Chapter 1350: Commanding the Winds and Summoning the Rain

Chapter 1349: Commanding the Winds and Summoning the Rain

It wasn’t only Elder Xuanyuan who couldn’t understand, the other Dao Province elders present were also filled with astonishment.

Elder Xuanyuan silently put away the longsword in his hand and looked at Mo Hua, his gaze turning exceptionally cold.

“This brat…”

Originally, the encirclement of the Royal Court and the invasion of the Dragon Pool had all been proceeding step by step under his control.

The aristocratic clans of Dao Province had long been negotiated with in advance.

With the Xuanyuan clan at the lead, everyone would advance and retreat together. After seizing the Dragon Pool, they would divide the spoils according to merit and siphon away the Great Wilderness’s fortune.

The powers of the other provinces could only act according to the expressions of Dao Province’s great clans.

In terms of authority, Dao Province sat at the center of the cultivation world. It housed the Central Dao Court, where the power of the realm converged.

The aristocratic clans of Dao Province were naturally a cut above the rest.

In terms of rank, most Dao Province clans were strong Fifth Rank, some even at the peak of Sixth Rank.

At this moment inside the Four Symbols Hall, Dao Province also had the greatest number of Golden Core experts.

Thus, the influence of Dao Province’s great clans was the strongest within this grand hall.

Elder Xuanyuan had been confident he could control the situation and sway the decisions and benefit distribution of all the clans present.

That had always been the case.

And it should have remained so.

Until he brought this Great Void Sect prodigy named “Mo Hua” into the hall, and the situation suddenly went bad.

It was like releasing a giant loach into a fish pond. In an instant, the entire pool was churned into murk, and the situation was turned upside down.

“This brat has ruined everything…”

Anger surged in Elder Xuanyuan’s heart. He stared coldly at Mo Hua and simultaneously released the pressure of a peak Golden Core cultivator.

His cultivation was profound. Within the Xuanyuan clan, he was a direct-line elder with high status and great authority. Normally, just a few displeased glances from him were enough to make some Golden Core elders of other clans panic, become flustered, even fearful.

But before Mo Hua, his authority amounted to nothing.

Mo Hua looked at him as though he were looking at a “straw dog.”

Strip away power, reputation, and strength, and anyone in this world was merely a body of flesh containing karma and fate. In the eyes of the Heavenly Dao, they were no different from straw dogs.

And in terms of sheer presence, Mo Hua, as a Divine-Shaman who held the lives and deaths of countless Desolate Wilderness people in his hands, possessed a dignity of spirit that was even above Elder Xuanyuan’s.

Elder Xuanyuan’s imposing gaze brought Mo Hua not the slightest pressure. Instead, he felt an indescribable divine pressure emanating from Mo Hua.

After a while, Elder Xuanyuan could only avert his eyes and stop looking at him.

His gaze instead shifted behind Mo Hua, to several Dao-protecting elders from the great clans of the Nine Provinces.

These Golden Core elders had not seen much of the world. Under Elder Xuanyuan’s stare, all of them felt uneasy and anxious.

Some lowered their heads. Others tried to speak first to explain and ease the tension, but stammered, unable to get their words out.

Elder Xuanyuan sneered. “What do you clans mean by this? Gathering together to oppose my Xuanyuan clan and Dao Province?”

At these words, the crowd grew even more frightened.

“Elder Xuanyuan, please forgive us, we wouldn’t dare…”

“The great clans of the Nine Provinces naturally follow—”

Mo Hua suddenly said, “Shut up.”

A group of Golden Core elders subconsciously fell silent.

Mo Hua sneered. “Do you really believe his nonsense? He’s just an elder of the Xuanyuan clan, only at Golden Core. What can he represent?”

“He’s just using words to pressure you, and you really go soft the moment he squeezes?”

The crowd flushed red and said nothing.

Elder Xuanyuan’s face turned ugly, like old cured meat.

Mo Hua then said to the others, “Don’t you understand the principle that the law doesn’t punish the masses? Follow behind me and act together. I’ll take the prodigies of your clans to the Dragon Pool to form their Golden Cores.”

“Forming a Golden Core is the real business. Isn’t that what you came for? Otherwise, what you Dao-protecting elders are for?”

“Besides, this matter is tacitly approved by the Dao Court to begin with. What are you afraid of?”

With Mo Hua’s words, the Golden Core elders felt much more at ease and silently moved to stand behind him.

After all, they were only standing behind Mo Hua, no one could really fault them for that.

