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Jian Gu Tou looked shocked and bewildered, his whole body trembling. What was this little ancestor doing?! The supreme and majestic sheep-horn skull enshrined in Wan Yao Gu, was that something you could just sit on casually? He was truly courting death to the point of lawlessness.

“I must escape quickly. I absolutely cannot follow this little ancestor, otherwise one day he ignorantly courts death and receives heavenly punishment. One heavenly thunderbolt will kill him, and I will also be implicated.” Jian Gu Tou said anxiously in his heart.

Mo Hua didn’t care so much. Sitting on the sheep head skull wasn’t comfortable; it was icy, cool, and a bit yin, but at least it was smooth. He could make do with sitting on it. Conditions were limited, so he couldn’t be too picky.

Thus, Mo Hua used the sheep head skull offered in Wan Yao Gu as a small stool and sat there to eavesdrop on the conversation between the black-clothed leader and Jin Gui.

At this moment, that Jin Gui was respectfully reporting something.

“Leader, please forgive me… That old weapon refiner, I don’t know why he suddenly went mad, killed the guarding demon cultivator, detonated the evil weapon room, and died by self-mutilation. Fortunately, that little guy from the Ouyang family was unharmed…”

“But with that old weapon refiner dead, there are temporarily no demon cultivators in the valley who can teach the evil sword casting method. Young Master’s plan, I’m afraid it will be delayed for a while…”

“Besides, outside the gates of Wan Yao Prison, demon cultivators have suddenly died violently and gone mad…”

“This is already the seventh time.”

“And I don’t know why, I occasionally discover that there is some ‘thing’ monitoring me, even monitoring… the entire Wan Yao Prison.”

“I suspect…” Jin Gui paused for a moment and didn’t continue.

The black-clothed leader’s gaze condensed slightly, and he said in a low and deep voice, “You suspect… perhaps someone has secretly snuck in?”

“Not necessarily a person,” Jin Gui said, “Perhaps… it is the thing from the Lian Mo Tu that ran out…”

The black-clothed leader’s gaze sank.

Jin Gui hurriedly explained, “I have thought it over. The possibility of these matters occurring naturally is too small. To say that there is a ‘person’ behind the stirring up of trouble is also not too possible.”

“Not to mention that Wan Yao Gu is strictly guarded. Whether anyone can come in is another question.”

“Even if someone could truly enter Wan Yao Gu, it would be absolutely impossible to do these things without leaving a trace under our noses.”

“Especially making demon cultivators lose control like this.”

“The only possibility is… Lian Mo Tu!”

Jin Gui lifted his eyes and looked at the black-clothed leader, his expression very serious. “So I guess it’s the terrible things inside the Lian Mo Tu… they ran out. Because they are formless and insubstantial, it’s not easy to discover what trouble they cause.”

The black-clothed leader’s pupils shrank, and he nodded slightly.

Mo Hua, hiding behind the sheep-horn statue, also involuntarily nodded. This Jin Gui was quite clever. His explanation also seemed quite reasonable.

The black-clothed leader pondered for a moment and slowly said, “Okay, I understand. I will handle this matter; you don’t need to worry about it. Since it’s related to Lian Mo Tu, it’s dangerous and unpredictable, so it’s not something you can solve.”

Jin Gui lowered his head and cupped his hands, “Yes.” On the surface, he showed no emotion, but in his heart, he breathed a long sigh of relief. This “pot” had finally been thrown out…

All the matters in Wan Yao Prison today were not going smoothly, and frequent incidents occurred. As the manager, he couldn’t escape blame. If he kept concealing it, this pot would only get bigger and bigger. Eventually, one day, the paper wouldn’t be able to wrap the fire, and he would face the Young Master’s punishment. If he didn’t conceal it, then he had to throw the pot.

The object of throwing the pot was very particular. First, exclude the internal demon cultivators of Wan Yao Gu. These demon cultivators were controlled by demon patterns and dared not have the slightest disobedience. And they stayed in the valley all day. Many matters, once investigated, would be known; they simply couldn’t lie.

