The Soul-Binding Curse was a forbidden spell originating from the demon race.
It was later acquired by human cultivators and became widely used among demonic cultivators.
This curse used the Shadow Soul Stones, unique to the Demon Abyss, as a medium to plant a restriction within the target's body. The caster only needed to inject spirit energy into the Shadow Soul Stone to trigger the restriction, locking the target's soul and imprisoning their physical form.
The reason it was considered a forbidden curse was simple.
Shadow Soul Stones only grew in the depths of the Demon Abyss, the territory of the demon race. For an ordinary person to obtain one was harder than ascending to the heavens. Furthermore, Shadow Soul Stones could not be reused. Once one was used, it was gone; they were exceptionally rare.
This was especially true after the demon race was forced back into the Demon Abyss by the Wendao Sword Sect ten thousand years ago. Since then, the demon race had vanished from the mortal world, and all communication was severed, making the acquisition of Shadow Soul Stones nearly impossible.
Each stone was priceless and extraordinarily precious.
Precisely because it required the rare Shadow Soul Stone to function, it was categorized as a forbidden curse by orthodox cultivators.
Some great families used it primarily to control death soldiers, such as the imperial guards. Often, the protectors following the geniuses of a sect would also be planted with this Soul-Binding Curse to prevent them from having divided loyalties or committing the act of slaying their own masters.
Clearly, the black stone in Min Zhan’s hand was a Shadow Soul Stone.
However, what was incomprehensible was when he had managed to place the curse on the Great Snake. The snake had only awakened tonight, less than six hours ago. When could he have had the chance?
Furthermore, applying the Soul-Binding Curse required the target to accept it willingly for it to succeed.
Because of this, Xu Xian and Nangong Ning were both struck with horror. Even the Great Snake, its pair of eyes currently swirling with crimson blood mist, seemed to share their shock.
"When did he plant it?" Xu Xian asked.
Nangong Ning narrowed her eyes, her gaze sharp as she speculated, "The curse wasn't planted on the Great Snake. It was planted on that old beast, the Blood Infant Patriarch."
Xu Xian suddenly understood.
Min Zhan's cold eyes looked over from a distance as he sneered, "To associate with demonic cultivators is no different from plotting with a tiger. The hearts of those who practice demonic arts have long since rotted through. Not a single one of them is good. How could I cooperate with them without having a backup plan? I just didn't expect this Xiushe to use his body to reconstruct its physical form. Heh... through a stroke of luck, it saves me a lot of trouble. I can resolve this nuisance with ease."
His words were filled with smugness.
To Xu Xian and Nangong Ning, his voice sounded disgusting. A petty man? Trash? Rotted through? These descriptions were certainly accurate, but coming from Min Zhan's mouth, it was like a dung beetle calling something stinky.
Nangong Ning frowned and said, "It seems you planned from the very beginning to let these people take the blame for you."
Min Zhan admitted it candidly. "That's right! Those scumbags from Cangwu tried to entice my master with dreams of hegemony. My master is young and naive, but as his subject, I must naturally exhaust every effort to protect him and ensure his safety. Unfortunately, I overestimated them. In the end, I had to act personally, losing nearly ten thousand of my elite troops."
Xu Xian and Nangong Ning exchanged a glance, reaching a silent understanding.
Taking advantage of the moment Min Zhan was busy talking, Nangong Ning released Ningyue, striking out with a full-strength sword blow. As the blade sped toward Min Zhan, Xu Xian used his mind to control Wait, slashing it toward the empty ground in front of them, kicking up a massive cloud of dust and debris.
"Go!"
Using the cover of the sword strike and the flying debris, the two of them didn't hesitate for a second and fled.
Currently, Min Zhan was occupied with controlling the Xiushe and couldn't divide his attention. This was their best opportunity to escape.
"Thinking of running? In your dreams!"
A divine light flashed in Min Zhan's eyes. He condensed a burst of true qi to knock Ningyue aside, and the moment he raised his severed arm, spirit energy mixed with essence blood erupted from the bloody wound at his elbow, manifesting into blood vines.
The blood vines grew rapidly, extending forward like creeping ivy, becoming thicker and denser. Then, like sharp arrows, they streaked through the air with the speed of a gale, heading straight for the two people sprinting through the dense forest.
They were incredibly fast, piercing through stones and shattering bamboo.
'Master, be careful.'
The shared Pupil of Insight allowed Xu Xian to see behind him. Seeing the blood vines attacking like a rain of arrows and closing in instantly, he acted on instinct. He twisted his body, shielding Nangong Ning, and used the momentum to shove her forward with a palm strike.
"Get out of the way!"
Puff! Puff! Puff! Puff!
Of the dozens of blood vines, half of them pierced through Xu Xian's body like chopsticks through tofu—his chest, abdomen, arms, and thighs were riddled with holes. None were spared.
Xu Xian let out a roar, the sound squeezed from between his gritted teeth. "Ah!"
In that instant, Xu Xian endured a heart-wrenching pain, nearly losing the ability to move instantly.
Nangong Ning, having steadied herself, shouted, "Little Grand-Uncle!"
She turned back to strike, her hands moving to disperse the remaining blood vines before slashing at the ones skewering Xu Xian. Wait also sensed its master was in danger and began hacking frantically at the blood vines that had impaled him.
However, with Min Zhan’s continuous supply of spirit energy, even the edge of an immortal sword felt like it was cutting through flowing water. It was a futile effort.
"Damn it!"
Min Zhan exerted his strength. "Come back here!"
The blood vines piercing through Xu Xian’s flesh acted like iron chains, wrapping tightly around him before rapidly retracting.
Xu Xian was dragged backward.
Seeing that she couldn't cut the blood vines, Nangong Ning leaped through the air to chase after him, grabbing his hands as he was pulled back.
"Little Grand-Uncle, I'll save you!"
The two sides engaged in a tug-of-war. Nangong Ning screamed, using every ounce of strength she possessed, managed to come to a halt less than a hundred meters away from Min Zhan.
Caught between the opposing forces, the blood vines inside Xu Xian's body acted like barbs, digging into his flesh. The pain was doubled. He ground his teeth so hard they nearly shattered, low growls escaping him as blood foam bubbled from the corners of his mouth.
"Ah—"
If not for the four months of bone-shattering pain he had endured on the Fifth Sword Heaven, which had given him a tolerance far beyond ordinary people, he likely would have lost consciousness from the agony long ago.
"Weren't you going to run? Why aren't you running anymore?"
Min Zhan mocked them incessantly, his face filled with triumph. "I calculated everything and laid this dragnet. Neither of you will escape today."
"After you die, I will slay the Great Snake and return to Yecheng with my severed arm. I will tell the whole world that you fought a bloody battle against a demonic cultivator and the snake, and by the time I arrived, you had already been buried in the snake's belly. Meanwhile, I will become the great hero who slew the snake and saved the people of Yecheng! Hahaha!"
Nangong Ning gritted her teeth and cursed, "Shameless!"
Xu Xian’s body was slowly being pulled toward Min Zhan. Nangong Ning held on with a death grip, her own wounds reopening as blood flowed freely.
Xu Xian knew that if this continued, there would be only one outcome: death.
Enduring the agonizing pain, he forced out a ragged, intermittent growl while still conscious: "Don't... worry about me... Go!"
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