Chapter 496: Cursed Backlash

A curse is a manifestation of karma.

Normally, when people cast curses, they must pay a corresponding price.

For example, Meng Jingzhou's self-taught "Single Curse Fist" requires him to remain a virgin until he achieves immortality.

The Grand Preceptor, however, possessed a nascent form of the Karmic Dao Fruit, so he didn't need to pay any price.

The "Seven Difficulties and Eight Sufferings" is a Buddhist concept encompassing all worldly afflictions. It can be considered the highest form of curse, making Meng Jingzhou's "Single Curse Fist" utterly incomparable to it.

After a series of setbacks, the Grand Preceptor finally realized that with Immortal Fairy in attendance, and Yunzhi capable of interrupting his desperate moves, escape was utterly impossible.

Since he couldn't escape, he decided to drag someone down with him in a final struggle!

Among all his enemies, Lu Yang had the lowest cultivation level, and the Great Yu cultivators' arrival at Wen Dao Sect was also rooted in Lu Yang.

Lu Yang was involved in every single one of their failed plans.

The capture of Venerable Black and White meant that other subordinates who had infiltrated Wen Dao Sect were also apprehended.

Their entire army was annihilated!

It wasn't so much that Wen Dao Sect prevented the Great Yu Restoration as it was Lu Yang, that stumbling block, who thwarted it!

It didn't matter if he was captured; Great Yu still had his master and cultivators from the middle to late Great Yu era who were merely dormant, so there was always hope for a resurgence.

Therefore, Lu Yang had to be eliminated!

He cast the most excruciating and cruel curse upon Lu Yang. It was a death sentence, not just for a Golden Core cultivator like Lu Yang, but even for a Tribulation Transcending cultivator!

In the Grand Preceptor's eyes, chains descended from the sky, assembling themselves and bringing blood and punishment down upon the mortal world, inflicting the most agonizing penalties.

These chains represented the curse, its materialization. Even those adept in karmic spells couldn't see them; only a half-immortal like the Grand Preceptor, who had deeply studied karma and formed a nascent Karmic Dao Fruit, could perceive all this!

The chains were heavy, emitting a clanging, trembling sound like a Daoist chant.

"You dared to come this close to me; now it's too late for regret!"

The Grand Preceptor observed their expressions with interest, hoping to see faces filled with remorse and sorrow—remorse for underestimating him, and sadness for Lu Yang's irreversible fate.

However, he saw Lu Yang's expression remain unchanged, Immortal Fairy's face filled with confusion, and Yunzhi's utterly expressionless.

There was none of the remorse or sadness he had hoped for.

As the chains approached Lu Yang, he suddenly glowed with golden light, revealing two extremely thick lines representing karma wrapped around his body.

One line connected to Immortal Fairy, and the other to Yunzhi.

The chains struck Lu Yang, instantly bounced off, and landed on the Grand Preceptor.

The Grand Preceptor watched helplessly as his curse backfired, letting out an unwilling roar: "No!!!"

"What's with this kid's karma?"

"Just two karmic lines, and they blocked my proud curse?!"

"The one who slapped me was an immortal; how could an immortal have such profound karma with a mortal!"

"And the other one who interrupted my spellcasting—her karma with Lu Yang also blocked the curse!"

"Blocking a curse with just karma means the other person is also an immortal!"

"Both of these unutterably beautiful individuals are immortals!"

"What kind of joke is this? How could a small sect have two immortals!"

The Grand Preceptor had lived for twenty thousand years and had never heard of any sect having two immortals.

Forget sects; even their Great Yu Dynasty didn't have any.

"What exactly is this Wen Dao Sect? Even a dragon's pool and a tiger's den wouldn't fully describe its danger."

"Attacking the imperial palace would be safer than coming to Wen Dao Sect."

The Grand Preceptor felt a ball of fire burning in his heart, making him roll on the ground, and simultaneously as if a sphere of water was covering his head, making him feel like a mortal, suffocating.

The curse had backfired, manifesting as the "Fire Difficulty" and "Water Difficulty" from the Seven Difficulties.

