Chapter 353: Eradicating the Curse, Purifying the Evil Demon

The Mermaid Empress nodded. "Clansmen who are cursed will have black patterns appear on their bodies."

"These patterns will continue to spread, eventually covering the entire body."

"Moreover, the curse seems to be related to my clan's Forbidden Land."

"Forbidden Land?"

Zhou Chen's heart stirred.

The Mermaid Empress explained, "The Forbidden Land is our clan's Holy Land, and it is also where the Seal's node is located."

"Back then, the mighty experts fought a great war against the Outer Domain Evil Demons and set up a Seal in the depths of the South Sea."

"My clan has guarded this Seal for generations, and there has never been a mistake."

"But three months ago, an anomaly suddenly appeared in the Seal."

"We sent people into the Forbidden Land to investigate, and as a result, those people were all cursed."

Zhou Chen understood.

It seemed this curse was caused by the remnant thoughts of the Evil Demon.

"Empress, could you take me to the Forbidden Land to take a look?"

Zhou Chen asked.

The Mermaid Empress hesitated for a moment before nodding.

"Very well, Young Master Zhou, please follow me."

Under the guidance of the Mermaid Empress, Zhou Chen arrived at the deepest part of the palace.

There was a massive stone door there, covered in densely packed runes.

These runes emitted a faint light; it was precisely the power of the Seal.

But Zhou Chen noticed that many of these runes had already dimmed, and some had even completely extinguished.

"The Seal has been damaged by at least twenty percent."

Zhou Chen said in a heavy voice.

The Mermaid Empress's expression was grim. "Indeed."

"We tried to repair the Seal, but every time we got close, we were corroded by the curse."

Zhou Chen nodded and raised his hand to press against the stone door.

A powerful surge of spiritual energy was injected into the stone door, and the runes began to flicker.

Rumble—

The stone door slowly opened, revealing a deep, dark passage.

The passage was pitch black, emitting a cold and gloomy aura.

"Young Master Zhou, be careful."

The Mermaid Empress cautioned.

Zhou Chen nodded and took the lead into the passage.

The Mermaid Empress hesitated for a moment before following him in.

The passage was very long; the two walked for a full fifteen minutes before reaching the end.

Before them was a massive underground space.

In the center of the space was a bottomless ocean trench.

Around the trench, densely packed runes were carved; it was the core of the Seal.

But at this moment, most of these runes had dimmed, and some had even crumbled.

Suspended above the ocean trench was a wisp of black mist.

The mist writhed continuously, like a living thing.

Zhou Chen stared at that wisp of mist, a trace of solemnity flashing in his eyes.

"Evil Demon remnant thought."

Although this wisp of remnant thought was only at the Emperor Rank in strength, it was extremely tenacious.

Moreover, it had already partially assimilated with the Seal. To dispel it, it had to be stripped from the Seal first.

"Is this the source of the curse?"

The Mermaid Empress cried out in surprise.

Zhou Chen nodded. "That's right."

"This wisp of Evil Demon remnant thought is constantly corroding the Seal."

"The Death Qi it releases is what you call the curse."

The Mermaid Empress turned pale. "Then what should we do?"

Zhou Chen was silent for a moment before slowly saying, "To eradicate the curse, we must first dispel this wisp of Evil Demon remnant thought."

"But this remnant thought has already assimilated with the Seal. If we force it out, it will likely destroy the Seal."

The Mermaid Empress gritted her teeth. "Is there no other way?"

Zhou Chen shook his head. "There is one way, but it requires taking a risk."

"What way?"

The Mermaid Empress asked urgently.

Zhou Chen did not answer immediately, but instead carefully observed that wisp of Evil Demon remnant thought.

A moment later, he had a plan in mind.

"I have a type of fire that can purify Evil Demon Power."

Zhou Chen said.

"If we combine this fire with your clan's sacred object, we might be able to strip the remnant thought from the Seal."

The Mermaid Empress was taken aback. "Sacred object?"

Zhou Chen nodded. "Your clan should have a certain treasure, right?"

"For example… the Sea-Settling Pearl?"

