Wayfarer-Chapter 314: Stay Calm

Deep within the spirit emperor's hidden realm, within an area filled with fog, the black fog suddenly roiled. A fearsome aura emanated from the fog in a cloud of dust. The Spirit Emperor roared out, "Xiao Nanfeng, I'll kill you! I'll grind your bones into powder so you'll never be able to survive the tribulations coming your way!"

The Spirit Emperor's howls resounded through the air, even beyond the boundary of black fog. The divine slaves outside the region of black fog were forced back from the frightening waves of energy.

Suddenly, the skies grew dark. Lightning struck all around the domain of black fog, shattering the soundwaves from the Spirit Emperor's cries of anger and blocking his aura from traveling further.

On a mountaintop some distance away, quite a few cultivators were paying particular attention to the region of black fog.

"The Spirit Emperor sounds as though he's just been heartbroken."

"He's howling about Xiao Nanfeng as though Xiao Nanfeng has stolen his woman. Xiao Nanfeng—is that Xiao Hongye's son?"

"It's likely so. Xiang Pojun, Xiang Tanlang, and Xiang Qisha's deaths all have something to do with Xiao Nanfeng."

"He's like a cockroach that won't die, isn't he?"

The Xiang cultivators all looked into the distance.

Only one of them instead turned to a figure standing in the back. That figure was shrouded with mist, their appearance hidden. All he did was cough occasionally.

"Mr. Wen, the Spirit Emperor's aura is too strong. Although he's trapped within the Thousand Spirits' Hall, even a single roar from him can cause such a large disturbance. Will the Xiang clan really be able to take him on?"

Everyone looked toward Mr. Wen.

'"There's no need to worry. I headed to the Eastern Sea Draconic Palace and retrieved that treasure from Seaquell Hall, remember? It was in order to counter the Spirit Emperor's main body. I was a spy by Nalan Qiankun's side, and Ihe deeply trusts me. I've managed to borrow the treasure and have since handed it to you. What's there to worry about?" Mr. Wen replied, coughing.

"But the heavenly pillar at the Yao Pool won't be easy to break," the cultivator continued.

"Relax. I've already tricked Nalan Qiankun to engage and destroy the pillars in various cities. As for the Yao Pool, the situation will come to a conclusion quickly. Just wait patiently," Mr. Wen replied.

Everyone nodded, clearly trusting Mr. Wen. They waited.

Meanwhile, at the Yao Pool, Xiao Nanfeng and the Divine Emperor continued to sit cross-legged in meditation. The red light emanating from their bodies arced toward each other; they had already been sitting together in that position for a day and a night.

Suddenly, Xiao Nanfeng's body quivered. Suction force seemed to have come from his body, absorbing the scattered red light and even the light from the surface of the Divine Emperor's body.

Then, flowers suddenly bloomed within the Divine Emperor's body. The remainder of the flowers swarmed toward Xiao Nanfeng's body and entered it as well.

The transformation surprised the black lotus within Xiao Nanfeng's mindscape.

"The curse of affection is one of the hardest curses to shrug off. Once afflicted, the two cultivators in question will reach a state of synchronization and develop feelings for one another. It's all but impossible to undo such changes—and yet, Xiao Nanfeng's somehow absorbing the entire curse. Is something wrong with his truesoul? Superior Yin Pearl, do you know what's so special about him?" the black lotus asked.

However, the superior yin pearl didn't respond at all.

Countless red flowers were expelled from the Divine Emperor's body and absorbed into Xiao Nanfeng's. As the final flower was absorbed, the Divine Emperor woke up with a start.

She was still surrounded by black smoke, and her appearance unable to make out. She studied Xiao Nanfeng carefully. Her chest heaved. She panted in a staccato rhythm, her emotions seeming to oscillate wildly before she finally calmed down.

"Black Lotus, what happened between me and Xiao Nanfeng? Where has my curse of affection gone?" the Divine Emperor exclaimed.

A burst of black light came from Xiao Nanfeng's mindscape as the black lotus responded with text, "I don't know myself. Shouldn't you have a better understanding of what happened than I do? How did all the red flowers in your body suddenly move to Xiao Nanfeng's? No, he absorbed the entire portion of the curse! His truesoul's very strange. Why don't we study it?"

The Divine Emperor cried out, "If you dare hurt his truesoul, I'll destroy you!"

The black lotus: ...

Just then, Xiao Nanfeng's body shook as he slowly opened his eyes.

His face blushed red and his chest heaved. He stared at the Divine Emperor. Only after some time did he finally master his emotions. He asked, "Was I dreaming? Why was it so real? No, it wasn't a dream, but rather an illusion! In that illusion, we—"

"It was a dream!" the Divine Emperor interrupted in a fit of panic.

Xiao Nanfeng slowly came to his senses. He stared at the Divine Emperor. "Divine Emperor, you really didn't lie to me. How beautiful you are!"

He caught her hand. The Divine Emperor shuddered as she tried to break free, but to no avail.

