Chapter 730 – Headlong Charge Like a Boar
At the gate of Demon-Taming Mountain.
Elder Xun Ziyou was sipping tea with another elder dressed in a maple-colored robe.
The elder took a sip, then suddenly frowned and remarked in confusion, "The number of Verdantwood Wolves in the mountain seems a lot lower than when I was on duty last…"
Xun Ziyou choked on his tea and coughed.
The elder gave him a suspicious look. "Elder Xun… do you know something?"
Xun Ziyou's expression turned complicated. How could I not know…
A certain "little senior brother" from the Great Void Sect had led a whole gang of junior brothers to specifically hunt Verdantwood Wolves in Demon-Taming Mountain.
They custom-made formations, crafted specialized spirit tools, implemented standardized procedures and unified tactics—it was like watching a trained military squad.
No beast could endure that.
Honestly, the Verdantwood Wolves were just downright unlucky.
Even with just five people per squad focused solely on wolves, it was already intense.
Thankfully, Mo Hua seemed to have heard Elder Xun's silent prayers and stopped singling out only Verdantwood Wolves.
Now came the Skyblue Serpents—wood-type snake demons, similar in attribute to the Verdantwood Wolves, but naturally venomous.
To maintain beast population balance—and to ensure his disciples didn't return empty-handed—Mo Hua took time to personally hunt Skyblue Serpents and summarize his experience into a new beast-hunting "strategy guide."
Soon enough, the Skyblue Serpents were sharing the pressure.
Xun Ziyou glanced at the elder and quietly refilled his cup. Then he coughed and mumbled, "I wouldn't know… Disciples hunt what they hunt. A bit more or less, no big deal."
Still, he couldn't truly relax.
Aside from their natural venom, which made them harder to detect and kill, Skyblue Serpents weren't particularly strong.
But more cultivators were killing wolves now—and the wolves were disappearing.
The two sipped their tea leisurely after that.
The number of Verdantwood Wolves in the mountain began to noticeably decline.
The formation blueprints for custom spirit tools had already been standardized by Master Gu and passed down to many disciples.
All these demon beasts had now been included in Mo Hua's growing "Hunting Strategy Compendium."
The range of beasts targeted was getting broader.
And the hunting efficiency? Way higher than bounty missions.
After all, evil cultivators ran all over the place and were hard to find. Demon beasts? They were all chilling in the mountain—just go in and hunt.
This time's strategy guide focused on the Skyblue Serpent.
The armor used for hunting Verdantwood Wolves also worked against these serpents.
"Besides, with the Southern Wastes war heating up, we could be forced to march out any day now. Who knows how long we'll get to relax like this, drinking tea and guarding the mountain…"
Mo Hua was already eyeing other demon beasts to target.
Beyond wood-type, there were the metal-type Goldenstripe Leopards, the earth-type Gray-Spotted Pythons, the fire-type Scorchfang Hounds, and so on.
Skyblue Serpents were especially troublesome, blending into the shrubbery with their foliage-colored scales and having wood-attribute demon aura that made them hard to distinguish from the environment.
So, Mo Hua even crafted a special Wood Spirit Array Disk.
The elder in maple-colored robes blinked, then nodded in agreement.
The disk could identify the composition of wood-type energy within a 10-zhang radius—whether it was natural plant aura, cultivator spiritual power, or wood-poison demonic qi.
Plus, the Skyblue Serpent's gallbladder sold for a high price and brought in loads of contribution points.
"We elders just keep order. With so many disciples from all the sects, how can we possibly manage them all? Let them play around—as long as they don't cause real trouble…"
As for the matching spirit tools, Mo Hua had designed the crafting arrays and handed them to Master Gu, who produced and sold them through the Gu Family Trading Pavilion.
This Mo Hua really wasn't someone who'd let others relax—just don't let him wipe out the Verdantwood Wolves entirely...
Demon-hunting needed far more gear than bounty missions or criminal captures.
And Verdantwood Wolves in the mountain were a finite population.
But now, they were no longer the sole species being "massacred" by Mo Hua and his army of junior brothers.
