Chapter 1373: He Deserves to Die
https://c10.patreonusercontent.com/4/patreon-media/p/post/151892066/8e1263918674451093f9020dc1ebee19/eyJ3Ijo2MjB9/1.png?token-hash=HqJblCE2H_eOUnUKV0MTuyIyGlk6i1LagLXumtyaTbY%3D&token-time=1787356800
Chapter 1372: He Deserves to Die
Within the lost Ancestral Court of the Great Wilderness, on the Plaza of White Bones.
Mo Hua stared at the immense formation structure taking shape before him. Its colossal formation core was grand and imposing, radiating overwhelming power. His pupils trembled slightly.
Yet even after long contemplation, he still could not determine what kind of formation this massive foundation was meant to support.
Though his foundation in formations was incomparably solid, all his previous effort and refinement had only ever reached first and second grade formations.
He had not yet had the chance to study third-grade formations.
As for fourth-grade formations, there was no need to even mention them.
Thus, when it came to higher realms and higher-dimensional formations, his understanding was limited. From the outwardly magnificent framework alone, he could not judge the true nature of the formation before him.
An itch rose in his heart.
Years immersed in the art of formations had given him an extraordinary intuition.
Mo Hua could clearly sense that even as a mere framework, this gigantic formation was anything but ordinary.
Within the structural framework of the formation core lay an extremely high-dimensional formation principle.
It might not possess the razor-sharp killing force of the Central Heaven Ziwei Big Dipper Seven-Star Killing Formation, yet its internal logic was far more obscure and profound.
This was a higher-grade domain of formations he had never before set foot in.
Back when he was at Foundation Establishment, such a realm had been separated from him by an insurmountable gulf.
But now he had formed his Golden Core. His Divine-Sense had achieved Dao realization. At last, he possessed the faint possibility of touching this higher domain.
Higher-tier formations. Higher realms. Loftier Great Dao laws. Deeper array logic…
His heart stirred with longing.
At this moment, numerous cultivators of the Imperial Celestial Bureau moved back and forth before the massive formation, constructing, repairing, piecing together the array foundation.
Blue radiance flowed and flickered as secret formation techniques of the Imperial Celestial Bureau emerged one after another.
Mo Hua frowned slightly. Much of it was beyond him.
He could not discern the fundamental logic of the gigantic formation. Lacking foundational knowledge and crucial information, even derivation calculations had nowhere to begin.
Unwilling to give up, he decided to edge closer for a better look.
Still concealed, he moved forward lightly and silently.
With four Feathered Ascension Realms present, he dared not be careless.
Though his Divine-Sense was powerful, whether his concealment technique could evade Feathered Ascension perception remained uncertain.
And if exposed, he might never again have the chance to study this massive formation.
Keeping close to the edge of the White Bone Plaza, he cautiously avoided the crowd and slipped toward the more central regions of the formation structure.
Ancient stone bore the marks of time. White bones lay withered and decayed.
Invisible and traceless, Mo Hua observed the formation structure while drawing nearer to its core.
But as he walked and watched, a sudden warning flared in his heart.
There were no outward signs, yet he felt as if he had been “locked onto.”
He immediately tapped his foot and left his original position.
The instant he moved, a Seven-Star sword light descended, shattering an entire stone stele and the surrounding bones into fragments with terrifying force.
Mo Hua had just landed and had no time even to catch his breath when another dreadful sword light locked onto him. He hurriedly shouted:
“True-Person! Don’t strike! It’s me!”
In the distance, True-Person Zhuge had been coldly preparing to execute an intruder. Upon hearing the familiar voice, his expression changed abruptly, and he forcefully twisted aside the Seven-Star sword light that was gathering.
The sword light slashed elsewhere, severing an enormous white bone pillar.
The pillar crashed to the ground in a thunderous collapse, dust billowing everywhere.
With a single step and a flash of starlight, True-Person Zhuge reappeared beside Mo Hua and grabbed him by the collar.
Knowing he had been discovered, Mo Hua accepted his fate and did not resist.
