Translator: 549690339
After chatting with Zhang Lan in the daytime, Mo Hua spent the entire day poring over the âThousand Formation Collectionâ given by Mr. Zhuang. He found several formations that could be useful and planned to study them in the next few days. Once learned, he would draw a few copies to carry with him, just in case.
Itâs unwise to harbor intentions to harm others, but one must always be prepared to defend against them.
Mo Huaâs means of self-protection were currently too limited; relying solely on formations clearly wasnât enough.
The incident with Qian Xing served as a warning to Mo Hua. Despite the laws of the Taoist Court, cultivators might not all comply. The Heavenly Dao bestows power upon cultivators, but slaughter and power have always been inseparable companions.
Being a cultivator himself, Body Cultivators fight to the death with martial arts, while Spiritual Cultivators claim lives with spells. If he knew nothing, he wouldnât survive long enough in the perilous Tao Cultivation World to take care of his aging parentsâ¦
Of course, Mo Hua could devote himself solely to becoming a Formation Master, finding a safe place where he would neither battle Monster Beasts nor conflict with other cultivators, focusing only on studying formations and living peacefully ever after.
But ultimately, placing oneâs life in the hands of othersâ kindness is never a good choice.
After all, Mo Hua had no way of knowing whether, in the future, he might encounter a cultivator with murderous intent towards him. If a cultivator targeted him and he had no means of protecting himself, he would have no choice but to accept his fate.
So, how could he protect himself?
Mo Hua pondered this question to himself.
Undertaking Body Cultivation was out of the question, impossible in this lifetime.
With Mo Huaâs physique, practicing Body Refinement and learning Tao Cultivation martial arts to engage in close-quarters combat would be no different from delivering himself to death.
That left only the path of becoming a Spiritual Cultivator.
But Mo Huaâs talent for such a pursuit was not particularly remarkable, either.
His Spiritual Root could only be considered mediocre at best; his Qi Sea couldnât store an abundance of Spiritual Power, and the cultivation technique he practiced, âTianyan Jue,â didnât offer any special bonuses to his Spiritual Power. This meant that his Spiritual Power would be somewhat inadequate compared to cultivators of the same realm.
This was in comparison with cultivators of similar aptitude. Compared with geniuses like Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi, Mo Huaâs Spiritual Power could even be described as âpaltry.â
The amount of Spiritual Power was directly linked to the potency of spells.
âForget it, letâs talk about it after reaching the fifth level of Qi Refinement. I canât learn any spells now,â Mo Hua sighed.
Upon reaching the fifth level of Qi Refinement, Body Cultivators could learn Physical Martial Arts, and Spiritual Cultivators could learn spells because their Spiritual Power would be relatively abundant, providing the foundation to manipulate Spiritual Power and use Taoist Skills.
By the time one reached the sixth level of Qi Refinement, many cultivators had to fend for themselves. By then, it would be considered late to start learning. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Thinking it over, for now, he could only rely on formations.
Mo Hua sighed again and earnestly entered his Sea of Consciousness, practicing a few new formations on the Taoist Stele.
Mo Shan, who had been out and about the whole day, had also returned home.
âIâve asked around; Huar didnât do anything wrong. It was Qian Xing from the Qian Family who was looking for trouble on purpose. He even tried to make a move on Mo Hua, but fortunately, Dazhu and the others intervened, and it ended without incident.â
Liu Ruhua breathed a sigh of relief, but then expressed her worry, âThe Qian Family wonât cause trouble for Huar, will they?â
Mo Shan snorted coldly, âThey dare? The Qian Family may be powerful, but we Monster Hunters who fight for our lives against Monster Beasts and taste the bladeâs edge arenât weak. Unless a Foundation Building Cultivator steps in, if they dare to come at us, they wonât leave in one piece!â
When Mo Shan spoke, his entire being exuded a ferocity, an aura forged from years of battling Monster Beasts, which was rather intimidating.
