"Borrowing people?"
"Mm-hmm." Mo Hua nodded.
"What do you need people for?"
"I have something to do that requires assistance. Those at the sixth level of Qi Refinement will suffice, five... no, four will do," Mo Hua said.
Yu Chengyi wanted to ask Mo Hua what he needed them for, but considering Mo Hua was a formation master, it likely involved formations. If he explained it to him, he wouldn't understand anyway, so asking would be futile.
Elder Yu instructed him to look after Mo Hua; if he neglected this, and his father found out, he'd surely face consequences.
His father treated Mo Hua with kindness, but toward him, there was no warmth.
Yu Chengyi felt uneasy but said, "It's a minor matter, no problem."
Mo Hua thought he might have to persuade him further, but Yu Chengyi readily agreed, making him happy.
"Thank you, Uncle Yu!"
Yu Chengyi called a few cultivators at the sixth level of Qi Refinement from behind him, instructing them to follow Mo Hua and ensure his safety. If Mo Hua needed anything, they were to assist.
Still concerned, he turned to an older demon hunter and said, "Old Zhao, you too, keep an eye on him."
Old Zhao looked surprised but nodded, "Alright."
"Uncle Yu, this is enough, we don't need so many people," Mo Hua quickly said.
Old Zhao, referred to as "Old Zhao," had a strong aura, likely at the late stage of Qi Refinement, combined with the just five at the mid-stage, it was already a lot of people.
Yu Chengyi waved his hand, "It's alright, let them follow. I feel reassured."
Better to have more people. If something happened to Mo Hua, this young formation master, in case of any slip-ups, his father would surely be furious!
This was the Great Black Mountain, teeming with demon beasts. One couldn't afford to be careless.
If he hadn't been tied up, he would have wanted to go himself.
"With so many people borrowed, Uncle Yu, do you have enough manpower on your side?"
Mo Hua expressed some concern.
Yu Chengyi felt warmed inside, patting Mo Hua's shoulder, saying, "Don't worry, I have experienced hands here. You can rest assured."
Mo Hua nodded, then said, "We'll be on our way then, Uncle Yu, see you!"
"Go ahead," Yu Chengyi said, then thought for a moment and added,
"After you finish, return early. Don't linger in the mountains; the Great Black Mountain is very dangerous."
Mo Hua then led a few demon hunters into the mountains.
"Brother Mo, what are we going to do?"
A young demon hunter asked quietly.
Mo Hua turned to look, surprised, "Da Ping?"
Da Ping's surname was Zhou, his father Zhou Cheng. Previously, he had asked Mo Hua to draw an Iron Armor Formation and had even come to thank him in person.
Mo Hua had only seen Da Ping once and didn't remember him well. So in the crowd just now, he hadn't recognized him, but now that Zhou Da Ping spoke, his voice sounded familiar, and Mo Hua recognized him.
Zhou Da Ping was somewhat introverted and shyly asked, "Brother Mo, do you remember me?"
"Mm-hmm," Mo Hua said, "I'm taking you guys to hunt demon beasts."
Zhou Da Ping was stunned, looking at the other demon hunters.
Old Zhao also felt a shock.
This kid had guts!
With just a few of them at the mid-stage of Qi Refinement, going to hunt demon beasts, whether they could return intact was uncertain...
No wonder Yu Chengyi asked him to keep an eye on them.
Zhou Da Ping hesitated, "Brother Mo, we... can't kill demon beasts either."
After saying this, he weakly asked, "What rank of demon beast is it?"
If it's an early stage of the first rank, then there shouldn't be any problem.
"Mm, if it's mid-stage of the first rank, we can't even kill those."
Zhou Da Ping felt his vision darken. If they couldn't kill mid-stage demon beasts, then they certainly couldn't handle late-stage ones...
"Don't worry." Mo Hua patted his chest. "I've planned everything out. It's on me!"
Zhou Da Ping wanted to say something more but didn't know what to say. He could only follow Mo Hua with a forced smile.
Beside them, Old Zhao sharpened his focus to the utmost.
