https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-127-Great-Blood-Food-Achievement/12898623/
Chapter 126: Age-Taming and River Worship
Chapter 126: Age-Taming and River Worship
The content of the Hu Clan's Year-Taming Book is mysterious and powerful, but it seems to come with significant risks.
Of course, it might also be that my current Daoist power is too low, making the cultivation technique too strenuous. It appears that the thing in the river, which had accepted my offerings, has now become suspicious.
However, the spell has already taken effect. Within the duration of this incense, it dares not directly attack, but it is trying to prevent me from reaching the shore before the incense burns out.
Perhaps the spirits in the river are surfacing to stop the boat from moving forward, which is its way of accommodating.
Hu Ma was slightly startled and began to think of a countermeasure urgently.
At the same time, Yang Gong and another Red Fragrance Disciple noticed something amiss with the waves around the boat. They both jumped up, looking at the opposite shore. Although it was blurry, they could vaguely see the boats and houses on the other side.
Knowing they were not far from the shore, they exchanged glances and simultaneously formed a spell seal, lifting their feet.
"Something's wrong..."
But just as they lifted their feet, the other Red Fragrance Disciple suddenly realized something and shouted to Yang Gong, "Brother, if your feet don't touch the ground, the Lady's power can't be invoked!"
"..."
Yang Gong also clenched his teeth and shouted, "Let's go all out!"
As he spoke, he formed the spell seal with his hand and suddenly brought it to his mouth, biting his fingertip until it bled. He bit hard, as if afraid the blood wouldn't be enough. As the blood flowed out, he smeared it on his face.
He quickly drew on his face, making it gory and strange. In the eerie river, it looked even more bizarre.
The other Red Fragrance Disciple, seeing this, was startled and knew what he was about to do, but didn't hesitate, quickly imitating him.
"Red Lantern Lady, protect our lives, use blood as oil to illuminate the light!"
"..."
After they finished drawing the blood symbols on their faces, they both chanted softly, and rolling yin qi immediately surged from their bodies.
A bizarre scene unfolded. As they recited the incantation, the blood symbols on their faces seemed to come alive, twisting and writhing. The next moment, they both reached into their robes, pulling out a polished yellow copper nail, and pierced it through their right cheeks, directly through both cheeks, blood flowing, they shook their heads, blood splashing everywhere, looking like two evil ghosts from hell.
"Drip" "Drip"
The blood they flung into the river seemed to generate some kind of demonic power.
The spirits surrounding the boat, their faces hard and stiff, were suddenly scorched by the blood, their faces showing fear, and they scattered, moving to the side.
Even the mysterious wind and waves trying to pull the small boat back to the center of the river stopped when their blood splashed into the water.
"What is this?"
Hu Ma, who had been facing away from them, suddenly felt a chill behind him, his heart racing.
For a moment, he thought it was like the time when the spirits of the river had attacked, and the Red Lantern Lady had descended before him.
"Is this the skill they learned from the Red Lantern Lady?"
Hu Ma glanced at them and was already startled.
These two hadn't acted until now, but once they did, it was truly terrifying.
They were truly using themselves as human candles to wield power not their own, and this one action had burned away a significant portion of their strength.
But now wasn't the time for lamenting. He also seized the opportunity and made his decision.
He inserted the remaining bit of incense into the boat, took a deep breath, and began to refine his lungs, which could now hold far more oxygen than usual.
He stored the air in his chest and, without hesitation, jumped into the dark, unknown river water, creating a splash and disappearing in the next moment.
"Big Brother Yang Gong, did that kid run away?"
The Red Fragrance Disciple on the boat was startled, enduring the pain in his cheeks, and shouted to Yang Gong.
Yang Gong, with red eyes, his voice muffled, shouted, "Don't babble. If he had run, why would he come back?"
"Hold on, don't let those things get close..."
"..."
Under the boat, Hu Ma had jumped into the water, feeling as if he had entered an ice cellar, the cold piercing his body.
He couldn't see anything, only feeling that the river water seemed to have no buoyancy, pulling him down. Trying to swim up with his arms, he felt as if his legs were entangled in aquatic grass, unable to move.
"Don't panic, don't panic!"
He forced himself to stay calm. If he panicked and inhaled, it would be a major problem.
Fortunately, his chest had already begun to refine, and his breath-holding technique was stronger than others. He forced himself to open his eyes and looked down, only to see pale hands grabbing his legs.
Due to the dimness, he could vaguely see that there were many things at the river bottom, climbing up his legs, inching up his body, layer after layer of yin qi rising to his chest.
"Three Pillars of Daoist Power..."
Hu Ma, knowing he had little time, and with no one to see him underwater, did not hesitate to activate all three pillars of his daoist power.
The alchemical furnace suddenly burned fiercely, the heat permeating his entire body, making him feel as if he were a burning coal.
