Chapter 820

An hour ago, everything was fine.

In the blink of an eye, he blew up and killed a Zhishi of the Dao Ting Si from the Xiao family?!

Gu Changhuai sucked in a sharp breath.

That brat!

In terms of causing trouble, he's truly beyond heaven and earth!

Even if you added up all the disciples of the Grand Void Gate, none could match him.

"What happened?" Gu Changhuai asked urgently.

Mo Hua: "I…"

"Forget it, don't explain yet—the letter says it's unsafe…" Gu Changhuai said.

Ever since he saw Mo Hua effortlessly fiddle with it and restore the erased text in the letter, he no longer trusted the letter's secrecy.

Even the Dao Ting Si's secret-issued letters.

"Does anyone else know?"

"Not yet," Mo Hua said.

Yu Canghai counts as an insider, not an "other."

As for this group of masked cultivators, they're all dead—so they don't count as "people" either.

Gu Changhuai exhaled in relief. "Stay where you are. Slightly conceal yourself. Don't let anyone notice. You shouldn't need me to teach you that."

"Mm-hmm, I understand," Mo Hua said.

He tucked away the letter, his heart anxious, and rose to leave at once—when suddenly a gentle voice called out to him.

"Gu Diansi, where are you headed?"

Gu Changhuai turned and saw Xiao Diansi, eyes half-lidded, smiling broadly.

This Xiao Diansi was the de facto power-holder of the Qianxue Dao Ting Si from the Xiao family, with over 150 years of service.

He always wore a smile, but was insincere—smiling with his lips but not his eyes.

Gu Changhuai had never thought much of it before.

But long ago, after Mo Hua met this Xiao Diansi once, he secretly gave him the nickname "Smiling Tiger."

Now every time Gu Changhuai saw Xiao Diansi, the three characters "Smiling Tiger" would unconsciously surface in his mind.

"Smile… Xiao Diansi," Gu Changhuai's brow twitched—he'd almost said the nickname aloud—"I have some business to attend to."

"Oh?" Xiao Diansi smiled. "What business could be so urgent?"

One of your Xiao family's Zhishi was blown up.

Gu Changhuai thought silently.

But outwardly, he only said: "A criminal cultivator died in an explosion during capture. I'm going to check."

Xiao Diansi dismissed it. "He's a criminal, guilty of crimes—blown up is his just fate. Why must Gu Diansi personally go?"

Gu Changhuai's expression grew subtly odd, then he said calmly:

"I'm uneasy. I must go see for myself."

"What about Xia Diansi…?" Xiao Diansi hesitated.

"I'll explain to him afterward," Gu Changhuai said.

Xiao Diansi shook his head and sighed. "Gu Diansi, I don't mean to say this, but diligence is good—yet sometimes you must read the wind. This Xia Diansi…"

He pointed upward, lowering his voice. "Was sent from above. If you offend him, it won't be easy to explain—and it'll be disastrous for your career."

"Above" meant the Dao Ting, of course.

Gu Changhuai understood perfectly.

He also knew the Qianxue state was rife with hidden currents—and that the central Dao Ting's sudden dispatch of a Diansi likely held deeper intent.

But it had nothing to do with him.

Gu Changhuai said firmly: "I am a Diansi. I know only to act according to law. Even if the Dao Ting sends someone, what must be done, will be done."

Xiao Diansi looked at Gu Changhuai as if he were an idiot, then couldn't help laughing. "Gu Diansi has his principles—admirable."

Gu Changhuai gave a perfunctory bow and turned to leave.

Xiao Diansi watched his retreating back, shaking his head with a cold sneer.

…

Leaving the Dao Ting Si, Gu Changhuai, anxious, spurred his horse hard, returning straight to Qingzhou City, changed into his Dao Ting Si robe, selected a fine steed from the Gu family, and rode nonstop along the Yan Shui River all the way to the small fishing village.

Upon reaching the village, he followed Mo Hua's instructions, walked downstream, climbed a desolate hill, and looked up to see Mo Hua crouched on the ground, studying something.

Beside him lay an unfamiliar old man, his aura faint.

