Should this Tie Shugu die?

Mo Hua looked back and pondered for a moment, realizing that this person actually had a “path to death.”

He was the leader of the Shugu tribe, a Jindan cultivator from an enemy tribe.
He had presided over rituals to evil gods.
He had “eaten” people.
Previously, he had spoken rudely and disrespectfully towards Mo Hua.
Even now, he might not truly have the heart to “submit” to Mo Hua.

These were all reasons to kill him.

And to kill him, Mo Hua wouldn’t even need to lift a finger; he would just need to utter a few words, and the barbarian general, Chi Feng, would personally slay Tie Shugu, avenging the Danque tribesmen “eaten” by Tie Shugu.

Of course, Tie Shugu had a use; for now, he couldn’t be killed.
But the question was, why had Mo Hua genuinely never considered killing Tie Shugu?

Mo Hua couldn’t help but look at Tie Shugu.

Tie Shugu, perhaps sensing something, suddenly shivered slightly, his chest feeling as if it were burning. He looked up at Mo Hua, then quickly lowered his head, not daring to meet Mo Hua’s gaze.
His face was only slightly pale, with no other significant abnormalities.
However, his spiritual fluctuations were noticeably chaotic.
This sign was becoming increasingly suspicious.
Mo Hua’s gaze grew deeper and deeper, and at the same time, his thoughts seemed to pierce through a hazy mist, beginning to flow rapidly.

“Why haven’t I thought of killing him?”
“Was I careless? Did I overlook him?”
“I might overlook someone I’ve only met once, but Tie Shugu has been with me for so long. With my Karma Art, I couldn’t possibly be careless.”
“Then, did he… influence my spiritual sense, altering some of my perceptions?”
Mo Hua felt a chill in his heart, and his gaze grew sharper and sharper.
“This Tie Shugu, can he influence my spiritual sense and judgment?”
“No, that shouldn’t be possible.”
“A Jindan cultivator from a Shugu nomadic tribe shouldn’t have such ability. If he truly had this ability, then he should be the Wu Zhu of Dahuang.”
“So, where is the problem then?”
“What exactly is going on with this Tie Shugu?”

Mo Hua looked at Tie Shugu, his eyes distinctly black and white, shimmering with golden edges.
Tie Shugu felt as if he were being watched by a peerless fierce beast; his entire body trembled uncontrollably. Finally, he couldn’t bear it any longer. He shakily bent down, his voice hoarse, “Wu… Wu Zhu Daren, do you have any other instructions? This subordinate will… go do it immediately.”

Mo Hua remained silent for a moment, then slowly closed his eyes, reining in the spiritual light within them. When he opened them again, his gaze was clear and gentle, and his voice was calm as he said, “You have done very well. You may go.”
Tie Shugu took a deep breath and said, “Yes, then I will take my leave.”
Tie Shugu bowed and departed.
Mo Hua watched Tie Shugu’s retreating figure, a thoughtful expression on his face.

Night deepened.
Tie Shugu left Mo Hua and went to his own tent.
This was one of the tents of the Six Eccentrics of Shugu. The space was wide, enclosed and quiet, with luxurious animal furs inside.
After the Six Eccentrics of Shugu escaped, these tents were repurposed.
Tie Shugu, being a Jindan cultivator, was assigned one for temporary lodging.
After leaving Mo Hua and returning to his tent, Tie Shugu, seeing no one around, finally let out a long sigh of relief.
The huge stone pressing on his chest slowly lifted.
It is said, “Accompanying a ruler is like accompanying a tiger.”
That so-called “Wu Xiansheng” had a fair, youthful face, but his eyes were more terrifying than a fierce tiger’s.
A benevolent face, but methods like a Yama King; he was not at all what he seemed.
He had to constantly humble himself, be utterly obedient, and show no trace of defiance to merely survive.
And today, for some unknown reason, that “fierce god” seemed to have shown a killing intent towards him, perhaps having perceived something.
Tie Shugu felt an urge to kneel and pray, but he held back.
Here, he didn’t feel safe at all.
Tie Shugu forced himself to meditate on the bed, closing his eyes to calm his mind and dispel the fear and worry in his heart.
He said nothing, did nothing.
More accurately, he dared not say anything, nor dared to do anything.
Tie Shugu maintained his meditative posture, cultivating in peace.
But moments later, for some unknown reason, a vague abnormality came over him, and Tie Shugu felt his head grow heavy.
It was as if a gentle voice was telling him:
“Sleep, sleep…”
“Once you’re asleep, you won’t be afraid of anything.”
“When you wake up, all problems will have disappeared.”
This voice, like a spring breeze turning to rain, was filled with a power that inspired “trust.”
Tie Shugu believed it. Unconsciously, he relaxed his guard and then fell asleep.
After falling asleep, he had a dream.
In his dream, he seemed to see the Barbarian God Daren he worshipped.
A “Barbarian God” Daren, shrouded in golden light, whose figure and face were unclear, but who radiated dazzling golden brilliance.
These golden lights were exceedingly brilliant, towering like ten thousand zhang, congealing into a massive “divine body.”
Just by looking, Tie Shugu felt his mind shaken.
Before the Barbarian God Daren, he felt as small as an ant, not even worthy of looking up at the sky full of golden light, lest he profane the divine might. Tie Shugu knelt on the ground.
With this kneeling, Tie Shugu suddenly felt a sense of familiarity, as if this scene had happened before.
Previously in dreams, he had twice knelt before “Barbarian God Daren,” and each time, Barbarian God Daren’s head was immediately chopped off, the head rolling to the ground. Each time he knelt, Barbarian God Daren’s head fell.
It wouldn’t happen like that again, would it?
Tie Shugu couldn’t help but feel terrified.
He suppressed his pounding heart and cautiously looked up, seeing the golden light still dazzling, the brilliant “divine body” as before.
The Barbarian God Daren before him did not have his head falling to the ground.
For some reason, Tie Shugu felt relieved:
“Indeed, the true Barbarian God Daren cannot be easily beheaded.”

