Chapter 702: Golden Marrow
The little silver fish swam away.
Mo Hua didn't mind. Taking advantage of the fact that the nightmare had not yet collapsed and the River God Temple still stood, he continued rummaging through the altar—checking every bottle and jar, every candle and platform.
But even after a long search, he still found nothing.
Mo Hua thought for a moment, then sat down right on the altar.
He felt… a faint mystical sensation.
Vaguely, it seemed as if something had connected in the unseen.
But that was all.
Perhaps it was because he had already destroyed the altar, flipped the offering table—so even sitting on it himself, he couldn't feel much of anything.
It wasn't like that altar in the Demon Den of Bi Mountain. The moment he'd sat there, demons had bowed, divine essence had flooded over him, and mysterious insights had surged into his mind, bathing his spirit in profound clarity.
Mo Hua looked at the ruined altar and sighed helplessly.
Looks like… this is as far as it goes.
Time had run out. The River God Temple began to collapse.
The nightmare twisted and distorted.
Mo Hua also felt a powerful force of repulsion. If he didn't leave now, his divine sense would be wiped away along with the crumbling dream.
He no longer resisted. He slowly closed his eyes.
A moment of heaven and earth flipping, divine consciousness shifting—
When Mo Hua opened his eyes again, he found Gu An, Gu Quan, and the others looking at him with concern.
Seeing him awake, everyone visibly relaxed.
"Young Master Mo, are you alright?" Gu An asked.
"Mm."
Mo Hua glanced around and confirmed that all the Gu Clan cultivators were present, safe and intact. Even Yu Dahe was awake and looked unharmed. Only then did he nod with satisfaction.
Start what you finish.
Since he'd brought them here, he'd make sure they got back safely too.
But Yu Dahe was still full of worry.
He clutched his two sons tightly, his face full of both confusion and fear. He couldn't tell what had happened—did his sons live or die?
Mo Hua glanced at the two children and nodded slightly.
"It's alright now. Their souls have returned."
Just as he finished speaking, the two boys murmured faintly.
Yu Dahe was overjoyed.
But the children didn't fully wake. Their brows furrowed, their eyelids twitched like they wanted to open, but in the end, they drifted back into a hazy sleep.
Yu Dahe panicked again and quickly looked at Mo Hua.
Mo Hua said,
"Their minds haven't fully adjusted. Let them rest for a while. In a few days, they'll be fine."
Only then did Yu Dahe truly relax. Overcome with gratitude, his eyes turned red as he repeatedly said:
"Thank you, thank you, Young Master Mo…"
Mo Hua also felt relieved.
Gu An glanced around and whispered,
"Young Master, this place isn't safe. Should we head back?"
Mo Hua thought for a moment and shook his head.
"No rush. I still have something to do…"
The River God's head had already been cut off.
The temple still looked spooky, but there was nothing truly dangerous left.
Compared to that, there were still loose ends to tie up.
"Brother An, Brother Quan, help guard me for a bit…"
As he spoke, Mo Hua pulled out a strip of black cloth inscribed with formation runes and a stick wrapped thickly in cotton padding.
"I'll be meditating soon. If my expression turns weird, or my gaze becomes evil, seal this black cloth on my forehead."
"If I go mad… use this stick to knock me out!"
Mo Hua, being soft-skinned and not a body cultivator, had padded the stick thickly—because pain hurts, okay?
Then he gritted his teeth, handed the stick to Gu Quan, and reminded him:
"Just… go easy, alright?"
Gu Quan accepted it, exchanging bewildered glances with the others.
"Young Master… what exactly are you doing?"
Mo Hua waved a hand,
"It's array master business. You wouldn't understand. Just remember what I told you."
Gu Quan nodded awkwardly.
The rest wisely didn't ask further, instead standing guard with wary expressions.
Everything in place, Mo Hua sat down and sank his consciousness into his sea of consciousness.
There, his divine sense avatar opened its eyes—gleaming faintly.
It was time to refine the River God's corrupted will.
Though the River God appeared dead, reduced to a pool of blood that Mo Hua had swallowed, the divine path is deep and unpredictable.
Mo Hua wasn't entirely sure it was truly dead. So he intended to refine the will completely—to "consume" it entirely, erasing all hidden danger before it could return like a stubborn rash.
The River God's vast evil will had followed him into the sea of consciousness.
Mo Hua immediately formed a Blazing Fire Array from divine sense to roast it down bit by bit.
The River God's divine sense was strong—but most of it was foul and corrupted.
