Chapter 800: The Enlightenment Grounds

Xiao Nanfeng and Lan Yaoguang turned their heads to see a massive mob of blue-furred monsters charging toward them. Above them floated a huge superior yin pearl.

With an ear-splitting roar, the superior yin pearl caused all the blue-furred monsters to charge toward the duo.

"Are the blue-furred lifeforms obeying the superior yin pearl? This might not be the blue moon illusory realm after all." Xiao Nanfeng frowned.

"There's an incredible number of blue-furred monsters, and they all seem rather powerful. This superior yin pearl looks even stronger than the last one we encountered…"

"I'll handle the superior yin pearl. You keep killing the blue-furred lifeforms," Xiao Nanfeng said.

"Got it!" Lan Yaoguang nodded firmly.

As her strength grew, she wielded the Cursebane Sword with increasing precision and ease. The sword flashed in swift strokes, cutting down wave after wave of the blue-furred monsters.

Xiao Nanfeng's spiritual moon rose to the back of his head.

"Senior, I'll be leaving this superior yin pearl to you," Xiao Nanfeng said.

His spiritual moon shot toward the superior yin pearl, roaring with its mouth wide open.

The superior yin pearl clearly hadn't expected to encounter another of its kind.

The superior yin pearl and the spiritual moon collided with each other in a tempest of snow and ice.

As the snowstorm raged, Xiao Nanfeng invoked spiritual harmony and blended into the environment. In an instant, hundreds of snowflakes coalesced into snowmen that looked just like Xiao Nanfeng.

The hundred Xiao Nanfengs shot forward, unleashing a series of Hegemon's Fists at the densely packed blue-furred monsters and sent them flying like scattered petals.

They formed a protective circle around Lan Yaoguang, allowing her to continue killing a steady stream of blue-furred monsters with ease. The remainder, Xiao Nanfeng's snowmen held back.

Xiao Nanfeng cultivated the Body of Yin. Against a large group of blue-furred monsters whose cultivation paled in comparison to his, he was able to restore his lost energy quickly. Despite the prolonged battle, he remained in peak condition without having drained his reserves of energy.

The blue-furred monsters seemed largely unintelligent; the situation was, at least for the moment, under his control.

Meanwhile, back in Yongding's imperial study, Xiao Nanfeng's avatar was questioning Tu Feng.

"Tu Feng, I recall you mentioning that there are strange locations within the green knoll hidden realm known as Enlightenment Grounds. Is that right?"

Tu Feng nodded. "Yes, Your Majesty. I don't know how it received that name, but everyone in the green knoll hidden realm refers to it as such."

"Tell me more about it."

"Of course. There are plenty of Enlightenment Grounds scattered across the green knoll hidden realm. They're rumored to be particularly dangerous, and are filled with strange monsters and superior yin pearls. The enlightenment grounds are mobile and move constantly. Like beasts roaming the land, they devour everything in their path. Most who end up trapped in these Enlightenment Grounds are slated for death."

"What monsters exist within such locations?"

"One of my subordinates' avatars once ended up in one of them. He saw many blue-furred monsters inside before his avatar was torn to pieces. He also caught a glimpse of a superior yin pearl floating in the air and controlling them."

Xiao Nanfeng nodded thoughtfully.

"Why do you ask, Your Majesty?" Tu Feng wondered curiously.

Xiao Nanfeng smiled wryly. "It's possible that my main body is in one of these Enlightenment Grounds."

"What? Your Majesty, your main body is within the green knoll hidden realm?!"

Xiao Nanfeng nodded. "It seems very likely."

"In that case, Your Majesty, please be careful. I've heard countless tales of terrifying dangers from within."

Xiao Nanfeng nodded.

Back where Xiao Nanfeng's main body was, his spiritual moon fought the superior yin pearl to a standstill. Beneath them, Lan Yaoguang was furiously cutting down the blue-furred monsters with Xiao Nanfeng's support. Despite their overwhelming numbers, they couldn't withstand her relentless attacks.

The Cursebane Sword had absorbed so many blue-furred monsters that it was glowing with a brilliant blue light. With each swing, it unleashed torrents of sword energy that cut through waves of the monsters. Each slain monster was quickly absorbed by the sword, providing Lan Yaoguang with tremendous quantities of insight and spiritual power.

After an entire day of fighting, she finally wiped all of them out. Lan Yaoguang's aura rose to new heights. Xiao Nanfeng's hundred snowmen melted away and reformed into a singular Xiao Nanfeng once again.

Up in the air, his spiritual moon and the superior yin pearl remained in deadlock.

"Cursebane Sword, attack!" Lan Yaoguang commanded.

The Cursebane Sword soared into the air and pierced through the superior yin pearl, which let out a final, agonized scream before Xiao Nanfeng's spiritual moon swallowed it whole.

