Chapter 443: Records of Life and Death

As Xiao Nanfeng and Lady Yaoguang fled, a brilliant burst of light emerged atop the capital of Mao, along with a huge reverberating boom. Two Yanluo Lords worked together to fend off Heaven's Hand.

"Let's hide for now." Xiao Nanfeng tugged on Lady Yaoguang's hand as they headed toward a forest.

The two cultivators quickly shrugged off their arhat armor so as to better hide themselves.

Within the forest, they saw an incredible burst of flame emerge from Heaven's Hand. The capital of Mao was leveled to the ground, and the few cursed effigies that had made it out alive were all heavily wounded.

The Tiger and Ox Yanluos were bloody all over. They had been seriously injured.

Just then, the blood-colored cloud of annihilation began to roil, as though a new Heaven's Hand was about to form.

"Where did the Rabbit Yanluo escape to?" the Ox Yanluo demanded.

"She headed over there!" An ox-headed humanoid pointed in a certain direction.

The Tiger Yanluo rushed out.

"Damn it! Hold it right there, Tiger Yanluo!" The Ox Yanluo gave chase with a shout.

The Rabbit Yanluo had run off. They might not be able to catch up to her themselves, but that was acceptable as long as neither of them did.

They were the only Yanluo Lords left in the Netherworld Palace apart from the Rabbit Yanluo. Whoever managed to stake his claim on the Rabbit Yanluo would end up the lord of the entire domain. They were more anxious than anyone else present.

A new Heaven's Hand manifested right as the two Yanluo Lords left. It began to strike down the cursed effigies in the vicinity to quell the disturbance.

"Run!" Countless cursed effigies began to flee.

In a forest far away, Xiao Nanfeng let out a sigh of relief. "We've made it."

"Nanfeng, I had the blue moon barrier and cursebane sword to protect me. There was no need for you to take such a risk." Lady Yaoguang grumbled, but her eyes were filled with relief.

"It's not a matter of your defenses. I won't be able to relax without saving you," Xiao Nanfeng replied.

Lady Yaoguang's heart thudded. She smiled subconsciously, not even realizing that she had done so.

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"We're not in the clear yet. We should leave," Xiao Nanfeng said, tugging on Yaoguang's hand again.

"Very well!" Lady Yaoguang nodded.

The two cultivators quickly left the outskirts of Mao.

Two days later, in a valley, Xiao Nanfeng made Lady Yaoguang a feast as they discussed what had happened.

"In the end, the Rabbit Yanluo did manage to escape, and the Tiger and Ox Yanluos each seized an ownerless Yanluo Court. The strong truly do get stronger; they're growing more and more dominant." Xiao Nanfeng frowned.

"Damn that Rabbit Yanluo. She really is good at running away!" Lady Yaoguang bit down fiercely on a hunk of meat.

"You told me you saw your parents again. Would you tell me about the situation in more detail?"

Lady Yaoguang nodded, recounting what had happened within the red moon illusory realm.

"These red-furred lifeforms are cursed effigies? How can that be?" Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed.

"That's what my father said," Lady Yaoguang recalled.

"In that case, could the Taiqing Grandmaster be a cursed king himself? Could the red moon illusory realm be a cursed king's domain?" Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed.

"If that's really the case..." Lady Yaoguang was astonished.

"It is possible. We can't disprove this possibility just yet. To think there would be so much happening in such quick succession—how am I always dragged into such affairs?" Xiao Nanfeng sighed.

"What will you do now?" Lady Yaoguang asked in worry.

Xiao Nanfeng shook his head. "It doesn't matter. I've seen far more than my fair share of cursed effigies, and I'm used to them by now. Regardless of whether my hypothesis is right, my cultivation is still far too weak to do anything about it. I'll pretend not to know anything for now."

Lady Yaoguang was silent for a moment before she too nodded.

"However, ten thousand years ago, I heard that three grandmasters dominated the world: the Taiqing, Yuqing, and Shangqing Grandmasters. They were said to be equally strong. If the Taiqing Grandmaster was a cursed king, then the Shangqing Grandmaster might have been one too. You have to be careful now that you've started to cultivate the Shangqing blue moon," Xiao Nanfeng told Lady Yaoguang seriously.

Lady Yaoguang gave him an odd look. "The Shangqing techniques specifically counter cursed effigies, as does my cursebane sword. How could the grandmaster of this sect be a cursed king? Could you be overthinking things?"

"Have you considered how these techniques counter cursed effigies? Some cursed effigies have special attributes and abilities that ordinary cultivation techniques can't do anything against. In general, only cursed effigies can counter cursed effigies. Doesn't that suggest that your Shangqing techniques bear a cursed nature to them? Your cursebane sword might itself be a cursed effigy as well."

Lady Yaoguang frowned. "Surely not..."

"Let's not worry about this for the moment. It's not like we can do anything about it, at any rate. We should focus on growing stronger. Go on. What did your mother tell you?"

