Lan Xiaobu’s expression grew somewhat grim, as if he was struggling to hold on as the curse Dao aura Fang Zhifan directed at him intensified.
Yet, in the distance, Fu Chun, the Second-Turn Sage of the Heavenly Demon Saintly Sect, and Kong Qi, the First-Turn Sage of Yunshen Dao, were utterly stunned. Even they couldn’t stand before Fang Zhifan and resist his curse Dao aura. For Lan Xiaobu to face Fang Zhifan head-on and withstand it was simply too terrifying.
After all, Fang Zhifan was a bona fide Cursed Sage—capable of annihilating all life in an entire cosmic region with his curse Dao aura.
Kong Qi, who had been about to strike, found himself too shocked to continue his move against Tifo, his gaze fixed in disbelief on Lan Xiaobu.
Not only was Lan Xiaobu holding his ground against Fang Zhifan, but earlier, wherever he had passed, all traces of curse Dao aura had completely dissipated. This was countless times stronger than their attempts to counter Fang Zhifan’s curse with saintly domains.
“Because he knows the Great Curse Technique too,” Fu Chun said, having appeared beside Kong Qi at some point. With Lan Xiaobu neutralising the curse Dao aura Fang Zhifan had laid down, neither he nor Kong Qi needed to fend off its overwhelming force any longer.
“The Great Curse Technique?” Kong Qi repeated in astonishment, then fell silent.
Lan Xiaobu was a ruthless man—when he’d killed Yunshen Dao disciples, he hadn’t hesitated for a moment. If he also wielded the Great Curse Technique, what would happen to Yunshen Dao if they crossed him? Would they all end up as piles of bones?
Fu Chun chuckled. “No need to worry. Today, he’s fallen into Fang Zhifan’s curse Dao aura. If he can’t break free, he’s as good as dead.”
Clearly, judging from Lan Xiaobu’s situation, escaping the suppression of Fang Zhifan’s Great Curse Technique aura seemed nearly impossible.
Lan Xiaobu was almost entirely enveloped by Fang Zhifan’s Great Curse Technique aura. Under its power, he appeared to have no resistance left, with deathly energy seeping from him, capable only of a futile struggle. As long as Fang Zhifan could keep pressing, Lan Xiaobu would eventually be fully bound and taken away.
With Lan Xiaobu subdued by Fang Zhifan, even Tifo Sage didn’t step forward to help. Perhaps Tifo knew that going in now would be suicide. Fang Zhifan was throwing everything into eliminating Lan Xiaobu—under such a terrifying curse aura domain, anyone who dared approach was asking to die. Even if they survived, being tainted by Fang Zhifan’s curse aura would peel away layers of their being.
With the Eternal Life Realm’s fate no longer surging and its heavenly rules no longer perfecting, ascending to First-Turn Sage had become far more difficult. In such conditions, being struck by the curse aura would essentially sever one’s path to the Dao.
Hit by Fang Zhifan’s curse divine ability, even a First-Turn Sage couldn’t easily shake it off. So it was natural that Lan Xiaobu’s companions didn’t rush to his aid.
If Lan Xiaobu was now in dire straits, the battlefield itself turned even bloodier at that moment. Before, with the curse aura present, no matter how many cultivators charged forward, they were simply dissolved by it. Though many died, the visceral brutality of the battle wasn’t as evident.
Now, with the curse aura gone, countless cultivators unleashed their treasures in a frenzied bombardment. Amid the dazzling clash of multicoloured divine ability lights, only the victors could survive such a war.
Fang Zhifan’s icy gaze locked onto Lan Xiaobu, though part of his attention remained on Tifo. In his eyes, Lan Xiaobu was nothing—his status as Dao Lord was mere luck. Even holding off Kun Wei was only thanks to the Great Desolate Divine Realm’s heavenly rules.
Tifo, however, was different. Rumour had it he was a sage nearly as powerful as Kun Wei. Fang Zhifan feared that just as he was about to subdue Lan Xiaobu, Tifo might intervene.
When he confirmed Tifo wouldn’t act, he breathed a slight sigh of relief. It made sense—under this level of curse aura, even Kun Wei had fallen to his schemes. If Tifo dared come close, Fang Zhifan might not kill him, but Tifo could forget about advancing to a higher saintly realm.
He’d bided his time at Taihan Sacred Mountain, seeking the chance to replace Kun Wei—and he’d succeeded. Who’s to say Tifo didn’t harbour the same ambitions?
Assured that Tifo wouldn’t step in, Fang Zhifan looked at the defeated-looking Lan Xiaobu, a sneer curling his lips. “A mere quasi-sage who’s learned the Great Curse Technique dares to swagger before me? Die!”
With that final word, Fang Zhifan seemed to transform into a wave of curse Dao aura. The atmosphere turned oppressive, as if every molecule between heaven and earth was permeated with a chilling curse. A desolate, mournful despair spread through the Dao laws…
Even though Lan Xiaobu had previously erased Fang Zhifan’s laid curse aura, under this space where Fang Zhifan himself became the curse Dao aura, the battlefield’s cultivators couldn’t resist.
