I Was Forced To Marry The Phoenix Empress

"W-Why are her eyes black? What’s going on?" Xie Rou muttered in confusion and turned towards Gao Zhen the next instant.

Seeing her serious countenance with her eyes still focused on Zhou Lan, Xie Rou shook her arm and asked again.

"Madam Gao! What’s happening to Zhou Lan?!"

Her high-pitched voice finally managed to pull Gao Zhen out of her stupor.

"I-Its..." a difficult expression formed on Gao Zhen’s face the next second as she said, "...It’s a Death Hex."

"A Death Hex...?" Xie Rou asked in confusion.

It was the first time she had heard about such a thing, but by how ominous it sounded, she couldn’t help but tense up.

Gao Zhen nodded when she heard her and said, "It’s only natural for you not to have heard about this. I myself have only read about it and have never seen it in person until now..."

The next second, Gao Zhen pointed towards the strange black dot on Zhou Lan’s forehead.

It had become more prominent by now as several black veins had branched out from the dot, making its diameter appear larger.

"That black dot on her forehead is what roused my suspicion initially, and now that I’ve seen the jet-black eyes...it’s confirmed. She’s been afflicted with the Death Hex."

Gao Zhen paused to properly frame her words and, glancing towards Xie Rou and Yi Chen, continued.

"It only became known once more and more cultivators started exploring the ancient ruins. With more cultivators entering the tombs, the probability of them making it out alive increased drastically, which led to such cases seeing the light of day.

In the first tens of similar cases, it was assumed that this was an internal injury with no room for recovery, and all the afflicted individuals met their ends despite the best efforts of renowned Medicine masters and Physicians.

However, a couple of hundred years ago, it was realised that this wasn’t the result of an injury but was a complex curse which could only be removed by specific individuals..."

"So, there’s a way to remove this curse?!" Yi Chen, who was standing right next to the two of them, asked with a bright expression.

Initially, when he heard that it wasn’t an injury but a curse that was affecting Zhou Lan, he became extremely worried.

Since it was his first time hearing about curses, he had had no idea as to how they should be dealt with.

As a result, he couldn’t help but grow more and more worried as he didn’t want anything to happen to Zhou Lan.

Naturally, he held similar feelings of concern for Xie Rou and Gao Zhen as well.

However, knowing that Zhou Lan’s death would also drastically affect Zhou Mei, his desire to ensure her safety was naturally more prominent, especially in this situation.

Therefore, when he heard Gao Zhen’s words and realised that there was a way to remove this curse, his face instantly livened up.

However, just a second after he had asked that question, a shade of regret formed on Gao Zhen’s face as she said with a sigh, "Cure...yes, there is one. However, it’s useless for our case."

"Why?! Why is it useless?!" Xie Rou frantically asked while tightly holding onto Gao Zhen’s arms, her hands trembling while at it.

Understanding her state, Gao Zhen didn’t take her actions to heart and explained, "The only way to remove the Death Hex is to take the help of a Divinator..."

’Divinator...’

Yi Chen was immediately reminded of Elder Gu when he heard those words.

It had been several months since he had last heard those words, and thus was immediately reminded of the strong astronomical phenomenon from back then.

Meanwhile, Gao Zhen turned towards Zhou Lan the next instant and glanced at the branching veins that had covered one fourth of her forehead by now.

"From the looks of it, she has at most ten more days to live. After that, the curse will completely take over her body..."

Hearing those words, Yi Chen’s eyes widened in realization which was immediately followed by a resolute expression, "Then we don’t have a choice but to clear this tomb within the next few days."

Hearing this, conviction also appeared in Xie Rou’s eyes.

Meeting Gao Zhen’s gaze, she said, "Yes, it’s not useless. With my new strength, I’ll definitely give my all to make that happen."

Being the strongest among the three at the moment, Xie Rou truly believed that she possessed the ability to make that happen.

However, it didn’t have any positive effect on Gao Zhen.

Pursing her lips tightly, she soon said with a difficult expression, "The two of you don’t understand...Divinators are only present in the Seven Great Kingdoms, and the closest one from the Purple Carp Lake is our own White Jade Kingdom."

Yi Chen’s eyes immediately flickered when he heard those words, "We don’t have enough time..."

"Exactly," Gao Zhen nodded at those words and continued, "Even at the highest speed it will take us at least 7 days to return to the Jade City, which leaves us with only three days’ time at hand right now.

With no way of telling just how many more trials we’ll have to go through before clearing the tomb, do both of you still dare to think three days are enough?!

And I’m being generous here! In reality, even if that was possible, it would still take us another day to find the Great Divinator Guild’s branch head, convince him and then make the required preparations for the Curse Nullification Ceremony...Tell me, do the two of you still think it’s possible?!"

Gao Zhen’s words were like a tight slap of reality for the two of them. Especially in the case of Xie Rou, who had been fully invested in that idea.

However, now that she was faced with reality, the last vestiges of hope she had been clinging to all this time finally shattered.

Her anxious eyes, which still carried an ounce of hope, were now completely devoid of it as she glanced towards Zhou Lan’s figure.

Ugh!

The groans had continued without stop until now, with each of them inducing great ache in Xie Rou’s heart.

"L-Lan’er..."

Her voice trembled.

With tears incessantly falling down her face, Xie Rou lifted Zhou Lan’s delicate figure and hugged her tightly.

"I’m sorry...I’m sorry..."

Her aggrieved cries echoed in the hall, constantly pricking Yi Chen and Gao Zhen’s hearts.

Seeing this, a trace of hesitation appeared within Gao Zhen’s gaze. There was indeed a way to save Zhou Lan’s life, but for that, she would have to give up on clearing the tomb completely.

’No...Even at the cost of her life, I can’t afford to give up on this mission,’ she thought with a firm expression.

She had already warned the two of them about the tomb’s dangers, so there was no reason for her to feel guilty about her situation.

Despite that, a pang of guilt kept striking Gao Zhen’s heart, making it difficult for her to think of anything else.

’Wait...’

It was then that a thought crossed her mind, making her instantly turn her neck towards Yi Chen.