Chapter 751: Monster
Xun Ziyou stepped into the elder's chamber and silently let out a breath of relief.
He hadn't expected that his spur-of-the-moment decision to come discuss matters with the Patriarch would end with him running into Mo Hua at the door.
The Patriarch's chambers were warded—divine sense couldn't pierce them.
So, he hadn't expected Mo Hua to suddenly walk out from within.
Just like that, this "eavesdropper" bumped headlong into the very person he was trying to avoid.
Xun Ziyou still felt a little guilty inside.
But thankfully, he was a late-stage Golden Core cultivator who had lived two or three hundred years. With deep shrewdness and experience, he masked his abnormal expression in an instant, pretended not to recognize Mo Hua, and barely managed to bluff his way through.
"It should be fine…"
Xun Ziyou thought to himself.
It was just a brief encounter. No matter how clever that kid was, there was no way he could have picked up on anything, right?
Besides, just now, the boy had respectfully greeted him and called him "Elder," acting perfectly proper.
Xun Ziyou gave a slight nod.
He entered the inner chamber and handed a jade slip to Elder Xun.
"The reform plan has mostly been decided..."
"Dao Court is already processing it."
"The exact regulations are still under discussion, but overall, it'll likely revolve around ranking in the Dao Discussion Assembly to determine sect status."
"Using this as a pretext to reshuffle the board—redefining the 'Four Great Sects,' the 'Eight Major Clans,' and the 'Twelve Tributaries.'"
"And at the same time, using this reform to restructure the sect system in Qianxue Prefecture, and increase the prestige and benefits of the 'Four Great Sects,' especially their cut of the Qianlong Mountain spirit mine."
"In other words, once the reform goes through, the title of 'Four Great Sects' will mean more than ever."
"Whoever can take a spot from the current Four Great Sects… will gain not only the title, but real power—and a massive share of spirit stones from Qianlong Mountain."
"Of course, if they can't win, then everything stays with the current Four Great Sects."
Elder Xun's expression grew slightly grim.
Xun Ziyou sighed.
"It's an open scheme…"
"A trap laid by the Four Great Sects to pave their path toward becoming titans on par with Daozhou's Dao Sects."
"With such a fat piece of meat laid out, even knowing the risks and slim odds, the other sects will still be tempted to gamble."
"Until they truly lose, everyone will believe they can win."
Xun Ziyou's tone was filled with sentiment.
Elder Xun nodded slowly.
Yes, until you lose, you always think you'll win…
But now, even he was tempted to gamble.
He had no choice.
Elder Xun frowned deeply.
Lately, his heart had been restless. Whenever he had time, he'd cast a divination, but the results were always shrouded—what seemed peaceful on the surface was brimming with hidden danger. No matter how he calculated, he saw only fog.
That was very strange.
Normally, even if vague, he could still grasp a trace of fate—good or ill.
Though Elder Xun knew his grasp of heavenly secrets wasn't top-tier, and his karmic compass wasn't a premium one either, it still shouldn't be completely blind.
But there wasn't even the faintest trace.
That could only mean the threads of karma and fate had been sealed.
By someone.
Someone didn't want him to see the truth.
Or perhaps—someone didn't want anyone to see it.
To obscure fate and karma from even a Void Comprehension cultivator like him... whoever was behind this, might be a truly terrifying existence.
Elder Xun had a vague suspicion—but he couldn't confirm it yet.
Some things were too ancient.
Some terrifying beings had long been forgotten.
Today's cultivators had lived in peace for too long and lost their sense of awe.
They didn't know fear—and would die from comfort.
They lacked dread for the true terrors of this world.
The current situation was complicated on the surface, and seething with danger beneath.
Trying to remain uninvolved and safe? That was no longer an option.
Which meant—he had to gamble.
Elder Xun's eyes sharpened slightly. Then he asked:
"How long will this sect reform take?"
