Chapter 1215: Thousand Bones of the Abyss

"Does the Shu Bone Clan really have such high-grade heavy barbarian armor?"

"Did they forge it themselves, or did it come down from ancient times?"

"Does the Shu Bone Clan possess such advanced armor-casting craftsmanship?"

"Could these heavy armors conceal… certain special arrays inside?"

"These arrays…"

Mo Hua's gaze sharpened, his thoughts racing, and he said to Xiao Zatu beside him: "Bring Elder Tie Shu Gu here."

"Yes, Mr.," Xiao Zatu replied.

Xiao Zatu was young but sharp and clever, and Seeing Dan Zhu liked him very much, so when handling affairs, he often brought Xiao Zatu along to broaden his horizons.

Now that the Shu Bone Clan had invaded, Seeing Dan Zhu was going to war.

Xiao Zatu was temporarily assigned to follow Mo Hua, running errands for him.

Xiao Zatu bowed and ran off. Soon after, he returned with Elder Tie Shu Gu.

Tie Shu Gu now held the title of "Elder," since he was a Jin Dan and needed some status.

And during this Shu Bone Clan invasion, this former commander of the Shu Bone Patrol Unit truly acted like a Dan Que Clan "Elder," leading charges and fighting the Shu Bone Clan.

Moreover, Mo Hua had seen that Tie Shu Gu showed no mercy toward his own kin.

Tie Shu Gu bowed to Mo Hua, his heart uneasy.

After all, he knew clearly that this "Lord Wuzhu" was in truth a demon wearing human skin.

Associating with a demon was like walking on thin ice—he had to be exceedingly careful.

Tie Shu Gu dared not raise his head, let alone meet Mo Hua's eyes.

After a moment, he heard Mo Hua ask him calmly: "How much do you know about the Shu Bone Clan's barbarian armor?"

Tie Shu Gu's heart tightened. "I don't know what kind of barbarian armor the Lord Wuzhu means."

Mo Hua did not answer.

Clearly, he had no interest in such obvious lies.

He simply stared silently at Tie Shu Gu; the atmosphere grew heavy.

Tie Shu Gu felt as if a stone pressed on his chest. After a moment, he realized this "demon" could not be fooled, so he said:

"You mean… those heavy armors?"

"Mm," Mo Hua murmured.

Tie Shu Gu said: "Forgive me, Lord Wuzhu. Those heavy armors are a Shu Bone Clan secret. I am merely a lowly patrol unit commander—I truly know nothing."

Mo Hua asked: "You really know nothing at all?"

Tie Shu Gu thought for a moment, then smiled bitterly: "I only know these armors were passed down from the Shu Bone Clan's ancestors, forged with ancient barbarian techniques—extremely hard, exceedingly precious. Only the main Shu Bone Clan ever had the depth to preserve such armor."

"Our patrol unit isn't even worthy to glimpse them…" Tie Shu Gu sighed. "As for their names, origins, I know nothing at all."

Mo Hua looked into Tie Shu Gu's eyes.

Tie Shu Gu respectfully lowered his gaze.

Mo Hua nodded. "I understand. You may go."

"Yes, Lord Wuzhu. Tie Shu Gu takes his leave."

Tie Shu Gu bowed as usual and departed.

Mo Hua pondered for a moment, and a doubt arose in his mind:

Why had a third-grade Shu Bone Clan suddenly attacked the second-grade Wu Sha Mountain Realm?

To kill Seeing Dan Zhu?

Was it the Five Shu Bone Brothers seeking revenge for brotherly bonds?

But could the Five Shu Bone Brothers even decide such a thing?

Or was it simply because famine was rampant outside, forcing the Shu Bone Clan to seek new refuge?

Mo Hua mused for a moment, then calculated with his fingers, watching Tie Shu Gu's retreating back with a look of deep meaning.

…

Night fell. In the Dan Que Clan encampment.

A shadow slipped silently into the darkness, then, while others weren't looking, reached a remote cliff.

The shadow pulled out a white bone, as if writing something.

As he wrote, he seemed to grow angry. Seeing the moon dark and no one around, he muttered under his breath:

"That damned demon Wu Zhu!"

"What is he messing around with? Hiding in this corner for three or four months, doing nothing! Utterly lazy!"

"Doesn't he covet the Barbarian God's divine throne?"

"Why doesn't he want to seize the altar, slay the false god?"

"Such… laziness! Unthinkable…"

"No, I can't let him get away with this. I must pressure him—make him do what he's meant to do!"

"Let him die… in the hands of the true Barbarian God."

