Chapter 696: The Sinister Mind Splits
Chapter 696: The Sinister Mind Splits
"The River God's Temple..."
Mo Hua gazed towards the distant temple, its blood-red glow filling the sky, his eyes narrowing slightly.
After clearing out the demons with the Earth-Killing Formation, more continued to pour in relentlessly. Mo Hua deployed the Restraining Formation to buy some time, protecting the group as they distanced themselves from the dojo, taking a temporary rest in an empty courtyard.
Now away from the dojo, they had also distanced themselves from the demons' blood refinement formation.
Those deformed demons, nurtured by the blood refinement formation, couldn't stray too far from it, and so they no longer pursued.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Mo Hua's gaze turned solemn as he looked towards one of the Gu family cultivators; his face was deathly pale, and his brows were furrowed, indicating that his spiritual sense was showing signs of depletion.
During the earlier skirmish, this Gu family cultivator had a demon get too close, and his spiritual sense was drained.
Although Mo Hua had quickly driven away the demon, a portion of his spiritual sense had already been consumed.
"Demons born of flesh and blood can feed on cultivators' spiritual sense..."
Mo Hua frowned.
These deformed demons were like zombies—difficult to kill and impossible to eradicate.
With their small group, it was impossible to eliminate them all.
Although these demons might not be considered exceptionally strong in direct combat, their ability to feed on spiritual sense made them a formidable threat...
No matter how high your cultivation might be, once you're surrounded by this demon horde, fearless in the face of death, and have your spiritual sense drained by their proximity, you will quickly find yourself depleted, losing consciousness and becoming helpless prey for the demons.
And in the Second-Rank State, such a number of demons could be considered a terrifying force.
If unleashed, they could slaughter an entire city.
Ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators were no match for them.
Without a means to defend against spiritual sense attacks, even a Golden Core cultivator might find their spiritual sense drained in an ambush, only to be devoured alive by the demons.
In fact, most people, unaware of the demons' ability to feed on spiritual sense, would likely die without even knowing how it happened.
Mo Hua's expression turned grave, and he let out a soft sigh.
Fortunately, these demons couldn't stray too far from the blood refinement formation; otherwise, the consequences would be truly unimaginable...
Mo Hua glanced towards the distant temple, the deformed demons, and the heads of the cultivators bobbing in the formation. His mind sank into deep thought.
So this is the 'preaching ground' of the evil god...
This is the true work of the evil god? Is this how the evil god truly 'preaches'? So bloody and sinister, extinguishing all traces of humanity...
Who is it that aids in the evil god's preaching, and can they even be considered human?
Mo Hua's eyes deepened, and his expression turned icy.
The undercurrents in Qianzhou are truly turbulent...
Mo Hua sighed again and patted the Gu family cultivator on the shoulder. "Meditate and rest. Your spiritual sense has been depleted."
The Gu family cultivator was taken aback but didn't force himself. Instead, he asked in confusion, "I don't know what's wrong, but my head suddenly started hurting terribly..."
Mo Hua thought for a moment before deciding to tell them the truth: "Those demons can feed on people's spiritual sense."
Upon hearing this, everyone's hearts trembled, but their expressions remained bewildered. "Demons? They can feed on spiritual sense?"
Could there be such monsters in this world? Mo Hua felt helpless.
Most cultivators who didn't cultivate spiritual sense were truly ignorant about its ways.
Although Gu An and Gu Quan found it hard to believe, they knew that Mo Hua wouldn't deceive them about such a matter.
In the vast world of cultivation, there were countless strange things.
It was just that this was the first time they had encountered such a bizarre event, so it was difficult to accept immediately.
Gu An's eyes narrowed slightly as he asked in a low voice, "Young Master Mo, how did you know that these demons can feed on spiritual sense?"
Everyone turned to look at Mo Hua upon hearing this.
Mo Hua thought for a moment before bringing up the versatile "Mr. Xun": "I studied formations with Mr. Xun at Tai Xu Men. He's the one who told me about this."
Everyone was taken aback, and then their expressions cleared as they realized.
Mr. Xun...
Although they didn't know who this Mr. Xun was, the fact that he taught at Tai Xu Men and held the title of "Mr. Xun" meant that he must be a respected, knowledgeable, and highly regarded figure.
It was only natural that he would be aware of some of the strange behaviors of demons and warn his disciples accordingly.
They turned their gazes back to Mo Hua.
To be personally taught by such a venerable elder, this Young Master Mo must also be an extraordinary figure.
Either he possessed exceptional talent, came from a remarkable background, or perhaps both.
Everyone's respect for Mo Hua deepened.
Now it seemed that the fishing village was fraught with danger.
