Before his death, Shi Gu was the strongest general of the Shugu Tribe, dying from betrayal by his subordinates, from an evil god, and from famine—a sacrifice to the misfortunes of the Great Wilderness.

Even in death, his physical body remained powerful, retaining an intimidating presence.

He was also a corpse puppet controlled by Mo Hua using the *Xiao Ling Shu Jue Zhen*.

However, the *Xiao Ling Shu Jue Zhen* was too low-grade and its control too weak to fully unleash Shi Gu’s destructive power as an “Undying General.” Moreover, Shi Gu’s corpse, without the evil god’s contamination or the craving for flesh, lacked any “energy supply” and was essentially just a display.

Therefore, after much deliberation, Mo Hua decided to first engrave the *Shi Er Jing Tao Tie Ling Hai Zhen* onto Shi Gu’s body.

He wanted the deceased Shi Gu to become the most loyal “servant” of the Divine Lord, an undying warrior of the Great Wilderness, achieving immortal feats in death.

At the same time, Shi Gu would also serve as the best “material” for him to practice the *Gu Ke Ling Hai Zhen*.

Engraving a ferocious *jue zhen* onto the bones of a “living person”—especially one’s own—was simply too dangerous. Without anything to practice on, and lacking sufficient experience, even Mo Hua wouldn’t dare to proceed rashly.

But using other “living people” for practice, and potentially killing them—which was highly probable—Mo Hua found unbearable.

Therefore, Mo Hua could only start with a “dead person.”

This dead person was Shi Gu.

However, using a great general like Shi Gu for practice was extremely difficult.

Shi Gu was a late-stage Jin Dan barbarian cultivator, and even in death, his flesh, blood, and bones retained the strength of a high-grade third-rank.

During his lifetime, Shi Gu was powerful, and his physical strength far surpassed that of ordinary barbarian cultivators.

The *Xiao Ling Shu Zhen* was fine because it only involved simple control of movement, not high-intensity combat.

So, drawing the formation on the superficial layer of flesh meant the compatibility wasn’t very high, but it didn’t have much impact. Mo Hua also handled many of the intricate details quite carelessly.

But the *Shi Er Jing Tao Tie Ling Hai Jue Zhen* was different.

This *jue zhen* had to be integrated as deeply as possible with Shi Gu’s remains.

Because this *Ling Hai Jue Zhen* was intended to be his natal magical artifact.

When engraved onto his own bones in the future, it had to perfectly integrate with his own meridians and skeleton to cultivate alongside his life and aid his Jin Dan.

Otherwise, major problems would surely arise, damaging his foundation.

Therefore, using Shi Gu’s bones as a “test” now demanded absolute meticulousness.

If problems arose even during the test on the deceased Shi Gu, then the issues with the *Ling Hai Zhen* would only be more severe when applied to himself—

Yet, this was an unavoidable hurdle he had to face, with no escape—

Furthermore, Mo Hua was not without some foresight.

Mo Hua was silent for a moment, mentally reviewing all the formation blueprints he had made previously, before he began.

He first took out a large pile of spiritual cultivation items, including various categorized items like gold dust, copper and jade, spiritual wood roots, blood-dissolving stones—and so on.

These materials were all prepared in advance when he was at the Tai Xu Sect.

Some he exchanged with sect merits, while others were specially procured for him by Elder Xun and the Tai Xu Sect Leader through special means.

Elder Xun and the Sect Leader were actually more concerned about Mo Hua forming his Jin Dan than anyone else.

However, Mo Hua, this child, did not follow the usual path of cultivation, and they did not know what kind of bizarre Jin Dan he was forming, so neither of them could intervene too much.

They could only meticulously prepare all the heavenly treasures and earthly materials Mo Hua might need in advance, to prevent him from running around tirelessly and wasting time searching for certain materials.

Therefore, although Mo Hua’s Jin Dan formation took a long time, Elder Xun had already prepared the spiritual materials for it back when he was at the Tai Xu Sect.

