Chapter 948: Blue Lantern Returns

Within the Realm of the Nine Heavens, when Blue Lantern spotted Xiao Nanfeng and Blue Jade in the distance, his pupils contracted sharply. He quickly composed himself and feigned surprise. "Your Majesty, what are you doing here? And Blue Jade, are you alright?"

Blue Jade seemed spooked. Although she had chosen to trust Xiao Nanfeng, seeing Blue Lantern's concerned expression made her waver. She hesitated, torn and unsure of whom to believe.

Xiao Nanfeng's voice turned cold. "You're Su Tianxin, aren't you?"

Blue Lantern's expression shifted, but he quickly replied, "Your Majesty, why would you suspect I'm Su Tianxin? I slew Su Tianxin with the help of the bronze compasses."

Xiao Nanfeng shook his head. "Do you still intend to impersonate him? Do you think I'd set up a trap specifically targeting Blue Lantern if I weren't confident?"

Blue Lantern grimaced.

"I've known Blue Lantern for many years. We've had countless private discussions. Unless you've fully absorbed all his memories, do you think you can flawlessly answer every question about his past?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

Realizing he couldn't keep up the act, Su Tianxin exhaled deeply. "How did you find out?"

He admitted it: he was an imposter.

Blue Jade's eyes widened in terror. "Where's Blue Lantern? Su Tianxin, what have you done to him?!"

Su Tianxin sneered and ignored Blue Jade. Instead, he addressed Xiao Nanfeng. "How did you figure it out? I'm confident I didn't expose any flaws."

Xiao Nanfeng said coldly, "I don't have time to waste with you. Don't bother trying to stall."

As he spoke, the stars above shimmered. Beams of starlight descended and crashed down on him.

Su Tianxin blanched. He raised his hand, summoning a bronze compass to defend against the descending beams.

The next moment, the bronze compass winked out of sight in a flash of red light.

"What?" Su Tianxin exclaimed.

The bronze compass had somehow made its way into Xiao Nanfeng's hand.

"The Spirit Emperor's technique from fifty thousand years ago?" Su Tianxin cried out.

"You've seen it before. Why act surprised?"

With a hum, countless beams of starlight enveloped Su Tianxin, forming a starlight barrier around him.

"Break!" Su Tianxin roared.

With an explosion, a compass-shaped projection emerged from his body, shattering the starlight barrier.

"Your Majesty, be careful! He has other bronze compasses," Blue Jade warned.

"Xiao Nanfeng, so what if you've become a Deific Yin cultivator? Do you really think you can trap me? You're not qualified!" Su Tianxin shouted defiantly.

He raised his hand. A massive compass projection materialized in the void, pressing down toward Xiao Nanfeng.

"Amitabha!" A solemn Buddhist chant suddenly began to resound in the vicinity.

A towering eidolon appeared out of thin air—Liu Miaoyin's. With a single palm strike, the compass projection was knocked away.

At the same time, her death chants began to resonate, causing Su Tianxin to momentarily freeze.

In an instant, Liu Miaoyin appeared before Su Tianxin and struck his head with her palm. A compass projection emerged from within his body, attempting to block her strike. However, Liu Miaoyin's profound strength was beyond what the projection could resist.

With a loud explosion, Liu Miaoyin shattered the compass projection and delivered a direct blow to Su Tianxin's head.

He trembled and fell unconscious. Liu Miaoyin then reached into his forehead and pulled out a dazed soul.

It was Blue Lantern's soul, guarded by a bronze compass. The death chants seemed to have clouded his thoughts.

"Senior Brother!" Blue Jade rushed over.

"Examine Blue Lantern's physical body first," Xiao Nanfeng instructed.

Blue Jade nodded urgently and embraced Blue Lantern's body, while Xiao Nanfeng and Liu Miaoyin focused on Blue Lantern's dazed soul.

"The bronze compass in his soul will be problematic," Liu Miaoyin murmured.

"Don't worry. Just make sure he can't resist and I'll extract it," Xiao Nanfeng replied.

Liu Miaoyin nodded and intensified her death chants. Blue Lantern's soul began to convulse violently.

With extreme caution, Xiao Nanfeng extended his hand and activated his candleflame powers.

In a flash of red light, he extracted the bronze compass from Blue Lantern's soul.

Liu Miaoyin then sealed the soul as she dispelled the death chants.

Her eidolon and the projection of the compass vanished, leaving only the dazed soul behind.

"What have you done to me?" the soul shouted.

"Where is Blue Lantern's soul?" Xiao Nanfeng demanded coldly.

The soul's expression shifted. He glanced at Liu Miaoyin, then at Xiao Nanfeng. He growled, "All that about Liu Miaoyin pretending to return to Dajing was a lie, wasn't it? This was all part of your plan! Xiao Nanfeng, how sly you are!"

"Answer the question. Where is Blue Lantern's soul?" Xiao Nanfeng pressed.

"Dream on! Or try torturing me, perhaps," the soul sneered.

Blue Jade frowned. She interjected, "Your Majesty, that must be Senior Brother's soul. He wouldn't be able to control the bronze compasses otherwise."

"Oh?" Xiao Nanfeng's expression darkened.

