The demonic cultivator's pallid right hand grasped towards Mo Hua's neck from behind.
Everything had been going according to his plan.
He feigned defeat first, conserving his spiritual energy. Waiting for the moment when the lackeys of the Tribunal became careless, he suddenly launched a surprise attack, killing two men and leaving the girl for cultivation.
By draining her until death, he could restore his vitality and appearance.
His looks would also be restored.
With this youthful and handsome appearance, he could deceive an inexperienced young girl, cultivating slowly while temporarily hiding and waiting for the storm to pass.
Once the heat died down, he could continue to live carefree.
If it weren't for this brat!
Talking about breaking his legs, destroying his meridians, and shattering his dantian!
His plan might have already succeeded.
If the Tribunal's cultivators moved to disable his meridians, he definitely couldn't sit idly by. Even with his extraordinary skills, without meridians, without spiritual energy, he wouldn't be able to cause trouble.
He had to act preemptively.
The two cultivators with knives were manageable, but the swordsman was a bit tricky.
Initially, he thought it would be somewhat challenging, but he hadn't expected it to be this difficult.
His agility, upon which he relied, didn't give him an advantage.
The swordsman hadn't been injured, hadn't shed blood. His spiritual power posed no threat.
Moreover, he was already heavily wounded, nearing the end of his strength. If this dragged on, he would surely be finished.
Even if he escaped, in these vast Black Mountains, lacking food and clothing, and with no female cultivator to cultivate from, he would eventually meet his end.
So he could only settle for second best, first capturing this brat to threaten the swordsman, seeking a chance at survival.
The demonic cultivator's hand reached towards Mo Hua's neck.
In his eyes, this brat had absolutely no way to escape.
Let alone a brat in his early teens, even a late-stage Qi Condensation cultivator caught off guard wouldn't be able to dodge...
But he missed.
Mo Hua seemed to have sensed it early, his head shrunk, body crouched, and taking advantage of the moment, he rolled several yards to the side.
Leaving the demonic cultivator standing foolishly in place...
Mo Hua escaped, and Zhang Lan breathed a sigh of relief.
If Mo Hua had been caught, he would truly have been helpless, and the situation would have become a dead end.
Either a few would die, or everyone would die together.
Luckily, Mo Hua was clever.
In such a short time, he sensed the danger and agilely evaded it.
Zhang Lan felt a faint fear, then his gaze turned cold, urging his sword energy towards the demonic cultivator.
He needed to dispatch this beast quickly to prevent any further trouble.
The demonic cultivator snapped back to his senses, looking towards Mo Hua in the distance with cold eyes.
"You little brat, you got lucky."
He didn't believe Mo Hua could evade that attack; it was simply luck.
Mo Hua stood firm in the distance and sighed, "Looks like I'll have to disable your meridians, shatter your dantian, and break your legs to prevent you from causing trouble."
Mo Hua thought for a moment, then added, "I'll break all three legs!"
Zhang Lan's expression froze for a moment, then he hastily exclaimed, "Don't provoke him!"
Turning his head to look, he indeed saw the demonic cultivator's eyes burning red.
The demonic cultivator's eyes were bloodshot, filled with rage. He had never been so humiliated by a brat before.
In a flash, the demonic cultivator's gaze turned resentful, rushing straight towards Mo Hua.
Zhang Lan's heart sank.
Oh no, this was a Ninth Layer Qi Condensation demonic cultivator, Mo Hua couldn't handle him.
He had been relieved that Mo Hua had escaped unscathed and thought they could flee safely.
Then he would use his spells to force the demonic cultivator away and plan again.
He didn't expect Mo Hua to provoke him. The demonic cultivator had originally intended to capture him for leverage; now, insulted by Mo Hua's words, his rage wouldn't allow him to retreat.
Zhang Lan was anxious, only able to quickly urge his sword energy, hoping the demonic cultivator would realize it was a lost cause.
However, he was far from Mo Hua, and the demonic cultivator was closing in on Mo Hua, making it difficult to hit him with sword energy and only delaying the demonic cultivator's speed.
The demonic cultivator's strange figure evaded several sword energies, approaching Mo Hua and reaching out to grab him.
Then, he missed again.
Mo Hua had floated backward from his fingertips, as if he hadn't borrowed any force and didn't make any effort, as if he were a leaf fluttering in the wind, floating away from his fingertips.
The demonic cultivator continued to reach for Mo Hua, but each time he missed by a hair's breadth, Mo Hua always slipped through his fingers.
His agility was invisible, like flowing water, adapting seamlessly to the situation, impossible to predict.
Appearing near yet far away.
The demonic cultivator nearly spat out blood.
He was a conman! A conman who lived off his agility!
If he couldn't match the Tribunal's lackeys, he could accept it, but now even a brat the size of a fart could play with him?
The key was that he couldn't even outplay this little fart!
Every round he thought he could catch him, he missed.
As the demonic cultivator pressed harder, Mo Hua's movements became even more relaxed.
Suddenly, Mo Hua created distance and began to concentrate his qi.
The demonic cultivator was stunned. What was he doing?
Trying to use magic?
"You're asking for death!"
With the distance so close, before he could cast his spell, Mo Hua would have already had his throat.
The demonic cultivator sneered and lunged forward.
But before he could reach Mo Hua, a fireball had condensed and flew towards his face, sticking to it.
The demonic cultivator couldn't believe it, feeling a chill.
"How could this be so fast?!"
The fireball's power wasn't high, but hitting the face caused pain and dizziness.
The demonic cultivator involuntarily froze in place.
At the same time, seizing the opportunity, Zhang Lan launched a water-formed sword energy, directly hitting the demonic cultivator's heart.
The demonic cultivator's eyes went blank, and he collapsed with a thud.
Between the mountains and forests, there was quiet once more.
The demonic cultivator lay on the ground, while Zhang Lan, who had defeated him, remained stunned in place, his emotions fluctuating.
What had he just witnessed?
A Ninth Layer Qi Condensation demonic cultivator's attacks, all evaded by Mo Hua?
Ninth Layer? Completely evaded?
And what was that technique?
Constantly changing, fluid and elusive, unpredictable yet clear, both straightforward and mysterious...
Who taught him this technique?!
Zhang Lan stood still for a while, memories gradually surfacing.
Oh right, it seemed to be the Flowing Water Steps!
This... I taught him...
Mo Hua looked at the fallen demonic cultivator, swept his spiritual awareness, and said,
"Uncle Zhang, come quickly. He's not dead yet."
Zhang Lan snapped back, his expression tense, immediately going to the demonic cultivator's side.
He examined the injuries and said, "He's not dead yet, but his spiritual energy is depleted, blood loss severe. He won't cause any more trouble."
Earlier, his sword energy had pierced the demonic cultivator's heart vein, but it had been slightly off, so the demonic cultivator hadn't died.
After Zhang Lan finished speaking, the demonic cultivator even groaned in pain a few times, opening his eyes filled with resentment.
"You're really lucky," Mo Hua sighed.
Zhang Lan fed some pills to Situ Fāng and Situ Xiu, and they meditated to recover for a while. Then they planned to drag the demonic cultivator back to the Tribunal.
"Wait a minute," Mo Hua said.
The others turned, looking at Mo Hua with confusion.
Mo Hua walked up to Zhang Lan, laboriously pulling out the sword from Zhang Lan's waist.
He held the sword in both hands, walked up to the demonic cultivator, and said,
"Yes, it was me who wanted to break your legs!"
Then with one stroke, he broke the demonic cultivator's leg.
(End of the Chapter)