Chapter 326 - 324 I Really Am a Walking Ghost

Chapter 326: Chapter 324 I Really Am a Walking Ghost

The Big Stone Breaking Hand was a Shousui man’s trump card.

Learning it not only required the unique constitution of a Shousui man, balanced between life and death, but it also demanded rigorous practice, supplemented by herbal medicine and talisman water. Every day, one had to strike a Stele, absorbing the yin qi from the stone to hone one’s palm.

Once mastered, one could channel their body’s living aura into an attack. A single palm strike would be imbued with potent masculine energy, especially effective against evil spirits and evil objects, its power comparable to the Blood Yang Arrow.

The Blood Yang Arrow was a signature skill of the Shousui, but each use consumed a vital part of the user.

This Big Stone Breaking Hand, however, did not consume one’s vital energy or blood; one could swing their palm as many times as desired.

He hadn’t wanted to use this move earlier, afraid it might scare off the wheelbarrow man. But now that he had, he immediately followed with an advancing step, employing the Mountain Opening technique taught by the Second Master. He first kicked up a cloud of sand and dirt from the ground, then followed with a palm strike.

Not good!

Hu Ma’s assumption was correct. The wheelbarrow man, upon seeing Hu Ma use the Big Stone Breaking Hand, didn’t grow angrier. Instead, he immediately thought of fleeing for his life.

An encounter differed from an ambush. In an engagement, one couldn’t easily gauge the opponent’s true strength, so it made no sense to fight recklessly to the death. Typically, one would probe with only a portion of their abilities. If they couldn’t discern the opponent’s depth, it was time to slip away.

Only a brute would fight to the death when accosted by someone of unknown strength and motive without understanding their background.

This wheelbarrow man was no brute.

He had initially thought Hu Ma was a walking ghost. But when they clashed, he realized Hu Ma was a Shousui. Seeing him then use a trump card like the Big Stone Breaking Hand, which instantly destroyed his meat evil little ghost, he grew highly vigilant. This is bad! he thought, now completely unsure of this fellow’s capabilities.

While frantically chanting a curse to have the little ghosts that hadn’t yet been killed swarm and delay Hu Ma, he himself turned to flee.

Before running, he didn’t forget to grab a handful of meat strips from his wheelbarrow, taking these treasures with him.

His reaction wasn’t slow, but Hu Ma was already prepared.

After all, I’ve anticipated this; how could I let you escape?

"This is simply too much!"

The man sensed the heavy palm force approaching from behind. Knowing he couldn’t escape, he roared fiercely, suddenly swinging his sickle in a brutal slash towards Hu Ma’s face.

Now fighting for his life, he no longer dared to hide his true abilities. A roiling, baleful aura erupted from him, his strength immense. The sickle in his hand whistled through the air, its blade sharp and unnervingly sinister, aiming straight for Hu Ma’s eyes.

"Impressive!"

Hu Ma instinctively recoiled and retreated, dodging the attack.

Incense Burners were Negative Spirit people. Their techniques might not be as refined as those of a Shousui man, but when they erupted, they possessed a vicious, uncanny ferocity that prevented anyone from being too careless in their presence.

More importantly, after forcing Hu Ma back with the sickle, the man didn’t press his attack. Instead, he abruptly retreated further, creating more distance. Simultaneously, he swiftly tore open the front of his clothes, revealing a festering sore at the center of his chest.

"You son of a bitch! Some unknown Shousui man dares to block me, your Grandpa Life Evil, here? You truly don’t know your own limits, trying to sell lifesaving medicine right in front of King Yan..."

As he cursed, he shook his head rapidly, repeatedly chanting a curse, and the festering sore on his body began to spread.

Simultaneously, the blood he spat out transformed into a toxic mist. It drifted rapidly towards Hu Ma, carrying a chilling ghost qi, like a sudden gale sweeping over the area, rolling towards Hu Ma to envelop him.

Life Evil!

This Negative Spirit man didn’t know where Hu Ma had come from. Logically, even among the Shousui in Mingzhou, there were few who could stand against him; Hu Ma was certainly no nobody.

But having followed the Five Evil Master and grown accustomed to lording his power over others, he had never suffered such indignity. Mingzhou Prefecture had no significant Hall Officers. Even people from the plum bossom lane or the government yamen had to serve him cautiously when he appeared, not daring to provoke him.

Now, this Shousui man who had appeared out of nowhere dared to make him suffer such a significant loss. He was furious. Escaping was, of course, the best option, but since he couldn’t, he had to make a decision immediately.

He directly unleashed his Life Evil, intending to blast his opponent to death.

In truth, if this were a normal duel, he had many techniques he hadn’t yet used. But being cornered like this wasn’t about winning or losing; his life could be lost in an instant. So, he directly unleashed his ultimate trump card.

For a moment, the night became hazy, filled with the sounds of wailing ghosts and howling gods. The air grew thick with a venomous and demonic aura.

The toxic mist spread out, even touching Little Hongtang nearby and the donkey that had been diligently trying to shrink its rear. Little Hongtang was unaffected after coming into contact with it; only the green cloth tied around her wrist became somewhat sullied, but this blemish quickly disappeared.

The donkey’s rear, however, was different. It actually swelled up with one boil after another, turning into festering sores just like the man’s.

Done hiding, are we?

Facing the blood mist, Hu Ma understood his opponent’s intent.

