Even the head was cut off and fell to the ground, the headless body continued to slice the neck bit by bit...
Blood was dripping, the flesh was a blurred mess.
This dream, too real, too terrifying, and seemingly endless.
Half awake, Shen Xiuyan found himself in a daze, and even had doubts.
He doubted whether he was already dead, doubted whether he had truly walked out of that broken temple back then...
Because all memories of Mo Hua were gone, shrouded in a haze, he simply couldn’t recall how he broke the situation and exited the temple.
Now, upon meeting Mo Hua, his memories began to trace back, threads of causality filled in, and only then did the events of the past begin to clarify.
Frowning, Shen Xiuyan withstood the palpitations of his heart and recalled, only then did he realize.
Back then, indeed, it was this young lord who saved his life.
He wouldn’t even know how he died...
Seeing the clarity in his mind, Mo Hua said:
"It’s not that I’m asking for repayment, but in this world, everything has causality. I saved your life, you do something for me, that’s causality. Having causality and not repaying it can easily lead to great misfortune."
Mo Hua’s expression was solemn.
Shen Xiuyan’s heart was jolted.
The matters of Heavenly Mechanism Causality were things Old Wen often muttered about, and he wasn’t particularly convinced.
But ever since ten years ago, when he went to seize an opportunity in the chaos for "defying fate and changing destiny", he had no choice but to believe in certain things.
He still remembered the corpse disaster in South Yue City back then; it was none of his business, and he didn’t really want to get involved.
But after Old Wen divined about it, he mysteriously said that a great horror lay ahead, with life and death uncertain, and that if one could save the entire South Yue City, and even the cultivators of an entire state boundary, by forming good karma, there might be a sliver of hope when facing a life-and-death crisis in the future.
The three of them stayed in South Yue City and helped suppress the corpse disaster.
It was precisely because of this corpse disaster that they met a little child named "Mo Hua".
This was the cause.
And this effect just so happened to manifest in the deadly ordeal of the broken temple.
Without calming the unrest of corpses and not knowing Mo Hua, in the broken temple, Mo Hua wouldn’t have saved them, and the three of them would have perished with no place to bury them. ȑ𝙖ŊȯΒʧ
"Causality of good and evil, what goes around comes around, Mr. Zhuang gave us a choice back then, which also meant a sliver of hope for survival..."
These were Old Wen’s words.
At the time, Shen Xiuyan listened without much feeling, but the more he thought about it later, the more he felt the profound mystery of the matter.
"Causality, huh..."
Shen Xiuyan silently glanced at Mo Hua again.
Memories slowly loosened, and some scenes gradually cleared up.
In the broken temple back then, under the firelight, Mo Hua’s eyes were sparkling, his small face flushed red, the scene of him roasting by the fire, grilling fish and sweet potatoes reappeared in his mind.
It was clearly a very cute scene.
Yet, for some reason, a hint of fear inexplicably sprouted in Shen Xiuyan’s heart.
Because he knew, back then in the corner of the broken temple, beside Mo Hua, there was a shadow, within the shadow, a vaguely seen Taoist.
Who this person was, he didn’t know at the time, but hearing the rumors from Li State City afterward, he gradually understood.
That year, to compete for that chance, the entire Li Mountain State Boundary, became a meat grinder of righteous and demonic slaughter.
Golden Core cultivators fell like the tide.
Even Feathered Immortals fell one after another.
And the instigator was precisely that Taoist.
Those who had seen that Taoist, whether righteous or demonic, almost all died tragically, even Feathered Immortals were no exception.
And the young lord before him, who back then was almost just a Qi-refining little kid, could actually sit with that Taoist, grilled fire, grilled fish, grilled sweet potatoes right in front of him, and even rescue people under his watch...
Recalling it now, Shen Xiuyan felt terrified.
The more he understood about this matter, the more terrifying it felt.
Whether it’s a psychological effect or not, Shen Xiuyan looked at the present Mo Hua and faintly sensed a trace of "Gui Taoist" disposition in him.
Just like a young "Gui Taoist"...
Such a person, coming to seek to resolve causality with him...
Shen Xiuyan felt a chill from his heart, not daring to utter half a word of "no".
"Young Master Mo, please speak... as long as it’s within my knowledge and doesn’t involve the core secrets of the Shen Family, I’ll certainly speak without reserve," Shen Xiuyan sincerely said.
Mo Hua nodded slightly, quite satisfied, and asked him, "The Shen Family has a mountain peak in Solitary Mountain, you know that, right?"
Shen Xiuyan nodded, "I know."
"What is that mountain peak used for?" Mo Hua asked.
Shen Xiuyan pondered for a moment, "This was a mining mountain bought by the Shen Family in Solitary Mountain back then, to mine bright yellow copper ore. Now that extraction is complete, it’s vacant with no other use."
"No other use... why is it sealed off, preventing others from approaching?"
"I’m not quite sure about that," Shen Xiuyan contemplated briefly, "Generally, after extraction, mining mountains that have been vacant for years are very dangerous. There’s miasma, evil energy, toxic gases brewing, possibly even fierce monster beasts residing, and over time, mountain stones can easily collapse..."
"Preventing approach might be to avoid accidents."
"After all, if a cultivator dies in the mining mountain of Shen Family, spreading the word would indeed be troublesome for the Shen Family."
Mo Hua nodded slightly, finding it somewhat reasonable.
He then asked, "Do you Shen Family have any temples built in Solitary Mountain City?"
"Temples?"
"Yes," Mo Hua nodded, "Temples, or altars, secret chambers, palaces, and other places used for offerings."