Chapter 1198: Taotie

Behind the back of the idol of the bone demon with a human face and sheep horns, enshrined by Master Tu, lay the Twelve Meridians Taotie Spirit Remnant Array.

Also carved into the seam of the brain of this half-"corrupted" barbarian idol enshrined by Shu Gu were Taotie array patterns…

Taotie!

In Mo Hua's heart, a storm of shock surged forth.

Beside him, Xiang Dan, seeing Mo Hua leap onto the barbarian idol's head without warning, looked stunned, "Mr., what are you…?"

Mo Hua did not hesitate, saying directly: "Call someone to chop off the head of this barbarian idol."

Xiang Dan's heart jolted, "Chop off its head?! This is a barbarian god…"

Mo Hua shook his head, "It is not a barbarian god, but a malevolent spirit that pretends to be a 'barbarian god' and defies the Divine Lord. We must sever its head as a warning to others."

"This…," Xiang Dan hesitated, then said, "Alright."

Xiang Dan summoned several barbarian soldiers, but before they could act, a sharp cry rang out: "Stop!"

Xiang Dan turned and saw Tie Shu Gu, his white bone face paint washed away, who had always been quiet, now trembling in terror:

"Stop! Do not show disrespect to the Barbarian God! If you anger the Barbarian God, you will suffer divine retribution!"

Mo Hua said, "Your barbarian god is already dead."

Tie Shu Gu shook his head: "The Barbarian God is immortal."

Mo Hua had no patience to explain to such a stubborn fool, and said: "Ignore him. Cut it."

Intimidated by Mo Hua's aura, Tie Shu Gu dared not interfere, only fuming inwardly.

But the other Dan Que barbarian soldiers, seeing they were to dismantle the barbarian idol and saw off its head, also grew fearful and hesitated to approach.

They revered Lord Wuzhu, but to make a move and sever the Barbarian God's head still felt "audaciously reckless."

Seeing this, Xiang Dan said, "I'll do it."

He was the one chosen by the Divine Lord, and trusted Mr. Wu more than anyone else.

Seeing their young master take action himself, the other barbarian soldiers could no longer delay—they stepped forward to assist.

Though they still feared the barbarian god, this was Lord Wuzhu's command; with Lord Wuzhu's protection, divine punishment should not come.

Moreover, if their young master could risk himself, how could these ordinary barbarian soldiers cower in fear?

Xiang Dan activated his Jin Dan power, condensing it into a crimson blade of mysterious fire, and severed the barbarian idol's head in one stroke.

The other dozen or so barbarian soldiers caught the severed head and jointly placed it on the ground.

Mo Hua first glanced at the severed neck of the idol—seeing no Taotie patterns below it—and nodded, then leapt down from the idol and stood before the massive white bone barbarian head.

Seeing this, Tie Shu Gu's pupils shrank.

In his "dream," that all-powerful "Golden Child" had also severed the barbarian god's head and stood upon its idol, just like this.

What was happening now matched his "dream" by eight or nine tenths.

Even the face of this "Lord Wuzhu" resembled that "Golden Child."

Tie Shu Gu's emotions churned.

But Mo Hua paid him no mind—he extended his spiritual sense to perceive the mysteries within the massive barbarian head.

Yet his spiritual sense could not penetrate it.

The head of the massive barbarian idol seemed a "sealed" space, rejecting all observation.

Every strand of spiritual sense that drew near was instantly "swallowed."

Mo Hua frowned.

He then touched the Taotie patterns inside the crack, pondered for a moment, and pulled out his array brush, tracing ink lines along the pattern's path upon the barbarian head.

After finishing, Mo Hua turned to Xiang Dan and said:

"Follow these lines and 'crack open' this idol for me."

"Crack open its skull?" Xiang Dan's expression changed slightly.

Tie Shu Gu looked even more terrified, "Lord Wuzhu!"

But Mo Hua gave no further explanation—only said: "Open it."

