You're Strong But Now You're Mine-Chapter 536 - 534: Curse (Part 2)

Among the three abilities of the Book of the Dead, aside from "Death Without Rigor", none are actually meant for combat, one could even say that the Book of the Dead is not meant for the battlefield at all.

Yet, with the thousand-year legacy of the Necromancer Sect, the Book of the Dead leapt to become the most fierce Divine Weapon of slaughter, rivaled only by the Holy Sword of Radiance.

The reason lies in the ability called "Death Ignites the Lamp"! It not only allows the bearer to grow infinitely stronger but also prepares a mobile army camp for them. As long as the bearer wills it, the undead army within the Book of the Dead can descend upon the world.

And how many undead reside within the Book of the Dead?

According to the data provided by Ming Jiejin, the Western Continent now consumes one and a half million undead per year. Since modern undead are more numerous than ancient ones, let's take just a portion -- five hundred thousand -- calculate over two thousand years, that's a hundred million undead... or one billion undead, and that's on the conservative side.

One billion undead... one billion undead!

Although they are consumables, although once used they cannot be restored, although... that is a billion warriors who do not fear death!

This is the fundamental confidence that allows Ming Jiejin to enter Radiance alone: he is not just an army of one person; he is a nation of one person! In this world, there is no army that can rival Ming Jiejin, and no martial artist can compete with him!

If Ming Jiejin exhausts his resources to summon the billion undead, he can level Yanjing in a quarter of an hour!

Unless the Holy Sword of Radiance is used, no one in this world can oppose the Book of the Dead!

Therefore, Ming Jiejin has endured in silence for over a decade, waiting until the previous emperor passed and the Holy Sword was left unclaimed to execute his plan; thus, he dared to cooperate with the incredibly fierce demon prodigy Smiley without fear of his growing power; thus, he dared to chase and kill Chashi Yin across half of Yanjing without any hesitation!

"Are you still going to run?" Seeing Chashi Yin clench the Holy Sword of Radiance, Ming Jiejin sighed: "On the way here, I killed forty-two people, three dogs, six cats, among which were nine children, and six pregnant women. Although I do not see the people of Radiance as my kin, I do not see them as enemies either, do you want to continue implicating them?"

"Those who killed them were not I, but your undead," Chashi Yin responded calmly, "I've contemplated philosophical dilemmas like this a thousand times, trying to bind me with such moral laws is underestimating my millennial life."

Ming Jiejin shook his head, "No, I just sincerely feel it is meaningless. No one can save you, your escape only increases casualties without any point. I am not one who revels in slaughter, nor are you someone who fears death, why should our fight be so catastrophic?"

Chashi Yin couldn't help but laugh, "With the demons inside Yanjing killing each other, the rebel troops breaking through outside Yanjing, Radiance precarious in just one night, and you tell me not to cause calamity?"

"Those are necessary sacrifices, now that we have achieved great success, we should avoid unnecessary killings."

"You, a pope of the Necromancer Sect from thousands of miles away, dare to judge what sacrifices are necessary and what killings are unnecessary in Radiance?"

"Ancestral Sage Shiyin, why must you act in such a manner?" Ming Jiejin's expression was calm, "Land annexation, arrogant powerful families, political control by clans... even without me, Ming Jiejin, Radiance had reached a time for reform and sacrifice. Having witnessed the rise and fall of countless dynasties, could you still not understand what it means to rise and fall, what the grand trend of history is?"

"It was merely by coincidence that I came at the right time, going with the trend, that led to our meeting tonight."

"However, if you are willing to surrender the Heart of Immortality, this monotonous historical cycle will be thoroughly rewritten." The ghostly royal robe on Ming Jiejin suddenly glimmered with gold, instantly transforming into the imperial robe of Radiance: "With the Heart of Immortality and the Book of the Dead, I will surely become the sole monarch beneath the stars, the overlord of all continents. I will ensure the continuation of the Radiance Imperial Family and include Radiance in the Grand Maritime Plan, redirecting your internal conflicts outward, then gathering the wise minds of the two continents to vigorously develop productivity, freeing humanity from the land..."

"Your proposal is indeed pleasing," Chashi Yin said, "but just as there is no Pope of the Necromancer Sect enjoying old age, there will be no unyielding Heart of Immortality."

