Chapter 701: Slaying a God
Chapter 701: Slaying a God
In front of the River God Temple.
Mo Hua's small stature stood off against the tall and bizarre River God, but her demeanor did not falter in the face of this formidable foe.
The surroundings had been reduced to ruins, with crumbled walls and a dilapidated temple.
Most of the River God Temple had first been submerged by the River God's boundless Blood River divine ability, and then incinerated by Mo Hua's Li Fire Restoration Formation, manifested through her divine sense.
In the midst of the wreckage, only the square where Yu Xiu knelt in worship and the main hall behind the River God remained intact.
The River God regarded Mo Hua with a glance that held deep wariness.
Mo Hua, on the other hand, appeared calm and unafraid, but she found this situation rather tricky, especially with the overwhelming might of the Blood River.
Even cultivators who specialized in divine sense swordplay would find it difficult to survive against such a powerful Blood River technique, unless their sword intent had reached the pinnacle.
That senior sword cultivator from back then must have broken through this Blood River technique as well.
However, Mo Hua hadn't seen it when she was deducing the cause and effect.
It was probably because the fluctuations caused by the clash of divine senses during the battle were too intense, obscuring the cause and effect, so she only caught a fleeting glimpse and couldn't observe the specific process of the battle.
That senior must have mastered the true legacy of sword transformation from the Tai Xu Sect and honed his sword path over many years to possess such divine sense power, enabling him to confront a deity head-on.
Ordinary cultivators, and even most sword cultivators who specialized in divine sense swordplay, would have absolutely no chance of survival when facing such a genuinely divine-level "technique."
"So this is... the true power of a deity."
"Innate divine ability..."
Mo Hua was deeply shaken, and then a thought suddenly popped into her mind:
"...I wonder if I can learn it?"
Divine ability!
Those two words sounded so mighty!
If she could learn it, wouldn't she be as powerful as a deity?
Mo Hua's heart stirred.
However, she also knew that she wasn't a true "deity," and since this divine ability was an innate talent, it was probably something that couldn't be learned afterward.
What a pity...
Mo Hua stared at the River God again.
For now, she and this big fish head seemed evenly matched, and it didn't seem easy to truly defeat it.
The River God shared the same thought.
As it gazed at Mo Hua, its expression turned solemn, and it said in a hoarse voice, "In these past few hundred years, you are the second person to make me feel so troubled."
"The first was a sword cultivator."
"Hundreds of years ago, he came here alone. With just himself and his sword, he wanted to eradicate my path. His sword techniques were profound and his sword intent was extremely fierce..."
"If I hadn't been slightly more skilled, I would have fallen to his hands."
"But no matter how strong his sword intent was, he was still just a 'human,' and he couldn't change the fact that his divine sense was fragile."
"You, on the other hand, are different..."
The River God's eyes widened slightly, revealing a hint of astonishment.
"...Your divine sense is extremely powerful; you are experienced in killing with your divine sense; and your methods of using your divine sense are endless. You can manifest spells and even such profound formations..."
"One could say that you resemble a 'deity' more than a 'human.'"
"But even with your powerful divine sense, your killing power is far inferior to that sword cultivator from back then."
"His divine sense was too extreme. It was sword transformation, and his sword was his divine sense, so his sword could injure me, but I could also easily inflict heavy damage on him."
"Your divine sense, on the other hand, is a balance of offense and defense. It's too well-rounded. Even though I've used my divine ability, I can't kill you, but conversely, you can't do anything to me either..."
The River God's expression was cold.
Mo Hua licked her lips. "You won't know unless you try."
Without another word, she charged at the River God once more, engaging in close-quarters combat with her fists and feet, and using spells to restrict the River God from a distance. Occasionally, she would manifest a few formations to blast the River God.
The River God countered Mo Hua's attacks, sometimes using its white bone fish spear to condense blood-colored spikes, and sometimes deploying its Blood River divine ability to corrode Mo Hua's divine sense.
