Chapter 785 – Running with Tigers
Xun Ziyou and Xun Zixian were both stunned.
Xun Ziyou quickly shook his head.
"No. No, absolutely not. You can't go in."
The fate of Linghu Xiao and the other two youths was still unknown. He felt regret—it didn't sit well with him.
But ultimately, these were disciples of Chongxu Sect, Tai'a Sect, and the Song clan from Broken Gold Sect.
The pain wasn't his to bear.
So yes, he felt regret—but that was as far as it went.
However, if Mo Hua insisted on going into the Demon Refining Diagram on his own and something happened to him… the Great Void Sect would suffer a huge loss too.
And the old ancestor definitely wouldn't be gentle about it.
He, Xun Ziyou, wouldn't even have the face to go see the old man.
That pain would be his to bear—very, very directly.
"If anyone's going in, it should be me. Not you," Xun Ziyou insisted.
But Mo Hua calmly replied,
"Elder Xun… do you even know what you'd be going in to do?"
Xun Ziyou froze for a second. He glanced at the towering, eerie mural before them, gave it a serious thought… and then honestly shook his head.
"I don't."
He didn't even understand what the Demon Refining Diagram actually was—let alone what might be hidden within.
As a sect elder, he'd spent most of his life at the sect. Sure, he'd traveled and had plenty of experience—but all of it had involved people. Human cultivators.
Not the demonic and unclean.
Until now, he had rarely encountered true evil entities. He had even less knowledge about anything involving wicked or heretical intent.
On the other hand, Elder Xun Zixian frowned thoughtfully. After a moment, he asked solemnly:
"Do you have confidence?"
Mo Hua nodded.
So far, it seemed there was no divine corpse or manifestation of an evil god inside the Ten Thousand Demons Valley.
So even though the Demon Refining Diagram was filled with twisted, hideous monsters—
in terms of actual power, they might not be that strong.
He should be able to handle it.
Mo Hua's demeanor was calm and collected, full of confidence.
Elder Xun Zixian was surprised, but after a moment of silence, he gave a slow nod.
He didn't know exactly where Mo Hua's confidence came from.
But this was a disciple personally valued by the old ancestor—he must have something extraordinary about him.
Besides, over the course of their time in this valley, he had personally seen Mo Hua's intelligence, insight, level-headed actions, and incredible understanding of formations.
So Elder Xun Zixian nodded and said:
"I agree. You can go in. If you need anything—just say the word. I'll help however I can."
Xun Ziyou was taken aback.
Shangguan Xuanjian, who had been silent all this time, suddenly grew agitated. He quickly said:
"Little brother, as long as you can save Xiao'er—our Chongxu Sect will owe you a tremendous debt."
"At the very least, I, Shangguan Xuanjian, will owe you a great personal favor."
"As long as it doesn't violate virtue, moral code, or sect interests—if it's within my power, I will do it. Without hesitation."
That kind of promise—was not made lightly.
And it came from a late-stage Golden Core elder, from one of the Eight Great Sects—the Chongxu Sect.
Even Elder Xun Zixian was surprised.
Xun Ziyou was more than shocked—he sighed.
"Xuanjian, you don't have to go that far…"
But Shangguan Xuanjian shook his head firmly.
"It's what I must do."
He was truly out of options.
The cultivation world was vast and filled with countless paths. Everyone specialized in something different.
He cultivated sword qi—he was totally lost when it came to demonic matters. He didn't even know what could possibly save Linghu Xiao.
The Demon Refining Diagram reeked of demonic energy. It was obviously a place of great danger.
If Mo Hua hadn't volunteered, Shangguan Xuanjian wouldn't have dared to ask this young disciple from Great Void Sect to step into that death trap.
But since Mo Hua volunteered, and even Elder Xun Zixian, a master of formation arts, approved—
Then of course, he had to show sincerity. He made a solemn oath to seek Mo Hua's aid.
Because—this might be their last chance.
If he didn't pledge everything now and missed this chance…
Then their Chongxu Sect's once-in-five-centuries sword genius—would be gone forever.
At that point, it would be too late for regret.
So, at a time like this—not even a sliver of hope could be wasted.
Xun Ziyou looked at Shangguan Xuanjian, understanding his mindset. He couldn't argue anymore. He sighed:
"So be it…"
Then he turned to Mo Hua.
"Just be careful, all right?"
Mo Hua nodded.
At this moment, Xun Zixian looked toward the Demon Refining Diagram and suddenly asked a critical question:
"How… are you going to enter it?"
This mural was vast and menacing—but had no entrance. It clearly wasn't something you walked into physically.
