Chapter 656

On the altar, the trembling intensified, and stones began to crumble and fall.

Gu Changhuai frowned.

Mo Hua's gaze sharpened, and he immediately said:

"Uncle Gu, the formation is self-destructing—the Demon Palace is collapsing!"

"How much time do we have?"

Mo Hua extended his spiritual sense, estimating the spiritual energy collapse, "Less than an incense stick's burn…"

Gu Changhuai clenched his teeth.

He longed, at this very moment, to trap Huo Fotuo on the altar and kill him outright to eliminate the threat forever.

But Huo Fotuo, though cornered, poisoned by water toxicity, slow in movement, and his aura withered, had not yet truly reached his end.

Such demonic cultivators are notoriously hard to kill…

In an incense stick's time, he cannot be slain.

And Mo Hua is still inside this altar…

Even if he wished to risk a desperate strike against Huo Fotuo, he had to consider Mo Hua's safety.

With Mo Hua's talent for formations, his future is boundless—he cannot stay here to die alongside this monster!

Get out first!

Gu Changhuai cast a cold glance at Huo Fotuo, then immediately told Mo Hua:

"Go now!"

"Understood."

Mo Hua did not hesitate.

Though the altar felt as if it had been built for him—comfortable to sit on, a pity to destroy—

he had no desire to be buried with it in this gloomy demon cave.

His own life mattered more.

Mo Hua and Gu Changhuai both activated their movement techniques—one like the wind, the other like flowing water—racing full speed toward the altar's exterior.

Huo Fotuo deliberately lingered a moment, waiting until Gu Changhuai and Mo Hua were far away, before taking a blood-altered pill and swallowing it.

Waves of blood qi and demonic power surged back into his heart meridians.

"Want to kill me… it's not that easy…"

Huo Fotuo sneered, his smile carrying hidden meaning.

Then, using the pill's power to suppress the water toxicity, he activated his movement technique, flames wrapping around him, fleeing toward the altar's exit.

Mo Hua and Gu Changhuai left the altar and reached the grand hall.

The grand hall was equally ruined, figures scattered.

Some Dao Ting Si cultivators still fought scattered demonic cultivators.

Some officers had chased after demonic cultivators.

Others, stunned by the Demon Palace's shaking, stood helplessly confused.

Gu Changhuai frowned and ordered coldly: "Everyone, evacuate the Demon Palace!"

Then he seized Mo Hua by the arm and sprinted outward, dragging him along.

Gu Changhuai was a Jin Dan cultivator, trained in wind-based escape techniques.

Mo Hua's movement was far slower than his.

And now, with the Demon Palace on the verge of collapse, chaos reigned—scattered demonic cultivators, panicked officers, and occasional massive rocks crashing down.

Holding Mo Hua in his hand gave Gu Changhuai greater peace of mind.

Thus, Mo Hua, expressionless with resignation, was carried by the tall Gu Changhuai, scenery flashing past before his eyes.

Around him, shouts, screams, falling rocks, and the clashing of swords and blades echoed incessantly.

The altar sank, the grand hall collapsed, then the labyrinth crumbled, and from within outward—from the middle hall to the outer hall—the formations self-destructed layer by layer, the Demon Palace collapsing tier by tier…

After an unknown length of time, Mo Hua's vision blurred, and he found himself outside the demon cave.

The sky was high, clouds stretched wide, mist curled over the mountains.

Around him stood the Chongshanjunling of Bishan City.

Mo Hua turned back and saw the lone Shanfeng housing the demon cave collapse inward like snow melting in hot broth, accompanied by a thunderous roar.

At the cave's entrance, numerous cultivators fled out.

Most were Dao Ting Si cultivators; a few were demonic cultivators.

The two sides, having just escaped the Demon Palace, immediately resumed their slaughter.

Some demonic cultivators tried to flee in the chaos, but Gu Changhuai blocked the stone bridge, killing one after another.

Mo Hua remained hidden nearby, secretly using spells to control demonic cultivators.

