Chapter 558: A Meeting
Chapter 558: A Meeting
"Devilish delusion in their hearts?!”
Stunned, Master Si Tu immediately took action, using a bell-shaped treasure to trap the disciple with pitch-black pupils, isolating him and containing his aura.
Just as he breathed a sigh of relief and turned his head, he saw that many cultivators around the camp started behaving abnormally, like puppets being controlled. They trembled and slowly turned their heads, their pupils turning pitch-black one by one!
Master Si Tu sucked in a cold breath.
An anomaly in their hearts, the devilish delusion spreads.
"When did that heretic strike?!”
Sensing the abnormal auras, the other Nascent Soul cultivators also sprang into action. They were shocked to see the surrounding cultivators lose their senses, their pupils turning black.
Master Si Tu shouted sternly, "Release your treasures to protect your minds!"
The aware cultivators' hearts trembled, and they quickly summoned their treasures to guard their consciousness seas.
Master Si Tu sighed and flipped his right hand, taking out a lustrous glazed lamp.
This lamp, named the 'Qian Kun Qing Guang Lantern', was the most precious treasure of the Xuan Ji Valley. It integrated consciousness deduction and spirit-condensing exorcism.
Master Si Tu summoned the Qian Kun Qing Guang Lantern, and its clear light swept away the gloom, dispersing the bizarre heavenly anomaly that permeated the air.
The dazzling light of the lamp acted as a screen, protecting everyone.
It also isolated the cultivators outside who had fallen prey to the "Devilish Delusion in their Hearts".
Some cultivators within the radius of the Qing Guang Lantern had unknowingly been implanted with devilish thoughts.
But as soon as these devilish thoughts took root, they would be "burned" by the clear light, causing black and gray qi to spread.
Master Si Tu would then expel these cultivators to prevent them from infecting more people.
Inside the Qian Kun Qing Guang Lantern, the clear light overflowed, and the cultivators were tense, meditating to guard their spiritual pulses.
Outside the lamp, however, it was like a hellish prison.
Cultivators slaughtered each other, turning on their own.
Family cultivators, sect seniors, and familiar friends—their hearts collapsed, their faces twisted in madness as they fought each other.
One of the Nascent Soul cultivators couldn't bear to see this and was about to take action, but Master Si Tu stopped him.
"If you go, they will die. If you don't, they will still die, and perhaps... even more will perish!" Master Si Tu said sternly.
After all, if a Nascent Soul cultivator fell victim to the devilish delusion, the consequences would be unimaginable.
The Nascent Soul cultivator hated this deeply but could do nothing. He could only sit back down, close his pained eyes, and avoid looking at the tragic scene outside...
Everyone wore grave expressions.
Master Si Tu's brows were deeply furrowed.
After an unknown amount of time, he suddenly felt his heart stir and looked up.
Not far away, he saw a Taoist with a child in hand, walking slowly towards them.
The Taoist had a youthful face and white hair, sharp eyes, and it was none other than Xuan Shan Ren. But at this moment, his expression was cold, and his whole body was shrouded in a strange aura. Clearly, he wasn't Xuan Shan Ren but...
The Heretic!
Master Si Tu was on guard, and the other cultivators were also terrified.
But the Heretic seemed to pay them no mind at all, not even sparing them a glance.
It seemed that the devilish delusion in their hearts was merely a casual act.
If he could kill them, he would.
And if he couldn't, it didn't matter.
The Heretic, dressed in black and holding Mo Hua, strode past thousands of cultivators, hundreds of Golden Core cultivators, and ten Nascent Soul cultivators, his presence bold and uncaring.
He walked towards Li City.
The cultivators around them slaughtered each other, like bewitched demons.
And he was the embodiment of that bewitchment.
The Dao Court cultivators, on the other hand, didn't dare to make a sound.
The surroundings were deathly silent.
One of the enraged Nascent Soul cultivators wanted to take action, but Master Si Tu stopped him.
