Chapter 810: The Failed Framing

The Shangqing hierarch held a blue orb in his hand, the core of the Enlightenment Grounds that he and his subordinates had just subdued. Despite their injuries, the Shangqing disciples could hardly contain their excitement.

"Allow me to keep this core safe for the moment. I—" the Shangqing hierarch began.

Suddenly, a group of black-robed figures descended from the heavens and rushed directly toward the Shangqing hierarch.

"Who's there?!" Startled, everyone looked up, their faces filled with alarm.

However, the figure in the lead was incredibly fast. He closed in on the Shangqing hierarch in an instant.

The Shangqing hierarch swung his sword hastily, only to be blocked by a punch.

"A Boundless Immortal?" he exclaimed.

The other cloaked figures joined in the fray. They radiated faint golden auras as they attacked the Shangqing disciples with swords and fists.

"Die!" the two supreme Shangqing elders thundered. They struck at the intruders, all of whom were sent flying. Though the two elders were badly wounded, they were both Boundless Immortals with overwhelming strength.

The bulk of the Shangqing disciples, however, suffered against the black-cloaked attackers. Already injured and drained from the continuous fighting, they were overwhelmed and lay groaning in pain.

"Help us, Elders!" they cried out desperately.

The elders were forced to defend the disciples and couldn't focus on pursuing the intruders.

If the Shangqing hierarch were at full strength, he wouldn't have feared this Boundless Immortal's sudden assault—but in his weakened state, he struggled to hold the intruder back. The blue orb was sent flying.

Another cloaked figure seized the opportunity and grabbed it.

"Show yourselves! Return me the core of these Enlightenment Grounds!" the Shangqing hierarch roared.

"Retreat!" the black-cloaked cultivator holding the orb shouted.

"Understood!" the other black-robed cultivators replied.

The black-cloaked cultivators began to withdraw.

The Shangqing hierarch shouted in fury, "Xiao Nanfeng, I know you're responsible for this! Do you intend to make enemies of the Shangqing holy land?!"

His voice echoed throughout the valley.

"Could they be Xiao Nanfeng's subordinates?" the Shangqing disciples exclaimed.

Xiao Nanfeng's avatar gaped. Was someone trying to frame him? Could it be the Shangqing hierarch himself, or someone else entirely?

If these people managed to get away, he'd be saddled with the blame. He wasn't afraid of confrontation, but he had no interest in being falsely accused.

His gaze turned icy as a red moon rose into the air. A red cloud formed overhead, causing a length of red rope to descend. It wrapped tightly around the neck of the black-cloaked figure holding onto the orb and squeezed until he grimaced in pain.

"Who's there?" the black-cloaked figures shouted in alarm.

"It's me. Who are you to impersonate me?!" Xiao Nanfeng thundered.

With a wave of his hand, countless lengths of red rope descended from the red cloud and tangled around the black-robed cultivators, binding them within moments.

Xiao Nanfeng's sudden arrival caused everyone to be taken aback.

The Shangqing disciples rubbed their eyes. Were these cultivators not Xiao Nanfeng's subordinates?

"Shangqing Hierarch, have I wronged you in any way? To think you would frame me in this manner! If I hadn't passed by coincidentally, you would have stained my reputation," Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed coldly.

The Shangqing hierarch froze. Could he have been mistaken? No, something wasn't right—this could still be a ruse.

"Insolence!" the black-robed Boundless Immortal thundered hoarsely.

He shot toward the blue orb, which had been caught by a length of red rope, and shattered the rope in an instant. He caught the orb and turned toward Xiao Nanfeng in the flash of an eye.

Xiao Nanfeng invoked spiritual harmony and vanished from sight, causing the intruder's attack to miss.

He reappeared by the side of the two elders. "Boundless Immortals of Shangqing, take on that Boundless Immortal intruder. I'll handle everyone else."

"Understood!" the two supreme elders replied.

The Shangqing hierarch hesitated, but ultimately joined the others and attacked the black-cloaked Boundless Immortal.

Meanwhile, the remaining black-cloaked cultivators struggled to free themselves from the red ropes. As the ropes snapped, more would descend in a relentless wave, eventually trapping them all once again.

"You'll regret this, Xiao Nanfeng!" the black-cloaked Boundless Immortal shouted again.

He shook off the three Boundless Immortals from Shangqing and shot straight for Xiao Nanfeng's spiritual moon, as if intending to crush it. Just then, the red moon flickered and transformed into the red rope cursed king.

"It can transform?!" the Boundless Immortal exclaimed.

His palm struck the red rope cursed king's body, flinging it back into the red cloud.

