“Alright, alright, the Lantern Blessing Assembly is over. I wonder where we can claim the red lanterns?”

Instead of the oppressive shock that followed the retreating Yin soldiers, the people of Stone Horse Town cheered after their final kowtow.

The Yin soldiers’ arrival coincided with the finale of the Lantern Blessing Assembly. They felt the lingering oppression and shadows, but assumed it was the sense of unease as the gods watched over the end of the assembly.

This was a good sign!

Now that they had finished kowtowing, the end of the assembly lifted the pressure, and everyone felt as if an invisible stone had been removed from their hearts. Suddenly, they became lighthearted and joyous, like a stream overflowing mountain rocks.

"Whoosh…"

The first to react from the silence was the town's folk. They felt the town's lanterns suddenly regain their brightness after that kowtow.

So they rose, celebrating with joyful faces. Although they didn't know what twists and turns had happened during this Lantern Blessing Assembly, they felt that this assembly was heavy and more meaningful than any previous one.

In addition to cheering, they naturally asked if there would be congee distribution, whether they should offer incense to the stone horse in the town, and whether they could take the red lanterns from the altar home to worship.

The central principle was to worship everything, whether it was the red lanterns, the One Coin Church, or the stone horse and old general at the town entrance, and spread the blessings evenly.

Bu Shi Niu had spent twenty years meticulously planning, but no one had ever truly succeeded. Could it be that he was the first to do it?

"It's not just you who can't see it clearly."

"When I looked outside earlier, I only felt sand and stones flying, a pitch-black darkness, and I couldn't see anything…"

"But I never thought you would be the first to accomplish this. From now on, no disciple of Bu Shi Niu's Eight Gates will dare to disrespect you…"

In the main altar mansion, Immortal Maiden Miao Shan also felt a sense of disbelief.

"It's over, it's over…"

Beside her, the Eldest Brother chuckled softly, reaching out to pat the ten large vats. Even his expression seemed somewhat complicated:

"Junior Sister, the Senior Brothers hid it from you, making you think this was simple."

"…"

"Huh?"

She murmured to herself. This Lantern Blessing Assembly used blessings to exchange for fortune. With thriving fortune, they could seize the opportunity and use the One Coin Church as a foundation to accomplish great things.

"Of course, it's not just our church leader, perhaps also the three Shishu (esteemed uncles)..."

"I thought I would have to rely on it to save my life in the end, but I never thought that our church leader is truly a destined person, with much greater abilities than we imagined…"

"…"

She looked at the ten large vats in front of her. The things inside seemed very peaceful. In the town of Stone Horse, there was an invisible fortune rising. She looked at the old elm tree beside her and could even feel it exuding a new vitality.

Hearing her words, the Eldest Brother smiled wryly, looked up at the large seal tied to the branch of the old elm tree, and sighed softly, saying, "It's different from what I thought…"

"…"

"But in reality, this kind of thing depends on timing. If the timing is wrong, it's going against the heavens and the easiest way to ruin things. Letting you do it is because you have good fortune. We thought we'd take a shot and, even if it didn't work out, we could protect you."

When she first took on this task, she didn't think it was so difficult. Now that she had gone through it from beginning to end, she realized how many thrilling moments there were. To have survived it felt somewhat unbelievable.

Immortal Maiden Miao Shan's eyes lit up. She seemed to want to hold back her expression, but her mouth couldn't help but grin. She couldn't stop it, and she sat up even straighter. Countless thoughts filled her mind, and she couldn't help but ask, "Then, then what was happening outside just now?"

Success?

"Success!"

"Huh?"

Immortal Maiden Miao Shan was immediately shocked: "Shishu (esteemed uncles) are back?"

At this time, the Eldest Brother just smiled and didn't speak.

But this wasn't a bad thing. Whether it was him or the old elm tree, they only felt comforted and happy at this moment.

Facing Immortal Maiden Miao Shan's inquiry, he just smiled and said softly, "I can't explain it clearly either. How could I possibly see through the methods of the Shishu (esteemed uncles) with my level of cultivation?"

"…"

"…"

"What the hell is going on…"

Inside Stone Horse Town, the Lantern Blessing Assembly finally came to a successful end. The people took their children and daughters, found corners to sleep for the night, or gathered around bonfires, chatting about their plans for the future. When dawn arrived, they would set off to return home.

On the surrounding mountain peaks, there were heavy voices filled with regret and lingering fear.

The Meng family's Second Young Master had long been killed, and his head had been taken to appease the Yin soldiers. The Monkey Wine, who had been sitting in the south, had also put away his drum and returned to the place where he had killed the Meng family's chief steward. He was carrying a lantern and carefully inspecting the battlefield.

Whether it was useless talismans, broken bones, or internal organs, as long as it was useful, he carefully collected it, with an extremely serious attitude.

