"The altar skills were indeed different..."
Chanting a curse to repel snakes, Hu Ma sighed sincerely.
Speaking of which, the Ghost Walker's skills could not surpass those of the Age Suppressing Book. Hu Ma had used the Age Suppressing Book as well; although it was powerful and domineering, he only knew its effects without understanding the principles behind them.
He could use it, but afterward, he wouldn't know how it succeeded or why it failed. The only reference was the incense form, which felt like consulting a manual to operate a vast, intricate instrument.
But now, having learned the Ghost Walker's skills, he experienced them gradually and profoundly, a sensation starkly different from the mystifying feeling he had when studying the Age Suppressing Book.
Even witnessing the wonders on this Magic Altar, a thought couldn't help but surface: "Standing on the altar, doesn't it mean I have nothing to fear, no matter what comes?"
"Setting up the altar is what you do when you're out of options."
Just then, Aunt Zhang, seeming to understand Hu Ma's thoughts, said in a low voice, "Setting up the altar is the initiation for Ghost Walkers. But it's also about staking one's life on the altar, trading it for a chance to fight those things head-on."
"Ghost Walkers usually use various methods for exorcising evil and subduing ghosts. Once they understand the method, they can deal with evil spirits."
"But in this world, there are many evil spirits, many demons, and harmful evil skills that are impossible to guard against. Even Ghost Walkers can't handle them all. When there's no other way, they must set up an altar."
"Once the altar is set, whatever comes can be fought."
"But there's also a drawback after setting up the altar: you can't leave. Whatever move the opponent makes, you can only receive it; you can't run even if you want to."
"This is why inviting spirits usually follows immediately after setting up the altar."
As expected...
Aunt Zhang's words sobered Hu Ma. Indeed, there were no perfect solutions in this world.
Setting up the altar merely gave Ghost Walkers the ability to confront evil spirits head-on. It certainly had its mystical aspects, but it also came with significant drawbacks.
He turned to look at the front of the altar. He had driven those snake bugs together, but he couldn't deal with them permanently. For now, they remained within the altar, unable to harm anyone, but he still had to use the Magic Altar's power to suppress them.
If it were a Shousui man or someone else, there would be more options; even running away might be feasible. But for a Ghost Walker, with the altar present, escape was impossible.
Then why was abandoning the altar the first thing taught in the Age Suppressing Book?
"Benefactor, focus on casting your spell! Let me handle this!"
Just as he was contemplating this, looking at the mass of writhing snake bugs without a solution, Housekeeper Zhou hurried over from beside the carriage.
He was quite perceptive. Knowing what troubled Hu Ma, he shouted as he raised his hand, and a handful of silver nails scattered neatly onto the ground.
The snake bugs, whose advance had been halted by Hu Ma's snake-repelling spell, began to struggle and crawl out again.
But the silver needles now pierced the ground. As the snake bugs tried to emerge, their bellies were slashed open by the needles—a gruesome sight.
Subsequently, Housekeeper Zhou moved closer, took a couple of gulps of something unknown from a container, inhaled deeply, and abruptly exhaled.
A great blaze spewed from his mouth, rushing fiercely toward the snake bugs.
The snake bugs were scorched, emitting a foul, burnt stench. Flames clung to them, burning all the way to their bones and refusing to be extinguished.
One had to admit, in terms of sheer spectacle, Housekeeper Zhou's trick was much flashier than Hu Ma's.
The skills of the trick door are indeed useful...
Hu Ma gave Housekeeper Zhou a deep look, his mind pondering something, but he quickly refocused his attention on the altar.
Both sides had now exchanged probing moves twice. Although this was his first time setting up an altar, Hu Ma felt satisfied; the altar stood firm, unshaken by the opponent's maneuvers.
But next, things are bound to get serious.
He glanced at the Red Fragrance placed beside the Magic Altar. The preparations for inviting spirits were complete.
Now I need to see what moves the opponent will make. That way, when the benevolent Red Lantern Lady arrives, we can capture them all in one fell swoop.
As he was thinking this, a complete, albeit vague, plan had already formed in his mind. But before he could articulate any of it, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his forehead, as if a nail had been driven into it.
He hurriedly reached up to touch it, but there was nothing there. Yet, the sensation of a nail being driven into his forehead was strikingly real and unmistakably clear.
Before he could fully react, Aunt Zhang said in a grave tone, "Be careful! The opponent has started making their moves."
「...」
Inside the woods, seeing that the enemy had broken their snake formation and that the artisan's nightmare spell seemed to have no effect on the enemy's Magic Altar, a sense of unease stirred within Godmother Cui's group.
Godmother Cui, clearly somewhat perplexed, muttered, "Strange, their altar is set up differently from yesterday... Last night, I clashed with their female Ghost Walker. That young woman's mana is extremely deep, but her altar was steeped in malevolent energy; she borrowed the power of the Five Evil Gods to set it up!"
"That's also why I hurried to invite a few of you old brothers over."
"Those Five Evil Gods are not so easily summoned! They are powerful deities who have received incense offerings in established shrines and possess great abilities."
"Each summoning requires a hefty price. Yet, I saw that young woman yesterday summon them so casually, without any preparation. I knew then she must have paid some other kind of price."
