Chapter 1344: Strange Shadow

Chapter 1343: Strange Shadow

In the darkness of night, the sounds of battle cries and the stench of blood grew heavier by the moment.

Under Dan Ling’s lead, Mo Hua and Bai Zisheng headed together toward the Imperial Palace Court.

Mo Hua remained silent the entire way, his expression grave.

His memories faintly drifted back to the past, to the depths of the great corpse mine of the Shen Clan in the Qianxue Prefecture, deep within Lone Mountain, and to the bloody and grotesque scenes inside the sealed Huangshan Deity temple of Lone Mountain.

He knew he could not be mistaken.

Shentu Ao was truly dead. He had been schemed against and killed by the demonized Mister Tu, and the Azure Dragon formation diagram on his body had been stripped away.

Mo Hua had witnessed that scene with his own eyes.

Inside the gloomy Lone Huangshan Temple, the pale-skinned, twisted-featured demonized “Mister Tu” had held a sacrificial knife in his right hand and a half-flayed piece of human skin in his left. When he turned his head with a sinister air and locked eyes with Mo Hua in savage malice, that image was still vivid in Mo Hua’s mind.

At that time, Shentu Ao’s aura had indeed vanished completely. He had died beyond all doubt.

And with the explosion of the Shen Clan corpse mine and the self-destruction of the Huangshan Temple of Lone Mountain, Shentu Ao’s body should have been buried forever in the lightless depths of Lone Mountain’s mass grave.

Yet now, Shentu Ao had appeared in the Great Wilderness—openly and grandly—as a prince of the Great Wilderness.

Could it be that no one had realized this Shentu Ao was actually a dead man?

Setting others aside, not even the divine officials of the Feathered Ascension Realm had noticed that their Prince Ao was a corpse?

Why…

How could Shentu Ao return from the Qianxue Prefecture back to the Great Wilderness?

Who brought him back?

And why could no one sense that Shentu Ao was already dead?

Mo Hua could not help recalling again the aura that had made his heart tremble when the Lone Mountain Temple self-destructed.

Now, thinking back on it, everything seemed to connect.

“Could it be… Martial uncle is manipulating all of this…”

Mo Hua raised his head and looked toward the brightly lit Imperial Court in the distance. It felt as though a massive stone weighed on his heart. “Could Martial uncle be in the Imperial Court right now?”

“If I go to the Imperial Court… to the Dragon Pool… and I encounter Shentu Ao, wouldn’t that be the same as meeting Martial uncle face to face?”

“Meeting Martial uncle…”

“Martial uncle…”

“Maybe…” Mo Hua’s steps unconsciously slowed to a halt. “Forget it?”

This Golden Core… maybe it wasn’t absolutely necessary to form it…

If forming this core meant facing Martial uncle—the Strange Daoist—head-on, then giving up might actually be the wiser choice.

Dan Ling walked ahead for a while before noticing Mo Hua had stopped. She turned and looked at him. “What’s wrong?”

Bai Zisheng also looked over at Mo Hua.

Mo Hua hesitated for a long while, and in the end let out a sigh.

So be it… Whether I stick my head out or not, it’ll get cut either way. Now that it’s come to this, there’s no escaping it.

The core had to be formed, and Martial uncle could not be avoided forever.

There was no escaping.

“Nothing…” Mo Hua sighed softly. “Let’s go. The Dao Court’s forces are almost here.”

Dan Ling nodded.

The three quickened their pace. After nearly half an hour of travel, they encountered quite a few skirmishes along the way, Dao soldiers, cultivators of the Righteous Dao, and those of the Demonic Dao, all tangled together in chaotic battle.

All of them were dealt with by Dan Ling and Bai Zisheng.

In the end, the three arrived before the grand gate of the Imperial Court.

The Imperial Court was the palace of the Great Wilderness Royal Court, ancient and majestic, with golden bricks paving the ground, a symbol of the Great Wilderness’s former prosperity and strength.

The Royal Clan of the Great Wilderness, the high-ranking Royal families, powerful nobles, and esteemed Shamans all lived within the Imperial Court.

If the Imperial Palace Court fell, the Royal Court of the Great Wilderness would truly be finished.

