Chapter 1237: Campaign Against the Shugu

Chapter 1236: Campaign Against the Shugu

Lu-Gu stared at Mo Hua intently, his expression calm as if unmoved, and merely asked, “You want me, a great general of the Shugu Tribe, to kill my tribe’s Great Chieftain?”

Mo Hua shook his head. “Not simply ‘kill’ —it’s ‘avenge.’”

Lu-Gu sneered. “What’s the difference?”

Mo Hua said: “If you kill the Great Chieftain, that’s treason, that’s rebellion. But if you avenge your brother by killing the Great Chieftain, it’s for sibling duty, it’s for tribal justice. On the surface both are killing, but in essence they’re worlds apart.”

Lu-Gu’s eyelids twitched. It was plainly a pack of lies, yet it sounded entirely reasonable.

Still Lu-Gu withheld his stance and coldly looked at Mo Hua. “Are you sowing discord within my Shugu Tribe?”

Mo Hua countered: “Does your tribe’s internal situation need me to sow discord?”

Great generals overshadow their lords.

The Great Chieftain cast his benefactor aside after using him, and killed an entire main division.

There really was nothing left to stir.

Lu-Gu had no retort, and remained silent.

Mo Hua looked at him and asked in a low voice, “You don’t dare? You fear the Great Chieftain’s power, you cherish your reputation, you cling to the authority of being a general — you don’t dare avenge your brother who was murdered by the Great Chieftain? Do you want to be a coward? A bootlicker begging at the Great Chieftain’s feet?”

Lu-Gu’s eyes flushed blood-red; he stared at Mo Hua with hatred.

Mo Hua stopped while the moment was ripe, his tone softening a little. “I know you’re not that sort of man. I can help you — kill the Shugu Great Chieftain.”

Lu-Gu’s expression was calm and heavy, like still water. He refused flatly: “No need. My brother’s grudge — I will settle it myself.”

“You yourself?” Mo Hua sneered coldly. “How will you avenge him? You’re merely at the late stage of the Golden Core Realm…”

The Foundation Establishment realm cultivator, Mo Hua could now, without blushing or losing breath — and with full moral confidence, no less — look down on a late-stage Golden Core cultivator with righteous disdain.

“A mere Golden Core late-stage general…” he continued calmly, “leading a regular division of barbarian troops — and you think that’s enough to challenge the entire Shugu Tribe? To slay the Great Chieftain and avenge your brother?”

Mo Hua’s face curled with scorn.

Unexpectedly, Lu-Gu laughed coldly at Mo Hua.

“Mr. Wu, perhaps you underestimate me, and overestimate the Great Chieftain. I, Lu-Gu, have campaigned in all directions; my ferocious name is renowned. In the entire Shugu Tribe, only my brother Shi-Gu outshone me. And the Great Chieftain is aged, almost half-dead…”

Mo Hua’s heart skipped.

Lu-Gu’s strength was stronger than he’d thought?

And the Shugu Great Chieftain was already an ‘old useless thing’?

No wonder…

No wonder the Great Chieftain had to find a way to kill Shi-Gu.

One was Shi-Gu, the other Lu-Gu — both late-stage Golden Core great generals. They can give the chieftain some face and call him “Great Chieftain”; or refuse him that face, and they can truly send him to his grave.

A slight misjudgment of the situation…

Mo Hua felt a twinge of urgency, but kept his composure. After a moment’s thought, a faint, mysterious smile lifted one corner of his mouth. He looked directly at Lu-Gu and asked: “Do you really think that?”

Lu-Gu was taken aback. Being looked at like that by Mo Hua caused a strange doubt to creep in.

Mo Hua continued, “Do you truly believe your Shugu Great Chieftain has only those small abilities? Do you truly think he’s on his last legs?”

“Don’t forget whose hands your strongest brother, Shi-Gu, died at.”

A chill ran through Lu-Gu’s heart; he frowned.

Seeing this, Mo Hua relaxed slightly, then took on a solemn air.

“Even if, for argument’s sake, we take a step back—no, ten thousand steps back—and the Shugu Great Chieftain is truly as you say—an old man on the brink of death—not your match—how will you find him?”

“In this chaotic age, with turmoil everywhere, do you know where he hides?”

“His cultivation may be weak, his vigor waning, but his plots and schemes — how will you guard against them?”

“How do you know you won’t, like your brother Shi-Gu, die in his conspiracy?”

“When that time comes, not only will your brother Shi-Gu be remembered as a failure, but you yourself will become nothing more than a pitiful clown toyed with by the Shugu Great Chieftain’s palm—mocked and laughed at by others…”

Mo Hua’s words were like a poisoned dagger, plunging deep into Lu-Gu’s chest.

Lu-Gu felt an icy coldness in his heart, torn and anguished. In the end he let out a long, weary sigh and looked toward Mo Hua.

“…Why help me?”

Mo Hua clasped his hands to his chest, appearing devout. “Everything is guided by the Divine-Lord…”

Lu-Gu shook his head. “I’m asking you why you’re helping me. Or rather—what do you hope to gain?”

