Chapter 608 – Golden Marrow
Swept by Mo Hua's gaze, all the demons and evil spirits trembled uncontrollably, their souls nearly scattering.
They were terrified of being "eaten."
The color of the black water lightened slightly—it seemed to have exhausted itself. The pig-headed demon it had "given birth to" had been devoured, damaging its vitality.
A surge of intense fury emanated from the black water.
As if no "being" had ever dared show it such disrespect.
And this being… was just a brat, still wet behind the ears.
Yet at the same time, a deep fear began to take root in its heart.
Sure, eating this brat would be a great tonic.
But if it had to expend too much strength, injuring the Divine Master's essence—it just wasn't worth it.
Mo Hua's thoughts stirred—he sensed that this pool of "black water" was hesitating. His eyes flashed, and an idea came to him. Puffing out his chest, raising his chin, he struck an extremely arrogant pose.
His eyes were full of contempt.
And to top it off, he licked his lips provocatively.
As if this black water… was just a snack.
The black water froze for a moment, then quaked violently—it was clearly infuriated.
A surge of killing intent followed, thick and oppressive.
This time, it would hold nothing back.
The Divine Master's majesty could not be challenged.
The Divine Master's dignity could not be defiled.
It would devour this half-step Divine Embryo brat—offering him up as the most delicious, most devout sacrifice for the Divine Master's awakening!
Suddenly, Mo Hua's sea of consciousness turned cold and filthy. The black water spread across the ground like a stain.
It expanded into black mist, boiling and churning.
Soon, the black mist dispersed, revealing a mass of demons and ghostly shadows—hideous, grotesque, malformed.
Each one had a black mass in its chest, like a beating heart, pulsing faintly. This black water-heart pumped foul, evil qi, enhancing their demonic power.
This new wave of monsters was more numerous—and clearly much stronger.
Before Mo Hua could react, the horde of ghosts and demons charged at him in a frenzy, giving him no chance to fight back—they wanted to rip him to shreds and swallow him alive.
Mo Hua frowned.
Just like before, he dodged with Drifting Water Steps, countered with sneak attacks from his small fists, occasionally used Water Prison Technique to control them, or Fireball Technique for a finishing blow.
But these demons were clearly tougher.
His punches could break bones, disfigure faces, cripple limbs—but not obliterate them.
Meanwhile, the demons only grew more arrogant.
They feared neither pain nor death. They were utterly reckless—desperate to tear a chunk of flesh from Mo Hua.
After a while, Mo Hua began to tire. His limbs felt sore.
He sighed.
"Body cultivation is exhausting…"
Sure, it was fun at first—but it gets boring after a while.
With a punch, he knocked a horse-faced demon's face askew. With a kick, he snapped a wolf demon's spine. Grabbing a bull demon by the horns, he spun it and slammed it into a crowd of monsters.
Using that opening, Mo Hua tapped the ground and retreated a few steps to widen the distance.
"I'm bored now…"
He spoke casually, then spread his arms wide.
His pupils instantly turned pitch-black.
His aura shifted in an instant—from innocent clarity to eerie, unfathomable depth.
Dark, strange markings emerged across his body, densely interwoven—forming a robe of black ink and Dao patterns that draped over him.
The horde of demons turned pale.
From the black water came a shrill, furious scream—twisting, then breaking into a stuttering, terrified human voice:
"Fate-Deception Dao?!"
"You're…"
"Trickery…"
"…Who the hell are you?!"
Mo Hua couldn't be bothered to answer. His divine sense surged to the extreme, strange shadows flickering in his eyes, mysterious patterns swirling across his robe.
His divine sense swept out, and in an instant, it conjured a massive array in his sea of consciousness, covering all the demons and spirits.
"Mount Departure Cremation Array!"
This was an original creation of Mo Hua's—a compound formation beyond low-rank second grade. It fused Five Elements and Eight Trigrams principles: the fire of Five Elements with the Li fire of the Trigrams, and the Gen mountain to trap foes—a formation built to trap and kill.
This complex formation was something Mo Hua developed after being guided by Elder Xun. Inspired by his own Five Elements Demon-Slaying Formation, he attempted to merge it with the Eight Trigrams system.
It was a very difficult formation.
In the real world, there were many limitations.
With his current divine sense realm, drawing it would be exhausting.
But in his own sea of consciousness, Mo Hua's divine will was unrestrained. He could manifest arrays freely and without restriction.
Mo Hua planned to use this compound formation to "stew" all the demons and ghosts in one big pot… so he could eat them all.
