Chapter 836: The Power of the Heart Lantern

Within the central Enlightenment Grounds in Daxue territory in the green knoll hidden realm, a conflict was brewing between Madam Rouge and Han Gucheng.

Xiao Nanfeng immediately summoned his spectral guards, who rushed toward him from afar.

He had come to the green knoll hidden realm with Madam Rouge and no one else; these were spectral guards that had already been stationed in the green knoll hidden realm. They had been informed of the situation by Xiao Nanfeng's avatar, and had been in the vicinity waiting to step in as needed.

"Who among you has an avatar in the Imperial Court? Take my Cardinal Aspect charm and head to the Heavenly Palace at once. Request an audience with the Heavenly Emperor immediately. Hurry!"

"Understood!" one of the spectral guards responded.

Her avatar rushed straight for the Heavenly Palace with Xiao Nanfeng's charm in hand. No one stopped her, but she caused quite a stir. Considering that it was one of Xiao Nanfeng's subordinates, however, Yu Fuli guessed that something important was happening. He granted the audience immediately.

"What's going on?"

"Your Majesty, Eastern Aspect Xiao has sent me to report that the primordial altar has appeared within the green knoll hidden realm, where he currently is."

"Oh?" Yu Fuli raised an eyebrow, taken by surprise.

With a wave of his hand, a screen of light appeared before him, displaying Xiao Nanfeng's location.

Seeing that Yu Fuli could now communicate with Xiao Nanfeng directly, the spectral guard bowed and retreated.

Meanwhile, on Xiao Nanfeng's side, the air beside him rippled as Yu Fuli's projection appeared.

"Your Majesty, please have a look—is that the primordial altar you're searching for? I didn't report it immediately because we couldn't confirm if it was the actual primordial altar or just a connected subsidiary. Madam Rouge suggested that it might be real, so I hastily initiated contact with you."

Yu Fuli glanced over, only to see the primordial altar tremble slightly before vanishing into a spatial rift.

Xiao Nanfeng frowned. He was anxious, but didn't want to disturb Yu Fuli.

Only when it had vanished entirely did Xiao Nanfeng begin, "I apologize, Your Majesty. Was I mistaken?"

"No. You really are lucky, aren't you? That's the real primordial altar." Yu Fuli smiled.

"Why didn't you act just now, Your Majesty?"

Yu Fuli shook his head. "It wouldn't have made a difference. The primordial altar is likely nearby, but what you saw was simply Saint Lun Hui's distortion of spacetime to move it a short distance. When I scried the area, Saint Lun Hui must have sensed my aura. He used the heavenly law he commands to revert his distortion of spacetime, hiding it once more."

"What do we do, then?"

"Worry not. Once the primordial altar is fixed in place, no one can move it. Saint Lun Hui's ability to manipulate space is limited, so the altar must be close by. It's within the green knoll hidden realm, certainly. Now, let's count on your luck to find it."

Xiao Nanfeng raised an eyebrow. "Your Majesty, isn't it rather unreliable to count on my luck?"

"Try it. I believe in you," Yu Fuli replied.

Xiao Nanfeng: ...

He couldn't help but think that Yu Fuli was taking all this too lightly. Perhaps Yu Fuli had some secrets that he couldn't reveal even to Xiao Nanfeng.

"I'll give it a try." Xiao Nanfeng had no choice but to nod.

"I'll leave it to you, then. I'm going back to listen to some music," Yu Fuli told him.

Yu Fuli's image faded away, leaving Xiao Nanfeng alarmed. Listen to music? What music? The song he had sung?

Meanwhile, in the mirror, Madam Rouge reached for the Taiqing Heart Lantern. As her hand neared it, it emitted a pulse of crimson light that forced her hand back.

"Oh? What strong heart force," Madam Rouge murmured.

Han Gucheng rushed forward. "The Taiqing Heart Lantern is mine!"

Their eyes flashed aggressively as they struck at each other, their fists colliding with a thunderous explosion that sent a fiery blast through the air. Han Gucheng was far stronger than he'd been at Yongding.

"Is this your main body?" Madam Rouge asked in surprise.

"Strong as you may be, you're not taking the Taiqing Heart Lantern today!" Han Gucheng declared.

The two cultivators unleashed torrents of peach blossoms and snow with such force that shockwaves rippled through the air and tore open the void itself.

From the opening in the void, the two cultivators shot up into the open sky. They fought with increasing ferocity, filling the heavens with storms of peach blossoms and blizzards.

The tear in the Enlightenment Grounds soon healed, but the fighting within continued fiercely. Gan Qing and Lin Wanqing fought against two of Saint Lun Hui's avatars in a fearsome clash between Boundless Immortals, filling the area with booming explosions.

Meanwhile, the superior yin pearls finally broke free from their icy prison and rushed toward the Ice Casket that imprisoned the overseer of the Taiqing Enlightenment Grounds—naturally one of Saint Lun Hui's avatars as well.

"Break me out!" he called out urgently.

