With the Four Ghost Bow at the Door technique, a chilling wind instantly swept through the area.
This was the first time Hu Ma had used this signature move so unreservedly. It was silent, malevolent, and insidious. Caught off guard, no one could possibly detect it in the cold shadows.
After the bow, the entire forest seemed to be shrouded in a ghostly wind. Sand and stones flew, and faint wails of ghosts and wolves could be heard.
Without hesitation, Hu Ma followed the chilling wind, using the Ghost Climbing Steps technique, silently, like a specter, drifting straight into the forest.
The sawtooth blade in his hand was gripped tightly, as if he were an evil spirit come to claim a life.
Inside the forest, Granny Cui and the others had already armed themselves, prepared for a life-or-death struggle.
Wang Laizi, the snake charmer, endured the pain and placed the two-headed snake in his hand on the ground. He let the snake bite him until it released its hold and slithered forward. Only then did he suppress the black qi on his face, trembling as he rummaged through bottles and jars in his arms, searching for snake medicine.
He muttered to himself, "Where a *jiaotoushe* (two-headed snake) appears, no matter how good the feng shui, it's an evil place. I'll see how he sets up his altar!"
But before he could find the snake medicine and put it in his mouth, a chilling wind suddenly rose around him.
He felt as if his ears were filled with the wails of ghosts and wolves. Normally, he had eaten a lot of snake gall and had extraordinary eyesight, able to see as clearly as day even in the dark.
But now, he felt a wave of darkness before his eyes, and his heart was covered in a layer of cold dust, making it impossible to see clearly.
He felt as if his soul had left his body, and he sat there blankly for a long time before finally regaining his senses.
When he finally came to, his first action was to swallow the snake medicine in his mouth.
But as the snake medicine rolled down, he felt something fall from his throat and land in front of him.
He looked down and saw the black snake medicine pill.
Only then did Wang Laizi realize what had happened. He reached up and touched his neck, only to feel a large gash.
"When was I killed?"
A strange question floated into his mind. He wanted to shout, but he couldn't.
His body lost its strength and he fell straight to the ground.
"This wind is strange, be careful..."
Inside the forest, the other three were shouting warnings, but once Hu Ma entered the forest and got close, he wouldn't be polite. He slit the snake charmer's throat with one slash and immediately continued his assault forward.
The first thing he saw was the craftsman kowtowing in the direction of the altar.
He was surprised. "The power of the altar just dissipated. Could it be because of this craftsman's kowtowing?"
"...Damn it, I knew kowtowing wasn't a good thing in this world!"
"..."
As he thought this, he raised the sawtooth blade and slashed at the craftsman's head. He came from the side, while the craftsman was kowtowing towards the altar, a perfect position.
The craftsman, however, was extremely sensitive to direction. He was already dizzy and disoriented from the Four Ghost Bow at the Door technique, but he immediately sensed Hu Ma's approach. He turned around abruptly and saw Wang Laizi fall to the ground, with Hu Ma charging towards him with a knife.
Alarmed, he ignored the kowtowing and hastily pulled out a ruler, waving it wildly in the air.
"Prepare to die!"
How could a *Shousui Ren* (Year Keeper) take someone like him seriously? Hu Ma directly slashed at him with the knife.
He intended to cut him in half with one strike.
But the knife missed him by two fingers. The wind from the blade made his hair fly, but it didn't hit him.
"Huh?"
Hu Ma was surprised. The second knife followed closely, aiming for his waist and abdomen.
But to his surprise, the other party's face changed drastically, and he still missed.
"Granny, Old Shou, come help..."
The one-eyed craftsman had narrowly avoided two deadly blows, but he was even more alarmed. Affected by the Four Ghost Bow at the Door technique, he was gradually recovering, and he waved the ruler in his hand even more desperately.
He waved and retreated, trying to join the other two. Granny Cui and the scarred old man didn't dare to delay, cursing as they rushed forward to intercept.
"Is it the ruler?"
Although Hu Ma was a Year Keeper, he didn't just hack blindly.
After missing two strikes in a row, he quickly realized something was wrong. He had aimed carefully with both strikes, so there was no reason to miss.
The reason was simple: the ruler in his hand.
The ruler seemed to have some demonic properties. When waved, it confused people's perception of their surroundings. What seemed like three *chi* (a Chinese unit of length, approx. 1/3 meter) was actually four, and what seemed like a sure hit actually left a finger's width of space.
"Is this craftsman from the Harm the Head sect?"
He had heard that some people in the Harm the Head sect were good at refining magical treasures.
Rulers were originally used to measure length and width, but in their hands, they became objects that confused distance.
Seeing that he had failed to kill the craftsman while under the effects of the Four Ghost Bow at the Door technique, Granny Cui and Old Shou had also arrived.
Hu Ma didn't dare to delay. He knew that if he was surrounded by the three of them, even though he, as a Year Keeper, had a great advantage at close range, he might not be a match for these three sorcerers.
He immediately sheathed his knife and pressed his hands against his ribs, shouting with a voice like spring thunder:
"Ha!"
