After the battle, the demon hunters cleared the battlefield.
Injured demon hunters received medical treatment.
The Qian family cultivators had their storage bags and spiritual tools stripped from them and thrown outside. Their survival depended on whether the Qian family was willing to come to their rescue.
Additionally, all captured spoils of war were to be turned in, categorized, and then distributed according to merits and the needs of the cultivators.
Inside the mine shaft, Elder Yu sat down on a large rock.
Demon hunters approached one by one, handing over the captured storage bags to Elder Yu.
Mo Hua, with his arms full of storage bags, walked up to Elder Yu, ready to submit them.
Elder Yu was surprised. "What are you doing?"
"Submitting these," Mo Hua replied.
Elder Yu narrowed his eyes slightly. "Kid, what's the fuss about? Keep them for yourself."
"Oh." Mo Hua sat down on the side.
After a while, Elder Yu couldn't resist asking out of curiosity, "Where did you get all these storage bags?"
Mo Hua felt a bit embarrassed. "I picked them up at the foot of the mountain."
"Picked them up?"
"Yeah," Mo Hua explained, "Whenever a lone Qian family cultivator escaped, I took care of them and then took their storage bags."
Elder Yu stared, thinking, "What are you saying?"
If Qian family cultivators were caught alone, they were still legitimate mid-to-late Qi Refining cultivators. How could a child of around ten solve that?
And talking so casually about it, as if eating candied haws...
Elder Yu frowned, then asked, "Have you learned any spells?"
"Yeah, I've learned Fireball Technique."
"I see."
Elder Yu nodded approvingly. That made sense.
But then he frowned again.
Wait, Fireball Technique isn't that easy to handle either.
Spellcasting requires condensing spiritual energy. If not practiced well, hitting someone could still be a problem...
Elder Yu wanted to ask more, but other demon hunters had already come up to submit their storage bags, so he held back.
"Elder Yu, do I really not need to submit mine?" Mo Hua asked sneakily.
"If you picked them up outside the mine, it's your own skill. Besides, we're not so mean as to take things from a child like you."
"Thank you, Elder Yu!"
Mo Hua gratefully accepted.
Once the mine was cleaned up, Elder Yu stationed guards and allowed the injured demon hunters to return home to recuperate.
Mo Shan also returned, unscathed in his vine armor adorned with refined golden armor arrays drew by Mo Hua. Not even the demonic beasts could tear through it, let alone ordinary Foundation Building cultivators' swords.
He intended to send Mo Hua back, considering Mo Hua was now "loaded."
Upon arriving home, Mo Hua closed the door, dumped the storage bags on the table, and began to open them one by one.
Mo Shan watched, his expression complex.
He didn't know how his son managed to pick up so many storage bags...
There were about a dozen storage bags, filled with various items.
Mostly spirit stones, spiritual tools, elixirs, Daoist robes, and some miscellaneous items, none of great value.
There were also a few brightly colored booklets depicting seductive female cultivators doing strange things.
Mo Hua had just flipped open one when Mo Shan confiscated them.
Mo Hua felt a bit regretful. "I wonder what's depicted inside..."
The dozen or so storage bags were quickly assessed.
There were three to four hundred spirit stones in pure value, plus some raw spirit ore and various elixirs and spiritual tools, estimated to be worth five to six hundred spirit stones in total.
Five to six hundred spirit stones!
Mo Hua couldn't help but marvel.
No wonder people often say, "A horse without night grass won't get fat, and a person without windfall won't get rich."
However, it's better not to engage in this kind of business if possible.
Mo Hua still wanted to be a law-abiding and virtuous cultivator.
Unless he happened upon fools like the Qian family, who were both bad and stupid enough to fall into his hands...
The spirit stones from the storage bags were all given to Mo Hua by Mo Shan, to use for cultivation and learning formation techniques. Mo Shan took the remaining spiritual tools, elixirs, Daoist robes, and vine armor.
