Chapter 834: Sword Qi of Dread
The broken sword he'd obtained from the bloodstained fishing village—Mo Hua had never taken it out, nor handed it over to the sect. The main reason was that its origin was… a bit difficult to explain.
More importantly, the sword still bore karmic traces of the "Great Void Divine Thought Sword Manifestation" technique. Mo Hua wanted to keep it for further study.
If he turned it in, everything would be lost.
The truth was, apart from the foundational Sword Manifestation Form, all the more advanced forms of the Divine Thought Sword technique required a profound sword foundation—and guidance from a true expert to grasp the subtle truths. It wasn't something he could just comprehend with a few glances.
Mo Hua had examined it several times in the past, gained nothing, and eventually set it aside.
Later, with so much going on, he had completely forgotten about it.
To be honest, he carried too many secrets. He had a few too many mysterious items of unknown origin. One more didn't make a difference.
Naturally, this broken sword had ended up at the bottom of his metaphorical treasure chest.
But now, having obtained the Water Prison Forbidden Box, and understanding the path of "Spirit-Soul Projection" from the Forbidden Diagram upon it, Mo Hua was reminded of the sword again.
He ran his fingers over the ancient, battle-worn blade, feeling a tinge of melancholy.
The sword's owner was likely a senior of the Great Void Sect.
To have cultivated Divine Thought Sword Manifestation to such a level—they must have once been an exceptional genius, unmatched in their time.
From the few fragmented scenes he had derived from the sword's karma, Mo Hua could tell that when this senior was young, they were a peerless sword prodigy—radiating sharp sword qi and brimming with intense sword intent.
Mo Hua sighed.
"Such a stunning genius… yet even his lifebound sword was broken."
"I wonder what happened to him?"
"If his lifebound spirit sword shattered, he must have suffered grave injuries. His cultivation path likely crumbled…"
The thought struck him—startling him:
"Could this senior have… already perished? If so, wouldn't his remains be buried in the back mountain?"
Mo Hua felt unexpectedly sorrowful.
"If I ever get the chance… I should visit the back mountain and try to return this sword to its rightful owner…"
After all, for sword cultivators, the sword was like a second life—living and dying alongside its master.
Returning the sword would be a small way to repay the debt of having received the technique for Divine Thought Sword Manifestation from the void.
Mo Hua gave a solemn nod.
Then he recalled something else.
"This senior's name seemed to be 'Xuan'er'?"
It was a name used by elders to address juniors. Calling him that felt disrespectful.
So, in his heart, Mo Hua silently amended it:
"Senior Xuan."
He committed the name to memory, then turned his focus fully to the sword technique.
"Dread Style"—the advanced sword form of the Great Void Divine Thought Sword Manifestation, building upon the foundational Sword Manifestation Form.
Mo Hua once more deduced the karmic imprints from the broken sword, replaying the scenes of Senior Xuan as a youth, practicing the Dread Style.
This time, the images were dimmer, and the sounds more fragmented.
Clearly, the karmic energy within the broken sword was fading.
Worse, the act of deduction was accelerating that decay.
Mo Hua dared not run it again—he burned the sights and sounds into his memory, then reverently placed the sword back into his Storage Ring.
What remained of the Dread Sword's karma was no different from before—perhaps even more blurred.
But Mo Hua was no longer the same.
He couldn't understand it before.
But now, after grasping the Sword Manifestation Form and understanding the principles behind Spirit-Soul Projection, everything he had seen began to make sense.
The Divine Thought Sword Manifestation of the Great Void Sect started with the Sword Manifestation Form.
From the perspective of "spirit-soul" theory, the so-called Sword Manifestation was essentially a mental image—a heart-aspect of a sword.
In short, a sword in the heart.
The Dread Style went a step further—it fused the sword's heart-aspect into the spirit-soul, forging a blade infused with the power of the soul, and birthing a true sword intent that could kill.
The Sword of Divine Dread used its terrifyingly sharp sword intent to shake the hearts of enemies, striking fear into them and suppressing evil—even forcing foes to surrender without a fight.
This was conceptually very similar to the Seven-Soul Blood Prison Eye technique of the Water Prison Sect, where one imprinted the heart-aspect of a prison into the soul, cultivating slaughter Qi.
But the Dao they pursued differed drastically—one followed the sword, the other, punishment and law. Their applications diverged accordingly.
"Dread Style…"
Mo Hua sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and let his divine sense sink into his sea of consciousness.
