Chapter 986: Great Demon Hall

"Great Demon Hall?" Mo Hua was somewhat startled, then slowly nodded.

When the Demon Sect was being surrounded and annihilated, he had consulted some historical information about the Demon Sect's origins and evolution from the Dao Court Division and the Tai Xu Sect's scripture repository. He knew the three words "Great Demon Hall."

The endpoint of evil cultivators is the transmission of skills by Demon cultivators.The endpoint of Demon cultivators is the transmission of the Dao by Demon Sects.And the endpoint of the Demon Sects is the "Great Demon Hall," led by the Demon Lord, towering above billions of people, raising countless "blood slaves" and "spirit slaves," eating people to the bone marrow, monopolizing everything...

However, the Great Demon Hall is so distant in the past that many people have forgotten about it.

Elder Zheng said solemnly, "Twenty thousand years ago, that is, before the first year of the Dao Calendar, the Dao Court had not yet unified, the cultivation world was chaotic, a piece of darkness."

"At that time, dominating the entire cultivation world was the 'Great Demon Hall' that unified and ruled ten thousand Demon Sects."

"The Great Demon Hall's power was immense, the demonic path was rampant to the extreme, ten thousand Demon Sects stood like forests, Demon cultivators spread all over the world."

"Corpse cultivators refined corpses, blood cultivators sucked blood, demon cultivators ate flesh, evil cultivators harvested supplements, Demon cultivators refined souls... it was a truly blood-drenched 'the strong eat the weak'."

"Demon qi covered the sky, blood dyed the earth red... countless weak cultivators were killed, slaughtered, plundered, raised as slaves, refined as cauldrons, swallowed alive and skinned, soul-extracted and soul-refined..."

"Coupled with various heavenly disasters and the breeding of evil spirits, tens of thousands of cultivators died one after another."

"The cultivator population sharply decreased, human race forces rapidly declined, the land for thousands of miles was red and desolate, once on the brink of extinction."

"At this time of crisis, there were righteous cultivators, who tempered their hearts through hardships, enlightened their will with the Great Dao, carried a cavity of hot blood, acted on behalf of heaven, and with their own cultivation, exterminated all the world's demons and evil corpses, opening up an upright righteous path in the world full of thorns."

"Then, righteous path sects originated one by one, and righteous path forces grew step by step."

"All righteous cultivators, without exception, firmly held the Dao heart, taking the extermination of demons and guarding the Dao as their duty."

"After several thousand years, countless righteous predecessors threw their heads and spilled hot blood, not sparing their lives, braved thorns and cut through brambles, finally slaughtering all the world's Demon cultivators."

"Those evil forces overwhelming, unmatched Demon heads and ancestors also had to furl their flags and silence their drums, hiding in the world."

"The remaining Demon path remnants could only lurk in dark corners, lingering on in a dying state."

"Heaven and earth became clear and bright, and then the Dao Court was established, unifying the Nine Provinces, following the Dao laws, promoting the righteous laws, burning and banning all Demon path techniques and classics. Only then did the cultivation world have more than twenty thousand years of peace and prosperity, and this myriad of cultivators, and the flourishing Nine Provinces..."

"As for the sin-filled Great Demon Hall, and the tragic and bitter history of blood and tears of countless cultivators, after more than twenty thousand years, it has gradually been buried in the historical river of the cultivation world. Very few people think of it again, and almost no one mentions it again..."

Speaking of these past cultivation events, Elder Zheng's tone was impassioned, filled with endless emotions.

Listening, Mo Hua's heart also surged.

But afterward, he couldn't help but feel somewhat doubtful, not understanding why Elder Zheng suddenly told him all this.

Elder Zheng looked at Mo Hua and asked,

"Mo Hua, do you think the 'demon' in this world will be thoroughly exterminated?"

Mo Hua frowned, pondered for a moment, and shook his head:

"As long as the human heart has greed, anger, delusion, desire, and obstacles, it will give birth to 'demon'."

"Demon originates from humans. As long as there are humans, there will be demons. As long as there are cultivators, there will be Demon cultivators."

Hearing this, Elder Zheng happily nodded: "The human heart will transform into demons. If one does not cultivate the Dao heart, sooner or later demonic thoughts will arise."

"Once the Dao heart is not firm and there are demonic thoughts, people will sooner or later go astray, enter demonic possession, and become Demon cultivators who practice Demon path techniques, killing and harming lives."

"This is speaking from the human perspective. Then, looking from the perspective of forces?"

Elder Zheng gazed at Mo Hua, and asked in a low voice, "What are the differences between Demon path sects and righteous path forces?"

Mo Hua frowned, pondered, and said: "The way of humans is to damage the insufficient to offer to the surplus..."

