Chapter 1243: Campaign Against Tie Shugu

Lord Lugu stared deeply at Mo Hua, his expression calm, seemingly unmoved, only replying:

"You want me, a general of the Tie Shugu tribe, to kill our own Great Chief?"

Mo Hua shook his head. "Not simply 'kill'—it's 'revenge.'"

Lord Lugu sneered. "What's the difference?"

Mo Hua said: "If you kill the Great Chief, that's rebellion, an uprising. But if you avenge your brother by slaying the Great Chief, it's for kinship, for tribal justice. On the surface, both are killing—but in essence, they are worlds apart."

Lord Lugu's eyelids twitched. It was nonsense, yet it sounded utterly reasonable.

But Lord Lugu still gave no answer, only coldly regarded Mo Hua and said: "Are you trying to sow discord within my Tie Shugu tribe?"

Mo Hua countered: "Does your Tie Shugu tribe's relationship even need you to sow discord?"

The general's merit overshadowed his lord.

The Great Chief slaughtered the loyal after using them, destroying an entire Zhengbu.

This relationship needed no sowing at all.

Lord Lugu had no reply, yet remained silent.

Mo Hua looked at him and asked sternly: "Are you afraid? Do you fear the Great Chief's power, cherish your own reputation, cling to your position as general, and dare not avenge your brother's murderer? Will you be a coward? A dog whimpering at the Great Chief's feet?"

Lord Lugu's eyes turned bloodshot, blazing with fury as he glared at Mo Hua.

Mo Hua pressed no further, softening his tone: "I know you're not that kind of man. I can help you kill the Tie Shugu Great Chief."

Lord Lugu's face darkened like still water. "No need. I will avenge my brother myself."

"You?" Mo Hua sneered. "How? You're merely a late-stage Jin Dan…"

Mo Hua, himself only at Foundation Establishment, now spoke with unblushing confidence, even disdain, toward a late-stage Jin Dan cultivator…

"A mere late-stage Jin Dan? Just a general commanding one Zhengbu of barbarian troops. With that alone, can you truly oppose the entire Tie Shugu tribe? Can you truly slay the Great Chief and avenge your brother?"

Mo Hua's expression was mocking.

Yet Lord Lugu sneered back at Mo Hua:

"Lord Wuzhu, you may underestimate me—and overestimate the Great Chief. I, Lord Lugu, have waged war across the land, my name feared throughout the Tie Shugu tribe, where only my brother, Shi Gu, surpassed me. And the Great Chief? Old, frail, near death…"

Mo Hua's heart gave a slight jolt.

Was Lord Lugu this strong? Stronger than he'd thought?

And the Tie Shugu Great Chief was already a "worn-out relic"?

No wonder…

No wonder the Great Chief had to find a way to kill Shi Gu.

One Shi Gu, one Lord Lugu—both late-stage Jin Dan generals. They called him Great Chief out of courtesy; without it, they could truly bury him alive.

I misjudged the situation…

Mo Hua felt a flicker of urgency but kept his expression calm. After a moment's thought, a faint, mysterious smile curled on his lips as he met Lord Lugu's gaze and asked:

"Do you truly believe that?"

Lord Lugu froze. Under Mo Hua's stare, he suddenly doubted himself.

Mo Hua said: "Do you truly believe your Tie Shugu tribe's Great Chief possesses only such limited power? Do you truly believe he's feeble, on his deathbed?"

"Don't forget—your Tie Shugu tribe's strongest brother died at whose hands…"

Lord Lugu's heart turned cold; his brow furrowed involuntarily.

Seeing this, Mo Hua exhaled slowly, then spoke solemnly:

"Even if, hypothetically, the Tie Shugu Great Chief is truly as old and frail as you say, and not your match—how will you find him?"

"In this chaotic age, with the land in turmoil, do you even know where he hides?"

"His cultivation may have weakened, his bloodline may be fading—but his schemes and treachery, how will you guard against them?"

"How do you know you won't meet the same fate as your brother, Shi Gu, falling victim to his plots?"

"Then, not only will your brother, Shi Gu, be remembered as a failure—but you too will become a jester, toyed with by the Tie Shugu Great Chief, laughed at by all…"

Mo Hua's words pierced Lord Lugu's chest like venomous daggers.

Lord Lugu's heart turned icy, torn in agony; finally, he sighed deeply and looked at Mo Hua:

"Why help me?"

Mo Hua clasped his hands before his chest, his expression devout: "All is guided by the Divine Lord…"

But Lord Lugu shook his head. "I'm asking you—why help me? Or rather, what do you want?"

Mo Hua paused, then met Lord Lugu's gaze with unflinching honesty: "It's a bargain."

"A bargain?" Lord Lugu frowned.

"Yes," Mo Hua nodded. "I will avenge you, help you slay the Tie Shugu Great Chief—and you…"

Mo Hua's eyes blazed, deep within them burning a sacred ambition:

"... must serve the Divine Lord, honor His name, obey His command, wage war across the land, and through trials of iron and fire, spread the Divine Lord's glory to every corner of the Great Wilderness…"

"This is the Divine Lord's blessing, the Great Wilderness's destiny—and my duty, as Lord Wuzhu."

