With a command to retreat, silence enveloped the land.
Outside the town, the rows of ghost soldiers stood eerily in the forest, their faces marked with yellow talismans and surrounded by ghost fires. They began to retreat, just as they had arrived, as if weighed down by an invisible burden. The one who had summoned the ghost soldiers was dead, rendering the Borrowing Soldiers Token aningless, as there was no longer a way to reclaim the promised price. If they were living people, there might have been many questions to ask and problems to solve, but these ghost soldiers simply began to retreat along the path they had co.
Like an ebbing tide drawn by a mysterious force, they receded back into the deep mountains, disappearing into the cracks of the great mountain that had split open. In the next mont, the fissure in the mountain suddenly closed, and dust settled, leaving no trace of its previous split. The trees that had been toppled and trampled along the way also stood upright one by one, as if nothing had happened; only their crowns rustled.
Three thousand ghost soldiers: when they ca, the gates of the underworld had opened wide, like a spectral gale sweeping the land; when they departed, it was like the wind scattering remnant clouds, leaving not a single trace. It was as if a fierce storm had enveloped everyone, only to suddenly disperse—an illusion, leaving only deep shock on the faces of the living, a feeling that lingered for a long ti.
BOOM!
In the distant sky, fierce winds howled, gathering and dispersing dark clouds. It seed to be so enraged will, high above, looking down upon the human world, trying to find the one who had just offended it, but it could see nothing.
The strength of Negative Spirit people was never their own, but that of the Negative Spirit. To kill a Negative Spirit person, the thod was actually very simple: cut off their source. This would make it impossible for the entity that lent its Mana to see its Negative Spirit. If it couldn’t see it, it could no longer lend its Mana. Even previously borrowed power would consequently be lost here, aning a part of that entity would also be killed here.
Naturally, it was dissatisfied, furious. But just now, it couldn’t see what had happened here, couldn’t even sense the existence of this piece of land. Now that Second Young Master ng was dead, his Divine Soul utterly destroyed, its eyes on the ground were gone. Thus, it could do nothing but rage.
But its rage had no outlet. The area around Shima Town was completely unaffected. Instead, in a certain place, inside a vast, gloomy mansion, violent tremors occurred. All the incense sticks simultaneously burned down into a pattern of two short and one long. The sight of them, all at once, carried a chilling, terrifyingly eerie quality.
The people in the mansion were instantly alard and crowded around the Elder Grandmother, who was in charge. Upon witnessing this scene, she was so frightened her face turned ashen. Hastily pushing away the maidservants, she knelt on a prayer cushion, burning incense and kowtowing. However, despite trying several tis, the incense just wouldn’t light. Instead, the Ancestral Hall filled with an eerie wind that sent chills down the spine and unsettled the heart.
"Quick, quickly bring the Beauty Wax!" the Elder Grandmother hastily ordered.
Servants hurriedly brought a candle wrapped in black cloth. Unwrapping it revealed the form of a beautiful young woman, her entire body encased in wax, her insides also filled with it. Her head was tilted upwards, and a wick protruded from her mouth. They quickly lit this candle and placed it on the altar before the shrine. This managed to dispel much of the eerie wind in the room, but the incense sticks still burned extrely fast, their ash vanishing without a trace, constantly falling and dispersing like fine dust.
The Elder Grandmother, usually composed and dignified, was now thoroughly panicked. "The Ancestor is angry!" she stamred. "In twenty years, I’ve never seen His Venerable Self so furious! Not even three years ago, when that old grandmother of the Bai Family returned to the Ancestral Hall through the main gate, he wasn’t this angry! Quick, go and find out! Which worthless descendant has done sothing to anger the Ancestor?"
...
"Elder Grandmother, bad news!" Just as she was asking, a servant rushed in, flustered, and reported loudly, "Young Master Sili’s longevity lamp has gone out!"
The Elder Grandmother was stunned. "What? Hurry and perform the soul-summoning!"
...
The servant exclaid in distress, "We are! Four ghost crones raised an altar simultaneously, but... but they can’t summon anything back!"
Hearing this, the surrounding clan mbers also grew tense. "Could it be? Is the Ancestor upset because sothing happened to Young Master Sili, and he’s distressed for his descendant, hence the anger?"
The Elder Grandmother in charge took a deep breath. He wasn’t her biological son, so she felt no personal heartache, only a sense of disbelief upon hearing the news. She nodded. "It must be so. Quickly, investigate and find out exactly what happened!"
But even as she ordered the servants out, she turned back, knelt again on the prayer cushion, and continued to burn incense beside the Beauty Wax, kowtowing. A realization slowly dawned in her heart: The Ancestor wouldn’t care about the life or death of any descendant; no descendant was important to him. But if that lowly woman’s second son died outside, then the matter would beco significant. The ng Family starting to have deaths signifies that this world is about to descend into chaos...
...
Thinking this, after kowtowing four tis, she suddenly commanded those behind her, "Quick! Go down and invite the Old Master up to discuss matters! This is beyond what I, a re woman, can decide!"
And as the ng Family fell into a state of great alarm, bustling about, countless other places in the world were also stirred by unknown disturbances. What happened before Shima Town was, in itself, a small affair. No single person’s death greatly impacted the world. However, the ng Family Ancestor’s fury was a major event, and that anger alard many.
