Chapter 413: Ox- and Horse-Headed

The cursed effigies seemed to have particular resilience against cold. Although they shivered, they weren't frozen stiff. Somehow, they had managed to block the frost. [1]

"An impressive domain, but it's far weaker than what I used to have in the past." One ox-headed humanoid shot over.

With his meteor hammer, he smashed apart the ice and snow blocking his way. The hammer shot straight toward Xiao Nanfeng, but Xiao Nanfeng was even faster. He closed in on the demon and swung down with his blade.

"Kill!" Xiao Nanfeng shouted.

The ox-headed humanoid hastily attempted to defend, but failed to do anything against the sharp blade. He was cut in half.

Xiao Nanfeng was just about to go deal with the other cursed effigies when his eyes widened. The ox-headed humanoid's meteor hammer had suddenly shifted directions and was heading back toward him. He punched at it in haste.

The attack struck him and forced him to stagger back as the meteor hammer rebounded.

"Your Majesty, hasn't he died?!" Ye Dafu shouted from close by.

Xiao Nanfeng turned back to the ox-headed humanoid, whom he had cleaved. No blood burst from his body, and neither did the two halves of his body fall down. Rather, each half stood independently. One arm continued to grip his meteor hammer.

"You can live even like this?!" Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed.

"Lad, you've made me angry!"

The two halves of the ox-headed humanoid slowly recombined as they drew close to each other. Where the split had been, a huge quantity of paper fragments emerged as though in a storm, gradually filling in the cracks as the ox-headed humanoid's initial appearance was restored. He didn't look to have been injured at all.

"Paper? Are all you cursed effigies of that era made of paper?" Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed.

He suddenly recalled the Snake Yanluo, who was a paper figure, and whose subordinates were all paper snakes.

"What's wrong with paper? It can grant us undying bodies. Now, lad, it's your turn to die!" The ox-headed humanoid shot over.

However, Xiao Nanfeng was stronger than he was. He cut the humanoid in half once again.

Just then, a horse-headed humanoid mocked, "Haha, you really are weak, aren't you? He's already cut you down twice. Let me have a go."

"Scram! Go find someone else. He's mine!" the ox-headed humanoid bellowed.

"On what grounds? He's at the peak of Yin Body, and is far more useful than an ordinary Immortal. I'm taking him!" The horse-headed humanoid laughed.

"Come at me if you want to die!" Xiao Nanfeng shouted coldly.

He stepped forward, brandishing his blade. With a slash, the horse-headed humanoid was likewise split in half. However, he quickly recovered in a flurry of paper fragments.

"Come on. We'll take him down together!" the horse-headed humanoid bellowed.

"Got it!"

A large number of cursed effigies shot toward Xiao Nanfeng, whose fighting spirit blazed bright. With every slash of his blade, cursed effigies fell all around him.

Even so, they quickly recovered amidst a storm of paper fragments. They truly seemed to possess undying bodies, regardless of how many cuts they incurred.

Ye Dafu and the others stepped forward, intending to help out their liege, but Xiao Nanfeng stopped them. "Don't make a move. Stay by Blue Lantern's side!"

"Understood!" Ye Dafu and his lackeys replied.

They could see that Xiao Nanfeng had the upper hand, and weren't especially concerned for him.

The cursed effigies, sensing that they couldn't take down Xiao Nanfeng, split up. A portion headed toward Ye Dafu and the others, all Human Immortals. Ye Dafu and the others spread out to take them on. Even when a few Earth Immortals wandered into the fight, they could deter them for long enough for Blue Lantern to send them toward Xiao Nanfeng's vicinity, whereupon he would take care of them with a slash of his blade.

"Blue Lantern, you're so strong—you're already an Earth Immortal! It looks like you don't need our protection anymore," Ye Dafu said in surprise.

"Xiao Nanfeng didn't send you to me so you could protect me. He just wants you not to interfere for the time being. He's trying to probe what special abilities they have and identify their weak spots so that we can be better prepared to fight the Yanluo Lords," Blue Lantern explained.

"So that's how it is!"

When Xiao Nanfeng saw that the cursed effigies intended to retreat, he thundered, "I'll speak bluntly: none of you cursed effigies can fight. All of you are trash!"

The cursed effigies, who had ruled over the Netherworld Palace for countless years, rarely heard such provocation. They were immediately enraged.

"Don't hold back. Kill him!"

"A late-stage Yin Body cultivator dares insult the likes of us? Who are you calling trash?!"

"Kill!"

The cursed effigies charged forward at full force.

Xiao Nanfeng didn't panic. He continued scything forward fiercely. There were only about ten Earth Immortals among this group of cursed effigies, and the others were Human Immortals. None would be a match for him. He continued to ravage them

until they were all cut apart. While they were busy trying to restore themselves, Xiao Nanfeng reclaimed his silver moon and transformed back into his physical body.

