In the Taixu Sword Tomb, the old man’s gaze changed.

“From ten thousand years ago…”

“The celestial mechanism is defiled, the common people’s divine thoughts are weak, it’s impossible to have any divine beast…”

“Exactly… what happened?”

A veil of fog covered his heart.

The old man’s heart spirit transformed into a sword, deducing the root cause of the demonic evil’s disappearance.

Divine thought, like a sword, instantly broke open the fog, and then the scenery changed, revealing a scene of blood red.

The sky was deep red like blood at the horizon, corpse mountains were everywhere in the wilderness, and a ferocious and majestic corpse king, bound by chains all over its body, slowly opened its eyes.

Those eye pupils were filled with violent, bloody, and twisted Dao essence.

“Dao evil!”

The old man’s gaze was horrified.

In an instant, a Yin wind suddenly arose.

Boundless walking corpses and iron corpses, like a tide, invaded his sea of consciousness, fearlessly tearing and biting his divine sense.

The old man was stunned for a moment, then a hint of pride appeared on his withered face.

His divine thought condensed into stern sword intent, as if two principles were in chaos, the Taixu flowed, and profound sword light, instantly bloomed and ground them to death.

All walking corpses and iron corpses touched by the sword light were ground into powder, completely annihilated.

Seeing the corpse tide exterminated by the sword light, the corpse king roared in anger, and its entire body of karma chains trembled.

But in the blink of an eye, it followed the obscure karma chains, closing in on the old man, opening its bloody giant mouth, and biting the old man’s arm.

The old man’s face showed resolve, his divine thought turned into a sword, and he chopped down with a single sword.

This sword struck the corpse king.

But it was as if it struck empty space.

The corpse king’s entire body was entwined with karma, seemingly existing in another layer of illusory realm.

The old man frowned, and chopped again with another sword.

This sword chopped karma.

Taixu sword intent, vast and mighty, like the Nine Heavens Milky Way, chopped down with one sword, breaking the karma chains, and also breaking the corpse king’s blood sea Dao evil image.

The corpse mountain and blood sea instantly disappeared.

The back mountain was quiet, the sword tomb desolate, with broken swords all over the ground.

As if nothing had happened.

But the old man knew that there was a bite mark in his divine sense.

The injury was not severe, but a trace of bloodthirsty evil thought had seeped into his sea of consciousness, eroding his Dao heart and making him feel a chilling killing intent.

At the same time, in the main hall where the elder resided, Xun laoshi, who was holding a candle and reading array books, suddenly changed his expression.

“Killing intent oscillates, divine thought turns into a sword!”

Xun laoshi’s face was ashen, he reached out and drew a black crack from the void, then stepped into the crack. When he reappeared, he was already in the forbidden ground of the back mountain sword tomb.

All the sword tombs on the mountain were normal.

Only the old man in the middle seemed to have an unstable Dao heart, his divine sense overflowing, a shocking killing Qi sword intent accumulating without release, making people shudder.

But this sword Dao killing intent was fundamentally undetectable by ordinary cultivators.

The elders and disciples of the entire Taixu Mountain were still safely asleep, unaware of what had happened in the forbidden ground.

But Xun laoshi knew.

He looked at the old man in the sword tomb, revealing complex emotions in his pupils, then sighed, “Senior brother, you drew your sword again…”

The white-haired and long-bearded old man’s face was pale, seeming to be restraining something, his face filled with vertical and horizontal sword Qi and flowing killing intent.

After a long time, he finally relied on his profound cultivation to forcibly stabilize his Dao heart and suppress the killing intent. His expression returned to normal, but his divine sense was still polluted by the karma “corpse poison”.

Traces of twisted, blood-red Dao essence were entwined within.

Seeing this situation, Xun laoshi suddenly drew a breath of cold air.

“This is?!”

The long-bearded old man raised his head, looked at Xun laoshi, and said with a bitter smile:

“Didn’t expect, it actually is… Dao evil.”

Xun laoshi heard the words, his expression stern, and said:

“Exactly what happened?”

