Curse Source

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Curse Source
Original Name	诅咒之源
Type	Neutral Character (AI)
Nature	Anomalous power and substance that grants curse-based abilities while eroding or corrupting its host
Status	Active; its influence and manifestations persist across multiple worlds 1633 1661
First Appearance	1254
Associated Origin	A vast black river beyond the Natural Chasm Abyss; later accounts associate its source with the Mountains and Seas World 1356 1448

Classification

Category	Description
Sequence	Curse Sources are grouped into sequences, including Desire, Fear, Regeneration, Holy, Despair, Pain, Chaos, Hell, Dragon Palace, and Black Mist. A sequence may contain from seven or eight to fifty individual curses. 1253
Number / Rank	Individual Curse Sources are identified by a sequence number, such as Fear Sequence No. 1: Death or Desire Sequence No. 3: Anger. Numerical rank alone does not fully determine practical strength; compatible sources can produce exceptional effects when combined. 1270 1350
No. 0 Curse Source	The foundational source of a sequence. It can mobilize, coordinate, and amplify related Curse Sources; an active No. 0 may develop into a living being if not harvested in time. 1266 1271
Tier / Type	Curse Sources can be upgraded through absorption, refinement, or fusion with duplicates. Higher tiers are generally stronger and more stable, though their backlash also becomes more severe. 1258 1293 1364
Mythological Sequences	Dragon Palace, Heavenly Path, Hell, and Buddhism are regarded as especially powerful, though unusual Curse Sources can equal or surpass them in particular circumstances. 1270

Nature and Properties

Host Integration

Curse Sources can exist in blood, bones, organs, souls, objects, monsters, and seemingly human entities. A host may acquire one by being infected, inheriting it, extracting it from another being, or finding it within a peculiar object or location. 1251 1260 1265

• Killing a host can allow a Curse Source to be harvested, though a living host retains vitality that can make extraction faster. 1251
• Some hosts carry a single exceptionally pure Curse Source and are not truly human despite their appearance. 1265
• Curse Sources may also manifest as objects, including the Skinning Curse’s human-skin lantern and the King Kong Bracelet. 1260 1273
• A high-tier Body Snatching Curse Source can seize the life of beings—including plants and animals—through a trace of spiritual light if the target is not stronger than its user. 1345

Benefits and Backlash

Curse Sources grant powers that conventional cultivation cannot easily replicate, allowing even mortals to threaten gods under the right conditions. 1293 1350

• Their effects are often specific and extreme: Blood drains an opponent’s blood, Death manifests a soul-reaping scythe, and Abyss traps a gazer’s soul within the user’s pupils. 1259 1270
• Their power commonly harms both target and user. Raging Wind cuts its own user with wind blades, while Bone Shatter gradually destroys the user’s bones. 1258 1259
• Ordinary dark Curse Sources constantly corrode body and soul. Most infected mortals die within two or three years; surviving more than thirty years is considered exceptional. 1259
• Exposure can transform those unable to withstand the physical and spiritual backlash into irrational, low-level demons. 1439
• Higher-tier sources are not inherently safe: prolonged use of a Tier 9 Pan Chang Curse Source still produces severe repercussions. 1364

Compatibility and Balance

Multiple Curse Sources can conflict violently within one host. The resulting imbalance may cause internal collapse, madness, or death. 1258 1259

• Regeneration-oriented sources such as Nine-Headed Serpent can stabilize otherwise incompatible sources and provide repeated revival. 1258 1259
• Balance Sequence sources are exceptionally rare and improve the stability of combined Curse Sources. 1305
• Secret martial arts can fuse complementary sources into larger constructs, including the Taiji Diagram, Eight Trigrams Plate Cable, and Nine Palaces Sphere. 1274 1380
• Ding Ling’s Martial Dao True Understanding and refined secret arts allow him to suppress backlash and safely coordinate immense numbers of Curse Sources, a capability ordinary users lack. 1364 1477 1649

Notable Curse Source Types

Sequence / Source	Documented Effect
Regeneration Sequence No. 9: Nine-Headed Serpent	Grants nine lives; the host can revive after up to eight deaths before dying permanently. 1258
Chaos Sequence No. 18: Beast	Greatly increases strength, agility, physique, and defense when activated. 1258
Fear Sequence No. 1: Death	Creates a Death God Scythe capable of severing both life and soul. 1270 1271
Fear Sequence No. 2: Abyss	Draws the soul of anyone who gazes into the user’s empowered pupils into an inescapable abyss. 1270
Desire Sequence No. 0: Desire	Functions as the core of the Desire Sequence, amplifying and coordinating related sources such as Anger and Jealousy. 1266
Destiny Sequence No. 0: Destiny	Severs karmic and destiny-based connections, prevents tracking and deduction, and protects its bearer from restraints such as the Book of the Dead. 1271
Heavenly Path Sequence: Divine Descent	Can enslave weaker targets and turn them into puppets; its potential scale reaches tens or hundreds of thousands of victims. 1284
Black Mist Sequence No. 10: Shuttle	At Tier 7, creates passages for free travel between the main world and projection worlds. 1339
Black Mist Sequence No. 41: Body Snatch	At Tier 8, can silently seize a target’s life through projected spiritual light. 1345
Despair Sequence: Aging	A Tier 9 source causes the five decays of heaven and man unless countered by an appropriate Curse Source. 1358
Buddhism Sequence: Pan Chang	Extends lifespan; at Tier 9, it may allow survival even after the destruction of heaven and earth. 1364

