The moment Su Qi entered the stone monument, she was met with endless darkness. Within that darkness, something strange seemed to have locked its gaze on her.
She couldn’t see it or describe it, but she could feel it staring at her.
Su Qi stood on a strange, faintly glowing altar.
She looked around but saw no sign of Jingyue. That meant the thing staring at her definitely wasn’t Jingyue either.
Su Qi frowned. She hated being stared at.
Especially by someone she couldn’t identify.
Just as Su Qi was about to take it out, she heard Jingyue’s voice. "Is that you, little complainer? I can feel your presence."
Su Qi was startled. "Senior Sister? Where are you? Why can’t I sense you?"
"I’m on another altar not far from you. There are three altars in a triangle, and in the middle is a big shot born from the curse. He’s currently under a Seal."
"But the Seal is starting to weaken. We have to light up all three altars before we can figure out how to reseal this cursed big shot."
"As for how I sensed you, that’s easy—it’s because I’m the Saintess."
"A Saintess can sense any Candidacy Saintess nearby—with the exception of the seventh one. It’s displayed quite clearly on the Ye Zi mark list." Jingyue’s voice reached Su Qi.
Just then, a power far beyond their comprehension surged through the darkness. The instant she felt it, Su Qi realized just how insignificant she was. It was the kind of smallness one feels when facing the vastness of the universe, a feeling that bordered on despair.
"Senior Sister, did you feel that?" Su Qi couldn’t help but ask.
"Mhm, I felt it," said Jingyue. "I’ve been here for a while, feeling it this whole time. Are you scared, little complainer?"
"A little," Su Qi grumbled. "Senior Sister, don’t you think you went a little overboard this time?"
’We’re not even in the same league. Even with the Seal, for weaklings like us, isn’t coming here just a suicide mission?’
Jingyue laughed. "That’s because you don’t know how terrifying this thing will be when it awakens. Besides, you just saw it yourself—it’s connected to the one in the Forbidden Land."
"If we leave it alone, its next target will likely be the Holy Land."
Su Qi rolled her eyes. "Senior Sister, are you sure you didn’t just come in here because you were curious? If there was a signal here, would you have made me livestream this for you?"
Jingyue fell silent. "..., I’m not that kind of person."
"Alright, fine, the thought might have crossed my mind. But how could I possibly lead you all to your deaths?"
"So what do we do now?" Su Qi asked. "Wait for the third person?"
"We can’t count on someone else," Jingyue said. "We have to find another way. I was just thinking... I’m a Saintess, and a Saintess is special. Perhaps I can try absorbing the Curse Power. Then, I could control all three altars by myself and seal him."
"But now that you’re here, my job is half as difficult."
"Will that really work?" Su Qi asked, worried. "The Curse Power isn’t some ordinary thing. What if there are some unknown side effects?"
"I don’t know. In any case, we’re already here. You go and attract the big shot’s attention while I try to absorb the Curse Power," Jingyue said.
"How am I supposed to do that?" Su Qi asked.
"The altar has some kind of attack function; just hit him with it. If that doesn’t work, just curse him out. He’ll react. He can vaguely sense us," Jingyue explained.
Su Qi felt helpless, but she couldn’t just do nothing.
After examining the altar, she finally found a way to attack, but she couldn’t figure out how to activate it.
Left with no other choice, Su Qi resorted to casting her own Magic and hurling it into the darkness.
TSS!
Su Qi casually tossed an ice spell into the void.
Unfortunately, it was instantly swallowed by the darkness.
However, the feeling of being watched intensified.
"Senior Sister, have you started? It keeps staring at me, and it’s making me really uncomfortable."
Jingyue was already using the altar to draw in the Curse Power. Once it reached a certain concentration, she planned to consume it.
She would then use that power to connect with the ambient Curse Power, allowing her to control the other altars.
Finally, she would activate the Seal.
Hearing Su Qi’s question, Jingyue replied nonchalantly, "Why are you calling for me just because someone’s staring at you? Go call your husband and have him give them a good smack in the face."
"Senior Sister, the Curse Power is heading for me! Are you done yet?"
At that moment, the Curse Power Jingyue had been guiding coalesced into a sphere in front of her. All she had to do was slowly consume it, and the plan would be underway.
Before she did, Jingyue said one last thing: "Don’t call for me. Go call your husband."
With that, Jingyue began to slowly absorb the sphere, trying to swallow the Curse Power.
The process allowed for no mistakes; otherwise, there was no telling what might happen.
Su Qi, meanwhile, was warily watching the approaching Curse Power. "Senior Sister, it’s really uncomfortable being stared at," she said, displeased, "but... you can’t just keep bringing up my husband."
In truth, Su Qi only got as far as the word "but."
She was cut off mid-sentence.
The very instant Su Qi said "but," they both sensed it—the third altar had lit up.
The moment the third altar lit up, all three altars linked together. Then, as if someone had activated them, a powerful force erupted from the altars and struck the very core of the curse.
BOOM!
A massive shockwave blasted back toward the three altars.
Jingyue, who had been slowly swallowing the sphere of curse, froze.
The shockwave shoved the sphere straight into her mouth, lodging it firmly in her throat.
"GACK! GACK! GACK!" Jingyue clutched her throat with one hand, frantically patting her chest with the other.
Her head was thrown back, the whites of her eyes showing. Even though she was still patting herself, it looked like she was about to choke to death any second.
Internally, Jingyue was having a complete meltdown.
’What in the world just happened?’
Meanwhile, Su Qi was enveloped by the Curse Power. The power here was already potent, so being wrapped in it was definitely not a good thing.
But Su Qi had the Misfortune Coin, and the Misfortune Coin wasn’t the least bit intimidated by the Curse Power.
For the Curse Power to try and corrode Su Qi was to challenge the authority of misfortune itself. So, before the Curse Power could do anything, the Misfortune Coin erupted with power and expelled it.
In the process, Su Qi’s foot inexplicably slipped, and she fell to the ground.
Su Qi was speechless. "..."
’Is it just my imagination, or does this fall feel... incredibly familiar?’
She had a very bad feeling about this.
Of course, right now she was more concerned about the third person who had just appeared.
Their arrival was anything but friendly. It was hard to tell if they were friend or foe.
But she knew one thing for sure: this person was anything but simple.
"Senior Sister, can you contact that person?" Su Qi said immediately. "Also, I have a bad feeling... I think my condition is flaring up."
"Gack! Gack! Gack! Gack!" That was the only sound coming from Jingyue’s direction.
It was occasionally punctuated by the sounds of struggling.
Su Qi was instantly alarmed. "Senior Sister? Senior Sister! What’s wrong with you? Say something!"
Jingyue was on the ground, still frantically pounding on her throat. Her Life Force, at least, was still going strong.