Wayfarer

Chapter 634: The Future Buddha's Cultivation

Yin Shenhua's eyes glinted viciously as he released golden light around his body, shattering the red ropes binding him.

"I have been restricted, and I'm far weaker than before, but I have more than enough strength to deal with the likes of you!" Yin Shenhua gritted out.

Xiao Nanfeng frowned. He waved his hands again as lengths of red rope unfurled like a waterfall, heading straight for Yin Shenhua.

"Red rope cursed effigies? They won't be able to trap me. Buddha's Light!" Yin Shenhua intoned.

More radiant golden light poured forth from his body, forming a golden barrier that blocked the attacks from the red rope.

Meanwhile, death chants began to resound as a huge wave of malice surged toward the cultivators.

"Xiao Nanfeng, bring Lingjun away. You won't be able to withstand these death chants!" Zhang Feifan howled.

Zhang Feifan was continuing to resist Yin Shenhua with a white longsword in hand. The two cultivators were on equal footing.

With a sudden hum, death chants began to emanate from Xiao Nanfeng's back as well, heading straight for Yin Shenhua. The two death chants formed a cacophony of sound as they clashed in the air.

Yin Shenhua's eyes widened. "Didn't the Venerable Buddha perish? Where did these death chants come from?!"

He glared at Xiao Nanfeng as a blue moon floated up into the air behind Xiao Nanfeng's back. It was the source of the death chants.

"The Venerable Buddha passed on everything to you?!" Yin Shenhua demanded.

Sensing that something was amiss, he ignored Xiao Nanfeng and punched Zhang Feifan with his other fist once again.

"Lingjun, use the praying mat!" Xiao Nanfeng shouted.

"Seal!" Zhang Lingjun shouted, releasing her praying mat.

"This again? The praying mat is useless against me," Yin Shenhua spat out. He reached out for it with a fist.

His fist tightened around the praying mat, preventing it from moving.

He had one hand blocking Zhang Feifan's heart sword and one hand clenched tightly around the praying mat. Golden light radiated from his body and blocked the assault of the red ropes from above. He possessed incredible strength.

"I was going to deal with all of you one by one, but since you're all here, we might as well end things right now! Ten Thousand Palms of the Buddha—kill them!" Yin Shenhua roared.

The golden light radiating from his body manifested in the form of palms that struck the gathered cultivators.

"Red Rope King, materialize!" Xiao Nanfeng shouted.

In mid-air, Xiao Nanfeng's red moon suddenly changed shape. It transformed into a length of thick red rope, shattering the golden palms and shooting forward like a poisonous dragon, drilling through Yin Shenhua's barrier and heading straight for his body.

"What's this?!" Yin Shenhua exclaimed. He cursed.

A sound wave struck the red rope king, but it was no ordinary length of red rope. It deflected the sound wave as it wound around Yin Shenhua's neck and wrenched.

Yin Shenhua screeched in agony.

The red rope king then coiled the rest of its body around Yin Shenhua, rendering him unable to move.

"Hold on tight for just a while longer. Everything will be over in just a moment!" Xiao Nanfeng called out.

His blue moon overhead transformed into a blue lotus that descended from the heavens. Its underside opened wide as it attempted to suck Yin Shenhua into its body.

"Damn you, Venerable Buddha! How could it have given everything to you? It swallowed up the Past Buddha and my original body, that of the Present Buddha. Are you trying to steal the Future Buddha's cultivation now, too? Dream on! I'll never let you succeed!" Yin Shenhua howled in pain.

"It's not up to you," Xiao Nanfeng said coolly.

As they spoke, the blue lotus drew near to Yin Shenhua, the suction growing stronger and stronger.

"Forget it. Count yourself lucky. I might not have been able to kill you today, but I'll be back to seek revenge. Xiao Nanfeng, you'd better protect this blue lotus of yours well. I'll be back to collect it in the future. As for you, Zhang Lingjun, and you, Zhang Feifan, you'll both die! Haha!" Yin Shenhua cackled.

Yin Shenhua's chest began to glow. Unusual energy seemed to be pouring out from it, causing the void to vibrate. A portal opened up before him.

"He's trying to run!" Zhang Lingjun exclaimed.

"Damn it, hurry!" Xiao Nanfeng urged the blue lotus forth, but Yin Shenhua's radiant light was slowing down the blue lotus. Just as Yin Shenhua was about to escape, Zhang Feifan suddenly shouted, "Taiqing red moon, with soul and heart, I infuse you into my blade. Slay this foe!"

The red moon behind Zhang Feifan melded with his body; then, his body itself seemed to melt and flow into the white longsword he held.

"Father!" Zhang Lingjun exclaimed.

The white longsword shone with gleaming white light, cutting off Yin Shenhua's arm and heading toward the rest of his body.

"No!" Yin Shenhua cried out.

He attempted to flee, but it was too late. The white longsword struck his body and landed on the ground.

The portal that Yin Shenhua had been conjuring snapped shut.

"How could this be?!" Yin Shenhua exclaimed, his eyes bulging.

With a crack, the two halves of Yin Shenhua's body split apart diagonally. Blood spurted gruesomely.

The golden light from his body dimmed as the red rope king uncoiled. The blue lotus descended from the skies and devoured both parts of his body.

