Shangguan Wang, that old bastard, was the most greedy, the most power-hungry, and utterly terrified of death—his longing for immortality ran deep to the bone.
Among all those present—aside from Mr. Tu—he was the Feathered Cultivator whose heart Mo Hua could read most easily.
Shangguan Wang didn't care at all about the Shangguan clan, the evil god, or the righteous and demonic paths; he only cared whether he could attain eternal life.
Hearing Mo Hua's whisper, Shangguan Wang's heart trembled, and he abruptly turned to look at Mo Hua.
As their eyes met, he saw in Mo Hua's clear gaze a resolute certainty.
Mo Hua also saw the longing and apprehension in Shangguan Wang's eyes.
Mo Hua slowed his voice:
"You took the Divine Embryo from its mother's womb, separating mother and child—truly a grave sin.
Now that the Divine Embryo is about to be fully united with the God Lord—mother and child's hearts connected—this pain will remain in the God Lord's heart. You would be equivalent to separating them again, and the God Lord will surely destroy your divine soul.
That—Mr. Tu didn't tell you.
He's harming you; he wants you dead. That's why he had you do something that involves karmic consequences and defies the God Lord… and you had no clue…"
Shangguan Wang grew pale at Mo Hua's words, a chill rising in his heart.
He didn't know if it was true, but even if there was the slightest chance, his crime wouldn't be atoned for in a million lifetimes.
Sensing Shangguan Wang's fear, Mo Hua lowered his voice further: "However, where there is a flaw, there is also an advantage…
You have indeed sinned, but without you, Yu'er would never have become the God Lord.
Now, if you discard all selfish thoughts and wholeheartedly show loyalty to Yu'er, loyalty to the God Lord, I will speak a few good words for you; naturally, this will erase your sins and bestow upon you supreme grace…"
Mo Hua's voice was solemn and divine, yet also like a ghostly temptation to the heart.
He sowed fear of the evil god in Shangguan Wang, then, within that fear, gave him hope.
Shangguan Wang's emotions, too, fluctuated between dread and joy under Mo Hua's tone.
In that moment, he truly wanted to follow his instincts and obey Mo Hua's command.
But his suspicion was deep-rooted, and he couldn't help weighing the pros and cons in his mind.
Mo Hua's gaze turned icy cold. "I've said: discard all selfish thoughts; only then, wholeheartedly, can the God Lord sense your sincerity.
You harbor too many selfish motives—your faith is not steadfast.
If your faith is not unwavering, your guilt is unworthy of forgiveness, and the God Lord has no reason to keep you…"
Shangguan Wang felt a chill through his entire body; immediately, as Mo Hua instructed, he discarded all distracting thoughts, pledging body and soul to the God Lord.
Sure enough, once he had faith, the hesitation in his heart disappeared, as did his fear and cowardice.
A force of unshakable faith radiated around him.
Shangguan Wang's gaze grew steady:
"The God Lord is my master.
Yu'er is also my master.
I will wholeheartedly serve my lord and obey my lord's commands."
Mo Hua nodded. "Your masters now command you to escort us out of here."
Leave?
Shangguan Wang instinctively wanted to scheme, but when he raised his head and met Mo Hua's majestic, profound gaze—one that seemed to see through the heart—he instantly felt a solemn resolve in his core and dared not harbor any more selfishness, dared not be disloyal to the God Lord.
"Yes…"
Every command of the God Lord must be obeyed.
The God Lord lives within Yu'er; thus, all of Yu'er's orders must also be obeyed.
And Mo Hua is Yu'er's "spokesperson," so naturally, all of Mo Hua's commands must be obeyed as well.
Shangguan Wang understood all this, and immediately bowed, saying:
"I respectfully obey the God Lord's decree."
Beside him stood three or four demon cultivators from Yin Corpse Valley and the Demon Sword Sect—who earlier had accompanied the old demon masters of the two sects into the main hall. Now, seeing Shangguan Wang's inexplicable reverence and strange behavior—bowing to Mo Hua—they frowned and blocked his way, saying:
"Elder Shangguan, you must not…"
Shangguan Wang immediately used his blood-red longsword to sever the heads of those demon cultivators, killing them, and sneered:
"You want to stop me from worshipping the God Lord? Deserve to die."
