Twilight Boundary-Chapter 652 - 643: Swallowing the Evil Ghost Whole

Relying on sheer force to break a hundred tricks, brute strength triumphs over skill!

Hu Ma charged forward, crashing into Fourth Miss Zhou so forcefully that she was utterly disheveled, her face blanching as she looked at Hu Ma in disbelief.

This is too much...

They were both practitioners of Entering the Mansion Shousui; in the mortal realm, that meant they were already grandmaster-level figures who had entered the inner sanctum. How could he employ such crude punches?

But Hu Ma didn't care about her thoughts, letting out a chilling smile. His feet, clad in the Heaven Measuring Boots, swiftly took several steps, and in an instant, he caught up with the rapidly retreating Fourth Miss Zhou. He spread his arms wide, lunging for the jade bottle in her embrace.

"Oh no!"

Fourth Miss Zhou realized the danger, clutching the jade bottle tightly. Suddenly, a myriad of arms sprouted from the Dharma Form enveloping her, palms swinging around, every punch landed on Hu Ma.

In normal circumstances, Hu Ma would have dodged, countering each move, but now, he didn't care. Relying on the ragged armor covering his Dharma Form, he forcibly withstood all the attacks while his hands, previously reaching for her jade bottle, suddenly lowered.

In an instant, Fourth Miss Zhou's slender waist was locked in his grasp.

"Let go!"

Fourth Miss Zhou hadn't expected Hu Ma to be so sturdy, incapable of budging him. She also hadn't anticipated that his attempt to snatch the jade bottle was only a feint. Feeling his arms around her waist, her face flushed with shame and anger, she shouted sharply in her disarray.

Yet in the next moment, Hu Ma abruptly straightened his back and lifted her high into the air, then executed a body slam, flinging her violently to the ground.

"You brute..."

Even with the protection of her Dharma Form, Fourth Miss Zhou was dazed from the slam. This sudden change was even more humiliating and infuriating than being grabbed by the waist. Just as she was about to curse, she felt her ankle tighten as Hu Ma grabbed it and lifted her upside down.

THUD!

He swung her high again, slamming her onto the ground once more!

Such a commotion left everyone around dumbfounded. They swallowed nervously as they watched the incomprehensible scene unfold before their eyes.

Wait...

How is it that Fourth Miss Zhou seems to be utterly unable to fight back?

In the midst of this deathly silence, Longjing, who had been pacing around the large cauldron, turned back to glance at the unbecoming scene. A faint smile touched the corners of his mouth as he softly remarked, "Lao Junmei, your apprentice isn't completely without potential."

"He just seems distracted. He hasn't focused enough on your dharma method and lacks the confidence you had back in the day."

"No need to thank me, though. I forced it out of him for you!"

"..."

"..."

At this point, Fourth Miss Zhou had been completely subdued by Hu Ma's brutish tactics and was disheveled and helpless. She could break through an opponent's trump card and intercept their moves, but when it came to pure contests of strength combined with rough, childlike wrestling techniques, she was at a great disadvantage.

The transformations of her Dharma Form were endless, and she continuously deployed various skills against Hu Ma, but they were all ineffective against his armor-clad body.

She was already deeply regretting not picking up that pair of maces earlier, but now it was too late. Without a weapon, she could only try to attack his weak points, but this Great Mighty Master seemed to have no weaknesses at all.

"It's calculated..."

At that same moment, nearby, the blind Seventh Master suddenly raised his head.

Tears unexpectedly welled in his empty eye sockets, his voice hoarse as he shouted, "Fourth Miss Zhou, this man has a fate of eternal damnation! You must strike his Danzhong, Blood Sea, Jiquan, and Liangqiu acupoints..."

"..."

WHOOSH, WHOOSH, WHOOSH, WHOOSH!

He shouted with all his might, speaking extremely quickly. Yet, despite the situation, Fourth Miss Zhou didn't miss a single word. Following his instructions, she twisted her slender waist, breaking free from Hu Ma's grasp. Then, she skillfully deployed her Splendid Technique, her fingers, palms, and fists landing precisely on Hu Ma's major acupoints.

Leaving aside all else, even in this disadvantageous position, her acupoint-striking technique was executed so flawlessly it possessed an exquisite beauty.

After finishing her strikes, she flew back, her eyes fixed intently on Hu Ma, her thoughts a complex whirl. Subconsciously, she even reached out and rubbed her backside.

Her expression flickered. Though it seemed she had won, there was not a hint of triumphant joy in her heart. Moreover, thinking deeper, it wasn't truly her victory; she had merely followed the guidance of an expert from the Haishou Path to turn the tables.

"He's subdued..."

At the same time, the surrounding Meng family disciples burst into joyous cries, looking at the teary-eyed blind Seventh Master. "Seventh Master," they asked, "why... why are you crying?"

"I..."

The blind Seventh Master lifted his sleeve to wipe away the tears on his face and said, "This boy's fate... it's too miserable..."

"I've calculated the fates of countless people, yet I've never encountered one so wretched..."

"..."

"Hmm?"

The people nearby were somewhat perplexed. What kind of fate could this evil spirit possess that was so miserable it would make even his opponent, who had calculated it, weep in sympathy?

SWOOSH!

At this moment, Hu Ma, having been struck on multiple acupoints, stood rooted to the spot. His Dharma Form seemed to dim slightly. He lowered his head, looking at his own body, seemingly curious as to why he couldn't move, yet also as if curious about something else entirely...