True-Person Zhuge seized him and, upon seeing his face—realizing he had nearly split his own “little ancestor” in half with that strike—almost exploded in anger. Both frightened and furious, he demanded:
“How did you get in here?!”
Mo Hua said softly, “I—”
Before he could finish, the pressure around them intensified. Escaping lights flickered as True-Person Huá and several other Feathered Ascension cultivators appeared beside them.
True-Person Huá glanced at Mo Hua, then at True-Person Zhuge, surprise flickering in his eyes.
True-Person Zhuge was still somewhat angry.
Aware he was in the wrong, Mo Hua remained silent.
After a moment’s thought, a faint cold smile curled at True-Person Huá’s lips.
“Brother Zhuge,” he said slowly, “matters concerning the Ancestral Court… are top secrets of the Dao Court. They cannot be known by outsiders.”
True-Person Zhuge looked at him indifferently. “You mean to say we should kill this boy?”
True-Person Huá sighed. “To be honest, I quite like the lad as well. But affairs of the Dao Court have never allowed for sentiment. Should this leak, the consequences would be unimaginable. Better to… kill him.”
True-Person Zhuge shoved Mo Hua toward him. “Fine. You do it.”
Mo Hua’s face darkened.
True-Person Huá stiffened. His fingers twitched, but in the end, he restrained himself.
He knew Mo Hua’s origins were extraordinary. He was someone close to Old Ancestor Xun.
If he personally killed Mo Hua, he would undoubtedly incur Old Ancestor Xun’s furious wrath.
If it were done in secret, perhaps it would be one thing.
But to kill Mo Hua publicly would be inviting disaster upon himself.
Moreover, he couldn’t be certain whether someone of Mo Hua’s status had been planted with a natal Longevity Talisman by some ancestor of the Great Void Sect.
True-Person Huá hesitated. The other two Dao Court Feathered Ascension cultivators naturally would not step forward at such a moment to kill someone under True-Person Zhuge’s protection and court trouble for themselves. They simply kept silent.
After another glance at Mo Hua, True-Person Huá suddenly said, “At the very least, interrogate him first. Torture him hard and find out how he sneaked in.”
“No need,” True-Person Zhuge replied. “I’ll question him myself. You attend to your own matters…”
With that, True-Person Zhuge grabbed Mo Hua and walked aside.
True-Person Huá’s gaze turned cold. “Brother Zhuge, this matter is of utmost importance. This boy’s intentions are unclear. If what happened here leaks out and the Old Ancestor holds us accountable—”
True-Person Zhuge flicked his sleeve. “I’m responsible for this. If the Old Ancestor assigns blame, I alone will bear it.”
He refused to argue further, seized Mo Hua, and left.
True-Person Huá watched his departing figure and let out a cold laugh.
…
Elsewhere, True-Person Zhuge brought Mo Hua into a long-sealed secret chamber.
Inside were bamboo slips, formation diagrams, a meditation cushion, and a few sticks of sandalwood incense. It appeared to be a temporary resting and command post for True-Person Zhuge.
After entering, True-Person Zhuge activated a formation with a backhand motion. Using the Jade Balance Star Array, he isolated their aura and karma. Then he looked at Mo Hua and asked:
“How did you get in?”
“I walked in.”
True-Person Zhuge’s face darkened.
Mo Hua relented. “I snuck in.”
True-Person Zhuge pondered, his expression turning solemn. “What did you come here for?”
“I wanted to see Senior Brother…”
“Senior Brother?” True-Person Zhuge frowned.
Mo Hua lowered his voice. “Bai…”
True-Person Zhuge paused, then recalled that Mo Hua had once told him Bai Zisheng was his Senior Brother.
“I’m about to leave the Great Wilderness,” Mo Hua said. “I wanted to see him one more time. But your Imperial Celestial Bureau said no one may see him without your order.”
“So I came to find you.”
