"That curse mark has a problem."
Fear appeared on Qian Xi's delicate, otherworldly face.
She finally understood now—why Qin Yan had not activated the curse mark to force her out back then, and why that young man had left so calmly and unhurriedly without even looking back.
It turned out that none of this required him to act personally. The curse mark planted deep within her soul was itself a slow yet irreversible process of sinking.
It would unknowingly erode the will and mind of its bearer, planting the thought of "submission" in the deepest part of the soul like a seed.
Then it would take root, sprout, and thrive on its own until it completely replaced the original self.
"There are still ten days. I have to hold on."
Qian Xi gritted her teeth, held her breath, and focused her mind, doing everything she could to wage a difficult struggle against the increasingly intense urge to submit deep within her heart.
Yet no matter how hard she tried, in her spiritual world, pitch-black Darkness Runes emerged from every direction like a silent army.
They densely filled her entire space of consciousness.
With every flicker, those runes carved another layer of imprint deep into her soul, rapidly invading her mind with an unstoppable momentum.
"Battle!"
Qin Yan's voice exploded like thunder within the silver seawater.
His figure turned into a streak of black light and plunged into the Dark Emperor Golden Body.
The moment the two merged, he immediately sensed the difference brought about by this Heaven and Earth Baptism—his mental strength had surged to an unprecedented level.
If his previous 599 Hz had been a lake firmly contained by a dam, then the water level had now risen flush with the dam. All it needed was a single