Chapter Summaries

Mo Hua tracked a bloodied youth into the Wild Mountains and rescued Hao Xuan from two black-clad cultivators. Hao Xuan revealed that his group had stumbled upon people being transported in sacks and crates, pointing to another human-trafficking operation.

• Mo Hua followed blood and killing intent to a cave, where two black-clad cultivators tortured Hao Xuan and prepared to kill him.
• Mo Hua lured one cultivator out, killed him with a prepared Array Technique and Fireball Techniques, then killed the other when he approached the cave entrance.
• Mo Hua freed Hao Xuan and treated his wounds; Hao Xuan explained that his group had followed suspicious cultivators carrying people in sacks and crates before being attacked and scattered.
• Mo Hua recognized that the captives and the suspicious group indicated another human-trafficking operation.

Mo Hua and Hao Xuan tracked down Cheng Mo, Situ Jian, Yang Qianjun, and Yi Li as they fought a group of black-clad traffickers, then used Hao Xuan as bait to lure their enemies into Mo Hua’s arrays. The ambushes killed five traffickers, but their bodies rotted from hidden Demonic Qi, while the remaining four still fought the others by the stream.

• Mo Hua learned that the Void Token and Message Token might not reach help from the Wild Mountain, sent a plea to Uncle Gu, and set out with the injured Hao Xuan to find Cheng Mo and the others.
• Mo Hua discovered that two dead traffickers’ bodies had been destroyed by Demonic Qi, then followed the trail to find Cheng Mo, Situ Jian, and Yang Qianjun fighting nine black-clad men while Yi Li lay unconscious nearby.
• Mo Hua gave Hao Xuan a Water Stealth Jade and instructed him to lure enemies into the forest, where Mo Hua’s array killed two pursuers; their corpses also rotted from Demonic Qi.
• Hao Xuan returned to taunt the traffickers, provoking three men to chase him into the forest while four remained to fight Cheng Mo, Situ Jian, and Yang Qianjun.
• Mo Hua’s array killed the three pursuers in a burst of flames, leaving four traffickers still battling the three sect disciples by the stream.

Mo Hua helped Hao Xuan and the others defeat the black-clad cultivators, using arrays and carefully timed spells to turn the battle around. After the group took shelter in a cave, Mo Hua suggested killing all the human traffickers before they could escape.

• Mo Hua told Hao Xuan to stay hidden, then went to aid Cheng Mo, Situ Jian, and Yang Qianjun as they fought four black-clad cultivators.
• The black-clad cultivators took Evil Pills, and Cheng Mo, Situ Jian, and Yang Qianjun risked their lives to fight back.
• Mo Hua struck from hiding with Fireball Techniques, helping Cheng Mo, Situ Jian, and Yang Qianjun kill three cultivators and restrain their leader.
• The last cultivator destroyed himself with Demonic Qi before Mo Hua could uncover his face, and Mo Hua revealed himself to the shocked Cheng Mo, Situ Jian, and Yang Qianjun.
• Mo Hua and the others rescued Hao Xuan, carried the unconscious Yi Li, and took shelter in a concealed cave, where Mo Hua set up protective arrays.
• The group discussed how the black-clad cultivators were human traffickers, and Mo Hua suggested killing them all before they could escape.

Mo Hua led Cheng Mo and the others to track down the black-clad human traffickers and quietly eliminated most of them at an abandoned Artifact Refining Guild. As Mo Hua infiltrated the hall to deal with their leader and rescue the captives, a blood-red demon-like shadow spotted him and exposed his presence.

• Mo Hua followed causal traces to an abandoned Artifact Refining Guild, where he identified sixteen black-clad cultivators and mapped their positions for the others.
• Mo Hua taught Cheng Mo, Hao Xuan, Situ Jian, Yang Qianjun, and Yi Li to attack quietly, and they killed the guards at the entrance and a body cultivator in the corridor.
• The group silently eliminated nine more black-clad cultivators, then rested before confronting the final four near the hall where the abducted cultivators were held.
• Mo Hua concealed himself and entered the hall while the others waited to attack the three guards outside if anything went wrong.
• Mo Hua saw the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage leader kneeling and muttering, then a blood-red demon-like shadow appeared and looked directly at him.
• The leader turned toward Mo Hua's hidden position and shouted, "Who?!"

Mo Hua and Cheng Mo's group killed the black-clad human traffickers, then fought their leader until Mo Hua's array injured him and reinforcements from the Dao Court Office approached. The leader unleashed a blood-colored Evil God power that immobilized the others, but it left Mo Hua unaffected and triggered a strange vision in his soul.

