Chapter 536: Time
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
As he sealed up the curse, Fang Yuan also analysed the sporadic pieces of memories that assailed his senses.
The images flashing before his eyes tied in with the vision that he had seen when he had first crossed over to this world!
"No! There is more information…"
Fang Yuan's spiritual will surged and he could see that the scenes lying about in the sea of memories were ever-changing.
Time seemed to be backtracking in a strange manner and an image began to emerge steadily.
It was that of a purple comet with a dazzling crystalline body. It had a long flaming tail, and fell into the Purple Eye Realm without warning!
In other words, it had fallen right into the netherworld of the 'Inner World'!
Boom!
This chaotic and bizarre occurrence had changed the netherworld completely, and it was transformed into a twisted and evil high dimensional space.
At this point, a man appeared.
He was devilishly handsome and radiated extreme power. He also carried within him a strong sense of destiny.
"The netherworld has gone through a large change. As the strongest member of the Tantai family, I have to get to the bottom of the matter!"
Out of a vehement belief in his own abilities and intense love for his family, he broke the greatest law of all — passing through the 'Door' alive into the netherworld!
This man was...Tantai Moye!
Unfortunately, things did not turn out the way he wanted.
When he had first opened the Green Bronze Door with his mortal hands, a law had been broken simultaneously. The chaos and freakishness that had accumulated in the netherworld over the ages were released upon the world. A powerful curse was thus born!
"I will take on the sole responsibility for all that plagues the world, but the matter of the origin in the netherworld must be resolved!"
Determined, Tantai Moye fought his way through the netherworld, deep into the high dimensional space where the great purple crystalline body laid.
....
The vision ended there and then, but Fang Yuan could guess what happened next.
"This Tantai Moye... was a man destined for greatness. Perhaps he was representative of this world's attempt at rebellion?"
Evidently, Tantai Moye's efforts had come to nought in the end.
He had not only fallen in the netherworld, but his obsession with protecting his family and saving the world had morphed into a curse that had taken root in Ghost Sealing Village and eventually devastated the Tantai Family!
It was a huge irony, to say the least.
Not to mention that his actions were eventually misunderstood by his descendants, and his name had subsequently become taboo.
"Let me think…"
Fang Yuan's mind was whirring.
"From the beginning, it was the purple comet that crashed into the netherworld and changed the nature of the place. That was how all the chaos and curses were born and bred. Was Tantai Moye's birth the world's attempt at salvaging itself from the potential mess?"
The World's Will was a rigid entity. In the face of complex situations like these, it could only deal with them in this manner.
Unfortunately, in utilising human beings, there would always be human error.
Although Tantai Moye grew in strength quickly, it was not enough to counter that origin in question.
Not only that, but he would have been exploited, and his opening of the 'Door' was akin to opening a Pandora's box of evil, a necessary step in cursing the Outer World!
"Firstly, it was the act of opening the 'Door' that subjected the Tantai family to the Curse of the Door. Next, Tantai Moye's name itself gradually turned into an unspeakable curse... the survival of the Tantai family is truly miraculous!"
Fang Yuan clenched his fists.
"Now that I know what is behind that 'Door', I will deal with it!"
At this point, he had been expelled from the spacetime gap and had returned to the real world.
"It has been sealed up... my fourth curse!"
Fang Yuan muttered to himself.
This Strange Level curse was rooted in Tantai Moye's strength and determination and had been distorted by the power of the purple crystalline body. It had become a freakish entity that was capable of manipulating time and space with its ferocious power!
The benefits Fang Yuan got out of sealing up the curse were excellent:
"Name: Fang Yuan (Tantai Mieming)
Essence: 50.0 (100)
Spirit: 50.0 (100)
Magic: 50.0 (100)
Profession: Exorcist
Techniques: Exorcism (Peak), Pharmacy (Peak), Eagle Claw Grappling Technique (Peak)
Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 6)], [Fiery Golden Eyes (Level 1)], [Spirit Sealing Body (4th Grade)]
Spirit Sealing Body (3rd Grade): Your body is a weapon which is able to seal evil ghosts. You will able to seal any ghost that you come into contact with into your body! You have activated the 4th Grade, and the capacity for sealing evil ghosts: 4! You can choose to release the ghost!"
"After this increase in my stats, will I still have the ability to manipulate spacetime?"
Fang Yuan released the seal slightly.
This unspeakable curse might be the strongest among the Strange Level curses, but only had a minimal effect on Fang Yuan when released. With that, his hair colour turned into a frosty silver.
"The fusing of the 3 Strange Level curses is almost complete!"
Fang Yuan was satisfied with his progress.
"In five years time, even if I only seal one per year, I will be able to seal up that purple crystalline body completely when the 20-year cycle comes round again!"
He strongly suspected that the purple crystalline body was something that a higher being left behind in this realm, which had been brought over from the Demonic Heart Realm.
