Chapter 809: Traitor

Additionally, there is another matter that Mo Hua is relatively concerned about.

During a class break, under a large shady tree on Refining Demon Mountain.

Mo Hua looked around, saw no other people, then lowered his voice and said: "The two of you being captured into Ten Thousand Demons Valley, does that mean, within your sect..."

Mo Hua paused, making his voice even lower, "...there's an internal traitor?"

Ling Hu Xiao and Ouyang Mu both had somewhat complex expressions.

After a moment, Ling Hu Xiao also lowered his voice and said: "Elder Shangguan didn't let me speak outside, but..."

But Mo Hua is not an outsider.

Moreover, Mo Hua was already well aware of the matter of Ten Thousand Demons Valley.

Ling Hu Xiao continued: "Elder Shangguan... suspects that some disciples, and even elders, within the sect are secretly colluding with other sects and selling information about their own sect disciples."

"He said he has already reported to the ancestor, the ancestor was furious, and Chong Xu Gate will secretly investigate thoroughly internally, so he told me to keep my mouth sealed and not leak the information."

Mo Hua nodded.

It's still difficult to say exactly what the situation is.

It's possible that thorough traitors have appeared within Chong Xu Gate, betraying the sect and seeking personal gain.

It's also possible that it's simply because Ling Hu Xiao's talent is too good, and some old-school elders are jealous and wary in their hearts, so they sell Ling Hu Xiao's information, wanting to eliminate this promising sword dao genius by borrowing the hands of others.

If Ling Hu Xiao can grow up and lead the trend alone, it would naturally be a good thing for Chong Xu Gate.

But sometimes, the interests of the sect do not align with the interests of certain elders.

Some people only want to lie on the sect and suck blood.

Whether the sect prospers or not is not a big deal to them; once the sect declines, they will simply change strings and switch to another force to suck.

Mo Hua looked at Ouyang Mu again.

Ouyang Mu's expression was somewhat blank.

"That day, I really didn't know anything..."

"I was just cultivating normally in the disciple's residence, feeling a little tired, I took a nap, woke up, and then found myself in Ten Thousand Demons Valley."

"Have you contacted any suspicious people before that?" Mo Hua asked.

Ouyang Mu thought for a moment, then shook his head.

"Have you taken any pills?"

"Yes." Ouyang Mu nodded, "But they were all pills used for normal cultivation, like Foundation Building Pill, Spirit Gathering Pill, and so on."

Mo Hua frowned slightly, suddenly remembering something, "Were all these pills yours?"

"Some were mine, and some..." Ouyang Mu thought for a moment, suddenly startled, "were given by Senior Brother Ma..."

Mo Hua's gaze slightly narrowed.

Indeed...

That day he was at the foot of the mountain and encountered Senior Brother Ma from Tai A Gate walking with Little Wood Head, saying he was entrusted by Senior Brother Ouyang Feng to send some cultivation pills, spirit tools, and jade slips to Little Wood Head.

At that time, he felt that there was a faint evil aura on this "Senior Brother Ma."

Initially, he still thought it was possibly unintentionally contaminated.

Now it seems this Senior Brother Ma is possibly very problematic.

"Those pills?" Mo Hua asked.

"I gave them all to my brother."

"Senior Brother Feng?"

"Um," Ouyang Mu replied, "After I returned from Ten Thousand Demons Valley, my brother went to my room and took away some things, saying he wanted to check them."

Mo Hua nodded.

Senior Brother Feng is mature and steady, and his thoughts are meticulous. Obviously, he also noticed something.

Since that's the case, it's not appropriate for him to interfere.

Moreover, this is an internal matter of Tai A Gate and Chong Xu Gate, and it has nothing to do with him, this little disciple of Tai Xu Gate; after all, he is not the little senior brother of Tai A Gate and Chong Xu Gate.

After class, the disciples are free to hunt demons.

Ouyang Mu is wooden and not very familiar with his fellow disciples.

Ling Hu Xiao is aloof and not very sociable either.

So, this direct descendant of Tai A Gate and this prodigy of Chong Xu Gate instead blended in with the disciples of Tai Xu Gate.

The elders of Tai A Gate and Chong Xu Gate could only sigh when they saw this, but they were helpless.

