as it attempted to crack a portal open in the void, but to no avail.

"Impossible. What have you done?!"

"Martial Aspects, take down the enemy!" Yu Fuli commanded again.

"Understood!" all the Martial Aspects replied.

They rushed toward the sea of blood.

The saint panicked upon not being able to break out of the Sieve of Heaven, but the fact that he wasn't trapped in the cauldron any longer made his situation far better than before.

"Yu Fuli, if you don't want me to leave, then I won't. I'll crush the Sieve of Heaven and turn it into a sea of blood!" the saint declared. "Flood!"

His sea of blood suddenly grew far larger in size. Many Martial Aspects were sucked into its midst. The sea of blood was so large that it even filled up the sky and blocked the sun.

Countless citizens of the Sieve of Heaven shuddered in fear upon sensing the power emanating from the saint. Just how strong was he? How had Xiao Nanfeng managed to catch him?