Chapter 722: Clan Extermination
Mo Hua accepted the bounty, but since he couldn't leave Qianxue Prefecture, he handed the task over to Cheng Mo and had him lead the team.
However, Mo Hua didn't disclose the bounty's details.
It wasn't until the night before departure that he gathered everyone and explained a few key precautions.
"This mission is to assist the Dao Court in wiping out a large group of devil cultivators in Qingping City!"
A large group of devil cultivators!
The moment those words landed, everyone's expressions turned serious.
So it really was a major task—no wonder the contribution reward was so generous.
Despite a touch of nervousness, the disciples couldn't hide their excitement.
They came from noble families, but were still young and inexperienced. They'd been focused on cultivation and hadn't yet been entangled in worldly interests. In their hearts, the dream of "wielding the sword beneath the heavens, slaying demons and evil" still burned bright.
They upheld righteousness and felt a natural revulsion toward devil cultivators.
Mo Hua gave a nod, then proceeded to remind them of some practical things:
"Bring your protective spiritual artifacts, wear your armor and robes properly, and carry plenty of healing and life-saving pills…"
He continued,
"There's only one thing you must remember for this mission…"
"Never underestimate devil cultivators!" Mo Hua's expression turned solemn.
"Devil cultivators are evil, yes, but they're not stupid. They may not be as talented as you, but they have far more experience in cultivation. They're ruthless, underhanded, and completely shameless."
This was going to be very different from the smaller missions they'd done before—dealing with minor cultists and rogue cultivators with weak lineages and petty tricks.
This time, it was a large-scale battle.
The group of Great Void disciples followed the mountain path, leaving the sect and stepping into their first major campaign against devil cultivators.
Mo Hua added with a sigh:
"If anything happens to any of you, the sect elders will surely blame me. And in the future, I wouldn't be able to bring you on any missions with the Dao Court…"
"We'll be careful, Little Senior Brother! You can count on us!"
Since he couldn't leave the prefecture, all he could do was wait for news from Cheng Mo's team. There was no point in rushing—he had no choice but to wait.
His deduction methods were still immature and couldn't reveal detailed karmic cause and effect, but at least he hadn't sensed any heart-pounding omens of danger.
"May you all depart safely… and return safely."
Mo Hua sighed softly, feeling a tinge of worry.
The moon was bright, stars sparse, and the mountains cloaked in darkness.
He stood at the gate of the Great Void Sect, waving goodbye as the group faded into the distance.
During his scheduled break, Master Gu came by to deliver a set of custom-made armor—specially designed to work with the Five Elements Source Array Mo Hua had devised.
The armor was called the Five Elements Source Armor.
Five Element enhancement arrays were rare "absolute formations." Suitable spirit artifacts were even rarer and lacked references for structure or design.
Mo Hua could only rely on his formation theory and Master Gu's artifact-crafting advice—crossing the river by feeling for stones.
This armor was the initial prototype. Whether it actually worked, Mo Hua wasn't sure yet.
He had free time during his break, so he decided to test the armor's functionality.
First, he inscribed a Five Element Fire Source Array inside the armor.
Then he rented a private spell chamber to test its effect.
Inside the chamber:
Mo Hua stood in the oversized armor—his face serious, but his appearance a bit comical. The armor had been forged to adult proportions, so it looked a size too big on him.
Luckily, the chamber was sealed. No one would see.
He activated Fireball Technique on a spell dummy in the distance.
A flash of red light shimmered from the armor, surrounding him in a glowing aura.
Mo Hua pointed his finger. A fireball whooshed forward, leaving a streak of flame before slamming into the dummy.
Boom! Flames erupted.
Scorch marks blackened the dummy's surface, though they soon faded as the restoration array took effect.
The Fireball was decently powerful.
But Mo Hua frowned.
"Something's wrong…"
The armor… didn't work.
He took it off, disassembled it, and carefully examined the array.
The Grade-1 Thirteen-Rune Five Element Fire Source Array—he knew it by heart, every stroke correct.
No mistake in the array.
He checked the armor structure.
Master Gu was a third-grade artifact smith with abundant experience. The armor itself was meticulously crafted—flawless.
So the array was fine, the armor was fine.
But the Five Elements Fire Source Armor… wasn't activating.
His spiritual power wasn't being amplified. The Fireball's power remained the same.
Mo Hua was confused.
Where was the flaw?
He committed the entire armor and artifact structure to memory, then mentally traced the flow of spiritual power through the array's pathways—but found no errors.
He racked his brain but couldn't figure it out. In the end, he just lay on the floor, legs propped up, thinking slowly.
The armor had been forged using conventional spirit artifact methods.
But standard spirit artifacts were meant for standard arrays.
Absolute formations were a different beast.
Or at least… Five Element absolute formations were.
"How did I draw the Five Element Source Array before?"
"Why did it work when drawn on the ground, but not when inscribed on armor?"
He recalled how he had drawn the formation directly on the ground to activate the Five Element Source Array.
Comparing both scenarios, a realization surfaced.
