Chapter 760 – Copper Coin
The pitch-black night was heavy with oppression and deathly silence.
But Mo Hua could see the blood-red aura coursing through the darkness and vaguely hear the low growls and screeches of demonic beasts.
Then, the ground of white bones trembled.
Crimson array patterns lit up and linked together—an eerie divine-sense aura surged from afar.
A long passageway surfaced atop the earth, constructed entirely from bleached bone.
The passage resembled a giant serpent, slithering across the blood creek and the bone-white riverbank, leading all the way to the distant gate of the Myriad Demons Valley.
Mo Hua's heart jolted—he instantly understood.
He couldn't see the specific array runes, but the flow of divine-sense array power gave him a very clear impression.
He had seen this formation before!
It was the very same Divine Dao formation used to "open the gate"—drawn atop bone tiles before the dried well in that bloody fishing village.
Except this one—this white-bone passage—was on a much grander scale. The runes were more intricate, and its grade was much higher.
Also, far more sinister.
Sixteenth night. Full moon. Blood creek boils. White-bone path appears.
The demon cultivators stood in front of the path with heads bowed and hands clasped respectfully.
After some time passed, an aged and beastlike hoarse voice echoed through the air:
"Proceed."
One by one, the demon cultivators began to move forward—like soulless corpses, shambling onto the white-bone path.
Those at the front were wreathed in intense demonic aura—clearly of higher rank.
They walked empty-handed.
Behind them, demon cultivators carried either beast corpses or enormous storage bags.
Some even hauled carts.
The carts bore second-grade iron cages—tough and reinforced—within which were imprisoned wounded, rare-grade demonic beasts.
These beasts were still alive but tightly chained, with spiked shackles stabbing into flesh—utterly immobilized.
At the very rear were the scattered, low-status demon cultivators.
Every one of them was shrouded in black robes, moving like lifeless husks across the bone path—obedient and reverent, not daring to step out of line.
It was as if only this bone path could grant entry to the Myriad Demons Valley.
A single misstep—and eternal doom.
Xun Ziyou sent a message via transmission talisman:
"We'll follow at the end of the line…"
The demon cultivators at the rear were weaker and had duller senses.
Even if discovered, it'd be easier to retreat.
If they snuck in among the front ranks, they'd be surrounded by elite, powerful demon cultivators. A single mistake could lead to being torn apart.
Xun Ziyou, being late-stage Golden Core, didn't fear this.
But Mo Hua was only mid-stage Foundation Establishment, and not a body cultivator either—he was far too "fragile" and "precious" to risk. Couldn't afford to let him get scratched, bumped… or even lose a single strand of hair.
Letting him take risks was absolutely out of the question.
Mo Hua obediently nodded.
The Myriad Demons Valley was dangerous—he'd definitely stay behind Xun Elder.
The two waited a while longer, watching as the full moon hung high, and the procession of demon cultivators on the blood creek and bone path gradually stretched farther away. The ones at the rear grew fewer and fewer.
Just as Mo Hua was about to move out, Xun Ziyou suddenly grabbed his arm.
Mo Hua turned his head, confused, only to see Xun Ziyou's face grave as he muttered:
"Someone's coming out of the valley!"
Mo Hua's heart skipped.
Soon enough, he sensed a wave of terrifying demonic energy rising from the distance.
Golden Core demon cultivator!
Mo Hua's pupils shrank. He turned toward the source—and sure enough, in the direction of the Myriad Demons Valley, the demonic aura surged thick and crimson. Two powerful silhouettes emerged, blurry but menacing.
"Two Golden Core elders?!" Mo Hua was startled.
The demon cultivators en route all halted and prostrated on the ground.
Kneeling, backs hunched, they formed a living staircase of submission.
The two elders walked directly over the backs of these kneeling demons and transformed into two gusts of bloody wind, surging out of the valley at full speed.
At once, the blood sea boiled and beastly cries erupted all around.
Xun Ziyou narrowed his eyes and shielded Mo Hua behind him.
Mo Hua crouched behind the elder and peeked out cautiously. Squinting, he saw two blood-red auras enclosing the two figures, rapidly drawing near.
The powerful demonic pressure made his scalp tingle.
The two elders—like monstrous beasts charging ahead—were now within four to five hundred zhang and closing fast.
Xun Ziyou's eyes turned cold as he gripped the spiritual sword in his hand, perfectly attuned to his will. Golden Core spiritual power began to circulate quietly.
The air turned tense and still.
Mo Hua was anxious too.
Just then, the two demon elders veered off without a moment's hesitation—flying directly out of the forest.
Their movement was hurried and unrestrained.
Xun Ziyou loosened his grip on the sword slightly, though his expression remained wary—with a touch of suspicion.
