Chapter 774: A Deadly Plot
Chapter 774: A Deadly Plot
Something was amiss.
How could a blacksmith know how to draw array formations?
If he had drawn a sword formation, that would be one thing, but how could he possibly know the nearly-lost divine array patterns? How had he learned them? Were divine array formations so insignificant now?
Mo Hua was filled with doubts.
He narrowed his eyes, focusing on the sneaky old demon cultivator and the array pattern he had drawn, his expression turning solemn.
This old man kept retracing the same pattern over and over.
In other words, this might be the only array pattern he knew.
But this particular array pattern was bizarre.
It was different from the gate-type divine array patterns Mo Hua had encountered at the well in the small fishing village and within the River God Temple.
It was also distinct from the mist-like divine array pattern he had derived in the Myriad Demon Secret Realm.
It was an entirely new type of divine array pattern, one that Mo Hua had never seen before.
"Could this be one of the array formations from the complete system of divine array formations that Elder Xun Zixian mentioned, existing within an entire vein in the Myriad Demon Valley?" Mo Hua furrowed his brows.
But what was the purpose of this array pattern?
Why had the old demon cultivator drawn it on his lifebond sword bone? Mo Hua's gaze turned slightly cold.
"This old fraud likely has more than a few secrets up his sleeve."
...
The sword-forging continued.
Taking advantage of Ouyang Mu's inattention, the old demon cultivator finished drawing the divine array pattern on the sword bone and then used his blood to conceal it. Afterward, he nonchalantly resumed the intricate process of refining the sword bone as if nothing had happened.
Ouyang Mu, having tempered the fine iron, turned back and continued to learn sword-forging from the old demon cultivator.
The old demon cultivator acted as if everything was normal.
Ouyang Mu remained oblivious to what the old cultivator had done behind his back.
After a series of complex sword-forging steps, several hours later, the old demon cultivator said, "That's enough for today. Come back tomorrow."
"Yes, Senior," Ouyang Mu replied.
Having assisted for several hours, Ouyang Mu was also feeling tired. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and nodded, "Then I'll take my leave, Senior."
After Ouyang Mu left, the old demon cultivator took out the lifebond sword bone. With his scarlet, lump-covered hands, he gently caressed the divine array pattern on the sword bone and whispered in a hoarse voice so soft it was almost inaudible, "My life... I'm entrusting it all to you..."
Then, as if exhausted, he hugged the sword bone and fell into a deep sleep.
Mo Hua examined the sword bone and noticed that its length matched the old demon cultivator's spine almost perfectly. His gaze turned chilly.
After a moment of contemplation, he quietly left.
...
Back at the prison, Mo Hua shared what he had witnessed of the old demon cultivator with Ouyang Mu and Linghu Xiao.
Ouyang Mu was shocked. "An array pattern?"
Mo Hua nodded.
"Is it a sword pattern?" Ouyang Mu asked.
"No, it's a very unique type of divine array pattern that I've never seen before. I don't know what it's used for," Mo Hua replied.
Ouyang Mu and Linghu Xiao frowned.
Linghu Xiao thought for a moment before speaking, "In that case, this old demon cultivator's scheme must be related to that sword bone."
"Could he be... trying to forge a lifebond sword embryo for himself?" Mo Hua asked.
Mo Hua nodded, "It's possible..."
That had been his guess as well, but without evidence, he couldn't be sure.
"But," Mo Hua furrowed his brows, "what kind of sword-forging technique involves using one's own spine to forge a lifebond sword bone?"
Linghu Xiao shook his head.
Then, both of them turned to look at Ouyang Mu.
Among the three of them, Ouyang Mu was the most skilled in sword-forging and had the broadest knowledge of artifact refinement.
Ouyang Mu's expression turned solemn as he said, "I'm not entirely sure either, but there are some similar records in my family's collection of miscellaneous cultivation and artifact refinement texts. It's a type of sword-forging technique where the cultivator nourishes the sword with their body, achieving unity between the person and the artifact."
"However, when you delve into the specifics, there are many branches and variations, with differences in the degree of righteousness and evil. Some methods are bloody and harmful to oneself but not others, while others are extremely evil and require the creation of immense bloodshed..."
"As for which path this old... this old thing is treading and what technique he's using, I can't tell just yet," Ouyang Mu shook his head.
Linghu Xiao frowned and pondered for a moment before speaking, "There's one question..."
He turned to face Mo Hua and Ouyang Mu, his expression grave as he said, "Using one's own spine to forge a lifebond sword bone is undoubtedly for the purpose of refining a lifebond evil sword. This old demon cultivator must be planning to take advantage of this opportunity to form a Golden Core within the Myriad Demon Prison."
