Twilight Boundary-Chapter 739 - 730: Competing with God for Fate (Three Updates)

He had never experienced such a perilous situation before; the two major abilities he possessed were suddenly suppressed in an instant.

The Zhensui Mansion was ineffective because the opponent had disrupted the positions of the Ten Doors, rendering it unusable.

But the Great Mighty Heaven Master General Dharma Form—hadn't he cultivated that himself? Even though he had taken some shortcuts, he had still comprehended and condensed it little by little. How could it be so easily restrained and even taken away by these two people?

In his heart, there was a sense of unwillingness, a reluctance. But with his Shousui and Walking Ghost abilities unusable, he felt mostly powerless.

This feeling of powerlessness even caused a strange thought to leap into Hu Ma's mind...

Was it because these two abilities didn't actually belong to him that he couldn't use them? The abilities of the Great Mighty Heaven Master General were tied to Lao Junmei's life. The Zhensui Mansion was tied to the lives of the Hu Family's offspring. Was it because he had never wholeheartedly committed to being either of these that these two abilities... were never truly his own?

"Bold demon people, let go of my friend!"

Just at that moment, a loud shout rang out from not far away. A slender figure came running briskly, her footwork marvelous and her fist techniques solid. As soon as she appeared, she launched an attack toward Nu'er Hong's back.

Although the punch was fierce, her actions still bore the decorum of a noble; even this punch from behind to save someone was accompanied by a loud shout, so it wouldn't seem like a sneak attack.

It was none other than Fourth Miss Zhou who had arrived.

Although Hu Ma had told her and the others to wait over there, Fourth Miss Zhou was not Hu Ma's subordinate and certainly wouldn't listen.

Seeing the unfavorable situation, she hurried over to assist.

"Heh, from the Zhou Family?"

But the one codenamed Nu'er Hong just sneered coldly. She allowed Fourth Miss Zhou's punch to land on her, only for her form to drift lightly to the ground, revealing just a paper man. Nu'er Hong herself reappeared more than three zhang away, gently holding a string of white beads.

One by one, they were crystal clear, as if ground from white bone.

"As expected, both the Hu Family and the Zhou Family are colluding, all pawns of the Daluo Dharma Sect!"

With a cold laugh, she snapped the string of beads and scattered them forward. Where they landed, they transformed into numerous white-robed female ghosts, swarming towards Fourth Miss Zhou—a clear display of the Planting Beans into Soldiers technique.

People from the Execution Soul Path were proficient in Ghost Raising, ghost controlling, and ghost refining. However, her Planting Beans into Soldiers ability was astonishing, as each ghost it created possessed the capabilities of a case god. It was truly astounding.

Fourth Miss Zhou, despite her outstanding Shousui abilities at the Entering the Mansion level, was momentarily trapped on the spot.

Yet, in the instant Nu'er Hong trapped Fourth Miss Zhou, Nu'er Hong suddenly felt a gust of yin wind rushing toward her. With a slight flicker in her heart, she dodged lightly.

It was Little Hongtang, who had snuck up from the darkness to hug Nu'er Hong's leg but was evaded. A red line floated lightly from Nu'er Hong's hand, wrapped around Little Hongtang's wrist, intending to pull her over, but surprisingly, Nu'er Hong couldn't move her.

Slightly amazed, Nu'er Hong looked closely at Little Hongtang and suddenly realized, "A little ghost escaped from the Netherworld Palace?"

Her face showed a hint of envy, and she chuckled warmly, "Little sister, would you like to come with me?"

"I'll buy you candy!"

...

Little Hongtang was fierce. Revealing sharp teeth, she bit through the red line with a SNAP, retreating while baring her fangs.

Her trump move was the little ghost leg-hug; if it didn't connect, she would quickly slip away.

In this oppressive moment, Hu Ma knew Fourth Miss Zhou and Little Hongtang were rushing to rescue him, but he hadn't expected this person codenamed Nu'er Hong to be so formidable that even the two of them couldn't save him.

His spirit sank further. He felt the nail embedded in the forehead of the Great Mighty Heaven Master General drilling deeper and deeper, causing excruciating pain in his own brow, as if it were nailed into him.

Not only could he not use his Shousui ability, but even his concentration was uncontrollably scattering, making it difficult to maintain focus.

At that very moment, at the Magic Altar, Immortal Miaoshan had already rolled up her sleeves, shouting, "I want to assist the Sect Hierarch!"

"Oh no, Aunt, you mustn't go!"

Little Douguan was desperately tugging at Immortal Miaoshan's sleeve, shouting, "Their abilities are much greater than yours!"

"Going there is just sending yourself to your death!"

Immortal Miaoshan was extremely angry. She raised her horsetail whisk threateningly, saying, "How dare you be so disrespectful to the Sect Hierarch?"

Little Douguan hurriedly covered his head. "Aunt, have you forgotten which Path you belong to? There's no need to go up there if you want to help!"

"Back then, I persuaded you to choose this Path because it was easy to stay alive..."

Immortal Miaoshan came to her senses and frowned. "I feel that the abilities of this Path are useless."

"You see, within the sect, none of the Big Senior Brothers ever expect me to really accomplish anything."

Little Douguan said, "That has nothing to do with the abilities you learned, Aunt."

As he spoke and gestured, Immortal Miaoshan wavered. Though skeptical, she was swayed and ultimately decided not to go help directly. Instead, she tucked the horsetail whisk behind her neck, rummaged through her bundle, and pulled out a gourd.

