Chapter 818: Water Prison Legacy
Just one hour ago, everything was perfectly fine.
And in the blink of an eye, this brat had blown up a Dao Court Enforcer from the Xiao family?!
Gu Changhuai sucked in a sharp breath.
This little brat…
When it came to causing trouble, he was practically heaven-defying.
Even if you gathered every disciple in the entire Great Void Sect, not a single one could match his chaos potential.
"What happened exactly?" Gu Changhuai asked urgently.
"I…" Mo Hua started.
"Forget it—don't explain here. The message token isn't safe," Gu Changhuai interrupted.
Ever since he saw Mo Hua easily restore deleted text from a supposedly secure message token, even those custom-made by the Dao Court, Gu Changhuai had stopped trusting their confidentiality.
"Anyone else know about this?"
"Not yet," Mo Hua replied.
Yu Canghai was involved, but he didn't count as an "outsider."
As for the masked cultivators—they were all dead. And dead men tell no tales.
Gu Changhuai let out a breath.
"Stay put and hide yourself a little. No need for me to tell you how to do that."
"Got it," Mo Hua nodded.
Putting the message token away, Gu Changhuai, anxious and worried, immediately got up to leave—but was suddenly stopped by a warm voice.
"Gu Adjudicator, where are you off to?"
Turning around, Gu Changhuai saw Xiao Adjudicator, smiling with half-lidded eyes.
This Xiao Adjudicator was a high-ranking official from the Xiao family, having served over 150 years in the Qianxue Dao Court.
He always wore a friendly smile, but everyone knew it was fake—his mouth smiled, but his eyes never did.
Originally, Gu Changhuai didn't think much of him.
But ever since Mo Hua met this man and secretly nicknamed him "Smiling-Faced Tiger," Gu Changhuai couldn't help but think of that nickname every time he saw him.
"Smi—Xiao Adjudicator," Gu Changhuai's brow twitched—he almost said the nickname aloud, "I have something to take care of."
"Oh?" Xiao Adjudicator smiled. "What could be so urgent?"
One of your Xiao clan enforcers got blown up, Gu Changhuai muttered internally.
Out loud, he just said:
"A criminal cultivator was killed during a pursuit. I'm going to investigate."
Xiao Adjudicator didn't seem concerned.
"If he was a criminal, then he deserved it. Why should someone of your status personally intervene?"
Gu Changhuai's expression turned subtle.
Then he said flatly:
"I don't feel at ease. I'll go take a look."
"And what about Adjudicator Xia…?" Xiao hesitated.
"I'll explain it to her later," Gu Changhuai replied.
Xiao Adjudicator sighed and shook his head:
"Gu Adjudicator, I must say—being diligent is good, but you should also watch the winds. This Adjudicator Xia…"
He pointed upward and lowered his voice:
"She was sent by above. If you offend her, it won't be easy to smooth things over. It could be... rather damaging to your future."
"Above," of course, referred to the central Dao Court.
Gu Changhuai understood.
He also knew that Qianxue Province was in turbulent times, and the sudden dispatch of an Adjudicator from the central court was probably not without reason.
But it wasn't his concern.
Gu Changhuai said firmly:
"I'm an Adjudicator. I only know to follow the law. Even if the Dao Court sends someone down, I'll still do what needs to be done."
Xiao Adjudicator looked at him like he was a fool, then chuckled:
"Gu Adjudicator certainly has principles. Admirable."
Gu Changhuai gave a symbolic cupped-fist salute and turned to leave.
Xiao Adjudicator watched him go and sneered to himself.
Leaving the Dao Court offices, Gu Changhuai rushed straight back to Qingzhou City. He changed into his official robe, chose a good horse from the Gu Clan, and rode nonstop along the Yanshui River until he reached the small fishing village.
Following Mo Hua's directions, he headed downstream, climbed up a desolate mountain, and immediately saw Mo Hua crouched on the ground, apparently studying something.
