Chapter 931: Omens
Chapter 931: Omens
The divine punishment intensified, a cumulative punishment for numerous sins.
Mr. Tu's bones shattered, his flesh twisted and contorted, and blood seeped into the floor, but he dared not resist or beg for mercy; he could only endure it all.
His hatred for the Great Void Sect deepened with the pain, seeping into his very bones.
If it weren't for the Great Void Sect... Demon Valley wouldn't have been destroyed, and the Crimson Boat wouldn't have been swept away. His plans would not have been hindered at every turn.
Now, the Demon Sect was being suppressed, and the main force was still the twenty Golden Core Elders of the Great Void Sect! Mr. Tu's hatred reached a boiling point, almost causing him to bite his teeth in fury.
At the same time, the divine punishment was nearing its end.
After enduring the pain of crushed bones and scattered ashes, and the various tortures of the Great Wilderness' Three Thousand Hell, along with the divine mind's punishment of various cruel spells, Mr. Tu finally caught a brief respite.
He had been planning for a millennium as the master of the Great Wilderness.
The 'divine punishment' he had endured over the past thousand years was nothing compared to the severity and cruelty of the past few years.
All of this was due to the Great Void Sect, who worshipped that cruel demon god.
He would not forget this grudge.
Mr. Tu's flesh moved, his bones grew flesh, and the flesh regenerated skin, transforming back into a human form. He crawled on the ground, bowing to the giant sheep bone statue in front of him, and reported devoutly:
"I've exhausted myself, but the demon dragon I was nurturing for the Divine Embryo has escaped. He has developed other thoughts, feeling that his bloodline is noble, and is unwilling to dedicate everything to the Divine Master."
"I will find him and flay his skin."
"The Blood Refining Sect, Ten Thousand Demon Mountain... I borrowed their Dao heritage to spread the Divine Master's fame, which aroused their greed. They also want to get involved in the Qianxue State and take a share..."
"This is no problem. Once the great calamity arrives, allowing these true demon sects to cause trouble will also offer richer sacrifices for the Divine Master's revival..."
"At that time, believers will live, and non-believers will die, and these demon sects will be no exception."
"These demon cultivators, who kill without hesitation and act lawlessly, are unaware of the true great terror beyond their imagination in this world."
"The Divine Embryo in the Dragon King Temple has gone silent..."
"The Great Void Sect's demon god, worthy of being the Divine Master's great enemy, can actually suppress the power of the Divine Embryo. It's truly terrifying, but that's all it can do."
"I still have a backup plan, and there will be a more suitable 'Divine Embryo' as a 'vessel' for Your descent."
"The situation is becoming more urgent..."
"The Dao Prefecture Office has noticed, the noble families have become vigilant, and the Great Void Sect is directly opposing us. The demon god is also watching us closely."
"Now, before the demon sect has fully developed, it has been thoroughly suppressed..."
"Someone is forcing me to push forward with my plans."
"Since it's like this... I won't wait any longer."
Mr. Tu's expression was hideous, "The next Dao Debate Conference..."
"I want the Qianxue State to flow with blood, slaughtering countless cultivators, turning this piece of heaven and earth into a hell, and welcoming the Divine Master's arrival!"
Mr. Tu's expression was fanatical, and even the injuries around him were rapidly recovering, as if the demon god in the dark was rewarding his loyalty upon hearing the news of his revival.
Mr. Tu trembled and knelt on the ground, his face sinister and terrifying under the eerie green candlelight, resembling a demon.
"The next Dao Debate Conference... blood will flow like a river..."
...
Great Void Sect, Disciple Residence.
Mo Hua suddenly woke up in a cold sweat, as if he had foreseen something terrifying. Even though he was awake, he still felt a lingering fear.
"What happened? Did I... have a nightmare?" Mo Hua muttered.
"That's not right, I don't usually dream, and..."
"Who dares to make me have nightmares?"
Mo Hua frowned and touched his forehead, finding it icy cold and covered in sweat.
