To face danger and accept a mission, to disregard one’s own life and death, to eradicate evil and corruption, with a heart devoted to the divine.

What else could this be if not a Wuzhu?

At this moment, a thought arose in the minds of the Danque Bu’s Jindan Elders, Jindan Barbarian Generals, and even the hundred elite barbarian soldiers present:

This Mister Wu, perhaps he truly is a Wuzhu, otherwise, he could never possess such fearless courage and such devout self-sacrifice!

Danzhu, however, was not so concerned with the title of “Wuzhu” but genuinely worried about Mo Hua’s safety.

The stone hall before them was a “凶地” (xionghdi, ominous place) where even Jindan cultivators had gone in and never returned, meeting a tragic end with their flesh and blood impossible to preserve.

Danzhu whispered, “Mister Wu, you don’t need to put yourself in danger.”

Mo Hua, however, shook his head. “My mind is made up.”

Danzhu still wanted to persuade him further.

Mo Hua, with a compassionate expression, said, “The tribesmen of the Danque Bu are trapped within the stone hall. The Divine Lord is merciful and has commanded me to rescue them. This is the Divine Lord’s will, and it is my mission.”

Danzhu was deeply moved.

The other Danque Bu elders and barbarian soldiers were also profoundly impressed by Mo Hua’s compassion and heroic spirit.

“But your cultivation… it’s only Zhuji,” Danzhu was still worried.

Upon hearing this, Mo Hua slowly said:

“I have already told you, I am the Divine Lord’s Wuzhu. All my great power comes from the Divine Lord’s grace.”

“As long as one’s faith is devout, one will possess heaven-reaching divine power. As for whether one’s cultivation is Zhuji or Jiedan, there isn’t much difference.”

Mo Hua’s demeanor was solemn.

Danzhu nodded, somewhat dazed.

In this situation, even the experienced and cunning barbarian general Chifeng momentarily felt that what Mo Hua said seemed to be true.

Danzhu solemnly said, “Mister, please be careful.”

Mo Hua nodded, then suddenly pointed at Tieshugu (Iron Bone Art) beside him. “This person, he will come with me.”

Tieshugu was startled, his face turning pale, and he quickly said, “I’m crippled! All my limbs are broken! I’m not going! I can’t go!”

Mo Hua calmly said, “If you don’t go, I’ll kill you now.”

Tieshugu knew Mo Hua’s “maliciousness” well and knew that he could absolutely have him killed.

And the pain from his broken bones was still throbbing; these were all Mo Hua’s “masterpieces.” Tieshugu felt both hatred and fear, and could only say:

“I can go in with you, but as you can see, all my limbs are broken—”

Mo Hua then said, “Just connect them simply, then use a crutch.”

Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

Tieshugu was speechless.

Two Danque Bu barbarian soldiers came forward and simply reconnected Tieshugu’s bones, applied some herbs, and tied a bandage.

Tieshugu leaned on a wooden crutch and could barely walk.

After all, he was Jindan, and his cultivation foundation was still there.

After preparations were complete, Mo Hua slowly walked, step by step, towards the “ominous” stone hall.

The people of the Danque Bu had no idea how excited Mo Hua was feeling at this moment.

They only felt that Mo Hua was sacrificing himself for others, his back imbued with a tragic grandeur. Though not tall, he appeared exceptionally magnificent and towering at this moment.

Even the people of the Bifang Bu (Bi Fang Tribe) were momentarily shocked by Mo Hua’s courage and dared not block his path.

Bi Jie’s gaze towards Mo Hua also revealed a hint of incredulous solemnity.

Just like that, under everyone’s “salute,” Mo Hua, with the lofty posture of a “Wuzhu,” stepped into the Shugu Bu’s (Shugu Tribe’s) stone hall, into this forbidden place where Jindan had perished, and into the unfathomable darkness.

Limiting and unwilling, Tieshugu followed behind Mo Hua, entering the Shugu Stone Hall with him.

Then, darkness swallowed their figures.

Everything vanished, and there was no longer any sound.

Inside the stone hall gate, carved with images of skeletal beasts, a dense evil desire surged, devouring everything.

The barbarians could only watch from outside.

Upon first entering the stone hall, the surroundings were somewhat dim.

Mo Hua’s eyes lit up, piercing through the darkness and taking in every sight within the hall.

The stone hall was large, but to Mo Hua’s surprise, it was not deep, nor did it have long passages or intricate structures.

Almost at first glance, one could see the main hall beyond the corridor.

And beneath the main hall, a colossal bull-horned barbarian god statue.

