<h4>Chapter 312: Entrance to the Yao Pool</h4>
Xiao Nanfeng continuously dodged the Immortal-realm divine ves. The unusual phenomenon left him alert. Something was wrong; the situation was moreplicated than it appeared.
As he fled, he suddenly turned sharply and leapt up onto a mountaintop. A crane spirit there jumped in shock as it stretched its wings and attempted to flee.
"Stay right there!" Xiao Nanfeng shouted.
He grabbed the crane spirit''s neck, forcing it to remain still.
Only then did he notice that there were crane spirits everywhere in sight. When they saw Xiao Nanfeng, however, they fled and darted away through the fog.
Shortly after, three more crane spirits appeared in the air. Behind each of them was an Immortal-realm divine ve. As they approached Xiao Nanfeng, they immediately flew away into the fog, having lured the divine ves toward Xiao Nanfeng.
The three Immortal-realm divine ves howled as they shot toward him.
"I was wondering how divine ves kept finding me—it''s all because of you!" Xiao Nanfeng eximed.
"Let me go!" the crane spirit in his hand shouted.
Xiao Nanfeng tossed the crane spirit at an Immortal-realm divine ve.
"No!"
The crane spirit was bisected by one of the divine ves'' des.
Xiao Nanfeng then continued to flee. After he had escaped from all three Immortal-realm divine ves'' pursuit, he flew into the fog and found the crane spirits again. They didn''t dare to fly too high up, for fear of what awaited them there. He shot toward the crane spirits.
"Kill!" Xiao Nanfeng shouted.
"No!" the crane spirits eximed.
"Who instigated you to have the divine ves chase me?" Xiao Nanfeng asked the crane spirits as he attacked them.
Crane carcasses continued to fall to the ground as Xiao Nanfeng''s attacks grew fiercer and fiercer.
"Help! Save us, Your Highness!"
"Save us! Xiao Nanfeng''s gone crazy!"
The crane spirits cried out in fear.
Xiao Nanfeng continued to pursue the fleeing cranes as he dodged the Immortal-realm divine vesing his way. He had no intention of letting the crane spirits go.
Suddenly, two cultivators draped in multicolored light shot over.
"Hold it!" one of them shouted.
"Nn Yunhai? Qiangwei? It was you!" Xiao Nanfeng red at the two cultivators.
Upon seeing their arrival, the crane spirits hurried to their saviors.
"Your Highness, you''ve finallye! He found us and killed many of our number. Please, save us!" the crane spirits cried out.
Xiao Nanfeng continued slicing them apart.
"Xiao Nanfeng, how dare you!" Nn Yunhai thundered.
Qiangwei and Nn Yunhai struck simultaneously, blinding light emanating from their bodies as they attacked with Immortal swords. Xiao Nanfeng wouldn''t be able to defend against them unarmed.
He reached out and tossed two exploding Immortal relics at them, which burst into mes. The two cultivators were forced back while Xiao Nanfeng vanished into the fog.
"Your Highness, be careful! There''s arge group of divine vesing from the south."
"Qiangwei, how could you endanger His Highness so? Don''t you know what kind of ce this is?"
"Quick, there''s arge group of Immortal-realm divine vesing from the north, too!"
A number of voices could be heard through the fog.
Xiao Nanfeng''s eyes widened. "So many Immortals...?"
He could see a group of Immortals defending against the iing Immortal-realm divine ves, protecting Nn Yunhai as they escaped from danger.
Xiao Nanfeng fled, returning to a secluded valley he had passed by on the way to the Yao Pool. He had hidden a crane spirit there, one whose cultivation had been sealed and which he had knocked unconscious.
"Wake up!" Xiao Nanfeng demanded.
The crane spirit was pped awake to find a de by its neck.
"Please, spare me, Young Master Xiao! I was only acting on orders!" the crane spirit eximed.
"On whose orders?"
"On Nn Yunhai''s orders! When we were scouting around, we saw your tracks and reported them to Nn Yunhai. He had us lure Immortal-realm divine ves over to kill you, and we had no choice but to act as hemanded."
"What are you doing here?" Xiao Nanfeng demanded.
"We don''t know either. Emperor Tianshumanded us to keep guard over here. Nn Yunhai''s not the only one in the vicinity. There are a few marquises from the Tianshu Empire, along with their followers. Emperor Tianshu gave a few of the marquises Immortal pills that allowed them to ascend to Immortal-realm. They''ve beenying in ambush since."
"For me?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.
"No! We reported your presence to Nn Yunhai and the marquises, but they told us to mind our own business. They don''t care about you; only Nn Yunhai does."
"Oh? Then who are youying an ambush for?"
"I don''t know, and none of the marquises have revealed a thing. They''re all waiting for Emperor Tianshu''s orders, and so are we."
"Emperor Tianshu is in the vicinity?" Xiao Nanfeng eximed.
"He''s searching for something with Ku Jiang and Han Bingdie, but I''m not sure about the specifics," the crane spirit replied.
