Chapter 609: Golden Marrow

At Mo Hua's gaze, all demons and evil spirits scattered their souls, trembling uncontrollably.

They feared being "eaten."

The color of the black water had lightened somewhat, as if expending all its strength to "give birth" to the boar-headed demon had wounded its essence.

A fierce rage emanated from within the black water.

It had never before encountered a "person" who dared show it such disrespect.

And yet this person was merely a childish, green, brat.

But at the same time, deep wariness arose within it.

Though devouring this brat would be greatly nourishing.

But if it expended too much strength and damaged the Divine Lord's origin, it would be a loss outweighing the gain…

Mo Hua's mind shifted; he sensed the black water's intention to retreat. He blinked, seized the opportunity, straightened his chest, lifted his head, and assumed an utterly arrogant posture.

In Mo Hua's eyes burned utter contempt.

At the same time, he provocatively licked his lips.

As if treating the black water as a "snack."

The black water froze for a moment, then violently shuddered, as if furious beyond measure.

From within the black water surged even stronger malice.

This time, it would hold nothing back.

The Divine Lord's dignity must not be violated.

The Divine Lord's honor must not be desecrated.

It would "eat" this half-step Divine Embryo brat and offer the most delicious, most devout sacrifice to awaken the Divine Lord!

In Mo Hua's mind sea, sudden coldness and filth spread—black water oozed across the ground, staining it.

The black water swelled, transforming into black mist, surging and churning.

Soon, the mist dispersed, revealing a throng of demons and ghosts, shadows upon shadows, each grotesque and terrifying, deformed and hideous.

On their chests, each bore a clump of black water, like a heart, trembling faintly, pumping evil, filthy black qi as blood to amplify their demonic power.

This time, the black water hatched more demons, and they were clearly stronger.

Before Mo Hua could react, the horde of demons and ghosts rushed forward like mad beasts, determined to give him no chance to resist—to tear him apart and swallow him alive.

Mo Hua frowned, began as before—dodging with the Step of the Passing Water, striking with his little fists, occasionally using Water Prison Technique to restrain, or Fireball Technique to finish them off.

But these demons were clearly stronger.

His punch could only shatter bones, disfigure, or cripple them—but could no longer burst them open.

Yet the demons' arrogance grew bolder.

They feared neither death nor pain, throwing themselves recklessly, desperate to bite off a piece of Mo Hua's flesh.

After fighting for a while, Mo Hua grew weary, his limbs aching; he sighed.

"Body cultivators are so tiring…"

It was exhilarating, sure, but after a while, it grew dull.

Mo Hua punched a horse-faced demon, twisting its face; spun and kicked, snapping a wolf demon's waist; seized a bull demon's horn, yanked hard, and crushed a whole cluster of demons…

Seizing the opening, Mo Hua tapped the ground with his foot, retreated several steps, creating distance.

"I'm bored."

Mo Hua spoke calmly, then spread his arms, his pupils instantly turning pitch black.

His aura shifted instantly—from innocent and pure—to profound and sinister.

Dark, strange patterns emerged across his body, densely weaving into a black ink Dao robe that draped over him.

The horde of demons instantly paled.

From within the black water came a shrill, agonized roar, twisting into fragmented, terrified human speech:

"Heavenly Mechanism Deceit Dao?!"

"You are…"

"Deceit…"

"…just who are you?!"

Mo Hua had no patience for words; his divine awareness pushed to its limit, his eyes filled with shadows upon shadows, the Dao robe's patterns densely woven.

His divine awareness poured forth, instantly forming in his mind sea a colossal array, engulfing every demon and ghost.

"Li Mountain Pyre Array!"

This was an array Mo Hua had tinkered with in his spare time—a second-rank low-tier compound array, aligned with the Five Phases and Eight Trigrams, combining Five Phases fire and Li Trigram fire to ignite, using Gen Trigram mountain to trap enemies.

This compound array was Mo Hua's own attempt, guided by Mr. Xun, to fuse the Five Phases and Eight Trigrams systems, built upon his insights from constructing the Five Phases Demon-Slaying Array.

This array was difficult.

In the real world, it had many limitations.

With Mo Hua's current divine awareness realm, drawing it was exhausting.

But within his own mind sea, his divine thought was boundless; the manifested array was utterly free, unrestrained, reckless.

Mo Hua intended to use this compound array to "stew" all these demons and ghosts, so he could "eat" his fill.

The instant the array formed, the black water sensed a great terror.

