Immortality Through Array Formations (The Quest for Immortality)

Chapter 701: Beheading a Deity

In front of the River Deity Temple.

Mo Hua's small figure stood in confrontation with the towering and eerie River Deity, yet his presence was not the least bit weaker.

The surroundings were in ruins—collapsed walls, shattered tiles, the temple in disrepair.

Most of the River Deity Temple had first been submerged by the River Deity's divine power, the Boundless Blood River, and then completely incinerated by Mo Hua's Divine Sense–manifested Inferno Array.

Amid the devastation, only the worship plaza where the fishermen kneeled and the grand hall behind the River Deity remained.

The River Deity stared at Mo Hua with deep wariness.

Mo Hua's gaze remained calm and fearless, though in his heart, he found this troublesome—especially that terrifying divine ability involving the blood river.

He was planning to sneak attack the lair!

Mo Hua, naturally, feared nothing.

The River Deity's eyes were blood-red.

The two children were undergoing "mutation"—red gills appeared on their cheeks, green fish scales surfaced on their skin, and their hands and feet were beginning to form fins… They were slowly turning into little kappa-like creatures.

Mo Hua looked at the River Deity just a few paces away, then suddenly smiled brightly.

"...I can turn Divine Sense into a sword too, you know?"

The River Deity was too far to stop him. All he could do was watch helplessly as Mo Hua wreaked havoc—messing up the entire altar in the blink of an eye.

"You cunning little brat!!"

That twisted aura—Mo Hua was very familiar with it. He'd even eaten it before.

It's just that this so-called "Dragon Palace" was bathed in blood, filled with bones… downright infernal.

"Are you stalling for time?!"

No matter how Mo Hua struggled, he couldn't break free.

A true life-and-death crisis loomed—one even more terrifying than that sword from hundreds of years ago.

The River Deity looked at Mo Hua, its expression growing solemn, and in a hoarse voice, it said:

"In the past few hundred years… you are the second person who has made this deity feel so troubled."

The offering table was filled with "fresh fish" offerings—on closer inspection, they were made of human flesh and bones.

Mo Hua casually waved his hand. A flash of golden light condensed into threads, slicing through all the tough fish whiskers formed from wicked thoughts with ease!

The River Deity's eyes filled with terror.

Enraged, the River Deity charged into the great hall.

It hadn't expected Mo Hua to know how to conceal his presence.

"The first… was a sword cultivator."

"Heh…"

At the center of the offering table sat a glass fish tank, filled with blood-red fish.

"He wasn't like you. His Divine Sense was far weaker, but his Sword of Divine Sense… was unparalleled in sharpness."

"Where did he go?"

But when Mo Hua tried to trace the karma, he saw nothing.

The plaza contained the River Deity's believers—his foundation for spreading doctrine.

In their eyes remained fear and confusion as they looked toward the River Deity, who now seemed more like a monster.

At the altar's center stood a golden idol of the River Deity, identical in appearance to the real one—but with a bizarre addition: two ram horns on its head.

And now, as the fishermen continued kneeling in prayer, the bloody fish in their minds dried up one by one and died.

Those being drained by the River Deity's whiskers also escaped his grasp.

The taboos of the Divine Path—only Deitys know. Mortals understand but a mere drop in the ocean.

This brat… who knows what method he used, but he had hidden his aura and pulled off a perfect feint.

For starters, his guess was right.

The River Deity staggered backward, trying to distance himself—trying to get away from this little reaper wielding a golden sword.

Mo Hua ransacked the altar from top to bottom but found nothing of value.

Standing before the altar, he squinted and smiled at the River Deity.

Even cultivators who refined Divine Sense into a sword, without mastery in sword intent, would likely fall before such a powerful blood river technique.

Mo Hua immediately saw through it—the fish monster was the River Deity's transformed form.

"Is it possible…"

He suddenly realized something, and with golden light swirling around his fist, he struck forward. The River Deity blocked with a bloody claw.

The great hall's door was sealed—he hadn't entered yet and didn't know what was inside.

The River Deity had the same suspicion.

Mo Hua frowned, but with limited time, he took a deep breath and swallowed all the River Deity's wicked thoughts into his belly.

He figured he had a bit of time left and turned back toward the hall, arriving again at the altar.

It pondered briefly—then suddenly felt a sense of dread.

"No…"

The awakened fishermen looked horrified, panicking and trying to flee.

"You dare ruin my domain, cut off my foundation, destroy my divine path…"

Too late.

It must have been during the battle—when their Divine Senses clashed—that the karmic traces blurred. When he tried to divine the cause and effect, the vision flashed by too fast to reveal the details.

