Chapter 1287

In those ashen eyes, which held a trace of astonishment, there even flickered a hint of panic and complex killing intent.

Yet, this trace of killing intent was entirely dissolved by the cold and majestic gaze of Mo Hua.

Tie Tie Shugu slowly stood up straight. His demeanor lost some of its dullness and gained a bit of the vicissitudes of time, but his attitude remained as respectful as ever.

He bowed to Mo Hua, who sat high above, and said, "Fellow Daoist—"

Tie Tie Shugu added, "No—I should address you as—Lord Divine Blessing—"

Mo Hua did not commit to an answer, looking down at Tie Tie Shugu from his high position.

"Lord Divine Blessing—when did you notice?" Tie Tie Shugu asked.

Mo Hua said indifferently, "All truth and falsehood, reality and illusion, cannot be hidden from the eyes of the Divine Lord."

Tie Tie Shugu's expression showed a bit of guilt.

Mo Hua asked him, "Why are you following me?"

Tie Tie Shugu bowed and said, "I dare not deceive Lord Divine Blessing. This old one was trapped in the Land of White Bones, unaware of the years on the surface, nor of the situation in the wilderness. Therefore, I borrowed this physical body to come up and take a look—"

Mo Hua said, "Why are you following me?"

This question was the same as before, but Tie Tie Shugu knew that what Mo Hua was asking was different.

"Our meeting in the White Bone Mausoleum that day could be considered a stroke of fate from the Dao of Heaven. This old one saw that Lord Divine Blessing possesses extraordinary divine power and will surely become a supreme being in the future, achieving great things. My Bone-Art Tribe could also be reborn. Therefore, I specifically separated a wisp of my remnant soul to secretly follow Tie Tie Shugu and 'assist' by your side—"

Tie Tie Shugu's tone was very sincere, and his words were full of praise.

Mo Hua's expression remained indifferent, showing neither joy nor anger.

Tie Tie Shugu lowered his head, not daring to speak casually again, clearly terrified of displeasing Mo Hua and inviting some inexplicable divine disaster.

With Mo Hua's current power, if he found a pretext to blow up the ancestral graves of the Bone-Art Tribe, it was estimated that no one would dare to criticize it.

After an unknown amount of time, Mo Hua's tone softened slightly, and he said, "You said—you came to assist me?"

Seeing that Mo Hua's attitude was not as cold as before, Tie Tie Shugu secretly breathed a sigh of relief, cupped his hands, and said, "Yes, the Bone-Art Tribe is now under the command of Lord Divine Blessing."

"As an ancestor of the Bone-Art Tribe, I should naturally serve Lord Divine Blessing and do my utmost for the Divine Lord's great cause."

Mo Hua nodded and asked directly, "What you learned is the Causality Art?"

Tie Tie Shugu's gaze sank slightly, and he nodded, "Yes."

Mo Hua's fair fingers tapped lightly on the seat of the Divine Invoker made of gold and jade, his gaze cold as he pondered, "If someone uses causality to harm me, how should I avoid it?"

Tie Tie Shugu said, "In the causality inheritance of the Bone-Art Tribe ancestors, there are indeed some methods for avoiding causality, such as the Bone-Turning Heart Art, the Bone-Guiding Disaster Art—this old one is also slightly proficient in one or two, but forgive me for speaking bluntly, these should be of no use to you, Lord Divine Blessing—"

Mo Hua's gaze narrowed, his expression majestic without anger.

Tie Tie Shugu's heart trembled, and he immediately said, "Everything this old one says is true; I dare not deceive the Divine Blessing."

Mo Hua's face turned cold, "Then—you are useless."

Before his voice fell, golden light appeared in Mo Hua's eyes, containing astonishing sword radiance.

Tie Tie Shugu's face was horrified, and he immediately said, "I am useful! I have other clues!"

Mo Hua withdrew the divine light from his eyes and said faintly, "Speak."

Tie Tie Shugu's lingering fear gradually faded, and he slowly breathed a sigh of relief. After pondering for a moment, he said in a heavy voice, "The Bone-Turning Heart Art, the Bone-Guiding Disaster Art—these are indeed considered top-tier inheritances in the Bone-Art Tribe, capable of turning disasters into blessings, avoiding ominous opportunities, and guiding fortune."

"This old one has studied them for a lifetime and indeed has some insights, but these methods can only avoid..."

"...'ordinary' causal dangers—"

Tie Tie Shugu looked at Mo Hua and smiled bitterly, "I will not hide it from Lord Divine Blessing, if these causality avoidance methods were truly powerful, I would have first avoided you, this 'great danger.' You would never have seen me, and from the very beginning, you would not have been able to enter the White Bone Mausoleum—"

"These causality arts cannot help me avoid you, this 'danger,' so naturally, they cannot help you avoid those 'dangers' that even you find dangerous."

"Therefore, passing them on to you is just wasting your time with these 'petty tricks,' and they won't be of much help—"

"However, there is one inheritance that should be able to help you—" Tie Tie Shugu said slowly.

Mo Hua said, "What inheritance?"

