Chapter 875

At the year-end sect examination, Mo Hua's performance remained steady: one Jia, six Bing, neither surprising nor disappointing.

The six "Bing" were because he could only receive Bing.

But that one "Jia" was different.

He received "Jia" because the highest possible rating for the Grand Void Gate's array examination was "Jia."

His "Jia" carried great weight—it was truly a case of "one excellence masking a hundred flaws," but unfortunately the exam paper could not reflect this.

Mo Hua was disappointed.

After the examination, Mo Hua, as per tradition, wrote a letter home.

The letter prattled on at length, but mostly about how peaceful life at the sect was, how harmonious his fellow disciples were, how kind his instructors, and how many kind-hearted people there were near Qianxue Prefecture—all things to reassure his parents.

He mentioned nothing of danger, to spare his parents worry.

After finishing, Mo Hua sent the letter via the Grand Void Gate's courier network.

But he never imagined that at the courier station, he would receive a letter himself.

It was from his parents.

Far from home as a stranger, a single letter from family is worth ten thousand gold.

Mo Hua was overjoyed and immediately returned to the disciples' quarters to open and read it.

The handwriting was delicate—his mother had written it.

But Mo Hua suspected that while his mother wrote, his father, Seeing Mo Shan, had surely been watching nearby, quietly adding a few words here and there.

The letter's content was nothing special—just that everything at home was fine, and Mo Hua should not worry.

In fact, Mo Hua wasn't even sure which year's reply this was.

But Mo Hua was already content.

The Nine Provinces were vast, and the distance between Li Prefecture and Qian Prefecture was too great, with high mountains and long rivers, endlessly distant.

Low-rank prefectures were restricted by cultivation levels, making communication extremely slow.

A letter sent from Li Prefecture's second-rank Great Heishan Prefecture to Qianxue Prefecture had taken only a few years—likely because he was a Grand Void Gate disciple, using the sect's communication channels.

Otherwise, it might have taken decades to arrive.

Mo Hua reread the letter carefully, cherished and valued it, then sat in the disciples' quarters, suddenly feeling a quiet melancholy.

Memories slowly rose.

From earlier years, the small, everyday moments along the streets and alleys of Xiancheng drifted back to his heart.

These memories were like candied haws—sweet, yet sour.

It felt as if a long time had passed, yet also as if it were just yesterday.

He could still faintly hear, in his ears, the voices of his childhood friends calling his name.

Calling him to train at the sect, calling him to see the lantern festival, calling him to stroll the markets, calling him to see Miss…

Among them, the most frequent voices were those of Brother Da Hu and the other two.

After all, they had grown up together and spent the most time playing side by side.

"I wonder how Brother Da Hu and the others are doing now in Xiancheng…"

Mo Hua murmured silently to himself.

"Wait…"

Mo Hua paused, suddenly remembering that Brother Da Hu and the others were no longer in Xiancheng.

Frowning, he recalled what Chen Dazhu had told him.

The Qian family had fallen, the great demon slain; thanks to the cultivation industry, Xiancheng had grown more stable and prosperous.

More cultivators now passed through—merchants, travelers, those seeking refuge…

And occasionally, some powerful "important figures" would pass through Xiancheng.

One day, a tall sect elder happened to pass through Xiancheng and, by chance, saw Brother Da Hu and the others. Though they came from poverty, their will was firm and their body-cultivation roots were excellent, so he took all three as disciples and brought them to his sect to train…

The sect's name, it was said, was…

Dahuang Gate.

At this thought, Mo Hua's gaze sharpened slightly.

Heavenly fate events seem accidental, yet contain hidden cause and effect.

He would not suddenly recall these things without reason.

Could it be… that Brother Da Hu and the others had encountered some trouble?

Mo Hua frowned.

And Dahuang Gate…

Mo Hua was now highly sensitive to the words "Dahuang," always feeling that anything tied to them was somehow linked, however faintly, to the Demon God.