“I couldn’t find you in the Four Symbols Palace, the Dragon Hall, or the Dragon Pool. So I followed the Dragon Bone Cave all the way here…”
True-Person Zhuge’s brows knit tightly. “Outside the Four Symbols Palace and Dragon Hall, Golden Core commanders stand guard. And beyond the Ancestral Court, I personally sealed the gates with the Seven-Star Formation. How could you possibly have entered?”
“My concealment technique is decent. Golden Cores can’t stop me. As for the Seven-Star gate… I saw someone going in and out, used a small trick, and slipped in behind them.”
True-Person Zhuge held his forehead. His head truly began to ache.
How could there be such a little ancestor in this world?
Give him the slightest loophole and he’ll worm his way through?
Are you some kind of burrowing pangolin?
His expression grew grave. “Ignorance absolves you. I won’t blame you. Since you stumbled in by accident, leave at once. I’ll have someone escort you out. Don’t come back.”
His tone was stern, brooking no refusal.
But Mo Hua asked, “True-Person, what are you doing here in the Ancestral Court?”
“That’s none of your concern.”
“That enormous formation, what formation is it? What’s it for?”
True-Person Zhuge wished he could draw a talisman and seal Mo Hua’s mouth.
“This is confidential. Pretend you saw nothing. Once you’re outside, remember, say nothing. Otherwise you’ll bring calamity upon yourself. With your intelligence, you should understand the stakes.”
“Remember: once you leave, speak of none of this.”
“Follow my instructions. Leave the Royal Court. Leave the Great Wilderness.”
After finishing his admonition, True-Person Zhuge moved to unseal the gate formation and summon someone to escort Mo Hua away.
Mo Hua’s expression shifted several times. His expression turned slightly suppressed as he asked quietly, “True-Person… are you going to…”
“Deal with that Daoist?”
The moment the word “Daoist” entered his ears, True-Person Zhuge’s body stiffened. After a moment, he slowly turned around, his pupils trembling.
He forcibly suppressed his emotions and steadied himself, yet his expression became icy and severe. Word by word, he demanded:
“Who… told you that?”
“I guessed.”
True-Person Zhuge’s gaze sharpened. “Impossible. If no one told you, you couldn’t possibly know.”
Mo Hua paused, then said slowly, “When I was young, I saw a Dao-Sin Calamity with my own eyes. I heard… that Daoist’s name.”
“At the Great Void Sect, while studying formations at Old Mister Xun’s side, I also learned some Heavenly Secrets. After coming to the Great Wilderness, I was trapped in the Desolate Wilderness hinterlands. I witnessed the famine firsthand, the red earth stretching for thousands of li, corpses of the starved scattered everywhere…”
“I vaguely deduced that the originator of the Great Wilderness disaster was that terrifying demonic Daoist. And his purpose must have been to… raise Dao-Sin Calamities here.”
True-Person Zhuge’s pupils contracted slightly as he looked at the young Mo Hua, his heart was shaken.
Were such secrets truly something a cultivator of his age could grasp?
Mo Hua continued, “I also guessed that the Battle of the Royal Court—so bloody and cruel, with lives reduced to ash—would surely give birth to a Dao-Sin Calamity.”
“I originally thought the Dao Court knew nothing of these calamities. That was why its great army slaughtered the Royal Court without restraint.”
He looked at True-Person Zhuge. “But I was wrong. The Dao Court knew from the very beginning.”
“They knew that Daoist’s scheme. They even turned his plan against him, slaughtering the Royal Court, using the lives of the Great Wilderness’ people to lure the Dao-Sin Calamity into being beneath the Blood Moon, then using the Central Heaven Ziwei Big Dipper Seven-Star Formation to strangle it and quell the disaster…”
“And more than that… In the Desolate Wilderness, the famine that Daoist spread had already been anticipated by the Huá clan.”
“The Huá clan exploited the famine to reap disaster profits, plundering much of the Great Wilderness’ inheritance.”
“Everything in the Great Wilderness—all of it—has been within the Dao Court’s control.”
