Chapter 782: The Great Tribulation
Chapter 782: The Great Tribulation
How could it have been leaked?
How could it have been lost?
"Mr. Tu," a man clad in the elder's robe of the sect, with a fair and refined appearance, looked incredulous. Beneath his human disguise, his fingers tapered as he meticulously calculated, unraveling secrets unknown to others, flowing through his mind.
"The grand array, the demon temple, the altar, the blood pact roster, the divine embryo, the divine servants, hidden minions, and the Four Symbols array..." Suddenly, his pupils contracted sharply.
A Shinto array!
"Could the Shinto array have been lost?!"
Mr. Tu's expression changed drastically.
Impossible, absolutely impossible!
Without the blessing of the Shinto gods and their grace, without being born as a divine embryo, how could an ordinary person possibly learn the Shinto array?
How did this person learn it, and from whom?
Could he be a... divine favorite? Mr. Tu's unease grew stronger.
After some contemplation, he slowly rose and left the elder's residence, walking down the exquisite jade steps towards the entrance of the mountain gate.
The sky was just beginning to brighten at dawn.
The bright morning sun cast its rays, illuminating the sect's premises, which resembled a celestial realm with its white jade and golden splendor.
Within the sect, discipline was strict.
Despite the early hour, many disciples were already up, cultivating or tempering their bodies.
On the road, whenever disciples encountered Mr. Tu, they would bow respectfully and greet him.
"Greetings, Elder."
The elegant "Mr. Tu" responded with a warm and amicable demeanor, nodding in acknowledgment, "Good morning."
After walking for a while, he turned a corner and suddenly ran into another elder.
This elder had deep wrinkles on his face and four golden emblems on his robe, indicating his high position and authority.
Upon seeing "Mr. Tu," he looked surprised, "Elder Shen?"
Mr. Tu also bowed and greeted, "Elder Shen."
"So early in the morning, Elder Shen, where are you off to?" Elder Shen, clad in the four-gold-emblem robe, asked with an air of dignity.
Mr. Tu pondered briefly before sighing, "There's a Daoist friend whom I haven't seen in a long time. He has come from afar and brought some remnants of array diagrams. I plan to spend some time with him, discussing and exchanging array techniques over tea."
Elder Shen remained expressionless, "Elder Shen, you're truly devoted to the path of arrays..."
Mr. Tu smiled and said, "Please forgive me for making you laugh, Elder Shen. I'll be back soon, and I assure you that the teaching of the disciples within the sect will not be neglected."
Only then did Elder Shen nod slightly.
He only had the right to supervise the elders within the sect, not to restrict them strongly, so he merely asked out of curiosity.
Usually, he wouldn't have inquired at all.
But with the sect's reformation imminent and the upcoming Discourse Assembly of utmost importance, strict discipline was necessary.
From top to bottom, the sect had to be stringent to ensure no negligence.
The success of this endeavor would determine the sect's fortune and the future of the entire Qiandao Zong. There could be no room for carelessness.
Elder Shen turned to leave but still felt uneasy, so he glanced at Elder Shen once more and asked quietly,
"Regarding the reformation, is everything going smoothly on your end?"
Elder Shen's voice turned grave, "Rest assured, Elder Shen. Everything is under control."
"That's good..." Elder Shen nodded.
"If this matter goes well..." The gentle and respectful "Mr. Tu" flashed a meaningful look, "...Elder Shen, you may be able to advance even further..."
Elder Shen's eyebrows twitched, and he said solemnly,
"We are all working for the betterment of the sect. Personal gains and losses are insignificant."
Mr. Tu bowed, "Elder Shen, your integrity and honor are admirable."
Elder Shen raised his head slightly, his face full of wrinkles, looking even more solemn. However, his mood seemed to have improved, and his tone softened.
"Elder Shen, make it a quick trip."
After finishing his sentence, he glanced at Mr. Tu, his expression conveying a sense of condescension, "Should this endeavor succeed, you will undoubtedly be among the true elders of the sect."
"In the Qiandao Province, the position of a true elder in the Four Great Sects is something that countless Immortalization-stage monks strive for their entire lives but rarely attain..."
"Mr. Tu's" face lit up with joy, and he quickly bowed, "If the sect bestows this honor upon me, I will consider myself blessed for this lifetime. It would be a great honor for my ancestors and a debt I could never repay to Elder Shen!"
Elder Shen seemed pleased with "Mr. Tu's" response.
He nodded and then strode past Mr. Tu, ascending the high jade steps towards the exquisite buildings, his back gradually fading into the distance.
