Chapter 1278

At the deepest part of Zhu Que Mountain, the ancient Zhu Que Altar.

The Divine Descent War with the Wu Jiao Tribe occurred here.

Millions of barbarian soldiers, countless commanders and barbarian generals, even dozens of late Jin Dan chieftains and generals, all fought bloody, life-or-death battles here.

Countless barbarian soldiers died, their blood spilled entirely out of faith.

In that battle, the ancient mountain range was pierced, countless peaks flattened, the earth left scarred and ruined.

But now, the entire altar had been completely rebuilt.

The perimeter was encircled by a towering wall, dense arrays forming an Array Great Wall.

The corpses of those who died here had all been collected, reburied in the wild lands, their flesh and blood nourishing the Great Wilderness.

All of this was done on Mo Hua's orders.

At this moment, Mo Hua stood before the altar.

The majestic sacred beast Great Pixiu guarded Mo Hua on either side.

Tie Shu Gu bowed deeply behind Mo Hua and said in a reverent tone:

"My lord, as you commanded, all is prepared. The great chieftains, elder chiefs, and principal generals of all tribes have been notified—the Zhu Que Mountain Divine Rite will be formally held in seven days. Any tribal high-ranking who fails to attend shall be deemed traitorous."

"Good," Mo Hua nodded slightly. "You may go."

"Yes." Tie Shu Gu bowed respectfully and withdrew.

Mo Hua watched Tie Shu Gu's retreating back, his gaze deep and thoughtful, then turned away and walked step by step toward the altar.

The massive Great Pixiu followed Mo Hua step for step.

Mo Hua crossed the altar square, climbed the steps, and ascended to the very peak of the altar.

At the altar's peak, blazing Zhu Que flames swirled, burning away the spiritual awareness of all ordinary cultivators, yet harming Mo Hua not at all.

The Great Pixiu was somewhat pained by the fire, but under Mo Hua's protection, the effect was not severe.

Above the altar, the Zhu Que statue, holding a golden ring, still stood.

Beneath the Zhu Que statue, the ancient divine throne loomed, inviolable.

At the base of the golden tree where Zhu Que resided, the golden tray—used to offer divine relics, ignite Zhu Que's flame, and summon the deity—remained exactly as before.

Mo Hua had once offered the dead eye of Wu Jiao on this golden tray, summoned the Wu Jiao Great God, and then "eaten" him.

Now, looking at this golden tray, influenced by "Taotie," Mo Hua suddenly felt an irresistible hunger.

He wanted to place the divine relics of Lord Yan Zhu and Lord Qing Zhu upon it, to see if he could also summon the Candlefire God and the Leng Qingqiu God, and "eat" them too.

If so, his spiritual awareness would surely grow even stronger.

Once greed stirred, Mo Hua's heart began to stir with desire.

He spent great effort suppressing this greed within him.

Mo Hua did not know the origins of the Candlefire God and the Leng Qingqiu God, nor how powerful these two "Great Gods" truly were—they were deities worshipped by the Wang Ting, surely no ordinary beings.

If he summoned them and couldn't defeat them, the joke would be on him.

The current situation in the wilderness was extremely fragile, unable to withstand further upheaval—better to avoid trouble than invite it.

Moreover, he had just broken through; his spiritual awareness realm had not yet stabilized—now was not the time to entertain the "eat" impulse.

Mo Hua restrained himself, quelling the "Taotie"-like hunger to devour deities.

He no longer looked at the golden offering tray, but turned his gaze toward the ancient throne beneath the Zhu Que statue.

The day before, Lord Yan Zhu had merely glanced at this throne, felt greed, and nearly had his courage crushed by the divine will.

But now, Mo Hua looked upon the ancient throne with calm composure.

In the unseen depths, the divine will descended once more, seemingly trying to make Mo Hua fear—but this will could not move him in the slightest.

Worse still, Mo Hua pressed forward against this divine pressure, step by step, toward the throne.

The ancient will seemed enraged by Mo Hua's insolence; the pressure of divine awareness nearly solidified into substance, enough to crush the spiritual sea of any ordinary cultivator into dust.

Yet before Mo Hua, this ancient will merely caused him to furrow his brow slightly—it could not stop him from stepping toward the high throne.

When Mo Hua finally reached the throne, a terrifying "roar" suddenly echoed in his ears.

As if an ancient deity were descending divine punishment upon him.

That powerful divine awareness pierced directly into Mo Hua's spiritual sea.

Even Mo Hua felt an inexplicable pain, as if his spiritual sea were about to be torn apart.

Mo Hua closed his eyes, drew his awareness inward, activated the Great Pixiu's horn, the Dragon Soul body, the pure golden Dao-transformed form, and condensed the sword intent of spiritual awareness forged into a blade—he resisted for a long time before finally dissolving this ancient divine will.

When Mo Hua opened his eyes again, the scene before him had become hazy.

As if time had reversed.

He seemed to see ancient barbarian ancestors of long ago, circling the altar in worship.

He saw one tribal war after another erupt around this altar.

