Chapter 1249: Life, Death, and Karmic Threads

"You… you…" Ancestral Shu Gu's voice began to tremble.

Mo Hua said solemnly: "It wasn't me. I just asked out of curiosity… understood? Just out of curiosity."

Ancestral Shu Gu, under Mo Hua's gaze—eyes brilliant as stars, sharp as divine swords—could not fail to understand.

It nodded: "Understood. Understood."

Mo Hua asked it: "Do you truly understand?"

Ancestral Shu Gu nodded seriously.

"Then… is there a way to do what I just asked you about?" Mo Hua said gravely.

Ancestral Shu Gu frowned, though half its brow had rotted away, the remaining flesh still knotted tightly.

"This kind of thing…"

Ancestral Shu Gu opened its mouth but could not continue.

Mo Hua pressed: "Aren't you yourself half-dead, half-alive? In other words, you exist at the edge of 'life' and 'death.' I don't believe you've never thought about 'returning from death'?"

Ancestral Shu Gu's face twisted in bitterness. "I've thought of it… breaking through the boundary of life and death, achieving eternal life—who wouldn't want that? The more you've died, the more you've felt the eternal void, the more you fear death, the more you refuse it."

"But this… is different…"

Mo Hua asked: "How is it different?"

Ancestral Shu Gu paused, sighed, and said: "Comrade, have you heard the four characters 'body dies, Dao perishes'?"

Mo Hua nodded.

Everyone had heard those four characters.

Ancestral Shu Gu said: "Those four characters carry deep meaning. 'Body dies' means the life has ended—essence exhausted, destiny fulfilled, flesh decayed. Nothing remarkable there."

"But 'Dao perishes' has two meanings. One: after death, the 'Dao' you pursued in life naturally fades away."

"The other means… the Great Dao has erased your 'vitality'—in other words, you've been 'de-registered' by Heaven's Dao…"

Mo Hua frowned. "De-registered?"

"Yes," Ancestral Shu Gu said. "De-registered. The life and death of mortals—no, not just mortals, but all things—have fixed numbers. All births and deaths are inscribed in the eternal Dao, turning naturally with the sun and moon, spring and autumn. Once a being exceeds its destined lifespan, the Dao decrees its dissolution, and death follows."

"In plain terms…" Mo Hua said, "the lives of all beings, including humans, are like 'household registrations.' The Dao keeps records. When a person dies, the Dao 'de-registers' them?"

Ancestral Shu Gu nodded. "Comrade, your insight is remarkable—just a hint and you grasp it. Thus, 'body dies, Dao perishes' can also be called 'body dies, Dao de-registered.'"

Mo Hua looked at Ancestral Shu Gu and asked: "Then what are you, half-dead like this, in the Dao's records?"

Ancestral Shu Gu said: "I am a black household."

"Black household?" Mo Hua blinked in surprise.

Ancestral Shu Gu confirmed: "Yes. Black household."

It sighed. "I am truly dead. My lifespan is exhausted. The Dao has already de-registered me. I survive only through illicit means, clinging to existence. But this 'clinging' is not life. At best, it is a desperate gasp in the 'gray' zones, while the Dao is not looking."

Mo Hua frowned. "So you, this black household, don't want to go legitimate?"

Ancestral Shu Gu looked terrified. "The Dao is perfectly just, life and death strictly enforced—how could such a thing be easy? I still exist as this half-man, half-corpse only because I am very 'honest,' very quiet, never daring to show myself."

"If I do anything out of bounds, if the Dao notices me—a black household on the edge of life and death—I am finished."

Mo Hua asked: "Didn't you just curse me? Isn't that out of bounds?"

Ancestral Shu Gu stammered: "That was bound by blood pact—I had no choice. Moreover… strictly speaking, it isn't 'killing,' but 'exchange of lives.'"

"Exchange of lives?" Mo Hua's eyes narrowed in confusion.

Ancestral Shu Gu pointed at the self-dead Tie Shu Gu.

