Chapter 1139: Three Accursed Disciples, Cursing and Killing the Night Owl

A great battle was on the verge of breaking out on the horizon.

Heavenly Human Five Declines seemed to have forgotten what it meant to ramble on. While he could engage in lengthy discussions with Chen Ruye, facing Night Owl, he uttered not a single superfluous word. After coldly declaring, "You will die a violent death," he merely raised his hand.

"Whoosh!"

A strong wind rose.

The phantom, gigantic Lord of Disaster, outlined by gray-black decaying mist, rose from behind Heavenly Human Five Declines' waist. As if swept by a gale, it leaned forward and swooped down before the Necromancer Grandmaster.

"Staff of Samsara!"

Night Owl was likewise a paragon of conciseness, speaking no unnecessary words. Her thoughts stirred the undead summon, and the muscular Necromancer Grandmaster, without even an incantation, made the giant staff in its hand erupt with a black spectral glow.

"Boom!"

The Necromancer Grandmaster wielded its staff and struck out from thin air.

With just one strike, space was instantly torn apart.

The swooping Lord of Disaster, moreover, exploded into a chaotic, shapeless, and featureless mist under this sweeping immense force, unable to take solid form again.

Heavenly Human Five Declines, however, remained indifferent, as if he had already anticipated the destruction of his initial attack.

He quickly formed hand seals, and gray light circulated around his body. After completely dispelling the encroaching death aura that permeated the air, his spiritual energy shone brightly, and his aura burst forth.

"Maggotfall!"

In just half a breath's time, Heavenly Human Five Declines brought his hands together in a seal and let out a loud cry.

The dense decaying mist flying everywhere suddenly writhed, and amidst a grotesque and bizarre spectacle, transformed into ugly, twisted, disgusting gray maggots.

This swarm of maggots no longer possessed the feather-light weight of the decaying mist but now seemed to weigh a tremendous amount. As soon as they took form, Night Owl, perched on the Necromancer Grandmaster's shoulder, became like the center of the world, possessing an infinite gravitational pull over all things.

"Thump, thump, thump..."

The maggots, like hailstones from the sky, pattered one after another onto the Necromancer Grandmaster with the speed of a freefall.

These disgusting creatures vied with each other, as if they had set their sights on the most delicious hookless bait, crawling up the Necromancer Grandmaster's body, attempting to bore into Night Owl's own flesh.

The scene instantly became incredibly horrifying!

Even though Night Owl was accustomed to grand scenes, this time, she was utterly disgusted by the swarm of gray maggots beneath her.

"Power of Decay..."

Night Owl's eyes, hidden in shadow, flashed with a cold glint and a trace of hesitation.

She already knew that Heavenly Human Five Declines possessed the Body of Decay, one of the Five Absolute Bodies.

With this constitution, let alone those below the Half-Saint level, even a Half-Saint would likely not want to fight this individual.

Therefore, the immediate priority was not to continue fighting Heavenly Human Five Declines, but to fight while looking for an opportunity to withdraw from this unique space-time.

But this luminous wilderness space-time was constructed with such stability, as if it had sealed off everyone's retreat paths from the very beginning.

Night Owl had figured it out.

Heavenly Human Five Declines had never intended to target Chen Ruye from beginning to end.

His target, from the very start, had been her!

First, he sealed off the space-time, then directly initiated the battle.

As long as the battle dragged on long enough, even a Half-Saint would have to kneel before the Body of Decay.

As for these disgusting maggots entirely composed of the Power of Decay... Night Owl could, with her ability to divide, disintegrate the Necromancer Grandmaster once more, transforming it into endless three-legged black owls.

Presumably, once the swarm of owls descended, the maggots would be like moths to a flame, swallowed and killed one by one.

But the crucial point lay here!

Heavenly Human Five Declines possessed the Body of Decay; he wielded the powers of "Misfortune" and "Curse."

In terms of how difficult he was to deal with, this was even above the "Power of the Death God," truly unparalleled in the current era!

