Chapter 1332: Huai-Nu

Chapter 1331: Huai-Nu

“You… will teach me?”

Looking at Mo Hua’s handsome, gentle face, the barbarian youth felt momentarily dazed.

Mo Hua nodded lightly.

The youth stood stunned for a long while, then suddenly snapped back to his senses. His gaze turned cold as he raised his guard and said,

“You… why would you teach me? You’re a bad person, you want to harm me?”

“If I wanted to harm you,” Mo Hua replied calmly, “would I need to deceive you for it?”

The barbarian youth froze. Recalling the overwhelming spell just now, and that single gaze whose inconceivable divine power had shattered the barbarian god’s blessing, despair welled up in his heart.

Yes… if a being like this, a lord like some kind of “demon,” truly wished to humiliate or slaughter him, there would be no need for words at all.

It would take only a few blinks of an eye.

“But…” the youth still couldn’t understand. His stubborn eyes fixed on Mo Hua. “Why, exactly, do you want to teach me?”

Mo Hua said slowly, “You are a God-Favored. The barbarian god of your tribe can reside within your Sea of Consciousness, this proves your talent is excellent, your Divine-Sense is strong, and that you bear upon your shoulders a certain… far greater mission.”

“A mission…” the youth murmured blankly.

Mo Hua extended a finger and said calmly, “Look down from here.”

The barbarian youth followed where Mo Hua pointed and saw the vast land below, the multitude of living beings enslaved.

“Under war and chaos, wherever the flames of battle reach, the Great Wilderness’s people can barely survive. Your tribe is gone; your clansmen have become slaves, displaced and homeless.”

“Tribes like yours, in the present Great Wilderness, likely number no fewer than several hundred thousand. They have all met the same calamity as you. But they are different from you, they are merely ordinary people, flesh and blood. They have no talent, no divine favor, no power to resist. They can only allow fate to roll over them, dying like weeds…”

Mo Hua’s expression was calm, his tone tinged with compassion.

The barbarian youth’s face was filled with grief. Then his gaze hardened with resolve as he said,

“We are the subjects of the Great Wilderness Royal Court. The Royal Court will save us. The Dragon Emperor and Dragon Lord of the Great Wilderness possess boundless divine powers. They will lead the demon cavalry of the Great Wilderness, slaughter the lackeys of the Dao Court, and save the people of the Great Wilderness from fire and water…”

Mo Hua, however, replied calmly… and cruelly,

“No one can save you. Not the Royal Court, not the Dragon Lord, not even your barbarian gods… If they truly could save you, you would not be as you are now—treated as slaves, as pigs and dogs to be slaughtered at will, worth less than maggots…”

The barbarian youth clenched his fists tightly. His eyes reddened as bloody tears once more flowed from their corners.

Mo Hua’s gaze deepened slightly as he said slowly, “In this world, no one can save you, except… yourselves.”

The youth was stunned. “Ourselves…?”

Mo Hua opened the booklet in his hand, revealing within it patterns that “simplified the complex”, shallow in appearance yet profound in mystery:

“This is a formation manual. It contains the ultimate principles of Heaven and Earth, manifested as the Four Symbols’ patterns, the applications of the Five Elements, and the structures of the Eight Trigrams. This is the manifestation of the Dao, the manifestation of truth, the very source of the power of cultivation.”

“Cultivators cultivate in order to comprehend the Heavenly Dao and bring benefit to all living beings.”

“And what you must do is to comprehend the formations within, master the wondrous applications of the Great Dao, and bring benefit to those who live upon the same land as you—of the same origin and lineage—yet who have met with calamity and live each day on the brink of death in the Great Wilderness…”

“You must cultivate without cease, grow stronger without cease. You must unite the people of the Great Wilderness, gather them together, work as one to carve out a path of survival, and change your own fate.”

“You must remember, only you can save yourselves.”

“This is the mission you bear, for having been born with extraordinary talent.”

The barbarian youth stood there in a daze. He felt a flame ignite in his chest, burning his heart hot. A heroic ambition he had never imagined surged through his entire being, making even his frail body tremble.

But soon, the hot blood cooled. The youth’s gaze dimmed.

“I… but I’m just… just a slave from a small tribe. I… I’m not worthy, I…”

Mo Hua slowly rose and walked before him, placing a hand on the youth’s shoulder.

