Chapter 1084: Holding the Emperor Hostage
Chapter 1084: Holding the Emperor Hostage
"Four Yu Hua... what should I do?"
Mo Hua's mind raced.
If it were just Master Tu, he could still use his long-standing knowledge of Master Tu, leveraging the latter's loyalty to the Lord of the Endless Wastes, the confusion Master Tu was in, and a bit of the Cultivated Demon Heart Technique to "persuade" him.
But now, there were three more Yu Hua.
A traitor from the Shangguan Clan, a former powerful elder; a corpse demon from the Valley of Yin Corpses who cultivated a Golden Corpse; and an old devil from the Demon Sword Sect. The situation instantly became more complicated and dangerous.
Mo Hua's eyes narrowed, and he controlled his facial expressions with divine perception, putting on a calm facade. Inside, his mind was working overtime, trying to come up with a persuasive argument.
On the other side, Shangguan Wang and the others entered the hall and their pupils constricted, their faces darkening.
Inside the hall, blood splattered like ink.
The Jin Dan demons from various sects were almost entirely dead, and from the looks of it, they had all died by each other's hands, tearing and devouring each other's flesh in a gruesome display.
Clearly, they had been killed by the inhumane "great devil."
Jade Splendor of the Valley of Yin Corpses immediately turned cold, suppressing his rage, his eyes filled with a deadly intent as he glared at Master Tu.
"Master Tu... only a few hours have passed, yet every Jin Dan disciple of the Valley of Yin Corpses is dead. Do you have an explanation for this?"
"Are you going to give this old man an answer?"
His anger and killing intent stirred the golden coffin beside him, from which a strong corpse aura and the shrill sounds of the Golden Corpse clawing at the coffin emanated.
On the other side, the Yu Hua from the Demon Sword Sect also activated his Demon Sword, locking his killing intent on Master Tu, and sneered.
"It's not easy to cultivate sword slaves, especially those at the Jin Dan stage. Now they are all gone. Master Tu, are you going to explain this to this old man?"
Shangguan Wang remained indifferent, coldly observing from the side.
He was now a traitor, without a sect or disciples, so he didn't want to get involved in this mess.
Master Tu's expression was grim.
He had also been betrayed, the ritual interrupted, his soul lamp extinguished, and his body nearly devoured. Now, all these grievances were being pinned on him.
"These demon cultivators' deaths have nothing to do with me."
Master Tu said coldly.
Jade Splendor of the Valley of Yin Corpses sneered, clearly not believing Master Tu's words.
The Golden Corpse in the golden coffin began to howl excitedly, about to break free.
The old devil from the Demon Sword Sect also opened his sword box, and the Demon Sword sprouted several black eyes.
They were about to strike Master Tu.
Master Tu frowned.
Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't fear these two old devils, but now his divine will had been backfired, his body was severely damaged, and he might not be a match for these two Yu Hua.
Moreover, the most pressing threat wasn't these two Demon Path Yu Hua, but rather...
Master Tu's tone softened slightly as he patiently explained:
"The ritual went wrong, and I was betrayed. These fellow demon cultivators' deaths were not my doing; the true culprit is someone else..."
"Who?"
Master Tu looked up, toward the high altar, where Mo Hua was choking Yu'er on the bone throne.
Shangguan Wang, the corpse demon from the Valley of Yin Corpses, and the patriarch of the Demon Sword Sect, the three Yu Hua, all turned their cold, dark eyes toward Mo Hua, their pupils constricting, each with a different expression.
Shangguan Wang's gaze was venomous, and there was a hint of lust in his eyes as he looked at Yu'er.
The old devils from the Valley of Yin Corpses and the Demon Sword Sect furrowed their brows, filled with suspicion.
The matter of the evil deity was mysterious and unpredictable. Even though they were Yu Hua, they knew little about the specifics.
The scene before them was even more confusing.
They had seen this boy named "Mo Hua" before.
They knew his identity: a Zhen Dao Kui Shou of Tai Xu Gate, a highly unconventional "genius" with a weak spiritual root but an incredibly strong talent for arrays.
But the problem was this:
Hadn't Mo Hua been restrained by Master Tu?
Why was he here now?
How could Master Tu, a powerful Yu Hua and high priest of the evil deity, fail to control a mere Zhu Ji disciple?
Moreover, how did he manage to climb the altar?
Wasn't the altar the forbidden ground of the evil deity? Any mortal who touched it would either have their divine soul stripped or their body explode. They had all witnessed such scenes.
