Chapter 862: Fusing the Embryo

The blade pierced through the skull, and Jin Guang gradually dispersed, slicing apart the pitch-black, foul entity—infused with malevolent qi, black blood, and amniotic fluid like sludge—piece by piece.

It was stunned, furious, terrified, but powerless.

The shock of Jing Shen Jian still lingered; it could not break free from Mo Hua's hands gripping its throat. The concentrated, astonishing sword intent of the Transformation into Blade technique had deeply pierced its skull, and the sword qi was strangling it.

"You… deserve to die…"

The Evil Infant's voice was filled with shrill screams.

Mo Hua remained unmoved, instead channeling all his divine intent, condensing even stronger sword intent, and pouring it entirely into the Divine Intent Sword.

The embryo of the evil god carries innate memories; it cannot be allowed to grow.

Therefore, one must seize this opportunity, unleash all lethal techniques, and annihilate it with the force of Lei Ting.

Sword qi and black qi intertwined.

After an unknown duration of stalemate, the Evil Infant finally lost its consciousness, its expression vacant, pupils dilated, no longer struggling. The black blood on its body slowly dried, and its malevolent qi was gradually extinguished by the sword light.

Finally, it vanished completely.

Mo Hua frowned, extending his divine perception to sense the surroundings, finding no strange aura, and only then did he relax slightly.

Yet he also felt a hint of doubt.

"Is that it? Dead?"

"Completely obliterated, not even ashes left behind?"

Mo Hua shook his head:

"Full of malevolent qi, with goat horns—I thought I was facing some formidable foe, but it was just this trash, a mere newborn goat pup…"

Mo Hua snorted, disdainful.

But he knew well, despite his words, that this Evil Infant was the strongest malevolent thought-entity he had ever encountered.

Its divine soul was strange and powerful, carrying innate inheritance.

Had it been allowed to grow even a little longer, to mature and complete its transformation, the outcome might not have been so certain.

Even now, having crushed this "Evil Infant" in its cradle, he had paid a heavy price.

His divine soul's injuries had worsened.

His divine perception was nearly exhausted.

Had it not been for the Divine Intent Recovery Array and the two sword techniques—Jing Shen Shi and Hua Jian Shi—that he had kept as his final cards, held back until the critical moment to turn the tide…

He might have fought until his energy was spent and still failed to kill this goat-horned Evil Infant.

After the grueling battle, his divine soul began to ache again, and his divine perception was faltering.

Mo Hua frowned tightly.

"I need to rest first…"

Mo Hua murmured, then severed his connection to the Divine Authority Tree, withdrawing his divine perception from the altar and returning to his own mind sea.

In his mind sea, free from demonic interference, Mo Hua exhaled in relief, then settled his mind and began meditation.

Within his mind sea, Mo Hua held his breath, calmed his spirit, and sat still.

As he focused entirely, closed his eyes, and meditated peacefully, his chaotic divine soul gradually calmed, and his depleted divine perception slowly recovered.

Yet in a corner unnoticed by anyone,

threads of black qi began to slowly spread.

This black qi was extremely subtle but brimming with heavy malevolent intent, born from nothingness, reviving bit by bit, growing stronger, until it coalesced into a pitch-black goat-horned serpent, which opened a mouth dripping black blood from behind Mo Hua and lunged to bite.

But before it could bite, a pale, delicate hand had already gripped its neck.

Mo Hua had opened his eyes sometime earlier, studying it with curious eyes.

The goat-horned black serpent struggled.

But Mo Hua's hand, like an iron clamp, remained utterly motionless.

Finally, the black qi dissolved outright, escaping from Mo Hua's grasp, reforming far away into the same pitch-black, goat-horned, grotesque Evil Infant.

It glared at Mo Hua with venomous eyes and spoke in a low, chilling voice:

"You knew I was attached to you?"

Mo Hua remained silent.

He indeed knew—the Evil Infant had attached itself to him.

Just now, in his perception, the Evil Infant had truly been killed, its divine soul extinguished, leaving not a trace.

But Mo Hua knew things were never this simple.

He had fought the evil god many times; even its divine relics' incarnations were troublesome, let alone this "divine embryo" with stronger primordial qi.

It could not possibly die from one strike.

Yet Mo Hua was puzzled.

This Evil Infant had attached itself to him… but where exactly?

He had repeatedly scanned himself over and over again, detecting not a single trace of the evil god's aura.

If so, then the evil god's ability to hide and infiltrate was truly terrifying…

Probably, few cultivators of the same realm in this world could withstand the evil god's "penetration."

Mo Hua's expression grew serious.

