One should not judge a book by its cover.

This saying perfectly describes the treacherous young man before them.

Tie Shugu had always considered himself to have an unyielding will, having endured much suffering in his life. Yet, no torment had ever been as “unforgettable” as what he experienced today.

He didn’t even know what methods this malicious young man had used on him.

How could a Foundation Establishment cultivator make him, a Golden Core cultivator, feel such heart-wrenching pain that he fainted?

Tie Shugu’s heart was filled with confusion, and his lips began to tremble.

Mo Hua asked him, “Are you being honest now?”

Tie Shugu lowered his head.

Suffering can temper a person.

Having experienced the sensation of “carving formations into bones,” Tie Shugu no longer believed he had a strong will.

Mo Hua glanced at the much more subdued Tie Shugu and nodded, “You answer whatever I ask.”

Tie Shugu said, “Yes…”

“Why did the Shugu Tribe raid the Danque Tribe?”

Mo Hua’s gaze narrowed slightly. “Was it a spur-of-the-moment desire, fueled by the ambition to kill and seize treasures? Or did your evil… Barbarian God give you ‘revelations’ to raid for people and offer sacrifices?”

Mo Hua wanted to extract some clues about the “Evil God” from Tie Shugu to plan his next move.

Unexpectedly, Tie Shugu shook his head. “Not exactly…”

Mo Hua frowned. “What do you mean?”

Tie Shugu said, “There was a famine, we were hungry, had nothing to eat, so we went to raid other tribes…”

This answer was surprisingly simple.

Mo Hua was stunned for a moment. “Famine?”

“Yes,” Tie Shugu nodded, his face pale. “A large-scale famine is spreading from the northwest. Vegetation is withered, demonic beasts are starving to death, and many tribes cannot survive, leading to large-scale riots. My Shugu Tribe has also been greatly affected…”

Mo Hua frowned.

He did not have a complete map of the Three Thousand Barbarian Wilderness and only knew some general directions.

He rode a large tiger, avoiding conflict, traveling from north to south, and stumbled into the Barbarian Wilderness.

The location where he entered the Barbarian Wilderness was roughly in the east, which is where the two small mountain realms of Wutu and Wulu are.

To the west is the Zhuque Mountain Realm, where the Danque and Shugu tribes are located—a large, peak third-grade mountain realm.

The Zhuque Mountain Realm is vast.

The Danque Tribe is in the east, and the Shugu Tribe is in the west.

If what Tie Shugu said was true, a large-scale famine was spreading from west to east, and sooner or later, the Danque Tribe would also be affected.

He just didn’t know how extensive this famine was or how far it would spread.

Would it only affect nearby mountain realms, or was it gradually spreading to… the entire Great Wilderness?

Mo Hua’s expression was somewhat solemn.

After a moment of thought, he looked at Tie Shugu again and asked, “Does your tribe have a custom of eating ‘people’?”

Tie Shugu shook his head.

“Then what people do you eat?” Mo Hua demanded.

Tie Shugu whispered, “We were hungry, had nothing to eat, so we ate ‘people’…”

Mo Hua couldn’t find a reason to blame them at that moment…

When on the verge of starvation, who would care so much?

Mo Hua frowned and asked again, “Then why do you use this ritual to please the Barbarian God? And who taught you this?”

“You should address the Barbarian God as ‘Lord’…”

Tie Shugu tried his best to correct him, but seeing Mo Hua’s cold gaze, he didn’t dare to insist.

In this world, not everyone can have faith.

This unknown young man dared to impersonate the title of “Wuzhu Lord,” showing he was a fanatic with no piety or “faith” at all.

Such a person must be ignorant in matters of faith.

Correcting his thoughts was like playing a lute to an ox.

If he angered him, he would suffer his cruel hand.

Tie Shugu muttered a few words, then said:

“No one taught us…”

“Initially, the Barbarian God never issued a divine oracle.”

“We did this simply because the famine became increasingly severe, the tribe had many people, nothing to eat, and our stomachs were twisting like knives. We were truly starving, so we thought of killing cultivators from other tribes to fill our hunger.”

“At first, it was uncomfortable, a bit sickening.”

“But as we kept eating, we got used to it. We even felt that this is how the world should be.”

“So, this custom spread.”

“All the small tribes around us were killed by us.”

“One day, our entire tribe, as usual, gathered around a bonfire, eating live rations. As we ate, we suddenly fell into a dream-like state, a mix of reality and illusion, our spiritual consciousness abnormally excited, and we seemed to hear the Barbarian God’s babbling.”

