Chapter 1174: Zhu Que Mountain Realm

Having conquered seven mountain realms, and with Elder Zhamu secretly investigating and bringing back lists, over the course of two years, Mo Hua had consumed more than a hundred Savage Gods, large and small.

The surrounding Savage Gods had nearly been driven to "near-extinction" by Mo Hua, this "natural disaster."

Only a few Savage Gods, who fulfilled their divine duties, treated their followers kindly, and worked diligently, had survived.

And some who were adept at hiding, instantly retreating into the mountains like rats at the first sign of trouble, had escaped Mo Hua's "great calamity."

Having consumed over a hundred Savage Gods, Mo Hua's divine perception had gained considerable enhancement.

It had now reached roughly the mid-stage of twenty-two patterns.

This progress was not bad, but far from meeting Mo Hua's expectations.

In Mo Hua's estimation, having hunted and devoured so many Savage Gods, his divine perception should have grown stronger—certainly approaching twenty-three patterns.

But the outcome had not matched his expectations.

One reason might be that he had consumed too many Savage Gods, developing resistance.

The enhancement of divine perception had become subject to diminishing returns.

Second, the rank of the Savage Gods he had consumed was simply too low.

To nourish a twenty-two-pattern, Dao-cultivated Golden Core-level divine perception by devouring second-grade Savage Gods was far too meager.

To be honest, reaching this level was already an unexpected blessing.

If he had consumed ordinary second-grade evil spirits, the gains would have been negligible.

Cultivating and enhancing divine perception was inherently extremely difficult.

Ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators struggled desperately to strengthen their Foundation Establishment divine perception.

How much more so for Mo Hua, who sought to refine Jin Dan-level divine perception while still in the Foundation Establishment realm, and push that Jin Dan-level perception even higher—this was harder than climbing to heaven.

"No matter how one considers it, the third-grade mountain realm must be entered—

Mo Hua sighed softly, raising his gaze to the vast, dark, deep crimson sky streaked with flowing flames, a heaviness settling in his heart.

For over two years, he had been trapped in this barbarous land, Chongshanjunling, with treacherous terrain and utter isolation, surrounded by vast deserts, lost in direction,

unable to leave.

He had no way of learning any news from beyond.

How had the war between the Dao Court and the Great Wilderness progressed?

How far had the Dao Court's armies advanced? How brutal had the fighting with the Great Wilderness become?

Had Yang Jishan and Yang Jiyong survived the death ordeal, or had they perished in the mutiny at Da Huang Gate that night?

And what of Da Huang Gate's fate—what was the Dao Court's reaction after its betrayal?

Would Da Huang Gate be branded as "treason," crushed, even exterminated in a massacre?

What of Brother Da Hu?

Wouldn't he be implicated by association?

And why had Brother Da Hu become like this—silent, ruthless? What had he endured at Da Huang Gate?

What of Double Tiger and Third Tiger? Where had they gone?

Mo Hua knew none of this; a cloud of doubt gradually settled over his heart.

He gazed again at the deep crimson sky, its flames like blood, his brow slowly furrowing.

The celestial phenomena signaled surging heavenly patterns.

Such tianxiang carried heavenly patterns; with his current realm and attainment, he naturally could not comprehend them.

Yet the sight of this tianxiang left a persistent sense of urgency clinging to his heart, chilling him, impossible to shake.

It seemed that beneath the surface of war in the barbarous lands, another conspiracy lurked—

"Had someone long ago stretched their hand—into the Great Wilderness?"

Mo Hua's pupils deepened.

Since the decision was made, act swiftly and prepare in advance.

The current situation was unclear; no one knew when a great calamity or upheaval might suddenly descend.

Before then, he must study heavenly patterns, strive to form the Golden Core, use karmic resolution to avert disaster, and rely on the Jin Dan for self-preservation.

Mo Hua's heart grew solemn, and he dared not delay further, fearing that delay would invite change.

The next day, he summoned Wu Sha, Jiao Li, and other barbarian commanders, Zhamu, Jiao Hu, and other internal affairs elders, along with chieftains and elders from all the demon tribes, then said:

"Last night, I observed the tianxiang and received a revelation from the Divine Lord, understanding the path I must take; thus, I must depart for a journey to spread the Divine Lord's blessings—least a month, at most half a year."

"During this time, all affairs of the allied tribes shall be entrusted to you all—devote yourselves wholeheartedly to serving the Divine Lord."

"Train troops, forge armor, hunt demons, cultivate spirit plants, teach the Dao—none may slacken."

