Chapter 325: Chapter 323 Meat Evil Altar Envoy
"Fresh?"
Under the dim moonlight, surrounded by darkness, the two seriously discussed what kind of human flesh was delicious. The atmosphere was inexplicably strange. Hu Ma just smiled while watching him, and the man pushing the wheelbarrow surprisingly remained calm.
He slowly lowered the cart frame, removed the rope from around his neck, and grinned at Hu Ma. "It seems you’re not lacking in perception."
"Since you’ve noticed our domain, I want to ask, where does a little walking ghost like you get the courage to disrupt my grand plans and even use an oil pot to cook my evil seed?"
"..."
"I was waiting here precisely to ask you that."
Hu Ma became slightly more serious, squinting as he spoke. "In life, people seek peace and contentment. This village knows the rules and is respectful; it’s a blessed place. Why do you come here, disrupt people’s virtues, engage in evil-making and ghost-raising, without fear of retribution?"
"Retribution?"
The wheelbarrow man suddenly burst into laughter, looking at Hu Ma with mocking eyes. "HAHA! You speak of retribution to me? Do you even know the Old Master whom I serve?"
"I don’t know who your Old Master is."
Hu Ma also stood up, scrutinizing him. "But Ghost Walkers roam the countryside, expelling evil and ensuring peace."
"Encountering such a place filled with overwhelming destructive energy, one must intervene."
"Now that I know you’ve been scheming and are serving an Old Master, I want to ask you: are there any rules left in this world? How can you be allowed to harm people like this?"
"..."
"HAHA, HAHA! You’re talking about rules with me?"
The butcher laughed scornfully at Hu Ma’s words. "Just like my Old Master said, the Ghost Walker Path is the most ridiculous—a bunch of talentless fools who love to meddle in others’ affairs."
"If you want to talk about rules, go tell the government! See if they want to punish me or kowtow to our Old Master!"
"..."
While he spoke, Hu Ma remained highly vigilant. He appeared calm but was discreetly moving closer to the donkey, as if to retrieve something from the saddlebag on its back.
But the man suddenly stopped laughing. "Enough. Today, I’ll let you, this little walking ghost, see the real world..."
"..."
With these words, murderous intent flared. Hu Ma quickened his pace, moving swiftly toward the donkey.
Yet, the man suddenly took a large step, drawing a blackened, greasy scythe from the cart. An overwhelming destructive energy emanated from him, so intense it dazzled the eyes.
It was as if he had merely flashed from the wheelbarrow’s side to appear right in front of Hu Ma, the scythe in his hand whistling through the air as he fiercely aimed it at Hu Ma’s chest.
Wandering spirits and evil spirits are full of yin qi, while the Guest fed by incense possesses incense energy.
An Incense Burner’s skills all come from their Old Master. When the Old Master possesses incense energy, the Incense Burner’s yin qi also transforms.
Hence, a Negative Spirit under an evil spirit is full of yin qi, resembling a ghost more than a human. However, some Incense Burners under a Great hall guest cultivate such a presence that they may exhibit no yin qi at all, appearing almost like Immortals.
However, the Five Evil Gods, due to their unorthodox position, are even more vicious than evil spirits. Though their bodies are full of incense energy, it cultivates into destructive energy instead.
As soon as the wheelbarrow man made his move, destructive energy rolled out, its menace palpable. The scythe’s tip trembled, angled deceitfully, aiming straight to gouge out the heart.
Simultaneously, a sinister and contemptuous smile appeared on his face. He clearly didn’t take this little walking ghost seriously at all. Without setting up the altar, what difference is there between a Ghost Walker and an ordinary person when facing a Negative Spirit Shousui?
Unexpectedly, the scythe did indeed strike Hu Ma’s chest. The blade’s tip quivered, poised to dig into his flesh.
However, Hu Ma’s chest abruptly trembled, and the scythe was unexpectedly repelled. Simultaneously, Hu Ma reached into the saddlebag on the donkey’s back and pulled out a blade.
"What in the world?"
The wheelbarrow man’s scorn turned to astonishment in the blink of an eye.
What the hell is this? A Ghost Walker, not bothering with setting up the altar or using any ritual objects, just pulls out a big blade?
Besides, I put my full strength into that scythe swing just now. How did it not cut him?
Hard Qigong—chest of stone.
In the past half-year, Hu Ma had spared no effort, diligently practicing the unique skills learned from the Dongzi Li Family until he had mastered each one. Now, with his internal organs vibrating, he employed his hard Qigong.
Although not as impenetrable as a Shousui of Ji Tang’s Entering the Mansion level, the defensive energy he manifested nearly achieved true invulnerability. He glanced back at the incense burner, a silent smile playing on his lips, and then swung his blade in a vicious counterattack.
It wasn’t that Hu Ma was shy; it was because maintaining hard Qigong forbade speaking or even changing his breathing, lest the technique be broken.
But this strike was fierce, vicious, and precise. It hacked directly into the left side of the man’s neck, the entire blade sinking deep into his flesh.
"You..."
The wheelbarrow man never expected to suffer such a grievous blow right at the start. Fortunately, his cultivation was not weak; he leapt back violently to avoid being cleft in two by the strike.
