CHAPTER 477: CHAPTER 471 MENG FAMILY CEREMONY TENT

SIZZLE!

The place it landed made a sound like hot oil spilling, as if it wasn’t blood but a cauldron from hell.

When ordinary people touched it, it was no different from touching hot oil in a frying pan. Master Ma had just been struck to the point of dizziness, his head covered in blood.

Now, splashed by these patches of hot oil, his skin scorched and blistered all over. His body staggered, and he let out a euphoric snort, the hair all over his body shivering in excitement.

"Negative Spirit Demon Technique!"

Hu Ma faced the eerie blood, its nature difficult to discern, yet he charged straight into it. His Divine Soul stirred, and his whole body underwent Death Transformation. "Even if it really is hot oil, so what? A Shousui man dares to drink boiling oil; why would I fear something like this?"

THWACK...

This slash was more solid, slicing directly into his opponent’s body. Hu Ma clearly felt the cut, but black smoke immediately rose in front of him.

Focusing his eyes, he saw the slash had been blocked by a bloated, grotesque, big-bellied Evil Ghost. Young Master Meng, originally a dashing and youthful figure, had become pot-bellied, his stomach nearly larger than his body.

The slash had cleaved into this stomach, the Power behind it surging and splitting the belly open.

Yet, no blood gushed out. Instead, from within the abdomen, countless chaotic hands reached out, attempting to drag Hu Ma inside. In the confusing mass, innumerable faces could be seen crowding together, laughing from within the belly.

Headless Ghost, Big-Bellied Ghost?

It was only at this moment that Hu Ma suddenly realized. This was him truly employing the skills of the Negative Spirit Path.

The Second Young Master Meng initially wanted to display his true abilities and fight me properly. But after suffering a loss, he had to rely on the Meng family’s techniques as a fallback...

Just like how I had to rely on the Age Suppressing Book’s power when I suffered a loss before...

The key is, the Meng family’s abilities are truly sinister. Beheading doesn’t kill, disemboweling doesn’t kill. Could it be that the disciples of the Tongyin Meng family are all unkillable?

I don’t believe it; there’s no one who can’t be killed.

With a solid swipe of his knife, he blew a breath onto the black bone of its handle.

A torrent of baleful aura suddenly dispersed, forcing the pot-bellied Second Young Master Meng, whose stomach had been split open, to stumble backward. The next moment, Hu Ma leaped vigorously from his horse, landing firmly on the ground, and used the momentum to dash forward again.

A move learned from the Second Master, Mountain Opening, executed with this Evil Blade.

This strike could split a mountain, let alone a person. Even if you were truly a ghost, your spirit would be scattered.

"You dare..."

This Young Master Meng, upon recognizing Hu Ma as the one who had slain the Grass Head Eight Declining Gods, became incandescent with rage, wanting to kill Hu Ma to vent his fury.

Yet, unexpectedly, once his opponent revealed his identity, he was the one continuously beaten, forced to rely on the Evil Ghosts he nurtured within himself just to survive. Now, seeing the blade’s momentum approach, his very life was in jeopardy.

His courage completely crumbled. Even his initial will to fight Hu Ma with his martial arts had vanished; he merely wanted to get as far away as possible from the knife in Hu Ma’s hand.

"Young Master..."

Simultaneously, his personal head maid was startled. She quickly picked up three incense sticks. Although unlit, as she turned them in her hand, three sparks appeared, and smoke began to rise.

She had been observing from the side, naturally not idly; she had prepared in advance. The three incense sticks now burning summoned a howling ghostly wind, filled with countless hidden vindictive souls, all rushing at Hu Ma.

"The Tongyin Meng family’s disciples, they don’t seem like much..."

Facing the ghostly wind, Hu Ma just tilted his blade. The baleful aura on the Evil Blade instantly dissolved the attacking vindictive souls into nothingness. Amidst his cold, fierce shout, his Divine Soul coagulated above his head, revealing a Dharma Form holding a Token in one hand.

BANG!

At the same time, a heavy iron coffin flew from the forest, crashing to the ground with a BOOM. The coffin lid flew open, and a rigid figure with arms outstretched rose from inside, surrounded by swirling vindictive souls.

It dashed forward, blocking the path of the vindictive souls and ghostly wind summoned by the maid, like a black wall.

Meanwhile, a torrent of air surged from its chest as it let out a roar that was neither human nor ghost. The ghost soldiers following behind surged forward like a tide.

HISS...

The vindictive souls summoned by the maid were no ordinary beings, but upon the charge of the shadowy figures behind the Yin General, they instantly shattered, transforming into a chaotic ghostly wind that swirled wildly. The maid holding the three incense sticks was flung away without even a grunt.

At the same time, as the ghost soldiers surged forward, the incense table set up by Young Master Meng toppled, the nearby flags fell, and the incense table itself shattered completely, looking as if effortlessly decimated.

