Yu Er’s nose stung a little. She rubbed her eye rims, wiped away her tears, and said softly, "Mm..."

Mo Hua continued carrying Yu Er on his back, walking toward the Qianxue state boundary.

Yu Er had originally wanted to walk on her own, but after leaving the Blood Sacrifice Array, for some reason her Divine Sense felt muddled, her limbs sore and weak, so she could only let Mo Hua carry her.

Mo Hua’s shoulders and back were thin, yet straight and gentle.

In Yu Er’s eyes, it was as if they carried the bearing of shouldering the heavens and the vastness of bearing the earth, making people look up to him, and also feel at ease.

...

At the outskirts of the Qianxue state boundary.

The Heavenly Pride Disciples of the Four Sects and Eight Gates and Twelve Streams had been waiting for Mo Hua all along.

But before they could wait for Mo Hua, they saw on the horizon the scene of that Large Formation collapsing, mountains and rivers turning to ash, heaven and earth falling into deathly silence. One by one their expressions turned aghast, their hearts suffering a violent shock, their eyes full of disbelief.

Only after quite a while did the feeling of shock slowly subside.

Soon, they realized another problem:

"Where’s Mo Hua?"

"The Large Formation destroyed itself, but where’s Mo Hua?"

"Is he still inside the Large Formation, and didn’t make it out?"

"From Yanluo Mountain to the Qianxue state boundary, there’s only this one road. If he escaped, we would definitely have run into him."

"Or, if he really got out, the Taoist Court over there would also inform us, and Taixu Gate would have news as well."

"But now, we haven’t seen Mo Hua, and there’s no word of him either, then he..."

Ye Zhiyuan’s gaze was vacant as he muttered, "Could it be that Mo Hua... is dead..."

"What nonsense are you spouting!" a Taixu Gate Disciple shouted angrily. "You’re the one who’s dead!"

"How could Junior Brother possibly die?"

"Even if you died ten thousand times, Junior Brother still couldn’t possibly die!"

Ye Zhiyuan had wanted to retort, but seeing the Taixu Gate Disciples in such a menacing fury, looking as if they’d chop him to pieces, he didn’t dare make a sound.

The others were all frowning as well, their expressions not looking good.

The group of Taixu Gate Disciples, including Linghu Xiao, Cheng Mo, Situ Jian, Ouyang Xuan, Hao Xuan, Yang Qianjun, the five Ouyang brothers... and so on, though they wouldn’t admit it out loud, all felt a heavy weight pressing down in their hearts, making it hard to breathe.

Their Junior Brother Mo Hua was clever, upright, affectionate, wise and valiant, with strong Divine Sense, powerful in Formations, superb in movement technique, good at Concealment—whatever happened, he always had a way to solve it...

Such a Junior Brother just couldn’t possibly die!

But they soon realized this was only their one-sided wishful thinking.

No matter how formidable Junior Brother was, he was still just a person.

Just a Sect Disciple with Foundation Building Cultivation.

He couldn’t be immortal.

Saying he wouldn’t die was nothing but their own self-deception.

Especially when he was in such a grand and bizarre, Demon-filled Demon Path Great Formation, dangers everywhere, exceedingly ferocious.

Given Junior Brother’s cultivation, being able to protect himself, being able not to be bewitched by the Demon Path and fall, was already burning high incense.

And now, what frightened them even more was that the entire Demon Path Great Formation had been blown apart by some unknown expert, using earth-shattering methods.

A terrifying aura of destruction spread throughout the Large Formation, all living beings turned to dust. How could their Junior Brother possibly be spared?

"Could it be that Junior Brother..."

All the Taixu Gate Disciples felt their hearts lurch and tremble deep down.

Linghu Xiao pressed his lips together and frowned. "Let’s... wait a bit longer."

"Mm." Situ Jian and the rest of the Taixu Gate Disciples nodded.

The Heavenly Pride Disciples of the other Sects also stayed, waiting together for Mo Hua.

But they waited for a long time, waited until the Large Formation had completely collapsed, all living beings turned into black ash, Death Qi shooting straight into the sky, and still did not see any sign of Mo Hua.

"Junior Brother..."

The Taixu Gate Disciples felt their hearts grow colder and colder. Some even began to have reddened eyes, secretly rubbing them.

"Mo Hua... really... died?"

Ao Zhan, Xiao Ruohan, and Shen Cangfeng of the Four Great Sects all looked somewhat dazed.

Among the Eight Great Gates, Song Jian of the Sever Gold Sect had his lips tightly pressed together, grief in his heart.

Qin Cangliu of the Gui Water Sect, Lu Zhenlong of the Purple Mist Sect, Ye Zhiyuan of the Daluo Sect, Feng Zichen of the Carefree Sect, Shi Tiangang of the Vajra Sect... these Heavenly Pride Disciples who had had grudges with Mo Hua all felt complicated, their expressions desolate.

They’d had feuds with Mo Hua, had hated Mo Hua. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

But they had also been saved by Mo Hua, had received his kindness.

Now, after Mo Hua rescued them, he himself said he was going to save others, plunged into the Evil Path Great Formation, and perished within it...

So young, so full of talent, yet willing to sacrifice himself for others, dying inside the Demon Path Great Formation...

This sudden turn of events left them all looking gloomy, their hearts both sore and bitter.

When a man dies, it’s like a lamp going out.

Since he was dead, all hatred and grudges vanished.

They even started to dwell on Mo Hua’s good points.

Some even thought of how Mo Hua had previously suppressed the Four Sects to seize the title of Formation Leader, how at the Sword Discussion Conference he had endured, laid plans, and then revealed his sharp edge, how within the Blood Sacrifice Array he gave orders, turned the tide, and saved a whole group of Heavenly Pride Disciples... recalling these extraordinary deeds, they sighed with emotion in their hearts.

Contempt turned into admiration, hatred into regret.

Some even had slightly reddened eyes and a wistful look.

The atmosphere was utterly solemn. Everyone was grieving for Mo Hua, mourning him, silently paying respects to this dazzling genius who had died so young.

Heaven and earth themselves seemed shrouded in a layer of sorrow.

In this atmosphere of tragic solemnity, a familiar, crisp voice, tinged with curiosity, suddenly sounded behind them:

"What are you all... doing here?"

Everyone jumped in fright and turned around in a hurry, only to see the very Mo Hua they had been "mourning," carrying a child on his back, somehow standing silently behind them, his face full of puzzlement.

The atmosphere instantly froze.