Twilight Boundary

Just moments ago, Shopkeeper Wu had been as weak as mud, but suddenly he was filled with murderous intent, leaving everyone from the Tan'er Sect astounded.

The Tan'er Sect was feared by everyone because they understood Sorcery.

Whether it was bewitching and stealing children, sneaking into homes to assault women, or bringing misfortune and summoning spirits, their methods were insidious and hard to guard against.

If they lurked in the shadows, even the most skilled individuals could fall prey to their tricks. Last year, they orchestrated a major incident: they left a seemingly lost child crying on the street. Wu He, out of her kind heart, approached to inquire, only to be unexpectedly sprayed with a mouthful of yin qi by the child.

Despite her training, she couldn't utilize any of her skills and was subdued. When she awoke, scalding oil was already being poured over her body.

The old shopkeeper, anguished over his daughter's plight, rushed in to rescue her but was trapped by the Tan'er Sect lying in wait. A dignified Shousui man of the third-tier, his abilities were diminished by seventy percent, and he barely managed to escape with Wu He.

By the time he had settled his daughter safely and hurried back to the Manor, the Red Lanterns had already been extinguished. His group of attendants had been tortured until they were barely recognizable as human, and the Blood Food had also been stolen.

That time, he had lost utterly, played like a fiddle from beginning to end.

But that was when they were hidden; now it was a face-to-face confrontation.

The old shopkeeper had endured for a year, concealing the secret of the Blood Food. He had finally managed to corner them, thus gaining the initiative.

With this, many of their usual insidious methods became useless. They had no time for other considerations and hastily grabbed their altars. Some chanted curses, others bit their fingers to drip blood onto the altars; each employed their own techniques.

In such a face-off, what the Tan'er Sect could rely on was Aunt Tan.

But even if their methods were fewer, this Aunt Tan was truly a formidable and vexing thing.

Aunt Tan, created through Demon Art, was born with a fierce Evil Spirit and resentment. The more she suffered, the heavier her hatred, and the stronger her resentment became.

However, Aunt Tan hated not others the most, but precisely those who 'raised' her.

Therefore, these people also understood how to make Aunt Tan's resentment reach its peak. There were four methods to control it.

One was chanting, which could compel Aunt Tan to obey commands and stimulate her resentment to harm people. If this resentment was insufficient, one had to feed her with their own blood to make the resentment stronger.

If it was still not enough, she had to be fed with limbs, which could elevate the resentment to another level.

Of course, this Spell had its limitations. For instance, feeding one finger at a time meant the number of times it could be used would also gradually decrease.

The peddler Hu Ma had encountered previously was forced to feed an entire arm, causing that Aunt Tan's resentment to surge dramatically.

Chanting was 'commanding'; feeding with blood was a 'blood offering'; feeding with limbs was a 'body offering'. And the most sophisticated was the 'viscera offering'.

Currently, they were naturally reluctant to make a 'body offering,' and even more so dared not attempt a 'viscera offering.' Thus, they only used blood to feed her and augment Aunt Tan's resentment.

Faced with these Tan'er Sect members channeling Aunt Tan's resentment—sharp as a knife, capable of slicing through flesh and blood—Shopkeeper Wu appeared completely unfazed. With a sweep of his arms, he had already opened the ghost gate. His feet moved in rapid strides, making it seem as if he were walking in the underworld.

SWISH, SWISH, SWISH.

For a moment, only the chaotic sounds of things tearing through the air could be heard around him. Those Tan'er Sect members showed no restraint; various flying needles, hidden weapons, lime powder, and poison smoke sprayed towards the old shopkeeper, threatening to engulf him.

But the old shopkeeper was a Shousui man who had learned genuine skills. Furthermore, he had long been wary of the Tan'er Sect's insidious tricks. With a sweep of his wide sleeves, he deflected them all.

As their figures intertwined, his heavy hands and ponderous feet shattered the bones of several people.

The Tan'er Sect demon people, who had been arrogant and insolent just moments before, couldn't help but fall into disarray, crying out in alarm repeatedly.

Meanwhile, Sister Wu He, who had already donned the dog skin, hated these people to the bone. When Shopkeeper Wu kowtowed to them earlier, she had found it unacceptable. Now that it was time to fight, she should have exerted her full strength.

But what Shopkeeper Wu said truly shocked her: Is it really possible that Father's plan is to take vengeance, and then flee with this batch of Blood Food?

So Father never intended to leave a way out for Brother Hu Ma and them from the start?

...

Her mind was in turmoil. Covered in the dog skin, she couldn't speak, but her pounces and bites were clearly slower.

Silly girl...

And Shopkeeper Wu, observing in all directions and listening intently, dared not be careless while surrounded by this group from the Tan'er Sect. Sensing Wu He's movements had slowed slightly, how could he not understand her thoughts?

The girl had never quite understood why he hadn't explained things clearly, why he had to hide them from the young man from the village.

She genuinely thought he was doing all this just for revenge, failing to understand that revenge was nothing; survival was the most important thing.

If he could block this group from the Tan'er Sect, and by kowtowing and risking this batch of Blood Food, could exchange it for a cure for the Beast Creation Technique afflicting her, then that would be it. There would be no need to actually fight the Tan'er Sect, and Hu Ma would naturally not have to bear that immense resentment on his behalf.

His daughter could be saved, Hu Ma could also live, and it would be a great advantage. But the crucial point was, the Tan'er Sect didn't have the cure.

Shopkeeper Wu had considered this possibility before, but his heart still clung to a sliver of hope.

