Chapter 1378: Bonus Chapter 1377: Great Secret
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Bonus Chapter 1377: Great Secret
Translator’s Note:
Disclaimer: This chapter is a premium chapter that I obtained somehow. However, the problem is that it was provided as 40–45 screenshots, broken into bits and fragments and somewhat messed up. I have tried to piece everything together and reconstruct the sentences so they make sense.
Please note that the terms used in this chapter will be changed once I obtain the official version from the raw website, and I will revise this chapter again at that time. This version may contain many mistakes, so please read at your own discretion.
I would advise you to wait for the proper release when this premium chapter becomes free. But if you are not a practitioner of the Dao of Patience, then I must repeat: the terms used in this chapter will be revised once I get the proper raw version.
…
Inside the Endless Abyss Marsh, black flames filled the sky.
One after another, cracks in the void were torn open, then slowly closed again.
Terrifying auras emerged from them, figures at the Profound-Hollow-Void realm stepping out in succession.
This ancient abyss, pitch-black and deathly silent, buried in dust for countless years, once again felt the footsteps of the living.
And those capable of stepping into this Endless Abyss were all Profound-Hollow-Void-level Ancestors.
Except for Mo Hua.
Mo Hua opened his eyes and looked around. Within the abyss, dense and chaotic thoughts pressed in from all sides, suffocating.
Blood qi, Baleful qi, killing intent, corpse qi, evil qi… were all mixed together into a chaotic mass, indistinguishable from one another.
This was an abyssal power that had brewed since ancient times, covering heaven and earth, nearly capable of corroding all living beings.
Even Feathered Ascension realm cultivators could not resist it, and flying into the air would not allow them to escape its erosion either.
Only those at the Profound-Hollow-Void realm, whose spiritual power could twist space itself and form spatial barriers, could isolate the black flames and ghostly thoughts within the abyss, thus avoiding corrosion by this ancient chaotic force.
Therefore, anyone who could step into the Endless Abyss was a true powerhouse.
Only Mo Hua was the lone “weakling.”
He was merely at the Golden Core realm. His physical body alone could not withstand the abyssal power.
Thus, Ancestor Huá condensed a thread of Profound-Hollow-Void sword intent into a spatial barrier to protect him.
To his credit, Ancestor Huá did not restrict Mo Hua’s movements with this sword intent, it was not meant as a shackle.
But Mo Hua knew his limits and did not dare to run.
This was Fifth-grade territory. Even if he tried to flee, he could not escape the grasp of a Profound-Hollow-Void Ancestor. Struggling would be meaningless.
Moreover, inside the Endless Abyss, aside from Profound-Hollow-Void old monsters, there were Strange slaves and his Martial uncle. Where could he possibly run?
Mo Hua felt despair.
Shielded by the light of the Nine Petals Heavenly Mechanism Sword, he followed the seven Profound-Hollow-Void Ancestors of the Dao Court deeper into the Endless Abyss, to fight and kill his own martial-uncle.
Outside, in the Great Wilderness Ancestral Court, space was normal. Profound-Hollow-Void cultivators could tear space and teleport directly to the edge of the abyss.
But deeper within, things were different.
The ancient Endless Abyss had unstable, decayed space structures accumulated over countless years. Abyssal black flames surrounded everything, and who knew what lurked within the void.
Thus, after entering the abyss, the Dao Court Ancestors no longer tore through space to teleport. Instead, they used ordinary movement techniques to advance deeper.
But they were Profound-Hollow-Void cultivators. Even their normal movement techniques were incredibly fast.
With each step they took, the scenery around them shifted rapidly, leaving Mo Hua unable to keep track of where he was.
As they moved forward, countless Strange slaves lurked in the surrounding darkness.
Yet these second- and third-grade Strange slaves were like ants before the Dao Court Ancestors. In an instant, they were crushed by Profound-Hollow-Void pressure and turned into wisps of black smoke.
Mo Hua’s feelings were complicated. He was only Golden Core himself. In terms of flesh and blood, he was no different from these “ants.”
After advancing for some time, the seven Dao Court Ancestors suddenly stopped.
“There is no direction. That Daoist has erased his karmic traces…” one of them said.