"Why do you want to know? That was a private conversation!" Lady Yaoguang flushed red as she refused to answer Xiao Nanfeng.

She had spoken with her mother about her future husband. How could she repeat such a conversation to Xiao Nanfeng?

"I was just asking. It doesn't matter if you don't want to tell me." Xiao Nanfeng smiled.

"It'll be a full moon in roughly ten days. We can leave the Netherworld Palace then," Lady Yaoguang said.

Xiao Nanfeng was silent for a moment. "I'm afraid not."

"Oh?" Lady Yaoguang seemed surprised.

"Not only have we not found Blue Lantern and Ye Dafu's crew, it won't be difficult for the Yanluo Lords to guess our intentions. The Rabbit Yanluo will surely try to stop us at the mouth of the abyss."

"The Rabbit Yanluo?"

"That's right, but this is for the best. We'll have an opportunity to seize your parents' bodies," Xiao Nanfeng said resolutely.

"She's like a stray dog now, forced out of her home and territory. Would she really dare show herself that easily?"

"A stray dog? No, she still has the opportunity to win," Xiao Nanfeng replied.

"How? The Tiger and Ox Yanluos each have four cursed spiritual avatars now. Once they fully master them, the Rabbit Yanluo wouldn't stand a chance, even if she has three Yanluo Courts to her name." Lady Yaoguang seemed confused.

"We're the chance that she needs."

"Oh?"

"More accurately, she needs the assistance of my senior." Xiao Nanfeng called out, "Senior Blood Peach Tree, could we have a talk?"

The void shook not far away. A giant blood peach tree appeared in sight.

The blood peach tree scattered a few petals. "Xiao Nanfeng, you should have handed those two Yanluo Courts to me to begin with. The Rabbit Yanluo wouldn't have been able to take advantage then."

Xiao Nanfeng smiled. "Senior, if I hadn't done so, I wouldn't have been able to rescue Yaoguang. If you had helped me out at first, I would have been able to be more generous."

The blood peach tree eventually scattered a few more petals. "Are you aware of my identity now?"

"Not fully, but the Rabbit Yanluo told me that you were once an esteemed monk, a cultivator from the same era as the ten Yanluo Lords. Your interactions with them left longstanding grudges, and you possess the avatars of two Yanluo Lords."

After a long silence, the blood peach tree scattered even more petals. "She was right. I possessed two of the pages of the twelve Earthly Branches. I am willing to help you, but I bear the ten Yanluo Lords deep enmity. The moment I reveal my identity, they would stop at nothing to destroy me—and you would certainly become one of their targets as well. Not revealing myself is the most help I could give."

Xiao Nanfeng: ...

Lady Yaoguang was agape. This blood peach tree was rather shameless, wasn't it?

"Senior, I don't understand your circumstances, and have been unable to help you to date. Now that the Rabbit Yanluo is eyeing me—or, more accurately, you—we'll have to fight her soon enough. If you don't explain the situation to me, it'll be very difficult for me to cooperate with you to take her down together."

The blood peach tree scattered more petals. "What do you want to know?"

"What are the twelve pages of the Earthly Branches? Why are you on bad terms with the ten Yanluo Lords? Just what happened a hundred thousand years ago to simultaneously spawn these ten cursed kings?"

The blood peach tree formed more words with its petals. "Ten cursed kings? Not quite. The Yanluo Lords shouldn't be considered cursed kings."

"Oh?"

"A hundred thousand years ago, the Netherworld Pope conquered the world. He sacrificed the whole world's worth of fortune and treasure to obtain a cursed effigy from the world away, a tome known as the Records of Life and Death.

"It truly exists?" Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed.

"Indeed. The Records of Life and Death is divided into two volumes, the Heavenly Stems and the Earthly Branches. There are ten Heavenly Stems, each associated with a page of the first volume; and twelve Earthly Branches, each associated with a page of the second."

"What a strange division," Xiao Nanfeng murmured.

"As the Netherworld Pope attuned to the Records of Life and Death, I encouraged his ten strongest subordinates, then titled kings, into rebellion. They slew him and stole the Records."

"Oh?"

"By then, the Netherworld Pope had finished attuning to half of the first volume on Heavenly Stems, so the ten kings were unable to seize control of it for the time being. They transformed the ten pages of the ten Heavenly Stems into the ten Yanluo Courts, then split them up. As for the twelve pages of the Earthly Branches, they each obtained a single page. Attuning to them transformed their appearance into that of a strange beastman humanoid. I secretly kept the final two pages."

"The Records of Life and Death is composed of the ten Yanluo Courts and ten Yanluo Lords? No wonder you said that they weren't cursed kings. They simply absorbed a portion of the Records into their bodies.

"That's why they want to devour each other. They want to gather all the pages of the Records and become a true cursed king."

"Why did you incite them to rebel, Senior?"

"To save the world."