Wayfarer

Chapter 574: A World in His Palm

At a large plaza in Dayin's palace atop the dragon-head mountain, the official bowed. "Martial Aspect Xiao, the Immortal Emperor awaits you within."

An ornate hall stood before Xiao Nanfeng, a signboard establishing that this was, in fact, Thunderclap Hall. Golden-armored cultivators stood guard all around the hall, stern and majestic.

Xiao Nanfeng took a deep breath and walked in.

The interior of the hall was spacious, opulent, and shining with golden light. The moment Xiao Nanfeng entered, he saw a black, draconic throne by the north of the hall, facing him. A man sat on the throne in golden draconic robes—none other than Yin Shenhua himself.

The doors to the hall creaked shut behind him.

Xiao Nanfeng tensed, but didn't show his fear. He stared firmly at the man seated on the throne.

Yin Shenhua was scrutinizing Xiao Nanfneg as well. Though he did not speak, an incredible aura emanated from him, one that made it difficult for Xiao Nanfeng to advance.

"You're finally willing to meet with me, Yin Shenhua," Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed.

"Xiao Nanfeng, is it? I've seen your dossier. Your growth is nothing short of astounding. Which hegemon of previous eras are you?" Yin Shenhua demanded.

It was clear that Yin Shenhua thought that Xiao Nanfeng had been possessed by a cursed king.

Xiao Nanfeng frowned, but didn't attempt to resolve the misunderstanding. "Why don't we get down to business?"

Yin Shenhua continued to stare at Xiao Nanfeng for some time before nodding. "It's only normal that you won't say, I suppose. Very well."

"You should know what I'm doing here. I represent the Imperial Court and am claiming the tithe of fortune owed by Dayin—60% of your current reserves. How are you intending to pay?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

Yin Shenhua glanced at Xiao Nanfeng with some surprise, as though disbelieving that he would ask such an unrealistic question.

"Let's not speak of fortune today. Where's my prime minister? Where did you hide him?" Yin Shenhua demanded.

"I regret to say that Mo Shanhe was seized by an evildoer. I don't know where he is either."

"Is that so?"

"Whoever seized him was a Golden Immortal cultivator. Do you think I'm able to command such a cultivator at will?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

Yin Shenhua narrowed his eyes at Xiao Nanfeng and considered his claim. There was plenty of reason to suspect that Xiao Nanfeng was implicated in Mo Shanhe's disappearance, but it was true that Xiao Nanfeng was too weak to do much of anything even as a revived cursed king. Something was clearly wrong.

"And if I really were possessed by a cursed king, would I be satisfied with being a Martial Aspect, a subordinate of the Heavenly Emperor? Would the Heavenly Emperor leave someone like me by his side?" Xiao Nanfeng continued.

Ordinary people would be frightened by the prospect of a cursed king, but if Yin Shenhua suddenly attacked him to probe his strength, he would certainly die instantly. He couldn't allow Yin Shenhua to think of him as a cursed king any longer.

"And if I don't believe you?"

"Believe it or not, it's the truth. I'm sure your sources of information will also make it clear that I've been sent to reclaim the lost fortune as part of a trap against me—but now that I'm here, I can hardly return with nothing. I'd like to know how you intend to pay off your tithe, Yin Shenhua."

Yin Shenhua continued to glare at Xiao Nanfeng. In the end, however, he smiled. "Why don't we have a bet? If you win, I'll follow the rules."

"Hm?"

Yin Shenhua extended his right hand. His palm suddenly generated incredible suction, which Xiao Nanfeng was unable to defend against. He was sucked into Yin Shenhua's palm.

Xiao Nanfeng quickly stabilized himself only to find that his environment had completely changed. The hall he had been in had vanished,replaced by a sea of clouds.

Yin Shenhua seemed to have become a giant. Half his body stood above the clouds, and half below. His right hand was lifted, its palm the size of a large field, with Xiao Nanfeng standing on it. Not far away, Yin Shenhua's fingers curled toward the sky like heaven-reaching pillars, clouded with fog.

"A world in your palm..." Xiao Nanfeng murmured, narrowing his eyes.

"Let's make a bet. If you can escape from my palm, I'll play by the rules. Otherwise, you'll reveal everything you know about Mo Shanhe's disappearance to me," Yin Shenhua said from up high.

Xiao Nanfeng frowned. This was a rather familiar sight, wasn't it?

"It's the first time I've been caught by such a skill. Let me probe it first," Xiao Nanfeng replied.

He flew into the air, toward the horizon.

He could confirm that this wasn't an illusion; he was still in his physical body. He flew rapidly, breaking through the cloud cover.

Wind whooshed by his side. He flew for two entire hours, an interminable distance. But, when he raised his head all of a sudden, he could still see Yin Shenhua's five pillar-like fingers far across the horizon. He frowned. In other words, despite his best efforts, he wouldn't get free just by physical motion.

