Mo Hua accompanied Mo Shan to familiarize himself with the outer mountains, and afterward, he took it upon himself to draw a map of the outer mountains.
The so-called map is what demon hunters use, marking the terrain, streams, rivers, poisonous miasma, swampy areas, and where demons are likely to appear.
Mo Shan also had a map, but it was very crude, mainly showing some mountain paths with nothing else discernible.
For an old demon hunter, the map isn't something drawn on paper; it's stored in their mind.
Obviously, when a demon is chasing after you, you can't stop to look at a map and figure out where to run...
But Mo Hua wasn't an old demon hunter; he wasn't even considered a demon hunter, so he wanted to draw a more detailed map.
Based on Mo Shan's old map, Mo Hua began marking it anew.
From the terrain to the streams, and all the important points along the way, he meticulously noted everything.
As Mo Shan took him through the outer mountains several more times, Mo Hua gradually enriched the map. Eventually, the entire terrain of the outer mountains was not only depicted on the map but also imprinted in his mind.
Mo Shan casually tested Mo Hua on a few questions.
Such as where there were poisonous miasmas, where demons often appeared, where the camps were, and where to hide in case of danger, etc.
Mo Hua answered fluently, even clearer than some old demon hunters.
Mo Shan sighed and then breathed a sigh of relief. Afterward, he didn't bother Mo Hua much.
So Mo Hua found the Hu Brothers again and they entered the mountains together.
They hunted demons while Mo Hua collected blood, and then they all split the spirit stones.
The division of labor was clear, simple, and efficient.
"But, Uncle Mo really let you into the mountains..."
Xiao Hu still found it somewhat unbelievable.
"You guys go into the mountains too, so why can't I?"
Mo Hua said while draining blood from a demon that looked like a wild boar.
"Is it the same thing though..."
"Yeah, that day I saw that Fire-Mane Hound rushing towards you, and I was scared stiff..."
"It's a good thing you have good agility, or else it would've been terrifying."
Thinking back now, the three of them still felt lingering fear.
"But Mo Hua, your agility is really amazing!"
Shuang Hu couldn't help but praise.
He had never seen such agility, like flowing water yet unpredictable like a butterfly, dodging left and right, making it impossible to predict.
Even when the enraged Fire-Mane Hound was biting and tearing at him up close for so long, not even a corner of his clothes was touched.
Mo Hua said shyly, "Thanks to that kind-hearted old man who happened to pass by... But I've only learned the basics."
After collecting the jade bottle filled with demon blood, Mo Hua continued,
"I've finished collecting blood, so you guys can start skinning this pig. It's quite big, so it should fetch a good amount of spirit stones."
The spirits of the Big Tigers were lifted, and they began skinning and boning the demon pig in preparation for selling the spirit stones.
Mo Hua, with nothing else to do, looked at his storage bag where there were already dozens of bottles of demon blood.
But Mo Hua felt it might not be enough.
The Nine-Formation Bottleneck was a major hurdle for Formation Masters.
After reaching the sixth level of Qi Refinement, breaking through the bottleneck of the Heavenly Expansion Technique was similarly a major hurdle.
Both of these major hurdles required drawing many Formations, and having more spiritual ink would certainly be beneficial.
It's better to stock up on demon blood.
But... how could he stock up more?
Mo Hua frowned.
After all, the Hu brothers were only at the sixth level of Qi Refinement, so killing one demon a day was already quite good.
Mo Hua took matters into his own hands, facing a dying demon beast. Although he could manage with his agility, killing it was quite strenuous, relying mainly on Fireball Technique.
Fireball Technique wasn't very powerful, especially against tough-skinned and fire-powered demon beasts, so its effectiveness was somewhat diminished. To kill a dying demon beast, he estimated he'd need several well-placed Fireball Techniques.
Whenever Mo Hua had free time, he practiced Fireball Technique. Now, he was accurate and fast, even able to strike before the demon beast could react.
But even if he could kill ten demon beasts with Fireball Technique, any slight slip-up could endanger him if caught by a demon beast.
For ten bottles of demon blood and some spirit stones, this risk seemed hardly worthwhile.
Mo Hua pondered for several days but still couldn't find a good solution.
Until one day, while wandering in the outer mountains and updating his map, he encountered Yu Chengyi, who was leading a demon-hunting expedition.
Yu Chengyi was Elder Yu's eldest son, at the ninth level of Qi Refinement, with considerable cultivation and prestige among demon hunters.
Usually, he led teams in the inner mountains for demon hunts. However, he received news a few days ago that a rather troublesome demon beast had appeared in the outer mountains. Despite being only mid-tier first rank, it was difficult to handle.
Yu Chengyi happened to be free that day and had hastily assembled a team of demon hunters to hunt down this demon beast in the outer mountains.
Yu Chengyi was fully alert, searching with other demon hunters for traces of the demon beast, when he heard someone calling him in a very young voice.
Yu Chengyi was taken aback and looked up to see a young cultivator standing on a distant cliff, waving at him.
He was shocked to the point of jaw-dropping.
Where did this child come from?
This is the Great Black Mountain!
How did this child get in? How dare he come in?! Isn't he afraid of being eaten by demon beasts?
Once Yu Chengyi recognized who it was, he was even more startled and blurted out, "Mo Hua?!"
He still remembered Mo Hua.
Mo Shan's son, young and well-behaved, skilled in formations. His father had instructed him to take care of Mo Hua.
Yu Chengyi felt a chill and a wave of afterthoughts.
A small formation master among demon hunters. If something happened to him, it would be a huge loss.
Yu Chengyi moved quickly, covering three steps in one, and reached Mo Hua's side, lifting him off the cliff and onto the ground.
"Uncle Yu, your agility is amazing!"
Mo Hua complimented as he landed.
"It's alright."
Yu Chengyi modestly replied, then realized it might not be the best time for that...
He looked at Mo Hua, surveyed the surroundings, and couldn't help asking, "Where's your father?"
"My father is in the inner mountains."
"No... your father isn't with you?"
"I can't go to the inner mountains." Mo Hua replied.
Mo Shan had let him play in the outer mountains and strictly instructed him not to go to the inner mountains. Mo Hua firmly obeyed; he wouldn't dare enter the inner mountains.
Yu Chengyi asked, "What I mean is, isn't your father with you?"
"Well, he's hunting demons in the inner mountains. He can't stay with me all the time."
Yu Chengyi was dumbfounded, "Are you saying Mo Shan let you into the outer mountains?"
Mo Hua nodded.
Yu Chengyi was somewhat indignant.
What kind of joke was this? The outer mountains were still part of the Great Black Mountain! There were poisons, miasmas, and demon beasts! Don't underestimate the outer mountains!
Yu Chengyi took a long time to calm down, unable to settle his mood.
"Let's not talk about this," Mo Hua said, "Uncle Yu, could you help me with something?"
Yu Chengyi asked some irrelevant questions, interrupting Mo Hua's train of thought, almost causing him to forget what he originally wanted to do.
"Help?" Yu Chengyi paused, "Do you want someone to escort you back?"
"No," Mo Hua waved his hand, "I haven't been in the mountains long. Why would I go back?"
Mo Hua glanced at the demon hunters behind Yu Chengyi and whispered,
"Can I borrow a few of your people?"
(End of the Chapter)