Chapter 621: Great Evil Causality
In the quiet of the night, within the disciple quarters…
Mo Hua's thoughts were a tangled mess.
Why had Hidden Second claimed that the Five Concealments Sect had been wiped out?
Why were they wiped out?
Who struck the fatal blow?
Back when the Five Concealments Sect left Qianxue Prefecture, was it really because of poor management and an inability to recruit disciples… or was there another reason hidden beneath the surface?
Mo Hua furrowed his brow, then suddenly froze.
This… didn't really have anything to do with him, did it?
He was just a small disciple of the Great Void Sect. He wasn't familiar with the prefecture, had barely interacted with a handful of sects.
The Five Concealments Sect? He had only just heard of it.
Even if he wanted to investigate, he wouldn't know where to start...
Besides, he was busy. He had classes, missions, merit points to grind, cultivation to keep up, formations to study, techniques to learn…
Where would he even find the time to go nosing into something like this?
He got the Small Five Element Concealment Technique, and that was enough. As for what happened to the Five Concealments Sect—even if it was true—he was far too small a fish to care.
Mo Hua shook his head.
He pulled out Boss Jiang's journal again, broke the sealing pattern, and flipped through the name list inside, while mulling over another idea:
Boss Jiang was a traitor to the Broken Gold Sect.
Hidden Second was a traitor to the Five Concealments Sect...
…
Could it be that everyone else on this list was also a traitor to some sect in Qianzhou?
Was this list… a roster of defectors?
The more Mo Hua thought about it, the more it seemed likely.
In that case, the root of all these "sin cultivator" inheritances… still lay within Qianxue Prefecture's major sects: the Four Great Sects, Eight Great Clans, Twelve Streams, and the countless other sects of all sizes.
The wool still came from the same sheep.
You say you're plucking the wool off of sin cultivators, but in the end, it all traces back to these sects.
Which meant…
Mo Hua suddenly paused in realization.
Was he learning magic by eating a "hundred-family banquet"?
Inheriting techniques from all houses, unifying them into one stream, mastering all paths?
If he kept going like this, wouldn't there come a day when he could integrate all schools and techniques? With his immense divine sense, wield countless spells at will—use one sect's art to dismantle another sect's technique…
Becoming a true grandmaster of universal magic!
That thought made Mo Hua ridiculously happy.
Then, glancing back at the jade slip in his hand, he frowned slightly.
Why were there so many sect traitors in Qianxue Prefecture? Why had they all gathered together—and left behind a list like this, in Boss Jiang's hands?
Were they banding together for protection?
Or was it that—though they had fallen into sin cultivation—they still saw themselves as once-legitimate disciples, and wanted to distinguish themselves from other sin cultivators by forming their own faction?
Mo Hua couldn't quite figure it out… until suddenly, a strange impulse flickered in his mind. He ran a quick deduction—
—and an icy cold surged through his entire body.
His pupils contracted.
In the chaos of spiritual insight, he glimpsed a massive, sinister web of karma. It reeked of corruption and temptation—like a poisonous poppy flower in full bloom.
The strands of this karmic web were black-purple in color. Hideous to behold, yet somehow exuding a sickly-sweet fragrance, one that stirred the heart's desires and pulled cultivators deep into obsession.
This was…
A Great Evil Causality!
It was already formed—its threads thick with sin and depravity, its chains of karma embedded deep, its destiny steeped in ruin.
Mo Hua's eyes stung, cold sweat breaking out across his back.
He shut his eyes tightly.
When he opened them again—the vision was gone.
The warped threads, the karmic chains, the black-violet poppy-like web of sinful destiny—it had all vanished like an illusion.
But Mo Hua knew: this was no hallucination.
The omen of fate had never lied to him.
This "poppy-flower karma" absolutely existed.
And such a massive, sinful, and deeply rooted karmic net—was far beyond what someone like him should've been able to glimpse with his current divine sense.
