Chapter 514: The Taiqing Grandmaster's Still Alive

The fish hook cursed effigy only appeared once. Even so, after that, the other cultivators lost their nerve to explore the palace on their own.

They waited for over ten days until Zhang Lingjun's body suddenly lit up with crimson light.

"Is the princess about to awaken?" someone exclaimed.

"Guard the princess!" Xiao Nanfeng commanded.

"Understood!" Chang Bing and the others replied.

A group of golden arhats and purple-furred monsters surrounded Xiao Nanfeng, stopping anyone else from drawing near.

At the same time, Xiao Nanfeng waved a hand and covered his surroundings in fog, isolating vision and hearing around Zhang Lingjun from the gathered cultivators. They stiffened, thinking that Xiao Nanfeng was going to unnecessary extremes to guard against them.

The moment Zhang Lingjun opened her eyes, an incredible aura surged out from her. The earth and ground in her vicinity were flung aside.

The cultivators beyond the fog blanched upon sensing this aura.

"This is spiritual aura, isn't it? That of a True Yin cultivator! Is Xiao Nanfeng releasing his aura? What is he trying to do?!"

"Xiao Nanfeng's not going to do anything against the princess, is he?"

The cultivators watched on curiously, but the golden arhats and purple-furred monsters didn't let them pass. They could only wait and watch impatiently.

Zhang Lingjun exclaimed, "Xiao Nanfeng, what are you doing here? What happened to those three cursed effigies?"

Xiao Nanfeng immediately recounted what had happened.

"You dealt with all three cursed effigies that were causing even True Immortals to panic?" Zhang Lingjun exclaimed in disbelief.

"It was thanks to everyone working together," Xio Nanfeng replied.

Zhang Lingjun gave him a complicated look. She was astounded by Xiao Nanfeng's capabilities. Just how ridiculous was the Martial Aspect that she had recommended?

"How did you reach True Yin? Did you have some incredible encounter within the red moon illusory realm?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

"I met the Taiqing Grandmaster there and received his personal tutelage for several days. That's how I reached True Yin," Zhang Lingjun replied.

"What? The Taiqing Grandmaster?!" Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed.

Zhang Lingjun nodded, a complicated expression on her face. She had intended to keep this a secret, but Xiao Nanfeng was likewise able to enter the red moon illusory realm and might meet the Taiqing Grandmaster himself in the future. If she were to hide this, it would be easy to cause unnecessary conflict between them.

"Did you encounter the Taiqing Grandmaster himself, or a remnant of his soul? Or perhaps a cursed effigy?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

"I'm not sure." Zhang Lingjun frowned, then asked curiously, "Isn't this a good thing for the Taiqing Immortal Sect? Why do you look somewhat upset?"

Xiao Nanfeng shook his head. "The presence of the Taiqing Grandmaster is a tremendous boon, but the situation and circumstances seem abnormal to me. I need to confirm whether that's truly the Taiqing Grandmaster, so I can't comment on the matter just yet. I think you had better inform your father and the Heavenly Emperor of this matter, though."

"Oh?" Zhang Lingjun seemed somewhat perplexed.

"If you trust me, listen to me. If you don't, then so be it," Xiao Nanfeng replied.

Since the Taiqing Grandmaster was in the red moon illusory realm, there was a possibility that he was able to overhear Xiao Nanfeng's dialogue with Zhang Lingjun. Of course he wouldn't dare speak badly of the Taiqing Grandmaster! However, since Zhang Lingjun trusted him, he had to warn her to be careful, lest she become a pawn or a sacrifice in the future. As for whether Zhang Lingjun was willing to listen to him, that was up to her.

Zhang Lingjun's eyes flashed. She could see that Xiao Nanfeng wasn't being envious of her. She considered his actions and guessed what he left unsaid. She nodded. "Thank you for the advice."

"It's nothing, Princess," Xiao Nanfeng replied, smiling.

"How are our current circumstances?" Zhang Lingjun asked.

"I was fortunate to be able to deal with the lotus hood cursed effigy, but I may not be able to handle this fish hook cursed effigy. I think we shouldn't risk exploring any longer. We must leave immediately."

"But..." Zhang Lingjun seemed a little unwilling to give up.

"At the very least, we can't take any more risks. We're still very weak. Not only do we have to guard against the cursed effigies, we have to be wary of the other cultivators as well," Xiao Nanfeng continued.

Zhang Lingjun took a deep breath and nodded. "Very well."

Xiao Nanfeng passed the Palace of the Moon's access token to Zhang Lingjun before he dispelled the fog.

The cultivators quickly gathered around Zhang Lingjun.

"Princess, are we going to keep exploring the Palace of the Moon?" someone asked expectantly.

They were hoping that Zhang Lingjun would use the Palace of the Moon's access token to unlock the barriers containing treasure.

Zhang Lingjun glanced at the cultivators around her with distaste. As Xiao Nanfeng had said, if they were to continue their exploration, not only would they be risking their lives, she would be allowing these cultivators to take advantage of her. All the possessions in the palace belonged to her mother; why should she allow these cultivators to fight over them?