"Demon sects practice evil demonic methods, slaughtering and enslaving the weak, drinking blood, eating flesh, sucking spirits, and extracting souls from the weak... This is 'exploitation' with regard to cultivators' lives and the origin of the Great Dao. This is the sin of the 'way of humans'."

Elder Zheng nodded and sighed: "Well said."

Then his gaze condensed, and he asked again, "Then what about the righteous path forces? What they do, those great families, great sects, is it the way of heaven, or the way of humans?"

Mo Hua was startled, instantly understood Elder Zheng's meaning, and a little cold sweat broke out in his heart.

Elder Zheng slowly said: "Great families and great sects seize the resources of scattered cultivators, squeeze their labor, deprive them of their foundation of existence, and then abandon them like worn shoes. Isn't that also 'exploitation'? Only, the methods are somewhat milder..."

"But this mildness will eventually evolve little by little."

"The matter of the Shen family, you should... know about it, right?" Elder Zheng meaningfully looked at Mo Hua, and slowly said.

Mo Hua nodded.

"This is the most typical example," Elder Zheng said. "The bottom cultivators are exploited of spirit stones, labor, time, and energy, then their only remaining is that useless 'remains'."

"Since it's useless remains, naturally they can only be discarded, trapped, and killed off."

"But the Shen family's matter is actually still not ruthless enough..."

Elder Zheng's tone carried a trace of objective coldness and cruelty:

"Because they ultimately still retained a bit of 'righteousness', only trapping and killing those 'useless' mine cultivators they had exploited."

"But are useless mine cultivators really useless?"

Elder Zheng shook his head, "No, they still have use. Their skin can be peeled, their blood can be drunk, their flesh can be eaten, their souls can be refined, and after death their corpses can be used to raise corpses..."

"This is demon."

"The Shen family didn't reach this step, but human greed is limitless, 'exploitation' is endless... over time, there will always be families breaking the bottom line to do this step."

"Once they do it, break this bottom line, that family becomes a Demon sect, 'righteous' turns into 'demon'..."

Mo Hua's face changed.

Elder Zheng's gaze was profound as he looked at Mo Hua, and he said solemnly word by word:

"Therefore, righteous and demon oppose and unify, each clearly divided, but also originally one body."

"The so-called 'demon' is not born from the womb, not born from the egg, but 'transformed'."

"The human heart will transform, families will transform, and the Dao Court is similarly so."

"Once the Dao Court, which unified the entire cultivation world with the deepest foundation, strongest strength, and largest forces, finally completes transformation, it is very likely to re-evolve into a new..."

Elder Zheng paused, his tone grim:

"...Great Demon Hall!"

Mo Hua's pupils contracted, and he shuddered in his heart.

He had never considered Elder Zheng's words before.

But the entire process of Lonely Mountain and the Shen family, cold facts piece by piece, floated in his mind, and the more Mo Hua thought about it, the more his heart chilled.

"These matters..." Mo Hua's voice hesitated, "Didn't the righteous sects, those family ancestors, realize it themselves?"

Elder Zheng said indifferently: "It's hard for people to be self-aware. Once they have benefits, they will scramble, and won't realize exactly what they are doing."

"Some people don't know about these matters, some people are unwilling to know, and some are even helpless even if they know."

"Not to mention some people are delighted to see it happen..."

Mo Hua's gaze slightly trembled, and he was silent for a long time.

"Besides, there is an even more severe problem," Elder Zheng sighed and said again.

"Even more severe problem?"

Elder Zheng asked Mo Hua: "You think, where is the difference between the righteous path and the Demon path?"

Mo Hua originally wanted to say it was the cultivation technique system, but after thinking about it, he felt this answer was too superficial.

After pondering for a moment, Mo Hua slowly said: "Is it... the Dao heart?"

Elder Zheng nodded, "More than twenty thousand years ago, when the Demon path was rampant, why could righteous cultivators brave thorns and cut through brambles, exterminate demons and guard the Dao? Precisely because they had a 'Dao heart' that did not fall into evil demons, discarded private desires, embraced the world, pitied the common people, and was extremely firm."

"Only thus could they strengthen themselves in extremely harsh environments, defeat the strong with the weak in almost impossible situations, and finally step by step overthrow the Great Demon Hall, which was prosperous to the extreme and had power covering the sky at that time."

"They could open up a future for the Nine Provinces cultivation world, for the vast common people."

"What righteous cultivators should most inherit is actually this one Dao heart."

"But..."

Elder Zheng looked up, towards the sky of Qian State, towards the distant vast mountains, and the sects perched in the mountains, their gates standing like forests, and shook his head and sighed:

"Today, we have passed on techniques, Dao laws, array methods, artifact refining, alchemy, talismans, etc., but the only thing not passed on is the Dao heart."