The Meng family disciples, ignoring such details, surged forward, preparing to strike.

Suddenly, a sound like tearing silk came from Hu Ma's body. In the next moment, the tattered black robe he wore abruptly ripped apart, falling in strips to the ground.

Then he slowly lifted his head and looked towards Fourth Miss Zhou, a menacing grin spreading across his face. Without the black robe to conceal it, his face was finally exposed. A row of white teeth flashed in a ferocious leer, clearly reflected in Fourth Miss Zhou's eyes.

"Oh no..."

Fourth Miss Zhou reacted instantly. Her expression changed dramatically, and she shot backward. But he suddenly reached out, and before she could react, he seized her by the neck, lifting her into the air.

One hand lunged for the jade bottle in her arms, while the other tightened its grip, threatening to snap her neck.

This sudden turn of events was unimaginable, leaving everyone dumbstruck. Fourth Miss Zhou's face turned ashen; she was completely unable to resist. But in the next moment, countless yin souls erupted from the jade bottle in her embrace.

They were Bottle Ghosts. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

The Bottle Ghosts that guided her Cultivation and her methods for defeating enemies also sensed the extreme danger. They emerged one after another. Though they were yin souls, each one carried the imposing aura of a grandmaster, shouting as they flew towards Hu Ma's face to attack.

He was caught off guard by this sudden assault. But Hu Ma was already in a state of unleashed ferocity. Had there been time to prepare, he might have shown restraint, but at this moment, he couldn't care less. He opened his blood-red, gaping maw and swallowed the attacking yin souls one by one, his mouth soon filled with twitching arms and legs.

"Master Ping..."

Fourth Miss Zhou watched, her heart aching unbearably, and cried out in distress.

But her cry only drew Hu Ma's attention. Chewing heartily, he still wasn't satisfied. He snatched the jade bottle from her arms and stuffed it into his mouth as well.

"What's going on?"

A deathly silence fell over the surroundings. Everyone stared dumbfoundedly at the unbelievable scene.

SPURT...

At the same moment the black robe disintegrated, the blind Seventh Master nearby suddenly spewed a mouthful of fresh blood.

His face turned deathly pale, and wrinkles rapidly spread across his old face, making him look as if he had aged twenty years in an instant.

"Something's wrong, something's wrong..."

He murmured to himself, "I miscalculated. How could I have been so terribly wrong..."

"Who has such great power? Who dared to use this heaven-deceiving method to trick me, conjuring a fate out of thin air for me to calculate?"

"...And why make it so damned pitiful?"

"..."

"This is bad! Quickly, save Fourth Miss Zhou!"

The Meng family disciples nearby, realizing how dire the situation had become, charged forward desperately, as if their lives depended on it.

But now, in Hu Ma's eyes, they were merely more sustenance. Their attack only further provoked his ferocity. He fully unleashed his power, grabbing them by the handful and stuffing them into his mouth. This section of the City of the Dead instantly transformed into a living hell.

Amidst the chaos, Fourth Miss Zhou, her soul light greatly diminished, was grabbed by two yin souls that flew out from the shattered remnants of the jade bottle. They carried her out of the battle, covering her head as they made a hasty retreat.

As she fled, deeply stricken, Fourth Miss Zhou turned to look back at the insatiably ferocious Ghost King. She was both infuriated and stunned, tears streaming down her face. "This shouldn't be happening! It shouldn't be like this..."

"The magic of the Zhou Family cannot possibly be defeated by someone like you!"

"I will find you! I will definitely find you! Even if you're an evil spirit, I will hunt you down!"

"Go to the Hu Family!"

"I will spare no expense! I must ask the Hu Family to help me find him!"

"..."

"..."

Just as Fourth Miss Zhou fled far into the distance, and the Meng family disciples were utterly decimated by Hu Ma, who had fully unleashed his ferocity, a slightly exasperated voice suddenly spoke, "That's about enough. They're all gone now."

"I only asked you to kill a few people, and you've made such a mess of the place, with ghosts wailing everywhere. Can't you be a bit neater with your work?"

"..."

"Hmm?"

His ferocity still surging, Hu Ma abruptly turned his deathly gaze towards Longjing.

But as their eyes met, he saw Longjing's calm expression. Hu Ma hesitated for a moment, and his ferocity gradually subsided.

"Oh no..."

Suddenly, he withdrew his Dharma Form. His face turned a shade of green, and he nearly gagged, "Did I... did I eat people?"

He had just been in a frenzy of ferocity, but it wasn't as if he had no memory of it. He instantly recalled the scene of swallowing countless Evil Ghosts.

Evil Ghosts are formed from humans. How is this any different from eating people?

"Eating people? What are you talking about?"

Longjing almost laughed in exasperation. "You merely seized their karma," he said.

"Yin souls can only be dispersed; they cannot be eaten. However, their karma can be shouldered by your Dharma Form. This is actually a method of transcendence. But others don't understand. From afar, they just assume the Great Mighty Master eats people. That's how he earned the moniker 'Great Belly Ghost King'..."

"Of course, defeating Fourth Miss Zhou is one thing, but to think you'd actually swallow her jade bottle as well... that, I didn't expect."

As he spoke, a smile that showed he was enjoying the drama and didn't mind the escalating trouble appeared on his face. He shook his head and sighed, "You deal with the aftermath yourself; I can't be bothered. Come over here and look at these Purple Tai Suis!"

"The Meng family really spared no expense. These are top-grade!"

"You're a lucky brat!"