The King of Curses

Chapter 346 Kunlun
I always put the reminder in the author's notes, but some people never see it. I'll put it at the beginning of the main text from now on... Anyway, the previous chapter has been abridged.
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"Take responsibility."

Cen Dongsheng thought to himself, if the future development of this world is destined to be very different from the previous life, how much will he, as a reborn person, still have left to hold onto?
If it were my older sister, she would definitely say, "The reins of the times are in my hands."

Therefore, regardless of whether the future unfolds as expected, she will be full of anticipation and gladly accept the challenges of unknown variables.

Some people are born with great ambitions and can live with their heads held high by their beliefs; while others need to rely on outsiders or external forces to find their own place and value.

Cen Dongsheng has always considered himself to be the latter, because without the experience and knowledge of a reborn person, he would never have been able to meet An Zhizhen and Yi Qingyan and achieve his current success.

But now, what he needs is to break free from the shackles of preconceived notions and transcend his self-imposed limitations in order to reach a higher level.

"The world is really not peaceful."

"That's what the waiter said."

"We just got back from a trip to Kowloon."

"Didn't that mean you just bumped into each other?"

"Yes, we were all terrified. We were still shaken on the way back."

While chatting idly, Cen Dongsheng's gaze swept around and he noticed that two of the guests at the round table were looking in his direction.

Although their looks alone are not as striking as those of the siblings, their style and aura are quite unique.

The man was clearly old, but because he was well-maintained, it was impossible to tell his exact age. He wore round sunglasses, his hair, streaked with silver, was combed back, he was thin, dressed in a crisp Zhongshan suit, and leaned on a cane.

Sitting next to him was a woman in her thirties wearing a jacket, with two braids hanging down from her shoulders; she looked like someone who had lived in the Gobi Desert in Northwest China for many years, with rough, sallow skin, but her features were quite attractive, and she had a kind of travel-worn air about her.

The woman carried a rather heavy, square, dark wooden box on her back. She raised the small cup in her hand, tilted her head back, and drank the wine in one gulp, making a cheerful sound, and then wiped her mouth in a carefree manner.

Some guests were carrying luggage, some were dozing off, and some had gone out into the streets and alleys to buy breakfast to eat. Their eyes often lingered on Cen Dongsheng and his sister, as well as the pair of friends who seemed oblivious to their surroundings and chatted and laughed.

Even without using spiritual perception, high-level spellcasters often possess outstanding qualities, Cen Dongsheng thought, this can be considered a kind of experience.

The woman in the jacket noticed Cen Dongsheng's gaze. She whispered a few words to her companion, then smiled broadly and waved to the young man.

"Friend over there, may I invite you to come and sit down?"

She extended an invitation to the brother and sister.

*
Ten minutes ago, the two top-tier curse masters had arranged to meet.

They belonged to the same group and had met before, recognizing each other by name, but this was the first time they had led a mission together. Fortunately, both had good personalities and quickly became acquainted.

"Qiao Wan, you're drinking so early in the morning?"

The man with the cane adjusted his round sunglasses, which had slipped off his nose, and said with a smile.

"Yes, as the saying goes, 'A little wine in the morning, and you'll live to ninety-nine'..."

"Never heard of it. That's just something a drunkard made up to fool himself."

"Haha."

The woman laughed, a faint smell of alcohol emanating from her, her cheeks slightly flushed, and she invited him with a hint of drunkenness:

"Mr. Ban, would you like a bite?"

"I'll pass. I never smoke or drink, and I really want to live to ninety-nine."

Mr. Ban shook his head and raised the cup in his hand.

"A cup of tea is enough."

"Alright. So where are we going for breakfast later? I heard from the guys in the group that the boiled mutton here is really famous..."

"Eating such greasy food in the morning is bad for your health."

"If this won't work and that won't work, what's the point of living?" Qiao Wan muttered, resting her chin on her hand. "Besides, we're curse masters. What's the point of oil or alcohol? Just circulate our true qi a few times and it'll all disappear, right?"

"It's a matter of probability. For example, an ordinary person who eats and drinks excessively every day has an 80% chance of suffering from illness and having a shortened lifespan; while a curse master can use true qi to greatly reduce the damage, and the chance of getting sick is less than 10%. My probability of living longer by maintaining good lifestyle habits is probably only slightly higher than that of those who indulge in reckless behavior..."

