Chapter 783: "Rat"
Elder Xun continued, "Those demon cultivators are charging at us like madmen. We've already engaged them in battle…"
Mo Hua's brows furrowed slightly.
Had Elder Xun and the others been exposed?
Was that why the demon cultivators were now going all out in a desperate final stand?
But… how were they discovered?
How did the demon cultivators know that Elder Xun's group was stationed just outside the Ten Thousand Demon Valley?
Was it because Elder Xun's team slipped up? Or was it… that mysterious and unfathomable Mr. Tu, who was also skilled in peering into fate and cause and effect?
Mo Hua frowned.
But things had come this far—worrying about the how was no longer helpful. He needed to focus on what to do next.
Mo Hua asked, "Elder Xun, can you break in?"
There was a pause before the Tai Void Token responded. Elder Xun seemed delayed by something, and after a while, finally sent a message:
"It'll take some time…"
"Zi Xian said the only path into the valley is through the Bone Path. The Blood Streams on either side are untouchable."
"Right now, the Bone Path is swarming with demon cultivators—packed tightly like a tide. We have the advantage in cultivation, but cutting through them will take a while."
Outside the Ten Thousand Demon Valley, blood mist filled the air. Demonic winds howled.
On the Bone Path, demon cultivators howled and clashed with the sect cultivators.
Demonic energy surged into the skies.
The cultivators of Tai Void and Chongxu Sect used sword auras and spells to strike down demon cultivators one after another, painting the ground with blood.
Elder Xun Ziyou slashed his right hand, sending out a sharp blade of sword qi that killed several demon cultivators instantly, pushing deeper into the valley.
But even as he advanced, he noticed something amiss and told Mo Hua:
"These demon cultivators are acting strangely. Their bodies are covered with odd patterns—bright red—and their demonic energy is burning at full throttle…"
He looked around with a frown and added:
"When they die, those markings explode—leaving them a bloody mess."
"Some of them don't even wait to die. The markings lose control, their demonic energy turns chaotic, and they self-destruct in madness."
Mo Hua's expression shifted.
"They've been turned into expendable pawns."
All of them bore Four Symbols Demon Marks.
Mo Hua could control these marks—but only one at a time, modifying the patterns and linking them to a central formation core.
But the managers inside the valley didn't need to do that.
They had demonic banners imbued with a built-in array core for the Four Symbols Demon Marks.
Using these banners, the valley could control demon cultivators in bulk—forcing them to charge into death without hesitation.
They were cannon fodder—meant to block Elder Xun's forces and buy time.
And they were always meant to die.
Jin Yixuan—or rather, the "young lord" behind him—seeing that things couldn't be salvaged, had decided to wipe out all his own demon forces. Not a single survivor.
Truly ruthless.
Mo Hua couldn't help but feel some admiration—and dread.
Elder Xun Ziyou casually killed a few more demon cultivators and asked:
"Are you safe on your end?"
"I'm fine," Mo Hua replied.
After all, he'd only snuck in and stolen a bit of knowledge.
Nothing too serious.
Besides, he had calculated the karmic outcome before arriving—the Ten Thousand Demon Valley was a "Great Auspice" location for him.
Others might face danger or luck, but for Mo Hua—it should be relatively safe.
"Good. Then stay alert. I'll break through as soon as I can…"
Elder Xun was about to end the message when he noticed Elder Shangguan Xuanjian from the Chongxu Sect looking at him expectantly.
Elder Xun paused, a little helpless.
In this crisis, he only wanted Mo Hua to focus on his own safety.
Helping others was fine if possible—but not at the cost of Mo Hua taking unnecessary risks.
Especially in this chaotic situation.
But Shangguan Xuanjian was an old friend.
And the Chongxu and Tai Void Sects had deep ties.
He couldn't just stand aside.
Elder Xun sighed and added another message to Mo Hua:
"If you get the chance—look after Linghu Xiao…"
"Got it!" Mo Hua replied.
He hadn't planned on abandoning his two little companions anyway.
Shangguan Xuanjian bowed to Elder Xun in gratitude:
"I'll never forget this kindness."
Elder Xun nodded slightly, heart easing a bit.
Taking a small risk for a favor from a Chongxu Sect elder—not a bad trade.
He then unleashed his full spiritual sword, its power surging to the limit.
"We break through. Now."
"Yes!" Shangguan Xuanjian replied solemnly.
