Wayfarer

Chapter 579: Yin Shenhua VS Emperor Feng

Outside the capital of Dayin, in a fog-shrouded valley, Zhao Yuanjiao sat in meditation as a group of purple-furred monsters guarded him.

A gust of wind blew by as Emperor Feng appeared at an incredible speed.

"You won't be able to remove the mark I left on your body, and it's harmless to you. Why bother wasting your time?" Emperor Feng said.

He shot straight toward his mindscape and possessed him once again.

Then, he stood up and asked, "What did Xiao Nanfeng say?"

A purple-furred monster replied, "Martial Aspect Xiao said that everything was ready, that we should wait here pending further communication."

"Very good."

At the same time, within the Thunderclap Hall's illusory realm, after having been hypnotized by the death chants for the greater part of a month, Xiao Nanfeng was 'unable to take it any longer.' He seemed to be in a dazed stupor.

"Tell me where Mo Shanhe and Yin Tianci are!" a Buddha shouted, as per usual.

"They're..." Xiao Nanfeng mumbled.

The Buddha's eyes suddenly lit up. He whispered to a neighboring Buddha, "Inform the ancestral Buddha immediately. Xiao Nanfeng's will is crumbling. He's about to reveal the truth!"

"Understood!" the Buddha replied, then vanished from the illusory realm.

Before long, Yin Shenhua appeared on the middle platform.

"Has he spoken?" Yin Shenhua demanded.

"I didn't continue the interrogation, Master. I was waiting for you to arrive to interrogate him yourself," the Buddha replied.

Yin Shenhua looked toward Xiao Nanfeng. His death chants suddenly magnified in intensity, causing Xiao Nanfeng to grow even more dazed and flustered.

"Where are Mo Shanhe and Yin Tianci?" Yin Shenhua demanded.

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"They're being detained out in the wild. My senior brother, Zhao Yuanjiao, and a few purple-furred lifeforms are waiting for me to contact them. They're at, at..."

Xiao Nanfeng suddenly frowned, as though fighting to stop himself from revealing whatever came next.

The Buddha beside Yin Shenhua quickly jumped in. "I apologize, ancestral Buddha. I thought that he had already fully succumbed, not expecting that he would continue to resist and waste your time."

"It's not a waste. This is sufficient information. Zhao Yuanjiao, is it? I've had people watching him, and I know where he is now even if he and a few purple-furred lifeforms left Dayin's capital furtively." Yin Shenhua sneered, then vanished from sight once again.

At the same time, Yin Shenhua's voice boomed throughout Thunderclap Hall. "Bring me Zhao Yuanjiao and everyone alongside him!"

"Understood!" the golden-armored cultivators outside replied.

A group of golden-armored cultivators rushed out of Dayin's capital and swiftly arrived at the entrance to a fog-wreathed valley.

A golden-armored cultivator reached in and dispelled much of the fog.

"The Immortal Emperor requests your presence at the Thunderclap Hall. Please follow me," she called out.

Within the valley, Zhao Yuanjiao and the five purple-furred lifeforms instantly 'panicked', but had no choice given the cultivators arrayed against them. The cultivators caught them and sealed their cultivation, then shrouded them all in fog as they escorted them back to Dayin's capital. They quickly arrived back in the plaza outside Thunderclap Hall.

"Enter," a golden-armored cultivator said.

Zhao Yuanjiao couldn't resist at all. He and five purple-furred lifeforms slowly entered the Thunderclap Hall, whereupon he saw Xiao Nanfeng sitting cross-legged and motionless.

"Nanfeng!" Zhao Yuanjiao exclaimed, heading over to check on him.

Meanwhile, the five purple-furred lifeforms turned warily to Yin Shenhua, who sat atop a draconic throne.

The doors to the hall creaked shut with a bang, spooking the cultivators. Seeing that Xiao Nanfeng had yet to awaken, Zhao Yuanjiao shouted, "Yin Shenhua, what have you done to Nanfeng?!"

On his throne, Yin Shenhua smirked. He commanded the guards outside, "Set up a formation and seal the Thunderclap Hall. Do not let anyone in or out without my express orders."

"Understood!" shouted the guards outside the hall as a huge barrier surrounded it.

"What are you doing?!" Zhao Yuanjiao demanded.

"Wake up, Xiao Nanfeng!" Yin Shenhua exclaimed.

With a visible jolt, Xiao Nanfeng startled awake and found himself back in reality.

His gaze was bleary, as though he was trying to recall what had happened to him.

"What are you doing here, Senior Brother?" Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed. Then, seemingly having guessed what had happened, he turned to Yin Shenhua in shock. "You must have hypnotized me!"

Yin Shenhua sneered. "Xiao Nanfeng, I'll give you one chance. Hand over Mo Shanhe and Yin Tianci now and I'll spare you. Otherwise, don't blame me for what I'm about to do."

"You're only going to release me? What about my senior brother?" Xiao Nanfeng frowned.

"I'm not interested in Zhao Yuanjiao and the others, but Emperor Feng does catch my attention." Yin Shenhua smiled.

