Chapter 503: The Frightening Hood

Chapter 503: The Frightening Hood

Three golden lotuses bloomed in the pond. They were clearly extraordinary, and the gathered cultivators eyed them greedily.

"Generals, there's something wrong with these lotuses. Don't touch them," Xiao Nanfeng warned.

However, the cultivators ignored his warnings completely. Dozens of figures shot out toward the lotuses and snatched them up.

Xiao Nanfeng: ...

He hadn't wanted to provoke these cursed effigies, but if they wanted to die, he could hardly stop them.

"Zeng Daniu, you're too large and eye-catching. Could you shrink yourself down?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

Zeng Daniu's body shrunk until he was the size of a regular person.

Xiao Nanfeng motioned for Zhang Lingjun and the others to step back along with him.

Not far away, the three cultivators who had managed to claim a golden lotus each eyed Xiao Nanfeng disdainfully. They called him Martial Aspect only out of superficial courtesy; none of them thought highly of him. They were already thinking of all the treasures in the palace as their own.

"Master, I was unfortunately too slow to claim more than a single golden lotus," General Zhang said, smiling as he walked toward Ao Shuai.

"Well done," Ao Shuai praised.

"Hm? There's something wrong with this golden lotus," General Zhang suddenly said.

The roots of the lotus were gradually shrinking inside it as a huge hole appeared on the underside of the lotus.

"It looks almost like a lotus hood—and why can I hear holy chants and hymns around me?" Ao Shuai exclaimed.

The sound of recitation could be heard all around them, as though there were thousands of monks chanting scripture in their midst, solemn and dignified.

"Where is it coming from?" General Zhang frowned at his surroundings.

"It came out of nowhere..." Many of the cultivators had discovered that something was amiss by now.

Suddenly, the golden lotus hood in General Zhang's hands flashed as it reappeared on his head, so quickly that he didn't have time to react.

"Something's wrong. What is this golden lotus? Why does it feel so cursed?" General Zhang blanched.

He attempted to pull off the golden lotus hood, tearing it apart in his haste. It vanished in a cloud of powder.

The other two cultivators that had managed to snatch a golden lotus had the same thing happen. They glanced at their hands curiously.

"I thought these were incredible treasures, but they crumbled so easily..." The cultivators were flummoxed.

Only General Zhang seemed to react. He immediately sat down and started to meditate.

"What's going on, General Zhang?"

General Zhang's eyes twitched. "I'm afraid I might have come into contact with a malicious entity. Please hold on, Master, while I check on myself."

Waves of blue light emanated from General Zhang's body, scanning him and buzzing as they approached his head. Suddenly, another golden lotus hood appeared on General Zhang's head, covering it and radiating with golden light.

"Something's wrong! The golden lotuses that were torn apart were only illusions. They must be hiding in your bodies!" someone shouted.

The other two cultivators who had snatched up a golden lotus blanched. They immediately scanned their own bodies like General Zhang.

General Zhang reached out for the golden lotus hood, but his hand passed through as if it were only an illusion.

"Damn it," General Zhang cursed. "These golden lotuses are cursed effigies!"

The next moment, he clutched his head in pain. "My head hurts! Scram!"

"Help General Zhang!" Ao Shuai called out.

"Something's wrong with Sir Zhao!" someone suddenly called out.

Everyone looked toward him. He continued, "Sir Zhao and I both have avatars in the outside world. His avatar came to find mine and told me that his spirit has been suppressed. He can't control his body anymore."

He pointed at a blue-robed man, whom everyone turned to.

The blue-robed man smiled in a sinister fashion. "How boring. I've been discovered again."

Everyone shuddered. Could the cursed effigy possess others at will?

"Take him down!" someone shouted.

"Be careful. There are two more cursed effigies around!"

No one knew who had been possessed. Everyone was staring warily around themselves as they attempted to deal with the possessed blue-robed man.

The blue-robed man was quickly caught and sealed within a relic.

However, he didn't panic. He smirked. "Guess who I'll target next."

The blue-robed man then exploded as well, shattering the relic that sealed him in.

Everyone turned to look at each other.

How was this cursed effigy possessing them seemingly at random? Who had it targeted next?

The sound of scripture could still be heard all around them, holy hymns and chants now sounding malicious and evil. Whoever this cursed effigy was, it was coming for them!

They immediately activated their own barriers as they spread out, on guard against those cultivators nearest to them.

"Only cursed effigies can suppress other cursed effigies. I have a cursed weapon here. Using it, we should be able to tell who has been possessed," someone suddenly said.

The cultivator drew a small dagger. The next moment, however, a woman in red beside him grabbed ahold of it.

"What are you doing?" the cultivator thundered.

The woman placed the dagger in her mouth and swallowed it, shocking everyone around her.

"What lovely cursed spiritual power. Is there more? Take out whatever you have!" the woman in red demanded, smiling.

"She's been possessed!"

"Restrain her!"

The cultivators began to toss relics at her to pin her down. When she realized that she wouldn't be able to hold out against the flood of relics, she smiled evilly. "How boring. Explode!"

The woman exploded, shocking all the cultivators once more.

Could this cursed effigy possess any of them at will? How were they supposed to fight something like this?

Xiao Nanfeng and the other cultivators retreated time and again, trying their best to make themselves look unassuming. They were growing more and more fearful of this lotus hood cursed effigy.

The next moment, however, Xiao Nanfeng felt a chill on his head. His eyes widened. "I'm done for!"

"Xiao Nanfeng, there's a golden lotus hood on your head!" Zhang Lingjun cried out.

"Division Leader!" Chang Bing and the others likewise began to panic.

Everyone looked toward Xiao Nanfeng. They sucked in a deep breath, thinking that he was done for.

This time, however, the monk hood didn't vanish within his body. It remained exposed and visible.

"Hm? Where's your soul? Why doesn't this body of yours have a soul?" the hood cried out.