Chapter 848: Dragon Blood
Chapter 848: Dragon Blood
In the Dragon King Temple, Mo Hua led the way.
However, the atmosphere within the team was somewhat peculiar.
Gu Changhuai and Xia Diansi flanked Mo Hua, protecting him while also keeping a wary eye on Xiao Diansi.
Xiao Diansi still wore a fake smile, but now that his true intentions were revealed, his smile was just a facade.
The others' attitudes toward Xiao Diansi were also quite nuanced.
Shui Yanluo was clearly in cahoots with Xiao Diansi. The two had some sort of connection, both overt and covert.
Previously, when they were hunting the water bandits on the island, Shui Yanluo managed to escape from Gu Changhuai and Xia Diansi thanks to Xiao Diansi's help.
Thus, Shui Yanluo followed Xiao Diansi's orders without question.
However, he also seemed to harbor some fear and apprehension toward Xiao Diansi, which was highly unusual for a ruthless killer like Shui Yanluo.
Xie Liu also seemed to have a vague idea about Xiao Diansi's true identity.
Among the few Golden Core cultivators in the Dragon King Temple, Xie Liu had the lowest status, the weakest power, and the least influence, so he could only tag along, barely considered an "ally" to Xiao Diansi.
The most peculiar was Xiao Tianquan.
Xiao Tianquan and Xiao Diansi were both cultivators of the Xiao family, and they should have been closely aligned.
However, after Xiao Diansi betrayed them, Xiao Tianquan remained silent and deliberately kept his distance from Xiao Diansi, standing beside Xia Diansi instead.
"The situation within the Xiao family seems quite complicated," Mo Hua thought to himself.
As for Ouyang Feng and Hua Qianqian, they were still being "held hostage."
Xiao Diansi no longer openly harassed them, but Mo Hua knew that if anything went wrong, Ouyang Feng and Hua Qianqian would still be used as leverage.
Mo Hua had no good plan for now, so he could only play it by ear.
Mo Hua's eyes flickered.
Thus, the hunt continued as the group moved cautiously through the Dragon King Temple.
Mo Hua led the way, tracking the trail of the blood-soaked monster, occasionally asking Shui Yanluo about the layout of the temple to determine their path.
Among the group, only Mo Hua was a true monster hunter.
While the Dao Court's officials could also pursue, they hunted people.
Shui Yanluo, a criminal cultivator, was familiar with the art of pursuit, but he was usually the one being hunted.
Only Mo Hua, with his background as a monster hunter, was truly proficient in the habits, behaviors, and subtle traces of beasts.
Of course, this monster might not be a beast, but the principles were the same.
Mo Hua looked up at the beams, extended his divine consciousness, and followed the trail based on various clues.
However, the Dragon King Temple was vast, with high platforms and numerous rooms, and the surrounding atmosphere was dark and blood-soaked, causing the monster's trail to eventually disappear.
Mo Hua could only guess and calculate, searching bit by bit. Suddenly, his expression changed, and he stopped.
The others also halted.
Gu Changhuai asked, "What is it?"
Mo Hua replied, "I found something."
He thought for a moment, then lightly leaped up onto the beam.
The beam was made of massive wood, unusually wide, and near the wall, there was a chaotic area with a large hole dug by something.
The hole was large but shallow, and at a glance, it was clear that something had used it as a temporary lair.
Mo Hua guessed that the monster might have used this as its temporary nest.
He took a few steps closer and suddenly noticed a small trace of blood inside the nest.
The blood was a light blue, with a very faint scent, lacking the usual stench of human or beast blood. Instead, it had a faint, pleasant aroma.
Aroma?
Mo Hua frowned.
As he looked, he couldn't help but reach out and touch the blood, tasting it lightly.
At that moment, he heard a dragon's roar.
Mo Hua's pupils dilated.
"Dragon..."
Though he had never seen a real dragon or heard its voice, he was suddenly very certain that the clear, resonant sound that shook his soul was indeed a dragon's roar.
Dragon blood?
Mo Hua's expression was one of shock, and he couldn't help but smack his lips.
Unfortunately, he couldn't taste much.
The blood was very faint, and the trace left behind was almost dry, giving him only a tiny hint of its essence, not enough to taste.