Within his mind-sea, his divine avatar opened its eyes. At the same time, it began to gather divine will and manifest a crude sword.
"So this… is the sword of my heart…"
Mo Hua sighed—somewhat helplessly.
It looked pretty shabby.
Even though it shone with golden light, the shape was too primitive—it was merely a rough prototype of a sword.
"Whatever… I'll make do."
He shook his head.
He wasn't a true sword cultivator, after all—couldn't expect to start halfway and still be amazing.
Then, following the technique he had inferred from the broken sword, Mo Hua began officially cultivating the Dread Sword.
He infused his own understanding of the sword into the heart-aspect.
He imprinted that heart-aspect onto his spirit-soul.
Then, per the Dread Sword's method, he began repeatedly refining his soul—tempering it with sword energy—until his soul and sword heart became one: true sword intent.
Spirit-soul techniques were shapeless, formless, abstruse to the extreme.
But for Mo Hua, who was already well-versed in divine sense arts, manipulating his own awareness in complex ways felt natural.
He could feel his divine sense sword gradually merging with his spirit-soul.
The process came with some pain.
But this pain allowed Mo Hua to sense his lifebound soul and seven ethereal spirits more clearly.
He felt that his spirit-soul was being tempered.
And as it underwent refinement, the sword intent within it began to radiate a truly shocking aura.
That biting sword presence could send shivers down the spine.
Mo Hua's gaze grew sharper.
The sword aura he emanated rose steadily—
—but soon plateaued.
No matter how he used the Dread Style to refine his soul and fuse sword intent, the technique's momentum could rise no further.
He had seemingly reached his current limit.
Opening his eyes, Mo Hua pulled out a mirror and looked into his handsome, youthful face. Then, his gaze focused as he activated the Dread Sword.
In the mirror, he could clearly see his eyes begin to glow.
At the same time, the sharpness of sword intent gleamed within them, so intense it was hard to look straight at.
But… that was all.
Compared to Water Yama's eye technique—it was far inferior.
When Water Yama unleashed his eye art, his pupils turned crimson, as if soaked in blood. Within them lurked monstrous figures screaming in madness, emitting dense slaughter aura.
In both might and impact, Mo Hua's sword-style eye technique paled in comparison.
"If I can't even compare to Water Yama, then what's the point…"
Mo Hua rested his chin on one hand, deep in thought.
Where had things gone wrong?
After much deliberation, Mo Hua concluded there could only be two reasons:
First, his sword foundation was too weak.
Second, his method of projection was lacking.
Subjective divine sense must rely on objective external anchors.
In other words, "Sword Intent" must be founded on one's sword cultivation background.
Sword cultivation background refers to the time, effort, and heart a sword cultivator has poured into the sword path over the years.
This includes years of studying the sword, practicing it, sparring, refining techniques, contemplating, and gaining insights—everything accumulated into one's personal experience with the sword path.
None of this comes from nothing.
It's the product of painstaking, year-after-year tempering. It's a fusion of one's technique, understanding, and enlightenment in swordsmanship.
You either have it… or you don't.
And Mo Hua clearly did not.
This kind of background can't just appear from nowhere in a flash of "enlightenment," either.
True epiphanies come after long-term immersion and contemplation.
Just like how Mo Hua practices formation drawing every day, constantly pondering the logic behind formations—only after enough time might he one day attain a breakthrough.
But someone who doesn't study formations can't just "enlighten" into them.
Likewise, someone who hasn't trained in the sword cannot suddenly understand sword techniques.
Before entering Qianxue Prefecture, Mo Hua had practically never touched a sword. From childhood to now, he hadn't even learned a single basic sword move. Naturally, he had no skill, experience, or foundation in swordsmanship.
His sword cultivation foundation was extremely weak.
Which meant, by extension, his "sword intent" would also be fragile. And any eye technique relying on sword intent would inevitably lack power.
That was the first problem.
The second issue lay in his method of projection.
The owner of the broken sword—Senior Xuan—used a technique called "Borrowing the Sword for Projection."
That is, once the sword intent left the body, it would anchor onto a real sword. This not only amplified the power of the sword qi but also enhanced its killing intent.
Not just Senior Xuan—most of the past sword cultivators in the Great Void Sect likely used this same "borrowing the sword" method for projection.
And the problem… just so happened to be the sword.
Mo Hua had no spirit sword.
His sword foundation was poor, and he relied on self-destruct-type spirit swords—he didn't have one of those swords that cultivators slowly nourish and bond with as a lifebound artifact.