Mo Hua's eyes shone with satisfaction as he approved, "Elder Shangguan, the God Lord has felt your devotion."
Finished speaking, he lightly patted Yu'er's shoulder.
Yu'er's gaze was vacant, but she gave a slight nod toward Shangguan Wang.
Shangguan Wang was ecstatic at the God Lord's acknowledgment; his piety burned with fervor, leaving no more doubts, and he bowed in front, leading the way for Mo Hua and Yu'er.
This scene was also witnessed by Mr. Tu—who was in fierce combat—and the Feathered Cultivator from Yin Corpse Valley, and the old demon of the Demon Sword Sect.
Seeing their fellow demon cultivators slain, the Feathered Cultivator of Yin Corpse Valley and the old demon of the Demon Sword Sect were furious.
Even more enraged was Mr. Tu.
He was the God Lord's sole servant, devoted to him wholeheartedly and tirelessly.
But now, this Shangguan Wang actually wanted to take his place.
What's more, Mo Hua—the treacherous vessel of the evil god—had already usurped his position, using the opportunity of the God Lord's merger, while his consciousness was still asleep, to become the one closest to the God Lord.
Truly outrageous!
Mr. Tu let out a long howl; his flesh and blood twisted, transforming him into a four-clawed demon, intent on charging at Mo Hua and Yu'er.
But the next moment, a Golden Corpse suddenly blocked his path.
A surging wave of Demonic Eye Sword Qi continued to seal his qi.
Mr. Tu's anger flared, his gaze crimson. After a moment he sneered, "You… want to release the God Lord?"
The Feathered Golden Corpse of Yin Corpse Valley laughed coldly, "At Yin Corpse Valley, we have already forged the Throne of Ten Thousand Corpses, awaiting the God Lord's arrival."
The old demon of the Demon Sword Sect said devoutly, "Our Demon Sword Sect's Ancient True Demon Sword longs for a true master."
Not just Mr. Tu—they, these demonic sects, also craved the evil god.
They yearned for the slaughter and sin that the evil god would bring, and for the nearly invincible divine power the evil god wielded on the plane of Divine Consciousness.
As long as the evil god grew, nightmares would spread across heaven and earth.
These demonic sects would have a natural barrier of wicked intent; even if righteous sects' high masters of the Void-groove or Feathered Realm attacked, they need not fear.
The mere existence of the evil god was itself a "great killing weapon."
And the situation before them was even better than they had anticipated.
Though the evil god had descended, he was not yet fully grown; he was still merging with his vessel—God and human as one.
This was precisely their best opportunity to seize the evil god, to control him.
Once they left the Blood Sacrifice Array, they could "plunder" the evil god to their own territory.
The evil god belonged to them.
The Feathered cultivators of Yin Corpse Valley and the Demon Sword Sect no longer held back; each unleashed their Corpse-control and Sword-control demonic arts to attack Mr. Tu.
Mr. Tu's fury burned; he no longer held back. His eyes went blood-red as he transformed into a demon, fighting the two to the death.
The three Feathered demon lords fought one another in fierce entanglement.
For a moment, the grand hall shook with thunderous crashes.
Fortunately, this was within a Third-Rank State Boundary, so Feathered Realm cultivators could not exert their full power; otherwise, this solemn Evil God Hall would likely shatter in an instant.
While those three fought, Mo Hua held Yu'er's hand, following behind Shangguan Wang, having already left the hall and entered the Flesh-and-Blood Labyrinth.
Within the vast labyrinth, flesh and blood writhed, jagged white bones jutting out; an intricate network of bone walls lay before them, making it hard to discern direction.
Shangguan Wang frowned, glanced at Mo Hua, and said, "Mr. Tu sealed the labyrinth. I have no map; we can't get out."
"No matter."
Mo Hua said calmly; his pupils darkened as his divine sense spread, connecting with the qi of the Flesh-and-Blood Labyrinth. Then he raised his hand and pointed forward.
"Open!"
