“Hmph! As a senior, there’s no need for you to humiliate us like this. Whatever tricks you have, just bring them on!” The tall and lean second brother of the Mount Meng Five suddenly shouted at Han Li, showing no regard for the fact that his life was hanging in Han Li’s hands.
This took the other three by complete surprise! In their minds, this second brother had always been one to plan before acting—he was definitely not the impulsive type.
The thirty-something young man who found Han Li somewhat familiar paused for a moment, then suddenly seemed to remember something. With a mix of shock and anger, he yelled at the tall, lean man, “Second Brother, what do you mean by this? Are you deliberately trying to provoke this senior so he’ll kill all of us in a fit of rage?”
As soon as these words were spoken, not only the dark-faced elder and the young woman, but even Han Li was slightly taken aback, unsure why the young man would say such a thing. The second brother’s face instantly turned deathly pale, and he offered no defense.
“Fourth Brother, have you lost your mind? Why would Second Brother want us dead?” The young woman, hearing this, angrily defended the tall, lean man.
She then turned to say something to the dark-faced elder, but what met her eyes was an extremely gloomy expression. Her heart sank, and she felt at a loss.
“Second Brother, is it because Third Sister is still in their hands? Do you want all of us to die so she can live?” the dark-faced elder asked coldly.
“I’m sorry, Big Brother. You all know their methods. If we leak any information, Third Sister—who’s still in their custody—will suffer unimaginable torment, a fate worse than death. It would be better for her to perish outright!” The tall, lean second brother finally spoke, his face filled with shame.
Hearing this, the young woman’s face turned ashen. Her lips moved, but no words came out.
“Hmph! Even if Third Sister is your cultivation partner, how could you bear to trade our three lives for hers?” the thirty-something young man shouted furiously at the second brother.
“Second Brother, although Fourth Brother’s words are harsh, he’s not entirely wrong! Remember when the five of us took our oath of brotherhood, we swore to live and die together. But now, for your own selfish reasons, you’re willing to sacrifice everyone else. How can you justify that?” The dark-faced elder’s voice was full of disappointment.
“You’re right, I do want to sacrifice all of you. But what choice do I have? Third Sister is carrying my child. I can’t let the Li family line end with me! Otherwise, who would willingly choose death over clinging to life?”
The tall, lean man’s face flushed and paled alternately under their accusations. Clenching his fists, he finally roared back.
These words left the elder and the young man momentarily stunned, too shocked to respond.
The young woman’s mouth fell open in astonishment.
“Are you all done? If so, it’s my turn to speak,” Han Li, who had been coldly observing from the front, suddenly interjected with an icy tone.
Hearing his voice, the three were jolted back to reality, remembering that their lives ultimately lay in the hands of this Foundation Establishment cultivator. Instantly, their indignation vanished, replaced by uneasy glances at one another.
“I don’t care whether you genuinely want to die or are putting on a show for me. All I want is information about the mastermind behind this. Even if you’re determined to die, you’ll do so only after you’ve told me what I need to know. Did you really think your lives were still yours to control?” Han Li’s words were ruthless and cold, causing the three men and one woman to pale drastically.
“What do you want to know? We don’t know much, and we’ve been placed under a restriction called a Blood Curse. We can’t reveal any critical information to outsiders, or the restriction will activate immediately, causing our hearts to rupture and kill us,” the dark-faced elder gritted his teeth and spoke, seemingly having resigned himself.
“A Blood Curse? How interesting. Let me examine it,” Han Li said, his curiosity piqued.
Hearing this, the dark-faced elder perked up slightly. After a moment’s hesitation, he extended his arm with a sliver of hope.
He longed for Han Li to remove this life-threatening burden, though he held little real hope.
The one who had cast the curse had been supremely confident, claiming that no cultivator under the Blood Curse had ever leaked their secrets. Those who attempted to divulge information died on the spot.
Han Li gripped the elder’s wrist, allowing his spiritual power to flow slowly through the man’s body. His expression turned solemn.
The other three members of the Mount Meng Five watched intently, hoping that Han Li, as a powerful expert, could indeed break the curse.
After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Han Li released the elder’s arm and lowered his head in deep thought.
A moment later, he looked up and asked expressionlessly, “What was the cultivation level of the one who cast the curse? Did they recite any strange incantations or say anything unusual during the process?”
This question surprised the four, and a flicker of hope appeared in their eyes.
“Yes, they said some strange words we couldn’t understand. It sounded like an incantation, but also like a dialect from some region. None of us could make sense of it. The caster was a Foundation Establishment cultivator,” the young man answered excitedly before the elder could respond.
“After saying those words, they took a bowl of some black liquid—blood, perhaps—and drew a peculiar symbol on each of our arms. No matter how much we wash it, the mark won’t fade,” the elder added quickly, rolling up his sleeve to reveal a dark, bizarre symbol on his forearm.
Han Li stepped forward to examine it closely, then nodded and fell into thought once more.
Soon, he looked up and gave them a mysterious smile. “Just as I thought. It seems I understand how this Blood Curse works now.”
“Senior, are you serious?” the dark-faced elder asked, his voice trembling. The other three wore expressions of disbelief.
The Blood Curse had been like a blade held to their throats, forcing them to obey their captors. If Han Li could truly remove this threat, they would be free again, no longer at anyone’s mercy.
“This so-called Blood Curse is actually a type of Word Curse. The restriction affecting you relies entirely on those strange incantations. The black blood and the symbols drawn on your arms are meaningless—just theatrics to intimidate you,” Han Li explained calmly, seeming utterly confident.
Inwardly, however, he sighed in relief. He had only learned about Word Curses from an obscure book while researching the Great Teleportation Token. Otherwise, he would have had no clue.
“Can you break this curse, Senior?” the young woman couldn’t help asking.
“I don’t know,” Han Li replied coldly, causing their hearts to sink and their hopeful expressions to vanish.
“Senior, what do you mean by that?” the dark-faced elder asked cautiously, forcing a smile.
Now that their hope of breaking the curse lay entirely in Han Li’s hands, he dared not offend him in the slightest.
“There are two ways to break a Word Curse. One is to know the counter-incantation. If I had it, I could recite it with spiritual power and safely nullify the curse. The other is for me to invade your sea of consciousness with my divine sense and forcibly erase the curse’s imprint. This method requires the remover’s divine sense to be far stronger than the caster’s to succeed in one attempt. However, if it fails, it will immediately trigger the curse. You can imagine the consequences,” Han Li explained impatiently, frowning.
“What? It would activate immediately?” the young woman exclaimed in horror.
The caster had once demonstrated the effects of the Blood Curse on a live person. The gruesome scene of the victim vomiting fragments of their own heart was still fresh in their minds, filling them with dread.
The other three also looked uneasy. Wasn’t this essentially a gamble with their lives?
Han Li glanced at them and sneered, about to say something, when the tall, lean second brother suddenly looked up and declared, “Senior, please proceed with forcibly removing the curse from me. Since all of us were cursed by the same person, if it works on me, it should work on the others as well.”
These words left the other three staring at him in stunned silence.
“Second Brother, what are you doing? This is too dangerous!” the young woman cried out in alarm once she regained her composure.
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