"This... is a spell?" a junior alchemist apprentice asked stutteringly.
Da Zhu shook his head. He had no idea what had just happened.
He only saw Mo Hua splashing spirit ink on Qian Xing, Qian Xing retaliating in pain to grab Mo Hua, Mo Hua kicking Qian Xing back, and then Qian Xing exploding...
"Right, Mo Hua!"
With such a loud explosion earlier, they didn't know if Mo Hua had been injured. Mo Hua wasn't a body cultivator, so if he had been caught in the explosion, it could be dangerous.
Da Zhu and the others hurried towards Mo Hua. Halfway there, they found Mo Hua already standing up, patting his backside. Seeing Da Zhu and the rest, he still looked concerned and asked, "Da Zhu, are you all okay?"
Everyone: "..."
"Mo Hua, are you alright?" Da Zhu asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just scraped a bit and my neck hurts a bit." Mo Hua touched his neck where Qian Xing had grabbed him earlier, revealing some bruises.
And Qian Xing?
Mo Hua searched for a while before finding Qian Xing, completely charred with blood stains, in a state of life or death.
The power of the Earth Fire Formation was stronger than Mo Hua had imagined. While it didn't show when it exploded the tree, its effect on a person was obvious.
"Mo Hua, what exactly happened here..." Da Zhu asked in a low voice.
Before Mo Hua could answer, a middle-aged cultivator arrived. In the blink of an eye, he was beside Qian Xing, frowning deeply. After checking Qian Xing's breath, he breathed a sigh of relief.
The middle-aged cultivator took out a few pills and stuffed them into Qian Xing's mouth. Then, his eyes scanned the surroundings like an eagle, his voice cold, "Who did this?"
His voice was infused with spiritual power, making Mo Hua's ears buzz.
A cultivator at the ninth level of Qi Refinement!
Mo Hua's scalp tingled. He was about to step forward when Da Zhu held him back, whispering, "We don't need to intervene in matters involving someone at the ninth level of Qi Refinement."
Sure enough, a man in wolf-skin trousers stepped forward from the crowd, loudly declaring, "Its just children playing games. Qian Zhongli, at your age, what are you doing here?"
Qian Zhongli, addressed as such, sneered, "Is this how your children play?"
The man burst into laughter, "If he had such ability, I'd let him play as he wants!"
Qian Zhongli retorted, "Don't mess around with me here. Hand over the person. I have explanations to give. Otherwise, you won't have it easy either."
The man stopped smiling, his face instantly serious. "Qian Zhongli, you bastard. Am I giving you face? Being polite to you is giving you face. Don't force me to lose it!"
"I'll say it again. Hand over the person! Do you think I wouldn't dare to act?"
Qian Zhongli suppressed his anger. "Wait until the elders of the Qian family arrive. Don't escalate the situation. It won't be easy to handle for anyone."
"What? Relying on your Qian family's influence to bully us independent cultivators?" The man looked utterly unconvinced.
"Do you really want to stick your neck out?"
"Today, you can arrest people here. Tomorrow, you'll ride on our heads and defecate. What kind of person is your young master from the Qian family? Don't you have any sense? If he bullies someone and gets beaten up, it's his own damn fault. Don't you dare interfere!"
"Does the Qian family only have Foundation Establishment cultivators?"
"So what if your Qian family has Foundation Establishment cultivators? What's the point of bullying junior Qi Refinement cultivators? At your age, you're still messing around like this?" The man cursed. "Your Qian family's rise to prominence back then, do you want me to expose it?"
Qian Zhongli knew he couldn't argue with him. If this went on, who knew what else the man might say. So he said, "Alright, I can let go of the person for now, but first you have to tell me what happened here. Who used what means to harm Young Master San?"
"Still not clear about this?" The big man chuckled lightly. "Your little bastard young master wanted to bully people with a spell, but he's not skilled enough. Instead of hitting anyone, he blew himself up into this sorry state! Can't you see that clearly? Are your eyes just for show?"
The big man rambled nonsensically, leaving Qian Zhongli feeling utterly frustrated.