Now, with the Dao Court’s army pressing at the borders and the Demonic Dao stirring chaos from the shadows, the Imperial Palace Court was under total lockdown. Amid its golden splendor lingered an atmosphere of grim slaughter.

Dan Ling presented her token, and only then did the imperial guards grant special permission to open the gate.

As a Divine Maiden, Dan Ling held a unique status and meaning within the Divine Dao system of the Great Wilderness. Thus, despite the strict lockdown to resist foreign enemies, she could still enter the Imperial Court using the Divine Maiden Token.

Without Dan Ling leading the way, it would have been absolutely impossible for Mo Hua and Bai Zisheng to enter at this time.

Of course, the two of them were also inspected.

But Dan Ling had already told them to wear the clothing of Shaman attendants, posing as servants of the Divine Shaman Hall.

With the esteemed Divine Maiden vouching for them, Mo Hua and Bai Zisheng were only subjected to a cursory inspection before being allowed through.

Beyond the side gate stretched tall, lengthy outer walls.

As they walked between the walls, both sides were covered in murals in the style of the barbarian tribes.

These wilderness murals told the story of the founding ancestors of the Great Wilderness Royal Court, of how, in ancient times, they struggled against heaven and earth, fought alongside their people, defeated powerful savage demons, and carved out a dynasty from a barren abyssal wilderness.

These outer walls served both as formation defenses and as displays of the Great Wilderness’s history and the Royal clan’s achievements.

Yet as Mo Hua looked at them, he felt a strange sense of discord.

He was the Divine-Shaman who had unified the Desolate Wilderness, the formation master who controlled the Taotie Absolute Formation. He knew of the existence of the Grand Shaman Priest, and thus he also knew that the history of the Great Wilderness Royal Clan must have concealed far too many things.

And those hidden things might well be what truly determined the rise and fall of the Great Wilderness.

Mo Hua stared at the murals, lost in thought.

Meanwhile, Dan Ling walked straight ahead. Along the way, they occasionally passed others from the Royal Court, who saluted Dan Ling:

“Greetings, Divine Maiden.”

Dan Ling returned the courtesy appropriately.

After walking for some time, when the surroundings grew quiet with no one else nearby, Dan Ling suddenly remembered something. She turned and instructed Mo Hua:

“Once we enter the inner Imperial Court, keep your head lowered. Watch your words and actions. Don’t cause trouble.”

She was merely giving a routine reminder, unaware that the person before her was most skilled at causing exactly that.

Mo Hua nodded. “I won’t act recklessly.”

Dan Ling gave a small nod. After thinking for a moment, she added:

“And… don’t approach anyone from the Divine Shaman Hall. Don’t get close to any Shamans. Especially, do not approach those of the ‘Flame Deity’ lineage.”

“You mean that Yan Zhu?” Mo Hua asked.

Dan Ling froze. “You know about him?”

Then she remembered, back in the Divine Maiden Hall, Mo Hua had been up on the rafters. He had probably seen everything Yan Zhu had done when he tried to force her into discipleship.

Thinking of this, the doubts in Dan Ling’s heart deepened even further.

This Gongtu Young lord called “Mo Hua”… how was he able to enter the Divine Maiden Hall? How could he spy nearby without either her or Yan Zhu noticing? And why had the Divine Official ordered her to take him to the Dragon Pool, forbidding her from asking even a single question?

Looking at this Foundation Establishment youth before her, Dan Ling only felt that he was shrouded in an indescribable strangeness.

But remembering the Divine Official’s instructions, she did not ask further.

Mo Hua, however, was a little puzzled and asked, “That Yan Zhu… is he very powerful?”

Dan Ling nodded, her expression solemn. “He is the foremost High Shaman of the Flame Deity lineage. His divine-sense fire techniques are superb, and he is extremely scheming. Not someone easy to provoke.”

Mo Hua let out an “Oh.”

Dan Ling blinked. “You don’t believe me?”

Mo Hua frowned. “I know him. His status should be quite high… I just didn’t expect him to be that high…”

Dan Ling frowned. “You know Yan Zhu?”

“Sort of…” Mo Hua said.

