Chapter 234: Rescue
Chapter 234: Rescue
More and more foreign cultivators were arriving in Tongxian City.
Two months later, Mo Hua sat on a boulder in the inner mountains, frowning at the compass in his hand.
Previously, whenever the compass lit up, Mo Hua would rush over, only to find that it was usually beast hunters hunting magical beasts or beasts fighting over territory. Rarely were there cultivators fighting each other.
Occasionally, there would be some unfamiliar beast hunters with different styles of dress, cultivation techniques, and spiritual artifacts, indicating they were from other regions. However, their numbers were small, and it was rare to encounter them.
But things were different now.
Mo Hua frequently encountered strangers in the inner mountains of Dahei Mountain.
His compass would light up, indicating conflicts involving foreign cultivators more and more often.
Confrontations between cultivators had also suddenly increased.
Some were quarreling over magical beasts, some started fighting at the slightest provocation, and others were clearly causing trouble on purpose.
Even more alarming were the brazen acts of murder and plunder! Mo Hua once came across an empty cargo cart stained with blood, with the remains of cultivators and their severed limbs scattered nearby.
Judging from the traces of the battle, it was clear that a group of merchants had been ambushed by cultivators, robbed of their goods, and slaughtered without mercy.
Subsequently, beasts attracted by the scent of blood had devoured the corpses, leaving behind a grisly scene.
Mo Hua felt uncomfortable witnessing such carnage and couldn't help but sigh, his heart heavy with compassion.
He predicted that the coming days in the inner mountains would be far from peaceful.
Fortunately, the beast hunters of Tongxian City were growing stronger by the day, their numbers swelling. Most of them wore iron armor and wielded top-grade blades, making them the most formidable force among the nearby immortal cities.
These foreign cultivators wouldn't dare provoke the local beast hunters lightly.
But who knew what the future held?
Mo Hua decided to leave those worries to Elder Yu and focus on his own pursuits—saving up on spirit ink, practicing formation techniques, enhancing his spiritual sense, and striving for foundation building.
Mo Hua composed himself, ate some dried meat, and drank some fruit juice made from wild berries.
He had chilled the juice with an ice formation, and it tasted tangy, sweet, and refreshingly cold.
His mood improved considerably.
Soon enough, his compass lit up again, and Mo Hua packed up his things and set off using the Water Flow Step, his footsteps light as he navigated through the mountains and forests.
From a distance, he released his spiritual sense, scanning the area and feeling a twinge of disappointment.
It was just another cultivator brawl.
Mo Hua sighed.
Usually, he wouldn't get involved in such affairs.
He was only at the seventh level of Qi Refining, and his offensive spells were limited to a single fireball technique. While he was highly skilled in the Water Flow Step and could ensure his own safety, he preferred to avoid trouble.
Moreover, it was often difficult to discern right from wrong in disputes between cultivators.
The weaker party wasn't necessarily the victim, and the stronger side wasn't necessarily the villain.
A fierce-looking person might not be evil, and someone with a kind face might not be a saint.
As the saying goes, you can't judge a book by its cover.
Mo Hua decided to do as he usually did—watch from the sidelines, as he had nothing better to do at the moment.
With his spiritual sense, he could remain undetected by Qi Refining cultivators.
Mo Hua climbed onto a rocky outcrop, concealed his presence, and hid among the vegetation to observe the confrontation.
On the rugged and narrow mountain path, two groups of cultivators were locked in battle.
Most of the cultivators on both sides were at the late Qi Refining stage.
One group consisted of only four people—three men and one woman—who were clearly at a disadvantage as they desperately defended their luggage.
The other group had seven members, each with a unique appearance and attire, and they were all strangers to Mo Hua. They were surrounding and attacking the four cultivators relentlessly, their assault growing more fierce by the moment.
Were they trying to rob them?
Mo Hua furrowed his brows as he continued to watch, and soon realized that something wasn't quite right.
He seemed to recognize those four cultivators.
