Chapter 1274: Human Nature

Those present felt the authority and oppression of the Divine Lord emanating from Mo Hua, and bowed deeply, saying: "We humbly obey the Divine Lord's command."

"We faithfully follow Lord Wuzhu's decree."

They had long held high positions, yet now all bowed before Mo Hua; though their deep cunning hid their expressions, their inner thoughts could not be faked—doubt, skepticism, sneers, worry, and resentment all mingled together.

Some among them clearly resented it, believing Mo Hua abused his power and made a mountain out of a molehill, foretelling his eventual downfall.

The high ranks of the Wildlands were accustomed to scheming and intrigue, driven by deep desires yet shallow in heavenly insight, and their faith could never be firm.

Mo Hua saw all these emotions clearly, yet said nothing.

Yet the Earth Great Array was implemented without flaw under Mo Hua's divine rule.

The people of the Wildlands truly did not understand why they must exhaust their resources to carve so many Sacred Glyphs.

The famine had already stopped spreading—why expend so much effort now?

But the Divine Lord's edict was iron law.

Mo Hua's command as Lord Wuzhu was absolute.

Out of faith and trust in Mo Hua, the lower and middle ranks of the Wildland cultivators quickly discarded their doubts and devoted themselves wholeheartedly to building the Earth Great Array.

Throughout the Zhu Que mountain realm, crowds surged like an ocean, orderly and bustling, filled with noise and activity.

Though it was a year of disaster and livelihoods lay in ruins, the united will of the masses created a scene of humanity triumphing over heaven.

At this moment, Mo Hua stood before a map of the Wildlands, staring at one spot, frowning in deep thought.

Soon after, Tie Shugu quietly entered and reported to Mo Hua on matters concerning the reconstruction of the Zhu Que mountain altar.

Tie Shugu, though a "rebellious element" with an unyielding inner spirit and inconsistent actions, was also one of the few longest-serving "confidants" of Mo Hua, besides Dan Zhu and others.

Moreover, since the White Bone Tomb incident, Tie Shugu had received the final charge of his "resurrected" ancestor and began serving Mo Hua with all his heart and effort.

Whatever Mo Hua ordered, Tie Shugu carried out without fail.

Due to his unique status and ancestral lineage tied to divine ways, Mo Hua entrusted him with all tribal affairs concerning "faith" and "rituals."

Mo Hua had also instructed Tie Shugu to begin preparing in advance for the Zhu Que altar rituals.

Tie Shugu regularly reported progress to Mo Hua.

Now, after completing his report, Tie Shugu bowed low, head down, maintaining his posture.

Mo Hua, however, still stared at the map before him, lost in thought, silent.

After a long while, Tie Shugu, still bowing, raised his head, glanced at Mo Hua with reverence, then at the map Mo Hua was studying—his expression subtly changed.

This flicker of emotion did not escape Mo Hua's perception. Mo Hua turned his head, his gaze calm as he looked at Tie Shugu.

Tie Shugu dared not meet Mo Hua's eyes and immediately lowered them, maintaining his deference.

Mo Hua studied Tie Shugu, his brow slightly furrowed, and suddenly recalled a question: "Why did Lord Lugu attack Jin Wutu mountain realm?"

Tie Shugu was startled, unsure why Mo Hua suddenly asked this.

"At the time of the great disaster, with famine spreading everywhere, Lord Lugu had no choice but to lead his troops across the land, searching for a place to settle and survive—" Tie Shugu replied.

Mo Hua knew this, but what he did not understand was: "Why Jin Wutu mountain realm specifically?"

As Mo Hua now studied the Wildlands map, he suddenly realized Lord Lugu's tribe had been far from the Second-Rank Jin Wutu lands—if merely fleeing disaster, there was no need to deliberately head in that direction.

Tie Shugu said: "Disaster comes from the west; one must flee eastward."

Mo Hua froze. "What?"

Tie Shugu said: "It is an ancient prophecy of the Shugu tribe: one day, great calamity will come from the west, and only by seeking eastward can one escape disaster. The east is the legendary birthplace of the ancient Wildland true gods, where the fire seed fell from heaven—"

Mo Hua frowned. "When did this prophecy begin?"

Tie Shugu said: "It has always existed. Since ancient times, the Shugu tribe has passed down this prophecy"—though it was so old, few took it seriously. Later, when disaster struck, Lord Lugu, with nowhere else to go, instinctively headed east—and thus found Jin Wutu mountain realm, and met you, Lord Wuzhu—"

"These things—" Tie Shugu hesitated, "Lord Wuzhu—you didn't know?"

Mo Hua's eyes flickered.

