Twilight Boundary-Chapter 774 - 765: Immortal City of the Unscathed

"No dead bodies?"

Hu Ma turned to look at Miss White Wine, not hiding the confusion in his heart.

The more people there were in a place, the more vibrant it seemed. However, precisely because there were more people, death became unavoidable.

The hustle and bustle of Shangjing City exceeded Hu Ma’s imagination; it was more vibrant than all the prefectures he’d visited before combined. But for that very reason, in such a place, someone was bound to die every day, whether from illness or old age.

Yet, in this city, there hadn’t been any dead bodies for a long time. Even those who had died had reappeared in the city, a notion that sounded eerie.

"People in Shangjing City might get sick, but they don’t die, as if the Book of Life and Death no longer had Shangjing City’s name on it."

Miss White Wine walked slowly forward, speaking softly, "And the dead began to come back to life. First, it was those dead for a few months, then those dead for several years. Just now, we saw someone who died twenty years ago come back to life."

She didn’t even try to hide herself but walked straight ahead, her feet executing some sort of movement technique that made her appear graceful yet light as she moved through the crowd.

Hu Ma also focused slightly, then quickly caught up with her. The two walked side by side through the broad streets of Shangjing City, and everywhere they looked, stiff faces passed by them.

The lively streets and cheerful faces now looked as if they were covered by masks.

Following Miss White Wine, Hu Ma arrived at the foot of the tall southern city wall and saw a porridge stall. This was the property of the Undying Wang Family, in line with their medical family’s benevolence.

From afar, he saw the large pots bubbling with thin porridge inside the stall and the smaller pots boiling herbal medicine beside them. He also saw people, their faces as if covered in a layer of gray, staggering as they stood in line. Seeing this, Hu Ma couldn’t help but frown.

In such a large city, there was bound to be no shortage of people with daily headaches, fevers, leg soreness, and foot pains; those lining up outside the porridge stall were precisely such cases.

But they looked as pale as puppets, holding large, rough porcelain bowls. They entered from one end of the porridge stall and exited the other, visibly more invigorated and radiant as they returned to the city.

Hu Ma frowned, not surprised by what he saw.

The Undying Wang Family, capable of removing death from such a large city, could only have achieved this through the ancestors of the Siming Path.

"These free porridge and medicine distributions by the Wang Family started about three years ago."

Miss White Wine showed Hu Ma the porridge stalls located throughout the city, her expression equally indifferent. She spoke in a low voice, "I returned to Shangjing City during that time. Unfortunately, I was not skilled enough then to detect the strangeness, nor could I find the source of the problem."

"It was only later, when I met the old evil spirit of the Yan Family in Guazhou and learned about the Purple Tai Sui, that I began to have some inkling."

"In Shangjing City, no one has bought medicine for a long time, nor is there any need for medical visits. This is because the Wang Family already has a formula to cure everyone. Their formula is so powerful that even the dead have come back to life and continue to live in this city like ordinary people."

"Does the absence of dead bodies in this city also mean the absence of truly living people?"

"..."

Hu Ma listened to her calm narration, feeling an eerie heaviness in his heart and finding it somewhat strange. "No one buys medicine, no one consults doctors..."

"Aren’t those the industries of your Grass Heart Hall? You only discovered this now?"

"I’ve always been in Mingzhou, unaware of the business in Shangjing’s Grass Heart Hall, and my family never informed me."

Miss White Wine gave Hu Ma a faint glance and said, "Of course, Grass Heart Hall bows to the Undying Wang Family."

"Shangjing has turned into this strange state. Yet, my father and his disciples acted as if nothing happened. This indicates only one thing: Grass Heart Hall is also part of this scheme, perhaps even one of the Wang Family’s pawns."

This...

One had to admit, Miss White Wine’s candidness in revealing these matters had a certain charm.

He exhaled sharply and spoke directly, "The methods flaunted by that young master of the Wang Family amazed the other descendants of the Ten Surnames. This showed that they hadn’t known about this before either."

"And since the Wang Family displayed these pills in public, it means they didn’t even treat this as a secret to be hidden. However, to revive someone who died twenty years ago certainly requires the Purple Tai Sui."

"Why would the Undying Wang Family expend so much Purple Tai Sui to create these undying people across the city, and for what purpose?"

"..."

"Eternal life, unaging, unharmed, undamaged—that, of course, is an Immortal."

Miss White Wine said coldly, "The Wang Family freed the whole of Shangjing from death. Saying it’s a city of Immortals isn’t an overstatement." 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"Frankly, the Reincarnators’ insight was always one step behind. Long before we discovered the wonders of Purple Tai Sui, or even used it to veil ourselves on the bridge, the Ten Surnames had already toyed with it in various ways."

