Twilight Boundary-Chapter 674 - 665: The Opening of Zhensui Mansion
The call, "Summon the Zhensui Mansion!" echoed, each word striking with the force of a thousand tons.
Hu Ma, at this moment, neither chanted a curse nor invoked mana, yet each word he uttered carried immense weight. The vast City of the Dead seemed to halt at his words, all sound and movement ceasing for a long moment.
In the next instant, a golden light suddenly appeared within this gloomy, mist-shrouded City of the Dead.
The golden light came from the mortal world, descending abruptly into the underworld, shining upon Hu Ma.
Following this beam of light, two tall, armor-clad Golden Armored Warriors, wielding halberds, could be seen approaching from afar. They carried a Stone Box, advancing with a pace that seemed slow yet was deceptively swift. Such was the weight of their presence that even the void within the underworld warped around them.
Atop the Stone Box sat Little Hongtang, her hair tied in two small, horn-like pigtails. She craned her neck, peering inside with curiosity. A wide smile spread across her face when she saw Hu Ma.
BOOM!
The instant the Golden Armored Warriors appeared with the Stone Box, the entire City of the Dead seemed to contract violently. Countless Yin Ghosts and resentful souls, catching sight of the distant golden light, recoiled instinctively.
Be they resentful ghosts or yin souls, a hundred years old or a thousand, all specters felt an instinctive dread upon witnessing that golden light, cowering in fear.
Innumerable gazes simultaneously retracted into their sockets. Their forms flickered, an uncontrollable urge to prostrate themselves washing over them. Indeed, a chorus of endless, unconscious wails arose. They dared not approach, yet surged forward in a desperate scramble, collapsing to their knees in droves.
In this moment of utter silence, the two Golden Armored Warriors reached Hu Ma and placed the Stone Box before him.
RATTLE!
The iron chains binding the Stone Box sprang open automatically. Hu Ma reached inside and grasped the Demon Suppression Golden Mace. Then, his brow slightly furrowed, he slowly raised it.
The moment Hu Ma drew forth the Demon Suppression Golden Mace, the very winds within the City of the Dead seemed to be suppressed.
Nearby, Er Guotou, who carried a red gourd on his back and was anxious to depart, suddenly froze. These… Golden Armored Warriors, why… why do they look somewhat familiar?
Belatedly, he realized he might have overlooked something crucial. No, wait a minute…
Who did that young fellow say he was just now?
"The Thirty-six Mansion Divine Lords are here to aid me in capturing evil spirits and suppressing miscreants!"
And at that very same moment, as Hu Ma raised the Demon Suppression Golden Mace, Eldest Master Meng was far from idle.
His family's ghost soldiers and Ghost Generals had already been scattered by Er Guotou. Fearing that the Hu Family brat and the evil spirit might escape during the crucial final moments of his ancestor's awakening, he had disregarded all else and summoned numerous Lords to this place.
For the past twenty years, the Meng family hadn't been idle for a single moment. They commanded countless case gods and numerous Lords. In terms of connections within the underworld, the Meng family might not have surpassed other families, but when it came to raw strength, they could sweep through the entire domain.
Now, with the evil spirits causing chaos from above, it was uncertain which Lords had fallen prey to them. To ensure success, he had summoned thirty-six Lords in one go.
Massive figures rose one after another from the gloomy underworld, stationing themselves to watch over the City of the Dead, both within and without.
The arrival of any single Lord was enough to cause fluctuations in the very fabric of the underworld. Now, with thirty-six Lords present, the City of the Dead tilted precariously, and faint rumbles echoed from its depths. It was as if the City of the Dead itself was about to lose its equilibrium, in danger of having a corner snapped off by their collective weight.
"Quickly, seize them…"
The moment he had summoned the Lords, Eldest Master Meng urgently issued his command.
No matter who they are, capture them all!
The Hu Family is colluding with an evil spirit—what more needs to be said?
However, this satisfying thought had barely formed when his eyes fell upon the stone platform. There, flanked by the two Golden Armored Warriors, a figure was raising the Demon Suppression Golden Mace.
In the next instant, golden light surged, forcefully pushing back the yin winds and ghostly mists. Above the City of the Dead, the very essence of the underworld churned, and in a flash, a colossal, imposing, and terrifyingly majestic mansion manifested.
Within this mansion, one after another, towering, silent, and deathly still golden-armored deities awakened. Golden light blazed from their hollow eyes. They gazed forward, indifferent and merciless. Wherever their gaze passed, the ghostly mists dispersed, and the world itself fell silent.
The City of the Dead, which had tilted slightly under the weight of the thirty-six Lords, suddenly righted itself, standing dignified and immense.
The City of the Dead, perennially shrouded in ghostly fog and steeped in profound resentment, now seemed as if bathed in a blazing sun. It shone with a brilliant radiance, illuminating every dark and sorrowful resentful soul, pouring golden light into their empty eye sockets.
Tremendous rumbles resonated, sending shockwaves deep into the City of the Dead, as if stirring something ancient and profound within its depths.
Within the City of the Dead, the vindictive souls bearing the most tragic grievances—those who had suffered bitterly in the mortal world—dwelt in the uppermost stratum. The lower the stratum, the more ancient and terrifying its inhabitants. And at the very bottom of the City of the Dead lay a vast expanse paved with skeletal remains.