It had never imagined that merely seeking a quick snack, it would encounter a monster capable of instantly forming an array through Deceit Dao, with the semblance of a half-step Divine Embryo!

But it was too late.

Mo Hua's eyes glinted with killing intent; his small hand clenched, crisp and clear:

"Kill!"

Instantly, the Li Mountain Cremation Rearray activated.

Spiritual perception manifested as rocky protrusions, jagged and interwoven, forming a stone prison that trapped all demons and monsters.

Then the Five Elements' fire surged, the Bagua Li Fire covered the sky above, the two intertwining like molten lava, flowing between the rocks.

The entire Rearray resembled an erupting volcano.

Demons and monsters, trapped within the volcano, were burned by flames and swallowed by magma.

Their flesh and skin blackened inch by inch, turning to ash.

In the boundless hellfire, countless deformed, grotesque demons clutched their heads, screaming in agony.

The black water, as the "embryo," was also burned by flames, slowly evaporating into black mist.

It was then further refined by Li Fire, transforming into white-blue qi.

Mo Hua stood atop the Li Mountain Cremation Rearray, looking down from above, watching countless demons and ghosts writhe in agony within the array, turning to black ash—he nodded slightly.

"Arrays are still more useful…"

"Body cultivators are too clumsy."

Moving fists and feet occasionally to stretch the "tendons and bones" is fine for fun, but relying on his own unstructured, half-baked cultivation martial arts to slay demons and purge evil is far too inefficient.

Mo Hua sat cross-legged.

He was going to "eat"!

The Li Mountain Cremation Array burned and killed demons, while simultaneously purging their demonic qi and refining them into Bai Qi.

Mo Hua sat beside it, "roasting" and "eating" at the same time.

A thread, a strand—spiritual perception entered his belly, continuously strengthening Mo Hua's spiritual awareness.

Yet when Mo Hua finished "eating," his spiritual awareness realm remained at only Fifteen Patterns, though significantly deeper, still unbroken.

The Li Mountain Cremation Array, after burying this group of demons, gradually faded away.

All demons were slaughtered clean.

All black water was evaporated to nothing.

Only one remained…

It had apparently hidden deep within the black water, enveloped by it, leaving no trace.

But now that the demons were slaughtered and the black water burned, it could no longer hide its true form.

This was a…

Mo Hua squinted, "A goat's head?"

A bony human face, with grotesque goat horns—its size wasn't large, merely the height of an average adult cultivator, yet much shorter than the other demons.

Mo Hua asked, puzzled: "What are you?"

The bony-faced, goat-horned demon, upon hearing this, flew into rage, shrieking something unintelligible; seeing Mo Hua's confused expression, it switched to a clumsy, sinister human voice:

"Impudent brat!"

"You think yourself mighty after killing a few divine slaves and demonic pests!"

"I am the Divine Lord's Enforcer…"

"You have offended the Divine Lord—you deserve ten thousand deaths. If you kneel and beg for mercy, submit to my lord, I might bestow grace and spare you…"

Mo Hua flashed forward with the Flowing Water Step, closing the distance, clenching his fist, and smashing it straight into the demon's face.

The demon had no resistance whatsoever—it was instantly flung away by Mo Hua's punch, like a sack of rags, crashing to the ground, rolling several times, then struggling to escape.

Mo Hua extended his right hand, forming a golden array pattern, binding it in place, then waved his small hand.

The golden chains dragged the demon back to Mo Hua's front.

Mo Hua punched it again, sending it flying, then pulled it back, punched it again…

After repeating this several times, the demon lay paralyzed on the ground.

Mo Hua stepped forward, crushing it beneath his foot, his expression puzzled: "You seem like an idiot… don't understand the situation?"

He himself was this strong.

The demon's spawn and offspring had all been cremated by his array, roasted and eaten.

How could this demon still be so arrogant, with no sense at all?

Mo Hua kicked it and asked:

"What is a 'Divine Lord's Enforcer'? A servant of evil spirits?"

"And what is this 'Divine Lord'? A demon god?"

The bony-faced, goat-horned demon flew into rage: "Insulting the Divine Lord—you…"

It had intended to scream "You deserve to die," but seeing Mo Hua raise his tiny fist with a menacing look, it dared not speak.

Mo Hua stared at the demon, stroking his chin, puzzled: "You seem… unafraid of death?"

The demon sneered:

"To sacrifice for the Divine Lord is supreme honor—and…"

The demon's voice grew manic, eyes blazing with fanaticism:

"I am the Divine Lord's Enforcer, protected by the Divine Lord—my spiritual awareness is immortal and indestructible. You may bully me, insult me, strike me, wound me—but you can never, ever kill me!"

