Chapter 549: Mysterious Black Smoke

"Look closely, bodhisattva of hatred. This is the one and only move my junior sister will use," Xiao Nanfeng said again.

He was worried that the bodhisattva of hatred would try to play a trick and launch a sneak attack on her beforehand, so he had to emphasize this point.

"Come, then!" the bodhisattva of hatred called out.

Zhang Lingjun strode forward. With a wave of her hand, she summoned a praying mat, then hopped up onto it. She began to cast a technique. The praying mat instantly grew larger, descending from the heavens like a giant millstone as it released an incredible aura.

"Another Golden Immortal treasure?" the three bodhisattvas cried out. [1]

Golden Immortal relics were hardly common. The three bodhisattvas all had such relics in the past, but not since they regenerated. All their relics had decayed away, and it would have been particularly difficult to find new ones.

Were the ten Yanluo Lords so rich that they could provide their subordinates with Golden Immortal relics at will?

By then, the praying mat had reached the bodhisattva of hatred's forehead.

The bodhisattva of hatred raised a palm toward the air. "Open!"

The praying mat struck the palm in a flaming tempest that surrounded the two combatants. Furrows formed in the ground as the bodhisattva of hatred's feet were pushed back. He was suppressed to the point of immobility.

"Impossible. Break!" the bodhisattva of hatred cried out.

However, not only was the bodhisattva incapable of suppressing the praying mat, the praying mat even released large quantities of red light that encapsulated him, suppressing and sealing him.

Zhang Lingjun's attack shocked everyone.

If not for the other two bodhisattvas remaining unharmed, the gathered arhats might well have overwhelmed the three 'envoys'. The other two bodhisattvas narrowed their gaze at Zhang Lingjun.

"A supreme Golden Immortal relic? How could this be?" the bodhisattva of delusion exclaimed.

"Junior Sister, how's the situation?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

"I can keep suppressing him like this without undue burden," Zhang Lingjun replied.

Xiao Nanfeng's eyes brightened. Did they have a chance to take down the entire Buddha's Grotto that very day?

"bodhisattva of greed, your junior brother wasn't able to handle even a single blow from my junior sister. I hope you'll fulfill your obligation now—hand over the power of the hidden realm that you've been stealing all these years, then provide appropriate recompense for your theft. The relic that you use to purify the power of the hidden realm will do," Xiao Nanfeng said.

The two remaining bodhisattvas frowned deeply. They had initially imagined that the three cultivators would have been easy to handle, but found themselves completely mistaken. There might even be the ten Yanluo Lords waiting for them outside. Were they done for?

"The power of the hidden realm has been consumed, and the purification relic is particularly special and cannot be given to you. Since the Dragon Yanluo knows the Three Buddhas, have him discuss matters with them directly. We'll leave the area for now," the bodhisattva of greed said.

"Do you think we'll let you?" Xiao Nanfeng demanded.

"What do you think?" the bodhisattva of greed retorted. The next moment, his eyes flashed. "Kill them!"

The bodhisattvas of greed and delusion struck at Xiao Nanfeng simultaneously, their golden palms sealing away his exit. They intended to strike him dead with a single blow.

"Nanfeng!" Zhao Yuanjiao exclaimed.

Zhang Lingjun was starting to panic as well. She hadn't expected that the two bodhisattvas would launch a sneak attack.

Xiao Nanfeng himself remained calm and collected. He had guessed that the two bodhisattvas would attempt to kill them and seize their treasures, then escape on their own. He had been on guard against that possibility.

A cloud of black fog flew out of his mindscape and knocked into a bodhisattva.

Simultaneously, he activated a net-like relic that radiated rays of purple light. The light focused on the other bodhisattva.

"What?!" the two bodhisattvas cried out.

The black lotus struck one bodhisattva and sent him flying. Then, roiling black smoke surrounded the bodhisattva as the black lotus and the bodhisattva began to fight.

The golden net caught the final bodhisattva and trapped him within, but the bodhisattva managed to launch a palm strike at Xiao Nanfeng in the nick of time.

