Chapter 1173: Great Lord Wuzhu

Thus, Mo Hua took command in the second-grade Heijiao Prefecture, simultaneously gathering barbarian children to reteach them the Dao;

while forging barbarian armor, strengthening tribal barbarian cultivators, and launching campaigns against all directions;

in his spare time, he secretly traveled along the list uncovered by Elder Zhamu, hunting barbarian gods, devouring their mental energy to further enhance his spiritual awareness.

Days passed busy yet fulfilling, leaving Mo Hua with no time for other matters.

The pace of external conquests had clearly slowed.

The Heijiao Mountain Prefecture was twice the size of the Wutu Mountain Prefecture.

There were over twenty tribes, large and small, many of which were not weak.

Mo Hua withdrew to the background, refraining from direct action, leaving Wu Sha and others to fight on their own—naturally making progress arduous and slow.

But this was a process they had to endure.

As the "Lord Wuzhu," Mo Hua could not remain on the frontlines forever, nor could he keep intervening and leaving too many traces and vulnerabilities.

Wu Sha and the others must stand alone, becoming sharp "swords and blades" to wage war on his behalf.

This inevitably required a period of adjustment and growth.

This process would inevitably bring casualties among tribal barbarian cultivators, encounters with setbacks and failures, consuming a relatively long time.

But all of this was indispensable.

Without passing through this stage, without enduring such trials, his forces could never take shape or gain any real combat power.

At least within the second-grade prefecture, they must develop the ability to act independently, conquer, and pacify each small tribe.

Within the Three Thousand Wilds, the vast majority were second-grade mountain prefectures, and the number of small tribes was the greatest.

Mo Hua was only one man, unable to be everywhere at once.

He had more important tasks: to spread the Dao, cultivate his spiritual awareness, and seek Jin Dan—he could not waste his strength by personally pacifying each small tribe.

Therefore, granting Wu Sha and the others the autonomy to wage war and pacify mountain prefectures was extremely vital.

This would save Mo Hua considerable time.

Yet in the initial phase, the pace of conquest would inevitably slow.

This process lasted half a year.

It took a full half-year before Wu Sha led the Wulu Tribe, Heijiao Tribe, Wotai Tribe, Wutu Tribe, and their allied barbarian cultivators to fully conquer and pacify the second-grade Heijiao Mountain Prefecture.

Logically speaking, half a year was already remarkably short.

Yet Mo Hua still found it painfully slow.

His "ambition" was too great; at this pace, conquering the Three Thousand Wilds might take a thousand years.

After all, the Three Thousand Wilds were not all small mountain prefectures—there were also many large mountain prefectures and great tribes.

These were the hardest "hard bones" to chew,

even deserving to be called insurmountable chasms.

After unifying the Wutu and Heijiao Mountain Prefectures, Mo Hua faced a sharp question:

Should he launch a campaign against the third-grade mountain prefecture?

Approximately two thousand li southwest of Heijiao Mountain Prefecture lay a third-grade barbarian mountain prefecture.

Mo Hua took time to go there once, concealing his presence within the prefecture to survey the situation; upon returning, he abandoned the idea.

There was no chance at all…

This third-grade mountain prefecture to the southwest was enormous—roughly ten times the size of Heijiao Mountain Prefecture.

And this prefecture had no unified name.

Within it, nearly ten third-grade tribes held separate dominion.

And every single one of these tribes was guarded by a late-stage Jin Dan barbarian cultivator.

Mo Hua was deeply shocked.

This was no ordinary third-grade mountain prefecture—it was a "strong third-grade" great mountain prefecture.

If it were a typical small third-grade prefecture, with only one or two third-grade tribes and cultivators peaking at early Jin Dan, Mo Hua might have entertained some thought.

But this strong third-grade prefecture was a true behemoth, far too powerful to touch.

With the territory and strength he had amassed so far, venturing into the third-grade prefecture would mean annihilation in an instant.

Even without considering the entire prefecture, any single third-grade great tribe within it was now beyond the reach of the barbarian alliance.

After all, none of his subordinates possessed a single Jin Dan.

Even if he disregarded the backlash of the Death Curse and acted himself, wielding the Grand Void Soul-Slicing Sword, he could only slay Golden Core cultivators with spiritual awareness below twenty-two patterns.

He could not possibly stand against mid-stage or late-stage Jin Dan cultivators without the aid of massive array-based destruction.

The third-grade mountain prefecture was off-limits.

Thus, he could only continue expanding into surrounding second-grade small mountain prefectures, accumulating strength further.

After pondering, Mo Hua summoned Wu Sha.

Inside the great tent, Wu Sha bowed to Mo Hua, kneeling half-kneeling, saying: "My lord, your wisdom is divine." His expression was fervent.

