Chapter 694: Sword Scar (Thank you to Zhi Ya Bu Lie Zui for the Alliance Sponsorship~)

The instant his feet touched the ground, Mo Hua's spiritual sense stabbed with pain.

Before his eyes, a sea of crimson bloomed.

Harsh laughter, agonized weeping, and desperate wails rose around his ears.

As if cause and effect had reversed and time flowed backward, scenes of horror from centuries ago in this fishing village flickered before Mo Hua's eyes like fleeting shadows.

This fishing village had been utterly slaughtered…

In a flash, Mo Hua glimpsed a sliver of truth.

Amid the blood mist, mournful cries rose and fell; all the fishing cultivators had been massacred, their blood seeping into the earth, staining the soil and spreading with the land's essence to pollute the…

A faint golden deity.

This deity…

Mo Hua expended his spiritual sense to get a clear look at the deity's face, but just then, the blood mist churned and obscured everything.

The deity's eyes turned crimson, revealing murderous intent toward Mo Hua, who dared to peer into cause and effect.

Mo Hua broke into a cold sweat and snapped his eyes open.

Around him, all was grim and dark.

The air reeked of fish and decades-old rot; the soil beneath his feet was deep crimson.

It seemed blood and earth had fused, yet had long since dried and fallen silent.

Aside from this, the surroundings were utterly still; the blood mist was thin, and no blood leeches floated about—appearing even safer than outside the village.

"Young Master Mo, are you alright?" Gu An asked, worried.

Mo Hua had suddenly turned pale and fainted moments ago, as if he'd seen something terrifying, his expression grim.

"I'm fine," Mo Hua wiped the sweat from his brow. "The atmosphere's too oppressive—I had a sudden nightmare, just to shake off the tension."

Gu An and the other two: "…."

Mo Hua recalled every image that had flashed through his mind, forming a rough hypothesis.

The fishing cultivators of this small village were corrupted by a demonic deity, then all exterminated.

The cultivators who wiped out the village wore only black, monstrous silhouettes—faces obscured, identities unidentifiable.

This small village once had a deity.

This deity emitted faint golden light, clearly of high rank, but had been corrupted by the demonic deity.

As for the outcome…

Mo Hua glanced at the blood-soaked village and sighed.

Believers slaughtered, the village polluted.

The fate of this deity was obvious.

It was no longer a deity—it was a demonic deity now.

But…

Mo Hua furrowed his brow slightly.

Why did this village's fate feel so familiar? As if he'd seen a similar scene somewhere before.

Mo Hua focused his thoughts, pupils contracting.

The Xie family!

The Xie family, exterminated by Huo Fotuo—they too were slaughtered to the last, their deaths horrific, and the moment I stepped into their compound, karmic omens of sin surfaced.

Mo Hua recalled the Xie family's fate again.

Though Huo Fotuo was dead, the Bishan Demon Cavern had been purged and its demonic temple destroyed, Mo Hua still felt deep karmic threads remained unresolved.

Could the Xie family and this fishing village be connected?

Mo Hua lifted his gaze to the village's deepest recesses, his expression unreadable.

But the immediate priority was saving lives.

He couldn't let two innocent children become sacrifices to a demonic deity.

"I'll conceal myself and go in first. You three find a hiding spot. If you hear anything, come rescue me. If nothing happens, stay put and don't let anyone spot you."

Mo Hua instructed.

Gu An and Gu Quan hesitated slightly but nodded obediently.

Yu Dahe, anxious for his son, was frantic—but now he had to suppress his impatience and wait.

Mo Hua gave a slight nod.

Though Gu An and Gu Quan carried Water-Stealth Jade, such spiritual artifacts had limited concealment, and their experience in stealth was insufficient.

This kind of "professional" task—concealment and eavesdropping—was best left to me.

Just as Mo Hua was about to leave, he suddenly remembered something, and pulled three spiritual artifacts for calming the mind from his robes, handing them to Gu An and the others.

"These are mind-soothing artifacts. Each of you take one and keep them close."

