Twilight Boundary-Chapter 440 - 434: Hurry and Rally People

"Great... Great Hall Officer?"

At the moment Hu Ma took the painting and walked out the door, the inn in Shima Town was thrown into chaos. Not only were the kneeling commoners stunned, but even the experts from various Paths who had come to discuss important matters were thrown into disarray.

"Is it the Shousui Great Hall Officer from West Ridge, Tie Jun?"

"Heavens! I’ve heard of this person—ruthless and brutal. He usually doesn’t meddle, but once he targets someone, he eradicates their entire family."

"But... but he usually operates in Yuzhou Prefecture, north of West Ridge. Why on earth would he cross several prefectures just to cause trouble for us?"

"Initially, the One Coin Sect chose to set up their main altar here, even hiding in the mountains. This was because the area was precisely overlooked by several Great Hall Officers. Besides, with so many people across the land preparing to rebel and the government turning a blind eye, why choose us?"

"..."

Undoubtedly, even if they were genuinely plotting rebellion and, through this act of expelling the government, had essentially already rebelled, no one present expected a Great Hall Officer to come knocking!

The most terrifying thing was, upon arrival, without a word of warning, they sealed the town and even killed the four Guardian Altar Gods worshipped by the One Coin Sect. This inexplicable difference in power left everyone feeling utterly suffocated.

"Why come after us?"

In the midst of the panic, it was the Sect Hierarch, Immortal Miaoshan, who suddenly smiled faintly and said, "It’s because we don’t eat beef..."

"Others may rebel, and they might not care. But since people who don’t eat beef are involved, they become nervous. Moreover, there are many sects in the world, but we—those who don’t eat beef—are the only ones who casually teach the Shousui Path’s Entering the Mansion dharma method to others, right?"

"Still, even though we haven’t formally rebelled, his urgency in confronting us is somewhat surprising..."

"..."

"So this..."

Her words sunk into the hearts of everyone present, stirring two distinct reactions.

The ordinary followers only knew of the One Coin Sect, not about not eating beef. Hearing this, they felt confused, sensing they might have fallen into a huge trap.

Yet others, like Old Master Sun and the old altar master of Great Shanbao, had long known that people who don’t eat beef were behind the One Coin Sect. Otherwise, with their status, they wouldn’t have staked everything on such a small faction as the One Coin Sect.

Furthermore, the senior brothers who don’t eat beef were broad-minded and unconcerned with Path inheritance. They were willing to teach their skills to anyone they felt a connection with, as long as they themselves knew the skill.

Their ancestral master was rumored to have originated from Shousui. This is why those who don’t eat beef understood the Shousui Path the most, thus creating a subtle relationship with the Shousui Path, as most of the magic they passed on was from Shousui. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

However, despite understanding this, the arrival of the Great Hall Officer still left them tense, and everyone turned their gaze to Immortal Miaoshan.

"What is it?"

Immortal Miaoshan, whose face had also been pale just moments ago, seemed to have regained some composure after a while. She said coolly, "Are you all frightened? We are here to accomplish great things. When we invited you all, we never concealed this matter."

"Our purpose itself is rebellion. Do you think merely expelling an indifferent government and dismissing a few loafing government officials counts as rebellion?"

"No!"

"Rebellion means rebelling against this old Emperor! So what if the Great Hall Officer arrives? To take a step back, so what if all four Great Hall Officers of Shousui came, or if the Ten Surnames arrived?"

"Without such preparation, we can’t achieve this grand undertaking of ours!"

"..."

"Huh?"

Those present hadn’t expected such a staunch tone from Immortal Miaoshan. Just moments ago, when she witnessed several Protector Gods being killed simultaneously by the backlash, her face had been deathly pale, and her hands had been trembling.

Especially since the deities on the altar had been slain, their true forms destroyed. With the army now pressing down on them, however firm her words, what use could they be?

Once the Guests of the hall die, morale scatters...

"Altar Master, please take care to collect the bodies of these Guests from the altar. Though they were Demons, they protected many commoners under our sect."

In the midst of this widespread panic, Immortal Miaoshan’s face looked surprisingly calm. She said softly, "Everyone, do not panic. Those unaware of sect matters might not understand, but those within the Path do. They may have harmed several Protector Gods, but they haven’t damaged our sect’s foundation."

"Please help me pacify the followers. I also need to head to the altar to pay my respects."

"The Great Hall Officer is here, but there is nothing to fear. It just so happens to coincide with our sect’s Lantern Festival. If he wants to wait three days, then in three days, we shall engage him in a proper duel."

"..."

Having spoken, she waved her horsetail whisk and turned to leave, seemingly abandoning the entire mess. This caused Old Master Sun and the others to look anxious, filled with unspoken words they found difficult to voice.

"Sect Hierarch..."

As Immortal Miaoshan walked out of the crowd, preparing to swiftly pass through the alley and head back to her residence, Bai Shanzi followed with a worried expression, anxiously asking, "Is there... is there a way?"

"What way could I have?"

Seeing that no one else was following, Immortal Miaoshan suddenly felt her legs grow weak. She raised a hand to her forehead, which was already beaded with sweat. Thankfully, her rouge hadn’t smudged. Her gaze was somewhat unfocused as she said, "Why... why did a Great Hall Officer have to come?"