He then attempted to cause the cloud to dissipate, but the three Boundless Immortals of Shangqing had caught up to him by then. They struck him simultaneously, sending him flying, his body battered and bloodied.

"Retreat!" he shouted.

He escaped alongside a few of his Golden Immortal subordinates. The rest were left behind, bound by Xiao Nanfeng's red rope.

Xiao Nanfeng waved a hand, causing the bound figures to fallt o the ground in a series of deafening crashes that left enormous craters and clouds of dust in their wake.

The injured Shangqing disciples stepped forward and quickly subdued the captives. Xiao Nanfeng loosened the ropes, allowing them to survive rather than die of strangulation—he needed them interrogated, after all. Furthermore, his red moon had suffered a significant blow, and he didn't want to waste more spiritual power on them.

The red rope returned to the red cloud overhead, which slowly faded away. The red rope king transformed back into a red moon and returned to Xiao Nanfeng's mindscape.

The battle had concluded with no one satisfied. The core of the Enlightenment Grounds that the Shangqing hierarch and his group had worked so hard to obtain—stolen.

The two supreme elders, having learned of Xiao Nanfeng's identity, stepped forward and bowed. "Thank you for your assistance, Eastern Aspect Xiao."

"It's not a problem at all. I only stepped in to stop the hierarch from falsely accusing me."

The Shangqing hierarch grimaced. Though he hadn't yet confirmed the black-robed cultivators' identities, Xiao Nanfeng had taken down a Golden Immortal and a group of True Immortals. He would hardly sacrifice so many of his own subordinates on mere guesswork on the Shangqing hierarch's part, which meant he really had been wrong.

Upon recalling how Xiao Nanfeng had tricked him, however, the Shangqing hierarch still felt a strong dislike for him.

"My apologies, Eastern Aspect Xiao. These imposters deliberately impersonated you," the Shangqing hierarch said through gritted teeth.

Xiao Nanfeng: ...

The Shangqing hierarch really was good at coming up with nonsense.

"It matters not. I simply hope you won't be tricked so easily again in the future, Hierarch."

The Shangqing hierarch took a deep breath, but said nothing more. He was in the wrong, after all.

"Let's interrogate them and see who dared to attack us," one of the supreme elders suggested.

Afar, the Shangqing disciples had restrained the black-robed cultivators and removed their hoods to reveal a series of unfamiliar faces.

"Interrogate them separately using our Shangqing arts. We'll get the truth out of them one way or another."

The captured cultivators gritted their teeth. One cried out, "Explode!"

"Be careful!"

The man exploded in a fiery blast that engulfed the nearby disciples, as did the other captives, all of whom were reduced to a ball of flames that tore across the valley and dyed the sky red.

The massive explosion caught the Shangqing disciples off guard and resulted in considerable casualties among their number.

"They were willing to die..." Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed.

"Such ruthlessness, even among True Immortals!"

"And a Golden Immortal, too. Just who could they have been...?"

"Don't die, Senior Brother!"

The surviving disciples cried out, some for help, others in horror.

"Just who would have such devoted followers?" Xiao Nanfeng wondered.

The commotion quickly drew the attention of numerous powerful figures. As they took in the devastation, expressions of shock rippled through the crowd.

Shortly thereafter, the Immortal Emperor of Daliang arrived herself.

"What happened here?" she exclaimed.

The Shangqing hierarch treated his disciples' wounds before explaining the situation to her. The Immortal Emperor of Daliang visibly quivered in anger. She vowed to investigate the situation thoroughly and bring those responsible to justice, then personally escorted the wounded Shangqing hierarch away for treatment.

Xiao Nanfeng took his leave, though he couldn't shake the nagging feeling that the Immortal Emperor of Daliang was somehow implicated in the ambush.

The following day, the Shangqing hierarch convened a meeting with his disciples to discuss the recent events that had unfolded.

"Hierarch, the Immortal Emperor of Daliang has been investigating these black-cloaked attackers, but to no avail," one Shangqing disciple reported.

The Shangqing hierarch narrowed his eyes. "Of course she wouldn't find anything—she's responsible. How dare she!"

"What? The Immortal Emperor of Daliang was responsible?" the disciple exclaimed.

"She has ears and eyes outside each of the Enlightenment Grounds. She would have learned of our ambush near-immediately, so why did she arrive so late?"

"Why would she do that, Hierarch?" the Shangqing disciple exclaimed.

"It all makes sense now. She was trying to incite me against Xiao Nanfeng during the banquet as well. She wants me and him to exhaust each other and allow her to reap the benefits."

"But why?"

"We'll find out soon enough once I take her down," the Shangqing hierarch replied. "If she's going to be ruthless, then I won't show her any mercy either."