Twilight Boundary-Chapter 395 - 391: The Year of Jiazi

"Shousui Entering the Mansion, Nourishing the Divine Soul!"

Meanwhile, outside, as the Wugong Clan Chief revealed his true intentions and Zhuang Erchang, the Mine Chief, brought in help from the One Coin Sect, nearly destroying the Wugong Clan Chief’s gu, chaos erupted due to Wu Song’s appearance. Yet, Hu Ma sat quietly within the wooden house.

He listened to everything happening outside, both great and small, understanding the causes and consequences. However, he chose not to interfere.

He really couldn’t spare the attention.

This was originally his opportunity to Refine Blood Food and complete Entering the Mansion. Borrowing the power of the Golden Silkworm Gu, he had accelerated the digestion of the Blood Food Pill, completing the nourishment of his Head.

Yet, unexpectedly, during the next step of nourishing the Divine Soul, an unforeseen incident occurred.

The Divine Soul left his body, receiving the sustenance of Blood Food like a guest of honor.

He could feel the continuous flow of blood and energy entering his body—or rather, not his body, but his Divine Soul, which enjoyed this influx. This unexpectedly smooth process enabled his Divine Soul to achieve a sublimation that surpassed his expectations.

Even now, the Blood Food he had prepared was insufficient, and Hu Ma was ready for the final push needed to complete the process...

Yet, it turned out to be enough.

Because the Black Tai Sui had made up for the final deficiency.

The key, however, lay in the entire process: the initial stage of refining life for his mind was Hu Ma’s own initiative, but later, the Divine Soul seemed to take over instinctively.

My Divine Soul... actually completed this step of Cultivation on its own?

Somehow, Hu Ma’s mind was thrown into disarray; he was momentarily bewildered, unsure what was happening. Whether it was the Cultivation of Shousui or the Walking Ghost Path, even within the Age Suppressing Book, no record of such a situation, nor anything even remotely similar, existed.

Yet, just now, he had seamlessly accomplished it...

...and even borrowed the power of the Black Tai Sui to complete the final step of Entering the Mansion?

From Dayang Village, Hu Ma knew well enough that both Second Master and Little Hongtang had warned him against consuming the Black Tai Sui, as it would lead to problems...

So, what about his current self...?

Seizing the chance of Entering the Mansion, he entered his Lifebound Spirit Temple and looked towards the incense table. Now, the Lifebound Divine Statue, which could reflect the Reincarnator’s true self, was fully illuminated.

Strands of golden threads intertwined within the entire Divine Statue, portraying it sitting cross-legged in the darkness, its body radiating brilliant light. However, all he could see now was a map of meridians, a human form outlined in gold.

There was no skin and no bones, so naturally, he couldn’t discern the Divine Statue’s actual appearance.

Moreover, the Divine Statue sat cross-legged on the ground, one hand raised, the other pointed forward, its palm in a grasping gesture, as if it had once held something.

But it was pitch-black all around, making it impossible to determine what these hands originally held, or perhaps...

...as he stared intently at the golden meridian lines outlining the Divine Statue, especially beneath the ribs, Hu Ma suddenly thought, Could they not be two arms at all?

This Divine Statue is incomplete—severely so. I’ve only barely managed to refine a human form. So, beyond this human form, could there be things that shouldn’t inherently belong to a human?

Other Reincarnators say this Divine Statue reflects oneself, but... is this Divine Statue reflecting me, or am I reflecting it?

...

As he pondered, he looked at the Divine Statue behind the incense table. Whether he stared too intently or not, he suddenly felt the Divine Statue seemed to move. It revealed a mysterious smile, slowly looked towards him—standing before the incense table—and leaned forward.

A faint, drifting voice, tinged with a bizarre quality, echoed in his Lifebound Spirit Temple:

"The Azure Sky is dead; the Yellow Sky shall arise."

"The year is Jiazi; the world shall be greatly blessed!"

"..."

Hu Ma was so startled by these words that he abruptly straightened his chest. Focusing his gaze again, he saw that the golden-threaded Divine Statue still stood steadily in the darkness, utterly unchanged from before. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

However, those inexplicable sixteen characters suddenly made his heart pound. The more he thought about them, the more horrified he became, his scalp tingling.

He even instinctively looked outside. His gaze penetrated the layers of the wooden house and the chaos outside, suddenly falling upon the ore vein concealed by red cloth. His heart suddenly trembled as certain information, accompanying the Black Tai Sui’s influence, silently surfaced in his mind:

"Master Tai Sui is alive; it is awaiting the emergence of a new Emperor..."

"...to fulfill what the world once promised him!"

"..."

He couldn’t quite say how this awareness had emerged. It seemed he had been inexplicably tainted by some consciousness from his contact with the Black Tai Sui, or perhaps the inexplicable words from the Divine Statue in his Lifebound Spirit Temple had triggered some ripple.

