Fighting: I am Han Feng, I respect my teacher

Nalan Yanran awoke with a start.

Yun Yun sighed softly and said earnestly, "I know you've always been thinking about Xiao Yan. Perhaps the resentment you felt for him back then has now transformed into something else entirely."

Nalan Yanran's eyes reddened slightly, then she whispered, "But it's no use saying all this now, considering how I treated him back then..."

Yun Yun continued gently, "If you want to find him, then go to Zhongzhou. With us protecting Yunlan Sect, there won't be any major problems in the future. You have outstanding talent, and you can find a bigger stage in Zhongzhou. Maybe one day, you can stand by his side and stand shoulder to shoulder with him."

"teacher……"

Nalan Yanran's eyes glistened with tears.

No one knows a disciple better than his teacher; Yun Yun had seen through my little scheme all along.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Xiao Yan's emotions were somewhat unsettled.

Although he remained rather cold and showed no emotional fluctuations throughout his conversation with Nalan Yanran, it seemed as if he had truly let go of everything.

But when he met his former fiancée's eyes again and saw the shy and timid look in her eyes, Xiao Yan felt a warmth rise in his heart.

Having been single in two lifetimes, Xiao Yan knew that this fluttering feeling was merely a physiological impulse of this body.

Emotionally, Xiao Yan did not have any romantic feelings for Nalan Yanran.

Putting himself in others' shoes, Xiao Yan now understands this very well.

Through his various experiences in the Heavenly Tomb, Xiao Yan gradually realized that Gu Xun'er did not have any feelings for him. Even though he had great affection for her and even love for her, it was just unrequited love, and this relationship was destined to have no outcome.

In contrast, the fact that someone admires him touches Xiao Yan's heart more.

He didn't come here with ulterior motives. Before meeting Nalan Yanran, he wanted to perform as well and impressively as possible so that she would regret not choosing him.

When Xiao Yan finally saw the affectionate look in Nalan Yanran's eyes, he felt a sense of pride.

The girl's emotional outburst signifies that he has already won the "victory" he had initially achieved, a victory that is far more complete than defeating his opponent in the three-year agreement.

Whether in terms of strength or emotion, Xiao Yan was the clear winner.

Han Feng glanced at his junior brother and saw the slight upturn of his lips. He knew exactly what his junior brother was thinking.

How did you feel about showing off this time?

Han Feng suddenly asked.

"good."

Xiao Yan laughed heartily.

"Is it just okay?"

Han Feng asked again.

"Senior brother, what do you want to ask?"

"I heard that Nalan Yanran is still single, and she seems to have a good impression of you now. Have you considered rekindling your relationship with her?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan waved his hands repeatedly: "Senior brother, why are you suddenly concerned about my marriage? This is wartime, I can't put personal feelings first."

Xiao Yan decisively used this sentence to brush it off.

Han Feng's lips twitched slightly. These words sounded strangely familiar, as if he had said the same thing to someone before.

"That's it, that's all."

Han Feng shook his head and didn't ask any more questions.

The two continued flying into the distance.

Chapter 438 Eastern Profound Soul Destruction

"Let's part ways here. The greatest enemy of the Northwest Continent has been eliminated. The Lion Nether Sect is now in your hands."

Han Feng and Xiao Yan arrived at the Lion Nether Empire and stood on a high mountain, gazing into the distance.

"Senior brother, leave this to me."

Xiao Yan smiled slightly and said confidently.

Although Xiao Yan is not yet the best in the Northwest, he is confident enough to fight against any enemy here.

Han Feng nodded, then took a step and left into the air.

Dongxuan Continent.

Recently, the Soul Palace has quietly risen to power in this area.

The Soul Extermination Division, which was assigned to this location, has secretly launched an investigation and has already gathered most of the information about the distribution of the Soul Palace.

However, the Soul Palace has become increasingly rampant lately, acting recklessly and seemingly disregarding being discovered, even the exposure of its stronghold's address.

Han Feng discovered that the Soul Palace was collecting souls much faster than before.

They no longer prioritize secrecy and stealth as they once did, but instead prefer to directly provoke war.

