Chapter 42: Chapter Thirty-Five 【The Seven-Day Catastrophe!】

A “Exorcism and Auspiciousness Charm” ignited at his fingertip, then instantly burned to ash!

As that wisp of blue smoke curled upward, Chen Yan’s eyes fully cleared.

The faint icy chill in his bone seams seemed to ease slightly; Chen Yan immediately opened his Heavenly Eye to observe qi, then silently calculated the “Cycle of Destiny,” and seconds later, he gazed at the crown of his head…

That increasingly dense black cloud of misfortune…

“I fucking…&&））（*”

Overcome with emotion, Chen Yan burst into curses.

Don’t panic!

Not yet! Don’t panic!!

Chen Yan took two deep breaths, burned another “Exorcism and Auspiciousness Charm” on himself, then began carefully calculating his destiny according to the “Cycle of Destiny.”

One minute later, Chen Yan was stunned.

His Five Elements—Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water—all suffered damage!!

His destiny was perilous; a rough calculation revealed unceasing bloodshed and disaster…

Further calculation showed he had suffered all five losses and seven injuries—every single one!!

If someone now used the Sight-of-Qi technique to observe Chen Yan…

Minor calamities and major calamities came one after another!!

“I fucking…”

Chen Yan laughed bitterly in rage.

Got it!

For some reason, when he cast the False Death Technique on Lu Sisi, he deceived the Heavenly Dao’s destiny calculations, and all the misfortune drifted away from her…

But the Heavenly Dao’s cycle, karma, and retribution!

And now it’s all falling back on me, the original culprit?!

Where’s the surge in merit? Where’s the surge in cultivation?!

Huh?

Chen Yan carefully observed and recalculated his qi, then slowly calmed his thoughts.

The bad news: the calculation was correct—he faced calamity, with misfortune crushing down upon him!

The good news: seven days!!

·

Probably, the Heavenly Dao’s cycle had assigned all eighteen years of Lu Sisi’s misfortune onto him.

Eighteen years of misfortune were now to be dumped all at once onto Chen Yan, the original culprit.

Using the calculation method of the “Cycle of Destiny,” Chen Yan determined he had seven days of misfortune ahead.

If Chen Yan couldn’t endure the calamity within seven days, he would die and his debts would be erased.

But if he survived the seven days…

Then he would escape death by great fortune—excellent luck indeed!

Only then would the karmic feedback—his cultivation boost, merit boost, and destiny feedback—arrive all at once.

“Fuck, is this Heavenly Dao trying to cheat me out of payment by trying to kill me?”

Chen Yan stroked his chin, pondering silently.

·

The first solution Chen Yan instantly thought of was the [False Death Technique].

He had used it on Lu Sisi—he could simply apply it to himself, seal his six senses, fake death, and trick the Heavenly Dao’s cycle. The misfortune would naturally recede.

But…

He couldn’t cast it on himself—not because of any rule restriction.

But because… if he entered false death and sealed his spiritual awareness, how could he still channel Qi to burn charms on himself?

You can’t expect a dead man to stand up and light his own fire.

But if he found someone else with cultivation and skill…

Chen Yan didn’t know a single person like that!

And time was urgent—where could he possibly find one?

·

“Grit your teeth and endure it—it’s only seven days.

Worst case, it’s just seven days of [Final Destination].”

Chen Yan had one particularly good trait: the bigger the crisis, the calmer and more resolute he became!

Now that he’d decided on a plan, he began rapidly calculating.

Someone under heavy misfortune was, in essence, just in the same state Lu Sisi had been in before.

Everything he did could bring misfortune—and with eighteen years of misfortune compressed into seven days…

It would be far more intense than Lu Sisi’s daily suffering.

It would truly be like the movie [Final Destination].

Life-threatening calamities could strike at any moment, any second.

First, find a safe place—don’t go outside!!

Avoid all possible accident-prone [scenarios].

Electricity, water, furniture with sharp corners, objects that could fall and crush you…

Chen Yan glanced at his own mansion…

Four words: Overflowing with hazards!!

All kinds of lavish furniture… all kinds of appliances… and of course, natural gas pipes…

So luxurious! So well-equipped!!

But also fucking dangerous!!!

“No, this place is absolutely out!”

Chen Yan immediately abandoned the idea of staying home.

He suddenly remembered his short-term rental!

Chen Yan sprang into action, frantically gathering every item he could think of from his home!

·

Chen Yan finished preparing and stood up to leave; before stepping out, he slapped another [Exorcism and Auspiciousness Charm] onto himself.

Again, it burned away in the blink of an eye.

The chilling aura of misfortune receded slightly.

But Chen Yan felt the charm’s effect weakening!

His misfortune was accumulating faster—each charm now lasted only about five minutes.

He hailed a ride-share, got in, and immediately asked: “Driver, can you smoke in your car?”

