Wayfarer

Chapter 568: Suppressing the Battlefield

Several Heaven Immortals grimaced as they charged toward Xiao Nanfeng.

"Die!" Xiao Nanfeng shouted.

Xiao Nanfeng didn't attempt to dodge their attacks. He allowed them to strike him, counting on his physical defenses as he counter-attacked in kind.

Xiao Nanfeng's Imposing Avatar of Rulai made his body impenetrable to Heaven Immortal blades, and he shouldered the attacks unharmed. With a slash of his blade, several Heaven Immortals were killed in the blink of an eye, their limbs flying into the air.

The other Heaven Immortals who were charging forward yelped in surprise as they retreated.

"How are we supposed to fight him? We can't damage him at all!" the cultivators shouted.

Xiao Nanfeng continued to charge forward, slashing at the True Yin cultivators surrounding the archer. His target panicked, but knew that she couldn't retreat. She had no choice but to launch her own attacks. Fortunately, as a True Yin cultivator, she had the upper hand when it came to speed.

She knocked Xiao Nanfeng flying even as he chopped off her feet, causing her to scream in agony.

Meanwhile, the archer shot out another arrow straight at one of the golden crows. The True Yin cultivator holding it down was prepared to run, having learned his lesson from the two previous True Yin cultivators that had died from the golden crows' deathblows.

Even before the arrow neared, however, the golden crow had already exploded in a torrent of flames.

"What? It self-destructed that early?!"

"Even before the arrow landed—Xiao Nanfeng's ruthless!"

"Xiao Nanfeng's prepared to ruin the foundation of his own cultivation to take down those True Yin cultivators?!"

The True Yin cultivator was stunned by the explosion, not expecting the golden crow to catch him by surprise. He too found himself submerged within a sea of flames.

"Be careful!" someone suddenly shouted.

Xiao Nanfeng had whirled around and was patiently waiting for the flames to disperse, revealing the grievously wounded True Yin cultivator. He slashed downward with his blade, beheading his target.

Another spiritual moon dissipated, freeing another golden crow.

That golden crow, accompanied by Xiao Nanfeng, swooped straight toward the archer.

"Hold it!" the True Yin cultivator who had her legs chopped off shouted as she gave chase.

With a caw, the golden crow diverted from its path. Its flames and sharp claws struck at her head as she fled in panic, but her wounded state meant that she couldn't go very fast.

The crow gave chase, immolating its surroundings and quickly suppressing her.

Meanwhile, Xiao Nanfeng had reached the archer and was about to strike him.

The archer blanched in fear, tossed aside his Sunfell Bow, and begged for mercy.

"Please spare me, Martial Aspect Xiao! I was only acting on orders. There's a mastermind behind all this, and I'm willing to expose the mastermind!" The archer knelt on the ground and begged for dear life.

Xiao Nanfeng struck the archer with the flat of his blade, sending him flying. He spat out a mouthful of blood in mid-air, and many of his bones cracked. He landed on the ground in an ungainly heap, a plume of dust rising from his body.

"I'll interrogate you later. If your answers aren't satisfactory, I'll kill you too," Xiao Nanfeng said coldly.

"I'll reveal everything, Martial Aspect!" the archer promised, even as he spat out blood.

Xiao Nanfeng turned back to the other Heaven Immortals opposing him, scattered across the battlefield. By then, they didn't dare resist any further. They discarded their weapons and begged, "Please spare us, Martial Aspect Xiao. We were acting on orders as well!"

"Kneel!" Xiao Nanfeng demanded.

"Of course!" The cultivators obeyed immediately.

Xiao Nanfeng turned back to the battlefield in the distance.

Three True Yin cultivators and three spiritual moons were facing off against his six golden crows. The True Yin cultivator whose legs he had cut off was faring the worst of the lot; the golden crow attacking her was herding her straight toward another crow, the first one that had been shot down. An arrow was piercing through its body, and it was clearly badly injured. Even so, it hadn't yet died. As the True Yin cultivator approached, it self-destructed.

"No!" the True Yin cultivator howled.

The explosion that resulted from the flames swallowed her whole, shocking the spectators.

The flames that resulted from the golden crow's explosion were impressive, but they barely affected the other golden crows in the vicinity. After the explosion, the True Yin cultivator who had lost her legs was by death's door. The pursuing golden crow raked at her head with its claws.

Another True Yin cultivator fell, her spiritual moon dispersing and freeing up another golden crow.

Only two True Yin cultivators remained, but six golden crows. Victory had been all but decided.

"Martial Aspect Xiao, we're willing to surrender. I'll testify regarding the culprit!"

