Chapter 1224: The Great Famine Array

The great calamity of the wild wastes had already come long ago…

Yet even so, the situation was far worse than Mo Hua had anticipated.

In his expectations, things should not have looked like this.

This scene before him should have appeared ten years, five years, or at least two or three years from now.

But now, time had not yet passed, the karmic causes had not ripened, yet the spectacle of disaster suddenly descended before Mo Hua's eyes.

As if someone were manually fast-forwarding all of this.

Mo Hua stood frozen, stunned.

Not only Mo Hua, but even Lord Lugu, Tie Shugu, Seeing Dan Zhu, Chifeng, Elders Bashan and Bachuan—all were rendered speechless by the sight before them.

"How could it have come to this…"

"Is this truly the third-grade mountain realm where the Zhu Que tribe resides?" Elder Bashan stared blankly, "Have we taken a wrong path? How could it be so…"

Desolate and lifeless, like a dead land at the end of the world.

"What happened to the Great Chieftain and the others?" Elder Bachuan's face paled, "Will our clansmen…?"

Dark clouds hung over the hearts of all.

Seeing Dan Zhu gazed at Mo Hua with deep concern, "Mr. Wu, I wish to return to Zhu Que tribe as soon as possible…"

Mo Hua pondered for a moment, then nodded.

The Zhu Que mountain realm was now utterly desolate; no one knew the true state of affairs.

Better to first locate the Zhu Que main tribe, meet the Great Chieftain, then deliberate on the next steps.

The scale of this disaster is excessive; under such circumstances, it is no longer a question of whether to attack or occupy tribes or territories, but whether we can even keep these barbarian troops alive within the third-grade mountain realm.

First, survive. Then consider anything else.

But Lord Lugu shook his head. "No."

Mo Hua turned to Lord Lugu.

Lord Lugu sneered, "If we go to the Zhu Que main tribe, where will we have any place to stand?"

He had allied with Zhu Shaozhu of the Zhu Que tribe only out of necessity.

But the Shu Gu tribe and the Zhu Que tribe have never been on good terms.

If I bring my Shu Gu troops to the Zhu Que main tribe, isn't that tantamount to surrendering to the Zhu Que Great Chieftain?

That would be outright "treason against the clan."

Mo Hua understood Lord Lugu's thoughts and said, "This is an alliance, not a surrender."

Lord Lugu still sneered.

Only when two parties are equal in status and power can it be called an alliance.

A Shu Gu general and the Zhu Que tribe's young master can barely be called an alliance.

A Shu Gu Great Chieftain and a Zhu Que Great Chieftain can also be called an alliance.

But a Shu Gu general and the Zhu Que Great Chieftain? Their ranks differ by one level—how could this be an alliance?

Moreover, a subordinate general secretly contacting the enemy's Great Chieftain is a grave taboo.

The Shu Gu Great Chieftain will surely believe you harbor ill intent, that you seek to usurp power, and will never listen to a single word of your explanation.

Mo Hua thought for a moment, then changed his phrasing:

"Then you are merely 'escorting'—you escort Zhu Shaozhu back to the Zhu Que main tribe. Once you arrive, if you wish no further ties with the Great Chieftain, you may part ways."

Lord Lugu said, "I, a mighty Shu Gu general, escort the young master of the Zhu Que tribe?"

Mo Hua held up two fingers: "Two sets of ancestral heavy armor are the payment for escorting."

Lord Lugu fell silent for a moment.

He wanted to haggle, but immediately remembered the demon's peculiar habit:

This demon only deals in fixed prices.

He dislikes bargaining.

If I ask for more, he won't yield—he might even demand even more.

But two sets…

Lord Lugu regarded him carefully, saying nothing.

Mo Hua's gaze sharpened. "Don't say I didn't warn you—Zhu Que Mountain is no longer what it was. Your main tribe alone cannot possibly survive. You may not even know how you die."

"You are escorting us; we are also escorting you."

Lord Lugu found it unconvincing, but after thinking it over, he reluctantly agreed:

"Fine."

Two sets of ancestral heavy armor were not insignificant.

Besides, our Shu Gu main force has nowhere else to go for now. Better to follow Zhu Shaozhu and these others, observe the current situation.

And as Tie Shugu said, this demon calling himself "Mr. Wu" may indeed be the Shu Gu tribe's greatest enemy—cannot be left unchecked…

Thinking of this, Lord Lugu silently glanced again at Mo Hua.

But before he could look long, a shadow flashed before him—Chifeng's towering frame stepped forward, blocking his view of Mo Hua.

Lord Lugu's gaze turned icy, but he understood perfectly.

They were watching him.

In the third-grade mountain realm, with no heavenly restraints, he, as a late-stage Jin Dan general, could now use his treasures and full spiritual power.

The Zhu Que tribe would naturally regard him as a "great enemy," constantly on guard.

They feared he might suddenly strike down Zhu Shaozhu, and also feared he might kill the Lord Wuzhu of the Zhu Que tribe.

