Chapter 839: Madam Rouge's Threat

In the sky by Daxue's capital, outside the massive Enlightenment Grounds that had formed, Madam Rouge continued to fight against Han Gucheng. By then, however, the fighting was no longer restricted to the physical realm. Auras surrounded them both—peach blossoms fluttered around Madam Rouge, and snowflakes drifted around Han Gucheng.

They watched each other intently. The void rippled between them like waves lapping against each other.

In a forest far in the distance, a few figures lay hidden as they watched the fighting unfold.

"Why have they stopped moving? Head of Snowborne, what's going on?" one of them exclaimed.

"They're still fighting," the head of Snowborne replied.

"They are? But they aren't even moving!"

"This is a battle of the heart."

"The heart?"

"Indeed. From the looks of it, Han Gucheng won't be a match for that woman," the head of Snowborne said, frowning.

"Why? They look rather evenly matched. Neither is moving."

"That may be so, but Han Gucheng's gaze is vacant. All his focus is locked in the mental battle. Meanwhile, the woman is occasionally glancing down at the Enlightenment Grounds, suggesting that she's in complete control."

"What? How could that be? Isn't this supposed to be Han Gucheng's main body? He's a mid-stage Boundless Immortal!"

"I haven't figured out just who this woman is yet, but her strength is truly terrifying," the head of Snowborne said.

"Forget about them for now. The saint just told us to find a way to rescue him. The Taiqing guardians have gone mad—they're using the Taiqing Heart Lantern to hunt down everyone inside. You have to get in there and help the saint!"

The head of Snowborne shook his head. "It's useless. There are two hundred Deific Yin cultivators in there. To do so would be suicide."

"What can we do, then? We can't just sit around here and do nothing! The saint specifically ordered you to rescue him," the man said anxiously.

"If we want to contribute, we'll have to disrupt the balance between those two cultivators," the head of Snowborne said, glancing at the two figures locked in a mental battle high above them.

"Do you think they'll help us?"

"If the saint's avatars are in danger, then so must be Gan Qing and Lin Wanqing. Xiao Nanfeng, too."

"You intend to make use of them?"

The head of Snowborne nodded. "Wait here. I'll return shortly."

"Very well," the others replied.

The head of Snowborne shot into the sky in a streak of light. He slashed at Madam Rouge with a snow-white longsword.

As the sword's edge reached the back of Madam Rouge's head, she turned sharply and lifted a finger. The sword technique shattered in a burst of peach blossoms that blasted the head of Snowborne backwards.

"What?!" the head of Snowborne exclaimed.

He barely managed to shield himself before striking back.

From just a single touch, his sword shattered. He was sent hurtling back as he coughed out a mouthful of blood in the air.

"Who dares ambush me?" Madam Rouge demanded.

Nearby, Han Gucheng flinched. He snapped back to awareness.

Ignoring his injuries, the head of Snowborne called out, "Something's wrong in the Enlightenment Grounds. Xiao Nanfeng is about to die, as are Gan Qing and Lin Wanqing!"

"What?!" Han Gucheng blanched.

He abandoned his fight with Madam Rouge and shot toward the Enlightenment Grounds down below.

Madam Rouge, on the other hand, glanced at the head of Snowborne thoughtfully. Then, rather than give chase, she too flew toward the Enlightenment Grounds.

Both Boundless Immortals entered the Enlightenment Grounds, one after the other.

There, Han Gucheng's expression turned to shock.

He saw Ao Canghai, wielding the divine undying blade, relentlessly pursuing Gan Qing, Lin Wanqing, and one of the saint's avatars. All three were bloodied and, strangely enough, in an alliance with each other.

"Ao Canghai? No, you're Xiao Nanfeng! Die!" Han Gucheng roared.

He struck at Ao Canghai, who scowled and defended against the attack with his sword. Han Gucheng shattered Xiao Nanfeng's technique while Ao Canghai was sent flying from the tremendous force.

Han Gucheng quickly positioned himself between Ao Canghai and the three Boundless Immortals.

He needed to end things quickly; he knew Madam Rouge was right behind him. He struck at the void with a hand.

With an earth-shattering blast, the void shattered and revealed a wide opening.

"Han Gucheng, why the rush? Our battle isn't over yet," Madam Rouge teased. She flew over.

"Run!" Han Gucheng shouted.

In an instant, Gan Qing and Lin Wanqing escaped through the void opening, followed by the saint's avatar.

Han Gucheng kept a wary eye on Madam Rouge and Ao Canghai. When he saw that neither of them were intending to give chase, without any hesitation, he rushed out of the opening and fled.

With a wave of her hand, Madam Rouge conjured a mirror before her.

