Chapter 332: Searching the Mountains
Chapter 332: Searching the Mountains
Mo Hua gradually began to understand.
When Black Mountain Lair was conquered, the pill furnace was destroyed, but the pig was gone, and there were no large pools of blood on the ground. This indicated that the pig had been moved beforehand and never reappeared.
The evil cultivators of Black Mountain Lair were either dead or captured, with none escaping. Only the pig was missing.
This showed that the pig was extremely important, perhaps even more so than Black Mountain Lair and all the evil cultivators combined.
Yet everyone, including Mo Hua, had overlooked this fact.
Why did the evil cultivators feed people to the pig? Because the pig itself was the true pill furnace for alchemy.
Feeding people to the pig was akin to throwing human ingredients into a pill furnace.
The fact that Black Mountain Lair had been using humans to feed the pig meant that the pill was still being refined.
Or perhaps, the Transmutation Pill had been in the making for a long time, and it was even possible that it had already been successfully created.
After all, no one knew how long Black Mountain Lair had been using humans to feed the pig.
If it had been over a hundred years, then the Transmutation Pill might have already reached perfection!
A chill ran down Mo Hua's spine as his expression shifted.
Bai Zixi noticed his change in demeanor and asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"
Mo Hua snapped out of his thoughts and hurriedly replied, "I just remembered something important!"
Without another word, he ran downhill.
"Aren't we going to continue fighting?" Bai Zisheng asked regretfully from behind.
Mo Hua waved his hand, "We'll deal with that later..."
Using the 'Flowing Water Steps', Mo Hua soon disappeared from sight, leaving Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi looking at each other, unsure of what had just happened.
Mo Hua found Yang Tongling and saw that Zhang Lan was also present. He blurted out, "The pig!"
Zhang Lan and the others were taken aback, "Are you insulting us...?"
Mo Hua, breathless, shook his head and said between gasps:
"That pig... is the pill furnace!"
Zhang Lan and Yang Tongling were stunned, then fell deep in thought for a moment before their expressions changed drastically!
"What did you say?!"
Once Mo Hua caught his breath, he spoke in a solemn tone:
"Flesh and blood as the array's medium, bloodstains as the array's pattern, demon pill as the array's eye, and bones as the array's pivot..."
"So that pig is the pill furnace for refining the Transmutation Pill, and it may have been refining for over a hundred years."
Yang Tongling's pupils dilated as he glanced at Zhang Lan, "Doesn't that mean..."
Zhang Lan exclaimed, "The pill... it's almost ready?!"
Yang Tongling's face darkened, and he immediately summoned a Dao soldier, giving him stern instructions, "Hurry and invite Elder Yu, Zhou Zhangsi, and An Clan Head. Tell them to come quickly as there is an urgent matter that requires their presence!"
The Dao soldier accepted the task and rushed off. In less than half a day, everyone gathered together.
Yang Tongling repeated what Mo Hua had said, and everyone's expressions changed, their hearts filled with shock.
"Where is the Qian Family's ancestor now?"
"He's in the Great Black Mountain."
"The Great Black Mountain is vast..."
"Most likely, he's in the depths of the mountain."
"What should we do?"
Elder Yu frowned, his voice cold, "Find him! We must find the Qian Family's ancestor. If he takes the pill and advances to the late Foundation Establishment stage, we won't be able to stop him."
In the second-grade state, the late Foundation Establishment stage was the peak of cultivation. At that level, one could move freely within the state with no one to oppose them.
To try and kill him then would require a heavy price.
And if they didn't, the entire Tongxian City would face immense danger!
Yang Tongling nodded, "Then let's gather all the Dao soldiers and search the depths of the mountain thoroughly, leaving no stone unturned!"
"Relying solely on the Dao soldiers won't be enough." Zhou Zhangsi shook his head, "We'll need the Dao court officials, demon hunters, and cultivators from all the families in Tongxian City to join the search. Every blade of grass and every tree must be inspected."
"This matter concerns the safety of Tongxian City. We must all work together!"
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Zhou Zhangsi turned to Mo Hua and said, "We'll need your help with this as well."
"Of course!" Mo Hua replied.
After the discussion, they returned and mobilized their forces. The next day, they entered the depths of the Great Black Mountain to begin their thorough search.
Dao soldiers, Dao court officials, demon hunters, and cultivators from various families and sects all joined the search.
A large number of cultivators started from the outer reaches of the deep mountains, gradually pushing inward, leaving no corner untouched.
At the same time, under Mo Hua's instructions, they began dismantling the mist array in the deep mountains, one by one. They also planted stone needles, inscribed with the South-Pointing Array, in various places in the deep mountains to monitor any movements.
