Wayfarer

Chapter 615: A Frightening Buddha's Grotto

Back in Dayin's capital, ten suns soared across the sky, shining with fiery radiance. Other cultivators would quickly drain their reserves of strength to generate such power, but Xiao Nanfeng's golden crows extracted an endless supply of facsimile solarfire from the sun itself. As long as it was daytime, they would be able to produce facsimile solarfire without any limit whatsoever.

The facsimile solarfire flared, blocking the cultivators attempting to approach Xiao Nanfeng.

Xiao Nanfeng alone was able to suppress ten thousand cultivators at his level.

Meanwhile, Blue Lantern had fully cleared away the rubble around the dragon-headed mountain, revealing a deep abyss within which golden light could be seen and chanting heard.

"Rise, draconic veins!" Blue Lantern commanded.

Dayin's capital contained a few superior draconic veins in addition to countless ordinary draconic veins. Blue Lantern uncovered all these secrets hidden deep underground.

In an outpouring of earth and rocks, what was hidden in the abyss was lifted up into the air and revealed to the world. Six giant Buddha's Grottos could be seen, each shining with golden 卍 runes. Chanting could be heard from all around.

"Stop it, Xiao Nanfeng!" one of the bodhisattvas being suppressed by the praying mat shouted.

Xiao Nanfeng ignored him and called out, "Everyone, look over here! Whether or not the rumors that Yin Shenhua has been feasting on the people of Dayin shall be revealed in an instant. This is the evidence. Within these caves are where your loved ones have perished. Allow me to open up the first Buddha's Grotto now!"

Xiao Nanfeng drew his divine undying blade and slashed at the first Buddha's Grotto.

It shook violently as the sword bit into it, but the sword was unable to cut all the way through to expose its interior.

Just then, 361 stars shone brightly in the sky. Beams of starlight shot straight toward the Buddha's Grotto, illuminating it and obstructing the seals on its surface.

"Try it again, Your Majesty," Blue Lantern said.

"Break!" Xiao Nanfeng shouted.

The ten golden crows channeled their strength into his body as he swung downward with his blade, bisecting the Buddha's Grotto.

This particular cave was surprisingly stable. Despite the fact that it had been cut in half, the formations in its interior remained active. The two halves of the cavernous space were revealed to one and all.

At the bottom of each half of the cave were a thousand arhats, with parched, desiccated bodies hanging overhead. Those bodies weren't dead just yet. They gritted their teeth, refusing to submit, but were unable to resist any further.

"They're all dried up..."

"Who are those people hanging up there?"

"Could the rumors be real?"

Countless civilians gasped in shock within Dayin's capital.

"This is all part of Xiao Nanfeng's ploy to trick you! You can't believe him. Stop Xiao Nanfeng's farce at once. Attack that formations master!" a Dayin official shouted.

A large group of Dayin cultivators rushed over.

However, they were all blocked by a pulse of incredible golden light—radiating from a Golden Immortal who looked like an old man.

That Golden Immortal thrust his palm forward, sending all the soldiers and guards flying out.

"Who are you?!" everyone exclaimed.

Even Xiao Nanfeng was taken aback. Indeed, as he had suspected, there were other Golden Immortals within Dayin's capital.

"No one move. I intend to witness the truth for myself. Sixteen of my descendants were chosen by the annual talent recruitment," the old Golden Immortal stated.

"Are you a Dayin civilian?" an official exclaimed.

More flashes of light appeared all over Dayin's capital. There were plenty of strong cultivators among the civilians present, Heaven and True Immortals alike. They stood before Dayin's guards and obstructed their way forward.

The people who had seen Xiao Nanfeng's expose were dumbstruck and seething in anger. Although they had all heard the rumors about Yin Shenhua that had recently been circulating, many continued to put their faith in Dayin's monarch and officials. Even so, they could hardly disbelieve what they saw with their own eyes.

Countless civilians who had lost their relatives stepped forward to block Dayin's guards and allow Xiao Nanfeng to continue speaking.

By then, the thousand arhats had awoken from their cultivation to see what was happening outside. They blanched.

Xiao Nanfeng struck instantly, shooting toward the arhats in a beam of light.

A hundred arhats were sent flying. They weren't all True Immortals; some were weaker.

Even against True Immortals, however, Xiao Nanfeng was able to send them flying with a single punch each.

However, a thousand arhats were too many for him to handle all by himself. The arhats grew alert as one of them shouted, "Hurry! Take them all down!"

They attempted to destroy all the bodies in the cave, but the old Golden Immortal struck again. He unleashed his aura, freezing the arhats in place. The few arhats that could still move, he sent flying with an arm.

The disposal of the bodies stopped short.

"Take them down!" the old Golden Immortal shouted.

Countless civilians made their move.

"Head of the Xueyuan Merchant Association, how dare you disturb the peace of Dayin?! Do your merchants not want to operate in Dayin any longer?"

"As for you, head of the Wulong Escort Agency, are you intending to rebel too?"

"Sect Leader of the Forgecraft sect, even you?!"

The Dayin officials attempted to scare the civilians into inaction, but it was useless. More and more of the civilian cultivators began to take a stand as they held down and restrained the arhats one after another. Some of Dayin's guards did the same.

The arhats activated their death chants in fear, causing many cultivators to stumble.

