Chapter 854: The Fishbone Token

In Mo Hua's eyes, there was only the altar at that moment.

After a moment, he came to his senses and frowned, gazing at the vast, blood-red expanse—endless, without raft or path—this enormous blood pool.

"How do we cross?"

Mo Hua asked Mr. Wu.

Mr. Wu said: "There is a bone boat; it can ferry us across the blood sea to the other shore."

"Bone boat?"

"Follow me," Mr. Wu nodded.

Since entering the inner hall, drawing near the blood pool and the altar, as if drawing closer to the "Divine Lord," Mr. Wu's face had lost its fear and gained a trace of steadiness and reverence.

He led the way, guiding everyone to the edge of the blood pool, to a massive demon fish statue; after weaving an unknown hand seal, there came a boom—the statue's head and body split apart.

The demon fish statue, forged from white bone, its fish-like body slid into the blood sea, perfectly resembling a "bone boat."

Mr. Wu said: "After you."

The others hesitated, about to move forward, when Mo Hua suddenly said: "Wait."

Mr. Wu turned back and looked at Mo Hua.

Mo Hua said: "I ask you—when was this blood pool built?"

Mr. Wu clasped his hands: "When the Long Wang Temple was first constructed, this blood pool already existed."

"What was it used for?"

"This… naturally, it was for offering to the Divine Lord…"

Mo Hua sneered: "You're lying. Though my cultivation is low and my array knowledge is poor, I'm still from a major sect—I know a thing or two about arrays…"

When Mo Hua said he was "poor at arrays," Gu Changhuai's eyelid twitched involuntarily.

He thought: This kid's at it again, putting on a show.

"Don't think I don't know—this blood pool brims with dark power, centered right in the Long Wang Temple—it must be the focal point of some array. With this evil blood to activate it, the array is certainly a dark one."

"You so readily agree to use this bone boat to ferry us across the blood sea—you must have ill intent. You're probably planning to capsize us halfway and dump us into the blood pool."

"Or perhaps you intend to use this dark array against us…"

Dark array…

At Mo Hua's words, everyone's hearts tightened.

Even Xiao Diansi's expression grew more wary.

Mr. Wu's face changed slightly, then he forced a nervous smile:

"Young Master, you jest. Since you've studied arrays, you should know that all arrays in this world require a medium—no medium, no array."

"This blood pool is boundless, with nothing to anchor to—no medium can be formed, no array lines drawn, let alone an array pivot or focal point established."

"Moreover, the blood in this pool has accumulated dark power over countless years; flesh that touches it perishes, metal that touches it rots—even if a medium were placed, it would long ago have corroded away; even if array lines were drawn, they couldn't be activated…"

After speaking, Mr. Wu suppressed his inner unease and looked at Mo Hua.

Mo Hua frowned, looking puzzled, then nodded and muttered: "Seems true… I don't see any array lines around either…"

Mr. Wu's expression remained calm; inwardly, he exhaled a quiet sigh of relief.

He'd feared this brat had actually seen through something…

Fortunately, it was just a false alarm.

Fortunately, this brat is only half-baked—picked up a few things from his elders and rushed to show off.

True, his vigilance is high and his instincts sharp, but he's still young, lacking depth of knowledge—otherwise, things would've gone badly.

Mr. Wu said calmly: "The fishbone token is offered upon the altar. If you trust me, come with me. If you don't, I truly have no solution—kill me or cut me down, it's your choice."

Xiao Diansi stared at Mr. Wu for a moment, then after a pause, said: "Board the boat."

At this point, even if Mr. Wu truly had other intentions, they had no choice but to proceed.

Because there was no way back.

But Mo Hua's warning had planted a seed of suspicion in Xiao Diansi's mind; he ordered Xie Liu: "Watch him. Don't let him make any move."

Xie Liu disliked being ordered around, but before Xiao Diansi, he could only suppress his temper, drew his long sword, and laid it against Mr. Wu's neck, coldly saying:

"Mr. Wu, forgive the rudeness."

Mr. Wu regarded him coldly, mentally adding him to his tally.

He was the Divine Lord's servant.

These people weren't even worthy to be servants—and yet they dared threaten him.

Mr. Wu, guarded by Xie Liu, boarded the bone boat.

The others followed shortly after.

Then the bone boat set off, Mr. Wu rowing, carrying them through the boundless blood sea, cutting through waves toward the altar at the pool's center.

