Chapter 704: Golden Marrow

The silver fish swam away.

Mo Hua didn't care; while the nightmare hadn't yet shattered and the River God's temple hadn't collapsed, he continued searching the altar, leaving not a single bottle, jar, candle, or platform unturned.

But after searching for a long time, he found nothing.

Mo Hua pondered for a moment, then shifted his thoughts and sat down upon it himself.

He felt a faint, mysterious sensation.

In the depths of the void, it seemed as if he had connected with something.

But that was all.

If he lived another few decades, even a hundred years, and his spiritual sense further transformed into Dao, what would become of him?

Mo Hua felt a bit full.

The River God's evil thoughts had filled him.

His Dao heart was slowly hardening.

"What can you do to me?"

The Black Water River God's gaze turned dark, and he sneered, but gave no answer.

Could these possibly be…

Mo Hua sighed, helpless in his heart.

He couldn't answer his words…

Before he finished speaking, the ancient, mysterious Dao Stele appeared at the center of his mind-sea, its Great Dao aura ebbing and flowing.

The others, sensing the gravity, wisely asked no further questions, instead standing guard with wary expressions around Mo Hua.

The demon slowly opened its gaping maw and silently swallowed toward Mo Hua ahead.

I am the incarnation of an evil god, embodying the will of the Lord of Dahuang.

"Little An, Little Quan, guard my practice for me…"

When Mo Hua opened his eyes again, he found Gu An, Gu Quan, and the others watching him with concerned expressions.

And when I deduced the karmic threads, I saw you lurking in the shadows, ambushing my Grand Void Sect's sword elder—how could I not know your wickedness?

The Black Water River God thought Mo Hua was naive.

All he had to do was reverse his hand, summon his spiritual sense into a sword—and even as an evil god incarnation, he wouldn't be his match.

Fortunately, now he was just one step away.

"Young Master, what exactly are you doing?"

The monster's pupils changed drastically; it violently shook its head, trying to fling Mo Hua off.

Within the mind-sea, calm temporarily returned.

The Black Water River God said: "What do you want?"

The Black Water River God's gaze darkened slightly, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

The Black Water River God's evil thoughts surged, instantly breaking free from the Earth Prison array.

Mo Hua suspected that the evil god incarnation had hatched from a "divine corpse."

Compared to this, there were still other matters to settle.

Before the horror in the Black Water River God's eyes could fade, he was obliterated outright by the heavenly lightning, his and the Lord of Dahuang's evil god will both extinguished.

Sharp Jin Guang poured down from above, swordlight blooming, unstoppable, shredding the flesh born from the monster's inner evil thoughts.

An entire second-rank fish-head River God was thus "eaten" clean by Mo Hua.

Of course, Mo Hua would never say such a blunt truth.

No matter how strong a pawn is, it's still just a pawn.

Bad!

"Little brat, when did you discover me?"

No matter how weak a player is, he's still the player.

"Being a god is always dull—keeping the flesh, indulging in pleasures, there are countless joys to be had…"

Mo Hua thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Not yet—I still have something to do…"

The Black Water River God, caught off guard, saw that forbidden, dead red.

It began to entice: "Young Daoist, your spiritual sense is the strongest I've ever seen. To remain a mere 'human' is a waste—why not join me on the supreme path of 'godhood'?"

A thread of venom flashed through the Black Water River God's monstrous eyes.

Especially this sword technique, in the hands of this little brat with such strong and profound spiritual sense, compensated for his lack of lethal extremity despite balanced spiritual energy, making it even more terrifying.

A thousand evils pass through the heart, leaving not a single trace.

The Black Water River God trembled within, suddenly realizing the situation was turning unfavorable.

Mo Hua wasn't certain whether the River God was truly dead, so he decided to first refine and "eat" his evil thoughts clean, utterly eliminating any lingering threat and avoiding further complications.

The monster's pupils nearly bulged out; it struggled even more violently.

"With your ultimate technique—spiritual sense turned to sword—you can only defeat me, not kill me."