Xiao Nanfeng was sent flying. He smashed into the side of the Buddha's Grotto and spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Another Golden Immortal relic? How do you all have so many of these relics?!" the bodhisattva of greed cried out.

"Senior Brother, use the crescent sword and stab at it from the holes in the netting! Hurry!" Xiao Nanfeng shouted.

The golden net was naturally one of the publicly accessible relics that Xiao Nanfeng had picked out from the Hall of Martial Aspects. On his previous mission, the Martial Aspect of Silverfrost had helped Ao Shuai borrow this exact relic, which had been strong enough to entrap a superior draconic vein. Having realized its power, Xiao Nanfeng had deliberately chosen to borrow this relic for the current mission.

Zhao Yuanjiao shot forward with his crescent sword, sending a coruscating beam of energy into the bodhisattva of greed's body and breaking through his qi barrier. The bodhisattva shook in agony.

"There really is something wrong with this sword of yours!" the bodhisattva of greed cried out.

Xiao Nanfeng rushed forward and tossed Zhao Yuanjiao a charm. "Senior Brother, use this charm to control the golden net. Just trap him for a few more moments!"

"Understood!" Zhao Yuanjiao activated the charm at once.

"Break!" the bodhisattva of greed shouted.

The golden net trembled. A significant portion of the rope snapped, but his remaining reserves of power were drained as the crescent sword stabbed into his body again, preventing him from executing a powerful blow.

"Possess them with the death chants!" the bodhisattva of greed shouted to his subordinates.

Although he was confident he would be able to break free from these two relics soon enough, he would have a far easier time with the help of his subordinates.

Death chants filled the entire cave, striking at the cultivators' very souls.

"No, something's wrong!" the bodhisattva of greed cried out. "There are death chants coming from the black fog to protect you lot!"

The black lotus had responded in kind and was deflecting the arhats' assault.

The bodhisattva of greed snarled, "Damn it, what are all of you waiting for? Attack and kill them!"

"Attack!" the arhats shouted, charging forward.

"What do we do now, Nanfeng?" Zhao Yuanjiao cried out.

"I'll hold the arhats back. Continue suppressing those two bodhisattvas—it's just a matter of time," Xiao Nanfeng replied.

He transformed into his True Yin body and punched at an arhat that flew toward him.

𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

The arhat smashed into a swathe of other arhats and knocked them all down.

"Attack!" another group of arhats shouted, charging forward.

"Hegemon's Fist!" Xiao Nanfeng shouted again.

Fists manifested all over the cave, sending even more arhats flying.

"When did you become a True Immortal?" Zhang Lingjun exclaimed.

"No, look at the chilly wind surrounding his fists. He's in his spiritual body—he's a True Yin cultivator, and a mid-stage one at that! Nanfeng, just how did you do it? You're unbelievable!" Zhao Yuanjiao cried out.

Xiao Nanfeng's rapid progress caused him to dedicate himself to spiritual cultivation. Thanks to the many chance opportunities he had had recently, he finally reached the realm of Yin Body—but when he compared himself to Xiao Nanfeng, he felt as though all his efforts had been for naught.

"I'm an official apprentice of the Taiqing Grandmaster, who provides me with incredible assistance when it comes to spiritual cultivation. How could you still be cultivating faster than I am?!" Zhang Lingjun cried out, similarly distraught.

More and more arhats surged toward him. Despite his Hegemon's Fist, Xiao Nanfeng found himself facing more opponents, quite a few of whom were even True Immortals. He was finding it difficult to protect the two cultivators behind him, and the arhats seemed to be about to attack Zhang Lingjun and Zhao Yuanjiao.

"Nanfneg, can you hold them back?" Zhao Yuanjiao shouted.

"Don't worry. I'll stop them!"

His silver moon flew into the air, causing a blizzard to spawn.

"What good is your deific domain? You won't be able to hold them back," the bodhisattva of greed replied.

