The Quest for Immortality

This altar can only be used once.

After it’s used, it must be destroyed. It can’t be reused, otherwise, it gives the Evil God a way to pinpoint our location and reveal our identities.

Mo Hua looked around to ensure nothing valuable was left behind and that he left no traces, then retraced his steps to return.

Gu An, Gu Quan, and the others were still waiting at the cave entrance.

Seeing Mo Hua come out, Gu Quan let out a slight breath of relief and asked:

”Young Master Mo, how is the situation inside?”

Mo Hua’s expression was grave, ”Inside it’s too dangerous; I didn’t dare venture too deep, nor did I find anything substantial. Just detonate it.”

Everyone: ”...”

Gu An whispered, ”Is this...okay?”

Mo Hua nodded, ”Knowing there’s a tiger in the mountain, there’s no need to walk towards it. Just blow up the mountain, it amounts to the same.”

Everyone considered it for a moment and then slowly nodded in agreement.

Since there were Formations inside, naturally, what Young Master Mo said was what counted.

Themselves, this group of people, couldn’t possibly understand Formation better than Young Master Mo...

”Everyone, get back.” Mo Hua said.

The crowd left the cave entrance, and from a safe distance, Mo Hua activated the Formation with his Divine Sense.

Several Di Sha Formations exploded with a thunderous rumbling, fierce Spiritual Power fluctuations wreaked havoc, shattering the altar into pieces.

A dozen or so breaths later, the explosions subsided.

The entrance of the cave collapsed, the falling earth and rocks completely burying the altar.

Mo Hua was then reassured.

This meant the task was successfully completed, and it was time to return.

He needed to return to the Sect soon, to wait for the ”delivery” due in seven days.

Mo Hua was relieved and in high spirits.

”We can go back now.”

”Yes.”

Gu An and the others nodded in agreement, their expressions somewhat relaxed.

This journey had gone through numerous twists and turns, and though there were many things that were chilling and difficult to understand,

Fortunately, it was a close shave. They had rescued who needed to be rescued, captured who needed to be captured, and the mission was accomplished smoothly.

A weight had been lifted from the hearts of the Gu Family’s Cultivators.

The River God Temple still felt somewhat eerie.

Not wanting to stay long, they prepared to leave. But just before they did, they discovered someone still lying on the ground; it was Master She, who had guided the way.

Master She’s face was ashen, lying on the ground, already devoid of life.

Gu Quan glanced at Mo Hua and asked:

”Are we going to leave him here?”

Mo Hua’s gaze flickered, then shook his head and walked over to Master She. He spoke low, as if he were a demon:

”Keep playing dead, and I’ll really kill you!”

Master She suddenly opened his eyes, jolted to life, and sprang up instantly.

”Don’t kill me!”

Gu Quan, displeased, approached and kicked Master She in the bend of his leg.

Master She, following the momentum, knelt on the ground.

Gu Quan twisted Master She’s shoulder with one hand, pinning him down, and with his right hand, he drew his knife and placed it against his neck.

Master She looked furious, but with the knife against his throat, he couldn’t muster any defiance and hurriedly said, ”Spare me! Spare my life!”

Gu Quan looked at Mo Hua with an inquiring glance.

Mo Hua sighed regretfully, ”Kill him.”

This old trickster knows too much; keeping him around is a risk.

And since he’s both an Evil Pill Master and Evil Formation Master, whether it’s Refining Evil Pills or creating Evil Formations, his hands must have been stained with plenty of blood, so he is not worth keeping alive.

Gu Quan was about to strike Master She’s neck.

Master She’s voice changed, ”You can’t kill me!”

Mo Hua was curious, ”Why not?”

Master She looked conflicted.

Gu Quan then drew the knife across Master She’s neck, cutting the skin, leaving a slash that began to bleed.

Master She, alarmed, immediately said: ”I have a secret.”

Mo Hua silently observed him.

Feeling unnerved under Mo Hua’s gaze, knowing that Little Yama had an innocent face but merciless hands, Master She didn’t dare beat around the bush and instead said with trembling teeth:

”I am... a royal descendant of the Great Wilderness...”

Gu An and Gu Quan’s expressions both changed.

Mo Hua frowned, ”Royal descendant?”

Master She said: ”To the south of Li State, the endless mountains, Shentu dominating, the Great Wilderness enshrined as king...”

”I am a descendant of the Shentu Clan, with the bloodline of the Great Wilderness Imperial Family running through my veins!”

Mo Hua was inwardly shocked, but then he revealed a meaningful look, glancing at Master She, ”You?”

He was full of disbelief.