They now held both the Wutu and Heijiao Mountain Prefectures—two complete second-grade mountain prefectures.

This was something Wu Sha had never dared dream of in his entire life.

According to barbarian history and tradition, conquering and pacifying a mountain prefecture through tribal strength alone required at least decades, even centuries.

Most tribes, most barbarian cultivators, spent their entire lives without ever achieving such a feat.

Yet under the "Lord Wuzhu's" guidance, they accomplished it in half a year—undoubtedly a "miracle."

The only regret was that he, the tribal chieftain leading the conquest, was not the true master of these prefectures.

The true masters of the Wutu and Heijiao Mountain Prefectures were the Lord Wuzhu.

Such vast territory, such a large population, and true great power—all rested in the hands of the Lord Wuzhu.

Wu Sha's gaze toward Mo Hua unconsciously carried a hint of greed.

And this gaze, of course, did not escape Mo Hua's eyes.

Mo Hua sighed softly in his heart.

His assumption was correct: the barbarians' nature was hard to change, especially someone like Wu Sha—sharp-minded, greedy, and bloodthirsty, yet still a tribal chieftain.

Wu Sha may not lack "loyalty" toward him.

But deep within his heart, greed still ran profound.

Loyalty was genuine; greed was equally deeply rooted—even Wu Sha himself could not suppress his own desires.

Before him, Wu Sha might appear "loyal."

But if the timing was wrong, he would, driven by greed, turn rebellious.

This was the nature of most adult barbarian cultivators.

Therefore, they must not be allowed to stop.

Since they were "wolves," they must be driven relentlessly to wage war.

Mo Hua's expression turned solemn as he spoke slowly:

"In seven days, you shall lead the Wu Lu tribe, the Hei Jiao tribe, and the recently subdued He Jin and Qi Lian tribes westward to subdue the third mountain realm."

Wu Sha blinked in surprise, then bowed his hands. "Yes."

After repeated campaigns, Wu Sha felt some dissatisfaction, yet he dared not voice any objection.

Mo Hua knew his thoughts, so he added: "I plan to name this mountain realm 'Wu Sha.'"

Wu Sha froze, then his entire body trembled. "Wu Sha Realm…"

Mo Hua nodded. "Correct. If you conquer it, it shall bear your name."

"Not just you—any mountain realm conquered in the future may be named after your descendants or your followers."

"This is an unparalleled honor, and a reward from the Divine Lord for your desperate campaigns."

Wu Sha trembled with excitement; in an instant, all his hidden thoughts vanished, leaving only the most fervent loyalty toward the "Lord Wuzhu."

He knelt on the ground and swore:

"Wu Sha shall fight bravely for the Lord Wuzhu, conquering vast territories!"

Mo Hua said solemnly: "Not for me—for the Divine Lord."

Wu Sha said: "Yes! All is for the Divine Lord!"

Wu Sha departed, continuing the campaigns in Mo Hua's stead.

And for a long time afterward, every word Mo Hua spoke, Wu Sha treated as "iron decree," enforcing it strictly.

Including: no killing of captives, no mistreatment of barbarian slaves.

After campaigns were settled, no looting of defeated tribes, no

defilement of barbarian women, and so on.

Wu Sha exerted himself fully, and external expansion proceeded smoothly.

Besides Wu Sha, another man received Mo Hua's promotion.

This man was tall and powerfully built, named Jiao Li, a warrior of the Hei Jiao tribe and the illegitimate son of Jiao Hu, the Elder.

Wu Sha was warlike and bloodthirsty; Jiao Li was tall and steady.

One attacked, the other defended—they served Mo Hua in subduing tribes and pacifying mountain realms.

This was Mo Hua's arrangement for external affairs.

For internal governance—how to rule conquered tribes, maintain livelihoods, organize production—it was all overseen by Mo Hua.

And it was carried out in detail by elders from the Wu Tu tribe, the Hei Jiao tribe, and other tribes who were learned and skilled in shamanic arts.

External warfare was merely a means.

Internal governance was the foundation.

Only by properly governing the tribes could the barbarian cultivators' livelihoods be improved.

Only then could Mo Hua's foothold in the Great Wasteland be secured, and only then could he achieve his desired outcome.

This was not something achieved overnight; along the way, countless contradictions and difficulties arose.

Mo Hua continuously reflected, solved problems, and accumulated experience on how to sustain cultivators' livelihoods and improve civilian conditions under scarce resources, from the grassroots up.

These matters were perhaps tedious and dull, yet profoundly meaningful.

As a result, most barbarian tribes survived the years of war and famine.

They ate meat again.

Millet and sorghum were planted around the tribes; even if they failed to hunt demonic beasts, their livelihoods were now assured.

