In this world, someone… actually ate an evil god alive?
Master Situ's mind went blank in an instant; he felt there could be no more absurd or terrifying story than this.
The Mo Hua who had literally "swallowed" the evil god now had demonic light in his pupils, and his aura changed drastically. Thread upon thread of ashen-black malevolence spread over his body like a plague, only to be forcibly suppressed by him through a focused meditation of Pure-Gold Divine Thought.
After quelling the evil qi, the Mo Hua turned his head and looked at Master Situ.
His expression was innocent yet awe-inspiring, his beauty flawless like a celestial being, radiant with golden light like a deity.
But the scene of him having just devoured an evil god was still fresh in Master Situ's mind. Now, with that gaze directed at him, Master Situ's heart trembled and he unconsciously shivered.
In his heart, he was both shocked and fearful:
Was this child now human, divine, or demonic?
How could he have learned Tai Xu Sect's God-Slaying Sword?
It had only been ten years since they last parted. Where had this child gone, and what Daoic methods had he learned to reach such a world-shaking, "devouring" of ghosts and gods?
Yet Master Situ did not dare to ask.
Having witnessed the events just now, even one so revered as Grand Elder Xuanji Valley and profound as Feather-Transformation Zhenren would not dare to speak—especially about divine thought—with this "god-demon" called Mo Hua.
Moreover, with time having passed and the situation changed, Master Situ was genuinely unsure whether Mo Hua could still be considered "human."
Did he even remember the karmic bond from those days near Lizhou City?
Thus, under Mo Hua's glimmering, Lapis-like gaze, Master Situ felt his heart pound with unease.
Fortunately, after a moment, Mo Hua reined in all that golden brilliance and retracted his aura, reverting to that rosy-lipped, ivory-toothed youngster with clear eyes and beautifully formed brows. He cupped his hands and bowed to Master Situ, speaking in a crisp voice:
"Senior Master Situ, it's been a long time."
Seeing Mo Hua's friendly, adorable demeanor, Master Situ felt as though ages had passed.
After a moment, he let out a long breath, as if a great weight lifted from his heart, and his whole body relaxed.
"My young friend… it's been… a long time…"
The pressure Mo Hua exuded just now was enormous—surpassing even that of an evil god.
After all, the evil god had been "eaten" by Mo Hua…
At the thought, Master Situ felt a twinge of lingering dread. "You…"
Mo Hua shook his head. "Now is not the time for talking."
Many things were inconvenient or too hurried to explain.
"Senior Master Situ, please leave quickly. The Nightmare of the Great Wilderness Evil Fetus is no place for a long stay. Also…"
Mo Hua's gaze grew solemn as he earnestly instructed:
"Once you leave, you must do one thing: have all cultivators in the Qianxue Prefecture area immediately evacuate beyond the range of the Arhat Blood Sacrifice Array!"
"This is extremely important—remember it well!"
Mo Hua spoke with utmost seriousness.
Master Situ's expression turned grave. He knew Mo Hua was not joking, and he immediately nodded in solemn agreement. "Yes, I will remember."
Mo Hua relaxed slightly, then looked over at Wen Renwan standing to the side.
Wen Renwan's face was pale, her spirit just settling. Her eyes reddened as she looked at Mo Hua. "Mo Hua…"
Mo Hua smiled gently and reassured her: "Aunt Renwan, I promised you I would take good care of Yuer."
Wen Renwan felt a warm current rise in her heart, tears welling in her eyes.
All the terror, worry, grief, and despair of recent days seemed to dissipate with Mo Hua's pure smile.
Mo Hua continued, "Aunt Renwan, you and Master Situ should leave now. I will take Yuer back myself."
Wen Renwan looked at Mo Hua through tears, her eyes full of concern—concern for him and for Yuer—but ultimately all her worry transformed into trust.
She pressed her lips together and nodded.
Master Situ hesitated for a long moment, then suddenly said, "Mo Hua, I… have an impertinent request…"
Mo Hua looked surprised, then nodded. "Senior Master Situ, please speak."
Master Situ paused slightly, then sighed deeply. He pointed to the ground, where the scattered divine-spirits of numerous cultivators lay half-eaten by demons—mind-spirits broken and heavily tainted, on the verge of annihilation—and asked Mo Hua:
"Can you… save them?"
There had been fourteen Divine-Thought cultivators on this expedition. Each had selfish motives, perhaps, but when calamity struck, they had selflessly risked their lives to invade the Nightmare of the Evil God, slaying the newborn evil god.
Now those fellow cultivators had fought the evil god to exhaustion, their souls on the brink of collapse. Only Master Situ remained alive, and he could not help feeling guilt and regret.
