Immortality Through Array Formations

“Yes, yes.” Mo Hua nodded.

“What do you need people for?”

“I have some matters that require assistance. Cultivators at the sixth level of Qi Refinement will do, five… no, four will suffice,” Mo Hua said.

Yu Chengyi wanted to ask what Mo Hua needed them for, but then he remembered Mo Hua was a Formation Master, which probably meant it had to do with formations. Knowing he wouldn’t understand even if he was told, he realized it was pointless to ask.

His father, Elder Yu, had instructed him to take good care of Mo Hua. If he didn’t, and his father found out, he definitely wouldn’t be let off easily.

While his father treated Mo Hua with warmth and pleasure, his demeanor was never as kind towards him.

Yu Chengyi’s heart tightened, and he said, “It’s a small matter, no problem at all.”

Mo Hua thought he would have to do more talking, but to his surprise, Yu Chengyi agreed so readily. He said happily,

“Thank you, Uncle Yu!”

Yu Chengyi signaled a few cultivators at the sixth level of Qi Refinement to follow Mo Hua, instructing them to protect Mo Hua’s safety and to assist with whatever he might need.

Still feeling uneasy, he turned to an older Monster Hunter and said,

“Old Zhao, follow them as well, just to keep an eye on things.”

Old Zhao looked surprised but nodded and replied, “Alright.”

“Uncle Yu, that’s enough, we don’t need that many people,” Mo Hua quickly said.

The Monster Hunter known as “Old Zhao” had a robust aura, likely in the latter phase of Qi Refinement. Plus, with the five middle-phase cultivators just added, there were already plenty of people.

He only wanted to hunt a mid-grade rank-one Monster Beast; there was no need for so many people.

Yu Chengyi waved his hand dismissively, “It’s fine. I’ll feel more at ease with them accompanying you.”

He would rather have too many people than too few—in case something unexpected happened, if this Junior Formation Master encountered any mishap, his father would certainly flay his skin!

This was Big Black Mountain, after all, teeming with Monster Beasts. They couldn’t afford to be careless.

If he wasn’t so tied up himself, he would have liked to accompany them.

“But by borrowing so many people, will you have enough hands here, Uncle Yu?” Mo Hua asked with concern.

Yu Chengyi felt warmed by the concern and patted Mo Hua on the shoulder, saying,

“It’s no trouble at all. Everyone here is experienced, so don’t worry about us.”

Mo Hua nodded and then said, “Then we’ll be on our way, goodbye for now, Uncle Yu!”

“Go on,” Yu Chengyi said. After reflecting for a moment, he added a word of caution,

“Finish your task quickly and return without delay. Don’t linger in the mountains. Big Black Mountain is very dangerous.”

Mo Hua led several Monster Hunters through the mountain terrain.

“Bro Mo, what do you need to do?” a younger Monster Hunter asked softly.

Turning around, Mo Hua replied in surprise, “Daping?”

Daping’s surname was Zhou, son of Zhou Cheng. He had once requested Mo Hua to draw an Iron Armor Formation and had specifically visited to express his thanks.

Mo Hua had only seen Daping once and didn’t have a strong recall of him, which was why he didn’t recognize him earlier amidst the crowd. Now, hearing his familiar voice, Mo Hua recognized him.

Zhou Daping, somewhat shy and reserved, said, “Bro Mo, do you still remember me?”

“Yes, yes,” Mo Hua replied, “I’m taking you to hunt Monster Beasts.”

Zhou Daping was startled, exchanging puzzled looks with the other Monster Hunters.

Old Zhao was also taken aback upon hearing this.

The lad sure had guts!

With these few mid-phase Qi Refinement cultivators hunting Monster Beasts, it wasn’t guaranteed they could all return alive…

No wonder Yu Chengyi assigned him to keep watch.

Zhou Daping hesitated before saying, “But Bro Mo, the few of us… we can’t kill Monster Beasts.”

After saying this, he timidly added another question, “What strength are the Monster Beasts?”

If they were rank-one early-phase, then there probably wouldn’t be a problem.

“Well, about mid-phase rank-one. We can’t kill late-phase ones anyway,” Mo Hua replied.

Zhou Daping felt a wave of dizziness. They couldn’t kill late-phase beasts, but they couldn’t handle mid-phase ones either…

“Don’t worry,” Mo Hua said, patting his chest, “I’ve planned it all out. Leave it to me!”

Zhou Daping wanted to say more, but was at a loss for words, so he reluctantly followed Mo Hua.

