Chapter 782: The Divine Path Array

Mr. Tu?!

Mo Hua's heart tightened.

Though he did not know who this Mr. Tu truly was, from past incidents, this "Mr. Tu" was very likely the number one "hound" of the Great Wilderness Demon God within Qianxue Province.

If so, his cultivation realm must not be low.

His knowledge of arrays must be profound, and his spiritual sense powerful.

He might not be able to hide!

"Bad!"

Mo Hua felt a flicker of panic, a chill creeping through his heart.

Just then, the blood-red figure possessing the black-cloaked leader suddenly startled, whipping his head around toward Mo Hua's direction.

But his gaze was blocked by the massive ram-horn demon statue.

Mo Hua instantly pulled his head back, suppressed his aura, sat motionless atop the ram-horn skull, and dared not make a single sound.

The blood-red figure's gaze locked fixedly on Mo Hua's direction.

The black-cloaked leader, possessed by it, looked confused and asked: "Master, what's wrong?"

The blood-red figure paused, then frowned.

It dwelled within the black-cloaked leader, forced to speak through his mouth, as if muttering to itself—yet its expression and tone were utterly alien:

"There is a trace of 'Divine' aura on the statue."

The black-cloaked leader gasped, trembling with fear:

"Could it be… the Divine Lord has descended?"

The blood-red figure's voice twisted, hoarse and strange, tinged with confusion:

"No… to avoid being pushed out of causality by those old things, this altar was never activated—why is there a trace of the Divine Lord's aura?"

The black-cloaked leader frowned:

"Master, should we go inspect the altar?"

"Audacious!" The blood-red figure's voice turned sharply stern. "The Divine Lord cannot be profaned! The altar is a sacred ground, the supreme seat where the Divine Lord dwells—how dare you, a mortal, even approach it?"

The black-cloaked leader, reprimanded, immediately bowed low:

"Master, forgive me—I was ignorant and dared offend the majesty of the Great Divine Lord. I deserve to die."

The blood-red figure's expression softened slightly.

"But… where could this trace of Divine aura possibly come from?"

The black-cloaked leader pondered again, then suddenly realized, voice trembling:

"Master, could it be… our long-planned scheme is nearing success, and the Divine Lord is slowly awakening?!"

"The Divine Lord's power is stirring, so even this once-empty altar now bears the Divine Lord's aura?"

The blood-red figure froze, then his eyes gleamed:

"Kneel!"

The black-cloaked leader immediately knelt, forehead touching the ground; with the blood-red figure upon him, he bowed three times reverently toward the ram-horn demon statue—and unknowingly, toward the statue's rear where Mo Hua sat—while chanting loudly:

"My Lord is immortal, eternal and boundless."

Mo Hua's emotions grew complex.

After bowing, the black-cloaked leader lowered his head, dared not look at the ram-horn demon statue again, afraid of angering the descending will of the "Divine Lord."

Then, the black-cloaked leader respectfully returned to the hall.

He dared not look at the statue again.

Nor did he dare approach the altar behind the statue.

Mo Hua slowly exhaled.

He had already prepared to act immediately if discovered—using his spiritual sense to trigger the array inscribed on Mo Hua, detonating both statue and altar, then slipping away.

Fortunately, the Great Wilderness Demon God's followers were still devout.

Precisely because of their devotion, they had preserved their Divine Lord's altar.

Mo Hua glanced at the white-bone broken sword in his hand.

There was not a trace of aura within it.

The bone within the blade, perhaps sensing danger, was pretending to be dead.

Mo Hua shook his head, then cautiously peered out again toward the blood-red figure on the black-cloaked leader.

That blood-red figure was undoubtedly "Mr. Tu."

Within the figure pulsed an eerie aura, interwoven with reason and brutality.

But strangely, this aura was not particularly strong.

"Not the true body?"

Mo Hua muttered to himself.

It looked more like a remnant soul—barely Foundation Establishment level, at most peak Foundation Establishment.

Probably because it was possessing this peak Foundation Establishment black-cloaked leader; if the remnant soul's realm were higher than Foundation Establishment, the burden would be too great, and the leader might not withstand it.

"Just a remnant soul…"

Mo Hua felt slightly disappointed.

But also, somewhat relieved.

If this were truly Mr. Tu's true body arriving, he would be finished.

Yet conversely, if Mr. Tu's true body were truly in the Ten Thousand Demons Valley, then the result of my copper coin divination would have been "Great Misfortune."

Not bad… my divination was still accurate.

Mo Hua said silently in his heart.

Meanwhile, on the other side, the black-clothed leader walked to the center of the great hall, sat upright and proper, then performed a disciple's salute toward the opposite side and said respectfully:

"Disciple Jin Yixuan, respectfully requests Mr. to impart the array formation."

Jin Yixuan?

