The King of Curses

Chapter 358 The Transformation of Heaven and Man
After ten thousand years, the god who once ruled over a region is now nothing more than a charred and emaciated skeleton.

However, when the spiritual fire reignited deep within its eye sockets, the Heavenly Palace seemed to sense it. The swirling white mist permeating the ruins—a highly compressed tide of energy—surged in from all directions, causing the entire Lingxiao Palace to tremble incessantly.

Amidst the howling and piercing wind, a deep and enormous vortex gradually took shape.

"Where is the Great Evil?"

The Heavenly Emperor spoke. His hoarse voice seemed to fall from the heavens, accompanied by thunder.

"Disappeared."

The ghost replied that upon seeing the giant god he once served awaken, memories he thought he had long forgotten and cast aside surged up like sediment at the bottom of the water.

Even though thousands or tens of thousands of years have passed, it feels like yesterday when I think back on it.

The ghost's voice carried a hint of bitterness.

“After you fought it and severely injured it, the Great Evil never appeared again. Perhaps it went into hiding, or perhaps it has long since vanished. After the calamity of the ‘Five Signs of Decay of the Celestials,’ all the immortals fell into reincarnation, and I guarded the Heavenly Palace alone for more than nine thousand years, and I have never seen it again.”

The Heavenly Emperor remained silent, only the flames in his pupils remained lit, a testament to his contemplation.

"Boom!"

Outside the Lingxiao Palace, a thunderous sound resounded. This time, it was not the Heavenly Emperor's doing, but rather the Heavenly Palace's original defensive barriers that had been breached.

The continuous thunderclaps meant that the hundreds of defensive barriers were as fragile as paper in the face of the invading enemy, failing to serve their intended purpose.

This was not the first time that "people" had stormed the Heavenly Palace. The most terrifying and final one had even ended the rule of the celestial beings, forcing the Heavenly Emperor into a long period of hibernation.

"Who...is outside?"

"They are the strongest among humans. As far as I know, this era belongs to humankind, where celestial beings and mortals coexist."

"mortal?"

"Shortly after the Heavenly Palace was sealed, the spiritual energy between heaven and earth fell into a trough. The war ended, and enemies, friends, acquaintances... either perished along the way or fell into slumber like you. Only mortals gradually ruled this world by procreation."

"The ghost said in a deep voice."

"It was not until thousands of years later that the balance of the world was restored, and I believe that one day the glory of the past will be restored."

"Um……"

The Heavenly Emperor slightly raised his hand, his skeletal arm touching the air, as if to confirm the truth of what the ghost had said.

As the two were talking, the thunderclap grew closer and closer, soon reaching the sky above the main hall.

The Heavenly Emperor bent his palm into a finger and extended it slightly forward.

A section of white bone, like a key, rippled through the air, spreading throughout the vast hall. The thousands of eternal lamps above flickered slightly, like stars in the sky. On the towering dragon pillars that supported the dome like ancient giant trees, the dragon statues all came to life, their eyes shining brightly as they circled and coiled.

The silent hall welcomed its master again. Heaven and earth were in perfect harmony, without the slightest awkwardness or gap. Instantly, an even larger and more solid barrier was formed, which even the power that could shatter space could not penetrate for a time.

But this is only temporary.

The ghost looked up with concern.

It watched as the once seamless, radiant glazed tiles began to develop spiderweb-like cracks. The floor of the Lingxiao Palace shook incessantly, the rumbling never ceasing, and shattered glazed tiles fell like quicksand, threatening to collapse from top to bottom.

The fortress combined defenses from all four directions into one; while the invaders were even more ruthless, attempting to uproot the entire palace.

This shows that the power to shatter space is not a secret technique or a taboo for the intruders, but something they can easily wield and casually unleash.

The ghost began to recall if any celestial being or deity in the past could have done this. Even the most powerful and invincible generals who commanded vast armies and were unparalleled in their killing prowess could not have achieved this.

Having just awakened and currently in a weakened state, it remains to be seen whether the Heavenly Emperor can suppress such a deadly star.

"The arrangements left over from ten thousand years ago can't hold out for long."

The Heavenly Emperor was clearly aware of this matter, and His tone remained calm.

"You...have something to say."

The ghost was slightly taken aback.

It may seem inappropriate to say this when a formidable enemy is at hand, but this thought has been buried in its heart for far too long. It is the only remaining obsession it has maintained after thousands of years of solitary life.

