These words enraged the group of young prodigies.

If it were just ordinary rumors or slanders, they could ignore them, but the problem was, they had indeed eaten roast meat with Mo Hua. And they had indeed not dared to utter a single harsh or strong word in front of Mo Hua. Lies don’t hurt, but the truth is a swift blade.

“You’re full of it!”

“My eating roast meat with Mo Hua was to give him face.”

“If Mo Hua hadn’t begged and pleaded with me, I wouldn’t have bothered going.”

“Exactly, exactly!”

“Speaking of which…” someone retorted, “were you there too? Did you also eat Mo Hua’s roast meat? Otherwise, how would you know we were eating roast meat with Mo Hua?”

That person sneered, “How could I possibly eat roast meat with Mo Hua?”

“Then how do you know we were eating roast meat with Mo Hua?”

That person’s message was laced with sarcasm:

“I was nearby, and I saw with my own eyes you so-called ‘heavenly talents’ surrounding Mo Hua, drinking and feasting, fawning over him! Your actions are truly despicable!”

Someone cursed back, “You were watching from a distance? So you didn’t even dare to sit in front of Mo Hua?”

“It’s not that I didn’t dare,” that person retorted, “it’s that he didn’t invite me, understand? If he didn’t invite me, why would I go eat roast meat?”

“If he invited you, would you have gone?”

“How could that be? Mo Hua is nothing; even if he invited me, I wouldn’t go.”

“No matter what, your eating roast meat with Mo Hua is a heinous crime!”

“What should we do then? When Mo Hua calls my name, it’s like Yama calling for a soul—it’s quite frightening, so I can’t possibly refuse to go.”

“Besides, fundamentally, we can’t really kill Mo Hua right now, can we?”

“Exactly, didn’t they say we’ve already graduated? We’re no longer Qianxue disciples, and this isn’t the Lun Jian Grand Assembly where we have array protection.”

“During the Lun Jian, ‘killing’ Mo Hua was fine. But now we’re in the Great Wilderness; there’s no protection. If we really ‘kill’ Mo Hua, we won’t be able to explain it to the Taixu Sect…”

“Then what do we do?”

“We can’t kill him, and we can’t not kill him…”

“If we don’t kill Mo Hua, can we still be called the Tu Mo Alliance? Won’t our alliance fall apart in an instant?”

“That’s why I said, it’s not ‘not killing,’ but ‘slow killing,’ ‘gradual killing,’ ‘killing with a plan’… You all didn’t listen to me before.”

“What do you mean…”

That person said, “Mo Hua still needs to be killed. No opportunity now doesn’t mean no opportunity later. We just need to stay by Mo Hua’s side, pretend to be friendly, gain his trust, gather intelligence about him, uncover his weaknesses… Once we fully understand Mo Hua, and the time is right, we’ll strike him down with a single blow, utterly eliminating this menace and avenging our past humiliation…”

“That sounds quite insidious…”

“Ruthless enough.”

“But… how do we ‘pretend to be friendly’? We can’t possibly go out of our way to curry favor with Mo Hua, can we?”

“That’s too sycophantic; I can’t do it.”

“I will never bow to Mo Hua!”

“My pride won’t allow it!”

That person explained, “You don’t have to; just maintain superficial politeness. Don’t reject him, don’t oppose him; just treat Mo Hua as an ordinary disciple.”

“Let Mo Hua relax his guard and expose his weaknesses. When the time is ripe, strike him down with one blow…”

“This is what I mean by ‘slow killing,’ ‘gradual killing,’ ‘killing with a plan!'”

“That sounds… quite reasonable…”

“But there’s still a question: what does ‘time is ripe’ mean?”

There was a moment of silence in the Tu Mo Order, and everyone fell into thought.

A moment later, someone slowly said, “For example, if one day… Mo Hua committed a grave crime of rebellion against the Daoting?”

“Don’t be silly, Mo Hua is so shrewd; how could he possibly rebel against the Daoting?”

“He’s less likely to rebel than you are.”

