Living-dead... corpse embryo?
Mo Hua's pupils contracted. His thoughts shifted restlessly as he slowly asked Rong Zhenren, “What is a living-dead corpse embryo?”
Rong Zhenren's tone was calm, but a faint trace of surprise showed in his eyes.
“In this world, some people's destinies are different.”
“Factors such as birth date, Eight Characters, yin and yang of age, birthplace, and bloodline of parents... can occasionally produce anomalies beyond the Heavenly Dao, causing a cultivator's very existence and fate to undergo extraordinary changes.”
“Ordinarily, such people may look no different from ordinary cultivators. Only when they encounter upheaval will the anomaly in their fate be revealed.”
“Perhaps the piece of flesh you gave me is like that too.”
Rong Zhenren looked gravely at the blood-and-flesh specimen within the glass lens in her hand.
“Within this flesh, the residual divine sense is grayish-white, indicating that its owner has no spirit and is already a corpse. Yet this seemingly dead divine sense... still retains a certain activity, allowing the corpse to live like an ordinary person.”
“Dead yet seeming alive, like a living-dead person. A corpse after death that retains residual activity and can continue to grow, like an embryo.”
“I looked through some ancient medical classics, and there are similar records in them. They call such fateful anomalies... living-dead embryos.”
Rong Zhenren's voice turned slightly cold at this point.
A chill also rose from the bottom of Mo Hua's heart.
He had only thought that the boy Tusheng, having been killed yet not dying, was bound to be strange; he had never imagined it would involve something called a “living-dead corpse embryo.”
The name alone reeked of danger.
Mo Hua asked, “Then what is the living-dead corpse embryo... used for? What is it meant to do?”
But Rong Zhenren shook her head. “Don't ask me.”
Mo Hua looked at Rong Zhenren.
Rong Zhenren said, “It's not that I won't tell you... but the methods for using living-dead corpse embryos are all recorded in the forbidden scriptures of the demonic sect. How do you expect me to tell you?”
Mo Hua was taken aback, then gradually understood. But after pondering for a moment, he could not help pressing further.
“Even if they are recorded in the demonic sect's forbidden scriptures... only the specific methods would be unknown. The general purpose should still be guessable, right?”
“What kind of demonic lineage does the living-dead corpse embryo belong to?”
“Is it used for dissection, corpse nurturing, soul refining? Is it a vessel for some kind of existence... or is it used to refine evil artifacts or refine human elixirs?”
Rong Zhenren silently watched Mo Hua, her eyelid twitching. Then she said suspiciously, “Aren't you from the Taixu Sect? Why are you so familiar with the demonic path?”
How can you recite these demonic arts like a practiced hand, as if you had once “studied” in the demonic sect?
Mo Hua's heart jumped, but he put on a serious expression.
“Rong Zhenren, to be honest, I am an upright righteous cultivator. The thing I love most in life is slaying demons and vanquishing evils. Since you must know your enemy, it is only natural that I understand a little more about demonic things...”
For a moment, Rong Zhenren did not know what to say.
After a long silence, Rong Zhenren sighed inwardly and could only say, “You should still touch less on demonic things. Don't learn bad habits.”
“Some influences are actually invisible. If you always approach problems from the demonic perspective and ponder demonic techniques, then over time you are likely to think... demonic cultivators are people too, the demonic path is also a path, cultivation through demonic means is also normal, and there is nothing wrong with it.”
“Over time, your own Dao Heart will gradually develop problems, and you may fall into the demonic path without knowing it.”
Mo Hua was stunned. After mulling it over, his heart tightened, and he felt Rong Zhenren's words made a great deal of sense.
The Great Dao divides into yin and yang, and transforms into righteous and evil.
Yin and yang permeate each other; righteous and evil transform into each other. A small misstep at the beginning may seem harmless, but once time passes and bad habits accumulate, one will unknowingly go astray, and it will be hard to turn back.
At the bottom of the heart, one still needs a ruler to keep the boundary between righteous and demonic clearly distinguished.
Rong Zhenren was also looking out for him.