Barbarian children received some cultivation education.

The education they received had been personally "refined" by Mo Hua.

In the Great Wasteland, spirit stones were scarce, cultivation traditions were crude, and closely tied to "demons" and "beasts."

Often, it was impossible to distinguish orthodox cultivation from demonic cultivation.

Mo Hua could only gather all tribal cultivation traditions, sift through them, and edit them himself, deleting those clearly aligned with demonic cultivation and prone to qi deviation.

He then fused parts of the Grand Void Gate's orthodox cultivation traditions onto the original tribal lineages.

He sought simplicity, clarity, practicality, and frugality.

To the greatest extent possible, he ensured that with minimal resources, the most children at the enlightenment age could establish a basic cultivation foundation.

And it was orthodox cultivation, with no risk of qi deviation.

Many barbarian tribes and their children thus changed their life trajectories, gaining new possibilities.

Over time, Mo Hua truly established a unique prestige in the Great Wasteland.

To the outsiders like Wusha and others, Mo Hua

this Lord Wuzhu, represented the majesty of the Divine Lord, possessing unquestionable authority over "reward and punishment."

Within the barbarian tribes themselves, ordinary barbarian cultivators who had food to eat and clothes to wear sincerely felt gratitude and devotion toward Mo Hua.

Many barbarian children, taught by Mo Hua, looked upon this kind and benevolent, godlike Lord Wuzhu with longing and reverence.

……

Thereafter, time flowed on, and two more years passed.

Wusha and Jiao Li had conquered five more second-grade mountain realms.

These mountain realms were all incorporated into Mo Hua's "sphere of influence," and under his subtle influence, underwent profound transformations.

Mo Hua's own gains were also substantial.

He had largely confirmed that his "philosophy" of seeking the Dao was viable, and thus accumulated rich experience.

And to teach and guide barbarian children in cultivation,

Mo Hua gathered, organized, integrated, compiled, and recorded nearly all tribal cultivation lineages and textual classics from the seven barbarian mountain realms within his sphere.

These lineages and classics were a considerable treasure.

Thanks to this, Mo Hua gained deeper insight into the history and cultivation system of the Great Wasteland.

He had also reconstructed three sets of Barbarian Armor.

Besides Black Horn Barbarian Armor, there were Crimson Fire Barbarian Armor, Nightwalker Barbarian Armor, and Green Vine Barbarian Armor.

These three sets of armor, after modifications by the Sword Bone Elder and arrangements by Jiao Hu the Elder, had been put into production and were now worn by barbarian cultivators of the alliance.

Dressed in Barbarian Armor, they obeyed orders without question.

Now, Mo Hua's barbarian cultivators increasingly bore the look of Great Wasteland "barbarian soldiers."

Besides the armor-casting methods, Mo Hua had unexpectedly discovered some texts on demon-bone divination techniques.

Most were incomplete, and among these lower-tier tribes, almost no barbarian cultivators could master these divination arts, so they were poorly preserved.

But these fragments were extremely precious to Mo Hua.

What he lacked was not understanding of the "Dao of Cause and Effect," but concrete methods to practice "Cause and Effect techniques."

All he needed were fragments of text to spark his thinking.

He himself could, with his extraordinary spiritual sense, absurd computational power, and exceptional comprehension, restore and complete the divination methods on his own.

Cause and Effect techniques were vital.

Over these two years, Mo Hua spent most of his spare time studying these Great Wasteland divination fragments.

He restored, completed, deduced, and comprehended them all through his spiritual sense and computational power.

Under the influence of these scattered Great Wasteland divination fragments from various tribes, Mo Hua's mastery of Cause and Effect techniques

accumulated gradually and deepened imperceptibly.

While studying these ancient, obscure, and incomplete Great Wasteland divination classics, Mo Hua unexpectedly discovered some Great Wasteland ancient script.

These ancient characters, passed down by some barbarian ancestor, were even more fragmented, scattered, vague, and incomprehensible.

But one word made Mo Hua's heart tremble:

"Great Lord Wuzhu…"

Mo Hua's thoughts churned.

According to the Second Elder, the Twelve Meridians Glutton Spirit Bone Array with twenty-four patterns was created by a brilliant Great Wasteland Great Lord Wuzhu.

But Mo Hua did not know whether the "Great Lord Wuzhu" mentioned in these Cause and Effect fragments was the same person as the one the Second Elder spoke of, who created the Glutton Spirit Bone Array.

"If they are the same person, then this Great Lord Wuzhu not only mastered array techniques but also the Dao of Cause and Effect?"

Mo Hua pondered, and found it reasonable.

If one could become a Great Lord Wuzhu, one must possess great abilities—mastering array techniques and divination alike would be natural…

Just like myself.

