Chapter 1556: Tracing the Name

Chapter 1556: Tracing the Name

"Great Void Sect, Dugu..."

Just pondering that surname weighed heavily on Bai XiaoSheng's mind.

Back in the day, even the Sword Dao Ancestors of the rank-six Bai Clan never dared to look down upon the name "Dugu."

Bai XiaoSheng was a Sword Cultivator himself, steeped in the Bai Clan's Sword Dao heritage and possessing profound sword techniques. Yet precisely because of this, he understood the truth all the more clearly.

Aristocratic clans were aristocratic clans; heritages were heritages.

Yet there would always be heaven-defying figures who could disregard the foundation of clans and all conventional heritages, pursuing the ultimate origin of the Sword Dao to sever all reality and illusion with supreme Sword Intent.

Bai XiaoSheng had once believed he would be such a person.

He was a prodigy of the Bai Clan with exceptional talent in the Sword Dao. Only when he learned of these legendary Ancestor-level figures who truly dominated their eras did he realize the sheer profundity of the Sword Dao and his own insignificance, coming to understand that there was always a higher sky beyond the heavens.

Bai XiaoSheng sighed inwardly.

If it truly was Dugu Ancestor, then... everything fell into place.

The outrageous rumors from the Demonic Sect were very likely true.

If Mo Hua's Lifebound Magical Treasure was indeed the legacy divine sword bestowed by Dugu Ancestor...

Then he truly might have slain a Late Golden Core Stage or even Peak Golden Core great demon while merely in the Early Golden Core Stage.

Because this was the Sword Dao "heritage" of Dugu Ancestor.

Dugu Ancestor was the paramount figure within Great Void Sect who had cultivated the Divine Sense Sword Manifestation True Art to its zenith.

The Taixu Divine Sword could pierce through flesh, blood, and meridians to directly execute the Divine Soul.

It was the most formless, most unresolvable supreme sword art.

It was exceedingly difficult to learn and master, bound by harsh conditions, fraught with severe side effects, and demanding an immense price—yet its power was unimaginably terrifying.

Among the top-tier "Sword Technique Rankings" of major factions, Great Void Sect's Divine Sense Transforming into Sword was almost never recorded.

That was simply because virtually no one could learn it anymore, and rare was the soul who had ever witnessed its divine, razor-sharp edge.

Having grown up in a clan of profound learning and read countless sword manuals from an early age, Bai XiaoSheng knew that this Divine Sense Sword Manifestation True Art, though wandering outside orthodox rankings, was fundamentally closer in principle to "man and sword as one." And precisely because it formed a sword from Divine-Sense Thought, it was the most insidious and terrifying.

If Mo Hua truly bore this heritage, and his Magical Treasure was a certain "divine sword" of Great Void Sect...

Then the might of his Lifebound Magical Treasure would be unimaginably dreadful.

Moreover, it could not be wielded lightly, nor could it be revealed to the world.

For once others learned that he possessed a divine sword handed down by Dugu Ancestor, every high-tier Sword Cultivator under the heavens would descend into madness, stopping at nothing to slaughter Mo Hua and seize his divine sword.

Forget Golden Core cultivators—even Feathered Ascension, or even certain Sword Dao Profound-Hollow-Void masters, could not resist the covetous greed.

Bai XiaoSheng, who cultivated the Aspects of All Living Beings, felt his heart waver at this moment. He could not help but harbor a surge of greed, wondering if he should "kill" Mo Hua and snatch the "divine sword" for himself.

Fortunately, he retained his sanity; the greedy thought was extinguished the moment it arose.

Yet once the greed vanished, it was replaced by a deep, bitter wave of "jealousy."

He was just Mo Hua—merely an outer disciple! What right or merit did he have to be bestowed a Lifebound "divine sword" by an Ancestor of Great Void Sect?

Besides, aren't you a Formation Master, kid? Why can't you just draw Formations honestly—what are you doing playing around with swords?

Bai XiaoSheng stared intently at Mo Hua, the emotions in his eyes fluctuating wildly.

