Chapter 731 – Source Armor
In the outer forest surrounding Beast Refining Mountain, demonic energy surged, black mist churning through the trees.
A Grade Two pig-headed demon beast charged madly forward, its speed astonishing.
Mo Hua and the others, including Elder Xun, who were in the process of retreating, sensed the ferocious demonic aura approaching from behind.
Elder Xun's brow furrowed slightly.
Mo Hua's heart tightened as he said in a low voice, "Run! That damn pig's chasing us!"
Cheng Mo and the rest tensed, pushing their movement techniques to the limit, quickening their pace—but the pig-headed beast was even faster.
The thick aura of the demon beast drew ever closer.
Mo Hua quickly deployed several array disks and stabbed in a few array flags, forming a trapping formation to obstruct the pig-headed demon.
The beast barreled straight into the formation.
The formation activated, forming a golden cage of light that bound the pig-headed beast.
Might as well show off a little—he was, after all, a late-stage Foundation Establishment elder of the Great Void Sect...
The array he set was carefully selected from all the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams arrays he had collected from the Shangguan clan, the Wenren clan, and even from Elder Xun himself—his strongest available Seventeen-Rune Killing Array.
Then, Mo Hua vanished from among the group, slipping into the trees on the other side.
When facing a strong enemy, letting these kids think for themselves and do their best could be a valuable lesson.
Mo Hua's gaze turned cold. "This fat pig's looking for death."
The Great Void Sect's formation inheritance had killing arrays too, but they weren't particularly vicious.
Cheng Mo and the others only stalled the beast, attacking briefly before withdrawing—not fighting to the death, just buying time.
Mo Hua spoke swiftly and clearly.
Cheng Mo and the others' expressions shifted as they turned to look at him.
At the same time, they each sent out a burst of sword energy, striking the pig-headed demon in its forehead, drawing its fury.
The pig-headed demon roared in rage and lunged toward Hao Xuan.
Its drool grew increasingly foul-smelling, and its eyes gleamed greedily.
If it really came down to it, Mo Hua would intervene.
Outside the sect, there was no need for courtesy with formations. Kill if you can—only dead enemies are good enemies.
A life-or-death crisis was also a form of tempering.
But… this thing was hard to kill.
Hunting tough, thick-skinned demon beasts like this one carried high risk and many unknowns—not something to take lightly.
"Hao Xuan, you've got good movement. Lure it away!"
On the other side, Hao Xuan and the others were going all out, throwing everything they had at the pig-headed demon to stall it.
Cheng Mo and the others paused, then nodded solemnly.
But the pig-headed demon kept getting closer and closer.
"Cheng Mo, stall it a little, don't get stuck in battle!"
"We can't outrun it!"
After all, the sect's teachings focused on imparting Dao, formation techniques centered more on cultivation, daily use, and fair duels—less on lethality.
Hao Xuan followed Mo Hua's instructions and pulled out a stalk of Demon-Stench Grass to bait the pig-headed beast.
Mo Hua, retreating while acting, unleashed multiple techniques in an attempt to block the beast and buy time for the others to escape.
Golden light slashed its flesh, blood sprayed everywhere—but the beast wasn't seriously hurt. Instead, it only grew more savage.
How do we kill this thing?
Elder Xun nodded to himself in secret.
Mo Hua had initially only intended to delay the beast enough for everyone to get away safely.
After a moment of thought, Elder Xun silently lowered his hand, dissipating the sword energy he had gathered—deciding to observe for now.
"Give me a little time to set the formation—then we'll butcher this fat pig!"
Formation inheritance was vast and complex, with countless styles and endless variations.
But formations from true aristocratic families were a different beast entirely.
At the critical moment, turn the tide of battle.
"These kids… they want to counter-kill this pig-headed beast?"
But the demon beast didn't care—it just kept charging like a tank.
Still, since it insisted on charging headfirst into death, it had only itself to blame…
Far away, Elder Xun had originally planned to help, sword energy already gathered at his fingertips, but when he saw this scene, he paused, his expression freezing.
Meanwhile, Mo Hua used the time to bury array disks and set up his formations in the forest.
Elder Xun's brows furrowed slightly.
In truth, the number of runes in a formation wasn't fixed.
For example, the Flame-Melting Array in the Qi Refining realm could appear as a six-rune ungraded array or as a true Grade One nine-rune array.
Grade Two killing arrays also varied in rune count.
The Earthfire Array, for instance, came in thirteen, sixteen, and even high-grade seventeen-to-nineteen-rune variants.
Same with the Earthslaughter Array.
These variations were scattered across different aristocratic families' inheritances.
Mo Hua, versed in Five Elements and Eight Trigrams formations, had absorbed knowledge from several families, merging them and selecting the strongest among the Seventeen-Rune arrays.