“Each of us, calculate separately…”
The seven Profound-Hollow-Void Ancestors either pinched their fingers in calculation, formed hand seals, or quietly held celestial divination objects—coins, jade pearls, ruyi scepters, seals—silently deducing the direction.
The surroundings fell into instant silence.
Mo Hua dared not speak. He turned to carefully observe the environment.
Everything around him was dark and viscous, filled with sinister black flames. His vision was chaotic.
After a long look, Mo Hua suddenly realized.
He was still within the Great Wilderness Ancestral Court.
Only now it had been devoured by the Endless Abyss.
Turning back, he could even see a long staircase and rows of white-bone mausoleums.
The platform he stood on was clearly once part of a grand palace or pavilion within the Ancestral Court, now corroded and twisted beyond recognition.
Looking forward, there were three branching paths, each disappearing into pitch-black darkness.
Farther away was a sea of blackness. No one knew what was hidden within.
Yet he could feel it.
His martial uncle was within that darkness, silently watching him.
The inexplicable tension in Mo Hua’s heart intensified. It felt as though a massive stone pressed on his chest, making it hard to breathe.
“At last… am I going to see Martial Uncle?”
He clenched his fists tightly until his fingertips turned pale.
Taking a deep breath, then slowly exhaling, he frowned.
During the Great Wilderness War, he had vaguely calculated certain major karmic outcomes and mentally prepared himself.
But the matter of the Ancestral Court was an exception.
This vanished region was completely beyond his expectations… totally outside of his control.
He had never anticipated that the situation would develop like this.
That the Dao Court Ancestors would truly use a Formation to determine the location, personally descend into the Great Wilderness, and come to kill his martial uncle with their own hands.
The main reason he had not foreseen this was simple:
Some inheritances were far beyond his understanding.
“Grand Heavenly Astral Great Teleportation Formation…”
That was the name Ancestor Huá had mentioned… the name of the ancient stellar formation.
Mo Hua had never imagined that this stellar formation would actually be a stellar teleportation formation.
And it was certainly no ordinary teleportation formation.
Teleportation involved the laws of the void and normally could only occur between Fifth-grade great realms.
Usually, such distances were not extremely far, certainly not across major Provinces.
Yet in the entire Great Wilderness (Ancient-Li Province), only the Great Wilderness Ancestral Court was a fifth-grade territory.
This meant that these Dao Court Profound-Hollow-Void Ancestors had very likely teleported from outside the Great Wilderness—perhaps even from beyond Li Province—from some other Fifth-grade major Province.
Based on Ancestor Huá’s earlier references to the “southwest Kun position” and the “true south Li position,” Mo Hua speculated that they had likely descended directly from Kun Province to the southern Great Wilderness of Ancient Li Province.
This was a cross-province, ultra-long-distance teleportation formation.
Though Mo Hua had little research into Fifth-grade formations, he knew constructing such a teleportation formation was extremely difficult.
Even just determining the coordinates for it would be fraught with complications.
To kill his martial uncle, these Ancestors had truly exhausted every effort, calculating heavenly secrets at great cost.
Regardless of how many tens of thousands of miles separated them, they insisted on personally descending here to kill him, all to prevent future complications.
But… could they really kill Martial Uncle?
What kind of existence were the Dao Court Ancestors and the Strange Daoist?
Once they met face to face, what would happen?
How terrifying would the ensuing battle be?
Would he himself survive?
Mo Hua could not help taking a deep breath, his heart filled with unease.
On the other side, after the seven Dao Court Ancestors each calculated the Strange Daoist’s position, they shared their results.
Four divined the left. Two said forward. One said right.
Causality was something elusive and ever-changing. Each cultivator had different inheritances and different calculation abilities, so their results could never be completely identical.
Thus, when the seven Ancestors calculated together, the direction with the most overlapping karmic alignment would be closest to the truth.
Since four obtained “left,” that direction was most likely correct.
The seven Dao Court Ancestors set off again.
After walking for some time, seeing that the surroundings were still dim and endless, the Xia Clan Ancestor, clad in dragon-sparrow armor, coldly said:
“This wretched sinner hides quite deeply…”
“The centipede may die but not fall stiff… do not underestimate him.”
