Chapter 410: The Agreed Curse Is Ineffective on You?

"Oh, by the way, I also have a question for the Valley Master."

"Speak."

"Now that Old Meng's curse makes women dislike him, will it affect you?"

The Frost Valley Master looked displeased, feeling Lu Yang was questioning her authority. "I hadn't encountered the Meng boy's curse before, which led to a mistake, letting him run around for half a day. But now, I've diagnosed it precisely using string-pulse diagnosis and completely understand his curse. My treatment plan has weakened the curse to the point where it no longer affects me."

Lu Yang breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good then."

"The Frost Valley Master said," Lu Yang informed Meng Jingzhou, conveying the Valley Master's instructions, "toads' skin, dried centipedes, five-venom insect powder... you have to eat all of them, and raw, for better efficiency."

Meng Jingzhou untied the tangled white threads. Seeing the strange medicinal ingredients, his face turned green. "Are these even edible?" he wondered.

"Are you sure eating them raw is more efficient?"

"That's not what I said, it's what the Frost Valley Master said."

Meng Jingzhou had no other choice. He followed the medical advice, his scalp tingling. Resisting the urge to vomit, he ate them one by one. Although they were dead, once ingested, they seemed to come alive, churning in his stomach.

Zhao Po watched silently from the side, pondering if this was the way the two geniuses of the Wen Dao Sect competed—scheming and harming each other.

"We also need to prick you and let some blood," Lu Yang announced. He took out the Seven-Star Silver Needle that the Frost Valley Master had lent him. The silver needle must have been an extraordinary magic artifact; Lu Yang didn't even need to infuse it with spiritual energy. He just pricked Meng Jingzhou's arm, and it easily penetrated Meng Jingzhou's defenses.

One had to know that Meng Jingzhou was a body cultivator, his physical defense incredibly strong; Lu Yang himself wasn't confident he could break his defense in a short time.

"Hiss—can't you warn me before you stab me?!" Meng Jingzhou winced in pain, his face contorted. It had been a long time since he had felt such agony.

If a proper doctor performed acupuncture, it could be painless, with the patient not even feeling the needle. But unfortunately, Lu Yang was not a proper doctor; he wasn't even a doctor at all.

"Fairy, do you know how to perform acupuncture?" Lu Yang remembered there was a theoretical "cheat code" in his mental space.

"How to drain blood? I'm familiar with that. The fishy smell in demonic beast meat is because the blood wasn't thoroughly removed. If you use my method to drain blood, I guarantee not a single drop will be left."

Lu Yang felt Meng Jingzhou shouldn't have to pay with his life for this.

Lu Yang pulled out the silver needle, and Meng Jingzhou's blood gushed out like a fountain. The silver needle seemed to have an effect that prevented self-healing; Meng Jingzhou's proud self-healing ability was completely ineffective, and he could only wait for the wound to slowly close.

The blood flowing from the wound dripped onto the ground. This was the blood of a Golden Core grand cultivator, containing extremely precious spiritual energy. Furthermore, it was the blood of a single Golden Core cultivator, pure and potent, even more effective than many pure Yang elixirs.

Various insects seemed to instinctively realize how precious this blood was, and they swarmed over to feed on Meng Jingzhou's blood. After drinking, they felt incredibly energetic.

What these insects didn't know was that from then on, they would never see female insects again. However, no one knew this at the moment, neither Lu Yang nor Meng Jingzhou, nor the insects themselves.

As the wound healed, Lu Yang pricked it again, pulled out the needle, let blood, let it heal, and then pricked it again. This process was repeated three times. Meng Jingzhou felt the lingering unease in his heart lighten slightly, and he was overjoyed.

"It really works!"

Even though it wasn't completely resolved, resolving a part of it was still a resolution; this was a huge step forward. Coming to Barren State was indeed the right choice, much more reliable than consulting the elders.

The Frost Valley Master, calculating the time, felt it was about right. She stepped out of Seven Emotions Valley and finally saw Meng Jingzhou.

"So you're the Meng boy?"

The moment Meng Jingzhou saw the Frost Valley Master, he knew the lightness in his heart wasn't an illusion; his curse had indeed been partially resolved.

"Reporting to the Valley Master, I am Meng Jingzhou of the Meng family, a disciple of the Wen Dao Sect."

The Frost Valley Master snorted coldly. "As expected, a Meng family member."

Lu Yang had a bad feeling. He quickly stepped forward, cupped his fists, and asked, "Thank you, Frost Valley Master, for treating my companion. May I ask what our next step should be to completely cure Old Meng's curse?"

The Frost Valley Master looked displeased. "I shouldn't have treated you just now. That old scoundrel Buyu tricked me, and you Meng family members aren't any better. Now get out!"

Lu Yang was speechless.

What about the curse not affecting you? Valley Master, can you be a bit more reliable?

Given the situation, Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou couldn't press further about the next steps. They decided to leave Seven Emotions Valley for now.

On the carriage, Zhao Po was the first to break the silence, suggesting, "Why don't we go to our Corpse-Driving Sect first? Our elders and sect master are familiar with Barren State and know many top curse masters and unconventional experts. They might have a solution."

"That's probably our only option," Lu Yang replied.

The three people, one corpse, and one horse traveled on. As they approached a city to rest, they heard a commotion nearby.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I am Qingluo, the newly appointed Sect Master of the Cloud Terrace Sect. According to our sect's rules, any female who becomes Sect Master must choose a husband through a martial arts competition for marriage."

"Therefore, I have set up a challenge arena here. Anyone can challenge me. Whoever can defeat me shall be my destined husband!"

Qingluo was sixteen years old, pure and beautiful, with sparkling clear eyes that held a pristine charm. Her resolute demeanor made her even more endearing.

Qingluo had publicized her intention to choose a husband through a martial arts competition long ago, so most people in the area knew about it and had come specifically to marry her. However, some people were unaware, such as Lu Yang and his companions.

"Cloud Terrace Sect? I haven't heard of that sect, Brother Zhao, have you?" Lu Yang asked.

Zhao Po pondered deeply, finally finding information about the Cloud Terrace Sect in a corner of his memory. "The Cloud Terrace Sect is a very small sect, considered an unranked one. Its influence is limited to a single city, or even smaller than a city. The highest cultivation level in the sect is probably only Golden Core stage. The Cloud Terrace Sect is most famous for an ancestral precept: if the sect master is a woman, she must choose a man stronger than herself as her husband. This is likely the situation we're seeing now."

Small sects like the Cloud Terrace Sect were countless in the Great Xia Dynasty, as numerous as ox hair. It might seem that the people Lu Yang usually encountered were always at Golden Core or Nascent Soul stage, with enemies starting from Integration stage and reaching immortal levels. That was because Lu Yang was a disciple of the Wen Dao Sect, operating at a very high level.

What was the Wen Dao Sect? It was the leader of the five great immortal sects, gathering peerless geniuses from across the entire continent. Anyone who casually walked out of the sect could establish a great reputation in the Central Continent. In reality, most cultivators struggled to even reach Foundation Establishment in their entire lives, and Golden Core was an unattainable goal. This was why Golden Core families and Golden Core sects existed.

Meng Jingzhou's eyes lit up when he saw Qingluo. He felt a stir of excitement, sensing his romantic luck was about to turn.