Cultivation: When you take things to the extreme

Chapter 243: Chapter 167: Curse Coming_1

Translator: 549690339

“Boom!”

Amidst the incantations, thunder and fire were startled into leaping upon the Nailhead Ploughhead Seven Arrow Scripture, enveloping the “talisman” with raging momentum.

Curse spells might be powerful, but they have a drawback, that is the need for time to prepare, worship, cast, invoke, and finally activate. The longer the preparation time, the more powerful the curse spell, and the harder it is for the cursed to resist.

Just like the time Pudu Cihang cursed Xu Yang, they first nailed his name with the Nail Head Book Talisman and worshiped on the altar for forty-nine days, only then to activate the Plough-Head Curse and perform the Seven Arrow Seven Kill Skill.

Xu Yang clearly didn’t have that much time right now.

But to curse a Golden Core, it doesn’t need to be that troublesome, just invest mana and enhance the curse skill.

With his current level of cultivation, activating the Nailhead Ploughhead Seven Arrow Scripture would be nearly unbearable for anyone below Nascent Soul.

That Supreme Elder of the Green Jade Sect, Zhang Zhiqi, with his late-stage Golden Core cultivation, to be honest, was already not bad in this Liang Country, but after all, he was still a Golden Core, not versed in Taoism, hadn’t achieved Yang God, and it was uncertain whether he had any means to protect his soul.

For this curse to kill him, while it wasn’t effortless, he still had plenty to spare.

Even so, Xu Yang didn’t take it lightly, raising his hand to unleash streaks of thunder, the pure mana of a cultivator.

One after another, forty-nine streaks of thunder emerged in succession, like the symbols of a death sentence falling into the Nail Head Book Talisman.

Even with Xu Yang’s current cultivation level, these forty-nine streaks of thunder nearly drained his mana.

Fortunately, it was merely mana and Inner Yuan, not the life essence. The consumption could be recovered, and the loss could be compensated for.

Forty-nine streaks of mana summoned death from below, and the thunder and flame-wrapped Nailhead Ploughhead Seven Arrow Scripture ignited with a “boom,” turning into an arrow-shaped beam of thunder and fire that was uncertain in reality and illusion. It shot into the sky and disappeared into the firmament in the blink of an eye.

Only then did Xu Yang sit down to recover, showing “True Martial Ancestor Master’s” stern visage, intimidating the evil from all around, while his Yang God left his body once more, traveling through the void to return to Purple Cloud Mountain and take control of the vital spirit body again.

Meanwhile, inside the Green Jade Mountain, within the Ancestor Master’s Hall.

White-browed and white-bearded, Zhang Zhiqi, with his crane hair and youthful face, paced back and forth, his heart filled with agitation and a vague sense of unease.

The Three Sects of Golden Core had governed for a thousand years; during that time, they had faced challenges from other forces and other Golden Cores but always managed to keep them at bay, never allowing anyone to pose a substantial threat to their rule.

After all, the origins of the Three Sects were extraordinary, they had powerful backers, ancient lineage, control over resources, and other cultivators, even if they luckily broke through and achieved Core Formation, still couldn’t match their combat power and were still under their control.

But now…

Thunder Lightning Mana King Shi Jian!

This man, who appeared out of nowhere, had driven the Green Jade Sect to the brink of life and death.

His origins were unknown, and his ambitions were immense.

This kind of person, this kind of opponent…

Zhang Zhiqi’s brow was tense, his heart even more restless, as he called for the Sect Master of the Green Jade Sect, “How goes the evacuation from Sword Stone Mountain?”

Despite being the Sect Master of the Green Jade Sect, in the presence of this Supreme Elder, he was no different from a steward or servant, respectfully responding, “Elder brother Liu has returned to the sect, and the marketplaces have been temporarily closed. Although there are still some loose ends, the main things have already been brought back. Even if that person makes a move, the loss won’t be too great.”

“Good, you… may step down!”

Hearing this, Zhang Zhiqi finally settled down a bit, dismissing the Sect Master of Green Jade and resumed his meditation.

However, after only a brief moment of meditative trance, he opened his eyes again, his gaze filled with irritability and a hint of panic.

“What’s going on, what’s going on?”

“Everything from Sword Stone Mountain has been withdrawn. Even if that person has no shame and decides to plunder, the loss shouldn’t be too great.”

“I’m within the sect, defending with the great formation, relying on the power of the Green Jade Spiritual Vein and the might of the Azure Dragon Formation. Even if a Nascent Soul attacks, I can fend off the enemy.”

“Qinfeng Changshan has my letter and has reached the Tianshu Sect and the Medicine King Valley. I have also sent a message. Help from the two sects should arrive soon.”

“With such measures in place, why do I feel this sudden unease, this restlessness?”

“Am I overthinking, or is that person so terrifying that it causes me fear?”

“Could it be that he has planned to ambush the people from the other two sects on their way here?”

“No, no, no, this is a matter of great importance. The two sects must use their true power. If he stays and defends, it would just be suicidal to ambush them on the road?”

“What’s going on!”

Zhang Zhiqi sat on his meditation cushion, veins throbbing on his forehead, bloodshot eyes pulsing. He felt a burning anxiety as if a great disaster loomed over him, yet he did not know from where the disaster would come.

This was a cultivator’s whim, the response of Heaven and Man.

The Nail Head Book Talisman is ultimately just a talisman, not the actual Nailhead Ploughhead Seven Arrow Scripture; it cannot quietly curse a cultivator like Pudu Cihang once did. After a cultivator is nailed, there will inevitably be a response from Heaven and Man, a sudden unease.

If it were a Spell Cultivator, such sensations would immediately reveal their cause, prompting them to respond straightaway, employing concealment techniques, Body Protection Spells, Dissolution Skills, and other methods to counter with spell against spell, with curse against curse, to avert disaster and escape misfortune.

However, Zhang Zhiqi was a cultivator, not versed in Taoism, had not achieved Yang God, and even if cursed, he did not understand the reason, nor did he have the means to avert disaster or protect his life. He only felt a great misfortune approaching, a massive calamity befalling him.

At that moment…

“Rumble!”

A tumultuous roar, like muffled thunder, resounded, darkening the clear skies abruptly.

“Hm!?”

Zhang Zhiqi’s gaze sharpened, looking upward.

As he looked up, his face changed colors upon what his eyes beheld.

On the distant horizon, a cloud of doom rolled in, swelling and surging, sweeping towards this place.

The clear sky of ten thousand miles turned dark in an instant.

The cloud of misfortune descended abruptly, obscuring the sun.

The light dimmed, and the atmosphere turned heavy and somber.

Though there was the rumble of thunder, no lightning could be seen.