Wayfarer

Chapter 754: Lou Yujing Grasps the Situation

Within the imperial study in Hongyue's capital were two people.

Lou Yujing sat behind his table as he eyed Li Qianjun on its other side. "Did Chi Hai's avatar at Bingxian die?"

Li Qianjun nodded. "He did. Yu Fuli's heart sword is truly potent."

Lou Yujing nodded. "Very good. Xiao Nanfeng didn't disappoint me, after all."

"Your Majesty, you predicted that Xiao Nanfeng would win?" Li Qianjun exclaimed.

"Of course. With Yu Fuli supporting him, how can Xiao Nanfeng lose? The question is what it cost him to win. That he took down all five of the saint's avatars is excellent," Lou Yujing said.

"But wouldn't Xiao Nanfeng and Shenfeng have the upper hand now? We had victories of our own, but it's clear that they had more." Li Qianjun frowned.

"Worry not about such minor details. Any price is worth being able to achieve our objectives. Xiao Nanfeng might appear to be winning for the time being, but we can easily deal with him afterwards. The stronger Xiao Nanfeng is now, the better it is for us."

"Understood!" Li Qianjun nodded, then frowned. "But will the saint really show up in his main body?"

Lou Yujing smirked. "I might have been worried before the outcome of this battle, but now I'm certain of it."

"Why?"

"Because of Tang Zhengqi," Lou Yujing said. He pursed his lips.

"The Minister of Rites, Tang Zhengqi? What's so special about him?"

"If I'm not mistaken, he's Xiao Nanfeng's spy."

"What? How can that be?!" Li Qianjun exclaimed.

"Xiao Nanfeng is exceedingly skilled. Why wouldn't he be able to install a spy in my court?" Lou Yujing replied coolly.

"But in such an elevated position? How did you learn of it, Your Majesty?"

"Tang Zhengqi isn't his real name. I suppose we ought to call him Tang? He might have disguised himself a little, but I can easily see through him. I've been paying careful attention to the Taiqing Immortal Sect these last two centuries, and I have records of every disciple inducted into its ranks. More than anyone else, I'm aware of the defining features of all its disciples. Tang, an omen of calamity—ha. Though he appears to have been working against Xiao Nanfeng all this time, he's killed a large number of Xiao Nanfeng's enemies by his mere existence alone. It's too much of a coincidence. That's why I suspect he's working with Xiao Nanfeng."

"What do we do, then?" Li Qianjun frowned.

"Isn't it a good thing for us that he's sticking so closely to the saint?" Lou Yujing smirked.

"You intend to take advantage of Xiao Nanfeng to get rid of the saint, Your Majesty?" Li Qianjun exclaimed.

"That remains to be seen. I wonder if Xiao Nanfeng can acquire some means of dealing with the saint's main body from Yu Fuli?" Lou Yujing frowned.

"If he doesn't succeed, do we need to help him?"

"No. We can't participate at all, lest the saint get wary."

"Understood!" Li Qianjun nodded. "The saint lost five of his avatars in abject defeat. Will he take his anger out on you, Your Majesty?"

"Considering his pride and arrogance, I'm certain he will—but I was active during the battle and suffered grave defeat myself. There's nothing he can criticize me for."

"Your Majesty, is that why you deliberately had your avatar head to Haijiao? Was it all to pacify the saint?" Li Qianjun exclaimed.

Lou Yujing nodded. "Not only did I lose a significant portion of my zombie army, I even had to discard a Boundless Immortal relic. The saint won't be able to blame me."

"You are wise, Your Majesty," Li Qianjun murmured.

Days later, in the palatial valley of Shenfeng's capital, Xiao Nanfeng returned and inspected Yang Chuan's headless body alongside the Divine Emperor, Demon Child, and Ye Dafu.

"By the time we rushed over, they were fighting over Yang Chuan's headless body. I blocked Yuan Wudi while Ye Dafu struck. Is Yang Chuan really not dead? He doesn't even have a head anymore!" the Demon Child exclaimed.

Xiao Nanfeng eyed the wound-ridden corpse and frowned. "There are countless secret techniques in this world, far more than we know of. The Divine Emperor and I have both examined Yang Chuan's corpse. We don't understand what's going on, but there's budding vitality in it somewhere."

"Your Majesty, Yang Chuan is the Southern Aspect. Do we need to report this to the Heavenly Emperor?" Ye Dafu asked.

"I've already assigned some subordinates to do so, but His Majesty said that everything was fine, that Yang Chuan would regenerate soon enough."

"Oh?" The cultivators frowned.

They stared at Yang Chuan's body. To their surprise, flesh sprouted from where the stump of Yang Chuan's neck. That flesh was rapidly regenerating, along with bone. Yang Chuan's head was reforming in real time.

Everyone was stupefied by what they had witnessed, even the Divine Emperor.

After four hours, Yang Chuan's head finally regrew completely. He shuddered as his eyes blinked open.

