Chapter 788: Tiger Stripes (Bonus chapter for Ally Xiaobai

The clouds at the horizon were like ghosts, the distant mountains like demons, blood streamed into streams on both sides, and white bones paved the path beneath his feet.

Mo Hua's expression was relaxed, his steps light.

Jian Gutou followed nervously, keeping step with him.

After walking a while, Mo Hua turned to look at Jian Gutou, his tone tinged with contempt: "You said the Demon Refining Map was full of evil spirits—where are they?"

He had walked this whole way and hadn't seen a single evil spirit.

Could this Demon Refining Map be fake?

Had he come all this way for nothing…

Jian Gutou chuckled awkwardly: "How would I know…"

It was its first time entering.

If it had a choice, it would never enter in a lifetime.

Mo Hua glanced around again, then shook his head, thinking:

"Forget it—first, save the people. The temple is right here; how could the Monk run off?"

He then focused entirely, sensing the aura along the bone path.

Among these auras, some were unclean, tainted with demonic energy; others were pure, clean cultivator thoughts.

If Xiao Moutou and the others had been sacrificed into the Demon Refining Map, they must have been forced along this bone path toward its depths by demonic cultivators.

Mo Hua quickened his pace.

Fortunately, though the scenery was grim, the path remained clear and unobstructed.

Thus, they reached the end of the bone path, where before them lay a valley, its entrance like the gaping maw of a demonic beast.

Mo Hua paused, frowning slightly.

He walked further inside, entering the valley, where a grand road stretched ahead, followed by demonic beast statues and jagged peaks and valleys.

The more he looked, the more familiar it seemed; after a moment's thought, he suddenly understood.

Ten Thousand Demons Valley!

The terrain of the Demon Refining Map was strikingly similar to the real Ten Thousand Demons Valley outside.

Though there were many differences, the overall layout looked as if carved from the same mold.

Mo Hua recalled what Elder Xun Zixian had said:

"The array of Ten Thousand Demons Valley is a blend of real and illusory…"

"... using some great power to preliminarily merge and reflect the real world with spiritual perception, constructing it through the array."

Only now did Mo Hua understand what those words meant.

Real and illusory intertwined.

The real world fused with nightmare.

The river god temple of the small village seemed the same.

Using the real world as a foundation to construct a nightmare, then using the nightmare to influence the real world in return.

"The real world is the foundation of the nightmare; the nightmare, in turn, affects the real world?"

"Is this the advanced use of demonic divine power?"

Mo Hua looked up again, surveying the surroundings.

The nightmare within the Demon Refining Map now stemmed from reality, yet seemed to have negligible influence on the "real world."

Was it because Ten Thousand Demons Valley had not yet been fully constructed?

Or because… the true demonic god had not yet awakened, and thus could not wield true demonic divine power?

Mo Hua could not help but think:

If the Great Desolation demonic god truly awakened…

And if it had indeed succeeded in constructing a demonic hell somewhere, could it not use overwhelming demonic thoughts to directly manifest the "demonic hell" upon the mortal realm?

Then true calamity would befall all living beings, the mortal world turned into a hell!

Mo Hua was startled by his own speculation, a great chill surging through his heart.

Could the demonic god truly possess such terrifying power?

If this were truly the case… if the demonic god were to awaken and its demonic thoughts spread unchecked in the shadows…

Then the prosperous cultivation world of Jiuzhou, seemingly peaceful and secure, might be swallowed whole in an instant by boundless nightmares, shattered and littered with corpses.

Prosperous on the surface, rotten within.

A towering edifice collapses in a single moment…

Mo Hua's gaze turned solemn; finally, he sighed.

The clearer one sees the truth of this world, the more terrifying it becomes; yet under such peril, ordinary cultivators still live in peace, singing and dancing as if all were well…

"Born in hardship, die in comfort…"

Mo Hua shook his head, but then thought again: these matters were beyond his power for now.

When the sky falls, the tall ones hold it up.

For now, it was hardly his turn as a Foundation Establishment cultivator to worry about matters of Jiuzhou.

Saving the people comes first…

Mo Hua comforted himself, temporarily pushing these thoughts aside, and continued searching for traces of Xiao Moutou and the others who had been sacrificed.

After walking further, they reached a stone path, and Mo Hua's spiritual sense stirred.

"Found them!"

Clear traces of demonic cultivators' passage marked the ground, thick with demonic energy.

