Chapter 556: The Meeting
Chapter 558: The Meeting
“Dao-Heart Seeded Demon?!”
Master Situ was startled and immediately acted, summoning a treasure shaped like a golden bell to trap the pupil with pitch-black pupils, cutting off his aura.
He had just breathed a sigh of relief when he turned to see that many cultivators around the camp suddenly behaved abnormally, like marionettes on strings—twitching and trembling, slowly turning their heads, their pupils completely black!
Master Situ inhaled sharply.
The Dao-Heart had changed, and the demon seed was spreading.
“When did this Strange Daoist make his move?!”
Other Nascent Soul cultivators sensed the abnormal aura and quickly intervened. Seeing the surrounding cultivators’ Dao-implements, they were shocked to find each one had lost their wits, their pupils pitch-black.
Master Situ barked, “Release your treasures! Guard your minds!”
Those whose consciousness remained intact trembled, continuously activating their treasures to protect their seas of consciousness.
Master Situ sighed, flipping his right hand to reveal a luminous glazed lamp.
This lamp, called the Universe-Clearing Luminous Lamp, was the top treasure of Mystic Secrets Valley, combining divine-sense projection with the power to focus and repel evil.
He activated it, and the lamp’s radiance swept away the gloom. The strange, anomalous aura of heaven itself that had filled the air was gradually dissipated.
The brilliant light acted like a screen, shielding everyone inside and isolating them from the cultivators outside who had been “seeded” by the Dao-Heart Demon.
Even within the lamp, some cultivators unknowingly had demon seeds planted in them. But whenever their demonic thoughts grew, the lamp’s pure light would “burn” them, spreading black-and-gray miasma.
Master Situ would then expel these cultivators to prevent them from infecting others.
Inside the lamp, radiant light overflowed, and the cultivators, tense, meditated to guard their spiritual veins.
Outside, it was like a living hell.
Cultivators slaughtered each other.
Clan members, senior brothers, familiar Daoist friends—all whose Dao-Hearts had collapsed, faces twisted with ferocity, turned on one another.
A Nascent Soul cultivator, unable to bear it, tried to intervene, but Master Situ stopped him:
“If you go, they’ll die. If you don’t, they’ll still die—and maybe even more of them will!”
Indeed, if Nascent Soul cultivators were affected by the Dao-Heart Demon, the consequences would be unthinkable.
The cultivator clenched his teeth in frustration but could do nothing. He resettled himself, painfully closing his eyes, refusing to witness the carnage outside.
Everyone’s expression was grave.
Master Situ’s brow furrowed tightly.
After an unknown period, his heart jolted, and he looked up.
Not far away, a Daoist was approaching, holding a small cultivator in hand.
This Daoist, with a youthful face yet white hair, had a piercing, sinister gaze. It was Xuan Sanren—but now, his expression was cold, and a strange aura enveloped him. He was clearly no longer Xuan Sanren, but…
The Strange Daoist!
Master Situ stiffened, as if facing a mortal enemy.
Other cultivators were equally terrified.
Yet the Strange Daoist seemed utterly unconcerned with them, never once looking their way.
It was as if the Dao-Heart Demon was merely a casual move.
If he could kill them, he would.
If he couldn’t, it mattered little.
Draped in black, carrying Mo Hua, he strode past thousands of Daoist soldiers, hundreds of Golden Core cultivators, and ten Nascent Soul masters, brazen and indifferent, heading toward Li Mountain City.
Around him, cultivators slaughtered each other like phantoms.
And he himself was the “phantom.”
No one from the Dao Court dared make a sound.
The surrounding area was deathly silent.
A Nascent Soul cultivator, enraged, tried to act, but Master Situ blocked him, shaking his head grimly.
He sensed the staggering, deviously calculated divine-sense aura.
He knew that anyone who intervened here would die—no exceptions.
They were powerless.
Even the Nascent Soul masters of the Dao Court’s great factions could only watch as the Strange Daoist passed before them.
Watching his pitch-black figure gradually recede, disappearing toward Li Mountain City into the ocean of blood…
All the Nascent Soul cultivators gritted their teeth in fury.
Only Bai Qingcheng’s eyes narrowed slightly.
She noticed the child in the Strange Daoist’s hand.
If her guess was correct, this must be the “Little Junior Brother” that Zi Sheng and Zi Xi had mentioned…
The Strange Daoist entering the blood sea meant the scheme against the senior brother was about to reach its climax.
Bai Qingcheng frowned, then rose, saluted Master Situ briefly, and activated a brocaded landscape umbrella, stepping out of the lamp’s protective glow.
The demon-seeded cultivators lunged at her but were swept aside by the umbrella’s force.
