Inquiries About Longevity Chapter 682: The Evil God - Novel Cool

Chapter 682: The Evil God

Chapter 682: The Evil God

Upon returning to the sect, Mo Hua immediately sent a message to Gu Changhuai:

"Uncle Gu, keep an eye on 'Guo Jianglong'. Someone is going to tamper with him."

Gu Changhuai replied quickly, "How do you know?"

Mo Hua: "I heard it..."

Gu Changhuai: "Who did you hear it from?"

Mo Hua hesitated and asked, "If I tell you, will you believe me?"

There was a noticeable pause from the other end, "Go on."

"It was a disciple from Duan Jinmen who told me, others call him 'Jin Gongzi'," Mo Hua said.

"Jin Gongzi?"

"Mhm."

Mo Hua continued, "He wanted Guo Jianglong to enter the Dao Prison first, then 'fake his death' inside and re-emerge with a different identity later on."

Gu Changhuai fell silent, his gaze turning fearsome.

Such a deceitful scheme was not only against the law but also a major taboo for the Dao Court.

It was conceivable that some local Dao Courts in smaller areas might dare to be so bold and corrupt, but this was Qian Xuezhou, the domain of a respectable fifth-grade Dao Court...

Gu Changhuai found it hard to believe.

However, although Mo Hua often acted in peculiar and unpredictable ways, he wouldn't likely make up such a story.

"So I sent Guo Jianglong to the Dao Prison. Keep an eye on him and see if you can uncover the insider in the Dao Court," Mo Hua said.

Gu Changhuai was taken aback and only replied after a long while, "Alright..."

Mo Hua asked again, "Can the Dao Court investigate Duan Jinmen...?"

"No," Gu Changhuai replied. "We have no jurisdiction over the internal affairs of major sects unless there is clear evidence that a sect disciple has violated the Dao laws and committed a heinous crime. Otherwise, we cannot investigate, let alone make arrests."

Mo Hua couldn't help but feel disappointed.

"Have you discovered something else?" Gu Changhuai asked.

Mo Hua thought about it and decided not to hide the truth, "I suspect that the black-robed human traffickers in Qianzhou are actually disciples from these sects, and this 'Jin Gongzi' from Duan Jinmen is very likely one of them..."

Gu Changhuai fell silent again for a moment before slowly saying,

"Don't get involved in this matter for now."

Mo Hua was stunned, feeling that something was amiss, "Uncle Gu, you... you knew about this already?"

Gu Changhuai remained silent.

As expected!

His silence was as good as an admission.

Mo Hua had indeed found it strange that the Dao Court seemed to be completely unaware of the black-robed human traffickers despite their seemingly deep roots.

Mo Hua hurriedly asked, "Uncle Gu, how much do you know?"

There was no response from the other end.

Mo Hua repeatedly called out, "Uncle Gu," "Uncle Gu, are you there?" "Uncle Gu, say something..."

Gu Changhuai finally sighed, "You know about Yu'er being abducted, right?"

"Mhm," Mo Hua nodded. How could he not know about that?

"On that day, you... coincidentally took Yu'er away, and then several black-robed men showed up at the restaurant," Gu Changhuai said.

"They were there to 'collect the goods'," Mo Hua said.

"The Dao Court surrounded them, but the leader escaped. The rest were captured, but without exception, they all died. Their flesh was destroyed by demonic energy, their meridians and spiritual roots polluted, leaving behind nothing but a dark, bloody mess..."

"This is not an isolated case," Gu Changhuai continued. "A long time ago, there were cases of heirs from prestigious families with top-grade spiritual roots going missing. The Dao Court captured the black-robed human traffickers, but they were all destroyed by demonic energy, their traces wiped out..."

"Based on this, we speculate..." Gu Changhuai clenched his teeth, "...that quite a few heirs from prestigious families have fallen into demonic ways and become minions of the demonic sect, but they disguise themselves as humans, concealing their true nature..."

Mo Hua furrowed his brows, "Can't you investigate them?"

Gu Changhuai sighed, "We can't, and there's no way to do so..."

"The sects have immense influence and tend to shield their disciples. Moreover, they are backed by powerful aristocratic families..."

"A fifth-grade Dao Court in Qian Xuezhou doesn't have the capability to intervene in the affairs of such major powers and investigate such sensitive matters..."

"After all, having disciples fall into demonic ways is a huge scandal for both aristocratic families and sects. In serious cases, the Dao Court's Celestial Authority Cabinet might even forcibly demote them..."

"I see..." Mo Hua nodded.