In that instant, a chilling aura filled the air, and a startling change occurred.
The Flesh-and-Blood Labyrinth, as if obeying its "master's" command, began to coil back to both sides.
Bones heaved up from the ground, gathering in the center to form a skeletal pathway—seemingly paving the way for its "master."
For that moment, Mo Hua seemed to be the very lord of the labyrinth.
Shangguan Wang's expression turned horrified; the last trace of doubt in his heart vanished like smoke.
Only someone who could command an evil god's labyrinth—manipulating its flesh and bones—would be, even if not the evil god itself, a "High Priest" acting on its divine will.
All illusions could fool people, but this scene could not.
Shangguan Wang's certainty only grew, and he treated Mo Hua with ever greater reverence, and Yu'er as if she were the God Lord incarnate.
"Let us go," Mo Hua said indifferently.
Shangguan Wang bowed, "Yes."
The flesh and sinew parted, the bones opened a path, and so the three of them walked across the gleaming white bones, through the Flesh-and-Blood Labyrinth, arriving at the grand hall of the Blood-Sacrifice Array.
Mo Hua knew the labyrinth well, but the external temple grounds—vast and complex—were unfamiliar to him. He glanced at Shangguan Wang. "Lead the way—to Yanluo Mountain."
Shangguan Wang, now accustomed to following Mo Hua's orders, nodded respectfully: "Yes."
And so Shangguan Wang continued devoutly to guide Mo Hua.
This had been Mo Hua's plan all along.
The Huangtian Blood-Sacrifice Array was immense. He could decipher its core formation structure, but the tangled corridors of the Evil God Temple were not all known to him. Even if he did know the paths, it would still be extremely difficult to escape with Yu'er from this nest full of demon cultivators.
Therefore, a "guide" was indispensable.
That person could not have too low a status, nor too weak a cultivation; he had to be greedy, with cracks in his Dao-heart to exploit.
Shangguan Wang was the perfect choice.
Since he had already abducted Yu'er into the depths of the Blood-Sacrifice Hall, naturally he would be the one to escort her back out.
Heavenly fate and karmic cause, one drop for one sip.
The three of them passed corridor after corridor, temple after temple, hall after hall, gate after gate, gradually exiting the Evil God Temple, heading outward.
This was the evil god's lair; along the way stood countless demon cultivators with grotesque forms.
But with a Feathered Realm cultivator like Shangguan Wang leading, no one dared to stop them.
A few who recklessly asked Mo Hua and Yu'er what they were doing had their arms cleaved off by Shangguan Wang's sword.
"I act as I please—how dare you question me?"
Some demon cultivators, defiant, attempted to attack Shangguan Wang.
Shangguan Wang simply snapped one's neck, then drove his sword through the other's chest, demonstrating his Feathered Realm prowess and authority. After that, no more troublemakers dared provoke him.
Thus, after an unknown interval of time, the three of them passed through the sea of demons in the evil temple and arrived before a blood-red cliff face.
There stood the familiar Flesh-and-Blood Gate.
It was through this gate that Mr. Tu had led him, using the passage of flesh and sinew beyond, into this Great Wilderness Evil God Temple.
Having spent that time with Mr. Tu, Mo Hua had also learned many formation arrays from him. It would not be an exaggeration to call Mo Hua "Little Mr. Tu" now.
Mo Hua placed his palm upon the wall of flesh, sensing the divine qi within the gate's wall. He computed the Blood-Sacrifice formation's pattern. After a moment, with a thought, blood-red filaments emerged and trembled apart, opening the scarlet gate.
Shangguan Wang led the way while Mo Hua held Yu'er, walking behind him.
They passed scenes of severed limbs of various cultivators, blood-red entrails—a nauseating sight.
Shangguan Wang's expression remained indifferent; Mo Hua felt revulsion in his heart but kept his face calm.
Yet little Yu'er, so young, could bear it no longer—her face turned ashen, her hands and feet trembling.
Fearing she would give herself away, Mo Hua stroked her eyes, telling her to close them, then personally hoisted her onto his back.
