<h4>Chapter 298: Unexpected Disaster</h4>
The cultivators were all at Wingform- or Spiritsong-realm, and they would be core disciples or elders of their sects outside of the hidden realm. Within, however, they were nothing more than weaklings. Their bodies were quickly drained of all vitality until they were nothing more than dehydrated corpses. The shadows restraining them finally let go.
The blood peach of the peach tree had more than doubled in size, and it now radiated crimson light.
"Xiang Tang, Qiangwei, and Nn Yunhai are all absent. Where are they?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.
"They''re nearby, hidden in the darkness. Just like you, they''re observing that peach tree," the Divine Emperor whispered.
"Oh?" Xiao Nanfeng nced around himself in a guarded fashion.
Qiangwei and Nn Yunhai were hidden in another part of the mountain range, shrouded by ayer of ck smoke.
Nn Yunhai''s eyes twitched as he nced at the blood peach tree. "Qiangwei, aren''t we going to rescue them? Half of those cultivators are my subordinates!"
"No, we can''t! They''re all to be fertilizer for the blood peach tree. As long as you be an Immortal, there''ll be plenty more cultivators willing to follow your lead. The deaths of these cultivators won''t mean anything," Qiangwei replied coolly.
"Be an Immortal? Could you have be an Immortal by consuming a blood peach like that one there?" Nn Yunhai eximed.
"How else?"
"You—aren''t going to make me eat such a peach, are you?" Nn Yunhai''s brows furrowed.
"This blood peach was prepared specifically for you. Once you ingest it, you''ll be able to be an Immortal."
Nn Yunhai''s eyes shed. He struggled internally to ept this reality, but in the end, the desire for a shortcut to be an Immortal won out.
"But there''s a group of shadows in the vicinity. Will we be able to seize the blood peach for ourselves?" Nn Yunhai asked.
"I''m familiar with these shadows, and they''ll cooperate with me. You should be concerned with the fact that the blood peach isn''t yet mature. There''s still an importantponent of the fertilizer missing," Qiangwei said.
"Ah? You mean, Xiang Tang?"
"That''s right! Those cultivators'' vitality will be able to bring you to the peak of Wingform-realm at most. To be an Immortal, the blood peach tree must use an Immortal''s body as fertilizer. It took me tremendous effort to lure Xiang Tang in here."
"You knew of Xiang Tang''s n from the beginning? You were using me as bait to lure him in?" Nn Yunhai grimaced.
He felt as though he was ying the role of a fool; Xiang Tang and Qiangwei had both managed to manipte him into doing their bidding.
"Your Highness, how did Xiang Tang discover your spy? It''s because he has a spy among your subordinates as well. I didn''t want to raise a fuss and alert him, so I kept the secret to myself. All of what I''ve done has been to make you an Immortal, Your Highness. Please forgive me," Qiangwei said immediately.
"What? Xiang Tang has a spy among my subordinates?" Nn Yunhai nched. "Who?"
"You don''t have to worry about that anymore, Your Highness. He''s be fertilizer for the blood peach tree by this point."
Nn Yunhai was still rather upset. His n to set Xiang Tang against Xiao Nanfeng had been little more than a joke!
"But where''s Xiang Tang?" Nn Yunhai finally asked, ignoring his annoyance for the time being.
"I don''t know myself. He''s been bypassing the shadows somehow, which caught me off guard. However, since he''s in this peach orchard, he won''t be able to make it out. Once he exposes himself, he''s dead meat."
"Xiang Tang''s right there!" Nn Yunhai eximed, pointing into the distance.
"Oh? He found his way here, too? And he''s even revealing himself?" Qiangwei seemed surprised as well.
A figure floated in the air, none other than Xiang Tang himself.
Xiang Tang stared at the blood peach tree with unabashed glee. "What a treasure. This must be how that wench, Qiangwei, became an Immortal! The blood peach itself pales inparison to the tree. If I bring it back to the Xiang n, wouldn''t the Xiang n be able to produce an endless supply of Immortals?"
A few cultivators that had yet to die suddenly sensed hope in the form of Xiang Tang. They begged weakly, "King Tang, please save us!"
Xiang Tang ignored the cultivators, clearly indifferent to their survival. He simply wanted the blood peach tree.
"Catch him!" a shadow suddenly growled.
A group of shadows shot toward Xiang Tang.
"Catch me? Ha!" Xiang Tang shed them a cold smile. "Do you know what happened to all the shadows that have tried to catch me along the way here?"
The moment the first shadow approached him, Xiang Tang punched at it. The shadow vanished.
"What? He has a treasure that can handle the shadow cursed effigies?" Qiangwei eximed.
Xiang Tang continued to punch at the shadows, which vanished one after the other. All the shadows that closed in on him were absorbed by the treasure in his hand.
"A dragon-quelling spike!" Xiao Nanfeng eximed from afar.
Xiang Tang held a dragon-quelling spike in his hand, which was absorbing the shadows one after another.
