Chapter 263: A Strange Enemy Appears

“What a damn hassle.”

Because of the Fragrance of Dao Ascension, it had become a serious problem for Lu Ye to hide himself.

The scent covered such an enormous range that any living being who entered its radius would inevitably be affected.

Lu Ye quickly began sorting through the spoils of war.

And there was... a lot.

After some thought, he found a barren patch of land and began his setup. First, he laid down a defensive array to keep out weaker lifeforms. Then, using the Human Emperor Banner as the central node, he constructed the Soul Sea Netherworld Array.

If any powerful foe attacked, he could kill a few and buy some time.

But even so—Heaven-Ascension Realm strength was still too weak.

He had to seize every second to cultivate.

Meanwhile, the Fourth Heaven was in mourning.

The death toll among powerful cultivators was catastrophic. Entire sects were plunged into mourning and cloaked in funeral white.

Some sects had lost all their top experts. Once dominant powers were now reduced overnight to second-rate, or even bottom-tier, forces.

It was clear—the Fourth Heaven was about to undergo a massive reshuffling.

New powers would rise. Old ones would fall.

More and more people were cursing Lu Ye, hating him.

Some had even gathered numerous curse masters, intending to kill him with dark spells.

That peculiar scent of his—just being near it made one lose their mind.

But a long-range curse? That should work, right?

Unfortunately, they knew almost nothing about Lu Ye. Not his true birth date. None of his personal belongings. No flesh or blood samples.

Cursing someone didn’t work on thin air.

It required a connection.

Soon after, someone did provide Lu Ye’s birth data—from the Third Heaven.

But when the curse masters saw it, they were... baffled.

These birth records were weird.

“Born in A.D. 1999? What kind of date is that?”

One of them frowned. “Who gave you this?”

“A woman from the Third Heaven. She swore it’s what Lu Ye told her himself.”

“‘A.D. 1999’? What even is that?”

“Maybe it’s some obscure local calendar. Try it anyway—see if anything works!”

So they tried.

But after some agonizing effort, they got nothing.

Why?

They had no clue what “1999” even meant. How were they supposed to lock onto a target like that?

“We have no choice,” one curse master muttered. “We’ll have to use another method. Find the ones who hate Lu Ye most—there must be a karmic connection. Through that, we may be able to curse him indirectly.”

They still didn’t think Lu Ye was truly powerful.

In their minds, all he had done was use formations. Without them, he was nothing special.

Now was the time. If they didn’t kill him before he matured—no one would be able to stop him once he did.

And so, all those who bore a deep grudge against Lu Ye gathered together.

Thirteen powerful curse masters assembled. Using karmic lines, they began the ritual to kill him.

Lu Ye, of course, had no idea anyone was trying to curse him.

But he found out soon enough.

Suddenly, a strange force surged around him. Lu Ye opened his eyes.

Hm?

The power of the Eternal Heavenly Genius Ranking?

The Eternal Genius Ranking was a Chaos-tier treasure—extraordinarily rare. Lu Ye had engraved his name on it, and though the list couldn’t help with many things, it had one function it excelled at—protecting against karmic attacks.

Otherwise, few would dare to place their real names on the ranking. Back before the Nine Heavens formed, many top contenders were literally cursed to death.

At that time, the Eternal Genius Ranking had been nicknamed the “First Poison List of Eternity.”

Eventually, it was forced to evolve to resist curses more effectively.

Lu Ye saw the power of the Eternal Genius Ranking activate and froze for a moment.

So...

Someone was cursing him?

He slapped his forehead.

Sometimes, having too many Daos wasn’t such a great thing.

Take the Dao of Curses, for example. He was quite powerful in it—but in his past life, he’d never really used it. He wasn’t the type to sneak around cursing people.

But now that someone had cursed him?

He didn’t mind returning the favor.

Lu Ye spat out a mouthful of essence blood. His hands flew in a blur of seals, and strange energy began to condense around him.

Mysterious runes formed, glowing green with faint traces of pink—a hideous fusion of beauty and death. The curse energy slammed against the Eternal Genius Ranking’s protective shield.

He had accumulated a lot of curse power.

This one—he named Black Death.

He pointed a single finger—

And the curse pierced space, flying across unimaginable distance.

“AAAHHH—!”

The cultivators providing the karmic link screamed in agony as their bodies began to rot and melt away in an instant, wracked with unbearable pain.

Within moments—they were dead.

The curse masters panicked, erecting protective spells, but black blotches already bloomed across their skin.

Just a little interlude.

But Lu Ye took it as a sign.

Since he had time, and his system could automate cultivation anyway, why not have some fun cursing random people when bored?

Of course, if he killed them outright, that was unfortunate—he wouldn’t get their storage rings, and the Human Emperor Banner wouldn’t get their souls.

But if he left them half-dead—that could work.

Just then—footsteps echoed nearby.

Lu Ye: ???

The moment he heard the footsteps, he wondered if he was hallucinating.

Seriously?

With the Fragrance of Dao Ascension radiating from him, anyone who even sniffed it would go berserk.

Even monarchs might lose control. Even emperors could fall victim.

Anyone in the Fourth Heaven who caught that scent would normally °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° scream like mad beasts and charge straight at him.

But footsteps?

Lu Ye felt a chill crawl up his spine.

Eyes sharp as blades, he looked toward the sound.

The Human Emperor Banner stirred—and in a flash, the Soul Sea Netherworld Array roared to life.

Then—

A figure cloaked entirely in black appeared just outside the array.

She lifted her head, revealing a stunning, audaciously beautiful face.

The instant Lu Ye saw her—he understood.

She was from the Heaven Gate.

An old enemy.

No wonder she could resist the Fragrance of Dao Ascension.

But why now?

Why had the Heaven Gate sent someone to find him now?

The black cloak fluttered. In the blink of an eye, the woman had passed through the Soul Sea Netherworld Array—and struck a palm directly toward Lu Ye’s chest.

Lu Ye didn’t hesitate—Blood Escape Technique, Demonic Form!

But a massive net descended from above, slamming down to trap him in place.

His aura exploded.

No escape.

The Ten Thousand Soul Banner shrieked in defiance.

The woman halted mid-motion, brow furrowing.

The Ten Thousand Soul Banner had undergone layer upon layer of evolution. Its power was now so great that even Heaven and Earth Realm cultivators would be heavily suppressed.

Lu Ye’s eyes turned red. His body shriveled, but his arms grew monstrously thick.

And behind him—

One Lu Ye.

Two Lu Yes.

Three Lu Yes...

Countless afterimages surged into him, merging with his form.

“Heavenly Venerable Fist!”