Twilight Boundary-Chapter 679 - 670: Beneath the City of the Dead

"Going up?"

Sweet Potato felt a bit disappointed upon hearing Hu Ma's words. "Why are we going up again so soon? I brought all my brothers along..."

"Could it be that I'm late again this time?"

"No, no, you're right on time this time..."

Hu Ma turned to glance at Eldest Master Meng, who was tragically crushed beneath the incense burner of the Zhensui Mansion, and sighed sincerely, "To tell the truth, it's no exaggeration to say you've performed the greatest service here. Do you know who you just caught?"

Sweet Potato replied, "No idea. He called me a scoundrel, so I remembered him. I never forget a face..."

Hu Ma found himself at a loss for words, suddenly feeling that Sweet Potato might indeed have arrived late.

If Mr. Longjing saw someone like you, he'd be overjoyed...

He sighed. "Do you remember when a distant member of the Tongyin Meng family came to Mingzhou? Back then, that very person scared a few of us in Mingzhou into laying low, causing us to vanish for months, remember?"

"The one we caught this time, in terms of seniority, is the granduncle of that distant relative."

"Oh... quite the promotion in status."

Sweet Potato pondered for a moment, realizing it wasn't a topic of much interest to her. After all, if someone could be chased out of the City of the Dead like a dog by a senior, how important could they really be?

So she didn't dwell on it. However, the thought of going up did make her a bit hesitant. With a troubled expression, she said, "Going up is fine, but it's inconvenient for me, Senior...

"...I'm down here in the flesh.

"I was really driven to a dead end up there by the Hall Officer of the Impermanence Li Family, so I had no choice but to break into the Ghost Gate. But everyone knows that it's easy to enter the Ghost Gate, but hard to get out. Besides, if I go up, I might immediately be targeted by the Impermanence Li Family again!"

Hu Ma nodded in acknowledgment; he had guessed as much when he saw her in the basin earlier.

He said, "There's no need to worry. I came down in the flesh as well."

Leading her to the stone platform, Hu Ma took another look at her. On the platform, he could see her face more clearly than outside, finally noting her complexion.

Her lips were blue, and through the tattered parts of her clothes, many unhealed wounds were visible. Even her hair was dry, yellowed, and flecked with white. She limped when she walked...

Her leg was healed long ago, wasn't it? Did someone cripple her again?

Sighing softly, he pulled a small box from his pocket, took out two Blood Food Pills tinged with Purple Qi, and handed them to Sweet Potato. "Take these to replenish your qi and blood first."

"Huh?"

Sweet Potato said, "Blood Food Pills? I still have dozens of pounds left from what you gave me, Senior...

"But down here, there's no time to eat. As soon as I take them out, the souls nearby just drift over, staring intently. My heart softens, and I end up sharing them..."

Someone like you actually has a soft heart?

Hu Ma looked at Sweet Potato's face, feeling rather speechless. This girl was truly generous...

He had given her two thousand jin worth. In such a short time, were those two thousand jin all squandered?

"These Blood Food Pills are different from the regular ones. Your cultivation is a bit lacking, so take them with care..."

Before Hu Ma could finish, Sweet Potato had already tilted her neck back, rolled her eyes, and swallowed both Blood Food Pills.

Isn't she worried about any problems?

Truly one of the jianghu folk, not pretentious at all...

Hu Ma sighed, took a pill himself, and was about to put the box away when he noticed Little Hongtang staring at the box in his hand with a surprised expression.

Recalling how he had left her alone up there for some time, guilt welled up in him. So he gave the entire box and the remaining Blood Food Pills to Little Hongtang, smiling. "Eat as much as you like. Is Little Hongtang craving some too?"

"No."

Little Hongtang shook her head, holding the box. "I've eaten them before."

"Oh?"

Hu Ma was somewhat surprised. These Blood Food Pills were given to him by Zhao Sanyi and were top-of-the-line in their Path, especially since they were infused with Purple Qi. And Little Hongtang had eaten them before?

Little Hongtang nodded firmly. "The ones I had were prettier, as big as a steamed bun, and purple."

This piqued Hu Ma's curiosity even more.

To be honest, Hu Ma had given Little Hongtang many good things, but in terms of quality, these Blood Food Pills from the Divine Hand Zhao Family were indeed the best, as they were already infused with Purple Qi. If Little Hongtang had eaten better ones, wouldn't that mean they were even more potent?

Considering Little Hongtang's background, it wasn't surprising she might have eaten such things. But the crucial point was, evil spirits would typically be harmed by such immortal qi...

Think of the people from Juehu Village, Old Master Yan, and the Meng Family Ancestor...

Apart from Reincarnators, I haven't seen many who react well to it.

He was lost in thought for a moment, mulling it over, and secretly decided to ask Little Hongtang properly once they were back up.

Once his cultivation had recovered somewhat, he turned to look down at the City of the Dead. When Eldest Master Meng had escaped the City of the Dead earlier, the Lords had already vanished. The scattered Meng Family's House Generals and servants had long since fled, not a single one in sight.