It is not the master of the Heavenly Palace, and cannot step outside this place; it can only lure qualified descendants of immortals here through dreams. And amidst that honeyed-hearted dagger and a belly full of lies, only one sentence was truly sincere:
"Please allow me..."

Its outline shimmered with a light like the surface of a lake, and the ghost, displaying the loyalty of a subject, knelt down and prostrated itself in a deep bow:
"Leave this place and end this far too long duty."

"If you... leave, your soul will be scattered and your spirit will be destroyed..."

“I know this is my humble…last wish.”

The deep flame in the Heavenly Emperor's pupils flickered slightly, landing on it, and he watched it quietly for a while.

"Okay...I promise you."

"I am sorry that I cannot witness you embarking on this new journey."

"It's alright. This is compensation for loyalty."

The ghost collapsed, dissipating into a shapeless ball of light, yet its tone revealed boundless satisfaction and joy.

"I am deeply grateful."

*
Yi Qingyan opened her fair palm, and a dark hole bloomed in the center of her palm, rapidly spreading and expanding like a mouth reaching out from the void, about to bite off most of the myriad things in the world.

"Dimensional Devouring" – based on another dimension, if "Spatial Slash" is a line, and "Spatial Slash" in the wide-area annihilation mode is a line forming a surface, then "Dimensional Devouring" is an all-round evolution that has risen to a new dimension.

The majestic Lingxiao Palace became a victim, quickly devoured.

In the empty ruins, only the skull on the throne raised its head, coldly staring at her.

Just then, Cen Dongsheng arrived.

"Brother! You've finally arrived!"

Yi Qingyan opened her arms and rushed over, hugging the man's arm, her delicate eyebrows curving into crescent moons with a smile. Just moments ago, she had carried the feeling of tense confrontation and final battle with a formidable enemy, but now all of that had vanished without a trace.

Cen Dongsheng was already used to it; his gaze fell on the skull in the center of the dilapidated hall.

"It feels like this isn't the same ghost that possessed Zhao Chengxu just now?"

"That guy has disappeared. I don't know if he was eliminated." Yi Qingyan wasn't disappointed. "Later, a new aura awakened, and it felt even more powerful than a ghost, so I can accept it!"

Cen Dongsheng observed for a moment and found that its location was at the highest point in the center of the entire hall, and the building below it was undoubtedly the core of the entire ancient ruins...

"This person is probably the ruler of the Heavenly Palace."

Although he knew nothing about what happened nearly 10,000 years ago, it did not prevent him from drawing conclusions.

"If we defeat it, this place will be ours, right?" "...Maybe."

Cen Dongsheng's gaze then fell elsewhere in the main hall, where he saw numerous corpses hanging upside down beneath the beams.

He recalled the stories he had heard about evil gods in his previous life and realized how little he knew about these great enemies of humanity.

From the end of ancient times until several decades ago, during this long period, evil gods around the world have been in slumber, and the ruler of this ruin must be one of them...

But is it really that simple?

Based on the clues he has observed so far, it seems that the Heavenly Palace ruins experienced some kind of great disaster before they were isolated from the world, as traces of destruction can be seen everywhere.

They may be the first invaders of the new era, but they are not the only invaders in the history of Tiangong.

As the man was pondering, he caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye of the skull on the throne raising its finger and slowly pointing it in his direction.

The undisguised, intimidating threat was like a gleaming, sharp knife placed before one's eyes.

Cen Dongsheng quickly retreated.

A massive white wave of air, like flower petals, bloomed and blossomed not far in front of him, dangerous yet beautiful; at the same time, a dull feeling came from his chest.

At some point, the concentration of "celestial energy" in the air—that is, highly compressed, newly formed true qi—increased exponentially. Clouds and mist swirled around the brother and sister, ethereal and hazy.

These "celestial energies" are completely unusable by curse masters, so when they gather, they can actually cause breathing difficulties and sluggish circulation of qi, like swimming in seawater with excessively high salt content.

...If he hadn't once reached the level of a top-tier curse master, he would be suppressed even more severely right now.

"It made the first move!"

Yi Qingyan smiled happily.

"Can I kill it now? Hmm, looking at its pathetic state... I should say I should kill it again."

"Kill him."

Cen Dongsheng collected his thoughts.

"If I join in the action later, will it affect you?"

"Huh? No, I'm glad you're willing to help, brother."