It felt more like…
A revelation granted by the heavens.
Or worse—
Someone had shown it to him.
Mo Hua's heart grew heavy.
Everything that had happened since arriving in Qianxue Prefecture played before his eyes like a lantern show—glimpses of faces, flashes of events—only to ripple and fade like illusions on water.
Qianxue Prefecture.
The pinnacle of cultivation… the sacred land of study…
But now, in Mo Hua's eyes, that image had changed completely.
On the surface, it still appeared full of righteous spirit, with countless sects and dazzling geniuses.
But beneath that shining exterior… something was festering.
Mo Hua frowned and muttered in his heart:
"This place feels… dangerous."
He understood: karmic ties could be extremely perilous.
The Dao was unfathomable. Fate flowed in mysterious ways.
The world was like a chessboard—and all living beings were merely pieces.
Something dark… had already begun to take root.
Now was not the time to stir up these shadowy conspiracies.
Not when he already carried karma from both his master and martial uncle.
Mo Hua sighed, his thoughts drifting back to his master…
Those immense, world-shaking conspiracies surrounding his master—he knew nothing about them.
Even if he did, what could he do? He was just a small Foundation Establishment cultivator. He couldn't even begin to intervene.
And his martial uncle…
Mo Hua still remembered how that man, with a heart of Dao and a seed of devil, had slain Golden Core and Ascendant cultivators like chopping vegetables.
What chance did a Foundation kid like him stand?
Without his master's fate-weaving deductions to keep the balance, his martial uncle was terrifying beyond words...
And worse, Mo Hua had… history with him.
He'd secretly learned the man's dark calculations.
He'd eaten the man's demonic thoughts.
He even ate the man's noodles…
—Sure, the calculations were studied fair and square!
—The demonic thoughts were consumed out of necessity!
—And the noodles? He paid for those with spirit stones!
…But knowing his martial uncle's personality, he would absolutely hold a grudge.
Mo Hua collapsed face-down on the table, letting his thoughts spiral.
Eventually, he managed to sort things out:
Qianxue Prefecture definitely held a grand conspiracy.
His martial uncle? Definitely an ominous disaster waiting to happen.
But either way—it didn't concern him too much right now.
His current mission: stay alive and grow steadily.
Besides improving his cultivation and divine sense, he needed to learn as much as possible.
Formations. Spells. All kinds of cultivation knowledge.
He had to be fully prepared to graduate smoothly from the Great Void Sect and form his Golden Core safely.
At the same time, he should gather a bit of intel too—to prepare for any future danger.
That way, when disaster truly struck, he'd have some clue ahead of time—and not be caught blind.
Mo Hua nodded to himself, and with that thought, threw himself even more diligently into his studies…
...
Qianxue Prefecture, Dao Court Office.
Gu Changhuai, after finishing his duties as a chief adjudicator, returned to the Dao Court Office. Though travel-worn and weary, his handsome features still carried a crisp clarity—and a trace of prideful aloofness.
Pursuing sin cultivators outside the city meant sleeping rough and enduring hardship.
Even after returning, piles of tedious paperwork awaited him.
He was a bit impatient, but managed to keep his temper in check as he slowly sifted through his subordinates' reports.
Flipping through the files, he suddenly recalled something and asked the adjudicator beside him,
"How's that ambush-murder case going?"
"Which one, sir…?"
The adjudicator stiffened nervously.
The Dao Court Office handled far too many cases. For a moment, he couldn't tell which one Gu Changhuai was referring to. Afraid of saying the wrong thing, he stood there in anxious silence.
Gu Changhuai frowned. "Hidden Second."
"Ah—yes, sir." The adjudicator's memory clicked. He scrambled through the documents and finally said, "Reporting to the Adjudicator—it's nearly closed."
"Closed?" Gu Changhuai's gaze sharpened slightly.
The adjudicator swallowed hard, trying to read his superior's mood. "Y-Yes, it's nearly wrapped up…"
"You caught Hidden Second?"