Master Gu's Lone Mountain Forging Pavilion was burning bright around the clock, cranking out gear like no tomorrow.
Now that Mo Hua had more little junior brothers and sisters under his command, they marched in teams, clad in Yimu armor and wielding Sharpgold spirit tools—all for killing Verdantwood Wolves.
That array disk, while not perfectly accurate, was good enough for locating nearby demons.
Mo Hua didn't stop there. He created hunting guides for several other types of demon beasts too.
The elder nodded thoughtfully. "Makes sense…"
The amount of equipment needed had skyrocketed.
If it were just one or two pieces, they couldn't be mass-produced. But now, with standardized gear accompanying Mo Hua's hunting guides, they had a real production system.
These custom spirit tools could now be produced in bulk.
At the same time, the trading pavilion's business was booming…
Not that Mo Hua concerned himself with that.
During his rest days, he still spent time in Demon-Taming Mountain—but he no longer needed to do the hunting himself.
He had compiled the hunting guides and widely distributed them.
After a while, more and more Great Void Sect disciples began joining, visiting the temple, acknowledging Mo Hua as their senior brother, and heading into Demon-Taming Mountain.
Out of over a thousand sect disciples, most had at least called him "Little Senior Brother" once.
But only a few truly treated him as one.
After all, they were all proud geniuses—no one bowed easily.
Some disciples, highly talented and proud, would only nod in passing when they saw Mo Hua, never uttering "Little Senior Brother."
Mo Hua didn't mind.
But things had changed.
These hunting guides weren't to be shared without Mo Hua's permission.
If you wanted them, you had to go through him.
Hunting beasts in the mountain was extremely difficult for newcomers.
Originally, everyone was stumbling, progressing with great difficulty.
But then, some disciples—armed with Mo Hua's thorough guides and decked out in full gear—marched into the mountain and killed beasts one after another, earning tons of contribution points.
Even the proudest disciples couldn't sit still anymore.
There was competition among peers.
They were all talented cultivators.
Battle experience had to be earned, and cultivation resources had to be fought for. Fall behind once, and you'll fall behind forever.
Thanks to Mo Hua's help, some disciples progressed rapidly.
And of course, others didn't want to be left behind.
Contribution points were worth more than pride.
So some of the haughty Great Void prodigies who swore to never associate with Mo Hua now came blushing to him, sheepishly calling:
"Little Senior Brother…"
Mo Hua beamed like spring sunshine.
Whoever came, he treated them all equally and kept nothing back.
He gave them the guide and kindly explained key points to remember.
Those geniuses followed his methods, entered the mountain, and smoothly hunted their first demon beasts—utterly stunned.
Wait… hunting demons is this easy??
And once those contribution points started rolling in, any lingering awkwardness in their hearts vanished.
The words "Little Senior Brother" rolled more easily off their tongues with each passing day.
They began to "strategize themselves" emotionally.
Mo Hua's such a great guy—what's the big deal in calling him Little Senior Brother?
Plus, he had Elder Xun's seal of approval.
Even if not for Mo Hua's sake, they had to respect Elder Xun.
Besides, if others could call him that—why not them?
So now, when Mo Hua walked through the sect, unfamiliar disciples often greeted him with a warm "Little Senior Brother!"
Especially in Demon-Taming Mountain, the "Little Senior Brother" greetings were everywhere.
Anyone who could still hold their own in the mountain at this point had most likely used Mo Hua's guides or been coached by him.
One day, when Mo Hua entered the mountain, a fellow sect disciple greeted him enthusiastically:
"Little Senior Brother! We killed a Verdantwood Wolf and got a demon core. Please take it!"
The disciple wore a warm smile and sparkled with clever energy.
Mo Hua remembered him—surname Dong, given name "Shi" (World). But his home province… couldn't recall.
Mo Hua waved his hand, turning it down:
"Demon cores are valuable—you guys keep them to trade for contribution points."
The disciple named Dong Shi replied gratefully, "If it weren't for Little Senior Brother's guidance, we wouldn't have gotten this demon core."
The others chimed in quickly, "Exactly!"
