Chapter 851

Before the Yecha Hall, the small square was littered with bloodstains.

A hunt was underway.

Four Jin Dan and two Cultivation Base Peak cultivators joined forces to hunt a monstrous creature, its body wrapped in blood qi, standing twice a man's height, moving on all fours, deformed yet immensely powerful.

This creature's strength was truly extraordinary; its grotesque form, twisted limbs, and unpredictable movements turned its attacks into streaks of blood shadows, impossible to defend against.

Fortunately, the cultivators surrounding it were numerous, and they had followed Mo Hua's instructions: only drain, never engage in prolonged combat, never seek glory.

Defense as the priority, offense as secondary, containment as the primary goal.

Xiao Dian initially paid no heed to this tactic.

He only wanted a swift victory, to kill the creature and retrieve the fishbone token from its belly.

But after several rounds of combat with the creature, he abandoned that idea.

Every single thing Mo Hua had said turned out to be correct.

The creature could only be drained—it could not be killed.

Not even Xie Liu could pierce its scales, and even his Gui Shui Sword Qi left not a single scratch.

"What exactly is this monster…"

Xiao Dian's pupils flickered, then he suppressed his shock and faithfully carried out Mo Hua's plan.

Not just Xiao Dian—Gu Changhuai's wind blades and Xia Diansi's ice swords also failed to harm the creature.

But they knew Mo Hua always acted with purpose, so they had some idea of what was happening.

The group continued their assault for a while longer.

In the battlefield, swordlight and qi blades darted, wind spells whirled, and the figures of cultivators intertwined with the monster's blood shadows in fierce combat.

Mo Hua found it fascinating and watched intently.

After over a hundred rounds of combat, the four Jin Dan still could not pierce the creature's scales.

But the creature's blood qi was indeed being rapidly depleted.

Soon, under the combined efforts of the group, the creature's blood qi grew thinner and thinner, its movements gradually slowing.

The creature immediately sensed what was happening.

In its eyes, a flash of brilliance appeared—within it, a mixture of ferocity and panic.

Mo Hua froze in surprise.

This monster… still retained a sliver of reason?

It was not acting purely on instinct?

Mo Hua recalled how, earlier, the creature had slipped away during the chaos, rushed to the temple gate, swallowed the fishbone token from the guardian statue, and shut the door before fleeing…

"Something's off…"

Mo Hua's expression turned thoughtful.

Meanwhile, the creature's blood qi had nearly vanished, and it clearly realized the gravity of its situation.

It let out a sudden roar, its dragon scales turning into backward spines, its entire body transforming into a mass of blood shadow as it charged toward Xiao Tianquan.

It sought an escape route.

Among the attackers, Xiao Tianquan was the weakest.

The creature knew this, so it targeted the weakest link: Xiao Tianquan.

Xiao Tianquan indeed could not stop it; after a single clash, he was slammed back dozens of paces, stabbing his sword into the ground as he spat out blood.

The encirclement naturally opened a gap.

But Mo Hua had prepared in advance—he would not let it escape.

The ground array activated, and Gu Changhuai and Xia Diansi triggered the spirit chains in their hands.

Chains wrapped around the creature's body.

Gu Changhuai blocked its path, preventing any escape.

Others joined in, array, spiritual artifacts, and cultivators coordinating to form a vast net, trapping the creature firmly in the center of the square before the Yecha Hall.

The creature raged, lunging left and right, but could do nothing.

Blood qi was its lifeline, its source of power.

With blood qi damaged, it could not last much longer.

The group unleashed a barrage of blades and spells; within the time of one incense stick, the creature's blood qi was completely exhausted.

Its movements slowed further until it finally collapsed to the ground, utterly powerless.

Even so, the group did not lower their guard.

This was Mo Hua's repeated warning.

Even when the monster fell, remain cautious—watch for feigned death.

Though the creature, with its blood qi gone, could not move, it might still feign death—this good habit must be ingrained.

Xia Diansi held his short sword in readiness; others surrounded the creature.

Gu Changhuai stepped forward and bound the creature's limbs with Dao Ting Si's Spirit-Binding Chains, ensuring it could not stir.

The creature remained utterly still, as if reduced to a lifeless puppet of blood and flesh.

The group finally breathed a slight sigh of relief.

"What now?" Xie Liu asked.

Xiao Dian said: "Its body is covered in scales impervious to blades and swords. So, drive a long sword through its mouth, down its throat, into its belly, and shred its internal organs to ensure death. Then find a way to peel off its scales and slit its belly to retrieve the fishbone token."

He was a Gu Diansi of Dao Ting Si—he had used many cruel tortures and knew many ways to kill.

Though the group found it brutal, at this moment, it seemed the only option.

But Mo Hua suddenly said: "Wait."