Yu'er lay against Mo Hua's back, feeling herself immersed in a fresh, tranquil aura; all the gore, all the terror, vanished without a trace, and her tense heart relaxed, causing her to drift into a deep sleep.
Shangguan Wang, walking ahead, glanced back now and then, seeing this scene and feeling his heart tremble.
Truly, there was someone who could be so close to the God Lord.
Someone who had gained such deep trust from the God Lord….
In Shangguan Wang's faith, a thread of jealousy was born.
They walked on for a while longer, and suddenly Mo Hua said to Shangguan Wang, "Hurry."
Shangguan Wang froze.
Mo Hua did not explain.
He could not wait any longer.
No one understood better than he did that the current Huangtian Blood-Sacrifice Array was an extremely perilous place—they truly couldn't stay another moment.
This great array had no "life gate."
At least, Mo Hua himself did not know where the life gate lay.
Shangguan Wang didn't understand. He sensed Mo Hua's urgency but said nothing more, assuming Mo Hua merely wanted to break free of Mr. Tu quickly and spirit the God Lord away.
"Yes."
So Shangguan Wang and Mo Hua both activated their movement techniques, quickening their pace. In a few moments, they vanished from where they had stood, moving ever farther away.
Shangguan Wang, though Feathered Realm and unable to fly, still moved with startling speed.
What surprised him was that Mo Hua, at only Foundation Establishment, possessed equally refined movement skills.
But recalling Mo Hua's performance at the Sword Discussion Gathering, Shangguan Wang's heart settled.
Time passed bit by bit. The two of them continued swiftly onward, leaving the Evil God Temple and Blood-Sacrifice Array far behind.
After an indeterminate interval, the path opened ahead.
Rugged peaks and a ruined Formation Core Hall appeared before them—and Mo Hua recognized it immediately.
This was the part of the formation where he had first encountered the Blood-Sacrifice Array's structures: the Yanluo Mountain Formation.
This section of the array, Mo Hua understood most thoroughly.
In other words, this was his "home field."
"Follow me," Mo Hua said, and then, carrying Yu'er on his back, strode forward.
Shangguan Wang, unfamiliar with this area's formation layout, could only follow behind Mo Hua.
Along the way lay the corpses of several demon cultivators who had died not long ago—judging by their wounds, they had perished under the righteous cultivators' spells and sword techniques, having just clashed with them.
Of course, there were also bodies of righteous cultivators.
These corpses were mostly stripped of flesh and blood, as if some demon or monster had devoured them already.
"This is a cultivation war... it means ruthless slaughter and cold death..."
Mo Hua sighed silently in his heart.
Afterward, he kept walking forward until he reached the edge of Yanluo Mountain. What stretched before him was a great abyss.
Beneath the abyss, a river of blood roared, filled with sinister demonic energy. Countless flesh-wrapped eggs were being nurtured within, housing endless tides of demons and monsters, baring their fangs and claws, yearning for fresh flesh.
This was precisely the demon abyss of Yanluo Mountain.
Above the abyss, the bridge had already collapsed.
Mo Hua held a copper coin in his hand and sensed that time was running out. He pointed at the abyss and said to Shangguan Wang:
"Find a way to get us across."
Shangguan Wang was startled and immediately frowned.
The abyss was too deep. Worse, below it was a river of flesh and blood swarming with demons.
If they were still in a fourth-grade region, it would be fine—he was in the Feathering realm and could fly across. But this was the third-grade Yanluo Mountain, where Feathering cultivators couldn't fly. The abyss before them was an impassable chasm.
"Use a suspension rope," Mo Hua reminded him.
Shangguan Wang's heart stirred. He turned and saw marks of an old suspension rope on the cliff wall. Realizing what Mo Hua meant, he nodded.
"Alright."
As a Feathering cultivator, he had no shortage of magical tools. From his fourth-grade storage pouch, he pulled out a silver suspension rope. Twisting it in his hand, he infused it with spiritual power and flung it into the distance.
The silver rope turned into a silver beam, shooting across the abyss and embedding itself into a cliff wall on the opposite side.
However, the abyss was too wide, and the rope too short. It could only embed into the nearest stone cliff, where it clung for support before inching toward the far side.