"The Divine Lord is eternal—I am immortal!"

Mo Hua paused slightly, realizing that in his earlier punches, the demon's bones had no cracks, its horns had not broken.

And the Li Mountain Cremation Array, though it burned its black water, had not harmed it in the slightest.

"Strange…"

Mo Hua's gaze burned as he scrutinized the demon.

Though the demon boasted loudly, it still felt a chill inside under Mo Hua's unblinking stare.

Suddenly, Mo Hua's eyes lit up. "Ram's horn!"

He reached out, touched the demon's ram's horn, and tugged hard—but it wouldn't break.

Upon closer inspection, Mo Hua's expression startled.

"Solid…"

Ordinary spiritual sense is inherently mist-like.

Mo Hua's spiritual sense is condensed like mercury.

And this demon's ram's horn—no, not just the horn, but the entire ram's skull—was nearly "solid," unbreakably firm.

"From void to solid…"

Mo Hua was stunned.

The demon saw his expression and smirked triumphantly: "You know about the Divine Lord's… what are you trying to do?!"

Before it finished speaking, it saw Mo Hua open his mouth and bite down on the "ram's horn."

Too bad—it didn't budge.

Mo Hua punched the horn a few times, but still couldn't dent it…

"Definitely a tough bone…"

Mo Hua muttered.

The demon sneered: "You know it well…"

But Mo Hua's competitive spirit flared—he'd smash this bone today, no matter what.

Boil big bones for broth, grow strong and robust!

What if eating this hard bone would strengthen my spiritual sense even more?

Could it push me past the Sixteen Mark, even close to the Seventeen Mark?

Mo Hua's eyes gleamed with excitement; before the demon's terrified gaze, he unleashed every technique—first arrays, then spells, then pounded it with his little fists.

But no matter what he did, the ram's skull remained utterly unbroken.

Mo Hua's brow tightened more and more.

The demon gradually relaxed.

"Of course! The Divine Lord's protection is invincible!"

Even this monstrous little brat couldn't touch it.

As the ram-horned demon endured Mo Hua's torment, it felt pride swell within it—for its devotion and the Divine Lord's blessing.

It scoffed: "Stop wasting your effort, you brat with the stink of milk! A mere straw dog—how could you comprehend the might of the Lord of the Vast Wilds?"

Mo Hua grew angry.

He frowned, then his eyes darted mischievously; he smiled sweetly:

"I'll show you something wonderful."

The demon froze—it refused to believe Mo Hua would actually show it anything "wonderful."

The demon snorted: "Don't try any tricks! Before the Divine Lord, all…"

But Mo Hua ignored it; before it finished, he grabbed its nape and dragged it to the Dao Stele.

It was past midnight—the Dao Stele could now manifest.

Mo Hua pressed the demon's head against the Dao Stele and ordered:

"Look."

Though the demon didn't believe anything could break the Divine Lord's protection, its lingering fear made it shut its eyes tight, refusing to look.

Mo Hua thought for a moment, then said:

"Your Divine Lord is a rat—sneaky, skulking, shameless, utterly disgraceful…"

"Always hiding behind others, a turtle with its head tucked in."

"Wait—you said it hasn't awakened… so it must be hibernating…"

"Living this long…"

"A thousand-year turtle, ten-thousand-year tortoise—your Divine Lord is a Wang Ba or a Gui?"

The Ram-Horned Devotee trembled with rage; under Mo Hua's relentless "flattery," it finally snapped.

It flung its eyes open—and froze.

Before it was a crimson, lifeless array pattern.

The demon's fury vanished instantly; boundless terror surged into its heart.

Tribulation Thunder…

Tribulation Thunder?!!

It widened its eyes in disbelief.

What kind of monster is this brat?!

How could his spiritual sea contain Tribulation Thunder?!

"You?!"

Before the Ram-Horned Devotee finished, the thunder pattern flickered—just a trace of aura, a faint current of lightning—and instantly erased its consciousness.

At the same moment, the "indestructible" will within its ram's horn—granted by the Lord of the Vast Wilds—was also instantly obliterated.

Cracks spread across the ram's skull.

Mo Hua quickly pulled it away from the thunder pattern, and with a single hand, snapped it apart effortlessly; from within the skull, a thin stream of pale golden liquid spiritual sense oozed out…

Mo Hua gasped: "Is this… bone marrow?!"

Pale golden bone marrow!

Mo Hua stared at the "bone marrow," hesitated for a long time, then couldn't resist, dipped his index finger into it and licked it.

