Chapter 690: Crisis
Chapter 690: Crisis
However, there was one other matter that Mo Hua couldn't stop pondering.
According to the elderly fisherman from the village, many years ago, there was a cultivator with long eyebrows and a sword on his back who had ventured into the blood mist alone and returned unscathed. This cultivator had also left behind warnings about the blood mist and the blood fish.
Who was this cultivator? Mo Hua frowned in thought.
"The fact that he could see through the blood mist indicates a strong spiritual sense. To return safely from a village shrouded in the aura of an evil god, he must possess either a divine slaughter technique or a method of divine protection."
A cultivator with a sword on his back...
Could it be a swordsman proficient in the art of 'Sword Manifestation'?
Sword Manifestation...
Could it be one of the elders from the Tai Xu Sect? Mo Hua wondered.
Later, when I enter the well and reach that vanished fishing village, I'll keep an eye out for any traces left by that elder.
Since that elder ventured into the lair of the evil god, he must have encountered its minions and perhaps even faced the evil god itself.
If so, there should be some traces of divine slaughter left behind.
It's just uncertain whether these traces have disappeared after so many centuries...
"Let's go in and take a look first..."
Now that he had decided to descend the well, Mo Hua began to prepare himself for the dangers that awaited within the blood-colored dry well.
He had already grasped the array at the well's entrance, so entering wouldn't be a problem.
Previously, he had also sent Little Tiger to scout a short distance ahead.
He knew that this well was dry and had a passage that continued forward, but it was unknown how long one had to walk before reaching water.
There was a hidden danger in the water, which had caused Little Tiger to perish.
It could be a mechanism, but the most likely possibility was a water-dwelling demon beast.
This demon beast was probably guarding the entrance.
As for what lay beyond, Mo Hua was still unclear.
However, it was highly likely to be the fishing village that had been completely erased by the evil god's corruption.
What exactly happened in that fishing village hundreds of years ago, just before it was sacrificed to the evil god and completely erased? What remains in the fishing village now? Was the river god who accepted the sacrifice the evil god itself, or a deity who had been completely corrupted and fallen due to the influence of the Great Desolation's evil god?
And what about Over-the-River Dragon...
Would he have any accomplices lurking in the fishing village? Mo Hua sighed, feeling that the situation was extremely tricky.
This was something he couldn't possibly handle alone; he would definitely need help.
Mo Hua thought for a moment before sending a message to Gu Chang Huai: "Uncle Gu, I've found the entrance to the human traffickers' 'base'..."
Gu Chang Huai: "Wait a moment, I'll come right over."
Mo Hua quickly replied: "No need."
With the evil god on the other side, it would be too dangerous for Uncle Gu to come. If he were to be corrupted by the evil god and lose his sanity, he might inadvertently use his Golden Core power, violating the taboo and inviting heavenly tribulation. That would spell disaster.
Even if he weren't eradicated by the heavenly way, if he turned on Mo Hua instead, it would still be more than Mo Hua could handle.
Mo Hua felt that this was a likely scenario, so he said: "Uncle Gu, you must not come!
Otherwise, I can't guarantee your safety."
Gu Chang Huai frowned, "Are you hiding something from me?"
There is something I'm hiding from you, but even if I tell you, you probably won't believe me... Mo Hua hesitated in his thoughts before replying, "No."
Gu Chang Huai hesitated for a moment before saying, "In that case, I'll send Gu An and Gu Quan to assist you. They're both in the late Foundation Establishment stage and are quite capable. Plus, as members of the Gu family, I can trust them."
"In addition, use the Gu family's secret order to mobilize some more people as a precaution."
"These people should be sufficient for a second-rate state boundary. If you encounter any unexpected situations, let me know, and I'll think of another way..."
...
Mo Hua nodded.
Uncle Gu was indeed very reliable.
"Mmhmm." Mo Hua acknowledged.
