Several days later, in the secret chamber of the forbidden area.

Having shed his civilized and elegant human facade, the true Mr. Tu was revealed. He knelt before the sheep-horned idol, his face a mask of panic, his gaunt features deathly pale.

His body was torn and bruised, his limbs twisted, and he lay collapsed on the ground.

His divine consciousness had also sunk into the boundless, desolate purgatory, enduring various tortures such as tongue pulling, finger cutting, chest piercing, and steaming.

In agony, on the verge of despair.

This was divine punishment.

It was the lord of the desolate wilderness, because he had mishandled affairs, who had sent down divine punishment.

And the altar had been occupied, divine authority stolen, and the demonic army suffered heavy losses.

The god lord’s anger was not as it was before.

While enduring the suffering of purgatory, Mr. Tu’s mind still echoed the god lord’s roar, and his heart trembled.

“This evil god, at odds with the god lord, secretly coveting the god lord’s position, desecrating the god lord’s altar, occupying the god lord’s authority!”

It seemed He also acknowledged Mr. Tu’s guess.

“This ‘evil god’ is the true mastermind behind it all!”

“Thunder and rain, all are the god lord’s great grace…”

“People… cannot spy on gods, cannot covet god positions, and are even less capable of stealing divine authority…”

“This entire affair was not secretly directed and improperly plotted by ‘people’.”

Therefore, Mr. Tu made a bold guess.

“Yes… it’s impossible for anyone…”

He knelt on the ground, gritting his teeth, yet also fearful and trembling, saying:

This was the array dao inheritance, peeled alive from the minds of certain array masters!

The god lord’s servants also suffered heavy casualties.

Mr. Tu struggled, prostrated himself on the ground, his breath a mere thread, devoutly saying:

A wave of angry and tyrannical will filled the surroundings.

After a long period of torment, the torture stopped.

Especially now, facing a possible ‘evil god,’ heavenly secrets were hard to predict.

Mr. Tu threw himself to the ground, not daring to say a word or make a move, only his fingers trembled slightly.

After a moment, the tyranny dissipated, and the atmosphere calmed down.

Just as Mr. Tu was trembling with fear, he suddenly felt a wave of powerful evil thought pouring into his sea of consciousness.

“‘People’ absolutely cannot do such heartless and crazy things!”

No one, in any way, could do it!

Even the words “steal divine authority” were in themselves a great disrespect to the god lord, not to mention actually doing it. Even thinking about it was committing a great taboo, it was “blaspheming god”!

But the god lord’s authority was indeed stolen.

Since the mastermind was an evil god, this entire affair was the scheme of another ‘evil god.’

“But it is a god, no, very likely, it is an ‘evil god’!”

It was even more impossible to predict another ‘evil god’s’ various evil methods.

And among them, there seemed to be some deeper array memories.

Mr. Tu was merely a mortal, even if his cultivation was higher, and his faith deeper, he was still no match for an ‘evil god.’

This was the god lord’s blessing!

The god lord was in slumber, not yet revived, so many matters still needed to be handled by himself.

Mr. Tu fearfully muttered to himself.

So then great power was bestowed, granting inheritance, to ensure everything was foolproof.

The god lord did not blame Mr. Tu.

Mr. Tu’s divine consciousness was redeemed from the desolate purgatory, no longer enduring the painful torment of despair.

In the secret chamber, the oppressive, tyrannical evil thought slightly calmed.

The god lord’s majesty was indeed offended.

Mr. Tu took a deep breath, and with a trembling voice, barely murmured:

“Gods’ majesty is like heaven, human lives are humble like ants…”

He couldn’t think of anyone, couldn’t think of any way, that a mortal body could be used to steal a god’s position or exercise a god lord’s authority.

But the pain of the divine punishment, like a red-hot branding iron, was deeply seared into Mr. Tu’s sea of consciousness, unforgettable in this life and this world.

His blood was flowing back, and his skin and flesh were gradually recovering.

Mr. Tu’s gaze trembled.

His divine consciousness, although more bloody, more evil, and more chaotic, was yet stronger.

