Chapter 754: Want to Run?

Sunlight streamed down from the sky, sliced by layers of Lin Mu branches and leaves into tiny specks, seeping into the forest and dappling the ground.

The ground was covered with a thick layer of fallen leaves.

This was a dense, vast, and rarely visited mountain forest.

Mo Hua mentally compared it with the map and roughly judged their position.

This forest lay at the boundary between the outer mountains and the perilous inner mountains—extremely remote, with few demonic beasts, and far from the sect gate.

A round trip would be too long and take too much time.

So ordinary disciples never came here to hunt demonic beasts.

A faint mist hung in the air, mixed with pungent miasma; the atmosphere was lifeless and oppressive.

Mo Hua and the others followed the pink bloodstains on the ground and the drag marks left by the demonic beast, step by step, walking deeper into the forest.

After walking for a few minutes, the bloodstains vanished.

The ground was littered with scattered rocks and vegetation, leaving no trace.

Si Tu Jian and the others silently looked at Mo Hua.

Ling Hu Xiao, confused, also glanced at Mo Hua.

Mo Hua lowered his head; his eyes suddenly turned pitch-black and profound, celestial patterns flickering at the bottom of his irises, the karmic threads before him gradually entangling.

A crimson aura slowly emerged, drifting toward the distance.

Mo Hua pointed with one finger and said:

"This way."

After saying this, Mo Hua led the way, following the direction of the karmic aura deeper into the forest.

Si Tu Jian and the others followed him without question.

Only Ling Hu Xiao was bewildered.

"How… how did you know that?"

Seeing Mo Hua and the others nearly out of sight, Ling Hu Xiao dared not press further—he could only silently follow.

After walking further, Mo Hua suddenly stopped, his expression turning solemn:

"Be careful—it's just ahead."

Si Tu Jian and the others tensed, all nodding.

Ling Hu Xiao froze, still confused.

How did he know that again?

His Sword Heart was clear and his perception strong; his spiritual sense was no weak either—yet within his spiritual range, there was not a single trace.

Had Mo Hua already detected the enemy?

Just how strong was his spiritual sense?

Ling Hu Xiao was inwardly startled, but under these circumstances, he could only suppress his doubts.

Under Mo Hua's lead, the group suppressed their qi, held their breath, and stepped lightly; after walking further, Ling Hu Xiao's pupils shrank slightly.

He sensed a powerful aura.

That aura, tainted with bloody demonic energy, made his Sword Heart tremble faintly.

A few steps further, Si Tu Jian and the others also sensed the ferocious aura; their expressions turned solemn.

Mo Hua, however, remained calm, walking all the way to a hundred zhang away before stopping—he turned back and made a gesture, signaling everyone to take cover.

The group found a large tree thick with shrubbery, hiding behind it, peering forward through the dense forest.

There, before several ancient trees, each several arms wide, lay a fox demon with crimson fur and pink demonic blood—long, alluring, already dead.

It was the Blood Meihu.

Beside the Blood Meihu stood a towering figure wrapped in a black robe, face and form obscured—a "monster."

The monster crouched beside the fox demon, devouring its demonic blood, swallowing it, its mouth emitting a crunching sound, its breath like that of a wild beast.

Eating a demonic beast raw?

Mo Hua and the others' expressions turned grim.

Hao Xuan was about to speak, but Mo Hua made a "silence" gesture, then waved his hand, leading everyone farther away before nodding, signaling they could speak.

Hao Xuan lowered his voice:

"What is that thing?"

"A human? Or a demonic beast?"

"Or… a demonic cultivator?"

"Possibly a demonic cultivator…" Si Tu Jian also whispered.

"Do you know how to distinguish demonic cultivators?" Hao Xuan asked again. "Or what's the difference between demonic cultivators and demonic sect cultivators?"

Si Tu Jian and the others were momentarily stunned.

Normally, demonic cultivators and demonic sect cultivators were lumped together—they couldn't tell the difference.

