https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-522-Stepping-on-the-Heavenly-Diagram/12918979/
Chapter 523: Realm of Five Extremes
Chapter 523: Realm of Five Extremes
As if awakening from a surreal dream, the once prosperous and peaceful village in front of Hu Ma's eyes now appeared desolate and dilapidated.
Weeds grew wildly all around, with collapsed houses and scattered bones on the ground, some dried and broken, sticking out at the joints. Countless yin winds blew from every corner, intertwining to form a terrifying web.
Even the faces that had just been surrounding him, full and vibrant, quickly shriveled and faded, transforming into hideous, rotting, and sinister visages. Their figures became shadowy and elusive, and with a gust of yin wind, they all disappeared without a trace.
"The things in this place are so sinister that they don't follow any rules..."
Standing amidst the eerie yin winds, Hu Ma sighed softly.
The seven steps he had just taken had a specific method called 'Stomp on the Celestial Trigram,' a technique recorded in the Age-Protecting Scroll, which allowed one to escape from the enchanting illusions of malevolent spirits.
No matter how deep or realistic the illusion, and no matter how bewitched one might be, taking these seven steps would bring them back to reality.
He possessed the Mansion Entrance Ability of the Year Guardian, and ordinary malevolent spirits would not dare to approach him, let alone blow a gust of yin energy that might be burned by his fiery aura.
But the allure of this place was so subtle and silent that he hadn't noticed it, even with his vigilance upon entering the village. He had been bewitched by the ghosts within, and despite realizing it, he couldn't find a flaw in his five senses.
If not for his knowledge of the Age-Protecting Scroll, an ordinary Year Guardian might have been bewitched to death.
"Huff..."
As he thought, the bone-chilling yin winds around him intensified, gathering and growing stronger, blowing directly at his face. Amidst the winds, he could hear countless villagers' curses, such as 'ungrateful' and 'grabbing my hand means you must marry me'...
Although it sounded absurd, he even felt that each ghost in the village carried more weight than the soldiers summoned by the Yin General, exceeding what a single spirit should possess.
"Reverence Heaven and Earth, Connect with True Spirit."
"Five Cardinal Directions Energy, heed my command, Five Guardians Form the Altar with might."
"Arise!"
Facing the raging yin winds, he dared not be careless. Clenching his teeth, he focused his energy, and in an instant, he transformed, stepping down with one foot and unleashing his power, subtly connecting with the Gate Guardian Stones in the four directions, forming the Five Guardians.
The Gate Guardian Stones surrounding the Abandoned Village were established by Mother-in-Law in the past, and each stone bore the name of a villager who had lived there, trapping their spirits. These stones could also be used to activate the Altar.
He had followed the illusion to this spot, even though he knew he was bewitched, precisely because of this reason.
This was the place where the fifth guardian should stand. By coming here, the four Gate Guardian Stones, along with his own transformed body, could activate the Altar and trap the evil spirits of the Abandoned Village within the Ritual Altar.
Whoosh!
As the Ritual Altar was activated, Hu Ma felt his body turn cold, as if countless icy steel needles were piercing his limbs and bones. His cultivation energy was rapidly depleting.
The Abandoned Village was indeed not an ideal place to activate the Altar.
Activating the Altar required a place with good feng shui, high ground, cleanliness, and an aura of blessings. The Abandoned Village was the complete opposite of these requirements, lacking in every aspect.
Any respectable ghost summoner would never choose this place to activate the Altar; otherwise, they would be crushed by the backlash before even attempting to subdue the ghosts.
Fortunately, Hu Ma, as the Year Guardian, could withstand it. After activating the Altar, the four Gate Guardian Stones faintly resonated, helping to alleviate some of the backlash from the evil land.
"Whoosh..."
With the activation of the Ritual Altar, the originally fierce yin winds intensified, carrying countless vague, pale faces that rushed towards Hu Ma's face, uprooting the dry grass around him.
The evil spirits in the village seemed to sense the activation of the Altar, and their wrath exploded.
The Gate Guardian Stones in all directions trembled under the impact of the yin energy, appearing unstable. As the central guardian of the Altar, Hu Ma endured an indescribable force.
"Can't we show some respect for each other, fellow villagers?"
Facing the vengeful spirits, Hu Ma maintained his composure, slowly sitting down in a meditative posture. With his hands clasped in front of his lower abdomen, he began to chant a low incantation.
The Age-Protecting Scroll contained four great incantations, which were the most effective abilities aside from the Exorcism Notice.
Each of the four incantations had its unique purpose.
With these four incantations, Hu Ma now had four ways to retrieve the Hu Family Relics. However, the one he was using was the most time-consuming and energy-draining: the Divine Light Exorcism Spell.
He didn't intend to annihilate the village's vengeful spirits, nor did he plan to subdue or torture them.
From the words of Old Sheepskin Elder and others, Hu Ma understood that Mother-in-Law had pitied the villagers and used this method to confine them, intending to return and help them when the time was right.
