In a small corner of the cave, Mo Hua found an empty spot, drew a Blazing Fire Array, lit a fire, and began roasting meat for the large tiger.

The flames licked the tender meat, sizzling with oil.

The large tiger, drooling by its side, fixed its bell-like eyes intently on the roasting meat, its expression utterly focused.

When the meat was about seventy percent cooked, the large tiger let out a roar, reminding Mo Hua, “It’s done!”

Mo Hua then extinguished the fire and “offered” the roasted meat to the large tiger.

In the face of such deliciousness, the large tiger showed no fear of the heat. In a few quick bites, it swallowed the entire piece of roasted meat whole, its large eyes narrowing into slits, seemingly in great enjoyment.

The large tiger accepted Mo Hua’s “offering,” and its resentment towards Mo Hua for not visiting it for over a year dissipated with the aroma of the roasted meat.

Only then did the large tiger officially “forgive” Mo Hua.

There was nothing unforgivable, as long as Mo Hua roasted meat for it.

Even “soft rice” (meaning food given by a caretaker) wasn’t as delicious as the meat Mo Hua roasted.

Though, strictly speaking, the “meat” Mo Hua roasted was itself the “soft rice” the large tiger had begged for.

Watching the large tiger eat so sweetly, Mo Hua couldn’t help but feel a little hungry himself. He curiously cut off a small piece of meat, put it in his mouth, and slowly chewed.

Of course, he wasn’t a demonic beast, so he didn’t dare to eat it only seventy percent cooked.

He ate it fully cooked. The meat wasn’t as tender, but at least there was no blood, the demonic qi had been thoroughly burned away, and the smoky aroma was richer. It was soft, fresh, and fragrant in his mouth.

Mo Hua was somewhat surprised.

He had never tasted such excellent “demonic meat.”

This demonic meat was so delicious it could almost rival spiritual beast meat, yet it possessed a hint of wildness and toughness that spiritual beasts lacked, along with a faint trace of demonic qi, adding a unique flavor.

“Indeed… a Third Grade demonic beast certainly knows how to eat…”

Within the “flesh and blood warehouse” of a Third Grade Golden Core Tiger Demon, there was such fine meat. He wondered what kind of meat it actually was.

Mo Hua couldn’t help but turn his head and look deeper into the cave.

In the deeper part of the cave resided the fierce Third Grade Diao Jing Xuan Hu.

At this moment, the cave was eerie and pitch-black, nothing could be seen.

How could anyone else dwell by one’s couch, let alone a Third Grade tigress?

Mo Hua knew in his heart that this tigress was not troubling him only out of respect for the large tiger.

But he wondered how long the large tiger’s influence would last.

Therefore, when Mo Hua roasted the meat, he stayed far away from the Third Grade tigress, lest this fierce Third Grade tiger could not restrain its savagery and decide to “eat” him.

But at the same time, Mo Hua was full of doubts.

This was a Second Grade mountain realm. Why would this Third Grade… though he didn’t know its exact cultivation, its demonic qi and the aura of swirling clouds and mists suggested an extraordinary Diao Jing tigress, choose to reside here?

It couldn’t possibly have come specifically to find the large tiger, could it?

And what about the other tigresses?

They wouldn’t have deliberately offered themselves up for the large tiger to “eat soft rice,” would they?

Mo Hua’s expression was subtle, developing a strange “admiration” for the large tiger, but at the same time, he wondered:

Why was this large tiger able to “eat soft rice”?

And even “eat the soft rice” of a Third Grade Golden Core tigress?

It was quite preposterous…

Was it because of its special bloodline?

Mo Hua remembered that deep in the Da Hei Shan, in the Heishan Village where evil cultivators gathered, the large tiger had been captured by the Fourth Boss precisely because of its special bloodline, akin to an exotic beast, and its blood was drained daily for consumption.

From this, it was evident that the large tiger’s bloodline must be extraordinary.

Possessing an extraordinary bloodline, was that why it could “eat soft rice”?

Mo Hua glanced at the large tiger again, feeling there must be more to it.

This large tiger had a robust physique, its patterns were black and white, distinct and beautiful. The black was deep and profound, the white pure and bright. Its golden-brown eyes were炯炯有神 (jing jiong you shen, bright and piercing), exuding a majestic aura in its every glance.

Among tigers, it was definitely considered a “great handsome fellow.”

Even Tuoba Shaozhu of the Da Huang Men was incredibly fond of it, let alone tigresses.

It was only natural that it could win the affection of tigresses.

Of course…

Mo Hua’s expression became somewhat serious.

