Chapter 707: Fate
The water-blue robed sword cultivator's eyes flickered with deep dread.
Young Lord Jin's face was as dark as a thundercloud.
Gu Changhuai, a Third-Rank Adjudicator of the Dao Court in Qianxue Prefecture.
A Golden Core stage cultivator.
Outside the tavern, Gu Changhuai stood tall and proud. Even in coarse clothes, he exuded an extraordinary air.
Colorful, feather-like wind blades circled around him.
His powerful Golden Core cultivation was unrestrained, emitting a subtle pressure.
Young Lord Jin frowned, then suddenly narrowed his eyes and asked coldly,
"Gu Changhuai… was all of this your scheme?"
Gu Changhuai remained composed, though he was inwardly a little confused.
He had no idea what "scheme" Jin was referring to.
But he had always been proud and disdained explaining himself—especially to corrupt, arrogant scions like this.
He merely said coolly:
"Will you surrender now, or shall I cripple you first, bind you with a Spirit-Locking Chain, and throw you into the Dao Court prison?"
Young Lord Jin sneered, unafraid.
"Adjudicator Gu, on what grounds are you arresting us?"
Gu Changhuai replied indifferently,
"By your own admission—trafficking cultivators, murder, refining human pills. Any one of these is enough to land you in prison and suffer severe punishment."
Young Lord Jin gave a slight smile.
"I was just talking nonsense to scare that brat… Mere words, Adjudicator Gu, surely you won't wrongly accuse an innocent man?"
Gu Changhuai's lips curled into a mocking smile.
"You're beneath a beast, unfit to be called human—and you have the gall to call yourself a 'good person'?"
Young Lord Jin's expression changed.
"Adjudicator Gu, I advise you to watch your words!"
Gu Changhuai pointed at Young Lord Jin's storage pouch.
"Don't think I don't know. The human pills are still on you. With both the goods and the culprit caught together, how do you plan to deny it now?"
Young Lord Jin tossed the pouch aside and feigned confusion.
"Adjudicator Gu, what are you talking about? Human pills? I don't see any."
He pointed to the pouch on the ground.
"You're not suggesting this bag contains human pills, are you? How could that be?"
"And even if it does contain these so-called 'human pills'… how would I know?"
He then pointed at Guo Jianglong with a smirk.
"That fishing cultivator said he had fine pills to sell. I was curious, so I came to look. Who knew what was in his bag?"
Guo Jianglong's face turned pale.
"This has nothing to do with me," Jin continued with a smile.
"Perhaps this lowborn peasant was following someone's orders to frame me…"
He looked at Gu Changhuai with a half-smile.
"…Wouldn't you say so, Adjudicator Gu?"
Gu Changhuai didn't get angry. He simply nodded casually.
"You raise a fair point. How about this—you come with me to the Dao Court. Once everything's clear, I'll let you go."
"This has nothing to do with me."
"We'll decide that once we get to the Dao Court."
"Those pills aren't mine."
"You touched them. That's already cause and effect. Let's sort it out at the Dao Court."
"I told you—I was just talking nonsense earlier…"
"But you said it. And now we'll verify it—at the Dao Court."
Gu Changhuai was completely unmoved.
No matter how Jin tried to argue, he simply repeated:
"Let's talk at the Dao Court,"
keeping a calm, businesslike attitude.
Young Lord Jin fell silent.
His expression turned grim.
"Talk at the Dao Court? Talk my ass."
Once inside the Dao Court, he'd lose all control. Even if he didn't die, he'd be flayed alive through torturous punishment.
What's worse—higher-grade Dao Courts had access to Karmic Records.
Some things, once said, could not be unsaid.
Some things, once done, could not be denied.
Outside, you could argue your way out.
Inside the Dao Court, you couldn't argue even if you grew a second mouth.
Young Lord Jin cursed silently.
This Gu Changhuai was infuriating.
He didn't care what you said, didn't waste time debating—he was dead set on dragging you to the Dao Court.
Once there, you'd be a fish on the chopping board.
Just then, the water-blue-robed sword cultivator said darkly,
"Adjudicator Gu, Young Lord Jin holds a noble status. Isn't it inappropriate to throw him into the Dao Court?"
Gu Changhuai gave him a glance.
"It's fine. You're going in too."
The sword cultivator blinked.