Next to him was an unfamiliar elderly man with weak spiritual energy.
And on the ground—four corpses laid out in a neat row.
Gu Changhuai glanced at Mo Hua, then at the bodies, and immediately sucked in a cold breath.
"You killed four of them?"
"No, no," Mo Hua waved his hands quickly. "Not that many—just one!"
"You think one isn't enough?!" Gu Changhuai snapped.
Mo Hua gave a sheepish grin.
"What exactly happened?" Gu Changhuai asked with a frown.
Mo Hua summarized the situation concisely:
"These guys were assassins, masked, trying to kill this elder. I happened to run into them and helped the old senior fight back. Of course, I only lent a small hand... barely."
Mo Hua tried to downplay his role.
Gu Changhuai didn't believe it for a second.
All the signs of explosion, the scorching and cutting wounds on the bodies from formations…
This was his idea of "barely helping"?
Gu Changhuai figured all of them were probably killed by this brat.
Mo Hua continued:
"After they died, I searched them and didn't find anything suspicious… except this one guy—"
He pointed to one of the mangled corpses.
"He used a criminal trick—he embedded a mini storage box in his tooth. Inside was an Enforcer Token with the character 'Xiao' on it…"
Gu Changhuai's eyes sharpened.
Mo Hua handed him the token.
"Uncle Gu, can you confirm—is this really a Xiao clan Enforcer Token?"
Gu Changhuai examined it closely, his expression darkening.
The token was real—no doubt about it. A Dao Court Enforcer Token from the Xiao family.
He looked at Mo Hua, then reevaluated the entire situation—and quietly let out a breath.
"Thank heavens…"
He had thought Mo Hua had intentionally targeted the Xiao family, laying traps to kill their enforcer.
But this… this was manageable.
Gu Changhuai discreetly pocketed the token.
"Uncle Gu, what should we do now?" Mo Hua asked, slightly anxious.
Gu Changhuai raised a brow.
"Do what now?"
Mo Hua pointed at the corpse:
"This Xiao clan enforcer…"
Gu Changhuai frowned.
"What Xiao clan enforcer? I don't see any Xiao clan enforcer."
Mo Hua blinked.
"You were simply acting heroically—killed a few masked criminals. What does that have to do with the Xiao family?"
Gu Changhuai said solemnly,
"Out here in the wilderness, all I see are criminal cultivators who failed in their ambush. Where's the enforcer?"
Mo Hua nodded in realization.
As expected of Uncle Gu. A seasoned Adjudicator through and through.
I still have much to learn…
Gu Changhuai then turned his attention to Yu Canghai, his brows slightly furrowing.
Mo Hua explained,
"This senior is a descendant of the Water Prison Sect. His name is Yu Canghai."
Yu Canghai looked at Gu Changhuai sharply.
"You're from the Dao Court?"
Even without wearing the Dao Court robe, Gu Changhuai's authoritative bearing and posture were vastly different from ordinary cultivators—Yu Canghai recognized it instantly.
Not to mention… Gu Changhuai was clearly in the Golden Core realm.
In the Dao Court, a Golden Core cultivator was at the very least an Adjudicator with real authority!
Yu Canghai's expression grew vigilant.
Gu Changhuai stared coldly at him: "So what if I am?"
Yu Canghai sneered: "No one from the Dao Court is worth a damn!"
Gu Changhuai's expression turned displeased.
Mo Hua quickly stepped in.
"Alright, alright, enough!"
An old Golden Core geezer of unknown age and a grumpy Adjudicator over 200 years old—what were they even arguing about?
Mo Hua said to Yu Canghai,
"Your enemies are from the Yin Water Sect. I can't protect you—but Uncle Gu can help you."
Yu Canghai shook his head.
