NOVEL NEXT Chapter 29: Curse Mountain
Having crossed rugged mountain roads, traversed dense jungles, and waded through marshes filled with poisonous insects, Lu Yu finally saw a towering mountain.
The mountain cliffs were steep, adorned with strange flowers and herbs. A winding mountain path was carved out of the cliff with stone steps leading all the way to the highest part of the mountain, regarded as holy ground by all Curse Masters in the Southern Borderlands, known as Curse Mountain.
In Lu Yu's eyes, the mountain was enveloped by an indescribable aura, majestic and mysterious, seemingly presenting one aspect of heaven and earth to you.
Though Curse Masters obtained the curse technique from this place, Lu Yu felt they were like people who entered a treasure mountain unaware of its true value. To him, the most precious thing was this mysterious and majestic aura, which, in a way, was an embodiment of the Dao; to truly comprehend this mountain was to approach the Dao.
However, the Dao of this place was still somewhat one-sided, and indulging in it might result in merely picking up others' leftovers, making it difficult to forge one's own path. This was a major taboo for someone like Lu Yu, who practiced the way of the Heavenly Immortal.
"To learn is to live, to imitate is to die?" Lu Yu silently questioned himself.
At this time, Curse Mountain was bustling with Curse Masters identifiable by unique patterns on their faces, each radiating a deep aura, closely resembling the Dao that enveloped Curse Mountain, yet slightly different.
To Lu Yu, it felt like food that had been bitten by someone else. Although the essence of the food hadn't changed, it nonetheless lacked a piece. As Lu Yu stepped on the stone steps, a strange will seemed to try to use the Dao to come close to his body and enter his soul. Lu Yu was slightly startled but showed no change on his face.
This will seemed still to be in a state of Chaos, approaching Lu Yu's body purely by instinct. Thus, Lu Yu easily detained this will within his own mind. Having stimulated the Five Qi, his soul was fortified to the utmost. If the soul of an ordinary cultivator was like a puddle of water, then his soul was like a solid rock.
Ascending the path, many passing Curse Masters nodded slightly to the changed man that was Lu Yu, indicating that this elder had a respected status on Curse Mountain.
Approaching the summit, the scenery abruptly opened up, revealing a vast clearing before Lu Yu's eyes, as if it were forcefully carved out, starkly contrasting with the overall style of Curse Mountain.
At this moment, the clearing was filled with seated Curse Masters, each in a meditative pose, eyes tightly closed, with mysterious auras swirling around them, giving the whole place a grand feeling.
Upon seeing the changed man who was Lu Yu entering, many Curse Masters opened their eyes and glanced behind him, showing surprise on their faces when they realized he didn't bring back any so-called sacrifices. After all, this Third Elder of Curse Mountain was recently known for fervently capturing sacrifices, and it was not typical of him to return empty-handed.
"Isn't this the great servant of the Divine Spirit? Haven't you brought any sacrifices for your Honored Lord today?" a white-haired old man asked in a mocking tone.
This old man wore a white robe and also had strange patterns on his face, though much lighter in color.
Lu Yu had no idea who this old man before him was; he could only mimic the deceased elder's tone and said, "Hmph! Busybody."
"Elder Bai Xi, please say less. The capture of the sacrifice was unanimously agreed upon by the elders of the Sacred Mountain. The great Honored Lord requires this ritual. I hope the elder will show more respect to our lord," a black-robed Curse Master said.
"I know you black-robes have always harbored treacherous intentions, trying to resurrect that so-called Divine Spirit. But is the power we cultivators wield really brought by that Divine Spirit? I rather think it's a gift from this heaven and earth, not from an ambiguous deity," Bai Xi spoke openly and many in white robes nodded in agreement, showing their strong approval of his words.
What Lu Yu didn't know was that Curse Mountain was actually divided into two factions. One faction wore white robes, believing that the power of Curse Mountain itself was part of the natural laws of heaven and earth, hence only needing to worship heaven and earth and cultivate sincerely. They generally used gentler methods, were not cruel, and opposed blood sacrifices.
The other faction wore black robes. Having discovered the Divine Spirit within Curse Mountain, they believed this Divine Spirit was the origin of this power.
They thought all mighty power should be attributed to the deity, fervently worshipped the Divine Spirit to elicit a response, and advocated for blood sacrifices to expedite the Divine Spirit's revival, thereby adopting brutal and murderous methods. Many terrifying incidents in the Southern Borderlands were shadowed by their involvement.
However, during this period, the black-robed faction had been particularly active. Their worshipped Divine Spirit, after many years of rituals, had finally begun to revive and acquired rudimentary consciousness. Hence, the elders in their faction decided to initiate a grand blood sacrifice to fully revive the great Divine Spirit.
Many white-robed Curse Masters, unable to tolerate such actions, had descended the mountain to cultivate in hiding. Those like Bai Xi, who remained on Curse Mountain, were in the minority.
"Third Elder, please come with me to visit the Honored Lord," said the black-robed man to Lu Yu respectfully, not even glancing at Bai Xi and the others, as if he were dismissing flitting flies.
"Hmph! When the Honored Lord awakens, we shall see if these people dare to be as rampant as they are now," Lu Yu said ominously, and then followed the black-robed's lead, continuing forward.
Sometime later, a large cave appeared before the two men. Lu Yu could distinctly feel the aura emanating from inside the cave; he recognized this cave as the meridian node of the entire Curse Mountain, which had long since become a Cave Heaven.
Passing through the spacious cave mouth was a long corridor, its walls as smooth as mirrors. Upon close inspection, roughly drawn patterns could be seen. The crude lines and simplistic drawing style made Lu Yu certain that these were the work of ancient humans.
On one hand, he appeared casual and carefree, yet on the other, he closely examined the content of the murals. After all, art stems from life, and these drawings could also convey some information.
The pattern was quite extensive and was clearly not random graffiti but a mural specifically meant to glorify the Divine Spirit, chronicling the divine feats of this being.
These murals revealed that the Divine Spirit must have been deeply connected with humans. People greatly revered him, believing he could bring both fortune and death.
Some murals depicted battles between the Divine Spirit and some giant, fearsome beasts, turning these terrifying beasts into piles of White Skeleton with a wave of his hand, and finally, him seated on a throne made from White Skeleton, receiving the worship of all living beings.