The spiritual sense aura of the cultivators was also unmistakable.

Mo Hua looked up.

In the distance, along a broad stone path, several demonic cultivators were carrying three black coffins, engraved with demonic patterns, step by step forward.

At the head of the procession, a tall demonic cultivator overseer led the way.

And this overseer was Jin Gui.

Or rather, it was Jin Gui's demonic spirit.

Mo Hua did not conceal his form, nor did Jian Gutou suppress his aura.

Both sides sensed each other.

Jin Gui, walking ahead, suddenly waved his hand and said, "Stop!" Then he turned his head, looking at Mo Hua—though primarily at Mo Hua's side, "Jian Gutou."

Jian Gutou bowed humbly before Mo Hua.

But in life, he had been an ancient demonic cultivator who mastered evil sword forging, his cultivation methods venomous and sinister.

After death, he transformed into a towering skeleton of white bone, a demonic sword, radiating dark, malevolent qi.

Just by appearance, he was extremely "terrifying."

Jin Gui's eyes flickered with wariness, yet he was not afraid; he sneered:

"Young Master said there's a rat lurking in Ten Thousand Demons Valley, secretly sabotaging Young Master's grand plan… but I never expected you'd actually track me here…"

Jin Gui's gaze burned intensely, fixed on Jian Gutou.

Jian Gutou fell silent for a moment, then suddenly froze, his pale white bones blinking in confusion.

Rat?

Who?

Me?

"No, I'm just a guide—I have nothing to do with this…"

He wanted to clarify.

But remembering Mo Hua stood beside him, and this Xiaozu Sect member hadn't spoken a word, he dared not act on his own initiative.

More importantly, he looked at his own towering body, jagged bone-sword, and sinister dark qi, then glanced at the tiny, childlike Mo Hua beside him.

He realized his protest had no persuasiveness whatsoever.

After all, no matter how you looked at it, Mo Hua looked like "the guide."

And himself? He didn't even need to look—he was clearly "the mastermind."

Jian Gutou felt a massive black pot slam directly onto his forehead.

Sure enough, every demonic cultivator's gaze turned venomously toward him.

Jian Gutou's eyes went dark.

Of course, he was bone—his eye sockets were hollow, already black.

Jin Gui watched the demonic sword before him warily; seeing it motionless and silent for no reason, he grew puzzled.

Only then did he notice Mo Hua, standing beside Jian Gutou, "utterly unremarkable."

He glanced once and dismissed him.

A demonic sword and a little ghost—strange pairing, but once killed, it wouldn't matter.

Then he froze, turned back, stared again, and suddenly gasped, his emotions spiraling out of control as he pointed at Mo Hua:

"You… don't you have an older brother?"

Mo Hua was also startled by the question.

Jin Gui spat bitterly: "Is your older brother named 'Mo Hua'?!"

Mo Hua: "..."

Jin Gui studied Mo Hua again, examining his face and expression—his eyes widened suddenly. "No!"

"You… are Mo Hua!"

He finally recognized him.

But then he frowned. "You… how did you get so small?"

Mo Hua's gaze turned cold.

Jin Gui stared at Mo Hua for a moment longer, then his expression cleared—he murmured:

"This isn't the mortal world. Those who enter exist in the form of their own spiritual awareness. That means…"

Jin Gui sneered. "No matter your age or outward appearance, your core remains a naive, childish, forever-growing-up-less brat!"

Mo Hua looked at Jin Gui, his gaze icy, as if staring at a dead man.

But Jin Gui remained oblivious.

He was still lost in his old "hatred."

He remembered clearly—he had led a group of junior disciples to hunt a boar demon.

Unluckily, this boar demon had somehow fallen into the hands of a few young disciples of Grand Void Gate.

He simply took it from them, as was natural—yet suffered an unspeakable humiliation because of it.

This brat named "Mo Hua," along with his fellow disciples, plotted and schemed against him.

Then they stripped his clothes, hung him from a tree, painted a turtle on him, and made him a laughingstock.

"Mo Hua…"

That brat—he'd never forget him, even if reduced to ash.

Without carving him into a thousand pieces, his hatred could never be quenched!

"Good, good!" Jin Gui's face twisted into a cruel grin. "I've searched high and low—and here you are, handed to me on a silver platter!"

"I've long wanted to quietly kill you, little brat, to erase my past shame—but I never found the chance."

"Today, you've come to me on your own! Don't blame me if I carve you up piece by piece and swallow your spirit whole!"

