Chapter 457: Curse

“You must be Master Shi Hongyao. I’ve heard that during my coma these past few years, it was your spells that kept my injuries from worsening, allowing me to awaken on my own.” Wang Yu pushed away the clinging Dala, making it lie flat on the floor beside the bed, and asked the girl in pink.

“Forgive this junior, but long ago I received a Chuancheng from a Yaoshi , and its healing techniques happen to be effective against lightning energy—so I dared to treat you, my elder.” Shi Hongyao hurriedly explained.

“Don’t worry—I don’t blame you. On the contrary, I owe you and your sister a great debt. In a way, you’ve saved my life. But may I see your Yaoshichuancheng ?” Wang Yu asked directly.

“Of course. These methods are all self-taught—please guide me.” Shi Hongyao replied without hesitation, then pulled out a thick, nameless beast-skin book from her person and offered it with both hands.

Beside her, Shi Qiuping’s expression flickered as if she wanted to say something, but then she remembered something and fell silent at once.

Wang Yu raised a hand and summoned the beast-skin book into his grasp, flipping through it casually—but deep within his pupils, faint glimmers of light flickered.

He had already activated Overclock Mode.

The beast-skin book turned pages rapidly—one every few breaths—giving the impression of reading ten lines at a glance.

When Wang Yu finished the final page and closed the book, he slightly shut his eyes.

Using Overclock power, he had memorized every detail of the Yaoshichuancheng within and comprehended more than half of it.

Interesting.

Though this Yaoshichuancheng originated from nothing more than a Qi Condensation cultivator, some of its medicinal formulas and healing techniques possessed notable uniqueness.

Particularly one remedy, “Lingsu Oil”—when applied to the skin, it had miraculous effects on external wounds; and when combined with the “Green Wood Hand” massage technique from the transmission, it could drive the medicine deep into the body, even offering some healing for shattered meridians.

That would explain the faint residual repair energy still lingering in my meridians—it must have come from these two.

But the Green Wood Hand can only be practiced by those with a Wood elemental root, and the root’s quality must not be too low—at least mid-grade or higher.

Thinking of this, Wang Yu opened his eyes and asked the girl:

“What is your elemental root? Do you know its grade?”

“Report, Elder: I possess all five elemental roots—Wood is mid-grade, the rest are all low-grade.” Shi Hongyao replied, her face darkening.

Five-element root!

Wang Yu’s spiritual sense instinctively scanned the girl—only Qi Condensation Third Layer, and her words were likely true.

"These healing methods in this transmission are indeed highly effective for my injuries. Continue preparing Lingsu Oil and use Green Wood Hand to massage me."

“But your current cultivation is too low. I have several vials of pills beneficial to Qi Condensation cultivators—take them quickly these next few days, refine their energy, and see if you can advance to Qi Condensation Mid-Stage. Only then will Green Wood Hand be truly effective for me.” Wang Yu tossed the beast-skin book back, then flipped his hand and pulled three small porcelain vials from his waist, tossing them to the girl.

“Thank you, Elder, for this gift! I will strive to reach Qi Condensation Mid-Stage and assist you in your recovery!” Shi Hongyao fumbled to catch the book and vials, her face lit with joy.

Beside her, Shi Qiuping was equally astonished and delighted.

“Miss Shi, what is your elemental root?” Wang Yu turned to the young woman and asked.

“This junior possesses four elemental roots—Metal, Water, Fire, Earth—all low-grade.” Shi Qiuping’s heart leapt at his question and she answered honestly.

“Four-element roots are decent for a free cultivator, but I sense an abnormal force clinging near your dantian, severely hindering your qi flow—were you once cursed by another cultivator?” Wang Yu asked after gazing deeply at her.

“Elder, you see clearly. Long ago, my enemies used an unknown ‘curse technique’ to curse me from afar. Since then, my cultivation has been severely hindered. Though I’ve sought help many times, I’ve never fully removed it.” Shi Qiuping trembled inwardly and replied with even greater reverence.

“Curses are rare, but indeed insidious. To cast one from afar, one usually needs the victim’s blood, hair, or skin. The curse residue in your body isn’t untreatable—but only a Second-Stage force can fully eradicate it. If even a trace remains, it will regenerate and grow stronger.”

“Your dantian has been afflicted too long—it’s already becoming unstable and withering. If not removed soon, within three to five years it will collapse on its own, and you’ll lose all your cultivation.” Wang Yu spoke calmly.

“Elder, save me!”

Shi Qiuping turned pale and, forgetting everything else, bowed deeply to Wang Yu again.

“Rest assured, since I’ve pointed this out, I will help you resolve it. Come closer.” Wang Yu ordered.

Though nervous, the young woman stepped forward as instructed.

Wang Yu narrowed his eyes, gazed at her once more, then raised his arm, spreading his fingers and reaching out toward her dantian with a palm-grab motion.

A hissing sound erupted.

Five nearly translucent threads of mental force shot from his fingertips, vanishing instantly into her dantian.

Shi Qiuping’s face turned pale, her lovely features twisting in pain.

“Endure it—it’s almost over.”

Wang Yu spoke coldly. His five fingers trembled slightly, and the translucent threads snapped back—each tip now carrying a small cluster of unknown gray gas, drawn out from her body.

The instant the gray clusters left her body, Shi Qiuping’s face first paled, then flushed crimson. She quickly pulled a pill from her bosom, swallowed it, and sat cross-legged to meditate.

These translucent threads were formed from Wang Yu’s immense spiritual energy.

Though Star Mental Force, like spiritual sense in Blue Planet, is heavily suppressed in the cultivation world, for his current terrifying mental strength, condensing it into threads posed no difficulty whatsoever.

As for the curse residue within her, though he’d never seen it firsthand, he’d read many accounts of it in the sect’s miscellaneous texts.

Curse techniques are exceedingly rare, generally classified as dark arts by all sects, yet once afflicted, they are extremely tenacious.

Usually, they can only be cast successfully when one’s cultivation and spiritual sense utterly dominate the target—and even then, they rarely kill immediately. Instead, they slowly torment the victim over long periods using hidden, venomous forces until death.

But if one’s cultivation and spiritual sense vastly surpass the target, why bother with a “curse”? Just go and kill them directly. Thus, among peers, curses are largely useless in actual combat, reserved only for special purposes.

For instance, if two sides harbor a deep grudge and one wishes not only to kill the enemy but also exterminate their entire clan or all blood relatives, they might use a curse—through the enemy’s blood, they could curse even close kin across several generations.

Wang Yu’s method of removing the curse from the young woman was also learned from the sect’s miscellaneous texts.

Now, with a slight flick of his fingers, all the mental threads retracted, leaving in his palm a golf-ball-sized cluster of gray gas.

Wang Yu stared at the gray mass, his pupils flashing with crystalline light.

Within the gas, tiny grain-sized runes swirled, then rapidly dissolved into blurred, ghostly faces—utterly eerie.

Indeed, deeply sinister.

Wang Yu’s heart tightened. He shook his wrist, and tendrils of white flame surged from his palm, instantly igniting the gray gas—reducing it to nothing in the fire.

He narrowed his eyes, pondering the precise distinctions between spiritual sense and Star Mental Force in their minute workings.