Chapter 821: Temptation

After returning to the sect, life was peaceful.

Mòhuà cultivated and studied array methods every day as usual.However, in his free time, he remained very concerned about the sect that had possessed the ancient sword dao inheritance before the separation of the Tài'é, Chóngxū, and Tàixū sects.Thus, he inquired indirectly, asking a circle of people to see if anyone within the Tàixū sect knew the name of this ancient sect.None of the disciples knew.Among the elders, including Xún Zǐyù, Xún Zǐxián, and the gentle Elder Mùróng, he asked them all, but they all said they were unclear.Mòhuà thought and thought, and could only go ask Old Mister Xún.One day, after Mòhuà finished asking Old Mister Xún for advice on the essentials of the nineteen-pattern eight-trigram array, he took the opportunity to ask this question:"Old Mister, I heard others say that the predecessor of our Tàixū sect was an ancient sword dao sect. Do you know what this ancient sect was called?"Old Mister Xún was startled, and his gaze at Mòhuà was a bit strange. "Why ask this?""I'm just a little curious," Mòhuà said.Old Mister Xún's expression became subtle for a moment. After a moment, with some regret, he sighed and said:"This matter is too long ago. That name is also not allowed to be mentioned again. I also don't know..."Although Old Mister Xún said he didn't know, Mòhuà looked at his expression and it didn't seem like he was unaware.Mòhuà pondered for a moment, suddenly realized something, and asked again:"You said 'not allowed to be mentioned again'. Who is not allowed to mention it again?"Old Mister Xún's gaze slightly narrowed, but he didn't say anything more. Instead, he patted Mòhuà's shoulder. "Study array methods well. Don't ask about other things.""Oh," Mòhuà nodded.The old mister didn't say, and also didn't allow asking, so it was likely some unspeakable secret.Old Mister Xún looked at Mòhuà again, pondered for a moment, and finally couldn't help but open his mouth to ask:"How is your divine sense progressing?"Mòhuà truthfully said: "It has progressed a little, but it is very slow...""Is that so..." Old Mister Xún sighed slightly.He knew that this progress was normal.After all, the second-grade nineteen-pattern divine sense was already close to the limit of divine sense for Foundation Establishment. On this basis, every small bit of progress was extremely difficult.Cultivation has boundaries.Once close to the boundaries, even if one could rely on spirit stones and cultivation methods to cultivate spirit power, wanting to progress was still a step difficult, as hard as ascending to heaven.Not to mention there was no cultivation method to cultivate divine sense.But Old Mister Xún still felt some regret.Mòhuà couldn't help but ask: "Old Mister, is my divine sense really very important?"Old Mister Xún shook his head, his expression gentle. "It's nothing, just cultivate peacefully, no need to be distracted by other things..."Some things could not be said now.Nor could Mòhuà be burdened with too heavy a responsibility.But after saying that, Old Mister Xún suddenly fell silent.He gazed at the gradually growing Mòhuà, pondered for a moment, and suddenly his gaze flashed, and he said in a low voice:"Mòhuà."Mòhuà involuntarily looked towards Old Mister Xún.Old Mister Xún's expression was solemn, and he slowly said:"The Qīanxū state boundary is treacherous and full of strange clouds. Something will happen not long from now, which is very likely to concern the rise, decline, and survival of our Tàixū sect...""The cause and effect of this matter are chaotic and messy, and there are too many changes. No one knows what the result will be. Therefore, the stronger your divine sense is, the more guaranteed you will be."Mòhuà's heart was shocked.Concerning the rise, decline, and survival of the Tàixū sect?He had only guessed before that the matter wouldn't be small, but he didn't expect it to be so severe.Moreover, these words were spoken by the unfathomable Old Mister Xún.Mòhuà pondered for a moment, then nodded seriously:"Old Mister, I understand."After leaving Old Mister Xún's place, Mòhuà suddenly felt a heavy burden on his shoulders.Since enhancing his divine sense was a major matter concerning the rise, decline, and survival of the sect, he couldn't slack off even more.It wasn't that he wanted to eat evil spirits.But the situation compelled him; he couldn't not eat them.Eating a little was still not enough; he needed to eat a hearty meal.He needed to seize the time...Mòhuà thought for a while, then sent a message to Gǔ Chánghuái:"Uncle Gǔ, have you finished checking on the Xiāo family?"Gǔ Chánghuái: "This is a matter of the Dao Court Office. Don't ask."Mòhuà was a little unhappy, then said:"Uncle Gǔ, I have already told you about the Shuǐláo Gate and Elder Yǔ's matter. Shouldn't you also be loyal and tell me a little about the Xiāo family matter? Only this can be considered 'reciprocity'?"Gǔ Chánghuái was silent.Being spoken to in this way by Mòhuà, a trace of guilt actually arose in his heart.He seemed to have indeed taken advantage