The way of *shenshi*, perhaps, is one of the indispensable underlying structures within the entire cultivation power system.

However, this “underlying” structure was *fulled from under the cauldron* and stripped away.

Was it because *shenshi* itself is invisible, inaudible, intangible, and impossible to cultivate, so it was naturally excluded from the cultivation system by most people?

Or was someone deliberately doing this?

Someone was intentionally altering the entire cultivation system of the cultivation world.

Mo Hua’s perceptions were subtle, and his mind was as fine as hair, subtly sensing that a huge pit might be hidden within this.

This pit, even many powerful cultivators, and even *Dongxu*-realm ancestors, might not be able to detect.

Because they had not proven their *Dao* through *shenshi*.

They had not personally walked the path of *shenshi* foundation building, so they simply could not comprehend the subtle but profound differences within it.

Mo Hua remained in a daze for a long time.

Yan Zhu thought his words had touched Mo Hua’s soul, causing Mo Hua to develop admiration for the royal court’s shamanic lineage and a yearning to be promoted to High Shaman and granted a “Zhu name.”

A smile involuntarily appeared on Yan Zhu’s face as he asked Mo Hua,

“What do you think?”

“I—” Mo Hua was still a little dazed.

Yan Zhu’s voice carried a hint of enticement: “Do you—want to be a shamanic priest consecrated by the royal court? Do you want to legitimately receive the worship of others?

Do you wish that one day, you will have your own ‘Zhu name’?”

Mo Hua came back to his senses, a trace of desire and a touch of “inferiority” evident in his eyes. “Can I—can I?”

These subtle emotions all fell into Yan Zhu’s eyes.

As a shamanic priest, Yan Zhu had met countless people and insight into human hearts. How could he not know the meaning revealed by Mo Hua’s subtle emotions?

Yan Zhu then shook his head, “Not yet.”

A fitting trace of sadness appeared in Mo Hua’s eyes.

Yan Zhu smiled slightly, “Not now, but that doesn’t mean not in the future—”

Mo Hua looked at Yan Zhu with renewed expectation.

Yan Zhu’s face was gentle, and he patted Mo Hua’s shoulder, pointing out the path for him:

“The deity you currently believe in should be a ‘minor god.’ Although it has some power, it ultimately cannot ascend to the grand stage. From now on, as long as you ‘abandon darkness for light,’ abandon the small path, and believe in the grand lineage of deities, swearing allegiance to the royal court, in due time, you will surely step onto the true path of the gods.”

“This—” Mo Hua’s face was conflicted, clearly finding it hard to choose.

Yan Zhu also knew that faith was not so easy to change and that he should constantly show goodwill and proceed gradually.

Yan Zhu’s tone softened a bit: “You don’t have to rush to make a decision; it’s not too late to consider. But—”

Yan Zhu looked at Mo Hua, his tone somewhat solemn: “You must first do some things for me to show me your sincerity. You are quite skilled in sacred patterns, so I’ll leave them all to you. I have high hopes for you; draw them according to my intentions.”

“When this battle ends, when the Wu Jiu tribe is defeated, and the descent of the Wu Jiu God is prevented, my mission in the Great Wilderness will be over. I will personally take you back to the royal court. At that time, you will see what true imperial grandeur is, what true orthodox divine path is—.”

Mo Hua nodded, “I’ll consider it—”

Although he said that, the expectation in his eyes could not be faked.

Yan Zhu smiled and nodded.

Yan Zhu encouraged Mo Hua a few more times, then turned and left. After walking for a while, when there was no one around, the gentle smile on Yan Zhu’s face gradually faded, becoming somewhat cold.

“Lucky brat—”

How come he, a shamanic priest who had devoted himself to worshipping gods since childhood, didn’t have such luck?

Yan Zhu felt indignant and shook his head. Suddenly, a hoarse female voice beside him spoke:

“You’ve lied again—”

Yan Zhu turned his head and saw a pale-faced, graceful woman standing beside him amidst the swaying shadows. It was Qing Zhu.

Yan Zhu sneered, “What? Do you want to snatch someone from me again?”

Qing Zhu shook her head, “Although a wild *shenjuanzhe* has some ability, he’s too young and his *xueqi* is too weak. He’s useless to me; you can have him. But—you can’t snatch that girl Dan Ling from me.”

Yan Zhu smiled, noncommittal.

Qing Zhu’s narrow eyes narrowed slightly, “Don’t think I don’t know your intentions. You worship the Candleflame God and follow the ‘Fire’ path. The *yanghuo* in your body is too strong, and you need a woman with *Zhuque* blood to be your *luding*, to achieve the union of blood and fire through *hehuan* baptism, forging your divine path. Dan Lie is the Great Chieftain; even if he agrees verbally, he might not truly consent.”

“That girl Dan Ling is beautiful and intelligent; she won’t be unaware of your malicious intentions and let you do as you please. You’d best give up on that idea early.”

Yan Zhu looked at Qing Zhu with a mocking expression, “I have ill intentions, but what about you? Do you think you’re any better?”

