CHAPTER 488: CHAPTER 482: THE EMERGENCE OF THE EVIL SPIRIT

With a command to retreat, silence enveloped the land.

Outside the town, the rows of ghost soldiers stood eerily in the forest, their faces marked with yellow talismans and surrounded by ghost fires. They began to retreat, just as they had arrived, as if weighed down by an invisible burden. The one who had summoned the ghost soldiers was dead, rendering the Borrowing Soldiers Token meaningless, as there was no longer a way to reclaim the promised price. If they were living people, there might have been many questions to ask and problems to solve, but these ghost soldiers simply began to retreat along the path they had come.

Like an ebbing tide drawn by a mysterious force, they receded back into the deep mountains, disappearing into the cracks of the great mountain that had split open. In the next moment, the fissure in the mountain suddenly closed, and dust settled, leaving no trace of its previous split. The trees that had been toppled and trampled along the way also stood upright one by one, as if nothing had happened; only their crowns rustled.

Three thousand ghost soldiers: when they came, the gates of the underworld had opened wide, like a spectral gale sweeping the land; when they departed, it was like the wind scattering remnant clouds, leaving not a single trace. It was as if a fierce storm had enveloped everyone, only to suddenly disperse—an illusion, leaving only deep shock on the faces of the living, a feeling that lingered for a long time.

BOOM!

In the distant sky, fierce winds howled, gathering and dispersing dark clouds. It seemed to be some enraged will, high above, looking down upon the human world, trying to find the one who had just offended it, but it could see nothing.

The strength of Negative Spirit people was never their own, but that of the Negative Spirit. To kill a Negative Spirit person, the method was actually very simple: cut off their source. This would make it impossible for the entity that lent its Mana to see its Negative Spirit. If it couldn’t see it, it could no longer lend its Mana. Even previously borrowed power would consequently be lost here, meaning a part of that entity would also be killed here.

Naturally, it was dissatisfied, furious. But just now, it couldn’t see what had happened here, couldn’t even sense the existence of this piece of land. Now that Second Young Master Meng was dead, his Divine Soul utterly destroyed, its eyes on the ground were gone. Thus, it could do nothing but rage.

But its rage had no outlet. The area around Shima Town was completely unaffected. Instead, in a certain place, inside a vast, gloomy mansion, violent tremors occurred. All the incense sticks simultaneously burned down into a pattern of two short and one long. The sight of them, all at once, carried a chilling, terrifyingly eerie quality.

The people in the mansion were instantly alarmed and crowded around the Elder Grandmother, who was in charge. Upon witnessing this scene, she was so frightened her face turned ashen. Hastily pushing away the maidservants, she knelt on a prayer cushion, burning incense and kowtowing. However, despite trying several times, the incense just wouldn’t light. Instead, the Ancestral Hall filled with an eerie wind that sent chills down the spine and unsettled the heart.

"Quick, quickly bring the Beauty Wax!" the Elder Grandmother hastily ordered.

Servants hurriedly brought a candle wrapped in black cloth. Unwrapping it revealed the form of a beautiful young woman, her entire body encased in wax, her insides also filled with it. Her head was tilted upwards, and a wick protruded from her mouth. They quickly lit this candle and placed it on the altar before the shrine. This managed to dispel much of the eerie wind in the room, but the incense sticks still burned extremely fast, their ash vanishing without a trace, constantly falling and dispersing like fine dust.

The Elder Grandmother, usually composed and dignified, was now thoroughly panicked. "The Ancestor is angry!" she stammered. "In twenty years, I’ve never seen His Venerable Self so furious! Not even three years ago, when that old grandmother of the Bai Family returned to the Ancestral Hall through the main gate, he wasn’t this angry! Quick, go and find out! Which worthless descendant has done something to anger the Ancestor?"

...

"Elder Grandmother, bad news!" Just as she was asking, a servant rushed in, flustered, and reported loudly, "Young Master Sili’s longevity lamp has gone out!"

The Elder Grandmother was stunned. "What? Hurry and perform the soul-summoning!"

...

The servant exclaimed in distress, "We are! Four ghost crones raised an altar simultaneously, but... but they can’t summon anything back!"

Hearing this, the surrounding clan members also grew tense. "Could it be? Is the Ancestor upset because something happened to Young Master Sili, and he’s distressed for his descendant, hence the anger?"

The Elder Grandmother in charge took a deep breath. He wasn’t her biological son, so she felt no personal heartache, only a sense of disbelief upon hearing the news. She nodded. "It must be so. Quickly, investigate and find out exactly what happened!"

But even as she ordered the servants out, she turned back, knelt again on the prayer cushion, and continued to burn incense beside the Beauty Wax, kowtowing. A realization slowly dawned in her heart: The Ancestor wouldn’t care about the life or death of any descendant; no descendant was important to him. But if that lowly woman’s second son died outside, then the matter would become significant. The Meng Family starting to have deaths signifies that this world is about to descend into chaos...

...

Thinking this, after kowtowing four times, she suddenly commanded those behind her, "Quick! Go down and invite the Old Master up to discuss matters! This is beyond what I, a mere woman, can decide!"

And as the Meng Family fell into a state of great alarm, bustling about, countless other places in the world were also stirred by unknown disturbances. What happened before Shima Town was, in itself, a small affair. No single person’s death greatly impacted the world. However, the Meng Family Ancestor’s fury was a major event, and that anger alarmed many.