"I reckoned she wouldn't be able to summon them a second time so soon, which is why I rushed over today."
"But unexpectedly, they've set up an altar again today. And this altar is upright and imposing, giving off a flawless, impenetrable feeling."
"But it's not like they're someone who has Entered the Mansion either."
Master Shou, who had a scar on his face, gave a faint smile and said, "Godmother, you've called all of us old brothers here to deal with a few youngsters. Seems a bit like making a mountain out of a molehill, doesn't it...?"
"What exactly is your grudge with this group? Even now, you're still unwilling to tell us?"
"Once this business is settled, of course, I'll tell you, my elder brothers."
Godmother Cui forced a laugh and said, "But for now, please help your younger sister get rid of these pests first!"
"There's no time to delay! Let's finish this quickly so we can go drink wine sooner!"
Hearing her words, the others exchanged glances and quickly got busy. Since the enemy had set up an altar and was waiting, a head-on confrontation was inevitable. Probing attacks were one thing, but now it was time to show their real skills.
First was the artisan who had received the Seven Shackles Execution Officer effigy from Godmother Cui. He looked dull and simple, but a fierce light glinted in his eyes.
Having received a benefit as soon as he arrived, he naturally had to put in more effort now.
He picked up the wooden doll Godmother Cui had given him, aimed it toward the Magic Altar on the distant hillside, and silently chanted a spell for a long time. Then, he abruptly stopped, snatched up a piece of red paper, and stuck it onto the doll's head.
Then, he retrieved a nail from the basket behind him, aimed it at the doll's head, and hammered it down hard.
BANG!
With one blow, the nail sank deep into the wood.
A second blow drove it in even further, embedding it tightly in the doll's head.
The onlookers felt a chill creep into their hearts and found themselves somewhat afraid to look directly at the doll with the nail hammered into its head.
Hammering a nail into a head like this was an extraordinarily malevolent nightmare spell, no different from outright murder.
Under normal circumstances, to harm someone with this method, one would first need to obtain the victim's name, a strand of their hair, or their birth date and time, as well as the location of their residence. Only after thorough preparation could one proceed to nail the effigy.
But now, precisely because the Ghost Walker had set up an altar, which was clearly visible right there.
Therefore, he didn't even need those preparations. He simply aimed towards the Magic Altar and began hammering the nail. The effects of this spell would undoubtedly be borne by the person on that altar.
This was the reasoning behind the saying in the jianghu: "Haishou overcomes Ghost Walkers."
"Impressive work, brother!"
Seeing the artisan's diligent efforts, Godmother Cui's eyes glinted with excited malice.
As she spoke, she sat down before the four black bone altars she had brought, her gaze exceptionally venomous. "You broke the spell on that nest of Trickster Ghosts, but these four altars of soldiers have been genuinely nurtured. Let's see if you can withstand them!"
Saying this, she removed one of her shoes and began to repeatedly strike the four altars with it.
As she struck, she muttered incessantly under her breath, her voice sounding as if it carried a hint of a sob. The more she struck, the more violently the altars shook, as if something inside was desperate to break free.
Witnessing her actions, the people around understood just how determined Godmother Cui was to eliminate those individuals.
Godmother Cui's formidable reputation on Pingnan Road relied on two Magical Treasures. One was that nest of Trickster Ghosts; once summoned, even those who had Entered the Mansion might struggle to cope with it.
But yesterday, her spell had been broken by someone borrowing the power of the Five Evil Gods, effectively crippling half of her abilities.
Yet today, she had summoned these four altars of soldiers. Contained within were Evil Ghosts she had painstakingly sought out and refined.
Each altar brimmed with resentful energy, capable of inflicting harm invisibly.
In the trick door, there was a dharma method for the Nursing Altar Aunt. While Godmother Cui's four altars could be said to be of the same lineage, they were far more sinister.
Her current spellcasting was meticulous. It required striking with the sole of a shoe forty-nine times to bring the resentful energy within the altars to its peak. Otherwise, far from harming others, the spell would first harm the caster herself.
As Godmother Cui cast her spell, the two men who had carried her sedan chair reacted swiftly. Silently counting that she had struck each altar seven or eight times, they hurriedly took out four bundles of incense and lit them before the four altars.
Godmother Cui's strikes on the altars grew more vigorous, and the altars shook even more violently. The incense bundles burned down with astonishing speed, as if being rapidly drawn like dry tobacco, and with a WHOOSH, they were consumed to the end in moments.
Moreover, all the fragrant smoke from the burning incense was strangely sucked into the altars.
"Four Old Masters, awaken! Dinner is served!"
Only at this moment did Godmother Cui abruptly stop striking with the sole of her shoe. She then turned and kowtowed deeply before the altars.
Suddenly, gusts of sinister wind swirled around them, and smoke began to rise simultaneously from all four altars.
It was as if the fragrant smoke they had just absorbed was now suddenly expelled from all of them simultaneously.
Only now, the fragrance of this smoke was exceedingly bizarre, carrying a deathly, icy chill. Within it, one could vaguely discern fierce ghosts with green faces and sharp fangs, drifting layer by layer from the woods toward the hillside beyond.