Chapter 60 Progress

The feast was full of joy. Not to mention Seventh Aunt, who loved a lively atmosphere the most, even Zhang Agu, who seemed uneasy and always preoccupied, was infected by the atmosphere and seemed to recover from her doubts.

As a zouguiren (ghost walker), she rarely socialized with others. Even when neighbors or people she had helped invited her, they would often have her sit alone at a table or send the meal to her home. She had little experience sitting at such a lively table, but her face was flushed as she raised her glass.

She solemnly toasted Hu Ma and Seventh Aunt, thanking them for saving her life.

Hu Ma smiled and said, "We're all family here. Agu is a respectable person. Come to the village more often when you're free. We have to help each other to survive."

Seventh Aunt also chuckled, finding Zhang Agu more and more likable. Grinning, she said, "This girl is so pretty and fertile! Seventh Aunt will find you a match!"

It could only be said that Seventh Aunt wasn't very good at chatting. Zhang Agu's face turned even redder as she picked up her glass and drank two full cups...

...and then she passed out.

Helpless, Hu Ma had to help her into the inner courtyard, putting her in the inner room where Wu He's sister used to sleep. He took a new quilt from the cabinet and spread it out for her before returning to the table to drink.

A group of people surrounded Seventh Aunt, toasting, lighting cigarettes, and flattering her. Seventh Aunt was so happy that, after getting drunk, she accepted Li Wazi as her eldest disciple in front of everyone.

Although it was just a drunken act, with a few kowtows and no incense burned, Li Wazi at least had the title. In the future, if anything happened, he could invite Seventh Aunt over in a legitimate manner.

The wine flowed and people were merry. After the banquet broke up in a mess, Hu Ma returned to his room. Listening carefully, Zhang Agu was sleeping soundly. He returned to his room, sat on the bed, and slowly began to circulate his Qi.

After a while, he took out a few blood food pills and placed them on the table beside him. Then he sat against the wall and slowly entered his dream.

Dazed and confused, he felt a sense of disorientation and arrived at his natal spirit temple. But this time, he wasn't there to call upon any of the reincarnated souls. Instead, after entering the natal spirit temple, he immediately and nervously looked towards the statue hidden in the darkness behind the incense table.

As expected, he was slightly shaken.

Ever since he had refined his five internal organs, the statue had been greatly changed. Its limbs and organs were filled with golden light, but the seven orifices of its head were dark. Hidden behind the incense table, it looked like a headless statue.

But now, he saw that the head of the statue was also filled with fine golden threads, crisscrossing and interlacing, vaguely defined, looking like some kind of abstract painting with a mysterious meaning.

The five senses and seven orifices were extremely clear, and there was no difference from being completely refined.

"Indeed..."

Hu Ma looked at the statue, and for a moment, he found it hard to suppress the excitement in his heart. Could it be that he had already entered the *fu* (mansion) stage in the art of Shousui (Guardian of the Year)?

No, not yet.

He stared at the statue, silently judging in his heart. He could only say that he had completed the *fu* entry cultivation of the Shousui art, but he was still lacking the nourishment of blood food.

As early as a few hours ago, when he had slain the Five Fiends Evil Ghost, he had felt something, but he had been too busy to enter the natal spirit temple to see. Only now, with the natal god statue illuminating the situation, could he confirm that his cultivation had indeed greatly improved.

The head, which used to take a lot of time to nourish and refine little by little, was now actually transparent.

And the reason was very simple. After he opened the Zhensui Fu (Suppressing Evil Mansion), he felt the eerie baleful aura within the mansion. It surged endlessly, passing through his body as if washing it all over. If it hadn't been for the Hu family heirloom, he probably wouldn't have been able to withstand it.

This kind of Yin energy entering the orifices, penetrating deep into the head, organs, blood, and meridians, was not a good thing. Ordinary people would suffer a serious illness or even die. Even as a Shousui, his cultivation would be damaged, and it would take a long time to recover.

But coincidentally, it happened when he was entering the *fu* stage of Shousui cultivation, which unexpectedly gave him some wonderful benefits.

"Back then, Ji Tang was the same?"

Hu Ma took a deep breath, steadying his somewhat excited mind. He couldn't help but think of Ji Tang, the leader of the beggar gang on the Pingnan Road.

This person could be considered half of his master in entering the *fu* stage of Shousui. He had a similar experience. He was chased and nearly killed by Granny Wu, but in the end, he turned misfortune into good fortune and greatly improved his cultivation, saving at least half a year of painstaking effort.

His current situation was similar to his, but he was even luckier. After all, the baleful aura in the Zhensui Fu was upright and heavy, far from what Granny Wu could compare with.

Granny Wu only unintentionally blew Yin energy into Ji Tang's orifices when she was chasing him, but he had actually received a solid, head-to-toe infusion of baleful aura, which had cleansed his head and soul all at once.