Master Si Tu shook his head slightly, his eyes stern.
He had sensed that formidable consciousness, containing the aura of a shocking, heaven-defying scheme.
He knew that anyone who dared to take action against the Heretic would undoubtedly die!
Whoever they were.
They were powerless.
Even as Nascent Soul cultivators from the major forces of the Dao Court, they could only watch as the Heretic walked past them.
They watched as the Heretic's black figure gradually moved away, disappearing into the direction of Li City, amidst the sea of blood...
The Nascent Soul cultivators present gritted their teeth in anger, feeling indignant.
Only Bai Qing Cheng's eyes narrowed slightly.
She saw the child in the Heretic's hand.
If her guess was correct, that child should be the "little junior brother" that Zi Sheng and Zi Xi had mentioned...
And with the Heretic walking into the sea of blood, it meant that the plot against her senior brother was coming to a head...
Bai Qing Cheng's brows furrowed slightly, and she stood up, offering a simple salute to Master Si Tu before summoning a brocade umbrella and stepping out of the radius of the Qing Guang Lantern.
The devilishly deluded cultivators around her pounced, only to be shaken off by the umbrella.
Following the path the Heretic had taken, Bai Qing Cheng also walked towards Li City, stepping into the sea of blood.
Master Si Tu sighed helplessly.
Inside the Qian Kun Qing Guang Lantern, three more Nascent Soul cultivators had harbored ill intentions. They exchanged glances, summoned their treasures, and left the protection of the lamp without a word, chasing after the Heretic.
The remaining Nascent Soul cultivators were tempted, and one of them looked at Master Si Tu and said, "Senior Si Tu, this..."
Master Si Tu's eyes turned slightly cold as he sat firmly in place, his voice deep and resonant, "Everyone has their own destiny; you cannot force it."
But in his heart, he thought, "If you want to die, go ahead and die..."
These Nascent Soul cultivators understood the profoundness of Xuan Ji Valley's algorithms and the saying, "Heed the elders' advice, or suffer the consequences." So they calmed their restless thoughts and began to meditate peacefully.
However, Master Si Tu's eyes remained locked on the direction in which the Heretic had left, his brows tightly knit.
In his eyes, there was deep worry.
This was the devilish delusion in their hearts...
No, this was the heaven-defying scheme!
The Dao of Divine Consciousness, at its extreme, gives birth to two methods: the Duality and the Heaven-Defying Scheme.
He never imagined that this Heretic had cultivated the Heaven-Defying Scheme to such a degree. Even in his sect, known for producing monstrous talents, there had never been a precedent...
The Heaven-Defying Scheme, pushed to its limits.
The Divine Consciousness, twisted and transformed, becomes immortal and indestructible...
If they don't gather the power of the righteous path and completely annihilate the Heretic, allowing him to continue unchecked, he will undoubtedly become a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering demonic tyrant.
But...
How do they kill him?
Zhuang Xian Sheng's oil lamp had burned out, and the Heaven's Scheme had been lost...
Who in this world could fathom the secrets of heaven and rival the Heretic?
Master Si Tu's expression turned cold as he let out a deep sigh...
...
In Li City, the broken walls and rubble were stained red by the Sea of Blood.
The remaining Demon Cultivators were instantly affected by the Demon Heart Array, turning on each other with murderous intent, dying a thorough death.
The Heretic walked straight to the Five Elements Mountain Protecting Grand Array.
He reached out to touch it, but his fingers were instantly obliterated by the overwhelming power of the grand array, turning into a mist of blood.
However, in the blink of an eye, the blood mist reversed its course and re-condensed into flesh and bone.
The Heretic's hand was restored to its original state.
He pointed a finger, and some bizarre black-gray array patterns crawled onto the grand array, eroding it from the outside in.
But the faster the erosion, the quicker the grand array self-healed.
Unable to break the grand array...
The Heretic's expression remained cold as he lifted the unconscious Mo Hua and shook him in front of the array.
