Chapter 165: Chapter 70: A Tale from the Western Continent

Yang Jing slept for a full six hours. When he awoke, he felt completely refreshed and full of energy.

He stretched, only then discovering scorch marks on the bed left by electric arcs. They looked exactly like the time his Five Thunders technique had gone out of control.

Vaguely, Yang Jing recalled having a strange dream. In the dream, it was pitch black, and a bizarre voice kept calling his name, irritating him to no end.

He had instinctively activated his Five Thunders technique, angrily unleashing several bolts of lightning before the calling voice finally ceased.

After advancing to the Middle Stage of Qi Cultivation, a Cultivator’s Divine Sense becomes so powerful that they rarely dream. Any dream they did have was a sign of something to come.

’A strange dream like that is definitely not a good thing.’

Yang Jing’s expression turned grim. His first suspicion was that a Demon Cultivator was behind this. But the dream was simply too strange; even he couldn’t identify what kind of bizarre technique it was.

After a moment of contemplation, he went to find Wu Siming.

Wu Siming hailed from the Profound Pure Sect, which was best known for its various Divine Soul Secret Techniques and Rituals, such as setting up altars and performing ceremonies.

“Junior Brother, from what you’ve described, it sounds like you’ve been cursed by a Fur God or Evil God.”

He offered a possible explanation, sounding somewhat uncertain after hearing Yang Jing’s description.

“However, if it were a curse from a Fur God or an Evil God, the symptoms would never be this mild. You’d at least have a splitting headache for several days.”

Seeing Yang Jing’s vibrant complexion, Wu Siming dismissed that idea.

A Cultivator at the Northern Army Governor’s Mansion had once fallen prey to a Fur God’s machinations. His Vitality had been severely damaged, and he was only spared from his suffering after Wu Siming and several of his junior brothers set up an altar to avert the disaster.

“Fur Gods and Evil Gods?”

Yang Jing raised an eyebrow.

Legend had it that the Eastern and Central Continents were once part of the Upper Realm. During a great war, they broke away and fell. In their descent, they pulled the Western, Northern, and Southern Continents along with them, and together they formed the Nine Heavens World.

Before the Seven Great Sects arrived from across the sea, the Western Continent was a nearly primordial wasteland occupied by Demons, Fur Gods, and Evil Gods. The Fur Gods were Ghosts formed from deceased Great Demons, while Evil Gods were natural spirits—a mountain or a gust of wind that, by a stroke of fortune, gained sentience.

The patriarchs of the Seven Sects braved the elements and cleared the wilderness, carving out a space for mortals to live and prosper.

Although mortals couldn’t cultivate, their Spiritual Essence far surpassed that of beasts, so the Fur Gods and Evil Gods of that era regarded them as a private delicacy. They would often lead armies of ghosts into the territories governed by the Seven Sects to abduct the populace.

Some of the more moderate gods even spread their faith among mortals, transforming themselves into folk deities to harvest Spiritual Essence.

If mortals devoutly believed in a deity, the Spiritual Essence within their Divine Souls would be siphoned away. To play the long game, some of these folk deities would restrain their absorption, ensuring their followers wouldn’t become walking corpses from a lack of Spiritual Essence before they died.

On the contrary, they would summon clouds and rain, ensuring favorable weather within their domain and allowing the population to grow.

If that were the only consequence, the Seven Great Sects might not have been so vehemently opposed to these folk deities. But the theft of human Spiritual Essence was not without repercussions. It became almost impossible for the descendants of these followers to possess a Spirit Root. Their bodies would also grow weak and frail, rendering them little more than livestock, like pigs and sheep.

For this reason, the patriarchs of the Seven Sects went so far as to cooperate with Demons, razing mountains and destroying temples to exterminate all the folk deities of that era.

To prevent these folk deities from ever returning, they went even further, burning texts, leveling temples, and burying the most obstinate believers alive.

Because the patriarchs of the Seven Sects had not used righteous means, this period of history was suppressed. Few people know of it; it was players who pieced parts of it together from fragmented inscriptions. As for the names of those folk deities, they were utterly lost to the river of time.