“Thank the god lord for the punishment…”

“Only gods can confront gods!”

The evil thought in the room suddenly surged.

The god lord’s great plan must not have any mishaps!

Mr. Tu, grateful to tears, prostrated himself and knelt, then slowly raised his head and said with a profound gaze:

“Taixu Gate are followers of the evil god.”

“The Gu family, Gu Changhuai, are minions of the evil god.”

“This will be a ‘god war,’ forged with the flesh and blood of mortals!”

“The god lord’s authority must begin from the desolate wilderness and descend to Qianzhou!”

And at this moment, Mo Hua, whom Mr. Tu considered an ‘evil god,’ was lazily basking in the sun on the grass.

Yu’er had finished her homework and was happily rolling by his side.

A large wave of the desolate wilderness’s demons had been eaten by Mo Hua.

Yu’er’s nightmare pressure had also lessened significantly, she slept well every night, and her personality became increasingly cheerful.

While accompanying Yu’er in play, Mo Hua flipped through the Taixu Order.

He wanted to find a few second-grade seventeen-mark arrays in the Taixu Order to learn.

It was best if they were from the five elements and eight trigrams system, which he was most familiar with. This way, it would be easy to start and also convenient to learn other second-grade high-level arrays step by step, from shallow to deep.

Mo Hua lay on the soft grass, picking for a while, and couldn’t help but shake his head and sigh.

“Too expensive…”

Generally, second-grade seventeen-mark arrays required four to five hundred merit points.

Mo Hua currently had two thousand merit points, which was already a lot for a foundational stage disciple who had only been in the sect for a short time.

He had actually saved even more.

Drawing arrays, doing bounties, occasionally also doing some tasks for the Dao Court Division, and getting some merit points from Uncle Gu.

His ways of earning merit points were much more numerous than those of ordinary disciples.

However, his consumption for learning arrays was also significant, so he spent a lot.

These two thousand merit points, though seemingly a lot, could only be exchanged for four or five seventeen-mark arrays in total. It was neither too much nor too little.

And he could exchange them, but after exchanging, he would have few merit points left.

Mo Hua came from a poor background, and in the Taixu Order, he always felt uneasy if he didn’t have over a thousand merit points remaining.

“Merit points…”

Mo Hua suddenly remembered that he still had a sum of merit points at the Dao Court Division.

Just before, when he helped catch the Fire Buddha, Uncle Gu had promised to help him secure a sum of merit points.

This sum of merit points was still going through tedious procedures at the Dao Court Division.

It was really too slow…

Mo Hua sighed.

Before, he had enough merit points to use and wasn’t in a hurry, but now that he could learn seventeen-mark arrays, the consumption of merit points was greater.

He was now somewhat stretched and needed this sum of merit points to solve his immediate urgent need.

Mo Hua planned to urge them once.

During the day, Uncle Gu was busy with Dao Court Division affairs and was quite occupied, so it was inconvenient to disturb him.

In the evening after class, Mo Hua sent him a message:

“Uncle Gu, have my merit points arrived yet?”

Uncle Gu on that side waited for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, not knowing what he was busy with, seemingly finally free, and then replied:

“What merit points?”

Mo Hua’s face darkened, “The Fire Buddha’s merit points!”

“Oh.”

Gu Changhuai then remembered.

“It should be soon, I’ll go urge them tomorrow. It’s estimated that it will be approved in two days and transferred to Taixu Gate.”

Mo Hua was delighted in his heart and immediately changed his expression, saying: “Thank you, Uncle Gu.”

“Mm.”

Gu Changhuai said faintly.

“Right,” Mo Hua thought and asked again: “How is that Young Master Jin’s matter?”

Gu Changhuai was silent for a while.

Mo Hua said: “Just tell me a little…”

Some things, the Dao Court Division needed to keep secret and could not disclose externally, and Mo Hua was clear about this in his heart.

Gu Changhuai sighed, “Telling you a little is no harm either…”

Mo Hua had also contributed the most to catching Young Master Jin and his group.

