The King of Curses

Chapter 366 The End of Killing
"Consultant An, did you see that?"

Kong Yinlian stood half a step behind An Zhizhen. She looked up, her face showing amazement.

On the screen, the lunar surface, once a silent and lifeless, cold world, is now witnessing a "storm" that is visible to the naked eye.

The shock has passed; but faced with a situation beyond imagination, Kong Yinlian still can't help but feel emotional.

She considered herself quite knowledgeable; the astonishing things she had witnessed in her year at the Super Committee far exceeded all her previous life experiences, but she still underestimated the impact that cursed masters had on the world.

War on the Moon.

At first, it was just a slight shadow—a change that could only be observed with specialized astronomical equipment; but soon, the area affected by the shadow expanded and deepened in color, becoming a visible, murky black spot.

Alarms from various international organizations and agencies flew in like snowflakes, mingling with the cacophony of voices from the staff behind them.

If the Kowloon Incident not long ago, through the flow of people in international metropolises, gradually spread the message that "the world is entering an abnormal phase" around the globe, then the strange phenomenon on the moon at this moment allows people living in about half of the Earth's surface to witness the arrival of an anomaly firsthand.

Regardless of how ordinary people interpret it—whether it's a religious apocalypse or an exciting new era—the important thing is that they can no longer deceive themselves.

It's only been a year, what will happen next? Kong Yinlian didn't know whether she should be hopeful or fearful.

"It seems I won't be able to get involved for the time being."

The woman's attitude remained unchanged. She sighed with slight regret, then turned and left, showing no lingering interest in the spectacle unfolding on the moon.

Kong Yinlian was slightly taken aback, then quickly followed.

Unable to contain her confusion, she couldn't help but ask:
"Advisor An, what should we do now?"

"Of course, we're preparing a welcome dinner for them. Where are the people nearby? I don't want any fools to disturb their reunion."

"...It's all arranged."

"That's good."

……

A few minutes later, An Zhizhen and Kong Yinlian left the building and boarded a private plane to head to the small western town.

*
The world is no longer silent.

The pressure from the fierce storm made my bones creak and groan, and my ears were filled with the intense roar.

Everywhere you look, there is a turbid storm; the black and white air currents released from the Heavenly Emperor and the Great Evil gradually converge into the same blurry, dark color.

"You made a mistake."

Yi Qingyan gripped the hilt of the knife.

The bright, sharp blade shadows were gradually shifting from illusory to real; this unclaimed weapon had finally found its destined master.

"...This is mine, it has been from the beginning."

The Heavenly Emperor before him had a gloomy expression and a hoarse voice.

He is no longer the half-flesh, half-skull figure; the union with the Great Demon has completely altered his form of existence.

The once snow-white flesh was eroded by the curse of "the five signs of decay of the gods and men" and gradually rotted away; while the half that was left with only bones grew some flesh, which was a writhing, morbid flesh.

This symbolizes the gradual merging of the Heavenly Emperor and the Great Evil.

"...My...weapon..."

It is said that this happened 10,000 years ago.

The celestial beings have not all perished, but the erosion from the great evil of the abyss has already made the Heavenly Court, which was at its peak, teeter on the brink of collapse. The curse specifically targeting the celestial race is too domineering, and it can also absorb immortal energy to strengthen itself.

Faced with this unprecedented life-or-death crisis, a certain "divine general" in charge of killing made a sacrifice, melting himself into a weapon; in the end, the Heavenly Emperor took up this divine weapon known as the weapon of killing, severely injured the great evil spirit, and the two fell into a deep sleep at the same time.

The Heavenly Emperor didn't seem to be lying, however—

"But you gave it up yourself."

In order to defeat the invaders, He willingly accepted the power of His former mortal enemy.

The Heavenly Emperor wanted to use any means necessary, but the Killing Blade disagreed; although the will of its creator had vanished for ten thousand years, the weapon still seemed to retain some kind of "instinct".

Yi Qingyan noticed with her sharp eyes that the black smoke swirling around the Heavenly Emperor's palm was deflected the moment it touched the hilt of the sword.

"You didn't expect that?"

The girl smiled, her hands burning with an ominous, dark color—the flames of the Heavenly Demon. But the Killing Blade showed no resistance to it, and its materialization process was already halfway complete.

"You think... you've won?"

Unable to reach out, the Heavenly Emperor gave up and disappeared once more into the turbulent torrents behind him.

He did not give up.

