Chapter 1 成仙没有意义，归乡却很有意义 Immortality is Meaningless, Returning Home is Meaningful

That sentence didn't seem to be the answer the Imperial Advisor wanted.

But for him, the answer was no longer important.

Knowing that Hu Ma was looking for him, he had come here, seemingly curious about what Hu Ma wanted to ask him. And Hu Ma's question about "returning home" gave him a sense of unexpected satisfaction.

Not rushing to answer, his face appeared even colder and more despondent: "Your Hu family deceived me for twenty years, making all my plans come to naught."

"The White Jade City plan was ruined."

"The Great Luo Dharma Sect has also expelled me from the sect."

"You ruined my path to returning home, and you should have been the only person I wanted to kill in the past twenty years. But you came to me asking about returning home?"

He slightly raised his head, staring intently into Hu Ma's eyes: "Give me a reason why you think I would answer your question!"

Hearing these words, the old abacus next to him couldn't help but feel worried.

The killing intent in the Imperial Advisor's eyes when he said these words didn't seem fake. The Imperial Advisor possessed great skills, but rarely killed.

He only killed at crucial moments.

But as long as he wanted to kill, few people in this world could escape. Certainly, Hu Ma might not be someone he could kill, but he was standing right next to them. If these two started fighting, it would affect him…

Hu Ma, on the other hand, faced the Imperial Advisor's questioning and fell into a slight silence, as if many answers flashed through his mind.

Perhaps he could criticize the Imperial Advisor for running away, saying that he owed this world and should answer his questions?

Or say that as the previous high priest of the Great Luo Dharma Sect, he had a responsibility to answer his questions?

But in the end, Hu Ma thought of the Wu Chang Li family, and the old man guarding the ancestral shrine in Shangjing, the image of the Imperial Advisor they spoke of. He slowly raised his head, looked at the Imperial Advisor, and said, "I will make sure that this life of yours doesn't end up… like a joke!"

As soon as this answer came out, the old abacus immediately shrank his neck and was about to run away.

And the expression on the Imperial Advisor's face suddenly disappeared completely, and in his somewhat despondent eyes, a cold, electric-like sternness seemed to surge.

A joke?

The one who once sent Du Yi to its doom and buried the first generation of reincarnators, would ultimately only be remembered as a "joke"?

Perhaps at the level of the Imperial Advisor, it was difficult for any words to shake his heart.

But the word "joke" simply ripped off his face and exposed it to the scorching sun.

After Hu Ma said these two words, he was prepared for the Imperial Advisor to attack in a fit of rage. He knew that these two words would definitely shake the Imperial Advisor's heart, but he didn't know what the final result would be.

Under his gaze, he saw the Imperial Advisor's face darken, and the clouds in the mountains gathered and dispersed, but after a long, long time, he didn't make any move. Instead, he smiled self-deprecatingly.

Then he looked coldly at Hu Ma and said in a low voice, "Come to Da'ai Mountain to find me!"

After saying these words, a thin mist suddenly rose around them, and everything became blurred and hazy.

The next moment, the Imperial Advisor had disappeared. The place where he had been was still just an ancient pine tree.

"Is it a person, or a pine tree?"

Hu Ma frowned and stepped forward, gently touching the hard cracks on the pine tree, a thoughtful look on his face.

Now his Daoist cultivation was not shallow, and there were very few spells in the world that could deceive or hurt him.

But seeing the Imperial Advisor's technique of transforming into a pine tree, he still felt a sense of novelty.

This represented that there were still many spells in the world that he could not see through, and it also represented countless unknowns.

The unknown was hope, which confirmed his idea that it was not impossible.

"Where is Da'ai Mountain?"

He stroked the ancient pine tree, pondered for a long time, and turned to ask the old abacus.

"It's the mountain gate of our Great Luo Dharma Sect…"

The old abacus didn't dare to breathe carefully until this moment, and hurriedly said, "Before Du Yi, the Great Luo Dharma Sect always had only one master, one disciple, and one incense burner, cultivating outside the mountain gate, observing the Grand Duke, and knowing the celestial phenomena."