A reform of this scale wouldn't happen overnight—it involved too many families and sects, too many intertwined interests, and affected the very balance of power. It would need significant time to slowly push through and implement.
Xun Ziyou replied:
"They say ten years. It will span three Dao Discussion Assemblies, gradually rolling out the reforms until everything is finalized."
He hesitated, then added:
"But to be honest, I think blades will already be drawn in the very next assembly."
"And by the one after that, life and death will be decided."
"We might not even need to reach the third—by then, the winner may already be clear. That final assembly might just be the victor's coronation ceremony…"
Xun Ziyou's voice was heavy.
"Ten years. Three assemblies…" Elder Xun murmured, gaze intense. "Let's hope that child… makes it in time…"
Back at the disciples' quarters, Mo Hua resumed his cultivation as usual.
When he had spare time, he reviewed all the formation techniques he had learned.
From first-grade killing arrays, to second-grade formations like the Five Elements Eight Trigrams Array, the Primordial Magnetic Array, and even the divine path formations he obtained from the fishing village—all revisited.
He also began considering the system of formations as a whole, and the distinctions between various types.
This marked a deeper level of understanding in his study of formations.
Ordinary formation masters, at his age and stage of cultivation, couldn't even access so many kinds of formations—much less learn them.
The sheer number of formations Mo Hua had mastered was ten or even dozens of times more than average formation cultivators.
The difficulty of the arrays he studied was also several levels higher.
But when you learn so much, you must start to summarize and integrate—to try to unify the Dao of Formations. At the very least, interlinking principles and analogies must be drawn.
Otherwise, if all you do is accumulate without synthesis, then no matter how much you've learned—it's still just a pile of sand.
However, this kind of summarization isn't something that happens overnight.
The field of formations is vast as the ocean and intricate as the stars.
To truly integrate it all, master it, and make it one—that's clearly a monumental, near-impossible task.
It would require enormous time and effort.
And along the way, he'd still need to learn countless more formations.
Mo Hua estimated: even if he spent his whole life on it, he still might not succeed.
But anything truly grand and mighty is never easy.
The Great Dao stood right in front of him. Even if the path was long and the destination unknown, even if no end could be seen, he would walk it step by step.
A cultivator's heart seeks only the Dao.
Even if they die before reaching the end, they must fall on the road of seeking the Great Dao—
—not shrink back in fear just because the path is hard, hesitating forever at the starting line, until time is wasted, the body dies, and the Dao dissipates.
With this in mind, Mo Hua's resolve grew a little stronger.
He began to settle his mind and comb through his formation knowledge.
Most formations were fine—he had studied many, and practiced them thoroughly.
But the "Divine Path Formations" were the exception. Mo Hua could draw them, and often practiced them, but he faintly felt that he hadn't grasped their true essence.
The Divine Path formations he obtained from that small fishing village, while relatively complete, were far too superficial.
All Mo Hua knew was that these formations could, to some extent, isolate and block divine sense.
They could seal the sea of consciousness and block weaker evil entities from invading.
To a degree, they could restrain malevolent forces.
But truthfully, their effect wasn't all that powerful.
They worked against common malevolent beings, but anything stronger? No good.
As for evil gods—or even evil god remains? Don't even think about it.
So, they were useful... but also frustratingly underwhelming. Far from what Mo Hua had hoped.
More than that, Mo Hua felt like his understanding of Divine Path formations was still blocked by a wall.
As the saying goes—"a different path is like a different mountain."
Formation knowledge was no exception.
And this wall was exactly that mountain.
So while Mo Hua could draw these divine path runes, his mind remained foggy—half-understanding, half-guessing.
Nowhere near the clarity and sharpness he had when working with other types of formations.
He faintly suspected...
These Divine Path formations, like Absolute Formations, might involve some profound formation principles—even laws of the Great Dao...
And he thought that was likely the case.
The problem was—he had too little inheritance in this area.
There was no way to learn more, to deepen his insight, or test his theories.