"But something doesn't add up..." Mo Hua frowned, feeling confused again. "All the major sects in Qianzhou strictly forbid their disciples from practicing demonic arts. They are not allowed to bring any demonic techniques, methods, or artifacts into the sect."

"The sect's mountain gates are also guarded with means to detect demonic and evil energies."

"If these disciples have fallen into demonic ways, even if they disguise themselves as humans, they should be discovered. They wouldn't be able to enter the mountain gates, so how can they hide within the sects?"

"That's the most bizarre part," Gu Changhuai said, his gaze icy and full of confusion.

"No one knows what method they used to conceal their identities. Even though they have fallen into demonic ways and done things befitting beasts, they still move freely within the sects, posing as proud heirs of aristocratic families..."

Mo Hua suddenly recalled something, his gaze turning stern and his expression solemn as he asked a question, "Uncle Gu, do you know about the Evil God?"

Gu Changhuai was clearly taken aback, "Why are you suddenly asking about this?"

"Uncle Gu, do you know what the Evil God is?" Mo Hua asked.

Gu Changhuai thought for a moment and shook his head, "The Evil God of Heaven's Demons is said to be a great disaster from ancient times, but no one seems to know exactly what it is."

"It is rarely mentioned in cultivation classics as well."

"Why do you suddenly..."

Gu Changhuai paused, "You don't think that these incidents are related to the Evil God, do you..."

"Mhm..." Mo Hua nodded.

Gu Changhuai took a deep breath and said helplessly,

"You must have read some sensational cultivation tales or some fantastical records of immortals, gods, and monsters, haven't you?"

Quite an active imagination...

Mo Hua was stunned, "You're saying it's not true...?"

Gu Changhuai shook his head, "This is Qianzhou, the land of Qian Heaven's Grand Dao, where aristocratic families thrive and sects stand tall. Countless cultivators and powerful beings reside here. How could an Evil God gain a foothold and spread its influence?

He pondered for a long time, feeling that it would be unwise to let this child lead him down a rabbit hole, lest he become entangled in his own thoughts.

So, Gu Changhuai said, "You should focus on cultivating, strengthening your foundation, and breaking through your current cultivation level to prepare for the pill-concocting stage. Don't always dwell on these whimsical and fantastical things, as they will only distract your heart from the Dao and hinder your cultivation."

Mo Hua sighed.

But if he didn't think about these "godly and ghostly" matters, his cultivation wouldn't break through either...

If he didn't get a "bite" out of the Evil God and got stuck at a bottleneck, he feared that even reaching the mid-Foundation Establishment stage would be difficult.

"What if... there really is an Evil God?" Mo Hua tried again.

Gu Changhuai actually tried to imagine it, but the more he thought about it, the more abstract it seemed.

The term "Evil God" was too foreign to him.

In his understanding of cultivation, there was very little knowledge about the "Evil God," and it was hard to imagine what the Evil God might look like...

He also couldn't fathom how the Evil God could possibly manifest or in what form it would appear in the vast realm of a fifth-grade region like Qian Xuezhou.

Mo Hua gave up.

He tried to see it from Gu Changhuai's perspective, and it did seem rather incomprehensible.

It was like a child who had grown up in the mountains suddenly learning about the existence of the ocean; they would undoubtedly feel bewildered.

Mo Hua suddenly recalled something his master had once said.

"Only when your divine sense is strong enough will you be able to see the truth beyond appearances, things that others cannot perceive, and thus grasp the true nature of all things in this world."

The Evil God was likely one of those "unseen" truths.

Ordinary cultivators, unless they cultivated the path of divine sense, seemed unable to perceive deities.

Forget about the Evil God; even Huang Shanjun, that small and decrepit mountain god, was probably invisible to most cultivators...

Mo Hua conceded and said to Gu Changhuai, "Yes, I just saw a book in the library called 'The Top Ten Evil Gods of Ancient and Modern Times,' which says that the Evil God can control the divine sense of foolish cultivators and also eat people..."

Gu Changhuai remained silent for a moment before replying, "Your Tahui Sect does have a unique taste in its collection of books..."

Mo Hua decided to drop the subject.

Sometimes, ignorance was bliss.

Perhaps his own divine sense was too strong, making it difficult for him to find happiness at times.

Mo Hua remembered something else and cautioned, "Uncle Gu, be careful. Someone's targeting you..."

It seemed like Jin Gongzi and his group were attributing all the crimes of the cultivators on the list to Gu Changhuai, believing that he was the "mastermind" behind everything.

Unknowingly, Gu Changhuai had become a "greatly wronged person," shouldering the blame for everything.