In an instant, Lord Lugu's heart was stirred by Mo Hua's presence and words, shaken to its core.

Suppressing the surge of faith, Lord Lugu spoke slowly:

"Fine. I accept this bargain."

Mo Hua nodded. "Agreed."

Lord Lugu waited, but Mo Hua offered no further words, no pact, no blood oath, no divine covenant. He stared, bewildered: "That's it?"

Mo Hua nodded. "That's it."

Lord Lugu frowned. "Aren't you afraid I'll renege? That I'll betray you?"

Mo Hua lacked the realm and ability to bind a late-stage Jin Dan cultivator.

He was only at Foundation Establishment.

He wasn't truly an "evil god" either, and had no way of using the altar's blood oath like the Lord of the Great Wastes to control his believers.

Therefore, Mo Hua could only put on a face of "couldn't care less" — even if he did care, there was no other way.

Mo Hua's expression was calm: "You can betray me; a betrayal against me is trivial, but…"

Mo Hua looked at Lord Lugu, his gaze deep and solemn, and said, "A betrayal against the Lord of the Gods is unforgivable."

"Never… betray the Lord of the Gods…"

Lord Lugu's eyes sharpened; no one knew what he was thinking, and he slowly nodded.

……

The deal between the two sides was reached.

Mo Hua, from Lord Lugu's hands, secured Elder She's safety, then had Chifeng cripple Elder She's legs and temporarily lock him up.

There should be other secrets on this Elder She.

But these secrets couldn't be pried out by asking; he had to use him as a "Yan Yinzi," relying on himself to slowly uncover the inner karma.

Afterwards, Mo Hua, along with Lord Lugu, Chifeng, and others, crossed the Hengduan Mountain Range to scout the situation.

The overall situation was indeed as Elder She had said.

Beyond the Hengduan Mountains, weapons never ceased, a scene of utter devastation.

The Wu Jiu Tribe's great army had crushed the Bi Fang Tribe, and even the Yan Yi, Fire Eagle, Red Luan, and other third grade tribes that had once held considerable power within the Zhu Que Mountain Realm.

The large tribes were crushed and split into small and medium ones, like a tray of mud and sand, flowing in all directions.

This was still a scene of utter chaos.

And within this chaos, the "Wu Jiu Tribe" was a great crocodile, extremely dangerous.

The situation was extremely dire; the Wu Jiu Tribe kept growing stronger, kept waging war, and would ultimately surely conquer the Zhu Que Mountain Realm, becoming the greatest obstacle to Mo Hua's proving his Dao in the Great Wastes.

But Mo Hua thought it over: the Wu Jiu Tribe was a crocodile that muddied the waters, devouring every major tribe in turn.

In effect, it weakened the strength of the local Zhu Que Mountain tribes.

At the same time, it also carved up the great tribes, making it easier for him to "take a bite."

Matters of the world are half good, fortune and misfortune intertwined.

Most of the time, it depends on what angle you consider it from — seeking opportunity within "bad things."

Mo Hua's thinking became even clearer.

The Wu Jiu Tribe was too strong, and he was not strong.

Next, he would avoid the Wu Jiu Tribe and continue "swallowing up" some small tribes within the Hengduan Mountain domain, as well as some small and medium tribes that had split off after the great tribes were crushed.

This process naturally could not be easy.

But after striking his deal with Mo Hua, the great general Lord Lugu resolved almost every problem.

Previously, when Lord Lugu was with Mo Hua, on the surface they were "allies," but he was hardly proactive; often Mo Hua had to say something before he would do it with a cold, reluctant face.

But after Mo Hua agreed to help him exact revenge, Lord Lugu's mindset naturally changed.

Even if only for revenge, he could not afford to be passive.

Lord Lugu was a great general of the Shu Gu Tribe, late-stage Jin Dan; after Shi Gu's death, he was practically the strongest general of the Shu Gu Tribe.

Once Lord Lugu got serious, facing some small and medium forces was naturally a sweeping victory.

And so, Lord Lugu fought at the front while Mo Hua, in the rear, under the name of Lord Wuzhu, absorbed barbaric cultivators and expanded his forces.

His "forces" grew ever larger, and their composition grew ever more complex.

Deserters and defeated soldiers from the great tribes, roving and scattered soldiers from the middle tribes, the old, weak, women, and crippled from the small tribes.

Basically, every kind of person was there.

Mo Hua wasn't picky either; basically, as long as they surrendered, he would take them in, first "swallowing down" all the personnel.

Afterwards, he would find ways to slowly "digest" them, unify their will and conduct, make everyone cohere as one, make every chess piece share life and death, and thereby gradually become, on the board, a "great dragon" sufficient to secure the winning position…

And after "eating" a stretch of small and medium tribes like this, Mo Hua finally ran into the remnants of the Shu Gu Tribe.

The Shu Gu Tribe had also been defeated in the Wu Jiu Tribe's campaign, and many of its barbaric soldiers fled in all directions.

