Twilight Boundary-Chapter 403 - 399: The Curvaceous Master Ma

"This is no fun at all..."

Monkey Wine had no gu insect on him, meaning that when someone got close, he was utterly defenseless. Yet, as Wuya, fierce and grotesque, approached, he showed no reaction at all.

However, as Wuya charged closer, the drooping branches and twisted roots around him seemed to suddenly come alive, like massive pythons or jagged hands, wrapping around Wuya.

One by one, layer upon layer, they continuously coiled around Wuya’s body.

As she rushed toward him, more and more vines and branches snared her, slowing her movements. She was gradually being wrapped into a giant zongzi by countless roots and branches.

Monkey Wine had no gu insects on his body, only a variety of tangled scars—marks from when he had gouged the gu insects from his body.

Yet, he could turn everything around him into a gu, thus managing to defend himself.

Finally, as she reached Monkey Wine, her hand, with its black, sharp nails, clawed toward his head. But she was completely ensnared, her movements slowly freezing in mid-air.

It was then that Monkey Wine, or rather Wu Song, slowly turned to look at her, seemingly admiring the final image of his sister.

"Why so fierce?"

Looking at Wuya’s state, his eyes seemed to flicker with regret and pity. But upon seeing Wuya’s eyes, filled with ferocity and madness, his face immediately turned cold. He muttered, "You are no longer Wuya."

"Looking through appearances to see the essence, you’re just a monster residing in Wuya’s body..."

As he spoke, the bamboo flute in his hand gently twirled in his palm. He reversed his grip, revealing the other end of the flute, which had a black, sharp object like a scorpion’s tail stinger.

He thus held the bamboo flute in a reverse grip, swinging it down toward Wuya’s forehead without a hint of hesitation.

One could even see an elusive smile appear on his lips, and that smile only grew stronger, gradually splitting his mouth toward his cheeks, making his expression contort and twist grotesquely.

He was like a Jiao trapped at the bottom of a pond for too long, finally having the chance to climb out.

Now, the greatest chain was slipping from his body.

This final smile on his face was his most terrifying expression. Unfortunately, the Wugong Clan Chief at this moment hadn’t even noticed him, nor did it have the energy to care.

It had already crawled to the entrance of the mine, ready to squeeze inside with all its might. Having reached this point, it seemed no one cared for it, nor could anyone stop it. Naturally, it did not look back at the bloodshed on the hillside.

Time seemed to halt at this moment, and fate held its breath.

Then, the air around subtly trembled, and suddenly, two figures burst forth in the quiet valley.

"Stop!"

One figure was Hu Ma. Seeing the Witches being killed by gu insects, he was filled with unfounded terror and even harbored slight apprehension toward Monkey Wine.

His heart was filled with complex emotions and thoughts. He hesitated over whether to intervene directly in this situation, yet seeing Monkey Wine’s excited expression, he couldn’t resist.

Various thoughts collided and interwove in his mind; a certain one seized the upper hand in an instant.

This guy was a Madman, a Madman among Reincarnators.

Yet, he was also a genius.

This man, part of a small, expelled tribe of Witches, had studied Gu Technique on his own. He learned such an unpredictable skill that he was unafraid of attacks from three Entering the Mansion level individuals. This skill was so formidable it instilled fear even in Hu Ma himself, also an Entering the Mansion individual.

Previously, he’d been tormented by his own issues. But now that he believed he’d seen through certain matters—of course, not truly seen through, but rather *he thought* he’d seen through them—who knew what he might do?

So, he couldn’t let him kill Wuya himself. Otherwise, the only chain that could restrain this Madman would break.

This thought, overtaking him in a fleeting moment, led Hu Ma to ultimately decide to take action.

He shouted loudly as he leaped from the altar. Casually picking up a saw-toothed knife from the ground, he executed Ghost Ascending Stairs to its utmost. His figure glided like a phantom, crossing more than half the valley’s distance in an instant as he rushed toward the siblings on the hillside.

The other was none other than Master Ma, who had been lying low in the valley for most of the day due to a gu insect on its rear.

During this time, countless perilous events unfolded nearby, presenting numerous moments where ordinary people would meet immediate death. Yet, infested as it was by a gu insect, it could only endure stubbornly.

Now, finally able to move again, it mustered all its energy. Driven by unbound rage, it charged with immense force, its hooves striking thunderously.

"HISS..."

As Hu Ma charged toward the hillside, myriad branches and roots suddenly came alive like a writhing mass of snakes, winding densely toward Hu Ma, intending to bind or even penetrate him.

This was the Protective Gu set by Monkey Wine, indiscriminate of foe or friend, grim and terrifying.

