Chapter 754 – Hidden Truths
After chatting with Cheng Mo a little longer and urging him to focus on recovery, Mo Hua returned to the disciples' quarters and secretly took out the severed arm of the demon cultivator once more.
This severed arm still carried a trace of demonic aura, and by sect rules, such items weren't allowed inside the sect.
However, Mo Hua had already explained the full story to Elder Song, so he'd essentially gotten "official permission" for keeping it.
Though Elder Song had no idea why Mo Hua wanted to keep the arm, it was technically a "trophy" from their battle against the demon cultivator.
Since Mo Hua said it had use, and the lingering demonic aura was minimal, Elder Song hesitated only briefly before returning it to him.
What's more, Mo Hua was highly valued by Elder Xun, and with Elder Xun's support, as long as Mo Hua didn't make any excessive requests, Elder Song was happy to turn a blind eye.
Mo Hua thanked him, then immediately returned to the disciples' quarters to begin his investigation.
He first used a special spiritual medicinal concoction to soak and clean the arm—removing the blood stains and fragments of the Broken Gold Sword Array that had exploded, as well as residual metallic sword qi.
This medicinal wash had been custom-made for him by a junior who was skilled in alchemy.
Once cleaned, the arm's bloody hue faded, revealing its natural flesh color beneath.
And on the skin—formation runes began to emerge.
These runes, though ancient, carried a strange, almost eerie charm, and their formation cores gave off a primitive, barbaric aura.
They were Four Symbols Runes!
Looking closely, Mo Hua realized that these weren't just any Four Symbols runes—they were pictographic and zoomorphic, mimicking the forms of beasts.
The brush strokes resembled a monster's back, the tips looked like claws and fangs—they bore the appearance of wolf-like symbols.
These seemed to be Four Symbols Wolf Pattern Arrays.
Mo Hua narrowed his eyes, deep in thought.
This wasn't the first time he'd encountered Four Symbols Runes.
He had seen similar ones on the vulture's bald head before.
Moreover, Elder Xun had taught him the basic structure of the orthodox Four Symbols Runes.
But what he had learned and what he saw now were clearly not the same.
Elder Xun's versions were upright and majestic—true "beast runes."
Whereas these… whether the ones on the vulture or on this arm… were from a different lineage entirely.
They were strange, twisted—more like demonic beast runes.
In the Four Symbols Formation system, "beast runes" and "demonic beast runes" might have originated from the same root…
But which was the original? Which one was orthodox? Which one was corrupted?
Mo Hua couldn't say for sure.
After all, his knowledge of Four Symbols formations was limited—he had only heard a little about their origins from Elder Xun.
Apparently, Four Symbols Formations came from the wild, untamed lands south of the Nine Provinces—passed down through generations by the barbarian tribes.
The Wildlands...
Mo Hua's thoughts spun. He began recalling all the events he had encountered since arriving in Ganxue Province…
From his previous deductions and rune comparisons, he had concluded that these demonic Four Symbols formations might be the work of Mr. Tu.
And Mr. Tu worshipped the Horned Evil God, whose true title was Lord of the Great Wilderness.
Which meant—this "Great Wilderness" must refer to the Three Thousand Savage Mountains.
So if Four Symbols formations originated from the Wildlands…
And the Evil God was from the Wildlands…
Then… were these formations part of that evil god's legacy?
These demon cultivators, bearing Four Symbols formations—were they the minions of that Evil God?
"If that's the case… what are these demon cultivators doing hiding in Demon-Taming Mountain?"
A creeping suspicion began to form in Mo Hua's mind, but no matter how he turned it over, he couldn't pin down the answer.
He reviewed everything he had seen and heard in Demon-Taming Mountain—then suddenly jolted with realization:
"The demon beasts!"
Every demon beast he had encountered in the mountain—though rare and unfamiliar—had felt strangely familiar.
The pig-headed demon beast the Broken Gold Sect had tried to snatch from him.
The blood-charm fox stolen by the demon cultivator.
The various wolf, snake, and ox-like beasts…
They all bore resemblances to the demonic entities he had fought, slain, or even eaten during his battles against the evil god.
Especially that massive pig-headed monster…
And the seductive pink half-fox, half-woman demoness.
He'd even "ordered" such things via the altar before—and consumed them.
Demonic beings were hybrid abominations—half-human, half-beast—refined through blood rituals into monsters.