One was a high-grade Grade Two Seventeen-Rune Earthfire Array, inherited from the Wenren clan.
Another was a high-grade Grade Two Seventeen-Rune Earthslaughter Array, privately passed down from Elder Xun.
And the last—clearly from the Shangguan clan—was a Seventeen-Rune Shangguan Golden Blade Array.
All three were pure, refined killing arrays.
Mo Hua laid down these three high-grade killing arrays, then added a few trapping arrays before suppressing his aura and hiding his traces.
Once everything was ready, he whistled sharply.
The clear sound echoed through the forest.
Hao Xuan and the others, who had been desperately holding on, heard the whistle and breathed a sigh of relief. They immediately redirected the pig-headed demon toward Mo Hua's position.
Having been toyed with by its prey for so long, the pig-headed beast flew into a rage. Its eyes were bloodshot, its aura savage and violent.
It wanted to devour them whole—bones and all.
The beast surged forward even faster.
Trees were uprooted, demonic winds howled.
And just like that—dragging its malevolent aura behind it—the powerful pig-headed demon charged straight into Mo Hua's formation.
"Scatter!" Mo Hua shouted.
At his command, Hao Xuan and the others instantly dispersed.
In a flash, Mo Hua's divine sense connected with the array's core and activated the formation.
The earth turned to quicksand, dragging the pig-headed demon down.
Then rocks arched upward like a prison, pinning its body in place.
Vines and grasses writhed like chains, binding its limbs.
The pig-headed demon roared and struggled, flooding its limbs with demonic power—it shattered the stone prison, tore through the wooden binds, and was about to leap from the sand—
At that moment, Mo Hua's gaze turned cold. He spoke softly:
"Explode."
The earth trembled. Killing intent erupted.
Amidst a cloud of dust, earthen spiritual energy coiled and twisted like dragons, tearing and ripping with ferocity.
Then—blades of golden light burst forth.
Countless golden blades formed a spinning array, slicing the pig demon's flesh inch by inch.
Finally, the Earthfire Array detonated.
Scarlet flames engulfed the bloodied pig-headed beast in an instant…
Trap first, then kill. The trap arrays interlocked seamlessly; the killing arrays layered deadly intent upon deadly intent.
Powerful formation energy surged outward like crashing waves, the scene dazzling and overwhelming.
Cheng Mo and the others stood stunned, mouths agape.
Even Elder Xun was briefly dazed. Then his brows furrowed.
Wait a minute…
Wasn't this formation a bit too powerful?
Could a cultivator of Mo Hua's stage really deploy such an array?
The pig-headed beast was annihilated by the triple killing arrays—sand flew, trees snapped, spiritual energy trembled—and by the time it was over, the beast's body was battered and torn.
Within its brutal crimson eyes, both fury and terror remained.
Strike while it's down!
A flash of killing intent lit up in Mo Hua's eyes as he shouted:
"Kill it!"
Cheng Mo only hesitated for a moment before raising his axe and hacking down. Yang Qianjun, Situ Jian, and Hao Xuan all joined in right after.
The pig-headed demon roared, clashing with them in a fierce melee.
Although it was a mid-tier Grade Two demon beast with thick, potent demon energy and the upper hand in strength, after being heavily damaged by Mo Hua's formations, it could only hold its own against Cheng Mo and the others for now.
From the sidelines, Mo Hua precisely supported them with various Five Elemental spells—restraining, disrupting, or amplifying their attacks.
The battle fell into a temporary stalemate.
Although victory was gradually tipping in their favor, Mo Hua knew that in a demon hunt, anything could happen in the blink of an eye.
And within Beast Refining Mountain, with its complex terrain, there were even more variables.
They needed to end this quickly—strike hard and crush the pig demon in one blow.
Mo Hua's gaze turned deep as he calmed his mind.
He was waiting for a chance.
Finally, after who knew how long, the pig-headed demon—whose berserk fury had been fueled by injury—suddenly faltered for a few moments.
Mo Hua paused, his expression slightly puzzled, but then immediately understood.
It was the Greenwood Wolf's poison!
This pig-headed demon had drunk the wolf's blood, eaten its flesh, and swallowed its poison along with it.
Demonic beasts already had filthy blood essence, and while the poison wasn't lethal, it required time to detoxify completely.
At most, it would slow the beast down and make it sluggish.
But this greedy pig hadn't finished digesting the wolf before charging off to chase them down.
After stampeding all the way here, getting blasted by formations, and then being besieged by Cheng Mo's group, its internal blood energy could no longer suppress the Greenwood Wolf's poison—finally, its weakness began to show.