Old Zhao, on the other hand, was on full alert.

The kids didn’t understand the risks, but having spent many years in Big Black Mountain, he was acutely aware that even a mid-phase rank-one Monster Beast was not to be taken lightly.

Since Yu Chengyi had asked him to look after them, if something went wrong, he wouldn’t be able to give an account.

“I just hope nothing unfortunate happens…”

Old Zhao could only mutter to himself in his heart.

Mo Hua walked along the mountain path, then stopped before a stretch of mountain forest.

This was the boundary between the forest and the mountain cliff, an intersection of two paths, the terrain was narrow, and it was a necessary pass for monster beasts entering or leaving the forest.

Next to it, the wild grass was thick, and mountain rocks provided cover for hiding.

Mo Hua set up the traps, laid out the formations, erased any traces, and then used Bloody Herbs to cover the scent. After that, he led everyone to hide behind the rocks.

“We’ll wait here. When the monster beast comes and triggers the traps, I’ll activate the formation, and we… no, you will take action,” Mo Hua said.

He wasn’t about to add to the trouble.

Daping and the others nodded while Old Zhao slightly raised his eyebrows.

He had heard that Mo Shan had a young son who was quite skilled at drawing formations.

But these were monster beasts, with their thick skin and flesh; could formations really be effective…?

Old Zhao’s brow furrowed even more.

Zhou Daping was somewhat anxious, “Brother Mo, are you sure this will work?”

Mo Hua reassured him, “Don’t worry, I’ve tested it, there will be no problem.”

Zhou Daping nodded, but he still seemed uneasy, gripping the handle of his knife tightly.

The other monster hunters were also young, and they all held their breath in concentration, not daring to even breathe loudly.

The waiting was agonizing, and everyone looked very serious.

Only Mo Hua appeared relaxed, even finding it boring, as he picked a blade of grass and started casually drawing formation patterns on the ground.

After an indeterminate amount of time, Daping gently nudged Mo Hua, “Brother Mo… it’s coming.”

His voice trembled slightly from nervousness.

Mo Hua perked up, dropped the grass, and poked his head out to see a goat-like monster beast emerging from the forest.

The monster beast’s eyes were blood-red, and its mouth was covered in fresh blood; it seemed to have just finished devouring its prey.

However, it may have eaten too much, as its vigilance seemed low.

As it slowly walked into the trap and got caught by the Wood Binding Formation, Mo Hua threw a fireball from afar to activate the Earth Fire Formation.

An explosion rang out, fierce flames swirled, spiritual power overflowed, and the surrounding rocks were shattered.

Zhou Daping and the others were stunned.

Mo Hua yelled, “Go for it!”

The group snapped out of their stupor and without further delay, drew their swords and threw their punches, rushing toward the monster beast.

In a short while, the monster beast lay on the ground.

Mo Hua stuck his head out from afar and asked, “Is it dead?”

Seeing the monster beast lying on the ground after just a few rounds, Zhou Daping was stunned for a long time before he slowly replied,

“It’s… it’s dead.”

Mo Hua then ran forward and began drawing the monster blood using the Blood Drawing Art.

The bright red monster blood flowed into the bottle, guided by Mo Hua’s divine sense.

“Brother Mo, this is for…?” Zhou Daping couldn’t help but ask.

“For drawing formations,” Mo Hua replied, continuing to draw blood.

“Oh, I see,” Zhou Daping said, dropping the subject.

After Mo Hua finished with the blood drawing and saw that Zhou Daping and the others were still standing there foolishly, he asked,

“Aren’t you going to skin it?”

“Huh?”

“The monster beast, skin it and remove the bones, take them to sell,” Mo Hua explained.

They then came to their senses and set to work, processing the monster beast and putting it into the storage bag.

Mo Hua did the calculations for them, how many spirit stones the formation would cost, how many to activate the formation. After selling the monster beast and deducting these, the spirit stones would be divided equally among them.

Daping quickly shook his head, “No, this is your achievement, how could we take the spirit stones?”

The others also declined the offer.

“You helped, it’s what you deserve!”

“But…”

Mo Hua didn’t allow them to refuse and waved goodbye, “I’m heading back home now, if there’s anything next time, I’ll ask for your help again.” After saying that, he happily went home.

Daping and the others stood there, exchanging glances, their expressions complex.

After selling the monster beast, each person could share seven or eight spirit stones.

They had never earned so many spirit stones before…