Three Pillar Life

Second Master forced back his grief and left the cave first.

He assumed this was Old Woman's last words and that it wasn't convenient for him to listen.

Xiao Hong Tang also obediently went to the cave entrance to stand guard. She was very worried at first, but after seeing Old Woman, she relaxed. It's just that she didn't understand other things and didn't feel anything was wrong with Old Woman's condition at this time.

Perhaps in her perception, Old Woman felt even closer at this moment.

As for Hu Ma, he held Old Woman's hand, which was already lacking strength, and remained silent, unable to speak.

He could feel the elder's closeness to him and felt fortunate that he hadn't made the other choice just now.

But feeling Old Woman's weakness, some inexplicable emotions surged in his heart.

"Child, Old Woman has to go."

Old Woman looked at Hu Ma gently, but as soon as she spoke, Hu Ma's heart trembled, and he looked up in disbelief.

"You don't need to worry."

Old Woman noticed the worry flashing across Hu Ma's face and saw that it was genuine. Her heart was even more comforted, and she chuckled softly, "I'm not really abandoning you. I just have to go back to the ancestral shrine to pave the way in advance."

"The Meng Family failed this time and couldn't cut off our lineage, but they went too far and implicated many people. If I don't go back, I'm afraid they'll do even more outrageous things."

"But you don't need to tell outsiders about this, not even your Second Master. They wouldn't understand..."

"..."

Looking at Old Woman's gentle eyes, Hu Ma felt slightly relieved, vaguely sensing that what Old Woman said seemed to involve something powerful.

But with his current understanding, he couldn't grasp it yet.

"It's just a pity..."

Old Woman sighed and said softly, "Once I go back, you'll suffer."

"My grandson, your problem hasn't been solved yet, and Old Woman has to leave you alone to struggle for survival in Old Yin Mountain."

"..."

He could hear the difficulty and reluctance in her words, as well as the strong self-blame.

Hu Ma listened, and his heart stirred. He had come to find Old Woman this time precisely to figure out the problem with himself.

Could it be that he really had to keep relying on Blood Ganoderma to sustain his life like this?

"You were too badly injured by the Meng Family back then..."

Old Woman saw his thoughts and sighed slowly, "Or rather, you really... died."

When she said the word "died," she clearly showed some resistance, as if she still couldn't accept this fact even now.

After a pause, she continued, "But our Hu Family, including your father and mother, we didn't do anything wrong. Why should we be harmed and have our lineage cut off?"

"So Old Woman doesn't believe it. No matter what, Old Woman must save you..."

"..."

Hu Ma just listened silently, not daring to interrupt rashly at this moment.

"But, in the end, it's still Old Woman's fault. My cultivation isn't enough, and it's a bit of a stretch..."

Old Woman looked at Hu Ma with eyes full of guilt and slowly said, "I could only bring you back, but this method of bringing the dead back to life was only half completed."

"Logically, Old Woman should have stayed and continued to cure you."

"But the Meng Family is pressuring me too hard, so I can only go back to the ancestral shrine to handle matters there first. This remaining half, you'll have to complete it yourself..."

Actually, hearing this, Hu Ma was already a little confused.

But he had seen all of Old Woman's hard work before. Seeing her so guilty now made him feel even worse.

He quickly said in a low voice, "You've already done so much for me, Old Woman."

"Sigh..."

Old Woman caressed Hu Ma's palm. Just now, Hu Ma had ignited the furnace fire and slain the Infant Spirit. The furnace fire had not yet extinguished.

The warmth of this palm seemed to make Old Woman feel secure and warm.

She sighed slowly, "It's not enough. Your father is gone, and I only wanted to raise you, but I didn't even achieve that..."

"If it were you from before, I absolutely wouldn't have been able to return to the ancestral shrine with peace of mind, but now..."

"..."

She said, and then felt a pang of reluctance, pausing for a moment before saying, "It's not good to be sensible either. Sensible children always suffer more."

"I'm not suffering, Old Woman."

Hu Ma listened, and his heart trembled. Putting aside other things, purely out of sympathy for such an elder who had poured all her efforts into him, he subconsciously said, "You helped me drive away Evil Spirits and found so much Blood Ganoderma for me. You've already done very well."

"I've only been with Second Master for a month, but my mastery is stronger than everyone else's. Second Master has taught me all his skills..."

"Second Master was very surprised. He said that I've been igniting the furnace for a month, but I'm more powerful than his sixty years of Boy's Skill!"

"..."

"Isn't that so?"

The Old Woman also smiled, her brows filled with pride. "After all, you're a descendant of our Hu Family!"

"Second Master is just a butcher..."

"..."