Mo Hua had to purify the evil, discard the filth, and keep only the pure divine essence before he could safely absorb it.
The crimson evil will sizzled inside the flaming array, slowly turning to wisps of white smoke that Mo Hua inhaled.
Even so, that white smoke still carried traces of instinctive corruption, which began to erode his will.
But Mo Hua used this moment to harden his Dao heart.
In the surge of wicked desires, he held firm.
In the creeping pollution, he clung to his humanity.
Body and spirit, like a mirror of clarity.
It was a severe test of will—but Mo Hua was used to this now. Almost numb to it.
"A thousand evils may pass the heart, but not a speck shall stain it."
So he burned the evil, absorbed the divine sense, and tempered his Dao heart.
His Dao heart grew firmer.
His divine sense grew stronger.
A second-rank River God's divine sense was formidable. Though most of it was corrupted, the purified remnants were still substantial.
Time passed—how long, even he didn't know.
The blood-colored will was burned away, and the purified divine sense was consumed, bit by bit.
All the evil temptations that surged from within were suppressed by Mo Hua's unyielding Dao heart.
An entire second-rank fish-headed River God had been completely devoured by him.
And Mo Hua was… stuffed.
But the nourishment surged through him—his divine sense took a massive leap forward.
That previously distant seventeenth-pattern barrier now felt almost within reach.
From sixteen to seventeen patterns—it seemed like just one step. But that one step was a cliff.
If you didn't rely on cultivation breakthroughs to pull your divine sense forward, but instead did it the hard way—eating evil gods, enduring poison, sharpening your spirit drop by drop…
It was like drilling through stone with water.
And it was hellishly difficult.
Still, now—it was close.
Though, Mo Hua sighed.
Even if it seemed like "just a little more," who knew how many hidden thresholds were still buried in that "little"?
"Take it slow. I'm close…"
He forced himself to settle down and calm his impatient heart.
Now full—and even a bit overstuffed—he decided to digest and consolidate, then exit his sea of consciousness.
There in his inner world, Mo Hua focused quietly, breathing deeply, meditating and visualizing.
Not just digesting divine sense—but stabilizing his Dao heart.
Time trickled on.
Until—
A vast shadow suddenly crept up behind him.
Black, tinged with blood-red, its aura terrifying—but utterly silent.
Mo Hua, deep in meditation, had no clue.
The shadow unfurled from behind his small seated form, expanding, taking shape into a giant, demonic silhouette.
It was like a swamp of sin, oozing dark water.
And from that swamp… a massive, grotesque creature slowly emerged.
It had enormous jaws and ugly ram horns—a twisted demon.
Its maw opened wide, silently descending toward the meditating Mo Hua—
Engulfing him whole.
But just before it could swallow him—
A flicker of movement.
Mo Hua's figure vanished.
The monster froze, two hideous eyes rolling upward—
Only to see…
A small child had somehow appeared on its head.
Dangling upside-down, staring directly into its eyes, Mo Hua said with mild annoyance:
"You sure took your time. I've been waiting forever."
The monster's pupils shrank in horror. It thrashed its head, trying to fling him off.
But Mo Hua had one hand gripped around a horn, clinging like sticky candy.
At the same time—his right hand curled in mid-air.
A flood of golden brilliance surged into his palm—forming a primordial, terrifying divine-sense-forged sword of pale gold.
The demon's eyes nearly popped out. It thrashed even more violently.
But no matter how huge it was, it couldn't shake Mo Hua off.
Mo Hua didn't waste time with words. With crisp precision, he thrust.
A golden line streaked from his hand—piercing straight into the demon's brow.
A flash of golden brilliance—The tiny divine sword exploded with radiant light, penetrating the monster's skull clean through.
Divine Sense Forged into Sword—Unmatched in Sharpness.
The monster thrashed, howling in pain, its claws swiping at Mo Hua in a desperate frenzy.
Mo Hua bounced nimbly atop its head, moving as naturally and fluidly as water. Every savage strike missed completely. Then, with a twist of his wrist, he stabbed down again—another sword thrust piercing into the monster's skull.
Blades of golden light rained down like divine lightning. Sword rays erupted and tore through everything in their path, shredding the creature's internal flesh—born of corrupted will—into a storm of ruin.
The monster shrieked in terror and fury. Its wounds worsened, its movements slowed.
Strike while the beast is weak—go for the kill!
"Shua shua!" Mo Hua stabbed again and again. The sword aura formed by his divine sense lashed out in waves, slicing and dicing with ruthless precision. The enormous corrupted creature was cut to pieces—shattered into a pool of black water, lifeless and still.
