Chapter 748

"This… isn't right…"

Ouyang Mu was momentarily stunned.

"What's wrong with it?" Mo Hua said. "From now on, I've got your back in the Demon Hunting Mountains."

"But I'm a disciple of Tai'e Sect…" Ouyang Mu whispered, glancing at Mo Hua's robe. "Senior brother, you're from Grand Void Gate."

Mo Hua looked utterly reasonable.

"You're already calling me senior brother—what difference does it make if you're from Tai'e or I'm from Grand Void Gate?"

"Broaden your horizons. Don't be bound by such sectarian prejudices."

"Besides, Tai'e, Grand Void, and Chongxu Sect—all share the same breath, descended from a common ancestor."

"A thousand years ago, we were all one family. Why be so formal?"

Ouyang Mu slowly nodded, feeling Mo Hua's logic held weight.

"But I only know how to forge and cast swords—I'm afraid I can't help you much, Senior Brother Mo."

Mo Hua said: "That's enough!"

He simply needed someone to forge swords for him.

Whether hunting demons or fighting, Mo Hua never lacked manpower.

In the sect, whenever there was a fight, Cheng Mo, Sister Situ, Yang Qianjun, and Hao Xuan were always ready to answer his call.

In the Demon Hunting Mountains, across these peaks, nearly everyone was his "junior brother"—a simple whistle could summon a whole squad.

Besides, Mo Hua could fight himself.

His current arsenal was already extensive.

For stealth, he had concealment arts; for defense and escape, he had the Step of Flowing Water.

For offense, he had arrays, forbidden techniques, and sword control.

If he left Qianxue Prefecture, he could even "summon" Gu Changhuai, his uncle of Jin Dan realm, and use the Gu family's secret orders to mobilize Gu clan cultivators.

He had more than enough fighters.

But specialized cultivation talent was scarce.

Right now, he especially lacked orthodox, lineage-holding, talented swordsmiths.

Seeing Ouyang Mu still hesitant, Mo Hua's gaze flickered slightly, then he added:

"If you're unwilling, then forget it—I won't force you."

After all, Ouyang Mu was a Tai'e Sect disciple, and even an Ouyang family scion; it was natural he'd feel uneasy aligning with a Grand Void Gate disciple.

That was only human.

"Senior Brother Mo, I'm sorry…"

Ouyang Mu felt guilty.

Senior Brother Mo had treated him so well, yet he was turning down such kindness.

"It's fine," Mo Hua smiled. "You don't have to follow me—then let's handle it officially. You forge swords for me, and I'll give you merit points."

Ouyang Mu froze, his expression troubled.

Mo Hua understood roughly, then asked: "Are you worried your father won't let you forge swords?"

Ouyang Mu nodded.

"But don't you need merit points?"

"Yes…"

"Does your father give you merit points?" Mo Hua asked again.

Ouyang Mu shook his head. "No. Tai'e Sect has rules, and our Ouyang family has strict household codes—within the sect, everything must be earned by yourself. No exploiting status, no profiting from connections. Merit points must be earned step by step…"

"Besides forging swords, do you have any other way to earn merit points?"

Ouyang Mu racked his brain, then reluctantly admitted—he truly had no other way to earn merit points.

"There you go…" Mo Hua said. "Your father won't give you merit points—you must earn them yourself. So forging swords is your only option."

"Besides, whether you study swordsmithing or sword techniques, those are for the future. Right now, the priority is accumulating merit points and cultivating properly."

"Without today, how can there be a tomorrow?"

"So just focus on forging swords now. Don't think about anything else."

Ouyang Mu couldn't help but nod.

Mo Hua seized the moment to add a bit of pressure, his tone solemn:

"And you should realize—in all of Qianxue Prefecture, there are plenty of swordsmiths. You're not the only one."

"Swordsmiths need vast quantities of demonic beast materials to practice."

"Opportunities to reliably supply those materials, hire you to forge, and pay you merit points are utterly rare."

"If you miss this chance, you probably won't get another…"

Hearing this, Ouyang Mu immediately grew tense.

Sect missions were fought over.

He'd always been outmatched—outside of sect teachings, extra "forging" opportunities were extremely scarce.

If he tried to gather materials himself, he'd need a fortune in merit points.

Ouyang Mu remembered how much effort he'd spent just to obtain the "fire demon wolf spine bone" for his sword forging.

In the end, he couldn't get it alone.

It was Senior Brother Mo who had someone kill the fire demon wolf, strip the spine, and deliver it to him.

If he refused now, he'd likely never get such a good "forging" opportunity again.

Ouyang Mu nodded vigorously.

"If you don't mind my crude skills, I'll be happy to forge any sword you need from now on—I'll do my best!"

"Good!"

Mo Hua nodded in satisfaction.

After a moment's thought, he said: "I'll give you the materials—first forge six or seven of those golden spirit swords, then I'll consider making other spirit swords."

"Understood, Master Mo."

Ouyang Mu replied.

