Chapter 71: The Curse

Chapter 71: The Curse

The talisman demon violently shook He Ci off, trying to grab Shen Lian—its instincts told it Shen Lian would taste even better.

Who would've thought this peak Spirit Transformation cultivator would refuse to let go even when beaten half to death?

Just as it raised its hand in fury, about to shatter this cultivator's soul with one slap—

He Ci closed his eyes. Goodbye, father and mother, grandparents, uncles, and aunts.

But the next moment, he was grabbed by the back of his collar and yanked clean out of there.

He Ci froze, opened his eyes, and looked up to see the young man's gentle profile.

For some reason, the young man wasn't the flashy, cold type that demanded attention, yet he was inexplicably captivating.

Shen Lian's expression was cold and sharp. He first used Chen Xue to resist the talisman demon's attack, then tossed out a few pills and stuffed them into He Ci's mouth.

In an instant, He Ci felt his broken bones madly knitting back together.

Not only that, his Spiritual Sea was rapidly recovering its spiritual power.

He Ci stared at Shen Lian in shock. "You're an Alchemy Cultivator—an actual Alchemy Cultivator!"

Shen Lian's head throbbed from all his noise. "Shut up! If you don't want to die, fight alongside me."

He tossed He Ci a pill. "This pill can instantly boost your combat ability, letting you briefly reach the Tribulation Transcendence stage. But there are side effects. Your call."

He Ci swallowed it without a second thought.

Shen Lian was stunned. "You just swallowed it like that?"

He Ci shrugged. "Well, can't get much worse than this, right?"

The moment the words left his mouth, he felt a surge of immense spiritual power rise within him—power that far exceeded what his body could bear.

In that instant, He Ci felt faint cracks forming in the depths of his Spiritual Sea. This was the price of forcibly boosting one's strength.

After the boost, He Ci charged forward. "Die! You heart-gouging monster! You've been terrorizing Floating Cloud City for years!"

Once He Ci rushed ahead, Shen Lian fell back slightly. As an Alchemy Cultivator, his body wasn't as tough as these Sword Cultivators'.

Shen Lian was responsible for doling out pills and smashing enemies with magical treasures.

Over the years, Shen Lian had amassed quite a collection.

Working together, the talisman demon was quickly pushed back.

Seeing this, Shen Lian tossed out a golden pagoda—a magical artifact for suppression and sealing.

He shot He Ci a look, and to his surprise, He Ci reacted quickly, moving in sync with him.

Catching it off guard, they kicked the talisman demon under the pagoda. The giant golden pagoda slowly rotated, about to refine the demon.

The talisman demon gnashed its teeth, a hoarse roar tearing from its throat. "I will never—forgive you."

The moment the words left its mouth, countless streams of black qi scattered from its body.

He Ci's expression changed. "Where do you think you're going!"

He leaped up to slash at the black qi, but right then, the pill's effect wore off.

He Ci's body dropped, his blade slipping from his hand. But instead of fleeing, the black qi rushed back, slithered along the blade, and burrowed into He Ci's body.

Meanwhile, Shen Lian used the golden pagoda to completely refine the talisman demon.

Only then did he notice He Ci lying half-dead on the ground. He walked over. "Hey. You alive?"

The moment he turned He Ci over, a wisp of black qi crept onto his hand.

Shen Lian tried to dodge, but it was too late. The black qi wrapped around both their wrists and turned into a black mark.

Shen Lian's eyelid twitched hard. He knew it—he never should've come to save this guy!

He Ci also groggily woke up right then, only to find his wrist and Shen Lian's bound together by a wisp of black mist.

"What the hell is this!"

Before Shen Lian could answer, a dozen figures landed from above.

"Junior brother!"

A group of cultivators in gold-and-blue robes landed, eyeing He Ci with concern.

"Are you alright?"

He Ci stood up. "I'm fine."

"We saw your distress signal. Was there a fierce battle here?"

He Ci quickly recounted the talisman demon encounter, and also mentioned how he'd misunderstood Shen Lian.

All of He Ci's senior brothers and sisters turned to look at Shen Lian.

When they saw the young man, they all froze, each in their own way.

Those eyes were far too striking—cold and clear like the moon in the sky, so unreachable and untouchable that they made you overlook his otherwise plain face.

The oldest-looking cultivator among them spoke, sounding a bit apologetic. "My apologies. I'm a cultivator from Floating Cloud Mountain in Floating Cloud City, and I'm their senior brother. He Ci is young and came down the mountain to train—I never expected him to pull something like this."

"I'll apologize for him."

Shen Lian said flatly, "No need. Can you help me figure out how to undo this thing first?"

He Ci suddenly remembered, raising his hand. "Look at this! What is this?"

But after everyone crowded around and examined it, none of them had a clue what it was.

The black thread had one end attached to He Ci and the other to Shen Lian.

A black line had appeared on both He Ci's and Shen Lian's wrists, seemingly spreading up their arms.

This thing was obviously bad news.

They tried to cut the black thread, only to find it couldn't be cut.

Shen Lian had already tried with Chen Xue. "No use. Can't cut it."

The senior brother thought for a moment. "Would Cultivator Shen be willing to come back to Floating Cloud Mountain with us? Let our master take a look?"

Shen Lian frowned almost imperceptibly. He still hated staying in one place too long—he'd been planning to leave anyway.

He Ci looked a little sheepish. "Sorry, I've been holding you back."

"Why don't you come back with us first to get this undone, and then I'll walk you out?"

At this point, Shen Lian couldn't refuse even if he wanted to. The black thread wasn't long—only about three or four meters—but it basically tied him to He Ci completely.

Floating Cloud Mountain wasn't all that big.

It had about a thousand disciples. The "master" they mentioned was actually He Ci's dad.

He Ling's brow furrowed when he saw the black thread. "This looks more like a curse."

"A curse?"

Shen Lian also raised his eyes.

He Ling pulled back He Ci's sleeve and indeed saw a black thread. "Once this thread reaches your heart, your body will explode and you'll die."

He Ci gritted his teeth. "That talisman spirit died way too easily—it got off way too light!"

He Ling's face turned serious. When he heard that Shen Lian had been dragged into this by He Ci and only got cursed because he saved him, He Ling's eyelid twitched hard, and he kicked He Ci.

"I told you not to go down the mountain, I told you not to go down the mountain! But you wouldn't listen—you just had to go. You've been cultivating for a hundred years and you're still at the Spirit Transformation Stage—why the hell did you go down the mountain!"

Shen Lian: "..."

He looked at He Ci, genuinely surprised that He Ci had been cultivating for a hundred years.

Chen Xue chuckled. "Someone like my master, reaching the Tribulation Transcendence stage at such a young age, is extremely rare. Reaching the Spirit Transformation Stage in a hundred years is already considered quite impressive."

"A lot of people spend their whole lives and die still stuck at the Nascent Soul stage."