The blood pool stank, foul and thick, its dark power surging.

Sitting on the bone boat, gazing out, all they saw was endless blood—everyone felt uneasy.

Fortunately, the journey was smooth.

Whether Mr. Wu truly had no other plan, or simply because Xie Liu held him captive with no chance to act, the blood sea churned violently yet proved strangely uneventful.

After roughly half an hour, they reached shore.

The shore was strewn with white bone; bones formed steps, upon which stood demonic statues—several grotesque figures guarding the altar.

Mo Hua stared at the altar, nearly unable to move.

Had there not been so many outsiders present, and had the timing not been so poor, he would've rushed over, climbed the demonic statues, kicked aside the ram skull, and sat upon that majestic altar, summoning a feast of demonic fare.

That way, his nineteen-stripe spiritual awareness could advance further.

With nineteen stripes advancing further, arrays below Jin Dan level—except for second-rank supreme arrays—would be nearly effortless for him to learn.

Mo Hua was salivating.

"What a pity…"

The pity is, the timing is bad and there are too many villains—must bide one's time and clear them out one by one.

Mo Hua's eyes narrowed slightly, feigning nothing had happened, slipping silently into the crowd.

Everyone arrived before the altar, stared at the goat-skull, and halted their steps.

For some reason, a chilling aura hung over the altar, as if a terrible will had once descended here, leaving all hearts uneasy and unwilling to approach.

Even Xia Diansi, who never believed in the "Divine Lord" and thought the cultivators in the Long Wang Temple were merely frauds using the name of the divine to unleash slaughter and madness, now felt a flicker of unease, sensing something was wrong.

Xiao Diansi asked the Master Wu, "Where is the fishbone token?"

The Master Wu pointed to the offering table and said, "Beneath the central cushion on the table, lift it up—there's a hidden compartment."

Xiao Diansi glanced at the altar, especially at the grotesque goat-skull enshrined atop the offering table, and hesitated, too wary to go himself; he told the Master Wu:

"Go and retrieve the token calmly. Don't make any sudden moves. My sword qi is locked onto your heart meridian—if you so much as twitch, I'll kill you."

The Master Wu obeyed: "Yes."

He walked straight forward, but before reaching the altar, began kowtowing, muttering prayers like "Vile wretches offend—Divine Lord, forgive us," as if terrified of provoking the evil deity's wrath.

He bowed three steps, kowtowed nine steps, all the way to the offering table, then pounded his head eight or nine times like pounding garlic.

Only then did the Master Wu lift the cushion and pull out a wooden box from the hidden compartment.

He held the box with both hands, head bowed, and slowly retreated, stepping back about thirty paces before turning and walking straight toward the group.

"I've retrieved the token."

The Master Wu said, then opened the wooden box before everyone's eyes.

Inside lay a token indeed—made of fishbone, strangely shaped, identical to the one previously used by Water Yánluó.

Xiao Diansi turned to look at Water Yánluó.

Water Yánluó studied the fishbone token for a moment, then nodded. "It's the key token—no mistake."

Xiao Diansi finally relaxed.

The Master Wu placed the wooden box containing the fishbone token on the ground, then slowly stepped back, his gaze calm as he faced the group.

Yet none of those present moved.

The atmosphere grew heavy.

Earlier, perhaps, there had been a fleeting moment of "unity," but that was before.

Now that the token lay before them, this temporary alliance collapsed of its own accord.

"This token…" Xiao Diansi looked at Xia Diansi and Gu Changhuai, his voice low, "Who will take it?"

Gu Changhuai's gaze sharpened. "Definitely not you."

Xiao Diansi sighed. "We've worked together for so many years, Gu Diansi—do you really trust me so little?"

Gu Changhuai sneered. "Precisely because we've worked together so long, I don't trust you."

Xiao Diansi's gaze darkened slightly, his tone earnest:

"To be frank, this Long Wang Temple is riddled with strangeness. Fighting among ourselves here is foolish. Let's suspend hostilities for now—any grudges can wait until we leave the temple…"

Gu Changhuai frowned slightly. "What do you propose?"

Xiao Diansi pointed at the fishbone token on the ground. "To show sincerity, I'll entrust this token to your care."

"As long as you guarantee you'll open the temple gate and let me leave safely."

"As for what comes after—let's deal with it once we're out of this damned temple…"

Gu Changhuai and Xia Diansi exchanged glances, both slightly startled.