A sigh seemed to emanate from within the grand array, filled with helplessness.
Subsequently, the lights of the array flickered, and the five-colored light screen opened, revealing an entrance.
The Heretic smirked and, holding Mo Hua, strode into the Five Elements Mountain Protecting Grand Array.
...
Soon after, Bai Qing Cheng arrived at the grand array and saw the entrance that had not yet closed.
She hesitated for a moment before stepping through.
After Bai Qing Cheng entered, the lights of the array flickered, the array patterns squirmed, and the entrance gradually closed.
Just as it was about to seal shut, three Nascent Soul cultivators from the Dao Court rushed over and saw the closing entrance.
They hurriedly took action, their blades and swords flashing to prevent the array from closing.
Then, they also squeezed through the narrow entrance and entered the Five Elements Mountain Protecting Grand Array.
After that, the Five Elements Mountain Protecting Grand Array completely sealed itself.
Outside, there was the Sea of Blood and the Soul Banners, and within, the grand array protected the mountain.
Outsiders had no idea what was happening inside the grand array, within the former site of the Five Elements Peak...
After an unknown amount of time, Mo Hua gradually regained consciousness...
His forehead felt fuzzy and cloudy.
He vaguely sensed an extremely terrifying spiritual power fluctuation in his surroundings.
This spiritual power was vast as an ocean.
And he himself felt like a tiny boat in a storm, powerless and insignificant.
In the hazy surroundings, he could hear voices.
These voices were very familiar...
Mo Hua narrowed his eyes, and it took him a while to come back to his senses.
He then realized that he was already inside the Five Elements Peak, standing in front of the Array Pavilion.
All around him was devastation—what used to be intricate buildings now lay in ruins, and everywhere he looked, there was destruction and the lingering aura of powerful spells, as if a great battle had taken place.
Nearby, there were three people who had been corroded into white bones.
They had clearly perished.
Moreover, their bones were crystalline and translucent, with fine, feather-like marks of petrification.
Mo Hua's heart trembled.
"Another three Nascent Soul cultivators... dead?"
He lifted his head and saw Guai Lao.
Guai Lao's body was wrapped in blood-red clothes, and his physical body was slowly dissolving, but as the flesh melted away, what lay beneath was not blood and muscles but a brown, mottled wooden texture.
"The Blood of Annihilation..."
"Good, so you've colluded with..."
Guai Lao coughed, "...that immortal Blood Daoist..."
The Heretic bowed slightly to Guai Lao and said, "Senior, please forgive me. If I didn't do this, I wouldn't have been able to defeat you..."
Guai Lao's eyes turned sharp, and he said sternly, "Then who told you about my weakness?"
The Heretic remained silent.
Guai Lao laughed bitterly, filled with anger, "Good, good! These cultivators of the Dao, what path are they cultivating?"
The Heretic replied in a deep voice, "Senior, farewell."
As he finished speaking, the blood-red clothes emitted an even darker and more lifeless blood light.
Bit by bit, inch by inch, it enveloped and eroded Guai Lao.
It was also slowly devouring Guai Lao's vitality.
Guai Lao glared at the Heretic and said coldly,
"Don't let me see you again, or I will kill you!"
The Heretic bowed slightly, "Junior will remember."
"Grandpa Guai..."
Mo Hua's heart ached, and he murmured.
Hearing Mo Hua's voice, Guai Lao, who was being eroded by the blood clothes, looked at him one last time.
The coldness in his eyes faded, replaced by warmth and a hint of apology and regret.
Finally, his entire body turned into a mottled wooden statue, lifeless and broken.
The Heretic turned his head to glance at Mo Hua, his eyebrows furrowed.
Grandpa Guai...
Guai Lao had allowed this child to call him "Grandpa Guai"...
The Heretic only frowned and pondered for a moment before continuing towards the Array Pavilion.
The heavenly scheme had been calculated to perfection, the Demon Cultivators punished, the Dao Court intimidated, and even Guai Lao had been dissolved by the Blood Daoist's immortal blood...