“The Barbarian God seemed to particularly approve of our actions.”

“We could feel the Barbarian God’s joy, feel the Barbarian God’s praise.”

“Thus, we knew that the Barbarian God liked us to do this.”

“Gathering around the bonfire, eating live sacrifices, and dancing the fire dance could please the Barbarian God and earn the Barbarian God’s blessings.”

“We even felt that because of our ‘pleasing,’ the Barbarian God’s divine power was gradually strengthening.”

“The babbling we heard became clearer and clearer…”

Tie Shugu narrated all of this.

Mo Hua was somewhat speechless.

If he had been unsure about the divine causality before, now that Tie Shugu explained it, he understood completely.

This was a classic case of believers, in turn, corrupting the deity.

Although the Barbarian God of the Shugu Tribe might not have been inherently evil, it likely didn’t have overly cruel preferences.

However, due to the famine, the Shugu Tribe had to eat people to survive.

Believers generated sins and evil thoughts, and their faith power became “tainted.”

This tainted faith was supplied to the Barbarian God, causing the Barbarian God to be affected and gradually degenerate.

The degenerated Barbarian God, in turn, twisted the wills of the believers.

The believers’ wills further degenerated, creating more killings, which were supplied to the Barbarian God.

The Barbarian God then “nurtured” the believers…

Thus, both the deity and the believers “fed” each other, heading down a path of no return.

Over time, they became “Evil Gods” and their minions.

This is one of the ways Evil Gods are spawned.

Mo Hua fell silent.

He had originally speculated that the “Evil God” of the Shugu Tribe might be related to the Lord of the Great Wilderness.

Now it seemed this guess might be flawed.

Evil Gods are entities that can “hatch” themselves based on human hearts and evil karma of believers.

The Barbarian God of the Shugu Tribe might be precisely such an Evil God, transformed and degenerated by the evil karma of its believers.

Mo Hua then asked Tie Shugu, “Were the other members of the Danque Tribe all taken by you to be offered to the Barbarian God?”

Tie Shugu nodded, “They are ‘sacrifices,’ but also food, living ‘rations.'”

“There’s a famine now, and everyone has nothing to eat. So some good ‘rations’ need to be hoarded. During major sacrifices, when we worship the Barbarian God, we can feast.”

“The Barbarian God will share this batch of… live rations with us.”

They ate live sacrifices, while the Barbarian God enjoyed the believers’ sins and the pain, fear, and despair of those eaten before their death.

Mo Hua sighed silently in his heart.

This might be the true Great Wilderness.

Extreme famine creates a world where people eat people, and it also breeds various evil and fallen deities.

In the history of the Great Wilderness, natural and man-made disasters such as famine, drought, and warfare were very frequent occurrences.

It is likely that only a land like the Great Wilderness, constantly bearing the sins of humanity and incubating generation after generation, could give birth to a “Great Evil God” of high rank and divine status like the Lord of the Great Wilderness.

And since the Great Wilderness could give birth to the “Great Evil God” that is the Lord of the Great Wilderness, it is not surprising that other Evil Gods could be incubated there.

Mo Hua looked at Tie Shugu and asked again:

“Where did you hoard the Danque Tribe members… and other ‘rations’?”

Tie Shugu hesitated, “In… in the secret stronghold of the Shugu Tribe.”

The so-called secret stronghold refers to tribal strongholds secretly built by some Barbarian Wilderness factions, which are very concealed and never revealed to outsiders.

“Take me there,” Mo Hua said.

Tie Shugu hesitated.

Since it was a “secret stronghold,” he naturally couldn’t take outsiders there; otherwise, he would violate tribal rules and would certainly be punished by the Barbarian God.

But the young man before him possessed utterly cruel methods.

After much deliberation, Tie Shugu gritted his teeth and said:

“I… I dare not, otherwise, the Barbarian God will punish me.”

Mo Hua’s eyes flickered, and he said, “The Barbarian ‘Lord’ will punish you, but may not kill you, as you are its devout believer.”

“But I am different. If I punish you, you are dead.”

“Think about it, if you die, you cannot serve the Barbarian Lord loyally. Isn’t that ‘disrespectful’ to the Barbarian Lord?”

“Therefore, if you listen to me and take me to the Shugu secret stronghold, you preserve your life and remain useful, able to continue serving your Barbarian Lord. This, in fact, is a display of your piety towards the Barbarian Lord.”