Since that was the case, there was no need for the Zhensui Mansion to remain. He dismissed it with a wave of his hand, leaving only the two Golden Armored Warriors to guard the box containing the Demon Suppression Golden Mace.

Although the matter here was resolved, Hu Ma clearly remembered the resonance from beneath the City of the Dead when he wielded the Demon Suppression Golden Mace.

Even now, he could faintly feel that indistinct gaze from below.

So, after a moment's thought, he reached out to Little Hongtang and said softly, "Bring me the incense."

Little Hongtang quickly lifted the red cloth covering her basket, took out a bundle of incense, and handed it to him. Hu Ma possessed a body of Supreme Yang Qi. He blew a breath of this qi onto the incense tips, and they lit up. As he had a Yuan Yang Body, lighting incense this way wasn't considered disrespectful.

Holding three sticks of incense, he slowly bowed towards the City of the Dead. Then he stood straight and still, holding the incense, unmoving and silent.

This was a technique from the Walking Ghost Path, known as Inquiring the Gods.

The incense in his hands represented the inquiry; standing silently was the gesture of respect, solely to listen, observing the etiquette of a junior.

The incense smoke curled and drifted through the underworld, each wisp clearly visible as it slowly descended into the City of the Dead below. This indicated that the entity below had accepted the incense offering.

Yet, after waiting for a long time, the presence below only grew deeper and more profound, offering no response whatsoever.

Hu Ma looked up, slightly surprised. The incense smoke had drifted down, meaning his intentions had been conveyed. But the existence below hadn't responded.

Does it feel some resistance towards me?

If it's resistant, then why did it help me deal with the Meng Family Ancestor before?

He pondered for a long while before respectfully inserting the incense into the stone platform. Then he rose, preparing to leave.

It was at this very moment, as if a great commotion within the City of the Dead had finally subsided and it had reverted to its earlier cold, grim, and murderous atmosphere, that a wisp of wind happened to blow past Hu Ma's ear. With it came a faint, mournful sigh:

"Once a guest of the hall, now the Demon Suppression Stone."

"The mortal world's offerings, unfit for a sinner's reverence..."

Hu Ma whipped his head around. The City of the Dead was vast and empty, not a thing to be seen.

Possession by a yin soul could often leave one dazed, caught between reality and illusion. But with his current abilities, discerning truth from falsehood was usually a simple matter for him. Yet now, even he felt a sense of uncertainty, leaving him utterly astonished. He turned back and bowed once more in respect.

He now understood very clearly: whatever lay beneath the City of the Dead had some mysterious connection with the Zhensui Mansion.

He feared he would have to return here sooner or later.

He quickly gathered his things. There wasn't much to pack: only the two big copper hammers left on the ground and the Magic Flag Er Guotou had left here for setting up an altar.

These all looked like valuable items of the Path; he couldn't just leave them. Then Hu Ma prepared to take Sweet Potato and Little Hongtang back to the mortal realm before considering other matters.

He had many ways to return to the mortal realm. For instance, right there on the stone platform, Mr. Longjing had left him a path among the Ten Gates of Haishou, one that led deep into the underworld, a direct passage to Shangqiao.

Of course, this path was only for his use; Sweet Potato couldn't use it. Then there was the path he had prepared for himself when he first came to the underworld.

"Hmm?"

Although taking Sweet Potato along meant he couldn't use the stone platform to go to Shangqiao, he still glanced at it as he packed his things and prepared to leave.

His heart skipped a beat. The footprints representing that path on the stone platform had vanished.

There were clear signs of them being wiped away.

?

Only two people had been on this stone platform: himself and Er Guotou.

Could it be that Er Guotou had quietly erased them before leaving?

Why would he do that?

Considering he had essentially laid his cards bare before this old brother, and now that brother had erased this escape route...

Hu Ma paused for a moment, then smiled faintly. He said nothing, pretending not to have noticed. Before the repulsive aura from the City of the Dead grew stronger, he first requested the two Golden Armored Warriors to take the Demon Suppression Golden Mace back to the mortal realm for him.

Then, he led Sweet Potato and Little Hongtang out of the City of the Dead. He saw that Divine Hand Zhao and the two from Black Magic Chen's family were no longer waiting at the edge of the City of the Dead, and he had no intention of going to that Guli Village in the underworld to look for them.

After going around in circles, it seems I still have to rely on the method I prepared myself to get back up...

Thinking this, he took out a Copper Coin he had always kept on him. Holding it in his palm, he silently channeled his cultivation and gently blew on it.

As this yin wind blew outwards, it wasn't long before the fog ahead slowly began to disperse. A procession of little ghosts wearing tall white hats and draped with chains appeared, carrying a sedan chair. The one leading them held a lantern.

Swaying, they appeared before them. A voice announced, "Miss Xiangyu of the Dongzi Li Family in Lingshou Prefecture has specifically ordered us to come and welcome Old Master Hu Ma from Green Stone Town, Mingzhou, to be her guest..."