Chapter 223: Ten Thousand Household Fires

Mo Shan smiled and nodded.

"Are beast beasts hard to fight?"

"Indeed difficult. Beast beasts have thick blood qi, tough skin and muscle; it takes five or six cultivators of the same realm to possibly hunt one down. For safety, eight or nine are best."

Bai Zisheng thought for a moment and asked, "Then what about me—can I kill a beast beast on my own?"

"On your own… killing a beast beast? No. Getting killed is more likely."

Mo Hua muttered while gnawing on a chicken leg.

Bai Zisheng was unconvinced, giving him a light glare.

Mo Shan laughed. "Not yet, but when your cultivation advances, you'll likely have great potential."

Bai Zisheng was greatly encouraged.

"Dad, lying is wrong," Mo Hua said.

Bai Zisheng was unconvinced: "Uncle Mo is a beast hunter—he definitely knows more than you."

He had already asked Mo Hua whether he could hunt beast beasts alone.

Mo Hua said no, and Bai Zisheng was unconvinced, but Mo Hua had fought demonic beasts before, while he hadn't, so Mo Hua's words carried some credibility.

But now Uncle Mo says he has great potential—maybe he really will one day hunt beast beasts alone.

After all, Uncle Mo is a genuine beast hunter, while Mo Hua is just a minor array master who tricks beast beasts to death with arrays.

Mo Shan added: "Even if you truly can kill a beast beast alone, it's still best to find companions—watch each other's backs. Beast beasts are extremely cunning."

Bai Zisheng nodded. "Uncle Mo, don't worry—I understand."

He often listened to Mo Hua's beast hunting stories—some from Mo Hua's own experiences, others from what Mo Hua heard from others.

Many beast hunters in those stories died needlessly, ambushed, tricked by feigned death, or caught off guard—so he always kept it in mind as a warning.

Then Bai Zisheng asked curiously, "Is the inner mountain of Great Heishan much more dangerous than the outer mountain?"

Mo Hua's cultivation was insufficient—only Qi Condensation Sixth Layer—so he could only stay in the outer mountain, and his tales of Great Heishan were limited to the outer mountain.

Beast beasts, miasma, mountain mist, treacherous terrain—he'd heard enough to feel both alarmed and curious. If the outer mountain was this perilous, what must the inner mountain be like?

Mo Hua ate meat, cheeks puffed out, listening intently. He'd never been to the inner mountain, but he would go there someday.

About the inner mountain, he'd only heard fragments from other beast hunters—he didn't know much.

Seeing two pairs of dark eyes fixed on him, Mo Shan sat down and began speaking patiently:

"Miasma, mist forests, poison swamps—whatever the outer mountain has, the inner mountain has too, but worse: thicker miasma, deeper mist, stronger toxicity."

"Most beast beasts in the inner mountain are Rank One late stage—extremely powerful. If you're unlucky, you might even encounter a Rank Two beast beast—that's truly nine deaths, one life."

Mo Hua asked, "Dad, have you ever encountered a Rank Two beast beast?"

Mo Shan nodded. "Only seen one from afar—its blood qi was so thick it stained the entire forest red. We were lucky—we spotted it early and fled. That beast beast seemed full and dozing, so it ignored us."

Mo Hua exhaled in relief.

Bai Zisheng asked, "Can't you kill Rank Two beast beasts?"

"Very hard to kill," Mo Shan sighed. "You need at least five or six, sometimes seven or eight Foundation Establishment cultivators—hard to gather that many."

Mo Hua worried: "Dad, will you encounter Rank Two beast beasts again?"

Seeing Mo Hua's concerned gaze, Mo Shan felt warmth in his heart and smiled:

"The inner mountain is vast—encounters are rare. Rank Two beast beasts are scarce to begin with, scattered across such a huge area; it's not easy to find them."

"Besides, their blood qi is so strong you can sense them from far away. As long as you stay alert and avoid them early, there's usually no life threat."

Mo Hua nodded.

Mo Shan continued: "Besides environment and beast beasts, the greatest danger in the inner mountain is people."

Mo Hua and Bai Zisheng exchanged glances, both surprised.

"Are they beast hunters, or other cultivators?" Mo Hua asked.

"Both. Outsiders come to deliberately steal kills. Other cultivators, too—various types, with hidden motives."

Mo Hua asked curiously, "Why haven't I ever met these cultivators in the outer mountain?"

Mo Shan smiled and explained: "Great Heishan is huge, its terrain vast and sprawling, connecting to other regions. Xiancheng is only one part of Great Heishan…"

"The outer mountain connects to Xiancheng but not to other lands. The inner mountain is different."

