Lu Gu was tall and imposing, clad in dark, grotesque bone armor, his face smeared with crimson war paint.

He was the great general of the main Shugu tribe, renowned for his battle achievements, his power even surpassing that of the aging Shugu Great Chieftain. This campaign against Wucha Mountain Realm was entirely under his command.

Lu Gu was also a seasoned veteran of countless battles, and this expedition against Wucha, a second-grade mountain realm, had not particularly concerned him. However, as he watched Dan Zhu and the others depart, and recalled the formation he had just witnessed, Lu Gu’s expression became somewhat solemn.

“These sacred patterns are strange and unique, not from the royal court’s heritage…”

“Could what that Tie Shugu said be true?”

“Is that shaman of the Danque tribe truly a cunning human-skin demon?”

“On the lands of my Great Wilderness, could a human-skin demon actually appear in broad daylight?”

A malevolent glint flickered in Lu Gu’s eyes.

A bodyguard by his side asked, “Lord Lu Gu, should we pursue them?”

Lu Gu was silent for a moment, then said, “No need.”

“But…” the bodyguard hesitated, “three heavy-armored soldiers were taken. They wear the Abyss Bone heavy armor, passed down from our ancestors…”

Lu Gu sneered, “What if they were taken? How could something left by our ancestors so easily fall into others’ hands?”

The bodyguard dared not say more.

Lu Gu’s gaze sharpened, and he said in a deep voice, “Issue the order: continue to advance. Attack mountains when you encounter them, kill people when you see them. They had ulterior motives for this battle from the start.”

Lu Gu gave another cold laugh. “They took my three sets of heavy armor; they will pay with their territory. I want to see if Dan Zhu can really calculate this deal.”

“Yes,” the bodyguard relayed the order.

The barbarian soldiers of the main Shugu tribe began their aggressive advance.

Mo Hua’s command had been “retreat,” not to defend. Moreover, they were temporarily no match for the main Shugu tribe and could only retreat.

General Lu Gu seized this opportunity, advancing without hesitation.

With no obstacles, the Shugu tribe’s advance became even faster, conquering mountains and occupying ridges, sweeping all before them.

The Danque tribe and the Wutu Alliance could only retreat further and further. Defeat became a trend.

They retreated when defeated, were defeated when they retreated, and then continued to fall back.

Dan Zhu and the others retreated for a day and a night, finally halting their rout by the massive Wufeng Mountain Range that traversed the Wucha Mountain Realm, creating a standoff with the Shugu tribe.

By this point, the Shugu tribe had almost occupied more than half of the Wucha Mountain Realm’s territory.

Although Mo Hua, acting as a shaman, had ordered all tribes within the Wucha Mountain Realm to evacuate beforehand, leaving behind no people, food, or valuables, in the haste, many things simply could not be moved.

For the Shugu tribe, this was a great victory. The cost was merely three heavy-armored barbarian soldiers and three sets of Abyss Bone heavy armor.

East of the Wucha Mountain Realm, still within Mo Hua’s controlled territory.

At this time, in a small tribal outpost.

Within a spacious tent, a new, enclosed prison had been constructed.

Three Abyss Bone heavy-armored barbarian soldiers were being held captive, their bodies suppressed by formations, their hands and feet bound by chains.

Mo Hua, accompanied by a group of Core Formation cultivators, prepared to thoroughly study this ancient Abyss Bone heavy armor, passed down through the Shugu tribe.

Mo Hua temporarily deactivated the formation.

The control of the three formations—metal, water, and earth—disappeared, and the drowning effect was also canceled, allowing the three heavy-armored barbarian soldiers to breathe again.

And the moment Mo Hua released the formation, one of the heavy-armored barbarian soldiers, with resolute eyes, exclaimed, “For Lord Manshen! For the Shugu tribe! For our ancestors!”

After speaking, he exerted himself, bit off the base of his tongue, and blood seeped from the corner of his mouth. His life force was severed with it.

His Abyss Bone heavy armor, incredibly, glowed with a deep luster, its demonic energy surging and distorting, then instantly exploded and shattered.

