Chapter 136: Marked by Death

The Karmic Fiend now understood the disparity in power between us; in my presence, it had lost its previous arrogance. Given a choice, it certainly did not want to return to that cramped glass bottle.

"I’ll cooperate with you, but what do you want me to do? Do you want me to kill someone for you?"

"What are you thinking?" I narrowed my eyes. "I need you to possess someone, uncover every secret hidden in their mind, and tell me everything. Once that’s done, I’ll grant you your freedom."

"Are you serious?"

I nodded. "A gentleman’s word is his bond."

"There is one more thing." I leaned back in my chair and asked, "Earlier, you used Wang Lei’s mouth to tell me that the manifestation of my own karma took the form of a person. Is that correct?"

"That is correct."

I pondered for a moment before asking, "Would I be able to see this manifestation of my own karma?"

It shook its head immediately. "An ordinary person cannot see the manifestation of their own karma unless someone else intervenes—someone who intends to lure it out and use it against you."

I looked at it without another word, simply waving my hand, and it obediently retreated back into the glass bottle.

After hearing its words, I wondered if it was the one trying to use my karma against me. But on second thought, if it truly were the culprit, it would have no reason to tell me about it. If there was someone else involved, who could it be?

According to the Karmic Fiend, whoever was trying to harm me did not yet possess the refined skill required, as karma is not something easily manipulated. Not everyone shares its innate, supernatural talent. Therefore, I didn't need to worry too much for now, just stay vigilant. Furthermore, the Karmic Fiend guaranteed that once it finished my task, provided I truly left it alone afterward, it would help me resolve the karma attached to me.

Resolve my own karma? If possible, I would naturally prefer to remove it myself. But if I couldn't, having the Karmic Fiend assist was not an entirely unreasonable alternative.

Soon, Wang Zihao woke up. I simply nodded at him and said, "Bring Seventh Brother here."

"Understood!"

Forty minutes later, Seventh Brother appeared before me again. The look in his eyes when he saw me was filled with apprehension; after all, we were old acquaintances.

I didn't bother with pleasantries or even a single wasted word. I released the Karmic Fiend, and it immediately possessed Seventh Brother’s body. After a moment of violent twitching, Seventh Brother seemed to transform into a different person, inspecting his own body with a strange intensity.

Suddenly, he slammed his hands onto the iron table in front of him, the chains around his wrists clattering loudly. "You... you’re trying to kill me! If you wanted me dead, you should have just said so! Why lie to me?"

Seventh Brother’s face was a mask of terror and fury. "I was never a match for you, and I have nothing to say about being captured, but you cannot do this to me!"

His words left not only Wang Zihao confused, but even I was momentarily stunned, unable to grasp what he was talking about.

"What... what are you saying?"

"This man has a Death Seal on him! And it’s going to trigger soon! You made me possess him, and now I’m going to suffer the effects of this Death Seal along with him—and I can’t get out!"

A Death Seal. My grandfather once told me that in the folk Maoshan arts, this was like a remote-detonated time bomb. Once planted, the caster could take the victim's life at any moment. More importantly, it was not easily detected. It was possible to maintain a friendly facade while secretly planting a Death Seal on someone. Grandfather said he had encountered such a person in his youth, and it was only because of his quick reflexes that he hadn't fallen for it. This curse was incredibly vicious and could not be undone. Its most potent aspect was that it didn't just kill the physical body; it destroyed every soul and malevolent spirit residing within it.

Just like the Karmic Fiend—the moment it possessed Seventh Brother, its future was effectively sealed. But that was of no concern to me; I had never intended for it to have much of a future anyway. However, I couldn't let it know that.

"What are you afraid of? It’s just a Death Seal. I am a successor of the Maoshan arts. Isn't breaking such a thing child’s play for me? What you need to do now isn't ask questions, but hurry and find the answers I need from this vessel."

The Karmic Fiend looked at me, its eyes filled with complex emotions. Though it clearly wanted to tear me apart, it had to obey me to avoid being wiped out by the Death Seal. I had become its only hope.

"Search this body for memories regarding Lin Feng and the Corpse Pool."

"Wait, let me look."

It shot me a resentful glare before closing its eyes. I didn't know how long it would take, but ten minutes passed, and it showed no signs of opening its eyes.

"Jiang Huai, is this going to work? I feel like this is a bit unreliable."

I shook my head. "Don't worry, it's reliable. Its life is in my hands."

"Its life? What exactly is it?"