The only real difference—besides the medium—was how the array was powered.
When drawn on the ground, the absolute formation was activated using divine sense—spiritual consciousness merged with spiritual power to animate the array.
But on the armor, the array was only powered by spiritual energy, without any input from divine sense. It lacked that crucial integration.
Mo Hua took note of it.
The essence of the Five Element Source Array was to use a formation to achieve "divine sense conversion," thereby amplifying the power of Five Element spiritual energy.
The portion of spiritual energy that got enhanced didn't come from nowhere—it was converted from spiritual intent (will).
At this thought, Mo Hua suddenly shuddered.
Divine sense conversion… amplification of spiritual energy…
The underlying logic of the Five Element Source Array was unexpectedly similar to Divine Dao formations.
Both involved the principle of converting divine sense, though their end goals differed.
The Five Element Source Array converted willpower into amplified spiritual power.
Divine Dao formations converted spiritual energy into enhanced divine sense.
Mo Hua's eyes lit up—a flash of epiphany, like sweet dew poured into his brain. He felt he'd stumbled upon something important.
But when he tried to grasp it fully, it all felt vague and intangible—like an idea just out of reach.
Perhaps his cultivation was still too low, and his understanding too shallow. He'd been inspired, yes—but not enlightened.
Mo Hua nodded slowly.
Since he couldn't figure it out for now, he let it go and turned his focus back to the Five Element Source Armor.
He now understood the theory—but putting it into practice was a whole other beast.
It boiled down to a fundamental difference in how power flowed between formation magic and artifact inscriptions.
Formations were operated manually—by divine sense.
Artifacts, once activated, ran automatically.
Simple formations, like the ones Mo Hua had drawn before—low-grade Fireground Arrays under nine runes—were easy. Just pour spiritual energy in and go.
Typically, you'd crush a spirit stone, let the energy seep into the runes, and the array would start on its own.
But that only worked for simple arrays.
As formations got more advanced—with more runes, complex structures, and diverse functions—things changed.
Take compound arrays, grand formations, or any single formation above Grade Two.
These required built-in array nodes powered by spirit stones, with intricate control mechanisms. One had to use divine sense to open, close, regulate, or redirect the spiritual energy within.
That meant controlling them required a foundation in formation theory, and a decent reserve of divine sense.
Artifacts, however, were different.
They were made for universal use, so the threshold couldn't be too high. Nor could they be too complex to operate.
As long as an artifact had spiritual energy, it worked.
Arrays inside artifacts operated automatically once powered—no divine sense required.
And that was the problem.
The Five Element Source Array needed divine sense conversion.
Drawing it on the ground? No problem—formations could be operated directly with divine sense, which allowed for that conversion.
But on an artifact?
Artifacts couldn't be controlled with divine sense, which meant:
No spiritual intent injected.
No conversion possible.
No Five Element enhancement.
No spiritual amplification.
Mo Hua's head throbbed a bit.
It looked so simple on the surface. But once put into actual use, there were layers of unexpected complications.
That meant… the Five Element Source Armor couldn't follow the usual structure of internal formations found in artifacts.
It needed to be "open-source."
Only with divine sense access could spiritual intent flow in, and only then could the spiritual energy be enhanced.
But such a design completely violated traditional artifact standards. It resembled something between an artifact and an array medium—a special hybrid tool: a "formation artifact."
Things had gotten tricky…
Still, Mo Hua didn't consider this a real setback.
He had already mentally prepared himself for obstacles. If anything, he was feeling even more energized.
After all, if the Five Element Source Armor succeeded, it could remove the need for terrain or fixed formations—and significantly boost spell power.
With such armor, even if his cultivation was a bit lower, tactics and timing could allow him to fight above his level.
Mo Hua was full of anticipation.
"One step at a time…"
He went back to the armor's forging blueprint, and began modifying it—trying to re-design the internal formation to be open, allowing divine sense to flow through.
Meanwhile, his thoughts drifted back to Qingping City.
He really wanted to send a message to Uncle Gu and ask how things were going.
But he knew—missions involving devil cultivator extermination were highly sensitive. Uncle Gu's message token was most likely under lockdown.
Even if he sent a message, he wouldn't get a reply.
"Well, I'll know in two days anyway…"
Mo Hua refocused and continued refining the armor.
Not even two days passed before Cheng Mo's team returned.
Mo Hua counted the heads: not one more, not one less—exactly fifty. He finally relaxed.
Everyone bore some wounds, but their expressions carried a complex mix of exhaustion and excitement.
"Eleven sustained minor injuries, two lost an arm, and one was stabbed with a sword—but nothing life-threatening," Cheng Mo reported.
"With healing pills and a bit of rest, they'll be fine in a few days."
Mo Hua nodded with satisfaction, then asked:
"What about the devil cultivators?"
Cheng Mo replied,
"Most were killed or captured. But some still managed to escape by fighting desperately."
"Do you know which clan they were trying to exterminate?"
Cheng Mo shook his head.