The man wasn’t necessarily trying to use this blood mist to defeat him; his main goal was likely to force Hu Ma back so he could employ other techniques.

Yet, Hu Ma decidedly did not retreat. He let the blood mist roll onto him, then suddenly raised both hands and pressed them against his own ribs. A few gurgling sounds came from within his body as his internal organs vibrated.

"HA!"

His Five Organs resonated in unison, the sound shaking the surroundings.

This was precisely the trump card: the Five Thunders Golden Toad Roar. A technique brimming with masculine energy for exorcism, it was deafeningly powerful, simultaneously blasting the blood mist into nothingness.

SPLAT!

At the same time, the festering sore on the man’s chest suddenly burst, oozing pus and blood.

"What in the blazes?"

He wailed, his voice trembling. The fear in his heart at that moment was simply indescribable. Through his somewhat blurry eyes, Hu Ma now resembled an Evil Ghost lurking in the night.

A single toad-like roar shattered my Life Evil! Just how many abilities does this person have? Could it be... he’s a Shousui who has already Entered the Mansion? I can’t see through him, can’t grasp his limits. It’s as if no matter what technique I use, he can easily break it.

Finally, he could no longer care about anything else. He fiercely reached up and tore the towel wrapped around his head. Shockingly, nestled within the towel was a stick of One Incense.

It was embedded in the flesh of his head, an extremely grotesque sight.

As for himself, he gritted his teeth, his knees gave way, and he suddenly knelt on the ground. Then, his head plunged straight down.

THUD!

His head struck the ground, assuming a posture of full prostration.

Of course, he wasn’t kneeling to beg for mercy, but using this posture to directly beseech the Five Evil Master to descend.

No matter how many trump cards or techniques a Negative Spirit person possessed, there was always one ultimate ace: inviting spirits. One kowtow, and the Five Evil Master would possess him.

Then, no matter how skilled you are, it would be useless...

Of course, he wouldn’t normally resort to inviting the Five Evil Master so easily. The five Incense Burners had come in advance precisely to set up the Five Evil Formation. Now, he was begging the Five Evil Master for rescue before his own part of the task was even completed. He knew his fate afterward would certainly not be good.

But things had already come to this; what other choice did he have?

His forehead made solid contact, and he was just about to cry out, "Five Evil Master, save me!"

But he suddenly realized something was wrong. His forehead, upon touching down, seemed to have landed on something soft.

Startled, he looked up to see Hu Ma right in front of him, chuckling softly. Just as he was about to bring his head down for the kowtow, Hu Ma had extended his foot, placing it under the man’s forehead. That kowtow of his had landed squarely on Hu Ma’s shoe, failing to touch the ground.

The despair in his heart almost burst forth. But he seized the moment, throwing himself backward in a somersault and kicking over the wheelbarrow as he did so.

The wheelbarrow still held many strips of meat. As it overturned, the meat strips fell to the ground. Incredibly, piece by piece, they seemed to take root like seeds, unleashing layers of eerie, baleful qi.

From within this immense baleful qi, arm after arm stretched out. They looked like living things, a flurry of limbs grabbing at Hu Ma’s legs and robes; some even reached for the knife in Hu Ma’s hand.

In the blink of an eye, it was as if a monstrous entity of flesh and blood had tightly ensnared Hu Ma.

The meat-selling man, however, didn’t pause for a moment. He didn’t take the opportunity to rush Hu Ma. Instead, he used the chance to retreat further, simultaneously raising a hand to steady the incense on his head. Then, he opened his mouth wide, ready to bite down hard on his tongue.

He knew that if the opponent was a Shousui who had Entered the Mansion, this final move of his definitely wouldn’t be able to trap him for long. So, he only wanted to buy some time.

Even if a Negative Spirit person couldn’t summon their master, they could at least send a final message.

This Shousui man before me fills me with despair; I can’t even manage to summon the Old Master. But this also makes me realize the problem isn’t simple. I’m only in Mingzhou on official business; how could I so easily run into someone this difficult to deal with? Someone must be scheming something... I absolutely must tell the Five Evil Master! No matter how strong this Shousui man is, no matter how capable, can he really stop me from reporting to the Old Master?

But just as he harbored this thought and bit down fiercely, the corner of his eye caught Hu Ma smiling again. Hu Ma said softly, "We’ve been fighting for so long. Haven’t you realized you’ve been inside my altar all this time?"

Arms were grabbing at Hu Ma from all sides, but he suddenly lifted his foot lightly and stomped down hard.

SWOOSH! An invisible force erupted from beneath his foot. The arms gripping him were simultaneously torn apart, pieces of flesh and blood splattering in all directions.

At the same time, Hu Ma watched the Life Evil Envoy, who was about to bite his tongue to send a message. Hu Ma merely silently chanted a curse, drew a grass rope from his sleeve, and tossed it gently forward.

Vaguely, the grass rope seemed to transform into a chain. In an instant, it had wrapped around the man’s entire body, binding him securely. His shoulders felt incredibly heavy, as if a cangue had been fastened on him.

The moment he was shackled, the man couldn’t even utter a word, let alone bite his tongue.

He didn’t understand what was happening; he was so shocked his mind went blank.

"I told you, I’m actually a walking ghost!"

Hu Ma smiled. With a slight flick of his finger, the man, unable to control his own body, dazedly stood up. Hu Ma looked at the terror filling his eyes and chuckled softly, "I came this time specifically to teach your Old Master how the word ’rules’ is written."