Although his own mind-spirit was severely depleted and his Six-Yang Red-Gold Chalice shattered, at least his life was spared.
But the others…
Master Situ's expression was sorrowful.
Mo Hua frowned slightly.
He was adept at killing divine thoughts and consuming them, but he had virtually no experience in saving other cultivators' mind-spirits.
However…
These people had come to save Yuer.
Moreover, in such dire circumstances, they had braved life-threatening danger, entering a nightmare infested with monsters to confront an evil god, even to the point of their own mind-spirits nearly perishing. Mo Hua felt genuine respect for them.
Out of both compassion and principle, he should do something.
But how?
Mo Hua turned his gaze and saw on the ground the fragments of mind-spirits—some Feather-Transformation or even Void-Penetration level—suppressed by the evil god's divine authority, their realms sliding downward, their mind-spirits corroded by various profane laws, nearly a tenth of their true form left. The situation was extremely tricky; his brow furrowed ever tighter.
"The injuries are too severe…"
"And the degree of corruption is too deep—they're basically beyond saving…"
"To rescue them…"
Since entering Qianxue Prefecture, he had dealt with all manner of mountain spirits, evil gods, demons, and sheishen, picking up a hodgepodge of divine-Daoic knowledge and profound Divine Thought techniques. All these flashed through his mind.
Suddenly, Mo Hua's spirit stirred as he said to Master Situ:
"I have a Divine Thought method that can completely sever the corrupt portion of their mind-spirits, leaving only the pure soul."
"But the problem is, their mind-spirits are corrupted so severely that once the filth is cut away, what remains of the pure soul is scarcely a trace."
"That sliver of soul might not guarantee they can survive; even if they do survive, they may not awaken; even if they awaken, their mind-spirit will be too depleted, and their cultivation level will surely be far below what it was…"
Still, this was the best he could do.
Master Situ understood this fully.
Having such a means at all was the height of fortune; nothing more could be expected.
Master Situ cupped his hands and gave Mo Hua a solemn bow. "I, on behalf of all my fellow cultivators, thank you, young friend, for your great grace."
Mo Hua waved his hand. "Master Situ, you are too courteous."
Then, without hesitation, he activated the Supreme Path of Slaughtering Affections, condensing a pitch-black, eerie Demon Sword in his hand. With that Demon Sword, he forcibly cut away the corrupt portions from the mind-spirits of the various cultivators on the ground, leaving them only a sliver of pure soul.
Master Situ watched the bizarre and terrifying "Demonic Slaughter" sword in Mo Hua's hand, his heart pounding sharply, though he pretended not to notice.
Master Situ watched the eerie and terrifying "Heaven-Demon Slash" in Mo Hua's hand; his heart leapt, but he pretended not to notice.
After cutting away the defilement from everyone's mind-spirits, Mo Hua also slashed at Master Situ.
Master Situ faced the evil god directly; it was impossible not to be tainted by evil.
A wraithlike black light flashed; with one slash, Master Situ's mind-spirit ached, and the power of his Divine Thought grew weaker. Yet in comparison, his heart-spirit felt purified, with far fewer wicked desires and distracting thoughts—he felt as if a great burden had been lifted.
At that moment, he suddenly sensed in his heart:
Although his vital energy was gravely injured, the death-tribulation predestined by cause and effect seemed to have been resolved.
The most perilous life-and-death calamity predestined in the obscure weave of cause and effect had been personally resolved by that child from ten years ago—the one with whom he had shared a karmic bond near Lizhou City…
Master Situ's expression was full of emotion.
Ten years ago, he had used the Universe-Clearing Light Chalice to prolong that child's master's life.
And now, by his own power, he had dispelled the most vicious, almost certain-death tribulation of Master Situ's life.
Master Situ felt both moved and bitter; his heart swelled with indescribable emotion.
The workings of heaven's hidden mechanisms and cause and effect—in every sip and peck, there is meaning.
In being human, one truly must do good deeds and accumulate unseen virtue.
Master Situ gathered the lone surviving slivers of mind-spirits from all the Divine-Thought cultivators and, using his remaining Divine Thought, summoned the Seven-Star Array to protect these lingering souls. Then he cupped his hands toward Mo Hua:
"My young friend, take care!"
Mo Hua reminded again, "Senior Master Situ, remember, you must make sure everyone leaves the Blood Sacrifice Array as soon as possible."
"And also…"
Mo Hua slowly said, "Do not tell anyone you've seen me. And don't mention what happened inside the Nightmare."
