Chapter 790: The Fierce God

"All… dead?"

The young nobleman, who had been above all others since birth, pampered and privileged, felt a chill seep into his marrow for the first time.

How could they die?

How did they die?

And who exactly killed them?

What exactly is this "thing" inside the Demon-Refining Map?

The great hall stood empty, all soul lamps extinguished, with only pale white smoke curling upward—no one answered.

At that moment, the soul lamp before Jin Yixuan suddenly glowed red, a single sinister flame flickering upward.

Jin Yixuan's corpse also twisted and convulsed, then lifted its head and slowly opened its eyes.

His eyes held only whites, crisscrossed with blood vessels.

And upon his shoulders appeared another crimson "blood shadow"—Mr. Tu.

The young nobleman looked solemn and asked coldly:

"Mr. Tu, what exactly happened?"

The "Mr. Tu" possessing Jin Yixuan wept blood from his eyes, his voice ancient and trembling with fear:

"The invader of Ten Thousand Demons Valley… is a 'Fierce God'."

The young nobleman's face paled slightly. "A Fierce God?"

"Mr. Tu" said: "I did not enter the map, did not see it with my own eyes, but through fragments of memory recalled by this body before death, I sensed a trace… of 'divine' energy!"

"This divine energy was deeply strange—like a god, yet like a human, and terrifyingly profound."

"Divinity and humanity repel each other; a half-human, half-divine being must descend into evil, a monstrous entity of corrupted divine thought."

"Within the borders of Qianxue Province, one cannot draw upon the divine might of the Lord of the Wilds."

"I am only a remnant soul here; all my methods are useless. This 'Fierce God' cannot be opposed by force."

The young nobleman, proud at heart, frowned in confusion. "What is the origin of such a Fierce God? Why did it invade Ten Thousand Demons Valley?"

"I don't know…" Mr. Tu's voice grew hoarse, then he suddenly froze, remembering something, his teeth chattering:

"It's the 'Divine War'!"

"Humans are the believers of gods, the favored of gods."

"All actions of cultivators, however varied their surface forms, ultimately stem from the gods' 'will'…"

"The cultivators of Grand Void Gate and Chongxu Gate attacked Ten Thousand Demons Valley not for conquest—but to deliver this 'Fierce God' inside, to infiltrate the Demon-Refining Map and destroy my Lord's foundation…"

At these words, the young nobleman's entire body turned cold.

Even Mr. Tu had not anticipated that the so-called "Divine War" would arrive so directly, so viciously.

He had assumed gods would remain hidden behind the scenes, using believers as pawns, scheming slowly and patiently.

Yet now, a true 'Fierce God' had come forth in person.

The forces behind Grand Void and Chongxu were indeed not to be underestimated.

The 'god' behind them was clearly unbound by convention, impossible to fathom.

"If this is true," the young nobleman's gaze grew heavy as water as he looked at Mr. Tu, "does that mean He already knows… the true 'secrets' within our Demon-Refining Map?"

Mr. Tu's expression turned solemn. "He is a god. The path of gods is unfathomable; omniscience and omnipotence are not surprising."

The young nobleman asked: "Then what should we do now?"

Mr. Tu's pupils trembled, his heart nearly bleeding, he gritted his teeth:

"Sever the 'Divine Bridge'!"

The young nobleman froze, incredulous. "Sever the Divine Bridge?"

Mr. Tu declared decisively: "It must be severed! We cannot let Him glimpse the true 'Divine Palace'!"

"Nor can we let Him lay hands on my Lord's 'Divine Homeland'!"

The young nobleman grew solemn and gave a slight nod.

Mr. Tu continued: "I will escort you into the Demon-Refining Map, avoid this 'Fierce God', enter the core directly, and forcibly sever the 'Divine Bridge', cutting off the path to the 'Divine Homeland', denying Him any chance to covet my Lord!"

"If things turn dire," Mr. Tu looked at the young nobleman, "this remnant soul of mine will hold the rear for you!"

Entering the Demon-Refining Map, facing the 'Fierce God'…

The young nobleman's expression hardened, and he gave a slight nod.

…

Meanwhile, the 'Fierce God' Mr. Tu spoke of remained unaware, still searching the Demon-Refining Map for something to eat.

"Where are these demonic creatures in this map?"

Mo Hua muttered silently.

