Deep within the Suzaku Mountain, stands the ancient Suzaku Altar.

It was here that the battle of the divine descent with the Wujiu Tribe took place.

Millions of barbarian soldiers, numerous commanders and generals, and even dozens of grand chieftains and generals in the late Jin Dan stage, fought desperately to the death here.

Countless barbarian soldiers died, their blood shed for their faith.

In that battle, ancient mountains were pierced through, countless peaks were razed to the ground, and the land was scarred beyond recognition.

But now, the entire altar has been renovated.

The periphery is encircled by a tall city wall, densely covered with formations, forming a great wall of formations.

The bodies of those who died in battle here have all been collected and reburied in the barren land, their flesh and blood nourishing the Great Barren.

All of this was done under Mo Hua’s command.

At this moment, Mo Hua stands before the altar.

The majestic sacred tiger guards Mo Hua on both sides.

Tie Shu Gu bows behind Mo Hua, speaking in a respectful tone:

“Great Shaman, as per your instructions, everything is ready. The grand chieftains of all tribes, the grand elders, and the generals of the main tribes have also been notified. In seven days, the grand sacrificial ceremony for the Suzaku Mountain God will officially be held. All tribal high-ranking members who do not attend will be deemed rebellious.”

“Good,” Mo Hua nods slightly, “You may go.”

“Yes.” Tie Shu Gu bows respectfully and then retreats.

Mo Hua watches Tie Shu Gu’s receding figure, his gaze deep, then he turns away from him and walks step by step towards the altar.

The burly great tiger follows Mo Hua closely.

Mo Hua crosses the altar square and ascends the steps, reaching the highest point of the altar.

At the top of the altar, the blazing Suzaku flames swirl, incinerating the divine senses of all ordinary cultivators, yet they cannot harm Mo Hua in the slightest.

The great tiger feels somewhat uncomfortable from the flames, but walking with Mo Hua, protected by him, it’s not too severe.

On the altar, the Suzaku divine statue, adorned with a golden ring, still stands.

Beneath the Suzaku divine statue, the ancient divine throne is awe-inspiring and inviolable.

And at the very bottom of the golden tree where the Suzaku resides, the golden plate, used to enshrine divine relics to ignite the Suzaku flames and summon the deity, is identical to how it was before.

Mo Hua once offered the dead eyes of Wujiu on the golden plate, summoned the Great God Wujiu, and then “ate” the Great God Wujiu.

Now, looking at this golden plate, influenced by “Tao Tie,” a sudden hunger wells up in Mo Hua’s heart.

He wants to place the divine relics of Yan Zhu and Qing Zhu on it as well, to see if he can also summon the God of Candleflicker and the God of Qingqiu, and “eat” them all.

Wouldn’t his divine consciousness become even stronger then?

With this greedy thought, Mo Hua’s heart stirred restlessly.

He spent a great deal of effort to restrain the greed in his heart.

Mo Hua is unsure of the origins of the God of Candleflicker and the God of Qingqiu, nor how powerful these two “great gods” truly are. After all, they are “deities” worshipped by the royal court, so they are likely not ordinary beings.

If he summons them and can’t defeat them, the consequences could be dire.

The current situation in the Barren Land is very fragile and cannot withstand further turmoil; it’s better to avoid unnecessary complications.

Moreover, he has just broken through, and his divine consciousness is not yet fully stable, so it’s not advisable to entertain the thought of “eating” again.

Mo Hua restrained his “Tao Tie”-like desire to devour deities.

He no longer looked at the golden offering plate but turned his gaze to the ancient divine throne beneath the Suzaku statue.

On that day, Yan Zhu merely glanced at this divine throne, gave in to greed, and almost had his courage crushed by the will of the divine path.

But now, Mo Hua looks at this ancient divine throne with a calm expression.

In the ethereal realm, that divine will also descended, seemingly wanting to instill fear in Mo Hua, but this will could not shake Mo Hua in the slightest.

