Chapter 789: Nineteen Pattern
The Great Void Sect—who knows what methods they used—but they'd raised a god of slaughter!
Using one divine being to oppose another. They wanted to use this "fierce god" to sabotage the divine lord's grand plan.
"Quite the clever move!"
"The Great Void Sect stays low-profile, but who would've thought… their divine foundations run this deep…"
Mister Tu sneered coldly in his heart.
As he was thinking this, a sharp golden sword light suddenly cleaved across the Ram Horn Door!
Though the divine lock formation on the door was inscribed with Devouring Laws, and absorbed part of the sword's divine thought, it still couldn't hold.
Several divine locks immediately shattered.
Mister Tu's expression turned grim.
Beside him, the Young Master's face was as cold as still water.
They were trapped within the hall, and right now, a god of slaughter was breaking in.
They had no idea what this being truly was.
If they came face to face with it… it might be instant death.
Then came the second sword…
"Mister Tu…" the Young Master's tone was grave.
He had entered the Demon Refining Diagram as divine thought.
His Life-Binding Longevity Talisman was planted on his physical body.
If he were to die here—then all his talent, ambition, and grand destiny would amount to nothing.
Mister Tu's pupils narrowed. He said coldly:
"Undo the divine formation—release all the demonic spirits from the prison. Let them devour this 'fierce god'…"
The Young Master frowned.
"Once the seals break and the demonic spirits are unleashed, chaos will erupt within the Demon Refining Diagram. The very divine foundation here will be destroyed."
These demonic spirits had been refined one by one using the Demon Refining Cauldron, separating their demonic consciousness and sealing them with divine formations.
They were violent, greedy, and bloodthirsty.
Even under normal conditions, they could only be released in small batches.
If they were all let loose at once, chaos would ensue.
The prison would fall.
And no one would have the power to seal them back up again.
If that happened—the true Ten Thousand Demon Valley would be utterly ruined.
"There's no time to care about that anymore," Mister Tu said firmly.
"But… can these spirits really devour the 'fierce god' outside?" the Young Master's eyes narrowed.
Mister Tu's gaze was serious.
Normally, even a tiger fears a pack of wolves.
Being swarmed by so many vicious spirits—even a true deity—without a way out, might be completely devoured.
But the one pacing outside… was no ordinary deity.
He was a god of slaughter.
This being was shrouded in mist and mystery—
They didn't know his appearance, his rank, his origin, nor what divine techniques he might wield…
Mister Tu spoke slowly:
"It's not certain… Even if they can't devour him, at the very least, they'll delay him. That will be enough."
The Young Master nodded slightly.
In divine matters, Mister Tu's judgment prevailed.
Yet despite making this decision, Mister Tu's heart suddenly sank.
He felt a premonition.
A deeply uncomfortable instinct.
As if… even if he were to die, he should not release the seals on these demonic spirits.
That doing so would bring about a great calamity.
But he had no choice.
The divine bridge wasn't yet broken.
The road to the divine homeland lay just ahead.
This was a secret that could never be exposed.
Meanwhile, the sound of the gate cracking continued—
BANG!
Another divine lock shattered…
There was no more time to think.
Mister Tu clenched his teeth:
"Release the demons!"
The Young Master's expression hardened, and he nodded.
He pulled out a divine bone, used it to control the formation core, and deactivated the divine formation within the prison—completely unleashing thousands upon thousands of demonic spirits.
Outside the gate, Mo Hua gripped his golden sword and was gleefully hacking away, when he suddenly sensed a wave of demonic wind behind him.
He turned.
From within the prison, a massive hum rang out.
Torrents of divine thought surged.
One after another, divine formations shattered like scales breaking.
Chains of sealed power began to fall away.
The demonic spirits, once bound, slowly stood up—
Each grotesque and horrifying, drenched in sinister aura.
Their crimson eyes locked onto Mo Hua.
The atmosphere turned heavy with demonic presence.
In a dark corner, Sword-Bone Head was trembling.
Mo Hua, however, blinked with a strange expression.
"Releasing the spirits to stop me from entering?"
"So many…"
He stopped swinging his sword, looked at the overwhelming horde of evil spirits and their bloodthirsty eyes—
And smiled brightly.
"Too generous."
"Then I won't be polite…"
Just as he finished speaking—
A tidal wave of demons charged straight at him.
Mo Hua spread his arms wide.
Golden light glimmered in his eyes, and in that instant, both Celestial Deduction and Profound Stratagem activated in unison.
A triple-layered dark ink shadow, like a strange ceremonial robe, cloaked itself around him.
Mo Hua now resembled a god in demonic robes.
His divine thought surged, rapidly spreading outward.
At the same time, his mental energy was being rapidly consumed.