But Xiao Diansi had said all he could—neither had grounds to refuse.

Xia Diansi nodded. "Fine."

She slowly stepped forward, bent down, and reached for the fishbone token.

Gu Changhuai gripped his Green Phoenix Feather Fan, subtly activating spiritual energy, watching Xiao Diansi with full attention, while slightly shifting his stance to shield Xia Diansi behind him.

Just as Xia Diansi's hand touched the fishbone token…

Xiao Diansi's gaze darkened, his body vanished in a flash, then split into countless water shadows, overlapping, steeped in chilling yin energy.

"Watch out!" Gu Changhuai whispered sharply.

Xia Diansi had just seized the token and had no time to dodge.

Seeing this, Gu Changhuai immediately unleashed several wind blades, sweeping them through the surrounding water shadows.

The wind blades shredded each shadow.

But when the shadows shattered, no trace of Xiao Diansi remained.

Gu Changhuai froze, then suddenly realized—

"Mo Hua!"

He turned his head—and discovered Mo Hua's figure was gone.

When Xia Diansi reached for the token, Mo Hua sensed something was wrong and had already hidden himself, fleeing far away.

He knew Xiao Diansi, that old schemer, would strike at him.

Along the way, he'd occasionally sensed Xiao Diansi's suppressed, targeted killing intent directed at him.

This smiling tiger, eyes half-lidded, feigning amiability, thought he hid it well—but didn't realize Mo Hua's mastery of spiritual perception far surpassed that of ordinary cultivators.

Mo Hua, still hidden, retreated ten zhang before finally exhaling.

But before he could fully relax, a sharp killing intent suddenly descended.

Mo Hua's pupils contracted—he instantly activated the Step of Flowing Water to dodge. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a cage of deep-blue water spiritual energy solidify where he'd just stood.

"Water Prison Technique!"

This spell Mo Hua often used to trap others was finally being used against him.

Above the water prison, eight chains had solidified.

Mo Hua could only form six.

This water prison technique is stronger than mine!

Mo Hua's expression turned solemn.

He knew the effects of the water prison technique all too well.

Once trapped, he would surely become a turtle in a jar—with no escape.

Moments later, a cold, cruel sense of awareness locked onto him again.

Mo Hua looked solemn and activated the Step of Fading Water, barely avoiding it.

At the same time, from a distant water shadow, Xiao Diansi's figure emerged, holding a mirror, his gaze at Mo Hua filled with surprise and involuntary admiration:

"In terms of wit and agility, Young Master, among all cultivators I've ever met, you rank among the top three."

"If you factor in cultivation level, you are unquestionably the first."

"To catch you, I specially prepared the Glimpse Mirror to break your concealment; I even handed over the Fishbone Token to make Gu Brother and the other two careless; I used the Step of Water Shadow to mask my approach and struck suddenly—yet still, you evaded…"

"Under surprise, both water prison spells failed to catch you…"

The more Xiao Diansi pondered, the more unbelievable it seemed.

Even a Foundation Establishment cultivator, let alone a Jin Dan cultivator at the early stage, would likely have been trapped by the effort and tactics I employed.

This brat is truly strange…

Mo Hua frowned, "Xiao Diansi, we've had no past grudge or recent feud—why target a lowly cultivator like me?"

Xiao Diansi remained silent.

Mo Hua nodded.

Xiao Diansi sneered coldly, "Is that thing in your possession?"

Mo Hua looked bewildered, "What thing?"

"That…" Xiao Diansi's gaze sharpened, but he did not speak it aloud; instead, he said, "The thing you took from Water Yama…"

At these words, everyone present froze.

Even Gu Changhuai and Xia Diansi looked startled, utterly unprepared.

When had this boy taken anything from Water Yama?

Mo Hua simply shook his head, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Xiao Diansi's temple twitched.

"How do you know I took something from Water Yama?" Mo Hua asked boldly.

Xiao Diansi glanced back at Water Yama.

Mo Hua understood, then grew angry: "Water Yama is treacherous—his words cannot be trusted!"

"That thing might have been hidden by him all along. He's blaming me to use your hand to kill me."

"I'm so weak—if you kill me, I'm dead with no witness, and Water Yama can then swallow the thing whole."

"Truly malicious…"

Mo Hua spoke with conviction.

As Xiao Diansi listened, he suddenly found Mo Hua's logic plausible.

