The paper man, before it could even land, was instantly set afla, turning into sparks. The area where the State Preceptor stood seed to be enveloped by a massive furnace. His physical body was visible, and the layers of sinister mist around him were being dispersed by the potent yang qi emanating from Hu Ma.
Yet, he didn't dodge. He stood there calmly, sighing softly, "When I invited the Ten Surnas to the Stone Pavilion for discussions back then, I had already inford them of the dangers.
"If this world could be saved, then save it. If it couldn't, then the only choice was to leave. The Ten Surnas had twenty years to witness the might of that fierce being and also twenty years to make a decision, to help build this White Jade City.
"Only your Hu Family was different!
"I admired the Hu Family's character, which is why I chose you between the ng Family and the Hu Family.
"Your Hu Family's ancestors were willing to forgo wealth and honor, offering their family fortune and sole bloodline to gamble with on a possibility, a display of fierceness that moved . That is why, even before you were born, I selected you as the Main Sacrificial.
"It's just that I never expected the ruthlessness of your Hu Family to exceed my imagination...
"Constructing the White Jade City was already an imnse struggle, a desperate bid for survival—seeking life in death.
"Yet, your Hu Family's ancestors, even twenty years ago, had already decided to collude with that evil spirit to deceive ."
Although he spoke calmly and composedly, a hint of discontent and chilling intent could now be heard in his voice, "But do you really think I would trust your Hu Family so much as not to leave any contingency plan?"
As the State Preceptor spoke, Hu Ma gritted his teeth and charged forward, unleashing a furious barrage of sword strikes and the Big Stone Breaking Hand, holding nothing back.
However, the State Preceptor remained unmoving. The yin qi protecting him was completely blown away, and his physical form was even ignited by Hu Ma's scorching yang qi, emitting billowing black smoke. In almost an instant, his body was seemingly dismbered, becoming decayed and burning to the point that pieces flaked off.
Yet, his voice never paused, not even when his body completely dissipated into black smoke. Now, it contained a hidden undertone of anger, "So, the one you should never have resisted was !"
As he finished speaking, a pitch-black, heavy incense burner suddenly flew towards Hu Ma.
Hu Ma parried with his Punishnt Officer's Great Saber, intending to fling it away. This incense burner was heavy, likely weighing several hundred jin. However, under the force of Hu Ma's saber strike, it was about to be sent flying.
Unexpectedly, the incense burner suddenly spewed rolling Purple Qi. In an instant, its weight increased from several hundred jin to over a thousand, then several thousand jin, pressing down firmly on Hu Ma's head. Beneath his feet, two bluestone tiles went CRACK! CRACK! shattering from the imnse pressure.
"I was the one who first brought you into this world..."
"Even if they had long been in collusion with that evil spirit, deceiving , they still used my Magic to bring you into this world."
"Your birth chart's eight characters, your destiny, your na, even the extent of your magical cultivation—I know everything about you."
Hu Ma's bones began to creak and groan under the weight, yet the State Preceptor's voice continued to emanate from all directions. While secretly bracing himself and preparing counterasures, Hu Ma focused, trying to pinpoint the voice, which seed to float, its origin uncertain. The final words seed to co from directly beneath his feet.
He looked down sharply. The bluestone bricks underfoot had disappeared, replaced by a reflection-like image. The State Preceptor was there, beneath his feet.
He was inverted, his feet aligned with Hu Ma's, walking slowly within this reflected world.
Gently flicking the horsetail whisk in his hand, he needed no incantations, no ritual gestures, no artifacts. Countless forms of Magic surged forth, overwhelming and all-encompassing.
"Demon Suppression Golden Mace, co!"
"Disaster Snake, arise!"
"Soldiers from all directions, heed my command, co!"
Facing such an incredibly powerful adversary—a figure unlike any he had ever encountered—Hu Ma dared not be careless. Even with the incense burner, now weighing over ten thousand jin, pressing down on him, he gritted his teeth and slowly, deliberately, took seven steps. In that instant, he established an altar.
At the sa ti, with a fierce shout, he unhesitatingly summoned the two powerful items he possessed.