Seeing Mo Hua lost in thought and ignoring it, the Evil Infant grew angry, but after a moment, it sneered coldly:

"Forming arrays out of thin air, transforming divine intent into sword techniques… in my inherited memories, you are indeed the strongest among all low-rank divine beings."

"Even some second-rank gods born of heaven and earth's Dao are far inferior to you."

"I, the evil god, corrupt and defile lesser gods who lack combat prowess effortlessly—but you, I must admit, even with my current unawakened power, I truly cannot kill you."

"This is my acknowledgment of you—you have reason to be proud."

Mo Hua sneered, unimpressed.

The Evil Embryo's forehead twitched, tolerating Mo Hua's insolence.

The insolence of the weak is seen as an offense.

The insolence of the strong is always granted more leniency.

Having fought each other to this point, the Evil Embryo, as the divine embryo of the Great Wilderness Evil God, showed Mo Hua greater tolerance.

"I admit I cannot kill you, but you should also know you cannot kill me."

"My divine soul originates from the Lord of the Great Wilderness;"

"My existence spans tens of thousands of years;"

"My will endures eternally within the Divine Path."

"Once the divine embryo is formed, it becomes a seed of the Evil God—immortal and indestructible, like the Evil God himself…"

"This is my final counsel, and the last chance I grant you…"

On the Evil Embryo's face appeared an unyielding majesty:

"Submit to me, and you shall receive the gift of immortality; otherwise, you shall sink into the Three Thousand Tormenting Hells, your divine soul utterly annihilated!"

Mo Hua said casually, "I already said—I can submit to you, but you must give me some divine marrow to 'eat' every day. You won't sacrifice your divine marrow, yet you expect me to fight for you on empty words? Where's the fairness in that?"

The Evil Embryo's face darkened with murderous intent. "Greed is excessive; you remain stubborn and unyielding."

It lost patience, let out a chilling wail, and transformed into a half-grown horned demon general, surging with dark winds toward Mo Hua.

Mo Hua clenched his right hand, condensing a golden sword, and charged forward in turn.

One man, one demon.

One half-god and one evil god clashed once more within Mo Hua's mind sea.

In an instant, demonic qi raged and sword qi flew wildly.

Yet Mo Hua's divine soul was wounded, his divine perception weakening.

The Evil Embryo fared no better—it had first been injured by Mo Hua's Lishan Fire Burial Reversal Array, then shaken by the Soul-Startling Sword, and finally pierced through the skull by the Sword Transformation Technique; its wounds were no lighter than Mo Hua's.

Both were wounded, so the battle's scale was much smaller than before, yet its peril surpassed all prior encounters.

Finally, after countless rounds of brutal combat,

Mo Hua, who mastered divine perception arts, arrays, and divine perception sword transformation, ultimately held the upper hand over the newborn, unrefined divine embryo.

He drained the embryo's divine perception nearly to exhaustion, bound it with the Water Prison Technique, restrained it with the Golden Lock Array, and then methodically dismantled it.

First, he used the Five Elements water and fire arts.

Then, the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams Array.

After that, the True Secret of Divine Perception Sword Transformation.

One after another, Mo Hua cycled all these methods upon the Evil Embryo.

When his divine perception was spent, he sat in meditation to recover, then resumed with arts, arrays, and sword techniques—all aimed at "torturing" the horned evil embryo.

He wanted to test whether, without relying on any external tools, his own divine perception alone could inflict "devastating" damage upon a "divine embryo" nearing the source of the Evil God.

But as expected, he failed.

With the divine perception techniques he currently possessed, even exhausting all methods, he could at best eliminate the "divine perception" layer of the Evil God's power.

The true, primal divine soul near the Evil God's origin—he could not erase it at all.

Mo Hua sighed.

"Not possible…?"

The Evil Embryo, having endured Mo Hua's relentless "humiliation," was already beyond rage.

For countless years, no true god, heavenly demon, ghost, evil soul, or Divine Path cultivator had ever inflicted such "unbearable humiliation" upon it!

This shame would be eternally engraved in its divine soul.

Should its true body ever awaken, it would command its followers, countless demons, to spare no cost in capturing this little demon, tearing apart its soul, severing its spirit, condemning it to eternal torment without end, to atone for its crimes!

Filled with fury, it sneered darkly: "Stop your futile efforts. I told you—you cannot kill me."

Mo Hua nodded and sighed. "Indeed, I cannot kill you…"

Then Mo Hua gripped the horned evil embryo by the throat, lifted it up, and walked toward the center of his mind sea.

The Evil Embryo's expression shifted slightly; a sense of dread stirred within.