Dahuang Gate lay south of Li Prefecture, bordering the Wilds.

Calculating thus, it was indeed close to the Demon God's lair.

But the mountains were high and the roads long—he could do nothing, nor could he even gather information.

Mo Hua sighed and set the matter aside for now…

Afterward came the New Year.

Mo Hua's New Year was also busy, nearly as usual—either practicing swordplay or studying arrays.

Yet Master Xun granted him one day off, allowing him to join the Gu family for New Year's Eve dinner.

As Master Xun put it: "The Gu family is of pure lineage—rare and worthy; it's good to keep in touch."

So Mo Hua went to visit the Gu family.

He ate a grand feast, and, unable to refuse their warm hospitality, reluctantly accepted many New Year gifts before returning home, fully laden.

The next day, he returned to Grand Void Gate, preparing to focus on learning swordplay and formation arts.

But he never expected that, during the New Year holiday, someone would come specially to deliver him a gift.

And the person delivering it was someone he would never have guessed.

Wang Chen of the Gui Water Sect.

Mo Hua had almost forgotten this man.

But Wang Chen had not forgotten him; he came with Hao Xuan to stand before Mo Hua, presented his prepared gifts one by one, then bowed deeply and thanked him profusely:

"Thank you, Senior Brother, for guiding me out of confusion—otherwise, my life would have been ruined."

Mo Hua blinked in surprise. "What did I ever guide you in?"

Wang Chen smiled bitterly. "It was about the Crimson Boat. If not for you, Senior Brother, leading Hao Xuan and the others to beat me senseless and force me to report the truth and redeem myself, I never would have escaped the guilt of that Gui Water Sect pirate vessel…"

"Ah, that matter…" Mo Hua realized, waving his hand. "It was nothing. Don't give it another thought."

Wang Chen's expression turned solemn. "To you it may be nothing, but to me, it's everything."

He was a scion of the Wang family; though his bloodline was distant and his status within the clan low, and though he was seldom treated well, any mistake he made made him the target of everyone's condemnation.

The clan would never let him off lightly.

If the Crimson Boat affair had brought shame upon the clan, the consequences were unthinkable.

His father's hard-won position as a retired elder would be gone for good.

He would truly become the son who ruined his father.

That's why he had specially asked his father to prepare an extra New Year gift to give to Mo Hua.

"Not valuable, but please, Senior Brother, accept it," Wang Chen said with a smile.

Mo Hua glanced at the gifts and saw they were all cultivation texts, pastries, dried meats, and fruit wines—clearly chosen under Hao Xuan's "guidance."

Not precious, but exactly what he liked; Mo Hua made no pretense, nodded, and accepted them.

Afterward, Mo Hua chatted a little longer with Wang Chen, asking about the Gui Water Sect.

Wang Chen answered without hesitation.

He whispered to Mo Hua: "Dao Ting Si—no, more accurately, Dao Ting—has reorganized the Gui Water Sect from top to bottom: executing some, arresting others, imprisoning the rest…"

"The Gui Water Sect today is no longer the Gui Water Sect of before."

"The Gui Water Sect today, rather than being one of the Twelve Streams, is more like…"

Wang Chen paused, then described: "More like a sect directly under Dao Ting, attached straight to Dao Ting Si. If you perform well in the sect, upon graduation you can enter Dao Ting Si directly—and once inside, you answer only to the upper echelons, that is, Dao Ting, with little interference from local aristocratic families…"

Mo Hua was surprised.

In this way, the Gui Water Sect had, in effect, been "reborn."

In a sense, it had transformed directly from a low-tier Twelve Stream sect into a "Dao Ting Zhili" sect.

Of course, for Qianxue Province, this was likely Dao Ting's form of "infiltration."

And this was probably just the first step.

But Mo Hua had a question:

"The Gui Water Sect is mostly filled with aristocratic scions. If so, how is it free from aristocratic interference?"

