Chapter 1197: The Secret of Shugu

What could this thing…… be?

Mo Hua pondered for a moment, then his heart suddenly jolted. He found Dan Zhu and Chifeng and said:

"Stop fighting for now. Tighten the defensive line. Everyone fall back into Shi Dian."

Bi Jie has now rallied other tribes and is laying siege outside the Shugu Valley. Their numbers are great. If this drags on, the Dan Que Tribe will be at a serious disadvantage.

Dan Zhu and Chifeng both understood. They immediately followed Mo Hua's instructions, withdrawing their forces to defend.

Then Mo Hua asked: "Have all the Shugu Tribe's supplies been packed?"

Dan Zhu nodded: "Food, barbarian armor, and armor-casting materials — all inventoried, all packed into storage boxes."

Mo Hua said: "Take all the barbarian armor out. Dismantle it piece by piece."

Dan Zhu was startled and asked, puzzled: "Mr., why?"

Mo Hua only said: "These barbarian armors…… might have a problem. Dismantle them first and take a look."

Dan Zhu thought for a moment, then nodded as well. "Alright."

These past days, Mr. Wu's various "miracles" had filled Dan Zhu and the others with admiration.

They knew that when Mr. Wu did something, he must have his own considerations.

Dan Zhu passed the order down.

A portion of the Dan Que Tribe's barbarian soldiers, along with Chifeng and others, stood guard outside Shi Dian, guarding against attacks from enemies like the Bi Fang Tribe.

Dan Zhu, together with Mo Hua and several dozen barbarian soldiers, took out all the barbarian armor inside the Shugu Tribe.

Then they dismantled it piece by piece and laid it out in the great hall of Shi Dian.

Most of these barbarian armors were not finished products; the components were all incomplete, as if they had only been cast halfway and hadn't yet undergone the final tempering and "sealing" before being forced to stop.

At first, Mo Hua didn't pay much attention either.

But thinking carefully now, he felt there was a real problem.

Why were all these barbarian armors "half-finished products"?

Why stop casting halfway through?

What kind of barbarian armor was the Shugu Tribe trying to cast? And just why did they stop?

One set after another of the Shugu Tribe's barbarian armor was carelessly dismantled and laid out.

Mo Hua examined them one after another, carefully.

These Shugu barbarian armors were a batch of very old battle armors, not particularly fine. They used only very crude, even somewhat primitive, armor-casting techniques.

The casting style was very ordinary.

They contained some Four Symbols array patterns, but in Mo Hua's eyes, they were all scattered fragments — nothing remarkable.

Precisely because of this, Mo Hua had only given them a cursory glance before and hadn't taken them to heart.

But now, the more Mo Hua looked, the more he felt these barbarian armors exuded an inexplicable strangeness.

After "examining" most of the barbarian armors, Mo Hua's expression grew even stranger.

Without exception, every one of these barbarian armors had array patterns engraved on it.

But without exception, all of these array patterns were "incomplete."

From start to finish, not a single barbarian armor had a "complete" set of array patterns.

That was the problem.

A few being incomplete — no problem.

Most being incomplete — also no problem.

But every single barbarian armor's array being incomplete — that was very abnormal.

Mo Hua looked again at the barbarian armors filling the entire great hall, and the incomplete array patterns upon them. For a moment, he had an illusion.

These dense, scattered barbarian armors, piled together in great heaps, were almost like……

The "corpse" of an array formation that had been "dismembered."

Exuding a strange, inexplicable cruelty.

"Array patterns are the severed limbs left behind after an array formation is dismembered……"

Mo Hua frowned, muttering in his heart.

"What Bi Jie actually wants isn't this batch of barbarian armor, but these incomplete 'array patterns' on them?"

"What use are these array patterns?"

Mo Hua examined these array patterns one by one, carefully. He could only roughly tell that they were a rather old type of "beast pattern."

The lines were somewhat ancient. Looking them over and over, they really were just ordinary Four Symbols demon patterns, nothing too mysterious.