Mo Hua's expression was calm, his face devoid of emotion, and he didn't even spare a glance at Jin Gui.

Jin Gui, however, mistook Mo Hua's stillness for fear, and sneered coldly as he waved his hand and ordered:

"Attack!"

The group of demonic cultivators beside him set down the coffin and charged toward Mo Hua.

Mo Hua stood with his hands clasped, unmoved, instead glancing at the sword bone beside him.

The sword bone blinked in surprise.

What's the meaning? Are you telling me to go?

This little ancestor won't even lift a finger?

As the demonic cultivators surged forward, the sword bone had no choice but to draw two bone swords, summoning waves of demonic energy to clash with them.

After a dozen rounds of combat, the demonic cultivators were driven back in disarray.

The sword bone suddenly froze again.

It suddenly realized: as a "Sword Demon," it seemed… rather strong?

Its battle with Mo Hua had nearly shattered its Dao heart.

It had almost convinced itself it was a pitiful, powerless, ant-like waste of a demonic creature.

But now, facing these other demonic cultivators, it suddenly realized: it wasn't that it was weak—it was just that some people were too strong.

The sword bone's spirit surged; demonic energy roared upward, its arrogance exploding instantly.

It spun and slashed one demonic cultivator clean in two.

Then its body swelled violently; bone swords sprouted like limbs, utterly shredding another demonic cultivator.

Jin Gui's expression turned solemn.

He glanced again at Mo Hua and thought:

"No wonder this brat is so carefree—he has such a powerful 'Sword Demon' guarding him."

"But…" Jin Gui frowned, "isn't this Sword Demon a demonic entity?"

"How could a True Void Sect orthodox disciple have a demonic entity as his guardian? Has the True Void Sect, which prides itself on purity, begun to fall?"

The sword bone was about to slaughter the last of the demonic cultivators.

Jin Gui could no longer watch.

He still had to fulfill Young Master's orders: deliver the three brats' spiritual cores deep into the Demon Transformation Map. He couldn't waste more time.

Jin Gui's eyes glinted with killing intent; he let out a low growl like a beast, which gradually swelled into a roar like a tiger.

The Four Symbols Mystic Tiger Demon Array ignited.

Simultaneously, his body swelled, sprouting tawny-brown fur, transforming into a bloodthirsty, powerful tiger.

In an instant, he vanished and reappeared before the sword bone, a storm of blood-tinged wind swirling around him.

A tiger demon and a Sword Demon clashed in furious combat.

Demonic energy and beastly aura intertwined.

Tiger claws met bone swords.

Beastly winds howled; demonic energy wailed. Both demonic entities unleashed their ferocity, locked in a stalemate.

Mo Hua watched silently to the side.

At the same time, he silently calculated.

While the Sword Demon and Jin Gui—now beast-transformed—fought fiercely, evenly matched, he quietly deduced the Four Symbols Tiger Pattern on Jin Gui's back.

He had long set his sights on this pattern.

The tiger, king of beasts, ranked among the strongest of all demonic creatures.

Those bearing the "Tiger Pattern" were rare even in the Ten Thousand Demons Valley.

So far, Mo Hua had seen only one—on Jin Gui.

This was a rare demonic pattern.

To obtain it, he could either kill Jin Gui, strip his corpse, and copy the pattern from his skin.

Or he could wait for Jin Gui to fully activate the pattern in combat, then spend time deducing and recording its structure.

Both methods were troublesome, and he'd never had the chance before.

Now, with the sword bone here, and these two malevolent beings evenly matched, "clashing like weaklings," it was the perfect opportunity for his deduction.

Mo Hua's gaze grew subtly profound as he focused on his calculation.

The sword bone and Jin Gui, one transformed into a Sword Demon, the other into a Tiger Demon, radiated overwhelming energy, fighting as if in a mortal duel.

As Mo Hua calculated, they fought.

When Mo Hua finished calculating, they were still fighting.

Mo Hua silently memorized the complete "Four Symbols Mystic Tiger Demon Pattern Array," then looked again at the two malevolent beings' battle—and found it dull, even sleepy.

Yet the combatants themselves were far from comfortable.

The sword bone had been previously ravaged by Mo Hua, its vital energy damaged; short skirmishes were fine, but prolonged combat risked demonic exhaustion.

Jin Gui realized he could not defeat this "powerful" Sword Demon in a short time.

He had to end this swiftly!