Either way, according to Dao Ting Si law, both had to be slain.

Seeing they didn't understand, Mo Hua thought for a moment and said:

"According to Dao Ting Si's classification, 'demonic sect cultivators' refers to cultivators who practice heretical, demonic, or heterodox arts—this term includes, but is not limited to, demonic cultivators, corpse cultivators, heretical cultivators, ghost cultivators, demonic sect cultivators, and so on…"

"And when subdivided by cultivation method, each category of demonic sect cultivator differs."

"Demonic cultivators eat human flesh; corpse cultivators forge human corpses; heretical cultivators absorb primal qi; ghost cultivators forge souls; demonic sect cultivators primarily suck and extract others' spiritual power."

"Because demonic sect cultivators are the most numerous, other heretical cultivators mostly cling to demonic sect sects—so generally, all types of demonic, corpse, heretical, and ghost cultivators are called demonic sect cultivators…"

These were details Mo Hua had specifically inquired from Uncle Gu Changhuai when taking on bounties, to better "hunt demons and exterminate beasts."

Hao Xuan nodded, praising:

"Senior Brother, you really know a lot."

Then he frowned and asked, "So this 'monster' eats beasts but not humans—what exactly is it?"

Sister Situ shook her head. "Who said it never ate humans? It devours beast beasts raw—how much less would it hesitate with humans?"

"And judging by its appearance, its spiritual awareness seems damaged—beast nature has overwhelmed its humanity?"

Mo Hua nodded slightly. "Yes."

He could sense that this 'monster' possessed intelligence, but its spiritual fluctuations were wildly chaotic, as if its beast energy had reversed course, scrambling its mind and reducing it to a beast for the time being.

Sister Situ asked, "What do we do now?"

He glanced again at the monster tearing apart a beast and swallowing its blood and flesh, his brows knotted. "From its aura, it's likely at the late Foundation Establishment stage—hard to deal with…"

Mo Hua stared at the monster for a moment, weighing his options, then his gaze turned cold:

"Kill it!"

Sister Situ asked, "No prisoners?"

Mo Hua shook his head. "This monster is too powerful—we have no right to take prisoners. When we strike, we strike to kill. No hesitation."

"Besides, if it's a beast cultivator, even if we spared it, we might learn nothing."

"If it truly holds secrets, even dead, its corpse will still 'speak.'"

The others exchanged glances, then nodded solemnly:

"Understood!"

Mo Hua pondered briefly, then succinctly laid out his plan, and turned to Linghu Xiao with a warning:

"Linghu, your swordplay is strong, but don't show off—follow the plan exactly. Coordinate with Sister Situ and the others."

Linghu Xiao wore a look of arrogance, but nodded obediently.

Though he loved battle, he still knew when to hold back and when to press forward.

Then the group began executing the plan.

Mo Hua and Hao Xuan split up to set up arrays around the perimeter.

The monster, its mind broken, obsessed with blood, was solely focused on devouring flesh and noticed nothing amiss.

After the arrays were set, Mo Hua gave Linghu Xiao a signal.

Linghu Xiao slowly drew his sword, his aura rising, spiritual energy flowing through his meridians, summoning sword qi—his eyes grew brighter, sharp as blade-light.

In the hushed forest, the killing intent of the sword qi slowly spread.

When his sword qi reached a critical threshold, the monster devouring the beast seemed to sense something.

Its feeding slowed.

After a moment of stunned stillness, the monster suddenly turned its head toward Linghu Xiao.

Beneath its black robe, its face was hollow—only its two vertical-pupiled eyes glowed with bloodlust.

Linghu Xiao's heart chilled, but at the same time, his sword qi had reached its peak.

The ancient, moon-colored longsword pointed forward—a torrent of brilliant, ethereal Chong Xu sword qi shot through the air, like a crescent moon, carrying icy killing intent, striking the monster.