Yi Qingyan said with a smile—similarly, this "indifference" only applies to her brother. Only when dealing with Cen Dongsheng will the girl show unconditional obedience and tolerance; if others interfere, she would probably just treat them as scoundrels who steal their prey and deal with them as well.

After the brother and sister finished their conversation, their figures disappeared from the spot at the same time, and another surging white wave swept past the center of their original location.

"Get serious!"

Yi Qingyan instantly teleported to the edge of the throne, her fingertips flashing with an unstoppable sharpness, urging her enemies on.

The skeleton raised its hand, and its thin, bony palm emitted billowing waves of energy. The immortal energy, which was originally condensed and compressed from true qi, was further concentrated in its hand, resulting in an unimaginable "quality" and "specification" that blurred and distorted the line of sight between the two.

The Blade of No Return crashed headlong into the blurry mass of energy.

"boom."

With that soft sound, a deep crack appeared in the center of the skull; the throne behind it was split in two and collapsed to the ground.

The high concentration of immortal energy was dispersed by the airflow from the spatial cleavage and surged in all directions, completely crushing the palace. The light from the sky fell, and the shockwave that spread out dispersed the clouds and mist within a radius of ten miles.

Didn't I tell you to take this seriously?

A wild and unrestrained smile graced her beautiful face. The girl raised her hand again, and this time, a bottomless void appeared in her palm.

"Don't disappoint me, or you'll die a horrible death..."

Just as the dimensional devouring was about to engulf the body, the firelight in the skull's pupils flickered, and a highly condensed and compressed vortex once again swirled between its arms.

But this time, it wasn't used to block Yi Qingyan's attack, but rather as a barrier between the two, crushing directly onto itself.

"boom!"

In the violently expanding shockwave, the skeleton was blasted several kilometers away in one breath.

Yi Qingyan's figure disappeared from the spot, and Cen Dongsheng followed without hesitation.

……

The three were already moving faster than anyone could imagine. Although the Heavenly Palace Ruins were vast, even a top-tier expert, when serious, could make a round trip in no more than a breath.

In the chase, there were countless spatial slashes that shattered everything and bursts of white immortal energy clashing together. The remaining palaces and landscapes in various places were immediately destroyed, and after the storm, only fragments remained.

When the skeleton stopped, Cen Dongsheng was surprised to find that it had gradually shed its "skeletal" appearance.

"Too...impatient."

The charred skeleton was gradually covered by snow-white, translucent skin. When it stopped again and confronted the brother and sister, half of its body was covered by flesh and skin.

I don’t know if it was for this reason, but its originally hoarse voice became melodious and its speech became more and more fluent.

"I have just awakened from a long dream of ten thousand years, and my strength has not yet returned to its peak. If you want to fight me seriously, you will have to wait a while longer."

It spreads its arms wide, stretching its body to the fullest extent, completely unconcerned about being naked in front of people.

Although not fully recovered, what is currently visible already displays a breathtaking and speechless beauty:

One side was flawless, snow-white skin, the other half was horribly charred bones.

Her chest had graceful curves, but no red head; her legs were smooth and flat, with no sexual characteristics visible, making it impossible to tell whether she was a man or a woman, a young man or a boy, possessing characteristics of both yin and yang.

Its body, which should have seemed eerie, strangely exuded a sacred aura.

Its voice is also like that, possessing both feminine gentleness and masculine crispness.

Horrifying. Beautiful. Incredible. Unthinkable.

It is indeed something that does not belong to the mundane world.

"Ah...how lewd! This person isn't wearing any clothes! Brother, you're not allowed to look!"

Yi Qingyan exclaimed in surprise and immediately teleported to her brother's side, covering his eyes with her hands.

Cen Dongsheng sighed. Although he didn't stop his sister from doing it, he still felt helpless and couldn't help but complain:
"Qingyan... what kind of image do I have in your eyes? I'm not so desperate as to be indiscriminate in my pursuit of anyone..."

The appearance of this Heavenly Palace Ruler after his resurrection is beautiful, that's a purely objective comment, because every inch of his body seems to be depicted with the most beautiful human imagination—but fundamentally, he is an extremely heterogeneous existence.

Cen Dongsheng considered his sexual fetish to be normal. In his eyes, the other person was no different from a monster in human skin. Apart from a chilling discomfort, he could not feel any impulse.

(End of this chapter)