No, no, there’s no such thing as a free lunch; there must be so trick.
At that mont, Hu Ma was in his guest room, patiently perusing the scroll of dharma thods in his hand. The tiny characters danced before his eyes, seemingly possessing a mysterious and awe-inspiring power:
"Qi is the origin, Skill is the branch. It is created by humans and suffered by ghosts, encompassing grievances, life, baleful influences, evil, demons, death, disease, plagues, curses, and corruption—all various kinds of qi. This qi spreads across mountains and rivers, giving birth to evil spirits, and concentrates in humans, manifesting as abnormal magic. All these phenona appear from the one qi."
"The human body is real, the soul is illusory. Qi Eating and Refining Body gradually lead to a demonic form, a backlash against the origin. I, however, have delved into the thod of Qi Eating to replenish the soul, paying homage to heaven and earth, bowing to rivers and mountains—truly profound, truly magnificent!"
...
The re sight of these words opened a new world in his mind, as if he saw a particularly arrogant but extraordinarily clever person demonstrating the thod in front of him with words and gestures, making his heart pound.
Originally, comprehending the dharma thod required calmness, but Hu Ma found himself unable to remain calm at this mont, only thinking: Impossible, impossible...
After all, I am a Reincarnator, living a second life. They can’t fool .
How could there be such a good thing in the world? Just ten taels of Silver for such a dharma thod to Enter the Mansion?
...
Gold and Silver have a price, Blood Food has a price, even lives can be priced, but this Skill is priceless. Even if soone claid to give it to him for free, there must be a hidden cost.
Just like Old Master Sun. He believed he was guided by soone and received a bestowed opportunity from an expert, but who knew if soone had already set their sights on his imnse wealth and salt and iron business?
Compared to giving up half his fortune for this dharma thod, this current price was, in fact, even steeper.
Giving away half his fortune would still leave him with the other half.
But this current thod was directly inciting him to rebel; he might even lose his life!
So, it was absolutely impossible. This dharma thod was either fake or had a pitfall.
Despite thinking this, he hurriedly flipped through the dharma thod. The more he read, the more bewildered he beca. He had been in the Entering the Mansion state for so ti now, daily assessing his condition and pondering how to cultivate his abilities after achieving Entering the Mansion.
The deeper he thought, the more questions his mind held. Upon glancing through the dharma thod, he found everything written in the book to be spot on.
Could it be? Was he mistakenly judging a noble heart by his own petty standards? Perhaps this dharma thod was genuine after all?
But, where on earth did such a great benefactor co from...
No, that couldn’t be it. Was the One Coin Sect really so wealthy and ostentatious that they would casually pass on such a profound and precious dharma thod?
It was only ten taels of Silver...
And on closer thought, during his conversation with that Sect Hierarch, he didn’t seem to have promised her any conditions. Theoretically, he had purchased this dharma thod with half of his entire fortune, settling all accounts with the One Coin Sect...
So, if he were to put this dharma thod away now and quietly return to the Red Lantern Society to live out his peaceful little life, what business would the One Coin Sect have with him?
The more he thought about it, the more outrageous it seed. He couldn’t unravel the many questions in his heart. Ever since his reincarnation into this world, this was the first ti he had been so utterly baffled. His heart felt as if countless ants were crawling inside, making him anxious, yet he had no one he could even consult.
...
...
At the sa ti, it was late night in Shima Town, which had gradually returned to so asure of peace. Groups of believers, wearing white raincoats and holding a Copper Coin in each hand, were slowly patrolling the streets with White Paper Lanterns.
But amidst the profound silence, suddenly two strong gusts of wind ca rushing from the other end of the street, startling everyone.
Upon seeing the two figures clearly, they hurriedly knelt down to kowtow, yet their minds were puzzled, not knowing where these two were headed.
"Isn’t that person staying at the inn ahead?"
Rushing forward were the One Cent Sect Leader and Bai Shanzi, one ahead and one behind, moving as if their tails were on fire.
"That’s right, it’s the celestial room inside, the most spacious one..."
Bai Shanzi followed close behind, muttering miserably, "But, Senior Sister, we’ve found the person. How do we explain?"
"Do we just say that the gift from the Supre Magic King was given to the wrong person?"
"The inn is full of honored guests invited by Sun Tong; people from Great Shanbao and the Wanma Gang are all there. If we’re not careful and this blows up, we’ll completely lose face! We’re in the midst of plotting a major affair right now. If our secrets are suddenly exposed..."
...
"What ti is it, and you’re still worried about this?"
The Senior Sister rushing ahead said urgently, lowering her voice for fear of being overheard, "We must get that dharma thod back!"
"That was personally tied to the tree by Senior Brother to help stabilize our sect’s fortune here! Senior Brother’s Mana is profound. He told from the beginning that my cultivation was shallow and my fate was light, warning that if I undertook such a major task, I could easily lose my life with a single misstep. Besides, he... he doted on ..."
