Iron Armor

The Qian family retreated.

Qian Zhongxuan was puzzled all the way. Where did those spells come from?

Demon hunters weren't supposed to be skilled in magic.

"Could it be that old man Yu Changlin took action himself?"

Qian Zhongxuan shook his head. "No, the spiritual power was too weak. It seems even the late Qi Refining stage might not have it."

But at such a low cultivation level, how could spells be cast so far?

Qian Zhongxuan pondered deeply, muttering inwardly, "Yu Changlin, you sly old fox, hiding such a move. That's quite cunning!"

Only Elder Yu knew he was unjustly accused this time...

Seeing the Qian family retreat, Mo Hua stood up, dusted himself off, and smiled broadly.

"Fireball spells are so much fun!"

Elder Yu also looked at Mo Hua with newfound respect, patting his shoulder and praising, "Well done, using spells so skillfully!"

He didn't want to praise too much, to avoid appearing ignorant.

Receiving praise, Mo Hua smiled even more happily, then asked, "What else does the Qian family have up their sleeve?"

Elder Yu replied, "Don't think too highly of Qian Zhongxuan. For him to come up with this idea is already a rarity. Next, it'll be a straightforward clash, and he'll have a tough time."

The next day at dawn, Qian family cultivators returned.

As Elder Yu predicted, Qian Zhongxuan had no new tricks and could only line up honestly for a head-on battle.

Qian Zhongxuan cursed Elder Yu in his heart but dared not speak out, fearing humiliation.

"Don't let an old man get the better of me with his tongue!" Qian Zhongxuan admonished himself silently.

In the direct confrontation, the Qian family had numbers and better cultivation levels, while the demon hunters were fewer but experienced. The odds were roughly even.

But they had to fight to find out.

Without wasting words, they charged into battle.

Thus, on the slope of Nameless Peak, cultivators filled the area. Blades and swords gleamed brightly, and colorful spiritual powers crisscrossed.

Mo Hua watched in awe.

As the two sides fought fiercely and evenly, Elder Yu estimated that the Qian family cultivators wouldn't be able to retreat easily. He waved his hand grandly, making a slashing motion.

"Let me show you something good."

Elder Yu looked towards Qian Zhongxuan in the distance, a hint of mocking smile playing on his lips.

Qian Zhongxuan was taken aback, then saw a dozen or so demon hunters in the queue stepping out, all clad in iron armor.

Under the sunlight, the iron armor gleamed with a dark luster, exuding a majestic and solemn aura.

Qian Zhongxuan almost spat blood.

Where did these impoverished demon hunters get iron armor?!

Then he recognized these armors somewhat familiarly, and with sharp eyes, glanced at Qian Zhuang standing to the side.

Qian Zhuang stood shrinking, not daring to speak a word. At this moment, he bitterly regretted his tall stature, which made him conspicuously stand out in the crowd, unable to hide.

"No matter, iron armor isn't invulnerable."

Facing a formidable enemy, Qian Zhongxuan regained his composure and ordered Qian family cultivators to engage the demon hunters clad in iron armor.

With a few more slashes of swords and blades, the iron armor would break too.

But then he realized, these iron armors seemed truly invulnerable!

Ordinary blades left no marks when struck, even first-grade weapons inflicted little damage.

The impact of strength and the fluctuations of spiritual power were also dissipated by a faint golden light on the iron armor.

These armors were confiscated from the Qian family, originally containing some formations, albeit crude. Mo Hua was quite dissatisfied and erased the original ones, drawing his own Golden Armor Formation.

A first-grade Golden Armor Formation was enough to make iron armor as tough as gold!

At the late Qi Refining stage, battle-hardened demon hunters, wearing iron armor forged from fine iron, plus the boost of a first-grade Golden Armor Formation, were practically invincible on the Qi Refining battlefield without Foundation Establishment intervention.

Gods block killing gods, Buddhas block killing Buddhas!

These dozen or so iron-clad demon hunters seemed to enter an uninhabited realm. Wherever they went, Qian family cultivators found almost no match.

Head-on collisions proved futile; no one could withstand these iron armors.

Qian Zhongxuan watched with a scalp-numbing dread.

"When did our Qian family's iron armors become so formidable?"

"These can't even be damaged?"

Then he noticed the faint golden light on the iron armors.

"This... formations?"

Qian Zhongxuan cursed inwardly. The iron armors were already tough enough, and they even reinforced them with formations? Are they even human anymore?

"You sly Yu Changlin, I'll remember this grudge!" Qian Zhongxuan seethed.

But the rout had already begun. Qian Zhongxuan was powerless to turn the tide and could only grit his teeth, "Retreat!"

However, retreat was not as easy as he thought.

The battlefield spread out, cultivators clashed, chaos reigned.

When the Qian family ordered a retreat, it was like a mountain collapsing, with rocks rolling aimlessly, directionless.

Qian family cultivators' morale shattered, fleeing in panic, while demon hunters pursued from behind, expanding their gains.

By the time Qian family cultivators successfully retreated to the foot of the peak and began to regroup, casualties were severe. Nearly half of the cultivators were unable to fight again.

Qian Zhongxuan's heart bled.

Qian Zhuang felt sorry, but compared to Elder Qian's failure, his own felt insignificant, not even worthy of being called a failure, just a setback, nothing more.

Thinking this way, Qian Zhuang felt a bit relieved...

But he dared not provoke Qian Zhongxuan's anger, only showing a sad and resentful expression, "Such heavy casualties this time, the demon hunters have gone too far! Does Elder have a plan for us to seek revenge?"

Qian Zhongxuan's face contorted with pain, then he gritted his teeth, "This grudge must be avenged!"

"Even if it costs us dearly, I will make that old Yu Changlin pay!"

Qian Zhuang's heart skipped a beat; Elder Qian was truly enraged. But he wondered what other means Elder Qian could still have.

Qian Zhongxuan's heart bled, while Elder Yu's heart bloomed with joy.

This was a resounding victory!

Elder Yu allowed everyone a brief celebration, with meat and alcohol.

The meat was smoked wild buffalo demon meat prepared beforehand by Liu Ruhua.

Due to the conflict with the Qian family, they didn't know how long they would have to guard the spiritual mine, so Liu Ruhua had prepared a lot. However, there were many demon hunters, and each could only have a few pieces, just enough to taste.

Alcohol consumption was also limited to two bowls per person.

Because of the critical importance of the spiritual mine, they couldn't afford any accidents. Even on a victorious day, they couldn't afford to be careless.

Other provisions like dried rations and wild fruits had no such restrictions.

The atmosphere in the mine became lively.

While guarding the spiritual mine, managing the extraction of spiritual stones, dealing with Qian family harassment, and facing real battles, the usual atmosphere was either serious or dull. Now, they could finally relax a bit and breathe a sigh of relief.

Mo Hua also wandered around; wherever he went, demon hunters warmly greeted him.

After all, without Mo Hua's Golden Armor Formation, they would likely have suffered more injuries. Defending the spiritual mine this time was also more exhausting.

Some demon hunters even refused to eat their own meat and invited Mo Hua to join them.

Mo Hua declined; everyone had worked so hard that it wasn't easy to enjoy something good.

Most importantly, his storage pouch contained plenty of delicious food specially prepared by his mother, fearing he might go hungry inside.

However, after staying inside for a while, Mo Hua had been frugal with his food, and the meat was almost gone.

"I wonder how much longer we have to guard this spiritual mine..."

Mo Hua thought quietly to himself.

(End of the Chapter)