It had no flavor.

But the texture was excellent…

The spiritual intent it contained was weak, yet after swallowing it, there was a strangely profound sensation.

As if he himself had now become utterly different from all living beings under heaven.

He was a god seated high above the nine heavens, his divine might overwhelming, gazing down upon all creatures.

And all living beings under heaven were merely ants, mere sacrificial dogs.

They were his offerings…

Mo Hua quickly shook his small head, casting aside this absurd and strange thought, then carefully examined himself.

Only then did he notice that his spiritual intent body had, at some point, acquired faint traces of golden blood.

Though extremely faint, so faint only he could perceive it.

Mo Hua frowned.

"Could this golden bone marrow truly be 'divine' intent?"

Could this thread of 'divine intent blood' have come from the 'Lord of Gods' spoken of by these demons—the so-called 'Lord of the Great Wasteland'?"

And why were these demons so fixated on Yu'er?

Were they… trying to use Yu'er as a sacrifice?

Mo Hua's gaze darkened slightly.

Deep down, he always felt a great conspiracy loomed over Yu'er, the Gu family, and even the entire Qian Province…

But what exactly it was, he remained utterly clueless.

"Forget it—I'll take it one step at a time…"

Just do what I'm supposed to do…

Adhering to the principle of "never waste," Mo Hua drank every last drop of the pale golden "bone marrow."

After all, having been struck by heavenly lightning, even if this bone marrow truly contained the divine intent of the "Great Wasteland God," it had been erased—what remained was pure, refined spiritual awareness tinged with divine essence.

It was a supreme tonic!

Mo Hua held the sheep horn skull, drained the "bone marrow," licked his lips, and sighed with satisfaction. The faint golden traces in his body multiplied slightly.

Thus, all the demons had been utterly consumed—every last drop of marrow extracted, every scrap devoured.

Sated and well-fed, and with the hour late, Mo Hua decided to leave.

…

Mo Hua withdrew from his spiritual sea, opened his eyes, and found a soft blanket draped over him.

A gentle woman stood beside him, her face filled with anxiety—it was Xu Wanyi.

In the distance, several elder cultivators were whispering among themselves.

"It must be an evil spirit!"

"The Gu family is a great house—how could an evil spirit appear with so many great cultivators guarding it?"

"You don't understand…"

"Evil spirits differ from one another…"

An old man snorted, "Foolish theatrics—I've lived for centuries, what haven't I seen? There's no such thing as an 'invisible evil spirit.'"

"Not invisible to the eyes—unperceivable by spiritual intent."

"Absurd! Can't Jin Dan or Liu Yuhua cultivators perceive it?"

"Talking to a cow about music—I can't make you understand…"

"…Heavenly fate and karmic cause…"

"Then this child…"

"He must have made a mistake in his cultivation…"

"What nonsense are you spouting?"

"It's definitely an evil spirit invasion—damaged his spiritual sea, corrupted his mind. Look at his darkened forehead, gloomy complexion, unconscious state—if we don't treat him soon, he's likely doomed…"

The man's words suddenly choked off.

Because he saw Mo Hua had awakened…

The others also froze, speechless.

Only Xu Wanyi, her face filled with worry, broke into a smile: "Mo Hua, are you alright…?"

Mo Hua nodded. "I'm fine."

Xu Wanyi hesitated a moment, then asked softly:

"You just…"

Mo Hua said: "I just had a nightmare—a group of demons and monsters came into my dream, trying to eat me, but they weren't my match—I slaughtered them all!"

Xu Wanyi's expression was complex, unsure what to say.

The elders nearby also wore varied expressions.

Some stared blankly, treating Mo Hua's words as rambling dreams; some laughed and shook their heads, treating them as childish nonsense; others sneered, thinking he was making things up.

Not one of them believed his words were true…

Mo Hua observed their expressions, feeling slightly helpless.

There was nothing to be done—in this age, no one believes the truth.

Xu Wanyi still worried:

"You… really are alright…?"

Mo Hua smiled. "Relax, Xu Wanyi, and…"

He turned his head, gazing at Yu'er, who lay on the bed, brows relaxed, expression peaceful, and whispered:

"... Yu'er finally had a good sleep…"

Wen Ren Wan froze, then looked at Yu'er too, her expression gentle and soft as water; the stone that had weighed on her heart settled lightly.

"Yes, Yu'er finally… had a good sleep…"

She turned her gaze back to Mo Hua, eyes filled with gratitude.

Everyone still stood guard beside Yu'er.

