Severing Ties: The Sect Regrets My Departure

Chapter 209: Tantai’s Scheme, Void Curse

The suffering of the Void. A scheme spanning ten lifetimes. To break the curse…

These words, spoken by the phantom of Tantai Shi formed from bloodline power, carried secrets heavy enough to crush mountains. Gu Xiu’s eyelids twitched.

Deep doubts surfaced in his heart.

“The world believes that the Void Stone Wax is the ultimate artifact of virtue. They say that those who obtain it and wield it are saints—souls of great compassion who save the suffering.”

Tantai Shi looked at Gu Xiu, his expression solemn. “But do you know the true origin of my Tantai Clan’s Void Stone Wax?”

Gu Xiu shook his head.

The Void Stone Wax was an enigma. Legends were plentiful, but facts were scarce. Even Gu Xiu knew little beyond the rumors: it was a supreme treasure of goodness, possessing miraculous powers that rivaled creation itself.

However, one fact was undeniable. Aside from a few rare instances where it appeared in the wild, the Void Stone Wax had almost exclusively been held by the Tantai Clan.

“It is because my Tantai Clan was cursed from the very beginning.”

Tantai Shi sighed, his voice echoing with the weight of centuries. “By my generation, the Tantai Clan had existed for 39 generations—or rather, recorded history only goes back that far. Before the first generation, there is nothing.”

“And for all 39 generations, every single child was born with the Void Stone Wax.”

Gu Xiu was astonished. “Born with it?”

“Yes. It accompanies the body.”

“It is ingrained in the very marrow of my clan. Every Tantai child is born with the Void Stone Wax nurtured within their bloodline.”

Noticing Gu Xiu’s shock, Tantai Shi offered a pained apology. “Five hundred years ago, I told you that I fused the wax into my descendants’ bloodlines to protect them. That was a lie. I did nothing. I could do nothing. The wax was already there.”

Gu Xiu’s mind raced, connecting the dots to Tantai Shi’s earlier words. “Is this… the curse you mentioned?”

“Yes. The curse.”

Tantai Shi nodded slowly. “The wax indeed possesses heaven-defying abilities. It can revive the dead and regrow flesh and bone. It aids in cultivation, deepens one’s understanding of the Great Dao, and even heals the spirit.”

“But its most insidious trait is that it functions like Buddhist karma. The better your reputation, the more the world praises you, the stronger the wax becomes.”

“But…”

“The moment you truly possess it, especially when you use it to cultivate or seek the world’s adoration, the torment begins.”

“Because this thing is a shackle.”

Gu Xiu raised an eyebrow, a vague guess forming in his mind.

Tantai Shi continued, confirming his suspicions. “The Void Stone Wax only accepts the ‘ultimate good.’ Its power is fueled by the praise of the masses. Those who carry it in their blood must perform good deeds and accumulate virtue for all eternity.”

“But this comes with a price.”

“If you commit an evil deed, the wax backlashes.”

“If you harbor a single malicious thought, you suffer the agony of a shattered heart and a split soul.”

“It is indeed an artifact for the saintly. But to hold it, to use it… in this life…”

Tantai Shi looked down at his spectral hands.

“I… am no longer myself.”

“Do you understand?”

Gu Xiu nodded slowly, shaken by the revelation.

He understood perfectly.

The Void Stone Wax was a tool of ultimate good, but humans were complex creatures. Everyone possessed the seven emotions and six desires. Good and evil were often separated by a hair’s breadth.

Even ancient sages and Buddhist venerables wouldn’t dare claim they never harbored a single dark thought in their entire lives. As long as a person had a mind, they had selfishness. And from selfishness, evil thoughts were inevitable.

To wield the wax, one had to be a saint in thought and deed, forever.

That was impossible.

Even if one person could achieve it, could an entire clan do so, generation after generation? To force such an existence upon a bloodline was indeed a curse.

“Why?” Gu Xiu asked. “Why is it like this?”

“I don’t know.” Tantai Shi shook his head. “To this day, I do not know why the wax plagues our bloodline. But we have always speculated…”

“That this is a punishment inflicted upon us by some higher power.”

“The existence of the Void Stone Wax offers us two choices: die out quickly and end the lineage, or survive by becoming slaves to virtue—doing good deeds and accumulating merit for eternity just to avoid the pain of the backlash.”

“To solve this, 39 generations of my ancestors tried countless methods. Countless people died. But in the end, it was all in vain—like drawing water with a bamboo basket.”

“So, when it came to my generation, I chose to change.”

“I became the ‘eccentric’ Divine Doctor. I rarely used the wax. I refused to save people on a whim. Just like when you brought Xu Wanqing to me… I didn’t want to save her.”

Gu Xiu nodded. He remembered.

