Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather Chapter 1354: 868: The 8 Great Divine Spells of the Taoist Palace

From afar, Mo Xuanyu observed Liu Zai Xian’s deeds, his heart surging with intense loathing, yet ultimately, he decided against exposing himself.

After all, he stood alone at that instant, and showing up might result in him being overwhelmed by the six families from the Qingli Dynasty.

Naturally, he harbored no doubts that Liu Zai Xian had wrecked his Great Array and Blood Pool. Having resided here for a decade, he knew Liu Zai Xian well. Liu Zai Xian wasn’t the type to interfere needlessly or rush into action. Should Liu Zai Xian have stumbled upon his Great Array and Blood Pool, he wouldn’t have led a bunch of Qi Refining Cultivators to ruin them. Instead, he’d have straightaway called upon the six families of the Qingli Dynasty for aid.

Aside from Liu Zai Xian, who could possibly have demolished his Great Array and Blood Pool?

Mo Xuanyu concealed his presence, his gaze flickering with sinister light.

“Zhang Mo!”

“It has to be him!”

He held no suspicion toward Xuanzhen, for Xuanzhen had served him for more than thirty years and remained under the control of the Ten Thousand Ghost Blood Jade, incapable of damaging the Evil Blood Killing Array, much less getting near the Ten Thousand Ghost Blood Jade itself.

Zhang Mo, however, possessed such power. He too controlled the Evil Blood Killing Array, along with the Ten Thousand Ghost Blood Jade and a Blood Pool of his own, and his mastery over the Evil Blood Killing Array and Ten Thousand Ghost Blood Jade surpassed even Mo Xuanyu’s.

Should Zhang Mo desire to obliterate Mo Xuanyu’s Great Array and Blood Pool, accomplishing it would prove effortless.

Furthermore, Zhang Mo had come by recently and clashed with Mo Xuanyu.

Their dispute stemmed from a straightforward matter: Zhang Mo sought Mo Xuanyu’s alliance to dominate the six families of the Qingli Dynasty.

Mo Xuanyu, of course, rejected the idea. He had set his sights on the six families of the Qingli Dynasty beforehand, already deploying the Evil Blood Killing Array and laying groundwork for his imminent scheme.

With his meticulously devised plan on the verge of execution, he had no intention of letting Zhang Mo meddle.

Thus, he turned Zhang Mo down, leaving the man greatly irritated.

Now, Mo Xuanyu had ample grounds to believe Zhang Mo had sabotaged his Great Array and Blood Pool.

“Damn it, Zhang Mo, I’ll surely rip out your Divine Soul and twist it into a lamp wick!” Mo Xuanyu hissed with vicious intent.

Regrettably, that remained mere fantasy. Currently, he lacked the means to harm Zhang Mo and instead needed to evade detection by him.

Having forfeited the essence of the Ten Thousand Ghost Blood Jade and Evil Blood Killing Array, he could no longer justify himself to the Yin Ghost Department and had no choice but to abandon them.

Mo Xuanyu found himself in dire straits right then. Beyond his personal cultivation and the supplies on him, nearly all else had vanished.

He forfeited his role as Blood Pool Steward in the Yin Ghost Department, his Ghost Soldiers and Blood Puppets underlings, and the East Mountain Reappearance Array along with its Blood Pool.

This perilous state ignited Mo Xuanyu’s grudge like an erupting volcano.

Yet ultimately, he quelled his fury and slipped away from Lotus Heart Valley in silence.

His clear thinking urged him that his priority wasn’t vengeance against Zhang Mo or other pursuits, but securing a safe haven to safeguard himself first.

As Mo Xuanyu departed, reinforcements arrived for Liu Zai Xian’s group. In addition to the six families, each dispatched a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

Yet they were fated to discover nothing, managing only to clear away the lingering blood and dissipate the dense Evil Qi.

…

Several days passed.

To the east of the Qingli Dynasty lay Cangya Gorge.

This chasm plunged a thousand fathoms, rending the land and devouring mists, flanked by sheer cliffs resembling forged iron wonders, carved and split asunder, adorned with verdant moss and cascading waterfalls like celestial silver bands piercing the heavens; raging currents plunged into the depths, bizarre rocks gnashing like fangs, pounding surges booming against the walls, rising vapors cloaking the skies.

Gazing skyward at the cleft above, a slender streak of blue sky filtered through rays, while layered clouds encircled the ravine akin to a slumbering serpent.

Deeper within the gorge, tangled vines entwined around towering White Bone Pillars exceeding ten zhang in height.

Hundreds of silhouettes hustled near the Blood Pool’s rim under the White Bone Pillars, hauling cadavers to dump into the Blood Pool and guiding out figures with crimson-veined eyes from its depths.

Caverns dotted the surrounding cliff faces by the Blood Pool, occupied by blood puppets radiating Blood Evil Qi.

Atop the cliff’s ledge, Zhang Mo perched on the platform, surveying the Blood Pool beneath, a trace of complacency gleaming in his eyes.

Silver tresses flowed over his shoulders, loose yet tidy, a handful of icy strands swaying softly in the mountain gusts; his skin bloomed rosy like cinnabar, crow's feet framed his eyes akin to etched clouds, his stare gleamed vividly as though harboring constellations. He donned a broad-sleeved robe of plain silk, pine designs stitched subtly at the cuffs, while a verdant jade pendant dangled from his belt, its string woven with aged vines.

His left hand clutched a faintly battered horsetail whisk, tassels curling at the tips, and his right gripped a Purple Bamboo Staff, its head smoothed to a warm sheen, as his garment swelled, vaguely exposing a shadowy crane motif with wings outstretched on his chest.

Even with frost gracing his temples, he radiated inherent poise, like clouds coalescing into being, flora thriving in perfect synchrony.

Unlike Mo Xuanyu, who skulked in dim mountain grottos day in and day out, Zhang Mo truly resembled a Dao-achieving cultivator.

An exceptional aura emanated from him, serene and composed, far from the image of a Blood Pool Steward who forged Ghost Soldiers and Blood Puppets—more akin to a venerable elder from a prestigious Immortal Cultivator sect.

A profound chasm separated him from Mo Xuanyu, spanning not just their looks but their prowess too, along with the sheer count of their Ghost Soldiers and Blood Puppets.

Truthfully, Zhang Mo had no desire to tangle with Mo Xuanyu. Though uncooperative, Mo Xuanyu scarcely merited Zhang Mo's attention.

At first, he merely aimed to ally with Mo Xuanyu against the six families of the Qingli Dynasty. Mo Xuanyu's reluctance meant Zhang Mo could forge ahead solo, ignoring his views entirely.

Were Mo Xuanyu’s Blood Pool not ideally placed in Lotus Heart Valley, Zhang Mo would have bypassed any overture for collaboration altogether.