Dan Zhu sensed the danger and immediately flashed to shield Mo Hua. General Chi Feng, and the two elders, Ba Shan and Ba Chuan, then positioned themselves in front of Dan Zhu.

The Abyss Bone heavy armor exploded, its plates shattering into fragments, and the barbarian soldier inside also burst into a mist of blood.

The fragments, carrying the blood mist, spread through the prison with the lingering force of the explosion, staining the ground and scarring the surrounding walls and stone pillars.

Mo Hua remained motionless. Dan Zhu and Chi Feng, who were in front of him, had shielded him from the force of the explosion.

When the explosion ceased and the smoke cleared, the Shugu barbarian soldier, both man and armor, had “self-destructed” into pulverized remains.

Everyone’s expressions changed.

Almost simultaneously, they heard another Shugu heavy-armored barbarian soldier mutter: “For Lord Manshen! For the Shu—”

Mo Hua immediately commanded, “Stop him!”

The instant Mo Hua spoke, General Chi Feng, with streaks of blood on his body, had already charged forward, clasping the heavy-armored barbarian soldier’s neck before he could finish his words.

The Shugu heavy-armored barbarian soldier, unable to complete his phrase, “For the Shugu tribe, for our ancestors,” showed a look of regret.

Then his face turned ferocious. Disregarding Chi Feng’s powerful grip, he violently lowered his teeth and bit off his tongue.

An ordinary cultivator would not die from a severed tongue. However, these heavy-armored soldiers of the Shugu tribe seemed to have learned a certain “witchcraft,” where a severed tongue meant instant death.

As his life faded, the Abyss Bone Thousand Barbarian heavy armor also burst and self-destructed.

This time, the explosive force was very strong, and Chi Feng was the closest. Even though he was a mid-Core Formation stage cultivator, the armor’s self-destruction sent him flying more than ten zhang, his clothes and armor shattered, and he was covered in wounds.

After two heavy armors exploded in succession, not only Chi Feng but also Dan Zhu and the others at a distance were momentarily stunned.

Just then, the last surviving Shugu heavy-armored soldier recovered from the aftershocks of the explosion. He wore the Abyss Bone heavy armor, which protected him from the blast, but his face was disfigured by flying fragments.

At this moment, a grim, determined smile appeared on his bloody face.

Dan Zhu, with his sharp intuition, saw this and his expression changed. “Oh no!”

But with two consecutive self-destructions, the Core Formation cultivators present were somewhat stiffened by the aftershocks. In less than a breath, they could not prevent the last heavy-armored soldier from committing suicide.

The Shugu heavy-armored soldier silently chanted, “For Lord Manshen…” Then, hardening his heart, he bit down with all his might.

But before he could bite, Mo Hua’s eyes fixed on him.

Those eyes were sharp as swords, a sword-hell of myriad horrors, with dark, sinister energy swirling like an ocean.

The heavy-armored barbarian soldier’s grim smile remained etched on his face, but his eyes revealed terror. Finally, in extreme fear, unable to bear the pressure of a certain mental force, his eyes lost focus, and he collapsed to the ground.

Dan Zhu and the others were shaken, turning to look at Mo Hua.

Mo Hua, however, closed his eyes, dispelling the malevolent energy within them. When he opened them again, his gaze was clear, and he calmly instructed, “Bind him. Use fine iron clamps to secure his mouth, don’t let him bite his tongue and commit suicide.”

“Yes.”

Ba Shan obeyed, using iron clamps to forcibly secure the mouth of the last living Abyss Bone heavy-armored soldier. He could open and close his mouth, but he could no longer bite off his tongue.

Mo Hua, meanwhile, went to examine the other two heavy-armored soldiers who had already self-destructed.

These two were utterly “pulverized.” Their flesh had exploded into mist, their bones shattered into dust. The Abyss Bone heavy armor on them was also completely pulverized, mixed indistinguishably with their flesh and bone fragments.

Mo Hua searched for a moment, picking out a few bone fragments. These bone fragments were tougher in texture, and clearly had some kind of formation drawn on them.