This was the barbarian god worshipped by the Shugu Bu.

At this moment, this barbarian god statue, with a furious bull’s head and wide-open eyes, exuded an aura of enraged grimness that sent shivers down one’s spine.

The air was also filled with a spiritual scent, akin to sulfur.

Mo Hua looked up, directly at the barbarian god statue, his expression thoughtful.

Tieshugu, on the other hand, had lowered his head and dared not look at anything since entering the stone hall. He even prostrated himself on the ground, trembling.

Mo Hua lightly sighed, “Don’t kneel.”

Only then did Tieshugu dare to look up, timidly glancing around, until he saw Mo Hua, a Zhuji, standing tall and proud, while he, a Jindan cultivator, was kneeling on the ground in fear. This made him feel a bit awkward.

That hint of Jindan cultivator’s pride in his heart made him shakily stand up.

Mo Hua said, “Let’s go.”

After speaking, Mo Hua walked along the stone steps before him, stepping onto the winding stone path in front of the barbarian god statue.

Tieshugu hesitated for a moment, then bit the bullet and followed.

After walking along the stone path for a while, Mo Hua could see the incomplete, skeletal remains of Bifang Bu cultivators along the way.

From the traces, Mo Hua could roughly infer that these Bifang Bu cultivators, upon entering the stone hall, had fallen into some kind of confused delusion and madness, starting to “kill” each other, even gnawing on flesh and blood to their deaths.

As for what kind of delusion, Mo Hua walked a few more steps before discovering a Bifang Bu barbarian soldier with an intact head and an unmarred face.

“Hunger—”

Mo Hua’s expression subtly changed. “Is it related to the famine in the wilderness?”

He walked further and found that over twenty Bifang Bu barbarian soldiers, without exception, had all died in this manner on the path, dying in extreme “hunger,” their mouths full of flesh and blood, a bloody mess.

And their own flesh had also been gnawed to pieces.

This indeed resembled the actions of an evil god.

Suddenly, a retching sound came from behind him.

Mo Hua turned around and found Tieshugu covering his mouth, looking nauseated and about to vomit.

Mo Hua was somewhat speechless. “Didn’t you eat too? Why are you pretending to be so innocent?”

In fact, this “custom” was originally started by his Shugu Bu.

Tieshugu didn’t know how to respond.

When he ate, he was in a state of madness, only feeling the flesh and blood were delicious and experiencing nothing. But when he saw others eat, for some reason, he felt very disgusted and wanted to vomit.

Mo Hua then asked Tieshugu, “Have you been to this place before?”

Tieshugu stammered, “I—no—”

But Mo Hua didn’t need his answer; he could pretty much determine what he wanted to know just by looking into his eyes and sensing the fluctuations of his spiritual consciousness.

Mo Hua nodded. “You have been here.”

Tieshugu’s heart felt a slight chill.

Mo Hua didn’t trouble him further, saying, “Lead the way.”

Tieshugu hesitated for a moment, then cast a slightly sinister glance at Mo Hua.

Even though there were no other Danque Bu guards nearby, and Mo Hua was only Zhuji while he was a mighty Jindan, Tieshugu inexplicably couldn’t muster any rebellious thoughts.

It was as if Mo Hua were Jindan, and he himself were Zhuji.

“Yes.” Tieshugu obediently led the way.

However, the stone hall’s structure was simple, and the path was not complicated, so there was not much need for guidance.

In just the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Tieshugu led Mo Hua to the main hall, beneath the skeletal barbarian god statue.

Beneath the barbarian god statue was a wide main hall.

In the hall were an altar and guardian beast statues.

At this moment, a person was kneeling before the altar. This person was tall and thin, with half his body covered in skeletal scales, and had already fallen dead to the ground.

Judging by his attire and physique, it was none other than Elder Zhuo, another Jindan elder of the Bifang Bu.

Jindan cultivators have stronger spiritual consciousness and a slightly stronger ability to resist “evil thoughts.”

These two Jindan elders held out until they reached the barbarian god statue before being completely deluded by evil thoughts, their hearts devoured by “hunger,” leading them to kill and gnaw on each other.

Elder Zhuo died before the barbarian god statue.

Elder Cang, however, held on to his last breath, escaped, and reported to his young lord, which could be considered loyal.

Mo Hua was looking around when he suddenly heard a coarse gasp and turned his head to find Tieshugu’s expression vacant, his eyes slightly red, saliva drooling from the corners of his mouth. It seemed a sense of hunger was spreading within him, and his rationality was on the verge of collapsing.

