Chapter 622: The Great Evil's Karma

On a silent night, within the disciples' quarters.

Mo Hua's thoughts were in turmoil.

Why would Yin Laoer say that the Five Hidden Sect had already been wiped out?

Why was it wiped out?

And who was the killer?

Back then, when the Five Hidden Sect moved out of the Qianxue State Realm, was it really because of poor management and being unable to recruit disciples, or was there some other hidden reason?

Mo Hua furrowed his brow, then suddenly froze again.

This seemed to have nothing to do with him...

He was just a minor disciple of the Grand Void Gate, he wasn't familiar with the Qianxue State Realm, and he hadn't had much contact with so many of those sects.

The Five Hidden Sect, he had only just heard of it.

Even if he wanted to inquire, he wouldn't know where to start...

Besides, he was very busy — he had to attend classes, do tasks, accumulate merit, cultivate, study formations, and learn spells...

Where would he find the time to look into such things?

As long as he got the Minor Five Elements Concealment Art, the matter of the Five Hidden Sect, even if true, didn't seem like something for a little cultivator like him to handle...

Mo Hua shook his head.

He took out Jiang Laoda's diary again, broke the hidden patterns, and looked through the name list inside, mulling over another matter:

Jiang Laoda was a traitor of the Severing Gold Sect.

Yin Laoer was a traitor of the Five Hidden Sect...

Then could the others on this name list... all be traitorous disciples from the sects of Qian State?

Was this name list a list of "traitors"?

Mo Hua pondered for a moment, and the more he looked, the more it seemed so.

If that were the case, then the root of these Sin Cultivators' inheritances still lay within the sects of the Qianxue State Realm — the Sida Sect, the Eight Gates, the Twelve Streams, and the hundred sects and thousand factions, these great and small sects?

The wool comes from the sheep's back.

They say they're shearing the wool of Sin Cultivators, but ultimately, they're still shearing the sects of Qian State...

If that's the case...

Mo Hua was stunned.

Was his learning of spells "eating from a hundred families"?

Inheriting from a hundred schools, converging into one stream, mastering all laws?

As long as he kept learning, one day he would be able to merge the methods of a hundred schools, and with his powerful divine sense, thousands of spells would be at his fingertips — using their own methods to break their own arts...

Becoming a true Grand Master of Spells, master of all laws!

Mo Hua was overjoyed.

Then, looking at the jade slip in his hand, he felt a bit puzzled again:

Why were there so many sect traitors in the Qianxue State Realm? Why had they gathered together? And why had they left a name list in Jiang Laoda's hands?

Banding together for warmth?

Or did they feel that, although they had become Sin Cultivators, they were once proper sect disciples after all, so they were different from other Sin Cultivators and had to stand apart, forming their own organization?

Mo Hua was somewhat puzzled, when his mind stirred slightly, and he performed a brief derivation.

But after only one calculation, a bone-piercing chill invaded his entire body.

Mo Hua's pupils contracted slightly.

Within the chaos and ignorance, he glimpsed a vast, evil web of karma, filled with the desire to lead one to corruption, like a poppy.

This karma was a dark purple, ugly beyond words, yet it seemed to exude a sweet and decadent scent, stirring the desires within one's heart and causing cultivators to sink deeply into it.

This was...

The true great karma of evil desire!

A fully formed, sedimented by sin, deeply implanted with evil patterns, bound by thick chains of karma, corrupted heavenly secret!

Mo Hua felt only a stinging pain in his eyes and cold sweat streaming down his back.

He hurriedly shut his eyes, and when he opened them again, everything had vanished without a trace.

The illusory patterns, the chains of karma, the dark purple, the poppy-like great web of heavenly secrets filled with sin and desire — all had disappeared.

Just like an illusion...

But Mo Hua knew that the hint of heavenly secrets was by no means illusory.

This "poppy"-like karma truly existed.

Moreover, this web of karma, filled with sin, powerful and profound, was absolutely not something Mo Hua could see with his current divine sense ability.

It was more like a revelation from the unseen.

