I Have an Omen System-Chapter 71 - 69: Nascent Soul Curse Killing

"Let’s see just what’s so scary about this damn hallway."

The Demon Disciple was named Shi Zhen. He was burly, with muscles knotted like rock, and his skin had an unnatural, ashen-gray hue.

He chose the widest path, the central corridor that was a full three meters across, and charged into it like a wild bull, hunched over and scrambling forward.

BAM!

Who would have known that just a few steps in, the walls, which were covered in bone spikes on both sides, would suddenly and bizarrely slam inward!

Shi Zhen’s pupils shrank. He turned to flee, but the bone spikes were even faster than he had imagined.

KRAK—!

The sharp spikes viciously plunged into Shi Zhen’s arms and back, instantly leaving over a dozen bloody holes.

"AHH!" Shi Zhen let out a piercing scream as he threw his head back, blood spraying everywhere.

His head lolled to the side, and he went silent.

His organs had been pierced by the spikes. Glistening white intestines, mixed with dark red blood, spilled onto the ground. Before the crimson liquid could dry, it was absorbed by the ghastly, living white bone.

After Shi Zhen, several more Demon Disciples refused to believe it was impossible.

However, once all their corpses were hanging from the ghastly white bone spikes, the other Demon Disciples finally learned their lesson.

Even when one Demon Disciple managed to forcibly snap off a spike, it was useless.

After the spike broke, what appeared at the fracture was not bone marrow, but a viscous, grayish-white fluid.

The fluid seemed to have a mind of its own. It writhed slowly at the break, visible to the naked eye, secreting a grayish-white substance that filled the gap, hardened, and restored the spike to its original state!

"I... I’m not participating."

The Demon Disciples’ faces were filled with terror. Someone turned to run but was instantly torn to shreds by an Array that appeared out of nowhere.

"AHH!"

[THOSE WHO FLEE WILL DIE!]

A magnificent, booming voice suddenly rang out, echoing endlessly through the bone corridor.

The Demon Disciples’ faces turned deathly pale.

Death lay ahead, and death lay behind. What were they to do?

Just as they were all despairing, a young man in a Gray Robe with smooth, flowing muscles but vacant, numb eyes suddenly stepped forward.

"Everyone, watch how I, Tan Cheng, pass this trial."

Tan Cheng moved like a marionette, as if he were being controlled. In a daze, he took out a ghastly white Corpse Beetle the size of a fingernail and bit down on it.

The Corpse Beetle was still alive, making a CRUNCHING sound as he chewed. A murky green liquid splattered from the corner of his mouth.

"GULP!"

His throat bobbed, and Tan Cheng swallowed the chewed-up Corpse Beetle in one go.

The next moment, his body changed dramatically. His once-streamlined muscles seemed to shrink and melt away, leaving his entire body as soft and boneless as a slippery loach. He bent his upper body backward until it was almost touching the ground.

He displayed astonishing flexibility and contortion, as if he had no bones at all!

The Demon Disciples were dumbfounded.

Then, something even more incredible happened.

Whenever a bone spike was about to impale him, his body would fold and twist at an unbelievable angle, narrowly avoiding it every time.

In less than half a day’s time, he had successfully dodged all the bone spikes and reached the end of the corridor. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Standing next to Zhao Youliang, the light suddenly returned to Tan Cheng’s vacant, dull eyes, and his melted muscles reformed to their original state.

"There’s something strange about what Tan Cheng ate!"

At that moment, a Demon Disciple finally realized what was going on and cried out in alarm.

It dawned on the other Demon Disciples. Someone shouted, "Senior Brother Tan, may I ask what Miracle Elixir you just took?"

Tan Cheng smiled. "Fellow junior and senior brothers, what I just ate was not a Pill, but a Bone-Transforming Silver Spirit Insect specially raised by Master Qin of the Plague Poison Altar."

The Demon Disciples put their heads together and began whispering amongst themselves.

The same Demon Disciple shouted again, "Senior Brother Tan, I want one too! Where can I buy it?"

Tan Cheng replied, "Fifteen Contribution Points each. You can get them from Instructor Zhao."

Zhao Youliang flipped his hand, and a huge wooden chest materialized out of thin air.

He opened it to reveal it was filled to the brim with writhing, silver-white Corpse Beetles. There were thousands of them crawling all over each other!

Zhao Youliang smiled faintly. "A product of the Inner Sect’s Plague Poison Altar, from Master Qin himself. Honest trade for all. Loans are available for those in need, with a limited-time low-interest offer."

