Chapter 891: Tai Xu

Even after returning to the Elder's residence, Master Xun remained distracted.

Disciples with excellent spiritual roots, though rare, are not nonexistent.

Especially within great clans and major sects, each generation produces some disciples with top-grade spiritual roots.

Even the legendary, phoenix-feather-rare spiritual roots—he had seen them in his lifetime, too.

But disciples with strong mental faculty? They were truly hard to encounter.

Mental faculty is truly invisible and unobtrusive; it shows nothing in daily life.

Moreover, the cultivation world has no methods for "mental cultivation," and the lineage of the Mind Dao is scarce; some disciples with mental faculty, unaware of how to hone their mind sea or forge their mental awareness, easily let their gift wither away without realizing it.

And even if one does cultivate it, the path is not easy.

The Mind Dao is ethereal, elusive, and perilously unpredictable.

If one cultivates mental faculty, all one's abilities focus on mental awareness—strength becomes severely imbalanced, with great flaws and drawbacks.

Even if one possesses such talent, few cultivators truly choose this path.

Thus, disciples with strong mental faculty are hard to discover, hard to nurture, and hard to grow.

To date, the only disciple he had ever seen with peerless mental faculty was Mo Hua.

But Mo Hua's case was very special.

This was no longer a matter of whether his talent was good or not.

At his realm, with this level of mental awareness, he had already "reversed" beyond the comprehension of ordinary cultivators—even beyond the understanding of this Cave Void Elder Ancestor.

Master Xun drew in a sharp breath.

At the same time, he became even more certain of his earlier suspicion:

"That person wants his disciple to walk the path of Mental Awareness Realization!"

Master Xun sighed inwardly.

To make a lone cultivator walk such an obscure, unpopular, perilous, lineage-starved, pathless ancient way…

It was sheer fantasy.

And his audacity was truly immense!

But then again, this was exactly the sort of thing that person would do.

And…

Master Xun thought of Mo Hua, thought of his nineteen-stripe mental awareness, and his heart trembled slightly.

He really made it work!

Mo Hua is still at Foundation Establishment, yet already possesses such profound mental awareness reserves; given time, as his mental faculty is further honed, his future is utterly unpredictable…

Mental awareness is hard to cultivate, hard to train, and its methods are obscure, its applications eccentric.

But that's for ordinary cultivators.

If one truly achieves "unmatched dominance" on the path of mental awareness, reaching the pinnacle of Mental Mastery, then one becomes a truly terrifying "monster."

Master Xun's pupils shrank slightly, and an unbidden name surfaced in his mind.

"The Deceiver…"

That name was taboo in both orthodox and demonic circles.

He was the Mo Sect's first—and possibly only—prodigy to be granted the title "Dao Ren" while still at the Liu Yuhua realm.

And this "Deceiver" walked the path of mental awareness; his cultivation was strange and unfathomable.

Even now, at Liu Yuhua, he was elusive and terrifying, striking fear into all who heard of him.

Countless powerful cultivators had wanted his life, yet none knew how to strike.

Once he breaks into Cave Void, no one can fathom how he will die…

Moreover, Master Xun always had a premonition:

With the Deceiver's intellect and cunning, his transcendence from Liu Yuhua and his step through the void could not be far off…

When that day comes, what kind of reversed calamity will unfold?

"So much misfortune…"

Master Xun sighed deeply.

Then he raised his head, gazing through the floating clouds and mist of Tai Xu Mountain, toward the dim, obscure sky of Qianxue Province, and sighed again.

As for the Deceiver's affairs, set aside for now.

The calamity now plaguing Qianxue Province may not be minor either…

After a day of rest, Mo Hua's body was no longer seriously impaired.

His problem lay primarily at the level of mental awareness.

The gentle, beautiful third-grade alchemist, Elder Murong, examined Mo Hua's meridians, unblocked his Qi and blood, massaged the acupoints on his back and forehead, then said softly:

"I'll give you some pills to invigorate blood, dispel stasis, and calm the mind. Take them every morning upon rising. If you feel any discomfort afterward, come find me again."