Gu An recognized these three artifacts well—they were the very ones Young Master Chang Huai had ordered them to retrieve from the Gu family's vault and deliver to Young Master Mo.

Gu An frowned, "Young Master, what exactly are these mind-soothing artifacts for? They can't just be for calming the spirit…"

"They're to protect your spiritual sea."

"Protect the spiritual sea?"

"Yes." Mo Hua nodded. "Explaining it would be complicated—just wear them. They're for survival. Very important."

"Understood!" Seeing Mo Hua's seriousness, Gu An accepted them solemnly, then glanced at him with concern. "You gave us all the artifacts—what about you?"

"I don't need them." Mo Hua said plainly.

These artifacts were of little use to me.

My own spiritual sense is already a superior spiritual artifact for protecting the spirit!

Gu An and Gu Quan didn't quite understand, but looking at Mo Hua, they still felt Young Master Mo was incredibly powerful…

Afterwards, Gu An and the other two waited in place.

Mo Hua concealed his presence and began skillfully scouting the fishing village.

The fishing village was utterly abandoned, everywhere crumbling stone walls, withered thatch, and remnants left behind from the village's destruction.

Mo Hua took a few steps and spotted a large fishing house not far off, with faint lights inside and shadowy figures barely visible.

Mo Hua raised an eyebrow and crept forward silently.

But before he reached the fishing house, something suddenly caught the corner of his eye, and his expression froze.

"This is…"

Mo Hua turned back, walked closer, and saw a Shi Zhu by the roadside, half-chopped away, leaving clear sword marks.

"Sword marks?"

Mo Hua's eyes lit up, and he couldn't help thinking:

"Could this be from when that ancient sword cultivator entered the village centuries ago, fighting someone or some evil entity?"

Mo Hua reached out and touched the broken surface of the Shi Zhu.

The surface was smooth, clearly bearing the imprint of extremely sharp sword qi.

But after years of decay, the sword qi had long vanished, and the broken surface was coated in a sticky layer of grime.

Mo Hua tried to observe this sword mark, hoping to comprehend some use of sword qi.

But his shallow mastery of sword art was utterly insufficient to support such a high-level sword Dao insight.

If sword qi wouldn't work, what about sword intent?

Mo Hua released his spiritual sense to perceive the sword intent.

On the broken surface, faint sword sparks appeared—still glowing after hundreds of years—and Mo Hua was deeply shocked.

Yet these sword sparks remained far too weak to glean any meaningful insight.

Mo Hua's pupils deepened, and celestial patterns surfaced in his eyes; using Celestial Calculation to amplify his Celestial Computation, he stared again—and the aura on the surface suddenly sharpened.

A razor-thin, pale blue cold light revealed its full edge.

Mo Hua's eyes stung slightly; within his consciousness, he felt overwhelming pressure—as if a master of the sword Dao were pointing an exquisitely sharp blade directly at his brow.

Then, everything vanished in an instant.

The faint sword sparks on the broken surface disappeared completely.

The sword principles preserved within cause and effect in Celestial Computation vanished without a trace.

Mo Hua stood stunned for a moment, filled with a sense of loss.

"This is… spiritual intent forming a sword…"

That purest extreme of killing intent, the peak-sharp sword intent, and the dazzling sword qi formed from spiritual intent in that fleeting glimpse—all left Mo Hua shaken, unable to calm down.

Mo Hua remained dazed for a moment, then his gaze blazed brightly, shining brilliantly.

"This is… spiritual intent forming a sword…"

"And very likely, it's the Grand Void Sect's Grand Void Spiritual Intent Sword Formation Scripture…"

He had finally seen with his own eyes—and experienced firsthand—the true Spiritual Intent Sword formed from spiritual sense!

Mo Hua touched the broken Shi Zhu again.

Too bad, the Shi Zhu now held nothing.

But it didn't matter.

If there's one, there must be two.

The ancient sword cultivator who entered this village, polluted by the demonic god and brimming with danger, couldn't have drawn his sword only once.

There must be other traces of "spiritual intent forming a sword" left somewhere in this village.