Ming Jiejin smiled slightly, "But you won't make it past dawn."

"What..." Chashi Yin tried to leave but found his feet sinking into the mire. Looking down, he discovered the ground had become an abyss of wraiths, skeletal hands were dragging him into the netherworld.

Ming Jiejin had actually fused the undead with the ground, temporarily creating this abyss of the undead!

"To kill the Ancestral Sage Shiyin is truly the hardest task in the world. If you fled with all your might, I would have no sure way to deal with you, cut off your hand and you could regenerate it, sever your leg and you could regrow it, immortality is truly an incomprehensible existence."

Ming Jiejin lowered his head to look at Chashi Yin trapped in the abyss of the undead, letting out a long, somber sigh: "But seventeen years of waiting, seventeen years of planning, countless generations of scheming, it seems the perfect conclusion can finally be drawn."

"Hmm." Chashi Yin sneered, "Even if you capture me, how do you intend to kill me and extract the heart? Do not forget, I am immortal."

"Rest assured, I have long prepared."

Ming Jiejin crouched down, pulling out a plain little dagger, "Though the Heart of Immortality is called a heart, what is most crucial to a person is their head, thus the Heart of Immortality may not necessarily be the physical heart, but it certainly represents an unending source of life."

"This dagger is a divine weapon made from the stellar debris ore exhausting all resources of the Western Continent, with only one effect: to duplicate the power of another divine weapon, but only one."

"Ancestral Sage Shiyin, you should have guessed which divine weapon this dagger duplicates."

Chashi Yin looked slightly bewildered, bitterly smiling, "The Illusion Divine Weapon · The Soul Purification Demonic Sword."

"Correct." Ming Jiejin gestured, letting the wraiths seize Chashi Yin's hands, tearing open his clothing to expose his chest: "If I'm not mistaken, the Great Ancestor of Radiance who created the Illusion Divine Weapon... also had a similar bold idea as mine, right? The Soul Purification Demonic Sword was originally meant to drain the Heart of Immortality."

"Most people in this world cannot see through the illusion of immortality." Chashi Yin said, "I am one of them."

Ming Jiejin was somewhat curious, "Did he fail?"

Chashi Yin: "When I learned his intent from craftsmen, I simply left Radiance for fifty years for that matter, as if on a leisurely retreat."

"I thought you would reprimand this unfilial descendant."

"No need, time will punish everything for me."

"In this world, only you are qualified to say that." Ming Jiejin pressed his hand on Chashi Yin's chest, piercing his own hand with the dagger, stabbing it into Chashi Yin's chest: "Is there anything you wish to entrust to me?"

"A last will doesn't quite fit with the Heart of Immortality," Chashi Yin felt his life force endlessly draining through the dagger, yet his face instead showed a trace of flush: "Always believing in hope is the greatest miracle of the Heart of Immortality."

"I can hardly wait." Ming Jiejin's face showed longing, "Perhaps because of the Book of the Dead, or perhaps because of generations of popes... our Häagen-Dazs family is inherently scheming with trickery, the word joy is very distant from us, living from a young age brooding and in silent conspiracies..."

"I truly wish to know, what does genuine happiness feel like?"

Tea Shiyin said, "If my second brother knew about your subsequent experiences, he definitely wouldn't have passed on the Book of the Dead."

"I hold a different opinion," Ming Jiejin shook his head, "Even if the founder of Taiyue foresaw everything, he would still pass on the Book of the Dead."

Tea Shiyin was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "The three abilities of the Book of the Dead are actually related to my second brother's wishes. Bringing the dead back to life doesn't need mentioning; he always wanted to resurrect our mother..."

"The ability to prevent corpses from decaying is similar. He didn't want to see the sight of family corpses rotting, hoping their bodies would forever remain as if alive."

Ming Jiejin nodded, "The founder of Taiyue valued family ties greatly, a model for all time."

"And 'Light a Lamp After Death' is a thought he had after seeing through worldly affairs," Tea Shiyin said, "He knew everyone must eventually die, that no one but me can remain in the world... so he hoped to light a lamp in the afterlife to illuminate the darkness, protect friends and family, and meet descendants."