Gu Changhuai continued flatly:
"You are Xie Liu, inner sect instructor of the Yin Water Sect. Today, in front of me, you tried to kill cultivators of the Gu Clan, officers of the Dao Court, and…"
he glanced at Mo Hua,
"…a defenseless little disciple of the Great Void Sect."
"You're also coming back with me to explain this."
Mo Hua looked slightly annoyed.
("Defenseless"? Seriously? Bro.)
The sword cultivator—Xie Liu—face like ice, eyes glinting with killing intent.
He stared at Gu Changhuai, who remained calm and indifferent.
Xie Liu chuckled—a smile that never reached his eyes.
"I'm surprised you know me, Adjudicator Gu…"
Gu Changhuai smirked faintly.
"If I didn't, how could I call you a beast?"
Xie Liu's face twitched, fury flashing in his gaze—but inside, he felt a sudden chill.
He knows me…
That means—I've been marked.
When did it start?
Young Lord Jin also sensed something was off and gave Xie Liu a subtle signal.
Xie Liu understood, and said with a cold smile:
"Adjudicator Gu, if you wish to frame someone, you can always find a charge…"
Gu Changhuai said coolly:
"Oh? Are you accusing me of fabricating crimes? You do realize that slandering a Adjudicator of the Dao Court is a crime of its own, yes?"
Xie Liu scowled. He knew he couldn't out-argue someone like Gu Changhuai.
He summoned his sword with a gesture.
It was his lifebound treasure, the Yin Water Sword—the official artifact of the Yin Water Sect, one of Qian Prefecture's Twelve Currents.
Gu Changhuai raised an eyebrow.
"You intend to resist arrest?"
Xie Liu sneered,
"I may not be much, but I'm still an instructor of the Yin Water Sect. If you try to slander me, I must at least prove my innocence."
Gu Changhuai nodded,
"Got it. Attempted murder and resisting arrest—thank you for adding to the record."
Xie Liu's face turned ugly.
This Dao Court Adjudicator was ruthless and skilled at layering charges—no wonder he had such a reputation.
Young Lord Jin urged him impatiently:
"Enough talk. Get us out of here."
As long as they weren't caught on the spot, they could escape to their sects or clans and lay low for a while.
He didn't believe the Dao Court would dare to break off relations with the Jin Clan or the Broken Gold Sect over this.
Xie Liu's eyes turned frosty. He raised the Yin Water Sword, sword qi surging.
"Adjudicator Gu, our cultivation is roughly equal. Allow me to test whether the sword techniques of the Yin Water Sect are superior to the Gu Clan's Dao arts."
He channeled his spiritual energy into the sword, unleashing a shadowy, venomous wave of Yin Water Sword Qi—
—and stabbed forward. The sword light roared toward Gu Changhuai's chest.
Gu Changhuai raised a hand, forming a feathered windscreen.
The sword qi clashed with the windscreen.
For a brief moment, they held—
Then the sword qi shredded the feathers and broke through the screen, piercing toward Gu Changhuai.
He barely twisted his body in time to avoid a fatal strike.
The blade grazed his arm, leaving a bloody cut.
Young Lord Jin snorted.
"So this is the mighty Gu Clan's Dao art? Pathetic."
Xie Liu looked smug—but then his expression shifted.
Something wasn't right.
Gu Changhuai glanced at the wound, nodded,
"Attacking a Adjudicator of the Dao Court—thank you. That's all the evidence I need."
He then sprinkled some powder on the wound—Not to stop the bleeding—but to keep it bleeding, ensuring the evidence stayed visible.
There had been no concrete proof that Xie Liu had attacked Gu An, Gu Quan, or Mo Hua earlier—But now that he'd struck a Dao Court Golden Core Adjudicator himself?
That was ironclad.
Xie Liu's face turned ashen.
He never imagined that the seemingly aloof and arrogant Gu Changhuai could be this underhanded in his methods.
Gu Changhuai raised his right hand. A dazzling, radiant fan imbued with terrifying spiritual power floated before him.
The Seven-Colored Peacock Feather Treasure Fan — a treasured heirloom of the Gu Clan.
At the same time, flames of the Golden Core blazed within his dantian, and a thin layer of radiant light enveloped his body — like a celestial luan-niao spreading its wings, like a peacock fanning its tail. Behind him, dazzling wind-blade feathers unfurled, layered in brilliance and beauty.
