Chapter 832: Divine Soul
Mo Hua didn't even blink as he replied, deadpan and utterly serious.
Yu Canghai nodded. "Ah, I see…"
He simply reasoned by common sense. It never occurred to him that the priceless and unattainable Water Prison Forbidden Box—the very thing he'd never even dare dream of possessing—was already in Mo Hua's hands.
He also couldn't possibly imagine that a mere mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator like Mo Hua had managed to snatch this supreme inheritance of the Water Prison Sect from the cunning and sinister Water Yama.
Afraid Yu Canghai might start overthinking, Mo Hua quickly threw another question his way:
"If Water Yama can use the eye technique, doesn't that mean—even if he doesn't know how to cultivate Righteous Fiend Qi—he's at least somewhat aware of how to visualize the Dao Prison Diagram on the jade box?"
Yu Canghai's expression sharpened—clearly, the question had diverted his attention.
After thinking for a moment, he nodded.
"Very possible. If he's using the eye technique, he's probably figured out at least part of the method."
"So if he masters it completely, wouldn't that be dangerous?" Mo Hua asked.
"He won't master it," Yu Canghai shook his head.
"Why not?" Mo Hua asked, puzzled.
Yu Canghai's face turned solemn as he explained:
"Eye techniques aren't that simple. In the cultivation world, eye techniques are already rare. Aside from those which require specific bloodlines, every inheritable eye technique… is tied to the Divine Soul."
"The Dao of the Divine Soul is strange and elusive—hard to grasp."
"And since it relates to the soul, it's not something you can understand just by staring at a picture."
"Water Yama's eye technique may look impressive, but it's all form and no substance. It's an offshoot path—completely different from the true inheritance of the Water Prison Sect."
Mo Hua asked:
"Is it connected to the Divine Soul, or the Divine Sense?"
"Divine Soul."
"What's the difference?"
"That…" Yu Canghai hesitated again, clearly troubled. "The Water Prison Sect's lineage has declined. I only know the two are different—but I can't clearly explain how…"
Mo Hua observed the elder. His expression was sincere, tinged with helplessness—he clearly wasn't lying. So Mo Hua let it go.
After pondering a bit, Mo Hua asked another question:
"There's the Dao Prison Diagram on the surface of the Forbidden Box, which holds the method for cultivating the forbidden technique. But what about inside the box?"
"It's called a box, so it must open, right?"
"What's inside it?"
Yu Canghai gave a bitter smile again.
"Only the Sect Master can open the Forbidden Box. As for what's inside, I don't know. But I'd guess it's likely high-level techniques that only the Sect Master is allowed to learn."
"Like the Water Prison Art?" Mo Hua asked.
"Possibly," Yu Canghai nodded.
"And besides that?" Mo Hua pressed.
Yu Canghai shook his head—he didn't know.
"Then how do you open the box?" Mo Hua asked.
The box looked like a single piece of jade—no lock, no keyhole, not even a seam…
Mo Hua almost blurted that out—but swallowed the words.
If he said that, Yu Canghai might suspect that he had the box. And officially, it wasn't in Mo Hua's possession.
Yu Canghai fell into thought.
"The conditions for opening it are harsh. You have to master the eye technique, and then feed it with the Sect Master's blood essence. But as for the precise method… I'm just an elder—I don't really know."
Mo Hua gave Yu Canghai a look—and sighed inwardly.
This elder… really doesn't know anything important. Just surface-level fluff.
No wonder the Water Prison Sect collapsed.
Mo Hua wasn't sure whether Yu Canghai truly didn't know—or was just pretending not to.
He shook his head.
No point asking further.
Mo Hua stood up to leave. Just before stepping out, he remembered something and turned back to ask:
"Right, what's the name of the Water Prison Sect's eye technique?"
Yu Canghai hesitated for a long moment, then finally answered:
"According to the sect records… it's called the Seven Wraiths Blood Prison Eye."
"Seven Wraiths Blood Prison Eye?"
Mo Hua nodded, silently memorized the name, and was about to leave—when Yu Canghai suddenly called out.
"Young friend…"
Yu Canghai looked anxious, with a flicker of hope.
"Can the Forbidden Box… be recovered?"
"Don't worry," Mo Hua reassured him. "I'll ask Uncle Gu to step up the pursuit of Water Yama. Once he's caught, the box will be recovered."
Yu Canghai seemed comforted. He cupped his hands in gratitude.
"Much obliged, young friend."
As Mo Hua left Yu Canghai, he was already pondering:
Should I return the Forbidden Box to him?
