Chapter 672: Purple Moon Illusory Realm, Open

High above the Southeastern Aquatic Palace, the purple fog that filled the sky vanished as quickly as it had appeared, shrinking back into the sea, toward the palace, heading straight for the black coffin.

Purple fog continued to pour out of the void portal over the surface of the purple moon; the black coffin devoured it all.

Beyond the void portal were countless flashing purple runes that could vaguely be seen. Those runes were crumbling one after another. As they did so, more purple fog was released and subsequently absorbed by the coffin.

"So those runes are sealing up the purple moon illusory realm? Father, what lies within that realm?" Yu'er asked.

"I don't know. According to legend, the Yuqing Grandmaster left a tremendous opportunity within the realm to be claimed by whatever future disciple managed to make it in."

Xiao Nanfeng was still holding onto a little sample of purple fog that he had claimed for examination.

"So this purple fog must be some form of cursed smoke, too?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

"That's right. This is a cursed seal left behind by none other than the Yuqing Grandmaster himself. No one else in the world would be able to break it." Xia Xingchen nodded.

Xiao Nanfeng frowned. He had seen this sort of cursed smoke before—it was precisely the cursed smoke that had come from the violet granule embedded in Zhang Lingjun's forehead.

Zhang Lingjun's violet granule came from the curse that the Heavenly Emperor Yu Fuli had applied to countless purple-furred monsters years ago. In other words, there was at least one cultivator competent enough to manipulate it.

Xiao Nanfeng murmured to himself, "Yu Fuli? The Yuqing Grandmaster? Could there be a connection between them?" [1]

"What are you thinking about, Nanfeng?" Yu'er asked.

"Has the Yuqing Grandmaster been revived?" Xiao Nanfeng suddenly asked.

"Hm?" Xia Xingchen glanced at Xiao Nanfeng in confusion.

"It may be difficult to believe, but the Taiqing Grandmaster recently came in contact with the Taiqing Immortal Sect. He may be on his way to revival—or perhaps he already has been revived. Has the Yuqing Grandmaster initiated any such contact?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

"The Taiqing Grandmaster has revived?" Xia Xingchen exclaimed.

"I apologize, but I can't share more details. This is a secret of the Taiqing Immortal Sect, you understand."

Xia Xingchen nodded gravely; he was shocked by the news. After a momentary silence, he replied, "The Yuqing Grandmaster has never contacted us nor, to our knowledge, been resurrected."

In the end, Xiao Nanfeng chose not to bring up Yu Fuli.

Just then, as more and more runes shattered within the depths of the void portal and gushed into the coffin in the form of purple fog, Xia Xingchen's eyes lit up in anticipation. "The seal is all gone now!"

The Yuqing hierarch and Mountain Lords gathered within the Yuqing holy land likewise sensed the transformation. The wall of runes that had forbidden their entry had been entirely demolished.

Sage Green Lotus exclaimed, "We can unlock the inheritance that the grandmaster left to us now!"

His forehead shone with light as his yin body emerged and attempted to make its way into the purple moon illusory realm—only to find himself blocked by a purple membrane.

"What? Hasn't the seal been removed? Why can't I make it in?" Sage Green Lotus thundered.

Some purple text suddenly appeared deep within the illusory realm.

[Whosoever has unsealed the path into this realm shall be granted preferential access.]

Sage Green Lotus's eyes bulged in shock. "What? Where did this rule come from? Doesn't that mean that Xia Yu'er has priority?!"

At the same time, angry shouts came from the various peaks of the Yuqing holy land.

"Why? Why should that girl be the one to receive the inheritance?!"

"Damn it, I would have volunteered to go to the Southeastern Aquatic Palace if I had known!"

"How can this be?"

Clearly, the ones who had been paying closest attention to the purple moon illusory realm were those who had conspired against Xia Yu'er within the Yuqing holy land. They were planning to fight for the spoils of their scheme—only to find that none of them were qualified to do so.

The only one who had qualified was Xia Yu'er.

"Bastard!" Shouts of fury echoed around the peaks of the Yuqing holy land.

Within the Southeastern Aquatic Palace, the black coffin devoured all the purple smoke coming from the runes, but still seemed dissatisfied. It conjured even more black hands that sought to enter the purple moon illusory realm, only to be blocked by the same membrane that stymied the Yuqing hierarch and the Mountain Lords of the Yuqing holy land.

The black hands found no purchase on the membrane at all.

"Yu'er, recall your purple moon," Xia Xingchen said.

Yu'er nodded and beckoned toward her purple moon. It flew out of the coffin and toward her; the void portal vanished along with it.

The black hands seemed unwilling to let the purple moon leave so easily. They rushed after it.

"Don't push your luck!" Xia Xingchen glared at them, slashing at the black hands with a sweep of his sword and causing them all to dissipate.