If any escaped Huo Fotuo's notice and Gu Changhuai failed to kill them, Mo Hua trapped them with Water Prison or Gen Mountain Array.

Then Gu Changhuai would finish them off.

After killing another ten or so demonic cultivators, a blood-red figure suddenly appeared again at the Demon Palace entrance.

It was Huo Fotuo.

He had escaped too.

As soon as Huo Fotuo emerged, the entire Shanfeng "Boom—" collapsed completely, burying the entire Demon Palace and its strange altar.

All cultivators who failed to escape were entombed within.

Gu Changhuai's heart burned with hatred; he turned to Huo Fotuo and ordered with lethal intent:

"All officers, hold the stone bridge—do not let this monster escape!"

Then a furious wind erupted around him, and he surged forward, charging straight at Huo Fotuo.

Huo Fotuo sneered, summoning the Meteor Fire Technique again, conjuring a dense rain of fire that clashed violently with Gu Changhuai's wind blades.

The other Dao Ting Si cultivators held the stone bridge, engaged in combat with other demonic cultivators, or provided cover for Gu Changhuai from the perimeter.

Mo Hua watched for a moment, then frowned slightly.

This Huo Fotuo…

In such a short time, he had seemingly suppressed the water poison, healed most of his injuries, and regained considerable demonic power…

Like a cockroach—so hard to kill…

The situation was turning grim.

On the other side, during the battle, Huo Fotuo suddenly dodged past Gu Changhuai, surged forward with blazing fire, and slammed a palm toward a nearby Zhishi, aiming to kill him.

Gu Changhuai moved to save him, his attack faltering for an instant.

Huo Fotuo seized the chance to catch his breath, a cold smile curling at his lips.

"You didn't kill me in the altar—now it's already too late…"

Hearing this, Gu Changhuai's expression changed, and he turned to look.

There, Huo Fotuo crushed a luxurious talisman made of Jin Yu.

In an instant, fierce winds swept up the flames, wrapping around Huo Fotuo, making his speed increase by more than half.

Gu Changhuai's pupils contracted.

"Top-grade talisman… Ten Thousand Li Divine Step Talisman?!"

In the space of a single blink, Huo Fotuo became a streak of blazing fire, darting past Gu Changhuai and opening a distance of several zhang.

In another blink, he was another several zhang away.

Gu Changhuai shouted sharply, "Stop him!"

All the Zhishi, hearing this, looked solemn, raising their blades and closing in, forming an impenetrable formation to block the stone bridge entrance and cut off Huo Fotuo's escape.

Huo Fotuo's gaze hardened, and his Meteor Fire erupted as he launched a fierce assault.

If he broke through the formation and escaped across the stone bridge, he would be a fish entering the sea—boundless freedom.

Huo Fotuo clashed violently with the Zhishi.

His eyes were damaged; he could not unleash his full demonic aura, so he could only offer basic intimidation, unable to instill fear in the Dao Ting Si cultivators.

But with his surging demonic power and the immense potency of forbidden techniques, he was slowly breaking through the encirclement.

On the other side, Gu Changhuai was also rushing forward at full speed.

Just as Gu Changhuai was about to arrive, Huo Fotuo neared the stone bridge entrance.

Only a few Zhishi remained nearby; with a single surge of the Divine Step Talisman and a burst of blazing fire, he could escape.

On Huo Fotuo's face was a cold, chilling smile.

At that moment, his feet trembled again, and a familiar aura surged forth.

Huo Fotuo didn't need to look—he knew.

Damned damn array again!

Glancing sideways, he saw gray array patterns beneath his feet, forming a stone prison that briefly bound him.

This array was precise and swift.

Huo Fotuo was furious.

It must be that strange little brat, hiding somewhere, striking again from the shadows.

While the confinement array held him, several Dao Ting Si Zhishi rushed in to surround and attack.

One of them shouted, "Huo Fotuo, die!"