“Uh…” the driver seemed about to say something, but Chen Yan pulled out his phone and scanned the QR code taped to the driver’s seat.

Ding. One hundred!

The driver’s attitude instantly changed: “Brother want a light? I’ll light it for you?”

“Drive!” Chen Yan sat in the back, fastening his seatbelt.

Then he lit a cigarette, while his hidden hand beneath his thigh secretly slapped on another charm.

The charm turned to blue smoke, concealed within the cigarette’s haze—the driver noticed nothing.

·

The drive from home to the short-term rental took only thirty minutes, but Chen Yan slapped eight charms onto himself.

The charm’s effectiveness continued to decline!

Just before getting out, Chen Yan calculated that each charm now lasted less than three minutes.

After stepping out, he confirmed the direction of his short-term rental, saw no one on the midnight street, and boldly activated the Command: “Dun” Technique!

He darted across the street like a gust of wind!

In one breath, he covered hundreds of meters, reached the rental’s door, fished out his key, opened it, and immediately applied another charm to himself.

He yanked the circuit breaker—removed the fuses entirely!!

He tightened every faucet…

Not enough—he shut off the main water valve!!

He took the bedsheet, tore it apart, and wrapped every sharp corner of the cabinets and tables—sealed them tightly with leftover tape, creating soft padding.

He looked at the ceiling light, removed it, and threw out the bulb.

Think again… think again… what else…

Food and drink…

The apartment still had a box of instant noodles and a box of bottled water he hadn’t touched.

For the next seven days, I won’t even turn on the stove!

I’ll chew dry instant noodles every day!

Thirsty? Drink bottled water!

It’ll be hard, no doubt—but survival comes first!

By the way, Lu Sisi said experience must be chewed slowly, or you might choke or get it stuck in your windpipe.

Hmm, I brought regular medicine too—anti-inflammatory, fever-reducing, bruise and trauma remedies…

I have no underlying health issues—no heart disease, no high blood pressure, nothing like that.

Misfortune, even as a magical attack, cannot create something from nothing.

Chen Yan’s mind raced through every possibility, then got up and locked every door and window in the house!

The windows were already closed; these old-style windows had metal grilles, very sturdy.

Chen Yan thought for a moment, then tore apart the room’s chair with his bare hands, pulled out a few wooden slats, and nailed them over the windows with hammer and nails!

Each end of the wooden slats was padded with material taken from a dismantled quilt.

He gathered every sharp or potentially dangerous object in the room.

Bowls, chopsticks, knives… everything was packed up.

Then he wrapped them and threw them into the trash bin outside the house!

He returned inside and locked the front door from within!

“From now on, I’m not leaving this room again!

I’ll fight the Dao of Heaven to the death for seven days!!!”

·

On the first day, Chen Yan spent the entire day lying on the big bed!

He got up only a few times to use the toilet. The water valve was shut off, but the toilet tank still had water; Chen Yan used it sparingly, flushing only after several uses.

But he knew that once the tank emptied, tomorrow he wouldn’t even have water to flush.

He tried not to leave the bed; when hungry, he opened a packet of instant noodles, gnawed them dry, and drank just a sip or two—less food, less water, to reduce toilet trips.

In the evening, he suddenly heard a squeaking sound from the corner of the room.

Looking down, he saw a rat dart away in a flash.

Chen Yan sneered, walked over, and gently pushed open the cabinet…

Behind the wall, a patch of plaster had cracked open—and a section of wiring had already been gnawed through by the rat!

“...Good thing I thought ahead.”

Chen Yan silently felt relieved.

He had turned off the circuit breaker and removed the fuses!

Otherwise, there might have been an accident—[rat gnaws through wiring, short circuit, fire]?

At midnight, a shelf in the room suddenly fell!

That shelf had held the household bowls, chopsticks, and kitchen knives.

If this had happened normally, shards of bowls—or even a kitchen knife—might have flown off…

And possibly struck someone still asleep in bed!

On the second day, Chen Yan went to the toilet—pinching his nose as he entered; two days without flushing, even in this cold weather, had made it unbearable.

As soon as Chen Yan stood up, the toilet tank suddenly fell and smashed on the floor, cracking open.

Chen Yan stared silently at the scene…

If he hadn’t shut off the water valve, the tank would have still contained water, which would have spilled everywhere.

He might have slipped on the wet floor and fallen…

He carefully examined the broken tank—sure enough, the rubber seals and screws had aged and fallen off.

“Hmph.”

On the third day, Chen Yan was lying on the bed, chewing on instant noodles, when suddenly the ceiling above the light fixture collapsed, and a wire dangled down!

Chen Yan looked up, silently staring at the dangling wire, his gaze cold.

I had already removed the ceiling light.