Mo Hua moved his arms, and indeed felt much more comfortable; he smiled happily and said:

"Thank you, Elder Murong."

Elder Murong smiled and nodded.

Mo Hua bowed, then left the healing chamber.

Back at the disciples' quarters,

Mo Hua sat in meditation for a short while, then eagerly took out the visualization map that Master Xun had given him—not given, but temporarily "lent" him.

The visualization map was stored in a jade box; the paper was ancient, with curled edges, its age impossible to guess.

Mo Hua extended his palm and gently stroked the map, and in a daze, he sensed the ancient aura accumulated through centuries.

But he did not open it immediately; remembering Master Xun's instructions, he first bathed and calmed his mind, then lit the high-grade calming incense.

The Anshen incense was inserted into the incense burner.

A flicker of flame ignited it; wisps of white smoke rose, drifted into the air, and transformed into a fragrant, serene aroma that slowly drifted through the room.

Mo Hua inhaled deeply, and indeed felt his soul refreshed, his thoughts clear and lucid.

"The old gentleman gave me something truly fine—though I wonder how many Spirit Stones it's worth; it's surely not cheap…"

Amid the swirling smoke of the Anshen incense, Mo Hua sat quietly for a while longer, then carefully unrolled the "clean" visualization chart gifted to him by Mr. Xun—the long-hidden treasure of the Grand Void Gate.

Upon the painting.

His gaze met a lush mountain range.

The mountain contours were ancient and unadorned; amidst the emerald forests, deep ink tones lent a profound, timeless charm.

Among the woods stood a solemn, majestic Daoist courtyard.

Palaces and pavilions rose in tier upon tier, half-hidden among the mountains, merging seamlessly with the ancient peaks, having weathered countless storms and endured untold vicissitudes.

Above the mountains and forests, white clouds drifted in mist.

Immortal cranes flew across the sky; strange beasts vanished into the shadows, adding a touch of living celestial aura.

"Is this… the Grand Void Gate?"

Mo Hua stared at the visualization chart for a while, feeling it resembled it—but not quite.

The painting clearly depicted a sect.

But this sect was unmistakably larger than the Grand Void Gate; its palace and pavilion styles echoed the Grand Void Gate's, yet appeared older, far more ancient.

Especially the sky above the sect was higher, its aura purer and more upright.

"Is this the Grand Void Gate of the past?"

Mo Hua gazed for a moment, then shook his head, letting go of his speculation.

"Better to begin the visualization first…"

He released his spiritual awareness, sensing the chart—and truly found no trace of demonic or malevolent energy, just as Mr. Xun had said: it was a "clean" visualization chart.

"Rare indeed…"

Mo Hua gathered all his thoughts and began to focus his visualization.

White clouds, mountain hues, mist-shrouded terraces, the ancient, time-worn Gushan Dao Courtyard—every scene filled his heart with stillness.

A pure, lofty aspiration for the Dao rose like gentle rain, nourishing his inner field.

In but a moment, Mo Hua felt all demonic influences, malevolent qi, restless thoughts, and greedy desires within him washed clean.

His spiritual awareness barely increased at all.

But his Dao heart grew far clearer.

"This is…"

Mo Hua's heart startled.

Could this truly be the real "visualization chart"?

Sitting in meditation, comprehending the chart's essence, purifying spiritual awareness, cleansing the Dao heart?

Had all the ones he encountered before been demonic, corrupted fakes?

Mo Hua slowly nodded.

No wonder his master had told him that visualization charts were the ultimate treasures of cultivators, forbidden artifacts of great clans and even the Dao Court.

Yet visualization charts also concealed peril—true and false, impossible to distinguish, deadly beyond measure…

True visualization charts contained pure, upright essence—they could strengthen spiritual awareness and refine the Dao heart, truly priceless treasures.

False visualization charts concealed demonic spirits and corpse-ghosts—they could devour spiritual consciousness and corrupt the Dao heart, truly deadly beyond measure.

True and false were inseparable, fortune and misfortune intertwined.

