Qi Yu plunged the dagger fiercely into herself.
The moment the dagger took effect, a burst of intense light flashed, and then the dagger disintegrated into dust, vanishing into the air.
The Heavenly Dao shifted, and the Thirteen Heavens trembled violently. The Heavenly Dao's form turned to dust and disappeared instantly.
The Law, which had been sitting in the hall, had no time to react before it was bound by chains and brutally dragged down into hell from the great height of the Thirteen Heavens.
Meanwhile, Qi Yu's primordial spirit was branded with the Heavenly Dao's mark and ascended into the main hall of the Thirteen Heavens.
As soon as she entered the main hall, her soul was firmly ensnared by shackles symbolizing punishment, suspended in the center.
The Heavenly Dao mark in the center of her forehead gradually darkened, transforming into the ominous mark of punishment, the character "厄" (E, meaning calamity).
The instant the "厄" mark took shape, the spiritual energy contained within Qi Yu's primordial spirit erupted like a clear spring, continuously nourishing every corner of the Three Realms.
Because of this upheaval, the waters of the Four Seas churned.
The heavens and earth shifted, and the wind and clouds changed.
Qi Yu's body began to dissipate into the heavens and earth at a speed visible to the naked eye. The dissipating body, combined with the spiritual power emanating from Qi Yu in the Thirteen Heavens, gradually transformed into spiritual light. After circling the seabed, it surfaced and finally dispersed in mid-air.
It turned into strand after strand of spiritual energy, blowing past those infected by the curse.
This exceptionally powerful and dense spiritual energy felt like a spring rain, washing away all the curses originating from the Law from the land.
Even the previously ruined villages, the burnt forests, the starved cattle and sheep, and the diseased poultry all regained their vibrant vitality due to this sudden surge of spiritual energy.
The well water flowed out as clear springs again, and the withered rice paddies turned golden.
The seasons were corrected, the dead were revived, and the entire Three Realms seemed to be filled with vitality once more.
Everything that had happened before seemed as if it had never occurred.
Shaofeng, who moments before had been frowning in pain with pale lips, found all his ailments vanishing the next instant.
It all happened too suddenly, like a dream.
At first, Shaofeng truly believed he had fainted from the pain and was having a dream. He even pinched himself, but only when he confirmed he was alive and could still feel pain did he become utterly shocked.
"What's going on? Why did the curse suddenly heal and disappear?" he asked incredulously, lifting his sleeve to examine his arm. The dark marks and the black patterns that had covered his arm were all gone.
His spiritual power within him became abundant again.
It all felt like an illusion.
"Yes, what's going on?" Si Qing also looked bewildered at everything before him.
An Nuo, wiping away her tears, vigorously rubbed Shaofeng's arm, repeatedly checking the dragon scales. After several attempts, she confirmed that it was indeed clean and free of any trace of the curse, her face finally breaking into a look of ecstatic joy.
Si Qing turned around, intending to call Qi Yu over to see.
But Qi Yu was nowhere to be found.
"Sister, Sister, where did you go?" Si Qing searched everywhere for Qi Yu. Finding her not in the room, he asked Shaofeng to open the barrier and went outside.
Yet, there was no sign of Qi Yu in the long corridors outside the South Sea Dragon Palace. Si Qing asked the maids, but they all shook their heads, stating they hadn't seen her.
For the first time, Si Qing felt a profound sense of unease.
He searched the South Sea Dragon Palace like a headless fly, almost turning the entire South Sea upside down, but still found no trace of Qi Yu.
He remembered the North Sea and immediately set off for the North Sea Dragon Palace to look for her.
By the time An Nuo and Shaofeng realized he had been gone searching for Qi Yu for too long and followed him out, Si Qing had already disappeared.
Yan Hua, Chen Xi, Jin Yan, and Yu Yuan were discussing the rescue of Shaofeng. Their discussion was interrupted when they sensed a powerful spiritual energy filling the South Sea.
The four of them emerged and happened to see An Nuo and a completely recovered Shaofeng calling out for Si Qing in the corridor.
"What's this?" Yan Hua looked at Shaofeng, surprised to see him safe and sound, with no trace of the curse on him. Just as he was about to ask how he was cured, he heard hurried footsteps approaching.
Several shrimp soldiers and crab generals knelt on one knee and reported:
"Lord Yan Hua, Lord Shaofeng, good news, good news! The Heavenly Dao has bestowed great kindness, and the human world's curse has been resolved!"
"Not only that, but besides the human curse being resolved, the burnt trees, villages, and even the poultry and livestock have all recovered."
The shrimp soldiers and crab generals knelt on the ground, chattering excitedly.
The curse had persisted for too long, and no one expected a sudden turn of events, so they were all incredibly thrilled.
Yan Hua was naturally pleased but also puzzled. "Why was it resolved so suddenly? This is a bit strange. Could it be that the Law of the Heavenly Dao found a way to break the curse itself?"
"Ah, I don't care about that right now. Where are my son and daughter?" An Nuo said, turning to walk outside. As she reached the door, she bumped into Si Qing, who was returning from outside.
"Si Qing, where is your sister?" An Nuo peered out.
"...Didn't find her." Si Qing shook his head, clutching his chest. "I don't know why, but my heart is pounding fiercely, as if something bad has happened."
"I must go find her. Sister, I'll go look on the surface, perhaps there will be news of Sister."
Si Qing said, turning to walk out.
Chen Xi's face showed a rare expression of seriousness. "How could Qi Yu be missing? Did she go back to her room or somewhere without telling you?"
An Nuo and Shaofeng shook their heads.
The two of them also planned to search in the other sea regions.
Yan Hua, Chen Xi, Jin Yan, and Yu Yuan, seeing this, followed closely behind.
And as they searched everywhere, the Law, imprisoned in the deepest part of hell, could not stop laughing:
"Hahahaha, hahahaha, I knew she stopped the curse, but so what? Acting against heaven, slaying the Heavenly Dao, even if she, Qi Yu, becomes the new Heavenly Dao, she can't escape the punishment she deserves."
"Once her primordial spirit's spiritual energy is depleted, what does it matter if Qi Yu is the new Heavenly Dao? She will still fall!"
"When that happens, the Three Realms will be in turmoil, plunging into a dark age without a Heavenly Dao or Law, and I will still be able to emerge!"
"No one can do anything to me!"