Chapter 245: Ambush

The one-eyed criminal cultivator led the group of criminals back along the same path, arriving at the foot of the hill and hiding among the shrubs, looking up.

Only four people were visible on the quiet little hillside.

Ji Qingbai and his two companions were covered in bloodstains, still seated in meditation to heal their wounds, while the young cultivator stood guard beside them, alert and wary.

"They're not running? Waiting here to die?" Diao Laosan sneered.

But the one-eyed criminal frowned. "This smells like a trap."

"Let's extend our spiritual sense to check?" one of the criminals suggested.

"We'll be detected."

"There are no Foundation Establishment cultivators here. Let's be careful and take a look."

"It's that brat—he has an absurdly strong spiritual sense. If we spy on him with our spiritual sense, he'll definitely notice."

"Impossible."

"Do you think I'd lie to you?"

…

After a few more arguments among the criminals, the one-eyed cultivator asked, "Big Brother, what do we do?"

The bald criminal pondered: "Ji Qingbai is an outsider. He has no connections in Xiancheng. No one will come to his aid."

"As for that brat, he looks like a local beast-hunter, but he's too young—he can't know many people."

"Even if there's an ambush, they can't have many people hidden."

"We're enough to kill them all!"

The one-eyed cultivator nodded, flattery slipping out: "Big Brother, you're brilliant!"

The bald criminal's gaze turned cold as he continued: "We make our living by licking blood from the blade. When meat is handed to us—even if it's on the blade—we have no choice but to eat it."

All the criminals bared cruel grins, their eyes greedy.

"Attack!"

The bald criminal ordered.

More than twenty criminals surged up the hill like hungry wolves, then scattered instantly, surrounding Mo Hua and the other three to prevent their escape.

One criminal stepped forward to seize Mo Hua—but the moment his foot touched the ground, flames erupted violently.

The criminal was blasted to the ground, half his body charred black, curled up and screaming in agony, his form grotesque.

"An array?"

The criminals' hearts jolted. They exchanged glances, all halting in place.

The power of arrays was not to be underestimated. No one could tell who had set this array—or how many there were.

The atmosphere grew solemn as both sides resumed their standoff.

Mo Hua's expression showed a flicker of fear and tension, but Diao Laosan didn't believe it for a second—this brat was too cunning to show such an expression.

His eyes turned venomous, coldly speaking:

"Brat, stop pretending. Call out your hidden allies."

The fear and tension vanished from Mo Hua's face. He scratched his head. "Was my acting really that bad?"

He thought he'd done pretty well.

Diao Laosan's eyelid twitched. "You're about to die, and you're still mouthing off?"

"How do you know I'm about to die?"

Diao Laosan raised his dagger, its blade glinting with sinister cold light:

"I'll slit your throat, gouge out your eyes—you'll know then."

Mo Hua remained calm. "Then come and try."

Diao Laosan took a step forward—but hesitated.

He didn't know if more arrays lay hidden on the ground. He dared not move.

But the one-eyed cultivator frowned. "Something's wrong."

This young cultivator's demeanor was too composed.

What gave him such confidence? Just a few arrays on the ground?

Or was there another reason?

Now that they had surrounded Mo Hua and the others, there was no risk of alerting hidden foes—he decided to extend his spiritual sense.

But the moment he did, he sensed the surrounding qi—and his face instantly paled, his body freezing with dread.

"Big Brother!" the one-eyed cultivator cried out urgently.

Before he could finish, figures of beast-hunters emerged one after another along the surrounding hillsides, encircling the criminals in a dense, dark mass—over two hundred at a glance!

The one-eyed cultivator's face twisted in terror; the other criminals' faces drained of all color.

So many beast-hunters!

How could there be so many beast-hunters?

The Inner Mountains were vast—who in such a short time had summoned this many beast-hunters?

At the same moment, Mo Hua's delicate eyebrows lifted. His small finger pointed at the criminals, his voice clear and crisp:

"The ones about to die are you!"

Before the words had fully left his lips, the beast-hunters on the hillsides charged down in a dense, overwhelming tide, like dark clouds crushing the sky, their momentum fierce.

