Chapter 395: Trapping Cursed Effigies with Rope

The Dragon Yanluo had self-destructed!

The explosion formed a tempest that slowly dissipated. The starlit barrier had shattered; the Dragon Yanluo left no trace of himself behind. There was only the blue mist from the Formation of the Complete Heavens.

There should have been a large celebration for their complete victory, but Xiao Nanfeng and the others considered the battlefield seriously and intently instead. No one believed that the Dragon Yanluo would end his life so easily; furthermore, he was a cursed effigy.

Just then, a gust of black smoke emerged from the domain of blue mist.

"There's some cursed spiritual power attempting to break the formation. Watch out," Blue Lantern called out.

Xiao Nanfeng shielded Mr. Wen as black smoke surged forth, slowly covering up the entire domain of blue mist. Then, a huge hall appeared within the smoke.

"A Yanluo Court?" Xiao Nanfeng murmured.

He had felt a tremendous sense of danger from the paper figure's papier-mache Yanluo Court. This Yanluo Court wasn't made of paper; rather, it was ornate and finely polished. It gave off an aura of strength.

"That's what broke the formation. Be careful. The cursed effigies within are about to emerge!" Blue Lantern shouted.

With the Formation of the Complete Heavens being disrupted, the countless cursed effigies trapped within were suddenly freed. They floated out of the domain, shuddering. By then, the two hundred Immortals from before had all been possessed. They brimmed with killing intent, but rather than rush toward the gathered cultivators, they gathered around the Yanluo Court instead.

You Jiu likewise emerged from the black smoke and rushed over to Xiao Nanfeng's side.

"Blue Lantern, destroy the Yanluo Court," Xiao Nanfeng commanded.

"Understood. Starlit blades, converge!" Blue Lantern shouted.

361 starlit blades shot toward the Yanluo Court, piercing straight through and falling into the sea in a huge splash.

"There's something wrong with this Yanluo Court. The starlit blades can't seem to strike it!" Blue Lantern exclaimed.

The door to the Yanluo Court creaked open as a man in black brocade appeared from within, a crown on his head. His gaze burned infernal.

"The Dragon Yanluo? Didn't you self-destruct? How could you have revived again?" Blue Lantern exclaimed.

"My methods are beyond the likes of you. What an incredible relic, to have forced my hand to such an extent." The Dragon Yanluo's eyes flashed with greed.

"Make your move, Blue Lantern!" Xiao Nanfeng urged immediately.

"Starlit blades, converge!" Blue Lantern waved his hand.

The starlit blades again shot toward the Dragon Yanluo, but the Dragon Yanluo moved rapidly toward Blue Lantern before the blades could strike him. With a twist of his hand, Blue Lantern summoned the starlit blades toward him.

"Oh? These blades can change direction mid-flight? Incredible."

The Dragon Yanluo immediately changed direction, but the starlit blades tracked him as though they could see. Just as they were about to catch up, the Dragon Yanluo frowned as he stopped running away. He shot toward Blue Lantern at full force, willing to be struck by the blades in exchange for dealing him a lethal blow.

"Formation of the Complete Heavens, arise!" Blue Lantern shouted.

The starlit blades burst into blue mist that surrounded Blue Lantern and the Dragon Yanluo.

"The starlit blades can be used to establish a formation, too? No, impossible. They aren't standalone. You knew from the very start that the starlit blades wouldn't harm me, so you siphoned off some of their energy and linked it to the foundations of the formation. You were trying to establish the formation anew, and those tracking blades were merely a distraction! What a schemer you are!" the Dragon Yanluo thundered.

From within the blue mist, Blue Lantern called out, "Xiao Nanfeng, I'll only be able to trap him for a little while. Think of a strategy for dealing with him!"

The Dragon Yanluo commanded his subordinates, "Kill everyone!"

"Understood!" all the cursed effigies cried out.

They shot toward Xiao Nanfeng.

"We have to run!" Mr. Wen urged.

"There's no need," Xiao Nanfeng replied.

A red moon appeared to the back of his head. It rose into the air and emitted blinding red light as a red cloud manifested in the air. Countless lengths of red rope shot straight down, binding the cursed effigies and hanging them by their necks.

Thousands of cursed effigies hung in the air as though they had committed mass suicide. Only the cursed effigies that had possessed Immortals were barely able to avoid the domain.

"There's something wrong with that red cloud. Destroy it!" a possessed Immortal cried out.

The other possessed Immortals shot toward the red cloud, but what awaited them were even more lengths of red rope. They were rapidly bound; soon, only nine Earth Immortals remained free.

"Impossible. Destroy that red cloud!" the nine possessed Earth Immortals cried out, launching attacks at the lengths of red rope simultaneously.

Much of the red rope was obliterated as the cursed effigies regained their freedom. However, even more lengths of red rope surged toward them and bound them once again.

The nine Earth Immortals glared at Xiao Nanfeng, seeing that they were unable to overcome the red cloud's might.

