Chapter 152: Mediation

After the battle ended, the demon hunters cleared the battlefield.

Injured demon hunters would be treated.

The Qian family's cultivators would be stripped of their storage bags and spiritual weapons, thrown outside, and left to live or die depending on whether the Qian family chose to rescue them.

Additionally, all spoils seized must be surrendered, uniformly categorized, then distributed according to merit and cultivators' needs.

Inside the mine, Elder Yu sat on a large rock.

The demon hunters approached one by one and handed their seized storage bags to Elder Yu.

Mo Hua, his arms full of storage bags, walked up to Elder Yu, ready to surrender them.

Elder Yu was startled, "What are you doing?"

"Surrendering them."

Elder Yu gave him a slight glare, "What's a child doing here? Keep them for yourself."

"Oh." Mo Hua sat aside.

After a while, Elder Yu couldn't resist his curiosity and asked:

"Where did you get all these storage bags?"

Mo Hua said, a little embarrassed, "I picked them up down the mountain."

"Picked them up?"

"Mm." Mo Hua explained, "When Qian family cultivators escaped alone, I took them out, then took their storage bags."

Elder Yu stared, thinking: What are you saying?

Even if Qian family cultivators were alone, they were still genuine Late-Stage Qi Refinement cultivators—how could a child your age take them out?

And you say it so casually, like eating candied haws…

Elder Yu frowned, then asked, "Have you learned any spells?"

"Mm, I learned Fireball Spell."

"Oh."

Elder Yu nodded—that was reasonable enough.

Then he frowned again.

Wait, Fireball Spell isn't that effective.

Spells require Qi condensation to cast; if you haven't practiced well, you might not even hit your target…

Elder Yu was about to ask more, but other demon hunters had come forward to surrender their storage bags, so he held his tongue.

"Elder Yu, I really don't have to surrender them?" Mo Hua asked quietly again.

"Stuff you picked up outside the mine counts as your own skill. Besides, we're not so poor we'd take a child's belongings."

"Thank you, Elder Yu!"

Mo Hua accepted them without guilt.

After the mine was secured, Elder Yu assigned guards and let the injured demon hunters return home to recover.

Mo Shan returned too, though he was unharmed, wearing vine armor painted with a Rank-One Golden Armor Array—demon beasts hadn't even torn it, let alone the swords and blades of ordinary Qi Refinement cultivators.

He was bringing Mo Hua home, since Mo Hua was now effectively "carrying a fortune."

At home, Mo Hua shut the door, dumped the storage bags on the table, and opened them one by one.

Mo Shan watched, his expression complex.

He didn't know how his son had managed to pick up so many storage bags…

There were about ten storage bags, each filled with a wide variety of items.

Generally, spiritual stones, spiritual weapons, pills, Dao robes, and some miscellaneous worthless trinkets.

There were also a few colorful little booklets, illustrated with seductive female cultivators doing strange things.

Mo Hua had just opened one, hadn't even had time to look closely, when Mo Shan seized them.

Mo Hua felt disappointed, "I wonder what exactly was drawn inside…"

The ten or so storage bags were quickly inventoried.

There were three or four hundred spiritual stones alone, plus some raw spiritual ore, plus pills and spiritual weapons—altogether worth an estimated five or six hundred spiritual stones.

Five or six hundred spiritual stones!

Mo Hua couldn't help but marvel.

No wonder people always said: horses don't grow fat without night grass; people don't get rich without unexpected wealth.

But such business was better avoided if possible.

Mo Hua still wanted to be a law-abiding good cultivator.

Unless a fool like the Qian family stumbled into his hands…

Mo Shan gave Mo Hua all the spiritual stones from the bags, for his cultivation and array studies; the rest—the spiritual weapons, pills, Dao robes, and vine armor—he took for himself.

The Qian family had suffered a heavy loss and would not let this go.

In the days ahead, they would likely face the Qian family's furious retaliation; these spiritual weapons and pills would be useful.

But before the Qian family could retaliate, Dao Ting Si came knocking.

After all, the clash between demon hunters and the Qian family had caused many casualties; emotionally and rationally, Dao Ting Si could not stand idly by.

The head of Dao Ting Si, Zhou Zhangsi, personally sought out Elder Yu.

Mo Hua heard and followed his father to watch the spectacle.

Elder Yu and Zhou Zhangsi talked inside for a long time; no one knew what they discussed, but when they emerged, both looked grim.

Like a bitter parting.

What had they talked about?

Mo Hua was very curious, but if he asked, Elder Yu would never tell him.

At that moment, he saw Zhang Lan following behind the Zhou Zhangsi.

Zhang Lan was the Gu Diansi of the Dao Ting Si, holding a high rank, and as a clan member, his presence at such an important occasion was only natural.

As Zhang Lan walked, he sensed a familiar gaze fixed on him.

He turned his head—and there was Mo Hua.

Mo Hua winked at him.

Zhang Lan sighed inwardly, pretended not to notice, and turned away.

In the afternoon, he found a spare moment and went to Mo Hua's eatery to drink.

Mo Hua poured him wine himself, watching him with hopeful eyes.

Zhang Lan sighed helplessly. "Speak up. What do you want to know?"

Mo Hua's eyes lit up. "What were Elder Yu and your Zhou Zhangsi talking about this morning?"

Zhang Lan cleared his throat and lowered his voice.

"You know about the spirit mine, right?"

Mo Hua nodded.

Though expected, Zhang Lan was still surprised. "How much do you know?"

"Everything I should know—I was there the day they seized the mine."

He even picked up a dozen storage bags…

Of course, Mo Hua didn't say that out loud.

Zhang Lan was a Dao Ting Si cultivator—he had his own stance; he couldn't make things hard for him.

Mo Hua was "thoughtful" enough to consider Zhang Lan's position.

Zhang Lan sighed. "You've got guts."

A cultivator brawl—and this kid dared to stick his nose in.

Zhang Lan said: "Since you already know, I won't beat around the bush. So much has happened, both sides have suffered losses. Your Zhou Zhangsi wants to quell the matter, and the Qian family agrees—but their demand is that you hand over the spirit mine, and then they'll drop the matter…"

Mo Hua snorted. "They wish too hard!"

"Your Elder Yu said the same thing," Zhang Lan replied.

Of course, while saying that, he also threw in a lot of curses—some so vulgar, Zhang Lan had never even heard them before.

Zhang Lan had met many Foundation Establishment cultivators, but Elder Yu wasn't the strongest—just the most vicious at cursing.

"What happens next?" Mo Hua asked.

Zhang Lan sighed. "Nothing happens. At this point, the Dao Ting Si can't intervene."

"Huh?"

Mo Hua's gaze held a hint of confusion.

So the Dao Ting Si is this powerless?

Zhang Lan said helplessly: "The Dao Ting Si has so few cultivators—we can barely maintain Dao law, catch a couple of criminal cultivators. This kind of conflict between two factions? We can't handle it."

Zhang Lan added: "At least the Dao Ting Si in Xiancheng can't. We can only mediate, urging both sides to follow the common rules."

Mo Hua asked again: "What do you mean by 'common' rules?"

Zhang Lan's expression grew serious, his voice low.

"It means drawing a boundary at the unnamed peak where the spirit mine lies. Outside the peak, you can't kill without cause. But on the peak itself—fight, kill, until both sides are done…"

"Those who die there are known only to you. The Dao Ting Si turns a blind eye and won't report it to the Dao Ting Si."

Simple, brutal, savage.

Hearing this, Mo Hua's gaze sharpened.

So the real battle is only just beginning…

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