"It's just that after Du Yi took over the world, the ancestral master went down the mountain, and Guan Shi Xiang (Observing the World Incense) was also brought to the human world. The mountain gate of Da'ai Mountain was also abandoned. I didn't expect the Imperial Advisor to return there…"

After a pause, he pondered and said, "But theoretically, that place should still belong to the Great Luo Dharma Sect. Throughout the dynasties, all those who knew of the existence of the Great Luo Dharma Sect, including the first emperor of Du Yi, sealed that place to the high priest of the Great Luo Dharma Sect."

"So that place is actually your territory. The Imperial Advisor returning there is actually a bit strange…"

"…"

Hu Ma nodded and said, "Then let's go!"

The old abacus was a little worried all of a sudden: "Taking back the territory?"

Hu Ma nodded and said, "Not only taking back the territory, but also checking out everything that's useful. Since I'm going to be the high priest, I should at least sort out the accounts."

Since Hu Ma had decided to go, the old abacus didn't dare to stop him. He actually didn't quite understand what Hu Ma was going to do now, and he subconsciously felt that Hu Ma was being a bit careless by leaving such a big matter to those people…

After all, those people were outsiders.

But seeing Hu Ma suddenly become interested in the affairs of the Great Luo Dharma Sect, he didn't think it was a bad thing. No matter what the situation, sorting out the accounts was something that should be done.

The preparation method was particularly simple. The disciples of the Great Luo Dharma Sect, except for Hu Ma, all carried the ancestral master's memorial tablet with them.

He kowtowed to the ancestral master's memorial tablet in front of Hu Ma and lit an incense stick.

He muttered to himself for a long time, then got up, picked up the incense stick, and said to Hu Ma, "I'm ready, let's go!"

Hu Ma nodded, but then thought of something. He also pulled out an incense stick from his sleeve, lit it in one breath, and watched the clear smoke drift away. Not long after, a red shadow flickered, and Xiao Hongtang (Little Red Sugar) jumped out of the nearby forest and hugged Hu Ma's arm.

Since meeting her grandmother in Shangjing, Hu Ma had been busy with things, so he had Xiao Hongtang stay in the ancestral shrine to accompany her.

Now that he had other things to do, he summoned Xiao Hongtang over.

"Xiao Hongtang, remember you once said that you came out of a big black house?"

Hu Ma looked at her. He saw that Xiao Hongtang had stayed with her grandmother in the ancestral shrine for a while, and she looked a little fatter.

The incense of the ancestral shrine was now being enjoyed by the Hu family, and the incense there was different from others. Xiao Hongtang also benefited greatly from it.

Luckily he called her back, or wouldn't she have become a big chubby girl?

"Yes…"

Xiao Hongtang nodded vigorously: "There are still many people there, but they are very fierce!"

"Grandmother picked up Xiao Hongtang, Grandmother is different from those people, Grandmother is a good grandmother."

"…"

Hu Ma smiled and nodded, and said, "Then, if you let Xiao Hongtang go back again, would you dare to?"

"I won't go!"

Xiao Hongtang was usually very obedient, whether it was delivering messages, fighting, stealing things, or moving blood food, she never hesitated.

But now, her face changed and she showed a look of panic, hugging Hu Ma's arm tightly: "Brother Hu Ma, don't go either."

"Don't worry."

Hu Ma touched Xiao Hongtang's head and smiled, "Now I am very capable and not afraid of them."

Then he said to the old abacus, "Go to Da'ai Mountain first."

The old abacus's eyes also moved away from Xiao Hongtang. It wasn't the first time he had seen this little messenger ghost, but strangely, the more he looked at her, the more he felt that this little messenger ghost looked different from others.

Especially, he looked at the direction that the incense stick that Hu Ma lit was drifting towards, which seemed to be the location of Shangjing, but the incense of Shangjing was not something that ordinary little messenger ghosts could enjoy.

This girl, has she actually gained weight?

At this time, experience in the martial world came in handy. If you didn't understand it, then don't ask.

He just shrank his head, nodded quickly, and followed the direction of the smoke from the incense stick in his hand.

