Chapter 246

Concealment Technique!

Mo Hua had long coveted this technique.

When he first saw Diao Laosan use it, Mo Hua wanted to learn it.

Although Elder Yu said he had a minor Five Elements affinity and wasn't suited for this technique, how could he know without trying?

He had previously thought the Concealment Cultivator had been hacked to death by swords, and felt some regret.

But he never expected the man to reappear now—this was an unexpected boon.

Since he's appeared, he won't be allowed to escape.

Mo Hua must extract the incantation of the Concealment Technique.

He is now at Qi Refinement Seventh Layer; his movement skills are sufficient for now, but he knows only one spell: Fireball.

Its power is neither outstanding nor weak—just average.

But Mo Hua's elemental affinity isn't strong, and his cultivation method doesn't enhance spiritual energy, so spell power won't be great; even learning another offensive spell would be meaningless.

Mo Hua wanted to learn more practical spells.

The Concealment Technique was well-suited.

Strong spiritual sense can conceal one's aura, making it hard to detect, while the Concealment Technique hides one's physical form, making one invisible.

Mo Hua has strong spiritual sense; with the Concealment Technique, he would be virtually safe from harm.

The Dao seeks immortality; if one seeks immortality, one must first stay alive.

Diao Laosan's arm had been twisted by Yu Chengyi, drenching his brow in sweat from pain; he snarled: "Never!"

He had been foiled by this brat time and again—he wanted to kill him, how could he possibly give him the Concealment Technique?

Mo Hua snorted, "Don't refuse the wine—take the punishment instead!"

But Diao Laosan gritted his teeth and refused to speak.

Mo Hua looked at him, then suddenly his eyes lit up; he asked Yu Chengyi: "Uncle Yu, where's his storage bag?"

When a criminal cultivator is captured, alive or dead, their storage bag must be seized and marked.

Yu Chengyi rummaged and pulled out a storage bag embroidered with blue water patterns, tossing it to Mo Hua.

Mo Hua emptied its contents.

Two spare daggers: one was a Rank One Spirit Artifact, the other wasn't—probably just a temporary substitute.

Several vials of poison, each labeled with the poison's name, meant to be smeared on daggers.

Several vials of antidotes, unlabeled, but their colors matched the poisons one-to-one.

Several books on cultivation methods and Dao arts, but Mo Hua glanced at them briefly—they were all common, low-grade texts.

No incantation for the Concealment Technique.

Mo Hua frowned. "Where did you hide the incantation?"

Diao Laosan growled: "Brat, I won't tell you!"

"You dare insult me?" Mo Hua's eyebrows lifted; he drew the Thousand-Jin Club in one motion, angry: "I'll beat your mouth to pulp!"

Yu Chengyi quickly blocked him: "No need for you to lift a hand—you'll tire yourself out."

Mo Hua isn't a Body Cultivator; he's not skilled in body refinement—he might injure himself.

Besides, there are so many Beast Hunters here—why should he lift a finger?

The other Beast Hunters stepped forward and started beating Diao Laosan themselves.

They had guarded spirit mines before; they'd seen many comrades fall to Diao Laosan's venomous daggers—resentment had built up inside them, and now was the chance to vent it.

When they'd beaten him enough, Yu Chengyi called a halt.

Mo Hua asked again: "Will you speak?"

Diao Laosan spat out a mouthful of blood and relented: "If I tell you, will you spare my life?"

Mo Hua sneered: "What kind of fantasy are you dreaming?"

He held up two small fingers: "You have two choices. One: tell the truth, and we send you to Dao Ting Si—whether you live or die depends on how Dao Ting Si judges you…"

"Two: if you refuse, we'll cut you to pieces right now. You're a criminal cultivator—your death means nothing."

Diao Laosan coldly replied: "Either way I die—why should I speak?"

He knew full well his crimes—falling into Dao Ting Si's hands meant certain death.

"One is possibly dying; the other is dying right now—the difference is huge."

Mo Hua explained: "If you enter Dao Ting Si, you might bribe a Diansi to avoid execution; bribe a Zhou Zhangsi and you might be released innocent; even if you can't, bribe a jailer and you might attempt an escape…"

Diao Laosan rolled his eyes—if he had the power to bribe Zhou Zhangsi and Diansi, how could he have ended up as a bandit?

He could've become a clan patriarch or sect leader long ago; even the lowest he could've been was an elder.

Diao Laosan sneered inwardly, still refusing to speak.

Seeing this, Mo Hua sighed regretfully: "Then make your peace and go."

These criminals deserved death anyway; their deaths bring peace. As for the technique, he'd find another way—it wasn't as if he absolutely needed the Concealment Technique.

Mo Hua glanced at Yu Chengyi; Yu Chengyi nodded and ordered:

"Drag him aside and cut him to pieces with swords."

One Beast Hunter stepped forward, grabbed the iron chain with a large hand, and dragged Diao Laosan toward a small grove.

Halfway there, Diao Laosan suddenly realized: "I'm going to die now!"

He had lived over a hundred years, imagined his death countless times—but never truly cared.

Now, facing true death, he finally understood the terror of bodily dissolution and spiritual extinction.

Boundless dread swallowed him whole; his stubborn silence shattered instantly, his will crumbled.

In that instant, he only thought: even one more day would do—even one more hour.

As long as I don't die now, or tomorrow, even if I die next hour, it's better than dying now.

Dying inside Dao Ting Si is better than being hacked to pieces and thrown to beast beasts.

Diao Laosan cried out urgently: "I'll talk! I'll talk!"

Mo Hua perked up at this, "Wait!"

The beast hunter dragged Diao Laosan back and tossed him in front of Mo Hua.

Diao Laosan was now listless, his breath faint.

Mo Hua, seeing this, frowned: "Why not just speak up earlier? What's the point of this? You've taken extra beatings—worthless bones…"

Enraged, Diao Laosan spat out another mouthful of blood.

Yu Chengyi whispered to Mo Hua: "Say less. Don't anger him to death."

"Oh, okay." Mo Hua nodded rapidly, then asked about the matter at hand: "Where's the incantation for the concealment technique?"

Diao Laosan was completely broken. Having experienced the terror of death, his will had vanished; he spoke honestly:

"Among those Daoist texts, there's a book called 'Flame Fist.' Pages nineteen through fifty-four contain… the concealment technique."

Mo Hua rummaged through his storage pouch, and among a pile of Daoist scriptures, found a copy of 'Flame Fist' with old creases.

When he turned to page nineteen, he found the preceding and following content were indeed vastly different.

The earlier pages described fire-based body-refining martial Dao arts, but after page nineteen, it suddenly shifted to secretive water-element spiritual cultivation techniques.

And indeed, between the lines of the book, a small note was written:

Concealment Technique.

Mo Hua rejoiced. He glanced at Diao Laosan, thinking: No wonder he's an old cultivator—his mind is truly cunning, hiding precious technique incantations inside ordinary body-refining Dao texts.

Hidden in plain sight, naturally hard to detect.

Mo Hua, satisfied, tucked the 'Flame Fist' containing the concealment technique into his own storage pouch, then suddenly frowned, thinking inwardly:

If he hid the concealment technique inside 'Flame Fist,' might he have hidden other techniques in other books too?

Mo Hua began flipping through the other Daoist texts, page by page, until he finally spotted something odd.

In a martial Dao scripture titled 'Flowing Sand Palm,' another technique Mo Hua had never heard of was recorded:

Water Prison Technique.

Mo Hua raised an eyebrow—buy one, get one free!

Thank you to Yao Yuan and An Ye Xing Chen for the tips~