"Your question just now was actually very well-asked."

The Li family elder looked at Hu Ma's slightly startled expression, sighed softly, and said, "The people of this world either see those evil ghosts and monsters as a great flood or wild beasts, not daring to even mention them, or they have long forgotten their existence."

"But few people truly ask how they appeared, and how they came to be regarded by the world as evil spirits and monsters, and be so desperately hunted down?"

"In fact, it all started with that sacrifice one hundred and seventy years ago."

"That sacrifice was led by Shangxuan Fashi of the Daluo Dharma Sect, who was also the first Imperial Teacher personally appointed by the Emperor."

"Originally, it was just to explore the mysteries of heaven and earth and find out the source of the Tai Sui flesh, but unexpectedly, that grand ceremony caused the ancestral altar to stir and heaven and earth to collapse."

"..."

These things, he probably heard from his ancestors, but now, as he spoke of them, his voice carried a hint of sorrow and regret, as if he had been there himself. "Nowadays, people only know the Ten Clans; perhaps they have already forgotten the ancestral altar."

"It is my Dongzi Li family that was convicted because of this, so we remember these things more deeply than others. That, that was once the bone of heaven and earth, the heart of the people, the source of all gods..."

"It's called the ancestral altar, but it was originally a fire pit."

"This altar stood in front of the Chengtian Hall in Shangjing, but it was earlier than Chengtian Hall, earlier than Shangjing, earlier than all the dynasties recorded in history."

"If you really want to go back, I'm afraid you'd have to trace it back to the beginning of heaven and earth. It's a pity that the records about the ancestral altar have all been burned by Du Yi in a fire, and only oral traditions remain now."

"According to what my ancestors said, the earliest ancestral altar was when heaven and earth were shattered in ancient times. A human ancestor protected the people, bore the sins of heaven, and was struck down by heavenly lightning. His body turned to ashes, and the place where he was struck became a fire pit."

"Later generations respected the human ancestor, so they built huts and cities around the fire pit, gathered fortune, raised armies, and drove away demons. It was passed down from generation to generation, and gradually, the custom of placing ancestors in the altar arose."

"Of course, not everyone is qualified to sleep in this place."

"In all dynasties, even the royal family could not bury their ancestors in the ancestral altar at will. Those who were qualified to enter the fire pit were all heroes and heroines with great fame and earth-shattering achievements. Only when the noble families and common people respected them would they be buried in the fire pit."

"Once they entered the fire pit, they would receive incense offerings from the noble families and the royal family for thousands of years. The common people respected them, so they erected golden statues and temples, vying to kowtow."

"Until later, only those buried in the ancestral altar were worthy of incense and were revered as gods!"

"..."

"Gods..."

Listening, Hu Ma's heart suddenly surged, vaguely guessing something, "Hall gods?"

The Li family elder sighed, "It is impossible to verify when the ancestral altar was built and where it came from. Even that ancestor who bore the sins for the people and suffered heavenly punishment may just be a legend, but that is no longer important..."

"Throughout the dynasties, hundreds of millions of people offered incense. That is the ancestral altar. Three sticks of incense can determine the sun, moon, heaven, and earth, and protect the fortune of the human world!"

"Where the ancestral altar is located is the most sacred place in the human world, receiving incense from all over the world. Heroes of the world all take entering the ancestral altar as an honor, and the royal families of all dynasties all regard serving the ancestral altar as their duty."

"At that time, it could even be said that the royal families of all dynasties were the incense burners of the ancestral altar."

"Dynasties came and went, but without burning a stick of incense in front of the ancestral altar, they were not qualified to rule the world!"

"While the ancestral altar was here, the world's strange people did not dare to enter the capital to attend court, the mountain demons did not dare to harm people and drink blood, and the rebellious traitors did not dare to attend court and offer incense."

"..."

As he spoke these words, he seemed to be savoring the past, when the ancestral altar was here, the world was bright and clear, but finally, as he spoke, his voice became low: "But it was also during that grand ceremony that red lightning surged in the sky and yin winds rose from the ground."

"On the altar, there were cries of demons, and in the ancestral altar, gray formations surged up, covering the sky and the sun."

"For three full days, it was dark and the sun and moon could not be seen. The people of the whole city closed their doors and did not go out, only hearing repeated battles, with the sound of swords and soldiers never ceasing. After three days, blood rain fell from the sky, and in the hall god temples everywhere, golden statues shattered and collapsed, and black water poured out from the ancestral altar..."

"No more incense was seen. The Imperial Teacher then prophesied that evil spirits had entered the human world and that we had committed heinous crimes. From then on, we should atone for our sins for generations..."

"..."

Only after saying this did he sigh softly, look at Hu Ma, and whisper, "Although these evil spirits did not gradually reveal their forms until decades later, it is not difficult to deduce that they first came to this world at this time."

"And the first thing they did was to destroy the ancestral altar where hundreds of millions of people had offered incense for thousands of years."

"This is why they are called evil spirits!"

"..."

Listening, Hu Ma even felt oppressed in his heart. For a time, he wanted to say countless things, but he just suppressed them and whispered, "Then what?"

"Later, you already understand many things."

The Li family elder said softly, "My Li family ancestors were sent here to guard the ghost cave to atone for their sins, using the bodies of the living to lead the world's Yin spirits into the underworld."