Ordinary cultivators could hardly tell them apart.

"But…" Mo Hua frowned slightly, "after my visualization, my spiritual awareness doesn't seem to have strengthened much?"

"Is my method wrong? Or do Grand Void Gate visualization charts only refine the Dao heart, offering negligible benefit to spiritual awareness?"

Mo Hua looked up again at the chart, puzzled, then said:

"Enough. Contentment brings joy. If it refines my Dao heart and cleanses my demonic thoughts, that's enough—one must not be greedy…"

Mo Hua settled his mind and continued his visualization.

He visualized for an hour, his spiritual awareness clear and unobstructed, free of any demonic or restless desires.

Mo Hua felt it was sufficient, and reverently rolled up the visualization chart.

Mr. Xun had instructed him: never view it for less than an hour, never more—moderation is best.

He who heeds advice eats his fill.

After putting away the visualization chart, Mo Hua took out his storage bag and pulled out a broken sword.

It was a white bone sword, entirely pale and eerie in appearance.

It was the very broken sword where the Sword Bone Head resided.

Such eerie bone swords were, by all rights, forbidden within the sect.

Mo Hua had pleaded with Mr. Xun, saying he needed this bone sword for great purposes and swore it would cause no trouble.

After a moment's thought, Mr. Xun nodded and allowed Mo Hua to bring the bone sword into Ru Sect.

The other elders could only pretend not to notice.

But certain rules still had to be followed.

This bone sword had been "registered" with the Mountain Entry Elder.

It could enter the mountain without inspection and be carried into the disciples' quarters.

But if any demonic incident occurred within the sect, Mo Hua would naturally be the first suspect.

Mo Hua really didn't want to take the blame.

So, to be on the safe side, he added another Divine Lock Array on the white-bone broken sword to seal the evil thoughts, and a Divine Mist Array to conceal its aura.

He wasn't going to give the sword bone a single chance to cause trouble.

After making sure everything was foolproof, Mo Hua gently lifted a corner of the array, stirred his divine sense slightly, sensed the aura inside the broken sword, and then said:

"Hey…"

No response.

"Sword Bone, are you dead yet?"

Sword Bone: "…"

"Speak!"

"Oh, oh," Sword Bone immediately replied, "thanks to my ancestors, I'm still alive…"

Mo Hua frowned. "Don't keep saying 'ancestors' this and 'ancestors' that—I'm not old, and I'm not an evil spirit, so why are you calling me 'ancestor'?"

Sure, you may not be an "evil spirit," but you do eat "evil spirits"…

Sword Bone grumbled inwardly.

"Then… what should I call you?" Sword Bone asked.

"Figure it out yourself," Mo Hua said.

Sword Bone understood at once, and his heart sank.

This was a test—to see if he knew how to read the situation, had any sense, and could recognize the lay of the land.

The current situation couldn't have been clearer.

Sword Bone said respectfully, "Then, hereafter I shall address you as… 'Master'?"

Mo Hua, however, shook his head. "I don't like those two words… In this world, no one should be anyone's master."

Sword Bone was taken aback.

What did that mean?

He didn't quite understand.

Then Sword Bone said again, "Then shall I address you as… 'my lord'?"

Mo Hua's face stiffened. "Are you mocking me for not being able to grow up?"

In reality, he could grow up—though it wasn't obvious, his height did increase a little every year.

But his divine-sense avatar seemed to have remained stuck at the state it was in during Foundation Establishment, before the "qualitative change of divine sense."

Whether he could grow up in the future was still unknown.

So when this evil spirit Sword Bone called him "my lord," Mo Hua was very unhappy.

"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare…"

Sword Bone sensed Mo Hua's displeasure, and the scenes of countless demons and spirits dying miserably and being devoured by Mo Hua floated before his eyes again, making his skull go numb.

This won't do, that won't do either…

Sword Bone's mind raced, and he hurriedly said:

"Then how about I just call you 'Young Master'?"

Mo Hua was about to think it wasn't a good idea.

