Wayfarer

Chapter 643: The Heavenly Emperor's Reward

Xiao Nanfeng picked up the Heaven division token and activated it once more following what Su Qing had done. The Heaven Division's Gate manifested in the air.

"Su Qing, be careful," Xiao Nanfeng warned.

Su Qing nodded.

"Everyone else, step back."

The disciples retreated and sealed off their hearing. They protected themselves with relics.

Xiao Nanfeng rapped on the Heaven Division's Gate, causing a slit to open. Loss chants filtered out.

"Enter!" Xiao Nanfeng beckoned.

Su Qing gritted his teeth, formed seals rapidly with his hands, and rushed through the gate. A length of rope was tied around his body; Xiao Nanfeng held its end.

The loss chants suddenly seemed to grow weaker.

Xiao Nanfeng waited for some time until he felt a tug on the rope, one so strong it almost felt as if he too would be pulled within. He frowned and began to haul on the rope, dragging Su Qing out.

With a wave of his hand, the Heaven Division's Gate vanished.

Everyone surrounded Su Qing, trying to see what had happened to him. Su Qing was seated cross-legged in meditation, red light flashing by his forehead. He seemed to be cultivating.

Everyone waited patiently until Su Qing opened his eyes.

"Su Qing, what did you see?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

"The moment I passed through the gate, I saw countless beams of red light, with runes floating in them. The runes burrowed into my mindscape, causing me to forget everything. Then, when a red-furred lifeform suddenly grabbed ahold of me and tried to pull me deeper into the space, the division leader hauled me out."

The disciples glanced at each other in surprise, as did Xiao Nanfeng. What lay within the gate certainly didn't seem to be safe.

"According to the Heaven division's records, plenty of senior disciples in the Heaven division used to go missing after passing through the gate. That's why a sentry was designated to pull out any disciples within," Su Qing continued.

"How do you feel?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

"I can sense a red bell deeply embedded within my soul," Su Qing said.

"Try to activate it," Xiao Nanfeng said.

Su Qing gently did so.

The bell resounded. Suddenly, loss chants began to emanate from him. The sound of chanting overwhelmed everyone.

"Again?" the disciples cried out.

Except for Xiao Nanfeng, everyone else was caught by the technique. They stumbled around in a daze, as though having forgotten all that was on their mind.

Then, as Su Qing stopped, the disciples belatedly came to their senses, their memories flooding back. They stared at Su Qing in shock.

"These really are loss chants! But they're far weaker than the chants that emanate from within the gate," a disciple murmured.

"You'll need spiritual power to activate the bell. The stronger the spiritual power, the more potent the loss chants. This is as strong as I can make mine," Su Qing said.

"What's the consumption like?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

Su Qing nodded and smiled wryly. "Very high, but it's worth it. If you can catch enemies off guard, these loss chants can turn the tide of a fight or battle."

"Very good. Who's next?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

"Division Leader, can we all participate? In the past, only the most senior of core disciples were eligible to learn the associated techniques," a Heaven disciple asked timidly.

Xiao Nanfeng turned to the gathered disciples. "I've checked the background of all the disciples gathered here today. You've all been exceptionally loyal to the Taiqing Immortal Sect, so I consider all of you core disciples. I hope you won't betray my trust."

The Heaven disciples nodded fervently. The fact that Xiao Nanfeng had acknowledged them made them particularly touched.

"Thank you, Division Leader!" they all said.

"That said, I do want you to keep something in mind. These loss chants aren't necessarily a valuable treasure, and might even result in backlash in the future. Consider your options carefully. Think it through for a day. Tomorrow, those who are willing to establish a link with these chants will wait here for me. If you're unwilling to do so, that's fine," Xiao Nanfeng continued.

"Yes, Division Leader!" everyone chorused.

Xiao Nanfeng himself didn't intend to establish a link with these loss chants. Given Su Qing's experience, it was clear that passing through the Heaven Division's Gate would case many runes to be forged on one's soul, which would gather to form a red bell.

This seemed like a valuable asset, but the praying mat had given Xiao Nanfeng a terrible impression. He didn't want to brand his soul with a bell while blinded by greed and end up as part of the Taiqing Grandmaster's scheme. In addition, he already controlled the death chants, which were no weaker than the loss chants.

The loss chants did have an incredible effect, but Xiao Nanfeng would be fine without them.

Furthermore, he was in possession of the Heaven division token, and he could always open up the Heaven Division's Gate to release these loss chants when in need.

Over the next day, he had several willing subordinates attempt to pass through the Heaven Division's Gate, but they were unable to do so. He confirmed that only those whose spiritual cultivation employed a Taiqing technique and who possessed perfect pitch were able to form a link with what lay behind the gate.

A day later, all the Heaven disciples had made up their mind to establish a link with the loss chants, and Xiao Nanfeng granted their wish. After several days, all the Heaven disciples present were able to cast their loss chants at will. The incredible boon left them all elated.

"Remember this: if it's not a life-and-death situation, if it's not a crisis, don't use these loss chants at will. If I discover that you've been using them carelessly, you'll be punished," Xiao Nanfeng stated coldly.