Yan Zhu’s gaze was sharp, as if trying to see through Qing Zhu, “The one you worship is the Qingqiu divine path, and you engage in foxy enchantments, relying on beauty your whole life. When you were young, your clothes were as thin as cicada wings; you wished to reveal everything, what should be exposed and what shouldn’t. And now?”

Yan Zhu’s gaze swept over Qing Zhu, and he sneered:

“—You know you’re growing old and losing your beauty, your skin is starting to wrinkle, yellow, and become ugly, so you’re ashamed to show yourself. That’s why you’re wrapped so tightly, only revealing a powdered face?”

A clear killing intent emerged in Qing Zhu’s eyes.

But she ultimately suppressed her murderous intent toward Yan Zhu, only saying, “This time is different.”

Yan Zhu said, “What’s different? I want to release *yang*, and you want to restore your appearance. I may be vile, but are you any less despicable?”

Qing Zhu’s pale face was contorted.

Yan Zhu’s gaze was indifferent, “You and I are shamanic priests; our personalities are determined by the ‘divine personalities’ we worship. This is fate.”

After speaking, Yan Zhu ignored Qing Zhu and turned to leave.

After a few steps, he suddenly stopped and turned to Qing Zhu, saying:

“Don’t forget, you and I are now trapped in this barren land by famine. Solving the disaster of the Wu Jiu tribe early and finding a way back to the royal court is the main thing; otherwise, all this争斗 is meaningless.”

“We are shamanic priests, serving the royal court. Even if we die, we must die in the royal court.”

Yan Zhu said coldly and then left, leaving Qing Zhu standing alone.

Qing Zhu stood silently for a long time before sighing softly, “Yes, even if I die—I must die in the royal court—.”

“But, this time it’s really different—”

Qing Zhu’s hand touched her lower abdomen, and she murmured with a complex expression, “This is my last chance—in this life—.”

In the months that followed, tribal warfare continued, and the fighting was fierce.

However, these matters were no longer greatly related to Mo Hua.

The killing was other people’s business; he was only responsible for constructing formations in the rear.

This included building some architectural formations used in barbarian warfare, optimizing the formation structures of some siege weapons, and carving and repairing the internal formations of barbarian armor and weapons used in tribal warfare.

Originally, the application of formations in barbarian warfare was not thorough.

But now, after Mo Hua’s improvements, formations had almost permeated every corner of the tribal alliance’s warfare.

This was also Mo Hua’s first large-scale warfare formation practice.

How to systematically apply formations in larger-scale, more powerful, and wider-ranging wars to enhance military strength and increase the chances of victory.

How to use his vast and complex knowledge of formations, accumulated throughout his life, to drive warfare, optimize war tools, from the macro to the micro, from large war machinery to small barbarian armor, from attack, defense, and even early warning and stealth, to comprehensively amplify warfare.

These were all things Mo Hua had to do.

This practical application of war formations, strictly speaking, did not meet Mo Hua’s expectations.

After all, this was the Great Wilderness, where many resources were limited, and there were also many restrictions, so he couldn’t unleash his full potential without restraint.

But it provided Mo Hua with a wealth of practical experience and laid a solid foundation for him to create and iterate more advanced cultivation war formation systems in the future, providing feasible ideas.

Dan Lie, the Great Chieftain, as the alliance leader, personally managed the war and felt these changes in warfare most deeply.

This was a barbarian war entirely different from his experience in the first half of his life.

Although externally it all looked the same, with siege weapons attacking and barbarian armies charging, the internal formation-driven power and the entire system had undergone a “metamorphosis.”

The other Great Chieftains, including Yan Zhu and Qing Zhu, more or less felt the difference.

But they were either leading charges, heavily inclined to kill, or had ulterior motives and strong ambitions. They were not particularly sensitive to sacred patterns and formations themselves, and were not entirely clear about what kind of attempts Mo Hua was making in this regard.

Moreover, the Wu Jiu tribe was indeed too strong.

The Young Master of Wu Jiu was also a rare talent, astute in strategy and formidable in combat, and there were countless other Golden Core experts.

The chieftains of the alliance were under immense pressure, wishing only for their barbarian armor to be sturdier, their weapons sharper, and their equipment more powerful, and thus thought of nothing else.

They didn’t realize that, in a sense, they were all Mo Hua’s “guinea pigs.”

They were the “equipment” for Mo Hua’s formation experiments.

As the struggle gradually intensified, the fighting between the two sides became increasingly brutal.

The battle almost entered a white-hot stage.

The major tribes became increasingly busy, investing a vast amount of financial and military resources in a decisive battle with the Wu Jiu tribe.

Mo Hua himself, on the other hand, suddenly became “leisurely.”

Because he had already set up the basic structure of the formations.

All problems that could be solved by formations, he had laid down the regulations, and some array patterns had also been standardized.

As a formation master, he had done almost everything he could; the matter of fighting tooth and nail could only be left to others.

And Mo Hua, taking advantage of this stage where both sides were fighting fiercely, their brains almost spilling out, and having no time for other concerns, also began to harbor some small thoughts and plan his own affairs.