The moment the formation took shape, the black water sensed an overwhelming terror.
It never expected that what was supposed to be a light snack would turn into a nightmare—a monster who could instantly summon arrays via the Dao of Trickery, and who had the potential of a half-step Divine Embryo!
But it was already too late.
Murder intent flashed in Mo Hua's eyes. He clenched his small hand and said crisply:
"Kill!"
Instantly, the Mount Departure Cremation Array activated.
Manifested mountains of divine will rose, jagged and intertwining, forming a prison of rock that trapped all the monsters within.
Then Five Elements fire surged up, and Trigram Li fire blazed overhead—combining into molten lava that flowed between the rocks.
The whole formation became a blazing volcano.
The demons and ghosts, trapped within, were incinerated—consumed by magma.
Their skin and flesh burned black and flaked to ash.
In that endless hellfire, countless deformed, hideous demons screamed and wailed in agony.
The embryonic black water was burned as well—evaporating into black mist.
And then further refined by the Li fire, transforming into pale-blue energy.
Mo Hua sat cross-legged atop the Mount Departure Cremation Array, overlooking the mass of suffering demons—now turning to black ash. He nodded in satisfaction.
"Arrays really are more effective…"
"Body cultivation's just dumb."
Sure, throwing punches was fun sometimes—good for stretching your muscles—but relying on his half-baked martial arts to slay demons? Way too inefficient.
Mo Hua sat down.
It was time to eat.
The Cremation Array not only burned demons—it also purified the demonic qi, refining it into white energy.
Mo Hua sat beside the array, "grilling" and "eating" in turns.
One strand at a time, divine sense was drawn in—constantly strengthening his own consciousness.
But by the time Mo Hua had eaten his fill, his divine sense realm still lingered at fifteen patterns. It had deepened considerably, but hadn't broken through.
The Mount Departure Cremation Array gradually faded away after it finished cremating the monsters.
All the demons—slaughtered.
All the black water—vaporized.
Only one remained…
It had been hiding in the deepest part of the black water, completely concealed.
But now, with its demon spawn destroyed and the black water burned away, it had no choice but to reveal itself.
It was—
Mo Hua narrowed his eyes. "Goat head?"
A bony humanoid face, twisted goat horns. Not large—about the height of an adult cultivator—but much shorter than the other monsters.
Mo Hua tilted his head. "What are you?"
The goat-horned demon grew furious, screeching incomprehensibly. Seeing Mo Hua confused, it finally switched to a broken, sinister human voice:
"Insolent brat!"
"You kill a few divine slaves and think you're something special?!"
"I am the Divine Master's Executor…"
"You've offended the Divine Master—your crime is unforgivable! Kneel and beg for mercy, convert to my lord, and I might grant you a blessing and spare your life—"
POW!
Mo Hua vanished with a Drifting Water Step, appeared right in front of the thing, and slammed a punch into its face.
The demon had no power to resist—it flew back like a broken sack, rolled several times, and tried to crawl away.
Mo Hua reached out with his right hand—golden array patterns appeared and locked it in place. With a snap of his fingers, golden chains dragged the demon back to him.
Then—another punch.
Dragged back.
Another punch.
Again.
And again.
Finally, the goat-horned demon lay limp on the ground, unable to move.
Mo Hua stepped on its head and said with a puzzled look, "Are you… stupid? Do you not get what's happening here?"
He was clearly way too strong now.
This thing's demon offspring had all been barbecued in his formation—and eaten.
And yet it still had the gall to act arrogant?
Mo Hua kicked it. "Executor of the Divine Master? What's that, some errand boy for evil spirits?"
"And this Divine Master… what is it? A wicked god or something?"
The goat demon roared in fury, "Blaspheming the Divine Master—you—"
It wanted to shout "you deserve to die!", but seeing Mo Hua raise his tiny fist again, it chickened out.
Mo Hua stared at the creature, rubbing his chin, looking puzzled. "You seem… unafraid of death?"
The demon sneered:
"To offer my life to the Divine Master is the highest honor. Besides…"
Its voice turned maniacal, eyes crazed:
"I am the Divine Master's Executor—blessed by the Divine Master. My divine sense is immortal and indestructible. You can humiliate me, beat me, injure me—but you will never be able to kill me!"
"If the Divine Master is eternal—then so am I!"
Mo Hua paused. Only now did he realize: despite all the punches, this goat-skull demon's bones hadn't fractured, its horns hadn't cracked.
