"This is the biggest difference between the Ghost Walkers and the Age Suppressing Book..."
Hearing Aunt Zhang's reminder, Hu Ma also felt a sudden clarity in his heart. "When a Ghost Walker sets up an altar, it's as if the altar becomes the center of the heavens and earth, while the Ghost Walker sits at its core. The surrounding area becomes their own magic land."
"The Age Suppressing Book doesn't include this at all and doesn't even mention it."
However, looking at it from the very foundation, doesn't it seem that the Ghost Walker's method actually makes more sense?
...
He quickly thought this over in his mind, while he steadily sat down as instructed. In front of him, the pitch-black night hid unknown things, yet their chilling and terrifying presence could be felt.
Aunt Zhang, standing nearby, though instructing Hu Ma to set up the altar, was still uneasy. She kept a close watch, ready to take over the pressure on the altar herself if anything went wrong. This was something that a Master needed to do when a Ghost Walker apprentice set up their altar for the first time. Although Hu Ma and Aunt Zhang didn't bear the title of master and apprentice, they had the reality of it. Even in this matter of setting up the altar, she held herself to the standards of a Master.
Of course, while she was prepared, she also discovered that Hu Ma sat calmly in the altar, merely observing the front with cold eyes. Knowing that something powerful was approaching, he showed no panic, maintaining a calm demeanor. She couldn't help but look up to him a bit more. The Shopkeeper's physique wasn't quite suitable for setting up an altar, but he had the composure and authority while sitting in one.
Bit by bit, a chilly wind began to stir around them, causing the oil lamp on the altar to flicker. The surrounding light alternated between bright and dim, creating an indescribably eerie atmosphere.
"It's here..."
At that moment, Hu Ma focused his gaze forward. In that dark night, the thing exuding a deathly aura, invisible outside the altar, could only be sensed by the cessation of insect chirps and even the wilting of some wild grasses as it neared.
But as the entity approached the Magic Altar, especially when it came within a distance of thirty-three paces, Hu Ma's vision suddenly blurred. By the light of the oil lamp, he caught a glimpse of the thing groping its way over from the front of the altar.
This being Hu Ma's first time setting up an altar, its magic land extended to a radius of thirty-three paces. If a more skilled Ghost Walker set up an altar, it wouldn't be just thirty-three paces, but ninety-nine paces, or even several miles. The most advanced could establish an altar with a domain spanning dozens of miles.
"Hm?"
Hu Ma squinted, looking at the bloated, hideously terrifying Evil Ghost that had entered the altar's domain. He watched it sway as it stretched out a hand oozing black slime, slowly groping toward the oil lamp on his Magic Altar.
Aunt Zhang, standing beside him, could barely restrain herself from reminding him. But Hu Ma remained unhurried. He didn't strike at the Evil Ghost immediately upon seeing it. Instead, he waited until it drew closer, observing it clearly.
Then he suddenly reached for the red Wooden Sword beside him, murmured a low chant, and abruptly pointed it forward.
"SIZZLE!"
As he thrust the sword forward, the flame in the oil lamp surged unexpectedly. It was as if a cloud of fire rolled out, fiercely blazing forward. The sudden brilliance illuminated the night, revealing the bloated, corpulent Evil Ghost that had approached the altar. The flames engulfed it, burning it until it struggled and wailed, rolling down the hillside and slowly disappearing from sight.
This initial victory even startled Hu Ma. So powerful?
Setting up the altar indeed made a difference. Using the altar, he could exert ten times the force with a single unit of effort. Without the altar, even pouring in his cultivation might not achieve this power.
Instinctively, he glanced at Aunt Zhang, who was assisting him as a protector, wanting to ask how his move had fared.
However, Aunt Zhang was also momentarily stunned. She said in a low voice, "The Shopkeeper is a Shousui man, but looking at him now, he seems to have the talent of a Ghost Walker."
So overbearing?
「At the same time, within the forest, a few people had stealthily approached in the darkness.」
Among them was Godmother Cui, who had just stepped out of a sedan chair. After a day, the old lady still appeared pale and bruised, clear evidence that she was wounded. As she alighted, she held four black bone urns, placing them on the ground one by one.
Beside her was a figure on horseback: a short, stout man with a scarred face.
Another arrived driving a cart—a gaunt man with a straw hat, leggings, and several bamboo cages on the cart.
There was also an old man who looked like a craftsman, carrying a basket filled with files and saws.
They vaguely saw the hillside outside the forest light up briefly. The little ghost they had sent to scout moments ago had been burned, its Divine Soul obliterated, leaving them visibly surprised.
The scar-faced, portly man chuckled softly. "It should just be a fledgling Ghost Walker, yet this altar has an aura that repels all evil. Looks like there'll be a fine show tonight."
