Chapter 835: White Dog
No one in the entire Great Void Sect yet knew what kind of bizarre technique Mo Hua had secretly learned in the shadows.
Mo Hua himself felt like he had once again gone down a "slightly crooked path."
But this time… just a little crooked.
The Dread Sword was still the Dread Sword.
The Blood Prison Eye was still the Blood Prison Eye.
It was just… the two had borrowed from each other and fused a little.
Mo Hua gave it some thought and felt that probably no one had ever cultivated them this way before.
Which made sense—after all, turning divine sense into a sword was a core inheritance of the Great Void Sect, while the Sevenfold Blood Prison Eye was a secret technique of the Yin Water Sect, one that even they only passed to their Sect Master.
No one should have had access to both inheritances at the same time.
As for fusing a sword art with a pupil technique—it might look simple, but it involved deep transformations of divine sense, and even borrowed from techniques like "Sowing Demons into the Dao Heart." Apart from a few senior uncles who had immersed themselves in the field for years, almost no one could have pulled it off.
Mo Hua felt like he had "invented" a truly awesome Dao method—and for the next few days, he was downright giddy with excitement.
He really wanted to find someone to try out his Dread Sword—no, it should now be called the Sevenfold Dread Sword—to test its power.
But looking around, there was no opponent in sight.
And he couldn't just randomly pick a fellow sect member to spar with inside the sect.
This version of the Dread Sword carried divine-soul-killing power.
If he sparred with his junior brothers and wasn't careful… one slip could damage their divine souls. That wouldn't be good.
After all, his junior brothers were no match for him. Their divine souls were, well… fragile.
Mo Hua sighed, disappointed.
That day, while Mo Hua was eating in the dining hall—tearing into a chicken leg and mentally reviewing sword moves—he suddenly saw Situ Jian walking in with Yu'er.
Yu'er looked frightened and wronged, his little face pale as a ghost.
Situ Jian was doing his best to comfort him.
Mo Hua paused mid-bite, his expression darkening.
Someone in the Great Void Sect… dared to bully Yu'er?
He couldn't believe it.
Among disciples of the same generation, Mo Hua was their "Senior Brother."
Everyone knew Yu'er followed Mo Hua around—his loyal little sidekick. Normally they treated him gently and respectfully. No one dared bully him.
The junior disciples had only recently entered the sect and were still overwhelmed with adjusting to sect life and cultivation classes. There was no way they'd casually mess with a kid like Yu'er who was clearly "backed by someone."
And as for the senior disciples? They wouldn't be so childish as to bully a kid.
Especially not when they were busy preparing for the upcoming Dao Discussion Assembly.
Of course, if it was the senior disciples…
Mo Hua thought about it—and honestly wasn't worried.
He had some connections among the seniors.
Even without pulling strings, he wasn't afraid of a fight.
Most of the senior disciples were only in the late Foundation Establishment stage. With enough planning, Mo Hua had plenty of ways to deal with them.
And if it was someone higher—like a sect elder?
Well then… time to go tattling to Venerable Elder Xun!
Mo Hua quickly ran through all possible scenarios in his mind and found nothing to fear. With that, he righteously asked:
"What happened?"
Situ Jian sighed.
"It was a dog."
Mo Hua blinked.
He'd been running through all sorts of scenarios—but never once did he consider the culprit would be… a dog.
Outrageous!
Just in case, Mo Hua asked:
"Whose dog is it?"
Situ Jian shook his head.
"No idea. Doesn't seem like it has an owner. It's tied outside a secluded waterside study pavilion up north. Probably just a guard dog."
Mo Hua nodded.
In that case, no need to worry.
Just a lousy guard dog.
Situ Jian glanced at Yu'er, who looked pitiful, and said:
"Yu'er had finished his studies and was playing outside. He chased after a crane drinking from a pond and happened to run near that study. The guard dog, who'd been napping, suddenly woke up and started snarling and lunging at Yu'er like crazy. It was ferocious—Yu'er was caught off guard and got scared."
"Luckily the dog was chained up. Otherwise, if it had gone berserk, Yu'er might've been hurt."
"I just happened to be passing by and brought Yu'er back…"
Mo Hua frowned.
It barked at Yu'er for no reason?
He turned to look at Yu'er, who still hadn't recovered, his little face ghostly pale. Mo Hua gently patted his head and said:
"Don't be scared. Just a dumb mutt. I'll go get you some payback!"
Situ Jian looked a little helpless.
This little senior brother of his… when it came to serious matters, he was always calm and composed—sharp, methodical, and absolutely dependable.