…

The man muttered, vented his resentment, then continued writing on the white bone.

But he did not know that in the darkness, someone stood behind him, leaning close to watch what he wrote.

The man writing was, of course, Tie Shu Gu.

The one watching was, of course, Mo Hua.

The night was dim, the starlight faint.

No one noticed that Mo Hua was invisibly standing behind Tie Shugu, watching curiously as he wrote on the white bone.

The characters on the white bone were carved with Tie Shugu's blood.

They were written in barbarian script, hastily scrawled and dark even in the night.

As Tie Shugu wrote, Mo Hua read silently in his mind:

"To Lord Lugu, in your presence…"

"Tie Shugu is utterly loyal, sworn to serve the Shugu Tribe unto death."

"You already know the previous reports—I have spoken not a single falsehood."

"This Wusha Mountain Realm is indeed fertile land. Tribes coexist here, numerous barbarian cultivators abound, suitable as 'livestock.' Moreover, vast fields of soy and millet grow here, sufficient to feed during famine. The people are simple and orderly, elders and youth respect hierarchy; children are intelligent, trained from youth in ancestral traditions—ideal offerings."

"Deep within the mountains, occasional roars of tigers suggest the presence of a king beast."

"This is an extraordinary omen. Should the Shugu Tribe dwell here, great prosperity may be possible."

"But more importantly, the hidden master of this Wusha Mountain Realm is… the 'great enemy' of the Barbarian God!"

As he wrote this, Tie Shugu's hand trembled:

"I, Tie Shugu… risked my life to uncover a terrifying truth: the Wu Zhu worshipped by the Danque Tribe is not human, but a powerful demon—a beast clad in human skin, walking openly among men in broad daylight."

"This demon is none other than the hidden master of the Wusha Mountain Realm."

"I beg Lord Lugu, by all means deploy the 'Yuan Gu Qian Man' army to conquer this realm!"

"Strike once and for all—exterminate this demon Wu Zhu and all his forces, crush this divine enemy in its cradle!"

"Tie Shugu dwells in darkness, yet his heart leans toward light. Even if my body is shattered to dust, I must rid the Barbarian God of this demonic abomination. I beg Lord Lugu to grant this favor!!"

The final line was carved with great force, infused with deep emotion.

That emotion held faith in the Barbarian God, fear and fury toward Mo Hua, the 'demon,' and the solemn tragedy of self-sacrifice.

After calming himself, Tie Shugu took out another white bone.

On it, he carved blood-drawn military maps.

These were intelligence he had stolen at great personal risk, enduring humiliation and hardship while hiding beside the demon Wu Zhu.

Tie Shugu, right before Mo Hua's eyes, transmitted the intelligence he had stolen from Mo Hua to the Shugu Tribe.

Mo Hua stood silently behind Tie Shugu, watching him 'operate.'

Tie Shugu seemed to use a secret bone technique, using white bones as a medium to transmit text.

But this method did not resemble any 'Yuan Ci'-type art—it felt suspicious.

After completing this, the blood characters on the bone vanished, as if transmitted.

He threw the remaining bone over the cliff, leaving not a trace of 'evidence,' then rose with a sigh of relief.

His heart seemed to be 'praying' for something.

He did not speak these words aloud.

But Mo Hua guessed they were something like: "May Lord Lugu act as the Divine's instrument and exterminate that hateful demon…"

Having done this, Tie Shugu dared not linger.

Keeping company with a demon is like keeping company with a tiger—he dared not reveal any slip, lest he provoke the demon's suspicion.

Tie Shugu slipped away furtively.

Long after, Mo Hua revealed himself, walked to the cliff's edge, looked down at the bone Tie Shugu had thrown, and his expression turned strange:

"So… it was to kill me…"

He had thought the Shugu Tribe's invasion of Wusha Mountain Realm was meant to kill Seeing Dan Zhu.

But now he realized—the Shugu Tribe had been lured here by Tie Shugu, to kill him, this 'demon heretic.'

This Tie Shugu truly is 'loyal to the core.'

Mo Hua didn't know what to say.

It had only been three or four months since he last fought the Shugu Tribe, since he last consumed their Barbarian God.

Was this Tie Shugu really so impatient?

He even thought me 'lazy'…

Of course, the Shugu Tribe's invasion wasn't solely to kill me, this 'demon Wu Zhu.'

It wasn't only to remove me, this 'greatest threat,' for their Barbarian God.

Famine, territory, population, food—all likely motivated the Shugu Tribe's aggression.

The external situation must already be dire.

The Wusha Mountain Realm, including the area around Wutu, had always been a second-rank minor mountain realm, insignificant.

