Chapter 231 : "Killing From Ten Thousand Miles Away"

Chapter 231: "Killing From Ten Thousand Miles Away"

“Why can’t Zhong Ming be saved!” Cheng Yuyan furrowed his brows, seemingly dissatisfied with the answer.

In his eyes, the world was full of fools, and Zhong Ming was one of the rare smart ones.

If there weren’t a few people like Zhong Ming around, this world would truly be far too boring.

Ming Xuanji, at this moment, had no intention to elaborate, or rather, had no time to explain.

He only said, “Zhong Ming’s fate will affect too many people.”

“If he doesn’t go mad, it will be very hard for me to set things right!”

Cheng Yuyan looked at him and said, “Elder Ming, must you really follow that predetermined conclusion? Don’t you find that terribly dull?”

“Dull?” Ming Xuanji lifted his head, his hollow eyes meeting Cheng Yuyan’s gaze.

“This concerns the Heaven-and-Earth Calamity. If the predetermined ending is a good one, then why change it? Just for the ‘fun’ you speak of?”

“Do you know how many people your so-called fun could harm? Do you know it could plunge the entire Xuanhuang Realm into crisis?”

“Is fun worth taking such a great risk!” His tone grew increasingly stern.

Yet Cheng Yuyan wore a completely indifferent expression.

“What does any of that have to do with me?”

All those living beings, all those great calamities—what did they have to do with Cheng Yuyan?

He only wanted to live this life freely and happily. That was all.

But soon, he grew curious about what Ming Xuanji was planning to do.

He watched as the old man retrieved a wooden box from his Storage Token.

When the box was opened, what lay inside was—a Soul Seed!

“Huh? You took out the Soul Seed you had planted in that precious disciple of yours, Lin Zixuan?” Cheng Yuyan was visibly surprised.

But his expression quickly turned grim as he asked in a heavy tone, “Elder Ming, don’t tell me you intend to use the Curse-Killing Technique?”

“So what if I do?” the old man responded coolly.

“So you planted the Soul Seed from the beginning as part of your plan?” Cheng Yuyan asked.

“No. That was those juniors’ own choice. It was Qin Xuanxiao who had Zixuan do it,” the old man replied.

“Within the Soul Seed is Chu Huaixu’s blood essence, spiritual power, and Divine Sense.”

“According to Qin Xuanxiao, he is the Moon Country’s Huo Dingyi. I’ve already obtained his birth date and Eight Characters from the 【Organization】.”

“Now, even though we're separated by ten thousand miles, I can still use the Curse-Killing Technique. Even you, Cheng Yuyan, wouldn’t make it in time to save him.”

“And you cannot harm me. You won’t harm me. Isn’t that so?” Ming Xuanji said with utter calm.

Cheng Yuyan looked at him, visibly conflicted, and said, “But I owe the Dao Gate a favor.”

“You can always repay that favor to someone else in the Dao Gate!” Ming Xuanji snorted coldly.

Cheng Yuyan fell silent.

But soon, he suddenly laughed.

“For some reason, I feel your Curse-Killing Technique might not work on Chu Huaixu,” said Cheng the Scholar.

“I know many of his unique traits,” said Ming Xuanji.

“But unfortunately, I am using my own vitality as the catalyst and sacrificing three years of my lifespan. No matter how many divine abilities or means he possesses—even if he has a trace of Origin Power—he still won’t escape. He cannot avoid this ending of life-force severance.”

Cheng Yuyan nodded and said, “Logically, it should be as you say. But my instincts tell me... the outcome might not go as you wish, Elder Ming.”

“Instincts?” Faced with such a ridiculous reason, Ming Xuanji was briefly stunned.

“Your instincts... have indeed always been uncannily accurate,” the old man muttered after a moment of silence.

But after calculating on his fingers, a faint smile appeared on his face.

Soon, he began to perform a secret technique.

A faint black aura began to emanate from his body.

The old man rapidly withered.

He had already looked somewhat shriveled, but now his skin grew even more wrinkled.

