Chapter 1069 Enlightenment
Wenren Jingxuan gazed at the thread of pity and sorrow in his daughter's gentle eyes. His heart clenched, and a bitter expression flickered across his face; all the words of counsel in his mind refused to escape his lips.
Shangguan Ce exhaled lightly. In his heart, he naturally hoped that Wenren Wan would agree.
This matter was decided by the various Dongxu Elder Ancestors who managed affairs in the Qianxue State; as head of the Shangguan family, he certainly did not wish to defy their will.
On a smaller scale, this issue concerned the life of the Shangguan family's legitimate son and the family's reputation.
On a larger scale, it concerned the safety of the entire Qianxue State.
If Wenren Wan agreed, it would count as a favor owed.
Regardless of whether they could ultimately save Yu'er or what Wenren Wan's fate would be, it was a beneficial outcome for the Shangguan family.
He was the family head, and he, too, was weighing pros and cons.
However, this kind of "weighing" felt somewhat selfish and cold; Shangguan Ce did not dare voice it, lest he provoke the Wenren family.
Fortunately, Wenren Wan's maternal love was fierce, and she had made her decision. If she had thrown aside this familial bond and preserved her own safety, Shangguan Ce would have had no grounds to dissuade her.
Under the current circumstances, he was pleased to see her choice.
Shangguan Ce folded his sleeves and stood calmly to one side, feigning indifference.
But at this moment, Shangguan Yi stepped forward.
Seeing his wife's face stricken with grief, his heart ached involuntarily. "I am Yu'er's father," he said, his voice trembling with emotion, "blood between father and son runs thicker than water. If entering the dream is necessary, then let me—"
At these words, Shangguan Ce's face darkened immediately, and he snapped, "Nonsense! What have you to do with this?"
He had lived a life of indulgence, countless women, yet only one son.
He needed this sole son to inherit the family enterprise.
Should his son's sea of consciousness be damaged or his Dao-body impaired, severing the great Dao and making further cultivation nearly impossible, then there would be no hope of him assuming the position of family head.
All the relationships he had painstakingly built over a lifetime, and the foundation he had amassed through every bit of effort, would be lost to the void.
Wenren Jingxuan glanced coldly at Shangguan Ce, then turned to look at the grief-stricken Shangguan Yi. In his heart, he felt both relief and disdain.
He was relieved, because Shangguan Yi truly loved his daughter.
His daughter had not married the wrong man.
He felt disdainful, because if she had not married Shangguan Yi, his precious daughter could have lived carefree, like honeyed days, without enduring torment in the Shangguan household. She would not now have to face the agonizing choice between giving birth to a child or facing death herself, with her cultivation prospects lost.
"Enough; everything is governed by fate, and we have no say..." Wenren Jingxuan's expression turned grim, and he finally sighed.
"Wan'er, you..." Wenren Jingxuan stared deeply at Wenren Wan, countless words welling in his chest, yet all condensed into a single, profound sigh.
But after all, this was his own flesh and blood; as a father, he could not stand idly by.
"Come with me and report back to the Elder Ancestors." Wenren Jingxuan reached out, supporting Wenren Wan as they moved toward the exit.
Wenren Wan took a few steps, then looked back at her husband. Her eyes held some reluctance, which in moments turned to sorrowful resolve. At length, she followed Wenren Jingxuan and departed the sealed chamber.
Inside the sealed chamber, only the Shangguan father and son remained.
Shangguan Yi's face was pale as he stood rooted to the spot.
Seeing his son in such a state, even Shangguan Ce—whose schemes ran deep—felt anger flare within him. He rebuked, "Is that all you've got? As Shangguan Ce's son, is your mind filled only with these sentimental emotions?"
"With your wife and child gone, you're completely bereft, as though your life depends on them. How can someone like you ever grow to greatness?"
Shangguan Yi maintained a calm expression, enduring his father's scolding. Finally he said quietly, "Father, I am Yu'er's father and Wan'er's husband. If I cannot protect my son and my wife, how could I possibly become what you call 'great'?"
"If I cannot guard my own little family, how can I shoulder the responsibilities of clan head of the Shangguan lineage?"
Shangguan Ce hesitated. "Those are two separate matters."