Following the path the Strange Daoist had taken, she headed toward Li Mountain City, stepping into the sea of blood.
Master Situ sighed helplessly.
Inside the Universe-Clearing Luminous Lamp, three Nascent Soul cultivators developed rebellious thoughts. They exchanged glances, activated their treasures, and without a word, left the lamp to pursue the Strange Daoist.
The remaining Nascent Soul cultivators, tempted, looked to Master Situ.
“Senior Master Situ… this—”
He gave them a cold glance, remaining seated, and said gravely:
“Everyone has their fate; it cannot be forced.”
But in his heart, he silently thought: If they want to die, let them…
Those Nascent Soul masters, knowing the profoundness of Mystic Secrets Valley’s divine-sense algorithms, understood that ignoring the elder’s warning would bring immediate disaster. They reined in their impulses and meditated quietly.
Master Situ, however, kept his gaze on the direction the Strange Daoist had gone, brow furrowed deeply.
He was filled with profound concern.
This was Dao-Heart Seeded Demon…
No, this was… the Heavenly Secret Deceptive Algorithm…
The way of divine-sense, infinitely evolving, dual in intent, the Heavenly Secret Deceptive Algorithm.
He never imagined the Strange Daoist had refined it to such a degree. Even in his sect, renowned for producing geniuses, this was unprecedented…
Perfected Heavenly Secret Deceptive Algorithm.
Divine-sense mutation, neither dying nor ceasing…
Without the combined power of the righteous sects to fully suppress the Strange Daoist, if left unchecked, he would inevitably become a demon lord dominating heaven and earth.
But…
How could he be killed?
Mister Zhuang was exhausted, the Heavenly Secret Derivative Algorithm lost…
Who in this world could understand the heavenly secrets and contend with the Strange Daoist?
An immortal, undying Strange Daoist’s divine-sense…
Who could truly slay him?
Master Situ’s face darkened as he sighed deeply…
…
Inside Li Mountain City,
ruined walls were stained crimson by the blood sea.
Remaining demon cultivators were instantly affected by the Dao-Heart Demon, turning on each other and dying cleanly.
The Strange Daoist walked straight to the Five Elements Mountain Protection Array.
He extended a hand toward the array, but his fingers were immediately obliterated into a mist of blood by its overwhelming power.
Yet in an instant, the blood mist reversed, reconstituting into flesh and bone.
The Strange Daoist’s hand remained unharmed.
He tapped lightly, and strange black-and-gray array patterns crawled onto the array, spreading from the outside inward.
But the faster the corruption, the faster the array repaired itself.
The array could not be broken…
Expression cold, the Strange Daoist shook the unconscious Mo Hua in front of the array.
Inside the array, a helpless sigh seemed to emerge.
Then, light flickered.
The five-colored barrier of the array opened by itself, revealing an entrance.
The Strange Daoist sneered, grabbing Mo Hua and stepping into the Five-Element Mountain Protection Grand Formation.
…
Not long after, Bai Qingcheng arrived outside the grand formation and saw the entrance to the Five-Element Mountain Protection Formation.
The entrance had not yet closed.
She hesitated briefly, then stepped into the formation.
As Bai Qingcheng entered, the formation’s light curtain flickered, the array markings writhed, and the entrance gradually began to seal.
Just as it was about to close, three Nascent Soul Real Persons from the Dao Court arrived.
Seeing the entrance closing, the three acted quickly, their blades and swords flashing to delay the formation from sealing.
Then, they entered the Five-Element Mountain Protection Formation through the narrow entrance.
Afterward, the formation fully sealed.
Outside lay the Soul Banners and Blood Sea, inside was the mountain-protecting formation.
Outsiders had no idea what was happening inside the formation, within the ruins of the Five-Element Sect…
After some unknown time, Mo Hua, who had fainted, gradually woke up…
His forehead felt dizzy and heavy.
He could vaguely sense terrifying fluctuations of spiritual energy all around.
The spiritual energy was vast, like an ocean.
And he felt like a tiny boat tossed helplessly amid a storm-tossed sea.
Voices were faintly audible around him.
All these voices were familiar…
Mo Hua squinted, slowly regaining his senses, only to realize he was now inside the Five-Element Sect, facing the Sect’s Array Storage Pavilion.
The surroundings were devastated. Once ornate beams and carvings were now broken stones and rubble. Everywhere he looked, there was ruin, and a powerful residual magical energy lingered, as if a great battle had taken place.
Nearby, three people had been corroded into white bones.
Clearly, they were already dead.
Their bones were translucent, with tiny crystalline traces of Nascent Soul cultivation.
Mo Hua’s heart trembled.
“Three more Nascent Soul cultivators… dead?”
