Chapter 748 – Linghu Xiao
Linghu Xiao, who was known for never smiling, introduced himself with a sharp gaze like a sword, fixing his eyes on Mo Hua.
Mo Hua cupped his hands and replied,
"Great Void Sect, Mo Hua."
Linghu Xiao paused, then recalled that the Great Void Sect and the Chongxu Sect shared a common ancestral lineage. They were somewhat connected as sects, so his expression eased, and the hostility in his eyes gradually faded.
Mo Hua's gaze shifted slightly as he recalled something and asked,
"You have a grudge with the Broken Gold Sect?"
Linghu Xiao hesitated briefly, then gave a small nod. "You could say that…"
"What kind of grudge?" Mo Hua was very curious.
Linghu Xiao wasn't used to chatting with people, but with Mo Hua staring so intently, he felt it would be rude not to answer.
Besides, their earlier clash had been due to his own misjudgment.
Though proud and aloof by nature, he believed in setting things straight.
So Linghu Xiao began,
"The disciples of the Broken Gold Sect are vile and shameless. They've snatched my prey multiple times in this mountain."
"I've fought with them several times and built up quite a bit of animosity."
"Today, I saw that eagle fall off a cliff with golden sword marks on it. I thought the Broken Gold Sect was hunting it and figured it was their prey—so I went to take it from them…"
At this point, Linghu Xiao glanced at Mo Hua again.
"Besides, you weren't wearing your sect's robes. I didn't know who you were…"
"Oh…" Mo Hua suddenly understood.
Linghu Xiao had seen the eagle demon with golden sword scars and assumed it was struck by the Broken Gold Sect's signature Broken Gold Sword Qi.
And he wasn't wrong.
The eagle had been injured by the Broken Gold Sword Qi… only, it wasn't the real one—it was Mo Hua simulating it through his Broken Gold Sword Array.
He had wounded the eagle demon himself using sword control.
And since he had taken off his Great Void Sect robes before entering the mountain—wearing only a plain gray outfit to keep a low profile—it was natural for Linghu Xiao to assume he was from the Broken Gold Sect.
So when he saw someone from the Broken Gold Sect, he naturally tried to snatch the beast back—hence the earlier hostility.
Now that the misunderstanding had been cleared up, Linghu Xiao hadn't stubbornly clung to his pride. He had openly admitted his mistake and even returned the injured second-grade mid-tier demon eagle, which was worth quite a bit of merit points.
Mo Hua gave a slight nod.
Although Linghu Xiao seemed aloof and hard to get along with, as a disciple of the Chongxu Sect, he clearly had principles and acted with decency.
Mo Hua grinned and waved it off.
"Since it was a misunderstanding, forget it."
Then he glanced at Linghu Xiao and looked around, asking curiously:
"You came into the mountains to hunt demons alone?"
Linghu Xiao lifted his chin slightly and replied, somewhat arrogantly:
"I'm more than enough on my own."
Mo Hua raised an eyebrow.
Judging from his tone, Linghu Xiao was a little full of himself—but he didn't seem to be lying.
Still, hunting alone in a place like Demon Refining Mountain, where demonic beasts roamed freely, wasn't exactly an easy task.
Mo Hua glanced at the sword wounds on the demon eagle's body, thought back to Linghu Xiao's swordplay in their brief clash, and combined that with his own years of demon-hunting experience to make a rough deduction:
This Linghu Xiao was probably using a "scavenger-style" hunting method.
Some beasts got wounded by other cultivators and fled into the woods;
Others got injured in fights over territory with fellow beasts.
These injured creatures were naturally weaker.
With his exquisite sword techniques and inherited spiritual sword, Linghu Xiao could generate fierce sword Qi to end battles swiftly—cleanly finishing off these already-crippled targets.
This way, he could slay a beast solo and take full credit for the merit.
Though the efficiency might be lower, each successful hunt was quite profitable.
Of course, it was easier said than done.
Besides the need for strong swordsmanship and lethal strikes, one had to track demon aura, seek out prey, avoid danger, and escape if needed—no small feat.
Plus, there was a large element of luck.
Wounded beasts weren't something you stumbled upon every day.
If he encountered unexpected danger, there would be no one around to help.
That's why demon hunting was best done in small squads, with sectmates to watch each other's backs.
"You don't team up with your sectmates?" Mo Hua asked curiously.
Linghu Xiao's face darkened and he said coldly,
"I told you—I'm enough on my own."
Mo Hua understood.