As Tie Shugu was thinking this, a sudden drastic change occurred in the next instant.
Between heaven and earth, a sword light congealed.
Tie Shugu was utterly horrified.
It came!
That sword light—it came again!
That “little fierce god,” he was coming to chop off the Barbarian God’s head again!
Tie Shugu was about to open his mouth, wanting to say, “Barbarian God Daren, run!”, “Your head is about to fall!”
But he quickly realized it was too late to speak now.
His words couldn’t be faster than the sword.
The moment he spoke, would be the moment “Barbarian God Daren’s” head fell.
Barbarian God Daren was in danger!
Tie Shugu was burning with anxiety.
But what he had anticipated did not happen.
That surging sword light did not chop off the head of the Barbarian God Daren, who was completely enveloped in golden light.
Instead, “Barbarian God Daren,” with just a gentle flick of a finger, produced ten thousand zhang of golden light, dissolving the sword light.
Tie Shugu instantly lost himself, and then a tumultuous wave surged in his heart: “Is this—the mighty power of Barbarian God Daren?”
“That little fierce god’s sword couldn’t even harm Barbarian God Daren in the slightest?”
“That…”
Footsteps sounded beside him, and Tie Shugu was startled, immediately looking back. He didn’t know until he looked, and when he looked, he was shocked.
Behind him, where was any “little fierce god”?
This was clearly a terrifying “sword demon,” with monstrous demonic energy, formidable ferocity, and bones like swords all over its body.
At this moment, this sword demon drew out its own bones, transforming them into a bone sword, and was walking step by step towards the Barbarian God Daren, who was entirely covered in golden light.
It seemed its original intention was to “slay a god.”
But no matter how monstrous its demonic energy, it couldn’t obscure the ten thousand zhang of golden light. Sword energy and golden light intertwined.
The demonic energy was suppressed by divine power.
The “sword demon” was also pressed down by the “Barbarian God’s” golden light, making its steps difficult, unable to lift its head.
It was no match for the Barbarian God at all.
And this was the last scene Tie Shugu saw.
It seemed that due to the “divine-demonic” battle, even the void began to distort, and the dream began to shatter.
Tie Shugu felt his entire body oppressed by the divine-demonic aura, almost suffocating with a sense of being crushed to powder.
This is bad!
I’m going to die!
Tie Shugu suddenly opened his eyes, looking around, and found himself still sitting on the bed covered with animal furs. All around him were tents; there were no gods or demons, no divine might or sword energy, nothing.
Everything seemed to be just a “dream.”
Tie Shugu gasped for air, his back drenched in cold sweat.
At the same time, he also felt a sense of “surviving a calamity.”
“It’s all fake, it’s a dream—”
But Tie Shugu quickly realized something was wrong, “Is it really just a dream? There are many kinds of dreams. Why would I have this kind of dream?”
“No—”
Tie Shugu began to recall his dream. The more he recalled, the stranger it felt, especially, “What was that terrifying ‘demon’ with sword-bones all over its body?”
Dreaming of the Barbarian God was understandable, because he was a devout believer, wholeheartedly serving Barbarian God Daren, and wholeheartedly wanting to become Barbarian God Daren’s most loyal servant.
What one thinks about by day, one dreams about by night.
That’s why he could dream of Barbarian God Daren at night.
This was Barbarian God Daren’s blessing upon him.
“But what about that sword-bone demon?”
“I’ve never seen it before. Why would I suddenly dream of it without reason?”
“People can’t dream of unrelated things. Since I dreamed of it, it means I must have encountered or known this sword-bone demon—”
“It is…”
Tie Shugu suddenly jolted, remembering something, “It’s that fierce god!”
Tie Shugu was a “talent” in terms of self-constructing his faith. His thought process quickly connected everything naturally.
That little fierce god uses a sword.
This terrifying sword demon also uses a sword.
That little fierce god chopped off the “Barbarian God’s” head. This terrifying sword demon also wanted to chop off the “Barbarian God’s” head.
This indicates that the little fierce god who looked like a golden child and this demon full of demonic energy are actually the same entity.
The “golden child” with red lips and white teeth is just a disguise, used to deceive the world.
The “sword demon” with twisted white bones is its true form, its most original appearance.
“And why did I dream of this demon’s true form?”
Tie Shugu frowned and murmured, then was suddenly startled:
“Is it because of Barbarian God Daren?!”
“It is Barbarian God Daren who perceived my loyalty. He sent me a dream, revealing the true form of this white-bone sword demon, letting me know the truth of this matter: a sword-bone demon of unknown origin is attacking a god.”
“At the same time, Barbarian God Daren is also telling me through the dream that the true ‘Barbarian God’ cannot be beheaded by such a demon. On the contrary, with golden light all over, he can suppress this demon with a flip of his hand.”
“Those who can be beheaded by this ‘sword demon’ are all false Barbarian Gods.”
“Before the true Barbarian God Daren, this ‘sword demon’ is utterly insignificant.”
“Yes, it is—it must be so!”