"The inner mountain's paths are far more complex, branching everywhere. Cultivators from the southern regions who want to enter the city or pass through must go through the inner mountain."

"The inner mountain is cold, secluded, oppressive—easily breeding evil thoughts. Robberies, sexual assaults, murders, treasure thefts happen often. Corpses are destroyed on the spot—no one knows, no ghost notices."

Mo Hua felt a chill run through his bones.

Beast beasts are dangerous—but human hearts are more dangerous.

In this world, those who devour people aren't always beast beasts—they might be humans.

Seeing Mo Hua and Bai Zisheng's tense, solemn faces, Mo Shan realized these topics were inappropriate for the festive holiday, so he shifted tone and told some amusing beast hunting tales.

Bai Zisheng heard them for the first time, utterly captivated.

Mo Hua was fine—he'd heard some stories before; Bai Zisheng was listening to what Mo Hua had already heard.

But now that Mo Hua had entered Great Heishan, he understood what beast hunting truly was.

Stories that once seemed amusing now carried their hidden perils and unpredictability—listening to them now was a different experience entirely.

Unaware, night fell. Liu Ruhua invited them to stay for dinner.

Bai Zisheng was eager, but Xue Yi gently declined:

"Thank you, Sister Liu, but we've troubled you long enough—we should return."

Liu Ruhua couldn't insist further. She and Mo Hua saw them to the door.

Bai Zisheng felt reluctant, didn't want to go back.

Here there was food, drink, stories to hear, people to talk to. Back home, it was only cultivation and tedious exercises.

Bai Zi Xi's expression was unreadable, but his eyes, as they glanced about, revealed a faint trace of regret.

Mo Hua lived without restraint; though he practiced cultivation and array techniques daily, he could play whenever he wished, unlike the Bai siblings, who had to complete their assigned lessons every day.

Seeing their gloomy expressions, Mo Hua's eyes brightened slightly, and he invited:

"Aunt Xue, on the fifteenth there will be lanterns and fireworks—come watch with us."

Aunt Xue smiled gently at Mo Hua, but still declined:

"We appreciate your kindness, but we won't watch the fireworks."

Mo Hua laughed: "The fireworks are activated by an array—I drew it—it's beautiful."

Aunt Xue was startled. "You drew it?"

"Mm." Mo Hua nodded. "I spent a lot of effort getting it right!"

In truth, he hadn't spent much time—it was just a simple fireworks array, not difficult at all.

Seeing Mo Hua's confident expression, Aunt Xue couldn't help laughing, and after a moment's thought, she nodded:

"Then we'll come watch when you set off the fireworks."

Bai Zisheng was overjoyed, casting Mo Hua a grateful look; Bai Zi Xi's gaze at Mo Hua also brightened slightly.

On the fifteenth day of the first month, night had fallen, and the streets were adorned with lanterns and decorations everywhere.

Mo Hua checked the fireworks array once more, confirmed it was flawless, then nodded.

The fireworks compound array was formed by linking ordinary fireworks arrays—it was below first rank, with few array patterns, and Mo Hua drew it easily.

The fireworks compound array was painted along both sides of the riverbank, using the riverbank stones as array mediums; all that was needed was to crush a spirit stone and channel spirit energy to activate the array and launch fireworks into the sky.

Mo Hua did not use paper as the medium because paper is disposable—once activated, the array's spirit energy would overwhelm the paper and destroy it.

Earth and stone, as mediums, allow the array to be reused many times.

This way, not only on the fifteenth of the first month, but on every future festival, the array could be activated to release fireworks for celebration.

Mo Hua went to Elder Yu to claim reimbursement for the spirit stones used in the fireworks array.

Since the array was not complex and consumed few spirit stones, Elder Yu readily approved.

At the hour of Xu, Mo Hua activated the array.

Then Mo Hua ran to the stone bridge, joining his parents, Bai Zisheng, Bai Zi Xi, and Aunt Xue to watch the fireworks.

Fifteen breaths after activation, the array patterns ignited.

The multicolored array patterns along both riverbanks lit up in sequence, then coalesced into radiant, dazzling light that shot upward into the dark night sky, bursting into brilliant fireworks—layer upon layer, rising and falling like a thousand trees in bloom, a rain of falling stars.

The black night sky served as a canvas; the fireworks bloomed like exquisite embroidery, weaving a magnificent, colorful tapestry across the heavens.

The entire sky glittered, breathtakingly beautiful.

In an instant, countless cultivators looked up at the night sky, at the splendid fireworks, watching them blaze and illuminate every street and alley of Xiancheng.