All obstacles in his path had been thoroughly eliminated.
The only thing left was his senior brother, whom he had not seen for hundreds of years...
Just then, a cold and pleasant voice sounded:
"Senior Brother..."
The Heretic turned his head and saw Bai Qing Cheng standing nearby.
Bai Qing Cheng had been standing there, witnessing the Heretic kill the three Nascent Soul cultivators from the Dao Court and then seeing him use the immortal blood to dissolve Guai Lao.
She could only stand by and watch.
There was nothing she could do to stop her senior brother.
Whoever tried to stop him would die, including herself.
However, she still remembered the request of her twin children, so in the end, she wanted to save Mo Hua from her senior brother's grasp.
After all, this child was innocent.
And he was, after all, Master Zhuang's disciple, and she didn't want him to be involved in this affair and lose his life because of it...
"Senior Brother... give that child to me..."
The Heretic lifted his head and glanced at the Array Pavilion, deep in thought.
Then, he casually tossed Mo Hua to Bai Qing Cheng.
Bai Qing Cheng immediately caught him and instinctively sized up Mo Hua.
She thought to herself,
"So, this is the little junior brother that Zi Sheng and Zi Xi were concerned about..."
His spiritual root is so mediocre...
Compared to Zi Xi, he's like heaven and earth...
She continued to observe his appearance.
He looked quite good...
His eyebrows were like paintings, his face was adorable, and his aura was pure, evoking a sense of closeness.
Bai Qing Cheng furrowed her brows.
"Senior Brother Zhuang, why did you take on such a disciple?"
Moreover, what surprised her the most was her senior brother...
Her senior brother used to be gentle and elegant, treating people with kindness. But ever since he fell into the devil's path and became the Heretic, he had become strange and terrifying, cold and ruthless.
This was the first time she had seen her senior brother carrying a child and not letting go the whole way.
Moreover, from her perspective, the two of them seemed to get along quite casually, and even appeared to be... somewhat "close"? Bai Qing Cheng knitted her brows in confusion.
Mo Hua looked up and saw Bai Qing Cheng as well.
At first glance, he was amazed.
So beautiful...
At the second glance, he felt that this woman's eyebrows and eyes resembled those of his junior sister...
"Are you Little Junior Sister's mother?"
Mo Hua asked involuntarily.
Bai Qing Cheng was taken aback and nodded slightly.
Mo Hua silently calculated, "Little Junior Sister's mother, so she's also Master Uncle's junior sister and Master's junior sister... Then should I call you... 'Master Aunt'?"
Bai Qing Cheng was stunned.
This child was so smart, and he seemed to have a bit of... social savvy?
"That's right."
Bai Qing Cheng nodded again.
"Disciple Mo Hua, I pay my respects to Master Aunt." Mo Hua said politely.
Bai Qing Cheng's heart warmed slightly.
She looked at Mo Hua again and noticed that he had no injuries, no signs of "Devilish Delusion in his Heart", his eyes were clear, and there was nothing unusual, which finally put her at ease.
Bai Qing Cheng hesitated for a moment, then said to Mo Hua:
"Good boy, stay here and don't run around. I'll go inside and see your Master..."
Mo Hua immediately said, "Master Aunt, can I go in?"
Bai Qing Cheng was taken aback.
Mo Hua lowered his voice and said, "I also want to see Master..."
Bai Qing Cheng's heart felt bitter, but she still refused, "It's dangerous for you to go in..."
"Oh..."
Mo Hua nodded disappointedly but obediently.
Bai Qing Cheng left Mo Hua behind and started walking towards the Array Treasury, taking a few steps before turning back to look at him. Seeing him standing there alone, she felt a mix of heartache and worry.
If the Heretic came out, this child would still be in danger...
But right now, she couldn't afford to worry about that.
Her senior brother's life hung in the balance.
Regarding the opportunity involving the Primordial Ruins and Heavenly Burial, although the old ancestor had told her to "stay out of it", when it came down to this moment, she couldn't just stand by and do nothing.
