Chapter 750: Sharp
Elder Xun was quietly brewing a major scheme in his heart.
As for Mo Hua, he remained focused, attending classes and cultivating without distraction.
Soon, the sect's ten-day rest period arrived again.
Inside Demon-Taming Mountain, Mo Hua sat atop a tall tree. A spirit sword lay in front of him as he lazily picked off hawks in the sky.
Second-grade, low-tier hawks were no longer a challenge for him.
He could basically kill one with a single strike.
Naturally, after a while, it started to feel boring.
At the same time, he was patiently waiting—for Linghu Xiao to show up.
That way, he'd have a "sword genius" to act as his muscle.
And not just any muscle—this genius still had potential for growth. Who knows how powerful he'd become in the future?
Mo Hua sat on the tree and waited, and waited... all the way past midday. The evening sun had already begun to droop lazily toward the west.
Still no sign of Linghu Xiao.
"Not coming, huh?"
Mo Hua sighed.
No fish on the hook…
Ah well. Next time, then.
He began packing up, ready to head back. But after a moment's thought, he decided to wait a little longer.
What if that kid is still fighting an inner struggle?
These aloof types always look cold, but usually have a lot of drama going on inside.
Mo Hua took out a jar of fruit wine and sat on the tree, sipping slowly while watching the sunset.
Sure enough, after the time of one incense stick, a young figure appeared on a trail hidden among the woods.
It was Linghu Xiao, dressed in a pale green robe.
"He came!"
Mo Hua perked up, stood on the branch, and waved enthusiastically from afar.
"Linghu Xiao!"
Linghu Xiao froze, looking up to see a boy waving from atop a large tree deep in the mountain forest.
Judging by the posture and temperament, it was definitely Mo Hua.
Linghu Xiao frowned slightly.
At that distance… how did this "Mo Hua" kid even spot me?
They were both Foundation Establishment cultivators. Was his divine sense really that strong?
Linghu Xiao couldn't figure it out but still made his way toward Mo Hua.
When they met, Mo Hua didn't ask why he was late or waste time with small talk. He went straight to the point:
"It's getting late. I'll take you to hunt a beast."
Linghu Xiao's expression remained cold as he asked:
"What kind of beast?"
"You'll see when we get there," Mo Hua replied.
Then he turned and took the lead.
Linghu Xiao hesitated for a moment. Though clearly reluctant, he eventually followed.
"Let me show you how we from the Great Void Sect hunt beasts,"
Mo Hua said as they walked.
Originally, he had planned to assign someone to guide Linghu Xiao through the usual process.
But after considering the boy's reputation as a sword genius from the Chongxu Sect, Mo Hua decided to handle it himself to show proper respect.
Besides, life was full but kind of boring lately.
Might as well use this chance to make a friend and have some fun.
The beast-hunting routine used by the Great Void Sect had been thoroughly refined by Mo Hua through study, practice, and countless iterations. By now, it was mature and efficient.
Today's target: a Kui-Wood Wolf.
Mo Hua tracked its trail, set up traps, arranged an array, then pulled Linghu Xiao to squat behind a boulder with him.
The wolf triggered the array—an explosion lit up the area, killing intent surged.
Flames roared. Dust filled the air.
The Kui-Wood Wolf was severely injured by the blast.
"Chop it!" Mo Hua called out.
Linghu Xiao unsheathed his sword. A brilliant, sharp, moonlike blade of sword energy burst forth, striking the wounded wolf.
The beast died on the spot.
Hunt complete.
Linghu Xiao was stunned.
The whole process had taken less than an hour.
Most of that time was spent tracking the beast, setting traps, and placing the formation.
The actual combat? From array activation to his sword strike to the beast collapsing dead—less than the time it takes an incense stick to burn.
Just like that, clean and simple, a second-grade low-tier beast was taken down.
So simple, in fact, that he thought: Even an idiot could follow these steps and do it…
Is this really how the Great Void Sect hunts all their beasts?
What beast could withstand this?
Linghu Xiao's entire worldview was being flipped.
Mo Hua glanced up at the sky.
"Still got time. Let's go hunt one more and head back."