Xiao Nanfeng asked the crane spirit a few more questions, but there was little else it knew. Xiao Nanfeng didn''t pity the crane spirit; it was affiliated with the Taiqing Immortal Sect, and the fact that it had tried to harm him despite knowing he was the Mortal division leader was a crime punishable by death. He beheaded the crane spirit with a single cut.
Then, Xiao Nanfeng began to move even more carefully. Not only did he have to avoid the Immortal-realm divine ves all around, he also had to make sure he wasn''t spotted by the crane spirits either.
At the same time, on a hilltop, Qiangwei was helping Nn Yunhai tend to his wounds.
Nn Yunhai''s face was dark. "These marquises refused to give chase after Xiao Nanfeng?"
Qiangwei shook her head as she applied salve to his wounds. "Your Highness, you can''t me them. Emperor Tianshu himself gave them orders to focus on their task."
"It''s because they didn''t help that Xiao Nanfeng got away—and I lost a batch of my crane spirits, too," Nn Yunhai spat out.
"Xiao Nanfeng''s cultivation has grown further, and it''s only normal that he was able to get away. Your Highness, why pay so much attention to a cultivator who''s about to die?" Qiangwei advised.
Nn Yunhai frowned. "You don''t understand how I feel. Xiao Nanfeng''s ruined my ns several times. I have to kill him personally to resolve my hatred."
"Your Highness, I initially thought that Xiao Nanfeng would be easy to kill, so I went along with your n. Now, however, it looks like Xiao Nanfeng has reached the peak of Wingform. It won''t be easy to kill him, and we can''t take the risk. We still have tasks that Emperor Tianshu assigned us, and we have to perform them perfectly," Qiangwei replied.
Nn Yunhai''s gaze turned dark.
"Your Highness, we only have a limited number of crane spirits. If they continue to perish at Xiao Nanfeng''s hands, it won''t be good news for us. The reason the marquises disobeyed you wasn''t just because of Emperor Tianshu''s orders, but because they''re preparing to seize an even greater opportunity. If we lose too many of the crane spirits, we won''t be able to participate—it''ll only benefit the marquises," Qiangwei advised.
"But..." Nn Yunhai still seemed reluctant to give in.
"We simply have to send word to the Spirit Emperor about Xiao Nanfeng. If the Spirit Emperor is prepared, Xiao Nanfeng will surely die."
Nn Yunhai''s eyes shed again before he finally nodded.
One dayter, Xiao Nanfeng finally found the location of the Yao Pool.
There was another region shrouded by ck fog in the distance, with a pir that extended into the skies by its side.
"It''s not an easy ce to get to..." Xiao Nanfeng murmured, frowning.
There was arge group of divine ves patrolling in the vicinity of the Yao Pool, with a dozen or so Immortal-realm divine ves among them. It would be difficult to make it into the pool while remaining unseen.
Just then, dozens of crane spirits flew out from the ck fog, scattering all over and causing the Immortal-realm divine ves to give chase.
The Immortal-realm divine ves around the Yao Pool were all distracted for the moment.
"Am I that lucky?" Xiao Nanfeng eximed.
He was just about to rush inside when he halted, raising an eyebrow. "Something''s wrong. Why did these crane spirits fly out from there? And why was it right as I was about to enter? Could my tracks have been discovered again? Is someone trying to scheme against me?"
Xiao Nanfeng stopped short and prepared to wait a little while longer.
Just then, a crane''s cries could be heard by his side. The crane spirits that had scattered into the fog now flew back, urately pinpointing Xiao Nanfeng''s location.
Not only that, they had lured the dozen or so Immortal-realm divine ves straight toward him.
"The crane spirits—they really were scheming against me! But how did they find where I was?"
Xiao Nanfeng fled as fast as he could, but the crane spirits had caught him off-guard. The divine ves approached him in the blink of an eye.
The divine ves all wielded Immortal relics. They attacked Xiao Nanfeng from afar, who retaliated by destroying even more of his Immortal relics. The divine ves halted in surprise; not daring to stay, Xiao Nanfeng rushed straight into the Yao Pool.
The dozen or so Immortal-realm divine ves chased after him.
"There''s nothing else I can do now. I''ll have to head inside the Yao Pool!" Xiao Nanfeng''s eyes shed with exasperation.
Before the divine ves could strike at him, he charged within the ck fog.
Just then, a crane spirit flew up to a mountaintop where Nn Yunhai was standing.
"Your Highness, the Spirit Emperor discovered Xiao Nanfeng''s location and had us lure him into the Yao Pool with Immortal-realm divine ves," the crane spirit reported.
"Well done. You''ll all be rewarded when our work here is done. Now, continue patrolling the area," Nn Yunhaimanded.
"Understood!" The crane spirit quickly flew off.
Nn Yunhai nced at where Xiao Nanfeng had vanished. He smirked. "Xiao Nanfeng, the Spirit Emperor has been waiting for you for quite some time."