This group of Shu Gu remnant barbaric cultivators also gave Mo Hua the chance to understand the war situation and deduce the karmic movements of the Shu Gu Tribe.

Mo Hua had earlier learned from Lord Lugu the locations of the Shu Gu main tribe and the main-branch forces.

Now, from the mouths of these Shu Gu remnant soldiers, he confirmed the distribution of forces under the famine, and then, based on the Wu Jiu Tribe's marching route and the results of the war, performed a grand deduction, arriving at the mountain ranges where the Shu Gu main tribe and main-branch forces might hide after their defeat.

This kind of thing required insight into the Heaven, Earth, and Man trinity, an understanding of the Great Wastes situation, a brilliant method of divination, and profound divine-sense computational power.

Basically only Mo Hua could do it.

And after calculating all this, Mo Hua circled a few points on the map, drew a line, and said to Lord Lugu:

"Follow this route, push forward, avoid the Wu Jiu Tribe, find the Shu Gu main tribe, and then…"

In the midst of the war, kill the Shu Gu Great Chieftain.

The latter part of this sentence, Mo Hua did not say aloud.

But Lord Lugu knew it perfectly well, and a fierce light flickered in his eyes like wildfire.

Afterwards, the great army advanced according to Mo Hua's arrangements.

Along the route, crossing mountains and ridges, they indeed encountered more Shu Gu Tribe barbaric soldiers.

Without exception, all of them were subdued by Lord Lugu and became members of Mo Hua's great army.

Lord Lugu was a great general, of illustrious fame, commanding an entire main branch.

These Shu Gu remnant soldiers had absolutely no reason not to submit to Lord Lugu.

They simply did not know that the Lord Lugu they had submitted to had, on this journey, the purpose of going to kill their great chieftain.

But half a month later, before they had fought their way to the Shu Gu Great Chieftain, they instead first encountered another Shu Gu main branch.

This main-branch general was named "Canku."

Canku was likewise a late-stage Jin Dan bone-sorcery general, with great power. Although he had lost a portion of his forces in the campaign against Lord Wuzhu's branch, he still could not be underestimated.

And Canku's own strength was only a sliver less than Lord Lugu's. His fearsome reputation was not as great as Lord Lugu's, but if they truly fought, the outcome was hard to predict.

Mo Hua did not really want to start a conflict. After all, apart from him and Lord Lugu, almost no one else knew that their trip this time was to kill the bone-sorcery great chieftain.

Therefore, he only needed to make up some "lies," persuade Canku to yield the road, and let the great army pass.

This kind of thing definitely could not be done by Mo Hua himself.

Although he was Lord Wuzhu, he was still an outsider, closely tied to the Danque branch. The moment he stepped forward to negotiate, it would surely arouse Canku's suspicion and bring about unnecessary distrust.

Therefore, he could only let Lord Lugu go talk himself. Let him negotiate properly with Canku, ask Canku for passage, so they could go to the great chieftain's territory.

The two were both generals, and had some past dealings — it wasn't impossible to talk.

But Mo Hua was not at ease. He thought of many phrasings, recorded them in a jade slip, handed it to Lord Lugu, and said:

"If you don't know what to say, or how to say it, just read the words on the jade slip. It's best if you can achieve the goal without fighting."

Lord Lugu took the jade slip and gave an "Oh."

Then he went to talk with Canku, and then the talk fell apart.

Before the negotiations were even over, Lord Lugu and Canku had come to blows, and the mountaintop had been blown apart.

Mo Hua, in the distance, only heard a heaven-shaking explosion, and could feel the mountain rocks splitting apart, the ground beneath his feet trembling. The tremendous force of late-stage Jin Dan surged like a great wave, wave after wave rolling toward him…

Mo Hua let out a deep sigh.

After Lord Lugu came back, Mo Hua asked him: "What did you say?"

Lord Lugu's face was fierce and menacing, burning with fury, and he only gave a cold laugh:

"That waste of space Canku — all these years, still this impossibly stupid. Nothing but idiocy out of his mouth, nothing but demon shit in his head…"

Mo Hua asked: "Was that what I taught you to say?"

Lord Lugu fell silent.

Mo Hua asked him again: "What did I tell you to say?"

Only then did Lord Lugu take out the jade slip Mo Hua had given him, flip through it, his expression somewhat complicated, but still he said nothing.

It was exactly the look of someone who, after finishing an exam, checked the standard answers, found not a single one matched, but was unwilling to accept that he was wrong.

Mo Hua sighed again, utterly speechless at heart.

There was actually someone in this world who, even given the answers, wouldn't copy them…

Truly…

Afterward Mo Hua deeply reflected on himself.

That he had actually believed Lord Lugu would properly negotiate with Canku.

He himself was the real fool…

Lord Lugu stole a glance at the visibly unhappy Mo Hua, and his voice involuntarily dropped a few notches:

"Now… what do we do?"

"What else can we do?" Mo Hua shook his head and sighed. "Fight then…"

(End of chapter)