Mo Hua gripped Jin Guang, his eyes gleaming with ferocity.

The monster roared in terror, its wounds worsening, its movements growing slower.

Thus, after an unknown length of time, the blood river's evil thoughts gradually burned dry, each wisp of spiritual essence slowly devoured.

The Black Water River God's face twisted.

Only then did Yu Dahe finally relax, his joy overflowing, eyes reddening as he kept repeating:

"Thank you, thank you, Young Master Mo…"

But Yu Dahe remained deeply anxious.

It's just a shame that, for various reasons, the sect's internal lineage of divine-sword techniques seems to have been severed, and these more profound divine-sword forms—where would one even learn them…

A ferocious maw completely enveloped the tiny Mo Hua.

This River God Temple, though still looking gloomy, was no longer frightening.

Mo Hua gripped the Blackwater River God's horn and dragged it to the center of his Sea of Consciousness.

A certain "divine corpse" of the Great Wasteland Evil God, through unorthodox means, polluted and parasitized the original River God's body within the fishing village, using the River God's divine vessel as a breeding ground to hatch an "Evil God Avatar."

The Blackwater River God furrowed its ferocious brows and asked, "How do you want this venerable one to show sincerity?"

"Don't you think what you're doing is rather impolite?"

"Shouldn't you offer an apology and some compensation to show sincerity?"

When did the avatar of a dignified Evil God, intending to obliterate a human cultivator's divine sense, need to be so lacking in confidence, so cautious and timid, to the point of using the words "merely with"?

The Blackwater River God was both furious and alarmed.

This little brat's divine sense was far too strong—it already showed signs of "Dao Transformation," strong enough to rival a "Divine God."

Mo Hua smiled. "Learned it from your Dao domain."

But in that brief moment, Mo Hua had already flashed forward, closing the distance, and the golden small sword forged from divine sense danced out streak after streak of sword-light.

At the same time, Mo Hua's right hand clenched empty air.

"Merely with" a second-grade Evil God avatar…

Setting aside whether it could ambush him from the shadows at all.

The moment the words "divine marrow" left his mouth, the Blackwater River God's expression changed drastically.

"I'm young, and I'm not greedy," Mo Hua said with a smile. "Just share a few good things with me."

Mo Hua landed lightly on the ground, pointed the golden small sword at the black water on the floor, and said, "Come out. I know you're not dead."

"Your divine marrow!"

Mo Hua didn't waste words—clean and decisive, his small hand thrust out, and pale-golden light condensed into a golden thread that stabbed straight into the monster's brow.

On the surface, the River God was dead, reduced to a puddle of blood and evil thoughts, which Mo Hua swallowed into his belly.

It was certain this little brat was lying.

Within the Sea of Consciousness, Mo Hua concentrated fully, closed his eyes in meditation, and visualized himself.

He prepared to first refine the River God's evil thoughts.

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

But Mo Hua reconsidered—it might look like "a little," but no one knew how many thresholds were hidden within that little.

Perhaps because he had destroyed the altar himself and overturned the offering table, even sitting on it personally didn't feel like much.

How would you know?

You, a human cultivator barely ten years old—how would you know, how could you possibly know, the Great Wasteland Sovereign who hides in the dark, borrowing monstrous evil thoughts to conceal the workings of heaven?

But Mo Hua was unwilling to waste words with him.

Then Mo Hua gritted his teeth, handed the staff to Gu Quan, but still couldn't help reminding him:

Mo Hua said, "My divine sense still hasn't fully adapted. Go back and rest, recuperate a bit. It'll be fine after some time."

Both digesting the divine sense and thoroughly consolidating his Dao heart.

One was that an Evil God at the level of the Great Wasteland Sovereign had a divine sense that was already immortal and indestructible—he couldn't obliterate it.

The massive evil thoughts of the River God were swallowed into Mo Hua's belly.

From what he could see, this child had lived only a mere ten-odd years, yet his divine sense was already this strong.

