Chapter 1196: Chapter 711: Battle of the Gods Several days later, in the secret chamber of the forbidden grounds. Having shed the cultured and elegant human skin, Mr. Tu, revealing his true form, kneeled in panic before the ram-horned divine statue, his gaunt face deathly pale. His body was lacerated, limbs twisted, prostrated on the ground. His Divine Sense sank into the boundless Great Wilderness Purgatory, enduring tortures like tongue extraction, finger clipping, chest piercing, and steaming. In agonizing pain, he was on the brink of despair. This was Divine Punishment. It was the Divine Punishment from the Master of the Great Wilderness, for his failure in carrying out his duties. The altar had been occupied, the divine authority usurped, and the demon monster army had suffered heavy losses. The wrath of the Divine Lord was unprecedented. As Mr. Tu endured the suffering of purgatory, the thunderous roar of the Divine Lord echoed in his mind, trembling within his heart. After a lengthened torment, the torture finally ceased. Mr. Tu’s Divine Sense was redeemed from the Great Wilderness Purgatory, no longer enduring the excruciating pain of despair. His blood began to flow again, and his flesh slowly restored. But the agony of Divine Punishment, like a glowing hot iron brand, was deeply imprinted in Mr. Tu’s Sea of Consciousness, unforgettable for this life and the next. Struggling, Mr. Tu fell to his knees, breath faint like a thread, devoutly saying: "Thunder and dew are all graces of the Divine Lord..." "Thankful for the Divine Lord’s chastisement..." In the secret chamber, the oppressive and malicious evil thoughts slightly subdued. Mr. Tu took a deep breath, his voice trembling weakly as he murmured: "The deity’s dignity is like the heavens, human lives are as insignificant as ants..." "Man... cannot fathom deity, cannot covet the Divine Position, let alone usurp the divine authority..." "For... it’s impossible for anyone..." Mr. Tu spoke fearfully to himself. He could think of no one, could not conceive any method that would enable a mere mortal to steal the deity’s esteemed position, to wield the Divine Lord’s authority. Any person, any method, was impossible! Even the phrase "usurping the divine authority" was a tremendous disrespect to the Divine Lord. It wasn’t just about doing it, but even thinking about it was taking a huge risk, it was "Desecrating God"! Yet the authority of the Divine Lord had indeed been stolen. The dignity of the Divine Lord had been violated indeed. The servants of the Divine Lord had also suffered heavy casualties. Therefore, Mr. Tu made a bold guess. He knelt on the ground, grinding his teeth yet trembling with dread, he said: "’Humans’ absolutely cannot commit such a heinous act!" "All this is not manipulated by ’humans’ behind the scenes, scheming nefariously." "It is a deity, no, very likely, an ’Evil God’!" "This Evil God is the enemy of the Divine Lord, coveting the Divine Lord’s esteemed position in the shadows, desecrating the Divine Lord’s altar, occupying the Divine Lord’s authority!" "Only a deity can contend with a deity!" "This ’Evil God’ is the true Hidden Hand!" The evil thoughts in the room surged suddenly. An angry and brutal will engulfed the surroundings. Mr. Tu lay prostrate, not daring to speak or move an inch, only his fingers trembling slightly. After a moment, the brutality dissipated, and the atmosphere calmed down. The Divine Lord did not rebuke Mr. Tu. It seemed that He, too, acknowledged Mr. Tu’s conjecture. Since the Hidden Hand was an Evil God, all these were the machinations of another Evil God. Mr. Tu, a mere mortal, no matter how high his cultivation or deep his faith, could not possibly be an adversary to an ’Evil God’. Nor could he anticipate the various evil methods of another ’Evil God’. As Mr. Tu trembled with fear, suddenly he felt, that a strong evil thought poured into his Sea of Consciousness. His Divine Sense, though bloodier, weirder, more chaotic, became stronger. And within it, there also seemed to be some even more profound knowledge of formations. This was Formation heritage forcefully stripped from the minds of other Formation Masters! Mr. Tu’s eyes shuddered. This was the Divine Lord’s blessing! The Divine Lord had slumbered, not yet awakened, so much still relied on himself to handle. Especially now, facing what could be another ’Evil God’, the Heavenly secret was unpredictable. So, He bestowed great power, imparted the heritage, to ensure nothing goes wrong. The grand plans of the Divine Lord could not afford a single slip! With tears of gratitude, Mr. Tu paid his respects and then slowly raised his head, his gaze profound and said: "Taixu Gate are the followers of the Evil God." "Gu Family, Gu Changhuai, are the claws and teeth of the Evil God." "This must be a ’Divine War’ forged by the flesh and blood of mortals!" "The Divine Lord’s authority must start from the Great Wilderness and descend upon Qian State!" ... Meanwhile, Mo Hua whom Mr. Tu regarded as the ’Evil God’, was lazily basking in the sun on the grass. Yu Er had finished her homework and was cheerfully rolling around by his side. A large swath of the Demon Monsters of the Great Wilderness had been consumed by Mo Hua. The pressure in Yu Er’s nightmares had also lessened, she slept better at night and her personality had become increasingly cheerful. Mo Hua, while playing with Yu Er, flipped through the Taixu Token. He wanted to find a few Second Grade Seventeen Patterns Formations to study within the Taixu Token. Preferably, the ones he was most familiar with, the Five Elements Eight Trigrams Array Formations; it would be easier to start with, and convenient to progress step by step learning other High-Rank Second Grade formations. Mo Hua lay on the soft grass, picked for a while, couldn’t help but shake his head and sighed. "Too expensive..." A typical Second Grade Seventeen Patterns formation would cost four to five hundred Merit Points. Mo Hua’s current Merit Points were at two thousand, which was already quite a lot for a Foundation Establishment Early Stage Disciple who had just started. He had actually saved up even more. By creating Formation Paintings, accepting rewards, and occasionally accomplishing tasks for the Taoist Court, mixing some Merit Points from Uncle Gu. His means of earning Merit Points were much more than the average Disciple. But his expenditure on learning formations was also large, hence he painted a lot as well. Those two thousand points might look substantial but could exchange for only four or five Seventeen Patterns Formations; not abundant, but not scarce either.