[{"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-734":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},2263039,4415,"Chapter 734: Siege of the Demon Nest","the-cursed-blade-s-walk-chapter-734",734,"\u003Cp>The soil in the deep pit still glistened with fresh dampness, and a few wood shavings lay scattered along its edge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Too late by a step!” Lin Yu’s fat face collapsed instantly; he slammed a fist hard against the wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The item was just dug up—it hasn’t gone far!” Lu San’s voice was cold as iron, his gaze sweeping over the streets gradually filling with activity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kuai Dayou winked triumphantly. “Easy. Watch me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saying this, he turned to look around.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As a local kingpin of the capital, he knew this area inside and out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, his brow furrowed as he barked at a group of ragged vagrants peering curiously from afar: “Scarhead! Come here! And Crooked Li! Are you blind?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The vagrants, though reluctant, clearly recognized this skilled carpenter with wide connections—and knew better than to provoke him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Scarhead scurried over with a nervous grin. “Master Kuai, sir, you’re looking well. What wind blows you to this cursed place so early?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Cut the chatter!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kuai Dayou glared, pointing at the empty pit. “Who took away that ‘old partner’ before dawn today?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What did he look like? Which way did he go? Spit it out!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he spoke, he pulled a small string of copper coins from his sleeve and jingled them loudly in his hand—both bribe and threat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The vagrants exchanged glances.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Scarhead spoke first, voice tinged with lingering fear: “Master Kuai, this business is unnatural. Around the fifth hour, just as dawn broke and the fog hadn’t cleared yet—it was Wu the White Paper Horse who came! He came alone, pushing a cart covered with a ragged straw mat, sneaking up to that post…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“White Paper Horse? Wu the Old Dog?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kuai Dayou’s brow knotted. “That old dog only makes paper men and horses for funerals—his hands are steeped in dark arts! He’s been bedridden for months. How could he lift something so heavy?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s the strange part!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another vagrant, nicknamed “Three Fingers,” chimed in, lowering his voice further: “Wu the Old Dog’s usually weak enough to be blown over by a breeze—but today he looked terrifyingly strong. His face was pale and bluish, eyes fixed and glassy, like a living corpse.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We were hiding in a corner, out of the wind, and saw him—he didn’t use any tools. Just grabbed the wooden post with both hands, grunted ‘heh!’ and pulled it right out.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The strength wasn’t human! He loaded it onto the cart, covered it, and headed straight for his place—the back alley of Peaceful Coffin Shop. He moved fast, like something was chasing him…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Go!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Daoxuan’s face darkened. “To Peaceful Coffin Shop!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No further questions were needed—Wu the Divine Han was definitely involved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…………\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Peaceful Coffin Shop stood nestled among the ruined dwellings of western city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was a district of the lowest trades—narrow, deep alleys perpetually thick with the foul stench of cheap incense, ash, and rotting wood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Creak~\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As they pushed open Wu’s creaking, crumbling wooden door, a thick, indescribable stench surged out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mixed with the bitterness of herbs and a metallic, rotting fishy odor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside, the light was dim, the furnishings pitifully sparse—barely more than empty walls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the corner lay piles of half-finished white banners, paper-horse frames, and rough sheets stained with indigo and cinnabar pigment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ash particles floated lazily in the dim air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu the Divine Han was a thin man with a crooked mouth and slanted eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those who practiced this trade, unless they belonged to a great sect like the Night Crier, had to choose ugly, lonely individuals—lest their misfortune harm their families.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like Wu the Divine Han—he took enough jobs to afford his drinking, gambling, and whoring.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though lonely, he lived in relative comfort.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now he crouched in the cold, dusty corner of a mud bed, wrapped in a filthy, greasy ragged quilt, only his deathly pale, bloodless face exposed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His bony, claw-like fingers dug desperately into the quilt, his body trembling like a leaf in a storm, eyes vacant and unfocused, muttering fragmented words obsessively:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Immortal… spare me, spare me…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Old Dog Wu, recognize little master me!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kuai Dayou stepped forward, yanking Wu’s collar with a snarl. “I ask you—where did you take the wooden frame from Cai Market?