Chapter 224: Chapter 223 Thousands of Fireworks_1
Mo Shan chuckled and nodded, “Right.”
“Are monster beasts very difficult to deal with?”
“Indeed, they are not easy to handle. Monster beasts have profound blood qi and tough skin and flesh. It usually takes five or six cultivators of the same realm to have a chance of killing a monster beast. To be safe, it’s best to have eight or nine.”
Bai Zisheng thought for a moment and asked, “Then, do you think I could kill a monster beast on my own?”
“On your own… Killing a monster beast is out of the question, being killed is more like it,” Mo Hua remarked as he gnawed on a chicken leg in silence.
Bai Zisheng, not convinced, gave him a slight glare.
Mo Shan couldn’t help but chuckle, “Not now, but in the future, when your cultivation is higher, you might have great potential.”
Bai Zisheng was greatly encouraged.
“Dad, lying is not right,” said Mo Hua.
Bai Zisheng, feeling indignant, retorted, “Uncle Mo is a Monster Hunter, he surely knows better than you.”
He had asked Mo Hua before if he could hunt a monster beast on his own.
Mo Hua said it wasn’t possible, which Bai Zisheng was somewhat reluctant to accept, but having never fought with a monster beast himself, he found Mo Hua’s words somewhat credible.
But now that Uncle Mo said he had great potential, perhaps he really could hunt a monster beast on his own in the future.
After all, Uncle Mo was a genuine Monster Hunter, while Mo Hua was just a Junior Formation Master who relied on formations, taking advantage of situations to trap and kill monster beasts.
Mo Shan continued, “Even if you could indeed kill a monster beast on your own, it’s still best to find some companions for mutual support. Monster beasts are extremely cunning.”
Bai Zisheng nodded, “Don’t worry, Uncle Mo, I’m aware of that.”
He also listened to Mo Hua’s monster hunting stories, some based on his own experiences, others he heard from others.
In the stories, many monster hunters had lost their lives due to a moment’s carelessness, ambushed or deceived by the monster beasts playing dead, so he always took it as a cautionary tale.
Then Bai Zisheng, curious, asked, “Is the Inner Mountain of Big Black Mountain much more dangerous than the Outer Mountain?”
With insufficient cultivation, being only at Qi Refinement sixth layer, Mo Hua could only stay in the Outer Mountain. Thus, his tales of Big Black Mountain were limited to the Outer Mountain.
Monster beasts, miasma, fog, dangerous grounds—things that Bai Zisheng found thrilling—sparked his curiosity. If the Outer Mountain was , what would the Inner Mountain be like?
Mo Hua, chewing his meat and puffing his cheeks, listened intently. He hadn’t been to the Inner Mountain yet, but it was only a matter of time before he would go.
About the Inner Mountain, he had only heard bits and pieces from other Monster Hunters, so his knowledge was not extensive.
Seeing two pairs of black eyes fixated on him, Mo Shan sat down and began to explain patiently:
“Miasmas, Foggy Forests, poisonous swamps…everything the Outer Mountain has, the Inner Mountain has too, but with denser miasma, deeper fog, and stronger poisons.”
“The monster beasts of the Inner Mountain are mostly in the late stages of First Grade, with formidable strength. If you’re unlucky, you might even encounter Second Grade monster beasts, which could really be a life-or-death situation.”
Mo Hua asked, “Dad, have you encountered Second Grade monster beasts?”
Mo Shan nodded, “I’ve only seen one from a distance. Its thick blood qi dyed the entire forest red. We were lucky to spot it early and avoided it. The monster beast seemed to have had its fill and was dozing off, so it didn’t bother with us.”
Mo Hua breathed a sigh of relief.
Bai Zisheng then asked, “Can’t Second Grade monster beasts be killed?”
“They are very hard to kill,” Mo Shan sighed. “You need at least five or six, sometimes even seven or eight, Foundation Building Cultivators. It’s not easy to gather such a group.”
Mo Hua expressed his concern, “Dad, will you encounter Second Grade monster beasts in the future?”
Warmed by Mo Hua’s concerned gaze, Mo Shan smiled and said:
“The Inner Mountain is vast, and it’s rare to come across any. Second Grade monster beasts are not numerous, living within the vastness of the Inner Mountain, making them hard to encounter.”
“Besides, the blood qi of Second Grade monster beasts is so strong that they can be detected from afar. As long as you stay alert and avoid them early, there usually won’t be any risk to your life.”
Mo Shan added, “Apart from the environment and the monster beasts, the most dangerous thing in the Inner Mountain is actually other people.”
Mo Hua and Bai Zisheng exchanged glances, both somewhat surprised.
“Are they Monster Hunters, or other cultivators?” Mo Hua inquired.
“Both. There are foreign Monster Hunters who deliberately rob prey, and there are cultivators from various paths, with inscrutable intentions.”
Mo Hua asked curiously, “Why haven’t I encountered these cultivators in the Outer Mountain?”
Mo Shan smiled and explained, “Big Black Mountain is vast, its terrain towering and sprawling, connecting also to other realms. Tongxian City here is just a part of Big Black Mountain…”
“Big Black Mountain’s Outer Mountain connects to Tongxian City and doesn’t border foreign lands, but the Inner Mountain is different.”