Mo Hua blinked slightly, looked at Lu-Gu, and said calmly, “This is a transaction.”

“A transaction?” Lu-Gu frowned.

“Yes,” Mo Hua nodded. “I will help you avenge, help you kill the Shugu Great Chieftain; and you…”

Mo Hua’s eyes burned, deep within them flowed a sacred ambition:

“…will act for the Divine-Lord, honor the Divine-Lord’s name, carry out the Divine-Lord’s commands, fight for the Divine-Lord, and in the trials of steel and fire, spread the Divine-Lord’s fame to every corner of the Great Wilderness…”

“This is the Divine-Lord’s blessing, the Great Wilderness’s destiny, and my…duty as a Shaman.”

In an instant, Lu-Gu’s heart was swayed by Mo Hua’s aura and words; he felt a strong tug of hesitation.

Suppressing the surge of belief, Lu-Gu slowly said, “Very well, I’ll make this transaction with you…”

Mo Hua nodded. “Agreed.”

Lu-Gu waited a while, finding Mo Hua had no further words, no written pact, no spirit contract, no blood oath. He was stunned. “Just like that?”

Mo Hua nodded. “Just like that.”

Lu-Gu frowned. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll renege after agreeing? Aren’t you afraid I’ll betray you?”

Mo Hua did not possess the realm or the ability to bind a late Golden Core. He was only at Foundation Establishment. He was not truly an “evil god” and could not, like the Great Wilderness’s divine-lord, use altar blood-oaths to control followers.

So Mo Hua could only look indifferent — he was not truly indifferent, but he had no other means.

Mo Hua’s face remained calm. “You may betray me; your betrayal is insignificant. But…”

Mo Hua fixed Lu-Gu with a deep gaze. “Betrayal of the Divine-Lord is unforgivable.”

“Never, ever betray the Divine-Lord…”

Lu-Gu’s eyes stiffened; he seemed to think of something, then slowly nodded.

The two parties’ transaction was sealed.

Mo Hua stopped Lu-Gu from killing Elder She, then ordered Chi-Feng to cripple Elder She’s legs and feet and lock him up temporarily.

Elder She likely had other secrets.

But those secrets could not be extracted by questioning — they would be used as a “lead,” letting Mo Hua probe bit by bit into the inner cause & effects. Afterwards Mo Hua, Lu-Gu, Chi-Feng and the others crossed the Hengduan Range to scout the situation.

Overall, the situation was as Elder She had said.

Beyond the Hengduan Range, war raged and chaos reigned.

The Wu-Jiao Tribe’s army had crushed the Bi-Fang Tribe, and even the Yan-Yi, Fire-Eagle, Red-Luan and other once-powerful third-grade tribes of the Vermilion Bird Mountain Realm. Most major tribes were defeated and split into mid- and small factions, like silt washed away, drifting everywhere.

Chaos still reigned.

In this chaos, the Wu-Jiao Tribe was a great crocodile — extremely dangerous.

The situation was perilous: the Wu-Jiao Tribe kept growing stronger and waging slaughter. Ultimately it would conquer the Vermilion Bird Mountain Realm and become the greatest obstacle to Mo Hua’s path to proving Dao in the Great Wilderness.

But Mo Hua reconsidered: the Wu-Jiao Tribe was a crocodile stirring the waters and devouring the major tribes wholesale.

This indirectly weakened the local Vermilion Mountain tribes.

At the same time, it fragmented large tribes into smaller pieces, making them easier to “take” for himself.

Fortune and misfortune are intertwined.

Often one must look from which angle to consider matters, and seek opportunity within the “misfortune”.

Mo Hua’s plan became clearer.

The Wu-Jiao Tribe was too strong, and he was not yet strong enough to face them.

Next, he would avoid the Wu-Jiao Tribe and continue to “absorb” some small tribes within the Hengduan Range, and those mid- and small tribes formed from defeated larger tribes.

This process would not be easy.

But with General Lu-Gu, who had struck a deal with Mo Hua, many problems were practically solved.

Previously, when Lu-Gu stayed with Mo Hua, the alliance was merely superficial; his actions were not proactive. Often only after Mo Hua spoke would he reluctantly act with a cold face.

After Mo Hua promised to help him avenge, Lu-Gu’s mindset naturally changed.

Even for revenge alone he would not act half-heartedly.

Lu-Gu was the Shugu Tribe’s great general, at the late Golden Core stage. After Shi-Gu’s death, he had practically become the strongest general of the Shugu Tribe.

Once Lu-Gu took things seriously, he swept aside many mid- and small powers.

Thus, while Lu-Gu fought at the frontlines, Mo Hua acted in the rear—under the title of “Shaman”—absorbing barbarian cultivators and expanding his power.

Mo Hua’s “forces” grew ever larger and more complex in composition.

Deserters from great tribes, defeated soldiers, wandering troops from the central regions, scattered warriors, and even the elderly, women, and children from small tribes—basically, all sorts of people.