Or perhaps...

Someone had let him see it...

Mo Hua's mood instantly grew solemn.

The various events since arriving at the Qianxue State Realm rose up in his heart like a revolving lantern, then turned into broken ripples like flowers reflected in water or the moon in a mirror.

The Qianxue State Realm.

The foremost place of learning in the cultivation world...

Now, in Mo Hua's heart, his impression of it had completely changed.

Although on the surface, the Dao of cultivation still flourished, sects stood in great numbers, prodigies gathered like clouds, a scene of prosperity — but behind the scenes, what rotten thing was hidden...

Mo Hua frowned, muttering to himself:

"Something's dangerous…"

Mo Hua understood: within cause and effect lay great peril.

The Dao is unfathomable; heavenly fate shifts and flows.

Heaven and earth are a chessboard; all beings are chess pieces.

Something—hidden, unseen—had already begun to take root…

At such a time, these unknown grand conspiracies should be avoided if possible.

Moreover, he himself carried karmic ties with his master and his senior uncle…

Mo Hua sighed, his thoughts turning once more to his master…

He knew nothing of the immense conspiracy shrouding his master.

Even if he knew, he was but a lowly Foundation Establishment cultivator—his heart wished to act, but his strength could not reach.

And his senior uncle…

Mo Hua still remembered how his senior uncle had planted a demonic seed in his Dao heart, slaying Jin Dan and Liu Yuhua as easily as chopping vegetables. How much less could he, an insignificant Foundation Establishment cultivator, stand against him?

Without his master's heavenly calculations to balance him, his senior uncle was truly terrifying…

Moreover, he and his senior uncle had certain "tensions."

He had secretly learned his senior uncle's devious calculations, secretly consumed his senior uncle's demonic thoughts, and eaten his senior uncle's bowl of noodles…

Though the devious calculations—he had learned them openly and uprightly!

The demonic thoughts—he had consumed them out of sheer necessity!

The noodles—he had paid for them with spirit stones!

But given his senior uncle's nature, he would surely hold a grudge…

Mo Hua slumped over the desk, letting his thoughts wander, until gradually he sorted them out…

There was surely a grand conspiracy in Qianxue Province.

His senior uncle's side held great danger as well.

But whether conspiracy or danger, neither concerned him at present.

His current task was to find a way to preserve his life and develop safely.

While advancing his cultivation and strengthening his spiritual sense, he must learn as much as possible.

He must study more: formation arrays, spells, and other Daoist knowledge.

He must ensure he could graduate smoothly from the Grand Void Gate and safely attain Jin Dan…

He must also gather intelligence, to prevent trouble before it arose.

That way, if danger truly came in the future, he might foresee it and prepare.

Mo Hua nodded, and thus his cultivation and study grew even more diligent…

…

Qianxue Province, Dao Ting Si.

Gu Diansi had finished his duties as Director and returned to Dao Ting Si; though dusty from travel, his handsome face still bore a crisp, aloof chill.

Chasing down criminal cultivators, enduring wind and dew, was grueling.

Back at Dao Ting Si, there were still tedious formalities to complete.

He was impatient, but he suppressed his temper and slowly reviewed the files before him.

As he flipped through them, he suddenly remembered something and asked the attending officer: "How's that murder case going?"

"You mean…"

The officer grew tense.

Dao Ting Si had too many cases; the officer couldn't recall which one Gu Changhuai meant, and feared he couldn't answer, so he trembled slightly.

Gu Changhuai frowned. "Yin Laoer."

"Ah." The officer remembered, frantically flipping through the files before replying: "Reporting to Diansi, the case is nearly closed…"

"Closed?" Gu Changhuai's gaze sharpened.

The officer swallowed hard, unsure of Gu Diansi's intentions. "Diansi, yes, it's nearly closed…"

"Has Yin Laoer been captured?"

"He's been imprisoned in the Dao Prison and sentenced according to his crimes…"

"How was he caught?"