• Mo Hua escaped the black-clad leader's attack while Cheng Mo, Hao Xuan, Yang Qianjun, Situ Jian, and Yi Li ambushed and killed the leader's three remaining subordinates.
• The black-clad leader fought Cheng Mo and the others, then tried to enter the hall to silence the kidnapped cultivators, but Mo Hua's Array Technique blasted him away and blocked the entrance.
• The leader transformed with Demonic Qi and pressed the group, while Mo Hua weighed his options and sensed Dao Court Office reinforcements approaching.
• As the leader prepared to flee, he exposed a Third Eye and released a blood-colored Evil God thought that paralyzed Cheng Mo and the others.
• The blood-colored force revealed Mo Hua, but it could not affect his Divine Thought; instead, Mo Hua experienced a vision of an altar and heard that his sacrifice had been delivered.

Mo Hua lured the black-clothed leader away from Cheng Mo and the others, then fought him in a remote valley while the God Lord's Eye urged the leader to kill him. After evading the leader’s attacks and concealing his strength, Mo Hua used a true Meteor Fire Forbidden Technique to kill him.

• The God Lord's Eye repeatedly ordered the black-clothed leader to kill Mo Hua, and Mo Hua tricked the leader into chasing him instead of attacking Cheng Mo and the others.
• Mo Hua led the black-clothed leader into a secluded valley, where his hidden Li Fire Arrays badly injured the leader.
• The black-clothed leader recognized Mo Hua’s unusual array-drawing and movement techniques, while Mo Hua resolved to kill the human trafficker.
• The black-clothed leader used the Evil Eye and source Demonic Qi to pressure Mo Hua, who evaded his attacks and taunted him with ordinary Fireball Techniques.
• Mo Hua fused two Fireball Techniques into a Meteor Fire Forbidden Technique and struck the black-clothed leader from behind, killing him.

After killing the black-clad leader, Mo Hua was attacked by the Golden Evil Eye and fought its Horned Demon within his Sea of Consciousness. He tore the eye from the demon and destroyed its body, declaring himself someone who ate gods.

• Mo Hua confirmed the black-clad leader was dead, but an evil eye escaped the corpse and burrowed into his Sea of Consciousness.
• The Golden Evil Eye formed a Horned Demon and began devouring Mo Hua’s Divine Consciousness, but Mo Hua ambushed it and wounded its eye.
• Mo Hua fought the Horned Demon with his Divine Sense Avatar, then used the Water Prison Technique and Li Fire Array against it.
• The Horned Demon used its golden eye to immobilize Mo Hua and tried to feed him to its maw, but Mo Hua revealed a hidden Lishan Cremation Compound Array.
• Mo Hua trapped the Horned Demon, tore the Golden Evil Eye from its body, and burned the demon’s flesh to ashes.
• The Golden Evil Eye demanded to know what Mo Hua was, and he answered that he was someone who ate gods.

Mo Hua destroyed the Golden Evil Eye’s divine will with the Dao Stele’s Tribulation Lightning, then absorbed its purified Divine Marrow and nearly lost his humanity before recovering through his memories. After hiding the black-clothed leader’s death and rejoining Cheng Mo and the others, he traveled back toward the Void Gate, wary of the larger dangers stirring in Ganxue Prefecture.

• The Golden Evil Eye threatened Mo Hua and warned him that the Great Wilderness had countless Divine Remains, so Mo Hua used the Dao Stele’s Tribulation Lightning to erase its divine will and leave only pure Divine Marrow.
• Mo Hua absorbed the Divine Marrow, briefly became indifferent and godlike, then recovered his humanity by recalling his family, friends, and past experiences; his Divine Sense gained a faint divine quality without advancing beyond the Sixteen-Pattern realm.
• Mo Hua returned to the mountain valley, concealed the black-clothed leader’s body and his own tracks, and decided to investigate the traffickers secretly before telling Uncle Gu.
• Mo Hua rejoined Cheng Mo and the others, claimed that he had escaped the black-clothed leader by hiding in a tree, and traveled with them under Dao Court Office protection toward the Void Gate.
• During the journey, Mo Hua reflected on the Human Traffickers, Demonic Qi, Evil Eyes, and evil gods threatening Ganxue Prefecture.

Mo Hua celebrated the rescue of the abducted disciples with Cheng Mo and the others, then learned how noble families used merit and resources to refine their cultivation. Back in his room, he began to suspect that advancing the Heavenly Derivation Art beyond Foundation Establishment might require transforming his Divine Consciousness by consuming Divine Marrow.