The cart driver remarked, "We'll get a sense of their capabilities with a quick test."
Godmother Cui added, "We'd better call the children back to avoid any getting accidentally hurt when the spell-casting starts."
"My brothers, who wants to be the first to show them some real power?"
...
"HEH HEH."
The cart driver sneered, "For us old hands of Pingnan Road to join forces, it's rare for an opponent not to surrender immediately and beg for mercy. Yet these ones dare to set up an altar, preparing to challenge us. Should we go up and probe their methods first?"
"No need," Godmother Cui said. "This is a deadly feud. They must all be eliminated; not one can be spared."
"They know that in their hearts, so let's skip that trouble."
...
After speaking, she placed the four black bone urns she had brought on the ground. Having made her preparations, she then looked at the others and sighed softly, "My brothers, I've suffered a great loss this time. I'm relying on you to help me regain my dignity. Don't hold back later."
"As your sister, I understand the rules. There's no way I'd let my brothers help me for nothing..."
...
She then took a wooden figure from the sedan chair. It appeared bizarre, scarred by knives and nails, with some parts scorched black. Somehow, though it seemed unremarkable at first glance, a closer look made one's skin crawl.
She first glanced at Carpenter Li and said in a low voice, "Old Brother Li, haven't you always wanted this treasure?"
"This time, I'll lend it to you. Once our business is done, you won't have to return it."
...
The craftsman with the basket looked slightly startled, but then an irrepressible excitement showed on his face. "The Seven Shackles Punishment Wood! You're really willing to give it to me?"
...
Godmother Cui handed it over directly. "It truly belongs to your Path; I was just playing with it."
The craftsman took it, caressing it fondly, almost drooling.
Godmother Cui then turned to the scar-faced man. "Old Brother, among their group, there are two targets. One is a female Ghost Walker. Though I only saw her from afar, I know she's a young maiden, and her body definitely holds Mana."
"The one in the coffin is even more extraordinary. If you want her, you can confine her to your underground chamber. I guarantee your practice of Taking Yin to Replenish Yang will reach a new peak."
The scar-faced old man remained impassive, merely squinting his eyes slightly.
Godmother Cui then looked at the man driving the cart with the bamboo cages and said softly, "Young Brother Wang, we needn't stand on ceremony. With your great talents, it's truly a loss that you haven't secured an elder's position in our group. If this succeeds, I'll recommend you."
The man chuckled. "Godmother, no need to be so formal. We're all family here."
He glanced at those present and said quietly, "How about it? Shall I make the first move and test their depth?"
Godmother Cui suggested, "They've already set up an altar. Why not act together with Old Brother Li?"
"Sounds good, sounds good!"
The craftsman and the cart driver both nodded in agreement.
First, the craftsman clutched his cherished wooden figure, took a few steps back, and placed it under a tree. After a moment's hesitation, he picked it up again, quietly slipped out of the forest, and circled the area.
He carried a cloth bag. Reaching the area directly west of the Magic Altar, he dug a hole. Oddly, he pulled a bloody dead cat from the bag and buried it.
Then, under the cover of night, he stealthily moved to the northeast of the Magic Altar. Finding a suitably crooked-necked tree, he took a half-dead rooster from his bag, looped a rope around its neck, and hung it from a branch.
The Magic Altar was backed against a hillside, so he couldn't easily get behind it, but he performed his setup in the other accessible directions.
Returning, he dusted off his hands and sneered, "HEH! This Ghost Walker picked a good spot for an altar, planning to confront us head-on."
"But I've ruined the feng shui of his altar site. Now, the 'good place' they chose has become a land of great misfortune!"
"Let's see how they cast their Magic now!"
...
"Marvelous!"
The others clapped in approval, then looked at the cart driver, chuckling. "Your turn, Young Brother Wang."
The cart driver had already clambered onto his cart, a look of pride on his face. He gazed at the bamboo cages and sighed, "My dear children, you've been starved for so long. Today, I finally have the chance to let you eat your fill."
As he spoke, he nudged the bamboo cages. Hissing sounds emerged from within, revealing numerous snakes, white-bodied with black stripes. In the dead of night, the sound of their scales rustling was truly spine-chilling.
Even Godmother Cui and the scar-faced man felt a shiver of unease, quickly stepping back a pace or two.
This man, however, had already taken out a bamboo whistle and began to play a series of eerie notes.
The snakes, as if receiving a command, crawled out one by one from the tangled mass, slithering towards the hillside. They crawled only a few paces before disappearing from sight, yet everyone knew that the pitch-dark forest now harbored countless venomous serpents, each capable of delivering a deadly bite.