Chapter 561: One Derivation, One Deception
Chapter 563: One Derivation, One Deception
The Immortal-Heavens Thunder Runes annihilated all!
The Strange Daoist only looked once, and his entire body trembled, terror shaking his heart.
This was fear born from the Great Dao itself.
At the same time, the Black-Soul Dao Robe he wore—immune to spells, impervious to Divine-Sense, untouched by formations, condensed from the Heavenly Secret Deceptive Algorithm and remnants of vicious souls—was instantly torn to shreds by the tribulation lightning, disintegrating inch by inch into drifting ash!
“Martial Uncle, I told you not to look…”
Mo Hua’s tone sounded helpless, but his foxlike little face was all smiles.
“…You’d turn into ash if you did!”
The Strange Daoist was stunned beyond belief.
This innocent-looking little creature—he…
He was actually a little lying trickster!
And not just him…
There was also his junior brother…
Only now did the Strange Daoist understand.
His junior brother, acting as if he had exhausted all schemes, completely discouraged, devoid of hope or life, calmly walking toward death…
But in truth, he had already calculated everything—down to the last detail!
The Strange Daoist froze as his junior brother’s final words resurfaced in his mind:
“Senior Brother… for the sake of our years together, don’t make things difficult… for my little disciples…”
At first, he only felt disdain.
Doomed to die, lacking courage, still placing the lives of his disciples in the hands of others’ mercy.
He himself had already fallen into demonic cultivation—cold and emotionless. If killing was required, he would kill. Begging was useless.
But thinking back now… his junior brother must have known that.
Begging was pointless…
So that line wasn’t a plea at all.
It was… bait?
On purpose he emphasized “little disciples,” telling him not to trouble them—actually hinting that he valued them deeply, that they hid secrets…
Smoothly leading him to make a move, to plant his Dao-Heart Seed Demon in this little one’s Sea of Consciousness.
Then naturally… he would use the Heavenly Secret Deceptive Algorithm to help this little disciple unravel the Heavenly Grand Formation’s mysteries and break the Foundation Establishment bottleneck.
He had even derived the murderous calamity hidden within this Divine-Sense domain!
He might not have known what the calamity was, nor the nature of the broken stele, nor the tribulation lightning—but he must have calculated that once he entered…
He would die in his disciple’s Sea of Consciousness!
Knowing death was certain, he turned his own life into a scheme from beginning to end…
Seemingly calculating the heavens, yet everything was but deliberate setup.
“The Heavenly Secret Derivative Algorithm… so this was its purpose…”
The Strange Daoist’s pitch-black gaze turned cold, anger flickering, fear lingering—yet the corners of his mouth curved upward…
“Dead… and still scheming against me…”
He muttered softly, then looked toward Mo Hua.
Everything about Mo Hua surfaced in his thoughts.
A powerful Divine-Sense, meticulous control, skill in condensing spells, the ability to manifest formations, diligent and thoughtful, astonishing comprehension, deviously clever…
His junior brother was gone, but this little one remained…
The Strange Daoist’s Dao robe crumbled; his body dissolved inch by inch.
He looked at Mo Hua one last time, a faint smile appearing on his eerie face, his voice drifting apart:
“Little Shizhi… we will…”
“Meet again…”
Before the last syllable landed, the tribulation thunder erased him completely. His demonic intent was gone.
Mo Hua frowned, spreading out his Divine-Sense, probing his Sea of Consciousness.
Only after confirming his “Martial Uncle’s” Dao-Heart Seed Demon had been obliterated—shattered beyond repair—did he plop down onto the ground and exhale heavily.
Martial Uncle’s demonic intent had been too strong.
This was likely the strongest Divine-Sense Mo Hua had encountered so far—and possibly would encounter for a long time.
Just Foundation Establishment, yet his oppressive aura seeped into every corner.
Head-on, Mo Hua was no match.
He could only act.
Trick Martial Uncle into looking at the Heavenly Dao Thunder Rune.