But Mo Hua's instinct told him these array patterns could absolutely not be ordinary.

In what way were they not ordinary?

Mo Hua frowned in thought, and in almost no time, thought of something:

"Ten Thousand Demons Transform into a Dragon!"

Piecing together and fusing scattered Four Symbols demon patterns into a single, more powerful dragon-pattern array formation.

This was something Mr. Tu had once poured his heart's blood into doing, inside the Ten Thousand Demon Valley of the Refining Demon Mountain in the Qianxue State Boundary.

Mr. Tu wanted to take the essence of ten thousand demons and fuse them into a true "dragon."

And Mr. Tu had indeed succeeded.

In the end, he truly did fuse out a Four Symbols Azure Long Zhen.

Then……

Mo Hua looked at the scattered barbarian armors in the great hall, his pupils contracting slightly:

"The Shugu Tribe isn't doing the same thing, are they? They also want to…… Ten Thousand Demons Transform into a Dragon? To create a 'Dragon Pattern Array'?"

"Impossible…"

Mo Hua thought for a moment, and decided the Shu Gu tribe probably didn't have the nerve.

This was a dragon.

How could a third-grade tribe even entertain thoughts of a dragon?

But Mo Hua then reconsidered—it might not be impossible.

He himself, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, had dared to covet a "dragon," and had even swallowed a "dragon soul" back then.

Why couldn't a third-grade tribe like Shu Gu dare?

They might dare not openly—but what about secretly?

Mo Hua felt uncertain, so he turned his head and whispered to Seeing Dan Zhu:

"Have you ever seen 'dragon armor'?"

Even Seeing Dan Zhu was startled, and quickly shook his head: "Only the Imperial Court and the direct Wang Ting line dare wear dragon armor."

"What if someone else wears it?" Mo Hua asked.

Seeing Dan Zhu said: "Anyone not of the Great Wilderness imperial bloodline, not of the direct Wang Ting line—whether forging or wearing dragon armor—is guilty of extermination of nine clans."

Mo Hua's heart lurched—he realized this was bad.

He was not only the "number one rebel" of the Dao Court.

He was now also a criminal guilty of extermination of nine clans in the Great Wilderness.

Mo Hua's face turned slightly pale.

Seeing Dan Zhu asked curiously: "Mr., why are you asking about dragon armor?"

Mo Hua glanced at Seeing Dan Zhu, thought for a moment, then looked around, confirming no one else could hear, before lowering his voice:

"Could the Shu Gu tribe have forged 'dragon armor'?"

Seeing Dan Zhu was again stunned, his face filled with shock.

Seeing Mo Hua's expression, Mo Hua knew the boy had never even entertained such a thought.

In the wild frontier, tribes might fight each other endlessly, but they still held deep loyalty toward the Wang Ting and the imperial clan of the Great Wilderness.

They rarely entertained thoughts of rebellion.

They maintained sufficient reverence for the "dragon," symbol of the Great Wilderness imperial clan.

But Seeing Dan Zhu revered it—what about Bi Jie?

Would he revere it?

From his interactions with Bi Jie over these days, Mo Hua judged that Bi Jie's ambition made it highly unlikely he held any reverence for the "dragon."

What he harbored, Mo Hua suspected, was only covetousness.

Mo Hua imagined himself as Bi Jie, and considered it.

If, among these Shu Gu barbarian armors, there truly lay a secret method for "transformation into dragon," then as "Bi Jie," he would spare no cost to seize this batch of armors.

Even "death or victory" would be too mild.

Mo Hua even felt that Bi Jie's current actions were already "mild."

If it were himself—no, if it were his former self—

Anyone who dared compete with him over an array would be met with instant annihilation: he'd detonate the entire Shi Dian, kill everyone inside, then enter to search.

Of course, now he had "reformed," and could no longer do such things.

Mo Hua wondered:

"Is the Shu Gu tribe's secret the 'dragon-pattern barbarian armor'?"