"..."
Five Thunder Golden Toad Howl!
Since they had disrupted his rhythm, he would discard the knife.
This Five Thunder Golden Toad Howl borrowed the power of the five viscera refined by the Year Keeper to produce a roar.
One viscera, one transformation. The five viscera resonated, creating a single roar containing five transformations, five thunders combined.
The craftsman had thought he could escape Hu Ma's pursuit with the ruler in his hand, but he was caught off guard by the other party's loud shout.
With such a roar, an inch more or less didn't matter much. In such close proximity, he took the full force of the roar and froze on the spot. The ruler in his hand stopped moving, and blood slowly flowed from his facial orifices.
His body slowly collapsed, dying without warning.
If an autopsy were performed, it would be found that his internal organs had been shattered by the shockwave, and his eardrums had long since ruptured.
A famous sorcerer in Pingnan Prefecture had been killed by this roar.
Not only him, but even Granny Cui, who had just rushed over, was staggered back a few steps. Her ears were ringing, and she felt a sense of turmoil inside her body, dizzy and nauseous, unable to speak for a long time.
Old Shou was also staggered back a few steps, but immediately took another step forward, with his hands behind his back, his expression arrogant and stern.
He shouted, "Good kid, that's the Year Keeper's power of the five viscera, isn't it?"
"To dare to break in alone, you have some courage. Then let this old man test you!"
"..."
"So the Five Thunder Golden Toad Howl is so powerful that it can kill people at close range!"
Even Hu Ma was surprised. He usually hid his abilities, unwilling to use the power of the five viscera. Now he realized that the signature moves of the Year Keeper sect each had their own merits. They could not only deal with evil spirits, but also had miraculous effects against people.
He had previously refined them imperfectly and had not understood the many wonders of this signature move.
But there was no time to think. Seeing the scarred old man in front of him with an arrogant expression, blocking his way, and speaking with such arrogance, he felt a surge of anger in his heart.
Test your grandpa, this shopkeeper is here to kill people...
But while he cursed in his heart, his face became solemn and he said, "So there are experts here. Then this little one will make a fool of himself."
As he spoke, he bowed respectfully.
A chilling aura filled the air around him, silently pressing forward.
He had used the Four Ghost Bow at the Door technique outside the forest. These people probably hadn't seen it. Now he would give them another wave.
"Good kid!"
Suddenly seeing Hu Ma bow down, the composed old man was visibly startled.
He had originally wanted to praise this kid for being sensible, but why was he using insidious tricks right away?
"Swish!"
The hand behind his back suddenly came out, and a white shadow flickered. A bone whip covered in bone fragments wrapped around Hu Ma's neck.
He had been hiding the bone whip behind his back.
"Insidious old bastard!"
Hu Ma cursed in his heart. The Four Ghost Bow at the Door technique hadn't even been used, and the whip was already about to wrap around his neck. He couldn't care anymore. His left hand instantly transformed into death, grabbing the whip, and then pulling it towards him, he swung his knife and chopped down.
"This stance is solid!"
Unexpectedly, facing this full-force knife strike, the scarred old man didn't forget to praise him.
Then, without panic, he raised a single palm and circled it, actually using a single hand to break his steel knife. He not only defused the knife's momentum, but also took the opportunity to grab the back of his knife.
Was this also an expert?
Hu Ma's surprise at this moment was extraordinary. The sorcerers on Pingnan Prefecture were indeed powerful. Unless the other party was also a Year Keeper or a Spirit Bearer, it was difficult to fight him at close range.
But this short, fat, scarred old man had actually blocked him and hadn't allowed him to gain the upper hand.
Hu Ma was also greatly surprised. He flipped the blade in his hand and slashed at the old man's waist.
At that moment, the left hand that was holding the opponent's whip suddenly felt strange. His left hand had already been transformed into death, not afraid of yin poison or corpse energy, nor afraid of injury.
But as soon as he grabbed the whip, he immediately felt the fire within his body being constantly drawn away, and his cultivation was weakening.
It felt somewhat like being hit in the head with paper money, except the rate of cultivation loss was not as fast as with paper money.
The old man, facing Hu Ma's close-range, fierce knife, had a stern expression and sneered, "Do you know how powerful it is now?"
"This Old Man's Life-Striking Whip specializes in striking people's lifespans."
"Did you really think that we had no way to deal with you Year Keepers once you got close?"
"If this Old Man hadn't broken a taboo, I would have already entered the *Fu* (likely referring to a higher realm or organization). It's been many years since I fought with anyone. Meeting a greenhorn like you is a good opportunity to test whether my skills have declined recently!"
"..."
Hearing these words, even Hu Ma was shocked. "This old man is about to enter the *Fu*?"
"Sure enough, you can't be careless with anyone when walking the martial world..."
I don't want to interrupt during the climax. I'm trying to work harder and harder, but to be honest, this part of the plot, stopping anywhere is an interruption. I can only blame Old Ghost for being too slow. I wish I could finish writing it in one day... I'm ashamed and don't even have the face to ask for votes.
(End of Chapter)