"What are you doing?"

"You'll find out soon," Mo Hua said coolly.

He bound the Evil Embryo and brought it to the center of his mind sea, then subtly stirred his divine perception, reaching out to the ancient presence existing beyond the veil.

Moments later, a great, resonant voice like a sacred bell rang out.

In the center of the mind sea, amidst the void, an ancient, crude, and incomplete Dao Stele gradually emerged.

A vast, overwhelming aura of the Dao rippled outward.

The Evil Embryo's expression shattered; it trembled as it whispered:

"Dao…"

Its innate memory stirred—this broken stele felt familiar, terrifying, horrifying…

Yet no matter how hard it strained its thoughts, it could not recall what this stele truly was…

As if some taboo lay within.

A terror so great even this ten-thousand-year-old Evil God dared not touch it, dared not cross it, dared not interfere with it.

Seeing the Evil Embryo's reaction, Mo Hua was surprised, then deliberately paused, hoping the demon might reveal some knowledge of the Dao Stele's origin.

But clearly, it knew nothing.

Mo Hua felt disappointed, but after a moment's thought, he let it go.

He didn't want to delay any longer; this was the heart of the Dragon King Temple, the bottom of the Bone Labyrinth—he had already wasted too much time fighting this evil nascent soul, and further delay might bring unforeseen changes.

End it quickly.

Mo Hua decided to perform the "Lamb Head Iron Plate Grill" once more: use the Dao Stele to suppress the evil god, obliterate its divine soul with calamity thunder, refine away the evil qi, and extract pure divine essence.

After all this time, I deserve a good meal.

But the evil nascent soul suddenly spoke:

"So that's it… I understand now—why my flesh and bones, though brimming with my will, were utterly extinguished."

"It seems you carry something so ancient, a primordial treasure…"

"But if you think this is enough to defeat me, you're still too young…"

"Remember this forever: not all things in the world will unfold as you wish."

The evil nascent soul chuckled coldly.

Its laugh was chilling.

Mo Hua's heart tightened—he sensed something wrong, and without hesitation, he reached to unleash calamity thunder and obliterate the evil nascent soul entirely—but when he raised his hand, it was empty.

"Gone?"

Mo Hua's heart jolted; he immediately turned his focus inward. After a long while, he realized the evil nascent soul had dissolved into wisps of black mist, like blood, seeping into his divine thought avatar.

And it wasn't just that.

It was also seeping into his divine soul, slowly merging with it, becoming one!

By the time Mo Hua noticed, it was too late—he found his Fu Shi Po had turned completely black and impure.

That was the color of the evil god—the sign of corruption.

Mo Hua's expression changed; he immediately activated the Shocking Divine Sword, using its aura to purify his seven Po.

But the other six Po responded to the sword aura and could be purified—only Fu Shi Po remained utterly still, as if it no longer belonged to him, and thus refused his command.

At that moment, Mo Hua realized he was speaking.

But the words weren't his own—they came from the evil nascent soul dwelling within his seven Po, using his tongue to speak.

Even his face involuntarily twisted into a cruel, venomous smile, just like the evil nascent soul's.

His voice grew sharp and piercing:

"This Evil Po Merging Embryo Technique—merging the embryo into the soul—can only be used once per divine embryo. I never intended to activate it lightly…"

"But I never imagined you carried such a profound secret. If I hadn't used this primordial divine art, my divine embryo would have been doomed to soul death and Dao collapse."

"You've driven me to this point—you should be proud."

"But it ends here. My divine embryo has already merged into your seven Po, and it will slowly spread, eventually fusing completely with your divine soul, transforming you."

"Then, you will be me, and I will be you."

"You will become the embryo through which I descend upon this world, my 'furnace vessel,' one true body of the Lord of the Great Wasteland…"

Under the evil nascent soul's influence, Mo Hua could not suppress a screeching, owl-like laugh.

The next instant, Mo Hua clapped his hand over his mouth, then rubbed his face, ensuring his expression returned to normal, before sneering:

"Little lamb, you're dreaming!"

He activated the Seven Po Shocking Divine Sword again—but still could not purify the corrupted evil Po.

He calmed his mind and meditated.

But the evil god's embryo was buried too deep, nearly fused with his divine soul.

As long as the evil embryo remained dormant, refraining from stirring evil thoughts or disrupting Mo Hua's Dao heart, Mo Hua could not sense it at all.

Kill it?

Mo Hua frowned.

Spells and arrays lacked power; using divine thought to form a sword… to cut his own Po?

But the evil embryo had already merged with him—whether he could even cut it was uncertain, and even if he could, he'd likely fail to destroy it.

