“As a junior in the martial world, what you’re doing is impolite.”

Hu Ma’s rebuke was merciless. Even Zhao Sanyi and the others felt a little nervous. Unexpectedly, the person who came in from outside the woods wasn't angry. The fair face, wrapped in white hemp mourning clothes, furrowed slightly. “You should have guessed my identity!”

“I’ve brought the Meng family’s sincerity. Just tell me where the Hu family’s young master is, and I have something to say to him.”

“……”

“Martial world affairs should be settled within the martial world. I just came back to the village to celebrate the New Year, but you all come knocking on my door…”

Hu Ma’s expression was gloomy. He said coldly, “Not even a greeting card was sent, which is already impolite. This time, the Meng family made the first move. Do you still expect me to say something nice?”

These words included Zhao Sanyi and the Fourth Miss Zhou. Their old faces couldn’t help but turn red.

They had also come directly, without sending greeting cards or bringing any gifts.

Only Chen Abao was shameless and didn’t care.

Hu Ma continued, “Besides, if the people from the Hu family wanted to show mercy, they would have appeared long ago. Why would you need to come to me?”

The Great Corpse Controller of Fu Ling, Cui Magu, seemed to agree with Hu Ma. She slowly lowered her head, but quickly raised it again. Her clear, cold face showed a bit of determination. “He may not want to see me, but I must see him.”

“Now in this martial world, you, the corpse controller, are probably the only one who can find the Hu family’s young master. Since you don’t agree, then we’ll just have to exchange blows!”

Zhao Sanyi was shocked when he heard this. “Aunt Cui, your seniority… this isn’t in accordance with the rules, is it?”

He really felt sorry for Hu Ma.

The man was just staying up to celebrate the New Year and was also an outsider, but he was being disturbed to the point where he couldn’t even celebrate the New Year properly, all because of that damned young master of the Hu family…

But his words didn’t affect Cui Magu at all. As she spoke, she took a step forward. “This concerns the last hope of the Meng family’s luck. How can we still care about rules?”

Zhao Sanyi was momentarily choked and couldn’t say anything.

At this moment, Hu Ma smiled and said to the Great Corpse Controller, “Then please!”

Even Cui Magu looked at him with slight surprise. “You’re a straightforward person.”

“I don’t want to kill you, but I won’t show mercy. If you can’t hold on and are willing to agree to ask the young master of the Hu family to come out, then fine. Just scream for mercy a little louder. I’m afraid I won’t be able to hold back!”

Her voice was soft, and even at this moment, she seemed calm, but her actions were not delayed at all.

The palm hidden under the pale white hemp clothes suddenly shot out straight towards Hu Ma.

It was upright and dignified, with a profound and condensed aura, showing the demeanor of a grandmaster.

The Fu Ling disciples were also good at fighting, but they were mostly sinister and strange, rarely with such a grand and majestic aura.

When the staff struck out, it was as if the surrounding air was violently compressed and then suddenly exploded. Those who were close felt their hairs stand on end, stimulated by the yin wind, and even the towering trees around them shook, as if emitting a mournful cry.

The expressions of Zhao Sanyi and the others changed drastically.

They were descendants of the Ten Families, each with their own abilities, capable of suppressing all kinds of martial arts.

But the Great Corpse Controllers in each martial art were often those who, although from outside the family, possessed great abilities, so great that they could gain the respect of the main family and be respectfully enshrined in the family, holding the power of life and death.

Facing the Fu Ling Great Corpse Controller’s merciless attack, they might not even dare to take it head-on, let alone this young zougui (ghost walker)…

…Huh?

…Is that kid crazy?

Facing the staff that shocked the forest and frightened ghosts, Hu Ma’s eyes were stern. He seemed to be unaware of his own limitations. The Fal Guan Great Blade roared and went straight to meet the wailing stick.

It must be said that his posture was quite stable and imposing, showing an extremely solid foundation.

Of course, others didn’t know that since he got this bottle containing his master’s dharma body, all his abilities had been thoroughly scrutinized for countless flaws.

Hu Ma was irritated by the bottle’s sharp tongue, but despite his anger, he listened to everything.

He had previously taken advantage of the New Year holiday to teach Zhou Liang and Zhao Zhu his skills, also in order to hear what the bottle master had to say.

At this moment, as he made his move, his right arm turned to death, and ghost energy urged the knife’s baleful aura. Meeting the wailing stick, his right arm turned to life, urging his Jiazi (sixty-year cycle) of Dao cultivation, using the Great Stele Breaking Hand,挟 in between the knife’s momentum. One life, one death, one sinister, one fierce, he met the other party’s wailing stick head-on.

The fierce force immediately exploded. The ground seemed to tremble violently a few times. Zhao Sanyi and Chen Abao both retreated slightly. It was the first time they had seen Hu Ma make a move, and their eyes were quite surprised.

When the Fourth Miss Zhou saw this, her face first showed some displeasure, as if she had recalled some bad experiences, but after watching a few more moves, she felt that it was pleasing to the eye.

This kind of beautiful and solid skill could only be possessed by a shousui (year guardian).

While their thoughts were changing, Hu Ma had already exchanged several moves with Cui Magu. During this time, every move was a hard confrontation. He didn’t leave the altar. Only the sound of knives and sticks clashing could be heard, as if it was about to pierce people’s eardrums.