Having Gu An and Gu Quan accompany him to the bottom of the well would be just right.
With other members of the Gu family standing by outside, he would also feel more at ease.
However, this still wasn't quite enough...
Mo Hua added, "Uncle Gu, do you have any spirit artifacts that calm the mind and spirit, or treasures that protect the heart and the divine?"
Gu Chang Huai furrowed his brows, "What do you need those for?"
Mo Hua came up with an excuse, "I'm afraid that Over-the-River Dragon, like Fire Buddha, cultivates the demonic path's sinister energy, which can intimidate one's spiritual sense and shake one's heart. So, I want to prepare in advance and be vigilant."
Gu Chang Huai was taken aback, feeling that Mo Hua's reasoning made sense.
This child, Mo Hua, is indeed thoughtful and meticulous in his preparations...
"There should be similar spirit artifacts in the Gu family's treasury. I'll have Gu An and Gu Quan retrieve a few under my name and bring them to you..." Gu Chang Huai said decisively.
"Thank you, Uncle Gu."
Mo Hua silently breathed a sigh of relief.
He wasn't sure if these spirit artifacts for calming the mind and protecting the divine would be effective against the evil god, but he knew he had to give them a try.
"There's one more thing..." Mo Hua said, "Uncle Gu, can you help me request two more days of leave?"
Gu Chang Huai remained silent.
Mo Hua explained, "Over-the-River Dragon is deeply hidden. I'm afraid one day won't be enough to capture them."
Gu Chang Huai sighed, "Alright, I'll also send a request for leave on your behalf to the Tai Xu Sect, under the name of the Dao Court..."
"However, I can't guarantee whether the Tai Xu Sect will approve it or not."
"The last time I requested leave for you, the elders of the Tai Xu Sect were already displeased. This time, they'll probably be even less accommodating..."
Mo Hua also sighed.
There was nothing else they could do.
He had to go down the well, and he had to request leave either way.
He hoped that Elder Xun would be able to vouch for him, and he would apologize to the elder afterward.
"Let's send the request and see."
"Okay."
After that, the two went their separate ways.
Mo Hua used the Gu family's secret order to mobilize people from the nearby Dao Court.
Gu Chang Huai arranged for Gu An and Gu Quan to assist Mo Hua, and he also wrote a letter, stamped it with his seal as the head of the Dao Court, and sent it to the Tai Xu Sect through the Dao Court's channels.
This was a request for leave.
Gu Chang Huai also came up with a "legitimate" excuse.
In essence, the letter stated that the Dao Court had an urgent task requiring the assistance of Mo Hua, a Tai Xu Sect disciple in the early Foundation Establishment stage, to draw some arrays. Two days of leave were requested.
In light of the urgency, please grant permission.
This letter was delivered to Elder Song, who was in charge of disciple attendance matters.
Elder Song's expression immediately turned sour.
This Mo Hua again! It's unreasonable.
The Tai Xu Sect is one of the eight great sects of the Qian Xue State Boundary. How can it be so easy to enter? Yet this child keeps leaving the sect and frequently requests leave.
And instead of requesting leave himself, he has the Dao Court do it for him. He's certainly not lacking in audacity.
Elder Song was about to reject the request outright.
But after thinking about it for a moment, he hesitated.
Elder Xun sat at his desk, fiddling with something, his expression stern and his brows deeply furrowed. Unknowingly, a subtle pressure emanated from his body.
Elder Song spoke cautiously, his voice filled with trepidation.
"Hmm," Elder Xun acknowledged with a grunt, his head still lowered.
Elder Song dared not repeat himself, so he meekly waited silently by the side.
After a while, Elder Xun sighed softly and lifted his head, his body's aura dissipating as he reverted to the elderly gentleman with white hair.
"What did you say?" he asked.
"Oh," Elder Song breathed a sigh of relief and whispered, "That... Mo Hua, he has requested leave again..."
"On what grounds?"
