Wayfarer

Chapter 556: Cultivation of Pleasure

In Yin Tianci's manor in the capital of Dayin, Yin Tianci listened to Tang's report.

"Are you certain Mo Lengxuan was responsible?" Yin Tianci asked.

"Your Highness, the purple-furred monsters are out in force searching for Zhang Lingjun. All sorts of evidence, direct or circumstantial, point to Mo Lengxuan being the culprit. He's really got some guts," Tang said.

"Is Mo Lengxuan enacting revenge on Xiao Nanfeng, then?"

"I heard that Zhang Lingjun's a True Immortal now, and she has True Immortal purple-furred monsters guarding her as well. Mo Lengxuan's main body is only a True Immortal, so how could he have kidnapped Zhang Lingjun without causing a fuss? I even heard that someone impersonated Xiao Nanfeng to snatch her away. Could it be the work of that pink-robed monk beside Mo Lengxuan? How could he have been so skilled that even Zhang Lingjun didn't notice anything amiss?" Tang wondered.

"A Buddha's secret technique," Yin Tianci murmured. "It allows the Buddha to take on the form of a person the target loves. Did Mo Lengxuan manage to get a Buddha's help? No wonder he was able to kidnap Zhang Lingjun."

"A Buddha? Where from?" Tang exclaimed.

"Don't worry about such details." Yin Tianci seemed reluctant to provide more information.

"Understood, Your Highness. My analysis may be flawed if I'm missing certain pieces of information, so I apologize in advance."

"It matters not." Yin Tianci seemed to want to keep such information particularly private.

"Your Highness, just what is Mo Lengxuan doing? Rather than target Xiao Nanfeng directly, he seized Zhang Lingjun instead. Is he trying to make matters worse? I'm worried that he might have fallen prey to Xiao Nanfeng's plans."

"Oh?"

"There must be a reason Xiao Nanfeng made such an ostentatious entrance into Dayin. Perhaps there are servants of the Imperial Court skulking about the capital while everyone's focused on him. Could he have deliberately intended for Zhang Lingjun to be kidnapped? He might well take the opportunity to have the servants of the Imperial Court investigate. This might be one of his schemes," Tang suggested.

Yin Tianci narrowed his eyes.

"Your Highness, I'm unaware of much of Dayin's hidden reserves of power, and I don't intend to learn more without being given permission. I simply want to propose such a possibility as a warning," Tang said seriously.

Yin Tianci was silent for a moment before he nodded. "Very well. I'll be out on business. Stay here and wait for me."

"Understood!" Tang replied.

On Xiao Nanfeng's guest island, Xiao Nanfeng was seated in a large hall and patiently awaiting information from the purple-furred monsters streaming in and out of it, reporting on their latest discoveries.

"Martial Aspect Xiao, we've scoured the exterior of the city but have found nothing related to the princess. It's almost as if she vanished into thin air," a purple-furred monster reported anxiously.

"Conduct another search," Xiao Nanfeng replied.

"Understood!"

The gathered purple-furred monsters rushed out to continue searching for Zhang Lingjun in a hurry.

Just then, Emperor Feng slowly walked into the hall. "Well? Has Zhang Lingjun vanished?"

"I'm glad you're back, Senior. Might you have any idea how to find the princess?" Xiao Nanfeng asked immediately.

"Let me see."

He waved a hand. A wisp of black smoke appeared in his palm, which flickered as it attempted to make its way out of the hall. The next moment, however, it stopped short.

"Hm? Someone cut me off. We're facing an expert, it seems."

Xiao Nanfeng was taken aback as well. He suddenly suspected that Emperor Feng had left a tracking mark on his and Zhang Lingjun's bodies.

"What sort of expert?"

"One at least as strong as I am, perhaps even stronger. No ordinary foe," Emperor Feng concluded.

"Are you unable to find her, Senior?"

"I can't. This assailant is clearly cautious and prudent. There's no way for us to strike back," Emperor Feng replied, his gaze stony.

He was worried that Zhang Lingjun would reveal the secret of his freedom.

Xiao Nanfeng was just about to reply when his eyes suddenly widened. "I've found her."

"What?" Emperor Feng exclaimed.

If even he couldn't find Zhang Lingjun, how had Xiao Nanfeng done so while seated within a hall?

"Senior, the princess is in dire straits. Would you head out and rescue her with me?" Xiao Nanfeng begged earnestly.

"Have you really found her?" Emperor Feng still seemed dubious.

"More or less."

"I'll check out the situation with you, I suppose." There was a note of suspicion in Emperor Feng's tone.

"We should be as covert as possible. Would you leave my senior brother behind? The two of us can head there ourselves," Xiao Nanfeng continued.

Emperor Feng frowned. After confirming that this wasn't a scheme directed at him, he nodded.

His soul flew out from within Zhao Yuanjiao's mindscape, Zhao Yuanjiao blinked and shook himself awake.

"Senior Brother, let me borrow your clothes. Please stay here and keep an eye on the situation. Have all those purple-furred lifeforms who come to report to you continue their search for the princess. This is my Martial Aspect's token, and they'll listen to you," Xiao Nanfeng said.

"Understood!" Zhao Yuanjiao claimed the token.

He handed Xiao Nanfeng a set of robes that were just like his, which Xiao Nanfeng hurriedly put on.