Hu Ma was utterly bewildered and unable to explain it. He eagerly wanted to understand, but the more he thought, the more terrified he became, to the point that he almost wanted to instinctively distance himself from his Lifebound Spirit Temple.

This tangled, frantic feeling, as if his heart were crawling with ants, persisted until a sudden pain shot through his arm. Hu Ma shuddered and opened his eyes. All the bizarre phenomena had disappeared, leaving only the real and chaotic scene inside the wooden house, and Little Hongtang, wide-eyed, looking at him with her small face...

...she had her mouth wide open, biting his arm. Upon seeing him awake, WHOOSH! She jumped back, looking at him warily.

"What is this..."

Hu Ma was a bit surprised. He paused, then slowly lowered his gaze to his arm, where he saw dark teeth marks—the traces of a little ghost’s bite.

"Brother Huma went crazy! He didn’t have enough Blood Food to eat, so he ate the Black Tai Sui. He seemed to go mad—his appearance was terrifying..."

As Little Hongtang spoke, she discreetly hid her hands behind her back, pulling her sleeve down. Actually, Hu Ma had just seen her; she had raised her hand as if ready to slap him if the bite didn’t wake him.

So, was it just strange hallucinations caused by contact with the Black Tai Sui?

Hu Ma took a deep breath and looked around once more. The chilling sensation from before was gone, as if it had all been a dream from which he had now awakened.

But was it truly just a hallucination?

Hu Ma didn’t think so in his heart, but he decided not to delve into it for now. He slowly let a smile appear on his face, feigning a relaxed look as he said to Little Hongtang, "Alright, the job’s done. Little Hongtang, you were a huge help this time."

Hearing herself being praised, Little Hongtang tilted her head to observe Hu Ma. Seeing that he no longer appeared as frightening as before, her eyes curved into crescents with happiness.

My business is settled, so now it’s time to deal with what’s outside.

Hu Ma took another deep breath, pondered for a moment, then said to Little Hongtang, "Little Hongtang, let me see your basket!"

Not knowing what he intended, Little Hongtang obediently handed him the basket she carried on her arm. Hu Ma removed the red cloth covering it and saw it was a mess inside, filled with all sorts of things, many of which he had given her to play with.

However, after rummaging through it briefly, he retrieved a piece of black bone. He nodded in satisfaction and, ignoring Little Hongtang’s wide eyes, tucked it into his sleeve.

Having decided on his course of action, Hu Ma stood up and adjusted his clothing. Then, from a nearby bundle, he pulled out the Red Lantern Lady’s lantern—an item that Red Lantern Society Disciples must carry with them whenever they went to a new place.

He removed the cover, used a Fire Stick to light the oil basin inside the lantern, and then held the lantern in one hand, grasping the saw-toothed knife with the other.

He cleared his throat softly and nodded at Little Hongtang.

Though unsure of his intentions, Little Hongtang quickly opened the door for him. To an outsider, it would have seemed as if the door opened on its own.

Hu Ma carried the red lantern out of the wooden house and looked out at the wrecked valley, sighing softly, "That Monkey Wine fellow, he’s truly a hardhead..."

...

...

Influenced by the Black Tai Sui, the bizarre Wuya; the evil gu insect refined by the Wugong Clan Chief using his body with the Min Technique; the Magic King of the One Coin Sect, who had invoked the descent of the Nine Heaven Lotus Holy Mother; and an Old Shousui who had achieved Entering the Mansion—all joined forces to attack Wu Song.

Meanwhile, Wu Song, with his seven avatars, blocked the path before the ore vein, surrounded by countless flying gu insects. Each of his bodies projected a flickering, ever-changing shadow, their forms intertwining and crisscrossing, almost engulfing half the valley.

This mysterious and unpredictable Gu Technique had allowed him to withstand the combined assault of these four. However, countless of his gu insects fell to the ground, and his avatars collapsed one by one. Even the stones and the mountainside near him were silently cracking and crumbling, piece by piece.

Now, as these individuals from originally different factions closed in together, the combined pressure bore down entirely on Wu Song. Four of his seven avatars had already been destroyed. Even the remaining three Witch avatars showed signs of collapse, looking as if they were barely holding on.

It was clear that as the distance closed, Wu Song would be the first to die.

Aboard the gu insect’s back, the Wugong Clan Chief watched this scene with a mixture of alarm, doubt, and excitement. The red-cloth-covered ore vein ahead seemed to be almost before him.

He could seemingly hear a mysterious summons from within it, feeling the urgent will of the Witch God’s descent.

Everything seemed so easily obtainable, practically within arm’s reach.

Yet, who would have expected that at this very moment, a low voice suddenly echoed within the valley. Immediately, the faint light of a red lantern appeared, silently tearing a rift in the dense, night-like darkness.

A figure holding a lantern slowly emerged from the depths of the darkness. His gaze swept over the now devastated valley, and he shook his head.

He sighed softly and said, "A bunch of unruly fellows. What a mess you’ve made of our Lady’s Blood Food Mine."