Master Situ's heart jolted. As a Divine-Thought cultivator, he understood the stakes; he solemnly nodded and said:
"Don't worry, young friend. I will certainly remember."
After speaking, Master Situ no longer hesitated. He silently recited the incantation, invoked the starlight of the Seven-Star Array, and prepared to take Wen Renwan away.
With the evil god devoured by Mo Hua, its laws no longer restricted, and with no other demons to interfere, nothing could block the transmission of the Mysterious Heaven Northern Dipper Seven-Star Array.
Before leaving, Wen Renwan cast one last, reluctant glance at Yuer, then gratefully looked at Mo Hua. Bathed in starlight, her mind-spirit twisted and was forcibly pulled out of the evil god's Nightmare.
Within the Nightmare, everything instantly fell silent.
Mo Hua turned and walked over to Yuer. He looked upon the mangled form of the child—used by the evil god as an "embryo," gouged open and bleeding from all seven orifices. He sighed, his heart aching.
Yuer's mind was somewhat muddled. At this moment, he opened his eyes, looked at Mo Hua, felt joy in his heart, and tears welled up as he timidly said:
"Brother Mo… am I… going to die…?"
Mo Hua felt pained. He gently stroked Yuer's head and smiled faintly, saying:
"Don't worry; I'm here."
Feeling the familiar comforting aura as Mo Hua stroked his head, Yuer's eyes gradually brightened with a glimmer of light.
Mo Hua thought for a moment, then bit his finger. A few drops of brilliant, pure-golden Divine Marrow dripped onto Yuer's forehead.
Using this supremely precious, pure-golden marrow of divinity, he repaired Yuer's shattered Divine-Thought body.
This was, in Mo Hua's mind, the only way to save Yuer.
Divine Marrow is the essence formed innately by a deity's condensed Dao.
An ordinary cultivator's mind-spirit cannot digest it at all.
But Yuer was different. Having been used by the evil god as a resurrected embryo, he already possessed a trace of divinity. Thus, he could absorb the essence of divine laws and the marrow of Heaven-and-Earth's Dao, using it to restore his root and reshape his Divine-Thought body.
The golden Divine Marrow dripped onto Yuer's forehead and, as expected, began to seep into his body, mending his broken Divine-Thought form.
A faint golden glow began to emanate from Yuer's body.
Mo Hua stroked Yuer's head again and gently said, "Go to sleep. When you wake up, the nightmare will be over…"
Yuer obediently nodded, then closed his eyes. And so, surrounded by the familiar, peaceful aura, he fell into a deep sleep.
While Yuer slept, the Divine Marrow continued nourishing his Divine-Thought body.
Seeing this, Mo Hua finally felt relieved.
"In any case, I've saved… this poor child…"
Mo Hua sighed inwardly, intending to leave this perilous Nightmare with Yuer. But in the corner of his eye, he suddenly paused, noticing something strange.
In the corner of the altar lay a huge demon-spawn egg.
This was the fourth viviparous demon egg.
Accompanying the evil god's true embryo, there were four powerful viviparous demon eggs.
Three of them had already hatched. After undergoing a fierce battle of Divine Thought, Mo Hua had crushed them with a flick of his hand. Only the one before him remained.
Strangely, the evil god had already been born, yet this demon-spawn was still incubating inside its egg.
Moreover, having experienced the intense battle just now—with Divine Thought raging like a storm, sweeping all around—that viviparous demon egg still wasn't obliterated.
Master Situ, Aunt Renwan, and Yuer were unharmed because Mo Hua had deliberately controlled the scope of his slaughter.
The evil god itself had wanted to preserve its "food" along with its "mother" and "siblings," so it hadn't killed Master Situ and Aunt Renwan.
But this viviparous demon egg hadn't received any special consideration from Mo Hua.
Nor did the evil god's true embryo care about it.
Yet it had somehow survived?
Mo Hua waved his palm; the Sword Array appeared, condensing into a Divine-Thought sword, instantly poised to eradicate this viviparous demon and its egg in one stroke.
But as he was about to strike, Mo Hua's expression shifted slightly; a warning signal flashed in his mind.
It seemed that some terrifying causality was concealed within.
If he truly struck and broke this egg, an unforeseeable calamity would occur.
Mo Hua's pupils constricted.
"Who… left this planted among them?
"By whom?
"The Great Wilderness Evil God?
"Another deity?
"Or some… eerie, unfathomable cultivator of great power?"
This is not good…
Not good...
Mo Hua's gaze sharpened slightly as he stared at the blood-red, half-shattered embryonic demon egg. After a moment, he quietly looked away and withdrew the Divine Thought Sword from his hand.
"Forget it. I can't afford to mess with this."