Mo Hua's affair had been alarming but without danger; they could not fathom its origin, so they stopped asking.

Only a few elders stared at Mo Hua, focused and thoughtful.

The sky gradually brightened; morning clouds spread across the heavens, spilling through the window.

Yu'er slowly opened his eyes, gaze hazy; then he remembered something, immediately turned his head—and saw Mo Hua indeed beside him.

A radiant smile spread across Yu'er's face.

Mo Hua smiled back warmly.

…

Yu'er slept soundly through the night; his complexion improved greatly, and he regained his appetite, eating a few bites before looking up at Mo Hua, then squinting and smiling.

It seemed that being near Mo Hua brought him great peace.

Mo Hua did not draw arrays; instead, he carved out time to play with Yu'er for most of the day.

That night, Mo Hua once again kept watch beside Yu'er.

That night was calm and quiet.

Mo Hua felt both relieved and slightly regretful.

He was relieved that Yu'er could sleep well again.

He regretted that his spiritual sense now had no more "food"…

And little Yu'er slept another sweet night, his spirit growing even stronger, his complexion less pale.

But the next day, Mo Hua had to return to Yaohui Sect.

The ten-day break lasted only two days.

Yu'er hung his small head low, reluctant, walking Mo Hua all the way to the door.

Mo Hua promised he would come again when free; only then did Yu'er brighten up.

Wen Ren Wan gave Mo Hua many delicious foods, along with some array books and brushes and ink, as a token of gratitude—but she seemed burdened with thoughts, hesitating long before speaking slowly:

"Mo Hua…"

But she did not know how to say it.

Mo Hua knew what Wen Ren Wan feared, so he smiled and said:

"Xu Wanyi, if Yu'er has another nightmare, I'll come see him again…"

Wen Ren Wan froze, then exhaled in relief, looking at Mo Hua with even deeper gratitude.

…

Afterward, Mo Hua rode the Gu family's carriage back to Grand Void Gate.

Back at the sect, he spent two days refining and absorbing all the demons, monsters, and the evil thoughts of the Ram-Horn Enforcer.

He then sat in meditation, consolidating his Dao heart.

Mo Hua's spiritual sense finally broke through the realm, reaching Sixteen Patterns!

Sixteen Patterns was the upper limit of spiritual sense for Foundation Establishment mid-stage.

Seventeen Patterns was the spiritual sense of Foundation Establishment late-stage.

Between Sixteen Patterns and Seventeen Patterns lay a thick barrier, not easily broken through.

But Mo Hua was not in a hurry; his current spiritual sense realm was already extremely high—he could afford to settle and stabilize.

Now that he had reached Sixteen Patterns, he possessed sufficient spiritual sense to learn the second-rank, Sixteen Patterns array: "Beacon Magnetic Array"!

But the problem now was that he lacked merit points to exchange for the array diagram.

"I need to work harder, accumulate more merit points…"

Mo Hua went to ask Elder Murong for help.

Elder Murong thought for a moment, then said: "There is indeed a task—not difficult, and the merit points aren't many, only about eighty-some. If you want to go, I can join you."

Mo Hua nodded eagerly, smiling:

"Thank you, Elder Murong!"

Eighty-some points was no small amount.

It was far better than drawing first-rank arrays himself.

Elder Murong said gently: "This task's location is Bishan City, beyond the border of Qianxue Province; the terrain there is steep, with many surrounding mountains and rivers…"

"I'll send you the detailed map and task details."

"If you have time, check it yourself in your Grand Void Token…"

"Mm-hmm!" Mo Hua nodded vigorously.

Bishan City…

When he returned, he studied the task details and flipped through the map of Bishan City, pondering what to prepare…

As he looked, Mo Hua suddenly froze.

He noticed that on the map, outside Bishan City, a desolate mountain looked familiar.

Mo Hua recalled in his mind—and realized this desolate mountain was none other than "Huang Shanjun"'s ruined mountain.

The destitute mountain god Huang Shanjun, his ruined temple, stood atop this desolate mountain.

"Xuanku Mountain…"

Mo Hua silently memorized the mountain's name and decided that after completing his mission, he would take a detour to Xuanku Mountain and pay Huang Shanjun a visit.

Regarding the Great Void Divine Thought Sword Art, this Huang Shanjun was surely hiding something from him…

He had to find out the truth!

Thank you for the Yiqi Xiuxian tips~

Yesterday I meant to let Xiao Mo Hua "eat" his fill, but I couldn't write anymore; today I'll let Mo Hua "eat" better…