He looked up and saw Old Kui.
Old Kui’s body was wrapped in a blood-soaked garment, gradually dissolving. Once his flesh melted away, beneath the skin, there was no flesh—only mottled brown wood grain.
“The blood of Dao annihilation…”
“Ah, so you… actually colluded with that undying Blood Daoist…”
Old Kui coughed.
The cold and indifferent Strange Daoist bowed slightly to Old Kui. “Forgive me, Senior. If not for this, I could not have dealt with you…”
Old Kui’s gaze was like a sword. He said sharply, “Then who told you the location of my vital point?”
The Strange Daoist remained silent.
Old Kui, furious, laughed bitterly. “Good, very good! With no distinction between righteous and demonic, what path are these cultivators following?!”
The Strange Daoist’s voice was calm. “Farewell, Senior.”
No sooner had he spoken than the blood-soaked garment emitted an even darker, deathly gleam.
Bit by bit, it enveloped Old Kui, corroding him…
Step by step, it consumed his life force.
Old Kui fixed his gaze on the Strange Daoist. Coldly, he said:
“Don’t let me see you again, or I will kill you!”
The Strange Daoist slightly bowed. “I will remember, Junior will remember.”
“Grandpa Kui…”
Mo Hua’s heart ached as he murmured.
Old Kui, being corroded by the blood garment, glanced at Mo Hua one last time. His eyes lost their coldness, becoming gentle, with a hint of regret and apology.
Finally, he completely became a wooden effigy, mottled and broken, lifeless.
The Strange Daoist glanced at Mo Hua, frowning slightly.
Grandpa Kui…
Old Kui had allowed this child to call him “Grandpa Kui”…
The Strange Daoist frowned thoughtfully for a moment, then stepped toward the Array Storage Pavilion.
All the calculations had been made, the demon cultivators were destroyed, the Dao Court intimidated, and even Old Kui had been dissolved by the undying blood of the Blood Daoist…
All obstacles in front of him had been completely cleared.
Ahead lay only his junior, whom he had not seen in hundreds of years…
At that moment, a cold, clear, and pleasant voice rang out:
“Senior Brother…”
The Strange Daoist turned and saw Bai Qingcheng standing beside him.
She had stood aside the whole time, witnessing the Strange Daoist kill the three Nascent Soul Real Persons from the Dao Court, and then dissolve Old Kui with the undying blood.
She could only watch helplessly.
No one could stop what her senior brother intended to do.
Anyone who tried would die, herself included.
But she still remembered the plea of her twin children, so in the end, she wished to save Mo Hua from the Strange Daoist’s hands.
After all, this child was innocent.
Moreover, he had been taken in as a disciple by Senior Brother Zhuang and should not die entangled in this chaos…
“Eldest Senior Brother… give me that child…”
The Strange Daoist looked up at the Array Storage Pavilion, thought for a moment, and casually tossed Mo Hua to Bai Qingcheng.
Bai Qingcheng immediately caught him, and couldn’t help but study him. In her heart, she silently thought:
“So this is… the junior that Zixi cares about…”
His spiritual root is poor…
Compared to Zixi, it’s like heaven and earth…
She then looked at his appearance.
He wasn’t bad-looking…
His features were delicate, his face cute, with a pure and pleasant aura, naturally evoking fondness.
His eyes were clear, revealing a good heart…
But… his spiritual root was poor, and his bloodline even worse…
Bai Qingcheng frowned.
“Senior Brother Zhuang, why would you take such a junior disciple?”
What surprised her most, however, was her Senior Brother himself…
Once gentle and courteous, after turning demonic and becoming the Strange Daoist, he had become eerie, cold, and ruthless.
This was the first time she had seen him carrying a child, never letting go along the way.
From her perspective, the two seemed to interact casually, even somewhat intimately.
Bai Qingcheng frowned, puzzled.
Mo Hua looked up and saw Bai Qingcheng.
At first glance, he was stunned.
So beautiful…
At the second glance, he noticed her features resembled his little senior sister…
“Are you my little senior sister’s mother?”
Mo Hua asked instinctively.
Bai Qingcheng paused, then nodded slightly.
Mo Hua silently calculated, “So my little senior sister’s mother is also Senior Martial Uncle’s junior sister, and my master’s junior sister… then I should call you… ‘Senior Martial Aunt’?”
Bai Qingcheng was taken aback.
This child was clever, and seemed… unusually familiar quickly?
“Yes.”
She nodded again.
“I am disciple Mo Hua. Greetings, Senior Aunt,” Mo Hua said politely.
Bai Qingcheng’s heart warmed slightly.
She looked him over and saw he bore no injuries, had not been “corrupted by the Dao heart,” his gaze was upright, and nothing seemed abnormal. She relaxed.
