[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-cursed-blade-s-walk":3,"chapter-the-cursed-blade-s-walk-the-cursed-blade-s-walk-chapter-733":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Cursed Blade's Walk",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2263038,4415,"Chapter 733: The Past of the Xuanmen","the-cursed-blade-s-walk-chapter-733",733,"\u003Cp>Lu San’s nu dance is ancient and desolate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each step feels as if crushing a node in time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each slap to the chest echoes like an ancient war drum.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The paper money has all turned to ash, yet the nu dance must continue to its end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reason is simple: this is no mere dance, but a primal ritual to communicate with the netherworld and channel the malevolent qi of the earth veins, using motion to expel invisible illusions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If interrupted, Lu San will suffer backlash.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Boom!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finally, with his final chest slap, Lu San abruptly froze in place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His face was slightly pale, his body swaying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this Nine Gates Yin Ruins, he performed the ritual only as a yin spirit—clearly not easy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind him, Wu Ba hurried forward and supported him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, Lin Yu, Kuai Dayou, and Kong Shangzhao felt a sudden release at the back of their hearts; the last lingering stickiness binding their souls vanished completely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Brother Lu… your nu art is incredible!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fatty Lin gave an awkward smile and rushed forward to flatter him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knew he had stirred up serious trouble this time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu San ignored Fatty Lin. After catching his breath, his gaze sharpened like a hawk’s, sweeping toward the Jiaozi Office hall now revealed in its true form.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s not just a paper phantom possessing the body…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He formed a hand seal, ears twitching, and said gravely: “This place itself is a trap—a deeply hidden array barrier.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the concealment array broken, he could now hear more anomalies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Ba said nothing, striding forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His palm, wide as a fan, brushed the thick pillar, then struck with sudden force!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Boom!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A muffled thunder echoed—the wooden pillar remained unmoved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But its surface paint crumbled away, revealing dark red, rotting wood beneath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What is this?” Lu San frowned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind him, Fatty Lin also looked puzzled and shook his head: “Never seen anything like it. This place differs from the outside world—I don’t know where that demon found it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, as the others examined closely, they found more anomalies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the seemingly ordinary gaps between floor tiles, crevices were packed with brick mortar mixed with cinnabar and some black, heavy powder; though long dried, it still faintly radiated yin malice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the corners, several unremarkable shards of porcelain were not randomly scattered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their angles precisely matched the Nine Palaces positions; even the ceiling beams resembled a coffin lid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This array… is no simple thing!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kuai Dayou, being a famed Xuanmen craftsman, was most sensitive to materials and mechanisms. He leaned in for a closer look: “Using the chaotic qi of the Ghost Market itself as cover, the real trap is hidden beneath a layer of illusion. The Zongrenfu ’s artifacts would only perceive the Ghost Market—they’d never detect this place.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He shook his head, frustrated: “I’ve never seen anything like it in my life.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Had Brother Lu not shattered the paper phantom, these arrays might have remained undetected.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kong Shangzhao swallowed hard: “This was deliberately set to lure those investigating the Nu God Tomb… it’s Zhao Qingxu!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let’s go.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu San cut off their astonishment, his gaze fixed on the unassuming, intricately carved wooden door behind the Jiaozi Office hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The space above the doorframe, where a plaque should hang, was empty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only faint, lingering scorch marks remained on the beast-faced door rings on either side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The clue must be behind this door—likely the array’s ultimate purpose: concealing the scene from that time.” He took a deep breath, his Gang qi circulating around him: “Stay alert!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Ba walked ahead and shoved open the heavy wooden door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment the door opened, a massive wave of sound surged toward them!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before their eyes, light and shadow twisted violently, reshaping.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In an instant, they were swept up by a temporal flood, violently thrust from the silent Jiaozi Office into a battlefield where heaven and earth had collapsed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before them stood an ancient, dilapidated temple on the bank of Huitong River.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ground around was littered with corpses—soldiers, martial artists, and Daoists alike.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Across the river, a towering altar loomed in the distance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Howling winds churned thick fog; only vague silhouettes could be made out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some stood in Yu Steps, others held ritual implements; at the highest point, a purple-robed spectral figure raised a ritual sword toward the sky, chanting: “East qi joins the liver, south qi joins the heart. West qi joins the lungs, north qi joins the kidneys. Thunder rumbles faintly, the four gates are clear. Thunder Lord, Lightning Mother, Wind Master, Rain Master—respond to my call, do not linger…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was orthodox Daoist thunder art—only a major Xuanmen sect could wield it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All knew this was the pivotal moment during the Da Xing era of the previous dynasty, when Xuanmen masters united to suppress the “Xiao Sheng’s Head” within the Nu God Tomb.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The violent surge of earth qi had imprinted itself within the Nine Gates Yin Ruins.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Boom!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A thunderbolt crashed down, shaking the heavens.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu San was unshaken—he had endured this before at Liangzi Lake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Lin Yu and the others were stunned into silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Ba was the most uncontrolled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was born fearing thunder; the bolt made him shudder violently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet the most shocking sight lay at the temple’s center.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A colossal, grotesque stone-carved beast-head coffin had been forcibly “pulled” from its foundation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the stone coffin must lie the “Xiao Sheng’s Head.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On top of the beast coffin was embedded a massive wooden stake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The stake was entirely charred yet faintly glowed with golden light, radiating an ancient, timeless aura.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Struck by the thunder, it now emitted a crimson glow, like a red-hot iron spike.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s… the Wood of Mount Taodou!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Yu cried out in shock, eyes locked on the divine wood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Boom-crack!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if in response, another thunderbolt struck.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instantly, the entire Yin Ruins sky blazed with blinding white lightning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A thick, ridge-like bolt of blazing white lightning, radiating supreme power to annihilate all evil, plunged straight from the heavens, striking precisely the beast coffin pinned by the Wood of Mount Taodou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the moment of the thunder’s explosion, blinding white light swallowed every sight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu San and the others had to squint, even feeling a faint scorching pain in their souls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Remember: this was merely an impression from the past.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the lightning faded, the colossal beast-head and the temple ruins collapsed and were buried.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fatty Lin looked crestfallen: “Has it… already been destroyed?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No sooner had he spoken than a sudden change occurred.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ssshh—!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A piercing whistling, like a swarm of venomous bees, shattered the silence after the thunder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Countless arrowheads, gleaming with cold light, erupted from the fog across Huitong River.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their target: the exhausted Daoists on the ritual altar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ambush! Protect—!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before the purple-robed Daoist could finish his shout, a heavy arrow as thick as a child’s arm pierced his shoulder blade, hurling him backward off the altar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More arrows rained down like deadly locusts, engulfing the entire altar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The riverbank instantly became a slaughterhouse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Daoists who had just summoned divine thunder using flesh as bait and soul fused with heaven and earth were now the most vulnerable prey.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The arrowstorm was dense, blotting out light, piercing robes, tearing flesh, and driving into earth with muffled thuds, mingling with dying screams.\u003C\u002Fp>",1220,"2026-06-19T18:28:35.913Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","71560be45906132d85706c835fc55974a13154aaca723f96f3c106adeccf30c8","the-cursed-blade-s-walk-chapter-734","the-cursed-blade-s-walk-chapter-732",801,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-cursed-blade-s-walk-cover.jpg"]