Feeling that something was amiss, he wanted to trace the cause and effect, but as soon as his mind moved, he felt as if he was in the boundless sea, with no end in sight, not knowing where to start searching for the cause that left him with lingering fear.
He didn't even know what this cause and effect was.
"A hallucination? Or... am I just too tired?"
Mo Hua remained silent for a moment, still unable to figure it out, so he lay down again, intending to sleep some more.
But since he rarely slept, and now, after being abruptly awakened for no reason, he couldn't fall asleep again.
"Forget it, let's practice formations..."
With his thoughts unsettled and indecisive, he decided to practice formations first.
Mo Hua was already used to this.
He sank his divine perception into the Sea of Consciousness and began to practice and reinforce some of the nineteen patterns, even the pinnacle of the nineteen patterns, on the Dao Stele.
Everything requires practice to achieve proficiency, and formations were no exception.
According to his plan, Mo Hua practiced some high-level nineteen-pattern second-rank formations ten times to warm up, and then started practicing the Reverse Spirit Array, a second-rank formation with twenty patterns.
He couldn't fully master this formation yet, and couldn't draw it completely, but he could practice it.
After all, his current formation skills had reached a bottleneck, and aside from practicing ultimate arrays, there were no other formations left to learn.
He practiced like this until dawn, and only then did Mo Hua open his eyes.
Facing the morning sun, bathed in the morning light, he routinely cultivated his cultivation method, refined a Small Heavenly Cycle of spirit stones, and accumulated some spirit energy before going to class as usual.
Sitting in the Dao Transmission Room, listening to the elder's lecture.
Mo Hua transformed from the 'behind-the-scenes manipulator' of the demon sect's destruction into a diligent little disciple of the Great Void Sect.
A few days later, Mo Hua sought out Gu Changhuai to inquire about the aftermath of the demon sect's destruction.
The two met at a restaurant in Great Void City.
The restaurant belonged to the Gu family.
Mo Hua had worked hard to eradicate the demon sect, and Gu Changhuai, to reward him, invited him to a meal.
Mo Hua didn't decline the offer.
He knew that Gu Changhuai was wealthy, so he wouldn't skimp on spirit stones.
While eating, Gu Changhuai took a sip of wine and said to Mo Hua:
"The leader of the demon sect has escaped, and the Dao Prefecture Office has sealed off the Third Rank State, doing their utmost to capture him, but..."
Gu Changhuai frowned.
"You can't catch him, right?" Mo Hua asked.
Gu Changhuai nodded, "The late-stage Golden Core leader of the demon sect, empowered by the evil dragon's strength, couldn't be killed even by several late-stage Golden Core elders of the Great Void Sect. If you really want to capture him, it's as difficult as ascending to heaven."
Mo Hua didn't like the sound of this, so he defended the several elders of Xun Zi You:
"It's not that our Great Void Sect's elders are weak, it's just that this demon leader is too strong!"
Gu Changhuai also agreed.
This leader of the Demon Sect, empowered by the Demon Dragon's might, devoured an overwhelming amount of blood energy, making him terrifyingly strong—definitely not someone an ordinary cultivator could subdue.
On the contrary, it was fortunate that several elders of the Great Void Sect joined forces to suppress this Demon Sect leader and even forced him to flee.
Otherwise, if this demon had been allowed to unleash his killing spree, the casualties in the Dao Prefecture Office would have been unimaginable.
They hadn't anticipated this beforehand.
Gu Changhuai nodded, "The Great Void Sect has a deep foundation, and its elders uphold righteousness with exceptional cultivation. We have them to thank for suppressing the Demon Sect and exterminating the demon cultivators."
Only then did Mo Hua nod in satisfaction.
Uncle Gu, having spent time with me, has also learned to say pleasant things.
"What about the other Demon Sect elders? Are they all dead? Could there be any survivors?" Mo Hua asked further.