His sectmates didn't want to hang out with him.
Maybe it was because his talent was too dazzling, and others were jealous and excluded him…
Or maybe his personality was too cold, and he wasn't very likable, so he had no friends and had to hunt demons alone.
Mo Hua asked again,
"What about the Broken Gold Sect? Can you handle them alone?"
Linghu Xiao replied with a frosty tone,
"A few of them aren't my match. If there are more, I can escape with my sword—none of them can catch me. It's just that…"
He seemed angry, and his tone carried disdain.
"That bunch of Broken Gold Sect bastards play dirty tricks. Two or three of them stall me while the others steal my prey."
"They snatch it and run—truly… vile and shameless!"
Mo Hua could tell: this guy was bad at swearing.
Even when he was furious, all he could say was "vile and shameless" over and over again.
Still…
Mo Hua pondered silently.
To hold his ground with swordplay alone and take on five opponents…
This Linghu Xiao wasn't some no-name in the Chongxu Sect. Even if he wasn't the top genius, he was clearly a standout among the sword cultivators.
As Mo Hua was thinking, he suddenly saw Linghu Xiao fix him with a piercing gaze and speak seriously:
"Mo Hua, I want to fight you again."
Mo Hua blinked. "Why?"
Linghu Xiao's eyes grew solemn.
"Though you don't seem strong, I have this faint feeling that your strength is unfathomable. You must be a master—I want to test myself against you."
Mo Hua suddenly understood why this guy didn't have any friends.
Great talent, but prideful, combative, and just a little… off.
"I'm not interested," Mo Hua shook his head.
"Why not?" Linghu Xiao asked, confused.
Mo Hua answered righteously,
"There's nothing in it for me—why would I fight you?"
He was a busy man!
These kiddie sparring matches were a waste of time.
He could be cultivating, studying formations, training sword control, hunting beasts, earning merit…
Linghu Xiao was momentarily stunned, then got angry.
"A true sword cultivator challenges the blade without fear or hesitation—only by defeating strong opponents can you refine your sword arts and forge an unbreakable sword heart!"
Mo Hua shrugged,
"But I'm not a sword cultivator. That 'perfect sword technique' and 'strong sword heart' stuff—what's it got to do with me?"
"Aren't you training in swordplay?"
"I'm just learning it casually. It's not how I make a living."
Linghu Xiao was speechless.
He realized Mo Hua was completely immune to persuasion.
Down-to-earth, annoyingly practical, and totally uninterested in the lofty pursuits of sword cultivators.
He was frustrated, bitterly spat out a few words:
"Our paths are different—we can't walk together!"
"Oh." Mo Hua nodded half-heartedly.
The two of them fell silent.
Mo Hua noticed the time was getting late. He glanced at Linghu Xiao, then at the demon wood eagle. After a brief moment of thought, he said:
"Do you want this eagle? I'll split it with you."
Linghu Xiao was taken aback and shook his head. "I already said I gave it to you. I don't want it!"
Mo Hua replied, "True, I injured the eagle, but it was your final strike that killed it. Technically, we both contributed to the kill. So it belongs to both of us."
"I don't like taking a loss, but I also don't like taking advantage of others."
"Half and half—I don't lose out, and you're not being taken for a fool."
Linghu Xiao fell silent.
Mo Hua thought for a moment, then added, "You really don't want it? This is a second-grade mid-tier demon beast, and a flying-type too. Converted into merit points, it's worth about two to three thousand. If we split it, that's over a thousand points each…"
"Over a thousand merit points!"
A thousand points?!
Linghu Xiao's heart skipped a beat. He immediately wavered.
He didn't know much about avian-type demon beasts and wasn't sure of their grades.
But when he had used his Chongxu Sword Qi to kill this one, he'd clearly felt tremendous pressure—unlike anything he'd experienced before.
He had guessed it was somewhere between low and mid-grade.
But to find out it was actually a second-grade mid-tier flying beast?
And this Mo Hua kid from the Great Void Sect, all alone, only at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage—what kind of secret sword technique did he use to bring down a demon eagle flying in the sky?
The more Linghu Xiao thought about it, the more alarmed he felt.
At the same time, his blood boiled at the idea of facing such a powerful opponent.
He said again, "Fight me."
"We'll see later…" Mo Hua casually brushed him off.
Then he repeated, "So? Do you want your share of that thousand-plus merit points or not?"
Linghu Xiao fell silent again.
But Mo Hua could tell from his face—he clearly wanted it.
