Chapter 604: Suppress and Slay

His divine sense had been… locked down?!

Was there a high-realm cultivator nearby?

How could that be?

Divine sense locks on, then comes the spell.

Bald Eagle felt a premonition of danger.

What spell—it's coming?!

In less than a single breath, that familiar, nauseating, drowning-like Qi Zhixi sensation came over him.

Chains bound his body, a water prison confined him.

Bald Eagle's pupils shrank, disbelief written across his face.

Water Prison Spell?!

"That little brat?!"

In the span of a lightning flash, Bald Eagle suddenly understood.

He'd been tricked!

Tricked by that little brat!

His divine sense could clearly lock him down, his Water Prison Spell could clearly hit without fail!

But that little brat—he held back, he threw the fight!

When he cast the Water Prison Spell before, missing again and again, failing to trap him, it was all to make him careless, to make him lower his guard, to make him think…

That his divine sense was inferior, that his spells couldn't lock onto him either.

And then at the most critical moment, at the razor-thin line between life and death…

He got serious, used his powerful divine sense to lock Bald Eagle down, and with an extremely swift, unusually precise Water Prison Spell, took control of him.

Confining him right beneath these Five Element radiant lights, brimming with surging spiritual power and tremendous might.

Just like a little venomous snake.

Low-key, patient, lying in wait, then without anyone noticing, bares its sinister fangs.

Its bite doesn't hurt, but once it strikes, it can take your life!

Too despicable!

Too shameless!

Rage burned in Bald Eagle's heart, he nearly spat blood, and at the same time he was inwardly shocked.

Why did this little brat's divine sense have to be so strong?

He'd been prowling around Qian Province for so long, and this was the first time he'd been "outfoxed" by divine sense from a snot-nosed little whelp.

It was the first time, and very likely, it would also be the last…

Bald Eagle gazed at the radiant lights filling the sky, his expression utterly solemn.

He didn't know why this spell had such terrifying power, but he understood clearly—as long as he couldn't escape and was enveloped by the radiant lights, death was certain!

The array patterns on Bald Eagle's scalp suddenly blazed to life, a piercing sinister green.

He seemed to have driven the full power of this Four Symbols Array, and his scalp, unable to bear the strain, began to crack with bloodstained lines; fresh blood seeped out, streaming down from the top of his head.

Bald Eagle's face was covered in blood, wretched and ferocious.

He was going to stake his life on one last desperate fight.

And with his full power unleashed, Bald Eagle's flesh and demonic power fused to the extreme, his physical body nearly twisting and deforming, as if the demonic power was out of control, raging and ravaging within him.

Bald Eagle as a whole became neither man nor demon.

But his demonic power grew even more frenzied.

With demonic power surging and his body twisted, the Water Prison Spell was instantly shattered, its spiritual power deconstructed, reduced to water stains, and dissipated into nothing.

Bald Eagle regained his freedom, let out a vicious laugh, and was about to flee again.

Just at this moment, within Mo Hua's eyes, the eerie black mist still churned without end.

Within his pupils, overlapping shadows surfaced.

With the Guisuan technique pushed to its extreme, his divine sense also flowed to its limit.

Mo Hua's divine sense once again firmly locked onto Bald Eagle.

And in less than a single breath, Mo Hua's spiritual power flowed and condensed another Water Prison Spell, once again precisely and without error locking Bald Eagle in place.

In that instant, Bald Eagle's face went deathly pale, his eyes filled with terror.

This time, he felt it clearly.

This divine sense…

Held within it an innocent yet ice-cold killing intent.

Clearly, in terms of realm, it didn't exceed sixteen patterns, yet it carried an overwhelming, domineering force.

It could even lock him down across realms, making it impossible for him to break free at all.

Inconceivable, powerful yet resilient, possessing both a fathomless depth and an ever-changing eeriness…

This simply didn't seem like a "human's" divine sense!

Bald Eagle's pupils trembled violently.

That little brat…究竟 was he human or ghost, or…

An evil god?

Within his body, did he also host… a god beyond the Dao, the same as the God Lord?

