Chapter 587: Obliterating the Cursed

Across a stretch of the wide sea, cultivators of incredible strength were fighting each other to the death.

Although Xiao Nanfeng had obtained an incredible quantity of spiritual power from the illusory realm, as the spiritual power was expended, he became less and less able to defend himself against the bodhisattva before him.

The bodhisattva sent Xiao Nanfeng flying time and time again, until his True Yin body was unable to stand it any longer. During a gap in the attacks, he swapped back to his physical body instead.

Even so, his physical body was sent flying by the bodhisattva as he sprayed out a mouthful of blood.

"Stubborn fool! Let's see how long you can last," the bodhisattva roared.

He flashed before Xiao Nanfeng and used all his strength to summon a golden palm that was poised to cripple Xiao Nanfeng in a single blow.

Just then, a golden figure rushed toward Xiao Nanfeng, shielding him and defending with a palm of its own.

As the two palms clashed, the void trembled. The bodhisattva's attack was completely blocked.

"You've won, Senior!" Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed in surprise.

The Past Buddha, into which the black lotus had transformed, was now standing before Xiao Nanfeng.

"Leave it to me," the black lotus said.

It was apparent that the black lotus had devoured the bodhisattva it had been facing and now had the time to help Xiao Nanfeng instead.

"Understood!" Xiao Nanfeng replied, then retreated.

The demonic sect master and the black lotus were each now taking on one bodhisattva, while Ye Dafu and the other golden cultivators were fighting the gathered arhats. The fighting seemed to have reached an equilibrium.

Xiao Nanfeng didn't attempt to break the equilibrium; he was afraid of scaring the cursed effigies off.

"Where is my junior brother? Have you killed him? Who are you?" the bodhisattva roared.

The black lotus ignored the bodhisattva and continued to drag things out.

Neither bodhisattva intended to back off. They knew that news of the commotion would surely have been sent back to Dayin, and that reinforcements would arrive in no time at all. Dragging things out would be advantageous to them.

Just then, Blue Lantern flew back from afar.

"Blue Lantern, what's the situation like on Taiqing Island?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

"Everything's handled."

"There's a formation set up around here, isn't there?"

"There is. You had me trap the surroundings in case it would come in handy. I didn't expect it to be of use so quickly," Blue Lantern replied.

"Let's get started, then!"

"Very well." Blue Lantern nodded.

Blue Lantern waved a hand. The seabed all around them began to react, as if something had been activated. Blue light shone into the air. Then, high overhead, 361 giant stars shone down.

"Formation of the Complete Heavens, activate!" Blue Lantern commanded.

Rays of starlight descended. Blue fog rose up from the surface of the sea, covering up the sky and enveloping a large stretch of it. Everyone was trapped within.

"The Formation of the Complete Heavens is a special type of spatial formation. Although it wouldn't be able to trap bodhisattvas for long in its own right, with Golden Immortals here to stop them from escaping, they won't be able to break free," Blue Lantern said.

"That's good enough. I'll join in and help take down the bodhisattvas, then," Xiao Nanfeng replied.

"Very well."

Xiao Nanfeng rushed toward where Ye Dafu and the other golden cultivators were located.

The golden cultivators were enjoying the beating from the gathered arhats. Although their combat strength was middling, they were more than able to withstand damage. They were successfully holding back all twenty arhats on their own.

Xiao Nanfeng transformed into his True Yin body again. A silver moon rose into the air as a blizzard began to fall.

"Go help out the Past Buddha. Leave these arhats to me," Xiao Nanfeng said.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Ye Dafu and his lackeys replied.

They were very much looking forward to being beaten up by a Golden Immortal, but would Xiao Nanfeng be able to handle the twenty arhats all by himself?

The next moment, Xiao Nanfeng vanished as he invoked spiritual harmony. Then, clumps of snow gathered all around the arhats, forming a hundred snowmen with his exact form.

"Die!" A hundred snowmen charged toward the gathered arhats.

The twenty arhats were all sent flying.

Ye Dafu and the others opened their mouths wide in shock.

"His Majesty really is as incredible as ever!"

"Come on, let's go! With His Majesty being in the fray, the fighting's going to end quickly. Let's see if we can get hit by a few punches first!"

"Hold on, wait up!"

The golden cultivators rushed toward the black lotus.

"Die!" they shouted, charging at the bodhisattva.

"Insolence!" the bodhisattva roared.

He was already exasperated at being suppressed by the black lotus. The group of strange, golden cultivators that had just emerged immediately roused his ire, and he swung at them with abandon.

The twelve golden cultivators were all sent flying, their bones audibly cracking. They spat out mouthfuls of blood as they slumped to the ground in tangled heaps.

Meanwhile, the black lotus' fist struck the bodhisattva's head and dealt it a lethal blow, sending the bodhisattva flying.

Just then, the black lotus emitted a tremendous cloud of black smoke that surrounded the bodhisattva.

"No. Who are you? Don't swallow me, don't!" the bodhisattva howled in shock.

Suddenly, the black fog dissipated, revealing the Past Buddha once again. The bodhisattva's body was completely gone, having been devoured.

