Chapter 168 The Significance of Gui Xiang

"So that's how it is..."

Hu Ma listened quietly to Miss Red Wine's words, his heart surging, but his face remained calm.

He had only been worried about how many reincarnators would be willing to interfere in human affairs.

He even wondered how many people would come to help fight against the Li family.

His vision had been too narrow.

They weren't even considering whether to participate or not, but rather, on many issues, they were thinking deeper and more thoroughly than he was.

From an objective standpoint, Monkey Wine's initial proposal to compete with the Ten Clans was the most rational and intelligent approach, but Tie Guanyin had seen the shortcomings of this proposal from the very beginning.

This woman was also very domineering. After realizing this flaw, she made another decision in secret, without telling anyone, to avoid the dispersal of energy and internal friction of opinions.

This could only be done by someone who deeply understood this world and was integrated into it.

In the capital city, he had guessed that Tie Guanyin was hiding something, but he really didn't expect it to be this.

All along, his mindset had been problematic. After learning about his background, he only regarded himself as the host and others as guests, so he was cautious. But Tie Guanyin used this decision to tell him one thing: he was wrong.

Reincarnators might be disgusted or arrogant, but deep down, how could any of them truly remain detached from this world?

Brother Erguotou had his Little Red Lantern.

Monkey Wine had his younger sister, Wuya.

Even Sweet Potato Liquor had her gang of ghost brothers.

In some ways, their entanglement with this world was even greater than his.

Thinking about these issues, the turmoil in Hu Ma's heart gradually subsided. He turned his head to look at the Bloodstained Pool, and saw that Yang Gong's shadow was becoming clearer, while the God-Given King's shadow had already collapsed.

Now, only the shadow of the Evil Man Chang remained barely maintained in the Bloodstained Pool. Of course, this didn't mean that Yang Gong's killing intent had exceeded theirs.

It was purely because this great slaughter originated from Yang Gong, and the Bloodstained Pool reflected the human world, so corresponding changes occurred.

It could only be said that compared to what Yang Gong was about to represent, everyone else's killing intent was insignificant.

He also understood what Yang Gong would face, and his heart was naturally a little heavy.

But thinking that the Taishui (Grand Astrologer) was coming, and everyone had a burden on their shoulders, he didn't say anything else, only respect.

"So, who is this person?"

In the Bloodstained Pool, the Evil Man Chang was also looking at Yang Gong's shadow, for a long, long time.

As someone also in the Bloodstained Pool, although he didn't know Yang Gong, he seemed to be able to feel something from Yang Gong. He stared at him, with a look of curiosity on his face.

After a long, long time, a smile slowly appeared on his numb face. He turned to look at Hu Ma and said, "He's different from others."

Hu Ma also looked at him, nodded gently, and said, "He's someone who doesn't accept fate."

"There is destiny between heaven and earth. Some people have light fate, some people have shallow fate. When disaster strikes, those with light fate die first. When there is fortune, those with heavy fate enjoy it first. He doesn't accept this."

"If he doesn't accept it, then he doesn't accept it. He actually had the opportunity to change himself from someone with a light fate to someone with a heavy fate."

"But he doesn't want this opportunity. He raised his knife to chop down those who have heavy fate and think they deserve it..."

"..."

The Evil Man Chang clearly had some difficulty understanding these words.

He wasn't an expert, and he didn't understand the weight of fate. He frowned and pondered for a while before slightly comprehending the meaning.

His eyes gradually brightened, and a rare look of surprise appeared on his numb face. He suddenly looked up at Hu Ma and said, "Is there a place where I can forge a knife?"

He raised the two broken pieces of his knife and said, "I want to forge a good knife and then go find him."

"Go to Quzhou to find the Baoliang Army (Protect-Grain Army)."

Hu Ma nodded to him and said, "There are blacksmiths in that army who will help you forge a knife."

"Good!"

The Evil Man Chang didn't say much. He just sat down in the Bloodstained Pool, and his shadow gradually faded. Presumably, he had already woken up from the human world.

As for what he would do after finding Yang Gong with the two broken knives in his hand, it was up to him.

"A world-shaking great slaughter..."

Hu Ma just sighed in his heart, "Even the Evil Man Chang can be subdued, let alone others?"

