Chapter 816: Taking Down Lun Hui Again

Within the massive Enlightenment Grounds, Lan Yaoguang's fight was by far the easiest. She quickly struck down even the million blue-furred monsters. Each swing of her sword sent radiant light and waves of sword energy blasting across the grounds, leaving nothing but devastation in her wake.

The Cursebane Sword continuously replenished her spiritual power and insight, allowing her essentially unlimited consumption of spiritual power even as she deepened her comprehension of the Shangqing Yin Body.

As she eliminated the final blue-furred monster, a brilliant blue light began to emanate from her. The intensity increased until it reached a certain threshold, at which point Lan Yaoguang sat down cross-legged in meditation.

At that moment, some superior yin pearls hurled themselves toward her with a roar. Xiao Nanfeng's subordinates shot forward to defend her.

Meanwhile, Xiao Nanfeng himself was locked in combat with the majority of the superior yin pearls. He couldn't break away. The space around them shook violently, as did the pillar of white light to his side.

The superior yin pearls froze. As one, they realized that something was wrong. They hurled themselves toward Xiao Nanfeng in a frenzy, only to be held back.

Finally, in desperation, they shot toward Lan Yaoguang.

Just then, however, an incredible storm of energy erupted from Lan Yaoguang's body and engulfed everything around her.

All the superior yin pearls who had been charging toward her were swept up by the storm and transported into a vast world of blue. Within that space illuminated by a radiant blue moon, the superior yin pearls were forced into a hasty retreat. The source of all this energy was Lan Yaoguang, who had now risen to her feet.

"She's a Deific Yin cultivator now!"

"Has Holy Maiden Yaoguang broken through? What a frightening aura!"

"Wonderful!"

The black-robed cultivators cheered for her as she advanced toward Xiao Nanfeng. A superior yin pearl charged toward her, but she easily split it apart with her Cursebane Sword.

The two halves of the pearl tried to reattach to each other, but blue energy from the cut prevented them from doing so. They cried out in agony as they realized what she had done.

The other superior yin pearls reared back in terror as Lan Yaoguang swung her Cursebane Sword once more.

Another dozen or so superior yin pearls were split apart, causing the remainder to flee.

Xiao Nanfeng was only able to wound them without dealing lasting damage; Lan Yaoguang, on the other hand, could cripple them instantly. When had she become so strong?

"Where do you think you're going?" Lan Yaoguang demanded.

Swift as lightning, she chased them down, slicing through nearly twenty superior yin pearls one after another. The remainder fled even more quickly than before.

"Don't chase them, Yaoguang! I need your help in the black coffin hidden realm!" Xiao Nanfeng called out.

Lan Yaoguang's eyes widened as she nodded urgently. She recalled her blue moon and rushed into the black coffin hidden realm, which Xiao Nanfeng had opened up for her.

Within the black coffin hidden realm, in a snowy-white world the Immortal Emperor of Dahan continued to fight against Saint Lun Hui. Though the Immortal Emperor of Dahan's Hegemon's Fist was particularly powerful, he was ultimately far weaker than Saint Lun Hui himself. His injuries worsened, and, without his spiritual moon to replenish his spiritual power, his soul grew weaker and weaker.

"And here I thought you were supposed to be strong. Is this the limit of your strength?" Saint Lun Hui scoffed.

With a powerful blow, he sent the Immortal Emperor of Dahan flying once again. This blow shattered his bones and pulverized his organs, crippling his ability to fight.

Saint Lun Hui, however, wasn't finished. Waves of freezing white light enveloped Xiao Nanfeng's body, encasing him in ice. The frost creeped toward his mindscape, as if intending to freeze his very soul as well.

Xiao Nanfeng had no choice but to activate his candleflame powers and flee from the Immortal Emperor of Dahan's body.

"You've finally shown yourself. Now, Xiao Nanfeng, it's time for you to die!" Saint Lun Hui shouted.

He sent a deadly blow toward Xiao Nanfeng, one that seemed poised to kill him outright.

Xiao Nanfeng grimaced. He had no choice but to retrieve his other black coffin, intending to hide within the other black coffin hidden realm.

"It's too late for you!" Saint Lun Hui cried out. His palm shot toward Xiao Nanfeng rapidly.

Just then, a flash of blue light intercepted the blow with a massive explosion.

"Who dares interfere?" Saint Lun Hui demanded.

As the dust cleared, a brilliant blue moon showed itself and vied for dominance against Saint Lun Hui's radiant moon. The snowy-white domain was quickly dyed blue; the blue glow spread to cover half the world.

