Chapter 468: Slaying the Peach Buddha

The Peach Buddha knelt before Madam Rouge, knowing that any dissembling would be fruitless. He suddenly raised his head, a vicious look in his eyes. "Go!"

Twelve Yanluo Lords emerged from behind the Peach Buddha and shot straight toward Madam Rouge.

"As expected, you do intend to rebel. Now, die," Madam Rouge commanded.

She pointed her finger at the Peach Buddha's forehead so rapidly that he wasn't able to react. It pierced straight through his flesh, causing the twelve Yanluo Lords to freeze as though they had lost their consciousness. Then, they morphed into twelve ancient, weathered pages of parchment and floated to the ground.

The Peach Buddha had lost any ability to move, but hadn't yet died. In fright, he shouted, "Please spare me, Your Majesty!"

"I must have given you so much that you've forgotten who to be loyal to. You were only granted your undying body thanks to my cursed spiritual power—but since you intend to rebel against me, there's no reason for me to leave you alive. Begone!"

"No!" the Peach Buddha cried out.

His entire body was lit aflame by a burst of pink fire. He screamed once before his soul was completely burned away. His body dissipated amidst the pink flames.

"Is the Peach Buddha dead?" Xiao Nanfeng asked from close by.

"He is. Good riddance," Madam Rouge replied, displeased.

With a wave of her hand, the twelve ancient pieces of parchment flew toward her hand—before a cloud of black fog surged toward her.

"Who dares?!" Madam Rouge called out. She punched at the unwelcome fog, causing it to scatter and revealing a huge Yanluo Court. The Yanluo Court descended from the skies and swallowed her up. Peach blossoms scattered around the outskirts of the Yanluo Court.

"What a beautiful woman you are. So you were the cursed king that granted the Peach Buddha his cursed spiritual avatar—no wonder you were able to get rid of him in an instant. Unfortunately, within this hidden realm, you're only able to use the strength of a Heaven Immortal," a familiar voice began.

Xiao Nanfeng turned his head to see the Netherworld Pope appear in the air above the Yanluo Court.

"Die, Netherworld Pope!" Xiao Nanfeng roared.

He manipulated the Heaven's Hands to attack him.

"Don't make a move, Xiao Nanfeng, or that beauty will lose her life." The Netherworld Pope sneered.

𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

The Heaven's Hands halted not far from the Netherworld Pope, not daring to forge forward. One of the hands swooped down and grabbed the twelve ancient pieces of parchment.

"That's right. If you don't want her to die, listen obediently to me."

"How did you enter this space?" Xiao Nanfeng thundered.

"I've been in here for a hundred thousand years. Do you really think I did nothing during that period of time? It's trivial for me to enter. As for you, I wouldn't have expected you to be able to manipulate the Heaven's Hands within just a month. Was it that woman who helped you out? As strong as she is, though, I've trapped her now."

"Let her go, or else!"

"Oh? And what makes you think you can threaten me? Hand me the twelve pages of the Earthly Branches, or I'll kill her."

Madam Rouge scoffed. "Kill whom?"

"You aren't trapped?" The Netherworld Pope's eyes opened wide as he turned to his Yanluo Court.

"An incomplete cursed spiritual avatar, trapping me? What a joke!" Madam Rouge's voice was transmitted through the peach blossoms all around the Yanluo Court.

They suddenly bloomed and multiplied without end, drowning the Yanluo Court in flowers.

"You're trying to devour my cursed spiritual avatar? Dream on!" The Netherworld Pope dashed to his Yanluo Court, only to have the Heaven's Hands in the air reach toward him.

"Break!" The Netherworld Pope threw a punch at the Heaven's Hands,

causing one to explode while the others swarmed him. Knowing that he couldn't drag out this fight, he tossed another Yanluo Court at the sea of peach blossoms.

"One Yanluo Court within another!" the Netherworld Pope roared.

The second Yanluo Court completely enclosed the first, including the sea of peach blossoms surrounding it.

He then struck at the other Heaven's Hands that approached him, causing them to explode one by one. The explosions surged through the sea of blood-colored clouds, but the unusual space was able to absorb much of the resulting shockwaves.

At the same time, he waved a hand. "Heavenly Stems, command the Earthly Branches!"

The Heaven's Hand that held onto the twelve pages of the Earthly Branches suddenly exploded in a huge wave of energy. The twelve pages had somehow transformed back into the forms of the twelve Yanluo Lords.

"Come over here and help me restrain these Heaven's Hands," the Netherworld Pope commanded.

"Understood!" The twelve Yanluo Lords flew into the air.

"Stop them!" Xiao Nanfeng shouted.

"Got it!" Ye Dafu and the others replied.

Ye Dafu's crew of twelve golden cultivators stepped forward and blocked the path of the twelve Yanluo Lords.