He was using the Gu Clan's inherited top-grade treasure in conjunction with their top-tier Dao technique: Wind-Transforming Feather Art.
In that moment, Gu Changhuai looked like a divine immortal descended — strikingly handsome, and radiating astonishing spiritual might.
Xie Liu's face instantly paled.
He poured all his strength into his Yin Water Sword Qi, pushing it to the limit in a desperate attempt to face Gu Changhuai head-on.
But Gu Changhuai simply raised a finger.
The Seven-Colored Peacock Feather Fan flared with brilliance, and the blades formed by the Wind-Transforming Feather Art bloomed with kaleidoscopic killing intent.
In the blink of an eye, it was like a divine luan shaking its feathers.
All the feather blades gathered into a dazzling hurricane and surged toward Xie Liu.
There was nowhere to dodge.
In a single exchange, Xie Liu's sword light was shredded, his sword qi devoured instantly.
Even the Yin Water Sword in his hand lasted only moments before dimming and losing all brilliance.
Xie Liu himself was soon swallowed by the storm of blades.
Threads of wind-element spiritual power burrowed into him like maggots on bone, tearing at his meridians and flesh with hidden lethality.
The entire tavern — caught in the aftermath of the technique — was obliterated. Tables, chairs, fences, walls… reduced to dust.
When the technique finally subsided and the blades scattered—
Xie Liu was left kneeling on the ground, covered in wounds, eyes filled with despair.
He couldn't understand it.
They were both Golden Core cultivators. So why was the gap between their strength so vast?
He hadn't even survived a single round against that bastard Gu!
Mo Hua, watching nearby, was utterly stunned.
He already knew Uncle Gu was strong, but this strong?
Unrestricted by his cultivation realm, wielding a top-tier clan treasure, and casting peak-tier Dao arts—
He was not only ridiculously powerful…
He was also flamboyantly badass!
In Mo Hua's mind, Uncle Gu's coolness rating skyrocketed.
Meanwhile, Young Lord Jin and his men had already sensed something was wrong.
The moment Gu Changhuai made his move, they were ready to bolt.
But even they were stunned.
Xie Liu was, after all, an inner sect instructor of the Yin Water Sect — no slouch in cultivation or technique — and yet he was defeated in one move?
This Gu Changhuai… was a major threat.
Young Lord Jin's heart turned cold. He made a split-second decision:
"Retreat! Now!"
Whoever escapes is one more who can go back to the sect and bring reinforcements to block Gu Changhuai.
As long as they didn't get dragged into the Dao Court, everything could still be salvaged.
The four of them instantly turned into streaks of golden light and fled in different directions.
Gu Changhuai had just unleashed a high-tier Dao art and suppressed a Golden Core cultivator. His spiritual power hadn't fully recovered and he couldn't spare the energy to chase them immediately.
But Mo Hua clearly had no intention of letting them get away.
He locked onto them with his divine sense, his fingers tapping rapidly — streaks of blue light shot out one after another, and multiple Water Prison Techniques temporarily bound all of them.
Gu An and Gu Quan, both late Foundation Establishment cultivators, rushed forward without a word, chopping each target in the legs to cripple them before binding them with Spirit-Locking Chains.
Though the four struggled fiercely, with Mo Hua keeping watch, they had no chance to escape.
Meanwhile, Xie Liu was also seized by Gu Changhuai and bound with a Third-Rank Spirit-Locking Chain, sealing his body and meridians.
At last, the incident was resolved. Everyone from Young Lord Jin's group had been captured.
After collecting the evidence and confiscating their storage pouches, Gu Changhuai prepared to escort them all to the Dao Prison.
But suddenly, Young Lord Jin growled with venom,
"Gu Changhuai!"
Gu Changhuai gave him a cool glance.
Though bound and pinned to the ground, Young Lord Jin still sneered,
"Do you even know who I am?"
Gu Changhuai replied coldly: "No matter who you are, if you break Dao Law, you go to prison."
"Pah!" Young Lord Jin spat: "Spare me the righteous act!"
"Dao Law is meant for the lowborn. Nobles and rogue cultivators are not the same—how can one law apply to all?"
Gu Changhuai's gaze turned icy.
Young Lord Jin continued,
"Do you know who I am?"
"Eight hundred years ago, my ancestor was the sect master of the Broken Gold Sect!
My grandfather is now its grand elder.
My father is its deputy sect master.
My mother is a core elder!"