This strike was immensely powerful.

As the blade-light neared, even this monster, strong as it was, its fading instincts forced it to evade.

The monster planted its limbs on the ground, trying to scramble away.

At that moment, Mo Hua flicked his finger—a brilliant blue water-light emerged, instantly forming a prison of bars, locking the monster's body.

Water Prison Technique!

Though the monster broke free within mere breaths, it had still been delayed.

And that brief delay allowed Linghu Xiao's fully unleashed Chong Xu sword-light to arrive.

Like moonlight reflected on a lake.

The sword-light pierced through flesh.

The crisp, ethereal blade-light slashed directly onto the monster's back, tearing through its black robe and splitting its skin and muscle.

Black blood splattered outward.

The monster roared—a violent aura, reeking of blood and wind, surged outward.

Mo Hua and the others' pupils contracted.

Such immense beast energy!

As the black robe was ripped open by the sword qi, the monster's true form was revealed.

As expected—it was a beast cultivator!

Though its limbs were pressed to the ground, its human shape was unmistakable—beneath the robe, its exposed flesh was reddish-brown, streaked with long hairs.

Its hands had become beast-like claws.

Its head was still shrouded in the robe, but its mouth had transformed into canine fangs, its eyes fierce and vacant—its entire being now resembled a beast-transformed "werewolf."

Mo Hua called out sternly:

"Brother Yang!"

Yang Qianjun surged forward, his spear piercing the air, carrying a speck of Jin Guang, straight for the beast cultivator's throat.

He wore a custom-made set of armor.

This armor, named Yunshan Armor, bore cloud patterns, immovable as a mountain, inscribed internally with wind and earth-stone arrays—its defense was solid, yet did not hinder mobility.

Yang Qianjun, though also a body cultivator, followed a different path from Cheng Mo.

Cheng Mo could endure and strike hard—he was suited for heavy armor and standing alone.

Yang Qianjun, a soldier of the Dao Army, excelled at close-range hit-and-run tactics.

Now that Cheng Mo was injured, only Yang Qianjun could hold the front.

Although the two sides were vastly unequal in strength, Yang Qianjun did not need to fight this demonic cultivator to the death to determine a victor.

He only needed to focus on defense, use offense as a supplement, close in to engage Zhou Xuan, and hold the demonic cultivator in place.

The demonic cultivator had been held fast by Yang Qianjun.

It swung its claws, lunging like a wolf demon, but due to its muddled consciousness, it acted only on instinct—and each attack was dodged by Yang Qianjun through sheer experience.

When he could not dodge, Yang Qianjun relied on his Yunshan Armor to absorb the blows.

Though each impact sent his blood qi churning and his flesh screaming in pain, he could still endure it for the short term.

Far away, Sister Situ and Linghu Xiao began channeling sword qi to attack.

The Li Huo Sword Qi and Chong Xu Sword Qi sliced through the air, crisscrossing and relentlessly shredding the demonic cultivator's flesh.

The battle in the mountains and forests intensified suddenly.

The demonic cultivator's wounds grew gradually worse.

But the first to break would surely be Yang Qianjun.

Directly confronting this powerful demonic cultivator was far too taxing, and he had to concentrate fully, his spiritual sense taut, not a single moment of slack allowed.

One slip, one opening, and the consequences would be unthinkable.

As the demonic cultivator's wounds worsened, its fury exploded, its attacks growing faster and sharper.

Yang Qianjun gritted his teeth and struggled to hold on; even with Mo Hua assisting with spells to divert the demonic cultivator's strikes, he was nearly at his limit.

Seeing this, Mo Hua shouted:

"Hao Xuan."

Hao Xuan immediately pulled out a Yao Xing Pill and crushed it.

This pill was made from Yao Xing Grass, reeking of decay, just like the grass itself, capable of attracting demonic beasts.

As the Yao Xing Pill shattered, its foul stench spread.