He repeated the method.
Under the same seamless setup—and Linghu Xiao's powerful sword—the next beast also died with a thud, nothing special about it at all.
The two of them skinned the corpses and sold the materials back at the sect gate.
"Two beasts. After deducting the cost of the array, we split the rest—eight hundred merit points each,"
Mo Hua said as he transferred 800 merit points to Linghu Xiao.
Linghu Xiao was dazed.
That's it?
Just half a day strolling through the woods, swung his sword two or three times—and boom, 800 points?
He couldn't help comparing it to his past: alone in the wilderness, on constant alert, pushing his sword intent to its limits, fighting for days, sometimes two or three weeks, risking life and limb to slay one beast, earning maybe a thousand merit points…
He felt like a fool.
On the way back, Linghu Xiao stayed quiet for a long time, then finally said coldly:
"This way of hunting is no good. I won't be joining next time."
Mo Hua blinked.
"Why not? Isn't it efficient?"
Linghu Xiao shook his head.
"It's too opportunistic.
Not good for sharpening the sword path—
Makes the sword heart dull and lazy."
"Using arrays and ambushes to win feels dishonorable."
"It goes against the core of my sword dao…
It'll make me lose the courage to face strong enemies head-on."
Mo Hua was stunned, then sighed and muttered:
"One day, you're going to get yourself killed for being this dumb…"
Linghu Xiao froze. His face darkened.
"You're the dumb one!
What do you know?
You don't even study sword techniques or have the talent for sword-heart clarity.
You have no right to talk about the pursuit of sword dao!"
"Sword-heart clarity? What's that?" Mo Hua asked curiously.
Linghu Xiao's face turned cold. He lifted his chin.
"You wouldn't understand even if I explained."
"Oh." Mo Hua looked him over, then asked, "Do you plan to stay in the sect your whole life?"
Linghu Xiao didn't get why he was being asked this but still shook his head.
"Of course not…"
Mo Hua's tone grew serious:
"Then do you know how cultivators outside the sect kill people?
Do you know what the evil cultivators, demonic cultivators, and outlawed renegades do to harvest spirit energy, drain blood, or practice forbidden arts?"
Linghu Xiao went quiet.
He had taken a few bounty missions before, but hadn't been out that often. His experience with truly evil enemies was limited.
Mo Hua curled his lip.
"If they want to kill you, they'll use any means—
Despicable, shameless—it doesn't matter to them."
"If they kill you and cut you to pieces, using your blood for formations, your meat to feed monsters, your precious 'sword-heart' as a medicine base to refine demonic pills…"
"Even your soul eaten alive…"
"What're you gonna do?
Preach to them?
Scold them for being dishonorable?"
"You think they care?"
Mo Hua's words were cold—and painfully realistic.
Linghu Xiao's face turned pale.
A moment later, he looked at Mo Hua—this boy who was even younger than him, looking innocent, yet whose eyes carried a strangely deep weight—and frowned.
"How do you know all this…?"
Being dismembered by demonic cultivators, blood drawn for formations, flesh to monsters, heart refined into pills, soul devoured…
How did Mo Hua, a supposedly upright sect disciple, know such things in such vivid detail?
"Because I saw it with my own eyes…" Mo Hua thought silently.
But of course, those things weren't something he could say outright.
If word got out, it would ruin the innocent, pure, friendly image he'd worked so hard to maintain among his fellow disciples.
"I heard all this from an uncle surnamed Gu who works for the Dao Court Division.
He's spent years tracking down criminal cultivators and dealing with all kinds of evil cultivators and demons."
Mo Hua once again whipped out his go-to bogeyman: "Uncle Gu."
Linghu Xiao saw how seriously and vividly he described everything and naturally believed it.
"So," Mo Hua said solemnly, "the world always says the path of cultivation is treacherous.
But most sect disciples like us don't truly understand what treacherous really means."
"Real danger is even more shameless, vile, ruthless, and insidious...
It catches you completely off guard."
"If you're still clinging to childish ideas like 'winning without honor,'
you're bound to suffer when you step into the real cultivation world."
