Invasion Myth: Starting with the Schoolteacher

Chapter 1021 Special Eight Characters
"how come?!"

Li Gongfeng froze, as if struck by an invisible bolt of lightning, his mind going completely blank.

He clearly sensed that the incantation, which was condensed with magical power, resentment, and the spiritual energy of many worshippers, had indeed flown out and hit its target!
But... how come the straw figure representing Xu Xuan is still perfectly intact, without even a scorch mark or a tremor?!
This completely contradicts the understanding of spiritual practice!

With such a powerful curse stacked upon it, who could bear it so easily without any preparation?
According to the normal view of cultivation, unless one happens to be hiding in the sect's protective formation, or is protected by a supreme power like human destiny that is completely unreasonable, taking this curse attack head-on will always come at a price.

At best, it can damage the soul; at worst, it can kill you on the spot!
But now comes the problem.

So... what exactly is the problem?
This is beyond comprehension; the unknown brings a deeper fear.

Moreover, once the curse is activated, it cannot be stopped midway! The ritual of three bows must be completed, otherwise the power of the curse will immediately backfire on the person, and the outcome will be even worse than that of the person who was cursed.

Then I...

Li Gongfeng's hand holding the command flag trembled slightly, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead.

So many changes happened in one night, yet he was able to think of first using magical artifacts to suppress the Star Fate Riot, then summoning rampaging soldiers to surround and interfere, and finally using his trump card spells to directly target the culprit... This response was undeniably swift and ruthless, and every step was correct under normal circumstances, even worthy of being called a textbook example of crisis management.

The mistake was that... they weren't facing a conventional opponent.

The gap in strength has become so vast that it cannot be bridged by schemes and tactics.

This match was a one-sided stomp from start to finish.

Unaware that he was already in a situation where he was being crushed, Li Gongfeng was now truly trapped in a desperate situation where he couldn't back down.

From his perspective, remotely cursing Xu Xuan was the last and most correct way to resolve all the current crises.

Looking back at the cabin, the blinding red light almost pierced through the walls, the deafening sound of chains snapping was deafening, and the scorching heat in the air made one feel as if their skin was burning. The riot of the stars could hardly be concealed any longer.

"Since that's the case... let's go all in!"

A glint of madness flashed in his eyes, and he hardened his heart: as long as we win, any price is worth paying!
His face contorted in a ferocious expression as he forcefully rallied his already unstable spirit. With a change in his incantation, he intensified his efforts to extract the magical power, spiritual energy, and even the faint fortune of all the surrounding offerings!

It didn't even spare the original spiritual essence of those evil magical artifacts on the altar beneath its feet, letting them quickly dim and shatter!
This is not enough!

He suddenly drew the dagger from his waist, and with a flash of cold light, he slashed a chunk of flesh off his left arm!
He slammed the flesh and blood, which contained his own essence, cultivation, and even a portion of his fortune, onto the straw man burning with black flames!
"Second bow!"

He roared and bowed deeply to the straw man once more!
This bow almost exceeded the limits of what could be controlled!

"Crack!"

The altar next to it, used to summon and control the rampaging soldiers, collapsed on the spot with several huge cracks due to excessive power extraction, and black energy overflowed!

The straw figure bearing the curse on the main altar suddenly burst into a burst of pitch-black flames ten times more intense than before!

The flames were incredibly malevolent, seemingly containing a venomous intent to burn everything in their path, as if they were about to consume the straw man and everything on it!

Li Gongfeng stared intently at the burning straw figure, his eyes filled with bloodshot veins and a last glimmer of hope.

"Burn! Burn! Burn! Burn for me! With this Netherworld Fire, burn away your three souls and seven spirits!"

As for Ebotai...

Xu Xuan, who was watching the battle with great interest, suddenly felt that something was wrong.

Looking down, he saw a jet-black flame silently igniting from the Yongquan acupoint on the sole of his foot!