And on the ground, four neatly arranged corpses.

Gu Changhuai glanced at Mo Hua, then at the four corpses, and sucked in another sharp breath. "You blew up four?"

"No, no," Mo Hua waved his hands frantically. "Not that many—just one."

"You think one's too few?" Gu Changhuai snapped.

Mo Hua grinned sheepishly.

"What actually happened?" Gu Changhuai frowned.

Mo Hua gave a concise account:

"These people were assassins, masked, hunting down this elder. I happened to encounter them, so I helped this elder turn the tables and kill them. Of course, I only made a slight move—offered a tiny bit of help…"

Mo Hua tried to distance himself from the incident.

Gu Changhuai didn't believe a word.

The ground was littered with traces of exploding arrays, and on these men's bodies were wounds cut and burned by array energy…

Is this called making a slight move, lending a small hand?

I suspect all these people were killed by Mo Hua.

Mo Hua continued: "After these people died, I searched their bodies and found no suspicious traces, but one of them..."

Mo Hua pointed to a corpse with an unrecognizable face and said, "He practiced Sin Cultivation techniques—he had a small storage box inlaid between his teeth, containing a Zhiling Ling, inscribed with the character 'Xiao'..."

Gu Changhuai's gaze sharpened.

Mo Hua handed the token to Gu Changhuai and asked, "Uncle Gu, take a look—is this the Zhiling Ling of the Xiao family?"

Gu Changhuai took it, glanced at it, and his expression turned solemn.

The token was correct—it was indeed the Zhiling Ling of the Dao Ting Si's Xiao family.

Gu Changhuai turned his head, glanced at Mo Hua, assessed the current situation, and silently exhaled in relief.

"Good..."

He had thought Mo Hua had clashed with the Xiao family, deliberately setting up an array to blow up their Zhiling.

Under these circumstances, it's not hard to handle.

Gu Changhuai quietly put the token away.

Mo Hua said anxiously, "Uncle Gu, what do we do now?"

Gu Changhuai raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, 'what do we do'?"

Mo Hua pointed to the corpse on the ground. "This Zhiling of the Xiao family..."

Gu Changhuai frowned. "What Xiao family Zhiling? Where is there a Xiao family Zhiling?"

Mo Hua froze.

"You acted bravely and killed several masked bandits—what does that have to do with the Xiao family?"

Gu Changhuai said sternly, "Out here in the wilderness, there are only Sin Cultivators who tried to kill but were killed instead—where is there any Zhiling?"

Mo Hua suddenly understood and nodded.

Uncle Gu is truly an experienced Gu Diansi of the Dao Ting Si.

He knows the procedure inside and out.

Clearly, I still have much to learn.

Gu Changhuai's gaze shifted again to Yu Canghai, and he frowned slightly.

Mo Hua said, "This elder is a disciple of the Water Prison Gate, surnamed Yu, named Canghai."

Yu Canghai, upon seeing Gu Changhuai, glared sharply. "Are you from the Dao Ting Si?"

Though Gu Changhuai was not wearing the Gu Diansi robe of the Dao Ting Si, his solemn bearing and demeanor set him apart from ordinary cultivators—Yu Canghai recognized him at a glance.

Moreover, he was a Jin Dan cultivator.

A Jin Dan cultivator in the Dao Ting Si is at least a Gu Diansi wielding authority!

Yu Canghai's expression turned wary.

Gu Changhuai regarded him coldly. "So what?"

Yu Canghai sneered. "There's not a single good person in the Dao Ting Si!"

Gu Changhuai's expression darkened.

Mo Hua quickly said, "Enough, enough."

An old Jin Dan elder of unknown age and a two-hundred-year-old Jin Dan Gu Diansi—what are they arguing about?

Mo Hua said to Yu Canghai, "Your enemy is the Gui Shui Gate. I can't protect you—only Uncle Gu can help you."

Yu Canghai shook his head. "I don't trust anyone from the Dao Ting Si. Even if I die, I won't accept their favor—once I so much as acknowledge the Dao Ting Si, my Water Prison Gate's lineage will surely be extinguished..."