Master She was angry, but he did not dare to show his anger towards Mo Hua, he could only carry a deeply melancholic tone as he said:

”I really didn’t lie to you...”

”The Great Wilderness Imperial Family... has perished, and only a few descendants scattered across the Nine State, struggling to survive, are a far cry from their former glory, and it is difficult for them to restore the prosperity of the Great Wilderness Royal Court...”

”I didn’t even dare to use my real surname, so I just chose a character that looks similar and adopted ’She’ as my surname...”

Mo Hua’s eyelids twitched slightly.

Shentu?

She... Tu.

Mr. Tu?

Could that Mr. Tu also be a descendant of the Da Huai Imperial Family?

Mo Hua glanced at Master She, but still repressed his curiosity and did not voice out the words ”Mr. Tu”.

Gu An frowned and whispered: ”Young Master Mo, if this person is indeed a Great Wilderness royal descendant, I’m afraid... it’s not good to slaughter him on the spot...”

Mo Hua was somewhat puzzled.

Gu An explained: ”More than a thousand years ago, the Shentu of the Great Wilderness rebelled, overstepped the Daoist Court, and proclaimed themselves emperor, which led to the suppression and siege by the Azure Dragon Dao Soldiers dispatched by the Dao Court Faction.”

”The war was brutal, lasting for decades, and in the end, the Great Wilderness Emperor was beheaded, and the rest of the Imperial Family were all executed. Not many survived...”

”If he truly has the blood of the Great Wilderness Imperial Family, that would be no small matter. He cannot be killed recklessly...”

Mo Hua gave a noncommittal look, then glanced at Master She, his eyes showing contemplation, and the murderous intent around him flickering unpredictably.

Master She felt his scalp tingle.

He understood the River God’s nightmare journey. In the dictionary of this lawless Little Yama, there surely isn’t a rule that says ”royal descendants must not be killed.”

If he really harbored the intention to kill, not even the deities could save him.

”Don’t kill me, I’ll agree to any demand!” Master She said with a panicked look.

Seeing Master She’s expression, Mo Hua thought for a moment.

This Master She... might be useful in the future.

It was not a bad idea to keep him alive, but he needed to be threatened to keep quiet, especially from disclosing anything about himself.

Mo Hua gave a slight nod, pondered for a while, then approached Master She and whispered:

”I can spare your life, but you must keep your mouth shut, as if you never saw me, and don’t speak of anything related to me, especially to your ’Divine Lord’...”

Master She’s expression changed uncertainly.

”Don’t forget...”

Mo Hua smiled faintly, his smile carrying a bit of malevolence.

”...at the River God Temple, who was it that initiated the altar, who led me into the nightmare...”

”And within the dream, who was it that opened the door for me, who led the way, who divulged secrets to me, who conspired with me...”

Mo Hua gently patted Master She’s shoulder, ”It was you.”

Master She shuddered in fright and hastily said:

”I didn’t! I didn’t conspire!”

Mo Hua sighed, ”You say you didn’t conspire, but will others believe that? Think about it, would you believe it yourself?”

Master She was at a loss for words, his expression full of agony.

He realized a terrifying truth: without knowing it, he seemed to have become a traitor to the ’Divine Lord’.

The kind that can’t wash clean even if he jumped into the Mistwater River...

”But the River God already knows...” Master She said with a fearful expression.

”No,” Mo Hua shook his head, ”It knows nothing anymore.”

Master She was startled, somewhat confused, and then he suddenly understood something, his complexion turned pale as he spoke incredulously:

”You, you...”

During the nightmare, he had fainted when the River God exercised the Blood River Divine Skills. After that, he was incoherent, not knowing what had happened until he woke up inexplicably lying on the ground, pretending to be dead.

At this moment, he realized...

Why the nightmare collapsed, why all these people woke up unharmed, why the River God not only did not erase them but even released the sacrificial Divine Souls of those two children...

Because the River God, it was already...

A chill went straight to the heart, making Master She shiver all over, he didn’t even dare to look directly at Mo Hua.

It was as if Mo Hua was a terrifying Evil God.

Mortals, must not gaze directly at a deity.

Mo Hua spoke again with a gentle voice:

”The nightmare has vanished, the River God is gone... So, as long as you stay silent, no one will know what happened in the nightmare, and no one will know you were the traitorous guide...”

Although Master She was afraid, he still trembled as he tried to defend his innocence:

”I... am not a traitor.”

”Does it matter? Who would care?” Mo Hua sighed.

”Whether you are or not, you are now...” Mo Hua’s voice seemed to carry an enticing Evil Power.

Master She collapsed to the ground, his face ashen.

A thought deeply rooted in his heart:

”I am a traitor now...”