Chapter 343 – The One-Hit Kill Cursed Blade

The unleashed Avici Chains, like a cage, created a sealed domain—this prison had completely restrained Lu Yun.

Initially, he could still stir the Mana within his body, attempting to break free from the control of the Heavenlock Domain.

However, the ‘prison’ formed by the Divinity of Silence, the Source Rune·Stabilize, and Mu Lin’s understanding of Hell was simply impossible for him to escape.

As time passed, the Divinity·Silence gradually took effect, and the Mana within his body, along with his Spells, were gradually sealed and silenced.

Without Mana, without Spells, Lu Yun at this moment was just like an ordinary person.

In such a state, he was naturally no match for Yan Yunyu. Easily, he was sent flying by Yan Yunyu’s chains.

“First one.”

After defeating Lu Yun, Yan Yunyu did not leave the Arena. Instead, she swept her gaze over the position where the Northern Aristocracy stood, a trace of mockery appearing at the corner of her lips.

Her mockery of the Northern Aristocracy was not for herself, but to vent anger on behalf of Mu Lin.

“Is this all?”

“Hmph, daring to insult Brother Mu, even calling him a coward—I thought you were so strong. Yet, you can’t even defeat me. So weak, how dare you speak of Brother Mu? If Brother Mu is weak, then what are you? Trash?”

“Bitch, you’re too arrogant!”

Yan Yunyu’s contemptuous tone immediately made a man with a gloomy aura unable to sit still.

Without even waiting for the Heavenlock Domain to be withdrawn, he leaped onto the Arena.

“Don’t think that having a single artifact allows you to stand on equal footing with us. You’re not worthy!”

Before his words faded, with a “swish,” his figure vanished from the spot.

This startled Yan Yunyu. Instinctively, she turned her head left and right, searching for the gloomy man’s figure.

However, just as she was searching, a blurry phantom suddenly emerged from Yan Yunyu’s own shadow.

This was actually a powerhouse with shadow-teleportation abilities. His plan was clearly to launch a direct surprise attack and kill Yan Yunyu, not giving the Avici Chains a chance to activate.

This plan succeeded halfway—without directly targeting or using spatial lockdown, his shadow ambush succeeded.

Fortunately, although Yan Yunyu’s combat awareness was lacking, the Avici Chains were extraordinarily powerful.

Immediately, they detected the spatial fluctuation, and chains pierced toward the shadow.

With a “shrill” sound, the chains… passed directly through the gloomy man.

However, after striking, no blood flowed from the gloomy man—he had used the Spell·Shadow Avatar, transforming himself into an energy being. Energy lacks a concrete form, preventing the Avici Chains from immediately binding it.

Of course, the chains were not entirely useless.

Within the Heavenlock Domain, the Avici Chains’ power greatly increased. Even merely touching and piercing the shadow-energy body, their silencing characteristic still partially took effect. Visibly, the Shadow Avatar pierced by the Avici Chains showed signs of dimming and dispersing.

If continuously whipped, the Avici Chains could directly scatter this Shadow Avatar.

However, continuous whipping required time, and the Shadow Avatar was already within inches of Yan Yunyu.

“Die!”

Amid a low, furious roar, a sinister, dark dagger stabbed toward Yan Yunyu’s back.

This scene left Mu Lin, whose perspective was attached to Yan Yunyu, feeling somewhat helpless.

“Her combat awareness is too poor. The moment the enemy disappears, she should have prepared her defenses… But then again, Yun Yu has never experienced battle before. Facing such a ruthless opponent, it’s inevitable she’d be flustered.”

Though he sighed inwardly, Mu Lin had no intention of intervening.

Having shared his authority and glory with her, Yan Yunyu wouldn’t die so easily.

“Thud!”

Before Yan Yunyu could react, a sinister dagger brimming with a curse-like aura plunged straight into her back, piercing her heart and eliciting a piercing scream from her.

“Ah…”

As she screamed, “Clatter, clatter…” the numerous chains forming the prison suddenly began contracting toward Yan Yunyu.

“Hum!”

As the chains contracted, the area covered by the Heavenlock Domain shrank, but its suppression of internal foreign forces and space also intensified dramatically.

The terrifying suppression caused the gloomy man’s shadowy form to ripple—a sign that his power was being affected.

At the same time, his Shadow Jump could no longer be used.

The Source Rune·Stabilize could immobilize space.

His earlier ambush behind Yan Yunyu succeeded because she was unprepared. Now, with deliberate countermeasures in place, he couldn’t escape.

Yet, being unable to leave, and even having his Shadow Avatar gradually silenced, didn’t frighten the gloomy man, Pan Gong.

“Thud!”

With a vicious twist of his dagger, he inflicted even greater injury on Yan Yunyu, while his cold, sneering voice rang out.