Not only that, Mo Hua withstood the pressure of this divine path and walked step by step towards the divine throne.

The ancient will seemed enraged by Mo Hua’s disrespect, and the pressure of that divine sense almost solidified, capable of crushing the sea of consciousness of any mortal cultivator into dust.

But before Mo Hua, this ancient will merely caused him to frown slightly, utterly unable to prevent Mo Hua from stepping towards the high divine throne.

When Mo Hua finally arrived before the divine throne, a terrifying “roar” suddenly echoed in his ears.

It was as if an ancient deity was unleashing “divine punishment” upon him.

That powerful divine sense directly penetrated Mo Hua’s Sea of Consciousness.

Even Mo Hua felt an inexplicable pain, almost tearing open his Sea of Consciousness.

Mo Hua closed his eyes, his divine sense withdrawn, activating the horn of Pixiu, the body of the Dragon Soul, the pure gold Dao-transformation body, and further condensing the sword intent of divine sense transforming into a sword. He resisted for a long time before finally, with great effort, dissolving this ancient divine will.

When Mo Hua reopened his eyes, the scene before him had become hazy.

It was as if time was rewinding.

He seemed to see ancient barbarian ancestors worshipping around the altar.

He could see countless tribal wars fought around this altar.

He could see, in the unseen, many beings from the “divine path”—some like gods, some like demons, some like humans—

The figures of these beings crisscrossed the altar, displaying various divine powers, ceaselessly battling each other, appearing and disappearing throughout the long river of history.

They seemed to be vying for something, or perhaps proving something.

More like they were “pleasing” a certain entity.

Until finally, a clear cry that pierced the heavens and earth sounded, and raging flames descended from the sky, the Suzaku carrying fire, landing upon the altar.

As its wings unfolded, crimson divine flames, like a storm, enveloped the entire altar.

And the various divine existences within this altar, unable to withstand the Suzaku flames, either perished or fled.

Just then, an ancient divine aura of immense power emerged from the divine throne, engaging in battle with the Suzaku…

The powerful divine pressure caused time and space to begin to distort.

Afterward, everything vanished again.

The illusion of time rewinding, like a bubble, disappeared without a trace.

Mo Hua looked intently again; there was nothing around him, only the Suzaku statue with the golden ring, and that empty, ancient divine throne.

The Suzaku is inanimate.

On the divine throne, the ancient divine will that had suppressed his arrival had completely dissipated.

But Mo Hua’s expression showed no joy; instead, it held a hint of melancholy and reminiscence.

Because the ancient divine will he had just encountered, though its aura was unfamiliar, its essence was very familiar to Mo Hua.

“Great Barren Evil God…”

He had “eaten” many “divine remains” of the Great Barren Evil God, and even the spiritual power of its true embryo.

It could be said that half of his divine foundation was “eaten” from the Great Barren Evil God.

And the will of the Great Barren Evil God had also been personally obliterated by Mo Hua using tribulation lightning.

Therefore, when the divine will descended just now, Mo Hua couldn’t help but feel a slight sense of nostalgia, as if seeing an “old friend.”

But unfortunately, Mo Hua could sense that this ancient divine will was “dead.”

The Great Barren Evil God might have once descended upon this altar.

It’s even possible that this altar, and even the divine throne, originally belonged to the Great Barren Evil God.

But the Great Barren Evil God is ultimately “dead”—whether killed, sealed, or permanently fallen into slumber due to a mishap in their divine cultivation.

In short, its divine path had gone silent.

What remained on the altar were merely some of its past wills, still extremely majestic and terrifying, enough to make a high shaman like Yan Zhu fear to death.

But to Mo Hua, it was merely a somewhat nostalgic trace of an “old acquaintance.”

As for the truth of the Great Barren Evil God’s death…

Mo Hua’s gaze deepened.