The demons under the Evil God of the Great Wilderness were made of blood-soaked limbs, grotesque remnants—part human, part beast.
The human limbs came from abducted, massacred, dismembered cultivators…
So the beast parts—likely came from…
Demon-Taming Mountain?!
A chill swept through Mo Hua.
"Then this mountain… is it actually a breeding ground in the Evil God's grand plan to refine his demon army?!"
"No… that's not all…"
Mo Hua frowned.
If the demon beast components were sourced from this mountain, then there must be many demon cultivators working for the Evil God.
But demon cultivators alone wouldn't be enough.
At most, they could hunt demon beasts.
But the process would require others to assist—transporting, butchering, refining…
And above all—secrecy.
It had to be done without anyone noticing.
Mo Hua thought again of that vast, eerily silent forest—merged with divine-path formations and utterly undetectable to divine sense—and felt another wave of unease.
That seemingly ordinary forest might be hiding a secret far darker than he had imagined…
"Besides demon cultivators… who else is helping the Evil God?"
He pondered briefly—and a name surfaced in his mind.
The Broken Gold Sect…
That fat pig-headed beast had been snatched by them.
At the time, he'd simply thought it was typical Broken Gold Sect behavior—shameless and greedy as always.
And, well, yes—they were indeed shameless and greedy.
But now that he thought about it more carefully, something didn't add up.
Later, when the Broken Gold Sect suffered losses, they had actually gone quiet, retreating without continuing their conflict with the Great Void Sect.
That wasn't like them at all.
In hindsight, their withdrawal might have been an effort to avoid exposure—to keep some deeper scheme hidden.
That secret might be…
The Broken Gold Sect is helping the Evil God hunt demon beasts and refine demon monsters!
Mo Hua's heart thudded.
Then, more questions rose:
"Where did they get the guts to do this?"
"Aren't they afraid of the Dao Court holding them accountable? That their entire lineage could be severed, their foundations destroyed, their name erased from the cultivation world?"
"And how deep does their involvement go?"
"Is it the entire sect?"
"Or just a faction—a few rogue disciples or clans?"
"Does the Sect Master know?"
"What about their reclusive elders?"
"Do they even realize what they're doing?"
This wasn't just playing with fire.
The Evil God of the Great Wilderness was a true evil deity—one who had turned his back on the divine path.
This wasn't just skinning the tiger for its pelt—this was laying down and inviting the beast to devour you.
In the Evil God's eyes, all beings were but sacrificial dogs. Human lives meant nothing.
Didn't they fear being used? Turned into puppets? Sacrifices? Damned eternally?
Mo Hua shook his head, sighing inwardly.
"These people have no idea how terrifying an evil god truly is."
If he hadn't eaten fragments of evil gods—both divine remains and avatars—he wouldn't have known either.
To most cultivators, especially those who don't cultivate divine sense, an evil god is a true taboo—something unknowable, untouchable, and undefeatable. Pure, existential dread.
Mo Hua understood this all too well.
But the matters concerning the evil god weren't things he could simply explain to others.
There were far too many heavenly secrets tangled up in it.
First, no one would believe him even if he told them.
Second, words invite disaster. If the wrong person caught wind of it, it could bring about immense karmic entanglements—and a whole lot of trouble.
Besides, everything involving evil gods was riddled with mystery: fate manipulation, deceitful divinations, Lord Huangshan, divine path cultivation, soul-devouring techniques…
He couldn't possibly explain all that clearly.
So—it was better to keep things simple. The less others knew, the better.
Anyway, Ganxue Province was full of powerful cultivators. It wasn't like he, a little nobody at the Foundation Establishment stage, needed to handle everything himself.
He should just focus on doing his part.
Mo Hua considered his next steps.
First of all—Demon-Taming Mountain's secret, which was tied to the evil god… He absolutely had to look into it.
If he could sabotage the evil god's schemes, he would.
Even if he didn't openly mention the evil god, he could still expose the Broken Gold Sect's dirty laundry, so they wouldn't have the chance to cause more harm.
Then there was the altar…
"If Demon-Taming Mountain has one of the evil god's altars, that's a five-star banquet—I must go and take a bite!"
Second, he needed to capture a few demon cultivators and study the Four Symbols Formations on their bodies.
Finally, there was the matter of the Divine Path Formation.
