Wayfarer

Chapter 735: Destroying the Coffin

By the black coffin where the Southeastern Aquatic Palace once was, Lou Yujing stood forward. His aura was so intense that no cultivator in the vicinity dared to accuse him.

Yang Chuan attempted to step forward several times, but Xiao Nanfeng held him back.

"Lou Yujing, how do you intend to avenge your subordinates?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

"By killing the zombies, of course," Lou Yujing replied, smiling. "Will you join me?"

"We need to consider whether you're worth forming an alliance with. Why don't you take the lead?"

Lou Yujing narrowed his eyes at Xiao Nanfeng, then nodded. "Very well. Let's have a look, then."

"Understood!" one of Lou Yujing's subordinates said. She strode toward the coffin.

"Follow and observe, Ye Dafu," Xiao Nanfeng instructed.

"Hold it!" Lou Yujing exclaimed.

His subordinate stopped short.

Lou Yujing turned coldly to Xiao Nanfeng. "What are you planning?"

"Didn't you ask us whether we were willing to accompany you? I would be happy to do so," Xiao Nanfeng replied with a small smile.

Xiao Nanfeng's intentions were obvious. He was sending Ye Dafu into the black coffin hidden realm alongside Lou Yujing's subordinate because he wanted Ye Dafu to kill the latter. Ye Dafu might very well emerge from the hidden realm the moment he killed her, without heading deep inside where the zombie kings Lou Yujing commanded were.

"Very well, then." Lou Yujing scoffed.

He motioned for more subordinates to head into the black coffin.

"All of you, enter alongside Ye Dafu," Xiao Nanfeng commanded the rest of the golden cultivators.

"Understood!" the golden cultivators chorused.

The twelve golden cultivators would easily be able to take on Lou Yujing's additional subordinates.

Lou Yujing scowled. "You think yourself bold, don't you, Xiao Nanfeng?"

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"Hardly. I'm simply aware of how I should treat a traitor to the Taiqing Immortal Sect." Xiao Nanfeng looked Lou Yujing straight in the eyes and gave him a placid smile.

The other cultivators around them quieted down. Many were aware of the enmity between Xiao Nanfeng and Lou Yujing. They couldn't help but read killing intent into his smile.

"Xiao Nanfeng, do you really think I don't dare kill you?" Lou Yujing demanded.

"You're welcome to try."

Lou Yujing grimaced. He glanced around him, suddenly feeling as if there may be ambushes in the vicinity.

"Wudi, you enter," Lou Yujing commanded.

"Understood!" Yuan Wudi emerged from the back of the crowd.

Xiao Nanfeng had seriously wounded him not too long ago. He glared at Xiao Nanfeng viciously, but didn't dare make a fuss with Lou Yujing around.

He was a Boundless Immortal. Even Ye Dafu and the other golden cultivators together wouldn't be a match for him.

"Southern Aspect Yang, please join them," Xiao Nanfeng requested.

"Very well." Yang Chuan nodded.

Lou Yujing frowned. He knew how skilled Yang Chuan was, but even Yang Chuan couldn't kill Yuan Wudi outright. As long as Yuan Wudi was able to escape deep into the black coffin hidden realm, Yang Chuan would be outnumbered.

Yang Chuan ought to know this as well, so what was his goal in entering alongside Xiao Nanfeng's party?

"Yuan Wudi, is it? Shall we head into the black coffin hidden realm together, then?" Yang Chuan smiled.

Yuan Wudi pursed his lips. He shot a glance at Lou Yujing, then at Xiao Nanfeng. There was surely a plot at play, but he didn't know precisely where the trap was.

"Yuan Wudi, why are you looking at me? Didn't you get enough of a beating from me last time? Or do you think Lou Yujing will do something to me out here once Southern Aspect Yang enters the black coffin hidden realm with you? Don't worry. He wouldn't dare. I'm a Martial Aspect of the Imperial Court, and he won't kill me even if I'm standing right in front of him." Xiao Nanfeng chuckled.

The cultivators around him swallowed a gulp of saliva. Did Xiao Nanfeng really want to die? Those who knew Xiao Nanfeng to some extent were certain that he had insurance of some sort. Just what was Lou Yujing, Xiao Nanfeng, and Yang Chuan planning?

The Immortal Emperor of Hongyue frowned. He was uncertain how Xiao Nanfeng could afford to be so bold.

"Lou Yujing, I suggest that you return to your territory. It's not yet time for the meeting to seek revenge over what happened in the black coffin hidden realm. We'll find evidence as to the mastermind behind the deaths of all these cultivators and reveal him publicly, I'm sure."

"You want me to leave?" Lou Yujing demanded.

"You're not welcome here. Return to your palace and wait there. Once we conclude our meeting, we'll head there to find you. I hope you don't intend to run," Xiao Nanfeng declared boldly.

"Xiao Nanfeng, do you really think you're all that impressive?" Lou Yujing smirked. He rescinded his previous commands to his subordinates. "All of you, guard the coffin. I will head in personally and kill the zombies within to avenge the fallen cultivators of Hongyue."

"Understood!" Yuan Wudi and the other cultivators chorused.

Lou Yujing eyed Xiao Nanfeng. "You're welcome to join me if you're interested."

He stepped toward the black coffin.

This time, Xiao Nanfeng simply watched on, his face dour. It was obvious that Lou Yujing was intending to secretly bring all the zombies out of the coffin.

Yuan Wudi and the other cultivators of Hongyue surrounded the black coffin.

The Immortal Emperor of Hongyue stepped inside it.