However, Fur Gods and Evil Gods are a near-natural phenomenon on the Western Continent and are almost impossible to eradicate. Sporadic appearances still occur there.

“It could be that a Demon Cultivator with a crude Curse Skill placed a curse on you, Junior Brother Yang. Or it’s possible a newly formed Fur God or Evil God has just appeared on the Western Continent.”

As Wu Siming spoke, he took a Jade Talisman from his Storage Bag.

“This is a Hundred Solutions Jade Talisman I crafted in my spare time. Wear it, and it will naturally dispel any ordinary Curse Technique.”

“My thanks, Senior Brother Wu.”

Yang Jing took out a stack of Lesser Yang Exorcism Talismans as a gift in return, which Wu Siming accepted without hesitation. The Hundred Solutions Jade Talisman not only defended against Curse Techniques but also protected the Divine Soul from another’s Divine Sense assault. Only disciples of the Profound Pure Sect could craft them, and they were far from cheap.

“Senior Brother, if a Fur God did curse me, how would I find it to eliminate the problem at its root?”

’Fur Gods and Evil Gods aren’t entirely useless. The Nine Infant Pill Formula happens to contain a recipe that uses a Fur God or Evil God as the main ingredient for a pill.’

’This pill is called Emperor’s Liquid, an imitation of the Upper Realm’s Moonlight Flowing Liquid. It can help things like gold, stone, grass, and wood achieve Demon Transformation.’

’Although Demon Transformation is difficult for such things, once they succeed, their innate talent is extraordinary.’

“That’s simple. This is a Golden Saber and Scissors Talisman. If you get within five li of the Fur God or Evil God, Junior Brother Yang, this Talisman will transform into a Golden Saber and fly toward it.”

Yang Jing thanked Wu Siming and returned to his residence.

He had omitted any mention of his Five Thunders technique, causing Senior Brother Wu to misjudge the situation.

’The one who cursed me was most likely an Evil God,’ he thought. ’It was only because my Five Thunders technique countered it that I was left unharmed.’

Pushing the matter to the back of his mind, Yang Jing didn’t change his plans. Instead, as if nothing had happened, he methodically used the Nine Breath Qi Refining technique to refine Sun True Fire and enhance the essence of his Five Elements Wheel.

After refining the Sun True Fire into his Five Elements Wheel, Yang Jing took out a Jade Box, removed a Golden Scale Fruit, and consumed it.

This fruit was a specialty of the Huangyuan Zhang Family, a Nascent Soul Clan from the Northern Domain. It could directly increase the strength of one’s physical body. A Cultivator would only stop feeling its effects after consuming the fifth fruit.

The fruit was precious, costing five hundred Merit Points each. Yang Jing hadn’t been willing to exchange for any last time.

It was only thanks to the various Demon Cultivators who had generously contributed their heads that Yang Jing was able to exchange for twenty-five fruits at once, sharing them with his disciples so that each person received five.

He had practically cleaned out the Northern Army Governor’s Mansion’s entire stock of Golden Scale Fruits.

The Golden Scale Fruit had a crisp texture and a sweet taste.

After eating the entire fruit, Yang Jing felt a hot current surge through his body. A moment later, it felt as if he had been thrown into a furnace, as a violent, burning pain spread all over him.

This burning pain lasted for nearly an hour before it slowly receded.

Yang Jing’s physical body, already tempered to incredible toughness by his True Yang Body and various Spirit Medicines, had even held the upper hand in close combat against Venerable Niu Li, a Body Refining Demon Cultivator at the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment.

This Golden Scale Fruit had actually pushed him to an even higher level of physical prowess.

After taking some time to adapt to the changes in his physical body, Yang Jing sat cross-legged to cultivate his True Yang Body and refine Celestial Yang Qi.

After embedding True Talismans into his Acupoints, the quality of Yang Jing’s True Gang rose to another level. Furthermore, the connection with his physical body grew much closer, allowing him to command it with even greater ease.

All those Spirit Fruits and Body Refining Spirit Pills had not been consumed in vain. He could feel that his thirty-eighth Acupoint was already showing faint signs of loosening.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep