Chapter 856 – Worse Than a Dog
"You're no longer of any use."
A pair of golden eyes gazed down with cold authority. Within them swirled a chilling sword light, majestic and unyielding.
Then—a flash of golden brilliance.
Water Yama's mind blanked. He felt himself trapped within a cage forged of sword light, where a thousand golden blades shredded at his very soul.
"An eye technique?!"
At the critical moment, Water Yama desperately poured all his killing Qi into his eyes, activating his Blood Conversion Evil Eye to resist the golden technique.
A sea of blood surged, wailing spirits shrieked with rage—
But in the blink of an eye, the golden light swept across—
The blood sea was annihilated.
Water Yama's soul felt as if it had been cleaved, stunned by the overwhelming sword intent. Terror surged in his heart.
He tried to struggle further, but the killing Qi he had long suppressed within him began to spiral out of control, corroding his Sea of Consciousness bit by bit.
He had lost the clash of eye techniques. Now, the killing Qi was backlashing.
If the backlash fully flooded his consciousness—
He would certainly die!
Water Yama's expression twisted in panic. With what little clarity remained, he exerted all effort to restrain the rampaging Qi.
But the bloodshot veins in his eyes only spread further—and at that moment, he saw Mo Hua.
Unknowingly, the Spirit-Binding Chains on Mo Hua had already been undone.
Mo Hua walked up to him. Seizing the moment Water Yama's mind was unguarded, he took the Water Prison Forbidden Casket—right in front of his face.
The very casket Water Yama had gone through hell to open…
The one he had poured half his blood essence into, and painstakingly unlocked—
The Water Prison Forbidden Casket.
Water Yama felt a burst of rage and despair. His Sea of Consciousness, already on the edge, began to collapse under the backlash of killing Qi.
Just then, he heard Mo Hua murmur softly:
"Sigh. I really did overestimate you."
"You're not even as good as the dog back at the Great Void Sect…"
These words were like a blade through his heart.
Water Yama's fury exploded. Blood spewed from his mouth, and he completely lost control of the killing Qi inside him.
His Sea of Consciousness was overrun.
His soul shattered.
His once-red pupils turned a ghastly ashen black, and though he retained some instinct, he now resembled a beast—lunging and biting madly at anything around.
Mo Hua quickly retreated.
Ouyang Feng and Hua Qianqian saw Water Yama's sudden breakdown—his spiritual power chaotic, his aura crumbling—and immediately seized the opportunity.
Ouyang Feng drove his long sword straight into Water Yama's heart.
Hua Qianqian flung a Hundred Blossom Spiritual Needle, piercing directly into Water Yama's forehead.
Both strikes were lethal.
As the killing Qi faded, Water Yama had a moment of clarity. Just as he seemed about to say something—
A figure turned the corner.
It was a young man in the Dao Court Division's robes, handsome, pale-skinned—Xiao Tianquan.
Xiao Tianquan moved swiftly. In a blur, he stabbed his sword straight through Water Yama's throat.
Water Yama's pupils contracted. He stared at Xiao Tianquan in disbelief, then his gaze dimmed.
And so, the infamous villain of Smoke-Water River—Water Yama—was finally dead.
Mo Hua glanced at Xiao Tianquan, then patted his chest with lingering fear and exhaled:
"Brother Xiao, thank goodness you arrived when you did. I almost died to that bastard."
Xiao Tianquan nodded. "He was evil beyond redemption. He got what he deserved."
But…
He looked at Water Yama's body—its eyes now dark gray—and frowned.
"How did he suddenly go mad like that?"
Mo Hua shook his head. "No idea… Maybe karma caught up with him. Heaven's punishment, perhaps."
His use of the eye technique earlier had been extremely subtle. No one else had noticed the golden sword intent in his eyes.
Xiao Tianquan's brows furrowed, staring at the corpse. After a moment, he exhaled and muttered:
"Likely a Qi backlash. Couldn't suppress it anymore…"
Mo Hua's brow lifted slightly.
This watchdog… knows more than he lets on.
Now that Water Yama was dead, the matter seemed settled.
After some thought, Ouyang Feng said:
"Chiefs Gu and Xia are still entangled with Mister Wu. Should we head over and try to help?"
At this point, escape wasn't even an option.
The Bone Maze was full of dangers—Mister Wu, with his monstrous scales, the endless blood corpses, and the treacherous Xiao Magistrate.
Their only hope was the two Golden Core cultivators, Gu Changhuai and Magistrate Xia.
If they survived, there was still a way out.
If not—
Everyone, including Mo Hua, was as good as dead.
Mo Hua pondered a moment, then nodded.
"Let's go check it out."
He picked up the incense burner and the red incense stick left behind by Water Yama—still useful for repelling the blood corpses—and started walking toward the main gate.
Ouyang Feng and Hua Qianqian followed.
Xiao Tianquan brought up the rear, but hesitated briefly. He glanced down at Water Yama's corpse, pulled his sword from the throat, then—still not satisfied—stabbed the heart a few more times.
Then, stealthily searched the corpse and its storage pouch…
Nothing.
Xiao Tianquan's expression turned grim. He looked up at Mo Hua, eyes dark with thought.
After a moment, he followed silently.
Mo Hua led the group, incense in hand, retracing their path to the Bone Gate.
There, a bloody battle was still raging.
The ground was covered in corpses and gore.
Gu Changhuai held back the blood-corpse Xie Liu alone.
Xia and Xiao Magistrate fought Mister Wu—his body cloaked in dragon scales.
Everyone bore wounds; their spiritual auras dim.
Even Mister Wu's blood aura had been depleted by nearly half.
Still, the monster clearly held the advantage—especially with his horde of blood corpses.
The three were hanging on by a thread.
It was only a matter of time before they lost.
Mo Hua surveyed the situation and quickly devised a plan.
He handed the incense burner to Ouyang Feng:
"Brother Feng, stay back. I'll be right back."
Ouyang Feng had no idea what Mo Hua planned but nodded solemnly:
"Be careful, Junior Brother Mo."
"Don't worry."
With that, Mo Hua activated the Lesser Five Elements Stealth Technique. His figure darkened and vanished.
Now invisible, he skirted around the raging battlefield, avoiding both Mister Wu and the blood corpses, sneaking toward the main gate.
He remembered clearly—these blood corpses had crawled out from near the gate.
After searching for a moment, Mo Hua found it—
A blood-red demonic array, engraved beneath a throne of white bones.
It was a blood sacrifice array, used to refine blood corpses.
Mo Hua didn't fully understand its structure, but destroying it wasn't difficult.
He drew Metal-Fire attribute formation lines around it—
Metal to ward off evil,
Fire to burn foulness,
Formation against formation.
Technically, Lightning arrays were the best at warding evil.
But lightning arts were rare. Even the Great Void Sect didn't have them—and Mo Hua couldn't use what he hadn't learned.
Fortunately, this blood ritual wasn't complex. A brute-force approach would work.
He lifted his hand, spiritual ink flowing from his fingertips, sketching an array.
Soon, a formation materialized.
Without hesitation, Mo Hua ignited it.
BOOM!
Flames erupted. Explosions rang out. The ground of white bone was blasted apart—and the blood array was obliterated.
The moment the array broke, all nearby blood corpses began to twitch, then collapsed to the ground—motionless.
Even Xie Liu lost all resistance. He dropped to his knees, exposing his neck.
Gu Changhuai summoned a massive wind blade and beheaded him in a single strike, then turned to join Magistrates Xia and Xiao in surrounding Mister Wu.
The blood corpses had fallen. Xie Liu was dead.
In just a blink, the once-formidable Mister Wu—who had been bolstered by waves of undead—now stood alone.
Mister Wu's face contorted in rage and panic:
"Who dares destroy my array?!"
Mo Hua, naturally, said nothing.
This wasn't the time to jump out and draw Mister Wu's aggro.
Xiao Magistrate and the others also knew the opportunity was rare—they immediately unleashed their sword and wind techniques, surrounding Mister Wu in a coordinated assault.
While hidden, Mo Hua observed for a bit, then quietly began setting up new formations, preparing for the next phase of his plan.
Mister Wu, now in the form of a yaksha-like monster, was covered in dragon scales, impervious to blades and immune to spells—undeniably powerful.
But he was facing three Golden Core cultivators.
And more importantly, Mo Hua had already devised a plan tailored to dealing with Mister Wu, and Gu Changhuai's group now had prior experience.
This was simply a repeat performance—following the same script.
As expected, Mister Wu couldn't withstand the prolonged fight.
In less than half an hour, the blood aura surrounding him had all but faded. His scales became clearly visible—no longer hidden beneath the swirling blood.
Deprived of blood to sustain him, and with his energy running dry, Mister Wu began to panic.
He didn't want to fall again. He tried to flee, darting left and right in search of a weak spot to escape—hoping to feed on more blood and return later.
But the three Golden Cores present were not so easily shaken.
Mister Wu never had a chance.
Within moments—
He was subdued.
Xiao Magistrate originally intended to finish Mister Wu off, but upon closer inspection, he discovered something odd:
Mister Wu, after transforming into a yaksha monster, had undergone some unknown mutation.
Not only had he retained his intelligence, but his scales had grown even tougher than before.
His jaws were clenched tight, blades couldn't pierce his mouth, and there was no way to shred his internal organs and kill him outright.
"We'll just restrain him for now. Let's focus on getting out first."
Mo Hua finally revealed himself.
He personally took over, chaining Mister Wu with layer upon layer of restraints and binding formations—until the monster was tightly secured.
Xiao Magistrate looked deeply at Mo Hua and said with faint admiration:
"Young Master's talent in formations is… truly exceptional."
Mo Hua waved it off humbly:
"Just passable. Enough to make a living."
Xiao Magistrate's gaze darkened slightly, but unknowingly, there was now a trace of seriousness in his expression.
With Mister Wu and the blood corpses dealt with, Ouyang Feng, Hua Qianqian, and Xiao Tianquan also rejoined the group.
As everyone gathered, Xiao Magistrate suddenly paused, frowning:
"Where's Water Yama?"
The group looked at each other.
Mo Hua spoke:
"Dead."
"Dead?!" Xiao Magistrate's pupils shrank.
Mo Hua sighed and explained:
"For some reason, he suddenly lost his mind. His eyes turned blood-red, and he went berserk trying to kill me. Neither I, Brother Feng, nor Sister Qianqian could stop him. Fortunately, Brother Xiao arrived just in time and struck him down…"
Xiao Magistrate's sharp gaze instantly turned to Xiao Tianquan.
Xiao Tianquan felt his scalp tingle, but forced himself to nod:
"Yes… I killed him."
Xiao Magistrate stared coldly at Xiao Tianquan, then turned away and said:
"We'll deal with that later. For now, let's find a way out."
Everyone had their own thoughts, but no one said a word.
When they reached the main gate, they found it tightly shut. The goat skull carvings looked menacing. There wasn't even the slightest gap, nor any visible formation to open the door.
But thankfully—they spotted a bronze statue of a demon nearby.
It was identical to the one in front of the Dragon King Temple, where the fishbone token was inserted to open the temple gates.
And the fishbone token was currently in Xiao Magistrate's hands.
Gu Changhuai glanced at him.
Xiao Magistrate was silent for a moment, then slowly walked forward. He took the fishbone token from his storage pouch and inserted it into the statue.
Moments later, the massive doors began to rumble open with a deep groan.
However, perhaps due to damage from the blood pool or some disrupted formation, the door only opened a small crack—and then stopped.
The group let out a collective sigh of relief.
The door was huge. Even that narrow opening was enough for people to pass through.
They began to step toward the outside.
And just then—another twist.
A green wind blade—slashed toward Xiao Magistrate.
It was Gu Changhuai who struck.
He was trying to kill Xiao Magistrate.
In the same moment, a flash of icy blue—Magistrate Xia sent a frost sword beam straight for Xiao Magistrate's throat.
Xiao Magistrate, however, wasn't surprised.
But rather than parry, his first instinct was to use his Water Shadow Step to evade.
Then, with a flicker of movement—he darted toward Xiao Tianquan, reaching out to grab him.
But Xiao Tianquan had seen it coming.
He had guessed that Xiao Magistrate might target him. So the moment the attack broke out, he had already leapt backward, narrowly avoiding the strike.
Seeing his grab miss, Xiao Magistrate lunged to strike again—but Xiao Tianquan quickly shouted:
"Uncle! The item isn't with me!"
Xiao Magistrate froze slightly, half-believing, half-doubting.
Then a thought struck him. He turned toward Mo Hua.
Mo Hua blinked innocently.
Now Xiao Magistrate was truly unsure.
That little brat Mo Hua might be bluffing.
But Xiao Tianquan, his own nephew whom he'd watched grow up, was also no fool. He could be lying too.
Water Yama may have been killed by Xiao Tianquan,
But that didn't mean he had the Water Prison Forbidden Casket.
While Xiao Magistrate was hesitating—
He suddenly realized—
Mo Hua had disappeared again!
Sweeping the area with divine sense, he noticed a faint shadow near the demon statue.
"That brat—he's trying to steal the token!"
Xiao Magistrate struck without hesitation, slicing toward Mo Hua with his sword and flashing toward him in pursuit.
The fishbone token was almost within reach—
But Xiao Magistrate was already charging in.
Mo Hua had no choice. He had to abandon the token and use his Flowing Water Steps to dodge.
Gu Changhuai and Magistrate Xia also rushed over to support him.
They intercepted Xiao Magistrate's attack, then tried to seize the token themselves.
But there was no way Xiao Magistrate would let them have it.
The three clashed around the token, sword auras intertwining—each trying to take control.
But in this intense standoff— No one could gain the upper hand.
At this moment, everyone understood the stakes.
The labyrinth had already been broken, and Mister Wu subdued. If Xiao Zhenhai got his hands on the fishbone token now, they would all be at his mercy.
Xiao Zhenhai was known for being ruthless, scheming, and cold-blooded—entrusting their lives to him was not an option.
