Meanwhile, at the Qian Dao Sect, in the Elders’ Hall.

Mister Tu, wearing the “Elder Shen” guise, finished a day’s teaching and returned to his room. He activated a divine path array to shield himself from others’ perception, then sat alone at his desk, his gaze fixed on a sheep’s horn on the table, looking pious.

The dim candlelight shone on his face, making it appear gloomy and terrifying.

“Mo Hua…”

Mister Tu murmured the name in a low voice, his brows furrowed.

“Where exactly did this person come from?”

“Why do I feel so familiar with this name, even though I’ve never heard it before?”

“What is this kid’s origin?”

Mister Tu took out a short sword, pricked his finger, and dripped blood onto the sheep’s bone, silently praying in his heart.

A moment later, a bloody shadow of a sheep’s horn emerged from the karma, tracing back along the karmic threads towards the past of the name “Mo Hua”. His true name, his origin, his parents, his past…

But before he could glimpse the truth, the Taixu Intent naturally circulated, the Yin and Yang two instruments interlocking like swimming fish, sealing the karmic cycle and blocking the sheep’s horn’s bloody shadow from the karma, also sealing all truths.

Mister Tu’s brows furrowed.

“Such a strong Yin and Yang heavenly mechanism power…”

“Taixu Gate actually still has such ancient heavenly mechanism treasures…”

He thought about trying to force his way through the two instruments lock, but after a moment of hesitation, he gave up.

“Without the power of the Divine Lord, setting up an altar and performing a ritual with a large number of sacrifices as a medium, I cannot break this heavenly mechanism lock…”

“Furthermore, the plot hasn’t been exposed yet, so I cannot make a big fuss.”

Mister Tu extinguished the probing thoughts.

But he always had a feeling that this array path monster called “Mo Hua” was absolutely no ordinary person.

It was very likely that he was related to that fierce god from Taixu Gate.

Mister Tu wiped the blood from his fingers, pondered for a moment, and his pupils suddenly trembled.

“That’s right… Super-ranked divine sense!”

“Ordinary cultivators, restricted by the great dao and lacking cultivation methods, are fundamentally incapable of super-ranking.”

“This monster must have received the fierce god’s blessing, borrowing the fierce god’s divine thoughts. Only then could his own divine sense exceed by a full three ranks or more, allowing him to draw foundation building peak arrays in the mid-stage of foundation building…”

“These divine senses are not his own, but came as a reward from the fierce god after he prayed for blessing towards the ‘fierce god’!”

“In other words, this kid is a ‘God-favored one’, just like myself.”

“No, his level of God-favor is far above mine. It’s even possible that he was selected by the Taixu fierce god from a young age and has the qualification to walk alongside gods as a ‘companion’. He is a true ‘God servant’.”

Mister Tu felt both envy and jealousy in his heart.

He believed that his status within the Great Wasteland Lord God system was far inferior to that of this kid called Mo Hua.

Although he also received the God Lord’s favor, it was only the most ordinary kind.

Unlike this little ghost, who could super-rank his divine sense by three ranks, almost equivalent to receiving the gods’ highest level of “bestowal”.

However, in this way, his array talent was not that astonishing after all.

“Just a lucky little ghost who received the ‘god’s’ favor, borrowing the fierce god’s bestowal and the addition of divine thoughts, and thus gained first place in the array path…”

Mister Tu laughed coldly.

Moreover, in some sense, this was also a good thing.

This terrifying Taixu fierce god was finally “coming into the light” and beginning to reveal his true nature.

His core “believers” were also starting to be exposed.

“I need to seize the time…”

While the Taixu fierce god was being parasitized by the God Lord’s divine embryo, all plans had to be advanced.

As soon as he thought of this, Mister Tu felt another pang of heartache.

The price paid for plotting against this fierce god was truly too great…

A large number of carefully nurtured demons and monsters were robbed of their authority by this fierce god and ordered to their deaths, not a single one survived.

As for those God Lord minions who had been cultivated for so long on the blood oath list, he didn’t know what means were used, but they were all wiped out.

These minions were Mister Tu’s painstaking effort.

Relying on his title as a Qian Dao Sect Elder, he had made friends everywhere, selected people, and secretly developed for so many years, only cultivating such a large number of evil god “minions” who were deeply rooted in the Qian Xue state boundary, interconnected, with sect origins, protection from the Dao Court, and capable of wandering in the dark and committing many sins.

These minions could both provide sacrifices for the God Lord.

Their own sins were also the God Lord’s best sacrifices.

Originally, everything was developing according to plan, but in the short few years recently, these minions were either caught or killed, losing a large chunk.

