Three months later, Mo Hua’s reforms in the Great Wilderness Tribe had already begun to show results.

Half of Wucha Mountain Range, the entire Wutu Mountain Range, and some scattered small mountain ranges around them were reorganized by Mo Hua and unified under the name “Wutu.”

In the barbarian language, “Wutu” symbolizes “fire.”

Mo Hua also intended to build a large tribe under the name “Wutu.”

This great Wutu Tribe, under the leadership of Mo Hua, the Wu Zhu, acted in the name of the “Divine Master.”

Dan Zhu’s Dan Que Tribe forces and the Wutu Tribe were allies.

Everyone revered one Divine Master and also revered Mo Hua, the “Wu Zhu.”

Divine authority was unified under Mo Hua.

Power was centralized and controlled by Dan Zhu, with an elder council established for discussions, mutual supervision, and joint decision-making.

Furthermore, tribal positions had different levels of authority, but all tribesmen were equal and abided by tribal laws.

No one was allowed to kill indiscriminately, exercise arbitrary power, or mete out private justice.

Every child had to accept Mo Hua’s teachings, learn a specific lineage, become a useful person, and contribute to the tribe in the future, loyal to the Divine Master.

Mo Hua also tried to propose a plan to abolish the “barbarian slave system,” wanting to give all barbarian slaves an equal status so they could live in the light.

After that, prisoners of war would no longer be treated as “barbarian slaves.”

However, this proposal was met with criticism from almost all tribal chiefs and elders, except for Dan Zhu.

This idea was still too advanced.

The foundation of the Great Wilderness Tribe was “barbarian slaves.”

Abolishing this system would be equivalent to directly tearing down the foundation, and all previous tribal structures would completely collapse.

Under the threat of a great disaster, this was not a proper decision.

Moreover, whether “barbarian slaves” truly deserved equal rights was a less pleasant but very realistic question.

Many barbarian slaves were inherently vile “criminals.”

They were condemned to slavery for heinous crimes, devoid of conscience, worse than “livestock.”

Adultery and spousal murder, avarice and paternal murder, illicit affairs and spousal murder, infidelity and infanticide, and so on.

Sometimes, human hearts were uglier than beasts’.

Some people simply didn’t deserve to be “human.” Giving them “human” treatment and being lenient with them would, on the contrary, encourage the breakdown of order and lead to endless troubles.

Mo Hua recognized this complex, cold, and ugly reality, so he temporarily abandoned the idea.

He only stipulated one rule: it was forbidden to arbitrarily kill barbarian slaves, to mete out private justice to them, and especially not to use them as “living sacrifices.”

This was already the greatest leniency possible based on the objective reality of the wilderness.

Later, he would seek deeper reforms step by step.

Through Mo Hua’s various explorations and attempts, the雏形 of a new great tribe had begun to establish itself.

Due to the continuous improvement of internal systems and the guarantee of people’s livelihoods, external combat power, including various military forces, barbarian armor, lineages, and military systems, also developed step by step.

But this development gradually became limited.

Because Wutu Mountain Range was, after all, a remote second-grade mountain range, lacking resources, insufficient materials for armor forging and formation arrays, and insufficient manpower.

Once it developed to a certain point, it naturally hit a bottleneck, making further breakthroughs difficult.

Just as Mo Hua was seeking a way to break the deadlock without any clues, powerful “external enemies” arrived again.

This time, the enemies were old friends.

Bi Fang Tribe, Bi Jie.

Over the past few months, the Wutu Mountain Range had already encountered several external enemies.

And without exception, all these external enemies were blocked by Lu Gu.

Some were even “swallowed” by the Shu Gu Tribe.

As Mo Hua expected, the main Shu Gu Tribe became a barrier for the Wutu Mountain Range.

But the previous external enemies were all small to medium tribes, scattered here for various reasons, and their strength was relatively weak.

Now, it was different. Bi Jie was the young master of the Bi Fang Tribe, an “adult” who had fought for many years and held great prestige. He was qualified to lead a main tribal force.

Now, Bi Jie was leading an army, pressing towards the Wutu Mountain Range, coveting this rare peaceful “pure land” and fertile “fat meat” in these chaotic times.

Not to mention, in this pure land also resided his enemy and nemesis—Dan Zhu.

One main Bi Fang Tribe and one main Shu Gu Tribe.

Both were fierce tigers.