After Elder Shen left, the warmth and refinement that "Mr. Tu" had previously displayed faded, and his expression turned cold.
He turned to glance at Elder Shen, his gaze indifferent, as if looking at a "toy" driven by greed.
"Those with weak Dao hearts are merely the lower class with superior pretenses..."
"...They are the fattest sacrificial cattle to be offered to the God Master."
Mr. Tu turned and once again donned a gentle mask, his back to Elder Shen, as he descended the jade steps.
After leaving the mountain gate of Qiandao Zong, Mr. Tu entered the city of Qiandao and went to an alcohol shop. He then paid a visit to the Hundred Treasures Pavilion and wandered around the city for a while. Only after confirming that there were no causal forces locking onto him did he enter a luxurious cave through a secret passage.
The cave was luxurious, with beautiful landscapes, but it was empty.
Mr. Tu made his way through the artificial hills and waters, pavilions, and terraces until he reached the most secluded gate deep within the cave.
On the gate were eighteen layers of fourth-grade arrays.
Carefully, Mr. Tu dismantled each array one by one.
Then, as the light flowed and the layers of arrays faded, the massive gate opened.
Mr. Tu stepped through the gate.
Beyond it was a grand hall.
The hall was also arrayed with formations, but it was empty, devoid of any furnishings except for a lone array platform standing in the center.
The array platform was ancient, etched with simple patterns, and seemed rather unremarkable.
Mr. Tu carefully took out three spirit stones.
These three spirit stones shone with a dazzling seven-colored light, their radiance overflowing. They were extremely rare innate spirit stones in the cultivation world.
Mr. Tu placed the three innate spirit stones on the array eyes of the platform and then stepped onto the center of the array.
Ancient and profound array patterns flashed one after another.
Amidst the flowing light, black spatial fissures appeared, flickering and intertwining with one another.
The void flickered, indicating a spatial transmission.
Inscribed on this array platform was indeed a Void Transmission Formation that had reached the fifth-grade Dongxu level!
Strong spatial fluctuations emanated from the array platform.
These fluctuations surged and overflowed, only to be completely absorbed by the densely packed formations on the four walls of the grand hall.
The aura of the formation was also completely concealed.
Thus, when the transmission occurred, no one noticed it.
The void flickered, and Mr. Tu's figure disappeared.
In another desolate and secluded area of the QianDao Province, amidst barren mountains devoid of human presence, a spatial rift flashed by.
Mr. Tu's figure slowly appeared.
He straightened his body, his expression cold, and released his bloody and sinister divine sense to scan the surroundings. After confirming that no one had discovered him, he proceeded towards the depths of the mountains.
In the desolate mountains, the sunlight reflected off the landscape, casting everything in a dull gray hue.
As Mr. Tu walked, he shed his human skin, his body twisting and transforming back to its original withered and pale appearance.
He had appeared in a fifth-grade QianDao Province.
However, the mountains he was heading towards were a forbidden land, a place shrouded in shadows and mist, making it impossible to discern one's bearings.
Finally, Mr. Tu returned to the eerie grand hall.
Within the grand hall was a secret chamber.
In the chamber was an altar, and on the altar was a white and bloody skull with a human face and goat horns, exuding a sinister aura.
Mr. Tu knelt before the skull.
His face was pale, emitting a faint green light, and his voice was old and hoarse as he said, "There has been an unexpected change..."
"I beseech the God Master to bestow upon me great power, to fathom the mysteries of heaven, and to divine the fortunes and misfortunes."
After he finished speaking, he kowtowed three times.
Once he was done, a mysterious evil force descended, and the secret chamber was filled with a bloody light.
Mr. Tu's body trembled, his bones vibrated, and his teeth chattered as if he were bearing an immense burden and enduring unbearable pain.
After the incense burned out, the bloody light faded.
Mr. Tu's pupils were hollow, as if he were being parasitized by some existence, and his expression was indifferent as he took a human bone from the altar.
Then, he used his long fingernails to cut his palm and let the blood drip onto the bone.
As the blood landed on the white bone, nameless demonic fire ignited.
The flames licked the bone like serpent tongues, charring it and creating cracks.
Mr. Tu's hollow eyes gazed at the bloody cracks, and as he calculated with his fingers, his expression changed drastically:
"A great tribulation!"
The Myriad Demon Valley would face a great calamity!
His eyes, which had been hollow, now reflected a mixture of shock and confusion.
"The Myriad Demon Valley has been hidden for eight hundred years, shrouded by the Divine Mist Forest, making it imperceptible to divine sense, and guarded by countless demon servants within, making it impregnable to external enemies. How could there be a great tribulation?"