The superior yin pearls crashed into the Ice Casket and caused it to tremble violently.

At that moment, another figure appeared, sending the superior yin pearls flying back with a barrage of powerful strikes—Xiao Nanfeng, wielding the body of the Immortal Emperor of Dahan, had joined the fray. He didn't move toward the Taiqing Heart Lantern. If even Han Gucheng and Madam Rouge hadn't been able to seize it, he would hardly succeed. Better to secure victory here instead.

He had no idea how the Ice Casket functioned, but it was clearly potent if it could isolate the overseer of the Enlightenment Grounds from the pillar of white light that would grant him strength.

With the emergence of the Taiqing Heart Lantern, the Enlightenment Grounds were merging rapidly. If the saint gained control over them all, he would be unstoppable.

"Xiao Nanfeng? You again?!"

"That's right." Xiao Nanfeng smiled.

He took out a black coffin and threw it over the saint.

"No!" the saint shouted.

Xiao Nanfeng had no intention to hesitate. The black coffin engulfed the saint along with the Ice Casket, pulling both into the hidden realm within.

Then, he shut the coffin lid and put it away.

"Xiao Nanfeng, how dare you!" the saint's two avatars shouted from afar.

He could have become unstoppable with the Enlightenment Grounds' power, but Xiao Nanfeng had ruined his opportunity! The saint's avatars were furious.

No one noticed as a certain figure darted toward the Taiqing Heart Lantern and seized it in one swift motion.

"Lu Yan?" Xiao Nanfeng frowned.

As Lu Yan touched the Taiqing Heart Lantern, he smiled expectantly. "Taiqing Grandmaster, I am a Taiqing guardian. Please bestow upon me the right to wield this Taiqing Heart Lantern and extinguish these villains!"

With a hum, the Taiqing Heart Lantern emitted waves of red light. A tidal wave surged forth and washed over the Enlightenment Grounds, filling it with dense red fog that shrouded everything from sight. The entire world seemed to spin; soon, none of them could see anything.

Xiao Nanfeng blanched. He had been attempting to rush toward Lu Yan, but now he was disoriented and lost.

Realizing that he was in a dangerous situation, he reined in his aura and retreated to avoid becoming a target.

Meanwhile, the saint's two avatars stopped fighting with Gan Qing and Lin Wanqing. They glanced at their surroundings in surprise.

"Lu Yan? Did you gain control of the Taiqing Heart Lantern? Very good! Now, bring it to me!" one of the saint's avatars called out.

Unfortunately, there was no response from within the red fog.

"Lu Yan? Didn't you hear me?" the saint's avatar demanded.

Lu Yan still didn't respond. A group of superior yin pearls flew over; the Taiqing guardians remained suspiciously silent.

The saint's avatar was growing irritated. "Do you intend to rebel? Obey me or prepare to die!"

Just then, Lu Yan called out, "Saint Lun Hui, when we joined forces, you promised that once the red-furred monsters were sacrificed, you would claim the Enlightenment Grounds, while the Taiqing Heart Lantern would remain with us. Are you going back on your word?"

"The Taiqing Heart Lantern belongs to me! Who do you think you are to question me? Surrender the lantern and I'll grant you the chance to serve me!" the saint called out coolly.

"In other words, you never intended to keep your promise to us?"

The saint's avatar charged toward where Lu Yan's voice had come from, only to find nothing there.

"How dare you bastards try to bargain with me? Obey me or I'll kill you all!" the saint threatened.

"Ha! Without sufficient power, we might not have been worth bargaining with—but now that we've secured the Taiqing Heart Lantern, the tides have turned. Everything here now obeys my will," Lu Yan retorted coldly.

"What did you say?" the saint's avatar demanded.

"This is now the world of the Taiqing Heart Lantern. My fellow Taiqing guardians, you need not conceal your power anymore. Don't shame the Taiqing Grandmaster!" Lu Yan declared.

"Understood!" came a chorus of voices.

The next moment, a blinding red light emerged, revealing a massive red moon that filled the red fog with a searing glow. The aura it emitted was so intense that it sent shivers through everyone present.

"A Deific Yin aura? Impossible. None of you are at that level—unless the Taiqing Heart Lantern has empowered one of you!" the saint's avatar cried out.

"In the world of the Taiqing Heart Lantern, one who possesses a Taiqing red moon will become a Deific Yin cultivator," Lu Yan replied coldly.

"So what if you're a Deific Yin cultivator? Even with the Taiqing Heart Lantern, you're barely a match for my avatar. Do you want to die?" the saint's avatar threatened.

"You misunderstand. The effect applies not just to the wielder of the Taiqing Heart Lantern. Within this world, everyone with a Taiqing red moon will become a Deific Yin cultivator," Lu Yan replied coldly.

The next moment, another red spiritual moon appeared, matching the intensity of the first.

"A second Deific Yin cultivator?" Gan Qing explained.

Soon, a third red moon rose, then a fourth, then a fifth...