Mo Hua sighed, murmuring in his heart:
"I'm almost out of things to learn…"
"Guess I'll wait till after the New Year…"
"After that, maybe I can talk to Elder Xun and see if he'll lift my 'house arrest.' That way I can head out and hunt some evil gods, eat a few monsters, have a proper 'snack'."
"Even if I can't find more Divine Path formations, I can at least improve my 'diet,' feed those Heavenly Dao laws in my sea of consciousness, and break past the limit on my sea's expansion…"
In the days that followed, Mo Hua calmed his heart and lived peacefully.
That is, until a rest day came around, and he went to Demon-Refining Mountain to practice swordsmanship.
He trained for most of the day and killed two eagle demons. As dusk approached and he was about to return to the sect, he suddenly sensed a commotion in the distance.
Curious, Mo Hua walked over to see a crowd of fellow disciples gathered.
Some held medicinal pills, some prepared herbal decoctions, others had golden needles in hand.
Lying on the ground was Cheng Mo.
His face was pale, lips cracked, forehead soaked with cold sweat. On his chest was a bloody gash, with fresh blood pouring from it.
Mo Hua's expression darkened.
"What happened?"
Nearby, Ouyang Mu, looking anxious, heard him and lowered his head guiltily.
"It's all my fault…"
Situ Jian shook his head and said, "It's not your fault…"
Situ Jian's face was a bit pale, his spiritual energy somewhat depleted. His robe had a few cuts, but fortunately, he wasn't seriously injured.
He sighed and explained to Mo Hua what had happened:
"Junior Brother Ouyang needed some fox demon fur, claws, and bones for his sword refinement. Cheng Mo was free and volunteered to help catch a demon. I went along as well."
"At first, everything went smoothly."
"We found a rare kind of demon—a Blood-Enchanting Fox."
"Even in this beast-filled Demon-Refining Mountain, this type of fox demon is incredibly rare. There's no available hunting guide. But since we've slain enough beasts before, we had experience—we just followed the usual process."
"Hao Xuan set the trap and array. We laid in ambush."
"When the Blood-Enchanting Fox triggered the trap and was heavily wounded by the formation, Cheng Mo and I jumped out to finish it off."
"We were just about to succeed… but then we realized, this fox knew enchantment techniques."
"Enchantment techniques?" Mo Hua blinked.
Situ Jian nodded.
"Some demon beasts are born with abilities that can enchant a cultivator's divine sense."
"They can cause hallucinations, daze the divine mind, or stir up all kinds of desires…"
Even Mo Hua, a seasoned demon hunter by trade, had only heard of such beasts—but had never encountered one himself.
"So you two were enchanted?"
"A little," Situ Jian admitted. "That fox wasn't even an adult. Just a low-level second-grade beast. Its enchantment wasn't strong—our divine senses were dazed briefly, but before it could land a lethal blow, we snapped out of it."
"My robe got torn, but I'm fine."
"Cheng Mo got a minor injury—just some flesh."
Mo Hua frowned and looked down at Cheng Mo, who was pale as a corpse and bleeding like a fountain.
"Then what's this?"
Situ Jian's face turned grim.
"Just as we shook off the enchantment and killed the fox… something suddenly burst from the forest—a monster."
Mo Hua's gaze sharpened.
"A monster?"
Situ Jian frowned.
"Yeah. It didn't look like a beast. But it didn't look human either. Or maybe… it looked like both."
"It could stand upright on two legs, but also crawl on all fours. It had a massive body, wrapped in black cloth. Entirely pitch-black, so we couldn't make out its appearance—just its two blood-red eyes…"
"The monster leapt out, claws like razors, a stench of blood on the wind—it attacked before we could react."
"Cheng Mo was the first to shield us. He clashed with the monster head-on."
"But it was too powerful. Just one blow, and it tore open his chest."
