121: Chapter 121 Curse Erupts? Trillions of Netherworld Talismans Forcefully Suppress It

"Back to the Fortress!"

Lin Chen gave the order, his tone brook no argument. The Ferryman punted the pole, and the dilapidated small boat sped away like an arrow from a bow, carrying everyone away from the side of the River of Oblivion where rules were chaotic and danger lurked everywhere.

The atmosphere on the boat was heavy. Zhang Hao's mind was still reeling from that space-crossing strike and the feat (or rather, terrifying power) of the boss crushing the divine fetus with his bare hands; he stole glances at Lin Chen from time to time. Little Red Clothes sat quietly at the stern holding her doll, though her pale eyes occasionally looked toward... Su Qingyu, who was being supported by Su Qingyu?

That's right, Su Qingyu was supporting herself. Her state was very wrong.

From the moment they left that boundary stone, she felt as if countless tiny ice needles were pricking her inside. A cold, filthy power was trying to break free from the deepest part of her soul! The words of the Tombstone Guardian echoed in her mind like a curse—"bloodline curse," "vessel," "nourishment"!

"Ugh..." She let out a suppressed groan of pain, her face losing color at a visible rate and turning a sickly grey. Beneath her exposed skin, faint dark-red, living-thing-like eerie patterns were moving and bulging!

"Qingyu!" Zhang Hao cried out in alarm.

Lin Chen snapped his head back, his gaze sharp as a knife. He stepped in front of Su Qingyu in one stride and pressed his hand against her forehead. It was freezing to the touch, and he could even feel the restless sensation of that cursed power beneath her skin, like a venomous snake!

"The curse has been triggered!" Lin Chen instantly deduced the cause. Contacting the Tombstone Guardian and learning the truth about the "Netherworld Saintess" and her own curse had acted like a key, accelerating the curse's awakening process!

"Boss... I'm... so cold..." Su Qingyu's teeth chattered, and her eyes began to lose focus. Those dark-red patterns even started spreading toward her neck and cheeks, carrying a beauty that profaned life and an extreme sense of evil!

"Hang in there! We're almost there!" Zhang Hao paced around anxiously, but he was helpless.

Little Red Clothes also stood up. Her patchwork doll let out a threatening low growl at Su Qingyu, seemingly sensing an evil aura that was of the same origin but higher-ranking and more dangerous.

Just then, Su Qingyu suddenly lifted her head. Her eyes were instantly occupied by pitch-black darkness, without a hint of white! Her voice also became shrill and distorted, carrying an ancient malice:

"Vessel... the perfect vessel... the time... of return... has arrived..."

This was not Su Qingyu's voice at all!

"Damn! Is she possessed?!" Zhang Hao floated backward in fright.

Lin Chen's face was grim, but there was no panic in his eyes. He exerted force with the palm pressed against Su Qingyu's forehead, and a surge of pure nether talisman energy poured in, attempting to suppress the cursed power back down.

However, this time, the power of the curse far exceeded before! It was as if it had been completely activated, frantically devouring the nether talisman energy Lin Chen injected, and even trying to erode Lin Chen's arm back through the energy channel! The dark-red patterns on Su Qingyu's face became clearer, faintly coalescing into a blurry female face with a mocking smile!

"Hmph! Giving you face but you don't want it!" Lin Chen snorted coldly and directly cut off the energy supply.

He could see that conventional suppression methods were no longer effective. This curse was like a maggot in the bone, deeply entangled with the origin of Su Qingyu's soul.

"Boss! What do we do?!" Zhang Hao was frantic as he watched Su Qingyu struggle in pain, her aura becoming more and more bizarre. Little Red Clothes also clenched her fists, seemingly prepared to attack that "foreign object."

Lin Chen didn't answer. He took a deep breath, and his consciousness sank completely into the nether domain asset system.

He didn't go looking for some curse-breaking method, nor did he buy any exorcism treasures.

His goal was simple, direct, and insane!

He locked onto the option on the system interface representing [Netherworld Origin (Temporary Access)]—this was one of the final legacies the Tombstone Guardian's remnant soul had left him before dissipating, allowing him to mobilize a portion of the Netherworld's most fundamental world power for a short time! The cost was a massive amount of nether talismans, enough to bankrupt a Ghost Emperor!

"You want energy? I'll give you energy!"

