Chapter 1535: The Starving People and the Unorthodox Path

Chapter 1535: The Starving People and the Unorthodox Path

Kun Province, Great Spirit Field Realm, Third-Grade Qingchou Minor Prefecture Realm.

A figure in black robes, face concealed, Mo Hua walked through a stretch of barren farmland.

The crops had withered and rotted, and blood plasma seeped from the soil.

Mo Hua's feet trod upon the blood-stained earth as a copper coin slid between his fingers, seeking a direction.

According to what Director Yu had said earlier, Magistrate Gu's final transmission had been sent from the Qingchou territory.

The transmission had said: The currents beneath Qingchou territory are surging, the unrest is intensifying, the situation has deteriorated...

And since then, all contact had been severed, even the Primordial Magnetic Network within the Dao Court Division had been completely cut off.

Uncle Gu and his group, roughly a hundred or so cultivators of the Dao Court Division, most of them trusted confidants of the Gu Clan, had vanished into the Qingchou Prefecture Realm, their fates unknown.

The Dao Court Division of Houtu City had stood by and done nothing about this matter.

They could hardly wait for Gu Changhuai, that thorn in their side, to die in the line of duty, perishing in the riots of the Great Spirit Field Realm.

Director Yu of the Demon Suppression Division had wanted to intervene, but the Demon Suppression Division had too few people, and Director Yu himself could not be in two places at once.

And so the situation could only remain deadlocked.

No one knew what had truly happened within the Qingchou Prefecture Realm, or how far the unrest had escalated.

It was not until after more than half a month had passed that Mo Hua personally set foot upon the soil of the Qingchou Prefecture Realm, seeking to determine whether Gu Changhuai lived or died.

But the problem was that the Qingchou Prefecture Realm was, after all, a prefecture realm—vast in territory.

Even with Mo Hua's considerable skill in cause and effect and his proficiency in divination, all he could divine were vague directions.

Compounded by the turbulent times, finding Uncle Gu was no simple task.

Moreover, time was of the essence.

If he arrived sooner, what he found might be Uncle Gu alive, but if he arrived too late, what he found might very well be Uncle Gu's corpse...

Mo Hua's gaze was grave as he continued deeper into the Qingchou Prefecture Realm.

The further he went, the more barren the land became, a thousand li of scorched earth, devoid of human habitation, desolate to a terrifying degree.

After walking another few hundred li, Mo Hua finally spotted figures.

But these figures were all corpses.

They lay dead in the fields, at the edges of plots, or along the roadside. Some had even been decapitated after death and hung upside down from trees.

For a moment, Mo Hua could not tell whether these people had died of starvation or been killed in the unrest.

Though he had witnessed such bloody and tragic scenes before back in the Great Wilderness.

But that was the Great Wilderness, land beyond the Dao Court's governance, a war-torn region where cultivators were savage, battles raged without end, and great calamities had struck, giving rise to all manner of horrors.

But now, this was Kun Province.

Kun Province, renowned throughout history for its prosperity and abundance.

The Great Spirit Field Realm, where the soil was fertile and nourished all living things.

And it had not been long since Mo Hua had been moving through the mansions of the great houses over the marriage alliance matter.

He had seen with his own eyes the grandeur of the noble clans, their wealth and splendor, the revelry and indulgence within their jade towers and ornate halls.

And in the blink of an eye, he now faced a different sight: starving commoners dying miserably, the people suffering and devastated...

Mo Hua grabbed at the air, drawing a wooden staff into his hand, and thrust it into the ground.

A foul stench wafted up from beneath the soil.

The once-fertile earth now resembled rotting flesh, oozing with pus.

"Rotting... flesh..."

Mo Hua stared at the viscous soil, as if something had occurred to him, his pupils contracting slightly.

But this corruption was still only in its infancy. Though the soil resembled "flesh," it was not truly flesh.

All sorts of speculation about what was happening behind the scenes floated through Mo Hua's mind like a tangled mess of hemp, yet he couldn't determine which possibility of cause and effect it might be.

