Chapter 1583: Come on, Kill Me

Chapter 1583: Come on, Kill Me

"I owe... a debt to a ghost?"

A sense of novelty welled up in Mo Hua's heart.

Until now, he had never experienced what it felt like to borrow money from a Ghost Scale, owe a debt to a ghost, and have it recorded in a ghost's ledger.

At the same time, those faint, threadlike Karmic Threads—woven with Spirit stones as the cause and debt as the effect—gave Mo Hua great inspiration.

Trading with ghosts, condensing Causal Laws through the lending relationship of Spirit stones, thereby forming a certain constraint of cause and effect...

Could this be... the Cause and Effect Method contained within Great Philanthropist Lü's Spirit-Cause Scripture?

Causal Deduction, Causal Retrospection, Causal Grafting, Causality Transference...

Mo Hua had heard of all these Causal Laws.

Yet what exactly was this Spirit-Cause Law... and which category of Causal Law should it be classified under?

Moreover, why was it exclusively related to Spirit stones?

Mo Hua grew increasingly curious.

"Esteemed Master Mo, how is it?" Seeing Mo Hua lost in thought and silent for a long time, Gu Changhuai could not help but ask.

After pondering for a moment, Mo Hua nodded. "It's fine."

Mo Hua then turned to Pei Tanggong. "Each person just needs to borrow a single Spirit stone from the ghost?"

Pei Tanggong nodded. "It should be so. Borrowing one Spirit stone forms a Debt Contract. Once the cause and effect are connected, the tomb door can be opened, allowing us to enter the tomb of Fellow Daoist Lü Chongshan."

"Alright." Mo Hua's eyes flickered slightly as he nodded, looking toward Gu Changhuai and the other two. "Everyone borrow one."

Gu Changhuai harbored some misgivings.

As an Archive Officer of the Dao Court Division, his intuition was sharp, and he instinctively felt that there was something amiss about doing this. In particular, that Hundred Ghosts Diagram gave off an inexplicably eerie feeling, and who knew what sinister purpose it served.

However, since Mo Hua had spoken, Gu Changhuai set aside his misgivings. He took a Spirit stone from the Haggling Ghost's scale, crushed it, and refined it.

The Debt-Lending Ghost grinned, making a mark in its ledger.

Deep down, Bai XiaoSheng was unwilling to listen to Mo Hua, but his body had gradually grown accustomed to it. He also reached out, took a Spirit stone from the Haggling Ghost, crushed and used it, and had his debt recorded.

Great General Chang obeyed Mo Hua implicitly; whatever Mo Hua said went, so he casually borrowed one as well.

Once they had finished borrowing, Pei Tanggong, Wen Zhuangzhu, and Lü Jingxiu each borrowed one, crushed it, and used it.

With that, seven Spirit stones had been borrowed from the Haggling Ghost's scale.

The scale still appeared full, but seven entries had been added to the Debt-Lending Ghost's ledger.

"And then?" Mo Hua asked Pei Tanggong again.

Pei Tanggong said, "Everyone, press your hands against the tomb door and silently chant 'enter' in your minds. In less than the time it takes an incense stick to burn, you will naturally enter the main tomb."

Gu Changhuai still felt it was bizarre and asked, "Truly?"

Pei Tanggong nodded.

Gu Changhuai looked at Mo Hua, who also gave a slight nod.

Seeing this, Gu Changhuai thought no more of it.

One by one, the seven of them pressed their hands against the tomb door overlapping with the Hundred Ghosts Diagram, closed their eyes, and silently chanted the word "enter" in their minds.

The tomb door remained deathly still, and nothing happened.

It was not until about the time an incense stick burned that a sharp, piercing noise rang in everyone's ears.

Accompanied by trembling sounds, dark mist surged forth, and a distorting pain struck their Seas of Consciousness. The world spun around them, leaving their heads reeling and dizzy.

Who knew how much time had passed before the dizziness in their Seas of Consciousness receded.

Gu Changhuai narrowed his eyes. When he opened them again, he was shocked to find that the scene before him was vast, gray, cold, and dim.

"What's going on... this is..."

Gu Changhuai looked back and found that Bai XiaoSheng and Great General Chang were also beside him. At this moment, both of them were rubbing their foreheads in a daze, their Divine-Sense feeling uneasy.

"What kind of ghost place is this..." Bai XiaoSheng grimaced.

Looking at the gray mist, Great General Chang also knitted his brows tightly.

A thought struck Gu Changhuai, his gaze changing instantly. He whipped his head around to survey his surroundings, and upon failing to see that familiar figure, his expression shifted drastically as he asked urgently:

"Where is Mo... Lord?"

