Chapter 412: The Netherworld Palace

Qu Jianfeng manifested a map with his spiritual power.

"We didn't stay long in the abyss, and I'm not familiar with the overall terrain. This is a map of the territory that we explored. Memorize it."

The map was simple, and Xiao Nanfeng ingrained it in his memory in the blink of an eye.

"Cursed slaves are prevalent within the abyss—those demons you saw—and regular cursed effigies exist as well, commanding the cursed slaves. The strongest among them are Earth Immortals. It seems that natural law restricts even the strongest Yanluo Lords to the strength of a Heaven Immortal, so as long as you aren't trapped by a large group of cursed effigies, you'll be alright."

"Is there any method by which I can search for Yaoguang?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

Qu Jianfeng shook his head.

"Is there anything else?"

"There isn't. You'll understand everything once you descend."

Xiao Nanfeng was silent for a moment. He looked toward Ye Dafu and Blue Lantern. "Stay here. I intend to descend and have a look."

"Your Majesty, I'm sure Qu Jianfeng is still hiding something. He's just trying to lure you into the abyss. You can't let him trick you!" Ye Dafu exclaimed.

"I'm aware, but I have to enter. Don't worry, I'll be alright." Xiao Nanfeng shook his head.

Ye Dafu grimaced and gritted his teeth. "In that case, Your Majesty, we'd like to accompany you to guard you. Please allow me to do so!"

"Please allow us to do so!" Ye Dafu's lackeys all chorused.

Xiao Nanfeng considered Ye Dafu and his lackeys for a moment before he nodded. "Very well."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Ye Dafu and his lackeys replied.

"Allow me to join you as well. The natural law within must be advanced if it can restrict entrance to those cultivators at or below Heaven Immortals in strength. It may help restore my cultivation." Blue Lantern smiled.

Xiao Nanfeng nodded.

Xiao Nanfeng turned to Chang Bing. "Chang Bing, while I'm not around, you'll be the acting city lord of Fengdu. Listen to no one unless they have an edict of appointment from the Immortal Emperor of Dayin. I leave you in charge!"

Chang Bing seemed to have a lot on his mind. "Understood!"

Xiao Nanfeng took a deep breath. "Citizens of Fengdu, I am Xiao Nanfeng. I have urgent business to take care of and will be leaving Fengdu for a period of time. Henceforth, Chang Bing shall be the acting city lord of Fengdu!"

"Understood!" the people replied from within the city.

"Now, let's go!" Xiao Nanfeng said.

Without any hesitation, he, Ye Dafu and his lackeys, and Blue Lantern flew toward the mouth of the abyss, whereupon they vanished from sight.

The Heaven Immortals had seen the entire episode unfold. They slowly descended toward Qu Jianfeng.

"Yin Tianci of the Immortal Empire greets Sir Qu," the crown prince said.

"Yin Tianci? You're the new crown prince of the Immortal Empire of Dayin?"

"I am he. I overheard your conversation with Xiao Nanfeng from afar. Might I ask if this Yaoguang is the new holy maiden of the Shangqing holy land?"

"She is," Qu Jianfeng replied, nodding.

"A few days ago, my father once sought to link Dayin by marriage to the Shangqing holy land. With the holy maiden Yaoguang in grave danger, if I can save her, would you grant me your blessing for the marriage between me, the crown prince of Dayin, and the holy maiden Yaoguang?"

Qu Jianfeng narrowed his eyes, then smiled. "If you can save Yaoguang, I shall endorse this marriage and help it come to fruition to the best of my ability."

"It's a deal!" Yin Tianci immediately matched his smile.

"Of course, you'll have to save Yaoguang first. She's been trapped in the abyss for some time. If this drags out any longer, she might be in real danger."

"Don't worry. We've brought a treasured relic of Dayin, but haven't yet used it because we weren't in life-threatening danger. In the end, Xiao Nanfeng stole our thunder. Await my good news!" Yin Tianci said.

He beckoned his subordinates over. To one Heaven Immortal, he said, "Have your avatar inform my father of my conversation with Sir Qu, then have all my subordinates gather here. A month later, when the abyss opens up again, they'll enter and join me as reinforcements."

"Understood!" the Heaven Immortal said.

"Let's go!" Yin Tianci continued.

"Understood!"

Yin Tianci and his group of Heaven Immortals flew into the abyss.

Chang Bing gave Qu Jianfeng a frustrated look. "Senior Uncle Qu, didn't you say that no one would be able to demand Junior Sister's hand in marriage? How could you agree to Yin Tianci's proposal?"

Qu Jianfeng sucked in a deep breath. "The most important matter at hand now is Yaoguang's safety. As long as she's alright, we can negotiate."

