Chapter 498: Very Strong

Chapter 500: Very Strong

There were five of them. A head-on fight would be troublesome, so he needed to find the right moment and strike first…

Take out a few before anything else.

Mo Hua muttered this silently in his heart.

Meanwhile, Zhang Quan and the Zhang Family’s elders had already begun absorbing the Divine-Sense within Mo Hua’s Sea of Consciousness.

Elder Song only took a single breath before his eyes went wide. He sighed in awe:

“This is the purest, most abundant, and most profound Divine-Sense I’ve tasted in several centuries…”

Zhang Quan was equally shocked.

“This Divine-Sense… might be at the Foundation Establishment level…”

Elder Song nodded slowly. “Correct.”

Zhang Quan’s heart trembled.

Qi-Refining realm—yet possessing Foundation-Establishment Divine-Sense!

No wonder…

No wonder this little brat was so troublesome, no wonder his formations were so good, and no wonder Zhang Quan couldn’t see through his concealment technique…

Divine-Sense breaking realms beyond rank—what kind of little monster was this?

Elder Song frowned and asked:

“With such powerful Divine-Sense… who is this little ghost?”

Zhang Quan shook his head. “I only know he’s a formation master, and that his lineage seems decent. As for who he really is… your disciple does not know…”

Elder Song pondered, then shook his head.

“Forget it. Whoever he is is irrelevant. No matter how gifted, no matter how strong his Divine-Sense—he is merely prey in our Zhang Family’s hands.”

“The stronger the Divine-Sense, the richer the nourishment. To us, this is a blessing from the heavens!”

Zhang Quan agreed. “Elder speaks truth.”

Then he hesitated and asked:

“Elder Song, in the Ancestral Diagram… some of the elders and forebears seem missing. Where did they go?”

Elder Song paused, his frown deepening.

“That… I also do not know…”

Zhang Quan was surprised.

Elder Song’s expression turned solemn.

“The patriarch calculated repeatedly, but could not find the slightest trace. Either they were trapped somewhere and cannot escape temporarily… or they were slain, body and spirit destroyed…”

A chill crept into Zhang Quan’s heart. “Slain?”

He found it unbelievable.

Among those missing seniors were several Iron-Corpse realm elders…

What could kill Iron-Corpse elders—and leave no trace?

Just as Zhang Quan was reeling from shock, he suddenly froze.

He sensed something wrong…

At some unknown time, countless complex, mysterious patterns appeared around them. These runes aligned with the Dao, intricate and beautiful, and within them flowed a terrifying aura.

Zhang Quan snapped back to awareness and shouted in alarm:

“Not good!”

The two elders noticed too, and their expressions changed drastically—they tried to pull away.

Too late!

The first Golden-Lock Formation activated.

Golden spiritual power manifested into luminous chains that locked the group in place.

Then, within just a few breaths, three fire formations bloomed around them—three crimson lotus flames encircling them.

The Golden-Lock Three-Lotus Earth-Fire Formation was complete.

In the corner, Mo Hua murmured in his heart:

“Detonate.”

BOOM—!

The reinforced formation burst violently.

Three fire lotuses bloomed, exploding in flickering waves as countless fine threads of flame intertwined, swallowing Zhang Quan and the others.

Moments later, the flames subsided.

Inside the formation, the figures of the Zhang Family members reappeared.

Their bodies were elongated, clothes tattered, skin iron-blue, pupils white, fangs exposed—they had fully entered “corpse-form.”

When the reinforced formation exploded, they were bound by the Golden-Lock Formation and couldn’t avoid it. They could only forcefully corpse-transform, relying on bronze skin and iron bones to resist the damage.

Even so, two ordinary disciples were instantly killed, vanishing into wisps of green smoke.

Elder Si was the unluckiest—caught at the very center of the blast, severely injured, collapsing unconscious.

Zhang Quan’s luck was slightly better, but he was covered in burns and grievously wounded.

Elder Song’s form dimmed considerably—his injuries were also heavy.

The blast had taken out three “people.” Only Zhang Quan and Elder Song remained.

“Who?!”

Elder Song was shocked.

How could there be formations inside someone’s Sea of Consciousness? And when had these formations been drawn?

How could anyone draw formations inside a Sea of Consciousness?

He couldn’t understand it.

This completely exceeded his knowledge of cultivation…

In the corner, a small figure slowly revealed itself.

A red-lipped, white-toothed, adorable young cultivator.

Zhang Quan’s eyes almost popped out of his skull, as if seeing his mortal enemy.

“You?!”

Mo Hua snorted.

