Chapter 136: Pursuit

Mo Hua set out with Zhang Lan and the other three, heading toward Gu Yun Peak.

Mo Hua knew the mountain trails intimately—so intimately that Zhang Lan found it unbelievable.

He knew exactly where paths lay, where water flowed, where poison grew, and where mist clung.

Sometimes when no path seemed to exist, he led them left and right through the forest, and suddenly a path appeared beneath their feet.

When they encountered demonic beasts, before they even noticed them, Mo Hua had already guided them far around.

Along the way, he even plucked wild fruits and dug up medicinal herbs…

His casual, unhurried demeanor made it seem as though they weren't hunting down a murderer, but merely strolling through the mountains for pleasure…

Zhang Lan found it hard to believe.

How could this outer region of Great Heishan feel just like Mo Hua's own backyard?

This wasn't the Great Heishan he remembered.

Even a Cultivation Base late-stage cultivator should tread carefully upon entering Great Heishan, shouldn't they?

Zhang Lan was deeply shaken; Sister Situ didn't understand nearly as much, but she vaguely felt this journey had been far smoother than she'd expected.

Sister Situ's expression turned mocking as she spoke to Zhang Lan:

"You said Great Heishan was dangerous—so why have we seen nothing all this way?"

Zhang Lan looked at him as if he were an idiot.

This fool had zero awareness—he didn't even realize someone was guiding them. Has his brain been filled with water since birth…

After walking a while, Mo Hua suddenly stopped and said:

"There's a demonic beast ahead. We need to take a longer detour."

Having traveled in peace so far, Sister Situ was bored and said:

"We're pressed for time—detouring is too much trouble. A mere demonic beast? Just kill it."

Sister Situ's voice was too loud, and she hadn't concealed her aura. No sooner had she finished speaking than a pair of crimson eyes stared at her from nearby.

They were discovered!

Zhang Lan frowned and cursed another idiot.

The demonic beast resembled a sheep—crimson eyes, curled horns, white fur, sharp fangs—standing as tall as a man, its body wrapped in blood-red demonic energy, exuding a faint oppressive aura.

Seeing Zhang Lan and the others, its eyes flashed with bloodlust, and it charged forward.

Zhang Lan and the others had no choice but to brace themselves and fight.

Fortunately, all three were late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators; handling a single crimson-eyed sheep beast wasn't difficult.

Sister Situ's strength was average, yet she grew more ferocious with each strike, roaring loudly: "Just one demonic beast? Not so fearsome!"

No sooner had the words left her mouth than another demonic beast emerged from the grass.

Its fur was deep crimson, its saliva reeking of decay—it was a claw-splitting wolf beast.

Zhang Lan's heart sank; he wanted to slap Sister Situ's mouth crooked!

One demonic beast, they could handle easily; two left them overwhelmed and desperate.

Sister Situ was wounded, her wounds burning with pain, and she dared not boast anymore.

The group fought a grueling battle.

An hour later, the claw-splitting wolf was slain, and the sheep beast, injured, fled.

Only then did they get a moment to catch their breath.

Zhang Lan's back was drenched in sweat; after catching his breath, he realized Mo Hua was gone.

He looked around but saw no sign of Mo Hua. Just as he was about to call out, Mo Hua's concerned voice sounded beside his ear:

"Uncle Zhang, are you all alright?"

Mo Hua had appeared out of nowhere—and not only that, he held a bottle, rushing excitedly to the dead demonic beast, doing something unknown…

During the battle, Mo Hua had emitted not a single trace of aura; after it ended, he reappeared as if he'd never left.

Zhang Lan thought to himself: my guess was right—if we'd all gotten lost and died in these mountains, Mo Hua would've been fine.

Sister Situ looked at Mo Hua curiously and asked: "What are you doing?"

"I'm collecting demonic blood," Mo Hua said.

"Demonic blood? For what?"

"To mix spirit ink—for drawing arrays."

