Wayfarer

Chapter 435: Seeking Cooperation

Back in the city of Wuliu, the Rabbit Yanluo flew off with Lady Yaoguang and Yin Tianci, leaving only a group of cultivators from the alliance behind in the city.

Just then, the cultivators who had fled returned to beat up the cultivators in the city.

"You traitors! How could you betray City Lord Xiao? I'll kill you!"

"City Lord Xiao promised to take us out of here. By betraying him, you're ruining any chance we have at escaping!"

"Beat them up!" the cultivators from the alliance roared.

The victims shouted back, "Don't you all want to get out too? Even without Xiao Nanfeng, we can count on Crown Prince Yin. He can get us out of here too!"

After fighting to vent their anger, the two sides sat down for a strained conversation.

"That man just now was Crown Prince Yin. Xiao Nanfeng might have caused a big ruckus, but how can he compare to the crown prince of a divine empire? Putting aside individual strength for now, once we get out, wouldn't it be better to tether ourselves to a crown prince rather than a city lord—no, just an acting city lord at that! Can't you tell that one of them is clearly better than the other?" one traitor said.

The other cultivators frowned. One replied, "We gave our word to City Lord Xiao. I don't care what benefits the crown prince can get us. I simply want to leave this damned place, and you've prevented us from doing so."

"Don't worry. The crown prince has promised to bring us out with him. You just have to follow behind us. That said, the crown prince told us to report on Xiao Nanfeng's whereabouts at all times. We'll have to inform everyone to do so," the traitor said.

"Dream on!"

"If you're unwilling, then you can very well stay and die here with Xiao Nanfeng! From now on, those willing to join the crown prince can leave with us. Otherwise, you'll rot here!" the traitor threatened.

The cultivators glared at each other. Some refused out of principle, but others seemed to be changing their mind.

Within a patch of forest, Xiao Nanfeng activated the arhat armor's self-repairing formation. A great deal of spiritual qi sealed the cracks in the arhat armor.

"How strong the Rabbit Yanluo is. Even this arhat armor isn't enough to counter her." Xiao Nanfeng frowned. "And the cultivators' alliance isn't loyal to me. They're too loosely defined an organization, and a few short-sighted fools can ruin everything. I can't rely on them."

He knew that not all the cultivators of the alliance would have turned traitor to Crown Prince Yin, but he hardly had the time to determine which had and which hadn't. He could only cease all communication with them for the moment.

From his scouting the past few days, he slowly made his way toward the Monkey Yanluo's capital in stealth. Suddenly, he found a monkey-headed humanoid that was on his own.

Eyes brightening, he rushed over.

"Who's there?!" the monkey-headed humanoid asked, suddenly alert.

Xiao Nanfeng kicked him far away, causing him to crash into a huge pile of boulders and rocks before he could stabilize himself.

"You!" the monkey-headed humanoid shouted.

These last few days, the Monkey Yanluo had been raging at Xiao Nanfeng for breaking the fragile equilibrium within the Netherworld Palace. Everyone knew of Xiao Nanfeng's name and appearance.

"Head into the city and tell the Monkey Yanluo that I have a way of boosting his strength. If he doesn't want to be devoured by the other Yanluo Lords, tell him to come find me at the mouth of the abyss in a day's time. Come in secret," Xiao Nanfeng warned.

Then, ignoring the monkey-headed humanoid's startled expression, he flew off.

Xiao Nanfeng didn't stop at that. To ensure that the message would be sent along, he repeated his actions with a few other monkey-headed humanoids.

He clearly wasn't strong enough to rescue Lady Yaoguang by himself, which meant that he would need to find some support.

Within his Yanluo Court, the Monkey Yanluo knocked over a platter of food with a palm.

"Damn that Ox Yanluo, damn that Tiger Yanluo! And damn that Xiao Nanfeng, the worst of them all!" the Monkey Yanluo fumed.

He was panicking intensely. Only by staying in his own Yanluo Court could he feel a measure of safety.

Ordinary monkey-headed humanoids didn't dare approach the Monkey Yanluo. They came in, cleaned up, and hurriedly departed. Very quickly, however, a monkey-headed humanoid cautiously stepped forward.

"King, I encountered Xiao Nanfeng outside the city."

"He dared to come to my domain?!" the Monkey Yanluo exclaimed, then scowled.

"He did, King. He said..." The monkey-headed humanoid recounted his encounter with Xiao Nanfeng.

The Monkey Yanluo suppressed his anger and narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.

Not long later, a few other monkey-headed humanoids reported the same information, whetting the Monkey Yanluo's appetite.

"I'm going to be in secluded cultivation for a few days. All of you will accompany me in this hall," the Monkey Yanluo finally said.

Then, after assigning tasks to the rest of his subordinates, he sealed his Yanluo Court. No one knew that he had secretly left his capital.

"Meeting by the mouth of the abyss in a day's time..." He was so anxious that he didn't want to wait an entire day, and headed there near-immediately.

The mouth of the abyss led to the outside world. Because it wasn't yet the night of a full moon, the mouth of the abyss was closed up, and the Heaven's Hand that should have been present was nowhere to be seen.

The various Yanluo Lords took turns garrisoning the mouth of the abyss, but after the free-for-all among the Yanluo Lords a few days ago, the cursed effigies had all scattered.

