Chapter 14: One Derivative, One Deceptive

Chapter 1396: One Derivative, One Deceptive

In the grand hall of the Earth Sect.

The upper echelons of Kun Province's various aristocratic families had already dispersed, and the sect's elders had all returned to their duties.

In the vast, towering hall, only the Left and Right Sect Master s of the Earth Sect remained.

The Right Sect Master of the Earth Sect was a handsome man with a few strands of white hair and a slightly stout build. He had the appearance of a gentle and refined middle-aged cultivator.

The Left Sect Master, on the other hand, was lean and thin, with an ordinary appearance. Only his eyes were profound, faintly tinged with a dark brown hue, revealing a very scheming nature.

Among the three sect masters of the Earth Sect, the Grand Sect Master held the highest authority and oversaw the overall situation. He generally did not make appearances unless it was for a matter of great importance.

Below the Grand Sect Master, the Left Sect Master was responsible for matters in the shadows, acting in secrecy.

The Right Sect Master, on the other hand, handled the public affairs and was usually busy with daily tasks.

Very few matters required both the Left and Right Sect Masters to jointly intervene.

Few outside the Earth Sect knew that these two Sect Masters had not appeared in the same meeting for nearly ten years.

Mo Hua’s appearance was the first exception in all those years.

In order to interrogate Mo Hua, the Left and Right Sect Masters of the Earth Sect broke precedent and gathered in this same grand hall.

“This young man named Mo Hua… isn’t telling the truth,” the Right Sect Master said slowly.

The Left Sect Master nodded, his voice raspy. "That's normal. If you or I were being interrogated, we wouldn't tell the truth either. As long as what’s said holds up on the surface, that’s enough.”

The Right Sect Master frowned. "I wonder what the situation is over in the Great Wilderness... If... they were defeated..."

A sharp glint flashed in the Left Sect Master's eyes. “If the Dao Court loses, that would actually be a good thing. Those people at the top are used to throwing their weight around. It's about time they suffered a setback."

The Right Sect Master pondered for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Then do you think those Ancestors from the Dao Court might have... met with some misfortune in the Great Wilderness?"

The Left Sect Master pondered briefly and frowned. “Those are Void Realm ancestors. What could possibly happen to them? In all this world, who could threaten such old monsters?”

“That’s true…” the Right Sect Master nodded slightly. “But if nothing happened to them, then it's impossible that they couldn't protect the Great Teleportation Formation..."

The Left Sect Master said, “If something truly happened to those Void Realm Ancestors, then could that kid Mo Hua, only at Golden Core, have survived?”

“That doesn’t make sense either…”

The Left Sect Master shook his head.

If something truly existed that could threaten Profound-Hollow-Void Realm ancestors, then a Golden Core cultivator would die even faster. There was no logic in a Golden Core surviving while Void Realm experts perished.

“But what if?” the Right Sect Master pressed again. “What if those ancestors really did encounter something unexpected?”

“If so…” the Left Sect Master fell silent for a moment, then smiled faintly. “That would be heaven-sent good news for our Earth Sect. Don’t forget…”

His gaze turned cold as he looked at the Right Sect Master, his voice turning sinister. “How did the Dao Court treat our Earth Sect back then?”

“Our Earth Sect has a legacy of ten thousand years, yet our perfectly fine Imperial Heaven and Sovereign Earth Diagram was forcibly torn apart by those Dao Court old monsters, split into two.”

“They claimed our Earth Sect was unworthy, saying half the diagram was enough and that we should not covet the Imperial Heaven… this is a humiliation to our sect!”

Even after so many years, whenever this was mentioned, the Left Sect Master’s expression turned icy.

The Right Sect Master also felt a sense of disgrace.

"Now..." the Left Sect Master's voice was hoarse. "The war in the Great Wilderness is in a critical state, and the Dao Court's upper echelons can't control the situation. Yet they still insist on borrowing passage through our sect and even placing that great teleportation formation inside our territory…”

His usually gloomy expression turned ferocious. “Are we the Earth Sect, or just their gatehouse? Are we to let them come and go as they please?”

“Now that gate has collapsed on its own, and only a single Golden Core brat came through. For us, that is already the best possible outcome.”

“As for those ancestors…”

The Left Sect Master sneered, "It would be for the best if they remained in the Great Wilderness forever."

The Right Sect Master nodded gravely. “If those who returned had been those ancestors, it would have been… troublesome.”

The Right Sect Master's eyes flickered.

The Left Sect Master looked up at the sprawling gates of the Earth Sect in the distance, calmed his emotions, and said slowly:

"The Ancestor said that the heavenly secrets, which have been unchanged for twenty thousand years, have begun to shift again."

“Our Earth Sect… should make preparations early.”

“The shame of having the Imperial Heaven split and the Sovereign Earth severed… must never be endured a second time.”

The Right Sect Master's gaze was obscure as he nodded faintly.

“It is indeed time... to prepare."

……

Little Luan Mountain Blessed Land.

The matters of the Earth Sect were temporarily settled.

Mo Hua returned to his leisurely days: cultivating daily, recovering from injuries, and studying formations in the bamboo room with his senior sister.

