Chapter 956: The Kind-Hearted Chu Tianban

With Crown Prince Banruo's mirror, Chu Tianban relentlessly pursued Xiao Nanfeng until he finally caught up.

"Will you surrender quietly, or will we have to force you into it?" Chu Tianban sneered.

From the distance, a group of black-robed figures stealthily surrounded them.

Xiao Nanfeng's heart thumped, but he called out coldly, "If you want to fight, face me here! And those of you skulking in the shadows, stop hiding. Why not come out and join the fun?"

His boldness caused the black-robed figures to freeze in their tracks, halting their advance.

Chu Tianban's expression shifted. From his perspective, Xiao Nanfeng and his companion were isolated and outnumbered. Shouldn't they beg for mercy or flee immediately? Why didn't Xiao Nanfeng escape? He seemed ready to fight everyone alone!

It didn't make sense. Why would a lone Golden Immortal recklessly challenge a group of Boundless Immortals?

This could only mean Xiao Nanfeng had a trump card.

Chu Tianban remembered Crown Prince Banruo's warning not to underestimate an emperor who had triumphed against all odds.

Though Chu Tianban didn't know about Xiao Nanfeng's advantages, he decided to exercise caution. With a wave of his hand, the black-robed figures quickly encircled Xiao Nanfeng. Each of them exuded overwhelming power and killing intent, and they were ready to act at Chu Tianban's command.

Xiao Nanfeng smirked coldly, "Chu Tianban, you underestimate me. Do you think you can take me down with these small fry? Are you all ready to die here today?"

Chu Tianban sneered, "Don't worry. They're just here to stop you from escaping."

With a flourish, Chu Tianban unleashed a burst of golden light. A massive suncrow flew out from the jade box in his hand. With a thunderous roar, the suncrow flapped its wings, stirring a devastating void storm that swept in all directions.

This time, Chu Tianban couldn't afford to be careless. After all, even a lion would use its full strength to catch a rabbit. He resolved to strike with all his might to either kill or gravely wound Xiao Nanfeng in one blow, ensuring no mishaps would disappoint Crown Prince Banruo.

As expected, Xiao Nanfeng looked visibly shocked when the suncrow appeared.

Thinking that he was fearful, Chu Tianban laughed out loud. "Go! Take down Xiao Nanfeng, dead or alive!"

With a roar, the golden crow dove at Xiao Nanfeng.

In fact, Xiao Nanfeng was shocked because he hadn't realized how kind-hearted Chu Tianban was.

He had simply been bluffing, an attempt to distract everyone while Blue Lantern opened a portal into the wild wastes hidden realm unnoticed.

As planned, everyone was focusing on him and ignoring Blue Lantern.

He hadn't expected Chu Tianban to recklessly rush in and deliver treasures to him on a silver platter.

Xiao Nanfeng's reaction made Chu Tianban think he was paralyzed with fear. He shouted excitedly, "Suncrow, kill him!"

As the suncrow swooped forward, Blue Lantern finished his invocation and opened up a massive void portal behind Xiao Nanfeng and him.

In a flash, they stepped into the wild wastes hidden realm, pursued by the cawing suncrow.

"What's that?" Chu Tianban exclaimed in shock.

The void portal shimmered once before disappearing completely.

Xiao Nanfeng, Blue Lantern, and the suncrow had all vanished.

"What just happened?!" a black-robed figure asked in confusion.

Chu Tianban was equally bewildered before shouting in fury, "Where are they? Find them!"

"Understood!" everyone replied.

The group immediately began scouring the surrounding seas and islands, but Xiao Nanfeng and the others had truly disappeared.

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Chu Tianban was on the verge of losing his mind.

He had hoped to redeem himself and prove his worth to Crown Prince Banruo. Instead, he had now lost another suncrow. How could he explain this upon his return?

"There's nothing—no traces at all," someone reported anxiously.

"Blue Lantern mentioned the wild wastes hidden realm earlier. Is there really a hidden realm here?" another asked nervously.

"A hidden realm? How could there be one here?" Chu Tianban was livid. He was on the verge of spitting blood.

"We don't know," the others replied quickly.

"Investigate! Find out everything about the wild wastes hidden realm! I seem to recall Su Tianxin mentioning it before. Find Su Tianxin's subordinates and get me answers!" Chu Tianban roared.

"Understood!" his subordinates replied.

Meanwhile, Chu Tianban continued frantically searching for the hidden realm's entrance. He even tried activating his artifact to recall the suncrow, yet no matter what he did, he couldn't establish a connection.

