Chapter 241: Peril
Yu Chengwu brought the two black-clad cultivators to Elder Yu, locking them in a sealed room to interrogate and see if anything could be extracted.
Mo Hua was a bit curious as well, so he followed to watch the commotion.
Yu Chengwu questioned them inside while Mo Hua sat outside with Elder Yu, drinking tea.
After a short while, the screams from inside ceased. Yu Chengwu emerged, his clothes stained with some blood—not his own—and wore a pensive expression.
Mo Hua's eyes brightened. "Did you get anything out of them?"
Yu Chengwu glanced at Mo Hua, reluctant to answer.
Elder Yu said calmly, "Go ahead, speak."
Yu Chengwu pondered for a moment and then said, "Those two confessed, they are criminal cultivators."
"Criminal cultivators?" Mo Hua asked, slightly taken aback.
Elder Yu explained, "That refers to cultivators who have violated Dao Court laws, committed serious crimes, and are wanted by the Dao Court Division."
"What crimes did they commit?" Mo Hua asked curiously.
Yu Chengwu shook his head. "They didn't say, probably serious. Even if they told us, it wouldn't matter—we're not the Dao Court Division, so it's not our jurisdiction."
Elder Yu asked, "Anything else?"
"Yes," Yu Chengwu nodded. "According to them, their group numbers over twenty, mostly criminal cultivators wanted by the Dao Court Division. With nowhere else to turn, they banded together, killing and looting to earn some spirit stones."
Elder Yu snorted coldly. "A bunch of beasts."
Mo Hua asked, "So what should we do?"
Elder Yu said, "First, send these two trash to the Dao Court Division. If they're truly wanted, there might even be a reward. After that…"
He set down his teacup and thought for a moment. "After that, we wait to see what the Dao Court Division does. Capturing criminal cultivators is their duty; if they don't give orders, we shouldn't interfere lightly."
"But if we encounter them in the mountains, don't hold back. If you can capture them alive, take them to the Dao Court Division for a reward. If not, kill them and throw them into the ravines to feed the monsters."
"A bunch of trash, keeping them alive just wastes spirit stones!"
Elder Yu scolded again.
Yu Chengwu nodded but still frowned. "I suspect those two aren't telling the whole truth."
Elder Yu raised an eyebrow. "Why do you say that?"
"Cultivators like them are experienced in the cultivation world. They speak half-truths, half-lies. They say there are twenty, but there might be more. They claim to band together for killing and looting, but their schemes may not be so simple."
Elder Yu nodded. "Pass this information along. Any hunter entering the mountains during this period should be careful, stay alert, and act according to the situation."
"Yes," Yu Chengwu cupped his hands respectfully.
Elder Yu also warned Mo Hua, "You need to be extra cautious. If there's nothing urgent, don't enter the inner mountains. Even if you must, stay vigilant."
"Don't worry," Mo Hua nodded.
The inner mountains still had to be entered, but indeed with much more caution. Otherwise, at his speed of drawing formations, he would quickly consume his spirit ink.
High-quality spirit ink of late first-grade quality is far too expensive to buy with spirit stones.
Although Mo Hua wasn't short on spirit stones now, that was only relative to the Qi-Refining stage. If he wanted to establish a Foundation, he would need a large sum, so those spirit stones had to be saved in advance.
From then on, hunters entering the mountains were all more careful.
Whenever hunters were in the mountains, Yu Chengyi or Mo Shan would patrol nearby with the compass.
If a battle occurred, they would immediately assess the situation and respond in time if danger arose.
Seven or eight days passed without incident.
They did encounter a few suspicious cultivators, but they only dared to glance from afar and retreated silently.
...
One day, Mo Hua, as usual, finished releasing the blood of several monsters and sat by a small creek to wash his hands.
After washing, he looked up and suddenly saw thick fog spreading, obscuring everything within a hundred feet.
Mo Hua's heart tensed; trouble was likely imminent.
He extended his Divine-Sense. Within the fog, faint blue spiritual energy mingled with dense miasma and heavy fog.
These mixed together, creating a chaotic pattern that hindered his perception.
Mo Hua remembered Mo Shan's warning:
If caught in dense fog, do not move recklessly, or you could become lost in the mountains, endangering your life.
Yet staying put was also somewhat dangerous.
Mo Hua took out his brush and ink, drew several formations nearby, and covered them with soil and rocks to hide their traces. Only then did he relax and sit cross-legged in the center, patiently waiting for the fog to dissipate.
Half an hour later, the fog suddenly cleared.
The inner mountains' fog came and went quickly.
Mo Hua packed up and was about to leave when he saw, in the distance, a blood-soaked cultivator running toward him.
Seeing Mo Hua, the cultivator's expression turned pale. He shouted urgently, "Run!"
Mo Hua recognized him, this blood-soaked cultivator was Ji Li!
Ji Li's face was pale, his body covered in wounds, and his breathing weak. He hadn't run far when a black-clad man strode up and slashed him across the back.
Blood gushed like a fountain. Ji Li gradually collapsed, but still looked at Mo Hua, whispering, "Run… quickly…"
The black-clad man glanced disdainfully at Ji Li, then turned to Mo Hua, his hoarse voice saying, "Do you know each other?"
Mo Hua nodded.
The man sneered, "Good. At least he will have company on the road to death."
He took a few strides toward Mo Hua.
Suddenly, he frowned, looking down. Ji Li's bloodied hand was tightly clinging to his pant leg, preventing him from advancing.
Ji Li tried to speak but couldn't, coughing up a mouthful of blood.
The black-clad man sneered, stomped on Ji Li's hand, breaking it, and continued toward Mo Hua.
Mo Hua still stood rooted to the spot, unmoving.
"Scared stiff, huh?"
The man sneered internally.
No wonder, a child this small, facing death, panic was natural.
His eyes gleamed cruelly as he advanced.
Just as he was about to enter the one-zhang radius around Mo Hua, doubt suddenly crept in:
How had this small child survived in the inner mountains?
There were monsters, miasma, fog, poisonous swamps, and these ruthless criminal cultivators.
This child, alone, should have died long ago.
Though confused, the man's feet continued forward, stepping firmly on the ground.
He frowned, sensing something unusual.
Beneath his feet, something cracked—clear and delicate, sounding like spirit stones, with flowing spiritual energy.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the stones faintly glowing red.
He looked up again and saw Mo Hua had already drifted back, his previous dazed expression gone. His small face was calm, and his clear eyes held a trace of amusement.
The man was first puzzled, then suddenly alarmed. "Not good!"
(End of Chapter)