"Xiao Nanfeng, we were only afflicted by a curse of affection. Those cursed in such a manner are forced to perform actions not of their own volition, and only within a dream. Now, however, we're awake and the curse of affection has been dispelled," the Divine Emperor explained, tamping down her panic.

"I understand, but memories of that dream do exist. This was the first time I could afford to indulge myself so in this world, even in a dream. I'm very happy. Be it in a dream or in reality—it's a shared experience we'll possess. Let's head toward a better future together as well," Xiao Nanfeng said earnestly.

"No! What we did was a result of the curse of affection. We have to calm down," the Divine Emperor replied resolutely.

She tried to free herself from Xiao Nanfeng's tight grasp again, and it took her concerted effort before she was able to break free. The moment she did, however, her heart suddenly felt dull and lifeless.

Xiao Nanfeng nodded, resigned. "Perhaps we do need to calm down, but I won't forget this dream. I have a premonition that the dream will become reality, that one day, the two of us will be together. No one will be able to stop us."

The Divine Emperor's heart thumped. She didn't dissuade him from that notion.

"What in the world is this purple seal of yours? Why does it have such tremendous strength?" The Divine Emperor quickly changed the topic of conversation, worried that she wouldn't be able to restrain her emotions if she didn't.

"This is the divine purple rock of the Eastern Sea Draconic Palace, an artifact that an ancestral dragon obtained from beyond this world. I've attuned to it." Xiao Nanfeng smiled.

"From beyond this world?" the Divine Emperor exclaimed.

Xiao Nanfeng explained how the ancestral dragon had failed to head to the world away, but had returned with this divine purple rock. The Divine Emperor was stunned.

"And what's the matter with your avatar? Why does its red moon have a cursed king affixed to it?" the Divine Emperor asked thoughtfully.

Before entering the Spirit Emperor's hidden realm, she wouldn't have cared about Xiao Nanfeng's safety at all—but now, she seemed to pay particular attention to the safety of his main body and avatar.

"Back in the draconic palace, I ended up melding the red rope cursed king into my red moon. My red moon's been countering the red rope cursed king's revival, and it also allows me the ability to command the red ropes." Xiao Nanfeng recounted the series of events that had occurred.

"Using the cursed smoke of the Eastern Sea Draconic Palace?" the Divine Emperor exclaimed.

"That's right." Xiao Nanfeng nodded.

The Divine Emperor was silent. She seemed to have suddenly thought of something of particular importance. freewebn(o)vel

"What is it?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

"Nothing." The Divine Emperor refused to explain, as though she were hiding something, or perhaps because she was afraid the black lotus and superior yin pearl would overhear her thoughts.

She continued, "You should claim your spoils from this encounter. I suspect there's quintessence of solarfire under your purple seal now."

Xiao Nanfeng reached toward the seal. Indeed, fires blazed immediately as he picked up the seal, swamping the vicinity. A roiling sea of flame surrounded two embers.

"Two more embers of soulfire?" Xiao Nanfeng's eyes lit up.

"You take your time, and I'll take mine." The Divine Emperor pointed at a lake of black water.

"Got it!" Xiao Nanfeng replied.

The two cultivators again sat cross-legged in meditation. The Divine Emperor induced the lake's worth of cursed spiritual power into her body, while Xiao Nanfeng did the same thing with his sea of flames. The two embers headed toward the two suns in his dantian, helping him hatch his nascent spirits.

Fire blazed all around him.

Half a day later, two booms resounded in his vicinity as eight caws could be heard from within his body.

"The eighth stage of Wingform!" Xiao Nanfeng slowly opened his eyes.

He stood up to see that the Divine Emperor was still absorbing the lake of black water. Her aura was growing stronger and stronger, as was the rate at which she absorbed black water.

He began to guard the Divine Emperor. After about another half a day, all that water entered her body. A frightening burst of strength emanated from within, forcing him to stumble back.

The black smoke around the Divine Emperor's face retreated, revealing a snowy-white appearance. Her long hair fluttered in the wind as a pleasant scent wafted out from her. Xiao Nanfeng inhaled almost voluntarily, lost in thought.

The Divine Emperor opened her eyes to see Xiao Nanfeng's stunned expression. She panicked. "What are you looking at?"

"You really are as beautiful as in the dream," Xiao Nanfeng replied, smiling.

The Divine Emperor blushed. "You're not to speak of that any longer."

"I won't, but you're still beautiful." Xiao Nanfeng smiled.

"You!" The Divine Emperor didn't know what to say, but she didn't seem to be angry. Indeed, it was hard to hide the hint of happiness in her eyes.

Just then, with a huge rumble, the ground seemed to shift rapidly. The buildings around the lake collapsed in a storm of dust.

"An earthquake?" Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed, looking all around.

"Even the air around the Yao Pool is shifting. Could something have happened to the entire hidden realm?" the Divine Emperor exclaimed.

"The quake's persisting outside the realm as well!" Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed.

The two cultivators rushed toward the boundary of the Yao Pool.

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