But in daily life, every now and then… he acted a bit like a kid.
A mere guard dog. What "payback" was there to get?
Situ Jian sighed.
But Mo Hua didn't care what he thought. After telling Situ Jian to take good care of Yu'er, he stormed off toward the study pavilion.
He had a rough map of the Great Void Mountain in his head.
That study pavilion? He remembered it—vaguely.
It was in a quiet, remote location. Peaceful surroundings. Not on any of the usual routes used by disciples for classes or cultivation. So barely anyone ever passed by.
But Mo Hua didn't recall there being any big dog there before.
Maybe there had been—and he'd just overlooked it.
When he arrived at the pavilion, he found the place serene: elegant buildings, a clear pond, graceful cranes, koi swimming through the water, some colorful luan birds and spirit rabbits hopping about. The whole scene oozed immortal charm.
But none of that mattered.
Mo Hua's eyes instantly landed on the large white dog chained out front with a golden chain.
The dog's fur was snow-white. Its appearance wasn't particularly ugly or beautiful—just very… dog-like. It was lying on the ground at the moment, looking up with disdain in its eyes, a clear expression of "Who do you think you are?"
Mo Hua raised a brow and pointed at it:
"Beast! Such audacity!"
The dog seemed to understand human speech. Realizing it was being scolded, its white fur bristled. It slowly stood up, its eyes gleaming with menace as it glared at Mo Hua.
Once it stood up, it towered a full head above Mo Hua. Bared its teeth. It really was… a bit intimidating.
But Mo Hua stood his ground fearlessly.
After all, the thing was chained.
Though a head shorter, he still held his stance with a sharp aura, squaring off against the big white dog.
But after a while… Mo Hua hesitated.
What now?
Should he beat up the dog?
Or… maybe roast it into a stew for Yu'er to calm his nerves?
Maybe the dog sensed Mo Hua's disrespectful thoughts, because suddenly its expression turned furious. Its eyes grew fiercer—and a powerful, oppressive aura surged from its body.
In its vertical pupils… some kind of light began to stir.
Mo Hua froze.
Wait… this dog might not be normal.
It didn't feel like a demonic beast. And it wasn't quite a spirit beast either. Could it be… a rare, exotic beast?
An exotic beast?
…Yeah, that might be trouble.
Should I just let it go?
The moment that thought arose in Mo Hua's mind, the big white dog seemed to sense it.
Its gaze shifted toward Mo Hua, now tinged with scorn and disdain.
That ticked Mo Hua off.
Just a gatekeeping mutt, and you dare look down on me?
Fine!
If he couldn't beat it, couldn't kill it, and couldn't turn it into a stew—then he'd at least scare it, give it a bit of a lesson, and let it know: there's always a bigger fish, and outside every dog… is a man!
With a cold snort, Mo Hua's eyes narrowed. His divine sense surged, manifesting the Dread Sword, and activated the Sevenfold Pupil Technique. His eyes gleamed with a blade-like light, as if sword qi were flowing through them—threads of threatening aura began to emanate.
Dread Sword!
This was the first time he had ever unleashed the Dread Sword… not on a human, but—on a dog.
In Mo Hua's expectations, the dog should've been instantly blinded, then collapsed to the ground whimpering and begging for mercy.
But instead…
The big white dog's vertical pupils quivered. Within its eyes, pure white light began to swirl, condensing into a hazy phantasmal silhouette, continuously shifting and changing.
In front of the elegant study pavilion, under the beautiful scenery, the standoff began: one boy, one dog—locked in a fierce staring contest.
It looked ridiculous, even silly. But where their gazes met—in places unseen by ordinary cultivators—faint golden sword-light clashed with shimmering white illusions. The forces shredded at each other, clashing endlessly, a silent battle of soul-slashing power.
Moments passed… and neither side claimed victory.
They both withdrew.
Mo Hua pointed and declared,
"You wait for me. After class tomorrow, I'm coming back!"
The big white dog gave him a disdainful look, as if to say:
"I'll be here. Let's see if you've got the guts."
With a huff, Mo Hua turned and stormed off.
Back at his quarters, he collapsed onto his chair, dejected and frustrated.
"Unbelievable… I couldn't even beat a dog…"
He had thought his Dread Sword, once completed, would be a devastating force.
And yet, his first real "battle"… he got shown up by a mutt.
Strictly speaking, Mo Hua felt his sword-pupil fusion had probably outperformed the dog's soul power slightly—but a win is a win, and he didn't win. No excuses.
"Just what the hell is that dog…"
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got.
