Wayfarer

Chapter 593: Holy Chants

Within the red moon illusory realm, Xiao Nanfeng's avatar ran rapidly as Yin Shenhua gave chase.

Yin Shenhua was far too strong. Somehow, he had been able to bring his physical body into this illusory realm.

"Hold it!" Yin Shenhua howled.

Unfortunately, they weren't the only two people within the red moon illusory realm, which was home to countless red-furred monsters. The moment the two cultivators barged into the realm, countless red-furred monsters had shot toward them.

Because Xiao Nanfeng's red moon bore the aura of the red moon illusory realm, there were far fewer headed toward Xiao Nanfeng than Yin Shenhua.

The red-furred lifeforms roared as they leapt toward Yin Shenhua.

Yin Shenhua narrowed his eyes and punched forward, causing all the red-furred monsters headed his way to explode. Clumps of red fur fell from the skies, then lumped together and allowed the red-furred monsters to regenerate.

Both Xiao Nanfeng and Yin Shenhua continued to attack the red-furred lifeforms headed their way as they forged deeper into the red moon illusory realm. Within moments, the sky was filled with red fur.

Yin Shenhua grew closer and closer to Xiao Nanfeng, causing the latter to panic.

Just then, deep within the red moon illusory realm, bells rang out.

Ding, ding, ding!

The red-furred monsters suddenly seemed to grow far more ferocious, stopping Xiao Nanfeng in his tracks.

Ding, ding, ding!

The bells rang out more and more loudly. For some reason, they seemed to reverberate in Xiao Nanfeng's head, causing his thoughts to grow muddied.

"Something's wrong. Where am I? Who am I?" Xiao Nanfeng murmured to himself.

He could sense that his thoughts were quickly being drained away. He forgot where he was, what he was doing, and even who he was.

He clutched his head and forced himself to recall what he could, but the more he did, the more he lost.

Red-furred monsters continued to leap toward him. He instinctively summoned a blue barrier from within his body, the signature blue moon barrier of his Shangqing blue moon.

The barrier blocked the red-furred monsters' attacks.

The sudden attack caused Yin Shenhua to falter as well.

As the bells continued to ring, Yin Shenhua narrowed his eyes. "These bells are trying to hypnotize me. As if they could!"

In a flash, death chants began to resound. Cursed spiritual power seeped from chants to counteract the ringing of the bells.

As the waves of sound clashed in a cacophony, the void itself began to shake violently.

"What potent sound," Yin Shenhua exclaimed.

He sat cross-legged in meditation, waves of golden light emanating from his body. Death chants spread out around him, but the bells in the distance were equally potent. He could sense that there seemed to be countless monks chanting scripture amidst the bells.

The clash of discordant sound caused the void itself to vibrate intensely.

Droves of red-furred monsters launched themselves at Yin Shenhua, seemingly immune to the death chants all around him. Yin Shenhua immediately found himself drowned within the piles of monsters.

From afar, it looked as though there were two mountains of red-furred monsters shaking in the void.

Meanwhile, Xiao Nanfeng's main body, still in the Imperial Court, quickly entered secluded cultivation. He could sense himself losing his connection to his avatar.

"Senior, something's wrong with my avatar. I've been rendered immobile by a series of bells. Would you help me?"

"Madam Rouge sealed the entrance into your mental world, so I can't head over that way. I'll send death chants into it to help you resist the bells," the black lotus replied.

"Got it!"

A series of death chants resonated within Xiao Nanfeng's head.

After a while, however, Xiao Nanfeng continued to frown. "It's useless. I still can't sense my avatar."

"Your avatar has fallen into a state of deep hypnosis, and the bells that have hypnotized your avatar are no weaker than my death chants. They're blocking my assistance. Unfortunately, I'm not by your avatar's side. Your avatar might be in precarious condition," Xiao Nanfeng said.

"What now?"

"Either you enlist Yu Fuli's assistance, or have Zhang Lingjun bring us into the red moon illusory realm so that we can search for it."

"Got it!" Xiao Nanfeng got up and was just about to head out of the hall when he suddenly stopped.

"What's the matter?"

"I can sense my avatar now. My avatar's getting farther away from the bells. Someone's rescuing me!"

"Oh?" The black lotus seemed perplexed.

Xiao Nanfeng returned to his meditation and began to sense what was going on with his avatar.

His avatar had indeed been rescued within the red moon illusory realm. A red-furred monster was dragging him away, moving so rapidly that he left quite a number of other ones in its wake.

Xiao Nanfeng slowly regained consciousness and clarity from his groggy state of mind. His lost memories flooded back into his mind as he awakened.

The man and the red-furred monster had run a significant distance before they stopped by a secluded part of the red moon illusory realm.

"Have you awoken? If not for my presence, you would have become a red-furred monster yourself," the red-furred monster said.

Xiao Nanfeng blinked. His eyes widened in pleased surprise. "Master, is that you? I didn't expect your avatar would be clear-headed, too!"

"I'm skilled with the musical arts, and my means of spiritual cultivation differs from yours. That's why I can maintain my consciousness even under these circumstances."

"Thank you for saving me, Master."

"As long as you're alright. Those were loss chants. The fact that you were able to hold out for so long is no easy feat, either."

"Loss chants?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

"Indeed. These loss chants are one of the signature techniques of the Supreme Monarch, and exposure to these chants can cause you to lose your memories, self, and even life. Thank goodness you weren't exposed to them for long," Ku Jiang murmured.

"How frightening..." Xiao Nanfeng sighed.

"What are you doing here? And how did Yin Shenhua enter as well?"

Xiao Nanfeng recounted what had happened.

"So that's how it is. You were lucky. Do you really think the red moon illusory realm would be shelter and sanctuary? Even I don't dare head into its depths myself," Ku Jiang chastised.

Xiao Nanfeng smiled wryly. "I was unaware of the nature of the danger, Master."

"Forget it. Since you're safe, you had better leave. Yin Shenhua's own death chants are rather extraordinary, and he should be able to free himself soon enough."

"Can't his death chants counteract the loss chants?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

"I'm not certain, but I have the sense that his death chants are incomplete, and that he's not able to manifest their full strength,"

"The Buddhas of Three Aspects' death chants are similar to that of the black lotus, but do seem a little different. Perhaps the original death chants were split into pieces, and the fragmentation weakened them," Xiao Nanfeng suggested.

"Whatever the case may be, you'll have to leave. I can sense more red-furred lifeforms approaching. They must have sensed your presence—and they're rather strong ones, too."

"Understood, Master. Take care!"

"Go!"

Xiao Nanfeng waved a hand. A portal out of the red moon illusory realm appeared before him, and he stepped out.

The moment the portal vanished, Ku Jiang himself fled into the distance, vanishing within the depths of the realm.