Mo Hua met Bai XiaoSheng's gaze, discerning his thoughts. Seeing the shock and turmoil in Bai XiaoSheng's eyes, he remarked nonchalantly:

"What? Finally realized how formidable I am?"

Bai XiaoSheng froze. He let out a cold scoff, yet involuntarily turned his head away, not daring to meet Mo Hua's eyes.

Just as he looked away, however, Bai XiaoSheng paused again, feeling that something was still off.

This brat Mo Hua was far too cunning.

Was what he had guessed truly deduced by "himself"?

Could it be that this kid was intentionally misleading and enticing him down the wrong path of speculation?

Was the information Mo Hua displayed truly genuine?

What about Mo Hua was real, and what was fake?

Could he even tell the difference?

The more Bai XiaoSheng pondered, the more muddled he became. His mind turned into a tangled mess of yarn, and he could not help but complain internally:

"This brat Mo Hua is so bizarre and elusive—part real, part fake, part illusion, part substance. Why does he feel somewhat similar to that Daoist..."

The moment that thought surfaced, Bai XiaoSheng's face turned utterly pale. When he looked at Mo Hua again, a hint of dread crept into his eyes.

Mo Hua was that person's disciple, and the Martial Nephew of his grand-aunt.

Then by seniority, wouldn't he be... that Daoist's...

Martial Nephew?!

Right at this moment... was he sitting here casually chatting with the Martial Nephew of that terrifying Daoist?

A chill rushed straight to Bai XiaoSheng's crown, leaving his hands and feet cold.

The internal relationships within great sects and aristocratic clans were intricate and labyrinthine.

Many undercurrents were entangled beyond unraveling, which was why people usually left them alone.

Yet at this moment, once scrutinized seriously, the ties beneath the surface were simply terrifying...

Bai XiaoSheng stood rooted to the spot, looking almost like an ice sculpture.

Seeing this, Mo Hua poured Bai XiaoSheng a cup of hot tea and sighed:

"A person needs to calm the mind and focus the spirit. Don't let your thoughts run wild for no reason. Don't go scaring yourself half to death..."

Hearing this, Gu Changhuai also found the situation strange. Curiously, he asked, "Lord Bai, what did you think of?"

Bai XiaoSheng remained like an ice sculpture.

Only after a long while did he adopt a dejected, world-weary expression, sighing:

"Forget it. I won't think about it anymore. Let's just quell the riot as soon as possible..."

Once it's settled, I'm heading straight back to the Bai Clan.

The Cultivation World is far too terrifying. Filth and sinister things lurk everywhere; it's best not to touch a single speck of it.

Gu Changhuai still didn't quite understand.

However, Bai XiaoSheng wasn't wrong on that point.

Gu Changhuai nodded. "The top priority is indeed to suppress the riot as soon as possible..."

Yet at this moment, neither Bai XiaoSheng nor Gu Changhuai—the two "Protectors"—anticipated just how deep the quagmire of this riot would turn out to be.

Once drawn in, breaking free would not be so easy.

---

A day passed, and the next morning dawned.

Great General Chang arrived to report to Esteemed Master Mo.

"Thanks to Esteemed Master's great fortune, the wounded have all been settled. The soldiers whose corruption has yet to clear have been bound in iron chains, fed green grass juice daily, and soothed with incense to steady their minds.

"The military camp has been reorganized to tighten vigilance and guard against enemy raids.

"It's just..."

Great General Chang's expression dimmed, and he sighed. "Over fifty brothers couldn't hold on. Their Seas of Consciousness withered, and they passed away last night..."

Mo Hua's Divine-Sense was powerful, but his Unorthodox Path Spells were not. He lacked a comprehensive unorthodox method to protect the Sea of Consciousness and purge Evil Spirits.

Particularly when struck by a sudden onslaught of unorthodox sorcery with a vast number afflicted, casualties were inevitable.

It was impossible for Mo Hua to save everyone.

Great General Chang understood this in his heart. Yet those who died were his comrades-in-arms, and many were fellow villagers.

He loved his soldiers like his own children, and thus he could not help feeling a sense of sorrow.

Mo Hua looked at Great General Chang and asked, "How many Unorthodox Path Fāngshi are there in Lord Qingchou's camp?"