According to his猜测 (cai ce, guess), there was probably another reason:

War.

This war between the Dao Ting and Da Huang had far-reaching effects, not only conscripting most of the elite barbarian soldiers from various tribes in the wilderness.

It also virtually “abducted” the most powerful group of tiger demons from the three thousand barbarian lands and major demonic mountains.

These tiger demons were, naturally, all “males.”

This led to a rampant increase in the number of tigresses in the war-torn wilderness.

A “male tiger” like the large tiger, with its excellent bloodline, majestic and handsome appearance, and innate talent, naturally became a “hot commodity.”

Thinking of this, Mo Hua’s expression was peculiar.

He hadn’t expected things to develop in such a way…

In the midst of chaos, riding the large tiger, he had actually brought a “great stud horse” to the wilderness.

Mo Hua even found himself wondering, if he, as a Wu Zhu, “conquered” the wilderness and also brought this large tiger to various parts of it, would all tigresses be “subdued”?

Was this… a Honey Trap for tigers?

Mo Hua’s thoughts stirred.

The large tiger, eating its meat, seemed to sense that Mo Hua was having some rather “impolite” thoughts, and let out two annoyed roars.

Mo Hua chuckled as he stroked its neck, but the “naughty ideas” in his mind kept popping up.

If the large tiger really conquered the tigresses of the wilderness with its charm and had a litter of tiger cubs,

Then, in time, wouldn’t this large tiger, which he had raised since it was young, become the “ancestor” of the wilderness tiger demons?

This large tiger would then become the “source” of the wilderness tiger demon bloodline?

Mo Hua thought about it and found it… quite astonishing.

The war between the Dao Ting and Da Huang gave him an opportunity to make small moves behind the wilderness lines, and also gave the large tiger a chance to become the true King of Ten Thousand Tigers.

However, if that were the case, wouldn’t the tiger he raised be… a bit too promiscuous?

He, such a pure and upright person, raising a promiscuous large tiger?

Mo Hua felt a little strange.

Promiscuous large tiger…

At this thought, Mo Hua’s mind stirred.

Perhaps he should just name the large tiger “Dahua” (meaning “big flower” or “big promiscuous”). It was also in the “big” generation, had patterns on its body, and was also very “promiscuous.”

But Mo Hua then reconsidered; whether it was promiscuous or not, that was a human concept.

The large tiger was a demon; it naturally wouldn’t care about these “human” concepts.

Even the large tiger itself was vaguely aware, and it probably didn’t care whether other tigers were male or female.

They were “kin” anyway, so living together was no big deal.

The large tiger itself was innocent; it wasn’t trying to be promiscuous, and it didn’t even know what “promiscuity” was.

To call it promiscuous like this was truly unfair to it.

But Mo Hua still decided to call it “Dahua.”

If he had the chance in the future, he would take Dahua out to conquer all directions, and incidentally, let Dahua have a litter of tiger cubs to form an incredibly powerful “father-son tiger army”…

Mo Hua joyfully stroked the large tiger’s head:

“From now on, you’ll be called ‘Dahua’.”

The large tiger snorted, seemingly very displeased with the name.

Mo Hua roasted it more meat for a while and personally fed it, and only then did it grudgingly accept Mo Hua calling it “Dahua.”

In front of roasted meat, what one was called wasn’t so important.

Anyway, names were what humans called, what did they have to do with it, a tiger?

In the small cave, Mo Hua and the large tiger stayed for a while longer, then it was time to leave.

The large tiger was a little reluctant again. It grunted at Mo Hua a couple of times, seemingly asking Mo Hua to remember to visit it when he had time.

It wanted to eat roasted meat with Mo Hua, and didn’t really want to play with the tigresses.

Mo Hua was a little torn between laughter and tears, but also deeply moved.

In this entire wilderness, only this large tiger was a “family member” he had known since childhood.

Mo Hua rubbed the large tiger’s neck, then turned and left.

After leaving Wutu Shenshan, Mo Hua returned to Wutu Bu.

He first summoned Elder Zhamu and told him that there were very “dangerous” things in the deep mountains, and that no one should approach them, as entering meant certain death.

This was not a lie.

The large tiger was friendly to him, but only to him. Other cultivators, in its eyes, were just ordinary walking “two-legged beasts.”

As for the other tigresses, especially the Third Grade Diao Jing Fierce Tiger, there was even less to say.

They would definitely eat people.

Rashly entering Wutu Shenshan would mean death even for Golden Core cultivators.

Elder Zhamu’s face was extremely terrified.