"He said there's an important matter at the Dao Court that requires his assistance."
"For how many days?"
Elder Song replied with displeasure, "Two days..."
Elder Xun waved his hand dismissively. "It's just two days. Let him be. It's not a big deal. It won't hinder his cultivation much..."
Is this about hindering cultivation?
Elder Song harbored these dissenting thoughts but dared not voice them outright. Instead, he chose his words carefully. "I'm afraid it will break the sect's rules and cause an unfavorable impression..."
Elder Xun raised an eyebrow. "What's there to criticize? If the other disciples have the ability, let the Dao Court ask them for help too, and I'll grant them leave for however many days they need."
"Do they have the capability?"
"For formations, it's not enough to just be skilled yourself. You have to use them, and others must know about them as well."
"It's a bad thing to be cooped up in the sect all day, only studying and practicing without ever applying your knowledge."
Elder Song was left speechless.
Noticing his reaction, Elder Xun softened his tone and said, "Moreover, this is a good thing..."
Elder Song was taken aback.
Elder Xun continued, "The Dao Court requesting Mo Hua's help is equivalent to asking for our Tai Xu Sect's assistance. In other words, they are seeking help from our Tai Xu Sect."
"Why are they seeking help from our Tai Xu Sect and not the Four Great Sects, the Tai Ah Men, the Chong Xu Men, or the other eight great sects and twelve schools?"
"This naturally shows that our Tai Xu Sect has capable disciples and effective teaching methods."
"Don't you think this is a good thing for our Tai Xu Sect?"
Elder Song was stunned for a moment, unable to refute.
After thinking about it carefully, he felt that it did indeed seem to be the case...
Aside from Mo Hua, he had never seen the Dao Court willing to send a "leave request" letter to the sect for any other disciple.
This proved that the disciples of Tai Xu Sect were exceptional, and their teaching methods were effective!
For a moment, Elder Song even felt a sense of pride as if he shared in this glory...
Elder Xun glanced at Elder Song indifferently. "Do you understand now?"
Elder Song nodded involuntarily.
Elder Xun concluded, "Then that settles it. Leave the letter here. I still have other matters to attend to."
Upon hearing this, Elder Song immediately cupped his hands and respectfully said, "Then I won't disturb you further, Elder."
After leaving the letter, Elder Song took his leave.
After Elder Song left, Elder Xun continued to focus on the object on his desk.
It was a compass.
Round as the sky and square as the earth, with crisscrossing lines, heavenly stems, earthly branches, and various fates. It was profound and intricate.
Elder Xun studied the compass, his brows furrowing deeper as his expression grew more solemn.
After a long time, he let out a long sigh and said helplessly,
"The calculations of our Tai Xu Sect... are indeed inadequate..."
"I can't figure it out..."
A sharp glint flashed in Elder Xun's cloudy eyes.
These days, he had been feeling anxious, as if the Tai Xu Sect was being targeted by some terrifying existence due to certain events.
This matter was of great significance and concerned the fate of the sect.
However, no matter how he pondered, calculated, and deduced, he couldn't unravel the mystery or discern the truth behind it all.
In a daze, he could only see the Tai Xu Sect being enveloped by a layer of purple, putrid chains of causality.
A pair of blood-colored, terrifying eyes stared at the Tai Xu Sect with malicious intent.
This crisis lurked in the shadows.
Undoubtedly, someone was plotting a bizarre conspiracy against the Tai Xu Sect.
But on the surface, nothing seemed amiss.
Elder Xun frowned, suddenly remembering the words of his senior brother, and he couldn't help but sigh.
His senior brother was right. If it were the Tai Xu Sect in its heyday, they wouldn't need to worry about these evil spirits. Even if there were a hundred evils, a thousand dangers, and ten thousand heretical thoughts, they could be slashed with a single sword!
But...
Elder Xun's eyes dimmed.
