Bloodcurse Imprint

Blood-curse Imprint...

The members of the Chen and Wang Clans exchanged uneasy glances. A fighter of this caliber shouldn't be an unknown in Grand Xia.

"Who is your teacher?" The middle-aged man from the Chen Clan asked coldly.

"My teacher resides in the mountains. I must humbly admit that I, Di Tian, am far too inadequate. I've barely scratched the surface of his true teachings, and I am not at liberty to reveal his name." Qin Wentian maintained his earlier posture, arms crossed over his chest. However, after demonstrating his effortless victory over Chen Yuan, it was clear that this young man possessed an extraordinary background.

Grand Xia was vast, teeming with experts. Besides the transcendent powers, numerous hidden cultivators chose to remain in the shadows. For some Heavenly Dipper Sovereigns, they might be in seclusion or even outside Grand Xia, dedicated to advancing their cultivation.

Thus, claiming his master was one of these hidden experts wasn't implausible.

For example, Mu Feng, the disciple of the Poison Monarch. The Poison Monarch had no affiliation with any transcendent power, yet in Grand Xia, no one dared to provoke him. His disciples were all skilled in poison arts, and even the various transcendent powers had little chance of recruiting them.

"I see. I'm quite curious to meet your teacher now," the middle-aged man from the Chen Clan said. He gestured, and a group of experts moved forward, encircling Qin Wentian. Their combined auras formed a stifling pressure that weighed down on him.

While there were indeed many hidden cultivators in Grand Xia, the truly powerful ones often possessed unique traits in their techniques or were renowned for their distinct methods. Mu Feng was a prime example. If they could force Qin Wentian to reveal his signature attacks, they might deduce who his teacher was.

However, the Chen Clan's real motive for surrounding Qin Wentian was clear. They knew they couldn't defeat him one-on-one, so they sought to save face by dealing with him as a group.

Qin Wentian stood atop the great roc, disdain evident in his gaze. Five cultivators, all at the second level of Heavenly Dipper, advanced toward him in unison, their collective killing intent pressing down on him.

A thunderous "BOOOM!" echoed as an overwhelming force bore down on Qin Wentian. It felt as though two colossal mountains were pressing down on his shoulders. One of the five attackers waved his hands, conjuring a miniature mountain in his palms. This condensed Astral Nova concentrated his power, making it more effective for close combat.

Another attacker's eyes emitted an eerie glow, accompanied by ghostly flickering flames.

As for the remaining assailant, the space quaked when he moved. A Mandate with the attribute of absolute destruction surged forth, weighing on Qin Wentian so heavily that he struggled to breathe.

All five Heavenly Dipper Sovereigns advanced simultaneously. The power of their combined attacks was unimaginable.

Yet Qin Wentian maintained his casual, unruffled demeanor. He watched the approaching attackers with an unwavering expression.

"BOOOM!"

A blazing Skyfire Palm Astral Nova hurtled toward him, while immense gravitational force bore down, causing mountains to plummet from the heavens like meteorites. A single hit from any of these would spell certain death.

The five sovereigns unleashed their techniques simultaneously. A fiery dragon danced in the sky, palm shadows engulfed the heavens, and the mountain-type Astral Nova hovered ominously. In an instant, Qin Wentian was caught in a maelstrom of chaos. One wrong move, and he could be obliterated.

But Qin Wentian continued to wear that same smile. He moved with an almost leisurely gait, narrowly avoiding the plummeting meteors with remarkable precision, thanks to his keen perception.

With a graceful leap into the air, he clenched his fist, invoking the power of his bloodline. His blood surged, enveloping him in a radiant halo of light.

As the fiery palm imprints and meteors descended upon him, Qin Wentian unleashed a direct punch. His Mandate of Force infused his punches, imbuing them with a vibration attribute. His left fist collided with the fiery palm imprints, while his right punched straight into the mountain-type Astral Nova.

A resounding crack filled the air as the mountain-type Astral Nova fractured. The cracks spread, and its creator coughed up blood, his face turning deathly pale as he desperately tried to retract his Astral Nova.

Qin Wentian cast a mocking glance at his opponent, as if ridiculing the foolhardiness of his attacks. He had already shattered Chen Yuan's Astral Nova earlier as a demonstration of his strength and a warning. Yet this man dared to employ an Astral Nova against him? Was he seeking his own demise?

"Bang..."

Qin Wentian increased his force, obliterating the mountain-type Astral Nova into a shower of powder. The man stared in incredulous disbelief, his body convulsing with pain. An Astral Nova destroyed by mere punches? What kind of terrifying strength was this?

Qin Wentian's mastery of the Mandates of both Force and Demonification had long surpassed the Initial Boundary of the second level; he had reached the Advanced Boundary. The combination of these Mandates, along with the augmentation from his bloodline, allowed him to leap levels in terms of strength.

Furthermore, Qin Wentian's Yuanfu didn't contain ordinary Astral Energy but rather refined Divine Energy. Even his most basic attacks carried overwhelming power, capable of overwhelming a third-level Heavenly Dipper Sovereign.

As Qin Wentian shattered the Astral Novas, the attacks from the other sovereigns landed. However, Qin Wentian remained unhurried. With a casual swipe of his sword-like fingers, an overpowering sword intent surged forth, slicing through their attacks with ease.