• Cheng Mo, Situ Jian, and the others treated Mo Hua and Little Yu'er to a feast and thanked Mo Hua for helping rescue abducted cultivators and earn merit.
• When Situ Jian asked about Mo Hua’s skills, Mo Hua said his Monster Hunter father had taught him to prepare traps and ambushes, while Uncle Gu had taught him to track and capture criminals.
• Cheng Mo and the others explained that noble-family disciples spent extra resources to cultivate more Lingli circuits, and Yang Qianjun invited Mo Hua to visit the Yang Family.
• Yang Qianjun criticized the pursuit of minor cultivation advantages in peaceful Gan Province and spoke of the Yang Family’s campaigns in the Southern Wilderness against the Barbarian Tribe.
• After returning to his room, Mo Hua wondered what bottleneck awaited the Heavenly Derivation Art and suspected he might need to consume Divine Marrow to transform his Divine Consciousness further.

Mo Hua worried that the Heavenly Derivation Art might require him to consume Divine Marrow to break through, so he visited Lord Yellow Mountain to learn about gods and ghosts. Lord Yellow Mountain explained their differences, leaving Mo Hua with a clearer but more troubling understanding of Divine Thought.

• Mo Hua searched Void Gate’s Library Pavilion for knowledge about gods but found only vague records, so he decided to ask Lord Yellow Mountain.
• Mo Hua visited Lord Yellow Mountain at Withered Mountain and offered him food before asking how gods differed from humans.
• Lord Yellow Mountain explained that gods were bodies of Divine Thought residing in divine statues, while gods inhabiting living beings became corrupted Evil Gods.
• Lord Yellow Mountain told Mo Hua that humans who lost their bodies and could not reunite with them became ghosts that replenished themselves by consuming others’ Divine Consciousness, especially that of their blood relatives.
• Lord Yellow Mountain described gods, humans, and ghosts as distinct beings governed by laws of Divine Thought, and Mo Hua questioned whether the Mountain God had lived for a very long time.

Mo Hua questioned Lord Yellow Mountain about gods, Divine Dao Arrays, and how to guard against Evil Gods, learning how divine power and Divine Marrow worked. Lord Yellow Mountain warned him that Evil Gods corrupted their Divine Marrow and that cultivators should flee rather than confront them, while Mo Hua privately recognized that he had already encountered and consumed parts of Evil Gods.

• Mo Hua asked Lord Yellow Mountain how gods were classified, and Lord Yellow Mountain explained the difference between a god's grade, Divine Rank, and Divine Marrow.
• Mo Hua asked how humans could fight gods, and Lord Yellow Mountain described Divine Dao Arrays as seals that restrained gods and Divine Sense Sword as a method of killing them.
• Lord Yellow Mountain warned Mo Hua that Evil Gods spread their Dao through corrupted Divine Marrow, sacrifices, and human desires, and advised him to run if he encountered one.
• Mo Hua asked whether Evil Gods' Divine Marrow became corrupted, and Lord Yellow Mountain explained that Evil Thought fused with it and persisted until the Divine Marrow perished.
• Lord Yellow Mountain realized Mo Hua had likely encountered an Evil God, and Mo Hua privately recalled consuming Divine Marrow from the Sheep-Horned Executive and the Golden Evil Eye.

Mo Hua organized Lord Yellow Mountain’s teachings about gods, ghosts, and divine thought, then planned to seek Divine Marrow by hunting lesser evil-god Divine Remains. He found a way to reconcile Humanity and Divinity within his Dao Heart, and his understanding of the Heavenly Dao deepened.

• Lord Yellow Mountain warned Mo Hua to leave Ganxue Prefecture after reaching Foundation Establishment Late Stage and within ten years, then watched him depart from Withered Mountain.
• Mo Hua visited the Gu Family before returning to the sect and writing down what he had learned about gods, ghosts, and Evil Spirits.
• Mo Hua speculated about the origins of the Green-Faced Imp and the Zhang Family corpse ghosts, then realized the Five Elements Source Pattern in his Storage Ring might be an Evil God.
• Mo Hua planned to seek the Supreme Void Divine Sense Sword Transformation Art and Divine Dao Arrays, and considered secretly devouring First- or Second-Grade evil-god Divine Remains to obtain Divine Marrow.
• Mo Hua realized Humanity and Divinity were both part of the Great Dao and resolved to uphold Humanity while tempering Divinity.
• Mo Hua’s insight deepened his understanding of the Heavenly Dao, and pale golden patterns appeared across his divine sense as the Dao Stele trembled faintly.