Even the Cremation Array had burned the black water—but hadn't harmed it at all.
"How strange…"
Mo Hua's gaze sharpened as he examined the demon.
Despite all its posturing, the demon was clearly unnerved under his stare.
Suddenly, Mo Hua's eyes lit up. "The horns!"
He reached out and grabbed the horns, trying to twist them off—only to find they wouldn't break.
He looked closer—and his expression changed dramatically.
"They're solid…"
Ordinary divine sense was mist-like.
Mo Hua's own was refined like mercury.
But this demon's horns—no, not just the horns. Its entire goat-skull head—had nearly taken on physical form. Unyieldingly solid.
"From illusory… to solid form…"
"From illusory… to tangible…"
Mo Hua was stunned.
The change in his expression did not escape the goat-horned demon, who smirked smugly and sneered, "So you understand the Divine Master's… What are you trying to do?!"
Before it could finish, Mo Hua opened his mouth and bit down on its horn.
Unfortunately, he couldn't even make a dent.
Mo Hua then punched the horn a few times—still no effect.
"Yep, real hard-headed…"
Mo Hua muttered.
The demon laughed mockingly, "As long as you understand."
But Mo Hua's competitiveness flared up. Today, he had to smash this bone.
Big bones make good soup, strong body guaranteed!
What if he actually managed to gnaw through this hard skull? Wouldn't his divine sense grow even stronger?
Maybe he could break through to sixteen patterns—or even approach seventeen?
Mo Hua's eyes lit up with excitement. Under the demon's increasingly alarmed gaze, he threw everything at it: arrays, spells, and finally, his little fists of fury.
But no matter what he did, the goat-horned skull remained completely intact.
Mo Hua's brows furrowed deeper and deeper.
Meanwhile, the demon began to relax.
"As expected! The Divine Master's protection is indestructible!"
Not even this monstrous little freak could harm it.
Though Mo Hua kept pummeling it, the goat-horned demon grew proud of its faith and the Divine Master's blessing.
It scoffed, "Don't waste your energy, you brat still smelling of milk. Like a straw dog trying to challenge the might of the Great Wilderness Lord!"
Mo Hua got a little annoyed.
He scowled, but then his eyes spun mischievously, and he said with a cheerful smile:
"Let me show you something nice."
The demon froze. There was no way in hell it believed Mo Hua had anything "nice" to show it.
It snorted, "Don't try any cheap tricks. Before the Divine Master, all such things—"
But Mo Hua didn't care what it had to say. Before the sentence was even done, he grabbed it by the scruff and dragged it to the Dao Tablet.
It was past midnight now—the Dao Tablet could be activated.
Mo Hua pressed the demon's head against the tablet and ordered:
"Take a look."
Though the demon didn't believe anything could break the Divine Master's blessing, it still had lingering fear of Mo Hua. It clenched its eyes shut, refusing to look.
Mo Hua pondered for a second, then began:
"Your so-called Divine Master is a rat. Sneaky, cowardly, shameless, and totally indecent…"
"Hiding in the back whenever things get rough, a total turtle-in-a-shell."
"No, wait, you said it hasn't awakened yet… so it's hibernating?"
"Lived this long…"
"A thousand-year tortoise, ten-thousand-year turtle—is your Divine Master a tortoise or a turtle?"
The Goat-Horned Executor trembled with rage. After enduring Mo Hua's "sweet talk" for long enough, it finally couldn't help itself.
It snapped its eyes open—
—and froze instantly.
Right before its eyes was a stroke of crimson, deathly still array markings.
In that moment, all the demon's anger vanished.
Replaced by endless, overwhelming fear.
Tribulation lightning…
Tribulation lightning??!
Its eyes widened in disbelief.
This brat… what kind of freak is he?!
Why would there be tribulation lightning sealed in his sea of consciousness?!
"You—?!"
The Goat-Horned Executor didn't get to finish.
The lightning rune gave off a faint flicker—just a tiny trace of its aura. But even that hint of thunder energy instantly obliterated the demon's consciousness.
At the same time, the "indestructible" blessing infused in its horns, bestowed by the so-called Great Wilderness Lord, was also annihilated in a flash.
Cracks spread across the goat skull.
Mo Hua hurriedly pulled it away from the lightning rune. With a twist of his hand—
crack!
—the skull broke apart effortlessly.
From within the fractured head flowed a faint golden liquid—like a drop of spiritual marrow.
Mo Hua was shocked.
"This is… bone marrow?!"
