Chapter 633: Monster of Black Smoke

Xiao Nanfeng was just about to fly toward Mt. Kunlun in search of the Heavenly Emperor, Yu Fuli, when a huge crash rang out from afar. The noise could be heard throughout the Sieve of Heaven.

Xiao Nanfeng turned and blanched. "The Palace of the Moon!"

A cloud of white fog had appeared beyond the floating island on which the Palace of the Moon was located. A monster seemed to be within, furiously contorting its body and causing the white fog to surge.

"Yu Fuli, how dare you lie to me?!" the monster in the white fog roared.

Countless cultivators within the Sieve of Heaven turned toward the commotion. Who would dare criticize the Heavenly Emperor in the Sieve of Heaven, his seat of power?

Strong cultivators rushed toward the Palace of the Moon from every direction.

Xiao Nanfeng did so as well, heart thumping.

"I should have thought of this earlier. If Yin Shenhua had revived in Yin Tianci's body and wasn't planning to flee, he would surely attempt to take revenge on me and my loved ones. Zhang Feifan—something may have happened to Zhang Feifan!" Xiao Nanfeng murmured to himself.

Zhang Feifan had been preparing a banquet in the Palace of the Moon to celebrate Xiao Nanfeng's victory over Yin Shenhua. Xiao Nanfeng had thought this ordinary at first glance, but it didn't make sense on second thought. The banquet had been organized far too hastily.

What if Zhang Feifan had been controlled? Could something have happened to Zhang Lingjun?

Xiao Nanfeng quickly approached the exterior of the Palace of the Moon. From beyond the white fog, he could see the gleam of a fishing line connecting to the interior of the fog, as though a monster within had been hooked. The monster was struggling furiously.

"Could the Heavenly Emperor have made a move?" someone exclaimed from the crowd.

"Don't move. The Heavenly Emperor must be fishing. Some supreme monster has invaded the Sieve of Heaven!" Ao Canghai called out, blocking those cultivators in the vicinity from approaching.

The officials of the Imperial Court who rushed over watched sternly from outside.

"Show yourself!" Yu Fuli shouted.

The fishing line drew taut as the white fog exploded. A frightening lifeform dozens of kilometers tall emerged from the fog.

The lifeform's features were particularly obfuscated. Roiling black smoke spouted from all over its body, shrouding it from sight. A huge mouth could vaguely be seen; a fishhook was embedded in it. As Yu Fuli dragged it away, it released an overwhelming aura that caused all the cultivators in the vicinity to shudder.

"It's—" Ao Canghai blanched as even he stepped back.

The strange lifeform that gave off black smoke roared as it struggled free from the hook.

"We'll take you down, foul beast!"

"Martial Aspects, take down this monster!"

A group of Martial Aspects drew their weapons and stormed toward the monster within the black smoke.

Agitated, the monster shot forth and smashed into the weapons with its bare body, sending all the attackers flying as they spat out blood—despite the fact that many of the Martial Aspects were Golden Immortals themselves.

"Die!" Just then, two figures charged forward, weapons in hand.

From their auras alone, they seemed as strong as Ao Canghai. Xiao Nanfeng's eyes widened. Were they Boundless Immortals too? He quickly recognized them as two Cardinal Aspects of the Hall of Martial Aspects.

Their heavy blows struck the monster directly, causing the monster to screech. It seemed to be suppressed, but grew even more violent as it thrashed about. Black smoke flared from its body.

"Ao Canghai, what are you waiting for? Attack!" the two Cardinal Aspects roared.

However, Ao Canghai seemed unusually fearful of this monster. He stood frozen, not daring to step forward.

Just then, the black smoke around the monster froze. Then, the monster and the smoke simultaneously transformed into a black hand dozens of kilometers tall.

"A Heaven's Hand!" Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed.

The black hand gave off an aura incredibly similar to that which Yin Shenhua had activated, and it seemed about as strong as well. However, it was pitch-black all over.

The black hand shot forward and knocked the two Cardinal Aspects aside as it rose into the sky, intending to flee toward the Southern Heavenly Gate.

"Do you think you can enter and exit my Sieve of Heaven at will? Heart Sword!" An icy-cold voice could be heard from the void.

A pale-white sword, its blade dozens of kilometers long, descended from the sky like a heavenly pillar as it slashed at the black hand.

"Yu Fuli, I'll claim your head!" the black hand roared.

The giant white sword sliced apart the black hand as it exploded in a terrifying storm, causing the floating islands of the Sieve of Heaven to shudder madly.

With a whoosh, the giant white sword vanished alongside the black hand.

The Martial Aspects were astounded by what they had seen. Even Xiao Nanfeng's eyes twitched. Yu Fuli hadn't shown himself at all. Even so, he had defeated the black hand with a single slash of his sword. Just how strong was he?

"Ao Canghai, you're familiar with that monster, aren't you?" A group of officials from the Imperial Court surrounded Ao Canghai.

Ao Canghai's face was pale. He didn't seem to want to reveal anything.

