Twilight Boundary-Chapter 429 - 423 Qi Eating For Beginners

After a Shousui completed Entering the Mansion, they reached the first level of the Mansion Gate, where one could use the Seven Apertures Ultimate Skills. Most Shousui also stopped at this point. If one had the dharma method and guidance, and learned the Qi Eating Skill, they could push open the second level of the Mansion Gate, cultivate a Magic body, and possess nearly ghostly god-like power.

Of course, Hu Ma wanted to learn higher-level skills. He had come here to seek the dharma method, but he had just received it and hadn’t verified its authenticity or prepared to learn it yet.

However, the opportunity now was indeed too rare.

The key to the Mansion Gate method lay in "Qi Eating," and the root of Qi Eating was related to the folk legend of "soul loss."

When people walked in eerie and desolate places, it was easy to lose their soul. Young children, who were still very young, were also prone to soul loss. The reason was simple: walking in eerie places, one’s soul could easily become contaminated, growing heavier and more prone to falling out. Children, because their bodies hadn’t fully matured, couldn’t securely hold their souls, making them liable to slip out.

The dharma method for a Shousui man, after Entering the Mansion, was based on this principle: actively attracting contamination, even devouring various ’qi,’ to strengthen the Divine Soul and give oneself nearly ghostly god-like ferocity.

But Qi Eating was not that simple, as there were different types of qi in the world, requiring different gathering and refining methods.

Some harvested qi by great rivers, others by steep cliffs. Some sat by lonely graves at night, while others served in temples and halls, or took shelter in government offices. There were even those who opened slaughterhouses—not for the meat, but to collect the qi of slaughter. Of course, practices like Taking Yin to Replenish Yang or Taking Yang to Replenish Yin weren’t absent in this path, but those were evil skills, criminal acts...

These various Qi Eating Skills were tough to master, requiring gradual attempts. If one attempt failed, they could easily lose their soul. At this point, help from a specialized Master or a keeper of the path was needed to call the soul back.

Hu Ma had only just encountered this dharma method and was naturally aware of its dangers. Earlier, he hadn’t even considered it, but now the opportunity was simply too rare.

The yin souls gathered around him had already been dispersed by his power. Ordinarily, these scattered yin souls would transform into a rolling yin wind, dispersing into the world. But strangely, attracted by the General Order within his body, they did not scatter. Instead, they cloaked themselves around him, even trying to enter and merge with his Divine Soul—or, more precisely, with something inside his Divine Soul.

The Great Mighty Sky General’s Technique became increasingly clear in his mind, its various dharma methods vividly displaying themselves.

Then, at this moment, it seemed like a bodily instinct. Or perhaps it wasn’t even his decision; a special opportunity had arrived, and he instinctively reacted. Facing the roaring pure yin qi, Hu Ma suddenly opened his mouth.

In an instant, the yin qi, as if it had finally found its direction, rushed into his body. It almost immediately filled his meridians, and wisps of it began to steam upward, merging with his Divine Soul.

Even Hu Ma, momentarily dazed, suddenly realized the audacity of his actions.

But he couldn’t afford to care. Normally, gathering yin qi was extremely time-consuming and could be done gradually. Now, however, the yin qi actively surged in like a great whale drinking water, roaring and rushing toward the Mansion Gate. His physical body and meridians felt as if they were undergoing forging and tempering.

His body felt as if it would be torn apart at any moment, but Hu Ma’s solid foundation allowed him to withstand the impact and accommodate the waves of pure yin qi.

And this was precisely why only Shousui men could use this "Qi Eating" method to cultivate their skills; Shousui men possessed robust bodies capable of containing their Divine Soul, preventing it from simply flying away.

...

WHOOSH!

Hu Ma even experienced illusions. The divine statue inside his Lifebound Spirit Temple seemed to grow in imposing aura, its eerie eyes suddenly snapping open, piercing through his own body to stare coldly at what lay before him.

His heavy breathing sounded like thunder.

The cocoon of yin qi wrapped around Hu Ma’s body was growing thinner as he gradually absorbed its layers. Even the swirling yin wind around him was slowly subsiding, becoming more stable.

At that very moment, Hu Ma felt his Divine Soul rapidly strengthening. It grew to the point where his physical body seemingly couldn’t contain it, causing his Divine Soul to feel as if it were overflowing, becoming taller and more imposing than his ’self,’ peering down coldly from above.

In any endeavor in the world, the critical junctures are initiation, breakthrough, perfection, and transcendence; Cultivation Techniques are no exception. Now Hu Ma, with a mere thought, had directly achieved initiation.

Thus, he had taken the first step in the Great Mighty Sky General Seal Technique.

And at that instant, Hu Ma abruptly opened his eyes. He looked forward, finding himself surrounded by a grim and solemn atmosphere.