Most absurdly, why was he choking the Shangguan Clan's child?
They didn't fully understand the core of the Heavenly Blood Sacrifice ritual, but they weren't completely ignorant.
The child of the Shangguan Clan was the "Divine Vessel" for the Lord of the Endless Wastes' descent.
A few hours ago, they had all sensed a powerful, extremely evil divine will, one that even made them, Yu Hua, feel a sense of dark reverence.
Clearly, after much planning and bloodshed, the Divine Sovereign of the Great Wasteland had descended.
Thus, this Shangguan Clan child was the physical vessel of the Deity of the Endless Wastes, in other words, the Divine Sovereign himself.
Yet now, the Divine Sovereign was being choked by a Zhu Ji disciple.
What did this mean?
Was the Divine Sovereign of the Great Wasteland being held hostage?
Was someone using the Divine Sovereign to threaten Master Tu?
This thought made the two old devils from the Valley of Yin Corpses and the Demon Sword Sect feel incredulous.
The situation instantly became tense and delicate.
The old devil from the Valley of Yin Corpses asked Mo Hua, "The death of my Valley of Yin Corpses and the Jin Dan demon cultivators here, is this your doing?"
Mo Hua smiled slyly, "You should ask Master Tu about that..."
He neither confirmed nor denied it.
If he said "yes", the hatred and suspicion of these Yu Hua devils would all be directed at him, making it difficult for him to escape.
But if he said "no", it would undermine his reputation as a "fierce deity" and the mysterious, terrifying image he had cultivated in Master Tu's mind.
So, he decided to kick the ball back, letting Master Tu find his own reasons and excuses.
The deity didn't answer but only countered with questions.
Jade Splendor and the patriarch of the Demon Sword Sect indeed turned their gaze back to Master Tu.
Master Tu's expression was grim.
He suspected that Mo Hua was somehow involved.
But he wasn't sure if Mo Hua was truly the one responsible.
The biggest flaw was that even if Mo Hua were a deity, his physical body was only at the Zhu Ji stage.
How could a Zhu Ji disciple kill so many Jin Dan demon cultivators?
Moreover, the Jin Dan demons were all in a state of blood and gore, clearly killed by more savage demon techniques.
Mo Hua, being a disciple of the orthodox Tai Xu Gate, didn't fit this description.
Even with the power of a deity, how could a Zhu Ji disciple from an orthodox sect use such inhumane and evil methods to slaughter hundreds of Jin Dan demons?
Master Tu racked his brain but couldn't come up with an explanation.
He couldn't even fabricate an excuse to pin the blame on someone else.
So, Master Tu remained silent.
The more silent Master Tu was, the more suspicious he seemed.
After all, compared to the harmless Mo Hua, Master Tu, a powerful Yu Hua, was more likely to be the culprit who killed so many fellow demon cultivators.
He had the ability and the motive.
The two Yu Hua devils from the Valley of Yin Corpses and the Demon Sword Sect looked at Master Tu with increasingly cold eyes, their suspicions deepening.
The atmosphere in the hall became tense, and the tension was palpable.
Mo Hua, perched on the altar, his eyes flickering.
The situation was developing as he had anticipated.
As long as these Yu Hua devils harbored suspicions and turned on each other, he could take advantage of the chaos to find a way to sneak away with Yu'er from the Blood Sacrifice Formation.
After all, while others might not know, Mo Hua, as the instigator, was fully aware.
The Blood Sacrifice Formation was a "powder keg" with unknown dangers.
Mo Hua had destroyed many formations before, but not the Blood Sacrifice Formation.
This was a quasi-third-grade grand formation, a heretical formation, involving divine mysteries and the transformation of orthodox and heretical spiritual energies.
It was too complex and couldn't be dismantled using conventional methods.
This was Mo Hua's first attempt at destroying such a formation.
Despite his extensive array studies and practice at Tai Xu Gate, which had given him a profound understanding of arrays, he still found it challenging.
He believed he could destroy this quasi-third-grade Heaven-Sundering Blood Rite Formation, but there were too many uncertainties.
He wasn't sure about the final outcome.
So, he wanted to escape as soon as possible.
Moreover, due to the massive explosion of the great array, which has a high rank, large scale, and wide range, the spiritual energy changes are too complex. With Mo Hua's divine sense and computational power, he can't figure out where the "Gate of Life" will be after the explosion. Therefore, his only option is to run as early as possible.
If he doesn't run, he will die.
The situation remains at a stalemate.
