Heavenly Curse

Mu Yi didn"t hesitate for long though. Qu Yang was furious. Mu Yi had gotten rid of Bei Ming but Qu Yang looked even more resolute than before. The Qi he was releasing was overbearing.

Mu Yi wondered about Qu Yang"s current level. There were seven levels in the second difficulty. Previously, Qu Yang was between the second and third level of the second difficulty, but at the moment, it felt like he had the strength of the fourth level. Mu Yi couldn"t comprehend how Qu Yang had become so strong.

The difference between different levels of the same difficulty could be significant. The seven levels corresponded to the seven forms. They didn"t just correspond to a definite amount of strength.

Mu Yi had only reached the first level of the second difficulty. He had just opened his Mūlādhāra. He had already acc.u.mulated more strength than an ordinary person though. Dragon of Righteousness had the exact same level as Mu Yi but he was much weaker than Mu Yi with regards to Qi and strength.

Qu Yang decided not to focus on Bei Ming"s figure lying still on the ground. Instead, he threw himself at Mu Yi. He moved quickly. He was faster than he had been during their first battle.

Mu Yi moved to protect himself but it felt like he was being restrained. He couldn"t really move, a second later, he was forced back. He fell, cras.h.i.+ng against s.h.i.+ Gu.

"Brother!" shouted Nian Nuer.

Even though she was fighting Chong Jiayi, she kept an eye on Mu Yi. When she saw Mu Yi get pushed back, she ignored Chong Jiayi altogether. She moved and stood in front of Mu Yi.

Qu Yang was in a frenzied state. He was staring at Mu Yi without blinking. He had only one thing on his mind. He had to kill Mu Yi. When he saw Nian Nuer in front of Mu Yi, he slapped her away.

Qu Yang could handle Nian Nuer because he was stronger. It didn"t matter that Nian Nuer was a ghost. His body contained death Qi. When he hit her, his hand didn"t go through her body. He was able to slap her as if she had a real body.

Nian Nuer screamed in pain as she was knocked away by the slap. She turned into fog. The sight of it made Mu Yi"s heart twitch and his face turn red. Now, he was furious because he was scared for Nian Nuer.

Tt felt as if his blood was boiling. Mu Yi couldn"t think clearly anymore. His strength started to react to his emotions. His Mūlādhāra was growing brighter. Light had emerged from the depths of his body and illuminated his Mūlādhāra gate.

 Open! Mu Yi thought.

His strength bombarded his chakra gate. He had already opened the chakra gate in the past, that"s how he had become stronger. At the time, he had thought of what the old Taoist Priest had told him so Mu Yi had controlled the opening. He had needed to do the sacrificial ritual on the Bamboo Tree of Life everyday. He was always tired so he hadn"t tried to open his chakra gate again.

Mu Yi wasn"t impatient. He didn"t want to break through quickly.

When conditions are ripe, success is naturally achieved.

Nian Nuer had been struck by Qu Yang so he chose not to control himself anymore. He decided it was time to become stronger. The chakra gate broke apart and Mu Yi reached the second level.

The second level meant the second chakra, Svādhiṣṭhāna. It was the sacral chakra. It was linked to people"s vital Qi of Yin and Yang. The vital Qi of Yin and Yang wasn"t just blood. It was a vital substance which maintained the body"s function.

Taoists were adept at transforming vital essence into energy. The process was closely related to the Svādhiṣṭhāna. Mu Yi"s Svādhiṣṭhāna and Mūlādhāra were s.h.i.+ning brightly. Mu Yi felt as if his bones were shaking. He was weak and numb. His Qi was scorching hot.

A warm sensation flowed through him from his Svādhiṣṭhāna to his Mūlādhāra. He could feel strength returning to his body. It kind of resembled the legendary genuine Qi but at the same time it seemed completely different from it.

"Qi is invisible and intangible. It aggregates and dissipates. When it"s not used, it"s stored in every part of the body. When it"s used, it can be tempestuous," a voice said.

Mu Yi recognized that it was coming from his mind. He remembered that he had heard something when reaching the second difficulty. He remembered the sound of the voice as well. The first time he had heard it, he hadn"t understood properly. This time he understood very clearly what was happening.