Now, even from the root, they were all wiped out, not one left.

Mister Tu’s heart bled, and he felt a strong sense of apprehension.

Taixu Gate, and this fierce god, were very likely the biggest stumbling block in the God Lord’s great plan of revival.

Mister Tu’s gaze slightly condensed, his expression in the night appearing somewhat ferocious and distorted.

“However, no matter…”

“The foundation building game, with only a few chess pieces remaining, I concede defeat.”

“Since that is the case, then let’s play the game of Gold Core and above…”

“Scheming for great plans, don’t pity the body. These assets, it is also time to use them…”

“The day of the God Lord’s awakening is also fast approaching…”

Mister Tu’s figure gradually became enveloped in shadows, like a demon choosing people to devour.

In the Qian Dao Sect, the heavenly mechanism was secretly being corrupted.

In the Qian Xue state boundary, there were also shadows constantly flickering.

And the waves stirred up by Mo Hua at the discussion dao assembly were still far from stopping.

Tens of thousands of li away.

Dao State, Tian Shu Pavilion.

The pavilion elder, with white hair and beard, sat on the high pavilion, dozing off over a chessboard, appearing neither fully asleep nor fully awake.

Like a very ordinary old man, drowsy due to old age and lack of energy.

A disciple quietly entered the room, not daring to disturb the pavilion elder, but respectfully placed a jade slip on the table. After that, he performed a salutation and quietly and soundlessly retreated.

The jade slip was placed on the table.

All around was silent.

In the fragrant mist, the pavilion elder was still dozing.

After an unknown amount of time, the pavilion elder slowly opened his eyes, appearing to have woken up. He slightly tilted his head, saw the jade slip placed on the table, then picked it up and looked at it.

Just one glance, and the pavilion elder paused.

“Qian Xue state boundary, discuss array first, Taixu Gate’s Mo Hua, foundation building mid-stage, divine sense nineteen patterns…”

The pavilion elder’s drowsiness vanished instantly. He involuntarily shivered and slowly pondered:

“Foundation building mid-stage, nineteen patterns, this is a strange matter…”

“Did he cultivate it himself? Or did he borrow it from some ‘thing’?”

“If he cultivated it himself, how? If he borrowed it, from where?”

The pavilion elder suddenly became interested.

The Qian Xue discussion dao was held every three years, and every three years there was a “champion”.

This champion might be revered greatly by ordinary cultivators.

But in Dao State, in Tian Shu Pavilion, especially in the eyes of this “pavilion elder” who had lived for an unknown amount of time, it was somewhat “like chicken ribs.”

Although they were called geniuses, such geniuses appeared every session.

Their talent was indeed one in ten thousand, but their self-interest was the same as ordinary people.

He had seen too many, and it was boring.

But even so, a divine sense exceeding the limit by more than three ranks was indeed extraordinary.

This pavilion elder of his had seemingly never seen such a thing either.

“Let me calculate…”

The pavilion elder excitedly stretched out his hand, and with a mere pinch of his fingers, he was stunned. After that, displeasure arose in his heart, and he furrowed his brows:

“Taixu two instruments lock? When did they become so generous…”

“Initially, they were even reluctant to let me take a look…”

The pavilion elder felt a sour taste in his heart.

Immediately, he became even more curious.

“They are willing to use the two instruments lock, the karma involved must be significant.”

He wouldn’t spy on the details, just sense the heavenly mechanism lock slightly, and Taixu Gate wouldn’t even know.

The pavilion elder this time pinched a more formal hand seal, but after calculating for a moment, he paused again, his haggard face already showing some astonishment:

“This… exactly how many ‘layers’ of protection are there?”

How could the heavenly mechanism components be so complex?

Moreover, there were actually several wisps of karma inside that made him feel familiar?

Even some karma made this pavilion elder feel apprehensive in his heart…

The pavilion elder’s expression was surprised, somewhat unbelievable.

After a moment, he slowly put down the half-pinched hand seal and stopped calculating. Instead, he looked at the name on the jade slip, his eyes becoming increasingly bright.

“Mo Hua…”

“I remember now.”

Then he murmured again:

“However, an array path champion… in this way…”

The pavilion elder’s haggard gaze was once again cast towards the chessboard in front of him.

On the chessboard, a large number of chess pieces were interwoven, black and white mixed, hard to distinguish.

“…Has the situation changed again?”

The pavilion elder gazed at the chessboard, and as he gazed, he suddenly saw three weak large dragons on the chessboard, faintly showing signs of fusion. He involuntarily froze slightly, slowly sat up straight, and murmured:

“It can’t be…”

In Taixu Gate.

