Chapter 1089: Vengeful Retribution
Chapter 1089: Vengeful Retribution
Outside Geese-Falling Mountain, on the road leading to Qian Xue Prefecture.
Mo Hua paused to look back.
He saw the three layers of his meticulously calculated and intricately set up reverse transformations explode one after another.
The Heaven-Sundering Blood Rite Formation, which spanned nine provinces, completely disintegrated.
A pitch-black force of annihilation enveloped the heavens and earth, countless demonic cultivators, like countless ants, were obliterated into black dust, their souls darkening the sky, the karma of their deaths deep as the sea.
Even Mo Hua himself was moved by the sight.
This method of "disintegration" using the critical point where spiritual and evil energies intertwined was derived from his profound understanding of the Heavenly Calculations and his insight into the transformation between righteousness and evil.
He wasn't entirely sure of the true power of the disintegration.
After all, this was his first time disintegrating the Heaven-Sundering Blood Rite Formation, his first "practical" attempt.
The results left even him in disbelief.
The intricate changes of the two opposing forces—righteousness and evil—unifying, opposing, permeating, transforming, and separating, left Mo Hua momentarily stunned.
A sudden enlightenment into the fundamental laws of the universe began to sprout in his heart.
Mo Hua's pupils were clear and colorful, reflecting his deep fascination with the Dao.
Just then, a terrifying and familiar aura came from the sky.
A crimson bolt of lightning descended from the heavens, piercing through the formation and instantly eliminating four figures, extinguishing their lives.
Mo Hua's expression changed.
Calamity Lightning!
"Calamity Lightning killed Master Tu and the others?!"
"I forced Master Tu and the others to their deaths by disintegrating the formation?!"
"I... forced four Yu Hua to their deaths?"
Mo Hua inhaled sharply, finding it hard to believe himself.
Back in the Withered Wood Cliffs, Senior Uncle had used the Cultivated Demon Heart Technique to force three Yu Hua to their deaths. Now, with a single move, he had forced four to their deaths, surpassing even Senior Uncle. He could say this without feeling ashamed.
But then, Mo Hua's brows furrowed, his expression growing serious.
"Something's not right..."
According to his calculations, the three layers of disintegration should have only "destroyed the formation and erased the traces", along with "silencing the witnesses."
He intended to erase all evidence of his involvement in the evil formation and destroy the formation itself. He would kill all the cultivators who knew he was involved and burn their bodies.
But these methods were only effective against cultivators below the Yu Hua level.
He was only at the Zhu Ji stage, his cultivation too low to "murder" Yu Hua-level cultivators.
From the start, he hadn't expected to kill Master Tu and the others.
As long as the Blood Sacrifice Formation was gone, all Jin Dan and lower cultivators were dead, and the danger to Qian Xue Prefecture was lifted, Mo Hua would be content.
But Master Tu and the others had died in the disintegration of the Blood Sacrifice Formation, which was unexpected.
Mo Hua was puzzled.
The disintegration force, though powerful, was of a lower grade and shouldn't have been able to kill Yu Hua.
Did they kill each other in the final moments, using powers beyond the third-grade realm, thus triggering the Tao's punishment?
Or were they so exhausted by the disintegration force that they subconsciously tried to escape using the Yu Hua's flying ability, thus violating the Tao's laws and being struck by Calamity Lightning?
Mo Hua thought these possibilities were plausible but also seemed somewhat forced and hard to believe.
Then...
Mo Hua's pupils narrowed.
"Is someone else secretly forcing Master Tu and the others to their deaths?"
"Or is someone... controlling them?"
This thought sent a chill through Mo Hua's heart.
A strange shadow loomed over him.
Mo Hua frowned, his eyes filled with confusion. After a moment, he sighed inwardly.
"Let's go... everything that needed to be done is done. This place is no place to linger, and besides..."
Mo Hua looked up at the Blood Sacrifice Formation, now a scene of death and destruction, and felt a chill run down his spine.
He realized he had killed far too many people this time.
A terrifying coldness enveloped him.
Mo Hua carried Yu'er and continued to move away from the third-grade Geese-Falling Mountain, heading toward Qian Xue Prefecture.
After a while, a soft murmur came from behind him. Mo Hua turned his head to see Yu'er slowly waking up on his back.
"Mo... Brother?"
Yu'er's voice still carried a hint of fear.
"Yep", Mo Hua nodded, smiling gently.
Yu'er felt reassured and asked softly, "Where are we now? What about those demons..."
"It's all over", Mo Hua said gently as he walked, "We're safe now. Those demons are all dead."
"Dead...?"
Yu'er was stunned, only then realizing the silence and darkness around her.
Turning her head, she saw the formation self-destructing and the mountains crumbling, her eyes widening in shock.
"Mo Brother, this is..."