Such a noble young master was taking an active role, risking his life alongside them, the law enforcement officers of the Dao Court. His courage, strategies, and character were comparable to those of Young Master Chang Huai.
No, he was even more impressive than Young Master Chang Huai.
After all, Young Master Chang Huai had only started taking on frontline battles after reaching the latter stages of the Foundation Establishment realm and graduating from his sect.
Young Master Mo, on the other hand, was only at the early stages of Foundation Establishment and hadn't been in his sect for long, yet he could remain calm and command wisely in such a perilous place.
No wonder Young Master Chang Huai had entrusted such an important secret mission of the Gu family to this young master.
Mo Hua's standing in the eyes of the Gu family cultivators rose yet again.
The group continued to rest in their current location.
The Gu family cultivator who had his spiritual sense drained sat on the ground to meditate and rest. He didn't know how to meditate, so his spiritual sense recovered very slowly, but it was better than nothing.
Mo Hua had no other solution.
His own spiritual sense was strong and recovered quickly, but he couldn't help the others in this regard.
The rest of the Gu family cultivators also took healing pills as they meditated to recover from their injuries.
In the earlier battle with the demons, everyone had sustained some wounds.
The demons' claws carried demonic energy, and after being soaked in the putrid blood for so long, they had also developed a toxicity similar to corpse poison.
Although it wasn't as bizarre as corpse poison, it was still necessary to detoxify as soon as possible.
Mo Hua sat nearby, propping his chin with his hand as he focused his thoughts.
Suddenly, Yu Dahe's face changed drastically, and his emotions became agitated.
Mo Hua noticed and turned to see that the two children, Xiao Shunzi and Xiao Shuizi, were turning pale, their lips drying out, and their blood flow slowing.
Yu Dahe's eyes turned red, and tears flowed from the corners of his eyes.
Mo Hua's heart tightened as he knew that time was running out.
Either the River God had started consuming the 'offerings,' or the two children had been out of their bodies for too long, and their flesh was starting to rot...
Yu Dahe looked at Mo Hua with a pleading expression.
Mo Hua let out a soft sigh.
Those two children must be saved, no matter what.
And as for the River God's Temple, he was determined to go there himself.
If he didn't go now, there might not be another chance.
The River God's Temple was right behind the dojo.
Mo Hua's thoughts turned inward as he considered the situation.
Since they couldn't hope to kill all the demons in the dojo, their only option was to break through the encirclement and charge straight ahead.
If they were to make a break for it...
With the deeply cultivated Gu An and Gu Quan leading the way, the others providing cover, and himself supporting with formations...
As long as they could break out of the encirclement and enter the River God's Temple, those demons probably wouldn't dare to pursue them inside.
The only problem was how to prevent their spiritual sense from being devoured by the demons...
"Are there any spirit-calming artifacts?" Mo Hua asked.
"Even if we have them, there are only three, not enough to protect everyone..." came the response.
"To protect the spiritual sense..." Mo Hua muttered to himself.
Suddenly, an idea flashed through his mind.
"A divine path formation!"
Based on his current understanding of divine path formations, this type of formation that emphasized the power of spiritual force could, to a certain extent, restrain or seal divine beings.
If it could "seal" the power of a divine being, then couldn't it also "seal" a cultivator's spiritual sense?
Using a divine path formation to seal the spiritual sense within the sea of consciousness?
If the spiritual sense was sealed within, then naturally, it wouldn't be devoured by the demons, just like putting a lid on a teapot to prevent the water from being drunk.
Mo Hua felt that his speculation made sense...
But it needed to be tested.
After some contemplation, Mo Hua drew a divine path formation pattern that he had recently learned and was still quite rudimentary on a piece of palm-sized formation paper.
He then took out a black cloth, wrapped the formation paper, and tied it to a black-clothed man's forehead.
"Later, we'll throw him out there for the demons to 'nibble' on while I test the formation..." Mo Hua explained nonchalantly.
The black-clothed man, whose hands and feet were bound and mouth sealed, looked at Mo Hua with terrified eyes, as if he were staring at a little evil spirit from hell.
Gu An nodded. Although he didn't know what formation Mo Hua was testing, he didn't ask because even if he asked, he wouldn't understand the explanation.
Gu An picked up the black-clothed man, ignoring his struggles, and walked straight toward the dojo.
Mo Hua followed closely behind.
In the center of the dojo, a large number of demons were gathered, but on the periphery, only a few stragglers were wandering about.
Mo Hua scanned the area and spotted two demons in a distant corner, tilting their heads with their hands and feet bent backward as they crawled awkwardly.
"Over there," Mo Hua pointed.
Gu An nodded and, following Mo Hua's order, threw the black-clothed man in the direction of the two demons.
The black-clothed man's face turned as white as paper, but bound by restraints, he was powerless to struggle, and could only watch helplessly as he drew closer to the two terrifying demons.