So he simply couldn't use "borrowing the sword" at all.
With no real sword intent, no effective eye technique, and no external sword to boost the effect—his power took another nosedive.
As a result, the Great Void Dread Sword Style was missing too much—its might felt watered-down and borderline useless.
But Mo Hua was not willing to give up.
"Is Divine Thought Sword Manifestation really only this strong?"
"So… what can I do?"
He frowned and pondered bitterly. After a long while without any ideas, he collapsed onto the meditation cushion, eyes blankly staring at the ceiling.
Sword technique… eye technique…
Sword techniques emphasize sword intent and borrow the sword for projection.
Eye techniques cultivate Slaughter Qi and borrow the eyes for projection.
Now he had given up Slaughter Qi and replaced it with sword intent—but still used eye projection.
Without the deterrent force of Slaughter Qi, without fierce sword intent, and without the enhancement of a real sword… he had thrown away the advantages of both techniques, while magnifying all of his own weaknesses.
"Should I just grit my teeth and slowly train in swordsmanship from now on?"
Mo Hua shook his head.
"Too slow."
Sword cultivation is built on long-term effort—it's not something that can be mastered overnight.
Besides, if he started now, by the time he built up any real sword foundation and got the Dread Sword to a usable level… who knows how many years would have passed?
"I need to figure something else out…"
"I can't be too rigid—I have to be flexible."
"All methods in the world are ever-changing. Their true brilliance lies in clever adaptation."
Mo Hua continued to ponder.
Right now, he was essentially using the Seven-Soul Blood Prison Eye's projection method from the Water Prison Sect to cast the Dread Sword.
If the Dread Sword were strong enough, this would be fine.
But with his weak sword foundation and a lackluster Dread Sword… he couldn't yet abandon the Seven-Soul Blood Prison Eye's original framework.
"Then… what if—" Mo Hua's eyes suddenly lit up.
"—I integrate the Dread Sword Style into the Seven-Soul Blood Prison Eye technique?"
"But how?"
He furrowed his brows and fell deep into thought again.
The Dread Sword cultivates sword intent, and borrows a sword for projection.
The Blood Prison Eye cultivates Slaughter Qi, and borrows the eyes for projection.
First off, Mo Hua wasn't a sword cultivator—he could directly rule out borrowing a sword for projection.
That left him with:
Cultivate sword intent, cultivate Slaughter Qi… and project it through the eyes.
So would it become:
Sword intent + Slaughter Qi, projected through both eyes?
If his sword intent was weak, he'd bolster it with Slaughter Qi…
And use the upright, righteous sword intent of the Great Void Sect to balance the sinister aura of the criminal path?
Mo Hua's heart skipped a beat—his eyes growing brighter by the second.
"This… might actually work?"
Suddenly inspired, Mo Hua sat up and retrieved the Water Prison Forbidden Box.
He had a direction. Now he just needed a way to implement it.
How could he merge the sword intent of the Dread Sword with the criminal Slaughter Qi of the Water Prison Sect?
Mo Hua pondered for a long time, even scratching his head in frustration.
One was passed down as a sword technique, the other through a forbidden diagram.
The two seemed completely unrelated—how could he possibly fuse them?
"As expected… it's easy to think of ideas, but actually doing them is the hard part."
Mo Hua sighed inwardly.
He once again recalled the karmic images of Senior Xuan cultivating the Dread Sword… and then stared wide-eyed at the Water Prison Forbidden Box.
Sword. Prison. Torture tools. Criminals…
Without even realizing it—his heart jumped.
"The sword… is a weapon of execution."
To kill and harm is to generate Slaughter Qi.
Prisons are meant to punish the guilty.
So, if one uses a sword in place of torture tools to punish criminals—wouldn't that, in itself, also be a way of nurturing Slaughter Qi?
Moreover, it would nurture both sword intent and Slaughter Qi at the same time!
In this way, Mo Hua wouldn't need to alter the structure of the original Water Prison Forbidden Diagram, and could seamlessly integrate the Dread Sword Style into the Blood Prison Eye technique.
Use the sword as punishment. Let sword and Slaughter become one!
Mo Hua's eyes lit up with excitement.
He immediately sat down in meditation and began attempting to fuse the two techniques according to his new theory.
The cultivation method remained similar: visualizing the Heart Aspect of Punishment, imprinting it into his divine soul to forge the power of slaughter.
But unlike before, this time while visualizing the Water Prison Forbidden Diagram, Mo Hua "cheated himself" a little.
