Twilight Boundary-Chapter 525 - 517: Twilight of the Apocalypse

If a Shousui man confronted evil spirits, it was a straightforward clash, with neither side gaining any advantage, relying solely on skills.

But the Ghost Walker’s Path was different, allowing them to achieve a lot with little effort, never using more than necessary.

Ironically, the things Ghost Walkers often encountered could only be dealt with using such minimalistic tactics; a head-on confrontation might lead to failure.

For instance, like now, faced with this eerie and sinister entity rushing directly at Hu Ma, intending both to interrupt Hu Ma’s chanting and to forcibly devour and merge with him.

Relying on this Magic Altar for a direct confrontation, even the Gate Guardian Stone that had supported them for a decade might not withstand it; Hu Ma’s Shousui body might also find no advantage.

Thus, Hu Ma lit this candle.

When he realized this entity somewhat resembled the Meng Family Ancestor, Hu Ma was already prepared. Previously, when dealing with Second Young Master Meng, he had discovered the ominously fierce and terrifying entity they bowed to, not something ordinary Magic could counter.

However, while that thing was formidable, in the human world, it easily got lost.

It needed something from this world to see this world.

At that time, the Meng Family Ancestor descended, using Second Young Master Meng’s eyes to observe. Here in Juehu Village, this entity relied on the eyes of these yin souls in the village to see.

When it could see, it exhibited endless ferocity; when blind, it was just powerless rage.

When dealing with the entity Second Young Master Meng invoked, Hu Ma relied on Er Guotou and others, using the Three Great Strange Techniques to change the feng shui orientation, cutting off the Meng Family Ancestor’s gaze. Now, Hu Ma used the candle flame to confuse the eyes of these yin souls.

Seeing the entity apparently falling into confusion, Hu Ma, continuing his chanting, took out talisman paper after talisman paper, burning them on the candle in front of him.

He threw the burning talisman papers into the air.

As the talisman papers burned down bit by bit, turning into specks of ash, a crackling sound began to echo. From the surrounding darkness, countless iron chains and shackles emerged, swirling tumultuously as they flew towards the clan elder to bind him.

They intertwined, binding him tightly.

At this moment, Hu Ma was burning the Chains Character talisman. While continuously chanting the Dispel Curse, if Hu Ma wanted to use the power of the Chains Curse, he could only do so by means of talisman paper.

Fortunately, having practiced much, he had prepared many. As he burned them one by one, until the talisman papers were depleted, it was as if he was continually chanting the Chains Curse. With the entire village as his Magic Altar, every blade of grass and every tree became available for his use.

The entity, realizing the chains closing in, was clearly enraged. It struggled fiercely with terrifying strength, breaking chains segment by segment and scattering them everywhere. Yet, each time it broke free from some, more chains, like spirit snakes, would immediately surge forth and coil around it.

It uttered a roar like something from the depths of a nightmare, charging left and right, desperately trying to find Hu Ma. The entire village shook like an earthquake, forcing even Hu Ma to pause burning the Chains Curse talisman paper and protect the candle.

Yet in that momentary pause, he sensed something, slightly raised his head, glanced outside the village, and a hint of lament and regret showed on his face.

「 」

"Can he... really do it?"

Outside Juehu Village, separated by some distance, as Hu Ma dealt with the entity, the people there were constantly on edge.

Second Master and Old Yangpi, left outside, didn’t know what was happening inside, but they could feel that place turning into hell. The relentless cries of fierce ghosts flooded their ears, almost making them unable to sense Hu Ma’s presence.

It was hard not to worry that Hu Ma, having entered the village, had been devoured by a fierce ghost. But recalling Hu Ma’s trump card when entering the village, they felt he wouldn’t be so easily defeated.

They could only suppress their worries, continuously telling people to burn incense, burn paper offerings, and bring more offerings back to the village.

Gradually, wisp after wisp of incense smoke began to rise outside the village.

The robust young men they had brought along gradually dispersed, encircling Juehu Village to form a giant ring. The smoke from the incense began to waft upward, drawn by a mysterious aura, drifting toward the village.

Without needing instruction, when the incense was lit, some villagers began speaking to those in the village. After all, ten years ago, it was a normal village, with connections of marriage and kinship to nearby communities:

"Third Aunt, your village was ill-fated, sacrificing everyone’s lives for a mouthful of food..."

