Chapter 205

During that long heart‑to‑heart talk at the teahouse, Gu Yan had mentioned using gu insects to help suppress the birth‑linked curse, and I had hesitated then.

Now Liu Junyan has offered a Buddha Lamp for me at the Great Dharma King Temple; as time passes, the "slave" character on my right cheek is fading.

The effect is quite obvious.

So for now I don't need to use gu insects to help suppress the birth‑linked curse.

If it were before, I would definitely refuse Gu Yan again.

But now the situation is somewhat different.

Gu Yan has decided to return to Xiangxi; this return is not a trivial matter—she is carrying some kind of mission.

In the future, if I ever need to find Gu Yan again, it may be difficult.

More importantly, at the border of the Nether Realm, in that "Peach Blossom Spring," I saw Feng Li Shu.

Feng Li Shu's current state makes me feel fearful.

She seems to have been backlashed by the birth‑linked curse.

People, greed is actually not the most terrifying thing.

What is most terrifying is being driven into a desperate corner, driven to madness.

Once she feels despair, her counterattack will become even more frenzied, leaving no room for mercy.

I feel that Feng Li Shu is not far from this despair and madness.

Thinking of this, I tentatively asked Gu Yan: "Last time you mentioned the birth‑linked curse to me; from your description, it seems to be a one‑sided taking and giving spell, irreversible, right?"

Gu Yan nodded: "Yes, you are the one who was cursed, the party being taken from."

I then asked: "In other words, the other party cannot possibly suffer any backlash, right?"

Gu Yan, being very perceptive, instantly sensed something off in my question; her expression changed in an instant, and she asked: "Has the other party been backlashed?"

I shook my head: "I'm not sure, but her condition seems poor."

Gu Yan lowered her head, fiddling with the box containing the ice silkworm, wondering what she was thinking.

After a long while she lifted her eyes to me and said firmly: "According to common sense, the birth‑linked curse certainly cannot cause the provider to suffer a backlash—unless… the enslaved party… undergoes a soul sacrifice!"

Soul sacrifice… that term is all too familiar to me.

Since the pawnshop reopened, more than one soul has been sacrificed to the Soul‑guiding Lamp.

The so‑called soul sacrifice ultimately results in utter annihilation—body and spirit destroyed.

Cases like Fu Wan's are very rare.

In other words, if Feng Li Shu truly has been backlashed, then in my previous life I must ultimately have chosen soul sacrifice.

But if I chose soul sacrifice, how did I manage to survive?

My thoughts are in turmoil, and I feel awful.

Gu Yan pushed the box toward me again and said: "Xiao Jiu, I know you have found some method to temporarily suppress the birth‑linked curse's effect on you, and possibly even cause the other party to suffer a backlash, but I want to say that this is not a foolproof plan."

You are striving, but the other party will only strive harder, after all she also wants to live.

Ice silkworm… you will need it."

This is also the fundamental reason for my hesitation this time.

The Buddha Lamp at the Great Dharma King Temple can help me for a while, but not for a lifetime.

Behind Feng Li Shu stands the entire Phoenix clan; once she detects any clue, she will try every means to sever the Buddha Lamp's aid to me.

By then, what shall I do?

Perhaps the ice silkworm… will be my last resort.

Even if it is like drinking poison to quench thirst.

Finally, I reached out and opened the box.

The ice‑cold wooden box to the touch gives no hint of what wood it is made from; inside lies a completely transparent worm.

At first glance, it looks like a small chunk of ice.

But on closer inspection, one can see it has antennae, legs, and two eyes like black sesame seeds.

Above its tail are two tiny bumps.

It lies still in the box, motionless, still in a dormant state.

"The ice silkworm differs from ordinary gu; it will not follow you for life." Gu Yan explained in detail: "When you decide to use it, prick the character on your cheek—any spot will do—let a bead of blood seep out, then place the ice silkworm on the blood bead; after it drinks your blood, it will recognize you as its master."

After it burrows into your body, it gradually merges with your bloodstream, cleansing and purifying your entire blood; this process is extremely cold and painful, and if you cannot endure it, it may pose a mortal danger.

But if you endure it, you will gain a three‑month barrier period.

"The so‑called barrier period means isolating you from all effects of the birth‑linked curse, and even rendering you immune to all poisons."

"Only three months?" Li Qingying complained, "Isn't that too short?"

I, however, do not think it's short.

Three months is enough to accomplish many things.

I asked: "What happens after three months? When the barrier period ends, what will await me?"

"Your body will gradually turn to ice until breathing stops." Gu Yan said.

I was not particularly surprised.

That is what "drinking poison to quench thirst" means.

When I chose to contract the ice silkworm, I was choosing to go all‑in, trading my eventual death for the final three‑month barrier period.

Because when I choose to use the ice silkworm, it must be that I can no longer withstand the birth‑linked curse.

Li Qingying unconsciously grabbed my hand and asked unwillingly: "Is there really no room for mitigation at all?"

"This is why I dare repeatedly urge Xiao Jiu to accept the ice silkworm," Gu Yan said. "In this world, all things mutually generate and overcome; the ice silkworm also has natural enemies, and there are two of them: one is Nirvana fire, the other is dragon bone blood."

"Nirvana fire needs no further explanation; a single baptism by Nirvana fire can completely eradicate every trace of the ice silkworm from your body, achieving total removal."

And dragon bone blood means the blood gathered from slicing a dragon's horn; for Seventh Lord, obtaining it shouldn't be difficult. The downside is that dragon bone blood can't fully eliminate the ice silkworm's poison, so to stay alive one must use it once a month.

My heart fluttered slightly; Li Qingying grabbed my hand and squeezed it tightly, and I saw her eyes light up.

She leaned close and whispered, "We can ask Xiaoye for help."

Li Qingying had said that Xiaoye is the most unscrupulous existence in the Linghai Dragon Clan.

He even dared to overturn the table during the Linghai Dragon King's grand banquet, showing his standing in the Linghai Dragon Clan.

Asking him to obtain dragon bone blood should indeed not be difficult.

The difficulty is that it must be done every month.

Even an iron‑forged dragon horn can't endure such squandering.

Moreover, Xiaoye already has designs on Liu Junyan; I fear that when the time comes she will be forced to do something beyond his ability.

So ultimately we still need to work with the Nirvana fire.

Perhaps by then I will have a chance to undergo Nirvana.

Or maybe I simply won't need the ice silkworm at all.

The ice silkworm is merely a fallback, not a necessity.

Thinking that, I covered the box holding the ice silkworm and put it away.

I thanked Gu Yan and then chatted with her at length.

After seeing Gu Yan off, I opened the refrigerator together with Li Qingying and placed the box containing the ice silkworm in the freezer compartment.

The next layer of the Snow Phoenix…