Chapter 453: Becoming Enemies

Within the Netherworld Palace, Xiao Nanfeng killed Yin Tianci with a single stroke of his blade. He brought his corpse out of the arhat armor, rummaging carefully through it. He frowned. "You're a crown prince of a divine empire. Why do you only have trash in your storage treasure? There's nothing that's even on the level of your arhat armor!"

Frowning, Xiao Nanfeng headed back and piled up the corpses of all the cultivators he had killed along the way, then checked their storage treasures one by one.

Unfortunately, the most precious treasure to be found were only at the realm of Heaven Immortals.

"Forget it. This is only one of Yin Tianci's avatars, after all. I suppose he knew that he might die within the Netherworld Palace, so bringing any valuable treasure could well be a waste. One suit of arhat armor is better than nothing," Xiao Nanfeng murmured, sighing.

He categorized the treasures before keeping them all.

"Senior, please convert these corpses into more blood peaches," Xiao Nanfeng requested.

The blood peach tree appeared out of nowhere, its roots stabbing into the corpses. Very quickly, the corpses were all drained to husks, and a golden peach appeared on the blood peach tree.

"That isn't a blood peach, is it?" Xiao Nanfeng seemed surprised.

"This is a goldenflame peach, which can help advance your physical cultivation," the blood peach tree wrote out.

"Thank you, Senior."

"This goldenflame peach won't keep, and its potency will quickly dissipate once plucked. You should transform back into your physical body and consume it immediately."

Xiao Nanfeng nodded.

He transformed back into his physical body as the goldenflame peach suddenly flew toward him. He raised an eyebrow and slapped it away.

The goldenflame peach rapidly transformed into golden fluid that surrounded him and squirmed into his orifices.

"Senior, what are you doing?!" Xiao Nanfeng demanded.

He activated his Imposing Avatar of Rulai at full strength. Golden light emanated from his body, blocking the golden fluid.

The golden fluid repeatedly attempted to batter down his body, as though trying to make its way inside, but the Imposing Avatar of Rulai deflected it again and again.

𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"I can't possess you? Xiao Nanfeng, did you not cultivate the Imposing Avatar of Rulai that I handed you? What cultivation technique are you using?!" a voice thundered.

The blood peach tree, not far away, was quaking. The vibrations formed a man's voice through the void.

The blood peach tree could talk; it simply didn't want to. Now, however, shocked and outraged by Xiao Nanfeng's defenses, it shouted at Xiao Nanfeng.

"I cultivate the Imposing Avatar of Rulai, as you well know."

"The Imposing Avatar of Rulai? That's right, but I deliberately omitted the final volume in the manual! How could you have cultivated it in full?!"

"What do you think?" Xiao Nanfeng retorted coolly.

"Did your other cursed effigies help you out? Was it that black lotus? Damn it, it ruined my plans!" the blood peach tree howled.

The golden fluid sloshed toward Xiao Nanfeng's mindscape, but was completely blocked by the Imposing Avatar of Rulai.

"You were planning to take over my body from the very beginning, weren't you? I saved your life—and this is how you repay my kindness? If Senior Black Lotus hadn't helped me out, you would have caught me off-guard. You really are an ingrate," Xiao Nanfeng declared.

"As if those other cursed effigies are any better! They're surely eyeing your strength as well, but they're too weak to possess you just yet. I'm sure that's what the black lotus is intending to do."

"Senior Black Lotus has been helping me all along. Not all cursed effigies are as power-hungry and deceitful as you."

"Power-hungry? Deceitful? No—you simply have too many secrets. How much luckier can you get? Your Dazheng Code of Laws, Divine Seal of Dazheng, the candle cursed spiritual avatar, the red rope cursed spiritual avatar, the Taiqing Yin Body, the Shangqing Yin Body—you've managed to combine all that strength perfectly. Your body's the most flawless one I've ever seen. Without a doubt, you'll be comparable to a cursed king in strength, no, a whole flock of cursed kings. I'll sacrifice everything to take over your body, even if you have the complete form of the Imposing Avatar of Rulai!"

The golden fluid continued to lash at Xiao Nanfeng's golden body. He suddenly struck at it with his palm, causing it to splatter everywhere.

Xiao Nanfeng flew into the air to avoid the fluid, but the roots of the blood peach tree coiled around his ankles. Like thorns, they thrust into his physical body, only to be foiled by his Imposing Avatar of Rulai.