Was he himself not human, merely a flesh-and-blood host of a god beyond the Dao?

Bald Eagle painfully turned his head, but in his line of sight there was no figure of Mo Hua at all—if he hadn't sensed that kid's divine sense, he might not have known how he died, or whose hands he died in…

The radiant light drew near, the sharp metal-attribute spiritual force slicing through his flesh.

His right limb had already been dissolved by spiritual force, exposing ghastly white bone.

Even the white bone was gradually weathering away.

The vulture showed despair on his face, then a transcendent indifference, and the devotion of one who has taken refuge.

His voice was hoarse and low as he chanted silently:

"Ten thousand tribulations cannot extinguish, the Desolate God does not die…"

"Sacrificial dogs of all beings, souls return…"

But before he could finish, he was swallowed by the five-element radiant light.

Jin Guang spread out, spiritual force like blades, slicing his flesh into a body covered in wounds.

From the fine cuts, blood seeped out, only to be绞杀 and evaporated by spiritual force in an instant.

The vulture lost his life in an instant, collapsed to the ground, his death gruesome and too horrible to look at.

And the skyful of radiant light likewise fell to the ground, grinding the Lin Mu across Manshan into flying splinters, shattering the mountain stones everywhere into fine powder.

Even the clouds, mist, and miasma were dispersed.

Jin Se spiritual force still lingered among the mountains, like shredded sunlight—beautiful, yet harboring killing intent within.

Ouyang Feng and the others wore expressions of shock.

"He actually… really killed him…"

This spell's power was actually this strong!

A single move had truly suppressed and killed this vulture, whose body had been strengthened by a sinister formation and was immensely tough…

While everyone was dazed, they suddenly saw a fireball spell fly past their eyes carelessly, fly off into the distance, and explode on the corpse of the already-dead vulture.

Boom—

The vulture's corpse was blasted into the air, then fell to the ground, rolled once, and only then stopped, without any movement.

Clearly dead beyond a doubt.

Everyone opened their mouths, speechless, and couldn't help but all turn their heads to look at Mo Hua, who had used a fireball spell to "whip the corpse."

Mo Hua blinked, and said matter-of-factly:

"This guy was too evil, I'll add a blade to confirm whether he's dead or not."

Although Mo Hua was inwardly certain that this vulture was probably dead beyond doubt—within his divine sense perception, the man had no breath, his spiritual force was in disarray, and was gradually dissipating.

But caution makes for a ten-thousand-year ship.

Throwing a few extra fireballs never hurts.

And there's no fear of ten thousand, only fear of what if.

This vulture had plenty of tricks up his sleeve, was thick-skinned and tough, and was quite hard to deal with.

Mo Hua's hands were a bit itchy, and he wanted to throw a few more fireballs, but seeing everyone silently watching him, he felt a little embarrassed and said:

"How about you guys add a few? I've already done mine…"

……

Shangguan Xu, who was wounded, looked at Mo Hua and sighed inwardly.

This Junior Brother Mo, compared to what Aunt had said, one couldn't say there was a difference—only that it was completely different…

He still remembered that before entering the sect, Aunt had urged him over and over, saying this Junior Brother Mo was innocent and well-behaved, kind-hearted, and had no schemes…

His cultivation wasn't high, his body was weak, he only knew a bit of formations, he'd definitely suffer in a fight, and would easily be bullied—so he should look after him a bit more…

He had almost believed it…

Now it seemed, this junior brother's methods were so sinister…

No—so clever, able to navigate a mid-Foundation Establishment melee with such ease.

Even the vicious, seasoned, and cunning vulture had been "toyed" with by his concealment art, made a fool of by his water prison spell, and even had his corpse "whipped" by his fireball spell…

Shangguan Xu sighed.

The aristocratic disciples who had just entered Grand Void Gate were as tender as lambs.

He couldn't believe that among their peers, anyone had the ability to bully this junior brother of his.

Or rather, who was bullying whom was still uncertain…

Ouyang Feng and the other two also looked at Mo Hua with somewhat strange gazes.