The barbarian youth felt a warm, gentle aura. He lifted his head and looked at Mo Hua.

Mo Hua’s eyes were gentle as he said,

“Precisely because you are weak, you know you must become strong. Precisely because your origins are humble, you understand the suffering of all living beings. Heroes are not judged by birth. The Great Dao is contained even within grass and weeds. Everything depends on whether you possess this Dao-heart—whether you have the resolve to save the Great Wilderness…”

The youth’s spirit trembled. He nodded uncontrollably.

Mo Hua placed the thin booklet into the barbarian youth’s hands.

“The path to defying Heaven and changing fate lies within. You must learn formations, learn to grasp destiny in your own hands. The fate of the Great Wilderness can only be fought for and forged by you and the people of the Great Wilderness themselves.”

The barbarian youth gripped the booklet tightly, feeling as though he were holding his own heart, burning hot and scalding.

Tears overflowed from his eyes.

Mo Hua extended a finger and pressed it to the youth’s brow.

His deep eyes pierced directly through the youth’s Sea of Consciousness, gazing straight at the Huai God residing within. With his will, he said,

“Protect this child well. Otherwise, I will ensure your Divine Dao collapses, leaving you without even a burial place.”

The Huai God was struck with terror. It hurriedly kowtowed and clasped its hands in obeisance.

“Yes, yes—this minor god obeys.”

Mo Hua withdrew his Divine-Sense and gently wiped the blood and tears from the youth’s face with his fingertips.

“Alright,” Mo Hua said softly. “Go. From this day on, you are no one’s slave. You are yourself. You bear the mission of the Great Wilderness, go and do what you must do…”

The barbarian youth froze, as though he had not expected Mo Hua to truly let him go.

Yet Mo Hua truly placed no further restraints upon him, truly just let this barbarian slave go.

The youth stood there for a long time, looking at Mo Hua with emotions too complex to describe. Finally, he couldn’t help but speak softly,

“You… who exactly are you?”

Mo Hua fell silent for a moment, then said, “If you can lead your people and survive amid the chaos of the Great Wilderness, sooner or later, you will know.”

The youth fell silent.

“Go,” Mo Hua said.

Clutching the thin formation manual, the youth turned and left. Yet his steps were still filled with hesitation. When he was about to reach the doorway, he turned back again to look at Mo Hua.

“Then…”

Gathering his courage, he said solemnly,

“How should I… address you?”

Mo Hua thought for a moment, then said softly,

“You may call me… Teacher.”

“Teacher…”

A trace of brightness gradually emerged in the youth’s eyes. He nodded, tucked the formation manual Mo Hua had given him into his robes, and walked alone down from the high building. His frail figure gradually merged into the groups of barbarian slaves below.

Mo Hua remained seated above, watching the youth’s figure disappear into the mass of barbarian slaves. After a long while, he let out a soft sigh.

What fate awaited the Great Wilderness was still unknown.

These barbarian slaves—even if they had been temporarily rescued and confined together—still lived and died like small boats amid raging waves, liable to be overturned at any moment.

The aristocratic clans of the Nine Provinces would not oppress them again for the time being, but neither would they care whether they lived or died. Allowing them to “fend for themselves” was already the best treatment they could expect.

And what Mo Hua could do had nearly reached its limit.

In the end, people can only save themselves.

He had given them a chance at life and chosen a spark. Whether these people of the Royal Capital Region could survive the coming turmoil would depend solely on the will of that child called “Huai-Nu,” and on the unity of these barbarian slaves of the Royal Capital Region themselves.

Life or death could only be decided by their own fate.

Thinking of this, Mo Hua habitually lifted his head to look at the sky.

Heaven moves with vigor; cultivators must strive ceaselessly for self-strengthening.

Cultivators should model themselves after Heaven and Earth, following the Dao and acting in accordance with nature.

And above the Heavenly Dao are gathered the life-and-death karmic threads of all living beings, only those of mortal flesh and blood cannot see them.

What Mo Hua saw was that the Heavenly secrets over the Great Wilderness were still shrouded in gray mist, with signs of continual deterioration.

He only knew that this foretold chaotic calamity.

As for the concrete situation and the shifts of cause and effect, there were far too many black hands stirring the waters behind the scenes. Even he could not discern them clearly.

Mo Hua also did not know how this war between the Dao Court and the Great Wilderness would ultimately unfold.

