Chapter 860: Redeeming the Venerable Buddha

Madam Rouge's eidolon could only be used once and would disperse thereafter. Xiao Nanfeng was a little upset about the loss, but quickly switched into his yin body.

His spiritual moon shot out of his mindscape and headed straight toward the two halves of Han Gucheng's body, which had turned white as if they were two halves of a snowman. The moment Xiao Nanfeng's spiritual moon emerged, Han Gucheng began to snarl at it.

"He's not dead? How can that be?!" Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed.

"Xiao Nanfeng, you'll pay for this some other day. Obsessions, return!" Han Gucheng's corpse roared.

With a bang, the two halves of his body self-destructed, exploding into countless fragments of snow that scattered in all directions.

Xiao Nanfeng's spiritual moon snapped at the snow with its jaws, only to catch nothing but empty air.

It roared in stymied frustration.

Xiao Nanfeng stood in place, deep in thought. He was certain that he had killed Han Gucheng in body and spirit, so how had he managed to reawaken?

"Could it be the cursed effigy? It must be because he just merged with the Superior's cursed effigy..." Xiao Nanfeng murmured.

Given his spiritual moon's frustration, it was evident that the Superior's cursed effigy had managed to escape with something from Han Gucheng.

"He said, 'Obsessions, return!', didn't he? In other words, the cursed effigy must have carried his obsessions back to his other body—the good body." Xiao Nanfeng frowned thoughtfully.

The spiritual moon continued to howl for some time before flying toward a group of Ice Caskets in the vicinity.

Within the caskets were superior yin pearls that had been sealed.

Xiao Nanfeng's spiritual moon sent a beam of white light into one casket.

The Ice Casket disintegrated with a rustle, breaking apart into numerous small blue spheres. The superior yin pearls within, now free, attempted to flee in terror—only for Xiao Nanfeng's spiritual moon to devour them all in one gulp.

After crunching noisily on its meal, the moon moved on to the next casket and repeated the process. The caskets all disintegrated into small blue, red, and purple spheres—miniaturized Enlightenment Grounds that had been mastered.

Xiao Nanfeng collected these spheres. Although they wouldn't enhance his cultivation, they would be of tremendous assistance to his subordinates.

After consuming all the superior yin pearls, Xiao Nanfeng's spiritual moon flew toward the pillar of white light emanating from the Enlightenment Grounds, ready to break it down.

Soon, Xiao Nanfeng's black-robed subordinates returned to the Enlightenment Grounds.

"Your Majesty, we've captured all of Han Gucheng's subordinates. We have control of the realm at large," Tu Feng reported.

Xiao Nanfeng nodded. "Wait here. I'll need you to stand guard for me in just a moment."

"Understood!" Tu Feng replied immediately.

Before long, the enormous Enlightenment Grounds trembled. Xiao Nanfeng's spiritual moon emerged from the pillar of white light, which condensed into a jade fragment in purple and white.

The moon dropped the jade fragment into Xiao Nanfeng's hand before returning to his mindscape.

Xiao Nanfeng switched back to his physical body and glanced at his subordinates. "We might be the only ones left in this realm, but remain vigilant."

"Understood!" everyone replied.

Xiao Nanfeng sat cross-legged, swallowing the jade fragment and channeling it into his dantian. His ten golden crows smashed into the fragment, causing it to shatter with a loud boom. Instantly, an overwhelming surge of energy associated with natural law flooded his limbs and body, causing him to ignite in flames.

His subordinates stood guard patiently as Xiao Nanfeng's aura grew stronger and stronger. Three hours later, the surge of power dissipated. The giant Enlightenment Grounds cracked apart, crumbling into countless fragments that transformed into smoke and rushed into Xiao Nanfeng's body.

An immense wave of fire burst from him and forced his guards to retreat.

Xiao Nanfeng opened his eyes and exhaled deeply. "The fourth stage of the Golden Immortal realm... My advancement was successful, at the very least."

He stood up as his subordinates congratulated him, then turned to Han Gucheng's captured subordinates. They were unconscious and had their cultivation sealed.

Not far away, the primordial altar continued to emit black fog. Only at such proximity could he feel its terrifyingly oppressive aura. Despite the fear it inspired, however, he had no choice but to approach.

Yu Fuli wanted to take advantage of the primordial altar's abilities; so too did Xiao Nanfeng, especially after learning just what it could do. He didn't want to miss this chance while Yu Fuli was busy studying Saint Lun Hui's passage of reincarnation.

He walked up to the primordial altar, but felt incredible resistance preventing him from drawing closer as he was about to touch the black fog by its exterior. It also obscured the runes on the altar from sight.