Golden bone marrow!
He stared at it for a long time, hesitating—then finally gave in, dipped a finger in, and licked it.
No flavor.
But the texture? Excellent.
The divine sense it contained wasn't particularly strong—but once consumed, it gave him an indescribable sensation.
It was as if he… was no longer the same as other beings in this world.
He was a god, seated high above the nine heavens, his divine might boundless, gazing down at all life.
And all life beneath heaven—were ants, straw dogs, mere sacrificial offerings…
Mo Hua quickly shook his little head, tossing that bizarre, absurd thought aside. Then he carefully examined his own body.
He noticed that at some point, a few strands of faint golden blood had appeared within his divine sense form.
Extremely faint—only he could even detect them.
Mo Hua frowned.
"Could this golden bone marrow… be true divine sense?"
That thread of divine sense blood—was it perhaps from the "Divine Master" those demons mentioned? The so-called Great Wilderness Lord?
And why were those demons after Yu'er?
Did they… want to use her as a sacrifice?
Mo Hua's gaze grew heavy.
In the dark, he felt as though some massive conspiracy loomed over Yu'er, the Shangguan family, and all of Qianzhou…
But what exactly it was, he still had no clue.
"Forget it. I'll just take it one step at a time…"
He'd just do what needed doing.
Following his sacred motto of "waste not, want not," Mo Hua drank down the remaining golden bone marrow in one gulp.
After all, it had been struck by tribulation lightning—whatever "divine will" from the so-called Wild God that might've been inside had already been obliterated. What remained was nothing but pure, slightly divine-infused spiritual essence.
An absolute tonic.
Mo Hua held the goat skull in both hands, drained it dry, licked his lips, and sighed in satisfaction.
The golden threads in his blood grew just a little thicker.
Thus, every last monster was devoured by him—bones crushed, marrow sucked.
Full belly. Satisfied soul.
Time was getting late—Mo Hua decided it was time to leave.
…
As he exited his sea of consciousness and opened his eyes, he immediately noticed:
There was a soft blanket… covering his body.
Mo Hua exited his sea of consciousness, and as soon as he opened his eyes, he found a soft blanket draped over his body.
A gentle and graceful woman sat beside him, visibly anxious—it was Aunt Wan.
In the distance, several elder-like cultivators were quietly arguing about something.
"It must be an evil spirit!"
"This is the prestigious Gu family, with so many high-level cultivators on guard—how could an evil spirit get in?"
"You don't understand…"
"Not all evil spirits are the same…"
An elder snorted coldly.
"Mysterious nonsense. I've lived hundreds of years—what haven't I seen? What 'invisible evil spirit' could there be?"
"It's not that it can't be seen, it's that it can't be sensed by divine sense…"
"Absurd! A Jindan or Nascent Soul cultivator's divine sense can't detect it?"
"Talking to you is like playing the zither to a cow… pointless."
"...Heavenly secrets and karma…"
"Then this child…"
"Probably made a mistake while cultivating…"
"What nonsense are you spouting?!"
"…It must've been a spirit invasion. Damaged his sea of consciousness, corrupted his mind—look, his forehead is dark, his complexion gloomy, and he's still unconscious. If we don't treat him soon, he may—"
The man suddenly choked mid-sentence.
Because he saw—
Mo Hua had woken up.
The others were stunned into silence.
Only Wenren Wan, who had been anxiously watching over him, broke into a relieved smile.
"Mo Hua, are you alright…"
Mo Hua nodded.
"I'm fine."
Wenren Wan hesitated for a moment, then quietly asked:
"Just now, you…"
Mo Hua replied cheerfully,
"I just had a nightmare! A bunch of demons and monsters got into my dream and tried to eat me. But they weren't my match—I slaughtered them all!"
Wenren Wan's expression turned complicated. She didn't quite know how to respond.
The surrounding elders also had varied reactions.
Some remained expressionless, thinking he was just rambling in his sleep.
Some chuckled and shook their heads, dismissing it as childish talk.
Others even smirked, thinking Mo Hua was talking nonsense.
Not a single one of them believed Mo Hua was telling the truth.
Mo Hua took it all in and sighed inwardly.
"What can you do? These days, no one believes the truth."
Wenren Wan still looked worried.
"You're really okay?"
Mo Hua smiled.
"Don't worry, Aunt Wan. Besides…"
He turned to look at Yu'er, who lay peacefully asleep, her brows relaxed and her expression serene.