Hu Ma followed behind, and saw the magical effect of the incense stick in front of the ancestral master. It seemed to be just a light and faint incense stick, and its direction changed depending on the surrounding wind.

The old abacus went wherever the incense drifted, and inexplicably, his figure seemed to be like the incense, flashing left and right, gradually becoming a bit hazy.

He actually needed to concentrate his attention to keep up with him, and gradually ignored the surrounding scenery.

He vaguely felt that he had only walked for the time it took for an incense stick to burn.

Just as the incense stick in the old abacus's hand was about to burn out, he saw the old abacus stop, and the last wisp of incense drifted towards a mountain in front of him. Hu Ma, who was carrying Xiao Hongtang sitting on his shoulders, also stopped in front of the mountain.

He suddenly saw that he had arrived in front of an unfamiliar mountain, with dense pine and cypress trees and strange rocks.

Looking around, there were also many mountains and secluded valleys, as if this mountain was lonely and clear, standing alone outside this world.

"Is this Da'ai Mountain?"

Hu Ma looked around for a long time and spoke softly, but in this silent place, his voice seemed very clear.

The old abacus quickly shrank his head and whispered, "I think so."

"This mountain is not on the map, only the incense stick in front of the ancestral master's memorial tablet can be used to point the way."

"I also know this method, but this is the first time I've come here."

"…"

"Then follow behind me."

Hu Ma took down Xiao Hongtang from his left shoulder and held her hand.

Xiao Hongtang had been very vigilant, but seeing that she was not going to the big black house in her memory, she felt a little relieved.

Following Hu Ma, she slowly raised her steps, followed a stone path covered with moss at the foot of the mountain, and slowly walked up the mountain. She saw that the mountain was quiet, and not even the chirping of birds could be heard.

He thought he would go directly up the mountain, but unexpectedly, when he reached the mountainside, he saw a row of dilapidated stone houses and a stone slope overgrown with weeds. Hu Ma stopped and saw the Imperial Advisor standing with his back to him on the stone slope, kowtowing to the incense table.

With his Daoist cultivation, he probably knew that Hu Ma was coming when Hu Ma was still at the foot of the mountain.

But now he was extremely respectful, kowtowing to the incense table in front of him, offering incense, and his movements seemed meticulous.

And this extremely simple scene, which was also common among the people, made Hu Ma feel a little surprised. The Imperial Advisor was once the high priest of the Great Luo Dharma Sect, and even now, he was the most capable person in this world, perhaps even the only one.

The ghosts and gods worshiped by the common people were only like a wisp of yin wind to him, which would dissipate when touched. Even the demon heavens and ghost lands were only things that could be calculated and utilized for him.

But now, he was lighting ten incense sticks and kowtowing. What was he worshiping?

What was worthy of such respect from someone like him?

Although he didn't understand, he followed the rules and didn't speak while he was offering incense, but waited quietly by the slope.

After lighting ten incense sticks, the Imperial Advisor slowly turned around and walked towards Hu Ma. He glanced at Xiao Hongtang beside Hu Ma, and then took the lead to walk away.

The two of them didn't say anything. They walked along the stone steps for a while, and the Imperial Advisor suddenly said to Hu Ma, "Do you find it strange?"

Hu Ma nodded and said frankly, "In Shangjing, you only burned one incense stick, and when you left, you left that incense stick for me."

"The Great Luo Dharma Sect has always only burned one incense stick, which is the Guan Shi Zhi Xiang (Observing the World Incense)."

The Imperial Advisor said frankly, "But I no longer belong to the Great Luo Dharma Sect, so the things I respect have naturally increased."

Hu Ma frowned slightly, turned to look at the Imperial Advisor, and said, "There are still things in this world that you respect?"

"There are many."

The Imperial Advisor said slowly, "Only the ignorant are fearless. I know more things than you."

"Does that feel like cursing someone?"

Being cursed always made people angry, but because he had won that battle of spells in Shangjing, Hu Ma's heart seemed broad, and he didn't mind. He just followed the Imperial Advisor and smiled, "Since I'm here, you should tell me."

