Chapter 549 Walking Ghost, Great Executioner

"You dare!" The True Truth Sect was horrified by the appearance of the knife-wielding figure. The killing intent had stunned them, and they hadn't yet recovered.

Now, having just reacted, they saw him instantly kill dozens of riders, and even prepare to destroy the large cauldron. Rage almost burst from their eyes.

Mixed with the anger was even more fear.

*Whirr*, the remaining twenty or so riders, no longer caring about anything else, grabbed their weapons and desperately charged forward, trying to reclaim the cauldron. Behind them, those wearing mourning attire were even more frightened, slashing wildly at themselves with their knives.

But the person wearing the smiling mask showed no mercy, directly splitting the cauldron in half. Not content with just two halves, he delivered two more blows before the cauldron could fall, shattering it into unrecognizable pieces.

"Ruined..." Those who had just reacted were shocked, their hearts sinking. Fear overshadowed their anger.

The cauldron was filled with the vengeful spirits of children, indescribable. As the cauldron shattered, ear-piercing cries suddenly echoed in all directions.

Everyone who heard the cries felt a hazy, bizarre shadow of a small ghost rush towards them, a chilling sensation spreading over their bodies as if tiny hands were grabbing and tearing at them.

Worst of all were the riders; though they appeared untouched, their bodies suddenly contorted grotesquely. They couldn't even think about reaching Hu Ma, desperately pulling at their own bodies.

It was as if they were covered in unseen, terrifying creatures. Some even had arms and legs suddenly falling to the ground.

Others, no longer caring about the knife-wielding figure, jumped off their horses and stumbled away, their heads twisted backwards, slamming face-first into the ground.

The entire area transformed into a playground for malevolent spirits.

Even the wailing cries in their ears were now mixed with gloating, gleeful laughter.

"My child..." Most terrified were those in mourning. Seeing the black cauldron shattered, they lost half their lives. Ignoring everything else, they dragged their bloodied bodies toward the knife-wielder, only to be met with the eerie smiling mask and the frigid blade.

"What's going on? What's going on?"

Inside the Vermillion Gate town, the Red Lantern Goddess was trembling with fear. She had just seen a group of strangely shaped children crying as they rushed toward her. How could she possibly fight them off? She knew the smaller they were, the more vicious. Even if she knelt and begged for mercy, these unreasonable little devils wouldn't spare her. Was the other side really so ruthless, not even giving her a chance to be a foot-washing servant? Just as she was about to give up, collapsing to the ground and lamenting her tragic fate, a wave of killing intent swept over from the Vermillion Gate town, and the children vanished.

She weakly emitted a ray of red light, trying to see what was happening, but suddenly saw that the True Truth altar was filled with killing intent and blood. The rolling killing intent suppressed the evil aura.

But just as it suppressed it, something suddenly seemed to shatter. The already ferocious and evil aura suddenly broke free, spreading wildly. The True Truth altar was instantly engulfed, and she was about to be caught as well.

Only three *li*! A mere three *li* away, the intertwined killing intent and evil aura made her wish she could run. She huddled in her temple, shivering.

Before she could recover, a blur appeared before her eyes. A small ghost with two pigtails and red clothes rushed into her temple, holding a yellow talisman and throwing it at her feet.

It said, "Here, this is for you. Read it quickly!"

The Red Lantern Goddess didn't even know what it was or where the little ghost came from.

She vaguely felt like she'd seen it before. But at this moment, she was terrified and didn't dare refuse. She frantically craned her neck, struggling to read the dense characters on the talisman, and slowly read them out.

The one who came to deliver the talisman was naturally Xiao Hongtang, arranged by Hu Ma. And what was on the talisman was the Divine Light Elimination Curse.

As the Red Lantern Goddess chanted the spell, the red lantern light began to shine brighter and brighter.

In front of the True Truth altar, Hu Ma appeared and destroyed the extremely evil object. The rolling evil and demonic energy surged out, backlashing against the surrounding people, showing him no gratitude or courtesy.

His eyes felt a gust of wind, and he saw strange little faces, chopped open and barely stitched together, surge towards him, opening their mouths to bite.

Ignorant and lawless, they didn't care who he was; they would bite anything they could.

But now, he held back the Punishment Official's Great Blade, not striking at them.

He knew that this kind of evil magic was the most demonic, especially these little ghosts. Being on the verge of starvation meant they were abandoned by heaven; being thrown into the cauldron by their parents meant they were abandoned by family; being ghosts unable to enter the earth meant they were abandoned by the land. They were the most demonic and evil things between heaven and earth.