But now, with my development here, the people's livelihood has greatly improved.

Meanwhile, famine rages outside—this contrast makes this place a true 'prize.'

The Shugu Tribe likely truly intends to annex it.

But what troubled Mo Hua most was the name Tie Shugu had written on the bone tablet:

"Yuan Gu Qian Man army."

"Could this be the name of the ancient armor passed down by the Shugu Tribe?"

"Yuan Gu Qian Man Armor?"

"This Tie Shugu knew the name—and still didn't tell me…" Mo Hua muttered under his breath.

Mo Hua fell into thought.

Yuan Gu—did it refer to bones from the endless abyss?

Qian Man? Did this armor consist of a thousand pieces? Or was it forged using a thousand demonic beasts?

Shugu, ancestors, endless abyss, Yuan Gu, Qian Man…

Mo Hua's heart stirred slightly: "Could this heavy armor be connected to Taotie as well?"

The Shu Bone Barbarian Statue was hidden in the Shu Bone Secret Division, and within the division's storage vaults lay many materials for Shu Bone barbarian armor.

Inside the head of the Shu Bone Barbarian Statue was also concealed the Twenty-Three Wen Taotie Array.

Mo Hua faintly sensed that something else was hidden here—an ancient clue…

"Qian Bone Thousand Barbarian Armor…"

"I need to find a way to get my hands on it and study it thoroughly…"

Mo Hua's gaze flickered as he fell into deep thought.

……

The Qian Bone Thousand Barbarian Armor, passed down from the ancestors of the Shu Bone Clan, was an extremely sturdy and precious heavy armor, inheritable only by the main branch.

Naturally, obtaining it would not be easy.

After pondering for a moment and performing a few calculations, Mo Hua secretly summoned Seeing Dan Zhu that night and said: "We're changing tomorrow's tactic."

Seeing Dan Zhu froze. "Orders have already been issued—change them now?"

Mo Hua nodded.

The plan he had set had been secretly leaked to the Shu Bone Clan by Tie Shu Bone.

If we carry out the original tactic, tomorrow's casualties will be devastating.

But Tie Shu Bone did something good too.

By leaking the secrets, he inadvertently gave the Shu Bone Clan the "answer"—and now that Mo Hua knew the Shu Bone Clan's "answer," he could change the question.

And Mo Hua had an even more important goal.

"Tomorrow, try to seize a few pieces of the Shu Bone Clan's heavy armor," Mo Hua told Seeing Dan Zhu.

Seeing Dan Zhu nodded—he had already been thinking the same thing.

Originally, Seeing Dan Zhu had no concept of "seizing."

But after spending so much time with Mo Hua, he had been subtly influenced, gradually coming to believe that in warfare, seizing the enemy's equipment was perfectly normal.

Yet…

Seeing Dan Zhu frowned. "In the Second-Rank Mountain Realm, this kind of heavy bone barbarian armor is indestructible—I can't even break its defense. How can we possibly seize it?"

Mo Hua said: "Don't worry—I have a plan."

Seeing Dan Zhu nodded. "I follow Mr.'s lead."

Mo Hua then explained the entire plan to Seeing Dan Zhu.

He didn't change much—the overall strategy still followed the version Tie Shu Bone had leaked.

Only in the details did he make adjustments: replacing "attack" with "defense," and "advance" with "retreat."

This would make it less likely to arouse suspicion in the Shu Bone Clan.

Mo Hua still hoped to ensure Tie Shu Bone could maintain his credibility with the Shu Bone Clan.

If the "military secrets" Tie Shu Bone leaked were completely false, he would fail as a mole.

He would become a "discredited agent" in the eyes of the Shu Bone Clan.

Mo Hua did not wish to see that outcome.

After all, Tie Shu Bone had helped him greatly—he didn't want Tie Shu Bone to suffer too much.

At the same time, Mo Hua had added some small traps to the plan, designed to catch "fat lambs."

The next day, battle began.

Mo Hua stood high above, surveying the battlefield, and found the situation largely as he had predicted.

The Shu Bone Clan had indeed formulated their tactic based on the "secret" leaked by Tie Shu Bone.

Yet their leader, Lord Lugu, clearly did not fully trust Tie Shu Bone, so their plan was overly cautious.

This gave Mo Hua even greater room to maneuver.

In direct combat, they could not possibly win.

The Dan Que Clan and Wu Tu Alliance simply lacked the numbers to match the main Shu Bone Clan.

None of them could break through the Qian Bone Thousand Barbarian Armor.

