Chapter 335: Standoff
Chapter 335: Standoff
The elder of the Qian family spoke eloquently, and Mo Hua listened, astonished. What he said made some sense, yet it also felt somewhat off, confusing Mo Hua momentarily.
Suddenly, a strange feeling arose within him.
"Those with depth often speak little."
This Elder Qian didn't seem like a talkative person, so why had he been monologuing for so long?
Furthermore, up to this point, the elder had been the only one speaking. Had Qian Hong, who was standing beside him, not said a single word?
How peculiar...
Mo Hua poked his small head out again and snuck a longer glance this time, observing more clearly. His pupils couldn't help but tremble at what he saw.
Qian Hong's eyes were closed, and his face was deathly pale.
On his chest was a blood-red array pattern, and all the blood in his body seemed to be converging towards his heart along this pattern.
But his blood was black and stale.
His entire body, including his skin, was as white as paper, devoid of any vitality.
Qian Hong was already dead!
Mo Hua was startled.
So, Elder Qian had been speaking to a corpse this whole time.
Since corpses couldn't speak, it explained why only the elder had been talking nonstop.
It seemed like Elder Qian had been waiting for Qian Hong's blood to solidify and condense into the evil array.
While waiting, he had simply been passing the time by talking to himself.
Elder Qian gazed at Qian Hong and continued indifferently, "The Translife Elixir has a flaw. When refining the pill with different people's bloodlines, the mixture can become quite incompatible..."
"The heart of someone with a similar bloodline is needed as a catalyst to harmonize the various bloodlines within the pill. Only then can one ingest it without suffering from the pill's rejection."
"I had originally chosen Xing'er, but he disappointed me, so now I can only use you, his father."
"I had high hopes for you and even made you the head of the family. But it's a pity. You have everything, yet you're lacking in every aspect. Not cruel enough, not selfish enough, and not patient enough... Moreover, you're too attached to the position of the family head and too concerned about the Qian family's survival. You even dared to disobey my orders because of this, which is not only laughable but also foolish."
"In this world, everyone besides yourself is an outsider, even if they are your flesh and blood. You just couldn't understand this principle..."
...
Mo Hua was shocked as he listened. Qian Hong must have disagreed or conflicted with the elder, leading to this tragic outcome.
As Mo Hua thought about this, he suddenly noticed a bloody, evil light emanating from Qian Hong's chest.
The evil array had formed!
Before Mo Hua could react, Elder Qian mercilessly plunged his hand into Qian Hong's chest, retrieved his heart, and threw it into the pig demon's mouth.
The pig demon foolishly swallowed the heart, and its aura surged. The blood marks on its body glowed, oozing blood, and an evil demonic power flowed with the activation of the evil array.
The forced operation of the array made the pig demon's blood flow in reverse, and it let out an even more ear-piercing, heart-wrenching scream.
Mo Hua felt his eardrums vibrating, his head dizzy, and he quickly crouched down, covering his ears.
However, the piercing shriek penetrated everything, still reaching Mo Hua's ears.
The sound was shrill and gradually became strange, as if it contained human voices—the desperate cries and struggles of countless cultivators falling into a boundless abyss.
Mo Hua endured the pain and discomfort as long as he could, but he didn't know how much time had passed before the pig demon's shrieks finally stopped.
What replaced them was Elder Qian's hideous laughter.
Mo Hua calmed himself and peeked again.
Qian Hong's eyes were tightly shut, his chest wide open, his skin dry and pale, looking more like a corpse than he had before.
The pig demon lay on the ground, seemingly lifeless, but through its flesh, one could see a faint redness in its chest, as if there was a heart beating sinisterly and frantically.
Even from a distance, Mo Hua could feel the thumping of the pig demon's heart.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
With each beat, Mo Hua's heart skipped a beat.
By now, Elder Qian had already shed his calm demeanor. His expression was twisted as he laughed wildly, "The Translife Elixir, the culmination of over a hundred years of effort, is finally complete!"
Before he finished speaking, Elder Qian's hand, like a sharp claw, swiftly slashed through the air, leaving a trail of bloody light as he ripped open the pig demon's chest and pulled out its heart.
Mo Hua was horrified.
This heart was the Translife Elixir!
Elder Qian opened his mouth and directly consumed the bloody pill.
Things took a turn for the worse, and Mo Hua's heart sank as he thought, 'It's over.'
After ingesting the Translife Elixir, Elder Qian's aura gradually became violent as he started to refine the pill's power. Once he succeeded, he would break through to the late Foundation Establishment stage.
At that time, with the help of the cultivators from Tongxian City, they wouldn't be able to stop him.
Not only that, but everyone in this lair would likely die by his hand!
What should he do?
Mo Hua forced himself to calm down and started thinking of a solution.
He had to interrupt Elder Qian right now and not let him refine the Translife Elixir peacefully.
Mo Hua took out the First-Rank Earthfire Restoration Array.