Then Mo Hua found the eagle demon that had been shredded midair by sword qi and fallen to the ground, stripped its materials, and gave them to Ouyang Mu, telling him to exchange them for merit points at the mountain gate and keep them for himself.

That poor kid had barely three hundred merit points to his name.

If I don't help him a little, he won't even be able to afford the entrance ticket to the Demon Refining Mountain…

Ouyang Mu was deeply touched, but his purse was empty—he couldn't refuse, and inwardly vowed solemnly:

I must forge swords well to repay Master Mo's kindness.

After leaving the Demon Refining Mountain, the two walked side by side back to their sect.

Since Tai'o Mountain and Tai Xu Mountain were adjacent, their way back to the sect was in the same direction.

As they walked, Mo Hua suddenly remembered a question and asked:

"Xiao Mutou, how old are you?"

Ouyang Mu thought for a moment and said: "I was born in the third month of Dao Calendar 20,012."

Mo Hua was surprised.

Xiao Mutou was the same age as him—and even older by months.

By calculation, he was actually younger than Xiao Mutou.

But Xiao Mutou had gotten used to calling him "Master," so this small detail didn't need mentioning.

After all, in Tai Xu Sect, there were plenty of disciples older than him who called him "Little Master."

As they walked and chatted, they reached the mountain gate and returned to their respective sects.

Mo Hua returned to Tai Xu Sect; Ouyang Mu returned to Tai'o Sect.

Tai'o Mountain was thick, ancient, solemn, and grand, unlike the ethereal and serene Tai Xu Sect—every peak, every path, every brick, every tile carried more of a craftsman's touch.

Ouyang Mu lowered his head and walked silently back to the disciples' quarters.

On the way, he didn't greet anyone.

Naturally, no one greeted him either.

In Tai'o Sect, he was mostly alone.

He was used to it.

He went straight to the disciples' quarters, shut the door, and sat alone in his room, pulling out Mo Hua's sword design again and again to study it.

At the same time, he thought and annotated, pondering how to forge the spirit sword better according to Master Mo's intentions.

As he thought, a memory suddenly surfaced in Ouyang Mu's mind: Mo Hua's daytime sword flight, golden light piercing the sky, shredding demons.

Master Mo's sword control is incredibly strong!

So strong!

He was at a loss for words, unable to find other descriptions—over and over, he could only exclaim, "So strong!"

Though Master Mo seemed to have mediocre talent, this sword control was stronger than any fellow disciple he had ever seen.

Ouyang Mu felt an unexpected surge of hot-blooded passion.

This powerful sword control used spirit swords he had forged himself!

Master Mo had praised him!

Ouyang Mu couldn't help wondering—if his spirit swords were even better, of higher quality, wouldn't this sword control become even stronger?

What would an even stronger sword control look like?

Ouyang Mu thought about it with eager anticipation.

…

After this, Ouyang Mu's enthusiasm for forging swords increased.

His nature was already diligent and responsible, and forging swords was his passion—so now he devoted himself entirely to crafting spirit swords.

By the next ten-day break, he had forged three more spirit swords.

"Because I still need to cultivate and attend classes, I could only forge during spare time—so only three…" Ouyang Mu explained to Mo Hua.

"No problem, no problem—it's already great."

Mo Hua encouraged him.

Over this period, Mo Hua realized that Xiao Mutou's forging talent was actually excellent.

He just lacked confidence.

And because he lacked forging materials, and because his father had ordered him to abandon forging and focus on sword techniques, he was weighed down by worries and couldn't fully let go.

"Don't worry—study forging freely. If you need any materials, just say so. And if you have new ideas or thoughts about forging, tell me too…"

Mo Hua decided to cultivate Xiao Mutou's "unconventional" approach to alchemy.

Because his own situation was unusual.

Whether customizing spirit artifacts or forging swords, it differed entirely from standard alchemical norms.

If Xiao Mutou could be relied upon, Mo Hua wouldn't have to worry about alchemy anymore—he could focus entirely on arrays.

He would study arrays, design array diagrams.

Xiao Mutou would study alchemy blueprints.

Then, the results could be sent to Master Gu at the Gushan Alchemy Workshop for mass production.

Each profession has its own expertise, and they can perfectly divide and coordinate tasks.

Mo Hua looked at Ouyang Mu with great expectation.

Ouyang Mu was somewhat puzzled, but suddenly he felt the weight of responsibility on his shoulders…

"Understood, Senior Brother Mo."

After that, Xiao Mutou improved rapidly.

Mo Hua began to gradually let go.

Not only did he let Xiao Mutou refine spirit swords, but when Mo Hua explained the concept and the compatible array, he entrusted Xiao Mutou with designing the refining array diagrams.

Xiao Mutou carefully designed it, discussed it with Mo Hua, resolved the array issues, and finalized the refining array diagram.

Mo Hua showed this refining array diagram to Master Gu, who praised it highly.

dengbidmxswqqxswyifan

shuyueepzwqqwxwxsguan

xs007zhuikereadw23zw