The atmosphere is also becoming increasingly tense.
The suspicion between Master Tu and the other three Yu Hua is deepening.
At this level of cultivation, Yu Hua has extensive experience and their own judgments. Such suspicion cannot be easily dispelled by Master Tu's few evasive words.
However, none of the Yu Hua have made a rash move.
They are all shrewd and calculating, seemingly still deliberating on something.
Mo Hua frowned, hoping they would quickly turn on each other, but at that moment, a soft murmuring sound echoed, making his heart skip a beat. He sensed something was wrong.
Yu'er, the child, has woken up!
At this point, the only leverage he has is Yu'er, the "Lord of the Endless Wastes."
If Yu'er wakes up and says something wrong, revealing the truth to Master Tu and the other Yu Hua that their Deity of the Endless Wastes is not actually inside Yu'er, he will lose his only advantage and become extremely vulnerable.
His and Yu'er's lives will most likely be at the mercy of others.
The moment Yu'er murmured, Master Tu, Shangguan Wang, Yin Corpse Valley's Jade Splendor, and the Demon Sword Sect's Patriarch—all four Yu Hua—were shocked. Their eyes gleamed with excitement and greed as they looked at Yu'er.
Shangguan Wang's eyes were filled with burning greed and ambition, as if he was about to pounce on Yu'er immediately.
Mo Hua's scalp tingled, and he immediately clamped Yu'er's pale throat, his voice sinister and cold.
"Don't move!"
Master Tu and the others froze, and Shangguan Wang's face turned grim.
At that moment, Yu'er slowly opened his eyes.
He saw the bloody hall, the strange and sinister figures in front of him, and even the Elder Wang who had taken him from his mother. He was frightened.
Then he heard a familiar voice.
"You'd better not make any rash moves, or I'll strangle this child!"
It was Mo Hua's voice.
Yu'er felt a surge of joy, but then he heard Mo Hua's words more clearly and felt a bit sad.
Brother Mo … is going to strangle me?
Brother Mo … would never strangle me, right?
He …
Yu'er frowned, instantly understanding.
"Oh, Brother Mo is lying again …"
Yu'er blinked. He didn't want to lie, but he also didn't want to ruin Brother Mo's lie or expose him.
"What should I do?"
At that moment, Yu'er felt Brother Mo squeeze his neck again, but Brother Mo's hand was soft and warm, and it didn't hurt. Then he heard Mo Hua say:
"Your Divine Sovereign is in my hands …"
"He has just descended and is merging with the physical body. His consciousness is like that of a fetus. It won't be long before he fully merges and truly awakens in the world. When he does, the first person he sees will be me, and he will truly regard me as a close relative …"
Yu'er was stunned, then understood. He knew Brother Mo was reminding him of his current "role."
He is a newly born Divine Sovereign.
He hasn't been born yet, and his consciousness is like that of a fetus.
Fetus …
"I understand."
Yu'er nodded slightly, then his eyes went blank, his expression vacant, pretending to be half-awake from a nightmare, dazed and unaware of the world around him.
Mo Hua was pleased, silently praising Yu'er's intelligence.
This child, having been with him for so long, has indeed gained insight and is in perfect sync with him.
Near ink, one turns black.
Black as in "black-hearted."
Master Tu was also shaken and did not suspect anything.
When Yu'er opened his eyes, he indeed felt a strong urge to kneel and worship.
This meant that the Divine Sovereign had indeed awakened within Yu'er.
At that moment, he could even sense the presence of an "evil deity" around Yu'er.
However, he couldn't determine the current state of the Divine Sovereign.
The Divine Sovereign seemed to have been born but also seemed to have disappeared, with his aura fluctuating.
But if the Divine Sovereign had just been born and was currently merging with the Divine Vessel, as Mo Hua claimed, everything made sense.
Because the merging was still in progress, and the karmic retribution was being neutralized, the aura was faint.
Once the merging was complete, the Divine Sovereign would truly "open his eyes" and see this world of blood and sacrifice.
Thinking of this, Master Tu was overwhelmed with excitement.
Then his expression turned cold, and he thought:
"I cannot let the Divine Sovereign fall into the hands of this malevolent deity of Tai Xu Gate. If the Divine Sovereign is swayed and regards an enemy as a relative, all my thousand years of effort will be for nothing."
His devotion to the Deity of the Endless Wastes made his blood boil.
Master Tu looked at Mo Hua, his eyes filled with deep malice.