“Tieshugu!” Mo Hua’s expression was calm as he lightly called out.

This clear shout, though not loud, resonated in Tieshugu’s ears like a clap of thunder.

Tieshugu’s mind was startled, and he immediately became clearer, the inexplicable hunger in his heart receding significantly.

The group from the Bifang Bu were, for the most part, “normal people,” untainted by evil thoughts, and thus like blank slates, with very low resistance.

They essentially fell under an evil spell as soon as they entered the hall. Once spellbound, they started eating each other.

Tieshugu, on the other hand, was already “dirty.”

Conversely, his resistance to evil thoughts would be higher.

But even if it were higher, it was limited. It wouldn’t be long before he, too, would succumb to madness, like Elder Cang and Elder Zhuo, thinking of “eating” people.

Therefore, there was no time to lose.

Mo Hua instructed Tieshugu, “You light a bonfire, perform the ritual, offer sacrifices to the barbarian god, and summon it to descend.”

Tieshugu said, “I don’t know how.”

Mo Hua looked at him with eyes as sharp as a precious sword.

Tieshugu lowered his head and began to take out a flint, set up dry firewood, and light a bonfire, his movements very skilled.

After the bonfire was lit, the flames burned fiercely.

Tieshugu turned back to look at Mo Hua. “Do I need to ‘eat’ something?”

After saying this, he subconsciously swallowed. According to the sacrificial procedure, at this point, he should be “eating” people.

Mo Hua, however, shook his head. “No need, the people of the Bifang Bu have already eaten for you.”

The lingering scent of blood in the air remained.

The frenzied thoughts of the two Jindan and over twenty Zhuji from the Bifang Bu, who had gnawed at each other, had not yet dissipated.

Tieshugu was somewhat disappointed.

Mo Hua said, “You can dance now.”

“Dance?” Tieshugu was stunned, looking at his freshly reconnected, broken limbs. “Now? Me? Dance?”

Mo Hua nodded. “You dance, the same dance you performed that night in the small forest during the sacrifice.”

Tieshugu was very troubled. “I… my arms and legs have been broken, I can’t dance well—”

Mo Hua’s face hardened. “Figure it out yourself.”

Tieshugu felt that this malicious pretty boy was truly a pain in the ass.

Making a person with broken arms and legs dance, what was he thinking?

“You don’t have to dance, but don’t blame me for not telling you, the evil aura in this great hall is very deep. If you stay too long, you will die sooner or later. In fact, for every minute you dance tonight, the probability of dying increases…” Mo Hua kindly reminded him.

Tieshugu harbored a secret resentment but could only say, “I’ll dance!”

He began to lean on his crutch, dancing a “pleasing” dance to the barbarian god according to the customs of the Shugu Bu.

But his crutch was unwieldy, his arm was broken, and his leg was still crippled, and the atmosphere was wrong, so naturally, he danced awkwardly.

Mo Hua watched silently from the side.

Bonfire, “eating” people, dancing.

All three elements were present, so logically, the sacrifice should have been successful.

The only problem was that Tieshugu’s dance was terrible.

But there was nothing to be done; he was the only one who knew this dance.

Tieshugu kept falling and stumbling, taking twice as long as usual to adapt to his excruciatingly painful limbs and enter a state of slight madness.

As Tieshugu danced, in a specific rhythm, the atmosphere in the great hall began to change.

Blood seeped from the statue of the skeletal barbarian god.

Blood flowed from the barbarian god’s face.

The aura of evil became even more intense.

Mo Hua’s gaze, however, grew brighter.

Finally, with a deep and terrifying voice, a blood mist suddenly descended, enveloping the altar from top to bottom.

This kind of evil god’s blood mist should be invisible to ordinary cultivators.

But Tieshugu saw it.

Tieshugu, who was still dancing, instantly turned pale, crying out in terror:

“A true god—is this a true god?! The barbarian god’s true form has actually descended?!”

“Blood mist descends, behold the true god, shed mortal flesh, forever serve the divine path—”

“I’m going to die—I’m going to die—”

Tieshugu’s face contorted, and he turned to flee, but his legs were inconvenient, so he could only escape with his crutch.

He hadn’t run far when a black fiend fireball flew over, directly knocking away his crutch.

Tieshugu fell to the ground, his broken limbs aching excruciatingly. He looked up at Mo Hua, who had used the fireball spell on him, filled with rage and despair:

“You—”

But before he could finish, the blood mist of evil enveloped him.

Tieshugu’s consciousness gradually dimmed, and then he fell to the ground, slowly losing consciousness.