His senior sister’s “clarification” also reduced some of the disturbances around him.

At least it wasn't like before, with a crowd of young ladies from aristocratic clans sending this Young Master Mo gifts and "blessings."

Of course, there were still some, but their wording was more tactful than before, and their objectives had shifted slightly:

“Young Master Mo, do you happen to know what Sister Bai likes on a daily basis?”

“Young Master Mo, what does Sister Bai like to eat?”

“Could you secretly tell me? I can introduce you to girls from my clan.”

“Young Master Mo, could you pass a message to Sister Zixi for me? Just say that I'm willing to do anything for her, even if it means betraying my family or offering up my life...”

“Everything I have belongs to Sister Zixi.”

……

Now Mo Hua was considered Bai Zixi's "Junior Brother," as close as a sibling. In other words, he was one of Zixi's "family."

Since Bai Zixi ignored them, these women could only try to break through from Mo Hua instead.

Of course, there were still some “stuborn” ones who remained arrogant:

“Even if you’re as close to Zixi as a sibling, don't even think about touching a single finger of hers, or I'll still kill you!”

This tone... Mo Hua didn’t even need to look at the name to know it was that flower vase young lady Hua Ping.

Not touch a single finger of Little Senior Sister... then can I touch her foot?

Mo Hua really wanted to send a jade slip back to Hua Ping with that message, just to infuriate her. But on second thought, it would be very disrespectful to his Little Senior Sister, and pointless petty conflict was boring anyway, so he decided against it.

He was a very busy person and had no time to waste bickering with someone like Hua Ping.

Thinking this, he turned his head and looked at his senior sister beside him—like jade carved from the finest stone, flawless and pure—and couldn’t help but sigh:

Such devastating beauty.

Nuwa must have been creating a disaster when she molded this clay. Little Senior Sister is truly a woman guilty of grave sin…

As Mo Hua was thinking this, Bai Zixi seemed to sense something. She suddenly frowned and looked at him.

“Were you saying bad things about me in your head?”

Mo Hua was taken aback, his face flushing slightly. "No..."

Bai Zixi's clear, ice-like eyes stared at Mo Hua.

Mo Hua pressed his lips together, gaze drifting, feeling a little flustered.

Bai Zixi stopped teasing him and said softly, “Focus on learning formations.”

Mo Hua obediently nodded. “Okay.”

……

After finishing formation studies with his senior sister, Mo Hua returned to his room as usual to meditate and heal.

However, from time to time, he would still recall what he had seen and heard at the Earth Sect.

Especially that faint scent of "rot" that lingered the Earth Sect.

Mo Hua didn't know where this rotten smell came from.

Under normal circumstances, with his current mastery of the Divine Dao, ordinary Divine Dao beings such as: evil spirits, demonic beings, vengeful ghosts, mountain gods, river gods, barbarian gods, or evil gods.

None could escape his perception.

Yet the Earth Sect… seemed different.

On the surface, Mo Hua had not detected anything unusual. Only that faint, almost imperceptible “rotting” smell was especially distinct, leaving a deep impression that was hard to forget.

“The Earth Sect… where exactly is it rotten?”

“And how can I peek into its secrets? Best if I can get something out of it…”

He wasn't in a hurry for the Treasure Searching Talisman or the earth formations. Having them would be the icing on the cake, but it wouldn't matter if he didn't get them; they weren't urgently needed.

But the Profound Earth Absolute Formation of Second-Grade or higher was something Mo Hua definitely had to obtain.

The Profound Earth Absolute Formation was too crucial. The famine disaster in the Great Wilderness was likely still worsening. If his martial uncle’s Taotie Famine Disaster Formation one day went out of control and spread to the wider world, then this Profound Earth Absolute Formation would be the key to many people’s survival.

In a sense, this absolute formation might even be more important than the Sovereign Earth Diagram.

As for the Sovereign Earth Diagram…

This supreme treasure Earth Sect was the lifeline of the entire Sect.

If Mo Hua said he wasn’t tempted, that would definitely be a lie.

But after personally witnessing the Earth Sect’s strength, Mo Hua quickly realized he had been thinking too much.

Back then, even when the old monsters of the Dao Court made a move, they only managed to seize the “Imperial Heaven Diagram,” and did not dare take the “Sovereign Earth Diagram” along with it.

From this, it could be seen that even the Dao Court did not truly dare to push the Earth Sect into a corner.

As for himself—a mere Golden Core cultivator—trying to scheme on the Sovereign Earth Diagram was simply delusional.

Thus, Mo Hua could only be more realistic.

He didn’t ask for much. He only hoped to glance at the Sovereign Earth Diagram—just one look, enough to know what it looked like.

But even that seemed far from easy.

He didn't have that much face yet, to make the Earth Sect show him their sect's ultimate supreme treasure.

In fact, even wanting to become a “guest elder” of the Earth Sect was full of obstacles, and he was even met with suspicion.

“This matter can only be taken slowly… first, I should heal my injuries.”

Mo Hua thought to himself.

Without recovering from his injuries, he could do nothing. Only after fully healing and restoring his strength could he pursue what he wanted.