"Let's go."
Shangguan Wang took the lead and stepped onto the silver rope, intending to scout the path for Mo Hua.
But as soon as he stepped on it, his expression changed.
At the same moment, a jet-black sword aura shaped like a demonic eye slashed down at him.
Shangguan Wang narrowly dodged it, but the silver rope beneath his feet was cleaved in two, plunging into the abyss.
Before he could catch his breath, golden light suddenly burst behind him. A bronze-bodied zombie clawed into his shoulder, and golden corpse poison seeped into his meridians.
Shangguan Wang was shocked. He struck back, forcing the golden corpse back with sharp sword energy, but failed to pierce its hide.
The defense of the golden corpse was astonishingly strong.
Shangguan Wang turned to look behind.
Two figures slowly emerged—one emanated deathly corpse energy: a Feathering cultivator from the Yin Corpse Valley; the other carried a massive demonic sword dripping with black energy: an elder from the Demon Sword Sect.
Shangguan Wang's pupils contracted. "You've been here all along? Waiting?"
The Demon Sword Sect elder sneered. "You're a traitor, alone and without sect or clan. You cannot protect the Divine Master."
"The Divine Master should be enshrined by my Demon Sword Sect."
The Yin Corpse Valley Feathering cultivator stared at Mo Hua with a greedy gleam. "If I'm not mistaken, boy, you carry the aura of a Corpse King—albeit a low-level one...
"A Corpse King is a king among corpses, born of deathly fate, able to command all corpses under heaven. None dare disobey... But they can never be sought, only encountered. Who would've thought the fate I sought my entire life would fall upon you…"
The Feathering elder's pale gray eyes glimmered red with excitement.
"If my golden corpse becomes a Corpse King, I will be invincible in Yin Corpse Valley. The position of Valley Master will be mine alone!"
Stared down by the ravenous eyes of the Yin Corpse Valley elder, Mo Hua, carrying Yu'er on his back, turned pale.
Unable to contain his desire, the Feathering cultivator commanded his golden corpse to pounce at Mo Hua.
Shangguan Wang growled, "Don't you dare covet the Divine Master!"
The Divine Master's grace was his alone!
Shangguan Wang drew his sword and clashed with the Yin Corpse Valley Feathering cultivator.
On the other side, the Demon Sword Sect elder sneered and turned into demonic energy, charging toward Mo Hua—and more precisely, toward Yu'er on his back.
Just as the dark wind surged toward Mo Hua, the ground beneath them squirmed with flesh, morphing into a humanoid form.
It was the demonic-looking Mr. Tu, born from blood and meat. He opened his mouth and spewed a mist of blood, dispersing the demonic energy.
Then, using his hand as a blade, he stabbed into the black fog.
Blood-red and black light intertwined. Mr. Tu's fleshy blade clashed with a jet-black demon sword.
The Demon Sword Sect elder's face darkened. "The Divine Master belongs to my Demon Sword Sect. She is the master of the Ancient Demon Sword!"
Mr. Tu sneered coldly. "A mere sword slave dares dream so high."
With that, he transformed into a mass of writhing flesh and entangled the Demon Sword Sect elder.
The elder responded by unleashing the demon sword, which had eyes growing on it, engaging in a fierce battle with Mr. Tu.
At the same time, Shangguan Wang and the Yin Corpse Valley golden corpse were locked in brutal combat. Sword energy and corpse strikes tore at each other relentlessly.
Before the abyss of Yanluo Mountain, four Feathering cultivators fought to the death, caught in a desperate melee.
And the thing they were fighting over?
The Divine Master's physical vessel—and Mo Hua, who carried the karmic fate of a Corpse King.
Mo Hua stood on the edge of the abyss, watching the four Feathering cultivators battle.
Then, without hesitation, he held Yu'er tightly and slipped off the edge.
He leapt into the abyss—into the blood-drenched earth veins, into the den of a thousand bloodthirsty monsters.
The four combatants, locked in deadly battle, saw this and were instantly shaken to the core. Their expressions changed drastically.
(End of this Chapter)