"But Junior Sister might not be willing," Chang Bing said, frowning.

"Chang Bing, there's no need to worry about such matters. I need to write a letter immediately. Send one of your subordinates to the Shangqing holy land and deliver it to the sect master. You must hurry!"

Chang Bing frowned, but eventually nodded.

Within the abyss, Xiao Nanfeng returned to his yin body in preparation of the danger to come. He and his subordinates slowly descended deeper into the abyss.

The interior of the abyss was dark and gloomy. Black smoke emerged from time to time, obscuring their sight. Not too long later, they made it deep into the interior and slipped through the fingers of Heaven's Hand.

Past that boundary, they seemed to have arrived in a new world. The skies of that world were covered with roiling black smoke. At their heart was Heaven's Hand, suspended in the air. Below them was a mountain of bones.

Not too far away, a signboard had been erected. Part of it was destroyed, but two large, bloodstained words could still be made out: Netherworld Palace.

"Your Majesty, there are so many demons!" Ye Dafu exclaimed.

At the foot of this mountain of bones were countless demons gnashing their teeths with fierce expressions on their faces. They seemed like they wanted to pounce forward, but chose not to do so for some reason.

Just then, a voice emerged from amidst the demons. "What a strange day it is today. The Goat Yanluo's Yanluo Court mysteriously unsealed itself, the Tiger Yanluo returned with half his body chopped off, and now there are cultivators entering the abyss of their own accord. Everyone, be careful. They might be those who wounded the Tiger Yanluo."

Xiao Nanfeng turned to the source of the voice to see a group of strange monsters amidst the demons, all humanoid in form but with different heads—some oxen, and some horses.

"Horse-headed people? Ox-headed people? What is this?!" Ye Dafu exclaimed.

"Horse- and ox-headed people..." Xiao Nanfeng frowned. [1]

"What dense cursed spiritual power. They must be cursed effigies unique to this Netherworld Palace," Blue Lantern said.

One of the ox-headed people said, "Perhaps we're overthinking things. Why don't we send some demons their way to test their strength?"

"Got it!" the cursed effigies all around replied.

Countless demons roared as they shot over.

"Die!" Ye Dafu roared, charging forward.

He and his lackeys began to emanate golden light as they fought off the demons headed toward them, sending them flying.

"Use your Immortal relics!" the ox-headed humanoid shouted.

The demons immediately pulled out their Immortal relics and struck at Ye Dafu and his lackeys, but they were so resilient that even Immortal relics couldn't hurt them. They continued to send the demons flying.

The cursed effigies frowned. One of the ox-headed humanoids charged forward. "Let me have a try!"

That ox-headed humanoid charged at Ye Dafu with a meteor hammer. Without any hesitation, Ye Dafu countered with a punch.

The hammer struck Ye Dafu and sent him flying. Xiao Nanfeng caught him from behind with a palm.

"A cursed effigy with the strength of an Earth Immortal..." Xiao Nanfeng murmured, frowning.

"Even the strongest of these golden cultivators is only at the peak of a Human Immortal. They're nothing compared to us!" The ox-headed humanoid laughed.

He sent the meteor hammer smashing toward Xiao Nanfeng.

Xiao Nanfeng's eyes flashed coldly. He retaliated with a punch, knocking the hammer back. The ox-headed humanoid pulled it back into his hands.

"An Earth Immortal? It looks like their leader isn't particularly strong, either. They can't have injured the Tiger Yanluo." The ox-headed humanoid narrowed his eyes.

"We'll be taking these Immortals! My king's about to celebrate a grand anniversary, and we're lacking a group of Immortals for the festivities," one horse-headed humanoid said.

"The Horse Yanluo? My king also needs Immortals for his festivities. Why should I hand them over to you?" the ox-headed humanoid retorted.

"Didn't the Ox Yanluo get a batch of cultivators last month? There were Immortals among them!" the horse-headed humanoid replied.

"The Rabbit Yanluo was heavily injured, so my king sent the Immortals to her. That doesn't count."

"Let's see who can take them down first, then!"

"Very well. Seize them!" the ox-headed humanoid commanded his subordinates.

"Understood!"

Large numbers of cursed effigies shot toward Xiao Nanfeng.

Xiao Nanfeng frowned. "You're treating us like spoils of war? If you want to die, I'll grant your wish!"

A full moon appeared behind his head as his deific domain expanded. A huge blizzard formed. With a wave of his hand, the demons at the very front were frozen into ice sculptures. The cursed effigies shivered as they retreated.

1. In Chinese mythology, there are two guardians of the underworld, one with an ox's head and the other with a horse's face. ☜