Chapter 1347: You Didn’t Die

Chapter 1346: You Didn’t Die

What Mo Hua said was actually the honest truth.

He had only woven six straw dogs in total.

This trip into the Royal court was like entering a dragon’s pool or a demon’s lair, who knew what dangers awaited? Every single straw-dog had to be used where it truly counted.

At the very least, they had to be spent on killing Golden Core cultivators.

Young Master Tuoba was only at the peak of Foundation Establishment. Though his bloodline was noble and his status extraordinary, in Mo Hua’s eyes, he truly wasn’t worth as much as one of his dogs.

Lies aren’t what anger people. The truth is the sharpest blade.

Young Master Tuoba could tell that Mo Hua was telling the truth, that he genuinely regarded him as a dog.

No, in Mo Hua’s eyes, he wasn’t even worth a dog.

Humiliated like this in public—especially in front of Dan Ling, the Divine Maiden—Young Master Tuoba burned with shame and rage. He immediately activated a golden blade and charged at Mo Hua with fierce momentum.

He was nobility of the Great Wilderness Sect, with both bloodline and cultivation far from ordinary. Beast souls coiled around the golden blade, their aura soul-stirring.

But this level of strength was still child’s play in the eyes of Mo Hua, who had survived countless battles and defeated powerful foes.

Before the golden blade could even strike, Mo Hua lightly tapped his foot. Like rippling water, his form swayed and he slipped aside.

Young Master Tuoba chased after Mo Hua, hacking away for quite a while, yet failed to touch even a corner of his clothes. Feeling increasingly humiliated, his anger only grew.

Mo Hua, however, had no interest in continuing to play with this “Mop” Young Master. It was a complete waste of time.

“Let’s go,” Mo Hua said to Bai Zisheng and Dan Ling.

The next instant, as Tuoba’s blade slashed toward him, Mo Hua’s figure dimmed, turning into a streak of watery light that vanished on the spot.

With a single spear strike, Bai Zisheng forced Da Hu back. His eyes flashed as he activated his movement technique, leaping over a wall like a white flood dragon and fleeing.

Dan Ling froze for a moment, then slashed out with her sword, breaking free from two Great Wilderness Sect elders before fleeing in Bai Zisheng’s direction.

Young Master Tuoba stomped in fury and cursed, “What are you standing around for?! Go after them!”

“But…” one Great Wilderness Sect elder frowned. “That boy’s concealment is too strange. I can’t sense his trail at all…”

“Sense my ass!” Tuoba snapped. “Go after Dan Ling! She’s with that brat. If you chase her, it’s the same as chasing him!”

The elder lowered his head. “Yes…”

“Hurry!”

“Yes, Young Master.”

A group of Great Wilderness Sect elders, Da Hu, and disciples followed the traces of Dan Ling and Bai Zisheng and gave chase.

…

Elsewhere, Mo Hua revealed himself again, using the Flowing-Water Step as he and Dan Ling moved swiftly through the grand halls of the inner Royal court.

After a moment of silence, Dan Ling finally couldn’t help asking, “Where does your concealment technique come from? Why couldn’t I sense you at all?”

She was a Golden Core cultivator, a Divine Maiden who cultivated the Divine Dao. Mo Hua was only at Foundation Establishment. There was no reason she shouldn’t be able to see through his concealment.

Mo Hua couldn’t be bothered to explain such a low-level question, so he simply said, “I have a supreme treasure for concealment. Even Golden Core cultivators can’t detect it.”

Dan Ling nodded, half believing, half doubtful.

Bai Zisheng glanced at Mo Hua and thought to himself, Sure enough, Junior Brother really does lie to women as easily as breathing.

The three continued deeper into the inner Royal court, while the Great Wilderness Sect pursued relentlessly behind them.

However, Mo Hua’s movement technique was exquisite. In a complex environment like the inner Royal Court, he was like a fish in water. Moreover, he already had a map of the palace, so before long he had the Great Wilderness Sect group running in circles.

They were completely toyed with by Mo Hua.