"Yu'er also had a good sleep…"
Wenren Wan blinked, then followed his gaze.
Looking at Yu'er, her expression softened. The heavy worry she'd been carrying finally eased.
"Yes… Yu'er finally… got a good night's sleep…"
She looked back at Mo Hua, her eyes filled with gratitude.
Everyone remained near Yu'er's bedside.
Since Mo Hua seemed unharmed and the situation was unclear, no one questioned him further.
Only a few elders continued watching Mo Hua closely, their gazes thoughtful.
Dawn slowly broke. Morning sunlight spilled in through the window.
Yu'er slowly opened her eyes, still a bit dazed. Then suddenly remembering something, she quickly turned her head—
—and saw Mo Hua right beside her.
A radiant smile bloomed on her face.
Mo Hua smiled gently in return.
…
Yu'er had slept soundly through the night, and her complexion looked much better. She even had an appetite again—though every few bites, she'd glance up at Mo Hua and squint her eyes in a happy smile.
It was like—just having Mo Hua nearby made her feel at peace.
Mo Hua didn't draw any formations that day. He set aside time to simply play with Yu'er for most of the day.
That evening, he stayed by her side again.
The night passed without incident.
Mo Hua was relieved… but also a little disappointed.
He was glad Yu'er could sleep peacefully now.
But…
"My divine sense 'snacks' are gone…"
Meanwhile, little Yu'er slept soundly again. Her energy improved, and her complexion wasn't so pale anymore.
But the next day, it was time for Mo Hua to return to his sect.
He only had two days off.
Yu'er hung her head, clearly reluctant to part, and walked him all the way to the gate.
Mo Hua promised to visit again when he had time. That finally brought a smile to Yu'er's face.
Wenren Wan packed a bunch of delicious food for him, as well as some formation manuals and ink supplies to express her gratitude. But she also seemed to have something on her mind.
She hesitated for a long time before softly saying:
"Mo Hua…"
Yet she couldn't quite find the right words.
Mo Hua knew what she was worried about and smiled:
"Aunt Wan, if Yu'er has nightmares again, I'll come check on him."
Wenren Wan was stunned for a moment, then breathed a sigh of relief. Her gaze toward Mo Hua became even more grateful.
…
Mo Hua returned to the Great Void Sect in a Gu family carriage.
Back at the sect, he spent two days refining and absorbing the evil intent of the demons and that goat-horned executor.
He then meditated to stabilize his Dao heart.
And finally, Mo Hua's divine sense broke through its bottleneck—reaching sixteen patterns!
Sixteen patterns was the peak of mid-stage Foundation Establishment divine sense.
Seventeen patterns marked the late-stage level.
But between sixteen and seventeen lay a thick barrier—not easy to cross.
Mo Hua wasn't worried though. His current divine sense realm was already very high. It was time to let it settle and stabilize.
Now that he had reached sixteen patterns, he finally had enough divine sense to study that second-grade, sixteen-pattern array—
"Blazing Fire Primordial Magnetic Array!"
Only one problem: he didn't have enough merit points to exchange for the formation diagram.
"Gotta work harder… earn more merit."
So, he went to ask Senior Sister Murong for help.
Murong Caiyun thought for a moment, then said:
"There is a task—not difficult. The reward isn't great, around 80 merit points. If you're interested, you can come with me."
Mo Hua nodded eagerly.
"Thank you, Senior Sister Murong!"
Eighty points wasn't bad at all.
Way better than grinding out low-grade formation scrolls.
Murong Caiyun gently explained:
"The mission is in Bìshan City, just beyond the Qianxue Prefecture. The mountains there are steep and surrounded by many smaller ranges…"
"I'll send you the detailed map and mission info."
"Check the Tai Xu Order platform when you have time."
"Okay!" Mo Hua nodded vigorously.
Bìshan City…
After returning, he looked over the mission details, pulled out the topographical maps, and started thinking about what he needed to prepare…
But as he studied the map, he suddenly froze.
He recognized one of the barren mountains outside Bìshan City.
After recalling for a bit, Mo Hua realized—
This was the same decrepit mountain where Huang Shanjun, the fallen mountain god, resided.
His dilapidated temple stood right atop that desolate peak.
"Xuanku Mountain…"
Mo Hua silently noted the name, deciding that after the mission, he'd swing by Xuanku Mountain to pay Huang Shanjun a visit.
Regarding the Great Void's Divine Sense Sword Incantation, that mountain god was definitely hiding something from him…
He had to get answers!
(End of this Chapter)