Over the next few days, Mo Hua unexpectedly encountered Song Jian on Refining Demon Mountain.

This was also the first time Mo Hua had seen Song Jian since the Ten Thousand Demons Valley incident.

Song Jian's changes were not significant; he was wearing a dazzling golden Duan Jin Gate dao robe, carrying an expensive spirit sword, and his skin was fair, giving him a somewhat effeminate appearance.

What had changed were his followers.

The situation at Duan Jin Gate has been turbulent these days.

Through the Ten Thousand Demons Valley incident, the Jin family stepped down and the Song family rose, beginning to reshuffle and squeeze out the Jin family cultivators, while supporting the Song family forces, thereby gradually controlling the discourse power of Duan Jin Gate.

The Jin family has declined, and the Song family is now different from the past.

And Song Jian, as a core direct descendant of the Song family and a "meritorious disciple" of the Ten Thousand Demons Valley chaos, is naturally highly valued.

Now when he goes out, the number of his followers is almost double what it was before.

Even some branches of the Jin family, in order to survive, are willing to be his "followers" and fawn on him in every possible way.

Song Jian now goes out with great arrogance.

But when he saw Mo Hua, that arrogant aura of Song Jian involuntarily restrained somewhat, and his expression was somewhat complex for a while, wanting to speak several times but stopping.

"Mo..."

Before he could open his mouth, other disciples of Duan Jin Gate laughed coldly:

"That little kid from Tai Xu Gate in front! He doesn't know what's good for him and dares to block Young Master Song's way."

"That's right, if you don't hurry and make way, be careful we'll make you unable to walk away..."

"Quickly move aside!"

Song Jian's followers all said with arrogant faces.

Mo Hua's expression was subtle.

Tai Xu Gate broke the Ten Thousand Demons Valley, causing the Jin family to step down and the Song family to rise.

But the Song family's attitude towards Tai Xu Gate seems no different from that of the Jin family.

Not only are the upper levels of Duan Jin Gate like this, but these disciples of Duan Jin Gate below are also the same.

Moreover, they act recklessly on Refining Demon Mountain, causing trouble randomly, and have almost all been beaten by the Tai Xu Gate disciples who are "fully armed" with arrays by Mo Hua, therefore they are quite hostile towards Tai Xu Gate.

At this time, seeing Mo Hua wearing a Tai Xu Gate dao robe, their gazes were naturally unfriendly.

But they didn't know who Mo Hua was.

Mo Hua hides behind the scenes and rarely shows his face.

Therefore, these disciples of Duan Jin Gate do not know that the "mastermind" who caused them to suffer losses at the hands of Tai Xu Gate is precisely this little cultivator in front of them.

At this time, when they met, they only treated Mo Hua as a little disciple of Tai Xu Gate and bossed him around.

Mo Hua's temper is not that good either.

He hasn't failed to beat disciples of Duan Jin Gate before.

Just as he was considering whether or not to call people to teach these ignorant disciples of Duan Jin Gate a lesson.

Song Jian suddenly said: "Mo Hua!"

He drew out a sword and pointed it at Mo Hua, laughing coldly:

"You offended me before and destroyed my sword embryo that I had nurtured for eighteen years and used to cast my life-bound magic treasure. I remember this account clearly, and today I will avenge this sword!"

The lackeys beside him all clamored:

"Why does Young Master need to personally take action to deal with this kind of small fry?"

"I only need to make a slight move to chop him under the sword!"

"This kind of little bastard from Tai Xu Gate can be crushed with a backhand. I am willing to act on behalf of the Young Master and do the work of a dog or horse to avenge this sword!"

"Young Master, I am willing to take action!"

Song Jian's gaze was ice-cold, "My enmity, where is your share to interfere?"

The crowd of lackeys said again: "Yes, Young Master is right."

"This little ghost is definitely not an opponent of Young Master Song's single exchange!"

Who knew this flattery hit the horse's leg.

Song Jian's face was slightly red, and he felt ashamed and angry in his heart.

"Shut up!"

"Yes, yes..." The group responded.

Song Jian said: "You all stay here, I will with this..."

Song Jian glanced at Mo Hua, his tone somewhat unnatural, "With this little ghost, we will decide victory and defeat, and then head back to the sect."