Given that he hunted alone, his demon-hunting efficiency was surely lower, and earning merit points couldn't be easy.
A thousand-plus points? That was a huge sum.
It was just… with Linghu Xiao's pride, he probably couldn't bring himself to ask.
Mo Hua sighed, "How about this—strip the eagle's hide, clean the bones, and we'll take it to the sect exchange center together. We split the merit points fifty-fifty."
Linghu Xiao said nothing. After a few seconds of silence, he silently began skinning and deboning the demon eagle…
A thousand merit points was just too much. He couldn't say no.
Once he'd processed the materials, Linghu Xiao packed everything into a storage pouch and handed it to Mo Hua.
Mo Hua took it and tucked it into his robes. He said to Linghu Xiao:
"Let's go—down the mountain."
And with that, without waiting for a reply, he turned and swaggered confidently down the mountain path.
Linghu Xiao stared at Mo Hua's back for a moment, hesitated, and then silently followed…
After the two had left, a figure slowly revealed himself from the surrounding woods.
He looked at their departing backs thoughtfully.
A moment later, he suddenly froze and turned to the right—only to discover that someone else had also appeared beside him, without him noticing when.
Both of them were startled by the other's presence.
Their eyes met—and their expressions turned… complicated.
"Ziyou?"
"Xuanjian?"
"What are you doing here?"
They spoke in unison, then both immediately understood.
Xun Ziyou said, "Your Chongxu Sect Patriarch sent you to keep an eye on your sword prodigy, didn't he?"
The Chongxu elder named Xuanjian sighed, "Sword-heart clarity, a once-in-five-centuries genius. Of course the old patriarch treats him like a treasure."
"The problem is, he's a loner by nature. If I didn't keep watch, he might die in this mountain and get eaten clean by a beast—bones and all—and no one would even know."
"True that…" Xun Ziyou nodded.
A once-in-500-years sword genius—if the Great Void Sect had someone like that, they'd be treating him like royalty.
Though Demon Refining Mountain was a trial ground, where life and death were left to fate to train disciples under pressure…
For a talent that rare, you'd make an exception. If he died, it would be an unforgivable loss to the sect.
The Chongxu elder asked Xun Ziyou, "And you? What are you doing here?"
Xun Ziyou's gaze drifted. "I was just… casually strolling. Happened to pass by."
The Chongxu elder scowled. "I told you the truth, and you're joking with me? You just happened to stroll here—in stealth mode, hidden like a thief?"
Xun Ziyou didn't reply.
The Chongxu elder snorted and looked again toward Mo Hua in the distance, muttering thoughtfully,
"His bearing is certainly different… but his aptitude looks average…"
He turned to Xun Ziyou and asked:
"That kid—what's his background? Where's he from? What makes him so special that you're watching him personally?"
Xun Ziyou knew he couldn't hide it, so after a moment's thought, he sighed and said:
"He's got talent… in array formations."
"Formations?" The Chongxu elder blinked. "Since when does your Great Void Sect specialize in that?"
"What about sword techniques?"
The elder looked disappointed, even a bit annoyed.
"Even the Tai'e Sect, known for forging swords, now focuses on swordplay. My Chongxu Sect might be lacking in other areas, but in terms of sword Qi, we're top-tier in the Qianxue Prefecture. And your Great Void Sect? What about your sword techniques?"
Xun Ziyou rolled his eyes. "Spiritual Thought Sword Manifestation—you dare to learn that?"
The Chongxu elder froze, then after a moment, nodded.
"Fair point. I wouldn't dare. I'm not worthy…"
That kind of self-mutilating technique… only maniacs would practice it.
Xun Ziyou let out a long sigh.
"With the three sects split, the only thing our Great Void Sect is truly good at—we can't even pass it on. What else can we do? Just muddle along…"
The Chongxu elder said nothing.
Indeed, from the perspective of the Great Void Sect, things were quite difficult.
"But," the elder said with some doubt, "that kid—he's called Mo Hua, right? Just how good can his formation skills be? Worth you personally watching over him?"
Xun Ziyou thought to himself:
If I told you, it'd scare you to death.
But I'm not telling you.
"Ah, just so-so," Xun Ziyou said with deep meaning. "Like picking a general from among the dwarfs—he's just a little bit better than the other disciples of his generation…"
The Chongxu elder didn't buy it.
If the patriarch himself had instructed a Golden Core elder to keep a close eye, then there's no way this disciple's formation skills were just "so-so."
