Jiang Zuo hadn’t said a word, nor had he made a move.
The Sword Cultivation Lineage was courting disaster, and he had no obligation to help them.
To Jiang Zuo’s frustration, however, Sister Jingyue chose this moment to act.
He had originally planned to contact Jian Shisan to come and get them. Now that the Master of Curses had awakened and the Secret Realm was beginning to merge with the present world, there should no longer be any restrictions.
But since Sister Jingyue had acted, Jiang Zuo could no longer contact Jian Shisan.
Whatever Jingyue was about to do, Su Qi would very likely want to do as well.
And if Su Qi wanted to do something, he would have to do everything in his power to help her.
But he still hoped he wouldn’t have to get involved, because it would be too difficult.
With his currently weak Cultivation, facing the awakened Master of Curses was too much of a stretch.
Even with the empowerment from the Seal, it was far too much of a stretch.
The slightest misstep could lead to uncontrollable consequences, which he found deeply unsettling.
"Human, fear has paralyzed you. You can barely even move. With what do you intend to Seal me?" The Master of Curses’ voice was filled with cold indifference.
He hadn’t completely broken free yet; he also needed to stall for time.
But now that he had awakened, the process would be swift.
With just a little more time, he would break free. When that happened, no one here would be able to stop him.
Jingyue gritted her teeth and finally forced herself to her feet. "With... my... life, of course."
She roared the last few words.
At that moment, the mark between her eyebrows flashed wildly as she actually managed to activate the Seal.
The Seal’s power instantly condensed before Jingyue, then pressed down upon the core of the curse.
From the outside, one would see a powerful Seal manifest on the central stone monument, firmly suppressing the surge of Curse Power.
For a moment, the Curse Power subsided. The Seal was beginning to take effect.
But before Jingyue could even rejoice, the Master of Curses’ voice echoed out. "Useless. A Seal this weak can’t even begin to touch me."
As he spoke, the Curse Power erupted once more, shattering the Seal.
The Defense put up by the Sword Cultivation Lineage was stretched to its limits once again.
If it weren’t for the sheer number of the Northern Celestial Seven Swords, their Defense might have already collapsed.
Jian Shisan stood hidden from view, sword in hand. He hadn’t moved because Jiang Zuo hadn’t. Otherwise, he would have charged in long ago.
However, he had already confirmed everyone else’s location and saw they weren’t in immediate danger, so he wasn’t in a hurry to tip his hand.
’Young friend, what would you do against an enemy of this caliber? Do you have a way?’ Jian Shisan knew he himself was out of options.
If that being broke free, all seven veins of the Celestial Permanence would be doomed.
At that moment, Jingyue, whose Seal had been broken, struggled to her feet again, preparing to cast the Seal once more.
Su Qi also stood up.
"Senior Sister, let me help you."
Jingyue immediately refused. "No way! Your condition is flaring up. Are you trying to get me killed?"
Su Qi’s expression soured. How could her Senior Sister still be making jokes at a time like this?
"Senior Sister, this is no time to be stubborn."
Jingyue just smiled. "Wouldn’t it be great if we could livestream this? I’m giving my all as the Saintess, you know. It’s really tough work."
With that, Jingyue activated the Seal once more.
However, this time it lasted for an even shorter time before she was sent flying.
She couldn’t let Su Qi help. If the Seal failed, the caster would be corroded by Curse Power, and there was no telling what the consequences would be.
It was also an excruciating experience.
So, she couldn’t let Su Qi take that risk. ’As her big sister, I’ll just have to take the hit,’ she thought.
’It’s no big deal.’
’If I can just stall for a bit longer, Martial Uncle should be here soon.’
At this point, Su Qi felt she was starting to understand the Seal, so she decided to help Jingyue Seal the Master of Curses.
’Even though I couldn’t help my Senior Sister with her livestream, helping with the Seal is definitely a better thing to do,’ she thought.
’Jingyue is right,’ Jiang Zuo thought. ’Failing to cast the Seal results in a backlash. Unlike before, the enemy will now fight back.’
’The altar can insulate them from the Curse Power, but the moment they try to apply the Seal, they’ll make contact.’
’And the resulting backlash will be infused with Curse Power.’
From his position, Jiang Zuo could see everything with perfect clarity.
’Besides, Jingyue is in her Saintess state; her regenerative abilities are astonishing.’
’But Su Qi is different. For her sake, for her complete safety, I can’t let her take that risk.’
Just as Su Qi was about to join Jingyue in Sealing the Master of Curses, Jiang Zuo sighed softly to himself and finally snapped his fingers.
The snap was so loud that not only Su Qi and Jingyue, but even the Master of Curses couldn’t help but glance in Jiang Zuo’s direction.
But before Su Qi and Jingyue had a chance to react, they felt an immense force shove them back.
In an instant, they were both pushed off the altar, and then right out of the stone monument itself.
Jingyue and Su Qi were both stunned.
"????"
What just happened?
They had no idea what was going on, but it seemed they were now unable to perform the Seal.
The audience watching the livestream was also baffled. They saw two people emerge from the stone monument, but had no idea where they went afterward.
The camera wasn’t focused on the two of them at that moment.
However, they had just overheard the dialogue and knew one of them was a Saintess.
Generally speaking, there was only one Saintess: Saintess Yue Lian of the Moon Lotus sect.
But the Demon Cultivators also had one, so under these circumstances, they couldn’t be sure.
Still, based on various clues, they were fairly certain that this person was Saintess Jingyue of the Moon Lotus sect.
Alright, her identity wasn’t important for the moment. What mattered was, was there no one left to perform the Seal now?
Was that entity about to break through the Seal?
They didn’t think for a second that the Seal had succeeded.
After all, the Curse Power was still surging out madly.
Meanwhile, Su Qi looked at Jingyue and asked, "Senior Sister, what just happened?"
Now that they were outside the stone monument, their voices were no longer amplified, so no one could hear them speak.
Jingyue was just as puzzled. "I don’t know, but it was definitely the third person’s doing. I just have no idea what he wants."
Jingyue wasn’t sure who this person was, though she had a faint suspicion.
But now that they’d been ejected, she couldn’t connect the dots anymore.
Su Qi hesitated before saying, "Senior Sister, I don’t know if I was just imagining it, but I think I heard him sigh."
Jingyue was surprised. "You heard it? Was it a man or a woman?"
Su Qi shook her head. "I don’t know. For just a split second, I felt like he was sighing. I’m not sure if I imagined it."
Jingyue asked, "Under what circumstances do you think a normal person would suddenly sigh at a time like that?"
Shielded by her own mark, Jingyue moved to Su Qi’s side to protect her.
Su Qi was still relying mostly on the Misfortune Coin. If she kept this up, it would be bad if her condition worsened.
Su Qi shook her head; she didn’t know why someone would sigh at a time like this.
Jingyue gazed at the stone monument. "I can think of one possibility."
Su Qi asked curiously, "What is it?"
"Being reluctantly drawn in, or having no choice but to finally make a move," Jingyue said slowly.
Su Qi wasn’t a fool. She immediately understood. "He’s helping us? But why?"
Jingyue shrugged. "Who knows? What if it’s your husband? Don’t you ever fantasize that your husband might be some hidden powerhouse?"
In truth, Jingyue had her own suspicions, but they were just that—suspicions, with no concrete evidence to back them up.
She figured she might as well make something up to lighten the mood.