Chapter 343: Fishing in Passing
In a valley some distance away, Xiang Shaoyin and his group were watching the fight unfold.
"Why isn't Nalan Qiankun attacking himself? Why would he have his son fight a duel to the death with Xiao Nanfeng?" one cultivator asked.
"Perhaps Nalan Qiankun fears Xiao Hongye," Xiang Shaoyin suggested.
"And only Xiao Hongye could terrorize Nalan Qiankun!"
The cultivators murmured to each other, all shocked by how the situation was developing.
Afar, Xiao Nanfeng and Nalan Changkong continued to fight. The two cultivators were roughly balanced in strength, but Xiao Nanfeng was superior in terms of skill with the blade and fist. When he spotted an opportunity, he charged forward. Their weapons released a wave of energy as they clashed. As they held each other off, Xiao Nanfeng struck with his free hand. Hundreds of punches shot toward Nalan Changkong.
"Hegemon's Fist!" Nalan Changkong cried out.
The countless punches shattered his qi barrier, unclenched into hand blades, and thrust into Nalan Changkong's body.
Nalan Changkong shrieked.
The additional palms all vanished, leaving one hand thrust straight into Nalan Changkong's chest, freezing it in a block of ice. Xiao Nanfeng pulled out a golden ember,
the quintessence of soulfire that Nalan Changkong had incorporated into his own body.
"Be careful, Nanfeng!" Yu'er cried out from afar.
Just then, Nalan Changkong's yin body shot out from his mindscape. It activated a golden hemispherical dome, which flew toward Xiao Nanfeng.
If they were further apart, Xiao Nanfeng might have been able to avoid the artifact, but they were simply too close to each other. He and his silver moon were trapped inside.
The golden dome swiftly grew larger in size until it was about a few hundred meters in diameter. A hundred and eight bestial totems were emblazoned on the dome. A barrier partitioned the interior and exterior of the dome. Flames blazed on the inside; a large number of flaming beasts roared as they came to life.
The golden dome pinned Xiao Nanfeng to the ground.
"Damn you, Xiao Nanfeng! You almost destroyed my physical body entirely!" Nalan Changkong's yin body shouted.
Much of his physical body had been frozen stiff, and the hole in his chest extended all the way to his back. If he didn't have a yin body, he would already be dead.
"That's... the Hundred-Beast Flaming Dome!" Xiang Shaoyin cried out from a forest in the distance.
"The Hundred-Beast Flaming Dome? One of the Spirit Emperor's three great treasures?" another cultivator exclaimed.
"To think Nalan Qiankun would be willing to hand the dome to his son... No wonder he dared to have his son duel Xiao Nanfeng. There are a hundred and eight flaming beasts in the dome. Even if Nalan Changkong has only come into possession of the relic, each beast must be as strong as an Immortal. With a hundred and eight of them surrounding Xiao Nanfeng, he's surely dead meat!" Xiang Shaoyin exclaimed.
The flaming beasts pounced on Xiao Nanfeng one after another. Fire blazed, filling the interior of the dome and obscuring what was happening within from the outside.
Xiao Hongye watched on with worry, while Nalan Qiankun smiled expectantly.
"Nalan Changkong plotted against Nanfeng with one of the Spirit Emperor's ultimate treasures! This—!" Yu'er tried to rush over anxiously.
"It's a fair fight. There were no restrictions against the use of relics. Lass, you had better not disrupt the fight," Cui Haitang said coldly.
Then, she launched a palm strike at Yu'er.
A hand instantly gripped Cui Haitang's wrist, dissipating the frightening burst of energy. Han Bingdie had made a move.
"Do you think I'll let you touch my daughter?" Han Bingdie spat out.
Cui Haitang's eyes flashed, but she aborted her attack.
Yu'er continued to attempt to charge toward the dome, but a voice interrupted her. "Yu'er, don't worry! I'm fine."
Everyone turned to see Xiao Nanfeng, dressed in red, atop a watchtower in Yongding.
"Father, I'm afraid I can't head over there for the moment. I have to protect Yongding," Xiao Nanfeng called out from where he stood.