“I’m just saying, if not rebellion against the Daoting, there might be other crimes…”

“Precisely. When that time comes, we’ll hit him when he’s down, ruin Mo Hua’s reputation. Once the Daoting convicts him, we can legitimately continue our ‘great mission of slaying Mo Hua.’ At that point, Mo Hua, abandoned by all, will deserve to die.”

“It truly is ‘killing with a plan.'”

“Good! Then it’s settled.”

“First, we’ll rein in our hostility and pretend nothing happened, making Mo Hua complacent. This is ‘slow’… Then we’ll observe Mo Hua’s cultivation and weaknesses to further refine the ‘Code of Conduct for Mo Hua’…”

“Code of Conduct for Mo Hua? What’s that?”

“How could you forget so quickly? The ‘Code of Conduct for Mo Hua’! Full name: ‘Behavioral Guidelines to be Adopted in Response to Mo Hua’s Various Insidious Methods in the Lun Jian Grand Assembly.'”

“It’s only been ten years since the Lun Jian; you don’t remember any of this?”

“The shame of those years, all our hard work and effort back then…”

“No, that name is too long. How about changing it to ‘Tu Mo Codex’… A supreme codex compiled by the fellow daoists of my Tu Mo Alliance, pooling everyone’s wisdom and painstakingly created to combat the wicked Mo Hua.”

“That’s… a bit exaggerated, isn’t it?”

“Mo Hua is nothing, why go to such lengths… and a codex?”

“Though Mo Hua is strong, he’s not worthy of such praise…”

“Whatever, any name will do…”

At this time, the group did not take this codex too seriously.

However, the future development charter and strategic plan of the ‘Tu Mo Alliance’ were roughly decided.

This “strategic meeting” of the Tu Mo Alliance, sparked by “roast meat,” concluded with shouts of “The shame of Lun Jian must not be forgotten; this child Mo Hua must die!”

The significance of this meeting was not yet apparent.

For Mo Hua, it merely meant he sneezed a few more times while reading in the evening.

The next day, the encirclement of Bai Zisheng began again.

Mo Hua, this “uncontrollable” factor, was still restrained by Zhuge Zhenren, watching from a distance.

And Bai Zisheng was indeed exceptionally strong.

The Qianxue prodigies couldn’t fight desperately, nor was it easy to do so.

Thus, after a fierce struggle, they still couldn’t capture Bai Zisheng.

Even the Hua family sent out several Jin Dan cultivators, but they were helpless against Bai Zisheng.

After all, with the limitations of the Heavenly Dao, the second rank was the peak. When it came to Foundation Establishment combat power, these Jin Dan cultivators were no match for Bai Zisheng at all.

Mo Hua couldn’t help but think of Huo Fotuo.

Huo Fotuo cultivated the Yan Huo Forbidden Technique; although he was only at the peak of Foundation Establishment, he was a notorious devil in the vicinity of Qianxuezhoujie. Even Gu Shushu, a Jin Dan realm cultivator, had some difficulty dealing with him.

Mo Hua himself had put in a lot of effort to kill Huo Fotuo back then.

Now, his Little Senior Brother was very similar to “Huo Fotuo.”

And Little Senior Brother was much stronger than Huo Fotuo; if one were to make an analogy, he was the ultimate form of Huo Fotuo.

Just when Mo Hua thought his Little Senior Brother would escape again this time, Hua Zhenren unexpectedly made a move.

He didn’t act directly but had already set up the Hua family’s elaborate trap of heaven and earth, along with various illusion arrays, all around them.

Illusion arrays.

This was a type of light and shadow illusion array that Mo Hua had rarely encountered before.

Illusion arrays, like illusion techniques, had an extremely low lower limit and an extremely high upper limit.

If used well, both illusion arrays and illusion techniques could deceive the mind, forge superficial cognition, and possess immense power.

But if used poorly, they were merely crude “blinding tricks.”

Moreover, such inheritances were extremely rare.

Mo Hua had hardly seen any cultivators use them before.

But now, the Hua family was using them.

Furthermore, Mo Hua could vaguely discern that these illusion arrays not only contained formations but also incorporated some sophisticated karmic techniques.

He couldn’t quite see through this karmic technique with his current level of understanding.