In the Elders’ Hall, the Taixu Sect Master said to Elder Xun, “Tai A Gate and Chong Xu Gate have already been confirmed to be removed from the eight great gates.”

“Our previous worries were not unfounded. Tai A Gate’s ‘casting sword’ and Chong Xu Gate’s ‘sword qi’ are not pure enough and do not meet the standards of the twelve flows. Coupled with the trouble caused by the four great sects, they have no place in the twelve flows.”

“Tai A Gate and Chong Xu Gate will likely fall into the Qian Xue hundred gates…”

The Taixu Sect Master sighed in his heart, then felt somewhat fortunate.

If Mo Hua hadn’t suddenly appeared out of nowhere with his monstrous talent and won first place in the discussion array, Taixu Gate’s situation would likely not have been much better.

Moreover, that was not the only thing.

The Taixu Sect Master sighed, “Quite a few disciples from world families who enrolled in Tai A and Chong Xu Gates are preparing to withdraw from the sects.”

Elder Xun furrowed his brows, “Withdraw from the sects?”

“Yes,” the Taixu Sect Master said, “The disciples from world families who enrolled in Tai A and Chong Xu Gates came for the name of ‘eight great gates’. Now that these two gates’ ranking has dropped and they are about to be mixed in with the Qian Xue hundred gates, these disciples from extraordinary world families naturally want to seek higher places…”

The world families acted just like this, cold and snobbish.

Even if these disciples themselves were unwilling to withdraw, their families, including their fathers, mothers, and elders, would force them to leave the sects.

Elder Xun nodded and asked again, “Then the elders? Is no one thinking of withdrawing?”

The Taixu Sect Master said, “The elders’ level is still better for now. After all, they rely on the mountain to eat and receive salaries from the sect. And some are tightly tied to the sect’s interests and cannot easily jump ship.”

“But this is only for now, it’s hard to say what will happen later.”

“At least a large number of guest elders will resign. Some neutral elders are probably also secretly looking for their next home…”

The Taixu Sect Master shook his head, “Sect reform is like sailing against the current, not advancing is retreating. Having retreated this step, it will be as difficult as ascending to heaven to climb up again in this surging torrent.”

“What’s more, a batch of core disciples have left, a batch of elders have left, and without the title of eight great gates, the quality of disciples recruited will also decline. This is almost a dead end. Tai A Gate and Chong Xu Gate will likely find it difficult to rise again in the future…”

The Taixu Sect Master’s tone was emotional, with some sympathy.

Elder Xun nodded, “Good.”

The Taixu Sect Master almost thought he had misheard, “Good?”

Elder Xun nodded, “Very good.”

The Taixu Sect Master was stunned.

Weren’t the three gates of the same origin, branches connected by the same breath?

Why was the old ancestor gloating like this?

Elder Xun pondered, “I only thought they would be miserable, but I didn’t expect them to be so miserable. In this way, things are easier to handle…”

“These two families’ bones are still quite hard. As long as they can breathe for another moment, they won’t be so easy to talk to.”

The Taixu Sect Master pondered for a moment, his heart suddenly jumping, “Old ancestor, you wouldn’t…”

Elder Xun shook his head, “Let’s see the situation, don’t say anything yet.”

The Taixu Sect Master could only nod, and then involuntarily admired. The old ancestor was indeed the old ancestor. Not only was he far-sighted and deeply cunning, his courage was also great, and his appetite was unimaginable…

Of course, this matter was not that simple.

The resistance from all sides was extremely large, and there were still many things to scheme.

Elder Xun furrowed his brows and pondered for a moment. He looked up and saw the Taixu Sect Master still there, then asked, “Is there anything else?”

The Taixu Sect Master nodded, “It’s Mo Hua’s matter.”

“Mo Hua? What about him?” Elder Xun’s expression became serious.

The Taixu Sect Master was silent for a moment, then asked, “Old ancestor, do you know how many merit points this child has now?”

Elder Xun was startled, “How many? Tens of thousands?”

“Four hundred eighty thousand six thousand nine hundred twelve points…”

The Taixu Sect Master reported an extremely shocking number.

Elder Xun was even more shocked, “How many? Four hundred eighty thousand? How is there so many?”

The Taixu Sect Master said bitterly, “Before, I promised that if he ranked in the discussion dao assembly, I would reward him four times the merit points.”

“At that time, Taixu Gate was in a precarious situation, and I could only burn my bridges, but I didn’t expect this child, Mo Hua, to suddenly pop out and shockingly test first…”

“The merit points for the discussion dao champion are originally exceptionally rich. Now they are quadrupled, plus he already had quite a few merit points. This adds up to a very frightening number…”

When he went to check the merit points at that time, seeing this number for Mo Hua, he almost thought he was blind.