He had heard Mo Hua mention the word "sacrifice."
But sacrifices required rituals.
And different types of sacrifices meant different rituals.
Right now, they didn't even know the proper ritual. And the witch who could have told them—was dead.
So entering through the usual sacrificial method… probably wasn't possible either.
"Give me a moment. I'll think it over."
Mo Hua said quietly, lost in thought.
Back when he first saw the Demon Refining Diagram here in the valley, he had already started thinking about how to get inside.
Be prepared for anything—was a core principle of demon hunters.
When danger appeared, you always had to plan ahead.
To enter the Demon Refining Diagram, the usual way was via a ritual.
Mo Hua had originally planned to sneak in during a ritual by pretending to be a sacrificial offering himself—
"offering himself up" to get inside.
But that method was too demanding.
It required a whole lot of luck, timing, and deception.
Demon cultivators weren't complete fools.
If anything went even slightly wrong and he got discovered—his body would fall into their hands.
And then it'd be game over.
Even if his soul successfully entered the Demon Refining Diagram and wreaked havoc…
Without a physical body, his soul would eventually dissolve into a ghost.
And from that point forward—his path to the Dao would be forever severed.
So the best method…
Was to skip the ritual entirely.
Not use any sacrificial ceremony.
But instead—inject his consciousness directly into the Demon Refining Diagram.
The ritual was someone else's road.
And walking someone else's road… never felt quite right.
And it definitely wasn't safe.
Mo Hua wanted to walk his own path.
"But how do I bypass the ritual?"
He hadn't had a clear idea before.
But thanks to recent events—some thoughts were forming.
He circled the towering, mural-like Demon Refining Diagram twice, then walked to a corner…
Pulled out the white bone sword hilt.
And quietly asked:
"Sword-Bone Head… can you go into the Demon Refining Diagram?"
"I'm not going in!" the sword-bone snapped instantly.
"I didn't ask if you want to go in. I asked if you can go in." Mo Hua's tone was calm.
But the sword-bone could hear the unspoken threat in that "calm."
It wanted to resist—but lacked the strength. It could only whisper:
"I… can go in. But it's useless."
The sword-bone's voice trembled slightly.
"That place is full of demons. Way too dangerous. Sure, I'm a sword devil—a being born of wicked intent—but even I'm insignificant compared to that mess…"
"And even if I do get in, I don't have the power to pull those kids out."
"Most likely, I'd just get torn to pieces by those monsters…"
It was scared, yes—but it wasn't lying.
Mo Hua simply said:
"You're not going in to save anyone."
The sword-bone blinked.
"I'm not? Then what am I going in for?"
Mo Hua's eyes lit up:
"To lead the way—and take me inside."
He had already thought it through.
"Primordial Spirit Out-of-Body" — that was supposed to be a very high-level technique among cultivators.
Unfortunately, he didn't know how to do it yet.
Which meant, at this stage, his divine sense could not actively leave his physical body.
However… it could be pulled out passively — drawn in by certain evil entities, into things like "contemplation diagrams," "illusions," or "nightmares."
Like getting your soul hooked out of you.
Mo Hua had summed up the various evil entities he'd dealt with before — from the Mountain and Water Dao Boy Diagram at Black Mountain Stronghold, to the Zhang Clan's Zombie Ancestor Portrait, to the altar in the Five Elements Sect...
The pattern was always the same.
Which was good. Predictable.
The flesh was a cage for the soul.
As long as he could find a suitable "evil entity" to hook his soul out — so that his divine sense detached from the body — then with the right technique, he could actively enter those illusions or nightmare realms.
The one doing the soul-hooking… would act as the "guide."
And for this particular journey, Mo Hua decided to assign that noble role to… the Sword-Bone Head.
The sword-bone shuddered in terror the moment he was "entrusted with the mission."
Guide?
Be a guide for this terrifying little demon child?
Sword-Bone Head immediately tried to wriggle out of it:
"But… even if I drag you to the blood pool, I'm afraid that's still not enough to enter the Demon Refining Diagram…"
"You don't need to worry about that," Mo Hua said casually. "I've thought it all through. Just follow my instructions."
"But I don't think—" the sword-bone tried one last pushback.
Mo Hua's expression hardened:
"You don't actually think I'm asking you for your opinion, do you?"
"…Yes."
Sword-Bone Head sighed bitterly.
Why didn't you just say that from the start?
Why all the fake politeness and small talk? Did it even matter if he refused?
He had zero say in anything. Just a powerless evil entity stuck doing the bidding of this tiny tyrant…
The sword-bone grumbled silently in his mind.