He was young, handsome, and wore a brand-new Dao Ting Si uniform—the direct scion of the Xiao family, Xiao Tian.

Until now, he had never directly engaged Huo Fotuo in battle.

Only at the final moment did he emerge to strike this one sword.

The sword's power was formidable, qi surging outward, and it struck Huo Fotuo's left shoulder squarely.

But Huo Fotuo was no ordinary foe—he swung his right hand, spreading demonic fire that burned Xiao Tian's left arm, forcing him to retreat and exposing half his body.

Behind him, Gu Changhuai arrived, flinging his folding fan with full force—several sharp wind blades slammed into Huo Fotuo's back, shredding his cassock to tatters.

Huo Fotuo endured Gu Changhuai's attack outright, spitting blood from the corner of his mouth, yet his lips curled in a cold sneer.

Then he activated the Ten Thousand Li Divine Step Talisman, using the gap Xiao Tian had exposed, darting away like a streak of blazing fire.

Mo Hua fired one final Water Prison Technique—but it was useless.

Watching Huo Fotuo escape, Mo Hua grew angry.

This Xiao Tian is a useless waste.

Either stay hidden and reap the benefits,

or if you're going to jump out at the last moment to steal the fruit, at least kill Huo Fotuo.

Or at least have the guts to hold him back.

To just exchange minor wounds and let him run—pathetic. You accomplish nothing and ruin everything.

As Mo Hua was cursing, his expression suddenly froze.

His spiritual sense was strong, his vision sharp—he had seen something amid the chaos…

Just as Huo Fotuo escaped, he passed by Xiao Tian.

For an instant, the two of them…

Had they locked eyes?

Xiao Tian clutched his arm, his gaze strangely odd.

And the Fire Buddha looked at Xiao Tianquan, his gaze also unusually calm.

The two said nothing, yet in an instant, their eyes briefly crossed.

This feeling was like…

Two acquaintances meeting?

Mo Hua's heart stirred slightly; when he looked again, Xiao Tianquan wore a solemn expression, as if resentful that the Fire Buddha had escaped.

Meanwhile, the Fire Buddha had already turned into a streak of fire, using a Ten Thousand Li Divine Step Talisman to flee to safety.

Gu Changhuai, furious, shouted orders from behind:

"Chase him!"

Then he too transformed into a raging wind, pursuing the direction the Fire Buddha had fled, with several Dao Ting Si cultivators following closely behind him.

Mo Hua silently glanced at Xiao Tianquan, his thoughts stirring.

It seems…

There's a bigger fish…

…

Mo Hua did not follow Gu Changhuai to chase the Fire Buddha.

The Fire Buddha fled too fast; he could not catch up, and he lacked sufficient Qi to sustain such a long-distance pursuit.

He would simply stay in Bishan City, waiting for Uncle Gu's news, and take the chance to rest.

The next morning, Gu Changhuai returned, weary and dust-covered.

"The Fire Buddha got away…"

Gu Changhuai sighed deeply, his voice bitter.

Mo Hua felt regret, but not surprise.

A demonic cultivator like the Fire Buddha, brimming with dark power, does not die easily; unless completely surrounded and worn down to death, outside a sealed zone, the variables are too great to kill him.

"Uncle Gu, what is a Ten Thousand Li Divine Step Talisman?" Mo Hua asked quietly.

Gu Changhuai paused, then sighed:

"It's a top-grade talisman, the finest for cultivators below Jin Dan to use for travel or escape…"

"Such talismans are usually possessed only by powerful clans…"

Mo Hua said: "Then did the Fire Buddha steal or rob this talisman, or…"

Did someone give it to him?

Mo Hua did not say it outright, but Gu Changhuai understood, his expression turning solemn.

Mo Hua glanced around, then whispered again:

"Uncle Gu, that… Xiao Tianquan, seems to know the Fire Buddha…"

Gu Changhuai's gaze sharpened. "How do you know?"

