"What kind of Dao technique is this?! Among the Three Thousand Grand Daos… there truly exists a Great Curse Technique!"
Fang Han was just about to complete the condensation of his Heaven-and-Earth Dharma Form—when the thousand-armed, thousand-eyed fusion of Buddha and demon was on the verge of turning from illusion into reality—when Hatred Heaven God-Emperor's curse rang directly within his mind.
Though Fang Han had sealed his six senses during cultivation, shutting out all external disturbance, the curse ignored all barriers. Like a formless force, it pierced straight into his soul, violently stirring his seas of consciousness.
A vast, invisible, irresistible power coiled tightly around his Natal Golden Core.
The once-brilliant core dimmed rapidly. The phantom of the thousand-armed, thousand-eyed Dharma Form upon it grew restless, letting out hoarse, stifled roars—as if something had died before it could be born. There was no longer the Buddha's calm compassion, nor the demon's seductive cunning. Only madness born of despair.
In an instant, countless hallucinations erupted before Fang Han's eyes.
Heart demons were surging. He was on the brink of cultivation deviation.
Though Hatred Heaven God-Emperor still could not force his power through the sealed entrance of the Yellow Springs Diagram, the curse—operating on some unfathomable, fated level—had invaded Fang Han's consciousness directly, entangling even his Golden Core.
What kind of terrifying power was this?
No wonder it ranked among the Three Thousand Grand Daos.
"Pff!"
At the same time, Yan Shuiyi—who was forcefully attempting to break into the Longevity Realm—was struck head-on by the Great Curse Technique. She spat out a mouthful of blood, her face contorted with chaotic desire and madness. Only a trace of clarity remained in her eyes.
The Great Curse Technique, unleashed at full power by a God-Emperor, was no trivial matter—especially at the critical moment of her breakthrough. It shattered her spiritual focus and inflicted irreversible damage.
In a single moment, both Fang Han and Yan Shuiyi were struck, their breakthroughs forcibly interrupted.
Fang Han fared slightly better. The World Tree seed within his brow naturally suppressed the God race, and he had already survived a brutal Wind-Fire Tribulation, refining most heart demons away. He had even encountered the Heart Demon Elder before. Though he had not learned heart-demon manipulation, a month of underground contemplation had given him profound insight.
Yan Shuiyi, however, was in grave danger.
Her body temperature skyrocketed. Scorching heat poured from every pore—signs of a Wind-Fire Tribulation being forcibly triggered.
Fang Han could even sense her Natal Dharma Form—the Great Calamity Primordial Spirit—beginning to transform into various disasters within her body.
The Taiyi Sect's Great Catastrophe Technique was terrifyingly powerful—but once it spiraled out of control, catastrophe descended upon the cultivator first. The stronger the Dao, the more vicious the inner demon.
"Fang Han! It's the Great Curse Technique!" Yan roared. "Ancient witchcraft, long-distance killing, curse substitutions—all evolved from this Dao! It's sinister beyond belief, impossible to guard against! Yan Shuiyi is gravely injured—she may explode at any moment. She can't suppress the Great Calamity Primordial Spirit anymore!"
"Then what do we do?" Fang Han's heart sank. "If her Primordial Spirit explodes, the Yellow Springs Diagram will collapse instantly."
He himself had no way to dispel the curse. His Golden Core was already dimmed; without removing the curse, he could not condense the Dharma Form.
"Azure Sea Divine Pearl!"
At that critical moment, clarity flashed through Yan Shuiyi's eyes. She called out sharply, and the Azure Sea Divine Pearl—previously helping suppress the Great Chaos Thunder Sword alongside the Eightfold Pagoda—shot upward.
In an instant, it expanded into a vast water world, enveloping her completely.
The pearl transformed into a water domain spanning several acres. Yan Shuiyi vanished within it.
She was using the Azure Sea Divine Pearl to suppress the curse.
"Fang Han! Help me—sink me and the pearl into the Yellow Springs Sacred River. Then enter the pearl and use the Black Emperor Water Sovereign energy to awaken my Water God Primordial Spirit and drive out the curse!"
Her urgent voice echoed from within the water world.
"No time to waste. Let's do it."
Fang Han acted instantly. With a sweep of his power, he lifted the Azure Sea Divine Pearl and plunged it deep into the Yellow Springs Sacred River. Waves crashed violently as vast quantities of sacred river water were absorbed.