The claim that the thing was in Mo Hua's possession was merely Water Yama's word—no one else could prove the true whereabouts of the Water Prison Forbidden Casket.

Xiao Diansi glanced again at Water Yama.

Water Yama was already furious, his seven orifices steaming, and hurriedly said:

"Big Brother, don't believe this brat's lies—he's deceitful, cunning, despicable, and not a single word he says can be trusted!"

Xiao Diansi gave him a cold look, staring until Water Yama's nerves frayed, then turned away and said:

"Young brother, no need for pretense—if Water Yama hasn't spoken, then the thing is in your hands."

Mo Hua still denied it, "What thing?"

Xiao Diansi grew slightly angry and sneered, "Fine, keep playing dumb."

He immediately activated the Step of Water Shadow, aiming to close the distance and use his cultivation dominance to restrict Mo Hua's movements, then strike with a water prison spell—just one spell, even for an instant, would make Mo Hua his "easy prey."

But the moment Xiao Diansi moved, two figures flickered before him.

It was Gu Changhuai and Xia Diansi.

Gu Changhuai held a feather fan, wind blades swirling around him; Xia Diansi gripped a short sword, its blade gleaming with icy light.

Both stood before Mo Hua, their gazes hostile toward Xiao Diansi.

Xiao Diansi's face twitched; he sighed faintly, "I never wished to oppose you two, but you force me—repeatedly blocking my path. If this is how it must be, then don't blame me for forgetting our past alliance."

Gu Changhuai smirked, but then sensed something wrong.

Thick, violent aura coiled around Xiao Diansi.

Simultaneously, an immense, freezing spiritual force flowed through his meridians.

"This is…" Gu Changhuai's expression changed, then he suddenly realized, "... a Superior Technique?!"

He immediately activated all his wind blades, turning them into a swirling green storm that surged toward Xiao Diansi.

Almost instantly, Xia Diansi flashed forward like a streak of ice, raising his short sword, its edge radiating chilling frost.

Superior Techniques are powerful, but require longer casting and calming time.

Against ordinary cultivators, this works fine—you can charge a big move and decide victory in one strike.

But Gu Changhuai and Xia Diansi had abundant combat experience—they wouldn't fall for it.

They knew that before the Superior Dao Art fully formed, they must attack relentlessly—even if they couldn't interrupt the technique, they could at least severely wound Xiao Diansi.

But their prediction had a slight deviation.

Xiao Diansi's time to condense the superior Dao technique was far shorter than they had anticipated.

Almost at the instant their wind blades and sword qi reached Xiao Diansi, his spiritual energy surged violently, transforming into countless deep-blue water chains that layered and wrapped around him.

Then, in a single instant, the spiritual chains exploded outward like thousands of threads spreading in all directions.

On the ground, prison bars rose one after another.

And these countless chains, combined with the overlapping prisons, intertwined and merged into a single, majestic and terrifying…

Dead Water Dao Prison!

This Dao prison seemed capable of binding and suppressing all cultivators within its range.

Gu Changhuai was entangled in a dense mesh of chains, unable to move.

And Xia Diansi, having drawn near to Xiao Diansi, was even more tightly suppressed by multiple prison bars.

Within the Dao prison, dead water filled the air, making it nearly impossible to breathe.

Mo Hua, who had sensed something amiss the moment Xiao Diansi began gathering power and had already fled far away, now drew a sharp breath at the sight.

Gu Changhuai and the others might not know the origin of this technique, but Mo Hua understood it better than anyone.

The Water Prison Sect's core masterpiece, rare in the cultivation world, nearly a one-in-a-thousand superior control Dao technique—

Water Prison Technique!

Mo Hua remembered how Elder Yu Canghai of the Water Prison Sect had once said:

The Water Prison Technique is the highest-tier "control technique" in the Water Prison Sect's transmission system, capable of countering all cultivators who practice the Water Prison Sect's arts or movement techniques.

Moreover, the Water Prison Technique is a true "hard control" technique, capable of ignoring the immunity effects of Golden Body techniques, Golden Body talismans, and other Golden Body-type spells, forcibly restraining all cultivators…

Water Prison Sect's ultimate masterpiece, its core transmission.

Superior Dao technique, hard control technique, ignores Golden Body.

Mo Hua's shock deepened.

He never imagined that the Water Prison Technique had fallen into Xiao Diansi's hands?!