"Should any harbor treachery, the Divine Lord's heavenly retribution shall strike."

Though surprised, all bowed respectfully:

"We humbly obey the Lord Wuzhu's command. May the Divine Lord be immortal."

Mo Hua also said: "May the Divine Lord be immortal."

Thereafter, Mo Hua assigned all specific duties.

Armor forging was fully entrusted to Elder Jiao Hu, with Jiao Li and Wu Sha mutually checking each other to prevent barbarian cultivators from rebelling.

Teaching and instruction were temporarily entrusted to Elder Zhamu.

Meanwhile, Xiao Zatu, having studied under Mo Hua for a long time and possessing high insight, could temporarily "substitute."

After making these arrangements, that very night, Mo Hua quietly departed, traveling alone to the nearby third-grade mountain realm.

This time, Mo Hua would remain in the third-grade mountain realm for a while.

He needed to investigate and observe firsthand, to better understand

the situation, so as to know oneself and the enemy, and remain invincible in every battle.

Mo Hua concealed his presence, walked for several days, left the Black Horn Mountain Realm, then traversed treacherous mountains alone, spending some time before arriving at the southwestern third-grade mountain realm.

Mo Hua had visited this realm before, but only had time for a cursory glance, gaining a general sense of the situation without conducting a thorough investigation, as he had never intended to actually attack this third-grade mountain realm.

But now it was different—the surrounding second-grade mountain realms had all been conquered, and he had done all he needed to do.

What remained was to rely on time, gradually consolidating territory, slowly cultivating influence, steadily reinforcing the foundation, letting promising talents grow gradually—

All this time was necessary.

Mo Hua also had to find a way to press forward, to continue expanding outward.

The third-grade mountain realm was a threshold he could not avoid crossing.

Thus, Mo Hua's on-site investigation this time became far more serious.

For the next month and more, he concealed his presence, wandering throughout the third-grade mountain realm, observing, recording, analyzing, contemplating, and constantly comparing, gaining a relatively deep understanding of its overall situation.

But the more he learned, the colder his heart grew.

This mountain realm was the only third-grade realm in the vicinity, and its strength was extremely formidable.

Mo Hua had known this already.

But now, after in-depth investigation,

he discovered that this realm's number of Jin Dan cultivators—even those at the late Jin Dan stage—its tribal power, and the strength of its barbarian cultivators were all far greater and stronger than

what he had estimated from his earlier superficial observation.

The tribal structure was rigidly hierarchical, the barbarian armor was finely crafted, the barbarian soldiers were robust, and they even raised demonic beasts—

Because this was a barbarian tribe, cloaked in a veneer of "savagery," Mo Hua had previously viewed it with unconscious disdain, thinking it nothing special.

But after two years, having conquered five mountain realms and over a hundred small tribes, studying their lineages, scriptures, and writings, he had gained a deeper understanding of the barbarians' depth, shedding the "filter" of their perceived "savagery."

Now, looking again, Mo Hua suddenly realized.

He had indeed been far too "underestimating" of this single third-grade peak mountain realm surrounding Wutu and Black Horn.

This was not merely a strong third-grade mountain realm.

It was nearly a fully inherited, peak-perfect third-grade peak mountain realm.

The number of late Jin Dan barbarian cultivators within the realm had become almost absurd.

Its mid- and high-level foundations were extraordinarily deep—so much so that it was almost the foundation of a fourth-grade mountain realm.

In a sense, if a few Liu Yuhua were inserted here, it could already be called a "fourth-grade" mountain realm.

A peak-perfect third-grade mountain realm, compared to the surrounding Wutu and Black Horn small realms, crushed them with a cliff-like disparity, existing on an entirely different dimension.

This was highly unreasonable.

It stood in stark contrast to the layout of the Nine Provinces' realms.

Mo Hua had not expected the Great Wasteland to have such a territorial arrangement.

This would be nearly impossible in the Nine Provinces.

In the Nine Provinces, the adjacency and transition between realms were generally balanced and smooth.

For example, the Qianxue Mountain Realm had neighboring fourth-grade and third-grade realms; only at the remote borders did smaller second-grade realms appear, and their strength was never excessively disproportionate.

There would never be such a jarring anomaly: a "colossus" suddenly appearing amid a cluster of "small fry."

The only exception was the "siphon"-style realm layout.

Some realms, originally not so powerful, forcibly siphoned the strength of weaker neighboring realms, turning them into "small fry."

In this way, they themselves became colossi, while surrounding realms became "small fry."

Only then could such extreme disparity arise.

But here in the Great Wasteland, it was certainly not so.

