Wayfarer

Chapter 630: Yin Shenhua's Decisive Defeat

Xiao Nanfeng wasn't going to interfere in Yin Shenhua's chase of Ao Canghai when the black lotus called out weakly, "Don't wait any longer. You need to fight Yin Shenhua and win quickly. I don't have much time left."

Xiao Nanfeng had no choice but to give chase. He instantly attracted Yin Shenhua's attention, allowing Ao Canghai to flee in an instant.

Yin Shenhua glared at Xiao Nanfeng, sensing a dangerous aura from him.

Both cultivators boasted Rulai eidola. Yin Shenhua's eidolon was surrounded by a sheen of white fog, the remaining strength of the Heaven's Hand. Meanwhile, Xiao Nanfeng's eidolon was surrounded by a sheen of black fog, the remaining strength that the black lotus had borrowed from the primordial altar.

The two eidola glared at each other, then suddenly made a move simultaneously. They charged forward, their fists raised. A howling tempest unfolded where they struck each other as they both stumbled back, their strength matched.

"Xiao Nanfeng, you've gained significant strength today, but it's useless if you don't know how to use it. I'll kill you today!" Yin Shenhua's eidolon roared. It shot over once again.

"You're too conceited!" Xiao Nanfeng retorted.

The two Rulai eidola clashed against each other in mid-air.

Yin Shenhua had been an ancestral Buddha in his past life, and had had incredible combat experience. Given equal strength, that combat experience would have allowed him to dominate over his competitors—but Xiao Nanfeng wasn't far off himself. He had Emperor Wei's inheritance, and his understanding of Hegemon's Fist had reached a pinnacle. What's more, thanks to his years of fighting, he too had developed significant combat experience. He had even fought quite a few cursed kings himself, and he wasn't afraid to confront Yin Shenhua.

The two cultivators continued to fight each other in the air.

"Hegemon's Fist!" Xiao Nanfeng shouted.

His Rulai eidolon filled the entire air with fists, much like the Venerable Buddha's Thousand Palms of Rulai.

"Flower-Plucking Palms!" Yin Shenhua retorted.

Yin Shenhua's fists were like falling flower petals, clashing against Xiao Nanfeng's technique in a storm of fire and wind.

Neither cultivator seemed able to get the upper hand, at least at the moment.

The fight shocked the hidden cultivators.

"Xiao Nanfeng's techniques are truly frightening. Isn't that Emperor Wei's Hegemon's Fist?"

"I was fortunate enough to have seen Emperor Wei fight in the past. His Hegemon's Fist was about as skilled as Xiao Nanfeng's."

"Does Xiao Nanfeng now have enough combat experience to challenge even an Immortal Emperor?"

The Martial Aspects were all taken aback.

Even Ao Canghai, who had been poised to flee just moments ago, calmed down. His face contorted as he transformed back into a human. He was bleeding all over and grievously wounded. He looked toward the fight before him, the envy in his gaze deepening.

He hadn't been able to do anything against Yin Shenhua; why was Xiao Nanfeng able to? Didn't that make him look useless?

Afar, Zhang Lingjun's eyes clouded in worry. She looked toward the praying mat. "Grandmaster, can you assist Xiao Nanfeng?"

The praying mat hovered in the air. Except for Zhang Lingjun, no other could see the figure resting on it.

Zhang Lingjun waited for a moment, but she never heard a response. In the end, she sighed, forlorn, and ignored the praying mat.

In the air, Xiao Nanfeng and Yin Shenhua continued to fight against each other.

Yin Shenhua was growing somewhat frustrated. He cried out, "Your fist technique is no weaker than Emperor Wei's, but your understanding of natural law is surely weaker. Take this—World of My Palm!"

Yin Shenhua's eidolon slammed a palm toward Xiao Nanfeng, a world forming within it. Xiao Nanfeng seemed about to be trapped within when he suddenly vanished from sight.

"The world of his palm? We're done for! Xiao Nanfeng's been trapped within Yin Shenhua's palm. Xiao Nanfeng's going to lose!" the Martial Aspect of Lightseeking exclaimed.

Yin Shenhua chuckled. "You were able to escape from my world by detonating a Golden Immortal relic, but this time, I constructed that world using the remnant heavenly energy from the shattered Heaven's Hand. Even with a Boundless Immortal relic, you wouldn't be able to escape!"

Just then, red light flashed beside Yin Shenhua's eidolon. Countless golden fists emerged from the air and shot toward him like a storm. Yin Shenhua's eidolon was sent flying.

Xiao Nanfeng's eidolon had emerged and was attacking him once more.

"Impossible! How did you break out of my world? Just how did you do it?!" Yin Shenhua exclaimed.

"Hegemon's Fist!" Xiao Nanfeng's eidolon roared.

Countless fists struck Yin Shenhua's eidolon and sent it flying.

"This can't be. I invoke the laws of space and time—World of My Palm, seal!" Yin Shenhua intoned.

He raised both his eidolon's palms as a bolt of white light emerged, ready to suck Xiao Nanfeng into his palm once more. The next moment, red light flashed from his back as Xiao Nanfeng's eidolon appeared and punched forward.

Yin Shenhua's eidolon was struck right in the back with such strength that shards of its body were sent flying. He spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Impossible. You possess authority over space—and it eclipses mine! How could this be?" Yin Shenhua's eidolon called out.