"I saw it…" Mo Hua said. "When the Fire Buddha fled, he exchanged a glance with Xiao Tianquan—that look was like that of two acquaintances…"

Gu Changhuai frowned, recalling yesterday's scene, but remembered no such moment.

Mo Hua said: "It was very brief—just a blink—but I caught it!"

The Fire Buddha and Especially Xiao Tianquan were exchanging glances!

Gu Changhuai's frown deepened; after a moment's thought, he still shook his head.

"Logically, it's unlikely…"

"The Fire Buddha is over two hundred years old; Xiao Tianquan is perhaps twenty or thirty—there's too great an age gap. When the Fire Buddha was infamous for his evil deeds, Xiao Tianquan hadn't even been born…"

"The two could hardly have had any connection…"

"Given the Fire Buddha's nature, he likely wouldn't even notice Xiao Tianquan…"

Mo Hua whispered: "Could it be the Xiao family…"

Gu Changhuai thought for a moment, then shook his head again. "During this siege of the Demon Temple, the Xiao family lost many people—these were their core forces within Dao Ting Si…"

"Such self-destructive acts—even if Xiao Tianquan wanted them, their Xiao family ancestors would never agree."

Mo Hua nodded, but still found it suspicious.

Seeing Mo Hua's puzzled expression, Gu Changhuai worried he might do something unthinkable, and sighed:

"I'll keep an eye on this—don't involve yourself."

"Also, don't tell anyone else—if the Xiao family hears it, they'll accuse you of 'spreading false rumors and slandering the Xiao family' and make trouble for you…"

"The Xiao family holds great power within Dao Ting Si; if they target you, every move you make will be hindered—you won't be able to survive easily."

"Mm-hmm!"

Mo Hua nodded vigorously.

This kind of thing really did require discretion.

Mo Hua asked again: "Uncle Gu, where did the Fire Buddha flee to?"

Gu Changhuai looked solemn. "Beyond the Qianxue Province border—his exact whereabouts are still unknown. I've already alerted all the Xiancheng Dao Ting Si outposts to issue warrants and set up blockades…"

"We hope to intercept the Fire Buddha…"

Gu Changhuai sighed.

If the Fire Buddha escapes and lies low beyond Qianxue Province, recovers and rebuilds, when he returns, it will bring another storm of blood and violence.

Countless cultivators will perish.

If he truly reaches Jin Dan, the consequences will be endless…

Mo Hua also sighed, his heart heavy.

"Then I…"

Mo Hua wanted to say something, but Gu Changhuai spoke first:

"Stop saying 'you'—go back to your sect and cultivate sooner… "

"Chasing Huo Fotuo is dangerous and endless—how much time do you have to waste? You only have seven days off, right…?"

"Two days left!" Mo Hua said.

"Two days is a lot? Qianzhou is this vast—just traveling there and back won't even be enough…" Gu Changhuai said coldly.

"Then…" Mo Hua tried to insist further.

Gu Changhuai cut him off: "I'll arrange for someone to send you back to the sect tomorrow. Focus on your cultivation."

Mo Hua didn't want to listen to him.

Gu Changhuai said: "Go back quietly. I'll think of a way to grant you some sect merit—after all, destroying the Demon Palace counts as a great achievement…"

"If you don't go back, this matter is off the table."

Mo Hua immediately complied, obediently saying:

"Yes, Uncle Gu, I'll listen to you!"

…

So the next morning, Gu Changhuai hired a carriage and sent Mo Hua back to the sect.

Originally, Gu Changhuai had planned to send two Zhisi to escort him.

But Mo Hua refused Zhisi escort.

First, if real danger arose, his concealment technique was enough to escape.

If he truly couldn't escape, those two Zhisi couldn't save him anyway—and might even lose their own lives.

Another reason was that he wanted to use the journey to study Huo Fotuo's Secret Scripture of the Fallen Fire.

And another one…

The True Scripture of Demon Path Turning to Sha!