This great slaughter was far more brilliant than the previous agreement with the Ten Clans to compete. But logically speaking, this slaughter didn't violate the agreement with the Ten Clans.

After all, they had agreed to compete and determine the outcome. Now, this was also a competition, the only difference being that the Ten Clans thought they would see the outcome on the level of spells, but they didn't expect the reincarnators' perspective to be much broader than they thought.

Now that things had come to this, he didn't even need to worry about the outcome.

At this time, Hu Ma was by the Bloodstained Pool, able to feel the surging blood energy in the pool. Looking back at the human world from the Bloodstained Pool, with the help of the rolling Yin energy in the underworld, he could even feel the fortune of the human world and the vastness of the滔天大劫 (tāo tiān dà jié - tremendous tribulation).

In this matter, the reincarnators were doing much better than he was.

So, what about himself at this time?

His gaze inadvertently fell on Miss Red Wine, who was about to leave, and on Erguotou, who had a somewhat somber expression.

Their eyes were either self-deprecating or calm, but they both had a certain detached air.

Like Erguotou, he had just heard Miss Red Wine's words about the "inevitable death of reincarnators," but he still seemed not to care at all...

Perhaps like Shaodaozi (Burning Blade), they felt that the sentimentalities of the moment seemed too much like moaning and groaning?

It was meaningless for him to show any sadness or pain. It was too shallow.

But facing this inevitable death, what should he do?

A certain thought suddenly grew wildly at this moment. He had seen it before, but he didn't dare to think deeply about it. Now, it was gradually becoming firm.

In the capital city, the reincarnators met with Tie Guanyin, and it seemed that everyone had revealed everything.

But in reality, Tie Guanyin had concealed one thing: no matter what the outcome of this world, the reincarnators would die after fighting against the Taishui (Grand Astrologer).

And he had also concealed one thing.

...

...

After making this decision, Hu Ma even felt relieved. He bowed deeply to Miss Red Wine:

"Thank you for your trouble."

Even though his heart was surging like a sea of clouds, he only said "Thank you for your trouble," otherwise it would be too pretentious.

Miss Red Wine also glanced at Hu Ma, and felt that he was indeed different from when he was in Anzhou. She waved her hand and smiled faintly: "Quickly settle things here properly. Many things have only just begun!"

With the slaughter rising in the human world, she had to return to the human world to protect Yang Gong, or find more Yang Gongs.

Otherwise, if something happened to Yang Gong, this slaughter might be stopped prematurely.

"Let's also take back the prizes!"

Hu Ma also smiled at Erguotou and said, "At least this competition was won fairly."

Except for being a bit of a stomp, everything else was within reason.

Erguotou could only nod, but after thinking about it, he felt a little strange. All of this was planned by Miss Red Wine, and Shaodaozi (Burning Blade) executed it with his life.

Even Hu Ma played a role in being a meat shield and, in the end, helping Shaodaozi (Burning Blade) send the trigger of this slaughter to the human world.

Only he, together, just opened a door and collected the money at the end?

"You... you can't do this..."

When Hu Ma and Shaodaozi (Burning Blade) came to the person in charge of the Li family, they saw that he seemed to be in a daze.

He was no longer alive, but a soul body. Even his soul body showed a lost appearance, which showed that the shock was too great...

"My Li family's two hundred years of hard work, seven generations of effort, have created everything we have today..."

"But you, want to take it all away, without even leaving a name..."

"..."

"That everything was not yours to begin with."

Hu Ma looked at the Li family's person in charge and frowned, coldly saying, "A foundation obtained through betrayal and theft cannot be considered your family's. To put it bluntly, the Yellow Spring Eight Views manages all the misfortunes and blessings of the human world, and you shouldn't even touch it."

"If you really touch it, or even take it for yourself, then naturally someone will overthrow it and start over."

"If you really have the courage, you can try to stop it, but I will tell you that you will bear the consequences."

"..."

After saying this, his voice sank, "As for now, I don't have time to dawdle with you here."

"Mr. Li, you lost. You should hand over what you promised us."

"..."

"You..."

Only after being spoken to so bluntly by Hu Ma did the Li family's person in charge seem to regain a bit of his senses. He suddenly looked up at Hu Ma, his eyes filled with collapse, frustration, unwillingness, and exhaustion.

