Twilight Boundary-Chapter 757 - 748: The Magic of the Past

With only one breath left, at any moment he could lose the chance to reopen his eyes.

But at this moment, Hu Ma found himself trapped in the Intermediate Yin Realm.

The Book of Life and Death wrapped around Hu Ma, as if it turned this world into a cocoon, trapping him tightly inside.

The dense stream of information sapped all his strength to resist. If human existence was akin to being a puppet on strings, then Hu Ma was now completely ensnared by intricate threads, rendering him immobile, unable even to struggle.

However, there was one advantage: with the strings tangled, no one could control him by pulling them.

Both sides could only maintain a deadlock.

"Soon, very soon..."

The thing covered in eyes stared intently at Hu Ma, excited beyond measure, all its eyes glowing.

It didn't mind being in a deadlock with Hu Ma at this moment because it could perceive everything in this world and thus knew what Hu Ma was facing in the human world now.

This guy had annoyed it by repeatedly coming in to snatch things. It had long since tired of this and planned to trap him the next time he dared enter, dragging things out until his physical body was destroyed and he could never return.

Now, it was just a moment away...

Is the cost of understanding who I truly am the price of never returning to my original world?

No, I haven't figured it out yet!

Amidst this extreme chaos, Hu Ma's thoughts suddenly achieved a moment of clarity that transcended everything. It was as if, like the creature covered in eyes, he gained the ability to glimpse everything for a moment, with various subtle and chaotic clues presenting themselves in his mind.

Normally, one could only think about one problem at a time and then switch to another.

But at this moment, Hu Ma seemed to be able to face all issues simultaneously.

Suddenly, he recalled what the Lord of the Yangming Zhou Family had said to him. That Old Master of the Yangming Zhou Family, under the pretense of coming to fetch him, had inexplicably spoken to him about the path of the Shousui man.

He spoke of cultivating a single thought, blissful freedom, possession and rebirth... Could it be that he anticipated the predicament I'm in now and was hinting at something?

If this body is so complicated and difficult to understand, why not abandon it, pursue a single thought, and become a 'clean' person at any time?

No, that wasn't right!

But at the same moment this thought arose, Hu Ma suddenly realized a problem.

It was a problem that even he, who could see his destiny, had almost overlooked.

Once, there was a path for the Shousui man: Refining Body, Soul Refining, cultivating the Dharma Form. When strong enough, this physical shell could be easily discarded, allowing one to roam free. If one desired to return to the human world, countless bodies were available to choose from.

He was just talking about an idea, but what if someone could actually achieve it?

Like Lao Junmei before?

In this ancient book, I can see what others have done to me, but not why—those things belong to their destinies.

But Hu Ma could clearly see that Lao Junmei was incredibly strong, strong enough that even with just the remnant soul accompanying an Immortal Fate, he could have effortlessly taken everything from a mere infant, completely occupying the body...

But he didn't!

He had always preserved the existence of this newborn's Divine Soul, allowing the two consciousnesses to entangle, imprinting all his own memories, consciousness, everything, into the new body.

This continued until the newborn's Divine Soul gradually grew stronger, and until his own gradually faded away.

Lao Junmei could have possessed me—why didn't he?

The one in the world who best understood Lao Junmei's capabilities was that Lord of the Zhou family. Is that why he told me those things?

This matter isn't as simple as it seems.

Following this line of thought, Hu Ma's mind momentarily flashed to his reticent biological father.

As his biological father, he occupied a very small part of Hu Ma's memory, and even in the accounts of others.

His only impression was of his father holding him, letting Hu Ma strike him during his outbursts without saying a word. Yet, this silent man possessed the power to single-handedly quell calamities and slay the disastrous creatures emerging from those caverns.

Did the Hu Family really just believe the State Preceptor and then offer up their only bloodline?

A faint rustling sound arose. Just as Hu Ma was contemplating this, something drifted over in the desolate Intermediate Yin Realm, otherwise occupied only by floating corpses.

They were two green banners, covered in writing, drifting eerily as if to entangle Hu Ma. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"You're here again!"

The creature covered in eyes saw the two banners, and all its eyes filled with anger and fear. "You're here again to alter my things!" it shrieked.

It looked at the banners, more enraged than when it had seen Hu Ma, but surprisingly, it didn't dare to stop them and could only shout from afar.

As those two banners were about to wrap around the Book of Life and Death, the stream of information frantically pouring into Hu Ma's body underwent a massive transformation. Amidst the confusion, Hu Ma sensed changes within himself.

But at that very moment, a silent roar resounded, passing through the layers of the Book of Life and Death, revealing what seemed to be a shadow.