When Mo Hua stole Huo Fotuo's scriptures, he grabbed them in one handful—he'd actually seized two books, hadn't looked closely, and just stuffed them into his Nai Zi Ring.

Later, when Mo Hua returned home, he secretly flipped through them and discovered that, besides Huo Fotuo's Scripture of the Fallen Fire, there was another—one unmistakably titled The True Scripture of Demon Path Turning to Sha!

This must be what Uncle Gu meant—the supreme inheritance of Mosha Sect.

It was also the method Huo Fotuo used to "draw Sha into his cultivation," terrifying souls.

Mo Hua decided to "critique" it.

If there were any useful insights, he'd "extract the essence and discard the dross" and study them.

If it was truly unlearnable, he'd search it for Huo Fotuo's Sha vulnerability.

If it was too evil, he'd burn it outright, to prevent harm to others.

But such books had to be read in secret—he couldn't let Dao Ting Si or Uncle Gu know, or they'd think he was a "bad person."

…

Amid green mountains and clear waters, a carriage traveled leisurely.

These carriage-pulling spirit horses knew the way well.

Mo Hua sat inside, quietly flipping through the two secret scriptures Huo Fotuo had hoarded.

First, The True Scripture of Demon Path Turning to Sha.

Mo Hua flipped through it, his gaze darkening.

As the title suggested, it was indeed a bloody, cruel Mo Sect scripture.

According to the text, Sha energy was a form of heavenly power, existing between Qi and spiritual intent—both tangible and intangible.

The process of cultivating Sha energy, in simple terms, was just one word: "kill."

Kill many people, accumulate karmic sins, gather resentment, then use this True Scripture to transform "karmic sins" into Sha energy.

The more people killed, the deeper the Sha.

The stronger the victims, the heavier the Sha.

In battle, merely the depth and terror of the Sha could shatter an enemy's courage, induce paralyzing fear, strip resistance, and leave them helpless to slaughter.

Against powerful opponents, the Sha could infiltrate their spiritual core, driving them mad or berserk.

Back in the hall, Huo Fotuo had used Sha energy to "frighten" several Zhisi, then slain them all with a single fire blade.

Demon-Sha energy was terrifying in both group combat and single assassination.

"Need to kill many people…"

Mo Hua frowned, shook his head.

Too much karmic sin—he definitely couldn't cultivate this.

But what intrigued him was the "turning Sha" process.

Transforming "karmic sin" into "Sha energy."

This method, Mo Hua noticed, contained elements resembling "karmic transformation."

Karmic sin as cause, Sha energy as effect.

Transforming killing into Sha, transforming cause into effect.

It seemed to exploit a thread of "heavenly fate and karmic law," fused with the Mo Sect's violent methods, to create this technique.

Mo Hua thought for a moment, and decided not to destroy the scripture.

He wouldn't cultivate Sha energy—but the "turning Sha" process involved karmic transformation, worth studying.

Then came Mo Hua's most anticipated scripture: the Scripture of the Fallen Fire!

The Fallen Fire scripture was thick—a stack more like "research drafts of forbidden techniques" than a true scripture.

Packed densely with intertwined diagrams and text, it recorded everything about forbidden techniques and their precautions.

Including the prohibitions, drawbacks, and difficult problems that are hard to overcome.

Mo Hua glanced at it briefly, then suddenly understood.

The Falling Fire Art is a forbidden technique with immense spiritual power, immense destructive force, and equally immense side effects.

To cultivate this art, Huo Fotuo killed countless people, absorbing their blood, flesh, and spiritual energy into himself—specifically into the two "Flame Hearts" on his chest.

The more people he killed, the stronger the Flame Hearts became, and the more terrifying the technique's power grew, with its demonic energy supply becoming nearly infinite.

No wonder he looked like a ferocious demonic beast brimming with demonic power.

He is hard to kill, and hard to die.

Even if injured, as long as he keeps killing, he recovers quickly.

Those two hearts of his are, in fact, a pair of primordial twin demonic artifacts.

