Wayfarer

Chapter 749: The Saint Falls for the Ploy

In Xiao Nanfeng's study in Yongding, Xiao Nanfeng's avatar was reviewing the battle reports that flooded in from the battlefields, while Wen Zhong assisted with the analysis.

"Lou Yujing's ancestral zombie avatar headed to Haijiao, and Tu Jiuniang to Shenfeng. How strange. I would have swapped the two of them to cause more damage to Shenfeng," Wen Zhong said, frowning.

"Why do you think Lou Yujing arranged things this way?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

"I can't tell at the moment, Your Majesty, but I believe this was an intentional choice."

Xiao Nanfeng nodded. "We are in agreement, then. There's something we're still not seeing. Would you review Lou Yujing's entire background, including his time in the Taiqing Immortal Sect?"

"I will, Your Majesty." Wen Zhong nodded seriously.

Suddenly, Xiao Nanfeng seemed to sense something. He narrowed his eyes. "The saint is here. Let's head outside to meet him."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" the officials chorused.

Xiao Nanfeng strode out of the imperial study, followed swiftly behind by his officials.

Outside Yongding, on a mountain peak shrouded by fog, Saint Chi Hai made his appearance. His four zombie king avatars were all on other battlefields; he had arrived in Yongding himself. It was clear how much importance he placed on Yongding.

He had been told that all of Xiao Nanfeng's elite subordinates had been sent out, that Yongding was but an empty husk at the moment.

Yongding's gates were flung wide open, and the only defensive formation active was a thin, diaphanous membrane in purple that looked as if it would shatter in a single blow.

He had been intending to kill his way over, but his cautious personality caused him to hold back. He had studied Xiao Nanfeng's past victories and knew that Xiao Nanfeng possessed almost supernatural means. He was a skilled strategist who would never make such a low-level mistake.

Just then, Xiao Nanfeng and his officials walked out from a hall in the palace in the distance.

"I came as stealthily as I could. Could he have discovered my presence regardless?" Saint Chi Hai frowned.

Xiao Nanfeng suddenly looked toward his location. Though thick fog surrounded him, Xiao Nanfeng's gaze seemed to pierce right through.

Afar, Xiao Nanfeng smiled. "It looks like a guest has arrived. Sir, don't you think you ought to show yourself?"

Xiao Nanfeng's voice, loud and resonant, could be heard throughout the city and even beyond.

The people and cultivators of the city were perplexed. Just who was His Majesty talking to?

The saint raised an eyebrow and knew that he could hide no longer. With a wave of his sleeves, the fog around him dissipated and revealed his face.

"Xiao Nanfeng, how did you find me?" the saint demanded.

The saint's voice crackled like thunder. It shook Yongding and caused its people to gasp in surprise.

"Do not hurt my people with your divine might," Xiao Nanfeng warned curtly.

Xiao Nanfeng's words relieved the people and made them feel at ease. They glanced toward the saint curiously.

The saint's eyes twitched. This wasn't how it was supposed to go! How could Xiao Nanfeng be so calm?

"Do you know who I am?" the saint demanded.

"I wouldn't mistake your gaze. The two zombie kings at Dunxian were your avatars, weren't they? Do you intend to serve as Lou Yujing's hound and make a fuss at Yongding now?"

"Insolence!" the saint thundered.

"You're the insolent one, I should think. No one who besieges Yongding leaves unscathed," Xiao Nanfeng retorted.

The saint stared at him coldly. "Xiao Nanfeng, you've arranged for all your subordinates to head to Shenfeng, haven't you? How do you intend to stand against me?"

Saint Chi Hai was particularly cautious. Though Xiao Nanfeng's taunts had enraged him, he wouldn't allow himself to fall for them just yet. He still wanted to get a sense of Xiao Nanfeng and Yongding's reserves.

"Ha! Are you a coward? Do you dare step into Yongding and speak to me face to face?"

The saint's eyes twitched. This wasn't going as planned at all. Yongding was devoid of Xiao Nanfeng's reinforcements, wasn't it? Why would Xiao Nanfeng invite him within?

The saint frowned. He kept feeling as if there were some hidden threat in the city that he wasn't aware of, but that too might be a ploy by Xiao Nanfeng to keep him off-balance. He didn't know whether to respond to Xiao Nanfeng's invitation.

Just then, his avatars began to transmit feedback about the situation at the other battlefields. Somehow, Zhao Yuanjiao had managed to cleave his avatar at Bingxian. His two avatars were being suppressed by Xiao Nanfeng's other body in Dunxian. Yang Chuan was on a rampage against his final avatar at Danxian.

"Coward!" Xiao Nanfeng declared with a laugh. "You're here to cause trouble, but don't even dare to enter Yongding proper?"

The saint grew more and more perplexed. What was Xiao Nanfeng planning? Why did he want to get him into the city so desperately? There must be some incredible threat within.

But weren't Xiao Nanfeng's elites all elsewhere? Even that formations master, Blue Lantern, had gone to Shenfeng. What was left in Yongding?