"Is that why Bi Jie clings to it like a starving wolf?"

"After all, such an opportunity comes but once—he dares not even tell others, or his own tribe?"

Mo Hua thought this possible, but couldn't be certain, so he decided to verify it himself.

He took out paper and ink, carefully recording and transcribing the incomplete array patterns on the Shu Gu barbarian armor, then began his own derivation.

This was an extremely complex and mysterious array technique.

It was also something Mo Hua had gradually developed on his own, inspired by Master Tu.

Beside him, Seeing Dan Zhu glanced once—and froze, lost in thought.

He was a genius; as a child, he had encountered "sacred patterns," and even possessed some skill in them.

But seeing Mo Hua personally draw and derive the chaotic array patterns, he finally understood what true "mastery of sacred patterns" meant.

"Could it be that only those who master sacred patterns to the level of Master Wu can become Lord Wuzhu?"

"The threshold for Lord Wuzhu is so high… no wonder only a handful in the Great Wilderness are qualified…"

Seeing Dan Zhu was inwardly stunned, and couldn't help watching Mo Hua's array techniques, marveling at his flawless mastery, even becoming Tao Zui at the subtle transformations between sacred patterns.

But as he watched, Seeing Dan Zhu suddenly felt a faint sting in his mind-sea.

Seeing Dan Zhu blinked—then realized, with sudden clarity, this was a sign of excessive spiritual awareness depletion.

Excessive spiritual awareness depletion?

Seeing Dan Zhu found it hard to believe.

Master Wu was deducing only a second-grade sacred pattern—why would it cause a Jin Dan cultivator like himself to show signs of spiritual exhaustion…?

And Master Wu performed all this effortlessly, as if utterly accustomed to it.

Could Master Wu's spiritual awareness be stronger than his own Jin Dan level?

Seeing Dan Zhu was deeply shaken—and then remembered a phrase Mo Hua had once said:

"Those who serve the gods draw their spiritual might from the Divine Lord."

Bearing the power of a god…

Seeing Dan Zhu gazed deeply at Mo Hua, his conviction deepening, his expression growing more reverent.

He no longer watched Mo Hua draw the Sacred Patterns, dismissed all attendants, barred others from seeing, and stood guard beside him to "protect the cultivation."

……

Mo Hua remained utterly focused, calmly tracing the Four Symbols' fragmented patterns on the Shu Bone section.

But after tracing for a while, he sensed something unusual.

These "fragmented patterns" on the Shu Bone section looked like demonic marks, yet the path of their tracing differed entirely from the "Dragon Transformation" method.

At least, it diverged greatly from the technique Mo Hua had previously used to trace the Azure Long Zhen Pattern.

This meant the ultimate path of these fragmented patterns was likely not "Dragon."

And here lay a crucial distinction:

Not Dragon—or not Azure Dragon?

Not "Azure Dragon" meant it could still be some other kind of "Dragon."

Long ago, Xia Jiancha of the Dao Court had told Mo Hua that dragons in this world came in many forms, ranked in tiers.

There were True Dragons, Karma Dragons, and Jiao Dragons.

The barbarian cultivators of the Great Wasteland might revere the "Azure Dragon."

But Mo Hua knew that, across the Nine Continents of the cultivation world, the Azure Dragon of the Great Wasteland was merely one type of "Karma Dragon" in heaven and earth.

Even here in the barbarian wastes, there might be other kinds of "Karma Dragons" besides the Azure Dragon.

The Shu Bone section might conceal a barbarian armor bearing a different class of "Dragon Pattern."

And if not Dragon, the possibilities multiplied.

It could be another of the Four Sacred Beasts of the Great Wasteland, or a celestial beast like the Great Pixiu, or some powerful demonic beast…

It was like searching for a needle in an ocean—impossible to pin down.

Mo Hua had no choice but to be patient, deciding to trace just a portion first, hoping to deduce the beast's identity from the Four Symbols' shape patterns.

