Chapter 1565: Deceptive Algorithm and Toy

Chapter 1565: Deceptive Algorithm and Toy

The ritual altar had been overturned by Wang Liangzi, but its basic structure remained intact.

Mo Hua paced slowly up the raised platform, casting his gaze down to take in everything upon the altar.

A black-cloth dark altar, agarwood incense, a ceramic jar inscribed with blood-written characters, bright yellow writs, red-hot branding irons, cursed ropes woven from human hair dipped in blood…

Especially that ceramic jar…

Mo Hua reached out, dipped a finger into the water within the jar, and brought it to his nose to sniff. He could actually catch the scent of his own Divine-Sense Thought, mixed with the Five Elements Poison.

This meant Wang Liangzi truly possessed brilliant methods capable of washing away a portion of the Five Elements Toxicity and the Dao Heart Seeding Demon infection he had planted.

Unfortunately, Wang Liangzi's attainment was still somewhat lacking; he hadn't cleansed it entirely.

Moreover, his method of washing away the contamination seemed tied to the authority of the Underworld Bureau Writ.

"This Wang Liangzi… really is quite formidable…"

Mo Hua murmured inwardly.

"And that's not all…"

Mo Hua noted every item on the dark altar, then pinched a copper coin between his fingers. Silently channeling his Divine-Sense, he traced backward through cause and effect.

As though time were flowing in reverse, the process of Wang Liangzi casting spells at this dark altar replayed in Mo Hua's mind, like damaged, black-and-white slide projections.

Regrettably, Mo Hua's own attainment was also insufficient; his karmic retrospection was not strong enough, nor was his computational power deep enough.

The images before his eyes were like tattered scrolls, blurry and disjointed, unable to fully reconstruct the original process of Wang Liangzi's spellcraft.

Even so, Mo Hua still managed to decipher a key piece of information from these hazy, fragmented visions:

"Soul Splitting…"

Wang Liangzi had indeed erected an altar to cast a spell, severing a wisp of his Divine Soul.

The primary soul occupied his main body, while the split wisp controlled the Yāo Wraith, slaying people from a hundred li away.

Such a technique was genuinely formidable…

Up to this point, Mo Hua had never encountered a cultivator capable of standard [Soul Splitting], nor did he know what Divine-Sense realm this technique corresponded to.

Yet there was one thing he was certain of: this [Soul Splitting] was definitely not something an ordinary cultivator could learn.

Furthermore, this method was strikingly similar to a certain art:

The Heavenly Secret Deceptive Algorithm.

In essence, the two were certainly different: one was a Divine-Sense Algorithm, while the other was an Unorthodox Path Fāng Art.

In manifestation, however, they shared much in common.

The core of the Deceptive Algorithm also lay in splitting, splitting off enough independent, calculating Divine-Senses to operate across multiple threads, thereby processing complex Heavenly Secrets or Formation problems.

The Unorthodox Path's [Soul Splitting], on the other hand, forcibly severed a wisp of the Divine Soul through ritual altars and spellcraft, allowing it to act independently to invade dreams or commit murder.

In this regard, Wang Liangzi—adept in the Unorthodox Path, capable of Seizing Souls and Commanding Generals as well as [Soul Splitting] to kill—truly bore a trace of Martial Uncle's shadow.

Of course, it was only a slight resemblance.

In terms of substance, the two were utterly incomparable.

Martial Uncle's Strange Thoughts could divide into tens of thousands; neither his cultivation realm nor his sheer terror was something a mere Wang Liangzi could ever hope to rival.

Yet this slight resemblance was of paramount importance to Mo Hua.

"The Heavenly Secret Deceptive Algorithm…"

Mo Hua’s expression grew slightly solemn.

Having survived the Great Wilderness Strange Transformation and escaped from the abyss, Mo Hua knew all too well that Martial Uncle's terrifying shadow already loomed over his head.

This dilemma was unavoidable now.

If he were truly caught by Martial Uncle one day, the consequences would be unthinkable.

