Chapter 17 Breaking the Formation

If the Shou Sui Ren (守岁人, Year Watchers) were to deal with evil beings, it would be a head-on collision, with no one taking advantage, relying entirely on their abilities.

But the Zou Guiren (走鬼人, Ghost Walkers) method is different; they can use four *liang* to move a thousand *jin*, never using even half an ounce more.

It just so happens that the things Zou Guiren (走鬼人, Ghost Walkers) often encounter can only be moved a thousand *jin* with those four *liang*. A head-on collision would only result in defeat.

Just like now, facing this strange and eerie thing, it charged directly towards Hu Ma, wanting to interrupt his chanting and forcibly swallow him, integrating him into itself.

Relying on this altar to confront it head-on, even the Zhenmen Stone (镇门石, Gate Suppressing Stones) that had stood for ten years might not hold, and his own body as a Shou Sui Ren (守岁人, Year Watchers) might not gain an advantage.

Therefore, Hu Ma lit this candle.

When he discovered that this thing resembled the Meng family's old ancestor, Hu Ma had already prepared himself. When he dealt with Meng's second young master before, he discovered that the object they kowtowed to was exceptionally fierce and terrifying, not something that ordinary spells could counter.

But although that thing was powerful, it could easily get lost in the world of the living.

It needed things from this world to see this world.

Back then, when Meng's ancestor descended, he borrowed Meng's second young master's eyes to see, and in the Juewu Village (绝户村, Village of the Extinct), this thing relied on the eyes of the village's wandering souls to see.

Even the endless chains wrapped around its body were being overwhelmed by its immense power, and the entire village seemed to sink violently in an earth-shattering collapse.

Hu Ma was greatly shocked, feeling as if he had touched the most secret things in his heart, and even the chanting almost stopped, wanting only to hear clearly what it was saying.

At this time, Hu Ma was burning characters, and with the Xiao Zhou (消咒, Dissipation Curse) chanting uninterrupted, Hu Ma wanted to use the power of the curse, he could only borrow the paper talismans.

To put it most profoundly, this was the rule: the living and the dead are separated, yin and yang are divided into seven parts.

As the wandering souls fell from its body, among the countless tangled iron chains, only a shadow remained. It was struggling to rise from the ground, supporting the countless iron chains. It had no facial features, no orifices, only a vague human form, its body a pale, pure white, without a trace of impurity.

This thing sensed the chains approaching and was clearly furious beyond compare. Its body struggled desperately, its power terrifyingly strong, and the chains broke apart piece by piece, scattering all over the ground.

But as soon as one broke, more, like spiritual snakes, surged towards it, wrapping around its body.

"Third Aunt, your village has a bad fate. For a bite to eat, you sacrificed the lives of the entire village."

Even the face of the clan elder's wandering soul in the most central position clearly showed a bewildered expression, and he even began to struggle instinctively, trying to break free from its body.

Each word was spoken with extreme difficulty, and only from the vague words could one faintly discern: "You and I come from the same place..."

Back then, when dealing with the thing that Meng's second young master summoned, Hu Ma relied on Erguotou and others, directly using the Three Great Wonders to change the feng shui orientation, cutting off the gaze of Meng's ancestor. Now, Hu Ma used the candlelight to confuse the eyes of those wandering souls.

He almost didn't need to consider himself anymore, but instead calmed down and silently recited the Xiao Zhou (消咒, Dissipation Curse), stripping the remaining Yin bodies from the thing's body, and also using the Xiao Zhou (消咒, Dissipation Curse) to eliminate the resentment and sorrow in Juewu Village (绝户村, Village of the Extinct), allowing those wandering souls to return to their original clean and pure state.

But also at that slight pause, he suddenly sensed something, slightly raised his head, and looked towards the outside of the village, a trace of emotion and regret on his face.

Thinking of that, he gave up another bit of concern in his heart.

And at this time, outside Juewu Village (绝户村, Village of the Extinct), separated by a piece of land, as Hu Ma dealt with that thing, the people outside were also constantly worried.

"Those who believe in fate are ultimately abandoned by fate."

Or perhaps, it itself is the gate to hell, and where it is located is not the human world...

Juewu Village (绝户村, Village of the Extinct) has now been opened, and the houses in the village have all been turned to dust, but all of this is not as shocking as what Hu Ma felt in his heart.

"You who have civilization have forgotten the fundamentals and violated the contract... will suffer eternal punishment."

Now seeing that the thing was indeed confused, Hu Ma, continuing to chant the curse, took out paper talismans one by one and burned them under the lit candle behind him.

But when the smoke from the incense and paper offerings from outside slowly floated in, Hu Ma, who was originally reaching out to protect the candlelight, slightly relaxed in his heart and slowly released his hand.

Too many Yin bodies fell from its body, causing it to almost lose the strength to support itself. The pitch-black body had also become increasingly faint in color, and could only lie on the ground like a wriggling gray shadow.