Tantai Shi had a reputation as a miracle worker, but his personality was notoriously strange. He often refused to treat patients. When Gu Xiu had carried the dying Xu Wanqing to him, Tantai Shi had rejected them instantly. It had taken Gu Xiu begging on his knees to change his mind.

“But in the end, you did save her. You even used the Void Stone Wax to replace her heart,” Gu Xiu said, confusion coloring his tone. “Was that… part of the ‘ten lifetimes scheme’ you mentioned?”

” regarding that matter… I owe you an apology.”

Tantai Shi sighed deeply. “When I first saw Xu Wanqing, I knew her injuries required the wax. That is why I refused.”

“Even though I saw that you were a person of pure intent and heavy promises, I refused. Because breaking my clan’s curse requires more than just one good person.”

“But after your desperate pleading, I agreed to examine her. And when I looked closer at her soul… I changed my mind.”

Tantai Shi looked straight into Gu Xiu’s eyes. “I imagine by now, you understand Xu Wanqing’s true nature?”

Gu Xiu fell silent.

Five hundred years in the Forbidden Realm. Three years of suppression. He hadn’t seen it. It wasn’t until the “glimpse of ten thousand years” that he finally woke up.

“The heart is like a bright mirror, unstained by dust; the fickleness of the world, the truth not yet known. It is not that you were at fault, but that the affairs of the world are a confusing maze.”

Tantai Shi recited softly, then added, “Hearts are separated by bellies. Your Senior Sister was impeccable in her disguise. She hid her darkness so deep that even outsiders couldn’t see it, let alone you, her Junior Brother.”

“I could see it only because of the Void Stone Wax. The artifact in my blood reacts to evil. It wasn’t your fault you were blind to it.”

Tantai Shi gave a bitter smile. “In fact, it is fortunate you didn’t see through her earlier. If you had intervened a hundred years ago, or even three years ago, my scheme would have collapsed.”

“So, what exactly is this scheme?” Gu Xiu asked.

He realized now that Tantai Shi was not truly alive. This was a remnant soul, a contingency plan waiting specifically for this moment. There was no need for secrets anymore.

“My ancestors failed for 39 generations because they tried to fight the curse directly,” Tantai Shi explained. “But we discovered a pattern. The wax has a cycle.”

“Ten generations form one cycle.”

“If the bloodline continues for ten generations, and if the wax is ‘boiled’ within them under extreme duress, the power hidden in the blood will separate. It can be peeled away completely.”

“But achieving this is harder than ascending to heaven.”

“I can endure torture. I can endure the pain of refining the wax. I could even persuade my son, or my grandson, to endure it.”

“But…”

“What about the generations after?”

“Ten generations is a long time. If a single person wavers, if a single father cannot bear to see his son suffer, the process fails.”

“I needed someone to force it. Someone cruel.”

“And I needed someone to end it. Someone righteous.”

Gu Xiu felt a chill run down his spine.

Back then, Tantai Shi had claimed he would change his clan’s name to Shi and seal the wax in their blood to “protect” them. He had said that only after ten generations could the wax be safely removed.

At the time, it sounded like a protective measure from a loving ancestor.

Now, Gu Xiu realized it was a lie. A trap from the very beginning.

To break the curse, Tantai Shi had schemed against Xu Wanqing. He had schemed against Gu Xiu.

And most ruthlessly, he had schemed against his own family.

He had handed his descendants over to a monster like Xu Wanqing, knowing she would torture them. He knew she would treat them as livestock, harvesting their blood and agony.

He condemned ten generations of his own children to a living hell, just to “boil” the curse out of their veins.

Tantai Shi saw the horror in Gu Xiu’s eyes. He gritted his teeth.

“I have wronged many people. I have wronged you. I have wronged ten generations of my children.”

“But… no breaking, no standing!”

“The Void Stone Wax is not a gift! It is a cancer! For the Tantai Clan to truly live, the cancer must be cut out!”

“If I had to do it again…”

“I would make the same choice!”

Gu Xiu remained silent for a long time. Finally, he asked, “Were you not afraid of failure?”

“I was terrified. That is why I forced you to swear a Dao Oath to help my clan once,” Tantai Shi replied.

“But did you ever consider… if I hadn’t come? If I had died? The Tantai Clan would have been extinguished, and your scheme would have been for nothing.”

“Living in this world requires gambling,” Tantai Shi said, looking past Gu Xiu at the mother and daughter huddled in the cage.

They had heard everything. Their faces were blank with shock.

“My clan has suffered enough. If we failed, we would go extinct—a mercy in itself. If we succeeded… we would finally be free.”

Tantai Shi looked at the phantom, then at the victims. Guilt flashed in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by steel.

“The Tantai Clan… generation after generation of great benefactors.”