Since it was the Water Prison Sect's supreme inheritance, it was only right to return it. He wasn't the kind of person to sneakily keep it for himself.
But… there's no rush. Let me explore it a bit first.
Besides, Yu Canghai's current situation—living under others' roofs, barely surviving—might make him a target if he possessed such a thing.
Better to return it after things settle down.
It's for his own good!
Mo Hua justified his little scheme with righteous logic.
"For now, the Forbidden Box is safest with me!"
After that, Mo Hua went to see Aunt Wan, had a meal, and then returned to the Great Void Sect. Back in the disciples' quarters, he continued his research on the Water Prison Forbidden Box.
"There's definitely something inside this box…" Mo Hua mused.
But it wouldn't open. And even if it did, the techniques inside would probably be high-level water-type arts—stuff he couldn't learn.
Even if he could learn them, with his current barely-above-average spiritual power, he wouldn't be able to use them.
So there was no rush to open the box.
If he could master the eye technique, that would be enough.
Mo Hua had a hunch—this eye technique might actually suit him more than those secret water arts passed only to sect masters.
Doesn't consume spiritual power.
Hidden.
Great for ambushes.
Plus, with his powerful divine sense, he likely wouldn't suffer any backlash.
But the problem is… how to learn it?
Mo Hua carefully reviewed his conversation with Elder Yu and roughly pieced together a few key points:
The method for cultivating the eye technique was hidden in the Dao Prison Diagram.
To learn it, one had to cultivate Righteous Fiend Qi.
The technique was related to the Divine Soul.
Its name was: Seven Wraiths Blood Prison Eye.
Seven Wraiths…
Mo Hua looked again at the jade box in his hand.
"But the diagram shows eight prison cells, eight criminals, eight punishments.
Why is it called Seven Wraiths?"
What did the "Seven Wraiths" refer to?
And if the Seven Wraiths were linked to the Divine Soul—what exactly was the connection between Divine Soul and Divine Sense?
Mo Hua sighed.
"A Bit of a Problem..."
Even a single word could open up a whole can of worms.
These unconventional cultivation paths were just too deep and obscure—so much so that they were maddeningly difficult to comprehend.
"According to Elder Yu, this eye technique is tied to the 'Divine Soul'.
That term—Divine Soul—might just be the key to unraveling the 'Seven Wraiths Blood Prison Diagram'… and the secret to cultivating the Seven Wraiths Blood Prison Eye…"
"But what exactly is the Divine Soul? How is it defined? What theory does it stem from?"
You can't cook without rice.
Mo Hua had too few clues—just a name wasn't enough to work with.
He had chosen the path of proving the Dao through Divine Sense, yes, but after taking the first few steps… his master was gone.
The rest of the journey, he'd had to fumble through on his own.
"Divine Soul…"
Mo Hua began silently listing people in his mind—going through everyone he knew to see who might be a good person to ask.
First up: Venerable Elder Xun. He definitely knew.
But the elder had been worrying over something lately, rushing about—best not to disturb him.
Lord Huang would probably know too. He was a Mountain God, after all. Though he'd long since fallen from his former might, his knowledge was still vast.
Unfortunately… he was too far away.
After weighing his options, Mo Hua decided to ask Elder Xun Zixian.
Elder Zixian was a late-stage Golden Core cultivator, a Tier 3 Formation Master with profound attainments in array formations—and he also had a strong interest in the Dao of Divine Sense.
Most importantly, the two of them got along very well.
Elder Xun Zixian was friendly, unpretentious, and as long as it wasn't some great taboo, he was usually willing to share what he knew.
So, Mo Hua made time to visit the elder's residence.
It was his first time visiting Elder Zixian's quarters. The place was filled with formations at every turn—rows upon rows of jade slips and ancient texts. That was it. Nothing else. One glance, and you could tell the elder was incredibly well-learned.
As Mo Hua entered, a Little Immortal Child greeted him at the door.
These "children" were actually young descendants of major clans, sent at an early age to serve and learn under powerful elders—offering tea and aid to build rapport, and more importantly, to absorb the elder's cultivation influence through daily exposure.
Don't be fooled by their role—the chance to serve as a Little Immortal Child was highly coveted. People fought tooth and nail for these positions.
Anyone who held such a role likely had a background that was far from ordinary.
Mo Hua explained his reason for visiting, and the boy went to report it to Elder Zixian.
The elder was in the middle of drawing a formation, but when he heard that Mo Hua had come, he paused only briefly before putting down his brush and inviting him in—ordering the child to serve tea.
