Chapter 918: Not Sister

Back in Yongding, as the enemies retreated, Xiao Nanfeng called out, "Citizens of Dazheng, the assailants who attempted to attack Yongding have been defeated! I thank all of you for your support."

The remaining fortune within his body returned to the sea of fortune high overhead. A draconic roar resounded as his words echoed in the ears of every citizen.

"Long live Dazheng! Long live His Majesty!" Cheers erupted from the people across the empire.

Xiao Nanfeng glanced down at the city beneath him. "Zheng Qian, handle the cleanup."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Zheng Qian bowed respectfully.

"Yu'er, help me stand guard. I'll be checking on the Spirit Emperor's hidden realm," Xiao Nanfeng said.

The two Boundless Immortals that he had taken down had already been sealed by Yu'er. He dispelled his red and blue moons.

"Got it!" Yu'er nodded.

Xiao Nanfeng activated a treasure, then stepped into the Spirit Emperor's hidden realm.

The hidden realm was a mess. The white-robed figure in the vicinity removed her hood, revealing herself to be Liu Miaoyin.

Moments earlier, Liu Miaoyin had entered the hidden realm and made her move. Though Zeng Tianqi had escaped, she had captured his three Boundless Immortal subordinates.

Not far away, the twelve golden cultivators lay sprawled on the ground, their bodies bruised and swollen. They had clearly been beaten up severely, but their expressions were serene and relaxed.

Blue Lantern was seated cross-legged nearby. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and he was meditating to recover. After a long exhalation, he opened his eyes and stood up.

"Blue Lantern, are you alright?" Xiao Nanfeng asked anxiously.

"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I'm alright now. I have to thank the twelve golden cultivators for holding back Zeng Tianqi's three Boundless Immortal disciples. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to keep Zeng Tianqi occupied. He was far stronger than I expected. Fortunately, Emperor Liu arrived in time," Blue Lantern said.

"Good. Rest well and recover."

Blue Lantern nodded. "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Xiao Nanfeng turned to Liu Miaoyin. "Senior Miaoyin, I am truly grateful for your assistance."

Liu Miaoyin looked worried. "How's Dajing's capital?"

"Don't worry. Tu Feng and the Demon Child are guarding it, and I don't expect that there will be any issues. No one has informed me of any problems in the capital," Xiao Nanfeng reassured her.

"Good." Liu Miaoyin nodded. "Let me help you seal all your captives, then."

"Yu'er has already done so. You're still working on attuning to the charm of heavenly law, aren't you? Don't delay your progress on my behalf," Xiao Nanfeng advised.

Liu Miaoyin shook her head and smiled gently. "It won't take long. These individuals are skilled with formations and may have special methods for breaking seals. Let me add another layer to ensure that they'll be safely contained."

"Very well," Xiao Nanfeng agreed.

The two cultivators left the hidden realm together and returned to a plaza in Yongding.

There, Liu Miaoyin reinforced the seals on the three Boundless Immortals that Yu'er was guarding, rendering them completely immobile.

Meanwhile, Xiao Nanfeng gathered reports on the fighting from various regions.

"Are there any other captives that need to be sealed?" Liu Miaoyin asked.

"There's one more Boundless Immortal from the battlefield. He'll be brought back shortly," Xiao Nanfeng replied.

"Then I'll await his arrival." Liu Miaoyin nodded.

Nearby, Yu'er glanced at Liu Miaoyin's stunning beauty and serene demeanor. She quietly sidled up to Xiao Nanfeng and pinched his waist hard. Xiao Nanfeng's face twitched in pain. Sure enough, what he had feared was coming to pass.

"Nanfeng, aren't you going to introduce us?" Yu'er asked sweetly. She continued to pinch him discreetly.

Xiao Nanfeng winced. "This is Senior Liu Miaoyin, whom I've mentioned to you."

Before he could elaborate, Liu Miaoyin smiled and addressed Yu'er, "I know you. You're Yu'er, the successor to the Red Emperor. Back when I was still in my black lotus form, the Red Emperor entrusted me to Xiao Nanfeng. And, ah—you might want to stop pinching him. This is just his avatar, after all. It won't hurt no matter how hard you pinch."

Yu'er's cheeks flushed, but she dipped her head and smiled. "So you're Sister Liu! I heard Nanfeng talk about how you've saved his life multiple times. You really are beautiful."

Liu Miaoyin smiled gently. "As are you. I know that you're Xiao Nanfeng's favorite among all the women in his life."

Yu'er glared at Xiao Nanfeng, then dipped her head in embarrassment. "Hardly. I feel like you're the one he likes most."

Xiao Nanfeng gave her an odd look. "Yu'er, you're mistaken. Senior Miaoyin and I aren't a couple."

"I'm not against your relationship. Why bother explaining yourself to me?" Yu'er rolled her eyes.

"Uh..." Xiao Nanfeng felt utterly embarrassed.

He and Liu Miaoyin really were innocent. Any physical contact they had had was purely incidental and a result of the battles they had been in together, nothing more.

Liu Miaoyin flushed red all the way to the tip of her ears. "Yu'er, we're not a couple."

Yu'er still seemed somewhat anxious. She grabbed Liu Miaoyin's hand. Her tone was somewhat stilted. "There's no need to be shy, Sister Liu. It's all Nanfeng's fault for being a troublemaker. You don't need to explain things on his behalf. Don't worry about me—I come from a family where my three mothers get along just fine and work together to handle my father. I think we should unite and thoroughly subdue a troublemaker like Nanfeng as well."

