Chapter 1098: The Power of the Curse
"More than one corpse!" Lin Feng looked over there. Besides the well-preserved corpse, there were two other skeletons nearby, but only their bones remained. These two skeletons appeared smaller, and their finger bones and skulls still shimmered with light, like indestructible jeweled ornaments.
"They are women!" Lin Feng understood instantly.
"They were our master's beloved concubines. During his life, our master had over a dozen concubines, but he favored only two: one human beauty and one stunning demoness," one of the phantom figures spoke. As a Martial Emperor, it was naturally common to possess some beautiful women.
"Heh heh, back in the day, I, the Emperor, also had dozens of concubines, but now they've probably all turned to dust. Lin Feng, you little brat, hurry up and improve your strength, and while you're at it, scout out a few beauties—like some Saintess or Demoness—and have them ascend the Dao with you," Qiongqi said with a sly grin. "That Snow Linglong wife of yours is pretty good. Take her back to the Snow Clan in the future, and she'll be the queen of the Snow Clan, and you'll be the queen's man."
Lin Feng rolled his eyes. This bastard never thought about anything good. Meng Qing, as a Snow Linglong, possessed the royal bloodline of the Snow Clan. But the demon realm was probably just like the human world—full of schemers and malicious individuals. Without enough strength, wanting to become king was a dream. In fact, some in the Snow Clan might even try to harm Meng Qing. Without sufficient power, he wouldn't dare send Meng Qing back to that so-called Snow Clan.
Moreover, this old immortal was always thinking about collecting Saintesses and Demonesses—up to no good. Was this some kind of nurturing plan? If those so-called Saintesses and Demonesses grew up, they would become terrifying figures in their own right, wielding great power.
But the two beloved concubines beside this Martial Emperor—their remains hadn't decayed either, clearly indicating they were no weaklings, both being Venerable Martial Realm experts.
"Lin Feng, that bow—it's strong. Take it," Qiongqi said, his eyes gleaming as he stared at the bow hanging from the Martial Emperor's hand. Countless years later, though dust covered the bow, light still flowed around it. In the past, this Martial Emperor seemed to have been about to shoot the bow at a powerful enemy, but before he could release it, he was killed here. How tragic for a mighty Emperor—before a supreme expert, he didn't even have the right to pick up his weapon. This showed just how terrifying the killer's strength was.
"A Martial Emperor's weapon." Lin Feng stepped forward, looking at the undecayed corpse and then at the bow in its hand. It was broken. The bow had cracks but still emitted a dark light. He didn't know what material it was made from. The bowstring seemed like a peerless sharp weapon, still radiating a terrifying sharpness. This bowstring alone could easily kill.
"This is the Setting Sun Bow, made from top-grade dark wood, indestructible. The bowstring is refined from demon dragon tendons. It was one of our master's favorite supreme sacred artifacts. Besides sacred patterns carved on it, it also contained Dao principles. Unfortunately, it's now damaged—the interwoven sacred patterns are broken, and the Dao principles are destroyed. It probably no longer has its former power."
"Yes, in the past, our master would use this Setting Sun Bow, infusing terrifying sacred power into it to form arrows, capable of shooting down even Emperors."
The two Venerable experts recalled. Lin Feng was a bit puzzled. This was a supreme sacred artifact! Besides sacred patterns, it even contained Dao principles—incredibly terrifying. But the bow was damaged. Lin Feng began cursing that supreme expert in his heart. What a bastard! Such a waste of a treasure—destroyed in one blow.
"So what? This bowstring is made from dragon tendons and isn't broken. It can be used as a killing weapon. Besides, though the bow is damaged, it can still unleash extraordinary power. At least it's enough for you, kid. If it really doesn't work, sell it. I believe even Martial Emperors would be very interested."
Qiongqi muttered, making Lin Feng's mind sharpen. Indeed, the bowstring was refined from demon dragon tendons. If the Setting Sun Bow were repaired, it would be extremely terrifying. Selling it at auction would fetch a sky-high price.
"Indeed, a perfectly preserved body." Lin Feng looked at the Martial Emperor's corpse. Even after being dead for hundreds of thousands of years, it still retained its majesty. His long black hair was like a wild demon's mane, his face chiseled like a knife, exuding a dignified aura. There were no obvious wounds on his body—he had been shaken to death alive. This Martial Emperor must have been very unwilling.
"This body is a treasure. Take it, take it!" Qiongqi's eyes lit up again, making Lin Feng speechless. This former Great Emperor felt like a bandit.
Lin Feng stepped forward, placing his hand on the Martial Emperor's body, intending to store it away. But at that moment, a terrifying aura burst from the corpse. Lin Feng felt as if the corpse's eyes had opened—dazzling and brilliant.
"Stomp, stomp, stomp..." Lin Feng stumbled back, feeling a sharp pain, his face filled with shock. Was the Martial Emperor still alive?
He looked at the corpse again. It lay there quietly, without any reaction, as if it had never moved.