His own Dao attainment in transforming divine sense into swords was still shallow, his killing power insufficient, so he couldn't truly sever and extinguish the Evil God avatar.

He could cut it, but not destroy it.

And as long as he couldn't destroy it, it would take root in his Sea of Consciousness, ceaselessly polluting and spreading.

When you think him childish, the childish one is actually yourself.

Being able to part the fog of heaven's workings, see through the karma of evil and fall, and know the revered name of the Great Wasteland Sovereign—this meant that this little cultivator, despite his low cultivation, had already stepped onto the chessboard, earned the right to play, and was no longer simply a muddled, manipulated chess piece…

The Blackwater River God was stunned, then couldn't help laughing despite its anger.

Mo Hua snorted coldly and said nothing.

He wasn't a body cultivator—his skin was tender and delicate, and he couldn't take a beating.

Mo Hua frowned.

Mo Hua asked, puzzled, "Why won't you die?"

"Naturally it's…"

The Blackwater River God's face darkened.

Body and mind as one, clear and bright as a mirror.

Mo Hua stopped resisting and slowly closed his eyes.

This trip to the fishing village—I came here for you in the first place.

This wisp of light illuminated Mo Hua's eyes.

But it had horns on its head, and atop the fish-head, the teeth jutted outward, tusks curling back—like the mouth of a… sheep?

But Mo Hua furrowed his brows.

A dignified second-grade River God, its divine sense extremely powerful—though it had already fallen, with most of it being evil thoughts, after refinement and purification, the remaining pure divine sense was still considerable.

The Blackwater Evil God had been "disinfected"—its divine essence destroyed, its Dao dissolved—leaving behind only a large amount of pale-golden divine marrow.

And with the nourishment of an entire River God, his divine sense took another great step forward.

This shadow, jet-black tinged with blood-red, its aura terrifying, yet utterly silent.

The shadow was like a swamp of sin, black water spreading, and from within it slowly emerged a hideous ram-horned monster with a massive fanged mouth.

Must not let any hint slip, lest this brat discern any divine secrets.

Mo Hua directly formed the Li Huo Array with divine thought, beginning to slowly roast and burn away these evil thoughts.

The Black Water River God's unease grew stronger and stronger.

Only by ascending to a higher realm, using a higher-tier divine relic to hatch a more powerful demonic avatar, and relying on the advantage of divine rank and class, could one crush it with overwhelming, thunderous force.

Though I can turn divine thought into a sword and slice it into pieces, I still cannot utterly annihilate it.

Mo Hua frowned, then suddenly understood.

The Black Water River God's face shifted, a strong wariness rising within him.

"What do you want? Cultivation methods, Dao arts, fame, power, beauty…"

Its primordial will is also extremely difficult to erase.

But halfway through fleeing, he suddenly realized he could not move.

He had not expected divine thought turned into a sword could be so powerful.

As soon as Mo Hua finished speaking, the two children softly murmured.

These divine array markings are still very crude; they can temporarily restrain the Black Water River God only because Mo Hua's divine thought is strong enough.

This is a "Yang Mou."

The black water dried up; the evil qi vanished.

Guard your primordial heart amid the turbulent flood of evil desires.

"Why did you only come out now? I've been waiting for you a long time."

Mo Hua must completely refine the evil thoughts, discard the corruption, purge the impure and preserve pure divine thought, before he can truly swallow and fully digest it.

The nightmare began to twist.

Mo Hua looked at the ruined altar and sighed helplessly.

The Black Water River God froze, his eyes suddenly widening:

"You… know?"

Higher, deeper sword techniques from the Grand Void Divine Thought Sword Art?

Mo Hua's heart trembled, his eyes filled with longing.

Gu An glanced around and whispered, "Young Master, this place is not safe to linger in—should we return first?"

It was now one hundred percent certain: this brat really knew everything!!

The divine rank's primordial essence.

He studied the Black Water River God for a moment longer; in his clear black-and-white eyes, a faint spiritual light shimmered.

Do things thoroughly, from start to finish.

"I know…" Mo Hua sneered, "the Great Wilderness Demonic God, right?"