As it determined Mo Hua’s future, Elder Xun, using causal calculations, experienced predictions, and adhering to the principle of “better to have more than less, and to be prepared for any eventuality,” had prepared everything in great detail and abundance.

Mo Hua was deeply grateful for Elder Xun’s kindness and the sect’s care.

Therefore, even now in the desolate wilderness, with its diverse customs and varying inheritances, Mo Hua had all the spiritual materials needed for his Jin Dan formation.

Even the materials used for preliminary practice were plentiful.

Of course, Mo Hua was reluctant to use the truly precious “essence of wood-white” and “marrow of gold-jade,” these spiritual materials for molding the wood-white gold-jade bones.

For practice, he used some lower-grade “substitutes.”

After all, using them on a dead person like Shi Gu didn’t require such strict adherence to specifications.

Shi Gu’s corpse was once again dissected.

Mo Hua began to try molding a layer of “gold-jade” bone tissue onto Shi Gu’s skeleton, following the Bai family’s “wood-white gold-jade” method.

Since it was his first practice, the molding was a bit rough, and many areas were unevenly shaped, but overall, there were no major issues.

After molding a layer of “gold-jade” bone, Mo Hua used a “bone-carving” knife to engrave the *Shi Er Jing Tao Tie Ling Hai Zhen* patterns onto the gold-jade plating.

The *Xiao Ling Shu Zhen* was drawn on by Mo Hua.

But the *Tao Tie Ling Hai Zhen* could not be merely drawn; it had to be “carved” to make the formation patterns more stable.

Shi Gu’s bones were those of a Jin Dan stage barbarian cultivator, too hard for Mo Hua to carve directly. However, after covering them with a layer of gold-jade bone, carving on the gold-jade bone became feasible.

If carving on a living person, the act would be accompanied by a significant loss of *xue qi*.

Mo Hua intended to solve this problem by adding an “engraving” of the *Yi Mu Hui Chun Zhen* formation.

But it was not needed now.

Because Shi Gu was already dead, his corpse was cold, so there was no issue of *xue qi* loss, and carving the *Yi Mu Hui Chun Zhen* would be useless.

Moreover, Mo Hua was not yet skilled in internal bone carving, and just carving the *Shi Er Jing Ling Hai Zhen* was already quite challenging, and success was not guaranteed.

Adding another *Yi Mu Hui Chun Zhen* would be too difficult. This could only be considered later.

One step at a time; for now, the focus was on familiarizing himself with “gold-jade bone molding,” “spiritual bone carving,” and the specific application of the *Shi Er Jing Tao Tie Ling Hai Zhen*.

Mo Hua began to concentrate on carving the *Ling Hai Zhen* onto Shi Gu’s bones, according to his own design.

This entire set of operations and formations was too complex, and exceedingly arcane and profound.

Mo Hua worked for two whole days, but ultimately failed.

There were many reasons for the failure, such as Shi Gu’s bones being too hard, the corpse temperature being too low, poor fusion between the gold-jade and the dead body, the bone-carving knife and brush being difficult to use, the *Tao Tie* formation patterns being hard to draw, and the formation core not perfectly matching the human meridians—and so on.

Mo Hua sighed, but wasn’t too disappointed.

Such things were never meant to be achieved overnight or perfected in one go.

Any success required countless failures.

By identifying the root causes of failure, contemplating them one by one, solving them one by one, and finally eliminating all “failures,” success would naturally follow.

Therefore, “success” and “failure” were two sides of the same coin, the same thing.

Mo Hua composed himself, patiently summarized his experiences, and then continued to try.

Through this process of trial and error, continually discovering problems, solving them, and overcoming failures—

Mo Hua’s understanding of bone molding, bone carving, and the *Tao Tie Ling Hai Jue Zhen* deepened, and his operations became more skilled.

At the same time, in another direction, his research into corpses, his experience in “corpse control,” and his ability to “modify” human meridians and bones with formations were also unexpectedly deepening—

Although this experience and ability were a bit—not what a proper cultivator should possess.

