Chapter 1561: Wang Liangzi

Chapter 1561: Wang Liangzi

This demon gecko crouched motionlessly beside the encampment, its skin tone blending seamlessly with the surroundings, noticed by no one.

When the third quarter of the Ox Hour (1 a.m. – 3 a.m.) arrived, the garrisoned soldiers shifted sentry duties as ordered.

A momentary lapse appeared in the Changshan Army camp's defenses.

Sensing an opportunity granted by cause and effect, the gecko was propelled by Divine Sense Thought Power, swiftly burrowing through the soil and penetrating into the Changshan encampment from beneath the ground.

No one noticed the movement of this gecko.

And this was also the very first demon insect to pierce through the defensive line and infiltrate the interior of the Changshan Army's stronghold throughout these recent days.

After burrowing into the military camp, it paused briefly, a glint of sinister venom flashing across its pupils.

Its eerie eyes flickered in the dark of night as it glanced around, before it began to crawl slowly in a specific direction…

The direction it crawled toward was precisely the Esteemed Master's command tent.

In the dead of night, the gecko crawled all the way in front of the Esteemed Master's tent. The moment it made contact with the formation, the flesh of the gecko demon insect abruptly dissolved into a pool of bloody water, seeping into the soil and flowing underground.

This seemed to be an innate talent of this gecko demon insect.

Before long, it actually managed to infiltrate the interior of the tent in the form of bloody water.

The dense and intricate formations inside the tent seemed as if they had fallen into slumber, failing to activate in the slightest.

Upon entering the tent, the gecko demon insect reconsolidated its fleshly body, crouching in the shadows of a corner as it looked up.

Reflected in its bizarre, demonic pupils was the flickering glow of a single candle within the tent.

Under the illumination of the candlelight, a black-robed figure sat upright in the center of the tent. Slender and seemingly frail, the silhouette nonetheless exuded an indescribable aura that was neither purely righteous nor purely evil.

This person was evidently the Esteemed Master of the Changshan Army.

He was the invisible leader of the Changshan Army, the mastermind pulling the strings behind the scenes.

He was also the greatest obstacle standing in the way of the million Green-Faced Multitude uniting the Qingchou Prefecture.

At this moment, this very person sat inside the tent completely unguarded, in secluded meditation to nourish his spirit.

A sharp gleam flashed in the gecko demon insect's eyes. Its skin began to shift colors, turning half-black and half-gray, fusing seamlessly with the ground.

It suppressed its aura to the absolute limit, moving in twisted, furtive steps as it crept toward Mo Hua inch by inch.

The air hung still; no one noticed anything.

It was not until the gecko demon insect was about to crawl right up before Mo Hua...

Only then did Mo Hua, who had been resting with eyes closed, seem to suddenly realize something in hindsight. He abruptly opened his eyes, his voice carrying an imposing majesty:

"What manner of Yāo Wraith dares disturb this Esteemed Master's quiet cultivation?"

With a point of his joined fingers, a fireball blasted directly onto the gecko demon insect.

The demon gecko was blasted flying, crashing against a tent pole. Its body then mutated; the invisible shackle around its neck tightened deeper, causing its eyes to bulge out even more.

As if bolstered by an invisible force, the gecko demon insect's speed suddenly became terrifyingly swift. Its body turned into a venomous arrow, darting straight for Mo Hua's face.

Sitting where he was, Mo Hua had no room to dodge.

Right at this moment, Gu Changhuai, the Left Protector who had been hiding in the shadows all along, pointed his joined fingers. A Wind Blade condensed and cleaved the gecko demon insect into mincemeat.

The gecko demon insect exploded into Blood Mist midair, resembling a crimson firework.

The bloody water contained the lethal venom of insect-kind.

The Left Protector, Gu Changhuai, then brought out a feathered treasure fan and waved it. A gale abruptly arose as an azure radiance shielded Esteemed Master Mo, blowing away all the blood venom creeping toward him and splattering it onto the walls instead.

Not a single drop of blood water touched Mo Hua.

Yet before long, the bloody water that had seeped into the walls actually began to slowly slide down and coalesce once more, piecing itself together into a Jiangshi gecko.

Because it was hastily cobbled together, the front and hind claws of this gecko were mismatched, and its head was completely upside down.

However, having already turned into a corpse insect, it was freed from the shackles of living beings. Like a Corpse Dao Puppet, it lunged toward Mo Hua with even more ferocious speed.

