Chapter 611: The Second Wave of Retaliation

In Xiao Nanfeng's study in Yongding, a teary-eyed soldier reported to Xiao Nanfeng, "Your Majesty, please assist me! My avatar and all the cultivators of my sect were eaten by a peacock spirit. A monk was guiding the peacock, and I recognized him as Yin Shenhua's subordinate. He fought at Yongding not long ago!"

"If I'm not mistaken, your Immortal sect is in the Eastern Sea, but far from Taiqing Island, isn't it?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

"Yes, Your Majesty. I'm from an Immortal sect from a far-flung island with a higher concentration of spiritual aether than around Taiqing Island, and there are plenty of Immortal sects there. I came here as a traveler and, having learned of your strength, chose to join the Dazheng Empire. I know that my Immortal sect bears no connection to you, Your Majesty, but I simply don't know what else to do about the utter annihilation of my sect..." the soldier gritted out.

"I'm aware of the situation. I'll have my subordinates investigate that peacock spirit. If it really is from Dayin, I'll take care of it," Xiao Nanfeng said.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" The soldier bowed in gratitude.

As the soldier left, Xiao Nanfeng rapped his knuckles against his table as he considered what he had just learned. "A peacock with a bodhisattva as a guard? Who could he be?"

"He's the cruel peacock of Mt. Ling from eighty thousand years ago, the older brother of that roc, Yin Peng," the black lotus said from his mindscape.

"The roc's older brother? If he reincarnated as the roc's older brother again in this life, then he must be Yin Shenhua's eldest son, Yin Mingwang," Xiao Nanfeng murmured.

"I'm not familiar with the specifics," the black lotus replied.

"How strong is that peacock? And what's his personality like?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

"In my era, despite the fact that the peacock was only a bodhisattva, he was strong enough to win against quite a few Buddhas. He's cruel and possesses essentially no humanity, and has quite a repertoire of tricks. He was the fiercest avian of Mt. Ling of the era, and was on particularly good terms with the roc. Once, he even fought the Future Buddha on the roc's behalf," the black lotus recalled.

"A brother complex?" Xiao Nanfeng frowned.

"I suspect he has just recovered his memories of the past. If he truly is Yin Shenhua's son, however, he must have received the lion's share of cultivation resources. According to that soldier's description, he's surely stronger than the roc from before," the black lotus warned.

Xiao Nanfeng nodded. "I understand. Thank you for your pointers, Senior."

At that moment, hovering above a stretch of the Eastern Sea, the peacock had finally sated his hunger after devouring the cultivators of eighteen Immortal sects. He transformed into a blue-robed man.

"What? Yin Peng's dead? Who killed him?!" the peacock, Yin Mingwang, demanded.

"We don't know, Your Highness. The situation was like this..." The monk explained everything that was known about Yin Peng's death, then analyzed, "Xiao Nanfeng should have been no match for His Highness. Even if Xiao Nanfeng's cursed effigy had made a move, His Highness should have been able to flee if he put his mind to it. The fact that he still died made us conclude that..."

"Conclude what?"

"There were eleven Martial Aspects trapping the ancestral Buddha, but four more Golden Immortal Martial Aspects remained unaccounted for. We guessed that Xiao Nanfeng didn't actually head into the Spirit Emperor's hidden realm to escape. Rather, the four Martial Aspects might have been hiding there. They, along with Xiao Nanfeng's cursed effigy, took down His Highness together," the monk said.

𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Yin Mingwang's face contorted with fury. "Martial Aspects? Cursed effigies? For killing my brother, all of them will pay. We'll head back right away!"

"Understood!"

The two cultivators shot toward Dayin's capital.

On the way, the bodhisattva told Yin Mingwang about everything that had happened to date. His face turned dark and dour. He rushed back to Dayin's palace and found Yin Shenhua as quickly as he could.

"Father," Yin Mingwang called out, bowing toward him.

"Have you learned what's going on?" Yin Shenhua asked.

"Yes, Father. You've been too indecisive," Yin Mingwang said bluntly.

The monks in the vicinity gave Yin Mingwang an alarmed glance, but they didn't say anything. Within the divine empire of Dayin, only Yin Mingwang dared to speak to Yin Shenhua in this fashion.

"Xiao Nanfeng's a slippery foe, especially considering that he's shielding himself with Ao Canghai. However, I've sent envoys to other Immortal Emperors to invite them to deal with Ao Canghai together," Yin Shenhua replied.

Yin Mingwang asked, "And have those Immortal Emperors accepted? They haven't, have they?"

Yin Shenhua frowned.

"The Imperial Court sent only eighteen Martial Aspects against Dayin as a warning: if other forces interfere, then the Imperial Court will send more of its cultivators over. That's why none of the Immortal Emperors dare make a move. What's more, they're waiting for us to weaken the Imperial Court on their behalf. Why would they help us out?" Yin Mingwang asked.

Yin Shenhua nodded. "I am aware, but..."

"I know what you're worried about, Father. You don't want to expose your army of Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and arhats, causing even more negative attention directed your way. However, we're already taking on the Imperial Court. What's there to hide? As long as we destroy the Martial Aspects and Dazheng, all those rumors and discussion will quickly fade," Yin Mingwang said.

