Familiarity

Mo Hua set up some formations around and guarded Ji Li, wary of other demonic beasts and cultivators.

After a while, Mo Hua sensed the approach of a cultivator.

He released his divine sense, sensed it, relaxed, and shouted, "Uncle Zhou, over here!"

Not far away were three demon hunters, led by Zhou Cheng, who was the father of Zhou Da Ping.

Following the traces of the signal fire, they came to support. Upon hearing Mo Hua's call, they rushed over and saw Ji Li lying on the ground, covered in blood.

Zhou Cheng was startled and hurriedly asked, "How's his condition?"

"It's stable for now, but we need to get him down the mountain quickly to have Master Feng treat him," Mo Hua said.

Zhou Cheng nodded and then asked Mo Hua, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Mo Hua shook his head.

Zhou Cheng breathed a sigh of relief, "That's good."

Saving lives was the priority, so Zhou Cheng didn't say much more. He instructed a few men to use a stretcher to carry Ji Li and began to send him down the mountain.

Mo Hua waved goodbye to them, silently hoping, "I hope they make it in time."

Uncle Ji only had Ji Li as his son.

Mo Hua didn't go down the mountain with them; he still had things to do.

The burly figure still lay on the side, in a miserable state, unconscious, and seemingly not dead yet.

Mo Hua didn't have time to deal with him now. When other demon hunters arrived later, he would take the burly figure back and see if he could extract some information.

"Oh right, the storage pouch."

Mo Hua suddenly remembered and ran to the side of the burly figure, flipping out the half-destroyed storage pouch.

There wasn't time to inspect it closely, so Mo Hua put away the storage pouch. Then, he took out the South-Pointing Needle Compass, while calculating:

"Ji Li entered the mountain, presumably following Uncle Ji. If Ji Li was being pursued, it means Uncle Ji is also in danger."

"Moreover, this burly figure is highly cultivated and seems to be ruthless in killing. His accomplice, a sin cultivator, is probably not easy to deal with either."

On the South-Pointing Needle Compass, Mo Hua found his position and indeed discovered a bright spot not far to the south.

This indicated that the battle was still ongoing.

Mo Hua's eyes narrowed, put away the compass, and rushed south.

The bright spot to the south was on a small hill.

Surrounded by dense bushes, fallen leaves piled up underfoot, and sparse trees spread their branches and leaves, blocking the sunlight, making it appear secluded and quiet below.

When Mo Hua arrived, he indeed saw Ji Qingbai and two other demon hunters fighting with someone.

Their opponents were also three black-clad sin cultivators.

Amidst the alternating light and darkness, with flashing blades and surging spiritual power, both sides were body cultivators engaging in close combat, making it difficult to separate them.

The black-clad sin cultivators had the upper hand, and Ji Qingbai and the others were in a precarious situation, gradually unable to hold on.

Mo Hua frowned.

Something wasn't right.

The gap in cultivation level and Dao techniques between the two sides wasn't significant, especially with two demon hunters wearing iron armor.

In theory, even if they couldn't win, they shouldn't be in such a dire situation.

At this moment, Mo Hua saw a figure appear next to Ji Qingbai, a flash of a blade passed by.

In the nick of time, Ji Qingbai sensed something and barely avoided it, but his arm was still slashed, blood gushing out.

After the figure struck, he quickly moved away and gradually disappeared.

Ji Qingbai furrowed his brows tightly, his expression becoming even more serious.

Mo Hua was slightly stunned.

Although it was only a moment, he still saw it.

The assailant was wearing black clothes, short stature, with a sinister gaze.

And he was adept at hiding...

Mo Hua had a guess in his mind. He released his divine sense, and in a void of nothingness, the remnants of spiritual power of heaven and earth appeared.

Behind a large tree, there was also a faint blue figure.

This figure was very familiar.

Mo Hua thought for a moment, his eyes lit up, "So it's you!"

