Chapter 1 Twilight Boundary

Outside Stone Horse Town, a rolling wind of yin was spreading across the ground, and rows of grim armored soldiers were pushing forward in unison.

Layer upon layer of oppressive force caused the earth to tremble and the mountains and fields to fall silent, as if ten thousand ghosts were wailing. The lights throughout the town were affected by the fierce yin wind, stretching out strangely long, creating an eerie and sinister atmosphere.

With each step the yin soldiers took closer, the lights flickered, swaying towards the outside of the town. All that could be seen was the hazy darkness of night, but the heavy footsteps grew louder and louder, more and more deafening, closer and closer.

Faced with this commotion, even the martial artists outside the town, the Bu Shi Niu (Those Who Do Not Eat Beef) disciples, even Iron Steed Hall Official and the four minor hall officials who followed him, along with their stewards and errand boys, had already changed their expressions.

Some trembled and whispered, "Senior Brother Jin Chenzi... can't you move this town away?"

"I..."

The opera troupe leader was also pale, anxiously saying, "My method was intended to deceive that big-headed hall official, planning to move the town away the moment he won against me and entered..."

"But deceiving him is easy, how can we deceive the yin soldiers?"

"..."

Iron Steed Hall Official, hearing this, glared fiercely at the opera troupe leader. He had almost stepped into the town himself. Only now did he understand that these demonic people were harboring such intentions.

They were unaware of the truth about the Divine General and didn't quite understand why the wind outside the town had picked up again. They didn't notice the darkening lights; they only followed their habits, kowtowing towards the stone horse at the east end of the town.

But as soon as this thought arose, they heard a deafening boom, and immense pressure fell upon their eldest brother. The bones in his body cracked and popped, and a deep pit suddenly appeared beneath his feet, with cracks spreading out like a spiderweb.

For a moment, both sides felt a sense of unease. Neither was in the mood to fight, or even to speak. They just stared blankly at each other, seeking some comfort, only to see each other's unsightly faces.

Even the eldest brother remained silent for a long time before slowly retracting his outstretched hand and shaking his head, "The things Master left behind are indeed beyond our ability to move..."

Now, this Lantern Blessing Assembly, which was nearing its end, had begun to quiet down. In times of lively activity, the voices were loud and chaotic. After the liveliness passed, the Qi (vital energy) began to grow heavy. On the spirit altar, the Four Corner Dharma Kings put down their bowls and began to kowtow.

The yin soldiers showed no mercy and would never be lenient...

But now, it was useless. Once the yin soldiers arrived, no matter how many strange tricks these Bu Shi Niu demonic people had, they would be useless.

Immortal Maiden Miao Shan suddenly fell silent.

The Lantern Blessing Assembly was already nearing its end. They had all received blessings, peace and joy, and the removal of illness and pestilence. What were they kowtowing for now?

Of course, it was for the Divine General who had slain the Plague Ghost.

Inside the main hall of the main altar, Immortal Maiden Miao Shan was also filled with terror, whispering, "Aren't you very capable? Think of something..."

...

But hearing no movement, she turned her head and saw that the eldest brother was also staring in a daze at the great seal tied to the top of the old elm tree. The yin soldiers were getting closer and closer, but he seemed oblivious, just staring intently at the seal.

It was a pity for these children under his command...

The townspeople also knelt down and kowtowed.

After a long while, he slowly reached out his hand towards the top of the old elm tree. The seal was tied very high, so naturally he couldn't reach it, but he seemed to have a feeling in his heart that he wanted to hold the seal in his hand.

When the yin soldiers passed, not a blade of grass would grow.

"Eldest Brother..."

There were many capable people in this town, and the eldest brother was right beside them. There would be no problem for him to take them away, but it was feared that not a single living person in the entire town would be left alive...

Was he about to make this entire town disappear just as he was about to rush into it? How could there be such an evil skill in this world?

...No, come to think of it, they really did seem to have such skills!

While they were all trembling in their hearts, the people in Stone Horse Town were completely unaware.

She turned to look outside the town and could feel a vast dark cloud engulfing the town. The feeling of powerlessness in her heart reached its peak.

...

In front of Young Master Meng, as Hu Ma recited the killing incantation, he felt an endless sense of dread, as if a butcher's knife had already been raised and its gleaming blade was already against his neck. Both his mind and body were firmly suppressed.

Feeling the heavy pressure, he suddenly screamed, "Tell me, who exactly are you..."

Hu Ma's chanting stopped, and he slowly walked towards him. He found it strange that Young Master Meng was roaring and shouting, but he could actually hear a hint of pleading in his voice.

It seemed that the doubt in his heart was about to drive him mad.

Hu Ma simply looked at him calmly, listening to the trembling in his voice, and a mischievous thought arose in his heart.

Would it be interesting if he didn't tell him and just killed him?