That too was something he had learned from Martial Uncle.
On Great Departure Mountain, on Deadwood Cliff, in the Ten-Thousand Devils Hall…
Martial Uncle had, right in front of him, used tribulation lightning to kill a demonic Nascent Soul.
Mo Hua remembered it deeply.
“Heavenly tribulation is also a killing weapon!”
Now, he finally managed to put it into practice—using a stroke of Immortal Rune containing tribulation lightning to eradicate Martial Uncle’s demonic intent.
“There’s still so much I can learn from Martial Uncle!”
Dao-Heart Seed Demon… Heavenly Secret Deceptive Algorithm…
Even the idea of using Heavenly Dao laws to suppress formidable foes—all of it benefited Mo Hua tremendously.
Martial Uncle’s “teach-by-example” method must be cherished!
Mo Hua nodded seriously.
Then he blinked, gazing at the drifting, abundant Divine-Sense within his Sea of Consciousness, and unconsciously licked his lips.
The demonic intent had been erased by tribulation lightning—its will shattered—yet it left behind an impure but extremely dense, overwhelmingly vast Strange-Dao Divine-Sense.
This Strange-Dao Divine-Sense was a black-gray color.
It had been worn down by the Dao, then purified by tribulation lightning—yet still contained the transformations of the Strange Dao: powerful, ownerless Divine-Sense.
Mo Hua’s eyes lit up.
“This is Martial Uncle’s ‘gift’ to me… so naturally, it’s mine!”
“Martial Uncle is such a good person!”
Grateful, his eyes sparkled even brighter.
If he refined this powerful Strange-Dao Divine-Sense… could his Divine-Sense finally break the long-standing bottleneck?
Heat rose in his chest; he immediately sat down to meditate.
Slowly, he began absorbing the strange intent.
The Dao Monument had already worn it down for him; the tribulation lightning had further stripped it clean. These strange thoughts were safe—no need for him to manifest formations to burn them down again…
A sea-like density of Divine-Sense filled the air.
Mo Hua focused, opened his tiny mouth—
Threads of black-gray Divine-Sense carrying an eerie aura drifted into him.
His heart trembled; his eyes opened slightly.
These Divine-Sense threads…
Something was off.
They contained transformations of the Heavenly Secret Deceptive Algorithm—insights into the Deceptive Dao and Divine-Sense itself…
These insights seemed to be Martial Uncle’s own…
Mo Hua didn’t know exactly how useful this was, but considering Martial Uncle’s strength, such comprehension must be extraordinary.
Even if it couldn’t make him instantly enlightened, it would surely deepen his understanding of the Heavenly Secret Deceptive Algorithm.
Mo Hua felt a surge of delight. He calmed himself, refining the Divine-Sense as he inhaled and exhaled, while quietly savoring the insights within it.
These insights were subtle beyond words—strange, elusive, ever-shifting—yet they slowly settled into his heart, condensing upon his Dao-heart…
Time passed bit by bit.
The fragments of the Strange Daoist’s remaining Divine-Sense were gradually devoured.
Mo Hua’s Divine-Sense steadily grew.
His understanding of the Deceptive Dao deepened, little by little…
His Sea of Consciousness felt “stuffed,” as though he had “eaten” too much, but he endured and continued refining quietly.
This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
His Martial Uncle wouldn’t be “sending gifts” every day.
And next time Martial Uncle “sent one,” he might not dare to accept it.
This time had been the perfect combination of timing, place, and circumstance—Martial Uncle had been unguarded, and that was the only reason he’d flipped over in such an unexpected gutter.
Next time, luck would not be so kind…
So while he had the chance to feast, he absolutely couldn’t be polite!
Mo Hua refined the Divine-Sense like someone starving, continuously strengthening his own.
Endless Divine-Sense trickled into his Sea of Consciousness, gradually filling the vast chasm between the Thirteenth Rune and the Fourteenth—an abyss like a heavenly moat.
No one knew how long it took.