Mo Hua laid out the array before him and then, mustering his courage, shouted loudly, "Old bastard!"
This crisp curse reached the ears of the Qian Family Elder, causing him to pause in surprise.
The Qian Family Elder turned his head and saw Mo Hua, his expression tense but his eyes firm and resolute.
Mo Hua pointed at him and said, "Old bastard, you're finished!"
Mo Hua then shook the copper bell of the Daotinsi, sending out a wave of obscure spiritual power.
At the same time, Yang Tongling and the others, who were searching in the lair, all sensed the strange sound of the bell and hurried over to Mo Hua, their expressions turning solemn.
This copper bell was a standard spiritual tool of the Daotinsi, specially used for transmitting messages to each other.
Everyone had one in their hands before entering the lair.
After ringing the bell, Mo Hua felt slightly relieved and then watched the Qian Family Elder warily.
He considered several possibilities:
If the Qian Family Elder remained unmoved and continued to refine the medicinal power, he would follow Elder Yu's example and curse the Qian Family Elder's eight generations of ancestors, preventing him from meditating calmly and delaying his refinement of the medicinal power;
If the Qian Family Elder flew into a rage and wanted to kill him, he would turn and run, and the Qian Family Elder would crash into the First-Rank Earthfire Restoration Array if he chased after him.
Even if the collapse of the restoration array couldn't kill the Qian Family Elder, it would still seriously injure him, and at the very least, it could stall him for a moment, giving Mo Hua enough time to escape.
As long as he could buy some time and prevent the Qian Family Elder from refining the medicinal power and breaking through to the late Foundation Establishment stage, then by the time Elder Yu and Yang Tongling arrived with their forces, they would have the advantage in numbers and could take down the Qian Family Elder.
However, the Qian Family Elder still managed to exceed Mo Hua's expectations.
Even though Mo Hua was just a junior who dared to curse him to his face, the Qian Family Elder didn't show the slightest bit of anger.
On the contrary, he just silently stared at Mo Hua.
"It's you?" The Qian Family Elder recognized Mo Hua and asked in surprise, "How did you get in without me noticing?"
Mo Hua coldly snorted.
The Qian Family Elder frowned slightly, thought for a moment, and then suddenly realized, "You've learned the Concealment Technique?"
Mo Hua's eyes narrowed, and his expression tightened as he sensed something amiss.
Someone was probing him with their spiritual sense!
It was the Qian Family Elder!
However, the spiritual sense came and went quickly, touching upon him briefly before being retracted, making it difficult to notice.
At the same time, the Qian Family Elder, who had retracted his spiritual sense, said in surprise, "Such profound spiritual sense, I can't seem to see through it..."
Mo Hua frowned.
The Qian Family Elder had profound cultivation and was full of tricks. If this continued, Mo Hua knew he wouldn't be able to outwit him.
So, Mo Hua decided to try and provoke him, recalling Elder Yu's words when he was cursing, and said, "Old bastard, you're devoid of conscience, even killing your own grandson."
The Qian Family Elder's grandson was Qian Hong.
Since Qian Hong was used as the catalyst, he must have been killed by the Qian Family Elder himself.
The Qian Family Elder still didn't get angry and instead looked at Mo Hua with interest:
"You're cursing me to make me lose my temper and try to kill you, so you can activate the array you've set up, right?"
Mo Hua's thoughts were seen through, and his heart panicked, but he maintained a calm facade.
The Qian Family Elder then asked curiously:
"What kind of array have you set up that can threaten a Foundation Establishment cultivator?"
"Why don't you give it a try?" Mo Hua said.
The Qian Family Elder thought for a moment and shook his head, "When a lion fights a rabbit, it still uses its full strength. Even if you're just at the Qi Refining stage, I won't underestimate you."
Mo Hua frowned, feeling a little disappointed.
This Qian Family Elder was too difficult to deal with.
How could he possibly die just because Mo Hua, a mere junior, underestimated him?
If the Qian Family Elder didn't take the bait, then his array would be useless.
The Qian Family Elder saw through Mo Hua's thoughts, smiled faintly, and then suddenly paused, saying slowly, "No, that's not right!"
His gaze at Mo Hua grew heavier, "It's you!"
Mo Hua's heart skipped a beat, pretending not to understand and denying, "No!"
"Yes, it's you!" The Qian Family Elder shook his head, "You're the one who infiltrated Heishanzhai, deciphered the array, gathered the Daobing to surround and suppress Heishanzhai, and found out my identity. It was all you!"
"Yes, yes, that's right!"
The Qian Family Elder gradually figured it out.
"You know the Concealment Technique, you know arrays, you have strong spiritual sense, and... you also knocked Xing'er unconscious. You must have found out something from him, and to prevent me from discovering it, you knocked him out..."
"Yes, that explains everything."
The Qian Family Elder frowned and muttered to himself, connecting everything together.
Mo Hua's heart sank.
It was over. In the blink of an eye, the Qian Family Elder had guessed everything he had done.
(End of Chapter)
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