Mo Hua felt guilty about it.

However, Gu Changhuai was used to it, "As a Registrar of the Daoting Court, it's normal for many people to have their eyes on me. A few more or less doesn't matter."

Mo Hua still reminded him, "Then be careful..."

"Mhm," Gu Changhuai acknowledged nonchalantly.

Mo Hua felt relieved.

With Gu Changhuai's numerous debts, a few more wouldn't make him itch, so he probably hadn't burdened him further...

Gu Changhuai pondered for a moment and finally said to Mo Hua, "I'll keep an eye on Guo Jianglong, and I'll also pay attention to Jin Gongzi and Duan Jinmen..."

"Don't get involved in the matter of the sect disciples falling into demonic ways and the black-robed human traffickers. The waters are murky there, and you might end up sinking yourself..." Gu Changhuai warned.

He knew that his words might be futile, as he couldn't control what Mo Hua did, but he still felt the need to say them.

"Be careful. If you find any clues or encounter any difficulties, let me know," Gu Changhuai added.

"Yes, yes!" Mo Hua agreed.

He wasn't a fool.

Whether it was the black-robed cultivators or the disciples of aristocratic families falling into demonic ways, it wasn't something he could handle alone. Now that he had ready help, he wasn't going to refuse it.

Their conversation ended there.

In the following days, Mo Hua continued his cultivation, practiced formation techniques, and honed his divine sense.

His cultivation progressed steadily, step by step.

Since he didn't focus on laying a solid foundation but prioritized speed, his cultivation progress among his peers was neither fast nor slow.

His spiritual power had become significantly more robust since the initial Foundation Establishment stage, but he still had a way to go before reaching the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.

However, his divine sense was a different story; it was a real challenge.

His divine sense had already become too strong, far surpassing the initial Foundation Establishment stage, and it was stuck at the bottleneck of the late-Foundation Establishment stage.

As a result, merely refining his formation techniques to improve his divine sense was like trying to wear away a stone with droplets of water—excruciatingly slow.

With his divine sense stuck at sixteen strands, there was no way his formation technique level could improve.

During this period, Mo Hua could only try to broaden his repertoire of formations, learning more five-element and eight-trigram formations.

However, he had grown tired of drawing sixteen-strand formations.

He yearned to draw higher-level formations, second-grade advanced formations with seventeen strands or more.

He was especially eager to delve into the Yuan Magnetic formations that required seventeen strands or more, as they would undoubtedly involve more profound Yuan Magnetic principles and higher-level formation applications.

Mo Hua eagerly anticipated it.

But without breaking through his divine sense bottleneck, it was all just wishful thinking.

Yu'er's nightmares about demons and monsters also became less frequent.

Mo Hua was pleased to see Yu'er's complexion improving day by day, but he couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed that his "food supply" was dwindling day by day.

"I wonder when I'll be able to have a 'hearty meal'..." Mo Hua mused to himself.

Otherwise, he would have to wait another year for his cultivation to break through, which would expand his sea of consciousness and help him overcome the divine sense bottleneck.

There was also the matter of the Evil God...

Others might be able to ignore it, but he couldn't.

During these days, Mo Hua had been pondering this for a long time.

According to what Huang Shanjun had said previously, Mo Hua deduced that there were actually two dimensions to the advancement of divine sense.

One was the "rank" of the divine sense, and the other was the "tier."

Eating demons, monsters, and ghosts enhanced the "rank" of the divine sense, its "quantity," which was also known as the level of divine sense.

On the other hand, devouring divine marrow improved the "tier" of the divine sense, its "quality," which corresponded to the rank of deities.

This meant that if he wanted to "attain enlightenment through his divine sense," he had no choice but to cultivate both its quality and quantity, advancing in both rank and tier.

It was already troublesome enough to enhance the rank of his divine sense, and now he had to worry about elevating its tier as well.

Mo Hua felt a headache coming on.

The only way forward was to find a way to gradually get closer to the Evil God.

Demons and monsters were the minions of the Evil God, and their divine marrow was hidden within the Evil God's divine remains.

They were a great supplement for divine sense!

But the Evil God was hidden far too deeply…

Even someone like Uncle Gu, who was inept at using his divine sense, wouldn't believe it if he told him about this.

Currently, Huo Fotuo was dead, the Demon Palace in Bishan had sunk, and the only clue he had was Guo Jianglong, who was on the same list as Huo Fotuo.

However, he had no way of keeping an eye on Guo Jianglong.