"I'm asking you," Mo Hua said, "why aren't you dead?"

If not by advancing in realm to naturally increase divine perception, but purely by finding one's own way.

Mo Hua glanced at the two children and nodded slightly, saying:

To painstakingly train divine perception, to swallow one evil entity after another, like water dripping through stone, slowly strengthening divine perception to break through the bottleneck—this is as hard as climbing to heaven.

Though this evil thought had been sliced into pieces by divine thought turned into a sword and was clearly weaker, it still had not perished.

On the tiny golden sword, several Jin Guang flared, piercing straight through the monster's skull.

It seems this is the end…

Yu Dahe smiled in relief.

Gu Quan nodded hesitantly.

After being "dismembered," the Black Water River God turned into a pool of black water.

He held his two sons tightly in his arms, his face filled with confusion and anxiety—he could not tell the situation, had no idea whether his two sons were alive or dead.

Or perhaps…

In that instant, cosmic laws settled upon him, life and death sealed, irreversible.

Shadows spread from behind Mo Hua's small figure, gradually growing larger, taking shape as a vast demonic shadow.

This must also be the plan of this demonic avatar.

"If you refuse to abandon your physical body, it doesn't matter."

Its divine body had been locked by the Earth Prison Array.

He was hungry again.

Seeing Mo Hua awake, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Take it slow—it should be coming soon…"

Another possibility: my divine perception has not yet undergone a qualitative transformation; my "divine rank" is too low, so I cannot erase higher-level demonic wills.

Mo Hua remained unmoved.

But the two children still did not wake; they only frowned, tried to open their eyes but could not, then fell back into a drowsy slumber.

Another wave of heaven and earth inverted, divine thought shifted.

The Black Water River God's eyelid twitched.

"If I go mad, hit me with this stick to knock me out!"

Thus, he burned away evil entities, absorbed divine thought, and trained his Dao heart simultaneously.

The key is this brat lies without the slightest hesitation—he speaks falsehoods as easily as breathing.

"Divine array techniques?!"

Strike while the iron is hot!

Mo Hua slashed again and again, "swish-swish," his spiritual sense forming sword qi that scattered and cut in every direction, slicing the large, monstrous evil thought into pieces until it collapsed into a pool of black water, lifeless.

And there are two possibilities why I cannot destroy the Evil God's will…

His spiritual sense is also growing stronger by the minute.

Several faint golden array runes, pulsing with ancient, righteous Dao energy, were seared onto its body, sealing it in place.

The black water trembled, then slowly rose a dark shadow.

Mo Hua frowned, "You sneaked into my spiritual sea, crept around trying to ambush me, and now you ask what I want to do?"

Time was up—the River God's temple began to collapse.

Mo Hua acted immediately, his small hand like an iron clamp, pressing the Black Water River God's head onto the Dao Stele.

The monster froze for a moment, its two ugly large eyes focusing upward—there, atop its head, stood a child it had not noticed.

The Great Wasteland Evil God's evil will was overwhelming; its raw power must be terrifying.

This child knows much about divine matters, and his mind is cunning and deceitful.

And this little demon, his spiritual sense is already strong.

Since I brought them here, I must bring them back safely.

This is what happened in the small fishing village.

Mo Hua bounced atop its head, his body light and fluid as water, dodging every killing move, then spun and thrust a sword into its crown.

Divine Thunder!

Time dripped away, and after who knew how long, while Mo Hua sat with eyes closed, unaware, a vast shadow suddenly rose behind him.

But this little demon—he blurted out, demanding the Divine Essence!

There must be a traitor among the gods, revealing every secret to this little menace before me!

The Black Water River God was startled—he suddenly sensed something wrong, looked around, and saw that array runes had surfaced from the ground, forming a complete formation.

The Black Water River God could not imagine what method a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator, barely ten years old, could possibly wield to erase him completely.