But this thought only flashed through his mind. He smiled softly, looking at the young master, who no longer had any of the arrogance and composure he had seen earlier, and whose face was pale. He said, "You came here to deal with me, yet you ask who I am?"

"I..."

Several guesses flashed through Young Master Meng's mind: The One Coin Sect? Bu Shi Niu demonic people?

But these guesses only flashed through his mind. He thought of the grim baleful aura on the knife just now, and the way this person had subdued the yin general before, and had calmly accepted his bow.

He even thought that this person didn't care at all about his status as a member of the Meng family, and from the very beginning, he had been determined to take his life...

An unimaginable answer suddenly arose in his heart...

"The Hu family..."

His voice trembled violently, as if he himself couldn't believe it, "You are from the Hu family..."

"Not really."

Hu Ma looked at him and smiled faintly, knowing that he already knew the answer, or rather, the thing inside his body already knew. So he admitted, "I haven't learned the real skills of the Hu family yet."

"But it's enough to kill you."

"..."

"You... so it really is you, you are from the Hu family..."

It was hard to tell whether Young Master Meng was more frightened or more angry now. He couldn't control his expression at all. He suddenly screamed, as if he had suffered great grievance and insult, and roared at Hu Ma:

"But you, have you forgotten the Stone Pavilion Alliance? Don't you even care about the most basic agreement between the Ten Clans?"

"..."

"The Stone Pavilion Alliance?"

Hu Ma couldn't help but laugh when he heard him mention this. He lowered his voice and said, "You were killed by Bu Shi Niu demonic people, what does it have to do with my Hu family?"

"You..."

Young Master Meng suddenly realized why this person had come before him like a guard at New Year's, and why he had been fighting him head-on until this space was cut off before setting up the altar.

The shock and anger in his heart were indescribable.

But at the same time, Hu Ma's face, which had been smiling, suddenly turned cold. He suddenly rushed forward. He had already used one of the Hu family's Four Great Incantations, the Killing Incantation, to suppress Young Master Meng and the thing inside him, but now he broke free.

"Shua!"

Sensing the surging killing intent within him, the fierce knife that had been used as a trấn物 (treasure to ward off evil) on the ground suddenly flew up and instantly entered his hand, its blade covered with a grim baleful aura.

"You are from the Hu family, how can you use the skills of a guard at New Year's to deal with me?"

The fierce knife flew out and the altar disappeared. Young Master Meng suddenly jumped up. Not only him, but also the consciousness of the Meng family's ancestor that still existed within him, exploded, making his face look ferocious, like an evil ghost eager to pounce.

In these words, spoken with resentment at the end, there seemed to be a strange sense of grievance.

Hu Ma was much faster than him. He suddenly rushed forward in one step. Young Master Meng had just jumped up from the ground when he was suddenly kicked out of the air by him, slammed heavily on the ground, and looked down at him with a grim smile.

And in Hu Ma's left arm, the strange thing was extremely terrified, shouting in Hu Ma's mind, "How dare you?"

"How dare you to the ancestor..."

"..."

"What ancestor?"

Hu Ma stared directly into Young Master Meng's eyes, or rather, stared into the thing inside his eyes, and roared, "You are just an evil ghost..."

As he spoke, the fierce knife in his hand began to hum, and his voice was filled with grim venting: "I am killing you with methods other than those of the Hu family, so that people all over the world will know..."

"That the people of the Tong Yin Meng family can be killed!"

"..."

As the last word left his mouth, he suddenly condensed his Dharma Idol (a manifestation of a deity or powerful being). The little remaining mana from the three pillars of Daoist practice was all gathered on the knife at this moment, and then, he slashed down fiercely.

In the next moment, Young Master Meng screamed in despair, and then his head fell off. The blade was stained with blood, but it was still particularly bright, ringing and buzzing, like wild laughter.

Hu Ma let out a long breath, raised the knife horizontally, wiped the little remaining blood off on the sole of his shoe, then picked up the head on the ground and strode forward, all the way to the top of the mountain.

From a distance, the three thousand yin soldiers crawling out of the ground were mighty and vast, rolling in, with a rolling wind of yin carrying flickering ghost fires. Weapons clashed, grimly and densely packed. The yellow talismans pasted on the faces of the yin soldiers were like banners勾人性命 (snatching souls) in the night.

Hu Ma stood on the top of the mountain, facing the dark mass of three thousand yin soldiers, slowly raised Young Master Meng's head, and shouted in a deep voice without any emotion:

"The yin and yang are divided, and life and death are ordered. From whence you came, return whence you go!"

"Leave!"

"..."

Boom!

With just one sentence, the three thousand yin soldiers stopped simultaneously, and even the rolling wind of yin subsided.

In the next moment, the yin soldiers, who had pushed to the front of the town like a dense, heavy, and slow black tide, suddenly began to retreat quietly.

(End of Chapter)