His feet tangled as he staggered back ten to thirteen feet, scrambling to his wheelbarrow. He ripped off a piece of flesh from it and slapped it onto his wound, from which blood was gushing like a spring. Only then did he look at Hu Ma, his face a mask of disbelief.
Strangely, the moment the piece of flesh touched his chest, it directly merged into his body, sealing the wound.
"A Shousui?"
The man realized the problem and shouted, "A Shousui man disguised as a Ghost Walker? No wonder you dared to wait for me here alone!"
He warily scanned his surroundings, confirming no one was lying in ambush, before turning his gaze back to Hu Ma. His heart was filled with alarm and uncertainty; he had no idea what this person’s background was or why he was so bizarre.
"I truly am a Ghost Walker."
But Hu Ma offered no explanation. He merely smiled, knife in hand, and advanced on the man step by step.
Under the moonlight, Hu Ma held the large blade, a smile on his face. The blade itself looked peculiar and sinister, as if its edge were lined with saw teeth, and there were blackened, stringy bits of flesh clinging to it that couldn’t be washed off.
The meat-selling man felt the pressure mounting. He suddenly spat and cursed, "Since when do Ghost Walkers use greatblades?"
Cursing, he continued to retreat rapidly. He drew a short knife, but instead of rushing forward, he slashed his own thigh, cutting off two bloody chunks of flesh and flinging them towards Hu Ma.
Simultaneously, he began chanting loudly, and gusts of yin wind swirled around them.
And strangely, those two bloody chunks of meat suddenly began to melt as if doused with acid.
"Brother Huma..." Little Hongtang, seeing this, suddenly called out.
"Got it!"
Hu Ma replied, looking down. He could see the two chunks of flesh transforming, writhing on the ground and turning into two little ghosts, identical in appearance to the ones he had fried in oil back in the village.
They had small heads and large bellies, squirming from the dissolving flesh. Shaking their heads, they began to crawl rapidly across the ground, growing faster and looking increasingly ferocious as they rushed to bite him.
Little Hongtang had called out to Hu Ma because she realized she could probably take on at least one of those little ghosts herself...
The trick door has a trump card called Planting Beans into Soldiers. Is this fellow’s technique ’Sprinkling Meat into Soldiers’?
Hu Ma decided to test it out and strode forward.
Facing the two little yin ghosts, his figure flashed as he dodged their claws and fangs. Then, with a slight turn of his blade, he swiftly sliced both of them into four pieces.
However, those little yin ghosts instantly reformed from the pieces, now numbering four, and lunged at him again.
"SWISH... CLANG..."
Meanwhile, the wheelbarrow man, one hand theatrically lifting his robe, began to circle Hu Ma with strange, almost comical steps. He chanted continuously. Whenever Hu Ma tried to charge him, the man would quickly slice off another piece of his own flesh.
The flesh would hit the ground and transform into a little ghost. In a matter of moments, he had cut off seven or eight pieces, and Hu Ma seemed to be surrounded by these little ghosts.
"Brother Huma..."
Little Hongtang, watching from the side, no longer had any intention of helping.
When there were only two little ghosts, she could have helped Brother Huma take one down, and they would have finished this quickly. But he didn’t let me. Now there are so many, I can’t help him even if I wanted to. I might as well just squat here and watch the show. If only I had some jerky...
"Not much skill after all! You must have eaten a bear’s heart and a leopard’s gall to dare meddle in our Old Master’s affairs..."
After testing Hu Ma for a while, the wheelbarrow man’s suspicions lessened. His chanting suddenly grew urgent, and the little ghosts surrounding Hu Ma leaped simultaneously, baring their teeth and fangs as they pounced.
At this point, he was actually considering capturing this Little Shousui alive to properly interrogate him and find out if there was someone else pulling the strings.
"Is this all the skill a dignified Five Evil Altar Envoy possesses?"
But just then, Hu Ma, having figured out the man’s trump card and feeling confident, suddenly turned his head and smiled.
He thrust his blade into the ground beside him. Facing the onrushing little ghosts, he raised his left palm. Taking a deep breath, his hand rapidly turned black and then red, the veins bulging prominently, resembling a network of runes.
Then, he exhaled with a shout, his voice heavy as a stone tablet, and slammed his palm down.
"BOOM!"
The three to five little ghosts closest to him were slammed flat onto the ground by his palm strike.
Even those attacking from other directions were sent flying back by the sheer force of the blow, tumbling into a heap in a sorry state.
The meat-selling wheelbarrow man was utterly astounded. He saw that the little ghosts Hu Ma had struck to the ground had become nothing more than flat piles of flesh, no longer responding to his summons, no matter how he tried.
When he looked at Hu Ma again, his eyes were filled with an indescribable terror. What kind of trump card is this Shousui man using? It’s filled with such potent masculine energy! How can one palm strike turn little ghosts into dead meat?
All that time I spent sneaking into graveyards and practicing on people’s stone steles wasn’t wasted after all...
Even Hu Ma himself was somewhat surprised by the power of his Big Stone Breaking Hand. A pleased smile touched his lips as he slowly turned to look at the blood-soaked man.
But under the dim moonlight, this smile, in the eyes of the wheelbarrow man, was indescribably sinister and terrifying.