Chapter 1301: Me Too
Chapter 1300: Me Too
After Mo Hua entered, the assembly hall visibly quieted a few degrees.
“So this kid… is that Divine-Shaman?”
After a moment, a young master–looking cultivator in golden robes spoke, sounding rather speechless.
“True-Person…”
The golden-robed noble turned to True-Person Huá and asked: “You’re not fooling us, are you?”
His tone was still polite enough, but his attitude was far from respectful.
True-Person Huá was a Feather Ascension realm True Person, while this golden-robed noble was only at the peak of the Golden Core realm. Yet he clearly did not fear True-Person Huá all that much.
The other scions also chimed in with mocking remarks:
“This kid is only at Foundation Establishment, he can be a Divine-Shaman too?”
“Your Huá Clan isn’t treating us like ignorant barbarians, is it?”
For a time, the hall filled with frivolous words and noisy discussion.
When true Great Clan heirs gathered together, what they competed in was less cultivation and more background, connections, status, and influence.
Sometimes, being a realm higher or lower didn’t play a decisive role at all.
Everyone in the hall was a scion of great power. Although most were late–stage Golden Core or peak–stage Golden Core, anyone who could be here had exceptional origins, noble bloodlines, control over direct-line authority, tangled networks of in-law connections, and who knew how many ancestors backing them up—true “aristocrats.”
When acting outside, each represented the face of their own Clan. None would weaken their clan’s prestige in front of other Clans’ heirs.
The fact that they could maintain surface-level “politeness” toward True-Person Huá already counted as giving him plenty of face.
What’s more, many of them were already at peak Golden Core.
To them, the Feather Ascension realm was only a single step away.
Whether that step could be crossed depended on talent and fate, but it was still a threshold right in front of them, not something impossibly distant.
True-Person Huá, for his part, wouldn’t truly dare to disregard these heirs either.
The Huá Clan was a great clan, but the others’ Clans were no weaker. Once you traced the connections, the branches intertwined endlessly, unfathomably deep.
“This child is indeed the Divine-Shaman of the Barbaric Wilderness. He is…” True-Person Huá paused slightly, then continued, “…someone whose karmic ties were personally severed by our Old Ancestor. I personally captured him from the Great Wilderness some time ago.”
The Huá Clan’s Old Ancestor…
The crowd froze slightly.
They didn’t dare comment on matters involving an Old Ancestor. Other matters, however, were another story.
The golden-robed cultivator looked at True-Person Huá and said: “Are you sure you didn’t capture the wrong person?”
True-Person Huá replied calmly: “Naturally.”
“Then has he been interrogated?”
“He has.”
“Did he admit it?”
“No…”
The golden-robed noble shook his head.
“He didn’t even admit it. How can you be sure he’s the Divine-Shaman of the Barbaric Wilderness?”
True-Person Huá said indifferently, “There are portraits…”
The golden-robed noble smiled.
“True-Person, you aren’t seriously taking us for fools, are you? We’re all cultivators here—who still relies on such superficial, skin-deep evidence?”
“And also…”
He sized Mo Hua up. Seeing that although Mo Hua wore prison clothes and was filthy, his spirit was full and his complexion had been nursed back to a healthy rosy color, he couldn’t help frowning.
“Don’t tell me… you didn’t even have the heart to use torture, did you?”
True-Person Huá said helplessly: “He’s physically weak and can’t endure punishment for the time being.”
The golden-robed cultivator’s expression turned strange as he weighed his words.
“He’s a Divine-Shaman—the source of the Wilderness turmoil, a great rebel against the Dao Court. You… fear he’s too weak, and can’t bear to torture him?”
The others’ gazes toward True-Person Huá also became subtle.
“So what you’re saying is: your Huá Clan captured this ‘Divine-Shaman,’ didn’t interrogate him, didn’t torture him, and didn’t even force him to admit he was a Divine-Shaman?”
Someone sneered coldly.
“And even if he admits it, so what? If he says he’s a Divine-Shaman, that makes him one?”
“Look at him—hasn’t even formed a Golden Core, his qi sea is weak, his body is frail. Aside from being somewhat good-looking, toss him into a crowd and no one would spare him a glance. This is a Divine-Shaman?”
“Do you really think we’re brainless barbarians?”
At times like this, being looked down upon was actually a good thing, but Mo Hua still felt a bit irritated inside.
Others echoed the sentiment.
“Exactly. What’s the point of him admitting anything? Whatever he says is true?”
“I say I’m a Grand Elder, does that make me one?”
“If your Huá Clan is going to fabricate lies, at least show some sincerity. Swap him out for someone more convincing before pretending he’s this Divine-Shaman.”