Shangguan Yi shook his head. "Family and clan—without 'family,' there is no 'clan.'"
Shangguan Ce snapped with annoyance, "But you can't, for the sake of your little family, abandon your cultivation and future prospects. Entering the dream-state with your Divine Sense could cripple your sea of consciousness. Is that what you should do?"
Shangguan Yi's face remained calm. "It's only my sea of consciousness that would be destroyed. If I can truly save Yu'er and protect Wan'er, I'm willing to be a beast of burden; what does it matter?"
Shangguan Ce's anger made his chest ache. Seeing his son in such a "spineless" state, he could only heave a resentful sigh.
"This is what you get for your actions..." he muttered.
He had lived a life of indulgence, yet sired a son who cared only for sentimentality.
Shangguan Ce's face turned cold as he swept his sleeves and left in anger.
Only Shangguan Yi remained alone in the sealed chamber. Thinking of his child's uncertain fate and the wife who would have to sacrifice her Dao-path to save that child, he felt both shame and helplessness, his face filled with regret.
…
Within the Sword-Gazing Pavilion.
Wenren Wan was brought before Master Situ and the assembly of Dongxu Elder Ancestors by Wenren Jingxuan.
Master Situ asked, "Have you thought this through?"
Wenren Wan nodded. Her gentle features shone with a mother's resolve: "As long as I can save Yu'er, I do not care about my sea of consciousness or my cultivation."
Master Situ's expression changed, and he even felt a pang of respect. Yet the more he felt this way, the deeper his sigh grew.
If the undertaking proved impossible, mother and son alike might not survive.
In this world, the kindest people always seemed destined to suffer the most from fate's machinations.
The other Dongxu Elder Ancestors also inclined their heads slightly, relief softening their brows.
Although they were Dongxu cultivators of high attainment and great authority, capable of pressing others by might, even if Wenren Wan refused, they had other means to coerce the Shangguan and Wenren families into compliance. But the "Great Dream Inducement" method involved the sea of consciousness. If Wenren Wan resisted in her heart and truly refused, the process of Great Dream Inducement would certainly not proceed smoothly.
Now that she was desperate to save her son and willing to risk severing her Dao-path, her verbal agreement was, of course, welcome.
However, this was truly unfair to the Wenren family's daughter…
The Elder Ancestors present frowned.
Elder Xun (Xun Laoshi) thought for a moment, his murky eyes blinking as he spoke slowly, "Your journey is both to save your child and to avert the crisis threatening Qianxue State."
"The details involved are not for me to speak of."
"But whether or not the matter succeeds, we—the Elder Ancestors of the various lineages and sects—will owe you a large debt of gratitude."
Wenren Wan raised her sorrowful yet graceful face and bowed to Elder Xun. "Thank you, Elder Xun."
Then she turned to the other Dongxu Elder Ancestors and bowed again. "Thank you, Elder Ancestors."
The other Elder Ancestors were momentarily taken aback, but upon reflection, none spoke further, effectively acquiescing to this "favor."
Thus, this matter was settled.
Master Situ finally sighed in a deep voice: "Twelve days from now, the Great Tribulation will descend. Before then, everyone should prepare."
The assembly of Dongxu Elder Ancestors nodded.
Wenren Wan, anxious for Yu'er, looked pale.
Elder Xun raised his head, gazing at the blood-red array formation on the horizon, his brow knit in worry for Mo Hua's safety.
He had already calculated countless times in recent days.
But this matter was too colossal, seemingly tainted with too many karmic entanglements and involving too many unspeakable beings and powerful cultivators. The heavenly mechanisms were obscure and infinitely complex; not a trace of a portent could be divined.
Elder Xun did not know what form the Arhatian Blood Sacrifice Array would take twelve days hence.
He did not know whether he would see Mo Hua again.
He did not know what Mo Hua's condition would be if they did meet again…
Elder Xun sighed softly.
…
Throughout Qianxue State, demonic calamities were erupting everywhere.
The entire Qianxuezhou realm was plagued by rising demonic disasters everywhere.
Gu Changhuai was still leading the Dao Ting Si's officers, appearing across various state realms to hunt down and slaughter demonic cultivators, especially the evil array masters.