Similarly, they were the most miserable and tragic.

Not killing them meant being devoured by them; killing them was the most karmically damaging thing one could do.

So, even he, facing these little ghosts, only glared slightly. His Dharma body suddenly condensed, with a blue face, sharp fangs, and a grim expression. A fierce shout sent a wave of aggression crashing outwards.

These lawless and ignorant little ghosts feared the fierce power of his Heavenly Duke General Seal Dharma body and shrank back in fright.

But even after shrinking back, they didn't run; they still looked at him, drooling.

Even Hu Ma couldn't help but sigh inwardly. If these evil little ghosts were released into the city, they could eat an entire city of living people.

The True Truth Sect was arrogant, thinking no one could deal with their creation, relying on the fact that it was too evil to suppress or dispel. Destroying the cauldron they resided in was easy, but after being destroyed, they became even more ferocious and evil. Only the True Truth Sect could contain them.

But fortunately, he had prepared in advance.

The Heavenly Duke General Dharma body condensed, temporarily suppressing the little ghosts from approaching. He suddenly twisted his body, taking seven steps in a row, precisely the steps of the Big Dipper, forming a small altar.

Of course, it couldn't compare to an altar formed with a town-suppressing object, but it could briefly unleash some magic power, either to break the opponent's evil magic or to use a certain Dharma gate.

On the seventh step, he suddenly thrust the Punishment Official's Great Blade into the ground. In an instant, invisible magic power rolled in, and behind him, the light of the red lantern soared into the sky, illuminating the night sky.

"What is that?"

The entire scene was in chaos. Those in mourning attire and the riders had either died under Hu Ma's blade or been backlashed by the evil ghosts, their deaths miserable.

Even three of the two maids and four servants beside the black sedan had died. Two of the altar masters holding the blue banners had died. Those who had hidden in the distance to gather information were also affected by the rampaging little ghosts, and most of them were bitten to death instantly. The remaining half couldn't escape either.

But the red lantern light from the Vermillion Gate town suddenly dispelled some of their fear and despair. Even the rampaging little ghosts in the scene were suddenly attracted to it.

Revealing all kinds of ferocious appearances, they immediately followed the red light to eat people. But at this moment, they heard the faint sound of a woman chanting a spell from within the red lantern light.

These fierce, ignorant little ghosts were slightly affected by the chanting, their ferocity seemingly diminished. They paused for a moment, and then, starting with one, they slowly and tentatively followed the red light, crawling towards the Vermillion Gate town.

Soon, more and more little ghosts followed suit.

Inside the Vermillion Gate town, the Red Lantern Goddess was trying hard to identify the characters on the talisman, reciting them one by one. She didn't understand what she was reciting. Suddenly, she looked up and saw the frightening little ghosts coming again, and she couldn't help but shiver.

But suddenly, she realized that the little ghosts hadn't pounced on her like before, but were squatting in front of her, staring up blankly.

She immediately understood something and frantically continued chanting the spell, starting from the beginning after finishing one round, not daring to stop.

And something seemed to be quietly dissipating from these little ghosts. Even the Red Lantern Goddess didn't know what she was doing.

She had been forced to do everything this entire night, and she was confused. She didn't know how she had won, and she didn't know who she had offended to incur such hatred. She didn't even know why she was chanting the spell.

She didn't realize that as each little ghost gathered in front of her, their hostility lessened, and a golden mark had quietly appeared on her red natal lantern.

..."How dare you?"

In front of the True Truth altar, the little ghosts were causing chaos, naturally making everyone frantic. But now, seeing the little ghosts drifting towards the Vermillion Gate town, the Heavenly Mandate General was suddenly both shocked and terrified. He shouted, "Quickly return my sect's guardian spirit!"

In his angry shout, he suddenly jumped up from beside the red-haired fire ox, which was lying down and dared not rise. He picked up the meteor hammer and charged straight at Hu Ma.

But in front of him, Hu Ma stood in place, only glanced at him coldly, and the Punishment Official's Great Blade suddenly rang.

"Swish!"

At this moment, the slightly plump woman in the black dress suddenly flashed out from the black sedan, grabbing the Heavenly Mandate General tightly. Her eyes were fixed on Hu Ma and the knife in his hand.

Her voice trembled violently: "You... who exactly are you?"

"Isn't it obvious enough?"

Hu Ma slowly tucked the ghost-head broadsword under his arm, raised his head to look at her calmly, and said: "The Walking Ghost, Great Executioner is here. Anyone who practices vicious and evil magic before my altar, harming people and ghosts..."