With only a small portion of Grievance Energy consumed, the power of the Hate Blood Infant Spirit instantly swelled, forcing the Peach Blossom Calamity Curse to retreat step by step. Even with the combined efforts of the Golden Dragon Curse and the Red Dragon Curse, they could barely hold their ground.
Li Cunxu cheered on the three curses.
"Don't give up! Keep going! Hold on!"
The consequence of the three curses failing to balance the Blood Infant Spirit was that Li Cunxu would end up carrying a little Blood Infant.
He really didn't want to carry a Blood Infant.
Li Cunxu furrowed his brows. The chain reaction caused by the destruction of the Blood Infant Pool was something he hadn't anticipated. The Blood Infant Spirit still harbored a vast amount of resentment and hatred within it. Once the Blood Infant Spirit fully absorbed these, its power would skyrocket by several levels.
"Come on, buddy, give it your all!"
For the time being, Li Cunxu couldn't get his hands on any other powerful curses, so he could only pin his hopes on the Curse Master who had cast the Peach Blossom Calamity Curse on him.
On the other side, Chu Zhousheng was utterly frustrated. Just a few more days, and the Peach Blossom Calamity Curse would have detonated, killing Li Cunxu. But then, a surge of power (the Blood Infant Curse) entered Li Cunxu's body, initially slightly suppressing the Peach Blossom Calamity Curse and eventually completely overpowering it, causing Chu Zhousheng's heart to sink further and further.
"Damn it, damn it! Why can't you just die quietly? Why do you have to make such a mess?"
In a fit of rage, Chu Zhousheng smashed a Gold-level steel golem, renowned for its defense, with his bare hands to vent his anger. After calming down, he estimated that by consuming his life force and lifespan through the Curse Connection to enhance the Peach Blossom Calamity Curse, it would take thirty days for the curse to regain the upper hand against that power.
Chu Zhousheng couldn't sit still anymore.
Thirty days meant he would have to expend three-tenths of his life force and three-tenths of his lifespan.
How many three-tenths of life and lifespan does a person have?
Moreover, he had already consumed more than one-tenth of his life and lifespan so far.
And the cost of three-tenths would only allow the Peach Blossom Calamity Curse to suppress that power. To actually kill Li Cunxu, he would have to continue consuming his life and lifespan.
The most crucial point was that such a massive expenditure was just to kill a Black Iron-level ordinary youth.
"No, if this continues, even if I break through to the Monarch level with my Cursed Demon Body, I'll be the Monarch with the shortest lifespan."
"It seems I'll have to use that treasure."
Chu Zhousheng muttered to himself, a hint of reluctance flashing in his eyes.
"Fine, fine. You can't catch a wolf without sacrificing a child."
He took out a small box forged from divine metal from his Spatial Ring. Inside the box lay an opportunity that, for him, was only slightly less significant than the ancient ritual of the Cursed Demon Body.
It was the second greatest opportunity of his life.
A blank Curse Spirit lay quietly inside the box, sleeping.
Curse Spirits were common, but blank Curse Spirits were rare. To be precise, blank Curse Spirits were even rarer than the forty-nine Emperor Tools. There might only be one or two in the entire world.
What did a blank Curse Spirit mean?
It meant it was a blank canvas, ready to be painted on however one wished.
If you painted it with the Peach Blossom Calamity Curse, it would become the Curse Spirit of the Peach Blossom Calamity, the 'Peach Blossom Calamity Spirit.' If you painted it with the Evil Dragon Curse, it would become the 'Evil Dragon Spirit.'
Even more impressive, the blank Curse Spirit could be repainted repeatedly.
After becoming the Peach Blossom Calamity Spirit, it could have the curse removed and then become the Evil Dragon Spirit.
Chu Zhousheng hesitated for a moment, but his resolve quickly hardened.
"Items are only helpful when used; otherwise, they're just decorations. Besides, I can always reclaim the blank Curse Spirit, so there's nothing to regret."
