Chapter 35: Curse
The blade is a weapon.
Weapons are instruments of ill omen.
In Jujutsu High, there was a special room covered in various incantations and talismans.
Inside the room, several shrines were scattered about, burning with eerie, scorching red flames.
The red firelight flickered across the room as Alex Moyan sat cross-legged in the center.
Resting on his lap was the eerie sword he had acquired not long ago.
Alex Moyan picked up the sword and slowly unsheathed it.
The snow-white blade gradually revealed itself as Alex Moyan moved.
At the moment the sword left its scabbard, the golden dragon pattern on the sheath flashed with light.
It was as if some taboo had been triggered.
Alex Moyan looked at the sword before him; its hilt was carved with an exquisite, lifelike dragon head, causing his eyes to flicker slightly.
One couldn't help but marvel at its beauty.
The next second, the sword began to vibrate as if it had come alive, trying to break free from Alex Moyan's control.
But Alex Moyan held it in a death grip.
The sword stopped trembling, instead pulling Alex Moyan into a mysterious consciousness space.
Alex Moyan had arrived at this wondrous place once again.
This time was just like the last, except the scenes continued where they had left off.
In Alex Moyan's vision, countless elite ancient soldiers clad in armor appeared, facing death with unwavering resolve.
Hundreds of Buddhas were using iron chains emitting golden light to tightly bind and imprison a colossal beast.
The beast had nine tails, and its fur shimmered with a golden light like actual gold.
It was one of Japan's three great yokai, the White-Faced Golden-Haired Nine-Tailed Fox—Tamamo-no-Mae.
Not far from Tamamo-no-Mae, atop an altar, a handsome man dressed in loose robes and a black tall hat was chanting incantations and forming hand seals.
The vast Cursed Energy he emitted was something even Alex Moyan could not compare to.
Clearly, the person before him was Abe no Seimei, hailed in Japanese legend as the strongest ancient Jujutsu Sorcerer.
However, just as success was within reach, one of Tamamo-no-Mae's giant tails snapped the chains. One must realize that the Cursed Energy emitted by each chain was comparable to a special grade cursed tool!
Each of Tamamo-no-Mae's tails possessed world-shaking power.
With a swing of the massive tail, the heavens and earth shook; Tamamo-no-Mae had summoned an earthquake.
Then, the chains snapped one after another as the second and third tails broke free.
Tamamo-no-Mae swung again, this time bringing forth gale-force winds and flash floods!
"Abe no Seimei, you cannot catch me!"
An eerie female voice echoed through the skies, and at that point, the scene came to an abrupt halt.
Alex Moyan exited the consciousness space.
Half a month had passed since the mall incident.
Every day, Alex Moyan endured the curse of this sword; the progress in taming it was going well.
Combined with his cheat-like Heaven-Defying Comprehension, Alex Moyan grew increasingly resistant to the sword's curse, no longer as disheveled as he was the first time.
From his initial attempts, where he would bleed from his seven facial orifices, to now, where he only felt a slight dizziness.
At first, Alex Moyan only regarded this sword as an eerie special grade cursed tool.
But what he didn't expect was that the curses contained within were so inconceivable.
They were chaotic—curses from ordinary people, curses from Jujutsu Sorcerers, and even curses from great yokai.
The scene from just now was nearing its end.
Alex Moyan could feel that it wouldn't be long before he could completely subdue this sword and make it his own.
Furthermore, it would become one of his strongest weapons and foundations.
"Just what is the origin of this sword?"
Alex Moyan's gaze was cold and deep as he quietly stared at the blade before him.
Under the flickering firelight, the brilliant reflection on the blade was clearly visible, making one feel mesmerized.
"In one go, I'll completely subdue this sword today."
Alex Moyan picked up the sword again, preparing to dispel the final curse and make this demonic blade entirely his.
The next moment, Alex Moyan appeared in that space once more.
By now, Tamamo-no-Mae had been completely subdued by Abe no Seimei, like a stray dog making its final struggle.
And Tamamo-no-Mae's chest was pierced by a long sword.
It was exactly Alex Moyan's sword!
"It's over!"
In the scene, Abe no Seimei let out a long breath.
His hand seals suddenly changed.
A world-shaking amount of Cursed Energy poured down from the heavens like a celestial river, startling the sky and trembling the earth!
Just as Alex Moyan thought everything was about to end, a sudden change occurred!
The scene abruptly shifted to a sword-smithing workshop.
It was actually a place where weapons were forged using magma as the heat source!
"Earth fire?" Alex Moyan frowned slightly.
