The Fifth Pillar of Incense

There were all sorts of paths in the world, all kinds of strange people, but no one did things like this.

Disasters were born of Heaven, beyond human power. They could be blocked or avoided, but never killed or struck.

And only a Pond God could block one. Even Prefects and the like could do nothing but flee.

Yet Hu Ma had taken the disaster upon himself, shielding the villagers with his own body. He had received Toothless Lord head-on.

Little Dou Guan had said that disaster beings kept accounts in their hearts. A life with a high Lifespan was worth far more than an ordinary one. If his own Lifespan was so precious, then surely one life was worth more than the hundreds of villagers who should have died long ago.

It seemed Hu Ma had guessed right.

The disaster rat saw him accept the disaster, and its eyes glowed red with excitement.

As the icy aura around it spread to him in an instant, he felt the heavens and the underworld become tangible, as though some enormous beast were slowly swallowing him whole.

Everything he possessed in the mortal world was taken from him in a single instant. He went from "something" to "nothing" without the slightest transition. His death was utterly complete...

When he had faced Nu'er Hong's assassination earlier, he had cast off his Incense of Life of his own accord before entering the Middle Yin Realm.

But this time, there was no delay at all. In the blink of an eye, he was already here.

"Not again, not again..."

A strange voice shrieked in Hu Ma's ear, filled with fury, unwillingness, and madness.

This time, Hu Ma had experience. In an instant, he opened his eyes.

Sure enough, he saw that bizarre creature again, covered