Chapter Thirty-One: The Heart-Devouring Curse—What Connection Is There?

Hell
Inside the dungeon

The little dumpling turned around and looked at the evil spirit bound outside the dungeon. “What about the Snake Clan?”

“The Pearl of Immortality was stolen. The Great Serpent must be furious, right?”

The evil spirit nodded. “Yes, the Snake Clan’s vitality has indeed been severely damaged.”

“And Han Mo?” Bai Yan lifted his head, still persistently questioning, though his expression had grown calmer than before.

“Ha-Han—no,” the evil spirit quickly shook his head, lowering his body to reply, “The Snake King fought Lord Dragon Three and won.”

“Won?!” Bai Yan’s face was filled with disbelief, and the little dumpling was stunned.

That guy actually won?

The Great Serpent actually won?

How could this be?

Could it be that the boy truly absorbed the spiritual power of the Blood Spirit Pearl Flower and successfully enhanced his cultivation?

The evil spirit nodded heavily. “Yes, he won. This matter has spread throughout the Four Seas and the Eight Desolations. They say the Snake King summoned the Moonheart Divine Sword and defeated Lord Dragon Three with a single strike.”

“Moonheart Sword?!” Bai Yan’s anxiety deepened as he heard more, feeling the situation was veering far from the original course.

Meanwhile, the little dumpling’s eyes shone brighter with each word. Moonheart Divine Sword? A divine sword?!

Doesn’t that mean the Great Serpent is incredibly powerful? Otherwise, how could the divine sword obey his summons?

“Yes, the ghost servant has finished speaking. Little Lord, please release the ghost servant.”

“Alright,” the little dumpling smiled and nodded, about to lift the spell binding her when someone beside her stopped her.

“Wait!”

Bai Yan stretched out his hand to stop her, his expression stern as he looked at the evil spirit outside the dungeon. “Since Han Mo defeated Lord Dragon Three, how did Lord Dragon Three obtain the Pearl of Immortality?”

“This…” The ghost servant was shocked, silently lamenting that this question might be difficult to answer.

The little dumpling thought it was reasonable and lowered her hands, looking up at her and nodding. “Yes, how did he get the Pearl of Immortality to save that human princess?”

“Little Lord—” The ghost servant’s face showed difficulty, clearly harboring a secret she could not reveal.

“Come on, just tell me. If you’re afraid my father will punish you, don’t worry. With me here, I won’t let him harm you.”

“Ghost servant…”

The little dumpling raised her small hand and promised, “I swear it. Isn’t that enough?”

“No,” the ghost servant hurriedly shook her head, her voice urgent. “I dare not. I’ll just tell you—”

“The Snake King did defeat Lord Dragon Three, but he suffered grievous wounds and had to retreat into seclusion to cultivate. No one has seen him since.”

“Because of this, the Snake Clan’s underground palace became a river of blood and a land of suffering. Even though the Snake King won, it was a narrow victory. The treasure vault was reportedly looted, countless treasures and medicinal flowers disappeared, especially the Pearl of Immortality.”

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“Later, it was said that a human close to Lord Dragon Three consumed the Pearl of Immortality, gained eternal life, and reached the Dao of Heaven, disappearing completely from the Book of Life and Death.”

“That’s why Lord Yama wanted to punish her.”

“So… that’s how it is?” The little dumpling lowered her head thoughtfully. Because that human violated the Heavenly Dao, gaining eternal life, her father punished her with ghost fire to reprimand her immortal act.

“Severely injured… retreating into seclusion…” Bai Yan slowly sank down, his hands clenched tightly, his eyes burning red with fury. “How dare he? How dare the Dragon Clan?!”

“White Radish, what’s wrong with you?” The little dumpling hurried over, pulling on his arm with all her might to try to lift him, but her strength was pitifully weak and useless.

“Hey!”

“White Radish?!”

The little dumpling squatted beside him, worriedly watching him. “What’s wrong? You seem… very worried about the Great Serpent?”

“He… he’s been like family to me since we were young…” Bai Yan’s eyes reddened, his voice trembling softly. That boy was frail and sickly from childhood. Whenever he encountered rare medicinal flowers or precious spiritual pearls, he would bring them back for him.