Only something left behind by a higher being that defied laws of nature could bring about such widespread desolation to the world.
"This is... Ghost Sealing Village?"
Fang Yuan looked around at the silent greenery and realised that the original village was in ruins.
After Fang Yuan dealt with the cyclical curse, the spirits in the village would have disappeared. The timeline would have also switched back to when he first arrived at the village.
"I wonder how Jiese and the rest are doing?"
Fang Yuan frowned. He had already resolved the curse and as long as they could hang in there up till that moment, they would be safe.
"Hmm? Who's that?"
Fang Yuan ran in pursuit of the disturbance.
In the village, what was once Madam Donghua's house had become a pile of rubble.
"Amituofo... do accept my condolences, Miss Ma. Mr Fang has sacrificed himself to break the curse in this village and has salvaged dozens of souls in the process. He would have accumulated much karma and must have ascended to the lands of paradise after his death!"
This was a familiar voice. It was definitely Jiese the Monk, but yet it sounded much deeper.
"'No...I believe that Brother Fang Yuan wouldn't have died so easily. He must be trapped somewhere!"
This was another voice that Fang Yuan was familiar with as well. It was Ma Xiaoling.
'Why is she here? And...why is Jiese so certain that I'm dead?'
Fang Yuan was suspicious and chose not to appear there and then.
"I wish that was the case too. But I've spoken to many experts and they've all told me that since the curse is broken, all the survivors would definitely have returned by now.."
Jiese let out a sigh and took out the incense burner that he had prepared. He lit it up and then proceeded to recite the reincarnation mantras.
"No... no it can't be. It has only been 5 years!"
Taking a closer look, Fang Yuan realised that Ma Xiaoling had shed her adolescent appearance and had become a beautiful young woman.
"That fellow won't die so easily. I don't believe it, even if it had been 10 years, or even 50 years!"
"Sigh... foolish girl. 5 years without any news of him is definitely bad news... with him gone, many people are going to suffer…"
Jiese had finished chanting his mantras and sighed again.
"F... five years?!"
Alarm bells were ringing in Fang Yuan's mind.
"I was gone for 5 years?"
Fang Yuan calmed himself down and examined Jiese and Ma Xiaoling again. He finally knew why they looked so odd to him.
Jiese and Ma Xiaoling looked more mature now, it was as though they had aged 5 years overnight!
"Damn it!"
Fang Yuan understood now.
"It was that spacetime curse! Time was severely dilated in that spacetime gap and it was compounded by the sealing and digestion of that entity in the spacetime gap. Although I did not feel it, 5 years had gone by in the process! It must have been that curse's doing!"
That spacetime curse was unable to defeat him, but it had managed to steal five years of his life!
This was indeed a huge loss to Fang Yuan.
"Sigh... ever since Mr Fang passed on, curses have been activating all over the world. According to the information I have, the Tantai family is facing another 20-year cycle. Even Tantai Guihu could not escape this time. He has already departed for the Tantai residences and is preparing to enter the netherworld... there was a prophecy that if the Tantai family were to fall, true horror would befall the world! There would be hell on earth!"
"My generation of exorcists will do everything we can to brave the netherworld and resolve the crisis!"
A steely look of determination appeared on Jiese's face.
"If Mr Fang is watching over us in heaven, he will help us."
"You are right, monk. I do intend to help you!"
Fang Yuan had suddenly appeared behind the incense burner with a laugh.
Jiese immediately retreated back several yards and adopted a defensive stance.
"Hai! What kind of monster are you?"
"Ah!"
Ma Xiaoling screamed and threw the contents of a potion bottle towards Fang Yuan.
"I say…"
Fang Yuan waved his sleeves casually and deflected the potion from his body. He looked slightly annoyed.
"You don't believe that I'm dead and yet you throw potions at me upon seeing me. What do you want exactly?"
"Amituofo, are you human or are you a ghost?"
Jiese stood up ramrod straight and asked gingerly.
After all, Fang Yuan was very formidable back when he was still alive. If he were to be dead, he might have become a more frightening entity than the spacetime curse!
"Of course I'm human!"
Fang Yuan rolled his eyes.
"It was just that I spent quite a while in the spacetime gap dealing with the curse. Has it really been 5 years? Who are the other survivors?"
"Are you really Mr Fang?... Back then, I was dragged into another space and was forced to deal with countless of ghost swarms. I was so close to meeting the Buddha…..."
Jiese was unsure of whether to believe Fang Yuan and decided to tell his story.
"Fortunately, the ghost swarms vanished at the last minute and I was taken back to my original position. Later, I met Tantai Guihu at the village entrance. By then, everyone else from the village had disappeared without a trace...For 3 months, the two of us stayed at where we were to wait for you, but to no avail. Finally, we gave up and left."