Chapter 809: A Difference

There were a total of eight Enlightenment Grounds outside Dalian's capital, each of which was a ten-pearl territory at the very least.

Some lay dormant, while others were relentlessly attacking the city's defensive formation.

Though the divine empire of Dalian had summoned a number of powerful cultivators to take on the Enlightenment Grounds, none were willing to brave danger quite like Xiao Nanfeng. The majority of them formed alliances and collectively challenged one or two such Enlightenment Grounds at most.

Xiao Nanfeng had no interest in crowded battlefields, nor in allowing others to watch him fight. His strength and resources were sufficient to not need others' assistance. After careful examination, he set his sights on a particularly secluded Enlightenment Grounds that was currently in a resting phase.

"This is a fourteen-pearl territory that once devoured an entire Immortal city whole, leaving nothing but destruction behind. We have to eradicate it."

"Have you made up your mind?" Lan Yaoguang asked.

"I have. Now, let's go."

The group nodded. They shrouded themselves in white fog to conceal their appearance as they followed Xiao Nanfeng into the fourteen-pearl territory.

Upon entering, they immediately encountered countless blue-furred lifeforms.

Just as before, a fierce battle erupted. With the cursebane sword in hand, Lan Yaoguang tore through her enemies.

The superior yin pearls, sensing the commotion, roared in fury as they rushed toward the intruders, only to meet with fierce resistance from Xiao Nanfeng's Golden Immortal subordinates.

Suddenly, a powerful aura surged toward them—the master of the fourteen-pearl territory, a vicious-looking woman dressed in white. Tu Feng charged toward her, only to be sent flying. She was incredibly strong.

Xiao Nanfeng quickly possessed the Immortal Emperor of Dahan's body and shot forward.

Two against one, they were gradually able to fight the master of the Enlightenment Grounds to a standstill.

Xiao Nanfeng's other subordinates helped support Lan Yaoguang as she furiously slaughtered the blue-furred monsters.

As the fierce battle dragged on, neither side seemed able to gain the upper hand—until, after a day and night of fighting, Lan Yaoguang was the first to finish off her foes. With the assistance of Xiao Nanfeng's subordinates, his spiritual moon devoured all the superior yin pearls. Finally, the entire group converged on the master of the territory.

As the Immortal Emperor of Dahan and Tu Feng pinned the master of the territory down, Lan Yaoguang dealt the finishing blow with the Cursebane Sword and pierced through her body.

Sated, Xiao Nanfeng's spiritual moon finally condensed the massive pillar of energy into a fragment of white jade, which it then tossed to Xiao Nanfeng.

"Rest and recover," Xiao Nanfeng instructed.

"Understood!" his black-robed subordinates replied.

Xiao Nanfeng's spiritual moon returned to his mindscape as he packed up the Immortal Emperor of Dahan's physical body, transformed back into his own physical body, and then sat cross-legged in meditation.

He tossed the fragment of white jade into his mouth, after which point it was beset by his ten golden crows in his dantian. Energy surged around Xiao Nanfeng and filled his surroundings.

Everyone immediately grew alert and began to guard him.

The energy of this fragment exceeded even that which he had originally used to break through.

Six hours later, as the fragment of white jade was completely absorbed, an immense wave of fiery energy billowed out from Xiao Nanfeng's body. It gradually faded as his aura settled, and he slowly opened his eyes.

"Did you break through?" Lan Yaoguang asked.

"I'm a peak True Immortal now," Xiao Nanfeng replied, smiling.

Lan Yaoguang, on the other hand, pursed her lips in worry. "It took you such a vast supply of energy to advance a single realm. How are you going to become a Golden Immortal at this rate?"

The transition between realms required an exorbitant consumption of energy—likely ten times that which Xiao Nanfeng had just used. It wasn't a matter of quantity alone, either. Xiao Nanfeng would need an ever-increasing quality of energy.

How could Xiao Nanfeng continue cultivating at this rate?

Xiao Nanfeng simply chuckled. "Don't worry about it. When the time comes, I'll find a way."

Lan Yaoguang nodded, though it was clear that she worried about him.

By then, the fog around them had gradually dissipated. They found themselves in the valley that the Enlightenment Grounds had previously occupied.

The soldiers of Daliang gaped at the valley in surprise.

"What happened to the fourteen-pearl territory? It's gone!"

"Did someone take it down already? Impossible! We didn't even notice people entering…"

"Notify the Immortal Emperor at once!"

A flurry of exclamations broke out among the soldiers as they rushed to send word back to the palace.

Xiao Nanfeng and his group had noticed the distant onlookers, but they paid them no mind as they quietly slipped away.

Within the sixteen-pearl territory, Xiao Nanfeng's avatar watched as the Shangqing hierarch and his subordinates fought against the master of the territory.