Mr. Ban said in a very serious tone.

"But I really want to live, even if the probability is only one in a thousand or one in ten thousand, I will fight for it."

"Haha."

Qiao Wan smiled happily.

"As expected of you. But if you ask me, curse masters are inherently difficult to live long, and they need to vent their frustrations even more in their daily lives. The probability of us dying on the battlefield or at the hands of ghosts and monsters is much greater than dying from disease."

"That's the truth."

Mr. Ban nodded slightly.

Therefore, it is always best to be cautious in everything.

Qiao Wan composed herself, snapped her fingers, and concealed their true conversation.

"So, what do you think the risks are for this mission?"

"The only one with whom we have a tense relationship is Sun Daoren. The rest are just scattered soldiers and we don't need to worry about them."

“The flying zombies raised by Sun Jianjun are not easy to deal with.”

“We have the advantage in numbers. He’s just a sorcerer; he can’t compare to us in terms of organization, manpower, or support.”

Qiao Wan nodded; in this regard, her thoughts were the same as her companion's.

"The focus is on the objective of our trip itself."

It all started with a meteorological spectacle over the town, where the spiritual energy of heaven and earth surged, attracting the attention of nearby spellcasters.

Later, the news of the "treasure appearing in the world" spread like wildfire. The organization to which Qiao Wan and Ban Han belonged, the Wheel of Time Society, sent people to investigate and found that it was indeed true.

As one of the largest non-governmental curse-wielding organizations in the Western Desert Region, their conclusions were even more precise:

What will be unearthed is not a single treasure, but an entire ancient site.

In this era, forbidden artifacts preserved from the ancient times of gods and demons are being unearthed one after another, with cases all over the country; it is no longer a secret.

“‘Ancient ruins’—I would never have believed such a fantastical story before. I don’t know when the world became this absurd, just like the novels I read when I was in college.”

"This is undoubtedly the real world, but the secrets hidden behind the phenomena are often complex and difficult to understand."

Qiao Wan took another sip of wine, her eyes remaining fixed on her companion.

"Mr. Ban, can you confirm when the ruins were unearthed?"

She knew that the first person in the Kalachakra Society to confirm the authenticity of the news was Mr. Ban in front of her, and most of the members trusted his judgment.

The reason is simple: this person possesses a very special curse, similar in nature to that of Master Kurong, the leader of the Kalachakra Tantra.

—"The art of observing qi".

By observing the sky, the earth, and people, they interpret the colors, shapes, and changes in natural phenomena to predict human affairs and foretell good or bad fortune.

"..."

Ban Han silently took off his sunglasses, revealing a pair of grayish-white pupils.

These are the gray eyes of a blind person, unable to see the colorful scenery of this world, yet able to reflect various air currents of "different colors".

The energy that permeates the world can be large or small, high or low; it can be the energy of a great general, the energy of a minor general, the energy of arrival, or the energy of defeat.

Within this small town, the most striking "qi" is undoubtedly the towering column of qi that rises into the sky behind the town, reaching from heaven to earth.

Its aura connected the azure clouds above and the yellow springs below, its color a brilliant purple; and in the art of observing qi, purple is the most noble and auspicious color. Furthermore, he noticed that the source of the aura was surrounded by white clouds, not ordinary purple, but a piece of silk descending from the sky.

Following the purple aura upwards, one can vaguely see a huge door, exuding an ancient and simple aura, as if it has gone through countless long years.

Today, this heavenly gate is only partially visible, and has not yet descended to earth.

Mr. Ban put his sunglasses back on and replied.

"It will take some time, so let's wait patiently."

"it is good."

Qiao Wan sighed.

"Then, do you have any further advice to offer?"

Ban Han thought about it and felt that there were some things he didn't need to keep from his teammates who were about to fight alongside him.

He tapped the table with his fingers, his voice low and solemn.

Do you know which mountain range this town leads to?

"Kunlun".

Mr. Ban nodded.

"The Kunlun Mountains have been regarded as 'sacred mountains' since ancient times. It is said that the palace of the highest deity in Taoism is located on it, hence its other name, Yujing Mountain. Because the Kunlun Mountains are located in the northwest Qian position, they are also known as Tianzhu (Heavenly Pillar). There are also legends that there are fairylands such as Yaochi (Jade Pool), Langyuan (Land Garden), Zengcheng (Garden City), and Xianpu (County Garden) on this mountain range..."