The two of them joined forces, their Golden Core stage sword arts condensing sword qi into tangible force.
Together, they carved a bloody path through the tide of demon cultivators—charging toward the main gate of the Ten Thousand Demon Valley…
Inside the array formation stone chamber, Mo Hua rested his chin on his hand.
He was thinking—what next?
Originally, if there'd been enough time, he had planned to stay and listen to Mr. Tu's lecture.
He wanted to verify whether this so-called "essence" of Divine Dao formations was similar to the Sealing Law he'd just comprehended.
See if there was anything worth learning.
But now? Too late.
The demon cultivators were clearly going for broke.
"That cautious, huh…"
"Or maybe I did something that got 'calculated' on their end…"
Mo Hua shook his head.
Clearly, he'd have to be even more careful in the future.
He might even need to account for karmic fate in his actions—to avoid unknown surveillance or risk.
"The path of fate… long and treacherous indeed."
Mo Hua nodded to himself and steeled his focus.
"Since the gate has been opened, and Elder Xun is on his way in… then first, I need to find a way to get Little Wooden Head and the others out. The rest can wait."
Mo Hua quietly released his spiritual sense.
The stone chamber was empty—Jin Yixuan wasn't around, and the other demon cultivators didn't dare enter.
After waiting a bit, Mo Hua put the "goat-head stool" back in place, then slipped behind the ram-horn demon statue and snuck out.
He crept through the hall, unraveled the formation, and opened the door just a crack before vanishing through it—hidden from view.
The door silently shut behind him.
No one knew he had been there.
And no one knew he had left.
Leaving the stone chamber, Mo Hua followed the route indicated by the Sword Skull, heading back toward the prison.
Compared to the dead silence when he arrived, the place was now chaotic and loud—completely transformed.
Demon cultivators were tearing down the Ten Thousand Demon Valley.
Breaking what they could.
Blowing up what they couldn't.
Destroying everything without mercy.
Mo Hua was almost speechless.
Sure, it was an evil stronghold—but it still took enormous time and effort to build. Didn't they feel even a little bit of heartache?
He didn't realize: if he hadn't snuck in and stirred things up, the place wouldn't be collapsing now…
His journey back was smooth.
The more chaotic it got, the better his stealth techniques worked—easier to hide in plain sight.
And just like that, Mo Hua returned silently to the prison.
Inside, the three prisoners—Little Wooden Head and the others—were filled with anxiety.
The sounds of destruction and killing were filtering in, heavy with the stench of blood.
But they had no idea what was happening.
As soon as Mo Hua appeared, Ouyang Mu's eyes lit up.
Song Jian, jittery with nerves, nearly burst into tears at the sight of someone familiar.
Even Linghu Xiao let out a sigh of relief.
"Senior Brother Mo, what's going on out there?" Ouyang Mu asked.
"It's a mess. I'll explain later. First—let's get you all out of here."
All three visibly perked up.
"Here—your storage pouches. I stole them back for you."
Mo Hua tossed the three storage pouches to them.
These were the pouches he had stolen from a nearby locked cell—he'd been eyeing that spot for a while, but hadn't had the chance before, wary of alerting the enemy.
Now that the entire snake's nest was in chaos and everyone was scrambling to flee, it no longer mattered.
The three of them looked at him with grateful expressions.
Mo Hua briefly explained his plan:
"In a bit, I'll kill a few demon cultivators and grab a few black robes. You'll put them on, smear yourselves with demon blood, and disguise yourselves as demon cultivators to sneak out in the crowd…"
Things were far too chaotic now, and Mo Hua didn't have any concealment treasures with him.
Plus, Ouyang Mu and the others lacked stealth experience. Even with concealment tools, they'd probably mess up and give themselves away. Disguising as demon cultivators was actually safer.
"When the time comes, I'll guide you out."
After speaking, Mo Hua turned to look at Song Jian.
Among the three, only Song Jian was an "outsider."
"You better behave. If you mess around, I won't be able to save you," Mo Hua warned.
Song Jian nodded obediently.
Right now, with the Ten Thousand Demon Valley in full-scale chaos, any frenzied demon cultivator could tear him apart. He didn't dare act out in the slightest.
Whatever Mo Hua said—he would follow.
After giving out the instructions, Mo Hua said:
"Alright, let's move."
But just as he stepped forward, he suddenly froze, an odd expression flickering on his face.