Only then did Xiao Hongye relax. He nodded easily.
Yu'er smiled, but she still worried for Xiao Nanfeng's safety. She tried to fly toward his avatar once more.
"Hold it, Yu'er!" Han Bingdie immediately grabbed her daughter.
"Mother, I'm just going to go have a look!" Yu'er cried out.
"You can't!"
"But—!"
"Yu'er, stay here and take care of Senior Uncle Hong's fragment of will. I'll go," Zhao Yuanjiao said, stepping forward. Then, he bowed toward Xiao Hongye. "Senior Uncle Xiao, Nanfeng prepared a few plans for today. I'll be helping him carry them out."
"Go," Xiao Hongye said, nodding.
Zhao Yuanjiao flew toward Yongding.
"Your son had other plans? What plans?" Nalan Qiankun frowned.
"Against your plots, I should think," Xiao Hongye scoffed.
"Oh?" Nalan Qiankun's eyes turned cold as he stared into the distance.
When Nalan Changkong saw Xiao Nanfeng's avatar standing in the watchtower of Yongding, he surmised that Xiao Nanfeng's main body hadn't been injured.
"Disperse!" Nalan Changkong commanded the dome.
The flames dispersed, revealing what lay within. Xiao Nanfeng's main body was nowhere to be seen; rather, lying on the ground was a purple seal.
The flaming beasts were attempting to attack the seal, but to no avail.
"Xiao Nanfeng? This purple seal must be some treasure that allows you to hide within it. No matter how good a treasure it is, though, will it be able to surpass my Hundred-Beast Flaming Dome? Watch me shatter this purple seal of yours. Beasts, attack!" Nalan Changkong commanded.
The blazing beasts charged at the purple seal, filling the dome with flames once again. Golden light emanated from the dome.
Within the interior of the purple seal, Xiao Nanfeng's main body switched back to his physical body. He smirked. "Try burning me if you can, Nalan Changkong. I'll deal with you once I absorb this quintessence of solarfire."
He sucked the quintessence of solarfire into his body, hatching his last nascent spirit as he sat cross-legged in meditation.
Back on the outside, Xiao Hongye suddenly frowned. "Nalan Qiankun, are you fishing?"
"Only in passing," he replied.
Xiang Shaoyin and the other cultivators' eyes lit up with greed.
"Xiao Nanfeng's alright? That means that Nalan Changkong's attunement to the relic has to be weak. It'll be easy to snatch it from his grasp," one cultivator murmured.
"King Shaoyin, should we strike?" another cultivator asked expectantly.
Xiang Shaoyin glanced toward Nalan Qiankun in the distance. He felt that the Hundred-Beast Flaming Dome would be relatively easy to seize right then and there. His breathing gradually became more flustered.
"We'll strike swiftly, all charging together as one," Xiang Shaoyin commanded.
"Understood!" everyone chorused.
The twelve Xiang Immortals made their moves simultaneously, rushing toward the dome in beams of light. They struck at Nalan Changkong.
"Be careful, Changkong!" Cui Haitang urged.
Just then, the Hundred-Beast Flaming Dome formed a protective barrier of flames that surrounded Nalan Changkong and brought him into the dome
The Xiang cultivators' attacks struck the dome, which drowned the air in flames.
"We were tricked!" one cultivator exclaimed.
"Leave, now!" Xiang Shaoyin howled.
By the time the flames diminished, those outside discovered that the Hundred-Beast Flaming Dome had grown another size larger. Nalan Changkong had retreated out of the dome, but Xiang Shaoyin and the other Immortals were trapped within.
Xiang Shaoyin and his subordinates were furious. They hadn't expected the dome to possess such tricks. They attacked the interior of the dome madly, but weren't able to break it open.
"Do you think the Spirit Emperor's treasures would be easy to steal?" Nalan Changkong roared in laughter.
He activated the dome, sending the flaming beasts pouncing toward Xiang Shaoyin and his subordinates. Flames filled the interior of the dome once again.
"We've been tricked. Nalan Qiankun had his son fight Xiao Nanfeng and use this dome in order to bait us!" Xiang Shaoyin howled.
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