"But if you die now, your Water Prison Gate's lineage is already extinguished," Mo Hua said.

Yu Canghai fell silent.

Mo Hua sighed. "This is already the worst-case scenario. Listen to Uncle Gu—he might save your life and let you pass on your lineage. Otherwise, your Water Prison Gate is truly finished."

Yu Canghai's expression shifted, then he finally sighed.

Though stubborn, he was not foolish—he quickly understood.

He had no room for negotiation left.

Mo Hua added to Gu Changhuai:

"He's from the Water Prison Gate, hunted by evil cultivators ordered by the Gui Shui Gate, which colludes with the Dao Ting Si."

Collusion with the Dao Ting Si implies a mole within the Dao Ting Si.

The Gui Shui Gate's orders imply corruption within the sect.

The evil cultivators likely involve the Water Yama, and the massacre of Yu's Water Village.

In an instant, Gu Changhuai realized this Jin Dan elder was a key figure.

The displeasure in Gu Changhuai's eyes faded slightly, and he nodded.

"Alright."

Now that it was clear, Mo Hua also exhaled in relief.

Next came the cleanup.

Gu Changhuai said, "I'll send someone to collect these bodies. Externally, we'll say they were water bandits on the Yan Shui River who tried to rob and were crushed by the Dao Ting Si. Don't leak a word."

"Mm-hmm," Mo Hua nodded, then added, "By the way, Uncle Gu, there are a few more..."

Gu Changhuai blinked. "A few more what?"

Mo Hua pointed toward Shenshan. "Four more... dead over there..."

Gu Changhuai stared silently at Mo Hua.

Mo Hua looked embarrassed and whispered, "I just lent a small hand—it wasn't me who killed them."

Gu Changhuai took a deep breath and sighed, "Alright."

One strike, eight lives lost.

There was also a Xiao family executive.

Fortunately, Mo Hua was not his own kin—if he were, Gu Changhuai would have been worn out long ago, or driven to death by rage.

……

Afterwards, Gu Changhuai summoned the Gu family to collect the corpses and clean up the scene.

Mo Hua rode in a Gu family carriage with Yu Canghai and returned to Qingzhou City.

Yu Canghai was temporarily lodged at the Gu residence, his public identity being a Jin Dan cultivator and fellow Daoist whom Gu Changhuai had met, passing through Qianxue Prefecture and paying a visit.

No outsider would doubt this explanation.

Who, after a lifetime of cultivation, doesn't have a few Daoist companions?

But those within the Gu family who knew Gu Changhuai well knew something was amiss.

Because Gu Changhuai had a terrible temper—he truly had almost no Daoist companions.

Still, they assumed it was Dao Ting Si's affair, so no one asked questions.

Yu Canghai thus settled in temporarily.

Within the Gu residence, the environment was peaceful, food and drink were plentiful, healing pills were not lacking, and he had no fear of pursuit; given time, his injuries would gradually heal.

He told Gu Changhuai everything in detail about the Water Prison Sect, the Gui Shui Sect, and Dao Ting Si.

Mo Hua listened beside him.

Yu Canghai's account matched what he had heard before—nothing particularly new.

The only difference was the Water Yama.

"You've seen the Water Yama?" Gu Changhuai asked.

At the mention of the Water Yama, Yu Canghai's face immediately darkened with rage, his eyes filled with deep hatred:

"Even if I turned to ash, I could never forget him!"

"What does he look like?" Mo Hua asked.

Yu Canghai's gaze turned icy. "He appears merely a pale young man—fair-skinned, cold-eyed, with a venomous expression. He excels in water manipulation and wields a Nine-Locked Python Whip."

Mo Hua and Gu Changhuai exchanged a glance and nodded slightly.

This matched the "Water Yama" they had briefly clashed with at the ferry that night—the same man.

Yu Canghai said: "I concealed my identity and came to Qianxue Prefecture. After enduring countless hardships, I finally found the surviving descendants of the old Water Prison Sect."

"They lived in a water village, in poverty, their highest cultivation barely at Foundation Establishment. They knew nothing of their sect's past or their own lineage. The Dao methods passed down from their ancestors, they could not comprehend or master."

