Chapter 169 Heartless Curse

Huashang sneered. Her figure went out of focus and soon, she was back in the chief seat of the hall. Just as Xiao Chen was about to speak, he stopped himself. It was best not to linger on this topic and complete this task as soon as possible. Thus, he spoke before Huashang could. "Thank you for showing me leniency with your three attacks earlier. Will you return to the Jade Qing Sect with me now?"

She propped her jaw with her hand and looked at him with interest. She smiled faintly. "When did I say I'll return with you?"

"Earlier, you said you'll return with me as long as I manage to take three of your attacks. Have you already forgotten your words?" Xiao Chen asked.

Huashang raised her head and gave a loud laugh. "You said that. I don't remember agreeing with you."

"You…" Xiao Chen never imagined that a senior like her would go back on her word in front of so many of her disciples. Losing some of his patience, he asked, "Then what will it take for you to return with me?"

Huashang chuckled as she accepted a teacup from a disciple. She took a sip from it with a smile. "I've told you. I'll return as long as you agree to marry my disciple."

The disciples in the hall were utterly confused. Their master had always warned them not to have feelings for someone, much less entertain thoughts of marriage. What was the reason for her drastic change today? Little did they know that this was Huashang's character. She always had to have her way. The more she couldn't get something, the more she wanted it.

"Impossible." This time, Xiao Chen had lost all of his patience. His answer was direct and resolute, leaving no room for argument.

Huashang laughed heartily. "I think that's beyond your control now."

Xiao Chen's heart sank. What did she mean? Was she going to coerce him? He said unhappily, "Not even the Heavenly Emperor can force me to do something I'm unwilling to do."

It was at this moment that Huangfu Xin'er walked out from behind the hall. "Oh no," Xiao Chen thought. "Did she overheard everything I said earlier?"

Huangfu Xin'er reappeared with a calm appearance, unlike how she previously looked. She smiled faintly at Huashang and said, "Master, I'm fortunate enough to learn under your tutelage and has been cultivating all this while. I hope you'll stop making things difficult for Young Master Xiao."

Huashang frowned and a bitter expression crossed her face. "Xin'er, this person obviously has a prior…"

Huangfu Xin'er shook her head with a smile. She turned to Xiao Chen. "Young Master Xiao, perhaps there was a misunderstanding between us but let bygones be bygones from now on. There's nothing between us anymore."

Hearing these words made Xiao Chen feel like a needle had pierced his heart. He recalled their past together—all those days in the Skygale Sect in the Human World as well as the Fire-heart Jade that she gifted him. The more he thought of the past, the more intense the pain became. Even though he didn't know what happened to him, he knew he couldn't show sorrow on his face now. He smiled and said, "Alright."

When he uttered his agreement, the pain intensified sharply as if dozens of needles were jabbing his heart. He went pale in the face. Huashang smiled after seeing his current state. However, she ultimately exhaled a long sigh.

It took a long time before the inexplicable pain in Xiao Chen's heart eased. For some reason, he wanted nothing more than to leave this place. "Since that's the case, forgive me for the disturbance. Farewell." He turned around and flashed Li Muxue a gentle smile. "Let's go, Muxue."

"Wait." Huashang stopped him just as he was about to step out of the hall.

"Do you have other orders for me?" Xiao Chen asked, turning around.

Huashang smiled. "Didn't you notice that you're infected with my Heartless Curse? I came up with the curse after reading a strange ancient book. No other person in this world can undo it."

The expression of the disciples inside the hall changed drastically. They never thought that their master would still end up learning the cultivation methods inside the Heartless Mystic Sword manual. It seemed that this was the reason that she had gone into closed-door meditation last month, not because she was recovering from injuries sustained in a battle.

Xiao Chen replied indifferently, "So what?"

Huashang laughed heartily. Her gaze turned sharp as she said, "Kid, don't you know that you're at death's door? Those carrying this curse can't have feelings for another. Once they develop feelings, they would experience pain. This pain would only intensify as time passes. In the end, their True Qi will leave their body and they will die from Qi Deviation!"

Quite a few disciples in the hall turned pale. Their master had always warned them not to have feelings but there would always be those who would sneak out to meet their lovers. Now that she had learned this curse, wouldn't they be in danger if she planted it on each of them?

Li Muxue's expression had been dark for a long time. Xiao Chen wore a deep frown. No wonder he felt a stab of pain earlier. In the end, he still harbored lingering affections for Huangfu Xin'er. This curse was indeed powerful. "We bear no grudges against each other. Why do you want to harm me, Senior?"

Huashang raised her head and laughed. She said sternly, "Kid! There aren't many people who dare to defy me! Forget it. Just kill someone for me and I'll help you undo the curse!"

She had cursed him with the intention of threatening and forcing him to marry Huangfu Xin'er. That was evidently impossible now. However, she wasn't willing to undo the curse just like that.

Xiao Chen frowned. "Your cultivation far exceeds mine. Why aren't you killing that person yourself?"

Huashang said sternly, "Nonsense! If I can kill that person, what do I need you for? That person is in Jinghu, 700 miles from here. Will you go or not?"

"Why should an average cultivator like me dig my own grave when not even you can kill that person? Forgive me." Xiao Chen took Li Muxue's hand and walked out of the hall.

"Kid! Did you think you can enter and leave the Heartless Palace as you please?!"

