novelraw Chapter 599 - 598: Blood Curse
Chapter 599 - 598: Blood Curse
Taking a deep breath, Hu Zhile forced herself to immerse in the deepest part of her sea of consciousness, that fragment of broken memory.
The vibrant continent was within reach, as members of the Snow Mountain Fox Race who failed in an attempt to plunder watched the victors kill the defeated, gravely injured ones one by one.
She had grown numb to the sight of severed limbs and blood spraying everywhere, clutching her tiny, soft little sister tightly in her arms, desperately hoping to step into the new world.
Her stomach was so hungry, her wounds so painful, the thick, bloody taste in her mouth vivid in memory...
"I remember now!" Hu Zhile shivered involuntarily, looking at Jiang Yuan with panic in her eyes, her voice trembling slightly: "At that time, seeing the same brothers and sisters, my little sister and I almost became food and were abandoned, while the fifth one and the other four were well-protected by our parents and could go to the New Continent together.
I was indignant; we were all the children of our parents, why did they do nothing and survive; I fought desperately for my chance to live, yet still had to be abandoned by my own parents?
Father... no, that man never liked me, he enjoyed controlling others, always thought I was not obedient enough. So I begged my mother for help, pleading her at least to take the youngest sister, but she was dragged away by Eighth Brother who was always fighting for favor!
I was almost driven mad, hysterically roaring, venting all the unfair treatment I received daily. At that time, I thought, since I was going to die anyway, why not vent my anger before dying?"
As she spoke, she burst into tears, sobbing uncontrollably.
Jiang Yuan, knowing himself to be clumsy and unable to comfort anyone, could only silently pass her a handkerchief made by the Textile Workshop.
Yun Shu was of puppet nature, without the concept of parents or family, so he was also bewildered, not knowing what to say;
Qingniao, in the previous life, cultivated to the peak of the Tribulation Crossing Realm, living untold ages, almost forgetting the affection of parents;
Bai Yunqi was merely a clone, the only close yet awkward relationship was with his main body, he opened his mouth but finally closed it again.
Only Yun Mo sighed softly, "It’s inevitable that affinity with parents is shallow, but fortunately it’s all in the past, you don’t need to be too sad."
"If it’s past, why would I end up like this?" Hu Zhile became even sadder hearing this, sobbing: "My accusation hit that man’s sore spot, he, he suddenly turned around, pointed at me with his eyes turned red saying, ’Your life, flesh and blood, and cultivation are all given by your parents, not to mention abandonment, even a thousand times more demands are justified’!
It was so chaotic and furious then, I can’t recall clearly what he specifically said, then I felt dizzy and in terrible pain all over, unable to speak.
At that time, I didn’t think too much about worrying being attacked by other Fox Demons, so I could only hold my little sister and find a snow cave to hide. Now recalling, after he said those words, the pain struck in my Dantian like being cut by a knife, even breathing deeply I didn’t dare, I thought it was an injury from the fight and didn’t take it seriously..."
Qingniao gasped with surprise: "Blood Curse!"
After speaking, she looked at her with pity, thinking she truly was a miserable girl.
Hopefully, Brother can find a way to lift the curse, otherwise after painstakingly cultivating to the Body Forging Realm, gaining an additional four to five hundred years of lifespan, once the curse takes effect and she dies, all remaining lifespan would be transferred to the curse caster.
Cheap for that old guy!
"What is the Blood Curse?" Yun Mo looked puzzled, "Do you mean Hu Senior’s Spirit Root is now damaged, being cursed by... that...?"
Seeing everyone’s eyes turn towards himself, Qingniao realized that her current persona was a little child, knowing too much would be inappropriate. But the situation was urgent, a matter of life and death, plus it was a friend she usually had good relations with, how could she conceal for such a small matter?
She coughed twice, speaking timidly: "Well, it’s something I’ve heard. There’s a curse technique using one’s own lifespan; once the cursed person dies because of it, the curse caster can gain the cursed person’s remaining lifespan. This curse is most likely to succeed and also most difficult to lift among those with blood relations."
[Side Quest: Hu Zhile’s Obsession]
[Task 1: Guide Hu Zhile to narrate the hidden truth of the past, completed. Reward: Disposable Void Teleportation Talisman+1 has been delivered]
[Task 2: Prepare sufficient materials (click to view list) for temporarily resisting the Blood Curse from consuming Hu Zhile’s life. Reward: Disposable Array Map+1; Acceleration Card+1]
Jiang Yuan saw the new task pop up, confirming that Hu Zhile was cursed by her biological father, and felt his anger rise instantly.
What a load of crap!
Favoring some children unfairly is already bad enough, but to curse his own daughter when exposed, wanting to rob her lifespan? How could there be such parents?
After cursing in his heart, he recalled Yang Hongye saying her parents just focused on draining her blood to nurture her brother, which made him even more frustrated.
Speaking of curse techniques, there was actually an Artifact Refining box containing an artifact refining Demon Cultivation Technique "Soul-breaking Hand", which was about cursing using one’s lifespan, where the cursed person’s organs and body would be transported to a designated place after dying, unable to break free from the curse.
If the cursed one breaks the curse, they will suffer backlash, and their lifespan loss will double. After learning, every three months, an additional month of lifespan is required to maintain the power of the curse, and upgrading also requires consuming the corresponding lifespan.
This was a trophy obtained by following the heart, lungs, and liver incident through Eagle Twenty-One to get to the root of the problem.