Though the Shangqing hierarch was powerful, he was no match for her in terms of cultivation. Even so, his Deathbane Sword, a natural bane to all cursed effigies, leveled the difference.

The fierce battle continued for quite some time.

"The four swords of Shangqing are truly remarkable," Xiao Nanfeng murmured.

The struggle between the Shangqing hierarch and the master of the territory continued for a day and a night.

The Shangqing hierarch was barely able to hold on any longer. He shouted, "Did you send for reinforcements yet? Are they coming?"

"Hierarch, two supreme Shangqing elders are currently in another Enlightenment Grounds and haven't responded to our summons—ah, they're out!" a disciple exclaimed.

"What are you waiting for? Have them come assist us immediately!"

"Understood!" the disciple answered.

Before long, flashes of light streaked across the sky. Two dignified middle-aged women, accompanied by a group of Shangqing disciples, arrived to support him.

They each wielded a blue longsword and radiated killing intent.

"Hierarch, how did you end up facing a sixteen-pearl territory on your own?"

"Didn't you say that we should avoid this one if possible?"

The Shangqing hierarch grimaced. He didn't want to admit that he had fallen for a trap.

"Elders, please support me with the Earthbane and Heavenbane Swords. I can't hold on for much longer. I'll explain everything once we're out of here," the Shangqing hierarch urged.

The two middle-aged women frowned slightly, but did as requested.

"Die!" they shouted.

With a roar, the two swords in their hands unleashed torrents of energy, striking the master of the territory with overwhelming force. The two women were both Boundless Immortals.

The three Boundless Immortals and their respective swords granted their side an absolute advantage as they gradually suppressed the master of the territory."

"Three of the four wielders are here to take advantage of the opportunity… It looks like they did deliberately leave Yaoguang behind, after all. The Shangqing hierarch truly is a schemer," Xiao Nanfeng murmured.

He didn't show himself; he continued to observe the situation without making his presence known.

Two hours later, the Shangqing hierarch and his subordinates finally managed to subdue the master of the territory.

With a scream of despair, she fell as the Earthbane, Heavenbane, and Deathbane swords simultaneously pierced her body.

The Shangqing hierarch retrieved a blue box and stored the master of the territory's corpse within.

"Enlightenment Grounds, lend me your strength!" the master of the territory cried out.

Suddenly, a piercing pillar of white light descended upon the scene, infusing tremendous energy into her body. She struggled fiercely and almost managed to break free from the box.

"Shangqing Art: Seal of Cardinality!" the Shangqing hierarch intoned.

"Shangqing Art: Seal of Cardinality!" the two other women echoed.

The three cultivators' simultaneous invocation attempted to seal the master of the territory and prevent her from accessing the power of the pillar of white light.

Meanwhile, countless blue-furred monsters and superior yin pearls lunged toward the Shangqing disciples, who fought desperately to hold the line.

Even so, victory was close at hand. The pillar of white light grew weaker and weaker as its connection was severed.

"Elders, strike with full strength. She won't be able to last much longer!" the Shangqing hierarch exclaimed.

"Understood!" the two elders replied.

As they poured their power into the seal, the master of the territory grew weaker and weaker.

"You worms dare attempt to seal me? I won't let you go. Even if I have to perish, I'll take you all down with me. Explode!"

"Be careful!" everyone shouted.

As the master of the territory self-destructed, the pillar of white light exploded in a massive wave of fiery energy.

The Shangqing hierarch and the two supreme elders bore the brunt of the explosion.

"No!"

The explosion ripped through the entire territory, sending shockwaves of destruction outward. Xiao Nanfeng, hidden in the distance, quickly shielded himself from the blast.

The Enlightenment Grounds shattered. Fragments of the territory suddenly swirled back toward the center of the blast, as if time itself had reversed.

As the entire territory collapsed, so too did the blue-furred monsters and superior yin pearls.

Xiao Nanfeng's avatar returned to the valley in the world outside.

The majority of the Shangqing disciples lay wounded and moaning in pain.

At the epicenter of the blast, the Shangqing hierarch and the two supreme elders were likewise covered in blood. They lay stunned on the ground. If not for their swords' protection, they would have suffered far worse injuries.

One of the elders spat out a mouthful of blood. "Hierarch, did you manage to subdue the Enlightenment Grounds at the end?"

The Shangqing hierarch likewise spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. Even so, he was exuberant. He clutched a blue orb in hand and smiled. "I've done it!"

"Wonderful!" The Shangqing disciples eyed the orb in excitement as well.

Xiao Nanfeng's eyes widened as he continued to observe from afar. "How strange. Shouldn't the natural laws from these Enlightenment Grounds take the form of a fragment of white jade? Why is it a blue orb now?"

From the cultivators' faces, there was clearly nothing strange about this—so what was peculiar had to be his spiritual moon's method of subduing these Enlightenment Grounds.