With the combination of illusion arrays and karmic confinement techniques, although Bai Zisheng charged left and right like a white dragon, unstoppable by anyone, he was like a person trapped in a “ghost wall,” unable to break through.

The group of prodigies couldn’t stop him.

But karma and the illusion arrays trapped him himself.

In Mo Hua’s eyes, which could discern the secrets of heaven, this was the karmic fate of a “dragon trapped in shallow waters.”

Moreover, this karmic trap was also paired with formations, a usage he had never attempted before.

“Karma and formations…”

Mo Hua’s mind stirred, feeling a sense of sudden enlightenment.

On the other side, after Hua Zhenren trapped Bai Zisheng with illusion arrays and karma, he did not rush to act. Instead, he gathered the young prodigies and sighed:

“This child Bai Zisheng is indeed a rare genius…”

Everyone’s expressions showed some dissatisfaction, but none openly denied it.

Having fought Bai Zisheng until now, they knew better than anyone whether Bai Zisheng’s reputation was undeserved.

Hua Zhenren also lamented, “It’s truly a pity if such a hero cannot be used by the Daoting… I truly do not wish to push things too far, lest it cause him to feel alienated from the Daoting.”

The Xuanyuan family’s prodigy frowned, “Zhenren, do you mean…”

Hua Zhenren sighed, “Let’s find someone to persuade him first.”

Everyone was startled, “Persuade?”

Hua Zhenren nodded, “Putting ourselves in his shoes, Bai Zisheng is a young genius, proud and arrogant. If we seize him, he will inevitably feel alienated, and resisting arrest is unavoidable.”

“But this doesn’t mean he has actually done anything to betray the Daoting.”

“Perhaps it’s just youthful admiration, a moment of passion.”

“Since that’s the case, why not find someone to persuade him?”

“If Bai Zisheng can be convinced to stop fighting and explain the circumstances, as long as it’s not a major transgression, I believe the Daoting will not pursue it too heavily.”

“If we apprehend him with such a forceful attitude, first, his strength makes him difficult to capture, and second, it will harm his loyalty to the Daoting.”

“Even if the matter is eventually clarified and he is innocent, he will inevitably harbor resentment.”

“Should we lose the loyalty of such a genius, it would be a huge loss for the Daoting…”

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded.

Some Daoist soldier commanders and aristocratic elders also bowed their hands, saying, “Zhenren’s benevolent heart and appreciation for talent are admirable.”

“Since that’s the case, we need to choose a suitable person to persuade Bai Zisheng?” someone asked.

Hua Zhenren nodded, “Precisely.”

Mo Hua’s eyes lit up, and just as he was about to say, “I’ll go!” he was held back by Zhuge Zhenren, who placed a hand on his shoulder.

Mo Hua was unhappy.

He was the best at persuading people. With his eloquence, he could even bring the dead back to life.

Not to mention persuading his Little Senior Brother.

However, Zhuge Zhenren gave him a “threatening” look, meaning, “Kid, don’t stir up trouble.”

If you go to persuade him and accidentally anger Bai Zisheng, and he stabs you to death with a spear, how would I explain that to Elder Xun?

Moreover, you have no connection with Bai Zisheng; what would you persuade him about?

Mo Hua sighed inwardly.

At this moment, a person walked out from the crowd. He was also from an aristocratic family, refined and gentle, and he said, “Zhenren, I’ll go?”

“You?” Hua Zhenren glanced at him.

This young master from an aristocratic family said, “My surname is Huangfu, my given name is Wen. I am from the Huangfu family of Daozhou. I once trained with Bai Zisheng in the Great Wilderness and fought alongside him, so we have some acquaintance. If I go to persuade him, he should listen to a few words.”

Hua Zhenren looked at the crowd and asked, “Are there any others willing to go and persuade Bai Zisheng?”

None of the young prodigies answered.

Most of them harbored grudges against Bai Zisheng, either out of jealousy, rivalry, or competitiveness, and were unwilling to lose face by persuading him to surrender.

Moreover, this was not an easy task.