However, this time, the scale of the divine ability was smaller, covering only a few dozen meters around its body, condensing a blood-colored river of evil thoughts to restrict Mo Hua's attacks.
After dozens of rounds of fighting, Mo Hua had a slight advantage but was unable to determine a clear winner. Indeed, as the River God had said, she couldn't do anything to it.
Mo Hua suddenly realized something and punched forward, her hand glowing with golden light. The River God blocked with its blood-colored demonic claws.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Mo Hua retreated to create some distance and asked with displeasure, "Are you stalling for time?"
The River God saw that Mo Hua had figured it out and smiled slightly, revealing its white fangs.
"You are human, and humans have physical bodies. I just need to keep you trapped in this dream. As long as your physical body outside rots away or meets with an accident and perishes..."
"...Then even if your divine sense is strong, it will become a rootless duckweed. Either you will die and your soul will perish, or you will fall into depravity and become an evil ghost..."
"If you die, you will bring about your own destruction."
"If you become an evil ghost, your primordial qi will be greatly damaged, and you won't be my match."
"Therefore, from the moment you entered this dream, I have been in an invincible position."
Mo Hua frowned, thinking for a moment before saying sincerely, "I admit defeat. I don't want to play anymore. Will you let me out?"
The River God's eyelids twitched.
This little brat had some nerve.
In all its years, it had seen many humans, demons, ghosts, and deities, but it had never seen anyone admit defeat so bluntly, calmly, and shamelessly.
However, it didn't believe a word Mo Hua said.
This little cultivator might be young, but she was cunning and peculiar. Not a single word that came out of her mouth could be trusted.
The River God scoffed but didn't reply.
Mo Hua sighed and, without another word, immediately turned and ran.
The River God didn't pay much attention at first, but when it saw the direction Mo Hua was running in—toward the square where Yu Xiu knelt—its eyes narrowed.
"Little brat, do you want to destroy my dojo?!"
The River God transformed into a blood-colored torrent, its evil thoughts surging as it chased after Mo Hua.
However, after a long pursuit, even when it reached the square, there was still no sign of Mo Hua.
"Where did it go?"
The River God furrowed its strange eyebrows.
After a moment of thought, it suddenly felt a sense of shock, and exclaimed, "The main hall!"
This little brat had somehow concealed its aura and was using a feint!
It wanted to steal the victory!
The River God was so angry that its hair stood on end. It immediately reversed the flow of the Blood River and returned to the front of the main hall at an even faster speed.
Enraged, the River God immediately charged into the main hall.
Inside, the hall was adorned with blood-red silk and golden canopies, intricate carvings, and lavish decorations. Various skull sculptures and blood-colored pearls formed from evil thoughts were scattered about, giving the place an eerie, underworld-like atmosphere.
It was like an underwater dragon's palace, but one steeped in blood and adorned with white bones.
At the center of the hall stood an altar.
The altar was simple yet elegant, with intricate carvings and luxurious offerings. It exuded a solemn and sacred aura.
At the center of the altar was a statue of the River God, crafted from gold and stone. It bore an exact resemblance to the River God, except for the two ram horns protruding from its head, giving it a bizarre appearance.
Below the statue was an offering table.
Upon the table lay an array of fish delicacies, but upon closer inspection, they were all made from human flesh.
In the center of the table was a glass fishbowl filled with blood-red fish.
Kneeling below the table were Yu Xiu's two sons. They were devoutly worshipping the River God statue, and two special blood fish swam in their minds, seemingly "synchronizing" with them.
The two children appeared to be undergoing a transformation, as their cheeks sprouted blood-red gills, their skin developed blue fish scales, and their hands and feet showed signs of fin-like mutations, slowly turning them into "little kappas."
At this moment, Mo Hua stood before the altar, stroking her chin as she pondered, nodding slightly.
First, her guess was correct.
The River God had submerged most of the River God Temple with his Boundless Blood River divine ability, but he had spared two places: the square and the main hall.