The next moment, Xiao Nanfeng invoked spiritual harmony and vanished from sight. Countless snowflakes clumped together into snowmen that took on Xiao Nanfeng's form. A hundred snowmen protected Zhang Lingjun and Zhao Yuanjiao as they blocked the attacks of the arhats swarming toward them.

"Hegemon's Fist!" the hundred snowmen shouted simultaneously.

The entire cave was filled with Xiao Nanfeng's fists, sending all the arhats nearby flying. The snowmen were slightly weaker than Xiao Nanfeng's main body, but were more than sufficient to deal with these cursed effigies.

"Domain avatars? That's a particularly difficult spiritual cultivation technique to intuit. How could you have done it?" the bodhisattva of greed exclaimed.

By then, Xiao Nanfeng's attention had been split across his hundred snowman-avatars, and he didn't have the energy to respond to the bodhisattva of greed.

These avatars were particularly draining on his fortitude. Xiao Nanfeng's fortitude was already starting to give out after just a minute.

Even his avatar far away in Yongding dropped everything he was doing to enter secluded cultivation as Xiao Nanfeng dedicated his mental faculties to his hundred snowmen. This was his limit.

The hundred snowmen used Hegemon's Fist simultaneously, blocking the incoming arhats. By then, Xiao Nanfeng had no ability to speak.

"Attack his spiritual moon!" the bodhisattva of greed commanded.

A group of arhats shot into the air and began to attack Xiao Nanfeng's spiritual moon—only to find the moon opening its mouth to reveal row after row of sharp teeth. It gulped down all the arhats, crunching on their bones.

The entire Buddha's Grotto fell silent as all the cursed effigies stared at the sinister moon in shock.

"There must be some incredibly strong cursed effigy within that spiritual moon..." an arhat murmured.

None of the arhats dared draw any closer.

"Ignore the moon for now. Continue attacking those envoys!" the bodhisattva of greed finally commanded.

"Understood!" The arhats shot toward Xiao Nanfeng's snowmen-avatars.

The bodhisattva of greed continued to struggle, causing more and more of the net's rope to snap. However, the relic was an incredible treasure that could restore itself.

"Nanfeng, I won't be able to hold on for long. The bodhisattva of greed's going to break free soon!" Zhao Yuanjiao exclaimed.

Xiao Nanfeng didn't have the faculty to answer Zhao Yuanjiao. Zhang Lingjun replied on his behalf, "Hold on just a little longer. The senior in the black fog will be able to help you once it finishes off the bodhisattva of delusion."

"I'll do what I can." Zhao Yuanjiao nodded, then continued to attack the bodhisattva of greed.

The fighting seemed to reach an unstable equilibrium, no one being able to get the better of their opponent.

Just then, the cloud of black fog in the middle of the lake began to tremble, then to swell up. The lake rippled as waves began to surge.

The bodhisattva of greed, still trapped within the net, called out, "Hurry and suppress that black smoke. It's about to escape from its seal. Hurry!"

The arhats immediately gave up on Xiao Nanfeng as they leapt toward the burgeoning smoke in the lake.

"Lad, we admit defeat. We'll retreat immediately. Let's stop fighting now!" the bodhisattva of greed shouted at Zhang Lingjun and Zhao Yuanjiao, his face a mask of fright.

1. Sorry for all the Buddha-related confusion. When 菩萨 (bodhisattva) initially appeared, I translated it as Buddha to make it more familiar for English readers relative to the lesser-known bodhisattva—and then actual Buddhas appeared. The scale of strength goes 罗汉 (arhat) < 菩萨 (bodhisattva) < 佛陀 (Buddha) < 佛祖 (ancestral Buddha). I will stick to these terms from now on. The Buddhas of Three Aspects are ancestral Buddhas and hence the strongest of the lot. All other named Buddhas to date (Moonlight Buddha, the three Buddhas) should actually be bodhisattvas. So far the only place 'regular' Buddhas have appeared are as underlings of the Past Buddha, but as far as I can tell no individual ones have been introduced to date. ☜