Night Owl dared to use the three-legged black owls to devour all living and dead things in the world, but she feared that devouring these maggots, which were manifestations of the Power of Decay, would bring endless misfortune upon herself.

Realizing this, she no longer hesitated and decided to abandon all direct confrontation with Heavenly Human Five Declines.

"Cawww—"

The black owl on her shoulder suddenly let out a cry.

Night Owl's body soared up from the Necromancer Grandmaster, her black feathered cloak flapping wildly. From within, a pair of pale, fair hands emerged, as if they had never seen light, elegantly forming hand seals.

"Three Gates of Suffering!"

A chilling sound rang out, and the sky abruptly darkened.

With a thunderous boom, from the depths of the nine heavens' darkness, three towering, sky-reaching heavy gates suddenly descended.

The three gates slammed into the ground, kicking up a sky-full of dust and withered grass.

These gates were entirely black, ancient, heavy, and mysterious.

Carved on the gates were depictions of hungry ghosts feasting, people being boiled in large cauldrons, and mountains of blades and seas of fire, as well as other complex and eerie patterns, all brimming entirely with the aura of death.

As soon as they landed, the three gates fanned out, spanning between Night Owl and the maggot-covered Necromancer Grandmaster, as if forcefully separating the mortal realm from the underworld between heaven and earth.

"Open!"

Night Owl commanded.

The three gates of death directly opened with a boom, without the slightest hesitation or delay.

"Wuwuwu—"

From the first gate, endless hungry ghosts were the first to rush out, biting at any spirit they saw, clawing at even the air, completely demonstrating what it meant to be truly starved and indiscriminate.

The Necromancer Grandmaster hadn't even reacted; in just the time it took to turn its head, the hungry ghosts pounced on its body, tearing out its spiritual flesh, along with the decaying maggots, and stuffing them into their mouths.

"Argh!!"

For a moment, the wails of hungry ghosts and the Grandmaster's screams echoed through the sky.

If mortals were present here, they would witness a scene from the Nine Underworld Hells, truly too gruesome to behold!

Xu Xiaoshou was terrified.

He felt that Heavenly Human Five Declines' abilities were already disgusting enough; he never expected this move concocted by Night Owl, the head of the Dark Department, to be even more horrifying among horrors.

The hungry ghosts from the Three Gates of Suffering did not distinguish between friend and foe.

After emerging, some even targeted Night Owl. Naturally, Xu Xiaoshou, who was positioned in the corner, was also targeted.

The ghost seal in Xu Xiaoshou's eyes lit up, and without a second thought, he forcibly controlled this group of hungry ghosts, pinning them in place.

However, he never expected that even though the spirits in the heads of these ghastly creatures were controlled by him, pinning them in place, they would twist their bodies and rip off their own heads, then wave countless chaotic arms, flailing wildly like headless flies, grabbing at the air and stuffing it into their own necks... It was utterly horrifying!

If someone were caught by them, their soul would be torn into who knew how many pieces!

"Damn it, is this move meant to scare people to death?"

Xu Xiaoshou recoiled in fright, retreating repeatedly, not wanting to provoke these things at all.

This was a duel between Night Owl and Heavenly Human Five Declines; he objectively positioned himself as an onlooker.

"Boom!"

Chased by ghosts all the way, he kept his eyes fixed on the battlefield.

After the first gate opened, the second gate also opened with a boom.

This gate of death, carved with the image of people being boiled in a large cauldron, differed from the first; as soon as it opened, it poured out an endless torrent of turbid yellow boiling water.

This looked like the boiling waters of the Yellow Springs River!

The boiling soup was boundless, and in the blink of an eye, it submerged the entire wilderness space-time.

And the water level continuously rose, from ankle-deep, to knee-deep, to submerging a person—and it was still rising!

"What the hell is this?"

Xu Xiaoshou was forced high into the sky, his gaze filled with horror.

He had once again truly experienced what "when immortals fight, mortals suffer" meant.