Where the two colors met, they collided in sparks of crackling light.

"Lan Yaoguang? You're a Deific Yin cultivator now? Impossible!" Saint Lun Hui exclaimed.

Lan Yaoguang had positioned herself protectively before Xiao Nanfeng.

She glanced at the Immortal Emperor of Dahan's badly injured body, then the weakened Xiao Nanfeng, with a surge of distress.

"Nanfeng, leave the rest to me," she said firmly.

Xiao Nanfeng had consumed the majority of his spiritual power, but he didn't feel particularly bad. He nodded. "Be careful."

Lan Yaoguang returned the nod. She drew her blade and shattered the ice encasing the Immortal Emperor of Dahan's body.

"Foolish girl! So what if you're a Deific Yin cultivator now? You're still no match for me!" Saint Lun Hui shouted.

He shot over toward Lan Yaoguang, who retaliated in kind.

The ensuing collision filled the space with a storm.

Meanwhile, Xiao Nanfeng had quickly retrieved the battered body of the Immortal Emperor of Dahan, confident that the battle was now in their favor.

Though Lan Yaoguang had only just become a Deific Yin cultivator, she had inherited countless techniques from the Shangqing Grandmaster, which would give her the edge she needed in order to fight on equal footing with Saint Lun Hui.

"My connection to the Enlightenment Grounds is slipping—no, this can't be! I have to leave immediately. Die!" Saint Lun Hui roared.

"You won't be leaving. I'll kill you!" Lan Yaoguang retorted. She shot over with the Cursebane Sword.

The fighting between the two cultivators intensified.

Meanwhile, the Enlightenment Grounds outside stopped shaking. Silence reigned over the area.

The superior yin pearls who had been fighting against Xiao Nanfeng all froze as they sensed the change. They turned to his spiritual moon, which had emerged from the pillar of white light. The pillar of light bathed it in incredible strength, causing it to enlarge and release blinding white light.

"It worked!" Xiao Nanfeng's eyes lit up.

The superior yin pearls immediately turned to flee, only for Xiao Nanfeng's spiritual moon to release a ferocious roar in the form of a huge soundwave. The soundwave rippled outward, freezing each of the superior yin pearls solid, all two hundred of them.

Then, it opened its mouth wide and absorbed them all in one powerful gulp.

As it crunched down on the pearls, everyone trembled in shock. Just how strong would Xiao Nanfeng's spiritual moon be now?

Then, the moon wrote out, "I've claimed these Enlightenment Grounds for myself, and can now draw on its strength. Release the cultivators from the black coffin. I'll handle the rest."

"Very well!"

Xiao Nanfeng opened up the coffin once more as a group of figures tumbled out: Tu Feng, Xiao Nanfeng's main body, Lan Yaoguang, and the saint's two avatars.

They all bore fresh wounds from the recent struggle.

"No—my Enlightenment Grounds! Return them to me!" the saint's two avatars shrieked.

Xiao Nanfeng's spiritual moon roared again as sound waves edged with frost shot toward them.

"No!"

The saint's two avatars turned to run, but it was too late. They were immediately frozen in place.

The cultivators watched in awe. Just how powerful had Xiao Nanfeng's spiritual moon gotten?

With a flash, the moon teleported toward the two avatars.

"No! Don't come over!" Saint Lun Hui shrieked.

The moon ignored him and swallowed both avatars simultaneously. The sound of crunching bone filled the air, causing everyone to shudder.

"Wasn't that a Boundless Immortal and a Deific Yin cultivator? But neither could do anything against the spiritual moon..." Tu Feng exclaimed in shock.

Xiao Nanfeng was overwhelmed as well. His spiritual moon had grown far beyond his control.

After a while, the moon finished digesting its meal and turned back to Xiao Nanfeng. It wrote out, "Worry not. My strength derives from these Enlightenment Grounds. Once they're absorbed, I won't be your equal."

Xiao Nanfeng's eyes widened. Had his spiritual moon been aware of his reservations?

Even so, the spiritual moon didn't seem upset. Its body shrank as it transformed the Enlightenment Grounds into a jade fragment in blue and white.

"These Enlightenment Grounds were formed with the blue praying mat's help. When you absorb its power, do not interact with the blue praying mat, lest it undo your efforts," the spiritual moon warned.

It tossed the fragment of jade to Xiao Nanfeng, then darted into his mindscape to digest its gains.

A flush of relief and embarrassment colored Xiao Nanfeng's face as he bowed. "Thank you, Senior."