"We rushed forward to help, and the monster, seeing it was outnumbered, let out a roar and didn't linger. It grabbed the fox's corpse and vanished into the deep mountains…"
"Cheng Mo's injuries were severe. We had to treat him immediately. And the monster… it was too strong, and vanished too fast. We didn't dare chase too far, so we just brought Cheng Mo back…"
Situ Jian let out a long sigh.
Mo Hua's frown only deepened. He glanced at Cheng Mo, whose breath was shallow, and asked:
"How's his condition?"
A disciple skilled in alchemy replied:
"He lost a lot of blood, but we treated him in time. Applied hemostatic powder, fed him restorative pills. Plus, he's a body cultivator—his constitution's solid. He should be okay."
"We'll send him back to the sect shortly, and have Elder Murong take a look to avoid long-term effects."
"It's just that…"
The disciple looked puzzled.
"There's some strange demonic energy lingering in his wound. I'm afraid it won't be easy to remove…"
"Demonic energy?" another disciple exclaimed. "That monster was half-human, half-beast. Could it be… a demonic cultivator?"
"But only sect disciples are allowed in Demon-Refining Mountain. Everyone has to be inspected by the elders before entering—how could a demonic cultivator sneak in?" another chimed in.
The crowd was full of confusion and doubt.
But Mo Hua's expression turned thoughtful.
Demonic cultivator…
Non-disciples not allowed…
Evading inspection…
He pondered for a moment, then turned to Situ Jian.
"Where exactly were you ambushed by that 'monster'? Take me there."
Situ Jian nodded.
"I'll lead the way."
Ouyang Mu added,
"I'm coming too."
He looked guilty.
"If I hadn't needed fox demon materials for sword forging, Brother Cheng Mo wouldn't have been hurt."
Mo Hua reassured him.
"This isn't your fault."
But Ouyang Mu was a bit stubborn and still full of self-blame, clearly wanting to do something to make up for it.
At that moment, Linghu Xiao spoke up.
"I'll come along."
Linghu Xiao had a good relationship with the little blockhead.
He was a sword cultivator, and Ouyang Mu was a swordsmith.
All of Linghu Xiao's spiritual swords were maintained and repaired by Ouyang Mu.
Since they both worked with swords, they got along well.
Ouyang Mu's cultivation wasn't very high. If he really had to face a "monster" strong enough to injure Cheng Mo with one blow, he'd be in real danger.
Linghu Xiao didn't say it outright, but it was clear he wanted to back Ouyang Mu up.
Besides, that non-human, non-demon monster was clearly a formidable opponent.
Linghu Xiao, as a sword cultivator, also wanted to test himself against it.
"Alright," Mo Hua nodded. "Linghu, you come with us. As for you, blockhead…"
He turned to Ouyang Mu.
"Help the others bring Cheng Mo back to the Great Void Sect. Don't worry about the rest—don't take it to heart."
"Cheng Mo's built like an ox. He'll be fine."
Ouyang Mu hesitated for a moment, then slowly nodded.
"Let's move." Mo Hua said. "Hao Xuan, Brother Yang, you come too."
"Understood."
And so, with Situ Jian leading the way, Mo Hua, Hao Xuan, Yang Qianjun, and Linghu Xiao followed closely behind. The five of them made their way along the mountain path, through the forest, to the site of the ambush.
There was a large pool of blood on the ground.
One part was light pink with a faint trace of demonic energy—the blood of the Blood-Enchanting Fox.
The other part was dark red, mostly dried—Cheng Mo's blood.
The scene was clear and matched Situ Jian's account.
In addition, there was a trail of blood and drag marks leading into the forest.
Clearly, the "monster" had dragged the fox's corpse into the woods and vanished deeper within.
Mo Hua's eyes narrowed. He spoke in a low voice:
"Let's head into the forest and take a look."
The others exchanged glances, then all nodded.
And so, the group moved cautiously, venturing deeper into the forest…
(End of Chapter)