"I don't trust anyone from the Dao Court. Even if I die, I won't owe them anything. If I naively put faith in them, the Water Prison Sect's legacy will be extinguished sooner or later…"
"But if you die right now," Mo Hua said plainly, "then the Water Prison Sect's legacy is already gone."
Yu Canghai froze.
Mo Hua sighed.
"This is already the worst-case scenario. If you follow Uncle Gu's advice, there might still be a way to survive and pass the legacy on. Otherwise, your Water Prison Sect is truly finished."
Yu Canghai's expression shifted several times before he finally sighed.
He was stubborn, but not foolish. He quickly came to his senses.
At this point, he had no room left to negotiate.
Mo Hua then turned to Gu Changhuai:
"He's from the Water Prison Sect. He was hunted by demonic cultivators hired by the Yin Water Sect—who are secretly colluding with the Dao Court."
Colluding with the Dao Court—that meant the presence of a mole.
The Yin Water Sect's involvement meant internal sect corruption.
And demonic cultivators likely connected back to Water Yama, and the massacre of the Yu family at the Water Village.
In a flash, Gu Changhuai realized—this Golden Core elder was a key witness.
The displeasure in Gu Changhuai's eyes faded slightly as he nodded.
"Alright."
Now that everything was clarified, Mo Hua finally relaxed.
Next came the cleanup.
Gu Changhuai said,
"I'll have someone come gather the corpses. We'll say they were river bandits on Yanshui River who tried to rob and got executed by the Dao Court. You two keep quiet."
"Got it," Mo Hua nodded. "Oh right, Uncle Gu… there are a few more…"
"A few more what?" Gu Changhuai asked warily.
Mo Hua pointed toward the deeper part of the mountain.
"Four more. Died over there."
Gu Changhuai stared silently at Mo Hua.
Mo Hua looked a little guilty and mumbled,
"I only helped a little… it's not like I personally killed them."
Gu Changhuai took a deep breath and sighed.
"Fine."
One incident, eight dead bodies.
Including one Dao Court enforcer from the Xiao family.
Thankfully, this little brat Mo Hua wasn't actually his nephew. Otherwise, even if he survived the trouble, he'd die from stress.
Later, Gu Changhuai summoned people from the Gu clan to clean up the bodies and secure the area.
Mo Hua, along with Yu Canghai, returned to Qingzhou City in a Gu family carriage.
Yu Canghai was temporarily housed in the Gu estate. To outsiders, he was introduced as a fellow Golden Core cultivator Gu Changhuai had befriended—just passing through Qianxue Province for a visit.
It wasn't suspicious.
Every cultivator had a few old friends from their journey.
However, people within the Gu clan—those familiar with Gu Changhuai—definitely raised their eyebrows.
Because with his temper, Gu Changhuai actually had very few friends.
Still, this seemed like Dao Court business, so no one questioned it.
Yu Canghai settled in quietly.
The environment in the Gu estate was peaceful, with plenty of food, drink, and healing pills—not to mention safety from pursuit. In time, his injuries would slowly recover.
As for the Water Prison Sect, the Yin Water Sect, and the Dao Court's corruption—Yu Canghai told Gu Changhuai everything.
Mo Hua listened in the whole time.
Yu Canghai's account mostly matched what Mo Hua had already heard. Nothing much new.
Except one thing: Water Yama.
"You've seen Water Yama?" Gu Changhuai asked.
As soon as Water Yama was mentioned, Yu Canghai's expression turned fierce, his eyes brimming with hatred.
"Even if he turns to ash, I'd recognize him!"
"What did he look like?" Mo Hua asked.
Yu Canghai's voice was like ice.
"He looked like a refined young man. Pale face, cold eyes, expression full of cruelty. Extremely skilled in water techniques—and wielded a Nine-Locked Flood Dragon Whip."
Mo Hua and Gu Changhuai exchanged glances and nodded.
That matched exactly with the Water Yama they briefly clashed with at the river crossing that night.