She shook it, then pulled out the plug. Meanwhile, Little Douguan had already jumped aside, taking out a Fire Stick to carefully light the withered weeds nearby.

Meeting Little Douguan's expectant gaze, Immortal Miaoshan aimed the mouth of the gourd at the sparse clusters of flames.

In the next moment, something seemed to spew from the gourd. The flames formed a fire line, stretching straight ahead and quickly reaching Hu Ma and the others. Instantly, the surrounding wild grass swayed as the flames surged, burning ever more fiercely.

"Is this..."

Witnessing Immortal Miaoshan's maneuver, even Calculation, who stood nearby burning with anxiety and seemingly on the verge of a decision, was stunned.

The banner he had already taken out was slowly tucked back into his waistband, his eyes wide with shock.

As the fire rose, even Nu'er Hong and those from the Haishou Sect were slightly startled; the Haishou Sect members had to let their lanterns float higher to avoid catching fire.

And those from the Punishment Soul Sect squinted, exhaling a breath of yin wind to prevent the flames from reaching them. Seizing upon their distraction, Hu Ma acutely perceived an opportunity. He immediately tried to rise but, unexpectedly, failed.

As he moved to rise, the nail took the chance to drill further into his brow, causing unbearable pain, as if he were a snake nailed to a board.

This intense pain, reaching its peak, even dispersed his defiant spirit, causing his thoughts to become uncontrollable.

The Great Mighty Heaven Master General Dharma Form had few flaws, so why could their simple nail so easily pin him down? Why could it even suppress his Divine Soul, rendering all his abilities useless?

It was fate!

He vaguely understood, recalling what he had seen at Shangqiao. It was precisely because his fate was a patchwork, three lives twisted into one—each possessing immense weight and having a significant impact on the world—that they could only be entangled, never truly unified.

And because they were never unified, there was the possibility of them being individually pinned down by the opponent, or even for one life to be extracted.

If it were just a single life, then when the opponent extracted the Great Mighty Heaven Master General Dharma Form, they would be extracting him entirely. A situation where he remained while the Dharma Form was taken away would be impossible.

The profound intricacy of it was difficult to summarize in words. Only through the opponent's forceful extraction of the Dharma Form did he truly feel the distinctions between his three lives. And only in this near-death state, through a kaleidoscopic review of his past, could he glimpse the truth.

And in the instant he glimpsed the nature of this method, Hu Ma suddenly grasped the crux of the matter, clenching his jaw.

This nail pinned the Great Mighty Heaven Master General Seal—or rather, it pinned his fate. In a daze, Hu Ma even had the illusion of seeing a nail piercing through his Lifebound Spirit Temple.

In that split second, he no longer had time to think of other things or to verify truth from falsehood. As soon as the thought occurred, he steeled his heart. His Three Column Tao burned all at once, rolling Purple Qi surged forth.

RUMBLE!

Both the Haishou Sect members and Nu'er Hong paled, hurriedly looking down.

They saw that the Great Mighty Heaven Master General Dharma Form seemed to have become real in that moment, incredibly heavy, causing the chains binding it to creak tautly. Meanwhile, Hu Ma had become silent, as if he had lost all signs of life.

Nu'er Hong paused slightly, then urgently channeled her Mana. The chains creaked as she prepared to drag the Great Mighty Heaven Master General Dharma Form into a coffin to seal it away.

But at this moment, Hu Ma exhaled softly.

He had actively burned his Three Column Tao to exhaustion, and his entire being returned to a state of void.

A living body possessed vitality, and cultivation was vitality. When the Three Column Tao was exhausted, it was essentially no different from being dead.

Normally at this juncture, the body would die, exhaling a breath of evil energy, followed by entry into the Intermediate Yin, awaiting the separation of the three souls and seven souls, thereby becoming truly dead.

Upon entering the Intermediate Yin, a person's consciousness would dissipate, meaning they wouldn't be able to think during this time...

Only a sensation of unparalleled lightness remained.

It seemed that upon entering the Intermediate Yin Realm, he was almost detached from the Great Mighty Heaven Master General Seal Dharma Image, and also detached from his identity as a member of the Hu Family. At this moment, he was merely himself—unfettered by those entanglements, just himself, free and unburdened.

RUSTLE... RUSTLE... RUSTLE...

Meanwhile, a subtly profound sound seemed to echo right beside his ear, as though something immense approached.

The gaze of that entity fell upon him, filled with surprise and resignation.

The entity seemed to feel that things shouldn't have turned out this way. But seeing that Hu Ma had indeed sunk into the Intermediate Yin, it could only revise Hu Ma's lifespan and significance, recording them anew upon its ledger.

Yet just as Hu Ma was about to fall into slumber, two places on his chest suddenly burned like fire.

These were the spots Granny had once pierced with iron hooks to hang him, places that had long since healed. Now, they burned with pain again, as if the hooks had reinserted themselves into his flesh.

Hu Ma awoke to this pain, understanding he had indeed reached the Intermediate State described by Calculation. From his intangible form, a fierce resolve surged, forcing his eyes open as fury blazed from his gaze.

The Tongyin Skill of the Meng family—its cultivation method, every word, every phrase—surfaced in his mind with absolute clarity.

"Cultivate the Tongyin Skill to seize fate from God!"

"Come!"