Chapter 97: The Final Strike

Time passed minute by minute, and the night grew ever deeper.

But Ding Mo knew clearly that this was a sign that morning was about to arrive.

"You must hold on..."

Glancing at Qin Yifei, who was sitting in the corner, his body covered in honeycombs but still persisting, Ding Mo turned his head, his gaze falling upon Jiang Liuxue.

This woman was currently raising the iron spear in her hands, aiming it at her own throat.

Then she was awakened by a slap from Ding Mo once again.

!!

Startled, Jiang Liuxue took a deep breath and moved the iron spear away from herself.

To her, this thing was like a fox spirit that constantly emitted temptations, eroding her will at every moment and urging her to thrust it deep into her own body.

If she was the slightest bit inattentive, there was a risk of committing suicide.

Gripping the iron spear that she could not warm up no matter how she held it, Jiang Liuxue pulled herself together, trying her best to remain clear-headed.

Jiang Liuxue was not a weak person; after the rest and recovery just now, as well as Ding Mo's encouragement, she had managed to pull herself together.

She... must survive!

Then... Jiang Liuxue's gaze subtly flickered toward Ding Mo beside her.

Ding Mo, at her side, did not notice her small thoughts; he only felt that the Curse on her had been suppressed to a certain extent.

Just like Qin Yifei over there.

"By some twist of fate, I actually found a way to break the Curse," Ding Mo muttered to himself.

In fact, after experimenting, Ding Mo could draw a conclusion:

The previous method of breaking it by "facing one's fear" was not entirely correct.

If one followed that conclusion, then Qin Yifei should have stared hard at the terrifying skin on his body with his eyes until the terrifying skin disappeared.

But Ding Mo did not believe his sanity could withstand such a violent impact.

Therefore, the true method of breaking it was actually different for everyone, yet all contained a certain core pattern.

Now, Qin Yifei believed that chanting scriptures could resist the anomaly, so the fear in his heart was suppressed. And Jiang Liuxue, after being told she could control the iron spear, had truly controlled it to a certain extent.

Although some hidden dangers still remained buried within, being able to resist was already a stroke of good fortune.

"Is it that the Phenomenon arises from the heart..." For some reason, this concept surfaced in Ding Mo's mind.

Unlike "appearance arises from the heart," the "Phenomenon" here referred to "manifestations." The more fearful one became in their heart, the more real and obvious the "Phenomenon" would become, eventually, with the aid of the eerie power,

killing everyone!

Conversely, if one could suppress the fear in their heart and prevent it from sprouting and growing, the "Phenomenon" would be weakened, becoming fake and powerless.

This was likely the truth of the "Dream Curse"!

A process where people commit suicide due to the fear in their hearts!

Therefore, Ding Mo guessed this was also the reason why the Precognitive Dream Jiang Liuxue spoke of would definitely come true.

Jiang Liuxue's Precognitive Dream, including the subtle hints of the eerie power after everyone knew of the dream, would all amplify the "fear" in people's hearts, eventually leading toward the predetermined future.

In other words, when the cursed person recognized their own "death" through the dream and became afraid because of it, they had already begun to slide toward that future.

Even the more they struggled, the faster they slid, and the more unstoppable it became! The more they feared that future, the more they would actually be led in the same direction!

Simply put, the essence of this curse was "what you fear is what you get."

That was why Xiong Lihui had previously run for his life and struggled desperately, and the final result was his self-burial.

That was why... the Abbot had told him to turn back at that time!

"Did the Abbot want to save us?" Immediately, a guess formed in Ding Mo's mind.

It was highly likely!

"Then, tomorrow morning's 'Judgment'..."

"No." Ding Mo suddenly shook his head again.

Deal with tomorrow's matters tomorrow; there were other things to think about now!

Since the principle of the Curse had likely been clarified, then one could derive the true method of breaking it... right?

One had to know that the situation of Jiang Liuxue and the other had initially stabilized,

but he, Ding Mo, still had no clue about his own curse!

According to what Jiang Liuxue saw in her dream, he would turn into "them" and crawl out from the Buddha statue.

What was this?

Ding Mo truly did not understand; he thought for a long time and still could not figure it out.

Would he fear this thing?

Combining the current situation, the fact that the curse on his body had not yet erupted, and the principle of the curse he had just clarified,

Ding Mo suddenly made a bold inference—

It was possible that this curse was ineffective against him!

"Can a curse that can read the deepest fears of the human heart be ineffective against me..." Ding Mo fell into deep thought.