The square was where his followers gathered, the foundation of his preaching.
As for the main hall, Mo Hua had never entered it before, so she didn't know what was inside.
However, the fact that the River God hadn't flooded the main hall meant that it contained something equally or even more important than the foundation of his preaching.
Since the battle was at a stalemate, Mo Hua decided to take a look inside. So, she pretended to run towards the square but instead used her concealment technique to sneak back, break into the main hall, and enter the River God's true "lair." There, she discovered the true altar.
The River God never expected Mo Hua to be capable of concealment.
Nor did he anticipate her audacity and cunning! As he watched her, his entire body trembled with rage.
Mo Hua stood before the altar, her eyes narrowing in a smile at the River God.
In an instant, the River God understood Mo Hua's intentions, and his heart trembled with fear. He roared:
"How dare you?!"
But Mo Hua was fearless.
With lightning speed, she grabbed the glass fishbowl, smashed it to the ground, and stomped on the blood-red fish inside, killing them one by one.
Then, she lifted her foot and kicked over the offering table. She spun around and kicked the River God statue, even climbing on top of it to break off its two ram horns.
Mo Hua moved swiftly.
The River God, being at a distance, was unable to stop her in time and could only watch helplessly as she wreaked havoc, turning the entire altar into a mess within moments.
The River God's heart was bleeding.
This altar was the product of his painstaking efforts over centuries, yet it had been destroyed in the blink of an eye.
Rage burned within him, causing his evil thoughts to boil, and the blood color of his robe turned pitch-black.
As the altar was destroyed and the glass fishbowl shattered, the blood fish in the minds of Yu Xiu's two sons seemed to wither and die like fish out of water.
The transformation of the two children also stopped.
"As expected," Mo Hua thought.
To truly eradicate evil, one must get to the root. To expel evil spirits, one must target their source.
The altar was the key to everything.
At that moment, in the square outside, the blood fish in the minds of the worshipping Yu Xiu also died one by one.
The fishermen's eyes gradually cleared, as if waking up from a nightmare. Their hazy recognition returned, and they slowly regained some consciousness while simultaneously detaching themselves from the dream.
The entire River God Temple seemed to be trembling.
This "collective nightmare" was constructed by the River God but sustained by the fishermen's faith.
Now that the altar was destroyed, the nightmare lost its source, and as the fishermen woke up, they inevitably shook the foundation of the nightmare.
The River God's eyes had turned completely red.
He was already on high alert, but he never imagined that he would encounter such an outrageous human brat.
Not only was her divine sense extraordinarily strong, but her mind was also cunning and deceitful.
By drawing his attention elsewhere, she directly destroyed the altar, indicating that she knew more than a little about the ways of the divine.
In fact, she might know a lot.
The taboos of the divine path were secrets passed down only among divine beings, and mortals only knew a minuscule fraction of them.
"Which damned miscellaneous divine being taught this brat about the taboos of the divine?! I'll tear them into a thousand pieces!" the River God thought furiously.
The River God's body began to distort and deform.
His fish head seemed to have a tumor, alternately swelling and shrinking.
This was due to his anger, as well as the "nightmare" being shattered, which shook his very foundation.
"Good..."
The River God's voice was hoarse and twisted, and his expression was hideous and terrifying.
"You want to ruin my dojo, sever my roots, and destroy my divine path..."
"Then I shall devour every single human and beast, strengthening my divine sense, and then I shall slowly torture you, devouring you alive..."
The River God transformed into a blood river and disappeared in an instant.
Mo Hua's heart sank as she sensed something amiss. She immediately turned her body into flowing water and rushed to the front square of the temple.
Upon reaching the square, she saw a bloody scene.
A deformed fish monster with an oversized head, a monstrous body, and blood-red skin stood in the center. Its thick fish whiskers, resembling tentacles, spread out and bound several fishermen, sucking away at their divine senses.
The awakened fishermen were filled with terror, struggling and trying to escape.