Those Vengeful Ghosts who had pounced on him but hadn’t been shattered by his Five Thunders Golden Toad Roar now seemed to perceive his terrifying aura. They hunched into balls, looking as if they might collapse to the ground, shivering.

To the onlookers, Hu Ma suddenly roared like thunder, appearing like a demon god raising its head. A vague shadow began to form around him—its visage unclear, its Dharma Form coldly stern. As his arms slowly spread, it seemed as if a shadow was cast over the entire area.

No, it was not just his arms. On closer inspection, it seemed there was yet another arm below those two, holding something indistinct.

HUUU...

The Demon Corpse, or Yin General, initially had no response, standing woodenly in the area, even disregarding Old Master Sun and Altar Master Tang. But when it saw what Hu Ma held, it reacted with sudden shock.

Like a corpse suddenly imbued with emotion, greed and fear surged to an extreme within it.

It seemed unable to speak, but the churning within its undead body seemed to form strange utterances. The surrounding vindictive souls swayed, forming something like an array, and accompanying its dense corpse qi, they all rushed forward.

This corpse qi was even more terrifying than before and could defile a Magic body. Even Old Master Sun and Altar Master Tang’s expressions changed drastically. They simultaneously retreated, truly preparing to flee.

At the same time, the vague, shadowy form around Hu Ma, having inhaled an unknown amount of yin qi, reached a critical point in its eerie momentum.

HA!

He suddenly stepped forward, striking out with a palm.

A mysterious, almost demonic light gleamed in his eyes, making everyone around feel as if they were falling into an illusion.

Everyone saw his palm strike. It wasn’t like a human’s move, but rather like some Evil Spirit or Heavenly Mighty Divine General descending from the heavens to the mortal world, carrying chilling might as it delivered the Demon-suppressing Seal.

PUFF!

As the palm struck out—or rather, due to the power of the Token in the shadowy hand—all the vindictive souls in its path scattered like a dense black mist, split in two by the force of the palm.

The Yin General’s eyes widened in immense terror. Its body shot straight up, not forward, but recoiling backward as if floating. The terror on its face now completely overwhelmed the greed that had dominated it moments before.

The next moment, Hu Ma’s palm slammed onto its forehead, sending it flipping head over heels. Its body flew straight out, crashing through a section of roof ridge, sending countless bricks and tiles flying as dust plumed into the sky.

As the palm made contact with its forehead, something seemed to be vaguely imprinted there. It lit up with a faint flicker before silently merging into its flesh.

At the very moment of this palm strike, a few Magic Kings nearby, who had been swaying their heads and invoking deities, suddenly snapped their eyes open.

It seemed they had either succeeded in inviting something into their bodies or had reached a pivotal moment in their deity-invoking ritual. Suddenly, Hu Ma’s astonishing action interrupted them. In that critical, subtle moment, they dazedly raised their heads.

Their gaze fell upon Hu Ma, his face a mask of fierce might, his Divine Soul towering amidst the swirling yin wind, as he brought down that devastating palm strike upon the Yin General from an imperious height.

THUD...

As if struck by an unseen force, they suddenly felt their knees weaken, and they involuntarily knelt.

Yet, at this moment, they were not merely themselves. They had been in the process of a ritual to invite a Guest from the Altar to descend. Although it was unclear whether the Guest had actually arrived, their kneeling created a peculiar tableau.

It was as if the entity they had summoned from the altar was now bowing down to Hu Ma through them.

UUUU...

However, this bizarre and eerie scene lasted only for a moment, so fleeting it might have been an illusion—a coincidental occurrence that failed to leave a deep impression.

The entire town seemed to fall silent for a moment. The remaining formed vindictive souls scattered with that palm strike, blown out of town by a suddenly roused, wildly swirling gale of immense power.

On the other side of the town, the tall tree that overshadowed the entire second courtyard had its branches swaying back and forth as if stirred by an unseen wind, casting chaotic, dancing shadows under the lantern light.

The ferocious and brutal Demon Corpse had been sent tumbling by Hu Ma’s blow. Yet, it didn’t seem significantly harmed. It fearfully clutched its forehead, a look of utter terror on its deathly stiff face. Making guttural, rasping sounds, it turned and fled.

Its figure flickered, and in an instant, it had rushed out of town, diving straight into the depths of the forest.

Everyone was astonished, completely caught off guard by this turn of events. Their voices trembled as they exclaimed, "It ran? How could such an unnatural creature do that?"

"How could the Corpse Demon run? That thing shouldn’t possess the awareness to escape! What... what in the world is going on?"

...

Amidst the fear and shock, someone suddenly had a realization and stared dazedly at Hu Ma.

The Corpse Demon actually fled... If that creature was so terrifying, then what manner of being was this youth who had sent it flying with a single slap?