Immortality Through Array Formations Chapter 2019 Chapter 969: Mountain Lord (2)

"Young Master Mo... what in the world is he truly?"

"Surely... he must still be 'human', right?"

...

Deep within the confines of the massive hall.

Discarded upon the floor lay a shattered long halberd, caked in filth and stained with old blood.

Standing perfectly still was the malformed evil embryo. Draped in ominous demon armor, it bore a haunting resemblance to Lord Yellow Mountain.

A fresh wound had been carved into its shoulder. There, the twisted flesh writhed as foul blood leaked out, and festering evil energy bubbled within the laceration.

The creature remained motionless, appearing almost dazed or confused.

Seizing this brief reprieve, Mo Hua sucked in air, gasping desperately. But before his lungs could truly settle, the evil embryo’s skin began to knit itself back together. Its malevolent essence surged once more, revitalizing the monster.

The broken halberd of the evil god manifested once again in its grip.

Mo Hua clenched his teeth, his breath hitching in a mix of exhaustion and alarm.

"He is simply too powerful..."

Through this prolonged struggle, Mo Hua had gradually pieced together the truth.

This evil embryo was a botched incarnation. To put it another way, it was the "stillborn" vessel of an evil god, saturated with a death aura far more potent than that of a standard evil entity.

It lacked a conscious mind, driven solely by the primal instincts to slaughter and consume.

Its very existence was a grotesque amalgamation of different forces.

Within it resided the core essence of an evil god, the physical remains of demon monsters, and the concentrated agony of over ten thousand mining cultivators who had met their ends in Solitary Mountain. It was a vessel for the malice born from such immense suffering.

It was a chaotic, deformed mess of mingled flesh.

Mo Hua recalled sensing a bizarre, chaotic node through the Divine Authority Tree in the Great Wilderness; it was clear now that he had been sensing this very evil embryo of Solitary Mountain.

The most dominant component within this creature, however, was Lord Yellow Mountain.

A deity who once stood at the very peak of the third grade.

Following his death years ago, it seemed his massive remains had been claimed by the evil god. They were used as the "medium" to incubate and facilitate the arrival of this evil embryo.

Or perhaps, the entire tragedy had been a scheme from the very beginning.

A grand conspiracy targeting Lord Yellow Mountain himself.

In his prime, Lord Yellow Mountain was an overwhelming force. Within the third-grade domain of Solitary Mountain, even an evil god would have found him a difficult opponent to suppress.

Thus, the evil god engineered his fall from grace, manipulating others to strike him down.

Once he was tainted, Lord Yellow Mountain became a source of calamity and a lingering threat. Naturally, the ancestors of the Taixu Gate were forced to eliminate him.

Following a grueling conflict, the ancestors of the Taixu Gate succeeded in cutting him down. Though his body was destroyed, a tiny, flickering spark of his original essence managed to flee.

However, the "corrupted" and fallen physical form of the Mountain God served as perfect fuel for the evil embryo. It underwent a dark transformation, becoming the core of the new entity.

In a way, everyone had been played for fools.

This was the theory Mo Hua had constructed after witnessing the true form of the evil embryo and engaging it in combat.

While the broad strokes seemed accurate, the specific nuances and hidden details of the past remained a mystery.

The absolute truth was likely known only to the original Lord Yellow Mountain, the Taixu Gate ancestors, or the mastermind behind the evil god—Mr. Tu.

Regardless of the history, Mo Hua didn't have the luxury of investigating the past right now.

The immediate threat was this failed, twisted, and monstrous evil embryo that was meant to slumber beneath Solitary Mountain.

The strength of this creature was suffocating.

Mo Hua pressed his lips together, a sense of frustration bubbling within him.

The monster was faster, its strikes were more devastating, and its telekinesis was superior. It wielded a sinister evil energy and black blood capable of eating through divine marrow. Furthermore, its demon armor rendered it nearly immune to both blades and fire.

Every time Mo Hua attempted to unleash the Godslaying Sword, the frenzied evil embryo would cut him off.

There was simply no opening.

Up to this point in the battle, Mo Hua had failed to gain any real ground.

The solitary silver lining was that even if the embryo was at the peak of the third grade, the Godslaying Sword possessed the power to pierce its armor and rend its flesh. It could be damaged.

But whether or not it could be truly killed was another matter entirely.

The primary obstacle was the lack of opportunity. The embryo was too relentless to allow him the time needed to fully channel the Godslaying technique.

Because its realm was so high, Mo Hua’s various crowd-control methods—such as the Water Prison Technique or his Trapping Formations—proved utterly useless.

"Should I retreat for now?"

Mo Hua weighed his options and concluded that fleeing might be the most logical path. Based on the current circumstances, the evil embryo appeared to be tethered to the dragon coffin, unable to leave the main hall.

"Perhaps I should fight a bit longer, then escape to recover before returning to strike again?"

While the embryo was formidable, Mo Hua was surprisingly resilient himself.

By utilizing Divine Thought Taoism and his specialized Divine Thought Sword Techniques, he could hold his own for a time without being immediately overwhelmed.

If he played it safe, he might be able to wear the monster down through attrition until a weakness appeared...

As Mo Hua’s mind spun with tactical possibilities, the evil embryo suddenly vanished from his sight.

A jolt of terror hit Mo Hua’s heart as he instinctively threw himself backward.

He was a fraction of a second too slow. A massive, foul-smelling claw tore through the air, raking across his body. Several deep, bloody gashes opened up across Mo Hua’s back.

The force of the blow sent him hurtling through the air like a stone from a sling, slamming him hard into the wall of the Divine Temple.

A heavy thud echoed as cracks spider-webbed across the stone surface.

Gritting his teeth against the searing agony, Mo Hua couldn't help but snarl, "Lord Yellow Mountain, I’m putting this debt on your tab!"

The terrifying power of the evil embryo was rooted in Lord Yellow Mountain’s legacy. If not for him, Mo Hua wouldn't be in this painful predicament.

Despite the curses and the throbbing pain, Mo Hua forced himself back onto his feet, ignoring his wounds. He knew the next strike would follow instantly.

This monster was not the type to grant its prey a moment of rest.

Mo Hua braced himself, gripping his golden sword and preparing for the onslaught. However, as he waited, the hall remained eerily still. The evil embryo did not launch its follow-up attack.