Gossiping behind people's backs together was the most enjoyable thing, and the atmosphere in the cave dwelling seemed to lighten a bit.

The Old Woman's face held a smile, but as she looked at Hu Ma, her heart gradually softened. She said softly, "Good child, I believe in you too."

"But I have a few words to tell you, and you must remember them."

"..."

Hu Ma quickly pulled himself together and nodded.

The Old Woman said gravely, "First, you must take me back to the Old Fire Pit. No matter who asks, just say I'm gone. Don't mention me to anyone again, and don't mention the Hu Family until I personally tell you to come back."

"Going back to the Old Fire Pit, won't that mean..."

Hearing this, Hu Ma's heart trembled again, and worry immediately arose.

"I'm different from you," the Old Woman said with a smile. "It's just a shed skin, no longer useful. Discarding it is more convenient."

Hu Ma couldn't quite understand, but looking into the Old Woman's clear eyes, he knew she wasn't tricking him. He could only nod seriously in agreement.

"Once I'm in the Old Fire Pit, my grandson, you'll need to hurry and heal yourself."

The Old Woman sighed, looking at Hu Ma, and said softly, "Now, how many pillars of cultivation do you have?"

"How many pillars?"

Hearing her words, Hu Ma's mind suddenly went to the pillar of incense he had seen in his dream.

Originally, he had less than two fingers' worth, but later, by eating more Blood Ganoderma and diligently cultivating, he had made a breakthrough.

Now, he had one and a half pillars of incense.

So, he tentatively replied in a low voice, "Just the night before last, something seemed to change when I was cultivating..."

He didn't mention the change in his dream, only describing the feeling of "melting something" at the time.

"That's right."

A gratified smile appeared on the Old Woman's face, and she nodded. "Then you already have one and a half pillars of cultivation."

"This shows our method is correct," the Old Woman sighed softly. "The latter half of this method, I can't do it for you, but as long as you reach three pillars of cultivation, you can solve the problem of your Half Yin Body."

"Three pillars?"

Hu Ma's heart stirred slightly. "When I have three pillars of incense, I can solve the coldness in my body?"

"Your entire life is one pillar. If you have the lives of three people and still can't return this breath, then heaven is being unreasonable..."

The Old Woman sighed softly. "I had you learn skills from your Second Master with this day in mind. His skills are on the right path, but he was unwilling to teach him."

"But you must continue to learn."

"..."

As she spoke, she turned with some effort, as if to retrieve a bundle beside her.

Hu Ma quickly helped her get it and handed it to her. She pushed it back into Hu Ma's arms, opened the bundle, and said, "Keep these things, but be careful not to let others see them. That red one..."

She pointed to a paper strip inside that resembled a Talisman. "This is Xiao Hong Tang's birth date sticker. Keep it with you, and Xiao Hong Tang will always be with you."

"Alas, she's also a pitiful child. Don't be harsh on her in the future."

"..."

"Of course not..."

Hu Ma shook his head repeatedly and looked towards the cave entrance, where Xiao Hong Tang was resting her chin on her hand, lost in thought. "I really like Xiao Hong Tang."

"You used to like to bully Xiao Hong Tang and coax her into stealing things..."

The Old Woman couldn't help but laugh, but Hu Ma found it hard to respond to that. After a couple of laughs, the Old Woman pointed to a jar inside the bundle and whispered, "Your body can't do without Taisui right now."

"I've scraped all the Blood Ganoderma from Old Yin Mountain, but I don't know if it will be enough for you to last until three pillars of cultivation. But there's no other way for now..."

Besides shaking his head repeatedly to reassure the Old Woman, Hu Ma couldn't say anything else.

The Old Woman seemed to give him no further opportunity to speak. She used all her strength to pull out an ancient booklet from the bottom of the bundle. Hu Ma saw that it seemed to have the words "Qingyuan Hu Clan" and "Talisman Suppression" on it.

"This is our Hu Family's Talisman Suppression Book..."

The Old Woman solemnly placed the booklet into Hu Ma's palm.

As she spoke, even her expression seemed to become a little stern. "Our Qingyuan Hu Clan is left with only us two. I have to go back and stop those Meng Family things. My abilities are limited, and I don't know how long I can hold them off. I can only count on you, my grandson."

"Sooner or later, my grandson will learn a full set of skills, and together we'll settle accounts with the Meng Family..."

"..."

Faced with the Old Woman's stern expression, Hu Ma felt an immense pressure.

A subtle emotion made him hesitate to accept the booklet.

He had a faint feeling that by taking this booklet, he would also be taking on some vast grievance.

But meeting the Old Woman's expectant gaze, he ultimately could only sigh inwardly and take the booklet with both hands.

"I will."

He earnestly promised the Old Woman, "I definitely will."