By then, however, Xiao Nanfeng's eidolon had flown up to him again.

"Hegemon's Fist: Skyshatter!"

Countless fists flew down toward Yin Shenhua's eidolon like an apocalyptic meteor shower.

They struck Yin Shenhua's eidolon directly, sending him crashing into the ground. Yin Shenhua's eidolon formed a huge pit as it landed, with clouds of rock and dust flying into the air.

The hidden cultivators gaped.

"This can't be. If they're of roughly equal strength, how could Xiao Nanfeng have gained the upper hand?"

"Xiao Nanfeng has a perfect counter to Yin Shenhua's palm technique—it's as if Xiao Nanfeng flashed right behind Yin Shenhua's body! How could that be? Is this teleportation?"

"How can Xiao Nanfeng have gained mastery over space? And something that specifically counters Yin Shenhua, too?"

The cultivators were all stymied by the same question. They opened their eyes wide, intent on catching precisely what Xiao Nanfeng was doing.

However, Xiao Nanfeng didn't intend to give them any more chances to do so. His eidolon shot toward the pit, which Yin Shenhua's eidolon had just scrambled out of. As he saw Xiao Nanfeng's eidolon approach, he punched forward. "Die, Xiao Nanfeng!"

With a flash of red light, Xiao Nanfeng's eidolon vanished once more. It reappeared behind Yin Shenhua's back.

"Impossible!" Yin Shenhua shouted.

"Hegemon's Fist!" Xiao Nanfeng intoned.

A loud rumble came from within the pit. The earth itself shook as countless boulders shot into the air. Dust streamed upward.

"What sort of natural law do you control? Spatial hops?!" Yin Shenhua exclaimed.

"Hegemon's Fist!"

The two eidola fought in the pit more and more fiercely as boulders and mountains exploded. The whole world was rumbling around them; the ground cracked, and rock filled the air. The hidden cultivators in the distance blanched.

The fighting grew so intense that those hidden cultivators were forced to flee, lest they too be affected by the fighting.

High up in the air, the Martial Aspects watched on with wide eyes.

"All those cries seem to be coming from Yin Shenhua!"

"Is Xiao Nanfeng actually beating him up? This can't be!"

"To think Xiao Nanfeng would win in a situation in which they had equal strength..."

The Martial Aspects were all taken aback; Ao Canghai grew even more jealous.

The fighting continued as dirt, earth, and rocks were upturned. Finally, two hours later, with a shrill cry from Yin Shenhua, the fighting abruptly ceased.

By then, the skies were clouded with dust. It was quiet all around; everyone watched on with bated breath, staring toward the battlefield in the distance. They glanced at each other. No one knew what the situation was like, but none dared rush over.

Zhang Lingjun attempted to do so, but the praying mat stopped her.

Just then, a red figure emerged from the forests: Xiao Nanfeng.

"Xiao Nanfeng?" Zhang Lingjun exclaimed in surprise.

"Don't head over!" the red-robed Xiao Nanfeng warned.

That was Xiao Nanfeng's avatar. After he stopped Zhang Lingjun, he flew over toward the heart of the smoke.

As he did so, the hidden cultivators hissed in surprise.

"Xiao Nanfeng was hiding by my side all along!"

"I was planning to launch a sneak attack on Xiao Nanfeng, but I didn't even know that he had snuck up on me!"

"Xiao Nanfeng's frightening. He has too many aces up his sleeve..."

The hidden cultivators hurriedly found different hiding spots.

Xiao Nanfeng's avatar quickly dove underground, where the Divine Seal of Dazheng was located. Xiao Nanfeng's main body and Yin Shenhua had continued fighting within.

Xiao Nanfeng's avatar entered the seal as well.

Before long, Xiao Nanfeng's main body emerged from the seal. He picked it up and flew over.

By then, countless cultivators were staring grimly at the battlefield, and he wouldn't be able to flee from deep underground. Rather than attempt to escape and be discovered, it would be better to show himself publicly.

The moment he did, everyone widened their eyes.

"Did Xiao Nanfeng win? Has he defeated Yin Shenhua?"

"Is Yin Shenhua dead?"

"Is the battle over?"

The cultivators were taken by surprise, unable to believe that Yin Shenhua, once a pioneering cultivator of the era, would suffer defeat in Xiao Nanfeng's hands. All this was like a dream.

Zhang Lingjun rushed forward in excitement as she saw Xiao Nanfeng emerge from the cloud of dust.

The Martial Aspects glanced at each other, stunned.

"How could this be? His Majesty sent us eighteen Martial Aspects to take down Yin Shenhua, but Xiao Nanfeng took him on himself—and won!"

"Xiao Nanfeng defeated Dayin and even Yin Shenhua. As for us, all we did was watch on from the sidelines. How are we going to explain away our actions?"

"Won't the Martial Aspects from the other quadrants laugh at us?"

The Martial Aspects frowned in annoyance and worry.

Ao Canghai's mood grew even more dour. Yin Shenhua had badly wounded him to the point where he had had to flee. Meanwhile, Xiao Nanfeng had finished him off, just like that! This wasn't an issue of reputation anymore. When they returned to the Imperial Court, he might even face open doubt as to his ability as a Cardinal Aspect.

He flew up to Xiao Nanfeng. "Xiao Nanfeng, where's Yin Shenhua?"