“It’s too late now. Once wounded by my dagger, the terrifying curse has already spread throughout your body and Divine Soul. Your Mana is tainted too.”

“You’re finished.”

“Hmph, if I were you, I’d surrender now. Don’t use your Mana—that way, you might still have a sliver of hope to survive. Otherwise, the more frantically you stir your Mana, the faster you’ll—”

“Smack!”

Just as he was about to continue his smug, condescending speech, convinced of his victory, over a dozen chains, manipulated by the furious Yan Yunyu, lashed out fiercely toward him.

Unable to use Shadow Shift and with his mobility suppressed by the Heavenlock Domain, he was caught off guard by the sudden onslaught of over a dozen chains. Even with his extraordinary abilities, he was left in a sorry state.

“Thud, thud, thud…”

Under the relentless barrage, his already unstable shadow-energy form grew even dimmer.

However, it must be said that he had some real skill to dare step onto the stage.

Aside from Shadow Ambush and the ominous-looking dark dagger, his footwork was exceptionally outstanding, like a phantom.

Even as over a dozen chains whipped incessantly and his strength was mostly suppressed by the Heavenlock Domain, he still managed to evade the majority of the attacks. In the end, he retreated somewhat disheveled to a spot over ten meters away.

Of course, as the suppression of the Heavenlock Domain grew stronger and the Avici Chains continued their relentless assault, Pan Gong, trapped within, would eventually be completely silenced and defeated.

Yet, realizing this, he showed no panic. Instead, his gaze toward Yan Yunyu was as if he were looking at a dead woman.

“Foolish. You had the path to heaven wide open yet chose not to take it, and now you charge through the gates of hell where none exist. I warned you earlier—if you had surrendered immediately after being struck by my Cursed Blade, there might have been a sliver of hope for rescue. But now, the forbidden power of the shadow curse has seeped deep into your body, your Mana, and your Divine Soul.”

“You are doomed!”

He pronounced this judgment upon Yan Yunyu.

And he was far from the only one who believed her situation was dire.

In the previous days, he had also taken to the field, and that Cursed Blade had already earned a fearsome reputation.

—The conflicts between the northern and southern scholars remained within the realm of dispute, not yet escalated to war.

Thus, before each confrontation, Clan Elders from the Aristocratic Families stood guard on the sidelines.

Yet even under such supervision, Pan Gong, wielding the Cursed Blade, had still managed to slay two southern scholars and inflict irreversible injuries upon three others.

  The southern scholars’ previous reluctance to engage with the Northern Prodigies was partly due to the Cursed Blade in Pan Gong’s hands.

There was simply no avoiding it—that Cursed Blade was truly terrifying.

Spirit-breaking, spell-shattering, shadow erosion, myriad poison contamination, spider-face curse, weakness curse, aging curse… Countless curses fused into one, making that dagger utterly malicious and horrifying beyond measure.

To be grazed was to be wounded; to be touched was to meet death—this was the most fitting description of the Cursed Blade.

And now, such a dreadful dagger had been plunged directly into Yan Yunyu’s back, right through her heart, and twisted viciously several times. Under these circumstances, Pan Gong naturally believed Yan Yunyu was certain to die.

Others thought the same.

At the edge of the Arena, several people had already risen to their feet, frowning.

“This is trouble. Mu Lin is close to Yan Yunyu. If she dies, he’ll surely go mad!”

“Don’t panic, it’s not our fault… If Yan Yunyu had died during our provocation, that would indeed be our problem. But now, she took the field either on Mu Lin’s orders or of her own volition. If she dies, Mu Lin will only direct his anger at the Northern Aristocracy, not hold it against us.”

“Yun Yu… it’s over. All our investments are lost.”

The moment Yan Yunyu was stabbed in the back by the Cursed Blade, the Arena erupted into clamor.

Some frowned, some grieved, while others gloated, sensing an opportunity for themselves.

“Foolish. You have no talent for combat—why show off like this…”

“Blinded by arrogance, who else would die if not you…”

“If Yan Yunyu dies, there will be an opening by Mu Lin’s side…”

Many daughters of prominent families also coveted Yan Yunyu’s sudden surge in power.

Although she now seemed doomed, they did not look down on Mu Lin because of it.

In their view, this was entirely Yan Yunyu’s own fault.

After all, they had witnessed her flustered and clumsy performance earlier.

To lack combat awareness yet step onto the field first—wasn’t that simply asking for death?

…

The young women beside the Arena watched with gleaming eyes, waiting for Yan Yunyu to die. On the field, Pan Gong struggled to evade the chains’ assaults while sneering coldly, awaiting the eruption of Yan Yunyu’s curse.

And so he waited… for over a dozen breaths.

In all that time, Yan Yunyu… remained unharmed.