Gu Changhuai said: “Xie Liu is temporarily locked in the Dao Prison, his crime is assaulting a Dao Court Division officer, other crimes still cannot be confirmed…”

“The other several Duan Jin Gate disciples are also currently imprisoned. Duan Jin Gate wants to get them out and are currently secretly operating, the result is unknown.”

“As for that Young Master Jin, the Dao Court Division has issued a document, and he has already been released…”

“Released?!” Mo Hua was startled.

Gu Changhuai sighed: “That Young Master Jin, named Jin Yicai, is a direct descendant among the direct descendants of Duan Jin Gate. It’s also true, as he said, his old ancestor once served as the sect master of Duan Jin Gate, his grandfather is now a great elder of Duan Jin Gate, his father is the vice sect master of Duan Jin Gate, and his mother is a true transmission elder of Duan Jin Gate…”

“His father’s lineage has been in the upper echelon of Duan Jin Gate for generations; his mother’s lineage is related to the seven pavilions of the central Dao Court and is also quite prominent in Dao State.”

“Jin Yicai is the child of a marriage between two great families…”

Gu Changhuai said sarcastically: “But the marriage of two great families gave birth to this Jin Yicai, this beast, who has been spoiled since childhood, with no one in his eyes, and now even more lawless…”

Mo Hua frowned, “Then this… Jin Yicai, he clearly violated the Dao laws, trafficking cultivators, refining human pills, to this extent, the Dao Court Division also doesn’t manage it?”

“That’s the problem…”

Gu Changhuai sighed, “He threw all the blame. He said he didn’t know about trafficking cultivators, and refining human pills privately was also unrelated to him.”

“His father used the connections of Duan Jin Gate to plead with the Dao Court Division.”

“His mother then used her maternal clan’s connections, through the central Dao State, to secretly exert pressure on Qian Xue State.”

“She even personally went to the Dao Court Division once and said that Jin Yicai was ‘young and ignorant, still a child, what could he know? If he did bad things, it was either someone framing him, or someone secretly instigated him…'”

“She also said ‘this child, I’ve watched him grow up since childhood, his conduct is upright, his cultivation is diligent, he is filial to his parents and respects elders, his maternal grandfather, and even some old ancestors in Dao State, are also very fond of him…'”

Gu Changhuai’s sarcastic expression finally turned to helplessness.

“Duan Jin Gate is one of the twelve major sects in Qian Xue, to a certain extent, it also symbolizes the face of Qian Xue State’s boundary and cannot expose such a big scandal.”

“The Dao Court Division is constrained by all sides, with many concerns, and this case is also difficult to handle further.”

Mo Hua’s expression was complex.

This Jin Yicai, whether genuine or not, perhaps was an ‘upright, filial, and respectful’ ‘child’ in the eyes of his parents and elders.

But in the eyes of other cultivators, he was a complete beast.

Such a big matter could be suppressed.

The people who entered the Dao Court Division could be rescued.

Mo Hua was unclear for a while whether the evil was the ‘evil god’ or ‘human heart.’

“Be careful, Jin Yicai holds grudges and he met you face to face. He suffered humiliation this time and might seek revenge on you.”

Gu Changhuai finished, with an apologetic heart.

If Jin Yicai could be handled within the Dao Court Division, Mo Hua wouldn’t have to face these risks.

It was a pity that he was just an officer, not the head officer.

If he were the head officer, with enough authority, he would certainly execute first and report later, killing this little beast Jin Yicai!

“Okay, okay, Uncle Gu, you can rest assured.” Mo Hua said.

He was not afraid of Jin Yicai.

Once he learned seventeen-mark arrays, he would be even less afraid of him.

He just needed to be careful of the lackeys from Duan Jin Gate.

But this was also easy to handle.

Afterward, he would either stay in the sect or just go to second-grade state boundaries to play. In second-grade state boundaries, if he was a little careful, Duan Jin Gate couldn’t do anything to him.

On the contrary, Uncle Gu would probably be hated by Jin Yicai, and even the Jin family and most of Duan Jin Gate, and perhaps also remembered by other minions of the evil god.

“Uncle Gu, you also be careful.” Mo Hua advised.

“Mm.” Gu Changhuai said faintly.

Mo Hua also didn’t know whether he knew the seriousness of the matter or not.

But no matter what, Uncle Gu was after all a Golden Core stage cultivator and a Dao Court Division officer, so it wasn’t up to him, this little foundational stage disciple, to worry.

After chatting with Gu Changhuai, Mo Hua then concentrated on learning arrays.

He specifically chose a second-grade seventeen-mark “Ke Jin Array” from the Taixu Order to learn.

This was an array that suppressed the five elements qi.

Ke Jin Array, as the name suggests, was to suppress the circulation of gold element spiritual power, weakening the power of gold element spells or sword arts.

“First, let’s start with something simple and learn this Ke Jin Array as a backup…”

“Later, if Duan Jin Gate dares to provoke me, I’ll learn more, and even specially create a whole set of arrays to restrain gold element sword arts!”

Mo Hua silently said in his heart.

After midnight, Mo Hua’s divine consciousness sank into his sea of consciousness, practicing this “Ke Jin Array” on the dao stele over and over again.

This was also the first second-grade high-level array that Mo Hua learned.

The Ke Jin Array was quite difficult, and Mo Hua didn’t learn it in one night.

The next day after class, he was about to continue practicing a bit when a disciple suddenly came to find him, “Mo Hua, I just passed by the Merit Pavilion, and the Merit Elder asked you to go find him.”

“Merit Elder?”

Mo Hua was startled, then his eyes brightened.

Could it be that the Fire Buddha’s merit points had arrived?!

“Thank you!” Mo Hua thanked the disciple and immediately ran happily to the Merit Pavilion.

The elder of the Merit Pavilion was specifically waiting for Mo Hua.

Seeing Mo Hua enter, the Merit Elder looked at him suspiciously, “What arrays did you exactly help the Dao Court Division draw?”

Mo Hua was stunned for a moment, then understood.

Uncle Gu handled things very thoroughly to avoid causing him trouble, so he still used the previous “excuse” of drawing arrays.

“Many, many arrays.” Mo Hua said.

The Merit Elder snorted, “Nonsense, no matter how many arrays, you can’t earn so many merit points.”

“How much?”

Mo Hua was full of excitement.

The Merit Elder glanced at Mo Hua and sighed, “Eight thousand.”

Eight thousand?!

Mo Hua’s eyes widened.

Actually so many!

The Fire Buddha was really valuable!

Mo Hua’s fair little face smiled like a flower.

The Merit Elder explained: “This sum of bounty is not normally issued, it is specially allocated by the Dao Court Division, so it needs to be confirmed by the sect first before being transferred to you.”

“Mm, mm!”

Mo Hua continuously nodded.

But he didn’t care about these specific procedures, as long as the merit points could be given to him.

The Merit Elder hesitated a bit but still said no more. Instead, he followed the rules, had Mo Hua sign and press his handprint, and then transferred the merit points to his Taixu Order.

Mo Hua signed, pressed his handprint, received the merit points, and after bidding farewell to the Merit Elder, he left full of joy, his footsteps light.

The Merit Elder looked at Mo Hua’s back, yet was somewhat silent.

Eight thousand merit points…

Even for some inner disciples, it was a “huge sum,” not to mention Mo Hua, a disciple who had only entered less than two years ago.

Merit points in the sect were not that easy to earn.

According to reason, this sum of merit points, no matter its origin, had all passed through the clear channels of the Dao Court Division and was at least superficially “clean.”

He also didn’t need to investigate further or pry into disciples’ privacy.

But the Merit Elder was still full of doubts in his heart.

What exactly did Mo Hua do to earn this?

What exactly did this foundational stage initial stage disciple do, what bounty did he complete, to earn it all at once?!

This was too unreasonable.

He had been a Merit Elder for several hundred years, and this was the first time he had encountered such a thing.

The Merit Elder flipped through the documents from the Dao Court Division.

It was vague inside, only simply stating that Taixu Gate disciple Mo Hua, proficient in arrays, assisted the Dao Court Division in handling a case with merit and was specially rewarded eight thousand merit points as encouragement.

It couldn’t be that simple…

The Merit Elder frowned in thought.

He thought carefully about everything related to Mo Hua again, and suddenly a flash of inspiration struck, and he suddenly realized.

Mo Hua, Dao Court Division, arrays…

Old Mister Xun!

The Merit Elder understood.

It must be Old Mister Xun, he pulled strings, used connections, and allocated these eight thousand merit points from the Dao Court Division for Mo Hua, so that this child could use them to learn arrays!

Old Mister Xun was a figure of ancestor level, although on the surface, he was only a meticulous “old instructor.”

But throughout his life, his status was honored, and his connections throughout the entire Qian Xue State boundary were extremely wide.

Only Old Mister Xun had such great ability to go through the procedures with the Dao Court Division and allocate merit points to Taixu Gate.

But, no matter how respected, he couldn’t do this kind of thing!

The Merit Elder was somewhat angry.

Eight thousand merit points, it wasn’t a small number.

Even if he truly doted on Mo Hua, he couldn’t “spoil” him like this, or force his growth like this.

He was just a disciple of Taixu Gate, not your own great-grandson!

Not even your own great-grandson!

The sect had its own rules, and in other places, occasionally breaking exceptions was no big harm, but how could things related to the sect’s entire system, like merit points, be joked about?

The Merit Elder huffily ran to find Old Mister Xun.

He arrived at the elder’s residence, directly knocked on Old Mister Xun’s door, and after the attendant led him in, he sat aside, drinking sullen tea.

After half an hour, Old Mister Xun finally walked out from the inner room, seemingly calculating, frowning in thought. He looked up and saw the displeased face of the Merit Elder.

Old Mister Xun’s expression was startled, “Why have you come?”

The Merit Elder helplessly said:

“Senior Uncle Ancestor, when you dote on disciples, you should have some limits. Some rules can be broken with exceptions, some principles cannot be overstepped…”

“Without rules, you cannot form a square.”

“Doing this is not doting on disciples, but harming him…”

Old Mister Xun frowned: “Have you practiced cultivation until your brain is damaged? Running to my place, confused, saying what?”

The Merit Elder sighed, “You’re still pretending to be confused with me.”

He placed a letter stamped with the spiritual seal of the Dao Court Division on the table, “This sum of merit points, didn’t you ask those old officers with connections at the Dao Court Division to specially approve it?”

Old Mister Xun slowly picked up the letter, glanced at it, and was somewhat startled.

Mo Hua?

Dao Court Division specially approved?

Old Mister Xun blinked, looked again, only confirming that he hadn’t misread, and his heart’s emotions fluctuated.

Dao Court Division… how could they give Mo Hua that child, issue…

What exactly did Mo Hua do?

Or rather, what exactly is the Dao Court Division doing?

The Merit Elder saw Old Mister Xun’s surprised expression and did not speak, his heart “thumped” and he immediately realized that he might have been a bit rash.

The Merit Elder was somewhat uneasy, slowly stood up, and tentatively asked:

“Senior Uncle Ancestor… this sum of merit points, didn’t you pull strings…”

Old Mister Xun glanced at him faintly.

The Merit Elder immediately flattered: “This disciple-grandson is rude, should not have suspected you, old man, with high moral character, impartial…”

Old Mister Xun said: “Next time you do things without using your brain, just go to the back mountain and sweep the ground for your Senior Uncle Ancestor’s sword tomb. The Merit Pavilion’s elder will be changed to your Junior Sister.”

The Merit Elder was scared and broke out in a cold sweat, immediately saying:

“Senior Uncle Ancestor, spare my life, I… the Merit Pavilion is busy, I won’t disturb your quiet cultivation…”

After finishing, he immediately stood up, hurriedly saluted, and then slipped away like an oiled eel.

Old Mister Xun shook his head, then his gaze condensed, and he looked at the letter in his hand again, muttering in his heart.

Mo Hua, this child, seems to be somewhat different from his impression…

(End of this chapter)