Xiao Nanfeng: ...

This time, Liu Miaoyin flushed red all the way to her neck. She stammered, "No, you really are misunderstanding. I'm not..."

"Sister Liu, come with me. Let's find a residence for you within the palace. Nanfeng clearly has plans for a harem—just see how many buildings he's set up! He's far too indulgent. Come on, come on! We're the first ones here, so let's pick the best ones together," Yu'er said enthusiastically, dragging Liu Miaoyin along with her.

"Yu'er, you've gotten it all wrong!" Xiao Nanfeng called out after her.

Yu'er made a face at him, as if annoyed that he was trying to hide something blatantly obvious. Then, she disappeared with Liu Miaoyin.

Xiao Nanfeng: ...

Before long, news of victory arrived from various fronts.

In Shenfeng's capital, the Divine Emperor had captured two Boundless Immortals.

On the battlefield of the two armies, with Ling Tianyu and Su Qingchan gone, Dachi's leech-exterminating army quickly fell apart. Dazheng's army broke through their main camp and swiftly routed them.

Ye Sanshui commanded Dazheng's army to pursue the fleeing forces and seize Dachi's Immortal cities. Meanwhile, Yang Chuan returned with the captured Boundless Immortal.

Liu Miaoyin sealed him, then hastily departed for Dajing.

"Nanfeng, why was Sister Liu so shy? When I showed her the palace quarters earlier, she kept saying she didn't need one and looked completely lost," Yu'er told Xiao Nanfeng. She frowned in confusion.

Xiao Nanfeng grimaced at her.

"What's wrong? Does Sister Liu dislike how fickle you are? Is she upset with you or with me?" Yu'er urged.

"You really misunderstood. Senior Miaoyin and I aren't in that kind of relationship. We've never even held hands," Xiao Nanfeng explained again.

He was worried that Yu'er and the Divine Emperor, two of his lovers, would start to bicker with each other once they met. That was why he had specially asked Liu Miaoyin to help him out.

He hadn't anticipated how open-minded Yu'er would be. Not only was she not embarrassed, she even proposed an alliance with Liu Miaoyin to take him down together, catching him off-guard. If he had known this would happen, he would have asked the Divine Emperor to come instead.

"What? You haven't even held hands with her?" Yu'er gaped at Xiao Nanfeng in disbelief.

Xiao Nanfeng nodded seriously.

"You should have said so earlier! And here I was thinking that she..." Yu'er's face turned red out of embarrassment.

"I did explain, but you wouldn't listen!" Xiao Nanfeng said, exasperated.

"Hmph! You're such a troublemaker, letting me embarrass myself like that. It's all your fault!" Yu'er huffed. She began pinching Xiao Nanfeng's waist again.

"Alright, alright, it's my fault," Xiao Nanfeng said, pretending to surrender.

Yu'er quickly vented her frustration on Xiao Nanfeng. Fortunately, her temper didn't last long and she quickly calmed down, though she remained somewhat out of sorts.

"No, hold on! Liu Miaoyin was acting rather shy back then. She could have explained herself if she really wanted to, but she didn't clarify things right away. What if she really does like you?" Yu'er asked.

"Really? I doubt it," Xiao Nanfeng replied.

"I'm sure of it! You're such a flirt—you stir up feelings wherever you go. I can't believe you'd set your sights on such a pure maiden like Sister Liu! Just wait until your main body's back. I'll deal with you then!" Yu'er huffed.

"Senior Miaoyin and I really are innocent," Xiao Nanfeng said, smiling wryly.

"Hmph! I don't believe a word you say," Yu'er huffed.

"My main body's back, as is Father-in-Law." Xiao Nanfeng sighed in relief as he changed the topic.

Then, he promptly bolted and vanished from sight.

Yu'er had likewise seen Xiao Nanfeng's main body and Xia Xingchen flying back to Yongding from a distance. She didn't rush over to greet them. Rather, she frowned and murmured to herself, "I should have addressed Sister Liu as a junior, not a senior! I'm the senior wife here! Argh, it's all Xiao Nanfeng's fault, that scoundrel!"

Before long, within a grand hall in Yongding, Yang Chuan, Xia Xingchen, Xiao Nanfeng, Blue Lantern, and others gathered to discuss the latest developments in the conflict between Dazheng and Dachi.

"You suspect Su Tianxin has already killed Ling Tianyu and Zeng Tianqi?" Yang Chuan exclaimed in shock.

Xiao Nanfeng nodded. "My subordinates have been eyeing Dachi's capital. Ling Tianyu and Zeng Tianqi have left several disciples in Dachi's capital, but they were all apprehended by Dachi cultivators moments ago. I suspect this was all part of his grand plan."

"Su Tianxin's as vicious as rumored. Did his senior and junior brothers all fall for his scheme, then?" Yang Chuan murmured.

Blue Lantern frowned as well. "Su Tianxin has always been the most calculating among all the faction heads. This certainly fits his style."

"In other words, Dachi now has three pieces of the bronze compass?" Yang Chuan murmured.

Xiao Nanfeng nodded. "Su Tianxin is using others to do his dirty work, but we've had some success as well. We managed to obtain another piece of the bronze compass. In a few days' time, once Blue Lantern has attuned to it, we should be able to awaken your mother."

Yang Chuan's eyes lit up. He bowed deeply to Blue Lantern. "I'll have to trouble you, Blue Lantern."

"I'll do my best," Blue Lantern replied with a nod.