Published at 28th of November 2024 11:32 am

Chapter 436: Curse Begins

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Pavilion of Heavenly Mechanism, Dao Concealing Peak.

Within the Qiankun Hall, beneath the Bagua Stele.

Three people sat in three directions, each of them Divine Martial, oh no, Divine Intent Venerables!

The three Divine Intent Venerables were a youth, a middle-aged man, and an old man.

The youthful one was none other than Dao Wuya, the Pavilion Master of the Pavilion of Heavenly Mechanism.

As for the middle-aged and the elderly, they were the former Pavilion Masters of the Pavilion of Heavenly Mechanism.

The divination asked by Pavilion of Heavenly Mechanism came at a steep price. Through this, the Pavilion had thrived and amassed profound potentiality; both the Righteous Path and Evil Path, Sacred Places and Demon Sects had all once patronized the Pavilion. Forces such as Iron Heart Fortress, Evergreen Palace, and Dragon and Tiger Platform had also conducted major transactions.

Therefore, whether it was miraculous medicines or divine weapons, Pavilion of Heavenly Mechanism lacked none. Now, with three Divine Intent Venerables in the world, as a paragon of neutral forces, it commanded a status comparable to Sacred Places of the Righteous Path and Demon Sects of the Evil Path.

Outside the Qiankun Hall, two groups of people quietly awaited.

This tripartite alliance was mutually beneficial and a matter of life and death. The Pavilion of Heavenly Mechanism dared not treat it lightly; even the former Pavilion Masters who had been in seclusion for many years were called upon to join hands with the third Divine Intent Venerable to raise the Qiankun Bagua.

The three Divine Intent Venerables, in coordination with the War God’s Atlas, used the Qiankun Bagua to deduce the heavenly mechanism. Even if that person possessed Taoist protection, they could forcefully break through it, determine their whereabouts, and leave nowhere to hide.

Once they could lock onto their trail, the subsequent actions would be straightforward.

With the Righteous and Evil Paths joining forces, setting aside their mutual restraints and threats, they could not only deploy numerous powerful warriors but also mobilize with the War God’s Atlas. Even if that person had Heaven-Reaching methods, they would find it difficult to escape the calamity under such circumstances.

Therefore, the divination of the heavenly mechanism was essential.

Inside the Qiankun Hall, beneath the Bagua Stele, three people led by Dao Wuya mobilized the essence of Martial Path Yuan Skill, and began to stimulate the War God’s Treasure.

Although Dao Wuya was the youngest, he was the most incredibly talented among all the historical Pavilion Masters of the Pavilion of Heavenly Mechanism, both in terms of martial cultivation and skill in the heavenly mechanism, surpassing his teachers and ancestors.

Hence, he was the principal in this divination.

He did not disappoint. With a surge of the Martial Path Yuan Skill, the Qiankun Bagua was activated, and amidst the darkness, the heavenly mechanism was immediately apparent.

In the deep void, faint visions coalesced, revealing the figure of a person.

The figure, hazy and indistinct, completely devoid of certainty as if as unpredictable as the heavenly mechanism itself.

Dao Wuya’s gaze turned cold. He further urged the Yuan Skill, probed deeper, and at once the haze dissipated, the illusion became reality.

Then, twelve figures emerged; Six Ding and Six Jia, a host of Divine Guard Generals and Celestial Maidens arrayed on either side.

Among the celestial host, a phantom figure stood prominently, stepping on a tortoise and a snake, exuding an extraordinary demeanor: it was none other than the True Martial Respect God.

“This person’s cultivation has progressed further. Indeed, fostering a tiger invites trouble!”

“Fortunately, it’s not too late to mend!”

Dao Wuya’s expression turned solemn, but without any hesitation, he stimulated the Qiankun Bagua, broke through the Six Ding and Six Jia’s protection, and directly pierced the instability of that person’s body.

What he saw then was…

“Boom!”

With a stimulation of the Qiankun and a flash of the Bagua, a realm appeared, a fantastical realm.

A mountain of immortals, a temple, a golden palace.

Entering the golden palace, there was a centrally seated idol—indeed, it was the True Martial Emperor of the Northern Pole.