Mo Hua took it deeply to heart and cupped his hands to Rong Zhenren. “Thank you for the reminder, Zhenren. Mo Hua understands.”
Hearing this, Rong Zhenren was even more astonished. This child looked like an oddity and acted lawlessly.
But once he truly noticed a problem, he would quickly correct himself. At such an age, with such a disposition, he was truly so righteous it seemed almost uncanny.
For a time, Rong Zhenren was silent.
But Mo Hua still had some confusion and asked again.
“Then... is a person who becomes a “living-dead corpse embryo” alive or already dead? Can he... become a living person again?”
Rong Zhenren thought for a moment, then explained to Mo Hua, “This may... be connected to the heart-spirit. If the heart-spirit can live, then the person can live.”
“If the heart-spirit is dead, then this living-dead embryo will either die quickly, or it will... incubate and evolve toward the existence of certain alien corpses.”
“No one can say for sure what it will eventually become.”
Rong Zhenren frowned.
Mo Hua's expression also turned grave.
Tusheng's situation seemed more dangerous than he had thought.
But there were also some things in Rong Zhenren's words that made Mo Hua uneasy.
“Zhenren,” Mo Hua frowned, “heart-spirit, divine soul, Soul and Corporeal Soul, divine sense... are these all the same thing?”
What Mo Hua understood best was divine sense, or rather divine thought, and he was even familiar with deities.
Because he was a cultivator who had attained the Dao through divine sense, with the transforming power of the Divine Path, his divine sense approached that of a deity.
But recently, he had frequently come into contact with cultivation concepts like “divine soul,” “heart-spirit,” and “Ethereal Soul and Corporeal Soul.”
At first, Mo Hua thought these concepts all referred to the same thing, merely alternative names for “divine sense” or “divine thought.”
But now, listening to Rong Zhenren's meaning, plus the traditions of ritual masters, geomancers, and ghost arts he had encountered in Kun Prefecture, and Tusheng, the “living-dead corpse embryo” who survived without divine sense...
Mo Hua suddenly realized that these terms of the Divine Path might not be so simple.
Furthermore, when he had previously cultivated the Water Prison Sect's forbidden art “Seven Souls Blood Prison Eye” at Taixu Sect, he had come into contact with some methods involving the Ethereal Soul and Corporeal Soul.
Mo Hua vaguely felt that divine sense, heart-spirit, divine soul, Ethereal Soul, and Corporeal Soul were concepts of the Divine Path that might not be lumped together.
Within divine sense itself, there were still many deeper distinctions.
It was just that most cultivators had been confused by such seemingly similar names as heart, spirit, Ethereal Soul, and Corporeal Soul.
But Rong Zhenren simply said, “I don't know.”
Mo Hua could not tell whether Rong Zhenren truly did not know, or simply did not want to tell him.
Rong Zhenren sighed. “I really don't know. The pure path of divine sense is too ethereal... That is not within my field of study. I am only proficient in alchemy, medicine, and slicing specimens.”
Rong Zhenren shook her head. “If you truly want to ask about these things, you will have to go to Fangcun Mountain.”
Mo Hua's eyes trembled. “Fangcun Mountain?”
Rong Zhenren nodded. “Cultivators on Fangcun Mountain love to discuss subtle metaphysics, are obsessed with the way of ghosts and spirits, raise gods that cannot be seen, and cultivate arts that are metaphysical.”
Fangcun Mountain...
Mo Hua felt yearning in his heart.
This kind of place seemed perfectly suited to his taste. He too was obsessed with the way of ghosts and spirits and was cultivating a god that could not be seen.
Moreover, this was not the first time he had heard the name “Fangcun Mountain.”
Mo Hua asked, “Is Fangcun Mountain not open to entry?”
Rong Zhenren nodded. “It is a hidden, reclusive place, refusing all worldly karma. Outsiders cannot even find its gate, let alone enter.”
Mo Hua said, “Then what if I force my way in?”
Rong Zhenren glanced at Mo Hua. “How would you force your way in? Can you break down the mountain gate? Or can you suppress the reclusive old ancestors?”