"Yang Chuan, how did you do that?" the Demon Child exclaimed.

Yang Chuan glanced at his surroundings and realized where he was. He turned to the gathered cultivators. "How did your fights go, everyone?"

"We all won except for you!" the Demon Child shouted.

Yang Chuan stiffened. He sighed in embarrassment, then smiled. "It looks like I've embarrassed myself, then."

Xiao Nanfeng shook his head. "Hardly. You destroyed a saint's avatar by yourself, and your resurrection technique is incredible."

"It's one of the most secret techniques of the Yuqing holy land. I'm sorry to say I can't discuss it in more detail."

"It doesn't matter. Could you explain how the saint's avatar you faced suddenly grew stronger?" Xiao Nanfeng asked curiously.

Yang Chuan frowned. He was deep in thought. "He invoked heavenly law to borrow strength from the void, and I was caught off guard. However, as he did so, his physical body began to split apart. I believe that this technique is extremely costly and can only be used once. He was planning to die along with me the moment he used it."

"So that's how it is." Xiao Nanfeng nodded.

"You've made the saint suffer, and he'll likely take revenge," Yang Chuan warned.

"I'll be careful. You still need to recuperate, don't you? Leave everything to me."

"Very well." Yang Chuan nodded.

"As for your subordinates, I don't know how trustworthy they are, so I didn't allow them to approach you. Now that you're awake, I'll leave you to handle matters yourself. I'll summon Black Dog to assist you."

"Very well." Yang Chuan nodded.

Xiao Nanfeng did so. Black Dog quickly arrived and left with Yang Chuan.

"Demon Child, I apologize. The circumstances didn't permit me to take down Li Qianjun with you, and he managed to escape. Next time, I promise I'll help you take him down," Xiao Nanfeng continued.

The Demon Child nodded.

"Now that you've taken down Bingxian, I'll have to trouble you to remain there for some time in case we need your strength. Listen to my senior brother's commands and try not to show yourself to avoid being targeted."

"I know." The Demon Child smiled. "So says the art of war: hide your capabilities and your existence."

"Oh? It looks like you've been working hard on your studies. I've sent for your tutor, who will be escorted to Bingxian. Keep it up." Xiao Nanfeng smiled.

"What?!" the Demon Child's face fell. "I have to study even during war?"

"Studying will help you understand the world, wars, and even other people. It's essential," Xiao Nanfeng said firmly.

"Xiao Nanfeng, you're a demon!" the Demon Child proclaimed.

In the end, he resigned himself to his fate. Suddenly, war didn't seem quite so interesting to him anymore.

"Why don't you head to Bingxian and pray at your mother's grave? Burn a copy of the books you've mastered for her. Tell her that you've been working hard to succeed like she wanted you to. Your tutor remarked on your dedication as well—show her that."

The Demon Child's eyes lit up. "Got it!"

He smiled in excitement, no longer troubled about his studies. He really had put in a lot of effort these past few months. Surely his mother would be pleased!

Xiao Nanfeng had one of his subordinates leave with the Demon Child.

Then, he turned to Ye Dafu. "Guard Ye Sanshui for the time being and bring him the zombies that the Divine Emperor caught. Help him recover as quickly as you can."

"Of course, Your Majesty!" Ye Dafu replied.

Xiao Nanfeng watched his subordinates leave before turning to the Divine Emperor.

"Two victories and a defeat is an astounding success. I'm sure the forces eyeing us must be flabbergasted," the Divine Emperor said, smiling.

"Ignore them. They won't dare interfere," Xiao Nanfeng replied, though he too smiled.

"I just wonder what Hongyue's plans are going forward."

"What else? It looks like Lou Yujing intends to involve the saint. He's going to make us fight each other while he reaps all the spoils."

"Oh?"

"I almost feel as if he intended for the saint to lose all five of his avatars," Xiao Nanfeng said seriously.

"What? Is Lou Yujing trying to scheme against the saint?" the Divine Emperor exclaimed.

"That's my suspicion. However, he was smart enough to suffer a terrible defeat at Shenfeng, giving the saint no excuse to criticize him."

"You mean he lost deliberately?"

Xiao Nanfeng nodded. "He lost a Boundless Immortal relic, didn't he? I suspect it's not anything particularly valuable."

The Divine Emperor passed him a pearl of many colors. "You're right. This is a divine pearl of resplendence. Though it contains an incredible amount of energy, it's too chaotic to be of much use—but as a Boundless Immortal relic, it's simultaneously too valuable to pass up."

"Was I actually right?" Xiao Nanfeng inspected the pearl happily. "Even if it's useless to the majority of cultivators, it's a great gift for me."

"Who would have expected you to break open Boundless Immortal relics for mere consumption?" The Divine Emperor sighed wearily.

"Would you guard me? Let me attune to it right now."

"Very well!" The Divine Emperor nodded.

Xiao Nanfeng swallowed the pearl as he sat cross-legged in meditation.