“So, listening to me is being loyal to your Barbarian Lord…”

Tie Shugu’s mind was almost twisted into a knot.

His forehead ached, and he vaguely felt as if he was about to grow a brain.

Such absurd words, he didn’t know how this malicious young man could utter them.

But what was even more absurd was that, after thinking carefully, he actually found that what the malicious young man said made a lot of sense.

If he died, he couldn’t offer sacrifices to the Barbarian Lord, wouldn’t that be great disrespect?

Only by staying alive could he have the possibility of being loyal to the Barbarian Lord.

Moreover, compared to death, he was actually more afraid of the agonizing torment from this “ghost-like” boy.

Tie Shugu understood, and with a solemn expression, he said, “Alright, I’ll take you.”

Mo Hua nodded.

Since Tie Shugu was cooperative, there was no need for him to “interrogate” him further.

As for the “bone carving” technique, he would study it later.

The immediate priority was to resolve the matter of the Danque Tribe.

Mo Hua then left the cave and gathered with Dan Zhu, the barbarian general Chi Feng, Elder Bachuan, and Elder Bashan (who had been whipped, bled, and was slightly more clear-headed) to discuss the next plan.

Mo Hua first shared the information he had extracted from Tie Shugu, especially regarding the “famine.”

Everyone’s expressions were a bit grim.

Chi Feng frowned, “What this Tie Shugu said might not be reliable… Within our Danque Tribe’s territory, demon hunting and harvesting are normal; there are no signs of ‘famine.'”

Dan Zhu shook his head, “If the famine is spreading from the northwest, then it just hasn’t reached our Danque Tribe yet. It’s probably only a matter of time before we are affected.”

Mo Hua nodded slightly, his gaze somewhat serious:

“If the Danque Tribe truly faces famine, the consequences could be very severe.”

“But if the Danque Tribe is not affected by the famine, the consequences might actually… be even more severe.”

Dan Zhu and Chi Feng were startled.

Elder Bashan was also somewhat puzzled as to why not being affected by famine would lead to more severe consequences.

But after a moment’s thought, everyone immediately understood, and a deep chill ran through their hearts.

Everyone else is suffering, but you are not.

Then, in the eyes of others, you are a piece of “fat meat.”

The Danque Tribe would become “the target of all arrows,” facing a situation surrounded by hungry wolves. All hungry tribes would come to annihilate the Danque Tribe to get a piece of the action.

Dan Zhu said, “I will send a message back to the main tribe to inform my father of all this, so we can make plans early.”

Mo Hua nodded.

“What about the other tribesmen captured by the Shugu Tribe?” Dan Zhu looked at Mo Hua.

Mo Hua said, “Tie Shugu also said they are hidden in a Shugu secret stronghold, ‘hoarded’ by them as provisions.”

“I’ll have him lead us there to rescue the rest of the Danque tribesmen.”

Dan Zhu nodded, “That’s for the best.”

Chi Feng, however, slowly said, “Is what this Tie Shugu said credible?”

Mo Hua thought for a moment, “It should be credible.”

After all, carving formations into bones is quite painful.

Tie Shugu probably didn’t want to experience it again.

Chi Feng then said, “Then after he leads the way, we’ll kill him.”

Mo Hua shook his head, “We can’t kill him yet.”

Chi Feng’s gaze narrowed slightly, “This man’s hands are stained with the blood of our Danque tribesmen; he must die.”

Mo Hua didn’t explain much, only saying, “I still have use for this man.”

Chi Feng’s expression was somewhat serious, unsure what Mo Hua was thinking, and could only remind him in a deep voice:

“This man might be rebellious.”

Mo Hua nodded, “Mm, I know.”

Seeing that Mo Hua seemed to have made up his mind, Chi Feng’s eyes became cold, and he said no more.

Afterward, Mo Hua had Tie Shugu lead the way.

Tie Shugu’s limbs were crippled, and his thighs had been broken twice. Mo Hua had someone make a wooden raft to drag him.

With his limbs broken, surrounded by enemies from the Danque Tribe and the ghost-like “villain” Mo Hua, Tie Shugu naturally dared not be arrogant anymore. He could only obediently lead the way.

They trekked over mountains and through swamps, traversing numerous hidden mountain paths. About half a day later, they arrived at the location of the Shugu secret stronghold.

This secret stronghold was hidden in a narrow pass where treacherous mountains converged, a natural stronghold.