If it were general small to medium forces, Lu Gu would certainly devour them.

But the situation was different now. The Bi Fang Tribe was very strong, so Lu Gu would most likely not fight to the death with Bi Jie.

In fact, the two sides would not only avoid a fight to the death but would most likely join forces to deal with Dan Zhu and invade the Wutu Mountain Range.

After conquering the Wutu Mountain Range and killing Dan Zhu, the two sides would then divide this “fat meat” together.

Mo Hua’s mood was somewhat heavy.

And facts proved that his prediction was correct.

The Bi Fang Tribe and the Shu Gu Tribe only had some friction and skirmishes during their first encounter.

But soon, the disputes subsided.

The Bi Fang Tribe and the Shu Gu Tribe no longer fought.

The two sides seemed to have reached some kind of “tacit understanding” or perhaps signed a “secret agreement.”

Afterward, the Shu Gu Tribe made way for the Bi Fang Tribe.

The main Bi Fang force led by Bi Jie entered the Wucha Mountain Range.

The forces of the two main tribes gathered together, and the formidable enemy allied forces pressed down like dark clouds over a mountain, causing panic within the Wutu Mountain Range.

Dan Zhu and others looked solemn.

Mo Hua also frowned.

One main Shu Gu Tribe would be manageable. Even if their great general, Lu Gu, was at the late Golden Core stage, Mo Hua was confident he could suppress them within the second-grade mountain range.

It wouldn’t even be a problem to go to some trouble and directly annex the main Shu Gu Tribe.

Of course, Lu Gu couldn’t be killed, but other Golden Core cultivators of the Shu Gu Tribe and the barbarian soldiers of the main Shu Gu Tribe would inevitably suffer heavy casualties.

But with the addition of one main Bi Fang Tribe, the situation was different again.

Although after several months of recuperation and development of forces, the Wutu Mountain Range had more heavy armor and stronger military forces.

However, confronting the two main tribes of Shu Gu and Bi Fang head-on was still extremely difficult.

Even if they ultimately won, it would inevitably be a ” Pyrrhic victory,” and who knew how many barbarian soldiers under him would die.

The military strength he had painstakingly cultivated would be exhausted in one great decisive battle.

Once the foundation was gone, it would be even more difficult to develop again.

Moreover, the situation in the Great Wilderness was deteriorating day by day, and Mo Hua didn’t have that much time to redevelop.

What should he do?

Mo Hua stood on the peak of Wutu Mountain, looking out at Wucha Mountain Range, watching the dark masses of barbarian soldiers from the Shu Gu and Bi Fang tribes, his expression somewhat serious.

The Wutu Mountain Range was Mo Hua’s last stronghold; there was no way to retreat.

And Bi Jie was a vengeful person, he would certainly not give up.

Lu Gu had suffered a defeat before, and he would definitely seek to regain his prestige.

Now, with the two united in their enmity, the situation was very grim.

Mo Hua was not worried about his own safety. If he truly wanted to escape, no one could stop him.

But his “family business” was here; the monk could run, but the temple couldn’t.

Mo Hua stood on the mountaintop, intently watching the distance.

Outside Wu Feng Ridge, on one side were the Shu Gu Tribe’s barbarian soldiers painted with bone war paint.

On the other side were the Bi Fang Tribe’s barbarian soldiers wearing black-green barbarian armor.

The entire Wu Feng Ridge was occupied by these two sides of barbarian soldiers, half pale white, half black-green, their imposing aura very pressing.

As Mo Hua watched, his gaze suddenly flickered, and he subconsciously recalled the model of the Dao laws he had comprehended from life and death when studying the power of Tao Tie.

One life, one death.

One white, one black.

It was strikingly similar to the scene of the enemy forces at the border.

“Laws… are not just abstract principles. The Great Dao encompasses all things, so all things must follow certain frameworks and laws…”

“This framework and model can analyze laws, and naturally, it can also analyze all things in the world, and even all killings and warfare.”

“Life and death, black and white, and even…”

“Yin and Yang?”

Mo Hua gradually gained some indescribable insights.

All laws in the world are both opposite and unified.

The same applies to all things on the surface of the laws.

The Shu Gu and Bi Fang tribes before him, though seemingly forming an “alliance,” were originally opposed to each other.

They appeared to be an alliance of strong powers.

But as long as one found a crack and exacerbated their conflicts, causing them to “differentiate” from each other, this so-called alliance would collapse without being attacked.

