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Chapter 502: The Journey to Mingzhou
Chapter 502: The Journey to Mingzhou
Amidst a chilling laughter, Hu Ma sat before a stone weight, reciting exorcism spells throughout the night. He meticulously refined and absorbed the incantations, vaguely sensing a thunderous roar within his divine soul, an uncanny and awe-inspiring sensation emerging from the void.
At that very moment, in a spacious and solemn mansion in the small Golden City of the Northern Peace Road, a group of wealthy individuals gathered in the hall, their presence illuminated by the light of beautiful wax candles.
The hall was filled with people, and at the top were three Grand Scholar's Chairs. The first two chairs were occupied by vague shadows, their features indiscernible, but their silhouettes recognizable. The third chair was taken by an elderly man in a silk robe. Across from them, the first chair was occupied by the head matriarch of the Shadow Bridge Meng Family.
On the lower side, seated were Meng Siliang, the eldest son of the Meng Family, and the three grand magistrates of the Nu Ling Sect: the Reasoning, Inquiry, and Executioner Grand Magistrates. The Reasoning Grand Magistrate was present in his physical body, while the other two were there in spirit form.
The eldest master, seated at the very top, spoke with a chilling tone, "The death of Si Li is indeed mysterious. Even I, down below, knew that he had bowed to our ancestor. I thought I would see him soon and reprimand him for his lack of manners in bowing directly without permission."
"But unexpectedly, after his bow, he did not come down. This is already strange enough. Moreover, our ancestor is extremely furious and berates us for our incompetence. Now, his anger remains unquenched, and we must prepare even better offerings to avoid further aggravating his condition."
"..."
"It has been many years since a Meng Family member suffered harm outside. This is truly a shame that our family has not experienced in a long time."
The matriarch in charge of managing affairs in the mortal realm frowned and added, "I sent people to investigate, and we learned from the Zhou Family that he died at the hands of the No Beef Sect, those rebels who love to cause trouble."
"If it were anyone else, I wouldn't believe they'd dare harm a Meng Family young master. But when it comes to the No Beef Sect, they indeed have the audacity to target our family members."
"..."
"It's true that the No Beef Sect dared to kill a Meng Family member, but do they have the ability to escape the punishment of our ancestor? I suspect there's more to this matter."
At this moment, another voice, slightly agitated, spoke up. It was Meng Siliang, the eldest son of the Meng Family. He raised his voice, "As soon as it's dawn, I will set out for Gongzhou to eliminate the One Coin Sect and investigate the death of my younger brother."
Being the eldest son and of an age to participate in family affairs, even the head matriarch remained silent as he spoke. She merely watched her son.
"Nonsense!"
But at that moment, a stern rebuke rang out, an unmistakable scolding from the eldest master of the Meng Family. He exclaimed, "Do you think this is child's play? You can't just decide to leave whenever you want!"
"As the eldest son of the Meng Family, your every word and action is observed by the world. How dare you leave the estate without permission? Moreover, Gongzhou is not far from Mingzhou, both located on the Xi Ling Road. Your departure will carry significant implications."
"..."
The eldest son, having received the reprimand, turned his head away and remained silent. However, those around him could see his eyes slightly reddened, indicating the deep bond he shared with his deceased younger brother, despite them not sharing the same mother.
The head matriarch quickly interjected, "Master, it's not easy for you to come up here. Please don't get worked up. Siliang has always been close to his siblings, and he's a bit soft-hearted. You should come up more often and guide him. As for this matter..."
"Regarding this matter, you..."
The eldest master's shadow glanced at his son but didn't continue. He pondered for a moment, just about to speak, when suddenly, a cry from outside interrupted them. "Bad news! Quick, inform the matriarch! The life lantern of the Fourth Master has suddenly gone out..."
"What?"
Everyone was startled, "Another one?"
In a hurry, they stood up and headed towards the door, but none dared to go first. A maid by their side took a white banner and handed it to the matriarch. She led the way, waving the banner to guide the eldest master out, as he might get lost in the mortal realm.
The others followed behind, rushing towards the ancestral hall. An uneasy feeling crept into their hearts, as it had been many years since a Meng Family member had encountered trouble outside. Now, it seemed like these incidents were happening one after another.
They quickly arrived at the ancestral hall, and before they could step inside, they saw that out of the five lanterns hanging at the top, one that had gone out suddenly reignited, illuminating the hall brightly.
"Ah?"
The clan member guarding the lantern and the nearby maid were startled, their faces filled with shock as they stood frozen in place.
The matriarch entered and immediately scolded, "Nonsense! How dare you curse the Fourth Master! Do you want to be skinned alive?"
The clan member guarding the lantern quickly knelt down and explained, "I was watching, and it was indeed getting dimmer, with only a faint glow remaining. But suddenly, it brightened again for no apparent reason..."