Mo Hua sighed inwardly, could only discard the tree branch, and took out the copper coins again to divine the road ahead.

He had just arrived at the Great Spirit Field Realm, alone and without support, so for now he couldn't afford to worry about too much.

Under the current circumstances, he only hoped that Uncle Gù would be safe and sound...

Mo Hua gathered his thoughts and continued following the guidance of the Causality Technique, heading northeast.

After traveling another hundred li, the surrounding scenery hadn't changed much—there were still plenty of corpses—but Mo Hua finally saw living people.

It was a mountain hollow where a village had been enclosed, surrounded by stone walls, with guards at the entrance.

Mo Hua swept his Divine-Sense over it and found that there were actually over a hundred living people inside the village.

Most of these people were starving refugees, but they came from various backgrounds. It seemed that after encountering chaos and having nowhere to rely on, they had gathered together to preserve their lives.

Mo Hua activated his Movement Technique, concealed his form, and passed directly through the guards into the village.

The guards of these starving refugees naturally couldn't see through Mo Hua's concealed form.

After entering the village, Mo Hua swept his gaze around and saw a burly man sitting in the center of the village.

His clothes were tattered, but he wore half a suit of armor, with an iron blade laid across his lap. He bore scars on his body and had a not-weak aura—he seemed to be the village chief.

Mo Hua walked straight up, revealed his form, and said:

"I'll ask you one thing."

Seeing a strange black-robed cultivator appear out of thin air in broad daylight, the village chief was greatly startled. He drew out a large iron blade, pointed it at Mo Hua, and asked:

"Who are you?"

Hearing the commotion, the other guards also raised their weapons and surrounded Mo Hua, their faces full of alarm as if facing a great enemy.

In such chaotic times, a person in black appearing suddenly was mostly associated with demonic sects and demonic cultivators—they couldn't possibly be good people.

Surrounded by these people, Mo Hua remained calm and only said: "I'll ask you a question. Answer honestly."

The village chief frowned. "What question?"

Mo Hua asked: "Have you seen anyone from the Dao Court Division nearby?"

Dao Court Division...

Hearing this, the village chief's expression changed immediately. "No comment."

Mo Hua looked at him calmly. "If you tell me, I won't make things difficult for you."

The village chief sneered and, without further hesitation, swung his iron blade horizontally, slashing at Mo Hua.

The blade struck Mo Hua at the waist, and the village chief had just begun to show a delighted expression.

But the next instant, Mo Hua's body turned into a shadowy figure like black water, vanishing into thin air before slowly reappearing.

That slash seemed to have only cut through an illusion.

Mo Hua pointed back with one hand, and the Water Prison Technique descended, pressing the Peak Foundation Establishment village chief flat to the ground.

The village chief's expression changed drastically, and he said in terror: "Golden Core?"

Hearing the words Golden Core, the others were also greatly shaken. Their weapons became unsteady in their hands, their legs went weak, and they repeatedly backed away.

Mo Hua asked: "Have you seen anyone from the Dao Court Division?"

The village chief's face turned ashen, and he kept his mouth shut.

Mo Hua pressed two fingers together and was about to strengthen the Water Prison's drowning effect.

But the village chief said: "I don't know..."

Mo Hua's gaze turned slightly cold, and he cast another Water Prison Technique, binding the village chief even tighter.

The village chief hated Mo Hua, this 'treacherous villain,' for his ruthless methods, but he was powerless to resist. He could only say through gritted teeth:

"Spare me, great master. I truly don't know... where there are people from the Dao Court Division..."

Mo Hua's gaze shifted slightly. "You truly don't know?"

The village chief gritted his teeth and said, "The hounds of the Dao Court Division, bullying the innocent, deserve death... I only regret that my cultivation is insufficient, and I cannot personally cut down these bastards. If I truly knew where they were, why would I hide it?"

Mo Hua's brows furrowed slightly.

He turned his head, looking at the others, his gaze sweeping across faces that were either terrified or furious, and asked:

"Does any of you know the whereabouts of the Dao Court Division cultivators?"

