Chapter 1602: Chapter 57: Sensing, Deepening Curse Killing
Heavenly Cry Mountain.
Xia Xuanyan looked at the Heavenly Cry Saintess, who resembled the Heavenly Cry Sect Leader almost perfectly, with a hint of surprise in his eyes.
"Is this your daughter?"
"Yes, and no!" the Heavenly Cry Sect Leader said calmly, "Xi Yan is a daughter I conceived with the aid of the Secret Technique and is also the Holy Daughter of our sect."
"I see!" Xia Xuanyan nodded, "I always wondered how someone who is devoted to the Dao, sincere in the Dao, and extreme in the Dao would ever marry and have children."
"Mother!" the Heavenly Cry Saintess addressed the Heavenly Cry Sect Leader respectfully.
The Heavenly Cry Sect Leader nodded.
"Xia Jiayu, come with me!"
Xia Xuanyan nodded as well.
Moments later.
The party of three once again stepped into the familiar cave.
Passing through the dark and winding cavern.
The view before them suddenly opened up.
The cave dome hung high, and ghostly blue runes seemed to slither like living creatures across the rock surface.
In the center of the cavern, there was an altar.
The altar was constructed from black stone as dark as blood.
The altar rose nine tiers high, forming a stepped shape with a flat top engraved with a complex formation diagram.
The center of the formation diagram was elevated, forming a platform-like structure.
On the raised center of the platform, there was a palm-sized doll.
"Greetings, Sect Leader!" As the three appeared, a middle-aged woman immediately came forward.
"Greetings, Xi Yan Saintess!" The middle-aged woman then bowed to the girl following behind the Heavenly Cry Sect Leader.
"Greetings, Master Xia!" Finally, she greeted Xia Xuanyan.
"How is the progress of the Curse Killing Skill?" the Heavenly Cry Sect Leader asked.
"Reporting to the Sect Leader, it remains in the first stage; the timing isn’t mature enough, and the second stage cannot be initiated yet," the middle-aged woman replied.
"How is the progress of the first stage?" Xia Xuanyan asked nearby.
The woman glanced at her own Sect Leader.
Heavenly Cry Mountain was a peripheral force of the Heavenly Cry Sect, a power that had been nurtured over the years.
Though she was the chief of Heavenly Cry Mountain, she understood that her true status held little weight in the face of challenging even one Grotto Heaven within the Heavenly Cry Sect.
After observing that her Sect Leader showed no indication, she finally spoke to Xia Xuanyan.
"Master Xia, the progress of the first stage is such that, using this humanoid puppet, it’s impossible to sense. Unless I can personally meet with the man named Jiang Ning, I can’t confirm how deeply the curse has penetrated his internal organs."
Upon hearing this, Xia Xuanyan furrowed his brow.
He had only met Jiang Ning a short while ago.
At that time, Jiang Ning appeared to be in poor condition, his breath weak, evidently suffering serious erosion in his organs from the curse.
Yet in the end, Jiang Ning’s demeanor, carelessness towards life and death, and refusal to accept his recruitment made him feel his initial impression was incorrect.
"Master Xia’s visit this time is to enhance the power of the Curse Killing Skill." the Heavenly Cry Sect Leader said.
Upon hearing this, the middle-aged woman immediately showed a troubled expression.
"Sect Leader, this is already the limit of what the subordinates can achieve."
"I understand!" the Heavenly Cry Sect Leader nodded, "That’s why I’m having Xi Yan personally oversee it; you can temporarily leave!"
"Yes, Sect Leader!" Hearing this, the middle-aged woman suddenly appeared delighted.
To curse across distances involves the path of cause and effect, to defy causality would incur strong backlash.
Although hosting brought benefits granted by the sect, in her view, it wasn’t worth it.
Now able to leave, this could not be better for her.
After speaking, the middle-aged woman then took her leave, leaving only Xia Xuanyan, the Heavenly Cry Sect Leader, and Holy Daughter Xi Yan in the cave.
The runes slithering on the cave walls emitted ghostly blue light.
"Xi Yan." the Heavenly Cry Sect Leader turned, looking at the girl beside her whose appearance differed entirely, yet her physique and aura seemed to be carved from the same mold, her voice full of authority: "You will oversee what happens next, ensure that Jiang Ning feels the true might of the Immortal Dao Curse Killing."
"Yes, Mother!" the maiden slightly bowed her head, her peach blossom eyes showing little emotional ripple.
She moved lightly like a lotus towards the nine-tier black stone altar.
When her bare foot stepped on the first tier, the dark stone seemed to awaken, faint light swirling within the rocks.
Xia Xuanyang stood silently to the side, his elegant face appearing obscure in the luminescent glow of the cave.
His gaze fixed on the palm-sized puppet at the altar’s summit.
Strands of hair pierced through the puppet’s seven orifices.
Then, the Heavenly Cry Saintess Xi Yan slowly ascended the nine tiers, step by step, reaching the puppet.
She glanced at the puppet, forming seals with her hands, her slender fingers like green jade flying through motions.
"Tears of blood to drink, cause and effect as a bridge..." she slightly parted her lips, chanting incantations.
She then flicked her finger, a drop of crimson blood shot from her fingertip, directly landing on a needle piercing the puppet’s heart.
The leftover blood heavily splattered onto the puppet.
In a flash.
The needle seemed to ignite with some force, suddenly emitting black-gray light.
As the light exploded, the needle burrowed deeper into the puppet.
...
Elsewhere.
The backyard.
The moonlight was bright, the chill intense.
At this moment, Jiang Ning was covered in large beads of sweat.
Suddenly, he snapped his eyes open, his face transforming dramatically.
He felt as if thousands of needles were stabbing into his heart, causing excruciating pain that gathered sweat on his forehead, his face contorting.
In the next moment.
He closed his eyes, his Heart Spirit sank inward.
He saw the heart, strands of gray-black, obscure and cold aura emerging.
It’s the curse!
The power of the Curse Killing Skill has heightened!
He immediately recalled the words Xia Xuanyan had said that morning.
Then, he calmed his mind and focused.
