Chapter 72: The Third Wave of the Shadow Curse

“Wei, the Shadow of the Demon is here!” Xu Shan’s scream pierced the air, fraught with terror.

Wei Cheng had already dashed out from the warehouse, and in passing, placed a protective Golden Bell spell over the remaining osmanthus wine. When the Shadow of the Demon erupts, it brings terrifying earthquakes. If these precious wines were smashed, that would truly be regretful.

When Wei Cheng reached the ramparts of their stronghold, he saw, more than two hundred miles away in the direction of the ruins of Floating Cloud City, dozens of streams of demonic fire spewing violently. The scorching waves of fire mingled with ominous energy, sweeping across the land like a hurricane. The black clouds overhead rapidly transformed into blood-red storm clouds.

This was the process of the Shadow of the Demon’s curse erupting—the terrifying shockwave expanding at hundreds of miles per second. There was no time for words. Wei Cheng quickly formed seals with both hands, dazzling golden runes flashing and shifting in a thousand ways within the span of a hair’s breadth. As the shockwave of the curse and demonic fire reached them, he threw out ten Golden Bell spells in one breath, enclosing the other five within.

The higher quality of his Mountain-Moving internal force made its operation so smooth and fluid.

Boom!

The curse of the Shadow of the Demon swept over them, and the blast wave from the demonic fire followed in an instant. Stones as large as millstones whirled through the sky, and upon landing became nothing more than splinters.

This was no longer a force that mortals could withstand, especially with the Shadow of the Demon’s curse entwined within. That decaying, rotten, despairing, cold, and depleted power—it could make even stones weep in sorrow.

If the demonic fire’s blast was physical damage, then the curse was magical damage; the combination was simply savage. Even Wei Cheng, after weathering this wave, was left pale and shaken.

All the Golden Bell spells protecting them were forcibly shattered.

Two Golden Bells, no less! And these weren’t ordinary Golden Bells—they were cast after Wei Cheng greatly enhanced the quality of his Mountain-Moving internal force, each with defense equivalent to four normal ones, more than fifty percent stronger than before.

If he hadn’t managed to fine-tune the spells, they’d surely have been dead or maimed in this wave.

Didn’t it seem the mechanism of this trial was unreliable? Weren’t they promised only the Shadow of the Demon’s curse, yet the third wave brought physical shockwaves?

No time to ponder—Wei Cheng hurriedly formed seals again, reinforcing each person with another Golden Bell. Thankfully, he had drunk ten jars of osmanthus wine earlier; relying on the swiftly converted Mountain-Moving internal force, he managed to barely stabilize the situation.

A cracking sound rang out.

The Golden Bells shielding everyone began to splinter, covered in patches of rust, their golden light turning muddy and dim in an instant, and finally, after a few seconds, collapsing in a ruined heap.

This was the power of the Shadow of the Demon’s curse.

But fortunately, the peak of the curse had mostly passed. Everyone exerted their internal force and resisted desperately, managing to remain unharmed.

A dozen seconds later, the third wave of the curse dissipated completely.

Yet at the ruins of Floating Cloud City, demonic fire continued to erupt, occasionally sword energy pierced the clouds, shaking the earth and sky, as shockwaves swept over, their cumulative damage still deadly.

It seemed a higher-level battle was occurring there.

Wei Cheng immediately thought of those servers that cleared the trial perfectly—but that didn’t make sense, their overall strength shouldn’t differ too greatly, unless—the reinforcements must be counted.

But now there was no time to deliberate, for giant fireballs began to plummet from the sky above Floating Cloud City, instantly transforming the surrounding hundred-mile area into a sea of fire and magma.

Stronger earthquakes followed, the earth battered and ravaged like a rag in a washbasin.

The stronghold where Wei Cheng and the others stood finally gave way, trembling violently several times before collapsing outright.

Everyone, including Wei Cheng, was buried within.

After a long while, they crawled out, battered and dispirited, their faces grim—the turn of events had caught them off guard.

Even the osmanthus wine Wei Cheng had protected with Golden Bell spells was lost.

Now, all that remained was the wine each carried in their own baskets.

“My osmanthus wine!” Mei Renli wailed in anguish.

The others felt much the same—their strength, under such disaster-like blows, was as fragile as children.

Fortunately, the demonic fire eruptions at the ruins finally ceased, and being two hundred miles away, they weren’t in the worst-hit zone.

Had they still been in the collapsed mining area, their very bones would have been vaporized.

“Is everyone alright?”

Standing amidst the ruins, Wei Cheng took out a jar of osmanthus wine and drank deeply. He’d been careless—they’d lost over a hundred jars.

“We’re fine. I really didn’t expect the third wave of the curse would be this terrifying,” Cheng An said, still shaken.

“What’s terrifying isn’t the third wave of the curse, but the eruption of demonic fire. Didn’t the stone tablet say there’s a formidable demon sealed beneath Floating Cloud City? Perhaps the next chapter is about this demon breaking free and attacking Cangwu City,” Liu Sui said in a low voice.

“But have you considered the quests of those servers that cleared the trial perfectly? I feel like they’re fighting over there,” Wei Cheng gazed toward Floating Cloud City, voice grave.

Those servers, aided by reinforcements, weren’t affected by the curse. If their only task was to escape the poisonous zone, that would be too simple.

Normally, the more perfect the clearance, the greater the privileges in the next stage—but they might also shoulder more important tasks.

Like the sleepless rocket classes, endless exam tactics...

The others nodded repeatedly, and Liu Sui’s eyes brightened.

“Wei, with what you’ve said, I think Zhou Wu and Qin Douzi’s previous conclusions were too hasty. Floating Cloud City connects everywhere, not just to Cangwu City—it must link to other cities as well. And with so many trialists in P City, not all will head for Cangwu. It seems more like an open map.”

“No, not quite—I think this is a replicated cultivation world, and the plot of each trial stage is interconnected. Do you think these stories are made up by the Trial Immortal, or are they real events that happened in the cultivation world?”

“It must be real events—the Trial Immortal wouldn’t be so bored as to write us a novel. This isn’t some undying golden immortal in the city!” Yu Liang scoffed.

“So that means the destruction of Floating Cloud City is inevitable, perhaps even Cangwu City will fall. From a county, to a prefecture, to a province, and finally a nation, spreading like a plague, until the cultivation world is overrun. What are these otherworldly demons, really?”

No one could answer.

Everyone’s thoughts grew heavy. After a long silence, Xu Shan looked at Wei Cheng with a serious expression.

“Wei, we’re not a perfect-clearance server, we don’t have reinforcements, so the curse affects us greatly. We need to decide—do we hurry to escape the poisonous zone, or search for more ore?”

“But no matter what, I think we must retreat before the fourth wave arrives tomorrow,” Cheng An said. “According to our previous judgment, once we leave the poisonous zone, we’ll enter Cangwu City’s territory. Staying here to cultivate isn’t meaningful anymore. Better to mine some ore or clear another demon stronghold, so when we reach Cangwu, we can sell the ore for a good starting fund. There must be more advanced cultivation resources in Cangwu City.”

Yu Liang and Mei Renli nodded as well; today’s eruption of the curse had truly frightened them.

Only Liu Sui seemed to be pondering something.

Wei Cheng considered for a moment, then looked at Cheng An and Mei Renli.

“Do you think you can open the seventh innate meridian within a day?”