Mo Hua whispered, "I'll show you something wonderful…"

"Lord of the Great Wasteland, Divine Power Boundless, Three Thousand Great Mountains, Ten Thousand Demons—should you dare defy heaven and earth and ruin my grand plan, you shall be eternally cast into the Infernal Pit, death a thousand times over cannot atone…"

The child lay atop its head, hanging upside down, staring into its large eyes, complaining:

Mo Hua said, then pulled out a black cloth strip inscribed with several array runes, and a stick wrapped thickly in cotton.

The entire shadow was formed from filthy black water, taking the shape of a pitch-black water spirit, resembling the River God—fish head, human body.

"Moreover, you have no idea how terrifying my true form truly is…"

Mo Hua thought this was very likely.

Unlike the altar in the Bishan Demon Cave, where I had barely sat down and demons bowed, divine essence descended upon me, filling me with endless mystery and comfort.

Among these faint golden Divine Essences, several strands were extraordinarily pure, nearly golden in hue, their Great Dao principles inwardly contained, glowing with brilliant, dazzling light.

The Seventeen-Rune Spiritual Sense realm—once a chasm far beyond reach, now seemed within arm's length.

Just as it was about to swallow Mo Hua, a figure flashed before it—Mo Hua's form vanished.

Mo Hua surveyed the surroundings: all the Gu family cultivators were present, unharmed; Yu Dahe had awakened, seemingly unscathed—he nodded in satisfaction.

Mo Hua also followed routine, using these evil thoughts to temper his Dao heart.

But the situation was unfavorable; having witnessed the power of spiritual-sense-turned-sword, he knew he could not fight head-on, so the Black Water River God said:

"I was rash, young cultivator—shall we call it quits?"

"Fine, don't tell me," Mo Hua glanced at the Black Water River God again, bored. "I'm pressed for time—I'll just kill you first…"

This was also why the Black Water River God, though no match for him, had acted so boldly.

I've already cut off the River God's head.

At this thought, the Black Water River God himself froze for a moment.

"The sword technique of spiritual-sense-turned-sword…"

Mo Hua sighed, suppressing his impatience, gradually calming his mind.

"Kill me?"

"I can give you everything!"

But the path of the gods is profound and unfathomable.

Within his spiritual sea, Mo Hua's spiritual sense avatar opened his eyes, a faint gleam flashing in his gaze.

The monster struggled, howling in agony, its claws tearing toward Mo Hua.

Mo Hua wrapped thick cotton around the stick because he was afraid of getting hurt.

It didn't need to defeat him—only needed an opening to enter his spiritual sea. Relying on its indestructible evil god will, it would eventually "assimilate" him.

Then, as the dream returned to its true form, it entered Mo Hua's spiritual sea.

You won't speak… you think I can't guess?

This Black Water River God must be the true avatar of the Great Wasteland Evil God—only Second Rank realm, perhaps different from the Divine Corpse.

"Finished?" Mo Hua said.

Mo Hua's gaze flickered—he faintly remembered, when he had deduced the broken sword's karmic thread, hearing from that ancient sword cultivator some sword technique names:

"I wonder if learning sword techniques like 'Slaying God Form' or 'Destroying God Form'—stronger spiritual-sense sword arts—could let me destroy the Evil God's avatar without external tools, relying solely on my own power…"

But its massive body could not escape Mo Hua.

Its voice, like the River God's, carried a watery, monstrous timbre—but deeper, darker.

Ignorant child, how dare you speak so boldly!

This must be the Great Wasteland Evil God's Divine Corpse.

You can't steal for a thousand days without being caught for one.

Even if you ambush him, you may not seriously injure him.

"Remember to go easy…"

Mo Hua smiled faintly, and in his gaze, a sliver of sharp swordlight flashed.

Otherwise, a second-rank demonic god avatar alone could never harm him…

No matter how firm my Dao heart, if I am endlessly polluted by these demonic thoughts, sooner or later, I will lose my Dao heart, be enslaved by the demonic god, and become a puppet of demonic desires.

From the sixteenth pattern to the seventeenth pattern, from Foundation Establishment mid-stage to late-stage, it seems like only one pattern apart—but that one pattern is truly like a cliffy abyss.