He had originally intended to call out Mo Hua directly, but remembering that Great General Chang was present, he hastily changed it to "Lord."

Bai XiaoSheng glanced around and similarly failed to spot that figure. He muttered, "Who knows? Maybe he committed too many sins and got eaten by ghosts."

Great General Chang's expression turned stern as he rebuked:

"Right Protector, do not speak nonsense! The Esteemed Master's mercy is boundless, and his Divine Powers are vast. How could he possibly be eaten by ghosts?"

Bai XiaoSheng felt a wave of admiration in his heart.

Mo Hua's brainwashing ability was truly formidable; this Great General Chang had already entered the stage of blind faith.

Gu Changhuai frowned, recalling all the preceding events, and murmured with a sigh:

"We've been tricked..."

Bai XiaoSheng also nodded, his pupils turning slightly cold. "That Pei Tanggong... there's something wrong with him..."

It likely was not just Pei Tanggong; among this entire party, not a single one harbored good intentions.

Realizing the situation was grim, Great General Chang frowned and asked, "What should we do now? We must protect the Esteemed Master. His status is noble, and nothing must be allowed to happen to him..."

Just as Bai XiaoSheng was about to speak, he suddenly felt gusts of chilling wind blowing toward them, carrying a foul, putrid stench.

Bai XiaoSheng sighed, offering a helpless, bitter smile.

"Forget the Esteemed Master... let's take care of ourselves first..."

As he spoke, the gray mist began to churn, revealing flecks of scarlet bloodlight.

Then, one by one, baring fangs and brandishing claws, some with severed heads, some with severed limbs, Hanged Ghosts, Starved Ghosts, Tragic Death Ghosts, Chengsi Ghosts, Mirror Ghosts, Urn Ghosts, Sword Ghosts, Beast Ghosts... all kinds of grotesque, chilling, and sinister ghosts revealed their faces.

It struck a tremendous chill into the heart.

The scene before them looked somewhat familiar; it was precisely the shapes of the various Evil Ghosts they had seen on that Hundred Ghosts Diagram earlier.

At this moment, all these ghost entities glared with savage malice, drool dripping from their mouths, fixing their gazes upon the three men. At a glance, there were no fewer than a hundred of them.

Chills ran down the backs of Gu Changhuai and the other two. How could they not realize by now that they had not entered the main tomb chamber at all? Instead, because they owed a ghost debt, they had been sent into this "Hundred Ghosts Diagram."

Someone intended to use these Evil Ghosts to tear the three of them to shreds and swallow them alive.

"Be careful..." Bai XiaoSheng sighed. "Who knows if the Esteemed Master has been eaten by ghosts, but we... might actually be eaten by ghosts soon."

The densely packed hundred ghosts before them had already caught the scent of living humans. Having hungered for so long, they could no longer hold back and began closing in on the three step by step, bringing an eerie, suffocating pressure.

Gu Changhuai's face grew solemn. "Let's kill them."

"But..." Great General Chang looked at his empty hands and frowned. "How do we kill them?"

Great General Chang was an orthodox cultivator who had also enjoyed good fortune; having lived for several centuries, he had never once encountered a situation where he had to fight ghosts.

Of course, had he encountered ghosts earlier, he likely would not have survived to this age.

Gu Changhuai sighed. "This... is a long story... just kill by instinct..."

Now was not the time for explanations, as the opposing ghosts—headless, severed-limbed, hanged, starved, with mirrors for faces, urns for heads, and swords for limbs—were already roaring and surging toward the three amidst rolling ghost mist.

If facing living people, even an army of thousands, all three were Golden Core experts seasoned in slaughter and would not fear in the slightest.

Yet at this moment, what they faced were sinister, unknown Evil Ghosts that bore not a trace of life. For a time, they were somewhat at a loss, a chill rising from the bottom of their hearts, and could only brace themselves to fight.

Amidst the eerie ghost mist, Bai XiaoSheng cursed inwardly:

Damned Mo Hua, even he has times when his calculations fail! Falling for such a low-level trick, to think I trusted him so much...

Yet soon his thoughts shifted: Wait, Mo Hua wouldn't miscalculate. Did that kid screw me over again...?

Before he could ponder further, a Hanged Ghost whose neck was nearly severed thrust out its tongue and pounced straight for his face...

...

Within the Great Spirit Stone Tomb hall, before the Hundred Ghosts Diagram.

Mo Hua, who remained in place, having moved neither his fleshly body nor his Divine-Sense in the slightest, slowly opened his eyes.

He glanced back at the Hundred Ghosts Diagram and saw three tiny human figures added to the originally massive painting, surrounded by a swarm of Little Ghosts, chasing and fighting in a lively brawl.

