Twilight Boundary-Chapter 721 - 712: Reincarnator Seizes the Bridge

If it were the Demon Suppression Golden Mace, the mountain lord definitely would not take it, as that item no longer belonged to the Old Gods of the Pond.

Of course, that child wouldn't lend it either.

But if it were just the Golden Armor Collection...

The mountain lord needed to compose himself to suppress the faint tremor in his heart. Then, with a solemn expression, he nodded towards Little Hongtang on the incense table, assuring her he would return it, before lightly flicking his sleeve to receive the tome.

His fingers gently caressed the golden-tinged pages, as if lost in nostalgic reflection.

After a long while, he slowly looked up. Amidst the swirling incense, his indistinct figure seemed to possess eyes with substance. He then gently raised his hand, lifting the Golden Armor Collection.

The pages RUSTLED as they turned, one after another. The dense incense coalesced around the mountain lord suddenly surged, vast and mighty, towards the Golden Armor Collection.

At this very moment, before Old Yin Mountain, the towering, imposing, yet heavy and stolid Golden Armored Warriors all abruptly looked up.

Their golden-rimmed but vacant eye sockets suddenly seemed to flicker with spiritual light. The golden radiance emanating from their bodies surged exponentially, appearing for an instant to reach a zenith that illuminated the entirety of Old Yin Mountain.

HUFF!

Coinciding with the unusual movements of the Golden Armored Warriors, the large white lanterns in front of the mountain suddenly began to drift upwards, as if carrying a certain restless agitation.

Behind each white lantern, the towering and grim figure of a Lord wore a dark and sullen expression.

They possessed far more humanity than the pond god, so they could sense the unease stirred within their nature by something inside Old Yin Mountain; even more keenly, they could feel the object of their avarice.

Once, they had all been conferred by Douyi, holding extremely high ranks. Yet, ironically, when Douyi first established his rule over the world, in an attempt to appease public opinion, he too had to make a show of offering incense at the ancestral altar, worshiping these Hall Gods of ancient lineage.

One conferral, one act of worship; naturally, the Mansion Gods who were thus recognized were lower in rank than the Hall Gods.

Of course, rank was merely rank. For over two hundred years, the incense offerings had been divided among them. The Hall Gods' golden bodies had long since been destroyed, so these Lords usually paid them no mind. Yet now, unexpectedly, incense from half the world was pouring into Old Yin Mountain.

Ordinarily, they could only enjoy the incense from a single state or prefecture. With the world in chaos and public opinion fragmented, such incense held little weight.

Seeing such a vast amount of incense now, how could they not covet it?

Especially when the incense vapor from Old Yin Mountain billowed towards the Golden Armor Collection, even manifesting upon the Golden Armored Warriors before them, some of the foremost Lords could no longer hold back and pressed forward.

In the next instant, the lead Golden Armored Warrior suddenly drew its blade and brandished its polearm. A Jin Ge pierced its chest, while another warrior's blade decapitated it.

From within Old Yin Mountain, a solemn voice boomed, "Those whose virtue does not match their station, who betray the world—they deserve death!"

At that mere sentence, the Golden Armored Warriors moved swiftly, a torrent of golden light charging into the lantern-strewn night.

Such decisiveness, such cold ruthlessness—even these Lords had not anticipated it, and they were even less willing to accept being slaughtered.

But the mountain lord possessed rank, the common folk had offered incense, and Hu Ma had delivered the Golden Armored Warriors. This combination unexpectedly created an overwhelming, crushing force at the edge of Old Yin Mountain.

The surging ranks of Golden Armored Warriors advanced with spears, their blades slashed down, and golden light pulsed, suppressing those numerous towering figures who were powerless to resist.

These deities, who once occupied the lands of states and prefectures, enjoying endless incense, now found themselves trapped. Like civil servants facing generals, they were effortlessly cut down like melons and vegetables, limbs and heads flying.

As the ominous signs at the edge of Old Yin Mountain became palpable—dark clouds billowing, day turning to night, the unceasing din of battle echoing from within—Senior Brother No-eating Cattle, who had just arrived with the Big Senior Brother of the Eight Gates, was laughing.

"Does it feel strange?" he asked. "Once, the Hall God, or rather the pond god, had its foundation destroyed, its claws and fangs removed. It was deliberately erased from memory; the people forgot its name, and its incense no longer reached its rightful place. But at this moment, half the world makes offerings to Yin Mountain. Incense flows in, weapons are in hand. Although such a Sacrificial Mountain ritual lasts but half a day and cannot compare to the profound weight of millennia of our people's history, it is enough to shake heaven and earth at this moment."

The Eight Sects' Disciple exclaimed, "Big Senior Brother, if the Sect Hierarch possesses such abilities, why was this not done before? Why don't we do it?"

Senior Brother No-eating Cattle sighed softly. "Returning the gods to the people," he said, "is difficult. The difficulty lies in this: those with the ability to do so are unwilling, and those without the ability cannot achieve it. This is also why I find the Sect Hierarch so remarkable. He nonchalantly pushed things to this stage, achieving more than I, No-eating Cattle, have in twenty years of effort. Truly worthy of being our teacher... Of course, merely reaching this step isn't enough; something is still lacking..."

The Eight Sects' Disciple was both shocked and delighted. "What is it?"

Senior Brother No-eating Cattle slowly said, "If we are to return the gods to the people, then the people must be made aware! It's useless if only those in the jianghu, those at court, the various grasshead kings, or even the Ten Surnames know about it. Those who have forgotten must remember—only then can it be considered accomplished!"

As if to confirm his words, as the Golden Armored Warriors surged towards the Lords, the world's destiny shifted in response.

