Cultivation, cultivation, and damn it, it's still cultivation!
Instead of being suspicious of ghosts and getting nothing done, it's better to focus on what matters, work hard on cultivation, and master your skills.
The skills of a Shousui man are lifesaving, bit by bit.
Now, he had already started cultivating the fourth organ, the crucial kidney.
It must be said that for other Shousui n, each organ was a minor checkpoint, and cultivation wasn't easy. Just precisely killing each organ and then slowly rejuvenating it was a major feat.
However, Hu Ma was now well-supplied with Blood Food and had long since died. Additionally, the old shopkeeper hadn't held anything back when teaching the dharma thod, allowing him to cultivate smoothly.
Actually, he had already reached the fourth organ in his cultivation. If this got out, he feared he'd be imdiately captured as an evil spirit.
It was just too fast.
Of course, the Shousui n had another advantage: the ability to hide well.
If one didn't use this life-to-death skill or certain specific trump cards in front of others, outsiders wouldn't notice.
To truly understand your potential, you'd have to dissect yourself.
This is the benefit of becoming the shopkeeper...
As Hu Ma thought about this, he retrieved another batch of Blood Food Pills, coupled with those awarded by the Red Lantern Lady's Club, and quickly began cultivating the fourth organ.
Outside Zhu Gate Town, there was a rather low wild hill, sparsely treed and littered with jagged stones.
In barren years, infants from the town who died prematurely were often tossed onto this hill. The holess deceased were also abandoned here, leaving many white bones scattered.
Co night, ghostly fires rose and floated all over the hill.
The townsfolk wouldn't take the night road near the hill; even in the late afternoon, they would take a wide detour.
But now, on this desolate mountain, there were green-clothed children clad in greasy green pants, kneeling, bare-backed, enduring the chilling wind. They surrounded a sedan chair, which carried a fierce-looking Evil Ghost mask.
With its presence, even the ghost fires on the hill dared not show.
They had been waiting for a long ti. Incense Master Zheng Zhi'en of the Red Lantern Society was usually insignificant in the eyes of Old Master Qingyi. Yet, he only arrived on the hill a full two-hour period after Old Master Qingyi had begun waiting.
He wore an untied coarse robe with disheveled hair and carried a long wooden fra.
The wooden fra held seven or eight long Yellow Banners, swaying in the night wind, adding even more ghostliness to the eerie hill.
"Zheng Zhi'en, you have quite the nerve..."
Watching Incense Master Zheng climb the hill, one of the kneeling green-clothed children near the summit looked up, saying grimly, "Just because of a single word from the esteed, you've forgotten who you are? Daring to make Old Master Qingyi wait so long?"
"The one working for the esteed is Old Master Qingyi. You're just a guide..."
"Brother, please trust ."
Even as Incense Master Zheng was being scolded, he didn't get angry. However, his face lacked the earlier look of flattery. He just gave a slight smile and said, "I am a Ghost Walker, and you are negative spirit people. You certainly know Old Master Qingyi better, but I understand evil spirits better.
"So, it was right that the esteed one eventually asked to help; I can find the person for him.
"Of course, I don't dare to steal credit from Old Master Qingyi. Right now, I am just at a dead end, looking for a way to survive."
"Survive?"
The green-clothed child listened, with sarcasm in his voice, "Wasn't it you who brought this upon yourself?"
"Haha, I suppose so." Incense Master Zheng didn't object. In the previous duel, he had won a rit. However, due to a protector's words, the Incense Burners were now full of hostility toward him. Furthermore, Yang Gong, who had recently caught the Lady's Dharma Eye with his excellent performance, was rising fast.
The rit he earned from the duel now made it difficult for him to even stay in the society.
Even the task of leading the green clothes gang to find people, a task destined to offend others, was deliberately assigned to him by the Incense Burner, who even claid he volunteered for it.
He understood in his heart that once the fa from this rit faded, he would likely lose his position as Incense Master. With no other choice, he had made plans early on, deciding to follow Qingyi and seek an opportunity with the esteed one.
Indeed, he seized it. But, was this outco really what he wanted?
Seeing his somber deanor, the green-clothed child held back further sarcasm and said grimly after a mont of thought, "What do you plan to do?"
"I picked a few places for Old Master Qingyi."
Incense Master Zheng planted the wooden fra into the ground, pressing it three inches deep with considerable strength, securely fixing it.
He turned around under the fluttering banners and said, "Places with thick Yin Ze may conceal people, but how to apply pressure there is up to Old Master Qingyi..."
"Just selected a few places?"
The green-clothed child couldn't help but coldly chuckle, "Didn't you deliberately include sothing you disliked?"
Incense Master Zheng surprisingly didn't deny it, only chuckling, "If there's sothing you dislike, Brother, feel free to add it now."
The green-clothed child was taken aback, "You..."
"The esteed only asked us to find soone. Why would he care how we find them?"