"My descendant is using his life to exchange for yours. His destined end has not come—he chose death himself, thus returning some 'interest' of life to the Dao. I intercepted that interest, using karmic transformation to kill you… though, old man that I am, even with my limited knowledge of karmic curse arts, I could not harm your flawless Golden Body…"

Mo Hua paid no attention to that. He asked: "Tie Shu Gu's life can exchange for mine? One life for one life? Then…"

Ancestral Shu Gu seemed to know what Mo Hua meant and shook his head.

"Naturally it's not that simple. There are many subtleties, many restrictions—requires bloodline descent, complex rituals, and countless karmic conditions. In practice, it's extremely complicated. Not a simple 'one life for one life.'"

After all, if it were that simple, killing would become easy.

Mo Hua pressed further: "What arts are involved in becoming a black household?"

Ancestral Shu Gu looked uneasy. "This is the core secret of the Shu Gu clan. Forgive me—I would rather die again than reveal it to you."

Mo Hua's expression darkened.

Ancestral Shu Gu hurried on: "Moreover, even if I told you, you could not learn it, nor use it."

Mo Hua asked: "Why?"

Ancestral Shu Gu asked: "Have you ever married?"

Mo Hua, in his childlike form, shook his head.

Ancestral Shu Gu said: "Then you've never had children?"

Mo Hua nodded.

"That's why," Ancestral Shu Gu said. "This art requires living bloodline descendants—and it is… corrupting to human ethics. You, whose body is like Hua Ruyu, whose divine form is immaculate, whose Jin Guang flickers faintly—surely you would scorn such vile, heretical paths."

"So you need children…" Mo Hua sighed in regret—he had never married, had no consort, no descendants.

Thus, the Shu Gu clan's methods were beyond his reach.

Moreover, judging by Ancestral Shu Gu's half-dead state and his actions, one must first have children, build a family or clan, wait until lifespan ends, be buried in a tomb, then let one's descendants—like Tie Shu Gu—die in sacrifice to awaken you.

Clearly, this was a desperate method of prolonging life.

Mo Hua would never do such a thing—forcing descendants to sacrifice their lives.

And fundamentally, this was a way to evade Heaven's Dao's scrutiny—a black household's trick.

This method could not save his master, and time was already too short.

Mo Hua asked Ancestral Shu Gu: "Is there a more thorough method?"

Ancestral Shu Gu frowned. "What do you mean, comrade?"

Mo Hua said: "It's not my idea—it's my… another 'fellow cultivator.' He's more interested in this sort of thing, so I just asked—whether there's any…"

Mo Hua's voice grew slightly lower: "A way to turn a 'black household' into a registered one—to live openly under the Dao of Heaven."

The Ancestral Shu Gu took a deep breath of cold air, thinking: So it's true.

This child-like little monster truly harbors such "blasphemous" thoughts.

I merely skulk at the edge of the Dao's taboos, in the gray zone, stealing scraps of life to cling to existence.

But this person before me—he doesn't just want to stealthily steal life; he aims to overturn the Dao, invert yin and yang, reverse life and death.

He must have followed this lead, allowed his descendants to enact the Blood Pact, then traced it step by step to find me here.

The Ancestral Shu Gu was first afraid—deeply afraid.

He had always thought that locking his karmic ties, fixing his lifespan, clinging to life, and plotting grand schemes already counted as audacious beyond measure.

Yet he never imagined that beyond heaven there is higher heaven, beyond people there are greater people.

There truly exists someone bold enough—or rather, arrogant enough—to believe he can overthrow the laws of life and death.

In ambition alone, this person truly matches…

The Ancestral Shu Gu forcibly halted his thought. Looking at Mo Hua, a more outrageous idea surfaced in his mind, making his heart surge like a tidal sea.

"Speak…"

A clear voice rang out. The Ancestral Shu Gu snapped back to attention, looked at Mo Hua, and sighed:

"This matter involves life and death, embodies the Great Dao of karmic cause and effect—it's far beyond the comprehension of a mere third-grade peak, half-dead old relic like me."

The Ancestral Shu Gu wore an expression of helplessness.

Mo Hua was not satisfied with this answer.

Yet upon reflection, the Ancestral Shu Gu's words were true.

