Chapter 351: Divine Statue Smasher
Chapter 351: Divine Statue Smasher
Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Hu Ma looked around and felt as if he were standing in a grand manor.
All around him were solemn and grave gazes, devoid of any emotion, as two rows of golden-armored warriors stood on either side, each holding a sword or axe, their eyes tightly shut.
This mysterious mansion was opened by the nine-section bronze maces in the box, and as soon as it was opened, it appeared around him, centered on the nine-section bronze maces, and also behind Zhang Aogu's altar.
He could vaguely see the appearance of the mansion, and he discovered that it was the same grand hall he had summoned using the methods from the Pacifying Malevolent Spirits Scroll during his previous altar setup, only this mansion was more real and chilling.
Standing in the mansion, he could see the high roof ridge, the black giant pillars, and the large drum in the courtyard, covered with something unknown.
Looking further inside, he could even see the majestic and tall courtyard, the pillars carved with the fierce Bixian beasts, and the platform in front with command arrows and a thick stack of dusty scrolls.
On the far left was a row of dark and sinister executioner's blades, arranged in a line, causing a chilling sight.
Everything in this place carried an ancient and mysterious air, with a sense of desolation and solemnity. The strong scent of blood could be smelled, but it was not sinister; instead, it naturally evoked a sense of reverence.
Hu Ma subconsciously wanted to see everything clearly, but he couldn't move. The slightest movement brought an indescribable surge of malevolent energy rushing towards him.
This energy was a hundred, a thousand times stronger than that of the Five Sins Demon, yet it was purely malevolent energy, standing tall and upright. It was as if the Five Sins Demon carried the evil energy of a villain, but this altar held the energy of punishment and execution, two completely different things.
It was only because of the nine-section bronze maces beside him that he could withstand this force.
Without the protection of the maces, he might have been crushed instantly.
In fact, even just standing there, he felt the heavy and oppressive malevolent energy passing through his body, as if it wanted to drown him.
It was like facing the coldest winter wind, with a hundred reasons to curl up and hide, but he clenched his teeth, stood firm, and endured the heavy energy of the mansion, slowly raising his head.
This act of standing was like a baptism, as the chilling wind from the mansion blew over his entire body, almost scattering his soul, but because he stood firm, his soul became more condensed.
Then, he turned his gaze from the mansion to the outside, seeing Zhang Aogu's altar and the Five Sins Demon within.
"General of Pacifying Malevolent Spirits, spare my life, I know I was wrong..."
"..."
"Ah?"
When Zhang Aogu saw the scene before her, she thought she might have been mistaken.
After hearing Hu Ma's words, she had set up the altar, summoned the evil spirit, and felt overwhelmed, on the verge of failure, even suffering backlash from the altar's power. Suddenly, she felt a strange sensation and looked up.
In that instant, she felt the overwhelming malevolent energy, pressing against her eyebrows and lashes, causing the flames in the burning brazier and oil lamp to flare up, casting distorted shadows all around like dancing demons.
Within the altar, gusts of chilling wind howled, gradually shrinking into a ball, transforming into a terrifying ghost with five heads, each bearing a fierce and hideous expression. The five heads spoke simultaneously, pleading for mercy.
Was this the Five Sorrows Deity? For a moment, she struggled to connect this pitifully begging ghost with the malevolent deity that had once overshadowed her fate.
"Wow..."
Even the Seventh Aunt, sitting beside her, was startled and jumped out of her sedan chair, removing her shoe soles and holding them in her hand, ready to strike: "Hey, you evil spirit, aren't you fierce anymore?"
It was her shout that caught Zhang Aogu's attention. She finally confirmed that this was real, but she also understood that this evil spirit was not summoned by her, or rather, someone more powerful had borrowed her altar to summon it.
She quickly turned around and faced the faint shadow behind her, intending to kneel.
"Don't kneel!"
But before her knees touched the ground, she heard a voice, amplified by layers of spiritual power, making it sound incredibly heavy. Zhang Aogu's body stiffened, and she didn't kneel down.
However, her heart was still in a panic as she looked up at the blurry figure in the hall, meeting a majestic and mysterious gaze. Then, she heard the voice give a calm command: "Examine it!"
"I..."
Zhang Aogu was slightly dazed by the voice's instruction, and she instinctively turned around, looking at the altar and the evil spirit still bowing and pleading, without a trace of its former malevolent aura.
This had always been her nightmare, but this time, she truly felt someone supporting her from behind, and she was no longer afraid.
So, she gathered her courage and spoke to the evil spirit: "You... do you know your crimes?"
The evil spirit in the altar seemed to recognize the familiar voice, slightly lifting its head, and only stirred up a surge of malevolent energy, causing the flames in front of Zhang Aogu to flicker and rustle, but it did not respond.