Moreover, judging by the texture and brushstrokes, these were very ancient formations. However, self-destruction would certainly start from the inside out, beginning with the formation itself. Once it exploded, nothing would be left.

Mo Hua fell into contemplation.

Chi Feng was affected by the explosion and covered in wounds, but being a mid-Core Formation stage cultivator, his injuries, though severe-looking, were not structurally damaging. After a brief moment of thought, he said to Mo Hua: “It seems these are unique, inherited ancient heavy armors. One destroyed means one less.”

“Those who wear these heavy armors are fierce, unyielding barbarian warriors, carefully selected.”

“They are loyal to the Barbarian God, loyal to the tribe, loyal to their ancestors. Their flesh and blood are intertwined with the heavy armor, and the base of their tongue is bound to their life. They have learned the witchcraft of severing their tongue to die.”

“Once captured or in a desperate situation, they will bite off the base of their tongue, severing their life force, triggering the heavy armor to self-destruct, and perish with the enemy, also preventing the heavy armor from falling into enemy hands…”

Mo Hua nodded, then looked at Tie Shugu, who was nearby.

Tie Shugu, seeing Mo Hua looking at him, felt his scalp tingle and nodded, “Lord Chi Feng is… correct…”

Mo Hua did not comment. After a moment of thought, he said to Chi Feng, “Lord Chi Feng, you and the young master should go attend to your duties first.”

Lu Gu was leading the main Shugu tribe, advancing like a fierce tiger, pressing closer step by step. With a formidable enemy outside, they all had more important matters to attend to.

Dan Zhu said, “Sir, you yourself…”

“No matter,” Mo Hua turned to glance at Tie Shugu, saying, “Elder Tie Shugu can stay.”

Tie Shugu’s heart sank when Mo Hua named him.

Dan Zhu thought for a moment, then nodded. “Sir, please be careful.”

“Mmm.”

Dan Zhu then ceased being polite and led Chi Feng and the others away.

In the blood-stained prison, only Mo Hua, Tie Shugu, and the last Shugu heavy-armored barbarian soldier remained, the one who had been stunned by Mo Hua’s瞳术 (pupil technique) and thus spared from death.

Mo Hua glanced at this heavy-armored barbarian soldier, feeling a pang of emotion.

These heavy-armored barbarian soldiers, with their fervent faith, fierce temperament, and fearlessness of death, were indeed rare warriors. It would be good if they could be used for his own purposes…

Unfortunately, their positions were different, and their interests opposed. Now, they could only face each other with swords.

Mo Hua looked again at the Abyss Bone heavy armor on the heavy-armored soldier. These heavy armors were dark in bone color, extremely heavy and hard. Once donned, they seemed to meld with the flesh, making them impossible to remove.

Moreover, a slight misstep, and if the heavy-armored soldier committed suicide, the heavy armor would also self-destruct.

Therefore, other methods had to be devised to obtain the formations inscribed by the ancestors of the Shugu tribe within these heavy armors.

Mo Hua pondered for a moment, then commanded Tie Shugu, “Wake him up.”

Tie Shugu hesitated. He didn’t know Mo Hua’s intention, but he dared not disobey the “demon’s” command. So, he took out a bone needle and jabbed it into the heavy-armored soldier’s neck.

The heavy-armored barbarian soldier awoke, saw Tie Shugu, especially the bone needle in his hand, and suddenly exclaimed in shock: “You… you are from my Shugu tribe! You are a Core Formation commander?!”

Tie Shugu did not reply.

The heavy-armored soldier was furious. “You are a traitor?! You betrayed the tribe, betrayed our ancestors, betrayed Lord Manshen! You dog!”

His speech was muffled by the iron clamp, blood flowing, but it was filled with an indescribable rage. It seemed that Tie Shugu’s actions were utterly heinous.

Tie Shugu remained calm, silently enduring the insults from his tribesman. But Mo Hua could feel the pain in Tie Shugu’s heart.

Only Mo Hua, the “demon,” could understand Tie Shugu’s inner loyalty and the hardship of enduring humiliation to fulfill his duty.

Unfortunately, no one else knew.

