Chapter 331

Mo Hua gradually understood.

Why had the alchemical furnace broken when they stormed Great Heishan, yet the pig was gone and there was no large pool of blood on the ground? It meant the pig had been moved beforehand—and had never reappeared since.

All the evil cultivators of Great Heishan were dead or captured; none escaped—except the pig.

This meant the pig was of critical importance, even more so than Great Heishan and all the evil cultivators combined.

Yet everyone, including Mo Hua, had overlooked this.

Why did the evil cultivators feed humans to the pig? Because the pig itself was the true alchemical furnace.

Feeding humans to the pig was equivalent to throwing the humans as ingredients into the furnace.

The fact that Great Heishan had continuously fed humans to the pig meant the elixir was still being refined.

Or rather, the Life-Transferring and Essence-Transforming Elixir had likely been refining for a very long time—even possibly already completed.

After all, no one knew how long Great Heishan had been feeding humans to the pig.

After finalizing their plan, they mobilized forces and retreated into the deep mountains of Great Baishan the next day, conducting a thorough search of the entire region.

"Quickly summon Zhou Zhangsi, Shou Huayuan, and Lord An—tell them to come at once; this is a matter of urgent importance!"

A group of Foundation Establishment cultivators surrounded Mo Hua and entered the deep mountains, searching for the den of a seventh-rank beast.

The soldier obeyed and departed at once; within half an hour, everyone had gathered in one place.

Seventh-rank beasts were weak in power, yet their dens were deep and perilous.

Everyone froze slightly; Commander Yang asked, "What did you see?"

With so few cultivators searching, even first-rank beasts had long since fled.

A dense throng of cultivators advanced from the mountain's edge, inching deeper, leaving no corner unsearched.

"Where is the Qian family's ancestral elder now?"

"Find him! You must find the Qian family's ancestral elder—otherwise, once he takes the elixir and ascends to Foundation Establishment, you won't be able to stop him."

If they had fed him for over a hundred years, the Life-Transferring and Essence-Transforming Elixir might already be fully perfected!

"Got it," Mo Hua replied.

Mo Hua caught his breath, his tone solemn:

Then he ran down the mountain.

"That pig… is… the furnace!"

To search it would mean heavy losses—many lives might be lost.

Even Commander Yang, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, leading soldiers into the den, risked heavy casualties if he angered the seventh-rank beast.

Beasts of the same realm are far stronger than cultivators.

Commander Yang shook his head. "All of you Foundation Establishment cultivators—go together."

"If there are traces of arrays in the seventh-rank beast's den, then someone must have entered it. Only someone who could enter the deep mountains and penetrate a seventh-rank beast's den—could be the Qian family's ancestral elder!"

"How could the Qian family's ancestral elder think of such a method?" Shou Huayuan frowned.

Thus, using a beast's den to fake death, turning the beast into a furnace to refine elixirs—these tactics all bore the hallmarks of a beast-hunter's methods.

"It's very likely he's in the deep mountains."

"This matter concerns the safety of Xiancheng—everyone must unite!"

Commander Yang repeated Mo Hua's words; everyone's faces changed, their hearts filled with dread.

"Soldiers alone won't suffice," Shou Huayuan shook his head. "Dao Ting Si, beast-hunters, and every family and clan's cultivators in Xiancheng must join the search—not a blade of grass, not a speck of soil, not a stone can be overlooked."

"Arrays?" Commander Yang looked puzzled.

Dao Bing Si, Dao Ting Si, beast-hunters, and cultivators from every family and sect were mobilized.

"Are we not fighting anymore?" Bai Zisheng asked regretfully behind him.

"I can see the traces of arrays."

A chill surged through Mo Hua's heart; his expression shifted uncertainly.

"Got it," everyone nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile, under Mo Hua's orders, they removed the mist arrays in the deep mountains one by one, while planting the stone needles Mo Hua had crafted—each inscribed with the Southern Dipper Array—throughout the deep mountains to monitor every breeze and rustle.

Shou Huayuan sighed. "The Qian family's ancestral elder's methods are indeed brilliant—but it's a pity they're not used for the righteous path."

And human fear often stems from the unknown.

The blank spaces on the map were the areas not yet searched—and also… the seventh-rank beast's den!

The search progressed slowly.

"He keeps his mouth shut—says nothing," Commander Yang said.

"Then what do we do?" Zhang Lan frowned. "Should we search the seventh-rank beast's den?"

"What do we do?"

Searching for the seventh-rank beast's den meant confronting either the beast itself—or facing the Qian family's ancestral elder directly.