After hesitating for a moment, she said to Mo Hua:
“Good child, stay here. Don’t wander off. I’m going in to see your master…”
Mo Hua immediately asked, “Senior Aunt, may I go in too?”
Bai Qingcheng was startled.
Mo Hua whispered, “I also want to see my master…”
Bai Qingcheng felt a pang of sadness, but still refused: “It’s too dangerous for you to go in…”
“Oh…”
Mo Hua disappointedly but obediently nodded.
Bai Qingcheng left him and walked toward the Array Storage Pavilion. After a few steps, she looked back to see Mo Hua standing alone, feeling some pity and concern.
If the Strange Daoist came out, this child would still be in danger…
But now she could do nothing more.
Her Senior Brother’s life was at stake.
Though the elder had told her to “stand aside” regarding the Heavenly Burial Guixu Tianzang opportunity, now that it had come, she could not truly sit idle.
“Very well, let fate decide…”
Bai Qingcheng’s expression was serious. She gritted her teeth and entered the Array Storage Pavilion…
Mo Hua remained alone in the spot.
He wanted to go in, but could not.
The pavilion seemed protected by some barrier. Senior Martial Aunt and Senior Martial Uncle, with their high cultivation and array expertise, could ignore the barrier, but he could not…
Yet staying here didn’t seem safe either.
Once things settled, his Senior Martial Uncle came out, he would likely be killed.
Mo Hua sighed.
At that moment, the Five Elements Mountain-Protecting Formation around him emitted a low hum.
Mo Hua was startled and looked up.
Within the formation, a main array pivot rotated on its own, dazzlingly bright.
“This is… the array pivot?”
Mo Hua suddenly recalled what his master had told him when he first arrived at the Five Elements Sect.
He remembered discussing the Five Elements Mountain-Protecting Formation with his master back then.
His master had drawn a mountain map on paper, outlining several lines along the terrain, and instructed him:
“…This is the Five Elements Mountain-Protecting Formation. Remember the veins of the main array pivot.”
“When the formation flows, a Life Gate will appear atop the pivot.”
“This segment, though only a second-grade array pivot, is similar in layout to the Five Elements Demon-Slaying Formation. Your Divine Sense is strong enough—you should be able to calculate the Life Gate yourself…”
Mo Hua was stunned.
“Calculate the Life Gate…”
Had his master… already made arrangements?
Had he anticipated that Mo Hua would be captured by Martial Uncle and brought back to the Five Elements Sect, and therefore told him in advance about this segment of the formation’s Life Gate?
His master wanted him to calculate the Life Gate of the Five Elements Mountain-Protecting Formation, then leave on his own, far from this dangerous place…
“Master…”
Mo Hua felt a sting in his eyes.
He didn’t want to leave; he wanted one more glance at his master.
But…
Even if he saw his master, what could he do?
With such low cultivation, insufficient Divine Sense, and incomplete mastery of formations, in a place this dangerous, he could hardly even protect himself…
The formation hummed again.
It seemed his master was urging him to leave…
Mo Hua, feeling disheartened, wiped his tears and sat down. Following the method his master had taught him, he carefully calculated the formation pivot step by step, then determined the direction and fixed the Life Gate.
Once the Life Gate was set, Mo Hua looked up at the Array-Hiding Pavilion.
It felt as if his master were inside, silently watching him.
As if saying, “Go…”
Mo Hua lowered his head, his back slumped in dejection, and quietly walked toward the section of mountains previously marked by Mister Zhuang, reaching the formation at the mountain’s edge.
Following the Life Gate he had determined, Mo Hua stepped into the formation.
The formation formed a spiritual barrier, with spiritual energy flowing like sharp blades, impenetrable.
But at the Life Gate, the pivot’s crucial point, there was a space for life to pass.
As Mo Hua entered the Life Gate, the surging spiritual energy rushed around him like a vast river, like a stampede of thousands of horses, yet it did not harm him.
On the contrary, the spiritual energy protected Mo Hua.
It safeguarded him all the way, allowing him to leave the Mountain-Protecting Formation safely…
…
Fourth floor of the Array-Hiding Pavilion.
Mister Zhuang sat silently, watching Mo Hua emerge from the formation alone.
After a moment, the pavilion trembled.
The Five Elements formation on the fourth floor was corroded by dark array markings and torn open. A figure stepped inside.
White hair draped over his shoulders, expression cold.
It was the Strange Daoist.
Mister Zhuang’s breath was weak, his face pale as paper, yet his expression was calm, as if welcoming fate, showing a composed smile.
“Long time no see…”
“Senior Brother.”