This was already a speed reaching the Late Golden Core Stage.

Even Gu Changhuai found it difficult to react in time.

Yet just as the gecko demon insect was about to charge in front of Mo Hua once more, another white sword ray arrived in the blink of an eye.

The Right Protector, Bai XiaoSheng, spurred a sword ray, cleaving the gecko demon insect right down the middle into two halves.

The gecko split in two and fell to the ground, yet using its two halves of mangled flesh, it continued to charge madly toward Mo Hua.

It was as though Mo Hua were the most enticing delicacy under the heavens.

Seeing the two halves of the gecko demon insect about to reach Mo Hua, the Right Protector, Bai XiaoSheng, let out a cold snort. Taking a stride forward, his longsword transformed into a hundred sword rays, hacking the two halves of the gecko demon insect dead upon the ground.

His sword rays then rained down densely like scorching white fire, chopping the gecko demon insect's remains into fine mincemeat and burning them to cinders until they vanished entirely.

"What petty rat of the ghost realm dares show off such trivial tricks to harm our... Esteemed Master Mo?"

The Right Protector, Bai XiaoSheng, endured his disgust to utter this line. With a cold sneer, he sheathed his longsword and retreated back into the shadows, lurking behind Mo Hua to fulfill his duty as a protector.

The entire tent returned to absolute calm once again.

Mo Hua still sat upright in the center, resting with eyes closed, completely inscrutable.

Yet invisibly, in a certain realm imperceptible to a cultivator's naked eyes and exceedingly difficult to detect with Divine-Sense...

The Divine Sense Thought Power of the gecko, which had suffered a tragic death under the fireball, Wind Blade, and white sword ray, warped and underwent a qualitative transformation.

A frigid, sinister chill spread through the air.

Out of thin air, an even more hideous, more malicious gecko Yāo Wraith riddled with venomous pustules slowly squirmed into existence.

The Unorthodox Dao Thought-Power Realm was a world that neither Gu Changhuai nor Bai XiaoSheng, the Left and Right Protectors, could ever peer into.

Nor could they guard against it.

Thus, the moment this gecko Yāo Wraith formed, a savage light flashed in its eyes as it pounced violently toward Mo Hua.

This time, it succeeded. It not only burrowed into Mo Hua's hood, but went a step further, boring directly into Mo Hua's forehead.

No one knew what had just transpired.

The tent remained as silent as ever.

The Changshan Army was still guarding the camp.

None of them knew that an invisible Yāo Wraith had already bored into the mind of their revered Esteemed Master Mo.

…

Within the Sea of Consciousness.

Clad in black robes, the clean-featured and somewhat innocent-looking Mo Hua was staring at a deformed, grotesque giant gecko standing on two legs before him.

The giant gecko's yellowish-brown eyes were also scrutinizing Mo Hua as it spoke in a raspy voice:

"You were waiting for me?"

Mo Hua nodded, his thoughts stirring as he asked: "You knew I was luring you here?"

The half-human, half-insect gecko Yāo Wraith sneered:

"Didn't you deliberately order the Changshan Army's garrison to shift shifts and leave an opening just to lure me inside?"

"Didn't you have two Golden Core protectors stand guard inside the tent just to kill me?"

"A pity that Unorthodox Path Fāng Arts encompass ten thousand methods. There are some things you simply don't understand."

"Though your two Golden Core protectors possess high cultivation, hoping to stop my, Wang Liangzi's, Fāng Arts was far too naive."

Mo Hua nodded. Thinking back to the methods Wang Liangzi had used inside the tent to drive the demon to transform into a wraith, they were indeed exquisite.

Mo Hua looked at Wang Liangzi, who had turned into a gecko Yāo Wraith, and said, "Are you going to talk to me looking like that?"

[Wang Liangzi] replied, "What's wrong with looking like this?"

Mo Hua replied honestly, "It's too ugly. Like a beheaded, tailless gecko. It's rather disgusting..."

[Wang Liangzi's] gaze turned icy, deeply feeling that the person before him had a sharp and insolent tongue.

However, glancing down at his own demonic form, he also found it an eyesore. With a shake of his body, he transformed into a tall, gaunt Fāngshì wearing a long Dao robe, his face as white as paper.

This seemed to be Wang Liangzi's true appearance.

