Wayfarer

Chapter 558: Phoenix Hall

TW: Rape

A few of the Buddha's women led Mo Lengxuan past corridor after corridor until they reached Phoenix Hall. No one expected that there would be two figures following them.

The group stopped before the doors to a large hall.

One of the women said, "This is Phoenix Hall, and Zhang Lingjun lies within. Please enjoy your time with her, Sir Mo."

Mo Lengxuan's eyes lit up with anticipation. "Do I simply need to enter? What else should I do?"

One woman smiled coyly. "Sir Mo, are you in need of some hands-on tutorials on how to enjoy yourself with women?"

Mo Lengxuan glanced at the voluptuous women, their bodies only a sheer layer of diaphanous fabric away. His face flushed, but he knew that these women were all companions of the Buddha of Dual Cultivation. He didn't dare make a move on them.

"There's no need. I can do so myself," Mo Lengxuan said.

The women shared a smile. Just then, a commotion came from afar.

Everyone whirled around in surprise.

"You intend to struggle, praying mat? Do you think I'll let you go free? Disciples, return to my side and help me suppress this treasure!" the Buddha of Dual Cultivation shouted.

By the entrance to Phoenix Hall, the women glanced at each other. One began, "Sir Mo, please enter Phoenix Hall. We'll have to return to Master."

They strode off quickly.

Suddenly, a golden net launched itself at them. Everyone dodged after a momentary bout of surprise.

"Who's there?!" the women demanded.

The net had caught three of the women with the weakest cultivation.

Simultaneously, the black lotus surrounded itself with black fog and absorbed a woman into its midst. It released death chants that echoed around the temple.

Emperor Feng drew his blade, slashing at the final woman. Her robes parted as blood fountained from her.

"A Golden Immortal cursed effigy!" Emperor Feng exclaimed.

"Death chants? Who are you?" that woman cried out.

The woman Emperor Feng had attacked didn't die. Rather, she pulled out a rod-shaped relic and defended herself from his attack.

"With a Golden Immortal relic, too?" Emperor Feng swung his sword in a blitz.

At the same time, Xiao Nanfeng slashed downward with his blade. "Die!"

The slash of energy, infused with incredible power, shot straight toward Mo Lengxuan.

"Xiao Nanfeng? What are you doing here?" Mo Lengxuan shouted, defending himself with a palm.

Xiao Nanfeng's blade struck Mo Lengxuan's palm in a howling tempest. However, Emperor Feng had erected a barrier around them, so no noise from the fighting leaked out.

After Mo Lengxuan blocked Xiao Nanfeng's attack, Xiao Nanfeng charged forward. The two cultivators were mired in the fight.

Shortly thereafter, Mo Lengxuan cried out as he was sent flying. The death chants slowed his reflexes and gave Xiao Nanfeng the opportunity to cut off one of his arms.

"Where's the princess? Tell me!" Xiao Nanfeng shouted.

Mo Lengxuan blanched. He reached out into his robes and tossed a red jewel at Xiao Nanfeng. "Orb of earthflame, go!"

A flaming dragon emerged from the orb of earthflame and rushed toward Xiao Nanfeng.

Xiao Nanfeng didn't seem fearful at all. He allowed the flaming dragon to charge straight at him.

Suddenly, Mo Lengxuan felt the orb vanish from his hand.

"What?" Mo Lengxuan exclaimed.

As it vanished, the flaming dragon dissipated. A blade gleamed as Mo Lengxuan's other arm was cut off.

Screaming in pain, Mo Lengxuan turned tail and fled, only to see Xiao Nanfeng storing the orb of earthflame he had plucked from Mo Lengxuan and giving chase. "You won't get away!"

"Impossible. How did you manage to steal my pearl? Why didn't I notice a thing?!" Mo Lengxuan shouted.

He could recall that the orb of earthflame vanished when Xiao Nanfeng was still some distance away from him. It was as if the orb had leapt across spacetime, but how was that possible?

"Die!" Xiao Nanfeng shouted, slashing forward with his blade.

The death chants slowed Mo Lengxuan once more as he attempted to escape. The blade landed, chopping off both his legs in bursts of blood.

Mo Lengxuan fell to the ground as he screamed, a torso lying in a pool of blood. He stared fearfully at Xiao Nanfeng as the latter charged over.

"Don't kill me! Zhang Lingjun's in Phoenix Hall, right over here! Don't kill me!"

The entrance to Phoenix Hall was right beside Xiao Nanfeng. He glanced in that direction, relaxing, but Mo Lengxuan was an enemy he couldn't spare. He made to attack him again.

"No! I'm the son of the prime minister of Dayin. If you kill me, my father would surely take revenge. You can't kill me!" Mo Lengxuan howled.

With a snick, Mo Lengxuan's head was sent flying in another spurt of blood. His yin body left his physical one immediately as he tried to flee.

Xiao Nanfeng slashed at Mo Lengxuan for a final time.

"No!" Mo Lengxuan's yin body cried out.