Using his mastery of divine sense, he tampered with his own mental recognition—replacing all the torture tools in the Heart Aspect with the Dread Sword.
Just like that, the prison diagram became… a Sword Punishment Diagram.
Every criminal was now punished beneath the gleaming edge of the Dread Sword, wailing in terror.
This kind of divine technique was something Mo Hua had explored on his own—it bore resemblance to "Sowing Demons into the Dao Heart," acting like a planted suggestion within his Dao Heart.
Once the Sword Punishment Diagram took shape, the entire Dao Prison transformed—its gloomy air replaced by piercing sharpness. It became like a godly Sword Prison made of divine will, brimming with sword qi.
This prison, fusing both sword intent and Slaughter Qi, became etched into Mo Hua's divine soul.
A majestic and razor-sharp sword-slaying aura burst from Mo Hua's eyes. Sharpness surged in waves—his sword path noble and upright, the Slaughter Qi dark and oppressive—ready to purge the world of all sin, causing demons and monsters to tremble at its very presence.
In that instant, Mo Hua resembled a Divine Lord of the Underworld, his sword-born Slaughter radiance too overwhelming to face.
This… was the true Dread Sword!
And more than that—it was a completely new form, different from what any of the Great Void Sect elders had cultivated—a Dread Sword that could be unleashed through the eyes, infused with Slaughter Qi!
Moments later, all the sharpness dissipated.
Mo Hua's eyes returned to their usual clarity.
He glanced around, a little disappointed.
"Pity that Water Yama isn't here. We could've had a little stare-down… seen whose eyes were stronger…"
But with no enemies nearby, Mo Hua felt a touch… lonely.
"Not even a single bad guy to test this on…"
Still, he had finally learned it!
"Dread Sword!"
Mo Hua chuckled to himself, then pressed down the excitement in his heart, sank his consciousness back into his Sea of Awareness, and returned to practicing array formations.
"Rejoice not in things, grieve not for self."
No matter the situation, always keep a calm heart. Focus on arrays. No slacking off.
Mo Hua closed his eyes and peacefully began drawing formations onto the Dao Stele in his Sea of Awareness…
Meanwhile—
At the very moment Mo Hua took out the broken sword, a faint thread of karmic aura had already been released.
Within the Sword Tomb behind the mountain, a white-haired, long-bearded elder suddenly opened his eyes. His pupils trembled.
"Xuan'er…"
"How could there be Xuan'er's aura… within the Great Void Sect?"
He released his divine sense. A powerful spiritual will spread in an extremely subtle manner, sweeping across the entire Great Void Mountain Range, attempting to trace the origin of this aura.
But he was no longer what he once was—his divine sense was severely damaged. The moment he exerted it, sharp pain pierced his mind like needles.
Though the divine sense spread out, his search progressed extremely slowly.
At the same time, Xuan'er's aura grew even stronger…
As if someone was stirring his karma, trying to deduce something.
"Who… is it?"
The elder's heart tensed. He kept tracing it with his divine sense. Just as he was about to pinpoint the source—everything vanished.
Completely and utterly disappeared.
As if someone had deliberately hidden it.
Hidden… in a place beyond all prefectures, beyond all karma.
The elder's face darkened… but then slowly calmed down.
In the depths of his heart, however, he made a mental note—another debt added.
Suddenly, a sharp pain stabbed his divine sense. Strange demonic voices from beyond echoed in his ears.
The elder's eyes snapped wide. He instantly withdrew his divine sense and suppressed his aura, holding his breath and stabilizing his Dao Heart.
Only after a long time did the voices fade, and his divine sense settle again.
Then, he slowly reopened his eyes—but his expression was weary, as if he had aged a few more years.
He stood alone, gazing around at the mountain full of sword tombs, at the countless rusted broken swords and skeletal remains buried alongside them.
These swords… once shone with deadly brilliance.
These people… had been his junior brothers, senior brothers—even his masters.
And Xuan'er… had once been his final hope for passing on the sword path, entrusted in a moment of unwillingness and despair.
But… he was wrong.
He should never have passed it on.
His fellow disciples, their broken blades and dead bones could at least rest here in the Sword Tomb, accompanying him in his solitude.
But Xuan'er—not even bones remained. Not even his sword had been recovered…
The elder's back hunched slightly, as a bitter sense of desolation overtook him.
His voice, filled with sorrow, echoed through the tomb: "…Is it truly… to end here?"
(End of this Chapter)