As the Reincarnation Pot sped out of the Eternal Life Sacred Dao City, the number of corpses within Lan Xiaobu’s divine sense grew ever more numerous. The landscape of the Eternal Life Realm was in a far worse state than before its surge of grand fate—deep fissures stretched across the earth, mountains lay shattered, and rivers had cracked dry. Unlike before, with the realm’s fate no longer growing and its rules no longer intact, these scars could no longer heal.
Along the way, aside from the bones, many areas were saturated with the thick aura of curse Dao rhythms.
Lan Xiaobu’s anger simmered inwardly. Fang Zhifan, that bastard, was ruthless—did this trash really intend to be the Dao Lord of the Eternal Life Realm, or was he out to destroy it? A true Dao Lord who cared for the realm would never commit such vile acts.
Days later, the Reincarnation Pot halted above a stretch of ruins. Lan Xiaobu recognised this place—Zhenqiang Market. He’d visited it a few times before, and each time, it had been bustling with people.
Now, within the reach of his divine sense, there was nothing but curse Dao aura, dead bones, and an air of decay. Some skeletons had even piled into small mounds.
Lan Xiaobu urged the Reincarnation Pot to move faster. Along the journey, aside from the top saintly sects’ strongholds locked down by grand arrays, many saintly cities and markets had suffered catastrophic destruction.
From the deathly aura lingering in these places, Lan Xiaobu knew it was Fang Zhifan’s doing.
Fang Zhifan was unleashing the Great Curse Technique everywhere—not only to eliminate his enemies but also to accelerate the growth of his own curse art.
At first, Lan Xiaobu spent his time along the way dispelling Fang Zhifan’s Great Curse Technique. Some fragmented domains and mountains, previously bound by Fang Zhifan’s curses, began separating from the Eternal Life Realm once Lan Xiaobu broke their restraints. Whether these detached domains and famed landscapes would merge into the Great Desolate Divine Realm or not, Lan Xiaobu knew the Eternal Life Realm no longer had the pull to hold them.
Once he dealt with Fang Zhifan, he’d head to Buzhou Mountain—ideally, to relocate it to the Great Desolate Divine Realm.
“Lord Lan, may I ask how you learned the Great Curse Technique?” Liu Xing had held back for nearly half a month but finally couldn’t resist asking.
Lan Xiaobu sneered inwardly. No matter how he’d learned it, Liu Xing could forget about getting it. Liu Xing and Fang Zhifan were cut from the same cloth—give someone like him a Heavenly-Opening divine ability like the Great Destruction Technique or Great Curse Technique, and it’d spell disaster for an entire realm.
*Boom!* A terrifying roar of Dao rhythms exploded, interrupting what Lan Xiaobu was about to say.
Everyone’s divine senses swept out, immediately sensing waves of spatial fluctuations. A faint, fearsome killing aura crept toward them—clearly, a massive battle was raging in the distance. The fact that they could feel such intense killing vibrations from so far away showed just how brutal it was.
Lan Xiaobu spurred the Reincarnation Pot to speed toward it. After an incense stick’s time, it stopped. Lan Xiaobu had witnessed plenty of修士 armies clashing—back in the Five Universes Immortal Realm, he’d led an army to sweep the entire realm, establishing the Five Universes Immortal Court.
Compared to those immortal army clashes, this battle between saintly courts and sects showcased the true meaning of cannon fodder.
Countless Heavenly God Realm and Divine Monarch Realm修士 charged forward, only to be obliterated by grand Dao rhythms or dissolved by the terrifying curse aura.
Yet wave after wave of修士 below the World God Realm kept rushing in groups, only to fall and turn to dry bones. Lan Xiaobu finally understood why he’d seen so many skeletons along the way. What he’d encountered was just a fraction—countless more lay unseen.
This disregard for low-level修士 lives was, in the eyes of those sages, likely a means to ascend to higher saintly tiers. They craved all sorts of fate and karma.
From the Dao banners of the warring sides, Lan Xiaobu could tell one was the Eternal Life Dao Court. The other main force was, surprisingly, the Heavenly Demon Saintly Court, built by the Demon Yan Saintly Sect, alongside the Yunshen Dao…
It was ironic. On the surface, the Eternal Life Dao Court should’ve been the righteous side, aiming to unify the Eternal Life Realm and give its修士 a stable path to the Dao. Yet in reality, they were the ones wielding the Great Curse Technique, slaughtering countless修士 and continuing the carnage.
Meanwhile, the Demon Yan Saintly Sect was constructing saintly domains to block the curse aura, trying to save the Eternal Life Realm’s修士—though their own saintly Dao rhythms were equally merciless in cutting down the Eternal Life Dao Court’s forces.
Lan Xiaobu’s gaze locked onto Fang Zhifan at first glance. Fang Zhifan’s face was as pale as paper, his lanky frame like a bamboo pole. What was terrifying was the curse aura around him—so dense it seemed almost tangible. When Lan Xiaobu’s divine sense landed on him, he sensed that within a hundred miles of Fang Zhifan, not even a blade of grass could survive—a complete dead zone.