The words were Mo Hua’s, the people offended were offended by Mo Hua. They only needed to pick a side.

Mo Hua didn’t care about that.

At the moment, he stood alone and weak. He needed to temporarily “borrow” some Golden Core cultivators for his own use, increasing his chances of breaking through dangers and forming his own Golden Core.

He would also help these prodigies find a path into the Dragon Pool.

Thus, the Qianxue prodigies and the Dao-protecting elders of their respective clans stood behind Mo Hua, becoming even quieter.

But this time was clearly different from before.

Previously, they had been “led” over by Mo Hua.

Now, they were voluntarily standing behind him, and the longer they stood together, the more it actually felt… not bad.

Elder Xuanyuan keenly sensed this change. His heart skipped a beat as he realized things were bad.

Dao Province might be superior, its aristocratic clans powerful, but in the end, it was only one province.

Besides Dao Province, there were eight other great provinces.

The great clans and sect prodigies of those eight provinces had originally been divided, each acting on their own within the Royal court.

That was why they had to rely on Dao Province’s lead.

But now, the moment Mo Hua entered, he was like a magnet, drawing the prodigies of the other eight provinces—along with their Dao-protecting elders—all to his side.

That was equivalent to the great clans of the eight provinces standing together.

And Dao Province, instead, had been isolated.

Under the Son of Heaven’s feet, Dao Province’s aristocratic clans were powerful and never placed the other provinces’ clans in their eyes.

But that strength lay in authority, in the very highest realms.

In the current situation, Golden Core was the ceiling. No cultivators of higher realms were intervening.

In that case, Dao Province’s Golden Core cultivators were not much stronger than the great clans of the eight provinces.

Once the eight provinces united, Dao Province was actually at a disadvantage. They might even have to act according to the intentions of the eight provinces.

“No… more accurately…”

Elder Xuanyuan looked at Mo Hua, eyes narrowing.

“They would have to act according to the intentions of this Great Void Sect disciple named ‘Mo Hua’…”

Since when did a grand war situation have to take a single disciple’s opinion into account?

Since when did Golden Core elders of these great clans have to act based on the expression of a mere Foundation Establishment youth?

Elder Xuanyuan took a deep breath, suppressing the anger in his heart, while feeling the situation to be utterly absurd.

He glanced coldly at Mo Hua, then at Dan Ling behind him, and suddenly gave a strange, mocking laugh.

“Little brother, are you really doing this so the prodigies of each clan can enter the Dragon Pool and form their Golden Cores?”

Mo Hua said, “What else would it be?”

Elder Xuanyuan pointed at Dan Ling. “I think you’re just sheltering this Great Wilderness Divine Maiden. That’s why you’re spouting bewitching nonsense and rallying others. The Core formation talk is just an excuse, in truth, you just want to play the hero saving the beauty and indulge your own desires…”

Hearing this, the elders from the great clans of the Eight Provinces looked at the radiant and pure-tempered Dan Ling, then at Mo Hua, and couldn’t help but show strange looks.

They too began to suspect Mo Hua’s motives were not so pure.

Even some Qianxue prodigies who were familiar with Mo Hua—Xiao Ruohan, Shi Tiangang, Feng Zichen, and the like—couldn’t help feeling doubtful.

Dan Ling truly was as beautiful as jade, tall and graceful, carrying the exotic charm of the Great Wilderness tribes.

As for Mo Hua… although he hadn’t been that kind of person before…

Back at the Qianxue Sword Debate Tournament, Mo Hua had still been young and ignorant, bold enough to blast the face of Purple-Mist Gate’s number one beauty with a Fireball Technique.

Now that he had grown up, his “emotional intelligence” had probably grown too.

Judging by his age, he had indeed reached the time when “lust clouds the mind.”

Not to mention, Dan Ling really was very beautiful…

For a moment, many more doubtful gazes fell upon Mo Hua’s back.

Mo Hua gave a cold laugh and pointed at Bai Zisheng. “The one having a leg is him.”

(TN: “The one having an affair is him.”)

Bai Zisheng pulled a long face.

Mo Hua said, “It’s this Bai Zisheng who’s involved with Dan Ling. I captured Bai Zisheng to catch Dan Ling. Now that I’ve got both of them, the secret of the Dragon Pool is in my hands. Since it concerns the Dragon Pool, there’s no way I’m handing Dan Ling over.”

Dan Ling looked at Mo Hua with a complicated expression, wanting to say something, but remembering his instruction not to speak, she held back.