Xiao Diansi turned his head, looking at Mo Hua with surprise. "Young Master, what's wrong?"

Mo Hua rubbed his chin, studying the monster's face, murmuring softly:

"Could this monster be… that Mr. Wu?"

"Mr. Wu?"

Everyone in the area was startled, though some were confused, not knowing who Mr. Wu was.

Mo Hua pointed at Shui Yanluo. "He knows."

Mr. Wu…

Shui Yanluo's expression trembled; he too found it hard to believe. He stared at the monster for several moments, growing more alarmed with each glance, then said coldly:

"Mr. Wu… is the overseer of this Long Wang Temple, the Lord Wuzhu of the Divine Master. Every time I bring offerings here to present to the Divine Master, it is Mr. Wu who presides over the rites."

Divine Master?

Gu Changhuai frowned.

Xia Diansi's expression also showed confusion.

They had barely ever heard this title before.

The Evil God's minions might be listed in Dao Ting Si's records.

But the Evil God, hidden deep, unseen, unheard, unknowable, and nameless, did not exist within their cultivation understanding.

Even Shui Yanluo himself, though aware of the "Divine Master," may not have known what the Divine Master truly meant.

Those who do not cultivate the Divine Dao are mere mortals, unable to see the true form of the gods.

"What is the Divine Master?" Gu Changhuai asked.

Shui Yanluo's expression turned solemn, his voice icy. "You common mortals, how could you comprehend the greatness of my Divine Master? How dare you utter His holy name?"

"Enough," Xia Diansi frowned. "Stop with the divine nonsense…"

In her eyes, this Shui Yanluo was not only a damned cultivator-criminal, but also a madman who worshipped gods.

Such people often had deranged minds—no wonder he had committed so many murders.

As for the so-called "Divine Master" he worshipped—who knew what wild god or evil entity that was?

It might not even exist.

Right now, there were more pressing matters.

Xia Diansi turned to look at the monster lying on the ground, chained and motionless, and after a moment's thought said:

"If he truly is that Mr. Wu, he must know some secrets. If we crush his organs, slit his belly, and take out the fishbone token, he'll surely die…"

"This temple is strange. Let's keep him alive for now—it's better to question him first."

Mo Hua nodded. "Indeed…"

This Mr. Wu might still be useful.

If he dies, where will I find the altar?

Xiao Diansi hesitated: "Even if this monster truly is Mr. Wu, he's in this monstrous form—neither human nor ghost, his mind gone. How do we question him?"

Mo Hua pondered, then his eyes lit up. "Let's drain his blood."

"Drain his blood?"

"Yes," Mo Hua nodded. "His transformation into this state must be tied to his blood…"

And this blood is likely dragon blood…

"If so, draining all his blood might remove the demonic contamination of his soul—perhaps restoring some of his reason…"

"What if draining his blood kills him?" Xiao Diansi asked.

Mo Hua sighed. "Then it's his bad luck. We did our part. If we can't save him, it's just his fate—he can't blame us."

"If draining his blood kills him, then perfect—we slit his belly and take the fishbone token anyway, no delay."

Xiao Diansi thought it over, then nodded. "Fine."

But this monster was covered in scales—draining his blood wouldn't be easy.

After searching for a long while, Xiao Diansi finally found a weak spot beneath the monster's armpit, then spent considerable effort piercing it with his longsword.

The wound oozed thick, dark fluid—but it did not flow out.

Xiao Diansi said grimly: "He's eaten too much human flesh—his blood is too filthy, too viscous, almost fused with his flesh. Even with the scales pierced, the blood won't flow."

"This is troublesome…"

Mo Hua frowned, thought for a moment, then suddenly remembered—he still had one long-unused "ultimate technique."

Blood Absorption Technique.

It was given to him long, long ago, in Tongxiancheng, by his junior sister.

He had relied on this "Blood Absorption Technique" to hunt demonic beasts, extract their blood, and brew his own spirit ink—self-sufficient.

Mo Hua rolled up his sleeves. "I'll do it!"

Then, amid the group's strange glances, he pressed his palm against the monster's armpit and summoned his spiritual sense to draw the monster's blood outward.

The monster's blood was thick, viscous—far denser than ordinary demonic blood.

But Mo Hua's spiritual sense was no longer what it once was; in both quality and quantity, it had vastly surpassed its former state.

Thus, the simple Blood Absorption Technique was surprisingly effortless.

The monster's dark, pus-like blood slowly seeped from its body under Mo Hua's spiritual guidance.

Everyone present was startled.

Xia Diansi couldn't help saying: "Mo Hua, how do you know everything?"

"Mm-hmm," Mo Hua nodded. "I'm a lone cultivator—poor kids grow up fast. You've got to learn a bit of everything, or you won't have a meal tomorrow."