Especially Elder Murong, who was even more astonished.

He hadn't expected that the person he'd pulled in halfway to make up numbers would be such a junior brother…

Skilled in concealment, well-versed in formations, sharp in perception, and possessing that inconceivable method of drawing formations on the ground.

As well as that extremely rare absolute formation with five-element amplification…

Apart from his ability in direct combat being too weak, every other aspect was outrageously strong.

And the water prison spell—too fast, and far too precise.

The vulture died under her Five-Element Radiant Light Art, but ultimately, he actually died under those two consecutive water prison spells that had no power but were extremely tricky…

Mo Hua, seeing everyone looking at him, felt a tiny bit guilty and said:

"Senior brothers and sisters, it's getting late, let's gather up the storage bags, pick up the stuff, we should head back…"

Ouyang Feng and the others were stunned at the words.

Elder Murong looked at Mo Hua with an even stranger expression.

"Junior brother, you… often do this kind of thing?"

Killing someone and then picking up storage bags—how did it look… so practiced?

Mo Hua nodded out of habit, but halfway through, hurriedly shook his head and said:

"Not familiar, not familiar—I've never encountered anything this dangerous before…"

Murong Caiyun sighed helplessly.

The others exchanged bitter smiles.

But time was indeed getting late; after this grueling battle, their spiritual energy was half-depleted, and some were wounded, so they needed to tidy up and prepare to return.

Before returning, they must first clear the battlefield and collect the spoils.

To avoid missing anything, everyone joined in the search; others relaxed their spirits, yet couldn't help feeling weary—except Mo Hua, who was full of energy.

Collect the storage bags!

This was his favorite thing to do!

But the arrays were more important.

First, he dismantled every array nearby.

He "confiscated" the spirit stones powering the array cores, then examined the array pivots and patterns, checking for any array knowledge he hadn't learned—if so, he carefully recorded it.

A wise man may think a thousand thoughts, yet still miss one.

With so many array masters in this world, someone must know something he doesn't.

One must learn to compensate for weaknesses and pool collective wisdom.

Moreover, Bald Eagle's array skill was clearly strong, though his favored array types were skewed.

After dismantling the arrays, Mo Hua went to inspect the cave.

Clearly, this had been a temporary resting spot for these criminal cultivators—there were traces of daily life and some rudimentary stove arrays, but they were extremely crude.

Besides that, there were some demonic beast bones.

They were small, not like those of large beasts, more like the radius and ulna bones of eagles or hawks.

On nearby rocks, there were also some brownish feathers.

Demonic beast… eagle…

Mo Hua frowned.

He thought again of the eagle-like array on Bald Eagle's head.

"The Four Symbols Array… connected to demonic beasts…"

"But what kind of connection is this?"

"How is the Four Symbols Array constructed? How do they use demonic beasts to draw it?"

"If they draw spiritual power from demonic beasts through the Four Symbols Array to strengthen the body… won't they turn into human-demon hybrids?"

Like Bald Eagle looked at the moment of death…

Overstimulating the array, drawing in demonic power, causing all flesh and blood to be assimilated by demonic energy, losing humanity, becoming half-human, half-demon…

If I learn the Four Symbols Array, will I become like that too?

Mo Hua thought about it and felt a chill of fear.

He was fine as he was…

He didn't want to truly become a "little monster."

If he turned into that half-human, half-demon monstrosity, how could he ever face his parents or his little senior sister again?

He must be cautious.

Mo Hua thought again and searched nearby, but found no other traces of arrays—no books, no jade slips, no array patterns.

He scanned with his spiritual sense, probed with computational insight—found not a single clue.

"Looks like I'll have to search Bald Eagle's body later…"

Soon, everyone finished gathering and piled all the storage bags together.

Ouyang Feng and the others came from noble families; many items were beneath their notice, so they gathered carelessly, taking only the most obvious things.

Mo Hua was different—he gathered with extreme thoroughness.

Anything even slightly suspicious, he collected and laid out before him, forming a small, overflowing heap.

Around the entire cave, everything was now clean, as if devoured by locusts.

