Chapter 34 What Did You Say?

The voice descending from the sky wasn't clear, as if it could only be heard under specific circumstances. Yet, the zougui people and common folk, who were in the midst of a dark and desperate situation, all felt a jolt in their hearts and abruptly raised their heads.

They looked up instinctively, but without knowing why. However, as they raised their heads, they all unconsciously closed their eyes.

And with their eyes closed, they should have seen only darkness. Yet, inexplicably, they seemed to see something, whether it was a momentary illusion or a confusion caused by the lingering afterimages when they closed their eyes.

They vaguely saw dense clouds in the sky, swirling rapidly. The clatter of iron chains reached their ears, and they faintly discerned the silhouettes of four tall, blurry figures in black robes amidst the wind.

They dragged a chain, as if pulling something along, flying through the air with the howling wind.

By the time they left, people opened their eyes almost unconsciously, only to find everything bathed in bright light.

It was as if, with their passage, even the dark clouds that had blocked the sun had been pulled away.

The sunlight poured down again, illuminating the world as if it were daytime, revealing everything to the eyes of the crowd.

The cries of the surrounding people gradually faded as the sun emerged. The sunlight warmed their bodies, dispelling the surrounding chill and seemingly bringing a sense of security.

The ghostly figures that had been wreaking havoc everywhere also emitted piercing screams as the sun shone down.

These were the evil spirits that had been causing chaos under the influence of evil energy. They seemed to have appeared in the wrong place, looking around in a panic.

They had realized the problem, and many felt fear, but it was too late to do anything. Some instantly melted away under the sunlight, while others cowered in the shadows, a stark contrast to their previous ferocity.

Those who had been bewitched by the evil spirits awakened as if from a dream, breaking free from the nightmare.

"Kill… kill him…"

The sounds of fighting with the blue-robed children had not ceased.

There was a blue-robed child being pushed by the strong laborers of the village, wielding hoes and pitchforks. Originally, these tools couldn't harm him at all, and he wore a mocking smile, enjoying their expressions of fear.

But now, that expression suddenly disappeared…

He looked down blankly and saw that the farming tools had pierced and torn open his stomach.

They didn't know why their magic had suddenly disappeared.

"Kill them, beat them to death, don't let a single one go…"

In the streets and alleys, Zhou Datong and the others were also shouting loudly, covered in blood.

They caught up to a blue-robed child who was attacking a zougui person and started beating him. This blue-robed child also felt the magic within his body suddenly drained.

Without the Blue-Robed Lord's magic, their bodies were even weaker than ordinary people, but their ferocity remained. They bared their teeth, ready to bite Zhou Datong and the others, but Zhou Datong kicked him hard.

"Thump!"

The kick was so powerful that no one expected it to send the blue-robed child flying several zhang.

His body crashed into the mud wall behind him, breaking seven or eight bones.

The surrounding workers were stunned, staring blankly at Zhou Datong: "Brother Datong, how could your kick be so strong?"

"That's not right, wasn't your leg broken before?"

"..."

Zhou Datong was even more stunned than them, muttering, "Did my… cure work?"

...

...

What on earth had happened? What was that just now?

Amid this sudden reversal of the situation, everyone was guessing what the scene they had just witnessed represented.

Most people didn't understand at all, and didn't even know if it was an illusion.

Only a few older, more experienced zougui people suddenly thought of something. A surge of joy filled their hearts, and their eyes turned red with excitement: "A Guigui Ling (Ghost Restraining Order)?"

"Hasn't that thing disappeared for many years?"

"..."

"It's restrained..."

Hu Ma was also nervous when he performed this spell. If the Old Tree Stump hadn't been there, he would have given up.

This time, the spell he was performing was much more serious than the last time he summoned the old turtle in Niujiawan, but he still encountered several dangers and almost failed.

To put it bluntly, the feeling of performing this spell was like using a thin hemp rope to tie up a mad bull. Even if your binding method was correct, you were always worried that the bull would break free and even gore you to death…

But now, he had finally succeeded.

Looking at the circle of rice in front of him, a surge of yin energy was colliding back and forth, the power so chaotic that the rice was about to be blown away.

The yin bone jades pressing down on the four corners of the rice circle were also trembling, as if they would fly out at any moment.

Looking at the incense sticks beside him, the middle one was almost unburnt, while the ones on the sides were nearly gone.

This was definitely an ominous sign!

However, a thin hemp rope couldn't hold a mad bull, but Senior Old Tree Stump could give him strength.

It sat quietly in front of him, slightly to the right, and with a calm gaze, the struggling blue-robed evil spirit seemed to feel immense pressure and slowly calmed down.

In the brazier in front of him, the flames flickered as if blown by a strong wind, threatening to go out several times. But after the Old Tree Stump looked over, they suddenly stabilized and burned even more vigorously.

It's stable…

Only then did Hu Ma feel slightly relieved. As expected, with the Old Tree Stump as a trấnwù (talisman), the spell would work even if it shouldn't.

He immediately put on a cold expression, looked at the blue-robed evil spirit inside the rice circle across the brazier, and shouted: "Who are you under the altar? State your name!"