This time, the Qian family suffered a great loss and certainly wouldn't let it go easily.
In the days ahead, they would likely face the Qian family's furious retaliation. These spiritual tools and elixirs would definitely come in handy.
But before the Qian family could strike back, the Dao Court came knocking first.
After all, the battle between demon hunters and the Qian family had resulted in considerable casualties. Morally and legally, the Dao Court couldn't just stand by.
The supervisor of the Dao Court personally sought out Elder Yu.
Mo Hua heard about it and tagged along with his father out of curiosity.
Elder Yu and the supervisor talked for a long time inside the house. No one knew what they discussed, but when they came out, both looked rather grim.
It seemed they didn't part on good terms.
What did they talk about?
Mo Hua was very curious, but he knew Elder Yu wouldn't tell him if he asked.
Just then, he noticed Zhang Lan following behind the supervisor.
Zhang Lan was a dean of the Dao Court, with a high position and a scion of a prestigious family. It was only natural for him to attend such important occasions.
As Zhang Lan walked, he noticed a familiar gaze on him.
He turned and indeed saw Mo Hua.
Mo Hua blinked at him.
Zhang Lan sighed inwardly, pretended not to see, and turned away.
In the afternoon, he found a moment of leisure and went to Mo Hua's family restaurant for a drink.
Mo Hua personally poured him a drink, eagerly watching him.
Zhang Lan couldn't help but say, "Alright, what do you want to know?"
Mo Hua's eyes lit up. "What were Elder Yu and your supervisor talking about this morning?"
Zhang Lan coughed lightly and lowered his voice, "About the spiritual mine. You're aware of it, right?"
Mo Hua nodded.
Although expected, Zhang Lan was still somewhat surprised. "How much do you know?"
"I know everything I should know. I even went there on the day we captured the spiritual mine."
And picked up a dozen storage bags...
Of course, Mo Hua didn't say that.
Zhang Lan was, after all, a cultivator of the Dao Court with his own stance to maintain. Mo Hua was considerate enough not to make it difficult for him.
Mo Hua thoughtfully considered Zhang Lan's situation.
Zhang Lan sighed, "You've got quite the nerve."
This kid dared to get involved in a battle of cultivators.
Zhang Lan continued, "Since you already know, I won't beat around the bush. With such a big incident involving casualties on both sides, the supervisor wants to settle things peacefully. The Qian family agrees, but their condition is for you all to hand over the spiritual mine. That way, they won't pursue the matter any further..."
Mo Hua snorted, "They wish!"
"Your Elder Yu said the same thing," Zhang Lan added.
Of course, alongside that were quite a few curses. Some of them were so coarse that Zhang Lan hadn't even heard of them.
Having seen many Foundation Establishment cultivators, Zhang Lan knew Elder Yu wasn't the most powerful, but he was certainly the most foul-mouthed.
"What's next?" Mo Hua asked.
Zhang Lan sighed, "There's not much we can do at this point. The Dao Court can't intervene in conflicts between two such forces."
"Huh?" Mo Hua's eyes reflected some confusion.
Does that mean your Dao Court has this ability?
Zhang Lan helplessly said, "The Dao Court only has so many cultivators. While we can uphold Dao Laws and catch one or two criminal cultivators, we can't manage conflicts between two powerful factions like this."
Zhang Lan added, "At best, we can mediate and ensure everyone adheres to common rules around the unnamed peak where the spiritual mine is located."
"What are these 'common' rules?" Mo Hua asked.
Zhang Lan's expression grew serious, and he lowered his voice:
"It means the unnamed peak serves as the boundary. Outside the peak, you can't kill without cause. On the peak, you can fight as you please, kill as you please, until both sides have had their fill..."
"No one outside of yourselves knows about deaths there. The Dao Court will turn a blind eye and won't report to the higher courts."
Simple, crude, and barbaric.
Mo Hua's gaze chilled upon hearing this.
In other words, the real brutal battle is about to begin...
(End of the Chapter)