"You might end up with a broken spirit sword, a tainted sword-heart, your sword dao foundation utterly ruined—
and your own life lost in the process…"
The phrase "sword dao foundation ruined" hit Linghu Xiao like a sword to the chest—he looked visibly shaken.
Mo Hua pressed on:
"That's why, if you want to live long, seek immortality, and reach the peak of sword dao—
you've got to let go of those senseless ideals."
"Use whatever means it takes to grow stronger in swordsmanship.
Even if it means relying on external tools—so be it."
"Only by surviving and getting stronger, again and again,
can you truly walk the path to the end of the sword dao!"
Mo Hua actually had no clue about sword dao.
He was just riffing, loosely based on his own understanding of array formations.
But hey, all paths lead to the Dao, right? Close enough.
Sure enough, Linghu Xiao's expression began to shift. He looked thoughtful.
Seeing that he was wavering, Mo Hua softened his tone:
"Start simple. Kill these low-level beasts, earn some merit points, improve your strength bit by bit."
"Later, when we've got time, we'll form a team to hunt second-grade mid-tier, even high-tier beasts."
"Only by facing powerful monsters, walking the edge of life and death,
can your sword-heart be tempered and your sword skills sharpened."
That did it. Linghu Xiao straightened up, fire flashing in his eyes.
Second-grade mid and high-tier beasts?!
His fighting spirit burst forth.
"Alright! I'll join your hunts!"
Mo Hua sighed inwardly.
Sword cultivators are way too easy to scam.
Just toss out the idea of fighting stronger beasts and it's like giving a chicken an espresso shot.
That said, mid-tier beasts were a whole level above low-tier ones—stronger qi, thicker blood, more trouble.
High-tier ones? Don't even mention it. Tough and dangerous.
But hey, this was all just painting a picture—you gotta dream big, right?
Besides, once Cheng Mo and the others improved a bit more, they would need to try tackling tougher beasts eventually.
So… technically not lying.
As for when they'd go hunt those beasts?
Well, that depended.
Mo Hua had said "when we've got time."
Could be a month or two.
Could be a year or two.
Who knows?
Linghu Xiao, of course, didn't have all these schemes in his head.
He felt that Mo Hua's reasoning made sense.
Efficiently hunting weak beasts to earn quick merit points and build strength—
Then taking on stronger, fiercer monsters to temper his sword-heart and skills—
It was a solid path.
I misunderstood him before…
Mo Hua wasn't someone who lacked ambition—he was just taking things step by step, steadily climbing toward a greater path.
Linghu Xiao gave a subtle nod.
Just like that, Linghu Xiao was officially part of the team.
The next day, Mo Hua sent Hao Xuan to take Linghu Xiao on a beast hunt.
Hao Xuan handled scouting and array setup.
Linghu Xiao handled the killing.
By dusk, they returned.
Hao Xuan was still in shock:
"That sword qi was terrifying! Just whoosh—and the beast was dead."
"We killed five beasts today!"
"Senior Brother Linghu is seriously amazing!"
Linghu Xiao's expression was calm, but being praised like that made his lips twitch ever so slightly.
After all, he was still a teenager—he wouldn't say it aloud, but the praise made him pretty happy.
Back in the Chongxu Sect, no one ever praised him.
Because everyone already knew he was a once-in-500-years sword genius.
So no matter how skilled he was, it was taken for granted.
If anything, it made others keep their distance.
But in the Great Void Sect?
It was different.
Here, they hunted beasts in teams, worked together.
The stronger his sword qi, the faster the kills, the more points they earned.
And everyone got a cut of the reward.
Before long, Linghu Xiao became the group's "heavy hitter."
The praise he got in the Great Void Sect?
Sincere and enthusiastic.
And hanging out with these disciples—no politics, no scheming—was surprisingly comfortable.
There was even a dedicated swordsmith—Ouyang Mu—who helped maintain and repair his spirit sword.
Inherited spirit swords were precious—not just hard to forge, but also required proper maintenance and delicate repairs when damaged.
Of the Three Branches, Tai'a Sect specialized in swordsmithing.
Ouyang Mu was a descendant of Tai'a and now served as the Great Void Sect's resident craftsman.