Incense Master Zheng chuckled and said, "Besides, this thod of finding people does not have a good reputation. If we make it a point to demand the esteed's approval, should anything go wrong, whose fault would it be, ours or the esteed's?"
The night wind was silent, and the wild hill was soundless.
The Evil Ghost mask placed at the center of the wild hill, upon the sedan chair, didn't move, but a faint cold laugh seed to echo in the wind.
"Then thank you, Old Master Qingyi..."
With a long bow to the Evil Ghost mask, Incense Master Zheng rose and pulled a piece of yellow cloth from his sleeve.
He spread it on the ground, took out incense candles and an oil lamp, and even placed a few stones as offerings.
Standing by, the green-clothed child could hardly contain his anger. This Zheng, a Ghost Walker, was indeed adept at utilizing the power of evil spirits. But using such a simple Magic Altar, even with stones as offerings, was simply an insult to Old Master Qingyi.
But rembering the esteed one's instructions, who dared to say anything?
Incense Master Zheng remained silent as he arranged everything. Once done, he stood up, sighed softly, and picked up a branch.
With his hair disheveled, outer robe untied, and buffeted by the night wind, his entire being exuded a ghostly qi. He looked like a Madman, waving his limbs and chanting:
"Wild grave, resentnt harms, born beside the ancient wilderness way.
I now command you as Divine General, to aid in casting magic and balancing yin and yang.
Majestic Mount Tai, magnificent yin and yang, wandering ghosts heed my command, beco good spirits and receive offerings..."
The green-clothed child by the side beca furious, glaring at Incense Master Zheng. This scoundrel! He wasn't performing Inviting Spirits, but Commanding Spirit! Was he ordering Old Master Qingyi around like a common wandering ghost?
But before they could say anything, Incense Master Zheng used the branch in his hand as a sword, suddenly thrusting forward, "The esteed one's command is not to be defied, go quickly!"
WHOOSH!
On the wild hill, ghostly qi surged. Behind him, the seven or eight long Yellow Banners on the wooden fra were all simultaneously lifted by the wind.
Strangely, the Yellow Banners on the fra all floated in different directions simultaneously, swaying and beckoning, like guides from the Netherworld Road leading to the unknown lands around.
Hu Ma couldn't know about the other matters. He had to concentrate on cultivating the fourth organ.
He had always given particular attention to this organ; or rather, anyone in his situation would. Now that he began cultivating it, he devoted several tis the effort compared to usual, diligently practicing day and night...
Finally, around the fourth or fifth day, Hu Ma woke up from a dream.
He looked down and suddenly felt an intense excitent prickling his scalp.
It worked!
Under circumstances where he did not use the Blood Tai Sui's essence forcefully, that banner stood up.
It stood up on its own!
I...
In this mont, Hu Ma was tempted to stand up and loudly declare, "I have co back to life!"
Of course, theoretically, his body was far from being truly alive, but at this very mont, Hu Ma felt a sense of renewed life, as if resurrected.
It was a feeling akin to rebirth.
This was not a resurrection of a forr life, but himself coming to life anew.
Because Shousui was about transforming from life to death, then refining from death back to life. In this cycle of life and death, the old was discarded and the new embraced.
These parts that were brought back to life through refining—they were now solid, truly his own!
"Hahaha..."
Hu Ma, afraid of startling others, didn't dare laugh too loudly, but his expression already conveyed his excitent at this mont.
It just goes to show, having your own place is convenient. The Blood Food he'd sched with Er Guotou and Miss White Wine to get, even the rewards from the Red Lantern Lady's Club, had all co to fruition. With unstoppable montum, he refined the fourth organ. This ant he was no longer considered weak among the Shousui n. With the foundation of these Four Internal Organs supporting him, the Four Ghosts Salute would naturally be more powerful, and he was close to grasping the essence of the Five Thunders Golden Toad Roar. This joy was indeed indescribable.
Originally, he was always afraid sothing unexpected might happen, yet now, under pressure, his skills improved?
"Brother Ma Zi, sothing's wrong..."
But just then, Zhou Datong suddenly rushed in from the outer courtyard, nervously barging into the room. Seeing Hu Ma enwrapped in an outer garnt, looking so excited, Zhou Datong jumped in shock.
He'd never seen Hu Ma so happy before. It dispelled his own tension and urgency, making him feel as if he were interrupting sothing important of Hu Ma's over a trivial matter.
"Next ti, at least knock, even if you have to kick the door down..."
Hu Ma hastily rubbed his face to make his excitent less obvious, before asking, "What's with the nervous look?"
Zhou Datong, coming to his senses, quickly said, "Sothing strange happened in Ganzi Village, and they want soone from our Manor to go take a look..."
Strange?
Hu Ma had been on edge recently. It was only because of this morning's sudden surprise that he hadn't managed to adjust his mood. But seeing Zhou Datong's expression, his heart imdiately sank.
The earlier joy vanished from his mind, and he hurriedly dressed, stepping out, "What kind of strange?"
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