The centipede writhed within the palm of Clan Head Mo Chen. It was the Spine Lock Parasite, a Rank 2 control type Phantom designed to burrow into the central nervous system of its host.
If the host harbored treacherous intent or defied a direct command, the parasite would secrete a neurotoxin that liquefied the spinal cord.
"Turn around" Mo Chen commanded.
Mo Jue did not hesitate. He presented his back to the Clan Head.
He did not feel indignation.
In his two thousand years of existence, he had been subject to much more humiliation. Those who demanded absolute pride at all times were fools who died early.
The centipede struck. Its mandibles pierced the skin at the base of Mo Jue's neck. A sharp, burning sensation flooded his nervous system as the parasite dug into the flesh, seeking the optimal juncture between the vertebrae.
Inside Mo Jue's Reliquary, his mind was operating with surgical precision. He channeled the Spatial attribute of the Shapeshifter's Heart. A microscopic fold in space manifested directly around his cervical spine. Simultaneously, he activated the first cycle of the Blight Scripture.
Calcification of Essence.
The bone and marrow surrounding the entry point hardened. The Spine Lock Parasite bit down, its neural tendrils seeking the host.
However, it anchored itself into a pocket of dead, calcified bone isolated within a spatial void.
To ensure the deception was flawless, Mo Jue fed a steady trickle of mundane blood and neutral soul essence into the dead zone. The parasite drank, transmitting a signal of complete submission back to Mo Chen.
"It is secure" Mo Chen said while he watched the boy for any sign of resentment.
There was none.
"I oblige" Mo Jue stated, adjusting his collar. His voice was completely flat.
Mo Chen narrowed his eyes. The boy's absolute lack of fear was deeply unsettling. He had expected resignation not outright obedience.
Before Mo Chen replied, a profound power locked onto Mo Jue again.
It was a hunger so vast that it struck directly at the soul. The Rank 5 Behemoth was stirring.
Mo Jue did not panic. He calculated the aura vectors in the room. Mo Chen stood three paces away, radiating the presence of his Rank 4 Ancestral Legacy Phantom.
Mo Jue subtly opened a microscopic fissure in his Reliquary. He intertwined his own scent with the aura of the Clan Head.
At this moment, the blind consciousness of the Rank 5 swept upward. It encountered the intertwined auras. Unable to distinguish the subtle Rank 2 signature hidden within the glaring Rank 4 presence, the Behemoth fixed entirely upon Mo Chen.
Mo Chen suddenly gasped. His face turned ashen. He staggered backward, as a wave of inexplicable dread washed over him.
"Clan Head?" Mo Jue inquired. His tone an imitation of concern.
"It is nothing," Mo Chen gritted his teeth, forcing his Rank 4 essence to stabilize. He looked around but failed to find the impending crisis. "This farce ends here."
---------------
Days passed. The Vanguard unit assembled. There were fifty men. Mo Jue's eyes swept over them.
They were the dregs of the Mo Clan. Discarded outer branch members with poor talents, sinners, and some crazy veterans.
A tall man with a scarred face and a Rank 1 Bear Skin Graft stepped forward. His name was Jiao, a veteran who had survived three deployments.
"Genius?" Jiao spat on the ground near Mo Jue's boots. "Listen carefully, when we charge, you stand at the front. If you step back, I will break your neck myself."
Several veterans chuckled, crossing their arms to observe.
Mo Jue did not speak. Words were inefficient.
He crossed the distance between them in a fraction of a second.
Jiao's eyes widened in shock. He attempted to manifest his Bear Skin Phantom to harden himself.
It was too slow.
Mo Jue delivered a ruthless kick to the side of Jiao's right torso. The shatter was instant.
Jiao collapsed, Mo Jue extended his left hand, manifesting a dense concentration of necrotic soul energy. He clamped his hand over Jiao's throat.
The necrotic energy bypassed the skin and directly attacked the vocal cords and the surrounding cartilage.
The flesh rapidly bruised.
Jiao's was a gurgling wheeze.
Mo Jue released his grip, letting the veteran fall face first. Jiao writhed, unable to even vocalize his agony.
The remaining men froze. The mocking smiles vanished from their faces.
"This unit has one purpose," Mo Jue stated. His voice rang with certain authority. "If you follow my path, you live. Do not waste my time."
He looked down at Jiao.
"Bind his wounds."
Two members immediately rushed forward to help. Disproportionate violence breeds compliance.
At that moment, the gates of the village parted.
Branch Head Mo Tian marched out with an army of three hundred elite Grafters.
Clan Head Mo Chen followed closely behind, flanked by Elders. The atmosphere was incredibly oppressive.
"The Spear Leaf Clan has crossed the line!" Mo Chen's voice was amplified by a sound type Phantom. "They have laid insidious traps within our borders! We march to their territory!"
The Mo Clan army roared. The thirst for vengeance and resources was palpable.
Mo Jue turned his back to the army and faced the wilderness. A profound smile touched his lips.
The Mo Clan believed they were marching to exact righteous vengeance.
The Aeon Erosion Seed residing deep within Mo Jue's Reliquary required massive sacrifices. Honest accumulation was insufficient.
It needed the death of hundreds of Grafters.
The Spear-Leaf Clan and the Mo Clan were mere ingredients.
"Move" Mo Jue commanded the vanguard. After days of pummeling them with violence, he had already made them obedient.
The march began.
Vanguard unit walked ahead. Behind them, the Mo Clan army followed.
They marched for six hours through the treacherous terrain. Mo Jue utilized his third eye and experience, deliberately bypassing the lairs of formidable wild Phantoms.
As the sun began to dip below the horizon, the terrain shifted. The dense bamboo forests gave way to a sea of razor grass.
The territorial border of the Spear Leaf Clan.
Mo Jue signaled to halt. His detected fluctuations of soul energy ahead.
The Spear Leaf Clan was not ignorant. They had defensive formations established along.
Suddenly, the razor grass erupted with movement. Hundreds of Grafters wearing green armor appeared on the ridges.
"Mo Clan dogs!" a voice thundered from the high ground. "You dare encroach on our veins? Die!"
Hundreds of Spear Leaf Phantoms manifested in the air. The cultivators hurled them downward. A rain descended upon the Vanguard and the front lines of the Mo Clan army.
Screams pierced the air as several people were impaled.
"Advance and slaughter them!" Mo Tian roared from behind, his lightning halberd igniting.
The war had begun. Blood splashed, and the scent of death permeated the air.
Mo Jue stood in the very center of the kill zone. A leaf whistled toward his chest. He did not dodge. He allowed the projectile to strike him.
The leaf decomposed before touching him.
He opened his Reliquary entirely. He bypassed the Howling Shadow and the Shapeshifter's Heart. He reached into the microscopic void and connected his consciousness to the Aeon Erosion Seed.
'Eat' Mo Jue commanded.
As the first dozen Grafters died around him, their dispersing soul energy was violently yanked toward Mo Jue, sucked into his Reliquary like water down a drain.
The Seed absorbed the soul energy tainted with death.
Mo Jue smiled, prepared to harvest the battlefield.
But his smile faltered a fraction of an inch.
The ground beneath the began to split open. The earth cracked with a deafening roar, swallowing dozens of combatants from both sides. From the depths of the fractured earth, an overwhelming aura exploded outward, instantly silencing the battle cries.
A colossal grass hand grasped.
The Spear Leaf Clan were no fools. They had trump card, Rank 4 Peak Stage entity directly linked to their clan.
The massive face of a Grass Giant rose, its countless hollow eyes fixing upon the battlefield.
The Mo Clan forces froze.
Mo Jue's smile became wider.
"Excellent"