Chapter 1041: Thirteen Stars of the North and South

As the Superior's soul was excised from Xiao Hongye and Tan Xianzhi's, they were instantly freed. In the blink of an eye, they returned to their original forms.

When the Superior saw their true appearances, his eyes narrowed.

"Xiao Hongye? Tan Xianzhi? How could this be?!" the Superior roared.

If he had known that two of the white-furred monsters in his possession were Xiao Nanfeng's parents, he would have used them against Xiao Nanfeng long ago and easily gotten him under his control.

By now, however, it was too late. The two of them had already been severed from its control.

Xiao Hongye, now free, laughed heartily and said, "Thank you for your generosity, Superior."

With that, he flew over to Tan Xianzhi. The couple's souls were weak, but they could see how powerful their son had become. They knew better than to interfere and cause trouble.

"Die!" Xiao Nanfeng roared, reclaiming his divine undying blade.

With a thunderous crash, the part of the Superior's soul that had just been severed was split in two and died on the spot.

"Die!" the women shouted in unison.

The women unleashed their full power, forcing the remaining white-furred monsters to retreat.

"Damn you! I'll kill you all! Switch, golden tree!" the Superior bellowed.

Under the Superior's command, the golden tree instantly channeled all its power into another white-furred monster.

Xiao Nanfeng charged at the newly empowered monster. Their blades collided with incredible force, sending the white-furred monster flying and slamming it into the ground.

The Superior's pupils narrowed once more. "How did you suddenly grow so much stronger? Were you pretending to be weak all along? All that exhaustion was nothing more than an act!"

Xiao Nanfeng snorted, offering no explanation.

With a whoosh, he stepped forward and slashed down at the white-furred monster.

The monster roared, channeling the golden tree's power to block the attack.

The world filled with green light. Xiao Nanfeng's blade was like a guillotine from the heavens. Unstoppable, it shattered the monster's defenses and struck it directly.

"No!" the white-furred monster screamed.

With a thunderous boom, it was cleaved in two.

Despite wielding the golden tree's power, the white-furred monster had been defeated near-instantly by Xiao Nanfeng. The sight sent a chill down the Superior's spine.

"Have you already recovered to your peak? Your body was destroyed just a few months ago. How could you have recovered so quickly? This is impossible!" the Superior roared in disbelief.

𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

With the balance of the battle broken, victory seemed to be almost within reach. Madam Rouge took advantage of the situation to finish off one of the white-furred monsters with a single palm strike as it screamed.

The Divine Emperor and Liu Miaoyin likewise unleashed their full power and did the same.

The tide of battle was now completely in Xiao Nanfeng's favor. The remaining white-furred monsters were no match for them. However, Xiao Nanfeng knew just how dangerous the Superior was. He was decisive and ruthless, and if he realized that victory was impossible, he wouldn't hesitate to self-destruct, just as he had in the internal space of the Divine Seal of Dazheng. He would likely detonate the remaining white-furred monsters now and cause mutual destruction.

"Fall back! Leave the rest to me. Protect my parents!" Xiao Nanfeng shouted.

The women immediately rushed to Xiao Hongye and Tan Xianzhi, leaving the battlefield to Xiao Nanfeng.

Xiao Nanfeng no longer held back. He unleashed his full power and killed another white-furred monster wielding the golden tree's power with a single slash. Then, he turned back to the remaining monsters.

The white-furred monsters tried to chase after the women, but Xiao Nanfeng quickly intercepted them. With each swing of his blade, heads flew through the air.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye. By the time the last white-furred monster wielding the golden tree's power rushed over, the battle had been decided.

"Xiao Nanfeng, you liar!" the Superior roared in fury.

He didn't notice the Divine Emperor appearing behind him until it was too late. With a single palm strike, the Divine Emperor obliterated the silver moon.

At that moment, the last white-furred monster wielding the golden tree's power seemed to activate some internal energy and let out a blood-curdling scream.

"Nanfeng, be careful!" the women shouted in alarm.

The last white-furred monster exploded with a deafening boom. The explosion tore through the void and unleashed a massive storm of flames.

"Nanfeng!" Xiao Hongye and Tan Xianzhi cried out in panic.

The women rushed to shield them, holding them back until the flames subsided and the torn void repaired itself. Only then did Xiao Nanfeng reappear in the sky, unharmed.

Everyone rapidly gathered around him.

"Nanfeng, are you alright?" Tan Xianzhi anxiously checked him over.

Xiao Nanfeng glanced at the spot where the golden tree had disappeared, regret flashing through his eyes. He had failed to capture it. Then, he turned to his parents and the women with a slight smile on his face. "I'm fine. The explosion was too diffuse to harm my body."

Everyone sighed in relief.

Xiao Hongye looked at his son, his eyes moist. "It's only been a few years. How have you already achieved so much, son? I'm unbelievably proud of you."