"Alright, it's settled," Mo Hua declared unilaterally.
Meanwhile, Elder Xun Ziyou and the other two were all… confused.
Mo Hua was crouched in a corner, whispering to his broken bone sword, murmuring who-knows-what, and even letting off some faintly sinister auras.
There was no way those faint energies could escape the perception of three late-stage Golden Core cultivators.
But none of them said a word.
Whatever Mo Hua was tinkering with — that was his business. Even if it was a little "unorthodox," the one who'd have to deal with it was the old ancestor, not them.
They chose the classic cultivation strategy: turn a blind eye.
With the sword-bone "persuaded," Mo Hua could move on to his next step.
He began walking around the Demon Refining Diagram again, carefully deducing the flow of formation energies and attentively sensing the circulation of divine formation patterns inside the mural.
Eventually, he found a relatively weak point in the formation.
No formation was evenly distributed.
And no array-bearing medium was without its own weak spots.
The Demon Refining Diagram was no exception.
Of course, spotting these vulnerabilities still required a cultivator with highly trained divine sense, keen observation, and deep formation experience.
Above all, it required deductive power.
Mo Hua located a weaker area within the divine formation patterns of the mural, pulled out his ink brush, and marked it with an "X." Then he turned to Elder Xun Ziyou:
"Elder Xun, help me break this spot open — use sword qi. Just about two inches deep."
Xun Ziyou didn't really get it, but did as asked. He drew his sword and carefully scraped off a thin layer of the mural at the marked "X."
Once removed, it revealed the array runes underneath.
This section's divine formation runes were sparse, with plenty of open space between them.
Mo Hua first erased one of the divine runes, then replaced it with a custom rune of his own.
That custom rune became a kind of interface.
Next, Mo Hua drew another matching rune onto the white bone sword.
These two divine runes were now interlockable.
Mo Hua positioned everything carefully and inserted the white bone sword directly into the mural, embedding the rune on the sword into the interface he'd drawn on the wall.
Together, they formed a "bridge."
Now, the bone sword had become part of the Demon Refining Diagram.
The two were one.
So entering the bone sword meant — by passing through the divine formation bridge — he could enter the Demon Refining Diagram.
Xun Ziyou and Shangguan Xuanjian were utterly baffled by the maneuver.
Only Elder Xun Zixian could perceive a bit of the mechanism. He could guess the logic behind Mo Hua's move — and his expression turned somewhat dazed.
He glanced at the mural. Then at the bone sword. Then at the runes forming the bridge.
Then back at Mo Hua himself.
His thoughts swirled with amazement.
"Just… how is this kid's brain even built?!"
Once everything was in place, Mo Hua turned to the three elders:
"Elders, I'm going in now. But I'll be leaving my body here. Please help guard it for me."
Xun Ziyou nodded.
"Don't worry. With us here, no one will touch your body."
In fact, he even silently gripped the Void Sword Talisman in his hand.
Logically, with three late-stage Golden Core cultivators present, Mo Hua should be completely safe.
But if, by any chance, something went wrong — if a Nascent Soul-level threat appeared — then he would shatter the sword talisman and summon the old ancestor immediately.
Just to make sure nothing happened to this kid's body.
Mo Hua was satisfied.
The white bone sword was embedded in the Demon Refining Diagram. The two divine formation runes, one on the mural and one on the sword, interlocked — forming a seamless spiritual conduit.
Mo Hua sat down cross-legged, grasping the sword, and quietly muttered:
"Sword-Bone Head."
The sword-bone was very unwilling — but what could it do? It had no choice but to perform the evil spirit soul-hooking technique, dragging this little demon child into its blood pool.
A light mist of blood began to rise from the sword.
Under the blood mist, Mo Hua slowly closed his eyes.
His divine sense began to leave his body.
His face paled slightly.
His breathing evened out.
His aura became faint — like candlelight in the wind.
Xun Ziyou still couldn't help but worry. He frowned:
"That bone sword… it reeks of evil energy. Definitely not a righteous artifact. Will he be alright?"
Xun Zixian shook his head.
"If he says he's confident, then he must have a plan. Let him do what he must. We just need to guard his body."
Shangguan Xuanjian nodded solemnly.
Then, the three late-stage Golden Core inner sect elders formed a triangular defensive stance, guarding Mo Hua at the center.
Their divine senses were fully extended, expressions vigilant, eyes sharp—no one was allowed to come even close.
At the heart of their protection, Mo Hua sat peacefully with his eyes closed.
His divine sense had already separated from his physical body and entered the Blood Pool, manifesting as a smaller version of himself—Little Mo Hua.