He truly had not known these things.

"Seek eastward—"

The eastern Wildlands were none other than Jin Wutu mountain realm.

Jin Wutu—fire seed—

Mo Hua felt too many coincidences were piling up, giving him a bad premonition.

Yet some things must be done—and now was the time.

Mo Hua ordered Tie Shugu: "Select several Wu cultivators with some mastery of Sacred Glyphs, and wait for me in the Lord Wuzhu Hall."

Tie Shugu asked no further questions, bowed, and replied: "Yes."

About half an hour later, the Lord Wuzhu Hall was filled with numerous Wu cultivators.

In the Wildlands, hierarchy was rigid; lineage and birth often mattered more than anything else, while distinctions among cultivation paths were less precise.

Thus, all Wildland cultivators dabbling in alchemy, arrays, talismans, or artifacts were uniformly called Wu cultivators.

Even those skilled in Wu magic and ghostly Wu techniques were collectively termed "Wu cultivators."

The entire system exuded an orderly kind of chaos.

Mo Hua thought he would one day unify and reorganize the Wildlands' cultivation paths and tribal structures.

But that would come later—now, with the great disaster looming, there was no time.

Gathering the gifted Wu cultivators together, Mo Hua sat upon the high seat of the hall, his gaze stern: "The Divine Lord above grants me sacred law, imparts to me the supreme Dao, and entrusts me to save all beings of the Wildlands—this matter is of utmost gravity."

"I shall now, by the Divine Lord's grace, equally bestow upon you all the Sacred Glyphs, which contain the supreme mysteries of the earth."

"May you uphold the Divine Lord's mercy, devote yourselves wholeheartedly to studying them, and unite to halt the Wildlands' disaster, rescuing its people from fire and water—"

The Divine Lord's sacred law is equally bestowed upon all beings—

The Wu cultivators all stared in disbelief.

In the Wildlands, transmission was harsh—many secrets were never passed down by tribal chieftains or elders.

And now, Lord Wuzhu himself is teaching them the legacy of the Divine Master.

This grace of transmitting the Dao is no less than being reborn parents.

In the great hall, these reclusive, haughty witch cultivators knelt upon the ground at once, crying out: "May the Divine Master be eternal."

"Thank you, Lord Wuzhu, for your great grace."

"We swear to brave fire and water for Lord Wuzhu—no sacrifice too great—"

Mo Hua nodded slightly, then passed down the bone slips he had long prepared, containing his insights on the Thick Earth Absolute Array, and the related Five Elements Earth and Eight Trigrams Gen array principles.

Mo Hua said: "These sacred glyphs were bestowed by the Divine Master, and are intimately tied to the breath of the Great Wild's earth."

"Some sacred glyph arrays differ from Great Wild traditions—this need not concern you. Rest easy, and focus solely on contemplating them."

"And among them, the most important is the final one: the First-Rank, Eleven-Glyph Sacred Glyph—"

First-Rank, Eleven-Glyph—

At these words, all the witch cultivators were shaken.

The very existence of an "Absolute Array" lies beyond the norms of the Dao Court's Nine Provinces, far exceeding the understanding of these barbarian array masters.

Ordinary array masters may spend their entire lives without ever encountering an "Absolute Array," let alone learning or contemplating it.

Even if an array master somehow obtained an Absolute Array, if he failed to comprehend its mysteries, could not read or grasp its meaning, he would likely dismiss it as a flashy, useless "strange array," sneering at it and ignoring it.

But Absolute Arrays are extremely important.

Within an Absolute Array lies the laws of Heaven and Earth—this, beyond the scope of ordinary arrays, is what may contain true array principles.

What Mo Hua now intends to do is first spread the Thick Earth Absolute Array among the barbarians.

Let these witch cultivators attempt to commune with the Dao's essence of the earth, allowing them, under its nurturing influence, to cultivate the sentiment of "thick virtue bearing all things."

Let the barbarian array masters gradually shift from believing in "gods" to believing in "Heaven and Earth."

Especially, first believe in "Earth."

"Man follows Earth." Earth gives birth to and nurtures all things, its thick virtue endless, its life unceasing.

At the very beginning of the Dao heart, one must first perceive the vitality of the Great Dao through the earth, feel its virtue and breadth that nourishes all things.

Mo Hua understood clearly that matters in the barbarian lands—especially those concerning the cosmic order—could not be resolved by one man alone.

He had understood this clearly, even as a child, when he helped the Lord of Xiancheng construct the Five Elements Demon-Slaying Array.

Human effort has its limits; personal cultivation is ultimately finite.