Which sect disciple, just in the mid-stage of foundation building, could earn four hundred eighty thousand merit points?

Four hundred eighty thousand…

The Taixu Sect Master said silently, “If calculated according to the current merit points, he can probably enter the inner gate as an ‘elder’ directly before graduation, even if he saves for one or two more years.”

Even Elder Xun gasped.

His mind had been entirely focused on arrays, and he had completely forgotten about the “merit points” balance.

He hadn’t been careful and had given this child too much.

The key was that he couldn’t take it back.

Which old ancestor would deduct his own disciple’s merit points?

Elder Xun pondered for a moment and slowly said, “No harm, you just don’t show him. It’s fine.”

The Taixu Sect Master was startled, “Don’t show him?”

The Taixu Token was in his hand, how could he not show it to him?

Elder Xun said, “You don’t have to display that much, hide some digits, only display up to ninety-nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine.”

“The extra doesn’t need to be deducted, but just don’t show it to him. If he asks, you can say his merit points have exceeded the sect’s authority, and just don’t tell him exactly how much.”

“Say a few good words, praise him a few sentences, and this child will be happy and definitely won’t dig to the bottom.”

“Anyway, his merit points are always high, he won’t use them all, and he won’t dwell on it.”

The Taixu Sect Master nodded woodenly, still feeling a bit uneasy, “This… can this really work?”

“Rest assured,” Elder Xun said.

He knew what kind of temperament Mo Hua had.

Moreover, this was not a bad thing.

His merit points weren’t being deducted, it was just that he wasn’t being told temporarily to prevent him from becoming complacent and lax due to having too many merit points.

The Taixu Sect Master nodded.

But in his heart, it was somewhat complex.

The two of them, one old ancestor and one sect master, joining forces to deceive Mo Hua, this little disciple, always felt a bit off…

In the Disciples’ Hall.

Mo Hua was also furrowing his brows.

He vaguely had a premonition:

“Someone is plotting against me?”

But he carefully pondered for a moment and didn’t feel any malice, nor did it seem like there would be any danger, so he didn’t mind.

More importantly, during this period, his karmic premonitions were frequently triggered.

It was as if many people were secretly calculating him.

He even felt that there was an “old grandpa” of unknown age, whose aura was profound and immeasurable, and whose karma was terrifying, who had looked at him with interest.

Of course, this premonition only lasted for an instant and then dissipated without a trace.

After that, nothing else happened.

As time went on, Mo Hua didn’t pay too much attention to it.

But because there were so many people peeping, Mo Hua inevitably felt vigilant.

So during this period, he strictly followed Elder Xun’s instructions, staying in Taixu Gate, cultivating peacefully, learning arrays, and not going anywhere.

At this time, he was writing a letter.

This letter was to Elder Zheng.

Elder Zheng entrusted Zheng Fang to pass a message to Mo Hua, saying that his cloud crossing was delayed and he was estimated to stay in the Qian Xue state boundary for several more months.

If Mo Hua had anything he wanted to ask or learn about arrays, he could go find him.

Mo Hua was overjoyed.

But he couldn’t go out and ask Elder Zheng face-to-face, so he could only write a letter, recording his doubts about the “Yuan Magnetic”, or rather the orthodox “Lei Magnetic” array, and asking Elder Zheng.

Famous teachers were rare.

Famous teachers willing to teach were even rarer.

Mo Hua cherished this opportunity very much.

After writing the letter, Mo Hua handed it to Zheng Fang and asked him to deliver it to Elder Zheng.

After that, he went to class as usual.

All the Taixu Gate disciples he met along the way were both surprised and happy to see Mo Hua. Some called him “little senior brother,” some called him “Junior Brother Mo,” and they all greeted him warmly.

Now, the entire Taixu Gate, from top to bottom, truly had almost no one who didn’t recognize Mo Hua.

Discuss array first, array path champion.

Not to mention conditions like being in the mid-stage of foundation building and having a super-ranked divine sense, just the single identity of an array path “champion” was absolutely unparalleled in the history of Taixu Gate.

—Because Taixu Gate was not actually famous for “arrays.”

What’s more, because of Mo Hua’s first place in the array, Taixu Gate directly entered the top three of the “eight great gates,” which also “increased the value” of all Taixu disciples.

Even when going out to boast, they had face.

Mo Hua was now like a “wealth cat,” and everyone who saw him smiled happily.

