Chapter 812: A Bidirectional Rush

The enormous Enlightenment Grounds continued to expand as Xiao Nanfeng and his group turned and fled.

They had no desire to get caught up in the chaos, but weren't able to avoid the disaster in time. A massive pillar of white light suddenly appeared in their path, trapping them.

"We've been discovered," Xiao Nanfeng shouted. "Hurry up and break out of the pillar!"

Everyone struck at the pillar with all their might.

Their combined punches struck the inner wall of the pillar, which trembled and cracked slightly. However, the pillar began to move at incredible speed, dragging them into the giant Enlightenment Grounds.

With a thud, they found themselves pulled into a snowfield.

Everyone frowned as they gathered around each other.

Before them was a vast, snowy-white plain with heavy snow falling from the skies. Not far off, they could see Daliang's capital. Screams were emanating from within as close to a million blue-furred monsters rampaged and slaughtered everything in their path.

Daliang's capital had become a frozen hell.

Above the city floated hundreds of superior yin pearls—almost two hundred in all, making everyone shudder in fear.

They had been able to deal with a few pearls simultaneously with relatively ease. Against a dozen, things quickly became challenging. Two hundred was a nightmare, one they couldn't possibly take down.

The worst was yet to come. The stronger these Enlightenment Grounds, the more powerful their masters. A fourteen-pearl territory's master had required Xiao Nanfeng and Tu Feng's combined efforts to suppress. What kind of terrifying power would a two-hundred-pearl-territory's master possess?

At that moment, the crowd suddenly seemed to sense a powerful presence above them. The cultivators looked up to see a figure veiled in white mist atop a blue lotus platform, with a towering pillar of white light behind him stretching into the heavens. He was clearly the master of this territory. His aura was overwhelming; his pressure weighed down on everyone.

Standing beside him was a man in blue—none other than the Shangqing hierarch himself.

The Shangqing hierarch was scanning his surroundings as he searched for something. When he noticed Xiao Nanfeng and his group being dragged into the Enlightenment Grounds, his face lit up.

"Overseer, you are truly incredible. Even Xiao Nanfeng and his group couldn't escape your clutches, haha!"

Seated atop the lotus platform, the overseer replied, "Shangqing hierarch, this blue praying mat of yours is a true treasure."

The Shangqing hierarch smiled. "I hope you're not getting any funny ideas, Overseer. The praying mat can allow you to fuse all of Shangqing's Enlightenment Grounds simultaneously, but with a flick of my hand, I can break them all up again."

The veiled overseer replied, "Don't worry. I'll fulfill my end of the bargain."

"In that case, allow me to thank you in advance. Before that, though, can you help me restrain that group of people over there?" The Shangqing hierarch pointed at Xiao Nanfeng and his subordinates.

Everyone tensed and braced themselves for a fight. Xiao Nanfeng immediately summoned the physical body of the Immortal Emperor of Dahan and possessed it.

However, the overseer's power was overwhelming. All he said was, "As you wish."

Then, he raised his hand and pointed a finger at Xiao Nanfeng's group. A beam of white light shot toward them.

"Run!" Xiao Nanfeng shouted.

However, the beam was far too quick. It engulfed all the cultivators within moments.

Suddenly, they found themselves trapped within individual blocks of ice. The ice was incredibly cold and extraordinarily tough, and even Xiao Nanfeng and Tu Feng couldn't break out.

It was clearly a form of containment.

"Break!" Tu Feng shouted.

He struggled with all his strength, but the ice held firm.

High above, the Shangqing hierarch floated close to them and sneered. "Don't bother struggling. Even without tapping into the strength of these Enlightenment Grounds, the overseer might as well be a god in this domain. If he uses the Enlightenment Grounds' power, he'll be unmatched. He could easily take down a group of early-stage Boundless Immortals within moments."

"Shangqing Hierarch, were you responsible for this? For merging all the Enlightenment Grounds together? Is this the power that that blue praying mat possesses?" Xiao Nanfeng demanded.

The Shangqing hierarch smirked. "Indeed. It's a priceless artifact left behind by the Shangqing Grandmaster with the ability to do so. I'm helping the overseer of these Enlightenment Grounds. What are you going to do about it?"

"Do you know what you're doing? I'm a Cardinal Aspect of the Imperial Court. Are you prepared to bear its wrath?" Xiao Nanfeng demanded.

"Hah! The wrath of the Imperial Court? Do you really think I'm afraid of you? After today, unless Yu Fuli himself shows up, there's no one I'll have to fear. Besides, Yu Fuli is making preparations for the calamity of the era. He can't leave his domain—there's no reason for him to remain cooped up in the Sieve of Heaven for years otherwise."

"You're being overconfident," Xiao Nanfeng replied coldly.