The officer immediately flipped through the files again and replied:

"According to reports… he was tracked down in Canglang Mountain, his concealment exposed, and captured by several disciples from the Grand Void Gate, Tai'e Sect, and Hundred Blossom Valley, who delivered him to Dao Ting Si…"

"Are you certain it's Yin Laoer?"

"Bloodline, spiritual roots, cultivation technique, and the nature of his spiritual energy—all verified. It is indeed Yin Laoer…"

Gu Changhuai frowned. "No other cultivators helped?"

"The file doesn't mention any. Probably not."

Gu Changhuai's gaze darkened, his thoughts churning.

That shouldn't be possible…

The file followed the sequence of events—but not their logic.

How was the trail found? How was the concealment exposed? How did they coordinate the capture?

He was Diansi of Dao Ting Si—he knew better than anyone how difficult it was to apprehend a cultivator skilled in concealment and assassination.

For a few inexperienced sect disciples to capture Yin Laoer in one or two days? It reeked of suspicion…

"Take me to see Yin Laoer," Gu Changhuai said.

"Yes." The Enforcement Officer nodded.

The Enforcement Officer led the way, descending into the underground Dao Prison, and Gu Changhuai saw Yin Laoer.

Yin Laoer was locked in a spirit-suppressing cell, bound by second-grade chains, and had been tortured—his four limbs were crippled, his teeth knocked out, his appearance wretched.

Gu Changhuai frowned. "Our Dao Ting Si's punishments—are they really this heavy?"

The Enforcement Officer gave a bitter smile. "No… it's just that he was already pretty much like this before he came…"

"His four limbs were broken, the tendons in his hands severed, every tooth in his mouth shattered, and his knees—whatever unorthodox thing he knelt to completely ruined them…"

Gu Changhuai was stunned for a moment, then asked, "Who did it?"

"Those sect disciples, I suppose…"

Gu Changhuai's brows knit tight.

The Enforcement Officer said, "Gu Diansi, this—isn't this against the rules?"

Gu Changhuai gave a cold snort. "What's against the rules? This is a criminal cultivator. If you aren't ruthless to them, they'll be ruthless to you. It's just that…"

Gu Changhuai glanced at Yin Laoer, his eyelid twitching. "This technique… it's far too practiced…"

These days, do sect disciples really strike this ruthlessly…

"Were those disciples injured?" Gu Changhuai asked again.

"When they escorted Yin Laoer here, I saw them—every last one of them was full of vim and vigor, I didn't notice any injuries…"

"Mm."

Gu Changhuai nodded, turning to leave, but just before departing, a glance from the corner of his eye caught burn marks on Yin Laoer's face, and his gaze sharpened.

"Did you use fire punishment?"

"No," the Enforcement Officer said quietly. "We only used thousand-catty spirit wood to give him some beatings…"

Gu Changhuai stared at the fire marks on Yin Laoer's face. "This is… a five-element fire-system spell…"

Not a sword, not a blade, and no needle marks from burning…

It looked like the burn marks from a ball of fire after it exploded, which means…

"Fireball spell…"

Gu Changhuai murmured.

A fireball spell is nothing—an entry-level spell. Any cultivator in the cultivation world with a fire spiritual root knows a fireball spell.

Everyone knows it…

Gu Changhuai started, his gaze suddenly sharpening.

A memory from the past rose unbidden in his mind.

He recalled that more than half a year ago, in the restaurant outside Qingcheng, the dozen-plus human traffickers who had abducted Yu'er had mostly died under fireball spells.

Gu Changhuai's thoughts raced…

Their party numbered five in total.

Ouyang Feng practiced the Ouyang family's sword art; Shangguan Xu also used a sword; Hua Qianqian cultivated the Hundred Flower Valley's White Flower Spirit Array.

Elder Murong Caiyun practiced the Grand Void Gate's Five-Element Spirit Light spells.

Among them, none habitually used fireball spells, nor were they likely to attack with fireball spells.

By that reckoning, only one person was left.

Gu Changhuai's gaze sharpened.

