Chapter 234: Saving Lives
The number of cultivators arriving from outside Tōngxiān City was steadily increasing.
Two months later, Mo Hua sat atop a boulder deep within the Inner Mountains, frowning as he studied the Mother Compass in his hand.
Before, whenever a light appeared on the compass, it usually turned out to be demon hunters battling beasts, or beasts fighting over territory. Rarely did it mark the clashes of cultivators.
Occasionally, he would encounter unfamiliar demon hunters—different clothing, different Daoist arts, and different styles of spiritual tools—clearly from other regions. But their numbers were small, and such meetings rare.
Now, however, things were very different.
In the Inner region of the Black Mountain, Mo Hua frequently saw unfamiliar faces.
Whenever the Mother Compass glowed to mark a skirmish, it was increasingly likely to involve foreign cultivators.
Conflicts between cultivators had suddenly become common.
Some fought over beasts. Others erupted into violence over a few sharp words. Still others seemed deliberately out to provoke trouble.
And some… were simply bandits in robes—cold-blooded murderers and robbers.
Mo Hua had once come across a wagon, the goods gone, the area drenched in blood, mangled limbs strewn everywhere.
Judging from the traces nearby, it was clear: a group of merchants had been ambushed by cultivators, their cargo stolen, their people slaughtered.
Later, beasts drawn by the scent of blood had come and devoured the corpses.
The ground was in chaos, the scene of death unbearably gruesome.
Mo Hua's stomach turned. His heart ached with pity, and he could only sigh.
From now on, the Inner Mountains would no longer be peaceful.
Fortunately, Tōngxiān City's demon hunters had grown stronger in recent months. Their numbers had increased; most wore iron armor and wielded First-Grade blade weapons. Among the surrounding immortal cities, their strength now ranked near the top.
Those foreign cultivators didn't dare provoke them lightly...
At least, not yet.
But in the future? Who could say.
Well, that was something for Elder Yu to worry about. As for Mo Hua, he'd better focus on gathering more Spirit Ink, practicing his formation arts, strengthening his Divine-Sense, and maybe—just maybe—advancing to Foundation Establishment.
Shaking off his thoughts, Mo Hua ate some dried meat and took a sip of fruit wine brewed from wild berries.
He had chilled it beforehand with a Cold Energy Array, the taste was tart, sweet, and icy all at once.
It lifted his spirits considerably.
Before long, the Compass glowed again. Mo Hua packed up, activated Flowing-Water Step, and glided lightly through the forested rocks toward the disturbance.
From afar, he released his Divine-Sense for a quick scan, only to sigh in mild disappointment.
Another cultivator fight.
He exhaled.
Normally, Mo Hua didn't intervene in such things.
He was only at the seventh level of Qi-Refining, and his offensive repertoire consisted of nothing more than a single Fireball Technique. His Flowing-Water Step was well-honed, excellent for self-defense, but getting involved in other people's trouble? No, thank you.
Besides, cultivator conflicts were rarely clear-cut. You couldn't tell right from wrong just by watching.
The weaker side wasn't always the righteous one. The stronger wasn't necessarily evil.
A fierce-looking face didn't make one a villain; a kind smile didn't make one a saint.
One could know a person's face, but never their heart.
So, as usual, Mo Hua decided to watch quietly from the shadows. He was free anyway.
And with his Divine-Sense, no Qi-Refining cultivator would ever notice him.
He climbed a rocky ledge, suppressed his aura, and hid behind some grass and shrubs to observe.
On a narrow, rugged mountain path below, two groups of cultivators were locked in battle.
Both sides were mostly late-stage Qi-Refining.
One side had only four people—three men and one woman—clearly at a disadvantage, defending several crates of supplies as they struggled to hold their ground.
The opposing side had seven cultivators, dressed differently and all unfamiliar faces—clearly outsiders—pressing the attack hard.
Their offensive was growing more ferocious by the moment. The four defenders wouldn't last long.