Mo Hua was startled.

As expected, a child of the Jin family — the name differed by only one character from that Jin Yicai, likely of the same generation and closely related by blood.

And also…

Impart array formation?

Mo Hua's heart skipped a beat.

Asking "Mr. Tu" to impart array formation — could what was being imparted be…

Mo Hua held his breath and focused, continuing to listen with pricked ears.

Sure enough, after a moment, the blood-colored remnant soul of "Mr. Tu" said in a solemn voice:

"The Dao is not lightly inquired, the Law is not lightly transmitted — do you know what kind of inheritance it is that I mean to pass to you?"

Jin Yixuan, who was the black-clothed leader, kowtowed and said:

"This disciple knows — what Mr. transmits is the supreme array formation art of using a mortal's perception to sense the divine grace bestowed by the gods —"

"The Divine Dao Array!"

Mo Hua's heart gave a sudden "thump" in his chest.

It's finally here!

The Divine Dao Array!

In the great hall, the blood-colored remnant shadow of "Mr. Tu" nodded slightly and said solemnly:

"The Divine Dao Array is a method that steals the Dao of the gods."

"The essence of the Divine Dao Array is to use the array patterns manifested through the Dao of the gods to mutate a person's spiritual force, thereby contending with the gods."

"This is a heretical array formation!"

"It is an evil path used by cultivators as lowly as ants to offend the gods' majesty and thereby blaspheme them!"

"Such array formations are not tolerated by the Divine Lord!"

Mr. Tu's tone was furious.

He paused for a moment, and after calming his anger, continued:

"But all things under heaven — one to give birth, one to restrain; one righteous, one opposite; one compliant, one rebellious…"

"The Divine Dao Array is both a sinful method that defies the gods, and at the same time a supreme array formation that serves the Divine Lord loyally."

"The heretical fiends attempt to use the Divine Dao Array to mutate spiritual force, defy the gods, and seal my Lord."

"While we devout believers, naturally, can conversely borrow the Divine Dao Array to transform spiritual force, thereby better serving the gods loyally and submitting to the immortal Divine Lord…"

Mo Hua behind the statue was enlightened upon hearing this.

So that's how it is…

No wonder — the Divine Dao Array, originally meant to "seal the evil god," is now in the claws of the evil god's henchmen, acting as their accomplice.

Mo Hua curled his lip.

A single rope — some people use it to tie up a dog.

Yet some people put it around their own necks and play the dog themselves.

They don't even feel ashamed, but take pride in it instead.

Truly pathetic…

On the other side, Mr. Tu spoke again:

"However, since it is an array formation that steals the Dao of the gods, this means it is by no means something an ordinary cultivator can learn."

"Apart from some divinely-gifted divine fetuses, freaks born with hearts and minds connected to the gods, Lord Wuzhu who can sense the gods, or servants who have been possessed by the gods…"

"Mortal cultivators simply cannot comprehend the Divine Dao Array."

"These words, I have said to you before…"

Jin Yixuan cupped his fists and said: "Yes."

"Therefore," Mr. Tu said, "you are not a divine fetus, not a Lord Wuzhu, your heart-mind cannot connect with the gods, and you have never been descended upon by the Divine Lord. If you wish to learn the Divine Dao Array, there is only one way…"

Mr. Tu said: "Borrow!"

Jin Yixuan was stunned, "Borrow?"

"Correct," Mr. Tu nodded, "borrow from the Divine Lord — borrow the Divine Lord's spiritual force to construct the Divine Dao Array!"

"In this way, even if you do not understand the core principles of the Divine Dao, you can still, under the Divine Lord's protection, construct profound Divine Dao Arrays."

"This is the Divine Lord's blessing!"

Jin Yixuan immediately bowed low and said: "Thank the Divine Lord for this grace!"

Mr. Tu spread out a sheet of demon-hide paper, picked up an array brush, dipped it in blood ink, "Now, I shall teach you the formal Divine Dao Array."

"This is the Divine Dao inheritance of the Great Wasteland clan, derived from a method of 'God-Sealing' that is greatly disrespectful toward the Divine Lord."

"This inheritance is divided into three array formations in total:"

"First, the Divine Gate Array."

"Second, the Divine Mist Array."

"And the third, also the most core, the Divine Lock Array."

"The Divine Gate Array controls the opening and closing of the Divine Dao's grand works; the Divine Mist Array can generate mazes that obscure divine sense; the Divine Lock Array is a 'chain' imposed upon the god's body."

"When the three are combined into one, by a mortal's spiritual force alone, the body of a god can be sealed!"

"It is a kind of blasphemous 'grave disrespect' array!"

"But now, after countless refinements, this divine array has been utterly transformed into a method capable of venerating the Divine Lord, concealing His glorious traces, and harnessing His divine power to fulfill His grand designs."

