During this period, Wu Ruoxian had been accompanying the monk as they hurried back after finding him.
When they arrived, Long Yuliang had already collapsed, her body stretched out beside Zhang Yong, with blood still connecting them.
"You performed a blood transfer to resist the curse? That won't last long," the monk said with a worried expression as he quickly stepped forward.
The monk swiftly reached out and placed his palm over Zhang Yong's chest, his eyes closing gently. "Amitabha... a Blood Devouring Curse. Fortunately, you delayed it, otherwise he would have already left this world long ago."
Wu Ruoxian frowned deeply. "Is the situation that serious?"
The monk nodded quietly, his expression unreadable. "Amitabha. Originally, Zhang Yong's life force was low from the beginning, so even if he continued, half an hour was all he would have lived. But because of your attempt, he managed to hold on for nine hours."
The monk reached out, gently lifted Zhang Yong's body, and quietly placed a red bead into his mouth.
Then, a golden light emerged from the monk's forehead, extending in thin threads toward Zhang Yong's body.
The golden light enveloped Zhang Yong's body, and gradually, black marks began to appear on his skin, in the form of dark, swollen veins.
Suddenly, a muffled cry escaped Zhang Yong's mouth, even though he was unconscious.
His body convulsed violently for a moment, and the air around him trembled as if a wave of energy had exploded from his depths, then everything suddenly subsided.
The ground beneath him cracked slightly from the pressure, but the monk remained steadfast, reciting his mantras quietly and deeply:
"Om Mani Padme Hum… Om Mani Padme Hum…"
Zhang Yong's heartbeat accelerated, and the sound of his pulse became audible throughout the area. With each beat, the black veins began to recede, slowly fading away.
Long Yuliang, who had been unconscious, slowly moved her hand. Her eyes opened slightly, exhausted, but they followed the scene in silence.
After long minutes that felt like hours, the golden threads slowly withdrew from Zhang Yong's body and returned to the monk's forehead, before the latter slowly opened his eyes, saying with a relieved tone:
"The curse has been purified. His body needs rest, but he will not die."
Wu Ruoxian gasped softly, as if air had finally returned to her lungs, while a weak smile appeared on Long Yuliang's face, before she closed her eyes again and lost consciousness once more.
The monk struck Zhang Yong's chest gently, and the bead flew out of his mouth—the red bead had now turned black.
The monk grasped the black bead between his fingers and contemplated it for a few seconds, before whispering incomprehensible phrases, then wrapped it in a piece of linen cloth and placed it inside a small pouch on his hip.
Then the monk stood quietly. "My mission here is complete. Perhaps fate brought us together for this purpose. I will leave now."
The monk stood up and looked at Wu Ruoxian before saying, "The past cannot be changed, but the future can."
Wu Ruoxian looked at the monk with curiosity before he suddenly disappeared.
Wu Ruoxian looked at Zhang Yong, whose breathing had returned to normal, and his body had stopped trembling.
This boy... I no longer have any use for him, but... I cannot abandon him. I just cannot.
In Wu Ruoxian's heart, there was always that feeling—that the moment she lowered her defenses, she would be betrayed.
And all of this happened... because of her previous life. The closest person to her had betrayed her. But in this life, where she was given a second chance, she decided not to trust anyone but herself.
Shortly after Zhang Yong was treated, Long Yuliang woke up, and the two women continued to monitor Zhang Yong's condition.
One day, two days, three days—a full week passed.
After remaining motionless for a long time, Zhang Yong's finger suddenly moved.
"He... moved," Long Yuliang looked toward Zhang Yong with a glimmer of hope.
His eyebrows twitched for a moment before he opened his eyes. His vision was blurry.
"Are... you awake?" came the soft voice from the side. It was Wu Ruoxian's voice.
Zhang Yong tried to get up, but his body was too heavy. He placed his arm on the ground, but in an instant, his arm sank into it, creating a small hole in the earth.
Then he looked at both Wu Ruoxian and Long Yuliang. He kept looking at them, his eyes calm and empty.
"Zhang Yong, is everything alright?" Wu Ruoxian couldn't help but ask.