Secondly, to say that there was an “outsider” invasion was also not good. As everyone knew, since Wan Yao Gu was built several hundred years ago, no “outsider” had come in. How could it be such a coincidence that as soon as he became the manager, an “outsider” came? This excuse was too obvious. Moreover, it couldn’t be verified.

Since that was the case, the only reason was the terrible things in the Lian Mo Tu. This excuse was also thought out after much effort on his part. If it was truly so, then he had guessed correctly. If it wasn’t so, then the situation was confusing, and no one could say for sure. In any case, he couldn’t take the blame himself.

Demon spirits were formless, and disasters had no signs. The matter of Lian Mo Tu was mysterious and strange; these were fundamentally not matters within his ability. This pot was then naturally thrown out. Not only would the Leader not blame him, but he would also feel that he was meticulous and cautious.

In this era, whether they were sect disciples or demonic path demon cultivators, they all had to know how to do things. Personal ability was one aspect, but knowing how to “report” was another.

The black-clothed leader indeed no longer bothered with Jin Gui’s matter. His mind was entirely on the Lian Mo Tu. Jin Gui might have been shirking some responsibility, but his guess was indeed not without reason. The Lian Mo Tu was the center of the entire Wan Yao Gu, and no matter what, there could be no mishap.

The black-clothed leader frowned in thought. Just at this moment, Jin Gui’s heart moved slightly, and he said again, “Leader, weren’t there monitoring arrays in Wan Yao Prison before? Suppose we restart this kind of array, could we know… what happened in Wan Yao Prison?”

The black-clothed leader shook his head, “No, those arrays cannot be used again.”

Jin Gui didn’t understand, “Why?”

The black-clothed leader said deeply, “The reason here, you are still not clear… Probably two years ago, a demon cave in Bi Shan City in Bi Pin Zhou was about to be built, and it was raided by the Dao Court Division. One Zun Zhe also perished as a result.”

“Afterwards, we inquired and learned that the Spirit Vision Array used for monitoring inside the strictly guarded Bi Shan demon cave was infiltrated and utilized by others, which gave the Dao Court Division dogs an opportunity.”

“Mr. Tu worried that Wan Yao Gu would repeat the same mistake, so he temporarily dismantled the entire Yuan Ci Array and completely sealed it to prevent future troubles.”

“To avoid our own ‘eyes’ being used for others to see things…” the black-clothed leader said.

Mo Hua, however, was startled. So that was it… He had wondered before why the perfectly good Yuan Ci Spirit Vision Array had to be completely dismantled and sealed. It turned out it was the “evil” he had created back then!

Jin Gui still didn’t quite understand, “Yuan Ci Array is an extremely biased array, and Yuan Ci Spirit Vision Array is an advanced array. It’s even more impossible for sects to teach it. The Dao Court Division people are numerous but ineffective; they shouldn’t have this kind of array talent… Exactly who could infiltrate the Yuan Ci Array and reverse utilize it?”

The black-clothed leader said with a grave expression, “I don’t know either, but according to Mr. Tu’s estimation, this person must be an array expert who is extremely profound in array learning and has extremely deep attainment!”

Mo Hua nodded. This Mr. Tu was correct!

The black-clothed leader said again, “Act carefully, watch those three little ghosts well…”

“That little ghost from the Ouyang family, find a way to make him cast evil swords. This way, we will have a little brother casting evil swords for us, and his sanctimonious older brother will also have to work for us…”

“As for that sword dao genius from Chong Xu Men, Young Master is very optimistic about him. If we can bring him on board, after a bout of wine and women, experiencing extreme human pleasure, he will also become a young master of the human world.”

“As for that one from the Song family… See if his parents’ side listens or not. If they really don’t, then directly sacrifice him off; keeping him is also useless.”

The black-clothed leader gave instructions once.

“Yes,” Jin Gui cupped his hands and said.

“You may go down,” the black-clothed leader waved his hand.

Jin Gui bowed and withdrew.

In the great hall, only the black-clothed leader remained. He sat down in the center, took out several rolls of demon skin paper, and began to read by himself. Mo Hua very much wanted to know what he was looking at, but unfortunately, he was too far away and simply couldn’t see.