"Paper, is it? Easily flammable, then," Xiao Nanfeng murmured.

He sent a ring of flames all around him, encapsulating the gathered cursed effigies. Many didn't care; they continued to regenerate.

"Do you really think this is ordinary paper? Few flames in this world can hope to do anything against us," one regenerating ox-headed humanoid replied, smirking.

"Golden crows!" Xiao Nanfeng commanded.

Ten golden crows flew toward the nearby humanoids, releasing bursts of facsimile solarfire. The paper fragments began to burn.

"Damn it, that's facsimile solarfire! Are those golden crows composed of quintessential solarfire? Even facsimile solarfire alone can burn our cursed spiritual avatars to a crisp. Quick—" one cursed effigy cried out.

The golden crows rampaged through the gathered cursed effigies, burning them all. However, the cursed effigies continued to regenerate as fast as they could, even though half the paper fragments they used would burn up.

Finally, when their bodies were fully restored, the flames were no longer able to do anything against them.

"Your bodies can resist facsimile solarfire when unharmed?" Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed in surprise.

The ox-headed humanoid snarled, "You've used up the spiritual power I saved for years on end. Die! I'm going to kill these golden crows of yours!"

The ten golden crows flew back into Xiao Nanfeng's body as he returned to his yin body.

"It looks like you do have flaws, after all. It's just annoying to get rid of you," Xiao Nanfeng surmised.

His yin body again tore the cursed effigies to shreds before he returned to his physical body and released his ten golden crows to burn everything before him to a crisp.

"That bastard! All my cursed spiritual power's burning up!"

"Damn it, just you wait! Try burning us when our cursed spiritual avatars have been honed to perfection!"

The cursed effigies had grown far weaker after consuming the bulk of their paper fragments.

"Again!" Xiao Nanfeng transformed into his yin body and was about to strike at them once again.

"No!" The cursed effigies turned and ran.

They were infuriated by Xiao Nanfeng's taunts, but they were no idiots. They couldn't do anything against Xiao Nanfeng; they would only be burnt to a crisp.

However, Xiao Nanfeng had no intention of letting them go. He had to beat them into submission, then interrogate them about the status of the Netherworld Palace.

"Is this all you've got? You might as well stay, then!" Xiao Nanfeng called out.

Xiao Nanfeng continued to attack the cursed effigies, preventing them from fleeing. As for the demons, many had been frozen into ice sculptures from the blizzard around Xiao Nanfeng. They were unable to advance even a single step.

The cursed effigies hissed and seethed, but they knew they wouldn't be able to run. One ox-headed humanoid suddenly shouted, "Let's charge at the seal together!"

"What? Do you want to die?" one ox-headed humanoid cried out.

"Rather than have him drain all our spiritual power first, why not try to take him on? We have to work together, or we won't have enough strength to overpower him!" the ox-headed humanoid replied.

The cursed effigies gritted their teeth. "Very well!"

Rather than run, the cursed effigies shot up toward the gaps between the fingers of Heaven's Hand.

"They're trying to escape from this hidden realm?" Blue Lantern murmured.

Just then, chains appeared on the feet of the humanoids rushing into the air, black chains that bound them and prevented them from flying further upward.

"Where did these chains come from? They appeared out of nowhere! Blue Lantern, did you do that?" Ye Dafu exclaimed.

"It wasn't me. They manifested as a result of special rules present within this hidden realm. It's likely that the natural law of this realm prevents the cursed effigies from escaping—they'll be dragged back if they try to do so. These chains must serve that purpose."

"But if they can't escape, why would they bother trying to do so?" Ye Dafu still seemed confused.

"They're trying to trigger some sort of potent response that will quell this territory. We have to run—or suffer backlash from natural law!" Blue Lantern exclaimed.

"Let's go!" Xiao Nanfeng declared.

The cultivators fled.

Just then, Heaven's Hand slammed down at all the cursed effigies that had been chained.

They exploded in an instant, scattering through the sky as fragments.

"Are they committing suicide?" Ye Dafu wondered as he ran.

Just then, in conjunction with the attack from Heaven's Hand, a huge storm of black air formed all around them, so large it seemed as though it would drown them all.

The storm sucked in all the demons around them. Even Xiao Nanfeng's group was unable to escape. The cultivators were all sucked within.

"Be careful!" Xiao Nanfeng cried out.

The storm was like a huge flood that sent the cultivators flying. No one could halt such a force of nature, not even Xiao Nanfeng. All he could do was protect his body as the storm ravaged the land.

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

1. To clarify, the ox- and horse-headed humanoids are cursed effigies. They control the demons, who are cursed slaves. ☜