Wayfarer

Chapter 467: Madam Rouge Strikes

Another ten days later, in the center of a secluded valley within the Netherworld Palace shrouded by large quantities of fog, a white-robed monk sat in deep meditation. Energy billowed from him in a continuous wave. He seemed to possess incredible cultivation.

Suddenly, the monk's eyes opened wide. He waved a hand, dispelling the fog in the valley. He looked up at the sky to see a red-robed man floating in the air, none other than the Netherworld Pope himself.

"Peach Buddha, you've grown quite a bit stronger—but no matter how strong you grow, the law of this hidden realm prevents you from advancing past the rank of Heaven Immortal." The Netherworld Pope sneered.

The monk was, of course, the Peach Buddha. He slowly stood up. "Even Heaven Immortals differ in strength. Among Heaven Immortals, I am invincible."

"Is that so? Let me see how strong the combined power of the twelve Earthly Branches is, then."

The Peach Buddha waved a hand. Large quantities of black fog appeared behind him. By the time it dissipated, twelve figures had appeared to his back, crowned and dressed in draconic robes.

They had humanoid bodies but bestial heads. All were fierce and domineering. Ten of them looked just like the ten Yanluo Lords; the final two were the snake and the pig, who were as strong as the rest of them.

"The twelve Earthly Branches?" The Netherworld Pope narrowed his eyes.

"Attack!" the Peach Buddha commanded.

"Attack!" the twelve Earthly Branches echoed, charging toward the Netherworld Pope.

With a bang, the Peach Buddha began to fight in earnest against the Netherworld Pope. A tempest formed and raged across the whole valley, causing the entirety of the Netherworld Palace to echo with the sounds of fighting.

Both cursed effigies attacked without holding back. To them, there was nothing else within the Netherworld Palace that would be threatening. They simply had to take down each other as quickly as possible.

The fighting grew more and more intense. Where the two cultivators went, tempests raged, the earth and sky shook, and the cities all around them were demolished. Countless civilians cried for mercy. Fortunately, there were plenty of cultivators from the alliance protecting them, a vestige of Xiao Nanfeng's leadership.

The two cursed effigies fought for days on end before they finally halted in place, both exhausted. The twelve Yanluo Lords' bodies were close to giving out. They lay paralyzed on the ground as the Netherworld Pope and Peach Buddha continued to face off against each other with their fists.

"Within the Records of Life and Death, the Heavenly Stems govern death, and the Earthly Branches, life. Your twelve Earthly Branches puppets have the ability to regenerate, but that saps you of much of your strength. You're almost entirely drained, and you won't be able to defend against my ninth Yanluo Court," the Netherworld Pope called out.

With a bang, the Peach Buddha was sent flying in a burst of blood. He coughed up a white Yanluo Court, which used to belong to the Snake Yanluo.

The Netherworld Pope swallowed the white Yanluo Court immediately.

"Return my Yanluo Court to me!" the Peach Buddha cried out.

"Your Yanluo Court? It was mine from the beginning. Why else do you think I wasted so much time on you? It was to attune myself to the Yanluo Court within your body while we fought. I was waiting for a good opportunity to summon it back to me. Didn't you realize that? Haha!"

Then, the Netherworld Pope suddenly grew far stronger than before as a frightening aura suppressed the Peach Buddha and made him cough out blood.

"Twelve Earthly Branches, to me!" the Peach Buddha roared.

The twelve Yanluo Lords crawled weakly toward the Peach Buddha. The moment they touched him, they vanished into his body in a shower of light. As though revitalized, the Peach Buddha seemed to return to peak condition.

The two cultivators continued to exchange blows. A tempest formed as they prepared to strike at one another again.

"Fighting slowly like this is a waste of time. Why don't we try something big? I already possess nine of the Yanluo Courts. The Heavenly Stems govern death, and I'll show you precisely what power over death entails. Explode!" the Netherworld Pope cried out.

The Netherworld Pope exploded in a storm of black that struck the Peach Buddha.

"Are you crazy?!"

The Peach Buddha didn't understand what the Netherworld Pope was doing, nor why he had self-destructed. He attempted to defend his body to the best of his ability, but was sent flying for having been struck at point-blank range. His body became pitted with holes, and he was so badly injured that he was vomiting out blood.

After he landed on the ground, a flurry of paper fragments formed around him, healing his wounds. However, owing to the extent of the injuries, his recovery was particularly slow.

"Are you crazy?!" the Peach Buddha roared.

Just then, at the source of the explosion, countless black pinpricks of light began to reform in the image of the Netherworld Pope.

"Impossible. You exploded into smithereens. How could you be alright?!"