Yu Canghai continued:
"I hid my identity and came to Qianxue Province. After years of hardship, I finally found the last surviving descendants of the Water Prison Sect."
"They lived together in a remote water village, living in poverty. The strongest among them was only at the Foundation Establishment level. They knew nothing of the sect's past—didn't even know their own heritage. They couldn't comprehend the inherited techniques at all."
"I suppressed my cultivation and disguised myself as a fishmonger to blend in with them for a while. I was still debating whether to tell them the truth and pass on the legacy—finally fulfill my lifelong wish. But then…"
His expression darkened in pain.
"My tracks were discovered. The entire water village was slaughtered."
"I may be a Golden Core cultivator, but here in a second-tier province, my strength is suppressed to barely peak Foundation Establishment. All I could do was watch helplessly as my descendants were butchered one by one."
"In a fit of rage, I was ambushed by Water Yama and poisoned with water venom. I had no choice but to flee and preserve my life."
"Since then, I've been hunted non-stop. I'd lost all hope and was preparing for one final, desperate battle to die with dignity. Until—by sheer luck—I discovered a small fishing village by the Yanshui River where some of the Yu clan had survived. That gave me a shred of hope once again."
"I secretly passed on some cultivation techniques to the two children there. Even if it might bring disaster upon them, at this point… I have no other choice."
He sighed and looked at Mo Hua.
"You know the rest."
Mo Hua nodded, then after thinking for a moment, asked with a frown:
"If your power was limited in this second-tier province, and those chasing you were just Foundation Establishment level, why didn't you flee to a third-tier province?"
The old man gave a bitter laugh.
"If I went to a third-tier province… I'd die even faster."
Mo Hua was puzzled.
The old man sighed,
"Here in a second-tier province, the ones sent to kill me are all late-stage Foundation Establishment. Even while suppressing my cultivation, I still hold the upper hand."
"But if I went to a third-tier province, the ones hunting me would likely be Golden Core cultivators from the Yin Water Sect—or worse, multiple late-stage Golden Core experts. As a mere mid-stage Golden Core cultivator, I'd be dead for sure if surrounded by them!"
Mo Hua suddenly understood.
The laws of the Heavenly Dao—misfortune and fortune intertwined. Though the suppression of his cultivation had made him too weak to save others, it had also saved his life.
Otherwise, a twelfth-grade sect like the Yin Water Sect might have directly sent Golden Core assassins—or even crazier, an Ascension realm cultivator to silence him. If that happened, forget the Yu clan's water village—even Yu Canghai himself would've been annihilated with the snap of a finger.
Mo Hua had a moment of clarity.
The Heavenly Dao's Grand Formation and the balance of laws… though it seemed limiting…
Take Uncle Gu for instance—just a Golden Core, yet he struggled to capture top-tier demonic cultivators like Fire Buddha and Water Yama, both peak Foundation Establishment with unparalleled techniques.
But then again—without the limitations of Heavenly Dao's laws?
Then they'd be facing threats far worse than "Fire Buddha" and "Water Yama."
More powerful demonic cultivators could effortlessly slaughter countless low- to mid-tier cultivators, unleashing massacre and chaos.
Places like that little fishing village? They would've been wiped out who-knows-how-many times already.
And as for the evil gods like the Lord of the Great Wilderness—if not restrained by the Heavenly Dao, just a glance from him could corrupt the Dao hearts of countless cultivators, dragging infinite living beings into depravity and turning them into his sacrificial offerings…
"Wealth, power… even cultivation—they must not expand without limits. Without checks and balances, the rich and strong will inevitably bring disaster upon the poor and weak. This leads to endless slaughter, the collapse of the Great Dao, and monstrous transformations, eventually destroying all things and returning the world to oblivion…"
"Perhaps… that is the Heavenly Dao…"
Mo Hua stood there dazed, a cold yet incredibly clear realization dawning in his heart.
Cultivators seek the Dao—and through it, become immortals.
