The Quest for Immortality

Their youthful vigor had long been simmering with rage after being mocked by the disciples of the Sever Gold Sect.

Now that they had a chance to strike back, their eyes gleamed with cold menace.

In the distance, Elder Xun paused in surprise.

He had just praised Mo Hua inwardly for his ”restraint,” but in the blink of an eye, they were carrying axes, knives, and swords, ready to ”pick a fight.”

Some even went as far as poisoning their Spiritual Artifacts.

This kind of treacherous method... who taught them this?

Elder Xun shook his head.

Looks like a real conflict is inevitable now. Ignoring it would no longer work.

Nonetheless, he had made up his mind.

If Mo Hua and his group won, he’d watch from the sidelines.

If Mo Hua and his group lost, he’d step in to tilt the odds.

After all, he was an elder, and an elder must maintain their ”demeanor”...

Elder Xun silently started moving, trailing after Mo Hua and his group.

Mo Hua and the group, meanwhile, headed south, pursuing the direction where the Sever Gold Sect disciples had departed.

Throughout the chase, Mo Hua unfurled his Divine Sense, carefully combing through the traces left by the Sever Gold Sect disciples. After nearly an hour, they finally spotted the group at the top of a hill.

The pig-headed monster had already been skinned for materials.

Looking triumphant, the Sever Gold Sect disciples were now gathered at the foot of a slope, drinking and feasting.

To Mo Hua’s surprise, it was already dusk by now. The twilight hung heavy, the sunset fading beyond the hills, and soon, darkness would take over.

And yet, these disciples seemed in no rush to leave Refining Demon Mountain.

”Are they planning to spend the night in the mountains?”

Mo Hua frowned.

Why choose to stay in the mountains instead of leaving while they could?

Though, staying here works just fine.

Easier to act under the cover of darkness.

Mo Hua pulled out several pieces of black cloth, instructing everyone to cover their faces.

Cheng Mo said, ”Senior Brother, even with our faces covered, won’t they still recognize us...?”

Mo Hua shook his head, his expression dead serious as he replied:

”If we’re going to strike in the dark, we need to do it ’professionally.’ Since others wear masks, we must follow suit. Otherwise, we would be breaking the rules.”

Cheng Mo nodded hesitantly, half-understanding.

Once their preparations were complete, the group waited until nightfall. The night deepened; a cool mountain breeze swept through the area.

The Sever Gold Sect disciples gathered around a fire formation, drinking themselves into a light stupor, leaving only two on the outskirts for guard duty.

Mo Hua lowered his voice and said, ”Stick to the plan.”

Cheng Mo, biting a twig to suppress any noise, obediently nodded.

Soon, the group moved into their designated positions.

Mo Hua activated the Concealment Technique, quietly approaching the fire formation, stopping in its outer periphery, where he took out a bottle of Spiritual Ink and discreetly poured it onto the ground.

The ink seeped into the mountain soil.

Guided by Mo Hua’s Divine Thought, under the cloak of night, the ink slithered and coalesced, forming a Formation.

Elder Xun, still puzzled at what Mo Hua was plotting, froze briefly.

He knew Mo Hua was creating a Formation, but how could he manage this under the disciples’ noses?

Now, the truth unfolded before his eyes.

Even amidst the deepening night, Elder Xun, with his Golden Core Divine Sense attuned to twenty-eight patterns, sensed the intricacies of Mo Hua’s Formation creation.

Divine Thought as the brush, the earth as its canvas—a Formation came into existence in utter silence.

Elder Xun inhaled sharply.

Although he avoided the path of Formation due to fear of the patriarch’s strictness, decades of exposure granted him insight.

This technique was far beyond the reach of ordinary Formation Masters!

Could it be... something taught by the patriarch as well?

But...

Elder Xun’s gaze flickered uneasily, ”Could the patriarch himself even perform something like this...?”

...

Then, everything seemed to unfold naturally.

The Sever Gold Sect disciples were arrogant and reckless. Despite their Cultivation, their lack of experience with Tao Cultivation left them negligently complacent. Amidst their lively drinking and chatting, their guard dropped completely.

Mo Hua completed the Formation without them noticing a thing.

Mo Hua shook his head.

He had prepared multiple contingency plans in case his Divine Sense-drawn Formation was discovered—but it appeared he was overthinking it.

Finally, Mo Hua activated the Formation.

The seventeen-pattern, high-level second-grade Formation, though entry-level among high-rank ones, was more than sufficient to blast away these middle-phase second-grade disciples.

