Chapter 433: The Stubborn Yin Tianci

The best hunters often presented themselves as prey; as expected, the second Heaven Immortal was easily preyed upon. He thought he had control of the situation right up until the Divine Seal of Dazheng fell on his head. Everything was over then.

"Strike now!" Xiao Nanfeng whispered.

"Got it!" Lady Yaoguang replied.

The cursebane sword thrust toward the sealed Heaven Immortal.

"You damned brat, I won't let you off! Die!" the Heaven Immortal roared.

With a swing of her sword, Lady Yaoguang beheaded him in a spray of blood, killing his physical and yin bodies both.

"Another one down," Lady Yaoguang replied with glee.

She retrieved the white-robed Heaven Immortal's storage treasure and carefully combed through it. As expected, she picked up another arhat armor.

"Nanfeng, this isn't a bad strategy. Let's continue," Lady Yaoguang said expectantly.

Xiao Nanfeng frowned, then ultimately shook his head. "I'm afraid we can't."

"Oh? Why not?"

"Both Heaven Immortals were blinded by greed and attempted to harm me, but their expressions right before their death were different. The first died with fear and despair; the second, with hatred and vengeance."

Lady Yaoguang thought for a moment before her eyes opened wide. "You mean that he might have an avatar? That's why he wasn't fearful of death?"

"That's right."

"In that case, as long as the crown prince of Dayin has someone with an avatar by his side, they could communicate easily. We've been exposed!" Lady Yaoguang surmised.

"That's right. We can't stay here any longer. The crown prince of Dayin and his subordinates will be on guard, and it'll cost us too much to take them on now. A single moment of carelessness could kill us. Let's go," Xiao Nanfeng said.

"Very well!" Lady Yaoguang nodded.

The two cultivators packed up and departed immediately.

Not too long later, the crown prince of Dayin, Yin Tianci, arrived with five Heaven Immortals in tow.

"Your Highness, Xiao Nanfeng and Holy Maiden Yaoguang are gone. There's no one around," a Heaven Immortal reported.

Yin Tianci frowned. "They really are alert, aren't they?"

"Your Highness, it was Xiao Nanfeng who rescued Holy Maiden Yaoguang. I'm afraid the promise of marriage that Qu Jianfeng agreed to will be nullified," one of his subordinates said.

"I heard that Holy Maiden Yaoguang obtained a cross-generational inheritance from the Shangqing Grandmaster, and will have considerable say in the Shangqing holy land in the future. I need the support of the Shangqing holy land in order to grow further as a cultivator, so this marriage with Holy Maiden Yaoguang is of paramount importance. She can only belong to me," Yin Tianci said.

"But—"

"No buts! Xiao Nanfeng might have taken the lead, but the mouth of the abyss isn't going to open for another half a month. As long as we can find them before that and make Holy Maiden Yaoguang my woman, then go through the usual ceremony, we'll be set. By then, the Shangqing holy land will have no choice but to recognize me as her husband."

"Of course, Your Majesty!"

"They can't have run too far away. Continue the search!"

"Understood!"

Back in the city of Wuliu, Xiao Nanfeng reunited with the cultivators of the alliance.

The moment they saw him, they were gobsmacked. Quite a few cultivators had been stationed on guard around the capital of Wu, and they had seen Xiao Nanfeng turn the whole capital into mayhem. Not only that, he had rescued Lady Yaoguang from the Horse Yanluo's clutches.

"Everyone, the next time the mouth of the abyss opens up, I'll do my best to escort you all out. In the meantime, however, please help me search for the whereabouts of Lan Jiguang," Xiao Nanfeng said.

"Thank you, City Lord Xiao! We'll do our best!" the cultivators replied politely.

Now that there was hope of leaving the Netherworld Palace, they were full of energy.

"Can you bring me to the Rabbit Yanluo's capital to have a look?" Lady Yaoguang asked.

"Do you want to find your mother? She's been possessed by the Rabbit Yanluo..." Xiao Nanfeng frowned.

"I know. I just want to see what my mother looks like from afar. She was dragged into the abyss by a cursed effigy right after I was born, so I never got a good look at her." Lady Arclight smiled wryly.

"Hold on. Let's head to the Goat Yanluo's capital first," Xiao Nanfeng said.

"Why?" Lady Yaoguang seemed confused.

"The Goat Yanluo's cursed spiritual avatar might be there. If possible, I'd like for us to see if we can get it before we head to the Rabbit Yanluo's capital."

Lady Yaoguang nodded, thinking back to how Xiao Nanfeng had managed to sneak into the Wu capital using the Dragon Yanluo's cursed spiritual avatar.

A day later, guided by a cultivator, the two of them arrived by the ruins of a city. There, they got in contact with a cultivator from the alliance who had been stationed there.

"This is the Goat Yanluo's capital?" Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed.

"Why is it a pile of ruins?" Lady Yaoguang was surprised as well.

The cultivator who had been stationed by the capital said, "Didn't either of you hear about the commotion two days ago?"

"Of course we knew about the battle at Wu. City Lord Xiao manufactured the whole commotion!" the other cultivator said.

"At Wu? We haven't received word of that yet. There was a huge battle here as well."

"Oh?" Xiao Nanfeng replied curiously.

"The Tiger Yanluo appeared out of nowhere, leading countless tiger-headed humanoids to slaughter the goat-headed humanoids here. The Tiger Yanluo rushed into the sea of ice that the Goat Yanluo set up, absorbing it all even as Heaven's Hand attacked him. As he evaded Heaven's Hand, he continued the absorption until he found a coffin with the Goat Yanluo's cursed spiritual avatar within," the cultivator reported.

"The Tiger Yanluo got here before us, then?" Xiao Nanfeng frowned.

"The huge commotion roused the attention of the Rabbit and Rooster Yanluos, who attempted to fight for the Goat Yanluo's cursed spiritual avatar. Unfortunately, they were too late. The Tiger Yanluo had already begun to absorb it, and the resulting fight, along with the attacks from Heaven's Hand, razed the city to the ground. The Tiger Yanluo took advantage of the commotion to flee."

"No wonder these three Yanluos weren't present at Wu. So the Tiger Yanluo had been waiting for an opportunity to strike all along!" Xiao Nanfeng's frown deepened.

Just then, a rumble came from the heavens in the distance.

The cultivators looked over to see a Heaven's Hand destroying cursed effigies left and right.

"It's been attacking cursed effigies for two days now, but no Yanluo Lord has come to deal with it yet."

The Heaven's Hand crushed whatever cursed effigies it came across, turning them into piles of ash that dissipated with the wind. They didn't regenerate.

"It's a good thing for the people that this is happening. Come on, let's head to the Rabbit Yanluo's capital of Mao," Xiao Nanfeng said.

"Very well!" Lady Yaoguang nodded.

The procession headed straight for Mao.

They waited by the outskirts of the capital and observed it from afar.

A large number of rabbit-headed humanoids were scampering back and forth, as though they were particularly busy.

"It's too dangerous here, and your mother's nowhere to be seen. I don't think we should stay long. Why don't we return and await news of your father first?" Xiao Nanfeng suggested.

Lady Yaoguang sighed, but nodded. "Very well!"