Chapter 799: Blood Sacrifice
Chapter 799: Blood Sacrifice
Huang Shan Jun's expression changed, but only for a moment before he regained his composure. He smiled awkwardly at Mo Hua and said, "I'm in a sorry state now, so I have to hide from everything."
"I'm afraid of passing cultivators tearing down my clay statue; I'm afraid of the wolves and insects in the mountains stealing my offerings; I'm afraid of ghosts and demons from who knows where desecrating my temple and occupying my abode..."
"This temple, built deep in the mountains, is fine if it's a bit dilapidated, but if it's too exquisite and luxurious, it will definitely attract covetous eyes."
Huang Shan Jun's face turned bitter as he spoke.
Mo Hua looked at Huang Shan Jun silently, without saying a word.
He could tell at a glance that Huang Shan Jun was lying.
But Mo Hua didn't blame him.
Whether as a human or a god, who didn't have their secrets? He himself had more secrets than Huang Shan Jun.
For a friendship to last, one must leave room for each other and respect each other's privacy.
If Huang Shan Jun didn't want to say anything, Mo Hua wouldn't force him.
After all, it was Huang Shan Jun hiding in this dilapidated temple, enduring the wind and rain, not himself...
Mo Hua looked deeply into Huang Shan Jun's eyes and nodded, "That makes sense."
Huang Shan Jun felt his whole body cringe under Mo Hua's profound gaze, and his heart was uneasy. Hearing this, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Mo Hua looked up at the dilapidated temple and after a moment's thought, he asked, "Shan Jun, it's not easy for you to hide like this. Do you need my help?"
"Help?" Huang Shan Jun was taken aback, not understanding what Mo Hua meant.
"How can I help you hide?" he asked.
Mo Hua said, "I've learned a new formation recently that can block divine senses. If I draw it on a statue, you can hide inside and it will be harder for others to find you."
Huang Shan Jun was quite surprised but didn't want to reject Mo Hua's good intentions. He cupped his hands and said, "Then I thank you, my friend."
Mo Hua looked around and said, "The clay statue in the temple is very conspicuous as soon as you enter. Drawing a formation on it won't help. Shan Jun, do you have any other statues that you use to hide?"
Huang Shan Jun remained silent for a while.
Mo Hua's eyes lit up. "How about the little dog statue behind the temple? Would you like to hide inside it? I..."
Huang Shan Jun shook his head repeatedly. "No, no..."
Hiding inside the little dog statue to avoid Mo Hua was something he never wanted to bring up again in his life.
No matter how destitute he was, he was still a mountain god, and mountain gods had their pride.
Huang Shan Jun glanced at Mo Hua, hesitated for a while, then gritted his teeth and said, "My friend, please follow me."
Mo Hua's expression stirred slightly, and he nodded.
Huang Shan Jun floated out from the clay statue and led Mo Hua away from the dilapidated temple to a cliff behind it.
"A cliff?" Mo Hua looked at Huang Shan Jun.
Huang Shan Jun felt a little embarrassed as he pointed downwards. "There's a cave below. Please, my friend..."
Huang Shan Jun walked towards the edge of the cliff.
Mo Hua followed and discovered that the place where the old vines grew wildly by the cliff actually concealed a steep staircase.
Following the staircase down several dozen feet, there was a cave.
The cave was not very big, and it was quite shallow.
When Mo Hua entered the cave, he found that there was another statue inside.
This statue was tall and dignified, with a long face and stern eyes that bore a resemblance to Huang Shan Jun. Moreover, the statue was made of fine copper, with some parts gilded, making it far superior to the clay statue in the temple.
Mo Hua was surprised and looked at Huang Shan Jun. "This isn't your true spirit statue, is it?"
Huang Shan Jun smiled but didn't answer.
Mo Hua thought about it and felt that it probably wasn't.
No matter how much Huang Shan Jun trusted him, he wouldn't reveal his true spirit statue so easily.
Unless his brain was damaged.
Just as people relied on their clothes to make an impression, gods relied on their statues.
This statue was probably Huang Shan Jun's private treasure, used to "save face".
Of course, in times of crisis, it could also be used to "hide".