Any disciples with sword or spirit gear problems would pay merit points to have him fix them.
Linghu Xiao was no exception.
After a few visits, the two became familiar.
Ouyang Mu focused entirely on forging. Linghu Xiao focused entirely on sword cultivation.
One was awkward. The other aloof.
They actually got along pretty well.
Just like that, a month passed.
Linghu Xiao gradually blended into the Great Void Sect's crowd.
Now, every time he entered the mountain, he'd go straight to the Great Void's territory.
Whenever he ran into their disciples, someone would immediately pull him into a team.
Others tracked beasts and laid traps—he simply drew his sword.
After each successful hunt, they divided the rewards fairly and left satisfied.
The whole process was easy, efficient.
Sometimes, Linghu Xiao would even get this weird, fuzzy feeling—
Am I really from the Chongxu Sect…? Or the Great Void Sect...?
Of course, the elders of the Chongxu Sect, who were secretly monitoring him, saw all of this.
They reported back to the sect patriarch.
The Chongxu Patriarch stroked his beard and said after a moment:
"It's fine. This is a good thing."
The elder was puzzled.
"How is that… good?"
The patriarch replied:
"Our Chongxu Sect is stronger than the Great Void Sect.
And Xiao'er is stronger than all the Great Void disciples."
"Him mixing with them is like a lion among wolves.
The lion leads. The wolves follow."
"With Xiao'er's sword talent, the future is limitless."
"But cultivators are still human.
Those with virtue gather support. Those without stand alone."
"If he can build connections with the Great Void disciples, it establishes influence and prestige.
It'll help him in the future."
"And if the Great Void Sect ever declines—
they'll have to cling to Xiao'er's favor."
The elder nodded slowly.
"Wise as always, Patriarch."
But then he hesitated:
"There is one concern…
He's been getting rather close to a disciple named Mo Hua from the Great Void Sect."
"That Mo Hua kid… tricky and clever.
Sweet-talking little fox."
"He says things—Xiao'er stays cold on the surface,
but I think he actually believes them deep down... and even follows them…"
The elder looked quite helpless.
The Chongxu Patriarch frowned.
"This child… what's his background?"
"I asked around," the elder replied. "Seems Elder Xun from the Great Void Sect favors him quite a bit.
His aptitude's not great—but he's pretty talented with array formations."
"Array formations, huh…?"
"Skilled in array formations?"
The Chongxu Sect Patriarch paused in thought, then nodded and said,
"That's no issue…"
"A talent in formations can be a perfect support for Xiao'er."
"Though Xiao'er has a solitary temperament, his sword-heart is clear and bright.
With that kind of talent, he's not some fool who can be easily manipulated."
"Besides, no matter how good formations are, they're ultimately used to help others.
Unlike sword techniques, where all power resides within the self."
"So in the end, Xiao'er will always be the one calling the shots."
"These disciples from the Great Void Sect can simply serve as his support!"
The elder of the Chongxu Sect nodded and praised,
"Patriarch is wise as ever!"
Though he said that, a subtle concern still lingered in his heart.
The patriarch's vision was impressive, of course…
But reality felt just slightly different.
Especially because the patriarch had never personally met that disciple named "Mo Hua."
He had no idea just how crafty that kid actually was.
But if the elder tried to explain, he wouldn't even know how to put it into words.
So he's clever… so what?
Besides, the patriarch was incredibly busy—
With the upcoming restructuring across sects, turbulent undercurrents stirring everywhere…
There were much bigger things to worry about than a single Great Void disciple.
So the elder said no more. He offered a bow and took his leave.
The Chongxu Patriarch was already preoccupied with other matters, so he didn't think too much of it.
Meanwhile, back in the Great Void Sect, Mo Hua was frowning.
He had already taken care of the Linghu Xiao situation—
But now his own cultivation progress was completely stuck.
The fourth year was nearly over, yet his cultivation, divine sense, sword control, and formations… all seemed stalled.
Cultivation required long-term persistence—
And reaching mid-stage Foundation Establishment wasn't something he could rush.
His divine sense was stuck at seventeen lines.