"What did you say?" Xiao Nanfeng pretended to gasp.

Not far away, Zhao Yuanjiao did the same. He turned to Xiao Nanfeng, as if trying to ask an unspoken question.

"I considered the Buddha's Grottos that had recently been destroyed. Although you hid it well and even cleaned up the destroyed Buddha's Grottos, everything leaves a trace behind. I deduced that you had dealt with the Buddha's Grotto outside Fengdu before coming to Dayin's capital, and that was where Emperor Feng had been kept.

I didn't realize that Emperor Feng was responsible until I noticed that a group of my officials had died unusual deaths. What connected them was that most had served under Emperor Feng. Who else would kill his and only his officials? Of course, in an attempt to fool me, other unaffiliated officials were killed as well, but the preponderance of dead Feng officials was clearly abnormal."

Xiao Nanfeng and Zhao Yuanjiao narrowed their eyes.

Yin Shenhua continued, "In other words, Emperor Feng must have escaped from his prison. He dared to impersonate the Martial Aspect of Violetfrost and capture Mo Shanhe—and he must have been the one to kill my subordinates in Yongding and catch Sage Blue Lion as well."

"What an imagination you have," Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed.

"Don't lie to me, Xiao Nanfeng. Don't you think I can tell that you haven't' been hypnotized by the death chants at all? I was going along with you—and look what a gift you've brought me. Emperor Feng! Well, well."

Zhao Yuanjiao's face grew more and more dour. Meanwhile, beside him, Xiao Nanfeng continued refusing to admit to what Yin Shenhua had said. "You claim that Emperor Feng is here? Where? Let him show himself, then!"

Yin Shenhua shook his head. "Don't test my patience. If Emperor Feng were to be freed, he would surely come here to retrieve his physical body—my draconic throne. He wants to fight me, doesn't he? I'm right here, Emperor Feng. How long are you going to continue to pretend that you're not?"

He glanced sharply at Zhao Yuanjiao.

Zhao Yuanjiao's face scrunched up in anger as Emperor Feng emerged from his mindscape. Killing intent billowed out from him.

"You were in too much of a rush, Emperor Feng." Yin Shenhua sneered.

"Yin Shenhua, you despicable man! If I hadn't helped you back then, would you have recovered so quickly? You backstabbed me while I was injured. I'll have you pay for that today!" Emperor Feng cried out.

A gust of black smoke emerged from his palm as he made a move.

"You're trying to attune to your physical body, aren't you?" Yin Shenhua smiled. "Give it a try, then."

Emperor Feng narrowed his eyes. He released the black smoke from his palm. "Awaken!"

The draconic throne on which Yin Shenhua was seated began to morph, transforming into a pitch-black coffin. Tremedous cursed spiritual power emanated from it. The coffin's lid, flung halfway open, produced an intense suction that attempted to trap Yin Shenhua inside.

Just then, a golden lotus appeared underneath Yin Shenhua, radiating with golden light. It formed a golden barrier that blocked the coffin's suction and trapped it within.

The coffin quivered, trying to shatter the barrier, but was unable to do so.

"That's your lotus of existence! You've been prepared for this!" Emperor Feng exclaimed.

"I guessed that you were going to come, didn't I? Of course I would have to take precautions in advance. You really were lucky to have acquired this black coffin cursed effigy and entered into a state of symbiosis with it while it was weak. You even sacrificed your physical body and combined it with the coffin to make it your new body. To think you would have managed to subjugate a cursed effigy as a human..."

"Die!" Emperor Feng roared, sending a golden spiked mace smashing toward him.

"You're far weaker now than you were in the past. Do you think you can stand against me like this?" Yin Shenhua retorted, defending with a palm strike.

His palm struck the spiked club in a huge burst of flames and energy, sending Xiao Nanfeng and the others slamming into the walls of the hall.

The Thunderclap Hall seemed to have been bolstered by countless runes and formations, to the point that it didn't even tremble from the shockwaves that resulted in the aftermath of the attacks.

"Die!" Emperor Feng shouted, swinging his mace again.

"Don't bother trying to reclaim this coffin of yours. Rather, I have to thank you for opening it up for me. Now, enter the world in my palm!" Yin Shenhua exclaimed.

Tremendous suction arrested Emperor Feng's movement as he blanched and tossed out a Golden Immortal relic. "Explode!"

The relic exploded, interrupting Yin Shenhua's suction and causing another huge wave of flames that washed over the entire hall.

Emperor Feng evaded the attack and launched himself toward Yin Shenhua once more.

"You're far too weak. It doesn't matter how strong your relics are. Go on, make them all explode! I'd like to see how many of them you can afford to waste like that."

Yin Shenhua sent a golden palm strike that struck Emperor Feng directly in a burst of flames.

"Damn it, explode!" Emperor Feng caused another explosion that formed a fiery gust of wind within the hall. Xiao Nanfeng, Zhao Yuanjiao, and the purple-furred monsters slumped to the ground and spat out mouthfuls of blood.