Ming Jiejin was slightly astonished.

"I've killed many of my elder brother's descendants, but never those of my second brother," Tea Shiyin said, looking at Ming Jiejin, "When you see the lamp lit by my second brother down there, please speak well of me... The thing I least want is to make him sad."

Suddenly, Ming Jiejin's blood surged, goosebumps covered his skin, icy terror seeped into his bones, as the great horror between life and death descended upon this Undead Pope's head!

However, Tea Shiyin directly twisted off his arms and promptly grew new, pristine white ones, tightly embracing Ming Jiejin who was within reach!

Though a second later a corpse wraith would sever Tea Shiyin's arms, Ming Jiejin knew he didn't have another second!

Bang!

With the angry roar of the Luminous Stone's energy cannon, a dazzling golden light shot from the Imperial Court wall, breaking dawn and vanquishing darkness, directly aiming at Tea Shiyin!

Where the rays passed, all things annihilated, all souls obliterated!

The blue brick ground was overturned, the street archway directly collapsed! Sand flew, dust billowed!

At this moment, everyone in Yanjing was drawn to the Imperial Court—the energy cannon, meant for ceremonial use, why was it activated? Who operated it? Who did it aim at? What was happening?

"Fortunately, I found it..."

In the direction of the Luminous Stone's attack, a stark naked man dug into the pit for a long time before finally pulling out the shimmering Holy Sword Huiyao from the soil, contentedly preparing to leave.

"Cough... cough cough..."

Hearing a living voice, Tea Shiyin turned and saw half of Ming Jiejin's head buried in the earth. He thought for a moment, then kindly squatted down and said, "Should I help you end it?"

"You... deliberately ran here..." Ming Jiejin spat out gravel from his mouth, "This is... Shooting Sun Avenue, directly south of the Imperial Court..."

"Yes, because the Imperial Court's only energy cannon was pointed at this location, I could only personally lure you here."

"But... who helped you fire the cannon… you're a kilometer away from the Imperial Court… oh."

Ming Jiejin saw the necklace beneath Tea Shiyin's neck that remained unharmed after the exposure to the energy cannon's beams, instantly understanding everything, "Huiyao's Four Guards..."

"With Nesser's Heart as a communication hub, such simple coordination is easily achieved," Tea Shiyin cleared the earth under Ming Jiejin, "Has the Book of the Dead returned?"

"It's returned... wait a few decades for the Undead cult to break through Huiyao's national gates."

"Rest assured, I will wait," Tea Shiyin laughed, "After all, I can't run away."

Seeing the gloomy prince about to close his eyes, Tea Shiyin thought, then asked, "Do you have anything else to entrust me with?"

Ming Jiejin glanced at his ancestor and said, "You... earlier... when I seized your Immortal Heart... you waited a long time..."

"Don't refute… Huiyao's Four Guards must have been prepared… but you waited for me to pierce your heart, waited for me to seize the Immortal Heart… only when driven by the 'Immortal Heart'... did you counterattack..."

"You actually… also hoped I could... take the Immortal Heart..."

"You say… your indifference, your withdrawal, your calamities… are caused by the Immortal Heart…but in fact… this is clearly you resisting the Immortal Heart… results…"

"The Immortal Heart can deceive you... but you cannot deceive yourself." 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Like a flashback before death, Ming Jiejin suddenly spoke smoothly, "In the founder of Taiyue's notes, he mentioned that the Absolute Divine Weapon is actually a curse from the gods on the four brothers."

"Before, I didn't understand what the curse meant, not until I came to Huiyao, met the Curse Hunters, did I understand what the founder of Taiyue was talking about."

"You said, you could free me. But who can free you, the founder Shiyin?"

Ming Jiejin's eyes gradually became cloudy and hollow, whispering softly, "The curse... isn't meant to kill people..."

Tea Shiyin reached out to close Ming Jiejin's eyes, climbed out of the pit made by the energy cannon blast, and suddenly felt something as he saw a sliver of dawn rising from the east.

After ten hours of darkness, dawn was finally coming.

However, Tea Shiyin felt no joy, his mind still recalled Ming Jiejin's last words, and its latter half.

A curse isn't meant to kill.

But to make life worse than death.