A moment later, his crisp voice rang out again:

"Why's this altar so poor?!"

Like waking from a nightmare, foggy memories returned. The fishermen slowly regained their senses—and gradually broke free from the dream.

A youth glowing with faint golden light, holding a golden divine sword, dragged the River Deity to a platform. With his left hand, he pressed down on its head. With his right hand—sword raised, light flaring—he beheaded the River Deity cleanly and precisely.

The pool of blood was entirely composed of wicked thoughts.

The River Deity let out a mocking laugh but said nothing.

Mo Hua, hearing this, stopped struggling—as if giving up resistance.

The River Deity's voice was raspy and twisted; its face, contorted and terrifying.

The River Deity dissolved into a river of blood—vanishing in an instant.

It frowned, its fishy features wrinkling with unease.

But the River Deity never submerged the great hall—surely, that meant something inside was as important as, or even more important than, the foundation of his doctrine.

The River Deity's head was sliced off by Mo Hua's Sword of Divine Sense.

Mo Hua frowned, his expression heavy. He gritted his teeth and focused—he seemed ready to condense a large formation to deal with the River Deity.

"You're human. And as a human, you have a body. I need only trap your Divine Sense in this dream. Once your body outside rots or something happens to it… your flesh will perish…"

But—there was no golden divine marrow.

The idol toppled, the offering table flipped, the glass tank shattered, and all the evil offerings scattered. As the dream collapsed, they twisted into strands of evil aura.

But the sword cultivator's sword was silver.

At the critical moment, one small fish struggled desperately, shaking off all the filthy blood on its body—revealing a silver-white glow.

At that moment, the two children knelt before the River Deity statue. Special blood-colored fish swam in their minds, seemingly trying to "assimilate" them.

What a pity…

The River Deity's chest was pierced by a streak of golden sword light.

Without hesitation, Mo Hua charged again and launched into battle with the River Deity.

"This brat… really has no shame."

"If not for my superior skill, I would've almost fallen into his hands."

The golden Sword Qi, born of Divine Sense, tore the blood-tainted wickedness in the River Deity's chest to shreds.

Mo Hua sighed, turned to leave—but then out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a tiny blood-colored fish swim out from within the broken idol.

The entire River Deity Temple trembled faintly.

Beneath the offering table knelt two children—the sons of the man from the riverbank.

When Mo Hua reached the plaza, it was already soaked in blood.

"You dare!?"

Just which cursed bastard of a Deity revealed divine taboos to this little spawn who deserves a thousand blades through the heart!?

But there wasn't time to refine anything right now.

The two children of Yu Dahe, as well as Gu An, Gu Quan, and the others, were also gradually waking from the nightmare…

"I surrender! I quit! Can you let me out now?"

Just like the sword that sword cultivator thrust out hundreds of years ago.

With the River Deity gone, the entire temple began violently shaking—collapsing instantly.

"You can't break my divine body. Inside my nightmare, you're powerless against me."

This is… the River Deity!?

A vast, transformed force—Divine Sense that rivaled that of a true Deity—rushed into Mo Hua's right hand, compressing and condensing until it forged into a massive, razor-sharp sword form.

The remaining traces of evil aura were so pitiful, they couldn't even fill Mo Hua's teeth. He wasn't interested in them at all.

But there were just too many of those fish whiskers—Mo Hua couldn't cut through them fast enough.

The fish head looked like it had tumors—swelling and shrinking erratically.

The River Deity instantly realized what Mo Hua was trying to do and shouted in panic:

A brilliant golden flash pierced straight through the River Deity's chest.

Mo Hua flashed forward, appearing right in front of it. His left hand pressed onto its shoulder, while his right hand drove the Divine Sense Sword straight in.

"Even if you become a vengeful spirit, you'll be gravely weakened… and no match for me."

That said, Mo Hua knew he wasn't a real "Deity." Since this kind of divine ability was innate, it probably couldn't be learned postnatally.

"You're more like a 'Deity'… than a person."

"Even if your Divine Sense is powerful, without a foundation, you're just a rootless weed. Either you die and vanish… or fall to corruption and become a demon."

This collective nightmare was built by the River Deity but sustained by the fishermen's faith.

Mo Hua moved incredibly fast.

That senior sword cultivator from back then must've also broken through this Blood River divine ability.

The altar was the key to everything.

Not only was this brat's Divine Sense ridiculously strong—his mind was also cunning and devious.

The River Deity froze, then his pupils dilated wide in horror.