"Understood!" everyone replied.

"Don't worry, Division Leader," Su Qing said. "We're all bound by the customs of the Heaven division. Those who use these loss chants maliciously will have their cultivation stripped at the very least—and even potentially put to death."

"Good. As you know, the power of these loss chants depends on your cultivation. Work hard to advance yourselves."

"Understood!" the disciples chorused. Su Qing continued, "Division Leader, these loss chants can help advance our spiritual cultivation as well. The chanting serves to forge and refine our soul, and I feel that my spiritual power has already improved by leaps and bounds in just a few days.

Xiao Nanfeng smiled. "Wonderful."

The loss chants could indeed help the disciples with spiritual cultivation, but largely because their spiritual cultivation was weak. They were completely ineffective to someone like Xiao Nanfeng.

Xiao Nanfeng left the Heaven disciples to cultivate as he headed off to handle other affairs.

Days later, another session of court took place in the Heavenly Palace. Countless officials were gathered in the Sieve of Heaven.

The agenda was filled with major matters reported by all manner of officials; rewards for the destruction of Dayin were also distributed then.

Princess Lingjun and the Martial Aspects of the Eastern Quadrant had killed Yin Shenhua and taken down the divine empire of Dayin. They were rewarded with a lump sum of fortune equal to that which Dayin had had at its peak, to be distributed among the Martial Aspects and princess, and awarded a few Immortal pills and relics.

Though such rewards were precious, Yin Shenhua's storage bangle trumped much of what the Heavenly Emperor offered. He was pleased with the distribution of fortune, but there wasn't much for him when divided nineteen ways.

After the court session ended, Xiao Nanfeng and Zhang Lingjun headed to the Palace of the Moon.

"The Heavenly Emperor really is petty! You basically took down the whole of Dayin yourself, but your rewards were the same as everyone else's! This isn't fair," Zhang Lingjun complained.

She was so loyal to Xiao Nanfeng that she would even grumble about her own grandfather.

Xiao Nanfeng patted Zhang Lingjun. "Don't be upset. The Heavenly Emperor's trying to protect me."

"To protect you?" Zhang Lingjun was taken aback.

"He wants to minimize my role in killing Yin Shenhua, lest the heavens' underlings take revenge on me."

"Really?"

Xiao Nanfeng nodded, recounting what he had learned about saints during his previous conversation with Yu Fuli.

Zhang Lingjun nodded slowly in understanding.

"But even if he can't reward you in public, surely he can do so in private!" Zhang Lingjun continued. "Isn't he petty?"

"Hardly. He's already given me the best treasure in the world, after all."

"What? Where?" Zhang Lingjun's eyes brightened.

"You, of course." Xiao Nanfeng lifted Zhang Lingjun up in a hug.

Zhang Lingjun flushed. "The Heavenly Emperor knows about us?"

"He does. He doesn't object to our being together." Xiao Nanfeng smiled.

"Thank goodness." Zhang Lingjun sighed in relief as well.

"Lingjun, I've been busy these last few days. Now that I'm free, we ought to cultivate." Xiao Nanfeng brought Zhang Lingjun into her bedroom.

"Who wants to cultivate with you?" Zhang Lingjun snorted, but her face flushed red.

She retrieved the praying mat and tossed it toward the pavilion outside her bedroom.

Then, the door to her bedroom slammed shut. Light poured out from it, forming countless formations that sealed her bedroom off.

The praying mat was flung against the pavilion's stone table in a plume of dust.

The praying mat: ...

In Ao Canghai's manor, the gathered Martial Aspects looked toward Ao Canghai. One asked curiously, "Eastern Aspect, why wasn't Xiao Nanfeng rewarded more heavily for his role in the destruction of Dayin? I was sure I had misheard during the court session!"

Ao Canghai pursed his lips. "That's the reward, you see. The Heavenly Emperor is protecting Xiao Nanfeng."

"Oh?"

"It's not a good thing for us that the Heavenly Emperor seems to be recognizing Xiao Nanfeng's strength."

"So what if he thinks highly of Xiao Nanfeng? All the Martial Aspects of the Eastern Quadrant have to listen to you, Eastern Aspect!"

Ao Canghai frowned. "We've suffered considerable losses."

The Martial Aspects sighed. Five had perished, all close confidantes of Ao Canghai.

"Eastern Aspect, what should we do about the reward bequeathed to Violetfrost and the others?" one Martial Aspect asked.

"Those will go to their families. None of you are to touch that treasure," Ao Canghai said.

"Understood!" the Martial Aspects chorused.

They did want more treasure for themselves, but none would dare covet that which had been put aside. After all, if they were to perish one day, they wanted a sum of treasure to be given to their families, too.

"Xiao Nanfeng will surely contest us for those five Martial Aspect positions. We'll have to be careful," Ao Canghai warned.

The Martial Aspects nodded seriously. One of them said, "Don't worry, Eastern Aspect. What happened last time was an accident, and Ao Zhou simply got lucky. It won't happen again."

"Good." Ao Canghai nodded as well.