If any force does not submit, the Soul Palace will swiftly launch a purge plan, slaughtering the entire opposing sect.

While this practice accelerated the harvesting of souls, it greatly damaged the reputation of the Soul Palace.

Although the Soul Palace was already a notorious and negative force, people still had some fear of it because it was one of the most powerful forces in the Central Plains.

In the past, as long as the Soul Palace didn't provoke them, everyone would turn a blind eye.

However, the Soul Hall's actions have undoubtedly provoked public anger and aroused dissatisfaction among many forces, with many considering uniting to oppose the Soul Hall.

Han Feng once again set foot on the Eastern Xuan Continent. Without any delay, he immediately located the Soul Extermination Division branch stationed there and extracted relevant intelligence.

Intelligence indicates that not only the Eastern Xuan Empire, but also cities affiliated with the Daoist and Buddhist sects have been harassed by the Soul Palace forces.

Although the Eastern Xuan Empire is stronger than many countries in the Northwest Continent, its strength is still far behind that of the Soul Palace.

"Let's resolve this as soon as possible."

Han Feng put away the intelligence and spoke slowly.

His plan was to quickly quell the troubles related to the Soul Palace on the Eastern Xuan Continent within a month.

The longer these kinds of things drag on, the worse it is; it's best to resolve them all at once.

Of course, Han Feng also understood that a deeply entrenched force like the Soul Hall was always cunning and had multiple burrows, making it unrealistic to completely eliminate it.

However, as long as all emerging forces are eliminated, it will be extremely difficult for the Soul Palace to rise again in this area, at least in the short term.

Previously, Han Feng and his group were focused on affairs in the Central Plains and failed to conduct a comprehensive cleanup of the Soul Halls on the other continents. This time, they can make up for this oversight.

At this moment, in the Buddhist monastery of the Eastern Xuan Continent, the Buddha listened to a group of monks reporting the situation to him, his eyes revealing a compassionate expression.

"The suffering of all living beings is immense!"

Now, with the Black Abyss stirring up trouble, the people of the Eastern Xuan Continent are already suffering greatly, and now they are being attacked by the Soul Palace, which is like adding insult to injury.

In recent years, the demonic energy in the Black Abyss has become increasingly intense. Buddhist disciples have frequently gone out to suppress the demons, but with little success.

Sometimes, such a great calamity seems irreversible.

However, suppressing demons is the duty of Buddhist disciples, so no one complained.

However, before the Black Abyss issue was properly resolved, the Soul Palace rose up again, not only killing many Buddhist disciples but also causing chaos in many cities under the Buddhist jurisdiction.

Faced with this situation, the Buddhist disciples also felt a huge darkness looming ahead, as if they had lost all light.

The Buddha clasped his hands together and softly chanted a Buddhist prayer: "Amitabha! Quickly send your monks to quell the disaster in the severely affected cities and repel the invaders from the Soul Palace."

"This matter needs to be done by someone, and our Buddhist sect is willing to take on the heavy responsibility of fighting against the Soul Palace."

Among the monks, some had firm gazes, while others harbored some doubts.

After all, the most powerful empire on the Eastern Xuan Continent did not take any countermeasures at this time, but allowed the Soul Palace to run rampant.

Although Buddhism is powerful, it is ultimately powerless to fight against the Soul Hall alone. It is feared that it will be purged by the Soul Hall and end up as a mere shell of its former self.

The Buddha practiced the Bodhi Sutra and comprehended the means to realize one's true nature, thus he already knew what the monks were thinking.

At this moment, he spoke to the crowd in a gentle voice: "All beings suffer, and the Buddha is compassionate. Should we turn a blind eye to the suffering of all beings?"

"Even if hell lies ahead, would our Buddhist sect stand still? If we don't have this awareness, what ideals and beliefs led those monks who sacrificed themselves to seal the demons in the Black Abyss?"

"The Buddhist community will not force anyone to do this, but if you still consider yourselves Buddhist disciples, please contribute to helping all living beings overcome this calamity."

Upon hearing the Buddha's words, many monks showed expressions of remorse.

The monk, who had previously harbored doubts, no longer hesitated. He put his hands together, bowed respectfully to the Buddha, and said, "Amitabha!"