This "peak third-grade" mountain realm had almost no interaction with the surrounding Wutu and Black Horn realms, and no "siphoning" phenomenon existed.

The Wutu and Black Horn realms could not possibly possess any resources for this peak third-grade realm to siphon.

Wutu and Black Horn are mountain realms like this, so they couldn't possibly have any resources for this peak third-grade mountain realm to absorb.

Mo Hua's expression grew solemn.

The situation had deviated from his original assumptions.

This mountain realm was far more complex than he had thought.

Mo Hua became even more discreet, applying his concealment technique with greater care, fearing capture by high-level Jin Dan cultivators.

After further investigation—including secretly observing tribal totems and prominent inscriptions, and eavesdropping on barbarian cultivators' conversations—

Mo Hua learned that this mountain realm was indeed no ordinary third-grade realm.

Most tribes within the realm descended from a single ancestor, sharing identical lineage traditions and similar totem styles.

All these totems were related to fire and birds.

When layered, deduplicated, and pieced together, their outlines formed the shape of a crimson divine bird.

This forced Mo Hua to recall one of the Four Symbols of the Great Wasteland:

This made Mo Hua couldn't help but think of one of the Four Divine Beasts of the Great Wild—

Moreover, many tribes within the realm bore names related to "Zhu Que."

"Zhu Que Mountain Realm?"

Mo Hua was deeply startled.

Yet upon deeper reflection, he sensed something deeply amiss.

Zhu Que was one of the Four Symbols—a deity of supreme status. Why would it become the totem of a third-grade mountain realm?

Or perhaps this was merely one lineage among the Great Wasteland tribes that revered Zhu Que?

The Azure Dragon was the symbol of the Great Wasteland's imperial clan.

The Azure Dragon is the symbol of the Great Wilderness imperial clan.

What of the Zhu Que? What status does it hold among the tribes of the Great Wasteland?

Is the Zhu Que merely a symbol, or does a divine beast—the Zhu Que—truly exist within this mountain realm?

Matters concerning the origins of the Great Wasteland's divine beast Zhu Que are too mysterious; Mo Hua could not fathom any conclusion in the short term.

Rather, another issue proved more pressing:

This mountain realm simply cannot be fought—its followers worship the divine beast Zhu Que, a third-grade pinnacle, "pseudo-fourth-grade" realm, home to over a dozen tribes, dozens of late-stage Jin Dan elders, and countless Jin Dan elders.

Mo Hua's scalp went numb.

What the hell am I supposed to fight?

Even among third-grade realms, distinctions exist.

A threshold-level third-grade realm is vastly different from a pinnacle-level "Zhu Que" realm.

"Can't fight—then what do we do?"

Mo Hua frowned, pondering for a long while.

The gap in raw strength was too great; losing was simply losing.

But if we don't fight, the situation remains deadlocked.

The wilderness is isolated, surrounded by deserts; there's no way out.

Wu Tu and Hei Jiao's side has already fought all they can.

He couldn't possibly just guard those second-grade realms, idly wasting away ten or twenty years, could he?

That would be like waiting for spinach to go cold.

Mo Hua reviewed the overall situation of the Great Wasteland, calculated his own fate, and reflected on his actions within the Great Wasteland—then suddenly realized:

Wait—why must I "fight" at all?

My identity in the Great Wasteland is not that of a "conqueror" or a "destroyer," but a Lord Wuzhu.

Or rather, I should more accurately be a Mr.

A Mr. who imparts the Dao, instructs the ignorant, and guides the lost.

If I am a Mr., why must I resort to violence?

What a Mr. must do is cultivate "talent."

Talent is the most precious resource.

A sufficiently gifted "student" can accomplish what I wish to do but cannot, thereby changing the situation in the Great Wasteland.

"Talent—"

Mo Hua murmured inwardly.

Xiao Zatu and the others are my cultivated "students"; in the future, they will likely become capable "talent" who can stand alone.

But they are still too young—their realm, cultivation, character, conduct, and status are all lacking.

They are still studying the Dao and cannot yet contribute meaningfully.

The future is promising, but not yet.

In other words, to develop within the Zhu Que mountain realm, what I need now is a usable, influential "talent"—this talent must not be too young, and his status must not be low.

He must possess sincere devotion and lofty ambition—but such a person, even in the Nine Provinces, is as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.

Not to mention, we are now in the Great Wasteland.

