Twilight Boundary-Chapter 609 - 600: Hualong Well

"Hiding?"

The Iron Threshold King couldn't believe his subordinate's words, finding the suggestion absurd. After all, this wasn't a steamed bun; it was the vast Yan Family estate. Who had the ability to hide it away?

Yet, at this moment, he found he could no longer lash his whip, as he too galloped forward, quickly weaving through the alleyways. His face was full of confusion. Wasn't the Yan Family supposed to be here? Why couldn't he find them?

Could it be that he had truly misremembered and the Yan Family wasn't on this street?

"There, there..."

While the Iron Threshold King stood in a daze, within the Yan Mansion, Master Yan was even more stunned. He watched as the Yan Family gate was blasted open and countless people stormed in.

To his bewilderment, though he had clearly heard the Iron Threshold King's army approaching and even smelled the rust on their iron armor, the ones pouring into the Yan Mansion were not the Iron Threshold soldiers.

Instead, it was the angry townsfolk of Guazhou City, wielding dung forks and clubs, mixed with martial artists from the jianghu.

In their rage, they charged into the Yan Family, which they wouldn't normally dare to face directly, smashing the door to pieces and trampling down the imperial iron threshold, leaving it covered in footsteps and filth, unrecognizable.

"That's him, that's him..."

As the crowd pushed in, someone spotted Master Yan and shouted, rushing toward him.

"It was the Yan Family that unleashed the toad gu in this city, harming our children..."

"..."

For Master Yan, a man from seven generations of officials, there was no longer any fear or respect. The crowd attacked him, raining blows indiscriminately. They had no regard for his status or the Path experts he had invited to complicate matters for that walking ghost of the Great sword-catching sect.

Even the Protector General under the Iron Threshold King, who had just recovered from being disemboweled by Hu Ma, was caught up in the chaos.

All were drowned under the tide of furious townsfolk—stones, clubs, dog blood, and dung falling like rain.

"Time-stealing, hiding the vast Yan Family away..."

Beside this turmoil, a person wearing a goat mask sidled up to Miss Red Wine, complimenting her, "Big Sister, you're truly a master from the trick door. This trump card of yours, if it weren't for your identity, you could even become a great hall officer of the trick door."

Miss Red Wine feigned indifference, but her eyes held a smile. "What does that count for?"

"...I wonder if Bai will concede?"

"This is Miss Red Wine's doing?"

Within the Yan Mansion, Hu Ma had already slain more than half of the Yan Family's House Generals. The remaining half, however resolute they might be, had lost the courage to face such an Evil God.

In his path, Hu Ma noticed that the Yan Mansion did conceal many skilled individuals. Some, he realized, he couldn't defeat in single combat. Yet they were all easily handled by the small hall officers.

It felt like cutting through melon, an advantageous battle; the four Dingzi were pulled without suspense.

Upon pulling out the fourth Dingzi in the Yan Mansion's courtyard, Hu Ma looked up, feeling that this vast mansion was now just an empty shell. Its fortune lingered but was only upheld by that imperial iron threshold.

This iron threshold was the true foundation of the Yan Family.

After all, it was something bestowed by the Emperor. Zhensui Mansion didn't fear it, but that didn't mean others didn't, nor that it was useless.

As long as the iron threshold stood, so did the Yan Family, and this grand estate wouldn't collapse.

At that moment, they heard the nearing of soldiers and the shouting townsfolk outside, causing a momentary pause in their hearts.

Were they about to confront the Iron Threshold King's soldiers here? Yet, unexpectedly, the murderous aura of those soldiers had clearly reached the doorstep but had never entered the mansion, merely circling outside.

The furious cries of the townsfolk surged into the Yan estate, instantly depleting its fortune.

Even Hu Ma felt a moment of surprise, and a sense of strange satisfaction.

The Yan Family's iron threshold had been stomped to ruin.

This iron threshold was so formidable that even Zhensui Mansion would need its Demon Suppression Golden Mace to break it, a feat beyond the current capabilities of the walking ghost Great sword-catching sect.

Yet, the townsfolk of Guazhou City could; just as Yang Gong could kill an Emperor, so could they reduce the iron threshold to worthlessness.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

As the four Dingzi were pulled and the iron threshold trampled, the Yan Mansion finally lost its last support.

In the long run, the Yan Family was affected on all fronts. Even if Hu Ma were to retreat immediately, the Yan Family was doomed to a swift decline.

But now, with the iron threshold broken, a complex web of chi began to quietly dissipate from the Yan Mansion. A fierce wind swept up, revealing countless vindictive souls fleeing the estate.