In the end, it all turned into a bitter smile: "What else do you want to get?"

"The Li family's foundations have been destroyed by you. What valuable things are left?"

At this point, he even had a feeling of giving up.

He originally thought that even if they lost this competition, they would only need to hand over the two weighing stones and, at most, divide the Bloodstained Pool with them.

But who knew that the Bloodstained Pool no longer belonged to the Li family.

From then on, the Impermanence Li would be inferior to the other clans. The frustration in his heart was imaginable.

"We want everything from you."

Hu Ma looked at him seriously and said slowly, "The Li family's Impermanence, stone weights, family head seal, and..."

"Your Li family's Matrix."

"..."

"The Matrix?"

The Li family's person in charge suddenly heard these two words, and his expression was strange. He thought Hu Ma was mocking him.

The Li family's Matrix would probably become a joke from today onwards, right?

What did he want it for?

"The Old Well's Name Calling is indeed average. I didn't expect the dignified Impermanence Li family's Matrix to be a consumable..."

Hu Ma didn't hide the disdain in his eyes and said, "But your Li family was able to steal the Bloodstained Pool for twenty years without anyone knowing and without suffering the backlash of the Bloodstained Pool. I'm very interested in this ability. I want you to tell me this ability completely."

As soon as these words were spoken, not only the Li family's person in charge but even Erguotou felt strange.

'Why does he want this method of stealing the origin of heaven and earth?'

'It's clear that with this slaughter, any methods will be leveled. The laws of this world may all be leveled...'

The Li family's person in charge also reacted and suddenly looked at Hu Ma seriously. It was truly difficult to describe the strange thoughts in his heart at this moment.

Hu Ma making it clear that he wanted their Li family's method made him feel slightly relieved, as if the hard work accumulated by the Li family for generations wasn't so useless. In a trance, he gritted his teeth and said, "I, I can give you all of this..."

"But I have a condition."

"... I know the Li family has lost and is not qualified to negotiate, but I, I still have to say it."

"..."

Hu Ma didn't interrupt, just frowned and said, "Speak."

The Li family's person in charge took a deep breath and suddenly said, "I want you to recommend two daughters of my Li family to serve in the Baoliang Army (Protect-Grain Army)."

"Not with others, just with this person burdened with slaughter, and ensure that they follow orders and have no ulterior motives."

"..."

Hu Ma was slightly stunned when he heard this, and then smiled.

No wonder people said that the people in charge of the Ten Clans were all very smart.

He slowly nodded: "I agree."

Only at this moment did the Li family's person in charge take a deep breath and say to Hu Ma, "First, you need to find a well..."

The Impermanence Li family was indeed willing to admit defeat, or rather, they had prepared to cooperate with Hu Ma and others from the beginning. The only difference was that they lost too suddenly, and they didn't even have time to develop the determination to renege on the debt and suffer mutual destruction.

Not only was the "stealing" method that Hu Ma wanted explained in detail, but other seals, orders, and stone weights were also handed over one by one.

With these things in Hu Ma's hands, it was equivalent to the Suppressing Evil Hu family eating up the Impermanence Li family.

As for the five stone weights, they could now be collected.

One of the five towns for the Great Ritual of Luotian was now in hand.

Hu Ma and Erguotou returned to the human world together. Still in front of the Meng Hu Pass (Fierce Tiger Pass), looking up, they only saw that the flags of the Baoliang Army (Protect-Grain Army), the Iron-Clad Army, and the White-Armored Army had long been planted on the Meng Hu Pass (Fierce Tiger Pass).

Now, in this piece of heaven and earth, the bloody rain had just stopped, the cold sun had just risen, and the Yin wind was blowing back and forth, filled with the smell of blood. The heads in front of the pass had all been buried, and countless ragged people were coming to collect porridge.

The aroma of porridge and the smell of blood merged together, surprisingly harmoniously, which no one had ever thought of.

Hu Ma stood in front of the Meng Hu Pass (Fierce Tiger Pass), looking at the world, and seemed to have already seen the result. When this monstrous slaughter arose, what Meng Hu Pass (Fierce Tiger Pass), what God-Given King, and even the Impermanence Li family's low-level officials, what Jianghu strangers, strange techniques, and evil methods, were all vulnerable.

