The King of Curses

Chapter 360 Siblings Join Forces
Just as Yi Qingyan could easily obliterate a clone with a spatial slash, this meant that the Heavenly Emperor had completely given up resistance in pursuit of "production speed." It was equally vulnerable to the invasion of "Hehua Zizai," and was occupied in an instant.

In fact, this was the first time he had attempted to invade life, an individual... or rather, an entity with reason, emotion, and intellect.

Cen Dongsheng had expected himself to feel disgusted and uncomfortable.

The object corrupted and transformed by the power of the Free Heavenly Demon ceases to exist and its body undergoes a fundamental change. In other words, the moment of success, the other party no longer exists in this world. This feeling is as if one has become an alien creature in a science fiction horror movie.

However, when he actually used this move against the Heavenly Emperor's clone, his mindset was surprisingly detached.

Cen Dongsheng discovered that as long as he didn't actively try to capture them, the consciousness of the objects that had been eroded and transformed had already been annihilated, leaving behind nothing more than an "empty bag" that didn't affect him at all.

Power is just power, and killing is just killing.

Of course, if there were other people watching on the battlefield at this moment, it would still be terrifying—

The young man's figure shifted, striking the Heavenly Emperor's clone before striking the next target.

A dozen or so clones were submerged by the turbid current and dissolved in an instant, becoming part of the Heavenly Demon and strengthening the dark river.

The power of countless transformations spreads like a virus. The Heavenly Emperor's avatars were already closely linked, and the Free Demon King was rapidly expanding his power along these links.

The clear, bright sky was covered by gloom, as if millions of crows were spreading their wings at the same time, their jet-black feathers stretching out in a continuous expanse, blocking the light falling from the dome.

……

After only one encounter, the Heavenly Emperor devised the best strategy.

If the only method is to use clones to surround and attack Yi Qingyan, increasing the number several times over would be meaningless, because teleportation, like spatial slash, consumes very little energy, allowing the girl to maintain superb mobility as a normal state.

No matter how large the enemy's numbers are, even if they are enough to overwhelm the entire space, there will always be a gap in time between two attacks, which Yi Qingyan can seize at any time to escape.

But "binding" is different: fine chains weave through the air like a tightly woven spider web, and beautiful, ethereal butterflies flutter in the storm, which may get stuck at any moment and become unable to move.

But this predicament did not last long.

After seeing the sky spread out in a pitch-black expanse, Yi Qingyan's constantly flickering figure suddenly stopped.

There was no sign of frustration or tension in her expression; she simply gazed quietly at the sky, a slight smile playing on her lips.

It turned out to be the case.

It was rare for Yi Qingyan to fight alongside someone, and even rarer for her to be at a disadvantage. The feeling of being helped was unexpectedly... touching.

She must have found it hard to imagine that she, on the battlefield, could have such emotions.

This is probably a unique experience that can only be had when I'm with my brother.

After all, she had fought alongside that woman in the past, and all she felt was disgust.

Even she had to admit that the two of them worked together very well at the time, easily suppressing Wan Dugu, and could be called an invincible combination.

But things are different now. Her brother has reached the top level and can fight alongside her... If it were with her brother, their teamwork would be at least ten times better! She had no doubt about it.

……

The legion formed by the Heavenly Emperor's clones danced like petals in the sky, but before anyone could react, one-third of them were quickly corrupted by the Free Heavenly Demon, and this trend was only intensifying, because the clones that had been "transformed" could replenish themselves at any time.

The opponent immediately realized that, in terms of ability compatibility alone, the young man was the more formidable opponent. So, they immediately gathered a large amount of celestial energy from the heavens to prevent the pollution from spreading within the group.

In less than a minute of fighting, the clone army had expanded to tens of thousands. Even though they had suffered heavy losses, when they regrouped, they still presented an overwhelming force.

The power of the Heavenly Demon is all-pervasive and corrodes everything, yet it is consumed depending on the quality and quantity of the target. The Heavenly Emperor's avatar was not an easy nut to crack; the rate of its "Other-Transformation Freedom" erosion slowed down, and the aggressive blackness could not advance even half a step for the time being.

A surge of celestial energy surrounded an astonishing number of clones, which then intertwined with each other to form a vast white sea. The originally raging inky river appeared as a mere stream in comparison, quickly suppressed, creating a breathtakingly powerful scene.

The Heavenly Emperor once again demonstrated his top-tier power control as an evil god; in a one-on-one fight, he was enough to suppress any special-grade curse master.