When, in time, the Royal Court of the Great Wilderness was breached, where would the fate of the Great Wilderness’s tribes lead?

In the end, in what form would everything conclude?

……

As for the matter of the barbarian slaves, it was, for the time being, brought to a close.

In the Royal Capital Region, Mo Hua had given the barbarians a chance at survival and left behind a single spark of fire.

As for the Four Sects and Eight Gates of the Qianxue Prefecture—the heavenly prodigies who had once contended with Mo Hua at the Sword-Debate Tournament, both enemies and friends—under Mo Hua’s guidance, their horizons had been broadened, and their old “views of the cultivation world” shattered.

Moreover, they had personally given the orders to save some barbarian slaves.

This kind of benevolent act of “saving the common people” quietly soaked into their hearts, causing their Dao hearts to deepen by a tiny measure.

At the same time, a trace of compassion was born.

“So in this world… there really are people who live lives that don’t even resemble human existence…”

Feng Zichen took a sip of wine and let out a bitter sigh.

This was at a banquet hosted by the Situ clan.

Because the issue of the barbarian slaves had been temporarily resolved, Mo Hua, to express his thanks, invited this group of Qianxue heavenly prodigies to another meal.

Of course, this time the spirit stones were paid by Grand Elder Situ Wei.

Grand Elder Situ Wei personally went before Mo Hua, grabbed his hands, and spoke with heartfelt sincerity—so much so that he looked ready to kneel and beg—insisting that Mo Hua absolutely must allow him to spend this sum of spirit stones to host the banquet and properly entertain the heavenly prodigies of the great clans and sects of the Qianxue Prefecture.

Unable to refuse such earnest hospitality, Mo Hua nodded in agreement.

As a result, the scale of the banquet surpassed the previous one, and the dishes were even more extravagant.

Yet as the heavenly prodigies ate, the food tasted like chewing wax.

It wasn’t that these delicacies were unpalatable; rather, after having seen those barbarian slaves—the elderly, the weak, and the children—who had nothing to eat and were forced to fill their stomachs with soil, stones, wood, and rotting flesh, then looking again at the lavish dishes before them, a powerful sense of dissonance and discomfort arose in their hearts.

These extravagant foods, once in their mouths, gave rise to a deep, indescribable sense of “guilt.”

Mo Hua nodded.

This was because they were still young, and their consciences were still intact.

If they stayed within aristocratic clans for a few hundred years—once their hearts grew numb and their morals were extinguished—then perhaps even if they were made to “eat people” alive, they wouldn’t feel the slightest discomfort, and might even feel a sense of superiority born of class.

In the vast reception hall, because of what they had seen and heard earlier, the expressions of all the heavenly prodigies were somewhat dejected.

Confusion and pain mingled in their hearts.

None of them had much appetite.

At the same time, quite a few of them genuinely began to believe that what Mo Hua had said was very likely true.

If the aristocratic clans’ exploitation had twisted the world to such an extent—if people lived like ghosts—then it was only right that for so many years, not a single person had ascended to immortality.

If someone could become immortal under such circumstances, that would truly be seeing a ghost…

Feng Zichen was deeply shaken. While absentmindedly stuffing food into his mouth and chewing with no taste at all, he drifted off in thought, pondering these matters.

Suddenly, he heard someone say by his ear:

“Pass me the roasted leg.”

Feng Zichen subconsciously passed over the roasted leg in front of him, and casually glanced sideways. Seeing a white-robed youth with chains on his body, cold-faced, sitting beside him and gnawing on the roasted leg, he didn’t think much of it. He turned his head back and continued thinking.

But after a moment, he suddenly realized something was wrong.

This person… why was he wearing chains? And why did he look… unfamiliar yet familiar?

Feng Zichen turned his head back again. In that instant, his breathing slowed by a beat; startled like a monkey, he sprang up and screamed:

“Bai Zisheng??!!”

That scream instantly drew everyone’s attention.

All eyes turned toward them, and the hall erupted into an uproar.

“Bai Zisheng?!”

“Wait—how is he here?!”

“He… didn’t he escape? He…”

“Quick, draw your blades!”

The heavenly prodigies were shocked. Those with blades drew blades, those with swords drew swords; some activated spirit artifacts, others pinched talismans, ready to crush them.

Bai Zisheng, however, calmly gnawed on the roasted leg, ignoring everyone.

