Chapter 650: Fire Demon

Mo Hua's mind stuttered, then immediately snapped back—he scrolled through the chat logs between Yuan the Master and Huo Fotuo.

There were only a few lines of dialogue, mostly about the construction of the demonic array.

In the conversation, Yuan the Master referred to the other as "Venerable," and called himself…

"Yuan Mouren"?

Mo Hua pondered briefly, then replied to Huo Fotuo:

"Burdened by mundane affairs, I flew into a rage, drank a bit of 'wine,' and spoke out of turn—Venerable, please forgive me…"

The other paused, "Is the Master drinking wine? It was this one who was rude…"

Mo Hua's gaze sharpened slightly.

Calling himself "this one"… this man must be Huo Fotuo.

Drinking wine…

Mo Hua pondered inwardly.

Clearly, that eye, and the blood-wine brewed from it, were no ordinary thing.

Even Huo Fotuo didn't dare disturb a demonic arrayist while he drank.

Too bad that eye was snatched away by Uncle Gu.

Otherwise, I could've studied it myself.

Mo Hua asked: "Venerable, do you have urgent business?"

If not, just leave quickly…

I can't say much—too many words might give me away…

Mo Hua felt a twinge of guilt.

Huo Fotuo frowned; he sensed the other seemed anxious, but remembering that "Yuan the Master" was currently drinking, even if sober, his spiritual awareness would still be slightly drunk, needing to savor the "spiritual essence"—so his bad mood was understandable.

Huo Fotuo sent a message:

"Lately, this one has felt uneasy, as if something is amiss…"

"Has anything strange occurred within the hall?"

Mo Hua's heart leapt—he feigned casualness:

"With me guarding it, Venerable, rest assured."

Huo Fotuo: "Could there… be oversights?"

Though afraid of being exposed, he couldn't appear weak—that would only make him easier to detect.

Mo Hua feigned annoyance:

"This array is the Eighteen-Stroke Yuan Magnet Spirit-View Reconstructed Array—its core is the brain, the spirit-view the eyes, the yuan magnet the ears; not a whisper stirs without my knowledge… Yuan Mouren…"

"The hall is sealed tight—wind cannot enter, rain cannot penetrate…"

Then Mo Hua struck first, countering:

"Venerable… you don't doubt Yuan Mouren, do you?"

Huo Fotuo paused, then slowly said:

"With the Master guarding it, this one is at ease."

"Mm, rest easy."

Huo Fotuo paused again, fell silent for a long while, then hesitated: "Master Yuan… you seem rather more… lively."

The "Mo Master" impersonating "Yuan the Master" felt a jolt inside.

At least a hundred years younger—of course he's livelier…

Mo Hua froze, then could only say:

"I drank wine…"

"Drinking wine…" Huo Fotuo asked, "How was the taste?"

Huo Fotuo's question was either genuine curiosity or a test.

Mo Hua's mind snapped alert.

He'd never drunk it—how could he know how it tasted?

Mo Hua had wanted to say, "It was excellent," but such a flat reply clearly didn't fit the demonic arrayist's persona…

The image of the demonic arrayist drinking flashed before him—his mad, incoherent mutterings…

Mo Hua's mind sparked—he sighed:

"Even after drinking, mortal eyes still cannot see…"

The moment "cannot see" left his lips, Huo Fotuo relaxed.

Huo Fotuo: "The world holds truth—truth contains great terror; only within terror lies the chance for immortality…"

"Mortal eyes naturally cannot pierce the world's truth."

"Yet transcending flesh and becoming divine is no feat of a single day."

"Master is too eager to succeed…"

Mo Hua suddenly understood—no, "Yuan the Master" suddenly understood, and praised:

"No wonder you're the Venerable—your insight is profound, truly admirable."

"Master Yuan overpraises me," Huo Fotuo replied with equal humility, "merely the shallowest gleanings of a Buddhist cultivator, not worth mentioning."

Mo Hua wondered whether he should flatter him further.

Logically, since Huo Fotuo had been so modest, he ought to echo the praise.

But given "Yuan the Master's" reclusive, venomous nature, he might despise flattery…

Even if it was Huo Fotuo.

Mo Hua was torn.

Fortunately, Mo Hua didn't remain torn long—Huo Fotuo turned around to flatter him.