of Mòhuà.Pondering for a moment, Gǔ Chánghuái sighed and said: "I can tell you, but on the Xiāo family side, you may have to be a little careful.""Most of the Xiāo family cultivators throughout the generations have served in the Dao Court Office, and they are proficient in the way of criminal justice, with cruel methods. Furthermore, you now have the life of a Xiāo family member in your hands, so it is best not to get involved with the Xiāo family...""En," Mòhuà said, "I understand."Gǔ Chánghuái sighed.He also didn't know if Mòhuà truly understood or falsely understood, but he still opened his mouth and said:"I checked, and within these matters, there is indeed the shadow of the Xiāo family.""When Yè Jīn's elder brother, the one called Yè Xiù, died in the Yānshuǐ River, the Yè family went to the Dao Court Office to cancel the registration, and the executive officer responsible for handling it was a Xiāo family member.""On the other side, Kuò Jiāng Lóng killed Yè Xiù, who was also known as 'Lín Gōngzǐ'. This case was initially also handled by a Xiāo family member.""And coincidentally, the person who handled these two matters was the same person.""This person handled one case, turning it into two unrelated matters.""And this person, you also know...""I also know?" Mòhuà was stunned.On the Xiāo family side, the people he had an impression of, besides Smīlīng Tīger, were just Roarīng Sky Dog.Smīlīng Tīger was the Diǎn Sī in the Qīanxū state boundary Dao Court Office who was full of smiles but whose skin smiled and flesh did not - Xiāo Diǎn Sī.Roarīng Sky Dog was that direct line heaven's proud son of the Xiāo family who had just entered the Dao Court Office and already had a pile of people working hard to gain merit for him, with unlimited future prospects - Xiāo Tiānquán.Smīlīng Tīger was a Diǎn Sī and couldn't personally handle everything.Then besides this, it could only be Roarīng Sky Dog...Gǔ Chánghuái was helpless, "I told you before, don't randomly give nicknames.""It's not my fault, it's that he didn't give his name well..." Mòhuà justified.Xiāo Tiānquán, Roarīng Sky Dog, almost the same tone.Gǔ Chánghuái couldn't argue with Mòhuà, only tacitly agreed, then continued:"Not only the Yè family matter, but the Guīshuǐ Gate side, the Xiāo family is also indeed very closely associated with them. Many Xiāo family disciples are even originally from the Guīshuǐ Gate, and they learn the Guīshuǐ Gate's inheritance.""Not only that, I looked through the files within the Qīanxū state boundary from the past two hundred years and discovered that many cases involving evil cultivators also had the Xiāo family's hands in them.""Some evil cultivators were caught, but after checking, there was no evidence, and they were released; some were sentenced to death, but before being executed, they inexplicably died in the Dao Prison; some evil cultivators even had suspicious identities, one person with two names, or two people sharing one name, and all of these were handled by the Xiāo family in the case files..."Mòhuà frowned, "The Xiāo family does these things, won't anyone check?"Gǔ Chánghuái said indifferently: "No one will check."Mòhuà was slightly stunned, pondered for a while, and probably understood.The Dao Court Office was overstaffed, and most people muddled along. Some matters that didn't have much benefit were naturally just glossed over. It was fine as long as they could get by.As long as the Xiāo family did things covertly and were passable on the surface, no one would be idle enough to look through these old accounts.Furthermore, looking through these old accounts would offend a giant in the Dao Court Office - the Xiāo family.As long as someone had some brains, they wouldn't go seek this bad luck."What about that executive officer who died?""Which one?""The one I blew up..." Mòhuà said silently.With a person dead, the Xiāo family should have some reaction.Gǔ Chánghuái's expression was complex, and he sent a message:"The Xiāo family themselves came to cancel the registration, saying that one of their Xiāo family children participated in suppressing bandits in the Yānshuǐ River, fought to the death with all his might, but unfortunately died at the hands of an 'extremely vicious' water bandit."Mòhuà: "This 'extremely vicious' water bandit, won't it just be me..."Gǔ Chánghuái: "You know best yourself."Mòhuà: "..."Gǔ Chánghuái: "Therefore, this matter is over on the surface, but behind the scenes, the Xiāo family will definitely not let it go. You yourself be careful, absolutely don't say anything or reveal anything, inviting trouble upon yourself."Mòhuà: "I know, thank you, Uncle Gǔ."Having said everything that needed to be said, Gǔ Chánghuái then said:"I still have matters, no time to chat. The Dao Court sent a Diǎn Sī down, who is very difficult to deal with and has a quite bad temper. I will also be quite busy these days, you yourself take care."The Dao Court sent a Diǎn Sī down?Mòhuà still wanted to ask who this Diǎn Sī was, but on Gǔ Chánghuái's side, there was already no news.Mòhuà shook his head.Uncle Gǔ was a bit