Because his sister was harmed by demons, leaving her body severely wounded, even during her pregnancy with that boy, she suffered immense restrictions and torment. Every mid-month, she would be afflicted by a curse, writhing in pain and madness, losing control.

It was because of this that his sister eventually died during one of her episodes. He thought that with her death, the curse would end. But he never imagined that Han Mo, born carrying the heart-devouring curse that causes unbearable pain and madness.

Every fifteenth and sixteenth of the lunar month were the most agonizing days for Han Mo, nearly impossible to endure. As his uncle, Bai Yan had watched helplessly as he suffered, doing his utmost to find the best medicine for him—the Blood Spirit Pearl Flower.

But Han Mo was determined. His cultivation and spells improved day by day, suppressing the heart-devouring curse. He found the Blood Spirit Pearl Flower and became the Snake King.

Just as he was about to rest easy, Mo’s Blood Spirit Pearl Flower was stolen and eventually ended up in the hands of Yu Heng of the Ninth Heaven.

Thus, the existence of this so-called cursed immortal.

The little dumpling glanced at him, sighed, then hurriedly stood up. She walked to the dungeon door, condensing a spell in her hands, releasing a blood-red light toward the ghost servant.

“Shh!” The vines loosened, gradually disappearing before her eyes with the blood-red light, dissolving into tiny fragments of light that vanished with the wind.

“Thank you, Little Lord.” The ghost servant moved her stiff body and smiled at the little dumpling.

“No thanks. I was the one who bound you.”

She quickly bowed her head and said respectfully, “Ghost servant dares not.”

“What’s your name? From now on, stay by my side.” She happened to need a personal ghost servant.

The ghost servant was stunned, hardly believing it. “L-Little Lord?”

“These days, you’ve been the only one brave enough to bring us news from outside. Thank you.”

“You’re too kind, Little Lord. This is what a ghost servant should do.”

“No one else dares to send me messages, only you have the courage, unafraid of Father’s punishment.”

The ghost servant didn’t know how to respond to that. She could only smile awkwardly. “L-Little Lord…”

But inside, she wanted to cry. It wasn’t bravery that made her speak—it was fear. Fear that if she didn’t, she would be punished by Lord Yama before she had a chance to speak. Even this mischievous little lord in front of her made her uneasy.

She was only doing it for herself.

The little dumpling waved her hand. “Go quickly. It won’t be good if Sister Meng Hui finds you.”

She nodded quickly and bowed again. “Thank you, Little Lord. Ghost servant Cao Fu will obey your orders from now on.”

“Cao Fu? Nice name. I’ll remember it.”

“Yes, Ghost servant takes her leave.”

After watching her leave, the little dumpling turned and ran to Bai Yan’s side, sitting down face to face on the ground. She whispered, “Now that no one is here, White Radish, tell me, what’s your relationship with the Great Serpent?”

Bai Yan lowered his head slightly, staring absently at the pale blue-white jade serpent pendant at his waist. “My sister’s name is Bai Ning. She’s an immortal lord like me in the Ninth Heaven.”

“But while dealing with the demons, she was attacked by evil demon forces and suffered a chronic illness, afflicted by the heart-devouring curse which causes unbearable pain.”

“And… what happened next?” The little dumpling felt this story was no ordinary tale. Her instincts told her that Bai Ning was more than just an immortal lord.

“Later, she bore a son—smart, clever, and obedient—a rare cultivation genius in this world.”

“But…” His voice faltered, tinged with sorrow and a choked emotion.

The little dumpling’s heart skipped a beat. “But what?”

“But her son was also cursed with the heart-devouring demon!”

“What?!” The little dumpling gasped, jumping up in shock. How could this be?

Bai Yan sneered, looking into her eyes as he revealed, “His name is Han Mo.”

“Han Mo?” The little dumpling was utterly shocked, unable to close her mouth. This person was the Great Serpent.

“His father was the ancient Snake Clan king who died tens of thousands of years ago—Han Bi.”

“This…”

“His mother is my sister—Bai Ning.”

“How is that possible?” The little dumpling looked up abruptly, flustered.

The Great Serpent was afflicted with the heart-devouring curse—one that had remained unsolved for millions of years?

“So, you should understand why I care about him so much, right?” Bai Yan smiled faintly, but there was a trace of desolation in it.

Because that boy is his only family now, the only one he must protect.

No one is allowed to harm him.

No one.