"Master Yuan is an expert in arrays, his spiritual sense divine; his understanding of the Dao of this world is profoundly clear, beyond ordinary comprehension…"

Mo Hua replied, composed yet slightly haughty:

"Your Reverence overstates it…"

"The art of arrays is vast and profound; I've only learned its surface. I know all things in this world are remnants of the Dao, mere illusions rising and sinking."

"Mortals cannot see through them, their Dao hearts clouded; they possess cultivation, yet strive endlessly—ultimately, they are all ground down by the Dao…"

Mo Hua mixed together arrays, the Dao, and Dao hearts, and solemnly told Huo Fotuo these things.

Huo Fotuo fell silent for a long while, then said slowly:

"Master, you are truly a person of great 'wisdom root'!"

Huo Fotuo continued:

"These days, Master Yuan has been treated poorly…"

"The wine is inferior…"

"Once the Holy Temple is built, we shall sacrifice living beings to it—then kill a batch of upper-grade spiritual root sacrifices, extract their pure essence-blood, and steep it for you as wine…"

Mo Hua frowned, a chill creeping through his heart.

Holy Temple… is that what this demonic temple is called?

Do demonic cultivators gold-plate their faces, calling it 'Holy' instead of 'Demonic'?

And living sacrifices to a temple?

That does sound exactly like something demonic cultivators would do…

But 'upper-grade spiritual root sacrifices'…

Even sacrifices must have upper-grade spiritual roots?

Then my mid-low grade spiritual root—do I not even qualify to be a 'sacrifice'?

Mo Hua's emotions were complicated.

For a moment, he didn't know whether to be angry or relieved.

Even these lowly demonic cultivators practice spiritual root discrimination!

But this upper-grade spiritual root blood… is meant for 'me' to steep in wine…

Huo Fotuo's 'generosity' was overwhelming.

Mo Hua didn't know how to respond.

Thank you?

Would the dead, slightly insane evil array master have said 'thank you'?

And if I said that, wouldn't it seem… too petty?

After all, I'm a second-rank high-level evil array master—I should put on a show?

Mo Hua said: "We of our kind enter the Dao through darkness, treat all living beings as straw dogs, build the Holy Temple to pursue great endeavors—how could this be a hardship? Your Reverence underestimates Yuan."

Huo Fotuo fell silent for a long while, seemingly stunned, then praised:

"Master Yuan, though quiet and absorbed in array studies, truly holds the cosmos within him—unlike ordinary men…"

"Master, would you consider embracing the Buddha's teachings?"

Mo Hua froze again.

Is Huo Fotuo trying to get me to believe in Buddhism?

"No—that's not right. He doesn't know 'I' am 'I.' He's trying to get the dead 'Master Yuan' to believe in Buddhism…"

But believe in Buddhism?

Mo Hua said: "I fear I lack Your Reverence's 'wisdom root'…"

"No," Huo Fotuo declared firmly. "Master, your wisdom root is extraordinary—it merely lies hidden, returning to simplicity, unmanifest until now…"

That's because the 'Master Yuan' who spoke to you before hasn't died yet—so he remained unmanifest…

Mo Hua still gently refused:

"I study evil arrays, forge them from human flesh and blood—my karmic sins are too heavy. I fear I have no Buddhist affinity…"

"Master Yuan, you are mistaken!"

Huo Fotuo still urged 'Mo Hua': "The Buddha teaches all beings are equal…"

"All beings are born equally, and thus die equally."

"All men must die—so what harm is there in killing a few? What if the karmic sins are heavy?"

"It is merely guiding those who will die anyway to their destined end ahead of time."

"If you cultivate darkness, you must kill."

"After killing, you inevitably attract vengeful spirits, polluting your original heart…"

"Believing in the Buddha calms resentment, subdues malevolent energy, and preserves your original heart…"

"As the saying goes: put down the butcher's knife, and instantly become a Buddha."

"When you kill, use the knife for swift release; when you do not kill, temporarily lay the knife down, cultivate body and spirit…"

"Even if you slaughter countless lives, chanting 'Amitabha' lets you rest easy in conscience."

"If you do not kill, do no evil, your heart is guiltless, with no sin to atone for—why eat vegetarian, why chant sutras?"

…

Mo Hua was stunned.

This Huo Fotuo is truly a genius.

What kind of thing is he even cultivating…

Can this really be called "Buddha"?

"What do you think, Master Yuan?" Huo Fotuo sent another message.

