Chapter 705: Dao Transformation and Divine Authority

These few strands of pure-gold divine marrow, flowing like molten gold, dazzling to the eye, held within them a mysterious profundity, as if the great Dao's laws were circulating within.

According to Huang Shanjun, pure-gold divine marrow was a grade higher than pale-gold divine marrow.

Truly a fine treasure!

Mo Hua's face broke into a smile, and without further hesitation he opened his mouth and swallowed, drawing in all the pale-gold divine marrow, along with a small amount of pure-gold divine marrow, into his mouth in one gulp.

This divine marrow had already been "detoxified" by the tribulation lightning; every will within it had been wiped clean, spotless.

Mo Hua "ate" it with complete peace of mind.

The moment the divine marrow entered his mouth, it transformed into strands of golden thread, like bloodlines, seeping thread by thread into Mo Hua's divine-sense incarnation.

As if a true "divine being" had descended upon the world through the altar.

And within this aura, there was also a profound, complex, and ineffably ancient flavor.

God and man as one, in harmony with the great Dao, merging into the Dao heart.

Hungry for a stretch, then a full meal. Finish one meal, hungry again.

Mo Hua thought it over, then shook his head.

The River God's?

Mo Hua thought for a moment and felt that probably wasn't the case; on the surface this altar worshipped the River God, but in reality what it worshipped should be the Great Wilderness Evil God.

The offering table was laden with fresh fish sacrifices, but it seemed human flesh and bone were mixed in as well.

Mo Hua sighed.

And each node seemed to correspond to a divine hall, an altar, an incarnation of an evil god, as well as…

"Also, whose divine-authority tree is this?"

Once the wall was chiseled through, a thick, sinister aura rushed at him.

The more Mo Hua looked, the more alarmed he grew.

In some unfathomable way, Mo Hua felt his understanding of the "Dao" deepen by another fraction, and his Dao heart "transformed" just a little.

In reality there is a River God temple; only within the nightmare does the River God's great hall exist…

But after all, he had already reached Foundation Establishment.

"Not good…"

He kept feeling as though he had missed something…

Mo Hua discovered that he was atop a tree of divine light.

Mo Hua pressed against the wall, following the aura, distinguishing bit by bit, tracing back bit by bit, and finally behind the River God statue discovered a wall.

He looked at the River God temple, replayed the entire nightmare's course in his mind, and then realized a problem.

Whether man or god, or all the myriad things and spirits and laws of heaven and earth, each is itself a part of the "great Dao," all inheriting the laws of the great Dao.

Nor did anyone have the resources to afford feeding him full every day, never going hungry.

Divine marrow and divine sense are one.

"Where did the altar in reality go?"

Human nature is the Dao; divinity too is the Dao.

Mo Hua's mood was cheerful, and his steps much lighter.

The Blackwater River God had also been screwed over to death by him.

After a moment, heaven and earth fell silent.

In reality, fisher-cultivators worship the River God; only within the nightmare do the villagers kneel and worship in the square;

In reality, there are flesh-and-blood demons raised by Dao grounds; only within the nightmare do the demons and evil things of the rear hall exist;

The next time he wanted to eat, he didn't know when that would be.

Gu An and Gu Quan were both taken aback, then couldn't help nodding, feeling it made a great deal of sense.

Mo Hua pondered for a moment, then looked around himself, searching within his sea of consciousness, but did not find it.

An aura unlike that of the mortal world, towering above all living beings of heaven and earth, lofty and supreme, spread out from his divine sense.

Everything within the evil god's nightmare was the same way.

The divine-authority tree was deeply rooted, its branches and leaves luxuriant, with many nodes at the joints.

But Mo Hua still hadn't quite figured it out…

Cut off in the middle by something?

Mo Hua's heart gave a slight jolt; he returned once more inside the River God temple, released his divine sense, looked around for a while, and finally discovered the clue.

And within the nightmare, there was an "altar"…

Mo Hua's thoughts stirred slightly.

The great Dao of the divine, edge concealed within, all hidden deep in his eyes.

Mo Hua smiled and said, "It's nothing."

He discovered that within this divine-authority tree, there was one node, abnormally bright.

But this tree was not small, yet far from the vast, boundless, heaven-sheltering, earth-covering giant Jianmu formed from the great Dao's torrent.

Divine-authority tree?!

At a thought from Mo Hua's divine sense, he indeed found that he seemed to have merged into one with the divine-authority tree.

Couldn't figure it out…

In the Fifth-Grade Qianxue State boundary, surrounded by Foundation Establishment prodigies and even genius body cultivators, his physical body was naturally considered frail.

This aura was very familiar.

The divine marrow had also been eaten by him.

But the offerings had already rotted, and the fish tank held only stagnant water.

The altar's furnishings were nearly identical to those in his nightmare.