The starving refugees exchanged glances, but all wore puzzled expressions, and no one answered.

The air grew quiet, and Mo Hua's gaze turned slightly cold.

Just then, from within the crowd, a gaunt woman in coarse clothing, leading a thin, small child, stepped forward and knelt halfway on the ground, speaking nervously:

"Reporting to the senior, this woman has seen... the people of the Dao Court Division..."

Mo Hua asked, "Where?"

The woman stammered, unwilling to speak.

Mo Hua's gaze shifted slightly, and he asked, "What conditions do you have?"

"It is..." The woman kowtowed to Mo Hua, then pulled the skeletal child beside her forward, and said to Mo Hua:

"I only beg the senior, let this child... eat a full meal..."

Mo Hua was briefly stunned, his gaze complex. "Just a full meal?"

The woman lowered her head, speaking with some despair, "Yes... this woman's child hasn't had a full meal in a month, surviving only on tree bark to stave off hunger... If he doesn't eat a proper meal soon, his Blood Qi will run dry, and he will die..."

Children had the weakest constitutions and insufficient Blood Qi.

The woman, thinking that in a few days she would have to watch her child starve to death before her eyes, powerless to do anything, felt her heart twist in agony, and tears streamed down her face.

Mo Hua's gaze turned toward the child beside the woman, and he saw that the child was indeed as thin as a bamboo pole, yet his lower belly was slightly distended, surely a sign of having eaten too much tree bark and weeds, unable to convert them into Blood Qi.

Children in times of famine had the most bitter fates and were the most pitiable.

Mo Hua sighed inwardly, and nodded to the woman. "That can be arranged."

The woman, having received Mo Hua's consent, was overjoyed, but fearing she might offend this mysterious Golden Core senior, dared not be greedy. She quickly said:

"Reporting to the senior... about a hundred li to the southeast of here, there is a stretch of low hills, covered in dense forest, and within the woods stands a wild temple..."

"When this woman was fleeing, I took shelter in that temple from the mobs, and also searched for wild fruit to feed my child. It was also around there that I happened to see... people wearing the robes of the Dao Court Division..."

Mo Hua asked, "They were wearing Dao Court Division robes?"

The woman nodded. "There was a group of them, several dozen at least, all in uniform robes, quite frightening. This woman didn't dare approach, only glanced from afar, and then fled..."

Local cultivators of the Qingchou Prefecture Realm held an instinctive reverence and hatred toward Dao Court Division cultivators.

Mo Hua asked, "Anything else?"

The woman said, "That's all..."

Mo Hua glanced at the woman, especially studying her eyes carefully for a moment, then asked softly:

"You're not a spirit farmer, are you?"

The woman was startled and quickly said, "This woman... comes from a farming family, and only served as a maidservant in a wealthy household for a few years..."

Mo Hua's gaze narrowed slightly, and he said no more. Instead, he pondered for a moment, then took out a piece of dried meat, a steamed bun, and a Fasting Pill.

"The dried meat and steamed bun are for the child to eat, and the Fasting Pill is for you..." Mo Hua said calmly.

The woman was overjoyed, tears streaming down her face as she kowtowed to Mo Hua, saying, "Thank you, Senior, thank you, Senior..."

Then she immediately held out both hands, respectfully accepting the dried meat and steamed bun. Her hands trembling, she broke them into small pieces and carefully fed them to the child in her arms.

This child was still young, only a few years old, and had been starving for a long time, so he couldn't eat too quickly.

At the same time, his cultivation was low—only at the initial Qi-Refining stage—so Mo Hua had only given him a small piece of meat and a single steamed bun.

Otherwise, if he ate too much, he wouldn't be able to digest it and might end up killing himself by overeating.

Mo Hua looked at the child and the woman who had humbled herself just to let her child have a proper meal, and he felt compassion stir within him.

He was about to leave more food for the mother and son, but when he turned to look, he saw that the starving refugees all around were hollow-eyed with hunger, their eyes tinged red as they stared at the meat and steamed bun in the pair's hands. Some even had their throats moving as they swallowed their saliva.

