Chapter 24

"Those who don't eat beef are the descendants of the Great Virtuous Teacher. For transmigrators, they hold a natural curiosity and affinity."

Left to cool off, Hu Ma felt strange and thought silently, "But I can't deny that, to the natives of this world, they are actually a group of strange people with close ties to evil and the most bizarre."

"Their words and deeds are all tainted with an aura of evil. Prolonged contact inevitably leads to trouble."

"Should I stay and see what happens, or should I just leave?"

"I am on Shou Sui (New Year's Eve vigil). If I am determined to leave, unless Grandpa Sun and Altar Master Tang are watching me closely, they won't be able to stop me."

Having made up his mind, he didn't panic. He just pondered that this seemed to be her residence and the location of their One Coin Sect's altar. Wasn't she afraid that he would steal something and run away?

Furthermore, showing him this painting was even more inexplicable. What could he do even if he didn't look at it?

Unless, she was certain that the hidden dangers in this technique were extremely great and wasn't afraid of him escaping?

But he had only just entered the threshold of this technique and wasn't deeply involved in cultivation. Only a mouthful of yin energy had nourished his spirit.

It would break as soon as it was said. The hidden danger couldn't threaten him yet.

Besides, even if he couldn't bear to part with this technique, he could just return the scroll to her, secretly memorizing the method. When he left, he could find a trustworthy expert among the transmigrators to help him study it. Couldn't they see the deeply buried hidden dangers in this technique?

Couldn't *Bu Shi Niu* (Doesn't Eat Beef) be so confident that no outsider could see the hidden dangers she had buried?

"As for this painting..."

Hu Ma concentrated and took a look, knowing that many evil techniques could be hidden in paintings, making them difficult to guard against.

But he was prepared to withdraw his gaze at any time and only took a quick glance. The eyes of a *Shou Suiren* (New Year's Eve Watchman) were sharp, and he took in the ink on the painting.

He saw that it was indeed just an old back view, worshipping a mountain. The mountain seemed very high, but the perspective was from behind the old man, so the back view occupied a large proportion, obscuring most of the content in the painting.

"This woman wants me to take a look inside the ghost cave, but where is there a ghost cave in this painting?"

However, the content of the painting was nothing special, but a line of fine print beside it caught Hu Ma's attention:

"Slay fierce tigers, subdue Jiaolong (Flood Dragons)."

"Pass through three ghost gate passes in succession, ascend twelve shedding bone steps."

"Comprehend the true meaning of fate and nature, and arrive at the platform of creation and divine gate."

"Those who are predestined, whose true spirits enter the painting, and who worship the divine map with excellent fate and nature, can be listed as disciples of my *Bu Shi Niu* lineage!"

"Good heavens..."

Hu Ma understood that this painting was actually a test?

He didn't quite understand why this woman would bring out this painting when he had already refused to become a disciple. But thinking of *Bu Shi Niu's* origins, he was a little curious. Understanding more about *Bu Shi Niu* would also help him understand more about the Great Virtuous Teacher, wouldn't it?

Therefore, although he was cautious, he wasn't in a hurry to leave, wanting to see if he could grasp more information. But the more he looked at the painting, the more confused he became.

She said there were caves and divine platforms, but where were they?

He clearly couldn't see anything in this painting.

But just as Hu Ma was thinking, he suddenly saw that the content of the painting was a little blurred, as if a person's gaze was slightly out of focus. Some content hidden in the picture was unclear when looked at carefully, but a strange change would occur when the eyes were out of focus.

Because he was viewing the picture out of the corner of his eye to avoid being tricked, he seemed to see the old man in the picture moving.

Then...

He moved to the side, revealing more content in the painting. The painting was originally a back view, worshipping a mountain.

Now, the figure worshipping the mountain moved aside, revealing a dark doorway. From the lower end of the scroll, a winding path rose all the way, leading directly into the cave.

"It can still be like this?"

Hu Ma suddenly became curious. Still vigilant, he narrowed his eyes and carefully looked at the content now revealed in the painting.

Now only he was left in the room. The sky was dim, just before dawn. Heaven and earth were generally dark and silent. Two oil lamps were lit in the room, the light was dim, and the door was closed, preventing the light from the lanterns hanging outside the trees from entering, making it more like a closed world.

It was just a painting, but on closer inspection, it was different. It seemed to have its own universe, extremely deep.

There seemed to be some kind of inexplicable attraction inside, wanting people to drill into this painting.

"It's not an illusion. You can really enter the painting."

Hu Ma quickly understood, "It's just not this person entering, but the soul floating into the painting."

When the *Shou Suiren* entered the mansion, he had already washed his soul with yin energy and had the ability to leave his body. It was actually the same as when the Five Fiends came to Ming Prefecture to wreak havoc before, and the Mountain Lord led his soul to roam Old Yin Mountain at night.

However, at that time his soul was summoned by the Mountain Lord and protected by it, so he could travel eight hundred *li* across Old Yin Mountain in one day. Now he had the ability to leave his body independently.