"Little Senior Brother, please accept it. Otherwise, we'd feel bad!"
Though he had helped them, Mo Hua still felt a bit awkward about taking something his fellow disciples had earned through hard work.
His gaze fell on the recently slain Verdantwood Wolf nearby, and his eyes suddenly lit up.
"Forget the demon core—just give me the demon blood."
The disciples were momentarily stunned. "Demon blood?"
"Mhm," Mo Hua nodded. "I have good use for it."
After a moment's thought, they understood.
Little Senior Brother wanted to stock up on demon blood to refine spirit ink and study formations.
What a role model!
Such noble character!
He didn't covet valuable demon cores, yet to avoid making them feel indebted, he asked only for blood—to refine spirit ink and dedicate himself to array drawing.
When a fellow disciple is kind, and one seeks to learn sincerely—how could one not admire him?
The few Great Void disciples quickly responded, "Little Senior Brother, go right ahead—bleed it as you like!"
Mo Hua smiled. "Thanks."
After collecting the Verdantwood Wolf's blood, he bid the group farewell.
Dong Shi saw him off, then turned to the others. "Spread the word—Little Senior Brother wants demon blood."
"Got it!"
And so, word spread like wildfire.
Soon, every Great Void disciple in Demon-Taming Mountain knew: "Little Senior Brother wants demon blood."
They had all been wondering how to repay Mo Hua anyway.
A bit of demon blood? That's nothing.
After that, whenever Mo Hua entered the mountain, disciples would regularly approach him:
"Little Senior Brother, we just killed a demon beast—haven't drained it yet. Want it?"
Some even waited near freshly killed beasts just to let Mo Hua come by and draw the blood first.
Which was exactly what Mo Hua wanted.
Demon blood was hard to extract, yielded little contribution value, and was rarely useful to others.
Mo Hua taking it? No one objected.
And so, he kept expanding his demon-hunting guide.
Disciples followed his strategies to the letter—and after successfully killing their prey, they always let Mo Hua extract the blood first.
Eventually, this became an unspoken but widespread customary rule.
All of this did not escape the eyes of Elder Xun Ziyou.
He found it almost unbelievable.
He suddenly realized that this young disciple—low in cultivation, poor in spiritual roots—was beginning to build real prestige among his fellow Great Void Sect disciples, who came from elite clans, boasted top-tier spiritual roots, and were proud geniuses.
And this prestige… wasn't the kind that put him above his peers.
It was a shared, harmonious, and mutually respectful kind of influence.
A kind Elder Xun had almost never seen before.
It was… borderline baffling.
As Mo Hua created more and more guides, the low-tier demon beast zones in the outer parts of Demon-Taming Mountain became Great Void disciple turf.
Occasionally, disciples from other sects tried to stir up trouble.
But it was mostly minor scuffles—nothing serious.
The mountain was full of Mo Hua's "little junior brothers." He now only occasionally hunted beasts himself, drained blood, or took casual strolls—life was relaxed.
When he had time, he still discussed spirit tool customizations with Master Gu.
During this rest cycle, Master Gu personally came to Great Void City for a meeting.
"Young Master," said Master Gu, handing over a storage pouch, "that armor set you requested has been successfully forged."
"There are two sets in here. We've revised them more than ten times. Now they can embed formations directly, function as spirit tools, and even allow divine sense control. They're a special hybrid type—somewhere between array medium and spirit weapon."
Mo Hua's eyes lit up with joy.
He took out the two armors and inspected them carefully.
Outwardly, they looked like normal armor sets.
But their internal structure was intricate. Just as Master Gu had said—tremendous thought had gone into them.
"Thank you, Master Gu!" Mo Hua smiled.
"You're too kind, Young Master," Master Gu replied with a chuckle. "If anything, I should be the one thanking you."
"Without your brilliant mind and superior array skills, our Lone Mountain Forging Pavilion would probably still be scraping by in poverty…"
Master Gu sighed with emotion, then added sincerely:
"If you have the time, I hope you'll visit Lone Mountain City again. I'd love to properly host you."
