https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-756-The-Two-Banners-and-the-Cause-and-Effect-Soul/12919943/
Chapter 757: The Past Life's Dharma
Chapter 757: The Past Life's Dharma
With only a breath left, there was a chance he might never open his eyes again.
But at this moment, Hu Ma found himself trapped in the Intermediate Realm of the Afterlife.
The Book of Life and Death enveloped Hu Ma, transforming the entire world into a cocoon, confining him tightly within.
The dense flow of information left him devoid of the strength to resist. If life were a puppet controlled by strings, then Hu Ma was now entangled by intricate threads, rendering him unable to move or even struggle.
However, there was a silver lining; with the strings in disarray, no one could control him by pulling those threads.
Both sides were locked in a stalemate.
"Soon, very soon..."
The creature with eyes all over its body stared intently at Hu Ma, its excitement palpable as all its eyes glowed.
It didn't mind the stalemate with Hu Ma at this moment because it could already perceive everything in this world, and thus, it knew what Hu Ma was facing in the mortal realm.
This guy had repeatedly entered its domain to steal things, and it was fed up. It had made up its mind that if this guy dared to come again, it would trap him, holding him until his physical body was destroyed, ensuring he could never return.
Now, it was just a matter of moments...
"Understanding who you truly are is the price of never returning to your original world?"
"No, I still don't understand!"
"..."
Amidst this chaos, Hu Ma's thoughts became exceptionally clear, as if he had gained a momentary ability to perceive everything, just like the creature with eyes all over its body. Numerous intricate and chaotic clues flashed through his mind.
Ordinarily, one could only contemplate a single issue before switching to another.
But at this moment, Hu Ma seemed capable of addressing all problems simultaneously.
Suddenly, he recalled the words spoken by the head of the Zhou family. This elder of the Lifesaving Zhou family had come under the pretense of welcoming him, only to inexplicably talk about the path of a Longevity Guard.
He had mentioned cultivating a single thought, living freely, and soul transmigration... Could it be that he had foreseen Hu Ma's current predicament and was offering guidance? If this body was too complex to comprehend, why not abandon the physical form, cultivate a single thought, and live freely as a pure being?
No, that's not right!
But even as this thought arose, he suddenly became aware of another issue.
It was a problem that even the Hu Ma who had seen his destiny almost overlooked.
The Longevity Guards once had a method—refining the body, refining the soul, and cultivating the Dharmic Body. Once powerful enough, even this mortal shell could be easily discarded, allowing one to live freely. Returning to the mortal realm was simple; there were countless physical forms to choose from.
He was only describing an idea. But what if someone could truly achieve it?
Like the previous Lao Jun Mei? Hu Ma could see what others had done to him in this ancient book, but he didn't know why they did it; it was part of their destiny.
However, Hu Ma could clearly see that Lao Jun Mei was too powerful. Even with just a fragment of an immortal's soul, he could effortlessly take everything from a baby and completely possess that body...
Yet, he didn't!
He had preserved the existence of the newborn's divine soul, allowing both consciousnesses to intertwine, imprinting his memories, thoughts, and everything else into the new body.
Until the newborn's divine soul gradually grew stronger and his own existence faded.
Why didn't Lao Jun Mei take over his body when he had the power to do so? The person who understood Lao Jun Mei's abilities the most was the head of the Zhou family, and that was why he had spoken those words to Hu Ma. This matter wasn't as simple as it seemed on the surface.
Following this train of thought, Hu Ma's mind suddenly flashed to his silent and reticent biological father.
As his biological father, he occupied a minuscule portion of Hu Ma's memories and even less in the words of others.
Hu Ma's only impression of him was when he held Hu Ma as a child, allowing him to thrash and cry without saying a word. Yet, this silent man had the ability to single-handedly slay the calamity that escaped from the cave.
Had the Hu family truly believed the words of the State Preceptor and offered their only bloodline?
"Rustling..."
Just as Hu Ma realized this, in the empty Intermediate Realm filled with floating corpses, something drifted over.
It was two green banners, both covered in writing, floating gently towards Hu Ma.
"You're here again!"
The creature with eyes all over its body saw the two banners, and all its eyes filled with anger and fear:
"You're here to change my things again!"
"..."
It stared at the banners, more furious than when it saw Hu Ma, but it dared not interfere, only shouting from a distance.
As the two banners were about to wrap around the Book of Life and Death, even the torrent of information flowing into Hu Ma's body from the book underwent a significant change at that moment. Hu Ma vaguely sensed his transformation.
And at that very moment, a silent boom rumbled, piercing through the layers upon layers of the Book of Life and Death, as if a shadow had appeared.