And the most dreadful aspect of Martial Uncle's entire cultivation was his consummate, transcendent [Heavenly Secret Deceptive Algorithm].

If Mo Hua wished to contend with him… or at least possess the ability to escape with his life, he had no choice but to study the Heavenly Secret Deceptive Algorithm.

He had to master it to a certain level of proficiency.

The problem lay in the fact that Martial Uncle had already fallen into the demonic path. Serving as a Demonic Sect Daoist, his cultivation had broken through to the Profound-Hollow-Void realm, shaping a terrifying Strange Dao Demonic Statue.

His Strange Dao attainments had already approached the Origin.

Under such circumstances, it was impossible for Mo Hua to follow Martial Uncle's path.

First, as an upright, orthodox cultivator, he could not follow in Martial Uncle's footsteps into the demonic path.

Second, even if he did walk Martial Uncle's Dao, he would fall entirely under Martial Uncle's control.

At the end of that Strange Dao, Martial Uncle would undoubtedly be waiting, butcher's blade in hand, for his little Martial Nephew.

The same Dao, the same arts, the same Deceptive Algorithm... Martial Uncle had a higher cultivation, deeper comprehension, and had cultivated it far earlier.

No matter how exceptionally gifted Mo Hua was, even if he exhausted every Heavenly Secret, he could never be a match for Martial Uncle.

Because Martial Uncle himself was an unmatched, monstrous genius.

If nothing else, Martial Uncle's innate bone structure and aptitude far surpassed his own.

Thus, he could only blaze a new trail, utilizing alternative methods to comprehend the true essence of the Heavenly Secret Deceptive Algorithm.

He could not tread the exact same path as Martial Uncle; otherwise, there would only be death waiting for him.

In that case, Wang Liangzi's [Seizing Souls and Commanding Generals] and [Soul Splitting Art], which bore similarities to the [Heavenly Secret Deceptive Algorithm], had to be obtained.

Even if the Unorthodox Path was considered an auxiliary, heretical craft that could not compare to the Demonic Sect Daoist's methods, it undoubtedly possessed reference value.

Besides, Mo Hua truly had no other choice.

After all, without guidance, mastering the Heavenly Secret Deceptive Algorithm was virtually impossible…

With this thought, Mo Hua sighed softly. Without further hesitation, he swept everything from the altar Wang Liangzi left behind—even the wastewater—into his storage bag.

The scattered remnants of flesh and blood left from Wang Liangzi's battle were also collected into a small vial.

He planned to keep these to dissect and study later at his leisure.

Having done all this, Mo Hua scanned the surroundings once more and pinched his fingers to divine the area, ensuring nothing had been overlooked. Only then did he turn to Great General Chang and say:

"Aside from Lord Qingchou, every general of the Green-Faced Army above the Golden Core middle stage has perished here."

"The Green-Faced Multitude is now a pack of wolves without a leader. We should strike swiftly to eliminate the remnants."

"Tonight, we settle the board in one fell swoop, eradicating this great calamity and pacifying Qingchou!"

Great General Chang looked at the gruesome corpses of the mighty Green-Faced generals before him.

He recalled how these generals had once dominated the region with unmatched ferocity, slaughtering and devouring countless souls. Yet in a single night, they had all perished miserably like mere ants, their heads severed, without anyone even knowing how they died…

Taking a deep breath, Great General Chang cupped his hands to Mo Hua. "This general obeys Esteemed Master's command."

Mo Hua gave a slight nod.

Afterward, Great General Chang departed to oversee the final mop-up.

Spear in hand, though he was advanced in years, his grand ambitions were realized at last. He tore through the remaining Green-Faced Multitude, leaving chaos and rivers of blood in his wake.

Thus, after a night of fierce, bloody combat, dawn broke, and the flames of war subsided.

The savage Green-Faced rioters who had brought turmoil upon Qingchou Prefecture were destroyed. Countless were killed or wounded, and the rest surrendered.