"The red rope listens to him. Deal with him first!" a cursed effigy shouted, pointing at Xiao Nanfeng.

The others all shot toward Xiao Nanfeng simultaneously.

"You overestimate yourself!" Xiao Nanfeng called out, smiling. "You Jiu, protect Mr. Wen!"

"Understood!" You Jiu replied.

Xiao Nanfeng stepped toward the nine cursed effigies. He flashed up to one of them.

"Kill!" the cursed effigy shouted, punching at Xiao Nanfeng with a fist.

"Hegemon's Fist!" Xiao Nanfeng punched forward.

Hundreds of punches shot toward the cursed effigy like raindrops in a storm. The cursed effigy blanched and screamed, flung backwards by the tremendous force. Then, lengths of red rope wound tightly over his body and bound him securely.

Xiao Nanfeng shot toward the next Earth Immortal and dealt with her the same way.

"Impossible!" the other cursed effigies shouted.

Xiao Nanfeng was like a god that had descended from the heavens, coursing with divine might, defeating one cursed effigy with every punch. None of the Earth Immortals were able to stand against his might; they were all flung into the domain of the red cloud, then bound tightly.

Mr. Wen gaped at the display of strength. "Isn't Xiao Nanfeng far too strong? It's only been a while since he fought Nalan Qiankun, but he's already grown so much stronger!"

"His Majesty isn't the only one growing rapidly in strength. The whole of Dazheng is, too," You Jiu bragged proudly.

Just then, a giant blood peach tree appeared out of nowhere before Xiao Nanfeng.

"Senior, do you want these cursed effigies?" Xiao Nanfeng asked in surprise.

The blood peach tree scattered a large number of its blossoms. "I do!"

"In that case, please take them, Senior," Xiao Nanfeng replied generously.

The lengths of red rope delivered the cursed effigies straight toward the blood peach tree, whose roots swiftly shot into their possessed bodies.

"No!" the cursed effigies screamed in pain.

However, the blood peach tree ignored their struggles. Its roots shot toward the cursed effigies in the distance, forking until they looked like part of a dense spiderweb.

Xiao Nanfeng flew toward the Yanluo Court. As he arrived before its door, he could feel an immense aura surging from it. His heart thumped.

He reached out to touch the Yanluo Court, but felt nothing. It was as though the Yanluo Court that lay before him didn't exist in physical reality.

"Why can't I touch this Yanluo Court?" Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed.

He reached out again and sent a length of red rope toward the Yanluo Court, intending on trapping it, but even the red rope was unable to interact with the hall at all.

"Is this Yanluo Court merely an illusion? Even a cursed spiritual avatar can't reach it..." Xiao Nanfeng murmured.

Just then, a group of peach blossoms blew over toward him. They fell to the ground, forming words with their petals. "This Yanluo Court has an owner. Without the owner's permission, no one can touch it."

"How could this be? The paper figure's Yanluo Court wasn't the same way. It was as fragile as papier mache, and I could easily destroy it."

"That's because the Snake Yanluo was just too weak. It was barely able to command its own Yanluo Court, so it had to divide its own body into a few cursed spiritual avatars to control it. Then, after I devoured it, its hall temporarily became ownerless. That was how I gained control over it."

"Then how can I interact with this Yanluo Court?"

"You can't, unless you destroy the Dragon Yanluo and leave this Yanluo Court without a lord."

"But the Dragon Yanluo was fine even after self-destructing! How am I supposed to take him down?"

"The Dragon Yanluo's revival was because he had stored some special revival-related treasure within his Yanluo Court. Once he dies, his consciousness will return to the Yanluo Court and be regenerated with the help of these treasures. It surely can't have much of such rare supplies, and once it consumes them all, it won't be able to regenerate any longer. You'll be able to take him down then."

"Oh?" Xiao Nanfeng seemed surprised.

By then, the blood peach tree had devoured all the cursed effigies, and a hundred blood peaches had formed on it.

The blood peach tree shook, tossing the hundred peaches toward Xiao Nanfeng.

"Thank you, Senior." Xiao Nanfeng gathered all the blood peaches.

The blood peach tree shook and vanished from sight.

Xiao Nanfeng glanced thoughtfully in the direction in which it had vanished.

Just then, a huge bang came from the blue mist in the distance. The blue mist dissipated in an explosion.

Killing intent surged from the Dragon Yanluo as he emerged from the mist. Blue Lantern seemed to be seriously wounded. He was flung out from the mist, blood seeping down his lips.

Xiao Nanfeng flew over and caught him.

"Blue Lantern, are you alright?" he asked worriedly.

"I'm fine, but the Dragon Yanluo's cursed spiritual techniques are too strong. The reserves of energy Mr. Wen supplied for the formation have been used up, and I can't continue to establish the formation. I won't be able to trap him any longer."

"Don't worry. Leave the rest to me," Xiao Nanfeng said.