Chapter 319: No Longer the Same
Chapter 319: No Longer the Same
The disciples of the Qian family wore looks of shock, but Mo Hua remained calm.
With his Foundation Establishment divine sense, Concealment Art, and Flowing Water Steps, he could attack or retreat as he pleased. Coupled with his spells and array formations, he was already at an invincible level when facing ordinary Qi Refining cultivators.
He was no longer the same as before, inept at martial arts and lacking in spellcasting, struggling even to flee. Now, he could handle these bullies from the Qian family without needing backup.
They were nothing more than a bunch of bullies who took advantage of others' weaknesses and only picked on soft targets while fearing those stronger than them. They weren't the murderous fiendish cultivators who killed without batting an eye, nor were they the bloodthirsty and sinister demonic cultivators. Without any coordination or strategy in their attacks, dealing with them was a simple matter.
Mo Hua also wanted to test the power of his Fireball Spell.
Ever since he had learned it, he hadn't had the opportunity to use it in actual combat.
Now that he had, he found its power to be quite remarkable.
Mo Hua nodded slightly, feeling satisfied.
However, he then frowned, thinking that the power of the fireball shouldn't have been that great.
This idiot from the Qian family, who was at the ninth level of Qi Refining, seemed to have taken leave of his senses. He neither dodged nor avoided the fireball and even took the hit directly on his chest, resulting in his severe injury and collapse.
Mo Hua had held back and didn't take his life.
He didn't want to cause a death, as that would create trouble for Zhang Lan and himself.
However, these disciples of the Qian family were not good people either.
Today, they followed Qian Xing to bully him, a junior cultivator. Who knows what kind of trouble they would stir up tomorrow?
Even if he didn't kill them, they deserved a good lesson.
Mo Hua raised his hand and pointed his fingers, once again summoning his Fireball Spell.
He was quick to cast his spells, and in just a moment, fireballs shot out one after another.
Some of the Qian family disciples hadn't even realized what was happening when they were knocked down by Mo Hua's fireballs;
Some understood the situation and tried to run, but it was too late. They were directly hit by the fireballs and fell to the ground, unconscious;
Some decided to fight to the death and rushed towards Mo Hua desperately. However, their movements were no match for Mo Hua's speed, and they ended up with their faces scorched by the fireballs, their bodies falling pitifully;
Some had already run far away, but Mo Hua trapped them with his Water Prison Spell and then knocked them down with a fireball...
Fireballs flew everywhere, and cries of pain echoed through the air as the Qian family disciples fell one after another.
In an instant, only Qian Xing was left.
Qian Xing stood there stupidly, as if he were having a nightmare.
What just happened?
Mo Hua, that little brat, didn't even move from his spot. He just raised his hand a few times, cast a few fireballs, and all the cultivators he had brought were knocked down one by one.
He couldn't get close, nor could he escape! Qian Xing's expression changed drastically.
When did this little brat, Mo Hua, become so terrifying?!
"Am I still going crazy and haven't woken up yet? Was what I just saw just an illusion?"
"And is the person in front of me not Mo Hua, but a monster in human skin?"
Qian Xing's pupils shook violently as he fell into deep self-doubt.
In a daze, Qian Xing looked up and saw Mo Hua smiling at him from a distance.
The smile was innocent and lively, but it also carried a hint of evil, making it a little scary.
Qian Xing screamed and fell to the ground, scrambling on all fours for a few moments before stopping.
When he finally struggled to his feet, he found that Mo Hua had somehow appeared silently in front of him.
Qian Xing's voice trembled as he shouted, "Don't come near me! Don't eat me!"
Mo Hua was slightly stunned.
It seemed like Qian Xing's madness had subsided, but there were still occasional bouts of paranoia. The fear from his dreams still lingered in his mind, sometimes mixing with reality.
Mo Hua wanted to say something, but then he frowned and took out the Thousand-Catty Stick, swinging it with all his might.
The stick hit Qian Xing's arm, breaking it and knocking the talisman he was holding to the ground.
"You dare to play these little tricks in front of me?"
Mo Hua looked at Qian Xing with a smile that wasn't quite a smile.
Gritting his teeth and enduring the pain, Qian Xing asked with a trembling voice, "Are you... Mo Hua?"