But while he had it, Hu Ma hadn't practiced it.

This kind of leaving the body was extremely dangerous. What if his soul entered the painting and there was something strange inside, cutting off his return path and preventing him from returning to his body?

However, while being vigilant, he also understood the magic of this painting. As long as he didn't enter the painting with his soul, there would be no harm. He became a little bolder and carefully watched the magical things in the painting one by one. Gradually, every grass and tree inside was reflected in his eyes.

Even though the old man had already moved aside, the content of the painting was still simple, only vaguely showing fierce tigers, *Jiaolong*, and three passes standing on the path, as well as ten crooked and evil steps leading straight to the cave at the end.

Just looking at the painting, he still couldn't see anything special.

But when his gaze slowly swept from top to bottom, and he looked again at the back view of the old man who had moved aside, Hu Ma suddenly felt a shock in his heart, and his whole face became a little strange.

At the same time, Immortal Maiden Miaoshan had left the house with White Fan and the two Dharma Kings and arrived at the inn where Grandpa Sun had previously hosted the banquet. Now the night was about to dawn, but it was already full of people, and their faces were filled with panic.

Corpses were placed there, not yet in coffins, and many were just fragments, piled together, looking very gloomy and oppressive.

When the crowd saw Immortal Maiden Miaoshan coming, they became slightly lively and rushed forward, wanting to say so much. Old Calculator first squeezed out of the crowd, put on a smiling face, and bowed to Immortal Maiden Miaoshan:

"Greetings, Master. Where is our little steward?"

"Master, please be aware, a corpse demon has appeared in this town. Just now, our little steward made a great contribution. Everyone wants to thank him properly!"

"Let him come out and meet everyone, so everyone can feel at ease, right?"

Immortal Maiden Miaoshan was stunned for a moment and glared at Old Calculator. Now she was in a state of anxiety and didn't want to mention Hu Ma the most, but this old thing brought it up as soon as they met.

The key was that the surrounding people were also looking at her, as if the news that the little steward had driven away the corpse demon had spread. Even Grandpa Sun and Altar Master Tang were concerned about his whereabouts.

*I didn't want to harm him. What is everyone worried about?*

Immortal Maiden Miaoshan snorted coldly in her heart and said, "I gave him a great opportunity, but whether he can seize it depends on his ability!"

But she was also vaguely worried that there would be some trouble: "That painting leads directly to the ghost cave. It's a trial for *Bu Shi Niu* disciples entering the sect. Only when I'm not sure if someone is reliable do I use it to make things difficult for people. Letting him go to see it is also out of options."

"Any disciple of *Bu Shi Niu* who tries to cultivate the Great Might Heavenly Duke General Seal, but feels unable to withstand it halfway through, can enter this painting before a great disaster is about to come, wash away their skills, and although they will fall by one realm, they can at least save their lives."

"This little steward refuses to join my *Bu Shi Niu* lineage. Sooner or later, that technique will kill him. Letting him enter the painting, although his cultivation will be damaged, he can still survive."

"It's just that explaining it later will be troublesome. Maybe others will think that my One Coin Sect deliberately harmed him... Damn it, I might as well not remind him and let him die silently."

The more she thought about it, the more difficult it became. It was simple earlier, just to seize the technique, and even killing people was fine if forced to the head.

But now, firstly, the little steward had contributed when dealing with the corpse demon just now, and she felt a little guilty about killing him like that. Secondly, she didn't really want to kill him anymore.

Of course, if he was really so stubborn and refused to look at the painting and just left, it would be a very good thing for her. It would save her trouble instead.

But things had become complicated and could only be solved one by one.

A possibility flashed through Immortal Maiden Miaoshan's mind, "He can learn the Great Might Heavenly Duke General Seal, which is fate. If he really comprehends this painting, wouldn't he be the destined person?"

"It's a pity, impossible."

At the same time, in the main hall of the house, Hu Ma had already guessed that since this painting was passed down from *Bu Shi Niu*, it might be related to transmigrators. When he saw something in the corner of the painting, he suddenly became certain.

It was a piece of paper that fell from the old man's body in the painting after he moved aside. There were words on it: "This is one of the thirty-six caves left behind from the Grand Sacrifice in the capital, leading directly to the netherworld, extremely profound."

"I refined the picture into a treasure and left it in a secret path. It is divided into seven. Those who enter the picture must prove courage and pass through three passes and twelve tribulations to gain a glimpse of the true spirit."

"Those who are predestined will see the password to pass the level..."

"Password?"

Hu Ma was already slightly excited. He wasn't interested in viewing the painting and passing the level, but if there was a ready-made one, he didn't mind. He quickly looked at the strange lines on the paper. He saw that they were curved and attached to the bottom, vaguely looking like English.

"Damn!"

Hu Ma couldn't help but jump in his heart. If other transmigrators used English to leave information, it would certainly be confidential.

But he wasn't very proficient!

While he was worried, he looked closely and suddenly felt relieved.

It wasn't English, it was pinyin.