The venerated god was in robes and armor, hair disheveled and barefoot. To his sides stood golden children and jade maidens holding scripts and treasures; further still were water and fire generals upholding flags and swords; underneath was the Black Tortoise, coiled and squatting, snakes twined around a turtle’s stomach, heads raised and watching each other

Beneath the venerated god, to the left and right inside the golden palace, stood the “Zhao, Ma, Wen, and Guan” – the four Great Marshals of each cardinal direction, along with the Divine Guard Generals: the Vermilion Bird and Black Tortoise, White Tiger and Azure Dragon, as well as the thirty-six generals of the Northern Pole, the True Martial Demon-subduing Multitude…

In the void, incense smoke twirled, with believers offering prayers, chanting the Xuantian Precious Decree in unison.

“Chaos Yuan Six Heavens, Sect Hierarch passing down the law, cultivating True Dao, enlightenment aiding the bewitched masses, supervisor of all as Three Origins, envoy of Nine Heavens chess play, Left Heaven Gang Northern Pole, Right Court Great General, Jade Void’s teacher and minister, Xuantian Supreme Deity, embodiment of Golden Palace, Exorcising Demon Heavenly Venerable!”

“Venerating the Northern Pole’s stabilizing heaven and safeguarding saint, True Martial Spirit-responding True Monarch, residing over North Palace with profound virtue, harmonizing with Dao and managing order, patrolling all under heavens, awe-inspiring spirit encompassing everything, protecting all beings, blessing the good and punishing the evil, demonstrating the ultimate truth…”

Incense offerings, devotees worshipping, this was none other than the True Martial Taoist Area!

The Qiankun Bagua and divination of heavenly mechanism, to have entered the True Martial Temple, the chamber of Xuantian?

This…

“Trickery and deceit!”

Dao Wuya’s eyes grew piercingly sharp, undaunted, he spurred on the Qiankun Bagua, and assailed towards the True Martial Respect God.

What he saw then was…

That centrally-seated, majestically poised venerated god suddenly opened his eyes, and the water and fire generals who stood by his side turned from statues to reality, flags and swords raised, bellowing in fury.

“Fiend, how dare you act wildly in front of the True Martial Hall!”

With a roar, the two generals attacked, targeting the void to the left and right, forcing out the hidden figures of two persons.

The True Martial Emperor statue in the center also raised a hand, anger and sword rising, slashing straightforward at the person below.

Suddenly…

“Boom!!!”

With a thunderous explosion, the heavens and earth shook violently. Within the illusory realm, thunder slashed the sky like a sword cutting through the bounds of the golden temple, causing the peak of the immortal mountains to reflect ten-thousand rays of golden light, piercing into the nine celestial layers.

Meanwhile, back in the real world, within the Qiankun Hall, under the Bagua Stele.

“Crash!!!”

“Ah!!!”

A loud crash followed by a wail.

Dao Wuya’s body shook violently, his crown burst open, white hair disheveled, and blood gushed from the orifices of his head, which soaked and stained the silver strands red; the two colors against each other were truly shocking to behold.

Not only him, but the two accompanying venerables also quaked, blood escaping from the corners of their mouths, their eyes filled with horror.

“This…”

“How could it be!”

“Wuya!!!”

The two suppressed their injuries and rose in alarm and anger, rushing to Dao Wuya’s side.

“Heave! Heave! Heave!”

Xu Yang saw Dao Wuya collapsed on the ground, his white hair disheveled, blood flowing from his eyes and seven orifices, gasping with hoarse breaths from his mouth. The severity of his injuries was evident.

The two were shocked, but fortunately, they were prepared and quickly took out an Eternal Evergreen Pill and fed it to Dao Wuya.

After taking the pill, Dao Wuya managed to sit up with difficulty, channeled his Yuan energy, and began to assimilate the pill.

Meanwhile…

In the secret realm, within a secluded valley and under layers of formations, a Nine Ceremony High Altar stood erect, erected in accordance with heaven.

Atop the Nine Ceremony High Altar, Xu Yang sat alone, his golden boys and jade maidens, marshal generals, and the Black Tortoise and snake all faintly visible, resembling the celestial pagoda and bringing about the appearance of the True Martial Taoist Area in the mortal world.

