On Da'ai Mountain, the State Preceptor saw Hu Ma summon a blood-red lightning, his expression instantly turning from shock to delight:

"So, you already possessed the ability to take the second step of Shangqiao?"

"..."

Previously, under his guidance, Hu Ma had cultivated nine life incense, reaching the pinnacle of the human world.

But Hu Ma seized the Tenth Incense, transcending the bounds of heaven and earth. He possessed divine skills beyond his human identity, aligning with the "not human" realm of Shangqiao.

However, after the Tenth Incense, Hu Ma aspired to transform heaven and earth, but showed no progress in magic, dealing a heavy blow to the State Preceptor himself.

Returning to Da'ai Mountain, faced with failure and despondency, he was consumed day and night with thoughts of accepting defeat. For such a person, the plan's failure was hard to accept, but losing his goal was harder still.

The White Jade City plan had been his goal worth all his efforts and costs.

After its failure, things others could achieve held no interest for him.

Only when Hu Ma came to inquire about returning home did he find renewed interest, though it was mere curiosity without concrete hope, until now seeing Hu Ma transformed into a bridge excited him greatly.

Since leaving Shangjing City, it was the first time genuine joy appeared on his face.

The Tenth Incense corresponded to the "not human" state, and transforming into a bridge, harnessing earthly tribulation, aligned with the second realm.

Ghost is not Ghost!

This path was pointed out to Hu Ma by him, seeing progress, how could he not be joyful?

"I could have long transformed into a bridge..." 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Meanwhile, in the Netherworld Palace, Hu Ma wielded the Emperor's Great Saber, advancing step by step, inciting immense murderous intent.

A slash was made, across the palace, ghosts wept and gods howled, decrying horror.

Whether the sinister civil servant, fierce military general, or eerie maids and servants, facing the Emperor's Great Saber enshrouded in blood light, they crumbled like paper.

Where the blade cut, bodies ripped, arms and legs scattered on the ground, even the palace itself, with brooding purple aura as weighty as mountains, crumbled and chaos reigned under the murderous intent.

"Since attaining Ten Incense Sticks, I've sensed this path, yet it hasn't reached the end."

"I can merge with heaven and earth, I can steal from heaven and earth."

"But I mustn't do such, the Hu Family's path is one of destruction, the one left by Lao Junmei is one of transformation."

"With this as my goal, to secretly steal magic would make me the most hypocritical person in this world."

"For this thought, I cannot understand why the path after the Great Mighty Sky General's Technique would be like this..."

"Until finding the reason that must compel me to walk this path..."

"..."

The heart trembled, as if conversing with another self, as if explaining to the heavens.

The strides remained steady, the blade unwavering, wreaking chaos within the Netherworld Palace.

This Netherworld Palace was indeed as terrifying as the State Preceptor described, manifesting specifically in two aspects.

One was the heavy fate, the other the concentrated purple aura.

With the purple aura flowing boundlessly within, able to transform all things, killing them was in vain, for they could instantly rematerialize, nourished by the purple aura, making a comeback.

Thus, from the start, Hu Ma never intended to single-handedly confront the Evil Ghost within the Netherworld Palace but used the method of transforming into a bridge to channel earthly tribulation here.

The earthly tribulation couldn't cleave purple aura, but it could cleave fate.

Only those of heavy fate could suppress the purple aura.

As the Evil Ghosts' fate was severed in the Netherworld Palace, they could no longer suppress the purple aura, making it rootless, while Hu Ma, transformed into a bridge, connected to the human world, sending the purple aura back.

The faster the purple aura dissipated, the more the Netherworld Palace weakened, even parched.

Simply put, the more killed, the richer the human world became.

"The human world, the human world..."

"Returning to the human world, incense for all the people, was at this moment..."

Yet equally at this time, the immense earthly tribulation Hu Ma invoked frightened the court officials and the figure on the Dragon Throne, causing panic but soon turning into excitement.

Expressions of extreme excitement appeared on their wooden, stiff faces, bordering on lunacy, quickly stifling the fear within the palace.

All eyes were fixated on Hu Ma, their greed filling their eyes.

Hu Ma's transformation into a bridge meant he opened a passage between the Netherworld Palace and the human world, an opportunity to return.

He could channel earthly tribulation into the Netherworld Palace and purple aura back to the human world, meaning they too could go out.

What could matter more to the Netherworld Palace?

So, although the Emperor's Great Saber slaughtered numerous yin souls, craziness overtook fear within the palace, causing civil and military officials alike to surge towards Hu Ma.

Even the massive shadow on the Dragon Throne couldn't hold back, rising abruptly, its colossal form leaping across the palace, stretching its head over Hu Ma's head.