Mo Hua sat upon the altar, his clear eyes watching these exquisitely beautiful, yet terrifyingly fearsome streams of law-light, flickering and alternating, merging into one—a great river of Dao, vast as the Celestial Jianmu, leaving him stunned and lost in thought.

The altar, having welcomed its "Master," naturally bestowed upon him true authority.

But it was also faintly familiar.

The Black Water River God—the incarnation of the Great Wasteland Evil God—was utterly annihilated, not even a speck remaining.

With his current abilities—whether his divine perception or his divine rank—he could not yet part the mist to covet the supreme divine authority.

Overall, he was at least nine-tenths satisfied.

His little heart pounded thump-thump.

Mo Hua could not help but recall the inexplicable longing that had surged within him when he first stepped into the blood-soaked soil of the fishing village.

In the fishing village's River God temple, Mo Hua sat in meditation, slowly opening his eyes to see Gu An clutching a black cloth, Gu Quan gripping a staff, and the others surrounding him with hostile stares.

The River God's hall in his dream was more spacious.

Nothing left to eat…

Mo Hua's brow furrowed tighter; after deep contemplation, he could only sigh helplessly.

It felt as though if he simply walked away now, it would be like "buying the casket and returning the pearl"—missing something profoundly precious…

After eliminating the Black Water River God, Mo Hua consumed much divine essence, even a few strands of higher-rank pure golden divine essence; his divine perception grew deeper, the gold within his divine perception intensified, and his divine perception power strengthened.

Ancient laws, as if divine.

The layout was wrong.

Mo Hua suddenly understood, his mind clear and bright.

A vast number of demonic and evil spirits…

But one must not be greedy—already stealing evil spirits, now also divine essence…

In the center of the offering table stood a translucent fish tank.

His divine perception, after consuming vast amounts of divine essence, underwent further transformation, taking another major step toward the "divine rank."

The Dao is vast and boundless—how easily could it be comprehended? And what did it truly mean to "merge" with the Dao?

All were merely concealed, not fortified.

In addition, he consumed vast amounts of divine essence and vast amounts of evil thoughts.

The sword bore sword intent, blending illusion and reality—it could be used in the real world too.

Seeing they understood, Mo Hua ordered:

"You guard here. I'll go inside and take a look."

The others nodded in agreement.

Mo Hua's heart gave a slight jolt, then he frowned.

But now, he had not discovered the altar in the real world.

Divine Dao array!

Divine perception cannot exist apart from reality.

Mo Hua silently thought to himself.

"Divine perception… Dao transformation?!"

Then what I stole… was the Great Wasteland Evil God's authority?

Mo Hua's heart leapt.

It was the Heavenly Dao he sought to prove through his supreme divine perception!

It could not be used in the real world.

His divine perception had just begun to form into a sword—only within the dream constructed by his divine perception and his own mind-sea was it razor-sharp and deadly.

The divine essence within Mo Hua began to circulate; a faint golden light shimmered over his body, his eyes turned dark gold, his gaze solemn and unfathomable.

Mo Hua again replayed every moment before and after entering the fishing village in his mind, searching for any "escaped" evil spirits that might fill the gap in his ascent to the Seventeen-Stripe Divine Perception.

The Black Water River God was dead.

The Evil God's will was eradicated.

"Young Master…"

The "True" God descended upon the true altar.

The real River God hall, at first glance, seemed unremarkable—but now that he had emerged from the dream and looked again, he clearly felt it was narrower, shorter, more cramped—as if…

Mo Hua could not quite understand.

He hurriedly strained to recall the divine insights he had gained during his enlightenment.

The River God had been chopped to pieces by him.

A hole had been smashed through the wall, dark and sinister within.

Just like when he was in the Bishan Demon Cave.

The wall itself bore no reinforcing array; it was sealed only by the Divine Dao array to lock in divine perception energy.

Mo Hua's divine perception trembled, and before him, boundless Dao laws cascaded like rain, streaking like meteors.

It was too disgusting—he didn't want to eat it.

But was it really that simple?

"What is divine authority?"

The instant he sat upon the altar, an ancient divine aura—Jiang Haoran—descended.

This place did not seem meant for "humans."

Raising henchmen, building power, and commanding tens of thousands of demonic and evil spirits through the authority of the Divine Tree.

Unlike that sword cultivator elder, who cultivates sword into qi, transforms qi into intent, and unifies sword weapon, sword qi, and sword intent into one.

This tree symbolizes part of the cosmic laws, and also symbolizes... the divine authority.

And Mo Hua is no longer what he once was.

Rays of light condensed and wove together, constantly shifting, then merged into a single boundless, vast stream of light.

Mo Hua thought it very likely.

Something very precious... what?

Mo Hua frowned and involuntarily stopped walking.