Huashang was furious. No one had dared to defy her in such a manner in the decades past. Before her voice faded, she soared into the air and sent a palm attack flying at Xiao Chen's back.

Xiao Chen could feel the surging of astral winds behind him and abruptly turned around to counteract with his own palm attack. The two palms collided. Instantly, he felt his entire body go numb. He felt as if his arm was threatening to snap off. The force flung him nearly thirty Chinese feet away before he could land on the ground.

Huashang scoffed. Seeing as she was about to strike again, Li Muxue hastily said, "Please halt, Senior! Please tell us that person's name."

Removing the power from her palm, Huashang raised her head and smiled. "The girl is more sensible, as expected. Your words are pleasing to the ears."

Xiao Chen reached out to stop her. "Muxue, there's no need to talk to her!" To be honest, he didn't mind helping Huashang deal with her nemesis for Qingfeng's sake. What he despised were her coercive methods. Thus, it was impossible for him to compromise today.

However, Li Muxue was concerned about the Heartless Curse planted on his body. She took a step forward and said, "Please tell us who you want us to kill."

Huashang said icily, "Listen well. That slut is called Yanluo!" Her gaze was bitterly cold and her expression was filled with anger.

Not only did Li Muxue shake, but her face turned pale as well. Yanluo was also one of the Jade Qing Seven as well as Huashang's junior sister. Why did Huashang sound like she despised Yanluo down to her bones?

Xiao Chen replied coolly, "Never mind the fact that I'm no match for Senior Yanluo. Even if I am, I won't help you kill her." He reached for Li Muxue's hand again and said, "Let's go, Muxue."

A furious Huashang said sternly, "Kid! Don't dream of leaving this place alive today!" She suddenly soared into the air and attacked Xiao Chen with her palm.

Once again, her palm attack carried a force strong enough to split mountains. The entire public square was instantly swept into a gale. The trees and plants nearby shook under the force of the palm attack before snapping in half.

Xiao Chen narrowed his eyes. With a flick of his sleeves, he pushed Li Muxue more than ten Chinese feet away and hastily activated the Mystic Cyan Protective Spell. Simultaneously, he triggered the flow of Qi throughout his body. The power harvested in his 12 spiritual meridians poured out from the hollow of his palm, its momentum resembling a dragon rising from the sea. He was forcefully borrowing the strength of a Core Forming Realm cultivator.

The force from the two palm attacks collided in midair, resulting in the collapse of mountains and cracking in the ground. More than 10 staggering cracks formed on the ground where the two powers met. The trees nearby were all reduced into sawdust under such surging force.

Everyone was stunned. Even Chu Lingjiao, who was watching from a distance, couldn't believe her eyes. Even though their master didn't truly launch a killer attack, Xiao Chen was still able to block her attack with his own strength. Just how high was his cultivation?

Suddenly, Huashang's gaze turned ice-cold. She said dispassionately. "Concealed strength? You're a Core Forming Realm cultivator?"

Even though Xiao Chen had expanded most of his True Energy to block her palm attack earlier, he still looked calm and composed at this moment. He said placidly, "I told you that countless cultivation methods exist. Even though your cultivation method is marvelous, it's not necessarily the best in this world."

"Very well!"

Despite Huashang's words, she thought that this kid possessed a profound cultivation method despite how meager his cultivation appeared. If she could get a glimpse of his method and add that to her use of the Heartless Cultivation Method, who in this world would be her rival? However, this kid was even more stubborn than she was. She supposed that he wouldn't give in easily unless she subdues him completely.

Considering this, she sneered inwardly and started shaking both of her hands. The sky, cloudless just moments ago, abruptly became overcast with dark clouds. It looked like the heaven itself was collapsing. A boundless force started spreading with her as the core, causing everyone's expression to shift drastically.

Out of the blue, a gargantuan sword bathed in white radiance appeared in the air. Under the guidance of Huashang's spell, the gargantuan sword rapidly dived down on Xiao Chen. The onlookers gasped at how vicious the power imbued in this sword was. Countless tiles exploded before the sword even touched the ground. Finally, under the immense pressure of the force, they were reduced into dust.

In the distance, Li Muxue cried out in alarm. Huangfu Xin'er remained indifferent. No one knew if it was because she had completely forgotten her feelings for Xiao Chen or she was sure that her master's attack wouldn't kill him.

Enveloped in a boundless force, Xiao Chen was unable to move. He desperately used the Mystic Cyan Cultivation Method, forming layer upon layer of golden radiance to block the sword. However, in the face of the ruthless pressure of the gargantuan sword, the Barrier formed out of his True Energy appeared as weak as cicada's wings. It had no power to resist at all as the sword pressure shattered one layer after another

When the gargantuan sword was less than three feet away from his head, Xiao Chen finally felt the thorough depletion of his True Energy. Both of his feet sank straight into the ground. Blood began to ooze out of every inch of his skin. When he felt like he no longer had the strength to block the sword, a clear zither sound came drifting from the horizon.

The sound of zither came abruptly, yet carried an intangible power. Unexpectedly, the sound was able to considerably slow the movement of the gargantuan sword. Then came another burst of zither sound and the white radiance of the sword dimmed quite a bit. When the final zither sound reverberated, the sword transformed into specks of stars and dissipated into nothingness in no time at all.