Mo Hua nodded slightly, then turned his head to look in the other direction.

At this moment, Pei Tanggong, Wen Zhuangzhu, and Lü Jingxiu were staring coldly at Mo Hua, their eyes gleaming with unmistakable murderous intent.

Mo Hua raised an eyebrow.

Pei Tanggong spoke in a raspy voice, "As expected of the Esteemed Master. When the Debt-Lending Ghost came to pull you in, it couldn't budge you in the slightest."

Mo Hua said, "Weren't you three also left unpulled?"

Pei Tanggong replied, "We are different from you, Esteemed Master. We merely used some small tricks to balance the ghost's ledger, and only then were we spared from being pulled into the Hundred Ghosts Diagram... Unlike you, whose Divine-Sense is so steady and unshakeable as a mountain."

"Balancing the ledger?" Mo Hua asked. "How did you balance it?"

Pei Tanggong kept his mouth shut. Clearly, this involved confidential secrets that could not possibly be revealed.

Beside him, Wen Zhuangzhu had already brought out the Jade Serpent Staff, the eyes of the emerald serpent upon the staff flashing with a feral gleam.

Seeing this, Mo Hua asked with great interest:

"You... intend to kill this Esteemed Master?"

Wen Zhuangzhu said nothing, merely chanting an incantation to release three jade snakes, which expanded with the wind into giant pythons, slithering across the ground with loud hisses.

Lü Jingxiu also drew out the Jade Ruyi, condensing jade-colored light.

Pei Tanggong held the Three Origins Spirit Treasure Sword in hand, a sharp glint flickering within his aged eyes, and said slowly:

"This old man has thought about it for a long time. This is the best opportunity to kill you..."

"Esteemed Master Mo of the Tongxian Cult, unifier of Qingchou City, pacifier of the uprising, commanding a Changshan Army of one million, with Great General Chang loyal to the bone, and Left and Right Protectors of profound cultivation..."

"How could such a great figure ever be killed?"

"Therefore, we could only wait until you arrived at the bottom of this eerie tomb, without the million-strong Changshan Army, with Great General Chang and your Protectors trapped within the Hundred Ghosts Diagram to be devoured alive by Evil Ghosts, leaving you isolated and without aid..."

"Only like this was it the best chance to kill you. In fact, this might be our only chance..."

"Once you are let out, it would be like releasing a dragon into the clouds, letting a tiger return to the mountains. With the clouds high and the mountains broad, no matter how strong our Qingchou families are, we wouldn't be able to touch a hair on your head..."

Mo Hua asked curiously, "Then are you not afraid of my Tongxian Dao Art?"

Pei Tanggong's eyelids twitched, a flash of trepidation passing through them, yet he still said slowly:

"Your Tongxian Dao Art comes from the Edict of the Tongxian Cult Leader. Since that is the case, it might not be your own ability."

"Two of us are at the Late Golden Core Stage, and one is at the Golden Core middle stage. With three of us staring at you alone, do you think you'll have the chance to execute the Edict and borrow strength from the Tongxian Cult Leader?"

Mo Hua asked again, "Then are you not afraid of angering the Tongxian Cult?"

Pei Tanggong shook his head. "What you have done, Esteemed Master, is dig up the very roots of our Qingchou families. In a conflict of great interests, there is no room for compromise. Even if killing you enrages the Tongxian Cult, we have no path of retreat left. We ask for your forgiveness, Esteemed Master."

In truth, Pei Tanggong was overthinking it. If he could truly kill Mo Hua, the Tongxian Cult's roots would be utterly severed. From Esteemed Master Mo to the Tongxian Cult Leader, and all the way to the Tongxian Ancestor, all of them would be gone.

Mo Hua nodded and said, "Everything you said makes sense. Since that is the case... why haven't you moved to kill me yet?"

Pei Tanggong's face darkened.

Mo Hua spread his arms, a half-smile on his face. "Come on, kill me."

Not only Pei Tanggong, but Wen Zhuangzhu and Lü Jingxiu also experienced a sudden change in expression.

Without his Protectors and Great General Chang to shield him, and unable to borrow the power of the Tongxian Cult Leader, this Esteemed Master Mo should, by all rights, be merely an ordinary Early Golden Core Stage cultivator with a frail fleshly body.

Yet standing there so simply, he seemed like an ancient mountain or a deep abyss—pitch-black, his aura unfathomable, making one hesitate to act on their murderous intent.

However, this opportunity was truly rare; if they did not strike now, when would they?

Pei Tanggong's gaze turned fierce as he said in a low voice, "Kill!"