The shadows stopped short as they nced at the spike in surprise.
"Is that copper spike a cursed effigy?" one shadow eximed.
"That''s right. Only cursed effigies can counter other cursed effigies. To deal with you lot, the Xiang n spent quite some time searching for a batch of cursed effigies with a power that counteracts yours. This dragon-quelling spike''s a relic of considerable strength, isn''t it? Come at me if you dare!" Xiang Tang taunted.
"Charge at him together!" the shadows growled as they shot forward.
However, Xiang Tang was even faster than they were. He shot toward the shadows like a beam of light, repeatedly absorbing them into the spike.
"You''ve been trapped for far too long, haven''t you? All of you are weaklings!" Xiang Tangughed as he easily took down the shadows.
The shadows were about as strong as Wingform-realm cultivators. No matter how fast they were, they could hardly hope topete against an Immortal in speed.
Within a short amount of time, all the shadows had been absorbed into the dragon-quelling spike. Xiang Tang''s surroundings quieted down.
Xiang Tang stepped through the air and smiled in a rxed fashion as he turned toward his surroundings.
"Where are you, Qiangwei? Weren''t you going to lure me into the peach orchard? Here I am. I have to thank you for cooperating with these shadows to reveal this peach tree to me. Otherwise, if I had charged in on my own, I might not ever have found it, haha!" Xiang Tang roared inughter.
Nn Yunhai widened his eyes as he whispered to Qiangwei, "Did he know of your n?"
Qiangwei frowned, her face dark. "How does he know so much about the peach orchard? He had a cursed effigy that countered these shadows, but pretended to be fearful of the peach orchard all this time? What a schemer."
Xiang Tang continued to taunt Qiangwei from the air, as though attempting to uncover her location. Just then, he stopped short. His eyes lit up as he grinned with malice. "Found you."
Nn Yunhai and Qiangwei nched as they prepared to muster a defense,
but the next moment, they were both taken aback. Xiang Tang had shot toward a different direction entirely.
Xiao Nanfeng, seeing Xiang Tang head toward him, scrunched up his face in annoyance.
"Are you mad? Go attack Qiangwei if she''s the one you''re interested in. Leave me alone!" Xiao Nanfeng shouted.
He had no choice but to defend against Xiang Tang''s attack with his de.
Sparks shed as Xiao Nanfeng was sent flying by a tremendous force. Xiang Tang stilled.
"Xiao Nanfeng? What are you doing here?" Xiang Tang eximed.
Xiao Nanfeng stabilized himself and replied, "If you didn''t know it was me, why were you attacking me?"
Xiang Tang frowned. He hadn''t expected this turn of events, either. He thought he had found Qiangwei, but he had ended up with Xiao Nanfeng instead!
"What are you carrying with you? Why is the dragon-quelling spike reacting to your presence?" Xiang Tang demanded.
Xiao Nanfeng looked toward his divine undying de. He understood what had happened, now—his de had revealed his location. He was hoping to see Xiang Tang and Qiangwei take on each other, but things had suddenly turned in Qiangwei''s favor!
"You''re not a bad constion prize. I have to take revenge for Xiang Pojun, anyway. Xiao Nanfeng, die!" Xiang Tang shouted, charging forward at him.
Xiao Nanfeng narrowed his eyes as he swung his divine undying de at full strength.
The de met the fist in a scorching explosion of mes. Xiao Nanfeng was sent flying again, and Xiang Tang himself stilled.
"Haven''t you just stepped into Wingform-realm? Why is your strength on par with cultivators at the peak of Wingform? Something''s very strange about it—it''s not much different from mine. You''ve almost managed to gain an Immortal''s strength! How did you do it?" Xiang Tang eximed.
Xiao Nanfeng considered what Xiang Tang had said. He had made use of his spiritual power to defend against Xiang Tang''s blow. He was at the peak of Lunar Deluge, just barely brushing against the threshold into Yin Body. In this ce where reality and illusion melded together, his spiritual power bolstered his strength significantly.
"You don''t need to know." Xiao Nanfeng charged forward.
"You dare?" Xiang Tang''s eyes shed.
The two cultivators exchanged blows once again as Xiao Nanfeng was sent flying. In terms of strength, he was still no match for Xiang Tang.
"Is it because of spiritual power? Have you already reached Yin Body,d? Even so, you''re weaker than I am. You''ll die today!" Xiang Tang dered.
"Says who?"
Xiao Nanfeng sheathed his de and charged forward with a punch.
Xiang Tang was taken aback. "You''re going to fight me with your bare fists? Are you trying tomit suicide?"
"Again!" Xiao Nanfeng demanded.
Compared to the de, Xiao Nanfeng was far more proficient with the fist. Since he couldn''t win against Xiang Tang with strength, he might as well switch to his specialty.
"Insolence. Die!"
"Hegemon''s Fist!" Xiao Nanfeng shouted.