Finally, with a thud, the black-clothed man landed about three meters away from the two demons.
Prey had fallen from the sky.
The eyes of the two demons turned red, and they immediately used their hands and feet to scramble toward the black-clothed man.
One demon gnawed on the man's leg while the other crawled onto his face and began to suck on his forehead.
The black cloth on the black-clothed man's forehead glowed slightly.
The divine path formation activated, sealing his spiritual sense within his sea of consciousness.
No matter how hard the demon tried, it couldn't suck out any spiritual sense.
Just as the demon was about to lose patience and open its mouth wide to swallow the man's head whole, Mo Hua said:
"That's enough."
This person was an offering, and he couldn't be allowed to die yet.
Gu An obeyed and, in a flash, rushed toward the two demons. He kicked one away and, turning around, slashed off the head of the other with his sword. Then, grabbing the black-clothed man by the collar, he pulled him back to safety.
The demons in the distance heard the commotion and began to crawl toward them.
Mo Hua threw out a formation plate and two formation flags, detonating a formation to block the approaching demons.
These formation mediums had been refined by Gu's master for Mo Hua.
Mo Hua had casually drawn some formations on them to deal with emergencies.
Using the cover of the formation, the two of them once again evaded the demons and returned to the courtyard.
"The formation works," Mo Hua said succinctly. "Later, I'll draw a formation for each of you to stick on your foreheads and wrap with black cloth to prevent the demons from feeding on your spiritual sense..."
"After that, I'll set up a formation to attract the demons' attention."
"The rest of you will take the opportunity to make a dash for it. Once you break through the dojo and enter the River God's Temple, you should be temporarily safe."
"Xiao Shunzi and Xiao Shuizi will then have a glimmer of hope."
"Yes!"
The Gu family cultivators couldn't help but respond with solemn voices.
Yu Dahe's heart stirred, and he wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes. His tall figure knelt on the ground, and he bowed deeply to the cultivators present.
...
There were too many demons in the dojo, and to break through, they had to reduce the number of surrounding demons as much as possible.
Mo Hua took out several small tigers, smeared them with a bit of human blood—the black-clothed man's blood, and inserted a formation flag on each of them. The flags were inscribed with the fireworks formation.
Large-scale destructive formations were difficult to set up and time-consuming.
Since the goal was to lure the enemy, the fireworks formation would do the trick.
Regardless of its power, the most suitable formation for the task was the strongest formation.
Mo Hua activated the fireworks formation and simultaneously controlled the little tigers to run in four different directions.
Several little tigers, each carrying a sparkling flag, scampered off in different directions.
The formation flags continuously emitted brilliant and colorful fireworks, which looked strikingly beautiful against the gloomy backdrop of the fishing village but were also painfully bright.
All the demons froze.
The dazzling fireworks illuminated their ugly faces.
The scene was extremely incongruous.
However, the human blood on the flags and the spiritual power fluctuations from the formations still attracted them, prompting them to chase instinctively.
Numerous demons began to pursue the little tigers, and the dojo instantly descended into chaos.
The group sprinted forward with all their might.
Soon, some demons noticed Mo Hua and his companions, letting out shrill cries as they charged toward them on all fours or ran on two legs.
The expressions of the group turned grim as they braced themselves for the impending battle.
Gu An's voice rang out sternly, "Don't fall behind!" He and Gu Quan immediately joined forces.
One held a blade in his left hand, the other in his right, their blade techniques complementing each other as the light of their blades merged into one, surging like a raging wave that sliced through the approaching demons.
Gu An and Gu Quan, with their identical spiritual roots, cultivated a mutually enhancing set of techniques.
Their swordplay was a twin-linked style passed down in the Gu family, known as the Gemini Linked Blade Technique.
This technique was only moderately powerful when used by a single person, but when the brothers cultivated it together, its might increased significantly, comparable to an advanced technique.
Moreover, since it was a combined attack, it consumed far less spiritual power.
Gu An and Gu Quan forged a path with their linked blade techniques, their attacks sweeping aside all obstacles.
The others provided cover on the flanks, fending off the demons that pounced at them.
Following Mo Hua's instructions, Yu Dahe focused solely on carrying his two sons, sprinting forward with all his might. Even when a demon claw slashed his arm, he kept his gaze forward, his determination unwavering, without the slightest hint of retreat.
At the rear of the group were the two black-clothed men, being dragged along.
Demons had already climbed onto their bodies and were frantically sucking at their faces, but Mo Hua had sealed their foreheads with divine path formations, preventing the demons from absorbing their spiritual sense.
These demons, obsessed with sucking spiritual sense, became live targets for Mo Hua's spells.
Mo Hua blasted them away with fireballs.