Mo Hua's expression was one of regret, but then his heart raced.
"Dragon King Temple... Could that monster be related to 'dragon'?"
Its scales, could they be... dragon scales?
Because they were dragon scales, they were impervious to blades and spells, harder than any metal he had ever seen.
And the blood flowing through its body... could it be dragon blood?
"No, that's not right..."
Mo Hua shook his head.
Dragons were divine beasts and would never have such a blood-soaked appearance.
Moreover, while the monster was strong, it was far from the legendary "dragon."
It also ate humans and drank their blood, which would have polluted its own blood, making it impossible for it to be dragon blood.
"Most likely, the dragon blood is just a catalyst."
"The monster consumed dragon blood and refined it within its body, allowing it to grow such hard 'dragon scales,' possess such deep blood energy, and have such a powerful physical body..."
Mo Hua nodded slightly, finding this hypothesis reasonable. His eyes brightened.
Now it seemed that the monster's secrets were far more numerous than he had imagined.
Regardless, he had to capture this monster and study it thoroughly.
Of course, he couldn't do it alone.
Fortunately, he had a group of "enforcers."
Mo Hua jumped down from the beam, and Xiao Diansi feigned a smile, "What did you see up there, young master, that took so long?"
He and the others were wary of each other, so he hadn't gone up to see for himself.
Mo Hua replied, "There's a nest. The monster rested here. It's probably not far. We can search a bit more."
He kept the information about the dragon blood to himself.
Xiao Diansi couldn't have anticipated this and merely nodded, "Alright."
Afterward, Mo Hua continued to lead the way.
However, after circling the area, they found plenty of signs of the monster's movements, but not a single trace of the monster itself.
Just as Mo Hua was frowning in deep thought, he suddenly felt a tremor in his chest, as if something was pulsating.
"Dragon blood..."
The dragon blood he had tasted earlier seemed to be taking effect now.
Mo Hua felt his blood flowing faster within him.
The sound of a dragon's roar echoed in his ears, and his heart began to beat faster. His meridians ached, and his limbs felt numb, as if the dragon blood was awakening within him, devouring his own blood.
Even though it was just a tiny bit of dragon blood, and it might not even be true dragon blood, his frail body couldn't handle it.
Mo Hua's physical constitution was too weak, and his bloodline was too feeble. The tiny bit of "dragon" power far exceeded his body's capacity.
"Damn, I shouldn't have eaten that thing..." Mo Hua regretted deeply.
Fortunately, dragon blood wasn't something he could just consume casually.
He had only licked a tiny bit, not even enough to be considered a blood droplet, so the chaos in his bloodline only lasted a moment before gradually subsiding.
Mo Hua wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and let out a long sigh of relief.
Xia Diansi, noticing his state, her expression changed slightly. She extended her pale hand and gently wiped Mo Hua's forehead, frowning, "Mo Hua? What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing," Mo Hua sighed, "I just ate something bad."
Xia Diansi was a bit confused, not understanding what he meant.
How could he suddenly eat something bad?
"Xia-ge, I'm fine now. Let's continue looking for that monster. It's important..." Mo Hua quickly changed the subject.
Seeing that Mo Hua was fine, Xia Diansi didn't press the issue and nodded, "The monster seems to have disappeared. How do we find it now?"
Mo Hua frowned and released his divine consciousness to sense the surroundings, but found nothing.
The monster seemed to have vanished completely.
Suddenly, Mo Hua's heart trembled again.
Mo Hua was startled.
Was it not over?
But upon closer inspection, he realized that the trembling wasn't coming from his own heart, but from another heart...
The monster's "heart"?
Mo Hua closed his eyes, focused, and then opened them with a look of realization.
It wasn't the heartbeat.
It was... a resonance between souls.
Mo Hua frowned slightly.
He had consumed a tiny bit of dragon blood.
This tiny bit of dragon blood seemed to contain the "soul" of an ancient divine beast.
Through this bit of "dragon blood," Mo Hua felt a subtle resonance with the ancient divine beast's "soul."
He could sense the flow of other dragon blood in the Dragon King Temple.
In other words, he could sense... the location of the monster.
Mo Hua was astonished.