If it truly had a way to "register," it would have done so itself long ago—it wouldn't still be a "black household," living in shadows, slumbering underground, occasionally awakened by descendants, only to suffer misfortune when I traced its karmic thread straight to its door.

But Mo Hua still couldn't let go.

He was the sort who plucked a feather from every goose that passed, deeply curious, insatiable in his thirst for knowledge.

Even a dog walking past him would be interrogated with several questions.

Rarely does an ancestor of the Shu Gu tribe fall into my hands—I'd feel guilty if I didn't extract something from him.

Especially since it survives at the boundary of life and death—this Ancestral Shu Gu is no ordinary figure.

Mo Hua pondered, his gaze flickering, then said: "You're the Ancestral Shu Gu—you wield death curses. That means your mastery of karmic cause and effect must be profound."

The Ancestral Shu Gu replied: "I dare not…"

Before someone who could trace karmic threads all the way here, he dared not claim any mastery over cause and effect…

Mo Hua wore a humble expression: "No problem—I don't understand cause and effect deeply either. Let's exchange insights, help each other improve."

The Ancestral Shu Gu did not want to exchange.

But Mo Hua ignored it and said: "I'll throw out a brick to draw out jade—here's my view: Cause and effect, at its core, is a force of virtual and real. All things bear cause and effect—a single person, a single act, is a small cause; the more people and events involved, the greater the cause; when it touches all living beings, it becomes heavenly fate…"

When the Ancestral Shu Gu heard "cause and effect is fundamentally a force of virtual and real," his heart jolted.

These were words an ancient ancestor had told him long, long ago.

He had spent most of his life pondering them, slowly grasping a fraction of what "virtual and real" meant—why not merely "virtual," not merely "real," but "virtual and real"—a difference of a single character, yet containing worlds of distinction.

Yet today, this fellow cultivator, with only two hundred years of cultivation age, casually uttered it before his eyes.

From his demeanor and tone, this fellow cultivator clearly understood the phrase—not merely parroting it.

As for the later remarks on karmic heavenly fate, they were somewhat hollow and grandiose.

Ordinary karmic cultivators never delved into such vast concepts.

The Ancestral Shu Gu wanted to hear more—what other profound insights Mo Hua might offer.

But Mo Hua had already finished, his large eyes fixed intently on the Ancestral Shu Gu.

As if to say: I've spoken. Now it's your turn.

The Ancestral Shu Gu's skull felt numb.

He finally understood what Mo Hua meant by "throwing out a brick to draw out jade."

He threw the brick—he now demanded jade in return.

He had raised the bar so high, bringing up cause and effect, virtual and real, heavenly fate—all grand concepts.

So his own "exchange" couldn't be shabby—he had to offer something equally exquisite, something worthy of comparison, or it wouldn't pass muster.

Mo Hua watched the Ancestral Shu Gu with expectant eyes.

The Ancestral Shu Gu hesitated, then offered a few words on "the barriers of karmic arts"—but halfway through, Mo Hua shook his head: "Think again. This is too shallow. It doesn't suit our status."

The Ancestral Shu Gu's skull tightened. He thought again, then spoke of deeper karmic doctrines—such as "parallel relationships within karmic arts."

Mo Hua still shook his head, his face showing disappointment: "I didn't come here to discuss such superficial matters."

The Ancestral Shu Gu had no choice but to press on:

"My ancestors passed down a fraction of karmic divination arts and heretical curses—enough to foresee the future, avoid misfortune, and curse enemies to death… The highest techniques I cannot reveal, but some middle- and lower-tier methods—I can share with you, fellow cultivator."

Mo Hua's heart stirred.

He wanted this badly!

He had deep insight into the Principle of Cause and Effect, but his practical applications—especially the manipulative techniques—were utterly lacking.

Though compared to ordinary karmic cultivators, he was already quite strong.

Yet compared to the Ancestral Shu Gu, who could curse others to death, he was clearly far inferior.

But Mo Hua glanced at the Ancestral Shu Gu and, by instinct, sensed it was still hiding something—this wasn't its bottom line.

Its bottom line could still sink lower.