Dan Ling suddenly recalled something. “Right, you went to the Vermilion Sparrow Tribe and met my younger brother. Yan Zhu also went there to preach, it’s not strange that you two would know each other…”

“Yan Zhu said he led the Vermilion Sparrow Tribe to unify the Vermilion Bird Mountain Region, making them the number one tribe in the alliance… is that true?”

Mo Hua shook his head, looking a bit disdainful. “He lied to you.”

Dan Ling nodded. She had also guessed Yan Zhu wasn’t telling the truth.

It was just that she had been away from home for too long. She knew nothing about the Vermilion Sparrow Tribe’s recent situation and had no way to verify it.

Dan Ling couldn’t help asking again, “Then what exactly did Yan Zhu do in the Desolate Wilderness? Did he really preach?”

Mo Hua looked a little disgusted. “Preach what? He spent all his time kowtowing to people…”

Dan Ling froze. “Kowtowing?”

Mo Hua nodded. “Anyway, whenever I saw Yan Zhu, he was always bowing.”

Dan Ling parted her lips. “Yan Zhu… kowtowing? Who was he bowing to?”

To me, of course…

Mo Hua muttered inwardly.

He was the Divine-Shaman; Yan Zhu was only Flame Shaman. When he was in a good mood, fine. But if his expression turned stern, Yan Zhu, afraid of death, had no choice but to kowtow…

Of course, that wasn’t very polite to say out loud, so Mo Hua vaguely replied, “To a certain great figure. That person had an extremely high status. I don’t know who he really was either…”

Dan Ling stood there in a daze, unable to believe it no matter how she thought about it.

The dignified High Shaman of the Royal court, Lord Flame Shaman Yan Zhu, went to the Desolate Wilderness to preach… and ended up kowtowing to others?

What exactly had happened in that place?

Even someone with Lord Yan Zhu’s cultivation had to bow and kneel while preaching?

Mo Hua glanced at Dan Ling and finally voiced the question that had been in his heart all along.

“That Yan Zhu, he serves the Dao of the Flame Deity, right?”

Dan Ling nodded.

Mo Hua asked again, “In the Great Wilderness Royal Court, how many deities are actually worshiped?”

Dan Ling replied, “Aside from the Four Symbol Gods — Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise — there are also ancestral barbarian gods, ancestral demon gods, and various gods of the water and fire Great Daos, and so on. The Great Wilderness has three thousand gods, great and small. Any deity worshiped in the Royal Court is an ancient great god without exception…”

Mo Hua nodded slowly, then asked, “Then Sister Dan Ling, as a Divine Maiden, you believe in the Vermilion Bird God?”

Dan Ling nodded, then shook her head. “Not exactly. The Vermilion Bird God is one of the Four Symbol Guardian Gods. Our Divine Maiden Hall believes in the most orthodox, sole god of the Great Wilderness, the Lord of the Great Wilderness, master of the three thousand gods.”

Mo Hua was startled. “You believe in the Divine Lord?”

“Yes,” Dan Ling said. Her face was radiant, her gaze sacred and resolute. “The Divine Maiden Hall worships the Lord of the Great Wilderness. As a Divine Maiden of the Hall, I have long since dedicated everything to the Divine Lord. My soul, my faith, my fate, even my heart and body, all belong to the Divine Lord…”

Mo Hua’s heart skipped a beat, and his face couldn’t help turning a little red.

Bai Zisheng narrowed his eyes and stared at Mo Hua. “Mo Hua, why is your face red?”

Mo Hua said seriously, “It’s not!”

As they spoke, the three of them had already passed through the outer wall. The magnificent golden palace stood right before them.

Within the inner Imperial court came an aura of nobility and killing intent.

All three reined in their thoughts, held their breath, and remained silent as they stepped into the Imperial court.

The instant he crossed the threshold, Mo Hua’s heart began pounding even harder.

He knew he was already very close to the “core” of his Martial Uncle’s chess game. As for what would happen next in this game named “Deceptive Chess,” Mo Hua truly couldn’t predict at all.

But strangely, although his heart was racing, he couldn’t sense even a trace of his Martial Uncle’s Strange Dao aura from within the Imperial court.

On the surface, the Imperial court was just the Imperial court, only a kingdom on the brink of destruction.