"Had it been a small hall officer, with our current personnel, we could have fought. But... but that’s a Great Hall Officer!"

"..."

Seeing her panic, Bai Shanzi also grew anxious and quickly said, "Then what do we do? Should we just run for it?"

"Run?"

Immortal Miaoshan’s eyes were unfocused with urgency. "The outside is sealed so tightly, do you think you can escape? Besides, we might be able to run, but what about Old Master Sun, Old Master Tang, and the Store Manager of Wanma Hall?"

"They didn’t come for the One Coin Sect; they came for those who don’t eat beef! Their very livelihoods are at stake. Wouldn’t this destroy their foundations and ruin the reputation of us, those who don’t eat beef?"

"..."

As Bai Shanzi thought about it, his body couldn’t help but tremble. He whispered, "Then... then what else can we do?"

"I’m out of options," Immortal Miaoshan said nervously. "All we can do is call for reinforcements! Those senior brothers coaxed me into becoming the Sect Hierarch of the One Coin Sect, telling me to wait for a grand opportunity while they enjoyed themselves behind the scenes. They even reassured me that, with fate on our side, nothing could go wrong..."

"But now that something truly major has happened, they can’t just ignore it, can they...?"

"...I am, after all, their Little Junior Sister!"

"..."

"Ah..."

Bai Shanzi finally understood. He said hastily, "Then I’ll go prepare right now and quickly send the message out. Any later and it might be too late..."

Immortal Miaoshan knew the matter was critical and wanted to go with him. But then she suddenly remembered there were still things to attend to at the residence. She quickly turned back, passed through a few alleys, and just as she arrived in front of the residence, she happened to see Hu Ma pushing the door open to leave.

Upon seeing her, he paused briefly, then smiled. "Greetings, Senior Sister."

Immortal Miaoshan, who was feeling completely lost, was startled when she suddenly saw him.

When she then saw his calm demeanor and that he didn’t look like he had suffered any serious injuries, she suddenly grew anxious. "What’s going on? Why hasn’t your cultivation been stripped?" she exclaimed.

Hu Ma, hearing this out-of-the-blue question, was momentarily puzzled. "What stripping of cultivation?"

Growing more anxious, Immortal Miaoshan pressed, "Didn’t you seriously observe the painting as I instructed?"

Noticing the Sect Hierarch’s apparent panic, Hu Ma slowly replied, "With your instructions, Senior Sister, how could I dare disobey? I seriously observed the painting. My Divine Soul entered the picture; I went into the Grotto Mansion and paid my respects at the Divine Platform."

"What in the world?" Immortal Miaoshan was stunned, her voice laced with disbelief. "How could you possibly have entered the Ghost Cave?"

"The... Three Passes and Twelve Tiers... you... you passed them?"

"..."

I took the elevator up... Hu Ma thought. Even though the other party was one of those who don’t eat beef, he couldn’t reveal his secret as a Reincarnator. So, he just smiled, nodded, and said, "It wasn’t too difficult. Just subduing dragons and tigers, passing the Three Ghost Gates, and climbing the twelve Bone-Stripping Stairs."

"It certainly had its challenges, but the Heart-questioning and Refining Soul process led to significant progress..."

"..."

"You..."

Hu Ma spoke slowly. Unexpectedly, upon hearing his words, Immortal Miaoshan’s expression changed drastically. She looked more terrified than if she had seen a ghost; her entire worldview seemed to shatter, and her steps faltered.

"You, you, you..."

She stammered his name several times but couldn’t continue, staring intently at Hu Ma as if trying to determine if he was joking. But Hu Ma’s expression remained calm, showing no signs of jest.

Besides, he had mentioned the painting’s Three Ghost Gates and twelve Bone-Stripping Stairs—details no one who hadn’t entered the painting could possibly know. And the fact that his cultivation hadn’t been stripped after entering the painting seemed to confirm that he had truly passed through.

However, to her, the significance of someone passing the Three Passes and Twelve Tiers...

She looked as if she’d been struck by lightning. Stunned for a long moment, a flicker of alarm crossed her face. Still, with a probing intent, she subtly moved her horsetail whisk, a clear sign she was considering making a move.

Even Hu Ma felt a slight tension and mentally prepared himself.

But then, unexpectedly, though Immortal Miaoshan’s mind was filled with the intent to test him, when it came to actually making a move, she hesitated. She remained frozen in place, her mind racing, before finally, slowly, taking a step forward.

Her eyes remained fixed on Hu Ma’s face as she slowly uttered a sentence: "The Azure Sky is already dead, the Yellow Sky shall prevail..."

She spoke only these eight words and then said no more, merely staring intently at Hu Ma’s face.

Hu Ma’s mind, too, was stirred. Numerous speculations flashed through his thoughts, and he ultimately decided to test the waters. He slowly replied, "The year is Jiazi, the world will be blessed with great fortune?"

BOOM!

Hu Ma hadn’t anticipated Immortal Miaoshan’s reaction to these last eight words. It was explosive; even the few stray hairs on her head seemed to bristle.

Then, with a THUD, she abruptly knelt. Her face was a maelstrom of emotions—disbelief, excitement, an urge to cry, doubt, an urge to smile, and yet an overwhelming sense of uncertainty—as she tremblingly exclaimed:

"Paying respects... Paying respects to the Sect Hierarch!"