Ouyang Mu asked, "Senior Brother Mo, what's wrong?"
"I just had a strange feeling…" Mo Hua frowned slightly.
"It's like… you might not make it out."
The three of them looked visibly shaken.
Mo Hua frowned in thought for a moment, then flipped his palm and produced a copper coin.
Ouyang Mu was puzzled and whispered,
"Senior Brother Mo… what are you doing?"
Mo Hua replied casually:
"Reading your fortune."
Ouyang Mu and the others: "…"
So, in front of the three of them, Mo Hua tossed the coin.
But once it landed, his brows furrowed even deeper.
"Useless…"
Even after casting the coin, he couldn't sense any cause-and-effect insight. His heart held no sense of good or ill fortune—completely uncertain.
Why?
Was it because this matter didn't involve him directly, and thus he couldn't divine someone else's fate?
Or was it because this situation was too chaotic, involving too many parties, the threads of karma too tangled to unravel?
Or perhaps… one simply couldn't keep divining the heavens over and over.
A person's ability to calculate fate had its limits. After one or two readings, there had to be time to recover.
"This half-baked fate divination of mine… really needs work," Mo Hua sighed internally.
Still, since he had already felt a trace of warning, the situation likely wouldn't go smoothly.
He looked again at Linghu Xiao and the others, then said solemnly:
"I'll take you out. There should be elders at the valley entrance to meet us.
But if things go wrong, if someone stops us—don't try to be heroes.
Don't pull any 'die rather than surrender' nonsense.
Just give up. Let them capture you again…"
The three of them found his words strange, but the urgency of the moment didn't allow time for questions. They just remembered what he said and nodded seriously.
Mo Hua then used the Four Symbols Array Core to remotely "mark" and kill three dog-headed demon cultivators.
These demon cultivators were short, and their black robes would fit better.
Mo Hua stripped the robes off them.
Linghu Xiao, Ouyang Mu, and Song Jian each put on a robe and smeared demon blood on themselves to mask their scent. With Mo Hua guiding them, they headed toward the valley gate.
On the way, Mo Hua held a small formation plate in hand.
It was a simplified spiritual vision array he had derived from the Primordial Magnetic Array control center in the magnetic chamber.
Using this small array, he could loosely connect to the spiritual vision nodes he had previously activated.
Through the vision array, he could monitor nearby demon cultivator movements.
Though the magnetic field image was far less clear than in the control room, it was good enough.
Mo Hua remained hidden, his spiritual sense sharp and alert, using the spiritual vision array to direct Linghu Xiao's group.
He deliberately chose routes with fewer demon cultivators.
On the way, they occasionally encountered large demon tides—or a few scattered individuals.
In large tides, the trio blended into the crowd.
For stragglers, they just pretended not to see each other.
Occasionally, a particularly alert demon cultivator would notice something off and question them loudly.
In those cases, Mo Hua would decisively order them to kill.
Ouyang Mu's cultivation was average, but he had some sword training.
Song Jian looked like a spoiled rich kid, but his Broken Gold Sword Art wasn't bad.
And Linghu Xiao, as a sword prodigy of Chongxu Sect, needed no introduction.
Add to that Mo Hua's small spells cast from behind the scenes—
Even when the lone demon cultivators they faced were decently strong, they were no match for the combined effort of the three.
And so, dodging and fighting their way forward, the group steadily made their way out of the Ten Thousand Demon Prison, heading toward the main gate of the Ten Thousand Demon Valley…
...
Deep within the Ten Thousand Demon Valley.
Inside an elegantly austere study.
A young noble sat upright at the head seat, refined as jade.
Below him, Jin Yixuan bowed respectfully with his head lowered and said:
"Everything has gone according to Young Master's plan.
What needed to be destroyed has been destroyed.
Those who needed to die, will all be dead.
The traces of pill refining, artifact forging—especially formations—will also be wiped clean afterward…"
"Mm."
The young noble nodded softly, then fell silent. His pale fingers tapped lightly on the edge of the table, deep in thought.
Jin Yixuan cautiously asked,
"Young Master… is there something amiss?"
The young noble pondered for a moment before slowly speaking:
"Why… were we discovered?"
Jin Yixuan's heart clenched.
The young noble continued:
"How did they know about the Ten Thousand Demon Valley? Why were they lying in ambush outside?"
"Why didn't they charge in directly? What are they waiting for?"