His yin body shattered and dispersed.

After having killed Mo Lengxuan, Xiao Nanfeng turned toward the rest of the fighting.

Emperor Feng was stronger than his opponent. He had grievously wounded the woman he was facing. Then, he caught the woman and began to absorb the roiling energy of her body, causing her to transform into a golden lotus hood. Emperor Feng claimed and easily attuned to her Golden Immortal relic as well.

Clearly dissatisfied, he then strode toward the three women who had been caught in the golden net. He wounded them with the crescent sword, then hauled the net in and began to absorb their energy as well. They transformed into three golden lotus hoods.

"I don't have any use for these cursed spiritual avatars. Take them," Emperor Feng said.

By then, the black lotus had finished devouring the Golden Immortal woman. It sucked up the four golden lotus hoods that Emperor Feng proffered and devoured them as well.

With a wave of his hand, Emperor Feng caused the barrier around them to disperse.

A loud rumble came from afar, vigorous fighting seemingly underway.

"Come on. Let's go!" Emperor Feng said.

"No, we shouldn't. Zhang Lingjun's in this hall. We should retreat immediately now that we've found her," Xiao Nanfeng said.

He didn't want to remain in this temple. The few cursed effigies that they had encountered had been incredibly strong. How much stronger would the Buddha of Dual Cultivation be? If they were to head over now, they might well die.

Emperor Feng demanded, "Leave? Finding this Buddha's Grotto took significant effort. Why should we leave just like this? The Buddha of Dual Cultivation is likely at a stalemate, so it's a good opportunity to launch a sneak attack. You must follow me."

The black lotus countered, "Xiao Nanfeng's cultivation isn't strong enough, and it would be easy for him to be taken advantage of if he were to remain. Have him flee with Zhang Lingjun for now. I'll accompany you."

Emperor Feng frowned, but ultimately acceded. He looked toward Xiao Nanfeng. "I'll catch up with you later."

Then, he and the black lotus charged toward the battlefield afar.

Xiao Nanfeng considered the information he had picked up from that conversation. Had Emperor Feng been looking for Buddha's Grottos all this time?

He bowed toward the black lotus who was flying away as he walked into Phoenix Hall.

The fighting had been rather intense, but Phoenix Hall's exterior seemed completely unaffected.

He carefully pushed at the doors, probing them to ensure that there would be no danger within, before opening them wide.

There was some light filtering into the hall, along with a dense cloud of pink fog.

Because there was also a large quantity of pink fog outside the hall, Xiao Nanfeng wasn't too suspicious. He could see a jade platform at the center of the hall on which flashes of Zhang Lingjun's body could be seen. Chains bound her and rendered her immobile.

He ensured again that there was no one else within the hall before he stepped inside. As he did so, the doors slammed shut.

He frowned and turned to investigate, confirming that the doors had only shut due to a standard formation.

He inhaled a whiff of the pink fog in the hall and suddenly grew flustered.

"Something's wrong," he murmured.

He sealed his breathing immediately, but the pink fog seemed able to pass through his qi barrier and his skin readily. He frowned as he hurried to Zhang Lingjun's side.

All around the hall were lifelike murals depicting a man and a woman nude and tangled together.

As Xiao Nanfeng walked up to the jade platform on which Zhang Lingjun lay, he could hear some strange chanting in his ears—not the death chants to which he had grown accustomed, but something that left him flushed and flustered instead.

"It's disrupting my mind—damn it," Xiao Nanfeng cursed.

He sealed his hearing, but the chants seemed to resonate directly with his mind, his heart. No matter what he did, he couldn't seem to nullify their effect. His pupils dilated.

Knowing that staying too long within the hall was a mistake, he rushed up to Zhang Lingjun's side and prepared to leave with her.

Zhang Lingjun's cultivation seemed to be sealed. Her eyes were wide open, but she was biting down on her lips. Her cheeks were flushed, her pupils roaming.

When she saw Xiao Nanfeng, however, her frown abated. As though relieved of a great burden, she sighed. "Thank goodness it's you, Xiao Nanfeng."

Xiao Nanfeng blanched. "Princess, something's wrong. Have you been drugged?

He cut apart the chains binding Zhang Lingjun with his blade, freeing her. Zhang Lingjun reached up for him, caught him tightly, and pressed her alluring lips to his.

The chants that resonated with Xiao Nanfeng's heart suddenly seemed to magnify in volume, leaving him dazed. Pink fog surged into their bodies, surrounding them both.

At the same time, Xiao Nanfeng's avatar, still situated in Yongding, dropped everything he was doing and entered secluded cultivation.

"I've been caught in its effect as well!" Xiao Nanfeng's avatar exclaimed.

He did his best to resist the infatuation that filled his heart and body, but was overcome within moments.

Back in Phoenix Hall, Xiao Nanfeng's main body caressed Zhang Lingjun's tender figure. The murals on the walls of the hall appeared in his mind's eye as he began to cultivate imitating the figures in the murals...