And not only that.

Ever since Mo Hua became famous, even if he stayed in Taixu Gate, there were uninterrupted “visiting cards” and “gifts” being sent to Taixu Gate every day.

These visiting cards and gifts were all sent by various other world families and sects.

Some wanted to visit, some invited him to gatherings, some wanted to make friends, some wanted to form marriage alliances, and there were even attempts at poaching.

Most of them, Mo Hua refused.

Courtesy demands reciprocity.

There were no such things as taking benefits without giving in this world.

Receiving others’ gifts now was equivalent to owing a favor that would have to be repaid in the future.

Mo Hua was not greedy, and even less foolish.

However, having said that, Mo Hua still accepted the gifts from a few families.

For example, the Gu family.

He often went to the Gu family to freeload meals, and had very good relationships with many elders and disciples of the Gu family, so he had to give face to the Gu family.

The Shang Guan family and the Wen Ren family also sent gifts.

Mo Hua thought for a moment and declined to receive them.

Indeed, a few days later, Wen Ren Wan personally, on behalf of the family heads of the two families, came to Taixu Gate to deliver gifts to Mo Hua.

Mo Hua then accepted the gifts.

Wen Ren Wan herself also sent Mo Hua many things, caring for him immensely.

Then she silently looked at Mo Hua, her beautiful eyes filled with both gratitude and satisfaction.

She really hadn’t expected this child, Mo Hua, to give her such a great good karma.

Now her position in the Shang Guan family was almost on the same level as Elder Shang Guan Wang, who was in the Feather Transformation realm.

Wen Ren Wan’s heart was filled with countless emotions.

After that, she carefully admonished Mo Hua again, and only then reluctantly left Taixu Gate.

Mo Hua also personally escorted Wen Ren Wan to the mountain gate.

Mo Hua also accepted some gifts from other forces according to the situation.

And many world families and sects, even if Mo Hua didn’t receive their gifts, still kept showing him kindness and sending gifts to Taixu Gate, three or five times a week.

Thus, fame and fortune arrived in abundance, and wealth came to his door.

Mo Hua was also inevitably a bit high-spirited.

But after a period of time, he realized that this was not good.

These were not what he truly wanted.

Cultivators cultivate the “truth” and seek the “dao.”

They cannot lose their ordinary heart because of fame and fortune, allowing these frivolous and easy things to corrode their dao heart.

What he ultimately pursued was the mystery of arrays, the laws of heaven and earth, the truth that saw through all illusions, and the great dao that sought the peak of immortality.

Only then could he change Yin and Yang, reverse life and death, spy on heavenly mechanisms, grasp karma, undergo countless tribulations without dying, and attain the dao and become immortal.

Fame and fortune were perhaps not really a good thing.

If he indulged in it, he would inevitably become lazy, thus step by step deviating from the true “great dao.”

Looking at it from another angle, this was actually also a test.

Not only would hardships temper the dao heart, but fame and fortune and the temptation of wealth were also a kind of tempering for the dao heart itself.

Not sinking because of hardships, not losing because of fame and fortune.

Not losing and not forgetting, adhering to the original heart.

Without tranquility, there is no way to clarify ambitions; without peace, there is no way to achieve far.

No matter how external things changed, whether encounters were smooth or adverse, he was still himself.

Mo Hua was startled, and then his expression suddenly enlightened.

He only felt that the slightly frivolous heart he had before slowly settled down again.

His dao heart was washed away of a bit of dross, becoming clearer and firmer.

“Merely discussing array first, array path champion, these are all past matters, not worth mentioning. What cultivators pursue is a higher great dao!”

Mo Hua nodded, saying silently in his heart.

After that, he calmed down and continued as usual, cultivating, learning arrays, and comprehending the dao.

Elder Xun saw all of this.

He had originally been thinking of letting Mo Hua “indulge” for a while first, and then urging him to learn arrays.

After all, he was young, had won the championship, his fame had risen, and he was being pushed from all sides, so he should have some days of being willful.

But he didn’t expect that not long after, Mo Hua began to learn arrays day and night as usual.

His gaze was clear, his temperament peaceful, almost no different from usual.

As if he hadn’t participated in any discussion array assembly at all, hadn’t suppressed the four great sects, hadn’t won the array path championship, and didn’t have so much fame.

From beginning to end, he was just a very ordinary little disciple of the sect, infatuated with arrays and wholeheartedly seeking the dao…

Elder Xun was dazed for a long time, his pupils slightly trembled, and he suddenly thought of the eight characters left by the ancestors of Taixu Gate:

“Dao heart naturally formed, return to simplicity…”