"Oh? Try and summon him right now if you don't believe me!" the Shangqing hierarch mocked.

"Did you cooperate with this so-called overseer and fuse all these Enlightenment Grounds together just to deal with me?" Xiao Nanfeng demanded.

He was deliberately trying to buy time while he tried out a variety of means to escape.

The Shangqing hierarch scoffed. "Don't flatter yourself. You're hardly worth it."

"Let me guess. Did this overseer promise to hand you all the blue-furred lifeforms in these Enlightenment Grounds?"

"Just a lucky guess," the Shangqing hierarch replied.

"It's hardly a difficult conclusion to come to. It seems that the Shangqing hierarch the world knows is nothing but a facade, after all. People think that you're a noble man who protects the world from evil, that you care for the common people—but I see that you're willing to sacrifice the people of a whole city, a divine empire's capital at that, for personal gain. You didn't even hesitate to abandon your own disciples. How much more ruthless can you get?" Xiao Nanfeng called out.

Meanwhile, he finally managed to loosen the ice around him slightly. Though he was still sealed, it wouldn't be difficult for him to escape whenever he wanted with his candleflame powers.

The Shangqing hierarch didn't notice anything unusual. He sneered. "I don't care what you think of me. You're nothing more than a dead man walking at this point."

"Once my other body gets you, you won't be able to withstand my fury," Xiao Nanfeng warned.

"Ha! Try it if you dare," the Shangqing hierarch called back dismissively.

He turned to the frozen Lan Yaoguang as his face grew dour. "Yaoguang, haven't I treated you well enough? How could you give up on being a holy maiden of Yaoguang just to cavort with this man? Have you even considered my feelings?"

Lan Yaoguang glanced at the Shangqing hierarch coolly. "I don't recall being so familiar with you that I have to take your thoughts into account."

"I was intending to make you my wife!" the Shangqing hierarch exclaimed.

"I'm not interested—and don't pretend to be infatuated with me. You're simply after my Cursebane Sword," Lan Yaoguang replied coolly.

The Shangqing hierarch's eyes flared with anger. "It's clear that Xiao Nanfeng has corrupted you. Very well. You'll still become my wife—you have no other choice, after all."

"Indeed? And how do you intend to change my mind?"

"Why else would I have agreed to help the Immortal Emperor of Daliang?"

He held up a crimson talisman covered in pink runes, which pulsed with sinister energy.

"What's that?" Lan Yaoguang suddenly had a bad feeling.

"This is something the Immortal Emperor of Daliang awarded me in exchange for the core of a ten-pearl Enlightenment Grounds. Unfortunately, she grew suspicious of my plans and fled, so I wasn't able to reclaim the core. Even so, this talisman of love is good enough," the Shangqing hierarch said with a twisted smile.

"A talisman of love? It bears a curse of infatuation?!" Lan Yaoguang blanched.

She had heard of such curses before. They were powerful spells that targeted a cultivator's heart and twisted a person's nature. Two people who otherwise had no interest in each other could quickly develop an ardent attraction as a result.

"Precisely. I prepared this for you. Resist all you like, Yaoguang—it'll only make you even more submissive afterwards, haha!"

"Get away from me!" Lan Yaoguang shrieked.

"Scream if you want, the more the better!"

He activated the talisman, which burst into pink flames as it formed a pink orb of energy. The orb split into two. The Shangqing hierarch absorbed one half, wrapping him in a pink aura.

"Now, all I have to do is place this other orb within your body. I was planning to do this with your mother, but you'll be a fine replacement. Don't worry. I'll treat you well in the future." The Shangqing hierarch roared in laughter.

He shot the other half of the pink orb straight toward Lan Yaoguang.

"No!" Lan Yaoguang cried out in terror.

Just then, red light flashed. Xiao Nanfeng had activated his candleflame powers to free himself and appear before Lan Yaoguang.

"Let's go!" he shouted.

With the Immortal Emperor of Dahan's body, he struck at the ice imprisoning Lan Yaoguang. To his dismay, however, the ice didn't budge.

"Xiao Nanfeng? How did you manage to escape?!" the Shangqing hierarch exclaimed.

Xiao Nanfeng grimaced. If he couldn't free Lan Yaoguang, she would be struck by the curse!

In desperation, he threw himself in front of her.

The pink orb splashed against the Immortal Emperor of Dahan's body, engulfing it in a pink glow as the curse of infatuation took effect.

Everyone froze, stunned by the sudden turn of events. This curse was between two people, the Shangqing hierarch and... the Immortal Emperor of Dahan?

"Xiao Nanfeng, are you crazy?!" the Shangqing hierarch shrieked.

A shiver ran down his spine. The curse of infatuation was mutual, after all. What was he supposed to do now?!