"We merely have cultivation, but no Dao heart, selfish and self-interested."

"Seizing the world's benefits, scheming for one's own private gain, this is what the top sects in Qian Xue State teach, the top 'heaven's proud sons'..."

Elder Zheng's expression was self-mocking and helpless, then he said painfully:

"Cultivation is merely an empty shell, the Dao heart is the essence. Merely having cultivation but no Dao heart, such cultivators, even if their cultivation is higher and their strength is stronger, can ultimately only degenerate into the 'container' of the Demon path..."

"And, they are still the top Demon path 'containers' with excellent spiritual roots and aptitude, who have swallowed massive cultivation resources and inherited the highest techniques..."

Elder Zheng's words carried worry that went deep into the bone marrow.

If one day a great heavenly calamity truly descends, evil gods awaken, heavenly demons revive, and the Demon path makes a comeback, with the Dao heart of today's cultivators, what will happen, he simply dare not think.

Moreover, the families monopolize inheritances to consolidate their status.

The disparity in resources and inheritances between family disciples and bottom scattered cultivators is too huge, and the situation will further worsen.

Elder Zheng's expression was melancholy, "In the past, with a cavity of hot blood, I left Zhen State, arrived at Qian Xue State, entered Qian Dao Sect, and became an elder of the four great sects. I originally thought I could change something with my own strength."

"As a result, after so many years, painstaking efforts, in the end I ran into a wall, my heart disheartened."

"Under the great situation, a person's words are insignificant. Some matters, even if I try to reason, are fundamentally of no help..."

Elder Zheng sighed deeply, his gaze depressed.

Mo Hua's expression was also very grave.

Elder Zheng looked at Mo Hua again and slowly said:

"These words, I only say to you here once. It is good for you to keep them silently in your heart. You must not mention them to outsiders, especially... the matter of the 'Great Demon Hall'."

Mo Hua nodded seriously.

Elder Zheng waved his hand, withdrew the surrounding arrays, and softly instructed:

"Alright, it's getting late. I still have some luggage to pack, so I won't keep you."

"Take these array diagrams and jade slips back and study them well. Your talent is very good, and your future prospects are necessarily immeasurable."

Mo Hua solemnly put away the array diagrams and jade slips given by Elder Zheng, stood up and bowed, bidding farewell:

"Many thanks, Senior. I will certainly engrave Senior's words in my heart."

Elder Zheng nodded slightly, and finally gazed deeply at Mo Hua again, a thick reluctance suddenly surging in his heart.

He would be leaving soon.

This farewell meant crossing Qian and Zhen states, separated by ten thousand miles.

He did not know when he would see Mo Hua again.

Even whether they could meet again in this lifetime was unknown.

After all, the thresholds in a cultivator's life are too numerous.

Once they cannot be crossed, several hundred years is the limit.

Please collect the book!

Moreover, heaven has unforeseen calamities, and man has nightly fortunes.

If Mo Hua suddenly encounters a mishap, accidentally falls, or his cultivation is obstructed and unable to advance, and he dies of exhaustion of lifespan, then it would be too regrettable.

Even if his cultivation is smooth and his Dao fate is not exhausted, if they can meet again once, it will probably be decades, or even hundreds of years apart.

Time flies. At that time, what kind of person will Mo Hua be again?

Will he persist in his original aspiration and forge ahead, or encounter changes, his temperament greatly changed, or even fall into the wrong path and enter demonic possession, all unknown.

There are too many variables in a person's life.

Those who can truly carry through the Dao heart from beginning to end are truly too few, and also truly too difficult.

As Elder Zheng thought of this, he suddenly felt anxious, and heard Mo Hua say:

"Senior Zheng, the mountains are high and the roads are far, you must take care."

Mo Hua's voice was clear, his gaze was clear, revealing a trace of firmness and abundant spirit.

Touching Mo Hua's gaze, influenced by an inexplicable charm, Elder Zheng's mood suddenly calmed down.

He smiled with relief, ten thousand thoughts surged in his heart, and finally converged into one sincere wish:

"Take care..."

Mo Hua respectfully bowed, then left somewhat reluctantly.

Elder Zheng always stood at the door, watching Mo Hua off into the distance.

The sky was already late, and night had fallen.

Elder Zheng stood at the door for a long time.

He just kept looking at Mo Hua like this, as if looking at the only weak "light fire" in this dim heaven and earth when the long night was about to come.

After bidding farewell to Elder Zheng, Mo Hua returned to Tai Xu Sect, sat alone at the disciple residence's table, facing the candle fire in a daze.

Elder Zheng's words still echoed in his heart.

"The so-called 'demon' is not born from the womb, not born from the egg, but 'transformed'..."

"Righteous and demon are clearly divided, but originally one body."

"Great Demon Hall..."