The scene of the Suzaku descending with fire during the time rewind reappeared in his mind.

At this moment, Mo Hua finally had a bit of “evidence” to verify his speculation.

This ancient altar in Suzaku Mountain might not be the so-called “Suzaku Altar” at all.

It is not the “altar” traditionally believed in the ancient Barren Land to be used for worshipping the Suzaku.

Instead, it should be the altar where the Suzaku “sealed” something.

It is an altar where the Suzaku, the sacred beast of the Great Barren, uses its crimson Suzaku flames to seal the ancient “Great Barren Evil God.”

The Suzaku, here, seals the evil god.

The ancient people of the Great Barren worshipped the Suzaku, continuously providing it with the power of faith, thus enabling the Suzaku to eternally suppress the terrifying evil deity who once sat upon this ancient divine throne.

—Or, more precisely, a part of the terrifying evil deity’s primordial power.

Whose handiwork this is, is also self-evident.

Mo Hua’s eyes were deep as he softly murmured:

“Great Shaman…”

The Great Shaman created the sacred beast Suzaku and used it to seal the throne of the Great Barren Evil God located in this mountain realm.

There are four sacred beasts in total in the Great Barren.

Mo Hua even speculates…

Did the Great Shaman intentionally create the Four Sacred Beasts of the Great Barren precisely to… confront and suppress the ancient Great Barren Evil God?

Did the Great Barren Evil God fall “silent” because of the Great Shaman?

What exactly did the Great Shaman do to the Great Barren Evil God?

And in what era did this happen?

Is the hidden history of the Great Barren the “divine war history” between the Great Shaman and the Great Barren Evil God? Did the many formations and divine path inheritances of the Great Barren also stem from this?

Mo Hua’s brow furrowed tightly.

The more he explored, the more he learned, the more shocking it became.

What weighed even heavier on Mo Hua’s mind was…

He always felt that what he was doing now seemed to be what the Great Shaman had once done.

He was following the Great Shaman’s “old path,” step by step.

But the problem is, while walking the Great Shaman’s path, he also seemed to be walking the path of the “Divine Lord of the Great Barren”…

The dragon slayer eventually becomes a dragon.

The problem is, from the beginning, he seemed to be both the “dragon slayer” and the “dragon.”

He is both the one who fights the Great Barren Evil God.

At the same time, he is also the one who, by “eating” the flesh of the Great Barren Evil God, is gradually approaching the “divine path.”

Mo Hua sighed softly, no longer pondering.

Whether a dragon slayer or a dragon, it no longer mattered.

A certain “destiny’s” path had already been laid before him.

If he wanted to survive in the game of the Great Barren, to save its people, and to prove his own Dao, he could only accept his destiny.

Even if the Great Shaman, whose whereabouts are unknown, is watching him.

Even if the divine path, which preserves heavenly principles and extinguishes human desires, will gradually erase his humanity…

He can only walk this path…

“The divine path of the Great Barren is in decline, the world is in chaos, and even demons and ghosts can call themselves gods…”

“Then today, I too shall become a god of the Great Barren, the lord of all gods of the Great Barren…”

Mo Hua’s pupils deepened as he slowly sat upon the ancient divine throne.

At that instant, heaven and earth trembled, the ancient Suzaku Mountain Range welcomed its new master, and the vast land began to quake.

The Suzaku blood sealing the divine throne was burned dry.

The will of the divine path began to revive, golden light dyeing the sky.

The golden tree on the altar began to grow.

In the unseen world of the divine path, the laws of the Great Dao circulated, and the golden tree of divine authority once again began to spread towards the sky, like the authority of a god, covering heaven and earth.

And all authority converged upon the flesh and blood body seated on the divine throne.

Mo Hua’s slender body sat upon the towering divine throne, several times larger than himself.

Boundless majesty emanated from within him, merging with the divine throne.

The golden divinity in his eyes became increasingly pronounced, overpowering the black of his demonic fate and the white of his human Dao destiny, taking dominance.