The warring cultivator armies fell in droves. Now, it wasn’t just the Heavenly Demon Saintly Sect’s forces dropping—even the Eternal Life Dao Court’s cultivators began collapsing.
Like dominoes, it started with a few, then dozens, and soon thousands upon thousands succumbed to this ultimate curse aura, perishing and dissolving into nothingness.
Fu Chun and Kong Qi, watching from afar, showed shock in their eyes. This was the true might of Fang Zhifan’s Great Curse Technique divine ability. He’d been holding back before.
Clearly, these saintly courts hadn’t been worth his full effort. The Dao Lord of the Great Desolate Dao Court, however, was.
The battling cultivators, now stripped of any will to fight, retreated in a frenzy—whether from the Eternal Life Dao Court, the Heavenly Demon Saintly Court, or Yunshen Dao. Only fleeing this terrifying curse space as quickly as possible offered a chance at survival.
The despair in Lan Xiaobu’s eyes deepened, his own Dao aura beginning to crumble. The curse aura saturating his surroundings wasn’t his—it was Fang Zhifan’s.
As Fang Zhifan melded himself into the curse Dao laws and bore down, Lan Xiaobu let out a dry chuckle. This bastard had finally lost patience. Forget the Great Curse Technique Dao Scroll—even without it, with the Emperor Rest Tree and the Fate Dao Tree, Lan Xiaobu wouldn’t be subdued by Fang Zhifan’s curse aura.
If he truly lacked these assets, he wouldn’t have so casually stepped before Fang Zhifan. He wasn’t that reckless.
“Little Fang, turning your own Dao laws into curse aura—impressive. Too bad, no matter how tough you are, you’ll still have to drink your Grandpa Xiaobu’s foot-washing water…”
As the words “foot-washing water” left his lips, Lan Xiaobu unleashed the Great Curse Technique Dao Scroll, activating Curse Stripping. Simultaneously, he swung out with a Great Severance Technique—a divine ability capable of slicing through the finest threads of a cosmos.
The Great Severance Technique could cleave a universe or sever any planet. But it could also cut through any Dao aura, severing the roots of a grand Dao.
As Lan Xiaobu deployed the Dao Scroll, he used the Great Severance Technique to sever Fang Zhifan’s control and mental link to his own curse aura.
Under Lan Xiaobu’s Curse Stripping, Fang Zhifan’s boundless curse aura was entirely swept into the Dao Scroll. More than that, a bridge formed between Fang Zhifan’s own curse Dao laws and the scroll, relentlessly stripping away his curse Dao foundation.
“The Great Curse Technique Dao Scroll? The Great Severance Technique?” Fang Zhifan stared at the scroll in Lan Xiaobu’s hands, his heart devoid of joy—only terror and endless regret remained.
He’d aimed to crush Lan Xiaobu utterly, turning his own curse Dao into aura to suppress him—hoping for a swift victory to avoid complications.
But he hadn’t anticipated Lan Xiaobu using the Dao Scroll to strip his curse Dao laws, nor the Great Severance Technique cutting his connection to his aura. His entire life’s cultivation was rooted in the curse Dao—severing that connection was like severing his Dao foundation. If Lan Xiaobu stripped it away entirely with the scroll, his survival would be in doubt.
Without his curse aura, this Second-Turn Sage wouldn’t even qualify as a pseudo-sage—Lan Xiaobu could crush him effortlessly.
Yet he couldn’t even use the Dao Scroll to strip others’ curse Dao foundations—how did Lan Xiaobu manage it? How did he know to do it?
Fang Zhifan couldn’t ponder further. He burned his essence blood and lifespan frantically, desperate to break free from the scroll’s grip on his curse Dao laws and fate. But under the combined might of the Great Severance Technique and the Dao Scroll, it was all in vain.
Fang Zhifan felt himself weakening. If this continued, forget recovering his strength—he might not even reach reincarnation.
In that moment, he wanted to slap himself. Knowing Lan Xiaobu wasn’t an easy target, he’d still tried to capture him and seize his world, and in such a domineering way. Since when had Lan Xiaobu seemed so manageable in his mind?
If Lan Xiaobu were that easy to catch, would it have been Fang Zhifan’s turn? The Dao Scroll had clouded his judgment. Perhaps scheming against Kun Wei had inflated his ego or dulled his caution…
No—the Eternal Life Realm’s Heavenly Dao hadn’t aided him. It hadn’t crushed Lan Xiaobu with its rules. Was he, the Dao Lord of the Eternal Life Dao Court, abandoned by the realm’s Heavenly Dao?
Fang Zhifan spat out streams of grey blood. He had to break free from Lan Xiaobu’s stripping of his Dao foundation in the shortest time, or he’d have no future.
Tifo Sage, watching from afar, stood with his mouth half-open, muttering after a long pause, “The Great Curse Technique Dao Scroll, the Great Severance Technique—so formidable…”
His “formidable” wasn’t about the power of Lan Xiaobu’s Heavenly-Opening divine abilities, but the cunning of his strategy. If Lan Xiaobu had used the Great Severance Technique outright, killing Fang Zhifan would’ve been near impossible—more likely, it’d have spooked him into fleeing.