“Forget everything else, at least use some punishment. Whip him a few times, break a few fingers, cripple an arm…”
“You don’t interrogate, don’t beat, don’t kill, yet you say he’s a Divine-Shaman. Who would believe that?”
“Is it that your Huá Clan can’t bear to interrogate him? In that case… if you can’t bear it, then why not…” The golden-robed Young Lord’s gaze deepened. “… hand him over to us to interrogate?”
As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the room instantly grew heavier.
Everyone looked at True-Person Huá, eyes gleaming. Earlier they had seemed like unreasonable, pampered wastrels; now, they looked like packs of bloodthirsty hawks and hounds.
True-Person Huá, who had remained silent, finally understood.
These second-generation heirs… had come to snatch the prisoner.
True-Person Huá frowned.
Earlier he had already found it strange. Using the Huá Clan’s Thousand-Mile Walking Map, he had crossed the Famine-Disaster mist to capture this boy, this matter should not have been known to outsiders.
Yet these second-generation heirs, one after another, had gathered like crocodiles drawn by the scent of blood.
Where, exactly, had they gotten the news?
Was there a traitor within the Huá Clan?
For a moment, True-Person Huá felt his scalp tingle.
“Well?” said the Golden-Robed Young Lord. “If your Huá Clan can’t bring itself to act, my Xuanyuan Clan can. When the time comes, we’ll toss this brat into the Blade Mountain, Fire Purgatory for a walk. I guarantee his mouth won’t stay shut.”
True-Person Huá gathered his thoughts, his expression turning cold.
“And if I refuse?”
The golden-robed Young Lord’s expression also turned cold.
“The Divine-Shaman of the Barbaric Wilderness is an important rebel. What he defies is the Grand Law of the Dao Court. This isn’t something your Huá Clan alone can decide… unless…”
He clasped his hands toward the heavens, his expression devout.
“Unless your Huá Clan dares to put the Dao Court, where Heaven’s Mandate resides, out of its sight?”
True-Person Huá’s face darkened. “Can your Xuanyuan Clan represent the Dao Court?”
The golden-robed noble smiled.
“Naturally, my Xuanyuan Clan cannot. A noble clan is still just a noble clan. But…”
He swept his sleeve lightly around.
“All the great Clans gathered here are the pillars of the Dao Court. We are loyal to the Dao Court. We’ve come to ask about this Wilderness ‘great rebel.’ Your Huá Clan ought to give us an answer, so we can report back to our respective ancestors.”
True-Person Huá said nothing, his expression growing increasingly gloomy.
The other Great-Clan heirs also eyed him like hawks and wolves. In the silence, the atmosphere became taut, like drawn blades and nocked bows.
Mo Hua pressed his lips together and said nothing.
As a “prisoner at someone else’s mercy,” he had no right to speak.
Though having fallen into the Huá Clan’s hands meant his fate would certainly not be good, this hall of nobles—every one of them a young lord—represented the Dao Court’s great clans. If he fell into their hands, his end would be no better.
What’s more, Mo Hua hadn’t forgotten that he still carried that poppy-like karmic entanglement of the “Young Lords’ Pavilion” on his back.
These young nobles filled the hall, each elegant and splendid, gold and jade on the outside. Who knew what lay wrapped within?
Among them, there might well be people from the “Young Lords’ Pavilion.”
People who had once boarded the “Rouge Boat.”
If he fell into their hands and his background were uncovered, that would be the end of him.
It could be said that, to Mo Hua, everyone in this hall of nobles was an evildoer.
And among these evildoers, there might be even more morally depraved “greater evildoers” hiding.
Just as Mo Hua’s heart was turning cold, he suddenly sensed a gaze fixed upon him, one that carried an extraordinary, austere pressure.
Following that gaze, Mo Hua looked over and saw, not far away behind a screen, a thin-faced cultivator in a green Daoist robe staring at him unblinkingly, as if pondering something.
This person’s aura was utterly ordinary.
Yet Mo Hua could sense that his realm was stronger than the others’.
Feather Ascension!
Another Feather Ascension cultivator.
In this hall, there was more than just True-Person Huá at the Feather Ascension realm.
And when Mo Hua’s gaze met that of this green-robed Feather Ascension cultivator, the Yin-Wood qi within his body suddenly began to circulate out of control.
Yin-Wood…
The green-robed Feather Ascension’s pupils contracted. His figure flashed, transforming into feather-like spiritual qi as he vanished. When he reappeared, he was already near Mo Hua, reaching out to seize him.
True-Person Huá’s expression changed. He grabbed the man’s hand in one motion and said coldly, “True-Person Qingmu —what are you doing?”