It was as if channels had been laid out on his cultivation path, waiting for the living water to be drawn in so that he could completely reverse life and death, ascend to the *fu* stage, and greatly improve his skills.

And this living water was blood food.

"Hoo!"

Having discovered this, Hu Ma immediately withdrew, swallowed the two blood food pills he was holding, and returned to the natal spirit temple, looking anxiously.

He then discovered that with the nourishment of the two blood food pills, the fine golden light intertwined at the head of the natal god statue behind the incense table seemed to be growing stronger, strand by strand, and the golden light was gradually increasing.

However, the head was densely packed, how many meridians were there? Two blood food pills only nourished a small amount?

"Huh?"

Hu Ma was a little surprised. After thinking carefully for a long time, he smiled bitterly, "Misfortune and fortune depend on each other?"

After this Zhensui Fu Yin energy washed over his body, his cultivation progress had increased, even directly maxing out, saving a full year and a half of hard work.

But the amount of blood food required had increased even more...

In fact, the blood food given by the Dongzi Li family earlier was enough to support him until he completed his *fu* entry cultivation, and there would even be some left over.

Hu Ma had even speculated afterward that the Dongzi Li family was very discerning and had known how much blood food he would need to enter the *fu* stage. Therefore, they had given him that amount on purpose, and even added 30% as a thank you.

But now, with this change, his demand for blood food had more than doubled.

What the Dongzi Li family gave might not be enough.

"That's not right..."

While thinking this, Hu Ma's heart stirred slightly, and he fixed his eyes on his natal god statue again.

This experience was not a matter of misfortune and fortune depending on each other, but more like another rare benefit.

The skills he had learned earlier for the Shousui profession were from Shopkeeper Wu. It was indeed a proper method, but it wasn't very refined.

Refining the limbs, refining the four organs, and then refining the head and nourishing the seven orifices, step by step, but there were many omissions. In simple terms, it was all about making things dead first and then reviving them with secret methods. But it was inevitable that there would be some oversights, just like the invulnerable body, leaving flaws.

But now, with the Zhensui Fu Yin energy washing over him, those small details had been filled in one by one.

The reason why he suddenly needed a lot more blood food now was one, the head and soul, and two, these small details also needed to be filled in one by one.

"This is like reaching a bottleneck, and a master suddenly opened up my eight extraordinary meridians for me..."

Hu Ma sighed, confirming that the benefits he had obtained were not small. He couldn't help but wonder if it was the stern Yin energy in the Zhensui Fu that had inadvertently helped him complete a comprehensive upgrade of the Shousui profession, or...

...was it done on purpose?

And thinking in this direction, he couldn't help but turn to the Zhensui Fu problem...

Zhensui Fu, Zhensui Fu...

Not only did it suppress the evil spirits within a hundred miles as soon as it appeared, but it could even directly arrest and kill the Hall Guests who had fled back to the temple and transformed into thousands of bodies, and even parade them through the streets...

If it was really so powerful, wouldn't he be able to kill whoever he wanted after he truly obtained the Hu family heirloom, and directly show off?

In addition, there was the reminder from Er Guotou before, that he only regarded the Hu family's inheritance as a mysterious existence like the old fire pit, but now, seeing the various arrangements and stern power in the Zhensui Fu, he couldn't help but realize:

The Zhensui Fu was originally a matter of the profession, but looking at it, how did it seem to be an official matter?

What exactly was the Hu family's position among the ten surnames, and what did this Zhensui Fu mean to this world?

"Hoo..."

These questions, just thinking about them, made one feel heavy.

Hu Ma didn't dare to hope to fully understand these things, but in any case, he had come into contact with the Hu family heirloom, and it hadn't caused any strange changes because of his identity as a reincarnated soul. The biggest doubt had been removed.

Now, he could safely plan this major event and truly get this heirloom into his hands as soon as possible...

Anyway, now he only needed to obtain sufficient blood food to enter the *fu* stage with peace of mind, and after he entered the *fu* stage, he should be able to carry this thing on his back, right?

Suddenly thinking of this question, he also felt a little pressure in his heart, but he slowly exhaled and strengthened his mind, determined to move step by step in this direction. After all, now it seemed that the reincarnated souls had also followed him into the water, hadn't they?

At critical moments, he had to be firm!

Then, as he looked at the natal god statue behind the incense table and slowly pondered these questions, a voice with a hint of testing suddenly sounded in the silent natal spirit temple: "Old Bai Gan brother, can you hear my call?"

"Old Bai Gan big brother, Er Guotou calling, can you hear?"

"..."

Hu Ma was awakened by the voice. He slowly exhaled and smiled, "Er Guotou brother, I can hear you, but when did you become so careful?"

(End of this chapter)