Chapter 559: Awakening

After an interminable period of time, the pink fog within Phoenix Hall and the unusual chanting vanished. Xiao Nanfeng and Zhang Lingjun awoke from a bleary haze, still tangled together in rendition of the wall murals. Shreds of their clothing were scattered around them.

Both cultivators startled awake and quickly distanced themselves from one another. They retrieved new sets of clothes from their storage treasures and put them on before looking at each other again.

For some reason, even so, their gaze was filled with affection for one another.

Xiao Nanfeng sensed that he loved Zhang Lingjun deeply. Just looking at her gave him incredible warmth; he was certain she would be his companion through cultivation in this life.

"Lingjun," Xiao Nanfeng called out gently.

"Nanfeng," Zhang Lingjun replied, equally gently.

Love and affection suffused them both. They caressed each other again, feeling their heartbeats pulse in sync.

Xiao Nanfeng vaguely knew that something was wrong with his emotions, but he was unable to control himself.

Just then, a certain part of his body trembled and formed an unusual suction that absorbed the pink aura within his body. His eyes turned clear, limpid.

He quickly recalled all that had happened to date as he released and stepped back from Zhang Lingjun. He blanched. "A curse of affection? How could it be?"

He had been struck by a curse of affection with the Divine Emperor once before within the Spirit Emperor's hidden realm. Then, the Spirit Emperor had used red flowers to invoke a curse of affection and mired him and the Divine Emperor in a dreamscape, where they had made love to one another. Then, as his unusual truesoul absorbed the energy from the curse completely, he and the Divine Emperor awoke.

He now understood that the pink aura and unusual chanting manifested essentially the same effects as the curse of affection, targeting both him and Zhang Lingjun. This time, however, it had occurred in reality rather than in a dreamscape. Furthermore, he deeply remembered all that had transpired over the last few hours.

Zhang Lingjun was still trapped by the curse and lavishing her affection on him. On the other hand, his truesoul had devoured the remnant energy of the curse, clearing his mind and allowing him to awaken.

"Wake up, Princess! No, hold on, let me see if I can dispel the curse from you as well."

He tentatively placed his palm on Zhang Lingjun's shoulder as she caressed his palm with her own, glancing at him in a loving haze.

Xiao Nanfeng grimaced awkwardly. He was unable to absorb the curse of affection from Zhang Lingjun's body at all. As he watched her gaze turn toward carnal pleasures, he was at a loss as to what to do.

Just then, a huge bang could be heard from nearby.

Phoenix Hall seemed to have been struck by incredible force. Its walls exploded as a red figure attacked Xiao Nanfeng.

"Something's wrong!"

The red figure sent him flying. He spat out a mouthful of blood in mid-air.

"The praying mat..." Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed.

Xiao Nanfeng's body smashed through boulders and the earth itself as he struck the ground. Before he could clamber up, he could sense the enraged praying mat shoot toward him again.

Zhang Lingjun immediately rushed forward, defending Xiao Nanfeng with her own body. "Grandmaster, why are you attacking Xiao Nanfeng? You'll have to kill me before you kill him!"

Xiao Nanfeng gaped at the praying mat. He couldn't see anyone on it. Why was Zhang Lingjun addressing it as the Taiqing Grandmaster? Could he be on the praying mat and attempting to kill him right now?

The praying mat vibrated. A gust of crimson wind formed around it, shunting Zhang Lingjun aside as the praying mat approached Xiao Nanfeng again, ready to kill him.

"No!" Zhang Lingjun shouted hoarsely.

However, she was unable to draw near. Just as the praying mat was about to strike, a fishing line appeared in the air. The fish hook curled around the praying mat and held it firm in the air.

"Taiqing Grandmaster, do you intend to kill one of my Martial Aspects?" A familiar voice resounded within the hall.

Xiao Nanfeng recognized Yu Fuli's voice immediately.

"Martial Aspect Xiao Nanfeng greets the Heavenly Emperor!" Xiao Nanfeng bowed.

Xiao Nanfeng understood that Yu Fuli had to be seated by his small pond, that he had cast his fishing rod down into this hall.

The praying mat radiated with blinding light, as though the invisible Taiqing Grandmaster was having a conversation with Yu Fuli.

"Oh? You claim that Xiao Nanfeng has despoiled Lingjun?"

"Heavenly Emperor, Grandmaster, the princess and I were struck with a curse of affection. My unique constitution managed to dispel the curse from me after the fact, but I was unable to free the princess from hers," Xiao Nanfeng reported immediately.

The praying mat vibrated as if the Taiqing Grandmaster was fuming.