Mo Hua frowned deeply.

Just then, several Royal guards approached and saluted Dan Ling. “Divine Maiden.”

Dan Ling nodded slightly. “By order of the Divine Official, I wish to see Prince Ao.”

The leading Royal guard showed a troubled expression.

Dan Ling asked, “Is there a problem?”

The guard replied, “Please forgive us, Divine Maiden. Prince Ao has given orders that with a great enemy at hand, no one may request an audience.”

Dan Ling frowned faintly.

The guard added, “To be honest, many Royal lords have sought an audience with Prince Ao and were all refused. At present, those lords are staying in the Golden Si Tower within the imperial court.”

(TN: 兕 (sì) – a mythical rhinoceros-like beast in ancient Chinese lore)

“If Divine Maiden does not mind, you may also wait in the Golden Si Tower. When His Highness has time, he should receive the various lords.”

Dan Ling pondered briefly, then sighed softly. “Very well.”

The guard nodded and selected two men. “Escort Divine Maiden to the Golden Si Tower.”

“Yes.”

“Divine Maiden, this way please.”

The two royal guards walked ahead, respectfully leading Dan Ling toward a tall building in the southwest corner of the imperial court.

Mo Hua and Bai Zisheng followed behind her like attendants.

After walking for a while, they arrived before the Golden Si Tower. Mo Hua looked up and saw a towering structure forged of gold and jade, shaped like a Si-ox, standing proudly as if welcoming distinguished guests.

The Great Wilderness was known for its savagery and backwardness. Many tribes struggled to find enough food and did not live to adulthood, yet this did not stop the Great Wilderness Royal Court from being resplendent in gold and jade.

Mo Hua’s gaze sharpened.

The two royal guards escorted Dan Ling into the Golden Si Tower, where maids came forward to greet them.

“Welcome, Divine Maiden.”

One maid said, “Divine Maiden, please follow me.”

Dan Ling nodded.

The maid secretly glanced up at Dan Ling, momentarily stunned by her sacred and radiant presence. Only after a moment did she lower her head and lead the way.

Walking behind Dan Ling, Mo Hua looked around the interior of the Golden Si Tower. It too was glittering with gold and jade, extravagantly luxurious, leaving his feelings complicated beyond words.

Thus the group stepped across floors of gold stone and stairways carved from green jade, ascending higher into the tower.

As they walked, a suppressed voice of scolding suddenly came from ahead.

“Useless!”

“You can’t even handle this small matter… and I valued you so highly…”

“As expected, people of lowly birth can’t escape their nature. Poor temperament, poor comprehension. All you have is brute ruthlessness, but your brain is foolish. No matter how you’re taught, you never learn. You have no sense at all in anything you do…”

“Young Lord, please forgive me. This subordinate is incompetent…”

“At least you know you’re incompetent…”

…

Mo Hua was unfamiliar with the content of their conversation, but the voices of these two sounded somewhat familiar to him.

The voices drew closer and closer, then suddenly stopped.

Clearly, the two speakers also realized someone had arrived, so they shut their mouths.

Soon, the two sides came face to face. Mo Hua looked up and first saw a young master, tall and imposing, clad in golden beast-patterned battle armor, with an overbearing and arrogant aura.

This person was no stranger to Mo Hua.

“Young Master Tuoba…”

The direct-line young master of the Great Wilderness Sect. Back then, Big Tiger had been captured by this very Young Master Tuoba from Tōngxiān City and taken to the Great Wilderness, where he was tortured in an attempt to break and tame him.

And back then, Mo Hua had forcibly snatched Big Tiger back from this Young Master Tuoba’s hands.

Young Master Tuoba’s chest had even been torn bloody by Big Tiger.

All things considered, there was bad blood between him and Mo Hua.

Standing opposite Young Master Tuoba was a burly man, powerfully built, yet bowing his head with a servile expression.

His brows and eyes looked familiar, yet unfamiliar at the same time.

Mo Hua recognized him too.

It was… Da Hu.

His childhood companion from Tōngxiān City. They had grown up in the same neighborhood, visiting temple fairs together since they were little, eating pastries together, fighting side by side, hunting demons together, a friend with whom he shared deep bonds… Da Hu.