Once the two had vanished from sight, Mo Hua whispered:
"What are those two scumbags rushing off to do?"
Xun Ziyou shook his head slightly.
"They seemed urgent…" Mo Hua mused.
Xun Ziyou pondered, then suddenly felt a sense of unease.
Why would two Golden Core demon elders dash out of the valley in the dead of night with such urgency?
Something wasn't right.
After checking the sky and estimating the distance to the valley, Xun Ziyou figured they had about an hour before the gate closed. He turned to Mo Hua:
"Something's off. I'm going to follow them. You stay here."
Tracking Golden Core cultivators wasn't something he could do while dragging Mo Hua along.
He paused, then added:
"If I return within an hour, we'll enter the valley together."
"If I don't return… don't go in. We'll make new plans."
He gave a final reminder:
"Whatever you do—do not go in alone."
"Mhm!" Mo Hua nodded quickly.
He knew how to weigh the situation.
Xun Ziyou then vanished, pursuing the two demon elders.
Mo Hua could only wait where he was.
At the same time, curiosity gnawed at him—why had those two elders rushed out without even bothering to conceal their aura?
But no matter how he guessed, he couldn't figure it out. He could only wait.
Perched in the tree before the Myriad Demons Valley, Mo Hua remained still.
But after a long while…
The number of demon cultivators below dwindled.
The boiling blood creek gradually calmed.
The bone passage looked like it would soon shut—
But Elder Xun still hadn't returned.
Mo Hua began to worry.
"Elder Xun… couldn't have run into trouble, right?"
He was a Great Void Sect elder, descendant of Elder Xun, and a powerful late-stage Golden Core cultivator—it shouldn't be easy for him to get killed…
Still, Mo Hua couldn't help but fret.
He glanced again at the far-off Myriad Demons Valley.
The number of demon cultivators was growing sparse, and the aura was fading—surely, the gate would close soon.
He sent a message:
"Elder Xun, are you alright?"
"Are you coming back?"
But the message disappeared into silence—no reply came.
Mo Hua didn't know whether the elder hadn't seen it… or was simply delayed.
He grew more anxious.
What should he do?
Go in alone?
He immediately shook his head.
No way. That would be too reckless…
But if he didn't go in now, he'd have to wait another month.
And who knew what might happen in that time?
If something unexpected occurred—if the valley closed, or was destroyed—then the Four Symbols Array and Divine Dao formations inside… would be lost forever.
"Four Symbols Array… Divine Dao formation…"
Mo Hua wrestled with himself.
In the end, he sighed.
Forget it.
Even though he deeply desired to study those formations, now wasn't the time to take risks.
He should wait for Elder Xun to return and reassess.
Mo Hua slowly nodded to himself.
He waited another half-hour.
Still, Xun Ziyou didn't return.
Surprisingly, the gate to the Myriad Demons Valley still hadn't closed either.
This made Mo Hua puzzled.
"Why is it still open? What's the meaning of this?"
"Waiting for me to go in?"
…Can't be. I'm not that special.
Mo Hua scanned the demon cultivators below again.
That's when he noticed—
At the far edge of the white-bone path, a few demon cultivators stood guard beside a coffin.
From this distance—and with black robes obscuring their faces—Mo Hua couldn't see their expressions clearly.
But he could vaguely sense their emotions.
They were… anxious.
It seemed they were waiting for something.
Mo Hua frowned.
What are they waiting for?
Mo Hua was extremely curious. After a moment of thought, he quietly stood up and leapt to a nearby tree—the closest one to the group of demon cultivators.
From this distance, he could now faintly hear their voices.
However, their mouths and noses seemed to have undergone some demonic transformation, and their speech sounded more like beastly panting than human voices.
Mo Hua listened for a while before he could begin to make out the words.
"…Why is it… taking so long…"
"They've missed the scheduled time…"
"Seems like… something unexpected happened…"
"…They were discovered…"
"If they don't hurry, the gate to the Myriad Demons Valley really will close…"
Mo Hua's frown deepened. Just as he was wondering what was going on, he suddenly heard a disturbance in the distance.
Looking over, he saw a demon cultivator emerge from the forest, carrying a large burlap sack slung over its back.
The cultivator came closer and tossed the sack onto the ground with a deep, muffled voice:
"That guy kept his word. Delivered the 'cargo'."
One of the demon cultivators stepped forward and opened the sack.
Inside was a person. As the sack opened, a dazed little head popped out.
Mo Hua glanced down—and his heart jumped in shock.
"Little Wooden Head?!"
How had he been caught and brought here?
Inside the sack was Ouyang Mu, unconscious and unmoving, clearly having suffered something serious.
While Mo Hua was still bewildered, more commotion came from afar. Two more demon cultivators were approaching.