But the saw-toothed knife in his hand whirled through the air. Shousui’s skill was unleashed with just a flick, and all the vines and branches flew into pieces, shards scattering everywhere.

The juice from the sliced-off vines even exuded a sweet fragrance, though that too was poisonous. Yet it was shaken off layer by layer by the yin qi vibrating around Hu Ma’s body.

"WHOOSH!"

In an instant, he dashed up the hillside, shredding the vines. Yet on his way, he saluted Monkey Wine from afar.

An eerie wind suddenly gusted around, blowing toward him.

Monkey Wine’s attention was entirely on Wuya. He seemed unaware that the figure accelerating like lightning was Hu Ma, or perhaps he knew but simply didn’t care. He slightly twisted his wrist, inclining the bamboo flute. The wind passing through its holes emitted a humming sound.

A rock beneath his feet suddenly leaped up, shattering the stone fragments on its surface. A Golden Cicada emerged, its thin wings quivering in the air, stirring an exotic breeze that collided with the Four Ghosts Salute.

Yet, the flute in his hand merely twisted, tracing an arc in the air, before once again firmly stabbing toward Wuya’s forehead.

"Soul-seeking Whip..."

Hu Ma, in his momentum, swung his left hand, his fingertips slightly hooked. Borrowing a vine falling from the air, he whipped it far toward Monkey Wine’s arm.

But with a HISS, just as the vine neared Monkey Wine, it was cleaved by an invisible Power qi. The severed piece, instead, rebounded from the ground like a snake, striking toward Hu Ma.

"Monkey snatches peaches..."

Hu Ma’s momentum remained steady. His form twisted, and the tip of the knife in his hand sliced the vine in two. He used the turn to position himself right in front of Monkey Wine.

Monkey Wine’s expression turned slightly cold. He slowly turned to look at Hu Ma, his eyes hollow and indifferent. Being met by that gaze, Hu Ma felt entirely uncomfortable, as if even Monkey Wine’s eyes could cast a gu...

...it might not be real. Perhaps he was just spooked, seeing phantoms.

But at that moment, the shadow at Monkey Wine’s feet genuinely began to move. It was as if rotating torches surrounded him, or as if his shadow had gained consciousness and was clawing toward Hu Ma.

Yet, being so close to him, Hu Ma dared not be careless. Typically, when a Shousui man was at close range, the danger lay with the other party.

However, for someone like Monkey Wine, being close to him meant even a Shousui man would sense an instinctual danger.

But Hu Ma couldn’t avoid drawing near. Feeling the myriad surrounding changes, he slightly poised himself. The Power qi around him surged forth, dispersing Monkey Wine’s shadow and any potential close-range threats.

Then he extended his palm and, just as the end of the bamboo flute was about to pierce Wuya’s forehead, grabbed it firmly.

With his flute seized by Hu Ma, Wu Song’s face revealed a faint trace of anger. His lips were unmoving, yet a few strange sounds emerged from his throat, as if signaling the release of some evil curse.

"That is..."

From afar, seeing Hu Ma intercepting the terrifying entity from the valley, they had just breathed a sigh of relief. But then they saw him suddenly engage with the white-robed Witch. Everyone’s hearts rose to their throats, and they dared not make a sound.

"All right..."

Old Master Sun, who had inexplicably shifted sides, clapped his hands excitedly upon seeing Hu Ma blitz to the white-robed Wu Song’s side.

At close range, the Witch was doomed.

With a Shousui man up close, it didn’t matter what deadly insects might be on the Witch; there was only one outcome—death.

But in everyone’s eyes, Hu Ma, who had successfully gotten close, heard the eerie sounds from Monkey Wine’s throat. He didn’t strike a deadly blow. Instead, he lowered his voice and spoke his own spell to Monkey Wine.

It was short, only five words: "There is still hope for Wuya!"

"SWISH!"

The spell Monkey Wine was reciting vanished abruptly. He widened his eyes, looking at Hu Ma in disbelief.

On the other side, the Wugong Clan Chief had already reached the mine entrance and was about to slip inside. The joy in its heart seemingly reached its peak at that moment, when suddenly it heard the sound of galloping hooves.

Not comprehending, the human face on the gu insect’s back instinctively opened its eyes and saw a dark cloud crashing down on it.

That wasn’t a dark cloud, merely hooves.

No one possibly knew how much grievance Master Ma harbored.

But now that it was finally able to move again and the matter was practically settled, the grievances in its heart remarkably turned into unfounded wrath.

It rose, it ran, and it charged. Then, toward the source that had caused so much trouble—the gu insect that had consumed untold efforts to refine—it stamped, kicked, and stomped.

Stomping it into pulp didn’t even alleviate its anger.