……

However, at this very moment, a great white shark that had just escaped its cage was swimming beneath these waters, its fierce eyes fixed on it.

The roles of prey and hunter can be reversed in an instant.

In the next instant, an incredibly vast "cave" suddenly expanded in the center of the boundless sea of ​​immortal energy—

Its diameter exceeds five kilometers. From a distance, the giant hole appears as a bottomless darkness, like walking into the end of a star, without a trace of light.

Yi Qingyan had never unleashed a "dimensional devouring" of this scale before. Enraged, she completely disregarded the destructive aftermath and allowed the alternate dimension symbolized by "Infernal Hell" to descend upon the celestial realm.

It was as if a giant beast in the void opened its mouth, saw this world as a delicious cake, and took a big bite. The immortal energy accumulated in the celestial realm for ten thousand years, including the space and the scenery itself, was "eaten" up; the ten thousand clones of the army were swallowed up by the other dimension.

The Heavenly Emperor is "one line ahead," a line that Yi Qingyan can hardly cross now, but also an obstacle that can be easily overcome by simply placing an equally heavy chip on the scales.

The Heavenly Emperor attempted to fight the brother and sister simultaneously, but in Yi Qingyan's eyes, the smooth coordination between the clones had disappeared, and they were stuck like rusty gears.

That's enough.

This is enough for her to regain her advantage, and even go further.

Now, it's the other side's turn to become the flying insect about to be caught in the spider web.

*
Once again exiting the "Free Demon" state, the man felt dizzy and disoriented. A sense of unease, as if he were isolated from the world, swept over him, making him feel nauseous and exhausted.

Half a second later, Cen Dongsheng realized that this was not a negative effect of some ability, but rather the ability to freely invade and transform all things in the world under the special-grade curse master state, which allowed his body and mind to form a deeper connection with the world.

After this state of omnipotence ended, he felt uneasy.

Other than that…

Cen Dongsheng touched his chest, feeling a warm, wet sensation on his fingertips, and couldn't help but frown.

Looking down, he saw a wound on his chest, a deep, bleeding fissure that revealed the bone and even his internal organs.

The injury seemed to come out of nowhere; given the form the Free Demon had taken in battle, it was impossible for him to be injured. However, Cen Dongsheng knew in his heart that this was a warning sign that his body and mind were overwhelmed.

The physical collapse caused by the evil god Louga forcing him into the "Special Grade Two" state has not yet healed. He can only maintain a tug-of-war on the line between life and death by using dual Special Grade Curses; however, entering the Special Grade state again will break this fragile balance. In order to ensure that the balance can be restored, Cen Dongsheng has set activity restrictions for himself: the state of the Free Heavenly Demon can be maintained for several minutes, which is enough for a Special Grade Curse Master to have a short but intense battle with his reaction speed.

However, this is under the premise of only engaging in one battle. Repeatedly exiting and reactivating will further increase the burden, even if the actual battle only takes one or two seconds.

In other words, the restriction changed from time to number of times, which was something he hadn't anticipated.

The number of times he can transform again... is probably one or two times, Cen Dongsheng had a rough estimate in his mind.

If he persists in his ways and exceeds the limits, the consequences will be far more than just injury and bleeding. He will truly die, and even the "complete resurrection" of "Otherworldly Freedom" will not save him, because at that time all the curses and restrictions within his body will cease to function.

Without firsthand experience on the battlefield, he couldn't have accurately grasped his physical condition. Given that the wound was still in a tug-of-war, the situation could change at any moment.

Ultimately, Cen Dongsheng's current state is extremely unstable, and he can only take a wait-and-see approach.

……

"How's it going?"

Seeing Yi Qingyan teleport to his side in an instant, Cen Dongsheng asked a question.

He is no longer a top-tier curse master, and his spiritual sense range has been greatly reduced, making it difficult for him to locate the other party.

“It has stopped creating clones,” the sister replied. “Whether it has other plans or is just a death throes, we’ll soon find out.”

Cen Dongsheng nodded.

He suddenly realized that this battle might be the first time in human history that humanity had clashed with an evil god. It was even earlier than the time when the "First Ancestor" King Kurong ascended to the ancestral level and slew the evil god, the Lord of War.

However, in that world-shaking battle, both sides were at their peak, while now, Yi Qingyan has not yet truly become the King of Equality, and the Heavenly Emperor has just awakened from a ten-thousand-year-old slumber of severe injury.