Robbery?
Mo Hua frowned, continuing to watch, then suddenly realized something.
He recognized them.
Among the four defenders was a middle-aged cultivator with faint knife scars on his face: a friend of Mo Hua's father, Mo Shan. The man had even visited their home once.
Mo Hua remembered his name: Ji Qingbai. He used to call him "Uncle Ji."
Next to him fought a young, scholarly-looking cultivator, Ji Qingbai's son, Ji Li.
The father and son were both demon hunters, though not from Tōngxiān City, they hailed from neighboring Qingxuan City.
Qingxuan City lay quite far away, and the route passed through the Inner Mountains of Black Mountain, so there wasn't much travel between the two cities.
Another of the defenders was a burly man wrapped in wolf pelts, wielding a massive wolf-tooth mace bristling with hooked spikes.
Mo Hua remembered him too, during Mo Hua's earlier conflict with Qian Xing, it was this same man who had stepped in to stop the Qian family's ninth-level Qi-Refining cultivator.
He recalled the man as powerful—and impressively foul-mouthed.
Even now, that hadn't changed. The man fought three enemies at once, not at all at a disadvantage. His mace gleamed with earthen spiritual light, each swing howling through the air, its sheer weight terrifying.
At the same time, he was cursing nonstop: "You bunch of trash!" "Cowardly ambushers!" "Fight me fair, you gutless worms!"
Among the four, the only one Mo Hua didn't know was the female cultivator.
She looked about Ji Li's age, wounded and clearly the weakest among them. She was barely holding on, if not for Ji Li shielding her, she'd already have fallen.
Her entire sleeve was soaked in blood; she couldn't last much longer.
Judging by Mo Hua's experience watching battles in the Inner Mountains:
The burly man with the mace would likely escape. Ji Qingbai might too, depending on whether the enemy pursued.
But Ji Li had no chance. Though at the eighth level of Qi-Refining, he lacked combat experience and was surrounded... no way out.
As for the woman... she was as good as dead.
In fact, death might even be the kinder outcome...
Mo Hua sighed inwardly.
What should I do?
There were seven enemies. Even if he joined, he might not save them all.
He could flee easily, but Ji Li and the woman could not.
If Ji Li stayed, Ji Qingbai would never abandon his son.
And that burly man looked like one of those righteous, hot-blooded types, he'd probably fight to the death too.
"…Better to save lives if I can. Living is what matters most."
Decision made, Mo Hua pulled out a red bamboo tube, inside was a Firework Formation.
It was a simple device, used by demon hunters throughout the mountains. Mo Hua had personally drawn the formation onto it.
If one encountered danger, igniting it would send a flare skyward, summoning any nearby hunters to help.
Mo Hua infused it with spiritual power. A streak of fire shot up into the sky.
Both sides on the mountain path froze, momentarily startled.
Mo Hua then activated Flowing-Water Step, sprinting swiftly away. He launched a second firework from a distant spot, then ran left to another ridge and fired a third one there.
Now, with three flares rising—each from a different direction and distance—it looked exactly like multiple groups of demon hunters rushing to respond.
"It's the Tōngxiān City demon hunters!" one of the outsiders shouted.
"Big Brother, what do we do?"
"They've got numbers! Iron armor! We can't take them!"
The leader frowned, hesitating.
So close... just a little more!
They had fought half the day already, and victory was within reach. They could almost taste it, kill these four, seize their cargo, maybe even drag that female cultivator away.
But if they retreated now, all their effort would be wasted.
Seeing their hesitation, Mo Hua raised his right hand and fired a Fireball.
It flew fast and true, slamming into one of the outsiders. The man stumbled, collapsed, and screamed as the flames burned through his robes.
A seventh-level Qi-Refining Fireball Technique might not mean much against a beast, but against a human cultivator? Its power was undeniable.
"Spell attack?!" the leader exclaimed in alarm.
(End of Chapter)