The grotesque, fearsome sword-bone followed him obediently behind.

It seemed distracted.

The scenes just witnessed were still firmly etched in its mind.

In the blink of an eye, more than a dozen senior demonic cultivators' souls were erased outright.

Even the leader of the demonic cultivators was no match for this Xiaozu.

Before becoming the "Sword Demon," it was an ancient demonic cultivator who forged evil swords in Ten Thousand Demons Valley for centuries.

It did not know whether the valley's leadership had changed over time.

Whether this leader was the same one from centuries ago was uncertain.

But whoever held the title of 'leader' of Ten Thousand Demons Valley must have been extraordinary, with indispensable power and methods.

And this leader, indeed, was not to be underestimated.

In the nightmare, he manifested a bone pen, using his own spiritual intent to turn blood into ink and draw a demonic array.

The array contained the principles of the Great Dao.

Manifesting an array through spiritual intent was stronger than manifesting spells, martial arts, or spirit artifacts.

This leader was already very strong.

At least Jian Gutou felt inferior.

But… the fault lay solely with this Xiaozu Sect—he was a "freak."

The demon cultivator leader used bone as pen and blood as ink; the demonic array was not yet complete.

Yet this Xiaozu Sect merely tapped a finger, and within a few breaths, dense array patterns had already enveloped the demon cultivator leader.

The outcome was obvious.

Jian Gutou felt despair on behalf of the demon cultivator leader.

Yet as he had traveled this path, witnessing so many demon cultivators and evil spirits far stronger than himself crushed like ants by Mo Hua, Jian Gutou felt a pang of relief:

"Good thing I begged for mercy early and flattered well enough. Otherwise, if my bones had been even a little harder, I'd surely have been reduced to ashes by now…"

Moreover, after consuming over a dozen demon cultivator souls, Jian Gutou had feasted again.

He was nearly bloated, and his strength had grown considerably since before.

"If I keep eating like this, will I one day become stronger than this Xiaozu Sect…"

Jian Gutou thought to himself with a sly grin.

On the other side, Mo Hua, fully focused, slightly furrowed his brow.

He had nearly searched everywhere…

But still, no trace of any demon or evil spirit.

"Where could it be hiding?"

Mo Hua continued deeper, and after walking a while, he suddenly froze—he sensed something in the depths of the Ten Thousand Demons Valley, subtly "luring" him.

It was a strange, inexplicable attraction.

Like an attachment to "homeland," stirring an uneasy longing and agitation within Mo Hua's divine aspect.

Divine homeland?

Mo Hua frowned.

He looked up again at the Ten Thousand Demons Valley within the nightmare, his thoughts stirring.

The entire Ten Thousand Demons Valley before him was built upon the divine power of manifesting the real through the illusory, reinforced by divine arrays.

Like a structure forged from spiritual intent.

Its outer walls were bricks of demon-subduing murals; its inner locks were golden chains of divine arrays, sealing a spiritual realm that nurtured countless demons and evil spirits.

Illusion and reality intertwined…

Everything within the painting corresponded one-to-one with the real world.

Then, does that mean there must also be a demon-subduing painting within the demon-subduing painting?

What would the painting within the painting look like?

Could it be that the entire demon-subduing painting itself was the core of this nightmare?

Mo Hua recalled.

On the outer demon-subduing painting, though arrays existed, there was no obvious array core or central pivot.

His master had once told him that while the forms of arrays were endlessly variable, their fundamental framework never changed.

The principles of array core, central pivot, and array patterns remained constant.

"A divine array is an array of spiritual intent—meaning its true central pivot likely does not reside on the physical demon-subduing painting made of stone and pigment, but within the spiritual painting constructed by intent."

"And such a vast divine array must require a massive array core, and immense spiritual power, to sustain its operation."

This meant…

Mo Hua's eyes flashed with sharp light.

The demon-subduing painting relied on sealing countless demons and evil spirits as its "array core" to construct the divine array and maintain the stability of its spiritual realm.

In other words, finding the array core would also reveal the sealing grounds of these countless demons and evil spirits.

And thus, reveal where his "feast" was hidden…

"Demon-subduing painting… array core…"

Mo Hua walked along the route in his memory, heading deeper into the Ten Thousand Demons Valley.

He was going to find the demon-subduing painting within the nightmare.