"Martial Aspect Xiao, I'll give you all the information I have. Please spare me!"

The two True Yin cultivators begged for mercy, but Xiao Nanfeng had no intention of stopping his attack. Two golden crows attacked the two True Yin cultivators as four golden crows struck at the two remaining spiritual moons.

The spiritual moons possessed incredible reserves of spiritual energy, but they were hardly able to defend themselves well. The golden crows were incredibly strong and easily caused one of the moons to explode.

The True Yin cultivator to whom it was connected spat out a mouthful of blood and slumped over. The golden crows tore the body to pieces.

"Spare me, Martial Aspect Xiao!" the final True Yin cultivator shouted.

Then, his moon was destroyed, and he too spat out a mouthful of blood in backlash. This time, however, the golden crows didn't kill him. They thrust their sharp claws into his body and sealed his cultivation, rendering him immobile.

The golden crows deposited his prone body before Xiao Nanfeng, who bound him with his golden net, ending the battle.

All the True Yin cultivators had fallen. If not for the fact that Xiao Nanfeng was keeping one of them alive to interrogate, they would all have perished.

"Incredible! Xiao Nanfeng killed seven mid-stage True Yin cultivators as a Heaven Immortal, and even crippled the last one. He's truly invincible among Heaven Immortals."

"It's a pity that four of his golden crows have been killed. They won't revive, I hear."

"Allegedly, if the golden crows perish, they're gone for good unless Xiao Nanfeng's willing to start over from scratch."

"Xiao Nanfeng might have won, but not without cost."

The spectators murmured to each other.

No one knew that the four golden crows that had exploded had transformed back into golden flames within his dantian and revived. They were still in a weakened state, but would be able to recover in no time at all.

Xiao Nanfeng sighed in relief. "Thank goodness I combined the Records of Life and Death with the golden crows, allowing them to revive. Otherwise, this might well have crippled me."

He recalled his six golden crows, which returned to his dantian.

All ten were accounted for; the battle had hardly drained him as much as it appeared.

"Will you seal your own cultivation, or do you need me to cut off all your limbs?" Xiao Nanfeng demanded of the cultivators who had surrendered.

"We'll seal our cultivation!" they cried out.

They quickly sealed each other's cultivation. The final one ran toward the group of cultivators that had been willing to accept Xiao Nanfeng's inspection and found a familiar face to help seal his own.

Those cultivators who had agreed to the inspection were incredibly relieved by their decision.

Xiao Nanfeng swept his gaze around the battlefield. "Three tigers, attend to me!"

"Here, Martial Aspect!" The three tiger spirits rushed forward, bowing in obeisance, worried that Xiao Nanfeng would hold a grudge over their failed ambush.

"Check that all these cultivators have sealed their cultivation. Kill anyone who dared to lie to me!"

"Understood!" The three tiger spirits leapt forward.

There were indeed cultivators among the surrendered who had faked the seal. They blanched as the tigers found them.

"We won't do it again, Martial Aspect Xiao!" they begged.

The three tiger spirits shot toward one of them. They ignored the other fleeing cultivators, certain that no one could escape from Xiao Nanfeng.

Xiao Nanfeng watched on coldly. He was on guard against the three tiger spirits, and was confirming their loyalty via their actions.

The first cultivator died amidst frenzied screams.

The three tigers leapt toward their next target as the deceitful cultivators fled. It was useless: none of the others dared to help them, and the three tigers were rather strong in their own right. They quickly killed the remaining cultivators.

"Martial Aspect Xiao, they're all dead. The remaining cultivators do have their cultivation sealed," a tiger spirit reported.

"Retrieve all their treasure and weapons, as well as those of the eight True Yin cultivators," Xiao Nanfeng commanded.

"Understood!" The three tiger spirits ran off.

Xiao Nanfeng retrieved a letter and turned to the remaining competitors. "Very well. Now that the fighting is over, we can have a pleasant conversation. Who wrote this letter demanding my presence here? Step forward and save me the effort of interrogating all of you."

By then, the other competitors were incensed as well. What fool would dare to threaten a Martial Aspect and lure him into this tournament? Whoever did it had to be crazy!

All the cultivators looked around them, but no one stepped forward.

"A game of hide-and-seek, then? Do you really think I won't be able to find you?" Xiao Nanfeng sneered.

He turned toward the archer who had shot down four of his golden crows.

"Let's start with you, then. You said you'd divulge what information you had about the culprit. You killed four of my golden crows, so if your answer isn't satisfactory, you should know what's going to happen to you." Xiao Nanfeng's tone was ice-cold.

The archer trembled violently in fear. He regretted having targeted Xiao Nanfeng at all. He was done for now.