Zhang Yong turned his gaze to Wu Ruoxian and smiled quietly. "Excuse me, are you speaking to me?"
What Zhang Yong did surprised them unexpectedly, because Zhang Yong, throughout this entire period, had never smiled at them. But now he suddenly smiled?
It was strange, for both Wu Ruoxian and Long Yuliang.
They looked at each other, as if each was waiting for the other to start speaking.
Wu Ruoxian asked in a cautious tone:
"Do you remember what happened?"
Zhang Yong tilted his head slightly, then slowly shook his head.
"I'm sorry... I can't remember anything. You called me Zhang Yong, I assume that's my name?"
"So you've lost your memory," Wu Ruoxian looked deeply at Zhang Yong.
Long Yuliang turned to Wu Ruoxian and asked, "Is this an effect of the curse?"
Wu Ruoxian shook her head. "It's possible it affected his consciousness."
Zhang Yong blinked several times before waving his hand in the empty space in front of him, his expression seeming puzzled.
"What are you doing?" Long Yuliang asked, surprised.
Zhang Yong turned his head toward them. "Can't you see this?"
Wu Ruoxian and Long Yuliang looked at each other, astonished, then Wu Ruoxian stepped closer and asked cautiously, "What do you see?"
Zhang Yong was still staring at the empty space in front of him. What he saw was a blue panel.
(The host's soul has been damaged by a curse. Currently healing injuries.
Time remaining for injury healing:
6d 23h 59m 47s)
"It's... like a transparent panel with words... and numbers... but it's changing... What does this mean?"
Long Yuliang was confused, and whispered to Wu Ruoxian:
"Has he lost his mind? Or is this another effect of the curse?"
But Wu Ruoxian didn't answer immediately. She was staring deeply into his eyes. "Perhaps... the memory loss is temporary. We need to observe him. But we cannot stay in the Death Law region. While searching for the monk, I managed to glimpse the territorial wall."
Long Yuliang nodded firmly. "Then let's leave. This place is cold."
After several hours of careful trekking through the barren lands, filled with black fissures and traces of chaos,
the small group reached the edges of the territorial wall, where the dark, gloomy wall rose toward the sky without showing any signs of ending.
Wu Ruoxian stepped forward first and extended her hand toward the wall's surface. A faint hesitation appeared for a moment, before it dissipated, and she stepped forward inside.
The moment she crossed, her body suddenly trembled, and her spiritual veins blazed as if burning. An unbearable pressure rose, making the air around her dense as iron.
She bit her lip and spread her spiritual energy through her body to resist the pressure, moving forward with difficulty.
Long Yuliang followed her, and before crossing, she turned toward Zhang Yong and advised him, "When you enter, prepare yourself. The pressure here can completely crush a person."
But Zhang Yong didn't answer her; he just followed her quietly, his steps steady. He crossed the black wall in one step, his expression unchanged.
He felt pressure on his body, but it wasn't as Long Yuliang had described at all. It wasn't unbearable; it was more like just wearing weights. It wasn't comfortable, but it wasn't difficult either.
"What?" Long Yuliang gasped, walking with difficulty, struggling to prevent her body from collapsing.
Wu Ruoxian also looked at him in astonishment as she exerted immense effort to take a single step forward, while he walked ahead of them as if on a stroll, his breathing calm, his muscles relaxed.
Zhang Yong slowly turned his face toward her, a faint smile on his lips. "Is this place dangerous? I didn't feel anything."
Wu Ruoxian and Long Yuliang exchanged glances, and confusion grew in their hearts. He was the only one who dared to say this.
Zhang Yong approached them, quietly extended his hand toward Wu Ruoxian, and said in a low voice:
"Are you two alright? Perhaps I can help you cross."
But Wu Ruoxian, despite her pain, raised her hand and refused: "No... no need. We're fine."
She couldn't get used to Zhang Yong's kind behavior now, which made her feel a kind of unease.
As soon as they crossed the territorial wall, the pressure gradually dissipated, and the air regained its warmth, although the place was still arid.