Previously, when demon hunters guarded the spiritual mine, there was a very tricky cultivator skilled in stealth techniques, causing them great losses.

Unexpectedly, they encountered him here again.

Mo Hua was somewhat surprised, "He's still alive?"

He thought that this stealthy cultivator had been chopped to death by the demon hunters.

But even if he wasn't dead, it seemed he was severely injured.

The cultivator's current attacks lacked the decisiveness and ruthlessness of before, and his movements were somewhat sluggish.

His stealth technique was also greatly compromised, needing to rely on the interplay of light and darkness behind the large trees to better conceal his figure.

Ji Qingbai and the others originally wouldn't have been in such a disadvantaged position against three opponents.

However, with this stealthy cultivator lurking nearby, the situation was completely different.

They had to engage with their opponents while also guarding against the stealthy cultivator's sneak attacks. Once injured, the situation would become even more passive.

And with the divine sense of an ordinary Qi Refining Ninth Stage cultivator, it was impossible to see through the stealth technique, naturally unable to deal with this stealthy cultivator.

But for Mo Hua, this was nothing.

In Mo Hua's divine sense, the figure of this stealthy cultivator was as clear as day, with nothing hidden.

During the battle for the spiritual mine, he fell into Mo Hua's hands. Now that Mo Hua's divine sense had strengthened significantly, his stealth technique was like a cover-up, only fooling himself.

He was lucky to escape with his life from the demon hunters' wild slashes before.

But this time, Mo Hua didn't intend to let him off.

However, the priority was to rescue Uncle Ji and the others.

Mo Hua hid in a corner where their divine sense couldn't reach, took out a bamboo tube, and lit a signal fire.

Then Mo Hua changed positions and lit another signal fire.

Mo Hua used the same trick again, releasing signal fires, hoping to make them retreat.

As the signal fires rose, they also caught the attention of the sin cultivators, and both sides stopped.

But these sin cultivators didn't seem to be fooled.

One of them said, "Those demon hunters set off signal fires for help before. If there were really anyone, they would have come to rescue them by now. Now, this person hiding in the back and not taking action is probably just bluffing. Let's finish them quickly."

The other sin cultivators nodded in agreement.

Ji Qingbai gritted his teeth despite his injuries and said, "We have no grievances. Why must you kill us all?"

The sin cultivator said, "The Kong family paid for your father and son's heads. Your son's head is probably already in their hands, and now they only lack yours."

Ji Qingbai's expression turned sorrowful upon hearing this.

"Don't waste time, kill them quickly!" one of the seemingly leading one-eyed sin cultivator said coldly.

So both sides stopped talking and resumed fighting, and the fight became even more fierce, with every strike drawing blood and every punch hitting flesh, intensifying their attacks against each other.

Mo Hua felt somewhat helpless; these sin cultivators weren't fooled.

If that was the case, he could only take action and try to delay them.

There should be many demon hunters nearby. As long as they saw the signal fires, they should come to support.

Mo Hua just needed to find a way to hold off the sin cultivators until then.

On the small hill covered by the trees, Ji Qingbai and the two demon hunters were still struggling to hold on.

At the same time, the black-clad stealthy cultivator had found an opportunity and was preparing to strike again.

Taking advantage of the cover of the trees, he quietly approached Ji Qingbai.

Ji Qingbai, thinking his son's chances were slim, fought desperately, revealing many flaws naturally.

The stealthy cultivator's gaze was sinister. Seizing the opportunity, he grabbed the flaws and stabbed with his dagger.

As the dagger gleamed with a cold light, just at the critical moment, a Fireball Technique suddenly appeared.

Before his dagger could reach Ji Qingbai, the Fireball Technique struck the stealthy cultivator's arm first, interrupting his attack.

Then the Fireball Technique exploded, the crimson spiritual energy turning into flames, burning his arm, spreading a scorching pain.

The stealthy cultivator, feeling the pain, suddenly froze.

This scene... why did it seem so familiar?

(End of the Chapter)