This altar had taken him centuries of painstaking effort to build, yet in the blink of an eye, it was all destroyed.

The River Deity fought Mo Hua—sometimes forming blood spikes with bone fish spears, other times using the Blood River divine technique to corrode Mo Hua's Divine Sense.

His body turned into blood water and, filled with evil intent, immediately chased after Mo Hua.

"Even if your Divine Sense is strong, your killing power doesn't compare to that sword cultivator back then."

Without delay, Mo Hua snatched up the glass fish tank and smashed it to the ground—then stomped every last blood fish inside to death.

"That cultivator's Divine Sense was extreme—his Divine Sense was his sword. That's why his sword could wound me… but I could also seriously injure him in return."

And never had he expected Mo Hua to be so brazen and so slippery!

The River Deity was trembling in rage just looking at him.

"Innate Divine Ability…"

That elder must've received the Great Void Sect's core inheritance of Divine Sense Sword Cultivation—and, through years of tempering in sword arts, gained such power that he could fight a Deity head-on.

But for normal cultivators—or even typical Divine Sense sword cultivators—facing a real Deity-level divine technique meant certain death.

This overwhelming scene struck every fisherman's heart with terror. They were shaken to their core and couldn't calm down.

Mo Hua licked his lips.

"Well… how would I know unless I tried?"

This little cultivator might be young, but he was tricky and sly. Not a word from his mouth could be trusted.

"This is… true divine power."

"That's why he could wound me. But you can't."

"I told you before—your Divine Sense may be strong, but it's too balanced. Everything is strong, but nothing reaches its peak."

Mo Hua kept struggling, but the fish whiskers were wrapped in the evil thoughts of a Great Wilderness Evil Deity. They were tough beyond belief, binding him tightly.

It felt like a mini Dragon Palace deep beneath the river.

Mo Hua's sword was gold.

The River Deity's evil thoughts were also leaking outward. Its divine body was like a deflated balloon, slowly collapsing back into its original form.

Its eye twitched violently.

It had chased Mo Hua all the way to the plaza, yet still hadn't caught a glimpse of him.

Mo Hua furrowed his brows, thought for a moment, then simply admitted:

"Great Wilderness Evil Deity…"

His Divine Sense was infused with golden divine marrow—a sword of a true Deity.

Part of it was rage. Part of it was that the "nightmare" was collapsing, shaking its foundation.

It had already been cautious, but never expected to run into a little human monster so absurd today.

Mo Hua thought: As expected.

The River Deity's divine body began to twist and deform.

Mo Hua took the opportunity to retreat and widen the distance, frowning:

When the River Deity used the Boundless Blood River divine power, it flooded most of the temple—but two places were spared: the plaza and the main hall.

A sword condensed from Deitylike Divine Sense—a divine technique forged into a blade!

A trace of divine marrow fused into the blade, sharpening it to a lethal edge.

"The main hall!"

Since neither side could easily win, Mo Hua decided to take a risk—he pretended to flee toward the plaza, but secretly used a stealth technique to double back, break into the hall, enter the River Deity's real "home," and saw the true altar.

The altar was carved with ancient patterns, its furnishings luxurious, the whole place solemn and reverent.

At this point, he and that giant fish head were fairly evenly matched—it wasn't easy to claim victory.

The sword was rough, like an unfinished sword embryo—but within it surged sharp Divine Sense and murderous intent.

At first, the River Deity didn't care. But then, seeing Mo Hua flee toward the fishermen's plaza, a flicker of harshness crossed his gaze.

"...Your Divine Sense is incredibly strong. You have rich battle experience in Divine Sense combat. Your techniques are endless—you can manifest spells, even form such profound formations…"

Divine Technique!

Just the sound of those two words—so majestic, so cool!

If he could learn one, wouldn't he basically be on par with a Deity?

The fact that Mo Hua used a feint to destroy the altar also proved—he wasn't clueless about the path of divinity.

"But no matter how strong his sword intent, he's still just a human. That doesn't change the fact that human Divine Sense is fragile."

Beneath the River Deity's statue stood an offering table.

Mo Hua glanced at the River Deity again.

"Then I'll devour every man and beast, strengthen my Divine Sense, and then I'll slowly torture you, little brat—chew you alive, bit by bit…"

This River Deity had lived a long life, seen all kinds of people, demons, ghosts, and Deitys—but he'd never seen anyone surrender so cheerfully, so calmly, and with such conviction.

Seeing that Mo Hua had figured it out, the River Deity gave a faint smile, baring his ghastly white fangs.