At that moment, he seemed to be the Lord of the Great Barren, seated upon the altar, controlling the divine path.

Ancient authority was held in his hand.

The golden tree of divine power, reaching across the sky, swayed gently with his every thought, spreading forth brilliant light between heaven and earth.

However, without the power of divine descent rituals to distort the boundary between reality and illusion, most barbarian cultivators with mortal eyes were simply unable to witness the magnificent spectacle of such a divine tree blooming.

Only Yan Zhu and a few others could faintly perceive the golden light at the edge of the sky, and a trace of patterns imbued with divine authority.

Even this small hint of divine manifestation caused these high shamans to tremble with awe.

On the altar, after everything subsided, Mo Hua slowly rose, his golden eyes and divine nature receding within him.

However, the aloof indifference in his expression became increasingly pronounced.

Heaven and Earth are impartial, treating all beings as straw dogs.

Gods are impartial, treating all living beings as straw dogs.

His divinity had almost reached its peak.

Only occasionally did his expression reveal a hint of humanity.

The great tiger slowly walked in front of Mo Hua, looking at him with both a sense of unfamiliarity and concern.

Mo Hua reached out and gently stroked the great tiger’s head, murmuring softly:

“Only you are with me…”

The only one who had a karmic “bond” with him since childhood, who truly knew that he was “Mo Hua” and not some Great Barren Shaman, was the great tiger, at this very moment.

Only the great tiger could make Mo Hua remember that he was Mo Hua…

The great tiger affectionately rubbed against Mo Hua, its gaze clear and gentle.

Seven days later, the Grand Sacrifice Ceremony began.

This was the first ceremony to worship the “Divine Lord” held in the Great Barren since the Divine Lord’s silence, after an unknown number of years.

It was also the first ceremony in the history of the Great Barren to worship the true “Divine Lord.”

Mo Hua, in his flesh and blood body, sat upon the high divine throne.

The snow-white and bright sacred tiger, interspersed with black stripes, lay coiled at Mo Hua’s feet.

And further below the divine throne, the Three-Patterned Black Tiger with its distinctive forehead markings, and a host of fierce tiger demons, all prostrated themselves on the ground with devout expressions.

The impact and awe of this scene needed no words to explain.

Yan Zhu and the others trembled with fear.

The grand chieftains of all major tribes, the grand elders, and the barbarian generals all knelt down.

Outside the plaza, millions of barbarian warriors and shaman cultivators also knelt down, like a strong wind pressing down on waves.

Praises for the Divine Lord and the Great Shaman, from the mouths of millions, echoed through heaven and earth.

Mo Hua gently raised his hand, and under his divine power, all clamor ceased. Heaven and earth fell silent, and millions of barbarian cultivators quieted.

Mo Hua’s voice was gentle and firm, yet imbued with divine indifference:

“Today’s grand ceremony, a sacrifice to the Divine Lord, may the Divine Lord protect my Great Barren. May the great power of the Divine Lord protect my people of the Great Barren, shield them from famine, and deliver them from misfortune.”

“Starting today, the final divine war will be launched.”

“This war shall unify the Great Barren. Let the name of the Divine Lord be spread throughout the land of the Great Barren.”

“Thereafter, those who believe in the Divine Lord shall live; those who do not shall sink into the bitter sea of endless abyss, never to escape misfortune in this life.”

“And I, in the name of the Divine Lord, shall exercise divine authority, serving as the supreme Shaman under the Divine Lord…”

“From today onward, you may call me…”

Mo Hua’s gaze held the authority of one who governs all beings:

“Divine Shaman!”

At that moment, all bowed in worship, the people of the Great Barren all knelt reverently, their voices shaking the heavens:

“Lord Divine Lord, may you live as long as heaven and earth!”

“Lord Divine Shaman, may you shine as brightly as the sun and moon!”

(End of chapter)