Moreover, he also understood in his heart that he couldn’t live in comfort forever.

He had personally witnessed what true, cruel disaster looked like.

One thrives in adversity and perishes in comfort, this was an immutable truth.

If he did not strive, that terrifying heavenly catastrophe might arrive as soon as tomorrow.

With this thought, Mo Hua put away his idle mentality and began to focus seriously on recovering.

He Proved the Dao through Divine-Sense, so his Divine-Sense was far more important than his physical body.

Thus, injuries to his Divine-Sense had to be addressed first.

During these days, Mo Hua would occasionally examine his Sea of Consciousness to check his condition.

But the injuries to his Divine-Sense were strange—so strange that sometimes Mo Hua could not even categorize them as “injuries.”

It was a kind of very “chaotic” state.

After forming his core, his Divine-Sense had surged dramatically, and his Sea of Consciousness had also undergone a rapid expansion.

Its scale was now much larger than before.

Yet now, most of it was covered by some mottled “fog,” along with erosion from the abyss and chaotic currents of energy.

A portion of his Divine-Sense was even locked away.

This was the "injury" in Mo Hua's Sea of Consciousness.

After careful analysis, he found the cause of this condition was extremely complex.

First, there was the corrosion of his Sea of Consciousness by the Endless Abyss.

For others, the invasion of abyssal power into the Sea of Consciousness, the entry of chaotic power into the brain, was an almost certain death sentence.

But for Mo Hua, this corruption was actually the least significant of his injuries.

Not only that, the abyssal power even, in some way, nourished the “Taotie” instinct within his Divine Thought.

The Taotie mother body was born from the Endless Abyss, originating from the dark abyss depths.

Mo Hua, who had comprehended the Taotie Law, had walked through the Endless Abyss himself. On one hand, he was polluted by it, but on the other, it was as if he had taken a stroll through the Taotie’s “home.”

The abyssal transformation of his Sea of Consciousness was equivalent to the “Taotie-ification” of his Divine Thought.

The only problem was that this transformation strengthened the Taotie Law, causing Mo Hua to lose a bit more of his humanity.

At the same time, the ferocious instincts of the Taotie became more prominent in his mind.

But this kind of “dehumanization” was not new to him.

Back in the Great Wilderness, he had transcended into a divine being, with divinity taking the upper hand.

Now, after passing through the abyss, it was merely a shift from human to Taotie, with ferocity taking the upper hand.

Mo Hua was already used to it.

At least when he was with his Little Senior Sister, his life was very comfortable, and his “human nature” remained stable enough that he did not worry too much.

But there were other energies within his Sea of Consciousness that were far more complicated.

Mo Hua could sense that within it now existed two forces—one black, one white—intertwined with each other.

The black one was familiar; it was the Divine Thought power of the Strange Dao.

He didn’t even need to think to know it must be his martial uncle trying to harm him.

The title “Strange Daoist” was a taboo. Ordinary cultivators, if not strong enough, could be infected just by seeing him once or even mentioning his name.

And back in the Endless Abyss, Mo Hua, whose divine sense had been extracted, had fought a full-blown battle head-on with his ineffable Martial Uncle.

That martial uncle’s strange thoughts had surely already thoroughly “polluted” him and was trying to assimilate him.

So it wasn’t strange at all for his Sea of Consciousness to contain that “strange thought intent.”

What was truly strange was the white energy.

This white energy was also familiar to Mo Hua—more than familiar, even intimate.

Because it carried his master’s aura, the Divine Thought containing the power of the Heavenly Secret Derivative Algorithm.

But the strange thing was exactly that.

“Why would my master’s aura suddenly appear in my Sea of Consciousness?”

Mo Hua frowned, trying hard to recall, but still could not remember when this energy had been left behind.

He could only guess that it was probably his master saving him once again when his Martial Uncle was trying to harm him.

Mo Hua thought it over and over and felt that this was the only possibility.

In the Endless Abyss, or rather, at the very moment he was lying in the Great Teleportation Formation.

His martial uncle’s other strange Dao clone had appeared, wielding a strange-patterned sword, intending to keep him forever in the Endless Abyss.

At that time, he had already been powerless. It must have been his master who saved him again.

Otherwise, there was absolutely no way he could have escaped from his martial uncle when he was fully serious

“Yang Clan Ancestor… and Master…”

Mo Hua let out a deep sigh, his mood inevitably turning somewhat low.

After a long while, he gathered his focus again and turned his attention back to his Sea of Consciousness.

At this moment, within his Sea of Consciousness, the two streams of qi, one black and one white, were intertwined amidst the chaos.

The Heavenly Secret Derivative Algorithm and the Heavenly Secret Deceptive Algorithm—the two most profoundly advanced forms of divine sense computation in the cultivation world—were thus locked in struggle within Mo Hua’s Sea of Consciousness. They clashed, resisted, yet also interlocked and seeped into one another, slowly revolving in an endless cycle.

In Mo Hua’s eyes, the Derivative Algorithm and Deceptive Algorithm were like two yin-yang fish, chasing each other’s tails as they gave evolved into…

A black-and-white Taiji.

(End of Chapter)