Zhang Aogu's voice still trembled a little, but she could sense the stern and solemn atmosphere of the Exorcism Bureau behind her, and the mysterious gaze emanating from within the mansion. Thus, her voice gradually became more resolute, filled with determination and sharpness as she spoke, "Five Sins Demon, I ask you, wreaking havoc in the state, bringing harm and malevolence, how many families have sincerely offered sacrifices, only to be harmed by you, causing their entire clan to perish. You..."
"Do you know the extent of your crimes?"
"..."
Facing Zhang Aogu's stern questioning, the evil spirit in the altar finally reacted, hurriedly saying, "This lowly one admits guilt. I should not have overstepped my boundaries, defying and offending my master. I should not have acted so recklessly, indulging in blood and offerings..."
"This lowly one was once a defender of the sect, and I am willing to return to serve within the mansion, taking on menial tasks to atone for my sins..."
"..."
His voice was muffled and rushed, and even when speaking, this being who had ascended the altar carried a heavy power in his words, which ordinary people could not bear to hear.
Zhang Aogu was a high-ranking member of the Wandering Ghost Sect, but even she felt a headache listening to it, only able to catch a portion of the information. Now, its response was so chaotic that she became dizzy and momentarily lost her train of thought, unsure of how to respond.
However, Hu Ma, inside the Exorcism Bureau, could hear its every word clearly. From within the mansion, looking down, he could even glimpse some of the evil spirit's thoughts.
Just as the Mountain Lord had said, was it truly determined to switch sects, using this trial as a stepping stone to other Martial World Channels? Or did it want to see if the Hu Clan's descendants had potential, using this opportunity to return and seek a better future?
As these thoughts crossed Zhang Aogu's mind, her body began to sway slightly. She had raised the altar, but with the evil spirit in front and the Exorcism Bureau behind her, it was clear she couldn't hold on much longer. The evil spirit's pleas for mercy also caused her heart to tremble slightly.
This evil spirit was originally a defender of the Wandering Ghost Sect. Now that it was pleading for mercy, could it be that the Exorcism Bureau...
"The Wandering Ghost Sect does not harbor evil spirits!"
Just then, a chilling voice echoed from within the Exorcism Bureau, "Your crime of defying and betraying your master, bringing harm and malevolence, is already unforgivable. Moreover..."
Even Zhang Aogu felt the voice behind her suddenly become stern and imposing, "You, under the guise of a defender, deceived my Wandering Ghost disciples and disrupted our altar rules. If we spare you this time, others might think that the Wandering Ghost Sect has been humiliated and has no one to back them up."
As the voice resounded, Zhang Aogu's body trembled involuntarily, and she felt as if thunderclaps were ringing in her ears.
But at that moment, she heard a stern shout, "Why haven't you killed it yet?"
This startled Zhang Aogu so much that her body shuddered, and she hastily threw the imperial seal she had just received, as if it had burned her hand, and it clattered to the ground.
As the seal hit the ground, accusations erupted from all sides, as if the heavens and earth were spinning, pressing in from every direction. In an instant, waves of malevolent energy surged into the small altar that Zhang Aogu had raised.
Immediately after, two golden-armored warriors emerged from the Exorcism Bureau's gate, their solemn steps leading them directly towards Zhang Aogu's altar and the Five Sins Demon.
The Five Sins Demon was shocked and terrified, leaping up suddenly, as if trying to break out of the altar.
However, the two golden-armored warriors swiftly reached out and pinned it down on the spot, one on each side, and escorted it directly to the row of executioner's blades, specifically to the second blade on the right, which was tiger-head-shaped.
The evil spirit had no chance to resist as the blade rose high and then descended with force.
"Hiss!"
The Five Sins Demon let out a wailing cry, its voice abruptly cut off. Five heads rolled onto the ground, their eyes blinking in a dazed manner.
...
...
"Kill!"
At the same time, Hu Ma raised the altar, captured the ghost, and cast a curse to slay the deity, all within the confines of the altar.
But with his loud shout, the entire Bright State, and even parts of Guanzhou, seemed to cause people to suddenly feel a chill down their spines, as if thunder was rumbling in the darkness.
Countless people who witnessed the evil spirit being dragged over and brought into the mansion reacted in unison, realizing that everything before their eyes was just an illusion, as if they had just been dreaming.
However, as they looked at each other, they saw the fear in each other's faces, and they understood that they weren't the only ones who had experienced this dream.
Nearby the Green Stone Town, Yang Gong and his men had almost driven away the group of bandits, but they could also sense that as the battle dragged on, the more people died, the more crazed the remaining bandits became, their eyes turning red like demons.
Even Yang Gong found it increasingly difficult to defeat them, but suddenly, he faintly heard a solemn and chilling battle cry.
Then, a loud "thud" sounded.
Unexpectedly, a giant clay statue fell from the sky, precisely crushing the remaining bandits who were filled with malevolent energy.
The crowd was startled and scattered, and it took a while for them to gather the courage to approach again. When they did, they saw that it was a divine statue with its head chopped off, and no one knew where it had come from or why it had fallen from the sky.
(End of Chapter)
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