The eighteenth line was within reach, but blocked by a barrier imposed by the laws of Heaven.
Try as he might, he couldn't break through.
His sword control was already powerful, but had now hit a plateau as well.
To go further, he'd either need to learn a new sword formation—
Or wait until Xiao Mutou mastered new sword-forging techniques.
As for formations, he practiced them daily.
Especially the Five Elements Eight Trigrams formations—
He'd learned them to the point of nausea.
Nothing new to study there either.
Besides those, there hadn't been any new formations to learn in a long time.
His cultivation? No shortcut—had to grind it out.
His divine sense? Might need a stroke of luck.
The only thing he could do now…
Was find a new formation to study.
Mo Hua thought for a bit, then decided to go talk to Elder Xun.
"A new formation?" Elder Xun looked a little surprised.
"Mm." Mo Hua nodded. "Sir, aside from the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams,
are there any other formations I can study?"
"The Primordial Magnetic Formation would be fine too…" he added weakly.
The seventeen-line Primordial Magnetic Arrays he had were already worn out from overuse.
Elder Xun let out a sigh.
Learning too quickly wasn't always a good thing—
Now the pressure was entirely on him.
But some formations were still too advanced for Mo Hua.
And others, though legitimate, sat on the fine line between righteous and evil.
One misstep, and they could lead to dangerous consequences.
"Let me think about it," Elder Xun finally said.
"Okay," Mo Hua responded obediently.
Just as he was about to get up and leave, Elder Xun suddenly called out to him:
"Mo Hua."
Elder Xun frowned slightly, paused in thought, then cautiously asked:
"Can your divine sense grow any stronger?"
It was a very careful question.
Seventeen-line divine sense at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment—
That already far outstripped most others at the same realm.
But Elder Xun felt there might still be more to Mo Hua than met the eye.
After all… being that man's disciple—
Anything outrageous was within the realm of possibility.
Mo Hua scratched his head.
"Hard to say… might depend on fate or some opportunities…"
Like… someone randomly "delivering meals" to him.
Or maybe stumbling on another sacrificial altar.
Basically, yeah… he'd need a stroke of luck.
But of course, he couldn't exactly say that out loud.
Elder Xun's eyes darkened slightly. No telling what he was thinking, but he gave a subtle nod.
"I understand."
After that, Elder Xun said no more.
And Mo Hua didn't want to disturb him either.
He'd noticed lately that the old man seemed constantly worried,
probably dealing with some big sect affairs.
And stuff like that—Mo Hua knew he couldn't really help with.
The best he could do… was not make things worse.
He offered a respectful bow and turned to leave.
But just as he reached the doorway, he turned around—
And bam—ran smack into a man.
The man wore the Great Void Sect's inner disciple robes.
Handsome face, tall build, and a calm, relaxed expression.
Judging from his demeanor, he was likely a sect elder.
The elder clearly didn't expect to run into Mo Hua.
For a split second, guilt flickered across his face—like a thief caught in the act.
But it vanished in an instant.
If Mo Hua hadn't been so sensitive to divine sense fluctuations, he wouldn't have noticed at all.
There was something strangely familiar about this elder's aura…
Mo Hua was puzzled, but still politely bowed and greeted:
"Greetings, Elder."
The man glanced at Mo Hua with a perfectly calm expression—
As if he'd never seen him before.
Treated him like a random disciple.
Just nodded faintly and said,
"Mm."
Then he walked past Mo Hua and entered Elder Xun's residence.
Mo Hua watched his back, feeling more and more confused.
So he called over a nearby little Dao attendant and asked:
"Who was that elder just now?"
The little Dao boy was a fountain of information—
Always running errands, talking to people, and well-acquainted with Mo Hua.
He replied honestly:
"That was Elder Xun Ziyou.
He's a younger relative of Elder Xun.
Currently serves as an inner sect elder.
Usually oversees the Beast-Taming Mountain, and sometimes comes to visit the old master…"
Mo Hua blinked, thinking about that unfamiliar, yet somehow familiar silhouette.
His eyes slowly lit up, and he nodded meaningfully.
"Oh… Elder Xun…"
(End of Chapter)