The mountain lord had not enjoyed incense for a long time. Within the Old Yin Divine Pond, all were New Gods, and for them, every wisp of incense was exceedingly difficult to obtain and thus precious. Moreover, although the Sacrificial Mountain ritual this day was grand in scale, it was like a single sumptuous feast—filling for the moment, but not enough to build lasting substance.

So, if it were any other Lords, now would be the time to accumulate incense. But the mountain lord within Old Yin Mountain, and those New Gods of the pond, seemed to lack such an awareness...

The moment the Golden Armor Collection's pages turned, it wasn't only the Lords of the Yin God Temple who faced slaughter.

Currently, Ghost Walkers everywhere were battling those who came to stir up trouble. Since battle was joined, it was naturally necessary to summon ghosts to their altars and borrow Mana. However, because the Ghost Walking Sect had risen to prominence relatively late, many of them, despite their skills having greatly increased, still found themselves at a disadvantage against ferocious Negative Spirits.

Yet, at the very moment the golden light erupted skyward from within Old Yin Mountain, a similar golden light burst forth from the altars of these Ghost Walkers.

Bathed in that golden light, the Evil Ghosts carried on the backs of these Negative Spirit people began to struggle in agony, one and all, some even dissolving.

Indeed, on the altars of some Ghost Walkers with profound Mana, Golden Armored Warriors could even be vaguely seen emerging, their divine might awe-inspiring as they slew evil spirits.

The Hundred and Eight Golden Armors multiplied—one became two, two became four—differentiating into hundreds, then thousands. A single ray of golden light descending upon an altar was sufficient to suppress demons and subdue ghosts.

Even more critical were those common folk who had been persuaded, cajoled, or even tricked by the Ghost Walkers and the Beef Avoidance Sect Disciples into coming to offer incense and worship. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Initially, they didn't believe in such seemingly baseless acts of worship. After all, they had prayed to countless gods, yet if they were destined to go hungry, hungry they remained. If they wanted to pray to a deity known for its efficacy, they had to prepare substantial offerings, go to a Lord Temple, kowtow piously, and hope for a sliver of compassion in return.

Worship like this current one, often just to be part of a crowd, had never seemed to yield any miracles.

But this moment was different. They all witnessed the golden light erupt from the altars; they all saw the evil spirits that had come to cause trouble shrieking miserably.

They were stunned on the spot for a moment. "Is it really... working?"

The spiritual light of this moment, its shocking impact on the hearts of the common people, was indescribable; its significance was equally hard to articulate.

It turned out there truly were deities—not those propped up by the Blood Food Gang, nor sustained by Incense Burners, nor even those whose temples were funded by noble families to serve as clan protectors. There was, in fact, a kind of deity that was omnipresent, unconcerned with offerings, and responded to sincere prayer.

Could there truly be gods?

Was this world not truly filled only with Yin Ghosts and evil spirits?

If they had known earlier that worshiping deities was effective, who would have kowtowed to ghosts?

「 」

"Not good!"

This sudden tremor startled not only the common folk but also the heads of the Four Surnames, who had been drinking wine amongst the lotus flowers to discreetly avoid involvement. Others among the Ten Surnames, who had originally intended to stay out of these affairs, were likewise alarmed. They abandoned their boats, leaped back to shore, their expressions turning exceptionally grave.

"What on earth is that Hu Family kid trying to do?"

"Borrowing the world's incense to nurture his pond is one thing, but he even dares to invite deities to the altar?"

Initially, they were genuinely worried that the Hu Family lineage might suffer a mishap, so they had stepped forward to mediate. Later, when they realized Young Master Hu wasn't so easily dispatched, their worries largely subsided. As long as the Stone Pavilion agreement was upheld, nothing else mattered much.

Who allowed the Meng family to go mad and insist on a life-or-death struggle with the Hu family anyway? Suffering losses was only natural for them!

It was only at this moment that they suddenly realized the truly mad one was that Hu Family member—ruthless and utterly insane!

Shocked, they each reacted according to their own considerations, their gazes, like those of colossal beasts, turning towards Old Yin Mountain. The golden light emanating from there was too dazzling, making all other places in the world seem dim by comparison.

"The Meng family... they've somewhat overestimated themselves."

Meanwhile, within Old Yin Mountain, Hu Ma slowly bent down, his gaze fixed on Cui Magu, his face almost touching hers.

He had to get closer because some things were not meant for others to hear.

Facing this woman, who was resolved to die to secure even a sliver of a chance for the Meng family, Hu Ma spoke in a low voice, "This time, it wasn't really the Hu Family gambling its life against the Meng family. From beginning to end, the Meng family was never a worthy opponent, nor did they have the qualifications to gamble lives."

"The Meng family is just a pig. It's only a matter of who can carve off a larger piece..."

He whispered, slowly raising his hand and placing it on Cui Magu's head.

A pity for such a skilled outsider. She knew far too many secrets; she couldn't be allowed to live.

"Everyone, things are lively everywhere, but we need not involve ourselves in the Hu-Meng dispute!"

"There will always be excitement; no need for regret, nor for distress..."

Miss Red Wine, having heard from Hu Ma about his plan to return to Old Yin Mountain for the Sacrificial Mountain ritual, had already made her preparations and was merely waiting for this moment.

And this was the first time, even in broad daylight, that so many Reincarnators had remained in their Lifebound Spirit Temples, awaiting her message. "Brother Old White has indeed kept his word. They are now fighting fiercely, and it's precisely when the people of the world pay the least attention to us."

"So, our opportunity has arrived."

"I ask you all to remember the favor we owe Brother Old White, and do not waste the chance he has created for us!"

"After today, Reincarnators will no longer need to be so wary of the Ten Surnames; for the first time, we will have the power to protect ourselves!"

"Prepare yourselves! Seize the Meng Family's bridge!"