The Mermaid Empress's pupils constricted.

The Sea-Settling Pearl was a supreme treasure of the Mermaid Clan; outsiders could not possibly know about it.

How did this Zhou Chen find out?

However, the situation was urgent, and the Mermaid Empress couldn't afford to think too much.

"The Sea-Settling Pearl is indeed my clan's supreme treasure."

The Mermaid Empress said in a heavy voice.

"But the Sea-Settling Pearl is extremely precious. Forgive me, but I cannot easily hand it over to an outsider."

Zhou Chen said indifferently, "I'm only borrowing it. I'll return it to you once I'm done."

As for when he would return it, Zhou Chen couldn't guarantee that.

"Furthermore, if we don't resolve this remnant thought soon, your clan probably won't last much longer."

The Mermaid Empress fell silent for a moment and finally nodded.

"Fine, I believe Young Master Zhou."

She took out an azure-blue pearl from her bosom.

The pearl was only the size of a longan, but it emitted a terrifying pressure.

It was indeed the Sea-Settling Pearl.

Zhou Chen took the Sea-Settling Pearl, a flash of satisfaction in his eyes.

[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for intercepting the Child of Destiny Gu Jifeng's Opportunity: the Emperor Rank Top-Grade Sea-Settling Pearl. Triggering 10,000-fold return.]

[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for obtaining the Venerable Rank Top-Grade mermaid emperors tear.]

Zhou Chen was wild with joy.

The System is awesome!

It's actually another Venerable Rank Top-Grade item!

The mermaid emperors tear is rumored to be the tears left behind by the ancestor of the Mermaid Clan, the Mermaid Emperor, before death. It contains the pure Origin of the Law of Water, and its existing quantity is quite rare.

Absorbing the mermaid emperors tear not only significantly increases the power of water-System Cultivation Techniques but, more importantly, allows one to directly comprehend the Law of Water.

As for how many levels of the Law of Water one can comprehend, it all depends on individual Comprehension Ability and luck.

Zhou Chen forcibly suppressed his excitement and stored the mermaid emperors tear into his internal Small World.

Then, he activated the Samadhi True Fire within his body.

The Samadhi True Fire was formed after he fused several types of exotic fires. Its power was terrifying, capable of incinerating all things.

Zhou Chen specifically activated the purification properties of the World-Purifying White Lotus and the Red Lotus Karmic Fire within the Samadhi True Fire, and began to slowly combine the Samadhi True Fire with the Sea-Settling Pearl.

As the flames and the water pearl intertwined, a marvelous change actually occurred.

Under the guidance of the Sea-Settling Pearl, the purification power of the Samadhi True Fire became gentler, yet its power did not diminish in the slightest.

"Go!"

With a wave of Zhou Chen's hand, the fire and the water pearl transformed into a beam of light, shooting toward that wisp of Evil Demon remnant thought.

The moment the light touched the remnant thought, it let out a piercing shriek.

It wanted to flee, but it was firmly locked down by the power of the Sea-Settling Pearl and couldn't move at all.

The Samadhi True Fire began to burn, purifying the remnant thought bit by bit.

The remnant thought struggled continuously, but under the combined attack of the Samadhi True Fire and the Sea-Settling Pearl, it was utterly powerless to resist.

Fifteen minutes later, the remnant thought was finally completely purified.

And the parts that had been assimilated with the Seal were also carefully stripped away under the guidance of the Sea-Settling Pearl.

The entire process did not cause any damage to the Seal.

"It succeeded!"

The Mermaid Empress cried out in pleasant surprise.

Zhou Chen withdrew the Samadhi True Fire. He did not return the Sea-Settling Pearl to the Mermaid Empress, and the Mermaid Empress was tactful enough not to ask him for it.

"The curse has been lifted; your clan should be fine now."

Hearing this, the Mermaid Empress's eyes were filled with gratitude.

"Young Master Zhou's great kindness will never be forgotten by my clan."

Zhou Chen waved his hand. "It was just a small effort."

The Mermaid Empress shook her head. "To Young Master Zhou, it might be a small effort, but to my clan, it is a life-saving favor."