After realizing he should use Auxiliary Combat to strengthen fellow disciples while hiding his own abilities, Mo Hua considered bringing Cheng Mo and the others along to earn Merit Points and gain experience. During his ten-day break, he visited the Gu Family to ask Uncle Gu about arranging missions, but he unexpectedly encountered Master Gu.

• Mo Hua planned to investigate the black-clad leader and Human Traffickers for clues to Divine Remains, but decided he needed helpers to deal with Evil God lackeys safely.
• Mo Hua recalled Mr. Zhuang’s teachings about Auxiliary Combat and resolved to strengthen Cheng Mo and the other disciples while keeping his own trump cards concealed.
• Cheng Mo complained that he and the others could barely earn Merit Points, and Mo Hua considered taking them along to catch Sinful Cultivators as practice.
• Mo Hua went to the Gu Family during the ten-day break to ask Uncle Gu about arranging Dao Court Office missions, but met Master Gu at the entrance.

Mo Hua secured Gu Changhuai’s help in finding a way to earn Merit Points by pursuing Sinful Cultivators, then met Master Gu to arrange the crafting of Array Medium. Over lunch, Master Gu explained how Great Clans had exhausted Lone Mountain City’s mines, leaving its cultivators impoverished.

• Mo Hua asked Gu Changhuai to issue a Dao Court Office bounty based on his clues about Sinful Cultivators, and Gu Changhuai agreed to consider a way to make it work.
• Mo Hua went to Crane Pavilion with Master Gu, who agreed to refine twenty pieces of each type of Array Medium in Mo Hua’s designs.
• Mo Hua asked why Lone Mountain City seemed poor, and Master Gu described how Great Clans had taken control of its mines to produce luxurious Spirit Artifacts.
• Master Gu explained that the Great Clans mined the ore veins dry, then left, causing Lone Mountain City’s economy to collapse and forcing many cultivators to leave or scrape by on scraps.

Mo Hua learned from Master Gu how clan monopolies impoverished cultivators in small cities, then received the Array Mediums Master Gu had prepared and began using them to conceal his array skills. He arranged a 600-Merit-Point bounty for the Sinful Cultivator River-Crossing Dragon and claimed it the instant it appeared, leaving other Void Gate disciples confused.

• Master Gu explained to Mo Hua that wealthy clans profited from status goods and monopolized Array Technique inheritances, while cultivators in small cities suffered under the system.
• Master Gu later told his disciple Dachuan that Mo Hua might be their benefactor, especially if he truly was an independent cultivator who understood life at the bottom.
• Mo Hua received sixty refined Array Mediums from Master Gu and began practicing with them so he could use ordinary tools and keep his talent less conspicuous.
• Mo Hua asked Gu Changhuai to investigate River-Crossing Dragon, then negotiated a 600-Merit-Point bounty with additional rewards for related criminals or clues.
• Mo Hua and Gu Changhuai arranged the bounty’s requirements and timing, and Mo Hua erased their messages.
• Mo Hua claimed the bounty as soon as it appeared in the Bounty Record, while other Void Gate disciples saw it vanish before they could read it.

Mo Hua led Cheng Mo, Situ Jian, Hao Xuan, and Yang Qianjun to Yanshui River to capture the sinful cultivator River-Crossing Dragon, using Water Ripple Arrays to search the river. While the group waited for signs of him, Mo Hua learned from local Fisher Cultivators that one of the dead merchants had been a young master from a Third-Grade clan.

• Mo Hua reviewed River-Crossing Dragon’s bounty and case file, then recruited Cheng Mo, Situ Jian, Hao Xuan, and Yang Qianjun to share the mission’s Merit Points.
• Mo Hua briefed the group on River-Crossing Dragon’s strength and habits as they traveled to the stretch of Yanshui River where six merchants had died.
• Mo Hua spotted blood-colored Causal Chains near the riverbank and placed paired Water Ripple Array Disks in the water to monitor for River-Crossing Dragon.
• The group waited along the river, and Mo Hua approached a boat of local Fisher Cultivators when no signs of the target appeared.
• The Fisher Cultivators told Mo Hua that a young master from a Third-Grade clan had been among the six dead, then argued over whether a Third-Grade clan could be called an aristocratic family.