Mo Hua said to the Shugu heavy-armored soldier, “If you take off your heavy armor, I can spare your life.”

The heavy-armored soldier looked at Mo Hua with fear. He could glare at Tie Shugu and curse him as a traitor and a dog, but he dared not be disrespectful to Mo Hua.

His face pale, he asked Mo Hua, “You are not human, you are… a demon?”

Mo Hua’s face was solemn and grave. “I am the shaman of the Divine Lord.”

The heavy-armored barbarian soldier shook his head. “You are not a shaman. You have the eyes of a demon. You are very frightening. You cannot be a shaman.”

Mo Hua stopped explaining and repeated, “Remove the Abyss Bone heavy armor, and I will be lenient and spare your life.”

The heavy-armored barbarian soldier asked, “Is that true?”

Mo Hua said, “I am a shaman. Shamans believe in the tenets of the gods and do not lie.”

The heavy-armored barbarian soldier said solemnly, “Good, you unlock my chains, and I will remove the heavy armor for you. As long as you spare my life, I can do anything.”

Mo Hua looked into his eyes and shook his head. “You are thinking of committing suicide, and also of killing me.”

The heavy-armored barbarian soldier’s face turned pale. “You really aren’t human. You are a demon who can see into people’s hearts!”

Mo Hua corrected him, “It’s a shaman, not a demon.”

But this heavy-armored barbarian soldier obviously didn’t believe him. In his heart, Mo Hua was a terrifying human-shaped demon.

Mo Hua was unable to deceive him, feeling a slight surprise.

Actually, no one knew that in his seemingly calm words just now, he had already infused a trace of the “Dao Heart Seed Demon” method.

Although Mo Hua did not use his full power, only one or two tenths of his mental energy. After all, this heavy-armored barbarian soldier was only at the peak of Foundation Establishment, and not worth Mo Hua, a late Foundation Establishment cultivator with twenty-three spiritual patterns, to go all out.

Yet, as a result, this heavy-armored barbarian soldier was not “bewitched” by him. This made Mo Hua very curious.

Was it because this barbarian soldier was too stupid and didn’t understand his hints? Or was he too wary, too suspicious of his words? Or perhaps… was he too superstitious, so his faith was too firm?

Mo Hua hesitated in his heart, wondering whether to intensify his efforts and formally “seed the Dao heart with a demon” on this barbarian soldier again.

But he thought about it and decided against it.

“Dao Heart Seed Demon” was his martial uncle’s technique. Although it often had miraculous uses, Mo Hua found it difficult to control the strength precisely. Now there was only one heavy-armored soldier left, and only one set of heavy armor. A slight mistake and everything would be destroyed.

Therefore, it was better to use some more reliable methods that he could “control” to solve the problem.

Mo Hua made up his mind and said to the heavy-armored barbarian soldier, “This heavy armor of yours, has it never been broken?”

The heavy-armored barbarian soldier nodded. “Naturally.”

Mo Hua said, “I don’t believe it.”

The heavy-armored barbarian soldier sneered, his face filled with pride: “This heavy armor was bestowed by Lord Manshen, passed down by our ancestors; nothing in the world can destroy it.”

Mo Hua showed a look of disdain. “Let’s make a bet. I bet I have a way to break your heavy armor. Let you know that your so-called Lord Manshen is a joke. Your ancestors were all good-for-nothings. The armor they passed down is nothing in front of me.”

These words were naked humiliation. It was an insult to Lord Manshen and the Shugu ancestors, and a trampling of his honor as a barbarian soldier. This caused the heavy-armored barbarian soldier to overcome his fear of Mo Hua, the “demon,” and furiously exclaim:

“You demon, you talk big!”

“Good! Today I will see what methods you use to break this ancestral armor of mine!”

Mo Hua said, “If I can’t break the heavy armor, I’ll spare your life and apologize to your Lord Manshen and ancestors.”

“If I do break it, you need to kneel before me and become my slave.”

The heavy-armored barbarian soldier nodded, thinking that if the armor were broken, he would just die, so what did becoming a “slave” matter? He nodded, “It’s a deal.”