At that moment, Fang Zhifan’s hands were relentlessly unleashing curse incantations. Others might not see it clearly, but Lan Xiaobu could distinctly feel the curse aura being flung out, spreading and reaping every修士 it touched.
If not for a Second-Turn Sage from the Demon Yan Saintly Sect and a First-Turn Sage from Yunshen Dao teaming up to layer their domains against the curse aura, the Heavenly Demon Saintly Court and Yunshen Dao’s修士 armies would’ve collapsed long ago. Even so, they couldn’t fully stop Fang Zhifan’s pervasive curse aura.
Lan Xiaobu brazenly scanned the battlefield’s key figures with his divine sense, instantly catching Fang Zhifan’s attention.
Fang Zhifan looked up, his gaze landing on Lan Xiaobu, a glint of murderous intent flashing in his eyes.
“Let’s head down and take a look,” Lan Xiaobu said, stowing the Reincarnation Pot and stepping onto the battlefield.
Even Gu Du, the weakest among them—once a pseudo-sage and still a quasi-sage—could withstand Fang Zhifan’s curse aura, especially with Lan Xiaobu leading the way. It couldn’t harm them.
“Lord Lan of the Great Desolate Dao Court?” The First-Turn Sage from Yunshen Dao, eyeing Lan Xiaobu, asked in surprise.
As he spoke, killing intent swirled around him—clearly, he’d wanted to kill Lan Xiaobu for a long time.
“Lord Lan, that’s Kong Qi, a First-Turn Sage from Yunshen Dao. The powerhouse from the Heavenly Demon Saintly Court is Fu Chun, a Second-Turn Sage. There’s also Ji He, a First-Turn Sage from the Demon Yan Saintly Sect, but he’s not here today,” Gu Du whispered urgently beside Lan Xiaobu.
Gu Du knew his place well. His strength meant little to Lan Xiaobu and offered no real help. To earn Lan Xiaobu’s regard, he had to leverage his advantage—his deep knowledge of the Eternal Life Realm.
Lan Xiaobu nodded. He’d killed a man and woman from Yunshen Dao at a market near Buzhou Mountain’s base.
Since there was no chance of friendship with Yunshen Dao, Lan Xiaobu ignored Kong Qi and turned to Fang Zhifan. He’d come here today for Fang Zhifan.
“Heh, you killed my Yunshen Dao disciples and still dare show your face here? Gutsy,” Kong Qi chuckled, stepping toward Lan Xiaobu.
Lan Xiaobu was the Dao Lord of the Great Desolate Divine Realm. If he’d stayed holed up in the Eternal Life Sacred Dao City, Kong Qi wouldn’t have the energy to deal with him now. But since Lan Xiaobu had left, he couldn’t blame Kong Qi for seeking revenge—not to mention the possibility that Lan Xiaobu carried the Five-Needle Pine Dao Fruit Tree.
“Old Ti, handle this guy. I’m going to teach that trash Fang Zhifan a lesson,” Lan Xiaobu tossed out before heading toward Fang Zhifan.
With Tifo Sage and Liu Xing together, even if they couldn’t beat Fu Chun, the Second-Turn Sage from the Heavenly Demon Saintly Court, and Kong Qi from Yunshen Dao, they wouldn’t lose.
Oddly, though Kong Qi advanced toward him and Tifo stepped forward, Fu Chun from the Heavenly Demon Saintly Court didn’t move.
“Kong Qi, you’re not quite qualified to face our Dao Lord. Let me, Tifo, test you—see if you’ve got what it takes,” Tifo grinned, twirling his prayer beads as he intercepted Kong Qi.
Seeing Fu Chun hold back, Lan Xiaobu took a few steps and stood before Fang Zhifan.
Fang Zhifan stared at Lan Xiaobu in shock. Lan Xiaobu was one of his targets—his plan had been to deal with him after seizing control of the Eternal Life Realm, not now. Kun Wei’s failure against Lan Xiaobu had made him wary.
But his shock wasn’t just that Lan Xiaobu dared leave the Great Desolate Divine Realm’s domain to confront him. It was that wherever Lan Xiaobu walked, the curse aura disintegrated. Not only that, the curse Dao aura he’d set up was rapidly collapsing, radiating outward from Lan Xiaobu and vanishing.
Lan Xiaobu knew the Great Curse Technique? How was that possible?
Unless…
Fang Zhifan’s eyes suddenly lit up. If Lan Xiaobu knew the Great Curse Technique, didn’t that mean the Great Curse Technique Dao Scroll, once held by Ming Changxiao, was now in his hands?
At that thought, Fang Zhifan’s excitement flushed his deathly pale face, twisting his expression into something grotesque.
“You’ve got the Great Curse Technique?” Fang Zhifan fixed his gaze on Lan Xiaobu, unleashing a torrent of terrifying curse aura toward him.
He was testing—if Lan Xiaobu didn’t have the Dao Scroll, he’d never withstand this onslaught.