Gu Changhuai counted them one by one:
"The greedy and gluttonous Ninth Elder you mentioned is dead, the short and skinny demon cultivator elder was slain by Elder Xun, the Second Elder, the most senior among them, is dead, and most of the other elders have perished. The only ones left are the Bear Demon Elder and the 'Elder You' you mentioned..."
"I had people investigate, and there were no corpses of these two Golden Core elders found near the Demon Sect. At least the Bear Elder showed himself, and Elder Xun Zi You cut off his arm with a sword. As for Elder You, he hasn't been seen from start to finish."
Mo Hua's pace of gnawing on his elbow slowed down.
This Elder You seemed to be a bit more than ordinary...
Did he get wind of something from the Dao Prefecture Office beforehand? Or did he suspect that there was something amiss with my disguise as 'Mr. Yuan' and used the Lightning Magnetic Array to discover some clues, which led him to escape early?
How did he escape, and where is he now? Mo Hua was filled with doubts, staring blankly.
Gu Changhuai glanced at him and took a sip of wine, "Enough, don't overthink it. This is a matter for the Dao Prefecture Office."
After a moment of thought, he added, "If there's any news of their whereabouts, I'll let you know."
In other words, don't waste time on this matter; focus on your cultivation, and leave the task of dealing with the remnants of the Demon Sect to the Dao Prefecture Office. They'll inform you if there's any news.
"Mhm, mhm," Mo Hua nodded.
"There's one more thing," Gu Changhuai said, "The Dao Prefecture Office is already calculating the merits for exterminating the Demon Sect. Everyone who participated will receive a share, and you will too. Once the calculations are complete, the rewards will be distributed through the Great Void Sect and added to your disciple account. Exterminating the Demon Sect is a major achievement, so these merits should be substantial."
Mo Hua didn't react much.
It was mainly because he was already a 'Meritorious Service Household', and he had so many merits that he couldn't even see how many he had.
Whether he gained or lost a few merits didn't make much difference to him.
Moreover, he was well aware of the efficiency of the Dao Prefecture Office. Who knew when these merits would actually be credited to his account?
After their conversation, as they finished their meal, Mo Hua had to return to his sect for classes.
Before parting, Gu Changhuai said, "Your aunt asked me to tell you that if you're willing, you can come to the Gu family for the New Year's Eve dinner this year."
"New Year's Eve dinner?"
Mo Hua was taken aback, and then he suddenly realized that it was just over a month until the New Year.
Unbeknownst to him, another year had passed.
Mo Hua felt a sense of urgency, as if time was passing too quickly and something was about to happen, but it was just a feeling, and he couldn't pinpoint the reason.
"Uncle Gu, will you be free for the New Year's Eve dinner this year?" Mo Hua asked.
Gu Changhuai looked at Mo Hua and slowly exhaled, "Thanks to you, the Demon Sect's disaster has been resolved early, and the Dao Prefecture Office can have a breather. We can have a good New Year."
"Don't mention it," Mo Hua said with satisfaction, "Then I'll come to the Gu family to celebrate the New Year with you."
Gu Changhuai fell silent for a moment and sighed, "Alright, then."
...
After bidding farewell to Gu Changhuai, Mo Hua returned to his sect.
In the evening, surrounded by disciples, Mo Hua lit a lamp and immersed himself in reading. When he grew tired, he rested his head on the desk and began to ponder.
The crisis of the Demon Sect had temporarily subsided.
Aside from the initial planning and coordination, which had taken a lot of his effort, the actual extermination didn't require his direct involvement.
Even the Golden Core demon leader didn't come to challenge him.
Many of the preparations he had made were ultimately unnecessary.
Mo Hua felt a hint of regret.
However, on the other hand, this was a good thing. After all, when cultivating the Dao, it's better to be cautious.
With the Demon Sect annihilated and the demon cultivators either dead or imprisoned in the Dao Prison, the innocent cultivators in the surrounding areas were spared from the slaughter and the threat of the Demon Sect. This was also considered a meritorious deed.
The only issue remained his Lifesoul Artifact, the Four Divine Beast Azure Dragon Array...