He considered this conundrum as he flew, suddenly noticing that the clouds he was soaring by seemed to follow some special trajectory.

The answer came to him in a flash.

"Spatial manipulation. This world of yours incorporates natural law that deals with space, doesn't it? No matter how I try to flee, those laws will pin me down with regards to relative position," Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed.

"You have good eyes, if nothing else," Yin Shenhua replied.

Xiao Nanfeng suddenly halted. The space around him was shrinking, and Yin Shenhua's five fingers were swiftly drawing near. He pondered his circumstances.

"You've lost, Xiao Nanfeng. Now, reveal all that you know." Yin Shenhua's voice rumbled like thunder.

Xiao Nanfeng shook his head. "I've only stopped momentarily to think matters through. I haven't lost."

"As a Heaven Immortal, you won't be able to escape from my palm. Fulfill the terms of the bet, now."

Xiao Nanfeng ignored Yin Shenhua and retrieved his golden net.

"Do you still intend to resist?" Yin Shenhua demanded.

"This world of yours is incredibly potent, Yin Shenhua, but it won't suffice to entrap me. I hope you'll keep your word. Golden net, explode!" Xiao Nanfeng shouted.

He caused the golden net to self-destruct.

"Are you crazy? Are you trying to kill yourself?!" Yin Shenhua exclaimed.

The golden net exploded. The destruction of a Golden Immortal relic generated incredible force. Strong though Yin Shenhua's technique was, the explosion instantly tore a hole in it.

The explosion wasn't strong enough to hurt Yin Shenhua, but ordinary Golden Immortals certainly wouldn't have escaped unscathed, let alone a Heaven Immortal caught in its midst like Xiao Nanfeng. Was he trying to kill himself?

A burst of fire emerged from the hole in Yin Shenhua's technique, enveloping the entire hall.

Fortunately, Yin Shenhua had reacted quickly. He clenched his fist and concentrated the explosion in his palm, restoring the hole in his technique swiftly.

Then, the flames on Yin Shenhua's palm radiated with light.

It took long moments before Yin Shenhua finally extinguished all the flames, and he was particularly dour by the time he finished.

Xiao Nanfeng had managed to flee from his technique by taking advantage of the explosion he had produced.

He slumped on the floor of the hall, his clothes charred, blood spraying from his mouth. It was clear that he was badly injured, but he had survived the explosion. Golden light emanated from his body.

"You cultivate the Imposing Avatar of Rulai? No wonder you dared to brave the explosion," Yin Shenhua spat out.

"I destroyed a Golden Immortal relic that I borrowed from the Hall of Martial Aspects, too. I'll be held accountable, of course, but being able to secure your promise is worth it. Yin Shenhua, it's time for you to fulfill your end of the bet." Xiao Nanfeng staggered up, clutching his chest.

Yin Shenhua glared at Xiao Nanfeng. He had never met anyone so rash. It was clear that Xiao Nanfeng wasn't a cursed king, but how could an ordinary cultivator have broken out of his treasured technique?

"Yin Shenhua, I've won. How do you intend to pay your tithe to the Imperial Court?"

Yin Shenhua sighed. He shook his head. "Xiao Nanfeng, you don't know how important Mo Shanhe is to me, but from what you've said, it's clear you do know some information of import. You'll have to tell me what you know."

"Are you going back on your word, then?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

"This is my Thunderclap Hall, my place of power! You have no say in things. If you refuse to tell me what you know, let's see how long you can hold out, then," Yin Shenhua warned.

A huge thunderclap rang out within the hall, as if heavenly lightning had exploded in Xiao Nanfeng's head.

"Argh!" Xiao Nanfeng clutched his head in pain, feeling as though the force of the lightning had flung him into the air.

By the time he landed again, the thunderclap had vanished entirely, replaced by the sound of chanting.

He opened his eyes to find that his environment had changed once again. His charred clothes had been restored.

The hall remained the same hall, but it was now filled with arhats. Behind the arhats were stern bodhisattvas floating atop lotuses.

To the north of the hall were golden lotuses on which Buddhas stood or sat. They were facing the largest lotus directly to the north, where Yin Shenhua himself sat. His draconic robes had vanished, replaced with Buddhist ones.

He was staring coldly at Xiao Nanfeng as though he were an ancestral Buddha.

All the arhats, bodhisattvas, and Buddhas followed his furious gaze toward Xiao Nanfeng, releasing an aura of incredible potency.

"Who are you to dare not to bow down to the ancestral Buddha?" a Buddha demanded.

The Buddha's voice resounded in Xiao Nanfeng's head like another clap of thunder, causing him to wince in pain.

"Is this an illusion? Yin Shenhua, you're a Buddha in here?!" Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed.

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