Shangguan Xu said: "Younger brother, most of these… don't seem useful, do they?"

"Just in case," Mo Hua said, "if any array patterns are hidden, checking them now might catch any leftovers."

"Alright…"

They realized this younger brother was obsessed with arrays—wouldn't let go of even the tiniest clue…

Then they began sorting the spoils.

Mo Hua truly dug out some fragmented array patterns from these scattered "rubbish."

He couldn't tell their origin, but he meticulously recorded each one.

But that was all.

The rest were spirit stones, spirit weapons, pills—common items for cultivators.

The books and jade slips held nothing remarkable.

Murong Caiyun took charge of these.

The spirit stones were divided equally among them.

These criminal cultivators had done much evil, and their spirit stones amounted to a substantial sum.

But that was only substantial to Mo Hua.

Murong Caiyun and the others came from noble families; they weren't short of spirit stones, so their expressions remained calm when receiving their share.

Among them, only Mo Hua beamed with joy.

Twenty-three thousand spirit stones!

More than enough for a very, very long time.

Indeed, in Qianzhou, one spends a lot of spirit stones, but also "earns" a lot.

Mo Hua happily stowed away the spirit stones.

The remaining items couldn't be divided evenly.

And they were all stolen goods—hard to handle.

By convention, they must first be submitted to Dao Ting Si, registered in the records, then converted into merit points, after which everyone would fairly distribute these merit points.

For sect disciples, merit points are far more important than spirit stones.

These items were quickly inventoried and processed.

But Mo Hua was somewhat disappointed.

Whether scavenged by himself or gathered collectively, all they found were fragmented array patterns—no complete, official Four Symbols array diagrams.

Especially the array painted on the bald eagle's head.

The sky darkened; the mountain wind turned sharp and cold.

Everyone rose to leave, but Mo Hua paused, then gently voiced his request.

"Elder Murong, may I see the array on the bald eagle's head?"

The bald eagle's corpse had been placed in a simple coffin and sealed.

It was to be submitted to Dao Ting Si to fulfill the bounty and exchange for merit points.

Mo Hua hadn't yet had time to examine the array on its head.

Elder Murong frowned slightly, then considered carefully:

"You… know what kind of array that is, right…?"

Mo Hua nodded. "It should be a Four Symbols array."

Elder Murong sighed. "This… probably isn't an ordinary, or rather, not a normal Four Symbols array…"

"Even when Four Symbols arrays employ beast patterns, they're never this grotesque and vicious…"

"Otherwise, the entire category of Four Symbols arrays would be classified as 'Evil Arrays' or 'Demon Arrays,' and utterly banned by Dao Ting Si."

"This bald eagle's Four Symbols array draws on demonic power and fuses flesh—likely using heretical methods…"

"Younger brother, you'd best not learn it…"

"Mm-hmm." Mo Hua nodded, yet added: "I'm not learning it—I'm just studying it, 'critiquing' it…"

Critiquing…

This junior brother speaks in such peculiar, clever ways…

Elder Murong still hesitated.

Mo Hua said: "I mainly want to take it back for Mr. Xun to examine."

Mo Hua invoked "Mr. Xun" again.

This tactic worked, as expected.

Upon hearing Mr. Xun, Elder Murong's expression flickered, then eased slightly; she nodded slowly:

"If that's the case, then take a look…"

So the group reopened the coffin sealing the bald eagle's corpse for Mo Hua.

The bald eagle had overabsorbed the Four Symbols array, its demonic power swelling, its body deforming; then it was slain by the Grand Void Gate's supreme technique, the Five Elements Mist Technique, and afterward, Mo Hua added a Fireball Spell.

Thus, the corpse bore little resemblance to a human.

Yet the array patterns on its body remained intact, as if…

Mo Hua's heart stirred.

Possessing its own "life"?

Life…

Mo Hua's heart trembled; he focused intently on studying the array…

This Four Symbols array didn't seem painted on—it felt more like it had parasitically attached itself.

The array structure itself was extremely stable; even after overuse and exposure to powerful spells, its pattern and core form remained unchanged.

