<h4>Chapter 342: Let One of Them Die</h4>
Outside Yongding, in a secluded forest, Xiang Shaoyin and a group of Xiang Immortalsy in ambush.
"King Shaoyin, aren''t we going to take advantage of the opportunity to attack the Tianshu capital?" one Xiang Immortal whispered.
Xiang Shaoyin was silent for a moment before he replied, "I discussed the matter with my elder brother. Nn Qiankun has two of the Spirit Emperor''s treasures, so we may not be able to take advantage even if we were to attack the Tianshu capital. Furthermore, we don''t know if Xiao Nanfeng''s words are trustworthy. What we need to do is to clip Nn Qiankun''s wings—to quickly deal with all the Immortals in his employ."
"Yes, King Shaoyin! Once the Tianshu and Dazheng Immortals wound each other, we''ll swoop in and deal the Tianshu Immortals a lethal blow," one cultivator shouted,ughing.
Xiang Shaoyin smirked. "We''ll wait for them to fight and seize the final victory."
"Understood!" the Xiang Immortals chorused.
Not longter, they saw Lu Yan, Cui Haitang, and Nn Changkong approach.
"The Taiqing Immortal Sect''s sect master, Lu Yan? What''s he doing here?" Xiang Shaoyin gasped.
Then, the cultivators gasped again.
"Xiao Hongye''s back?!"
Many of them were panicked and flustered. Even after bing Immortals, they were still deeply fearful of Xiao Hongye given his past prowess.
"No, that''s just a fragment of will, not Xiao Hongye himself," Xiang Shaoyin dered.
The cultivators rxed, then rubbed their eyes anew as Lu Yan transformed into Nn Qiankun.
"Nn Qiankun was pretending to be Lu Yan, and Xiao Hongye spotted the deception...? What sort of rtionship do these cultivators have?" someone gasped.
"What''s going on? Why would Nn Qiankun have to transform into Lu Yan to deal with Xiao Nanfeng? We all know how strong Nn Qiankun is. Could he really be seriously injured? Xiao Nanfeng wasn''t lying to us!" Xiang Shaoyin eximed.
By a mountain peak, Nn Qiankun made his stance clear. If Xiao Hongye was willing to parley, then so would he. If not, he would do his utmost to kill Xiao Nanfeng immediately.
Xiao Nanfeng himself didn''t realize that Nn Qiankun was so afraid of his father.
Xiao Hongye gave off a thick, cloying aura of killing intent. He red at Nn Qiankun and at Cui Haitang. If he weren''t preupied, he would stop at nothing to rush back and ughter both these cultivators. He had viewed his bonds of brotherhood with Nn Qiankun seriously, and had even ceded the empire to him. Who would have expected Nn Qiankun to end up being such a schemer? Not only had he harmed his wife and son, he had even killed Hong Lie. Could Cui Haitang have done it all herself? Surely not. Nn Qiankun was responsible, too.
Even so, with him far away and Nn Qiankun threatening his only son, he had no choice but to swallow all his misgivings.
"How would you like to negotiate?" Xiao Hongye asked.
"Father, the fact that Nn Qiankun had to impersonate Lu Yan means that he''s not confident in his strength at the moment. He must be wounded; I can deal with him," Xiao Nanfeng said.
Xiao Hongye shook his head. "Nanfeng, do not underestimate any of your opponents. If you drop your guard, you could easily suffer."
Xiao Nanfeng nodded, intuiting what was left implicit in his father''s words: Nn Qiankun had particrly strong trump cards up his sleeve.
"Understood!" Xiao Nanfeng calmed down.
Nn Qiankun nced at Xiao Nanfeng and suddenly sighed, "If only my sons were like Xiao Nanfeng."
Xiao Nanfeng frowned. What was Nn Qiankun trying to pull now?
"My son is naturally extraordinary. Nn Qiankun, how do you intend to settle our business?" Xiao Hongye asked again.
"Our two ns owe each other much in blood, hatred, and vengeance. I don''t think an ordinary promise would pacify either of us. Why not have a duel between your son and mine? Only one of them can live," Nn Qiankun said.
"What?" the cultivators eximed.
"Husband, how could you?!" Cui Haitang shouted.
"What a cruel father. Don''t you care about whether your own son lives or dies?" Han Bingdie frowned.
Yu''er clutched Xiao Nanfeng''s sleeve anxiously.