Without guidance, it would be extremely difficult to find.

But the problem was, this “secret stronghold” didn’t seem so “secret.”

At least when Mo Hua and Dan Zhu arrived, the Shugu secret stronghold was already engulfed in battle, with shouts of killing echoing everywhere.

It seemed that several other tribes had joined forces to attack this secret stronghold of the Shugu.

Clearly, this secret stronghold had also been discovered by other tribes.

And generally, without an “insider” leading the way, a secret tribe could not be besieged by so many people.

Mo Hua looked at Tie Shugu and couldn’t help but say, “It seems there are quite a few ‘unyielding’ people like you in your Shugu Tribe.”

Tie Shugu’s face was pale, filled with shock, and he murmured, “How… how could this be?”

Bachuan looked at Dan Zhu and asked, “Young Master, what should we do now?”

Dan Zhu pondered, “We’ll go in first, prioritize rescuing our tribesmen, and try not to conflict with tribes other than Shugu, to avoid getting caught in a free-for-all.”

After Dan Zhu finished speaking, he glanced at Mo Hua.

Mo Hua nodded, “Alright.”

So Dan Zhu led the way, with Chi Feng at his side.

Bashan and Bachuan guarded the left and right.

Mo Hua, the “frail” Wuzhu, could only follow behind Dan Zhu, protected by the group.

Their party consisted of four Golden Core cultivators and a hundred barbarian soldiers, making them very strong.

Therefore, as they walked into the Shugu secret stronghold, the cultivators from other tribes around them did not easily provoke them.

Mo Hua roughly scanned the area and found that those besieging the Shugu secret stronghold were mostly small and medium-sized tribes, and the totems tattooed on their barbarian hides were mostly unfamiliar.

Only one large tribe had a totem similar to the Danque Tribe, also a bird, but this bird was dark green and looked quite fierce.

Bifang.

These were people from the Bifang Tribe.

The Bifang Tribe was also a large tribe, and in Mo Hua’s impression, it seemed to have quite a history with the Danque Tribe.

However, the relationship between the two tribes didn’t seem very good; their ancestors even had a period of deadly “blood feud.”

Now, after so many generations, although this “blood feud” had faded, the two tribes still could not be close.

The barbarian cultivators from the Bifang Tribe looked at the Danque Tribe members with wariness and unfriendly expressions.

They continued to walk inside.

Although this Shugu secret stronghold was hidden, its internal structure was not complicated. After passing through the canyon and entering the寨门 (zhàimén) (stockade gate), there were tribal camps and a large plaza inside.

Currently, on the plaza, barbarian cultivators from various tribes were locked in fierce combat with the Shugu Tribe, and the scene was extremely chaotic.

Just as Dan Zhu stepped onto the plaza, a defiant voice suddenly rang out:

“The Danzhu Tribe has also come to pick up scraps?”

Before the words finished, a tall young man dressed in black animal hides with a ferocious black bird embroidered on his chest, a cold sneer on his face, twisted the neck of a Shugu barbarian cultivator, then strode over.

His aura was extremely powerful, surrounded by black energy.

All cultivators who stood in his way were instantly strangled by him.

And his cultivation realm was clearly Golden Core Mid-stage.

Dan Zhu’s expression was not good.

This black-clad young man from the Bifang Tribe walked all the way to them before finally looking up at Dan Zhu, letting out a surprised chuckle:

“Isn’t this… the Danque Tribe’s century-old… no, thousand-year-rare genius?”

“What, have you finally grown up? Do you also know how to come out and do things? Will you no longer live like a young master under your father’s protection?”

Dan Zhu gritted his teeth and said nothing.

He was kind-hearted and didn’t engage in verbal sparring, so he wouldn’t curse.

The black-clad young man’s gaze swept past Dan Zhu, taking in everyone around him, and then he suddenly noticed Mo Hua, who stood behind Dan Zhu, looking out of place among the Danque Tribe members.

The black-clad young man smiled and said to Dan Zhu:

“I never thought, Young Master Dan Zhu, that you would actually keep a pretty boy?”

Mo Hua silently added a dark mark against this black-clad young man in his mind.

Dan Zhu said coldly, “Do not be rude to Mister.”

“Mister?” The black-clad young man sized up Mo Hua, then looked at Dan Zhu and scoffed:

“You are a Golden Core genius, yet you call a Foundation Establishment cultivator ‘Mister’? Lowering your status like this, have you perhaps cultivated yourself foolish?”