Tie Shugu felt his mind clear and his whole body comfortable.
He understood, and a smile appeared on his face.
Under the inspiration of “Barbarian God Daren,” he understood everything, and saw through all the causes and effects.
His doubts about Mo Hua were also resolved.
Why that so-called “Wu Zhu Daren,” despite being young and having low cultivation, possessed such strange abilities.
Why he, a Jindan cultivator, felt a thrill of fear after being with him for a long time.
Because he was not a “person” at all!
That Wu Zhu, he was not human!
He was a terrifying sword-bone demon, formed in some unknown way!
And, he was no ordinary demon.
For some reason, “he” wore a human skin, or rather, parasitized a “flesh-and-blood” body, wandering the human world, and even took on the title of “Wu Zhu.”
And “his” goal was to “slay gods”! “He” wanted to usurp the position of divine authority!
“He” wanted to transform from a demon into a god!
Tie Shugu was filled with shock.
He understood everything. Thus, that “Wu Xiansheng” became even more terrifying in his heart.
Just then, a very dangerous warning sign arose in Tie Shugu’s heart.
He felt something in his chest, as if it were on fire, burning with pain.
This meant that someone wanted to kill him.
Moreover, this person truly could kill him.
In fact, this person was “killing” him at this very moment—
“This is bad—”
“Could it be that the demon, wearing the ‘Wu Zhu’ skin, knows that I know its secret, and has developed a killing intent towards me?”
Tie Shugu was terrified. He immediately rolled off the bed, knelt on the ground, covering his chest with both hands, looking up at the sky, and muttered:
“Barbarian God Daren, bless me—”
“Ancestor Daren, bless me—bless your faithful, bless your descendants, to avert disaster and misfortune.”
“May all calamities not cling to me, and all karma transfer to others.”
“May a sacrificial dog become me, may the dead not be me—”
Tie Shugu whispered tremblingly, reciting these words. A mysterious power acted upon Tie Shugu’s entire body. Before long, that “killing intent” indeed receded, and the burning pain in his chest also lessened, until it finally disappeared.
The death calamity—averted?
No one wants to kill me anymore?
Tie Shugu slumped to the ground, not feeling relieved, but rather a touch of despair.
He didn’t know where this killing intent came from, but he assumed it was related to that “demon” in human form.
And this was just the beginning; there were still long days ahead.
If he hadn’t known the “demon’s” true form, he could have turned a blind eye and pretended to muddle through life.
But now, he happened to know.
He knew that the “Wu Zhu Daren” whom the Danque tribesmen constantly spoke of was a “sword-bone demon” who was not human at all.
He was a terrifying being, audacious enough to actually attack a god.
Tie Shugu was naturally filled with fear.
And now, he couldn’t escape at all.
Not only couldn’t he escape, but he would even have to work under this “demon” and obey the “demon’s” commands in the future.
The thought of feeding himself to the “demon” made Tie Shugu’s scalp tingle.
“No, no, I must do something—”
“But what can I do?”
“What can I do to avoid being detected that I already know his true identity?”
“What can I do to save my life from this terrifying demon?”
Tie Shugu’s face was pale as he muttered.
Just then, a faint voice entered his ears, seeming to guide his mind, making his thoughts clear in an instant.
Tie Shugu was unconsciously affected, then suddenly realized:
“That’s right! I was thinking wrong!”