Mo Hua muttered inwardly.

Go ask Master Yuan yourself, don't ask me.

I can't possibly agree for the dead Master Yuan…

Mo Hua, feeling a headache, followed Huo Fotuo's lead:

"So the Dharma is truly this accessible?"

"Indeed, it is this accessible!"

"Can it quell my drunken depravity, suppress my drunken madness?"

"Master, you may try…"

Mo Hua evaded: "Then perhaps another day, I shall surely seek further guidance from the Venerable, and jointly explore the profundities of the Dharma…"

"Good," said Huo Fotuo. "Master Yuan is busy with affairs; I won't disturb you further. We shall discuss the Dao another day."

After that, Huo Fotuo vanished without word, no one knew what he was up to.

Mo Hua's expression turned solemn.

He had actually spoken with Huo Fotuo…

This was completely beyond his expectations, and not part of his plan.

What should he do next?

Continue pretending to be Master Yuan, chat with Huo Fotuo, and extract information by deception?

Mo Hua shook his head.

Huo Fotuo isn't an idiot.

Talking about grand, vague concepts like the Dao or Dharma is fine, but if he truly asked:

"What's inside the inner hall?"

"Your Infernal Fire Technique is terrifying—where's the scripture hidden?"

Or worse: "Why did you exterminate the Xie family…?"

With Huo Fotuo's alertness, he'd instantly sense something was wrong.

He couldn't keep talking about Dharma either—if Huo Fotuo grew enthusiastic and came to meet him face to face, he'd see the corpse of Master Yuan… and the "lively" Mo Hua, managing the Yuan Ci Fu Array, and it would be over.

"Then… lure Huo Fotuo out?"

"Then let Uncle Gu and the others assassinate him?"

But Huo Fotuo, at late Foundation Establishment, likely possessed peak Foundation Establishment combat power—he wouldn't be easy to assassinate…

Huo Fotuo was highly vigilant.

Uncle Gu still couldn't use his Jin Dan power.

If they failed, Huo Fotuo wouldn't die, and they'd be surrounded by demonic cultivators.

Currently, the outer and middle halls held roughly three hundred demonic cultivators; some had been killed, but many remained.

Even if they were all wiped out, the inner hall likely still held over a hundred…

Mo Hua frowned tightly.

He couldn't wait for Huo Fotuo to react—by then it would be too late…

"We must prepare early, find a way to strike swiftly and decisively…"

Delay invites change.

Mo Hua immediately sent a message to Gu Changhuai:

"Uncle Gu, hurry and gather people to surround the Demon Hall…"

Gu Changhuai's expression turned solemn. "Have we been discovered?"

"Not exactly," Mo Hua said. "Huo Fotuo came to chat with me…"

Gu Changhuai: "…."

After a moment, Gu Changhuai asked: "What did he say to you?"

"Nothing much…"

He couldn't say Huo Fotuo wanted to recruit him and convert him to Buddhism…

Even though he'd donned the mask of Master Yuan…

"I managed to bluff him, but I can't keep it up," Mo Hua said.

Gu Changhuai thought for only a moment, then decided:

"I'll send reinforcements immediately. Until then, we must act fast—kill as many demonic cultivators as we can, and weaken them as much as possible…"

"Understood."

The demonic cultivators in the outer and middle halls still numbered over two hundred.

With time running short, Mo Hua quickly began "calling names," while Gu Changhuai and the other two continued their assassinations.

One demonic cultivator after another was eliminated.

Mo Hua controlled the Yuan Ci Fu Array, issuing orders to the demonic cultivators to walk into death, while using the dead ones' Book Demon Tokens to chat with the living ones, masking their deaths.

Time slipped away.

At that moment, Mo Hua detected a "message" within the Yuan Ci Core:

"The demonic aura in the outer hall is intensifying—someone is killing people. Qiao Lao Liu, go check it out…"

Mo Hua's heart jolted.

They've been discovered!

Mo Hua verified it and found that the person who sent this message was Huo Fotuo.

Of course it couldn't be hidden...

Mo Hua frowned.

But...

"The dark energy is intensifying"—how did Huo Fotuo even detect it?

What even is dark energy?

Mo Hua was puzzled.

But now wasn't the time to dwell on these questions.

Mo Hua immediately sent a message: "Uncle Gu, we need to withdraw—Huo Fotuo has discovered the dead bodies outside..."