By extension, all tribes, all aristocratic families, all sects, and even all forces are largely like this.

They may seem powerful and invincible.

But within them, there are inevitably various disagreements and contradictions.

As long as one finds these disagreements, incites discord, and fuels the flames, even the most powerful forces will have a day when they crumble.

Cultivators seek the Dao, which contains all laws, and all laws connect to all things, including specific people and events.

All these things are interconnected.

Some laws can be used for cultivation, comprehending formations, and generating spells.

They can also be used to solve various specific matters.

Thinking this way, Mo Hua suddenly felt a sense of enlightenment.

With a certain “law” in mind, the enemies before him automatically differentiated, one black and one white, with distinct contradictions.

The whole matter also seemed much simpler.

Mo Hua himself found it somewhat incredible.

After pondering for a moment, he felt that the main Shu Gu Tribe and the main Bi Fang Tribe were no longer two “formidable enemies,” but two “playthings” that he could manipulate, differentiate, and play with their contradictions.

Even the means of manipulation were very simple.

Mo Hua called Tie Shu Gu and asked him, “How do you paint your Shu Gu Tribe’s facial makeup?”

Tie Shu Gu didn’t understand what Mo Hua wanted to do, but he still explained everything in detail and drew some patterns.

This kind of bone facial makeup was a symbol of “identity” and “class” in the Shu Gu Tribe.

What kind of makeup to paint was very particular.

Out of fear of Mo Hua, Tie Shu Gu dared not conceal anything.

Mo Hua obtained Tie Shu Gu’s facial makeup patterns, gave them to Xiao Zha Tu, and instructed him on what to do.

Afterward, Mo Hua began to use the cause and effect of the “Heaven, Earth, and Man” triad to deduce the battle situation.

Now the battle scale was larger, and the number of people was greater. Mo Hua’s divine sense’s computational power was limited, so he couldn’t deduce too many situations.

He only calculated one thing: Bi Jie’s movements.

Then Mo Hua began to arrange troops based on the small piece of information he had calculated.

Seven days later, Bi Jie finally couldn’t hold back and, together with Lu Gu, launched a general attack on the Wutu Mountain Range.

The battle situation was looking good.

After four months, the Shu Gu Tribe crossed Wu Feng Ridge for the first time, advancing en masse towards the Wutu Mountain Range.

And Bi Jie also encountered his nemesis—Dan Zhu, the proud young master of the Dan Que Tribe.

The two led their troops and clashed.

After hundreds of rounds, Dan Zhu was defeated and retreated with his troops.

Bi Jie laughed and pursued relentlessly.

The two chased and fled until they were a hundred li away, where Dan Zhu received reinforcements.

This was a line of thirty barbarian soldiers from the Dan Que Tribe, wearing Yuang Gu heavy armor.

This was Bi Jie’s first direct experience of the power of such heavily armored barbarian soldiers.

But he was not surprised.

Before the battle, he had met with Lu Gu and had already learned from Lu Gu that the Dan Que Tribe had stolen the ancient heavy armor of the Shu Gu Tribe’s ancestors.

Moreover, while this heavy armor was strong, its quantity was limited.

The forces of the Bi Fang Tribe and the Shu Gu Tribe, two main tribal forces, and dozens of Golden Core barbarian generals, would not be at a disadvantage in a head-on confrontation.

Bi Jie had already made arrangements for this.

The two sides engaged in a chaotic battle.

The Golden Core cultivators of the Bi Fang Tribe led the Bi Fang Tribe’s barbarian soldiers, tying down these Yuang Gu heavy armored soldiers.

The others, along with Bi Jie, tried their best to surround and kill Dan Zhu.

In a second-grade mountain range, Dan Zhu could not use magical treasures, so he was at a great disadvantage. After fighting for a while, he was indeed defeated again.

Dan Zhu continued to flee.

Bi Jie continued to pursue.

As they chased, just as Dan Zhu was about to be forced into a desperate situation, a squad of Shu Gu Tribe heavy armored soldiers suddenly emerged from the forest.

This squad of heavy armored soldiers, twenty in total, were all wearing Yuang Gu heavy armor, their faces painted with top-grade Shu Gu war paint.

These were elite soldiers.

The leader was a Golden Core cultivator, whose face was adorned with stark bone patterns, very traditional, clearly a Golden Core of the Shu Gu Tribe.