And deep within Lord Lugu's heart, the desire to kill was indeed stirring.

Just leaving Wu Sha Mountain's territory, he immediately considered in his heart whether to strike first and kill that clean, slender youth, "Mr. Wu."

Lord Lugu had entertained this thought several times.

But every step of the way, Chifeng had blocked him.

This Chifeng, just as he was now, had his qi tightly condensed, staring fixedly at him.

Like a "loyal hound," guarding that "Mr. Wu," afraid that this General Shu Gu, suddenly erupting in violence.

Chifeng was at the mid-stage of Jin Dan, while he was at the late-stage of Jin Dan.

In direct combat, he could certainly defeat Chifeng.

But Chifeng was also a barbarian general of the Dan Que Division, having endured thousands of battles, his aura as rigid as cast bronze and forged iron—a most troublesome opponent.

Even to win him, it would take hundreds of rounds without doubt.

To kill him, it would be even less easy.

And to pass through this "iron wall" and forcibly kill that young Wu Zhu, the difficulties were immense.

Moreover, Lord Lugu had not forgotten that this so-called young Wu Zhu might well be a vicious demon wearing the skin of an innocent youth.

If his disguise were torn open publicly, no one knew what would happen.

Therefore, caution was still necessary.

He needed to find a good opportunity…

Lord Lugu gradually suppressed his killing intent and averted his gaze, no longer looking at Chifeng, to show he sought peace and had no other thoughts.

Chifeng's face remained grim; he said nothing, but guarded Mo Hua even tighter.

Dan Zhu was the hope of the Dan Que Division.

And the Wu Zhu Lord was Dan Zhu Shaozhu's hope.

There could be no slightest slip.

…

After weighing and deliberating, the group set out, heading toward Dan Que Mountain, the main base of the Dan Que Division.

Along the way, Mo Hua guided the route.

Only he understood the spread of the famine.

Though the land before them was barren, plants withered, everyone could see the "surface" of the famine.

But the deeper layer—the famine qi infused with the power of Taotie—was like the qi of some law, hidden and invisible to mortal eyes.

Without seeing the famine qi, one could easily ingest it into the belly, even inhale it into the brain.

Once the power of Taotie entered the brain, a person would become a monster that ate everything—soil, plants, flesh.

Along the way, Mo Hua had already seen several living examples.

These people wandered like "zombies" through the famine-stricken lands, devouring rotting flesh.

When no flesh remained, they gnawed on withered trees or crawled on the ground eating dirt, no longer resembling "humans."

These were still mobile.

More barbarian cultivators had died in the famine, their flesh devoured, then dried into "mummies."

These "mummies" were everywhere; nearly every few li, one could see a pile of them.

Dead upon the earth, rotting with the soil, like countless decaying withered grasses, like countless…

"array patterns."

Mo Hua's pupils slowly hardened.

…

Advancing thus, they had walked nearly a hundred li through the famine-ravaged wasteland, still surrounded by devastation, the ground littered with "mummies."

The hearts of all grew cold.

Even the barbarian soldiers of Shu Gu Division were somewhat terrified.

They loved bloodshed and had "eaten" humans before, but they were unaccustomed to this kind of "extinction-level" silence and the various grotesque mummies.

Just as Mo Hua nearly believed this barbarian wasteland was entirely a "dead land," he finally saw living people.

In a remote, almost sealed valley, a small tribe had survived.

They were the only surviving barbarians within a hundred li.

The chieftain of this small tribe was only at mid-stage Foundation Establishment; seeing the mighty Lord Lugu, the imposing Chifeng, the heroic Dan Zhu, and the divinely beautiful Mo Hua, along with the vast force of six thousand barbarian soldiers, he felt as if he had seen a heavenly "Wang Bing," and hurriedly kowtowed:

"This old man greets you, my lords. May you all be well."

Lord Lugu asked him: "Where is this place? What tribe are you?"

The chieftain answered truthfully: "This is a small mountain branching off Dan Que Mountain, named Xiao Wu Mountain. Our tribe is the Wu Tian Tribe. We have lived for generations by farming, extremely poor, with no wealth, and our people all…"

Lord Lugu frowned: "No need for idle words."

The Wu Tian chieftain nodded rapidly: "Yes, yes…"

"I ask you," Lord Lugu said gravely, "all people within a hundred li have perished—why has your tribe survived?"

The chieftain stammered: "This… this old man does not know. It must be the grace of the Divine Lord, allowing us to narrowly survive…"

This answer was clearly a lie.

Lord Lugu's gaze turned cold and sharp, releasing the overwhelming pressure of his late-stage Jin Dan.

The chieftain, startled, knelt trembling on the ground, terrified and anxious.

Mo Hua spoke up: "Lord Lugu…"

Lord Lugu glanced at Mo Hua, said nothing, but withdrew his pressure.

The Wu Tian chieftain felt somewhat relieved.

Mo Hua then spoke slowly: "Tell the truth—how did you survive? We won't trouble you."

