Chapter 832: Capturing Ao Canghai

In the territory where the Shangqing holy land had been, a battle between ten unparalleled powerhouses raged on. Mountains and rivers were reduced to ruins as the Northern Sea surged wildly. The sky was a storm of fire; the ground was scorched black for hundreds of miles on end. Observers from various forces had long since retreated. They were watching from afar in horror.

The two sides fought intensely; neither could gain a clear upper hand. After half a day of fierce combat, however, one of the cultivators trumped his opponent.

Yang Chuan had been fighting against Ao Canghai, who was in the form of a massive golden dragon. He had summoned a vast ocean with which to attack Yang Chuan. Yang Chuan, on the other hand, was flanked by a giant purple eye floating above him that radiated dazzling purple light. Beams shot out, forming a purple formation that enclosed the golden dragon.

The dragon thrashed violently, but failed to break free.

"You've lost, Ao Canghai!" Yang Chuan declared coldly.

"No, I haven't! Break, damn you!" the golden dragon roared furiously.

He hammered away at the formation, but failed to break out of it.

"Help me!" Ao Canghai shouted toward the distance.

"Did you really think that you were the only one with subordinates around?" Yang Chuan sneered.

In the distance, four Martial Aspects loyal to Ao Canghai had transformed into dragons, but were trapped in fierce combat with Yang Chuan's subordinates and Ao Zhou, who had taken on the form of a black dragon. The four of them were thoroughly outmatched and had no chance of rescuing their master.

"Damn it, break!" Ao Canghai roared.

He cursed as he struggled to escape, but Yang Chuan was stronger than he was, and he couldn't break free.

Fighting raged on around him. One of the saint's three avatars was locked into an even fight against Ye Sanshui, Ye Dafu, and their subordinates; another was suppressing Tu Feng; and a third was taking on Xiao Nanfeng.

With a loud boom, the Immortal Emperor of Dahan and Saint Lun Hui struck each other. They were in a tense stalemate.

"In the green knoll hidden realm, your body stood no chance against me. The outcome will be the same here," Saint Lun Hui called out.

"And yet this body of yours is weaker than that overseer's from back then," Xiao Nanfeng replied coldly.

"It's more than enough to subdue you," the saint replied, scoffing.

Xiao Nanfeng smirked. "Did you really think I had no way of dealing with you back then?"

"What?" Saint Lun Hui frowned. He suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of threat.

"Divine Seal of Dazheng, seal!" Xiao Nanfeng shouted.

Saint Lun Hui looked up to see a massive imperial seal plummeting toward him.

"Ha! Imperial seals draw power from fortune. How much fortune could you possibly have? Break!" Saint Lun Hui commanded.

He spat out a green gale of energy to counter the Divine Seal of Dazheng, which emitted a blinding golden radiance as its aura magnified a thousandfold. With an explosive boom, it tore through the green wind and descended on the saint's head.

"What? How could you have this much fortune? That's impossible!" Saint Lun Hui cried out.

Before he could react, the seal shattered his qi barrier and struck his head, splitting it open as blood and brain matter splattered in a gruesome fashion.

The momentum of the seal left him stunned and powerless for a brief moment.

Just then, the Immortal Emperor of Dahan swung his divine undying blade at Saint Lun Hui's avatar, beheading him.

Saint Lun Hui watched on in disbelief. How could Xiao Nanfeng have killed him again? This was impossible!

The Divine Seal of Dazheng landed in the Immortal Emperor of Dahan's hands. He whirled and slashed once more.

"Xiao Nanfeng, you won't get away with this. Explode!" Saint Lun Hui commanded.

His head exploded with a massive shockwave that swept through the area as his spirit fled into a pillar of green light.

The Immortal Emperor of Dahan was forced to flee in order to avoid being caught by the explosion.

Meanwhile, the saint's other two avatars flung their opponents back and hurriedly secured his remaining avatar's headless body.

"Let's go!" they shouted simultaneously.

With one of their avatars dead, the fight had clearly shifted in favor of Xiao Nanfeng. If they allowed it to drag on further, they would all be killed. Without any hesitation, Saint Lun Hui chose to flee.

The head of Snowborne forced the Demon Child aside as he turned to flee with the saint's two avatars.

"Hold it!" the Demon Child thundered.

"Don't give chase," Xiao Nanfeng commanded.

The cultivators who had been about to set out in pursuit immediately stopped.

Xiao Nanfeng did want to press the advantage, but doing so was impossible. If the saint's two avatars and the head of Snowborne were to split up, how would they be able to chase them all down? What if they led their pursuers into an ambush? Better to focus on what they had already secured.

In an instant, the Immortal Emperor of Dahan, the Demon Child, Ye Sanshui, and Tu Feng closed in on the captured Ao Canghai.

Surrounded by five Boundless Immortals, Ao Canghai paled. Despair washed over him as he cursed the saint for abandoning him.

"Hold on! Wait for me! Someone, save me!" Ao Canghai howled desperately.