Within the wild wastes hidden realm, the moment Xiao Nanfeng, Blue Lantern, and the suncrow entered, the heavens rumbled. The realm had detected the presence of a Boundless Immortal intruder.

Dark clouds roiled as a terrifying pressure locked onto the suncrow.

Despite sensing a dire threat, the suncrow obeyed its orders and lunged at Xiao Nanfeng.

Xiao Nanfeng transformed into his yin body and disappeared into the Realm of the Nine Heavens with Blue Lantern.

The suncrow missed. It cawed in frustration and began searching for the two missing cultivators.

Suddenly, a Heaven's Hand descended from the dark clouds above and reached for the suncrow. The suncrow soared skyward, shattering the first hand with an explosive crash.

More hands followed, each more relentless than the last.

The suncrow cawed furiously as it fought against the Heaven's Hands.

Strong though it was, the suncrow couldn't unleash its full potential without Chu Tianban's control. Gradually, it faltered under the relentless assault of the Heaven's Hands. It was eventually forced to flee in desperation, weakened and outmatched.

Xiao Nanfeng and Blue Lantern reemerged from the Realm of the Nine Heavens, glancing at the suncrow's plight with amused expressions on their faces.

"It seems that Chu Tianban has delivered another treasure to you, Your Majesty," Blue Lantern said wryly.

"Indeed. I misunderstood him—he really is a kind-hearted man," Xiao Nanfeng replied with a grin.

In the distance, the suncrow was finally struck down by the Heaven's Hands. It shattered, leaving only a crystal of solar essence glowing brilliantly on the ground.

The Heavenly Hands descended once more, intent on crushing the crystal core.

Just then, with his candleflame powers, Xiao Nanfeng summoned the solar essence to him. A protection token concealed its presence, causing the Heaven's Hands to withdraw. The dark clouds dissipated shortly thereafter.

Xiao Nanfeng had acquired another crystal of solar essence.

"Your Majesty, I'll start setting up the formation now," Blue Lantern said.

Xiao Nanfeng nodded.

Blue Lantern flew to a remote area and began setting up the formation, while Xiao Nanfeng flew to a nearby mountaintop. He transformed back into his physical body, swallowed the solar essence, and began to meditate.

This crystal of solar essence contained far more energy than the last one he had consumed. Its immense reserves coursed through his body, rapidly enhancing his cultivation.

Everything was going smoothly for Xiao Nanfeng and Blue Lantern; meanwhile, Chu Tianban experienced pure torment.

No matter how hard he tried, he was unable to locate the suncrow or the entrance to the hidden realm. His frustration only kept growing.

After half a day, someone finally reported, "Lord Chu, my avatar just found one of Su Tianxin's disciples in hiding and learned about the wild wastes hidden realm."

"Tell me everything!" Chu Tianban demanded.

"This is indeed the entrance to the hidden realm, but no one can enter it except for Blue Lantern or those with a bronze compass. The realm's heavenly laws heavily suppress Boundless Immortals inside—"

Chu Tianban turned pale. "The suncrow entered, so it must be subject to those restrictions..."

"That seems to be the case," the subordinate replied.

At that moment, another subordinate approached nervously, "Lord Chu, the Crown Prince just contacted my avatar to ask if we're in danger."

"How does His Highness know something happened? Did you report to him? I told you not to report in until we dealt with Xiao Nanfeng!" Chu Tianban bellowed.

"I didn't. His Highness sensed that the binding on the solar essence was destroyed," the subordinate explained.

"What? Another solar essence destroyed?" Chu Tianban felt a wave of despair.

The Crown Prince had entrusted him with another invaluable treasure. Once again, it was gone before it could even be used. How could he possibly explain this?

"Xiao Nanfeng, you've ruined me!" Chu Tianban roared in grief and indignation.

Within the wild wastes hidden realm, Xiao Nanfeng had fully broken down the solar essence. With a thunderous surge of energy, flames erupted from his body, shattering the formation he had set up in advance. His entire form radiated golden light as his aura reached new heights.

"I'm a peak Golden Immortal now," Xiao Nanfeng murmured. He opened his eyes, which gleamed in satisfaction.

He looked around to see thousands of blue compass projections in the surrounding forests, each emitting beams of blue light that pierced through the clouds. At the center of this grand formation, Blue Lantern had gathered incredibly concentrated spiritual aether to form a rainbow pool of light.

"Your Majesty, the formation is ready. We can start treating Senior Liu now," Blue Lantern announced.

"Excellent. Thank you for your hard work," Xiao Nanfeng replied, flying over.