The already "demonized" demonic cultivator, nearly instinctively, was drawn by it—and its movements halted.

It sniffed the air, drool mixed with demonic blood dripping from its mouth, then its blood-red eyes locked instantly onto Hao Xuan.

Hao Xuan felt every hair on his body stand on end; without hesitation, he turned and ran.

Moments later, the demonic cultivator roared, charged through a stench-laden wind, and lunged toward Hao Xuan.

Yang Qianjun seized the moment to rest, sat cross-legged, and swallowed a pill to restore his spiritual power.

On the other side, the demonic cultivator moved with terrifying speed, and Hao Xuan pushed his body's movement arts to their limit, running desperately.

But he was not fleeing aimlessly.

He followed Mo Hua's instructions, luring the demonic cultivator toward the arrays already set up around the area.

Soon, the surrounding arrays triggered one after another.

There were trapping arrays like the Flowing Sand Array, Earth Prison Array, and Golden Lock Array—and killing arrays like the Earth Fire Array, Earth Kill Array, and Golden Blade Array.

In the deep forest, thunderous explosions rose and fell in succession.

Lin Mu trembled, grass and stones rolled, and the light of Five Elements and Eight Trigrams spiritual power flickered constantly.

Linghu Xiao stared, spellbound.

Even Sister Situ and the others who knew Mo Hua well were stunned.

Just how many arrays had Big Brother buried…

Mo Hua had indeed buried many arrays.

Among them, most were high-grade second-rank beginner arrays with seventeen patterns.

To remain inconspicuous, Mo Hua usually gave his fellow sect members second-rank mid-grade arrays.

When he himself used seventeen-pattern high-grade arrays, he secretly mixed them into second-rank mid-grade arrays.

This occasionally made some arrays "appear" unusually powerful.

But other disciples only "saw" with their eyes—they had no way of knowing these arrays contained high-grade ones.

Of course, array usage itself had its limits.

Second-rank high-grade arrays were beyond Sister Situ and the others' current ability to activate.

The demonic cultivator, lured by Hao Xuan, darted through the forest, enduring wave after wave of array bombardments, its body covered in wounds—transforming from a wolf-man into a half-charred "stray dog."

Finally, it collapsed with a thud, kneeling on the ground.

Yang Qianjun immediately moved to rush forward and finish it off—but Mo Hua stopped him.

"It's feigning death."

Yang Qianjun froze.

Sister Situ's gaze sharpened. "If it's feigning death, that means…"

Mo Hua nodded. "The demonization is receding. Its reason has returned."

Sister Situ understood instantly and formed a blazing Li Huo Sword Light, striking straight for the demonic cultivator's heart meridian as it lay seemingly on the brink of death.

Linghu Xiao did not lag behind—he struck almost simultaneously, sending a Chong Xu Sword Light straight toward the demonic cultivator's forehead.

The fallen demonic cultivator suddenly opened its eyes.

Those fierce, bestial eyes had lost their savagery; now they held cunning.

Clever little devils!

It cursed inwardly.

But the two sharp sword lights were coming—it had no choice but to dodge.

The demonic cultivator planted its limbs on the ground, lunged forward, rolled over, evaded the two lethal sword lights, then slowly rose to its feet.

In the dim light of the forest.

The demonic cultivator's form shrank lower and lower, until its demonization vanished completely, revealing a tall "cultivator."

His black robe was torn, his body covered in wounds.

Only his face was hidden beneath tangled, chaotic hair, revealing only a pair of greedy eyes.

Mo Hua asked in a low voice, "Who are you? Why are you in the Demon Refining Mountain?"

The demonic cultivator sneered coldly, his gaze sinister, and gave no answer.

Mo Hua never expected an answer.

He'd merely asked out of curiosity.

Unless this demonic cultivator was truly an "idiot," he would never reveal his origins so easily.

Mo Hua immediately acted, launching a Fireball Spell straight at the demonic cultivator.

