Bone-stripping and tendon-pulling? The reborn senior sister becomes the number one cultivator in the

Xie Wanning woke up groggily.

Meeting a pair of probing eyes, Xie Wanning could clearly hear the other person's breathing and feel the warmth of their breath.

"What are you doing?" Xie Wanning instinctively slapped the person in front of her away. With a loud "boom," the person was sent flying against the opposite wall, which cracked.

Xie Wanning instantly regained consciousness.

She fell asleep in Qin Muyang's room last night. The door was locked, so there couldn't have been a third person there. Could the person she just knocked away have been... Qin Muyang?!

Xie Wanning quickly got up and pulled Qin Muyang out of the wall. Seeing that he was weak and had suffered a heavy blow, with blood flowing from the corner of his mouth, several broken ribs, and he had even fainted, Xie Wanning felt extremely ashamed.

After feeding Qin Muyang a Rank 7 Recovery Pill, Xie Wanning closed the storage bag with a heavy heart.

It's all her fault for being too reckless; she threw a punch without even looking at who it was.

No, it was Qin Muyang who got close to her early in the morning, startling her, which is why she attacked.

Yes, it was Qin Muyang's fault. She was just defending herself.

Xie Wanning breathed a sigh of relief, slapped the unconscious Qin Muyang twice on the face, and then sat down with satisfaction, waiting for Qin Muyang to wake up.

Half an incense stick later, Qin Muyang woke up, feeling a burning pain all over his body, especially his face.

"Finally awake. I spent a top-grade seventh-rank recovery pill and five hundred high-grade spirit stones to save you. Remember to give it to me." Xie Wanning crossed her arms, looking annoyed.

This left Qin Muyang even more confused. He remembered that it was Xu Weilin who injured him, so why was he being asked to pay money?

However, Qin Muyang still took out a storage bag and gave it to Xie Wanning, his eyes indifferent: "No need to give change."

Xie Wanning looked inside the storage bag and saw that there were actually a thousand high-grade spirit stones. She couldn't help but widen her eyes and asked, "Sect Master Qin, if you ask me, you are the kind of sucker that robbers love the most. It's easy to round up money when you have a lot, but it's much easier to do math when you're robbed."

Qin Muyang was speechless for a moment. He just didn't have a small amount of money, and he didn't like small amounts of money. After all, he had the entire black market behind him, and money was the last thing he lacked.

"Did you save me yesterday?" Qin Muyang asked in a low voice, his eyes never leaving Xie Wanning, wanting to see her expression clearly.

Xie Wanning raised an eyebrow, spread her hands, and smiled: "Who else could it be but me? Doesn't Pavilion Master Qin know that there's only you and me in this room? How could there possibly be a third person?"

Xie Wanning's expression was very relaxed, as if she were talking about a trivial matter, but she did not notice Qin Muyang's increasingly bright eyes.

"You know medicine? Do you really know medicine? And this morning I found dozens of rank 8 talismans on my body, all drawn by you?" Qin Muyang's tone was extremely excited. Could Xu Weilin really be his savior?

Xie Wanning gave an awkward smile.

I just learned this, do you believe me?

Xie Wanning had no memory of the two years after her death, so she naturally didn't remember that she had studied medicine. It was only the memories that suddenly surged up last night that helped her suppress the curse in Qin Muyang's body.

"To be honest, I only have a smattering of medical knowledge, and I just happen to recognize that your illness is not caused by poisoning or injury at all." Xie Wanning's expression turned serious as she looked at Qin Muyang's still unhealed wounds and said, "There is a curse inside your body. As long as you circulate your spiritual power, the curse will take effect. Even if you don't circulate your spiritual power, the curse will still consume your lifespan until you die."

Qin Muyang's eyes flashed, and he finally understood what the pain that had plagued him for three years was.

So it was a curse!