Wen Zhuangzhu gritted his teeth as he looked at Mo Hua, immediately activating his Magical Treasure to command the three Emerald Jade Pythons to tear toward Mo Hua.

Lü Jingxiu hesitated for a brief moment before sighing, "Esteemed Master, I respect your character and appreciate your grace in quelling the chaos. But you should not, under any circumstances, have coveted my Lü family's assets and desecrated my late father's tomb. This is a blood feud of life and death... Forgive me!"

Murderous intent flashed through Lü Jingxiu's eyes as he manipulated the Jade Ruyi to condense jade light, attacking Mo Hua.

At the same time, he held various precious Talismans between his fingers, hurling them at Mo Hua.

As the head of the Lü family, the Lü family's wealth was abundant, and the power of these Talismans was not to be underestimated.

Pei Tanggong also gripped the Three Origins Spirit Treasure Sword, its sharp Sword Light stabbing straight toward Mo Hua.

At the bottom of the Great Spirit Stone Tomb, the three top Golden Core experts of the local Qingchou families unleashed their lethal moves simultaneously.

For a moment, the violent fluctuations of the Magical Treasures shook the stone hall with roaring tremors; emerald snakes bared their fangs, jade light fell like rain, Talismans detonated wildly, and treasure light and Sword Qi crisscrossed everywhere.

The boundless tempest instantly tore Mo Hua's frail silhouette apart, submerging it in an instant.

The explosions continued afterward, as the powers of various Magical Treasures, Magic Spells, and Talismans repeatedly shredded the area, attempting to thoroughly obliterate all traces of the corpse.

It took a full span of drinking a cup of tea before the fluctuations subsided and the smoke slowly cleared.

The ground was bare, with nothing left behind. Under the fierce bombardment of Golden Core power, everything had been reduced to ash.

It seemed that even the corpse had turned to dust.

"Just like that... he's dead?" Wen Zhuangzhu was stunned.

If it were an ordinary Early Golden Core Stage cultivator, being pounded by such Magical Treasures and having their bones ground to dust on the spot would be nothing surprising.

Yet this person... was he an ordinary person?

Pei Tanggong's brows were likewise tightly furrowed. He released his Divine-Sense to sweep the entire hall, but found nothing. Suddenly, his expression changed, and he snapped his head around to look behind him.

There, not far away, blue light rippled. Water mist dispersed and reconverged, revealing a black-robed silhouette.

It was none other than Mo Hua.

Pei Tanggong and the others inhaled a sharp breath of cold air, surprised, yet not entirely surprised.

Even without his Protectors, this mysterious Early Golden Core Stage Esteemed Master Mo could never have died so easily.

However, Pei Tanggong truly had not expected that without using that miraculous Tongxian Dao Art, and relying solely on his Early Golden Core Stage cultivation, this Esteemed Master Mo could actually escape from the coordinated strike of Golden Core powerhouses like them.

Was it a Movement Technique, an Escape Technique, or some Talisman or Magic Spell?

This Esteemed Master Mo's abilities were truly... bottomless.

However... no matter what, he had to die here.

Pei Tanggong's gaze turned chilling as he said, "Strike again! We fight to the death! Once we let this Esteemed Master escape, with a single wave of his arm, the million-strong Changshan Army will be enough to completely flatten the Qingchou clans! All of us clan elders will also die under his bizarre Dao Art, never to attain reincarnation!"

Lü Jingxiu's expression grew grim.

Wen Zhuangzhu also nodded. "Kill!"

Afterward, the three pushed their Movement Techniques to the limit, employing every means at their disposal as they charged at Mo Hua once more.

Jade light, Talismans, and emerald pythons intertwined into a deadly web.

Pei Tanggong's Three Origins Spirit Treasure Sword condensed into a single line of Sword Light, aiming straight for Mo Hua's throat.

Yet just as his blade was about to pierce Mo Hua, an Emerald Jade Python suddenly whipped its head around and bit down onto Pei Tanggong's body.

As snake venom invaded his flesh, Pei Tanggong's face turned pale, and he immediately retreated.

Seeing the bloody, greenish wound on his right arm, Pei Tanggong flew into a rage. Turning toward Wen Zhuangzhu, he demanded with a dark expression:

"Wen Zhuangzhu, what is the meaning of this? I saved you, yet you turn around and harm me?"

Wen Zhuangzhu said, "If Pei Tanggong had saved me, I naturally wouldn't harm him. But you..."

Wen Zhuangzhu's expression was utterly indifferent. "...are not Pei Tanggong."

Pei Tanggong's expression changed slightly.

"Long time no see..." Wen Zhuangzhu looked at Pei Tanggong, a sneer hanging on his face.

"Great Philanthropist Lü..."

(End of Chapter)