Inner Mountain

Translator: Cinder Translations

...

Before entering the inner mountain, Elder Yu secretly gave Mo Hua a Monster Hunting Token.

"Take this. With it, you're officially a demon hunter," Elder Yu said.

Mo Hua was stunned. "Can I become a demon hunter without going through the Monster Hunting Ceremony?"

First, he defended the spiritual mine, then established the refining and alchemy workshops. With so many things going on and busy with cultivation and drawing formations on weekdays, he missed the Monster Hunting Ceremony this year.

Moreover, he was a spiritual cultivator and a formation master, hardly engaging in close combat with monsters. Strictly speaking, he wasn't very suitable to be a demon hunter.

"That's just a formality. It doesn't matter. Whether you're a demon hunter or not, it's up to me to decide. If I say you are, then you are!" Elder Yu said confidently.

As the only Foundation Establishment cultivator in the Monster Hunting Guild, he indeed had the final say.

Elder Yu personally hung the Monster Hunting Token around Mo Hua's neck. "This token is the most crucial. With this token, you are a genuine demon hunter."

"Put a drop of your blood on it," Elder Yu added.

Mo Hua was taken aback.

Seeing Mo Hua's delicate appearance, Elder Yu pondered for a moment and said, "Forget it, let me help you."

Elder Yu took Mo Hua's fair little hand, condensed his spiritual power into a fine needle, pricked Mo Hua's index finger, and a drop of blood dripped onto the Monster Hunting Token.

Mo Hua held his finger, and after a while, the bleeding stopped.

At the same time, his consciousness trembled slightly, seeming to resonate with the Monster Hunting Token, giving rise to a sense of intimacy. It was as if this token was no longer an inanimate object but a part of his consciousness.

"Is this a blood contract?" Mo Hua asked.

"You could say that. However, this Monster Hunting Token is not a spiritual treasure with consciousness, so it's a bit forced to call it a blood contract. At most, it's like... sealing and claiming ownership," Elder Yu explained.

"Oh," Mo Hua nodded.

Then he touched the Monster Hunting Token and asked curiously, "Elder Yu, how is this Monster Hunting Token made?"

Elder Yu found a chair, poured himself a cup of tea, and said, "It's passed down from the ancestors of the Monster Hunting Guild. It is said that there are many bone trees in the world, and these trees have the bloodline of ancient monsters. They can be considered monsters but can also be considered trees. They look like trees, but their trunks, branches, and even leaves are all bones."

"The Monster Hunting Token is made from the bones of these bone trees. Once a monster is killed, the token will resonate and produce blood marks, which count as the merits of a demon hunter."

"The more blood marks, the higher the merit. When boasting to others, it gives you more credibility."

Mo Hua's small face looked complicated. "Is it used for boasting..."

"It's mainly for showing qualifications. The Monster Hunting Tokens of veterans and newcomers are completely different. Of course, it's also convenient for boasting," Elder Yu raised his eyebrows and said to Mo Hua, "If you go out and boast about how many monsters you've killed in your lifetime without proof, who would believe you? This Monster Hunting Token serves as proof. With it, covered in blood marks, you'll have more confidence when boasting."

Seeing Elder Yu's appearance, it seemed that he had boasted to people a lot...

Mo Hua asked again, "Can we make these Monster Hunting Tokens ourselves?"

Elder Yu shook his head, "No, they are made by the Daoist Court and distributed uniformly. Although they all look similar, the Daoist Court actually keeps records of each Monster Hunting Token, so you can't make fake ones."

Mo Hua looked over the token again but found no markings, wondering what the court used to keep records.

Could it be some special formation?

Elder Yu whispered to Mo Hua, "Yours is quite special. It's made from the bone wood at the center of the annual rings of the bone tree. I've been keeping it for decades and haven't been willing to give it away."

Mo Hua suddenly felt the weight of the Monster Hunting Token. "Don't you want to give it to Uncle Yu?"

Elder Yu snorted, "My foolish son, I couldn't be bothered to give it to him."

Mo Hua felt a bit guilty.