Xun Ziyou was definitely bluffing.
But even so… how good could he really be?
The Great Void Sect wasn't a formation sect. It had never been known for that.
No matter how talented this kid was in formations, could he really surpass Wan Formation Sect, one of the Twelve Streams? Or the Heavenly Dao Sect, which had a deep legacy in formation arts?
Still, it's a matter of making the most of what you've got. No matter how clever the wife, she can't cook without rice.
The Great Void Sect was clearly doing its best, and this was probably the limit of what they could do.
The Chongxu elder was quite understanding.
"Let's drink sometime," he offered.
"Let's talk when there's time…" Xun Ziyou replied with a complicated expression.
That kid Mo Hua—he really was a headache.
The Chongxu elder was just being polite. He himself was busy too. Watching over a sword prodigy as solitary and prideful as Linghu Xiao wasn't exactly easy.
Before leaving, though, he thought for a moment and offered a reminder:
"You've probably heard about the sect reform. I won't say more—just be careful."
Xun Ziyou frowned. "The Tai'e Sect wants to break into the Four Great Sects. Don't tell me you Chongxu folks are aiming for that too?"
The Chongxu elder chuckled. "Us? We're nowhere near that level. But…"
He sighed softly. "Once the reform starts and the landscape changes, a sect is like a boat against the current—if you're not moving forward, you're falling behind."
"For us, we're just trying to keep stable. As long as we stay among the Eight Great Sects, that's enough. The Four Great Sects… not something we're considering right now."
Xun Ziyou nodded.
The Chongxu elder gave a faint smile, but inwardly, he was deep in thought.
"Not considering right now"...
If that Linghu Xiao kid could fully unleash his potential—if he could refine the Chongxu Sword Qi to its peak…
Then the Chongxu Sect might very well take a step forward.
On the surface, between the Tai'e and Chongxu Sects, the Tai'e looked stronger. But which one would be the first to break into the Four Greats?
That wasn't something that could be determined just yet.
And Linghu Xiao's sword talent… was far more terrifying than the outside world imagined.
In fact, within the Chongxu Sect, only a few core elders close to the patriarch even knew the full extent of it.
The world knew the Chongxu Sect had produced a once-in-five-centuries sword prodigy. But they had no idea just how far that "prodigy" title went…
The Chongxu elder's heart trembled slightly at the thought.
Xun Ziyou, of course, had no idea what he was thinking.
The two chatted a little longer before saying their goodbyes.
At that very moment, the Chongxu Sect's sword prodigy was silently following behind Mo Hua, crossing mountains and ridges, until they arrived at the gate of the Demon Refining Mountain.
"Second-grade mid-tier Demonwood Eagle materials, exchanging for merit points. Thank you."
Mo Hua politely handed over his storage pouch.
"Second-grade mid-tier?" The disciple in charge of materials raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you used to bring second-grade low-tier ones? You can handle mid-tier now?"
He was familiar with Mo Hua, who had regularly brought in second-grade low-tier hawk-type demon beasts to trade for merit.
Mo Hua smiled. "Just got lucky, picked up a leftover."
The disciple shook his head.
Nobody gets that lucky…
Still, he wasn't in a position to pry.
Whatever the method, if you could kill a demon beast—that was your skill.
He sorted through the eagle's feathers, bones, claws, and skull. After a quick tally, he said:
"Total comes to 2,672 merit points. Take a look."
Mo Hua glanced over the list and confirmed it. He nodded.
The merit was credited to his Great Void Token, and Mo Hua immediately split half with Linghu Xiao.
Linghu Xiao froze.
He hadn't expected Mo Hua to be this generous—to hand over such a huge chunk of merit without even blinking.
Until now, he had never seen such a "generous" sect disciple.
And the one being generous wasn't even from his own Chongxu Sect—he was a Great Void Sect disciple, someone he'd only met once, and had even clashed with due to a misunderstanding…
Linghu Xiao felt… complicated.
Meanwhile, Mo Hua's eyes remained on Linghu Xiao, thoughts turning.
This sword prodigy really was impressive.
Judging by the sword aura, his technique was clearly the Chongxu Sect's ultimate legacy—the Chongxu Sword Qi Art.
That sword art… Mo Hua definitely couldn't learn.
And that kind of sword Qi… was not something he could cultivate.
But such a powerful sword cultivator—he could be recruited.
Even just as a "muscle man" backup—that'd be handy.
Mo Hua blinked and revealed a sly, fox-like smile.
(End of Chapter)