Chapter 1045

Mo Hua's cultivation and Dao techniques hold nothing worthy of fear.

But his array arts cannot be underestimated.

Even in the last Sword Discussion battle, Mo Hua lost to Shen Lin.

Mo Hua's sword control could not break his defenses, and his arrays were all cut through by him.

In the end, Mo Hua proved a coward, fleeing without fighting.

Shen Lin harbored contempt for this, yet he would not truly dismiss Mo Hua, the Array Master.

Especially now, the Mo Hua before him had revealed a stronger, more "ferocious" side than ever before.

With spiritual sense, he wielded ink, drawing arrays upon the ground.

Repeating arrays sealed the mountain, slaughtering all without mercy.

This was a kind of strange array master he had never seen before.

If not stopped, if this array master kept drawing arrays until the entire valley was covered, no one knew what would happen.

Three or five high-grade arrays, he could slash through with one sword.

But what if thirty? Fifty?

What if a hundred?

Once arrays stack upon one another, their threat multiplies exponentially, eventually reaching an incalculable level.

Even as a heavenly prodigy bearing the Qilin bloodline, the pinnacle of Qianxue Province, he dared not let Mo Hua continue drawing arrays…

Yet if he truly moved against Mo Hua, Shen Lin had reservations.

His reservations were the other three of Qianxue's Four Heavenly Prodigies.

Even including Ye Qingfeng of Daluo Gate.

All knew Daluo Gate had a sword prodigy named Ye Zhiyuan, but few knew Ye Qingfeng's strength surpassed Ye Zhiyuan's.

Ye Qingfeng was always low-key, deliberately using Ye Zhiyuan's fame to conceal himself, biding his time.

His strategy, tactics, and cultivation were all the highest in Daluo Gate.

Moreover, his sword art was cultivated to extreme depth.

Without invoking the Qilin blood's power, Shen Lin had no confidence he could defeat Ye Qingfeng's Daluo Unity Sword.

With these four restraining him, Shen Lin would not act lightly.

After all, he sought first place—everyone present was his enemy.

Mo Hua, who knew only arrays, might not be fearsome, but he could never ignore Xiao Wuchen, Ao Zhan, or Duanmu Qing.

If the enemy does not move, neither shall I.

As long as others do not act, he naturally would not act either.

But if he were to act, all four must act together.

Seven sects uniting was no issue; even the top prodigies of the Sida Sect joining forces carried no great consequence.

But for Qianxue's Four Heavenly Prodigies—the four supreme, bloodline-endowed prodigies of the Sida Sect—to unite against a Taixu Sect, against Mo Hua, would be too much of a concession.

Even if they won, it would be a disgrace.

Not only would they be shamed, but Qiandao Sect and the other Sida Sects would also be looked down upon.

At this thought, Shen Lin suddenly froze, realizing a problem:

"Could this… also be part of Mo Hua's calculation?"

Using the mutual caution among the Four Heavenly Prodigies to balance the situation and buy time?

Had Mo Hua foreseen all this in advance?

Shen Lin faintly sensed this might be true, yet felt it overestimated Mo Hua's intellect.

The battlefield shifts in an instant; Mo Hua is no mystic—how could he predict everything?

Shen Lin frowned slightly.

Not just Shen Lin, but Xiao Wuchen, Ao Zhan, and others also harbored similar suspicions.

Yet given the situation, all hesitated to act—so they could only wait.

Time slowly passed…

Within the valley, Mo Hua ignored everything, solely focused on drawing arrays.

When his spiritual sense was spent, he meditated; when restored, he resumed drawing.

Threads of spiritual ink drifted, array patterns curled, one array after another engraved upon earth, wood, stone, forming a vast, intricate, faintly resonant array diagram.

As the arrays multiplied and their structures grew more refined, Shen Lin's heart leapt—he realized he could wait no longer.

He must not let Mo Hua continue drawing.

This Mo Hua must not be allowed to live!

He glanced at Xiao Wuchen and the others.

They understood, yet none spoke—clearly their intentions were not unified.

At that moment, Ye Qingfeng, observing their expressions, slowly spoke:

"All four of you strike together; my Daluo Gate will assist—unite to break the Repeating Array, destroy Taixu, kill Mo Hua."

"If you do not kill him, there may be unforeseen changes."

"This is the Sword Discussion Assembly—sect interests must come first."

Shen Lin looked at Ye Qingfeng, silent for a moment; just as he was about to speak, Duanmu Qing nodded first:

"Fine, kill Mo Hua first."