Still, they had Golden Core elders among them whose movement techniques were faster, so they continued biting close behind.

As Mo Hua fled and evaded them, he followed the map through the inner court, heading deeper toward the Four Symbols Palace.

Along the way, ancient halls adorned with beast-pattern motifs and grand architecture shimmered with golden light under the lamps, yet were stained with blood amid the fires of battle. As Mo Hua sped forward, they continuously swept past behind him.

Just as they were about to pass through the inner court and reach the entrance to the Four Symbols Palace—

Mo Hua suddenly stopped.

Dan Ling and Bai Zisheng were startled, then sensed something. Their expressions gradually turned grave.

Suddenly, crimson light flared across the ground in sequence, linking together into an ancient Divine Dao formation pattern that surrounded the three of them.

The surrounding totems were ignited by flames of divine sense.

Groups of cultivators wearing red flame-patterned shaman robes stepped out from the shadows, encircling Mo Hua and the others.

At the front of these fire-clad shamans, two cultivators with deep cultivation and overwhelmingly powerful Divine Dao auras slowly walked forward.

One was bare-chested, his body covered in fire patterns, fierce and domineering.

The other had a graceful figure, her slender waist wrapped in blue-green robes, revealing only a stunningly beautiful face.

Dan Ling’s expression changed drastically. She muttered, “Lord Yan Zhu… Lord Qing Zhu…”

At that very moment, footsteps sounded from behind. The people of the Great Wilderness Sect had also caught up, blocking their retreat.

In front were Flame Shaman Yan Zhu, Azure Shaman Qing Zhu, and a host of Fire-Dao shamans.

Behind were Young Master Tuoba of the Great Wilderness Sect, along with many elders and disciples.

Mo Hua and the other two were completely surrounded.

A cold smile appeared on Tuoba’s face.

Da Hu’s heart sank, but as a disciple of the Great Wilderness Sect—as Tuoba’s lackey and “hunting dog”—he could only remain silent.

Dan Ling frowned deeply and looked at Yan Zhu.

“Lord Yan Zhu, what is the meaning of this?”

Yan Zhu’s expression was cold. He glanced at Dan Ling, suppressing the admiration and longing in his heart, then shook his head.

“This time, I’m not here for you.”

Dan Ling was stunned.

Yan Zhu looked past her to the slender, delicate-looking young man at her side. Suppressing the tremor in his heart, he said slowly,

“Sir… you… truly didn’t die…”

Everyone present looked shocked.

Yan Zhu, a high shaman of the Royal Court and a late–stage Golden Core cultivator, had actually used the honorific “Sir”?

Even Bai Zisheng was stunned.

Dan Ling looked completely confused.

Mo Hua calmly said to Yan Zhu, “You’ve mistaken me. I’m just an ordinary Foundation Establishment junior.”

It would have been better if he hadn’t spoken. The moment he did, Yan Zhu felt his heart suddenly clench.

Beside him, Qing Zhu also tightened her fist, her face turning slightly pale.

That voice… though the tone had changed somewhat, becoming more vivid and more like a “person”, that familiar feeling was something they could never forget…

Yan Zhu shook his head. “There’s no mistake. You are that lord.”

Mo Hua said, “I’m not even that old. I can’t accept you calling me ‘lord.’”

Yan Zhu did not respond.

Mo Hua suddenly grew curious. “How did you know I was here? And how did you manage to intercept me?”

Yan Zhu’s expression turned cold. “That day in the Divine Maiden Hall, I sensed a powerful divine sense. It must have been you, secretly intimidating me…”

Dan Ling’s expression changed as she couldn’t help but look at Mo Hua.

Yan Zhu continued, “That lofty Divine-Sense, that irresistible killing intent, that half-man, half-god majesty. I have only ever felt it from you alone.”

“Thus I concluded that day… you were inside the Divine Maiden Hall.”

Mo Hua gave a slight nod. “Go on.”