Then he stared at Mo Hua, wanting to see where Mo Hua got his confidence to break the ancestral Abyss Bone heavy armor of the Shugu tribe.

Mo Hua took out a long spear and threw it to Tie Shugu. “This spear has been blessed by me, it is a gift from the gods. Use it to break this heavy armor.”

Tie Shugu was stunned. “Me to break it?”

Mo Hua nodded. “You.”

Tie Shugu’s expression was complex. He took the long spear, weighed it a few times, and frowned, not sensing anything unusual about it. Could this really have been “blessed”?

Of course, this long spear hadn’t been blessed; Mo Hua was just talking nonsense. It was just an ordinary long spear.

Seeing Tie Shugu holding the long spear, the Shugu heavy-armored barbarian soldier’s eyes immediately filled with anger. This traitor had indeed become the “demon’s” lackey, and he was a Core Formation cultivator!

The Shugu barbarian soldier asked Mo Hua, “Can I fight back?”

Mo Hua nodded, “You can.” What he wanted was for them to fight back, for these two to genuinely kill each other.

Thus, within the Wucha tribe’s prison, with Mo Hua’s permission, Tie Shugu and the heavy-armored Shugu barbarian soldier began to fight each other.

Tie Shugu, under Mo Hua’s command, had no choice but to fight this barbarian soldier. But the heavy-armored barbarian soldier truly wanted to kill Tie Shugu.

In his heart, Tie Shugu was a thorough traitor, having betrayed the Barbarian God, his ancestors, and the tribe.

The people of the Shugu tribe generally didn’t have a strong sense of belonging to the tribe itself. However, they possessed extreme devotion to Lord Manshen and the Shugu ancestors. Thus, this barbarian soldier wished he could quickly kill Tie Shugu, the traitor.

Of course, he was only at the peak of Foundation Establishment, so it was impossible for him to kill Tie Shugu. Even though Tie Shugu was a Core Formation cultivator in a second-grade mountain realm, it was also impossible for him to genuinely kill this heavy-armored barbarian soldier.

Moreover, the Abyss Bone heavy armor on this barbarian soldier was almost indestructible. Tie Shugu was also using only the “broken long spear” given by Mo Hua.

The two thus fought each other, equally matched for a time, and as they fought, they grew more agitated and angry, almost forgetting where they were.

And all of this was under Mo Hua’s guidance.

Mo Hua sat in the distance, silently watching everything. He watched Tie Shugu’s long spear, striking the Abyss Bone heavy armor again and again.

The internal formations of the Abyss Bone heavy armor flowed, like a giant beast breathing, giving rise to some mysterious changes, and thus imbuing the Abyss Bone heavy armor with extremely tough brute force, neutralizing Tie Shugu’s power.

All of this was unclear to others. But Mo Hua, who was proficient in formations, saw it clearly as if observing a fire.

Especially after he clarified the related changes between “formation” and “method,” and understood deeper laws using the positive and negative models of the Dao, his comprehension of formations had reached a new level. His calculations for formations also became more adept.

The two Shugu tribesmen, engaged in “internal strife” and mutual combat, had no idea what Mo Hua, this “demon,” was secretly deducing. They couldn’t imagine it, let alone figure it out.

They might have also known Mo Hua’s “terribleness.” But they didn’t truly know how profound and terrifying Mo Hua’s “demonic” eyes were, eyes that perceived the essence of all things.

Their endless combat, and the countless rounds of “armor-breaking” and “defense” transformations centered around the Abyss Bone heavy armor, were all observed by Mo Hua and became material for his “deduction.”

The results of the deduction also transformed into lines of formation patterns, which Mo Hua silently recorded in his jade slip.

Finally, after five full days of almost forgetting food and sleep in observation and deduction, Mo Hua obtained a brand new Four Symbols formation.

This was precisely the core formation within the Abyss Bone Thousand Barbarian heavy armor, passed down from the ancestors of the Shugu tribe.

Moreover, to Mo Hua’s surprise, this turned out to be a…

Second-grade, twenty-pattern Four Symbols heavy armor formation.

This was… another ultimate formation!

(End of Chapter)