"Pah! He coveted my body! That’s why he eagerly begged our Martial Uncle for that relic of the Great Virtuous Master, claiming it was sothing good that could suppress fate and alter fortune..."
"For so many years, I haven’t dared to take it down. How could it benefit an outsider?"
"...It’s all your fault! You claid your sleight of hand was the most masterful!"
...
Bai Shanzi was also troubled, "There was definitely no problem with my sleight of hand! Perhaps the scroll had been tied up there for too long and had co loose. When the branch swayed, it might have accidentally fallen off..."
"...Let’s not talk about that. If we go and the other party refuses to return it, what... what do we do?"
...
The Senior Sister, rushing ahead, said urgently, "Speak to him nicely. If that doesn’t work, offer to exchange it for sothing else. Just tell him his karma isn’t sufficient. If he gives it back, all well and good. If not, then we’ll detain him here!"
As she spoke of this, her heart grew anxious, and her tone beca severe. "If it really cos to that, summon our sect’s experts and seal the town! Even if we have to act a bit forcefully, we... we absolutely cannot allow him to leave with that item!"
...
During their hurried conversation, they soon saw the lanterns of the inn ahead. Their hearts sank. With a flick of her hand, she already had two talismans ready.
Even Bai Shanzi behind her, though extrely reluctant, took a whistle from his pocket, prepared to call for assistance at any mont.
...
...
anwhile, Hu Ma, who had been sitting, standing, and even holding the scroll against the candle for quite a while, was unsure about the issue with the dharma thod, feeling a sense of doubt.
The dharma thod undoubtedly seed genuine. At least, he couldn’t find any issues with it. Yet, he couldn’t quite bring himself to believe it was real. This presented a quandary.
...Should he learn it or not?
He was truly torn...
For a mont, he considered going back to ask the Sect Hierarch and consult her properly.
Of course, if he were to go and consult her again, he would definitely have to cast aside the disdain in his heart and treat her as a true expert.
Putting aside everything else, even if it were fake, the ability to create such a counterfeit ant her skills were certainly not insignificant.
Simply put, he had to admit he had snobbishly misjudged her!
But just as he picked up the dharma thod and was about to head out, he reconsidered. He rembered the cold, arrogant expression of the beautiful Taoist. Since she had just sent him away, she probably wouldn’t speak to him if he went back now.
He’d only end up getting the cold shoulder...
So then...
He looked at the dharma thod in his hand, torn and unsure what to do.
Just then, Little Hongtang, who was by the door, suddenly let out a small "Huh?" and climbed to the window to look outside.
Hu Ma also felt a slight chill in his heart, instantly sensing sothing, and rose to stand by the door.
There was movent!
...
...
Shima Town was located at the edge of the wilderness, a re mountain settlent. Unlike a city, it had no city gates, and doors were not typically closed at night to prevent entry and exit.
However, because the town had many rchants and was a place frequented by the One Coin Sect, it naturally wasn’t completely unguarded, allowing anyone to co and go. So at night, believers praying for blessings and burning incense would often form several groups to circle the town slowly.
One purpose was patrolling; another was chanting for blessings to disperse the evil spirits attracted by the town’s vitality, thereby preventing any incidents.
But as one such group reached the west side of town, by the Stone Horse, they gathered in a circle. While they were silently lighting incense and burning talismans, using the thin fragrant smoke to disperse nearby evil spirits, a sudden cold wind swept through.
They all felt a chill, the cold wind biting, and so couldn’t help but sneeze.
"Strange, why is there a scent of blood?"
Soone couldn’t help but say, "Could those who died in town not have been thrown into the woods but just dumped here?"
As they curiously turned to look, suddenly sothing felt wrong. In the dark, shadowy night behind them stood a figure, silent, exuding a strong scent of blood. This startled them, and they scrambled to their feet, loudly demanding:
"Who is it? Sneaking around there, co out and et us!"
...
They strained to raise their White Paper Lanterns higher, to cast the light farther. Then they saw the figure suddenly stretch out an arm.
The scent of blood intensified, its toes dragging on the ground as it charged toward them.
As it rushed into the range of the lantern light, they saw a decaying face and tattered talismanic armor. Terror, like icy spring water, instantly poured over them from head to toe. They hurriedly shouted to alert those nearby to be careful.
Unfortunately, before they could finish speaking, they felt wet all over, their blood drawn out, flying toward the figure.
In an instant, an overwhelming scent of blood, accompanied by astonishing evil qi and the terrifying aura of an Evil Spirit, spread across the western part of town. It was as if even the lanterns and torches throughout the town were veiled in a layer of blood.
"Not good!"
The town, where many experts had gathered, was imdiately alerted by the disturbance. Countless figures leapt from windows and jumped onto rooftops. Those sharing lodgings with Hu Ma, like Old Master Sun and his companions, did the sa.
Once outside, they saw the One Cent Sect Leader and Bai Shanzi rushing toward the inn. They imdiately nodded at them and called out, "Immortal, an evil object appears to have erged in the west of town! We shall accompany you to take a look."
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