"Release the Divine Sovereign. The Divine Sovereign is noble and cannot be touched by a heretical deity like you."
Mo Hua pinched Yu'er's white little face, sneering, "And what if I do touch him?"
Master Tu felt his lifelong faith deeply defiled, and his anger surged, his eyes filled with evil.
Just as Master Tu was about to erupt in fury, Mo Hua's mind raced. Suddenly, he saw Shangguan Wang and his eyes lit up. He pointed at him:
"Shangguan Wang!"
Shangguan Wang was stunned.
Being pointed at by a mere Zhu Ji cultivator and called by his name should have made him angry, but at that moment, Mo Hua's aura was mysterious, his gaze deep, and his every action different from before.
It seemed that another, more powerful "existence" was hiding within him, and even Master Tu seemed wary of him.
This made Shangguan Wang dare not make a rash move or take offense at the slight.
Mo Hua directly commanded him:
"You, go and kill Master Tu. Once the Divine Sovereign awakens and his will returns, I will vouch for you and grant you Immortal Blessing!"
Divine Sovereign's blessing, Immortal Blessing!
Shangguan Wang hesitated, his eyes turning red.
But to actually kill Master Tu, he was hesitant.
Mo Hua didn't give him time to think, turning to the Yu Hua from the Valley of Yin Corpses and the Demon Sword Sect:
"If you kill Master Tu, I can also have the Divine Sovereign bless you, granting you eternal life."
"This is a one-time opportunity."
"The Divine Sovereign's servant will be only one."
"Whoever kills Master Tu will be the sole servant of the Divine Sovereign, enjoying the Divine Sovereign's blessing and the worship of countless believers."
The old demons from the Valley of Yin Corpses and the Demon Sword Sect frowned, not making a move.
They were old monsters who had lived for many years. How could they be easily swayed by Mo Hua's few words?
Mo Hua sneered, continuing to pressure them:
"Don't blame me for not warning you. The great fortune the Divine Sovereign grants you will only happen once."
"If you follow my command to 'purge the tyrant and eliminate the wicked,' I won't hold it against you, regardless of whether you succeed in killing Master Tu."
"But if you don't act and just stand by, don't blame me for holding a grudge …"
Mo Hua grinned wickedly, his words cold and venomous:
"Soon, once the Divine Sovereign merges with the Divine Vessel and his will awakens, I will report to the Divine Sovereign that you are not loyal, lack faith, and refuse to follow His commands, even colluding with Master Tu for personal gain, betraying the Divine Sovereign."
"At that time, even as Yu Hua, you will be stripped of your Primordial Spirit, subjected to cruel torture, and devoured by the countless evil spirits of the Great Desolate's three thousand black mountains, your Primordial Spirit shattered and corrupted, dying in disgrace …"
Mo Hua's right hand clamped Yu'er's neck, his face twisted with malice, like a treacherous villain "using the emperor to command the lords."
The old demons from the Valley of Yin Corpses and the Demon Sword Sect were angry but also felt a growing fear.
The evil deity of the Great Desolate was notorious.
And when the evil deity descended, the terrifying aura they all felt firsthand was truly chilling.
Accompanying a ruler is like being with a tiger.
Accompanying a deity is even more so.
And their revered Divine Sovereign is an evil deity, inherently cruel and bloodthirsty.
If an evil and treacherous "villain" who is deeply trusted by the Divine Sovereign emerges, their fate as Yu Hua might not be good either.
Of course, Mo Hua might be deceiving them.
But Mo Hua, who could "hold" the Divine Sovereign, was also very sinister and not to be underestimated.
The two Yu Hua from the Demon Sword Sect and the Valley of Yin Corpses pondered for a moment, their eyes flashing with determination. They then broke open their coffins, summoning the Golden Corpse, and released the seal on their sword cases, summoning the Demon Sword. Together, they launched an attack on Master Tu.
Master Tu's eyes were bloodshot, his heart filled with anger.
Inside the hall, the three Yu Hua engaged in a fierce battle, using sinister and ruthless means, the corpse qi, sword qi, and blood qi intertwining.
After a while, the battle was intense and the situation remained tense.
Seeing this, Mo Hua turned to Shangguan Wang and spoke in a low, eerie voice:
"Elder Shangguan … if you escort me and the Divine Sovereign to safety, I will absolve you of all sins and appoint you as the Divine Sovereign's sole 'servant,' granting you Divine Favor and eternal life, ensuring that even if your body is destroyed, your Divine Soul will not perish …"
(End of Chapter)
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