Chapter 101: Chapter 101: Celestial Demon Curse

Ye Yan channeled her Magical Power, causing the Netherworld Heavy Water to manifest and crash against the surrounding gray light.

But an astonishing scene unfolded before her.

Her Netherworld Heavy Water, which had always been unstoppable, only created ripples when it struck the gray light, failing to even shake the seal.

The black-robed man looked greedily at Ye Yan and sneered, "Stop wasting your energy. This Ghost King Seal is a Second-Order Magical Artifact. With your meager cultivation, don’t even think about breaking free."

Ye Yan gave a cold laugh. "We’ll see about that."

The black-robed man stood in the air with his hands behind his back and said indifferently, "For my beloved pet to have found you, you must have found some treasure. Hand over the treasure, acknowledge me as your master, and I will let you out."

Ye Yan’s brows knitted as anger surged within her. She was just about to use the method Madam Ye had given her to break free.

Suddenly, she blinked and paused.

The black-robed man was about to say something more when his expression suddenly changed, and a sickly bluish-black hue spread across his face.

Excruciating pain wracked his organs, his Qi Sea roiled, and his Magical Power began to drain away uncontrollably.

"This is bad!"

The black-robed man realized he had been poisoned and immediately took out a Rejuvenation Talisman from his storage bag, attempting to suppress the potent poison.

Just then...

A frigid beam of sword light shot forth without a sound!

The black-robed man dodged to the side. The sword light flickered with agility, morphing into a slender, cold streak of light that arced toward his neck.

CLANG!

In the nick of time, an iron fan flew from his sleeve, striking the sword light and knocking it away.

He breathed a small sigh of relief. Just as he was about to use the opening to locate the person using Sword Control, his expression froze. His eyes flew wide with disbelief.

A thin red line appeared between his brows and spread downward.

His body split in two and slowly tumbled from the sky.

Even in death, he never saw his attacker.

With the black-robed man’s death, the Ghost King Seal became ownerless. No longer guided by Magical Power or Divine Sense, it instantly withdrew the vast gray light and hovered silently in the air, seeming to possess a spirit of its own.

Freed from her prison, Ye Yan gracefully flew out to join Fang Cheng.

Fang Cheng reached out, collecting the Second-Order Magical Artifact—the Ghost King Seal—and the black-robed man’s storage bag. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Meanwhile, the three Gu Insects lay hidden in the weeds and miasma on either side of the canyon.

The Seven Fire Demon Smoke Formation ceased to function. As the thick smoke dissipated, the six figures who had been anchoring the array’s core appeared.

They retrieved the Beast God Incense. The Demon Beasts milling about sensed that something was amiss and instantly scattered in all directions.

The six flew out of the Grand Array, their gazes fixed on Fang Cheng and Ye Yan in astonishment.

They knew better than anyone what the black-robed man’s level of cultivation was.

Furthermore, with the Second-Order Magical Artifact, the Ghost King Seal, in his possession, he could even hold his own against a Life Talisman Cultivator.

So why was he cut down by a single sword strike in just a few breaths of time?!

Among the six, the leader was a young Daoist.

He was rather tall, with sharp eyebrows sweeping up to his temples and piercing, bright eyes, giving him the astute yet predatory air of a hawk.

It was none other than his predecessor’s senior brother, Fang Hen!

After not seeing him for so long, Fang Cheng noted that Fang Hen was dressed in fine robes, his aura contained. He had, to Fang Cheng’s surprise, already broken through to the Seventh Layer of Sensing.

His cultivation speed was astonishingly fast. It was clear he had received the full backing of the Feng Family.

The other five Cultivators with Fang Hen were dressed like Loose Cultivators, but none of them were weak; all were in the Late Sensing Stage.

「At that moment.」

When Fang Hen saw Fang Cheng, he too was astonished, clearly not expecting his own junior brother to be behind this handiwork.

He pointed at the black-robed man’s corpse, then turned to Fang Cheng. His expression was odd. "Junior Brother," he said, "do you have any idea who you just killed?"

His tone was tinged with schadenfreude.

Seeing this ’senior brother’ of his again, Fang Cheng felt a wave of complicated emotions.

This was the first rival he’d faced after his transmigration. But now, his power was a world apart from what it had been back then.