"Fourth Uncle, oh, the dead shouldn’t linger. Staying in the human world only brings suffering. Take this opportunity, now that Walking Ghost Granny’s grandson is here to help, and let go..."

"..."

The voices were not loud, nor were their words entirely coherent; they spoke whatever came to mind, yet their words carried a simple sincerity.

This world belonged to the living; the dead should not remain here.

At its core, this was the principle: life and death were separate, yin and yang divided.

「 」

"They say the Zhen Sui Hu Family are the progenitors of the Walking Ghost Path, but looking at this... why do I feel like these people are actually our masters...?"

But as the incense smoke from outside drifted in, Hu Ma, who had been protecting the candle flame, felt a slight relief and slowly released his hand.

He no longer needed to guard the candle flame; in fact, the fire now burned more steadily and vigorously. The smoke from the incense outside entered his altar, adding a mysterious and profound presence to his Magic Altar.

The candle flame no longer needed protecting and could now better conceal him. Even the chains summoned by burning the Chains Curse talisman paper were much thicker than before, like stout vines, quickly wrapping around the clan elder.

Understanding where this change came from, he sighed softly in his heart: So, having learned so many Magic techniques and practiced so many skills, only now do I truly understand the simplest truth... The most effective method against these entities is simply the breath of the living...

Realizing this, he let go of some of his remaining anxieties.

Hardly needing to worry about himself anymore, he calmed down. He silently chanted the Dispel Curse, stripping the remaining yin body from the entity. Simultaneously, he used the Dispel Curse to dispel the resentment and sorrow in Juehu Village, restoring these yin souls to their original, pure state.

The immense chains wrapped around it slowed its movements further, changing its initial struggle to mere writhing. Its ferocity had nearly vanished at that moment.

So many yin bodies fell from it that it nearly lost the strength to support itself. Its pitch-black body faded, becoming a mere writhing gray shadow lying on the ground.

Even the yin soul of the clan elder at its core showed a bewildered expression on its fierce face, instinctively struggling to break free from the entity’s grasp.

"One who betrays... destiny... will ultimately be... abandoned by destiny..."

At that moment, the Four-sided Town Gate Stones gradually quietened, standing solemnly. The surging force within the village paused briefly; the surrounding wind died down, becoming unusually silent.

Yet at that moment, faint, fragmented, slightly obscure sounds emerged, startling Hu Ma inwardly.

He continued chanting, simultaneously looking ahead. An eerie scene confirmed his suspicion.

With yin souls dropping off it, only a shadow was left among the tangling chains. It was slowly rising from the ground, supporting numerous chains. It had no features, no Seven Apertures, just a vague human shape. Its body was a bleak, pure white, without a single impurity.

Standing steadily there, it evoked a feeling of indescribable mystery and nobility.

Now, even the clan elder’s yin soul struggled to emerge from it. The entity could no longer speak through the yin soul. Thus, these few words were spoken by the entity itself.

For it, this was almost against its very instinct.

Every word was spoken with extreme difficulty, the blurry words slowly discernible: "You and I... come from the same place..."

"You... remnants of civilization... have forgotten your roots, breached the contract... you shall suffer... Eternal Punishment..."

"..."

What is that?

Hu Ma was shocked; it felt like it touched the most hidden parts of my heart. I almost stopped my incantation, wanting to hear what it said.

But my quick reflexes forced me to endure, continuing the incantation. Internally, I was in turmoil, feeling a terror as if someone had seen through everything.

Yet that thing had no eyes.

Hu Ma didn’t know why it uttered such bizarre words. But now, as he was in the process of retrieving the Hu Family token, he didn’t know what would happen if it truly managed to speak its piece.

RUMBLE!

But just then, with Hu Ma’s relentless chanting of the Dispel Curse, the clan elder’s yin soul finally separated from it. The entity couldn’t completely speak its words before the Zhen Sui Hu Family’s token.

As the clan elder’s yin soul was stripped away, its body suddenly became incredibly heavy. Seemingly having lost the last thread of yin soul support, it could no longer remain in the human world. The place where it stood suddenly collapsed as if a gate to the underworld had been opened.

Or one could say, it was itself a gate to hell, and wherever it was, was not the human world.

Even the endless chains binding it were torn apart by its immense power. The entire village seemed to sink abruptly, as if in a landslide.

RUMBLE!

Among the Four-sided Town Gate Stones, two toppled over under the immense force.

Juehu Village was thus breached, its buildings all turning to dust. But none of this compared to the immense shock in Hu Ma’s heart.