Wayfarer

Chapter 463: Replacing the Netherworld Pope

With a boom, the Heaven's Hands finally snuffed out the Tiger Yanluo's life.

Under Xiao Nanfeng's direction, the Heaven's Hand slowly released its prey, revealing the starlit barrier once more.

Within the starlit barrier, the Tiger Yanluo had been reduced to powder, leaving only two strange orbs of light behind. One contained six ancient pieces of parchment; the other, three Yanluo Courts.

"Blue Lantern, make sure this isn't a trick," Xiao Nanfeng commanded.

"Understood!"

Bursts of starlight shot toward the starlit barrier, causing the two orbs to tremble. Only after a prolonged period did the starlight finally dissipate.

"It's unlikely that this is trickery. The Tiger Yanluo is dead and shouldn't regenerate in the short term," Blue Lantern said.

Xiao Nanfeng breathed out in relief, then looked all around him. In the distance, Ye Dafu and his lackeys' bodies had grown so swollen that they didn't look human any longer, but they were casually chatting away, a strangely sinister scene.

The Peach Buddha, sequestered nearby, eyed the orbs of light covetously. With the Heaven's Hands patrolling the air, however, it feared to draw near.

Just then, Xiao Nanfeng flew toward the starlit barrier and glanced at the two orbs of light in it carefully. Then, he suddenly bowed toward the sky.

"Netherworld Pope, I've fulfilled part of the deal by taking down the Tiger Yanluo!" Xiao Nanfeng shouted.

The hidden Peach Buddha frowned. "What? How could this be? Shouldn't the Netherworld Pope have died a long time ago? Is Xiao Nanfeng trying to hoodwink me?"

The blood-colored clouds in the air roiled. Very quickly, the giant face of the Netherworld Pope appeared from the clouds.

"It really is the Netherworld Pope?!" The Peach Buddha's scalp turned numb as it reined in its aura in fear.

The Netherworld Pope's face floated over and considered Xiao Nanfeng carefully. "Well done, Xiao Nanfeng, but didn't I tell you not to expose my identity?"

"I know you're worried about the Peach Buddha, but it's no longer a concern. There are six pages of the Records of Life and Death here as well as three Yanluo Courts, in addition to the Yanluo Court present in the capital of Yin. My strength will advance rapidly once I attune to them all. With these Heaven's Hands under my control, the Peach Buddha won't be able to escape." Xiao Nanfeng smiled.

The Peach Buddha gulped. It suddenly understood what was going on. The Netherworld Pope controlled the Heaven's Hands and was cooperating with Xiao Nanfeng to kill it. A tremendous seed of fear bloomed within it as it understood the danger it was under. If it didn't resist, it would surely die. It had to risk it all to survive.

Xiao Nanfeng reached out for the two orbs of light, only for the crystal star map in his hand to suddenly melt. He was encased and suddenly rendered immobile.

'Netherworld Pope, what's going on? Is this your doing?"

In the air, the Netherworld Pope glared at Xiao Nanfeng. "Who said that these pages of the Records of Life and Death would belong to you?"

"These are my spoils. They naturally belong to me. Netherworld Pope, our deal was that I would help you take down the Tiger Yanluo and Peach Buddha, but we didn't agree that the spoils would go to you!" Xiao Nanfeng shouted anxiously.

"You really are naive, aren't you? Why should I hand these pages to you? They were mine in the past, and they'll remain mine now."

The Peach Buddha watched on, taken aback. "The Netherworld Pope and Xiao Nanfeng are suffering from internal strife—right, that makes sense. The Netherworld Pope was selfish and self-centered from the very beginning. Why would he allow Xiao Nanfeng to take advantage?"

"Netherworld Pope, we haven't dealt with the Peach Buddha yet! Are you already going to target me? Aren't you in too much of a rush?" Xiao Nanfeng cried out.

"This is perfect timing. The Peach Buddha should have seven pages of the Records of Life and Death, and won't be able to cause a problem. If I hand you these nine pages, it would only end up giving me more trouble. Better that I keep them for myself. It's about time, anyway. I've been trapped here for a hundred thousand years, and I deserve my freedom. I have to thank you for sending me four Yanluo Courts and allowing me to bypass my restraints."

The blood-colored clouds roiled as the Netherworld Pope's giant face condensed into a small blob of blood and flesh, which molded itself into the appearance of a middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man appeared to be bound to the outside of the blood-colored clouds by countless blood-colored chains, and was unable to free himself.

With a snap, the man managed to wrest a blood-colored chain apart. At the same time, a blood-colored chain shot out toward Xiao Nanfeng from within the blood-colored clouds, binding him.