“But as long as you don’t enter the deep mountains, there will be no major trouble. The dangers in the deep mountains only exist within them and will not come out,” Mo Hua added.

Elder Zhamu then breathed a sigh of relief.

With the matter of the large tiger temporarily resolved, Mo Hua had to start considering the future development of the Wutu Mountain Realm, including the Dan Zhu faction.

The biggest current hidden danger was still the “famine.”

This was true not only for the Wutu Mountain Realm but possibly for the entire wilderness.

But this kind of “famine,” Mo Hua couldn’t fully comprehend for now, nor did he have any good solutions.

He could only dispatch people to guard the borders of the Wutu and Wusha Mountain Realms, and immediately report back to him once vegetation withered and flesh and blood withered away.

This matter was more important than anything else.

The “famine line” might very well be the “death line” of Da Huang in the future.

In addition, Mo Hua also sent people to nearby state realms to inquire about the movements of the Bi Fang Bu, including other tribes within some Third Grade mountain realms.

Once famine spread, tribal wars would begin, and chaos would frequently arise.

Many tribal barbarian soldiers would certainly roam, fight, and even plunder and massacre.

These were all hidden dangers that had to be guarded against.

This was also inevitable.

As the Shaozhu, Dan Zhu was also very worried about the future of the Dan Que Bu.

He didn’t know if the Bi Fang Bu’s mobilization of their main forces was purely to target him, or if they intended to wage a major war against the Dan Que Bu.

Therefore, he wanted to find a way to return to the Dan Que Bu to provide support sooner.

Mo Hua then advised him, “There’s no use worrying about this. You are only at the early stage of Golden Core…”

At this point, Mo Hua paused, feeling very complicated, but still with a profound expression, he continued:

“You are only at the early stage of Golden Core. In a decisive battle between large tribes, you cannot be of much help. In small-scale conflicts, your help would not be very significant.”

“The most pressing matter is to first establish yourself, preserve your life, strive for survival, and seek strength. Only after you become stronger and your forces grow powerful can you do more.”

Dan Zhu knew that Witch Master Mo had always been prescient, so he felt much calmer and nodded, “Yes, Shifu.”

Mo Hua thought for a moment, then called for Xiao Zhatu, instructing him to follow Dan Zhu as a small attendant, handling minor tasks for him.

With someone accompanying Dan Zhu, and Xiao Zhatu following Dan Zhu, Xiao Zhatu might also have a good future, which was a win-win situation.

Upon learning this, Elder Zhamu was even more grateful to Mo Hua, shedding tears of appreciation.

His biggest concern had always been his grandson Zhatu. Now that Zhatu had a “clear path,” Elder Zhamu felt he could die without regrets; even if he were to die for Wu Zhu Daren now, it would be worth it.

All relevant trivial matters were arranged.

Although famine was rampant outside, within the Wutu Mountain Realm, nestled in a secluded corner, a sense of peace seemed to emerge for a time as it recuperated.

And Mo Hua finally had the time and a stable environment to do his own things.

Which was, for him, the most important task at the moment:

Comprehending the Tao Tie Array.

He possessed two sets of the Tao Tie Absolute Array.

One set was the unknown Tao Tie Absolute Array with twenty-three patterns, taken from the skull of the barbarian god statue in the Shu Gu Bu.

The other set was the Twenty-four Pattern Twelve Meridians Tao Tie Ling Hai Absolute Array.

What Mo Hua was now learning was the twenty-three pattern Tao Tie Absolute Array.

He had previously comprehended a little of this Absolute Array in fragments during his causal divinations while campaigning with Dan Zhu.

He was already quite familiar with the array patterns.

But array patterns were just a form, just surface lines.

For Mo Hua, who consistently drew arrays day and night and had an extremely solid foundation in array dao, all arrays presented no real difficulties at the basic array pattern level.

The true challenges lay in the circulation of the array’s core, the design of the array’s eyes, and the comprehension of the array’s intrinsic laws.

Especially for absolute arrays.

However, learning, drawing, and practicing arrays were very clear actions.

But “comprehension” was a rather mystical thing.

One might have an instant epiphany, suddenly gaining profound insight into array dao and principles.

Or one might spend ten days to half a month, or even a year and a half, without any progress, not knowing what one had actually comprehended.

Mo Hua had previously tried to comprehend it, but hadn’t gained any insight.

The Tao Tie patterns were ancient and powerful array patterns, primitive and ferocious in design, going beyond the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams arrays that Mo Hua excelled at, and even differing significantly from the Four Symbols arrays.