And if he severed one of his own Po, the consequences would be catastrophic.

Even if he didn't die, he'd probably become an idiot.

Use the Dao Stele or calamity thunder?

Mo Hua considered it, and realized the same problem remained.

The evil embryo was fused within his Fu Shi Po.

If it surfaced, and he caught it, the Dao Stele could suppress it, and calamity thunder could obliterate it.

But now, it lay dead-deep within his soul, fused with him through this "Evil Po Merging Embryo Technique," indistinguishable from his own essence.

The Dao Stele could not suppress it.

Calamity thunder could not obliterate it.

Because destroying the evil embryo meant destroying himself.

Mo Hua's heart turned cold.

"It really is… troublesome…"

Mo Hua frowned, racked his brain, recalled every scrap of divine knowledge and all divine techniques he knew—but still had no idea, not a single thread of insight; he sucked in a sharp breath.

He'd really messed up…

He'd gotten himself trapped.

Mo Hua's head ached.

Mainly because he never expected that after all his planning, after reaching this very point, after ordering the meal, he'd suddenly bump into an evil god's divine embryo.

"This can't be coincidence—it must have been planned…"

"Who would scheme against me? That Mr. Tu?"

Mo Hua frowned, thought for a moment, and nodded slightly, feeling it was very likely.

In his heart, he silently logged this debt.

Debts could be settled slowly, but the question was—what now?

Mo Hua frowned again, pondered for a while, still found no solution, and finally sighed, reluctantly conceding.

"Forget it, let's get out first."

"Once we're out, we'll think of a way—go ask Huang Shanjun, or… confront Mr. Xun? Tell him I've been possessed by a demonic god—not just a relic of a demonic god, but the true embryonic form of a demonic god?"

"I wonder if Mr. Xun will just slap me to death…"

Mo Hua muttered under his breath.

But under these circumstances, he had no other choice—after getting out, if all else failed, he'd have to go to Mr. Xun.

Just as Mo Hua's spiritual sense was about to leave his dantian, he suddenly froze, feeling uneasy.

After pondering for a moment, he laid a Divine Path array around his spiritual soul, sealing his own spiritual soul to prevent the demonic embryo from suddenly stirring while he was unaware.

But with his spiritual soul sealed, the Divine Startling Sword could no longer be used.

Of course, the Divine Startling Sword required the use of the Seven Souls.

Now that one of his souls was tainted by the demonic embryo, he couldn't properly use this sword technique anyway.

If he activated the Divine Startling Sword and the Seven Souls departed his body, the demonic embryo hidden within the Fu Shi Soul would surely seize the opportunity to deepen its infiltration and corruption of his life-soul…

Mo Hua sighed again.

After sealing his spiritual soul and confirming the demonic embryo showed no abnormality, Mo Hua's spiritual sense finally left his dantian and returned to reality.

He opened his eyes—the altar around him was still the same as before.

The altar from the nightmare had been left in ruins by Mo Hua's battle with the demonic embryo.

The altar in reality, however, remained intact.

On the bone altar, sinister candles burned, and bloody offerings lay scattered.

The Witch Master was still kneeling.

But his spiritual soul had already been crushed to death by Mo Hua within the nightmare altar; what remained now was merely a corpse.

Mo Hua had wanted to leave quickly, fearing Uncle Gu and the others would worry, but then he thought again—and grew angrier.

He had been tricked.

Worse still, the Divine Startling Sword he had painstakingly cultivated was now "sealed."

The more Mo Hua held back, the angrier he became; the more he thought about it, the more cheated he felt.

He decisively leapt back onto the altar, sank his spiritual awareness into the nightmare altar, and amid the radiant light of cosmic laws, communicated with the Divine Authority Tree, seized its authority, and began "retributively" placing orders on every node of the Great Wild Lord's Divine Authority Tree—on the countless demons and monsters.

"Dare to trick me… I'll eat them all!"

Before, he had placed orders stealthily, afraid of being discovered.

Now, he'd already fought, taken the loss, faced the Great Wild Lord's little lamb, and been double-crossed.

Mo Hua was angry—and he wasn't going to be polite anymore.

He was going to feast on a "royal meal"!

One by one, outposts, one by one, nightmares—countless demons were swept clean by Mo Hua like a raid.

Like a gale sweeping up the last clouds.

As he kept placing orders, Mo Hua suddenly froze.

He seemed… to have found something huge.

On a slightly familiar node before him, a terrifying aura spread.

It appeared to be a black, blood-drenched, intensely demonic entity—half-demon, half-monster, half-human, nearly "semi-divine"—an unknown chaotic creation.