He grinned. "Lone Mountain might be poor, but we've got wild local delicacies—flavors you won't find anywhere else."
Mo Hua's eyes gleamed. He nodded eagerly. "Definitely!"
But then he looked a bit regretful. "Though… Elder Xun won't let me run around right now. But when I get the chance, I'll definitely come."
Master Gu beamed, cupping his hands. "Then it's a promise!"
"A promise it is!"
After parting ways, Mo Hua returned to the sect and immediately began inscribing a 13-Rune Grade-One Five Elemental Absolute Array onto the Five Element Source Armor.
Once finished, he headed to the Dao Technique Hall to test it.
His Fireball Spell—noticeably more powerful.
Though exactly how much stronger was hard to measure.
Still, Fireball was a low-level spell and didn't use much spiritual power, so even with the enhancement, the effect wasn't dramatic.
Mo Hua was tempted to try his forbidden technique: Meteorfall.
But then he hesitated—too risky.
It was a forbidden spell, after all.
If the five-element amplification caused a spiritual backlash or loss of control, and he ended up hurting himself—that'd be a huge problem.
Even if it didn't harm him, damaging the Dao Technique Hall's puppets or formations wouldn't be good.
He had made promises to Elder Yi before joining: no reckless spellcasting, no wanton destruction, and definitely no puppet abuse.
"…Better let Cheng Mo and the others try it first."
The Five Element Source Armor was meant for them anyway.
Plus, Cheng Mo was a body cultivator, with robust vitality. Even if something went wrong—like a spiritual backlash—it'd just cost him ten days of rest. He'd be bouncing around again in no time.
Both the Five Element Source Array and the armor were now fairly stable.
Even if something went awry, it wouldn't be life-threatening.
And Cheng Mo, with his thick skin and tougher-than-steel constitution—perfect test subject.
Mo Hua called over Cheng Mo and Situ Jian, smiling brightly.
"Let's go to Demon-Taming Mountain. I want you guys to test something for me…"
Cheng Mo frowned. "Test what?"
"You'll see when the time comes."
Mo Hua grinned mysteriously, deliberately keeping them in suspense.
Cheng Mo looked completely lost, but deep down, he had a feeling—his little senior brother was definitely up to something.
The group arrived at Demon-Taming Mountain.
Mo Hua took out the two sets of Five Element Source Armor, thought for a moment, then handed one to Cheng Mo and the other to Yang Qianjun.
It was armor, after all—better for body cultivators to wear.
Cheng Mo held up the armor, turning it over curiously. It was a style he'd never seen before.
"Are we hunting a new kind of demon beast?" he asked.
Mo Hua shook his head. "Still the Verdantwood Wolf."
"Verdantwood Wolf?" Yang Qianjun was puzzled too. "But this isn't a Yimu Armor…"
He had never seen armor like this either.
Coming from a Dao Soldier background, Yang Qianjun had some expertise in armor.
Though the set looked ordinary on the surface, its internal structure was unique—very different from any armor he had ever studied.
"Yimu Armor is for defense. This one clearly isn't…"
Mo Hua didn't explain much. He only said,
"If this armor works as intended, there won't even be a need for defense. The battle will end in a single round."
Everyone froze.
One round? And the battle's over?
What kind of armor was this, exactly...?
—
Elsewhere, Elder Xun Ziyou saw Mo Hua and the others gathered in a circle again, whispering away like before.
Assuming they were once again plotting how to hunt demon beasts, he didn't pay much attention.
Soon after, the group headed into Demon-Taming Mountain.
Mo Hua spent about the time of one incense stick to track down a Verdantwood Wolf. He followed the usual routine—stalking, laying traps, setting up formations.
The Verdantwood Wolf was caught in the array and badly injured.
Cheng Mo and the others charged in to surround and finish it off, just like they always did.
But unlike before, they weren't wearing the usual Yimu Armor meant for defense.
This time, they wore Five Element Source Armor, each inscribed with the Great Formation of the Five Elements—the Great Void Sect's signature formation.
