“Which heavenly talents are there?” Mo Hua couldn’t help but ask.

“Well… there are many…” Master Huangfu said, “From all the states, and some from Daozhou have also come. But who exactly they are is not part of my duties as a master, and I rarely inquire about it…”

The Daoting holds great authority, and the Seven Pavilions are massive in size, with very detailed divisions of labor.

Those who serve in the Seven Pavilions each have their own responsibilities, and just doing their part keeps them very busy. They may not have the leisure to concern themselves with other matters.

Moreover, these disciples from influential families, who are also heavenly talents, are arrogant and have complex backgrounds. They are training on the front lines. Master Huangfu, on the other hand, is responsible for coordinating affairs in the rear. The two sides have almost no overlap, so naturally, they don’t know much about each other.

Mo Hua nodded. He also understood why, when he previously told Hua Zhenren that he had gotten lost during his training and accidentally wandered into the Barren Lands, Hua Zhenren and other powerful figures hadn’t been too suspicious. This was because it was indeed common for many disciples from influential families and sects to train in the Great Barrens. It wasn’t uncommon for a sect disciple to get separated during training due to chaotic warfare and mistakenly enter the Barren Lands. In fact, even at this very moment, there might be sect disciples on the front lines fighting the royal court of the Great Barrens. This was war; all sorts of strange things were possible.

Mo Hua thought for a moment and then asked, “Now that the influential families have joined the war, has there been any progress?”

Master Huangfu nodded, “The Daoting unifies everything and has the strongest power. But the major influential families and sects are also giants in their own right, with deep foundations. Once they receive the Daoting’s orders and gather, their strength is extraordinary.”

“Under the Daoting’s fury, with the influential families’ encirclement, the royal court of the Great Barrens couldn’t withstand such momentum and was repeatedly defeated. Our large army is pressing forward, and it looks like we are about to attack the royal court’s territory.”

Mo Hua was startled. “So, we are currently outside the royal court of the Great Barrens?”

“Not entirely,” Master Huangfu shook his head. “It’s still several thousand li from the royal court of the Great Barrens, separated by several mountain ranges. But according to the momentum of the advance, it’s estimated that in less than half a year, we will be able to penetrate the royal court and personally eliminate the rebels…”

Mo Hua’s heart trembled, and he looked thoughtful.

Seeing Mo Hua’s expression, Master Huangfu suddenly realized that he might have unconsciously said a little too much. There was no helping it; chatting with this friendly and approachable Junior Brother Mo, he inadvertently found himself unable to stop talking.

“I can’t say anymore…” Master Huangfu sighed. “I have many duties and still need to get busy. This position as master ensures a laborious life.”

Mo Hua also knew he shouldn’t interrupt Master Huangfu’s official duties any longer, so he said, “Senior Brother Huangfu, you’ve worked hard.” Mo Hua thought for a moment and added, “When you have some free time, I’ll treat you to some good tea.”

Master Huangfu nodded cheerfully, “Alright.” If Mo Hua invited him for tea, he would be very happy to go, provided he had the time.

“Oh, by the way,” Master Huangfu reminded him again, “I’ve sent someone to find the wild grasses you wanted. Please, don’t go out by yourself; it’s not that safe outside.” Many people were watching this junior brother of unknown origin, harboring unknown intentions. Master Huangfu didn’t elaborate, merely hinting at it.

Mo Hua nodded. “Okay, I understand. Thank you, Senior Brother Huangfu.”

Afterward, the two parted ways, and Mo Hua returned to his guest room to rest. True to his position as a master of the Tianquan Pavilion, Master Huangfu was methodical in his work. In less than half a day, he had someone deliver more than a dozen storage bags filled with wild grasses to Mo Hua. He didn’t know which specific wild grasses Mo Hua was referring to, so he collected a large quantity of each type.

Mo Hua selected the appropriate wild grasses and began weaving the Great Barrens Chu Gou life technique day and night without stopping. The Chu Gou could help him avert disaster. Each additional Chu Gou would reduce his risk of forming a Golden Core by a fraction. Therefore, the more Chu Gou life techniques, the better.

