Wayfarer

Chapter 586: Sinking the Island

Ao Shuai was dead in a plan gone so badly awry. He had intended to lure the Dayin soldiers toward Xiao Nanfeng, only to have been killed in the cross-fire.

Countless strikes of lightning erupted from the Martial Aspect of Violetfrost as he barreled forward, straight toward Ao Shuai's corpse.

"Master, how am I going to report to the Eastern Aspect now?" the Martial Aspect of Violetfrost howled in despair.

The bodhisattva that the Martial Aspect of Violetfrost had shrugged off rushed forward and struck him, causing him to spit out a mouthful of blood from the sneak attack.

He instantly grew more clearheaded. He retrieved Ao Shuai's corpse and flew into the air, gaze filled with hatred. He hated these bodhisattvas and arhats, and especially Xiao Nanfeng.

They all had to die! Could he kill them all?

Perhaps not. The three bodhisattvas boasted incredible strength. Even if he managed to kill them and all the arhats as well, he would only be helping Xiao Nanfeng resolve his crisis.

Xiao Nanfeng was whom he hated most. If not for Xiao Nanfeng, Ao Shuai wouldn't have died!

He watched on as Xiao Nanfeng continued to struggle against the gathered bodhisattvas and arhats, spitting out blood as he was struck by blow after blow. Without any hesitation, he flew into the clouds with Ao Shuai's corpse and escaped from the battlefield.

"I'll have Xiao Nanfeng die to these cursed effigies first, then ask the Eastern Aspect to take revenge," the Martial Aspect of Violetfrost gritted out.

Because the Imperial Court strongly prohibited Aspects from killing each other, he didn't dare to make a move against Xiao Nanfeng. Not even Ao Canghai would dare to kill Xiao Nanfeng himself, but it would be easy for Ao Canghai to kill the three bodhisattvas.

"Hold it!" a bodhisattva roared.

However, the Martial Aspect of Violetfrost wasn't weaker than that bodhisattva. If he attempted to flee at maximum speed, the bodhisattva wouldn't be able to catch up.

Indeed, after the bodhisattva gave chase for some time, he decisively chose to give up on the Martial Aspect of Violetfrost. Securing Xiao Nanfeng was the top priority, after all.

The Martial Aspect of Violetfrost turned and glanced at the island far beneath him. "Two bodhisattvas and twenty arhats—Xiao Nanfeng, let's see how you'll take them on!"

Meanwhile, Ye Dafu and his crew, who had been hiding in the sea, emerged around Taiqing Island.

The twelve golden cultivators were now True Immortals and boasted immense strength. They took down the Dayin soldiers and killed them easily.

As the Dayin soldiers perished, the situation on Taiqing Island grew far less dire.

Zhao Yuanjiao, five True Immortal purple-furred monsters, and the demonic sect master were all already chasing down the Dayin soldiers.

The twelve golden cultivators then rushed toward Xiao Nanfeng's island, where they blocked the arhats from attacking him.

Even so, the two bodhisattvas rushed straight to Xiao Nanfeng, who immediately transformed into his yin body.

His silver moon rose into the air. A blizzard began to fall. His deific domain chilled them to the moon as Xiao Nanfeng invoked spiritual harmony and vanished from sight.

Both bodhisattvas missed.

They frowned, knowing that this was an unfavorable development for them. They had heard of Xiao Nanfeng's capabilities, so they peered at his silver moon in the air—and cautiously decided not to attack it.

With Xiao Nanfeng gone, how were they to fight him?

Just then, one of the bodhisattvas reached for something. A bright, golden pearl appeared in his palm.

"Yang affixation!" the bodhisattva cried out.

Golden light poured forth from the pearl, illuminating the sky and piercing through Xiao Nanfeng's deific domain.

The next moment, Xiao Nanfeng's eyes widened in surprise. His figure was revealed for all to see, his body gleaming golden.

"What sort of relic is this? How can it break my spiritual harmony?" Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed.

"This is a pearl of yang affixation, and is designed specifically to deal with cultivators who invoke spiritual harmony. Xiao Nanfeng, you're done for now!" The bodhisattva roared in laughter, then shot forward in a beam of golden light, so quickly that Xiao Nanfeng was taken aback.

He narrowed his eyes and threw a punch forward with a howl.

Xiao Nanfeng and the bodhisattva's fists met in a wave of flame, neither party losing out against the other.

"Impossible! How can your strength be comparable to mine?" the bodhisattva cried out.

Everyone around stared at Xiao Nanfeng in surprise.

"No, something's wrong. Your strength is quickly dissipating. This spiritual power doesn't belong to you, does it?" The bodhisattva immediately noticed that something was amiss.

Indeed, none of that spiritual power belonged to Xiao Nanfeng. It was the golden spiritual power that he absorbed from the Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and arhats in the Thunderclap Hall when he fought alongside the black lotus. There had been more of that golden spiritual power initially, but a fair bit had dissipated away.

"If you had so much strength, why didn't you use it from the beginning? This was all part of your scheme, wasn't it? You wanted us to kill that golden dragon from before!" Another bodhisattva flew over and threw a punch at Xiao Nanfeng.

Xiao Nanfeng was sent flying as he tried to defend against both bodhisattvas simultaneously.

Killing Ao Shuai was naturally part of his plan, but he could hardly say anything of the sort, even if there weren't anyone from the Imperial Court around.

"What nonsense are you talking about? I would never do so. I simply forgot about the strength that I possessed," Xiao Nanfeng replied.

"No need for such explanation. Give up now—or die," a bodhisattva spat out.