Within the sea of consciousness, peace briefly returned.
Mo Hua landed softly, golden sword in hand, pointing toward the puddle.
"Come out. I know you're not dead."
The black water trembled. Then, slowly, a shadow rose from within.
That shadow was composed entirely of filthy black water, forming into a dark water demon—fish-headed, human-bodied, and bearing a resemblance to the River God.
But with horns.
Its lips curled outward unnaturally, tusks jutted up in spirals.
It looked like… the mouth of a ram?
Mo Hua frowned—then realization struck.
So this is the Divine Remains of the Wasteland Evil God.
But this divine remnant felt different. It seemed to have parasitized the River God, slowly merging with it—turning it more and more into a full-blown evil god.
The Blackwater River God stared coldly at Mo Hua, its gaze wary and guarded.
Its voice, like the River God's, held the distorted resonance of a water demon—but deeper, heavier, and darker.
"Brat, when did you discover me?"
Mo Hua scoffed silently.
"I came to this fishing village for you, in the first place."
When he'd used the Heaven-Obscuring Calculations to deduce the truth, he'd seen this thing ambushing a sword cultivator from the Great Void Sect. With that, he already knew how dirty this thing's water ran.
But of course, Mo Hua wasn't about to say all that out loud.
He merely replied:
"You hid well. I only just noticed you."
The Blackwater River God's face darkened.
It knew the brat was lying.
But the key was—this brat lied with zero hesitation, no shame, no pause. Just spewed it like it was air.
Now, having witnessed the terrifying power of Mo Hua's Divine-Sense Sword, it knew it couldn't win. So it said:
"I was reckless. Little Daoist, why don't we each take a step back?"
Mo Hua gave a cold snort and said nothing.
"Then what do you want?" the Blackwater River God asked.
Mo Hua looked displeased.
"You sneak into my sea of consciousness, skulk around, try to ambush me—and then you ask what I want?"
"Don't you think… that's a bit rude?"
"Shouldn't you apologize? Offer a gift? Show some sincerity?"
The Blackwater River God thought Mo Hua was acting childish.
But it had also seen this "child" grab the River God's head and lop it clean off—so it knew better than to mistake him for naïve.
When you think he's childish—you're the one being childish.
The Blackwater River God frowned hideously, then asked:
"What kind of sincerity are you looking for?"
Mo Hua grinned, eyes sparkling.
"I'm young, not greedy. Just share something nice with me."
The Blackwater River God's gaze deepened.
"What… kind of thing?"
Mo Hua smiled faintly.
And in his eyes—a glint of sword light.
"Your Divine Marrow."
The words "Divine Marrow" dropped like a thunderclap.
The Blackwater River God's expression changed instantly.
Now it was sure—this brat knew everything.
The essence of divinity.
The marrow of the Great Dao.
This was the core taboo of all gods!
And this brat had just casually said it out loud—and asked for it!
There could be only one explanation: some traitorous god had spilled the beans, exposing secrets to this little menace!
Panic surged within it. Then it noticed something was wrong with the surroundings.
It looked down—and saw that formation runes had quietly appeared beneath it, forming a sealing array.
Its divine body was already trapped in an Earth Prison Array.
"Not good!"
Corrupted will churned violently as it broke free of the earth-formed prison.
But in that brief moment—Mo Hua had already flashed forward.
His golden sword, forged of divine will, danced in a blur of deadly arcs.
Sword light tore through the air—and the Blackwater River God was "dismembered" once more.
It collapsed again into a dark puddle.
But Mo Hua frowned.
Though the evil will had clearly weakened after being torn apart, it had not perished.
Sure enough, moments later—the Blackwater River God reformed again.
Mo Hua blinked.
"Why won't you die?"
The Blackwater River God's form flickered, its face full of dread.
It hadn't expected Divine-Sense Sword to be so powerful.
Wielded by this boy—whose divine sense was not only vast but frighteningly refined—it overcame the usual flaw of insufficient killing power. It had become a deadly weapon.
This brat's divine sense was too strong—already showing signs of Dao Transformation—enough to rival the gods themselves.
That sword cultivator from hundreds of years ago? His offense was strong, but his divine sense was weak—manageable.
But this kid? His divine sense alone was a weapon.
Even if he could be ambushed from the shadows—it might not be enough to seriously injure him.
And if Mo Hua retaliated with his Divine-Sense Sword—even as an Evil God Incarnation, he wouldn't survive it.