Now that their tactic had been leaked, the Shu Bone Clan was prepared everywhere—the Dan Que Clan had no chance of victory.

As soon as the two sides clashed, the Dan Que Clan collapsed after only a dozen rounds.

The remaining Wu Tu Alliance forces were retreating toward their flanks.

The Shu Bone Clan naturally pressed forward in pursuit.

The battlefield grew chaotic.

Every soldier of the Shu Bone Clan charged forward according to his own impulse.

But they clearly did not realize their chaotic paths had been foreseen—

Prearranged by someone.

They were walking, according to their own "will," along a route meticulously designed by another.

As the Shu Bone Clan pursued, the terrain grew more complex, with more rocks and ravines.

Because heavy-armored troops and regular barbarian soldiers moved at different speeds, the Shu Bone Clan's pursuit formation fractured first.

The Qian Bone heavy-armored troops became briefly separated from the main Shu Bone force.

Lord Lugu, the Shu Bone Clan's commanding general, felt a faint warning—but by the time he tried to issue orders to alert them, it was too late.

This separation lasted only a brief moment.

But for someone prepared, it was more than enough.

From the grass, Seeing Dan Zhu, Chifeng, Elder Bashan, and Elder Bachuan, along with over thirty Dan Que Clan barbarian soldiers at the peak of Foundation Establishment, burst forth instantly.

They began to encircle and crush the isolated Deepbone Heavy Troops.

Far away, Lord Lugu, commanding the overall battle, sensed this through his spiritual sense; his expression changed instantly, and he understood Dan Zhu's intentions.

He immediately ordered the Man troops under Shu Gu to rush to support.

But the battlefield was chaotic, and any order suffered significant delays.

Moreover, Dan Zhu and the others moved far too quickly.

Their formation, like a dagger, instantly sliced apart more than twenty Deepbone Heavy Armored troops of Shu Gu's unit.

Then, with Jin Dan leading, every ten men surrounded and crushed five Deepbone Heavy Armored troops.

Under normal circumstances, this situation would have been utterly one-sided.

But these Shu Gu troops wore the Deepbone Heavy Armor, inherited from their ancestors—it was simply too hard, like a turtle shell, utterly unbreakable, especially in a second-grade prefecture, where even Jin Dan were powerless.

Seeing this, Lord Lugu far away breathed a slight sigh of relief.

But before he could finish exhaling, sudden change erupted.

On the ground, Jin Guang suddenly appeared; sand and soil flew up, stones and dirt coalesced into a vortex, swallowing the heavy armored troops whole.

Sacred Glyphs!

And they were extremely high-grade second-grade Sacred Glyphs!

Even, glyphs Lord Lugu had never seen before!

These Sacred Glyphs contained numerous transformations, forming a highly unusual compound array structure.

The earth turned to quicksand; the quicksand solidified into a cage, trapping the Deepbone Heavy Troops inside, unable to advance or retreat.

After the array sealed them, Dan Zhu and the others each drew out specially crafted chains.

Etched onto the chains was a strange "Water Prison" array.

Once activated, the Water Prison instantly transformed into a blue cage, "drowning" the Deepbone Heavy Armored troops within.

The Earth Prison and Water Prison merged; earth and water interacted—water turned earth into swamp, while earth provided a medium for water; the two fused together, with water suffocating their throats, making escape utterly impossible.

The Deepbone Thousand-Man Heavy Armor was top-tier second-grade defense.

This array, blending earth and water with traces of law fusion, was top-tier second-grade control.

Trapped in quicksand as if bearing a thousand jūn, suffocating with water in mouth and nose, unable to breathe—it was an extremely nauseating "soft" control.

While the heavy armored troops were immobilized, Dan Que troops had already dragged out flatbed carts.

Chifeng and Elders Bashan and Bachuan, three Jin Dan, used their brute strength to forcibly "lock" three Deepbone Heavy Armored troops in place.

They placed these armored troops onto the carts.

On the carts, Mo Hua had already laid out a Golden Prison array.

Additionally, Mo Hua had drawn basic "Wind Travel" arrays on the wheels, to speed up travel.

Then, without further fighting, they seized the three armored troops and fled like a streak of smoke.

These events happened in the blink of an eye.

In barely dozens of exchanges, Dan Zhu and the others, through array coordination, seized all the Deepbone Heavy Armored troops.

Swift action, strict discipline—solely to capture men, no lingering in battle.

By the time Lord Lugu of the Shu Gu main force arrived with his troops, they could barely make out, in the distant dust, a cart flying like the wind.

And on the cart, three Shu Gu heavy armored troops, bound like "fat pigs"…

(End of Chapter)