The bodhisattvas attacked Xiao Nanfeng simultaneously, causing more and more of his golden spiritual power to dissipate. He quickly began to lose ground.

While one bodhisattva's fist struck Xiao Nanfeng's in a stalemate, the other attacked Xiao Nanfeng from the side.

"Die!" the bodhisattva roared, his fist roaring like a dragon as it shot straight toward Xiao Nanfeng's brain.

Xiao Nanfeng's yin body wouldn't be able to sustain a blow of this magnitude; if it were to strike him, he would be done for. However, the bodhisattva's attack was so fast that he wouldn't be able to block it in time.

Just as Xiao Nanfeng was preparing to sacrifice part of his body to defend against the blow, a black figure appeared beside him and blocked the bodhisattva.

A huge wave of flames washed over him. The shockwaves that resulted were so strong that they spawned tidal waves in the sea.

"The demonic sect master—you're a Golden Immortal?" Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed.

The demonic sect master blocked the bodhisattva's fist with one of his own; the cultivator and cursed effigy seemed to be on equal footing.

The last time he had seen the demonic sect master, he had only been an Earth Immortal. How had he grown so strong that he could take on a Golden Immortal now?

He wasn't using a relic or anything of the sort, either, but the brute strength of his body! How could this be?

"Who are you?" the bodhisattva exclaimed.

The Martial Aspect of Violetfrost had run off, but a Golden Immortal had replaced him.

The demonic sect master ignored the bodhisattva and told Xiao Nanfeng, "I'll hold one of the bodhisattvas back for you. Watch out."

"Thank you!" Xiao Nanfeng replied gratefully.

He reclaimed his silver moon and began to fight against one of the bodhisattvas, though he was knocked back once again. Clearly, his current strength stemmed not from his own spiritual power, and it would drain quickly as he defended against the bodhisattva's attacks.

"Senior, Demonic Sect Master, please leave this area for now. Give the Taiqing disciples a chance to evacuate," Xiao Nanfeng called out.

Then, he began to fly into the distance.

"I won't let you flee!" A bodhisattva immediately gave chase.

The black lotus, still in the guise of the Past Buddha, followed suit.

"Hold it!" The bodhisattva fighting against the black lotus took to the sky as well, as did the demonic sect master and the bodhisattva he took on.

The arhats also left the twelve golden cultivators behind as they flew toward Xiao Nanfeng.

"Wait up!" Ye Dafu and the other golden cultivators chased after them.

The cultivators vanished over the horizon.

Not too long later, Zhao Yuanjiao and the others slew the last Dayin cultivator.

Zhao Yuanjiao glanced toward the departing cultivators in surprise. "As expected, the demonic sect master was a Golden Immortal. Incredible..."

Suddenly, a huge commotion rang out from around them. Blue Lantern had just dispelled the formation flags that were keeping Taiqing Island trapped.

Just then, a Taiqing elder rushed forward. "Division Leader Zhao, my avatar is in Yongding. Division Leader Xiao said that these Dayin cultivators were chasing after you, that they didn't expect Division Leader Xiao to be present. That was why they didn't make sufficient preparations and only sent three bodhisattvas. By now, Dayin should know that we're both here, and Yin Shenhua will send even stronger cultivators over. Division Leader Xiao wants you to evacuate everyone as quickly as possible!"

"Very well!" Zhao Yuanjiao nodded.

The Taiqing elder turned to the five purple-furred monsters. "Generals, Division Leader Xiao asks that you support Division Leader Zhao and escort the Taiqing disciples to safety.

"Understood!"

"Everyone, listen up! Gather at the plaza. We'll leave immediately!" Zhao Yuanjiao roared.

Many of the Taiqing disciples had already gathered on the plaza. Only a few were hiding around Taiqing Island. Upon hearing Zhao Yuanjiao's command, they swiftly rushed to the plaza as well.

"Right, where's the red-robed elder who betrayed the sect? Division Leader Xiao said that he saw the culprit," the Taiqing elder continued.

"What?" The Taiqing disciples looked around furiously in search of the red-robed elder, but to no avail.

Just then, a gray-robed figure silently headed toward the sea, preparing to dive into it and flee.

"Don't you think it's a little too late to be leaving?" an ice-cold voice called out beside him.

Blue Lantern had been hiding deep within Taiqing Island and was observing everything with his formations. With a wave of his arm, a gust of black wind appeared from thin air and blew the gray-robed figure into a crowd of Taiqing disciples.

"No!" the gray-robed figure cried out.

"This must be the red-robed elder!" the Taiqing disciples exclaimed.

"Seal his cultivation and knock him unconscious. We'll question him later!" Zhao Yuanjiao commanded.

"Understood!" everyone replied.

While the rest of the disciples watched on furiously, a few disciples sealed the elder's cultivation and knocked him unconscious.

Zhao Yuanjiao and the others eyed Taiqing Island with some reluctance. In the end, however, he and all the Taiqing disciples took to the air as they flew away.

Only Blue Lantern remained behind.

He waved an arm and called out, "With the universe at my command, guided by a thousand dragons, lower this island into the abyss!"

Dragons roared from underneath Taiqing Island, which began to sink rapidly. The seawater it displaced rushed to fill the gap.

The whole island sank deep into the sea.

There was no other choice. There was simply no time to move Taiqing Island again; rather than leave it to be destroyed by the next group of Dayin cultivators to come, why not sink it into the sea in hopes that they might overlook it?

Before long, even the tallest mountain on the island was fully submerged. The entire island faded from view.

After that, Blue Lantern quickly flew off in Xiao Nanfeng's direction without any hesitation.