"Senior, please lend me the crescent sword—or perhaps you could imbue yourself in it?" Xiao Nanfeng continued.

Emperor Feng was taken aback by the strange request, but obliged. There seemed to be an interior space within the crescent sword within which he could reside. Xiao Nanfeng held the sword in hand.

He shrouded his figure with fog, leaving his appearance hidden, as he rushed out.

Many interested parties kept an eye on the guest island on which Xiao Nanfeng and his party resided. Zhao Yuanjiao frequently left the island, and his departure now was nothing out of the ordinary. Xiao Nanfeng impersonated Zhao Yuanjiao as he rushed into the crowds swarming through the capital and quickly vanished from sight. As he left the city gates, he rushed toward a nearby forest high in the mountains.

Many people were paying attention to that part of the capital where Xiao Nanfeng was headed. Those who weren't in the know wondered why there was suddenly so much fuss, while those who were thought that Zhao Yuanjiao had to be participating in the search for Zhang Lingjun himself.

Xiao Nanfeng entered the forest, looped around, then flew off in another direction entirely, far from the capital of Dayin. Two hours later, he found himself outside another city.

"Are you certain that Zhang Lingjun has been brought here? It's way too far from the capital!" Emperor Feng said.

"That's why the purple-furred monsters would never have found the princess. Follow me. I'm confident."

Emperor Feng remained dubious, but didn't say anything.

As he flew toward a fog-covered valley, he could see a figure heading over from afar.

"This is the place." Xiao Nanfeng's eyes lit up.

"Isn't there someone flying over? Catch and interrogate him," Emperor Feng suggested.

Xiao Nanfeng shook his head. "We can't. That person might have an avatar, and we don't want to alert whoever's responsible. I can search on my own."

He avoided the cultivator flying over and snuck into the valley.

Just then, within the imperial study in Yongding, a spectral guard reported, "My avatar has been trailing Yin Tianci from afar. He headed to the prime minister's manor, who then dispatched a cultivator out of the city and far from the capital of Dayin. I tracked him all the way to..."

The spectral guard continued to report on the whereabouts of this cultivator as Xiao Nanfeng gave chase—until his main body caught up with the figure that was flying out of the valley.

"I've got it. Keep following the cultivator from afar. If he returns to Dayin, you can stop. Be cautious about your own safety," Xiao Nanfeng instructed.

"Understood!"

Clearly, Tang had prodded Yin Tianci to speak with Mo Shanhe, who then dispatched a cultivator to ask Mo Lengxuan what he had done. In the end, the culprit had been revealed.

Within that fog-shrouded valley, Xiao Nanfeng's main body could see a small lake. The lake was clearly infused with spiritual aether—the concentrated energy around the lake caused all the trees around to reach up to the sky.

"What a bloody place," Emperor Feng murmured. "Is someone trying to perform malevolent rites here?"

"Bloody? Where?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

"Can't you see? The ground in this valley is rusty red."

Xiao Nanfeng glanced at the ground and confirmed the truth of Emperor Feng's words. White powder was scattered all over the earth.

"This is blood?" Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed.

"Dried human blood, and that white powder is bone ash. Who knows how many victims have perished here? After their death, their bones were ground to powder and scattered over the earth as fertilizer for the greenery in the vicinity. They were all cultivators, so even their bone ash bears tremendous spiritual aether. This valley might as well be a natural formation for attracting spiritual aether."

Xiao Nanfeng waved a hand. A beam of golden light shot into the ground as he belatedly realized just how thick the layer of bone powder was, and the breadth of the area it encompassed. Who knew how many victims had perished here?

"It's far worse than a pit of ten thousand corpses..." Xiao Nanfeng murmured.

"A ten-thousand-corpse pit? That's nothing. Some truly malicious cultivators destroy cities or even kingdoms wholesale," Emperor Feng replied.

Instead of chatting further, Xiao Nanfeng dedicated himself to his work. He was continuing to search his surroundings for clues when he suddenly turned toward the lake at the center of the valley. He approached cautiously, then dove down.

As he did so, he discovered that the lake went deep underground. Very quickly, he came across the curved underside of what seemed to be a boulder, plastered full of pink '卍' runes.

"Another Buddha's Grotto?" Emperor Feng murmured.

"With pink '卍' runes, too. What a rarity," Xiao Nanfeng replied.

"There are plenty of Buddhist paths of cultivation, with corresponding symbolism besides. '卍' runes exist in every color—you just haven't encountered them yet. Pink '卍' denote the cultivation of... pleasure."

"The cultivation of pleasure?"

"Indeed. A branch of Buddhist cultivation that focuses on sexual pleasure to advance in cultivation. If Zhang Lingjun really is within, well, I suppose she'll be in danger," Emperor Feng smirked.

Xiao Nanfeng frowned as he reached out to touch the outer wall of the Buddha's Grotto.

"This Buddha's Grotto is even sturdier than the one in which I was trapped. You'd never make it inside unless I made a move, but that would cause too much commotion. Shall I help you out anyway?"

"There's no need," Xiao Nanfeng replied.

He gripped the crescent sword tightly as he entered the Buddha's Grotto.

Within the sword, Emperor Feng stilled. Before he realized what was going on, his surroundings had already changed. Water was replaced by pink fog.

He immediately emerged from the crescent sword, gaping at his surroundings as he turned toward Xiao Nanfeng. "How did you get inside?!"