Twilight Boundary-Chapter 776 - 767: Plan to Save the World

"The Immortal Master Dongxuan explored the secrets of heaven one night and suddenly saw a mass of soldiers’ ominous qi coming from the southwest. He asked for a divination, finding that the Long-winning King of Mengzhou had been bewitched by an evil spirit, and started marching straight toward Shangjing City under the pretext of expelling evil."

"He had already swallowed up tens of thousands of soldiers from Salt State, seizing grain as he went, and his forces were growing stronger. Evil spirits and demons changed their forms to hide among his troops, and with dangerous magic, they could reach here in three days."

"The Immortal Master sent me here urgently to invite the Hu Family’s Family Head to discuss important matters."

When Hu Ma had just returned to the old house, he saw a young Taoist child rushing up on horseback, urgently shouting. Hearing this, he coldly laughed to himself, thinking, I just went to see him, and he refused to meet me. Now that I’ve returned, he’s in a hurry to discuss important matters?

He turned to take a glance and saw that countless people were still gathered in front and behind the old house. Upon seeing him, whether it was the Second Ancestor of the Qingyuan Hu Family or his maternal uncle Mr. Ren, they eagerly approached him to ask, "What about the matter of Shangqiao mentioned earlier?"

"Even if it’s not convenient at the moment, we should secure our identity as either part of the Walking Ghost Path or Zhensui Mansion."

"Without a legitimate name, words lack force. If we delay any longer, we’re afraid that by the time the magic gathering occurs, we’ll be expelled from Shangjing!"

...

Hu Ma was originally indifferent to their anxiety, but after seeing the strange state of Shangjing City today, he guessed their concerns. Upon hearing them, he coldly laughed and said, "Who would expel you? And why are you so eager to stay in Shangjing City?"

The Second Ancestor of the Qingyuan Hu Family and Mr. Ren appeared troubled and said, "At the end of the day, destiny manifests, and the human world is in chaos. If a violent calamity arises, perhaps only within Shangjing City can one find refuge."

"And now, with the city’s population growing, those without status cannot remain until the magic gathering begins..."

Their words drew countless people around to nod in agreement.

Seeing through their intentions, Hu Ma no longer felt the urgency he had before.

The Qingyuan Hu Family wished to enter Shangjing City but lacked the status and residence within the city, still confined to staying in inns.

His maternal clan, Shangjing’s Ren Family, also lacked power and influence. When Mrs. Hu abandoned the Hu Family years ago, many people still cared about these things in this human world. Such actions were akin to splitting from the family, leaving the family without protection.

Others, too, shared the same idea, striving desperately to secure a place in Shangjing City.

A residence in the city indicated whether one had a foothold in the capital, and whether one could ally with the Hu Family determined one’s status and position in the city.

This was why they tried their utmost to squeeze into either the current Hu Family or the Ghost Walking Sect.

Their delicate identities had reached an extremely subtle point. If Hu Ma nodded, they would rise to become relatives of the Ten Surnames, gaining any grand residence they desired in Shangjing City.

But if Hu Ma shook his head, they would become rootless, without proof, possibly being driven out of Shangjing City at any time to fend for themselves.

"No need for the elders to worry."

Seeing the key issue, Hu Ma simply smiled and said, "What other families have, the Hu Family will naturally have too. What others don’t have, the Hu Family’s relatives may very well possess."

Greatly pleased by his words, the crowd became even more eager to discuss when dozens of families or hundreds of people would move over...

However, Hu Ma no longer paid attention, simply directing them to find Miao Shan to discuss, while he followed the Taoist child out. The child raised a lantern, breaking through the city’s gray mist, and they arrived directly at the ancestral hall. From afar, they saw the State Preceptor setting up an incense table behind it.

"Perhaps realizing that this magic gathering threatens them, those Reincarnators can no longer sit still."

Upon hearing Hu Ma’s approaching footsteps, the State Preceptor did not turn back, only sighed softly, "Thirteen thousand elite soldiers press at the borders, with ghost soldiers and evil spirits accompanying them. Moreover, countless Shangqiao Masters hide in the shadows, stirring wind and rain. Once the Long-winning King arrives, the army’s blades will be drawn."

"In such a fierce battle, even I cannot predict the outcome, and I fear this ancient city may not be preserved..."

...

Listening to his words, Hu Ma laughed and said, "The human world is in chaos, and people are nearly wiped out. There’s no need to grieve over a few broken stones."

HEH HEH...

Hearing his words, the State Preceptor chuckled and said, "Is it just a city?"

"The evil spirits are insidious, bewildering people’s minds and stealing from the heavens and earth. I’m afraid this human world, too, will cease to exist."

...

Listening to his words, Hu Ma’s eyes were mocking, but he nodded cooperatively and sighed, "Indeed, as heaven and earth grow lighter, the common people become more insignificant. On my journey back to the capital, I only saw the displaced, suffering from plague and hunger, their lives as fragile as withered grass, perishing in waves."

Though my heart is unwilling, there’s no good method. I’ve returned this time to ask you, State Preceptor, with your deep wisdom and foresight, what exactly do you intend to do to save the people of this human world?

The State Preceptor slightly turned his head, smiling at Hu Ma, and said, "Mr. Hu, do you truly trust me?"

"Trust? Of course, I trust."