Xiang Dan nodded.

After all, he'd already chopped off its head—cracking open its skull couldn't matter more.

Tie Shu Gu wanted to stop him, but he was no match for Xiang Dan, and feared angering Mo Hua and inviting disaster—he could only watch helplessly.

This barbarian idol was carved from stone of extreme toughness, inlaid with the white bones of powerful demonic beasts, making it nearly indestructible.

Moreover, as a symbol of "divinity," no one had dared to desecrate it since its construction.

But it had the misfortune of encountering Mo Hua.

And a Jin Dan genius, Xiang Dan, who obeyed Mo Hua without question.

Xiang Dan activated his Jin Dan power, forming a crystallized mysterious fire blade, and performed "precise cutting" along Mo Hua's ink lines.

The vermilion Jin Dan power, like a flaming knife, traced the ink lines, slowly carving open the massive barbarian head.

After about half an hour, with a boom, the barbarian head split open completely.

As the barbarian head shattered, an ancient, putrid aura instantly filled the hall.

Tie Shu Gu felt as if his liver and gallbladder had shattered, a deep chill surging through his heart.

"The Barbarian God has truly been beheaded and 'cracked open.'"

"We'll suffer heavenly retribution…"

Tie Shu Gu panicked, looking frantically left and right, his very bones trembling.

But he saw nothing—he had no idea what "heavenly retribution" even meant.

Xiang Dan also sensed an unusual aura, his expression solemn.

Even Mo Hua tightened his brow.

"This aura… what is its origin…?"

Mo Hua sniffed the air, analyzed for a moment, and felt a hint of confusion:

"It truly does carry a faint trace of 'divine' essence, some rotting stench, and an indescribable thread of karmic energy… too bad, it's been too long—almost impossible to trace its source…"

With the barbarian god's skull shattered, these auras, once exposed to the air, scattered completely within a few breaths.

Mo Hua felt a pang of regret, but such ancient karmic traces were beyond his power to preserve.

Afterwards, Mo Hua lowered his head and gazed into the array patterns within the barbarian god's skull; his eyes gradually brightened with excitement.

Indeed—it was the Taotie pattern!

And it was far clearer, far more vivid than the Taotie pattern on the evil god's bone tablet.

Because the one on the bone tablet was the original drawing.

What lay before him now was the 'current diagram'—an actual applied array design.

Although Mo Hua did not know what practical function the Taotie pattern inside the barbarian god's skull served.

Yet these array patterns were extremely precious 'examples' of array design.

Mo Hua immediately pulled out a jade slip and, with great eagerness, began to copy the Taotie array patterns within the barbarian god's skull.

One by one, ancient, solemn patterns were etched into the jade slip by Mo Hua.

After completing the copying of the array patterns, Mo Hua did not hesitate a moment—he immediately set to work unifying the fragments, organizing and synthesizing them.

He pieced together all the individual Taotie patterns, reassembling them into one complete Taotie array.

This process was not difficult.

Because it had always been a complete array—only split apart when the skull was opened.

All he needed to do was reassemble it and make simple repairs to the broken patterns.

Yet halfway through the repair, Mo Hua sensed something, and his heart began pounding uncontrollably.

When he finally restored the entire Taotie array, Mo Hua could not help but stare with blazing eyes, his expression ecstatic.

Twenty-three patterns!

This was, in fact, a second-rank, twenty-three-pattern Taotie Ultimate Array!

He had not acquired a new Ultimate Array in a very, very long time.

Not to mention, this was the Four Symbols Taotie Ultimate Array.

Mo Hua never imagined that the brain of the Iron Bone Barbarian God statue contained such a rare treasure.

If not for Bi Jie, who had trapped them in this Shi Dian for so long in order to kill Seeing Dan Zhu, he might have missed it entirely.

After all, even he himself had never before entertained the thought of chopping off a barbarian god statue's head and cracking open its skull.

Mo Hua looked at this unknown twenty-three-pattern Taotie Ultimate Array with stunned delight.