REPEATED (I know)
Chapter 558: The Meeting
“Dao-Heart Seeded Demon?!”
Master Situ was startled and immediately acted, summoning a treasure shaped like a golden bell to trap the pupil with pitch-black pupils, cutting off his aura.
He had just breathed a sigh of relief when he turned to see that many cultivators around the camp suddenly behaved abnormally, like marionettes on strings—twitching and trembling, slowly turning their heads, their pupils completely black!
Master Situ inhaled sharply.
The Dao-Heart had changed, and the demon seed was spreading.
“When did this Strange Daoist make his move?!”
Other Nascent Soul cultivators sensed the abnormal aura and quickly intervened. Seeing the surrounding cultivators’ Dao-implements, they were shocked to find each one had lost their wits, their pupils pitch-black.
Master Situ barked, “Release your treasures! Guard your minds!”
Those whose consciousness remained intact trembled, continuously activating their treasures to protect their seas of consciousness.
Master Situ sighed, flipping his right hand to reveal a luminous glazed lamp.
This lamp, called the Universe-Clearing Luminous Lamp, was the top treasure of Mystic Secrets Valley, combining divine-sense projection with the power to focus and repel evil.
He activated it, and the lamp’s radiance swept away the gloom. The strange, anomalous aura of heaven itself that had filled the air was gradually dissipated.
The brilliant light acted like a screen, shielding everyone inside and isolating them from the cultivators outside who had been “seeded” by the Dao-Heart Demon.
Even within the lamp, some cultivators unknowingly had demon seeds planted in them. But whenever their demonic thoughts grew, the lamp’s pure light would “burn” them, spreading black-and-gray miasma.
Master Situ would then expel these cultivators to prevent them from infecting others.
Inside the lamp, radiant light overflowed, and the cultivators, tense, meditated to guard their spiritual veins.
Outside, it was like a living hell.
Cultivators slaughtered each other.
Clan members, senior brothers, familiar Daoist friends—all whose Dao-Hearts had collapsed, faces twisted with ferocity, turned on one another.
A Nascent Soul cultivator, unable to bear it, tried to intervene, but Master Situ stopped him:
“If you go, they’ll die. If you don’t, they’ll still die—and maybe even more of them will!”
Indeed, if Nascent Soul cultivators were affected by the Dao-Heart Demon, the consequences would be unthinkable.
The cultivator clenched his teeth in frustration but could do nothing. He resettled himself, painfully closing his eyes, refusing to witness the carnage outside.
Everyone’s expression was grave.
Master Situ’s brow furrowed tightly.
After an unknown period, his heart jolted, and he looked up.
Not far away, a Daoist was approaching, holding a small cultivator in hand.
This Daoist, with a youthful face yet white hair, had a piercing, sinister gaze. It was Xuan Sanren—but now, his expression was cold, and a strange aura enveloped him. He was clearly no longer Xuan Sanren, but…
The Strange Daoist!
Master Situ stiffened, as if facing a mortal enemy.
Other cultivators were equally terrified.
Yet the Strange Daoist seemed utterly unconcerned with them, never once looking their way.
It was as if the Dao-Heart Demon was merely a casual move.
If he could kill them, he would.
If he couldn’t, it mattered little.
Draped in black, carrying Mo Hua, he strode past thousands of Dao soldiers, hundreds of Golden Core cultivators, and ten Nascent Soul Real-Persons, brazen and indifferent, heading toward Li Mountain City.
Around him, cultivators slaughtered each other like phantoms.
And he himself was the “phantom.”
No one from the Dao Court dared make a sound.
The surrounding area was deathly silent.
A Nascent Soul cultivator, enraged, tried to act, but Master Situ blocked him, shaking his head grimly.
He sensed the staggering, deviously calculated divine-sense aura.
He knew that anyone who intervened here would die—no exceptions.
They were powerless.
Even the Nascent Soul masters of the Dao Court’s great factions could only watch as the Strange Daoist passed before them.
Watching his pitch-black figure gradually recede, disappearing toward Li Mountain City into the ocean of blood…
All the Nascent Soul cultivators gritted their teeth in fury.
Only Bai Qingcheng’s eyes narrowed slightly.
She noticed the child in the Strange Daoist’s hand.
If her guess was correct, this must be the “Little Junior Brother” that Zi Sheng and Zi Xi had mentioned…
The Strange Daoist entering the blood sea meant the scheme against the senior brother was about to reach its climax.
Bai Qingcheng frowned, then rose, saluted Master Situ briefly, and activated a brocaded landscape umbrella, stepping out of the lamp’s protective glow.
The demon-seeded cultivators lunged at her but were swept aside by the umbrella’s force.