"As ordered."

The crowd all said.

Song Jian looked left and right, pointed his sword towards a small woods, and said coldly to Mo Hua:

"I don't want to win unfairly, so let's have a one-on-one fight in these mountain woods. No one else will interfere. We'll decide life and death!"

Mo Hua nodded slightly, "Okay."

After that, the two people, one in front and one behind, entered the mountain woods.

A group of Duan Jin Gate disciples listened to Song Jian's instructions and stayed outside, but they were puzzled in their hearts and looked at each other.

Someone frowned: "Why is Young Master bothering with this? If there's enmity, everyone should go up together and take this kid down, wouldn't that be enough?"

"Indeed..."

Someone laughed coldly: "That's why I say Young Master Song is a fool."

Since Song Jian was not present, some people no longer had any respect and their attitude became arrogant.

They clung to Song Jian's status, not Song Jian himself.

In terms of personal ability, they all felt that they were not inferior to Song Jian, it was just that their backgrounds were poor, that's all.

"It's also possible..." Another disciple laughed, "that Young Master Song is afraid of losing face, so he found a place where no one is around to compete. Even if he is defeated by that little ghost, he won't lose face in public."

"Young Master Song, he won't really lose, right..."

"Lose to that little ghost?"

"What's impossible?"

"No matter what you say, it's not to that extent. That little ghost's blood energy and spiritual power are so weak. If Young Master loses this, he's too useless..."

The crowd all laughed gleefully.

In the mountain woods.

Song Jian walked to a secluded spot, put his sword back into its sheath, found a large stone to sit down, and let out a sigh of relief.

Mo Hua was somewhat puzzled, "You're not fighting?"

Song Jian said speechlessly: "I can't beat you anyway, how can I fight?"

If it were before, he would still have some pride in his heart and feel that he could defeat Mo Hua by relying on his own strength and take revenge for his "Duan Jin Sword" which was tormented beyond recognition in Mo Hua's hands.

But after returning from Ten Thousand Demons Valley, he completely dispelled this idea.

He couldn't beat him, he simply couldn't beat him.

Not to mention fighting, if he really made a move, he might not even know where Mo Hua was.

What's more, in Ten Thousand Demons Valley, Mo Hua still saved his life...

Song Jian hesitated for a moment, but in the end he still sighed deeply and said in a voice that was almost inaudible:

"Thank, thank you..."

Mo Hua asked: "What?"

Song Jian said shamefully and angrily: "Thank you!"

"Oh..."

Mo Hua nodded.

"So, you came to find me to thank me? Thank me for saving your life in Ten Thousand Demons Valley?" Mo Hua said.

"Sort of..."

Song Jian finished, his expression changed, and he fell silent again.

Mo Hua observed his words and expressions, his gaze shifted slightly, and he said curiously: "Are you... worried about something?"

"No." Song Jian said with a straight face.

Mo Hua naturally did not believe him.

"If you have worries, you can tell me. Although I may not be able to help you, I should be able to give you some ideas."

Song Jian originally didn't want to say anything, but he looked up at Mo Hua, saw Mo Hua's clear and profound gaze, and felt as if he was possessed, feeling that saying it out wasn't bad either.

Moreover, besides Mo Hua, he felt there was no one else he could talk to.

Especially about matters related to Ten Thousand Demons Valley...

Song Jian's expression was somewhat desolate, and he slowly said:

"I found out that my parents actually don't care about my life or death..."

Mo Hua was startled, "Why do you say that?"

Song Jian said: "In Ten Thousand Demons Valley, I had a little finger cut off and sent to my parents, but there was no reaction from my parents."

"Jin Gui said that my parents were weighing the pros and cons, weighing whether to save me. If the price was too high, they would rather I die. They would shed some tears and feel sad, and that would be it. Anyway, I'm not the only son in the Song family."

"At first, I didn't believe Jin Gui's words..."

"But, after I returned from Ten Thousand Demons Valley, I found that although my parents were happy, they were not as... overjoyed as I had imagined..."

"They did know early on that I was trapped in Ten Thousand Demons Valley, but they didn't take any action. Even many elders of the Song family knew, but they didn't know what they were weighing, and in the end, it seemed they planned to treat me as..."