"They are cursed effigies, after all! To think they would even attack the masses with their cursed chants! Die!" a voice shouted coldly.

From among the civilians, a female Golden Immortal showed herself.She knocked the arhat who had been emitting death chants unconscious.

"Flee!" an arhat shouted.

The arhats, realizing that the situation had turned against them, attempted to flee.

However, the cultivators all around blocked their way.

The fighting began in earnest. The majority of the arhats ended up caught by the civilians, though some managed to escape.

Meanwhile, Blue Lantern, on Xiao Nanfeng's orders, left the crowd and chased after Ao Zhou, who had fled into the distance.

After the skirmish was over, everyone looked toward the parched bodies in the Buddha's Grotto again.

One stick-thin man suddenly wheezed, "Great-great-grandfather, are you here to save me?"

Everyone suddenly quieted down as they strained to hear what the man had said.

The old Golden Immortal's eyes lit up. "My child, you're still alive!"

"Great-great-grandfather, I was mistaken. I shouldn't have participated in the talent recruitment. They're all demons! They torture our souls day after day, burning us and feeding on our negative emotions and pain. They're all demons, Yin Shenhua and everyone else!" the man said weakly.

A huge commotion erupted all at once. With this victim's testimony, how were the civilians supposed to reject Xiao Nanfeng's claims?

Could all this be true? That old Golden Immortal was from a famed clan in Dayin's capital. Surely he couldn't be working with Xiao Nanfeng... Was Dayin really feasting on its citizens?

"Everyone, if you have family in Dayin's capital, let me know. Any of your relatives who are present will be able to fetch you away. Otherwise, I'll take responsibility for your short-term care and help you contact your family on your behalf," Xiao Nanfeng said.

Some of the hanging bodies immediately tried to call out for attention.

Their relatives shot forward from the masses, heartbroken and tearing up. All thanked Xiao Nanfeng profusely, expressing their gratitude.

"Where's everyone else? Where are our relatives?!" countless civilians shouted.

"Everyone, please be prepared for the worst. Many will surely have perished. However, there are five more Buddha's Grottos. Golden Immortals in the audience, would you help break them down?" Xiao Nanfeng requested.

In addition to the two Golden Immortals who had revealed themselves, a third Golden Immortal, a muscular man, stepped forward.

"We'll help," the three Golden Immortals said near-simultaneously.

In quick succession, the remaining five Buddha's Grottos were broken apart, revealing the arhats cultivating within.

The Golden Immortals struck at the arhats in anger. The arhats were all of rather middling cultivation, and all of them tried to flee. Although they weren't as strong as the Golden Immortals, they were able to possess cultivators in the crowd and escape. Only a few were caught and forced to remain behind, knocked unconscious and with their cultivation sealed.

What lay within the Buddha's Grottos was quickly exposed to the public eye. Unfortunately, only two of the caves contained civilians chosen by the talent recruitment.

Within one Buddha's Grotto was a black banner that the arhats within had been attuning to. Within the black banner were women born during yin years on yin months on yin days at yin hours of the day. These women had all been forged into malevolent specters of pure yin. They screamed shrilly in pain. As the Golden Immortals channeled their energy into them, they awoke amidst frenzied screeching. Although they had been rescued, their physical bodies were long gone.

Within another Buddha's Grotto was a sea of blood. Blood-colored figures floated over its surface, screaming in bitter pain, as if they had been forged into some demonic horror, until their consciousness was awakened once more.

Several of the civilians found their relatives among these unfortunate souls, but the vast majority had no idea where their relatives had gone.

The truth that had been revealed to them left all the people in despair and fear. Those officials that had been pushing to stop this spectacle were so hoarse that they could no longer speak. Of the guards in the city, half had turned against the officials. More and more people began to roar in outrage.

Suddenly, Xiao Nanfeng broke them off. "Everyone, I need to leave. Yin Shenhua has learned of what has happened here, and he's about to rush back. Any victims who haven't found their relatives, follow me. I'll take care of you for the time being."

"Thank you!" The piteous victims thanked Xiao Nanfeng with profuse gratitude.

Countless civilians continued to shout, "Where are our relatives? Why aren't they here?"

Xiao Nanfeng sighed, but didn't explain the situation in detail. Everyone knew that the missing cultivators were likely all dead.

He retrieved a gourd, a True Immortal relic that the roc had had in his possession. It was used for storage and could, surprisingly, store live humans within.

He kept the shattered pieces of the Buddha's Grottos and the unconscious, sealed arhats within.

The two bodhisattvas that Zhang Lingjun had suppressed with her praying mat had been grievously wounded by the three Golden Immortals, then had their cultivation sealed. Xiao Nanfeng kept them in the gourd as well.

"Everyone, I hope you've seen the truth for yourselves. I advise you to leave Dayin immediately. Otherwise, once Yin Shenhua returns, you may all suffer," Xiao Nanfeng shouted.

Then, he and Zhang Lingjun rushed out of Dayin's capital.

No one within the capital attempted to stop their passage any longer. The three Golden Immortals did the same without any hesitation. They flew toward their clans and left Dayin's capital with them.

Dayin's capital quickly became a pocket of chaos as the people protested or fled. News of what had happened spread quickly across Dayin via those who had avatars in Dayin's capital.