Mo Hua's Divine Sense circulated—he manifested Five Elements spells: golden blades, water arrows, and fireballs, all at once! He launched them at the bloody fish whiskers around him, slicing and burning them into nothing.

Mo Hua's heart skipped a beat. Realizing something was wrong, he immediately turned his body into flowing water and rushed to the plaza before the main hall.

He was starting to feel a little tempted…

The River Deity's heart was bleeding—spiritually and emotionally.

Mo Hua immediately wanted to squish that little fish to death.

"To eliminate evil, strike at the root. To drive out demons, destroy their source."

The River Deity's face turned cold.

And then… they saw something even more outrageous—

"Hundreds of years ago, he came here alone. One man, one sword—trying to destroy my divine path. His swordsmanship was inscrutable, his sword intent—utterly fierce…"

Even from a distance, the River Deity could see that the tightly shut door of the main hall had been forcefully broken open—just big enough for a small child to crawl through.

The River Deity was so furious his fish whiskers all stood on end. He reversed the Blood River in an instant, rushing back toward the main hall with blazing speed.

Even with the help of formations, it had little effect.

One by one, the fishermen began to fade away.

"But you're different…"

The River Deity's eyes widened slightly, tinged with surprise.

Mo Hua's heart was shaken, but a thought popped up uncontrollably:

"...I wonder if I could learn it?"

At the same time, a sharp golden gleam suddenly burst forth!

After battling dozens of rounds, Mo Hua had a slight advantage—but as the River Deity said, he still couldn't take it down.

Inside the main hall, blood-colored silk, golden canopy, carved beams, painted rafters—a scene of opulent luxury. Skulls were used as decorations, and crimson pearls made of evil thoughts glowed eerily.

Up close, they fought with fists and kicks. From afar, they cast spells. Occasionally, Mo Hua would pop a formation and blast the River Deity just to mix it up.

"So from the moment you entered the nightmare, I was already invincible."

He might even know a lot more than expected.

Leftovers?

The River Deity's power was gradually increasing. The fish whiskers thickened, and the evil aura around him crept ever closer to its peak.

Driven by rage, his evil thoughts boiled over, and the blood color of his robe darkened to nearly black.

At the same time, as the altar was destroyed and the fish tank shattered—the two blood fish in Yu Dahe's sons' minds dried up and died within a few breaths.

At the center of the main hall stood the altar.

But this time, the divine technique was smaller in scale. It created a bloody river of evil intent around a few meters of space, trying to limit Mo Hua's attacks.

The two children also stopped mutating.

Then Mo Hua lifted a foot and kicked the offering table, turned around and gave the River Deity statue a good boot too, and even jumped on top of its head and snapped off the two ram horns.

"Your Divine Sense is balanced in both offense and defense—so strong it's evenly matched. Even with divine techniques, I still can't kill you. But conversely… you can't do anything to me either."

The River Deity's voice was ice-cold, laced with mocking disdain:

"Stop struggling…"

But he didn't believe it at all.

In fact, he even summoned an evil will that didn't belong to him.

At this moment, Mo Hua stood before the altar, rubbing his little chin, nodding slightly as he pondered.

A grotesque fish monster—huge fish head, demonic body, all crimson, with whiskers like thick tentacles—had spread them throughout the room, binding up fishermen and siphoning their Divine Sense.

"Little brat… trying to ruin my sacred ground?!"

The fishermen who had just awakened from the nightmare were in shock, confused and panicked.

There was nothing left to "eat."

No divine marrow either.

The River Deity, whose head had been cleanly severed by Mo Hua's Divine Sense Sword, gradually melted into a thick pool of blood.

Mo Hua sighed, and without saying a word, turned and ran.

The nightmare, too, began to collapse faster.

Now that the altar was destroyed, the nightmare had lost its root. Once the fishermen woke and escaped it, it would shake the entire dream realm's foundation.

The altar was already gone.

But before Mo Hua could fully manifest his power, a few blood-red fish whiskers shot up from underground—piercing into his calves and hoisting him up to dangle in front of the River Deity.

A massive blood mist suddenly erupted outward.

The fishermen's gazes were clearing up.

They had been forcibly expelled from the nightmare.

"Once your body dies and your Divine Sense fades… you'll be left to rot on your own."

Wait… a little silver fish?

Mo Hua froze in surprise.

But seeing that this little silver fish bore no evil aura and hadn't been polluted by the evil Deity, he showed mercy and let it live.

The shivering little silver fish nodded rapidly toward Mo Hua, like kowtowing in thanks. Then it shot off in a flash of silver light, swimming away to who knows where.

(End of this Chapter)