Mo Hua's gaze turned sharp as a blade, brimming with killing intent. He called out:
"Use your family's top-tier techniques!"
The group paused in surprise.
Even though the pig demon was seriously injured, its remaining blood energy was still formidable.
Under current conditions, even if they used everything they had, their family's elite inherited techniques wouldn't be enough to kill it.
But—
Mo Hua was their senior brother.
If he said so, then it was so.
None of them held back anymore—they went all in.
Cheng Mo let out a loud roar, eyes bulging, blood surging. His exposed muscles took on a deep bronze hue, and his entire presence became like a giant axe splitting mountains.
Cheng family ancestral technique: Mountain-Cleaving Axe!
Once activated, a rocky aura wrapped around him, his flesh as tough as iron, and his axe brimming with the power to shatter mountains.
Yang Qianjun's eyes gleamed gold, his spear tip glowing with blinding golden light.
Situ Jian's Departing Fire Sword burst into fierce flames.
Hao Xuan's spiritual sword summoned howling winds.
Each of them unleashed their family's inherited techniques and charged the pig demon together.
At this point, the pig-headed demon, slowed by the Greenwood Wolf's poison, clearly had no way to dodge.
Yet Elder Xun, still observing from the shadows, silently shook his head.
It wouldn't be enough.
Top-tier techniques were powerful, yes—but these disciples were only at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment. They couldn't fully draw out the power of such advanced arts.
Together, these techniques could easily kill most late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators.
But demonic beasts? Not so simple.
Especially not a beast from Beast Refining Mountain.
And especially not this pig-headed demon, whose blood energy far surpassed others of its kind.
Elder Xun did a mental calculation.
Those techniques, at best, could burn off most of the pig demon's vitality—leaving it with maybe 10% of its blood energy.
But the less blood a demon beast had, the closer it was to death—and the more violent it would become.
And by then, the disciples would've spent all their strength, drained of spirit power, their strongest moves used up—just ripe to be devoured alive.
That's the risk of demon hunting. Victory wasn't guaranteed just because you had the upper hand.
If you ran out of spiritual power first, the one who died… would still be the cultivator.
Still, these kids had done pretty damn well.
Elder Xun nodded in secret.
They knew when to advance and retreat, planned before acting, could launch ambushes, and cooperated seamlessly. Not a single one panicked or tried to flee when danger came.
"All of them are promising seedlings," he thought to himself.
What came next—should be the elder's moment to shine… Ahem, to clean up the aftermath.
Elder Xun pressed his fingers together, gathering sword energy again.
But just as he was about to act—he suddenly froze, eyes widening at the battlefield in the woods.
"Their auras… got stronger?"
What was going on?
At that moment, deep within the forest—
Mo Hua stood apart from the others, eyes dark and calm. His divine sense swept outward, instantly connecting with the Five Elements Source Armor, activating the Five Elemental Source Array within it.
His vast, faintly golden spiritual sense fused into the array and merged with its formation energy.
The intricate, otherworldly array runes on the armor lit up once more.
A clear humming sound rang through the air.
Wearing the Five Elements Source Armor, Cheng Mo and Yang Qianjun—mid-attack—suddenly sensed something: a will, resonating with the armor.
The armor activated, coating them in pure spiritual light.
A mysterious power resonated with their meridians.
Their spiritual power began to boil, flowing faster, burning hotter—so intense it made their meridians sting!
"What is this?!"
The two glanced at each other, eyes full of disbelief.
At that moment, they felt empowered. Their strength had grown. Even against a powerful demon beast, they felt no fear.
"Kill!"
They roared and struck in unison.
The Mountain-Cleaving Axe surged with earth-brown rock energy, transforming into overwhelming force as it cleaved down with unstoppable might.
Yang's spear gleamed golden, sharp as lightning, becoming a brilliant streak that stabbed straight for the demon's throat.
In an instant, spirit power and demonic power collided violently.
Sensing death, the pig demon shrieked and unleashed a flood of demonic energy—but it was useless.
Moments later, the dust settled.
The mighty axe split the demon's skull wide open.
The glowing spear pierced its throat.
Situ Jian and Hao Xuan's sword auras arrived right on cue, slicing through its flesh.
The demon's skull cracked, its throat poured blood, and not long after—it slowly collapsed to the ground.
Cheng Mo and the others, breathing heavily, were just about to relax—
Then they remembered Mo Hua's "teachings" and instantly snapped to alert again.
They had to guard against the demon playing dead.
Each of them used their remaining spiritual energy to land one last round of blade, spear, and sword strikes—just to be safe.
Seeing the fat pig head hit the ground without a twitch, its aura completely gone, everyone finally let out a breath of relief.
In the distance, Elder Xun's fingers remained pressed together. The sword energy he was condensing… dissipated halfway.