The flames were icy cold, rushing upwards along the meridians, penetrating straight to the top of the head. Wherever they passed, a sinister force surged wildly, intending to burn away the internal organs and melt the three souls and seven spirits!
The Holy Father, enveloped in black flames, frowned slightly, sensing the rampant, sinister curse power within his body, and objectively commented, "Hmm... this time, I'm really feeling a bit uncomfortable."

While furious at the other party's ruthless methods, he skillfully activated the Calamity Earth Divine Power, quietly absorbing the pure malicious energy.

"What a brilliant Yin Fire!"

This pure curse power was a rare "tonic" for him, which could be transformed into nourishment for the cursed earth.

But the enemy's repeated, indiscriminate curses and killings truly angered him.

Turning to Bai Suzhen, he asked a serious question concerning his own safety:

"Is this curse technique truly unbreakable once it's cast? If a socialite like me is targeted and my birth date and time are known, wouldn't I become a sitting duck, constantly having to guard against being assassinated?"

This was the first time Xu Xuan had faced this issue squarely.

When they were in Jiangnan, those who did bad things in the name of "acting on behalf of Heaven" mostly concealed their identities, or they were physically exorcised cleanly. No one would curse a seemingly ordinary scholar for no reason.

But the situation changed completely after he won the top prize in Yangzhou.

He instantly went from behind the scenes to the forefront, becoming a well-known celebrity. Fame brings not only glory, but also countless eyes and potential hostility, drawing him into a lot of turbulent waters.

The proportion of bad people in officialdom is much higher than in the cultivation world, and their methods are far more ruthless and insane.

After all, many powerful and wealthy people are just ordinary people. They do not have the same reverence for the laws of heaven and cause and effect as cultivators. As a result, they act more recklessly and will use any underhanded means to gain benefits.

The crucial point is that his birth date and time are not as well hidden as those of orthodox cultivators.

"Someone in the neighborhood will remember when Old Xu's son was born." He thought with a hint of helplessness, "Once one person knows about something like this, there's no way to keep it a secret."

For any important figure who is willing to investigate, it is easy to find their birth date and time. It should be known that the birth date and time, also known as the Four Pillars of Destiny, is a crucial element in Chinese astrology for determining a person's innate foundation and connecting them to the trajectory of their destiny.

Based on the four precise points of a person's birth year, month, day, and hour, each point of time corresponds to a Heavenly Stem and an Earthly Branch, forming a total of eight characters, hence the name "Eight Characters".

The most difficult step in using curses is to accurately lock onto the target, cross the void, and establish a causal connection.

Therefore, the birth date and time containing the life information of the target, or personal items that have been imbued with its aura for a long time, become the best and most direct medium for casting spells.

Once the target is successfully locked, the cost to achieve the desired goal depends on the caster's determination and resources.

Therefore, Xu Xuan was indeed a little flustered at this moment.

Even if Li Gongfeng of Liangwang Mansion is not powerful enough to curse him to death, then... how about the emperor?

With the land of nine provinces at his disposal and the resources of the world gathered, if a human emperor were to harden his heart, the amount of things he could offer as a price would be enormous!

The thought of this possibility compels us to be vigilant.

Faced with this worrying question, Bai Suzhen glanced at the man with a rather strange look in her eyes, as if to say, "You're actually worried about this?"

His tone was calm, carrying the inherent disdain of a true disciple of the Xuanmen (orthodox sects) towards unorthodox practices, as he offered words of comfort:

"You don't need to worry too much."

“In the eyes of the orthodox Xuanmen sect, witchcraft and sorcery are all unorthodox practices, not the proper path.”

"The principle is like a precise balance scale." She stretched out her slender fingers and gently gestured in the air, "If you want to pry the other side of fate and make it tilt and collapse, the caster himself must pay a sufficiently heavy 'weight'."

"Often, the price the spellcaster has to pay far exceeds the loss suffered by the victim. It is common for someone to injure another thousand while losing eight hundred or even twelve thousand themselves."