All of this seemed to have taken up some time but it only took a few seconds. When Qu Yang landed in front of Mu Yi, Mu Yi had already broke through. Everything had happened smoothly and silently. Mu Yi knew that he had already changed.

Mu Yi raised his fist. He could sense the Qi in his body. Qu Yang also raised his fist. Their fists collided. The air around them was filled with explosive energy. Qi rolled in waves around them. Their clothes were torn apart. Their hair was fluttering in the wind.

After exchanging a few blows, Mu Yi"s fist was numb. Qu Yang didn"t look any better off. He jumped away and landed on the pile of skeletons. Mu Yi didn"t chase him. He jumped to the side and grabbed the Bamboo Tree of Life.

s.h.i.+ Gu was still shaking. Its wood had already become foul-smelling. It was as unbearable as the smell of rotten fish. Initially, s.h.i.+ Gu was gigantic but now it was much smaller. It looked weaker.

The Bamboo Tree of Life had absorbed s.h.i.+ Gu"s strength. It had completely recovered and become even more powerful. It was greener now. If Nian Nuer hadn"t been attacked, everything would have been perfect.

Mu Yi had come back to his senses after the fight. Even though Nian Nuer had been hit by Qu Yang, she wasn"t dead. Ferocious ghosts were resilient. Ordinary attacks couldn"t destroy them, especially not in one strike.

She was still injured by it. After her body condensed again, Nian Nuer went back into the Bamboo Tree of Life. Chong Jiayi didn"t have the opportunity to do anything at all. He was too slow for the pace at which things had happened.

Mu Yi didn"t even glance at Chong Jiayi. He didn"t pay attention to Qu Yang who was struggling to get back onto his feet. He just ran away as quickly as possible. Soon they could only see a shadowy figure.

Qu Yang wanted to chase him but s.h.i.+ Gu shook violently again which made him come back to his senses. He hesitated but in the end he didn"t chase Mu Yi. s.h.i.+ Gu and Bei Ming were more important.

He first went to Bei Ming and lifted her up carefully. Then, he walked to s.h.i.+ Gu. A white liquid continued to spill from s.h.i.+ Gu"s wound. Qu Yang ordered it to go back into the ground. The Bamboo Tree of Life wasn"t attacking it anymore so it complied. When the head of the mushroom strunk to the same height as Qu Yang"s chest, its mouths suddenly opened.

Mu Yi had seen its mouths. They looked like buds and they opened like them, too. Inside, there were small tentacles.  Qu Yang put Bei Ming in one of the mouths and it closed around her. When s.h.i.+ Gu ate Bei Ming, Chong Jiayi was startled.

So many things had happened. It was incredible. He also finally knew why Qu Yang didn"t allow anyone to come to this place. It was his biggest secret. Chong Jiayi had seen all of it now.

When Qu Yang looked at Chong Jiayi, the latter shuddered. He was afraid of what might happen.

"Mister Chong, you know what to do, right?" asked Qu Yang.

Chong Jiayi smiled and said, "Master, don"t worry. I will never tell anyone about what happened tonight, I swear. May the G.o.ds destroy me if I lie."

It didn"t sound serious because even ordinary people swore like that. When ordinary people swore, nothing happened even if they lied. However, for someone like Chong Jiayi, it was serious because he cultivated his mind.

The first difficulty on the path of cultivation was the heart. People had to find their true self. True intentions were extremely important. It wasn"t as bad as losing one"s senses. It did pollute people"s hearts. Evil energy acc.u.mulated in one"s heart and it was extremely difficult to expel it. It also prevented cultivators from leveling up.

Chong Jiayi definitely wasn"t lying.

"Mister Chong, don"t worry, I will remember you tried to help me." Qu Yang said.

Chong Jiayi smiled wryly and shook his head.

"Master, you"re flattering me. I didn"t help tonight. I couldn"t even defeat that little girl. I feel guilty," Chong Jiayi said.

"If I"m not mistaken, that little girl must be a ferocious ghost and she has innate mental abilities," muttered Qu Yang.

"Innate mental abilities? No wonder," said Chong Jiayi with a pensive expression.

"Even if she has innate mental abilities, so what? Sooner or later, he will understand that he made a big mistake. He"s the one who lost something this time!" said Qu Yang coldly.

He didn"t say what Mu Yi had lost. Chong Jiayi wanted to ask but he controlled himself and said nothing.