He needed to understand what kind of Sacred Pattern the Shu Bone section was studying.

What kind of barbarian armor were they trying to forge?

These could not be guessed blindly; clues had to be found step by step through the array patterns.

Mo Hua continued tracing.

On the paper before him, Mo Hua had drawn dense, chaotic paths and transformations of array patterns, resembling "heavenly script."

An ordinary array master would feel his soul-sea spin after glancing at them.

But after studying for a while, Mo Hua suddenly realized his tracing could not proceed.

The array patterns were too fragmented, too many transformations, too many possibilities.

Without a "fixed" target, he could not find a concrete direction for such vast and complex tracing.

This kind of "tracing" clearly exceeded his current capabilities.

Mo Hua frowned, yet refused to give up, scribbling and tracing for hours.

His soul-essence drained repeatedly, restored through meditation, then used up again, drop by drop.

Yet still, he traced nothing.

The "fragmented patterns" before him remained like severed limbs and broken remains, covering an entire sheet of array paper.

Like a "graveyard of array patterns."

"Shu Bone section… barbarian armor… fragmented patterns… what could it possibly be…"

Mo Hua's brow furrowed; after much hesitation, he could not help wondering: "If tracing won't work… couldn't I use causality to calculate—see if there are other clues?"

He didn't know if this matter could be calculated.

Would it invoke some unknowable karmic threads?

But his curiosity and confusion burned like wildfire in his heart, leaving him restless.

"Just a simple calculation… just one…"

To prevent accidents, Mo Hua sat in meditation, restoring his soul-essence to fullness.

Then, under the pretense of "praying for the Divine Lord's revelation," he had Seeing Dan Zhu stand guard.

Finally, Mo Hua used demonic bone divination for a simple calculation—but the hexagram showed only a pitch-black void; nothing else.

Mo Hua did not understand, yet refused to give up.

He tried again with copper coins—same result: still darkness and haze.

Mo Hua still found it baffling.

He then applied his newly comprehended Three Talents method of calculation, reconstructing Shi Dian in his soul-sea with his soul-essence, simulating celestial timing and environment.

The "human" was himself.

Then the Three Talents rotated, karmic currents flowed—and this time, it was different. Mo Hua saw time pass, saw his own next moment lying on the floor of Shi Dian, gazing upward at something.

But that was all—the vision vanished quickly, the karmic thread severed abruptly.

As if swallowed by something.

"What am I… looking at…"

Mo Hua's face changed; a strong premonition surged in his heart.

Following the vision revealed by causality, he lay on the floor of Shi Dian and looked upward—and naturally, he saw the colossal white-bone barbarian deity statue.

The barbarian deity statue…

More precisely, its enormous, grotesque white-bone skull.

In a flash, Mo Hua's heart trembled—he suddenly realized something.

Second Elder, Mr. Tu, blood sacrifice hall, the demon-faced white-bone deity statue…

And before his eyes stood a statue of a barbarian god — more precisely, a statue of a "quasi-evil god."

"The head of the statue…"

"It can't be…"

Mo Hua sucked in a sharp breath, leapt up abruptly, his figure flowing like water, taking three steps as two as he climbed the statue, and in one bound landed atop the barbarian god's head.

At the skull of the barbarian god statue, Mo Hua groped about for a moment. At a spot that was unfamiliar, yet relatively "familiar," he found a crack.

Mo Hua's gaze trembled slightly as he reached his hand into the crack.

Inside the crack there was nothing, but the feel beneath his fingers bore the chiseled marks of an axe or blade.

"These chisel marks…"

Mo Hua ran his fingers over the chisel marks, carefully sensing the patterns of the cuts, his pupils contracting slightly. In his heart there was both relief and an unconcealable tremor:

"It really is… a Taotie…"

In the Art-Bone Division, carved inside the barbarian god statue's head, was a Taotie pattern.

(End of this chapter)