These formations involved the use of divine sense power and could restrain divine entities.
And soon enough, he might need to confront an evil god—or some powerful fiendish entity—head-on.
Learning Divine Path Formations was a must.
But right now, the evil god's conspiracy was too deep to trace.
The demon cultivators were too strong—hard to capture.
Only the Divine Path Formation—conveniently fixed in the mountain forest—was like a still target: not running, not resisting. Practically within reach.
Problem was… that mysterious forest?
Mo Hua didn't dare go in.
No one knew what might be hiding in there.
If he ran into a group of demon cultivators—or a Core Formation demonic cultivator—he'd be instantly toast.
"I really need a bodyguard…"
But where was he supposed to find one?
He thought of Uncle Gu (Gu Changhuai)… then quickly shook his head.
"What a shame…"
Uncle Gu wasn't part of the sect—he couldn't enter Demon-Taming Mountain.
If he could, Mo Hua would feel way more confident heading into that spooky forest to go "harvest vegetables."
The ideal candidate had to be a Core Formation cultivator, a sect member, and someone authorized to enter Demon-Taming Mountain.
With those conditions?
Yeah. Basically no one fit the bill.
Mo Hua let out a long sigh.
But halfway through the sigh, he froze.
A figure—a familiar aura—surfaced in his memory.
Mo Hua frowned.
He remembered the first time he entered Demon-Taming Mountain… he'd felt someone watching him.
Later, during various beast hunts, that same feeling kept coming back.
Especially when he was divining Song Jian's sword qi and deducing the Broken Gold Sword Array—that's when the sensation was strongest.
At the time, he thought it was just his imagination.
But later, outside Elder Xun's courtyard, he met that elder called Xun Ziyou…
Xun Ziyou was a junior of Elder Xun.
When he saw Mo Hua, there was a brief flicker of guilt in his expression.
His tone had been formal, but his gaze—almost familiar.
And his aura—Mo Hua couldn't shake the feeling that he'd felt it before.
Putting it all together now…
"Maybe I don't need to find a bodyguard…"
Mo Hua's expression shifted slightly, and he muttered:
"It's possible… I've already got one?"
Deep in the dense forest of Demon-Taming Mountain—
A shadowy, pitch-black ravine. No light. No wind.
A demon cultivator, missing an arm and half his body, limped and crawled into the valley in a wretched state.
He took out a white bone and lit it with a greenish flame.
A sinister, glowing demonic aura rose into the air in wisps.
The demon cultivator waited silently.
Before long—heavy footsteps echoed through the forest. A tall man in black robes appeared, as if from nowhere, and slowly walked over.
"What happened?"
The man's voice was low and cold, devoid of emotion.
"I…" the demon cultivator's breath was ragged. "I was ordered to capture a Blood-Charm Fox… but midway, I was intercepted by some sect disciples."
"That fox was rare—I spent a whole month tracking it down."
"I didn't want to make a big scene. I planned to let them fight over it, then swoop in and steal the prize."
"But… I…"
His face went pale. "My demonic rune malfunctioned. My demonic energy surged backward and struck my sea of consciousness. I was dazed."
"After that, I'm not sure what happened. I vaguely remember stealing the fox and nearly killing one of the disciples… then his companions came for me."
The man in black frowned.
"What realm were they?"
"Mid-stage Foundation Establishment," the demon cultivator answered weakly.
The black-robed man sneered.
"You're late-stage Foundation Establishment. You've learned demonic techniques, drawn demonic runes—and you still couldn't handle a few mid-stage sect brats? Are you trying to redefine useless?"
Panic flashed across the demon cultivator's face. He quickly defended himself:
"It's not my fault! Those disciples were weird!"
"Which sect were they from?"
"They weren't wearing any sect robes. And their skills… were all over the place. Swordplay, spells, formations—they used everything. I couldn't tell…"
The man in black grew increasingly impatient.
"Can't even figure out your opponent's background during a fight. Figures—cultivating demonic arts fried your brain."
He narrowed his eyes.
"What sword techniques and formations were they using?"
The demon cultivator replied,
"One used a fire-type sword art. Pretty powerful, but not too troublesome."
"Their spell techniques were water-based. Extremely annoying..."
"But the real problem was the number of formations laid down—and their power. I… I'm clueless when it comes to formations, so I couldn't tell much."
