Borrowing a Life to Summon the Altar

They couldn't beat him. They couldn't win. They couldn't even find him.

Since learning the craft, Hu Ma had never encountered anything like this. Though fury seethed in his heart, the moment he struck, he realized just how vast the gap between them was.

He surged with magical power, desperate to shake off the incense burner and manifest his Dharma Image. But as the National Teacher chanted, the burner grew heavier and heavier, pressing down until his bones crackled.

His eyes turned icy as he stared straight at the National Teacher. He hurriedly recited the Hu Family's Execution Curse, but the National Teacher's figure drifted unpredictably, impossible to find. Then, from behind him, another chant rang out. The words on the National Teacher's lips were none other than the "Cangue" Curse, one of the Hu Family Four Great Curses.

Chanting as he went, the National Teacher emerged from beside Hu Ma with unhurried steps.

Each step left a footprint, and every footprint took the shape of a talisman.

Amid the countless talismans came the clatter of iron chains. Links and strands burst from the ground, wrapping tightly around Hu Ma and pinning him fast.

"I should have been the one to teach you how to carry the Twelve Ghost Altars, and lay the foundation for your first great achievement in White Jade Capital. I never thought I'd end up doing this myself."

Only after trapping Hu Ma did the National Teacher sigh softly. There was genuine regret in his voice.

As he swept his horsetail whisk, it seemed to turn into a writing brush. He raised his left palm and slashed his thumbnail across it, splitting flesh and skin. Then he lowered his arm, and blood streamed from it onto the ground.

He dipped the whisk into the blood and