"Where does this calamity lie?"
Mr. Tu was perplexed and couldn't fathom the reason.
"The Myriad Demon Valley is the land of demon cultivation, the foundation of demons, the furnace of demon pills, and the place where myriad demons return to their souls..."
"...It is an extremely crucial link in the grand plan of the God Master, and there must be no mistakes or leaks!"
Mr. Tu's expression turned solemn, hesitating for a moment before gritting his teeth and kowtowing three more times to the sinister skull with a human face and goat horns:
"I beseech the God Master once more, with this blood sacrifice, to lend me Your divine will, and to use Your eyes in place of mine to perceive the impending disaster..."
Mr. Tu spoke slowly, emphasizing each word.
As soon as he finished speaking, he felt the pressure in his sea of consciousness double, as if a powerful evil thought had forcibly descended upon his heavenly gate.
Mr. Tu couldn't bear the burden, and blood flowed from his seven orifices.
Especially from his eyes, blood poured forth, covering them in a bloody hue.
And it was through this bloody veil that he finally saw.
He saw the tribulation.
He saw the true crisis facing the Myriad Demon Valley!
At this very moment, outside the Myriad Demon Valley, within the Divine Mist Forest, hundreds of sect cultivators were secretly lurking.
A large portion of them were Golden Core cultivators!
This was an elite group of cultivators.
More than half of them were inner sect elders of major sects!
At this moment, they were like a pack of wolves surrounding the Myriad Demon Valley, waiting for an opportunity to destroy the foundation of the God Master.
This was indeed a major tribulation.
Moreover, it was not about to descend but had already arrived, silently and stealthily!
Mr. Tu was both shocked and furious.
He couldn't afford to make continuous divinations, as his sea of consciousness was forcibly bearing the God Master's divine will, resulting in a loss of vitality. He took out a piece of unknown animal skin that could avoid causality, dipped it in the blood on the ground, and began to write in blood...
...
Outside the Myriad Demon Valley.
The elders of the Tai Xu and Chong Xu Sects were resting with their eyes closed.
A subtle bloody light flashed by.
No one else noticed it, but among them, there was a third-grade formation master, Xun Zixian, who had also delved into the path of divine sense. He suddenly opened his eyes, his brow furrowed.
Xun Ziyou sensed the anomaly and asked, "What's wrong?"
Xun Zixian frowned and pondered for a long time before slowly saying, "Just now... it felt like something 'watched' me."
Xun Ziyou was slightly startled, "What thing?"
Xun Zixian shook his head, "I don't know, I can't distinguish it, and it may even be my imagination..."
Xun Ziyou's eyes turned solemn as he glanced at the distant Myriad Demon Valley, which was shrouded in a bloody light, and said in a low voice, "I'm afraid it might not be just your imagination."
Xun Zixian's expression also turned grave.
Xun Ziyou called an inner sect disciple and instructed, "Pass down the order to stay alert. There might be unexpected changes..."
"Yes, Elder."
The disciple conveyed the order.
Xun Ziyou and Xun Zixian exchanged glances, their eyes falling on the entrance of the Myriad Demon Valley at the end of the white bone passage, their hearts filled with tension.
...
At this moment, inside the Myriad Demon Valley.
In the deepest part of the valley, in a luxurious and elegant study that stood in stark contrast to the demonic atmosphere of the valley, a young master was sitting. His pale hand held a priceless platinum formation brush, meticulously drawing formation patterns on a snow-white piece of paper.
Suddenly, he sensed something and took out a piece of unknown animal skin, which soon revealed bloodstains.
Finally, there were a few hastily written words, but the brushstrokes were like knives, dripping with blood, and the decision was heart-wrenching:
"Destroy the Myriad Demon Valley!"
The young master was stunned for a moment, his eyes gradually turning icy.
"After hundreds of years of hard work and such a vast foundation, Teacher Tu dares to make such a ruthless decision with great courage and boldness."
"When in doubt, cut it off without hesitation, or else face chaos..."
The young master's eyes shone with a clear moonlight, while the other half revealed a mysterious and unpredictable divine brilliance.
...
In the Formation Stone Room.
Mo Hua projected the void heavenly dao laws from his sea of consciousness onto the Shinto formation patterns, merging them together. By understanding formations and applying the dao, he had finally gained a preliminary understanding of the "Seal" law and mastered the Divine Lock Formation, the most critical formation in the Great Wilderness Shinto Formation inheritance.
Mo Hua was overjoyed, his eyes sparkling with excitement.
Now, he could also be considered an entry-level "Shinto Formation Master"!