The Cursebane Sword returned to Lan Yaoguang's hand, and Xiao Nanfeng's spiritual moon to his mindscape. The two cultivators quickly fled and headed into a quiet snow-filled valley. Xiao Nanfeng revealed his hypothesis.

"We're in one of these so-called Enlightenment Grounds of the green knoll hidden realm?" Lan Yaoguang exclaimed.

Xiao Nanfeng nodded. "This place could well be a treasure trove for us. Once my spiritual moon finishes absorbing the superior yin pearl and you finish digesting your gains, we'll keep going. We can quickly grow stronger."

"Got it. Let me consolidate these insights, then," Lan Yaoguang said eagerly.

She sat down and immediately entered a meditative state while Xiao Nanfeng stood guard. He glanced at the snowy expanse. Though a saint's interference had dragged them into this situation, it didn't seem like such a bad turn of events.

He didn't fully trust the superior yin pearl embedded in his spiritual moon; he couldn't be certain of its true intentions. It would be better to put up a front for now, but he didn't want to let it consume too many superior yin pearls and empower it beyond his control. For now, though, circumstances left him no choice.

The two cultivators rested for half a day before encountering another horde of blue-furred monsters, sparking another fierce battle that lasted a day and a night. Lan Yaoguang's strength soared as his spiritual moon absorbed another superior yin pearl.

They repeated this process day after day, but even as Lan Yaoguang grew stronger and stronger, and his spiritual moon more and more resplendent, Xiao Nanfeng couldn't help but feel a growing sense of unease.

As his spiritual moon consumed an eighth superior yin pearl, a chilling voice boomed across the landscape.

"Who dares ruin my Enlightenment Grounds? Such audacity!"

Xiao Nanfeng and Lan Yaoguang eyed each other in shock. They prepared to flee.

Before they could flee, however, an overwhelming presence appeared overhead. They looked up to see a woman dressed in flowing white robes, her face beautiful and cold, her eyes filled with killing intent. She radiated white light just like the superior yin pearls.

The woman's appearance seemed to intensify the snowstorms in the vicinity. A freezing chill enveloped the land.

"A Boundless Immortal?" Xiao Nanfeng frowned.

The woman's aura was unmistakably, overwhelmingly strong.

"Who are you?" the woman demanded."

"And who are you?" Xiao Nanfeng retorted.

"I am the master of this land. What have you done? Where are my subordinates? How could four-fifths of them have gone missing?" the woman demanded.

More auras began to converge on their location from afar.

Soon, more blue-furred monsters arrived; and behind them, two more superior yin pearls. They fell in line behind the white-robed woman as though they were her subordinates.

"I apologize. We unintentionally wandered into this place. Will you allow us to leave?"

"Leave? Entering this place of enlightenment renders you my slaves. I won't let you leave. Now, tell me, what happened to my subordinates?!" the woman demanded, her voice booming.

Her shout created a shockwave that crashed toward them with such intensity that they were blasted into a cavern down below.

As they fell, Xiao Nanfeng pulled Lan Yaoguang into his arms to shield her from the impact.

"Nanfeng, this woman is frightening. We're no match for her," Lan Yaoguang said in worry.

"Don't worry. We'll stick with the same plan as before. You take on the blue-furred lifeforms, and my spiritual moon will handle the superior yin pearls. I'll attack the white-robed woman."

"What? She seems to be a Boundless Immortal! Are you sure you can handle her?" Lan Yaoguang exclaimed.

"Senior, please distract them," Xiao Nanfeng whispered.

His spiritual moon rose out of the cavern and gleamed with blinding white light, obscuring the two cultivators' figures within the cavern.

The moment the spiritual moon revealed itself, the white-robed woman and the two superior yin pearls turned toward it.

"You? Are you a superior yin pearl from another of these Enlightenment Grounds? How dare you! Do you intend to start a three-way fight?" the woman thundered.

Her voice formed another shockwave that blasted toward Xiao Nanfeng's spiritual moon. The moon retreated, seemingly no match for the white-robed woman.

Just then, a massive palm rose from the snowy cavern, shattering the sound waves in the air.

"Insolence!" the white-robed woman exclaimed.

From within the cavern emerged two cultivators: Lan Yaoguang and the Immortal Emperor of Dahan.

No, not the Immortal Emperor of Dahan—just his physical body. The Immortal Emperor of Dahan, cowardly as he was, had surrendered and allowed his body and soul to be sealed separately.

Xiao Nanfeng had naturally possessed the emperor's physical body. He now stood before his spiritual moon and Lan Yaoguang.

The Immortal Emperor's physical body had been slowly recovering, and now had the strength of a Boundless Immortal. His aura swept toward the white-robed woman, their auras clashing in a deafening boom and a violent storm.