Tie Shu Gu and the others had no idea what Mo Hua was doing.

They could barely understand basic Sacred Patterns, let alone such an advanced Four Symbols Ultimate Array.

Mo Hua had obtained the twenty-three-pattern Taotie Ultimate Array.

Watching this, they merely assumed Lord Wuzhu was studying some strange, exotic Sacred Patterns—and seemed quite pleased.

Only Seeing Dan Zhu understood a little.

He guessed Mr. Wuzhu had acquired something extraordinary.

Because Mr. Wuzhu was always composed and gentle, like a clear breeze and bright moon, rarely showing such overt joy, so childishly excited as he was now.

But what Mo Hua had obtained, Seeing Dan Zhu could not know.

Mo Hua had just secured the Taotie patterns and was preparing to study them further, when suddenly, violent tremors and clamorous battle cries erupted outside the valley.

"Has the Bi Fang tribe attacked again?"

Seeing Dan Zhu's expression turned solemn.

Mo Hua's face darkened.

The situation was dire—if the valley fell, the barbarian god's skull would be lost, and research on the Taotie array would be delayed.

Mo Hua said to Seeing Dan Zhu: "Find a sealed chamber. Place the barbarian god's skull inside. No one is to approach it."

Seeing Dan Zhu nodded: "Understood."

Afterwards, Seeing Dan Zhu gave orders.

A dozen barbarian soldiers carried the fractured barbarian god's skull to a nearby sealed chamber.

Mo Hua set up an array inside the chamber, confirmed it was secure, then left the Shi Dian with Seeing Dan Zhu.

Outside the Shi Dian, battle erupted again.

The Bi Fang tribe, along with the smaller tribes allied with Bi Jie, began besieging the Dan Que tribe.

Chifeng was dueling Bi Jie—two mid-stage Jin Dan cultivators clashed, shaking mountains and hurling rocks, scattering vegetation, their aura terrifying.

Mo Hua calculated for a moment, then whispered something to Seeing Dan Zhu.

He told him which path to take, whom to kill first, whom to kill next, then how to circle back and encircle Bi Jie, forcing him toward a specific mountain trail.

Seeing Dan Zhu memorized every word, then said:

"Yes, Mr. Wuzhu."

Seeing Dan Zhu personally led a squad of barbarian soldiers into the mountains, following Mo Hua's instructions.

Soon, Zhu Que's Mystic Fire blazed through the hills, surging with the aura of slaughter.

Following Mo Hua's orders, Seeing Dan Zhu struck like a heavenly force from above—always evading ambushes, avoiding the strong, striking the weak, appearing and vanishing like a phantom, slaughtering the Bi Fang tribe's hidden forces and their allies in a bloody rout, causing the Bi Fang forces to tremble in fear, seeing Seeing Dan Zhu as a tiger or wolf, fleeing at the sound of his approach.

The Bi Fang tribe, slaughtered by Seeing Dan Zhu, lost morale completely.

After circling and killing through their ranks, Seeing Dan Zhu turned back and closed in to surround Bi Jie.

Bi Jie, enraged beyond endurance, gritted his teeth: "Dan Zhu, you little worm—seeking death!"

Bi Jie fought several rounds with Seeing Dan Zhu and clearly held the upper hand.

But Chifeng and Elder Bashan were also present; the three Jin Dan of Dan Que Clan surrounded and attacked Bi Jie alone—even Bi Jie could barely hold his ground.

Bi Fang Clan sent five Jin Dan on this mission.

Elder Zhuo and Elder Cang were possessed and killed by the Barbarian God.

Elder She excels in poison and rarely shows his face or engages in direct combat.

The remaining Jin Dan, at the early stage, was previously outmaneuvered by Mo Hua, ambushed, and suffered severe injury—he is now half-paralyzed, recovering at the rear.

Bi Jie stood alone, his two fists unable to fight four hands, and ultimately retreated again.