“What is he looking at? It won’t be the Shen Dao Array, right…” Mo Hua’s heart itched with unbearable curiosity.

Half an hour passed, and a sound was heard from outside again. The black-clothed leader closed the demon skin paper and said, “Come in.”

A person wearing a black robe walked in, but compared to the black-clothed leader, Jin Gui, or other demon cultivators, this figure appeared much “thin and small.” More like an ordinary “person” than a demon cultivator. Mo Hua had some doubts.

Just at this moment, the person wearing the black robe walked into the great hall, lifted the hood, and at the same time complained, “This bird place is gloomy and smelly again. Cousin, you can really stay down here…”

Cousin? Mo Hua frowned, looked carefully, and was suddenly startled. He also knew this person. Jin Yi Cai! It was precisely that prominent direct descendant of the Jin family within Duan Jin Men. Mo Hua remembered clearly that Jin Yi Cai’s old ancestor was the head of Duan Jin Men eight hundred years ago. Now his grandfather was the great elder of Duan Jin Men, his father was the vice head of Duan Jin Men, and his mother was a true transmission elder of Duan Jin Men…

His entire family consisted of high-ranking members of Duan Jin Men. He was practically born with a golden spoon. The last time at Yan Shui River bank, this Jin Yi Cai was trafficking cultivators and privately transporting forbidden pills. One could almost say that he was caught with both evidence and the person, but the matter was still suppressed from above. Afterward, he became much more low-key on the surface. However, he didn’t expect that behind the scenes, he was still stirring up trouble here.

The black-clothed leader looked at Jin Yi Cai and asked, “Are your tracks secret?”

Jin Yi Cai said, “Rest assured, my dad grounded me, but the people watching me are some guest elders. They have to act according to my whims. Where I actually go, they also dare not inquire. Otherwise, I’ll complain to my mom, say these guest elders have a bad attitude and don’t obey, and they simply won’t be able to make a living in Duan Jin Men.”

Jin Yi Cai sneered, “The so-called not interfering in family affairs is for this reason.”

“If I give them face, I treat them as guest elders, as elders; if I don’t give them face, they are just dogs raised by my Jin family.” As Jin Yi Cai said this, he swaggered into the middle of the great hall and sat down.

The black-clothed leader frowned, “Be cautious in your speech and actions. Even to guest elders, you have to be polite. No matter what you think in your heart, at least on the surface, you have to pretend.”

“I’m too lazy to pretend…” Jin Yi Cai shook his head, then his eyes brightened slightly and he asked, “Cousin, you asked me to come over. Is it about that set of things? Have you researched a way?”

Mo Hua’s eyebrows slightly furrowed upon hearing this. That set of things? What things? Just as he was doubting, he heard the black-clothed leader say, “There are some clues. You can try them first.”

Jin Yi Cai was excited, “Good!”

The black-clothed leader hesitated for a moment, opened a roll of demon skin paper, and slowly said, “Originally, direct descendants like you, who are under the eyes of the old ancestor and family head all day, would not draw demon patterns to avoid exposing your tracks.”

“But afterwards, several Lun Dao Assemblies are important and cannot be delayed… Therefore, even if there is a possibility of being discovered, you have to take risks.”

Jin Yi Cai was startled by this, his expression somewhat tense, as if he still feared the old ancestor and family head. He worried, “If discovered…”

The black-clothed leader interrupted, “The situation is special now. Even if discovered, it’s nothing.”

Jin Yi Cai’s expression was astonished, “Cousin, I don’t quite understand…”

The black-clothed leader looked at him and asked meaningfully, “Are you doing this for yourself?”

Wasn’t this nonsense? If a person doesn’t act for himself, heaven and earth will be destroyed.

Jin Yi Cai nodded, then was suddenly startled, slowly thought it over, “Not for myself…”

The black-clothed leader nodded in approval, “Correct. The Lun Jian Assembly is imminent. You are doing this for the sect, for the family, not for yourself!”