The voice was not loud, and the sentences weren't particularly clear, only saying whatever came to mind, but there was something most simple in it.

But the rapid reaction allowed him to forcibly restrain himself and continue chanting the curse. However, his heart was still in turmoil for a moment, and he even felt terrified, as if everything had been seen through.

Crisscrossing, like five-flower binding.

Chanting the curse non-stop, while also looking back, the bizarre scene confirmed his guess.

He could only forcibly suppress the worry in his heart, and anxiously asked people to burn incense and paper, and also return to the village to offer sacrifices.

But fortunately, he had written many for practice, so now, burning them one by one, after the paper talismans were burned, it was equivalent to chanting the lock as well. The entire village was an altar.

Every plant and tree in the entire village could be used by him.

The young and strong men who had been brought over had also gradually separated, encircling Juewu Village (绝户村, Village of the Extinct), forming a huge circle. The smoke from the incense rose slowly, attracted by a mysterious aura, and floated directly towards the village.

It let out a roar as if from the depths of a nightmare, rushing left and right, desperately trying to find Hu Ma. For a time, the entire village was like an earthquake, and even Hu Ma had to pause the burning of the curse talismans and reach out to protect the candle.

"They all say that the Zhen Chong Hu family is the ancestor of the Zou Guimen (走鬼门, Ghost Walker) lineage, but I feel like they are the master of the Zhen Chong Hu family."

Hu Ma didn't know why it would say such strange words, but now it was at the moment when he was taking the Hu family's keepsake. If it really said it, Hu Ma didn't know what would happen.

Being able to understand how this change came about, he sighed softly in his heart:

Gradually, bundles of incense were lit in the outside of the village.

Without anyone teaching them, when the incense was lit, the villagers began to talk to the people in the village. After all, ten years ago, this was still a normal village, and there were marriages and funerals with the surrounding villages and hamlets, and there were acquaintances and even blood ties:

This world belongs to the living; the dead should not remain here.

But that thing didn't even have eyes.

The Seventh Master and Old Goat Skin Lord who remained outside didn't know what was happening inside, but they could feel that this place seemed to have turned into a hellish underworld. The sounds of wailing ghosts poured into their ears incessantly, and they could hardly feel Hu Ma's existence.

"Seventh Uncle, when people die, don't linger. The dead suffer when they stay in the world of the living. Today, take advantage of the fact that the Ghost Walking Granny's grandson is here to help, and be free."

And countless huge iron chains wrapped around its body, making its movements even slower. From the initial struggle, it turned into wriggling, and the fierce color had almost disappeared at this moment.

It turned out that after learning so many methods and practicing so many techniques, he now understood the simplest truth.

Now, even the wandering soul of the clan elder was struggling to climb out of its body, and the thing could no longer use his wandering soul to speak. Therefore, now those few words were actually spoken directly by that thing.

"I... can I really do it?"

But at that moment, a subtle, intermittent, somewhat vague voice suddenly appeared, causing Hu Ma's heart to tremble.

To deal with these things, the most effective method, and there is only one, is the living's Qi!

The burning paper talisman was thrown directly into the air.

Standing there firmly, it gave people an indescribable sense of mystery and nobility.

It was hard not to worry that Hu Ma would be eaten by the fierce ghost as soon as he entered the village. But thinking of the superb skill that Hu Ma displayed when he entered the village just now, he felt that Hu Ma would not suffer so easily.

As the sparks of paper talismans burned, crackling sounds began to rise around them. In the surrounding darkness, he didn't know how many iron chains and locks emerged, flying and heading straight for the clan elder's body.

If it could see, there would be endless ferocity, and when it couldn't see, there would only be helpless rage.

This, for it, even had some meaning of following instinct.

He didn't need to protect the candlelight anymore, but the candlelight actually burned more steadily and vigorously. The smoke and incense from outside entered his altar, adding some mysterious and heavy things to his altar.

Rumble!

But also at this time, finally under Hu Ma's continuous recitation of the Xiao Zhou (消咒, Dissipation Curse), the clan elder's wandering soul was stripped from its body. It also couldn't really say that sentence in front of the Zhen Chong Hu family keepsake.

At this moment, the four Zhenmen Stones (镇门石, Gate Suppressing Stones) had gradually become quiet and stood solemnly. The power surging outside the village showed a moment of cessation, and the wind outside was restrained, becoming normal and quiet.

The candlelight didn't need to be protected, and could better conceal himself. Even the iron chains burned out by the curse paper, were much thicker than before, one by one, like thick vines, slowly wrapped around the old clan elder's body.

"What is that?"

But as the wandering soul of the clan elder was stripped away, its body suddenly became incomparably fragile. It seemed that after losing the last trace of wandering soul support, it could no longer stay in this world of the living. The place where it was located suddenly collapsed, as if opening a gate to the underworld.

Rumble!

Among the four Zhenmen Stones (镇门石, Gate Suppressing Stones), two of them actually fell directly to the ground under the pull of that immense force.