That little cultivator with the five-element spiritual root—the one who, by his account, happened to pass by and saved Yu'er…

Mo Hua!

Gu Changhuai frowned.

There must be something fishy about this matter.

If that little cultivator Mo Hua claimed he merely happened to pass by and, by a stroke of luck, picked up Yu'er, it absolutely couldn't be believed!

If he didn't pick her up, then could it be…

He alone, using fireball spells, killed over a dozen human traffickers, and then saved Yu'er?

That seems…

Even less believable…

If you took this story to fool a fool, even a fool wouldn't believe it.

Gu Changhuai was perplexed.

Judging by his instinct as Gu Diansi of the Dao Ting Si, honed over years of handling cases, that little cultivator Mo Hua definitely had a big problem.

But his elder cousin trusted this boy completely, and Yu'er was very close to him as well.

He couldn't very well investigate him directly.

But letting things go on like this would surely become a great hidden danger…

Gu Changhuai's gaze flickered slightly, and Mo Hua's pair of eyes rose again in his mind—those eyes, seemingly clear on the surface, but on closer look strangely off, possessing a depth beyond ordinary people…

Half good, half evil.

As if standing on the boundary between righteous and wicked.

Gu Changhuai always had an intuition: a cultivator with such eyes was either a cultivator of stunning brilliance, or a demon overlord of earth-shattering renown.

"I need to find a time to go probe his background…"

……

Grand Void Gate.

That day, after finishing his meal, Mo Hua found a patch of grass, lay down, propped up his legs, and leisurely flipped through an array book, when suddenly a big "Junior Brother" came running over and shouted:

"Mo Hua!"

Mo Hua looked up and saw Cheng Mo; he asked curiously.

"What's wrong?"

"The elder told me someone's here to see you."

"Who is it?"

"How would I know…"

"Alright." Mo Hua put down his book, brushed off the grass tips from his Dao robe, "I'll go see."

Cheng Mo glanced at Mo Hua and said suspiciously:

"Mo Hua, why do you feel so busy lately…"

Mo Hua said: "Because I train hard!"

"It's not about training," Cheng Mo shook his head, "I always feel you're doing something else…"

Mo Hua stood on tiptoe and patted Cheng Mo's shoulder, sighing:

"You're still young; some things are too early for you to know. Wait until you've been in the sect a full year—then 'Senior Brother' will take you out to play…"

Cheng Mo felt slightly annoyed, "You're two years younger than me!"

"Learning knows no order; the one who masters it is honored!"

"I only call you 'Junior Senior Brother' out of respect for Master Xun. Don't get swollen-headed…"

"Who called you 'Big Brother' just a while ago…"

"You…"

…

After a bit of bickering, Mo Hua went to the side hall outside the mountain gate, met the elder, and, guided by him, met the person who had come for him at the mountain gate.

It was Gu Changhuai.

Mo Hua was greatly surprised.

In Qianxue Zhou, he knew few people; those who came to the sect to find him were either Xu Wanyi, or guards from the Shang family sent by Xu Wanyi to deliver something.

But he never expected it to be Gu Changhuai.

"Uncle Gu?"

Mo Hua exclaimed.

Gu Changhuai gave a slight nod. "I came to see you, and also… about Yin Laoer's matter, I have some questions…"

"Oh." Mo Hua nodded.

While the two spoke, the elder of Grand Void Gate, ostensibly sipping tea, had sent a sliver of his spiritual awareness to observe Gu Changhuai.

Gu Changhuai sighed inwardly.

This trip of his was not easy.

His status was unique—he was a Dao Ting Si Gu Diansi; every move he made bore the imprint of Dao Ting Si.

Coming to a sect to speak with a disciple naturally drew suspicion.

Gu Changhuai had spent considerable effort claiming he was sent by his family to visit a junior relative, and only then had the elder granted him permission.

But what he asked, what he said, still drew caution from the Grand Void Gate elder.

Gu Changhuai could only subtly begin by asking about Yin Laoer.