An arm extended from within Hu Ma's destiny, that is, from the Book of Life and Death which recorded all his past karma.

It grabbed one of the floating banners.

CLATTER!

At the edge of the battle formation, Calculation and the others grew anxious. Hu Ma's biological father's coffin had just shifted, startling them all.

But since it was only that slight movement and no other anomalies, combined with the urgency of the situation, they couldn't pay much attention. Yet unexpectedly, at that critical moment, the coffin lid suddenly flew off, and a withered hand reached out,

as if grabbing something from afar.

At this startling sight, Calculation was scared out of his wits.

Though not very skilled, he had roamed widely and seen much, but he had never encountered remains cleaner than Hu Ma's father's.

The reincarnated Soul, needless to say, had long vanished along with the calamitous creature; even the Corpse Guardian Soul had disappeared completely.

This was the world's most unlikely corpse to undergo any change, yet at this moment, a change had occurred.

The surrounding wind turned extremely cold and spectral. Amidst the eerie stillness, a faint sigh seemed to emanate from within the coffin.

"Is this truly... a ghost?"

This same soft sigh also resonated gently before the incense table at Shangjing.

"What?"

Everyone present, all individuals of great skill, had just witnessed the mysterious, heaven-defying methods of National Master Dongxuan of the Daluo Dharma Sect and were still in shock. Suddenly, a sharp, chilling wind began to blow.

It caused all the lights around them to flicker and sway. Then, the clear and distinct sigh echoed in their ears, sending shivers down their spines and causing cold sweat to break out.

"Hu Shan, sir..."

Behind the incense table, the State Preceptor suddenly opened his eyes, his expression sinister. "So it was you who interfered..." he uttered.

"Hu Shan?"

Hearing this, everyone before the incense table showed a subtle change in expression.

To them, this was not a particularly familiar name. Twenty-three years ago, when the Hu Family was still in Shangjing, Hu Shan had never taken a leading role; he was just a silent, socially awkward young man, an ordinary disciple of the Ten Surnames.

Later, when the Zhen Sui Hu lineage departed, they had even fewer opportunities to interact with him.

Why did the State Preceptor mention him now?

Amid their alarm, the State Preceptor had already snatched up the Peach Wood Sword beside the incense table. Slowly rising, his figure shifted slightly as he swirled the sword, his lips moving silently, uttering words unheard by anyone present.

Only in the Intermediate Yin Realm did Hu Ma hear those words clearly: "Back then, it was because I feared you'd cause trouble that I stood by and watched you perish along with that calamity, your reincarnated Soul and Corpse Guardian Soul both dissipating..."

"Karma is all you have left!"

"The Karma Soul is the trace you left in this world, stored in the past, unchanged and unmovable. But you..."

"...with only this trace remaining, you still wish to interfere in the matters of this time?"

SZZT! SZZT! SZZT!

Hu Ma could feel the hand extended from the Book of Life and Death gripping the green banner tightly.

But invisibly, this blurred and silent shadow was also enduring something.

It was rapidly disintegrating, vanishing.

At this moment, in his fated past, a murky, cloud-covered scene seemed to be illuminated.

It was from over a decade ago, after his biological father, Hu Shan, had single-handedly slain the calamitous creature.

Knowing he could never leave that village, coughing blood, he sat withered. Accustomed to enduring his Granny's complaints, his wife's hatred, and his own child's beatings, he slowly murmured to himself,

"My own son, how could I not cherish him?"

As he uttered these words, he clenched his teeth and, drawing upon the power of the Twelve Ghost Altars, slowly extended his hand.

The action was identical to when he had extended his hand from within the Book of Life and Death.

This was a magic cast over a decade ago with his last breath, but only now, through the Karma Soul, did it manifest in the world.

WHOOSH!

The hand extending from the Book of Life and Death suddenly gained a surge of strength, instantly tearing apart one of the green banners.

「In Shangjing, before the incense table.」

A plume of green smoke suddenly flew back, crashing towards the State Preceptor.

The State Preceptor raised the Peach Wood Sword, blocking the smoke in front of him and dispersing it. However, he also took a step back, his expression unusually grim.

Meanwhile, not too far from this battle formation, in a restaurant that had long since closed for the night, a man with a stubbly beard and bushy eyebrows secretly climbed in through a window. He took out the owner's preserved vegetables and wine, seeking to drown his sorrows, looking exceptionally troubled.

But when the soft sigh reached his ears, he suddenly felt a chill run down his spine and quickly looked around.

After a long moment, he spoke in a trembling voice, "Master, is that you?"