Ouyang Mu was taken aback and nodded repeatedly, "That old thing mentioned that once a demon cultivator forms a core within the Myriad Demon Valley, they can leave the valley and serve the 'Young Master' outside. They'll have the freedom of the skies and seas, a far cry from being confined within this valley."
"Moreover, after forming a core, their lifespan will increase, allowing them to live for many more years. It's like defying the heavens and altering their fate..."
Mo Hua slowly nodded, but then his gaze sharpened, "But, will he even live that long?"
Ouyang Mu and Linghu Xiao wore thoughtful expressions.
Mo Hua continued, "That old demon cultivator extracted his own spine, causing his body to become hunched and frail, and he keeps coughing up blood. Sometimes, when he's alone in the evil artifact room, he stuffs his mouth with a large number of pills."
"And I can clearly sense that the death energy within him is growing heavier..."
Mo Hua looked at Ouyang Mu, "Forging a lifebond sword bone and refining a lifebond evil sword takes a considerable amount of time, right? I'm afraid he'll die before the sword is even completed."
Ouyang Mu nodded, "That's true..."
This old demon cultivator had a good plan, but his life was coming to an end. Why was he still bothering with all of this?
Ouyang Mu furrowed his brows, deep in thought. Suddenly, his eyes widened as a realization struck him, "Brother Mo, there's another possibility!"
Mo Hua was taken aback, "What possibility?"
"It's just..." Ouyang Mu's face turned slightly pale, "that sword bone might already be completed! His pretense of teaching me sword-forging might just be an act..."
Ouyang Mu recalled the recent events and nodded, "Yes, these past few days, he's been teaching me sword-forging and refrained from letting me get involved in the bloody and evil aspects of the process. But the truth is, there was no need for me to do anything because his spine has already become a fully forged sword bone!"
Mo Hua's eyes narrowed, "Then the reason he hasn't further refined it into a lifebond evil sword must be because he's lacking some sort of condition or requirement."
Lacking some condition...
Mo Hua finished speaking and looked at Ouyang Mu.
"Mhm." Mo Hua nodded. "Before you came, that old man was quietly refining his sword. It was only after you arrived that he took out the sword bone and started plotting to forge a lifebond evil sword..."
"Clearly, you are the key to his plan to forge a lifebond sword and form a Golden Core."
A worried expression crossed Linghu Xiao's face. "Then, isn't Wood Shidi in great danger?"
"Since the lifebond sword bone has already been refined, who knows how soon that old demon cultivator will forge a lifebond magic treasure and use it to form a core."
"Yes," Mo Hua sighed, frowning slightly. "The problem now is that we don't know what his true sword-forging technique is and what tricks he has up his sleeve."
"Also, we don't know what effect the array pattern he drew on the sword bone will have..."
The group fell into a worried silence, unsure of what to do next.
"We'll just have to play it by ear..." Mo Hua patted Ouyang Mu's shoulder. "Be careful."
"I will," Ouyang Mu replied solemnly.
Mo Hua looked at Ouyang Mu, still feeling uneasy, and said, "Wait."
He ran back to the array room, selected some array plates and spiritual artifacts, and hastily drew some additional arrays before returning to the prison cell. He handed all of these to Ouyang Mu.
"Hide these secretly..."
"This heart-protecting mirror has a metal and stone array that can guard your heart meridian."
"You can set up these array plates at any time if the situation becomes urgent. They should buy you some time."
"Make sure you keep this black cloth with you. If you feel dizzy, immediately cover your forehead with it..."
"Here are also some pills for dispelling demons and restoring blood. Keep them with you, and take them immediately if you feel invaded by demonic energy or suffer severe blood loss..."
...
Mo Hua gave detailed instructions for each item.
Ouyang Mu was deeply touched and vowed to remember his brother's advice. "Thank you, Brother Mo!"
"Mhm," Mo Hua nodded.
With these tools, Little Wood now had some means to protect himself.
The only question was when the old demon cultivator would make his move...
...
The next day, Mo Hua went to the old demon cultivator's evil artifact room earlier than usual.
He wanted to see if he could find any other clues.
However, when he arrived, he found that someone was already there.
A tall and burly figure with a formidable aura, Jin Gui, was speaking to the old demon cultivator.
He seemed to be reprimanding him.
"It's too slow..."
"Are you really teaching him how to refine evil artifacts?"
"That brat from the Ouyang family has been learning from you for several days now, but I don't see much demonic energy on him."
"What are you up to, old man?"
Having fallen into the path of demons, Jin Gui's temper had become more irritable.
A cold glint flashed in the old demon cultivator's eyes, only to be replaced by a cloudy haze.
He lowered his head and said in a raspy voice, "Artifact refinement requires gradual progress. Whether it's the righteous path or the demonic path, nothing can be achieved overnight. There must be a process, step by step..."