Sister Situ exclaimed in surprise: "You know array techniques?"

Mo Hua looked slightly embarrassed and humbly replied: "A little."

"Oh," Sister Situ nodded.

Zhang Lan looked up at the sky, speechless.

He says he knows a little—and you actually believe him…

After draining the demonic beast's blood, Mo Hua said: "We need to hurry, or we won't reach our destination before nightfall."

Then he added with mild reproach: "You wasted a lot of time fighting the demonic beasts."

Sister Situ felt a little ashamed and asked: "You knew the demonic beasts were troublesome, so that's why you wanted us to detour?"

Mo Hua nodded.

Sister Situ protested: "This time it was just bad luck—we ran into two…"

Mo Hua said: "If there had been only one, would I have told you to detour?"

Sister Situ fell silent.

Sister Situ was startled to hear this.

Mo Hua had known there were two demonic beasts all along—and they didn't even notice the second one until it appeared…

Mo Hua packed up the demon blood, saw that Zhang Lan and the others had mostly finished resting, and said, "We need to hurry on our way."

The three of them nodded.

Mo Hua walked a few steps, then turned back to remind them:

"You have to behave, or it'll be very dangerous."

Sister Situ felt a little embarrassed, and Situ Xiu, covered in wounds all over, also lowered his stubborn head.

After that, the three of them quietly followed Mo Hua. The journey was fairly smooth, but the sky was already getting late—they would probably have to spend the night in the mountains.

Mo Hua then found a passing demon hunter passing by and said:

"Uncle Zhou, when you go back, tell my mother I won't be home for dinner—I'll go back tomorrow."

"You're alone—will you be alright?" the demon hunter said.

"Mm, I'll be fine. I have an uncle from Dao Ting Si with me." Mo Hua nodded.

"Alright then, be careful."

Mo Hua waved goodbye to the demon hunter, then turned around and said:

"Let's find a place to spend the night first. We can only go to Lonely Cloud Peak tomorrow."

Zhang Lan frowned. "Can't we go at night?"

"You aren't trying to catch someone, are you? It's hard to catch people at night, and there are more demon beasts at night too."

Zhang Lan nodded. "It can only be done this way then."

Mo Hua found a small campsite nearby, lit a lamp, and took some meat out of his storage bag to share with Zhang Lan and the others.

Sister Situ took a bite, her eyes lighting up. "It's really good. Did you make this yourself?"

Mo Hua said proudly, "My mother made it!"

Sister Situ ate a few bites and said, "Too bad though, this meat has no spiritual Qi."

"Rogue cultivators can't afford spirit meat." Mo Hua said.

Sister Situ said apologetically, "I didn't mean the meat wasn't good."

Having said that, to show her apology, she took some pastries out of her storage bag and offered them to Mo Hua.

Situ Xiu didn't speak, but he also offered Mo Hua some wine.

But the wine was too strong—Mo Hua took a sip, it burned his throat, and he didn't drink any more.

Zhang Lan, on the other hand, was not picky about hot or cold food, eating whatever there was and accepting any kind of wine offered.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, they lay down in their clothes.

Mo Hua couldn't sleep. He still had to enter his Sea of Consciousness at midnight to draw formations. Seeing that Zhang Lan, though lying down, had his eyes open and clearly had no intention of sleeping either, he scooted over to his side and quietly asked:

"Uncle Zhang, tell me about the flower thieves, will you?"

Zhang Lan's brow rose. "You want to be a flower thief?"

Mo Hua shot him a look.

Zhang Lan smiled. "What do you want to ask?"

Mo Hua thought for a moment, then said, "The Dao Court promulgated the 'Dao Code,' prohibiting indiscriminate killing, robbery, and harvesting. The 'Dao Code' places harvesting on the same level as indiscriminate killing and robbery—so is harvesting a serious crime?"

Zhang Lan's expression also grew serious, and he asked in return:

"Do you know what harvesting means?"

Thank you to Mo Ying Zhi Kong for the tip~