CHAPTER 463: CHAPTER 457: BLESSING RUNS OUT

"What the hell is going on here?"

While Hu Ma was conversing with Monkey Wine and making arrangements, the situation in Shima Town was becoming increasingly dire. Gusts of yin wind swept through the town, chilling the people attending the Lantern Festival to the bone. The dizziness and vertigo shattered the joy and excitement brought by the festival, causing it to rapidly disintegrate. Even in the inn, Old Master Sun and others, who were sitting at the banquet table watching the street, were thrown into panic. Among them, some wanted to seize the chance to escape. Others, however, considered their obligation due to not eating beef and felt that since the town was in trouble, they needed to step in and help somehow.

They couldn’t just run away without at least putting up a fight. It would be best if they could get seriously injured but not fatally so. That way, after escaping, even if those who don’t eat beef came after them, they’d have a valid excuse, gaining merit despite their flight!

But how could they help now?

It could be said that they had gathered their courage, even prepared to face the Shousui Great Hall Officer if he charged in, but they never expected these invisible, untouchable spectral forces to come first. They didn’t even know what had been done, yet the town was already in mourning, crumbling to pieces like an incoherent army.

Especially Old Master Sun and Altar Master Tang, being Shousui men, couldn’t even see their opponent’s face. Even if they wanted to put on a brave display, where could they possibly do so?

"Old Whiteface..."

In the chaos, someone shouted to Grandma Wu’s son-in-law, "The opponent’s using such methods! Aren’t you skilled in this? Why aren’t you showing your skills to help dispel the evil?"

"Dispel my ass..." Grandma Wu’s son-in-law was nearly in despair, clutching a bowl and trembling violently. "I, I know these things too well. Today, none of us are going to have it easy. Those things out there, I’m afraid they are... every one scarier than my old mother-in-law!"

The swirling yin wind howled. The faces of the kneeling townspeople turned ghastly pale, their vitality waning. On the Divine Platform, the Magic King and others liberally applied "sweet dew" in an attempt to counteract the pervasive decay, only to find the bowls in their hands already empty. By now, far from being able to save the townspeople beside them, even they were beginning to collapse one after another, staring up at the night sky in despair.

"Sect Hierarch, what do we do?"

Meanwhile, on the eastern hill of Shima Town, within the main compound of the headquarters, the ten large jars guarded by Immortal Miaoshan intermittently emitted eerie laughs. Some jars were overflowing with blood-red liquid. Some even had web-like cracks forming on their surfaces. Occasionally, items were tossed out from inside, stained with foul-smelling, sticky goo: a hairpin, a piece of pitch-black silver, a bracelet covered in verdigris, and so on. The headquarters of the One Coin Sect was located here. If believers came to worship or wished to join, they had to throw half of their possessions into the jars to cultivate a blessing. Now that the jars were spitting things out, it indicated a spirit of rebellion. As she sat cross-legged among the ten jars, she could feel an eerie and turbulent yin wind continuously blowing in from outside the town. This put unusual pressure on the jars, causing the items inside to slowly awaken and exude a fierce aura.

Bai Shanzi was terrified, retreating as far away from the jars as possible while loudly reminding, "The blessings of the ten jars are about to be exhausted, and the Blessed Corpses will turn into Evil Corpses!"

"Sect Hierarch, Sect Hierarch, think of something! If this keeps up, years of accumulation will vanish in an instant!"

Immortal Miaoshan was furious at Bai Shanzi’s cunning. Don’t I already realize that? Back when I was managing the One Coin Sect and chose a deputy, why on earth did I end up picking someone from the trick door? You only know how to ask what the Sect Hierarch should do. What’s the point of the Sect Hierarch having you around? As she cursed internally, she urgently looked towards the town, thinking nervously, If this continues, the One Coin Sect’s years of accumulation might truly be lost. Forget the Lantern Festival; even I, along with all the blessed believers, will face disaster.

Sect Hierarch? The Sect Hierarch lent me the Red Lantern. Now that such a situation has arisen, he must hurry and provide a solution, right?

"Second Young Master Meng, isn’t this going too far?"

At the same time, in the distance, they watched as the once brilliant Shima Town became shrouded in ominous clouds. Eight eerie specters bowed towards the town, and countless Divine Soul shadows within struggled painfully. Great Hall Officer Tie Jun frowned.

"What? Has the official gone soft-hearted?"

Next to him, Second Young Master Meng, dressed in green, chuckled. "The world has been chaotic for too long," he said. "Without the Emperor’s decree from above and officials to enforce order below, everyone has naturally forgotten the meaning of rules.

"However, now that things are getting lively inside, it’s a good opportunity to make these ignorant fools clear on who truly holds authority here, and to make them recognize who the masters in this hall are."