The long-bearded old man shook his head: “Petty demonic evil entered my Taixu, I originally wanted to deduce its karma and chop it with one sword, but somehow, inexplicably, I chopped out a Dao evil…”

“If it weren’t for this Dao evil having a low realm, and only being at half-step realm, not yet cultivating into a complete body…”

“Otherwise, with my remaining divine sense and deficient Dao heart, I’m afraid I would have been polluted and become a puppet of Dao evil, my physical body human, my Dao heart a corpse…”

The long-bearded old man breathed a deep sigh of relief, a chill rising in his heart.

Xun laoshi’s gaze was heavy, “Someone is making arrangements to nurture Dao evil?”

The old man pondered for a moment, shook his head, “Not too likely, it doesn’t seem like a deliberate plot to nurture Dao evil, it’s more like…”

“My sword chopped karma, and unintentionally, I touched something I shouldn’t have, committed a taboo, and provoked this evil beast…”

Xun laoshi didn’t understand, “Karma Dao evil?”

The long-bearded old man nodded and said: “This half-step Dao evil… seems to have already ‘died’, but its resentment is hard to dispel, parasitizing on some ‘thing’s body…”

“Dao evil… already dead?” Xun laoshi’s brows furrowed even tighter, “In the realm of a single land, under the rules of the Great Dao, how can Dao evil die so easily?”

“What divine being actually has such great ability, capable of bypassing the laws of Heaven Dao and killing Dao evil?”

The long-bearded old man closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then opened his eyes, his expression solemn, and said slowly:

“All things in the world have birth, then they have death.”

“Dao evil is just a deformed product of the Great Dao. Under the laws of Heaven Dao, it is invincible in one realm, but that doesn’t mean it is an immortal and undying thing…”

“It can be born, naturally it can also die.”

“It’s just that I didn’t expect that while guarding the sword tomb in seclusion, closing the mountain and not going out, I could actually inexplicably be bitten by a Dao evil…”

The long-bearded old man raised his head, looked at the starless night sky, and sighed:

“That person died, the Guixu Tian Burial immortal fate appeared in the world, the celestial mechanism quietly turned, and unpredictable matters are becoming more and more numerous…”

Xun laoshi frowned.

In the Qian Xue state boundary, world families prospered, and it had been peaceful for a long time. Indeed, it had been a very long time since he had heard the two words “Dao evil”.

Now hearing it, he felt as if it was “from another world”.

Xun laoshi pinched his fingers to calculate, suddenly his heart palpitated, he silently put down his hand, and only asked:

“What kind of Dao evil?”

“In the corpse mountain and blood sea, a corpse king…”

Corpse king…

Xun laoshi silently remembered it, then raised his head to look at the long-bearded old man, his gaze filled with deep worry:

“Senior brother, are you… alright?”

The old man coughed a few times, his voice hoarse:

“Just need to rest quietly for a few days… Although the times are different from the past, a single karma Dao evil is still not enough to severely injure my divine sense…”

The old man finished speaking and coughed continuously a few more times.

His breathing also gradually weakened, as if his original injury had aggravated.

Xun laoshi’s heart felt unbearable, he sighed:

“Senior brother, divine sense turning into a sword… no more use it.”

“I know the limit…”

“Senior brother!”

The long-bearded old man’s expression was indifferent.

Xun laoshi sighed, his gaze heavy, and said in a low voice: “You cultivate the sword of divine sense, you should be clearer than I am, divine sense turning into a sword, although it has supreme sword intent, can chop tangible things, and can also chop intangible gods, but…”

“Success is also sword intent, defeat is also sword intent.”

“This sword intent is not an external sword weapon, but your own divine sense.”

“Once the sword intent is unleashed, it either injures others or self-injures, and even when injuring others, it also consumes its own divine sense.”

