Chapter 331

As talisman after talisman burned to ash, Ji Ming almost doubted whether Buluowa's body now was really made of carbohydrates, proteins, minerals, and water.

Her old bones were like a bottomless pit; no matter how many talismans she poured in, thick cursed black gas still gushed from her pores, so much it seemed they had constructed this very body.

If not for the divine power mist I created with my Shadow Authority surrounding me, able to wipe it out effortlessly, I'm afraid this corner I deliberately left for dirty work in the Soul Spirit Palace would have turned back into a dead land.

This is completely opposite to when I resolved AdaiEr's bloodline curse before—one had no sense of curse, the other the curse had no sense—making Ji Ming, who thought victory was certain, feel a bit unsure.

Like preparing an early funeral, he gleefully tossed talismans at Buluowa; this sky‑covering paper‑money saturation attack indeed worked, seeing the gloom on her face lessen considerably, Ji Ming seized the moment and quickly took out the bucket of SpiritGathering Liquid he had prepared beforehand.

"This is what Ji Ming prepared for you; drink it while it's hot."

Just as Buluowa felt the pressure in her viscera ease, she saw a bottle opening larger than her mouth looming over her, inside which a light‑red liquid surged.

"... So much, if it were all drunk, one would surely die, right?"

"But she didn't dare defy the divine will directly; she could only tremble as she opened her mouth, preparing to test the limit of an elf's capacity."

"AdaiEr: Hey, after so long finally someone is going to endure the same pain!"

"However, just before the bottle's contents poured out completely, she suddenly remembered."

"Wait a moment!"

"On my side, it looked like good stuff was being burned with gusto, but in fact I only threw in some cheap, ubiquitous materials like spirit‑elixir grass, mica stone, and parchment—stuff piled up like mountains in the warehouse."

"A large amount of SpiritGathering Liquid mixed into Buluowa's blood and was swiftly absorbed; this surge of vitality forcibly extended her health bar, effectively suppressing the curse's drain on life."

"But Ji Ming didn't care, for in any world the heavens possess a benevolent nature; even if the world's laws allowed it, one could not casually let one's creations wield such a vicious curse ability, and applying such a massive curse to the same target in a short time—still judged a success—would not be sustained even by a god."

"Thus, after consuming nearly enough SpiritGathering Liquid to fill a swimming pool, the Forest God could no longer hold back and activated the final curse hidden within Buluowa."

"At this moment Buluowa's whole body was filled with the fragrance of SpiritGathering Liquid; after having her blood changed seven or eight hundred times, the skin on her face split open, though her lost limbs had not yet regrown, her severely damaged voice had returned to normal."

"Yet even though his advanced curse‑breaking concept had completely surpassed old‑school magic countering and potion healing, the liquid in the bucket was visibly draining at a rapid pace; if this continued, it could only sustain Buluowa for another minute at most."

"Anyway, it made no difference to Ji Ming, so he went with the flow and hooked up the bucket, letting Buluowa's blood circulate through her body while also mixing some SpiritGathering Liquid back into the tank."

"Don't be afraid; we still have a trump card."

"Therefore he physically detached part of his own flesh and blood, then used his divine sense like wireless Wi‑Fi to control a horde of bionic treemen made by Grisen, using them as avatars to brew medicine in his stead,"

"Hundreds of pots were activated together by hundreds of 'Ji Mings'; not to mention one bucket per minute, even one bucket per second, Ji Ming had confidence that by further expanding production he could fill this gap!"

So the talismans that can remove curses and the SpiritGathering Liquid that can offset the loss of life, together with the curse deeply buried in Buluowa's body, launched a prolonged tug‑of‑war, like two squads thrown into a meat grinder, sacrificing every second while also gaining new ones every second.

If it were before, he might have been stuck due to a shortage of talent, but now he is an eye demon, and also an eye demon alchemist skilled in the study of the human body and life.

It's like using mass‑produced drones from a modern factory to slaughter an army made entirely of humans, whose tactics and strategy are still stuck in the Industrial Revolution era; battle reports might even be polished to make it look like both sides suffered damage, but in truth which side suffers more is beyond question!