Since most of it was already recorded in the Juan Sect files, merely adding details, Mo Hua picked and chose what to say, and for what he couldn't say, he feigned ignorance—said he didn't know, didn't remember, couldn't recall…

Gu Changhuai had no choice.

After asking several questions, Mo Hua's words were tightly guarded, leaving no opening.

Gu Changhuai finally couldn't hold back and slowly said:

"Mo Hua, are you… able to cast Fireball Technique?"

Mo Hua froze.

Fireball Technique?

Why is Uncle Gu asking me this?

He narrowed his eyes, about to answer, when a cough came from afar—the Grand Void Gate elder said coolly:

"My Grand Void Gate disciples may learn whatever they wish; no outsider may question them…"

Gu Changhuai frowned, helplessly inwardly.

This Grand Void Gate truly left him no opening at all.

Mo Hua's eyes flickered; he turned back and bowed gratefully to the elder, then said:

"Elder, rest assured—I know Uncle Gu very well; we have family matters to discuss…"

The elder raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Mm-hmm." Mo Hua nodded, bowing again, "Thank you, Elder."

The elder's expression softened slightly; he nodded at Mo Hua and said, "Talk then."

After speaking, he withdrew his spiritual awareness and calmly resumed his tea.

Gu Changhuai looked at Mo Hua in surprise. "You have quite a bit of 'face' here in the sect?"

Mo Hua replied modestly: "Not much."

Mostly because Master Xun's reputation was great—he was just riding on a little of that light.

In that brief moment, he had also figured it out.

Gu Changhuai was a Gu Diansi; whatever he worried about must be tied to a case.

At the same time, he was Xu Wanyi's cousin and deeply concerned about Xu Wanyi and Yu'er's affairs.

He came here specifically to ask me, which means this matter concerns me too.

The case I "committed"…

No.

It was me who used Fireball Art to eliminate the human traffickers!

After thinking it over, Mo Hua realized only this incident left behind the trace of Fireball Art and aroused Gu Changhuai's suspicion.

But Mo Hua wasn't afraid.

He was kidnapped by human traffickers, then acted in legitimate self-defense and killed about ten of them, saving Yu'er as well.

Even if reported to Dao Ting Si, this matter would pose no problem, let alone violate Dao Law.

I simply feared trouble and chose not to take credit for a good deed, which is why I never spoke up.

If I had spoken up, Dao Ting Si might even have rewarded me!

Even if I told Uncle Gu, it shouldn't matter.

Most importantly, I have Xu Wanyi backing me.

Xu Wanyi values loyalty and righteousness—she would surely side with me.

Uncle Gu may seem imposing, but before Xu Wanyi, he's just a younger brother—he can't touch me!

On the contrary…

Mo Hua's eyes lit up, and he suddenly began to scheme against Gu Changhuai.

Because Mo Hua realized that, using Jiang Laoda's "list" to hunt down criminal cultivators, learn spells, eat "hundred-family meals," and follow the path of a Spell Master who turns their own arts against them, still had many inconveniences…

Finding criminal cultivators is troublesome.

Even if you find them, there isn't always a matching task.

Task postings operate under their own system—cumbersome and inconvenient.

Therefore, you need a "contact" to manipulate things behind the scenes…

For example, using the list to identify the spell I want to learn and naming the specific criminal cultivator I want to capture.

Then I'd need to inquire with Dao Ting Si for intelligence on that criminal cultivator.

And if, say, I had a good relationship with Uncle Gu…

I could have Uncle Gu issue the task through Dao Ting Si, have Elder Murong take the task, and then I'd tag along, assist, and complete it under her cover…

That way, I'd get the transmission, earn merit, and create a perfect "closed loop."

From start to finish, everyone involved is "my own people!"

Saves time, saves effort, and highly efficient.

With this thought, Mo Hua's eyes gleamed brightly.

Gu Changhuai noticed Mo Hua's eyes suddenly brighten, and he felt inexplicably uneasy.

He had the feeling that coming to see Mo Hua this time wasn't about "inquiry"—it was more like walking straight into a trap…

(End of Chapter)