Yet the map still had a few blank spots—these were the seventh-rank beasts' habitats or dens.

Commander Yang's face darkened; he immediately summoned a soldier and barked orders:

No matter the choice, they were caught between two difficult options.

"The Qian family's ancestral elder relies on arrays—whether building Great Baishan or using cultivators to refine elixirs, arrays are everywhere."

To kill him now would inevitably demand an extremely heavy cost!

The map of the deep mountains was gradually being completed.

Within the seventh-rank realm, Foundation Establishment was the peak of cultivation—they could move freely here, and no one could stop him.

Zhou Zhangsi said, "I'll go with you."

Mo Hua snapped back to himself and hurriedly said, "I just remembered something—something very important!"

Shenshan was once a taboo across the entire Great Baishan, a fearsome abyss that terrified all cultivators.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Could the Qian family's ancestral elder be outside Shenshan?" asked Yang Tongling, puzzled.

"Eight Master, do you have any clues?" asked Zhou Zhangsi.

But if we search, and the Qian family's rogue has already perfected the Zhuanyun Si Dan, the number of cultivators who died under my hands will likely grow even larger.

"If I were hiding in a beast den within Shenshan, I would surely have set up arrays around it—either to conceal myself, or to warn of intruders, or to defend."

Although Mo Hua excels at concealment and acts with agility, it does not mean he is immune to danger.

After nearly a full day of combined effort, the group searched Shenshan thoroughly—but still found no trace of the Qian family's ancestral elder.

Zhou Zhangsi frowned deeply and said coldly:

These things, he did in Lishan, he did in Neishan, and now he has done them all over again in Shenshan.

Mo Hua had also begun sketching a map of Shenshan.

"On Great Baishan."

"What did he say?!"

Zhuanyun Si turned back to Mo Hua and said: "This matter still requires your help."

Mo Hua activated Shi Shui Bu and vanished in moments, leaving Bai Zisheng and Bai Zi Xi staring at each other, bewildered.

Mo Hua found Yang Tongling and noticed Zhang Lan was also there; he said: "Pig!"

Zhang Lan and Yang Tongling both froze, pondered for a moment, then their expressions changed drastically!

"Flesh and blood as array medium, bloodstains as array lines, beast core as array focal point, bones as array pillars…"

Yang Tongling's pupils shrank sharply; he glanced at Zhang Lan: "Then does that mean…"

I must draw every peak, every stone, every blade of grass, every tree onto the map.

Zhang Lan cried out: "That pill… has it nearly been perfected?!"

Mo Hua nodded and explained:

"We can try!"

"Great Baishan is too small…"

Bai Zi Xi, seeing this, asked in confusion: "What's wrong?"

Zhang Lan and the others blinked in surprise: "Aren't you insulting us…?"

Mo Hua panted heavily, shook his head, and gasped out:

Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes lit up, and they agreed:

Zhou Zhangsi sighed: "After the Qian family's ancestral elder rose to power, he was also a beast hunter."

"I'll go examine the arrays."

"So this pig… is the crucible for refining the Zhuanyun Si Dan! And they may have been refining it for over a hundred years."

Yang Tongling stared at the blank spaces on the map.

Mo Hua waved his hand: "We'll talk later…"

Zhou Zhangsi shook his head: "Impossible. If he went to another Xiancheng, he would have been discovered long ago. Great Baishan is hidden—it's the perfect place for him to hide. Besides, he must carry a pig, and he must refine the pill…"

Mo Hua thought for a moment and said: "Then I'll go take a look."

He had no intention of involving Mo Hua, and certainly didn't want Mo Hua to risk himself.

"There's only one possibility left…"

Even if we pooled everyone's strength to kill one or two seventh-rank beasts, the casualties would be severe.

But seventh-rank beasts are not ordinary—they have thick blood qi and surging beast power; they are not to be provoked by Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Therefore, during the mountain search, everyone avoided those seventh-rank beasts.

Everyone's expressions turned solemn.

Yang Tongling still hoped to recruit Mo Hua into his Yang family; Mo Hua was already his "pre-arranged" ally, so he was unwilling to let him suffer even a single hair's injury.

Moreover, the urgent task is to locate the Qian family's ancestral elder—we cannot waste time entangled with those beasts.

As long as we uncover all the secrets hidden in Shenshan and dispel its mists, the once-feared Shenshan will hold nothing left to fear.

And if we kill him, the entire Tongxiancheng will face grave peril!

Yang Tongling nodded: "Then gather all the Dao soldiers—carefully, meticulously, thoroughly search every inch of Shenshan!"