He had seen everything.
And despite all his knowledge and experience—he couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath.
"What the hell… was that just now?"
Armor? Formation?
Elder Xun, a direct descendant of the Xun clan and an elder of the Great Void Sect, had studied the most orthodox cultivation methods. Yet in all his years of life, he had never seen armor like that, or formations like those.
He had clearly sensed it—the moment the armor activated and the formation took effect, the Five Elemental spiritual energy was greatly amplified.
A formation that boosts spiritual power…
Elder Xun's heart trembled.
Where did that formation come from?!
His gaze silently fell upon Mo Hua.
Though the armor was worn by Cheng Mo and Yang Qianjun…
And though the pig-headed demon was killed by the two using that enhanced power…
It was obvious—the formation wasn't their work.
Among the group, the only one who could have drawn such an extraordinary formation was Mo Hua.
And just moments ago, Elder Xun had clearly felt it—Mo Hua had released his divine sense and controlled the formation engraved into the armor.
"But…" Elder Xun frowned deeply, mind spinning. "Where did he learn this formation from?"
Amplifying spiritual power… slaying enemies above your level…
Formations like that were undoubtedly top-tier legacies.
Even within the Great Void Sect—one of the Eight Great Sects of Qianzhou—this would qualify as a sect-guarding ultimate technique.
How could a mere kid have learned it?
"Could it be…" Elder Xun mused, "the ancestor taught him?"
In the entire Great Void Sect, if such a rare legacy existed, it could only have been hidden by the Grand Ancestor.
The Grand Ancestor was the most accomplished in formations and had the broadest scholarly reach.
Elder Xun nodded to himself—only to suddenly pause and think:
"No… that doesn't add up."
He had grown up under the Ancestor's tutelage, and in all that time, he had never seen—never even heard of—a formation like that being part of the Great Void Sect or the Xun family's legacies.
Did the old man hide it?
Did the Ancestor keep the truly good stuff to himself, never passing it down—only secretly teaching this kid?
Elder Xun's brows furrowed even deeper.
Now he wasn't so sure anymore… Was Mo Hua actually a "Xun" by blood?
Otherwise, there was just no way to explain why the Grand Ancestor treated him so well.
The Grand Ancestor was notoriously strict and inflexible. In front of sect rules, he made no exceptions—even Xun clan disciples received no special treatment.
That much, Elder Xun knew very well.
But humans were still human. No matter how stern and rigid, people still had favorites.
If Mo Hua really was a Xun…
Then the Ancestor treating him like this—could it mean they were closely related?
How close?
A great-great-grandson? A great-grandson? Or maybe… a grandson?
As the thought formed, Elder Xun's heart suddenly skipped a beat.
"Crap!!"
"If that's the case… doesn't that mean this Mo Hua kid… might be my elder?!"
Should he be calling him "Uncle"? Or… "Great-Uncle?!"
Elder Xun sucked in another cold breath.
That drop in seniority was too steep!
What now?!
Cold sweat beaded on his forehead as his thoughts spun wildly.
"No way!"
I absolutely refuse to be the junior!
Since the Grand Ancestor never said anything, and Mo Hua never admitted to it either, then—
Let's just pretend nothing happened.
Whether it's true or not—this didn't happen.
I don't know anything! Not a damn thing!!
With that comforting thought, Elder Xun felt a bit more at ease… though when he glanced at Mo Hua again, his gaze now carried a hint of awe.
Meanwhile, the pig-headed demon was finally dead.
Mo Hua let out a long breath and severed his divine sense. The formation on the Five Elements Source Armor deactivated, and the power amplification ceased.
Cheng Mo and Yang Qianjun exited their "enhanced" state, returning to their usual levels. That intense feeling of "I'm invincible" faded, leaving both with a faint trace of loss and gloom.
But Yang Qianjun, more than anything, felt shocked.
"Senior Brother… this armor…"
His voice trembled slightly.
Mo Hua didn't hide anything. He said plainly, "This is the 'Five Elements Source Armor.' I engraved a formation on it—it can temporarily boost the five elements and amplify spiritual power…"
Boosting the Five Elements… amplifying spiritual power!
Yang Qianjun's pupils shook violently.
Coming from the Yang family and the Weapon Division, he understood better than most what that meant. His heart surged like waves crashing through his chest.
Off to the side, Cheng Mo wasn't thinking that deeply.
All he remembered was the boiling spiritual power when he put on the armor—that god-blocks-I-kill-gods, Buddha-blocks-I-slay-Buddhas feeling of absolute dominance.
He clutched the armor tightly, eyes shining as he stared at Mo Hua.
With that look, he almost blurted out: "Father!"
(End of Chapter)