First, he collected formations, especially the internal formations of the various tribal barbarian armor.

Initially, Mo Hua could only handle the casting of some “ordinary” barbarian war armor.

These barbarian armor were not considered secrets.

Mo Hua had no access to the truly secret barbarian armor array patterns.

Not only the Bi Fang tribe, but also the Dan Que tribe, Yan Yi tribe, Hong Luan tribe—and all the Zhuque Mountain tribes—would not expose the core array patterns of their barbarian armor to Mo Hua.

They guarded against Mo Hua as if he were a “thief.”

Facts proved they were right to do so; Mo Hua was indeed a “thief,” and a “great thief” at that.

Initially, they did manage to guard against Mo Hua.

But as the war grew fiercer, many things were no longer up to them.

Ordinary barbarian armor, even “mass-produced,” simply could not contend with the Wu Jiu tribe.

The major tribes had no choice but to hand over the casting methods of some of their prized high-grade barbarian armor, especially their core formations, to Mo Hua for overall management and inscription.

Although these tribal great chieftains added “seals” to these formations and implemented various confidentiality measures, they also demanded Mo Hua to swear an oath not to pry into or disclose these formations.

But they still didn’t know how terrifying the young man’s formation attainments truly were.

The formations they sent to Mo Hua were like fish placed before a cat.

That carefully prepared “seal,” in front of Mo Hua, was no thicker than a piece of paper.

As for the oath, Mo Hua indeed swore one.

He swore to the “Divine Lord,” saying that if he were to steal these secrets, the “Divine Lord” would surely punish him severely.

The Divine Lord was Mo Hua himself.

For the Divine Lord to punish Mo Hua was for him to punish himself.

And Mo Hua did indeed punish himself—he punished himself by eating an extra bowl of rice.

In this way, the major tribes almost “gave” all their current core barbarian armor formations to Mo Hua.

And even more.

Within each major tribe, there was also a collection of “ancestral barbarian armor” passed down from antiquity.

These ancestral barbarian armor were incredibly precious and normally not used, but now, facing the powerful enemy of the Wu Jiu tribe, these ancestral barbarian armor had to be brought out.

And once they were brought out, these ancestral barbarian armor would inevitably be damaged or even become废弃.

In this way, another batch of damaged or廢弃 ancestral barbarian war armor would fall into Mo Hua’s hands.

Mo Hua then “feathered his own nest,” using the *Taotie Tunhua*法则 he had already researched for “deconstruction,” and then using the *Sixiang Hualong*法则 for “reconstruction.”

Thus, through deconstruction and reconstruction, Mo Hua essentially “stole” the formation inheritance of the ancestral war armor from the various tribes of Zhuque Mountain.

And these formations, because they involved the “Hualong”法则, were, without exception, *sixiang juezhen* of twenty, or even twenty-one, patterns.

Mo Hua acquired a batch of “juezheng” almost effortlessly, simply by lying down.

And these *sixiang juezhen* within the ancestral barbarian armor were the top secrets of the barbarian ancestors, which even the great chieftains and great elders of these tribes might not have known themselves.

Mo Hua felt a bit emotional.

No wonder some highly skilled formation masters have always been targets of serious “surveillance.”

Because if you mingle with them, before you know it, your entire family fortune has been probed by them, and you yourself remain oblivious.

Now, the formation foundations of these large tribes had all been “stolen” by Mo Hua.

In this war, while the front lines were fighting, Mo Hua was “silently making a fortune” in the back.

By taking charge of the construction of war formations, Mo Hua gained control of almost all the barbarian armor-related formation inheritances of all the major third-rank tribes in Zhuque Mountain.

Crucially, no one knew.

Besides barbarian armor formations, Mo Hua also had the opportunity to delve into another type of formation:

The *Yimu Huichun Zhen*.

War inevitably brings massive casualties.

And casualties must be treated.

Mo Hua, in the name of the “Divine Lord,” gathered formation materials from various tribes and constructed dense *Yimu Huichun Zhen* in a large mountain valley.

Thereafter, a large number of wounded barbarian soldiers were sent to the valley to be treated by the *Yimu Huichun Zhen*.

Their *xueqi* was nourished.

The constantly flowing *shengji* was suppressed.

The constantly spreading *siqi* also receded.

Tens of thousands of wounded gathered together, treated by the formations. After their *shengji* flowed away, it was continuously replenished.

Amidst the spread of *siqi*, it was constantly suppressed by the formations.

Their lives flowed continuously between life and death, gradually tending towards a subtle balance.

In the eyes of ordinary people, these were just wounded soldiers, simply healing.

But in Mo Hua’s eyes, these people were “simulators” of the laws of life and death.

Whenever Mo Hua had free time, he would stand atop the mountain, continuously observing the flow of *shengji* and *siqi* within each physical body in the valley, comprehending the various law changes within, and deepening his understanding of the *Yimu Huichun Zhen*.

So that he could use it on himself when he formed his Golden Core in the future.