"We shouldn't use Astral Novas in our attacks anymore," a similar thought raced through the minds of the remaining assailants. They feared that their Astral Novas might meet the same fate.

"Great Solar Illumination Technique!" One of the attackers bellowed in fury. In an instant, the five sovereigns positioned themselves, forming a pentagon. Their Great Solar energies surged, transforming into blinding, radiant light that bathed the entire area. Five brilliant beams of light shot toward Qin Wentian, aiming to incinerate him on the spot.

Qin Wentian let out a cold snort and executed Stellar Transposition. His palms shot forward, targeting the assailant whose shattered Astral Nova had left him vulnerable. Astral energy coalesced into a golden claw, seizing the second-level Heavenly Dipper Sovereign.

"Exterminate."

Qin Wentian's voice was icy as the golden claw crushed the attacker's head with overwhelming force, reducing their number to four. Fear coursed through the remaining attackers as the Great Solar Energy within them blazed brighter. Radiance bathed the surroundings, intensifying the scorching heat. They charged toward Qin Wentian, aiming to use the searing temperatures to roast him alive.

The blazing heat engulfed Qin Wentian, feeling like a slow, torturous cooking process. It penetrated his body, attempting to wreak havoc on his energy channels and meridians.

But at that critical moment, his blood surged even more wildly, and two drops of vibrant blood dripped into his palms, merging with his essence.

"BOOOM!"

Two palm imprints shot out like lightning, colliding with two of the attackers. The imprints were incredibly swift, leaving the Chen Clan's members no time to react. Strangely, the power behind these imprints seemed somewhat lacking.

Upon impact, the two attackers screamed in agony as their bodies visibly corroded from the inside out. Their vitality rapidly drained, leaving only skeletons that plummeted to the ground.

The remaining two attackers turned pale, attempting to flee. However, Qin Wentian wouldn't relent. Two more drops of blood infused into his palms, and crimson imprints struck their backs. Their fate mirrored the earlier two cultivators—agonizing death in the span of an excruciating moment.

With his back straightened, Qin Wentian expelled the blazing flames from his body, the Great Solar Energy not potent enough to incinerate him.

In a flash, he vanished from his position and collected the spoils of his victory. But the middle-aged man from the Chen Clan couldn't tolerate this. How could he let Qin Wentian loot the corpses of his clan members, whom he had sent to their deaths? He rushed over to intervene, but Qin Wentian anticipated his actions. A cold smile graced Qin Wentian's lips as he infused another drop of vibrant blood into his palms, launching another crimson imprint at the middle-aged man. Terrified, the man retreated hastily, avoiding contact with the deadly imprint.

Qin Wentian wore an expression of mockery as he collected the interspatial rings of the five Chen Clan cultivators. His figure flickered, returning to the back of the great roc. He stood there casually, arms held behind his back, exuding an air of unparalleled superiority.

"Wow, this guy's incredible!" The crowd watched in awe as Qin Wentian effortlessly dispatched five cultivators of the same level. Not only were these five from the direct line of descent, but they were also core members qualified to practice the Great Solar Universe Art. Yet this young man on the great roc didn't even need to release his Astral Novas to defeat them.

Ouyang Kuangsheng and the others were beaming with pride, while the members of the Wang Clan wore heavy and sinister expressions. It was clear they had underestimated this young man's strength. His teacher must indeed be an extraordinary figure.

However, the Chen Clan members had the ugliest expressions of all. The middle-aged man spoke up, "Did you use the Bloodcurse Imprint?"

The Bloodcurse Imprint was an ancient Grand Xia technique that had been lost to history. It involved using blood as a sacrifice to create a curse imprint, instantly corroding the victim's body into bones. While Qin Wentian's execution of the attack differed somewhat from the legends, it bore a striking resemblance to the described technique. Mastery of the Bloodcurse Imprint was notoriously difficult, with the cultivator's bloodline being a crucial factor.

"You don't need to know," Qin Wentian replied in a detached tone.

"Very well. You dared to kill members of my Chen Clan. No matter who your teacher is, our Chen Clan will never forgive you," the middle-aged man declared. He and his companions then departed, presumably to report the incident to the higher-ups of the Chen Clan.

"I've heard of Chen Wang's 'stellar' reputation. Isn't he the perennial second-place finisher who missed the top spot twice in six years? Unfortunately, now that he's broken through to the Heavenly Dipper realm, he won't be eligible for the upcoming ranking battle. With his skills, is he only fit to stay within the Chen Clan and mentor the juniors?" Qin Wentian remarked, flicking his sleeves as he descended onto a stone platform. The great roc hovered above, its gaze fixed on the middle-aged man.

Ouyang Kuangsheng and the others also landed on the platform, causing excitement to ripple through the onlookers. It seemed like there was a showdown brewing. This young man dared to taunt Chen Wang, hitting a nerve by calling him the perennial second-placer.

News of the incident spread quickly, attracting experts from various factions like the Shi Clan, Thousand-Jue Alliance, Hua Clan, and others to converge on the scene.

Once again, Ginkou became the center of attention. This time, the main character was an unknown young man surnamed Di, rumored to be proficient in the Bloodcurse Imprint, one of Grand Xia's nine ultimate arts!