Chapter 741: Demonic Heaven and Ghostly Earth
Chapter 741: Demonic Heaven and Ghostly Earth
"You...are you okay?"
As they watched Daughter Red and the old man from the Harmful Origin Sect walk away, Zhou Si and Little Red Tang, who were standing in the field, looked around with vigilance, their eyes filled with concern as they saw the clusters of flames rising and the desolate scene all around.
She stood there in a daze for a while before clenching her fist and glancing in the direction where Daughter Red had left. Then, she quickly walked over to Hu Ma and supported him, asking, "Why did those people try to assassinate you?"
Hu Ma was currently experiencing intense pain in his forehead, as if a nail was piercing his head. He raised his hand to touch it, but there wasn't even a scratch.
Looking at the wild flames all around, he felt a sense of disappointment.
Not wanting to dwell on these thoughts, he sighed softly and waved his hand, saying, "It's nothing."
Zhou Si was clearly tense, her eyes filled with worry as she looked at Hu Ma. She wanted to say something but hesitated, "I just heard what they were saying, and it sounded like... a malevolent spirit?"
"You noticed it?"
Hu Ma turned to look at Zhou Si, knowing that although she acted boldly, she wasn't truly foolish.
Daughter Red didn't even try to hide her identity. Given her status as the adopted daughter of the Zhou family, it would have been strange if she hadn't noticed.
However, it was unclear how much of their conversation she had heard and understood.
"I didn't notice anything."
Zhou Si replied frankly, "I felt it."
"My abilities are already quite strong. Otherwise, my family wouldn't have allowed me to come out. Logically, there aren't many people in the jianghu who are stronger than me. Even if I were to encounter someone stronger, I could probably guess their identity. But that person just now..."
"Her cultivation is fearless. Even the Wuchang Li Family might not be able to match her level."
"Moreover, the evil aura and attitude she carries are unlike anyone else's. That's why I... felt something was off about her."
"..."
When a reincarnator stops deliberately hiding themselves, even without saying a word, their demeanor alone sets them apart from others.
Hu Ma sighed, not in the mood to speak. Zhou Si suddenly realized that taking care of him was the priority, so she quickly supported him and headed towards the area where the wagon coffins were gathered.
From a distance, Old Abacus and Kindness Fairy, along with several other companions whose identities were unknown, hurried over to greet their boss. They helped Hu Ma into the wagon and noticed his pale complexion, so they boiled some hot water for him.
As others bustled around, Hu Ma sat quietly for a long time, waiting for the intense pain in his forehead to subside.
When he opened his eyes, he saw Old Abacus standing by the wagon, brushing his donkey while occasionally glancing back at him. It was clear that he was keeping an eye on Hu Ma. Hu Ma called him over and, after a long pause, spoke softly, "The cultivation method you mentioned, I've already taken the first step."
"Huh?"
Old Abacus was startled, "I just told you about it, and you've already taken the first step?"
His eyes flickered, clearly surprised by Hu Ma's actions, which had far exceeded his expectations.
"I had already cultivated the Three Pillar Dao Practice. Now, I've just severed the crooked pillar and refined a new, upright one."
"What's so difficult about that?" Hu Ma asked.
Old Abacus was at a loss for words. He thought, 'If you think it's easy, then it's easy for you. But for others, crossing the threshold of life and death is like climbing a steep mountain.'
Hu Ma paused briefly, thinking about the wondrous feeling he had experienced when he cultivated the fourth pillar and the strange figure he had seen, which he wasn't sure was real or an illusion. He slowly said, "However, during my cultivation, I did catch a glimpse of something interesting..."
"Does the Heavens really have a ruler, or is there a judge who records people's karma in the Book of Life and Death?"
"..."
"Oh, this..."
Old Abacus listened to his words, his eyes blank as he pondered. After a long silence, he hesitantly replied, "I haven't seen it with my own eyes, but I know that humans have three souls: the reincarnation soul, the guardian soul, and the karma soul."
"Among the three souls, the karma soul is the most mysterious. It can record a person's karma and fate throughout their life. Even those in the sect say that after death, one's karma will be weighed..."
"But I've never seen how this weighing process works. It is said that only in the Netherworld can one come into contact with these things."
"..."
"That's true."
Hu Ma nodded silently. The State Preceptor had once said that finding a reincarnator was simple; one just needed to weigh their karma.
But if it were that simple, why hadn't it been done already? The truth was, even if such a method existed, it couldn't be easily used.
If it wasn't that easy to witness, then what was it that Hu Ma saw while in the intermediate realm?
Old Abacus relayed the cultivation methods of the Dalaofa Religion, saying that between life and death, one could summon the Mystical Heavens. The Mystical Heavens were formless and intangible, yet Hu Ma had clearly seen a figure enveloped in evil energy. What was it?
At that moment, Kindness Fairy, who had been dozing at the back of the wagon, overheard their conversation and interjected, "I've heard of the concept of Demonic Heaven and Ghostly Earth."
"There is a ruler between Heaven and Earth, but it is without consciousness or intention, merely following the cycle of Yin and Yang."
"However, when the Tai Sui descends upon the world, it taints the Heavens, giving them consciousness and turning them into a Demonic Heaven. And when the Earth loses its impartiality, it becomes a Ghostly Earth."