He shouted, “Young Master Bi Jie, I am here on General Lu Gu’s command to assist you in slaying Dan Zhu!”

Bi Jie rejoiced in his heart, saying, “Good! Join me in surrounding and killing Dan Zhu. Today will be the death day of that scoundrel Dan Zhu!”

The Shu Gu Tribe’s heavy armored soldiers surrounded Dan Zhu tightly.

The Shu Gu Tribe’s Golden Core cultivator also seized the opportunity to stab Dan Zhu to the ground with a bone spear.

Bi Jie felt a trace of discord in his heart, as if something wasn’t quite right.

But Dan Zhu, fallen to the ground, shoulders bleeding, face pale, and expression panicked, was more “tempting” than the most beautiful woman in the world.

Bi Jie’s desire for revenge burned fiercely, and he momentarily lost his reason, caring for nothing else.

He wanted to personally slay his enemy and make Dan Zhu die in utter humiliation.

Bi Jie strode forward, drawing his blade, and walked towards Dan Zhu.

But before he could get close, a bone spear, laced with venom, suddenly pierced from a blind spot behind his back.

Bi Jie was naturally suspicious and always alert. At the last moment, he sensed danger, activated his movement technique, and dodged the spear.

But the venom on the spear still grazed Bi Jie’s cheek.

Bi Jie suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of hunger.

Before he could react, a burning sensation came from his side.

Dan Zhu, who had been lying on the ground, looking haggard, now had cold eyes filled with killing intent. Holding a Vermilion Bird Fiery long spear, he thrust it directly at Bi Jie’s ear gate acupoint.

Bi Jie clearly hadn’t expected that the usually upright Dan Zhu would also learn to “ambush.”

This spear strike was powerful, the flames scorching, and the angle was tricky, as if meticulously calculated. Bi Jie couldn’t completely dodge it.

Just at this moment, a Golden Core cultivator from the Bi Fang Tribe rushed forward, blocking the spear for Bi Jie, and was pierced through the chest.

Bi Jie quickly retreated, temporarily escaping from Dan Zhu’s killing intent.

But before he could catch his breath, more than twenty heavily armored soldiers from the Shu Gu Tribe, their faces painted with bone makeup, suddenly turned their spears and charged towards him.

Bi Jie was furious: “How dare you?! You Shu Gu Tribe, how dare you betray the alliance?”

But these heavy armored soldiers said nothing, only attacking Bi Jie relentlessly.

Dan Zhu also activated his long spear, his body like a raging fire, and charged at Bi Jie.

Bi Jie endured the subtle, strange hunger and began to entangle with Dan Zhu and the twenty heavy armored soldiers.

But he could only try his best to save his life, with no room to fight back.

Bi Jie was filled with shock and anger. A moment later, he couldn’t help but wonder:

What was going on?

Had Lu Gu betrayed the alliance?

Or were Dan Zhu and these youngsters “acting” to deceive him?

Could these barbarian soldiers, painted with bone makeup and wearing Yuang Gu heavy armor, be “disguised” Dan Que Tribe members?

But reality wouldn’t give him much time to think.

Seeing that they couldn’t deal with Bi Jie quickly, Dan Zhu and the others began to turn their blades and attack the other Bi Fang tribesmen.

In less than a hundred rounds, one Golden Core cultivator was severely wounded.

Another twenty or so Foundation Establishment barbarian soldiers died under the bone spears.

The Yuang Gu soldiers of the “Shu Gu Tribe” and Dan Zhu joined forces to kill Bi Jie’s personal guards.

No matter what the truth was, at least what he saw before him was this scene.

Bi Jie’s eyes were bloodshot.

He suddenly remembered something:

Could the secret of the ancestral heavy armor really be leaked so easily?

Even if it were leaked, who could reforge such ancient heavy armor?

Could this have been a deception by Lu Gu from the very beginning?

He had long been in cahoots with Dan Zhu, even lending the heavy armor to the Dan Que Tribe.

The two of them were “setting a trap” to lure him in, swallow his Bi Fang main force, and kill him, the young master of the Bi Fang Tribe.

Cold sweat streamed down Bi Jie’s back; the more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.

Otherwise, how could a dignified main Shu Gu Tribe fail to conquer a second-grade mountain range?

Lu Gu was a late Golden Core general. Couldn’t he take down a second-grade mountain range, couldn’t he defeat Dan Zhu?!