Passing the demon-subduing pot, the alchemy chamber, and several demonic structures, Mo Hua suddenly noticed the terrain had changed.

The path ahead had become chaotic.

He was lost.

Mo Hua did not panic—he smiled.

Theoretically, the Ten Thousand Demons Valley within the demon-subduing painting should correspond exactly with the one outside.

The layout was similar, details differed, but the overall structure was absolutely identical.

Yet the mountain path before him had clearly been altered post-factum—its divine array structure had been tampered with.

Only someone with something to hide would secretly change things.

They were trying to confuse perception through altered layout, to conceal something.

Mo Hua smiled faintly.

"Found it…"

He opened his spiritual sense, perceiving the flow of spiritual power throughout the nightmare, and through calculation, deduced the composition of its array patterns.

Soon, he found his direction.

As Jian Gutou saw the surroundings differed from his memories, he frowned in confusion—then saw Mo Hua choose a path and walk off on his own; with no choice, he sighed and followed.

After weaving through tangled corridors and smashing through several walls, Mo Hua finally arrived before a grand mural.

This mural was none other than the Painting of the Demon Refining.

But the mural was empty.

Nothing was painted on it.

Mo Hua stared at the mural, his eyes glinting faintly; he clenched his fist and punched straight out, his knuckles wrapped in Jin Guang—with a boom—the entire stone wall collapsed.

He was a Array Master; he should have been unraveling the array.

But he was pressed for time, so he could only brute-force the array.

After the mural crumbled, a long corridor revealed itself behind it.

From beyond the corridor came low growls of countless demonic beasts.

Mo Hua exhaled in relief, smiled brightly, and stepped lightly onto the unknown corridor.

The corridor was narrow, pitch-black.

After walking for an unknown length of time, the space ahead suddenly opened up.

Mo Hua looked up and drew in a sharp breath.

Before him stood a Great Demon Prison!

Inside the prison, countless ferocious demonic spirits were crammed together, tightly packed.

Their evil thoughts ran deep, their eyes blazing red, bound by chains of Divine Dao, imprisoned within a cage forged of Divine Dao, sealed firmly in place.

At the sight of Mo Hua, thousands of demonic spirits lifted their heads.

Pairs of bloodthirsty eyes ignited, like crimson stars in the night sky.

"So many demonic spirits?!"

Jian Gutou's skull trembled violently, his bones numb.

No wonder the demonic cultivators within the Ten Thousand Demons Valley dared not approach the Painting of the Demon Refining.

So many sinister demonic spirits—even ten of me would be torn into bone shards, devoured whole, leaving not a scrap of flesh or bone.

"L-little Ancestor…"

Jian Gutou's voice trembled.

He wanted to say: Stop playing, let's go back now.

With so many demonic spirits, if they broke loose, no matter how strong your spiritual sense, you'd be devoured down to the last bone.

But before he could finish, he realized Mo Hua was gone.

Jian Gutou turned his head—and nearly lost his soul; he saw that this little Ancestor had already charged into the midst of the demonic spirits, acting with reckless abandon.

Mo Hua grabbed a chain of Divine Dao and yanked hard, snapping it clean in two.

The chain had bound a wolf demon; seeing its seal broken, it lunged, jaws wide open, aiming to bite Mo Hua.

But in the next instant, its massive head was seized by Mo Hua's small hand, then slammed violently to the ground, its skull cracking open.

Mo Hua casually twisted its neck off.

The wolf demon dissolved into evil thought, drifting away in wisps.

Mo Hua sucked in a small breath and swallowed it whole.

"Finally got something to eat…"

It had been too long; Mo Hua had almost forgotten what it felt like to consume demonic spirits and replenish his spiritual sense.

After swallowing the wolf demon, Mo Hua licked his lips, savored it briefly, then lined up for the next one.

He repeated the process: snap the Divine Dao chain, twist the demon's neck; if one twist wasn't enough, he pounded it twice more until its spirit scattered, then sucked it into his mouth.

Thus, he killed one, ate one—killing and devouring on the spot.

These Divine Dao chains had originally been meant to "lock" these demonic spirits—but now they protected them.

Without the Divine Dao chains, Mo Hua could have eaten even faster.

Beside him, Jian Gutou was stunned, his jawbone nearly dropping off.