"No! I don't care what that mutt is—it's going to learn what regret tastes like."
Otherwise, this unique technique of his—combining the Great Void's Dread Sword with the Sevenfold Blood Prison Eye—would have totally lost face.
Losing the first battle—couldn't even handle a dog!
Fueled by indignation, Mo Hua reignited his fighting spirit.
"This Dread Sword… still needs work!"
He took out the Water Prison Seal Box and resumed his meditations.
The Sevenfold Blood Prison… was now being reforged into the Sevenfold Sword Prison.
In theory, to fully construct this Sword Prison within his divine soul, he had to fuse all seven soul aspects—Corpse Dog, Hidden Arrow, Dark Sparrow, Devourer Thief, Toxic Wraith, Filth Purger, and Foul Lung—into distinct prison realms.
Once done, these aspects would awaken the killing potential of the soul. His eyes would become the medium through which sword intent—infused with slaughter—was unleashed.
There were eight prisons in total: the Seven Souls, and then the Life Soul at the core.
So far, Mo Hua had only engraved one sword prison into his divine soul: the Corpse Dog.
To complete this reimagined Dread Sword technique, he still needed to integrate the remaining six.
Only then could he proceed to merge the Life Soul, and with it, construct the complete Sword Prison, achieving true unity of sword and slaughter—a fully-formed Dread Sword.
Mo Hua's mood gradually calmed.
"Still a long way to go…"
Whether it was the Dread Sword or the Sevenfold Pupil Technique, both contained profound secrets yet to be uncovered, and plenty of deep paths to study. Just fusing one soul wasn't enough.
He was still only at the beginning.
He needed continuous polishing—until the Dread Sword reached perfection!
Banishing all stray thoughts, Mo Hua threw himself wholeheartedly into deeper study of the Sevenfold Dread Sword.
With the Life Soul as its foundation, and the Sevenfold Prison forged upon it—this would become his ultimate sword soul technique.
"Corpse Dog—complete. A single Sword Prison formed."
"Next… the Hidden Arrow Soul."
"Visualize the prison diagram. Replace torture devices with sword forms. Sword as punishment…"
"Embed the sword into the visualization. Fuse the image with the soul. Guide the soul to manifest beyond the body…"
...
Bit by bit, Mo Hua meditated, practiced, and improved. The more he studied, the more he grasped the profound intricacies and mystical logic behind both the Dread Sword and the Sevenfold Blood Prison Eye.
His Hidden Arrow Prison was also gradually taking shape.
But this one… progressed much slower.
This type of divine-sense cultivation method seemed naturally designed to get harder the further one advanced.
Still, even if slow—by spending the whole night—Mo Hua managed to fuse nearly half of the Hidden Arrow aspect.
And as a result, his Dread Sword Pupil Technique grew significantly stronger.
The next day, unable to hold back, he rushed off to challenge the dog again.
Outside the study, by the pond…
Boy and dog, round two.
Another fierce staring match.
To Mo Hua's surprise—he still didn't win.
But compared to last time, he clearly had the upper hand.
After a while, both he and the big dog began to show signs of spiritual fatigue and temporarily backed off.
"I'll be back in a few days!" Mo Hua declared, refusing to let it go.
The dog's eyes remained full of disdain, baring its teeth fiercely.
But this time… its gaze was heavier, more cautious. It didn't dare treat Mo Hua as a joke anymore.
Back in his room, Mo Hua had no appetite, throwing himself back into intense Dread Sword training.
Finally—three days later—his progress exploded.
The Hidden Arrow Prison was now fully integrated.
At this point, Mo Hua had completed two of the Seven Souls: Corpse Dog and Hidden Arrow.
His pupil technique had grown dramatically more powerful.
The next day, Mo Hua marched boldly back to the study pavilion.
This time, he came to settle the score—with the dog.
And suddenly,
The atmosphere instantly grew tense.
The big white dog clearly sensed Mo Hua's rising power. The sharpness and pressure emanating from him left no room for contempt—it no longer looked down on him, but instead faced him like a true enemy, eyes fierce.
Boy and dog—both went all in.
Once again, they stared each other down.
But this time, the clash of their souls was far more intense than before.
Mo Hua's sword intent took shape, forming a prison. Within that prison surged a deadly aura so suffocating it would make any cultivator shudder.
The big dog, seemingly awakening some sort of bloodline, had a new gleam in its eyes. The shadow in its pupils solidified into a phantom of a pure white, sacred beast—too divine to look upon directly.
No one knew how long the standoff lasted.
