Wayfarer

Chapter 575: The Present and Future Buddhas

Atop the golden lotus, Yin Shenhua, dressed in Buddhist robes, judged Xiao Nanfeng alongside the other Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and arhats.

"Xiao Nanfeng, I ask you again: will you reveal Mo Shanhe's whereabouts?" Yin Shenhua demanded.

"The ancestral Buddha is asking you a question!" a Buddha shouted.

"Answer him!" the Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and arhats shouted simultaneously, their voices reverberating like a thunderclap that struck at Xiao Nanfeng's very soul. Anyone of lesser fortitude would have reeled, their mental defenses shattered, but Xiao Nanfeng had honed his will into his strongest weapon.

Even so, it took Xiao Nanfeng long moments to realize what was going on. "A cursed king rules the divine empire of Dayin. Yin Shenhua, this was why you jumped to the idea that I was a revived cursed king myself!"

"Stubborn, aren't you? Death chants!" Yin Shenhua called out.

"Understood!"

All the Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and arhats quickly chanted scripture, which echoed about the entire hall.

These death chants were even more penetrating than the ones he had encountered before in the Palace of the Moon. They wormed their way into Xiao Nanfeng's mind as he quickly sat cross-legged, defending against the sudden mental assault. He felt the chants deep in his mind, turning his thoughts turbid and sluggish, and making it difficult for him to muster and effective defense.

Suddenly, a new set of death chants could be heard within his head, suppressing and deflecting those chants from without and nullifying all sound in his mindscape.

Clarity regained, he took a deep breath, his heart still thumping at what had almost happened. The black lotus had helped him regain control of his mind.

However, it didn't reveal itself—Yin Shenhua was simply too strong.

After some time, Yin Shenhua spoke up again. "Reveal all the information you know about Mo Shanhe's capture."

Yin Shenhua's voice boomed, resounding in Xiao Nanfeng's head like a command.

Xiao Nanfeng opened his eyes and stared at Yin Shenhua. "Yin Shenhua, are you trying to hypnotize me and turn me into a puppet?"

Yin Shenhua narrowed his eyes. "You haven't been affected? Something's not right."

"I have another body. Your death chants won't be able to hypnotize me," Xiao Nanfeng replied.

He had to hide the black lotus' existence; Yin Shenhua couldn't learn of the truth behind his lucidity.

Yin Shenhua demanded, "Aren't you afraid of dying?"

"You won't dare kill me," Xiao Nanfeng replied.

"You really think that, don't you? Your overconfidence will be your downfall," Yin Shenhua replied, narrowing his eyes.

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"Mo Shanhe's in my grasp—he lives or dies by my whims," Xiao Nanfeng suddenly said. "Do you believe me?"

Yin Shenhua's eyes suddenly widened as palpable killing intent struck at Xiao Nanfeng.

"You're the culprit? You really are asking to be killed!" Yin Shenhua exclaimed.

"The Imperial Court sent me as a debt collector. As long as you don't pay up, we'll oppose each other," Xiao Nanfeng replied coldly.

"I'll make you suffer a fate worse than death," Yin Shenhua gritted out.

"What you do to me, I'll do to Mo Shanhe," Xiao Nanfeng declared.

"You dare?"

"Try me!"

Yin Shenhua narrowed his eyes, then continued coldly, "Do you think Mo Shanhe means that much to me?"

"Perhaps not Mo Shanhe alone, but what about Yin Tianci as well?" Xiao Nanfeng smiled.

"What?" Yin Shenhua gaped.

"I was wondering why you seemed to care so much for Yin Tianci despite his being your third son, why you risked everything to rescue him from the Imperial Court when I had him in my possession. Even Mo Shanhe behaves the same way—and now I see why."

"What do you know?"

"You, Yin Shenhua, are the Present Buddha. Then, Yin Tianci must be the Future Buddha."

Yin Shenhua narrowed his eyes.

"Although I don't know why Yin Tianci's memories seem to be sealed, I'm sure he's the Future Buddha. I saw the golden lotus hood on his head when I melted his body down with my Yin-Yang Cauldron over the course of a few days. Sage Yellowbrow of the Thousand-Spirit Island was particularly respectful to him, and right beneath the Thousand-Spirit Island was the Future Buddha's subordinate, the Moonlight Buddha. There's much more circumstantial information I collected, but I suppose I won't need to describe it all. I'm not wrong, am I?" Xiao Nanfeng smiled.

Yin Shenhua had a dour look on his face.

"Feel free to see if Yin Tianci is still in the capital of Dayin," Xiao Nanfeng continued.

Yin Shenhua looked toward the gathered Buddhas. "Continue to suppress him with death chants!"

"Understood!" the Buddhas replied.

Yin Shenhua vanished from his golden lotus.

Two days ago, as Yin Shenhua left the city in search of Mo Shanhe, Tang and Yin Tianci realized that something was amiss and hurriedly rushed back to their manor.