dishonest.He decided that from now on, he would temporarily not tell Uncle Gǔ any intelligence.He would wait until he needed help from Uncle Gǔ, then use this intelligence to "coerce"... no, to conduct "equivalent exchange" with Uncle Gǔ.Knowledge was valuable and couldn't be told to others casually.Putting away the message token, Mòhuà sat at the table in the disciple residence, silently pondering.However, with this, he had a vague understanding of the matter in the Yānshuǐ River.The Xiāo family of the Dao Court Office was the "protective umbrella".The Guīshuǐ Gate was the main handler on the surface.Water Yánluó and the others were the claws behind the scenes.Bǎihuā Valley...Mòhuà didn't know exactly how deeply Bǎihuā Valley was involved, but at least that Flower instructor was responsible for "supplying", and even "transporting".All these forces then wove into a net, covering the Yānshuǐ River.And the center of this net was very likely...Rouge Boat.But knowing about this net, Mòhuà couldn't make a move for a while.On the Bǎihuā Valley side, there was currently no progress.According to Uncle Gǔ, that Flower Rúyù had been very vigilant recently, staying in Bǎihuā Valley all day, not going out, and having no contact with the outside world.He was completely unfamiliar with the Guīshuǐ Gate, didn't know any Guīshuǐ Gate people, and hadn't planted any spies in the Guīshuǐ Gate.Water Yánluó was difficult to catch again, and he couldn't be caught casually either.With Water Yánluó's alertness and superb water nature, the next time he was caught, he would have to be fully prepared, with a meticulous plan, leaving him no way to escape.Otherwise, if he failed again, exposed his cards, and made him more guarded, trying to catch him again would be as difficult as ascending to heaven.As for the Xiāo family, even more so, don't mention it.He had blown up one of the Xiāo family's executive officers, and had karma on him. It was better to keep a distance from the Xiāo family for now."It seems that there are clues everywhere, but when I actually start investigating, I find that it's not very easy to start anywhere..."Mòhuà sighed."Where should I start?"After several days, Mòhuà was always pondering this matter, but he was always at a loss.Until this day, when he was eating lunch in the dining hall of the disciple residence, Hào Xuān suddenly came to find him."Little Senior Brother, there's a situation!""There's a situation?" Mòhuà was stunned."En!" Hào Xuān nodded, and said very seriously, "Someone is trying to seduce me!"Chéng Mó, who was tilting his neck and drinking wine beside him, immediately choked. He coughed a few times, his face red from choking, and couldn't help but ask:"Seduce you?""Yes!" Hào Xuān said with a serious face."Female?""Male."Chéng Mó's expression was a little subtle.Hào Xuān quickly waved his hand and explained: "It's not like that. It's not that he's seducing me, but he's seducing me to go to places I shouldn't go."Mòhuà raised an eyebrow, interested. "What kind of place?""He didn't say," Hào Xuān said, "He just said that he wanted to take me to a place where I could 'eat, drink, play, and have fun', which not only had good-looking people but also was fun.""I asked him how good-looking and how fun, but he didn't say, just smiled ambiguously, saying that I would know when the time came. I didn't believe him, so he said that place was the ultimate place of soul ecstasy in the human world, and once you go, you will never forget it for a lifetime.""I was a little tempted..."Hào Xuān was very honest, his face a little red, but he still said seriously, "But I remembered that Little Senior Brother had admonished me before, saying that recently some people might be plotting against our Tàixū sect and would secretly induce us to do bad things. I immediately became alert at that time, so I just pretended to agree and then came back to tell you."Mòhuà said gratefully: "Very good."After saying that, he even personally poured Hào Xuān a cup of fruit wine.Hào Xuān drank the wine that Little Senior Brother personally poured for him, and his face couldn't help but be a little proud."Who is it that's trying to seduce you?" Sī Tú Jiàn, who was beside him, also asked curiously.Hào Xuān took a sip of wine and said:"It's a childhood playmate of mine. Our two families live relatively close, and he and I are also the same age, so we played together in childhood, but later we joined different sects, each busy with cultivation, and we rarely contacted each other.""What sect did he join?" Mòhuà asked."Guīshuǐ Gate," Hào Xuān answered.Guīshuǐ Gate...Mòhuà's gaze moved slightly."Little Senior Brother, what should I do now? Should I refuse him?" Hào Xuān asked.Mòhuà pondered for a moment, shook his head, "No, you agree to him."Hào Xuān was stunned, "Agree to him?""En," Mòhuà said, "You not only agree to him, but also casually say that you have one same sect who also wants to follow along to see, and ask if he is willing to bring them along."Hào Xuān said: "Little Senior Brother, the same sect you are talking about, won't it be you?"Mòhuà