One of them also had a sack on his back.
Upon arriving, the cultivator tossed the sack to the ground.
"What a hassle. Damn…"
He kicked the sack. "Still has some fight in him."
Mo Hua tensed.
Who did they catch this time?
"Is he dead?" asked one of the demon cultivators.
"No. The Young Master gave orders—he's only useful if alive. No way we'd kill him."
With that, one of them opened the sack.
Inside… was a delicate, pale-faced young man.
Mo Hua was quite surprised.
Song Jian?!
Even he got caught?
Though Mo Hua didn't really care. They weren't close—live or die, it didn't really matter.
Mo Hua let out a sigh of relief.
The group of demon cultivators remained gathered and unmoving, clearly still waiting for something.
Mo Hua frowned.
"Are they expecting to capture someone else?"
A sense of foreboding began to creep up in his heart.
And sure enough—within the time it takes to burn a stick of incense—another group arrived.
Four more demon cultivators.
All four were at peak Foundation Establishment. Their auras were thick with demonic energy—at this point, they were barely distinguishable from actual demon beasts.
One of them carried a sack.
Once near, he dumped it to the ground and opened the mouth of the bag.
As expected—inside was a handsome, prideful youth.
Linghu Xiao.
Normally radiating sword pride, Linghu Xiao was now battered and bruised—completely unconscious.
One of the demon cultivators sighed,
"This brat's a real pain in the ass. No wonder he's a sword genius of the Chongxu Sect…"
"The four of you, all peak Foundation Establishment, had such a hard time capturing a mid-stage Foundation guy?"
"What do you know? Killing him would've been easy—catching him alive was the hard part. And we weren't allowed to cripple him either."
"Besides, how do you know who this kid might become in the future?"
One of them sneered,
"For all we know, we half-demon freaks might be licking his boots someday. I wouldn't dare go too far and offend him."
Another nodded. "That's true."
One older-sounding demon cultivator sighed,
"I've lived a long time… and I've never seen a sect genius with such terrifying sword intent at such a young age."
"He could even rival the prodigies of the Four Great Sects."
"If given time, this child's potential is immeasurable."
A moment of silence passed among the group of demon cultivators.
Some were envious. Some jealous. Most were indifferent.
And some were even gloating.
On the long road of cultivation, no matter how brilliant the talent—one wrong step could mean eternal damnation.
Now, they were about to escort this "sword genius"… right into that misstep from which there was no return.
"Alright," said the tallest demon cultivator, eyes sharpening. "Let's enter the valley."
His voice was heavy with tension.
"There was an incident earlier. The two elders are buying us time—but it might not last. We need to get inside and seal the valley, cut off the outside world. The longer we wait, the higher the chance something goes wrong."
Once they were inside, they'd be safe.
"Understood," the others nodded.
They lifted the lid of the coffin nearby and stuffed Linghu Xiao, Ouyang Mu, and Song Jian into it, sealing it shut.
Right in front of Mo Hua, the group of demon cultivators pushed the coffin and began walking along the white-bone path toward the distant Myriad Demons Valley.
Mo Hua gasped—his scalp tingled.
This is bad…
He immediately sent another message to Elder Xun:
"Elder Xun! Something big just happened! The demon cultivators captured Ouyang Mu of Tai'a Sect and Linghu Xiao of Chongxu Sect—they're headed into the Myriad Demons Valley!"
Still, Elder Xun didn't reply.
Mo Hua frowned deeply.
"What do I do?"
Rescue them?
But he wasn't strong enough! Most of these demon cultivators were late Foundation stage—some even peak level.
Even if he went all-out and managed to kill a few, it wouldn't matter.
The commotion would draw more enemies—and he couldn't run while carrying Ouyang Mu and Linghu Xiao.
Especially since they were sealed inside a coffin.
Opening that thing wouldn't be easy.
With his strength… he simply couldn't save them.
"Report back to the sect?"
Too late.
Even if the sect organized a full assault afterward—it'd be pointless.
If these demon cultivators were cornered, they might "rip the ticket" and kill the hostages on the spot.
Ouyang Mu and Linghu Xiao's lives would hang by a thread.
"So just do nothing?"
Mo Hua shook his head again.
Though the demon cultivator's earlier words were vague, he had guessed most of the picture.
Once the Myriad Demons Valley closed for a month… Ouyang Mu and Linghu Xiao's fate was clear.
When the gates reopened…
There was no telling what they'd become.
More than likely, they'd emerge as black-robed half-demon "converts."
Mo Hua sighed.
He didn't care about Song Jian.
But Ouyang Mu and Linghu Xiao couldn't be ignored.
How they'd ended up captured, he still didn't know.
But if he didn't think of something soon… these two kids might be lost forever.