Within the blue lotus, Yin Shenhua's two halves thundered, "Impossible! I couldn't have lost!"

The blue lotus vibrated. The two halves of Yin Shenhua's body continued to struggle, but Xiao Nanfeng was channeling all his energy into the blue lotus to distill Yin Shenhua's body down. He was trapped.

Xiao Nanfeng waved a hand, causing the blue lotus to fly into his mindscape. He would be able to take his time now.

The red rope king reverted back to the form of a red moon and returned to Xiao Nanfeng's mindscape as well.

Zhang Lingjun stored her praying mat and ran toward the white longsword, her face a mask of fear. "Father, where are you?"

The white longsword began to crack as it vanished.

"Father, come out! Father!" Zhang Lingjun cried out.

The white longsword slowly dissipated. A glimmer of red light could be seen from within, resolving into Zhang Feifan's features. However, his body too was lined with cracks, and he seemed to be phasing in and out of reality. If anyone were to touch him, he might shatter right then and there.

"Lingjun, don't cry," Zhang Feifan said gently.

"Father, what's wrong with you? I'll call on the Heavenly Emperor to save you right away!" Zhang Lingjun exclaimed.

She suddenly seemed to guess something, but was unwilling to accept it.

"It's alright. I'm already dead. All that's left of me are a few scattered thoughts."

"No! You can't die!"

"Don't cry. I'm free from all my burdens now. I'm going to find your mother. Furthermore, I already knew that this was going to be the outcome of the fight. Don't bet upset."

Zhang Lingjun choked on her tears as she stared at Zhang Feifan.

"Don't cry," Zhang Feifan repeated. "You don't know how happy I am to have avenged your mother. You've grown up, and I can relax now. I've left a will behind in the cupboard by my bed. Have a look when you return."

"Father, how could you—" Zhang Lingjun gasped.

Zhang Feifan turned toward Xiao Nanfeng. "Xiao Nanfeng, I'm glad you're here too. I'd like to entrust Lingjun to you. Consider this my final request."

Xiao Nanfeng nodded. "I will defend Zhang Lingjun with my life. Whoever intends to hurt her will have to step over my corpse to do so."

Zhang Lingjun widened her eyes. She felt a sense of embarrassment and sweetness that was quickly diluted by Zhang Feifan's death.

Zhang Feifan glanced at the two cultivators and smiled. "Then I can truly pass away without reservation."

His specter dissipated in the air in a cloud of red mist.

"Father, don't go! Father!" Zhang Lingjun clawed at the red fog, but it escaped her fingers.

Xiao Nanfeng hugged Zhang Lingjun tightly. "It's alright. It's alright. Senior Uncle may have died, but just like your mother, he died in the red moon illusory realm. He'll transform into a red-furred lifeform, and he might yet be revived."

Xiao Nanfeng's consolation calmed Zhang Lingjun down, but the tear tracks on her face continued to glimmer. She was incomparably upset.

"We'll have to leave for the time being. Yin Shenhua isn't completely dead just yet, and we can't let him die here," Xiao Nanfeng said.

Then, with a wave of his hand, he opened a portal through the void and stepped out of the red moon illusory realm alongside her.

By then, a group of cultivators had gathered outside.

"Return to your physical body for now," Xiao Nanfeng said.

Zhang Lingjun nodded firmly.

Her yin body returned to her physical body. With a shock, she awoke.

Then, Xiao Nanfeng's main body held out the Divine Seal of Dazheng, allowing his avatar to walk inside to focus on distilling Yin Shenhua's body down into essence.

"Martial Aspect Xiao, what just happened?" an official of the Imperial Court asked, rushing over.

A large group of officials from the Imperial Court looked toward Xiao Nanfeng.

"Everyone, I can't reveal anything at present. Allow me to petition His Majesty for approval before I explain," Xiao Nanfeng said.

Indeed, none of the officials of the Imperial Court dared pressure him after he invoked the Heavenly Emperor's name.

Zhang Lingjun awoke in tears.

"Princess, what happened to the division leader?" the Heaven disciples cried out.

Xiao Nanfeng shook his head firmly. "Don't ask. All will be made clear in due time."

The Heaven disciples fretted, but had no choice but to wait.

"Everyone, there are plenty of affairs that the princess and I have to handle. I apologize that I can't welcome you all for the moment," Xiao Nanfeng said.

The officials of the Imperial Court frowned. They knew that Xiao Nanfeng was hiding something, but they couldn't find an excuse to press him on it before they were sent out.

Once everyone was gone, Xiao Nanfeng asked Zhang Lingjun, "Princess, where's Senior Uncle's residence?"

"Over here," Zhang Lingjun said, rushing in.

The Heaven disciples followed behind them.

Very quickly, Zhang Lingjun found the will that Zhang Feifan had left behind.

Her fingers trembled as she opened it up.

"Don't be upset. I firmly believe that we'll be able to rescue your parents one day. That's why you shouldn't think of them as having died—consider it a temporary separation. Now, let's see what your father had to say," Xiao Nanfeng said gently, patting Zhang Lingjun on the back.

Zhang Lingjun nodded, feeling much better after his consolation. She wiped away her tears and began to read from his will.