"And the new emperor who ascended the throne urgently issued an edict, conferring titles on the various prefectural gods, casting golden statues for them, creating a register of gods, and forcing the people to worship them, claiming that they would replace the ancestral altar and suppress the demons in the four directions."

"These prefectural gods are the various Prefecture Lords you see today."

"It can be said that they were either personally appointed by the Yi Emperor, or generals in the court, or wild shrines among the people who were promoted into temples."

"..."

For some reason, Hu Ma heard a hint of mockery in his words, but it was just a flash in the pan. He took a deep look at Hu Ma and said, "It was also at that time that the Town Demon Bureau was built in Shangjing, and all kinds of Jianghu strangers were also recruited into the court."

"Most of the current ancestors of the Ten Clans began to enter the court at that time."

"..."

"Town Demon Bureau?"

Finally hearing the thing he was most concerned about, Hu Ma was also refreshed and asked quickly, "It appeared at that time?"

"It didn't just appear at that time..."

The Li family elder pondered for a long time before seeming to make a huge decision and slowly said, "It is said that at that time, the golden statues of the hall gods everywhere shattered. The emperor issued an edict to collect the golden statues of the hall gods from all over the place and refine them into a mace."

"He also ordered the ancestors of the noble Zhang family to lead the skilled craftsmen of the world to build the Town Demon Bureau with the remaining ashes of the ancestral altar as mud to make bricks. Moreover, strangers set up altars to summon spirits, using secret techniques to invite ghosts and gods from all directions to refine golden armor warriors, taking the place of imperial power to suppress all ghosts, gods, and demons, and guard the Yin and Yang..."

"Of course..."

Speaking of the end, he sighed, "At that time, the people of today have almost forgotten the Town Demon Bureau, so who still remembers the origin of the Town Demon Bureau?"

"The Town Demon Bureau was actually made of bricks made from the ashes of the ancestral altar, and this Town Demon Mace... was it refined from the golden statues of the various hall gods?"

At this moment, Hu Ma found it difficult to describe the shock in his heart. Only now did he understand the origin of the Town Demon Bureau, and he couldn't help but associate the shadows and sounds he saw when he took over the Town Demon Mace with the things under the City of Wronged Deaths...

Are there no more hall gods in this world?

But it doesn't seem to be the case entirely. At least some of the reincarnators have hall god spirits.

Thinking again, if the Town Demon Bureau was built by the Du Clan with the remaining ashes of the ancestral altar to restrain the world, then why, when he took over the Town Demon Bureau, was he completely free from imperial power?

Furthermore, if the ancestral altar was broken by the reincarnators, what was the reason? Why did the reincarnators break the ancestral altar from the very beginning?

"I know you still have many questions in your heart, but I cannot answer them all."

The Li family elder looked at Hu Ma's appearance and sighed softly, "In the end, the Dongzi Li family is just here to guard under the orders of the Imperial Teacher, leading ghosts into the Yin Mansion to repay the endless debt..."

"It is said that those reincarnated evil ghosts climbed out of the cave, but I have also guarded here for a lifetime, and I have never seen any reincarnated evil ghosts..."

"..."

"At least you've seen two today..."

Hearing his voice was a little low, Hu Ma also sighed in his heart. After a long time, he whispered, "Then the ancestral altar, did it completely disappear from one hundred and seventy years ago?"

The Li family elder was silent for a moment and sighed softly, "The ancestral altar will not disappear. The ancestral altar simply no longer exists..."

"After that grand ceremony, the ancestral altar was destroyed, and the emperor issued an edict to build twelve ghost altars to suppress it above the ancestral altar. After that, no one mentioned the ancestral altar again."

"After more than a hundred years, it is said that these twelve ghost altars also gave birth to vengeful spirits. So, twenty years ago, someone recruited ghost walkers from all over the world to seal the twelve ghost altars with force. That battle was also earth-shattering, but few outsiders knew about it."

"Even I only know that now, the twelve ghost altars have disappeared, and what has replaced them is the ancestral shrine of the Ten Clans."

"..."

"Ancestral shrine?"

Listening, Hu Ma had a feeling of sudden enlightenment.

Is this the reason why the Ghost Walker path no longer has predecessors who can cross the bridge?

And Grandma...

The place Grandma is returning to is probably the ancestral shrine built on the ruins of the ancestral altar, right?

He had thought about this question long ago. Qingyuan also has an ancestral shrine, but since they have completely separated, Grandma is impossible to go back.

While he was trying to digest these past events, the Li family elder paused slightly, as if resting for a while, and then smiled and said, "Little friend, I don't know if it is you or someone else who instructed you to come here to ask about these things."

"To be honest, the Dongzi Li family does not interfere with the world and only observes coldly. We have indeed seen these things, but after all, we do not participate in them, so our understanding is not deep."

"And if he wants our Dongzi Li family to give some advice..."

He was silent for a moment and slowly said, "I can only ask you to bring him a message that if the Hu family wants to stand up, it is not enough to just hold down the Meng family's head."

"The Hu family has the life but not the good fortune. When the Black Wind Disaster comes again every three years, who will he rely on to block it?"

"The old lady in the ancestral shrine in Shangjing?"

"I'm afraid that's not enough..."