"I have many questions I want to ask, and only you can answer them."

"Why are the three realms of the Great Luo Dharma Sect Guan Shi (Observing the World), Ru Shi (Entering the World), and Lao Tian Ye (Old Heavens)?"

"Why did the Great Virtuous Teacher originally name his self-created spells Da Wei Shi Gong (Great Majestic Master), but later changed it to Tian Gong Jiang Jun (Heavenly Duke General)?"

"What does Tian Gong (Heavenly Duke) mean?"

"…"

The Imperial Advisor listened without rushing to answer, but suddenly looked at Hu Ma and said, "You should answer me first, why are you only asking now?"

"You were already the high priest of the Great Luo Dharma Sect back in Shangjing, and at that time, you didn't even care."

"…"

"Because I didn't need it."

Hu Ma said frankly, "When I saw this path of Luo Tian Grand Offering, I knew that the ten surnames' spells would disappear. After I had the ability to carry the twelve ghost altars and the equivalent things, that was enough."

"I only need to collect the five towns of Seal, Hammer, Book, Fruit, and Order, and change the world to expel the Grand Duke. Everything else is a burden."

"The Hu family's path is destined to destroy spells, and I cannot become a spell thief."

"But now…"

He paused before slowly saying, "I have a reason."

The Imperial Advisor could perceive the sincerity in Hu Ma's words, but he didn't answer directly, but lowered his gaze.

He saw Xiao Hongtang beside Hu Ma and said in a low voice, "Many things, I think your Hu family already knows."

"Otherwise, why would this little ghost have stayed in the Hu family?"

"…"

"Grandmother left her for me."

Hu Ma breathed a sigh of relief, touched Xiao Hongtang's head, and said, "When I was in Shangjing, I also asked her about Xiao Hongtang's origins. Grandmother told me, but when she said it, I could tell that Grandmother didn't know Xiao Hongtang's true origins."

"To her, Xiao Hongtang was just a little messenger ghost she picked up in Shangjing."

Hu Ma looked down. Xiao Hongtang was curiously looking around, not listening to his words. He felt a little relieved, but still lowered his voice and used the skill of ghostly whispers to say to the Imperial Advisor:

"Grandmother went to Shangjing to persuade my birth mother because she had left Old Yin Mountain, but my mother was determined, so Grandmother didn't say anything."

"It was on that trip back to Shangjing that she saw Xiao Hongtang. At that time, her soul root had been broken, and she couldn't enter the Yin Mansion. It looked like she had been refined by someone, but she wouldn't dissipate like ordinary ghosts. She was holding her own eight-character book (book of destiny), representing that she had no master to rely on…"

"Seeing the many scars on her body, Grandmother knew that she had suffered a lot."

"Because the Hu family had lost power at that time, there were probably many families in Shangjing who had the ability to refine this little messenger ghost."

"Although Grandmother was angry at this kind of outrageous behavior, she didn't have the ability to find that person. She had to take her back to Old Yin Mountain, cut blood food to feed her, and gradually raised her back. Of course, it also gave this little girl a small gluttonous problem…"

"…This is not actually a problem. I think, leaving aside my other skills, I can always afford to support her."

"…"

After saying these things, Hu Ma said, "However, it was I who discovered many unusual things about Xiao Hongtang afterwards."

"Grandmother was too good to her at that time, not letting her help fight, let alone help steal things."

"Many skills were not discovered."

"…"

"Or maybe she discovered them, but didn't say them."

The Imperial Advisor listened to Hu Ma's narration and slowly said, "Grandmother Bai is also a very capable person, but her heart is too good, which means that she cannot go too far on the bridge."

"If you say that she doesn't understand the true details of this little messenger ghost, I believe it, but if you say that she didn't discover the unusual things about this little messenger ghost, that's impossible. I think she must have discovered them, but she didn't want to tell you."

"Because…"

He turned to look at Hu Ma and said, "She doesn't want you to get involved with those people in the Nether Palace."

"Nether Palace…"

Hearing these two words, Hu Ma's expression was already slightly condensed.