Beneath the altar, incense tables and array banners were placed in all directions, and chunks of superior-grade spirit crystals replaced the divine soul incense to become the driving force of the ritual, once again initiating the Luotian Dajiao Ceremony.

It was indeed the Method of Concealment that he was using, invoking the Luotian ritual, summoning the True Martial Respect God, combining the Dao of Heaven and Earth, and employing the skill to invert Qiankun.

To learn the law is to first learn the Method of Concealment; demonic and evil skills will not touch one!

The Tao of Concealment is a Great Divine Power and includes “Concealment Method,” “Transmutation Method,” “Retaining Soul Method,” “Division of Soul Method,” “Summoning Deity Method,” “Calamity Avoidance Method,” “Tribulation Evasion Method,” and many other mystical mnemonics, which have been deduced over thousands of years by the collective wisdom of all creatures at the Wandao School and has progressed into a higher realm.

Now, Xu Yang was employing this technique, invoking the Luotian Dajiao Ceremony, calling upon the True Martial Emperor and the Divine Guard Generals and relying on the authority of the celestial realm to counteract the opponent’s Qiankun Bagua divinations at the level of heavenly mechanism.

For the immortals and gods are masters of the Way!

The immortal gods hold sway over the Dao, and the Dao itself is the immortal gods. They possess not only immense strength but also a lofty status.

The Skill of Heavenly Mechanism is unfathomably mysterious; unlike conventional battles of magical skills, what is contested is not simply the tier of cultivation or status, but also the authority and influence, pertaining to the understanding, realization, and application of the Dao of Heaven and Earth.

Although Dao Wuya was a Divine Intent Venerable and the most outstanding among the historical Pavilion Masters of Heavenly Mechanism, how could his understanding of the Dao of Heaven and Earth compare to Xu Yang, the master of Ten Thousand Dao?

In his hand was but a copy of the War God’s Atlas, while Xu Yang possessed the entire world of Dao and Law.

The Wandao School, with billions of cultivators over thousands of years working diligently one after the other, had already advanced the related skills of heavenly mechanism and divine skills to the fifth tier extreme, even showing the potential of the sixth order. Just based on a Qiankun Bagua stele, they expected to breach his Ten Thousand Dao’s heavenly mechanism? Unlikely.

Thus, the outcome of the heavenly mechanism counter-measure is easily imaginable.

Even with two Divine Intent Venerables sharing the burden and the protection of the War God’s Atlas and Qiankun Bagua, they still suffered a significant impact, if not death, then at least losing a layer of skin.

Trying to steal a chicken only to end up losing the rice; such was the situation.

Backlash from Heavenly Mechanism was secondary.

What was even more terrifying were the ties of causality forged between the two sides in this clash of heavenly mechanism.

The heavenly mechanism is profound, and with causality thus entwined, many methods could be employed.

Xu Yang was seen smiling as he reached out and retrieved an object.

It was a palm-sized redwood book, covered in golden patterns and flashes of lightning.

It was none other than the Nailhead Ploughhead Seven Arrow Scripture!

By then, the Wandao School had completely deciphered and innovated the Treasure of Curse Killing left by Pudu Cihang, utilizing the rich resources of the Primordial Spirit World to produce enhanced versions of the Nailhead Ploughhead Seven Arrow Scripture, up to the caliber of Spiritual Treasures, and even Immortal Artifacts.

The item now in Xu Yang’s possession is of the rank of a Spiritual Treasure level Nailhead Ploughhead Seven Arrow Scripture.

It cannot be denied that after the millennium catastrophe and the vast changes of heaven and earth, the resources of the primordial spirit in this world have become quite abundant. With the spiritual objects plundered from various Divine Martial forces, the process of refining Spiritual Treasures was without pressure.

Could the Nailhead Plowhead Seven Arrows Scripture of the Spiritual Treasure tier actually curse-kill a Divine Intent Martial Artist?

Theoretically no, because the Spiritual Treasure is of the fourth tier, while Divine Intent is of the fifth tier; a difference of one realm is like the difference between clouds and mud.