“I am a believer of Barbarian God Daren. I shouldn’t just worry about myself.”
“Now that Barbarian God Daren has this ‘strong enemy,’ I should consider how to solve problems and eliminate the ‘strong enemy’ for Barbarian God Daren…”
“But—how do I kill him?”
“That demon is so terrifying; I am no match for it at all.”
“Although its physical body is only at the Foundation Establishment stage, it wears the skin of a Wu Zhu and is foolishly worshipped by the Danque tribe. I cannot even lay a hand on it. If I fail, I will die without a burial place, and will no longer be able to serve Barbarian God Daren.”
“What should I do—”
Tie Shugu clutched his head, feeling more and more anguished the more he thought.
Suddenly, the dream scene reappeared.
In his recent dream, the image of the Barbarian God Daren, radiating golden light, suppressing the sword demon with one hand, deeply shook Tie Shugu’s mind.
Tie Shugu paused for a moment, then suddenly slapped himself, and then realized:
“That’s right!”
“Barbarian God Daren has already given me a revelation; he has clearly told me.”
“Barbarian God Daren sent a dream to tell me that he can suppress this demon, this terrifying sword-bone demon. Even if its sword dao is strong, it is no match for Barbarian God Daren’s great divine power.”
“As long as I find a way to bring this ‘demon’ before Barbarian God Daren, then Barbarian God Daren will naturally kill this demon and ‘avert disaster and misfortune’ for himself.”
“Yes, Barbarian God Daren has told me everything.”
“People don’t dream for no reason. Everything in dreams is a revelation. Barbarian God Daren’s dream is also guiding me.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“But what about—”
Tie Shugu frowned, “Where exactly is Barbarian God Daren? And what exactly does Barbarian God Daren look like?”
Tie Shugu was a “clever” person with firm faith; this didn’t stump him.
Soon, he understood.
“Barbarian God Daren must reside in the divine statues, enjoying the faith of the tribes.”
“But the Shugu tribe has many altars and many divine statues, scattered among different tribes. I don’t know which altar, which statue, is Barbarian God Daren’s hiding place.”
“Since that’s the case—then if I use myself as bait and personally lead this ‘demon’ there, wouldn’t that be it?”
“Lead this ‘demon’ disguised as a Wu Zhu to the Barbarian God’s altar.”
“This way, the great Barbarian God Daren will naturally kill this demon for me, his devout follower.”
“But what if he can’t kill it?”
“What if ‘Barbarian God Daren’ is also beheaded by this sword-bone demon?”
Tie Shugu was shocked, then immediately shook his head:
“No, it’s impossible that he can’t kill it. Barbarian God Daren cannot fail to kill a demon—even if this demon is very, very strong.”
“The true Barbarian God can definitely kill it.”
“If he can’t kill it, then it means—it’s fake, it’s a ‘false god.'”
“If it’s a ‘false god,’ then being counter-killed by a demon is normal.”
“And what I need to do is to keep leading it, to lead this ‘demon’ before the true ‘Barbarian God Daren.'”
“By that time, Barbarian God Daren will surely reward my loyalty and bestow divine grace.”
“Yes, it must be so.”
Tie Shugu’s eyes were fanatic as he nodded, “I am Barbarian God Daren’s most loyal follower!”
“Everything is ‘Barbarian God Daren’s’ guidance.”

Tie Shugu fell into a fervent intoxication of divine faith.
Not far from him, in the deep darkness.
Mo Hua, whose spiritual sense already surpassed that of Tie Shugu (early Jindan stage), stood silently to the side, holding a broken white-bone sword, watching him with dark eyes.