Mo Hua, meanwhile, stood still, his expression calm, quietly waiting for the evil god’s blood mist to engulf him.

Meanwhile, outside the stone hall.

Everyone felt an inexplicable palpitation, as if something terrifying was awakening within the stone hall.

But they could see nothing, hear nothing, and even their spiritual senses detected no anomaly. Only their hearts felt heavy, as if being spied upon by a powerful and tyrannical presence.

The Bifang Bu’s expressions were panicked, and Young Lord Bi Jie’s face was also solemn.

On the Danque Bu side, Chifeng and a few other Jindan exchanged glances, their brows tightly furrowed.

Danzhu’s heart was gripped by worry and fear for Mo Hua’s safety.

But they had no idea what was inside the stone hall, and they dared not defy Mo Hua’s instructions as a “Wuzhu” by entering rashly.

Inside the stone hall.

After a dizzying spin.

Tieshugu opened his eyes, looked down, and found his broken arms and legs perfectly intact.

But he felt no joy at all.

He probably knew that he no longer “lived” in this world.

He had arrived in the “Barbarian God’s” domain.

Tieshugu’s heart was filled with despair.

He knew it, he should never, ever, have gotten involved with that malicious pretty boy.

Now, with a moment’s carelessness, he had fallen into a forbidden realm belonging exclusively to a god.

In the legends of the Shugu clan, meeting the true form of a god was a great blessing.

But it also meant that his soul could never return to the mundane world, and his physical dao had perished.

And in the written records of the Shugu Bu, apart from the first ancestors, no one had ever returned alive to the mundane world after seeing the Barbarian God.

And this sixteen-character advice, “Blood mist descends, behold the true god, shed mortal flesh, forever serve the divine path,” was also left by the Shugu ancestors to warn future generations to revere gods, but not to see them.

Now, everything had come true—

Tieshugu’s heart was utterly cold.

Just then, a deep and terrifying voice sounded: “Why do you not kneel?”

The Barbarian God!

Tieshugu plopped down, immediately kneeling, his head hitting the ground.

But a moment later, he realized that the words didn’t seem to be directed at him.

Tieshugu secretly turned his head, glanced over, and was suddenly stunned.

Standing beside him was a small child?

His features were like a painting, his face like white jade, looking like a charming, exquisitely carved child.

But… where did this child come from?

Tieshugu felt it was eerie, he carefully scrutinized the child’s face. After a moment, he was suddenly shocked:

It was that malicious pretty boy?!

“How did he turn into a child?!”

“What’s going on with his soul?”

Tieshugu was shocked, and then he heard the child speak to the barbarian god with a slightly disappointed and extremely disrespectful tone:

“Why have you only fallen halfway?”

Tieshugu felt utterly terrified, a chill seeping into his heart and deep into his bones.

What was this brat saying?!

How could he address the Barbarian God as “you”?

How could he say that the Barbarian God had “fallen”?

And only fallen halfway?

From the sound of it, he wasn’t happy that it was only halfway? Was he hoping the Barbarian God would “completely fall”?

Tieshugu was utterly horrified.

How could a “person” be so ignorant and so arrogant?

Indeed, the Barbarian God was enraged.

Tieshugu could feel it.

As a “believer” of the Shugu Barbarian God, he could feel the Barbarian God’s fury, which was like a storm of blood and rain, a dark and腥风 (xīngfēng, bloody wind) night, a terrifying catastrophe.

“This kid, he’s really f***ing suicidal—”

“When he dies, please, please, don’t drag me into it—”

“I don’t know him—”

Tieshugu slammed his head against the steps of the stone hall, trembling in fear, not daring to move.

Indeed, with a roar, the barbarian god’s wrath, like black clouds covering the sky and a sweeping blood rain, filled the entire great hall.

A thudding sound of something heavy falling echoed.

Tieshugu’s bones rattled.

But this storm-like fury, which had condensed for a long time, seemed to have been frozen in time, not descending for a long while.

Tieshugu’s face twitched, and after a long time, he dared to secretly open his eyes and glance forward.

Then, he saw a giant, struggling skeletal head.

This head had been forcibly severed and fell to the ground, its eye sockets filled with terror.

And on top of this head stood a small child.

This child, like a golden boy of jade, stood on the skeletal head, holding a golden sword in his hand.

From the golden sword tip, the black blood of the god dripped, drop by drop…

This scene was utterly terrifying.

Tieshugu’s heart simply stopped.

It was like a world-shattering tsunami, sweeping through his heart, crushing all the knowledge he had accumulated over three hundred years.