"Besides that, there was a sword cultivator disciple—his eyes were sharp as blades, aura intense, and he wielded a pale moon-colored longsword. His sword qi was terrifying. No way he's just mid-Foundation Establishment…"
The man in black narrowed his pupils sharply.
"Pale moon longsword… razor-sharp sword qi… Chongxu Sect…"
A name flashed in his mind—a sword prodigy of the Chongxu Sect.
His gaze sharpened as he looked at the demon cultivator.
"He's the one who injured you?"
"No… no!" the demon cultivator shivered, eyes filled with fear.
"I was wounded by… Broken Gold Sword Qi!"
The moment the words left his mouth, the man in black barked angrily:
"Nonsense!"
His gaze turned ice-cold.
"How could you be injured by Broken Gold Sword Qi?"
"It's true…" the demon cultivator trembled.
"And it wasn't just any Broken Gold Sword Qi—it was Sword Control! The sword was wielded with the orthodox, extremely powerful Broken Gold Sword Control Technique. The sword came from over 160 zhang (roughly 500 meters) away—one strike, and it severed my arm! Nearly killed me!"
He was both furious and deeply afraid.
The man in black's gaze turned blade-sharp. He glanced at the demon cultivator's wound—and indeed, there were traces of sharp Broken Gold Sword Qi lingering in the flesh. His face darkened like a winter storm.
"Who was controlling the sword?"
"I don't know," the demon cultivator replied, "but it definitely wasn't one of those sect disciples."
"To control a sword from that distance, with that level of power, would require at least peak Foundation Establishment—or even a Core Formation expert."
"Those disciples… they didn't have that capability."
"I fought all five of them. Not one practiced the Broken Gold Sword Control Technique."
"So the one who attacked me from the shadows… was a hidden sword expert, someone who trained in the most orthodox and advanced sword control techniques of the Broken Gold Sect!"
The demon cultivator's voice turned cold.
The man in black's expression was like stone.
"You're suggesting…"
The demon cultivator lowered his voice, grinding his teeth.
"The Song Clan."
The man in black's eyes flashed with murderous intent.
The demon cultivator, though clearly terrified, stood by his conclusion.
"It's the only explanation."
The Song Clan practiced the orthodox Broken Gold Sword Control Technique.
They were long-time enemies of the Jin Clan.
They knew the Jin Clan best.
Besides Jin Clan disciples, only Song Clan cultivators could possibly wield such a terrifying Broken Gold Sword Control technique.
"I suspect…" the demon cultivator coughed up a mouthful of blood, voice grim,
"The Song Clan saw through some of our plans. They're trying to use other sects as proxies—borrow their hands to destroy the Jin Clan. Then, the Song Clan can rise in their place…"
The man in black remained silent, but the killing intent rising off him grew stronger and stronger.
A vicious demonic aura boiled around him, writhing like serpents and ready to burst from his body.
He barely managed to suppress his violent urges.
After a long silence, the murderous aura faded.
His presence turned deep and still—like a mountain before an eruption.
"I understand…"
His tone was cold and calm.
Then, he looked again at the demon cultivator and asked:
"What happened to your severed arm?"
The demon cultivator winced.
"It was shredded by the sword qi… turned into a cloud of blood mist."
The man in black nodded slightly.
"Good."
He tossed a blood-red flesh-recovery pill to the demon cultivator.
"Eat it."
The demon cultivator was overjoyed. He swallowed the pill and bowed deeply.
"Thank you, Boss!"
The man in black gave a faint grunt.
"Once you recover, don't forget your task. Mister Tu has already said—the timeline is moved up. We need to act fast."
"Yes!" The demon cultivator kowtowed.
The pill churned within him, surging with blood energy that began to restore his flesh and heal his wounds.
Though using such flesh-forging pills would leave sequelae, he could always replenish himself later—through eating raw flesh and demonic tonics.
Better than dying here.
The man in black turned.
"Come. Return to the valley with me."
The demon cultivator followed respectfully behind.
But after just a few steps, the man in black paused, glancing back in the direction of Demon-Taming Mountain.
A cold sneer formed on his lips.
"Chongxu Sect… Song Clan…"
"If you dare meddle in my plans… I'll make sure you all pay the price."
He let out a quiet, sinister laugh, then turned away—vanishing into the deepest, darkest, bloodiest part of the forest.
(End of Chapter)