WHOOSH!
At that very mont, a gust of yin wind suddenly whipped up from the ancestral hall ahead.
Granny was in the ancestral hall. There was no way she would stand by and watch her grandson be bullied right before her eyes.
A sense of urgency gripped her heart. Borne by a gust of yin wind, she rushed out of the ancestral hall, heading straight for Hu Ma.
These were all of Hu Ma's most powerful techniques. If it weren't comparatively too slow and troubleso, he would have even summoned the Yin General and his over one hundred thousand ghost soldiers.
Yet, even all this failed to elicit the slightest hint of surprise from the State Preceptor.
First, Hu Ma awakened the Disaster Snake. It had been relatively subdued recently, ever since venting its fury on the Pan Mountain Army's battle formation. Now, it poked its head out from a black bag.
Its shiny black eyes darted around. Hu Ma had kept this little creature by his side, though he only vaguely understood its abilities and hadn't fully mastered how to use it.
But now that we're in Shangjing City, their territory, what harm could there be in releasing it?
As expected, the Disaster Snake imdiately stirred up a howling, malevolent wind. It blew so fiercely that the surroundings beca a hazy mist. This malevolent wind even swept outward, threatening to engulf half of Shangjing City in an instant.
But surprisingly, as this calamitous wind blew out, it caused no discernible commotion. At most, the dark, murky haze hanging over Shangjing City thinned slightly before quickly and silently vanishing.
This change made Hu Ma pause, surprised. The Disaster Snake also seed dazed and a little bewildered.
Then, ZIP! It slithered back into the bag.
Instead, the State Preceptor's laughter echoed from beneath Hu Ma's feet, "Shangjing is a place free from death, sickness, and calamity, especially with the ancestral halls suppressing such things."
"Mr. Hu, don't you think it's a bit childish to rely on sothing you just picked up off the street to deal with ?"
Amidst his laughter, he slowly took several steps, then gently waved his wide sleeve.
Hu Ma had just managed to take his seven steps, forming a Magic Altar. This altar could draw upon the power of Heaven and Earth to push away the incense burner, and it could also allow him to see through illusions to find the State Preceptor's true location. But unexpectedly, just as Hu Ma perford the Stepping Gang and Fighting ritual, completing his altar in seven steps, the State Preceptor also casually took a few steps.
He, too, ford an altar, and his speed was even faster than Hu Ma's. The incense burner above Hu Ma's head suddenly felt twice as heavy.
Then, with another sweep of his sleeve, sothing happened to Granny. She was just rushing out from the ancestral hall, looking quite fierce. But in that sa instant, the great doors of the ancestral hall—not just the Hu Family's, but the doors of *all* the ancestral halls in the city—slamd shut tightly.
In the next mont, Granny, who had almost made it out, was suddenly dragged back inside. Only the sound of her furious BANGING on the door echoed from within the ancestral hall.
The force of that gesture didn't stop there; it swept out, reaching across the entire city.
It was as if, in the boundless night, faint talismans were descending in all directions.
CREAK!
The ancient, heavy city gates of Shangjing, in every direction, were pushed shut by an invisible force.
As dust trickled down from them, Shangjing City itself beca a sealed entity.
Precisely at this mont, outside Shangjing City, golden light flared in all directions. The Golden Armored Warriors, summoned by Hu Ma, were arriving at the city gates, carrying the Stone Box from afar. But the gates were now closed; they could not enter Shangjing City.
Looking up, the walls of Shangjing City, in their eyes, suddenly began to grow endlessly. They towered, seemingly ten thousand zhang high, their tops disappearing into the darkness, barring all entry.
Shangjing City itself was a Magical Treasure.
A Magical Treasure that, although not yet fully completed, had already surpassed anything ordinary people could imagine.
"Letting you cultivate the nine life incense was rely so you could bear the weight of the Twelve Ghost Altars."
And as he effortlessly dismantled all of Hu Ma's efforts, the State Preceptor's soft sigh sounded beside Hu Ma, "But when it cos to the most profound skills in this world, Mr. Hu, you... are still just a 'man,' and nothing more."
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