In a flash, brilliant patterns lit up beneath him like blooming lotus flowers.
Layer upon layer of radiant formation runes spread outward with him at the center—
Lishan Cremation Array!
With a sudden burst—the formation detonated!
Within the array's range, the weaker spirits were immediately erased.
Even some of the stronger tiger- and leopard-type spirits were badly injured.
Mo Hua followed up with swift, precise fireball techniques, delivering clean finishing blows.
In mere moments—a large portion of the spirits had been slain.
A hush fell over the surroundings.
The remaining spirits hesitated, their faces filled with dread.
But in the next instant, their eyes once again turned crimson.
The death of their kin and the release of evil energy stirred their bloodlust to the extreme.
They charged again.
Another wave, another slaughter.
Mo Hua used the same trick: mass-kill with formation, single-target with fireballs—another group was annihilated.
But they just kept coming.
And now… Mo Hua could feel it—his divine thought was running low.
After all, he was using both Heavenly Stratagems at once, casting large-scale formations—an enormous burden.
Left with no other choice, Mo Hua quickly devoured a few spirits to recover.
But this divine thought, absorbed without refining, still contained corrupt evil— It could slowly taint one's mind.
Fortunately, Mo Hua's divine thought was uniquely structured and battle-hardened.
He was used to dealing with mental corruption, so the short-term effects were minimal.
Another wave down— The air grew even more thick with evil.
The spirits became more savage.
Feeling it was time, Mo Hua cast another Lishan Cremation Array, clearing the area around him once more.
Before new spirits could arrive, golden light flashed in his eyes.
He tapped into his understanding of Heavenly Dao's sealing laws, and with focused divine thought, manifested several even purer golden formations within a few meters of himself— Divine Lock Formation!
At the same time, his divine thought computing power was being rapidly consumed.
In the blink of an eye, mottled lights flickered across the ground.
Like blooming lotuses, dazzling formation patterns radiated outward layer by layer from Mo Hua as the center.
Lishan Cremation Compound Array!
In an instant—the array exploded.
Within its radius, the weaker demonic spirits were immediately obliterated.
Even the few stronger ones—tiger- and panther-like spirits—were heavily injured.
Mo Hua swiftly followed up with a deep and precise fireball technique as a finishing blow.
Moments later, a swath of spirits lay slain.
The area fell into eerie silence.
The surviving demons hesitated, dread flickering in their eyes—until, in the very next breath, their eyes burned blood-red once more.
The evil will leaking from the fallen demons stirred the savagery in the rest.
They charged more recklessly than before, maddened by bloodlust.
Demonic spirits surged forward like a tide.
Mo Hua repeated his technique: wide-range blasting with formations, single-target killing with fireballs—slaying another wave.
But more kept coming.
And this time, Mo Hua realized… his divine thought was starting to run low.
After all, using both Heavenly Stratagems while sustaining such a large array was an enormous drain.
He had no choice but to temporarily consume a few demon spirits to replenish his divine thought before continuing the fight.
This kind of raw, unrefined absorption—taking in divine thought infused with corrupt evil will—would, over time, gradually pollute a cultivator's mind.
But Mo Hua's divine thought was special.
Battle-tested and familiar with resisting evil intent, the short-term effect was negligible.
Another wave down.
The surrounding evil aura grew heavier.
The demonic frenzy intensified.
Mo Hua sensed it was about time.
He cast another Lishan Cremation Array, cleared the area of nearby demons, and—while the old spirits lay dead and the new ones had yet to arrive—his eyes flashed with gold.
Drawing upon his understanding of Heavenly Dao's sealing laws, he focused his divine thought, and a few meters around him, several purer golden formations appeared—
Divine Lock Formation!
This was one of the core divine formations passed down by the Great Wilderness lineage.
It could seal evil spirits—and even devour their power to convert into divine force, creating a loop of energy to sustain the formation.
The Divine Lock Formation was like a golden cage that enveloped Mo Hua.
He used it not just to seal himself in, but also to protect himself.
As expected, the charging demonic spirits were stopped outside the formation and couldn't approach.
They snarled and clawed, trying to rip through the divine formation runes.
Within those runes were infused the sealing laws Mo Hua had comprehended.
Even as the demons attacked, a portion of their power was devoured and converted into formation energy.
However, Mo Hua's grasp of sealing laws was still shallow.
The formation managed to hold off the spirits, but was gradually dimming and degrading.
It could only buy him some time.
But time was all he needed.
Mo Hua had long anticipated this scenario.
A single demon spirit wasn't that strong.
But gather thousands and they became formidable.
And his small frame couldn't endure endless attrition.
So, in large-scale battles, he always made sure to leave breathing room for himself.