Yan Zhu frowned faintly but continued, “So I deduced that after the upheaval in the Desolate Wilderness, although you disappeared, you did not die. Instead, you left the Desolate Wilderness and came to the Great Wilderness, and are now within this Royal Court.”

“But you were betrayed by many before, schemed against from all sides, and your Golden Core formation failed. Even if you didn’t die, you must have been gravely injured, your Divine Dao origin damaged, unable to appear in your original form.”

“And your goal is simple. After failing to form your Golden Core, you would certainly want to try again. In the Royal Court, the only matter related to forming a Golden Core is the Dragon Pool.”

“You would definitely go to the Dragon Pool. So as long as I waited here and set an ambush, I would certainly encounter you.”

Mo Hua nodded. “So, you want to kill me?”

Yan Zhu said frankly, “I betrayed you. If I don’t kill you, I will surely die. Please forgive me.”

Mo Hua asked again, “Since you want to kill me, why haven’t you made a move yet?”

Yan Zhu’s gaze grew heavy as he secretly clenched his fists.

He truly wanted to kill this Divine-Shaman lord.

After the failed Golden Core formation and damage to the Divine Dao, he could only appear in the fleshly form of a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

The youth before him was no longer the lofty Divine-Shaman lord of immense power, with a million barbarian troops, with Commander Lu-Gu at his command, with the Undying General Shi-Gu guarding him, with the young master of the Wujiao Tribe as a corpse servant, nor with the fanatically loyal Divine Slave Tribe…

Now, he was merely an ordinary Foundation Establishment youth.

This was the best chance to strike, perhaps his only opportunity to assassinate this lord.

Yet Yan Zhu still did not quite dare.

No one understood better than he did just how terrifying this Divine-Shaman lord’s attainments in the Divine Dao were.

Even if he now seemed like a mortal of flesh and blood, that godlike, untouchable, unchallengeable coldness and majesty from before felt carved into Yan Zhu’s bones, filling him with fear from the depths of his heart.

He did not dare to be certain what dreadful thing might happen if he truly made a move against this “fallen” Divine-Shaman lord.

The reason he had spoken so much just now was, in essence, to ease the tension and unease in his heart, to delay the moment of decision.

The Divine-Shaman lord had to be killed.

But he did not quite dare to truly do it.

Yan Zhu’s heart was in turmoil.

Mo Hua seemed to see straight through his thoughts and smiled. “What, you don’t dare kill me?”

Anger flared in Yan Zhu’s heart. He clenched his fist, and divine flames of the Divine Dao began to surge within his palm. His gaze gradually turned icy.

Yet he did not charge forward personally. Instead, he formed a finger seal and pointed ahead, using the fire of his own Divine-Sense as a medium to ignite the surrounding fire-pattern totems. He refined the ten-direction totems into a sea of flames, turning the area into a blazing inferno of the Divine Dao that surged toward Mo Hua.

“Ten-Pillar Blazing Fire Divine Formation!”

Dan Ling’s expression changed drastically.

Bai Zisheng also frowned, his soul feeling an indescribable scorching heat.

But in the next instant, golden light flashed in Mo Hua’s eyes. A powerful Divine-Sense swept outward. Wherever his gaze reached, the totems cracked, the divine flames were extinguished, and within a single breath, the Ten-Pillar Blazing Fire Divine Formation was completely destroyed.

The fire-Dao shamans all looked horrified, unable to believe it.

Mo Hua said calmly, “You’re using Divine Dao formations against me? Not thinking, are you?”

Yan Zhu’s pupils trembled, and his back went numb.

If the Divine-Shaman lord in his “divine” state were this powerful, he would not find it surprising.

But the current Divine-Shaman, clearly heavily injured and left only with a fleshly body, had shattered his Ten-Pillar Blazing Fire Divine Formation with a single glance. The strength of his Divine-Sense was simply inconceivable.

Looking at Mo Hua, Yan Zhu’s hands and feet began to turn cold.

If the Divine Dao would not work, then only one final method remained, the crudest and most direct way: face the Divine-Shaman head-on and personally destroy his physical body.

Once the body died, the soul would surely perish.

