Chapter 866 The Time Has Come, Destiny Returns

For Hu Ma, back in the human world, it had only been a sleep.

No matter how bizarre, magnificent, or earth-shattering the events in the Underworld Palace seemed, they were nothing more than a dream.

Dreams are inherently private, but when that dream allowed him to touch upon something mysterious and strange, it suddenly took on a far greater significance.

And the decision he made in that dream instantly set off indescribable waves that crashed from the deepest and most distant places toward the human world, impacting countless unsuspecting people.

On Mount Da'ai, the National Preceptor watched the Old Abacus's distraught appearance in silence.

As the number one practitioner of术法 (shufa, arcane arts) in the world, his hands had always been incredibly steady, and his judgment exceptionally accurate, but at this moment, he trembled. He couldn't describe what he was seeing; he couldn't understand it, yet he felt a profound shock at the decision.

Back in the capital, the descendant of the Hu family was the first person he could never quite grasp, the first to make him feel a sense of frustration.

But he was still unwilling to accept it, because he had lost to the combined efforts of the Hu family and the reincarnated, to a scheme they had been plotting for more than twenty years.

The Hu family descendant had merely forced him to leave the capital, gaining only a small advantage by exploiting his weaknesses.

But at this moment, he couldn't deny that his vision had been too limited.

His pride, his knowledge, his abilities, all of it became so insignificant and fragile.

After a long silence, he rose and came to Hu Ma, looking at his flesh body that was now like a statue. He suddenly sighed softly, "I finally understand why I took the wrong path..."

In his mind, he seemed to recall the feeling of looking up to those reincarnated individuals when he had first encountered them.

His admiration for them, his yearning for the civilization of that other world, had been genuine.

But later, his arrogance had been stirred up. He had always wanted to do something to surpass those people, or to earn their awe and respect, and that too had been genuine.

This was not a contradiction. For someone like the National Preceptor, making some earth-shattering achievement, surpassing those people, or gaining their respect with his knowledge and abilities, would be both contradictory and unifying.

But the events in the capital had declared his complete defeat.

And now, on Mount Da'ai, he was witnessing actions that could truly earn those people's respect, even their admiration.

It was so simple.

It turned out that some things didn't necessarily require the world's smartest people to accomplish; the purest and most simple-hearted people could do it as well.

Beside him, Old Abacus lay on the ground, weeping and pounding the earth, crying in a way that grated on the nerves.

The National Preceptor suddenly sighed, "Stop crying..."

"How can I not cry?"

Old Abacus howled, his face completely devoid of the respect he had previously shown to the world's foremost practitioner of arcane arts, the former High Priest of the Great Luo Dharma Sect. He pointed his finger directly at him and cursed:

"I cry for this world, I cry for the final echo of the Hu family, the wardens against evil, in this world, I cry for the Hu family bachelor who entered the Underworld Palace before marrying a wife, I cry for my own uselessness..."

"Why is it that in the end, the Hu family always pays the price?"

"You people with great abilities, why do you only know how to place bets and make investments? Why didn't you step up to take on the heavy burden?"

"..."

"You cry well, you cry wonderfully!"

The National Preceptor, being pointed at and cursed, actually laughed. He clapped his hands and shouted, "If the Hu family's bloodline were to truly end in the Underworld Palace, then this world would indeed deserve this cry. So, why don't you wait until he has completely breathed his last before you start crying?"

Old Abacus let out a sharp "Aww" sound, but suddenly understood. He stopped abruptly.

He wiped his face forcefully, "I can stop crying, but what... what do you mean by that?"

The National Preceptor coldly turned around, reached out and placed his hand on Hu Ma's shoulder. He said in a cold voice, "Go and invite the Wang family over!"

Old Abacus opened his mouth slightly, wanting to ask something, but swallowed it back, jumped up and ran.

At that moment, the people of the Undying Wang family were already waiting not far away. The shock and upheaval they felt were no less than that of the National Preceptor and Old Abacus.