Dragon blood contained a "soul"?
Why?
Could it be that these divine beasts, like dragons, were called divine because their "souls" could fuse with their flesh and blood?
Mo Hua was inwardly surprised, but now wasn't the time to ponder these questions. He turned to the others and said, "I know where the monster is. Follow me..."
Mo Hua then walked confidently down the corridor to the right.
The others exchanged glances, unsure how Mo Hua knew.
However, Gu Changhuai and Xia Diansi trusted Mo Hua and didn't hesitate to follow.
Shui Yanluo knew Mo Hua was peculiar and had mysterious abilities, so he didn't doubt him either.
Xie Liu needed to obtain the Water Prison Box from Mo Hua, so he followed without question.
Xiao Tianquan hesitated for a moment but followed the group as well.
Only Xiao Diansi remained silent, watching Mo Hua's back with increasingly astonished eyes, finding the young master increasingly enigmatic.
After a moment of silence, his eyes flashed with a blood-red light, and he silently followed Mo Hua.
The group followed Mo Hua to a small square, where they saw the ground covered in corpses.
The blue stone pavement was splattered with blood, like a wild brushstroke.
The experienced cultivators and law enforcers could tell at a glance that a massacre had occurred here.
And it was a sudden, large-scale "massacre."
It seemed that not long ago, the temple guards had gathered here for some reason and were then suddenly attacked and killed.
The killer hadn't used spells or spirit weapons, relying only on powerful physical strength.
It was most likely the monster.
Mo Hua looked around, using his soul resonance, and then pointed to a plaque in the distance.
"There."
The plaque hung high above the main hall, wide and thick, with a blue background and ancient golden lettering. It read:
"Yaksha Hall."
The others followed Mo Hua's finger and frowned.
Shui Yanluo asked, "Where is the monster?"
"By feeling, it's in that direction..."
Mo Hua said with confidence, "It should be hiding behind the plaque of the Yaksha Hall, having dug a hole to conceal itself."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Diansi drew his longsword, intending to strike, but Mo Hua stopped him.
"We can't act rashly; it might alert the monster."
Xiao Diansi glanced at Mo Hua and silently sheathed his sword, "Then what should we do, according to the young master?"
Mo Hua looked very confident, "Don't worry, leave it to me. To be honest, my ancestors were all monster hunters. I inherited their skills..."
Xiao Diansi's gaze was subtle.
This young master, who knew what kind of lineage he had, possessed a wide array of strange and unusual abilities, making him unpredictable.
"Alright, we'll follow the young master's lead," Xiao Diansi said.
Mo Hua nodded and continued, "Know thyself and know thy enemy. A hundred battles, a hundred victories.
"Hunting monsters requires thorough preparation. You must be ready before you strike."
"Otherwise, a single mistake can lead to disastrous consequences."
"From what we know, this monster is shrouded in blood qi. Its scales are as hard as dragon or fish scales, and its body is incredibly strong. The blood on its claws is both foul and highly toxic."
"It appears to be a second-rank monster, but it’s far beyond the capabilities of an average Foundation Establishment cultivator to subdue."
"Especially its scales, which are impervious to blades and bullets, resistant to water and fire. Whether it’s a spirit weapon, brute force, or a spell, nothing seems to penetrate them."
Xiao Diansi frowned. "Not even a group of peak Foundation Establishment cultivators can break through?"
Mo Hua pointed at Xie Liu. "Ask him."
Xie Liu, though reluctant, had to admit the truth. "I used my Kui Water Sword Qi and struck it dozens of times, but not a single scale was damaged."
With this revelation, everyone understood the gravity of the situation.
Xie Liu is a Golden Core cultivator who suppressed his cultivation to peak Foundation Establishment. If he couldn’t break through the scales, the other Golden Core cultivators wouldn’t fare much better.
"Therefore," Mo Hua continued, "a direct confrontation will likely be difficult, if not impossible, to subdue this monster, let alone kill it."
"But it seems to have a weakness..."
"A weakness?" Xie Liu furrowed his brow. He had engaged the monster in dozens of battles and never found any weakness.
Mo Hua nodded. "Its weakness is the blood qi that envelops its body."
"Everything in the world operates according to certain principles."