Mo Hua also started drawing a map of the deep mountains, aiming to include every peak, stone, grass, and tree.
However, most fears stem from the unknown. Now that they were gradually uncovering its secrets and dispelling the misty veil, there was less reason to be afraid of this once-dreaded place.
The search party made slow but steady progress, and with each passing day, the map of the deep mountain became more detailed and complete.
Yet, there remained a few blank spots on the map—these were the habitats or lairs of second-grade demonic beasts.
With so many cultivators scouring the mountain, ordinary first-grade beasts had long fled. But the second-grade beasts were a different matter; their thick blood and surging demonic energy made them formidable foes that even Qi Refining cultivators dared not provoke.
Even if they joined forces to kill one or two of these beasts, the cost would be severe. Moreover, their priority was to find Qian's ancestor, and they couldn't afford to waste time tangling with these beasts.
Thus, the search party could only avoid these lairs as they continued their quest.
After nearly seven days of thorough searching, they still hadn't found any trace of Qian's ancestor.
"Could it be that Qian's ancestor isn't in the Great Black Mountain?" Yang Tongling asked, perplexed.
Elder Yu shook his head. "Impossible. If he had gone to another Immortal City, he would have been spotted by now. The Great Black Mountain is the perfect hiding place, especially since he needs to move around with that pig and refine the pill..."
"Then there's only one possibility left..."
Yang Tongling's gaze fell upon the blank spaces on the map.
These blank areas were the unsearched portions of the mountain—the lairs of second-grade demonic beasts!
The faces of the search party grew solemn.
Second-grade demonic beasts were incredibly powerful, and their lairs were treacherous and dangerous.
Demonic beasts of the same realm were far stronger than cultivators.
Even if Yang Tongling, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, led the Dao soldiers into a lair, they would likely suffer casualties if they angered a second-grade beast.
"How did this Qian's ancestor come up with such a scheme?" Zhou Zhangsi frowned.
Elder Yu sighed. "Before he made his fortune, Qian's ancestor was a demon hunter."
Using a demonic beast's lair, faking the death of the Great Elder, and employing a beast as a pill furnace—these were all reminiscent of a demon hunter's modus operandi.
Zhou Zhangsi lamented, "This Qian's ancestor is indeed clever in his methods. It's just a pity he didn't use his talents for the righteous path."
"Do we have any clues from the Third Young Master?" Elder Yu asked.
"He's not saying a word," Yang Tongling replied.
"What should we do now?" Zhang Lan furrowed his brows. "Are we going to search the lairs of the second-grade beasts?"
If they searched, they would suffer heavy losses, and many lives might be at stake.
But if they didn't, and Qian's ancestor succeeded in refining the Transmutation Pill, the number of cultivators who would perish at his hands could be even greater.
Either way, they were faced with a difficult choice.
Mo Hua thought for a moment and then suggested, "How about I go and take a look?"
The others were slightly taken aback, and Yang Tongling asked, "What do you mean by 'take a look'?"
"I'll go and observe the arrays," Mo Hua explained.
"Arrays?" Yang Tongling was puzzled.
Mo Hua nodded and elaborated, "Qian's ancestor relies heavily on arrays. Whether it was establishing Black Mountain Lair or using cultivators to refine pills, arrays were involved everywhere."
"If he's hiding in one of the lairs of these second-grade beasts in the deep mountains, he must have set up some arrays around it, either for concealment, early warning, or defense."
"I can see the traces of arrays."
"If there are signs of arrays in the lairs of the second-grade beasts, it means that a cultivator has been there. And the only person capable of entering the depths of the Great Black Mountain and venturing into a second-grade beast's lair is most likely Qian's ancestor!"
Upon hearing this, the eyes of the search party lit up, and they agreed, "It's worth a try!"
Elder Yu said, "I'll go with you."
He was a little worried about Mo Hua and didn't want him to take risks alone.
However, Yang Tongling shook his head and said, "All of us at the Foundation Establishment stage will go together."
Although Mo Hua was skilled in stealth and quick-witted, it didn't mean he wouldn't encounter any dangers.
Searching the lairs of second-grade beasts, they might face either the beasts themselves or, worse, Qian's ancestor.
As Yang Tongling considered Mo Hua a potential member of the Yang family, he was even more reluctant to let any harm come to him.
"Alright!" The others nodded in agreement.
Thus, a group of Foundation Establishment cultivators surrounded Mo Hua protectively and began their search for the lairs of the second-grade beasts in the depths of the Great Black Mountain...
(End of Chapter)
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