As for the two black-clothed men, they had fainted from the terror of having the hideous demons sucking on their faces.
In this manner, the group plowed through the dense crowd of demons in the spacious dojo, cleaving through the waves with relentless determination.
Blade light filled the sky, and spells flew in all directions.
Occasionally, there were also explosions from the standardized talismans of the Dao Court.
Due to their constant high-speed rush, Mo Hua didn't have time to set up formations and could only support them with rapid spells.
Golden Blade Art, Water Prison Art, Fireball Art, Quicksand Art, Wood Binding Art...
Various elemental spells were continuously unleashed.
Some were offensive, some were restraining, and some were defensive, all aimed at limiting the group of demons.
There were also demons that got too close, attempting to suck their spiritual sense.
However, since Mo Hua had sealed everyone's foreheads with formations, this most troublesome ability of the demons was rendered ineffective.
In this way, the group continued their relentless charge forward.
Gu An and Gu Quan were exhausted from the relentless slaughter.
Mo Hua frequently cast low-level spells, and his spiritual power was almost depleted.
The others gritted their teeth and persevered.
After an unknown amount of time, the end of the dojo came into view, and they could see the River God's Temple with its flying eaves and golden roof in the distance.
The pursuing demons slowed down.
It seemed that they were nearing the edge of the blood refinement formation, and the demons' movements became restricted.
The group's spirits rose.
The River God's Temple was right before them, and they were about to break free.
However, the longer the intense battle dragged on, the easier it was to become lax toward the end.
A few of the Gu family cultivators breathed a slight sigh of relief, but that moment of relaxation caused their tense state of mind to suddenly lose balance, and all their exhaustion rushed back.
Their qi and blood were depleted, their spiritual power stagnated, and the two Gu family cultivators couldn't muster the strength to continue, collapsing to the ground.
Mo Hua's heart sank.
Seeing several demons closing in from behind, Mo Hua immediately shouted, "Little Brother An, Little Brother Quan!"
Gu An and Gu Quan immediately stopped and turned back, picking up the two Gu family cultivators and carrying them on their backs.
Mo Hua gave a decisive order, "You go first!"
Gu An and Gu Quan hesitated for a moment, concerned about Mo Hua, but their instincts made them obey his command. Carrying their companions, they summoned their strength and ran forward.
Mo Hua stayed at the back. With a wave of his hand, he instantly crushed several ink bottles, splattering spiritual ink all around.
His pupils turned pitch-black as he pushed the Heaven's Calculation Technique to its limit, his spiritual sense flowing at its peak.
It's not enough!
Faster! The shadows in Mo Hua's eyes trembled and split into two, and the burden on his spiritual sense intensified, pushing him to the brink.
But the charging demons were still too fast...
"Faster..."
Mo Hua gritted his teeth, pushing the formation to its limit.
Just then, Mo Hua's eyes flashed with golden light.
The essence of his spirit fused with his spiritual sense, solidifying his sea of consciousness and bearing the burden of the Heaven's Calculation Technique.
Mo Hua's spiritual sense trembled violently, twisted, and at the brink of his limit, it divided once more, manifesting three shadows.
One true self, three shadows, four divisions of spiritual sense, manipulating the spiritual ink.
Controlled by his spiritual sense, the spiritual ink split into four strands, advancing in unison at an unprecedented speed, swiftly forming a second-rate sixteen-pattern Earth-Killing Formation!
Just at that moment, several demons reached Mo Hua.
Their ugly fish-like faces, ferocious fangs, and cold pupils were clearly visible...
They opened their mouths wide, revealing sharp teeth as they lunged at Mo Hua.
Mo Hua's expression remained indifferent as he calmly said,
"Explode!"
The Earth-Killing Formation, under the guidance of his spiritual sense, instantly detonated.
The ground shook violently, and a surge of spiritual power engulfed the fish demons, shredding them to pieces in an instant.
After using the Earth-Killing Formation to kill those demons, Mo Hua turned to leave. However, after taking only a few steps, his spiritual power suddenly stalled, and his Steps of Flowing Water came to a halt.
Mo Hua's spiritual sense also throbbed with intense pain.
It seemed that in that instant of using the Heaven's Calculation Technique with three divisions to create a formation, his spiritual sense had been exhausted.
Mo Hua's legs softened, and he was about to fall to the ground.
Just then, Gu Quan, who had returned after saving the others, caught Mo Hua.
Gu An also fought his way back, his blade light flashing as he drove back the other demons.
The two brothers protected Mo Hua, fighting and retreating until they finally left the range of the blood refinement formation and exited the chaotic dojo.
The pursuing demons lingered at the edge of the dojo, growling and snarling at Mo Hua and the others, but they dared not step out of bounds.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