"Yet this mountain realm is a pinnacle third-grade Great Mountain Realm, devoted to the 'Zhu Que' divine beast, with deep historical roots—"

"With such vast territory, so many wild cultivators, and such an ancient history, surely a few talents should emerge—"

Mo Hua then began traveling incognito or in disguise, secretly observing and investigating, seeking within the Zhu Que mountain realm a "disciple" who would suit him.

Mo Hua then began to travel hidden, or disguise himself and lurk, investigating openly and covertly, wanting to find a "disciple" who would satisfy him in the Zhu Que mountain realm.

As he had expected, such "talent" was as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.

The geniuses of the Great Wasteland either possessed talent but flawed character, or had decent character but lacked diligence.

Those of noble birth mostly looked down on subordinates and were arrogant.

After searching everywhere, none were suitable.

Mo Hua had no choice but to employ the Great Wasteland's spirit-bone sorcery: ignite the bones, focus his mind, and inquire into the spirits to deduce karmic causes:

"Where is my desired 'disciple'—?"

Upon the spirit-bone, cracks spread everywhere, glowing crimson within; these cracks formed two ancient barbarian characters:

"Where on earth is the 'disciple' I want—"

Then all divinatory signs vanished.

Mo Hua erased all traces of the divination, then his gaze shifted, and he murmured inwardly:

"Dan Que—does this refer to the Dan Que tribe?"

The Dan Que tribe is one of the largest tribes in the entire third-grade realm, ranked among the top, its name closely resembling "Zhu Que," indicating deep lineage.

"Does this bone pattern mean my 'disciple' is in the Dan Que tribe?"

Mo Hua pondered for a moment, then set out for the Dan Que tribe.

The Dan Que tribe is a major tribe, housing several late-stage Jin Dan elders, as well as many mid- and early-stage Jin Dan elders.

The Dan Que tribe also controls a vast stretch of mountain terrain.

The basin amid the mountains serves as the tribe's main stronghold.

Outside the basin, numerous forests and foothills house smaller offshoot tribes of Dan Que, distant bloodline clans, allied clans by marriage, and others stationed there.

There are even many barbarian slaves.

Outside the basin, among the many mountain forests and at the foot of the mountains, there were still quite a few small branch tribes of the Danque, distantly related outer tribes, and people from marriage-allied tribes, stationed among them.

There were even quite a few barbarian slaves.

This was a hallmark of the great tribes — the larger the tribe, the more barbarian slaves it had conquered and subjugated through war.

And the more barbarian slaves one raised, the more abundant the tribe's provisions, and the stronger its power.

Here in the Great Wilderness, the hierarchy was quite distinct, even strict.

Mo Hua altered his appearance slightly, using bronze-colored ink to coat his body, and even painted some "decorative" Four Symbols demon patterns on himself, then put on a beast-skin garment of the barbarian tribes.

With a mouth full of barbarian tongue, he quickly blended into the Dan Sparrow Tribe.

The core tribe of the Dan Sparrow Tribe — Mo Hua couldn't worm his way in.

But on the outskirts, among the small tribes, outer tribes, and in-law tribes, Mo Hua came and went freely, one might even say he was in his element.

Not to mention the showy, complex, and profound "barbarian patterns" on his body were enough to make a group of barbarian cultivators feel nothing but awe.

Moreover, his bearing and temperament were truly outstanding.

When barbarian cultivators asked about his background, they only had to receive a casual glance from Mo Hua before feeling utterly inferior and not daring to say another word.

And Mo Hua, just at the right moment, revealed a touch of his "array" ability, and was immediately regarded as a master.

Some even said, "This noble gentleman, so young and already so extraordinary, will surely enter Wang Ting in the future and become Lord Wuzhu."

Just like that, before long, Mo Hua had become a "distinguished guest" among the small tribes of the Dan Sparrow Tribe.

Mo Hua then searched among these small tribes for the "disciple" he wanted.

But after searching for over a month, he still hadn't found one.

This kind of needle-in-a-haystack business, even with a karmic hint, wouldn't be that easy.

"Did I look in the wrong place, or is my 'disciple' not among these small tribes and outer tribes?"

Mo Hua wondered to himself.

"Who could the disciple I'm looking for be?"

A few days later, Mo Hua was chatting idly, teaching a few barbarian cultivators of the Dan Sparrow Tribe how to paint crude demon patterns on barbarian armor.

At the same time, he pricked up his ears and spread his divine sense, gathering all kinds of information.

Just at that moment, Mo Hua suddenly heard a name that caught his attention greatly:

"Seeing Dan Zhu."

The young chieftain of the Dan Sparrow Tribe.

His talent was astonishing — he was born with a Dao heart, reached Foundation Establishment at ten, and formed a Core at twenty.