Yu Fuli paused for a moment, as though attempting to discern the truth for himself. "Xiao Nanfeng isn't to blame for this. Rather, you failed to protect Lingjun adequately. If Xiao Nanfeng hadn't rushed over in time, Mo Lengxuan would have been stricken by the curse instead. Lingjun bears Xiao Nanfeng goodwill, and she didn't resist as strongly as she otherwise would have. Xiao Nanfeng isn't to blame."

The praying mat released another burst of crimson light; the Taiqing Grandmaster didn't seem pleased by this pronouncement.

"I know how you feel, but Lingjun's my granddaughter, not a puppet by which you might return to the world. You have no right to claim all that she is. If this displeases you, you might well find another cultivator to whom you are fated. You chose Lingjun knowing that I would never let you control her completely," Yu Fuli warned.

Only then did the praying mat relent, transforming back from the size of a millstone to its original size.

"Don't worry. There are many different curses of affection, and I can dispel ones of this level myself," Yu Fuli continued.

The praying mat hovered around Zhang Lingjun and scanned her body before relenting and slowing down. It seemed to have verified the truth of Yu Fuli's words.

Zhang Lingjun pursed her lips. "Have I been stricken with a curse of affection? Even so, I don't care. Grandmaster, please free me and allow me to be with Nanfeng!"

The praying mat ignored Zhang Lingjun. Yu Fuli's voice resounded in the hall again. "Xiao Nanfeng."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Xiao Nanfeng bowed.

"You did well not to take advantage of Lingjun. I shall be retrieving her. You can take care of what remains there."

"Understood!" Xiao Nanfeng nodded.

The fish hook caught Zhang Lingjun.

"Heavenly Emperor, please allow me to be with Nanfeng!" Zhang Lingjun cried out.

The hook flashed and pierced through the void, causing Zhang Lingjun to vanish from sight. The praying mat disappeared in a flash as well.

Xiao Nanfeng stood within a pile of ruins, contemplating what had happened silently.

Had he been struck by a curse of affection again? Now that he was clearheaded, he could review the memories of the past few hours that had been imprinted in his head.

Suddenly, he blinked in surprise. "I broke through? The fifth stage of a Heaven Immortal—how?"

He immediately sat cross-legged in meditation. It was true—his cultivation had advanced by a single stage! It didn't seem like a huge increase, but his technique was immensely difficult to advance. In the past, he had devoured half a superior draconic vein to gain a single stage of advancement; now, however, after a few hours of... lovemaking... he had advanced out of nowhere.

He scoured his memories to determine its cause.

"Those wall murals within Phoenix Hall—are they a pictorial representation of the Buddha of Dual Cultivation's secret technique? Was I cultivating it with Zhang Lingjun just now? No wonder the Taiqing Grandmaster wanted to claim Zhang Lingjun as an official apprentice. It must be because of her constitution," Xiao Nanfeng analyzed.

He finally understood why the Buddha of Dual Cultivation was so interested in dual cultivation. His cultivation had advanced rapidly, and he was certain that the main reason for that was Zhang Lingjun's unique constitution.

After clearing his mind, he briefly cleaned up his surroundings before looking toward where Emperor Feng and the black lotus had headed before he entered Phoenix Hall. How had that fight gone?

Xiao Nanfeng decided to sneak over.

Countless halls of the temple had been turned into ruins. Suddenly, he saw a figure standing amidst the dust—Emperor Feng.

An incredible aura surged forth from his body. His cultivation seemed to have advanced.

There was no one else in the area save the black lotus ensconced within black fog. Seemingly having discovered Xiao Nanfeng, the black lotus whooshed back into his mindscape.

"Senior, what happened to everyone else?" Xiao Nanfeng asked curiously.

"They've all been annihilated."

"Oh?" Xiao Nanfeng was shocked.

"Emperor Feng and I got lucky, I suppose. Otherwise, neither of us would have made it out."

"What happened?"

"The Buddha of Dual Cultivation was focused on suppressing that praying mat. It resisted and swelled up with energy, then ended up suppressing the Buddha of Dual Cultivation and all his disciples instead. Emperor Feng and I were easily able to dispatch them. He devoured all their cursed spiritual energy, while I consumed the cursed effigies and the golden lotus hoods. I've absorbed too much energy and will need to spend some time digesting it all. Emperor Feng's in a similar situation."

"All the cursed effigies have been annihilated? That really is lucky!"

"Quite so. I'll leave the rest to you." The black lotus fell deep into meditation.

Emperor Feng had caught sight of Xiao Nanfeng as well. He strode over. "Xiao Nanfeng, I'll be meditating. Bring me back."

He tossed the crescent sword to Xiao Nanfeng as he vanished within it.

Xiao Nanfeng caught the crescent sword.

His surroundings were unnaturally still. There didn't seem to be any danger remaining at all.