Mo Hua withdrew his consciousness from his sea of consciousness and turned to look at the Sword Bonehead beside him.
The essence of formations lay in their practical application.
Now that he had learned it, he had to put it to use.
He wanted to test the "Sword Bonehead" again and see if this little Sword Demon could escape from the Divine Lock Formation he had set up.
Sword Bonehead felt a chill down his spine as Mo Hua stared at him.
His instincts told him that whenever this little ancestor looked at him with gleaming eyes, nothing good would come of it.
Then it paused for a moment.
"I've been thinking about it, and this little ancestor probably just wants to use me to test the new formation he's learned..."
"Since that's the case, I'm not afraid."
In less than a night, it's unlikely that this little ancestor has learned anything extraordinary.
I'll play along and humor him.
Sword Bonehead thought to himself.
Mo Hua was about to start setting up the formation to test Sword Bonehead when he suddenly paused and put away his brush and ink, remaining seated on the ram skull, motionless.
He sensed that Jin Yixuan had returned.
Indeed, after a short while, the door opened, and Jin Yixuan, dressed in black, re-entered the hall.
He looked exhausted, as if he had been busy all night.
Jin Yixuan was just about to sit down and continue studying the Shinto formation patterns when another demon cultivator walked in.
Jin Yixuan, who was about to reprimand him for the interruption, suddenly stiffened when he saw the newcomer's face, and his arrogant attitude softened as he greeted the person respectfully.
This demon cultivator was an elder with a hoarse voice like a broken gong.
He entered the room and said only one sentence:
"The young master requests your presence."
Jin Yixuan dared not be negligent and bowed in response:
"Yes."
After delivering his message, the demon cultivator turned and left.
Jin Yixuan's eyes narrowed, and he followed the demon cultivator out of the Formation Stone Hall.
The stone hall was now empty again, leaving only Mo Hua inside.
Mo Hua frowned, a sense of unease growing in his heart.
He suddenly felt that something unexpected had happened.
But what exactly had changed? Mo Hua couldn't quite figure it out.
He couldn't leave the hall at the moment, so if he wanted to know what was going on, he had to wait patiently.
Perhaps Jin Yixuan would return with some clues.
After half an hour, Jin Yixuan indeed returned, and he had gathered the managers of various areas of the Myriad Demon Valley—Mo Hua guessed they were managers because Jin Gui was among them.
Without saying a word, Jin Yixuan gave each manager a jade slip and instructed them:
"Follow the instructions on the jade slip."
The managers took the jade slips and immersed their consciousness in them. After reading the contents, their expressions changed drastically:
"Manager, this..."
"...How could this be?"
"Could something big have happened?"
Jin Yixuan's eyes swept across them, his gaze sharp as a sword.
None of the managers dared to speak.
Jin Yixuan continued in a deep voice, "These are the young master's orders. We will do as he instructs."
Seeing their varied expressions and knowing their minds were unsettled, he softened his tone slightly, "This is also an opportunity for you."
"By following the young master's orders, if things go well, you can break free from this cage, no longer confined to the valley, and enjoy a free and unfettered life from now on..."
These words struck a chord with several of the managers.
Even as managers with power in their hands, none of them wanted to continue living in the Myriad Demon Valley, hidden from the outside world.
Who wouldn't yearn for the vibrant world beyond?
Although they didn't show it outwardly, their eyes flickered with uncertainty, and eventually, one of them took the lead and said:
"We will obey the young master's orders!"
The others followed suit:
"We will follow the young master's every command."
"We are willing to sacrifice everything for the young master..."
Jin Yixuan nodded in satisfaction and then said coldly, "We must act without delay. Begin now."
"Yes!"
After the discussion, Jin Yixuan and the managers left.
Mo Hua's unease grew stronger...
Break free from the cage?
Enjoy a free and unfettered life?
What were these demon cultivators planning? Mo Hua thought for a moment and sent a message to Elder Xun:
"The demon cultivators seem to be up to something. Elder, please be careful..."
After sending the message, Mo Hua continued to wait, deciding to observe the situation further.
However, not long after, loud noises erupted from within the valley.
There were sounds of collapsing buildings, shouts from demon cultivators, and low roars from demon beasts, all mixing together.
Mo Hua frowned, and just then, the Tai Xu Order vibrated.
Mo Hua took it out and saw an urgent message from Elder Xun:
"Mo Hua, are you alright?!”
Mo Hua: "I'm fine. What's going on?"
Elder Xun paused for a moment before replying: "The gates of the Myriad Demon Valley have opened..."
Mo Hua's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this.
(End of Chapter)
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