If this were true, then... was it a good thing, or a bad thing?

He did not know.

At least it was not a bad thing for now.

After observing the two people in the room for a while longer and checking the room all around, Ding Mo silently waited for the moment the sun would rise...

The night was dark and the wind was high; the moon had long since vanished.

The time within the Temple had reached that moment where one could not see their own fingers—the pitch-black time before dawn, where day and night alternated.

Next to the room where Ding Mo and the others were being held was a towering pagoda.

At this moment, a figure was crouching on the tip of the pagoda.

Its twisted posture did not resemble any human race!

It faced the room below and leaped down! The naked figure carved an increasingly sharp whistling sound through the air!

……

Ding Mo paced inside the room.

It would be dawn in a little while, as long as...

Suddenly, faintly, Ding Mo heard a commotion.

His face showed confusion, surprise, and other expressions, and finally, his gaze moved upward, landing on the roof.

The next second...

Pong!!

A sound like a heavy object hitting the ground came, and the tiled roof was instantly smashed through by something.

The "thing" crashed into the room, carrying a large amount of dust, rubble, and debris!

Crack!

Ding Mo shouted to Qin Yifei at the same time: "Don't stop! Keep chanting!"

Because the commotion caused a momentary pause, Qin Yifei, whose eyelids were twitching, paused upon hearing this, then continued to chant.

Only then did Ding Mo heave a sigh of relief and look at this uninvited guest who had descended from the sky.

This "thing" was crawling out from the rubble, limbs inverted, face twisted, bones deformed—

It was none other than "Zhou Lan," who had been blocked outside the door by Ding Mo earlier!

She had returned!

It really was this Guaishou! Ding Mo gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.

"Zhou Lan" crawled out of the ruins, her body, deformed from the high-altitude fall, recovering rapidly!

Her gaze, filled with extreme hatred, looked toward Ding Mo and Jiang Liuxue beside him!

She lunged forward all at once!

"Laaaa—!"

Ding Mo began to fight her, but soon discovered that things were very bad.

During the time she had left just now, something unknown had happened to "Zhou Lan"; her movement patterns were no longer human, and her strength and speed had been enhanced!

Even if Ding Mo used Time Stop now, he could not drive her away again!

Furthermore, the roof had already been broken by her in a "self-mutilating" manner, and this house could no longer stop her!

Moreover, the commotion of their fight was too great, and Qin Yifei seemed to be affected; his fingers were twitching unconsciously, as if he wanted to "scratch an itch."

This sudden attack by "Zhou Lan" seemed about to break the balance of the situation!

With many thoughts surfacing in his mind, Ding Mo was distracted for a moment and was flung away by Zhou Lan.

With a "bang," he hit the wall, Ding Mo's face showing pain as he felt several ribs break.

And "Zhou Lan," having temporarily dealt with him, cast her scarlet gaze onto Jiang Liuxue.

"Alala—!"

The next moment, she screamed and charged toward the latter! Her mouth opened wide, revealing black teeth, as if she wanted to swallow Jiang Liuxue in one bite!

Seeing this, Jiang Liuxue, whether out of fear or an instinctive reaction, actually raised the iron spear.

For a moment, a dull thud of flesh colliding exploded, and Jiang Liuxue was sent flying as if hit head-on by a speeding dump truck!

Her whole body soared into the air, smashed through the window, and disappeared into the darkness outside the house.

Ding Mo, staggering as he just stood firm, saw this scene!

Before he could do anything,

he discovered that the iron spear had already been inserted into "Zhou Lan's" mouth, and because of the powerful impact, it was inserted quite deeply!

The tip of the spear protruded half an inch from the back of her neck, with bits of flesh and bloodstains clinging to the cold metal.

"This..." Ding Mo discovered that "Zhou Lan" had stopped moving.

The next moment, she collapsed with a crash!

"... Dead?!" Ding Mo walked closer, looking at this image in surprise.

This iron spear could actually be used as a weapon!

But immediately, Ding Mo blinked and discovered that it had disappeared from "Zhou Lan's" mouth!

Where did it go? Ding Mo's expression changed instantly.

Could it be...

He ran out the door in a few steps, only to see that outside,

a spear shadow was embedded in Jiang Liuxue!

"Hey!" Ding Mo ran over, but was slightly stunned.

It turned out that Jiang Liuxue was already gritting her teeth, holding the spear with both hands.

Although her mouth was full of blood and she was dizzy, she still gritted her teeth and did not pass out.

Although Adrenaline played a part, her own willpower was also worthy of praise.