"This is the power of the Records of Life and Death. The Earthly Branches govern life, and the Heavenly Stems govern death. The Heavenly Stems lock in on every fragment of my body, and the Earthly Branches can piece it back together. Only with the combination of the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches can one truly revive from the dead; one part alone is insufficient. You lack the Heavenly Stems, and can only reform your body at the cost of a significant expense of energy. I lack the Earthly Branches, and have to sacrifice incredible strength to bring the fragments of my body back together. However, my nine Yanluo Courts are repositories of my energy from the past, and I have plenty to spare. I'll be able to recover faster than you can." The Netherworld Pope's smile grew wide.

"I won't let you succeed. Die!" The Peach Buddha strained to attack him.

The palm technique struck the Netherworld Pope's body and scattered its fragments into countless particles of black light, but the next moment, they began to reform anew.

"It's useless. The power of the Heavenly Stems has locked in on the fragments of my body. You won't be able to destroy it."

The Peach Buddha gasped in fear. The rate at which he was recovering was far inferior to the Netherworld Pope's. If this kept up, he would be dead meat.

"Well? Are you scared now? Haha, no one in the Netherworld Palace can stop me from claiming your life anymore. Once I recover, you're done for!" the Netherworld Pope cried out savagely.

Just then, the two cursed effigies suddenly found blood-colored clouds gathering high overhead. A burgeoning heavenly aura caused them to stop squabbling and look up.

Two Heaven's Hands were descending from the sky and heading straight for the two of them. Each hand targeted one cursed effigy.

"Heaven's Hands? From where?!" the Peach Buddha exclaimed.

"Could the heavens have discovered what was going on? Are they here to take me down? No!" the Netherworld Pope shouted.

The Heaven's Hands caught the pair of cursed effigies, but the Netherworld Pope immediately scattered into a shower of black light and freed himself. The nebulous cloud that had been his body fled into the distance.

Only the Peach Buddha had been firmly caught.

'Let me go!" the Peach Buddha shouted.

The Heaven's Hand ignored him and pulled him into the sea of blood-colored clouds. The other Heaven's Hand chased after the Netherworld Pope, but quickly lost him. Only then did it unwillingly return to the blood-colored clouds.

"That likely wasn't the heavens, or I wouldn't have been able to escape. However, who else would be able to manipulate these Heaven's Hands? Xiao Nanfeng? That's impossible!" the Netherworld Pope murmured to himself, hidden in the darkness.

Within the sea of blood-colored clouds, one Heaven's Hand flew up to the crystal wall and released the heavily wounded Peach Buddha.

"It's you, Xiao Nanfeng!" the Peach Buddha exclaimed.

Although Xiao Nanfeng was still chained up and sealed within the blood-colored crystal, he seemed incredibly relaxed. "Peach Buddha, isn't it time that you returned the pages of the Records of Life and Death that you stole from me?"

"Return them? Dream on! I was just wondering how to escape from the Netherworld Palace, but here you are. I can escape via your mental world!"

He shot toward Xiao Nanfeng. While he was still some distance away, a flashing red void formed before him. Xiao Nanfeng had made use of his candleflame abilities to open a passageway out of the crystal.

"Are you letting me into the crystal? Good, very good! Once I escape, I'll ensure that your corpse isn't mutilated, haha!" The Peach Buddha cackled in glee.

Just as he was about to enter, a set of exquisite fingers appeared from the passageway and pointed at the Peach Buddha.

"A woman's hand? It's nothing impressive." The Peach Buddha ignored it and continued to rush forward.

Then, he suddenly found himself flying back from just that one finger. He smashed into the ground and spat out a mouthful of blood, his past injuries worsening from the blow.

"Who? Who can harm my cursed spiritual avatar?!"

He widened his eyes as he saw a gorgeous woman dressed in peach blossom garb—Madam Rouge.

Madam Rouge's gaze was ice-cold as she glared at the Peach Buddha, murderous intent in her eyes.

Even just standing to one side, Ye Dafu and the others could sense the potency of her aura. They involuntarily shivered in fear.

When the Peach Buddha realized who Madam Rouge was, he blanched. Then, his body trembling, he knelt on the ground and kowtowed. "I greet Your Majesty! Long live Your Majesty!"

"Ha! And who was it who claimed that he would be on equal footing with me upon obtaining the Records of Life and Death?" Madam Rogue demanded.

The Peach Buddha froze instantly, as though he were trapped in an ice cellar. "Please spare me, Your Majesty! I spoke out of anger while enraged with Xiao Nanfeng, but I promise I never said anything about being on equal footing with you! Please, Your Majesty!"

"What I heard was not your speaking out of anger," Madam Rouge replied coolly.

The Peach Buddha froze. Madam Rouge had heard it for herself? With her own ears? How was he to plead innocence now?