Great General Chang paused, thought for a moment, and said, "Rumor has it... among Lord Qingchou's old acquaintances, there is an expert surnamed Wu, known as Master Wu. Aside from Master Wu, the other Fāngshì are mostly his disciples."

"Only Master Wu's disciples?" Mo Hua asked.

Great General Chang nodded.

Mo Hua's gaze narrowed slightly. Last night's grand display of Military Fāng Arts would normally have been sufficient to shatter an army and annihilate the enemy; it was certainly not a technique a mere disciple could execute.

Among the Green-Faced host, there had to be another unorthodox "master."

This person was likely on par with Master Wu.

Mo Hua asked again, "Old General, do you know the origin of last night's Fāng Arts?"

Great General Chang was taken aback. "The origin?"

Mo Hua said, "These Fāng Arts seem capable of refining demonic souls into malevolent entities, invisibly devouring the Divine Souls of the soldiers. Have you ever heard of such arts before, Old General?"

Great General Chang furrowed his brows. After pondering for a moment, he shook his head and said:

"To be frank with you, Esteemed Master, this old man knows very little about the Unorthodox Path. Such Fāng Arts... even you do not know them, Esteemed Master?"

Great General Chang felt somewhat perplexed.

In his perception, since Esteemed Master Mo was an unorthodox expert of the Tongxian Cult, he should naturally be omniscient regarding the Unorthodox Path's insidious Fāng Arts. Why would he ask him?

Little did he know that the Esteemed Master Mo before him was merely half-baked when it came to Unorthodox Path Fāng Arts.

Mo Hua was simply relying on his monstrous Divine-Sense to "act tough."

Faced with Great General Chang's doubt, Mo Hua replied calmly:

"Had it been a Fāngshì or eccentric from Lord Qingchou's camp, I would naturally know everything about them.

"Even if that vastly capable Master Wu arrived, I would not fear him in the slightest..."

After all, Master Wu had already been "played" by him once.

Though he didn't know the exact state Master Wu had ended up in, the man's outcome was surely none too pleasant.

"However, regarding the unorthodox demon who ambushed us last night..." Mo Hua mused, "I did not foresee his cause and effect beforehand, nor did I anticipate his sneak attack. This indicates that this demon is likely an 'outsider'—someone not previously on the chessboard, who only recently entered the game..."

Hearing this, Great General Chang's heart shivered, and he nodded in understanding.

It was not that Esteemed Master Mo had failed to foresee it, but that the person's cause and effect lay outside the game, rendering his every move unpredictable.

It was not that Esteemed Master Mo lacked strength, but rather that the foe hiding in the shadows was simply too cunning.

Great General Chang gave a silent nod, his gaze darkening as he added:

"This unorthodox demon slaughtered our fellow brethren. His crimes are heinous.

"I wonder what this old man can do for Esteemed Master to eliminate this demon?"

"The priority is to first discover this demon's name and origins..." Mo Hua pondered for a moment and said:

"Pass down the order to inquire among the troops based on the characteristics of this Fāng Art to uncover the background of this unorthodox demon.

"A wise man thinking a thousand times will have at least one error; a fool thinking a thousand times will have at least one gain.

"The Changshan Army currently numbers over eight hundred thousand, hailing from diverse backgrounds. There are bound to be all sorts of sights and stories among them.

"Out of so many people, someone must know who this unorthodox demon is and what Fāng Arts he casts."

Great General Chang mulled over the words and nodded. "Esteemed Master speaks with great reason. This old man shall see to it immediately."

Mo Hua said, "Make haste."

Cupping his hands, Great General Chang said, "Understood." He respectfully stood up and turned to leave.

After Great General Chang departed, Mo Hua sat alone in the tent, lost in thought.

To resolve the crisis of the million Green-Faced host...

The most critical task right now was naturally to deal with this unknown Unorthodox Path Fāngshi who wielded Military Fāng Arts.

Yet Mo Hua's own knowledge of the Unorthodox Path was limited, and he was unfamiliar with the Fāngshì and unorthodox factions surrounding Qingchou.