But in the end, Mo Hua had the upper hand.
His divine sense had already begun to embody Dao, and his soul was edging closer to godhood. When it came to clashes of divine will, he had yet to fear anyone.
The big white dog lost. The pure-white illusion in its eyes shattered, and a backlash followed.
Then Mo Hua's sword intent pierced straight into its eyes. In pain, the dog had to raise both paws to cover its face and let out a high-pitched yowl.
Mo Hua, on the other hand, was radiant with pride.
His soul was aching, and his head felt a little light—but in front of this so-called "mighty opponent," he couldn't lose face.
"Still dare to look at me now?"
Mo Hua's tone was downright smug.
Then he ran off to the disciples' quarters and fetched Yu'er.
In front of the dog, Mo Hua pointed at Yu'er and ordered:
"Apologize."
To everyone's surprise, the dog's expression twisted the moment it saw Yu'er. Despite its eye pain, it growled furiously and tried to lunge at him.
Yu'er turned pale on the spot.
Mo Hua's face hardened, and a glint flashed in his eyes.
The dog immediately froze.
It glanced at Yu'er, then at Mo Hua—who stood protectively in front of the boy, righteous and unyielding. Finally, with deep reluctance, it let out a soft "whimper" toward Yu'er—counted as an apology.
With Mo Hua backing him up, Yu'er was no longer afraid. In fact, seeing the big white dog's fluffy appearance, he almost wanted to pet its head. But remembering how fierce it had been, he restrained himself.
Still, justice had been served.
Mo Hua nodded, somewhat satisfied.
Just as he was about to lecture the dog a little more—
A calm, cultured voice rang out:
"What are you all doing here?"
Startled, Mo Hua turned around.
He saw a man emerging from the study pavilion—a fair-skinned, black-haired, slightly plump middle-aged cultivator with a kind expression.
Mo Hua was so shocked he blurted:
"Sect… Sect Master?!"
Indeed—this was the Sect Master of the Great Void Sect.
Mo Hua wasn't familiar with him personally and had never spoken with him one-on-one. He had only seen him from afar during the sect's annual grand ceremony.
The Sect Master looked at Mo Hua, raising an eyebrow as if recalling something.
"You're… Mo Hua, right?"
Mo Hua opened his mouth in surprise.
"You… know me?"
The Sect Master thought to himself:
Thanks to Elder Xun, there probably aren't many in the sect who don't know you…
With a nod, he turned his gaze to Yu'er.
"This is the little one from the Shangguan family, yes?"
Yu'er nervously bowed and stammered,
"G-Greetings, Sect Master."
"Good."
The Sect Master replied warmly.
But then his eyes shifted to the side… and landed on the big white dog—who clearly looked like it had just been bullied. His expression froze.
Suddenly, Mo Hua had a bad feeling. He whispered:
"Sect Master… that dog… don't tell me… it's yours?"
Dog?
The Sect Master blinked, his expression becoming a little… strange.
After a pause, he nodded,
"More or less…"
Mo Hua's heart dropped like a rock.
Crap.
Even beating a dog, you have to check who it belongs to first!
And I just beat up the Sect Master's dog?!
Right at that moment, the Sect Master asked:
"So… what were you two children doing just now?"
Mo Hua's brain spun like lightning. He immediately said:
"We… we saw this poor dog looked hungry and pitiful, so we came to feed it! Right?"
He shot a sharp glare at the white dog.
The dog, utterly cowed by Mo Hua's "domineering might," instinctively let out a meek "awoo."
The Sect Master's expression grew even more bizarre.
Without missing a beat, Mo Hua added: "Sect Master, well… we'll take our leave now. Wouldn't want to disturb you!"
Then, pulling Yu'er along, he gave a quick bow and fled the scene.
The Sect Master watched them disappear into the distance, smiling faintly.
He murmured: "What an amusing child… No wonder the old ancestor likes him."
He then turned toward the big white dog lying on the ground.
With a tone that was calm—yet carried a trace of schadenfreude—he said:
"You bark at everyone, don't even give me face, and now look at you—so quiet today?"
The dog rolled its eyes and lay there listlessly.
After a while, its gaze drifted off into the distance… first at Mo Hua's retreating figure…
Then—almost involuntarily—at Yu'er.
Its eyes glinted with the viciousness of a beast meeting its natural enemy.
That sliver of killing intent did not escape the Sect Master's notice.
His eyes narrowed slightly as he looked toward Yu'er, who was being led away by Mo Hua…
His brows slowly creased into a frown.
(End of this Chapter)