One of them, a middle-aged man with faint sword scars on his face, was a close friend of his father, Mo Shan. He even remembered his name—Ji Qingbai—and how he addressed him as "Uncle Ji."
Qingxuan City was quite distant from Tongxian City, and the journey between them passed through the inner mountains of Dahei Mountain, so usually, there wasn't much interaction between cultivators of the two cities.
There was also a burly cultivator with a wolf pelt wrapped around his waist, wielding a wolf-toothed club that emanated a fierce killing intent. Its surface was covered in sharp barbs, and Mo Hua recalled how this man had stepped in to stop a ninth-level Qi Refinement cultivator from the Qian family during his conflict with Qian Xing.
In Mo Hua's impression, this burly man possessed profound cultivation and a talent for hurling insults.
Now, he was holding his own against three opponents, his club wrapped in ashen-gray spiritual energy, creating a fierce gust with each swing, indicating the weight of his strikes.
At the same time, he continued to spew insults: "A bunch of trash!" "Cowards who only attack from ambush!" "If you have the guts, fight me one-on-one, you bullies!"
The only person Mo Hua didn't recognize among the four was the female cultivator.
She seemed to be around the same age as Ji Li, injured and with the lowest cultivation level. She was struggling to hold on, but fortunately, Ji Li was by her side, supporting her.
However, her entire sleeve was already soaked with blood, and it seemed unlikely that she could last much longer.
Based on Mo Hua's extensive experience observing battles in the inner mountains,
The burly man with the wolf-toothed club would likely be able to escape, and Ji Qingbai had a good chance of getting away as well, depending on whether these cultivators chose to pursue them. If they were chased, their odds of survival would be slim.
Ji Li, on the other hand, had no chance of escape. Although he had an eighth-level Qi Refinement cultivation, he lacked battle experience and was currently overwhelmed, unable to find an opening to flee.
As for the female cultivator, her fate seemed sealed.
Perhaps death would be the best outcome for her...
Mo Hua sighed inwardly.
What should he do now?
The seven opponents were a formidable number, and even if Mo Hua joined the fight, he might not be able to save them all.
While Mo Hua might not be able to win, he could still run.
But Ji Li and the female cultivator were surely out of options.
If Ji Li couldn't escape, his father, Ji Qingbai, would definitely not leave his son behind.
The burly man, with his apparent sense of righteousness and loyalty, would also likely fight to the bitter end.
"It would be best if I can save them. Life is more important than anything else."
With his mind made up, Mo Hua took out a section of a bamboo tube. The tube was red, inscribed with a firework array.
These bamboo tubes were simple to make, and most demon hunters who ventured into the mountains carried them. The firework array inside was specially drawn by Mo Hua.
In case of emergencies, one could activate the array, setting off fireworks that would alert nearby demon hunters to come to their aid.
Mo Hua infused the firework array with spiritual energy, and a streak of fire soared into the sky.
The combatants on the mountain path paused in surprise at the sight of the fireworks.
Mo Hua then employed the Water Flow Step to quickly move away, setting off another firework in a different direction before running towards the left side of the mountain and setting off a third firework.
By triggering the fireworks in three different locations, each farther than the last, he created the illusion of three separate groups of demon hunters rushing to the scene.
"Demon hunters from Tongxian City!" One of the foreign cultivators exclaimed in surprise.
"Big brother, what should we do?"
"They outnumber us, and they have iron armor. We can't win against them."
The leader frowned, hesitating.
They were so close...
They had been fighting for a while, and they were on the verge of killing these cultivators, seizing their goods, and capturing the female cultivator.
If they withdrew now, all their efforts would be for nothing!
Mo Hua saw that they weren't leaving, so he raised his right hand and unleashed a fireball.
The fireball spell was fast and accurate, striking one of the foreign cultivators and causing him to stumble and fall to the ground, crying out in pain from the burn.
A seventh-level Qi Refinement spell might not be much against a demon beast, but against a cultivator, its power was not to be underestimated.
"Spellcasting?!' The leader exclaimed in shock.
(End of Chapter)
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