He saw, in the invisible realm, numerous beings of the divine path—some like gods, some like demons, others like humans…

Their figures crossed and clashed upon the altar, wielding all manner of divine arts, endlessly battling each other, taking turns rising and falling through the long river of history…

They seemed to be fighting for something, or proving something.

More like, they were "pleasing" some unseen presence.

Until finally, a piercing, celestial cry rang out—blazing fire descended from heaven, Zhu Que, bearing flame, landed upon the altar.

As its wings spread, deep red divine flame surged like a storm, engulfing the entire altar.

All the divine path beings within the altar could not withstand Zhu Que's fire—either they died, or they fled.

At that moment, a staggering ancient divine aura emerged from the throne, engaging Zhu Que in battle…

The overwhelming divine pressure warped space and time.

Then, all vanished.

The illusion of time reversal vanished like a bubble.

Mo Hua stared again; all around was empty, save for the statue of Zhu Que holding a golden ring, and that lone, hollow ancient divine seat.

Zhu Que was an inanimate object.

The ancient divine will that had suppressed his descent had also completely dissipated from atop the divine seat.

But Mo Hua's expression held no joy—only melancholy and nostalgia.

For though the ancient divine will he had just sensed carried an unfamiliar aura, its essence was deeply familiar to Mo Hua.

"Great Wilderness Demigod…"

He had consumed many of the Great Wilderness Demigod's "divine remains," even the mental force of its true embryo.

One could say, half of his own divine foundation had been "eaten" from the Great Wilderness Demigod.

And Mo Hua had personally erased the Great Wilderness Demigod's will with calamity lightning.

Thus, when the divine will had just descended, Mo Hua could not help but feel a faint nostalgia—as if meeting an "old friend."

But sadly, Mo Hua could sense that this ancient divine will was "dead."

The Great Wilderness Demigod may once have descended upon this divine altar.

Perhaps even this altar, and the divine seat itself, originally belonged to the Great Wilderness Demigod.

But the Great Wilderness Demigod was ultimately "dead"—whether slain, sealed, or fallen into eternal slumber due to a flaw in divine cultivation.

In short, His divine Dao had fallen into stillness.

What remained upon the altar were merely fragments of His past will—still solemn, still terrifying, enough to make Lord Yan Zhu, a high shaman, die of fear.

But to Mo Hua, they were merely a faint, nostalgic trace of a "former friend."

As for the truth behind the Great Wilderness Demigod's death…

Mo Hua's gaze darkened.

The scene of Zhu Que descending with fire during the time reversal reappeared in his mind.

At this moment, Mo Hua finally had a shred of "evidence" to verify his suspicion.

This ancient altar on Zhu Que Mountain might not be the so-called "Zhu Que Altar" at all.

It was not the altar, as ancient barbarian legends claimed, built to worship Zhu Que.

Rather, it was an altar where Zhu Que had sealed something.

It was an altar where the Great Wilderness's sacred beast, Zhu Que, used its crimson Zhu Que fire to seal the ancient "Great Wilderness Demigod."

Zhu Que had sealed the demigod here.

The ancient people of the Great Wilderness worshipped Zhu Que, continuously offering it faith energy, so that Zhu Que could eternally suppress the terrifying demonic deity who once sat upon this ancient divine seat.

—Or, more precisely, a portion of that terrifying demonic deity's primordial power.

Who was responsible for this? The answer was obvious.

Mo Hua's gaze grew profound as he murmured softly:

"Lord Wuzhu…"

Lord Wuzhu created the sacred beast Zhu Que, and used Zhu Que to seal the Great Wilderness Demigod within this mountain's seat of power.

And the Great Wilderness's sacred beasts were four in total.

Moreover, Mo Hua suspected…

Had Lord Wuzhu artificially created the four sacred beasts of the Great Wilderness precisely to oppose and suppress the ancient Great Wilderness Demigod?

Was the Great Wilderness Demigod's "stillness" caused by Lord Wuzhu?

What exactly had Lord Wuzhu done to the Great Wilderness Demigod?

When in history had this occurred?

Was the hidden history of the Great Wilderness the "War of Divine Dao" between Lord Wuzhu and the Great Wilderness Demigod? Had all the Great Wilderness's arrays and divine Dao legacies arisen from this?

Mo Hua frowned deeply.

The more he probed, the more he learned—and the more shocking it became.

And what weighed even heavier on Mo Hua's heart was…

He always felt that what he was doing now was precisely what Lord Wuzhu had once done.

He was walking step by step along Lord Wuzhu's "old path."

But the problem was, while walking Lord Wuzhu's path, he seemed… also walking the path of the "Great Wilderness Divine Lord."

The dragon slayer becomes the dragon.

The problem was, from the very beginning, he seemed… both "dragon slayer" and "dragon."

He was the one opposing the Great Wilderness Demigod.

Yet simultaneously, he was the one consuming the "flesh" of the Great Wilderness Demigod, inching closer to the Divine Dao.

Mo Hua sighed softly, and stopped thinking further.

Whether dragon slayer or dragon, it no longer mattered.

A certain "fated" path now lay before him.