Gu Changhuai immediately replied: "Alright, we're coming to find you."

Mo Hua waited inside the Array Core Chamber.

Before leaving, he needed to make some adjustments.

The Meta-Magnetic Spirit Vision Array couldn't be destroyed yet.

If destroyed, the Book Demon Seal would fail instantly and alert Huo Fotuo and the others.

Mo Hua could only use basic magnetic patterns to "lock" the Meta-Magnetic Spirit Vision Array, temporarily rendering it unusable by others.

Inside the chamber was also the corpse of Master Yuan.

Since he hadn't been dead long, the body hadn't decayed, but it couldn't be discarded either, so it had to be left in the chamber for now.

This corpse couldn't be dealt with properly yet.

Mo Hua thought for a moment, then decided to leave the corpse right where it was.

After a while, Gu Changhuai and the other two returned.

Seeing Mo Hua unharmed, Gu Changhuai exhaled slightly in relief.

"Let's leave this place," Gu Changhuai said.

"Mm," Mo Hua nodded.

The group concealed their presence, with Mo Hua leading them out of the Meta-Magnetic Core Chamber and toward the outside of the Demon Palace.

This route was familiar to Mo Hua.

Having monitored the Array Core for so long, he knew the Demon Palace's layout inside and out.

Walking through the Demon Palace now, Mo Hua felt as if he were strolling through his own courtyard.

Along the way, Mo Hua asked in a low voice:

"Uncle Gu, have you gathered everyone?"

Gu Changhuai nodded. "All set—two hundred and eighty men, stationed just beyond the One-Sky Pass."

Mo Hua gave a slight nod.

Two hundred and eighty men... numerically superior, should be enough.

The Demon Palace's demon cultivators have already died in large numbers—now there are probably only about one hundred and eighty to ninety left.

Next comes direct confrontation—it'll be a hard fight.

This place can't be left unattended.

Mo Hua could stay behind, but it's still dangerous; without bodyguards, he wouldn't be foolish enough to risk it.

Besides, there are other things to do...

Gu Changhuai needed to return and command the two hundred and eighty Dao Ting Si enforcers.

Mo Hua also needed to find a way to destroy the Meta-Magnetic Array and the Trap Array outside the Demon Palace and on the Suspended Heaven Stone Bridge.

Otherwise, those two hundred-plus won't even get across the bridge easily.

Thus, Mo Hua quietly left again along the path he had come.

Passing the Demon Palace's main gate, he saw it tightly shut, with several demon cultivators guarding outside.

"This gate... is also a problem..."

Mo Hua thought for a moment, then had Gu Changhuai kill those few demon guards at the gate.

Then he made some adjustments to the array on the inner side of the gate before leaving with peace of mind.

They didn't use the gate—instead, concealing their presence, they walked to the edge of the Demon Palace, climbed up the jagged rocks of the Demon Cavern, and exited through the hole they had dug...

Meanwhile, as Mo Hua left the Demon Cavern, Qiao Lao Liu stepped out of the Inner Hall and walked straight into the Outer Hall.

The Outer Hall was empty.

Qiao Lao Liu, with his coarse temperament, cursed: "Where is everyone? Where the hell did they all go?"

His voice echoed through the Demon Palace.

But no one answered.

Qiao Lao Liu frowned, wandered around, checked every corner—no one in sight.

Qiao Lao Liu was puzzled.

The Demon Palace was vast; occasionally, there were quiet, deserted spots—but it was impossible for it to be this utterly empty.

Qiao Lao Liu's peripheral vision caught a glimpse of several demon cultivators' robes below the Rotting River, their bodies already dissolved into bloody sludge, mixed into the greenish-brown waters.

Qiao Lao Liu's expression changed drastically.

"Dead?!"

He immediately sent a message to Huo Fotuo: "Big Brother, disaster! Everyone's dead!"

Moments later, the door to the Inner Hall opened again.

The tall, broad-shouldered Huo Fotuo, his face gentle yet expression stern, stepped out of the hall wearing a blood-red cassock.

He looked up and murmured softly:

"Such thick malevolent energy…"

"Many have died."

"What a pity…"

Huo Fotuo's gaze was cold, his face devoid of joy or sorrow:

"I did not kill them… I cannot draw the malevolent energy into my body; I cannot cultivate the Fire Malevolence…"

(End of Chapter)