And many reincarnators, represented by Miss Red Wine, had already begun to voluntarily devote themselves to this slaughter.

They would destroy everything, and they would also make people understand why they were destroying it, and how to live and be reborn.

This was just the beginning. This slaughter would become more and more fierce.

The weight of fate would be evened out. What grass-roots kings, what noble families, would all bow down in front of this slaughter, or their heads would fall to the ground.

"Brother, I'll leave it to you."

Looking at the situation that had already been opened up, Hu Ma gave everything he had taken from the Impermanence Li family to Erguotou in front of the Meng Hu Pass (Fierce Tiger Pass). Among them were also the "Golden Armor Collection" and the "Delivery of Yin Letters" from the Suppressing Evil Mansion.

The Golden Armor Collection could be used to drive the golden-armored warriors in the Suppressing Evil Mansion, and the Delivery of Yin Letters could ensure that Erguotou could contact him at any time, and drive the power of ghosts and gods in the world.

"What do you mean?"

Erguotou was a little confused when he heard his words: "This has only just begun. Aren't you going back to the army?"

"You understand the principles better than I do, and you will do these things better than I will."

Hu Ma took a deep breath and looked at him seriously, "So, I'm going to do another very important thing."

Erguotou was a little surprised: "More important than gathering the Mandate of Heaven and defeating the Ten Clans?"

Hu Ma nodded and said slowly, "Yes!"

Although Erguotou still didn't quite understand, he also knew that Hu Ma wasn't an impatient person. Plus, he had too many things to understand, to discuss with Miss Red Wine, so he had to agree and hurriedly went to the Baoliang Army (Protect-Grain Army).

Hu Ma watched Erguotou walk away, his expression tense. He stood here quietly, circulating his energy for a moment, and waited for Old Abacus to rush over, covered in mud.

"This... this thing..."

Old Abacus clearly had too many things he wanted to ask, but when Hu Ma saw him, he directly said, "Did you find the National Teacher when I asked you to contact him?"

"Found him..."

Old Abacus was a little strange, but he still nodded.

But Hu Ma didn't want to say more, so he nodded and said, "Take me to see him. I have questions to ask."

"What questions?"

Before Old Abacus could answer, Hu Ma heard a cold and clear voice behind him. He turned around and saw the Dongxuan National Teacher standing in what should have been the location of a pine tree.

It had been almost three months since they separated in the capital city. Seeing him again, he no longer had the appearance of wearing a Taoist robe and being detached from the world.

His cheeks were still as thin, but he had changed out of his Taoist robe, his beard was disheveled, and his eyes no longer had the clear and transparent look they had before.

Old Abacus looked embarrassed when he saw him and quietly lowered his head, saying to Hu Ma, "He was more anxious than you. When he heard you wanted to see him, he sent a shadow over a few days ago..."

"I need to know how to walk the Gui Xiang (Returning Home) realm..."

Hu Ma didn't hesitate and looked at the National Teacher, slowly saying, "When you tricked me into cultivating the Nine Pillars of Taoism, you once said that there was a method of building a bridge to heaven, and it was even possible to reach the Gui Xiang (Returning Home) realm directly with this method."

"That statement should have a second half."

"Gui Xiang (Returning Home)?"

The National Teacher even felt absurd when he heard his words and coldly said, "If you continue on your current path, there will no longer be any laws or techniques between heaven and earth, only a group of villagers wielding knives and slaughtering everywhere..."

"You provoked all of this, and yet you come to ask me what Gui Xiang (Returning Home) is?"

"..."

"Yes!"

Facing the National Teacher's questioning, Hu Ma just silently nodded and said, "The laws of this world will disappear, but I want to reach the true Gui Xiang (Returning Home) realm before all of this disappears."

Hearing the firmness in his words, the National Teacher seemed to sneer: "In the end, you also want to become an immortal?"

Hu Ma held a piece of clothing in his sleeve, which he had brought out from the Bloodstained Pool. He slowly clenched it, exhaled slowly, and said in a low voice: "Becoming an immortal is meaningless."

"But Gui Xiang (Returning Home) is very meaningful!"