These were all suspicious points.

Previously, Bi Jie was so intent on killing and capturing Dan Zhu to torture him that he hadn’t thought carefully.

But now, stimulated by the scene before him, his suspicions flared, and all these suspicious “flaws” were exposed.

“Lu Gu and Dan Zhu, these two wretches, are in cahoots! They want to trap and kill me!”

Bi Jie panicked.

The Yuang Gu heavy armored soldiers before him were immensely powerful.

The heavy armored soldiers of the Dan Que Tribe and the heavy armored soldiers of the “Shu Gu Tribe” “merged” and charged towards Bi Jie.

“Two tribes, wearing the same heavy armor!”

“Damn it!”

Bi Jie gritted his teeth and said, “Retreat!”

If he didn’t retreat now, once Lu Gu came back, his life would be over.

Bi Jie immediately led his troops to retreat. Halfway through, he found that some of the encampments along the way had all been broken open.

The barbarian soldiers of the Shu Gu Tribe were fighting over his Bi Fang Tribe’s supplies.

This was also Mo Hua’s command.

During the battle, none of the Dan Que Tribe’s barbarian soldiers were allowed to seize supplies from the Bi Fang Tribe’s encampments. Instead, they were to tear open their storage bags, smash their storage chests, and throw the supplies onto the ground for the Shu Gu Tribe to snatch.

The Shu Gu Tribe would definitely snatch them.

These barbarian cultivators were not strictly disciplined.

If the supplies were hoarded in the encampments, they might not have thought about it, but if they were scattered on the ground, it would be impossible for them not to be greedy.

These were not people Mo Hua had ordered to “impersonate”; these were real “Shu Gu soldiers” snatching the Bi Fang Tribe’s supplies.

Bi Jie was furious and immediately ordered his men to kill these Shu Gu barbarian soldiers who were snatching supplies.

This killing was seen by the Shu Gu Tribe’s Golden Core cultivators.

They began to point at Bi Jie, angrily rebuking him, “Young Master Bi Jie, what is the meaning of killing our Shu Gu tribesmen?”

Bi Jie sneered, “You should ask your General Lu Gu why he wants to put me to death?”

The Shu Gu Tribe Golden Core angrily said, “You are making false accusations, utterly shameless!”

Bi Jie hadn’t spoken yet.

At this moment, a group of “Yuang Gu heavy armored barbarian soldiers” with bone war paint on their faces suddenly rushed out from the crowd. Without a word, they silently attacked the Bi Fang Tribe’s barbarian soldiers.

Seeing this, the other Shu Gu barbarian soldiers subconsciously followed behind these “Shu Gu heavy armored soldiers” and began to slaughter the Bi Fang Tribe.

They were already angry, and now seeing their “ancestral heavy soldiers” getting revenge for their own people, they naturally wouldn’t be polite.

Seeing this scene, Bi Jie confirmed his inner thoughts and became even more furious:

“Indeed, you are all in this together! You all deserve to die!”

Someone in the crowd shouted:

“Kill!”

“Kill!”

More and more people echoed.

The situation became even more chaotic for a time.

Without Bi Jie’s command, the barbarian soldiers of the Bi Fang Tribe and the Shu Gu Tribe began to kill each other, fighting over things.

They were originally barbarian cultivators from different tribes, with no affection whatsoever between them.

When there was no conflict, it was fine, and they could barely fight together.

But now, with blood shed, things stolen, and enmity formed, it was like a dynamite pack being ignited, exploding instantly.

The Bi Fang Tribe killed the Shu Gu Tribe’s people, and the Shu Gu Tribe retaliated.

The Shu Gu Tribe snatched the Bi Fang Tribe’s things, and the Bi Fang Tribe snatched them back.

You kill, I snatch; you snatch, I kill. Coupled with a group of “Shu Gu heavy armored soldiers” leading the charge, the chaos instantly escalated, and the conflict spread outwards.

Before even conquering the Wutu Mountain Range, the allied tribes of Shu Gu and Bi Fang began to fight amongst themselves.

Smoke filled the Wucha Mountain Range everywhere.

Mo Hua stood on high ground, watching all of this from afar, thinking, “Indeed.”

“Laws apply everywhere.”

“This trick is quite effective. In the future, I must learn to use contradictions and sow discord more often…”

“Understanding worldly affairs is knowledge. One must not only comprehend the Dao through formations but also through specific people and events…”