Gu An looked at Mo Hua's eyes, saw Mo Hua's gaze clear and lucid, breathed a slight sigh of relief, yet still dared not fully relax, and asked:

"The rest..."

Mo Hua had no means of divine thought capable of slaughtering wildly in the real world.

The "Divine Rank" underwent further transformation.

If so, there is no need to fear "divine nature," nor to overvalue "divine nature."

This Black Water River God had become utterly and completely a demonic avatar. Aside from its divine core, its own malevolent thoughts had fused with the will of the Great Wild Demonic God and were erased together by the heavenly lightning.

The River God's dream had collapsed; even if something existed within, it would not remain.

Mo Hua exerted tremendous effort to topple the River God statue, then, as if naturally, sat upon it himself.

This is a tree of the Great Dao's cosmic laws.

Uphold humanity, temper divine nature.

Mo Hua released his divine sense outside the wall, probed briefly, found no other qi signatures and no malevolent spirits, and said to the others:

"I'll go in and take a look. You wait here."

Mo Hua reached the end, looked up, and indeed saw an altar.

At the end, dim, hazy candlelight glowed with an eerie green hue, mixed with nightmare-like blood mist, radiating an ancient sense of dread.

Mo Hua's divine thought body gradually merged with the golden divine core.

"Divine authority? What specific authority?"

He examined again the divine authority tree connected to his divine thought, and saw that its branches and leaves were lush, with numerous nodes.

If the formation is dangerous, then they truly shouldn't enter; rashly entering might cause disaster...

"Alright," Gu An and the others nodded, "Young Master, be careful."

Although his divine sense still hadn't reached the Seventeen Patterns, which was regrettable, one must be content with what one has and not be overly greedy.

This was an altar that had already been built and had once been officially activated.

"Is there anything else that can be 'eaten'?"

It's the demonic god's qi!

Mo Hua nodded slightly and temporarily set the four characters "divine thought Dao transformation" aside in his heart.

Just one step away, Mo Hua felt extremely uncomfortable.

"What does 'divine thought Dao transformation' mean?"

This journey was essentially圆满 concluded.

But most of it, especially the upper portions, were shrouded in mist.

Beneath the River God statue stood an offering table.

Still one step away from the Foundation Establishment late-stage divine sense realm of Seventeen Patterns.

Only...

Gu An and Gu Quan paused, but did not refuse.

Rising like a towering tree, piercing the heavens, spreading branches and leaves, covering the entire world.

On the altar, a flash of light appeared, as if performing a location lock.

And his eyes revealed even stronger Jin Guang.

At that moment, Mo Hua caught a glimpse from the corner of his eye and suddenly froze.

He vaguely sensed that these four characters originated from the "divine core," and were related to "divinity" and "Dao," absolutely not insignificant.

The matter of the formation must be left to Young Master Xiao Mo.

This is the true "authority" of the divine.

An ancient, mysterious aura of cosmic laws enveloped Mo Hua's body.

Cultivators pursue Yiqi Xiuxian, seeking the Great Dao.

Mo Hua's facial expression grew increasingly blank, and the emotions in his memory grew ever more faint.

It was a matter of meritorious completion.

Gu An and the others saw this and also stopped, whispering in confusion: "Young Master, is something amiss?"

Mo Hua shook his head, turned back to look at the River God Temple, his eyes filled with thought.

His delicate, lovely face became solemn.

The statue could still be pushed.

This trip yielded great gains.

Though they did not know what lay behind the cave entrance, the profound aura emanating from within made their hearts tremble with fear, their backs grow cold.

His divine thought avatar gradually became transparent; on his skin, within his "flesh and blood," faint golden patterns emerged.

But this time, it was a bit different.

The dream River God Hall and the real River God Temple had different layouts.

The golden divine core was also gradually divided, absorbed, and transformed into minute divine "blood threads," flowing, weaving, and ultimately fully merging along a cryptic path resembling a mystery-heaven formation pattern within Mo Hua's divine thought body.

The altar mistook itself for the "Master," thus communicating with the Divine Dao and transferring to itself the authority of the gods, along with this tree symbolizing the gods' authority…

Moreover, they drift within reality.

"To attain the Dao through divine awareness is truly not easy."

The only drawback was that he had consumed only the divine marrow, with no divine thoughts to consume.

Of course, ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators wouldn't compare their physical bodies with Qi Condensation cultivators… except Mo Hua.

The secret passage was dark, but not long; after only dozens of steps, Mo Hua reached its end.

This was the path he was meant to walk!

The "god" is grounded in the "thing."

Does this mean there should also be a real altar in reality, corresponding to the dream?

He was almost certain he had never heard these four characters mentioned by anyone, any evil spirit, or any god—especially Huang Shanjun.

Just after stepping out of the River God Temple, Mo Hua suddenly paused, feeling a faint unease.

He was a formation master, having built formations for many Daoist structures, and was sensitive to architectural layouts.