After speaking, he coughed a few times and involuntarily spat out more blood.
Jin Gui glanced at him with disdain and muttered, "Old geezer..."
Then he coldly huffed, "Starting today, I'll send someone to keep watch. I want to see if you're really teaching that brat and if he's truly treading the path of bloodshed and demonic cultivation..."
The old demon cultivator's expression changed slightly, and he refused, "That won't do. Sword forging is a secret, the culmination of my life's work. I can't allow outsiders to peek!"
Jin Gui scoffed, "What secrets? At this point? Your sword-forging skills are only second-rate, and your refinement techniques are nothing to boast about."
"Moreover, this is the Young Master's order. Is there anything in the Myriad Demon Valley more important than the Young Master's business?"
"Do you dare to disobey the Young Master's order?"
The old demon cultivator suppressed the coldness in his eyes and lowered his head. "I wouldn't dare..."
Jin Gui nodded slightly, his expression indifferent. "That's more like it. Time is running out, so hurry up and don't mess up the Young Master's grand plan. Otherwise, you will surely perish, and your soul will be scattered, leaving no trace behind."
The old demon cultivator remained silent, simply lowering his head in acquiescence. "Yes."
Jin Gui gave the old demon cultivator a cold glance before turning to leave.
After Jin Gui's departure, the evil artifact room, filled with bone-chilling flames, green smoke, and the stench of the blood pool, was left with only the old demon cultivator.
He continued to hang his head low.
Without his spine, his body was hunched over, and once he lowered his head, it was difficult for him to straighten up again.
However, because his head was lowered, Mo Hua couldn't see his expression clearly. He only heard him mutter, "Yes, time... is running out..."
Mo Hua's eyes widened slightly in surprise.
After that, the old demon cultivator didn't do anything unusual. He simply lay back in his chair, flipping through a piece of demon hide paper.
About half an hour later, Ouyang Mu was brought in.
But this time was different.
He was escorted by two demon cultivators—one with the head of a dog, and the other, a bald man with sharp eyes, likely a 'bald eagle' like the previous one, marked with eagle feathers.
After bringing in Ouyang Mu, the dog-headed demon cultivator stood guard outside the door.
Meanwhile, the bald cultivator with eagle-like eyes remained inside the evil artifact room, his sharp gaze fixed on the old demon cultivator as he spoke in a cold tone, "Master, the manager instructed me to stay here and watch, just in case something unexpected happens."
Though he said "watch," he clearly meant "monitor."
The old demon cultivator nodded, his tone indifferent. "I understand..."
After that, he ignored the bald and dog-headed demon cultivators, turning to Ouyang Mu and saying, "I'll continue teaching you sword forging."
Ouyang Mu's expression was complicated, but he remembered Mo Hua's instructions and pretended that nothing had happened, feigning ignorance. He simply nodded and replied, "Yes, Senior."
Everything proceeded as usual.
The old demon cultivator patiently taught sword forging, Ouyang Mu learned with a distracted air, the bald cultivator watched sharply, and the dog-headed cultivator stood guard at the door alertly.
After some time, the old demon cultivator seemed to tire. He said to Ouyang Mu, "You practice on your own for a while. I need to rest."
Finally, he lay back in the chair, gasping for breath, like an old dog on its last legs, each breath carrying a putrid stench.
The eagle-marked cultivator frowned, his expression filled with disgust as he averted his eyes slightly.
The crackling of the furnace, the ringing of the hammer on iron, and the old cultivator's labored breathing melded into an eerie cacophony within the room.
Despite the noise, an uncanny sense of deathly stillness permeated the atmosphere.
After a while, the eagle-marked cultivator's expression suddenly changed as he sensed something amiss.
The old cultivator's labored breathing had ceased.
The eagle-marked cultivator's eyes widened in alarm, and he activated his eagle mark, his eyes scanning the room with piercing intensity to locate the old cultivator.
But before he could spot his target, a deadly attack struck.
A long, dark red tentacle shot out from the ground, imbued with sinister demonic power, aiming to slice the eagle-marked cultivator in half at the waist.
The eagle-marked cultivator's pupils shook with fear as he leaped to dodge the surprise attack.
However, although he bore the mark of an eagle, his cultivation was only at the Foundation Establishment stage, so he couldn't fly. Hanging in the air, he had nowhere to dodge.
This brief moment of weightlessness exposed his vulnerability.
From the shadows, several evil swords flew out, moving at incredible speed and leaving trails of bloody light as they deeply impaled the eagle-marked cultivator's body.
The swords were tainted with bloody sword qi and laced with potent demonic poison.