Heavenly Human Five Declines and Night Owl had just begun their battle, and the first one almost injured was actually himself!

Space became distorted under the steaming of the boiling hot soup.

Everything was blurred, completely unclear.

Xu Xiaoshou's curiosity was limited; he had no desire whatsoever to know what consequences would arise from being contaminated by these vile things.

Like Heavenly Human Five Declines, he continuously flew upward.

"As long as Heavenly Human Five Declines doesn't make a move, I won't need to. Whatever he does, I'll follow. If even he can't win, then I'll use my vanishing technique. Surely, nothing bad will happen this way, right?"

Heavenly Human Five Declines seemed to be startled by Night Owl's move as well; like Chen Ruye behind him, he had no desire whatsoever to taste this hot soup.

Just as Night Owl chose to retreat from his Power of Decay, he also held deep apprehension towards Night Owl's Power of the Death God.

And it was then that Heavenly Human Five Declines sharply noticed that Night Owl, who had opened two of the Three Gates of Suffering, seemed to be struggling, her body trembling slightly.

"Boom!"

The third gate was opened at the same time, also without the slightest delay.

This time, innumerable spectral blue soul blades flew out from it.

The soul blades were wreathed in karmic fire; wherever they passed, they completely ignited the void, and even the boiling soup below was instantly transformed into a sea of fire, bubbling and churning.

"Damn it!"

Xu Xiaoshou went mad; he was forced to a dead end.

"You've taken control of the sea, land, and air, utilizing the advantageous terrain of the entire space-time to its extreme; there's truly only you, Night Owl, in the world who can do this!"

Dodging left and right like Heavenly Human Five Declines, a thought suddenly popped into Xu Xiaoshou's mind.

Mr. Yi Ren always said that his inspiration was extraordinary and that he could see what ordinary people could not. This meant that his soul body was also very powerful.

Night Owl's Three Gates of Suffering was an area-of-effect skill; in terms of the damage of a single soul blade, it should not be that terrifying.

He decided to act on it immediately!

Xu Xiaoshou decided to give it a try; he couldn't keep dodging anymore.

He could dodge today, but could he dodge in the future?

What if he were to encounter someone like Night Owl again in the future, or if a situation arose where he had to face such a person alone and resist with force?

If he didn't know the strength of the opponent's attacks, how could he devise a counterattack strategy?

The ghostly glow in Xu Xiaoshou's eyes intensified. His interest piqued, he directly used "All Things Are Swords" to lift a large number of headless hungry ghosts from the boiling soup and kneaded them into a ghost sword.

He held the hungry ghost sword and, facing one of the soul blades that was cutting towards his head, he swung his sword to strike.

"Sizzle~"

The hungry ghost sword hadn't even touched the soul blade; it only got a little close to the karmic fire on the soul blade and was instantly incinerated!

Xu Xiaoshou was greatly startled and tilted his head.

The soul blade grazed his scalp but didn't harm his soul body.

But the karmic fire ignited on his head!

"Arghhh—"

At this instant, Xu Xiaoshou clutched his head and let out a scream of unbearable agony.

The karmic fire burned not his soul, but his seven emotions and six desires, his three defilements of the spiritual root!

As the karmic fire ignited, Xu Xiaoshou felt as if everything in his mind had transformed into demons.

Desires, emotions, distracting thoughts, spiritual intelligence... all went mad, baring sharp fangs and claws, and tore at his own head.

"Attacked, Passive Value +1."

"Attacked, Passive Value +1."

When a light flashed on his spiritual platform and his spirit awakened, Xu Xiaoshou finally regained his sanity from the pain.

At this moment, he was startled to realize his body was falling, and from the waist down, he was already submerged in the vast, boiling sea of soup on the ground.

A burning sensation began to spread from his feet...

"Scared, Passive Value +1."

"Act now!!!"

Xu Xiaoshou roared at Heavenly Human Five Declines, his eyeballs almost bulging out and his eyes completely bloodshot.

