Chapter 2831 - 132: Expedition Against Shugu (2)
Chapter 2831: Chapter 132: Expedition Against Shugu (2)
Mo Hua neither has the realm nor the capability to restrain a late-stage Golden Core Cultivator.
He only has Foundation Establishment.
He is not truly an "Evil God", unable to control believers through the altar’s blood sacrifice like the Master of the Great Wilderness.
Therefore, Mo Hua can only wear a look of "indifference" — even if he wasn’t indifferent, there wouldn’t be another choice.
Mo Hua maintained a calm demeanor: "You may betray me, for my betrayal is insignificant, but..."
Mo Hua looked at Lugu, his gaze deep, "the betrayal of the Divine Lord is unforgivable."
"Never, ever betray the Divine Lord..."
Lugu’s eyes sharpened, not knowing what to think, he slowly nodded.
...
The transaction between the two parties was concluded.
Mo Hua saved Elder She from Lugu’s hands, then had Chi Feng cripple his legs and feet, temporarily imprisoning him.
There should still be other secrets within Elder She.
But these secrets could not be asked outright; he must use him as a "clue" to slowly discover the inner cause and effect by himself.
Afterward, Mo Hua, along with Lugu, Chi Feng, and others, passed through the Hengduan Mountains to investigate the situation.
The overall situation was indeed as Elder She mentioned.
Beyond Hengduan Mountain, conflicts were unceasing, a scene of devastation.
The Wujiu Tribe’s army defeated the Bi Fang Tribe, as well as Flame Wings, Fire Eagles, Red Luan, and other once-powerful third-grade tribes in the Vermilion Bird Mountain Realm.
The major tribes were defeated, fragmented into medium and small parts, like sand scattered, flowing everywhere.
It was still a scene of chaos.
And within this chaotic situation, the "Wujiu Tribe" was a giant crocodile, extremely perilous.
The situation was very dire, as the Wujiu Tribe grew incessantly stronger and more aggressive; ultimately, it would certainly conquer the Vermilion Bird Mountain Realm and become Mo Hua’s greatest obstacle to proving the Dao in the Great Wilderness.
However, turned his mind to the idea that the Wujiu Tribe as a crocodile muddled the waters, consumed all the major tribes.
In other words, it weakened the local tribes of the Vermilion Bird Mountain.
At the same time, it partitioned the major tribes, making it easier for him to "take a bite".
The nature of things is such that blessings and misfortunes depend on each other.
Often, it’s about looking from a different perspective and seeking opportunities from "misfortunes".
Mo Hua’s thoughts became clearer.
The Wujiu Tribe was too strong, while he was not.
Next, he would avoid the Wujiu Tribe and continue to "annex" some small tribes in the Hengduan Mountain region as well as some medium and small tribes split off from major tribes after being defeated.
This process was naturally not easy.
But General Lugu, after reaching a deal with Mo Hua, almost solved everything.
Previously, Lugu seemed "allied" with Mo Hua on the surface but was not active; often when Mo Hua said something, he would reluctantly act with indifference.
However, after Mo Hua promised to help him get revenge, Lugu’s attitude naturally changed.
Even for revenge, he could not possibly be passive.
Lugu is the Shugu General, at the late Golden Core stage; after Sishen’s death, he was almost the strongest general in the Shugu Tribe.
Once Lugu got serious, facing some medium and small forces, he swept across them effortlessly.
In this way, Lugu fought in the front lines, while Mo Hua, under the guise of a shaman, absorbed barbarian cultivators, expanding his power.
His "force" grew stronger and more complex in composition.
Deserters from major tribes, defeated soldiers, wandering warriors from the middle, scattered soldiers, and the old, weak, women, and children from small tribes.
Basically, he accepted anyone.
Mo Hua was not picky; as long as they submitted, he would first "consume" them all.
Then find ways to slowly "digest" them, unifying their awareness and behavior, bringing everyone together, making all the pieces share life and death, thereby gradually forming a "giant dragon" that could decide victory on the board...
And after "consuming" a number of small and medium tribes in this way, Mo Hua finally encountered the remaining forces of the Shugu Tribe.
The Shugu Tribe had also fallen under the siege of the Wujiu Tribe, and many barbarian soldiers were fleeing.