Among them, she alone held the strongest hatred toward Mo Hua.

Yet until now, for the sake of the Sword Discussion Assembly, she had kept her face cold, deliberately suppressing her rage.

"Good!" Ao Zhan said, revealing a haughty smile.

Xiao Wuchen said nothing, but nodded slightly.

The four reached an agreement.

Then Ao Zhan, tall and muscular, vigorous as a dragon, stepped forward first toward the valley mouth, his blood qi surging, dragon roars echoing.

"Kill the obstacles first, then we settle who's first."

Around them, the prodigies of various sects, cowed by Ao Zhan's aura, all paled and stepped back, clearing a path for him.

Ao Zhan strode straight to the valley mouth and unleashed a sudden punch, wielding unmatched dragon-blood power, slamming into Mo Hua's earth-and-wood sealing array at Shankou.

Rocks trembled, the array's spiritual energy surged violently.

Several array patterns immediately dimmed, and even the ground fused with the array cracked in multiple places.

Such was the power of a single punch.

Ao Zhan's expression was cold, but inside he felt a flicker of surprise.

He hadn't expected this reinforced array to be much sturdier than he'd thought—no wonder so many before him had failed to break it.

It wasn't that they were weak; it was that Mo Hua's array was truly bizarre.

Even his Dragon Cauldron Body Refinement Technique's punch had only dimmed a few array patterns, yet failed to shatter the array.

To break this array, he'd truly need to exert some effort.

Ao Zhan's gaze flickered, but he refused to continue attacking; instead, he stepped aside, waiting for others to act.

He didn't want to waste too much spiritual energy breaking Mo Hua's array.

Shen Lin smirked, drew his longsword, and unleashed the Purple Qi Golden Qilin Sword Qi, striking Mo Hua's array.

Then came Duanmu Qing's spell, Xiao Wuchen's Heavenly Sword Art, and finally Ye Qingfeng's Great Luo Unification Sword Art.

The four prodigies, including Great Luo Sect's senior disciple Ye Qingfeng, each took a turn attacking the array with one technique.

In an instant, powerful spiritual energy surged in waves; the reinforced array glowed, array patterns neared shattering, and cracks multiplied…

Inside the valley, Mo Hua's expression was calm, still utterly focused on drawing the array, oblivious to all around him.

Outside, as the four Qiandao prodigies joined forces to break the array, many gasped:

"To force Shen Linshu and these four top prodigies to unite against his array—Mo Hua has reason to be proud."

"Indeed…"

"No wonder he's the array master of Qianxue Province, among ten thousand sects…"

Others gradually murmured in awe.

So far, the array talent Mo Hua had displayed far exceeded their understanding.

They simply couldn't grasp the deeper mysteries of array art—even if they wanted to praise him, they didn't know how, so they could only utter this one phrase:

No wonder he's the array master.

Then someone said:

"Once the four prodigies act, this Blood Arena battle will reach its end."

"With Grand Void Gate destroyed, the four prodigies plus Great Luo's Ye Qingfeng can finally settle who's first."

"Who would've thought the final showdown of this Blood Arena would come so soon?"

"Now we just see how long Grand Void Gate can hold out…"

As the four Qiandao prodigies began jointly breaking the array, array patterns dimmed, array lines shattered, and the sealing array was slowly weakened.

The Grand Void Sect's sect master, elders, and disciples—including Wenren Wan, Yu'er, Zhang Lan, Gu Changhuai, Elder Murong, Hua Qianqian, and others who knew Mo Hua—all clenched their hearts.

Mo Hua and his team had already shown incredible strength.

But unfortunately, their opponents were just as strong.

Indeed, after a stick of incense burned, with a thunderous boom, the ground cracked open and the array shattered completely.

The sealing array was destroyed; the One-Sky Pass was breached.

The burly, imposing Ao Zhan stepped into the valley first.

Then came Shen Linshu of Qiandao Sect, regal and purple-gold; Duanmu Qing of Wan Xiao Sect, cold and exquisitely beautiful; Xiao Wuchen of Tianjian Sect, ethereal and detached; Ye Qingfeng of Great Luo Sect, reserved and unassuming.

Behind them, over a hundred prodigies from the Four Major Sects and Seven Great Sects surged in like a tide, surrounding Grand Void Sect entirely.

The situation seemed to have returned to how it was before.

Grand Void Sect, against a hundred Qianxue prodigies.

But this time, their enemies were incomparably stronger than before.