"As a result, the weight of the human realm diminishes, and humans become insignificant."
"The Robbing Calamity Sect was once the Heavenly Surveillance Bureau. Therefore, they understand these concepts the most clearly. But because they understand too much, most of the members of the Robbing Calamity Sect have gone insane. They worship disasters but also fear them, and they speak incoherently all day."
"..."
"Demonic Heaven and Ghostly Earth?" Hu Ma's heart stirred, as he had indeed heard this name mentioned by members of the Robbing Calamity Sect.
But then, he became curious and asked Kindness Fairy, "How do you know so much about these things?"
In his memory, Kindness Fairy had always been a bit of an airhead.
Kindness Fairy widened her beautiful eyes in surprise and said, "What are you talking about? I'm from the Robbing Calamity Sect, of course I know about these things."
"When we were in Stone Horse Town, didn't you see the ten jars of blessing corpses that I refined?"
"That..."
Hu Ma was stunned as he listened. After a long pause, he said, "Then why didn't you go crazy?"
"I'm just lucky!" Kindness Fairy replied.
"Luck can ward off calamities, and I've been living comfortably. Plus, I have so many senior brothers taking care of me, so I don't have to worry. Of course, I won't go crazy."
As Hu Ma listened to her, he found her words quite reasonable. Indeed, Kindness Fairy had always maintained a positive attitude.
"Here, be careful, it's hot..."
At that moment, as the three of them chatted, the little ghost servant, Xiao Hong Tang, had already made all the necessary arrangements. She set up the camp, started a fire for cooking, and even organized night shifts for sentry duty.
Considering that Uncle Hu Ma had just gone through a major battle and seemed to be in a poor state, she also had someone prepare a pot of calming herbal medicine. As the medicine was being heated, no one else could hold the pot, so Si Zhou took it and carefully brought it over.
"These are of little use to me," Hu Ma waved his hand and asked, "How much blood food did you bring? Or perhaps, Purple Vein Pills?"
"Oh..."
Si Zhou and Kindness Fairy were both stunned for a moment. Si Zhou put down the bowl and patted herself, realizing that she hadn't brought any luggage when they set out. She only had ten taels of gold in her purse.
Kindness Fairy, on the other hand, had brought various large and small bags, but most of them contained cosmetics, trinkets, cooking utensils, and clothing. She had never had a sense of crisis and had been enjoying herself since leaving Stone Horse Town, acting like a wealthy young lady.
Old Abacus buried his head deep, fearing that Hu Ma would bring up the matter of the blood food debt at this moment.
Amidst the silence, Xiao Hong Tang looked around, and finally lowered her head. She reached into her basket and took out a large piece of blood food, handing it to Hu Ma's face: "Here!"
"..."
"Xiao Hong Tang is indeed reliable..."
Hu Ma sighed, took the blood food, and slowly consumed it. As he cultivated, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his forehead, and his face contorted.
"Are you okay?" the others asked anxiously.
"I'm fine," Hu Ma said, waving his hand slowly. After the pain subsided, he whispered, "I can't manifest my spell form."
In his haste to quickly refine the blood food and restore his Dharmic Power, he had cultivated too hastily and inadvertently touched upon the realm of divine soul fluctuation. In that instant, a sharp pain shot through his forehead.
He understood that this was the nail left by Red Daughter in his forehead.
It was like a bone-boring maggot, firmly embedded in his divine soul, preventing him from moving even a little.
The others, upon hearing this, thought he had been injured in his divine soul and became anxious.
However, Hu Ma had a complex feeling. He could sense that his body was empty, with only one pillar of newly refined Dharmic Power supporting him.
But this single pillar of Dharmic Power allowed the Great Thunder General's spell form to remain stable within his body, as if it had always belonged there.
This realization dawned on him.
He also recalled the words left by the person with the code name Red Daughter before she departed: Lao Jun Mei's path won't serve as a stepping stone for others.
So, was the path that Lao Jun Mei had forged merely to cultivate the Great Thunder General? No!
He had realized this when he killed the Yan family's old patriarch. The Great Thunder General's spell form was meant to hold the seal.
The entire spell form was designed to give him the ability to lift the wordless seal.
Now, he could feel that the Great Thunder General's spell form had not fully merged with him, but at this moment, with the fourth pillar of Dharmic Power, he vaguely sensed that the spell form seemed to be closer to him.
With the nail in his divine soul, he couldn't manifest the spell form for the time being, but he felt that the spell form seemed to have a stronger sense of control. Perhaps the other party intended to draw out his Great Thunder General's spell form, but instead, they had inadvertently pushed him forward.
Following this subtle thought, a deeper realization suddenly struck him. For the first time, he wondered about the Great Thunder General's seal, and this doubt arose when he was in Guazhou, facing the Malevolent Spirit Great Swordmaster.
The doubt gradually coalesced into a single question:
"Receive the mandate from Heaven, and your life will be long and prosperous."
The character for 'longevity' is 'shou', which represents life. For those in the Gate Dao, life is closely tied to their Dharmic Power.
One pillar of Dharmic Power for twenty years of life... Could it be...
With this thought, a path that had always been within him suddenly became clear.
(End of Chapter)
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