"Alright, then shall I draw the formation for you?" Mo Hua asked.
Huang Shan Jun bowed and said, "I'm grateful..."
Mo Hua took out some paper and a brush and began to carefully draw the formation around Huang Shan Jun's "finery" statue.
Huang Shan Jun watched silently, curious about what kind of formation Mo Hua would draw for him.
But as he watched, Huang Shan Jun's expression changed again.
"This..."
His body trembled, and after hesitating for a long time, he stuttered, "Little... friend, this... is this a divine formation?"
"Yes," Mo Hua nodded.
It really was!
Huang Shan Jun drew in a cold breath.
This little plague god had even learned divine formations! This was bad...
From now on, wouldn't he become even more unrestrained?
What did it mean for him to draw a divine formation on his own statue?
Huang Shan Jun's expression froze, and he regretted it deeply.
Indeed, the human heart was unpredictable, and cultivators were not worthy of trust.
If he had known earlier, he wouldn't have revealed the location of this statue...
Huang Shan Jun's face was bitter, and he felt helpless. He could only beg for mercy, "My friend, please spare me! Don't seal off my statue..."
If this statue was sealed, he would have no way out.
Mo Hua asked in confusion, "Who said I was going to seal your statue?"
Huang Shan Jun looked at him with a plaintive expression.
Mo Hua comforted him, "Don't worry, it's not what you think..."
"I will use the divine formation to seal your statue, but I'll leave an opening so that you can come and go freely. This way, the divine formation will become your shield, concealing your presence."
"In the future, if you encounter danger, you can hide inside, and others, or even other evil spirits, may not be able to find you."
Huang Shan Jun paused, then understood what Mo Hua meant.
He never thought that a divine formation, originally used to counter the power of the gods, could be used in this way.
But thinking about it carefully, it made sense.
Normal gods received offerings openly and didn't need to hide, so they wouldn't need to rely on such methods to exist.
However, gods who had fallen into the demonic path would be opposed to divine cultivators.
Mo Hua's pupils contracted.
A grand blood sacrifice! Right here in the Qian Xue State Domain?!
Huang Shan Jun looked at Mo Hua, his voice heavy with concern, "I can only tell you this much. Should a blood sacrifice begin, it will bring about a calamity of epic proportions, with all life and creation suffering. My friend, you must take care."
Mo Hua frowned, "But... there are so many fourth-rank and even fifth-rank aristocratic families and sects in the Qian Xue State Domain, with countless old ancestors guarding them. How could a blood sacrifice take place here?"
Huang Shan Jun shook his head, "As for that, I'm afraid I don't know."
Mo Hua wasn't sure if Huang Shan Jun truly didn't know or if there were other reasons he couldn't disclose, but he simply nodded and bowed, "Thank you for the warning, I'll keep it in mind."
"The evil in human nature is the best bait for evil gods..."
Mo Hua was lost in thought.
This sentence lingered in Mo Hua's mind, even after he left Ku Shan and boarded the carriage to Yanshui City. He couldn't shake off the weight of those words.
"The evil in human nature is the best bait for evil gods..."
It seemed that Huang Shan Jun was hinting at something.
Or perhaps, it was a sentiment borne from his own past experiences?
Mo Hua pondered silently.
And... a grand blood sacrifice? While small-scale blood sacrifices might exist, the idea of sacrificing an entire state domain of Qian Xue was, to Mo Hua's knowledge, inconceivable no matter how he thought about it.
Moreover, Huang Shan Jun only mentioned that the resurrection of ancient evil gods would always be accompanied by a grand blood sacrifice.
He didn't say that this evil god was definitely the Great Desolation Evil God.
And the location of its resurrection might not necessarily be in the Qian Xue State Domain.
It was more likely to be in... the Great Desolation?
Mo Hua shook his head.
"Forget it, let's not think about this for now..."
Such grand conspiracies of evil gods were not something he could involve himself in at the moment.
All he had done was steal a bit of its authority, eat a few of its demons, and destroy a handful of its second-rate altars.
That was all.
To a high-ranked Great Desolation Evil God, it probably didn't amount to much.
It was better to focus his time and energy on improving himself...