However, as the demonic cultivators tightened their defenses, it became increasingly difficult for him to succeed.
But he did not give up; instead, he did his best to kill as many as possible.
After all, this was the only thing he could do.
In a demon cultivator stronghold, Gu Changhuai, covered in bloodstains, used wind blades to slash through a group of corpse cultivators and blood slaves. He then raised his head to look toward the horizon.
The Blood Sacrifice Great Array was still there.
Moreover, deep inside the array, the blood color grew even denser, as if something was hatching. Between heaven and earth, a brewing force loomed like an impending storm, weighing heavily on people's hearts.
"Mo Hua…"
Gu Changhuai frowned deeply, worry filling his heart.
At the same time, in various places, the elders of Tai Xu Sect—Xun Zixian, Xun Ziyou, and others, including Zhang Lan who came from afar—were all fighting fiercely with the demon cult.
Yet amid the clashes, they also worried about Mo Hua, whose situation remained unknown and from whom there was no news at all.
…
Outside Yanluo Mountain,
The prodigious disciples from the Four Sects, Eight Gates, and Twelve Schools were still "waiting" for Mo Hua.
But as the great array expanded, they had to retreat more than twenty li back into the Qianxue territory.
And as the situation worsened, they gradually lost hope for Mo Hua.
The disciples of Tai Xu Sect were especially anxious.
Although they trusted their junior senior brother, they were facing a quasi-third-grade evil array containing countless demon cultivators and high-ranking demon lords.
"Will Junior Senior Brother really return safely...?"
Linghu Xiao and the others felt as if a heavy stone was pressing on their hearts.
Inside the Arhatian Blood Sacrifice Great Array,
Mo Hua also furrowed his brow.
But his worries were completely different:
"Can I really blow up this great array?"
How to hide this from Mr. Tu?
How to control the Arhatian Blood Sacrifice array core?
How to maximize the use of the Reverse Spirit Array and unleash greater power to "bury" everything?
These days, Mo Hua had been pondering day and night but found no good solution.
He could only pretend to be drawing array formations, lie down on the ancient beast's skeleton to rest, close his eyes, and swiftly run through his lifetime of learned principles and knowledge of all array formations in his mind like a revolving lantern.
But no matter how he recalled them, he gained nothing.
He was only a foundation-stage cultivator, a second-grade array master, and had lived just over twenty years.
Mr. Tu, on the other hand, was an ascended being, a fourth-grade array master, looking neither fully human nor ghost, and had lived for an unknown number of years.
Mo Hua simply didn't have the confidence that his array methods could fool an "old monster" like Mr. Tu.
"If so, then I can only start with arrays I know and Mr. Tu definitely doesn't…"
Mo Hua frowned, racking his brains and carefully pondering:
"I know it, but Mr. Tu doesn't…"
"The Thick Earth Absolute Array? The Spirit Pivot Absolute Array? The Five Elements Source Array?"
Mr. Tu might not know these, but it was hard to say.
He just hadn't used them in front of Mo Hua, so concluding he didn't know them would be too rash.
Besides, the current situation didn't seem to allow the use of these arrays.
"The Reverse Spirit Absolute Array…"
Such a highly destructive array—if Mr. Tu didn't know it, he surely would. And once I draw it, Mr. Tu definitely won't miss it.
"What else is there?"
Mo Hua pondered for a long time, then suddenly paused, "The Mystery Heaven Great Array."
The Mystery Heaven array was the exact opposite. Mo Hua could be sure Mr. Tu knew the mystery arrays, but he definitely didn't "master" them like Mo Hua did. After all, this was a divine-born array.
Mr. Tu was merely a "lackey" of the Arhatian Evil God.
Whereas Mo Hua was a "demigod" evolved from the Tianyan Secret.
Mr. Tu might understand, but definitely didn't understand as deeply as Mo Hua.
"But how to use the Mystery Heaven Great Array?"
Mo Hua furrowed his brow and pondered for a moment, then suddenly recalled some words Mr. Tu had told him before:
"The mystery array is used for the array master to distinguish truth from falsehood…"
"The 'mystery surface' is 'false,' and the 'mystery answer' is 'true.' Only by seeing through the surface can you perceive the essence of the array."