Rather than head closer, he climbed a nearby mountain and looked down on the giant primordial altar, recalling how others had made their sacrifices, and finally revealed a wish of his own.

"Primordial altar, hear my plea. I offer you these cursed effigies, these golden lotus hoods and black coffins, in exchange for the life of the Venerable Buddha. I wish to redeem all that the Venerable Buddha has sacrificed to you. If there is any excess, please provide the Venerable Buddha with what essentials she needs," Xiao Nanfeng declared.

Then, he retrieved a pile of golden lotus hoods.

The black lotus—the Venerable Buddha—had sacrificed her life to help him defeat Yin Shenhua, and she had given him her inheritance. If he could bring her back now, any price would be worth it.

After the Venerable Buddha met her end, Xiao Nanfeng had sent his subordinates to capture all the bodhisattvas and arhats that Yin Shenhua had dispatched, all of whom had transformed back into these golden hood cursed effigies. In a sense, they were linked to the Venerable Buddha by karma, and would be a potent component of the exchange.

As for the two black coffins, he was more than willing to exchange them for the Venerable Buddha's life. A separate consideration was that they were quickly becoming a problem that he had to deal with. They were particularly dangerous, especially after Madam Rouge had transferred the cursed spiritual power from Ye Sanshi's ancestral zombie avatar and the pools of black blood into them. He could feel the cursed spiritual power growing stronger and stronger, as if some malevolent entity was about to be born, as if the original owner of the black coffins would awaken soon.

The black coffin hidden realm was particularly convenient, but if the original owner of the black coffins were to awaken while he was inside, he might not make it out ever again.

Rather than leave a potential danger by his side, it would be better to sacrifice the two coffins and revive the Venerable Buddha.

The primordial altar seemed to respond to his words. The black fog all around it swelled up as he tossed the golden lotus hoods into the primordial altar.

A black vortex formed around the primordial altar, devouring them all hungrily.

Next, Xiao Nanfeng threw in the two black coffins.

The mist swirled more violently before finally settling. The vortex dissipated, signaling that the offerings were sufficient to fulfill the request.

Xiao Nanfeng sighed in relief. He was worried that it wouldn't be sufficient. He watched on expectantly.

It had been years since the Venerable Buddha's sacrifice. What would she think when she realized that she had been revived?

The altar rumbled and churned with black fog for about a quarter of an hour before returning to its original state, ominous but silent.

"What's going on? Why isn't anything happening? Where's the Venerable Buddha?" Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed.

The primordial altar didn't seem to respond.

"This can't be! Surely the altar wouldn't just steal my offerings..."

He was sure the exchange had succeeded. He looked around, but the Venerable Buddha was nowhere to be seen.

"Senior? Have you revived?" Xiao Nanfeng called out.

No response came.

He immediately sat cross-legged in meditation as he released his spiritual power, worried that the Venerable Buddha was so weak that she was undetectable to his physical senses. Unfortunately for him, even his spiritual power found no purchase.

"Search the vicinity and see if there's anything unusual—especially lotus flowers, monk hoods, or the like," Xiao Nanfeng instructed his subordinates.

"Understood!" Xiao Nanfeng's subordinates began to scour the vicinity, but they couldn't find anything at all.

Xiao Nanfeng grimaced. Could the primordial altar really have stolen his sacrifices? Surely not.

Just as Xiao Nanfeng's main body was feeling stumped, his avatar in the Sieve of Heaven seemed to sense something.

Everyone in the Sieve of Heaven was staring at the ominous clouds in the sky. The Heavenly Emperor and Saint Lun Hui still hadn't emerged from the passage of reincarnation, leaving countless people worried about the Heavenly Emperor's safety. Of course, the majority, who firmly believed in Yu Fuli's strength, weren't concerned at all. They suspected that Yu Fuli was simply analyzing Saint Lun Hui's domain.

Xiao Nanfeng's avatar suddenly frowned and beckoned his subordinates over to him. "I'm heading into secluded cultivation. Guard me."

"Understood!" his subordinates replied.

Xiao Nanfeng rushed over to a nearby hall, sealed it shut with layers of defensive formations and protective wards, before finally invoking his blue spiritual moon. It transformed into a blue lotus flower that trembled gently and emitted a faint black mist.

"Senior, is that you? Have you returned?" Xiao Nanfeng asked, his voice tinged with delight.

The lotus shook. A familiar, melodious voice replied, "Xiao Nanfeng? Did you bring me back from the primordial altar?"

"I did, Senior. Is it really you?"

The lotus paused for a long moment before responding with a soft but heartfelt, "Thank you."

"It's all thanks to you, Senior. I was only able to get to where I am because of your sacrifice," Xiao Nanfeng replied, smiling.