Whether it was summoning spirits,敕líng (decreeing spirits), or拘líng (restraining spirits), the first thing to do after summoning the spirit was to ask its origin.

If the summoned spirit was willing to state its origin, it meant that it was convinced. If it refused to state its origin, the spell couldn't continue.

The blue-robed evil spirit, hearing the shout, stirred again, eager to escape. But the figure on the Old Tree Stump let out a soft grunt, and its body trembled, becoming obedient.

It vaguely transformed into a blue-robed ghost with a ferocious face, kneeling on the ground and trembling:

"Please, Great Lord, know that I was originally a mule and horse merchant who sold livestock. I was drugged in a black shop, my flesh was cut up to make buns, and my intestines were fed to pigs and dogs, leaving only a piece of skin buried in the wilderness."

"Fortunately, there was a Tai Sui remnant vein there. I absorbed the Tai Sui aura and gained cultivation. I avenged my murder, and then bewitched a few people and built the Qingyi Gang (Blue Robe Gang), only to earn blood for sustenance. Later, I received the Meng family's decree, and it has been over thirty years now…"

"..."

"A piece of human skin, and it became a spirit?"

Hu Ma listened with a cold eye, and was slightly startled in his heart.

Even if some people died with their whole bodies intact, full of grievances, they could only transform into yin秽 (filth) and not cause much of a stir.

This blue-robed evil spirit was originally just a piece of human skin, but it could cultivate into a great evil spirit that wreaked havoc in one prefecture?

But then he thought about it. It was because it relied on the Tai Sui flesh and blood to gain cultivation, so it wasn't surprising. Anything related to Tai Sui always came with various strange happenings.

He himself was a dead man, but he relied on Tai Sui flesh and blood to forcefully come back to life, didn't he?

He also heard it mention some decrees and blood food mines, and vaguely realized that behind these great evil spirits, there was probably a strict system, distributing benefits and dividing territory. If he wanted to ask, he could probably ask them out one by one.

But now, with anger in his chest, he ignored it and just shouted: "You mere evil spirit, how dare you wreak havoc in all directions, harm people's lives, and ignore the Yinyang Boundary? I ask you, who gave you such胆zi (gall)?"

"Lord on the altar, spare me…"

After being restrained, the blue-robed evil spirit had already lost its courage. Now, with the Old Tree Stump beside him, it felt like it was being镇 (suppressed) by a great mountain.

And the person behind the brazier was even more angry and unfathomable. It immediately begged bitterly: "I am also out of my control. First, I have received a decree. I cannot disobey the orders from above. Second…"

"Second, I am also being used by someone who set up an altar to drive me. I didn't intentionally cause trouble…"

"If I hadn't experienced it myself, I might have believed you…"

Listening to its pleas, Hu Ma was even more angry in his heart. He knew that the Meng family was behind this blue-robed evil spirit.

He also knew that the magical power that had wreaked havoc in one prefecture came from this evil spirit. In addition, he had summoned it here to kill it. Asking those questions just now was just to follow the procedure. Now, with a sudden surge of murderous intent, he subconsciously glanced at the Old Tree Stump.

The Old Tree Stump understood Hu Ma's meaning and nodded slightly. Hu Ma's heart was instantly settled: "The facts are all there, and you still dare to quibble?"

"You are a dignified Blue-Robed Great Lord. If it wasn't your own will, who could set up an altar to drive you?"

"Kill it!"

"..."

While speaking, he suddenly chanted incantations.

In the Treatise on Suppressing the Year, after summoning the spiritual objects, there were various incantations to deal with them depending on the situation.

Among them, there were punishment incantations, killing incantations, 枷jiā (shackles) incantations, and消xiāo (eliminating) incantations.

Hu Ma's altar setting didn't consume cultivation, but only when he recited these incantations would his cultivation be consumed quickly, and the more overbearing the incantation, the faster the cultivation would be consumed.

The last time Hu Ma summoned the old turtle, he used the punishment incantation to teach it a good lesson because it was disobedient.

But this time, he directly used the killing incantation.

Of course, killing incantations were inherently dangerous, and they were most likely to provoke the resistance of evil spirits.

If the Old Tree Stump wasn't sitting beside him, Hu Ma wouldn't dare to use such an ominous incantation.

Not to mention whether his cultivation could withstand it, but the evil spirits under the altar would feel this kind of fierce incantation and resist desperately, hurting himself.

But now, with his order, the incantation sounded, and immediately the flames in the brazier suddenly rose up, and there was a burst of yin wind around, and the world was dim.

Vaguely, the little people he had woven with vines all transformed into tall figures in black robes, walking towards the middle from all directions, pressing down on the blue-robed evil spirit in the rice circle. The evil spirit was shocked and struggled desperately.

But on the Old Tree Stump, the figure gently raised a hand and pointed, and the blue-robed evil spirit kept shrinking, but the resistance became weaker and weaker, and it was forcibly held down by the black-robed figures beside it.

Someone had already raised the knife in his hand, aiming it at its neck, and raised it high.

"Brother, spare his life."

But at this moment, Hu Ma suddenly heard a smiling voice in his ear.

(End of Chapter)