“No matter what means you use, as long as you can truly achieve a ranking in the Lun Jian Assembly, strive for glory for the sect, and establish great merit for the subsequent sect reform, even if the old ancestor and the others knew, they would turn a blind eye.”

“Even, they will not only not blame you, on the contrary, they will feel that you are capable and can be greatly used!”

“It doesn’t matter if the means are dirty or not, as long as they can be used, it’s good. The victor is king, and using any means necessary is the iron rule of this world.”

“As long as you win, even if you are full of misdeeds, full of evil deeds, and dirty and sordid, those ignorant fools will still admire you.”

“Conversely, as long as you lose, no matter how noble your character, you will only be ridiculed and spurned.”

Jin Yi Cai still had some worries, “Then, suppose the matter is exposed…”

The black-clothed leader’s gaze sank slightly, “As long as you can win, even if the matter is exposed, the old ancestor’s side will cover for you.”

“Don’t forget, you are a direct descendant of the Jin family, sharing honor and disgrace with the Jin family and Duan Jin Men! How could the old ancestor and the others not know?”

Jin Yi Cai suddenly realized and completely relaxed. “Good, cousin, I’ll listen to you.”

The black-clothed leader nodded slightly, then opened the demon skin paper and said, “This set of things still needs a demon law or magic art as a foundation.”

“In my opinion, it’s best to draw demon patterns. This is Wan Yao Gu, the demon patterns are complete, and the quality of various bone and blood materials are all top-notch.”

“The demon patterns on this diagram include fierce beasts such as bears, tigers, and leopards, or fierce birds such as golden eagles and hawks. You choose one, and I will pattern it on your body…” The black-clothed leader unfolded the demon skin array diagram.

Jin Yi Cai looked at them one by one, feeling none were quite to his liking. He swept his gaze down and suddenly his eyes brightened, pointing at a demon pattern and saying, “Cousin, draw this dog pattern for me.”

The black-clothed leader was obviously startled, “What?”

“Dog pattern.” Jin Yi Cai repeated again.

The black-clothed leader almost thought he had heard wrong. Jin Yi Cai then smiled, his smile with a hint of sinister intent: “Cousin, frankly, these days, there are too many female cultivators drilling into my cave at midnight. That group of cheap women are really annoying, but also tender as water and provocative. I must properly teach them a lesson.”

“According to legend, dog demons…” Jin Yi Cai revealed an expression that only they could understand.

The black-clothed leader’s expression was stunned, for a moment some unbelievable. Immediately, his face sank like water, both contempt and anger in his heart. Indeed, a spoiled child was more likely to fail!

In this world, even a watchdog still had the ambition of a wolf. This young master, born with a golden spoon, was in his bones just a wild dog in heat?!

The black-clothed leader’s forehead twitched, and he said with suppressed anger, “Have you thought it through clearly?”

Jin Yi Cai was completely unaware of the black-clothed leader’s contempt, still saying with a complacent expression, “Cousin, I have thought it through clearly. There are so many people in this world willing to risk their lives; there is fundamentally no need for me to do things that involve charging into battle. I just need to live comfortably and happily, and that’s good.”

The black-clothed leader was silent for a long time, then said silently, “Okay.”

Jin Yi Cai’s expression brightened, “Thank you, cousin!”

The black-clothed leader’s expression showed neither joy nor anger, only said deeply, “This is your own choice.”

“That’s natural.” Jin Yi Cai was full of anticipation. He could almost imagine himself having nights of revelry and sleepless conquests.

“Good!” the black-clothed leader said indifferently. Then he silently took out a brush and ink, and according to the “dog” pattern on the demon skin paper, drew a Four Symbols Dog Pattern array on Jin Yi Cai’s back.

He used a bone pen, dipped in human blood, to draw the demon pattern. This was the process of the evil array, accompanied by evil and strange severe pain. Jin Yi Cai gritted his teeth in pain, wanting to struggle up several times, his mouth hissing and shouting.

However, the black-clothed leader didn’t care. Like slaughtering a pig, he pressed Jin Yi Cai onto the table, his wrist steady, the pen like a knife, bloody, continuously drawing until the Four Symbols Dog Pattern array was completed.