"Do you still remember that I told you—my Bone-Art Tribe ancestors also had some methods for 'causal transfer'?" Tie Tie Shugu said.

Causal transfer—

Mo Hua's gaze narrowed.

"This Causal Transfer Art is an ancient tribal secret, and even this old one was not qualified to take a look at it back then. After all—"

Tie Tie Shugu sighed, "This old one has been dead for so long; by the years, I should be a 'tribal ancestor,' and the title sounds quite impressive. But back then, I was just a rather talented elder in the upper echelons of the tribe, stuck at the peak of Jin Dan. I was not qualified to touch the true absolute secrets—"

"The most secret of them all is naturally this—ancient Causal Transfer Art—this transfer art was so secret that back then, I didn't even know its name—"

"So—" Mo Hua said indifferently, "you have 'come back to life' now, and just happened to borrow Tie Tie Shugu's body to return to the world, to seek this 'absolute secret' inheritance that you weren't even qualified to see?"

Tie Tie Shugu's face changed, a bit guilty and a bit bitter, saying, "Lord Divine Blessing is wise; indeed, nothing can be hidden from you."

"For those of us who cultivate the Dao, the only things we can truly be obsessed with for a lifetime are these Daoist methods."

"When I was alive, I sought them but could not obtain them. After being dead for so many years, even buried underground, I still couldn't forget them. Now that there is such an opportunity, naturally, I couldn't help but want to seek it out—"

"And so?" Mo Hua's voice sank slightly, "Did you find it?"

Tie Tie Shugu's expression became somewhat obscure, "I will not hide it from Lord Divine Blessing, I borrowed Tie Tie Shugu's body to follow you in battle, and at the same time—secretly, using your name and relying on your power, I constantly searched for the remaining Bone-Art Tribe inheritances in various places, as well as legends of some ancient inheritances—"

Tie Tie Shugu sighed, feeling a bit emotional, "A long time has passed, and the world has changed. The Bone-Art Tribe has also experienced too many divisions and unifications, and many ancient inheritances have vanished into dust—"

"I searched for a long time, and just when I was about to give up, I finally found a clue to this ancient Causal Transfer Art—"

"I also found its name in an ancient forbidden canon—"

"This Causal Transfer Art is called—" Tie Tie Shugu's expression was heavy, and he said word by word, "Great Wilderness Straw Dog Life Art!"

Straw Dog Life Art—

Mo Hua's pupils shrank.

"And this life art is hidden in—" Tie Tie Shugu's expression was heavy, "the former Shi Gu Main Tribe."

That Shi Gu Main Tribe, which was infected by the Evil God and swallowed by the famine, and no longer had any living people.

Mo Hua's brows could not help but knit slightly.

These trivial causalities of the past seemed to have linked together again unknowingly.

He looked at Tie Tie Shugu, "So, you didn't get your hands on this Great Wilderness Straw Dog Life Art?"

Tie Tie Shugu smiled bitterly, his expression full of regret, and sighed, "Someone got there first. Just before the disaster happened and the famine swallowed the Shi Gu Tribe, this Straw Dog Life Art was already gone. It was snatched away by someone—"

Mo Hua asked, "Who snatched it?"

Tie Tie Shugu shook his head, "I can't find out; there are many possibilities."

Mo Hua's face sank slightly.

His first subconscious reaction was definitely the Hua family.

The Hua family laid out plans in the Great Wilderness, both sucking the blood of the Great Wilderness and seizing its inheritances.

It was within the normal causal logic that the Straw Dog Life Art was snatched by the Hua family.

As for whether the Hua family knew the extraordinary nature of this causal life art and snatched it on purpose, or just did it in passing, it was hard to say.

But this matter was not without other possibilities—

Mo Hua recalled, and instantly realized that in the conspiracy of the Shi Gu Tribe, besides the Hua family, there was another person involved:

Mr. Tu!

When the Shi Gu Tribe was destroyed, the tribe had already raised an "Evil God."

This method of raising an Evil God involved the Dao of Gods and was highly professional; ordinary cultivators could not possibly understand it. The mastermind behind it was very likely Mr. Tu.

Although the once-powerful Shi Gu Main Tribe was destroyed overnight, it was caused by multiple dangerous factors behind the scenes.

And Shi Gu, the most powerful general, actually died under the joint calculations of the original Great Chieftain of the Bone-Art Tribe, the Bi Fang Tribe, the Hua family, and Mr. Tu.

For a barbarian general, this was truly almost a mortal tribulation.

And now it seems, there was even more to this matter—

The causality that truly caused the destruction of the Shi Gu Tribe and the death of Shi Gu—was the ancient secret causal inheritance of the Bone-Art ancestors sealed within the Shi Gu Main Tribe—

"Great Wilderness Straw Dog Life Art"?

Was Mr. Tu also specifically targeting the Shi Gu Tribe in order to steal this "Straw Dog Life Art," using divine means to infect a barbarian god and accelerate the destruction of the Shi Gu Tribe?

In this way, some things could be explained.

But—

Mr. Tu went to the trouble of taking action himself to snatch this Straw Dog Life Art—what exactly was it for?