He couldn't leave his sect, nor could he enter the Dao Prison; he was powerless in this situation, so he could only ask Uncle Gu for help.

Moreover, this matter involved the insider in the Dao Court, so it was an internal affair of the Dao Court.

It was something he couldn't handle himself.

Guo Jianglong was the worm, and he would use him to catch the fish.

But fishing required patience, and one mustn't rush.

One had to wait for the fish to take the bait and for a big fish to take the hook.

As such, he could only proceed slowly…

Mo Hua sighed.

It seemed that he would have to endure hunger for a while longer…

"Where are the divine remains of the Evil God hidden…?"

…

As Mo Hua plotted to get his hands on the Evil God, in a forbidden area, Tu Xian'er suddenly opened his eyes, his pupils contracting.

That heart-palpitating feeling had returned…

This time, he was extremely certain that someone was boldly coveting the God Master!

Suddenly, Tu Xian'er's face became wrinkled, his pupils turned pitch-black and hollow, as if something had parasitized him, and he hissed in a sharp voice:

"Find them!"

"Find out who it is, no matter what!"

Tu Xian'er immediately became fearful and trembling, whispering, "Yes, yes..."

"Calm your anger, God Master..."

"It's all my fault, my fault. I looked for them, but I couldn't find them..."

"A cultivator with a few hundred years of cultivation, a hooked nose, a glabella wrinkle, a sinister gaze, an inwardly-contained aura, a gentle appearance, and a sinister and vicious smile..."

"There are a few people in Qian Xuezhou who match this description, but they don't fit the characteristics."

"They definitely don't have the ability to ruin the God Master's plans..."

A terrifying roar that didn't sound human erupted from Tu Xian'er's mouth.

Afterward, Tu Xian'er's face turned even paler.

"Yes..."

"But too many of the minions on the list have been lost, the altar in the Bishan Divine Temple has been destroyed, and most of the demon slaves have been killed..."

"Too many of the demon herders who traded humans and beasts have died, so there are fewer humans and beasts, and the offerings are being raised more slowly. As for that formation, the progress can only..."

Tu Xian'er didn't finish his sentence before his seven orifices started bleeding, and he fell to the ground uncontrollably, his limbs twisting.

"Yes, yes, it was my mistake, God Master..."

Tu Xian'er endured the pain, his voice hoarse.

After a while, the demonic energy receded, and he slowly crawled up, trembling as he knelt on the ground again, devoutly saying:

"My loyalty to the God Master is eternal and unchanging!"

"One day, the great God Master will awaken from his dusty slumber and reign over the Great Desolation!"

After saying this, Tu Xian'er's tense body relaxed a little, and he clearly breathed a sigh of relief.

He then slowly said, "Someone is obstructing the God Master's plans..."

"All of this is being manipulated by someone in the shadows."

"The divine embryo has been protected by someone, and the demons and monsters under the command of the God Master have all gone without a trace..."

"Even... when one of the divine servants died, one of the divine eyes among the myriad divine remains that were residing within him also..."

"...perished."

"That's when I realized that I was wrong."

"I underestimated him."

"This person is definitely not an ordinary formation master."

"This person who repeatedly desecrates and obstructs the God Master's plans is very likely a formation master who cultivates the Way of Divine Formations or a terrifying swordsman who cultivates the Way of Divine Will Sword Arts."

"If he cultivates the Way of Divine Formations, I wouldn't be afraid."

"But if it's the Divine Will Sword Arts..."

A strong sense of wariness appeared in Tu Xian'er's eyes.

A terrifying sword art that turned divine will into a sword, a technique that had been banned, resurfaced in his mind.

Finally, Tu Xian'er bowed to the bloodstained, white-boned, sharp-toothed, and horned human face statue, saying:

"I will find out..."

"All who dare to obstruct the God Master's plans will eventually become fodder, sinking into the abyss of the desolate mountain, their souls and bodies destroyed, never to be reborn!"

"Tai Xu Men..."

Tu Xian'er's voice gradually became inaudible.

After he finished speaking, he didn't dare to look directly at the human-faced horned statue, lowering his gaze and backing away with a humble posture.

Only after leaving the altar did he slowly stand up and pull out a piece of human skin, covering himself with it.

The human skin spread, gradually covering his deathly pale face, which had wrinkles, as well as his skin, which was always soaked in blood and had many cracks.

Tu Xian'er thus transformed into a tall and slender middle-aged cultivator with white skin and gentle eyes.

He shed his previous ugliness and meekness, revealing a gentle smile as he slowly walked out of the gloomy forbidden area.

(End of Chapter)

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