Mo Hua instantly recognized that the fish monster was the River God's transformation.
She manipulated her divine sense to manifest the five elemental spells—metal blades, water arrows, and fireballs—attacking the blood-colored fish whiskers and cutting, burning, and destroying them.
However, there were too many fish whiskers, and Mo Hua couldn't keep up.
Furthermore, it even summoned a strand of evil thought that didn't belong to it.
This strand of evil thought was exceptionally familiar to Mo Hua; he had even 'consumed' it before.
The Great Wilderness Evil God...
Mo Hua frowned, his expression grave as he gritted his teeth and focused his mind, seemingly intending to condense a large formation to deal with the River God.
However, before he could finish, several blood-colored fish whiskers suddenly drilled out from the ground and pierced his calves, binding him tightly and hoisting him up in front of the River God.
Mo Hua struggled, but the whiskers were entwined with the Great Wilderness Evil God's evil thoughts, making them exceptionally sturdy and impossible to break free from.
No matter how much Mo Hua struggled, he couldn't escape.
The River God's voice was icy cold, carrying a hint of mockery. "Struggling is futile..."
"I've said it before, your divine sense is strong, but it's too well-rounded. Everything is strong, but nothing is at the extreme."
"Unlike that sword cultivator from back then, his divine sense was far inferior to yours, but his sword intent was at its peak..."
"That's why he could severely injure me, but you can't!"
"You can't break through my divine body. Within my nightmare, you are powerless against me."
Upon hearing this, Mo Hua stopped struggling, seemingly giving up resistance.
A moment later, his crisp voice rang out again.
"Is there a possibility...?"
Mo Hua looked at the River God, just inches away from him, and suddenly smiled. "...that I can also transform my divine sense into a sword?"
The River God was taken aback, its pupils suddenly widening in horror.
At the same time, a sharp golden light appeared.
Vast and transformative divine power, comparable to the might of a deity, surged into Mo Hua's right hand and continued to compress and condense, forming an extremely heavy and refined sword shape.
The sword was rough, like a sword embryo, but the divine power within it was at its peak, and the killing intent was icy cold.
It was like a divine sword, condensed from powerful divine power! A bit of divine marrow was infused into the sword, giving it an edge.
Mo Hua casually waved his hand, and the pale golden light flashed, condensing into a golden thread that effortlessly sliced through all the tough, evil thought-infused fish whiskers in front of him!
Horrifying fear filled the River God's eyes.
The crisis of life and death was right before it, and the danger was even more terrifying than the sword strike from hundreds of years ago.
The River God struggled and backed away, wanting to put some distance between itself and Mo Hua, wanting to get away from this 'Little Yama' with the golden sword.
But it was too late.
Mo Hua's figure flashed, and he was already in front of the River God. His left hand pressed against its shoulder, and his right hand, holding the divine sense sword, thrust forward.
The golden light was sharp, and it pierced through the River God's chest.
Just like hundreds of years ago, when the sword cultivator had struck out with his sword.
But the sword cultivator's sword was silver.
Mo Hua's sword was golden.
With his powerful divine sense, infused with pale golden divine marrow, it was a true 'divine' sword.
The River God's chest was pierced by the pale golden sword light.
The sword intent transformed into a sword energy that shredded the blood-colored evil thoughts in its chest, tearing them to pieces.
A huge cloud of blood mist burst forth.
The River God's evil thoughts also dissipated, and its entire divine body deflated like a punctured balloon, eventually returning to its original form.
The fishermen who had been sucked by the River God's fish whiskers were also freed from its grasp.
Their eyes were filled with terror as they struggled to escape.
Mo Hua instantly recognized that the fish monster was the River God's transformation.
He manipulated his divine sense to manifest the five elemental spells—metal blades, water arrows, and fireballs—attacking the blood-colored fish whiskers and cutting, burning, and destroying them.
However, there were too many fish whiskers, and Mo Hua couldn't keep up.
(End of Chapter)
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