Now, the divine swords were sealed away, and swordsmanship was a forbidden art. No one could practice it, no one dared to, and no one wanted to anymore.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have had to force himself to study these clumsy heavenly calculations...
Elder Xun felt exhausted in both body and mind.
He looked at the compass for a while longer, but soon, his spiritual sense felt depleted, and his sea of consciousness ached.
Elder Xun rubbed his brows and closed the compass on the table. He closed his eyes to rest.
After a moment, he opened his eyes again, intending to continue his deductions, but he inadvertently noticed the letter on the table.
It was sealed with Gu Chang Huai's stamp.
"The Gu family..."
Elder Xun nodded slightly.
It seemed that Mo Hua had a good relationship with the Gu family.
Thinking of Mo Hua, Elder Xun's mood naturally eased, and his spiritual sense didn't feel as dry.
This child's talent for cultivation was lacking.
However, his spiritual sense talent was top-notch.
Even though he had just reached the early stages of foundation establishment, his spiritual sense had already reached the absurd level of sixteen strands, which was truly incomprehensible.
It seemed that their Tai Xu Sect had picked up a treasure.
As for seventeen strands...
Elder Xun pondered for a moment and shook his head.
The final barrier of the foundation establishment realm was too formidable and couldn't be broken through overnight.
Most likely, it would take until the middle or even late stages of foundation establishment, with the help of improved cultivation, to break through the sea of consciousness barrier and overcome the spiritual sense bottleneck in one fell swoop.
There was no rush...
For now, it was important to consolidate and deepen his foundation by learning more about formations.
Elder Xun paused, realizing that he hadn't paid attention to Mo Hua for quite some time.
Elder Xun felt relieved.
He was about to continue his study of the compass when he suddenly felt something was amiss as he activated his spiritual sense.
Mo Hua's figure was blurry and indistinct, and although he seemed busy, he didn't appear to be drawing formations.
Elder Xun paused, a slight frown creasing his brow.
What exactly was Mo Hua doing? Aside from drawing formations, what else could he do?
Elder Xun furrowed his brows, a hint of unease creeping into his heart.
...
On the other hand, in the small fishing village.
Gu An and Gu Quan had arrived as per Gu Chang Huai's orders, and they brought with them several divine artifacts for protection.
A Calm-Heart Mirror.
A Peaceful Spirit Jade.
And an Evil-Repelling Hairpin.
These three artifacts were rare and precious treasures from the Gu family collection, and although they were only second-grade, their effects were unique and the materials used scarce.
Mo Hua wasn't sure if they would be effective, but he figured it was worth a try.
Additionally, Mo Hua used the Gu family's secret order to summon over twenty Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Gu family.
Given the unknown risks within the well, they couldn't all go down, and there weren't enough artifacts to calm their spirits.
Mo Hua planned to have himself, Gu An, and Gu Quan, who were all at the late Foundation Establishment stage, take the calming artifacts and go down first to explore and assess the situation.
This was the most prudent course of action for the time being.
Before their departure, Mo Hua instructed Gu An and Gu Quan to use their authority as members of the Dao Court to order all the fishing cultivators in the village to stay indoors and not leave their homes.
He also instructed the other Gu family cultivators to guard the village tightly.
Just then, a fishing cultivator approached Mo Hua.
He was Laoyu's eldest son and the father of Xiaoshunzi and Xiaoshui'er. Mo Hua remembered his name was 'Yudahu'.
Without a word, Yudahu knelt down and earnestly pleaded, "Young Master, let me come with you!"
Mo Hua helped him up and shook his head. "No, it's too dangerous."
Yudahu remained kneeling, his eyes reddening as he said, "Xiaoshunzi and Xiaoshui'er are my sons..."
Mo Hua sighed and thought for a moment before finally agreeing. "Alright."
Yudahu's expression brightened, and he was filled with gratitude.
Mo Hua's thoughts stirred.
Their destination this time was the fishing village corrupted by the evil god.