Qiao Wan blinked. Hearing this, she understood what the other person meant, but she found it unbelievable.

"So, Mr. Ban means that this ancient ruin is the legendary... Heavenly Palace?"

"This is just my personal guess."

"what."

Qiao Wan smiled.

"I finally understand why Master Kurong values ​​this place so much and sent us all here. If it really is the Heavenly Palace..."

Aside from the spiritual revival that has emerged in this era, recorded human history proves that all civilizations in the world were born in environments lacking spiritual energy, and this has continued to this day. As a result, beings like spellcasters and ghosts are so rare that they have never been able to leave a deep mark.

However, a long-standing speculation circulates within the world of curse masters: before human civilization took shape, there was also an era brimming with spiritual energy, dating back 5,000 to 10,000 years.

It was a world where gods and demons danced together. The ancient ruins that have been unearthed are mostly remnants of that era; and the myths and legends passed down orally by various ethnic groups record the history of that time.

If they can truly find the lost Heavenly Palace, that distant and unfamiliar era will gradually unveil its mysteries to them.

"Whether it's true or false, we'll only know when the 'Heavenly Gate' opens."

"We still have to wait. No wonder the evacuation of the masses hasn't started yet."

"The organization's intention is to leave this matter to the Super Committee. We will contact them in advance."

"But if they really come, the competition will increase again."

"We will sign an agreement in advance..."

Ban Han suddenly stopped talking, his gaze involuntarily falling on the two people walking down the stairs.

A tall, handsome young man and a beautiful young woman nestled beside him were chatting with a receptionist.

Qiao Wan, who was drinking, also noticed the couple.

"These two... are really conspicuous."

Her eyes were sparkling.

When people see something or someone that looks good, they find it pleasing to the eye and it's easy for them to keep their eyes glued to it.

"They didn't possess any true qi; they were just two ordinary people."

Mr. Ban shook his head.

"This aura is anything but 'ordinary'."

"Aren't you good at observing qi? Why don't you take a closer look?"

Ban Han took off his sunglasses, quickly put them back on, and sighed as he came to a conclusion.

"Their destinies are...incredibly noble."

Upon hearing this, Qiao Wan couldn't help but have ulterior motives. She had long heard of Ban Han's past deeds, how he had used the "art of observing qi" to discover several potential curse masters from ordinary people.

"Then why don't we invite these two to come and have a seat?"

*
"Friends, can we have a chat?"

Cen Dongsheng and Yi Qingyan exchanged a glance.

"What about you?"

"I listen to my brother."

My sister seemed indifferent.

For Yi Qingyan, apart from her beloved brother Dongsheng, the only other people she cared about were the bad guys she wanted to kill and the complete strangers she didn't care about.

But this already speaks volumes. Yi Qingyan's intuition has always been sharp; if those two had been giving her malicious looks, she probably would have already started "cleaning up the trash" without Cen Dongsheng even having to say a word.

Cen Dongsheng was just looking for information when he noticed that the two people who had sent him the invitation were both top-tier curse masters and leaders of nearby resident groups, making them suitable as exchange partners.

He sat down next to Qiao Wan, and Ban Han poured him a cup of tea.

Cen Dongsheng observed his actions and found that this person was very friendly to ordinary people.

“I just heard that you came back from Kowloon.”

Ban Han chuckled and started a conversation.

"I happen to be interested in this, can you tell me about it?"

"Well... I just remember seeing strange shadows floating around in the sky, and then I suddenly passed out. When I woke up, I found myself in another place, and I had no idea what happened."

Cen Dongsheng sighed.

"I wanted to ask others. But everyone I met who had the same experience as me was confused."

"It might be haunted."

Qiao Wan crossed her legs and drank her wine with a smile; she seemed to be the kind of woman with a forthright personality.

"Haven't there been rumors of ghost stories all over the world lately?"

"Haunted? Would a typical ghost story make that much noise?"

Cen Dongsheng raised an objection.

"It's not an ordinary ghost; it's the most powerful kind, equivalent to Yama and the Grim Reaper in mythology. It's the one that opened the gates of the underworld to the human world, almost causing a great disaster."

Ban Han adopted a tone of absolute certainty, and then he was pleased to see the young man before him show a hesitant expression. Curiosity, doubt, and anticipation—all perfectly balanced.

"Sir, do you perhaps know the inside story?"

(End of this chapter)