“Who else would it be? You think someone else came in here on your invitation?”

Zhang Quan ground his teeth. “How are you inside my Sea of Consciousness?!”

Mo Hua couldn’t be bothered to answer.

Elder Song’s heart tightened, his gaze sharpening.

“Divine-Sense Manifestation…”

This little cultivator either had monstrous innate talent… or had cultivated a true Divine-Sense method.

The former was manageable. The latter… troublesome.

He remembered the earlier complex formation patterns and their terrifying explosive power—and a bad feeling grew.

This child was absolutely dangerous.

It seemed that in trying to devour a sacrifice today, they had bitten into iron.

Elder Song’s mind raced. He raised his voice:

“Little friend, there is no need for hostility. Let us speak.”

Mo Hua arched a brow. “Speak about what?”

“You killed two of our disciples and gravely injured Elder Si… but that’s all right. My Zhang Family will not pursue the matter…”

“Elder!” Zhang Quan said urgently.

Elder Song shot him a warning glance and continued:

“We can pretend nothing happened. Allow us to leave, and we shall part peacefully…”

Mo Hua smiled faintly.

“Let you leave so you can bring more helpers to come ‘eat’ me?”

Elder Song’s expression didn’t change, but his heart skipped.

“This little ghost really is as Zhang Quan said… shrewd and impossible to fool…”

He said, “I swear, once we leave, we will not trouble you again.”

Mo Hua sneered inwardly.

In this age, even human words were unreliable—much less “corpse-words.”

Mo Hua deliberately furrowed his brows, pretending to hesitate.

“Really?”

Elder Song was secretly delighted and nodded quickly.

“Of course. My word carries the weight of nine tripods.”

“Good.” Mo Hua nodded.

Elder Song was overjoyed—until he suddenly noticed bright red formation lines appearing at his feet.

He paled and tried to retreat, but the Earth-Fire Formation still caught him. Flames surged through his body, worsening his injuries.

He roared:

“Little brat! You are faithless!”

Mo Hua looked innocent.

“How am I faithless?”

“You said you’d let us leave!”

“I said ‘good’ when you claimed your words were true. I never said I’d let you go.”

Then Mo Hua muttered:

“Is this what happens when you live too long? Your ears stop working properly…”

Elder Song was furious. “You—!”

Zhang Quan quickly pulled him back.

“Elder, don’t speak to him!”

Or you’ll be angered to death. Don’t ask me how I know…

Zhang Quan muttered silently.

Elder Song, still fuming, listened to the advice and refrained from further back-and-forth.

Zhang Quan glared at Mo Hua viciously and whispered to Elder Song:

“Elder, this little ghost is cunning. We can’t trick him. We must kill him. Otherwise, keeping him alive will bring calamity!”

Elder Song thought for a moment, then growled:

“Fine. You and I will kill him together! We’ll tear him apart and devour him!”

Zhang Quan’s eyes lit up. “Good!”

He had long since wanted to kill Mo Hua. Now, with Elder Song—an Iron-Corpse expert with deep Divine-Sense—helping in the Sea of Consciousness, the timing seemed perfect.

Zhang Quan charged forward.

In his mind, his assault combined with Elder Song’s support would corner Mo Hua easily.

This little brat only knew tricks like formations and stealth. In a real fight, he’d crumble instantly.

Reality, however… had different plans.

Mo Hua raised his hand.

A fireball shot out—fast, precise, inescapable—exploding right in Zhang Quan’s face.

Zhang Quan staggered, flames erupting all over him, pain scorching through his Divine-Sense.

He gritted his teeth and continued forward, but after just a few steps—Water Prison Technique locked him in place.

Then—another fireball.

Then another Water Prison.

Then another fireball…

…

Water Prison to control.

Fireball to punish.

Before Zhang Quan could even reach Mo Hua, his Divine-Sense collapsed and he fell to one knee.

Mo Hua hadn’t moved an inch. He simply stood there, raising a tiny hand and tossing out spells until Zhang Quan broke.

Zhang Quan felt ice settle in his heart.

What… what was this?

Why was this brat so terrifying inside the Sea of Consciousness?

Even more terrifying than Lu Chengyun… far more.

He even felt a trace of… despair.

How could there be such an enormous gap between their Divine-Senses?

Zhang Quan couldn’t understand.

Then, another thought struck him—

Where was Elder Song?

He turned his head with great effort—

And saw Elder Song’s retreating back.

He was running away?!

Zhang Quan spat out a mouthful of blood.

They agreed to attack together—Zhang Quan charged, and Elder Song fled!!

Why?!

You’re an elder! How can you be this spineless?!