If I don't go to hell, who will? This is the time to test the principles of Buddhism.

Compared to the proactive approach of Buddhism, both the Daoist sect and the Eastern Xuan Empire adopted a conservative strategy.

They focused on protecting a handful of cities, but sacrificed the lives of countless other people in other cities.

The cities under special protection are undoubtedly inhabited by high-ranking officials, nobles, and imperial relatives, while those without any background will mostly lose their lives in this invasion by the Soul Palace.

However, they were unaware that the Soul Hall's purpose in this trip was to collect as many soul bodies as possible. How could the Soul Hall possibly let go of those cities that contained numerous treasures?

Although we are now at peace for the time being, we may go to bed today and wake up tomorrow, only to find that the army of the Soul Palace is already at our gates.

Han Feng also received timely intelligence from the Soul Slaughtering Division at this time.

In his view, the Eastern Xuan Empire's actions were undoubtedly foolish.

In this situation, trying to adopt a conservative approach will only embolden the Soul Palace.

If we don't fight back, the only path we'll have left is destruction.

"The current ruler of the Eastern Xuan Empire is really..."

Han Feng shook his head. Although he was dissatisfied with the actions of the Dongxuan Empire, he would not stand idly by and watch many of the Dongxuan Empire's citizens perish at the hands of the Soul Palace.

Therefore, Han Feng immediately dispatched the Soul Slaughter Division troops to various cities that were not protected by the Imperial Army to provide defense.

As for the important cities protected by the imperial army, Han Feng did not concern himself with them further.

Firstly, there wasn't enough manpower, and secondly, since those cities had gathered a large number of imperial troops, they still had some ability to protect themselves and didn't need special attention.

After arranging the battle plan, Han Feng led a small group of people to the Buddhist temple.

The Buddhist sect was near the Black Abyss. Han Feng was the first to arrive near the Black Abyss. Looking into the distance, he could see that the Black Abyss was filled with surging demonic energy, some of which had even risen to the ground.

Han Feng frowned as he looked at the situation.

In recent years, there have been many signs of the invasion of demonic energy, such as the drying up of Xuanwu Lake within the Stone Clan and the stirring demonic energy in the Black Abyss.

Both places are eerie, and it seems that monsters will soon become fully active.

In fact, if Han Feng and others hadn't intervened, the Purple Shattered Ruins of the Southern Li Empire would probably have become the source of the spread of demonic energy many years ago.

It was only thanks to the last bit of Vermilion Bird's power that the place was sealed.

"Could it be that the departure of the Azure Dragon and the collapse of the Hidden Dragon Cave have caused the demonic energy in the Black Abyss to become increasingly intense?"

Han Feng pondered to himself.

The Eastern Xuan Empire was once the roaming ground of the sacred beast Azure Dragon. If the Azure Dragon were still there, Han Feng felt that the demonic energy in the Black Abyss might not be so rampant.

The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed. He planned to go to the Black Abyss to find out after he finished dealing with the Soul Palace matter.

A moment later, Han Feng arrived at the Buddhist temple.

In this sacred Buddhist site, the Buddha showed a hint of surprise upon seeing Han Feng arrive: "Amitabha, Benefactor Han, you have arrived."

When Han Feng saw the Buddha again, he respectfully returned the greeting.

The Bodhi Sutra, which he comprehended in Buddhism, has provided him with considerable assistance over the years and is now one of his most powerful tools.

Therefore, Han Feng always remembered the kindness shown to him by the Buddhist community.

"Has Benefactor Han come to resolve the matter of the Soul Palace?"

The Buddha asked a question.

Han Feng nodded.

The Buddha continued, "I can sense the deep hatred you harbor for the Soul Palace. Although I do not know the source of this hatred, I urge you, Benefactor Han, to lend a helping hand to the people of the Eastern Xuan Continent so that they may be freed from the suffering of the Soul Palace as soon as possible."

Han Feng nodded: "That's exactly why I've come here."

The Buddha suddenly asked again, "Has Benefactor Han been to the Black Abyss before?"

Han Feng made no attempt to hide his agreement and nodded again.