Twilight Boundary-Chapter 423 - 417: Great Mighty Heaven Master General Seal (Three Updates)
"What does this mean?"
Hu Ma’s eyes looked a bit strange as he glanced at the large tree. This Copper Coin... he had just spent half his fortune outside to acquire it. And now he was supposed to offer it here? Plus, from the sound of it, there was a chance of getting what he wished for, but also a chance of not getting it?
As for the story about it being moved from West Kunlun, he simply didn’t quite believe it. Are you talking about Immortal Cultivation? West Kunlun, you make it sound so grand. Why not say this tree was planted by the Queen Mother herself, and it bears Peaches of Immortality that grant eternal life with a single bite?
"To revere the spirit guardian of our sect, sincerity is paramount," the Taoist under the tree, seeming to notice Hu Ma’s hesitation, said faintly. "If you lack sincerity and harbor doubts, then even if you pray, it will be useless."
"Yes."
Hu Ma knew she was addressing him. He took a deep breath and walked to the tree. He held the Copper Coin, obtained with half his assets, in his palm and silently bowed to the Divine Tree.
In his heart, he focused only on obtaining a dharma method for Entering the Mansion for Shousui—a powerful Shousui dharma method. He silently repeated this three times, then placed the Copper Coin at the foot of the tree.
Even though he tried to convince himself, doubts lingered. But unexpectedly, as he silently made his wish and the Copper Coin touched the ground, he suddenly felt as if something on the tree had opened its eyes and was looking at him.
At that moment, the large tree suddenly trembled as if an invisible wind had swept past. Its thousands of drooping branches swayed up and down with this wind.
"WHOOSH!"
Hu Ma heard an extremely faint sound. His hands felt slightly heavy. When he opened his eyes, he was somewhat surprised.
In his hands lay a scroll tightly bound with a black cord. It looked like the one that had been hanging on the tree. As he prayed, the cord had suddenly come loose, and the scroll had fallen precisely into his hands.
Could it be... he thought, surprised, wanting to open the scroll and see its contents. Is this the dharma method I requested?
"Why the hurry?"
At that moment, the Taoist gently waved the horsetail whisk in her hand and said faintly, "Thousand-Year-Old Master Yu has granted you this karma. That is your good fortune. This scroll may or may not contain what you seek, but it will undoubtedly be of great use to you."
"Whether it is what you desire or not depends on whether your karma has ripened. Why rush to open it now? Take it back with you and comprehend it slowly."
"..."
Huh? Not letting me look?
Hu Ma grew more puzzled, vaguely thinking, Could this be a scam? All this talk about everything being predestined by karma, about it being beneficial whether it’s what I asked for or not... her words and actions, even her way of speaking, sound just like a con artist.
Though the Taoist didn’t react to what he had just muttered, her behavior felt strangely familiar. It’s like so many situations I encountered in my past life...
But this was someone else’s territory, so he didn’t rush to open it. After all, even if it was fake, it wasn’t wise to cause a scene here. It’s only half my fortune. At worst, I’ll consider it the price of a lesson...
So he slowly exhaled, concealing his doubts, and simply said, "Yes."
With that, he took the bound scroll, slowly rose, and made to leave. He saw the Taoist slowly close her eyes, saying nothing more.
After exiting the door, he hurriedly looked for Bai Shanzi, but Bai Shanzi, who had just escorted him, was nowhere in the courtyard. Only white mourning drapes and a solitary large black vat remained.
He paused briefly, listening intently. Bai Shanzi was indeed not in the courtyard, and even the large vat seemed empty, utterly silent.
Anxious to return and examine the scroll, he decided not to wait for Bai Shanzi. He tucked the scroll into his robe and headed out of the courtyard.
As he passed the large vat, he paused again, peering inside. It was empty, just a patch of shadow. Given his current eyesight, he should have been able to see through the shadow, yet he couldn’t discern anything within. Thinking the item was now in his possession, he couldn’t resist the urge to reach in and touch it.
Once outside the courtyard gate, he hurried along, soon finding the street, and made his way back to the inn.
Back then, Old Mr. Sun seemed to have been directly taught the Qi Eating Skill for Entering the Mansion. Why was it so troublesome for me? Moreover, the more I think about it, the more it seems like a scam... Every word and deed of this One Coin Sect reeks of unreliability...
Sitting back in his room, he lit a candle, his mind still racing.
Although these thoughts troubled him, he took a deep breath, calmed himself, and slowly took out the scroll, untying the black silk thread around it.
He was already prepared to have been cheated, so he felt surprisingly calm. He looked at the cover of the scroll and felt a jolt. Written there in flamboyant calligraphy was a single, large title:
"Great Mighty Heaven Master General’s Magic Seal."
"..."
"Huh?"