After exchanging a few words, the situation quickly changed: as the clouds and mist dissipated, Yi Qingyan immediately realized what was happening, gave a soft hum, grabbed Cen Dongsheng's hand, and disappeared from the spot.

"Trying to escape already? Too late!"

*
The entire Heavenly Palace ruins were on the verge of collapse during the battle between the three, with ruins everywhere and almost leveled to the ground.

Cen Dongsheng hadn't noticed what was beneath the ruins, because ever since he stepped into the celestial realm, everything he could see was shrouded in mist and clouds, perfectly matching the descriptions in mythology and people's imagination of the celestial palace.

But the Heavenly Emperor's escape pointed them to a new path.

Those towering peaks and magnificent palaces, the abodes of immortals from ten thousand years ago, all floated above the clouds; but the celestial realm was far more vast than that.

Below the clouds lies a bottomless abyss.

The original cloud layer was ten kilometers thick, a figure comparable to the deep sea on Earth, and even deeper than the Mariana Trench; but Yi Qingyan's terrifying attack created a dimensional swallowing force with a diameter of more than five kilometers, directly digging away most of the cloud sea.

Furthermore, the Heavenly Emperor recklessly abused his immortal energy to support the terrifying consumption of his clones, causing the clouds to naturally thin out and the abyss's appearance to become faintly visible.

The three traversed the distance at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye.

The pursuers close in by teleporting, while the pursued continues to spread their clones to obstruct them.

At Cen Dongsheng's suggestion, Yi Qingyan reluctantly let go of his hand and focused all her attention on chasing her opponent.
Cen Dongsheng relied on his own physical abilities and gravity to fall, which is why he was left quite a distance behind the two people in front of him.

The whistling wind swept past his ears, and the swirling clouds brushed against his face, bringing a cool, damp sensation.

During the fall, Cen Dongsheng managed to steal a moment of quiet reflection. A question quickly surfaced in his mind:
How did King Pingdeng in his previous life obtain the precept knife to kill?
Since stepping onto the world stage, Yi Qingyan has always maintained a lone wolf style of acting alone, and there were certainly no other top-level curse masters to help her at that time.

Given the current situation, she will inevitably be suppressed when facing the Heavenly Emperor alone...

Where did she find her chance to win in her past life?
Besides, King Pingdeng was destined not to be the first top-tier curse master to defeat the evil god. What was the final fate of this mysterious Heavenly Emperor?

As I pondered, the wind on my face grew increasingly fierce, and my vision suddenly dimmed, the vast white sea of ​​mist being replaced by a deep, dark region.

Cen Dongsheng subconsciously squinted his eyes.

The answer will be revealed soon.

……

The celestial realm is actually divided into two layers.

Beneath the crumbling ruins of the Heavenly Palace, a deeper and more expansive world emerged.

The light dimmed, and the sound of the wind in my ears gradually faded.

While chasing after the two figures, Cen Dongsheng imagined the possible actions of the King of Equality from his previous life.

If we switch the roles of hunter and prey, it's likely that Yi Qingyan noticed this place and then continued downwards, where it came into view...

"Ouch."

Cen Dongsheng threw a punch downwards, the shockwave kicking up debris and dust, before landing steadily on the ground using the recoil.

During his fall, he had already seen the entire underground world.

Above them was a glowing sea of ​​mist, noticeably thinner than the celestial palace above; the ground was covered with jagged rocks, lifeless withered vines, and the skeletons of wild beasts.

Ahead lay a deep, dark place that refused all light, exuding an eerie silence. The only sound was a subtle, teeth-grinding vibration emanating from the rocks of the dome, as if countless tiny, hard objects were rubbing and scraping inside the rocks.

Cen Dongsheng looked around and saw no signs of life. The air was so cold that sweat could freeze. He felt as if he were inside the oldest and darkest viscera of an ancient beast.

He could still vaguely sense the chase between Yi Qingyan and the Heavenly Emperor ahead, but his spiritual senses were clearly hindered. He could even feel a slight sluggishness when he circulated his true qi.

This feeling was familiar; it was the oppressive feeling produced by the "high concentration of true qi" environment that filled the Heavenly Palace, which was impossible to absorb, but it could not be described as "celestial energy."

Because what permeated the air was clearly highly concentrated "evil energy"—energy that is the opposite of that of curse masters and belongs to ghosts and monsters.

...It's practically the opposite of the Heavenly Palace.

Cen Dongsheng intuitively realized that this place might not have belonged to the Heavenly Emperor since ancient times, but rather to another owner.

(End of this chapter)