Tan Xianzhi's eyes likewise glistened. She had forced herself to confront the possibility that she would never see her son again, but now, seeing him grown up and even strong enough to rescue them, she was both relieved and guilty for not having been there for him all these years.

"Father, Mother, our family being reunited is what matters most. Let me introduce you to your daughters-in-law. They've been by my side, helping me grow and even saving my life multiple times. Without their support and help, this reunion might not have been possible. This is..." Xiao Nanfeng introduced each of the women to his parents.

Having seen how the women had risked their lives to save them, Xiao Hongye and Tan Xianzhi were already fond of them. Now, hearing how they had saved their son's life multiple times, they were even more pleased.

"Greetings, Father, Mother." The women bowed respectfully.

"Good, good. Nanfeng is lucky to have you," Tan Xianzhi said, pulling the women close, wiping away tears of joy as she chatted with them.

Xiao Hongye nodded in satisfaction at his daughters-in-law. Then, he turned to Xiao Nanfeng. "The battle here isn't over yet, is it?"

Xiao Nanfeng shook his head. "It's not, Father. I can't stay to chat for long. I need to join the three Qing Grandmasters in their fight against the Superior. He's too cunning and powerful, and I'm worried that if we delay, he might come up with plans to foil us."

Xiao Hongye nodded. "You're right. We can catch up anytime. Dealing with the Superior is the priority now."

"In that case, I'll be making preparations for the fight," Xiao Nanfeng said.

Xiao Hongye nodded. "Good."

Xiao Nanfeng waved his hand, tossing the carcasses of the white-furred monsters he had killed to the giant nine-colored tree. With a resonant hum, the tree's roots extended, piercing through the carcasses and quickly absorbing their nutrients.

Xiao Nanfeng looked around and said, "Senior, since your consciousness can now enter the white life hidden realm, you're also able to send people out, aren't you? Could you send my family out of the realm?"

He could do so himself, but it would take precious time. Instead, he chose to ask the primordial altar for help.

"Very well," a fragment of the primordial altar's consciousness replied.

A rift appeared in the void before them, leading to the outside world.

"Let me stay and fight with you, Nanfeng," Madam Rouge began.

The other women nodded, likewise eager to help, but Xiao Nanfeng shook his head. "Your powers are limited here. You won't be able to interfere in the upcoming battle."

The women frowned but eventually nodded. They understood that they couldn't contribute to the next stage of the battle and might even become a burden, distracting Xiao Nanfeng from fighting at full strength.

"Take care," the women said reluctantly.

"Don't worry," Xiao Nanfeng smiled, then added seriously, "Protect my parents."

"We will," the women replied, nodding.

Over the past few days, all the red-, blue-, and purple-furred monsters that Xia Yu'er, Zhang Lingjun, and Lan Yaoguang had summoned were quickly recalled back into their glowing spheres.

At that moment, Xiao Hongye suddenly spoke up. "Nanfeng, I have something for you."

"Oh?" Xiao Nanfeng looked at his father curiously.

Xiao Hongye slowly took out a prayer bead. The bead was white, with the character Nan embossed on it.

"This..." Xiao Nanfeng's eyes widened in surprise.

"Before you were born, your mother and I met an elder. He gave me a string of prayer beads—thirteen in total, six white and seven black. The six white beads each have the character Nan on them, and the seven black beads each have the character Bei on them. That elder was likely the primordial altar in human form. He gave me this treasure and asked me to confront the Superior on behalf of all living beings, enter the white life hidden realm, and seize the opportunity to possess the Superior's main body. Over the years, the Superior has been collecting the emotions of all the white-furred lifeforms to nourish his main body. Your mother and I successfully sent twelve of these beads into the Superior's main body through his emotions. This last bead is the key to activating the treasure and may help you deal with the Superior," Xiao Hongye explained.

Xiao Nanfeng looked at the last remaining bead and suddenly remembered something. In his previous life on Earth, he had bought a string of prayer beads from an antique shop. The shopkeeper had said it was a Taoist artifact called the "Thirteen Stars of the North and South," representing the seven stars of the Big Dipper and the six of the Southern Dipper. For some reason, he had been drawn to it and had spent a fortune to buy it. He had worn it on his wrist ever since.

Combining this with the primordial altar's description, he suddenly understood what had happened. Perhaps, after his death in his previous life, his truesoul had been claimed by the prayer beads, which the primordial altar then retrieved from Earth and gave to his father in this life, allowing him to be reborn.

"I don't know if it'll be useful, but just in case," Xiao Hongye said, placing the bead in Xiao Nanfeng's hand.

Xiao Nanfeng held the artifact from his past life, feeling a wave of nostalgia. "Your hard work surely won't go to vain, Father."

Xiao Hongye smiled warmly, patting his son's shoulder. Without another word, he took Tan Xianzhi's hand and stepped through the void rift.

"Come back safely," the women urged Xiao Nanfeng, then followed his parents through the rift.

The Dazheng officials also passed through the rift and left the hidden realm.

With a hum, the rift snapped shut.