Mo Hua sighed helplessly and waved his hand. “Alright, put away your swords. Making such a fuss—what does it look like? It’s just Bai Zisheng. He can’t stir up any waves.”

All the heavenly prodigies stared in disbelief, utterly unable to comprehend what Mo Hua was saying.

Bai Zisheng couldn’t stir up waves? Then who could?

Back then, so many aristocratic heavenly prodigies had taken turns fighting him, yet still failed to take down this monster with three full stages.

This alone showed how abnormal he was.

But the crowd soon realized that the one saying this was Mo Hua.

Though Mo Hua didn’t look strong, he was in fact unfathomably powerful.

And this Bai Zisheng was only focused on eating, seeming to show no abnormality at all. He even had chains on his body…

Ao Zheng frowned, looked at Mo Hua, and asked, “What exactly is going on here? How did Bai Zisheng end up here?”

Feng Zichen also said, “That day when the Great Wilderness attacked the camp and chaos broke out, didn’t Bai Zisheng escape? I saw it with my own eyes…”

Mo Hua took a sip of wine and said calmly, “He escaped, but can’t I catch him?”

Ao Zheng was stunned. “You alone… captured Bai Zisheng?”

“What about it?” Mo Hua said matter-of-factly. “If I can catch him once, can’t I catch him a second time? It’s just Bai Zisheng. Could he really escape my grasp?”

For a moment, no one could refute him.

If anyone else said that, it would be empty bragging—but if Mo Hua said it, then it meant he truly had the strength.

Xiao Ruohan’s expression, however, grew grave, tinged with disbelief. “And you’re just… bringing Bai Zisheng along like this?”

That day on Little Black Tortoise Mountain, he had been defeated by Bai Zisheng and knew full well how terrifying Bai Zisheng was.

Mo Hua simply nodded. “It’s fine. I’ve already used a supreme treasure of my Great Void Sect—the Great Void Five-Element Cosmos Lock—to suppress him. He can’t break free, and so he can’t do any evil…”

“Great Void Five-Element Cosmos Lock…”

Hearing this, everyone’s hearts tightened. Just from the name alone, it sounded anything but simple.

Situ Jian, however, was stunned. He had cultivated in the Great Void Sect for so many years, since when did the sect have such a supreme treasure?

What was this?

Unable to hold back, Situ Jian asked in a low voice, “Little Senior Brother, does our Great Void Sect really have—”

“Yes!” Mo Hua said with unwavering certainty.

Situ Jian had nothing more to say.

Little Senior Brother was close with the Ancestor anyway. If Little Senior Brother said it existed, then it definitely existed.

The others weren’t disciples of the Great Void Sect, so it was even less appropriate for them to question it. Given Mo Hua’s status as the Great Void Sect’s “crown prince,” it wasn’t excessive for him to carry a few supreme treasures around.

…Though the fact that this “supreme treasure” could suppress Bai Zisheng still felt somewhat unbelievable.

But since it came from Mo Hua’s hands, suddenly everything seemed possible.

Feng Zichen realized something, his heart jolting, and asked, “Then this Bai Zisheng… these past few days, has he been imprisoned in the Situ clan all along?”

Mo Hua nodded. “Yes.”

Feng Zichen sucked in a cold breath, feeling zero sense of security. “Then why are you letting him out now?”

Mo Hua said quietly, “Well… you have to let him eat, don’t you?”

A man can’t live without food—even Bai Zisheng has to eat.

That reason actually made a lot of sense.

No one had anything to say after that.

Mo Hua had also taken this opportunity to let Little Senior Brother eat something good to nourish himself, and at the same time, to let Little Senior Brother meet everyone.

After all, keeping Little Senior Brother hidden forever wasn’t a solution. He would be exposed sooner or later. Since that was the case, it was better to let him meet everyone earlier, so they could get used to it first.

“Alright, alright,” Mo Hua waved his hand. “Everyone sit down and eat. Don’t worry, while I’m here, a mere Bai Zisheng wouldn’t dare do anything to you…”

Hearing Mo Hua say this, the group of Qianxue Heavenly Prodigies finally sat back down, their expressions still rather strange.

As for Bai Zisheng, he followed Mo Hua’s instructions, ignoring everything else and focusing solely on gnawing on a roasted leg.

A group of extremely mismatched people ended up sitting together for a meal.

Yet because Mo Hua was seated at the head, it somehow didn’t feel that mismatched after all…