"Forget it, everyone has their own destiny..."
Bai Qing Cheng's expression turned solemn as she gritted her teeth and also entered the Array Treasury...
As for Mo Hua, he remained alone.
He wanted to go in, but he couldn't.
There seemed to be some kind of barrier around the Array Treasury. Master Uncle and Master Aunt had high cultivation levels and profound knowledge of formations, so they could ignore the barrier and enter.
But he couldn't...
However, staying here didn't seem safe either.
Once everything was settled and Master Uncle came out, he would probably kill him too.
Mo Hua sighed.
Just then, the Five Elements Mountain Protecting Grand Array surrounding them began to buzz.
Mo Hua was taken aback and looked up.
He saw that within the grand array, there was a main trunk-like formation pivot that was rotating on its own, dazzling and brilliant.
"This is... the formation pivot?"
Mo Hua suddenly remembered what Master had told him when he first arrived at the Five Elements Sect.
He recalled that at that time, he and Master had talked about the Five Elements Mountain Protecting Grand Array.
Master had drawn a mountain map on a piece of paper, outlining a few lines along the mountain's contours, and instructed him:
"This is the Five Elements Mountain Protecting Grand Array, remember the layout of the main formation pivot."
"When the formation is activated, there will be an entrance at the formation pivot."
"Although this section is only a second-grade formation pivot, it resembles the layout of the Five Elements Slaughtering Demons Grand Array, and since your spiritual sense is strong enough, you should be able to deduce the entrance by yourself..."
Mo Hua was lost in thought, recalling Master's words.
"Deduce the entrance..."
Did Master have a plan all along...?
Did he foresee that I would be captured by Master Uncle and brought back to the Five Elements Sect, so he told me about this section of the grand array's entrance in advance?
He wanted me to deduce the entrance of the Five Elements Mountain Protecting Grand Array and then leave this dangerous place on my own...
"Master..."
Mo Hua's eyes stung with tears.
He didn't want to leave, he wanted to see Master one more time.
But...
What could he do even if he saw Master?
With his low cultivation level, insufficient spiritual sense, and inadequate formation knowledge, he couldn't even protect himself in such a perilous place...
The grand array buzzed again.
It was as if Master was urging him to leave...
Mo Hua felt dejected, wiped his tears, and sat down on the ground. Following the method of deduction that Master had taught him, he slowly calculated the formation pivot of the grand array, determined the direction, and found the entrance.
After determining the entrance, Mo Hua looked up at the Array Treasury.
Master seemed to be right there, silently watching him.
It was as if he was saying, "Go now..."
Mo Hua hung his head, his figure dejected as he walked towards the mountain range that Master Zhuang had marked earlier, towards the mountains in front of the grand array.
Based on the entrance he had determined, Mo Hua stepped into the grand array.
The formation created a spiritual barrier, with spiritual energy flowing like blades, forming an impenetrable barrier.
However, the entrance was located at the pivot of the formation, a place that allowed passage.
Mo Hua walked through the entrance, and the surging spiritual energy rapidly flowed around him, like the vast ocean or galloping horses, yet it didn't harm him at all.
On the contrary, this spiritual energy was protecting Mo Hua.
It escorted him safely through the Mountain Protecting Grand Array, allowing him to leave without any harm...
...
On the fourth floor of the Array Treasury,
Zhuang Xian Sheng sat quietly, watching Mo Hua walk out of the grand array on his own.
A moment later, the Array Treasury shook.
The Five Elements Formation on the fourth floor was eroded by pitch-black formation patterns, which parted to let a figure walk in.
He had white hair that fell to his shoulders, and his expression was cold.
It was the Heretic.
Zhuang Xian Sheng's breath was weak, his face as pale as paper, but his expression was calm, as if he was welcoming his fate, and he even managed a serene smile.
"It's been a long time..."
"Senior Brother."
(End of Chapter)
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