The Jiang Clan Ancestor, whose face glowed like sunset glow, pondered and said: “He even thought of nurturing that thing in the Endless Abyss. His schemes are truly extraordinary.”
Mo Hua was startled.
Nurturing what thing?
What thing could make even these Dao Court Ancestors concerned?
As Mo Hua pondered, he suddenly heard another Ancestor say:
“This Daoist… is truly an unparalleled monster…”
“That is only natural. Throughout history, anyone who could step past that sect’s threshold and enter it was an extremely monstrous prodigy.”
“Surname Zhuang was like that. And now that he (Strange Daoist) has fallen into demonic ways, he is no exception…”
Mo Hua’s pupils trembled, and his heart clenched.
They mentioned the surname Zhuang…
Were they talking about his Master?
The one who fell into demonic cultivation was his Martial Uncle.
But those who entered that sect were all monstrous prodigies.
What sect was that?
Was it his Master’s sect?
Mo Hua’s expression shifted. Just as he tried to listen further, he suddenly sensed the surroundings fall silent.
Several Profound-Hollow-Void Ancestors were staring directly at him.
Clearly, his emotional fluctuation had been noticed.
Ancestor Yuwen, with hawk-like eyes, glanced at Mo Hua and then sharply looked at Ancestor Huá.
“Brother Huá, what exactly is your intention in bringing this boy?”
The other Dao Court Ancestors also looked toward Ancestor Huá.
“This boy is somewhat strange.”
“You brought him along, aren’t you afraid of leaking secrets?”
One Ancestor sneered. “He’s only Golden Core. What could he possibly know?”
“Not necessarily.” Ancestor Huá fell silent for a moment, then said with a faint smile, “He is the Desolate Wilderness Divine Shaman.”
As soon as those words were spoken, the expressions of the Dao Court Ancestors subtly changed.
The Yang Clan Ancestor shook his head. “Nonsense…”
Ancestor Huá said calmly: “It’s true. The Heart-Tugging, Emotion-Arousing, Desire-Falling Golden Needle cannot pierce the wrong person. This golden needle has already been driven into his Sea of Consciousness, which proves he is the Desolate Wilderness Divine Shaman. Furthermore…”
Ancestor Huá looked at Mo Hua with a subtle gaze.
“This needle can stimulate human desire and control Divine Nature. The sea of consciousness must contain sufficient Divine power for the needle to feed on; otherwise, the one implanted with it would lose their mind and burn to death in the fire of desire.”
“But look at this boy.”
Ancestor Huá pointed at Mo Hua.
“The needle is in his head, yet he appears perfectly fine. This proves that his Divine nature is terrifyingly strong.”
One Ancestor looked at Mo Hua carefully. Seeing his face refined like a painting, his eyes bright with clear light, and his aura vigorous, he felt inwardly shocked.
But the Xia clan Ancestor frowned.
“That’s not right. Even Profound-Hollow-Void cultivators cannot cultivate divine power. Where would this boy obtain it?”
Ancestor Huá smiled darkly.
“Then we must ask him.”
Mo Hua shook his head.
“I don’t know what you Ancestors are talking about. I don’t know anything about any Divine Shaman. I am a proper disciple of the Great Void Sect, the Little Senior Brother of Great Void Sect, and the Qianxue Formation Dao Champion. Ancestor Xun personally taught me formations. And I—”
His gaze quickly swept across the gathered Ancestors.
“In the Qianxue Prefecture, I also know Magistrate Xia of the Xia clan. I also know the Yang clan’s prodigy Yang Tianjun, Yang Jieshan, Yang Jiyong… and even General Commadner Yang.”
Whether useful or not, Mo Hua quickly pulled connections.
From observation and their speech, he had roughly deduced which clans some of the Ancestors came from:
Huá Clan, Yuwen Clan, Xia Clan, Yang Clan, Jiang Clan…
Those should not be wrong.
He was unfamiliar with the Jiang Clan and had some grudges with the Yuwen Clan. The Huá Clan went without saying.
Only the Xia and Yang clans were ones he could claim ties with.