"It's different," Wang Chen explained. "Aristocratic families come in many kinds: great clans, minor families, local ones, outsiders."

"When people say 'aristocrats,' they lump them all together, but the differences between aristocratic families are greater than those between humans and dogs—and each holds their own grudges, plotting and scheming against one another. Some are outright enemies."

"The same is true in Qianxue Province—the situation is extremely complex."

"This reform of the Gui Water Sect primarily targeted 'local aristocrats' and major clans of third grade and above."

"After the Crimson Boat incident, many of their elders and disciples were 'cleared out'; the rest were suppressed, demoted, or pressured to resign."

"Now, those remaining in the Gui Water Sect are mostly from outsider aristocratic families or from local minor families of third grade or below…"

Mo Hua understood, nodding slightly.

Dao Ting's move was meant to divide the aristocrats.

It split the concept of "aristocracy" apart, pitting outsider great clans and local minor families against the local great clans of Qianxue Province.

Even if it couldn't fully target them, it had weakened the great clans' influence over Dao Ting Si to some degree.

Indeed, all things in the world contain contradictions—you must learn to dismantle enemies from within.

Mo Hua had learned something new.

He then asked Wang Chen: "Then your situation must be terrible—your Wang family is a local aristocratic clan, isn't it?"

Wang Chen replied: "I'm fine. Though the Wang family is powerful, my status is low—I'm not a core scion, and I'm not favored."

"Moreover, in the Crimson Boat affair, I earned merit. And because Senior Brother, you spoke up for me with Gu Diansi, even after the reform, it barely affected me."

"It's not just that…"

Wang Chen smiled. "I won't hide it from you, Senior Brother—I'm doing better now than before. Because I caught Gu Diansi's eye, during the reform I helped Dao Ting Si handle many matters; over time, I became familiar to them."

"Now that the reform is over, I've gained a certain amount of 'prestige' within the sect."

"Scions who are illegitimate or from distant bloodlines among the local aristocrats, if they wish to remain in the Gui Water Sect, now come to me to plead for help."

"And outsider scions and those from minor families know I can speak a word to Dao Ting Si, so they treat me with respect."

Mo Hua nodded.

Wang Chen had, in a way, turned misfortune into fortune.

He patted Wang Chen's shoulder and encouraged him:

"Keep working hard. If you ever enter Dao Ting Si, you might even be promoted. I'll speak well of you when I get the chance."

He knew Gu Uncle and Xia Diansi very well.

Gu Uncle came from the Gu family and had rich experience in criminal justice.

Xia Diansi was even from the Xia family of the Central Dao Ting.

Now that Xiao Zhenhai is dead, Gu Shuji and the other man are the two most powerful Diansi in the Qianxue Zhou Jie Dao Dao Ting Si.

And if Wang Chen, who originally came from the Gui Shui Men, could serve Gu Shuji and the others, it would be a good thing.

Wang Chen was overjoyed and hurriedly said, "Thank you, Little Senior Brother!"

This opportunity from Little Senior Brother might be something he could never win even if he fought tooth and nail for it.

The two chatted for a while longer.

Wang Chen then took his leave, but before departing, he hesitated a moment and still reminded, "Little Senior Brother, there's something you should know."

"What is it?"

"It's about what's happening with the Tai'e Men and Chongxu Men…"

Mo Hua's gaze sharpened slightly.

Wang Chen continued, "There are many disciples from Tai'e Men and Chongxu Men on the Yanzhi Boat. If this is investigated, the problem will be enormous."

"The main issue is still the Dao Discourse Assembly."

"Tai'e Men and Chongxu Men seem to want to manipulate things through the Dao Dao Ting Si, but it hasn't gone smoothly. If negotiations fail, these two sects are likely to be ruined…"

Wang Chen shook his head, sighing.