However, the brazier in front of him on the altar would occasionally emit flames several zhang (丈, approx. 3.3 meters) high. The twenty-four small flags were rustling, as if they could be pulled out by invisible energy at any time.

“A shousui plus a zougui, is this so promising?”

Zhao Sanyi had unique insight. He couldn’t help but be shocked in his heart. Cui Magu seemed to have only used the wailing stick, but in reality, the Fu Ling skills had already come with her like a shadow.

Invisible ghost shadows interspersed around her. Compared to the wailing stick, they were even more insidious, but they were precisely blocked by the altar under Hu Ma’s feet. It was as if the Fu Ling person’s skills were weakened, forcing her to only use her martial arts to fight.

“The altar of the zougui is indeed powerful, but…”

Fourth Miss Zhou also said, “Our shousui skills are still more reliable.”

At this moment, she felt more and more happy as she watched, from the initial discomfort in her heart.

It was said that Fu Ling was the nemesis of shousui. This was also the reason why the Iron Steed Great Corpse Controller was ranked below her, but Hu Ma, this shousui, also cultivated the zougui altar. Being on the altar, he guarded against Fu Ling’s insidious tricks and actually held on under Cui Magu…

The two of them, one from the Three Fan Gates and the other already on the bridge to the afterlife, had competed for several rounds. The shousui hadn’t died, which was equivalent to determining the winner.

But it was also in this exchange that Cui Magu’s expression had changed. On the wailing stick in her hand, the fluttering white paper scraps fell off at this moment.

It was as if each piece of paper scrap had an icy and extremely heavy force. Just one piece pressed on top of a person’s head could extract their soul. Even the altar set up by Hu Ma was flickering.

His altar seemed simple, but it was actually the proper zougui method recorded in the Book of the Year Guardian, which could borrow the power of heaven and earth, but now it was suppressed by these paper scraps, as if it had been isolated all of a sudden.

It was as if the air around him was evacuated. He suddenly heard endless strange words in his ears. Every word was drilling into his head, causing him to be involuntarily heavy in his limbs and dizzy in his mind. He couldn’t even stand still.

This Fu Ling Great Corpse Controller actually changed her move in one stroke, simultaneously suppressing his altar and even sealing off the changes in his shousui skills.

He was in the altar, and he himself was a ward, which was equivalent to borrowing the power of this world, but this person’s attack seemed unintentional, but it directly suppressed this world?

His heart trembled slightly. He steadied his mind. Three pillars of Dao cultivation entered the incense burner. The two and a half pillars of Dao cultivation refined by the Purple Grand Duke were extremely heavy in every bit of strength. Using this, he stomped his feet fiercely. The rolling baleful aura on the knife circulated and instantly surged in all directions.

Cui Magu’s expression changed slightly. She waved her sleeves lightly and collected the rolling baleful aura into her sleeves, looking at Hu Ma with a frown.

She muttered to herself, “Those who can become Great Corpse Controllers are indeed not ordinary people…”

“It is said that the Grand Hall Officials in the zougui sect are just decorations, and the Small Corpse Controllers are the ones who take lives. Now it seems that not all of the Four Great Hall Officials are like this.”

“But I don’t have time to waste here with you!”

As she spoke, a white ribbon tied to her cuff was gently pulled out and thrown on the ground. Her sleeves slowly opened, actually being extremely wide and even drooping to the ground.

As she dragged her sleeves and walked forward, Hu Ma’s expression also suddenly became serious. He looked down and saw that the flames in the brazier on the altar seemed to be under invisible pressure, uncontrollably rolling towards the altar, and the color of the flames had turned into a strange blue-white.

The incense on the altar was burning quickly, as if it would be burnt out in a few moments.

The twenty-four altar flags left by Brother Erguotou (a type of strong Chinese liquor) were blown by the wind, and the flags were pulled taut. The first few branches already showed obvious signs of tearing.

The most terrifying thing was that as Cui Magu slowly walked towards the altar, her cold voice followed, “Seven Prefecture Corpse Controllers, this person is still holding back his skills and is trying to delay. We can’t afford to delay.”

As she spoke, her eyes were only on Hu Ma. She said slowly, “So, don’t be idle. Go and kill the people who are performing the mountain sacrifice in front. Kill as many as possible. Let’s see how he can still delay.”

“……”

When she appeared, she had brought seven or eight Fu Ling Small Corpse Controllers. Now, hearing this, they said nothing and saluted at the same time, joining hands and rushing towards the mountain sacrifice in front.

In the altar, Hu Ma’s expression suddenly turned cold when he heard these words.

Hu Ma was very certain that this woman hadn’t even used thirty percent of her abilities to deal with him.

She seemed to have hidden some powerful means and was reluctant to use them. She probably didn’t want to waste them on him, this “corpse controller,” but wanted to save them for the “young master of the Hu family.”

But even so, there was still a fight to be had. Now, without saying a word, she was going to use such insidious tricks?

This woman looked calm, but she didn’t hesitate at all and was ruthless.

The village was performing a mountain sacrifice, and all evils should stay away, but the people in the Fu Ling sect, although carrying ghosts on their backs, were still living people.

Living people could disrupt the altar, and they might even kill the people performing the mountain sacrifice and those watching the ceremony, turning it into a sea of blood. The mountain god and the new gods could suppress the ghosts on the backs of these Fu Ling people, but they still weren’t a match for the people in the village with their own skills.

(End of chapter)