Mo Hua took out paper and brush, made a slight mental derivation, then observed and recorded simultaneously.

After nearly half an hour, he had fully and completely recorded the array diagram on the bald eagle's head.

Elder Murong and the others waited patiently beside him.

Only after Mo Hua finished recording the array and secured the diagram did they rise and travel through the night to reach Diancang City.

To avoid complications, they went straight to Dao Ting Si, submitted the bald eagle's corpse, and briefly explained the sequence of events.

Of course, details regarding how they killed the bald eagle, and the specific Dao techniques and arrays involved, were only mentioned vaguely.

As matters concerned cultivation methods and Dao transmission, Dao Ting Si would not press for detailed combat accounts.

After that, it became Dao Ting Si's responsibility.

How to inventory the stolen goods, how to convert them into merit points, how to convict and publicly display the dead bald eagle.

Moreover, though the bald eagle was dead and his corpse delivered to Dao Ting Si, he still had several criminal cultivators under him, all with notorious records in Dao Ting Si's files.

These several criminals died in Diancang Mountain.

Dao Ting Si's enforcers must go retrieve their corpses, cross-reference them with the wanted list, close each case, and also earn some merit points in the process.

These matters must be handled one by one by Dao Ting Si.

Mo Hua and the others' mission was now complete.

After resolving this matter, the group checked into a guesthouse in Diancang City for temporary rest, planning to return to Grand Void Gate the next morning.

Though exhausted from a day's travel, Mo Hua spent the entire night practicing arrays on the Dao Stele.

They practiced ordinary formation arrays to strengthen their spiritual sense.

As for the Four Symbols Array, to avoid accidents, Mo Hua planned to study it in detail after returning to the sect.

If anything went wrong, Mr. Xun would cover for them.

The next morning, everyone felt cheerful and decided to stay half a day to relax a little.

Mo Hua also felt this was a rare opportunity, so he tagged along with his senior brothers and sisters, freeloading meals and drinks, spending half a day playing in Diancang City and buying some novel items.

That afternoon, they would set off to return to the sect.

Before departure, Murong Caiyun and Ouyang Feng went again to the Dao Ting Si in Diancang City, completed a few simple procedures, and added a brief account of their mission, thus closing the case.

On their way back, Murong Caiyun carried a storage bag stamped with the Dao Ting Si seal.

Murong Caiyun opened the storage bag, "These are items confiscated by the Dao Ting Si…"

"They were taken from the bodies of these Scavenger criminals, but they're useless and couldn't be converted into merit points, so they were returned to us…"

"Take a look—anything you want, help yourselves."

Murong Caiyun pulled out items one by one: some ordinary pills, some damaged spiritual artifacts, and some calligraphy and paintings…

Indeed, none were valuable.

Suddenly, Mo Hua's sharp eyes spotted a token.

He asked quickly: "Senior Sister Murong, what is this token?"

Murong Caiyun glanced at it, hesitated, and said:

"This seems to be… a Message Token…"

"A Message Token?"

Murong Caiyun nodded. "It's a token used by cultivators to transmit written messages and information—somewhat like our sect tokens, but far simpler in function…"

Mo Hua frowned. "This was also on the Scavengers? Why didn't I find it before…"

Murong Caiyun smiled.

"Searching is something the Dao Ting Si knows far better. They have methods only they understand—it's normal we couldn't find it."

Mo Hua nodded and asked again: "Does this Message Token contain any important information?"

Murong Caiyun gently probed it with her spiritual sense and shook her head. "It appears to be an ordinary Message Token, nothing special—and all the text inside has been erased."

Mo Hua was slightly startled. "Erased?"

Murong Caiyun nodded. "Now it's blank—nothing inside."

"We don't know whether the Scavenger erased the message before he died, or whether the Dao Ting Si wiped it clean."

Mo Hua's eyes brightened slightly, his face full of anticipation.

"Senior Sister, can I have this token to play with?"

I don't break chapters…

I just write too much and can't keep going—I can only stop wherever I am…(.)

(End of Chapter)