This group of remaining Shugu tribe’s barbarian cultivators also gave Mo Hua an opportunity to understand the battle situation and deduce the cause and effect movement of the Shugu Tribe.
Mo Hua had earlier learned from Lugu about the location of Shugu’s main and central forces.
Now, from the mouths of these remaining Shugu soldiers, he confirmed the distribution of forces under the famine disaster, and then based on the Wujiu Tribe’s march route and war results, he deduced where Shugu’s main and central forces might hide after their defeat.
This kind of thing requires insight into Heaven, Earth, and Human, understanding the Great Wilderness situation, possessing a brilliant calculation method, and deep divine sense calculation power.
Basically, only Mo Hua could do this.
After calculating all of this, Mo Hua circled a few points on the map and drew a line, saying to Lugu:
"Advance along this route, avoid the Wujiu Tribe, find the Shugu main force, and then..."
In the chaos, kill the Chief Shugou.
He didn’t explicitly say the last part.
But Lugu understood, his eyes blazing fiercely like wildfires.
Then the army advanced according to Mo Hua’s plan.
On the marching route, they crossed mountains and ridges, as expected, encountered more Shugu Tribe barbarian soldiers.
All of these were invariably subdued by Lugu, becoming part of Mo Hua’s army.
Lugu was a general, renowned with prestige, commanding a main force.
These remaining Shugu soldiers had no reason not to submit to Lugu.
However, they did not know that the purpose of their general’s submission this time was to kill their Great Chief.
But half a month later, before reaching the Great Chief of the Shugu Tribe, they first encountered another Shugu main force.
This main force’s general was named "Cangu".
Cangu was also a late-stage Golden Core Shugu General, with significant power; although he had lost part of his forces in battles with the Wujiu Tribe, he was still not to be underestimated.
And Cangu’s personal strength was only slightly inferior to Lugu’s; although infamous, if they truly fought, the result was not guaranteed.
Mo Hua did not want a conflict, after all, besides him and Lugu, hardly anyone knew that their mission was to kill the Great Chief of the Shugu Tribe.
Therefore, he only needed to make up some "lies" to persuade Cangu to let them pass through.
This sort of thing couldn’t be done by Mo Hua.
He was a shaman but an outsider, closely linked to the Danque Tribe; once he negotiated, it would definitely raise suspicion and unnecessary mistrust from Cangu.
Thus, only Lugu could negotiate directly. He had to engage Cangu, negotiate well to obtain passage to the Great Chief’s territory.
The two were both generals and somewhat familiar, they could certainly have a conversation.
But Mo Hua was not assured; he thought of many phrases, recorded them in a jade slip, and handed it to Lugu, saying:
"If you don’t know what to say or how to say it, just recite the words from the jade slip, achieving your goal without fighting would be best."
Lugu took the jade slip with an "Oh."
Then he went to talk with Cangu, but the negotiations failed.
Before the discussions concluded, Lugu and Cangu started fighting fiercely, blowing the mountain top away.
From afar, Mo Hua only heard an earth-shattering sound, felt the mountain stones cracking, the ground shaking, and the formidable strength of a late-stage Golden Core surging like giant waves, one after another...
Mo Hua sighed deeply.
When Lugu returned, Mo Hua asked him: "What did you say?"
Lugu, with a fierce and angry demeanor, coldly laughed, saying:
"That fool Cangu, after all these years, is still so hopelessly stupid, merely speaking nonsense, his brain filled with demon feces..."
Mo Hua asked, "Is this what I taught you to say?"
Lugu was silent.
Mo Hua asked again: "What did I tell you to say?"
Only then did Lugu take out the jade slip Mo Hua had given him, flipped through it, his expression somewhat complex, yet he still didn’t speak.
It was as if he had checked his answers after an exam, found none matched the standard answers, but was unwilling to accept his mistakes.
Mo Hua sighed again, feeling speechless.
There indeed exists someone in this world who won’t copy even when given the answers...
Truly...
Subsequently, Mo Hua profoundly reflected on himself.
He believed for a moment that Lugu would seriously negotiate with Cangu.
He was the real fool...
Lugu looked at the displeased Mo Hua, his voice involuntarily lowered:
"Now...what should be done?"
"What else can be done?" Mo Hua shook his head and sighed, "Fight..."