"Frankly, half of Broken Gold Sect's assets belong to the Jin Clan!"
"You'd better think this through—don't make this bigger than it needs to be.
Even if you're a Adjudicator, you won't get away with this unscathed!"
His tone was beyond arrogant.
Gu Changhuai raised an eyebrow—then lifted his foot and stepped on Jin's face, posture even cockier than Jin himself.
"You're just a Foundation Establishment cultivator threatening a Golden Core?"
"You're a sect brat threatening a Dao Court Adjudicator?"
"Your Jin Clan is a noble family—so what? Is my Gu Clan not?"
He ground his foot harder, pressing Jin's face into the mud, and sneered:
"Look at you now. No matter who you are, once you're underfoot, you look the same."
"You call others lowborn—but in our eyes, you're no different from the trash you look down on."
Young Lord Jin felt his dignity crushed into the dirt. His eyes were bloodshot as he roared:
"Gu Changhuaaaaai!"
"One day, I'll make you die a miserable death!"
"I'll ruin you, destroy you—"
Gu Changhuai simply chuckled and kicked him unconscious, then tossed him to Gu An like a sack of pork.
"Take him back."
"Yes, sir," Gu An responded, securing Jin.
Mo Hua looked a bit uneasy and quietly asked:
"Uncle Gu, won't you be in trouble for humiliating him like that? What if he retaliates later?"
Gu Changhuai said flatly:
"Plenty of people already hold grudges against me. If I feared things like that, how could I serve as a Adjudicator?"
"Oh…"
Mo Hua couldn't help but feel a bit of awe.
Turns out Uncle Gu wasn't just showy—he actually had real spine.
Gu Changhuai glanced at Mo Hua and suddenly frowned.
"Why are you even here?"
Mo Hua briefly explained:
"At the fishing village, I uncovered a human trafficking den, captured Guo Jianglong, and learned about the trafficking and pill-refining operations. So I had him deliver the pills to bait out his contact—then we tracked them here…"
Gu Changhuai was stunned, visibly surprised.
He hadn't expected Mo Hua's investigation to progress this quickly.
And the way he directed Gu An and Gu Quan? Smooth and effective—he already acted like a miniature Adjudicator.
Still… A bit too dangerous.
Gu Changhuai frowned and said,
"Be more careful next time. This is a third-grade prefecture. Golden Core criminal cultivators roam around here."
"A Golden Core cultivator is an entire major realm above your mere early Foundation Establishment. One misstep, and your life's gone."
"Mm-hmm."
Mo Hua nodded obediently, saying nothing more.
Then Gu Changhuai suddenly paused, asking curiously:
"Did you already know I was here? Is that why you acted so boldly?"
He remembered clearly — he had disguised himself and sat outside the tavern wearing a bamboo hat, quietly drinking. Mo Hua just so happened to pass by.
At that time, Mo Hua had looked at him meaningfully — his gaze lingered a bit longer, as if he had noticed something.
And after walking into the tavern, the brat seemed more confident, walking with his head held high and chest puffed out.
Mo Hua firmly denied it, flattering him,
"How could that be, Uncle Gu? Your disguise was flawless. How could I possibly recognize you?"
Gu Changhuai gave a soft snort.
Mo Hua thought for a moment, then asked:
"Right, Uncle Gu, why were you here in the first place?"
Gu Changhuai thought briefly and only shared the parts he could,
"The Dao Court's been investigating this human trafficking ring for a long time. We've been following some leads and watching certain individuals."
"That Xie Liu from the Yin Water Sect was one of them."
"As for Young Lord Jin — after you mentioned him the other day, I kept an eye out and had someone tail him."
"The past few days, he and Xie Liu seemed to be meeting in secret. I found it suspicious, so I came personally to check."
Gu Changhuai sighed softly.
He had actually arrived quite early, sitting outside with his hat on, drinking for quite a while.
But without evidence, he couldn't act. He could only watch and wait.
He hadn't expected that in just the blink of an eye, Mo Hua would show up with Gu An and Gu Quan, following Guo Jianglong right into the tavern.
Then, right before his eyes, the criminal cultivator Guo Jianglong handed over forbidden pills to Young Lord Jin.
Not only did Jin take the pills, he even boasted about trafficking cultivators, taking lives, and refining illegal pills.
And Xie Liu… even tried to kill to silence them.