Finally, she looked at Xu Xuan and gave a resolute conclusion, her tone filled with unwavering confidence:
"Given your current fate, the depth of your karmic entanglements, and... the hidden power, there is probably no one in this world who could pay the price required to kill you out of thin air with a curse."

As a core successor of the orthodox Xuanmen sect, Bai Suzhen's words are reasonable, well-founded, and convincing.

The origins of sorcery are very ancient, dating back to the primitive period of early people's sacrifices and tribal struggles. Its essence is primitive and crude.

In the later evolution of Taoist practices, no orthodox sects, as rigorous and aligned with the Great Tao as alchemy and talismans, were formed to conduct in-depth research and optimization of it.

This means that the sorcery system is not "modern" enough.

Although its power is simple and brutal, and may seem incomparably strong in certain situations, its "lack of modernization" means that its control over the laws of nature is very weak and its energy utilization efficiency is extremely low.

Often, after paying a heavy price, one can only achieve a fraction of the damage.

For this reason, at the truly high level of cultivation, incantations have long lost their mainstream status and become a side practice, or even some methods that are not respectable.

"It is the 'Seven Arrows of Nailhead' from the Thirty-Six Heavenly Gang Techniques. Although it has a great name, it is essentially a cruel exchange that sacrifices the caster's own destiny and fortune in order to produce such terrifying destructive power."

Bai Suzhen's tone carried a hint of disdain, "Any cultivator who understands the intricacies and cherishes their own path would not easily resort to such a ruthless plan."

The reason why incantations have survived to this day is not because of their extraordinary power, but because they are "easy to learn, easy to master, and easy to practice," which satisfies the needs of some practitioners and ordinary people who are eager to achieve quick results or secretly harm others.

As she spoke, Bai Suzhen casually snatched a wisp of still-burning Yin Fire from Xu Xuan's body and placed it in her fair palm.

The malevolent fire, powerful enough to burn souls and corrode bones, danced gently on her fingertips. After sensing it carefully for a moment, she gently squeezed it and extinguished it.

“If someone really doesn’t believe in evil and wants to pay a higher price to curse you to death…” She looked up at Xu Xuan, her tone carrying a calmness that understood the essence of things, “then the ‘deficit’ he needs to fill is far too much.”

He paused, then pointed out the most crucial point:

"There is a clear discrepancy between your birth chart and your actual destiny. This discrepancy may be due to... a change in destiny caused by being resurrected from the dead."

"Any curse targeting your birth chart will have its power weakened by at least half when it comes upon you, due to the mismatch between your destiny and your birth chart."

Based on her own understanding, Bai Suzhen was referring to the major event where Xu Xuan was killed and then resurrected by the Arhat Subduing Dragon.

Upon hearing this, Xu Xuan thought of the deeper distortion of his destiny and the cover of cause and effect that came about when his soul transmigrated here three years ago and took over this body.

Based on different levels of information, the two reached a similar conclusion—Xu Xuan's fate is not to be cursed.

"The spells that Li Gongfeng is currently using are already top-tier in the human realm, both in terms of their level and the price he paid."

Bai Suzhen objectively commented, "Judging from the strength of this incantation, it probably gathers the spiritual foundation of many cultivators and uses the essence of many magical treasures. Even large sects wouldn't dare to be so extravagant at such a cost."

"If the enemy can't inflict serious damage on you even after paying such a desperate price, then even if others use similar methods, the effect will be negligible."

"Therefore, there is no need to worry too much."

Despite saying this, Bai Suzhen had other thoughts in mind, which she did not voice.

The enemy's methods were indeed remarkable—ruthless and decisive. Anyone else would have died ten times over. But this curse, when it struck Xu Xuan, was weakened by far more than half. It probably vanished by more than 90% out of thin air!

This man has far more secrets and hidden qualities than he appears on the surface.

(End of this chapter)