He had thought his journey so far, having devoured a dozen demonic cultivators, was already "feasting in grand style"—but he never imagined this little Ancestor devoured even more ruthlessly!

His tiny belly seemed like an endless abyss.

No matter how powerful, how massive, how terrifyingly fierce these demonic spirits appeared…

This little Ancestor simply pulled, twisted, killed, and swallowed—and it was done.

Eating demonic spirits was faster than drinking water.

Meanwhile, the demonic spirits, both terrified and enraged, thrashed against their Divine Dao chains, snarling and howling at Mo Hua.

In an instant, the entire Great Demon Prison howled with dark winds and roared with demonic clamor.

Mo Hua paid no heed.

Heaven and earth were vast, but eating was paramount.

Don't be fooled by how loudly these demonic spirits scream now—once inside his belly, they'd go quiet.

Mo Hua continued killing and eating, but as he ate, he frowned.

"Too slow…"

"Eating them one by one—how long until I finish?"

"I need a better way…"

Mo Hua lifted his head, scanning the surroundings—then his gaze sharpened; far ahead, at the center of the far wall, he spotted a door.

It was a door, heavily reinforced by Divine Dao arrays.

Above the door was carved a massive, pitch-black ram's skull, exuding an eerie, fearsome aura.

Again, the ram's horn!

According to Mo Hua's experience, the ram's skull was intimately tied to the Great Wilderness Demon God.

Within the pantheon of the Great Wilderness Lord, anything bearing the ram's horn was no ordinary object.

Behind this door, there must be something valuable!

And it very likely concealed the core array pivot of the Demon Refining Map.

Once he controlled the pivot, he could unravel all the seals and feast to his heart's content.

Mo Hua's spirit surged; he leapt forward, stepping on the skulls of bears, panthers, tigers, and other demonic creatures, racing toward the distance.

The demonic creatures whose skulls he crushed could only roar helplessly at him.

Soon, Mo Hua arrived before the ram's horn door.

He punched the ram's horn door.

The door did not budge.

Mo Hua was not surprised; the seal on this door was the strongest divine seal he had encountered since entering.

It would take some effort, after all.

Mo Hua held his breath, and his two small fists glowed with blinding Jin Guang; then he cried out sharply, raining blows upon the ram's horn door.

"Boom—boom—boom…"

Condensed divine intent hammered relentlessly against the door.

Waves of shock rippled along the door, spreading to the walls, causing the entire demonic prison to tremble slightly.

After pounding for a while, Mo Hua froze.

He sensed movement within the door—a living, sentient divine presence.

"Is there someone still alive inside the Demon Refining Map?"

Who?

Mo Hua's thoughts shifted.

Ordinary demonic cultivators certainly had no right to enter this ram's horn door.

Most of the overseer-level demonic cultivators had already been slain by him.

The only one left who had the authority to enter the ram's horn door…

Was the lingering soul of Mr. Tu.

Or perhaps, the legendary "Young Master"?

Mo Hua smiled faintly.

"I'd like to see what this Young Master actually looks like…"

Outside, I probably wouldn't be his match.

Not to mention, this Young Master is of noble status, likely surrounded by disciples and elders as protectors.

I'd run as far away as possible.

But now, I'm inside the nightmare of the Demon Refining Map—we're both in divine intent form. My "Divine Consciousness Path to Dao" self slaughters demonic creatures like chickens; I fear no "Young Master."

This Young Master, by sheer chance, has been cornered by me inside the door—this is a once-in-a-millennium opportunity.

Break this door, and I'll tear away the veil of mystery surrounding this "Young Master."

"I wonder if he carries a Life-Longing Primordial Talisman?"

"If he does, I probably can't kill him…"

Mo Hua muttered to himself.

But it doesn't matter—even if I can't kill him, I'll at least see what he looks like.

Mo Hua's pale hand closed gently, and from his palm coalesced a golden sword—its form ancient and crude, yet radiating piercing sharpness.

Divine intent forged into a blade!

The distant sword bones, sensing this fierce sword intent, turned even whiter, now a deathly pallor.

Inside the ram's horn door…

"Mr. Tu" also sensed this sword aura; his expression changed instantly, and a sudden clarity dawned in his heart.

"So it's… the Grand Void Gate's… Divine Intent Forged Blade!"

Everything was arranged by the Grand Void Gate!

(End of Chapter)

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