The karmic entanglements here were too obscure for him to grasp clearly—best not to get involved.
In any case, his goal had been achieved for now. Of the Thirty-Six Stratagems, the best one now was to leave. Delaying any longer might invite unexpected changes.
With a tap of his finger, golden light enveloped Yu'er's soul. Mo Hua guided it through the fissure and out of the nightmare realm, sending it back to her physical body.
Afterward, Mo Hua also exited the nightmare, returning to his own body.
The nightmare born from the Evil God began to crumble bit by bit.
And in that final embryonic demon egg, with no one present, a subtle black sinister rune was slowly revealed as it cracked open.
But no one knew of this...
Leaving the nightmare, his divine sense returned to his sea of consciousness, and Mo Hua opened his eyes.
The next instant, however, his expression changed. A thick surge of black demonic energy erupted from his soul. Twisted, evil markings spread across his cheeks and began crawling over his entire body.
Unable to suppress the demonic energy any longer, Mo Hua opened his mouth and spewed a mouthful of thick, black blood.
And not just from his mouth—black blood also began flowing from all seven orifices.
All the black blood pooled on the ground, then began to merge—forming the face of a sinister child, then goat horns, a humanoid body, scales...
Eventually, it once again took on the form of the Great Wilderness Evil God's true fetus.
The Evil God's true fetus sneered and said to Mo Hua:
"An Evil God does not die nor perish. I told you—you can't kill me."
Mo Hua coughed several times, expelling all the black blood from his body. Then, slowly standing up, he looked at the Evil God and nodded:
"I also told you—I know."
The Evil God's true fetus' expression changed. In the next instant, a flash of golden light erupted around him as divine chains, formed by divine thought, locked tightly around him like shackles.
"Divine Dao Formation?"
The Evil God's true fetus stared at Mo Hua in disbelief. He simply couldn't comprehend how, in just a mere couple of decades since Mo Hua's birth, he had mastered so many Divine Dao techniques.
But Mo Hua paid him no mind and simply continued forming even more Divine Dao formations, layering them all over the Great Wilderness Evil God's true fetus, binding it ever tighter.
This Evil God's true fetus had been forcibly birthed early—naturally weak.
It had only just been born and was immediately caught in a series of brutal battles.
Then it was severely injured by Mo Hua's Divine Thought Sword Style.
At this point, it had no strength to break free from Mo Hua's Divine Dao formations—at least not for now.
Binding the Evil God's true fetus, Mo Hua quietly pondered in his heart how exactly to deal with this young Evil God.
The first question was—was this really the true body of the Great Wilderness Evil God?
Logically, after Mr. Tu expended so much effort, built such a massive blood sacrifice array over so long a time, the being it incubated couldn't be fake.
What's more, this Evil God's true fetus was stronger than any other similar "evil god" Mo Hua had ever encountered.
It even carried a sliver of true godly will.
But to conclude that it was the Great Wilderness Evil God—Mo Hua still felt something was off.
Resting his chin on his hand, he thought deeply. Suddenly, a realization struck him—maybe his understanding of what an "Evil God" truly was… had been slightly flawed.
"Evil Gods split into countless forms, undying and indestructible..."
That must mean every split Evil God fetus inherits part of the Evil God's original will—but also develops independent thought.
The evil fetus at Dragon King Temple was like this.
So was the one buried beneath the Lonely Mountain's grave.
And now, this true fetus, born through the Desolate Heaven Blood Sacrifice using Yu'er's karmic dragon vein as its core, likely followed the same principle.
The difference was—it inherited a much stronger sliver of the original will.
Compared to other evil fetuses, its bloodline was more... orthodox.
It was like...
Mo Hua furrowed his brow—then understood.
"The Evil God is like the emperor. The evil fetuses... are like princes."
"There is only one emperor—but he can have many princes."
"Each prince is qualified to become emperor. Likewise, each evil fetus has the potential to ascend and become an Evil God."
"Which prince ultimately ascends the throne—which evil fetus ultimately achieves godhood—is impossible to say."
A contest among princes—the victor becomes king. A contest among evil fetuses—the winner is crowned a god.
It was like raising Gu insects. Only the strongest, who survives the trials of karma and catastrophe, becomes emperor—and that is the true Evil God.
"So this... is the law of the Evil God's countless divisions?"
"And this... is why the Evil God is undying and imperishable?"
At this thought, Mo Hua's heart skipped a beat. He suddenly remembered his terrifying Eldest Martial Uncle:
"Eldest Martial Uncle, who cultivates the Path of Deception, with divine thought split into countless parts—could it be... he is also walking this same path?"
(End of this Chapter)