"He's already been thrown into the Dao Prison. Sentence pending judgment."
"How was he caught?"
The adjudicator flipped through the file again and answered,
"Reportedly… he was found in the Canglang Mountains. They followed a trail, saw through his concealment, and disciples from the Great Void Sect, Tai'a Sect, and Hundred Flower Valley worked together to capture him and brought him to the Dao Court."
"You're sure it was Hidden Second?"
"Confirmed by bloodline, spiritual roots, cultivation method, and his spiritual power—no doubt, it's him."
Gu Changhuai frowned. "No help from other cultivators?"
"The file doesn't mention any others—so, probably not."
Gu Changhuai's eyes narrowed. His mind churned.
Something didn't add up...
The report followed the proper sequence of events—but didn't make sense.
How did they track the trail? How did they break the concealment? And how did they manage to subdue him?
As someone skilled in concealment and assassination, Hidden Second would've been a nightmare to capture. Gu Changhuai, a chief adjudicator himself, knew exactly how dangerous such cultivators were.
A handful of inexperienced sect disciples capturing him in just a day or two? That… seemed fishy.
"Take me to see Hidden Second," Gu Changhuai ordered.
"Yes, sir." The adjudicator nodded.
He led Gu Changhuai down into the underground Dao Prison, where Hidden Second was being held.
Hidden Second was confined in a suppression cell, shackled by second-grade spiritual chains. He'd clearly been tortured—his limbs crippled, teeth knocked out, his appearance miserable.
Gu Changhuai frowned. "Do our Dao Court punishments go this far?"
The adjudicator gave a wry smile. "No… He was already in this state when we received him."
"His limbs were broken, tendons severed, teeth shattered… Even his knees were crushed. Don't know what wicked thing they made him kneel on, but they're completely ruined…"
Gu Changhuai paused. "Who did that to him?"
"Those sect disciples, probably…"
Gu Changhuai's frown deepened.
The adjudicator hesitantly asked, "Sir… is this against protocol?"
Gu Changhuai snorted coldly, "What's 'against protocol'? He's a sin cultivator. If you don't treat them ruthlessly, they'll treat you ruthlessly. But…"
He glanced at Hidden Second, a flicker of doubt flashing in his eyes.
"…that level of technique looks very practiced."
Since when did sect disciples go this hard?
"Were any of those disciples injured?" Gu Changhuai asked again.
"When they delivered Hidden Second, I saw them myself. Each one lively and kicking—didn't look injured at all."
"…Mm."
Gu Changhuai nodded slightly and turned to leave. But as he was walking out, something caught his eye—burn marks on Hidden Second's face. His gaze sharpened.
"You used fire torture?"
"No, sir," the adjudicator replied in a low voice. "We only used Spirit-Weighted Wood to administer some lashes…"
Gu Changhuai examined the burn mark carefully.
"…This is… from a fire-element spell."
No sword cuts. No blade slashes. No acupuncture burns.
More like the aftermath of a fireball explosion.
Which meant…
"…Fireball Technique?"
He murmured it aloud.
Fireball Technique wasn't anything rare—it was an introductory spell. Any cultivator with fire affinity could use it.
Everyone could learn it.
Gu Changhuai paused.
Everyone?
His gaze grew sharp.
A memory surfaced from half a year ago—outside Qing City, in that little eatery—when a group of over ten traffickers had kidnapped Yu'er.
Most of them had died to Fireball Technique.
Gu Changhuai's mind began racing.
That operation had five people.
Ouyang Feng—used the Ouyang family's sword techniques.
Shangguan Xu—also used a sword.
Hua Qianqian—practiced Hundred Flower Valley's White Blossom Spirit Formation.
Murong Caiyun—used the Great Void Sect's Five Element Light Technique.
None of them were known to fight with Fireball Technique.
Which left… only one person.