"Take him out and give him a beating."
The matriarch ordered sternly, then waved the banner to guide the eldest master to the life lantern. He examined it carefully, then turned his head slightly, his eyes revealing a hint of concern. It was clear that he understood the significance of the lantern dimming and then brightening—something had happened.
"Phew, phew, Old Fourth isn't that useless after all."
The elderly master carefully examined it for a long while before finally heaving a slight sigh of relief. "That family must not be able to accommodate Old Fourth. I wonder what they did to achieve this level of ability. It's quite a feat."
The Elder Lady beside him was curious and asked in a low voice, "Old Master, what happened to Fourth Uncle? Three years ago, he suddenly disappeared. Where did he go?"
The elderly master, who was only a faint shadow, glared at her and said sternly, "Don't ask about things you shouldn't."
"I'm just asking you about the arrangements to meet the descendants of that family in Mingzhou, as instructed by the Ancestor. How are the preparations going?"
"..."
The Elder Lady quickly replied, "We've found Hu Ma's descendants safeguarding prosperity, and they've been introduced to the Truth Sect. Unfortunately, Wuchang Li, Yangming Zhou, and Jiangtou Chen's families are unwilling to join us."
"If only our family goes, won't it seem a bit unreasonable and weak?"
"..."
"Those families are all very shrewd!"
Hearing this, the elderly master's displeasure was evident, and the surrounding yin wind seemed to calm down a bit, blowing out the Fourth Master's life lantern a few times.
At that moment, one of the servants, keeping an eye on the time, gathered his courage and interrupted their conversation, "In the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, the rooster will crow, and the Great Master should prepare to return to the netherworld."
The elderly master nodded coldly and then turned to the Elder Lady and Meng Siliang, the eldest son of the Meng family, "The trip to Mingzhou can't be delayed. The ten families are eager for the Hu family's descendants to return, but they're cunning and unwilling to take the lead."
"In this world, some matters are not urgent, but there must be some that are. We should follow the Ancestor's instructions and take the initiative."
"You don't need to worry about the administrative matters. The trip to Mingzhou is the priority. If we go there and handle things properly, we can take a look and find out the reason on the way."
"..."
The living people around them all knelt and bowed in agreement. The elderly master and the few others who had come to discuss matters waved their sleeves and left. A small ghost had already prepared a sedan chair, and they headed towards the dark night.
"Mother..."
Meng Silang, the young master of the Meng family, sighed softly and turned to the Elder Lady after the elderly master left.
The Elder Lady held his hand and rubbed it gently, comforting him, "Your father scolds you because he cares about your younger brother. Don't worry, he's actually happy inside."
"As for the trip to Mingzhou, Father isn't one to take the lead. Now that he's agreed for us to do so, there must be a reason. We should just follow his instructions."
"Of course, there's no need to rush. Haven't we found the Hu family?"
"Let them sort out their own mess. It's their problem."
"..."
"..."
"It's done..."
Meanwhile, as the Meng family finished their discussion and were about to return to their mansion, Hu Ma, in the Blood Food Mine, recited incantations all night towards the stone weight. He was soaked in cold dew and his face turned pale, but when he lifted his head, his eyes shone with a faint light.
Using the power of the New Year's Book and the Great Heavenly General Seal to exorcise the curse, and with the help of the Living Stake Technique, the 'Fourth Master' that the Meng family had buried in their divine soul had been refined, but not killed. Instead, it was as if his divine soul had 'devoured' it.
There was a soul beyond the soul, and a life beyond life. He now had the Four Pillars Incense.
Not only that, but he had directly refined it into a part of himself, even extracting something from the depths of the Fourth Master's heart.
Most importantly, he had not only broken through the Three Pillars Incense, but this method, though a dark art, was far more stable and secure than others.
It was extremely difficult for a person to break through the Three Pillars Incense, relying almost entirely on chance. Even if one succeeded, they often had a fatal weakness.
Take Monkey Wine, for example; his method was the simplest, most effective, and straightforward method Hu Ma had ever heard. But if someone could destroy the Gu worm that sustained his life, he would be severely injured, and the damage would be immeasurable.
However, with the Living Stake Technique, he had planted this pillar of incense underground, and on top of it, a stone weight pressed down. Only those who held the General Order could lift this weight. It would be as difficult as ascending to heaven for anyone to destroy his pillar of incense.
"Phew..."
He took a deep breath, stood up shakily, and felt that there were still many important things to do. Even the things carried in the divine soul of the Fourth Master of the Meng family needed careful consideration and digestion. But as he stood up, he felt dizzy and almost fell.
A gust of yin wind blew by, and Little Red Tang returned at dawn, just in time to catch him and carry him back to the house.
(End of Chapter)
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