Jin Gui's tiger claw swept aside the sword bone's blade and roared:

"Brother, with such cultivation, why serve beneath a child and guard this brat?"

The sword bone froze, speechless inside.

What idiotic nonsense is this fool spouting?

What cultivation have I got to protect this Xiaozu?

Even it feels embarrassed hearing this.

But its body is nothing but bones; no matter how much emotion churns inside, its surface remains grim and cold, revealing not a trace.

Jin Guang urged again: "Comrade, why not abandon darkness and embrace the light? Abandon this little ghost and join my Ten Thousand Demons Valley—perhaps someday you'll become a great demon lord who commands heaven and earth!"

The Sword Bone heart sneered.

Ignorance breeds fearlessness—yet a great demon lord who commands heaven and earth?

You know nothing!

Jin Guang frowned, sighing inwardly:

What a loyal old demon!

My words were meant to sow discord, yet it remains unmoved? Must it protect this little ghost at all costs?

Just what is this little ghost's origin, to inspire such unwavering loyalty from a Sword Demon?

"If so, I must think of another way…" Jin Guang murmured silently.

Then he clenched his fangs and suddenly roared, his voice like a ferocious tiger.

Tiger stripes spread across his entire body, blazing blindingly bright; demonic power surged violently beneath his bloodied skin, even bursting through flesh and oozing blood.

The Sword Bone's heart tightened.

This beast—it wants to fight to the death?

"Damn it, I'm just cursed—running into such a fool with no grudge or grievance! Just pretend to fight! Why risk your life?"

"Those who cultivate as demons truly have no brains!"

The Sword Bone cursed inwardly, yet it dared not slacken for a moment.

As a wave of demonic energy surged upward, the Sword Bone's bony frame transformed into its final "Sword Demon" form.

This battle would decide life or death.

But just as the Sword Bone braced for a mortal duel with Jin Guang, it saw Jin Guang feint, sidestepping it entirely, then lunging like a ferocious tiger straight toward Mo Hua, farther away.

The Sword Bone froze.

Not fighting me to the death—going to kill that Xiaozu?

Its gaze at Jin Guang shifted from confusion to deep "admiration."

The aura of supreme confidence radiating from Jin Guang—perhaps this was what they called "courage…"

On the other side, Jin Guang noticed the Sword Demon had not pursued, and thought:

"As expected—this Sword Demon is no weakling; it can match my demonic form evenly. It would never submit to another."

"Its 'protection' of this little ghost must stem from some hidden circumstance—forced, not willing."

"If so, then 'capture the leader to capture the bandits'—kill this little ghost first; perhaps the Sword Demon will even thank me…"

With this thought, Jin Guang moved faster.

Mo Hua's hateful little face drew nearer.

Jin Guang's smile grew more grotesque.

He could already picture how that delicate little face would tear apart beneath his claws.

Soon he closed the distance to Mo Hua, then snarled, his tiger claw slashing through the stench of blood toward Mo Hua.

But the next instant, the scene he imagined never came to pass.

Mo Hua remained unharmed—not even moving.

Instead, sudden agony flared in his shoulder.

Jin Guang turned his head—and saw his own arm had been completely severed!

He hadn't even seen how it was cut off!

"Who?"

"Who cut off my arm?!"

Jin Guang's pupils dilated in shock.

The next moment, he saw Mo Hua standing before him, expression calm, gazing at him as if he were an ant.

An impossible thought surfaced in his mind.

"This… how is this possible?!"

"Outside, killing you would take some effort…" Mo Hua's voice was clear and calm:

"But here, killing you is no harder than crushing an ant…"

Then Mo Hua lightly extended one finger.

A thread of golden light flashed past.

An irresistible killing intent descended.

Jin Guang's grotesque expression remained frozen on his face—then, in the next instant, it was shattered into fragments by streams of Jin Guang, utterly erased.

Less than three breaths had passed.

Jin Guang's soul was utterly annihilated.

Mo Hua hadn't even moved his foot.

The surroundings instantly grew quieter.

The Sword Bone watched, its very bones trembling.

It and Jin Guang were evenly matched in strength.

This Xiaozu killed Jin Guang in three breaths—if it wanted to kill it, it wouldn't need two.

Probably just an instant…

The Sword Bone's expression turned solemn, and he silently warned himself:

"My attitude toward this Xiaozu Sect was indeed far too arrogant; I must be much more 'polite' from now on…"

(End of Chapter)

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