From within Hu Ma's destiny, within the Book of Life and Death that recorded all of Hu Ma's past causes and effects, a hand reached out.
It grabbed one of the fluttering banners.
...
...
"Slap!"
At the edge of the battle formation, Old Abacus and the others were anxious. Behind them, Hu Ma's father's coffin moved slightly, startling them.
But as it was just a slight movement with no other abnormalities, and given the urgency of the situation, they had little time to pay attention. However, they never expected that at this critical moment, the coffin lid suddenly flew off, and a withered, dry hand reached out.
As if grasping something in mid-air.
Old Abacus, upon catching a glimpse, was so terrified that his soul seemed to fly away.
Although his abilities were not exceptional, he had traveled far and wide, and had never seen a corpse as clean as Hu Ma's father's.
Needless to say, the reincarnated soul had long vanished along with the calamity, and even the guardian soul had completely disappeared.
This was the most unlikely corpse to undergo any change, yet at this very moment, it had transformed.
The surrounding wind turned chillingly cold, and amidst the faintly drifting air, there seemed to be a sigh of lament, softly echoing from within the coffin.
"It's... really a ghost?"
"..."
"..."
The same light sigh also echoed faintly in the Capital City, in front of the incense altar.
"What?"
Everyone present was among the most skilled in the world, and they had just witnessed the mysterious abilities of the Dalaofa Religion's Daoist Sage Hongxuan, who could defy fate and alter destiny. They were all dumbfounded, but none of them expected a piercing yin wind to blow up.
It blew so hard that the lights around them flickered. Then, the light sigh became crystal clear, echoing in everyone's ears, sending chills down their spines and causing cold sweat to break out.
"Mr. Hu Shan..."
Behind the incense altar, the State Preceptor suddenly opened his eyes, his expression turning grim. "So it was you who made the move..."
"Hu Shan?"
Upon hearing these words, everyone's faces changed slightly.
To them, this was not a particularly familiar name. Twenty-three years ago, when the Hu Family was still in the capital, Hu Shan had not yet taken on a leading role. He was just a silent, unsociable young man, an ordinary member of the Ten Surnames Sect.
Later, when the Curse Suppressing Hu Clan left, they had even less opportunity to interact with him.
Now, why did the State Preceptor mention him?
In the midst of their shock, the State Preceptor suddenly grabbed a peachwood sword beside the incense altar and slowly stood up. His body moved slightly, and he waved the sword, his lips moving silently, but no one in the room could hear his words.
Only in the Intermediate Realm, Hu Ma heard these words clearly: "Back then, fearing your mischief, I stood by as you and that calamity perished together, and both the reincarnated and guardian souls dissipated..."
"All that remains is your cause and effect!"
"The cause and effect soul is the trace you left in this world, accumulated in the past, unchanging and unaltered. But you..."
"... with only this trace left, you still dare to interfere in this matter?"
"..."
"Hiss... Hiss... Hiss..."
Hu Ma could feel that the hand reaching out from the Book of Life and Death tightly grasped the green banner.
However, in an intangible way, this vague and silent shadow was also enduring something.
It was already rapidly disintegrating and vanishing.
At this moment, in the blurry, cloud-filled realm of his past destiny, everything seemed to be illuminated.
This was over a decade ago, when his father, Hu Shan, had killed the calamity alone.
Knowing he could not escape this village, he coughed up blood and sat there, withered. In the past, he had endured the complaints of his grandmother, the resentment of his wife, and the beatings of his child. He had always been used to suffering. Slowly, he muttered to himself:
"How could I not feel pain for my own son?"
"..."
As he spoke these words, he clenched his teeth and, with the power of the Twelve Ghost Altars, slowly extended his hand.
This action, at the same time, was replicated in the Book of Life and Death, as the hand reached out.
This was over a decade ago, when he had borrowed his last breath to cast a spell, but it was only through the cause and effect soul that it appeared in the world at this very moment.
"Huff!"
The hand that reached out from the Book of Life and Death suddenly gained strength, and in an instant, it tore apart one of the green banners.
In the Capital City, in front of the incense altar, a wisp of green smoke suddenly flew back and hit the State Preceptor.
The State Preceptor raised the peachwood sword to block the smoke, dispersing it, but he also took a step back, his expression turning grim.
At the same time, not too far from this battle formation, in a closed restaurant, a man with a full beard, prominent eyebrows, and large eyes sneaked in through the window. He took out the restaurant's pickled vegetables and wine, and as he drank to drown his sorrows, he felt extremely annoyed.
But as the light sigh echoed in his ears, he suddenly felt his hair stand on end, and he abruptly looked around.
After a long while, he trembled and spoke: "Master, is that you?"
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