Unless a higher-grade divine corpse was used to incubate an even stronger incarnation—only then, relying on true divine-grade advantage, could he potentially crush this brat with overwhelming force.
Otherwise, just a second-grade Evil God Incarnation?
Forget it. No chance.
And at that realization, even the Blackwater River God himself was momentarily stunned.
"Just a second-grade incarnation"…?
Since when did a 堂堂 Evil God's Incarnation need to use words like 'just' to refer to itself—when trying to wipe out a single human cultivator's divine sense?
The Blackwater River God was filled with both rage and shock.
This boy—what, ten? Maybe fifteen? Yet his divine sense was already this monstrous?
If he lived another few decades—hell, even a century—and his divine sense fully underwent Dao Transformation…
Who in the heavens could stop him?
A trace of venom flickered in the demon's cruel eyes.
"I'm talking to you," Mo Hua said coldly. "Why won't you die?"
The Blackwater River God's gaze turned cold. It let out a low, eerie laugh—but said nothing.
He couldn't answer.
This brat already knew far too much about the divine path—and he was cunning and shrewd to boot.
If he let even a single clue slip—this little ghost would absolutely sniff out a secret of the gods.
"Not talking?" Mo Hua frowned.
He studied the Blackwater River God. In his black-and-white eyes, a glimmer of insight lit up.
"You think I can't figure it out just because you're quiet?"
This Blackwater River God—Mo Hua guessed—was a true incarnation of the Wasteland Evil God. Though only at second-rank, it wasn't the same as a divine corpse.
From what he'd seen in the fishing village, that was how it worked:
A divine corpse from the Wasteland Evil God used sinister means to infect and parasitize the local River God's divine body. That divine body became an incubation chamber, giving birth to a corrupted Evil God Incarnation.
Which meant—this incarnation carried a portion of the Evil God's origin will.
And with how overwhelming the Wasteland Evil God's power was, its origin will would naturally be almost impossible to erase.
Even with Mo Hua's Divine-Sense Sword tearing it apart again and again—he still couldn't completely destroy it.
That was why the Blackwater River God—though clearly weaker than him—was still so fearless.
It could be cut—but not destroyed.
As long as it couldn't be fully annihilated, it would remain rooted in Mo Hua's sea of consciousness, endlessly spreading its contamination.
There's a saying: A thief may steal for a thousand days, but you can't guard for a thousand days straight.
Even with the firmest Dao Heart, constant erosion by such corruption would eventually wear him down. One day, his Dao Heart would falter, and he'd fall under the evil god's control—reduced to a puppet of twisted desires.
That… was likely this Evil God Incarnation's entire plan.
It didn't need to defeat him outright. It only needed to gain a foothold in his consciousness. Relying on the indestructible will of the evil god, it would gradually assimilate him.
This was an open scheme—blatant and terrifying.
It was also the Evil God's most insidious method—seemingly ordinary, yet nearly unsolvable.
The reason Mo Hua couldn't destroy the evil god's will might be one of two things:
Either the Evil God had reached the level of the Wasteland Overlord, its divine sense truly undying—rendering Mo Hua unable to erase it.
Or, Mo Hua's own divine sense hadn't yet undergone a fundamental transformation; its grade was too low, unable to extinguish a higher-tier will.
—Or maybe...
His skill in Divine-Sense Sword techniques was still shallow. Its lethality wasn't yet enough to truly kill an Evil God Incarnation.
Mo Hua found that likely.
After all, the "Sword Manifestation" style he used was something he'd learned halfway—copied without a full lineage. Just a basic technique for forging divine sense into a blade. Crude and elementary.
So not being able to destroy an evil god with it… was fair.
"Divine-Sense Sword Techniques…"
A flicker of memory passed through Mo Hua's eyes. He vaguely recalled, when deducing the broken sword's karma, overhearing a few technique names from that ancient sword cultivator:
"Divine Dread Form, God-Breaker Form, God-Slaying Form, God-Erasing Form…"
Could these be...
…the advanced sword arts from the True Manual of the Great Void's Divine-Sense Sword?
His heart trembled, eyes filled with longing.
Unfortunately, for various reasons, the sect had long since lost the Divine-Sense Sword's true inheritance. Those higher-level forms were lost to time—no one knew where to find or study them anymore.
"If I could just learn the God-Slaying Form… or even the God-Erasing Form…"
"Would I be able to destroy the Evil God Incarnation without needing any external help—just relying on my own strength?"