Night Owl was too strong!

Just one of the tens of millions of soul blades from one-third of her area-of-effect spiritual skill could cause such damage to his current self.

Who would dare call a person like her a Tai Xu?

Shuangdai, Hong Dang, and others like them couldn't even compare to half a finger before Night Owl!

But the stronger Night Owl was, the crazier Xu Xiaoshou became.

Heavenly Human Five Declines was still by his side now, but what if he were alone later and had to face Night Owl by himself again, and she disregarded everything else and chose to attack?

What then?

Wait for death?!

Since he couldn't let Night Owl live to target him in the future, the only plan now was to bury her here, within the underworld created by these Three Gates of Suffering!

As long as it didn't kill him, he would give it his all.

Xu Xiaoshou didn't use his vanishing technique. After roaring at Heavenly Human Five Declines, his body fully submerged itself in the sea of fire and hot soup, allowing the countless headless little ghosts, screaming and tearing but un-boilable, to frantically rush towards him.

On his body, a Buddha-like golden light emanated.

It was very faint, yet it seemed capable of saving ten thousand ghosts.

"Acala!"

Heavenly Human Five Declines never imagined, even to his death, that while he was still painstakingly waiting for Night Owl to exhaust her skills and weaken, Chen Ruye from the Ash Moon Palace would choose to pay such a painful price to secure an opportunity for him to strike. How touching was this?

Even at this moment, Heavenly Human Five Declines didn't even know what or where this "opportunity" was. But who was Chen Ruye?

This was someone who could represent the Ash Moon Palace to conquer the Eastern Domain's Void Island!

This was the Ghost Beast Walker who, on a mission, arrived at Sin One Palace and successfully released the ice-type Half-Saint level ghost beast, Chill of the Heavens!

Even if he refused to reveal any trace of ghost beast aura until his death, Heavenly Human Five Declines still chose to trust Chen Ruye unconditionally!

"Swish."

The Power of Decay erupted on his body surface, transforming into a spherical barrier of layered defenses.

Heavenly Human Five Declines didn't hesitate. Enduring countless karmic fire soul blades, he charged recklessly towards Night Owl beyond the Three Gates of Suffering in a full-speed sprint.

Night Owl was shocked.

Submerged in the boiling sea of fire, Xu Xiaoshou, who could only perceive delayed images with his "senses," was also shocked.

Even though he had activated Acala at this moment and could immunize against most damage, he still felt his body temperature rising, and the pain left by the previous karmic fire burning still made his head ache as if it would split.

But Heavenly Human Five Declines—he was truly mad!

With his sprint speed and the Power of Decay around him, Night Owl and Xu Xiaoshou could both see that it didn't even diminish a layer of power from the soul blade's karmic fire.

Yet, enduring the damage from countless soul blade slashes and karmic fire burns, Heavenly Human Five Declines remained completely silent and plunged straight towards Night Owl's direction.

What was this?

Xu Xiaoshou could hardly imagine what kind of torment one would have to endure in this world to be able to remain silent even under the soul attacks of the Three Gates of Suffering.

Heavenly Human Five Declines... had he undergone the death by a thousand cuts?

Or rather, was he already dead, and would never feel the indelible pain from the seven emotions and six desires, and the three defilements of the spiritual root, that normal people feel?

But his gaze during the sprint was twisted and pained!

Night Owl couldn't bear it anymore.

She ceased maintaining the Three Gates of Suffering.

Because Heavenly Human Five Declines was not human at all; he gritted his teeth and endured the pain of the karmic fire burning, having already drawn near, and shot a streak of Power of Decay through the air.

"Crackling~"

Night Owl's body shattered and scattered, transforming into countless three-legged black owl phantoms. Flapping their wings, they were about to fly away from the vicinity of the Power of Decay.

But it was at this very moment that Xu Xiaoshou couldn't bear it anymore!

His mind buzzed with a sudden explosion; Acala was finally boiled through by the rolling hot sea of fire, and in the distance, it exploded into a monstrous giant wave.