Large tufts of white hair fell from his head.

In an instant, he had aged even more.

His eyes dimmed and grew cloudy.

【Curse-Killing Technique】 could indeed take lives from ten thousand miles away, but it had many restrictions, and the casting process was extremely slow.

Cheng Yuyan watched from the side and couldn’t help but say, “Elder Ming, oh Elder Ming... was this really necessary?”

“With the lifespan you have left, you may not even live to see that ending you’ve calculated. Will you really survive that long?”

But Ming Xuanji paid him no mind. He began muttering incantations.

Soon, the black aura began to gather at the fingertips of his right hand.

He gently tapped it onto the Soul Seed.

The Soul Seed instantly melted, turning into a puddle of black liquid.

Then, the black liquid began to transform into black smoke, slowly gathering at the old man’s fingertip.

The process was exceedingly slow.

The black liquid converted into strands of black smoke bit by bit.

Meanwhile, the old man continuously chanted Huo Dingyi’s birth date and Eight Characters.

With each repetition, a strand of black energy would gather at his fingertip.

Only after a full incense stick’s worth of time did all the black liquid convert into black smoke, merging completely with the black energy at his fingertip.

Next, he pricked his fingertip.

Strangely, no blood flowed out.

Instead, a single drop of black liquid fell.

It absorbed all the black energy in an instant, then floated in the old man’s palm.

He raised his hollow eyes to the black liquid in his palm.

It reflected back into his eyes.

“Explode!”

The old man clenched his fist hard. A tremendous force spread out in all directions, prompting even Cheng Yuyan to lift his sleeve to shield himself slightly.

At the Dao Gate’s Gentleman Temple—

Chu Huaixu was activating the power of the Dao Seal, attempting to resolve Zhong Ming’s problem.

Jiang Zhi stood beside him, heart filled with tension.

After some time, the three golden characters in Chu Huaixu’s palm began to slowly dissipate.

He opened his eyes, looking somewhat weakened.

Meanwhile, Zhong Ming, who sat across from him, had somehow already closed his eyes.

His breathing was steady and long, as if he had drifted into a deep sleep.

“Little Martial Uncle Ancestor…?” Chu Huaixu didn’t know if it had worked.

“No matter. With your cultivation at merely the Second Realm, and just having obtained the Dao Seal, how could you possibly cure Fifth Senior Brother in one try?”

“For him to sleep peacefully now is already no easy feat.” Jiang Zhi let out a long sigh.

At least, it had some effect. Though not enough—it gave him hope!

“This kind of calm expression on Fifth Senior Brother… I haven’t seen it in a long time.” A trace of nostalgia flickered in his eyes.

The old Zhong Ming, no matter what happened, always had that same calm look.

As if even if the sky were to fall, he’d calmly handle it.

That kind of presence… always made people feel at ease.

However, in the next moment, Chu Huaixu suddenly began coughing violently, gasping for breath.

“What’s wrong!” Jiang Zhi exclaimed in alarm.

He sensed a strange force radiating from Chu Huaixu’s body.

But it vanished in an instant!

Or rather—it dispersed on its own!

“Nothing… Just felt suddenly unwell. But I can’t quite describe it,” said Chu Huaixu, looking puzzled.

Far away, thousands of miles away, an old man wasn’t faring nearly as well.

Ming Xuanji suddenly coughed up blood—black and red!

His body rapidly aged—he looked several years older in mere moments.

His trembling hands clutched at his white hair. With a light tug, another large chunk fell away.

His skin and flesh grew ever more emaciated, like skin stretched over bone—truly terrifying.

The powerful backlash had taken yet more of his lifespan.

“How could it be wrong!”

“Huo Dingyi’s birth date and Eight Characters—how could they be wrong!” the old man roared.

“No! Huo Dingyi’s Eight Characters are correct!”

His left hand never stopped calculating, fingers furiously moving.

“No mistake—no mistake at all!”

“No—it’s wrong, it’s wrong!”

He mumbled endlessly, denying himself again and again, like a man gone mad.