Reclusive old ancestors...
Mo Hua said, “Forget it then...”
How would he dare to provoke the old ancestors?
But he was still unwilling to let it go. “Then... if I could find a way, would I be able to sneak in?”
“How do you plan to sneak in?” Rong Zhenren asked.
Mo Hua shook his head.
He could not even find the mountain gate, so how would he know how to sneak in.
Rong Zhenren sighed. “You have high insight into heavenly mechanisms, so you should know that everything is about cause and effect. With cause, there is effect; with affinity, there is the Dharma. Even if you want to sneak in, you have to follow the thread of karmic cause.”
“Do you have any karmic connection with Fangcun Mountain?” Rong Zhenren asked.
Mo Hua still shook his head.
He had only heard the name Fangcun Mountain recently; before that he knew nothing. How could he have any karmic connection?
Rong Zhenren said, “That is it then. No cause, no effect; no affinity, no Dharma. You do not even have the cause to sneak in.”
Mo Hua sighed.
Rong Zhenren thought for a moment, then said, “There is another possibility...”
Mo Hua was startled. “What possibility?”
Rong Zhenren said, “If you stay in Kun Prefecture for a few hundred or a thousand years, and if something great happens within that hidden sect, forcing it to appear in the world, then you might have a chance to sneak in...”
“But that is also relying on luck... If you are lucky, there is a slight chance; if not, you will have no affinity for a lifetime.”
Mo Hua shook his head helplessly.
How could he wait a few hundred years in Kun Prefecture? He still had many things to do.
Moreover, looking at the current situation, Kun Prefecture might not remain stable for a few hundred years...
He just did not know whether, if Kun Prefecture suddenly fell into chaos, Fangcun Mountain would open its gates and let him in to study its traditions...
Mo Hua sank into thought.
Rong Zhenren glanced at Mo Hua, thought for a moment, and her expression suddenly shifted. She asked,
“Mo Hua, where exactly did you get this piece of flesh?”
“Where is this living-dead corpse embryo now?”
Mo Hua was startled. After thinking for a long time, he asked seriously,
“Rong Zhenren, I can tell you about the living-dead corpse embryo, but do you really want to hear it? After you hear it, what do you intend to do?”
Rong Zhenren was stunned, then understood that Mo Hua was asking whether she truly wanted to get involved in these karmic consequences.
Once she got involved, once she knew the identity and location of the living-dead corpse embryo, she would become “one inside the game,” and her karma would change, and then her behavior would also change...
Rong Zhenren struggled for a long time, then finally sighed. “Forget it. The trouble is too great. Go stir it up yourself.”
Mo Hua nodded.
Rong Zhenren asked Mo Hua, “Anything else?”
Mo Hua shook his head. “No.” He also knew that Rong Zhenren was politely seeing him off, so he cupped his hands.
“Thank you for your trouble, Zhenren. I will take my leave.”
Rong Zhenren nodded. “Mm.”
Then Mo Hua left respectfully.
Rong Zhenren stood at the desk, looking at the specimen in her hand, frowning more and more tightly. After no one knew how long, she murmured,
“How did it happen to be... a living-dead corpse embryo?”
...
After taking leave of Rong Zhenren, walking through the woods of Little Luan Mountain, Mo Hua's thoughts were likewise in turmoil.
“Living-dead corpse embryo...”
Rong Zhenren had not said it explicitly, but since it contained the character “corpse,” did it mean it was related to Yin Corpse Valley?
What exactly was it related to Yin Corpse Valley?
What would Yin Corpse Valley do with a “corpse embryo”?
Moreover, if Tusheng truly was a living-dead corpse embryo, then once the corpse cultivators of Yin Corpse Valley smelled blood, they would definitely not let Tusheng go.
Even if Tusheng was in the Dao Court Department, he might not be too safe.
Mo Hua frowned. He could not rest easy after all. After thinking for a moment, he decided to go check.
Mo Hua first found the Little Junior Sister and said, “Senior Sister, I have something to do. I need to go out.”