After assuming his true form, Wang Liangzi looked at Mo Hua once more. Lingering for a moment particularly on Mo Hua's jade-like, handsome face, a wave of disgust rose in his heart as he said:

"Why don't you reveal your true form as well? An old fossil like you pretending to be a fresh-faced youth, don't you feel embarrassed?"

Mo Hua said, "This is my true form."

Wang Liangzi's brows twitched. He thought to himself:

How can this person be so utterly shameless?

This could be your true form? What kind of joke is that?

Among the Fāngshì who cultivate the Unorthodox Path, whichever of them possesses a bit of Dao attainment and can execute some Fāng Arts methods, who among them hasn't spent over a century of bitter effort?

And anyone capable of clashing with me, Wang Liangzi, on the Unorthodox Path—even if their strength were mediocre and beneath my notice—must have cultivated the Dao for at least two to three centuries.

An old fossil of that age deliberately manifesting the appearance of a clean-cut youth to act tender, what is that if not utterly shameless?

Mo Hua, however, said honestly, "I really do look like this."

Wang Liangzi looked at Mo Hua's face again and spat inwardly.

People nowadays truly have lower and lower moral baselines.

Unwilling to dwell on this any further, Wang Liangzi scrutinized Mo Hua for a moment before asking, "Who are you?"

"I..."

Before Mo Hua could finish speaking, a sudden foul wind arose beside him. A mantis demon half the height of a human actually gaped its bloody maw, snapping toward his head.

Mo Hua instantly flashed away, dodging the bite and putting distance between them.

The mantis demon did not press the attack further, but stood beside Wang Liangzi like a servant.

After steadying himself, Mo Hua slowly turned his head to look at Wang Liangzi and asked:

"What is the meaning of this? You don't follow any rules at all?"

I hadn't even finished speaking, and you suddenly made a lethal move?

Wang Liangzi looked at Mo Hua with an expression of indifference, not expecting this person to harbor such childish notions.

Clashes on the Unorthodox Path and battles of Divine-Sense were inherently life-and-death struggles; what courtesy was there to speak of?

I've already bored into your Sea of Consciousness! If I don't kill you and devour your Divine Sense Thought Power, am I supposed to play house with you instead?

Is this old fossil acting tender genuinely stupid, or is he just playing dumb?

Wang Liangzi sighed and put on an apologetic front. "These Wraith Soldiers have minds of their own. As their master, even I occasionally fail to control them. My apologies..."

"These Yāo Wraiths are brutal by nature. Once transformed into Wraith Soldiers, they defy restraint and always yearn to devour people. This Venerable One is quite helpless about it as well."

Mo Hua's eyes brightened slightly. "Wraith Soldiers? You mean... the Yāo Wraiths under your command? You're the leader of these Yāo Wraiths? You know how to rear Yāo Wraiths?"

Wang Liangzi kept his mouth shut and refused to answer. This concerned his trump-card Unorthodox Path capabilities; how could he casually disclose it to an outsider?

The implications involved were far too profound.

Mo Hua pressed further, "Who exactly are you? What is your title? What Dao do your teachings originate from? What sect do you belong to?"

Wang Liangzi said slowly, "Don't you already know my title?"

Mo Hua asked, "Wang Liangzi?"

Hearing Mo Hua actually speak his title aloud, a vicious gleam flashed through Wang Liangzi's eyes before he reigned it in. "Correct."

Then, a hint of curiosity surfaced within him. "This Venerable One has always concealed my tracks and kept my name hidden. The title 'Wang Liangzi' was buried exceedingly deep. How did Fellow Daoist come to learn of it?"

Mo Hua said, "I asked around. Among the eight hundred thousand troops of the Changshan Army, someone was bound to know your tracks."

Wang Liangzi gave a slight nod and sighed. "Careless of me... It seems my methods were still not decisive enough. Next time I kill, I must thoroughly carry out the principle of wiping out the entire line..."

Hearing this, Mo Hua's brows knitted slightly, and he asked:

"You are an Unorthodox Cultivator with no small cultivation and Fāng Arts. Why do you constantly slaughter the weak and harm those low-realm cultivators?"

Wang Liangzi shook his head. "Ordinary cultivators have cheap lives, but heavy cause and effect..."

He looked up at Mo Hua. "My title is of utmost importance. How could I allow cause and effect to leak and create latent perils just over a few worthless lives?"

Wang Liangzi pondered for a moment, then nodded. "Facts have proven that my approach was indeed correct."