The creatures in the river were scorched by the furnace's flames, screaming and releasing their grips on their own bodies.
Seizing this opportunity, he suddenly turned his limbs icy cold, reducing their impact in the cold water.
With all his might, he swam towards the opposite shore, using the breath he had taken at the surface to swim underwater for seven or eight zhang, directly reaching the shore. He then burst out of the water and searched for a rope on the boat.
There were plenty of ropes on the boat, used for pulling nets, catching fish, tying the boat, and securing cargo.
Hu Ma took the longest one, gathered all his strength in his arms, and threw it into the river, shouting:
"Hold on!"
A cold wind swept across the river, and the rope seemed to lose its strength, about to fall into the water.
But Little Red Apricot, seeing this, ran down from the boat, grabbed the rope, and pulled it back on board. Yang Gong, who had been facing away from the shore and hadn't seen how the rope was thrown, instinctively grabbed it and wrapped it around his waist.
"Come over..."
Hu Ma tied the rope to a tree on the shore, then gripped it with both hands and pulled with all his might.
At this moment, he displayed the most skilled technique of an Age Keeper, his feet sinking into the mud, his arms bursting with astonishing strength, gradually pulling the rope back.
With his help, the small boat and the people on it, including Yang Gong, finally broke free from the wind and waves, quickly reaching the shore.
When they were still a few zhang away from the shore, they couldn't resist jumping onto the bank.
But at that moment, the last bit of incense ash on the incense stick at the bow of the boat was suddenly blown off, and the incense burned to the end.
Instantly, three-foot-high waves surged in the river, pushing steadily towards the shore.
Beneath the river's surface, a massive creature could be faintly seen, carrying a chilling aura and staring with a pair of brown, strange eyes as it approached.
The river spirits also seemed to be driven by some force, extending their pale, stiff hands towards the shore.
But just as it felt like he was about to be completely engulfed by the invisible chill, even pulled back into the river, Hu Ma released the rope he was pulling and stood firmly.
Facing the surging river water and the malevolent spirits in the river, he showed no fear, his feet planted in a stable stance, one foot forward and the other back, balancing yin and yang.
He slowly raised his hands in front of him, bowed slightly towards the river.
Four Ghosts Bowing at the Gate.
He had now mastered this technique with his hands and feet, and the Old Shopkeeper, feeling guilty, had seriously taught him this unique skill.
So, when Hu Ma bowed slightly forward, it was a genuine Four Ghosts Bowing at the Gate technique.
His body was enveloped in a misty aura, as if carrying the intangible power of the Netherworld. As he bowed forward, this power pressed forward.
The river water, which had already risen three feet, looked like a wave about to crash onto the shore. Within the wave, countless strange things could be seen, extending pale hands or exhaling chilling auras.
But as Hu Ma bowed forward, the invisible force pushed the wave back into the water, and the creatures inside screamed and retreated with the water.
Nearby, the villagers, who had been bowing to the river, were already pale with fear at the sight of the water surging onto the shore. When they saw Hu Ma bow slightly and send the water back into the river, they stared wide-eyed, thinking they had seen a deity.
Taking advantage of this, Yang Gong and another Red Fragrance disciple turned around.
Their feet firmly planted on solid ground, their demeanor changed. They glared fiercely at the river, simultaneously pulling out the copper nails from their faces and holding them, their eyes flashing with a fierce red light.
The creatures in the river, seeing the water being sent back by Hu Ma, were enraged and tried to create an even larger wave to surge forward.
But they suddenly saw the people standing by the river: Hu Ma with his hands in a bowing position, his body swaying as if he were not alive, with a little girl in red, with two braids on her head, baring her teeth at them.
The two men beside him had an eerie aura, holding bloodstained copper nails, and seemed to harbor some sinister power, making the creatures hesitate. The wind and waves in the river also subsided slightly.
"Go!"
Seeing the river calm down, Hu Ma understood and immediately whispered, carrying the yellow-haired girl and slowly retreating with Yang Gong and the others, his eyes fixed on the river.
They retreated for about three or four zhang, and seeing no more significant movements in the river, they turned and ran.
The surrounding villagers watched them in a daze, not daring to ask or obstruct them.
On the other side of the river, the members of the Blue Robe Gang watched the suddenly turbulent river, feeling frustrated but no one dared to enter the river at this moment.
In the river, a massive shadow floated up, approaching the surface.
Below the river's surface, two blue, icy eyes stared intently at the people fleeing on the shore.
Around him, a bone-chilling coldness spread, and the lonely, unsupported shadows of spirits floated quietly on the water.
As the fog on the river's surface dissipated, they slowly disappeared into the river.
Only the sunlight shone on the empty river, but there was nothing left.
(End of Chapter)
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