Seeing no one respond, Hua Zhenren nodded and looked at Huangfu Wen, sighing gently:

“Thank you for your trouble. Go and persuade Bai Zisheng. With his extraordinary talent, it would be a great pity if he were to be tainted by a demoness from the Great Wilderness royal court and suffer a difficult future on his path of cultivation. If you can successfully persuade Bai Zisheng, I will credit you with the greatest merit.”

Huangfu Wen bowed, “Thank you, Hua Zhenren.”

Hua Zhenren nodded, “Go.”

Huangfu Wen then, escorted by several Jin Dan elders of aristocratic families, walked towards the illusion array to negotiate and persuade Bai Zisheng.

Mo Hua suddenly felt a little strange.

But what exactly was strange, he couldn’t quite articulate at the moment.

With the persuasion still ongoing, it was not yet suitable to encircle and kill.

Afterward, everyone dispersed, and Mo Hua also returned to his tent to rest, but he still couldn’t let go of the feeling, finding it very strange no matter how he thought about it.

Thus, it continued until late at night.

Mo Hua was sitting in his tent, looking at a formation manual, when his heart suddenly leaped, feeling that something had happened.

A faint rustling sound also reached his ears.

Mo Hua immediately exited his tent and saw Zhuge Zhenren also emerge from his tent. His face was solemn as he spoke to several Jin Dan elders, seemingly about to leave.

Mo Hua quickly asked, “Zhenren, what happened?”

Zhuge Zhenren pursed his lips and remained silent. After a moment, he simply said, “Nothing, you rest well.”

Having said that, he was about to walk out of the military camp.

Mo Hua immediately said, “I’m coming too!”

Zhuge Zhenren glanced at Mo Hua, but did not reply.

Mo Hua then said, “Are you comfortable leaving me here alone?”

To others, this sounded like he wanted Zhuge Zhenren to protect his safety.

But in Zhuge Zhenren’s ears, this was an uncontrollable package of explosives asking him, “Aren’t you worried I might explode at any moment?”

Zhuge Zhenren genuinely had to worry.

He sighed and said, “Come with me.”

Mo Hua nodded, and immediately, with a flash of his figure, quickly followed Zhuge Zhenren.

Zhuge Zhenren, helpless, could only take Mo Hua, and the group walked out of the military camp.

Outside the military camp, they met Hua Zhenren.

Hua Zhenren glanced at Mo Hua, somewhat surprised, but said nothing, only nodding to Zhuge Zhenren, “Let’s go.”

Hua Zhenren’s expression was also grim.

Mo Hua was puzzled and could only follow the group forward.

The night was deep, and the sky was dark and lightless.

Hua Zhenren led the way, guiding everyone directly into the desolate mountains and ridges, entering the layers of illusion arrays.

After an unknown period, they passed through the illusion arrays and arrived at a cave entrance.

Within the cave, there was a strong, familiar karmic aura.

This was Little Senior Brother’s karma.

Little Senior Brother had once hidden in this cave for a long time.

But at the same time, an even stronger smell of blood emanated from the cave.

Mo Hua’s pupils constricted slightly.

Hua Zhenren frowned and led the group into the cave.

Mo Hua also followed, stepping into the gloomy cave. He looked down and saw a person lying on the ground. This person had a refined physique, and there was a bloody hole in his chest, made by a long spear, with blood spilling all over the ground.

His breath had already ceased.

It was Huangfu Wen.

Huangfu Wen… was dead.

Mo Hua looked at the bloody hole in his chest, his heart trembling. “Was it… killed by Little Senior Brother?”

Huangfu Wen came to persuade Bai Zisheng. Bai Zisheng killed Huangfu Wen.

Everyone present had grave expressions, as if a huge stone was weighing on their hearts.

Hua Zhenren looked at the bloody corpse before him, suppressing his anger, his expression extremely cold:

“Bai Zisheng… colluded with a demoness from the Great Wilderness, resisted arrest, and cruelly murdered a fellow comrade… Lawless and reckless, according to the Daoting’s laws, he deserves death!”

“Send down the order, spare no effort…”

“Kill Bai Zisheng!”

Mo Hua’s pupils contracted violently, and he looked up at Hua Zhenren, his eyes full of disbelief.