Not only did they include the four top bloodline prodigies of Qianxue, but also Great Luo's senior disciple; the rest were mostly true "elites" of the Four Major Sects.

Their numbers were similar, but their strength was more than several times greater than before.

This was truly a force gathering the very top disciples of the Four Major Sects and Seven Great Sects in today's Qianxue Province.

Just looking at this prodigy lineup was enough to make one gasp.

Opposite them, Grand Void Sect stood alone and outnumbered.

After the previous brutal battle, even with Mo Hua's Five Elements Source Armor and array enhancements, Grand Void Sect had lost ten members.

Now, Grand Void Sect had only twenty left.

Twenty against over a hundred—especially over a hundred cultivators including the four Qianxue prodigies—this was a truly hopeless situation.

Yet at this moment, the hundred-plus prodigies did not move.

For before them lay a vast expanse of dense, overlapping arrays.

These arrays were all Mo Hua's "masterpieces," all second-rank high-grade arrays, some even second-rank high-grade reinforced arrays; as far as the eye could see, they blanketed the entire valley.

And Mo Hua still sat upon that large rock.

The twenty remaining Grand Void Sect disciples formed a human wall, shielding Mo Hua in front of them.

Dense arrays surrounded them completely.

From this posture, only by exterminating the disciples of Grand Void Gate and trampling over their corpses could they finally kill Mo Hua.

To exterminate the disciples of Grand Void Gate, they must carve a blood-soaked path through Mo Hua's arrays.

Looking at the dense arrays before them, every disciple from the Si Sect and Seven Clans felt their scalps prickling.

They found it hard to believe.

How strong must Mo Hua's spiritual sense be, to paint so many arrays in such a short time…

Is he truly a Foundation Establishment cultivator?

But right now, it's either you die or I live—no room for empty words.

Shen Lin merely said:

"Kill…"

At his command, the prodigies of the Si Sect and Seven Clans charged toward Mo Hua's arrays, targeting Grand Void Gate, targeting Mo Hua.

In the instant they stepped into the arrays, ground stones rose, transforming into barriers.

Earth prisons loomed, forming fortresses.

Flowing sand sank into the earth, becoming traps.

Grass and trees sprouted, each step bristling with thorns.

These stones, earth prisons, flowing sand, and grasses were all forged from array spiritual energy, but because their rank was Second-Tier Nineteen-Stripe, nearing Jin Dan, they had gained partial physical form.

These arrays, like solid "citadels," blocked the advance of the Qiandao Sect's prodigies.

The Qiandao Sect prodigies became trapped in these dense defensive and confinement arrays, struggling to advance.

Linghu Xiao and the others' sword qi began striking from afar.

Ye Qingfeng said: "Don't scatter—kill along a single path."

Mo Hua's arrays were too numerous; destroying them all was impossible.

Splitting up to break them would waste time and energy.

Better to gather everyone together and force open one path straight to Mo Hua.

Wounding ten fingers is not as good as breaking one.

Damaging ten arrays is not as good as breaking one.

Ye Qingfeng led the way, using Great Luo Unification Sword Art as the guide, gathering everyone's strength to forcibly carve a passage through Mo Hua's weakest array point.

The others followed this passage, tracking Linghu Xiao's sword qi, breaking array after array, advancing deeper…

But Shen Lin and the other three did not act rashly.

They still stood at the periphery, watching coldly, especially the dense arrays before them.

They wanted to know what trick Mo Hua was playing.

Did Mo Hua's arrays conceal some hidden mystery?

Even a lion fighting a rabbit uses all its strength.

They could disregard Mo Hua, but they must show sufficient respect for his arrays.

As Mo Hua's arrays were breached and a passage opened, the overall appearance of the array "citadel" gradually revealed itself.

These arrays were strong indeed, but seemed merely ordinary high-grade Second-Tier arrays.

And all were defensive and confinement arrays—none were offensive killing arrays.

Mo Hua's goal seemed only to "defend."

The longer he held out, the better.

"But could it really… be just this…?"

Shen Lin looked up, gazing at Mo Hua, unmoved amid the hundred-plus prodigies' assault, still focused, oblivious, relentlessly painting arrays—his brow slowly furrowed.

And as Ye Qingfeng led the charge, carving a blood path into the array's depths,

the disciples from both sides met, and the fighting grew fiercer.

Under the enhancement of the Five Elements Origin Armor, Linghu Xiao wielded the True Scripture of Void-Dispelling Sword, directly clashing with Ye Qingfeng's Great Luo Unification Sword Art.