Mo Hua himself was deeply resistant to it.

But there was no other way; having embarked on this path of Jin Dan formation, and having researched bone molding, bone carving, and *Ling Hai* formations, the experience naturally followed.

Mo Hua wanted to refuse, but he couldn’t—

And while Mo Hua was applying and modifying formations to Shi Gu’s bones,

The unification and rectification of the various tribes in the Zhuque Mountain Realm were also steadily progressing.

These plans, carried out in the name of the Divine Lord, authorized by Mo Hua, and fully overseen by Dan Zhu, with the assistance of great chieftains like Lu Gu and Dan Lie, were being implemented from top to bottom across almost all tribes in the entire Zhuque Mountain Realm—

Dan Zhu was responsible for this matter.

Dan Zhu possessed a sincere heart, was upright and kind, had an unwavering Dao heart, and had followed Mo Hua the longest. He was also the person Mo Hua trusted and recognized the most in the Great Wilderness.

Whether now or in the future, Mo Hua hoped Dan Zhu could grow into an outstanding tribal leader.

Whether he was present or not, Dan Zhu could independently govern the various barbarian tribes, allowing the people of the Great Wilderness to have a stable foundation for life.

However, Dan Zhu was currently only in the early Jin Dan stage, lacking in cultivation realm and with an unstable foundation.

Therefore, Mo Hua had Dan Lie and Lu Gu step forward, using their prestige as the Great Alliance Leader and great chieftains, to work with Dan Zhu on this matter.

Nominally, everyone was working for the “Divine Lord,” acting under the name of the “Witch Priest.”

But Mo Hua’s hopes for Dan Zhu were the deepest.

Because Mo Hua could see that among the barbarian cultivators of the Great Wilderness tribes, only Dan Zhu’s heart, like the flowing fire of the Vermilion Bird, was the most “crimson” and fervent.

The main purpose of these actions Mo Hua was implementing was “to side with allies and attack enemies.”

Those who complied prospered, those who resisted perished.

Seizing the opportunity while the “divine power” of the Divine Lord’s manifestation and the slaying of the Witch Vulture God during the previous Zhuque Mountain battle had not faded.

Seizing the moment when the faith in the Divine Lord among all tribal barbarian cultivators reached its peak.

Mo Hua had to strike while the iron was hot, using this opportunity, in the name of the Divine Lord and by the command of the Witch Priest, to forcibly implement rectification within the major tribes and completely unify power.

Those who sincerely submitted were given higher status and positions by Mo Hua.

Those with ulterior motives were suppressed and marginalized, gradually sidelined, and removed from the center of power.

And those who harbored rebellious intentions, or even plotted rebellion, were directly suppressed and killed.

The struggle for power had always been cold and cruel, allowing no room for childish tenderness, otherwise, only oneself would perish.

Furthermore, Mo Hua began to work on unifying the beliefs of the various tribes.

Forcibly eradicating the original beliefs of other tribes was too radical and likely to cause resistance and backlash. Therefore, while allowing each tribe to retain its own beliefs, Mo Hua uniformly required them all to believe in the “Divine Lord.”

And he placed the belief in the Divine Lord above the local beliefs of each tribe.

In this way, the “Divine Lord” truly meant the “Lord of all Gods” in the Great Wilderness.

No tribal belief was allowed to conflict with the belief in the Divine Lord; otherwise, it would be considered heresy and suppressed.

Their tribal deities would also be given an opportunity by Mo Hua to descend and be personally “eaten.”

And the “belief” in the Divine Lord was not merely superstition or blind faith.

Mo Hua personally formulated doctrines and, through these doctrines, transformed this “belief” into an “ideal.”

These doctrines included, but were not limited to, the Divine Lord protecting the Great Wilderness and its people, with no tribe allowed to harm the unity and stability of the Great Wilderness.

Barbarian cultivators were equal due to their faith. At least in basic rights such as life, they were equal.

Power and status might differ, but faith in the Divine Lord was singular and supreme.

