Chapter 547: The Three Poisons

As Zhao Yuanjiao commanded the blackguards to scatter, the countless golden '卍' runes on the surface of the spherical boulder began to shake. The suction from the runes caused a gust of malevolent wind to blow by, swift as a hurricane.

After about fifteen minutes, the wind stopped abruptly, as if it had never appeared in the first place.

"We're deep underground. Where could this wind be coming from?" Zhang Lingjun exclaimed, glancing around.

Xiao Nanfeng sent a mental transmission into his mindscape. "Senior, do you recognize this spherical boulder?"

The black lotus replied after a moment's pause, "The Buddhas of Three Aspects forged them. A Buddha's Grotto lies within."

"Oh?"

"Just like the one underneath Thousand-Spirit Island, these grottos can concentrate and extract energy from their environment to allow the cursed effigies within to cultivate readily. There's likely to be at least a minor Buddha within," the black lotus concluded.

"Extract energy from their environment? That gust of malevolent wind?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

"Indeed."

"Where does that wind come from?"

"The Netherworld Palace."

"What? Hasn't that hidden realm been sealed away?" Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed.

"Just because you can't enter the Netherworld Palace doesn't mean that others cannot. Although its entrance has been sealed, the Buddhas of Three Aspects should be able to explore what lies within, and Yu Fuli can easily do so as well. They simply chose not to."

"Then what exactly is the nature of that malevolent wind?"

"It's the power of the hidden realm known as the Netherworld Palace," the black lotus replied.

"And what's that?"

"Where do you think hidden realms come from?"

"I heard you talking about it before. Each hidden realm was excavated by supreme cultivators of past eras. In other words, they don't form naturally—they're manmade."

"Indeed. Excavating a hidden realm requires tremendous reserves of energy and an incredible depth of understanding regarding natural law. A hidden realm has to be infused with life—you're parting the world and creating one in miniature. Frequently, only the supreme cultivator of an era can reach such heights. The natural law and energy that goes into forming a hidden realm is its power."

"In other words, a hidden realm is like a house, and its power, the bricks and mortar that make it up? This giant boulder is stealing that power," Xiao Nanfeng murmured.

"Indeed."

"What will happen to the hidden realm once too much of its power is gone?"

"A house with too many bricks gone will collapse, as will a hidden realm with too much power stolen."

"What would happen to those within?" Xiao Nanfeng frowned. He suddenly had a bad premonition.

"They'll all die, of course."

"These cursed effigies—!" Xiao Nanfeng gritted his teeth.

Over the past year, he had been receiving fortune not only from the Dazheng Empire, but also from those civilians within the Netherworld Palace. He had long since started treating them like his own citizens.

Would he let a group of cursed effigies kill all those civilians? Of course not!

"That said, it's not that easy to distill the power of a hidden realm, which is governed by natural law. The cursed effigies within must have some incredible relic that can purify this power for subsequent absorption," the black lotus explained.

"An incredible relic?" Xiao Nanfeng was clearly tempted.

"This Buddha's Grotto looks like it's been here for at least a century, especially considering how deeply it was hidden. Given the amount of energy from that malevolent wind just now—I don't think the Netherworld Palace will last much longer," the black lotus said.

"Senior, shall we head inside and have a look? If you can devour these cursed effigies..."

"Very well. Given my current strength, I should be able to help you take down a Golden Immortal cursed effigy now," the black lotus replied.

"Thank you, Senior," Xiao Nanfeng said gratefully.

By then, Zhao Yuanjiao had returned after sending the blackguards away.

"Nanfeng, everyone's gone now. What are we going to do? How do you intend on entering this huge boulder?" Zhao Yuanjiao asked.

"Senior Brother, the cursed effigies within may be exceptionally dangerous. You and the princess should leave as well. I'll try to handle it on my own first."

Zhao Yuanjiao shook his head seriously. "Let me accompany you in."

"Senior Brother, you should know about what happened on Thousand-Spirit Island. There are sure to be cursed effigies within, and I worry they may be extremely powerful."

"Nanfeng, you think I'm too weak and will only hold you back, don't you?" Zhao Yuanjiao joked.

"No, Senior Brother! It's just that..." Xiao Nanfeng tried to console him.

"Don't worry. I'm not being overconfident. I'm a Heaven Immortal now thanks to the pill you gave me, and I had my fair share of chance encounters recently. I won't be a burden, and you haven't seen how much I've grown," Zhao Yuanjiao continued confidently.

"Oh?"

"Even Ye Dafu, the Mortal division leader, is no match for me."