However, during the process of weaving the Chu Gou, Mo Hua often felt his karma constantly fluctuating. Since the last time he was ambushed, Mo Hua’s perception of karma seemed to have become increasingly sensitive. It seemed many people were stirring in the shadows. Many pairs of eyes were fixated on him, wanting to uncover his secrets. Yet, these “eyes” only dared to linger outside his fate, as if wary of something, not daring to swarm forward or truly cross the “line of danger” to completely devour his secrets. These people also seemed to realize that while coveting Mo Hua’s karma from afar was acceptable, truly touching it would lead to certain death.

But after all, there are no impenetrable walls in the world. It’s easy to be a thief for a thousand li, but impossible to defend against a thief for a thousand li.

One day, as Mo Hua was leaning over the table, skillfully weaving Chu Gou with his hands, his heart suddenly stirred, and his gaze narrowed slightly. He felt that his karma seemed to have been touched by something… Or perhaps it was as if something had pulled it, causing a slight leakage…

In the secret chamber, the usually busy Masters Huangfu and Shangguan were gathered again, along with Zhuge Zhenren. Before them lay a jade slip. Inside the jade slip, some messages were written:

“Mo Hua…”
“Tai Xu Sect’s Junior Brother… It is rumored that he came from a rogue cultivator background in Lizhou, but in reality, he is likely the ‘illegitimate child’ of a certain old ancestor.”
“He entered the Tai Xu Sect under the guise of a rogue cultivator to mislead others… After joining, he quickly received personal instruction in array formations from Tai Xu Old Ancestor Xun, and was greatly favored—”
A line of small, scribbled text was added as a note, seemingly written by someone with a lot of resentment: “Are you kidding? If he’s a rogue cultivator, I’ll eat my 본명검 (natal sword)…”

The main text then continued:
“This child is the bully of the Tai Xu Sect, acting like a crown prince under the name of ‘Junior Brother,’ doing whatever he pleases within the sect, completely lawless.”
“Inner and outer sect elders are unwilling to offend him. Disciples of the same generation must all obey him, submitting to his bossy commands without daring to disobey…”
“And this child’s greatest achievement is being the champion of the Gan Xue Dao Discussion on Array Formations.”
“It is rumored that he single-handedly claimed this array formation championship twice, with some unspeakable trickery involved.”
“In the competition of the Sword Debate Conference, many fellow sect heavenly talents, such as Linghu Xiao, the Sword Dao genius of Chongxu, and Ouyang Xuan, a direct descendant of Tai’e, served as his vanguard. Under the spotlight, this child also performed exceptionally well…”
“However, it seems a great upheaval occurred during that time. Even after ten years, when the elders of Lun Dao Mountain discuss this child, their expressions still change dramatically…”
“Additionally, this child is arrogant and tyrannical, employs despicable methods, has an extremely poor reputation, and has made numerous enemies among the Four Great Sects and Eight Major Gates.”
“Privately, people often say: ‘It’s acceptable to lose the sword debate, but Mo Hua must die! Killing Mo Hua once would leave no regrets!’ This shows how heinous and outrageous his crimes are…”

Zhuge Zhenren and the two masters looked at the jade slip, then exchanged glances, their expressions complex.

“Is this… talking about Mo Hua?”
“It should be, his name is written on it…”
“Indeed, one cannot judge a book by its cover…” Zhuge Zhenren murmured, “Was this kid really so bad?”

Master Shangguan sighed helplessly, “It’s just rumors, how can we take them seriously?”

“Where did these ‘rumors’ come from?” Zhuge Zhenren asked. “Weren’t the files sealed? We couldn’t find anything.”

Master Huangfu said, “I was worried someone might harm our Junior Brother Mo, so I had some subordinates keep an eye on the activities of the influential families. That’s when we discovered that they seemed to have indeed dug up some information about Junior Brother Mo.”