"Everyone, the Palace of the Moon is far more dangerous than I had anticipated. I don't intend to delve more deeply into it. I am prepared to leave immediately. Those who wish to stay may. I will unlock the barrier leading out of the Palace of the Moon for a quarter-hour."

"What? Princess, why aren't we heading deeper into the palace? With the Palace of the Moon's access token, you can easily bypass all barriers leading in. We aren't greedy—you can have the lion's share of the treasure, Princess!" one cultivator fretted.

Zhang Lingjun ignored that cultivator's encouragement. She reached out and infused her genetic energy into the Palace of the Moon's access token, releasing a ray of purple light that struck the barrier.

A crack opened up in the barrier.

"We'll enter the Yin-Yang Cauldron and allow the subjugated purple-furred lifeforms to bring us out," Xiao Nanfeng commanded.

"Understood!" Chang Bing replied.

The Taiqing disciples opened up the Yin-Yang Cauldron, and Xiao Nanfeng, Zhang Lingjun, and the disciples all headed within. Zeng Daniu lifted up the Yin-Yang Cauldron and rushed out with it.

𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

A strong herd of purple-furred lifeforms surged in from outside the barrier, but didn't stop their 'comrades', Zeng Daniu and the others, from leaving.

"Hurry! The barrier will only be unlocked for a quarter-hour. It'll seal shut by itself afterwards!" one cultivator shouted.

The cultivators rushed forward, knocking aside the purple-furred monsters as they fled through the barrier.

Ao Shuai was naturally in the lead. He coveted the treasures in the palace, of course, but was more concerned about his own life. General Sha's death was imprinted vividly in his mind.

The majority of the cultivators rushed outside. Only a rare few stared at the treasyres with regret, upset that they were unable to retrieve them.

In the end, no one was willing to risk their lives for these relics. They all rushed out while the barrier was down.

In an isolated and safe valley, Xiao Nanfeng and his subordinates emerged from the Yin-Yang Cauldron.

"We greet the young princess!" A chorus of bows and greetings met Zhang Lingjun, who looked over to see thousands of purple-furred monsters paying her obeisance. Although Xiao Nanfeng had recounted what had happened to her, she was still astounded by the sight.

"Generals, have you all been awakened? Thank goodness. Please rise!" Zhang Lingjun called out.

"Understood!" the purple-furred monsters replied.

Just then, Xiao Nanfeng had informed her that these purple-furred monsters, just like Zeng Daniu, were brave and loyal generals that had pledged their allegiance to her.

"Princess, should we continue subduing more purple-furred lifeforms?" Zeng Daniu asked.

Zhang Lingjun looked expectantly toward Xiao Nanfeng.

Xiao Nanfeng shook his head. "I'm afraid not. The senior who has been helping me is currently in secluded meditation, and can't provide any assistance to you all."

Zhang Lingjun sighed in regret. "Until next time, then."

The purple-furred monsters waited patiently.

The black lotus didn't respond to Xiao Nanfeng for the rest of their month. The purple-furred monsters could only drop the matter for the time being.

After the month was over, the Martial Aspects' hunting ground opened up. The cultivators walked out; over half their number had been lost thanks to the incident with the lotus hood cursed effigies. Many of the cultivators remained fearful of what had happened.

Of course, some had had significant success. They emerged with the purple-furred monsters that they had subjugated, though only two or three at most.

Countless cultivators were shocked to see Xiao Nanfeng emerge with an army of purple-furred monsters numbering over three thousand. It was an impressive sight to behold.

"How could that be? Even if he were hypnotizing the monsters all month long, surely he couldn't have hypnotized so many of them!"

"Did they use the Palace of the Moon's access token to do so? Is it that strong?"

"Xiao Nanfeng and Princess Lingjun really ended up with a huge haul..."

Many gaped at the sight, and many more were envious.

"What's there to be excited about? None of these purple-furred monsters are True Immortals. What could they accomplish? Xiao Nanfeng possesses the recipe for manufacturing arhat armor, and the divine empire of Dayin is sure to chase after him. He's about to die!" Ao Shuai groused in envy.

Just then, Xiao Nanfeng suddenly called out, "Generals, do any of you want the recipe for producing arhat armor?"

"Martial Aspect Xiao, are you willing to share that recipe with us?!" All the cultivators looked toward Xiao Nanfeng in shock.

"I know that the various Martial Aspects with whom you serve likely possess many purple-furred monsters. I'm particularly interested in them, and am willing to exchange a copy of the recipe for a hundred purple-furred monsters."

"Are you serious, Martial Aspect Xiao?" someone asked immediately.

"I am a man of my word," Xiao Nanfeng replied.

He knew very well that the divine empire of Dayin would do anything it could to kill him the moment the news was revealed. He was confident he could survive the ordeal, but he might have to pay too high a price to do so. It would be better to publicize the recipe and gain something for it even as he made everyone else an accomplice to his crime.

"We'll report to our Martial Aspects immediately. We'll head over to your manor once we gather a hundred purple-furred monsters!"

"Martial Aspect Xiao, we trust your word. We'll gather up these purple-furred monsters immediately."

The cultivators left the giant floating island in droves.

When the purple-furred monsters to the side saw that Xiao Nanfeng was helping them reclaim their comrades, they glanced at him in gratitude.