Chapter 14 Preparing for Battle

Grasping the bones of the Five Fiend Gods in one hand and the serrated blade in the other, Hu Ma shifted his feet, searching for a suitable spot, and firmly planted himself in a specific position.

The arrangements he had made around the valley were still in place. As long as he found the right spot, he could instantly transform into a dead object, acting as a ward, and erect another altar if anything went wrong in the valley.

Having prepared, he looked towards the dark mine entrance, holding his breath.

The others were doing the same. The flesh-cutting artisans had already retreated a dozen yards, huddled together, staring with terrified eyes at the dark mine.

They had all been holding their tools, but now, having vaguely seen the strange creature emerging from the mine, they felt only bitter water of fear rising in their stomachs. How could they even lift them?

"Is it gone?"

But there was no time to ask questions now. Everyone simply widened their eyes, focusing intently on the mine.

Old Suanpan, next to him, had already pulled out the banner from his chest, covering his face. His voice trembled as he shouted, "Little Boss, please help us! Only you can save our lives..."

A faint, swaying sensation filled the air. Everything before him seemed to blur. The sky darkened, as if dark clouds had drifted over, blocking the sun that had just climbed to its zenith. The midday sky suddenly turned dark and gloomy.

Even the usually ferocious creature seemed to have seen something extremely terrifying. Its roar suddenly ceased, its legs stiffened, and it recoiled four or five yards, its evil aura scattered.

"Damn it, damn it..."

Although his legs were trembling, he still untied his robe and lowered his pants... only halfway. Then, he pulled out a long object tightly wrapped in grey cloth from his waist.

"Eh?"

Unwrapping the outermost layer of grey cloth revealed a flag with black borders, wrinkled from being wrapped up for so long. But he treated it like a treasure, hugging it to his chest, shrinking his head as if feeling a little more secure.

The top of the flag was decorated with bagua patterns and inscriptions of some ancestor.

"Who goes there, daring to cause trouble..."

The strange, chaotic sounds in everyone's ears suddenly coalesced into a torrent, assaulting their souls: "Humans bully Tai Sui, retribution is nigh!"

Upon seeing Old Suanpan's actions, Hu Ma couldn't resist turning his head, even though the things in the cave were attracting him. He glanced at him.

He had been following them on the mine, eating and drinking with them, without bringing much in the way of luggage. So, he hadn't brought any gear with him. However, he did have something hidden, but the place where he hid it was simply unbearable to look at.

"What is this?"

"Hoo..."

At that moment, the bizarre sounds in everyone's ears suddenly changed into a surging torrent, assaulting their souls: "Humans deceive Tai Sui, the time for retribution has come!"

As he heard these words, he seemed to see various images. Some seemed to be high-ranking officials in court, berating criminals below. Some seemed to be wailing souls. Some seemed to be officials worshipping the heavens. Some seemed to be battlefields of slaughter.

Just hearing a little of it made various images appear before his eyes. For a moment, everyone was at a loss, as if they had been transported to hell, seeing countless scenes, their ears filled with different sounds.

"Ugh?"

The sounds inside were getting closer and closer to the mine entrance.

Even Old Suanpan seemed to be getting serious. He was usually very timid, ready to run at the first sign of trouble. But at this moment, perhaps because he cared too much about the things in the mine, he hadn't fled.

Amidst this chaos, Old Suanpan's terrified cry suddenly rang out.

Hu Ma had been prepared. He suddenly drew his blade and charged forward, his body instantly turning into a dead object, becoming the ward in this altar, taking the opportunity to rush up.

And within this gust of wind, a blood-soaked thing suddenly crawled out of the mine.

It was vaguely humanoid, but covered in blood. It crawled out in a strange posture, and the surrounding evil aura intensified dozens of times, as if the sky had turned completely black.

"Mother, it's a corpse general..."

It was inhuman and unghostly, like a zombie, a moving corpse, and looked cruel and terrifying.

"What kind of monster is this?"

This thing was a corpse demon?

In shock, Hu Ma suddenly thought of something: "This thing is Zhuang Erchang's eldest disciple..."

Some of what Zhuang Erchang had said was true, some was false.

Before he had died, Zhuang Erchang had said some words. They came out of Hu Ma's mouth, but he didn't think about them, nor did he understand what they meant.

Zhao Zhu and Zhou Liang stood to the left and right, one holding a wooden stick, the other holding a nine-section whip...

...This was left behind by a disciple of Grandfather Sun, and Zhou Liang kept it.

Zhou Datong stood guard beside Hu Ma, each hand grabbing a Tai Sui blade that miners usually used to cut meat.