"And Tai Xu Men is closely allied with Tai'e Men and Chongxu Men. If Tai'e and Chongxu fall, Tai Xu Men will likely be unable to stand alone…"

Wang Chen was worried, which is why he specifically warned Mo Hua.

Mo Hua nodded. "I understand."

He thought for a moment, then advised Wang Chen, "The Qianxue Zhou Jie will likely face major upheavals soon—good or bad, it's uncertain. If you hear anything from Gui Shui Men, slip me the news secretly."

"Likewise, if you run into trouble—even a life-and-death situation—you can come to me. I might be able to point you toward a way out…"

If someone else had said this, Wang Chen might have dismissed it.

But the one saying this was Mo Hua.

Wang Chen's expression turned solemn. He bowed deeply. "Thank you, Little Senior Brother!"

…

After Wang Chen left, Mo Hua returned to the disciples' quarters, his thoughts swirling.

Gui Shui Men…

Mentioning Gui Shui Men, Mo Hua thought of Shuiyu Men.

And thinking of Shuiyu Men, Mo Hua suddenly remembered he still held something important.

Shuiyu Forbidden Casket!

He closed the doors and windows, sealed the array, then took the Shuiyu Forbidden Casket out of his Na Zi Ring.

This casket was a forbidden artifact of the Shuiyu Sect's sect leader, sealed by their forbidden arts; only Xiao Zhenhai knew how to open it.

Mo Hua guessed it required cultivating a secret technique and warming the casket with essence blood—once the technique reached the right stage and the blood was sufficiently nurtured, the casket could be opened.

Of course, this was only a guess.

He knew nothing of the exact method, so he could only "pluck the peaches," seizing the casket before "Shui Yanluo" opened it.

But he had underestimated it.

After acquiring the casket, Mo Hua still couldn't open it for the time being.

So he had tossed it into his Na Zi Ring, planning to study it later.

But later events piled up, and Mo Hua forgot about it until now.

Afterwards, Mo Hua deliberately set aside half a day—not practicing arrays, but staying in the disciples' quarters to focus on studying the Shuiyu Forbidden Casket.

After half a day, he finally figured out how to open it.

The key was still the Eye Technique.

But this eye technique for opening the casket was unusual.

It was like having an embedded "password"—one had to activate a specific soul fragment within the Ming Hun, visualize the Shuiyu Diagram, and only then could the casket be unlocked.

Normally, this wouldn't be difficult.

But Mo Hua's Ming Hun housed a demonic embryo, so he had to proceed with extreme caution, testing slowly.

Fortunately, this was merely "unlocking," not truly activating the Eye Technique.

Mo Hua made a light attempt—no major problems arose.

After about two incense sticks, a flash of Jin Guang appeared in Mo Hua's eyes; the casket's red glow dimmed, its entire surface glowing brilliantly with a crystal-clear blue radiance.

A water mark surfaced, splitting the casket cleanly in two.

The Shuiyu Men's ultimate treasure, once seamless, was finally opened.

Mo Hua couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement.

He released his spiritual sense to ensure safety, then solemnly opened the casket—and saw several jade slips lying inside.

These jade slips were ground extremely thin and exquisitely crafted, like jade paper, pressed snugly within the small casket.

On the jade slips were carved the forbidden marks of the Shuiyu Men.

Meaning: exclusive to Shuiyu Men, forbidden from external transmission.

But since the Shuiyu Men were gone, no one cared anymore about external transmission.

Mo Hua carefully examined each jade slip, and his expression turned stunned.

These jade slips indeed contained the highest transmissions of the Shuiyu Men—each one priceless.

One was the body skill: Water Shadow Illusory Form.

At a glance, this body skill bore a similar essence to Water Shadow Step, but the two were incomparable.

According to the Shuiyu Men's Dao hierarchy, Water Shadow Illusory Form was the most core, most supreme body skill.

Far more profound than the Water Shadow Step known by Shui Yanluo and Xiao Zhenhai.

The upper limit of the "Water Shadow" that this body technique can cultivate is also much higher.