He offered a cool taunt. "What, Senior Brother? You want to avenge him?"

Fang Hen smiled and shook his head. With a grand wave of his hand, a crimson ray of fire shot into the sky and exploded violently, like a firework, displaying his profound Magical Cultivation.

"He’s cultivated the Flame Demon True Technique!"

Ye Yan exclaimed in surprise.

The Feng Family’s ultimate legacy technique, the Flame Demon True Technique, had actually been learned by a cultivator from outside the family.

There must be something special about him, or the Feng Family would never have treated him with such favor.

And indeed, the Feng Family had taken a liking to Fang Hen’s special constitution. That, combined with a personal guarantee from Feng Ling—one of their own disciples with a boundless future—was why they had imparted the Cultivation Technique to him.

Fang Hen did not disappoint. After obtaining the technique, his Cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds, placing him among the top disciples of the Feng Family.

Fang Cheng, however, could see that Fang Hen’s display wasn’t to show off his own power, but to send a signal.

He frowned, watching Fang Hen silently as his Sword Intent began to surge.

Seeing the situation, Senior Brother Liu immediately flew over to dissuade him. "Junior Brother Fang, our work here is done. Let’s not linger and risk complications. We should leave now."

They had the Glazed Jade Golden Flower. The best choice now was undoubtedly to leave, secure their prize, and avoid any further complications.

Across from them, Fang Hen heard this and said coolly, "I’m afraid none of you can leave just yet."

"The man my junior brother just killed," he began, "was Lady Ghost’s beloved son. If you all just up and leave, I’ll be in a difficult position when she returns."

He watched Fang Cheng and his four companions with a relaxed air, his own aura surging, ready to strike at any moment.

The Loose Cultivators behind him remained silent, but the killing intent in their eyes was completely undisguised.

Clearly, they had no intention of letting Fang Cheng’s group leave.

Although Fang Hen was wary of Fang Cheng’s power, he was confident that his six Late Sensing Stage Loose Cultivators could hold him off for a time.

All they had to do was stall until Lady Ghost returned...

Fang Cheng glanced at Senior Brother Liu.

Senior Brother Liu understood, knowing he was asking about Lady Ghost’s identity. "Lady Ghost is a Life Talisman Realm Loose Cultivator from the Southern Mang Mountains," he explained. "She is proficient in Ghost Dao Skills and is quite famous among Loose Cultivators."

Only then did they realize that they had unintentionally provoked a formidable Ghost Dao Loose Cultivator!

Fang Hen himself had started as a Loose Cultivator. As his power grew, so too did the caliber of the Loose Cultivators he associated with.

This didn’t surprise Fang Cheng.

He mulled it over for a moment, shot Fang Hen a deep look, then turned to Senior Brother Liu, Ye Yan, and the others. "Let’s go," he said.

The moment he spoke, five streaks of Escape Light flared as they shot into the distant sky.

Fang Hen barked, "Move!"

His body erupted in flames as he moved to intercept them.

But after flying only a few dozen feet, he sensed something wrong behind him. He glanced back, and his heart leaped in alarm.

He was horrified to discover the faces of his five Loose Cultivator comrades had turned a deathly blue-black. They were all dead!

Meanwhile, at his waist, a vibrant green Jade Pendant flickered, casting a soft glow that enveloped him and blocked the poisonous gas.

But on the surface of the Jade Pendant, a dark spot was slowly spreading, visible to the naked eye.

This Jade Pendant had been a gift from the Feng Family. It had the miraculous effect of warding off evil and poison. He had kept it at his waist throughout his trip to the Southern Mang Mountains, just in case.

"Poison Gu!"

Seeing this, Fang Hen immediately understood.

’What tier is this Gu Insect? How can it be so powerful?!’

’Could it be... a Tier Two?’

’That’s it. If it wasn’t Tier Two, how could Ghost Spirit have been killed so easily?’

In that instant, Fang Hen understood his junior brother’s methods.

’How did he manage to raise a Tier Two Gu Insect? Did Master leave something behind for him?’

Fang Hen’s thoughts raced, his gaze sweeping back and forth, searching for a trace of the Poison Gu.