As he silently calculated, his gaze toward the Blackwater River God sharpened.
The Blackwater River God, under Mo Hua's gaze, suddenly felt… cold all over.
"Fine, don't talk," Mo Hua said, glancing over the demon again. "I'm in a hurry anyway. I guess I'll just go ahead and kill you first…"
The Blackwater River God blinked—then couldn't help but laugh in disbelief.
"Kill me? Just you?"
"With that Divine-Sense Sword of yours, you might beat me—but you can't kill me."
"So what can you really do to me?"
After all, it was the incarnation of an evil god, a vessel of the Wasteland Overlord's will.
The idea that a ten-year-old Foundation Establishment brat could completely erase it was laughable.
"Besides… you don't even know who my true body is—what kind of supreme terror I really am—"
"Yeah, I know," Mo Hua cut him off with a dismissive shrug. "You're the Wasteland Evil God or whatever."
The Blackwater River God froze.
Its eyes snapped wide open.
"You… know?"
How could a ten-year-old human cultivator possibly know the secret of the Wasteland Overlord—a being hidden in the shadows, veiled behind endless evil thoughts, able to deceive even the heavens?
But Mo Hua didn't care to explain.
He was hungry again.
He'd already filled up on the River God's evil intent—
Now, he was in the mood for something even better.
Golden light bloomed in his hand, and his gaze gleamed with a ruthless edge.
The Blackwater River God shuddered.
To see through fate's fog… to pierce the karma of corruption… to know the true name of the Wasteland Overlord—
That meant this low-cultivation brat… wasn't just a pawn on the board.
He'd stepped into the game.
He had the right to play.
Pawns, no matter how strong, were still just pieces.
But a player—no matter how weak—was a player.
Anyone with the right to place their hands on this cosmic chessboard… could never be underestimated.
The Blackwater River God was horrified by this thought.
Its form suddenly shifted—trying to retreat into shadow and flee into the black water.
But halfway through, it froze.
It couldn't move.
Several pale-golden runes shimmered with divine light, sealing it in place—a God-Path Formation.
The Blackwater River God's expression twisted in shock.
"A divine formation?!"
It looked at Mo Hua and gasped.
"How could you possibly know divine formations?!"
Mo Hua grinned.
"I learned it from your place."
The River God's face contorted.
These divine formation runes were still crude—but Mo Hua's divine sense was powerful enough to make them effective.
He grabbed the River God by its horns and dragged it into the center of his sea of consciousness.
A creeping unease surged in the Blackwater River God's gut.
It tried one last lure:
"Little Daoist… your divine sense is unmatched. You're far too talented to stay trapped in a mere mortal body. Why not walk the path of godhood with me?"
"If you don't want to give up your physical body, that's fine too."
"Being a god can be boring. You could keep your body—indulge in pleasures—taste all the delights of the world…"
"Whatever you want—techniques, Dao methods, fame, power, beauty…"
"I can give it all to you!"
Mo Hua was unmoved.
So the Blackwater River God's tone turned vicious.
"The Wasteland Overlord's might is boundless. Across the Three Thousand Great Mountains, all beings—demon or divine—bow before him! If you defy his will, you will fall into eternal hell, never to be redeemed!"
"…You done?" Mo Hua asked.
The Blackwater River God's eyelid twitched.
Mo Hua leaned in, grinning mischievously.
"Wanna see something cool?"
Before the words had finished, an ancient, profound Dao Tablet rose from the center of his sea of consciousness, pulsing with the breath of the Great Dao.
The Blackwater River God's eyes bulged.
"That's—!"
Mo Hua didn't wait.
His little hand, like a steel vice, slammed the River God's head down—against the Dao Tablet.
The River God had no time to react.
And in that instant—it saw a forbidden, deathly crimson flash.
Heavenly Tribulation Lightning.
In a heartbeat, divine law fell.
Life and death were determined. Irreversible.
Terror still frozen in its eyes, the River God was struck by the tribulation lightning—completely annihilated. The evil will of the Wasteland Overlord was obliterated with it.
The black water evaporated. The corruption vanished.
The evil incarnation of the Blackwater River God was cleansed, its godhood destroyed, Dao dissolved—leaving behind only a vast quantity of pale-golden divine marrow.
And among those strands of divine marrow…
A few threads were especially pure—nearly golden, with hidden Dao laws swirling within, glowing with radiant brilliance.
That light reflected in Mo Hua's eyes.
His eyes sparkled. He beamed.
Pure Gold Divine Marrow!
(End of Chapter)