If he wished to survive within the Great Wilderness's game, to save its people, and to prove his own Dao, he could only accept his fate with calmness.

Even if the unknown, ever-watchful Lord Wuzhu observed him.

Even if the divine path of upholding heavenly principle and extinguishing human desire would slowly erase his humanity…

He could only walk this path…

"The Great Wilderness Divine Dao has declined; the world is chaotic; demons, monsters, and spirits all call themselves gods…"

"Then today, I too shall become the god of the Great Wilderness—the Lord of All Great Wilderness Gods…"

Mo Hua's pupils deepened as he slowly sat upon the ancient divine seat.

In that instant, heaven and earth trembled; the ancient Zhu Que Mountains welcomed their new master, and the vast land began to quake.

The Zhu Que blood sealing the divine throne was burned dry.

The will of the Divine Dao began to awaken, golden light staining the horizon.

The golden tree upon the divine altar began to grow.

In the unseen world of the Divine Dao, the great laws of the Dao flowed; the golden tree of divine authority once again spread toward the sky, like the sovereign power of a god, obscuring heaven and earth.

And all authority was reclaimed by the flesh-and-blood form seated upon the divine throne.

Mo Hua's slender body sat upon a divine throne many times his own height.

Boundless majesty radiated from his body, merging with the divine throne.

The golden divinity in his eyes grew ever more pronounced, overpowering the black of his demonic fate and the white of human destiny, dominating completely.

In that moment, he seemed to sit upon the divine altar, the sovereign lord of Da Huang, controlling the Divine Dao.

The ancient authority rested in his hands.

The golden tree of divine authority, stretching across the heavens, swayed gently with his every thought, scattering brilliant light throughout heaven and earth.

Yet without the power of divine descent rituals to warp the boundary between reality and illusion, the vast majority of barbarian cultivators, with their mortal eyes, could never behold this grand spectacle of the divine tree in full bloom.

Only Lord Yan Zhu and a few others could faintly glimpse the golden light on the horizon, and faint traces of divine authority etched in patterns.

Merely this trace of Divine Dao phenomenon shook their hearts and souls, these high shamans.

Upon the divine altar, as all faded, Mo Hua slowly rose, golden light receding into his eyes, divinity withdrawn within himself.

Yet the aloof coldness in his expression grew even more pronounced.

Heaven and earth have no mercy; they treat all things as straw dogs.

Gods have no mercy; they treat all living beings as straw dogs.

His divinity had nearly reached its peak.

Only occasional expressions still carried a trace of humanity.

The great tiger slowly walked before Mo Hua, gazing at him—feeling both alien and filled with concern.

Mo Hua reached out, gently stroking the great tiger's head, whispering softly:

"Only you are with me now…"

Of all who had shared karmic bonds with him since childhood, who truly knew he was "Mo Hua," and not some Da Huang shaman-lord, only the great tiger remained.

Only the great tiger could make Mo Hua remember that he was Mo Hua…

The great tiger nuzzled him affectionately, its gaze clear and gentle.

…

Seven days later, the Divine Sacrifice Ceremony began.

This was the first ceremony held in Da Huang since the Divine Lord's fall into silence, after countless years, to worship the "Divine Lord."

It was also the first ceremony in Da Huang's history to worship a true "Divine Lord."

Mo Hua, in his flesh-and-blood form, sat upon the towering divine throne.

Beneath Mo Hua lay the sacred beast tiger, white and bright, streaked with black markings.

Below the divine throne, the third-grade golden-eyed Xuan Tiger and a host of ferocious tiger demons all knelt reverently upon the ground.

The impact of this scene, the awe it inspired, needed no words to explain.

Lord Yan Zhu and the others trembled in heart and soul.

The great chieftains, grand elders, and barbarian generals of every tribe all knelt.

Outside the square, millions of barbarian warriors and shaman cultivators fell to their knees like waves crushed by a storm.

Praises for the Divine Lord and the shaman-lord rose from countless mouths, echoing through heaven and earth.

Mo Hua gently raised his hand; beneath his divine might, all noise ceased, heaven and earth fell silent, and millions of barbarian cultivators fell mute.

Mo Hua's voice, gentle yet firm, carried the coldness of a god:

"Today's ceremony worships the Divine Lord. May the Divine Lord bless Da Huang. May the Divine Lord's great power protect our people from famine and shield them from calamity."

"Starting today, we shall launch the final Divine War."

"This war shall unify the barbarian wastes. Let the Divine Lord's glory resound throughout Da Huang's heaven and earth."

"From now on, those who believe in the Divine Lord shall live; those who do not shall sink into the endless abyss of suffering, doomed to eternal calamity."

"And I, in the name of the Divine Lord, exercise divine authority as the supreme shaman-lord beneath the Divine Lord…"

"From today onward, you may call me…"

Mo Hua's gaze held the majesty of dominion over all beings:

"Shen Zhu!"

In that moment, all bowed in worship; the people of the barbarian wastes knelt reverently, their cries shaking the heavens:

"Divine Lord, may you live as long as heaven and earth."

"Shen Zhu, may you shine as bright as sun and moon."

…

(End of Chapter)