"I suppressed my cultivation, masked my aura, and pretended to be a fish merchant. I spent some time among them, torn over whether to reveal the truth and pass on the Water Prison Sect's legacy to them, fulfilling my lifelong vow—when unexpectedly…"

The old man's expression twisted in pain. "My whereabouts were discovered. The entire water village was slaughtered to the last."

"I am Jin Dan—but I am only Jin Dan. In a second-grade prefecture, my power is limited to Foundation Establishment peak. I could only watch helplessly as my Yu family descendants fell one by one beneath the blades of those monstrous beasts."

"In my fury, I was ambushed by the Water Yama, poisoned by water toxins, and barely escaped, barely clinging to life."

"Since then, they have hunted me relentlessly. I fled everywhere, on the brink of despair, ready to die fighting and end it all—until I accidentally discovered, in a small fishing village by the Yan Shui River, surviving descendants of my Yu family. Only then did a sliver of hope return…"

"I secretly passed on some Dao techniques to those two children. I know it may bring them doom—but today, I can no longer care."

Yu Canghai sighed, looking at Mo Hua. "The rest, you already know."

Mo Hua nodded, then paused, frowning. "You're restricted in a second-grade prefecture, hunted by Foundation Establishment cultivators—why not go to a third-grade prefecture?"

The old man smiled bitterly. "If I went to a third-grade prefecture, I'd die faster."

Mo Hua was puzzled.

The old man sighed. "In a second-grade prefecture, those sent to kill me are only late Foundation Establishment. Even with my cultivation suppressed, I still hold the advantage."

"But if I entered a third-grade prefecture, those sent to kill me would be Gui Shui Sect's Jin Dan—possibly several late Jin Dan. A mid-Jin Dan like me, surrounded by them, would be certain death."

But once I enter the third-grade province, those sent to kill me will likely be Jin Dan cultivators from the Gui Shui Sect, possibly even several late-stage Jin Dan. A mid-stage Jin Dan cultivator like me, surrounded by them, would almost certainly die!

The Dao's law: fortune and misfortune are intertwined. It suppressed his cultivation, rendering him powerless to save others—but at the same time, it saved his life.

Otherwise, the lowly Gui Shui Sect would have simply dispatched Jin Dan—or worse, sent a Liu Yuhua True Person to silence him. Then, not only would the Yu family water village be wiped out, but Yu Canghai himself would have been obliterated in an instant.

Otherwise, the twelfth-rank Gui Shui Sect could simply send a Jin Dan—or, in a mad frenzy, send a Liu Yuhua True Person to silence us; then, not just Yu Family's water fortress, but Yu Canghai himself would be reduced to ashes in the blink of an eye.

The Great Dao Array, the law of balance—seemingly full of disadvantages…

For instance, Uncle Gu, a Jin Dan, struggled greatly to capture Huo Fotuo and the Water Yama—cultivators of Foundation Establishment peak with peak Dao techniques.

But conversely, without the Dao's restrictions…

The enemies they faced would not be mere "Huo Fotuo" or "Water Yama."

Higher-level cultivators could annihilate countless mid- and low-level cultivators with a mere gesture, creating boundless slaughter.

Places like the small fishing village would have been wiped out countless times over.

And as for beings like the Lord of the Great Wasteland—if unbound by the Dao's law—merely glancing at the masses could corrupt the Dao hearts of countless cultivators, dragging infinite life into heresy, turning them into sacrifices…

"Wealth, power, even cultivation—none can expand endlessly. Without balance, they bring catastrophe to the poor and weak, causing the death of countless lives, the collapse of the Dao, and the birth of corruption, until all of human existence is erased, returning to nothingness…"

Wealth, power, and even cultivation cannot expand endlessly; without balance, they will inflict great calamity upon the poor and the weak, causing sentient beings to suffer and the Dao to collapse into corruption, annihilating all things in the mortal world and returning them to nothingness…

Mo Hua stood frozen, a cold, cruel, yet utterly true realization dawning within him.

Cultivators seek the Dao, attain it, and become immortals.

He seemed to have glimpsed, faintly, the embryonic form of the Dao he sought.

