Chapter 737: Search the Mountains

Mo Hua gradually understood.

Why had the alchemical furnace broken when they breached 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 utmost importance, even more so than Great Heishan itself or 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 into the furnace as medicinal ingredients.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

After saying that, he ran down the mountain.

"Aren't we fighting anymore?" Bai Zisheng asked regretfully behind him.

Mo Hua waved his hand, "We'll talk about it later…"

Mo Hua activated the Flowing Water Step and vanished in moments, leaving Bai Zisheng and Bai Zi Xi staring at each other, bewildered.

Mo Hua found Commander Yang and noticed Zhang Lan was also there; he said, "The pig!"

Zhang Lan and the other two froze. "You're not insulting us, are you…"

Mo Hua, panting, shook his head and gasped out:

"That pig… is… the furnace!"

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

"What did you say?!"

Mo Hua caught his breath and said solemnly:

"Flesh and blood as the array's medium; bloodstains as the array's patterns; demonic core as the array's focal point; bones as the array's pillars…"

"So that pig is the true furnace for refining the Life-Transferring and Essence-Transforming Elixir—and it may have been refining for over a hundred years."

Commander Yang's pupils contracted sharply; he glanced at Zhang Lan. "So does that mean…"

Zhang Lan exclaimed, "The elixir is nearly complete?!"

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

"Go quickly and summon Elder Yu, Zhou Zhangsi, and Lord An—tell them to come at once; there is an urgent matter to discuss!"

The Dao Soldier obeyed and departed at full speed; less than half an hour later, all arrived together.

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

"Where is the Qian family's ancestor now?"

"In Great Heishan."

"Great Heishan is too vast…"

"He's likely deep in the mountains."

"What do we do?"

Elder Yu frowned tightly and said coldly:

"Search! We must find the Qian family's ancestor—otherwise, once he takes the elixir and ascends to Foundation Establishment late stage, we won't be able to stop him."

Within a second-grade prefecture, Foundation Establishment late stage is the peak of cultivation—he can move freely without fear of anyone here.

To kill him now would demand an extremely costly price!

And if we don't kill him, the entire Xiancheng will face grave peril!

Commander Yang nodded. "Then gather all Dao Soldiers and thoroughly search every inch of the deep mountains!"

"Dao Soldiers alone won't suffice," Zhou Zhangsi shook his head. "Dao Ting Si, Beast Hunters, and every family's cultivators from Xiancheng must join—leave not a blade of grass, a speck of soil, or a stone unsearched."

"This concerns the safety of all Xiancheng—we must unite!"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Zhou Zhangsi turned to Mo Hua. "We'll need your help with this."

"Alright," Mo Hua replied.

After finalizing their plans, they returned to mobilize forces; the next day, they entered the deep mountains of Great Heishan and began a thorough search.

Dao Soldier Corps, Dao Ting Si, Beast Hunters, and cultivators from every family and sect were deployed.

A dense swarm of cultivators advanced from the outer edges of the deep mountains, inch by inch, leaving no corner unexamined.

Meanwhile, under Mo Hua's direction, they removed the mist arrays one by one and planted stone needles inscribed with the Si Nan Zi Array across the deep mountains, to monitor every breeze and rustle.

Mo Hua also began drawing a map of the deep mountains.

He would depict every peak, every stone, every blade of grass, every tree on the map.

He had done this before—in the outer mountains, in the inner mountains—and now he did it again in the deep mountains.

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