The child respectfully replied, "Yes," but was secretly quite surprised.
Uncle Zixian had always been highly respected in the sect for his mastery of formations, but he was known to be eccentric and aloof.
He never acted this polite to anyone.
Normally, if someone interrupted his formation drawing, he'd be furious.
So why was he being so… courteous today?
Unable to contain his curiosity, the child quietly observed Mo Hua as he served the tea.
Meanwhile, Mo Hua sat, sipping tea, chatting with Elder Zixian.
"Divine Soul?" the elder asked.
"Yes," Mo Hua replied.
"Recently, I encountered an elder from another sect who mentioned something about the Divine Soul. I found it puzzling and couldn't make sense of it, so I came to seek your guidance…"
Elder Zixian took a sip of tea, then looked at Mo Hua with a penetrating gaze.
"There are some things in this world that shouldn't be learned lightly."
Mo Hua scratched his head awkwardly.
"I'm just curious…"
Zixian said coolly,
"Tell me the context—where it came from—so I can decide whether I should tell you."
Mo Hua was impressed.
Elder Zixian truly lived up to his reputation—insightful and wise.
As expected of a fellow master of arrays.
But the matter of the Water Prison Forbidden Box… wasn't something he could just blurt out.
Seeing Mo Hua hesitate, Zixian added:
"Just give me the general idea—you don't have to be specific. I'll get the gist. Otherwise, I can't explain myself to the Grand Elder."
Mo Hua thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Alright."
He quickly organized his thoughts, then spoke:
"I helped the Dao Tribunal with a minor matter—investigating a case. During it, I encountered a demonic cultivator who used a very strange eye technique…"
Zixian's eyes narrowed slightly.
"An eye technique?"
"Yes," Mo Hua said.
"It was capable of invading the mind—very tricky. From what I've learned, it's cultivated by visualizing a specific diagram."
"I asked an elder familiar with it, and he told me the visualization method is tied to the Divine Soul… but he wasn't skilled in Divine Sense, so he couldn't explain further. That's why I came to ask you…"
"Eye technique… Divine Soul… visualization…"
Zixian silently turned over the ideas in his mind for a moment. Then he nodded.
"I see."
"So…?"
"I can tell you about the Divine Soul."
Mo Hua was delighted.
"Thank you, Elder Xun!"
"But let me say this first," Zixian said, suddenly serious,
"Spiritual power and flesh are tangible—but Divine Thought is formless. So the Dao of Divine Sense and matters of the Divine Soul are mostly inferred through personal experience—not necessarily accurate."
"What I'm about to tell you comes from hundreds of years of what I've heard, learned, and studied. I believe it's mostly sound—but it's not impossible that some parts are wrong. So listen with care. Don't blindly believe, but don't dismiss it either.
Finding the right balance is up to you."
He was extremely rigorous in his wording.
Mo Hua nodded earnestly.
Seeing the seriousness in Mo Hua's eyes, Zixian nodded slightly and began:
"First, the Divine Soul and Divine Sense are not the same."
"Most low-level cultivators only know about Divine Sense—and they rarely come into contact with the Divine Soul. Even when they speak of the soul or spirit, they usually don't know what they're talking about."
"In fact, even many cultivators at the Golden Core or even Nascent Soul stage may still be utterly clueless about the Divine Soul."
"That's because the current cultivation system focuses entirely on spiritual power and the physical body. Divine Sense is usually just seen as an auxiliary. Very few cultivators take it as their main path—aside from a handful of outliers."
Zixian gave Mo Hua a meaningful look, then pointed to his own forehead with a long, slender finger.
"The Sea of Consciousness houses the Three Souls and Seven Spirits."
"The Three Souls are: Heaven Soul, Earth Soul, and Life Soul."
"The Seven Spirits are:
Corpse Dog, Hidden Arrow, Shadow Sparrow, Devouring Thief, Malignant Poison, Filth Remover, and Foul Lung."
"Of the Three Souls, the Heaven and Earth Souls drift outside the body—lodged in the world at large, untouchable and hard to define. Only the Life Soul remains within one's self, directly tied to survival."
"The Life Soul is the core. And attached to it are the Seven Spirits. The Spirits cannot exist without the Soul, and the Soul cannot flourish without the Spirits."
"Together, these make up the Divine Soul."
"The Divine Soul is the foundation of all Divine Thought. The mental power that springs from it is what we call Divine Sense."
"With soul, comes thought—and with thought, comes sense."
Mo Hua's eyes gleamed with realization.
Elder Xun's explanation had revealed many hidden truths about the path of Divine Sense.