He didn't dare to look. Being far from this thing would attract him closer, but being close to this thing would suck the blood from his body. Looking at him would cause blood to come from his eyes. Not looking at him would cause blood to come from his ears and nostrils.

"..."

Just as he was paying attention to what it would do next, it inexplicably muttered something, like a subconscious sound. It sounded like a shout, but the key was...

"Of course it's not human, it's a Yin General!"

Now, the entire valley was terrified. Only Hu Ma and Old Suanpan were relatively better. Hu Ma had entered the Fu, so his foundation was solid. Although he was also affected, his mind and senses remained clear. He could see what came out of the mine.

It was a grotesque humanoid figure, as if its skin had been peeled off, wearing ragged pieces of blood-red plate armor.

The mine was crawling with evil creatures, so the various mines were also affected. Black and white Tai Sui exposed outside were rapidly withering. It was as if they were being attracted to something, twisting rapidly.

However, this blood-soaked monster seemed even more terrified, trembling. Layers of blood mist surrounded it. It suddenly turned around, its body stiff, its arms held out flat. It hopped and jumped, leaping several yards at a time, heading straight out of the valley.

Just as the monster rushed out of the cave, it suddenly let out an earth-shattering roar, or rather, not a roar, but a strange sound of some kind of surging evil aura impacting within its chest.

As it roared, everyone's eardrums went numb, their souls trembled, and their bodies suddenly felt wet. Someone subconsciously wiped themselves, opened their blurred eyes, and saw their hands covered in bright red blood.

Even Old Suanpan seemed to be getting serious. He was usually very timid, ready to run at the first sign of trouble. But at this moment, perhaps because he cared too much about the things in the mine, he hadn't fled.

"Little Boss, hurry up! Only you can save us!"

He was just guarding the mine. Could it be that there was something wrong with this mine?

Hu Ma stared at its retreating back, his heart trembling, unable to recover for a long time.

As the monster fled, Old Suanpan finally regained some clarity. He wiped his face with the flag, tried hard to open his eyes, and said in a trembling voice, "That was close. Those people were still fighting over it, almost raising a great corpse demon..."

But he had prepared for a fight and approached the monster, staring intently at the blood-red humanoid, his expression tense.

With a "bang," "bang," "bang," the sound shocked everyone's souls. They heard only a cacophony of ghosts and howls.

At this time, everyone in the valley was covered in blood. Even the corpses that had been sealed up outside the valley seemed to be sensing something, shaking their limbs as if they wanted to stand up.

Hu Ma had been prepared. He suddenly charged forward with his blade, his body suddenly turning into a dead object, becoming the ward in this altar, taking the opportunity to rush up.

With this transformation into a dead object, there were two benefits. First, his body became filled with deathly aura, so his blood would not be sucked away from a distance. Second, he became a ward, borrowing the power of the altar to fight this thing.

"It's gone?"

The flesh-cutting artisans and Zhou Datong and the others in the valley were already covered in blood. Even the corpses that had been sealed up outside the valley seemed to be sensing something, shaking their limbs as if they wanted to stand up.

The crowd followed with their hearts in their throats. Although they stood their ground, their upper bodies instinctively leaned away from the cave entrance, as if pushed by an invisible force.

It turned out that the blood in his body was being sucked out through his pores, misty and faint, all floating towards the corpse demon.

But to his surprise, the monster, after crawling out of the mine, made strange sounds that others couldn't understand, and its eyes shone brightly, as if wanting to devour someone. But as soon as it saw Hu Ma flash to its side, its expression changed drastically, and a look of great terror suddenly appeared in its eyes.

Wherever it passed, the grass and trees were stained blood red. Anyone or anything within seven yards of it instantly became dizzy and fell to the ground.

"What's going on here?"

"Of course not. But it's definitely not a dead person. Perhaps it has really become something like what Old Suanpan said, a corpse general."

Zhuang Erchang's words, some were true and some were false.

He suddenly thought of something and turned to Old Suanpan, asking in a low voice, "Is this guy human or ghost after being sealed in the mine for so many days?"

Only after reminding him, Hu Ma suddenly turned around and asked Old Suanpan in a low voice, "This guy has been sealed in the mine for so many days, is it a human or a ghost?"

But everyone, including Zhuang Erchang, thought that this eldest disciple had re-entered the mine and must have died completely. But now, it seemed that this person was still alive?

Old Suanpan was panting heavily, his rough face pale, his voice trembling, "Luckily, we opened this mine in time, otherwise, I'm afraid we would have all mysteriously lost our lives in the next day or two, and been conscripted as Yin soldiers..."

"Damn Zhuang Erchang, smart as he thinks he is, I'm afraid this guy has directly benefited from the good things in this mine..."

(End of Chapter)