As Cheng Mo and the others rushed forward, Mo Hua's divine sense stirred—instantly activating the Five Element Source Array embedded in the armor.
His spiritual awareness merged with the array patterns and spiritual energy within the armor.
Complex, unusual formation runes lit up on the surface of the armor.
Cheng Mo and Yang Qianjun both sensed a subtle change in the aura around them.
The spiritual power in their bodies… felt like it was about to surge.
Then suddenly—everything stopped.
The light vanished from the armor. The movement of spiritual energy stilled.
Mo Hua shouted sharply, "Stop!"
The charging Cheng Mo and Yang Qianjun halted mid-attack, startled. They turned to look at Mo Hua.
He frowned. "Retreat for now."
Everyone was confused.
Mo Hua explained, "Something big is coming."
At his words, the group tensed up and immediately released their spiritual senses—but detected nothing.
Still, if Mo Hua said so, it couldn't be wrong.
So they abandoned the wounded Verdantwood Wolf and climbed up into a nearby large tree, scanning their surroundings.
Sure enough, moments later, the surrounding demonic energy surged violently.
A massive boar-headed demon beast burst from the underbrush—eyes glowing red, tusks jagged and fearsome, drool dripping with stench—its gaze locked on the Verdantwood Wolf.
Cheng Mo and the others paled.
Mo Hua also frowned.
"A mid-grade Rank Two demon beast…" he murmured.
Demon beasts were far stronger than human cultivators of the same realm—
their blood qi was denser by several times.
And Demon-Taming Mountain's beasts were particularly fierce due to rare bloodlines and species—much tougher than the ones in Great Black Mountain.
Disciples of the sect weren't trained in beast hunting.
So they typically hunted one rank lower and worked in teams of five.
For example, Mo Hua's group—five mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators—were targeting a low-grade Rank Two beast like the Verdantwood Wolf.
Safe, manageable, and effective.
And truthfully, without Mo Hua's detailed "guides," a team of five at their level probably couldn't even take down a low-grade Rank Two beast.
Let alone mid-grade Rank Two.
That was an entirely different level.
Even with the Five Element Source Armor to boost them, there was no guarantee they could win.
That's why Mo Hua had only planned to test the armor on a low-grade beast like the Verdantwood Wolf. Even if the armor failed, there'd be no risk of death.
But this mid-grade boar-headed demon?
That was a whole different monster.
One rank higher, yes—but leagues stronger.
Mo Hua's face turned serious.
Situ Jian whispered, "Little Senior Brother, what now?"
Mo Hua looked at the grotesque, bloodthirsty boar-headed demon and shook his head.
In a low voice, he said, "We retreat."
Fighting this thing would be far too risky.
The boar-headed demon had probably been drawn here by the smell of the Verdantwood Wolf's blood. It wanted to eat it, and hadn't even noticed Mo Hua's group.
Right now, it was tearing into the wolf.
The Verdantwood Wolf, already no match for it even at full strength, was now badly injured thanks to Mo Hua's array.
The boar-headed beast bit and chewed savagely, slurping blood and ripping flesh.
Seizing the opportunity, Mo Hua made a swift decision:
"Go!"
Cheng Mo and the others nodded, quietly slipping away through the trees.
From afar, Elder Xun—who had been secretly observing—saw them retreat and nodded slightly.
"Knows when to advance and retreat. Doesn't take reckless risks. Not bad at all…"
Mo Hua's quick judgment allowed the group to escape without issue.
Back at the feast, the enormous boar-headed demon continued devouring its prey, finishing off the Verdantwood Wolf—meat, bone, and all.
Boar demons were naturally gluttonous and ate quickly.
Even after finishing, it still looked unsatisfied.
Its ugly snout twitched in the air, sniffing. Then, suddenly—its crimson pupils narrowed.
It smelled fresh human meat.
Its cold, cruel eyes lit up. It licked its tusked lips, stood up slowly, and let out a shrill roar.
Demonic energy burst from its body, laced with dark-red filth.
Then it charged like a battering ram— following the scent of human flesh, straight toward the direction Mo Hua and the others had retreated...
(End of Chapter)