The Feather Ascension cultivator called “True-Person Qingmu ” ignored True-Person Huá entirely, staring only at Mo Hua as he urgently demanded:
“Boy, what’s your name? Who is your master? What Dao Foundation did you forge? What is your Life-Bound Treasure?”
True-Person Huá’s face showed displeasure.
Mo Hua stammered, “I… I don’t remember…”
“Don’t remember… don’t remember…” True-Person Qingmu muttered, shaking his head. “Impossible. The Life-Bound Artifact is the crucial key to a cultivator’s core formation. You can’t possibly not remember. You—”
True-Person Qingmu reached out again to grab Mo Hua.
True-Person Huá’s face was dark as water, sword intent radiating brilliantly around him, crystalline like glass, light as feathers. “Qingmu—how dare you!”
Only then did True-Person Qingmu withdraw his hand in regret, yet his gaze remained firmly locked on Mo Hua, unable to move away.
True-Person Huá said, “You want to interfere as well?”
True-Person Qingmu had originally been just an onlooker. He was Feather Ascension, holding high rank and power; every action he took concerned his clan’s overall situation.
He had come to the Great Wilderness with his own mission and could not act recklessly. Coming to this hall, he had merely intended to watch the show and see how things unfolded.
It should have stayed that way.
But now, upon seeing Mo Hua, everything felt different.
True-Person Qingmu looked at True-Person Huá, his gaze burning. “This boy… he… is definitely hiding something. If your Huá Clan is soft-hearted and unwilling to use harsh interrogation, this True-Person can do it for you.”
After thinking for a moment, he added, “That’s right… amid the chaos in the Great Wilderness, this Divine-Shaman suddenly appeared. This is extremely suspicious. There must be secrets behind it. It must be thoroughly investigated. Hand this boy over to me—I’ll investigate.”
As he spoke, True-Person Qingmu couldn’t help reaching out again to grab Mo Hua.
True-Person Huá slapped his hand away with a single strike and said coldly, “Have you lost your mind? What nonsense are you spouting?”
True-Person Qingmu stared at Mo Hua, his heart itching unbearably, but with his strength alone, he ultimately couldn’t overpower True-Person Huá.
He wasn’t like those Golden Core young nobles—those who had never crossed the boundary of Feather Ascension Returning to Truth, and thus had no clear understanding of Feather Ascension strength.
He himself was Feather Ascension. Precisely because of that, he knew True-Person Huá’s depth and dared not go too far.
True-Person Qingmu then turned his head toward another direction, toward a folding screen painted with Bagua-linked mountains and rivers, and called out: “Zhuge, you should also come and judge what’s fair.”
True-Person Huá’s gaze sank.
Mo Hua’s expression also changed.
Zhuge?
He looked toward the Bagua mountain screen and focused, only then did he realize that behind it, there was yet another Feather Ascension True-Person hidden.
This person wore a light-blue Daoist robe, loose garments and unbound hair, barefoot, his movements were unrestrained, even somewhat idle and lazy. Yet his features were exceptionally handsome. Just casually reclining there, he exuded an air of transcendence beyond the mortal world.
At a glance, he looked like someone you absolutely did not want to provoke.
But the True-Person called “Zhuge,” upon hearing this, merely waved his hand, utterly uninterested.
“You argue among yourselves.”
The meaning was clear: it had nothing to do with him, and he couldn’t be bothered to interfere.
True-Person Qingmu said in a deep voice, “True-Person Zhuge, this matter concerns the greater righteousness of the Dao Court. Even if you yourself don’t wish to be involved, you should at least consider the Zhuge Clan.”
True-Person Zhuge replied casually, “The Zhuge Clan doesn’t want to be involved either. Those few old ancestors of mine are even lazier than I am.”
True-Person Qingmu wanted to say more—
But True-Person Zhuge had already lain back down again, holding a fan and leisurely fanning himself, utterly at ease.
True-Person Huá looked at True-Person Qingmu and sneered.
A Zhuge Clan True-Person—someone you think you can casually use as a spear?
With no other choice, True-Person Qingmu glanced at Mo Hua, whose Yin-Wood aura faintly stirred within him. Unable to let go in the end, he said:
“Then we’ll each take a step back. I won’t take this brat—but he also can’t stay in your Huá Clan’s hands. Hand him over to—”
True-Person Qingmu swept his gaze around and pointed at the noble young master in golden robes.
“—the Xuanyuan Clan for interrogation.”
The golden-robed noble immediately said: “Good!”
True-Person Huá said coldly, “He is someone my Huá Clan captured. It’s impossible to hand him over to you.”
The golden-robed noble sneered as well. “What, the Huá Clan has been riding smooth winds these past years, basking in boundless glory—have you stopped putting us old, established clans in your eyes?”