Hu Ma smiled and said, "In truth, I don’t really see those evil spirits as genuinely evil; after all, regardless of their origins, goodness lies in the heart."

"Observing the Yin Ghosts under heaven, as long as they receive the people’s incense and are willing to protect an area, they can set up temples and become deities. Those Reincarnators, with Purple Qi as incense, are no different from the spirits of the temple. That’s my attitude toward them, and it won’t change."

"However, just like those who receive incense but don’t do their job, their mountains and temples should be destroyed, and their golden bodies cut down. I may be familiar with these Reincarnators, and many are close friends, but in crucial matters, there must be a division of right and wrong."

"Therefore, if the State Preceptor knows something or has a plan to save the human world, feel free to speak."

"If it makes sense, I dare not disobey."

...

"A plan to save the human world, there certainly is."

Appreciating Hu Ma’s candor, the State Preceptor couldn’t help but smile and said, "Twenty-three years ago, in the Stone Pavilion, I, together with my peers who had the most vision and capability of the time, laid down this plan to save the human world, known to outsiders as the Stone Pavilion Alliance."

"This time, I’ve invited Mr. Hu over precisely to have you inherit the ambitions of your Hu Family ancestors."

"I wonder if Mr. Hu is ready?"

...

Hu Ma smiled and nodded, saying, "This return to the capital is for the purpose of understanding these matters clearly."

The State Preceptor lightly nodded and instructed the Taoist child beside him, "Go and inform the chief Lords, prepare for this magic gathering. I need four days, but the evil spirit army arrives in three days."

"Request them, no matter what, to hold off this evil army for a while. Protect Shangjing City until I arrange the magic gathering, then I will surely wipe them out."

The Taoist child went to carry out his orders, while the State Preceptor led Hu Ma to the back of the ancestral hall, where the ground was covered with black stone slabs. At the end of the slabs stood an incense burner, into which was inserted a long incense stick as thick as a baby’s arm, in dark purple color.

Seeing the incense burner, Hu Ma couldn’t help but feel a stir in his heart. The burner was strikingly similar to the one in his Lifebound Spirit Temple.

The State Preceptor bowed before the incense burner and sighed, "This is the Observing World Furnace, passed down by the Daluo Dharma Sect. The human world bears the ancestral altar, capable of dispelling three disasters and eight difficulties and gathering human incense."

"Additionally, the Daluo Dharma Sect, passed down from the Witches, has always observed the human world’s fortunes to avoid Evil Spirits. The Douyi King once summoned the Tai Sui; it was this incense that first showed an unusual sign. Unfortunately, by the time the Daluo Dharma Sect descended the mountain, it was already too late."

Hu Ma saw that the incense in the furnace had burned down more than half, leaving only less than a third. He felt a slight movement in his heart.

If understood as analogous to a Reincarnator’s Life Incense, could it mean that this incense represented that the destiny of the human world had only three parts remaining?

With this thought, the State Preceptor bowed once more, and the incense lit up, rising up around him like clouds. Hu Ma sniffed the strong scent of incense, experiencing a transformation in the world, feeling an ethereal presence, not knowing where he was.

At this moment, he possessed the cultivation of the nine columns of Tao, firmly grounded and unshakable, yet his Divine Soul was sensitive and naturally responsive.

He sensed the incense qi rising, softly swaying, witnessing the human world in the blink of an eye.

He saw people draped in animal skins praying in icy snowfields, saw violent soldiers invading, killing wantonly, saw all forms of genocide and city-slaughter, and witnessed countless flesh and blood being offered as sacrifices to a massive, seemingly endless shadow above.

He saw an old man in a gray robe descending a mountain, paying homage to the Emperor, receiving imperial orders to sacrifice to Heaven and make an Inquiry, saw this man’s face change drastically, weeping with folded sleeves, witnessing thirty-six clans of strange people guarding the edges of heaven and earth, directing souls into the Mansion...

The unappeasable vindictive souls were all offered as sacrifices to a shadow deep in the Ghost Cave, seemingly feeding an eternally unsatiated creature.

He saw the boundless black shadows using every means to enter from the outer heaven.

He saw destiny changing, the underworld in rebellion, giving rise to numerous grotesque and frightening things, including familiar shadows reminiscent of the Meng Family’s Ancestor.

These malevolent and eerie beings used every means to creep into the human world, yet no matter what, they remained distanced by a certain margin.

Is this the calamity of the Douyi sacrificial ceremony?

Hu Ma had already vaguely understood the origins of these calamities from various aspects. Now, with this thought, he already realized he was witnessing the origins of the calamity from those years and the subsequent transformations. The World View Incense of the Daluo Dharma Sect had recorded the arising and vanishing of the calamity, imprinting it into his mind.

Can it be that the black shadow is the Tai Sui?

Even just vaguely glimpsing the shadow of that strange being via the World View Incense, Hu Ma’s emotions fluctuated. In that glance, he felt the entity was endless, bloated, and massive, unable to discern its boundaries, nor could he describe its form with words or comprehension.

It was only through the power of the World View Incense that he could perceive the being. Otherwise, just one glance at it would have driven him mad.

But the creature was still blocked in the outer heaven, with only endless tendrils desperately seeping through. The terrifying presence like the Meng Family’s Ancestor was merely one of its tendrils.

They were vast, yet still blocked in the outer heaven.