Thinking of this, Mo Hua couldn't help but sigh.
Obtaining this array was incredibly difficult...
Now that the powerful and brutal leader of the Demon Sect had escaped, like a dragon entering the sea, Mo Hua had no clues at all.
Moreover, after witnessing the Demon Sect's actions and the massive blood pool, Mo Hua began to doubt the Four Divine Beast Azure Dragon Array's integrity.
If it wasn't upright, how could he use it as his Lifesoul Artifact? Could this Azure Dragon Array truly be his destined Lifesoul Artifact?
Mo Hua furrowed his brows.
"Should I... calculate it?"
The situation had reached a stalemate, and without any other leads, divination seemed like the only viable option.
Mo Hua took out the copper coin his master had given him, set up the Divine Mist Array to seal the qi, and then calmed his mind to perform the Heavenly Fate Calculation.
He tossed the copper coin into the air, stirring the causal qi, and as the dust settled, it fell into his palm.
Mo Hua silently recited in his heart:
"What is my Lifesoul Artifact..."
Then he opened his eyes and looked at the copper coin in his hand.
The copper coin lay peacefully in his palm, without any signs or traces of causality.
What did this mean? Mo Hua frowned in confusion.
"Can't you calculate it?"
Mo Hua stared at the copper coin, observing it for a long time without seeing any anomalies. Just as he was about to give up and put the coin down, his Sea of Consciousness suddenly ached, and a vast amount of divine perception, like a tide, surged towards the coin.
At the same time, the heavenly fate rose and fell, and causality flowed.
But this time, the causal flow was too vast, and even Mo Hua's divine perception couldn't support it.
In a moment, Mo Hua's Divine Perception was drained.
His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed onto the table with a thud.
The cause and effect on the copper coin, without the supply of Divine Mind, also ceased to flow. Whether the divination was successful or not, there was still a faint premonition that reached the depths of Mo Hua's Divine Mind.
Mo Hua felt as if he had another dream in his daze.
In the dream, there was an Azure Dragon.
But this dream was fragmented, and he could only see the shadow of the Azure Dragon. He could sense the boundless majesty and overwhelming might of the Azure Dragon, and in his ears, there was the clear and resonant roar of the dragon.
Mo Hua's heart stirred.
"Is this a dream from the divination? Dreaming of the Azure Dragon... does it mean that my Lifesoul Artifact should be the orthodox Four Symbols Azure Dragon Array?"
Mo Hua heaved a sigh of relief.
With this, as long as he firmly held onto his initial idea, he would continue to seek out the leader of the Demon Sect and find a way to obtain the Four Symbols Azure Dragon Array from him...
As Mo Hua was thinking this, the dream suddenly changed.
It seemed as if something bizarre had invaded his dream, causing it to crumble inch by inch, provoking the Azure Dragon's fury, and it roared loudly.
In a moment, a blurry, black mist-like entity rushed towards the Azure Dragon like a raging wind.
A deformed and indescribable entity enveloped, tore, and then devoured the Azure Dragon alive.
In an instant, the dream shattered completely, and Mo Hua suddenly woke up, recalling the scenes from his dream, his heart filled with surging waves of shock and terror.
"A dragon... devoured by something..."
"What does this mean?"
"Is this dream a premonition from the cause and effect?"
"Then, what exactly is my Lifesoul Artifact...?"
Mo Hua murmured softly, feeling even more perplexed in his heart.
...
The days that followed became peaceful.
Mo Hua still remembered the premonition of 'devouring the dragon' from his dream, but no matter how much he pondered, he could not understand it. He could only think about it casually in his free time.
He had also asked some elders, indirectly inquiring as if in casual conversation, what in the world could 'devour a dragon'.
But this question was too bizarre.
The elders were also at a loss, assuming that Mo Hua still had a child's heart and was asking fantastical questions.
Mo Hua couldn't get a clear answer, so he could only focus on his cultivation and classes.
And so, a month passed, and another year came to an end.
