Chapter 1333: 754: Secrets (Extra for Alliance Hierarch Shu Shi ouo~)

Chapter 1333: Chapter 754: Secrets (Extra for Alliance Hierarch Shu Shi ouo~)

Mo Hua exchanged a few more words with Cheng Mo, urging him to focus on recuperating, and then returned to the Disciple’s Residence. There, he secretly retrieved the small section of the monster cultivator’s severed arm.

This arm still carried traces of Monster Qi, which, according to sect regulations, was strictly forbidden to be brought into the sect.

However, Mo Hua had explained the entire sequence of events to Elder Song, effectively securing approval from him.

Though Elder Song wasn’t sure what use Mo Hua had for this arm, it was, after all, a “trophy” of their victory over the monster cultivator.

When Mo Hua claimed it would be useful, Elder Song hesitated briefly but ultimately returned it to Mo Hua.

The severed arm still retained a faint trace of Monster Qi, though it was minimal and posed little risk even in Mo Hua’s possession.

Besides, Mo Hua was a disciple highly regarded by Elder Master Xun.

With Elder Master Xun as his “backer,” Mo Hua’s requests, as long as they weren’t overly outrageous, would usually be tolerated with little pushback.

Mo Hua expressed his gratitude to Elder Song. Once back in the Disciple’s Residence, he immediately began his research.

First, he prepared a basin of Spiritual Medicine and soaked the arm to cleanse it of the bloodstains, as well as the fragments of blade and lingering Gold-series Sword Qi left behind after the Gold-Cutting Sword Formation’s explosion.

This Spiritual Medicine was something he had specifically asked a Junior Brother skilled in alchemy to concoct for him.

After washing it thoroughly, the crimson hue on the arm faded, revealing its true flesh-colored surface beneath.

Upon its skin, a series of Formation Patterns began to emerge.

These patterns had an ancient and primal air, tinged with a streak of something macabre. Despite their antiquity, the Formation Pivot seemed imbued with a wilderness-like savagery.

They were Four Symbols Formation Patterns!

And upon closer inspection, it became evident that these Four Symbols Formation Patterns resembled pictographic scripts, mimicking the forms of various beasts.

The broad strokes were reminiscent of a demon’s back, while the sharp edges echoed the claws and fangs, forming shapes akin to Wolf Patterns.

They appeared to constitute a Four Symbols Wolf Pattern Formation.

Mo Hua focused his mind, scrutinizing the patterns, his gaze thoughtful and pensive.

This was not his first encounter with Four Symbols Formation Patterns.

Previously, he had seen similar patterns on Bald Eagle’s bald head.

Moreover, Elder Master Xun had taught him the basics of Four Symbols Formation Patterns as well.

But these two were vastly different.

The patterns taught by Elder Master Xun were upright and majestic, the veritable “Beast Patterns.”

In contrast, the patterns on Bald Eagle’s head, as well as on this monster cultivator’s severed arm, obviously belonged to a distinct lineage.

Their structure was peculiar, their form was demonic, and they more closely resembled “Monster Patterns.”

In the realm of Four Symbols Formations, Beast Patterns and Monster Patterns evidently shared a similar origin.

Yet as to what that origin definitively was, and which of these—the Beast Patterns or the Monster Patterns—could be considered authentic, Mo Hua couldn’t say for certain.

After all, his knowledge of the Four Symbols Formation was limited, based only on fragments of information gleaned from Elder Master Xun’s teachings about its origins.

The Four Symbols Formation was an ancestral array passed down through generations among the Savage clan cultivators inhabiting the Wildland south of the Nine State.

The Wildland…

Mo Hua’s thoughts stirred as he quickly reviewed in his mind everything he had seen and heard since entering Qianxue State Boundary…

Previously, through calculations and Formation Pattern comparisons, he had deduced that the Four Symbols Monster Pattern Formation likely stemmed from the handiwork of “Mr. Tu.”

And the horned Evil God that Mr. Tu worshipped, known as the “Master of the Great Wilderness,” evidently referred to the three thousand Barbaric Mountains of the Wildland.

The Four Symbols Formation originated from the Savage tribe cultivators of the Wildland.

The Horned Evil God was the Evil God of this Great Wilderness.

If that were the case, was the Four Symbols Formation itself a “legacy” from the Evil God’s own homeland?

Were these monster cultivators bearing the Four Symbols Formation also merely henchmen of the Great Wilderness Evil God?

“If so, what are these monster cultivators doing hiding in Refining Demon Mountain?”

Mo Hua’s heart harbored some suspicions, but no matter how much he pondered, he couldn’t seem to grasp the core of the mystery.

Once more, he reviewed every detail of what he had seen and experienced on Refining Demon Mountain. Then, suddenly, a thought struck him like lightning:

“Monster Beasts!”

Thus far, the Monster Beasts he had encountered on Refining Demon Mountain, while rare in species—many of which he had seen for the first time—always carried an inexplicable air of familiarity.

The pig-headed demon snatched by Sever Gold Sect on their first clash.

The Blood Charming Fox that monster cultivators had fought over.

And numerous other ordinary wolf demons, snake demons, and bull or horse monster beasts…

All of these bore a faint resemblance to the demon monsters he had vanquished, slain, or even “devoured” during his encounters opposing the Evil God’s forces.

Especially the massive Pig Head Demon, along with the pink-tinged, half-human half-fox demoness with seductive powers…

Both had been among the offerings he had “ordered” and “consumed” using the altar before.

Demon Monsters—hybrids of human and demon, blood-refined into fiends.

The demon monsters under the Great Wilderness Evil God’s command were assembled from gruesome, blood-soaked limbs: half-human, half-demon abominations.

The humans’ severed limbs came from cultivators who had been trafficked, had their clans annihilated, or were slaughtered and dismembered.

And the “demon” limbs in these demon monsters… most likely came from…

Refining Demon Mountain?!

A chill surged through Mo Hua’s heart.

If that were the truth, then Refining Demon Mountain was nothing less than a “breeding ground” for an army of demon monsters, part of the Evil God’s grand conspiracy?

“And that’s not all…”

Mo Hua frowned deeply.

If the raw materials for blood-refined demon monsters primarily came from the Monster Beasts of Refining Demon Mountain, then the number of monster cultivators reduced to being pawns of the Evil God must be staggeringly high.

Moreover, relying solely on monster cultivators wasn’t enough.

At most, monster cultivators could hunt monster beasts.

This entire process would necessarily require others to assist with transport, dismemberment, blood rituals, and so on…

And most crucially, it required absolute secrecy.

No one could uncover this operation.

Mo Hua then thought back to the vast, lifeless forest that had merged seamlessly with a Divine Tao Array. Within its shrouded depths, his Divine Sense had failed to detect any aura at all, sending a wave of dread surging through his chest.

In that seemingly ordinary stretch of forest, perhaps there lay concealed something far more terrifying than he had anticipated…

“Aside from monster cultivators, who else is aiding the Evil God?”

After only a moment’s contemplation, Mo Hua arrived at a hypothesis.

Sever Gold Sect…