Elder Yu continued, "Actually, it's nothing. Whether it grows on one bone tree or another, both the branches and leaves have the same effect. It's just a matter of refinement. Don't worry about it."

Mo Hua felt somewhat relieved and nodded.

"Keep it safe, don't lose it," Elder Yu instructed.

"Okay!"

In addition to the gentle jade pendant given by Mr. Feng around Mo Hua's neck, there was now also a Monster Hunting Token made from monster bones.

The next day, Mo Hua prepared himself and entered the inner mountain with Mo Shan.

The inner mountain had miasma and poisonous swamps, much stronger in toxicity than the outer mountain.

In the outer mountain, a little caution would suffice, even without elixirs, but in the inner mountain, elixirs were essential.

Mo Hua's storage pouch contained various medicine bottles: anti-miasma pills, antidotes, heart-clearing pills, hemostatic pills, and so on.

All these pills were prepared for him by Mr. Feng.

In addition to the pills, there were also some jerky, fermented wine, and pastries prepared by his mother.

So, as soon as it was dawn, Mo Hua packed up, had a simple meal, and entered the Great Black Mountain with Mo Shan.

They traveled along the mountain road, crossed the outer mountain, and arrived at the inner mountain.

Mo Hua took an anti-miasma pill and then surveyed the environment of the inner mountain.

The terrain in the inner mountain was more complex, the vegetation denser, the mountain paths more rugged, and it was also more difficult to determine directions.

The miasma was stronger, and the mist fluctuated unpredictably.

When the mist was heavy, visibility was extremely low, and after a few steps, it might dissipate completely, only to reappear after a few more steps.

It was quite eerie.

Mo Shan said, "If you see thick fog in the distance, try to avoid it as much as possible. If you can't avoid it, be extra careful. Don't take unfamiliar paths. It's better to wait in place for a while than to act recklessly..."

"Otherwise, it's easy to lose your way and end up in unknown danger."

Mo Hua nodded.

The inner mountain was much larger than the outer mountain. Even Mo Shan, who had been hunting monsters in the inner mountain for so many years, hadn't explored every corner.

So, he could only take Mo Hua along the main mountain path to familiarize him with the environment.

If they encountered danger, Mo Hua would know where to run, and if they got lost, he would know how to leave the mountain and return home.

The terrain in the inner mountain was complex, and the path was rugged, so the two of them walked for a while and rested for a while.

During the rest, Mo Hua would take out the map and make some additions and adjustments.

This map was obtained from Elder Yu, originally quite crude, only marking the terrain and the approximate mountain paths, with nothing else.

So Mo Hua wanted to improve the map of the inner mountain.

He had done this in the outer mountain before, which not only helped him familiarize himself with the environment but also made it easier to collect herbs, spices, and minerals. Having a map to refer to in case of emergencies in the mountains would be very convenient.

It took him about half a month, walking the main mountain paths several times, for Mo Hua to become roughly familiar with the environment of the inner mountain.

On his map of the inner mountain, he made many annotations and additions.

After that, Mo Hua's next task was to set up the Southern and Northern Arrays.

As a specialist in arrays, Mo Hua felt uneasy about not setting up any formations in the inner mountain.

With the Southern and Northern Arrays, he could sense fluctuations in spiritual energy, making it easier to join in activities and to foresee dangers in advance and flee.

It also made it easier for him to draw blood from the monsters.

Mo Hua couldn't handle this task alone, so he asked some Demon hunters for help.

Yu Chengyi called about ten Demon hunters at the Qi Refinement Ninth Level to assist Mo Hua in setting up the stone needles for the Southern and Northern Arrays.

Because the inner mountain was vast, one Southern and Northern Array compass couldn't cover the entire area, so Mo Hua made two sets, labeled A and B.

The A compass observed the south, and the B compass observed the north.

He also made a set for Mo Shan and Yu Chengyi respectively, making it convenient for the Demon hunters to operate in the inner mountain.

Yu Chengyi was delighted. With this set of array compasses, their operations in the inner mountain became much safer.

Whether it was hunting monsters, foreseeing danger, or providing mutual assistance, it was much more convenient than before, without having to rely solely on the experience and intuition of the Demon hunters.

(End of the Chapter)