Chapter 162: Iron Armor
The Qian Family had retreated.
All the way down the mountain, Qian Zhongxuan remained baffled.
Where in the world had that spell come from?
Demon Hunters were not supposed to be proficient in spell techniques.
"Could that old dog Yu Changlin have acted personally?"
He shook his head. "No, the spiritual power was far too weak, barely even that of a late Qi-Refining cultivator."
But if the caster was of such low cultivation, how had the spell reached so far?
The question turned in his mind endlessly, and in the end he could only curse inwardly:
"So that's your game, Yu Changlin. You've been hiding such a hand all along, truly insidious!"
Only Elder Yu knew he was wronged this time, for the truly insidious one… was not him.
Once the Qian Family withdrew, Mo Hua stood up, dusted off his robes, and smiled brightly.
"Fireball Technique is really fun!"
Elder Yu looked at him with newfound respect, patted the boy's small shoulder, and praised, "Not bad. Your spellcasting's getting quite decent."
He held back from praising too much, lest it sound like he had no discernment.
Receiving the compliment, Mo Hua grinned even wider, then asked,
"Will the Qian Family have any new tricks next?"
Elder Yu snorted. "You think too highly of that old fool Qian Zhongxuan. For him to even think of that last scheme was already a miracle. Next time, it'll be a straight fight, and he'll get what's coming."
At dawn the next day, the Qian Family cultivators came again.
Just as Elder Yu had said, Qian Zhongxuan had no new strategy left.
He could only form up properly and launch a frontal assault.
Inwardly, Qian Zhongxuan cursed Elder Yu to the heavens, but dared not say anything aloud, for fear of humiliating himself.
Never trade insults with a scoundrel, it profits nothing.
He reminded himself firmly.
In a head-on clash, the Qian Family held the advantage in both numbers and cultivation, while the Demon Hunters, though fewer, were hardened veterans. The odds were roughly even.
But until blades crossed, no one could know the outcome.
Without another word, both sides charged.
Soon the mountainside of Nameless Peak was packed with cultivators, blades and sabers flashing, multicolored spiritual lights weaving together in chaos.
Mo Hua was awestruck.
When both sides were locked in a fierce, grinding melee, and Elder Yu judged that the Qian cultivators would find it hard to retreat, he waved his hand and made a cutting gesture.
"Let's show you something good."
Elder Yu's lips curled into a mocking smile as he looked toward Qian Zhongxuan in the distance.
Qian Zhongxuan froze. From among the Demon Hunters' ranks, more than ten figures strode out, each clad in gleaming iron armor.
Sunlight glanced off the dark metallic plates, casting a cold, solemn brilliance.
Qian Zhongxuan nearly spat blood.
Iron armor? From where did these penniless Demon Hunters get iron armor?!
Then he looked closer, the armor seemed familiar. His gaze turned razor-sharp as it fell on Qian Zhuang, standing nearby.
Qian Zhuang shrank into himself, head down, not daring to speak. At this moment he hated his tall frame more than anything; he stood out like a flagpole among the crowd.
Qian Zhongxuan snorted. "No matter. Armor isn't invincible. Hack at it enough times, and it'll break."
He steadied his nerves and ordered his cultivators to focus their attacks on the armored Demon Hunters.
Yet moments later, his expression twisted.
The armor truly was invincible.
Ordinary weapons could not even scratch it, and even first-grade spirit blades barely left a mark.
The shockwaves of brute force and spiritual energy were absorbed by a faint golden radiance covering the armor's surface.
These armors had originally been captured from the Qian Family's own cultivators. They once contained crude formation engravings, which Mo Hua found intolerable. He erased the originals and inscribed his own First-Grade Golden Armor Formation.
A proper first-grade array, enough to make the armor as solid as a golden fortress.
Seasoned Demon Hunters at the ninth level of Qi-Refining, clad in fine iron and empowered by the Golden Armor Formation, were practically unstoppable in a battle where no Foundation Establishment cultivator intervened.
Gods would fall before them, Buddhas would break in their path!
The dozen armored Demon Hunters cut through the battlefield like an unstoppable tide. Wherever they went, Qian Family cultivators fell back helplessly.
None could withstand them in a frontal clash.
Qian Zhongxuan's scalp prickled.
Since when had their family's iron armor become this terrifying?
Completely unbreakable?
Then he noticed the faint golden glow rippling over the armor.
"Those are… formations?"
He cursed in his heart. The armor was already tough enough, and you even added reinforcement arrays? Have you no shame?
"Yu Changlin, you old bastard, I'll remember this!" he hissed through gritted teeth.
But the rout had already begun. Qian Zhongxuan could do nothing to turn the tide. All he could do was choke back his fury and shout, "Retreat!"
Yet retreating was easier said than done.
The battlefield was sprawling chaos, cultivators locked in melee everywhere.
When the Qian Family's order to retreat spread, it was like a collapsing mountain; confusion and panic rolled down the slope like an avalanche.
Their forces scattered in disarray, while the Demon Hunters pressed their advantage and slaughtered the fleeing stragglers.
By the time the Qian Family regrouped at the mountain's base, nearly half their cultivators were wounded or dead.
Qian Zhongxuan's heart bled.
Qian Zhuang was miserable as well, though oddly comforted.
Compared with Elder Qian's catastrophic defeat, his own earlier failure seemed trivial... barely a stumble.
That thought actually made him feel a little better.
Still, he dared not test Qian Zhongxuan's temper. Bowing his head, he said sorrowfully,
"This loss is grievous. The Demon Hunters have gone too far! Elder, do you have any plan to avenge us?"
Qian Zhongxuan's face contorted with rage and pain. He ground his teeth.
"This hatred must be repaid! Even if it costs me dearly, that old dog Yu Changlin will pay the price!"
Qian Zhuang's heart leapt. The elder was truly enraged, but what tricks could he possibly have left?
...
While Qian Zhongxuan's heart bled, Elder Yu's was full of joy.
This was a resounding, exhilarating victory!
He allowed the Demon Hunters a small celebration, meat and wine.
The meat was dried and smoked beef from a slain ox demon, prepared earlier by Liu Ruhua.
With the conflict dragging on, no one knew how long they would have to guard the spiritual mine, so she had made plenty. Yet with so many Demon Hunters, each person only got a few pieces, enough for a taste.
The wine was rationed too, two bowls per person.
The spiritual mine was far too important; no accidents could be risked. Even in triumph, vigilance was mandatory.
Other rations such as dried grain and wild fruits were more freely distributed.
Soon the mine caverns filled with laughter and chatter.
After long days of battle, patrols, and hard labor mining spirit stones, the Demon Hunters finally had a moment to relax.
Mo Hua wandered about, greeted warmly wherever he went.
Without the Golden Armor Formations he had drawn, many of them would have been badly injured. His work had made guarding the mine much easier.
Some even tried to share their meat and wine with him.
Mo Hua politely declined. They had worked too hard to waste their small treat.
Besides, his Storage Ring still held plenty of good food, things his mother had lovingly packed, afraid he might go hungry.
Still, after so long inside the mine, his stash of dried meat was nearly gone.
"I wonder how much longer we'll have to guard this spiritual mine…" he thought quietly.
(End of Chapter)