Suddenly, Yi Qingyan felt the hilt of the knife in her hand twitch slightly, and then she struggled violently, like a fish that had taken the bait, about to pull the fisherman on the shore away.

She reacted quickly, immediately increasing the force in her hand. Under the struggle between the two powerful forces, the killing knife immediately emitted a buzzing sound.

...As expected, the Heavenly Emperor, being the former master, had other means to take away this sword. No wonder He did not consider the cost of merging with the Great Evil.

But this did not disappoint Yi Qingyan.

If the Heavenly Emperor had used this move earlier, she would never have had the chance to kill. It was His rash action that put both sides on the same starting line in the matter of "seizing the sword".

"careful!"

Cen Dongsheng's voice echoed in Yi Qingyan's mind. The curse of "Five Signs of Decay of Heaven and Man" entwined around her once again, and the black flames protecting her burned fiercely, evaporating her completely, but she quickly found herself in a situation where she was powerless to stop it.

Even after merging with her brother, she was still at a disadvantage in the struggle against the Heavenly Emperor.

The opponent was also aware of this, so when he saw that the struggle for the knife was deadlocked, he simply began to attack her main body, manipulating the turbid currents compressed to a condensed state to surge from all directions.

Without hesitation, Yi Qingyan activated "I am the Infinite," and her body transformed into an illusory shadow, existing in a state of "being present yet not being present," as the turbid current surged into the bottomless alien space.

Placing one's physical body in the gap between another dimension and reality, this invincible state inherently requires maintaining a fragile and dangerous balance; while the power of the Heavenly Emperor's Great Evil cannot harm Yi Qingyan for the time being, it is tearing this gap apart with its unbearable scale and quality.

Faced with pressure from both the outside world and herself, Yi Qingyan's face grew increasingly pale.

...Only her hand remained in reality.

Driven by Cen Dongsheng's will, the pitch-black flames temporarily abandoned their protection of other areas and concentrated entirely on the girl's right hand, like a reef standing in the sea, directly confronting the impact of the turbid current.

So, that hand was still able to grip the hilt of the knife firmly.

However, this stalemate was destined to be unsustainable.

"Qingyan, try using the knife in your hand directly. The situation is extremely precarious; if no other external force intervenes..."

"..."

The will of the Killing Blade is more inclined towards them than towards the Heavenly Emperor, who is tainted by the aura of the great evil spirit it hates. This is the greatest advantage that the brother and sister currently possess.

The girl closed her eyes, connecting her consciousness with the blade in her hand. ...

Countless scenes flashed by in Yi Qingyan's eyes like fleeting shadows.

She saw the magnificent scene of the Heavenly Palace at its peak, with all the immortals paying homage; she saw the war that shook the heavens and earth, a war that seemed like the end of the world; she saw the heroic scene of a certain figure resolutely throwing himself into the furnace...

However, the girl had no interest in this. She was not there to negotiate with a weapon, and in these illusions, she could not feel any emotions, only lingering images.

As expected, given the Heavenly Emperor's domineering personality, even if this killing blade was forged by the First Divine General at the cost of his life, He was unwilling to allow its consciousness to remain.

In the end, the knife was left with only the instinct to slay evil creatures, a trait that even its current owner could not completely erase.

"What binds you is your enemy. Can you feel it?"

The weapon cried out unwillingly, clearly unwilling to fall into the hands of the "enemy".

A phantom chain led to its end, and guided by the Killing Blade, she clearly sensed the curse the Heavenly Emperor used to manipulate everything.

……

"I... communicated with them briefly."

"Will it succeed?"

"There is a chance of winning, but the risks are huge. The Heavenly Emperor still has control of the Killing Blade."

Taking a deep breath, Yi Qingyan made a decision.

“Brother, step back first.” She took a deep breath. “I will use my next strike… to sever its connection with the other side.”

"it is good."

Cen Dongsheng's response was decisive and brief.

The dark flame detached from her palm, but it did not retreat as Yi Qingyan had said, because he sensed the determination in the girl's tone.

Just as the turbid current was about to engulf the unprotected hand, the flames surged upwards, burning a hole in the murky world.

"...courting death."

The somber voice, laced with suppressed anger, shook the space.

The Heavenly Emperor was caught off guard and never expected that the opponent would dare to launch a fierce counterattack when even their defense was on the verge of collapse.

But this is nothing more than a moth drawn to a flame.

