Meng Jingzhou, who had just been gnashing his teeth, suddenly calmed down at Lu Yang's words. He smoothed out his collar, which wasn't even rumpled.
"Nonsense. Who's jealous of this kid?"
"I merely noticed his romantic luck was far too potent and prone to turning into romantic calamity. I was just worried for him, that's all."
Lu Yang nodded, pretending to believe Meng Jingzhou's nonsense.
"Still, you said he was cursed—what's that about?"
Meng Jingzhou had previously suffered the backlash of a curse and had traveled all the way to Huangzhou seeking a solution, so he knew just how troublesome curses were to deal with.
Lu Yang turned and passed the question to the Immortal Fairy. "Fairy, could you elaborate?"
"It's quite a simple minor curse. It doesn't even work on cultivators. It merely causes any young woman he comes into contact with to experience an accelerated heartbeat. Over time, that develops into heart disease."
"Right now, it's not too serious—it hasn't reached the stage of an actual attack—but as time goes on, something will definitely go wrong."
"Can you tell who cast it?"
"No idea."
"Is there a way to break it?"
"That's easy enough. This immortal recalls you have Breathing Earth, Wood Essence, and Thousand-Illusion Bamboo in your identity jade pendant... As long as you refine these ingredients into an elixir in the proper proportions, the curse will be lifted."
Unlike the curse backlash Meng Jingzhou had encountered before—which had been of far too high a grade, and in an area where the Immortal Fairy lacked expertise, leaving her with only the Art of Playing Dead—this was completely different. To her, this was an entry-level minor curse that she had encountered numerous times in antiquity, making it effortless to handle.
"Refining it into an elixir... looks like we'll need to find an alchemist." Neither Lu Yang nor Meng Jingzhou knew alchemy.
As long as they broke the curse, whoever had cast it would notice the anomaly and naturally surface.
The two tailed Gu Junye back to his home. The Gu clan was a prominent local Golden Core clan, and he was the clan head's second son, possessing his own independent courtyard.
Upon returning to his courtyard, he completed the schoolwork assigned by the academy as usual. By then, night had already fallen.
Standing in the courtyard, he spread his arms and slowly closed his eyes, bathing in the moonlight.
After a long while, he opened his eyes and gazed up at the bright, silvery moon in the sky. A look of reminiscence showed in his eyes, as though he were longing for some ancient acquaintance.
He withdrew his gaze and sighed softly. "To think that even the power of lunar essence is so meager. The day of restoring my cultivation remains distant and uncertain. I wonder when this cultivation of mine will ever return. Could it be that we are already in the Dharma-Ending Age?"
"I truly miss my former self, galloping between heaven and earth. I wonder if the mortals still remember this seat's title, Daoist Lord Wanfa. Most likely, it has been forgotten."
"The people of old are gone, and the past is beyond reach."
Suddenly feeling a sharp pain in his right eye, he clutched it and bared his teeth. "Fellow Daoist Heaven-Swallowing, I fear you are the only one left in this world who still remembers this seat."
"Young Master, dinner is served," the housekeeper said respectfully from the doorway.
Gu Junye reined in his nostalgic emotions. "To think that this seat cannot even achieve fasting now. If Sword Lord Xuanyuan or the Unbreakable Sage knew of this, they would probably laugh their heads off."
"There is the old duck soup with ginseng that you like best."
"Understood. I will be right there."
After having dinner with his family, Gu Junye returned to his room. He took out brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, pinched back his sleeve, and ground ink to paint.
Fixing his gaze intently on the tip of the brush, he held his breath. An hour later, a painting titled *Daoist Lord Wanfa Attains the Dao* vividly came alive on the paper, its margins inscribed with the life chronicle of his previous incarnation:
*Stepped onto the path of cultivation at sixteen, achieved Foundation Establishment at seventeen, Golden Core at eighteen, and Nascent Soul at nineteen, shattering the record for the fastest cultivation speed to become the youngest Nascent Soul cultivator, striking dread into countless Nascent Soul eccentrics who addressed him as fellow Daoist.*
Gu Junye set down his brush and looked at the painting with satisfaction. In his past life, he had been known as the Sage of Painting. Though he had lost most of his skill, painting something like this posed no difficulty at all.
He tidied away the Four Treasures of the Study and went peacefully to sleep.
Hidden on the roof, Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou exchanged awkward glances, truly not wanting to keep watching Gu Junye any longer.
"Old Lu, you keep watch on this kid here. I'm going out for a walk."
Lu Yang grabbed Meng Jingzhou just as he was about to slip away. "Don't even think about running! Did you forget the oath we took when we became sworn brothers? In blessing we share, in hardship we bear!"
Meng Jingzhou snapped furiously, "Bullshit! Who ever became sworn brothers with you?!"
Chapter 702