"What's going on?"

Lu Yang was puzzled. The Grand Preceptor had first stared at him menacingly, muttered a lot of words he couldn't make out, then started rolling on the ground, begging for death, begging for life, and continuously wailing.

"The curse backfired, naturally," Immortal Fairy explained. "He tried to use the Seven Difficulties and Eight Sufferings to curse you, but with me protecting you, you're immune to such curses. As the caster, he then became trapped by his own spell."

Immortal Fairy looked at the Grand Preceptor as if he were an idiot, confirming her suspicion that he wasn't very bright.

Venerable Black and White watched the Grand Preceptor repeatedly unleash his trump cards, only for them to be effortlessly neutralized, and his heart sank to rock bottom.

Wen Dao Sect's true depth was unfathomable.

"Big Boss, could you protect me too?" Third Boss asked with a fawning grin, leaning closer.

Immortal Fairy glanced at him, then waved her hand dismissively. "Go on, go on. Why would I protect you? If you get cursed, just self-detonate a few times, and the curse will mostly be gone."

Third Boss scurried away, continuing his chat with Venerable Black and White.

"Brother, how did you get caught? Were you with this idiot rolling on the ground, infiltrating Wen Dao Sect? Didn't you know that Wen Dao Sect is my Big Boss's territory?"

"Back in the day, even the Four Ancient Immortals wouldn't dare to easily come to my Big Boss's territory. If they did, they'd be extremely cautious, not daring to breathe loudly."

Venerable Black and White was speechless.

"Damn it, stop talking! The more you say, the more I regret it."

"Luckily, I pledged allegiance to Wen Dao Sect early on. Otherwise, I'd be tortured just like you," Third Boss said, thankful that he had wisely conceded in time, surrendering immediately upon realizing Immortal Fairy was his superior.

"So, are you an honored guest or an elder of Wen Dao Sect now?"

"A prisoner."

Venerable Black and White was speechless.

"Anyway, it's great that we've finally rounded up all the Great Yu cultivators. Congratulations!" Lu Yang clapped his hands, happy. His luck had been bad lately, always running into Great Yu cultivators whenever he went out. Now, he wouldn't have to worry about that anymore.

"Hehe, isn't it all thanks to me, serving as acting sect master and managing things so well?" Immortal Fairy put her hands on her hips, taking credit, grinning from ear to ear.

"Wise Fairy! With you here, Great Yu cultivators are nothing to worry about!" Lu Yang continued to clap, showering Immortal Fairy with praise and flattering words.

"Rounded up all of them?" Hearing Lu Yang's words, Venerable Black and White immediately felt a bad premonition.

Lu Yang turned to Venerable Black and White, gave a sly grin, and casually said, "You know the Sixth Great Yu Emperor, Wu Youdao, right? He's here too. Immortal Fairy and I caught him together."

"The Emperor was captured by *you*?!" Venerable Black and White's eyes widened in disbelief. Wu Youdao had gone missing after the battle in Hanshui City, and he had assumed Wu Youdao and others were severely injured, hiding somewhere to heal. He never imagined they had been captured by Wen Dao Sect!

This Lu Yang was indeed a major obstacle for their Great Yu!

He had thought Lu Yang's impact on their plan in Hanshui City was merely exposing Huang Ming's existence. He never expected that even the Emperor had been captured by Lu Yang.

Senior Sister didn't pay attention to Lu Yang and Immortal Fairy's mutual boasting. She was busy preparing to interrogate the Grand Preceptor, who was rolling on the ground, wailing in pain.

"I ask, you answer."

"Arghhh!"

"How many cultivators does your Great Yu have in total?"

"Arghhh!"

"After this failure, does Great Yu have any backup plans?"

"Arghhh!"

It wasn't that the Grand Preceptor refused to confess; it was simply that the Seven Difficulties and Eight Sufferings were too excruciating. He was in such intense pain that he couldn't utter a single word.

Yunzhi felt somewhat helpless. She had interrogated countless people, but this was the first time she had encountered such a situation.