At the same time, Linghu Xiao, Yang Qianjun, Sister Situ, and Hao Xuan all struck together.

Five against one, the two sides instantly plunged into chaotic combat.

Mo Hua's group were all sect brothers, seasoned demon hunters with flawless coordination.

Though Linghu Xiao was a disciple of the Chongxu Sect, he had spent time among Grand Void Gate disciples and knew something of Mo Hua's group's usual tactics.

Moreover, he was a natural sword prodigy; within just a few exchanges, he gradually grew familiar with their offensive and defensive coordination.

The demonic cultivator had shed his demonic form, his power greatly diminished.

And he had already suffered heavy injuries from the array's "purification."

Now, facing Mo Hua and the others, he was overwhelmed by alternating spear thrusts, sword qi, and spells.

In barely ten or so exchanges, his weakness became obvious—he was pinned down on all sides, reduced to passive defense.

The demonic cultivator's heart turned cold.

He was going to lose!

At most twenty more exchanges, he would be defeated!

At this thought, the demonic cultivator stopped holding back, bit his tongue, swallowed a drop of essence blood, and instantly, strange markings blazed to life on his arm.

Mo Hua froze, then his pupils contracted sharply.

This is…

Demon Mark?!"

"Watch out!" Mo Hua shouted immediately.

Yang Qianjun, whose spear had been thrusting like a dragon toward the demonic cultivator's heart, instantly went on guard, swinging his spear horizontally across his chest.

The demonic cultivator's right arm flared with demonic markings, then his limb swelled violently, transforming into a ferocious wolf claw wreathed in potent demonic energy, lashing out at Yang Qianjun.

This claw strike was immensely powerful.

Yang Qianjun could not withstand it—his spear was knocked from his grip, his chest armor torn open, and he was flung backward, crashing to the ground.

The demonic cultivator stepped forward, closing in to finish Yang Qianjun off.

Sister Situ and the others rushed to aid him.

But halfway there, the demonic cultivator suddenly dodged aside, exploiting the opening created by Sister Situ's rush to help, and turned to strike Sister Situ instead.

Sister Situ was too slow to block.

Linghu Xiao instantly unleashed a Chongxu Sword Qi, striking at the demonic cultivator.

The demonic cultivator spat, "Tch!"—he abandoned Sister Situ, raised his demonic arm, and blocked the sword qi.

The sword qi tore through his arm's flesh.

But with the Demon Mark activated, his demonic arm pulsed with raw power, its flesh hardened—though it took the blow directly, it suffered no serious injury.

Yet the demonic cultivator knew: this was enough.

If he kept fighting, even if he killed one or two of these brats, he would die here himself.

He could die—but not here.

And he could not leave his corpse behind!

The demonic cultivator glared fiercely at Linghu Xiao and the others, memorizing this debt, then turned and fled without hesitation.

"Don't think you can escape!"

Sister Situ, seeing this, his face darkening with anger, immediately unleashed his Li Huo Sword Qi, forming a crimson blade of light that shot toward the demonic cultivator.

The sword was swift—the demonic cultivator had no time to dodge, and it struck his back.

He staggered two steps, gritted his teeth against the wound, spat a curse, and kept running into the distance.

At the same time, Linghu Xiao had already gathered his sword qi and pointed his fingers.

A piercing Chongxu Sword Qi shot through the air, aimed at the demonic cultivator's legs, hoping to cripple the beast and trap it.

The demonic cultivator's eyes flickered, but he sneered, then leapt like a wolf-dog, seemingly about to evade the sword qi entirely.

At that moment, Mo Hua flicked his finger, casting Water Prison.

The Water Prison locked the demonic cultivator in place with perfect precision.

The demonic cultivator's expression changed.

Again? That fucking disgusting spell!

He strained violently—and the Water Prison shattered.

But the Chongxu Sword Qi arrived instantly; though he twisted desperately, he could not fully avoid it—the blade grazed his leg, missing his thigh but carving a bloody gash into his calf.

