Chapter 253: Encirclement and Annihilation

Mo Hua finished drawing the array without alerting the criminal cultivators, then retreated quietly, using the grasses as cover.

"I've completed the array—left only one gap. Tomorrow, we'll pass through there."

Mo Hua pointed out the gap in the array to Zhang Lan.

Zhang Lan nodded. "You've worked hard."

Lu Hui said: "Zhang Diansi, do you know if Young Master Kong is inside the valley?"

Zhang Lan shook his head. "I've watched all afternoon. I haven't seen Young Master Kong."

Mo Hua had also probed with his spiritual sense just now—inside were nothing but criminal cultivators; not a single other cultivator, let alone Kong Sheng. He suspected Kong Sheng was truly reduced to ashes.

Lu Hui's expression grew solemn.

If Kong Sheng really was dead, how would he explain it to the Kong family?

Zhang Lan ignored him, instead assigning several cultivators to take turns on guard, while the rest rested in their clothes, closing their eyes to conserve energy, waiting for dawn to strike.

The noise inside the cave lasted a while, then gradually faded, leaving only occasional soft snores and murmurs.

Dawn broke. The criminal cultivators still lay sprawled haphazardly; those on guard near the valley entrance were dozing off.

This place was hidden; they'd dwelled here so long without being discovered, so complacency was inevitable.

Zhang Lan drew his blade, exchanged a glance with those behind him, and whispered low: "Strike!"

They entered the valley through the gap in the Earthfire Array, and upon spotting the criminals, immediately clamped hands over mouths and slit throats.

After killing several, they were suddenly discovered—one criminal shouted: "Who's there? How dare you!"

Chaos erupted. The battle began.

Mo Hua did not enter the valley. In this situation, his participation mattered little, so he stayed outside to watch.

Soon, a criminal cultivator was defeated and fled desperately toward the valley entrance, stepping onto the Earthfire Array.

A flash of fire erupted—the scattered cultivators were blasted into the air, crashing to the ground, their forms gruesome.

Lu Hui, watching from nearby, twitched an eyelid.

The Earthfire Array's power was far stronger than he'd expected.

What level of array master was this young cultivator?

Meanwhile, the battle inside the valley grew increasingly stale.

These criminals were no pushovers—handling them was difficult—but since they'd just woken from drunkenness, their minds were foggy, so overall, the Dao Ting Si still held the advantage.

Zhang Lan moved with agility, weaving freely among the criminals, while forming sword qi in his hand to strike at several of the spirit cultivators among them.

Suddenly, his gaze shifted—he spotted the bald monk preparing to flee, and shouted:

"Bald Monk! Don't let him escape!"

Seeing Mo Shan and Ji Qingbai rushed forward to engage the bald monk; Lu Hui also advanced.

Zhang Lan wanted to lend support, but couldn't break away—he had to eliminate the several spirit cultivators among the criminals first, or his own cultivators would become easy targets for them.

The bald monk had deep cultivation, but could not fight three at once; he gradually fell into disadvantage.

Ji Qingbai spotted an opening in the bald monk's defense and slashed with his Hidden Wood Sword Art—his blade bristled with surging pale green spiritual energy.

The bald monk couldn't dodge in time—he was about to be cleaved, when suddenly Lu Hui twisted his sword's tip and stabbed straight at Ji Qingbai's nape.

"Watch out!" Seeing Mo Shan shouted.

Ji Qingbai tried to retract his blade and block, but it was too late.

Seeing Mo Shan, locked in combat with the bald monk, swung his blade sideways, forcibly deflecting Lu Hui's sword—but the impact numbed his arm, churned his blood and qi, and caused him to hesitate, exposing an opening.

The bald monk, seeing this, his eyes flashed with lethal intent; his blade wrapped in pale white wind blades, slashed straight at Seeing Mo Shan.

The bald monk possessed a rare Wind elemental root, so his movement was swift, his strikes even faster.

Seeing Mo Shan had just deflected Lu Hui's blade—his qi was unbalanced—he couldn't dodge this strike.

Ji Qingbai spun around, holding his blade horizontally, placing himself before Seeing Mo Shan to block the bald monk's blow—his body trembled from the spiritual force, and blood spurted from his mouth.

The bald monk seized the opening, moving like a gale, slipping free from the three-sided assault.

Lu Hui ignored the bald monk entirely, still aiming his sword at Ji Qingbai; Zhang Lan formed a water sword technique and slashed it directly before him.

"Lu Diansi, what are you doing?" Zhang Lan said coldly.

Lu Hui remained composed. "I was simply trying to kill the bald monk—unfortunately, he escaped."

"Really?" Zhang Lan's expression turned hostile.

"What else?" Lu Hui smiled darkly.