This is a technique of causal transfer—

Mr. Tu snatched this life art, wanting to—transfer what?

Mo Hua's heart jumped slightly, and his gaze gradually deepened.

Seeing that Mo Hua was not speaking but was lost in thought with a heavy expression, Tie Tie Shugu did not dare to even breathe loudly.

It was not until a moment later that Mo Hua raised his eyes and looked at Tie Tie Shugu, "I give you a task: from now on, you will search for the traces of this 'Great Wilderness Straw Dog Life Art' for me."

"This matter has the highest priority. You may use my authority as Divine Blessing to handle it; no tribe or force may obstruct you."

"If you find it, I can let bygones be bygones regarding your crime of lurking by my side and deceiving me, and I can even give you other rewards."

"If you don't find it—" Mo Hua's gaze was cold, "don't blame me for settling old scores—"

Tie Tie Shugu's heart shuddered, "Yes, this old one will do his utmost."

Mo Hua added, "Besides that, there is another method you must tell me."

Tie Tie Shugu said, "Lord Divine Lord, just speak. As long as this old one knows it, I will certainly not hide it."

Mo Hua said, "Teach me the 'Curse Art' of the Bone-Art Tribe."

Tie Tie Shugu was a bit troubled, "The 'Curse Art' of the Bone-Art Tribe requires the use of descendants' bloodlines, death and rebirth, and exchanging vitality for life. These—"

"I don't need these—" Mo Hua said, "What I want you to tell me is the method for 'locking' the 'Curse Art'."

He currently has no descendants, no bloodline heirs, and has not yet "died."

After dying, it is not certain that anyone will bury him, let alone build him a mausoleum, so don't even think about tomb sweeping.

Therefore, Tie Tie Shugu's "bloodline curse art" is useless to Mo Hua.

What is truly useful is the "causal locking" within the curse art.

To cast a curse, one must first "lock" with causality; once locked, the curse art has a target for its lethality.

Just like casting a spell, one must first lock with spiritual sense; once locked, the spell can carry out its killing.

The world might pursue high-end, complete "arts."

But for Mo Hua, being able to cultivate such basic, detailed "Daoist art" methods to the extreme is what truly means being powerful.

Seeing that Mo Hua was determined, Tie Tie Shugu did not dare to stall any longer. After pondering for a moment, he said, "Lord Divine Blessing, do you still remember the various principles of the 'causal line' that I told you before?"

Mo Hua nodded slightly.

Tie Tie Shugu said, "All things in the world follow causality."

"Everything has a cause and an effect. Using the effect as a cause, and then deriving further effects, repeating this cycle and extending it continuously, constitutes a 'causal line'."

"And the causality of all people, all things, and all objects, mixed together in a thousand ways, constitutes the 'causal appearance' of the objective world."

"The core of all causality arts is the manipulation of the 'causal line'."

"Causal locking is no exception."

"One only needs to find a 'definite line' from the intricate thousands of causal lines to perform causal locking."

"The clearer the causality, the easier it is to lock based on the causal line."

"The more objective the causality and the more significant the fact, the harder it is for this causal line to break."

"The more secret the causality, the fewer people know about it, and the more obscure the causal line, the harder it is for others to notice—"

"—"

"These things sound simple, but causality itself is ethereal, and in actual operation, it depends heavily on spiritual sense and comprehension."

Tie Tie Shugu took out a bone slip from his sleeve and presented it to Mo Hua, "This is the first three chapters of the Bone-Art Curse Art, covering the causal line setting of the curse art, following the line to lock the enemy, and the method of casting the curse after locking the enemy. The specific 'curse arts' vary from person to person, but these methods of locking the enemy with curse arts are common and can provide some reference for you, Lord Divine Blessing—"

Mo Hua accepted the bone slip and nodded, "Very good."

Tie Tie Shugu said respectfully, "As long as it can help you, Lord Divine Blessing."

Mo Hua waved his hand, "You may go down. Remember to investigate the matter I just ordered you to do."

"Yes."

Tie Tie Shugu bowed to Mo Hua and turned to leave. Suddenly, Mo Hua called him back. After a moment of silence, he asked, "Is Tie Tie Shugu—already dead?"

"Tie Tie Shugu" knew what Mo Hua meant. He just said calmly, "Lord Divine Blessing, in Tie Tie Shugu's heart, there is only loyalty to you. As long as this 'loyalty' exists, he is still working his fingers to the bone for you. Is there any difference whether he is dead or alive?"

Mo Hua was silent for a moment and nodded, "I understand."

"Tie Tie Shugu" bowed to Mo Hua, "Lord Divine Blessing, this old one takes his leave."

After speaking, "Tie Tie Shugu" turned and left. His footsteps were light and somewhat incongruous. After walking a few steps, that aura of "ashen decay" disappeared, and his back became firm and devout again, as if he were once again that loyal "Tie Tie Shugu."

Not until Tie Tie Shugu's back disappeared did the indifferent Mo Hua withdraw his complex gaze and look at the bone slip of the "Bone-Art Curse Art" in his hand.