This was what Yan Zhu least wished, and most feared, to do.

When he schemed against Mo Hua before, he had only dared to play petty tricks and stab from behind, never daring to face him directly.

He only dared to betray indirectly, not directly.

To truly kill Mo Hua’s physical body with his own hands now gave Yan Zhu the feeling that he would be personally murdering a “god.”

As a shaman, he felt an instinctive dread toward such a thing.

But at this moment, Yan Zhu could not care about that anymore.

If this Divine-Shaman lord truly formed his Golden Core, then he would be finished.

Yan Zhu looked at Mo Hua, his resolve set, sharp killing intent flashing in his eyes.

Mo Hua’s pupils shrank slightly. Knowing Yan Zhu’s killing intent was decided, he suddenly turned his head toward someone beside Yan Zhu and called out:

“Qing Zhu!”

Qing Zhu trembled when Mo Hua called her name.

Earlier, out of guilt, she had kept her gaze lowered, not even daring to look at Mo Hua.

But now that Mo Hua had called her name, she had no choice but to muster her courage and look into his eyes.

Mo Hua said, word by word, “Qing Zhu, kill Yan Zhu. Your betrayal will be wiped clean. I will forgive you.”

Qing Zhu’s expression shook, and a strange light flashed in her eyes.

Yan Zhu had just mobilized the power of his Golden Core and was about to attack Mo Hua when a flash of azure light appeared, and several strands of azure silk wrapped around his arm.

Yan Zhu immediately looked at Qing Zhu and shouted, “What are you doing?!”

Qing Zhu ignored him and only focused on channeling her Dao techniques to attack Yan Zhu. “The Divine-Shaman lord said that if I kill you, he will forgive my betrayal.”

Yan-Zhu was furious beyond measure and cursed, “Qing Zhu, have you lost your mind? You actually believe his words?”

Qing Zhu did not respond.

If the Divine-Shaman had not intended to forgive her, he would never have spoken.

But since he had spoken, then the Divine-Shaman would surely keep his word.

To begin with, Qing Zhu had never truly wanted to betray Mo Hua. Many things had been beyond her control. After her betrayal, she had lived each day in guilt and fear, terrified that the Divine-Shaman would be enraged by her treachery and erase her divine soul.

Now the Divine-Shaman had personally said he would forgive her.

This was him giving her a chance to atone.

With that thought, Qing Zhu held nothing back. Azure threads danced wildly as illusions shimmered in her eyes. She wielded Dao arts together with Divine-Sense techniques and struck at Yan-Zhu.

Yan-Zhu was seething with hatred and could only curse inwardly, “Women really are nothing but troublesome idiots,” while being forced to fight Qing Zhu with all his strength.

Qing Zhu and he were both High Shamans. Though each had their strengths and weaknesses, there was no way to decide victory in a short time.

And so, because of a single sentence from Mo Hua, the two most powerful and deeply cultivated High Shamans suddenly began killing each other.

Everyone was stunned.

Dan Ling likewise stared at Mo Hua in shock. Her mind felt muddled, unable to understand how Mo Hua, an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator, could, with just one simple sentence, “command” a powerful High Shaman like Qing Zhu to fight Yan-Zhu to the death.

Mo Hua’s handsome yet slender figure, in Dan Ling’s eyes at that moment, carried a faint, bewitching aura—almost like that of a demon who could beguile the heart.

And just as Dan Ling was lost in her daze, another earth-shattering explosion sounded in the distance, followed by a massive tremor as if heaven and earth were collapsing.

Everyone looked toward the sound and saw that far away, the towering defensive walls of the Royal Court had been completely shattered.

The royal guards of the Great Wilderness were crushed and slaughtered.

The Dao Court’s grand army surged forward like a flood, charging toward the inner Royal court.

Along with the tide of Dao soldiers came demons and monsters from various factions, all pouring into the depths of the Royal court, sweeping toward the location of the Dragon Pool.

The Royal Court of the Great Wilderness had fallen.

The final chaos had arrived.