Wayfarer

Chapter 475: The Purpleflame Gourd

The Heaven Immortal three-headed serpent easily fell to Xiao Nanfeng's blade. Zhang Lingjun was astonished. She had seen Xiao Nanfeng take on Heaven Immortals before. Nalan Qiankun had temporarily reached the realm of a Heaven Immortal by taking advantage of the Formation of the Complete Heavens, but Xiao Nanfeng had only succeeded after drawing in the fortune of the Dazheng Empire. Now, however, he didn't seem to need any additional preparation at all.

These three-headed serpents boasted tremendous defenses, and Zhang Lingjun's sword had only left a thin scar on its body. However, Xiao Nanfeng's blade easily went through their entire necks. Was something wrong with Xiao Nanfeng, or with his blade?

The Martial Aspect of Silverfrost glared coldly at Xiao Nanfeng from afar.

The three-headed serpent king roared, "What are all of you waiting for? Attack!"

The surface of the sea swelled as another three three-headed serpents emerged, rushing straight for Xiao Nanfeng.

"Insolence!" Xiao Nanfeng roared, slashing at them with a flick of his wrist.

The Divine Seal of Dazheng shot toward the serpents, suppressing one and freezing it in place. The other two three-headed serpents closed in on Xiao Nanfeng, moving at too fast a clip for him to handle. The six heads breathed out huge sprays of fire.

Amidst a series of screams, a group of officials from the Imperial Court were sent flying. They fell toward the sea as Zhang Lingjun activated a green jewel that formed a barrier around her to guard against the flames and the brunt of the attack from one of the serpents.

Xiao Nanfeng was likewise overwhelmed by fire, but the fire could hardly hurt him. The three-headed serpents had come so quickly that he only had time to defend with a single slash of his blade.

He was sent flying, but his physical body boasted such strong defenses as to be impenetrable.

"Die, Xiao Nanfeng!" the three-headed serpent that Xiao Nanfeng had struck roared.

A huge, gaping wound had appeared on its body, courtesy of the divine undying blade. It bellowed and shot toward Xiao Nanfeng.

"Come on, vermin! Let me see just how much longer you can hold out. Once the Martial Aspect of Silverfrost finishes off the other serpents, you're done for," Xiao Nanfeng retorted.

His shout carried all the way to where the Martial Aspect of Silverfrost was located; it was almost as though he were criticizing him for intentionally delaying his assistance.

With another boom, he was flung into the distance by the serpent as the intense fighting raged on.

Meanwhile, after confirming that Zhang Lingjun wouldn't be in life-threatening danger, the Martial Aspect of Silverfrost breathed out in relief. He turned to eye Xiao Nanfeng coldly, giving him a disdainful sneer. He had no intention to provide any assistance whatsoever as he continued to fight against the king of the three-headed serpents.

"Be careful, Xiao Nanfeng!" Zhang Lingjun called out, frowning.

"Don't worry, Princess. This beast won't be able to do anything against me," Xiao Nanfeng called back.

He was struck time and again by the three-headed serpent. The fight looked one-sided, but he wasn't taking any damage at all. While the serpent dropped its guard, he was even able to counterattack, resulting in a series of bleeding wounds all over its body. It only grew more irritable as the fight progressed.

Zhang Lingjun was taken aback. She was only able to defend against the attacks of a Heaven Immortal spirit thanks to the treasure she possessed, but what about Xiao Nanfeng?

The fact that Xiao Nanfeng had managed to kill a three-headed serpent on his own was astonishing enough, but now, he was fighting on equal footing with two of them ganging up on him, holding one back and suppressing the other. Was he really only an Earth Immortal?

"King, I can't break through this shield of hers!" the three-headed serpent attacking Zhang Lingjun bellowed.

"Ignore her. Kill Xiao Nanfeng!"

"Understood!"

The three-headed serpent shot toward Xiao Nanfeng with a roar.

"Xiao Nanfeng, one more is headed your way! Run!" Zhang Lingjun shouted, giving chase.

With her barrier protecting her, self-defense wasn't a problem. She attempted to help Xiao Nanfeng hold back one of the three-headed serpents.

"I'm an Earth Immortal, and they're Heaven Immortals. I won't be able to outspeed them, but don't worry, they can't break through my defenses, either. Just like you, I can whittle them down," Xiao Nanfeng said.

One of the serpents' tails struck him, sending him flying.

Zhang Lingjun gave him an odd look. Just like me, you say?

She rushed forward and continued to harass one of the serpents and reduce the pressure on Xiao Nanfeng. That serpent was completely unable to penetrate her barrier and had no choice but to flee from her as it continued to attack Xiao Nanfeng with its companions, making the situation seem even worse for him.

Xiao Nanfeng looked overwhelmed, but it was all an act to get the serpents to lower their defenses. With his spiritual power, he could sense that there were even stronger foes observing him from close by, and he didn't want to reveal his full strength this early on. He even noticed that the three serpents were giving off bursts of fog, reducing visibility and seemingly hiding something within. He had to play this situation cautiously.

"King, there's something wrong with this lad. We haven't been able to break through his defenses at all even after trying to rough him up for quite a while. There has to be some artifact protecting his body!" one serpent called out.