"Van..."

Rebounding away from the sea of suffering, at the instant his spirit awakened and he regained his sanity, Xu Xiaoshou instinctively wanted to use his vanishing technique to evade the coming pain.

He didn't want to fight anymore; this was too tormenting.

But he suddenly stopped!

Because Night Owl, who had transformed into a scattered swarm of owls in the distance, at this moment, suddenly exploded into endless crimson in a certain spot.

"Night Owl's physical body is worse than mine."

"Night Owl is casting a spell. Her Three Gates of Suffering is so powerful that its consumption must be enormous. If forcibly interrupted, the backlash would be even more terrifying..."

"I took the damage from Acala being shattered. Based on the experiment with Lei Xier that time, Night Owl must have also been hit, and all her combined backlash must be worse than mine."

"Cursed, Passive Value +1."

As Xu Xiaoshou's thoughts raced, he almost immediately realized that this curse could only have come from Night Owl, who suddenly understood that her injury was related to Chen Ruye.

He was overjoyed.

Because at this moment, Night Owl's true body was blasted out from among the scattered and retreating swarm of owls by Acala's backlash.

Even the Three Gates of Suffering's attack was forcibly interrupted at this moment. Under the full force of this backlash, Night Owl, apart from cursing, couldn't even make the slightest counterattack move!

Who was Heavenly Human Five Declines?

He finally saw the "opportunity" Chen Ruye had told him to seize.

"Lord of Disaster!"

At this moment, he once again straightened his back and puffed out his chest. Xu Xiaoshou also finally heard in his roar a tremble, similar to his own, of enduring endless pain.

Yet, even enduring the pain of karmic fire burning, Heavenly Human Five Declines could still move.

Behind his waist, that towering, sky-reaching, vicious and malevolent gigantic monster outlined by the Power of Decay, rose again.

And now, as soon as this monster appeared, it plunged itself onto the immobile Night Owl.

"Ahhh—"

Xu Xiaoshou's pupils trembled as he stared in shock at the Lord of Disaster, as enormous as a Void Attendant, transforming into endless Power of Decay, completely and without a single drop lost, injecting itself into Night Owl's convulsing body, which was spasming chaotically in mid-air.

"This is... too terrifying!"

No one could imagine, except for Heavenly Human Five Declines himself, what consequences would befall any other spiritual practitioner injected with such an immense amount of the Power of Decay.

Night Owl likewise couldn't imagine that after maintaining such a long-distance confrontation with Heavenly Human Five Declines for so long, it was all just because of Chen Ruye's inexplicable spiritual skill...

...just because of that inexplicable backlash!

A single misstep led to eternal regret; not only was she hit by the attack, but now she was like falling into an abyss!

"Caww—"

A black owl cried out in the sky.

Night Owl seemed to be awakened; her struggling body was about to disintegrate, about to split into three-legged black owls once more and vanish into nothingness.

"Hah!"

But Heavenly Human Five Declines smiled.

He had dreamed of Night Owl coming into contact with a large amount of the Power of Decay in a short time; only then could his curse be completed.

Now, how could he let her go?

Under Xu Xiaoshou's stunned gaze, Heavenly Human Five Declines pulled out a long nail from his sleeve. It was a rusty nail covered in rust, without the slightest spiritual energy, like a mundane object, not even a tenth-grade spiritual artifact. It was forearm-length and thumb-thick.

Holding this rusty nail, Heavenly Human Five Declines looked towards the swarm of owls in the distance that was about to vanish into nothingness, his chest heaving rapidly as if taking deep breaths due to pain.

Then, he exhaled, and relief filled his eyes.

"Curse Kill!"

With this word spoken.

Heavenly Human Five Declines violently drew out the rusty nail, piercing through the mask on his face, and plunged it into his forehead. The rusty nail instantly protruded from the back of his head, splashing blood.

Xu Xiaoshou's pupils constricted; he shivered all over, his skin