The Soundless Curse

E-98, that "big shot" of unknown identity, was like a stone tossed into a cesspit. Though it had not stirred up towering waves, it had somehow mixed a sliver of unsettling sharpness into the murky air of give-up-and-let-die resignation that had always hung over Block E.

Xu Qian strictly followed Zhou Kang's warning. Whenever he delivered food, he kept his eyes on his nose and his nose on his heart. His movements were as brisk as a machine running on a set program: ladle the gruel, pour it into the bowl, turn around, leave. He never lingered for even an instant outside that cell, and his gaze remained firmly fixed on the patch of ground before his feet.

Even so, his keen senses and Qi Gazing Technique still caught certain unusual things.

The young man was quiet most of the time. Unlike the other new prisoners, he neither wailed, cursed, nor tried to ingratiate himself. He either leaned against the wall with his eyes closed, resting his mind, or stared motionlessly at the faint scrap of daylight by the ventilation opening, like a sculpture that had lost its soul.

Yet the faint purple noble aura around him was being eroded and worn away by the black Sha Qi that permeated the cell, slowly but relentlessly. Like a drop of thick ink falling into clear water, the ink drop still stubbornly maintained its shape, but its edges were constantly bleeding outward and fading.

And whenever the Sha Qi's erosion intensified, Xu Qian could always sense an exceedingly concealed yet bone-chilling resentment radiating from around the young man. It was not the impotent fury of street thugs. It was a hatred that had sunk into the marrow, born of falling from great heights and having one's dignity trampled beneathfoot.

That hatred was soundless, yet more heart-palpitating than any howl.

That night, Xu Qian was assigned the latter half of the night watch.

In the dead of night, Block E was terrifyingly silent. Only the crackling of distant torches could be heard, along with pained groans or suppressed sleep-talk drifting from some unknown cell.

Xu Qian sat at his assigned guard post with his saber in his arms. Out of habit, he circulated the Longevity Dao Fruit, drawing in the scant Sha Qi from the air—even a mosquito's leg was still meat—while remaining alert.

It was around the third quarter of the Rat hour, when Yin Energy between heaven and earth was at its strongest.

Suddenly, an extremely faint sound drifted over in broken intervals, as unpleasant as steel wire scraping against his eardrums.

The sound was coming from E-98's cell!

Xu Qian immediately held his breath, using the Longevity Dao Fruit to suppress his aura until it was almost nonexistent, reducing his sense of presence to the bare minimum. He tilted his head slightly and sharpened his hearing to its limit.

That sound... it was not speech. It was more like indistinct syllables squeezed out from between clenched teeth, suppressed to the utmost extreme. He could not make out the exact words, but the resentment, venom, and curse within them were so intense they seemed impossible to dissolve!

Along with the whisper-like curse came the sound of heavy chains scraping and dragging with extreme slowness, yet immense force... creak... creak... As though something were exhausting all its strength to fight against its restraints—or carrying out some bizarre and painful ritual.

Not sleeping in the middle of the night? Sitting here drawing circles and cursing someone? Xu Qian could not help mocking inwardly. The scene was genuinely creepy.

In the end, curiosity outweighed his lingering fear. Cautiously, he sent a thread of nearly imperceptible intent toward E-98's cell, silently activating the Qi Gazing Technique.

What he saw made the hairs on his back stand on end instantly!

Within his "vision," the black Sha Qi in the area around E-98's cell, which had originally only been flowing slowly, now churned violently like boiling asphalt!

And an even deeper, thicker stream of pitch-black energy, filled with despair, hatred, and the intent to destroy, was being forced out—or rather... actively seeping out—from the young man's body in thread after thread, especially from his chest!

This newly born black energy was completely different from the Sha Qi of the Heavenly Prison itself! It was purer, more vicious, and carried a targeted, ominous Curse Power!

After seeping out, the black energy did not disperse. Instead, as if alive, it coiled around the young man several times. Then a portion of it stretched out like tentacles, attempting to penetrate the thick stone walls and cell door, spreading outward... beyond the cell!

Its target did not seem to be Xu Qian, who was so close at hand. Rather, it pointed toward... the deeper reaches of the Heavenly Prison? Or perhaps some specific target hidden in the unseen?

Holy shit! It's actually happening?! Xu Qian's scalp went numb. This was no longer ordinary Grievance Qi. This was a curse on the verge of taking tangible form, wasn't it? Just who the hell was this guy? How could his hatred reach the heavens like this?

A wisp of exceedingly faint cursed black energy, like a cold and venomous snake, was about to touch the corridor outside the cell door.

Just then!

"Buzz!"

Within Xu Qian's Sea of Consciousness, the Longevity Dao Fruit, which had always floated there silently, seemed to sense this highly corrosive and malicious energy. It gave a faint, almost imperceptible tremor of its own accord!

An invisible, formless clear radiance carrying the meaning of supreme purification rippled outward from the Dao Fruit like waves on water, instantly sweeping through Xu Qian's entire body before spreading, exceedingly covertly, to a radius of several feet around him.