Although those people were unaware that the Hu family's keepsake was right here, Hu Ma still intended to honor her mother-in-law's dying wish, doing exactly as she had instructed. Even if choosing the Erasure Charm would be more laborious and troublesome, she would follow through.
Thus, as the mysterious and indistinct incantation echoed through the village, the swirling Yin winds that gathered around him were suppressed by his own incantation, dissipating the malevolence within and becoming much calmer.
However, as the incantation sounded, it also disturbed something deeper within the village, causing layers of dark clouds to surge like towering waves.
More formidable entities emerged from the corners, one after another.
In the blink of an eye, it seemed as if a group of fierce and sinister villagers, led by the clan elder, were cursing at Hu Ma. In another blink, they transformed into a swirling Yin wind, carrying with it malevolent and sinister faces that shifted in shape, intent on tearing Hu Ma to pieces.
But Hu Ma remained unprovoked, instead understanding the reason for their malevolence and realizing the necessity of using the Divine Light Exorcism Spell to resolve the issues of this desolate village.
The word 'desolate' itself was heart-wrenching.
When connected to this village, it was even more heart-wrenching.
The villagers had not done anything to anger the heavens or provoke the resentment of others; they had merely suffered a poor harvest that year and consumed a White Centennial, which normal people could eat, and then the entire village perished.
The whims of fate had taken their lives in a single night, a sorrowful tragedy.
The entire village died, leaving the living to grieve, yet none could send them off, breeding resentment.
Their bloodline was severed, leaving no one to continue their lineage, a complete extinction.
After death, they were left without support, unacknowledged, wandering aimlessly, a state of abandonment.
Mother-in-law pitied them and was unwilling to use harsh methods to disperse all the resentful souls in the village. Instead, she trapped them, but they did not understand her kindness and only felt bound, which in turn bred intense hatred.
Sorrow, resentment, extinction, abandonment, and hatred, these five emotions intertwined, brewing for ten years, finally giving rise to this unique desolate village, a one-of-a-kind existence in the world.
...
...
"Don't blame Heaven and Earth for being unfair, for they are inherently unjust."
"Don't resent being alone and forsaken, for the dead find peace, while the living endure endless sorrow..."
Perhaps not even the most skilled sorcerer could resolve the issues of such a desolate village, but the Hu family's Divine Light Exorcism Spell was just what was needed. This rare experience made Hu Ma's feelings complex.
He had always admired the Year Guardian's thunderous methods, either doing nothing or going to extremes. After witnessing so much bloodshed, his heart had hardened. But now, following his mother-in-law's dying wish to handle the matters of this desolate village, he finally experienced a hint of softness.
Ghost Walkers had always relied on two primary methods: exorcism and soul pacification. He had only used exorcism before, and this was his first time attempting soul pacification, which gave him a sense of connecting life and death, as if his thoughts could transcend the boundary between the living and the dead.
What is soul pacification? It is simply the living offering a bit of their heart to the deceased, separated by the boundary of life and death. Perhaps only this heartfelt intention could transcend life and death?
Amidst his contemplations, his heart became even more serene, and the Divine Light Exorcism Spell flowed uninterrupted from his mouth. He could clearly sense that as his incantation reverberated through the village, the chilling, bone-chilling resentment seemed to dissipate bit by bit.
"Shua!"
Just then, Hu Ma suddenly sensed something and raised his gaze from the candlelight, looking deep into the village.
The resentful souls in the village were almost tangible, and as they dispersed, unable to shake Hu Ma's ritual altar, they swiftly intertwined and merged, forming a massive, eerie shadow.
The black qi on their bodies was being dispersed by Hu Ma's incantation, but there were still some strange and resilient entities that remained unaffected by his spell, instead growing heavier and driving the resentful souls to rapidly merge into one place.
As he peered into the darkness, he seemed to glimpse the same figure he had seen in the illusion—the clan elder, with his withered and hunched figure, now enveloped in a blue burial robe adorned with the pale faces of the villagers.
Amidst the swirling Yin wind, the figure became incredibly tall, almost surpassing the height of the Four Directions Sealing Stones, despite its hunched posture.
"That is..."
Hu Ma's mind raced as he recalled the origins of this village.
The villagers had not died natural deaths; they had been poisoned by consuming the flesh of the Year God. Crucially, after their deaths, they were trapped here, unable to leave and hardly able to influence the outside world.
As a result, they fermented day and night, devouring and nurturing each other for ten years, gradually giving rise to this peculiar existence...
The most crucial point was that when Hu Ma saw it, he suddenly felt a sense of familiarity, as if he had seen it once before...
...Mysterious Clan Ancestor Shang!
At this moment, Hu Ma's heart suddenly constricted, and he abruptly realized something: Mother-in-law had placed the Hu family's keepsake here not only for him to retrieve but also to convey crucial information when he came for it.
(End of Chapter)
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