And now, for the first time, he seemed to glimpse the shape of the Dao he sought.
Yu Canghai and Gu Changhuai had been mid-conversation when they noticed Mo Hua's odd state and were stunned.
They didn't understand it. Just a few words exchanged, and Mo Hua suddenly looked like he had attained enlightenment—his eyes seemed to hold an ancient and profound aura.
Both of them went quiet.
After a moment, Mo Hua snapped out of it. Noticing both of them staring, he asked confusedly:
"What?"
Gu Changhuai asked cautiously,
"You… were thinking about something?"
Mo Hua replied humbly,
"Nothing big. Just had a small… tiny insight."
Gu Changhuai's expression grew complicated.
Yu Canghai also looked at Mo Hua with a flicker of awe.
After chatting a little longer, Gu Changhuai stood up to leave.
"Something's come up at the Dao Court. I need to return for a bit…" he said, then glanced at Yu Canghai,
"You stay here and recover. If I need anything from you, I'll come ask."
Despite being only early Golden Core while Yu Canghai was mid-Golden Core, Gu Changhuai showed zero politeness in his tone.
Yu Canghai knew how the world worked. Under someone else's roof, even a tiger had to lower its head. He cupped his hands without complaint.
"Take care, Uncle Gu," Mo Hua waved.
Gu Changhuai looked at him again and instructed:
"Later, return to your sect early and stay out of trouble. And remember—do not mention anything about the Xiao family enforcer to anyone."
Mo Hua nodded rapidly,
"Don't worry, not a word from me."
Only then did Gu Changhuai leave.
But he wasn't too concerned.
That brat Mo Hua had so many secrets in his belly, it was hard to even rank them.
Blowing up a Dao Court enforcer—and one from the corrupt Xiao family, no less—might not even crack the top ten of his "classified events."
After Gu left, Mo Hua quietly turned to Yu Canghai:
"Senior Yu…"
Gu was a Golden Core, so he could afford to be blunt.
But Mo Hua was just a Foundation Establishment junior—he still had to be polite.
Yu Canghai, however, had some wariness toward Mo Hua now. He figured this boy's background wasn't simple and quickly waved his hands:
"No need for 'Senior.' Just call me Elder if you don't mind."
He had once been an elder in his clan, after all.
And with mid-stage Golden Core cultivation, if the Water Prison Sect still existed, he'd certainly hold an elder position.
"Alright, Elder Yu," Mo Hua asked curiously,
"What exactly were the inheritances of your Water Prison Sect?"
Yu Canghai was momentarily stunned, then gave Mo Hua a cautious side glance and said stiffly:
"The Water Prison Sect's inheritance… is only for the descendants of the sect."
Translation: Don't even think about it, I'm not telling you.
"Just curious…" Mo Hua muttered.
He was a little interested in learning, sure—but just a little. Totally casual.
Yu Canghai didn't comment.
Then Mo Hua suddenly remembered something and asked:
"Oh, right—when I used the Water Prison Technique on Water Yama, it didn't work at all. Same when I tried it on you. Why?"
Yu Canghai's face changed.
"You fought Water Yama?"
Mo Hua nodded,
"Sort of…"
They had clashed. Barely a draw, if you were being generous.
Yu Canghai looked at Mo Hua with newfound respect.
To be mid-Foundation Establishment and go toe-to-toe with Water Yama—and walk away alive? That was not something normal cultivators could do.
Yu Canghai had personally fought Water Yama. He knew how terrifying he was.
And if Mo Hua was his enemy…
Yu Canghai's opinion of Mo Hua immediately rose.
After some thought, he finally opened up:
"The Water Prison Sect's techniques are also divided into grades—lower, middle, upper."
"And among these grades, there exists a natural 'suppression' hierarchy."
"The Water Prison Technique is considered lower-grade within our sect. No matter how well it's mastered, it still can't suppress those who've cultivated high-grade secret arts from our system."