Shrouding the Heavens: The Ultimate Daoist Venerable

Chapter 898 Curse
With a Celestial-grade Heaven-Reaching Netherworld Treasure and several Reincarnation Seals, Duan De should theoretically not have his origin invaded by the power of the curse.

After all, immortal artifacts can even block the deductions of those who have attained the Dao. Although those few reincarnation seals cannot be used directly, they contain fragments of Duan De's primordial spirit and Dao fruits from his previous lives, making them extraordinary.

Not to mention, in his previous life he was the Lord of the Underworld. Although he had not mastered such methods himself, he had seen them all before from other supreme beings in the underworld and had long been resistant to them.

If we include his previous life as a Heavenly Venerable who transcended tribulations, then the Heavenly Tribulation Transcending Technique and the Secret of the Word "Lin" could completely resist the power of the curse, thus achieving indestructibility through countless eons.

Therefore, under these multiple layers of protection, at least within the realm of humanity, even if the Source Ghost were to intervene, it would be impossible for it to implant the power of the curse into Duan De's body.

But now, this cursed power has completely invaded Duan De's body. All his methods are useless against this cursed power. He just lets this evil power penetrate directly into his origin and merge with his entire being.

Even if Duan De could see the several reincarnation seals and the immortal artifact Tongtian Mingbao hidden within his body, he would be surprised to find that these things were also covered by the power of curse.

It can be said that Duan De has now been completely invaded by the power of the curse, and even his Dao fruits from previous lives and the immortal artifacts he has cultivated are now affected.

Clearly, under normal circumstances, even a curse released by a Daoist who specializes in the art of curses could not achieve this. Therefore, this curse power must have come from a higher level of power, namely the Primordial Celestial Venerable.

Although Yuanshi Tianzun was not very familiar with the power of curses, as a celestial king with achievements in two cultivation systems, it was not a problem for him to release a subtle curse.

Duan De sensed something was wrong the moment he was hit, but all the defensive measures he had set up were ineffective; the power of this curse was simply unbelievably strong.

He immediately sat down cross-legged and began to circulate the Heavenly Tribulation Transcending Technique, hoping to overcome this curse as a "tribulation".

However, the power of this curse was too strong and strange, and even his Tribulation Transcending Heavenly Technique had little effect, only barely able to resist it.

When the curse was activated, Duan De felt as if his whole body was being torn apart by a thousand knives, and he was also subjected to various tortures such as heat, cold, skinning, and cramping, as if he were going through the eighteen levels of hell.

In fact, during this process, Duan De could even feel his cultivation being constantly eroded and his magical power beginning to dissipate, as if he were about to be reduced to his original form and become a mortal.

Duan De could only prevent his cultivation from being destroyed by the curse by pushing the Heavenly Tribulation Transcending Technique to its limit and focusing all his attention on his growth under extremely painful conditions.

This process lasted for a full month before it stopped.

Duan De, who had barely managed to withstand the onset of the curse, felt no joy. Although he could not see that the Reincarnation Seal and the Heavenly Nether Treasure within his body had also been invaded by the curse, he could sense that the curse was still within his origin, only temporarily dormant, and could erupt again at any time.

In other words, he had not eradicated the power of the curse. This made Duan De sigh and feel that his future was bleak.

However, before he could think it through, the other cultivators who had excavated the tomb arrived at the same place. Duan De immediately used the method he had left in advance to open the domain gate and leave the tomb. He then left the ancient life star directly through an ancient array pattern.

The curse power that Duan De endured was created by Yuanshi Tianzun by referencing the methods of several supreme beings from the underworld, including the source ghost who later attained enlightenment. Later, Yuanshi Tianzun also incorporated the secrets of the Immortal-Breaking Curse into it.

The Immortal-Slaying Curse is an ancient secret technique that was once used by a remnant immortal in the Bronze Immortal Palace to fight against the Desolate Heavenly Emperor. Once struck by the curse, one's cultivation and power will be completely severed, and one's magic power will be utterly destroyed, turning one into a mortal.

After Liang Yu obtained the Bronze Immortal Palace and deduced and comprehended its laws, he obtained a little bit of the secret about the Immortal-Breaking Curse, but it was too incomplete.

After he became the Celestial King, even though this technique was extremely incomplete, he could roughly restore it. Although it was very different from the original, it still retained its characteristics.

When he realized how Yuanshi Tianzun intended to temper Duan De, he handed over his restored method of the Immortal-Breaking Curse to Yuanshi Tianzun for reference.

And this is not even the end. This curse power also incorporates the insights of the Primordial Celestial Venerable into the micro-dust system created by Liang Yu.

Therefore, the power of the curse could be broken down into smaller parts and perfectly embedded in Duan De's body, thus achieving a state of indivisibility where each part is part of the other. Duan De's primordial spirit, physical body, life essence, and even his several reincarnation seals were invaded by the curse.

It's fair to say that even if other Celestial Kings were to intervene, few could break free from Duan De's curse. After all, the power of this curse has now practically become a part of Duan De himself.

To successfully break the curse, Duan De must withstand the intermittent power of the curse and reach the level of a Celestial King to dispel it.

At this moment, Duan De was unaware that this cursed power would accompany him throughout this life, and even after he dies and begins his next life, this cursed power would remain like a persistent, inescapable wound. Every breakthrough he made, every stage of his life, would likely be accompanied by the corrosive influence of this cursed power.

He would later discover that the power of the curse would grow stronger and more unbearable with each passing moment. As long as his cultivation level did not increase rapidly enough, he would find it difficult to resist the erosion of the curse's power.

Even if he fails to achieve perfection in any realm and instead chooses to just get by, the power of the curse will erupt, causing him unbearable suffering.

This meant that Duan De had to cultivate the most perfect Dao fruit in the shortest possible time in order to avoid being corrupted by the power of the curse and dying, thus collapsing halfway through his path to immortality in the mortal world.

Moreover, Yuanshi Tianzun was using this method to force Duan De to improve himself, not to torture him. Therefore, the power of these curses was highly compatible with Duan De's Tribulation Transcending Heavenly Skill.

No matter what method Duan De uses to fight against the power of the curse, it is not as effective as perfecting his own Tribulation Transcending Heavenly Technique. This forces Duan De to continuously improve his scriptures to fight against the power of the curse.

It can be said that if Duan De could withstand the corrosive power of this curse, advance rapidly, and achieve the status of a Mortal Immortal after several lifetimes, he would possess an even stronger foundation. Furthermore, after he becomes an Immortal King and completely removes the curse, his foundation would be unimaginably robust.

This is the method of tempering that Yuanshi Tianzun tailored for Duan De.

(End of this chapter)