"Ye Dafu, you'll pay for this!" the Netherworld Pope roared.

"Twelve Yanluo Lords, you say? They haven't yet recovered from the damage they incurred. They're still too weak," Madam Rouge called out.

"Even two Yanluo Courts combined can't trap you?!"

The peach blossoms continued to multiply without end until they had overwhelmed the second Yanluo Court as well.

"I'm surprised you're willing to part with these Yanluo Courts. Do you think they would suffice to take me on?" Madam Rouge scoffed again.

"A third—no, a fourth Yanluo Court! Go!"

Another two Yanluo Courts flew into the sea of peach blossoms and began to devour them en masse.

"Netherworld Pope, aren't you worried you'll grow weaker if you remove those Yanluo Courts from your body?" Xiao Nanfeng asked coolly.

"I have far more than enough energy within those Yanluo Courts to deal with you. Even if I were to be divested of all my Yanluo Courts, I wouldn't grow a single whit weaker. I've already finished off all the Heaven's Hands, so there's nothing you can do against me now."

The Heaven's Hands all exploded—before quickly regenerating and launching themselves at the Netherworld Pope again.

"What? This can't be. How are they regenerating so quickly? Have you managed to modify the constraints within the crystal wall?!"

"Release Madam Rouge!" Xiao Nanfeng demanded.

The ten Heaven's Hands shrank in size, but their strength remained unchanged. They attacked the Netherworld Pope one after another. Combined, they were so strong that even the Netherworld Pope was forced back time and again.

"I don't need any help. I'll be able to free myself in no time," Madam Rouge said.

The Netherworld Pope stared at his Yanluo Courts in shock. "Impossible! Are four Yanluo Courts insufficient to trap you? Seven, then! Attack!"

He tossed out another three Yanluo Courts at the sea of peach blossoms. This time, they glowed with radiant light and resonated with the four Yanluo Courts already present to form a particularly impressive formation that enclosed all the peach blossoms.

"This isn't enough, Netherworld Pope! Is this all you can do?" Madam Rouge called out.

The peach blossoms reduplicated, pressing back against the seven Yanluo Courts' formation.

The Netherworld Pope blanched. He sneered. "You're just trying to act casual, aren't you? You must already be close to your limits. Two more Yanluo Courts, then—a ninefold formation! Seal!"

The Netherworld Pope tossed his two final Yanluo Courts at Madam Rouge, then gathered all the Heaven's Hands around him to ensure that none of them could help her out. The Yanluo Courts sealed the peach blossoms fully.

"Netherworld Pope, don't you care about these Yanluo Courts? Why would you toss them all at me?" Madam Rouge asked.

"I reclaimed the energy that I stored within these Yanluo Courts eons ago, and the Yanluo Courts themselves are of limited use to me. But will you still be able to break free, I wonder?" The Netherworld Pope sneered.

"And what makes you think that that was my limit? Peach blossoms, surge!" Madam Rouge commanded.

Countless peach blossoms soared into the air and surrounded the nine Yanluo Courts. Madam Rouge seemed to have won out readily.

Even so, the Netherworld Pope didn't panic. He smirked as though this was all part of his plan. "I don't know if you're actually at your limits, but I wanted you to believe that I thought you were. You really are impressive to be able to withstand the combined might of nine Yanluo Courts. However, are you aware of a special characteristic they possess? They're pages of the Heavenly Stems of the Records of Life and Death, which govern death itself. I've sent them all out toward you in order to cause them to self-destruct all at once. You've fallen for my trap. Now, die!"

Just like he had done with the Peach Buddha, the Netherworld Pope caused his avatars to explode, destroying the Heavenly Stems and killing Madam Rouge along with them. He intended to cripple her in a single blow.

Strangely enough, however, the Yanluo Courts didn't explode this time around.

"What's going on? Why can't I sense my Yanluo Courts? What have you done?!" the Netherworld Pope demanded.

He shot toward the sea of peach blossoms in shock, but the Heaven's Hands struck him all at once and prevented him from drawing near.

"Ha! Netherworld Pope, we've been trying to plan out how to deal with you these few days. We came up with quite a few strategies to counter you, but we haven't even had time to adopt them before you came up with this idiotic idea of separating yourself from your cursed spiritual avatars. Are you crazy?" Xiao Nanfeng suddenly jeered.

"What? Did you capture the Peach Buddha expecting that I would be able to enter this space? Were you putting on an act all along?!" the Netherworld Pope cried out, realizing what was going on.

"You should have paid us more careful attention. It's obvious that you would fall prey to your enemies' schemes if you don't know anything about them."

"Impossible. The explosion of my nine Yanluo Courts would have been enough to secure victory. How did you disrupt my connection with them? No—you must have interfered with it somehow instead. The only thing that could do so is another Yanluo Court. Could it be... Could you have the tenth Yanluo Court?!"