"Previously, I never left a single living soul behind. Isn't it precisely because a slip occurred and I killed one person too few that the title 'Wang Liangzi' managed to reach your ears?"

"If you didn't know my title 'Wang Liangzi', how could it have been so simple for you to calculate my cause and effect and lay a trap to kill me?"

"You see? I still killed too few. If I just kill a few more, I'll be safe..."

Wang Liangzi spoke with utter conviction.

Mo Hua's gaze focused slightly, his expression turning cold and detached.

Wang Liangzi scrutinized Mo Hua once more, then asked curiously:

"And what is your background? Walking the Great Spirit Field Realm, this Venerable One has never heard of a figure like you. Where did you pop out from?"

Mo Hua said, "This Venerable One is Esteemed Master Mo of the Tongxian Cult."

Wang Liangzi sneered, "Cut the nonsense. How could anyone on the Unorthodox Path be so boastful as to take the name [Tongxian Cult]?"

"If you're going to swindle people, at least find a better excuse."

Mo Hua had not expected his title to be seen through the moment he spoke it, so he could not help but ask:

"How do you know my Tongxian Cult is fake?"

Wang Liangzi sneered, "Does that even need asking? How grand a reputation is the Tongxian? Is it a faction that a mere mundane cultivator can establish?"

"Furthermore, the title of an Esteemed Master of the Unorthodox Path carries immense weight. How can it be casually counterfeited by an Early Golden Core Stage cultivator like you?"

"Setting the Tongxian Cult aside for a moment... to this day, I have never seen an Esteemed Master who was only at the Early Golden Core Stage..."

Mo Hua replied, "Haven't you just met one now?"

Wang Liangzi shook his head and sighed. "Forget it. You're an old, cunning fox; nothing can be pried from you..."

"Wasting so much breath on you, the time happens to be just right now..."

Mo Hua's expression changed slightly. "What do you mean?"

Before the words fully faded, Mo Hua's gaze sank. Looking around, he saw that at some point, hordes of Yāo Wraiths had appeared all around him.

Grotesquely shaped, half-human and half-insect, grim and terrifying, their claws were even coated in lethal venom; every single one of them appeared to be a [Wraith Soldier].

Around the neck of every one of these Yāo Wraiths was tethered an invisible rope, the ends of which were held firmly in Wang Liangzi's grasp.

A rough glance revealed nearly a hundred of them.

Mo Hua asked with "shock": "Just what... kind of Fāng Arts is this? How can you summon so many Yāo Wraiths as soldiers?"

Wang Liangzi sighed. "This Fāng Art of mine is rather peculiar; casting it requires a bit of time. That's why I chatted a few more words with you. Do not take offense."

His face was as pale as a dead man's paper, his tone bone-chilling.

Seeing himself surrounded by Yāo Wraiths, Mo Hua sighed as well:

"Must we fight to the death? Can't we just sit down and talk? How nice would it be if everyone remained peaceful and cordial..."

Wang Liangzi shook his head. "That won't do..."

He then stared coldly at Mo Hua. "You have no idea just how arduous it was to cultivate this Fāng Art of mine..."

"Over so many years, I slaughtered so many people, massacred so many demons, and seized so many souls, just to refine this many Wraith Soldiers."

"Originally, taking advantage of the turmoil in Qingchou, once these Wraith Soldiers killed people, they could inhabit flesh and blood, sustaining war through war. That would have increased the expendable materials for my Seizing Souls Grand Art, and my Dao attainment would have grown even stronger."

"And yet..."

"You wiped them all out in one fell swoop, rendering the painstaking effort of an entire sixty-year cycle completely wasted..."

Though Wang Liangzi's voice was flat, his facial features grew increasingly contorted as he said to Mo Hua:

"Tell me, if I don't kill you... seize your Divine Soul, brand it with a slave seal, and make you toil for me as an ox, a horse, a slave, and a servant, how am I to quell the hatred in my heart?"

Mo Hua said, "A mere few hundred demon soldiers took you a sixty-year cycle to raise? Frankly speaking, you really are somewhat useless..."

Wang Liangzi's eyes turned bloodshot. With a wave of his hands, a foul wind arose abruptly, accompanied by a cacophony of bone-chilling shrieks echoing across the field.

One after another, the demon insect Wraith Soldiers scrambled to pounce toward Mo Hua.