Before this, the Wang family had come into contact with more purple qi than anyone else in the world. In order to build the Undying White Jade City, they had consumed nearly ten percent of the total amount in existence. But now, they were seeing something even greater.

They saw the rolling purple qi being reclaimed for the human world.

Not taken from the people of the world, but seized back from the Underworld Palace and returned to humanity.

The Wang family, after all, came from a lineage of medicine men. They would instinctively calculate how much immense yin virtue this would generate.

The Undying Wang family could only be shaken by one phenomenon: saving countless lives, surpassing their own abilities.

The Wang family could bring back the dead from twenty years ago, but if someone could save billions of lives, how could that be measured?

"National Preceptor, this is..."

Coming to the front, they looked at the National Preceptor, hesitant.

"I have invited you here to save someone."

The National Preceptor looked at Hu Ma's corpse, already devoid of vital signs, and said in a low voice, "You don't have to save him. That is your Wang family's choice."

"But I am convinced. If I am destined to achieve nothing in this life, to not be recognized by Heaven and Earth and the people, then so be it. But I must be worthy of my abilities. Since I have learned these skills, I must put them to some use."

As he spoke, he reached out and broke off a twig from the nearby grass, using his finger as a knife to whittle it into the shape of three chopsticks. With his back to the Wang family, he slowly opened his mouth:

"When the Eight Views of the Yellow Springs were divided, the Wang family received the Naihe Bridge (Bridge of Helplessness)."

"It is a pity that in order to extend the lifespan of this world for twenty years, I had already cut off the Naihe Bridge. So the Wang family's foundation has always been weaker than the other families, and you could only gamble on the White Jade City."

"You have always wanted me to rebuild the Naihe Bridge, but I have not agreed. But now..."

"..."

He paused, and said softly, "I want to rebuild this bridge, but not for your Wang family, but for him, for the Hu family."

The Wang family had guessed the National Preceptor's intentions when they were summoned, but their mood was still somewhat hesitant.

"Since I have seen him take two steps, then I must help him take the third."

The National Preceptor did not look at the expressions of the Wang family, but slowly opened his mouth: "So, I would like to ask your Wang family to give me the authority over the broken Naihe Bridge."

He spoke very softly, and very politely, but the Wang family heard murderous intent in the National Preceptor's gentle words. Their hearts were startled, and they dared not say anything more. They honestly cut their palms and dripped blood on the ground.

The National Preceptor then took the three chopsticks, inserted one into the blood, and placed the other on Hu Ma's palm. The third chopstick was twisted in the middle, connecting the two.

It looked like a bridge.

"Hu family kid, you are decisive and pure enough."

He looked at Hu Ma's face, and slowly placed the other end of the two chopsticks gently on Hu Ma's body. His voice carried pride and a sneer: "I am not as good as you, but I still have some things to say..."

"Things are not done this way!"

"Just being ruthless is not enough. You are still too young, and your actions lack some subtlety. Today, I will make up for that!"

"..."

As he spoke, he released his hands and faced the three chopsticks, forming a hand seal in front of him. A self-deprecating expression appeared on his face, and he whispered a spell: "Severing Yin and Yang, the Bridge of Life and Death."

"Since you have made this decision, wouldn't it be unfair to gamble with the Underworld Palace at your current realm?"

"I will give you a hand and help you reach the Non-Divinity Realm (Fei Shen Zhi Jing), wouldn't that be better?"

"..."

Looking at the National Preceptor's guarded appearance, the Wang family's young master, Wang Changsheng, asked with a trembling voice, "Father, what is the National Preceptor trying to do..."

The Wang family patriarch looked at the National Preceptor's solemn face, sighed softly, and looked up at the vast Mount Da'ai. Even though the purple qi had all been returned to the human world, Mount Da'ai was still filled with it.

Even the remaining qi was a rare sight in the world. He seemed to have gone through countless struggles, but in the end, he just shook his head and said in a deep voice, "Start the furnace, refine the pills!"

The others were surprised and looked at him.