At that time, since there wasn’t enough lifespan, it wasn’t learned and was left to gather dust. Now, upon hearing that his contract pet was cursed by his biological father and would die if left unchecked, Jiang Yuan had this impulse — to learn the "Soul-breaking Hand" and give his pet tit for tat!
Thinking that the heart, liver, and lungs of a Fox Demon should also be of good quality, there was still a space in the exoskeleton equipment, so he might as well make himself a new one and add some Skill Points.
"The immediate priority is to first stop the Blood Curse from absorbing your Life Energy. I need to find some materials, and then I’ll figure out a solution once the situation stabilizes." Jiang Yuan calmed down a bit and first soothed his pet.
As for figuring out what method next, it depends on what content the side quests will release after completing Task 2.
In any case, considering the urgency, Hu Zhile’s side quest is prioritized first!
Hu Zhile was both happy and sad. Happy because he encountered the Venerable Family amidst a destiny full of hardships, made friends in the courtyard, and experienced warmth and love he had never felt before; sad because he faced unfair treatment from a young age, and now suffered a backstab from his biological father.
Jiang Yuan clicked to check the materials needed to construct an Array. It displayed over half a page, but fortunately, they were all daily collected Spirit Medicines, workshop products like gold and silver ingots, a small portion of special materials, and demon cores.
And each item required anywhere from ten to thirty parts, but due to habitual hoarding, most turned out to be green when needed, except that some demon cores were lacking, particularly the twenty Green-Scaled Snake Demon Pills, of which there wasn’t a single one.
The system very considerately displayed the required items in expandable green, and when he opened it, his eyes lit up — Green-Scaled Snakes are distributed across the Wilderness, with one nest located in the Empty Valley Stream three hundred miles southeast of Carefree City.
Isn’t this just coincidental?
Tomorrow is the night of the full moon, and the side quest hanging for nearly a month requires going to the Empty Valley Stream on the full moon night to find Gongxi Jin. It happens that while fighting monsters, he can complete the "Worries of the Lord of Carefree City" side quest 3, and also get an Acceleration Card.
Having quickly planned out the best time allocation, Jiang Yuan especially praised Yun Shu for her cleverness in drawing the Teleportation Talisman and officially becoming a Talisman Master, promising to hold a celebration banquet for her once Hu Zhile’s curse matter is settled; then arranged for her to stay home with Hu Zhile;
Yun Mo was also at home cultivating in silence, waiting for orders;
Bluebird was not delayed anywhere, quickly running dungeons to work;
He took Bai Yunqi to teleport to Carefree City, first completing the odd demon cores he was missing, then focusing all efforts on Empty Valley Stream tomorrow night.
The time is tight and the task is heavy, but fortunately, Bai Yunqi also contacted Xie Chenyuan.
They formed a group to hunt near Carefree City with great teamwork. Additionally, Xie Chenyuan was more familiar with the distribution of demon beasts in the area, allowing them to find the required demon beasts to slay and collect demon cores in the shortest time.
"Now we are short of twenty Green-Scaled Snake Demon Pills. These snakes are not high rank but are extremely venomous and tend to live in groups, often alerting a swarm when one is disturbed, so be careful later." Jiang Yuan handed an Antitoxic Pill to both Xiao Bai and Xie Chenyuan, "I still have some matters to handle at Empty Valley Stream. If it takes a long time, I’ll need you two to work harder on hunting the Snake Demons."
"You’re too kind, senior; it’s just hunting some demon beasts, hardly worth mentioning." Xie Chenyuan thought to himself that you are an ancestor of our Cloud Concealment Sect, and even when acting youthful, sticks to you shamelessly; getting summoned to help deepen connections is highly sought after, so it’s an opportunity to perform well, perhaps even gain some guidance.
The last time he chased Shen Lao Liu, he received some guidance, and during this recent time, cultivating the Divination Technique had been going exceptionally well, almost breaking through a small level.
Moreover, he got a horn from the Golden-Horned Thunder Avoiding Beast, which when forged by an Artifact Refiner into weapons, would be a great harvest! Hopefully, he can impress and continue to ride the wave of good fortune next time something similar happens.
Jiang Yuan, anxious and not much for pleasantries, opened the Teleportation Scroll and arrived directly at Empty Valley Stream.
"Hiss~"
"Hiss hiss~"
The enormous full moon hung low on the horizon, as the north wind moved the shadows of the trees making the atmosphere even more tranquil. The sound of snakes hissing and their scales rubbing as they entwined echoed through the night wind, sending shivers up one’s spine.
This place isn’t far from Carefree City, but the surroundings are impoverished with barren mountains and clusters of Green-Scaled Snakes. The Green-Scaled Snake Demon Pills aren’t special and fetch no price. Even during the daytime in Carefree City’s shops, Jiang Yuan couldn’t buy a few.
Professional demon beast hunting teams find it not worthwhile to come; amateur teams dare not venture in, fearing being swarmed by venomous snakes, leading to very low cost-benefit ratio resulting in more and more Green-Scaled Snakes proliferating in the valley. Anywhere you look with holes, you’ll see the dim green glow of slowly moving scales.
"I’ve heard that Green-Scaled Snakes, though highly poisonous, are ranked among the lowest level of demon beasts. Not many produce completed demon cores, and even fewer become demons themselves. So, how about we split up to gather enough demon cores in the shortest time possible?"
Xie Chenyuan habitually performed a divination, revealing tonight’s fortune to be excellent, possibly allowing him to showcase his skills and impress Senior Jiang, so he suggested splitting up to avoid Bai Yunqi stealing the spotlight with his bravery in battle.