The three-headed serpent king fighting against the Martial Aspect in the distance frowned. It could sense that the Martial Aspect of Silverfrost was taking advantage of its subordinates to kill Xiao Nanfeng; did they share the same objective? Furthermore, it realized that it likely was too weak to last long against the Martial Aspect.

The three-headed serpent king shouted, "Activate the Purpleflame Gourd!"

"Got it!" a voice shouted from within the fog.

A tremendous storm of purple flame rushed out from the fog and straight toward Xiao Nanfeng.

"What's this?" the Martial Aspect of Silverfrost exclaimed.

"Leave, Princess!" Xiao Nanfeng shouted.

He realized that the flames seemed to be headed straight for him. Without any hesitation, he recalled the Divine Seal of Dazheng to guard himself as he rushed toward one of the three-headed serpents. Regardless of what these purple flames were, his best choice for now was to defend himself with the three-headed serpents.

The serpent whipped its tail toward Xiao Nanfeng, only to have him grab ahold of it tightly.

Sensing that something was amiss, Zhang Lingjun attempted to flee, but it was too late. The purple flames spread too quickly, whooshing by like a tsunami and swamping everyone in sight. Xiao Nanfeng, Zhang Lingjun, and the three-headed serpents were sucked into a gourd brimming with purple flames.

A group of ordinary serpents were infusing their energy into the gourd.

"Serpent King, if something happens to the princess, all of you are going to die!" the Martial Aspect of Silverfrost thundered.

The serpent king ignored him and bellowed, "Aren't all of you going to show yourselves? How long are you going to wait? Do you really think I'm nothing but your weapon, wearing myself out for your benefit?!"

The Martial Aspect of Silverfrost frowned, sensing that something was amiss, as he looked all around him.

"If you don't show yourselves, I'll release Xiao Nanfeng," the serpent king threatened.

Finally, dozens of figures appeared all around the sea. They were masked cultivators that released imposing auras. Two of them seemed as strong as the three-headed serpent king itself.

"Two True Immortals?" the Martial Aspect of Silverfrost murmured.

"Help me deal with the Martial Aspect of Silverfrost. I want him to die today!" the three-headed serpent king bellowed.

One of the masked cultivators seemed furious. "Serpent King, are you reneging on your word? You said you would help us, but now you're trying to take advantage!"

"You enlisted my assistance to help kill Xiao Nanfeng, but hid in the shadows yourselves. Do you think that's fair? If I help you, then it only makes sense that you should help me as well. Take down the Martial Aspect of Silverfrost alongside me—take down all of them and hide any traces of our attack. Wouldn't that be better?"

"You—" one of the masked cultivators gritted out.

"Hurry, or I'll expose your identities and release Xiao Nanfeng. This will be a stain on your reputation forevermore!" the three-headed serpent king bellowed.

The Martial Aspect of Silverfrost realized that he was in over his head. He struck the three-headed serpent king and began to fly toward the purpleflame gourd.

"Make a move!" one masked cultivator shouted.

"Attack!" the other True Immortal echoed.

The two True Immortals blocked the Martial Aspect of Silverfrost as the three-headed serpent king shot toward him.

"Die!" it howled.

The three True Immortals fought together against the Martial Aspect of Silverfrost, who finally started to panic. The fighting ignited a huge tempest and left tidal waves surging across the sea.

"Serpent King, if Xiao Nanfeng manages to get away, you're done for," one masked cultivator hissed.

"He won't be able to escape. You lot, you won't be able to do anything in a fight involving True Immortals. Head to the purpleflame gourd and deal with Xiao Nanfeng immediately!" the serpent king commanded its subordinates.

"Understood!" The three-headed serpents all flew toward the flaming gourd.

One of the masked cultivators likewise instructed, "Kill those officials of the Imperial Court that just fell into the sea. Don't let a single one of them escape."

"Understood!" The majority of the masked cultivators shot toward the sea instantly.

Within the Purpleflame Gourd

Xiao Nanfeng found himself split apart from the other cultivators and spirits by a huge wave of flame. The fire within the gourd boasted tremendous strength and surged toward his body.

"What powerful flames. This is truly a blessing!" Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed.

Just then, Zhang Lingjun's voice could be heard from afar. "Xiao Nanfeng, are you still alive?"

Xiao Nanfeng turned and looked around. Concentrated purple flames surrounded him, blocking his line of sight and preventing him from seeing into the distance. He flew in the direction of the voice, through a wave of flames, and spotted Zhang Lingjun's green barrier. It was burning bright red and starting to crack.

He shot over and smiled. "Thank you for your concern. I'm quite alright."

"Xiao Nanfeng, you're not even erecting a qi barrier? You can survive these flames with your physical body?!" Zhang Lingjun exclaimed.

"I cultivate a fire-oriented technique, and these flames can't harm me."

"That's impossible. This is quintessential purpleflame, prized for its use in forging relics and pills! Even a Heaven Immortal would be unable to bear these flames. My barrier is a True Immortal relic that's weak against these flames and is almost about to give out. How could you be alright even after exposing your physical body to the flames? It's impossible!"

"Quintessential purpleflame, you say? There's a lot of it, to be sure, but it's not particularly potent." Xiao Nanfeng shook his head.

This level of fire paled in comparison to his quintessential solarfire.