"The mystery surface is 'illusory,' and the mystery answer is 'real,' and between illusion and reality lies the profound Great Dao laws of transformation…"
Truth and falsehood in mystery arrays!
Mo Hua's expression jolted, and in an instant, enlightenment flooded him.
He finally knew how to hide from Mr. Tu!
And this was taught by Mr. Tu himself!
But…
After hiding from Mr. Tu, then what?
Mo Hua frowned again.
Can a second-grade Reverse Spirit array really trigger the explosion of a quasi-third-grade Blood Sacrifice Great Array?
If it were a second-grade great array, Mo Hua would have some confidence.
But this array was quasi-third-grade; his previous experience with "array explosions" could no longer be referenced.
A second-grade Reverse Spirit array could only reverse-interpret second-grade arrays.
He couldn't expect the second-grade Reverse Spirit array to dismantle a third-grade array core, thereby causing a powerful spiritual power reversal to destroy everything inside the great array.
Within the Arhatian Blood Sacrifice Great Array, there were indeed some "hybrid" second-grade array cores, many of which Mo Hua had drawn himself.
But whether reversing the second-grade cores could destabilize the third-grade cores to collapse the great array or cause a massive explosion was still unknown.
Such things could not be tried or verified.
There was only one chance, and if he failed, Mr. Tu would never give him a second one.
"What should I do…"
Mo Hua lay there for a while with no clue, then turned over, lying on the huge skeleton, staring at the enormous array eye's heart and the leyline soaked by the heart.
Fresh blood was still flowing.
The leyline was still wailing.
Mo Hua felt a pang of pity, but as he gazed, suddenly his mind moved, drawn by the Dao essence. His thoughts raced through his mind.
"Leyline…"
"Terrain is Kun, thick virtue bears all, the earth embraces everything…"
"Life and death, spiritual power and evil power… intertwine and dissolve within the leyline…"
"Good and demon, the same…"
Mo Hua felt his heart tremble. A profound insight, both indistinctly tangled yet sharply clear, slowly grew in his heart.
An ancient, simple law dissolved a corner in Mo Hua's heart.
The Great Dao is distinct, blending with the mundane.
Amid myriad threads, he suddenly recalled what Elder Zheng had told him: "Good and demon are one entity. What is called demon is neither born from womb nor egg, but from transformation…"
Good and demon are one, opposing and merging, transforming into each other.
Mo Hua's eyes were black and white distinctly.
Elder Zheng spoke of humans, but it was also principle, Dao. Since it is Dao, it is also a kind of law that governs array operation in heaven and earth.
Gradually, a faint enlightenment came to Mo Hua.
He had a preliminary idea.
Although uncertain how effective it would ultimately be, it was worth a try.
After all, he had no better method.
But this conception was not easy to implement.
It required deeper comprehension of the Arhatian Blood Sacrifice Great Array, to fully replay and more profoundly deconstruct it.
Then it would require great effort and vast spiritual perception for further computation. Only then could he deduce the spiritual power trajectory he truly desired and, based on this, trigger through "reverse transformation" the spiritual power change from imbalance to balance and then to destruction…
Mo Hua nodded slightly, then looked toward the blood-colored leyline deep underground, polluted by the evil array, and softly murmured:
"All killing sins will eventually perish; all evil aberrations will also be wiped out…"
"Don't worry, I will help cleanse you…"
Deep within the leyline, blood roiled, and a faint vitality trembled slightly. It seemed the earth's Dao essence was responding to Mo Hua…
…
Afterwards, Mo Hua began to "slack off."
When he drew the array formations each day, he would dawdle, barely making a few strokes before pretending his spiritual sense was severely drained. He'd lie down on the ground and close his eyes to rest. Yet in his heart, he silently sensed the Dao essence of the earth.
Meanwhile, within his sea of consciousness, he was also deducing the overall pattern of the Arhatian Blood Sacrifice.
This was somewhat beyond Mo Hua's level.
But he didn't make excuses for himself.
If he could calculate it, he calculated it; if he couldn't, he used extended calculations and tricky computations together to "force" the answer.
And as he calculated, some things Mo Hua had originally thought difficult gradually became easier to understand.
Many things weren't as hard as he had imagined.