Fortunately, he paid a heavy price to recruit enough "hangers-on"; though forced to withdraw for now, in the long run, he can still wear down Dan Que Clan to death.

Though Dan Que Clan won another battle, the overall situation grew slightly ominous.

After this battle, both sides returned to their camps.

Mo Hua also returned to Shi Dian.

After briefly instructing Xiang Dan Zhu and others on key matters, Mo Hua went to his own stone chamber and eagerly resumed studying the Taotie Array.

No matter how great the matter, the array was more important.

Moreover, this was the Taotie Array—a twenty-three-stroke ultimate array—directly tied to whether he could form a Jin Dan.

But after studying for a while, Mo Hua realized it still wasn't working…

He still couldn't understand these Taotie patterns.

Taotie was a legendary ferocious beast; using Taotie as array patterns to construct an array was itself an extremely difficult task.

The Taotie Array was an exceedingly rare category of arrays; to comprehend it would surely be fraught with hardship.

On top of the Taotie Array's inherent difficulty, the twenty-second-rank, twenty-three-stroke ultimate array was added.

This compounded difficulty made the Taotie Ultimate Array's challenge truly heavenly.

Even Mo Hua, racking his brains, remained utterly baffled, unable to penetrate its mysteries.

His spiritual sense was still only at twenty-two strokes.

His spiritual sense had not yet reached the threshold required to comprehend this unknown Taotie Ultimate Array.

"Is it because it's too hard and I simply can't learn it? Or is it because my spiritual sense hasn't reached the threshold for this array, so I can't comprehend it?"

Mo Hua frowned.

His spiritual sense was at the peak of twenty-two strokes, just one thread away from twenty-three.

Moreover, his spiritual essence had undergone Dao transformation—his insight and strength far surpassed others; logically, this one thread's gap shouldn't hinder array comprehension.

Previously, he had been able to learn some ordinary arrays even slightly beyond his level.

But ultimate arrays seemed different.

"Is the threshold for ultimate arrays truly this rigid—no deviation allowed at all?"

Mo Hua pondered for a moment, his frown deepening.

It wasn't just the Taotie Array's problem…

Beyond the array itself, he had many related doubts he still couldn't resolve.

"Could Bi Jie's attack on Shu Gu Secret Clan be aimed at obtaining this Taotie Array?"

Mo Hua wasn't certain.

It wasn't that he looked down on Bi Jie.

This Taotie Array was so difficult even he—a spiritual sense Dao cultivator, the top scholar of Qian Xue, a twenty-two-stroke peak spiritual mind, Lord Wuzhu—struggled to comprehend it.

What could Bi Jie possibly use to learn it?

Even if he handed him the Taotie patterns, could he even understand them with his spiritual sense?

If he couldn't understand them at all, why did he go to such lengths to obtain these Taotie patterns?

And then…

"What about Shu Gu Clan? Do they know the secret hidden in this Barbarian God's head?"

"Why, after so long, have Bi Fang Clan's main clans, principal clans, and branch clans shown no reaction at all to Bi Jie's assault on Shu Gu Secret Clan?"

"Are they unaware of this secret clan's importance? Or are they themselves in chaos now, too preoccupied with their own affairs to care about such trivial matters?"

But what intrigued Mo Hua most was…

"Who exactly painted this twenty-three-stroke Taotie Ultimate Array inside the head of the Shu Gu Barbarian God statue?"

Was it Shu Gu Clan's ancestral elder?

Or someone else entirely?

This unknown Taotie Ultimate Array must differ from the Twelve Meridians Taotie Spirit Corpse Array—but what purpose does it serve?

Why was this Taotie Ultimate Array painted inside the Barbarian God's head?

What could possibly be achieved by painting it there?

And then…

Mo Hua's gaze sharpened.

He had previously assumed the "fragmented patterns" on Shu Gu Clan's barbarian armor were used to deduce some powerful "sacred pattern."