"Has that old thing awakened?"
"Why is he so furious? Did a direct descendant of the ng Family die?"
...
Amidst the speculation, soone stated with certainty, "It has nothing to do with who died. He wouldn’t care if even more ng Family mbers perished. In this world, no one can anger him, except for the Hu Family, who once governed the Zhen Sui Mansion and had the audacity to strike him... But the Hu Family has long lost the ability to provoke him."
"Then what could it be?"
"...Heh heh. The evil spirits that once crawled out from the deepest pits of hell and brought disaster to the world... Could it be that after twenty years, those evil spirits are restless again?"
"Best go to bed early. Perhaps we’ll hear the Yin Emperor’s sacred decree in our dreams again?"
...
...
"They left?"
"Three thousand ghost soldiers actually retreated just like that?"
"Just now... who was that shadow standing on the mountain? And what was he holding?"
At this mont, outside Shima Town, the Beef Avoidance Sect Disciples were also staring blankly in the direction the ghost soldiers had retreated. They had vaguely seen the figure commanding spirits and ghosts, but not everyone had seen it clearly. They couldn’t even imagine soone repelling three thousand ghost soldiers with a single sentence. Thus, they could only speculate, trying their best to co up with an explanation that seed reasonable to them.
However, they could only guess; no one could provide an answer. Only a few among the Beef Avoidance Sect Disciples lowered their voices and sighed softly, "Regardless, from now on, when we see our Sect Hierarch, we shouldn’t joke around anymore..."
"Sir, we..." On the opposing side of the Beef Avoidance Sect Disciples, behind the Iron Steed Grand Hall Officer, the stewards and runners, having recovered from the earlier suffocating pressure, hurriedly began to ask.
But the Iron Steed Grand Hall Officer suddenly raised his hand, stopping their inquiries. Then, he lightly tugged the reins, and the tiger-headed louse-headed horse beneath him began to slowly back away. At once, those around him were astonished.
"Leaving?"
"That big-headed turtle-spawn is leaving too?"
...
"Huh?"
Even among the Beef Avoidance Sect Disciples, so noticed and were surprised. "Big-Headed Turtle-Spawn isn’t fighting anymore? He’s just leaving like that?"
The other Beef Avoidance Sect Disciples also reacted, turning their heads to look. Amidst their astonishnt, a sense of excitent suddenly arose, and they began to cheer, "The ti for three incense sticks is up! Big-Headed Turtle-Spawn lost!"
"The Shousui Grand Hall Officer t his defeat before our One Coin Sect! Let’s see who else dares to challenge our might!"
...
Hearing the cheers, the Iron Steed Grand Hall Officer, who had already retreated about ten to fourteen feet and had even turned his horse around, could finally bear it no longer. He abruptly wheeled around and cursed, "You’re the big-headed turtle-spawn! Your entire lineage for generations are big-headed turtle-spawn!
"Foul-mouthed degenerates! A bunch of demon people courting death who don’t know any better!
"You all lack decorum and respect no laws! You’ve brought a great disaster upon yourselves and don’t even realize it! When I return, I shall host a banquet and sit back to watch how you demon people die without a burial place!
"...HEH! PTOOEY!"
...
This outburst imdiately stunned the Beef-eating Demon People in front of Shima Town. From his charge towards the town, to his clashes with their various senior brothers—dueling with weapons, breaking Strange Techniques—the Iron Steed Grand Hall Officer had always remained silent. Why was he suddenly cursing everyone now?
"Really..." Only the opera troupe leader, Jin Chen, looked embarrassed. He glanced at his junior brothers before him and said, "During the duel earlier, it was fine to say so harsh things; that’s called a psychological attack. But why continue to curse him when he’s already lost? See? You’ve broken his composure, haven’t you?"
...
But amidst their surprised and delighted discussion, the Iron Steed Grand Hall Officer truly did leave as he said he would, riding his tiger-headed louse-headed horse far away. Looking from a distance, even the dozen or so black, scrawny legs of the horse seed to be trembling.
It wasn’t just the Iron Steed Grand Hall Officer retreating; the other groups had also received word and withdrawn, only regrouping about six miles out.
"Sir! Sir! Are we really retreating just like this?"
Seeing the Iron Steed Grand Hall Officer from afar, several small hall officers hurried forward to ask. "But we never saw the red signal flare, nor did we truly fight those demon people to the death. We don’t even have a scratch on us... Going back like this, won’t it be difficult to report to the Old Master at ho?"
...
"Report? You’re still thinking about reporting?" The Iron Steed Grand Hall Officer finally turned his head, glanced at the place where the ghost soldiers had retreated, and roared in a low voice, "Do you have any idea who appeared in the town just now?
"Qiankun Reversal and Five Elents Reversed occurred, so people outside the town couldn’t see what they were doing. But I, relying on a Shousui man’s eyesight, saw a little from a distance...
"It was evil spirits!
"The four Great Evil Spirits joined forces, killed Second Young Master ng, and toyed with the Ancestor worshipped by the Tongyin ng Family..."
He spoke gravely, his usually resolute face now showing a visible trace of panic. "These demons, dormant for twenty years, have re-entered the world..."
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