Wayfarer

Chapter 512: Taking Down the Past Buddha

Xiao Nanfeng continued pummeling the Past Buddha. His eyes grew cold. He cocked his arm and charged up a blow. He was filled to the brim with external spiritual power which he would have to use up, and use it all up he would.

"Hegemon's Fist: Skyshatter!" Xiao Nanfeng roared.

Tens of thousands of fists appeared to his back as he threw out a punch, filling up the skies.

Tens of thousands of punches rained down on the Past Buddha like meteors that could annihilate the earth, a barrage of fists that continued without end.

The cultivators' scalps turned numb as they considered the impending apocalypse.

"Hegemon's Fist: Skyshatter? This was Immortal Emperor Wei's invincible technique from a millennium ago. No one currently living would be able to reproduce it. How did Xiao Nanfeng launch that attack?!"

"Emperor Wei used this technique to defeat the strongest regiment in the Immortal Emperor's army in a single attack—and we're seeing it in all its glory once again!"

"You're nothing but a child. How could you possess a fist technique with such incredible strength?!" the Past Buddha cried out. "Seal, walls of time!"

A translucent set of walls appeared before the Past Buddha, shining with rainbow light. The walls seemed to possess incredible defensive capabilities.

Xiao Nanfeng's tens of thousands of punches shattered heaven and earth. The walls of time exploded and crumbled away. Even the Past Buddha was instantly sent flying, smashing a huge hole in Mt. Vulture to his back.

"You damned thug! If I weren't injured, you would never be able to take me on!" the Past Buddha roared, flying out of the crater by the foot of Mt. Vulture.

Its body was swollen, and blood seeped out of its mouth. Its clothes were in tatters. However, Xiao Nanfeng had no intention of stopping his attack. He flashed right before the Past Buddha and punched at him once again.

"Hegemon's Fist: Skyshatter!" Xiao Nanfeng roared.

"Insolence!" the Past Buddha roared, meeting fist with fist.

A whole sky's worth of punches smashed the Past Buddha into the ground once again.

Xiao Nanfeng was exhausting all the spiritual energy in his possession, supercharging his techniques to full strength—and beyond.

"Xiao Nanfeng, do you know who I am? How dare you attack me!" the Past Buddha thundered.

Xiao Nanfeng had shot into the pit before it could scramble out of it. The cultivator and cursed effigy continued fighting underground.

Huge rumbles emanated from the epicenter of the fighting, causing boulders and dirt to rise into the air. The very earth seemed poised to explode.

From afar, the cultivators sucked in deep breaths as they watched the aftermath of the fight.

"Isn't this the Past Buddha's illusory realm? It should have ultimate power here! Why can't it take down Xiao Nanfeng?"

"The cursed effigy in the black fog absorbed the strength that it imbued its subordinates with, then channeled it all to Xiao Nanfeng."

"The Past Buddha must be crazy. Why would it bother with its subordinates? It should have just taken on Xiao Nanfeng itself!"

"It must be heavily wounded. Perhaps its truesoul isn't able to sustain all that spiritual power, and it was forced to divide its strength among its subordinates."

"Is it that badly injured?"

"Of course! How else could Xiao Nanfeng take it on?"

Everyone watched the fight unfold in shock. The ground rumbled and quaked as countless boulders were flung into the air. Xiao Nanfeng seemed to have the upper hand. The Past Buddha roared in outrage, but all was useless against Xiao Nanfeng. It seemed to be growing weaker and weaker.

"Past Buddha, you've lost. Now, die!" Xiao Nanfeng roared underground.

More boulders and earth were flung into the air.

"Xiao Nanfeng, if I'm going to die, I'm taking you down with me. Explode!" the Past Buddha roared.

The entire illusory realm exploded as the Past Buddha detonated his relics. Even the cultivators watching from afar were affected.

"No!" they shouted.

The illusory realm dispersed as everyone woke up in reality with a shudder.

Their faces were pale, their spiritual power drained. Many had suffered tremendous damage to their very souls and been rendered unconscious.

"That damned Past Buddha! How could it have detonated its relics? If that wasn't in an illusory realm, we would all be done for!"

"Ah, look! It's still alive!" another cultivator shouted.

Everyone looked toward the scene. One of the palace's halls had exploded, and its interior was now filled with flame. Within the fire, a golden lotus hood floated into the air, the cursed spiritual avatar of the Past Buddha.

Having lost its illusory realm, the Past Buddha grew incredibly weak. A cloud of black fog surrounded it.

"No! Let me go!" the Past Buddha howled.

Beyond the fog, words were written in black light. "Use the Yin-Yang Cauldron and seal the Past Buddha and me within. Don't let it flee again!"

"Understood!" Chang Bing and the other disciples shouted from afar.

They ran toward the Past Buddha with the Yin-Yang Cauldron in tow, trapping the black lotus and the golden lotus hood in it.

The cauldron's lid shut as it landed by the exterior of the flames.

"Seal the cauldron!" Chang Bing commanded.

"Understood!" The Earth division disciples quickly activated the cauldron.

A group of purple-furred monsters clambered forward with Zhang Lingjun's body in tow, guarding the disciples.