As the Formation detonated, soil and rubble swirled, flames erupted in the darkness.

Five of the eight Sever Gold Sect disciples collapsed instantly.

Even the senior disciple, though a late-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator, was gravely wounded by the blast.

Despite being a Sword Cultivator, he had neglected body cultivation.

Of the remaining three, Hao Xuan struck one unconscious with a sneak attack.

Yang Qianjun and Cheng Mo exploded into action, each dispatching one disciple.

Finally, the four of them teamed up to corner the weakened Sever Gold Sect senior disciple.

That same senior, once arrogant and aloof during the day, now looked utterly wretched, his airs shattered, trembling like a lost dog.

It seemed he genuinely hadn’t expected anyone in Refining Demon Mountain to ambush them.

However, he quickly regained composure amidst the chaos, summoning his Broken Gold Sword Qi and roaring:

”Who are you? How dare you offend the Sever Gold Sect?”

Mo Hua remained unfazed.

Cheng Mo, still biting the twig, couldn’t respond.

The others also kept silent, unleashing everything they had to attack the Sever Gold Sect senior disciple relentlessly.

With Gold-breaking armor defenses, deadly Spiritual Artifacts, and poisoned weapons, subduing a heavily injured late-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator wasn’t overly challenging.

However, mid-battle, the Sever Gold Sect senior disciple suddenly recognized them, exclaiming in shocked disbelief:

”It’s you! Those five little punks from earlier in the day?!”

But how could it be...

How could these little punks dare—and be able—to ambush his hunting squad of eight Sever Gold Sect disciples, led by a late-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator?

Enraged and incredulous, he sneered:

”Fine! Fine! You impudent little brats! Today I will...”

Before he could finish, Mo Hua saw through him.

”He’s about to use the Sever Gold Sword Control Jue!”

Yang Qianjun and the others immediately intensified their assault, suppressing the Sever Gold Sect senior disciple.

Desperate, the senior reached for his runes.

Mo Hua warned: ”He’s going for the Golden Body Talisman.”

Yang Qianjun, hearing this, swung his spear sharply to strike the disciple’s arm.

The Sever Gold Sect senior was stunned. Who were these brats to anticipate his every move, reading him so cleanly?

Biting through the pain, he knowingly suffered Yang Qianjun’s spear strike to seize this fleeting chance and activated the talisman.

A hazy golden glow enveloped him.

The Sever Gold Sect senior withdrew several steps under the talisman’s protection, gathering his Spiritual Power to enforce the fatal Sever Gold Sword Control Jue.

Golden light radiated from him.

Golden Sword Qi and the golden Spirit Sword before him intertwined brilliantly, exuding immense force.

Mo Hua instantly countered with a Water Prison Technique, but the pale blue water-light was repelled by the Golden Body Talisman, failing to interrupt the Sever Gold Sword Control Jue’s buildup.

The talisman rendered him immune to ordinary spell control.

Quick as lightning, Mo Hua shouted crisply:

”Attack! Cut him down!”

Simultaneously, Mo Hua began channeling the Five Elements Origin Armor.

Cheng Mo immediately picked up on this, excitement lighting his face. Without hesitation, his Spiritual Power surged, unleashing the Mountain Splitting Axe, cleaving at the Sever Gold Sect senior.

Being a Body Cultivator, Cheng Mo’s strike was exceptionally quick.

The Sever Gold Sect senior’s expression darkened.

He calculated the attack mentally.

This axe move, though fierce, wasn’t enough to stop his Sword Control Jue.

So long as his move was completed, these vile, despicable little wretches would meet their doom!

His gaze sharpened coldly.

But just as Cheng Mo’s axe swung midway, the armor on his body shimmered. An enigmatic force descended.

Cheng Mo’s power surged exponentially.

The axes he wielded gleamed with greater brilliance, their force escalating.

The Sever Gold Sect senior turned pale.

This... isn’t right!

Why has the axe’s power suddenly escalated?!

At that moment, his heart sank. He could do nothing but watch helplessly as Cheng Mo’s massive axe struck his shoulder.

The strike, immense in might, shattered the Golden Body Talisman, shaking him so hard he trembled all over.

The axe blade inflicted severe injuries, causing profuse bleeding.

The attack’s overwhelming force interrupted his half-cast Sever Gold Sword Control Jue.

Spiritual Power backlash coursed through him; blood spurted from his mouth, leaving him utterly powerless.

The Sever Gold Sect senior disciple, a late-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator, was ultimately defeated, forced to kneel before Mo Hua, held down by Cheng Mo’s mighty axe.