Liu Ruhua rarely saw her husband show such an expression; at home, Mo Shan was always gentle and considerate. Holding her husbandâs hand, she asked softly, âWhat if the Qian Family really sends a Foundation Building Cultivator?â
Mo Shan shook his head, âThat wonât happen. The Qian Family has Foundation Building Elders, and so do we Monster Hunters. If Foundation Building Cultivators get involved, it would escalate matters, and neither side would come out unscathed.â
âDid you tell the Elder about this?â
âI did. Initially, I wanted to give the Qian Family a hard time. Itâs tricky in Tongxian City, but in these mountains, we Monster Hunters call the shots. It would have been easy to make them suffer, but the Elder didnât agreeâ¦â moaned Mo Shan, his displeasure evident.
âDid the Elder ask you all to keep the overall situation in mind?â
âNo,â Mo Shan hesitated, then said, âThe Elder said, thereâs no excuse to pick a fight right now.â
âNo excuse?â Liu Ruhua looked puzzled.
Mo Shan whispered, âThe Elder said, Qian Xing bullied Mo Hua, but Mo Hua is still bouncing around, alive and well, while Qian Xing himself ended up severely injured, disfigured⦠Under these circumstances, itâs tough to find an excuse to cause trouble.â
Liu Ruhua, meeting such an Elder for the first time, couldnât help asking, âWhat if there was an excuse?â
âIf there was an excuse, weâd have the moral high ground. We could start the trouble and then have them compensate us with Spirit Stones. The Monster Hunting Team has been stretched thin lately, unable to distribute Spirit Stones. The Elder is quite anxious, and if there were an excuse, he would have pressed for compensation by now.â
Liu Ruhua: ââ¦â
âDonât worry, although Mo Hua is physically weak and canât become a Monster Hunter, he is still considered part of the Monster Hunters. In such situations, the Elder wouldnât just stand by idly. Otherwise, if we let these clans bully us habitually, we poor Monster Hunters wouldnât be able to survive,â Mo Shan reassured his wife.
Reassured, Liu Ruhua then asked curiously, âYou said Qian Xing was severely injured? With servants and guards from the Qian Family, how could he be injured?â
Mo Shanâs expression became enigmatic, âTake a guess.â
Liu Ruhua glared at her husband with her gentle eyes and, after thinking a bit, said, âWas it Dazhu and the others who did it?â
Mo Shan shook his head.
âThen there were other Monster Hunters nearby who lent a hand?â
âThatâs not right either.â
After a few more incorrect guesses, Liu Ruhua shook her head and said, âI canât figure it out. It couldnât possibly be Huar who hurt him.â
Mo Shan raised an eyebrow, âYou guessed it, it was Huar.â
Liu Ruhuaâs mouth fell open in shock, âThat canât be, how old is Huar? His cultivation is so low, how could he have left Qian Xing severely wounded?â
Mo Shan said with a complex expression, âI couldnât believe it either. Logically, it shouldnât be possible. But indeed, there were witnesses. That day, when Huar was being held hostage by Qian Xing and broke free, Huar splashed Spiritual Ink into Qian Xingâs eyes. Then he stuffed a piece of paper with a Formation drawn on it into Qian Xingâs chest. At the same time, he crushed a Spirit Stone. After he kicked Qian Xing, Huar was the one sent flying and fell to the ground. And when the Formation exploded, Qian Xing was blasted awayâ¦â
Liu Ruhua listened, dumbfounded, then covered her mouth and laughed, âHuar really didnât suffer a loss.â
Mo Shan laughed too, âHe got some superficial wounds, seemingly from his own fall, with a bit of bruising on his neck. Old Mr. Feng applied some medicine, and he was already getting better. Compared to Qian Xing, who ended up looking like charcoal, it really wasnât a loss.â
âDoes anyone else know about this incident?â
âVery few know, and even if it were spoken of, no one would believe it. Huar is young after all, and with only the fourth layer of Qi Refinement, neither we as parents nor anyone else would believe it.â
Liu Ruhua nodded, âThatâs for the best, the Qian Family wonât cause Huar any trouble. But we really have to thank Dazhu and the kids for this. Otherwise, Huar might have suffered.â
Liu Ruhua felt a lingering fear contemplating this.
âYes, we should prepare something tomorrow to give to Master Chen and the others.â
âAll right.â
âBut donât worry,â Mo Shan added with a smile, âIâve told the Monster Hunting Teamâs brothers to keep an eye out when they can. If anyone dares to pick on Huar again, Iâll make sure they regret it.â
Mo Shan held Liu Ruhua in his arms.