In the deepest part of the Yan estate, the sudden sound of innumerable iron chains breaking and heavy breathing echoed throughout the mansion.

"Ruined, ruined..."

Whether it was the Yan Family members or the still-living House Generals and nurtured Path experts, upon hearing these noises, they all turned ashen. Their legs lost strength as if made of noodles, overcome by the despair of passively awaiting death.

"Old Master..."

"The Old Master is truly coming out now..."

"The imperial mandate is unfinished, the dragon transformation failed, forced into this world. This time, really, there's no way out..."

"..."

"Hmm?"

At the same time as this grand commotion echoed, Hu Ma focused his mind, swiftly slashing behind with the Punishment Officer's Great Saber. A brick wall collapsed, revealing a seemingly long-abandoned small courtyard.

Within the courtyard, a fierce, cold wind howled, as if thunder and lightning from the heavens had been dragged down into it, so blinding one couldn't keep their eyes open.

He had found it.

From the moment he confirmed there was something in the Yan Mansion, he had been vigilant.

But before destroying the four Dingzi and the iron threshold, he could only sense its existence but couldn't locate it.

That thing, although furious, could only roar; it couldn't emerge.

Until now, they finally saw the small courtyard, and in its center, a well. A dense array of chains extended from its mouth, connecting to various points around the Yan Mansion.

The strongest and most crucial of these chains led directly underground, extending in four directions, and seemed to connect with the four Dingzi Hu Ma had just destroyed.

Now, the chains above the well were breaking section by section, scattered aside, and something was slowly rising from within.

At that moment, Hu Ma felt a stir within himself, sensing a change in his body. The Great Mighty Sky General Seal, dormant in him for some time, was now resonating, and the third Mansion Gate within him started to loosen.

"Hualong Well?"

Just as Hu Ma was surprised, a low voice suddenly spoke up behind him, "This must be the final boss battle."

"Everyone, if your skills aren't up to Bridge level, or if you're unsure about facing those on the Bridge, retreat quickly!"

"Once that thing emerges, it'll be too late."

"..."

Listening to this, the group of walking ghost small hall officers stirred, but none left. Instead, they curiously craned their necks to look inside.

Even Hu Ma hesitated momentarily, then grasped the Punishment Officer's Great Saber tightly, deciding not to leave.

"Is that thing coming out?"

The commotion from within the Yan Mansion frightened not only the walking ghosts inside but also alerted the Iron Threshold Army searching outside for the Yan Family, who looked up in bewilderment.

The Iron Threshold King, after a moment of shock, suddenly paled, hurriedly yelling to his men, "Quickly, quickly, damn it, it's going to be a bloodbath..."

"At all costs, find the Yan Family!"

"Tear down these buildings, kill everyone! The Yan Family is here. I refuse to believe we can't find them!"

"..."

"Sigh..."

Meanwhile, back at the Gua Prefecture's Mansion God Temple, due to the Yan Family's disturbance, a deep sigh echoed.

Unseen, dark clouds had gathered over Guazhou City, obscuring the starry night and plunging the city into blackness, a silent oppression that even the Lord of Guazhou found difficult to bear.

From the temple in the south of the city, a weary sigh was heard, and then the specially closed temple door was finally opened.

Emerging from within was a procession of Incense Burners. The ones leading carried three incense sticks, stopping every three steps with an eerie gait, flanked by Blowers playing pipes and flutes. Yet, in the gloomy night, their music sounded anything but festive, harboring instead an ominous dread.

At the rear were two rows of bearers with bare backs, carrying the divine statue of the Mansion God of Guazhou, proceeding slowly.

Strange, mysterious, accompanied by the deep night, as if walking in the underworld.

As they passed, countless wandering ghosts dropped to their knees, terrified, bowing their heads in silence, no longer making a sound.

"A dignified zhou lord reduced to a Yan Family servant; no wonder the world is in chaos."

"Especially losing face right before Zhensui Mansion..."

"..."

Yet, in this eerie atmosphere, two figures slowly appeared on either side of an alleyway, blocking the path of the Incense Burners of the Gua Prefecture's Mansion God.

One wore a silver robe and a red crown, while the other was entirely shrouded in a black robe, revealing only a small face.

Facing the procession of the zhou lord, they both wore expressions of superiority, looking ahead with a slight sneer. "Divine Hand Zhao Family's Zhao Sanyi, Black Magic Chen Family's Chen Abao, here to greet you!"

"Come down. Surely you're not still planning to play the master sitting in the sedan chair at a time like this?"