Er Guo Tou, on the other hand, was holding his breath, carefully guarding the area. Only after confirming that the Yin soldiers had truly retreated and that the Meng family's Old Ancestor, whom they had teased, had not found him, did he suddenly breathe a sigh of relief and slump to the ground with a groan.

His voice was full of mingled amusement and exasperation: "Why couldn't I just live a good life? How was I tricked by that old thief, Lao Bai Gan, with his thick eyes, and forced to offend something like that…"

"If I had known that I would be doing something like this, why was I so polite and careful with Plum Blossom Alley in Mingzhou? I should have just chased them away…"

"I was always worried about causing trouble. What was I worried about? What trouble could be bigger than this?"

"…"

The more he hated it in his heart, the more it felt like someone had squandered all the family wealth he had painstakingly accumulated, copper coin by copper coin. He felt a sense of imbalance:

"So, everyone is so capable of causing trouble, are they just bullying me because I don't cause trouble? Let me tell you, I'm also the kind of person who has had my eye on the treasure of the Hu family, who suppresses evil spirits…"

"…"

"…"

In another place, Miss White Wine was also hiding half her body behind a tree. After the commotion had completely disappeared, she slowly breathed a sigh of relief. With a wave of her hand, she gathered the surrounding white gauze and put it back into her sleeve.

Then, she glanced at the direction on the mountain where Hu Ma had retreated the Yin soldiers, said nothing, and turned to leave.

'Even you, what you did this time was dangerous enough…'

'That man carrying the lantern said you discovered something about the transmigrators. Could it really be some amazing secret that made you willing to go to such lengths?'

'……'

'……'

"Phew, it should be fine now…"

After confirming that the Yin soldiers had retreated, Hu Ma also took a deep breath in his heart. He slowly retracted his own divine soul dharma form, and even the armor on his body and the boots on his feet disappeared, returning to the old elm tree.

The knife in his hand seemed to have drunk enough blood and was now satisfied. It had restrained its ferocity and was as ordinary as iron. He held it in his hand. This knife wasn't actually finished yet. It didn't have a comfortable handle or a suitable scabbard.

In his other hand, the head of the Meng family's Second Young Master would be a waste to throw away, so he could only temporarily carry it.

Standing in place, he looked in several directions and could feel that the three who had helped him had already left. He breathed a long sigh of relief, feeling a little heavy in his heart.

Actually, this time, he had wondered if he could completely rely on his Shou Sui (year-守岁end vigil) abilities to kill the Meng family who communicated with the underworld, but the result was disappointing.

Impossible!

The Ten Clans each had their own unique techniques. Killing them with abilities outside of the Ten Clans was almost impossible.

However, fortunately, he had the help of a transmigrator. At least in the eyes of outsiders, this was feasible, and that was enough to accomplish his goal.

However, from the commotion just now, Hu Ma also vaguely realized that perhaps the abilities of the Ten Clans were so powerful that, coincidentally, only transmigrators were suitable for dealing with them?

And within this, was there some invisible connection?

Thinking silently, he first burned a stick of incense and called for Xiao Hong Tang. Seeing that she was still carrying the red lantern in her hand, he smiled and comforted her. He slowly led her down the mountain. Soon, he saw two rows of lanterns lit up in front of him. Someone had come to welcome them.

Immortal Maiden Miao Shan and White Fan were there. Behind them were an old man dressed like a farmer and the troupe leader of the opera troupe he had seen before. Ordinary disciples were not present, and everyone had a look of shock and doubt, as if they had something to say.

"I'm tired and need to rest first."

Hu Ma waved his hand, stopping them, and then threw the head he was carrying in front of them, saying, "If you want to do great things, you need someone to sacrifice for the banner, right?"

"This…"

The people in front looked at the head he was carrying, and their hearts were silent for a moment. They knew what it represented and had already known this result, but looking at it up close, their hearts still skipped a beat.

This was the head of someone who could summon three thousand Yin soldiers and then make them retreat all at once…

Such a noble person was now headless before them. Who could say how many opportunities and dangers were involved in offending someone like that?

"What?"

Looking at their conflicted expressions, Hu Ma raised his eyes to look at this group of妖人 (yaoren,妖 demons/妖妖妖freaks; 人 people--derogatory term). Under the lantern light, he suddenly smiled, his eyebrows and eyes sinister, and said, "What's wrong? Everyone says that Bu Shi Niu is determined to do great things and has a lot of courage…"

"But now you're afraid?"

"…"

The troupe leader of the opera troupe was looked at by Hu Ma like this. Even though this church leader's abilities to enter the mansion were far inferior to his own, his heart skipped a beat, and the pressure increased exponentially.

He took a deep breath, held his hands up to receive the head, and said in a low voice, "We respectfully obey the church leader's decree!"

ps, recommend Saozi Banmian's "Classic is Glory"

(End of this chapter)