This way, he could alternate between killing and "eating."
Slaughter → absorb → restore → slaughter again.
Just like the sealing formations of the divine path, which turned devoured evil into their own power.
Battle feeds battle.
Devouring feeds killing.
A self-sustaining cycle.
That way, he wouldn't be drained to death.
And the Divine Lock Formation gave him just that kind of breathing room.
Sure, other defensive formations could also help—
But none were as powerful as divine formations.
This strategy was something Mo Hua had refined ever since he learned divine formation arts—
A method to counter group assaults from spirits and avoid being worn down.
Nearby demons were sealed outside.
Those farther away couldn't get close, and in their frenzy, began trampling and tearing each other apart.
The scene descended into utter chaos.
Under the protection of the Divine Lock Formation, Mo Hua sat calmly amidst the storm of spirits, crossed his legs, and began meditating—absorbing their scattered divine thought.
Once refined, it replenished his own divine mind.
The residual bloodthirst and corrupt urges gnawed faintly at his Dao Heart, but Mo Hua simply suppressed them, planning to slowly cleanse them through future meditation.
Many demonic spirits had died.
A torrent of divine thought flowed into Mo Hua's spiritual body.
Not only did it replenish what he had consumed, it also slightly enhanced his divine sense.
But, unsurprisingly, this enhancement vanished in an instant.
Mo Hua closed his eyes.
Within his sea of consciousness, he could feel a void fissure stretched across it.
Within that rift, laws were flowing—
And they immediately devoured the increased divine sense he had just gained.
"Divine thought is out-of-body… but the Heavenly Dao's seal is still in place…"
"Which means—even when my divine thought is externalized, it remains connected to my sea of consciousness. It's not fully severed."
Mo Hua reflected quietly.
Unless this Heavenly Dao law was fully "fed,"
There was no way to break the seal.
"Not leaving even a crack to exploit, huh…"
Still, it didn't matter.
Mo Hua opened his eyes and looked at the horde of drooling, clawed, monstrous spirits before him.
"With this many demons, I refuse to believe I can't feed you full!"
As long as he fed the seal to its limit and shattered its constraints—
His divine sense would surge like a dragon into the sea, charging unimpeded toward the late Foundation Establishment realm of spiritual consciousness!
Mo Hua's eyes grew sharp.
Once his divine thought was full, he waved his hand and released the seal on the Divine Lock Formation.
With the divine formation gone, the surrounding spirits howled and lunged at him.
Mo Hua stood unmoving, eyes profound.
Lishan Cremation Array—unleashed once more.
The charging demons were instantly incinerated.
The few survivors were promptly picked off.
Then came the next wave—like tidal surf crashing in.
And the next.
Mo Hua met each wave with slaughter.
Whenever he felt his divine thought strained, he would cast another divine formation, rest briefly, absorb a wave of evil spirits, and restore his divine thought.
Once full, any surplus divine power was refined and absorbed—boosting his divine sense.
But in the blink of an eye, that enhanced power would again be devoured by the Heavenly Dao's seal.
The more Mo Hua killed, the more he fed.
The more he fed, the more the seal devoured.
At first, he was impatient—hoping to feed the seal full and break through quickly.
But then he paused, stunned.
He realized—every time he "fed" the Heavenly Dao seal,
The laws within would shift.
The more he fed, the more often those laws circulated.
Then it hit him—
This was a direct manifestation of Heavenly Dao laws!
A vivid, real-time display of the core principles of divine formation!
In other words—this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
A dreamlike chance any divine formation master would kill for.
To frequently and directly perceive the flow of cosmic law—
To comprehend the secrets of divine formation at their source.
Mo Hua felt as though enlightenment had struck like thunder in his soul.
"I nearly missed out on a once-in-a-lifetime fortune…"
"Thankfully—I'm brilliant!"
He couldn't help nodding proudly.
Realizing this law might be even more important than simply breaking through his divine sense.
His eyes lit up.
He quieted his mind, and while refining the evil will, he kept feeding the seal—
Letting it slowly devour and circulate.
Meanwhile, he memorized every detail of those swirling laws, capturing their transformations in his mind.
He etched the understanding of those great laws deep into his soul.
Unknowingly, he also began weaving those insights into his own divine formations.
The results were immediate.
Once fused with those newly understood laws, Mo Hua found that though his Divine Lock Formation didn't look any stronger, its toughness had greatly improved.
He could now endure more and more of the demonic spirits' assaults and gnawing.
This also meant that the Divine Lock Formation, if used to seal evil beings, would become increasingly unbreakable and indestructible.
Of course… for now, it could still break.
After withstanding around a hundred impacts from the surrounding spirits, the Divine Lock Formation shattered once again.