"Mortals are all straw dogs, with inferior roots and **fleshly bodies**—they cannot comprehend such a magnificent array."

"Without the Divine Lord's grace, you have no right to even lay eyes upon these array markings. Remember this well!"

After Mr. Tu finished speaking, Jin Yixuan immediately kowtowed until his forehead bled, tears streaming as he exclaimed:

"Blessed by the Divine Lord's grace, I thank Mr. Tu for your instruction!"

"Good," said Mr. Tu. "I shall now transmit the array markings—watch closely."

Then, using Jin Yixuan's body as a vessel, Mr. Tu drew the divine array markings on paper.

Jin Yixuan watched with reverent stillness.

After finishing, Mr. Tu said: "First, familiarize yourself with the markings and the essence of the array. I will teach you the rest later."

"Yes," said Jin Yixuan.

Afterwards, the crimson figure gradually faded, and Mr. Tu's lingering soul slowly sank into Jin Yixuan's body, vanishing without a trace.

Jin Yixuan stared at the array markings before him, his expression trembling with excitement.

"This is… the Divine Array!"

A lineage of array arts nearly extinct throughout the entire Qianxue Province.

Across the entire cultivation realm's Nine Provinces, it was rarer than phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.

The requirements to study the Divine Array were exceedingly strict—even within a single great province, the cultivators who could master it were few enough to count on one hand.

And he, Jin Yixuan, was about to become a Divine Array Master!

He cherished and valued the demonic hide array paper before him, treating every single marking as a priceless treasure.

After a moment, he calmed his mind and began studying the Divine Array.

After studying for a while, he took out paper and brush and began practicing the markings.

Jin Yixuan frowned, drawing over and over again—but the more he drew, the tighter his frown became, as if held back by some unseen obstacle, his progress painfully slow.

After an indeterminate time, footsteps approached outside the door, followed by the voice of a demon cultivator:

"Leader…"

Jin Yixuan closed the demonic hide scroll and frowned irritably:

"What is it?"

The demon cultivator spoke respectfully:

"Several new batches of Bliss Pills have been refined—your inspection is required."

Jin Yixuan made a "tsk" sound, impatient—this was the crucial moment of his meditation on the Divine Array, and he did not wish to be disturbed.

Yet the Divine Array was inherently profound and obscure; to comprehend it could not be achieved in a day or two—there was no need to rush this moment.

But affairs within the Ten Thousand Demons Valley could not be neglected—if mistakes occurred, he could not answer to the Young Master.

"Understood."

Jin Yixuan said coldly, then closed the demonic hide paper, preparing to carry it with him—but as he turned, he suddenly remembered: this array had come from the Divine Lord, personally transmitted by Mr. Tu.

What merit did he possess to dare carry such a sacred array inside his storage bag?

If it were lost or damaged, would that not be a "grave disrespect" to the Divine Lord? How could he face Mr. Tu?

Jin Yixuan pondered for a moment—then a flash of inspiration struck.

He took out an exquisite jade box and carefully placed the demonic hide paper, inscribed with the Divine Array markings, inside.

Then, with solemn reverence, Jin Yixuan enshrined the jade box before the ram-horn statue.

He also placed it directly beneath Mo Hua's gaze.

Even, he kowtowed and respectfully intoned:

"Before the Divine Lord, I beg Your grace—may Your faithful servant soon comprehend this Divine Array, to serve You with fire and water, and offer tribute."

After speaking, he kowtowed three more times.

This made Mo Hua feel awkward.

After kowtowing, Jin Yixuan departed, never once daring to raise his eyes to the ram-horn statue.

After he left, the hall grew quiet.

After a short while, Mo Hua cautiously poked his head out from behind the grotesque ram-demon statue.

Jin Yixuan had not turned back, and had clearly gone far enough—Mo Hua felt safe.

He hurried to the altar, scanned the jade box with his spiritual sense, and found no arrays, traps, or anomalies—his heart silently remarked:

"This Jin Yixuan truly reveres the Great Wilderness Demon God—he dares not even play a single trick…"

If so, then fortune favors me.

Suppressing his excitement, he gently opened the jade box, took out the demonic hide paper, and slowly unfolded it…

Before his eyes appeared a dense, intricate, profound array—formed entirely of crimson lines.

The Divine Array!

And not one—but three!

With time pressing, Mo Hua's gaze blazed as he swiftly scanned the arrays, then focused entirely, memorizing every single marking, line by line, with unwavering attention.

After memorizing, Mo Hua gently folded the demonic hide paper, returned it to the jade box, confirmed not a single trace remained, then retreated once more behind the ram-demon statue.

Sitting on his familiar "ram-head stool," Mo Hua took out paper and brush and meticulously wrote down every single marking he had memorized—without a single error.

Then, Mo Hua calmed his mind and began carefully studying these markings.