Following the path the Strange Daoist had taken, she headed toward Li Mountain City, stepping into the sea of blood.
Master Situ sighed helplessly.
Inside the Universe-Clearing Luminous Lamp, three Nascent Soul cultivators developed rebellious thoughts. They exchanged glances, activated their treasures, and without a word, left the lamp to pursue the Strange Daoist.
The remaining Nascent Soul cultivators, tempted, looked to Master Situ.
“Senior Master Situ… this—”
He gave them a cold glance, remaining seated, and said gravely:
“Everyone has their fate; it cannot be forced.”
But in his heart, he silently thought: If they want to die, let them…
Those Nascent Soul masters, knowing the profoundness of Mystic Secrets Valley’s divine-sense algorithms, understood that ignoring the elder’s warning would bring immediate disaster. They reined in their impulses and meditated quietly.
Master Situ, however, kept his gaze on the direction the Strange Daoist had gone, brow furrowed deeply.
He was filled with profound concern.
This was Dao-Heart Seeded Demon…
No, this was… the Heavenly Secret Deceptive Algorithm…
The way of divine-sense, infinitely evolving, dual in intent, the Heavenly Secret Deceptive Algorithm.
He never imagined the Strange Daoist had refined it to such a degree. Even in his sect, renowned for producing geniuses, this was unprecedented…
Perfected Heavenly Secret Deceptive Algorithm.
Divine-sense mutation, neither dying nor ceasing…
Without the combined power of the righteous sects to fully suppress the Strange Daoist, if left unchecked, he would inevitably become a demon lord dominating heaven and earth.
But…
How could he be killed?
Mister Zhuang was exhausted, the Heavenly Secret Derivative Algorithm lost…
Who in this world could understand the heavenly secrets and contend with the Strange Daoist?
An immortal, undying Strange Daoist’s divine-sense…
Who could truly slay him?
Master Situ’s face darkened as he sighed deeply…
…
Inside Li Mountain City,
ruined walls were stained crimson by the blood sea.
Remaining demon cultivators were instantly affected by the Dao-Heart Demon, turning on each other and dying cleanly.
The Strange Daoist walked straight to the Five Elements Mountain Protection Array.
He extended a hand toward the array, but his fingers were immediately obliterated into a mist of blood by its overwhelming power.
Yet in an instant, the blood mist reversed, reconstituting into flesh and bone.
The Strange Daoist’s hand remained unharmed.
He tapped lightly, and strange black-and-gray array patterns crawled onto the array, spreading from the outside inward.
But the faster the corruption, the faster the array repaired itself.
The array could not be broken…
Expression cold, the Strange Daoist shook the unconscious Mo Hua in front of the array.
Inside the array, a helpless sigh seemed to emerge.
Then, light flickered.
The five-colored barrier of the array opened by itself, revealing an entrance.
The Strange Daoist sneered, grabbing Mo Hua and stepping into the Five-Element Mountain Protection Grand Formation.
…
Not long after, Bai Qingcheng arrived outside the grand formation and saw the entrance to the Five-Element Mountain Protection Formation.
The entrance had not yet closed.
She hesitated briefly, then stepped into the formation.
As Bai Qingcheng entered, the formation’s light curtain flickered, the array markings writhed, and the entrance gradually began to seal.
Just as it was about to close, three Nascent Soul Real Persons from the Dao Court arrived.
Seeing the entrance closing, the three acted quickly, their blades and swords flashing to delay the formation from sealing.
Then, they entered the Five-Element Mountain Protection Formation through the narrow entrance.
Afterward, the formation fully sealed.
Outside lay the Soul Banners and Blood Sea, inside was the mountain-protecting formation.
Outsiders had no idea what was happening inside the formation, within the ruins of the Five-Element Sect…
After some unknown time, Mo Hua, who had fainted, gradually woke up…
His forehead felt dizzy and heavy.
He could vaguely sense terrifying fluctuations of spiritual energy all around.
The spiritual energy was vast, like an ocean.
And he felt like a tiny boat tossed helplessly amid a storm-tossed sea.
Voices were faintly audible around him.
All these voices were familiar…
Mo Hua squinted, slowly regaining his senses, only to realize he was now inside the Five-Element Sect, facing the Sect’s Array Storage Pavilion.
The surroundings were devastated. Once ornate beams and carvings were now broken stones and rubble. Everywhere he looked, there was ruin, and a powerful residual magical energy lingered, as if a great battle had taken place.
Nearby, three people had been corroded into white bones.
Clearly, they were already dead.
Their bones were translucent, with tiny crystalline traces of Nascent Soul cultivation.
Mo Hua’s heart trembled.
“Three more Nascent Soul cultivators… dead?”