With a flicker, Fang Han followed, entering the pearl's interior.
The Azure Sea Divine Pearl sank to the riverbed, vanishing without a trace.
"You think you can escape my Great Curse Technique?" Hatred Heaven God-Emperor's massive head chanted again amid the astral winds. "I curse you to be entangled in desire forever, never glimpsing the true Dao!"
"I curse your Dao hearts to collapse—your souls to scatter!"
"I curse you to drown in lust, never to return!"
The curse pierced through the Yellow Springs Diagram, through the sacred river, striking Fang Han and Yan Shuiyi again—binding itself deep within their souls.
Fang Han staggered as he entered the water world, struck once more by the curse. Nausea surged through him. His chest tightened, as if he were about to vomit.
A gray haze coated his Golden Core. The once-pure power in his nine seas of consciousness became tainted, sluggish, resistant to control.
At the center of the water world, Yan Shuiyi fared even worse—she spat out another mouthful of blood.
Her hair was disheveled, her cheeks flushed crimson. Her damaged robes revealed glimpses of pale skin—at her chest, her thighs—unintentionally alluring. The earlier shockwave at the Yellow Springs entrance had already torn her protective garments.
Fang Han had long cultivated to a state of near desirelessness, able to refine almost any heart demon.
Yet at this moment, seeing Yan Shuiyi like this, his heart stirred.
A faint flame ignited in his lower dantian.
His desire was rising—beyond his control.
"Hurry… use the Black Emperor Water Sovereign energy… awaken my Water God Primordial Spirit…" Yan Shuiyi gasped. Her voice trembled, breath uneven, the seductive flush deepening—only her eyes retaining a shred of clarity.
Fang Han clenched his teeth. He moved behind her, placing his palm against her back, circulating the Five Emperors Great Demonic Art. Vast water-aligned energy surged into her body, merging with her true water essence to form a rotating vortex that swept through her body and into her mind.
Yet as he circulated the energy, a ripple passed through his thoughts.
Memories surfaced—among his ninety-three demonic arts were forbidden dual-cultivation techniques: Yin-Yang Grand Harvest, Delusion of Bliss… supreme demonic methods refined by the Ghost Emperor at great cost.
A dark thought flared.
For a fleeting instant, he imagined pressing Yan Shuiyi down within the water world—using demonic dual cultivation—her struggling form beneath him, the overwhelming pleasure that would follow—
This was the heart demon born of the Great Curse Technique.
Fang Han barely managed to suppress it.
Under the combined effect of his Water Sovereign energy and Yan Shuiyi's awakened essence, the curse was finally pressed back. The Water God Primordial Spirit stirred to life.
Yan Shuiyi's bearing grew solemn. A cooling clarity flowed through her body.
"You think this is enough to suppress my curse?" Hatred Heaven God-Emperor roared. Purple-gold blood sprayed from his three mouths, dissolving into formless energy that resonated with some hidden force of destiny. "I've seized your souls—you will sink into desire forever!"
"Yan Shuiyi! Dream on if you think you'll become an Eternal Giant!" he howled. "I curse you—sink into ruin!"
Suddenly—
"Not good!"
Despite the temporary clarity, an overwhelming curse tore through space and slammed into Yan Shuiyi's mind.
Boom!
All her accumulated cultivation collapsed in an instant. Her Dao heart shattered. Her body burned fiercely—heat radiating from every pore, even her remaining robes beginning to scorch.
Her body went limp.
She collapsed directly into Fang Han's arms.
Fang Han froze.
His hand had been on her back—but as she fell, he instinctively reached forward.
His palm closed around something soft.
He looked down.
His hand was gripping her exposed chest. With her already-damaged robe torn further, the sight was devastatingly intimate.
"Fang Han—you!" Yan Shuiyi, drawing on centuries of cultivation, forced a shred of clarity. Realizing what had happened, she was both furious and humiliated. This was no mere touch—this crossed her final boundary.
She struggled weakly.
"Let go… now…" she whispered, forcing out the words.
But before she finished—
Her lips were sealed.
Fang Han, his restraint finally breaking, leaned in. His lips pressed against hers, his breath hot, his tongue moving instinctively.
Yan Shuiyi's last thread of clarity snapped.
A soft, involuntary sound escaped her throat.
Fang Han pressed down.
Their bodies fell together within the water world.