Poison Gu are afraid of fire. If he could just find the Gu Insect and suppress it with a fire technique, he might have a chance to survive.

Just then, a sound that made his scalp tingle echoed.

It was the sound of a Vajra Gu’s vibrating wings.

He turned to see a walnut-sized ball of golden light speeding toward him, reaching him in the blink of an eye.

The ferocious aura radiating from this Vajra Gu was utterly terrifying.

A Tier Two Vajra Gu!

’He has two Tier Two Gu Insects!’

Terror filled Fang Hen’s eyes. Knowing Fang Cheng truly meant to kill him, he screamed, "Fang Cheng, if you kill me, the Feng Family will never let you go!"

The Vajra Gu ignored him completely, pouncing straight for his body.

Fang Hen waved his hand, launching several blasts of intense fire in an attempt to intercept it.

The Vajra Gu ignored the flames, passing straight through the astonishingly hot fire and appearing before Fang Hen completely unscathed.

Fang Hen’s expression turned vicious. He lunged to grab it, but the Vajra Gu gracefully swerved, flew behind him, and latched onto his back!

Fang Hen’s Protective Spiritual Light shattered like paper, and the Vajra Gu instantly burrowed into his back.

Fang Hen’s Escape Light faltered, and he plummeted into the jungle below, crashing through countless trees. He screamed himself hoarse, "Fang Cheng, you killed me, but Feng Ling won’t let you get away with it! She once used a Celestial Demon Curse to scheme against you on my behalf! You won’t be able to escape her curse a second time!"

Enduring the unprecedented agony wracking his body, he twisted his face into a savage grin.

’Junior Brother, even in death, I’ll drag you down with me!’

’If you survive Lady Ghost, then go fight Feng Ling to the death.’

’I’ll be waiting for you in hell.’

PFFT!

A ball of golden light burst from his chest.

It left a fist-sized, bloody hole that ran straight through his torso. The space where his heart should have been was now an empty cavity.

The light faded from Fang Hen’s eyes. He stared up at the sky, his face a mask of hatred and unwillingness to accept his fate.

’Lady Ghost... Feng Ling... don’t let me down!’

...

Five streaks of Escape Light shot across the sky, heading back toward the Abyssal Marsh.

Within his Escape Light, Fang Cheng was lost in thought, Fang Hen’s dying words echoing in his mind.

’Feng Ling...’

His eyes glinted, a flash of killing intent within them.

’The mystery of his predecessor’s soul dissipating was finally solved!’

’It was Feng Ling’s doing all along.’

’It seems she still has a way to curse me,’ he thought. ’When I get back, I have to strike first and eliminate this threat completely.’

As he flew, Fang Cheng calculated the difference in strength between himself and Feng Ling.

’Assassinating her with the Poison Gu and Vajra Gu wouldn’t be difficult,’ he mused. ’The real challenge is doing it without leaving a single trace.’

Feng Ling was the Feng Family’s "Dao Seed"—a genius with the potential to one day become one of the Yinluo Sect’s Inner Sect Elders.

Never mind how difficult she would be to kill.

If a genius like her were to die prematurely, would the Feng Family ever let the matter rest?

’As a mere live-in son-in-law of the Ye Family, how could I possibly withstand the retaliation of one of the four great families?’

While he was pondering, Chen Yu Yan’s gentle voice sounded, "Fellow Daoist Fang, why not hide in the Stone Meditation Hut for a while before going out?"

Fang Cheng snapped out of his thoughts and shook his head. "That won’t work. Your Stone Meditation Hut is only a First-tier Magical Artifact. It can’t hide from a Life Talisman Cultivator’s Divine Sense."

Just then, an item in Fang Cheng’s storage bag began to stir violently. Emitting an incredibly dense wave of yin energy, it burst free from the bag and shot out.

Fang Cheng waved his sleeve, unleashing the Li Hen Demon Light. The pitch-black Demonic Light coiled around the object as Demon Fire blazed, instantly incinerating the yin energy.

An Ink Jade Seal now floated in the air. Its surface shimmered with light as it struggled against the Demonic Light, trying to fly away.

’This is bad!’ Fang Cheng cursed inwardly.

Then, a sinister voice echoed from the heavens:

"Who killed my son?"

...