The Wang family patriarch's face seemed to show a bitter smile, but even more so, it was resolute, somewhat similar to the expression on Hu Ma's corpse. He smiled and said, "The Hu family, wardens of evil, has accomplished such an earth-shattering event, truly worthy of being the head of the Ten Surnames..."

"The human world's killing tribulation has begun, Heaven and Earth are changing, and the arcane arts of the world are about to disappear."

"For twenty years, the Ten Surnames have been thinking about breaking through the roadblock one day, but they didn't expect that even the last of their abilities could not be retained. But since they cannot be retained, then there is no need to feel sorry for them anymore..."

"While there is still enough purple qi in the mountains, let our Wang family's greatest ability be shown in the world one last time..."

"The Wang family may have lost, been defeated, and may even be laughed at in the future."

"But as long as we use this ability to save someone in the end, then we will not have betrayed our origins as medicine men, and we will not have died in this world without leaving a name!"

"..."

"Sister Bai, the Hu family's people are truly ruthless..."

In the capital, in front of the Hu family's ancestral hall, the old man guarding the hall had already lit the last stick of incense.

He placed it straight and upright in the incense burner in front of the ancestral hall, raised his head, and sighed softly, as if with endless emotion.

In the ancestral hall, the old woman's voice, carried in the wind, suddenly sighed softly, "Do you think I lost out by marrying into the Hu family?"

The old man guarding the hall did not know how to answer. If you were to talk about it, then of course, it was a loss.

The entire Hu family had lost out.

But immediately after, he heard the Hu family's old woman laughing, "No loss!"

"The old man of our family, the son I gave birth to, and even my little grandson who has not enjoyed a single day of happiness, are all excellent."

"The whole family are heroes, and even this old woman has some honor on her face, how could I lose out?"

"Back in the mountains, I waited for seventeen years, and finally saw my little grandson wake up, able to speak and laugh like others, knowing how to be filial to me. I looked at my sweetheart, but I knew that his mind was still confused, and I couldn't have too many heart-to-heart talks with him."

"At that time, I was only worried that I wouldn't have enough time to teach him, but now, what complaints do I have?"

"He is of the Hu family's seed, and also my grandson. He doesn't need to be taught, and he has grown into such a good person. In terms of shoulders, he can carry this world, in terms of heart, he can be entrusted with life and death..."

"Grandma, I am happy just looking at him, I would actually give birth to such a good grandson..."

"So, since he is such a good grandson, how can I bear to let my good grandson be bullied?"

"..."

After saying these words, the incense stick was suddenly blown over by a rolling yin wind, and in an instant, it had burned to the bottom.

And the old woman's voice suddenly became loud, almost earth-shattering, as if it had turned into a tangible sound, echoing in the capital along with the rolling incense smoke:

"Whether it is in the open or in the dark, our Hu family has been the emperor for a few days!"

"Since we have been the emperor for these few days, then I will issue an imperial decree, I want all the Earth and Water Gods (Tiandi Tang Shen), to protect my grandson..."

"..."

A gust of yin wind instantly flowed from the ancestral hall towards the world, flying in all directions, to all the altars.

Master Bu Shi Niu (Non-Eating Ox), who was holding green incense and walking towards the capital, also stopped at this time.

He listened to the voice in the wind, stopped slowly, and said in a low voice, "The master of the Hu family, wardens of evil, and the leader of the Bu Shi Niu sect are guarding the rear for the people, and we, the disciples of Bu Shi Niu, will light incense for the leader..."

As he spoke, he raised the green incense in his hand high, over his head: "Present to the leader!"

Behind him, a group of Bu Shi Niu disciples also stopped, and simultaneously raised the incense. A wisp of green smoke floated from each stick of incense, connecting into a piece in this world, like a large net.

And in this large net, countless Bu Shi Niu disciples, with the villagers and towns in various parts of the world behind them, all the voices gathered together at this time: "Present to the leader!"

The Bu Shi Niu disciples were originally offering incense to the gods, but now they temporarily stopped and offered incense to their own leader. In this instant, it was equivalent to offering it to the faith!