However, Saint Lun Hui and the head of Snowborne had already vanished beyond the horizon. He was on his own.

"Don't leave me behind!" Ao Canghai cried out. He glanced at the cultivators that were encircling him. "Stay back. Don't come any closer!"

"Strike together and prevent him from self-destructing," Xiao Nanfeng ordered.

"Understood!" the guards replied.

"Wait!" Ao Canghai shouted, but it was too late.

Everyone launched a series of powerful blows at him. Yang Chuan dispelled his formation of purple light and joined the attack.

"No!" Ao Canghai screamed.

A massive blast of flames erupted around him. What could he do against the might of five Boundless Immortals? His bones shattered and his internal organs were pulped. He coughed up blood and fell unconscious.

Everyone quickly sealed him. With five Boundless Immortals working in tandem, he was immobilized in no time at all.

Meanwhile, Ye Dafu and the others charged toward the fighting Golden Immortals in the distance. Very quickly, Ao Canghai's four loyal subordinates were caught as well.

By then, Xiao Nanfeng had emerged from the Immortal Emperor of Dahan's body. He stored it away before turning to Yang Chuan. "Thank you for the help, Southern Aspect Yang."

Yang Chuan also dispelled his giant purple eye. He gave Xiao Nanfeng a look. "You seem to stir up a disturbing number of fights."

He still remembered the harrowing battle against the divine empire of Hongyue. Somehow, in what seemed like no time at all, Xiao Nanfeng had provoked yet another saint and ended up in another life-and-death struggle.

"I'm just a victim," Xiao Nanfeng said blandly.

Yang Chuan rolled his eyes. "Have some shame."

If Xiao Nanfeng was the victim, how about the saint's avatar whom he slew? How about Ao Canghai's group?

Xiao Nanfeng shrugged. "If you don't believe me, there isn't much I can do."

Yang Chuan sighed. He didn't want to continue this thread of conversation. "There are five vacant Martial Aspect positions now that I've helped you take down Ao Canghai and his four subordinates. I'd like them for myself."

"Colluding over these Martial Aspect positions doesn't seem quite right..." Xiao Nanfeng joked.

Yang Chuan scowled. "You had me come all the way over, and now a saint has me in his sights. Would I have done all this for nothing?"

"It's not such a big deal, is it? So what if we're on bad terms with Saint Lun Hui? We just have to take down his main body too." Xiao Nanfeng smiled.

"I've already risked a saint's wrath to help you. I'm not going to be free labor for you any longer!" Yang Chuan refused immediately. "Besides, you're clearly the mastermind here. Perhaps the saint will ignore me. If you want to drag me down with you, forget it."

Xiao Nanfeng grinned. "Very well. I'll have my five Martial Aspects in the south transfer to the east, freeing up five positions for you."

"That's more like it." Yang Chuan nodded in satisfaction.

Xiao Nanfeng turned to the Demon Child. "You've improved by quite a bit, haven't you?"

The Demon Child grinned. "Of course! I'm a genius."

"Clearly, your studying is paying off. Shall I have your tutor give you more assignments?" Xiao Nanfeng smiled.

The Demon Child gaped, then shouted, "Xiao Nanfeng, you're a backstabber!"

"Haha, I really do have to thank you for your help this time around. Would three days' vacation suffice?"

The Demon Child was instantly all smiles.

"Why don't you return with Ye Sanshui and the others later once things are all settled here?" Xiao Nanfeng suggested.

The Demon Child nodded.

Xiao Nanfeng turned to Yang Chuan. "Southern Aspect Yang, let's return to the Imperial Court and report back. We've caught quite a few traitorous Martial Aspects, after all, and we should follow proper procedure."

Yang Chuan nodded.

The cultivators flew off. Many watched on as they departed, but none dared to pursue them. Once they were far out of sight, Xiao Nanfeng's group split into two, each going its separate way.

Xiao Nanfeng and Yang Chuan escorted Ao Canghai and his Martial Aspects back to the Imperial Court, while Ye Sanshui, the Demon Child, and Tu Feng left for Shenfeng.

This time, Xiao Nanfeng headed to the Northern Heavenly Gate.

The gatekeepers were stunned to see Ao Canghai and other Martial Aspects beaten bloody and restrained. What in the world had happened?

Yang Chuan and Xiao Nanfeng ignored them and headed straight into the Sieve of Heaven.

A distant commotion could be seen from afar.

"Is something happening at Ao Canghai's residence?" Yang Chuan asked, frowning.

"I stationed a few subordinates to secure Ao Canghai's estate. It looks like his subordinates aren't aware that he's been caught. They must be resisting," Xiao Nanfeng said.

"Ao Canghai was once the Dragon King of the Southern Sea. He's sure to have plenty of treasure," Yang Chuan said, smiling.

"Suppress the disturbance," Xiao Nanfeng commanded Ye Dafu and the others. "Don't let anyone take anything away."

"Understood!" The golden cultivators rushed over.

"Wait for me! I want a share of the treasure too!" Ao Zhou rushed over eagerly.