Although they were evenly matched in terms of corrosiveness, the Heavenly Emperor and the Great Evil had an overwhelming advantage in scale. The little flame quickly dimmed and was about to be swallowed up.

"Brother, really..."

Yi Qingyan sighed softly.

The pressure on her eased, and the man bought her a fleeting but precious opportunity.

"That way, we absolutely cannot lose..."

The next strike not only gambled on her own life, but also on the lives of the brother and sister.

The only thing she absolutely could not tolerate was that her brother had died at the hands of others.

Taking advantage of the Heavenly Emperor being forced away, the state of "I am the Infernal Realm" was instantly lifted, and Yi Qingyan's body returned to reality. With the help of the strength of one arm, she launched the Dimensional Devouring with all her might.

Cracks spread across the void.

At any point in the past, when Yi Qingyan was manipulating "Hell Without End," her first priority was to protect herself. Otherwise, the first thing that would be cut into pieces by the Space Slash and the first thing that would be swallowed up by the other dimension until nothing remained would be herself.

For any curse master, their own power is like a double-edged sword. Once overused, it will go out of control, leading to demonic possession or self-destruction—this is a fundamental terror that is difficult to resist.

But Yi Qingyan restrained this will with strong emotions and impulses; in that instant, she abandoned her instincts, indulged in control, and let the destructive power bursting from her body, like a wild horse, erase everything visible to the naked eye...

The girl's entire right hand, from her wrist down to her shoulder, was thus broken and disappeared.

The Killing Blade was also swallowed up by the torrent of shattered space and fell into a bottomless other dimension.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye—

At the same time, the connection between this top-grade forbidden item and the Heavenly Emperor, established ten thousand years ago, was finally shattered in this torrent.

"...!"

Faced with the near-self-destructive dangerous act of the top-level curse master, even the Heavenly Emperor had to temporarily avoid the attack; immediately afterward, the girl activated the curse again, forcibly fixing the broken and chaotic torrent.

It's practically impossible to restore it to its original state. If she could actually do that, it would mean she could completely abuse this power that pushes the limits, which is obviously impractical; therefore, Yi Qingyan's real goal is to expand the cave leading to the other dimension to a width wide enough for her to reach out her hand.

The space before her bloomed like a dangerous flower from shattered glass. The broken cracks caused the surrounding scenery reflected on them to repeat itself piece by piece, each petal in full bloom with incredibly sharp edges, enough to cut and disintegrate any matter in the known universe, not even Yi Qingyan herself, who created this phenomenon.

But she didn't hesitate to stretch out her only remaining arm, deeper and deeper... still not satisfied, she even leaned half her body in, as if trying to scoop the moon out of a tranquil lake.

The girl's face was pale with pain, but the corners of her mouth twisted upwards, a smile creeping onto her cheeks and into her dark, deep pupils.

She caught it.

Seize that opportunity that leads to victory.

She gripped the hilt tightly and pulled out the last bit of the blade.

……

A snow-white light emanated from her only remaining hand.

*
The cracks in space continue to spread, like growing branches, densely packed and crisscrossing, forming a "giant tree" that grows from the turbid currents, its shade covering the surface of the moon.

Unhindered by the atmosphere, the cool starlight from the universe adorns the branches and leaves of the giant tree.

Yi Qingyan slowly floated into the air.

One of her arms was shattered, while the other hand was covered by an incandescent light that replaced the arm, forearm, and palm, extending into a snow-white blade over five feet long and nearly as tall as a person.

The turbid current roared in from all directions. Facing the oncoming waves, the girl raised her light blade and slashed lightly.

The movement appeared effortless, yet the effect was extremely shocking: where the blade tip pointed, the roaring waves hundreds of meters high seemed to be forced to bow their heads by an invisible force, just like the "Moses parting the sea" in the biblical myth.

If it were just an ordinary ocean, she could have done it easily; but those turbulent waves were formed by the immense energy of the Heavenly Emperor and the Great Demon, with the pure and impure energies intertwined, like the chaos at the beginning of the world, which even the Blade of No Return could not completely sever...

Until now, the situation has reversed.

"Interesting. It has 'extended' my power even further. Is this a top-grade forbidden item?"

Yi Qingyan was quite satisfied with the effect. She then pointed the tip of her knife at another spot, at the humanoid monster that had merged with the blood-red tumor.

“But the effects of ‘killing’ are not limited to this… Very well, I’ll use you to test the knife.”

(End of this chapter)