The Chieftain Wu Tian chieftain looked up and saw Mo Hua's gaze warm and compassionate, his complexion Bai Xi and translucent, like a celestial being. Though he didn't know what identity this was, just one glance made him feel his soul had been redeemed.

"Yes, yes…" the Chieftain Wu Tian chieftain nodded repeatedly, but then he looked troubled. "This… honored sir, this old one truly isn't lying. Our Chieftain Wu Tian tribe is poor and bitter, generation after generation tucked away in this valley, surviving only by planting some beans and millet. We neither go out, nor dare let outsiders in."

"Who knows when, the world outside suddenly changed all at once. Everyone starved to death, and we dared go out even less, just staying here, eking out a living…"

Mo Hua looked at the chieftain's aged and fearful eyes, confirmed he truly wasn't lying, and nodded.

"I understand. Don't worry, we won't kill you."

The Chieftain Wu Tian chieftain let out a deep breath of relief, kowtowed and said: "Many thanks… my lords."

"You may go down." Mo Hua said.

The Chieftain Wu Tian chieftain felt as if pardoned from a great crime, and said: "Yes."

After the chieftain left, Mo Hua had everyone camp outside the valley to rest and reorganize for the time being.

But he set a rule: they must not violate or kill the clanspeople of the small tribe.

Seeing Dan Zhu and the others nodded in assent, they had gradually grown accustomed to this practice of "not offending even a single hair."

But Lord Lugu and the Shugu tribe under him were somewhat dissatisfied.

Some insignificant little tribe—just flip your hand and wipe them out. Take what's useful, burn what's not. What's the point of putting on this hypocritical politeness?

But they were allies, and clearly Mo Hua, this Lord Wuzhu, was in charge. Mo Hua's words, they couldn't not heed.

After temporarily settling down, Mo Hua, under the guard of Chifeng, came to the cliff at the highest point of the valley to observe the spread of the famine.

The view here was the best, and one could see very far across the terrain.

Mo Hua's gaze was deep. He silently watched all of this, his divine sense flowing, his calculating power also turning.

Chifeng silently stood guard at the side, not daring to disturb Mo Hua.

He didn't know how long had passed before Mo Hua's divine sense was faintly somewhat overdrawn, and only then did he stop his derivations.

At the same time, he took a deep breath, a trace of helpless bitterness on his face.

He understood why this small place had not been swallowed by the famine and had survived.

One reason was that this Chieftain Wu Tian tribe lived by farming.

Here in the Great Wasteland, the soil was dry and barren, unable to grow anything good.

And any place that could grow beans and millet meant there was a relatively dense concentration of "earth qi."

Places with dense earth qi could naturally, to a certain extent, curb the spread of the famine.

Another point was that the spread of the famine followed a "pattern."

Mo Hua had previously assumed the famine spread "chaotically," drifting aimlessly, spreading wherever it happened to reach.

Now Mo Hua had gone deep into the third grade Zhu Que mountain realm, and combined with his prior research on the power of Taotie, he gradually realized.

The spread of the famine was not "chaotic."

If the famine of the Great Wasteland was truly caused by some formation imbued with the laws of Taotie—

Then the spread of the famine very likely followed the rules of a formation.

It spread continuously in accordance with the formation's trajectory.

The essence of its spread was to "draw" a formation upon the land of the Great Wasteland.

The process of the famine's spread was the process of this Taotie formation symbolizing "disaster" continuously "forming"…

This was truly… a formation of extraordinary scale, constructed using the "earth" as its medium.

Not like his own simple "drawing the ground into a formation."

And the scale of this formation was likely beyond imagination…

Mo Hua sighed, his mood somewhat solemn:

"The Great Famine Formation, huh…"

……

The next day, just as dawn broke, Mo Hua had everyone set out and depart.

He understood in his heart that the current situation was already a little too late. He had to rendezvous with the Dan Que main force as soon as possible, then gather everyone's strength to plan the next step anew.

Before entering the Zhu Que mountain realm, Mo Hua had assumed that under the famine, wars would be frequent and tribal conflicts would intensify.

Within the present Zhu Que mountain realm, it ought to have been a "tribal hegemony" script.

The result was nothing like that at all.

Now, let alone "contending," even finding a way to keep everyone from "dying" might already be as hard as ascending to heaven.

This was… the Great Famine Formation…

Moreover, it was a great formation imbued with the "power of Taotie."

Mo Hua's mood was incomparably heavy.

Once this formation was complete, its terror might truly be unimaginable.

Right now this Great Famine Formation had not truly been formed yet; otherwise, the situation in the Great Wasteland absolutely could not be what it was now.

Its severity would absolutely be a hundred or a thousand times worse than now.

And who could possibly have the ability to construct such a great formation…

Mo Hua subconsciously thought of a person.

A pitch-black, blurred, eerie figure slowly surfaced in Mo Hua's mind.

Mo Hua sighed deeply.

"Sure enough, from beginning to end, it's always Senior Uncle…"

(End of chapter)