Nn Qiankun continued, "Xiao Hongye, is this fair enough for you? If my son dies, your n will have stripped mine of all its heirs. Your grudge will be settled, your vengeanceplete. If your son dies, then the same shall be true for us. Let us sacrifice their lives and terminate any rtionship between our ns. What say you?" Nn Qiankun asked.
Xiao Hongye replied, "Nn Qiankun, how cold-blooded could you get? Don''t you care about your own son''s life?"
"I do care. I''m confident that my son can win. I''ve already lost two sons. If I don''t kill Xiao Nanfeng, I wouldn''t be able to relieve my grudges. Let our sons end this feud once and for all. Is your son stronger, or is mine? We''ll end it all with this fight," Nn Qiankun said.
Xiao Hongye frowned. If he were to refuse, then Nn Qiankun himself would attack Xiao Nanfeng. This was a threat that Xiao Hongye could do nothing about.
"What do you think, Nanfeng?" Xiao Hongye looked toward his son.
Xiao Nanfeng smiled. "Father, if you hadn''t appeared, I was prepared to attack Nn Qiankun directly. With you around, I''ll hold back. I''ll kill his son and im some interest first."
Seeing his son''s confidence, Xiao Hongye could only sigh in exasperation as he nodded. "Be careful."
"Don''t worry, Father. I''m stronger than Nn Qiankun''s son."
Xiao Hongye turned to Nn Qiankun. "Nn Qiankun, if you wish to send your son to certain death, then have at it—but after my son ys yours, I expect you to drop the matter entirely."
"Don''t worry. Regardless of what happens, I intend to retreat. As long as your son respects the boundaries between his kingdom and my empire, I won''t cross him. If he tries for more, well, don''t me me if anything were to happen," Nn Qiankun replied.
"Let it be so, then," Xiao Hongye said.
"Let it be so!" Nn Qiankun echoed. He turned to Nn Changkong. "Did you hear all that, Changkong? Didn''t you want to take revenge for your brother and uncle? This is your opportunity. Strike at Xiao Nanfeng the way I taught you."
Nn Qiankun''smandeering tone to his son surprised the onlookers, but Nn Changkong seemed supremely confident. He nodded. "Yes, Father!"
"Husband! What if—" Cui Haitang began, worried.
"I will brook no doubt," Nn Qiankun interrupted.
Frustrated though she was, Cui Haitang had no recourse. "I understand."
"Xiao Nanfeng, I''ll wait for you up in front!" Nn Changkong flew toward the sky above a nearby patch of forest.
Xiao Nanfeng frowned. He felt as though Nn Qiankun had some devious objective, that he surely had some other n in mind. There was yet an unknown reason why he had proposed this fight to the death between Nn Changkong and him.
"Father, I''ll be fighting now!" Xiao Nanfeng told Xiao Hongye.
"Be careful," Xiao Hongye warned, eyes full of affection.
"Don''t worry, Father!" Xiao Nanfeng smiled and was about to fly off
when Yu''er suddenly called him back. "Nanfeng!"
Xiao Nanfeng turned to Yu''er. She had an anxious expression on her face. Terror filled her eyes; she couldn''t help but fear for Xiao Nanfeng.
Xiao Nanfeng smiled and consoled her, "Yu''er, have you forgotten? I, Xiao Nanfeng, have never been defeated, and I never will be. Rx!"
He flew into the sky where Nn Changkong was hovering.
Yu''er wanted to pull him back, but Han Bingdie caught her hand.
In the air, Xiao Nanfeng transformed, his golden robes turning into silver ones as a silver moon appeared behind his head. His deific domain expanded, and a blizzard began to howl. Chilly frost emanated from him.
"Nn Changkong, for repeatedly harming the disciples of the Taiqing Immortal Sect and scheming against me, I hereby announce your execution. Submit to your fate and let me send you off!" Xiao Nanfeng shouted.
With a wave of his hand, he sent a blizzard straight at Nn Changkong.
"Fire!" Nn Changkong shouted, summoning zing mes against the blizzard.
The blizzard and zing mes struck each other. The mes blocked the blizzard, and a golden wheel of light appeared behind Nn Changkong.
"You have quintessence of srfire?" Xiao Nanfeng''s eyes lit up.
Nn Changkong drew an Immortal sword brimming with me, then shed at Xiao Nanfeng. Xiao Nanfeng retaliated with the divine undying de.
The sh between the two cultivators resulted in a huge explosion of energy. Snow met fire and transformed into steam.