"They brought it upon themselves. A kind-hearted brother who passed by took it upon himself to punish them and blew them up."
"A kind-hearted... brother who passed by?"
"Yep", Mo Hua nodded, adding, "A nameless brother."
Yu'er stared at Mo Hua, then nodded dumbly.
"So..." Mo Hua looked at Yu'er, his gaze gentle, "Everything is over. The nightmare is gone."
Yu'er's innocent eyes trembled, moist like spring rain.
"I'll take you back to Mother", Mo Hua said gently.
Yu'er's nose tingled, and she rubbed her eyes, wiping away her tears, and whispered, "Okay..."
Mo Hua continued carrying Yu'er, heading toward Qian Xue Prefecture.
Yu'er had initially wanted to walk on her own, but once they left the Blood Sacrifice Formation, she felt her divine perception foggy and her limbs weak, so she had to be carried by Mo Hua.
Mo Hua's shoulders were slender but straight and gentle.
To Yu'er, he seemed to carry the heavens on his back and the earth in his heart, inspiring admiration and giving her a sense of security.
...
Around Qian Xue Prefecture.
The Tianjiao of the Four Sects, Eight Gates, and Twelve Streams had been waiting for Mo Hua.
But before they could see Mo Hua, they witnessed the disintegration of the formation, the mountains turning to ash, and the heavens and earth falling silent. They were all horrified, their hearts deeply shaken, their eyes filled with disbelief.
After a long while, the shock began to subside.
They soon realized another problem.
"Where's Mo Hua?"
"The formation self-destructed, but where's Mo Hua?"
"Is he still inside the formation, unable to come out?"
"Geese-Falling Mountain has only one path to Qian Xue Prefecture. If he escaped, we would have encountered him."
"Or, if he really came out, Dao Ting Si would have informed us, and Tai Xu Gate would have news."
"But now, we haven't seen Mo Hua, and we have no news of him. So..."
Ye Zhiyuan's eyes were vacant as he murmured, "Mo Hua... he can't be... dead, right..."
"Stop talking nonsense!" a Tai Xu Gate disciple shouted angrily, "You're the one who's dead!"
"How could Little Master die?"
"You could die a thousand times, and Little Master would never die!"
Ye Zhiyuan wanted to retort, but seeing the intimidating Tai Xu Gate disciples, who looked ready to chop him into pieces, he dared not say a word.
The others also frowned, their faces grim.
The Tai Xu Gate disciples, including Linghu Xiao, Cheng Mo, Situ Jian, Ouyang Xuan, Hao Xuan, Yang Qianjun, and the Ouyang brothers, though they wouldn't admit it out loud, all felt a heavy weight in their hearts, as if they couldn't catch their breath.
Their junior master Mo Hua, smart, upright, friendly, wise, with strong divine perception, excellent array skills, and the ability to become invisible, always had a solution to any problem...
Such a junior master simply couldn't die!
But they soon realized that this was just their wishful thinking.
No matter how powerful their junior master was, he was still just a person.
A mere Zhu Ji cultivation disciple of a sect.
He couldn't be invincible.
Saying he was invincible was just their delusion.
Especially in the vast and sinister Demon Path formation, filled with demons and countless dangers, it was already a miracle that he could protect himself and resist the Demon Path's corruption.
Now, what terrified them even more was that the entire Demon Path formation had been destroyed by some unknown expert with shocking power.
The formation emitted a terrifying aura of destruction, and all living beings had been reduced to ashes. How could their junior master have survived?
"Could it be that... Junior Master..."
All the Tai Xu Gate disciples felt a chill in their hearts, their insides trembling.
Linghu Xiao pursed her lips and frowned. "We... should wait a bit longer."
"Right", the other Tai Xu Gate disciples nodded.
The Tianjiao disciples from other sects also stayed, waiting for Mo Hua.
But after waiting for a long time, until the formation had completely disintegrated and all living beings had turned to black ash, with the death aura piercing the sky, they still hadn't seen Mo Hua.
"Junior Master..."
The hearts of the Tai Xu Gate disciples grew colder, and some even began to well up with tears, secretly rubbing their eyes.
"Is Mo Hua... really... dead?"
The four major sects' Ao Zhan, Xiao Ruohan, and Shen Cangfeng all looked dazed.
Among the eight major sects, Song Jian from Duan Shen Sect bit her lip, feeling sorrowful.
Qin Cangliu from Gui Shui Sect, Lu Zhenlong from Zi Xia Sect, Ye Zhiyuan from Da Luo Sect, Feng Zichen from Xiao Yao Sect, and Shi Tiangang from Jin Gang Sect—these Tianjiao disciples who had conflicts with Mo Hua—also felt a mix of emotions, their expressions somber.
They had grudges against Mo Hua and hated him.
But they had also been saved by Mo Hua and owed him a debt of gratitude.