Xia Diansi: "..."

You're a disciple of the Grand Void Gate, a prodigy in array formation, and a honored guest of the Gu family—do you really need to learn this kind of thing just to "earn your meals"?

Xia Diansi didn't believe a single word.

Mo Hua chatted idly while splitting his attention, draining the monster's blood.

In just a moment, the monster's form began slowly to "thin out."

Its scales shrank, shed, faded, and eventually merged into its skin.

As time passed, more and more blood was drained, the monster grew thinner, and the grotesque body gradually revealed its "human form."

Only then did the others feel a silent shock.

This bloody monster was truly a human…

After another incense stick's worth of time, the bleeding was nearly complete.

And the monster had returned to its original form.

It was an odd old man, short and thin, with pale features, and patches of monster scales still clinging to his hands and feet.

Shui Yanluo studied his face and sighed: "It really is 'Mr. Wu'…"

Mo Hua glanced at the thick, impure blood drained from him and felt a pang of regret.

"There's no dragon blood…"

This "Mr. Wu" bore dragon scales and had surely consumed dragon blood.

Mo Hua had hoped his Blood Drain Art would extract at least some dragon blood, which he could secretly keep for study.

Unfortunately, his hope was dashed.

And now, Mr. Wu remained unconscious.

"We need to wake him…" Mo Hua said.

Mr. Wu guarded the Long Wang Temple and presided over sacrifices—he was certainly no good man.

Right now, everyone was pressed for time and needed to find a way out; they had no patience to wait for him to wake naturally.

Waking someone was no task for Mo Hua—there were so many Gu Diansi present.

Xia Diansi pulled out several pills and shoved them into Mr. Wu's mouth.

Mo Hua didn't know whether they were for replenishing blood or for poisoning him.

After a moment, Mr. Wu's complexion did improve slightly, but he still didn't wake.

Xia Diansi was about to feed him more pills, but Gu Changhuai had grown impatient.

He grabbed Mr. Wu's throat and lifted him up, then slammed him repeatedly onto the ground with loud thuds.

Mo Hua's eyelid twitched—he could faintly hear bones snapping.

But it must be said, this method of "waking" was undeniably effective.

After a moment, a faint, aged whisper rose.

"Stop… cough, stop…"

Gu Changhuai ceased, dropping Mr. Wu onto the ground.

Mr. Wu slowly crawled up, his head spinning, body aching, weakened by severe blood loss and shattered vital energy—he felt as if he'd been cast into a torture chamber, and it took him a long while to regain his senses.

His face twisted in pain as he looked at the group and frowned:

"You… who are you? Why have you come to my Long Wang Temple? How dare you disturb my Lord's peace? Don't you fear…"

"Enough nonsense," Gu Changhuai snapped. "We ask the questions. Answer honestly—or I'll kill you right now."

Mr. Wu sneered, "Ignorant fools, how dare you…"

Gu Changhuai seized his throat again, lifted him, and slammed him into the ground several more times.

This time, Mr. Wu fell silent.

Pain had made him understand his reality.

"Young Master, ask your questions—I will answer truthfully," Mr. Wu said, rubbing his broken ribs and clasping his hands sincerely.

Gu Changhuai said: "I'll ask you: why did you steal our tokens and prevent us from leaving?"

"Steal your tokens?" Mr. Wu blinked.

Gu Changhuai's gaze turned icy. "You don't know?"

Mr. Wu frowned, thought hard, and asked confusedly:

"Why would I steal your tokens? What tokens? Besides, I don't even know you—why would I steal from you?"

Gu Changhuai frowned; the others exchanged glances; Mo Hua was also puzzled.

Did this Mr. Wu remember nothing?

Mo Hua said: "Then what do you remember?"

"Remember… what?" Mr. Wu still didn't understand.

"I mean," Mo Hua thought a moment, "what was the last thing you did before this?"

Mr. Wu clasped his hands devoutly: "I sat before the grand hall on this square, giving my regular lecture, preaching the Lord's glory to the temple's faithful."

"Then…"

Mr. Wu strained to recall, his expression suddenly shifting, eyes wild:

"I seemed to hear the Lord's revelation—He said a great crisis was coming to the temple, His mortal enemy was approaching, to kill His followers, seize His sacred ground, defile His altar, and claim His authority…"

"Then, then I…"

Mr. Wu's brow tightened, his face contorted in pain—he couldn't recall anything further.

Then he looked around, seeing the dead temple guards, limbs scattered everywhere, blood splashed everywhere, a scene of bloody chaos—and he felt nauseous, his expression shifting from shock to dawning realization.

His face flushed with fury as he pointed at them, voice trembling: "You… you…"

"You are the Lord's enemies!"