There were so many young masters in Qianxue State, and the people behind all those bad deeds were also young masters—just hearing the title grated on his ears.

But on second thought, Mo Hua dismissed the idea and nodded:

"Fine, from now on, just call me 'Young Master.'"

Sword Bone let out a long sigh of relief.

This "ancestor" of his was truly hard to serve.

Keeping company with a "lord" was like keeping company with a tiger.

And the main thing was, he really was a tiger that ate "people," so not a single careless slip could be allowed.

Sword Bone hurriedly pledged his loyalty:

"Then I shall address you as 'Young Master.' From now on, Young Master, whatever your orders, Sword Bone will go through fire and water, without hesitation."

"Mm."

Mo Hua was slightly satisfied, and added:

"Just stay put inside obediently. Don't come out, and don't try anything funny. If the sect elders or the Old Ancestor discover you, I won't be able to save you either."

"And if it really comes to that, I'll have to crush you first and destroy the body to leave no trace."

"Got it!"

Sword Bone's heart chilled, and he hurriedly said:

"Yes, yes, Young Master's words, I will keep firmly in mind!"

Mo Hua nodded, then sealed the array back up again and checked it over. Only after confirming not a whiff of evil qi was leaking out did he feel at ease.

Keeping Sword Bone around was indeed still of great use.

The first reason was his Natal Dharma Treasure.

His own artifact-forging experience was insufficient.

But Sword Bone's former self had been an old swordsmith with rich forging knowledge, orthodox inheritance, and no idea how many evil swords he had cast.

In the future, nurturing his Natal Dharma Treasure—including forging the embryo of his Natal Dharma Treasure—he would need Sword Bone.

In addition, there was divine-sense invasion.

Mo Hua's own divine sense couldn't actively leave his body.

In the future, if he ran into some evil spirits, and if those evil spirits were sensible enough to actively pull him into their dreams, that would actually be fine.

But if these evil entities refuse to behave, he could only stare helplessly, with no way to act.

Even something like the Spirit-Devouring Map, if he didn't know the "sacrifice" ritual, he couldn't infiltrate it either.

With the Sword Bone and this broken white bone sword, he now had a "medium," allowing him to use the Divine Path array technique to construct a Divine Lock Bridge, linking the medium and intervening in other spirit-based objects to achieve spiritual infiltration.

Of course, this was merely Mo Hua's hypothesis.

In practice, there would likely be many complications.

But having a way is better than having none.

Mo Hua put away the broken white bone sword; seeing that the hour was late, he sank his spiritual awareness into his mind sea and continued practicing arrays on the Dao Stele…

Elder Ju Zheng

Though it was deep night, the white-haired Elder Xun Ziyou still sat bent over his desk, organizing some Juan Sect texts and arrays.

After a while, Elder Xun Ziyou arrived.

He had been away on affairs these past days and, upon returning to the sect, despite the late hour, came straight here, weary from travel, to pay his respects to Elder Xun Ziyou.

He knew that, with so much happening, the Ancestor must still be awake.

Elder Xun Ziyou waited respectfully outside the door.

"Enter."

Elder Xun Ziyou said calmly.

Elder Xun Ziyou bowed, entered the room, and told Elder Xun Ziyou every detail of what he had learned:

"The Dao Court has found out—likely because someone planted spies within Qianxue Province. Though they tried to suppress the news, they couldn't hide it from the Dao Court…"

"But this matter has been jointly suppressed by the Sida Sect."

"After all, if this were exposed, it would cause panic; a thorough investigation would be unavoidable, and the sect's reform would inevitably be delayed."

"Reform should be done early, not late. Delay it for years, even decades, and circumstances may change—then it might never move again."

"Therefore, the Sida Sect doesn't want to stir up trouble. To them, the sect's reform is the single most important matter now; naturally, they won't let the Spirit-Devouring Mountain incident disrupt the bigger picture or ruin their plans."

"Of course," Elder Xun Ziyou said, with a touch of grim satisfaction, "a heavy bloodletting is unavoidable."

"If they want to suppress this matter, they must feed the big mouths above."