Amidst the foul wind, a Wraith Soldier lunged right at his face. Mo Hua threw a punch, blowing the Wraith Soldier's head to pieces.

Seeing this, Wang Liangzi's expression shifted slightly, surprise flashing through his heart.

He had not expected this old fossil acting tender to be treading the path of Divine Thought Transforms into Strength within Unorthodox Path Fāng Arts.

The force behind that punch could pierce clean through a Wraith Soldier's skull. Its power seemed far from weak; it might very well possess a century or two of refinement in Divine Thought Transforms into Strength.

If I seize him and refine him into a slave... nourishing him with human souls and demon spirits, in time, I might be able to raise a Battle General grade Yāo Wraith. Relying purely on the power of his Divine-Sense Thought fleshly body, he could slaughter in all directions...

As a summoner, who wouldn't want a meat shield?

And a meat shield that could both take a beating and dish it out...

Wang Liangzi's eyes lit up. He immediately rasped in a withered voice:

"Three insects and seven demons, five gates and six paths, obey the sovereign's command and slay this foe. Devour his soul and flesh, trap his soul and bone, through death without regret, let there be no mistake..."

The moment his command fell, the nearly one hundred demon insect Wraith Soldiers grew even more berserk. Like beasts that had caught the scent of blood, they lunged madly toward Mo Hua.

Relying on his Divine-Sense Thought fleshly body, Mo Hua engaged in close-quarters combat with these Wraith Soldiers.

Although he briefly blasted several Wraith Soldiers to death, before long, he was worn down to the point of mental and physical exhaustion, falling into a disadvantage.

More and more "wounds" appeared on Mo Hua's body. His moves became clumsy and constrained, leaving him looking thoroughly battered.

Wang Liangzi, on the other hand, stood by the entire time without lifting a finger, merely summoning these soldiers of Yāo Wraiths to surround and butcher Mo Hua.

This was precisely his Unorthodox Path legacy.

Seizing Souls and Commanding Generals, overwhelming the few with the many.

Relying on the vast number of his Wraith Soldier puppets, he could gang up on his foes. Without needing to lift a finger himself, he could wear a powerful enemy down to death before stripping them of their flesh and devouring them alive.

No matter how strong Mo Hua's Divine Thought Transforms into Strength was, he was ultimately outnumbered and was eventually submerged beneath the tide of Wraith Soldiers.

Seeing Mo Hua worn down until he was on the verge of death, tightly bound and immobilized by various demon insects manifesting tentacles and jointed limbs, Wang Liangzi finally walked slowly toward Mo Hua and said:

"Since things have come to this, if you wish to know, I shall tell you..."

"This Venerable One's Unorthodox Path legacy is named the 《Seizing Souls and Commanding Generals Grand Art》. It is one of the supreme Fāng Arts legacies of the [Kun-Ji Unorthodox Path lineage]. I endured untold hardships before finally obtaining it and cultivating it in secret, never to be revealed to others."

"Mundane cultivators simply do not comprehend the terrifying might of this Unorthodox Path Fāng Art."

"Cultivators and Fāngshì like you, whose ambitions far outstrip their abilities, have died beneath my hands in numbers beyond count."

"Therefore, you need not feel despondent, nor do you need to feel inferior."

"What's more... you are very lucky..."

Wang Liangzi extended his gaunt, pale fingers. His nails were extraordinarily long, oozing red blood as he pressed down onto Mo Hua's head.

At the same time, an invisible long rope looped around Mo Hua's neck, tightening firmly.

Mo Hua's face was deathly pale. "What... are you going to do?"

"What am I going to do?" Wang Liangzi sneered. "You ruined my cultivation method, a crime beyond pardon. Naturally, I shall seize your Divine Soul to serve as a warning to all."

"You... want to seize my Divine Soul?"

Mo Hua's voice trembled, indistinguishable whether from nervousness or excitement.

The corners of Wang Liangzi's mouth curved into a sinister smile, his voice echoing as if from the nine netherworlds:

"Feel the immense power of the Seizing Souls and Commanding Generals Grand Art..."

With that, Wang Liangzi's five long fingernails pierced straight into Mo Hua's skull, blood trickling down the nails and seeping into Mo Hua's brain.

The rope around Mo Hua's neck tightened further and further, as if intent on strangling Mo Hua to death and refining him into a servant of the Divine Dao.

(End of Chapter)