Chapter 1 So the Ultimate Shousui Technique is Called the Immovable Heaven and Earth Seal?

"That's right, that's the supreme technique of our Yangming Zhou family, and the greatest skill in the Shousui school today."

"My father told me that this is the greatest skill in the Shousui school today, but unfortunately, most of it has been passed down from our ancestors and can only be cultivated by men."

"He has always wanted to change it so that both men and women can learn it, but after all these years, he still hasn't succeeded..."

"Why must it be changed?"

"Because he only has me as a daughter, and he'd feel like he's losing out if he taught it to someone else!"

"...That makes a lot of sense!"

"..."

As they gradually approached Shangjing, Hu Ma gained a better understanding of the Shousui orthodoxy through his conversations with Fourth Miss Zhou.

"The name of the Yangming Zhou family, with the words 'yang ming' (nourishing life), is well-deserved."

"The Shousui practitioners are not reckless men, but seek a way to survive from the simplest techniques. Everyone only has one life. They borrow power from heaven and earth, grow stronger, and are then eroded and dissolved by heaven and earth."

"Human emotions are like knives, and disasters take lives. No one can escape, but the Zhou family has a method of nourishing life, which doesn't change fate but allows one's own fate to reach its extreme."

"A healthy body can naturally prevent all diseases, and understanding the method of Yin and Yang interaction can lead to an indestructible golden body, with the original life force unharmed."

"And when this method is cultivated to its extreme, it is impervious to all techniques."

"My father once went into closed-door cultivation for three whole months, without moving, eating, drinking, or sleeping. When he came out after three months, he was radiant and as fresh as when he first went in. Most importantly, his lifespan was not reduced..."

"In other words, those three months, he jumped out of the Yin and Yang lifespan and was not within heaven and earth."

"..."

Hu Ma thought carefully about the logic in these words, and three words couldn't help but jump out in his mind:

Living dead.

When he first entered the Shousui path, Shopkeeper Wu had said that the Shousui path, when cultivated to its extreme, was the realm of the living dead.

At the time, he thought that the living dead referred to reaching the peak of Dengjie, where the whole body could be turned into death.

Now, thinking about it, could it be that the realm of the living dead is even higher than that?

Of course, Shopkeeper Wu probably heard it from somewhere else; his own realm was far from reaching such a high level.

"My father's ability to have an indestructible golden body and be impervious to all techniques is famous among the Ten Families. Few people in the various schools dare to provoke him, but he also said that there is a problem with his method, but he can't explain what the problem is. It's his stumbling block."

"Breaking it would mean escaping the Great Limit."

"But with just this one skill, he can be called the foundation of all Shousui in the world."

"The Ten Families are all called the main families of their respective schools, and there is also a saying that they are the ancestors of the various schools. There is a reason for this. It is said in the schools that all techniques return to the source. This is because the bridge is in the hands of the Ten Families, mysteriously governing a school, and also because the Ten Families each have such a unique skill in their hands. Although they cannot be said to be the true ancestors of each school, they can be called the parent forms of the Ten Great Schools."

"Ten Parent Forms?"

Hu Ma listened, also thoughtfully, nodding gently, "The Ten Families are indeed different..."

"...It's almost as if they were deliberately pushed out."

"..."

"Master, Shangjing City is ahead. We should be able to arrive before sunset."

Just as he was thinking, the voice of Xiao Douguan rang out from outside the carriage.

Hu Ma lifted the curtain and glanced forward. He saw an ancient official road stretching straight ahead, covered in desolate earth, with green mountains on both sides that seemed to be covered in a layer of gloomy aura.

Although it was still far away and he couldn't see the legendary ancient capital of Shangjing, he could feel at the end of this official road, a huge monster covered in sinister ghost energy, sitting and waiting for him to approach.

Shangjing, the head of the dynasty, the core of heaven and earth, the land where the Douyi were destroyed, and also the place where the Ten Families rose.

Since traveling the martial world, Hu Ma had heard many legends about Shangjing. Even though the Douyi had died early, Shangjing still seemed to be a special place in the hearts of the imperial court and the otherworldly people of the schools.

Everyone knew that the various grass-roots kings of the world were rising up, but no matter how fiercely they fought in their own territory or how famous they became, it was useless.

In the end, it would depend on who could conquer Shangjing and sit on the throne to become the true dragon. All others were just commoners.

And although the Ten Families rose in Shangjing, they also, for various inexplicable reasons, mostly chose not to stay there. Even the most sinister Meng family felt that Shangjing was too evil, so they moved their ancestral home to Yanzhou, leaving only the Meng family's ancestral shrine in Shangjing.

The Hu family was actually the same.

After separating from the Qingyuan Hu family, that Qingyuan was no longer in the family tree.

And in terms of seniority, the Hu family now had two ancestral lands, one in Shangjing and one in Old Yin Mountain.

So, although he was now visiting Shangjing for the first time, in theory, it was like returning home.

"It's been delayed for a while, let's go faster!"

Hu Ma's thoughts surged, and he urged them. The sound of the carriage wheels tightened.

Unexpectedly, they had only traveled a short distance when they suddenly heard the animals outside become restless. They actually raised their hooves and hesitated, shaking their heads and brains, refusing to move forward.

Even the coachman in front and the shop assistants traveling with the carriage suddenly exclaimed, their voices trembling, calling out:

"No way, we've encountered this kind of thing again?"