After the drawing was finished, Jin Yi Cai was covered in cold sweat, slumped on the ground, gasping for air, intermittently saying, “Cousin… How can drawing an array alone be so painful? It’s like forcibly sewing flesh and array patterns together…”

The black-clothed leader’s expression remained unchanged, but his gaze was even more contemptuous. If he couldn’t endure such a little pain, what kind of cultivator was he? What kind of achievement did he still want?

But he didn’t say it out, just simply said, “This Four Symbols array is relatively special, emphasizing the fusion of the array and flesh. You have been too slack in body refining, so you will naturally feel pain. It will be better later.”

Jin Yi Cai’s face was somewhat pale, “Cousin, this array only needs to be drawn once, right…” He probably didn’t want to endure this hardship a second time.

The black-clothed leader nodded, “Yes.”

Jin Yi Cai breathed a sigh of relief. Immediately, he thought that he had drawn the array, and soon after he could “greatly display his prowess” and indulge wantonly. The unhappiness in his heart instantly dissipated. Eating a little hardship was also not unacceptable.

Jin Yi Cai said again, “When can I leave the valley?” Mo Hua, who was eavesdropping, heard this and his expression moved. Leave the valley?

The black-clothed leader said, “Not temporarily. We’ll talk about it when the valley opens next time.”

Jin Yi Cai nodded. Although he hated not being able to return to his own cave in Duan Jin Men immediately—even if his cave was narrow, it was still always better than this Wan Yao Gu. But matters had priorities, and he wasn’t that brainless yet.

The black-clothed leader said, “You go back first and wait until the Four Symbols array in your body integrates with your flesh. Then come back once, and after that is the key.”

Jin Yi Cai hesitated, “Then…”

The black-clothed leader understood his worry and snorted coldly in his heart, saying indifferently, “Afterwards, other arrays will be used, not like this bloody and painful one.”

Jin Yi Cai relaxed and cupped his hands, “Then you are busy, cousin, I won’t disturb you.” Finished, he turned and left.

After Jin Yi Cai left, the black-clothed leader looked at his departing back, stood for a long time, then involuntarily sneered, “Relying on this kind of person, it would be strange if Duan Jin Men didn’t decline…”

“Greedy for fame and fortune, steeped in honey, fed with heavenly materials and earthly treasures… What are the things that have been educated generation after generation?” The black-clothed leader’s gaze was cold.

Afterwards, he walked to the center of the great hall and continued to look at the array on the demon skin paper, as if learning something. The hall became quiet for a while. The lamp fire flickered, and there was only the sound of paper flipping. No one was chatting, so Mo Hua didn’t have to eavesdrop.

Hiding behind the statue, he couldn’t do anything else, and for a while, he was bored to death. He didn’t know how long passed, just when Mo Hua felt there was nothing to do, the black-clothed leader suddenly made another move.

He looked at the sundial on the table, closed the demon skin paper, and murmured in a low voice, “The time has come…”

Mo Hua was slightly startled. The time has come? What time has come? Just as he was doubting, he discovered that the black-clothed leader suddenly walked towards him.

Mo Hua was slightly alarmed in his heart. He looked carefully and only discovered that the black-clothed leader had not discovered him, but was going straight to the front of the sheep-horn demon statue, slowly kneeling down.

He knelt very devoutly. At the same time, he recited in a low voice, “Boundless great wilderness, supreme god lord…”

“Its life is immortal, its life is endless…”

“Seek the god lord to bestow blessings, bestow upon me great divine thought…”

“Seek mister to point the way, bestow upon me the profound meaning of array dao.”

Mo Hua listened more and more wrongly. Just at this moment, the black-clothed leader devoutly kowtowed three times towards the demon statue. After three kowtows, a profound and evil divine thought aura rose from his body.

A blood-colored figure slowly emerged from his shoulder and the top of his head. This blood-colored figure had a strange and terrifying aura, looking like a mister, but it was hazy in blood color, and the face could not be seen clearly.

Mo Hua’s pupils suddenly shrank. A familiar name slowly floated to his heart: “Mr. Tu!”

(End of this chapter)