The Black Water River God, pinned by Mo Hua's gaze, suddenly felt a chill run through his body—for no reason.

The swordlight was fierce, slicing the Black Water River God apart once more.

Mo Hua waved his hand. "The matters of an Array Master—you wouldn't understand anyway. Just remember what I just said."

Mo Hua gripped the demon's ram horn in one hand, clinging to its head like sticky candy.

It was the demonic god's most ordinary yet most terrifying, nearly "unsolvable" tactic.

But it had seen Mo Hua pinning the River God's head and slicing off his skull with a single sword strike—it knew this brat was ruthless and utterly incapable of true naivety.

Even after consuming so much, the barrier between the sixteenth and seventeenth patterns remained, and he still could not cross it.

This steadfastness of the Dao heart demands immense willpower—but fortunately, Mo Hua was already accustomed to it, even somewhat numb to it.

"It's all right now—the soul has returned…"

"Don't speak…"

The crimson demonic thoughts were incinerated by the crimson array, turning into wisps of white smoke, which Mo Hua inhaled into his dantian.

But now, he wanted to eat better.

The Black Water River God stared in shock at Mo Hua, drawing a sharp breath: "How could you possibly know Divine Array techniques?!"

This demonic god avatar itself contains the demonic god's primordial will.

After all, this "Sword Transformation" technique of Divine Thought Turning into Sword was something I copied blindly, half-stolen on the fly—not orthodox transmission—and it's merely the introductory sword form of Divine Thought Turning into Sword, still crude and rudimentary. It's understandable it can't kill a demonic god avatar.

Mo Hua sat in meditation, utterly defenseless.

Divine Thought Turning into Sword is incredibly sharp.

Mo Hua softly snorted in his heart.

Mo Hua looked at the Black Water River God, his eyes glinting slightly as he silently calculated.

That sword cultivator from hundreds of years ago was fierce in combat, but his divine thought was weak, so he was manageable.

The essence of the Dao.

The Black Water River God widened his eyes. "This is…"

Seeing persuasion fail, the River God's expression turned stern, and he threatened:

All manner of demonic desires surged from his heart, yet were suppressed by Mo Hua's firm Dao heart.

The River God's divine thought was strong, but much of it was filthy, demonic thought.

But this divine corpse was different—it seemed to have parasitized the River God, gradually assimilating with him, thus drawing closer to… a demonic god?

The Black Water River God stared coldly at Mo Hua, his gaze wary.

Hold onto humanity amid hidden demonic corruption.

Yu Dahe panicked again and quickly looked at Mo Hua.

This white smoke wasn't clean either—it still retained many instinctual demonic thoughts that, once devoured, continuously eroded Mo Hua's will.

Mo Hua merely said: "You hid well. I only just now discovered you."

This is the core taboo of a deity.

Mo Hua was reassured.

Having prepared thoroughly, Mo Hua sat in place and sank his divine awareness into his mind sea.

"Mm."

Gu Quan took the staff and exchanged glances with the others, looking confused, then asked softly:

Now that he was full—and even a bit bloated—he decided to first digest, consolidate, then exit the mind sea.

Sure enough, after a moment, the Black Water River God reappeared.

Mo Hua also felt a powerful repelling force—if he didn't leave now, his divine awareness would be annihilated along with the dream.

"Later, I'll meditate. If my expression changes or my gaze turns evil, use this black cloth to seal it on my forehead."

"Shock the Spirit Form, Shatter the Spirit Form, Slash the Spirit Form, Extinguish the Spirit Form…"

Endless golden brilliance gathered in his hand, coalescing into an ancient yet terrifying pale golden divine thought sword.

Anyone with the right to intervene in this game—even if they seem utterly insignificant—must never be underestimated!

The Black Water River God, upon realizing this, his eyes filled with terror, instantly turned to shadow and tried to flee into the Black Water.

Mo Hua's eyes gleamed with delight.

Pure golden essence!

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