Chapter 247: Interrogation
Chapter 247: Interrogation
Invisibility Art!
Mo Hua had long coveted this magical ability. The first time he saw Diao Laosan use it, he wanted to learn it.
Even though Elder Yu said he had a minor five-elemental spirit root and wasn't suited for this art, how would he know if he didn't try?
Previously, he thought that the hidden cultivator had been hacked to death by random knives, which was a bit regrettable.
But he never expected that the cultivator would appear again, and this was an unexpected surprise.
Now that he was here, he wouldn't be allowed to escape.
Mo Hua was determined to get his hands on the incantation for Invisibility Art.
He had already cultivated to the seventh layer of Qi Refinement, and his movement techniques were temporarily sufficient. However, he only knew one spell, Fireball Technique.
Its power was mediocre, neither exceptional nor lacking. One could say it was average.
But with Mo Hua's unimpressive spirit root and a cultivation technique that didn't enhance his spiritual power, his spellcasting ability wouldn't be very strong. Even if he learned another offensive spell, it wouldn't make much of a difference.
Mo Hua wanted to learn something more practical.
Invisibility Art seemed like a good fit.
Strong spiritual sense could conceal one's aura, making it difficult for others to perceive them. Meanwhile, Invisibility Art could hide one's physical form, making them unseen.
With his already strong spiritual sense, learning Invisibility Art would basically ensure Mo Hua's safety.
The path of cultivation sought longevity, and to attain longevity, one must first stay alive.
Diao Laosan, his arm twisted and broken by Yu Chengyi, was in excruciating pain and drenched in cold sweat. Hearing this, he angrily retorted, "In your dreams!"
Having been bested by this brat time and again, he wanted nothing more than to kill him. How could he possibly hand over the Invisibility Art to him?
Mo Hua humphed, "Don't refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit!"
But Diao Laosan gritted his teeth, refusing to budge.
Mo Hua's eyes narrowed as he looked at the man, and then he turned to Yu Chengyi and asked, "Uncle Yu, where's his storage bag?"
When a criminal cultivator was captured, their storage bag would be confiscated regardless of whether they lived or died, and it would be marked as evidence.
Yu Chengyi rummaged through his belongings and pulled out a storage bag embroidered with a blue water pattern, tossing it to Mo Hua.
Mo Hua emptied the contents of the storage bag.
There were two spare daggers, one a first-grade spiritual artifact and the other ordinary, probably just a temporary replacement.
Several vials of poison, each labeled with the name of the poison, meant to be applied to the blades.
There were also several antidotes, unmarked but with colors matching the poisons.
There were also several books on cultivation techniques and magical arts, but a quick glance revealed them to be common and unremarkable.
The incantation for Invisibility Art was not among them.
Mo Hua frowned, "Where did you hide the incantation?"
Diao Laosan gritted his teeth, "You little brat, I'll never tell you!"
"You dare to insult me?" Mo Hua's eyebrows arched, and he brandished the Thousand-jin Staff, angry. "Watch me smash your mouth to pieces!"
Yu Chengyi quickly stopped him, "No need for you to take action, don't tire yourself out."
Mo Hua wasn't a body cultivator, and his physical training was lacking. He might very well hurt himself.
Besides, with so many demon hunters present, there was no need for him to get involved.
The other demon hunters stepped forward and began to beat Diao Laosan.
They had been guarding the spirit mine and had seen many of their companions fall to Diao Laosan's venomous daggers. They held a grudge, and this was a chance to vent their anger.
Once they had beaten Diao Laosan enough, Yu Chengyi called for them to stop.
Mo Hua continued, "Are you going to talk now?"
Diao Laosan spat out a mouthful of blood and relented, "If I tell you, will you spare my life?"
Mo Hua coldly humphed, "What nonsense are you dreaming about?"
He held up his two small fingers and continued, "You have two choices. One, you honestly tell us, and we'll send you to the Dao Court. Whether you live or die will be up to their judgment..."