The eagle-marked cultivator was immediately overwhelmed by the virulent poison, his blood vessels throbbing in agony. Shocked and furious, he roared:
"You audacious old demon! How dare you?!"
He couldn't believe that the old man would suddenly attempt to kill him when he had only come to monitor the situation for the first time.
Didn't he fear violating the taboo of the Myriad Demon Valley and suffering the consequence of having his soul devoured by the myriad demons?
"You actually..."
Before he could finish his sentence, the old demon cultivator, who had clearly been plotting this for a long time, showed no mercy and left him with no chance to react.
From the shadows, a demonic creature slithered out.
This creature resembled a centipede, with sharp blade-like segments on both sides of its body and a human face atop its head. It flicked its long tongue and rapidly crawled on the ground, its segments quivering.
It moved with incredible speed, and in the blink of an eye, it was upon the eagle-marked cultivator, wrapping around him while he was still paralyzed by the poison.
The sharp segments pierced deeply into the eagle-marked cultivator's flesh.
The centipede-like body twisted and turned, its segments slicing through the eagle-marked cultivator's body.
The eagle-marked cultivator roared in fury, "You..."
But before he could finish, his head was also pierced by the segments, blood spraying as his head became a bloody mess.
The scene was both bloody and cruel.
Mo Hua drew in a sharp breath, chilled to the bone by the gruesome display.
This old man was actually a centipede demon! And he was swift, decisive, and ruthless, his human face contorted with malevolence, completely shedding his previous feeble and dying act.
He was a cunning old demon! And he was impulsive, striking without hesitation and showing no mercy.
After a few exchanges, the eagle-marked cultivator lay dead.
The dog-headed cultivator outside heard the commotion and rushed in, only to arrive too late.
He could only stare at the bloody scene—the blood-soaked floor, the mutilated corpse, and the bizarrely shaped old demon cultivator.
The sharp segments, the ugly demon body, and the eerie human face atop it—all sent shivers down his spine.
Just then, the eerie human face twisted its neck and turned to smile at him.
The dog-headed cultivator's hair stood on end, and he turned to flee.
He was no match for this sinister, vicious, and venomous old demon cultivator.
Although he ran fast, the centipede-like old demon cultivator was even quicker, scurrying after him with its many segments, and soon caught up. It then proceeded to dispose of the dog-headed cultivator in the same gruesome manner as the eagle-marked cultivator.
In no time, the dog-headed cultivator's body was twisted like a wrung-out towel, dripping blood like water from a towel.
With that, both of the guarding demon cultivators lay dead.
The old demon cultivator retracted his demonic form, reverting to his original appearance—a stooped and aged demon cultivator. He reached out with his wrinkled hand and slowly closed the door to the artifact refinement room, sealing it with an array formation to contain everything within.
Then, he hobbled back into the room.
At this moment, Ouyang Mu's face was pale, but his eyes were resolute amidst the bloody atmosphere.
The old demon cultivator was surprised and slowly nodded, praising, "Not bad. Despite the sudden turn of events, you remain calm."
Ouyang Mu was nervous, but he steadied himself and asked, "Old Senior, what are you planning to do?"
The old demon cultivator grinned, revealing his sharp fangs and long tongue, still stained with the fresh blood of his victims. "You'll find out soon enough," he said.
Before he even finished speaking, demonic winds howled.
Ouyang Mu's vision turned bloody as the old demon cultivator transformed into a centipede, rushing towards him with a gory gale.
However, in the next moment, a thunderous explosion rang out, and the bloody scene was instantly replaced by fiery brilliance.
Piercing light filled Ouyang Mu's surroundings, and blazing flames erupted, shielding him at the center.
The Earthfire Killing Array unleashed its fury.
Rampant spiritual power wreaked havoc.
In the blink of an eye, the centipede-like demon was knocked back by the ferocious flames and fell to the ground, writhing in agony.
Once the flames subsided, the centipede demon curled up, retracting its demonic form and returning to its original appearance—the stooped and aged demon cultivator.
He panted like a wounded beast, his eyes sharp as they fixed on Ouyang Mu. With a quivering voice, he asked, "An array formation?"
"This little brat, how does he know how to use an array formation?" The old demon cultivator pondered for a moment, his expression suddenly shifting as he realized something was amiss. "No, this isn't your doing!"
"Who's helping you?!"
Just then, a faint sound of a sword whistle pierced the air.
The old demon cultivator's eyes widened, and he perceived an extremely sharp golden light flashing through the air.
A golden thread tore through the air, carrying with it a chilling and ruthless killing intent, approaching in the blink of an eye.
Sensing this frigid killing intent, the old demon cultivator's expression changed drastically, and he found it hard to believe what he was witnessing. "Sword flight?!"
(End of Chapter)
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