Chapter 240: Techniques
Mo Hua named the Thousand-Jin Rod and carefully stored it in his storage bag.
Over the next few days, whenever he had time, he would take it out to practice, and he eventually devised two simple, straightforward, yet very practical techniques:
One was a downward smash, the other a horizontal sweep.
He had tried the downward smash already, and it was easy to use.
The horizontal sweep was trickier. It required him to first swing the Thousand-Jin Rod, channel spiritual power into it during the swing to activate the formation, instantly increasing the club's weight, and then use the momentum to strike horizontally.
The spiritual power and force were both difficult to control.
If it hit the target, it would shock the hand painfully.
If it missed, he would have to release the club entirely, or else his arm would dislocate.
This was the helpless reality of being naturally frail and unable to become a Body Cultivator.
After several practices, Mo Hua became much more familiar with it and at least wouldn't dislocate his own arm anymore.
He also gave these two techniques striking names: the downward smash was called "Force of a Thousand Jin", and the horizontal sweep was "Sweeping a Thousand Jin."
(TN: 1 Jin = 0.5 kg)
They sounded impressive, but they were mostly for emergency use. After all, he wasn't a Body Cultivator and couldn't rely on them in a frontal fight; at most, they were useful for surprise attacks.
Nevertheless, it was still an additional method to deal with opponents.
During his free time, he went to the Fortune Dining House again and asked Fu Lan to make tofu.
It was his first time eating tofu in the cultivation world.
It wasn't pure white—more of a light yellow—but the bean fragrance was strong.
Whether stir-fried, pan-fried, or made into sweet tofu pudding, it was delicious.
Mo Hua also gave some to his parents, Master Zhuang, and the siblings Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi to try.
He didn't give any to Old Kui; he liked crunchy food that made a sound when chewed, and tofu was definitely not his preference.
As for the Inner Mountain of Tōngxiān City, although more outsiders were coming and it was becoming more dangerous, Mo Hua still had to go.
He was a formation master; he couldn't be without spirit ink.
Moreover, the amount of spirit ink he needed was several times that of a typical First-Grade formation master.
So the more monster blood, the better.
At Qi-Refining seventh layers and with his Flowing-Water Step perfected, apart from Foundation Establishment cultivators, ordinary Qi-Refining cultivators couldn't harm him.
He could even escape from Foundation Establishment cultivators if he was alert and detected them in time.
That day, he filled sixteen or seventeen bottles of monster blood and, satisfied, found a shady tree to sit under and ate some wild fruit.
Soon, his Divine-Sense detected someone familiar. Looking up carefully, he saw Yu Chengwu and several other Demon Hunters.
They were walking along a secluded path, seemingly searching for something.
Mo Hua stood up and greeted them from afar.
Yu Chengwu noticed him and frowned.
At such a distance, his Divine-Sense couldn't detect Mo Hua, how could Mo Hua have spotted them?
Mo Hua activated his Flowing-Water Step, leapt lightly over the mountain peak, and landed in front of Yu Chengwu.
Yu Chengwu was stunned.
What kind of movement technique was this?
Mo Hua had walked with them all the way before without using any movement techniques, so he had assumed Mo Hua didn't know them. He didn't expect his skill to be so refined, better than some veteran hunters even…
No wonder he dared to roam alone in the Inner Mountain.
Mo Hua sized up Yu Chengwu and asked curiously, "You… aren't here to hunt demon beasts?"
They weren't wearing iron or vine armor, had sheathed their blades, and dressed like ordinary wandering cultivators—clearly looking like outsiders.
Yu Chengwu said, "We're here to capture people."
"Capture who?"
"The cultivators who ambushed me last time." His eyes flashed coldly, filled with hatred. "A bunch of trash, dared to attack me, I won't let them go."
Mo Hua asked curiously, "You know who they are?"
"Not yet."
"Then you can still find them?"
"They didn't dare enter the city, so they must be hiding in the mountains. Just search around, and we'll find them."
Mo Hua nodded.
If these cultivators weren't caught, they would remain a hidden danger. If hunters were ambushed while hunting demon beasts, it would be dangerous.
"Then go ahead," Mo Hua waved.
He didn't want to join the chaos; he had more important tasks and preferred to accumulate more monster blood for now.
"If I encounter them, I'll set off fireworks to signal you," Mo Hua added.
Yu Chengwu hesitated, then nodded. "Alright, but you be careful too."
"Don't worry."
Mo Hua parted ways with Yu Chengwu's group and spent most of the day in the Inner Mountain. At dusk, as he descended, he ran into them again.
Yu Chengwu and the others were injured and bleeding, but their wounds didn't seem too severe.
They were escorting two cultivators dressed in black, their hands and feet bound with chains, bodies covered in wounds—one with a broken arm, the other limping.
Clearly, they had been captured after a fierce struggle and then beaten severely.
Though exhausted, their eyes held resentment.
Mo Hua studied their faces and realized they were indeed two of the seven cultivators who had attacked him that day.
"You actually caught them?" Mo Hua asked in surprise.
"Of course. We're hunters, no one knows the Black Mountain better than us."
Yu Chengwu kicked the two captives. "These two trash thought they could hide, but living in the mountains, eating, drinking, killing, and looting, they exposed themselves. How could we not find them?"
"Just these two?"
"The others probably went out looting, leaving these two to guard the camp."
"Will you kill them?" Mo Hua asked curiously.
Yu Chengwu paused. "Not yet. Take them back first, beat them a few more times, see if we can get information. As for their camp, the alarm's been raised, we probably won't catch the others."
Mo Hua nodded, then scanned the two black-clothed cultivators with his Divine-Sense and frowned.
Though they looked miserable, their spiritual power was still strong. That was dangerous.
"Break their legs first," Mo Hua kindly suggested.
Yu Chengwu was stunned.
"They're full of spiritual power," Mo Hua explained.
Strong spiritual power is a hidden danger.
Yu Chengwu thought for a moment, then nodded and ordered the other hunters, "Break their legs."
Just as they were about to act, Mo Hua called out, "Wait."
He hesitated, then said, "Better to break their arms instead. If we break their legs, they can't walk, but we'll have to carry them. Break their arms, and even with spiritual power, they won't be able to fight for a while."
Yu Chengwu nodded. Without a word, the hunters twisted the arms of the two black-clothed cultivators.
The captives screamed in pain, their eyes full of hatred, glaring at Mo Hua.
Mo Hua raised an eyebrow. "Still daring to glare at me?"
The hunters kicked them once each. The captives gritted their teeth, but the hatred in their eyes only deepened.
Mo Hua sighed. "Shall we blind them too? They keep staring at me."
Hearing this, the two captives broke into a cold sweat and lowered their eyes, not daring to look at Mo Hua again.
Yu Chengwu felt helpless.
This kid was truly kind when he wanted to be, and really mischievous when he wanted to be.
He could think of all sorts of devious tricks.
But Yu Chengwu felt it was good this way.
One shouldn't go easy on bad people; otherwise, it would backfire.
These two had killed and looted many; even if they were executed now, it would be a mercy.
(End of chapter)