“The paths of the Inner Mountain are far more complex and interconnected. If cultivators from the southern realm want to enter the city or pass through, they inevitably have to go through the Inner Mountain.”
“The Inner Mountain is cold, secluded, and represses the human heart, readily breeding malicious thoughts. There are frequent incidents of robbery, rape, and murder for treasures. Afterwards, bodies are destroyed and traces eliminated on the spot, unknown to humans and undetected by ghosts.”
Mo Hua felt a chill in his heart upon hearing this.
Monster Beasts are dangerous, but the human heart is even more so.
In this world, it’s not only monsters that devour people; humans can be just as likely.
Seeing Mo Hua and Bai Zisheng’s tensed little faces, and their somewhat solemn expressions, Mo Shan realized that it wasn’t quite appropriate to talk about such topics on a festive day like New Year’s. He shifted the conversation and started to share some interesting Monster Hunting stories.
Bai Zisheng was hearing these for the first time, and he found them utterly fascinating.
Mo Hua, on the other hand, had already heard some of them, and Bai Zisheng was listening to the rest from him.
But now that he had entered Big Black Mountain, he knew what Monster Hunting entailed.
The stories he once found interesting now revealed to him their hidden dangers and unpredictability, giving him a completely different feeling when he heard them again.
As time flew by, the sky gradually darkened, and Liu Ruhua invited them to stay for dinner.
Bai Zisheng was looking forward to it, but Aunt Xue declined politely:
“Thank you, Sister Liu, we have imposed long enough and should be heading back.”
Liu Ruhua found it hard to insist and walked them to the door along with Mo Hua.
Bai Zisheng felt reluctant to leave. He didn’t want to go back.
Here there was food, drinks, stories to listen to, and people to talk with. Back there, he would only have to cultivate and do dull homework.
Bai Zixi showed no emotion, but there was a faint hint of regret in the glances she exchanged with Mo Hua.
Mo Hua himself was carefree; though he had to practice cultivation and Formation daily, when he wanted to play, he could always do so. Unlike the Bai siblings, who had to follow a strict daily regimen of homework.
Seeing their dispirited expressions, Mo Hua’s eyes twinkled, and he invited:
“Aunt Xue, there will be lanterns and fireworks on the fifteenth, come and watch with us.”
Aunt Xue gave Mo Hua a warm smile, but still declined:
“We appreciate your kind offer, but we’ll skip the fireworks.”
Mo Hua smiled, “The fireworks are set off by the Formation, and I’m the one who drew it. They’re quite a sight.”
Aunt Xue was somewhat astonished, “You drew it?”
“Mm-hm,” Mo Hua nodded, “It took a lot of effort to draw it well!”
In fact, it hadn’t taken long, since they were just Formations for fireworks and weren’t too complicated.
Seeing Mo Hua’s confident demeanor, Aunt Xue couldn’t help but laugh, and after a moment’s thought, she nodded:
“Then, when you set off the fireworks, we’ll come to watch.”
Bai Zisheng was overjoyed, casting a grateful look towards Mo Hua; Bai Zixi’s eyes also brightened slightly when she looked at him.
On the fifteenth of the first lunar month, as night fell, the streets were festooned with brightly colored lanterns.
Mo Hua checked the Firework Compound Formation again to ensure there were no issues, and then he nodded his head in satisfaction.
The Firework Compound Formation consisted of ordinary Fireworks Formations in parallel and didn’t reach the First Grade; the number of Formation Patterns was also not many, so Mo Hua found it easy to draw.
The Firework Compound Formation was set up on both sides of the riverbank, using the riverbank stones as the Formation media. By crushing Spirit Stones and infusing them with Spiritual Energy, one could activate the Formation and shoot fireworks into the sky.
Mo Hua didn’t use paper as Formation media because paper is one-use; once the Formation is activated, Formation Paper wouldn’t withstand the Spiritual Power and would also be destroyed.
But using earth and stone as Formation media allows the Formation to be activated multiple times.
In this way, not only on the fifteenth of the first lunar month but in future festivals as well, the Formation could be activated to launch fireworks in celebration.
Mo Hua went to Elder Yu to get reimbursed for the Spirit Stones used in the fireworks Formation.
Since the Formation was not complicated and the consumption of Spirit Stones wasn’t high, Elder Yu readily agreed.
At the hour of the Dog, Mo Hua activated the Formation.
Then he dashed onto the stone bridge with his parents, Bai Zisheng, Bai Zixi, and Aunt Xue to watch the fireworks.
After the Formation was activated, fifteen breaths later, the Formation Patterns activated.
The colorful Formation Patterns on both sides of the riverbank lit up one by one, then converged into dazzling rays of light that shot up suddenly, soared into the pitch-black night sky, and burst into breathtaking fireworks, cascading over one another, rising and falling like thousands of blooming trees and streaming stars.
The dark night sky, like a canvas, was embellished with the brilliant fireworks, weaving a vibrant and spectacular tapestry upon it.
It was a spectacle of dazzling splendor that was too beautiful to behold.
For a moment, countless Cultivators all looked up into the night sky, towards those splendid fireworks, as they bloomed and illuminated the streets and alleys of Tongxian City.