But its performance had clearly improved significantly.
Soon, the demons surged at him once more—
And Mo Hua resumed his killing.
Though repetitive and fraught with danger, Mo Hua gradually began to find enjoyment in it.
The more spirits he killed, the stronger the evil will he devoured.
The divine thought he fed into the Heavenly Dao's seal also flowed endlessly. Meanwhile, his comprehension of the sealing laws deepened with every moment.
And so, time passed—though how much, he could no longer tell...
The void fissure in Mo Hua's Sea of Consciousness grew increasingly shallow—like a torn gash in the divine mind, slowly healing.
The power of the "seal" within his mind was weakening.
And his grasp over sealing laws was growing ever more precise and firm.
Finally—the fissure vanished completely.
The "seal" in his consciousness was wholly erased.
In that instant, Mo Hua felt his divine sense suddenly flow freely.
A great chasm that had once stretched across his Sea of Consciousness was now filled in—gone without a trace!
He could feel it clearly—his divine sense was starting to grow again!
Threads of divine thought flowed into his consciousness, nourishing it.
Bit by bit, his long-stagnant realm was beginning to stir.
Suddenly, his Sea of Consciousness trembled.
The bottleneck that had been just one step short of Eighteen Runes—was instantly shattered.
Mo Hua's expression lit up, his eyes bright as stars.
Finally—Eighteen-Rune Divine Sense!
But that wasn't all—
Now that the Heavenly Dao Seal had been "fed" and fully dissolved, the endless stream of divine thought no longer disappeared into the void—it was all his.
His divine sense realm continued to ascend...
—
Off in the distance, the Swordbone Head gaped.
"This little monster... he's still getting stronger?!"
—
Meanwhile, outside the Nightmare Realm, near the Demon Refining Diagram—
Xun Zixian, who had been vigilantly guarding Mo Hua, suddenly blinked. He turned his head toward Mo Hua with a slightly strange expression.
Xun Ziyou sensed something and tensed.
"What is it?" he asked seriously.
Xun Zixian hesitated a moment, then said, somewhat incredulously:
"Mo Hua… his divine sense seems to have gotten stronger?"
"Divine sense?" Xun Ziyou was startled. He looked at Mo Hua, puzzled.
"How could it get stronger? He didn't break through a realm, right? Divine sense doesn't grow that easily."
After all, divine sense was very different from cultivation level.
Cultivation could sometimes leap suddenly.
But divine sense? It had no specific technique for rapid growth—it was usually painfully slow and prone to loss, not sudden gains.
Still, Xun Ziyou wasn't a formation master, nor did he study the path of divine thought. His senses in this area were limited—definitely not as keen as Xun Zixian, a third-grade formation master.
Xun Ziyou glanced over Mo Hua again and slowly nodded.
"He… does seem a bit stronger."
Xun Zixian suddenly shook his head.
"No."
"No what?" Xun Ziyou blinked.
"Not just a bit stronger," Xun Zixian said solemnly.
"It's a lot stronger. Maybe even…"
"He might've had a breakthrough in divine sense," he said quietly.
Xun Ziyou froze—then opened his mouth in shock.
"...A breakthrough?"
A divine sense breakthrough?!
Even Xun Zixian's eyelids twitched at the thought, struggling to believe it himself.
He was just about to say something—when suddenly, he stiffened again.
Looking at Mo Hua once more, his expression now carried undeniable shock.
Wait… again?
Did he just break through twice in such a short span?!
The usually calm and refined Xun Zixian couldn't help but mutter under his breath:
"This… how is this even possible…"
Just how strong had that kid's divine sense become…?
—
Inside the Demon Refining Diagram.
Mo Hua opened his eyes.
At that moment, his gaze was brilliant and complex—
Stars seemed to swirl within, golden light flickered, heavenly omens shifted, and eerie mysteries flickered in and out of sight.
His aura had grown even deeper and more unfathomable.
But above all, his divine thought was now incredibly vast.
"Nineteen Runes!"
Mo Hua's small divine sense body now held divine power as boundless as rivers and seas.
All around him lay ruins and wreckage.
The thousands upon thousands of demonic spirits had been mostly wiped out by his hand.
And also—mostly devoured by him.
After consuming nearly all the spirits within the Ten Thousand Demon Valley, Mo Hua not only fed the Heavenly Dao Seal to bursting—
He also pushed his divine sense to soar rapidly.
Two realms in one go—now reaching Nineteen Runes!
At present, although he had only recently entered the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, his divine sense had already reached a level that only late-stage or even peak Foundation Establishment cultivators could possess.
Nineteen-Rune Divine Sense!
Now, he was only one rune away from the Golden Core level—Twenty Runes!
(End of this Chapter)