"Second, if you don't speak, we'll hack you to death right now. After all, you're already a criminal cultivator, so you might as well die."
Diao Laosan replied coldly, "Either way, I'm dead. Why should I talk?"
He knew the extent of his crimes, and falling into the hands of the Dao Court would undoubtedly mean his death.
Diao Laosan's laughter was bitter as he remained tight-lipped.
Seeing his stubbornness, Mo Hua could only sigh and say, "Then I wish you a pleasant journey."
These criminal cultivators weren't worth sparing anyway, and their deaths would bring peace. As for the spell, he could always find another way to obtain it; it didn't have to be the Invisibility Art.
Mo Hua glanced at Yu Chengyi, who nodded. Yu Chengyi then ordered, "Take him to the side and chop him up."
One of the demon hunters stepped forward, grabbed the iron chain, and began dragging Diao Laosan towards a small grove nearby.
Halfway there, Diao Laosan suddenly realized, "I'm going to die right now!"
He had lived for over a hundred years and had thought about his death countless times, but he had never felt this way before.
Now that he was truly facing death, he felt the overwhelming terror of his impending end.
Unbearable fear consumed him, and his stubbornness crumbled in an instant. His willpower dissipated, and he felt utterly defeated.
In that moment, he just wanted to live one more day, or even just another hour.
As long as he didn't die right now, dying tomorrow or even in the next hour would be better than dying at this very moment.
Dying in the hands of the Dao Court was preferable to being hacked to pieces and fed to the demon beasts.
"I'll talk! I'll talk!" Diao Laosan shouted desperately.
Mo Hua's spirit lifted at the prospect of getting the information he wanted. "Wait!"
The demon hunter dragged Diao Laosan back and dumped him in front of Mo Hua.
Diao Laosan's face had lost its defiance, and his breath was weak.
Mo Hua frowned, confused. "Why didn't you just say it earlier? What's the point of enduring more beatings, you stubborn fool..."
Diao Laosan's anger rose, and he spat out another mouthful of blood.
Yu Chengyi whispered to Mo Hua, "Say less and don't aggravate him further."
"Oh, okay." Mo Hua nodded repeatedly and then asked the important question, "Where is the incantation for the Invisibility Art?"
Diao Laosan had completely given in. Having faced the fear of death, his stubbornness had faded, and he answered honestly, "It's in one of those books on cultivation techniques and magical arts. In the book called 'Fiery Fist', from page nineteen to fifty-four, the technique recorded is the Invisibility Art."
Mo Hua searched through the contents of the storage bag again and, from the pile of books on cultivation techniques, pulled out an old, creased copy of 'Fiery Fist'.
Upon turning to the nineteenth page, he found that the content before and after that page was indeed completely different.
The preceding pages were about body refinement and fire-attributed martial arts, but starting from page nineteen, it suddenly switched to a hidden water-attributed spiritual cultivation technique.
And indeed, in the margins of the pages, there was a small annotation that read: Invisibility Art.
Mo Hua was thrilled. He glanced at Diao Laosan and thought to himself that the old cultivator was indeed cunning, hiding such a precious technique within an ordinary body refinement manual.
It was like hiding a needle in a haystack, making it difficult for others to discover.
Mo Hua was thoroughly satisfied as he tucked the copy of 'Fiery Fist' containing the Invisibility Art incantation into his own storage bag. Suddenly, his brow furrowed as another thought occurred to him:
"Since he hid the Invisibility Art in the 'Fiery Fist' manual, could he have hidden other techniques within the other books as well?"
Mo Hua began flipping through the other cultivation manuals, examining each page carefully. Finally, he discovered another anomaly.
In a cultivation manual called 'Sandflow Palm', he found a technique he had never heard of before:
The Water Prison Art.
Mo Hua's eyebrows shot up. Buy one, get one free!
(End of Chapter)
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