Faint sounds, like soft whispers, began to echo in the space. The place was filled with sporadic crackling sounds, and as they advanced, small sparks of lightning began to appear on the ground and the surrounding rocks.
Long Yuliang raised her head toward the sky and found clouds gathering in a vortex above them, occasionally gleaming with dense blue light.
"It's... the Law of Lightning..." murmured Wu Ruoxian, her eyes watching the sky nervously.
The moment Wu Ruoxian uttered those words, a sound resounded in the sky, followed by a lightning bolt that pierced through the vortex clouds and struck a mountain peak on the horizon, turning it to ashes in the blink of an eye.
"Actually, comprehending the Law of Lightning would be useful for me, but for you two..." said Wu Ruoxian as she turned her gaze toward the two beside her.
"I have a question. What exactly is this 'Law'?" asked Zhang Yong with the eyes of an innocent child who had not yet seen the world.
"The power of Laws is the fundamental power and the original source of all power in the entire universe. By understanding the Laws of the universe, you can understand the universe, and through them, you can walk a specific path," Wu Ruoxian explained clearly.
When Wu Ruoxian explained that, Zhang Yong remained silent, staring at the sky, where another thunderclap tore through the clouds above them, lighting up the sky for a moment before darkening.
The group cautiously advanced into the depths of the Lightning Law region. With each step, the concentration of lightning energy in the atmosphere increased, making you feel it stinging your skin and making it difficult to breathe.
Suddenly, Zhang Yong stopped moving, his eyes fixed on the sky.
"What is it? Why did you stop?" Long Yuliang asked as the two girls turned toward him.
Zhang Yong raised his hand and pointed at a point of light in the sky. "That shining thing seems to be coming toward us. It looks like a bird."
The two women raised their heads high, and their eyes quickly widened in surprise. From within the vortex clouds, huge wings appeared, made of pure lightning, stretching tens of meters across, emitting a roaring sound whenever they moved. Its body was covered in silvery feathers with blue sparks flickering on them.
"It's a condensation of the Lightning Law marks, the Manifestation level," Wu Ruoxian immediately noticed and informed.
A thunderbolt shot down from the sky, striking the ground in front of them with a force that scattered the rocks and sent dust flying in all directions.
Wu Ruoxian continued, "No other choice. This manifestation will attack any intruder who enters the depths of the region. We'll have to get rid of it."
Suddenly, the eagle flapped its wings, and a series of lightning bolts shot toward them!
Wu Ruoxian and Long Yuliang leaped in different directions to avoid the strike, while Zhang Yong remained standing in his place, the lightning approaching him with devastating speed.
The lightning struck Zhang Yong.
A tremendous roar.
The blue flash flooded the area, so much so that the eyes of Wu Ruoxian and Long Yuliang couldn't see what happened for a moment.
A cloud of dust and electric sparks spread with the wind, and both held their breath as they stared at the spot of the strike.
But when the smoke cleared, Zhang Yong was still standing.
His clothes were partially burned, and some parts of his skin were blackened from burns, but his body wasn't charred.
Long Yuliang trembled. "Impossible... his body took a strike from the Manifestation level?"
The lightning eagle in the sky let out another roar, and huge sparks gathered at its beak, preparing for a second attack.
But this time, it didn't have time.
Wu Ruoxian soared on her silver sword toward the eagle.
She swung her arm powerfully, and a giant black arm rose from behind her, swinging toward the bird.
Long Yuliang stomped her feet on the ground and rose high, then flames twisted around her body suddenly, and behind her rose tongues of fire in the shape of a giant bird, sending a blast of celestial flame toward the lightning eagle's chest.
The eagle let out a powerful cry, and lightning exploded from its body in all directions around it.
The moment froze, and the air around them became heavy as the explosions clashed in the sky.
While watching from afar, Zhang Yong looked at his body and began brushing away the burn marks. "My clothes are torn... too bad, they were good."
Zhang Yong could only sit on the ground and watch from afar; he couldn't fight.
Even if he wanted to, how could he? They were all flying, performing those movements and dazzling lights. What did he possess?
After a battle that lasted over half an hour, the two women managed to defeat the bird.