Mo Hua wasn’t picky. As long as they surrendered, he would take them in—first “swallowing” them whole, then figuring out later how to “digest” them slowly, unifying their minds and actions, binding all to one shared fate—until every piece on the board merged into one great, living “dragon,” enough to decide the outcome of the game…

And after “swallowing” a number of mid- and small-sized tribes this way, Mo Hua finally encountered the remnants of the Shugu Tribe.

The Shugu Tribe had also been defeated by the Wu-Jiao Tribe; many barbarian soldiers had fled everywhere.

These Shugu remnants gave Mo Hua the chance to understand the battlefield and extrapolate the Shugu Tribe’s causal trends.

Mo Hua had earlier obtained from Lu-Gu the positions of the Shugu main tribe and its main divisions.

Now, from these Shugu deserters, he confirmed the distribution of forces under famine and, based on the Wu-Jiao Tribe’s campaign routes and battle outcomes, he calculated, pinpointing the mountain ranges where the Shugu main force might have taken refuge after defeat.

Such a feat required insight into the Three Powers—Heaven, Earth, and Man—a grasp of the Great Wilderness’s situation, mastery of advanced derivative algorithms, and profound Divine-Sense computational power.

Basically, only Mo Hua could do it.

After deducing all this, Mo Hua circled several points on the map, drew a line, and told Lu-Gu:

“Follow this route forward. Avoid the Wujiao Tribe, find the Shugu main force, and then…”

—in the chaos of war, slay the Shugu Chieftain.

He didn’t voice that last part.

But Lu-Gu understood. A fierce light flared in his eyes like wildfire.

After that, the army advanced according to Mo Hua’s plan.

Along their route, as they crossed mountains and ridges, they indeed encountered more Shugu soldiers.

Without exception, every one of them was subdued by Lu-Gu and joined Mo Hua’s growing army.

Lu-Gu was a renowned general, commanding a formal division—so these remnants had no reason not to submit to him.

They just didn’t know that the general they followed—was marching toward the Shugu Chieftain’s death.

Yet half a month later, before reaching the Chieftain, they ran into another formal Shugu division.

The general of that division was named “Can-Gu.”

Can-Gu was also a late Golden Core Shugu general, commanding considerable power. Though he had lost part of his troops to the Wujiao campaign, he was still formidable.

His strength was only slightly beneath Lu-Gu’s. His fame wasn’t as great, but in a real fight—the outcome would be hard to say.

Mo Hua didn’t wish for a clash. After all, aside from him and Lu-Gu, no one else knew their true goal was to slay the Shugu Chieftain.

So as long as they spun a few “lies” and persuaded Can-Gu to let them pass, it would be fine.

But Mo Hua couldn’t handle this personally.

Though he was a Shaman, he was still an outsider—closely tied to the Vermilion Sparrow Tribe.

If he appeared in person, it would definitely raise Can-Gu’s suspicions and stir unnecessary doubt.

So the only choice was to have Lu-Gu go negotiate himself—to persuade Can-Gu to grant passage to the Chieftain’s domain.

The two were both generals and had some acquaintance. Talking shouldn’t be impossible.

Still, Mo Hua wasn’t confident.

He carefully prepared many lines, recorded them into a jade slip, and handed it to Lu-Gu.

“If you’re not sure what to say, or how to say it,” Mo Hua told him, “just read what’s in the jade slip. If you can achieve the goal without fighting, that’s best.”

Lu-Gu took the jade slip and grunted, “Oh.”

Then he went to talk to Can-Gu—and the talk collapsed spectacularly.

Before the negotiation even ended, Lu-Gu and Can-Gu were already trading blows.

The entire mountaintop exploded.

From a distance, Mo Hua only heard an earth-shaking roar, felt the mountains crumble, the ground quaking beneath his feet—the surging power of late Golden Core cultivators crashing like tidal waves, again and again…

Mo Hua let out a long, weary sigh.

When Lu-Gu returned, Mo Hua asked, “What exactly did you say?”

Lu-Gu’s face was fierce and grim, anger radiating from him as he snarled,

“That useless fool Can-Gu—after all these years, still as stupid as ever! His mouth spouts idiocy, his head’s full of demon-beast dung—”

Mo Hua interrupted, “Is that what I told you to say?”

Lu-Gu fell silent.

Mo Hua asked again, “Then what did I tell you to say?”

Only then Lu-Gu took out the jade slip Mo Hua had given him, flipped through it, his expression turning somewhat complicated—but he said nothing.

He looked exactly like a student checking his answers after an exam, realizing not a single one matched the answer key, yet stubbornly refusing to admit he was wrong.

Mo Hua sighed again, utterly speechless.

There really existed someone who’d be given the correct answers… and still wouldn’t copy them.

Truly… incredible.

Afterward, Mo Hua bitterly reflected on himself.

He had actually believed Lu-Gu could peacefully negotiate with Can-Gu.

He was the real fool here…

Lu-Gu sneaked a glance at Mo Hua’s clearly displeased face and lowering his voice, asked: “So… what now?”

“What else?” Mo Hua sighed shaking his head. “We fight.”

(End of this Chapter)