Now, after Mo Hua had saved them, he had gone deep into the evil formation to save others and had died within it...
Young and talented, yet selfless and sacrificing himself in the Demon Path formation...
This sudden turn of events left them all with a bitter and sour feeling.
When a person dies, all grudges vanish.
They began to remember Mo Hua's good qualities.
Some even thought of Mo Hua's extraordinary feats, such as his victory in the Zhen Dao Kui Shou, his strategic planning in the Sword Conference, and his leadership in the Blood Sacrifice Formation, which saved many Tianjiao disciples. They felt a mix of admiration and sorrow.
Contempt turned to respect, and hate turned to regret.
Some even had red-rimmed eyes, their expressions melancholic.
The atmosphere was solemn, and everyone grieved for Mo Hua, mourning the loss of a brilliant young talent.
The heavens and earth were shrouded in a somber sorrow.
In this solemn and mournful atmosphere, a familiar, clear, and slightly curious voice suddenly rang out from behind them:
"What are you all... doing here?"
Everyone was startled and quickly turned around, only to see Mo Hua, who they had just been mourning, standing behind them with a child on his back, looking puzzled.
The atmosphere froze.
A faint cool breeze seemed to blow through the air.
"You... you didn't die?" Ye Zhiyuan gasped.
Mo Hua glanced at him. "You're the one who's dead."
He had left Geese-Falling Mountain and was heading back to Tai Xu Gate. When he saw this large group of people, he initially thought it was best to avoid them. But as he got closer, he recognized them as "acquaintances."
Xiao Xiao, Cheng Mo, and Situ Jian were among them.
Mo Hua came over to greet them.
But... their emotions seemed strange, their eyes red and a bit sad?
Mo Hua was confused. "Why are your eyes red? Did something sad happen?"
The Tianjiao disciples from the four major sects and seven major sects looked awkward, then became furious.
Mo Hua was truly infuriating!
Despicable and evil to the core!
His innocent act was clearly mocking them!
Their earlier sorrow had been for nothing!
They were now both embarrassed and angry, their eyes and faces red with fury.
The Tai Xu Gate disciples, however, were overjoyed.
Their junior master, who they thought was lost, had returned, and they all smiled brightly, then asked curiously:
"Junior Master, where did you go?"
"I told you, I went to save someone..." Mo Hua patted Yu'er's bottom, indicating that he had rescued the child. "I told you not to worry about me and to return to the sect early."
"Oh..."
They remembered that their junior master had indeed said that.
And the child Mo Hua had saved was someone they knew well, the one who ate with their junior master in the dining hall, called "Yu'er."
"Junior Master, you..."
Situ Jian was about to ask more when he noticed Mo Hua's forehead was dark, his lips pale, and his body was trembling slightly. He was immediately alarmed.
"Junior Master, what's wrong?"
Mo Hua's expression changed, realizing something was amiss.
A continuous stream of dark, malevolent qi seemed to be descending from the sky, entering his mind, and the spirits of the dead were following his sins, eroding his life force.
Before his eyes, it seemed as if countless spirits and shadows were blocking the sky.
In his ears, the endless souls from the netherworld were roaring and screaming.
The spirits of the dead were turning into malevolent forces, and the ghosts were claiming his life.
The cold from the netherworld seeped into his bones.
This was the price he had to pay for his sins.
And he had killed too many, making this burden incredibly heavy.
So heavy that even Mo Hua felt suffocated, his body cold, and his breath filled with the icy wind of the netherworld.
Mo Hua's expression was one of extreme pain.
He grabbed Situ Jian's arm, feeling short of breath, and each word seemed to take all his strength. But he gritted his teeth and said:
"Take... me and Yu'er... back to Tai Xu Gate..."
After speaking, Mo Hua could no longer bear the overwhelming sins in his life force. His divine perception faltered, and he fainted.
"Junior Master!"
Situ Jian's expression changed dramatically, and the other Tai Xu Gate disciples were also shocked.
The Tianjiao disciples from other sects, shocked, looked at each other.
Linghu Xiao quickly checked Mo Hua's arm, but even a light touch made her feel as if she had touched a thousand-year-old ice, as cold and as chilling as a netherworld spring, filled with violent and malevolent cold. The mere touch made her shiver, and she heard the shrill and piercing screams of the dead.
"This is..."
Linghu Xiao's face turned pale. When she looked back, she saw Mo Hua's forehead was pitch black, dark qi covering his pale cheeks, the malevolent qi so thick it could drip water.
"Malevolent qi turning to ice, yin qi turning to water..."
"What did Junior Master... do..."
The Tai Xu Gate disciples were shocked and disbelieving, and they didn't dare to delay:
"Quick, back to the sect, and find Teacher Xun..."
"We must save Junior Master!"
(End of Chapter)
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