"It’s fine," Xun Zixian said, "This place is covered in poisonous swamps and the terrain is complicated. We don’t have enough time to clear it all out now. I’ll have someone take care of the aftermath later."
Mo Hua nodded.
Then the two raised their heads together, looking toward the white mist, where miasma and blood fog intertwined, a vast, indistinct sky—both of them furrowed their brows at the same time.
They were both Formation Masters, and exceptionally gifted ones at that, able to sense the strange energies permeating Yanluo Mountain’s Blood Swamp and the sinister currents in the bloody Evil Formation there.
"So the Formation is fueled by slaughter..." Mo Hua murmured.
Xun Zixian’s gaze trembled slightly, "All killing brings blood, white bone, rotting flesh, and the resentment and terror people experience before death, the Yin Qi and Evil Qi that follow... These are the source power of the Evil Formation."
"The deeper the slaughter, the stronger the Evil Formation grows."
"And moreover..."
Xun Zixian shifted his gaze from the blood-drenched sky to the vast earth below, his brows drawn tight.
The flesh, grudges, and Evil Qi of those dead Cultivators were absorbed by the Evil Formation, transformed into Evil Power, and finally all surged into the earth veins, and then—
Vanished without a trace...
The vast land blocked any trace; it was impossible to track where that Evil Power had gone.
Not only did Xun Zixian fail to discern it—even Mo Hua, who had once resonated with the Earth Dao Meaning, couldn’t perceive the flow of power within the Evil Formation.
Earth is Kun—thick virtue bearing all things.
The earth embraces everything, whether living or dead, righteous or evil.
Once Evil Power flows into the earth veins, it disappears, leaving no trail.
And after all, Mo Hua is only at Foundation Establishment; even with superior comprehension, his realm limits him—much of the truth remains hidden from view.
Xun Zixian’s gaze was grave, "There is someone behind the Demon Sect—the mastery of their Evil Formation... is unfathomable."
Mo Hua nodded in agreement.
He suspected it was Mr. Tu, but couldn’t be sure.
Among the Evil God’s lackeys, there could easily be an Evil Formation Master more formidable than Mr. Tu.
Xun Ziyou, standing to the side, finally understood and his expression shifted slightly:
"So, we’ve walked into a trap, haven’t we? The Demon Sect laid this Formation deliberately, luring us into slaughtering their disciples, stirring up bloodshed, just to activate the Formation?" ＲãƝȫ𝔟Ê𐌔
Xun Zixian’s brows knit even tighter.
But Mo Hua shook his head, "Not necessarily..."
He’s tangled with the Demon Sect—no, with the Great Wilderness Evil God behind the Demon Sect—far too many times; there are things he understands better than most.
"This Formation was very likely designed this way from the beginning," Mo Hua said. "Since the Demon Sect established themselves here, it was only a matter of time before a bloody war erupted."
Mo Hua looked out at the treacherous mountains and marshlands, his voice solemn: "This Yanluo Mountain was destined to become a battlefield drenched in blood. Whoever laid down the Formation anticipated this and placed the Evil Formation here in advance. What they were waiting for was the inevitable bloodshed."
"It’s just that the Demon Sect was eradicated sooner than expected."
"If the Demon Sect had been left to develop for another ten or twenty years, with Demon Cultivators numbering in the tens of thousands—"
"At that point, if the Taoist Court launched another siege on the Demon Sect, the casualties would be ten times what they are now, or more."
"The slaughter would be overwhelming, Blood Qi would shroud the sky; even if someone noticed that this toxic swamp was riddled with Evil Formations sucking up and converting deadly evilness, sending it into the earth veins, no one could stop it."
"If it came to that, this Evil Formation would be completely saturated, and who knows what kind of nightmare would be unleashed..."
Mo Hua’s tone was grave and heavy.
Xun Zixian and Xun Ziyou, together with the other Elders, all wore somber expressions.
The atmosphere grew even more oppressive.
Xun Ziyou sighed, "Heretical Demon, truly cunning and vicious."
Xun Zixian nodded as well, then suddenly froze for a moment, stealing a glance at Mo Hua, his thoughts shifting softly.
The Demon Path is undeniably sinister, but this kid Mo Hua only took a few looks at the Formations and already grasped how the Evil Formation was operating, showing his quick mind; his intuition with Formations and his insight into things rival those of the Demon Head pulling strings from the shadows.
"The old gentleman was right to worry—the more gifted he is, the less you can let him stray off the righteous path."
As this thought crossed Xun Zixian’s mind, he said to Mo Hua:
"The Demon Sect siege is basically finished. Come back to the sect with me—the Taoist Court will take care of the cleanup."
Mo Hua hesitated briefly, speaking in a low voice, "Elder, can I have a look inside the Demon Sect?"
Xun Zixian kept a straight face, "What do you want to see?"
He wanted to see if there were clues to the Four Symbols Green Dragon Evil Formation inside the Demon Sect...
But the Green Dragon Formation had the tendency to devolve into an Evil Dragon Formation; it wasn’t something Mo Hua wanted to say plainly, so he replied:
"I just want to see for myself—what it’s really like inside the Demon Sect, and what the Demon Cultivators actually did."
Mo Hua had assumed Elder Xun Zixian would refuse.
But Xun Zixian seemed to think it over and, after only a moment’s hesitation, unexpectedly nodded, "Very well, I’ll take you to have a look."
Xun Ziyou was a bit unhappy.
That kind of place—he didn’t want to go back even once, let alone see Mo Hua enter it.
But since Mo Hua wanted to go and Xun Zixian agreed, he couldn’t overrule the two and could only call a few more Taixu Sect Elders along to keep watch, worried that something might happen to Mo Hua he couldn’t answer for.
Inside the Demon Sect, everything was already in ruins.
The Taoist Court and Taixu Sect Elders had smashed through the outer Formation head-on, then battled to the death with the Demon Sect’s leaders and Golden Core Elders within. The Demon Sect’s grand hall was now collapsed, nothing but broken walls and shattered roofs everywhere.
But many of the Demon Sect’s cruelties remained.
Blood slaves kept like livestock in pigpens—blank-minded, skeletal, barely recognizable as human.