Yu Canghai and Gu Changhuai, mid-conversation, both fell silent, stunned.

They did not understand—after merely speaking a few words, Mo Hua had seemingly awakened to something profound. His eyes now held an unknown, ancient, and profound depth.

They did not understand—Mo Hua had merely spoken a few words, yet he seemed to have suddenly awakened to something, his eyes swirling with an unknown, ancient, and profound meaning.

Neither of them dared to speak for a moment.

After a moment, Mo Hua came to his senses and saw Gu Changhuai and Yu Canghai both staring at him, his expression puzzled.

"What's wrong?"

Gu Changhuai hesitated: "What were you thinking about?"

"Nothing much, just a tiny little insight," Mo Hua said modestly.

Gu Changhuai's expression turned complex.

Yu Canghai also glanced at Mo Hua, his eyes slightly shaken.

After a few more words, Gu Changhuai rose to leave.

"There's something at Dao Ting Si—I need to return for a while…" Gu Changhuai said, then glanced at Yu Canghai again. "Stay here, rest well. I'll come back to ask you questions later."

He was only Jin Dan early stage, while Yu Canghai was Jin Dan mid-stage, yet he showed not the slightest courtesy, speaking with no tact at all.

Yu Canghai understood the saying: when under someone else's roof, one must bow. He bowed slightly and said nothing.

Mo Hua waved. "Uncle Gu, take care on your way."

Gu Changhuai glanced at Mo Hua again and warned:

"Return to your sect soon, try not to go out much. And remember—say nothing about Xiao Family's Zhisi."

Mo Hua nodded vigorously. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

Only then did Gu Changhuai leave.

But he wasn't overly concerned.

This kid Mo Hua had no idea how many secrets he was hiding.

If it came to "unmentionable" matters, blowing up a Dao Ting Si Zhisi or colluding with criminal cultivators like the Xiao Family Zhisi might not even rank high on his list.

After Gu Changhuai left, Mo Hua quietly asked Yu Canghai, "Yu Lao… Elder…"

Uncle Gu was Jin Dan—he could afford to ignore him.

But I'm only Foundation Establishment—I should show some respect, call him "Elder."

Yet Yu Canghai was wary of Mo Hua, guessing his background must be extraordinary, and hurriedly said:

"Don't call me Elder—I'm not worthy. If you don't mind, just call me Changlao."

He had indeed once been an elder in his clan.

Had Shuiyu Men still existed, his Jin Dan mid-stage cultivation would have qualified him for the position of elder.

"Hmm, Elder Yu," Mo Hua asked curiously, "what kind of lineages does your Shuiyu Men have?"

Yu Canghai froze slightly, then glanced warily at Mo Hua and replied stiffly:

"The lineages of Shuiyu Men can only be passed to Shuiyu Men's descendants."

Meaning: don't ask—never will I tell you.

"I was just curious," Mo Hua muttered.

He did have a tiny bit of interest in learning, but only a tiny bit—not enough to really want to.

Yu Canghai said nothing.

"By the way," Mo Hua suddenly remembered something and asked, "When I used Water Prison Art to trap the Water Yen Luo, it had no effect. When I used it to trap you, it also didn't work. Why?"

Yu Canghai was startled. "You fought the Water Yen Luo?"

Mo Hua nodded. "Sort of…"

He had fought him—barely a draw, if you could call it that.

Yu Canghai looked at Mo Hua with renewed respect.

Foundation Establishment mid-stage, fighting the Water Yen Luo and escaping unharmed—that was beyond what any ordinary cultivator could do.

Yu Canghai had fought the Water Yen Luo himself—he knew how formidable he was.

And to be an enemy of the Water Yen Luo…

Yu Canghai's regard for Mo Hua deepened further.

He considered a moment, then finally spoke: "The lineages of Shuiyu Men are ranked in tiers."

"And among these tiers, there is a 'higher dominates lower' relationship."

"Ordinary Water Prison Art is a lower-tier lineage within Shuiyu Men's martial system. No matter how well you master it, how skillfully you wield it, it cannot suppress the upper-tier lineages of Shuiyu Men."

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