“Ordinary sword cultivators chop people with sword weapons. If the sword weapon is damaged, it can still be repaired, if the sword weapon breaks, it can still be recast, if the sword weapon is destroyed, just re-forge one…”

“But divine sense is different…”

“Divine sense turns into a sword, if the sword is damaged, the divine sense is injured, if the sword breaks, the divine sense is silent, if the sword is destroyed, the divine sense perishes…”

“This is still not the most terrible…”

“The most terrible thing is…”

Xun laoshi looked at the long-bearded old man, “Divine sense turning into a sword, sword intent leaving the body, it is very easy to be polluted by evil spirits. Once polluted, the Dao heart will be stained and it will be difficult to seek the supreme Dao, even…”

Xun laoshi’s heart ached, he couldn’t finish speaking.

The long-bearded old man gave another bitter smile, mockingly saying:

“…Even like me, neither human nor ghost, guarding an empty shell, drawing the ground as a prison…”

“Senior brother…”

“I know…”

The long-bearded old man sighed, “I know, this sword art cannot be re-cultivated…”

“I am the last person to cultivate this sword art…”

“Thereafter, the disciples of the Taixu Sect will not be allowed to cultivate the ‘Divine Sense Turning into Sword True Art’, nor will they be told of the existence of this sword art…”

“This inheritance ends with me.”

“Then it will be annihilated and die with me in this Taixu Sword Tomb.”

“But, I am still not dead…”

The long-bearded old man’s face was withered and old, but his eyes were filled with sharp light:

“I am still the successor of Taixu Sword Art…”

“Those evil spirits who offend my Taixu, who derive killing machines from divine sense, karma, and celestial mechanism, I have to chop them with a sword…”

“Even if my divine sense is consumed, even if my divine being dies and my Dao perishes…”

“This is also the last thing I can do.”

Xun laoshi’s heart was filled with both admiration and sadness, he couldn’t help but sigh, and comforted him:

“In the Qian Xue state boundary, world families stand, sects prosper, it’s a scene of prosperity, some minor demons, monsters, and goblins dare not offend the Eight Great Sects…”

“Senior brother, you don’t need to worry too much…”

The long-bearded old man’s expression was cold, and he laughed lightly: “Do you believe these words yourself?”

Xun laoshi was startled.

The long-bearded old man looked at Xun laoshi and sighed: “Junior brother, you are an array grandmaster, how can you not be clearer than anyone else…”

“Our Taixu Sect fundamentally has no celestial mechanism algorithm inheritance.”

“Our Taixu Sect has never relied on algorithms, it relies on sword art…”

“If there are heavenly demons and evil spirits invading, then we will use Taixu divine sense to turn into a sword, chop and kill the evil spirits, break the karma, and isolate the danger in the celestial mechanism…”

“We can only kill…”

“We cannot learn true algorithms, nor can we master them, so some things we fundamentally cannot see…”

Xun laoshi was silent.

He also knew in his heart that what his senior brother said was the truth.

Celestial mechanism algorithms are far above array algorithms.

All his deductions are just based on array algorithms, not true celestial mechanism algorithms, so he can only glimpse some karma, but cannot glimpse the root…

The long-bearded old man said again: “Since you can’t calculate it, you can only look with your eyes, how do you know that the so-called prosperity is the truth?”

Xun laoshi frowned, “Our Taixu Sect doesn’t master algorithms, but other sects…”

The long-bearded old man shook his head, “The entire Qian Xue state boundary, whether it’s array algorithms or celestial mechanism algorithms, has already declined…”

“Once the Qian Xue state boundary, the array way was prosperous, cultivators’ Dao hearts were firm, their chests embraced the world, hence celestial mechanism cultivators emerged generation after generation…”

“But now…”

“Algorithms exist, but world families and sects only calculate their own private interests, not the common people, not the fate of heaven.”

“The control sects, even the important positions of family sect masters and elders, are eating profit and fat, some things, they fundamentally cannot see, or rather, they don’t want to see, aren’t willing to see.”

“Greed blinds, then the celestial mechanism is covered.”

“Once Heaven Dao is covered, outer realm heavenly demons and barbaric evil gods will definitely stir, taking human hearts as a hotbed, rampant breeding…”

The long-bearded old man’s expression was indifferent:

“Those people only see the surface of prosperity, they don’t see the corrupt foundation…”

“They can’t foresee those rotten human hearts and terrible evil demons in the celestial mechanism karma…”

“One day, these evil demons will ruin my Taixu Sect Dao lineage.”