Zhang Lan snorted. "Don't let me catch you using dirty tricks again—or I'll kill you for real."

Lu Hui didn't retreat. "Are you trying to frame me, Zhang Diansi?"

Zhang Lan ignored him again and chased after the bald monk.

A flash of venomous malice crossed Lu Hui's eyes.

Of all these people, the only one he truly feared was Zhang Lan—but only feared, nothing more.

Though Zhang Lan's family rank was higher than his, they were both Diansi of Dao Ting Si, belonging to different branches—he didn't need to overly care about Zhang Lan's attitude.

His original intent in coming here was to rescue Young Master Kong and earn the Kong family a great favor.

But now it seemed Young Master Kong was almost certainly dead.

If so, killing Ji Qingbai would give him a plausible explanation when he returned to Qingxuan City.

Ji Qingbai and his father had clashed with the Kong family, then fled to Tongxian City—if they lived safely now, how could the Kong family intimidate other scattered cultivators in Qingxuan City?

If other scattered cultivators followed their example, the Kong family would lose its authority.

Lu Hui's daily expenses, pleasures, and spiritual stones for cultivation all came from the Kong family—Kong family's interests were his interests; he would eventually have to act against the Ji family.

If the Ji father and son were still in Qingxuan City, he had a thousand ways to imprison them—then kill one to warn a hundred, much easier.

Now that they refused to return and had a Hunter of Demons protecting them, he could only kill them on the spot—just make sure it was done discreetly.

Ji Qingbai was just an ordinary cultivator without a sect.

He could "accidentally" kill Ji Qingbai, then return to face a mild reprimand—a trivial punishment—and the matter would be dropped.

And he was the Dao Ting Si's Gu Diansi.

He did not believe anyone would dare openly attack him; whether it was Zhang Lan or these demon hunters, anyone who moved against him would be pursued by the Dao Ting Si.

"Pity, I missed my chance just now—but it's still early; there will be other opportunities."

Killing Ji Qingbai would win favor with the Kong family; killing the Bald Monk would earn great merit—it would be two birds with one stone.

The failed assassination of Ji Qingbai must have put him on guard; there won't be a chance soon. Now, we cannot let the Bald Monk escape.

Lu Hui's eyes flashed with sharp light, then he also chased after the Bald Monk.

Ji Qingbai also wanted to pursue, but Mo Shan blocked him. "Brother Ji, Lu Hui wants to kill you."

Ji Qingbai snarled, "I'll kill him first, or he'll drag you all down with him."

"He's the Gu Diansi of the Dao Ting Si—if you kill him, the trouble will only grow worse."

"But…"

Mo Shan said sternly, "First, deal with these criminal cultivators. Then we'll decide."

Ji Qingbai hesitated a moment, sighed, and finally nodded.

The criminal cultivators, still drunk and dazed, were caught off guard and gradually fell into disadvantage.

One by one, they collapsed—only the one-eyed cultivator held on, though he couldn't last much longer.

The one-eyed cultivator's movement was poor; his last escape had been pure luck. Now trapped in the valley, he was essentially flightless.

Meanwhile, the Bald Monk, relying on his Wind Dash technique, moved like the wind and had already reached the valley mouth—where he saw the Earth-Fire Array laid out.

The Bald Monk spat and cursed, "Where the hell did this array come from? Blocking my path!"

But he dared not charge through. His mind raced, then his gaze turned cold—he seized a criminal cultivator and hurled him straight toward the valley mouth.

The criminal cultivator, caught completely off guard, was thrown out—and instantly exploded into pieces by the Earth-Fire Array, collapsing to the ground, his life or death unknown.

The Bald Monk began hurling other criminal cultivators to trigger the Earth-Fire Array.

These criminal cultivators called each other brothers when there was profit—but now that profit was gone, they showed not an ounce of mercy.

Mo Hua's Earth-Fire Array was powered by Spirit Stones.

These Spirit Stones were taken from Zhang Lan; though many were used, they were still finite, and after a few explosions, they were exhausted.

Moreover, ordinary mountain rock was not a high-grade array medium—the Earth-Fire Array runes drawn upon it gradually deteriorated after several explosions.

So the Earth-Fire Array soon developed a breach.

At the same time, Zhang Lan and Lu Hui both reached the valley mouth.

Seeing this, the Bald Monk's expression turned desperate. He no longer hesitated—he immediately activated his movement technique and fled toward the valley's outside.

Mo Hua hid in the grass outside, his right hand slightly raised, Spirit Power beginning to surge rapidly.

If he cast the Water Prison Technique, he could trap the Bald Monk.

But he thought for a moment, his gaze flickered, then he gently lowered his hand, watching the Bald Monk escape through the Earth-Fire Array, leaving a fading trail as he vanished into the distance.