On the way back, however, they found themselves waylaid by an assassination attempt.

A black figure shot straight for Yin Tianci. "Your life is forfeit, you Yin bastard!"

"Protect His Highness!" Tang shouted, shielding Yin Tianci with his own body.

The sword thrust into Tang's body as he was sent flying in a spurt of blood. It penetrated all the way through his body and into Yin Tianci's arm.

"You'll die for this!"

Yin Tianci's guards shot forward, sending the figure flying. The figure spat out a mouthful of blood in mid-air, his chest having caved in, clearly badly injured.

"I'll be back, you Yin bastard!" The black figure ran off into an alleyway.

"Chase after him!" Yin Tianci's guards ran off.

"Some of you have to stay behind to protect His Highness!" Tang cried out, then spat out a mouthful of blood and fell unconscious.

A few of the guards chasing after the assassins retreated.

"Are there assassins over there, too?!" one of the guards suddenly shouted.

There still seemed to be a few assassins hidden in the dark alleyway, but they swiftly retreated after having been discovered.

The guards exhaled in relief. "If not for Sir Tang's reminder, we might have been caught unawares."

Yin Tinaci had hidden among his guards the moment he had sustained an injury rather than attempt to show off. Only when they arrived at the capital proper did he finally show himself.

His arm injury had stabilized by then, but a group of guards were still hovering around Tang, who had yet to wake up.

"How's Tang's injury?" Yin Tianci asked.

"Sir Tang is badly wounded, but his life won't be in danger. He may take a few days to awaken," a guard reported.

"There are True Immortals among you guards. Why was Tang the one who had to step forward to defend me? Are you all less alert than a Heaven Immortal?!" Yin Tianci thundered.

If Tang hadn't protected him, his injury would have been far more severe. He might even have lost his life!

"Please forgive us, Your Highness!" His guards immediately pleaded for mercy.

"Find out who's responsible. If you can't, prepare to die," Yin Tianci snarled.

"Understood!" the guards replied.

The guards mobilized rapidly and figured out what had happened within half a day.

In Yin Tianci's manor, a guard reported, "Your Highness, we've uncovered the culprits. According to the blood that the assassins left behind, we confirmed that they were elephant spirits."

"Elephant spirits?"

"Do you remember when you destroyed the Holy Elephant Valley three years ago because you were in need of blackjade ivory, Your Highness?You dug it out from their burial mound," the guard reported.

"Didn't we kill off all the elephant spirits?" Yin Tianci frowned.

"Not quite, Your Highness. We just discovered that there were a few elephant spirits who managed to avoid our initial extermination. They've been hiding themselves ever since. We destroyed one of their dens in the city and discovered many documents related to their assassination plan against you."

"How strong are the assassins?"

"According to the documents, even the strongest of the elephant spirits was only a Heaven Immortal back then. They couldn't have grown much stronger in just three years. The assassin who struck you was likely a peak Heaven Immortal, whereas those that had been skulking around were probably weaker."

"These Heaven Immortal elephant spirits dared to assault me? I should have killed them all back then. Where are they now?"

"We don't know, Your Highness. They're in hiding now."

"Find them! I'm going to kill them myself," Yin Tianci said, a chilling tone in his voice.

"Understood!" the guard replied.

A day later, the guard returned.

"Your Highness, we have an update. Yesterday, patrolling guards saw a wounded elephant spirit in the mountainous forests to the west of the capital, but were unaware that they were criminals then. We've found the elephant spirits' den in the forest, and we're keeping an eye on it right now as we await your orders."

Yin Tianci stared at the wound on his arm, furious that he had been wounded by a Heaven Immortal despite being a True Immortal.

"Bring me over," Yin Tianci said.

"Your Highness, might it be better if we handled it ourselves?" the guard ventured worriedly.

"They're just a few Heaven Immortal spirits. Do you think they'll be able to harm me? I'm going to skin them myself. Lead the way!"

"Understood!"

They proceeded with caution. Even Yin Tianci disguised himself and followed his subordinates out of the capital.

They quickly arrived by a large valley, where a guard was stationed on lookout. Upon seeing Yin Tianci's party, he immediately stepped forward and bowed.

"Your Highness, they're in that valley over there. I've been keeping watch. There are five of them in all, and they're shrouding the valley in fog."

"Capture them all!" Yin Tianci commanded.

"Understood!" His subordinates rushed down into the valley as Yin Tianci waited by its lip. Just then, however, thick fog surrounded the valley and the forest beyond.

"Something's wrong!" Yin Tianci shouted, attempting to flee from the fog, but it was already too late. Several figures within the fog struck at him.

"True Immortals!" Yin Tianci cried out.

Then, he was sent stumbling back and fell into a dim, dark environment. Something clanged shut, sealing off all light.

"The Yin-Yang Cauldron again?!" Yin Tianci exclaimed. He suddenly understood what was going on. "This must all be part of Xiao Nanfeng's scheme!"