Mo Hua vaguely perceived a "Dao" of the heaven and earth's great situation and the life patterns of the common people.

A deep sense of urgency surged in his heart.

Mo Hua realized that the situation might be more severe than he thought.

Moreover, he couldn't help but have an even more terrifying guess.

"The way of heaven damages the surplus to supplement the insufficient; the way of humans damages the insufficient to offer to the surplus."

Obtain the way of heaven, then one can become immortal.

If so, then this vast world, countless cultivators, on the surface are all proving the Dao and cultivating immortality, but in reality are walking on another, completely opposite road.

What they are proving is fundamentally not the way of heaven.

What they are cultivating is also fundamentally not true immortals.

Mo Hua's heart surged with a deep chill.

And under this pattern, if he truly wants to prove the way of heaven and cultivate true immortals, he will inevitably become an enemy of the entire cultivation world and the most powerful top forces.

The difficulties and dangers, the life and death killing bureaus within, just thinking about it makes one suffocate.

It might even be more than just this...

These are still only the patterns he can see on the surface.

Are there some unknown terrifying existences in the dark, plotting even grander, even more ancient, and even more sinister layouts around "becoming immortal"?

Mo Hua shuddered in his heart, silent for a long time.

"Too difficult..."

Mo Hua sighed, then his gaze gradually firmed up instead.

It's right that it's difficult.

If becoming immortal were really this simple, then this world would have had large batches of people ascending to immortality long ago.

Precisely because it is difficult, there is value in pursuing it.

Precisely because it is difficult, one can show one's awesomeness.

If he merely indulged in ease and went with the flow, wouldn't that waste his divine Dao talent, waste his encounter with his master, and also let down his father and mother, and all the seniors and elders who have had teaching grace to him along the way?

The night was deep, the candle fire swayed, reflecting Mo Hua's eyes, which were also bright like sparks.

"Must become very, very strong..."

The next day, Mo Hua cultivated as usual and practiced the Reverse Spirit Array.

In his spare time, he pondered word by word the divine Dao knowledge he had heard from Huang Shan Jun, using it to plan the direction of his divine thought advancement.

In the short term, his physical body and spiritual power would not have substantial progress.

Array methods could progress, but it was not urgent for a while.

Besides, the only thing that could be enhanced was still divine thought. This was also the foundation of his comprehending arrays and proving the Dao with divine consciousness.

Mo Hua's divine thought was already very strong, but still not strong enough.

Especially after the battle with the evil fetus, Mo Hua was very unsatisfied.

On the surface, the evil fetus died, and he won.

But Mo Hua knew that he fundamentally didn't win.

He exploited a loophole, cutting the evil fetus and Shan Jun's divine skeleton with the God-Slaying Sword, causing the evil fetus to internally "split".

In the end, it was Huang Shan Jun who displayed a divine ability and perished with the evil fetus, allowing him to escape and leave the nightmare.

During this, the wronged souls and evil ghosts of Lonely Mountain also helped him.

That is to say, in the battle of Lonely Mountain, he relied on "connections" and "face" to win.

Those who gain the Dao have many helpers, those who lose the Dao have few helpers.

Someone helping him proves that his Dao is right.

But Mo Hua also realized that this was actually not good.

He could not entrust success and failure to the help of others, nor did he particularly like this feeling of life and death not being under his control.

His divine thought must be even stronger!

And the direction of strength was twofold: one was to continue walking the divine way as Huang Shan Jun said, breaking through the "human" limit, allowing his divine thought to have the "shape change" of divine rank, the divine thought to crystallize, like armor.

The other aspect was to continue digesting the dragon soul and see if his divine thought could have the power of the dragon soul.

In this way, perhaps he could also transform dragon scales, dragon claws, and wear dragon armor on his body.

The strength of his divine thought could reach another level.

This two-pronged approach, coupled with the tempering of array methods, the Dao-ization of divine thought, and the changes of Tian Yan Jue, would allow his divine consciousness to continuously and infinitely strengthen.

Even one day, it could be strong enough to tear apart evil gods by hand.

But, now the distance to this goal is still a bit far.

And this is similarly not enough.

No matter how strong the divine consciousness, it is still only the killing of the virtual realm of divine thought.

The real world also needs certain killing power.

Mo Hua already had ideas.

This was also the "God-Slaying" out-of-body method that he had previously always pondered and practiced many times, but failed because his divine consciousness had not yet reached twenty patterns.

Now that his divine consciousness had condensed the core, he was finally qualified to try again.

Condense the Tai Xu God-Slaying Sword of divine thought, release it out of the sea of consciousness through the eye orifice, break the boundary between the virtual and real, and conduct divine thought killing.

Use the divine thought sword in the sea of consciousness to slash the physical enemies in reality.