Instead, it was Pan Gong who was driven to a corner by the chains, on the verge of being bound.

By now, Pan Gong was beginning to sense that something was amiss.

However, he refused to believe the reality before his eyes, so he did not retreat but continued to dodge, waiting for Yan Yunyu’s curse to erupt.

“I don’t believe you can survive! My Cursed Blade can even kill those in the Mortal Shedding stage!”

Holding onto this thought, Pan Gong waited a few more moments.

During this time, Yan Yunyu remained unharmed.

Instead, Pan Gong was completely bound. Meanwhile, Yan Yunyu, enraged by her injury, continuously drove the chains, lashing out wildly at Pan Gong.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The fierce lashes tore Pan Gong’s skin open, shattered his bones, and severed his tendons.

Such horrific injuries were enough to cripple a person permanently.

But at this moment, Pan Gong paid no attention to his own condition, staring at Yan Yunyu with utter disbelief.

“Impossible! How can you be unharmed after being struck by my Cursed Blade? It’s invincible, unsolvable!”

Such a terrifying strike, and it had pierced her back—Pan Gong himself had no confidence in withstanding it. Yet Yan Yunyu, aside from an initial scream, seemed almost entirely unaffected afterward.

This scene shattered Pan Gong’s worldview.

Along with his worldview, the surrounding spectators—the cultivators—were also left in disbelief.

Especially those who had witnessed the power of the Cursed Blade before, their faces were filled with incredulity.

“How is this possible?”

“Is Yan Yunyu’s defensive ability that strong?”

“It’s not just strong—it’s downright abnormal, isn’t it?”

The scene before them left many unable to comprehend it.

Fortunately, while they didn’t understand, the Clan Elders of the Aristocratic Families had discerned the reason for Yan Yunyu’s safety. This was also why they hadn’t immediately rushed onto the arena to rescue her.

“Stop guessing. Yan Yunyu is unharmed not because of her physical defense but because of those chains… These chains aren’t just for binding enemies—they can also bind herself.”

“Bind herself… to seal her injuries?”

Prompted by the Clan Elder’s words, some began to realize.

“Exactly, as you’ve guessed. Yan Yunyu has always had several chains wrapped around her body. The bracelet, anklet, and necklace around her neck are all transformed from the Avici Chains.”

“These chains possess powerful sealing abilities. Under their protection, any foreign force entering Yan Yunyu’s body is sealed and immobilized… Pan Gong’s curse power never erupted, nor did it spread throughout Yan Yunyu’s body.”

“In other words, the curse power Yan Yunyu received has been confined to her back…”

“No, even the injury at her back has been transferred away.”

At this point, the Clan Elder sighed with a hint of envy. “You’ve forgotten one thing: what Mu Lin excels at has never been offense or defense, but survival.”

“He died over a hundred times in the Grave Lord’s Realm and ultimately emerged unscathed.”

“As Mu Lin’s wife and concubine, since he granted Yan Yunyu these abilities, he naturally wouldn’t overlook this… Yan Yunyu will be harder to kill than even those in the Mortal Shedding stage.”

After this final assessment, it wasn’t just the aristocratic daughters who felt envy this time.

Many aristocratic sons also coveted Yan Yunyu’s abilities.

Only by staying alive can one deal damage and achieve everything—these principles were well understood by the scions of the Aristocratic Families.

They knew even more clearly that, unlike the aristocratic daughters, they had to fight, compete, and battle for resources. And in battle, casualties were inevitable.

In such circumstances, the ability to preserve one’s life becomes especially crucial.

And Yan Yunyu, whether it’s the Avici Chains binding herself to ward off strange forces, or the damage transfer ability with unknown limits—such life-preserving capabilities are truly enviable.

“This ability is simply wasted on her.”

“By the way, does Mu Lin really not accept men…”

The envy ran so deep that even some male descendants of the Aristocratic Families began to consider seeking refuge with Mu Lin—after all, not every scion could inherit the family legacy.

While yearning for such abilities, some also noticed something rather peculiar.

“Speaking of which, with the Avici Chains and an almost undying substitute-death ability… could it be that the Northern Aristocracy might actually stumble and fall right here at Yan Yunyu, without even getting to meet Mu Lin?”

“Hahaha, if that really happens, the Northern Aristocracy would lose face completely.”

“It’s more than just losing face. With Mu Lin as an invincible presence, even if we lose all other battles, our Southern Aristocracy would still not be defeated. In that case, all of the Northern Aristocracy’s schemes would collapse.”

“Heh, I heard that Mu Lin initially felt some pity for the Northern Aristocracy, which is why he closed his doors and refused to fight. It was their arrogance and overbearing attitude that provoked him into action. Do you think they regret it now?”

(End of Chapter)