Even this silent Da'ai Mountain suddenly blew a gust of cold wind because of these two words.

It chilled through his clothes and straight to his spine.

Xiao Hongtang inexplicably felt a little scared and leaned closer to Hu Ma.

"Do you know why Lao Junmei and Longjing wanted to kill all the Du Yi imperial family, leaving not a single one?"

The Imperial Advisor slowly asked an unexpected question.

Hu Ma was also slightly stunned and said, "Isn't it to cut off Du Yi's luck so that the Grand Duke can no longer invade the human world?"

"That's just one of the reasons."

The Imperial Advisor said slowly, "And if it was just for this matter, there was no need to bear such a great sin."

"The real reason is because of the Nether Palace…"

When he said these words, there was even a hint of mockery on his face: "The Du Yi Dynasty ruled the world for two hundred years, with eleven emperors in total."

"They, including the founding emperor who first set up sacrifices to invite the Grand Duke to strengthen his fierce soldiers, and the second emperor who entrusted our Great Luo Dharma Sect to perform the Asking Heaven Grand Offering to ask about the Grand Duke's origins, are the eleven people who have the deepest connection with the Grand Duke and are also the most honorable."

"Except for the first two, most of the Du Yi emperors died early, but as members of the imperial family, even in death, they were different from ordinary people, enjoying the world's grand sacrifices and being regarded as guests of honor by the Grand Duke."

"Have you never thought about whether they are really dead, or where they are?"

"…"

This sentence suddenly gave Hu Ma countless thoughts.

The Du Yi Dynasty was cut off by Lao Junmei and Longjing, and 170,000 members of the imperial family became wronged ghosts, but there were indeed some strange things.

The imperial family in the yang world were all cursed to death, and the Yellow Springs of the underworld had been divided by the ten surnames for the past twenty years, but no one had ever mentioned the previous emperors of Du Yi. Did they really die and disappear without a trace?

At this time, the Imperial Advisor slowly said the answer, "They are all in the Nether Palace."

"Back then, not only was the emperor's skin to be peeled off, but also the 170,000 named members of the imperial family were to be cursed to death, because these descendants of the imperial family are the bridge for the existence in the Nether Palace to enter the human world."

"Lao Junmei and Longjing's methods were extraordinary. They directly cut off their bridge, making them rootless water, like wandering gods without incense or remembrance, and could only slowly dissipate."

"This is a very ingenious and very vicious method, which can cut off the foundation of the Nether Palace in one fell swoop and kill the enemy invisibly."

"But in the end, it is also a method of last resort. Lao Junmei and other reincarnators chose this plan because they were not confident in dealing with the Nether Palace."

"It's just that their plan succeeded, but the existence in the Nether Palace is not necessarily willing to die…"

"And if my eyesight is not bad…"

"…"

He lowered his head again, looked at Xiao Hongtang, and said in a low voice, "This little messenger ghost came from the Nether Palace."

Hu Ma listened, not feeling too surprised, but stopped and looked seriously at the Imperial Advisor, saying, "What is the relationship between this and the question I asked you?"

"Your question about returning home requires mentioning Lao Junmei."

The Imperial Advisor also stopped, looked at Hu Ma, and said slowly, "I have always thought that Lao Junmei and the others are very smart, solving the people in the Nether Palace with the most correct method. Now, we only need to continue to forget the Nether Palace, and they will never become a threat."

"But after all, they are on that path."

He slowly said, "You ask me about the path of returning home, I can only say that it does exist, and it is indeed behind you, but this path was not comprehended by the Great Luo Dharma Sect or the reincarnators."

"The previous emperors of Du Yi were walking such a path. If you want to go further, you need to encounter them."

"Although their incense has been cut off for twenty years, I think they should not have all died, and are even trying to return to the human world."

"In this world, your destiny is already rare."

"But these eleven people, each of their destinies is heavier than yours, and they also have the blessings of incense, as well as a mysterious connection with the Grand Duke, and various bizarre aspects."

Speaking of this, his expression became a bit harsh, even mocking: "If I tell you that the things you want to know are related to these existences, would you still continue to ask me how to walk this path?"