But that’s just in theory. In actual practice, factors such as the caster and the cursed must be considered.

Now, with the backlash of the Heavenly Mechanism and the entanglement of cause and effect, Dao Wuya was severely injured. If he were to use the Nailhead Plowhead Seven Arrows Scripture again, the result…

Xu Yang’s expression was indifferent as he raised his right hand above his head and plucked a strand of pitch-black hair. He formed a magic seal with his fingers, and with a thought, the black hair turned into straw, quickly tangled and twisted into a straw effigy.

Then he took two Yellow Talismans, and with a stroke of his sword finger, blood splattered out, which he used like ink, the writing flowing like dragons and snakes.

Suddenly…

Tianji Daoyin Qiankun Hall!

The plaque reads Wuya’s Bagua Stele!

Using blood as ink, the writing flows like dragons and snakes. He wrote seven characters in two lines on the talismans and stuck them on the front and back of the straw effigy.

After that, he placed the straw effigy on top of a rosewood book, took a nail as thunder crackled, and drove it into the head of the effigy.

In this way, the Nailhead Scripture was complete, and it was placed on the altar.

Xu Yang stood up, stepping in the Heaven Gang pattern, the curse incantation beginning.

“As a guest of Kunlun, on the south side of the stone bridge lies my old home, having cultivated and gained the Dao and Chaos Yuan in the beginning, only to understand life and death, to know the righteous path…”

“Riding the Qingluan, mounting the white crane, not to feast on peaches for eternal joy, not to offer respects to the Lord Lao in Xuandu, not to solemnly swear at the gates of Jade Purity…”

“The hermit Lu Ya hath come, Nailhead Plowhead Seven Arrows Scripture in hand; The bodies of the Three Pure Ones are no grand matter, the souls of Immortals vanish into thin air!”

“Divine soldiers, swiftly execute as if by command—Fast!!!”

“Boom!”

In the midst of the incantation, lightning and fire burst forth, leaping upon the Nailhead Plowhead Seven Arrows Scripture, engulfing the curse-killing Spiritual Treasure with a ferocious aura.

Although curse spells are powerful, they have one drawback – they require time for preparation, worship, spellcasting, and curse acceleration before being unleashed. The longer the preparation, the greater the power of the curse spell, and the harder it is for the cursed to resist.

As in the case of Pudu Cihang, who cursed Xu Yang in the past, he first used the Nailhead Scripture to nail down his name, worshiping on the Mana Altar for forty-nine days, before unleashing the Plough-head Curse, performing the technique of the Seven Arrows Seven Kills.

But now, Xu Yang didn’t have much time because Dao Wuya was recovering. Strike while the enemy is sick – that was the plan. If he waited for Dao Wuya’s wounds to heal before using the curse spell again, the effect would be significantly reduced.

Therefore, if time was insufficient, one would have to make up for it with magical power.

At this moment, Xu Yang’s body was that of the Five Elements Mecha, with millions of magical treasures fiercely aiding him. While stepping in the Heaven Gang pattern, he struck out thunder after thunder, each radiant in five colors, dazzling to the eyes – the Five Elements Divine Thunder.

One after another, in each and every color, forty-nine strands of the Five Elements Divine Thunder struck the Nailhead Book like death’s summons.

Xu Yang was currently only at the level of Nascent Soul, with limited mana within him. These forty-nine strands of Five Elements Divine Thunder were beyond his capability to produce, even if he expended all his energy.

Fortunately, with the Spirit-Treasure Mecha Armor, the product of Heavenly Crafts Natural Creation, a massive amount of spirit crystals converted into mana. It wasn’t just forty-nine strands—he could even manage four hundred and ninety, though it would mean expending some magical treasures and spirit crystals.

The forty-nine strands of Five Elements Divine Thunder forced the curse-killing power of the Spiritual Treasure to its limit. The Nailhead Plowhead Seven Arrows Scripture, wrapped in fierce thunder and flame, suddenly ignited with a “boom,” transforming into a light of thunder and fire that was simultaneously real and illusory. In the shape of an arrow, it shot up into the sky and disappeared into the firmament in the blink of an eye.

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