Chapter 657: Blood Curse

My sister!

Upon hearing those three words, Ye Chen couldn't help but twitch the corners of his mouth, his expression becoming even more amused.

No wonder she had looked so familiar before—a voice like that, and being sisters, how could she not?

"Do you know my sister?" Beside him, Shangguan Hanyue pursed her lips but still asked out of curiosity.

"Here, beautiful, your storage bag back." Ye Chen handed the still-warm storage bag back to Shangguan Hanyue.

This was trouble! Robbing someone and ending up with Shangguan Yuer's sister—what if Shangguan Yuer found out? It would throw the whole world into chaos!

On this side, seeing Ye Chen return the storage bag, Shangguan Hanyue was momentarily stunned.

What was going on?

This wasn't like the Pit God Qin Yu's style at all! He was the type who took ransom and still didn't let people go, so why return something he'd robbed?

Had he reformed?

Shangguan Hanyue found a perfectly reasonable excuse for this.

Little did she know that if she found out this jerk had once seen her sister's body completely, she might scratch him to death on the spot.

Cough!

Here, Ye Chen coughed lightly and retracted the Xian Huo he had infused into Shangguan Hanyue's body. The mysterious power lingering in her body had also been forcefully refined by the Xian Huo.

However, Shangguan Hanyue's face remained as pale as paper, her breath as weak as ever, and black blood occasionally seeped from the corners of her mouth. As the possessor of a Dao Ling Zhi Ti, she now looked so frail that a light breeze could knock her over.

Seeing this, Ye Chen furrowed his brows and subtly activated his Xian Lun Eye, fixing his gaze on Shangguan Hanyue.

"Xue Zu." Soon, he murmured, clearly spotting an ancient blood-red rune deep in her brow. This rune was devouring her blood essence and suppressing her bloodline power.

"No wonder." Ye Chen narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Thank you, fellow Daoist, for saving me." Shangguan Hanyue said, then gently turned to leave. But after just a couple of steps, she stumbled and nearly fell.

"With a Xue Zu on you, how far can you go?" Ye Chen grabbed Shangguan Hanyue and used a gentle force to make her sit cross-legged. Since she was Shangguan Yuer's sister, he naturally couldn't stand by and watch her die.

Although he didn't know much about Xue Zu, it worked on principles similar to Wu Zu.

And the Xue Zu in Shangguan Hanyue's body was clearly no ordinary one—it could suppress the bloodline power of a Dao Ling Zhi Ti, devour her blood essence, and just thinking about it showed it was no joke.

Ye Chen was certain that without intervention, Shangguan Hanyue would turn from a Xuan Ling Zhi Ti into a useless body in a matter of days.

As he spoke, Ye Chen pressed his two fingers together and pointed them at Shangguan Hanyue's brow.

"What are you doing?" Shangguan Hanyue said, starting to get up.

"Sit still and don't move." Ye Chen said sternly, as strands of Xian Huo entered Shangguan Hanyue's brow.

Although Shangguan Hanyue still wanted to resist, she sat obediently in place. Ye Chen's words seemed to carry a magical power, making her feel no desire to resist at that moment.

"It might be very painful—bear with it." Ye Chen said lightly.

"Mm." Shangguan Hanyue pursed her lips but nodded. Feeling the warm flames surging into her body, she felt quite comfortable, as if her shivering body was basking in sunlight on a winter day.

"He's not as heartless as the rumors say." Shangguan Hanyue murmured to herself and subconsciously glanced at Ye Chen.

It was this young man who had saved her twice in the span of half an hour, and this was the third time. His slender figure gave her an inexplicable sense of security.

For a moment, she felt an impulse to remove Ye Chen's mask and see his true face.

But that thought lasted only a second. If she dared to do that, she might be killed the next instant.

Uh...!

Soon, a buzzing sound filled her mind, interrupting her thoughts. A wave of pain assaulted her entire body, making her tremble uncontrollably—it was pain from the depths of her soul.

"Why did the blood race capture you?" Ye Chen quickly changed the subject to distract Shangguan Hanyue, as it was the only way he could think of to ease her suffering.

"They seem to be collecting special bloodlines." Knowing Ye Chen's intention, Shangguan Hanyue cooperated fully.

"Collecting special bloodlines?"

"Originally, their target was you, the Huang Gu Sheng Ti, but because you died, they turned their sights on me." Shangguan Hanyue explained truthfully. "I happened to be out these past few days and fell into their trap."

"Capture me?" Ye Chen frowned.

"That's what they said."

"Then, in your opinion, what are they collecting special bloodlines for?" Ye Chen asked again.

"It should be for some unspeakable purpose." Shangguan Hanyue endured the pain as she spoke. "But from my guess, they're gathering so many special bloodlines to create another, even more heaven-defying bloodline."

"An even more heaven-defying bloodline." Ye Chen narrowed his eyes and murmured, "They couldn't be trying to create a Hun Dun bloodline, could they!"

As he thought about it, Ye Chen couldn't help but sneer. A Hun Dun bloodline wasn't something you could just fuse from various bloodlines—the true Hun Dun bloodline was an innate Dao.

Uh...!

In the two or three seconds Ye Chen was lost in thought, Shangguan Hanyue groaned in pain again, sweat streaming down her cheeks and cold sweat covering her entire body.

"That, I..."

"Why is there a '仇' character engraved on your forehead?" Ye Chen was about to bring up another topic, but he was interrupted by Shangguan Hanyue's words. She pursed her lips, immediately regretting asking such a rash question.

"Just engraved it for fun! How's that—pretty cool, right?" Ye Chen laughed casually.

"Very cool." Shangguan Hanyue smiled lightly, but in her heart, she didn't really think so.

Although she didn't know what Ye Chen had been through, she was sure this young man had a story—and a tragic one at that. He must bear a deep blood feud, or he wouldn't have disfigured his face and engraved the character for enmity to constantly remind himself.

Unknowingly, Shangguan Hanyue's view of Ye Chen shifted a bit. Perhaps beneath the mask, he hid even more bitterness.

On this side, Ye Chen had withdrawn his fingers, but his face didn't look good. Because this Xue Zu was extraordinarily stubborn—it not only suppressed Shangguan Hanyue's bloodline power and devoured her blood essence but was also consuming her soul power.

Most importantly, the Xue Zu was marked with a secret technique. Forcibly breaking it would cost Shangguan Hanyue her life.

"I know my condition, fellow Daoist. There's no need to waste your effort." Shangguan Hanyue gave a sorrowful smile, black blood spilling from her mouth once more.

"I'm just stubborn like that." Ye Chen smiled slightly and placed his palm on Shangguan Hanyue's jade shoulder, channeling a powerful force into her body—one infused with sealing power.

Soon, Shangguan Hanyue's bloodline was sealed, along with her Dan Hai and soul.

This way, it would block the Xue Zu from devouring her bloodline power and soul power. By sealing her Dan Hai, soul, and bloodline power, he could buy time to refine the Xue Zu.

It was a desperate measure, because the Xue Zu was constantly devouring her—if he didn't act, Shangguan Hanyue would become a cripple before he could refine it.

"It'll probably take about two days. Take it slow, no rush." Ye Chen took a deep breath.

"I understand."

"It'll still be painful—hang in there." Ye Chen said, then pressed his two fingers together again and pointed them at Shangguan Hanyue's brow, sending strands of Xian Huo into it.