But another preparation also had to be made: if the Tan'er Sect truly had no cure, then he would have to intercept this batch of Blood Food.

His girl had to live. If the Tan'er Sect had no cure, then he would have to take her to seek help from experts everywhere. Without Blood Food as a 'door-knocking gift,' who would bother with him?

And to intercept this Blood Food, he absolutely could not alarm the Red Lantern Lady. He could only deal with these people himself.

In that case, he had to rely on the young man from that village.

After suffering a loss at the hands of the Tan'er Sect, the old shopkeeper had thought for a long time about how to counter Aunt Tan's resentment. There were countless methods, but none was entirely reliable. After thinking it over and over, it seemed the only option was the Life Substitute Technique from the Execution Soul Path.

As for Hu Ma...

Let's see how strong his fate is...

As these thoughts crossed his mind, Shopkeeper Wu moved like an Evil Ghost, every strike aimed at taking a life.

The surrounding Tan'er Sect members were also terrified, madly employing their evil skills. Waves of resentment surged towards Shopkeeper Wu.

But this resentment, usually unfailingly effective, seemed to have no impact on Shopkeeper Wu.

To endure so much resentment, it seems he has already entered the Array and used the ultimate skill of Four Ghosts Salute...

And Shopkeeper Wu was also calculating in his heart. Now that things had reached this stage, he felt more settled.

Then he couldn't escape...

The ultimate skill of Four Ghosts Salute requires one hand to open the ghost gate, and the other hand to be ready to close it.

One foot steps into the ghost gate, and the other foot must be ready to step out.

The old shopkeeper's expression tensed. Feeling that everything was within his expectations, his attacks became even more dispassionate.

He had indeed concealed a part of it from the young man.

A normal Shousui man needs to cultivate both hands first, not one hand and one leg.

Cultivating both hands is for pushing open the ghost gate and closing it. The dharma methods he taught him were all correct, but the way he taught them was deliberately skewed. This was to ensure that he would know how to open but not how to close, how to enter but not how to exit.

As long as he used this ultimate skill of Four Ghosts Salute, he would then be firmly locked in, continuously blocking this resentment for him.

Until he himself won this battle, or Hu Ma directly died.

It's all his fate!

Could I truly not have guessed that Xu Ji's mahogany sword would be picked up by him so easily, just like that?

Even now, I will exert all my strength to eliminate these remnants of the Tan'er Sect. But whether you can hold on until then, that depends on how tough your fate is!

...

...

「So soon the adversaries arrived...」

Earlier at the Manor, Hu Ma, Datong, Zhou Liang, and Zhao Zhu had already taken down the Red Lanterns that were hung high on poles. Each held a weapon, guarding beside the Red Lanterns.

They had long anticipated that once the fight started somewhere outside, the demon people here would realize the old shopkeeper was not in the Manor. They would definitely no longer hold back but would genuinely rush in to blow out the Red Lanterns. However, they hadn't expected them to be so formidable once they started.

It was also reasonable to assume. No one knew what the old shopkeeper was planning, but the Tan'er Sect was definitely determined to extinguish these Red Lanterns. Once the Red Lanterns were extinguished, they would have no more worries holding them back.

The sharp clicks of a rattle echoed clearly in the silent night.

The main gate of the Manor had long been blown wide open by an eerie wind. One by one, figures of women, seemingly real yet illusory, swayed as they floated into the Manor. They winked and gestured at the few men guarding the Red Lanterns, their brightly powdered faces frozen in distorted, stiff smiles.

Simultaneously, Little Hongtang, who was behind him, suddenly dashed out. She pounced on a black shadow that had stealthily crept near Hu Ma, pinning it to the ground. She tore and bit, and the two tussled with loud screeches.

These women... something spooky about them?

With danger both inside and out, Hu Ma was anxious. Seeing these women drifting forward with vacant smiles, Zhou Datong and the others' movements became somewhat sluggish.

It's shadow puppetry!

Hu Ma shouted a reminder, "Can't you see their feet aren't touching the ground? Don't let them get near, or you'll be instantly entangled!"

Yikes, then what do we do?

Zhou Datong and the others quickly looked down at the feet, and indeed it was so. They all shivered in fright.

Hu Ma yelled, "Drop your pants and piss on them!"

Zhou Datong and the others were stunned for a moment before hastily reacting. They all yanked open their belts and unleashed several streams of water towards those shadow puppets.

Young lads indeed have strong fire qi; they could piss a zhang against the wind.

Moreover, they were genuine virgin boys. In Dayang Village, there was a custom of children urinating on wall foundations precisely because virgin boys' urine could ward off evil spirits.

Hu Ma swept his Wooden Sword, knocking away the black shadow wrestling with Little Hongtang. He then quickly picked her up with one hand and covered her eyes with the other. Turning to look, he saw that the shadow puppets indeed couldn't withstand the virgin boys' urine. They shrieked strangely and retreated, their bodies deflating.

Some parts were even torn, revealing the bamboo frames and rattan strips within.

Young manager, be careful...

Before everyone could heave a sigh of relief, Li, his face ghastly pale, suddenly appeared silently behind them. He stomped his feet nervously and shrieked in a high-pitched voice,

"Outside they're bleeding into the altars, the big one's coming..."

...

His words had barely faded when gusts of eerie wind swirled through the Manor. From time to time, some seemingly real yet illusory shadows crawled in, scurrying wildly around the courtyard.

Aunt Tan's resentment is coming...

Hu Ma's heart sank slightly. He shouted, "Retreat into the inner courtyard! I'm going to use my ultimate skill to welcome these 'dear friends'!"