"What… exactly are they waiting for?"
Jin Yixuan's expression changed, thoughts racing.
"Young Master means… they're waiting outside for some kind of opportunity—and that opportunity… lies within the valley?"
The young noble neither confirmed nor denied.
Jin Yixuan thought for a moment—and suddenly his heart dropped.
"Reporting to Young Master… these past few days, there have been some anomalies in the valley…"
The young noble gazed at him with an emotionless expression.
Jin Yixuan felt a chill down his spine. Terrified of being blamed, he bowed even lower, but still forced himself to speak:
"One of the stewards died—that much you already know."
"Besides that… occasionally, demon cultivators have suddenly dropped dead."
"Some also reported… a vague feeling, like they were being watched by something unseen…"
"At the time, I suspected a demonic wraith might've escaped from the Demon Refining Diagram and started causing trouble…"
He spoke in a low voice.
The young noble said coldly:
"The demonic wraiths are sealed within the Demon Refining Diagram, restrained by formations and cut off from the outside. They wouldn't escape, and even less cause chaos."
A cold smile curved at the corner of his lips.
"A 'rat' has snuck into the Ten Thousand Demon Valley."
"The sect's hawks lie in wait outside the valley, counting on this rat to gather intel and scout for weaknesses…"
Jin Yixuan's face turned pale, and he immediately knelt in guilt:
"This subordinate failed to detect it!"
The young noble gave him a flat look.
"Didn't I tell you not to spout such useless nonsense?
So what if you failed to detect it? So what if you confess? None of it changes anything."
"If I truly wanted to kill you, you'd already be dead. No need for all this groveling and tail-wagging."
Cold sweat beaded on Jin Yixuan's forehead. He quickly replied:
"This subordinate will atone for his mistake with merit!"
The young noble nodded slightly, then paused in thought, his eyes flashing with cold light.
"That rat… must be trying to rescue someone."
"In fact, it might already be in the process."
Jin Yixuan was startled.
"I'll go immediately to recapture those three brats, find that rat, and crush it with my own hands!"
"No," the young noble shook his head.
"When you catch the rat, bring it back. I want to see it… personally."
His gaze was icy, but filled with amused curiosity.
"Yes, sir!"
Jin Yixuan solemnly kowtowed, then retreated with reverence.
But the moment he left the study, his face twisted into a vicious snarl. He cursed under his breath:
"Which damned brat dares sabotage me and make me lose face in front of the Young Master?! Tired of living?"
"The Young Master said not to kill you—so I'll keep you alive… just enough to make you beg for death!"
He immediately summoned a group of stewards and barked:
"Follow me to the Demon Prison!"
"Yes, sir!"
Seeing his furious expression, none of the stewards dared question him and promptly obeyed.
Jin Yixuan couldn't wait. Activating his movement technique, he charged out like a beast, barreling toward the Ten Thousand Demon Prison.
The stewards scrambled to follow.
When they arrived at the Demon Prison and entered the holding cells, Jin Yixuan instantly saw that the place was empty.
The three had escaped!
The dog-headed demon guards outside had vanished.
Upon closer inspection, they found that those demon guards had been stripped and fed to nearby demon beasts.
In front of the demon beast cages, there were still some gnawed remains of demon cultivators—flesh and bones alike.
Jin Yixuan flew into a rage:
"Split up and pursue them!"
"Yes!"
The stewards immediately fanned out along different prison routes.
Jin Yixuan also picked a direction to chase, but after a while, he suddenly froze—his gaze locked onto a nearby wall.
The wall's stones were of mixed age and material, and faint spiritual traces lingered. If one wasn't a skilled formation master, it would've gone completely unnoticed.
Jin Yixuan stepped forward and wiped at the wall.
What appeared beneath made his pupils shrink sharply:
A Primordial Magnetic Spiritual Vision Array!
Someone had activated it!
No wonder—no wonder that steward Jin Gui said he'd felt like he was being watched inside the Demon Prison…
Because he was.
Some invisible "eye" had been silently watching him the whole time.
No—very likely not just one.
Jin Yixuan's face darkened. He immediately searched nearby and discovered that multiple vision arrays had been activated.
These spiritual arrays were like cold, eerie eyes staring into every movement within the Demon Prison.
And who knew how many more of these "eyes" were hidden in the prison's corners?
For a moment, a chill seeped into Jin Yixuan's very soul.
(End of this Chapter)