No. 0 Curse Sources

No. 0 Curse Sources differ from ordinary sources by acting as a sequence’s foundation rather than simply providing a single combat ability. 1266

• An active No. 0 can be harvested during its formation; if left too long, it may lose vitality or transform into a person-like entity. 1271
• A dead No. 0 mainly mobilizes and amplifies other Curse Sources from its own sequence. 1271
• Individuals transformed by No. 0 sources can generally coordinate related sources but struggle to integrate unrelated sequences. 1343
• Su Quanzhong is an unusual exception: he possesses Black Mist No. 0 while also integrating the Black Mist Demonization Curse Source. 1343

Manifestations

Form	Example
Energy stream	Nine-Headed Serpent was extracted as a dark-gray, violent stream of air carrying potent life force. 1258
Living or humanoid vessel	No. 0 Curse Sources may transform into beings such as Di Xin and Shen Gongbao if not harvested. 1271
Object	The Skinning Curse manifested as a human-skin lantern; the King Kong Bracelet was itself a Curse Source. 1260 1273
Mist and droplets	Black Mist monsters leave behind dark droplets containing Curse Sources after being drained and destroyed. 1345
Water	Curse Source Water can carry immense energy; unrefined water may destroy worlds, while “dead water” lacks spirituality. 1449 1661
Great river	The ultimate source is represented by a boundless black river saturated with Curse Sources and Curse Source Qi. 1356 1359

Origin and Spread

Ding Ling initially sought the origin of the curses after recognizing that understanding it could reveal a route out of the cursed world and provide major benefits. 1254

A major breakthrough came in the Natural Chasm Abyss. Beyond a repaired rift, Ding Ling’s clones discovered an endless black river flowing from west to east. The rift had allowed river water—and therefore Curse Sources—to enter the Abyss; once sealed by humanoid symbols, the black mist pouring into the human world stopped. 1356

Great River

• The river contains Curse Sources and Curse Source Qi throughout its waters; stronger sources are believed to lie deeper within it. 1359
• Ding Ling’s clones are destroyed almost instantly by direct contact with its water, demonstrating the river’s overwhelming danger. 1356
• Ouyang Siwen describes the river as flowing into the Sea of Spacetime Emptiness and as a poison capable of killing even Heavenly Humans. 1381
• According to Ouyang Siwen, the Three Thousand Great Heavenly Daos of his world were poisoned to death, leaving only damaged Lesser Heavenly Daos. 1381

Mountains and Seas World

The source encountered through the Lingbao Illustrated Handbook is associated with the Mountains and Seas World. Ding Ling considers this location too dangerous to investigate directly, fearing that it could contain something beyond his ability to confront. 1448 1377

Later information identifies the world containing the Curse Source’s origin as another Creator’s Divine Domain, which fought a massive war against the Divine Domain connected to the Journey to the West main world, the Lingbao Illustrated Handbook, and the Inner Worlds. 1648

World Erosion

• A world infected by high-tier Curse Sources may be unable to remove them and can only await destruction. 1381
• The Lingbao Illustrated Handbook and the Immortal Court beyond the Bronze Gate have both been eroded by the Curse Source world and the Void Netherworld. 1635
• The Void Netherworld is a separate hostile realm that produces malevolent spirits capable of replicating others, while the Curse Source world produces Curse Sources. 1635
• Even diluted or mutated offshoots of the origin can form local Origin Lands, producing unusually pure Curse Source Qi in otherwise unrelated worlds. 1448

Major Story Role

• Curse Sources dominate the cursed Journey to the West world’s power structure, where survival, social rank, and combat ability depend heavily on sequence compatibility and source control. 1253 1258
• Ding Ling builds his power by extracting, refining, balancing, and upgrading Curse Sources, eventually treating their study as a crucial means of survival. 1260
• The discovery of No. 0 sources reveals that sequences possess foundations capable of amplifying whole collections of related curses. 1266 1271
• The Black Mist Sequence becomes central to the crisis surrounding the Lingbao Illustrated Handbook, projection worlds, and the Natural Chasm Abyss. 1338 1356
• The Great River’s discovery reframes Curse Sources from local anomalies into a threat capable of poisoning Heavenly Dao and eroding entire worlds. 1356 1381
• Curse Sources later reappear in the Immortal Palace game worlds, where Zhu Qingling uses Ding Ling’s methods to refine them without suffering their usual backlash. 1439 1477