Chapter 130: Cursed Slave
"To think it would have consumed almost half my remaining fortune..." Xiao Nanfeng felt a pang of loss. Even so, he relaxed. "At the very least, I've finally reached Lunar Deluge. I wonder if this full yin moon from Body of Yin has any special properties?"
Just then, accompanying a huge explosion, the mists afar dissipated and revealed the red rope.
Sensing that Xiao Nanfeng's aura had suddenly advanced in strength, it grew wary of him. After giving up its chase of Madam Rouge, it shot straight back toward Xiao Nanfeng. Unfortunately, its opponent was far stronger than now.
"Let's see just how strong this moon is, then." Xiao Nanfeng's eyes gleamed.
He punched forward, a silvery-white fist that struck the red rope head-on.
In a shower of silver light, the red rope exploded into a thousand fragments, a tremendous improvement from before. It had lost the confrontation spectacularly.
The red rope couldn't have expected that Xiao Nanfeng would grow an order of magnitude stronger during the two hours it spent chasing Madam Rouge.
Not only that, Madam Rouge suddenly appeared and sucked up the vast majority of the red rope's spiritual fragments. Each of those fragments was extremely weak, and could offer no resistance against Madam Rouge.
Roiling black smoke erupted from Madam Rouge, a clear sign that her spiritual power had increased dramatically.
"You took advantage of my victory, I see." Xiao Nanfeng's face darkened.
Madam Rouge gave Xiao Nanfeng a horrific rictus of a smile.
Xiao Nanfeng's eyes flashed as he leapt toward Madam Rouge.
This time, however, Madam Rouge had learned from her earlier mistakes. She chose not to block Xiao Nanfeng's attack; her body flashed and vanished out of sight.
The illusory realm broke apart as Xiao Nanfeng woke up in reality, only to find that he had been hung while unconscious.
"This damned rope!" Xiao Nanfeng tugged angrily on it, loosening it and causing it to fall from the beams of the ceiling. Xiao Nanfeng also landed on the ground.
He snatched up the length of rope, which now seemed just as ordinary as before.
"Madam Rouge is growing more and more sly—this isn't a good sign. As for this red rope, is it pretending to be dead again?" Xiao Nanfeng frowned as he scrutinized it carefully.
Just then, a voice could be heard from up close. "Let me have a look at that red rope."
Xiao Nanfeng raised his head. A black-robed man had appeared before him out of nowhere.
"Elder Blue Lantern? What are you doing here?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.
He looked toward the doors of the cottage, which had remained shut. Had Blue Lantern appeared out of thin air?
"The serpent just came to tell me that a new Spiritsong cultivator appeared in the humans' domain. I was wondering who it was that could hide from my senses, only to find him dead by the time I arrived. You killed him," Blue Lantern stated.
"Elder, do you mean that old eunuch from before?" Xiao Nanfeng asked curiously.
Blue Lantern nodded. "So there was a cursed effigy that was helping him hide from me. Is it this? May I have a look?"
Xiao Nanfeng offered him the red rope. "Elder, this artifact is particularly sinister."
Blue Lantern inspected the red rope for a while. "Its cursed spiritual power appears to have vanished entirely..."
"Its spiritual avatar was consumed by the cursed effigy that's been stalking me," Xiao Nanfeng replied. "Elder, this red rope used to be able to control others' consciousness. How does this sort of artifact operate?"
"Control? No—it's possession. The cursed effigy used its own cursed spiritual power to possess others. By the time they were possessed, they had already died." Blue Lantern shook his head.
"Dead? How could it be? I saw Crown Prince Yan and the various clan heads acting normally even after being possessed."
Blue Lantern shook his head. "No, they're dead. A small wisp of cursed spiritual power in their consciousness gives them the appearance of being alive. They just perished, so it would be difficult to identify any unusual characteristics."
"What about afterwards?" Xiao Nanfeng asked curiously.
"Those possessed by cursed spiritual power are known as cursed slaves. Their consciousness has been eroded by the curse, and they'll soon become nothing more than slaves for the cursed effigy. As time passes, their physical bodies will rot and deteriorate, and their mental faculties will grow weaker and weaker. In the end, they'll become walking corpses that turn to dust once the last of their power is used up," Blue Lantern explained.
"Cursed slaves?"
Xiao Nanfeng recalled that he had encountered such entities during the Taiqing recruitment trials, which he had thought of as zombies and evil spirits.
"Elder, this red rope was eaten by the skeleton cursed effigy in an illusory realm. Is it dead?" Xiao Nanfeng asked curiously.
"Cursed effigies can't be killed," Blue Lantern replied.
"Oh?" Xiao Nanfeng frowned.
"Humans have spiritual power, and cursed effigies have cursed spiritual power. The red rope within the illusion was none other than its cursed spiritual avatar, just like humans' spiritual avatars. With enough time, its cursed spiritual avatar will regenerate, especially since it has a physical presence in the form of this rope." Blue Lantern handed it back to Xiao Nanfeng.
"So this red rope is the equivalent of a human's body? Can it be destroyed?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.
"If the red rope is destroyed, it'll simply regenerate elsewhere. Furthermore, why would you want to destroy the rope? With it in your possession, you'll be able to command those cursed slaves."
Xiao Nanfeng blinked. Was this rope still able to command the clan heads and crown prince?
"Elder, under what circumstances will the red rope's cursed spiritual avatar regenerate?" Xiao Nanfeng asked worriedly.
"This red rope has suffered significant damage, so it'll be decades before its avatar respawns. You need not worry," Blue Lantern replied in a consoling fashion.
Xiao Nanfeng: ...
Could he not worry? He was already in possession of three cursed effigies; any more, and he would be able to form a full group to play mahjong with.
"Elder, none of the cursed effigies seem able to communicate with me verbally despite their clear intelligence. Why is that?"
"Cursed effigies are bound by pact. Unless they're in their own hidden realms, incomplete cursed effigies cannot speak. The red rope's cursed spiritual avatar was incomplete, and that skeleton stalking you has been greatly diminished. Naturally, neither were able to communicate with you."
"Thank you for the information, Elder." Xiao Nanfeng nodded.
"Since this red rope's cursed spiritual power is gone, you may use it as an ordinary artifact. The skeleton, however, is another matter entirely."
"Elder, are you able to draw the skeleton cursed effigy away from me?" Xiao Nanfeng's eyes brightened.
"I am bound not to actively help those in need, but may do so for the price of one dragon-quelling spike."
Xiao Nanfeng thought for a moment before shaking his head. "Your wishes are particularly precious, Elder, and I wouldn't want to waste them at will. Will you let me continue thinking about it?"
"As you will. How fares your cultivation? Your spiritual cultivation has reached Lunar Deluge, hasn't it?"
"I was fortunate enough to just have ascended, Elder," Xiao Nanfeng replied with a nod.
"In that case, you too must enter the divine domain. This is a law of this hidden realm, and a significant opportunity awaits you there. You must go, and you must go early." Blue Lantern's tone was resolute.
Xiao Nanfeng frowned.
"Furthermore, the two female cultivators and toad spirits aren't doing too well in the divine domain themselves. You'll be able to help them out," Blue Lantern continued.
Xiao Nanfeng nodded. "Elder, can you send me there?"
Blue Lantern shook his head. "Walk your own path. I'll have the serpent come fetch you. Prepare to be on your way."
Blue Lantern's body flickered as he vanished in a cloud of black smoke.
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