"Purple Tai Sui is, in essence, people. It can also be understood as the very ’substance’ of this world. Currently, the world’s overall substance is diminishing, but if I’m not mistaken..."

She paused and whispered, "The ’substance’ of Shangjing City should be greater than before."

"However, for the Ten Surnames, this isn’t unusual either."

"In essence, the Ten Surnames have always treated the common people of the world like crops. They decide whether to harvest for themselves or sell them, all according to their whim. Now, I want to investigate how the Ten Surnames are harvesting these ’crops’ and find the source of these undead people throughout the city."

"The most important question is..."

She looked frankly at Hu Ma and said, "Why do Reincarnators have such an inherent connection with the Purple Tai Sui?"

Hu Ma heard the implication in her words and suddenly fell silent, speaking slowly, "A very close connection?"

"Yes."

Miss White Wine slowly exhaled, saying, "It’s almost as if they were born for this."

"Reincarnators had never encountered Purple Tai Sui before, but once they did, they seemed unstoppable with it. In this world, Purple Tai Sui can be considered a potent poison. Those without a strong destiny or the correct methods to handle it will turn into monsters upon contact."

"But Reincarnators don’t even need to consider this issue. Every Reincarnator can refine Purple Tai Sui without burden..."

"They can use Purple Tai Sui to cultivate Life Incense, and some clever ones have even thought of using it to reinforce their Lifebound Spirit Temple..."

"And more crucially, something I discovered only after crossing the bridge."

"Purple Qi is immortal qi. By refining Purple Tai Sui, not only did my abilities improve significantly, but I also discovered something remarkable. The Divine Statue behind the incense table in my Lifebound Spirit Temple began to change. It started growing flesh and features, reflecting the Dharma Form of my physical body."

"..."

"Flesh and features?"

Hu Ma was slightly startled.

He had his own Lifebound Spirit Temple too, having long cultivated through it. By now, with his nine-pillar cultivation, his prowess was nearly at its peak.

However, the Divine Statue in his Lifebound Spirit Temple had only revealed its entire meridian system. While it clearly showed a human shape, it was far from what Miss White Wine described: having flesh and features, as if alive.

"Then... what changes would occur at this point?"

"The three souls consolidate, divine light self-generates, and walking on the bridge becomes far more assured than others."

Miss White Wine didn’t hide anything from Hu Ma but spoke slowly, "People of this world, after crossing the bridge, walk with extreme difficulty, very cautiously."

"Relying on an innate instinct to transcend, they want to take a few more steps. Yet, there’s a deep-seated fear of going too far and becoming lost. For Reincarnators, however, it feels as though they can keep going as long as there’s enough Purple Tai Sui."

"Even..."

Hu Ma understood her meaning. "Even leave this world?"

Miss White Wine didn’t speak but just silently looked at Hu Ma, knowing he understood her intention.

Purple Tai Sui was precious beyond measure, yet it also seemed like the most sinister of evils. In this world, even among the many individuals possessing great courage and intellect, research into Purple Tai Sui was conducted only cautiously and secretively.

But Reincarnators were extraordinarily compatible with Purple Tai Sui. Didn’t this corroborate the State Preceptor’s words? That the destiny of Reincarnators was to seek out Purple Tai Sui, gather it, and then leave?

When he spoke, Hu Ma’s voice was somewhat hoarse, "Are there many who’ve discovered this secret and begun to pursue it?"

"I belong to the Siming Path, so I discovered it the fastest, but others will find out."

Miss White Wine said slowly, "Besides, you understand Reincarnators; we were never a strict organization. Once the wonders of Purple Tai Sui are discovered, many will certainly aim for this goal."

This was almost a despairing answer.

But in his silence, Hu Ma couldn’t help but quickly begin to think. Could it be that Reincarnators are indeed naturally the harvesters of Purple Tai Sui? Yet he had met Big Red Robe and Mr. Longjing, and they hadn’t mentioned this matter.

"Moreover, what I’ve discovered now isn’t actually a secret."

Seeing Hu Ma’s frown, Miss White Wine quietly said, "Someone discovered it long ago."

"I even suspect that within the Reincarnator circle, there’s never truly been an information gap. The few Reincarnators who were with me in Shangjing, and some from the previous generation who mysteriously disappeared without participating in the Shangjing battle—they all knew something."

"They just chose to leave the other Reincarnators behind and didn’t share this information. Even regarding your matter, at first, they intended to hide it."

"..."

When Hu Ma heard this, his eyes narrowed slightly. "Were they the ones who asked me to look after you back in Old Yin Mountain?"

Miss White Wine sighed softly and said, "It was Nu’er Hong."

"When she first found me, I trusted her completely, thinking she had the same concerns as I did. But the ensuing events were beyond my expectations, and I felt increasingly unable to understand her."