So Mo Hua followed the entrance and walked into the hidden secret passage concealed behind the River God statue.

To "consume" only the divine marrow can only elevate one's divine rank, not the realm of one's divine awareness.

This tree was formed of flowing light, or rather, of a portion of the Dao's fundamental laws.

How does the Tree of Divine Authority command? How does it function?

What exactly is the divine power of the Lord of the Great Wasteland?

How does it command demons and monsters? How do they attack?

Mo Hua frowned, pondering for a long time, yet his thoughts remained scattered.

This was highly unreasonable.

In just a moment, Mo Hua's gaze turned cold.

Within his mind-sea, a clear, ancient sound rang out, and the Dao Stele trembled in resonance.

Mo Hua nodded and withdrew from his mind-sea.

Mo Hua's eyes lit up and he turned back: "Young Master An, Young Master Quan, help me break through this wall!"

That means the authority I stole was only a portion of the Great Wasteland's demonic god's power?

I seem to have no right to touch the true apex of divine authority.

The divine formation was faintly carved within the wall, concealing the aura behind it.

Although in truth it did slightly improve, the increase was negligible, almost imperceptible.

Blood leeches?

Those blood leeches were also a kind of evil spirit.

Only then did the others relax, and Gu Quan lowered his staff.

The other black-clad men, aside from those dead, had all been captured.

Divinity began to consume humanity.

Afterwards, Mo Hua examined his mind-sea again and found everything had returned to stillness.

But without evil spirits to consume, the quality of divine awareness cannot rise.

At the same time, a word surfaced in Mo Hua's mind, nearly instinctively:

Moreover, those blood leeches, though sinister and impure, carried little evil thought—even if consumed, they'd barely fill a tooth gap.

This node seemed crucial, exceptionally unique, and carried no sinister or bloody aura; instead, it radiated a pure, rich aura of childhood.

The River God Temple carried a faint aura of divine formation.

Mo Hua silently thought to himself.

The Tree of Divine Authority was now under my control.

Mo Hua nodded slightly, then continued studying the Tree of Divine Authority.

These four characters seemed carved into the "divine marrow" itself; as he comprehended the Dao, they naturally surfaced in his mind.

The others followed Mo Hua's instructions and left the River God Temple.

In a flash, it seemed as if demons bowed, all spirits paid homage, boundless divine mysteries converged at the altar's center, "offering" Mo Hua's honored position.

Mo Hua circled the altar twice, found nothing of value, paused briefly, then reached out to push the River God statue.

The dream of the River God Temple had been destroyed; the fish cultivators under the demonic god's control had mostly been rescued.

Do not regard the god as a "god"...

The two children of Yu Dahe had been saved.

Does divine awareness comprehend the Dao and merge with it?

By its name, that's how it should be understood.

Perhaps because the nightmare had shattered, the demonic god slain, and the offerings left without a master, the entire altar lay decayed and lifeless.

The two of them worked together, using their late Foundation Establishment strength, and after about an incense stick's time, they forcibly broke through the wall.

And with the divine marrow's ascent, divine awareness's quality rose.

Gu Quan said uneasily: "Young Master, it's dark and eerie inside—there may be danger. Let us go with you."

The River Dragon had been captured.

But there didn't seem to be any.

In the center stood a Jin Shi-cast River God statue: human body, fish head, with two goat horns grafted onto its crown—sinister and grotesque.

Outside the fishing village, the demons were flesh and blood, not evil spirits.

"No…"

My cultivation experience is still shallow, and my knowledge of the Divine Dao is insufficient; brooding in isolation and obsessing over trivial details won't help—I should wait until I have time and sincerely seek guidance from others...

Divine thought transforms into Dao...

The cold, piercing Jin Guang in his eyes gradually receded, becoming gentle, imbued with a compassionate gaze over all living beings.

Yet compared to ordinary Qi Condensation cultivators, even Qi Condensation bodily cultivators, Mo Hua's physique is barely passable—not entirely "helpless as a man who cannot even tie a chicken."

"Let's go back," Mo Hua said with a light heart.

Basic Divine Dao array patterns, the introductory technique of Divine Thought Turning into Sword, and the karmic clues hidden within the broken blade of that Sword Cultivator elder's artifact...

In the depths of fate, Mo Hua had a premonition.

Mo Hua said with a solemn expression: "An array has been set up inside—it's extremely dangerous. I can enter, but you cannot."

Even a demonic god would probably have a hard time.

Divine nature and human nature united.

The River God statue, cast from Jin Shi, sat upon the altar; it was not large, but heavy, and Mo Hua struggled to push it.

Now I've eaten one full meal; the next stretch will have nothing to eat.

Or was it deliberately hidden by the demonic god?

Mo Hua's gaze sharpened slightly, and he whispered:

"Yu'er..."

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