During the sect assessment, Mo Hua made unprecedented progress.
His ranking changed from the unchanging 'One Jia Six Bing' to 'One Jia One Yi Five Bing'.
His Dao Spell went from 'Bing' to 'Yi'.
It was probably because Elder Yi had played a game of hide-and-seek with him and, after testing his movement technique, acknowledged Mo Hua's skill in this area, thus exceptionally giving him a 'Yi'.
Speaking solely of movement technique, Elder Yi felt that even a 'Jia' would be more than sufficient.
Even if he suppressed his cultivation to the early Golden Core stage, few disciples in the entire Great Void Sect could last more than twenty moves under his hand, let alone someone like Mo Hua who could spar back and forth with him.
Giving a 'Yi' was purely to maintain a low profile.
Moreover, even with Mo Hua's exceptional movement technique, he only excelled in that aspect.
His weakness in Spirit Energy destined that he would struggle to achieve high proficiency in the path of spells—at least, according to the sect's assessment standards, it would be difficult to obtain a good evaluation.
Mo Hua didn't pay too much attention to this 'Yi'.
He just felt a bit uneasy.
When things deviate from the norm, there must be a reason.
The sudden change in his consistently unchanging grades made Mo Hua, who had some understanding of cause and effect, feel as if an unexpected event was about to occur.
Then, the festival arrived.
This was the seventh festival he had spent in the Great Void Sect, and Mo Hua had gradually adapted to it.
Moreover, Uncle Gu had already invited him in advance, so he took the opportunity to visit the Gu family, planning to attend their New Year's Feast and enjoy a good meal.
There was still some time before the feast.
Mo Hua took Yu Er around for a stroll in Qingzhou City.
The city was bustling, and Yu Er was smiling happily, but beneath his smile, there was a hint of worry.
This subtle expression might not be noticeable to others, but it couldn't escape Mo Hua's eyes.
Mo Hua bought a few skewers of rock candy haw, handed them to Yu Er, and then asked softly:
"Yu Er, is something troubling you?"
The smile on Yu Er's face froze, and he became even more burdened with worry.
He was young and couldn't hide his thoughts.
Mo Hua looked at him gently.
After much hesitation, Yu Er stammered, "Brother Mo, I... had another dream."
Mo Hua was slightly taken aback.
Another dream...
"A nightmare?" Mo Hua asked.
Yu Er nodded and then shook his head, "Not exactly... it's different from the previous nightmares..."
"What kind of dream?"
"I..." Yu Er was a bit timid, but looking into Mo Hua's eyes, he slowly said, "I dreamed about myself."
Mo Hua was a bit surprised, "You?"
"Mm..." Yu Er's eyes trembled, and he spoke incoherently, "It was me, but it didn't feel like me..."
"And then?"
"Then... these three of me, one in the mountains, one in the water, and one in my heart. They all silently watched me, and I was scared. They said... they said..."
Yu Er looked at Mo Hua with teary eyes, "They said my mother would die, and that you, Brother Mo, would also die..."
These words seemed to have been weighing on his heart for a long time.
The pure and kind Yu Er wanted to speak but had always been afraid to do so.
Mo Hua looked at Yu Er, whose eyes were filled with worry, fear, and tears, and smiled kindly, his voice gentle and soft, "Demons and evil spirits can transform into human forms and deceive people. Those three of you in the dream were demons trying to scare you."
Yu Er's tears hadn't dried yet, "Really?"
"When have I ever lied to you?"
Yu Er thought for a moment and nodded. Brother Mo had always treated him well and never lied to him.
Mo Hua patted Yu Er's head, his voice warm and gentle, "Don't be afraid of anything in your dreams. No matter what they are, as long as they dare to show themselves, I'll slay them one by one, slaughtering them all."
No matter what, one by one, slaughtering them all...
These words gave Yu Er tremendous courage.
Yu Er's eyes gradually brightened, and a smile appeared on his small face as he nodded firmly at Mo Hua, "Yes!"
(End of Chapter)
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