No wonder he had sought out renowned doctors and tried countless medicines over the past three years, yet none had alleviated the pain in his body. He was a cultivator; he couldn't stop cultivating, or the curse would continue to rage, making his life a living hell. He had practically risked his life to become a Nascent Soul cultivator.

"Why do I have this curse?" Qin Muyang couldn't help but wonder. Three years ago, he was healthy, exercised daily, and had no health problems whatsoever.

However, during a cultivation session three years ago, he vomited blood and fell into a coma. When he woke up, he found black lines on his abdomen.

The black lines, like tree rings, continued to grow and spread, covering almost every part of Qin Muyang's body except his face over the past three years.

Recently, black lines spread to the upper half of his face, and his body became extremely weak, which is why he claimed to be in seclusion and locked himself in his room.

Qin Muyang would only sneak out of the sect when the black market was open to find a solution.

Yesterday, he divined that someone would bring the antidote to the black market, and that person was Xu Weilin.

He had always thought that the antidote was the pill of the Invincible Taoist, but he never expected it to be Xu Weilin herself.

Xie Wanning pondered for a moment before answering, "This curse is called the 'Black Mark Curse,' a curse unique to the Demon Clan. However, this curse is hereditary; members of this family are born with this curse and will carry it until death. Pavilion Master Qin, does anyone in your family carry this curse?"

"I don't know, I became an orphan when I was very young." Qin Muyang's eyes darkened.

"I'm sorry, I touched on something that hurts you." Xie Wanning was a little at a loss. She was also an orphan, and she knew how painful it would be to have such things brought up.

"It's nothing." Qin Muyang looked up, his eyes filled with deep killing intent, but he didn't look at Xie Wanning: "I know where the curse on my hand came from."

Before joining the sect, he was thin but not seriously ill. It wasn't until his third year in the sect, when he was fifteen, that he was cursed.

What kind of family would offend a demonic cultivator and have that cultivator cast a curse upon them?

Qin Muyang picked up a copper coin, silently recited a name, and tossed it with his right hand. The coin landed head up.

It really was him, my "good" master Zhuge Kuang!

Xie Wanning felt that Qin Muyang was somewhat frightening at this moment, and quickly stopped him: "Sect Master Qin, you'd better not have too much emotional fluctuation, as it is not good for your recovery."

Qin Muyang then came to his senses and looked at Xie Wanning with a somewhat sorrowful expression: "Fellow Daoist Xu, how much longer can I live?"

Xie Wanning was startled. Meeting Qin Muyang's despairing gaze, she stammered for a long time before finally saying, "It's been less than a year. Even if I can help you suppress the curse, it has become one with you, and there's no way to cure it completely."

Xie Wanning felt a deep sense of powerlessness. She searched through her memories but could not find a way to save her life.

Qin Muyang lowered his head, his lips even paler, and his breathing became more rapid: "Is that really so? Yes, I know my own body best. If you hadn't helped me suppress the curse, I'm afraid I wouldn't have survived three days."

Qin Muyang clenched his fist, but felt a cold touch on the back of his hand. Looking down, he saw a few tears on the back of his hand.

"But I really, really want to live. I've tried so hard to live, so why is there this inexplicable curse taking my life?" Qin Muyang's voice was a little hoarse.

Xie Wanning looked at his reddened eyes and felt an unbearable pain in her heart.

She understood that death is painful, and who wouldn't want to live a good life if given the chance!

Qin Muyang recalled his childhood memories: he had seen stray dogs starving to death by the roadside, his companions killed by demonic cultivators, and his family members afflicted with the plague but without receiving treatment.

They all closed their eyes, unable to see tomorrow's sun.

And he, Qin Muyang, will become the next "them".

He survived a near-death experience, made friends, and established a black market; he stood out among thousands of disciples and became a personal disciple of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion; he survived countless killings and barely made it to this day.

Everything will vanish into nothingness, becoming yesterday's illusion, and a year from now, his death knell will toll.

"Ding-dong, ding-dong!" The crisp sound of bells broke the somber atmosphere and echoed throughout the room.