Nor how long he continued filling it…
At last—the gulf between early Foundation Establishment and mid Foundation Establishment was completely filled!
The heavenly moat vanished. His Divine-Sense ascended!
Mo Hua’s Sea of Consciousness suddenly trembled. His Divine-Sense surged mightily, expanding outward, becoming even denser.
His Divine-Sense finally crossed the threshold—reaching mid Foundation Establishment—
Fourteen-Runes Divine-Sense!
…
Meanwhile, outside the Sea of Consciousness—
At the moment of breakthrough, Mo Hua’s Divine-Sense overflowed. His Fourteen-Runes Divine-Sense rippled violently, spreading through the surroundings.
All the Nascent Soul Realmen present were startled.
“That was just now…”
“Foundation Establishment Divine-Sense?”
“Foundation Establishment… mid-stage?”
Together, they looked toward Mo Hua beneath the Splendid Mountains and Rivers Umbrella.
For them—Nascent Soul cultivators—the Divine-Sense of Foundation Establishment was certainly not strong, even negligible…
But that depended entirely on who it came from.
“That wave earlier… was from this little cultivator?”
One of them murmured.
“…Probably?”
The others weren’t sure.
If it wasn’t, then with so many Nascent Souls watching, it wouldn’t have gone unnoticed.
But if it was…
Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Divine-Sense?
They glanced again at the tiny Mo Hua.
Was this really the level of Divine-Sense someone his age, his cultivation, his foundation should have?
Even Bai Qingcheng’s eyes flickered with astonishment, briefly losing focus.
But Real Person Situ’s face grew solemn.
That wave had indeed been Foundation Establishment Divine-Sense.
Yet once it dissipated, when he probed again, he found Mo Hua completely shrouded—misty, chaotic, eerie—unable to sense anything at all.
Clearly, something—or someone—was hiding his fate and aura.
If it were Mister Zhuang, that would be fine.
But if it were… the Strange Daoist…
Real Person Situ’s expression sharpened.
Divine-Sense fluctuations would not appear for no reason.
Unless something abnormal had occurred within the child’s Sea of Consciousness.
Since he had been afflicted by Dao-Heart Seed Demon, the most likely abnormality was—
The Strange Daoist had devoured the boy’s Divine-Sense?!
Real Person Situ’s heart chilled. He felt that something terrible had happened.
Just then, Mo Hua suddenly moved.
He clutched his head, showing pain, discomfort, and confusion…
Everyone was shocked, their expressions drastically changing—they all tensed like facing a deadly foe!
The Strange Daoist… awakened?
Someone drew a blade.
Someone unsheathed a sword.
Someone lifted a magic treasure…
But for the moment, all were frozen—fear of the Strange Daoist’s dread reputation, fear of the Dao-Heart Seed Demon’s strangeness, kept them from making any rash move.
The room was dead silent—one could hear a needle drop.
Beneath the Splendid Mountains and Rivers Umbrella, Mo Hua’s pupils were still pitch black.
Right before everyone’s eyes, he shook his head. When his Divine-Sense recovered a little, he lifted a small hand and rubbed his eyes.
When he opened them again—
The darkness faded. His gaze became clear once more.
Everyone stood frozen.
“This is…”
“What happened?”
Dao-Heart Seed Demon meant certain death—lightly losing one’s mind, heavily losing body and soul, dying without burial!
How could he be perfectly unharmed?
Real Person Situ stared into Mo Hua’s eyes. Seeing the clean contrast of black and white—clear, lively, intelligent—he involuntarily drew a sharp breath.
“This… impossible…”
“Dao-Heart Seed Demon… can self-recover?!”
Unheard of—unthinkable!
Real Person Situ’s heart trembled.
Who exactly was this little cultivator?
His eyes flickered with confusion and shock. Then he looked carefully at Mo Hua again—only to discover something subtly different from before.
His face was still innocent and pure.
But his gaze was deep—half clear, half strange—melding together perfectly.
One derivation, one deception—naturally fused…