He couldn't believe it!
He had only gone insane for a year or two, and when he woke up, he found that Mo Hua had completely changed from the person he knew.
That little brat whom he had once choked was now capable of toying with him single-handedly!
He, Qian Xing, couldn't beat Mo Hua in a fight. His disciples couldn't beat Mo Hua either, and even his little schemes were seen through by Mo Hua.
How was this possible?
Mo Hua looked at Qian Xing with confusion. "Didn't your father tell you not to provoke me?"
Qian Xing was annoyed, his face turning green and then purple.
His father had indeed told him that.
In fact, the first thing he was told when he woke up was his father's warning:
"Don't provoke Mo Hua!"
Instead of deterring him, this warning only deepened his hatred.
He was the direct descendant of the Qian family, and his father was the family head. In this small territory of Tongxian City, he had always gotten his way.
Now, he had repeatedly been bested by a lowly vagrant cultivator.
What was even more infuriating was that his father, Qian Hong, the head of the Qian family, not only didn't help him seek justice but also warned him not to cause trouble.
This left Qian Xing bewildered.
When had the Qian family ever suffered such humiliation?
The more his father told him not to provoke Mo Hua, the more Qian Xing wanted to kill Mo Hua to vent his anger.
But now, Qian Xing finally understood why his father had told him not to mess with Mo Hua.
Because he truly couldn't afford to offend him...
Mo Hua's expression was unfathomable, and his methods filled Qian Xing with fear.
That innocent smile with a hint of evil especially sent chills down Qian Xing's spine whenever he thought about it.
Mo Hua held the Thousand-Catty Stick and looked at Qian Xing, his eyes contemplative.
Qian Xing's face turned pale, and he shouted threateningly, "I am the direct descendant of the Qian family! You can't kill me!"
"Really?"
Qian Xing struggled to back away, ignoring the pain of his broken arm. "Don't come near me!" he muttered.
Mo Hua deliberately put on a gloomy expression and said, "I'll ask you a few questions. If you answer honestly, I won't kill you."
Although he had no intention of killing Qian Xing in the first place, he just wanted to scare him and ask some questions.
Qian Xing gritted his teeth and nodded. "Okay!"
Mo Hua thought for a moment and asked, "Can outsiders enter your Qian family?"
Qian Xing replied, "As long as there's a blood relation or some sort of connection, it's possible, but they won't be treated well and will usually be classified as a distant branch of the family."
Distant branches were essentially the outcasts of the clan.
"Have you ever seen any strangers within your family?" Mo Hua asked again.
"There are many members of the Qian family, I can't possibly know all of them," Qian Xing said.
"What about someone who, at first glance, doesn't seem like they belong to your clan?"
Qian Xing frowned, "Why are you asking this?"
Mo Hua gave Qian Xing a cold look, "Are you questioning me?"
Qian Xing's heart dropped as he realized that his life was in Mo Hua's hands. He had no right to question him.
Frustrated, Qian Xing said, "No."
Mo Hua scrutinized him, "You just said that it's impossible for you to know every member of the Qian family. How can you be so sure that there are no outsiders?"
Qian Xing honestly explained, "While I may not be able to distinguish their appearances, whether or not they are members of the Qian family, whether they have lived in the compound for a long time, and whether their behavior aligns with the family's rules—these things can be discerned. Even if an outsider wore the Qian family clothing, their actions would still seem out of place..."
Mo Hua's expression remained unchanged, but he felt a twinge of disappointment.
If Qian Xing wasn't lying, then outsiders rarely entered the Qian family, which meant there probably hadn't been any demonic cultivators entering either, at least not openly.
"Do the cultivators of your Qian family practice any strange techniques?"
Qian Xing was taken aback, "Strange techniques?"
"The kind that absorbs others' spiritual energy or blood, or something similar," Mo Hua clarified.
Qian Xing let out a cold laugh, "As ignorant as I may be, even I know that those are evil techniques prohibited by the Dao Court. Why would the Qian family practice such things?"
There was a hint of mockery in Qian Xing's tone.
Mo Hua struck him on the head with the stick, annoyed, "What's there to laugh about? Watch your attitude!"
Without activating the array, the blow was not too powerful, just painful.