Gu Changhuai's eyes narrowed.
That little Five Element spiritual root cultivator. The one who had "happened to be passing by" and "rescued Yu'er by coincidence"…
Mo Hua!
Gu Changhuai's frown deepened.
This whole thing… stank.
Mo Hua had claimed to be a passerby, and that he'd saved Yu'er by luck?
Absolutely unbelievable.
If he hadn't simply found her… then what?
He'd killed over ten traffickers by himself using Fireball Technique?
And then rescued Yu'er?
That sounded even less believable.
Even an idiot wouldn't buy a story like that.
Gu Changhuai grew increasingly puzzled.
With his years of casework as a Dao Court adjudicator, his instincts told him—this Mo Hua kid? Definitely not normal.
But his cousin clearly trusted Mo Hua deeply. And Yu'er was quite close to him, too.
That made it hard to take any action.
Yet if left alone, this would be a hidden threat.
Gu Changhuai's eyes flickered as he recalled Mo Hua's gaze.
At a glance, those eyes seemed innocent and clear.
But if you looked closely… something felt off. There was a depth that didn't belong to ordinary people.
Half light, half darkness.
Like someone walking the razor's edge between good and evil.
Gu Changhuai had a gut feeling:
Someone with eyes like that… would either become a peerless genius—or a terrifying devil.
"I'll need to find a chance… to dig a little deeper."
...
Great Void Sect.
That day, after finishing his meal, Mo Hua lay back lazily on a grassy patch, legs crossed, leisurely flipping through a book on formations. Suddenly, a big-built "junior brother" came running over and called out:
"Mo Hua!"
Mo Hua looked up and saw it was Cheng Mo. Curious, he asked:
"What is it?"
"The elder told me someone's looking for you."
"Who?"
"How should I know…"
"Alright then." Mo Hua closed his book and brushed the grass off his robe. "I'll go check it out."
Cheng Mo glanced at him and muttered suspiciously,
"Mo Hua, you always seem super busy…"
Mo Hua replied righteously,
"That's because I train diligently!"
"It's not just about cultivation," Cheng Mo shook his head. "I get the feeling… you're up to something else."
Mo Hua tiptoed to pat the taller Cheng Mo's shoulder and sighed,
"You're still young. There are things you'll understand in time. Once you've been in the sect for a year, your 'senior brother' will take you on some real adventures…"
Cheng Mo blushed and fumed,
"You're two years younger than me!"
"Learning knows no age. Mastery commands respect!"
"I only call you 'little senior brother' out of respect for Elder Xun, don't get cocky…"
"Who was it that called me 'big bro' before, huh?"
"You…!"
…
After bickering for a while, Mo Hua headed to a side hall outside the sect gates. After meeting the elder and getting directions, he finally reached the visitor waiting for him.
It was—Gu Changhuai.
Mo Hua was genuinely surprised.
In the Qianxue Prefecture, he didn't know many people. Anyone coming to the sect to find him would either be Aunt Wan, or someone from the Shangguan family sent to deliver things on her behalf.
But he hadn't expected it to be Gu Changhuai.
"Uncle Gu?"
Mo Hua asked in surprise.
Gu Changhuai nodded slightly,
"I came to check on you. Also… I have a few things to ask regarding Hidden Second's case."
"Oh," Mo Hua nodded.
While they were speaking, far in the distance, an elder of the Great Void Sect appeared to be sipping tea—but had actually extended a thread of spiritual sense to observe Gu Changhuai.
Gu Changhuai sighed inwardly.
This visit had not been easy.
His status was… sensitive. As a chief adjudicator of the Dao Court, everything he did was marked by its authority.
Speaking to a sect disciple could easily raise suspicions.
He'd spent a long time explaining that he came on behalf of his clan to check on a younger member—that was the only reason the elders had reluctantly allowed it.
But what he asked, and how he asked, would still be watched closely.
So Gu Changhuai could only start subtly, asking about Hidden Second.