Just as everyone thought that Xiao Nanfeng had chosen to relent, Xiao Nanfeng shouted, "Attack!"

"Die!" Ye Dafu and the others shouted, charging straight for the Hongyue cultivators.

"Insolence!" Yuan Wudi roared, punching at the golden cultivators.

Yang Chuan flashed forward in the blink of an eye, throwing out a punch to defend against Yuan Wudi's blow. Yuan Wudi was sent flying.

Rather than give chase, Yang Chuan punched the black coffin.

"What are you doing, Southern Aspect Yang?!" the cultivators all around exclaimed, dismayed by his actions.

A Boundless Immortal's strength was incredible. Yang Chuan's attack caused the black coffin to crack.

"Hold it!" Yuan Wudi shouted.

"Die!" It was the golden cultivators' turn to shine.

They surrounded Yuan Wudi. Though they were sent flying one after another, they managed to hold him back. Meanwhile, Yang Chuan's subordinates took on the rest of Hongyue's forces.

Yang Chuan continued to pummel the black coffin, causing the cracks within to grow more and more numerous. The void began to ripple around the coffin, as if a formation were being activated.

"Hurry out, Your Majesty! Yang Chuan's trying to kill you!" Yuan Wudi roared.

However, Lou Yujing had already vanished into the depths of the coffin, and had no idea what was going on outside.

The cultivators gathered around the coffin were all taken aback, not expecting that this was the extent of Xiao Nanfeng and Yang Chuan's plan. Had they intended this from the beginning? Was everything that happened beforehand a ploy to lure the Immortal Emperor of Hongyue into the coffin?

Xiao Nanfeng turned and gave the gathered cultivators a warning glance. "Everyone, the black coffin hidden realm is far too dangerous. It might be easy to enter, but getting out is prohibitively difficult. If we head in, we might be killed by the zombies within. Rather than waste our time taking them all down, why not destroy the black coffin and trap all the zombies in the hidden realm? If anyone objects to my plan, make your objections known now."

The cultivators gave Xiao Nanfeng an odd look. Was he really trying to trap the zombies? He seemed far more interested in trapping the Immortal Emperor of Hongyue.

As Xiao Nanfeng's cold gaze swept over them all, however, no one jumped out to defend the Immortal Emperor of Hongyue. The Martial Aspects of the Imperial Court were on one side, and the Immortal Emperor of Hongyue on the other. They couldn't afford to offend either party; why not just watch the show instead? After all, if nothing else, the Immortal Emperor of Hongyue had lured their friends and relatives within, causing their deaths.

Within moments, the black coffin was filled with cracks. It looked as if it would shatter at any moment.

From deep within the black coffin, Lou Yujing suddenly thundered, "Yang Chuan, how dare you?!"

Yang Chuan released all his energy in a staggering blow that caused the black coffin to explode.

After all, the saint had only fixed the black coffin in place and rendered it immobile, not indestructible.

Fragments of the black coffin shot into the air and dissipated in bursts of golden light. Where the black coffin had once been, there was now only a huge pit.

It wasn't the case that the hidden realm was located within the black coffin. Rather, the black coffin only served as an entrance and exit.

Xiao Nanfeng had learned long ago that all hidden realms were fixed in space. They were immobile, but entrances and exits could be affixed to various relics. The black coffin was one such relic that was likely equipped with some sort of teleportation power that served as a portal bridging the hidden realm with physical reality.

With the black coffin being destroyed, that portal had now vanished as well.

"Your Majesty!" Yuan Wudi exclaimed.

The Hongyue cultivators stared at each other uncertainly. Was their Immortal Emperor truly trapped?

The cultivators all around gaped at Yang Chuan and Xiao Nanfeng, knowing that both of them were confident that Lou Yujing was responsible. However, they didn't expect the two cultivators would make such a bold move. Was it that easy to trap an Immortal Emperor?

"Did we succeed?" Yang Chuan murmured. He glanced at Xiao Nanfeng in excitement.

Xiao Nanfeng raised an eyebrow. "I'm worried we haven't. Look. What's that?"

Yang Chuan looked in the direction of Xiao Nanfeng's finger to see a black line of void flickering in the air. As it did so, the space around it pulsed.

"It's a spatial fold. Although the black coffin was just destroyed, there are remnant traces of natural law connected to its hidden realm that yet persist. Lou Yujing has found these traces and is forcibly trying to break open the spatial fold," Yang Chuan explained.

"Surely it's not so simple? Even Boundless Immortals were trapped inside the black coffin hidden realm with us," Xiao Nanfeng said.

"Lou Yujing's not alone. All the zombies are under his control. With eight Boundless Immortals working together, it's very likely that he'll succeed." Yang Chuan frowned.

Indeed, the black line suddenly burst open in the form of a portal. A huge shockwave of energy sent all the cultivators in the vicinity of the pit flying. Some stumbled back and spat out mouthfuls of blood.

Meanwhile, a concentrated cloud of black smoke erupted from the spatial fold. A fearsome aura could be felt within it.

"He really did succeed," Yang Chuan exclaimed. "Damn it!"

"Your Majesty!" Yuan Wudi and the other Hongyue cultivators rushed over.

Xiao Nanfeng, Yang Chuan, and the other cultivators grimaced as they glanced at the pit, which was now surging with black smoke. The void itself trembled as the spatial fold restored itself piece by piece. A red-robed figure emerged from the black smoke, none other than Lou Yujing himself.

Lou Yujing's face was darker than any of them had ever seen it. Killing intent pulsed in his aura, and his eyes were cold and fierce.