Mo Hua had comprehended for a long time but still couldn’t grasp the essence.

He was even somewhat lost as to which direction to pursue his comprehension.

Such was the case before. Now that he had calmed down, Mo Hua pondered deeply, still unsure what laws the Tao Tie Array contained or how to comprehend them.

Thus, ten full days passed, with almost zero progress.

Mo Hua fell into that peculiar cycle again: he kept comprehending, but for a long time, he didn’t know what he had comprehended.

Whether to continue comprehending like this even became a question.

Mo Hua considered it and felt that such abstract thinking was ultimately too “idealistic”; relying purely on his own imagination made it difficult to find a direction.

Mo Hua pondered in silence.

He reviewed his past experiences of learning absolute arrays like the Ni Ling, Hou Tu, and Ling Shu, and found a method:

Draw more.

If he couldn’t find a clever method, he would start with the most笨 (ben, clumsy) one.

“Draw an array a hundred times, and its meaning will naturally become clear.”

Often, if one’s comprehension wasn’t deep enough, it meant one hadn’t drawn enough.

Draw enough, and like grinding an iron rod into a needle, some truth would eventually be comprehended.

The clumsy method was sometimes often the best method.

The truths of the world were often very simple.

The difficulty lay in doing it, in persisting.

Mo Hua gradually rediscovered his initial aspiration for learning array formations.

No matter what kind of absolute array it was, or what laws it contained, he would first relentlessly draw the array patterns, over and over again.

Once he had drawn enough, truly mastering them, he would then consider other aspects.

Mo Hua dismissed all distracting thoughts, holding only one thought in his mind, remembering only one word:

“Draw.”

He constantly drew array formations.

He drew during the day, and on the Dao Bei at night, he kept drawing. Other than that, he considered nothing else, nor did he care if he could ultimately learn the Tao Tie Array or comprehend its mysteries. He just kept drawing, treating the absolute array as an ordinary array, striving for an extreme state of focused concentration.

Thus, he kept drawing, kept drawing…

Forgetting to eat and sleep, working day and night, he didn’t know how much time had passed, or how many times he had drawn and practiced…

Mo Hua truly achieved the point where all the array patterns were completely integrated into his mind, to the extent of “drawing them backward as easily as forward.”

These primitive and ferocious array patterns were no longer unfamiliar to Mo Hua; they were more like his own blood, his own hands, his own bones, a part of himself.

When the array patterns spread across the paper, it was as natural as breathing.

And these array patterns finally began to “respond” to Mo Hua.

Heaven rewards diligence.

They finally revealed a corner of a certain mystery to Mo Hua.

These Tao Tie patterns, faintly connected, no longer appeared as rigid array patterns, but rather seemed to be alive, constantly moving, as if carrying a certain “Dao,” undergoing profound changes.

Mo Hua was suddenly plunged into a state of “flow,” half-dream, half-wake, half-real, half-illusory.

In this state, when Mo Hua looked at the Tao Tie patterns again, he saw a completely different scene.

He saw a desolate land, stretching for thousands of miles, littered with the starved, with mountains of corpses, a scene of utter despair.

Bodies filled the heavens and earth.

They had all starved to death, skin and bones, their bodies blackened, endless hunger, resentment, and bitter hatred surged towards the sky, filling the entire world.

Corpses and resentment brewed, fermented, and intertwined with each other, seemingly altering the laws of heaven and earth.

One by one, the bodies of those who had died of hunger began to dissipate and fade, forming dense, black lines, piling up together.

The heavens and earth began to twist, to abstract, to deform, to merge into one…

The corpses were the array patterns.

The array patterns were also the corpses.

All the corpses, under the extreme hunger and resentment, their flesh and blood like dust, merged with the heavens and earth.

And all the black array patterns, under the distortion of laws, eventually merged into a certain great Dao of heaven and earth.

Corpses, earth, sky, array patterns, laws, great Dao…

Like a melting pot, they were forged together.

A terrifying roar, a convergence of countless voices, heart-wrenching enough to tear people’s souls apart, resonated from between heaven and earth.

Dense black qi spread across the land.

Pitch-black lightning tore through the sky, as if the apocalypse had arrived.

And within this scene of surging resentment and sky-filling black qi, like a “purgatorial furnace,” a colossal figure vaguely appeared.

This figure was extremely ferocious, powerful, and terrifying, seemingly a symbol of the highest catastrophe between heaven and earth, driven by countless extreme hungry grievances, eager to devour everything in the world, to return the entire world and all living beings to chaos…