"You..."

Seeing the Yin General, Young Master Meng seemed to confirm something, shouting in shock and anger, "The one who received my bow..."

"Indeed, it’s me!" Hu Ma roared fiercely as he summoned the Yin General, pressing forward aggressively with his Evil Blade. "What’s more, I intend to take your life!"

Having already played his trump card, he no longer cared about anything else. Exuding a fierce killing intent, he was fully prepared to use this Meng family member to consecrate his knife.

It was him, who had earlier stolen the General Order and performed the ritual to subdue the Yin General... And it was him, wielding the Evil Blade, who had slain the Grass Head Eight Declining Gods... But the crucial point was that his blade’s baleful aura was so intense; it seemed somewhat akin to the Five Evil Ghosts who had died in Mingzhou earlier. How could such a formidable figure suddenly emerge? Could it be... could it be he...

A terrifying thought flashed in Young Master Meng’s mind. "...Could it be he’s working with that figure from Mingzhou?"

It wasn’t that he dared not think bigger; it was just too much of a coincidence. More importantly, since Hu Ma appeared, he had displayed the skills of a Shousui man but had not shown any Ghost Walker techniques.

Regardless, the panic in his heart was real, and his courage completely shattered.

Looking again at the overwhelmingly menacing blade and its wielder, he let out a series of inarticulate shouts—essentially a plea for help. The Meng family disciples had their pride and couldn’t directly cry for help, but the meaning of his shouts was clear.

CLANG...

But just as Hu Ma clearly saw through this Meng family disciple’s abilities and gained the confidence to slay him with a single strike, a chilling wind suddenly arose around him. He heard a fierce shout in his ears: "Who dares offend a noble of the Meng family?"

The shout caught even Hu Ma off guard. A tingling sense of pervasive danger arose around him.

He quickly drew back his knife defensively and swiftly retreated. Realizing the danger of his location, he didn’t just retreat alone but also hoisted Master Ma onto his shoulder. With a burst of strength from his legs, he carried Master Ma’s large frame and leaped three to four zhang away before turning back to look.

What he saw was astonishing.

Where he had just stood, black mist now roiled, and countless indistinct shadowy figures had appeared. Some held large black umbrellas, some had fans, some carried folding stools, some held drums and gongs, and others held flags—all different.

At the forefront stood a slender man wearing a tall hat, his sinister eyes fixed directly on Hu Ma.

Nearby, the head maid who had been slammed down by the ghost soldiers—her bones likely broken in several places—now showed joy on her face, screaming hoarsely, "Chief Steward, it’s this person showing disrespect to the Young Master! Quickly cut him down!"

This sight took Hu Ma by surprise.

I’ve finally underestimated Young Master Meng’s entourage. As a direct descendant of the Meng family out on an assignment, he wasn’t just accompanied by a single Maid and a few servants.

In reality, on this trip, he was accompanied by one Chief Steward, two head Maids, eight young male servants, and eight Maids. These were divided into yin and yang: half living, half dead, always by his side in service.

Earlier, when I slew the Grass Head Eight Declining Gods, I killed four male servants and four Maids—precisely the living half.

The dead ones were stationed in the underworld, mainly responsible for tasks like carrying sedans, running errands, holding umbrellas, and beating gongs. As for the Chief Steward, he was the Ritual Officer in charge of the ceremony tent, without specific duties beyond protecting Young Master Meng’s life and ensuring the prestige and reputation of the Meng family disciples when outside.

WHOOSH...

Sensing their eerie aura, Hu Ma was greatly shocked. He increased the distance, placed the bewildered Master Ma (who was looking at him blankly) in a safe spot, and tightly gripped his Evil Blade.

The Yin General, however, paid them no heed and, leading its ghost soldiers, continued to charge towards Young Master Meng.

But facing the sinister and terrifying Yin General, this group of ghosts merely stood their ground, not advancing to engage. Yet, the Yin General began to act strangely.

Its arms outstretched, it continually tried to leap forward. But with each leap, it was forced back again, as if the people standing there had created an invisible barrier or step it couldn’t surmount. The sight was bizarre, with a hint of the comical.

"Such a fierce and wild fellow..." The Chief Steward cast a cold glance at the Yin General, then at the Evil Blade in Hu Ma’s hand, and finally at Hu Ma’s face. Seeing that he couldn’t make out Hu Ma’s features clearly, he didn’t try to force it but instead sighed softly:

"I imagine you rural demon people utterly fail to grasp the gravity of your current actions. No matter how fierce your blade, it cannot escape being suppressed by the Meng family’s destiny.

No matter how many ghost soldiers you summon, they cannot cross the Meng family’s threshold.

Please, Young Master, board the palanquin. We shall escort you away..."

As he spoke, he shook out his wide sleeves and walked forward slowly, saying in a low voice, "As for this offense against the Meng family, I shall be the one to address it!"