Master Shangguan also sighed, “Besides, what’s sealed in the files are written records, but you can’t seal people’s mouths.”
“When people open their mouths, they’ll say anything.”
“Junior Brother Mo’s files were probably deliberately sealed by someone higher up. But no matter how important he is, it hasn’t reached the point of needing to kill people to silence them.”
“As long as you find relevant, acquainted people, you can still inquire about a lot of information.”
“However, with so many opinions, in a place like the Great Barrens, collecting information about Gan Xue requires a lot of time and effort…”

Zhuge Zhenren pondered, “So, these rumors actually have some basis?”

Master Shangguan said, “Other things are hard to say, but the matter of him being the champion of array formations and performing excellently in the sword debate is probably not false.” The evaluation of a person’s good or evil might have subjective bias, but specific titles are relatively “recognized.” Moreover, they had all studied at the Tai Xu Sect and knew the extraordinary significance of the title “champion” in the Gan Xue Dao Discussion Conference; it couldn’t be misreported.

“Leaving aside the sword debate for a moment—we can clearly see Junior Brother Mo’s cultivation foundation, which is indeed… a bit meager…” Master Huangfu’s expression was subtle, then he said, “But his array formations… two consecutive array formation championships, is that real or fake?”

Master Shangguan frowned and shook his head. “Logically, it shouldn’t be… Has Gan Xue’s array formation standard declined so severely after a hundred years?” Could one person win the championship twice in a row? In their time, it was unimaginable. This was the champion of array formations, not some common vegetable. In their time, cultivating diligently for nine years and participating in one Dao discussion, anyone who won the array formation championship even once would be glorifying their ancestors, a truly extraordinary feat. Their name would be celebrated throughout the entire family, and their name in the family tree would even be gilded. And he could win it twice? After a hundred years, has the talent in the Gan Xue state boundary withered so severely? The key was that they had all met Mo Hua. Although he was very kind and likable, he didn’t seem like the kind of “earth-shattering, ghost-crying” peerless array formation genius.

Zhuge Zhenren said, “He must have used back channels…”

Master Huangfu helplessly said, “Don’t put it so harshly… He is our junior brother after all…”
“Without using back channels, he wouldn’t have been able to participate in the Dao Discussion twice. In our time, each person could only participate once.”
“He probably… pulled some strings.”

Master Huangfu and Master Shangguan didn’t speak, but in their hearts, they probably could only find this one explanation. But then another problem arose…

“Is our Tai Xu Sect’s influence that great? To be able to use such a significant back channel?”
“Indeed… this is the Gan Xue Dao Discussion Conference.”
“Aren’t we the number one sect in Gan Xue now? Our power must be considerable. Creating a ‘formation genius’ from a rogue cultivator background doesn’t seem difficult, does it?”
“By the timeline, this happened before the merger of the three sects. At that time, the Tai Xu Sect was not yet the number one sect.”
“So, it means… Old Master Xun has too much influence?”
“That doesn’t seem quite right either… Is Old Master Xun that kind of person?”

The three frowned, and no matter how much they thought about it, they found it illogical. As for the description of “excelling in sword debate,” it seemed even more fake; they didn’t know how to interpret it from any angle.

“Alright, let’s stop here with this matter…” After a moment, Master Huangfu put away the jade slip and sighed, “Don’t tell Junior Brother Mo, lest he be unhappy.”
“As for cutting corners, everyone understands it in their hearts.”
“Who told him he’s our ‘little patriarch’…”
“Besides, he’s just a disciple; often, he can’t make decisions himself.”
“Junior Brother Mo is a very good person, kind to others, and that’s enough. The rest are just empty names and rumors; there’s no need to take them seriously…”

Zhuge Zhenren and Master Shangguan both nodded slightly, deep in thought.

“There’s something serious though,” Master Huangfu suddenly looked at Zhuge Zhenren. “Have you investigated the golden needle in Junior Brother Mo’s head?”

“Oh yes,” Master Shangguan also looked at Zhuge Zhenren, “You haven’t gotten too used to being idle and lazy again, not taking Junior Brother Mo’s matter seriously?”