As soon as these words fell, the atmosphere in the hall grew even sharper.
Many noble scions from great Clans cast cold looks toward True-Person Huá.
True-Person Huá could only compromise. “I will apply punishment later and interrogate him strictly. If what I learn concerns the greater situation of the Dao Court, I will naturally inform you all.”
The golden-robed noble said indifferently, “True-Person needn’t brush us off like this. If there’s to be an interrogation, then do it now. Let me ask you—”
Without waiting for True-Person Huá to reply, the golden-robed noble arrogantly looked at Mo Hua.
“Answer honestly—are you, or are you not, the Divine-Shaman of the Great Wilderness?”
Mo Hua wasn’t stupid. He naturally shook his head. “I truly don’t know anything.”
“Then who exactly are you? State your identity. If it’s verified that you’re unrelated to this matter, we won’t make things difficult for you.”
“Believe me.”
The golden-robed noble’s words sounded pleasant enough, but Mo Hua knew in his heart that he would never let him go.
This hall full of nobles—perhaps all of them were demons wearing human skins, each of them eager to tear a bite of flesh from him.
Mo Hua didn’t even know what kind of flesh they wanted to tear from him.
The only one seemingly staying out of it all was that True-Person Zhuge.
But perhaps this True-Person Zhuge wasn’t truly “staying out of it”—he was merely watching the show from the shore.
Despite his lazy demeanor and apparent indifference to worldly matters, Mo Hua could sense that at the corner of True-Person Zhuge’s mouth hung a faint, elusive smile.
A smile of someone standing aside, watching “vicious dogs fighting over food.”
The nobles were the vicious dogs, and he was the food they were fighting over.
The golden-robed noble looked at Mo Hua with icy eyes.
Mo Hua could only say: “I really… have forgotten everything.”
The golden-robed noble said displeasedly: “This brat is stubborn beyond reason. We’ll need to use some harsh punishment to help him remember.”
After saying this, he seemed ready to make a move on Mo Hua.
Mo Hua’s face turned slightly pale.
True-Person Huá had also lost patience with sparring verbally with these spoiled heirs. He said coldly,
“This person was captured by my Huá Clan. Whether he lives or dies, whether he’s cut up or executed, is for my Huá Clan to decide. Acting like this—are you saying you don’t put my Huá Clan in your eyes?”
His expression was icy. Spiritual power transformed into feathers around his body, his momentum fierce and imposing.
The pressure of the Feather Ascension realm surged forth. The golden-robed noble and the others felt their hearts sink, their faces turning extremely ugly.
They knew that True-Person Huá truly would not hand the person over.
But from another angle, this also meant that this youth likely really did harbor an enormous secret.
Their trip this time hadn’t been in vain.
This brat had to be snatched from the Huá Clan’s hands!
True-Person Qingmu had also made up his mind. It was just that this was Huá Clan territory, and True-Person Huá’s Feather Ascension cultivation was too profound, he couldn’t suppress him alone.
These noble heirs also knew True-Person Huá wasn’t easy to deal with, so they only moved their mouths, hoping to pressure him with momentum.
But now it seemed True-Person Huá didn’t buy that at all.
True-Person Qingmu glanced at Mo Hua, desire surging in his heart, then turned again to True-Person Zhuge and said, “Zhuge, you—”
True-Person Zhuge waved his fan, unmoved.
True-Person Qingmu’s gaze darkened as he said,
“Even if you don’t do it for yourself, not for your Clan—can you really refuse to serve the Dao Court loyally? Your Zhuge clan also eats by the Dao Court’s grace. You were also enlightened at the Dao Province. You—”
“You remember wrong. I wasn’t enlightened at the Dao Province.”
True-Person Qingmu froze.
True-Person Zhuge smiled faintly. “Back then, my ancestor thought I was dull and unworthy of the Dao Court’s inheritance, so he sent me alone to Qianxue Province to study at the Great Void Sect. I was educated locally—”
Mo Hua’s expression changed abruptly. He blurted out:
“Great Void Sect?!”
That sudden shout made the air fall silent for a moment. True-Person Zhuge’s words also came to an abrupt stop.
Everyone looked at Mo Hua, their expressions tinged with surprise.
True-Person Huá frowned. “You know the Great Void Sect?”
Mo Hua nodded solemnly. “I suddenly remembered just now! I’m actually also a disciple of the Great Void Sect!”
Everyone’s expressions turned awkward, unsure what to say.
Mo Hua pointed again at the carefree-looking True-Person Zhuge.
“He and I… we’re from the same sect!”
True-Person Zhuge looked as though he’d suddenly been “bitten” by a small venomous snake that had darted out from the roadside. His fan stopped moving, and the composed smile froze at the corner of his mouth.