Xiao Nanfeng ignored the commotion as he rushed straight toward the Palace of the Moon. He reached the floating island within moments.

"Where's the princess?" he asked a guard.

"She's in the palace, Martial Aspect Xiao," the guard replied.

"Bring me to her. Hurry!" Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed.

"Understood!"

The guard led Xiao Nanfeng deep into the palace. They flew toward a hall, but Zhang Lingjun was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's the princess?" Xiao Nanfeng asked a servant.

"She's in that yard alongside Sir Zhang."

"Bring me over, now!" Xiao Nanfeng urged.

The servant beckoned Xiao Nanfeng toward a small yard surrounded by a defensive formation.

The yard was a mess; the food and drink from the banquet that was being prepared was scattered over the ground.

The cultivators present had all collapsed, including Zhang Lingjun and Zhang Feifan. Several looked particularly badly injured and were vomiting out blood.

"Division Leader Xiao, something's wrong!" one white-robed woman who had collapsed on the ground murmured weakly.

Xiao Nanfeng recognized her instantly: the Heaven disciple who had been waiting for him at the Eastern Heavenly Gate.

Xiao Nanfeng immediately checked on Zhang Lingjun and Zhang Feifan. He relaxed as he confirmed that they were simply in their yin bodies, having left their physical ones behind.

"What's going on?" Xiao Nanfeng asked the white-robed woman.

"The division leader was possessed by a golden lotus. He tricked us all! The princess was speaking with the division leader when she suddenly realized that something was wrong. She raised her doubts as death chants suddenly resounded," the woman murmured weakly.

Xiao Nanfeng immediately infused a burst of Immortal qi into the white-robed woman's body, causing her to feel much better.

"And then?" Xiao Nanfeng pressed.

"And then the division leader suddenly awoke. His yin body emerged from his physical body as a red moon illuminated the air. Suddenly, a golden lotus appeared before the princess' head. The golden lotus had almost managed to possess her. The division leader's yin body shot toward the golden lotus and began to fight with it."

"Continue," Xiao Nanfeng said.

"When the princess realized that something was wrong, she retrieved her praying mat and was about to help the division leader when a cloud of black smoke shot toward her. If she hadn't protected us all with the praying mat, we might all have died. Even so, we were very badly injured. As the black smoke descended, the division leader and the golden lotus vanished from sight, likely having passed into the red moon illusory realm."

"Did the princess head in as well?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

"She did. She was worried about the division leader's safety, and her yin body vanished from sight as well. She likely entered the red moon illusory realm."

"From where?"

"Over here!" The white-robed woman pointed at a specific spot in the void.

Xiao Nanfeng retrieved his Divine Seal of Dazheng. His avatar stepped out and likewise entered the red moon illusory realm in a flash of red light.

Within the red moon illusory realm, Xiao Nanfeng tried searching for the missing cultivators, but they were nowhere to be found. His surroundings were red all over, without any distinguishing structures in sight. Fortunately, there were clumps of unconscious red-furred lifeforms in the vicinity.

He followed the unconscious red-furred lifeforms in a certain direction, moving so quickly that he quickly heard the sound of fighting in the distance.

"Yin Shenhua, for harming my wife, I'll have you pay with your life! Die!" Zhang Feifan roared.

"Praying mat, seal!" Zhang Lingjun intoned.

"You ants! Do you think the likes of you can hurt me? Die!" Yin Shenhua roared.

A huge boom rang out from the distance, as though something had exploded.

Xiao Nanfeng blanched and shot forward even more quickly. A huge tempest had formed.

Zhang Lingjun was sent flying by the fiery explosion. Xiao Nanfeng caught her in an embrace just in the nick of time.

He hugged her tightly, causing her to tense up. Only when she saw that it was Xiao Nanfeng did she relax.

"Yin Shenhua isn't yet dead!" Zhang Lingjun shouted anxiously.

"I'm aware," Xiao Nanfeng replied grimly.

He waved a hand, dispelling the flaming tempest to see two figures within.

One was Yin Shenhua. He punched at a white longsword wielded by none other than Zhang Feifan. The red moon behind Zhang Feifan shone resplendently, his features contorted in rage. He was actually able to fight on equal footing with Yin Shenhua for the time being.

"Is this the heart sword that Yu Fuli granted you? It's rather powerful, but you're only at Yin Body, aren't you? You can't exhibit the sword's true power. Zhang Feifan, do you think the likes of you can scheme against me? Die!" Yin Shenhua shouted, punching at Zhang Feifan with his other fist.

"Father!" Zhang Lingjun exclaimed, attempting to rush over.

Just then, a length of red rope descended from the skies and caught Yin Shenhua's fist.

"What?" Yin Shenhua exclaimed, looking upwards.

The skies were filled with red clouds. Another length of red rope dropped down around him and coiled tight around his neck. With a jerk, his neck was elongated as he winced in pain.

"Yin Shenhua, your new self's cultivation is restricted by Yin Tianci's original cultivation. You're far weaker than you used to be."

Yin Shenhua's face was a mask of rage. "Xiao Nanfeng, you again?!"