But the question was: were these two "Great Lord Wuzhu" truly the same person?

How many Great Lord Wuzhu had there been in Great Wasteland history?

Mo Hua could not directly ask such questions.

After all, he was now a "Lord Wuzhu," and could not ask such "low-level" questions.

Yet his curiosity burned, so he sought out Elder Zhamu and casually probed him with the phrase, "Let me test you."

The result shocked Mo Hua.

Elder Zhamu had never heard of the term "Great Lord Wuzhu."

According to him, on Great Wasteland soil, there were only "Upper Wuzhu"—that is, higher-ranked Lord Wuzhu—but never any "Great Lord Wuzhu."

Mo Hua did not believe it, so he asked others, similarly "testing" them—but not a single barbarian cultivator had ever uttered the three characters "Great Lord Wuzhu."

As if those three characters had vanished from Great Wasteland history.

Not only the person, but the title itself no longer existed.

Mo Hua frowned, feeling an inexplicable strangeness.

He even felt a faint, inexplicable chill of unease settle over his heart.

But the trail of the Great Lord Wuzhu ended here.

Mo Hua had no way to pursue it further.

Meanwhile, a very practical problem lay before him:

Should he attack a third-grade mountain realm?

If so, how?

Even though he had now unified seven second-grade minor mountain realms, his power and forces were immense, and his base among the lower barbarian cultivators was solid.

But this did not mean he truly possessed the strength to contend with a powerful third-grade mountain realm.

The gap between second grade and third grade was enormous.

Not to mention a third-grade great tribe guarded by a late-stage Jin Dan cultivator.

Yet if he did not fight, his forces would have no way to develop either.

The seven surrounding small mountain realms had all been conquered by him, leaving no room for outward expansion.

And Wusha, Jiao Li, and those campaigning barbarian cultivators, once they stopped moving, would surely cause trouble.

Their resolve was not that high.

Within their loyalty, selfishness and greed still lingered.

They might not dare to rebel against him, Lord Wuzhu, but among themselves, they would certainly fall into infighting.

Whether conservative or expansionist, there would be problems.

Mo Hua was quite troubled by this, but after thinking for a long time, he still had no good solution.

Happening to have free time, Mo Hua went to the back mountain of the Wutu Mountain realm to see the big tiger.

……

The big tiger's life nowadays was extremely comfortable.

Mo Hua had marked off a large stretch of mountain realm where barbarian cultivators were forbidden to set foot, for the big tiger to play in by itself.

The big tiger had food and drink, and when it had nothing to do it would summon wind and call for rain in the forest, swaggering without limit. Thus its build had grown sturdier by another measure, its coat becoming ever thicker and more vivid—whiter where it was white, blacker where it was black—looking both majestic and beautiful.

And the big tiger's happiest days were naturally when Mo Hua came to visit it and roasted meat for it.

Mo Hua stroked the big tiger's fur and could not help thinking: should he forge a set of armor for the big tiger, so it could go with him to attack the third-grade mountain realm?

But looking at the happily frolicking big tiger, Mo Hua shook his head again.

No…

Not yet, at least.

The big tiger's realm was peak second grade. Though as a powerful demon beast, and the king among demons, it could hold its own against a Jin Dan cultivator, that did not mean it could truly pounce and kill one.

Even if it could kill a Jin Dan, it would surely be gravely wounded, and might even be at death's door.

This was not what Mo Hua wanted to see.

Moreover, if they truly attacked a third-grade mountain realm, the enemies would certainly not be just one or two Jin Dan cultivators.

The big tiger's identity was also special—once it showed itself, it would surely trigger a scramble among the barbarians.

In the end, it might fall into a great crisis.

Mo Hua rubbed the white fur on the big tiger's neck, sighed, and murmured:

"Forget it, your value is too high—you can't take the field yet."

The big tiger, not understanding, shook its big head, then extended its fluffy paw and scratched twice at the Blazing Fire Array on the ground, meaning for Mo Hua to hurry up and roast meat for it—its belly was very hungry.

Mo

Hua was a little helpless.

"This silly tiger… really has become a spirit…"

He could only light up the Blazing Fire Array and continue roasting meat for the big tiger.

After roasting the meat and feeding the big tiger, Mo Hua returned to the tribe and thought for a long time, deciding that he still had to find a way to attack the third-grade mountain realm of the barbarian wilderness.

Although it was very difficult and looked impossible, he had to try after all.

Moreover, the great tribes of the third-grade mountain realms had long histories, so their karma scriptures were surely more abundant, and the written records left from antiquity would certainly be more complete.

There might even be third-grade barbarian gods.

If so, he might be able to obtain richer mental power, learn more advanced karma, and also explore…

more forbidden secrets…

(End of this chapter)