Bai Zixi was a little surprised, but did not stop him. She only asked, “Will you be long?”
“Very quick,” Mo Hua said. “I'll go and come right back.”
Bai Zixi did not know what he was thinking, but she nodded. “Be careful on the road.”
“Mm.”
Mo Hua glanced at his Little Junior Sister once more before taking his leave.
After leaving the Blessed Land, he had only walked about a dozen li when the surroundings suddenly became somewhat unusual.
Mo Hua's divine sense swept over the area roughly, and he could clearly detect quite a few strands of divine sense secretly watching him in the dark.
Every one of those senses was at the Golden Core level, with considerable cultivation and obscure auras—clearly experienced.
If not for Mo Hua, other Golden Core cultivators would have found it hard to detect them.
Mo Hua's gaze turned dark. “People from the Kun Prefecture great clans?”
He had only left Jade Fragrance Pavilion last night, and they had already sent people to shadow him early this morning?
They did not dare get too close to Little Luan Mountain, fearing to offend Rong Zhenren, so they hid more than a dozen li away, watching his movements.
Those young masters of Kun Prefecture households really were vengeful to the extreme.
Mo Hua also realized the situation was getting more and more troublesome.
Only a thief can be a thief for a thousand days; no one can guard against thieves for a thousand days.
He was not afraid of these people shadowing him, but if he was always watched, his movements would be restricted, and he would not be free. Who knew if other trouble would arise in the future...
Mo Hua's gaze hardened. He intended to intimidate these people, and the young masters behind them, but in the end, mindful of Tusheng, who was a living-dead corpse embryo, he held back for now.
Mo Hua pretended to have noticed nothing and walked forward naturally. As soon as he reached a fork in the road, in the time it took to turn around, he activated the Lesser Five Elements Concealment Art, merged into the rocks, and disappeared.
Even though the shadowing cultivators were all skilled Golden Core experts, they had rarely seen such a brilliant concealment art.
Having lost track of Mo Hua, they could only mill around on the spot like headless flies, cursing inwardly.
And Mo Hua, easily shaking off these “flies,” remained concealed, circled around Houtu City a few times, hired a carriage, and headed toward the Dao Court Department.
Nothing happened along the way. Arriving at the Dao Court Department, Mo Hua walked directly into the secluded office building.
This was the place where the Dao Court-appointed case officer Gu Changhuai and the others handled their cases.
The people inside were either Gu Changhuai's trusted confidants or officers of the Demon Suppression Department. Most of them had seen Mo Hua and did not dare block him in the slightest.
Mo Hua entered the building, swept his divine sense, and found Tusheng in a corner, dressed in an unranked Dao Court robe, moving files.
He worked earnestly and diligently. In the Dao Court Department robes, he looked like a probationary officer, with no incongruity at all.
Mo Hua called his name.
Tusheng looked up, saw Mo Hua, and was both surprised and delighted. He had thought Mo Hua had abandoned him at the Dao Court Department and would not care about him anymore.
Tusheng hurriedly put down the files in his hands and bowed to Mo Hua. “Sir.”
Mo Hua glanced at Tusheng and saw that his complexion was still normal, so he nodded. “Come with me.”
Tusheng did not understand why, but he obediently said, “Yes, sir.”
Mo Hua found a private room in the office building, brought Tusheng in, closed the door tightly, and sealed it with formations. Only then did he carefully scrutinize Tusheng for a long while. His gaze sharpened slightly, and he asked softly,
“Have you felt any discomfort recently?”
“Discomfort?” Tusheng thought about it, then shook his head. “Here... I'm fine... no discomfort.”
Mo Hua continued, “Have you noticed anything strange in your sea of consciousness?”
Tusheng thought for a moment and then became somewhat silent.
Mo Hua said, “It's fine. Tell me anything.”
Tusheng then nodded. “It's not exactly strange, but sometimes I feel drowsy and can't figure out why. It's like... I've lost my soul.”
“And sometimes, I feel as if something is calling out to me...”
Mo Hua's pupils shrank.