"They’re nothing but ignorant fools. What do they know about authority, whether in the hall or outside it?" Great Hall Officer Tie Jun sighed deeply. "They came because they heard of food relief and medical treatment here. While they deserve to be taught a lesson, why should they have to die here?"

Born in this land, they’re inherently of shallow life and little virtue. Even with favorable weather, they’d be plagued by poverty and disaster. Now, with the Grass Head Eight Declining Gods bowing to them, their blessing qi diminished again, I’m afraid they won’t even survive...

He was momentarily at a loss for words, finding it hard to imagine how all these townspeople would die if their blessings were completely exhausted. Would it be from years of natural disasters and sickness? Earthquakes and landslides? Would they perish at the hands of marauding bandits and soldiers?

Upon hearing this, Second Young Master Meng couldn’t help but laugh. "Great Hall Officer Tie Jun," he said, "isn’t that odd? Didn’t you yourself earlier issue an order for this town that not even chickens or dogs should be spared?"

Great Hall Officer Tie Jun frowned. "For rebellious traitors, not even chickens or dogs are to be left. For demon people of the Shousui Path, not even chickens or dogs are to be left. For those who defy orders, not even chickens or dogs are to be left. For those high on the altar, feigning godhood and playing tricks, not even chickens or dogs are to be left...

"But now, this town has more than ten thousand people. Must we really draw our swords and slaughter every single one?"

"No wonder they say you Shousui folks remain unaffected by karma..." Second Young Master Meng chuckled. "Actually, it’s not so much about being unaffected by karma; I suspect it’s more about being afraid."

The biggest problem with your Shousui Path is that when it comes to killing, you have to do it yourselves. Against one or two opponents, you’re incredibly fierce. But when faced with a large number of people, you lose your nerve before they even resist.

Great Hall Officer Tie Jun frowned, his face etched with deep displeasure. Normally, since the other party was from one of the Ten Surnames, he could perhaps comment on the Shousui Path. However, as a Shousui Great Hall Officer, Tie Jun was naturally proud, so how could he suppress his fire qi? He did not refute, only snorted coldly. "Shousui practitioners have always been this way. Our skills are meant for the battle formation. Now that we wander the jianghu, who dares to truly unleash their full strength?

"But you, Young Master Meng..."

First, you killed the servant ghost, then you set up the Ghost Altar. You’ve probably done everything imaginable, both proper and improper. Was it because the townspeople angered you over the Yin General affair that you resorted to such ruthless measures? A young master of the Tongyin Meng family shouldn’t be so lacking in Qi Cultivation Skills.

There was already a veiled insult in those words, but Young Master Meng just laughed. "Let Great Hall Officer Tie Jun know this: using the Yin General to refine the Ghost General Platform was a decision I made on the spur of the moment after seeing the Demon Corpse in your hand.

"However, since I am here, I would have proceeded with the refinement even without that. Why else do you think I carry the Grass Head Eight Declining Gods with me?"

"You..." Great Hall Officer Tie Jun indeed caught a hidden meaning in his words. A chill crept into his heart as he pondered the implications and their underlying cause and effect.

It’s all because the Hu Family is too imprudent...

Second Young Master Meng sighed softly. "Everything could have proceeded smoothly according to the Stone Pavilion Alliance. But they had too many of their own ideas, stubbornly keeping the powerful Zhensui Mansion to themselves and hiding away, ignoring everyone.

"A dignified family, one of the Ten Surnames, reduced to having life but no destiny, noble status but no blessings..."

He spoke slowly, his face revealing a cold smile. Suddenly, he raised an eyebrow and asked with a grin, "Great Hall Officer Tie Jun, your sword-catching hall is not far from Gunzhou. Surely you’ve heard of the Five Evil Gods?"

Great Hall Officer Tie Jun’s brow twitched. Of course, he had heard of them, but he instinctively wanted to avoid getting drawn into this topic.

"The Five Evil Gods were originally called the Five Profits God," Second Young Master Meng smiled. "They were meant to nurture blessings for the Hu Family. But to better serve the Zhensui Mansion, the Hu Family stubbornly cultivated them into the Five Evil. Heh heh...

"Holding evil qi in their hands? How impressive is that? They should know that evil qi is something that severs blessings. It was precisely because of the Zhensui Mansion’s pervasive evil qi that the Hu Family’s blessings were cut off, leading to their bloodline withering and their lineage nearly being severed.

"That Grandma Bai had some foresight. She prematurely expelled the Five Evil qi and willingly returned to the ancestral hall, hoping to safeguard the destiny of her grandson. Unfortunately, while she had some sense, it was limited. What was the point of doing all that so late in the day?"

He waved his hand, and the surrounding darkness seemed to grow denser. "It’s just a town full of rebels. Are their lives or deaths really worth so much concern?

"I came here solely to create the Ghost General Platform.

"You think there are too many people in this town?" he said with a sinister grin. "Heh heh, on the contrary, I think it would be even better if there were more..."