Elder Xuanyuan said coldly, “That’s just your side of the story. In the end, you’re still shielding the Divine Maiden of the Great Wilderness. Aren’t you afraid I’ll submit a memorial to the Dao Court and charge you with colluding with the Great Wilderness?”

Mo Hua thought to himself: I’ve done far worse than merely colluding with the Great Wilderness, and you couldn’t even frame me properly.

Elder Xuanyuan pressed further, “If you don’t want the charge of ‘colluding with the Great Wilderness,’ then either hand over this Divine Maiden, or have someone kill her to prove your innocence.”

Everyone exchanged looks at those words.

Mo Hua let out a cold chuckle. “If what I’m doing counts as colluding with the Great Wilderness…”

He pointed at Yan Zhu, Qing Zhu, and Young Master Tuoba beside Elder Xuanyuan. “Then these people—either Great Wilderness shamans or a young master of the Great Wilderness Sect—does that mean your Xuanyuan clan is also colluding with the Great Wilderness?”

“Shouldn’t you kill them too, to prove your clan’s innocence?”

Yan Zhu and the others turned pale.

Elder Xuanyuan’s expression changed. “These people are the Ancestor Patriarch’s ‘hidden pieces’…”

He then realized something and shut his mouth.

Mo Hua’s gaze shifted slightly, and he continued, “Then how do you know this Divine Maiden of the Great Wilderness isn’t also one of the Ancestor Patriarch’s ‘hidden pieces’?”

Elder Xuanyuan snapped angrily, “Absurd! how dare you speak nonsense about ancestors!”

Mo Hua sneered and asked in return, “Forget the rest. I’ll just ask you this, are you going to kill these two Great Wilderness High shamans and that Great Wilderness Sect young master, or not?”

Elder Xuanyuan said, “That’s different—”

Mo Hua sneered. “If you’re not killing them, then stop talking nonsense. If you don’t kill them, don’t make me kill mine. If you can harbor Great Wilderness traitors, why can’t I shield a Divine Maiden of the Great Wilderness?”

“In the end, they’re all just pieces on the board. You and I both know it. I won’t kill your pieces, and you’d better not touch my people.”

Elder Xuanyuan’s face turned iron-blue, and he couldn’t say a word.

Mo Hua’s gaze turned icy as he looked around, an overbearing aura surfacing.

“I’ll make this clear in advance… I’m going to enter the Dragon Pool to form my Golden Core. Whoever goes along with me, I’ll give them a chance. Whoever opposes me or gets in my way, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”

The great hall fell utterly silent, so quiet a pin drop could be heard.

No one dared to respond to Mo Hua.

Even Elder Xuanyuan couldn’t handle him, let alone anyone else. There was no need to invite humiliation.

A trace of killing intent flashed in Elder Xuanyuan’s eyes. Several times he wanted to draw his sword and cut Mo Hua down, but seeing the Qianxue prodigies beside Mo Hua and the mass of guardian elders behind them, he ultimately restrained himself.

“If I had known earlier—known this brat was so good at causing trouble, so good at stirring up storms—I should have killed him with a single strike, no matter the cost…” Elder Xuanyuan seethed inwardly.

But he also knew it was already too late.

Yan Zhu looked at Elder Xuanyuan and inwardly sneered: serves you right! I tried to warn you again and again, and you just wouldn’t believe me.

Back in the Desolate Wilderness, Yan Zhu had seen situations like this many times.

In the chaos, if you weren’t careful, everyone would end up under the Lord Divine Shaman’s “control.”

Sometimes those being controlled wouldn’t even realize it themselves.

The one doing this now was Mo Hua of Great Void Sect. His methods of calling wind and summoning rain might differ somewhat.

But this style of “bewitching hearts and minds” was exactly the same.

Yan Zhu wasn’t surprised at all that things had developed this way.

If you didn’t kill the Divine Shaman, this was the result.

Because of that, the last trace of hesitation in his heart vanished completely.

Yan Zhu clenched his fists tightly, his gaze flickering as he was thinking something.

…

Mo Hua had gained the upper hand.

At this point, the situation in the great hall was clear at a glance.

The great clans of Dao Province, led by Elder Xuanyuan, formed one major force.

Mo Hua, using the prodigies to command the elders, “directed” the great clans of the Eight Provinces led by Qianxue, forming another major force.

The two sides stood in opposition. Though both nominally belonged to the Dao Court, they clearly harbored different intentions.