"Alas..."

The rolling incense smoke drifted in all directions, and then, due to a thought, converged in one place and spiraled upwards.

There were countless Earth and Water Gods between Heaven and Earth.

The Du Yi Dynasty had once tried to enshrine all the gods in the world, replacing the Earth and Water Gods with the name of Palace Gods, but this itself was unreasonable.

The emperor should not rule the Earth and Water Gods.

The Earth and Water Gods were transformed from the will of the people of the world, while the dynasty's emperors were the products of the concentration of power and will in the world. The two complemented each other, but could never achieve perfect and consistent unity.

When they were opposed, the world was in chaos, and the earth was turned upside down.

When they were in harmony, the people's hearts were like dragons, looking down on the world.

But the two could not achieve unity, and yet they were constantly changing. Like two twisting and changing curves, there would always be a moment when they would achieve a subtle unity.

Just like now!

In theory, as the world changed, even the wills of the Earth and Water Gods would disappear, but after all, the wills of the Earth and Water Gods still existed.

The old woman's words from the ancestral hall in the capital reached all parts of the human world, and also let the mountain gods and the Earth and Water Gods and new gods and their followers in various places hear. The Earth and Water Gods would not only protect one person, they would only be moved by merit, but at this time, they felt the merit of the world.

Thus, in the Old Yin Mountain, the mountain god manifested his figure for the last time, appearing in a personal form.

He was still sitting on the tree stump, his gaze seemed to be on Hu Ma in the Underworld Palace, and he sighed softly:

"It should be..."

"I knew long ago that he would be a good child..."

"Even if he looked a bit sneaky when I first saw him in the forest, he is still a good child..."

"No wonder I always felt like I was being taught by him when I talked to him before. Since he has this thought in his heart, then why do we need these empty wills to come and protect him?"

"..."

In the forest, the willow tree, Mother Liu'er's true form, trembled and stretched out. It was the season for the willow trees to sprout new buds, but this willow tree suddenly broke off a few branches for no reason, and with the incense smoke that swept over the mountains, it drifted away, no one knew where...

...They took the initiative to give!

...After all, if they didn't give voluntarily, they would come over and break them off themselves!

...

...

"Do your best to help him one more time!"

When Miss Red Wine heard Tie Guanyin's words, she felt her heart skip a beat.

She seemed to have caught a glimpse of hope, but her heart was still in her throat, and she asked nervously, "How to do it?"

"Just wait for the opportunity to arrive!"

Tie Guanyin's voice became heavy. The twelve ghost altars located in various parts of the capital also shook when the old woman's voice from the ancestral hall drifted to the world.

Little by little, they began to float into the air, only about a foot above the ground, but the huge power had already echoed back and forth in the capital, making a sound like rolling thunder, connecting Heaven and Earth above, and suppressing the yin mansion below.

"Personal ability, no matter how great, is not greater than this world, not greater than the people of this world..."

"But there is always a moment when you can focus the eyes of everyone in the world on one person."

"At this moment, not to mention the Underworld Palace, what can Tai Sui (Grand Duke Jupiter) do?"

"..."

At this moment, she was no longer just talking to Miss Red Wine, but her voice spread in all directions, reaching the hearts of the reincarnated people who were still in this world:

"And when this moment comes, it will also be when our hope arrives."

"Everyone, look at how considerate your sister is."

"Knowing that not all of you have found a good path to take, so I have prepared such an opportunity..."

"Twenty-four years ago, Lao Jun Mei (Old Man Eyebrow) gave his memory as a gift to a baby in this world. Twenty-four years later, this baby, with his decisiveness and kindness, will also return a precious gift to us reincarnated people..."

"That gift is called... hope!"

"..."

She laughed, her voice rolling back and forth between the various natal spirit temples: "Everyone, the time has come, destiny has long returned, we should prepare for the final curtain call!"

"I only hope that when we open our eyes again, we will see a sunny and bright day!"