Xiao Nanfeng was taken aback. He knew that Zhao Yuanjiao wasn't one for boasting. Could he really have grown that strong recently?

"Very well. Follow me in, Senior Brother." Xiao Nanfeng nodded, then turned to Zhang Lingjun. "Princess, would you wait outside? We'll be back in no time."

Zhang Lingjun shook her head as well. She smiled. "I'm a True Immortal now. I don't think I would be a burden."

"If there's a Golden Immortal within..."

"Don't worry. I have the Taiqing Grandmaster's praying mat, and I can at least protect myself even against a Golden Immortal cursed effigy."

Xiao Nanfeng fell silent. Eventually, he nodded. "Very well. We'll act cautiously and develop a strategy on the fly."

"Good!" Zhang Lingjun smiled.

"But are you sure you'll be able to get us in, Nanfeng?" Zhao Yuanjiao asked.

Xiao Nanfeng waved a hand. A formation of fog surrounded them as he activated his candleflame powers on the boulder.

"Follow me!" Xiao Nanfeng took their hands, one on each side, as he strode toward the red portal.

"Hold on, what're you doing? Are you trying to smash into it with your head?" Zhao Yuanjiao exclaimed.

He and Zhang Lingjun were covered in fog and couldn't tell precisely what Xiao Nanfeng was doing. They could sense that he was leading them straight into the boulder, but how would they be able to get inside?

Xiao Nanfeng dragged the two cultivators into the boulder with a whoosh. Then, Xiao Nanfeng waved a hand to dispel the formation of fog.

The two cultivators felt their field of view expand from underground cavern to spacious air. The interior of the boulder was surrounded by fog. They suddenly realized something.

"Have we... entered the boulder?" Zhao Yuanjiao exclaimed.

"How did you do it?" Zhang Lingjun gasped.

Xiao Nanfeng smiled. "You saw me do the same on Thousand-Spirit Island too, didn't you? What's there to be surprised about?"

"No, this doesn't make sense! You don't have anything related to this boulder at all. How could you have gotten access? I wasn't paying attention back then, but now that I'm thinking about it, this is highly abnormal," Zhang Lingjun continued.

"It's just a minor sleight of hand. There's nothing worth worrying about," Xiao Nanfeng replied, shaking his head.

Zhang Lingjun and Zhao Yuanjiao pursed their lips, but refrained from asking more questions after sensing that Xiao Nanfeng was unwilling to reveal his secret.

They were able to hear scripture in the vicinity until it abruptly stopped.

"Who are you? Who dares break into the Temple of the Three Poisons?" a voice demanded.

An intense aura billowed out around Xiao Nanfeng and his group, forming a tempest that blew away the surrounding fog.

A small lake was revealed in the distance, with a particularly eye-catching cloud of black smoke at its heart, which seemed to be hiding something within. Around the cloud of black smoke were thousands of golden lotuses, with a monk seated in the middle of each one. They were all eyeing Xiao Nanfeng's trio.

Right before the group of monks were the three largest golden lotuses, each with a man of considerable stature seated within. Their eyes were closed in meditation, but the intense aura that radiated from them was beyond the likes of the other monks. The three men seemed to be the monks' leaders.

"They feel incredibly strong. Are they all Golden Immortals?" Zhang Lingjun gasped.

Zhao Yuanjiao frowned. This could be dangerous.

Within Xiao Nanfeng's mindscape, the black lotus said, "They're the minor Buddhas of delusion, greed, and poison, the three poisons. Given the luster of their bodies, they're no weaker than the Moonlight Buddha, and there are a fair few True Immortals among the thousands of arhats present. This is beyond what I expected, and I won't be able to handle all three of them at once."

Xiao Nanfeng frowned. If the black lotus couldn't handle them all, what was he to do?

"Answer the question!" an arhat shouted.

The auras of thousands of arhats surged toward the trio of cultivators.

Zhang Lingjun and Zhao Yuanjiao glanced at Xiao Nanfeng, as though waiting for him to lead them outside. This was more than they had bargained for!

However, Xiao Nanfeng didn't retreat. He couldn't have; it was too late. These cursed effigies would have struck them all down before they could leave.

"I am an envoy dispatched by the ten Yanluo Lords. How dare you steal the power of the Netherworld Palace! Do all of you want to die?!" Xiao Nanfeng demanded.

The arhats stepped back guiltily, while the three Buddhas opened their eyes. Their auras magnified in strength as they shot piercing looks at Xiao Nanfeng.