Otherwise, if the light had still been there, it would’ve fallen on my head—and if it had still been electrified… Hmph!

On the fourth, fifth, sixth day…

Until 11 p.m. on the sixth day!

Chen Yan had barely slept at all—this situation was like a knife across his throat; how could he sleep?

He relied on daily meditation to circulate Qi, occasionally dozing off, but waking instantly after a moment.

He turned off his phone to conserve battery, saving it for the final day.

He didn’t even bring a power bank—something that could explode or catch fire.

Chen Yan now couldn’t even tell the exact time.

Despite his extreme caution, he still suffered a little.

That afternoon, while he was exhausted and asleep, the bed collapsed! Later inspection revealed it was due to the frame’s aging.

In his sleep, he rolled sideways—luckily, he remained alert; the moment he sensed trouble, he instantly shifted his body!

Even with such quick reflexes, he still got injured.

A nail from the collapsing bed frame had protruded and stabbed straight into Chen Yan’s hand…

If he hadn’t blocked it with his palm, the nail would’ve pierced his eye.

He cleaned the wound with iodine and alcohol—he wasn’t afraid of tetanus… he still had one more day of bad luck.

Tetanus couldn’t develop within a day.

After tomorrow ends, all misfortune will vanish!

·

On the seventh day, when the sun rose, Chen Yan was disheveled, his face greasy with oil; his hair hadn’t been washed in days and was slick with grease.

He hadn’t brushed his teeth in days and his mouth tasted foul.

He had one packet of instant noodles left—this was already rationed.

One bottle of mineral water remained.

These supplies should be enough to last through the final day.

Chen Yan’s body was already growing weak.

For days, he ate and drank little, chewing instant noodles and drinking cold water, and even reduced his intake.

Now he was starving, weak, and drained—though he continuously circulated Qi to nourish his body.

But… he hadn’t yet reached the realm of fasting from food.

He circulated Qi and used the “Qi and Fortune Cycle” to calculate his fortune.

Six hours remained—twelve hours.

Chen Yan lay on the bed, deciding he wouldn’t move from this spot for the next twelve hours.

Technically, the bed had collapsed; now the mattress lay directly on the floor.

He had moved the bed frame into the toilet, because its broken wooden edges and protruding nails were dangerous.

The entire morning passed in perfect calm.

Chen Yan felt puzzled: Could the Dao of Heaven have run out of tricks?

That makes sense…

Magical attacks can only strike magically; they can’t directly act on me. I’ve removed all physical hazards that could harm me—so the Dao of Heaven probably has no way left.

In the afternoon, Chen Yan began to run a fever, then his stomach started to ache.

He lay on the bed, glaring fiercely out the window.

“Come on! Come on!

You want to force me out by giving me a fever, make me go to the hospital?

I won’t!

I’ll tough out the fever!

Stomach pain?

I’ve eaten and drunk so little these past days—even if you make me have diarrhea, I’ve got nothing left to shit!!!

Hahahahahaha!!!”

His eyes were bloodshot as he cursed fiercely; after six days with less than ten hours of sleep, his spirit was at its breaking point—and yet he had become manic.

The fever left him dazed for two hours, but by evening, it had broken.

As Chen Yan had predicted, the stomach pain ended after he let out two loud farts.

But his hand wound was growing increasingly painful. He looked—it was swollen and red.

Clearly, the wound was infected.

Chen Yan sneered: “Hmph, only four hours left! Even if it’s infected, even if it’s tetanus, it won’t kill me in four hours! Useless! Useless! I won’t go out!!”

Though mentally agitated, Chen Yan clung to one unshakable thought: Even if the wound infection led to sepsis or other severe illnesses—even if it could cause amputation or death—

It couldn’t happen within four hours!

Once tomorrow arrives, my fate returns to normal, and the Dao of Heaven cannot let me be amputated or die!

Because my normal fate holds no destiny of violent death or limb loss!

That’s like using an ancient imperial sword to execute a modern official!

·

The final four-hour countdown ticked away, second by second.

At the very end, Chen Yan even turned on his phone, so he could clearly see the time.

When the final half-hour arrived, the air seemed to fall silent.

Though it was the bitter cold of winter, Chen Yan felt a faint warmth inside the room.

It was already past eight at night; Chen Yan sat on the bed, silently counting the time, his eyes red as he stared at his phone.

Almost there, almost there…

Just a few more minutes…

Hah! Heaven itself has finally given up on me.

This is what they call man conquering fate…

What the fuck!!!???

Suddenly, Chen Yan felt the bed beneath him shift slightly.

Then twice, then three times…

Next, the entire house began to shake!

“Shit, earthquake!”

·

PS: I’ll say it for you: this quake lasted twenty-four hours.

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{Two chapters for today are done—votes please!!}

This chapter is 4,600 characters—type “Dancing Long and Hard” on the public screen!}

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