"Array formations require a focus to function, cultivators need their hearts to pump blood and their qi seas to supply spirit energy, and even beasts rely on their demon cores to provide demonic power..."
"This monster is no different. It relies on the foul blood qi, which comes from an unknown source, to move, hunt, and feed."
"Once the blood qi is depleted, it will lose its power and be at our mercy."
"Therefore, the key to hunting this monster is to trap it and exhaust its resources."
"Given the number of Golden Core cultivators here, exhausting it shouldn’t be a problem. The main issue is trapping it."
Mo Hua asked the group, "Do you have any spirit weapons or array formations for trapping enemies? We should set them up in advance."
Everyone hesitated.
Shui Yanluo frowned. "Brat, can’t you set up the array formations yourself?"
Mo Hua sighed. "I’m only at mid-Foundation Establishment, with limited divine sense. The formations I can set up are not powerful enough to contain a peak second-rank monster. Besides, I’ve used up most of my formations on this journey."
Gu Changhuai looked at Mo Hua with a strange expression but said nothing.
Xia Diansi, though aware of Mo Hua’s high array formation skills, didn’t know just how skilled he was, so he didn’t doubt him.
The others found his explanation reasonable.
Mo Hua added, "The situation is urgent. We must work together. If we don’t use our means now, we might be trapped and die in this Dragon King Temple, and it will be too late to regret."
After a moment of contemplation, Gu Changhuai was the first to produce a set of chains and two array formations.
"These chains are standard traps from the Dao Court, used for ambushes. The formations are from my Gu family. I usually carry them, but rarely have the chance to use them."
Then Xia Diansi produced a net. "This is the Xia family’s Earth Net, a second-rank formation that can bind an enemy for a short while."
"Setting up formations is inconvenient, so I rarely bring them..."
With Gu Changhuai and Xia Diansi leading the way, the others also contributed some items.
Including Xiao Diansi, Xie Liu, Shui Yanluo, and Xiao Tianquan.
But Mo Hua felt it was still not enough. He observed everyone closely, looking for any signs of hidden spirit weapons or formations, and stared intently at those who seemed to be holding back.
"Everything is in your hands..."
"It’s not enough."
"These spirit weapons and formations are more than sufficient."
Mo Hua shook his head. "The monster is cunning and swift. Trapping it won’t be easy. We need to be fully prepared. If it escapes and hides deep within the Dragon King Temple, we might never catch it again."
"Fine..."
In this way, Mo Hua managed to gather almost all the spirit weapons and formations for trapping the monster from everyone.
With this, he felt more at ease.
He then observed the terrain and "commanded" everyone to set up the formations, take their positions, and prepare the spirit weapons for trapping. The "hunt" began.
Xiao Diansi struck with his sword, slicing through the air and cutting into the plaque of the Yasha Hall.
The plaque, made of an unknown metal, didn’t break but fell from the eaves, revealing a dark, ominous opening behind it.
"Indeed..."
Xiao Diansi’s pupils dilated.
Then, a sound came from the darkness, and a monster, feasting on a bloodied limb, slowly emerged.
Seemingly angered by the interruption, the monster’s eyes turned blood-red, and it let out a piercing scream.
The sound was peculiar, like a river-dwelling Yasha or a powerful mythical beast.
Mo Hua, listening closely, recognized it.
The monster’s voice was somewhat like... a "dragon’s roar."
Mo Hua’s eyes flickered.
With the monster now revealed, everyone wasted no time and immediately attacked.
The battle was about to begin.
Gu Changhuai summoned green wind blades, Xia Diansi condensed icy sword qi.
Xiao Tianquan and Xie Liu used Kui Water Swords.
Shui Yanluo wielded a water whip, and Xiao Tianquan used a set of sword techniques from the Xiao family.
Ouyang Feng, injured, and Hua Qianqian, poisoned, were unable to participate.
Mo Hua, the youngest and least powerful, wisely stayed out of the fight and sat on a clean, blood-free step to watch.
None of the cultivators present were truly inexperienced; they were all seasoned in combat.
Moreover, with four Golden Core cultivators working together, Mo Hua was not at all worried.
Everything was going according to his plan.
(End of Chapter)
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