"It was you who killed the worshippers in my temple! Such cruel methods, such evil hearts—you…"

The Witch Mr. was overcome with rage and could not speak.

Mo Hua shook his head. "These people were not killed by us."

The Witch Mr. snarled, "Impossible!"

"You killed them," Mo Hua said, his gaze clear and certain as he looked at the Witch Mr.

The Witch Mr.'s expression froze on his face, then he shook his head repeatedly, muttering, "Impossible, how could I have killed them, I…"

"You didn't just kill them," Mo Hua continued, "you 'ate' them…"

The Witch Mr.'s face turned instantly pale; he was furious and frantic, pointing at Mo Hua.

"You little brat, you're slandering me! How could I possibly eat people? I…"

"Look at what's on your own lips."

Mo Hua's voice was calm, but to the Witch Mr.'s ears, it was as cold as a demon from hell.

The Witch Mr. licked his lips, then finally tasted the blood in his mouth.

Even between his teeth hung strands of flesh.

This blood was human blood, and these strands of flesh—

The Witch Mr.'s eyes rolled back; he collapsed toward the ground and vomited violently, as if trying to expel his own liver and gallbladder.

Mo Hua watched the Witch Mr., then muttered strangely, "He really didn't know…"

Everyone stared at the Witch Mr., who had nearly vomited his intestines out from just a few words by Mo Hua, then turned back silently to look at Mo Hua—none could speak.

The Witch Mr. vomited for a long time, until he was nearly emptying his own intestines, before he finally calmed slightly.

But deep inside, he still could not accept that he had killed the Lord's worshippers and devoured their flesh.

"It must have been you—it was you! You killed them, it has nothing to do with me…"

The Witch Mr. shrieked hysterically.

Water Yama did not wish to bear this "guilt," so he said devoutly, "Witch Mr., you should recognize me—I am also a worshipper of the Lord. I…"

"Shut up!" the Witch Mr. roared. "I understand now—it was you who led these evil ones here! You betrayed the Lord! You are also a sinner of the Lord!"

Water Yama's face darkened.

Xiao Diansi's gaze flickered slightly, then he said, "It seems the Witch Mr. knows nothing at all. Then keeping him is useless. Since that's the case, slit his belly open, retrieve the token, and we can leave."

The Witch Mr. stiffened. "What do you mean, slit my belly open?"

Xiao Diansi looked at him slowly. "You transformed into a monster, stole our token, and swallowed it."

The Witch Mr. said, "Impossible!"

Xiao Diansi did not waste words. "I'll slit your belly open, take out the token, and show you—you'll see for yourself."

The Witch Mr. cried in terror, "How can you do that? I'm already severely wounded—if you slit my belly open, how could I possibly survive? Even if I don't die, I'll be left with only half a life!"

Xiao Diansi replied coldly, "Whether you live or die is none of my concern. I only want the token."

"But there really is no token in my belly."

"How do you know there isn't?"

"How could I not know what's in my own belly?"

"I don't believe you."

"You—"

Xiao Diansi drew his sword and prepared to slit the Witch Mr.'s belly.

The Witch Mr.'s face turned pale; he was too weak to resist. "Truly, there's nothing—no foreign sensation at all in my belly…"

But Xiao Diansi did not listen; he believed only what he saw.

At that moment, Mo Hua suddenly said, "Xiao Diansi, the Witch Mr.'s belly may truly have no token."

Xiao Diansi paused slightly, frowning. "Why?"

Mo Hua said, "When he transformed into a monster, his flesh became filthy and corrosive. That fishbone token doesn't look particularly sturdy. After being swallowed so long, it's likely already rotted away by his blood qi…"

"Yes, yes!" The Witch Mr. seized this lifeline, nodding frantically. "This brat… this young Daoist speaks wisely!"

Xiao Diansi's expression remained cold and silent, lost in thought.

Seizing the opportunity, Mo Hua said to the Witch Mr., "Now that the main gate of the Long Wang Temple is sealed, do you know any other way out?"

The Witch Mr. hesitated.

Mo Hua's tone grew colder. "Don't say I didn't warn you—this Xiao Diansi isn't someone to be trifled with. If you're useless, even if your belly truly holds no token, he'll still slit you open."

The Witch Mr.'s face turned as white as paper. After a moment of deep thought, he gritted his teeth. "There is a way out…"

"What way?"

"I… I hid another token…"

Mo Hua raised an eyebrow. "Where did you hide it?"

The Witch Mr. looked fearful, hesitated several times, then slowly spoke: "I hid it… in the altar…"

Mo Hua froze, then a faint smile curled at his lips.

—

ps.

A new month has begun—please give me some base monthly votes.

It's so miserable without base monthly votes (crying)~

Also, there's an extra update today—there should still be one more chapter at the usual time~(.)

yifan

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