Only then did Mo Hua suddenly realize that his spiritual sense had already reached twenty "wen" (纹).
This was a genuine Golden Core level spiritual sense.
Previously, because his mindset hadn't shifted, he still thought of himself as "Foundation Establishment" level, so his spiritual sense hadn't been fully exerted.
But now, using the great array as a "whetstone," Mo Hua exhausted every trick and calculation to the utmost, squeezing his spiritual sense to the extreme, and bit by bit, he fully unleashed the "potential" of his Golden Core stage divine consciousness.
Unconsciously, his array formation skill kept climbing higher and higher.
And the level of his extended and tricky calculations also advanced by leaps and bounds under this "grinding."
The entire structure of the Arhatian Blood Sacrifice great array began to reconstruct bit by bit within Mo Hua's sea of consciousness, gradually coming under his control.
After so many days of learning, pondering, and researching, everything ripened naturally and came together effortlessly.
Mo Hua's understanding of the Arhatian Blood Sacrifice great array finally underwent a thorough qualitative change.
Although he still didn't know the specific third-grade formations involved, the purposes of these formations, their parallel structures, the control of the array pivots, and the flow of array power were all revealed in full detail under the insight of his divine consciousness.
Suddenly, Mo Hua had a feeling that he had become the "master" of the Arhatian Blood Sacrifice great array, controlling everything.
Although he didn't know exactly how to define it, Mo Hua vaguely sensed that his array formation skill had stepped onto a new level.
A level befitting a "chief array master."
He had already preliminarily acquired the stature and accomplishment to become the chief array master of the Blood Sacrifice great array.
It was just that, due to his cultivation realm and the bloody methods involved, he couldn't really build the Arhatian Blood Sacrifice great array himself.
But once he truly grasped the structure and overall pattern of the Arhatian Blood Sacrifice great array, the next steps would be much easier.
It only required expending spiritual sense, patiently deducing, and carefully arranging it.
Mo Hua settled his mind and began bit by bit to perfect the magnificent design he had never tried before.
During this time, Mr. Tu hadn't come looking for Mo Hua much.
He was being targeted by Master Situ, suppressed by the Northern Dipper Seven-Star Array of Xuantian, and short on time.
Yet even so, he still sensed that Mo Hua was "slacking off."
Because the progress of the great array was visibly slowing down again.
At first, Mr. Tu turned a blind eye to this, but as the light of the Seven Stars shone like needles on his back and the dark currents of demonic cultivation surged, he finally couldn't tolerate Mo Hua anymore.
"Don't play tricks, finish the array drawing as soon as possible," Mr. Tu said coldly.
Seeming like his "little scheme" had been exposed, Mo Hua felt a little guilty and nodded, "Yes, Mr. Tu…"
After that, he no longer slacked off, throwing himself fully into building the Blood Sacrifice great array according to the array diagrams he had deduced.
This time, listening to Mr. Tu's words, he no longer slacked off and drew very quickly.
Nonstop, working overtime and at full speed, he fully leveraged his twenty-wen Golden Core Dao transformation spiritual sense, drawing faster and faster, barely giving Mr. Tu a chance to react.
By the time Mr. Tu noticed, the progress of the Blood Sacrifice great array was already advancing "a thousand li per day."
This speed made Mr. Tu somewhat confused.
Mo Hua was clearly following his "intent," trying to finish the Blood Sacrifice great array as soon as possible.
Clearly, once the Blood Sacrifice great array was complete, the Divine Lord could be resurrected.
Clearly, Mo Hua was helping him a great deal.
The progress was unexpectedly fast.
Mr. Tu thought he should be happy, but for some reason, he just couldn't feel glad; instead, there was even a faint and inexplicable "panic" in his heart.
He really couldn't figure out what the little devil Mo Hua… was up to.
But no matter how he thought about it, the situation was being "pushed" forward by Mo Hua.
In the blink of an eye, everything was already too late.
Twelve days later.
The Arhatian Blood Sacrifice great array, perfected and completed by the "top array master" Mo Hua, was thoroughly finished.
The ancient heartbeat sound spread throughout every corner of the Blood Sacrifice great array.
The Lord of the Great Wilderness was about to awaken…
(End of this Chapter)