At a time like this, even a dead horse must be treated as alive. He had to establish connections immediately. He absolutely could not fall into the state of having no sect, no background, no identity, left to be slandered by Ancestor Huá without defense.
Otherwise, he might not even know how he died.
The Xia Clan Ancestor remained expressionless, offering no response. The Xia Clan was vast—he would not give face merely for a “Magistrate Xia.”
But the Yang Clan Ancestor seemed somewhat surprised.
“You have so many connections with my Yang Clan?”
Mo Hua nodded repeatedly.
“When I was in the sect, Yang Tianjun and I were fellow disciples. He called me Little Senior Brother, we had a very good relationship. Later, during the Great Wilderness rebellion, I served as a Dao soldier in the Yang Clan’s ranks. When attacking Wind-Crossing Ridge, General Yang also looked after me.”
Mo Hua spoke fluently, finishing in a single breath.
Ancestor Huá did not even have time to stop him and immediately frowned.
The Yang Clan Ancestor’s expression softened considerably, and when he looked at Mo Hua, there was even a trace of appreciation.
Previously, True-Person Zhuge had repeatedly protected Mo Hua, and the Yang Clan Ancestor had witnessed it.
Given True-Person Zhuge’s detached temperament as a genius of the Imperial Celestial Bureau, it was rare for him to defend a junior so earnestly.
This showed that the boy was a rare talent. If he had no connection to the Yang Clan, then whether he lived or died would not matter.
But since he had such deep ties with the Yang Clan, as their Ancestor, he naturally could not stand by.
As a Profound-Hollow-Void Ancestor, he could see that Mo Hua’s emotions were sincere and his words truthful, without falsehood.
If so, Mo Hua was even less likely to be the Divine Shaman.
Otherwise, would the Yang Clan’s disciple’s Little Senior brother, the Yang Clan’s recommended candidate for the Dao Soldier, and the Yang Clan’s recognized talent be the Great Wilderness Divine Shaman?
What would that make the Yang Clan’s Dao Evaluation Office?
The Yang Clan Ancestor said: “The Desolate Wilderness Divine Shaman is a traitor to the Dao Court, ambitious, vicious, and cruel. He cannot possibly be such a refined and handsome young genius.”
“Brother Huá, you must have misunderstood.”
Several other Ancestors pondered briefly and nodded.
“Indeed, he doesn’t resemble him.”
“Logically speaking, that rebel Divine Shaman should have been slain by us when forming his Golden Core…”
“Even if he didn’t die, he would have been gravely injured. There’s no way he would remain unscathed, let alone successfully form a Golden Core. Brother Huá, your golden needle must be mistaken.”
Mo Hua nodded repeatedly in agreement.
Ancestor Huá’s expression darkened. He let out a cold laugh but said nothing.
At their age and cultivation level, each had their own judgment. They would not be swayed by a few words.
What others thought was none of his concern.
In any case, the boy was still under his control.
“Enough arguing about this,” said the Xia Clan Ancestor, clad in dragon-sparrow python robes, his expression dignified and somewhat impatient.
“Find that Daoist quickly. Kill him first, then seize ‘that map’ that is the real priority. The entire grand plan depends on it. We must see what state it is in now.”
“After all, this concerns…”
The Xia Clan Ancestor’s aged eyes suddenly brightened as he said solemnly: “Whether in this world, there is still anyone who can break through the Great Calamity of Heaven and Earth… and attain immortality.”
Attain immortality?!
Mo Hua’s expression changed in shock. He froze for a moment, then suddenly realized something. His pupils contracted sharply.
That Map… immortality… Martial Uncle…
From the distant depths of his memory, a name he had almost forgotten suddenly broke through the fog and surfaced in his mind.
“The Guixu Heavenly Burial Map!!”
(TN: Guixu = mythic abyss where all waters return)
It was the map Martial Uncle had seized from Master back then…
Mo Hua’s heart surged with overwhelming shock.
So the true purpose of these Dao Court Profound-Hollow-Void Ancestors on this journey was to kill Martial Uncle, and then seize that map which possibly concealed the secret to immortality, the Guixu Heavenly Burial Map?!