They are also the embryonic form of a Nascent Soul cultivator's life-bound magical treasure.

Nascent Soul cultivators refine their life-bound magical treasures.

To advance from Foundation Establishment to Jin Dan, one must cultivate the embryonic form of the life-bound magical treasure in advance.

This was what the instructor told Mo Hua during his cultivation class.

Huo Fotuo's life-bound magical treasure embryo is precisely his two "Flame Hearts," which also serve as the core of the Falling Fire Forbidden Art.

Mo Hua, at his current stage, still cannot fully comprehend the matter of life-bound magical treasure embryos.

He is only at the early stage of Foundation Establishment, far from the Jin Dan realm; knowledge about life-bound magical treasures and such is not yet for him to delve into.

As for Huo Fotuo's Falling Fire Art…

Mo Hua has no intention of learning it, nor could he learn it, so there's no need to spend much time pondering it.

What he needs right now is merely a stable, controllable "art structure."

And within Huo Fotuo's two Flame Hearts lies precisely such an art structure.

After all, those two "hearts" were implanted into his heart meridian as life-bound magical treasure embryos—if they were unstable, Huo Fotuo would have long since "exploded" to death.

"Stable, controllable art structure!"

With this goal in mind, Mo Hua "discarded the dross and retained the essence," focusing his study on the flow paths of fire spiritual energy within Huo Fotuo's two "hearts."

And based on these flow paths, he "copied the gourd to draw the calabash," independently crafting several basic fire spiritual energy flow "art structures."

Yet these art structures were all extremely complex.

But Mo Hua was not afraid.

His spiritual sense was strong; he feared no complex techniques—indeed, the more complex, the better.

After summarizing these art structures, Mo Hua's heart burned with eagerness, and he sat on the carriage, testing them one by one.

He began with a single Fireball Technique.

Using the complex "art structure" derived from the forbidden technique, Mo Hua condensed a fireball and fired it at the ground.

Through the entire process of firing the fireball, Mo Hua began to perceive the changes within the art structure.

How powerful was it? Was it stable? Was it controllable? How easily did the art structure loosen?

After trying about ten times, Mo Hua finally found one that was, comparatively, the most stable and easiest to control.

Mo Hua was overjoyed, eager to immediately test the fireball fusion and create a "spiritual transformation" fireball to see its power.

But after thinking it over, he held back.

This was not the sect—if he mishandled it, if the technique went out of control and he blew himself up, there would be no elder to save him…

Mo Hua suppressed his restless heart, deciding to wait until he returned to the sect before testing the power of this technique.

…

The carriage continued its slow journey.

The scenery on both sides was pleasant; they passed through small paths between spiritual fields and through a series of Xiancheng, and as evening approached, arrived at the outskirts of Qingcheng Mountain.

Beyond this mountain, a little further on, they would reach the border of Qianxue Province.

The setting sun hung over the mountain, the evening clouds brilliant.

Mo Hua leaned out the window, gazing at the evening clouds on the horizon.

As he looked, Mo Hua suddenly felt a sharp pang in his heart.

The evening clouds on the horizon looked like blood.

Mo Hua blinked, and when he looked again, the clouds remained brilliant—the earlier "blood-red" hue had merely been his illusion.

Mo Hua felt uneasy.

He tried using Heavenly Mechanism Divination, and suddenly saw a vivid red, bloodlike chain of karmic fate, fiery with slaughter, wrapped around himself.

Mo Hua's pupils contracted—he did not hesitate, immediately flipping out of the carriage.

Just a few breaths later, the carriage he had been riding in exploded violently, engulfed in Xiong Xiongliehuo, reduced to ashes.

Mo Hua landed, looked ahead, and saw a figure standing at the fork ahead.

Tall in stature, face gentle, clad in a blood-red cassock, eyes blazing with murderous intent.

It was Huo Fotuo!

His gaze was cold, his voice indifferent:

"Young disciple, I have come to send you on your way!"

(End of Chapter)