Seeing the crowd alarmed, Hu Ma frowned and looked outside. He saw that in front of this ancient road, the strong wind had blown away the yellow sand, revealing a chilling military formation. It was actually a dark mass of tens of thousands, a strictly arranged army, lined up across the official road. The aura of solemnity on their bodies seemed to stop even the wind blowing in front of them.

They had encountered that supply-seeking team before and experienced a dangerous situation. Now, seeing a large army blocking the road again, no one was not afraid.

"It seems to be the City Guard..."

Behind them, Lao Suanpan hurriedly whipped his donkey and caught up, saying to Hu Ma, "This is the former Douyi Imperial Guard. After the Douyi were wiped out, the Dou surname's rule of the world existed in name only, but this City Guard was raised jointly by the Ten Families. They don't participate in the various battles, but only guard Shangjing here. How did they run to a hundred miles outside Shangjing City?"

"This is different from that Pan Mountain King, don't provoke them lightly!"

Hu Ma said, "I'm just escorting the spirit back to Beijing properly, who would I provoke?"

"Since you are escorting the spirit, you must abide by the rules of escorting the spirit. It's not good to take a detour, let's go straight through!"

"..."

As he spoke, he slightly concentrated, and the aura of the Nine Pillars Daoxing surged, protecting his party, including the animals.

This was an ability that had naturally arisen after he had more Daoxing. The people around him couldn't detect it, but they just felt that their courage seemed to have grown a bit invisibly.

Seeing that Hu Ma's tone was firm, they calmed down and urged their horses again, slowly walking forward.

Shangjing was the foundation of the Ten Families, and this City Guard, needless to say, was also under the command of the Ten Families.

Now that the Ten Families knew he was coming to Shangjing, they had pulled over such an army. What was their intention?

Just as Hu Ma was thinking, the carriage moved forward, and the two sides gradually approached. He could now clearly see the army opposite him, as well as the "City Guard" banner raised high in the army.

Seeing that the auras were intertwined and about to collide, he suddenly heard a drum sound in the army, followed by the sound of a cow horn.

The soldiers blocking the road suddenly retreated to both sides of the official road, dismounted, and knelt on one knee.

"The Shangjing City Guard respectfully welcomes General Zhenshui back to Beijing!"

"..."

Hearing that loud shout, not to mention the coachmen and shop assistants, even Miss Miaoshan and Fourth Miss Zhou in the back carriage were stunned.

First, they had never seen such a formation of soldiers welcoming them, and second, they found the title strange.

Hu Ma was also in the carriage and did not get out. Because he did not give an order, the carriage slowly passed through the army. Just as everyone was suspicious, they suddenly saw, in the hazy dust behind the army, two figures walking slowly from the front.

Looking closely, they were acquaintances. One was Zhao Sanyi from the Divine Hand Zhao family, and the other was Chen Abao from the Descending Head Chen family.

These two came from both sides of the road, and when they reached the front, they did not speak, but accompanied the carriage, leading them straight ahead.

The soldiers behind them also followed closely. All that could be heard was the sound of iron armor interweaving and colliding, as everyone got up and raised their ceremonial tents, following behind them in a mighty procession.

After walking less than twenty miles, they saw two more people coming to meet them.

One was wearing a bright white robe, and the other was wearing clothing similar to a witch's robe, with colorful patterns.

Also on the left and right, they came to the front of the carriage, lightly bowed to Hu Ma in the carriage, and then followed on both sides.

Going forward again, two more people came together, one wearing black clothes and the other wearing red clothes.

"The disciples of the Ten Families have come a hundred miles out of the city to welcome you..."

Lao Suanpan, who was following the carriage behind, looked at this formation and was vaguely a little scared:

"People are despised for being disrespectful, but the other party's gift is too heavy, it's also scary..."

"..."

Hu Ma also understood. Now, the people who had come a hundred miles out of the city to welcome him were clearly the disciples of the various families within the Ten Families.

The Divine Hand Zhao family, the Descending Head Chen family, the Undying Wang family, the Mountain Gazing Zhu family, the Blessing Sun family, the Shousui Zhou family, the Noble Zhang family, the Impermanence Li family, two people in a group, four pairs in succession.

It was just that the people from the Noble Zhang family were wearing tattered clothes, with no nobility at all.

And when the last group, the Impermanence Li family and the Shousui Zhou family's cousins, came over, they were also holding a paper figure in their hands...

...This represents the Spiritual Meng family?

He realized something and followed them forward. Before long, they finally came to an ancient city. Looking up, he saw that the city walls were high, almost blocking out the sky.

But this legendary ancient capital of Shangjing had no vast holiness at all. It vaguely only made people feel that there was ghost energy floating on the city.

Vaguely, it was as if they had come to some underworld, a ghost city where humans and ghosts were mixed together.

And in front of the city gate now, it was even more lively. There were incense tables, ceremonial tents, and a high platform erected early. Next to it were fluttering green pennants hanging down.

The Dongxuan National Master, the leader of the Great Luo Dharma Sect, was in front of the platform. Looking to both sides, there was a group of people with fluttering sleeves and different appearances, but they were all important figures from the Ten Families.

Seeing the carriage slowly approaching, the National Master waved the horsetail whisk in his hand, slowly stepped forward, and sighed softly:

"Bearing humiliation and carrying heavy burdens for twenty years, the people of heaven and earth should know the favor."

"The Zhenshui Hu family's lineage has returned safely to Beijing, it can be seen that the heavens are protecting those who have contributed..."

"..."

Saying that, he bowed deeply, slowly got up, came to the carriage, and said loudly: "I will personally lead the horse for the Hu family who have suffered for twenty years, and lead them into Shangjing!"

(End of this chapter)