Only a faction of the mob attempted to flee outside the city under the cover of night.

Yet the city gates were shut tight. In their panic, they leaped from the towering walls; countless were dashed to death, crippled, or had their skulls split open.

The entire Qingchou City was steeped in blood and strewn with severed limbs.

Regardless of the war, once weapons were drawn, bloodshed was inevitable.

Yet following this bloody battle, the Changshan Army unified the prefecture, and Qingchou City was thoroughly pacified.

The cultivators of the entire city welcomed a new dawn.

Over the next few days, Great General Chang remained occupied with the aftermath of the battle.

He rallied the scattered troops, hunted down the remaining remnants, provided relief for the casualties, and reorganized the surrendering rioters.

Small skirmishes continued during this period, but they were swiftly suppressed.

The Golden Core Cultivators within Qingchou City, who had previously kept their doors shut and maintained neutrality, stepped out of their residences one after another. They sought personal audiences with Great General Chang to express goodwill, even donating spirit stones and pill medicines as military funds.

The Green-Faced Multitude had been tyrannical, and Lord Qingchou exceptionally cruel; none had dared interact with them for fear of inviting disaster.

Great General Chang, however, was different.

Great General Chang was a local great Golden Core Cultivator of Qingchou Prefecture, hailing from Changshan. He had long protected the local populace and held an illustrious reputation and immense prestige.

Now that Great General Chang held power and had unified Qingchou City, it was only natural for them to pay their respects.

Some Golden Core Cultivators even hoped to use their ties with Great General Chang to curry favor with the mysterious Esteemed Master Mo of the Tongxian Cult.

They were well aware that although Great General Chang was powerful and valiant, he was, after all, an old man. To turn the tide and wipe out the Green-Faced Multitude in a single night—achieving such glorious military merit—there had to be a hidden master aiding him from the shadows.

Since he was a master, he was naturally worth humbling themselves to flatter.

Knowing that Esteemed Master Mo had a noble, detached temperament and disliked social pleasantries, Great General Chang declined every request under the pretense that "Esteemed Master is in closed-door cultivation and must not be disturbed."

Aside from these donations from neutral factions and Golden Core cultivators, Great General Chang acquired another massive trove of supplies.

These were the spoils plundered by the Green-Faced Multitude, led by Lord Qingchou, through burning, killing, and pillaging across Qingchou City and the entire prefecture.

The resources were kept inside the Green-Faced Multitude's warehouse.

Within it lay spirit stones, pill medicines, cultivation methods, Dao Art scrolls, spiritual materials, spirit ink, and a myriad of other items in vast and varied quantities.

There was also a considerable amount of food, including spirit grain, spirit flour, and fasting pills.

The vast majority of these were the personal hoards of Lord Qingchou and the high-ranking generals of the Green-Faced Multitude, supplies they had kept entirely for themselves without sparing a scrap for outsiders.

Now, all of it had been confiscated.

To the Changshan Army, this was an immense fortune.

Great General Chang was fair and just, harboring no desire to hoard it. Moreover, he had Esteemed Master Mo's orders.

Thus, he followed instructions to requisition all the spirit stones and supplies for the Changshan Army's military use and for the upcoming disaster relief.

Though these supplies were substantial, the combined number of troops and refugees was far greater.

If distributed equally, each person would receive very little, with rations estimated to last only a month or two.

Even so, in this chaotic era, it was an invaluable lifeline.

If used sparingly, it would drastically increase everyone's chances of survival.

Ten days passed in this manner.

Great General Chang reorganized the army, maintained order, and allocated a portion of the supplies for disaster relief, sustaining the lives of countless individuals.

Following that night's bloody, fiery confrontation, Qingchou City genuinely welcomed a fleeting peace.

The riots subsided, order was gradually restored, and everything seemed to be taking a turn for the better.

Tightly shut doors slowly opened.

No longer were people murdered, assaulted, violated, or plundered in the streets.