If one merely seeks to dominate through brute force, ruthless slaughter, and overwhelming power, then pursuing cultivation that gathers the might of Heaven and Earth into oneself suffices.

But if one truly wishes to attain the Dao, to change Heaven and Earth, to alter the fate of all living beings, then cultivating only one's own Dao and seeking only personal power is insufficient.

He needs the aid of more people.

He must change these people's "Dao hearts," transmit Dao arts to them, and expand them widely—ultimately gathering the Dao of all living beings and uniting the strength of all living beings, only then can Heaven and Earth truly be transformed.

Among these people, the most important are the array masters; among all arts, array art is the most crucial.

Array art is the most direct manifestation of the Great Dao's laws, and the core productive force among all Dao practices.

And the vessel of array art is the array master.

Therefore, Mo Hua must transmit his own array Dao and bring more array masters under his "command."

He must cultivate and pass on more array masters who pursue the Great Dao and emulate Heaven and Earth in their Dao hearts.

"The First-Rank, Eleven-Glyph Sacred Glyph does not exist within secular lineages; within it lies the law of the Divine Path, the will of the Divine Master."

"In the short term, you may not fully comprehend it—but as long as your hearts remain devout and you ponder day and night, one day you will understand the Divine Master's intent and profound meaning; then, you will gain preliminary control over the life-force of the earth—"

Mo Hua's tone was sincere, filled with high hope.

The witch cultivators all kowtowed in reverence, chanting: "Gratefully thank the Divine Master's gift, gratefully thank Lord Wuzhu for transmitting the Dao—"

Thereafter, the witch cultivators began studying the Thick Earth Absolute Array and many array systems unlike those of the Great Wild, as Mo Hua instructed.

They learned the Thick Earth Absolute Array extremely slowly.

After all, it was an Absolute Array; even though all these witch cultivators were at least Foundation Establishment, their spiritual senses were sufficient, yet their innate talent limited them—comprehending the Dao's essence of the earth remained exceedingly difficult, certainly not a task of a single day or night.

This was precisely within Mo Hua's expectations.

But the ordinary Five Elements Earth and Eight Trigrams Gen arrays, they grasped quickly.

That was enough.

In Mo Hua's plan, the Thick Earth Absolute Array could only be drawn by himself at present, sketching the entire pseudo-array's skeletal framework.

The vast majority of tedious, mundane tasks—filling in the Five Elements Earth and Eight Trigrams Gen arrays—would be left to these barbarian witch cultivators.

During this time, if any witch cultivator with exceptional talent, through chance and circumstance, came to comprehend the "Thick Earth Absolute Array," Mo Hua would elevate him to the rank of "Elder" among array witch cultivators.

Mo Hua would personally summon these gifted witch elder array masters, transmit array techniques to them, and guide them in the subtleties of array principles.

Afterwards, they would replace Mo Hua, traveling across the barbarian lands, upholding Mo Hua's will to expand the Thick Earth Array.

Thus, by starting from points and spreading outward, a vast Thick Earth Array capable of resisting famine would eventually be built across the entire barbarian land.

This was Mo Hua's overall preparation.

And for now, these witch cultivators still needed to study more, refine more, contemplate more, and practice more.

Soon, Mo Hua gave them their first opportunity for practice.

Mo Hua also formally began constructing the first "Thick Earth Ground," capable of resisting famine and awakening the earth's life-force.

This ground would be opened from the southeastern corner of the Zhu Que Mountain Realm, then extended eastward to the Second-Rank Wusha and Jin Wutu Mountain Realm.

This was precisely Mo Hua's initial landing point upon arriving in the Great Wild, and his first established "base."

Mo Hua did not know what the Jin Wutu Mountain Realm looked like now.

He worried that those he had first met, those familiar faces, might already be dead.

Previously, in the Zhu Que Mountain Realm, tribal wars never ceased; Mo Hua had had no chance to return.

Now that Mo Hua had unified the Zhu Que Mountain Realm, with manpower and resources fully assembled, he finally had the capacity to carve a path through the famine, leading to the Jin Wutu Mountain Realm.

The Earth Severance Array can currently be understood and drawn only by Mo Hua.

He could only first follow his planned blueprint and draw part of the Earth Severance Array himself.

Then, other Wu cultivators would surround the array Mo Hua had drawn and fill in the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams formations.

Mo Hua tapped his finger; spiritual ink curled along his fingertip, then seemed to possess "life," autonomously tracing the formation on the ground, merging seamlessly with the earth.

Though the other Wu cultivators had seen this "divinely aided" technique more than once, they still couldn't help but marvel.