"Big Brother! What do we do?" the one-eyed cultivator cried.

A flash of panic crossed the bald criminal's eyes, then he barked: "Grab that brat!"

He had guessed—the brat's identity was far from ordinary.

If they captured him, they could use him to threaten this horde of beast-hunters—and still have a chance to live.

Two criminal cultivators charged toward Mo Hua, but halfway there, they were blasted back by the Earth-Fire Array.

The other criminal cultivators seized the chance to rush through the Earth-Fire Array, but one was blocked by Ji Qingbai, and another was punched back by Yu Chengyi.

The remaining few finally reached Mo Hua's side, but before they could strike, Mo Hua had already used the Flowing Water Step to glide away gracefully—they didn't even brush a corner of his robe.

The beast hunters surged forward; the twenty-odd criminal cultivators were quickly drowned by the tidal wave of beast hunters and could not hold out long.

Mo Hua withdrew from the battle, swept his spiritual sense across the area, his gaze sharpened slightly, then he raised his hand and launched a fireball toward a cluster of shrubs in the distance.

The fireball exploded; a pained groan came from within the shrubs, and Diao Laosan's slender, small figure emerged from concealment.

Mo Hua pointed at him from afar and shouted loudly: "Capture that short man—don't let him escape!"

The nearby beast hunters, hearing this, dashed straight toward Diao Laosan.

Diao Laosan hated Mo Hua with all his heart.

He also cursed himself for having learned this concealment technique, which Mo Hua had completely countered.

Now that his concealment technique was useless, he was like a rat crossing the street at noon—everyone could hit him.

Aside from waiting helplessly for death, he had absolutely no way out.

After only a few rounds, Diao Laosan was knocked down by a beast hunter's punch, pinned beneath him, and bound tightly with iron chains.

The front-line battlefield was equally one-sided; several criminal cultivators were cut down on the spot, the rest were mostly captured, and only two managed to escape.

One was the one-eyed cultivator—he was lucky; while being chased by beast hunters, a beast suddenly leapt out and blocked their path, allowing him to barely escape.

The other was the bald criminal cultivator—he had exceptional mobility and was extremely cunning.

He shouted about capturing Mo Hua, but as soon as he sensed the tide turning, he was the first to flee—his movement was swift, ghostlike, and the beast hunters couldn't catch him.

After the battle ended, only a few beast hunters were injured; a few pills cured them.

Every criminal cultivator bore wounds—some missing arms or legs—chained together with iron links.

These iron chains were designed to restrain beasts; they were extraordinarily sturdy, and since all the criminal cultivators were wounded, they could hardly escape.

Yu Chengyi's expression brightened greatly: "I was just worried I couldn't catch these bastards—they came back themselves to die."

Mo Hua asked: "Uncle Yu, how will you handle these criminal cultivators?"

Yu Chengyi thought for a moment and said: "First, beat them, interrogate them, see if we can extract anything. Then send them to Dao Ting Si for the bounty."

These criminal cultivators had murdered and plundered, and by all appearances were repeat offenders—under Dao law, they were all marked for death.

The beast hunters received their reward money, Dao Ting Si gained merit—it was a perfect arrangement, and no one needed to dirty their hands.

Mo Hua nodded, then pointed his little finger at Diao Laosan: "Give me that short man—I need to ask him something."

Yu Chengyi paused slightly, then grabbed Diao Laosan with a giant hand, lifted him out, took a close look, and exclaimed in surprise:

"It's you!"

He recognized him now—this criminal cultivator was the slender, black-robed cultivator skilled in concealment who had been hired by the Qian family during their assault on the spirit mine.

Back then, they had suffered greatly.

Yu Chengyi squeezed his hand, snapping Diao Laosan's arm to render him powerless, then tossed him before Mo Hua:

"Ask him whatever you want."

Mo Hua stared intently at Diao Laosan, then suddenly smiled, revealing a warm and amiable expression:

"Hand over the incantation for your concealment technique!"

These past few days have been two chapters per day.

Ten chapters a month is too exhausting—I'll rest for a few days and sort out the outline.

Afterward, I'll gradually increase the output.