Meanwhile, the demonic sect master continued to fight against the last bodhisattva. Suddenly, upon sensing that he was the sole remaining one, he turned tail and ran without any hesitation.

Unfortunately, trapped by the Formation of the Complete Heavens as he was, he simply couldn't escape. He struck the formation with a palm that landed with a bang. The entire formation shook as a huge hole was torn in it. Just as it was about to escape, the demonic sect master caught up and prevented its escape.

He and the bodhisattva began to fight each other once more as the formation restored itself.

"Scram!" the bodhisattva shouted.

Unfortunately for him, with the demonic sect master barring his way and the Formation of the Complete Heavens surrounding him, he was completely unable to escape.

Then, the black lotus joined the fray as well.

Two against one, the outcome of the fight was obvious. The demonic sect master held the bodhisattva down as the black lotus executed a sneak attack, a heavy blow that left the bodhisattva dazed. Then, large quantities of black fog erupted from the black lotus and surrounded him.

"Release me! The ancestral Buddha won't let you go! No!" the bodhisattva shouted.

Suddenly, the black fog retreated, revealing that the final bodhisattva had vanished from sight.

The demonic sect master retreated, clearly somewhat fearful of the black lotus.

The black lotus flashed over to Xiao Nanfeng's side, reverting back to its original form, surrounding itself in black fog, and devouring all the arhats at once.

The fighting finally came to a close.

The hundred snowmen collapsed all at once as Xiao Nanfeng reappeared, reining in his silver moon and returning to his physical body.

The black lotus flew up to Xiao Nanfeng and tossed a golden orb at him. "This is the pearl of yang affixation that that bodhisattva left behind, and it should be a Golden Immortal relic. However, Yin Shenhua has likely done something to it, so I would recommend absorbing its strength to advance your cultivation instead."

Xiao Nanfeng nodded.

The black lotus flew into Xiao Nanfeng's mindscape and then vanished from sight.

"Demonic Sect Master, we shouldn't stay here for long. Let's leave," Xiao Nanfeng said.

"Understood," the demonic sect master replied.

Blue Lantern stripped away the foundation of the Formation of the Complete Heavens as everyone swiftly flew away.

During the flight, Xiao Nanfeng struck at the pearl of yang affixation with his blade, chipping a small hole in it. He began to suck in the essence of the pearl from that hole, absorbing a golden stream of pure yang energy into his body.

"What incredible purity," Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed.

Without any hesitation, he began to drink it in larger and larger gulps, causing his body to swell with flames.

Then, when the pearl of yang affixation had lost all its reserves of energy, it shattered and crumbled away into powder.

At the same time, beams of light shot toward where Taiqing Island had once been.

Quite a few figures descended in a gust of wind that spawned tidal waves in the sea.

"Buddha, it looks like we're a bit too late. Taiqing Island has sunk into the sea, and everyone has escaped," a monk reported.

The gathered figures looked toward a resplendent golden man, their leader. The man turned to his surroundings, but there wasn't a trace of anyone in sight.

"Search the area," the Buddha commanded.

"Understood!" The crowd quickly scattered and scoured the vicinity.

Unfortunately, they didn't find anything. They tracked the three bodhisattvas to the point where their trails vanished, but there was nothing remaining there except turbulent seawater.

"No remnants of their bodies were left behind. Is Xiao Nanfeng's party that strong? Three bodhisattvas..." a monk murmured.

"They must have had reinforcements from the Imperial Court, or the three bodhisattvas wouldn't have been finished off so quickly," the Buddha replied.

"What do we do now?"

"Expand the search area. There's no way such a large group of people left no traces behind," the Buddha replied.

"Understood!" The cultivators continued to scour the sea.

On a dilapidated island shrouded by fog, in a particularly secluded part of the sea, lay a large group of Taiqing disciples in hiding.

Not far away, Xiao Nanfeng was seated cross-legged in meditation as Zhao Yuanjiao and others guarded him. Beside them were Ye Dafu and his crew of golden cultivators, recuperating from the injuries they had sustained.

A huge wave of energy emanated from Xiao Nanfeng's body as he opened his eyes and breathed out.

"The eighth stage of the Heaven Immortal realm? The reserves of energy you need to raise your cultivation is truly incredible," the demonic sect master murmured.

"It's manageable, I suppose," Xiao Nanfeng replied with a weak smile.

"Alright. Since all of you are safe and secure now, it's time for me to leave," the demonic sect master said.

"Let me send you off," Xiao Nanfeng suggested.

The demonic sect master, though taken somewhat by surprise, nodded.

"Senior Brother, you come too," Xiao Nanfeng said.

Zhao Yuanjiao cocked his head, but followed suit.

The trio flew out of the island. Along the way, Xiao Nanfeng didn't speak, nor did the demonic sect master. Zhao Yuanjiao flew behind them, rather perplexed.

Finally, they landed on another remote island in the vicinity.

"Is there something you wanted to say?" the demonic sect master asked Xiao Nanfeng.

Zhao Yuanjiao gave Xiao Nanfeng a curious look as well. Was there something wrong with the demonic sect master?

"Might I see your true appearance, Demonic Sect Master?" Xiao Nanfeng asked expectantly.