“While I am alive, I can still chop them with a sword.”

“If I die, how will I cope?”

The long-bearded old man had the indifference of viewing death as returning home, but a hint of sorrow was revealed.

Xun laoshi heard the words and sighed deeply:

“Senior brother, you are speaking too heavily…”

“In the Qian Xue state boundary, there are countless strong individuals, there will always be a way, you don’t need to worry too much, just rest well…”

The long-bearded old man was silent and did not speak.

Xun laoshi didn’t say anything more, but his gaze was also filled with worry.

Things that cannot be seen are the most terrible…

He sighed, then turned and left.

After an unknown amount of time, the long-bearded old man slowly opened his eyes again, stroked a broken sword by his hand, and murmured in a low voice:

“Sorry…”

“Want you to accompany me…”

“Together ‘die’ in this sword tomb…”

The ancient broken sword was also silent, a piece of dead silence.

The entire back mountain was empty and desolate.

In the dark sword tomb.

The old man sat dryly on the ground, surrounded by broken swords, ancient chains densely intertwined, as if using the swords as an array to imprison himself in the Taixu forbidden ground, never to escape.

The disciple resided in the middle hall.

“Little divine beast” Mo Hua, after “eating” the demon and digesting it, rested for a while.

The next day at dawn, he went to class as if nothing had happened.

The celestial mechanism was obscure, karma latent.

He still didn’t know that a sect ancestor had been bitten by the corpse king he had raised on his body.

He still cultivated and went to class as usual.

Only one more thing:

Accept two-products array tasks to earn merit points!

Xun laoshi had changed his permissions. Now, although he had not yet been formally ranked, within the Taixu Sect, at least in the Taixu Order, he was already considered a “two-products array master”.

During his rest days, accepting tasks to capture criminal cultivators earned him a fair amount of merit points.

But comparatively, drawing two-products arrays was definitely more efficient in earning merit points.

After all, rest days were only two days, only enough to do one task.

While attending classes in the sect, he still had eight days. As long as he had time, he could accept tasks and draw arrays every day.

Moreover, the two did not conflict.

He would usually draw arrays to earn merit points, and wait for rest days to go out and “relax”.

Catch a few bad guys, continue to experiment and improve his “iron plate”, and seize a few spells, and he could still earn more merit points.

Doing both at the same time, he could earn merit points faster…

For two-products array tasks, he no longer needed to find Senior Sister Murong, Mo Hua could accept them himself.

He stared at the Taixu Order, always looking for tasks.

But he applied all morning, and as expected, no one was willing to give him a task…

In the Taixu Order, below each disciple’s name, there would be an item record, with explanations attached to the item.

Below Mo Hua’s name now, there was just one newly added item:

Two-products initial level array master.

Below this item, there would be some explanations, recording how many arrays Mo Hua had drawn, how many tasks he had accepted, how many he had completed, etc…

This counted as a merit point record.

It also counted as a kind of qualification proof.

But below Mo Hua’s current “two-products initial level array master” item, it was empty.

Because up to now, he had not accepted any two-products array tasks in the Taixu Order, nor had he drawn any two-products arrays, so this item was naturally empty.

In other words, he was a complete “newcomer”.

So others generally wouldn’t ask him to draw arrays.

Mo Hua could only continuously lower his requirements, from two-products thirteen patterns, to two-products twelve patterns, and then to two-products eleven patterns…

But his “qualification” was shallow, and still no one agreed to give him a task.

Mo Hua was not convinced, so he persisted, always applying…

Finally, after applying nearly thirty more times, he finally successfully accepted his first task:

Two-products ten patterns array, Flower Fire Array.

Mo Hua sighed.

Two-products ten patterns, really too low-end!

But there was no other way, everything is hard at the beginning.

Without accumulating small steps, one cannot reach a thousand li; without starting from low-level arrays and accumulating “qualifications”, others will not hand over more high-end arrays to him to draw.

Mo Hua adjusted his mindset and began to calm down, preparing to complete his first two-products array task within the Taixu Sect…

(End of this chapter)