He sent another message to Elder Xun:
"Hey, Elder Xun, are you there?"
Still no response.
Mo Hua had no other choice. He sent another message:
"I'll try sneaking into the Myriad Demons Valley and take a look…"
The formations weren't the main issue right now. First, he needed to find a way to get Little Wooden Head and Linghu Xiao out.
He was just about to make a move, when he suddenly hesitated.
He had a bad feeling.
The Myriad Demons Valley was full of dangers and unknowns, teeming with demon cultivators—and guarded by Golden Core–level demon elders. A single misstep, and he'd be in serious trouble.
Yet this was a risk… he might have no choice but to take.
But if he did take it—no one had his back.
Mo Hua frowned deeply.
That's when he suddenly realized… in his current state, he really wasn't ready.
He had just reached Foundation Establishment. His path of cultivation was still long and treacherous.
He still needed to save his master, break through realms, travel the Nine Provinces, and seek out the ultimate formations…
He would face countless dangers—and no one could always be there to protect him.
Uncle Gu… Elder Xun… They wouldn't always be around to be his bodyguards.
If, in the future, he were alone and ran into danger—would he always have to back off?
Mo Hua slowly shook his head.
He now had some real cultivation experience and understood one thing: great reward comes only with great risk.
Every opportunity came hand-in-hand with danger.
The fiercer the storm, the bigger the fish.
The greater the opportunity, the greater the risk.
If he always played it safe, even a destiny knocking at his door might be handed off to someone else. He would end up mediocre—an ordinary life, wasted talent.
But if he never played it safe… greed might spell his end.
Neither path seemed right.
Mo Hua was conflicted.
What should I do?
After a moment of reflection, an idea struck him.
Events have fortune and misfortune. People have blessings and calamities.
Is there a way… to take control of all that?
If he could do that, even desperate situations might still yield a way out.
Even when facing doom—he might turn misfortune into fortune.
Mo Hua's eyes lit up—but then quickly furrowed again.
"But… how do I actually do that?"
As he thought, a familiar figure appeared in his mind—a man with gentle eyes, immortal elegance, and otherworldly grace.
"Master…"
Mo Hua froze.
Then slowly started recalling.
The one person he had met so far who could truly "avoid misfortune and seek fortune" was his own master.
Until the very end—when even fate was exhausted and no path remained—his master had always been in control, acting with absolute foresight and poise.
And the reason his master could do that, was because of his supreme mastery in the Dao of Divine Sense—
Heaven's Fate Divination (天機衍算)
Fortune and misfortune—blessings and calamities—were all part of heaven's fate and karmic cause.
So theoretically, through this Heaven's Fate technique, one could indeed peer into fortune and misfortune, see the karmic threads, and predict outcomes.
Mo Hua couldn't help but wonder—
If I could truly become like Master… see fate, deduce karma, divine fortune and misfortune…
Then even if I'm alone, surrounded by danger, isolated and helpless… I could rely on fate to escape, use karma to plan, and find life in certain death… even seize opportunity from within chaos.
No storm would be too big to catch the fish!
Mo Hua's heart surged with excitement—then began to settle as he thought again.
But… how exactly do you divine fate?
How did his master use Heaven's Fate to divine blessings and disasters?
Master never taught him that part…
Mo Hua scratched his head.
He began recalling—among all the cultivators he had ever met, who knew how to divine, predict, or read fate?
And what methods could he possibly borrow?
Meanwhile, down the White Bone Path, the coffin carrying Little Wooden Head and Linghu Xiao was already growing smaller in the distance.
If he didn't act soon—it would be too late.
I need to figure something out… I need to divine at least one reading…
Mo Hua grew anxious and wracked his brain:
"Turtle shell omen reading?"
He didn't even have a turtle shell.
"Yarrow stalk casting?"
Where was he supposed to find yarrow stalks to count, one by one, with this little time?
"Compass?"
He had formation compasses and directional tools—but the kind used for fate divination was a Heaven's Fate Compass, a rare and precious treasure. He didn't have one of those…
"Screw it—use whatever I have!"
Mo Hua began digging through his storage pouch to see if he had anything that could even remotely pass for divination gear.
But all he had was stuff for array formations:
Array disks, ink, formation brushes, jade slips…
Plus some spirit tools, swords, and pills.
Absolutely nothing related to divination.
Desperate, he turned to search through his Storage Ring.
As he rummaged, his hand froze.
In a corner of the ring, lying there silently… was an old copper coin.
Mo Hua had no memory of this coin. It shouldn't have even been in his storage ring.
But the aura coming off it—it was incredibly familiar.
Mo Hua paused—then his gaze grew hazy. His heart turned a little sour.
It's Master's copper coin…
"Did Master… leave this for me?"
(End of Chapter)