Zhuge Zhenren’s face showed displeasure. They had been friends for over a hundred years. Yet now, these two were constantly referring to “Junior Brother Mo,” showing such distrust. Indeed, the Seven Pavilions was not a good place; it made people worldly and obsequious. Zhuge Zhenren snorted inwardly, muttering a few complaints, but he didn’t pay too much attention to it. Moreover, this matter was indeed very tricky.

Zhuge Zhenren frowned. “I haven’t found anything yet. This needle used by the Hua family seems a bit peculiar.”

Master Huangfu and Master Shangguan exchanged glances. “You can’t even find it?”

Zhuge Zhenren was about to say something, then thought for a moment and said, “Never mind, I’ll tell you when I find it.”

The expressions of the two masters also became serious, and they nodded, “Alright.”
“If this golden needle truly cannot be removed, and something unfortunate happens to Junior Brother Mo, we really won’t be able to explain it to the old ancestor.”

Zhuge Zhenren’s gaze was solemn. “Indeed…”

After returning to his temporary cave dwelling, the dashing Zhuge Zhenren reclined in an elegant green wood chair and began to browse through various artifact manuals and catalogs treasured by the Zhuge family, searching for an item similar to the golden needle in Mo Hua’s mind. He was of a leisurely disposition, but when he truly set about doing something, he was extremely serious. Amidst the fragrant mist, he buried himself in reading for three days, and Zhuge Zhenren finally found a name in an ancient scroll…

Looking at the name, Zhuge Zhenren’s brows furrowed tightly: “How could it be… this thing…”

“Qian Xin Yin Qing Duo Yu Zhen?” (Needle of Entangling Hearts, Inducing Desires and Emotions)

In the secret chamber, not only Mo Hua was stunned, but even Master Huangfu and Master Shangguan wore expressions of incredulous shock.

Zhuge Zhenren nodded.

Mo Hua didn’t understand. “How could it be this thing?” It sounded inappropriate just by hearing it. And…

“What does the Hua family want by placing this needle in me?” Mo Hua asked blankly. “Are they crazy?”

Zhuge Zhenren pondered for a moment and said, “You’ve heard the four words, ‘insatiable desire,’ haven’t you?”

Mo Hua nodded.

Zhuge Zhenren slowly said, “The so-called ‘desire’ (yu) melts into emotion (qing), originates from the heart (xin), controls one’s thoughts, and guides actions… It encompasses both good and evil, hard to distinguish between righteousness and wickedness, a chaotic mess, that is human desire.”
“All human actions originate from obscure desires.”
“And the desires that are consciously perceived are merely the tip of the iceberg; most desires are hidden in the darkness, like a chasm of human nature, as deep as an abyss. This is the ‘desire chasm’ (yu he).”
“The chasm, the abyss-like thing you perceived when you were sealed by the golden needle, was the manifestation of the ‘desire chasm’.”
“Once the human heart is obstructed by the ‘desire chasm,’ it will sink into desire, and rationality and conscience will gradually be extinguished.”
“The ancients said, ‘Preserve heavenly principles, extinguish human desires.'”
“Conversely, if human desires are preserved, then heavenly principles are extinguished. The more rampant human desires are in the world, the more heavenly principles are extinguished.”

Mo Hua frowned. “But… what does this have to do with me?”

Zhuge Zhenren slowly said, “Heavenly principles, conscience, rationality—these, in other words, can also be called… ‘divinity’ (shen xing).”
“The more one pursues heavenly principles, seeks laws, and strives for the Great Dao, the stronger the divinity in one’s heart.”
“Therefore, by stimulating human desires, one can, conversely, isolate ‘divinity’.”
“The Hua family used this ‘Qian Xin Yin Qing Duo Yu Zhen’ on you precisely to place a deep and insatiable ‘desire chasm’ in your heart, to sever your rationality, disturb your mind, confuse your emotions. In other words, they are… forcibly severing your divinity.”
“These things sound simple, but it is an extremely ancient and profound ‘theory of the heart’ in cultivation.”
“This golden needle is not an ordinary treasure. The Hua family would not hesitate to use it on you, most likely because they are certain…”

Zhuge Zhenren looked deeply at Mo Hua, “…that you are… the Shen Zhu (Divine Priest) of the Great Barrens!”