Mo Hua and his companions lured the River-Crossing Dragon from the Yanshui River with an array-laden fishing net and subdued him in a grove. As they prepared to question their captive, a haughty young master and his followers arrived, claiming the River-Crossing Dragon as their prey.

• Mo Hua repaired the fisher cultivators’ nets and learned that a young master had been killed by a water monster while having fun on a Rouge Boat.
• After Hao Xuan detected the River-Crossing Dragon’s passage, Mo Hua devised a trap using concealed arrays, poisoned barbs, and a net placed along the cultivator’s underwater route.
• Mo Hua and his companions dragged the River-Crossing Dragon ashore, weakened him with arrays, and defeated him in the grove.
• As Mo Hua prepared to question the captured River-Crossing Dragon, a splendidly dressed young master struck at Cheng Mo and accused the group of stealing his prey.

Mo Hua and his companions captured River-Crossing Dragon, but Young Master Jin and Duanjin Gate disciples seized the bounty and forced the Void Gate group to withdraw. After secretly overhearing Young Master Jin reveal the Blood-Sworn conspiracy and accuse Gu Changhuai of being the hidden mastermind, Mo Hua reunited with his companions and proposed stealing from Duanjin Gate in return.

• Young Master Jin claimed River-Crossing Dragon as Duanjin Gate's prey, and Cheng Mo, Yang Qianjun, and Situ Jian backed down after recognizing the danger of fighting the larger group.
• Mo Hua stayed hidden as Young Master Jin privately treated River-Crossing Dragon and discussed the Blood-Sworn, their young masters, and a suspected hidden Black Hand.
• Young Master Jin named Gu Changhuai as a likely enemy and ordered River-Crossing Dragon to keep silent while the Duanjin Gate disciples prepared to claim the bounty.
• Mo Hua left the grove and found Cheng Mo and the others waiting nearby; he told them they would steal from Duanjin Gate rather than return to the sect empty-handed.

Mo Hua and Cheng Mo’s group ambushed Duanjin Gate disciples, recaptured River-Crossing Dragon, and delivered him to the Dao Court Office for their reward. On the ride home, Mo Hua connected the Blood-Sworn List and Jiang Laoda’s stolen Jade Slips to Young Master Jin and suspected that powerful figures in Duanjin Gate were behind the trafficking of cultivators.

• Mo Hua arranged a masked ambush with Cheng Mo and the others, using an Earth Fire Array to overwhelm two Duanjin Gate disciples escorting River-Crossing Dragon.
• The group subdued River-Crossing Dragon and left the injured Duanjin Gate disciples unconscious, while Mo Hua concealed his identity behind Black Cloth and ordered River-Crossing Dragon taken away.
• Mo Hua and the others delivered River-Crossing Dragon to the Dao Court Office, claimed their Merit Points, and found the White Wave Art and its accompanying techniques in his Storage Bag.
• On the ride back to Void Gate, Mo Hua reasoned that Jiang Laoda had stolen the Gold-Breaking Imperial Sword Art and Blood-Sworn List from Young Master Jin, who might have used Jiang Laoda to traffic cultivators.
• Mo Hua began to suspect that Young Master Jin was one of the black-clothed Human Traffickers and that powerful sects and clans might be connected to a larger conspiracy.

Mo Hua warned Gu Changhuai that River-Crossing Dragon and Duanjin Gate were tied to black-clothed human traffickers and suspected that Evil Gods were behind the demonic corruption. While Mo Hua waited for Gu Changhuai to investigate, Mr. Tu sensed someone threatening the God Lord’s plans and ordered a search for the person obstructing them.

• Mo Hua told Gu Changhuai that Young Master Jin of Duanjin Gate had instructed River-Crossing Dragon to enter Dao Prison, fake his death, and emerge under a new identity, and Gu Changhuai agreed to watch him and investigate the Dao Court Office mole.
• Mo Hua suspected that prominent-clan disciples who had fallen to demons were working as human traffickers and asked whether Evil Gods could be involved, but Gu Changhuai dismissed the idea and warned him to avoid the dangerous investigation.
• Mo Hua continued cultivating and practicing formations, reflected on how demons and Divine Marrow could strengthen his divine sense, and decided to wait for River-Crossing Dragon to lead Gu Changhuai to further clues.
• Mr. Tu felt someone coveting the God Lord and was ordered to find them, then reported losses among the God Lord’s followers and feared that the hidden adversary might use the Divine Thought Sword Technique.
• Mr. Tu vowed to identify the one obstructing the God Lord, left the altar, and concealed his ruined appearance beneath human skin.