As long as he observed them one by one, even if he couldn't master true spiritual intent forming a sword, at least he could grasp the basics, imitate the form, and learn some methods of spiritual sense application—no problem.

Mo Hua was filled with eager anticipation.

He just didn't know where else in the village sword marks might remain…

Mo Hua muttered to himself, then suddenly froze—he realized he'd forgotten his main task.

"First, save the people—saving lives is urgent…"

Mo Hua silently repeated to himself.

The matter of "sword marks" could wait.

Then he concealed his presence once more and continued toward the large fishing house ahead.

There were no arrays or other protective measures around the fishing house.

Presumably, the cultivators residing in the village didn't think anyone could reach here, so they hadn't set up additional defenses.

This also worked to Mo Hua's advantage.

The fishing house door was tightly shut, with muffled voices inside.

Mo Hua climbed onto the roof with hands and feet, peering through gaps in the thatch into the interior.

Though large, the fishing house was sparsely furnished; lamps glowed dim yellow within.

Several cultivators sat around a table, drinking.

Most wore black robes; only one was different—his face covered in thick whiskers, his body muscular and jet-black—this was Guo Jiang Long.

The liquor was strong, its scent pungent. On the table were several dishes of fried snacks and dried fish, meant as snacks.

The men ate and drank while chatting and complaining.

Mo Hua strained to listen, hearing only phrases like "damn weather," "gloomy place," "someone died," "bad luck," and similar.

But among them, there was also… "Gu Changhuai"?

"That bastard Gu Changhuai…"

"Has gone completely mad, stalking me for months on end, like a ghost that won't leave…"

"I'll kill him sooner or later!"

"Blow it out your ass! You're just a Foundation Establishment cultivator—how dare you, with your bear's heart and leopard's gall, think you can kill a Jin Dan?"

"You don't understand a thing! Don't look down on the young poor! I'll form a Jin Dan myself someday, refine mercury into the Dao, cultivate a top-grade Jin Dan, learn the sect's Supreme Sword Art, and settle the score with that Gu!"

"I'll humiliate him in every possible way… then kill him!"

"Enough, stop dreaming…"

"It's strange, though—Gu Changhuai's a third-grade Diansi. Before, he only hunted Jin Dan-level criminal cultivators. Why, over the past year, has he suddenly taken to targeting Foundation Establishment ones?"

A black-robed man spoke with a slightly somber tone, "Could he… have found out something?"

The atmosphere grew solemn.

The head seat's black-robed man, sharp-eyed, took a sip of wine and whispered,

"According to Mr.'s words, there's a hidden master behind the scenes, directing Gu Changhuai to deliberately oppose us."

"Who?"

Someone snapped impatiently, "Fuck, you idiot—we just said it's a master. How the hell would we know who?"

"True masters all bury themselves deep."

"You fucking—"

"Enough!" the head seat's black-robed man snapped coldly. "All of you are scions of noble families—watch your language."

"Yes, big brother…"

The others murmured.

They drank in silence. After a while, someone else brought up another topic, and they began chatting, one after another.

But their words were crude, mostly lewd jokes.

Most of it revolved around which family's women were beautiful, which sect's women had the best figures, or which elemental affinity made a woman particularly lush and enticing…

Mo Hua listened for a while, his brow furrowing.

Can't these people have any ambition?

I don't want to hear this crap—why can't you all just talk about something real when you're gathered together?

But they refused to follow Mo Hua's wishes, still spouting their lewd nonsense.

After a while, someone suddenly asked Guo Jiang Long, "Li Yu, you fucking bastard, why haven't you said a word all night, just sitting there drinking?"

Guo Jiang Long seemed distracted, frowning,

"I feel… something's off…"

"What's off?"

Guo Jiang Long's gaze sharpened slightly. "I keep feeling someone's watching me…"

On the roof, Mo Hua's heart tightened. He immediately withdrew his gaze, stayed perfectly still, and began activating Shishui Step, ready to flee at the slightest hint of trouble.

Below, Guo Jiang Long continued: "To be honest, even back in the Dao Prison, I felt watched. After faking my death and slipping into the Yan Shui River, things were fine at first—free and easy."