"No wonder he is Lord Wuzhu—sacred Dao leaves no trace, utterly miraculous—"

Everyone praised endlessly.

Afterwards, they took out various bone pens, crouched on the pre-laid array mediums, and meticulously, faithfully traced the formation according to Mo Hua's grand plan.

Since it was their first time participating in such a large-scale array project, many Wu cultivators made minor errors.

While drawing the Earth Severance Array, Mo Hua extended his spiritual sense to review all the formations; when he spotted problems, he pointed them out and offered brief guidance.

The corresponding Wu cultivators, both ashamed and awed, then corrected their work as Mo Hua instructed.

Thus, Mo Hua drew, reviewed, and guided simultaneously.

With Mo Hua's guidance, the other Wu cultivators adapted to the array project and gradually ceased making mistakes.

Meanwhile, during their participation in constructing the array, their own array proficiency subtly improved, and their understanding of arrays deepened continuously.

The more this happened, the more they admired Mo Hua's array mastery.

They came to sincerely recognize and feel gratitude toward Mo Hua, this "Lord Wuzhu."

Such a noble Lord Wuzhu, willing to personally teach these Wu cultivators, personally instruct them in arrays, personally lead them in constructing the grand array, correct their errors in real time, and urge them toward deeper insight—

This pure, selfless Lord Wuzhu was truly a "blessing" from the Divine Lord upon the Wilds.

It was also the Divine Lord's immense grace toward these Wu cultivators.

Not only did Mo Hua, as the Divine Lord's representative, consolidate the Wilds' faith.

Even Mo Hua's own flesh-and-blood body had, without their awareness, gathered much reverence from many.

Mo Hua used the Earth Severance Array as the catalyst; the Wu cultivators drew arrays, and countless Spirit-Slave Tribe barbarian cultivators cleared mountain paths and laid array mediums.

Through everyone's efforts, a path paved with sacred runes slowly extended into the Famine Zone, where life dared not tread.

The vicious Famine Force was suppressed by the sacred runes Mo Hua had laid.

Seeing this, the crowd felt renewed awe and marveled even more at the greatness of the Divine Lord's power.

Thus, half a month later.

Through everyone's efforts, a mountain path densely inscribed with sacred runes crossed the Famine Zone and reached the farthest eastern reaches of the Wilds.

And after so long, Mo Hua finally returned to the place where he had first entered the Wilds—Jin Wutu Mountain Realm.

—

Looking out, tribes dotted the hills, and the barbarian cultivators' aura was calm.

The entire Jin Wutu Mountain Realm was strangely peaceful.

Outside lay famine and war, yet within the Famine Zone's embrace, Jin Wutu Mountain Realm seemed untouched, unchanged since Mo Hua's departure.

Everything operated precisely as Mo Hua had arranged, following the rules he had set, orderly and harmonious.

To Mo Hua, this was a stroke of fortune.

Yet the strange premonition, like a parasitic worm clinging to his bones, grew stronger.

Mo Hua always felt as if someone were watching him, and that an invisible hand had long ago laid a "trap" for him.

Mo Hua frowned, thought for a moment, then led his guards and Xiao Zatu, who had long yearned to return home, back to Jin Wutu Tribe.

At Jin Wutu Tribe, Xiao Zatu met his grandfather, Elder Zhamu.

Elder Zhamu was ancient, his face weathered, nearing death, yet driven by an obsession, he clung desperately to life.

That obsession was, perhaps, the only bloodline left in his life—his little grandson.

Thus, when Xiao Zatu entered Jin Wutu Tribe, tears streaming down his face, he rushed into Elder Zhamu's arms.

Elder Zhamu's face filled with relief, and he too could not hold back his tears.

All men must die.

In great calamity and disaster, human lives grow ever more precious.

These ordinary barbarian cultivators, powerless against fate's caprice, could only hope to see their loved ones once more before death.

Knowing their dearest kin still lived brought no regret.

On Elder Zhamu's aged face flowed tears of joy as he held his little grandson tightly.

Mo Hua, however, froze slightly.

He, who had long stood high above, observing heavenly fate under the name of Lord Wuzhu, wielding power and ruling all through "divinity," now felt a faint warmth of bittersweet emotion in his heart.

This was nothing special—but this "warmth" highlighted the coldness of his own heart.

Mo Hua's perception of his own spiritual sense was always exquisitely fine and sharp.

At this moment, he sensed that this warmth seemed to originate from within himself—

"Humanity."

His humanity was "growing" within his heart—

This meant—

Mo Hua's expression grew complex; a faint unease stirred within him.

"It means—my humanity has already begun to fade—indeed, it has already—"

"Eroded" part of itself—"

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