On the surface, however, their main task was still to wipe out the Great Wilderness Royal court.

Elder Xuanyuan didn’t tangle with Mo Hua further, he had a “mission” to carry out.

Now that the Four Symbols Palace had been taken, the next step was to discuss how to pass through it, enter the deeper parts of the Royal Palace court, and reach the final Dragon Pool.

On this matter, the Dao Province side naturally wouldn’t listen to Mo Hua.

The guardian elders from the various Qianxue provinces also didn’t truly obey Mo Hua.

Though they stood on Mo Hua’s side, they were only “standing” with him.

They maintained a unified stance merely to contend somewhat with the Dao Province clans. It was impossible for them to truly follow all of Mo Hua’s orders.

Mo Hua understood this clearly.

After all, they were Golden Core cultivators, elders with their own dignity.

So when it came to real action, they still split apart.

The Four Symbols Palace had been “cleared.” The elders of both Dao Province and Qianxue clans were all thinking about heading deeper into the Royal Court, searching within the palace for a path forward.

Mo Hua, however, seemed completely unconcerned. He simply sat in the great hall, eyes closed in meditation, as if pondering something.

Dan Ling, Bai Zisheng, and Situ Jian sat around him.

Situ Jian didn’t understand what Mo Hua was planning. After holding it in for a long while, he finally whispered,

“Little Senior Brother… aren’t we going to do something?”

Mo Hua opened his eyes and shook his head. “No rush.”

Situ Jian froze. “No rush?”

Mo Hua said, “It’s not time yet. Wait a bit longer.”

Situ Jian didn’t understand, but knowing his Little Senior Brother always had his own plans, he nodded and said nothing more.

Mo Hua suddenly thought of something and said, “Go call Sister Fang over.”

Earlier, he had seen Situ Fang among the Situ clan group.

Situ Jian paused, then nodded. “Alright.”

Situ Jian left for a moment and soon brought Situ Fang over.

Situ Fang looked at Mo Hua in shock, even with a hint of unfamiliarity.

She had seen how Mo Hua scolded Elder Xuanyuan just now.

She had never imagined that a lofty elder from a great Dao Province clan, a peak-stage Golden Core cultivator she once looked up to, could be berated like that by a mere Foundation Establishment disciple.

And that Foundation Establishment disciple… was the Mo Hua she knew.

The same little formation master she had met years ago in Tōngxiān City.

Situ Fang truly felt like she was dreaming.

Mo Hua said, “Sister Fang, later you go together with Dan Ling. Look after each other.”

Situ Fang froze and glanced at Dan Ling.

Dan Ling was also a bit surprised.

Mo Hua’s gaze grew solemn.

What came next would be chaotic. Though Situ Fang had the backing of a great clan, her personal cultivation was too weak.

Dan Ling was fairly strong, but as the Divine Maiden of the Great Wilderness, she was a complete outsider among the great clans.

So Mo Hua wanted the two of them together, so they could watch out for each other.

After all, once they entered the depths of the Royal court and met Shentu Ao, it would be the same as approaching Martial Uncle…

What would happen then, no one knew.

Mo Hua was a little afraid that everyone before him might end up dying at Martial Uncle’s hands.

As for the people of Dao Province, if they died, they died.

But these people he was close to and familiar with, Mo Hua didn’t want anything to happen to them.

All he could do was gather them together as much as possible and keep an eye on them himself, in case they suddenly… turned into something neither human nor ghost.

Mo Hua said seriously, “Stay with me. Don’t stray too far.”

Then he looked at Bai Zisheng, Situ Jian, and the others. “Same for you. Stay by my side. Whatever you do, don’t act on your own.”

Bai Zisheng and Situ Jian didn’t really understand, but seeing how serious Mo Hua looked, they both nodded.

After that, Mo Hua slowly let out a breath and closed his eyes to meditate again.

Half an hour later, violent fluctuations suddenly erupted inside the Four Symbols Palace.

The entire floor of the palace began to tremble, and the sacred Four Symbols patterns on the maze walls seemed to come alive.

An ancient killing intent spread through the Four Symbols Palace.

After a while, Elder Xuanyuan and his group retreated back into the main hall, their faces dark as water.

Only then did Mo Hua open his eyes. Looking at Elder Xuanyuan, he said with a half-smile,

“Couldn’t get out, could you…”

Elder Xuanyuan looked at Mo Hua, who seemed to have anticipated everything, his brows furrowing as his expression grew increasingly grim.