Mo Hua thought to himself.
After that, he began to meditate, closing his eyes to rest.
The carriage carried him leisurely towards Yanshui City.
The journey was uneventful.
By the time they reached Yanshui City, it was already evening.
He inquired about the location of the Ye family, confirmed the direction, and went straight to their door. However, he found the Ye family to be heavily guarded, denying entry to all outsiders.
Mo Hua couldn't get in.
Asking around might not be a good idea either, as he could be seen as a "suspicious cultivator."
And if the Ye family really had something to hide, his inquiries might alert them.
Mo Hua walked around the perimeter of the Ye family's compound, examining their formations.
He could more or less guess the general layout of the formations.
But as a third-rate family, the Ye family had plenty of third-rate formations in their mansion, which were still a challenge for Mo Hua with his current understanding of formations.
Disrupting a second-rate formation to sneak in through a wall might be a viable option.
However, if he was discovered, it would spell big trouble.
Mo Hua circled the compound twice but couldn't find a good opportunity to act. As the sky grew darker, he found a nearby noodle shop and decided to have a meal.
The noodle shop was simple and unassuming, named "Wang's Noodle House."
The shop was small, and there was only one person running it—a sharp-eyed and chatty older woman.
Mo Hua had chosen this noodle shop precisely because of the owner's chattiness; he wanted to take advantage of her tendency to gossip.
It was late, past the usual dinner hour, and there were only a few customers eating noodles.
Mo Hua called out, "Sister," which delighted the older woman. She not only added extra noodles to Mo Hua's bowl but also gave him two additional side dishes.
After some casual conversation, Mo Hua skillfully steered the topic towards the Ye family.
Some matters were difficult for outsiders to uncover, but these scattered cultivators, who grew up among the common folk and were accustomed to rumors, knew everything.
After chatting with the owner for a while, Mo Hua had a general idea of the situation.
The Ye family did not have a good reputation in Yanshui City.
They bullied scattered cultivators and acted arrogantly in the countryside. While they didn't go too far as to incur punishment from the Dao Court, their actions were frowned upon by others.
Towards those above them, they were obsequious and clingy.
Within the family, the relationship between disciples was also disharmonious.
Moreover, the Ye family was notorious for one particular thing—selling their daughters.
"They, the Ye family, would do anything to climb the social ladder. Last year, they married off a family direct daughter in her twenties to a widower elder from some sect who was almost three hundred years old."
"Only the Ye family would do something like this..."
The shop owner expressed her disdain.
Mo Hua's eyes narrowed, and he lowered his voice, "I also heard that this Ye family direct daughter couldn't bear the humiliation and committed suicide..."
The shop owner was taken aback, "Suicide? No..."
"She didn't commit suicide?" Mo Hua feigned confusion.
The shop owner also furrowed her brows, thinking hard before shaking her head, "I don't think she committed suicide. I haven't heard anyone else mention it."
Mo Hua muttered, "Did I remember it wrong? Was it not suicide for this Ye family member? Are there others who committed suicide?"
"Suicide..." The shop owner shook her head, "I haven't heard of any recently... It's better to live a hard life than to die. No one would choose to commit suicide unless they were desperate."
"Is that so..." Mo Hua's eyes narrowed slightly.
"But who knows..." The shop owner added, "The Ye family does a lot of immoral things. Even if someone died, they would keep it hidden, so others might not know about it."
"For a girl who was married off to gain a higher status, if she were to be humiliated and commit suicide, the Ye family would probably not only keep it quiet but also choose another girl to send into that pit..."
"Sister, do these things happen often?" Mo Hua asked.
"Who knows?"
The shop owner couldn't help but add another scoop of noodles to Mo Hua's bowl.
"Even if a direct descendant of the Ye family died, they wouldn't make a fuss about it. Who knows how many people they've secretly harmed..."
"A direct descendant of the Ye family died?"
"Yes," the shop owner said, "Last year, or maybe the year before, a young master of the Ye family went to indulge in debauchery and ended up dying in the Yanshui River..."
Mo Hua's pupils contracted.
A young master of the Ye family, indulging in debauchery, and dying in the Yanshui River...
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