"What's going on?" Lin Feng was startled. What had just happened? Why did he feel like the corpse had opened its eyes, piercing his soul?
"What happened?" Qiongqi stepped forward and asked Lin Feng.
"I felt a terrifying will. It felt like its eyes had opened."
"Hmm?" Qiongqi's eyes flickered, then he cursed through gritted teeth: "Dead for hundreds of thousands of years, and its will still carries unwillingness. But now it's just a dead thought—nothing to worry about. Try again."
Lin Feng looked at Qiongqi suspiciously. Was this old bastard trying to trick him?
"What? You dare doubt the words of I, the Emperor?" Qiongqi glared at Lin Feng and roared.
"I'll try." Lin Feng stepped forward again, placing his hand on the corpse. With a thought, he tried to store it away.
"Boom!"
Another surge of violent power erupted. Lin Feng felt an intense pain in his divine sense, even stronger this time. His body shot backward, and cold sweat broke out on his body.
"Even a dead thought is this strong." Lin Feng was speechless. Was this the might of an Emperor? And this was only a low-rank Emperor. No wonder people said that below the Emperor realm, all beings were ants. Stepping into the Emperor realm meant entering another level, overlooking all beings like gods.
"He didn't die completely back then. This is a bit troublesome." Qiongqi muttered, making Lin Feng roll his eyes. This damn bastard had used him as a test subject!
"It seems I, the Emperor, will have to do it myself and refine his dead thoughts." Qiongqi swaggered forward, and Lin Feng realized he had been tricked by this bastard.
Qiongqi began carving sacred patterns around the corpse, while Lin Feng looked toward the blue stone hall. Inside were the Martial Emperor's cultivation notes from his lifetime. Even those bold, vigorous characters seemed to contain the aura of the Dao, making Lin Feng feel they weren't dead objects but possessed an inexplicable power floating before him.
"Is this the power of the Dao?" Lin Feng felt a sense of ethereality. He seemed to be immersed in a space of characters. Those characters floated in the void, communicating with the power of heaven and earth, as if they could give birth to all things or destroy heaven and earth.
"Martial Dao, Martial Dao—what we pursue is martial arts and the Dao. This inexplicable power is what I need to pursue," Lin Feng murmured to himself. Those illusory characters seemed to make flowers bloom with a single thought—one flower, one world. Each character seemed to be a life, possessing its own world.
"What power is this?"
At that moment, Lin Feng looked at a line of floating characters. He felt as if he had fallen into the Nine Netherworlds, his entire body icy cold. Those characters seemed like curses from ten thousand lifetimes. If these curse characters descended upon him, they seemed capable of destroying him.
One by one, the curse characters floated toward him, drawing closer and closer to Lin Feng, as if about to imprint themselves into his mind. Lin Feng clearly felt the power of the curse approaching him.
"I can't let them touch me." Lin Feng's heart trembled. He fiercely bit his lip, and the pain jolted him awake from that ethereal state.
With a thud, Lin Feng sat directly on the ground, his forehead covered in sweat. He stared at those characters in horror.
These characters were terrifying—they could kill without a trace.
"What's wrong with you?" At that moment, the two phantom figures looked at Lin Feng with confusion. This blue stone hall was the Martial Emperor's cultivation and enlightenment hall. They had never entered it before. Now that they had the chance, they were carefully studying the Martial Emperor's cultivation notes on the walls. But they couldn't understand much, let alone react like Lin Feng, drenched in sweat as if he had encountered something terrifying.
"The cultivation notes on the wall contain the power of a curse," Lin Feng said to the phantoms, making their expressions stiffen. Their faces showed shock and disbelief.
"You can see through the Dao patterns? And you even saw the power of the curse?"
"The power of the curse—are you sure it's the power of the curse?"
The two phantoms seemed to have heard something terrifying, staring at Lin Feng in shock.
"What martial soul do you have?" They stared at Lin Feng as if he were a monster. A person at the Fourth Layer of Heavenly Martial Realm shouldn't even be able to fathom the power of sacred patterns. How could he see through Dao principles? Did he have some world-shaking martial soul?
For example, a divine eye martial soul that could see through illusions, granting him a divine eye physique. Or perhaps he possessed a supreme Dao body, capable of comprehending everything. For such experts, it was determined from birth—if they didn't die, they would inevitably become a supreme Martial Emperor.
"Martial soul?" Lin Feng paused, then said softly, "Nine Dragons Heaven Devouring martial soul. What about it?"
"Nine Dragons Heaven Devouring!" The two murmured to themselves. That wasn't right. The Nine Dragons Heaven Devouring Beast had devouring power. If the martial soul were strong enough, it could even devour others' martial souls. This kind of martial soul was indeed abnormal. But for those alien martial souls, the Nine Dragons Heaven Devouring martial soul couldn't devour them—they were gifts from heaven, beyond the scope of inheritance.
Could Lin Feng's comprehension be so extraordinary that he could see through Dao principles without a heaven-defying martial soul?
And even more, he had seen the power of the curse!