Beggars and refugees lined up orderly to receive relief rations.

The streets began to bustle once more…

Though most people remained gaunt and harbored anxiety and dread in their hearts, occasional smiles began to surface.

Standing atop a high vantage point, Great General Chang watched Qingchou City—battered by war and repeatedly brought to ruin—spark to life once more like embers rekindling from ash.

No matter how many times he looked, a sense of daze washed over him.

It felt like a dream, almost impossible to believe.

Not long ago, it had been a hellish landscape of bloodshed, yet now, everything appeared to be mending…

"My Tongxian Cult adheres to Heaven and upholds the Dao, saving all living beings from suffering. Seeing the world in chaos, Qingchou stricken with calamity, the common folk devastated, and the fields strewn with the starved…"

"…Our envoys were sent down the mountain to punish evil and promote good, to uphold the righteous path, rescue the world, and quell the disaster…"

Everything Esteemed Master Mo said… was true…

The Tongxian Cult is actually real…

In this chaotic world, there truly is a sect that upholds the Dao to save the people…

A pang of sorrow struck Great General Chang's heart, and a deeply complex expression surfaced on his weathered face.

…

At this very moment, Mo Hua stood atop a high wall, gazing down at the panorama of Qingchou City, lost in thought.

Unlike Great General Chang, everything before him had been anticipated; it had been one of his goals all along.

Seeing Qingchou City pacified, the riots quelled, and human life rekindled brought Mo Hua comfort, but little sentimentality.

What truly preoccupied his thoughts was the matter of Lord Qingchou.

Wang Liangzi had escaped, but there was no rush; he could play the long game to catch the bigger fish.

Yet the other fish, Lord Qingchou, seemed to have vanished entirely.

Mo Hua's original plan had been to infiltrate Qingchou City, manipulate factions from the shadows, wipe out the Green-Faced Multitude, and seize Lord Qingchou's base of operations.

Afterward, he would stabilize the situation, prevent the rioters from spinning out of control, and thoroughly secure his grip on the city.

When Lord Qingchou returned, Mo Hua would spring a trap to capture him alive, chaining him in a dungeon to slice him up and study him bit by bit.

The Green-Faced Multitude was annihilated, Qingchou City belonged to him, the Changshan Army was under his control, and Great General Chang obeyed his commands.

He even had Bai XiaoSheng and Uncle Gù acting as his protectors.

Lord Qingchou was merely a Late Golden Core Stage cultivator. No matter how formidable his skills, how resilient his Yāo-Human Fate Pattern, or how proficient his fleshly regeneration was, it would be useless.

The moment he dared return to Qingchou City, he would be a caged beast, meat on the chopping block, utterly incapable of escaping.

Even if Lord Qingchou had returned early, it would have made no difference.

With the Changshan Army as leverage, Mo Hua still could have taken him down.

Mo Hua had calculated every detail.

The problem was that Lord Qingchou had never returned at all.

From the start of the conflict right through Mo Hua's laid trap and the unification of Qingchou City, this instigator of the rebellion—the city's once most terrifying brute—seemed to have evaporated into thin air, leaving behind not a trace…

"This is bizarre…"

Mo Hua's brow furrowed slightly.

"Did Lord Qingchou meet with misfortune? Did someone kill him before I could?"

"Or did someone notice his extraordinary nature and set a trap to capture him first?"

"Or perhaps…"

Mo Hua pinched his fingers to divine the situation, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Did someone advise Lord Qingchou… telling him that Qingchou City was his burial ground, and that if he returned, he would fall into my hands and become meat on my chopping block?"

"Is that why he didn't dare return… and fled elsewhere to seek survival?"

"Where did Lord Qingchou flee to?"

"And who was it… secretly advising him from the shadows?"

…

Mo Hua fell silent for a moment. He tightened his hand into an empty fist, his eyes turning profound and dark. "To dare snatch a "toy" from my grasp… you truly have some nerve…"

(End of Chapter)