The mirror showed the scene outside: the head of Snowborne was helping the saint's avatar flee, while Han Gucheng sped off with the two women.

"They know their limits well, I suppose," Madam Rouge said, smirking.

She didn't give chase. Instead, she turned to Ao Canghai. "Xiao Nanfeng, you do have such interesting secrets. How were you able to absorb the Taiqing Grandmaster's heart force?"

Xiao Nanfeng emerged from Ao Canghai's mindscape, keeping his physical body and frowning at Madam Rouge. "Was it that easy for you to handle Han Gucheng? You even had time to keep an eye on how I was doing."

"Han Gucheng has only just opened the Heartgate, and his cultivation of the heart is merely at a beginner's level," Madam Rouge replied pridefully. With a look of curiosity, she repeated, "How did you manage to deal with the Taiqing heart force?"

"It's not that complicated. You would be able to do the same, wouldn't you?" Xiao Nanfeng didn't want to elaborate.

Madam Rouge would have been able to do so, but that was owing to her surpassing cultivation. Meanwhile, the fact that Xiao Nanfeng had been able to handle the heart force as nothing but a Golden Immortal left her astonished.

"You're hiding things from me now, too?" Madam Rouge glanced at him with even more interest.

"Don't keep pestering me. Here, take this. It might be useful to you." Xiao Nanfeng tossed Madam Rouge the Taiqing Heart Lantern.

He had already absorbed all of the heart force within it. He had been examining it earlier; it was nearly empty, save for some residue he couldn't seem to extract.

Without Madam Rouge's assistance, he could hardly have claimed the lantern. He didn't mind passing it to Madam Rouge now.

"The Taiqing Heart Lantern?" Indeed, the relic attracted Madam Rouge's attention.

She tapped at the lantern with a finger, causing it to crack.

Then, it shattered into pieces, leaving a small flame at its core.

"Oh? The Taiqing Grandmaster's insight on heart cultivation..." Madam Rouge exclaimed in surprise.

She retrieved a jade tablet and drew the small flame into it with a complex series of seals. The flame slowly merged into the slip, which began glowing bright red.

"I'll study these insights from the Taiqing Grandmaster carefully and remove any traps from them. When I'm done, I'll make you a copy," she said.

Xiao Nanfeng nodded.

In the end, Madam Rouge didn't press Xiao Nanfeng further about his secret abilities. Either she wasn't interested, or she didn't want to pry. She turned her gaze to a pillar of white light not too far away, where Xiao Nanfeng's spiritual moon was present.

It was currently in the process of refining the pillar of light as it took control over the Enlightenment Grounds.

"Is that the last cursed effigy plaguing you?" Madam Rouge asked, frowning.

"It is. I don't know its identity, but it's willing to work with me, at least. It devoured all the fallen red moons and superior yin pearls, and it's helping me distill the Enlightenment Grounds down now."

Madam Rouge nodded thoughtfully.

As Xiao Nanfeng scoured the battlefield for spoils, his spiritual moon suddenly flew out of the pillar of white light. It shook and resolved into the form of a jade fragment in red and white.

The spiritual moon tossed the jade fragment to Xiao Nanfeng, then flew into Xiao Nanfeng's mindscape.

"I'm going to absorb this fragment to break through. Please guard me," Xiao Nanfeng said.

Then, he transformed into his physical body and swallowed the jade fragment, absorbing it into his dantian.

Within his dantian, ten golden crows flew toward the jade fragment. It exploded in a burst of natural law that surged throughout his body.

Madam Rouge watched on from a mountain peak in the distance. She reached out and formed a mirror in mid-air, with his spiritual moon's image reflected within.

Madam Rouge glanced at the moon within the mirror. Her face was cold. "I don't know from what era you come, but you're surely not one of the three Qing Grandmasters' ersatz creations. I sense an overwhelming aura of ruthlessness from you."

Within the mirror, the moon remained silent for a moment before it wrote out with white light, "It's none of your business who I am."

Madam Rouge gave it a cold smile. "I don't need to know who you are, but if you dare harm Xiao Nanfeng, I'll kill you and ensure that you never rise again."

Xiao Nanfeng's spiritual moon didn't respond.

Madam Rouge stared at it coldly before snapping her fingers, causing the mirror to vanish.

Now, alone on the mountain peak, Madam Rouge's gaze softened as she glanced at the meditating Xiao Nanfeng.

The power of natural law filtered through his body, forming currents around him. He remained seated for several hours as he absorbed all of the Enlightenment Grounds' strength.

Then, he erupted in flames, dispelling the fog all around him.

"Only the third stage of the Golden Immortal realm? What an interesting set of techniques you must have," she suddenly murmured, smiling.