Mo Hua fell silent for a moment, then his expression turned solemn, tinged with faint displeasure:

"I have been sincere with you, exchanging Dao insights, revealing all I've learned in my two... hundred years—yet you hide your knowledge. Do you not consider me a fellow Daoist?"

The Ancestral Tie Shugu felt overwhelming pressure; after a moment, he let out a deep sigh, leaving only a bitter smile.

"This... is not because I am withholding secrets, but because some insights were painstakingly developed by me over eight hundred years—hardly worthy of esteemed transmission, unfit for grand halls, and not necessarily even correct... If by chance they align slightly with the Dao, all is well; if they contradict it entirely, revealing them would only invite ridicule."

Mo Hua wore an understanding expression. "It's fine. I won't laugh at you. Tell me."

The Ancestral Tie Shugu said, "Then... I dare to speak with you, young Daoist, of the insights I've devoted my life to regarding cause and effect..."

Mo Hua nodded, finally somewhat satisfied, straightening his posture to hear what the Ancestral Tie Shugu had spent his lifetime studying.

The Ancestral Tie Shugu grew solemn, speaking slowly:

"All things in the world carry cause and effect. The foolish see them as mystic illusions; only the wise perceive the hidden mechanisms. Only the mighty can harness the laws of cause and effect to create methods—foreseeing heavenly fate, divining fortune and misfortune, preserving life, and cursing death..."

"Yet all these laws, all these methods, ultimately boil down to three words: 'causal threads.'"

"Causal threads may seem mystical, their methods endlessly varied, their manifestations countless—but at their core, they are all manipulation of 'causal threads.'"

Here, the Ancestral Tie Shugu raised his half-rotted palm and, with a casual tug at his fingertip, drew forth a crimson thread.

"This thread is invisible to the naked eye, but with your Dao-seeing eyes, you should perceive it clearly... This is the physical form of a causal thread."

The Ancestral Tie Shugu stroked the causal thread. "And to be frank, this is the 'causal thread' I just extracted from your destiny just now."

"This is your 'thread of vitality.'"

Mo Hua froze. "My thread of vitality?"

The Ancestral Tie Shugu nodded. "Correct," he continued, "If your causal path follows this thread of vitality, then it is a 'path of life.'"

"But... if this thread snaps, then this path of life is severed." The Ancestral Tie Shugu casually pinched the causal thread in his hand, breaking it.

Mo Hua startled, looked down at himself, then at the Ancestral Tie Shugu, and frowned. "Are you lying to me? You snapped my thread of vitality—and I'm still alive."

The Ancestral Tie Shugu smiled bitterly, thinking: If I could truly snap you to death, I'd have snapped your thread of vitality long ago and let you die.

You wouldn't be here, tormenting me like this.

The Ancestral Tie Shugu sighed. "Snapping one thread of vitality won't kill you, because you are in your prime, your Dao cultivation profound, your mental power immense—you may have ten, a hundred, even a thousand threads of vitality. Break one, and many remain."

"But for an aged cultivator, or one on the brink of ruin with only a single thread of vitality left—you need only snap one thread to leave them with no escape, causing immediate death and Dao collapse."

"But for some elderly cultivators, or those on the brink of despair with only a single thread of survival left, all you need to do is sever that one lifeline, and it's possible to leave them with no way out, causing them to die on the spot and their Dao to vanish."

No wonder the Grand Chief Tie Shugu was so easily calculated to death by me.

He was too old, and his entire life had been filled with scheming and enmity—he had few threads of vitality left to begin with.

The Ancestral Tie Shugu said, "Thus, from the perspective of cause and effect, cursing a young, vigorous cultivator with deep fortune is difficult. But cursing an aged cultivator burdened with accumulated misdeeds is far easier."

"This applies to cursing—and many other causal methods can be understood through the lens of causal threads."

Mo Hua asked, "For example?"

"For example..." the Ancestral Tie Shugu said, "causal divination, causal defense, causal fate alteration, causal avoidance, and..."

The Ancestral Tie Shugu paused, then spoke slowly: "Causal transference."

The Bone-Art Ancestor paused for a moment, then said slowly, "Karmic Transference."

(End of Chapter)