"Has that old thing awakened?"

"Why is he so furious? Did a direct descendant of the Meng Family die?"

...

Amidst the speculation, someone stated with certainty, "It has nothing to do with who died. He wouldn’t care if even more Meng Family members perished. In this world, no one can anger him, except for the Hu Family, who once governed the Zhen Sui Mansion and had the audacity to strike him... But the Hu Family has long lost the ability to provoke him."

"Then what could it be?"

"...Heh heh. The evil spirits that once crawled out from the deepest pits of hell and brought disaster to the world... Could it be that after twenty years, those evil spirits are restless again?"

"Best go to bed early. Perhaps we’ll hear the Yin Emperor’s sacred decree in our dreams again?"

...

...

"They left?"

"Three thousand ghost soldiers actually retreated just like that?"

"Just now... who was that shadow standing on the mountain? And what was he holding?"

At this moment, outside Shima Town, the Beef Avoidance Sect Disciples were also staring blankly in the direction the ghost soldiers had retreated. They had vaguely seen the figure commanding spirits and ghosts, but not everyone had seen it clearly. They couldn’t even imagine someone repelling three thousand ghost soldiers with a single sentence. Thus, they could only speculate, trying their best to come up with an explanation that seemed reasonable to them.

However, they could only guess; no one could provide an answer. Only a few among the Beef Avoidance Sect Disciples lowered their voices and sighed softly, "Regardless, from now on, when we see our Sect Hierarch, we shouldn’t joke around anymore..."

"Sir, we..." On the opposing side of the Beef Avoidance Sect Disciples, behind the Iron Steed Grand Hall Officer, the stewards and runners, having recovered from the earlier suffocating pressure, hurriedly began to ask.

But the Iron Steed Grand Hall Officer suddenly raised his hand, stopping their inquiries. Then, he lightly tugged the reins, and the tiger-headed louse-headed horse beneath him began to slowly back away. At once, those around him were astonished.

"Leaving?"

"That big-headed turtle-spawn is leaving too?"

...

"Huh?"

Even among the Beef Avoidance Sect Disciples, some noticed and were surprised. "Big-Headed Turtle-Spawn isn’t fighting anymore? He’s just leaving like that?"

The other Beef Avoidance Sect Disciples also reacted, turning their heads to look. Amidst their astonishment, a sense of excitement suddenly arose, and they began to cheer, "The time for three incense sticks is up! Big-Headed Turtle-Spawn lost!"

"The Shousui Grand Hall Officer met his defeat before our One Coin Sect! Let’s see who else dares to challenge our might!"

...

Hearing the cheers, the Iron Steed Grand Hall Officer, who had already retreated about ten to fourteen feet and had even turned his horse around, could finally bear it no longer. He abruptly wheeled around and cursed, "You’re the big-headed turtle-spawn! Your entire lineage for generations are big-headed turtle-spawn!

"Foul-mouthed degenerates! A bunch of demon people courting death who don’t know any better!

"You all lack decorum and respect no laws! You’ve brought a great disaster upon yourselves and don’t even realize it! When I return, I shall host a banquet and sit back to watch how you demon people die without a burial place!

"...HEH! PTOOEY!"

...

This outburst immediately stunned the Beef-eating Demon People in front of Shima Town. From his charge towards the town, to his clashes with their various senior brothers—dueling with weapons, breaking Strange Techniques—the Iron Steed Grand Hall Officer had always remained silent. Why was he suddenly cursing everyone now?

"Really..." Only the opera troupe leader, Jin Chen, looked embarrassed. He glanced at his junior brothers before him and said, "During the duel earlier, it was fine to say some harsh things; that’s called a psychological attack. But why continue to curse him when he’s already lost? See? You’ve broken his composure, haven’t you?"

...

But amidst their surprised and delighted discussion, the Iron Steed Grand Hall Officer truly did leave as he said he would, riding his tiger-headed louse-headed horse far away. Looking from a distance, even the dozen or so black, scrawny legs of the horse seemed to be trembling.

It wasn’t just the Iron Steed Grand Hall Officer retreating; the other groups had also received word and withdrawn, only regrouping about six miles out.

"Sir! Sir! Are we really retreating just like this?"

Seeing the Iron Steed Grand Hall Officer from afar, several small hall officers hurried forward to ask. "But we never saw the red signal flare, nor did we truly fight those demon people to the death. We don’t even have a scratch on us... Going back like this, won’t it be difficult to report to the Old Master at home?"

...

"Report? You’re still thinking about reporting?" The Iron Steed Grand Hall Officer finally turned his head, glanced at the place where the ghost soldiers had retreated, and roared in a low voice, "Do you have any idea who appeared in the town just now?

"Qiankun Reversal and Five Elements Reversed occurred, so people outside the town couldn’t see what they were doing. But I, relying on a Shousui man’s eyesight, saw a little from a distance...

"It was evil spirits!

"The four Great Evil Spirits joined forces, killed Second Young Master Meng, and toyed with the Ancestor worshipped by the Tongyin Meng Family..."

He spoke gravely, his usually resolute face now showing a visible trace of panic. "These demons, dormant for twenty years, have re-entered the world..."