The five giant swords of the Tai'a brothers blocked elite prodigies like Long Ding Sect's Ao Zheng.

Meanwhile, Shen Cangfeng of Qiandao Sect and Xiao Ruohan of Heavenly Sword Sect also clashed with Grand Void Gate's disciples.

Now, it had truly become a battle of life and death.

No one dared underestimate their foe; no one held back.

Grand Void Gate was outnumbered, but with the Origin Armor's enhancement, within the small range defined by Mo Hua's arrays, their direct offensive power was extremely strong.

Simultaneously, thin threads of black-and-red spiritual ink drifted through the battlefield, guided by the arrays to assist in killing.

All on both sides pushed their spiritual energy to the limit, entangling in deadly combat.

The clash zone became truly a "meat grinder."

Blade upon blade, sword upon sword, intertwined.

Fierce killing intent merged, impenetrable.

Dao Jade fragments shattered one after another.

Cultivators died one by one.

It was truly horrific.

As the Si Sect and Seven Clans' prodigies fell one after another, yet Grand Void Gate still fought desperately, growing fiercer with each clash, Shen Lin and the other three could no longer hold back.

They couldn't let more die…

They couldn't let Mo Hua and his allies keep killing…

Though they had previously harbored a trace of caution toward Mo Hua's arrays, uncertain what trick he was playing.

But now, after this much fighting, Mo Hua had used all his techniques.

His array-forming process had been studied countless times by Shen Linshu and the other three.

With spiritual sense, he commanded ink, drawing arrays upon the ground.

He used arrays for defense, for restraint, for trapping enemies, for support…

All these array tactics had been exposed.

The Grand Void Gate's fate is spent…

Xiao Wuchen was the first to step into Mo Hua's array "city."

Then came Duanmu Qing and Ao Zhan.

Finally, Shen Linshu.

Shen Linshu was the last to enter Mo Hua's array's range.

As he stepped in, Shen Linshu suddenly felt a flicker of unease, then sneered at himself:

Just Mo Hua? How could he make me tremble? How laughable…

The Four Great Prodigies had entered the fray—the situation was utterly rewritten.

Xiao Wuchen, Ao Zhan, Duanmu Qing, Shen Linshu—each possessed absolute strength, carried the finest cultivation arts, the most supreme Dao methods, and Qi circulation nearing perfection.

Each of them, every punch, every sword strike, every spell, carried immense combat power, demanding great effort to counter.

The Grand Void Gate disciples fought with all their might to respond.

But the gap in strength was simply too great.

No matter how hard the Grand Void Gate disciples fought, no matter how strong Mo Hua's arrays were, even when they exhausted their strength and drained their Qi to the last drop, it was still beyond salvation.

The Grand Void Gate disciples began to fall, one after another.

Hao Xuan died by Xiao Wuchen's Heavenly Sword Art;

Yang Qianjun was cut down by Shen Linshu's Purple-Gold Qi Blade;

Cheng Mo clashed with Ao Zhan for several rounds, then was crushed by a single punch;

Situ Jian died under Duanmu Qing's indiscriminate spell bombardment;

Among the Tai'e Five Brothers, Ouyang Lu, Ouyang Xi, and Ouyang Cai, worn down by prolonged battle, were killed by Ao Zheng, Shen Cangfeng, and others…

…

In the end, only five remained of the entire Grand Void Gate: Mo Hua, plus Linghu Xiao, Ouyang Xuan, Ouyang Fu, and Ouyang Shou.

Yet the Sida Sect's prodigies still numbered over fifty.

A full tenfold difference in numbers.

Of these fifty-plus, all who remained were the absolute top prodigies of the Four Sects.

Besides them were a few elite disciples from the Dalaomen, led by Ye Qingfeng.

And the four supreme Bloodline Prodigies of Qianxue.

Now, Mo Hua's spiritual sense was nearly drained, his ink exhausted; from repeated overexertion of spiritual sense, having drawn countless arrays, his face was pale, his breath weak.

The arrays protecting Mo Hua had dwindled to almost none.

His little junior, who had fought desperately to shield him, was nearly all dead or wounded.

Only Linghu Xiao and the others, utterly spent, still stood gritting their teeth before Mo Hua.

Opposite them, the fifty-plus top prodigies of Qianxue State stood like fifty razor-sharp spiritual swords—each with deep aura, full of killing intent, gazing coldly at Mo Hua as if he were already dead.