"The Dao Court's appetite is enormous—and hard to satisfy…"

Elder Xun Ziyou nodded slightly. "What about Duanjin Gate?"

Elder Xun Ziyou said: "Because of these disciples, the Jin family has completely fallen. The Grand Elder has retired; other Jin family elders retain their positions—for now—because Duanjin Gate wants to maintain stability and avoid drawing suspicion…"

"But these Jin family elders will never rise further. These positions will never be inherited by Jin family disciples again."

"After the Jin family's fall, the Song family has taken over."

"The former vice-patriarch of Duanjin Gate—the Jin family scion who died in the Ten Thousand Demons Valley, Jin Yicai's father—was the most likely candidate to succeed as patriarch."

"Now, that's impossible."

"The next patriarch or elder will be chosen from the Song family."

"For the next several years, even ten or decades, Duanjin Gate will gradually purge the Jin family, replacing them step by step with the Song family."

"In the future, Duanjin Gate may well become the Song family's domain…"

Elder Xun Ziyou sighed.

The Jin family's influence in Duanjin Gate was the result of centuries of painstaking effort by their Ancestor and generations of elders.

Now, because of a few reckless disciples, it was all lost in a single day.

Watching this, Elder Xun Ziyou felt a sudden sense of awe—as if a towering building had risen, only to collapse abruptly.

From now on, for the Jin family to regain power would be nearly impossible.

And the Song family, suppressed for centuries, had now turned the tables—and would certainly not let the Jin family off easily.

Elder Xun Ziyou's mind stirred, and he whispered to Elder Xun Ziyou:

"Ancestor, now that Duanjin Gate's situation has changed, shouldn't we…?"

Elder Xun Ziyou understood his meaning and immediately shook his head.

"Don't even think about it."

Elder Xun Ziyou was puzzled.

Elder Xun Ziyou said calmly: "When the Jin family ruled Duanjin Gate, they were at odds with our Grand Void Gate. Now that the Song family rules, they'll target us just the same."

"Duanjin Gate is aligned with the Sida Sect."

"They follow the Sida Sect's lead—and…"

Elder Xun Ziyou paused.

And judging from the Ten Thousand Demons Valley incident and the sect reform, there may be deeper "collusion" involved.

But without evidence, Elder Xun Ziyou said nothing.

He looked at Elder Xun Ziyou and said:

"Do you think the Jin family fell because of us, and that the Song family rose only because of Grand Void Gate's help—so we've done them a favor?"

Elder Xun Ziyou slowly nodded.

Elder Xun Ziyou sighed and shook his head. "You're thinking too simply…"

"Whether the Jin family or the Song family rules, Duanjin Gate remains Duanjin Gate."

"Mountains may change, but nature is hard to alter."

"Moreover, in Qianxue Province, dark storms are brewing. To maintain stability, the Song family won't possibly change course and ally with Grand Void Gate, which has never had any ties with them."

"Internally, they'll suppress the Jin family; externally, they'll still court the Sida Sect, using the name of Duanjin Gate to absorb all the old networks the Jin family once controlled."

"That's the correct approach."

Elder Xun Ziyou suddenly understood, then looked at Elder Xun Ziyou with admiration.

The Ancestor is truly the Ancestor.

"Then this time, regarding the negotiations with Duanjin Gate…" Elder Xun Ziyou asked.

Mr. Xun's gaze was sharp, and he said in a low voice:

"Show no mercy—rip them off thoroughly!"

"If you hold back, they won't remember your kindness; instead, they'll think Grand Void Gate is weak and easy to bully."

"Cut them deep enough to make them bleed—they may harbor resentment, but they'll know Grand Void Gate is not to be trifled with."

Elder Xun Ziyou bowed his hands. "Yes, Ancestor."

"There's one more thing…"

Mr. Xun's eyes narrowed in thought, then he said: "After these negotiations, set aside a portion of the assets Duanjin Gate cedes, and register it under…"

Mr. Xun paused, then spoke slowly:

"Register it under Mo Hua's name."

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