He knew nothing of this Fāngshì's identity, master, or affiliated sect.

Nor could he easily divine it.

To divine cause and effect, one inevitably required some "medium"—hair, flesh, possessions, and the like.

At the very least, one needed some information regarding the target of Divination. Especially a name, even if it were an alias rather than a true name.

The more clues one possessed, the more accurate the divined cause and effect would be.

Attempting to divine cause and effect without any clues whatsoever would surely be inaccurate.

Even if one managed to deduce something, there would be a massive margin of error, making it all the easier to alert the enemy.

The best method right now was the simplest: ask around.

Mo Hua had grown up in Tongxian City. His family ran an eatery where travelers and merchants from all directions gathered to drink and chat, gossiping about all manner of rumors and Eight Trigrams.

As long as an event had occurred, it rarely escaped people's ears and eyes.

Even if the truth remained hidden, related rumors were bound to circulate.

A person's name preceded them just as a tree cast its shadow. No renowned Fāngshì could ever remain entirely unknown.

Though the Cultivation World appeared endlessly shifting and ever-evolving, at its core, it remained a world of "people."

Many seemingly complex problems were ultimately solved through "people."

These matters appeared completely unrelated to "cause and effect," yet the more Mo Hua studied Heavenly Secrets, the more he felt that the multitude of living beings under heaven was the vastest and most potent force of cause and effect.

Therefore, when faced with a problem, asking around would always yield traces of cause and effect to provide him with clues.

Sure enough, more than half a day later, Great General Chang returned to visit Mo Hua and said:

"Just as Esteemed Master anticipated, we indeed have a clue."

Mo Hua nodded slightly. "Speak."

Great General Chang said, "A vice-general under my Changshan Army has a distant maternal cousin. This cousin's younger sister married far away into the household of a wealthy merchant a thousand li away. When she returned home for a visit, she mentioned in a casual chat with her family that this merchant had once hosted a terrifying, eccentric Fāngshì.

"This Fāngshì had a face as pale as paper and excelled in capturing demonic beasts to refine their souls. He wore chains over his body, his storage bag was packed with blood-red ropes, and command flags were tucked into his waist...

"And then..." Great General Chang suddenly paused, his expression turning complicated.

Mo Hua asked, "What happened?"

Great General Chang said, "The vice-general's cousin's sister died."

Mo Hua was startled. "Dead?"

Great General Chang nodded. "After uttering those words, she returned to the merchant's household, and no letters ever came back home again.

"Some time later, the vice-general's cousin went to inquire, only to discover that the merchant's entire clan had been slaughtered.

"Every last soul was dead, not a single one spared. Furthermore, there were marks of ropes bound tightly around their necks, and their faces were frozen in sheer terror. It appeared they died at the hands of an unorthodox Fāngshì demon, having been murdered to refine their souls.

"Grief-stricken and enraged by the tragic death of his younger sister, the cousin refused to let the matter rest. He repeatedly investigated the identity of the culprit afterward.

"Seeking revenge like that breached a taboo. Before long, the vice-general's cousin also turned up dead, his corpse hanging in a desolate mountain, his neck likewise strangled by a rein..."

Mo Hua's gaze grew cold. "Who killed them?"

Great General Chang sighed. "No one knows... But before his death, the cousin seemed to sense that his life was at an end. He sought out the vice-general, uttered merely three words, and departed. Shortly after, he was found hanging dead in the barren mountains.

"No one knows how he was hanged; it was as though he had perished from some invisible calamity.

"The vice-general never dared to speak of this to anyone. It was only yesterday, when this old man questioned the troops under your orders, that he felt a surge of dread, finally revealing the matter and mentioning those three words..."

Great General Chang's voice turned icy. "...Wang Liangzi."

Wang Liangzi...

Mo Hua's eyes narrowed.

Moments later, having obtained the name and learned of the deeds, his Divine-Sense Thought stirred, and the strands of cause and effect began to weave and flow.

Almost simultaneously, a sinister yet momentous title manifested within his intuition:

"Grand Art of Seizing Souls and Commanding Generals..."

(End of Chapter)