Chapter 307: Extermination

"Join the Dao Bing Si, and I've got your back!" Commander Yang thumped his chest in assurance.

"You're just a Foundation Establishment cultivator—what big talk is this?" Zhang Lan sneered.

Commander Yang glared at Zhang Lan. "I'm only Foundation Establishment, but some aren't even that."

Zhang Lan ignored him and said seriously:

"Mo Hua was born frail—he can't cultivate the body. Joining the Dao Bing Si means fighting in chaotic battlefields; it's extremely dangerous."

"We won't make him do such things," said Commander Yang. "In warfare, the hardest part is 'knowing the enemy and knowing yourself.' He knows concealment techniques—he can sneak in to scout enemy movements, or retreat and protect himself with the same."

"Isn't scouting enemy movements dangerous too?"

"Then forget scouting," Commander Yang said bluntly, stepping back a full pace. "Just draw arrays."

Mo Hua asked curiously, "Does the Dao Bing Si really lack array masters?"

Commander Yang evaded, "Not that much…"

Mo Hua said, "Uncle Yang."

Commander Yang chuckled, "It's not that formal—he calls Zhang Lan uncle, so he calls you uncle too."

Mo Hua dragged over a large stool and sat aside, listening.

Mo Hua wanted to go see, but held back.

It wasn't that he minded hard work or feared safety—he just didn't want to join the Dao Bing Si, because once he did, he'd be torn from home, forever wandering far away.

Mo Hua could only weakly draw arrays to calm his mind.

The next day, several factions within Xiancheng gathered at Dao Ting Si to discuss the extermination.

I'm familiar with this—whether it's Commander Yang, who handles military campaigns, or Gu Huanye of the Hunter's Guild, both know far more than I do.

Commander Yang, caught out, flushed slightly but insisted:

Mo Hua frowned. "Is it really that strong?"

Zhang Lan said, "One, because the intelligence he overheard is unreliable; two, Dao Ting's Dao Bing are far stronger than you think."

Zhang Lan sighed helplessly. "Great Heishan—so many years gone, and he still won't admit defeat!"

Commander Yang moved on to specific details of the campaign: how to enter the mountains, where the Hunter's Guild would advance, and where the Dao Bing would lie in ambush.

"If the enemy's Foundation Establishment cultivators suffer casualties, we must outnumber them decisively and secure victory."

"Uncle Zhang, won't there be problems?"

"Why?"

"Naturally," Zhang Lan said. "Why has Dao Ting Si unified the cultivation world? Because of its mighty Dao Bing—hundreds of thousands, even millions, fighting in mass formations. That's entirely different from individual cultivators dueling."

Commander Yang spoke bluntly:

"Thank you, Commander Yang."

Attendees included Commander Yang of the Dao Bing Si, Old Zhou Zhangsi and Gu Diansi Zhang Lan of Dao Ting Si, and Gu Huanye, Mo Shan, Yu Chengyi of the Hunter's Guild.

Mo Hua stayed outside the camp, sleepless all night, practicing arrays beneath the Dao Stele in his mind, until dawn—finally, distant commotion reached him.

Commander Yang snorted. "You're not that good anyway."

Mo Hua frowned, worry rising in his heart.

Earlier, when Commander Yang unfolded the sand table, it showed neither the Mist Forest's map nor Elder Yu's terrain chart.

Commander Yang acted swiftly—once the plan was finalized, two days later, all cultivators were deployed.

Mo Hua had never seen such warfare firsthand, so he didn't fully understand, but he still nodded, easing his mind somewhat.

My father, Mo Shan, and many close uncles and elders are all in Shenshan, fighting these virtuous heretics.

After the meeting ended, everyone dispersed. Mo Hua lagged behind and quietly asked Zhang Lan:

Commander Yang nodded, his face beaming.

A little injury to us doesn't matter—but if Mo Hua gets hurt, it's unacceptable.

Before dawn, eight hundred seasoned Hunter's Guild cultivators at Qi Condensation Fourth Layer and eight hundred disciplined Dao Bing, led by Commander Yang, Zhou Zhangsi, and Yang Jiyong, slipped into Shenshan under the cover of dim dawn light, silent and unseen.

