At Gu Chenfeng's question about Gu Beiwu's injuries, Mo Nancang's expression immediately grew much more serious.
"Your grandfather's injuries are far from ordinary.
"The people who attacked our master and us back then were of mysterious origins. Not only were they powerful, they were also versed in some bizarre secret arts."
Mo Nancang recalled, "Back then, your grandfather took too many of the enemy's killing blows to save me, rupturing his dantian and damaging his Dao foundation.
"If his Dao foundation alone had been damaged, it would at most have limited how high his cultivation could rise. It wouldn't have been fatal.
"What truly threatens your grandfather is a kind of 'curse' cast by a powerful figure in blood-red robes."
"A curse?"
Gu Chenfeng was astonished.
Mo Nancang said, "Curses are among the many secret arts of the Seven Star Continent, and they are the most mysterious and insidious.
"But even after spending years in Central Province,
"I only found a handful of curse arts, and none came anywhere close to the power of the curse afflicting your grandfather.
"That curse's power devours a person's vitality and primordial spirit. Its might is truly terrifying.
"For your grandfather to have withstood it for decades is already a miracle.
"But my senior brother is a freak himself. Even with a damaged Dao foundation, he managed to enter the realm of Great Grandmasters.
"It's no surprise he's held on until now."
"Great Grandmaster!"
Gu Chenfeng looked stunned.
Mo Nancang smiled smugly.
"Never heard of that realm, have you? That's only natural. After all, the strongest in the entire Great Li Dynasty are merely those so-called 'Four Grandmasters.'
"They even listed your grandfather as one of the Four Grandmasters. Utterly laughable.
"Above the Source Manifestation Realm, which corresponds to Grandmasters, lies the Source King