In that moment, they basically handed Gu Changhuai every excuse he needed on a silver platter.
Even he found it hard to believe.
It was a golden opportunity. So he struck immediately, confirmed the evidence, and caught them all in one swoop.
Gu Changhuai glanced at Mo Hua, sighing inwardly, a little sentimental.
"Once again… this kid helped me big time."
With Young Lord Jin's group captured, this place was no longer safe.
To avoid any unexpected mishaps, Gu Changhuai decided to first escort them to the nearest Dao Court post, then gather Gu family reinforcements and transfer the prisoners to the main Dao Court in Qianxue Prefecture.
Mo Hua followed behind.
The group moved along the riverbank, heading toward the nearest immortal city.
At a fork in the road, they reached the edge of the prefecture. Two paths lay ahead:
One led to the nearby third-grade immortal city, the other toward the second-grade Yan Shui River region.
Gu Changhuai needed to bring Young Lord Jin to the Dao Court within the immortal city.
Mo Hua, however, had to pass through the Yan Shui River's second-grade territory to return to the Great Void Sect.
So he bid farewell to Gu Changhuai and the others.
Gu Changhuai hesitated slightly and said,
"I'll have Gu An and Gu Quan escort you."
Mo Hua shook his head.
"It's just a second-grade prefecture. I'm not afraid. Even if I run into Fire Buddha again, I can still escape."
Gu Changhuai was reminded of how the Fire Buddha had been ambushed and killed by Mo Hua. He sighed,
"Alright, just be careful."
"Mhm."
Gu An and Gu Quan also cupped their hands in farewell.
And so, Mo Hua parted ways with the group and began walking alone along the Yan Shui River, heading back.
He planned to reach the ferry crossing and hire a carriage — no need to run on foot the whole way.
But as he walked, a lingering doubt slowly returned to his mind.
Was that "Young Lord Jin" really a young lord?
So far, it seemed unlikely.
And what about Xie Liu?
Even though he was a Golden Core and an inner sect instructor at the Yin Water Sect, he still seemed to follow Jin's lead. That made it doubtful he was the real "Young Lord" either.
Guo Jianglong had said the pills were to be delivered to "Young Lord".
If Jin and Xie Liu weren't that person…
Then it meant the human pills would still change hands again — passed on to the true young lord?
Could that true "young lord" still be nearby?
Waiting for Jin to deliver those pills refined from gifted young cultivators' bodies?
Mo Hua frowned, and just as he was deep in thought—
a sudden chill crept up his spine.
He sharply turned to look at the Yan Shui River.
Thick fog drifted along the river, and a luxurious pleasure boat slowly emerged.
It was already past midnight.
The night was thick, the river shrouded in murky darkness. But the boat was brilliantly lit, veiled in gentle smoke and silks — a lavish floating palace.
Melodious music echoed, dancers moved with grace. Amid layers of rosy silk and perfumed mist, indulgence and excess overflowed.
Mo Hua's gaze darkened, his brows furrowing even tighter.
Then, all of a sudden —
a strange haze crossed his vision.
As if fate itself began to stir.
Within moments, atop the pleasure boat, a black-purple web of karmic threads slowly emerged.
Twisting. Interwoven. Ugly. Filthy.
Dripping with depravity and carnal desire — like a rotten heart, or a decaying poppy blossom.
Mo Hua's pupils contracted. He inhaled sharply.
At that moment, the mist on the boat parted slightly — revealing figures.
It was a group of people.
They wore fine garments, but their gestures were beastlike.
They drank and laughed, toasting one another.
They all seemed to be "young lords".
At the center, like a moon surrounded by stars, sat a youth who looked to be about Mo Hua's age — taller than him, and clearly of very noble status.
The others toasted him one after another.
It felt like a ceremony — a passing of power.
Then, from that central figure, something began to awaken.
Black mist surged, twisted desire took shape, and poppy-like chains slithered outward.
Mo Hua narrowed his eyes, trying to see his face clearly.
But everything was cloaked in mist. Blurry. Obscured.
Then — suddenly — that central "young lord" seemed to sense something.
He slowly turned his head.
From the black mist, cloaked in a gorgeous human-skin robe, he stared at Mo Hua with crimson eyes — like a demon in disguise.
Their eyes locked across the fog.
Neither could see the other clearly.
Yet somewhere deep in the unseen…
It was as if fate itself had begun to turn.
(End of Chapter)