He was currently inside a cave, and the mountain? It was a volcano!
Clang... Clang... Clang...
The rhythmic sounds of striking iron echoed in Alex Moyan's ears.
Each strike was like a thunderclap, rhythmically pounding away.
It was as if a mysterious ritual was being performed, seemingly inviting something.
Outside the mountain, lightning flashed and thunder roared as dark clouds pressed down, resembling silver dragons dancing in ink.
The one forging the blade was an old man with a grey beard.
At this moment, he seemed to have entered a state of selflessness; with every strike, the sword seemed to come alive.
Rumble, the heavenly thunder rolled!
The old man seemed to have expected this, looking at the sword in his hand with a smile.
"You are the greatest masterpiece of my life; let me sharpen your edge."
The old man held high the newly forged blade, and a bolt of heavenly lightning struck down from the sky!
The next moment, the old man's entire body was turned to charcoal.
Yet the sword revealed its sharp edge to the heavens!
"That old man just now was actually a Jujutsu Sorcerer, and quite a powerful one at that!"
Alex Moyan looked at everything in surprise, only now realizing he had become completely enthralled.
And that sword was, naturally, the mysterious sword.
And the old man's expectations had become the sword's first curse!
The recent thunderclap had caused significant damage to Alex Moyan's soul.
Alex Moyan wanted to exit, but he found that he couldn't?
"A fight to the death?"
Alex Moyan looked at the newly born sword in the scene, a sense of pride welling up as he gave a cold laugh.
"Interesting. Let's play then."
—————
The next moment, the scene switched again.
This time, it seemed to be inside a palace, where slaughter was rampant and blood stained the corridors.
A youth dressed in magnificent silk robes was currently wielding a long sword.
Heads flew off one by one, rolling across the great hall!
"I am the Emperor! I will lead this country to glory!" the youth watched everything before him with indifference.
"These people? Are they all Jujutsu Sorcerers?"
"No, they seem to be princes and nobles; their status is likely extraordinary."
Alex Moyan watched the events unfolding with confusion; it seemed everything was starting to become shrouded in mystery.
The scenes continued, and Alex Moyan felt the pressure on his soul increasing the further it went.
Fortunately, Alex Moyan already had a strong resistance and a strategy to deal with this demonic blade.
"I wonder what surprises you'll bring me next."
Alex Moyan looked forward more and more to discovering how many secrets were hidden behind this sword.
How much blood had it been stained with? How many people's curses had it received?
The scenes continued.
This time, it jumped directly to a divinely crafted land palace.
This massive palace was actually moving across the land, powered by the strength of tens of thousands of people.
Atop the palace, a man dressed in black ceremonial robes and wearing a towering crown stood above everyone else.
His robes were embroidered with the sun, moon, and stars, symbolizing his shoulders carrying the sun and moon and his back bearing the stars.
The strings of white jade beads on his crown blurred the man's face.
Yet they could not hide the man's dragon-like eyes, nor could they mask his overbearing aura that dominated all directions and swallowed the mountains and rivers!
Imperial Majesty!
Alex Moyan's brow furrowed; he could clearly feel the power of the man before him!
Special Grade?
No! He was far, far stronger than a Special Grade!
Alex Moyan was puzzled, but he didn't expect the man to turn his gaze toward him in the next moment.
"Who are you? How dare you peer upon Us!"
The next second, a giant divine dragon with chaotic pupils flew out from behind the man!
"How is this possible!"
Alex Moyan was confused; could he actually be seen by someone within the curse?
The next moment, the scene shifted again.
Alex Moyan arrived inside a magnificent palace.
A man dressed in dragon robes was currently sitting on a dragon throne.
In stark contrast to the previous person, his aura was even more powerful, like a true phoenix above the nine heavens!
"Who are you?"
The man asked.
Alex Moyan pointed at himself and asked dubiously, "You can see me?"
To his surprise, the man laughed heartily, and the entire palace vibrated with the frequency of his laughter. "If We are not speaking to you, then who else?"
Alex Moyan felt his entire body shudder!
The scene ended!
Alex Moyan exited the sword's curse.
Alex Moyan muttered to himself, looking at the sword that was no longer resisting; he became increasingly confused.
"Just what is your origin?"
(PS: Gege Akutami's setting is that Cursed Spirits only exist in Japan, and almost none in other regions. It's not that there are absolutely none, but they are extremely rare. Even a country with hundreds of years of history like America doesn't know about the existence of Cursed Spirits.)
(So this doesn't mean that a thousand years ago, there weren't large numbers of Cursed Spirits in other parts of the world. This is my own setting.)
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