The moment Sword-Bone Head saw this form, his whole skeletal body began to ache.
The dozens of sword bones Mo Hua had once snapped with his bare hands... throbbed with phantom pain.
Mo Hua got straight to the point:
"Lead the way."
Sword-Bone Head winced and forced a dry laugh:
"Little Ancestor, the 'path' to the Demon Refining Diagram—you've already built it. I've already dragged you in too. You can walk the rest yourself, no need for a lowly sword demon like me to tag along, right?"
Mo Hua shook his head:
"I'm bringing you with me. You're a 'hidden threat.' Can't leave you behind."
Sword-Bone Head's jaw twitched:
"You must be joking, Little Ancestor… I'm weak, not your opponent at all. I wouldn't be of any help. Better I stay behind and guard the gate for you...?"
Mo Hua didn't listen to the excuses. He raised two delicate fingers:
"You've got two choices:
One, come with me.
Two, I crush you here and now to eliminate all future trouble."
Sword-Bone Head shuddered instantly, hurried forward, and bowed:
"Little Ancestor, please, after you—I'll lead the way!"
Mo Hua nodded in satisfaction.
Sword-Bone Head sighed internally.
He had originally planned to wait until this little ancestor entered the Demon Refining Diagram… then sever the spiritual bridge and trap him inside forever.
Turns out, this little ancestor wasn't giving him any chance at all…
Resigned, he could only obey and lead the way.
The golden divine array patterns stretched across both ends—one connecting to the Blood Pool, the other to the Demon Refining Diagram—like a golden chain crossing a river, forming a glowing array bridge.
The tall Sword-Bone Head hunched forward, walking at the front.
The tiny Mo Hua strode proudly behind him.
As they walked, Sword-Bone Head suddenly felt a creeping realization:
He was "a ghost leading the tiger."
Mo Hua was the ferocious tiger.
He was just a lowly little chāngguǐ (a ghost forced to lead victims to their doom).
Only, in this case, he wasn't leading people to the tiger.
He was leading the tiger… straight into a crowd of people.
His heart grew heavier and more bitter as he sighed internally:
"Being human isn't easy.
Being a demon isn't free.
Now even as a devil… I still have no control over my fate."
"Living is hard…"
Sword-Bone Head kept grumbling inside, but outwardly, he grew even more respectful—daring not show the slightest carelessness.
And so, one demon and one human followed the divine formation bridge, leaving the Blood Pool and heading toward the broader, more oppressive realm of blood and demonic energy that was the Demon Refining Diagram.
They didn't know how long they walked, but eventually, the scene ahead began to open up.
A dark, oppressive sky. Crimson clouds. Jagged and dangerous mountain ranges. Forests of white bone. All accompanied by an overwhelming stench of evil and countless twisted, monstrous auras—right up close.
Mo Hua, for the first time in a while, felt hungry.
As if… he hadn't had a proper feast in a very, very long time.
His crystal-clear eyes shone even brighter.
His doll-like face seemed even more radiant, lips rosy, teeth pearly white.
Sword-Bone Head noticed his excited aura and glanced back. Seeing Mo Hua's soft, cherubic appearance, for some reason… made his bones tremble with unease.
"Hurry up!" Mo Hua's voice rang out, bright and crisp.
"Y-yes sir!" Sword-Bone Head didn't dare slack off.
Soon, the human and the demon crossed the divine formation bridge and officially entered the Demon Refining Diagram.
And the atmosphere immediately changed.
Sinister. Bloody. Oppressive.
Grotesque valleys. Heaps of bones. Rivers of blood. A place steeped in demonic presence—clearly long-occupied by wicked forces.
The Blood Pool from earlier already reeked of blood, but compared to this place, it was like comparing a candle to a bonfire.
"But…"
Mo Hua looked left and right, confused.
"Where are the monsters?"
Wasn't this supposed to be the place where you'd suffer soul-devouring torment at the hands of thousands of demons?
Where were they?
Hiding?
Playing peekaboo?
Mo Hua was a little disappointed.
A guest had come to the door, and no one came to greet him?
How rude!
His eyes lit up mischievously, and he thought to himself:
"If you won't come to me…
Then I'll come find you."
But before that, he needed to rescue Little Wood and the others.
Mo Hua spread out his divine sense, searched for a moment, and then began walking forward along a path of white bones.
Sword-Bone Head, unsettled by the thick, oppressive evil of the diagram, froze for a moment.
But he had no choice—he clenched his jaw (figuratively), and silently followed behind.
(End of this Chapter)