A Buddha spoke up. "But if we were to expose ourselves, the Immortal cities of Dayin would surely rebel in earnest."

"The citizens of this empire are nothing more than ants. Eat them all to strengthen ourselves, then! Those who go against us shall die. That's how it's always been, and how it was in the past. Kill, kill, kill! Victory is built on a mountain of corpses," Yin Mingwang retorted.

"This era cannot be compared to that eighty thousand years in the past," Yin Shenhua replied, frowning.

"Father, this isn't about eras. Eighty thousand years ago, we tore apart the world and decimated the populace in pursuit of individual power. That's what their purpose in life is—to provide us with food and rations! As long as they don't all die, they can be repopulated in the future as our livestock. We'll eat them as we please. Why care about them? Father, where has your ambition gone?!" Yin Mingwang shouted in exasperation.

Yin Shenhua took a deep breath. "I know you want to avenge Peng'er, but the state of the world is indeed different from before."

"How?"

"Eighty thousand years ago, only a scant few cursed effigies had revived. In the present day, however, all cursed effigies from past eras seem to have made their way back all at once."

"What?!"

"Do you really think all the other Immortal Emperors are just figureheads? No—they're just like us. Either they're being supported by cursed kings, or they're cursed kings themselves. Do you remember the divine empire of Dawei from a millennium ago? Emperor Wei fell because he was fighting against a cursed king. Emperor Feng, from a century past, likewise received the help of a cursed effigy. The other divine empires are much the same."

"Is that true?" Yin Mingwang exclaimed.

"I've confirmed it myself. The Heavenly Emperor of the present, Yu Fuli, bears immense strength. For him to be able to suppress the world despite the revival of the cursed kings of the past—we live in a different world now," Yin Shenhua concluded.

Yin Mingwang scowled. "Even so, we have to fight and seize power for ourselves! If we remain this cowardly—are we going to allow those Martial Aspects to clip our wings?"

Yin Shenhua frowned, considering the pros and cons of Yin Mingwang's approach.

"Father, I studied the two confrontations between Dayin and Dazheng. During the second confrontation, Yin Peng was tricked. During the first, however, it's clear that you underestimated your opponent. When I retaliate, my emphasis will be on taking down critical targets," Yin Mingwang said.

"What do you intend to do?" Yin Shenhua asked.

"Father, you and your subordinates delay Ao Canghai and his Martial Aspects. I'll bring my subordinates to destroy Dazheng. After we take down Dazheng and slaughter the Martial Aspects, we'll be able to quell any rumors that persist."

Yin Shenhua nodded. "Very well."

Three days later, in the skies above Dazheng, Yin Mingwang looked down at one of Dazheng's many ordinary cities. Several subordinates were behind him.

"We'll strike simultaneously in an hour," Yin Mingwang commanded.

"Understood!" one of his subordinates replied.

High above the clouds, Yin Mingwang stared at Yongding in the distance. He smirked. "Xiao Nanfeng, let's see how you intend to resist my forces this time."

Golden arhats were poised above the clouds in all five thousand cities of Dazheng. They stared at the city that lay below them, killing intent in their eyes.

An hour passed in an instant.

Yin Mingwang was the first to strike. He spread his wings and transformed into a peacock.

He spread his wings wide, causing a gust of black wind to strike the city below him. The city's defensive formation activated instantly, but was unable to bear the attack for more than a single moment.

The defensive formation shattered as the entire city rumbled violently.

Countless cultivators, sensing that something was amiss, attempted to flee as quickly as they could.

"The formation shattered. Let's run!"

"This is Dazheng's highest alert. Don't counterattack. Run at any cost!"

"Everyone, let's flee!"

Though the cultivators within the city shouted to each other, it was all for naught.

The peacock, his eyes cold, flapped his wings again. Black wind surrounded the city, preventing anyone from escaping. They were sucked toward the peacock's mouth.

"No! Save us!"

"Save us, Your Majesty!"

"Save me!"

Countless civilians cried out in fear as they tumbled into the peacock's open mouth, unable to stop the carnage unfolding around them.

Simultaneously, countless arhats descended from the air and attacked the cities down below. The arhats were all True Immortals, and each was easily able to destroy a city of ordinary civilians and cultivators.

The five thousand cities of Dazheng were all struck by a barrage of attacks.

In Yongding, Xiao Nanfeng had been perusing a stack of documents when a guard rushed into his study.

"Your Majesty, countless True Immortal arhats are simultaneously attacking all the cities of Dazheng. The city of Linsha, by the border, is being besieged by a peacock spirit. Its black winds are raging across the city as it devours all the civilians within," the guard reported quickly.

"They're targeting civilians themselves? Those damned bastards!" Xiao Nanfeng stood up immediately. His features were contorted in rage. He looked toward another guard. "Let your avatar inform the senior that the peacock is in Linsha. Request that it hold back the peacock and save as many civilians as it can for the moment. I'll support it as quickly as I can."

"Understood!" the guard replied.

Clearly, the black lotus was stationed in another city so as to reduce the travel time needed to respond to any threats in Dazheng.