Since most of it was already recorded in case files, Mo Hua carefully picked what to say—explaining what he could, playing dumb or forgetful when needed.
Gu Changhuai had no choice but to play along.
After a few questions, he found that Mo Hua was airtight—tight-lipped and slippery as a fish.
Eventually, Gu Changhuai couldn't hold back and asked slowly:
"Mo Hua… do you… know Fireball Technique?"
Mo Hua blinked.
Fireball Technique?
Why is Uncle Gu asking about that?
His eyes narrowed, just about to reply, when a cough rang out from afar. The elder of the Great Void Sect said coolly:
"My sect's disciples may study what they wish. It is not for others to meddle."
Gu Changhuai frowned, frustrated.
This sect wasn't giving him even the tiniest opening.
Mo Hua's eyes turned, and he quickly bowed gratefully to the elder, saying:
"Elder, don't worry. Uncle Gu and I are close—we're just chatting about family matters."
The elder raised an eyebrow. "Truly?"
"Mhm!" Mo Hua nodded enthusiastically and bowed again. "Thank you, Elder."
The elder finally relaxed, nodded slightly at Mo Hua, and said, "You two may speak."
With that, he withdrew his spiritual sense and resumed sipping tea.
Gu Changhuai looked at Mo Hua in surprise.
"You sure hold some sway in your sect, huh?"
Mo Hua modestly replied,
"Just average, I guess."
Mostly, he was riding Elder Xun's coattails—just basking in a little reflected glory.
But in that brief moment, he'd already figured things out.
As a Dao Court chief, Gu Changhuai was likely here because of something case-related.
He was also Aunt Wan's cousin and deeply cared about her and Yu'er.
If he made a special trip to question Mo Hua… then it probably had something to do with him.
Something he had "done"...
Wait—no.
Something he heroically did! Like blasting those traffickers with Fireball Technique!
That had to be it.
Mo Hua thought back—this was the only thing that would've left a Fireball trace and caught Gu Changhuai's attention.
But he wasn't worried.
He'd been the one nearly trafficked, then used self-defense to blast over ten traffickers to ash, and even saved Yu'er.
Even if this went straight to the Dao Court, he'd be in the clear. No violation of Dao Law.
He'd just avoided saying anything because he didn't want the trouble. Good deeds without glory—that was the way!
Honestly, if word did get out, the Dao Court might even give him a medal.
Even telling Uncle Gu shouldn't be a problem.
More importantly—he had Aunt Wan's support.
She was loyal and protective. No doubt she'd back him to the end.
Uncle Gu might look fierce, but in front of Aunt Wan? He's just a little cousin. He couldn't do a thing to Mo Hua.
In fact…
Mo Hua's eyes lit up. He had an idea.
He realized that using Boss Jiang's "traitor list" to catch sin cultivators, learn spells, and walk the "counter their technique with their own technique" path of the spellcraft grandmaster… was effective, but inconvenient.
Finding sin cultivators was a pain.
Even if you found one, it wasn't guaranteed to match any mission.
Mission postings were their own bureaucratic mess.
That's why… he needed a connection. Someone who could quietly tweak things behind the scenes.
For example: if he used the list to identify a technique he wanted, and pinpointed a sin cultivator to catch…
He'd need inside info from the Dao Court.
And if his relationship with Uncle Gu was solid—
Then maybe… he could have Uncle Gu arrange the missions! Have Senior Sister Murong take them, and Mo Hua tag along to "help"...
That way, he'd get the legacy, the spell, and the merit—a perfect loop.
All in-house. Efficient and smooth.
And with that thought, Mo Hua's eyes sparkled like treasure.
Gu Changhuai, seeing Mo Hua's eyes suddenly light up, felt a chill down his spine.
He suddenly had a terrible feeling…
That he hadn't come to interrogate Mo Hua—
…but to walk straight into a trap.
(End of this Chapter)