Some of the markings on the demonic hide paper were already familiar to him.

Including the array from Little Fish Village, and the secret forest array outside the Ten Thousand Demons Valley—all were contained within.

According to what the Mr. Tu said about the types of Divine Path lineages:

The Divine Path array in the small fishing village should be the "Divine Gate Array," controlling the opening and closing of Divine Path relics.

That is, controlling the entrance to the demonic temple within the blood-red fishing village.

Outside the Ten Thousand Demons Valley, the Divine Path array fused with the dense forest should be the "Divine Mist Array," "capable of generating mist that obscures Divine Perception."

Thus, unless one's Divine Perception is extraordinarily strong, it is impossible to pierce through the mist and glimpse the truth within the Divine Mist Array.

The last one—the core Divine Path array in Mr. Tu's words—is called the "Divine Lock Array."

This array is nearly brand new.

Mo Hua had never seen it before; he had only seen the old demon cultivator—now the "Bone Sword"—draw one of its array patterns on his life-sword bone.

That pattern was stolen from the Demon Refining Map.

In other words, this Divine Lock Array should also be the core of the Demon Refining Map.

Mo Hua still remembered what Mr. Tu had just said: "The Divine Lock Array is a 'chain' imposed upon a deity's body…"

Mo Hua pondered inwardly.

Then does that mean the Divine Lock Array itself is the purest form of a "sealing" array?

Hence, it is the core of the Divine Path arrays?

"Divine Lock Array—Divine Perception like chains, sealing the deity…"

Mo Hua nodded slightly, feeling his guess was likely correct.

He began retrieving ink and brush again, attempting to relearn the entire complete system of Divine Path arrays—from the "Divine Gate Array," to the "Divine Mist Array," and finally the "Divine Lock Array."

He had previously studied the Divine Gate Array and Divine Mist Array; though the array patterns were incomplete, he at least had a foundation.

Now that he had the complete patterns, learning them would be twice as effective.

The only difficulty was the "Divine Lock Array."

Mo Hua calmed his mind and began practicing stroke by stroke…

The surroundings fell silent.

Only the soft "swoosh-swoosh" of brush on ink could be heard.

The demon within the Bone Sword finally dared to peek out, glancing at Mo Hua and thinking:

"This Xiaozu Sect member's nerve is as boundless as ever—he dares to steal array patterns right under the nose of the demon cultivator leader, and isn't afraid he'll be caught and devoured alive…"

The Bone Sword shook its head.

Seeing Mo Hua focused intently on learning the arrays, it gathered courage and stole a glance at the patterns beneath his brush.

The moment it did, it was stunned.

These patterns—it recognized them!

They were the mysterious patterns from the Demon Refining Map!

It had once only secretly memorized one pattern; the others lingered faintly in its mind, but it could never recall them fully, nor learn them.

Yet now, these exact patterns were being reproduced here, flawlessly, by this Xiaozu Sect member.

It was the complete set of arrays!

And even more unbelievable…

Of these patterns, it had only stolen and learned one.

Day after day, year after year, practicing for roughly two hundred years, it had barely grasped about seventy or eighty percent.

As for how it learned it, even now, it remained half-confused.

It was less like learning and more like an instinct born of endless repetition.

This was merely one pattern!

Yet now…

This entire mysterious, obscure array system flowed effortlessly from Mo Hua's brush like water.

In that moment, a wave of dread arose within it.

Could talent between people really differ so drastically?

Though it was no array master, it still couldn't believe that it took two hundred years to master one pattern, while this Xiaozu Sect member needed only two glances?!

Could this possibly be reasonable?

As the Bone Sword demon reeled in shock, Mo Hua put down his brush and murmured softly:

"Enough…"

"This Divine Lock Array doesn't seem as difficult as I thought."

He felt uncertain.

Earlier, when Mr. Tu spoke of it so solemnly, he had assumed it was an extremely profound, obscure, and hard-to-learn array.

But now… it seemed rather ordinary?

After practicing twice, he already felt he had grasped it.

"It can't possibly be this simple…"

Mo Hua muttered to himself.

He glanced again at the patterns beneath his brush, performed a slight derivation, sensed the flow of Divine Perception energy within—and suddenly felt… there truly seemed to be no flaw.

He had already learned it?

Mo Hua found it hard to believe.

Should he find something to test it on, to practice?

Practice reveals truth.

Only by testing it in reality could he know whether there were any flaws.

"The Divine Lock Array transforms spiritual intent into chains, sealing gods. If even gods can be sealed, then logically, other things should be sealable too..."

Mo Hua pondered for a moment, then suddenly turned his head, his gaze burning as he fixed it on the white bone broken sword beside him.

The bone within the broken sword trembled in fright.

A wave of fear crept over his heart.

"We're done..."

(End of Chapter)

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