Qian Xing gritted his teeth, clearly not pleased, but his tone became more respectful, "The Qian family rules forbid the practice of evil techniques. Violators will have their names removed from the clan records, be stripped of their surname, and forever banished from the family."
Mo Hua was a little surprised, this didn't quite fit with what he knew of the Qian family...
However, it could be a front to appease the Dao Court's edict, with the actual practices hidden behind closed doors.
Mo Hua asked, "Have the members of your family ever done anything bad...?"
As soon as he started asking the question, Mo Hua realized it was pointless.
The Qian family did bad things every day.
It would be strange if they didn't.
Mo Hua then tried to indirectly ask a few more questions, to which Qian Xing answered truthfully, and it didn't seem like he was lying.
However, Mo Hua still couldn't get any useful information. He couldn't prove that the evil cultivators had infiltrated the Qian family, nor could he prove that members of the Qian family had entered the Black Mountain Village.
Mo Hua sighed inwardly, it seemed like he wasn't going to get anything more out of Qian Xing.
But that made sense, Qian Xing was a direct descendant, but he was still an ignorant young master. Even if the Qian family had dealings with Black Mountain Village, they wouldn't involve Qian Xing in such matters.
Since he couldn't get any information, Mo Hua decided to let Qian Xing go, but not before threatening him, "I'll let you go this time, but if you dare to provoke me again, your life will be forfeit!"
Qian Xing's face lit up with joy, he hadn't expected Mo Hua to actually let him go.
He quickly nodded and, ignoring his injuries and the unconscious Qian family disciples lying on the ground, he ran towards Tongxian City.
Mo Hua shook his head as he watched Qian Xing's retreating figure.
Qian Xing truly didn't regard people as human.
He didn't just view outsiders as inferior, but even the disciples of his own family were dispensable to him.
These disciples worked for him, yet now that they were severely injured and unconscious, he didn't spare them a single glance and only thought of saving himself.
He was a bully, but deep down, he was a coward.
How did the Qian family end up with such a useless heir?
Mo Hua sighed, then suddenly recalled Qian Xing's vicious words from earlier: "I'll take him to the mountain... and let the beasts eat him bit by bit, let him die a slow and painful death..."
Mo Hua frowned.
Qian Xing didn't seem like the type to venture into the dangerous Great Black Mountain.
And the Qian family weren't beast hunters, they may have been murderers, but using humans to feed beasts didn't seem like their style.
Qian Xing was running for his life when he suddenly froze, unable to move.
Pale blue chains appeared out of thin air, binding him completely. Mo Hua appeared in front of him with a few quick flashes.
"You said you would let me go!" Qian Xing shouted angrily.
"I have one last question..." Mo Hua's eyes narrowed, "When you were causing me trouble earlier, did you say that you wanted to take me to the mountain to feed me to the beasts?"
Qian Xing's expression shifted, but he gritted his teeth and admitted, "Yes!"
"Have you done this before?"
Qian Xing hesitated, "No."
Mo Hua was surprised, "Then has someone else from the Qian family done this?"
Qian Xing's heart skipped a beat, and he shook his head, his eyes darting around nervously.
Mo Hua's eyes narrowed, "You've seen someone from the Qian family do this, haven't you?"
Qian Xing tried to remain calm, "I, I haven't!"
But his guilty demeanor gave him away.
Mo Hua's gaze intensified, "Who is feeding the beasts with humans?"
Qian Xing dared not meet Mo Hua's eyes, his gaze flitting left and right as he mumbled, "No one," even when Mo Hua threatened to kill him, he remained silent.
When Mo Hua couldn't get an answer, he took a step back and said, "You don't have to tell me who it is, but you must tell me what beast they're feeding."
Qian Xing was nervous, he was afraid that if he didn't say anything, Mo Hua would take his life.
They were in a remote location with no one around, which made it easy for him to strike against Mo Hua, but it also meant that Mo Hua could easily take his life.
After much hesitation, Qian Xing's fear of death won out, and he stammered, "It's... it's a pig."
Mo Hua's eyes glinted, "What kind of pig?"
Qian Xing couldn't bring himself to answer.
Mo Hua continued, "Is it a pig that's fat and large, stupid and foolish, covered in bloodstains...?"
Qian Xing's eyes widened in shock, "How do you know?!?"
(End of Chapter)
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