Chapter 282: The Three-Legged Golden Crow
News of Hong Lie's death quickly spread throughout the Tianshu Empire, and even to the Immortal sects that were participating in the confrontation between empires. Every cultivator who learned of the news was shocked.
An Immortal dying just like that? Such was the scale of the confrontation between empires—a moment's carelessness could lead instantly to death.
On the other hand, some cultivators viewed Hong Lie's death as an opportunity.
Strong cultivators of six Immortal sects had gathered in a hall of the Sanyuan sect. Two months ago, Xiao Nanfeng had excavated the draconic veins of each sect, and they had been too fearful of Hong Lie to retaliate. With Hong Lie's death, however, everything had changed.
The strong cultivators of the six sects looked toward a black-robed man standing before them.
"Everyone, relax. I'll snare Xiao Nanfeng. None of you will be too fearful to strike if he's alone, will you?" The black-robed figure smiled.
The cultivators of the six sects fell silent, weighing the odds.
"I accept," one of them stated.
"I accept as well."
The other cultivators all agreed quickly. They were all bound together now; there would be no turning back.
By the entrance to the Mortal division's Hall of Immortals stood Ye Sanshui and Xiao Nanfeng.
"King Xiao, news of Hong Lie's death has spread throughout the Tianshu Empire. The Tianshu Empire has issued a bounty on Xiang Pojun: whoever claims his head will be granted the title of Marquis and the former lands of Marquis Wu," Ye Sanshui reported.
Xiao Nanfeng frowned. His eyes narrowed with displeasure.
Hong Lie placed great importance on fraternal bonds, and he considered Nalan Qiankun one of his closest friends. He had helped Nalan Qiankun establish the Tianshu Empire and would still continue helping him out without a second thought if he needed it.
Now that Hong Lie was dead, although Xiang Pojun was unlikely to be the sole culprit responsible, not only had Nalan Feng done nothing to investigate his death further, all he had done was place a bounty on Xiang Pojun. He hadn't even made a move to avenge his senior brother himself.
"At the moment, several marquises of the Tianshu Empire have sent an army toward Marquis Wu's lands, intending to take advantage of the opportunity to swallow up those lands for themselves. They're going to claim the cities that we've conquered, and the frontlines are suffering. Should we continue our assault against the rogue forces there?" Ye Sanshui asked.
"Those are the lands that my senior uncle conquered. I won't hand them over to anyone. Emperor Tianshu claimed that whoever kills Xiang Pojun will be granted Marquis Wu's lands, didn't he? We'll take those lands for ourselves, then. I'll kill Xiang Pojun myself," Xiao Nanfeng replied.
Ye Sanshui nodded. "Understood!"
"All of you should return to Marquis Wu's lands and defend the cities we've conquered. Don't let the last few months of hard work go to waste. If anyone dares to claw at our territory, we'll break their arms off," Xiao Nanfeng pledged.
"Understood!" Ye Sanshui replied. New novel chapters are published on
Wielding his blade, Xiao Nanfeng slashed at a small rocky island.
The island was split in twain, and the resulting shockwaves caused huge waves to form in the surrounding sea. Where Xiao Nanfeng's blade had struck the rock, flames began to spread and continued to persist long after the attack.
The crow spread its wings atop Xiao Nanfeng's head, transferring even more sunlight into pure yang elemental force, refilling the energy that Xiao Nanfeng had consumed in his attack and simultaneously tempering his physical body.
"This crow is only a fledgling right now, isn't it? If it were to keep growing, it'd surely become stronger. Sky of Ten Suns—one sun alone already has such incredible might. Imagine having ten of these crows!" Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed expectantly.
He tested his strength carefully, familiarizing himself with his newfound powers, before recalling the crow and returning to Taiqing Island.
He began to pore over documents that described the Mortal division's history and secret information privy only to the division leader, as though waiting for something.
Two days later, while Xiao Nanfeng was perusing a document, a Mortal elder stepped into his office.
"Division Leader, I—there's some information that I'm not certain if I should discuss," the elder began.
"Oh?" Xiao Nanfeng replied curiously.
"I've been observing you for some time, and have confirmed that you bear a deep and abiding bond with former division leader Hong Lie. There's a private matter I wish to bring to your attention regarding the former division leader."
"What is it?"
"The former division leader Hong Lie has a son."
"Oh?"
"However, his son's still very young, and the former division leader was afraid that making his existence known could result in incidents. He's been raising his son outside the sect. Now that the former division leader is dead, I'd like to get your thoughts on raising him in the sect proper."
"Where is Hong Lie's son?"
"I can take you there, Division Leader. Would you accompany me?"
"Lead the way!" Xiao Nanfeng instructed.
"We had best keep this matter secret in order to prioritize the safety of Hong Lie's son," the elder warned.
"Just the two of us, then. Let's go!"
"Please follow me, Division Leader." The elder led the way, smiling faintly.
Xiao Nanfeng smirked as he glanced at his back.
