Curse! Xiao Man's pupils constricted. If there was anything on her that could be called a curse, it was the Myriad Poison Golden Body she inherited. Outsiders said curses were good things, capable of accelerating cultivation, increasing the success rate of alchemy, and granting immunity to all poisons. But for her, the Myriad Poison Golden Body had killed her family and loved ones.
"Senior, what is a curse?"
"The privilege granted by God is a curse." The voice paused for a moment before continuing, "Among the Four Great Sects, the direct lineage of the Heavenly Sword Sect possessed the strongest offense but had volatile temperaments, making them prone to qi deviation. The Heavenly Profound Sect excelled at divination but defied the Heavenly Dao, resulting in lives only one-third as long as normal people. The Heavenly Spirit Sect lineage chose alchemy, which gave them an exceptional familiarity with medicinal substances and faster cultivation speed, but they had a great drawback: they were poisoned all over. Their blood was more toxic than the most potent poisons. If they could not reach the Golden Core stage before the age of thirty, they were destined to suffer a backlash from their inheritance and meet a miserable end. As for our Heavenly Shield Sect, we chose a powerful physical body, granting extreme defense, but we were limited to the Nascent Soul stage and could never ascend to the Spirit Transformation stage. When we discovered this drawback, we prayed for God to reclaim His bounty."
"Was the annihilation of the Heavenly Shield Sect due to this?" Xiao Man inquired, surprised. Would praying for God to reclaim His bounty lead to divine destruction? Such a god seemed rather hypocritical.
This time, the other party remained silent for a long time. Perhaps even he did not know why the Heavenly Shield Sect was annihilated. Perhaps he knew the reason but simply did not wish to admit it.
"You carry the scent of a curse. What is it?"
"Myriad Poison Golden Body."
"Are you a descendant of Qin Yan, the founding patriarch of the Heavenly Spirit Sect?"
"Heavenly Spirit Sect?" Xiao Man was somewhat confused. Wasn't the Qin family a noble clan? How was it connected to the Heavenly Spirit Sect? Well, the Qin family had once made a living from alchemy. Later, Old Qin, a defiant figure, insisted on learning artifact forging and eventually fell into qi deviation, forging himself into an artifact spirit. But Old Qin was a Spirit Transformation stage expert! Su Dan Novel Network.
"The founding patriarchs of the Four Great Sects all received God's bounty," the person's voice drifted, as if recalling something. "At that time, we believed we were favored by heaven, which is why we received destiny's reward. We didn't know that all rewards are implicitly priced."
Xiao Man pondered for a moment: "If God reclaimed the bounty He bestowed upon you, would you be able to reach the Spirit Transformation stage?"
"The Heavenly Shield Sect had only one Spirit Transformation stage expert, the first generation Sect Master. After him, no Spirit Transformation stage expert ever emerged. It wasn't until the third generation Sect Master. The third generation Sect Master was exceptionally talented, a prodigy of heaven. But when he reached the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, he could advance no further."
"So, he suspected that God's bounty was hindering their cultivation and wanted to relinquish it."
"Yes."
"And as a result, it brought about the destruction of the Heavenly Shield Sect?"
"Not exactly," the person said slowly. "God said that what He gave could not be taken back. Thus, the third generation Sect Master had to find a way to break through this limitation."
"How to break through the limitation?"
"Intermarriage." The person was silent for a moment. "He married the daughter of the Heavenly Sword Sect Master. The direct descendants of the four original figures would inherit the bounties they received from God. The third generation Sect Master sought a breakthrough by forming a marriage alliance."
"He found it," Xiao Man stated with certainty. If he hadn't found a way, the Heavenly Shield Sect wouldn't have met its doom.
"You are very intelligent." The person suddenly laughed. The towering statue moved, grabbing Xiao Man into its palm and lifting her to eye level. "The curse on you is very potent; it is by no means a simple Myriad Poison Golden Body, otherwise, it would not have awakened my residual sentience."
"What do you mean?" Xiao Man was puzzled.
"It means that ten thousand years have passed, and the secret God has been trying to conceal is finally about to be revealed. You must be mentally prepared. Once God detects your existence, you will be annihilated!"
Xiao Man was greatly alarmed. Did this mean she had not only inherited the Qin family's bloodline but also potentially the bloodlines of others? But after so many years, even if there were, it would have been diluted to almost nothing. How could it still be effective?
"What exactly is this 'God'?"
The statue's expression froze for a moment, then it burst into laughter. "A good question! What is God? He is nothing, merely a despicable wretch. He is the ruler of the Azure Profound Continent, yet he lacks the vision and magnanimity of a true ruler. He fears anyone who could potentially surpass him, so he exerts all his effort to control their lives and deaths. As soon as he discovers someone with the potential to surpass him, he will eliminate them before they can grow!"
"So, this so-called God is just a narrow-minded petty man!"
"Yes, he is a narrow-minded petty man!" the statue looked at Xiao Man seriously. "Girl, you have a great deal of appeal to this old man."
"Thank you for your approval, Senior."
"Now, only three of the Four Great Sects remain..."
"No, it is still the Four Great Sects," Xiao Man said unhurriedly. "Only, without the Heavenly Shield Sect, it has become the Beast Taming Sect."
"The Beast Taming Sect?" The sixth generation Sect Master sneered. "This must be His doing. Even after destroying the Heavenly Shield Sect, He wouldn't let it be known, but rather replace it gradually. I suspect that in the other three sects, those who truly possessed the inheritance have also been replaced."
"That, this junior does not know."
"Alas, only when the Four Great Sects join forces can they have a chance to defeat him. Now that the Heavenly Shield Sect is destroyed, the inheritance of the Four Great Sects is missing a piece. Without that piece, you will never be able to contend with him. I shall lend you a hand." The statue said sternly, "However, once you leave here, you must not reveal even a sliver of this until you become a Spirit Transformation stage expert. Otherwise, you will face a slaughter you cannot withstand."
"This junior will remember Senior's teachings."
"I am Shi Shao, the sixth generation Sect Master of the Heavenly Shield Sect. Girl, it is time for you to reveal your true identity as well."
"My true name is Xiao Man. I come from a lower continent and arrived in the Azure Profound Continent by accident. I am a direct descendant of the annihilated Qin clan," Xiao Man said slowly. "Our Qin clan seems to have no connection with the Heavenly Spirit Sect. The current Sect Master of the Heavenly Spirit Sect is named Jiang."
"The Qin clan was also annihilated?" Shi Shao was somewhat surprised. "I thought that after us, the Heavenly Profound Sect would be annihilated. After all, their clan has nine orifices from birth, two more than others, and they are sharp-witted and exceptionally intelligent. I fear they would have discovered the problem even sooner than we did. I didn't expect that it would be Qin Yan's descendants who were annihilated."