Xiao Zhenhai, on the other hand, understood all too well:
If Gu Changhuai got the fishbone token, with his hatred for evil and thirst for justice, he would stop at nothing to kill him.
And beyond that, the Water Prison Forbidden Casket—he had to reclaim it.
That casket held the secret to his cultivation and Dao techniques. No matter whose hands it fell into,
He would take it back.
Even if that meant slaughtering everyone here and searching their corpses—he was prepared to do just that.
With that thought, both sides went all in.
Gu Changhuai and Magistrate Xia fought Xiao Zhenhai head-on.
Ouyang Feng and Hua Qianqian coordinated from the sides. Even Xiao Tianquan, despite the kindness Xiao Zhenhai had shown him over the years, joined in the assault on his own uncle.
Because Xiao Tianquan also understood—
If Gu Changhuai won, he likely wouldn't be killed.
But if his uncle—no, Xiao Zhenhai—won, with his paranoid nature, he definitely wouldn't let Xiao Tianquan live.
So, when it came time to kill Xiao Zhenhai—
This nephew went all out.
Xiao Zhenhai, infuriated, let out a cold, mocking laugh.
Gu Changhuai said icily:
"Xiao Zhenhai, your sins are countless, your death long overdue. If you surrender now, perhaps we'll spare your life. Otherwise, this White Bone Labyrinth will become your grave!"
Xiao Zhenhai sneered:
"Gu Magistrate, you and I are both Magistrates. Save that talk for someone else—trying to bluff me? What a joke."
"Precisely because we're both Magistrates… I'm offering you one last chance."
Gu Changhuai's words were noble, but his spells never stopped—each attack was more vicious than the last.
The others held nothing back either.
Even though Xiao Zhenhai had mastered the Water Prison Sect's secret techniques, the pressure was mounting.
Had this been the Third-Grade Region, he could've unleashed the full might of his Golden Core and displayed his inherited powers to the limit.
But this was a Second-Grade Region.
His hands were tied. The fight felt restrictive and suffocating.
Fury rising, Xiao Zhenhai sneered darkly:
"Fine. Since you all want me dead—don't blame me for being ruthless..."
A crimson gleam lit up in his eyes—killing intent surged.
Gu Changhuai, wary from experience, immediately avoided eye contact.
He dodged the blood-eye technique—but left a slight opening. Xiao Zhenhai seized it instantly, closed the distance using Water Shadow Step, and landed a sword strike.
He tried to press the advantage, but Magistrate Xia intervened just in time, forcing Xiao Zhenhai back.
After that, Xiao Zhenhai continued to use his Blood-Eye Technique to find openings, mixing it with lethal strikes. His elite techniques and footwork made the fight even harder for Gu Changhuai and Magistrate Xia.
The tide was turning. The situation grew grim.
Just then, Magistrate Xia, fatigued from prolonged battle, was slightly distracted by the demonic aura, her movements growing sluggish.
Xiao Zhenhai seized the moment and stabbed toward her neck.
Gu Changhuai grimaced and clicked his tongue, yanking her aside and blocking the strike with his feather fan.
But his cultivation was ultimately weaker than Xiao Zhenhai's.
Though he blocked the blow, Xiao Zhenhai immediately switched forms and stabbed Gu Changhuai through the shoulder.
Blood sprayed.
Gu Changhuai's face went pale as he spat out a mouthful of blood.
Xiao Zhenhai's eyes gleamed with excitement—he lunged forward, ready to finish the job.
But then—his body froze for an instant. He couldn't move.
Looking down, he saw array patterns flickering beneath his feet.
Strands of green spiritual energy, like vines, wrapped tightly around his body.
"Formation?!"
Xiao Zhenhai's pupils contracted sharply.
Recovering her senses, Magistrate Xia saw Gu Changhuai wounded on her behalf, and her anger ignited. Her dagger gleamed with ice crystals as she slashed at Xiao Zhenhai's throat.
He barely dodged—but not completely.
A thin line of blood appeared.
The frost followed the cut, spreading across his neck.
Xiao Zhenhai's expression turned ugly. He swung his sword, forcing Magistrate Xia back, and staggered a few steps away to open distance.
But before he could recover, a flash of fire lit up beneath him—another formation exploded.
Earthfire Formation.
Then came the Earthslaughter Formation.
Interspersed were binding arrays: shifting sands, golden chains, wooden cages.
Fire and earth Qi intertwined—explosions roared in waves.
Only then did Xiao Zhenhai realize:
He was already surrounded by formations.
And was now enduring round after round of relentless bombardment.
Worse yet—every one of these formations was at least Eighteen-Rune or Nineteen-Rune, high-grade Second-Tier formations.
Among the very best of the Second Grade!
(End of this Chapter)