"Father, why isn't the coffin continuing to hound me?" Yu'er exclaimed.

"The cursed smoke it has devoured is more than sufficient to pay for the Eye of the Sea—but it wants more out of greed. I severed the connection between it and your purple moon. This exchange has come to an end," Xia Xingchen declared.

𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"The coffin doesn't seem interested in Long Yi's avatars any longer, either," Xiao Nanfeng pointed out.

He opened up the Heaven Division's Gate once again, allowing the two clouds of black smoke that had chased the two avatars through the gate to pull the avatars back out. The black smoke grew fainter and fainter, until it vanished entirely.

Long Yi's two avatars were no longer surrounded by black smoke. They regained their original appearance, but their faces were pale and their expressions vacant. They seemed not to respond to external stimuli.

Xiao Nanfeng dashed forward and swung down with the divine undying blade.

"Who dares?!" Long Yi's two avatars turned toward Xiao Nanfeng instinctively, but by the time they reacted, it was too late. The blade had beheaded both their bodies.

Two spirits emerged from their heads, only to be cut apart by Xiao Nanfeng again. With their souls scattered, Long Yi's two avatars were now entirely dead.

Xia Xingchen suddenly jerked his head up. "I can hear Long Yi's shrieks from outside. We can't stay much longer. We'll have to leave immediately."

"Ye Dafu, bring this coffin with you," Xiao Nanfeng instructed.

Ye Dafu and the other golden cultivators placed the lid on the coffin.

This time, the black coffin made no move to block it. However, when Ye Dafu then tried to move the coffin, the black coffin refused to budge.

"Your Majesty, we can't seem to move it," Ye Dafu reported.

Xia Xingchen waved a hand at the coffin, summoning a gust of wind to strike at it. Even so, the coffin was immobile.

Xia Xingchen glanced at the coffin in surprise. "Something's wrong."

He walked up to the coffin and tried to lift it, but found himself unable to do so.

Xia Xingchen frowned.

Xiao Nanfeng stepped forward and gave it a try, but to no avail.

"If even my strength isn't sufficient to move the coffin, yours won't be, either. Let's leave. Right, do you still need to deal with those cultivators outside?" Xia Xingchen asked.

"If we want to avoid any future trouble, we'll have to take them on now," Xiao Nanfeng said.

"Very well." Xia Xingchen nodded.

"Father, look at this line of text! I'm going to be the first to be able to enter the purple moon illusory realm. Does this mean the treasure will be mine?" Yu'er suddenly exclaimed.

Xia Xingchen turned to glance at the portal into the realm. Indeed, it was written that [Whosoever has unsealed the path into this realm shall be granted preferential access.]

"A rule imposed by the grandmaster? This isn't a good sign." Xia Xingchen frowned.

"Isn't it? What's wrong?" Yu'er asked.

"Some of the Mountain Lords of the Yuqing holy land might attempt to steal this treasure from you."

"What?" Yu'er blanched.

"Mountain Lord Xia, why don't we stop here for now and head into the purple moon illusory realm with Yu'er?" Xiao Nanfeng suggested.

Xia Xingchen grimaced, but shook his head. "There's no need. We still have time, but we need to finish the battle quickly."

Xiao Nanfeng nodded.

Moments ago, above the sea, Long Yi suddenly felt his two avatars perish. He shrieked in despair.

He attempted to get rid of Ao Canghai and return to the Southeastern Aquatic Palace as quickly as he could, but Ao Canghai had no intention of giving up on this decisive advantage. The two dragons tore into each other ferociously, causing Long Yi to feel more and more frustrated.

Before long, Ao Canghai executed a decisive blow. His sharp claws curled around Long Yi's neck, their tips piercing through skin and leaving Long Yi writhing in pain.

"You've been defeated! A Golden Immortal like you doesn't deserve to possess an Eye of the Sea. It's mine now, haha!" Ao Canghai laughed viciously.

"No!" Long Yi shouted piteously.

Just then, a golden sword descended from the heavens, heading straight for Ao Canghai.

"Who dares?!" Ao Canghai sent a wave of seawater into the air to deflect the attack.

The golden sword sliced straight through the seawater and struck Ao Canghai directly on the head.

The sword's edge blazed with flame as it stabbed into Ao Canghai's head, leaving him dazed and bleeding. His grip slackened and Long Yi forced his way free.

"Who dares interfere?!" Ao Canghai roared, staring into the heavens.

A sword-wielding figure in black was standing high above the clouds, shrouded with fog. Behind him were a large group of black figures, likely his reinforcements. Some wielded swords of their own, while others waved formation banners about as they set up a certain formation.

"Eldest Brother, the reinforcements you sent for are here! Thank goodness!" Long Si exclaimed from afar.

1. The Yu of Yu Fuli and of Yuqing is the same character 玉 (meaning jade) in Chinese. ☜