nodded, "Correct!"Chéng Mó on the side immediately said curiously: "Little Senior Brother, you want to go? Then I'll go too!"Even the always serious Sī Tú Jiàn also followed suit and said: "I'll go too."Mòhuà was speechless, "What are you all following along to do?"Chéng Mó said seriously: "We have no other meaning, mainly because we are afraid that Little Senior Brother will encounter danger, so we want to protect you."Mòhuà: "..."Sī Tú Jiàn thought for a moment, but instead of joking, he said seriously: "Little Senior Brother, it is indeed a bit dangerous for you to go alone."Mòhuà pondered for a moment, sighed, "Okay then."Although he wasn't afraid of any danger going alone, after all, there was still Hào Xuān, whose strength was average. In case of an accident, Chéng Mó and Sī Tú Jiàn could also help a little.There was another reason. If Hào Xuān brought just himself, the Guīshuǐ Gate side might not necessarily agree.But if they brought three Tàixū sect disciples at once, the probability of the Guīshuǐ Gate agreeing would be higher.Mòhuà guessed blindly that the Guīshuǐ Gate disciples got "performance" credit for pulling people.Pulling one more person might not have a big impact, but pulling three more, it was estimated that they wouldn't be able to refuse."Hào Xuān, you go ask your childhood playmate, and say that there are still three same sect who also want to go see, and ask him if it's okay to bring them along," Mòhuà said.Hào Xuān nodded, "Okay, I'll go ask."The next day, Hào Xuān asked and then said to Mòhuà:"I told my childhood playmate, and he was a little hesitant and also a little vigilant. He asked me which three same sect, so I told him that one is a child of a world-renowned family from Gèn state, one is a child of a sword dao world-renowned family from Lí state, and as for Little Senior Brother, I just said that your family is not prominent, but you are an array method genius.""Two children of world-renowned families, one array dao genius. My childhood playmate's expression was indeed greatly happy after hearing this, but he pretended to be difficult, saying that he couldn't decide and needed to ask his senior brother. However, it wasn't long before he told me that his senior brother agreed and could bring you all along."Mòhuà nodded and asked: "When are we going?""This rest day," Hào Xuān said, "He said it's better to go early than late, that place isn't somewhere anyone can go. Even if you have the qualification to go, you need to queue, and if you go late, there might not be a spot.""This is our first time going, so there is special care."The more Mòhuà listened, the more he felt like this was a bit like a "pig butchering plate".In some sense, this might indeed be a "pig butchering plate".Only, it kills people without drawing blood; it kills the dao heart.Without a dao heart, a person is just a pig."Good," Mòhuà nodded.Several days later, the rest day arrived.Mòhuà, Chéng Mó, Sī Tú Jiàn, and Hào Xuān met up, and then Hào Xuān led the way to Guīshuǐ City outside the Guīshuǐ Gate.Within the Qīanxū state boundary, outside each sect, there was a city for cultivating dao.This immortal city was for sect disciples to buy some pills, talismans, spirit tools, array methods, and other daily necessities.There were also inns, restaurants, teahouses, and other places for food and entertainment.Many cultivators also lived there daily.The Guīshuǐ Gate was no exception.Arriving at Guīshuǐ City, Hào Xuān then brought Mòhuà and the others to a restaurant and saw his childhood playmate.Hào Xuān introduced: "This is Wáng Chén, who grew up with me since childhood and is now cultivating in the Guīshuǐ Gate."Mòhuà sized up this Wáng Chén.He was the same height as Hào Xuān, with a slender build. His face was not handsome, nor was it ugly, revealing a kind of inconspicuous temperament, but his eyes often flickered, looking quite calculating.While Mòhuà was sizing up Wáng Chén.Wáng Chén was also looking at Mòhuà and the others.He was okay when he saw Chéng Mó and Sī Tú Jiàn, but when he saw Mòhuà, his face suddenly showed a difficult expression and he said to Hào Xuān:"Brother Xuān, this isn't okay.""How is it not okay?"Wáng Chén secretly looked at Mòhuà and said to Hào Xuān: "Didn't you say you were bringing three same sect members? Why is there still a little junior brother?"Mòhuà's face darkened.Hào Xuān quickly said: "He's the same sect, not a little junior brother."Not only was he not a little junior brother, he was also the Little Senior Brother of the Tàixū sect.Wáng Chén was a little troubled, sighed and said: "But this one, he looks really a bit young..."And his face was too tender.And that pair of eyes, innocent and clear, untainted by dust.Wáng Chén then lowered his voice and said in Hào Xuān's ear: "...That kind of place, it's not too appropriate for him to go."There was one more point that he didn't say out loud.In his eyes, the appearance of this Tàixū sect "junior brother" was too much to some people's taste.If he was really allowed to go in and was stared at by some young masters, it would instead harm him.