But just as Buluowa's complexion kept improving and the curse was about to be almost completely eliminated, its caster was finally stirred; the curse that had been suppressed began to backlash wildly.

Moreover, it's not just that the curse became violent; once activated, it could proliferate like a virus, using self‑replication to offset the decline of its fellows. If not for having enough SpiritGathering Liquid to sustain life, this alone might have been enough to kill Buluowa.

The talismans and SpiritGathering Liquid once again coordinated beautifully, without needing thunder or holy light to act; the extremely vicious curses on Buluowa's panel vanished one after another, and clearing them all was merely a matter of time.

She took out from the storage ring on her hand the set of infusion equipment originally meant for medical use, and skillfully used magic to set it up on herself.

As they spoke, the heavy fog partially cleared, revealing behind the Sovereign of Living Beings a series of burning medicine cauldrons, with treemen oddly sprouting tentacles on their bodies skillfully stirring the broth within.

AdaiEr: Damn, there's a cheat!

The other raw materials for SpiritGathering Liquid are all cheap, abundant goods; although his own blood seems unique and special, it is actually a renewable resource that can be easily produced, so Ji Ming believes the only bottleneck to massively increasing SpiritGathering Liquid output is manpower.

Unless...

"Use this, this... more dignified."

Ji Ming could even imagine how desperate those traditional mages must feel when undoing a curse to this point; not only would their prior efforts be wasted, but they would also trigger an overload output of the curse that directly kills the patient, such a serious medical accident might well end their careers.

But before she could speak, she suddenly felt a sudden, unbearable abdominal pain, as if something were about to burst out of her, and even more terrifyingly, the location was not where she subconsciously thought, but...

The... large intestine?

"Ah!"

The next moment, that thing broke through her skin like a sharp dagger. From the forcibly opened wound in her flesh slowly extended what turned out to be a fresh, dewy sapling with lush green leaves.

Ji Ming: Stunned.

Moreover, its growth speed was absurdly fast; neither Buluowa nor he could stop it in time, only able to watch as it swelled using the nutrients of SpiritGathering Liquid into a towering giant tree.

If this weren't a testing ground, Ji Ming could have promptly used teleportation to forcibly separate Buluowa and the tree; even if his teacher weren't killed by the curse today, he would have been impaled to death by the plant growing from his own abdomen.

He waved his hand, sending the medicine‑workers behind him away, then looked up. He saw that this plant, which should have broken through the ground, was blocked by the boundary of this test field that could be called a divine realm, so its height could only stay at the ceiling.

Although both are green wonders, this avatar of the Forest God essentially differs from Grasien; a simple description would be...

Grasien is the kind of tree with beautiful lines, lovely colors, clearly unpruned yet shaped by nature's miraculous craftsmanship, its outline so neat it looks like a concept art tree.

When such a thing appears in literary works, whoever dwells beneath it is either a pure, kind elf maiden in two feet of cloth, or a helpful mysterious old master possessing supreme skills; in short, they are all positive figures who bring growth to the protagonist.

But this tree of the Forest God? It grows twisted and crooked, upside down, as if constantly poked by a mischievous boy and a clumsy cat, giving off a feeling of bared teeth and clawing, a chaotic dance of demons.

Moreover, its branches and leaves are extraordinarily lush, so dense that it doesn't look like a vigorous magical giant tree, but rather like a green canopy trying to cover the entire sky, greedily wanting to devour all sunlight.

This brings no joy of life, only a heavy oppression. So Ji Ming didn't give it any face, opening his mouth to pose a question.

"Forest God, just showing up unannounced in someone else's divine realm seems to violate the rules between gods, doesn't it?"

Having said that, his body surged with endless lightning, breaking through the surrounding mist while illuminating every inch of space from top to bottom.

The lightning formed a kind of enclosure net, faintly covering this wildly growing strange plant; this is Ji Ming, as the host, emphasizing his sovereignty to it.

Threatened thus, the Forest God could no longer remain silent; the branches on its tree stirred without wind, and amid the noisy rustle like summer cicadas, a fluctuating tone reminiscent of a speaking living being emerged.