Song Jian's face was ugly, "...an abandoned child."

"Abandoned child?"

Mo Hua was somewhat surprised.

"Um," Song Jian murmured, "They were calculating something, and even my parents got some benefits from it, so they weren't too concerned about my life or death."

"Coming back alive seems to them to be just an unexpected joy, or even..."

Song Jian's gaze was ice-cold, "...I am more like a 'gift'."

Mo Hua frowned.

He had long heard of the cruelty and indifference based on the weighing of interests within aristocratic families.

But he had never really thought that this kind of thing would happen to Song Jian.

"How many brothers do you have?" Mo Hua asked.

"Two elder brothers," Song Jian said, "I am the youngest, but my talent is far inferior to my two elder brothers, my cultivation is not as diligent as theirs, and I am not as ruthless as them in doing things..."

Song Jian pointed towards the woods outside, "Moreover, I'm not very good at winning people over."

"Now that the Song family forces have risen, there are more lackeys around me, and I can't even drive them away, but I actually know that they look down on me in their hearts."

He had lived a comfortable life before and had never thought about these things carefully.

But in Ten Thousand Demons Valley, having walked once on the edge of a knife and from the mouth of blood, many problems naturally became clear.

"In this world, no one is reliable..."

"The sect is not reliable, the family is not reliable, parents are not reliable, elder brothers are not reliable, let alone that bunch of lackeys."

Song Jian's expression was somewhat lost.

Mo Hua thought for a moment, then patted Song Jian's shoulder, "So, you can only rely on yourself."

Song Jian's expression was indifferent, "I know to rely on myself, but... I myself am not reliable..."

"It doesn't matter," Mo Hua said generously, "I will help you."

Song Jian looked at Mo Hua silently, and no matter how he looked at it, this sentence felt very discordant.

You, a disciple of Tai Xu Gate, for no reason at all, want to help me, a disciple of Duan Jin Gate?

Mo Hua then said: "Didn't I save you?"

Song Jian nodded, "Sort of..."

"Do we count as having a life-saving friendship?"

"Also, sort of..."

Song Jian said hesitantly.

"This won't do," Mo Hua said, "The long dao road, seeking up and down, is necessarily an extremely long process. The most important thing is to have 'like-minded' dao friends who can help each other and benefit each other!"

"I even saved your life, and you still don't believe me?"

Song Jian hesitated somewhat, "But... we are after all in different positions."

"What positions?"

"Different sects..."

"What does this have to do with you?" Mo Hua said with a puzzled face, "You're not the sect master of Duan Jin Gate anyway, just an ordinary disciple, why bother with such idle thoughts?"

"But my Song family... is after all the Song family of Duan Jin Gate, and I am a disciple of the Song family..."

Before Song Jian could finish, Mo Hua sighed:

"What does this have to do with you?"

"You are a disciple of the Song family, but at the crucial moment, you will still be sold by the Song family. You yourself said that family is not reliable. Your parents have three sons, they can't hold a bowl steady, and they won't necessarily always put you in their hearts. When they encounter things, they are all weighing interests."

"Since that's the case, what are you worried about?"

Song Jian was a bit confused by Mo Hua's "hoodwinking."

"But, you destroyed my life-bound sword embryo..."

Mo Hua: "Merely a life-bound sword embryo..."

Song Jian said angrily: "What do you mean by 'merely' a life-bound sword embryo? I have carried this sword embryo since I started learning the sword and have nurtured it until now. It has taken eighteen years, and it has never left my side! Eighteen years!"

The more Song Jian thought about it, the more angry he became, and the more pain he felt in his heart.

Mo Hua sighed deeply again and countered: "What do we cultivators pursue throughout our lives?"

Song Jian was stunned by Mo Hua's question, hesitated for a moment, and said: "Longevity?"

"Yes! Longevity!" Mo Hua asked again, "How many years is longevity?"

Song Jian frowned, "Longevity is naturally the same lifespan as heaven and earth, where would we still care about how many years?"

"Correct!" Mo Hua said again, "So, your lifelong pursuit is longevity, which is to have the same lifespan as heaven and earth, to live for millions of years. Do you still need to care about the eighteen years you spent nurturing this mere sword embryo?"