The demonic cultivator was furious.

One day, he would tear these meddling brats into a thousand pieces!

He abandoned all dignity, ignoring his wounds, using all four limbs like a wolf-dog, sprinting full speed—and in a few flashes, he vanished dozens of zhang away.

Linghu Xiao tried to gather Chongxu Sword Qi again to stop the demonic cultivator, but by the time he raised his hand, the beast had already fled far into the distance, moving like a wild animal.

The mountain forest layered endlessly; the demonic cultivator's figure grew ever more distant.

At this distance, his spiritual sense could no longer lock onto it.

He could only watch helplessly as the demonic cultivator slowly vanished from view.

Linghu Xiao felt unwilling, his expression frustrated, but then suddenly he froze.

He noticed a new presence beside him—the aura of a Jin Shi sword qi.

This sword qi was familiar.

Linghu Xiao turned his head and saw that, at some point, Mo Hua had already drawn a golden spiritual sword.

The spiritual sword was crudely forged, oddly shaped, yet exuded a strange killing intent.

"Trying to run?"

Mo Hua's gaze turned cold, then his pupils instantly darkened, deep as a still pool.

His powerful spiritual will, like tentacles, firmly controlled the spiritual sword before him.

At the same time, his spiritual sense locked tightly onto the demonic cultivator, who was fleeing east and west at one hundred and fifty zhang away.

"Go!"

Mo Hua whispered.

Instantly, a profound spiritual will surged outward.

The spiritual sword hummed once, then suddenly transformed into a streak of Jin Guang, shooting through the air at an unimaginable speed, darting through the forest and carving a sharp, flickering golden line straight toward the fleeing demonic cultivator.

The demonic cultivator fled farther and farther, on the verge of escaping to safety, just as it began to relax.

Suddenly, a warning flared in its mind.

It felt as if a terrifying spiritual sense had locked onto it with unyielding grip.

At the same time, a piercing, cold, and eerie killing intent surged toward it at blinding speed.

"What's happening?!"

The demonic cultivator was terrified.

It turned its head to see what was behind it—and saw that streak of deadly Jin Guang.

Is this… sword light?

Sword mastery?!

The demonic cultivator's pupils shrank violently; in the instant of life and death, it pushed its right arm's demonic tattoo to its limit, using surging demonic power and demonic flesh to shield its head and chest.

Then the golden sword struck, and Jin Guang exploded.

Sword qi raged, the spiritual sword shattered, and in the violent clash, a cloud of blood mist burst open.

The demonic cultivator felt its eyes unable to open, its right arm as if torn apart by a thousand blades, agony tearing through its soul.

Intense sword qi battered its body.

When it finally endured the pain and regained awareness, it realized it had been blasted over ten zhang away.

Its right arm was gone.

Half its body was drenched in blood, as if devoured by hundreds of demonic beasts.

The demonic cultivator's eyes filled with terror; gritting its teeth against the pain, it mustered its last breath, crawling into the dense forest until its form vanished.

Just ten breaths later, Mo Hua used Shi Shui Step and arrived.

Sword qi had exploded, leaving a pool of blood—but the demonic cultivator was gone.

Mo Hua released his spiritual sense, searched briefly, then softly "hmm?"—he walked to a corner of the forest and dug from the soil and rocks a small, blood-soaked, bone-exposed segment of an arm.

This was the demonic cultivator's arm.

Most of its right arm had been shredded by sword qi into blood mist; only this small fragment remained.

On this fragment, faintly visible, were still traces of demonic tattoos.

Mo Hua stared at the demonic tattoo for a few moments, raised an eyebrow, and his gaze gradually brightened.

"So it really is…"

"The Four Symbols Array Pattern!"

(End of Chapter)

dengbidmxswqqxswyifan

shuyueepzwqqwxwxsguan

xs007zhuikereadw23zw