Mo Hua's heart tightened slightly. He realized this was a year of famine, and giving them more food might actually end up getting the mother and son killed.

Unless he stayed to watch over them the entire time, once he left, the outcome would be self-evident...

These starving refugees would do anything for a bite to eat.

Mo Hua's thoughts turned briefly, and he took out two pill bottles, tossing them to the village chief.

The village chief caught the bottles and was momentarily stunned. "These are..."

Mo Hua said, "These are Fasting Pills. Distribute them among the people and ration them carefully. They should be enough to keep you alive for a while longer..."

The village chief clutched the pill bottles in his hands, shocked and overjoyed, looking at the Golden Core Senior before him in disbelief, momentarily at a loss for words.

Mo Hua added, "Take good care of this mother and son."

After all, they had helped him.

The village chief quickly replied, "Yes, yes..."

When the others heard that there were Fasting Pills to sustain their lives, they too were stunned, their anger turning to joy as they kowtowed excitedly:

"Thank you, Senior, for granting us the pills..."

"Senior's great kindness shall be as eternal as the heavens..."

After they had kowtowed for a while and raised their heads again, they found that the person before them had vanished.

The black-robed senior had already disappeared without a trace, and for a moment, everyone felt as if they had been in a dream.

The village chief looked at the empty surroundings, unable to hide his astonishment. Then he turned to look at the mother and son, feeling fortunate in his heart:

"Good thing... I didn't abandon this useless mother and son as a burden back then. Otherwise, where would we have gotten Fasting Pills to save us now..."

But then again, two bottles of Fasting Pills probably wouldn't last very long...

This world was too harsh...

Who knew how many people would die throughout Kun Province? Even if immortals came, they probably wouldn't be able to do anything about it...

The village chief's brows furrowed with gravity as he let out a deep sigh.

...

Outside the village.

Mo Hua remained concealed, moving like flowing water skimming the ground, heading northeast in the direction the woman had indicated.

It wasn't that he didn't want to give more Fasting Pills, it was that he had set out in a hurry and hadn't brought many supplies with him in the first place.

Moreover, the world was in chaos these days. Not to mention one or two bottles of Fasting Pills—even ten or a hundred bottles wouldn't make a difference.

Many things had to be planned carefully, approached from the bigger picture.

Otherwise, not just the Qingchou Prefecture Realm, but also the surrounding Nansui, Guitian, Huang Rang, and even the entire Great Spirit Field Realm would be affected, with corpses littering the land from starvation.

Mo Hua set aside his thoughts and stopped dwelling on it. Instead, he accelerated his Escape Technique, flashing across the desolate wilderness like a fleeting shadow.

Less than half an hour later, Mo Hua stopped before a low hill, its slopes covered in dense forest.

What was strange was that this was a year of famine—outside, most trees had been stripped of their bark, eaten by starving people.

Yet the trees here stood lush and verdant, with barely a sign of peeling.

The thick foliage blocked the scorching sun, casting a deep shadow that shrouded the entire low hill.

Mo Hua narrowed his eyes and stepped into the woods, immediately feeling a chill creep over him.

He followed the direction of the trees for a long while, but still could not find the 'wild temple' in the forest that the woman had spoken of.

Tall trees blocked the sun, shadows covered the ground, and amid the layered forest shadows, even his sense of direction grew hazy.

Yet there were no traces of an Illusion Formation or Trap Formation anywhere—truly suspicious.

Frowning, Mo Hua searched among the trees for a moment, then suddenly counted on his fingers. Following the Karmic Thread, he found a broken, translucent spiderweb clinging to a gloomy, towering trunk.

The broken web looked ordinary, faint and barely there, but a sticky Divine Sense Thought Power clung to it, flowing slowly.

Around the web lay the corpses of a swarm of mosquitoes.

It seemed to be a medium for a Divine Thought Technique, yet it was entirely different from any Divine Thought Technique Mo Hua was familiar with.

Mo Hua studied it for a moment, and a thought stirred in his mind:

"This is... an Unorthodox Path Art?"

(End of Chapter)