"The Grand Void Gate… is finished…"

Outside the arena, onlookers, witnessing this, drew deep breaths and sighed in solemn sorrow.

In the past, these words would have brimmed with relief and mockery.

But now, all hearts stirred with pity and reverence.

To stand alone against the Four Sects and Seven Gates, fighting to this point, to this utter brink—so brutal, so grand—how could one not admire?

With such strength, the Grand Void Gate deserves to be called the foremost of Qianxue's Eight Gates.

Even calling it the new "Sida Sect" would be no exaggeration.

The Grand Void Gate disciples had witnessed with their own eyes how their senior brothers and comrades fought to the death—every heart surged, eyes stung.

The elders were filled with profound emotion.

Even the headmaster of Sanshan, who had lived for centuries, now felt his heart burn and ache.

They all truly understood what "defeated yet glorious" meant.

These were the disciples of the Grand Void Gate.

These children had united as one, exhausted every ounce of strength, fought for their sect to this extreme…

How could their headmasters not be stirred to the core, not take pride in this?

At this moment, victory or defeat no longer mattered.

In the Guanjian Tower, some sect ancestors silently gazed at Mr. Xun, their eyes filled with envy.

Who says we have no robes? We share the same coat.

Among the sect disciples, such powerful cohesion, such overwhelming unity, such unyielding will, such absolute solidarity…

This was truly an immense spiritual treasure.

A single person with a Dao heart is rare enough.

A sect with a single-minded, forward-driving Dao heart—that is truly priceless.

In this Qianxue Sword Discussion, though the Grand Void Gate lost, it also won.

Mr. Xun slowly exhaled, his heart brimming with emotion.

Truly, the Liezulie Sect's ancestors watched over us… Mo Hua—this child was truly the right one to take in…

……

And within the valley.

This brutal sword debate was finally about to reach its conclusion.

More than fifty peerless prodigies surrounded Mo Hua.

This was a hopeless, deadly situation.

Shen Lin's gaze was cold as he raised the Golden Qilin Sword, pointing it at Mo Hua, and asked again:

"Will you die by your own hand, or by my sword?"

Mo Hua's face was pale, his expression calm; inside, he silently counted the arrays he had drawn, reconstructing them in his mind, transforming them into a complex spiritual nexus, calculating their qi flow, re-verifying the entirety of his array structure…

Finally, Mo Hua confirmed his calculations were flawless. He lifted his head, looked at Shen Lin, and a faint, strange smile curled at his lips:

"No one can kill me within my arrays…"

That strange smile sent a chill through the heart.

A warning pricked sharply at their minds.

Shen Lin's eyes widened instantly—he slashed his sword toward Mo Hua.

He did not know what would happen, but he knew something had gone wrong.

"Kill him!"

At this moment, not only Shen Lin, but Duanmu Qing, Xiao Wuchen, and Ao Zhan all sensed a warning from their bloodlines.

Kill Mo Hua!

Duanmu Qing gathered the Ten Thousand Skies Technique; Xiao Wuchen unleashed his sword; Ao Zhan roared like a tiger, his fist striking like a dragon toward Mo Hua.

Linghu Xiao poured out his last strength, activating the True Scripture of Void-Dispelling Sword Release, canceling out Shen Lin's Purple Qi Golden Qilin Sword Qi.

But he was already at his final breath—the Void-Dispelling Sword could not block the Purple-Golden Sword Qi; instead, he used his own body as a shield, standing before Mo Hua, absorbing Shen Lin's killing sword technique.

Ouyang Shou charged at Ao Zhan without hesitation, using his last ounce of strength to cling to him desperately.

Ouyang Fu had almost no spiritual energy left; he too turned himself into a "flesh shield," standing before Mo Hua, using his life to block Duanmu Qing's techniques.

And Ouyang Xuan, with all his strength, met Xiao Wuchen's sword qi head-on.

He had never liked Mo Hua from the start.

But having fought alongside his fellow sect members to this point, he did not know why, nor what he was meant to do—yet in his mind, there was only one thought: Mo Hua must not die.

Linghu Xiao and the other three were giving their lives to protect Mo Hua.

But Linghu Xiao and the other three, already at their final breaths, could not possibly stand against the Four Heavenly Prodigies of Qianxue.

In a single exchange, within moments, they would shatter and die.

And just as the four neared death, Mo Hua's gaze suddenly deepened; he whispered softly:

"Detonate!"

(End of Chapter)