But ironically, the more he learned… the more confused he felt.
"So Divine Sense isn't the foundation of the Sea of Consciousness— it's just the mental energy that springs from the Divine Soul?"
Elder Zixian nodded and said:
"You're a formation master—you should relate to this deeply..."
"Divine sense, every time it's used up, always recovers afterward."
"If divine sense itself were the root, then once it's depleted, it would be cut off at the source. How could it possibly regenerate?"
"It's precisely because divine sense is derived from the divine soul that, as long as the divine soul remains, divine sense can regenerate again and again from it."
Elder Xun Zixian gave an example:
"Think of the divine soul as a tree trunk, and divine sense as the branches and leaves. If the branches snap or the leaves fall, they can still regrow—so long as the tree's root remains intact."
Mo Hua nodded rapidly.
"Got it! It's just like chives—as long as the roots are still there, you can keep cutting and they'll keep growing!"
...
Elder Xun Zixian paused.
That analogy… was a little off. But the more he thought about it, the more he had to admit—it was kind of accurate.
"…Sure, we'll go with that."
"Then," Mo Hua asked, "what's the connection between the divine soul and eye techniques? Do they require the divine soul to be used?"
Xun Zixian nodded.
"Exactly. Here's something crucial to understand: divine sense itself is passive—it has no offensive power."
Mo Hua was stunned.
This explanation ran counter to his instincts. After all, in the Sea of Consciousness, hadn't he always used divine sense to dominate everything?
But when he thought about it more carefully—yes, it made sense.
The one doing all the dominating was not the divine sense itself—it was his divine avatar, empowered by will-infused mental power, that crushed opponents. Not the divine sense alone.
Pure divine sense—raw mental energy—was what the monsters and demons invading his Sea of Consciousness salivated over.
Elder Xun Zixian, seeing the realization on Mo Hua's face, nodded slightly and continued:
"You should be familiar with projecting divine sense outward. But this act, at its core, isn't actually projection—it's more like a perception."
"Think of it like your vision—you're not actively seeing. Rather, all the light and shadow of the world enters your eyes, and you feel like you're seeing."
"In truth, seeing is passive. The same applies to divine sense—it's passive perception."
"Thus, projecting divine sense has no offensive capabilities."
"Whether it's at the Qi Refining stage, Foundation Establishment, or even Golden Core—everyone can project divine sense. But divine sense alone can't hurt others. At most, you might sense one another—if you're sensitive enough."
"But if you want your divine sense to actually be lethal—to cut, bewitch, or intimidate—then it must be refined and fused with divine soul."
"Only with divine soul, does divine sense become deadly."
"Only divine soul… can kill…" Mo Hua murmured, dazed.
He began to reflect on all the spiritual battles he'd fought before. Gradually, he began to understand something:
According to Elder Xun Zixian's explanation, all the spiritual entities he had encountered thus far shared two components:
Soul and Will.
Ghosts had ghost souls, corpses had corpse souls, and monsters had demonic souls.
The "soul" was complicated, but boiled down to something simple—it represented the creature's sense of self, its will.
With that sense of self, those entities could kill, devour, and wreak havoc.
But once that soul was destroyed, all that remained was raw thought energy—pure "mental force."
Which meant: These beings were dangerous only because of their evil souls.
Once the soul was wiped out, the entity ceased to exist, leaving behind only raw "will"—something harmless, and even absorbable.
Mo Hua's mind grew clearer as he muttered:
"The reason a cultivator's projected divine sense isn't lethal… is because it's nothing but pure mental power. It lacks divine soul. In other words, it lacks will. So it can't harm."
"So if you wanted divine sense itself to become a weapon, you'd have to… refine divine soul into it—infuse it with a specific intent or will, right?"
"Exactly," Xun Zixian said, clearly pleased.
"But… can the divine soul be projected outward?" Mo Hua asked.
Xun Zixian shook his head.
"It's not called projection. In the Dao of divine sense, there's a specific term for this…"
His eyes darkened slightly as he spoke solemnly:
"Divine Soul Departure."
Divine Soul Departure?!
Mo Hua's heart skipped a beat.
So, based on that… was the "Prison Diagram" on the Water Prison Forbidden Box essentially a technique for cultivating Divine Soul Departure?
Divine Soul Departure…
His thoughts tumbled like waves in his mind—chaotic for the moment—but within that turbulence, he faintly sensed that a powerful gate to the Path of Spirit was slowly creaking open before him.
And his sword—his Will-Blade, born of divine thought— might finally be ready to… unsheath.
(End of this Chapter)