Song Jian was a bit dumbfounded.

He suddenly felt that what Mo Hua said seemed a bit reasonable...

Since his goal is to become immortal, to achieve longevity, to live as long as heaven and earth.

Then the eighteen years he spent nurturing this sword embryo is just a snap of the fingers, why bother dwelling on it?

Mo Hua patted Song Jian's shoulder again, "So, broaden your vision and don't care about immediate gains and losses, otherwise your heart will be narrow, and it will be difficult to climb the peak of the dao..."

Song Jian involuntarily nodded.

But he still had some worries, "You say mutual help, how exactly do we mutually help? I will not betray the Song family, nor will I betray Duan Jin Gate."

"I'm not asking you to betray..." Mo Hua said, "It's just that we exchange some information. I want to know what intelligence, you tell me, and if you have troubles, I will help you solve them."

"On the surface, you are still a core disciple of Duan Jin Gate, a direct descendant of the Song family, and not harmonious with my Tai Xu Gate, but in secret, we will cooperate with each other and progress together."

"This way, both sides leave a way out, and when we encounter things in the future, we will have an extra option."

"What do you think?"

Song Jian thought carefully and couldn't help but feel that Mo Hua's suggestion was very good.

Asking him to betray his family or sect is definitely impossible.

But secretly seeking a powerful helper for himself is naturally the best.

Various things that happened in Ten Thousand Demons Valley floated in Song Jian's mind again.

He sighed silently in his heart.

Among cultivators of the same realm, Mo Hua is really too strong...

Not that kind of strong in terms of theoretical combat power, but a kind of cunning and strange, unfathomable strength.

It makes people completely unable to figure him out.

If he makes Mo Hua his enemy, he has no confidence in his heart at all.

But if he makes him a "partner," he can feel much more at ease.

"Okay..."

Song Jian nodded silently, and also let out a big sigh of relief in his heart.

Mo Hua still wanted to say something, but suddenly heard someone outside the mountain woods shouting his name. He then said: "Remember this, if you have matters later, just come to Refining Demon Mountain to find me."

"Um." Song Jian responded.

After that, Mo Hua went to the open ground and released several fireball techniques.

Song Jian was slightly startled, then immediately understood, and also operated his spiritual power, chopping many swords at the nearby large trees, creating a post-battle scene.

Then the two people walked out of the mountain woods one after the other, mutually on guard.

Outside the mountain woods, Cheng Mo and Si Tu Jian were confronting the disciples of Duan Jin Gate while shouting Mo Hua's name.

Seeing Mo Hua come out safe and sound, Cheng Mo and the others relaxed.

Mo Hua wiped the sweat that didn't exist from his forehead, pointed at Song Jian, and laughed coldly:

"Little white face, next time I'll make you regret it!"

Song Jian was startled, then also laughed coldly, "This time you were lucky, next time we meet, I will definitely chop you into pieces!"

Then he snorted coldly and left with an arrogant look on his face.

Cheng Mo found his appearance displeasing and immediately said angrily: "Good kid, speaking wildly, see if I don't chop you?"

"Alright, alright," Mo Hua stopped him, "It's getting late, we should go back."

"Little Senior Brother, are you alright?" Si Tu Jian asked.

"Nothing, how could I have anything on Refining Demon Mountain?" Mo Hua said.

Si Tu Jian thought about it, nodded: "That's also true."

After that, both sides left separately.

The mountain woods became quiet again.

Besides Mo Hua and Song Jian, no one else knew that they had secretly reached this agreement.

And because this was during the sect's "teaching" period, Elder Xun Zi You was not keeping an eye on Mo Hua, so he was completely unaware of this matter.

On the way back, Mo Hua silently pondered in his heart:

"Tai A Gate has an internal traitor, Chong Xu Gate has an internal traitor, and now Duan Jin Gate also has an 'internal traitor'."

And it was arranged by himself.

If Song Jian does well, it will be more convenient for me to act later.

"If one day, he can become an elder, that would be good..."

Thinking of this, Mo Hua was suddenly startled and couldn't help but think:

"This kid Song Jian, in the future, he won't also become the sect master of Duan Jin Gate, right..."