"No idea. The moment they showed up, Commander Gu ordered an immediate strike. The ones we captured were sent straight to the Dao Court for interrogation."
"Commander Gu looked really serious—I didn't dare ask too much…"
Mo Hua nodded.
"Got it."
He looked at everyone again and reminded them:
"This matter must not be spread. Otherwise, it could bring trouble."
Everyone nodded.
Cheng Mo added:
"Commander Gu gave us the same warning."
Mo Hua then told them to rest.
"Once the Dao Court tallies the results, your contribution points should be credited."
The disciples beamed with joy, all cupping their hands in thanks:
"Thank you, Little Senior Brother!"
…
Mo Hua returned to the disciples' quarters and sent a message to Gu Changhuai:
"Uncle Gu, do you know which clan the devil cultivators were trying to wipe out?"
He waited a long while.
No reply from Uncle Gu.
"Looks like he's busy..."
Mo Hua silently muttered to himself.
The next day came and went—still no reply.
Mo Hua began to grow puzzled.
It wasn't until the third day that Gu Changhuai finally responded:
"They were wiped out."
Mo Hua froze.
"What?"
Gu Changhuai let out a long sigh.
"Someone... was wiped out."
Mo Hua's pupils contracted sharply.
"Didn't we protect Qingping City? It wasn't Qingping City?"
Gu Changhuai said grimly,
"It was."
After a pause, he continued slowly,
"Those devil cultivators… they actually split into two groups. They struck simultaneously. Qingping City was just one of their targets."
"We discovered the Qingping City plot and mobilized forces in time to ruin their plan. But we overlooked... the other place."
Mo Hua's expression grew heavy.
"Where was the other target?"
Gu Changhuai answered:
"The Yu Family Water Stronghold, on the banks of the Smokespring River."
"Yu Family Water Stronghold?" Mo Hua looked confused.
Gu Changhuai nodded.
"It's a remote water settlement near the Smokespring River, located on a lone island surrounded by water on all sides. The people living there were fishing cultivators. They kept to themselves and rarely interacted with outsiders."
"Two nights ago… the entire stronghold was slaughtered by the devil cultivators."
"No one knew at first. The next day, some fishing cultivators happened to pass by on a boat and smelled an overwhelming stench—rotten and bloody. When they approached… they saw the river around the island dyed red with blood. The entire stronghold was wiped clean—not a single survivor…"
Gu Changhuai sighed deeply.
Mo Hua felt a chill creep into his heart.
"Do we know who did it?"
Even if they were outsider devil cultivators, they had to have some identity.
Gu Changhuai replied:
"Still under investigation. We should get something in the next few days, but with no eyewitnesses, it's going to be hard."
"What about the devil cultivators caught in Qingping City?" Mo Hua asked.
"There were many of them, but most were just lackeys. We used various interrogation methods but didn't get anything useful."
Mo Hua frowned.
Gu Changhuai looked troubled, but still said:
"Leave this to me. You focus on your cultivation."
After that, he stopped replying.
Mo Hua, however, felt an increasingly heavy weight pressing on his heart.
He had a strong premonition—the footsteps of the Great Wilderness Evil God were drawing closer, and the schemes in the shadows… were accelerating.
But what exactly was this scheme?
Resurrection?
How?
Mo Hua's brows furrowed deeper and deeper.
And the extermination of the Yu Family Water Stronghold… did that mean somewhere along the Smokespring River, a hidden and unknown altar had been constructed again?
Who exactly were these devil cultivators who carried out the massacre?
Who was leading them?
Mo Hua exhaled a long breath.
Unfortunately, he couldn't even leave the sect—let alone investigate.
He tried to calm his thoughts by drawing a few formation diagrams.
But while doing so, he suddenly felt a strange flutter in his heart.
Almost unconsciously, he reached into his storage pouch and pulled out a jade slip.
It was Boss Jiang's list.
By now, most of the names on the list of criminal cultivators were already faded—either dead, escaped, or captured.
Even the name "Fire Buddha," once blazing and soaked in blood, had now turned dull and gray.
The list… was basically useless.
Yet Mo Hua couldn't shake the feeling that some lingering karmic thread had not yet been resolved.
And just now—something had changed in that karmic thread…
What was it?
He stared at the list for a long time, but no matter how hard he looked, he couldn't find anything unusual.
Just as he was about to toss the list aside, he suddenly froze—his expression tightening.
His gaze grew deep. On his forehead, the markings of Heavenly Pattern, Ghost Dao, and Divine Dao flickered faintly—interweaving gold, dark, and eerie blue.
And just like that, the jade slip began to change.
The name "Fire Buddha" faded completely.
Then, his vision blurred. Karma shifted.
The sea of fire receded.
The tide surged.
The waves were blue at first, then tainted red, as if drenched in blood—turning into a half-blue, half-red sea of blood.
The bloody sea swallowed the sea of fire.
Within the jade slip, the name "Fire Buddha" was erased—replaced by another name, steeped in blood and ill fate:
Water Yama.
(End of Chapter)