How could Qian Xing know any spells? Even if he did, he was only at the mid-level of Qi Refinement. What kind of spell could cause such a commotion?
"Don't try to confuse the issue!" Qian Zhongli snapped.
"Then tell me, what exactly happened? Among this group, can you find anyone capable of using such powerful a spell?" The big man pointed towards Mo Hua. "If you can find one, I won't say another word and will let you take them away!"
Qian Zhongli was at a loss for words.
Among these cultivators, the highest level was only at the sixth layer of Qi Refinement, without enough spiritual power to use such spell. There were a few with sufficient cultivation, but it was clear they were body cultivators, not spiritual cultivators who used spells.
Qian Zhongli scanned with his spiritual awareness repeatedly, even starting to doubt himself. Could it be that the person who injured Young Master Qian Xing wasn't among them at all? Indeed, none of these cultivators seemed capable of such a spell.
Mo Hua, blending into the crowd, shrunk back a bit. None of them knew a spell, but there was one who knew formations...
However, Mo Hua, at the fourth layer of Qi Refinement, was completely ignored by Qian Zhongli.
"How's that? No more to say?" The big man sneered.
Qian Zhongli furrowed his brow. "Regardless, I demand an explanation."
The big man's temper flared. "Explanation? You're looking for trouble, aren't you? Let's settle this with cultivation. Let's see if I make you cry today or leave you toothless!"
The big man drew a menacing wolf-tooth club, its tip stained with dark red blood, emitting a chilling aura. It was clear the club had dispatched numerous demonic beasts.
Qian Zhongli didn't want to fight, but at this point, he had no choice. He drew his ceremonial sword, surging with spiritual power. While he appeared stronger, facing the big man's cold smile with the wolf-tooth club, he lacked confidence.
Just then, someone shouted to stop, and a cultivator in Dao Court robes walked over. Mo Hua focused and recognized him as Zhang Lan.
Zhang Lan usually seemed idle, but now, dressed in Dao Court robes, he exuded a certain authority.
"This matter falls under the jurisdiction of the Dao Court," Zhang Lan stated officiously.
"Zhang Officer, this matter..." Qian Zhongli attempted to speak, but Zhang Lan raised his hand to stop him. "I said, this matter falls under the jurisdiction of the Dao Court. Irrelevant parties, withdraw!"
Qian Zhongli hesitated to leave. The big man remained unfazed. The two were at a stalemate.
Zhang Lan's gaze narrowed slightly. He glanced at the big man in wolf-skin trousers. "This matter shouldn't escalate," then turned to Qian Zhongli. "Nor should it bring shame upon your family."
Gritting his teeth, Qian Zhongli bowed. "I defer to your decision, Dao Officer."
The big man also clasped his fists, then glanced at Mo Hua. "Kid, what are you looking at? Get lost!"
Mo Hua and his companions wisely slipped away.
Da Zhu and the others had fought, sustaining various injuries. Mo Hua led them to find Mr. Feng for treatment. Qian Zhongli escorted the severely injured Qian Xing away, paying no attention to the other disciples of the Qian family.
Seeing this, the big man sneered and walked away.
Soon, several Dao Court cultivators arrived and, under Zhang Lan's command, cleared the scene.
Zhang Lan had been lounging nearby when he heard the explosion and rushed over. He arrived to see Qian Zhongli and the big man facing off. As for what had actually happened, he was still unclear.
Nevertheless, he was a Dao Court officer and couldn't simply ignore everything. When necessary, he had to play his part appropriately.
Zhang Lan carefully searched the scene, then looked at the spiritual ink on the ground and the formation paper almost burned to ashes, murmuring to himself, "Could this be a formation?"
Who could use such a formation?
Formations were not something every cultivator could learn, especially in a small place like Tongxian City.
Zhang Lan recalled the curious little face of Mo Hua that had flashed by in the crowd earlier.
Originally thinking Mo Hua was just hanging around, a somewhat absurd thought suddenly crossed Zhang Lan's mind, causing his eyelids to involuntarily twitch.
"Could this kid be that cunning..."
(End of the Chapter)