Seeing Mo Hua frown, troubled, Commander Yang hurriedly said:

Zhang Lan scoffed. "Don't listen to him—where in the cultivation world isn't there a shortage of array masters? Even these heretics, when they built Great Heishan, relied on their Third Master, a heretical array master."

Great Heishan…

From afar, faint shouts of battle reached him, carrying grim killing intent—even with spiritual sense, he felt faint but persistent fluctuations of spiritual energy.

Now, going there would only help nothing, and might even cause chaos.

Zhang Lan patted Mo Hua's shoulder. "Every action carries risk—but this battle carries the greatest risk."

Mo Hua merely listened from the side.

Elder Yu's battle raged for eight days; after eight days, news arrived.

Some Dao Bing remained outside the camp—not only to guard it, but to protect Mo Hua.

"The best plan: have the Hunter's Guild launch a feint to lure the heretics out, then the Dao Bing encircle and annihilate them in one decisive strike!"

I still need to learn arrays from Mr. Zhuang, and when I grow up, I must care for my parents.

Zhou Zhangsi and others raised questions or suggestions; Commander Yang either answered or considered them—after half a day of discussion, the plan gradually took shape.

Commander Yang looked at Mo Hua with solemn expression: "If you're willing to join the Dao Bing Si, I can even petition the higher-ups to make you Deputy Commander."

"The Mist Forest's arrays have shifted—the heretics must have sensed something. If we strike now, we'll alert them and lose the chance to exterminate them all at once."

It's not just my father, Mo Shan, who doesn't want me to go—even Yang Jiyong, Zhang Lan, Zhou Zhangsi, Yu Chengyi, and Commander Yang all oppose it.

The camp lies deeper in the mountains, relatively more dangerous; and if we encounter tricky arrays during the attack on Gu Huanye, we can return to consult Mo Hua.

The Mist Forest's guide map was gone; Gu Huanye's terrain chart was gone. After that, Commander Yang and Zhang Lan spent a day drafting a preliminary extermination plan against Gu Huanye.

"Precisely because of this, an array master skilled in concealment—who can protect himself—is even more invaluable on the battlefield."

Mo Hua was troubled.

Mo Hua just listened attentively, taking the chance to learn a bit more.

How to attack the stockade previously, how far the feigned attack should go, and if advancing, how far to push, where to coordinate with each other, when the Dao Soldiers should charge and kill... and so on.

Mo Hua could only honestly stay outside the Dao Soldier camp at Wenming Peak.

"Gu Huanye has seven Foundation Establishment evil cultivators; they may not all be inside the stockade, but you should plan for the worst. Yang Jiyong, Gu Huanye, and you will each deal with one. You'll then split off two squads of your most elite Dao Soldiers, equipped with the best arms and armor, to kill another Foundation Establishment cultivator."

"As for the other evil cultivators, even if their techniques are unorthodox and their Dao methods vicious, in a frontal melee like this they're nothing to fear. The demon hunters only need to stall them briefly. Once the Dao Soldiers charge in, those evil cultivators will be nothing but a rabble..."

"When the time comes, just stick close to me. Your Yang family has deep and wide connections in the Dao Soldier Bureau; with your Yang family's backing, no one will dare bully you!"

The Dao Soldiers and demon hunters suffered light casualties. Seeing Mo Shan, Zhou Zhangsi, Zhang Lan, and the others were mostly just slightly injured.

"Not to mention a place like the Dao Soldier Bureau—dirty, exhausting, and with your life on the line at any moment. Array masters are esteemed; they generally wouldn't go."

And Elder Yu, who had occupied Shenshan for several hundred years, was completely broken through!

It was a large number of Qi Refining Layer Four cultivators fighting in a melee, and Foundation Establishment cultivators striking with full force!

"You're still young; there's no need to rush into a decision. Think it over carefully. Even if you don't go now, if you change your mind someday, you can still come find me at the Dao Soldier Bureau—just give your name as Great Heishan Shanzhai."

Mo Hua silently nodded, committing the name to memory, then said gratefully:

A thorough understanding of worldly affairs is itself learning.

Mo Hua wanted to go too, but received the crowd's resolute approval.