“Even the countless deaths of the Great Wilderness’ people were tacitly approved by the Dao Court’s higher-ups. Or rather, the calamities of the Great Wilderness were driven behind the scenes by the various powers of the Dao Court…”
Mo Hua’s tone was calm.
“And you, True-Person Zhuge… were one of the hands pushing it forward, weren’t you?”
After all, the one who slew the Dao-Sin Calamity was True-Person Zhuge. There was no way he didn’t know.
Mo Hua’s gaze was deep, yet tinged with coldness.
For a moment, True-Person Zhuge did not dare meet his eyes. He fell silent for a long while, then sighed and shook his head.
“You are right… but not entirely.”
After pondering briefly, he spoke slowly:
“The ancestral precepts of the Zhuge clan forbid us from meddling in bloody schemes and factional intrigue.”
“I merely observed the heavens at night and saw blood-light soaring over the Great Wilderness, the star Yinghuo falling, an omen that a great calamity would be born, placing all living beings under heaven in mortal peril. Only then did I break precedent and accept this assignment.”
“In all the world, the cultivation powers capable of suppressing a Dao-Sin can be counted on one hand. The celestial constellations are among them.”
“The Dao-Sin… is formed from the accumulated resentment of all living beings. In the eyes of the ancients, it is Heaven’s warning to the human world. Yet to the people, it remains a natural calamity whose aftermath is boundless.”
“As a True-Person of the Zhuge clan, proficient in formations and commanding the power of the Seven Stars, it was only proper for me to make this journey and extinguish this Dao-Sin calamity before it could take shape.”
“For the Dao Court and for all living beings, this was a good deed.”
He gave a bitter smile, his eyes clouded.
“Only… upon arriving in the Great Wilderness did I realize that I too was merely a piece in the calculations of those old clan ancestors.”
“Many matters had been arranged from the very beginning.”
“War and famine… mean disaster, but they also mean opportunity.”
“The great clans had long since divided this fat piece of meat that is the Great Wilderness. The lives and deaths of its people were not within their considerations.”
“They cared only to kill, to seize, to commit sin…”
“When the land became soaked in blood and living beings perished—once a Dao-Sin Calamity was born—then I, a True-Person of the Zhuge clan, would appear in the name of the Imperial Celestial Bureau, borrowing the power of the heavens’ stars to slay the Dao-Sin and ‘clean up’ the aftermath.”
“In this way, the Dao-Sin would be gone, and the Great Wilderness purified.”
“A vast and empty land would then belong entirely to the Dao Court.”
“As for the people of this land… either they would already be dead, or they would live forever as slaves, never again able to rise.”
“How truly…”
True-Person Zhuge’s face was pale. There was pity in it, and anger, yet both dissolved into a helpless sigh.
Before Mo Hua’s eyes seemed to flash the countless lives lost to war and famine. His expression, too, grew colder.
Mo Hua asked again, “Then… that Daoist… is he hiding within the Ancestral Court now?”
True-Person Zhuge looked at him, hesitated, then slowly nodded.
“The Dao Court’s old ancestors had already deduced his location.”
“In the entire Great Wilderness, the only places capable of sheltering that great fiend are this lost Ancestral Court and the chaotic Endless Abyss Marsh.”
“He intended to use the Dao-Sin Calamity born from the devastation of the Great Wilderness to prove his Dao and break through to a higher realm.”
“But now that the Dao-Sin has been extinguished, the backlash of the Origin Dao must have gravely injured him.”
“In other words, this is the moment when he is at his weakest.”
“And this Daoist… is the root of ten thousand evils.”
“The rebellion of the Great Wilderness was incited by him from the shadows.”
“The famine was likewise spread by him in the darkness.”
“The Dao Court’s ancestors foresaw all of this. Using the famine he spread to trigger rebellion, they launched a war of suppression, destroyed the Royal Court, annexed the Great Wilderness, and ultimately annihilated the Dao-Sin…”
“The matter has already been concluded. The objective has been predetermined.”
True-Person Zhuge’s gaze turned indifferent.
“In this world, Dao-Sin Calamity must never arise again.”
“And this Daoist… must die.”