The Barbarian God's head contained Taotie patterns.

Did that mean these fragmented patterns were meant to deduce "Taotie patterns"?

But what kind of "deduction" method was this?

He had studied "Ten Thousand Demons Become Dragon," and had already achieved some proficiency—he understood its trajectory to some degree.

But "Ten Thousand Demons Become Taotie"?

Why had he never been able to "deduce" it at all?

Is it the method that's wrong, or have I not yet comprehended certain principles, which is why I can't figure it out?

Also, if these "fragmented patterns" were used to derive the "Taotie pattern," then that means the Shu Gu tribe has already succeeded in "derivation." Why not just use the "Taotie" pattern directly? Why go through the extra trouble of continuing research on the man armor?

What exactly is the connection between these "fragmented patterns" and the "Taotie"?

What exactly is the Shu Gu tribe researching?

These things are tangled together, with countless threads.

As Mo Hua thought and thought, he gave himself a headache.

The more he thought, the more problems he sensed, the more suspicious points, the more layers of mist shrouded everything.

Mo Hua's expression was solemn.

"When you have time, ponder deeply… you must understand every problem here…"

He could feel that something great was hidden within—perhaps tied to his Jin Dan formation, no, not just his Jin Dan, but to his destiny, even his future Dao path, in ways immense.

Of course, the current situation did not allow Mo Hua to spend too much thought on this.

The Bi Fang tribe's crisis had not yet been resolved.

Bi Jie was still watching nearby, ready to strike.

Bi Jie was a mid-stage Jin Dan cultivator, of high status and formidable strength, not to be underestimated.

And if he truly intended to compete with me for the "Taotie Array," it would only make things worse…

…

In the following days, Bi Jie indeed refused to give up, constantly harassing them, with battle and slaughter never ceasing.

Mo Hua had to consider whether to settle everything in one stroke—set a trap, imprison Bi Jie, and then "force-kill" him.

To eliminate Bi Jie, then lead Dan Zhu and the others to a safe place, only then could he relax and continue pondering the Taotie Array.

Even if he couldn't kill him, he must wound him severely, to make him remember this lesson well.

But Bi Jie was no minor figure; forcing his death would cause heavy casualties in the Dan Que tribe.

Chifeng, Elder Bashan, and Elder Bachuan—any one of them dying in Bi Jie's counterattack would not be surprising.

My current Cause-and-Effect Art is still in the exploratory stage; its impact on warfare only reaches a certain level of "foreseeing the unknown."

I still cannot erase all of Bi Jie's vitality, to make him utterly dead in the realm of cause and effect.

After all, Bi Jie is a mid-stage Jin Dan cultivator.

Controlling cause and effect across a major realm is extremely difficult, with many variables.

I cannot yet commit murder, or one misstep will send me to meet my Senior Uncle.

But I cannot leave Bi Jie unresolved…

Mo Hua was torn.

Just as he was considering whether to launch a decisive battle, to fight Bi Jie to the death and resolve the current predicament, another unexpected event occurred.

And this event caused the situation to shift in a strange way.

On this day, Mo Hua was inside the secret chamber, deducing cause and effect, planning battle strategies, when suddenly he heard Dan Zhu calling him outside:

"Mr.!"

Mo Hua stepped outside and saw Dan Zhu with a solemn expression. "Something has happened."

"What happened?" Mo Hua frowned.

Dan Zhu didn't know how to describe it, so he led Mo Hua to a high cliff outside the Shi Dian.

Mo Hua looked out—and his pupils shrank instantly.

He saw that in the distance, the once-thick vegetation had withered away, almost overnight.

In the mountains, demonic beasts lay on the ground, starved to death, their bodies reduced to skin and bone.

A half-yellow, half-red aura of desolation spread from afar; wherever it reached, blood qi decayed, vitality withered, and the earth fell into deathly silence.

"This is…"

Mo Hua's pupils trembled slightly.

"The Famine Disaster has come…"

(End of Chapter)