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu the Divine Han, face twisted in terror, stammered: “I can’t say… I dare not say…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kuai Dayou was about to rage, but Wang Daoxuan stopped him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Daoist, deep in thought, stepped forward and tore open Wu’s collar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beneath the Adam’s apple, near the collarbone, a patch of skin the size of a copper coin looked grotesquely abnormal—an eerie, dark red hue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its edges were charred and curled, deeply seared into the flesh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At its center, a slight depression revealed faint, twisted crimson lines beneath the skin—shaped unmistakably like a copper coin melted and deformed by intense heat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Again, this thing?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu San’s brow furrowed instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He recalled the chaos in Chengdu, when Lu Sheng controlled the Wang Fu, distributing “Joy God Coins” and turning the entire city into a demonic realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a terrible memory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This isn’t a Joy God Coin…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Daoxuan stroked his beard, frowning. “The maker of Joy God Coins was Zhao Jie of the Liuren Immortal Sect—secretive, requiring ritual artifacts as conduits.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But this method is direct spellcasting—it must be Zhao Qingxu’s doing.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Dao Master, save me! Save me—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing Wang Daoxuan’s words, Wu the Divine Han’s eyes snapped open. Sensing a chance at salvation, he convulsed, tears and snot streaming as he begged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t move!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Daoxuan barked, bending low, scrutinizing closely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This… appears to be a ‘Yuan Yi Coin’…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Dao Master, what is a Yuan Yi Coin?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A special burial coin, saturated with deathly and inauspicious energy. Tell me—have you recently received any unclean money?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu the Divine Han’s throat gurgled; his eyes drifted toward the corner.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kuai Dayou stepped forward, grabbed the iron shovel beside him, and smashed it into the corner.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ding!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The object wasn’t buried deep—it rang sharply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When dug up, it was a whole bundle of silver coins, clinking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At Wang Daoxuan’s signal, Kuai Dayou drew his dagger and slit it open.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sure enough, inside lay a single blackened ancient coin, covered in verdigris and reeking of decay.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It seems I was mistaken!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Daoxuan’s brow loosened slightly. “The capital has City God temples and folk deities. If Zhao Qingxu wishes to cast a spell remotely without alerting the City God, he needs a medium.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“With this Yuan Yi Coin, the caster can track the target’s location and detonate the curse at will—kill silently, without trace. There must be a binding restriction—hence Wu the Divine Han dares not speak.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Quick! Help me set up the altar to break the curse!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu San and Wu Ba immediately moved to assist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Daoxuan carried a full set of simple ritual tools for such emergencies—mostly carried by Wu Ba, their coordination seamless as they laid them out one by one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for Lin the Fat and the others, unfamiliar with the rites, they could only watch from the side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu San and Wu Ba were fine—they’d seen it before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only Kuai Dayou was first startled, then his eyes flickered with disdain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, a simple array was complete.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Five small ritual flags were planted around the room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was called “Rooted to the Ground”—the altar formed, sealing inside from outside, even the City God unable to perceive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Wang Daoxuan first purified the altar with cinnabar mixed with well-water, drawing the Nine Phoenix Cleansing Barrier talisman to dispel evil, then stepped the Great Dipper Pace, chanting the Supreme Pure Heaven and Earth Spell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A fierce wind surged through the room; the rotting stench vanished swiftly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For this ritual, internal and external methods were needed—so Wang Daoxuan also employed his learned Daoist medical technique, inserting three-inch Golden Needle of Deliverance into Wu the Divine Han’s Tian Tu, Shan Zhong, and Ju Que acupoints.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After insertion, the golden needles began to tremble slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the sign of internal evil qi being startled.\u003C\u002Fp>",1333,"2026-06-19T18:28:35.913Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","22bb7e1affdaa84a6c85b3234f5f6d520d9c24e601524da138a6a95c7c3daca7","the-cursed-blade-s-walk-chapter-735","the-cursed-blade-s-walk-chapter-733",801,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-cursed-blade-s-walk-cover.jpg"]