Hu Ma suppressed his initial surprise and eagerly began to flip through the pages. The more he read, the more solemn his expression became, his gaze fixed, and a hint of disbelief crept into his eyes.
Recorded in the scroll was indeed a Qi Eating Skill.
Moreover, Hu Ma, having already achieved Entering the Mansion, was extremely knowledgeable about the Shousui Path. He couldn’t have come up with how a Shousui man should conduct Cultivation after Entering the Mansion on his own, but if he saw a corresponding dharma method, he could certainly tell if it was genuine...
This... this is actually real?
This was precisely what astounded him. The so-called "Great Mighty Sky General Seal Technique" was genuinely a Shousui dharma method. And crucially, it appeared to be an incredibly profound and mysterious one at that.
"This..."
Hu Ma was truly flabbergasted this time. What in the world is going on...? Even if I’d been scammed in the most outrageous way, I wouldn’t be this shocked. But now, the truth is in front of me, and I’m speechless. A con artist acting genuine? That’s plausible. But to encounter something real that’s disguised as a scam?
He remained stunned for a long while before it suddenly dawned on him. He hurriedly performed incense-burning and called Little Hongtang back to guard the door.
Initially, he’d assumed it was fake and hadn’t even thought about posting a guard. Now, he couldn’t be bothered with such precautions; he was just desperate to verify it, devouring the contents like a starving man.
「Meanwhile」
"He’s gone?"
As Hu Ma began to examine the dharma method, in the courtyard where the large tree grew, the Taoist had already stood up. She stretched her waist, went back into the adjoining room, took off her Taoist robe, and draped it to one side.
From the inner room, Bai Shanzi emerged, smiling. "Sect Hierarch, what do you think of this young manager?"
"Ambitious. Perfect for handling important matters," the Taoist smiled and replied. "Initially, I was genuinely concerned he might be one of those Hall Officers’ men."
"But now it doesn’t seem like it. If he truly were one of their people, he wouldn’t have been affected by my Enchanting Spell. This lad, however, kept stealing glances at me; he was definitely captivated. Even when I probed his true intentions, his words were full of brazen arrogance."
"That’s precisely what we need for our purposes..."
Bai Shanzi chuckled, then sighed. "Our One Coin Sect has already joined forces with Great Shanbao, the Bamboo Raft Gang, the Green Mule Society, and other influential figures to prepare for a grand undertaking. But if we truly want to succeed, relying solely on our strength here in Gunzhou isn’t enough."
"If we can use this manager to connect with and persuade the Red Lantern Lady’s Club in Mingzhou to support us, our momentum will more than double."
"Of course, to make this happen, we need to keep this young manager hooked, ensuring he remains completely loyal to us."
"..."
The Taoist chuckled. "Isn’t that simple?"
"Give him the first half of the dharma method now. Won’t he then be desperate to find us for the second half?"
"Put these others away for now. These scrolls are not the same as the ones our Senior Brother hung up. Senior Brother looked after us back then and helped us hang those few items as the sect’s foundational treasures. But to achieve great things, we also need to hang some of our own to use as bait."
"It’s just that leaving ours hanging there for too long might seem disrespectful to Senior Brother."
"..."
"Understood."
As Bai Shanzi spoke, he hooked his little finger, on which a black silk thread was tied. With a gentle tug, the window swung open. The scrolls tied to the branches of the large tree outside flew into the room as if on their own, arranging themselves neatly on the table.
Looking at the tree again, not many scrolls had ever been tied to it; only three to five items hung from the higher branches.
"I’ll put the others away, but this second half, the ’Six Rivers Flipping Evil Body,’ I’ll leave it with you, Senior Sister. He’ll come for it sooner or later..."
Bai Shanzi continued, searching among the scrolls on the table. The first half had been taken by Hu Ma; the second half was the bait to lure him back. His gaze swept across them, and he found it. But just as he was about to set it aside, he froze, then picked up another scroll.
He unrolled it. It was the ’Six Rivers Flipping Evil Body’—the very one Hu Ma should have taken.
A wave of panic hit him. He quickly recounted all the scrolls on the table. His face turned ashen, and his voice trembled, "This isn’t right, Senior Sister..."
"..."
The Taoist turned, surprised. "What’s not right?"
"The scrolls we..." Bai Shanzi frantically unrolled all the scrolls they had hung, his face deathly pale. "Not a single one of the scrolls we hung is missing..."
"What nonsense are you spouting? He clearly took a scroll. I saw it myself..." the Taoist exclaimed, equally baffled. Then, a thought struck her. She rushed to the door and looked up at the tree. Her eyes shot upwards, and her face instantly turned ghastly white. "This is bad! We gave him the wrong one! The sect’s foundational treasure, the one Senior Brother hung on the tree—it’s gone!"