"Ouch! It hurts! This blood-colored chain has latched onto my soul!" Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed.

"The heavens left me here to watch over the ten Yanluo Lords, but they've all died now. What good is my position as warden? I intend to free myself, but the natural laws imposed on this realm doesn't allow for such a possibility. The heavens have taken advantage of me—they intend to trap me here as well. If I want to leave, I'll need someone else to take my place."

"You intend on binding me here instead?!"

"That's right. I set up such a construction within the crystal star map, but I doubt you'd have understood what it meant. Now, take my place and be trapped here for eternity!"

The blood-colored chains on the Netherworld Pope's body continued to snap. Every chain snapped off the Netherworld Pope's body meant an additional one that shot out of the blood-colored clouds and latched to Xiao Nanfeng's soul, tethering him more and more tightly.

"Netherworld Pope, if I replace you, wouldn't I be in control of all these Heaven's Hands? Don't you want that power?" Xiao Nanfeng howled.

"The heavens have vested this realm with much strength, but have placed significant restrictions on it that forbid me from drawing on too much of it. These Heaven's Hands are only strong enough to kill Heaven Immortals and couldn't even handle the Tiger Yanluo in the past. Why would I care for them? As for you, well, you can try to manipulate them if you wish." The Netherworld Pope smiled.

"Why choose me?" Xiao Nanfeng demanded.

"Don't worry. I won't allow you to be trapped here for too long. You have plenty of secrets up your sleeve, you see. That ability that lets you pass through barriers of natural law, for instance, took me by surprise. Once I gather all the pages of the Records of Life and Death, I'll come back. You'll have to divulge all your secrets to me then, haha!"

"You want me to replace you not just to bind me, but also the cursed kings in my body. You intend to steal everything that belongs to me!" Xiao Nanfeng shouted.

"Belongs to you? You mean, belongs to me. The entire world shall be mine. I'll stop at nothing to advance my strength. Let the netherworld domain stretch across the entire world; even the heavens shall submit at my feet!"

All the blood-colored chains binding the Netherworld Pope snapped at that moment, while Xiao Nanfeng's entire body was chained up. The chains grew taut and pulled him toward the blood-colored clouds.

"Netherworld Pope, now that you've had me replace you, aren't you worried that I'll use the Heaven's Hands to take you down?!"

"The crystal star map was nothing more than misdirection. What you really did was transmit your intentions to me via the crystal star map. I was the one manipulating these Heaven's Hands on your behalf. Learning to direct them won't be easy, and it took even me several years to do so. You've just replaced me, so you won't be able to command the Heaven's Hands yourself for a few more years. Now, without my assistance, they'll be deadweight to you." The Netherworld Pope laughed loudly.

All the Heaven's Hands retreated back into the blood-colored clouds, then vanished from sight.

"Netherworld Pope, aren't you afraid that the Peach Buddha will take advantage now that we've had a falling-out?" Xiao Nanfeng thundered.

"These pages of the Records are sufficient to render me invincible within this realm. I'll quickly attune to these pages and sense its location. It won't be able to escape, and everything will be in my grasp. It's the one who should fear for itself."

The Peach Buddha blanched. It knew that, if it didn't do anything, all that awaited it would be death. It would have to risk its life against the Netherworld Pope.

By then, the Netherworld Pope had reached the starlit barrier. He reached out for the nine pages of the Records within, only to find its hand blocked.

"What? What have you done to the starlit barrier? Blue Lantern, do you want to die?!" the Netherworld Pope roared.

He whirled around only to find that Blue Lantern had long since vanished, along with Ye Dafu and his crew.

Suddenly, the Netherworld Pope felt a sense of unease. "Xiao Nanfeng, did you all collude against me?"

He reached out and struck at one of the nodes of the formation, intending to shatter it and retrieve what lay within.

Just then, the starlit barrier released blinding light. A dangerous aura caused him to instinctively raise his guard.

Then, with a huge bang, the starlit barrier exploded. The two orbs of light within were sent whizzing off in two different directions.

Xiao Nanfeng, who was about to be dragged into the blood-colored clouds, shouted, "Peach Buddha, I know you're here too. If you don't try to fight for the Records now, you'll be done for!"

"Die, Xiao Nanfeng!" the Netherworld Pope roared.

He rushed toward the three Yanluo Courts nearby even as he summoned a violent gust of wind to blow the six pages of the Records within reach.

The Peach Buddha made his move then, heading straight for the six pages of the Records.

"Hold it!" the Netherworld Pope shouted.

The Peach Buddha had no intention of listening to the Netherworld Pope. This was its one chance at survival—and with one final, empowered leap, it grabbed those six pages.