"Xiao Nanfeng, if you kill me, you'll kill Blue Lantern too. Go ahead, try it!" the soul laughed maniacally.

Xiao Nanfeng narrowed his eyes. "In other words, Blue Lantern must still be alive."

The soul sneered. "Figure it out for yourself. I now share a body with Blue Lantern. If you kill me, you'll kill both of us."

Xiao Nanfeng ignored him and turned to Blue Jade. "Blue Lantern is likely still alive. Blue Jade, can you examine these bronze compasses?"

Xiao Nanfeng pulled out the two bronze compasses that he had seized from Su Tianxin.

"But his soul is Senior Brother's soul!" Blue Jade fretted.

"Don't worry about that for now. Do you know how to examine these two bronze compasses?"

"Senior Brother once gave me a charm, saying that I should help him sort through his belongings if something were to happen to him. I didn't want to hear anything of the sort at the time, so I didn't pay attention. Let me try."

She retrieved a blue token and pressed it against one of the bronze compasses.

The two bronze compasses hummed. A flash of blue light enveloped Blue Jade and helped her take control of them.

After a moment, Blue Jade waved her hand. A weakened soul emerged from one of the bronze compasses.

"Su Tianxin?!" Blue Jade exclaimed.

The soul belonged to Su Tianxin, who looked frail but also somewhat unusual.

"Your Majesty? Blue Jade? Why are you here?" Su Tianxin's soul asked, astonished.

"Y-You're..." Blue Jade stammered in disbelief.

"You're Blue Lantern?!" Xiao Nanfeng asked, pleasantly surprised.

Su Tianxin's soul grimaced. "Your Majesty, I was useless. Somehow, Su Tianxin swapped his truesoul with mine. At the time..."

Su Tianxin's soul recounted everything that had happened, leaving everyone shocked.

Liu Miaoyin turned to Xiao Nanfeng. "He swapped his truesoul with yours? Su Tianxin intended to claim everything that belonged to you, then?"

Xiao Nanfeng nodded grimly. He hadn't even known that something so sinister could happen. If not for his precaution, he might have lost his entire empire.

"Blue Lantern, though I provisionally believe you, just in case, I'd like to confirm your identity," Xiao Nanfeng began.

"You should, Your Majesty," Su Tianxin's soul replied.

Xiao Nanfeng posed a series of private questions to Su Tianxin's soul, asking not just about his memories but also about his thoughts and personal beliefs. The soul answered flawlessly, proving that Blue Lantern and Su Tianxin had indeed had their truesouls swapped.

"Luckily, Su Tianxin didn't kill you. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable," Xiao Nanfeng replied with relief.

"No, no. He simply feared raising your suspicions, Your Majesty. After all, I am tied to Dazheng's fortune. If you were to bestow fortune upon me after the downfall of Dachi, it would have revealed the truth. Fortune follows the truesoul, after all."

"So that's how it is." Xiao Nanfeng nodded.

"What do we do now?" Blue Jade fretted. "Su Tianxin's truesoul is in Senior Brother's body. Can they be swapped back?"

Blue Lantern's truesoul shook his head. "It's the power of the cursed mirror. The only way to reverse it is with another such mirror."

"That cursed mirror was likely Yu Banruo's scheme. Su Tianxin spent a month preparing for when Dazheng ascends into a divine empire. They planned for him to trap me and steal Dazheng's fortune. Yu Banruo is truly cunning," Xiao Nanfeng murmured.

Liu Miaoyin nodded. "Yu Banruo wanted you to submit. When you refused, he resorted to such vile methods—it's little wonder he didn't act directly. He was waiting for this plan to bear fruit."

"Blue Lantern, don't worry. They'll use these mirrors again soon enough. When they do, I'll help you claim one and reverse the swap," Xiao Nanfeng assured him.

"Understood!" Blue Lantern's truesoul replied.

At that moment, Liu Miaoyin spoke up. "No need. I can restore them. I can't swap truesouls, but I can return a truesoul to its rightful body."

"Oh?" Everyone looked at her.

Liu Miaoyin raised her hand. A towering green pillar of light appeared behind her.

"Heavenly law over reincarnation? How could this be?!" Su Tianxin cried out.

Liu Miaoyin ignored him and began to invoke a certain technique, with Su Tianxin's soul in one hand and Blue Lantern's in the other.

"Truesoul, incarnate!" Liu Miaoyin intoned.

With a hum, green light enveloped both souls. They screamed in agony as the light subsided and the pillar behind Liu Miaoyin vanished.

Her face had turned pale from exertion. Clearly, manipulating heavenly law was still a significant challenge for her.

Su Tianxin's soul glanced at himself and Blue Lantern in disbelief. "How could this be?!"

On the other hand, Blue Lantern's soul radiated with joy. He bowed deeply to Liu Miaoyin. "Thank you, Senior Liu!"

"Senior Brother, you're back!" Blue Jade cried out.

Xiao Nanfeng felt a wave of relief but quickly turned to Liu Miaoyin with concern. "The toll on you—are you alright?"

"I'm fine. I just need some rest," Liu Miaoyin replied with a gentle smile.