He looked up and saw Old Kui.
Old Kui’s body was wrapped in a blood-soaked garment, gradually dissolving. Once his flesh melted away, beneath the skin, there was no flesh—only mottled brown wood grain.
“The blood of Dao annihilation…”
“Ah, so you… actually colluded with that undying Blood Daoist…”
Old Kui coughed.
The cold and indifferent Strange Daoist bowed slightly to Old Kui. “Forgive me, Senior. If not for this, I could not have dealt with you…”
Old Kui’s gaze was like a sword. He said sharply, “Then who told you the location of my vital point?”
The Strange Daoist remained silent.
Old Kui, furious, laughed bitterly. “Good, very good! With no distinction between righteous and demonic, what path are these cultivators following?!”
The Strange Daoist’s voice was calm. “Farewell, Senior.”
No sooner had he spoken than the blood-soaked garment emitted an even darker, deathly gleam.
Bit by bit, it enveloped Old Kui, corroding him…
Step by step, it consumed his life force.
Old Kui fixed his gaze on the Strange Daoist. Coldly, he said:
“Don’t let me see you again, or I will kill you!”
The Strange Daoist slightly bowed. “I will remember, Junior will remember.”
“Grandpa Kui…”
Mo Hua’s heart ached as he murmured.
Old Kui, being corroded by the blood garment, glanced at Mo Hua one last time. His eyes lost their coldness, becoming gentle, with a hint of regret and apology.
Finally, he completely became a wooden effigy, mottled and broken, lifeless.
The Strange Daoist glanced at Mo Hua, frowning slightly.
Grandpa Kui…
Old Kui had allowed this child to call him “Grandpa Kui”…
The Strange Daoist frowned thoughtfully for a moment, then stepped toward the Array Storage Pavilion.
All the calculations had been made, the demon cultivators were destroyed, the Dao Court intimidated, and even Old Kui had been dissolved by the undying blood of the Blood Daoist…
All obstacles in front of him had been completely cleared.
Ahead lay only his junior, whom he had not seen in hundreds of years…
At that moment, a cold, clear, and pleasant voice rang out:
“Senior Brother…”
The Strange Daoist turned and saw Bai Qingcheng standing beside him.
She had stood aside the whole time, witnessing the Strange Daoist kill the three Nascent Soul Real Persons from the Dao Court, and then dissolve Old Kui with the undying blood.
She could only watch helplessly.
No one could stop what her senior brother intended to do.
Anyone who tried would die, herself included.
But she still remembered the plea of her twin children, so in the end, she wished to save Mo Hua from the Strange Daoist’s hands.
After all, this child was innocent.
Moreover, he had been taken in as a disciple by Senior Brother Zhuang and should not die entangled in this chaos…
“Senior Brother… give me that child…”
The Strange Daoist looked up at the Array Storage Pavilion, thought for a moment, and casually tossed Mo Hua to Bai Qingcheng.
Bai Qingcheng immediately caught him, and couldn’t help but study him. In her heart, she silently thought:
“So this is… the junior that Zixi cares about…”
His spiritual root is poor…
Compared to Zixi, it’s like heaven and earth…
She then looked at his appearance.
He wasn’t bad-looking…
His features were delicate, his face cute, with a pure and pleasant aura, naturally evoking fondness.
His eyes were clear, revealing a good heart…
But… his spiritual root was very poor, and his bloodline even worse…
Bai Qingcheng frowned.
“Senior Brother Zhuang, why would you take such a junior disciple?”
What surprised her most, however, was her Senior Brother himself…
Once gentle and courteous, after turning demonic and becoming the Strange Daoist, he had become eerie, cold, and ruthless.
This was the first time she had seen him carrying a child, never letting go along the way.
From her perspective, the two seemed to interact casually, even somewhat intimately.
Bai Qingcheng frowned, puzzled.
Mo Hua looked up and saw Bai Qingcheng.
At first glance, he was stunned.
So beautiful…
At the second glance, he noticed her features resembled his little senior sister…
“Are you my little senior sister’s mother?”
Mo Hua asked instinctively.
Bai Qingcheng paused, then nodded slightly.
Mo Hua silently calculated, “So my little senior sister’s mother is also Senior Martial Uncle’s junior sister, and my master’s junior sister… then I should call you… ‘Senior Martial Aunt’?”
Bai Qingcheng was taken aback.
This child was clever, and seemed… unusually familiar quickly?
“Yes.”
She nodded again.
“I am disciple Mo Hua. Greetings, Senior Martial Aunt,” Mo Hua said politely.
Bai Qingcheng’s heart warmed slightly.
She looked him over and saw he bore no injuries, had not been “corrupted by the Demonic Seeding Dao heart,” his gaze was upright, and nothing seemed abnormal. She relaxed.