In other words, the Water Shadow Step practiced by Water Yanluo and Xiao Zhenhai is essentially a "castrated," downgraded version of the Water Shadow Illusion Body technique hidden within this forbidden chest.

There is also a technique called the "True Scripture of Water Prison."

It is a cultivation method, and its name appears simple enough.

But any method bearing the words "True Scripture," whether a cultivation art, Dao art, or sword art, holds a position of great importance within a sect's lineage.

Mo Hua glanced at it a few times, his eyes greedy.

But he was not a pure Water Elemental Root, his root quality was poor, and he could never abandon the Great Expansion Scripture to re-cultivate this True Scripture of Water Prison.

Even if he truly learned it, such a "sect leader"-level cultivation method required countless Spirit Stones and rare heavenly treasures—he simply could not afford it.

He had merely glanced at it briefly and already spotted no fewer than seven or eight spirit herbs and pills he had never heard of, yet clearly priceless.

Forget it…

Mo Hua shook his head.

Without a "fate of wealth," one simply could not afford such a technique.

The Great Expansion Scripture is better.

Mo Hua put down the "True Scripture of Water Prison" and began examining the next jade slip.

As soon as his spiritual sense sank into it, a name appeared—unexpected, yet not surprising:

"Water Prison Art."

It is a supreme Dao art of the Water Prison Sect, one of the rare Dao arts in the cultivation world capable of ignoring the Golden Body and exerting powerful control over cultivators!

The scripture for this Dao art was indeed hidden within the Water Prison Forbidden Chest.

But there was one problem…

Xiao Zhenhai never opened the Water Prison Forbidden Chest—how did he learn this supreme Water Prison Art?

Did he have another way, or was the Water Prison Art he learned yet another "castrated" version?

Mo Hua was puzzled.

Unfortunately, Xiao Zhenhai was already dead—he could not ask him.

Mo Hua shook his head and turned to the next jade slip.

This was the final jade slip.

Mo Hua sank his spiritual sense into it, but upon perception, he found the jade slip entirely blank.

"Empty."

"Impossible… how could such an important forbidden object as the Water Prison Forbidden Chest contain a blank jade slip?"

Mo Hua frowned.

"Encrypted."

Fortunately, he was somewhat familiar with encryption and decryption.

Mo Hua turned the seemingly ordinary, "blank" jade slip over and over, studying it for a while, then exhaled in relief.

Not magnetic yuan encryption…

If it were truly magnetic yuan encryption, his current mastery of magnetic yuan arrays would be insufficient to break it.

And given Mo Hua's knowledge of the Water Prison Sect, this was likely still encryption via "eye technique."

The Water Prison Sect's lineage was extremely strict, divided not only by rank but also by hierarchy and superiority.

The Seven Soul Blood Prison Eye Technique was nearly one of the sect's most core transmissions, and since eye techniques contained the Way of the Soul, using them for "encryption" was naturally the safest.

But the Water Prison Sect's founding ancestor probably never imagined the sect would one day be "raided" by the Dao Court.

These transmissions had scattered, and all his established rules had collapsed.

Thus, his "treasure's" encryption—especially for Mo Hua—was effectively "useless."

Mo Hua spent a little more time, and finally, through the mist in his spiritual perception, he saw the text within the jade slip.

As he read, Mo Hua frowned.

This was a very strange jade slip.

What it recorded seemed to be a Dao art, but this Dao art was incomplete.

It appeared someone had continuously experimented, deduced, improved, and iterated upon a certain Dao art's technique, then recorded each variant result onto the jade slip…

Mo Hua's pupils shrank slightly, his heart startled.

This was… a forbidden technique.

What the Water Prison Forbidden Chest truly concealed was a manuscript for developing a… forbidden technique.

Mo Hua flipped to the end and saw a few hastily scrawled, grotesque blood-red characters:

Forbidden Technique: Senluo Water Prison