Now, with the emergence of the Zhensui Mansion, even those skeletal remains at the very bottom were disturbed. Low, mournful sighs arose, as if some among them were struggling to give voice.
"That… that is…"
Eldest Master Meng, who had just gathered his wits to speak, felt the words die in his throat. Beneath this golden radiance, his soul body trembled, overcome by a disorienting sense of unreality.
The Zhensui Mansion… Is that the Zhensui Mansion the Meng family has coveted for so long?
"You…" He found the entire situation utterly surreal, his voice trembling as he stammered, "You… you dare summon the Zhensui Mansion into the underworld?"
"Don't you know what's buried beneath this City of the Dead?"
"I act upon the blood-written plea for justice from the hungry ghosts of Official Zhou! Wherever injustice festers, there the Zhensui Mansion shall be!"
At that moment, as the Zhensui Mansion fully manifested, its gates opening with an ethereal, unhurried grace, Hu Ma, holding the Demon Suppression Golden Mace, turned and entered. He seated himself firmly upon the dark, imposing chair within.
With a raise of his hand, he produced the Golden Armor Collection and placed it beside him. Then, he picked up a piece of cloth. It was covered in blood-written characters, a shocking sight, and even now, holding this petition, he could feel the palpable resentment clinging to it.
This was the petition of grievances lodged by the hungry ghosts of Official Zhou!
Ever since learning of Noble Zhang and Tongyin Meng's crafting of the Demon Detection Mirror, Hu Ma had been preparing to deal with the two families. The background of Noble Zhang was left to the Reincarnators to investigate.
As for Tongyin Meng, their affairs also required investigation, though no one held much hope for actionable intelligence. After all, Tongyin Meng's abilities were widely known, and their family resources, as well as their supremely demonic ancestor, were matters of public record. To check or not, it was beyond what the present Reincarnators could handle.
But Hu Ma was determined to deal with them and had long prepared to use the Zhensui Mansion to eliminate the "traitors." Since he intended to summon the Zhensui Mansion, preparations were essential. Sending people to Official Zhou to investigate the matter of the hungry ghosts was part of this groundwork.
Of course, these were originally backup plans, contingencies for contingencies. But now, with such a perfect opportunity presenting itself, even a backup plan had to be employed as a primary strike.
The Mandate of Heaven had shifted; the world was on the brink of great turmoil. If he didn't seize this chance to inflict a devastating blow upon the thoroughly prepared Meng family, then when would be the time?
Nevertheless, invoking the Zhensui Mansion within the City of the Dead had caused a far greater commotion than even he had anticipated. He had a faint sense that something ancient and mysterious within this city shared a cryptic connection with the Zhensui Mansion.
The Golden Armored Warriors of the Zhensui Mansion, logically, should be mere automatons, acting only upon orders. They could uphold the order between yin and yang, and they could exterminate evil spirits. But here, in the City of the Dead, they seemed to possess an unexpected vitality…
For now, even he had to suppress the urge to investigate further. Having summoned the Zhensui Mansion, he had to shoulder its authority and focus on the task before him.
"Here!"
Little Hongtang hadn't seen Hu Ma for many days. Now that she did, she saw his solemn expression, but his eyes held a hidden glint of excitement. She didn't know what he was so happy about, but she sidled up to Hu Ma, lifted the cloth covering her small basket, and began taking items out one by one, placing them on the table on her tiptoes.
"These are for you."
Hu Ma was in the underworld. If others wished to send him items, they would first deliver them to the Manor in Green Stone Town, Mingzhou. Little Hongtang, upon receiving word, would then bring them down to him. A quick scan revealed three items that made Hu Ma's heart leap with joy.
The Yin Sealing Scroll, and the investigation report on the hungry ghosts in the land of Official Zhou.
Miss Red Wine is truly meticulous in her work…
Hu Ma marveled inwardly. Now that he had summoned the Zhensui Mansion, he absolutely could not let Eldest Master Meng escape. Even without these items, he would have had to apprehend him. Their timely arrival, however, was an unexpected boon.
But what surprised him most was a length of white silk, upon which were written neat rows of delicate, elegant characters.
A formula?
Seeing Hu Ma's gaze fall upon the white silk, Little Hongtang gestured and explained, "A cat delivered it. A fat cat, a white one, a chubby cat."
A single glance was enough for Hu Ma to grasp its contents. The white silk recorded matters such as refining calamity into qi. These were likely Miss White Wine's recent insights. His heart stirred with emotion, but there was no time to examine it closely. He raised his head and looked out from the Zhensui Mansion.
Empowered by the boundless baleful aura and terrifying might of the Zhensui Mansion, his gaze was lofty and inviolable. "Lord of Official Zhou! You betrayed the world, leading to the proliferation of hungry ghosts and tragic calamities in the human realm! Today, I have entered the underworld specifically to apprehend you and hold you accountable for the sins of Official Zhou!"
"Lord of the Meng family! You dared to secretly build a Yin Palace, deceive the Mansion God, steal the accumulated fortune of the human world, and refine the Tai Sui of the Refining Yin Mansion! Your audacity is boundless, your sins heinous! The evidence is irrefutable! Now, will you not…
"…come forward and kneel to answer for your crimes!"