After hesitating for a moment, she said to Mo Hua:
“Good child, stay here. Don’t wander off. I’m going in to see your master…”
Mo Hua immediately asked, “Senior Martial Aunt , may I go in too?”
Bai Qingcheng was startled.
Mo Hua whispered, “I also want to see my master…”
Bai Qingcheng felt a pang of sadness, but still refused: “It’s too dangerous for you to go in…”
“Oh…”
Mo Hua disappointedly but obediently nodded.
Bai Qingcheng left him and walked toward the Array Storage Pavilion. After a few steps, she looked back to see Mo Hua standing alone, feeling some pity and concern.
If the Strange Daoist came out, this child would still be in danger…
But now she could do nothing more.
Her Senior Brother’s life was at stake.
Though the elder had told her to “stand aside” regarding the Heavenly Burial Guixu Tianzang opportunity, now that it had come, she could not truly sit idle.
“Very well, let fate decide…”
Bai Qingcheng’s expression was serious. She gritted her teeth and entered the Array Storage Pavilion…
Mo Hua remained alone in the spot.
He wanted to go in, but could not.
The pavilion seemed protected by some barrier. Senior Martial Aunt and Senior Martial Uncle, with their high cultivation and array expertise, could ignore the barrier, but he could not…
Yet staying here didn’t seem safe either.
Once things settled, his Senior Martial Uncle came out, he would likely be killed.
Mo Hua sighed.
At that moment, the Five Elements Mountain-Protecting Grand Formation around him emitted a low hum.
Mo Hua was startled and looked up.
Within the formation, a main array pivot rotated on its own, dazzlingly bright.
“This is… the array pivot?”
Mo Hua suddenly recalled what his master had told him when he first arrived at the Five Elements Sect.
He remembered discussing the Five Elements Mountain-Protecting Formation with his master back then.
His master had drawn a mountain map on paper, outlining several lines along the terrain, and instructed him:
“…This is the Five Elements Mountain-Protecting Grand Formation. Remember the veins of the main array pivot.”
“When the formation flows, a Life Gate will appear atop the pivot.”
“This segment, though only a second-grade array pivot, is similar in layout to the Five Elements Demon-Slaying Formation. Your Divine Sense is strong enough—you should be able to calculate the Life Gate yourself…”
Mo Hua was stunned.
“Calculate the Life Gate…”
Had his master… already made arrangements?
Had he anticipated that Mo Hua would be captured by Martial Uncle and brought back to the Five Elements Sect, and therefore told him in advance about this segment of the formation’s Life Gate?
His master wanted him to calculate the Life Gate of the Five Elements Mountain-Protecting Formation, then leave on his own, far from this dangerous place…
“Master…”
Mo Hua felt a sting in his eyes.
He didn’t want to leave; he wanted one more glance at his master.
But…
Even if he saw his master, what could he do?
With such low cultivation, insufficient Divine Sense, and incomplete mastery of formations, in a place this dangerous, he could hardly even protect himself…
The formation hummed again.
It seemed his master was urging him to leave…
Mo Hua, feeling disheartened, wiped his tears and sat down. Following the method his master had taught him, he carefully calculated the formation pivot step by step, then determined the direction and fixed the Life Gate.
Once the Life Gate was set, Mo Hua looked up at the Array-Hiding Pavilion.
It felt as if his master were inside, silently watching him.
As if saying, “Go…”
Mo Hua lowered his head, his back slumped in dejection, and quietly walked toward the section of mountains previously marked by Mister Zhuang, reaching the formation at the mountain’s edge.
Following the Life Gate he had determined, Mo Hua stepped into the formation.
The formation formed a spiritual barrier, with spiritual energy flowing like sharp blades, impenetrable.
But at the Life Gate, the pivot’s crucial point, there was a space for life to pass.
As Mo Hua entered the Life Gate, the surging spiritual energy rushed around him like a vast river, like a stampede of thousands of horses, yet it did not harm him.
On the contrary, the spiritual energy protected Mo Hua.
It safeguarded him all the way, allowing him to leave the Mountain-Protecting Formation safely…
…
Fourth floor of the Array-Hiding Pavilion.
Mister Zhuang sat silently, watching Mo Hua emerge from the formation alone.
After a moment, the pavilion trembled.
The Five Elements formation on the fourth floor was corroded by dark array markings and torn open. A figure stepped inside.
White hair draped over his shoulders, expression cold.
It was the Strange Daoist.
Mister Zhuang’s breath was weak, his face pale as paper, yet his expression was calm, as if welcoming fate, showing a composed smile.
“Long time no see…”
“Senior Brother.”