As someone who wasn't a fishing cultivator, Mo Hua didn't know much about their ways, so having Yudahu with them would likely be a great help.
Moreover, they were going to rescue his two sons.
If they failed to save the children, Yudahu would suffer the pain of losing his sons twice over. Rather than let him endure that, it was better to let him take a chance.
After that, Mo Hua, accompanied by Gu An, Gu Quan, and Yudahu, arrived at the well behind the small fishing village.
Gu An, who had been observing the area, asked, "Young Master, is Over-the-River Dragon hiding in this well?"
Mo Hua nodded.
Gu An and Gu Quan exchanged glances.
Yudahu also hesitantly added, "This is the well our village draws water from. How can it hide people...?"
"You'll see soon enough..."
Mo Hua replied and then took out his brush and ink, beginning to draw formations around the well.
Once he finished drawing the formations, they lit up, and the well trembled. It then revealed its true form, just like the other night.
This was a dry well and the true entrance to the lair of the evil god.
At the same time, crimson blood mist surged forth.
However, only Mo Hua could see this mist.
Gu An, Gu Quan, and the others were shocked. They hadn't expected the secret to be hidden within the well.
But they couldn't see the blood within the mist; they only felt the mist grow heavier, and their bodies grew colder. Despite it being daytime, the air felt chilly.
As Mo Hua prepared to descend, he suddenly remembered something else.
He recalled that the night Over-the-River Dragon had jumped into the well, he had been carrying a fish basket with several large dead fish.
Those fish had large heads and strange patterns on their bodies, and they looked rather ugly.
Mo Hua was a bit puzzled.
Why had Over-the-River Dragon brought those dead fish with him? He pondered for a moment and figured that since Over-the-River Dragon had brought them, he should probably bring some too.
When in doubt, it was best to follow the example of others.
Mo Hua took out some paper and a brush and drew the appearance of those dead fish, then asked Yudahu, "What kind of fish is this?"
Yudahu furrowed his brows and examined the drawing for a while before remembering, "I think it's dead banyu fish."
"Dead banyu fish?" Mo Hua was slightly taken aback but didn't ask further. Instead, he directly asked, "Can you get some?"
"Yes!" Yudahu replied confidently.
Without another word, he ran off to the front of the village. After about half an incense stick's worth of time, Yudahu returned with three large, ugly, gray dead banyu fish.
It seemed he had borrowed them from one of the village households.
Mo Hua nodded.
Now that everything was prepared, they could descend into the well.
Before doing so, Mo Hua paused and gave final instructions. "Listen carefully. This well is extremely dangerous. Once we're inside, you must follow my instructions to the letter. Even the slightest deviation could lead to terrible consequences..."
Yudahu was taken aback but then bit his lip and nodded seriously.
Mo Hua also said to Gu An and Gu Quan, "Gu An, Gu Quan, the same goes for you two."
Gu An and Gu Quan's expressions turned solemn, but they also nodded firmly.
They were members of the Gu family and held positions in the Dao Court. They often dealt with sinful cultivators and heretics, so they were no strangers to risk.
While they wouldn't say they faced death without fear, they certainly weren't the type to shrink from danger.
Moreover, they didn't feel that their lives were more valuable than that of the young master before them.
At such a young age and only at the early Foundation Establishment stage, the young master was willing to take such risks. How could they, as his seniors, hesitate?
"Young Master, we'll follow your lead," Gu An and Gu Quan said in unison.
Mo Hua gave a slight nod and then took a deep breath, his gaze falling on the well shrouded in blood mist. With a solemn voice, he said, "Let's go."
"Yes!" Gu An and the others nodded.
Gu An and Gu Quan jumped into the well first.
Yudahu, his mind filled with thoughts of his two sons, followed closely behind with a determined expression.
Lastly, Mo Hua, without any hesitation, leaped into the blood-colored well, the entrance to the evil god's lair.
(End of Chapter)
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