The Monkey Yanluo arrived in silence. He secretly searched through the area to confirm that there were no traps or ambushes before he relaxed.

Then, he found that yet another Yanluo Lord was skulking toward the area, a rooster-headed Yanluo Lord with a crown on his head and robes of black brocade with gold-edged draconic motifs—none other than the Rooster Yanluo.

The Rooster Yanluo was likewise scouting around the mouth of the abyss. When he sensed the Monkey Yanluo, he frowned as though meeting an enemy.

"Rooster Yanluo, you really are cautious, aren't you?" the Monkey Yanluo joked.

"Monkey Yanluo? You're here too? Did Xiao Nanfeng summon you here as well?" the Rooster Yanluo replied, narrowing his eyes.

"It looks like Xiao Nanfeng intends to take advantage of us to help him rescue his woman," the Monkey Yanluo said.

"You've been to the city of Mao, too?"

"Of course. When Xiao Nanfeng sent me a covert invitation, I guessed what his plans were. I secretly headed to your capital, and then to the Rabbit Yanluo's capital of Mao. I have a few spies there, and I quickly learned that a group of Heaven Immortals joined hands with the Rabbit Yanluo to lay an ambush for Xiao Nanfeng and take his lover captive. He clearly wants us to help him defeat the Rabbit Yanluo, but will we?" The Monkey Yanluo smirked.

"He's here," the Rooster Yanluo said, face stern.

Xiao Nanfeng appeared not too far away. He slowly landed between the two Yanluo Lords.

"Xiao Nanfeng, how dare you come in search of me!" The Monkey Yanluo exuded killing intent as he approached.

Meanwhile, the Rooster Yanluo considered Xiao Nanfeng. This was his first time encountering him, but he had heard of his exploits from all his fellow Yanluo Lords.

Although it was difficult for Xiao Nanfeng to withstand the pressure that the Yanluo Lord gave off, he replied calmly, "Monkey Yanluo, why don't you go take on the Ox Yanluo, then? What's the point of trying to act tough in front of an Earth Immortal like me? Do you want to make me look down on you?"

"Die!" the Monkey Yanluo shouted.

"You're the one who's asking to die. Don't you realize what's about to happen? Is your reputation more important to you than your life? The Ox and Tiger Yanluos might finish digesting the Yanluo Lords that they've consumed at any moment. I'm trying to help you fend for your lives—so are you going to work with me, or not?"

He was intending to ask the two Yanluo Lords for help, but he couldn't approach them from the perspective of a supplicant. He had to establish his own authority, or the other two Yanluo Lords would never support him.

"You!" the Monkey Yanluo thundered.

"Calm down, Monkey Yanluo. Let's listen to his plan first," the Rooster Yanluo replied.

"At least one of the two of you is clearheaded," Xiao Nanfeng replied.

"You came here to ask us to help save your woman, didn't you?" the Monkey Yanluo replied disdainfully.

"That's right. I'm here for my woman, but I'm not in a hurry. She's protected by her blue moon barrier and a peerless treasure. Even the Horse Yanluo wasn't able to do anything against her, and I doubt the Rabbit Yanluo will fare any better. I can wait out her imprisonment, but I don't think the two of you can last very long."

The Monkey Yanluo grimaced, face scrunching up in anger.

"So you're Xiao Nanfeng? How do you intend to help us? You don't expect us to take on the Rabbit Yanluo on your behalf, do you?" the Rooster Yanluo demanded coldly.

"Do you know why the Rabbit Yanluo is targeting me?"

"For the Yanluo Court you possess?" the Rooster Yanluo asked.

"No. I have two Yanluo Courts in my possession, the Horse Yanluo's and the Goat Yanluo's."

"Oh?" The two Yanluo Lords' eyes lit up with greed.

"You don't intend to steal them from me, do you? I forgot to tell you—my two Yanluo Courts aren't with me right now. I've given orders for them to be sent to other Yanluo Lords if something happens to me." Xiao Nanfeng smiled.

"You dare?!" the Monkey Yanluo thundered.

"Those two Yanluo Courts are what I bring to this tentative alliance. Do you feel that I'm qualified to discuss terms with you now?"

The two Yanluo Lords glanced at each other. The Monkey Yanluo demanded, "How do you intend to conduct negotiations?"

"Let's work together to take down the Rabbit Yanluo. One of you can devour the Rabbit Yanluo, while the other can claim my two Yanluo Courts. Well?" Xiao Nanfeng proposed.

"Ha! I expect you're trying to trick us. Rather than use these two Yanluo Courts to hire us, why not just trade them for your woman from the Rabbit Yanluo?" the Monkey Yanluo asked.

Although he purported disbelief, he was rather interested in the deal.

"There are two reasons I don't want to approach the Rabbit Yanluo. First, I don't trust her. If I attempt a direct exchange with her, I might end up in a trap. Second, the Rabbit Yanluo killed my woman's parents. I want her to die to avenge my woman."

"If you can't trust the Rabbit Yanluo, what makes you think you can trust us?" the Rooster Yanluo demanded suspiciously.

"I can't trust you either, but I can choose to secretly run off while all you Yanluo Lords are in the middle of the fighting," Xiao Nanfeng explained.

The two Yanluo Lords: ...

They hadn't ever encountered a cultivator quite as 'honest' as Xiao Nanfeng. Was this the sort of thing that could be discussed publicly?