"But after a while, for some reason, I felt I was being watched again."

"It's not constant—someone watches for a while, then stops, then watches again, with about a ten-day gap between each time. I don't know why…"

Mo Hua silently thought: Because I have to go back to class…

Guo Jiang Long looked puzzled. "But that's impossible. On land, I won't say anything—but in the water, with Bai Lang Jue and Bai Lang Body Technique, I merge completely with the Yan Shui River. For years, no one's ever been able to track me…"

"So this is deeply suspicious…"

The head seat's black-robed man's gaze darkened. "Have you investigated?"

"I have," Guo Jiang Long nodded. "I used every method I could think of—but found no trace at all…"

"Then that's it."

"You're just paranoid."

"But," Guo Jiang Long hesitated, a solemn glint flashing in his eyes, "just now—I felt it again. That faint sense of being watched…"

The others froze, then erupted in curses:

"You coward!"

"Seeing ghosts again…"

"Don't let one failure—getting beaten by a bunch of rookie sect disciples—turn you into a scared bird, always looking over your shoulder…"

"Maybe someone's watching you out there, but how could anyone possibly find this place?"

"If someone really did get in…" the head seat's black-robed man said gravely.

Everyone fell silent for a moment.

The head seat's black-robed man swept his gaze across them and added: "Then one of us is a traitor."

The faces of all present turned rigid.

The head seat's black-robed man said coldly: "Someone has leaked the Jingkou formation patterns, the method of feeding the fish demons, and the sacred path into the village…"

The cultivators present grew tense.

"Big brother, you know me…"

"Big brother, I've always given my all…"

"Big brother…"

The head seat's black-robed man waved his hand.

"I know—you're all loyal. That's why the fishing village's secrets couldn't have been leaked."

"And in a second-grade prefecture, anyone who doesn't know the Jingkou formation patterns, the feeding method for the demons, or the sacred path into the village could never enter the village unseen and unheard."

The head black-robed figure said, "You flatter me too much—so you need not worry."

Guo Jiang Long heard this and finally exhaled in relief, smiling apologetically:

"Brother's right—we're all brothers, sworn in blood. Who would dare leak these secrets?"

The head black-robed figure nodded in satisfaction and continued:

"Relax. Just follow the Young Master's orders. The Young Master won't let you down—he'll ensure your safety."

Guo Jiang Long bowed respectfully, "Yes."

Mo Hua, on the rooftop, frowned upon hearing this.

Again, the Young Master?

Which Young Master is this one?

That Jin Young Master?

Probably not…

As Mo Hua pondered, he heard someone else below ask:

"Brother, how much longer will we stay in this village?"

"Yeah, it's creepy and eerie everywhere—this isn't a place for the living."

The head black-robed figure said calmly, "Soon. Once the River God has finished his offering, we'll take it to refine the pills. After the pills are done, we can leave…"

Mo Hua's heart turned cold upon hearing this.

The River God has finished his offering?

Take it to refine pills?

That offering… and the thing to be refined into pills—could it be Old Yu's two little grandsons?

"Once the River God has finished his offering… does that mean the River God is already 'eating'?"

Mo Hua looked solemn.

"Time is running short…"

The situation was more urgent than he'd imagined.

Mo Hua quietly slipped away from the large fishing house, glanced around, then chose a direction and followed the rooftops toward the back of the fishing village.

Behind the large fishing house stood another sealed fishing house.

Mo Hua reached the rooftop, found a crack, squinted downward—and as soon as he saw the interior, his pupils shrank.

This was a pill-refining chamber.

Inside the chamber, scattered everywhere were dissected human cultivator skeletons.

In the center of the chamber stood a white-bone pill furnace, its interior burning with an eerie greenish flame, radiating a chilling aura.

Before the furnace lay several herbs.

These herbs were interwoven in purple, green, and red, their shapes bizarre, and they slowly writhed.

Before the white-bone furnace, a cultivator was refining pills.

He was disheveled, clad in a pill-refining robe, his face marked with blood runes, his aura sinister and deranged—he was a demonic pill master.

(End of Chapter)