Danger

Yu Chengwu took the two black-clothed cultivators to Elder Yu's place, locked them in a sealed room, and interrogated them, trying to get some information out of them.

Mo Hua was also curious, so he followed along to see what was going on.

While Yu Chengwu was questioning them inside, Mo Hua sat outside with Elder Yu, drinking tea.

After a while, the screams from inside stopped, and Yu Chengwu came out, with a bit of blood on him, obviously not his own, and with a pensive expression.

Mo Hua's eyes lit up. "Did you get anything out of them?"

Yu Chengwu glanced at Mo Hua, not too eager to answer.

Elder Yu said calmly, "Speak."

After some contemplation, Yu Chengwu said, "Those two confessed. They are Sin Cultivators."

"Sin Cultivators?" Mo Hua was surprised.

Elder Yu explained, "They are cultivators who violate the laws of the Daoist Court, commit major crimes, and are wanted by the Daoist Court."

"What crimes did they commit?" Mo Hua asked curiously.

Yu Chengwu shook his head. "They didn't say. It's probably serious, and even if they did, they would face death. I didn't ask, after all, we are not part of the Daoist Court, so it's not our business."

Elder Yu asked, "Anything else?"

"Yes," Yu Chengwu nodded. "According to those two, their group has more than twenty people, most of whom are wanted Sin Cultivators who have no way out. That's why they gathered together to kill and rob to earn some spiritual stones."

Elder Yu snorted coldly. "A bunch of beasts."

Mo Hua asked, "What should we do then?"

Elder Yu said, "First, send these two scum to the Daoist Court. If they are truly wanted, we can receive some rewards. After that..."

Elder Yu put down his teacup, thought for a moment, and said, "After that, we'll see what the Daoist Court does. Capturing Sin Cultivators is the responsibility of the Daoist Court. If they don't take action, we shouldn't interfere easily."

"But if you encounter them in the mountains, don't hesitate to act. If you capture them alive, you can take them to the Daoist Court for a reward. If you can't capture them alive, kill them and throw them into the mountain ditch to feed the demons."

"They're all scum, and keeping them alive is a waste of spiritual stones!"

Elder Yu cursed again.

Yu Chengwu nodded, but still frowned. "I suspect those two didn't tell the whole truth."

Elder Yu raised an eyebrow. "Why do you say that?"

"Such cultivators who wander around in the cultivation world are very cunning. They are used to speaking half-truths and half-lies. When he said there were more than twenty of them, there might actually be more, and when he said they gathered together to kill and rob, their motives might not be so simple."

Elder Yu nodded. "Spread the word about this. The demon hunters who enter the mountains during this time should be more careful and vigilant, and act according to the situation."

"Yes," Yu Chengwu replied with a bow.

Elder Yu then cautioned Mo Hua, "You should be more careful too. If there's nothing urgent, don't enter the Inner Mountains. Even if you have to, be more alert."

"Don't worry," Mo Hua nodded.

He still had to enter the Inner Mountains, but he indeed needed to be more cautious. Otherwise, with the speed at which he drew arrays, he would quickly run out of spiritual ink. Buying high-quality spiritual ink with spiritual stones was too expensive.

Although Mo Hua wasn't short of spiritual stones at the moment, relatively speaking, he still needed a large sum of spiritual stones to build his foundation. He needed to save up in advance.

In the following days, demon hunters entering the mountains became more cautious. Whenever demon hunters entered the mountains, either Yu Chengwu or Mo Shan would carry the compass and patrol nearby.

After seven or eight days passed without any incidents, everyone felt safe.

Although they encountered a few suspicious cultivators, they only dared to glance from afar before silently retreating.

On this day, Mo Hua, as usual, finished collecting blood from a few demons and sat by the stream to wash his hands.

After washing his hands, Mo Hua looked up and suddenly saw thick fog spreading, making it impossible to see anything within a hundred feet.

Mo Hua's heart sank, sensing that something was about to happen.

He released his divine sense and saw extremely thin traces of faint blue spiritual energy mixed with strong miasma and heavy fog in the fog.

These things mixed together, chaotic and variegated, obstructing the perception of divine sense.

Mo Hua remembered Mo Shan's instructions.

When encountering heavy fog, one must not move rashly, otherwise, they might mistakenly enter deep mountains, endangering their lives.

But staying in place like this also posed some dangers.

Mo Hua took out pen and ink, drew several arrays nearby, covered them with earth and stones to conceal their traces, then he relaxed and sat cross-legged in the center, patiently waiting for the heavy fog to dissipate.

After half an hour, the heavy fog suddenly dissipated.

The fog in the Inner Mountains came and went quickly.

Mo Hua packed up his things and was about to leave when he suddenly saw a cultivator covered in blood running towards him from a distance.

When the cultivator saw Mo Hua, his expression turned to one of great shock, and he urgently shouted, "Run!"

Only then did Mo Hua recognize that the blood-covered cultivator was Ji Li!

Ji Li's face was pale, covered in injuries, his breath weak. He had only run a few steps when a burly figure in black rushed over and struck him in the back with a sword.

Blood gushed out like a fountain, and Ji Li gradually collapsed to the ground, still looking at Mo Hua, murmuring:

"Hurry... run."

The burly figure sneered disdainfully at Ji Li, then turned to Mo Hua and hoarsely asked, "Do you know each other?"

Mo Hua nodded.

The burly figure grinned cruelly. "Good, then he can accompany you on the road to death."

With that, he strode toward Mo Hua.

After a few steps, the burly figure suddenly frowned and looked down, only to see Ji Li's blood-soaked hand gripping his trouser leg tightly, preventing him from approaching Mo Hua.

Ji Li wanted to say something, but he couldn't speak, only coughing up blood from his throat.

The burly figure smirked contemptuously, stomped on Ji Li's hand, and continued to advance toward Mo Hua.

Meanwhile, Mo Hua stood still in place, motionless.

"Scared stiff, huh?" The burly figure sneered coldly.

It's no wonder, this kid is so young. Facing death, it's normal to be panic-stricken.

The burly figure's eyes revealed cruelty as he continued to approach.

As he was about to step within a yard of Mo Hua, a hint of doubt suddenly arose in his mind:

How did this young kid survive in the Inner Mountains?

The Inner Mountains had demons, miasma, heavy fog, poisonous swamps, and sin cultivators like themselves.

This kid was all alone, he should have died long ago.

The burly figure felt a bit puzzled, but his feet had already stepped forward and firmly landed on the ground.

Then, the burly figure furrowed his brow, sensing something unusual.

There seemed to be something crushed under his feet, with a crisp and delicate sound, like spiritual stones, and at the same time, there was a sensation of spiritual energy flowing.

In the corner of his eye, he saw the stones under his feet emitting a faint red light.

The burly figure looked up, only to find that Mo Hua had already floated away, his expression no longer the dazed and absent-minded one from before. Instead, there was a calm expression on his small face, and his clear eyes held a hint of mockery.

The burly figure was first puzzled, then suddenly awakened. "Not good!"

(End of the Chapter)