As long as one believed in the Divine Lord, regardless of status, no one was allowed to be arbitrarily killed or harmed.

Upper-level barbarian cultivators were not allowed to arbitrarily kill, bully, insult, or defile ordinary tribal barbarian cultivators, otherwise, they would surely face divine punishment.

All barbarian cultivators had the right to cultivate and learn.

All barbarian cultivators should be loyal to their tribes.

Within the tribe, all barbarian cultivators who believed in the Divine Lord should unite in friendship and live in harmony—

Such ideals, originally impossible to achieve in the savage Great Wilderness, were “replaced by stealth” by Mo Hua and infused into the “belief” in the Divine Lord, and then forcibly promoted using divine authority.

Most barbarian cultivators were ignorant, brutal, greedy, and self-serving.

Normal “enlightenment” was simply impossible to achieve.

Mo Hua also had no way to make these barbarian cultivators pursue fairness, justice, truth, or goodness.

The world of these barbarian cultivators simply had no concept of “morality”; no amount of explanation or propaganda would work, as they could not understand.

If he truly made them understand, by the time they realized it from their internal struggles for fame and profit, it would be too late.

The great calamity would have already descended, and everyone in the Great Wilderness would die.

Therefore, the only method was to use “faith,” using a quasi-“superstitious” approach, to govern their spiritual consciousness.

Using “faith” to shape their Dao hearts.

Everything was the Divine Lord’s instruction; everything was the Divine Lord’s premonition.

Faith was everything.

The cultivators of the Great Wilderness only needed to follow suit.

This was almost the only method Mo Hua could think of and execute.

It was also the only chance for survival for the Great Wilderness amidst the Dao of Heaven’s ominous portents.

And at the same time, Mo Hua took advantage of the situation to do something he had wanted to do before but never had the power to accomplish:

Liberate the barbarian slaves.

All barbarian slaves of the Great Wilderness no longer belonged to any tribe or force but were uniformly assigned to the name of the “Divine Lord.”

They were no longer slaves of men but slaves of a god.

And all barbarian slaves collectively gathered to form a new great tribe, named the “Divine Slave Tribe.”

Mo Hua originally didn’t particularly want to use this name.

He disliked the character “slave,” and his original intention was to grant freedom to all barbarian slaves in the Great Wilderness.

But from a practical standpoint, this wish was too far-fetched, at least impossible at present.

In the Great Wilderness, barbarian slaves were certainly miserable.

But even more miserable were barbarian slaves without a master.

A barbarian slave without a master meant being a barbarian slave to everyone.

Because they were “ownerless property,” any tribe, any individual, could arbitrarily possess, bully, or even kill them.

If Mo Hua’s efforts and actions in the Great Wilderness succeeded, the barbarian slaves could rise up.

But if it failed, the barbarian slaves would instantly revert to their original state.

And in that scenario, their situation would only be more tragic than before.

Therefore, Mo Hua had to prepare a fallback for them, leaving them a “master.”

This way, even if it ultimately failed and the situation became more brutal, these barbarian slaves could unite under the name of “Divine Slaves.”

No tribe would dare openly contend with the “Divine Lord” for barbarian slaves.

The two characters “Divine Slaves” would be their final protective talisman.

Ideals are beautiful; reality is cruel.

To change reality, one must first accept part of it, then change another part.

Then accept another part, then change another part.

This way, little by little, step by step, through generations of persistent effort, reality can ultimately be transformed into the desired ideal—

Thus, Mo Hua, the Witch Priest, under the name of the “Divine Lord,” completed the initial liberation of the barbarian slaves in the Great Wilderness.

And the Divine Slave Tribe also became the most populous, most powerful, most widespread, and most influential force in the entire Great Wilderness, and also the most devout toward the Divine Lord and Mo Hua, the Witch Priest.

It was Mo Hua who liberated them in the name of the “Divine Lord.”

They had nothing but faith.

At the same time, precisely because they had nothing, they possessed fearless courage and iron-blooded conviction.