These kids didn't know the gravity of the situation, but having spent many years in the Great Black Mountain, he knew even mid-stage demon beasts weren't easy to deal with.
Yu Chengyi asked him to watch over them; if something went wrong, he wouldn't be able to explain.
"Hope nothing unexpected happens..." Old Zhao could only silently pray.
Mo Hua circled along the mountain path and then stopped in front of a dense forest.
This was the boundary between the forest and the cliffs, where two paths intersected—a narrow terrain where demon beasts entering or exiting the forest must pass.
Wild grass grew thickly around, with boulders providing cover.
Mo Hua set traps, laid down formations, erased traces, and masked scents with bloody grass. Then he led everyone to hide behind the boulders.
"We'll wait here. When the demon beast triggers the trap, I'll activate the formation. We... no, you guys will handle the rest," Mo Hua said.
He didn't want to complicate things further.
Da Ping and the others nodded, while Old Zhao furrowed his brow lightly.
He had heard that Mo Hua, the youngest of the Mo family, was skilled in formations.
But this was a demon beast, tough-skinned and thick-fleshed. Could formations really be effective?
Old Zhao's brow furrowed deeper.
Da Ping was somewhat uneasy. "Brother Mo, can this really work?"
Mo Hua reassured him, "Don't worry, I've tested it. It'll be fine."
Da Ping nodded, still somewhat anxious, gripping his knife tightly.
The other demon hunters, all young, also held their breath, not daring to make a sound.
The wait was agonizing, and their expressions grew serious.
Only Mo Hua seemed relaxed, even bored, poking at a blade of grass and casually drawing formation patterns on the ground.
After some time passed, Da Ping lightly tapped Mo Hua, "Brother Mo... it's here."
His voice trembled with nervousness.
Mo Hua's spirit stirred, dropping the grass blade and peering out. Sure enough, a goat-like demon beast emerged from the forest.
The beast's eyes were blood-red, its mouth smeared with fresh blood, as if it had just torn apart prey.
But perhaps it was too full, as its vigilance was low.
As it slowly walked into the trap and got ensnared by the wooden bindings, Mo Hua threw a fireball from afar, triggering the Earth Fire Formation.
Explosions rang out, flames rolled, and spiritual energy surged, shattering the surrounding rocks.
Da Ping and the others stood dumbfounded.
Mo Hua shouted, "Go!"
Only then did everyone snap out of their daze, swiftly drawing their swords and attacking the demon beast.
In no time, the demon beast lay lifeless on the ground.
Mo Hua peered from afar, asking, "Is it dead?"
Seeing the demon beast lying on the ground after just a few rounds, Da Ping was stunned for a moment before slowly saying,
"It's... it's dead."
Mo Hua then ran forward, using Blood Absorption Technique to draw its demonic blood.
The bright red demonic blood flowed into a bottle guided by Mo Hua's consciousness.
"Brother Mo, what's this for...?" Da Ping couldn't help asking.
"For drawing formations," Mo Hua answered while collecting blood.
"Oh," Da Ping stopped asking.
After Mo Hua finished collecting blood and saw Da Ping and the others still standing foolishly, he asked,
"Aren't you going to skin it?"
"Huh?"
"It's a demon beast. Skin it, clean it up, and sell it."
Only then did they snap out of it, quickly getting to work and packing the demon beast into storage bags.
Mo Hua calculated their share, how much spiritual stones the formations required, and how much activating the formations would cost. After selling the demon beast, deductions were made, and the spiritual stones were evenly distributed among everyone.
Da Ping quickly shook his head, "No, this is all thanks to you. How can we take spiritual stones?"
Others also declined.
"You helped out. It's only fair!" Mo Hua didn't allow them to refuse, bidding them farewell with a wave. "I'm heading back. If I need help next time, I'll find you guys again." With that, he happily headed home.
Da Ping and the others stood in place, exchanging glances with complex expressions.
After selling the demon beast, each of them could earn seven to eight spiritual stones.
They had never earned so many spiritual stones before...
(End of the Chapter)