Chu Zhousheng infused an ancient Peach Blossom Calamity Curse into the blank Curse Spirit, transforming it into a Peach Blossom Calamity Spirit. Through the Curse Connection, he linked it to Li Cunxu and remotely transmitted the Peach Blossom Calamity Spirit into Li Cunxu's body.
At this moment, Li Cunxu was filled with excitement.
Burning the Blood Infant Pool had yielded him 3,214 drops of first-tier Sacred Blood.
This immense surprise nearly overwhelmed him.
3,214 drops of Sacred Blood could be used to create 3,214 low-quality Sacred Meals.
Of course, he wouldn't waste the Sacred Blood on low-quality meals that offered little benefit to his Pet Beast.
For the time being, he wouldn't have to worry about running out of Sacred Blood.
When Li Cunxu regained his composure, he noticed that the Peach Blossom Calamity Curse in his body had been replaced by a Peach Blossom Calamity Spirit.
"What? It evolved?"
The curse had evolved into a Curse Spirit?
While such a possibility existed, it required endless Grievance Energy and hatred, as well as time for the curse to transform into a Curse Spirit.
Given how little time had passed, this clearly wasn't the case.
"It must be that Curse Master's doing. He really thinks highly of me, sending a Curse Spirit into my body. This is the kind of treatment reserved for assassinating a King."
With the Peach Blossom Calamity Curse now a Peach Blossom Calamity Spirit, the dynamics within his body shifted once again.
The Blood Infant Spirit and the Peach Blossom Calamity Spirit were evenly matched, locked in a fierce struggle.
Taking advantage of the stalemate between the two Curse Spirits, the Golden Dragon Curse began devouring the Red Dragon Curse with great enthusiasm.
Golden Dragon: See! If I don't eat you, I won't have the strength to resist those two.
Red Dragon: I don't care, I don't care! Just get away from me!
Perhaps the pressure from the two Curse Spirits was too much for the Golden Dragon Curse, as it felt an urgent need to grow stronger and redoubled its efforts to consume the Red Dragon Curse.
Li Cunxu stopped paying attention to the curses within his body. As long as no single curse dominated, they would never take effect.
"The finals of the Strongest Newcomer Cup are coming up. Should we compete?"
"Winning would bring awards, but it would also draw excessive attention to Xiao Ruan."
For a Water Slime to win a regional championship was already remarkable, but winning the overall championship? That couldn't simply be explained by being "remarkable."
Being one step ahead makes you a genius; being a hundred steps ahead makes you a monster.
Geniuses are common, but monsters are rare. People would inevitably seek to uncover why such a monster exists, especially those with ulterior motives.
Xiao Ruan's Divinely Granted Talent, [Slime's Soul Kingdom], must never be exposed, or it could lead to fatal consequences.
If they didn't compete, there would be no issues, but Li Cunxu wanted to grow quickly, which would inevitably reveal Xiao Ruan's strength.
Playing it safe was naturally preferable. Li Cunxu was someone who disliked trouble and preferred to lay low. If he could play it safe, he would, but the times didn't allow it. A great era of competition was approaching—the strong would thrive, and the weak would perish.
In the game, with the help of players, humanity could stand against the Four Gods. But now, without players, the future of humanity in this world was uncertain.
"I need to find a way to make Xiao Ruan's growth seem reasonable."
The most reasonable method would be to expose the Blood Lotus Eye. The Blood God Sect's retaliation wouldn't be a concern, as the Sacred Lotus Li Family would protect him.
However, Li Cunxu did not want to return to the Sacred Lotus Li Family, not only because of his troublesome grandfather Li Shiji, but also because he had already overcome the most challenging phase of his entrepreneurial journey and no longer needed the assistance of the Sacred Lotus Li Family.
Moreover, the help from the Sacred Lotus Li Family was not free; it came with a price.
If you took one gold from the family, you would need to repay a hundred gold.
After all, the family was not a charity; it required something in return.
Why do many family prodigies slow down in their later growth? It's because they are repaying the family's assistance, often getting bogged down by various tasks arranged by the family.
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