"Aren't you going to speak at all? Are you here to put on a show?"

"What show?" the saint demanded coolly.

"A cowardly villain who's getting cold feet. I have to praise you for the act. Your face is frozen stiff, but your eyes are particularly expressive. Your hatred and unwillingness to back down, your fear and cowardliness—your eyes state it all." Xiao Nanfeng smiled.

The saint's face grew more and more dour. He didn't know what Xiao Nanfeng was trying to pull. If not for the unknown threat that Yongding represented, he would already have killed Xiao Nanfeng.

"Aren't you going to make a move? I don't have much time to waste with your acting," Xiao Nanfeng continued.

The saint gaped. What act? He was clearly trying to analyze Xiao Nanfeng!

The more Xiao Nanfeng provoked the saint, the more infuriated the saint became. However, the saint was surprisingly able to tolerate the insults—until Xiao Nanfeng's main body dragged his two zombie king avatars through the Heaven Division's Gate. He narrowed his eyes.

Because of Lou Yujing's behavior, he hadn't underestimated Xiao Nanfeng at all. He had been carefully scrutinizing Yongding in search of the best time during which to strike. As his avatars fell prey one after another, however, he grew more and more wary of Xiao Nanfeng.

Yongding might not look threatening at all, but it seemed to hide some great horror just waiting to be unveiled.

He wasn't going to make a move now, not when Xiao Nanfeng was right there waiting for him!

"Come on, then! What's the point of waiting outside the city? Come in!" Xiao Nanfeng invited.

The saint glared at Xiao Nanfeng, having finally made up his mind. He took a deep breath. "Xiao Nanfeng, just you wait. I'll be back for your head."

Then, the saint flew off.

The guards stationed around Yongding widened their eyes. What had happened? Why had the invader suddenly run off?

Behind Xiao Nanfeng, the officials' eyes lit up. They stared at Xiao Nanfeng in disbelief. Was it all a scheme? Xiao Nanfeng had managed to scare a fearsome foe into retreating with nothing more than his wits! The officials stared at their emperor with awe and respect.

Xiao Nanfeng smiled faintly as he watched the saint leave.

Such were the saint's means that, though he had already vanished over the horizon, he was still able to observe what was happening in Yongding. He discovered Xiao Nanfeng smiling as he left, and the officials behind Xiao Nanfeng staring at him with reverence.

"This was all a trick! I'll kill him!" the saint shouted. He was madder than ever before.

He rushed back toward Yongding in a beam of light, so quickly that anyone who saw him would have been taken aback.

Xiao Nanfeng's eyes widened as he saw the saint charging toward him and slamming a palm against the purple barrier.

"Xiao Nanfeng, I'll kill you! How dare you trick me? I'll take down Yongding, then finish you off!" he roared.

Even when incensed, he remained incredibly cautious. He was worried that Xiao Nanfeng still possessed Yu Fuli's heart sword. Rather than attack Xiao Nanfeng directly, he would start by massacring Yongding's people and forcing Xiao Nanfeng to attack him instead.

"No!" the people cried out.

The officials surrounding Xiao Nanfeng panicked, but to no avail. The saint moved far too quickly. His palm technique struck the purple barrier around Yongding, which seemed entirely too thin to provide any resistance. The moment the saint struck it, however, it flew away from Yongding and wrapped up the saint instead.

"This isn't a barrier!" the saint exclaimed.

Xiao Nanfeng had taunted him while tricking him with a ploy, infuriating him to such an extent that he failed to consider the possible danger this purple barrier could possess.

With extreme strength, he forced his way out of the purple barrier, now a web around his body. Gale winds shot out from around him.

Everyone defended themselves and stood firm as they saw a shocking sight. The saint's head had been caught by a pitch-black fishhook, with a fishing line extending high into the clouds. Someone seemed to be fishing, and whoever it was had caught a big fish indeed: the saint himself.

As the fishhook thrust into his body, the saint felt an overwhelming strength surround him. He was rendered weak and immobile.

"Xiao Nanfeng, you dare conspire with Yu Fuli against me?!"

If Xiao Nanfeng's ploy hadn't made him drop his guard, he would surely have noticed that something was wrong with the purple barrier around Yongding. How could he have attacked in such a foolhardy fashion? How could he have allowed Yu Fuli's fishhook to catch him off guard?

He knew what a potent relic Yu Fuli's fishhook was, and he was confident that it would never have been able to catch him under ordinary circumstances. However, Xiao Nanfeng's trick had changed everything.

"Your Majesty, the shockwaves from his errant struggles may hurt my people. Would you please take him away quickly?" Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed.

With a yank, the saint flew up toward the heavens.

"Xiao Nanfeng, how dare you insult me like this! I'll kill you!" the saint thundered.

Then, he vanished into the clouds, having been caught by the Heavenly Emperor.

The sudden reversal caught many officials by surprise. They didn't understand what had just happened.

Wasn't Yongding completely undefended? The officials thought that the lack of defenses had been a ploy, but it was actually a trap!