...

「Two days later.」

Qin Xuan looked at the extra ninety thousand Contribution Points in his Blood Loan Money Shop account, and a grin stretched from ear to ear.

"Old Zhao, not bad. You did an excellent job!" Qin Xuan laughed heartily, looking up at the sky.

Zhao Youliang said, "No, no, it’s Master Qin’s Spirit Insects that are astonishingly effective."

Qin Xuan patted Zhao Youliang’s shoulder with satisfaction.

’This kid is teachable.’

As for the so-called Silver Spirit Insects, they were, in fact, Bone-Transforming Corpse Beetles!

It was just like how Zheng Qi had manipulated the Blood Potion Blue Formula. At the beginning, a Demon Disciple could indeed succeed by swallowing just one Bone-Transforming Corpse Beetle to reach the end of the corridor.

But the further along they were, the more Bone-Transforming Corpse Beetles they needed to swallow.

It was either die or take out a loan. Even a fool knew which to choose.

From just one small Saint Cultivator assessment, Qin Xuan had almost earned back the service fee he paid for the Flame Demon.

He now finally understood why Zheng Qi had been able to give out unlimited loans back then.

It wasn’t that his own capital was large. Rather, the Blood Loan Money Shop could front the funds for him, essentially acting as a bridge loan.

Qin Xuan charged the Demon Disciples 3% interest on their loans, and the Blood Loan Money Shop charged Qin Xuan a 1% bridging fee.

’The Holy Sect senior who created this system was a true genius!’

One had to understand that the Saint Cultivator assessment didn’t just involve the Plague Poison Altar. The Inner Sect had thousands of sub-altars, and the sheer transaction volume alone was staggering.

Most importantly, just by using Contribution Points and loans, the Holy Sect kept all the low-level Demon Disciples firmly under its control!

On one hand, Qin Xuan was raking it in.

On the other hand, Zhang Yangzhou approached with a look on his face like his parents had just died, appearing completely crestfallen.

"Senior Brother Zhang, why the long face?"

Zhang Yangzhou gave a miserable smile but didn’t say anything.

Qin Xuan ended up learning the reason from Steward Fan Hao, who was standing nearby.

"What? The Holy Sect airdropped a new Incense Master into the Rot Heart Sub-Altar?!"

Qin Xuan was stunned. "May I ask who it is?"

Fan Hao whispered, "An Elder’s Direct Inheritance, Ma Wei!"

Zhang Yangzhou also came to his senses at this moment, his face bitter as he murmured.

"Ma Wei also achieved Heaven Dao Foundation Establishment. She officially broke through the day before yesterday and obtained the Ten Thousand Poison Peak’s Positional Divine Technique, [Rotting Body Miasma]."

"She is a direct blood relative of the Holy Sect’s Bone Charm Demon Lord. That woman is narrow-minded and vengeful over the smallest slight. A moment ago, I merely talked back to her, and she took the eight thousand Contribution Points I had worked so hard to earn in one fell swoop."

"Junior Brother Qin, life is going to be difficult for us from now on."

RUMBLE!!

It was as if thunder had exploded in Qin Xuan’s ears.

The massive sphere of light in his mind suddenly began to flicker.

Two Ancient Bamboo Sticks flew out from it.

[Middle-Middle Draw: A Nascent Soul Daoist Monarch takes action. Deceitful Poison Curse Technique, a bloody disaster. Achieve Heaven Dao Foundation Establishment within 30 days to have a chance of survival. Neutral.]

[The Worst Draw: A Nascent Soul Daoist Monarch takes action. Achieve Heaven Dao Foundation Establishment after 30 days and be caught in a Curse Killing crisis, leading to a violent death. Greatly Inauspicious!]

Qin Xuan’s expression suddenly turned ugly.

He never would have imagined that a mere Qi Cultivation disciple like himself would be targeted by a mighty Nascent Soul Cultivator!

’Dammit. Ma Wei, is it? I’ll remember this.’

Qin Xuan’s eyes were jet-black, his thoughts racing like lightning. He quickly found a way to break the predicament.

’Today is September 26th.’

’The last Divination said that achieving Heaven Dao Foundation Establishment after three months—that is, after October 23rd—would be safe. However, only two months and three days have passed.’

’This Divination says I must become a Foundation Establishment Cultivator within a month, which means the deadline is October 26th.’

’That means I have a golden opportunity, a three-day window between October 23rd and October 26th, to escape the Curse Killing!’