"Strange deity, you have great nerve to dare destroy the seal I set; aren't you afraid of my wrath?"

???

I was thinking I was just about to put a rope around your neck and strangle you, yet you dare to question me back?

Do you think I, big and thick‑bodied, look all refined and gentle, so even if provoked I'd be too embarrassed to hit you?

But that's fine; since this damned Forest God dares to show itself, today we'll give it a good beating!

Such petty behavior can't be indulged; Ji Ming raised his eyelid, and a bolt of lightning appeared in the air, turning into an arc‑light blade that, before the Forest God could react, came down and cleaved off a large swath of branches and leaves.

Amid the tremendous crash of that tangled mass of plants hitting the ground, Ji Ming leisurely gave his answer.

I have some connection with that old elf, and moreover I am the Lord of All Living Beings; seeing someone in difficulty, I naturally cannot stand by and do nothing—this is authority and ability.

He even deliberately smiled at this point.

How could it be? Surely that pile of curses wasn't set up by you, was it? That hardly befits your status as the Forest God, the Protector of a Nation...

Lord of All Living Beings?

Just as Ji Ming said, the Forest God, after all, is also a Protector of a Nation; naturally he wouldn't be like a Wendigo, huddled in the frontier, only able to associate with barbarian warmongers—a country bumpkin.

In fact, He immediately learned through His followers and detection that a small-scale divine war had broken out here in Sunlight City; a true god unheard of—Thus we will have Cultivation: Zhen Shen—suddenly struck, completely shattering the meticulous plan a quasi-god had been plotting for a long time, and even slew His most important avatar, which could be called a severe injury to vital energy.

But so what? The gap between a true god and a quasi-god is a heavenly chasm impossible to cross, especially since I enjoy the national incense of a prosperous nation, making me stronger than those true gods lacking incense; standing at the world's pinnacle, there's absolutely no need to be timid!

That old elf is nothing but a criminal; as the victor, punishing a criminal is surely justified, isn't it?

Then again, you, Lord, have overstepped, haven't you?

The next moment, the clump of branches and leaves lying on the ground began to tremble, actually transforming into a ferocious treeman over ten meters tall, who, with the posture of uprooting trees and overturning mountains, charged at Ji Ming floating in midair.

However, Ji Ming didn't give him a chance to touch him; the tree was reckless in front, the person cautious behind, and the treeman was instantly split by lightning into a burning torch; moreover, Ji Ming felt it wasn't enough and, in passing, also split off a piece of the Forest God's treetop.

The Forest God, whose scalp had already been lifted in two places, flew into a rage, thinking, 'You question-mark person, when will you ever stop?' But before he could act, he heard a sentence.

You think I've overstepped? Fine, then I'll sincerely apologize for meddling in your affairs.

Ah?

The Forest God, who knew nothing about Ji Ming, was completely bewildered—wasn't I the one at a loss? How could He have backed down?

As the saying goes, grievances should be resolved, not deepened, and the same holds for deities; yet before the soft words He had subconsciously prepared could be spoken, another earth-shattering reversal arrived.

And you?

The lightning on the Lord of All Living Beings' body gradually brightened, surging like a small sun.

Could you, for invading my divine realm and planting such a huge illegal structure, even attacking me while I was actively clearing it, pay a small price?

What?

Out of the blue, a huge black pot was slammed onto Him; the Forest God didn't even have time to yell before feeling His head suddenly turn ice-cold.

That was several bolts of lightning shooting out of nowhere; He thought His body was fairly sturdy, but it couldn't block them at all, and the entire treetop was neatly stripped off, falling helplessly to the ground like a collapsed space elevator.

Utter humiliation! This is utterly humiliating!

The Forest God, whose head had been shaved and whose feelings had been toyed with, no longer had the mind to play riddles with the Lord of All Living Beings, and shouted his question.

Lord of All Living Beings, are you determined to go to war with me?

Ji Ming couldn't help but laugh.

Going to war—who is fighting whom now?

Since ancient times, what has been the fate of heretics who secretly intrude upon a god's territory? You surely don't ignore that, do you?