"The Past Buddha has been trapped! Was the cursed effigy in the black fog waiting for this opportunity all along?" someone exclaimed.

"It had to work together with Xiao Nanfeng to take down the Past Buddha. The Past Buddha really was a tremendous threat!" another cultivator murmured.

The cultivators looked around their surroundings. Someone suddenly cried out, "Xiao Nanfeng's been injured!"

Xiao Nanfeng reclaimed his spiritual moon. His robes were in tatters, and his body was pitted with wounds and holes. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

"Of course Xiao Nanfeng's injured. He was right in the epicenter of that explosion! There was no way he could have avoided taking damage."

"But Xiao Nanfeng really is impressive, isn't he? He did take damage, but the injuries were largely superficial!"

The cultivators murmured as they saw Xiao Nanfeng wave a hand and surround himself in fog.

Xiao Nanfeng's yin body had been weakened dramatically, but his physical body was unharmed. He transformed into his physical body, then caused the fog to dissipate.

"What? Wasn't Xiao Nanfeng so weak he was about to fall unconscious? He suddenly looks exceptionally lively now!"

"He sustained spiritual injuries, but not physical ones."

Many of the cultivators deduced what was going on. They watched on as Xiao Nanfeng flew toward the fire by Chang Bing and the other disciples' sides.

There, Xiao Nanfeng picked up two hemispherical golden beads. They were the source of the flames that raged on without subsiding.

"Are those the Past Buddha's relics?"

"Those relics might have been destroyed and their spiritual power gone, but those flames are still ridiculously strong."

"Xiao Nanfeng just picked up incredible treasure!"

Many cultivators suddenly eyed Xiao Nanfeng jealously.

Some among them were glad that Xiao Nanfeng had saved them all, but not everyone felt the same way. Now that Xiao Nanfeng had obtained some valuable treasure, many wanted to seize it from him.

Xiao Nanfent sat beside Zhang Lingjun. "Guard me. If any of those cultivators dares to rush over, release the Past Buddha from the Yin-Yang Cauldron."

"Understood!" everyone replied.

The purple-furred monsters nodded as well.

The cultivators, some of whom had been plotting to make a move, froze. Their faces twitched.

"Is Xiao Nanfeng threatening us?"

"Damn it, how devious can he get? Does he intend to take us down with him?"

"I don't ever want to encounter any Buddhas again!"

The malicious cultivators grumbled and cursed at Xiao Nanfeng, but none dared approach.

They watched Xiao Nanfeng sit cross-legged in meditation as he began to absorb the flames from the Past Buddha's relics.

Torrential flame encased Xiao Nanfeng.

"What sort of flames are those? They look particularly impressive!"

"Can Xiao Nanfeng withstand all that fire?"

"Is he trying to cultivate some fire-attuned technique?"

Many cultivators watched him curiously.

After four hours, most of them had recovered from the ordeal within the illusory realm, but they didn't rush toward Xiao Nanfeng. Rather, they continued to watch him until he absorbed all the flames in the Past Buddha's relics.

A huge wave of flames emanated from Xiao Nanfeng's body as the two hemispherical relics crumbled into powder.

"The tenth stage of an Earth Immortal? Those flames looked impressive, but how could they have provided such limited energy? He only broke through a single minor stage!"

"That's impossible. We all felt the strength of those flames..."

"Could we have been mistaken? Was there barely any energy remaining in those relics?"

"Thank goodness I didn't try to steal them, or I'd have made a fool of myself."

The cultivators relaxed, feeling far happier upon seeing that Xiao Nanfeng's treasure had been 'worthless'.

By then, all three cursed effigies had been dealt with, and their sense of urgency and danger had all but vanished—no, the Past Buddha was still alive. Had the cursed effigy in the black fog managed to deal with it?

The Yin-Yang Cauldron shook. Everyone watched on in anticipation.

However, Xiao Nanfeng had no interest in allowing them to see what lay within. He summoned thick fog to shroud himself as he drew his divine undying blade. "Unseal the cauldron!"

"Understood!"

The cauldron opened with a creak as a cloud of black fog flew out. The black fog gushed into Xiao Nanfeng's mindscape and vanished from sight.

"Senior, have you killed the Past Buddha?" Xiao Nanfeng asked expectantly.

"I swallowed it. Unlike with the other lotus hood cursed effigies, it'll take me quite some time to digest it."

"In that case, I won't bother you any longer, Senior." Xiao Nanfeng nodded in relief.

With the Past Buddha completely dealt with, Xiao Nanfeng could relax.He waved an arm and dispersed the fog.

"Martial Aspect Xiao, is the Past Buddha dead?" a cultivator asked from far.

Xiao Nanfeng nodded. "The Past Buddha is done for."

"Really? That's wonderful!" Cheers rang out from all around.

However, Zhang Lingjun had yet to awaken, and Xiao Nanfeng needed to remain on guard against the other cultivators. He continued, "Three lotus hood cursed effigies are dead, but we should be on guard against a potential fourth."

The cheering cultivators stiffened. They glanced around in trepidation, with no choice but to restrain their burgeoning ambitions.