Lin Chen's eyes turned fierce. His consciousness, like the most insane market manipulator, took the nether talisman reserves on his account—measured in the "trillions"—and frantically injected them into the [Temporary Access] as if they were worthless!

[Ding! Consumed one quadrillion nether talismans, activating 'Netherworld Origin · Suppress' character!]

[Ding! Consumed one quadrillion nether talismans, activating 'Netherworld Origin · Seal' character!]

[Ding! Consumed one quadrillion nether talismans...]

The system notification sounds almost merged into one!

On the outside, Zhang Hao and Little Red Clothes only saw the palm Lin Chen had pressed against Su Qingyu's forehead suddenly erupt with an indescribable, brilliant ghostly light! The light wasn't blinding, but it carried an ancient, heavy, and absolute sense of suppression that seemed to come from the beginning of the world's creation!

Simultaneously, with Lin Chen and Su Qingyu as the center, the water of the entire River of Oblivion surged backward, and the grey nether mist in the sky was pushed aside by an invisible force! A giant, complex talisman phantom condensed from pure Netherworld rules slowly rotated above their heads, emitting a terrifying aura that made all things return to silence and all laws submit!

The power of the Netherworld Origin was forcibly summoned by Lin Chen using trillions of nether talismans as "fuel" and a "stepping stone"!

"Get... back to sleep!"

Lin Chen let out a low roar, and that giant rule talisman sank slowly like a mountain, imprinting itself directly onto Su Qingyu's brow!

"No—!!!"

Su Qingyu (or rather, the cursed consciousness within her) let out a shrill, piercing scream that didn't sound human at all, a scream filled with fear and resentment! The dark-red patterns on her face twisted frantically in an attempt to resist, but before the absolute power of the Netherworld Origin, all this resistance was like an ant trying to stop a carriage!

Buzz—!

The rule talisman merged into Su Qingyu's brow without any hindrance.

Her body suddenly stiffened, and the scream came to an abrupt halt. The pitch-black darkness in her eyes quickly receded, and the dark-red patterns moving under her skin were smoothed out and faded instantly as if pressed by a hot iron, eventually vanishing completely and leaving only some faint, pale marks like cracks in porcelain.

The eerie, filthy aura around her receded like a tide, and her body went limp, falling backward.

Lin Chen reached out to catch her, feeling that the cursed power inside her had been tightly locked by a stronger "monetary seal" carrying the power of the Netherworld, falling back into dormancy.

The entire process, from the curse's outbreak to its forced suppression, took only a dozen or so breaths.

But the astronomical number of nether talismans in Lin Chen's account had also visibly shrunk by a large chunk!

Using money to buy time, using money to buy rules, using money to forcibly suppress an ancient curse involving the struggle for Netherworld Authority!

This was Lin Chen's way of solving things!

Zhang Hao's mouth hung open for a long time. He looked at Lin Chen, then at Su Qingyu in his arms—who was weak but breathing steadily with the curse suppressed—and only one thought remained in his head: "Bo... Boss... did you just... use money... to knock the curse unconscious?!"

Little Red Clothes also relaxed. Holding her doll, she tilted her head and looked at Lin Chen, her pale eyes seemingly twinkling with starlight.

Lin Chen channeled a gentle stream of nether talisman energy into Su Qingyu's body to nourish her damaged soul. Su Qingyu's long eyelashes fluttered a few times before she slowly opened her eyes. Her gaze was blank at first, then regained clarity, carrying the shock of a narrow escape and deep exhaustion.

"Did I... lose control again?" she asked weakly.

Lin Chen steadied her, his tone returning to its usual calmness, even carrying a hint of ease: "It's fine. It's been suppressed for now."

He looked at Su Qingyu's still pale face and the faint, pale cracks on her neck. His eyes were cold as he added:

"It's fine for the time being."

"Once I've cleaned up the rest of the mess in the Netherworld and have some free time..."

"I'll go find that so-called 'her' and settle this debt, with interest!"

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a decisive killing intent and absolute confidence. On the silent River of Oblivion, it reached everyone's ears clearly.

(Hook: Su Qingyu lightly touched the pale cracks on her neck. A weak but clear intent of "hunger" and "resentment" followed her fingertips, trying to seep into her soul again, making her shiver involuntarily. This seal didn't seem as firm as it looked...)