"Regardless of how strong your physical cultivation is, you're still only an Earth Immortal. Now, break!" the blood peach tree cried out.

The peach tree's roots smashed into Xiao Nanfeng's body with tremendous force, causing him to stumble back.

"You've already obtained the various Yanluo Lords' bodies. Why covet mine, too?"

"I want the Yanluo Lords' bodies as well as your body. It's simply far too valuable—as much so as the ten Yanluo Lords'."

"Aren't you in too much of a hurry to possess me?" Xiao Nanfeng asked coldly.

"I was intending to deal with the ten Yanluo Lords first, but you're growing far too quickly. You managed to reach True Yin in the blink of an eye, and I might not be able to possess you if I were to wait any longer. You forced my hand."

The blood peach tree began to attack Xiao Nanfeng's body at full strength—not just with the golden fluid, but also with its branches and roots. A tempest formed around Xiao Nanfeng's physical body.

With a hum, Xiao Nanfeng invoked his candlelight powers and made a spatial hop out of the blood peach tree's attack range.

"Little wonder the Spirit Emperor was able to rule the world with that power, but I'm sure it consumes a significant amount of your strength. You won't be able to use it repeatedly. You won't be able to escape!" the blood peach tree crowed.

Peach blossoms began to fall all around him, swirling like a river. They surged toward Xiao Nanfeng.

Xiao Nanfeng transformed into his yin body and shouted, "Moon, emerge!"

A full moon rose into the air as his deific domain expanded. A blizzard began to howl, snow striking the peach blossoms and scattering them.

"So what if you have a domain? I've seen plenty like it in my heyday," the blood peach tree called out.

Its peach blossoms scattered, heading toward Xiao Nanfeng ,once again.

"Harmonize!" Xiao Nanfeng commanded.

He seemed to vanish into thin air, causing the peach tree branches and roots to strike at nothing.

"Impossible! You're only at early-stage True Yin, and you should only be able to hide sight of your body. How could you have vanished entirely?!"

It sprayed out golden fluid all over, but Xiao Nanfeng was nowhere to be seen.

"Formless and shapeless—true harmony? Impossible!"

Just then, a howling blizzard made its way to the blood peach tree, swamping it in frost.

"Superior yin frost can't harm me," the blood peach tree declared.

With a tremendous heave, a wave of peach blossoms sent the snow flying.

Just then, a flake of snow landed on the blood peach tree, then morphed into the shape of Xiao Nanfeng. He punched at the tree, forcing it back.

However, the blood peach tree responded rapidly. Countless roots shot forward, fast as lightning, surrounding Xiao Nanfeng. The next moment, however, Xiao Nanfeng transformed back into a snowflake. The blood peach tree crushed it, but Xiao Nanfeng was unaffected.

In another direction, another snowflake transformed into Xiao Nanfeng and punched at the blood peach tree, sending it reeling. Then, Xiao Nanfeng vanished again.

"This is the perfected form of spiritual harmony, allowing you to manifest as anything that exists in your domain. Just how did you do it? I saw you break through to early-stage True Yin with my own eyes. How could you have reached such a state? Was it the result of a technique? What sort of spiritual cultivation technique do you possess?!"

"One that can kill you," Xiao Nanfeng replied coolly.

Another snowflake transformed into Xiao Nanfeng and punched at the blood peach tree, forcing it back. However, the punch couldn't damage it.

"You really are full of secrets, aren't you? That's a blessing for me. All your secrets shall be mine, haha!"

"You're truly stubborn. Let's continue, then!" Xiao Nanfeng said.

The blood peach tree sneered. "Are you aware of a fatal flaw with harmonization? Your deific domain. Without your domain, you won't be able to use this trick, and shattering your deific domain is straightforward. All I have to do is seal your moon.

It teleported into the air. Countless roots speared straight toward Xiao Nanfeng's silver moon.

"Hold it!" Xiao Nanfeng shouted.

He attempted to stop it, but the blood peach tree was simply too fast for him.

Just then, as though sensing the imminent danger, a crack opened up in the moon, then widened to become a mouth filled with sinister sawtooth-like teeth.

The mouth bit down on all the peach tree's roots.

The blood peach tree gasped in pain as the silver moon chewed happily on them, enjoying the delicacy.

"The superior yin pearl has merged with your silver moon? It's even in control?! Bastard!" the blood peach tree howled.