Chapter 681: Taking It Back
Over a hundred contribution points wasn't a small number. Mo Hua himself could manage, thanks to his arrays making up for the loss. But for Cheng Mo and the others, this mission would've been for nothing.
The sect had many disciples and few missions—contribution points were precious.
With their lack of experience, Cheng Mo's group couldn't easily earn over a hundred points.
As the senior brother, Mo Hua couldn't let his "junior brothers" suffer losses.
What's more, they had finally managed to catch Guo Jianglong, only to have him shamelessly stolen by Broken Gold Sect's thugs. If word got out, it would damage the Great Void Sect's reputation—people would think they were afraid of the Broken Gold Sect.
Personal pride was a small matter. But the sect's dignity? That was big.
For the sect's face, this humiliation had to be avenged!
Mo Hua nodded with a solemn expression.
Cheng Mo and the others were stunned at first, then their eyes lit up—their earlier disappointment swept away, spirits lifted.
But after thinking for a moment, they grew uneasy again.
"Mo Hua… we probably can't beat them, right?"
"Yeah, there's seven or eight of them, and all at mid Foundation Establishment…"
"Don't worry," Mo Hua said. "I just saw them while hiding—they split into two groups. One followed that 'Golden Dunce' and strutted off, while the other only had two guys escorting Guo Jianglong to the Dao Court."
Everyone perked up at that.
Mo Hua calculated aloud:
"Two mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, but their cultivation isn't deep. Among their realm, they're on the weaker end. Judging by their posture, their aura is hollow—probably the type that relies on status to bully others. Not much real combat experience. Should be manageable…"
Then, in a low voice, he laid out the plan:
"I'll sneak ahead and set up an array to catch them off guard. Then we all rush in together."
"But don't go too hard—we can't kill anyone. Don't cause trouble for the sect, or for ourselves…"
"After all, we're people of principle. We're not taking revenge out of hatred. They robbed us—we're just… robbing it back. No blood feud here."
"So hold back a bit. Be polite. Just beat them half to death."
Mo Hua said it with a kind smile.
Cheng Mo and the others: "..."
Mo Hua stood up, ready to go, but then remembered something. He turned and told them:
"Cover your faces with a black cloth."
Cheng Mo blinked. "Why cover our faces? To hide our identity?"
Situ Jian looked puzzled too. "Even with our faces covered, won't they guess it's us? We literally just had a conflict with them."
"If someone robs them now, they'll obviously suspect us."
Mo Hua nodded solemnly. "That's exactly why we do it—it's a matter of etiquette. A little formality never hurts."
"Wearing masks shows we're being respectful."
"If we didn't cover our faces and just robbed them openly, it'd be like saying we don't even take them seriously. That would be terribly rude."
"And besides, I'm doing this for their sake…"
"Think about it. Two mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, getting openly robbed by a bunch of early-stage juniors… How humiliating would that be?"
Mo Hua sighed, looking as though he truly cared about their feelings.
Hao Xuan suddenly nodded, enlightened. "Senior Brother, you're so kind-hearted!"
The other three were speechless.
Did Hao Xuan… misunderstand the meaning of "kind-hearted"?
Regardless, the plan was set. Time to move.
Sure enough, the Broken Gold Sect group had split. Two of them were escorting a seemingly half-dead Guo Jianglong along a narrow forest path toward the Dao Court.
Mo Hua quickly caught up with them and gave Cheng Mo's group a signal.
They nodded in response—message received.
Then, using the Lesser Five Elements Concealment Technique, Mo Hua circled around ahead of the two Broken Gold disciples. On the path about a mile ahead, he laid down a second-grade Earthfire Array.
He didn't choose an overly lethal formation—he didn't want to kill anyone and cause a karmic mess or get the sect in trouble.
The Broken Gold Sect disciples may have been jerks, but not necessarily worth killing.
Mo Hua reminded himself he was just an "ordinary" array master. He methodically planted the array disks, traps, and covered his tracks.
Not long after, the two disciples—still dragging Guo Jianglong—approached from the distance.
Mo Hua hid to the side. As footsteps drew closer, he could also hear their muttering:
"…Always giving us the crappy jobs…"
"Damn it…"
"Be grateful they didn't give you something even filthier…"
"Yeah, true…"
"Wonder when we'll get to board the 'boat'…"
One of them lowered his voice with a mocking laugh, "What's your background again? A third-grade clan? You think we're the type allowed on that boat?"
"Damn it… just the thought makes me itchy…"
"Don't do anything stupid."
"I know, I know—I'm just craving. Getting a taste of that kind of good… even once in a lifetime, I could die happy…"
"Quit dreaming…"
...
Mo Hua frowned.
Board the boat? What boat?
He thought for a moment—and suddenly, three words spoken by that fishing cultivator popped into his head: Rouged Boat (Yanzhi Zhou).
"What exactly is this Rouged Boat used for? And how is it connected to Young Master Jin… or the Broken Gold Sect?"
Mo Hua's eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
At that moment, the two disciples and Guo Jianglong reached the trap Mo Hua had set.
By now, darkness had fallen.
The two were so caught up in their conversation, they didn't notice anything unusual on the road ahead—completely unaware that someone had laid an array in their path.
As they walked forward, one of them suddenly stepped on something—a flash of red beneath the earth—
Boom!
With a thunderous explosion, roaring flames burst out of the ground, engulfing both disciples and Guo Jianglong in a violent blaze.
Mo Hua had remembered that Guo Jianglong had taken a healing pill from Young Master Jin and regained some strength—making him a threat.
So he included him in the blast.
Right after the explosion, Cheng Mo and the others—waiting in ambush—rushed forward with boosted movement techniques.
Faces covered in black cloth, they struck in unison—spear, sword, staff, and axe flying—beating the two Broken Gold disciples and Guo Jianglong into the dirt.
Mo Hua stayed on the sidelines, casting a few perfectly-timed spells to assist.
Within fifteen minutes, the three were subdued.
The two Broken Gold disciples were bruised and swollen, faces filled with terror.
Guo Jianglong coughed up blood, stunned beyond belief.
None of them knew what had even happened.
One moment they were walking, the next—boom! A formation exploded, then they were surrounded and violently beaten. Just like that, they were taken down.
One disciple looked up through a swollen, bloodied eye and glared at Cheng Mo's group.
He saw the black cloths on their faces and, enraged, yelled:
"Who… who the hell are you?! We're from the Brok—"
Yang Qianjun stuffed a rope in his mouth before he could finish yelling.
The other disciple's left eye was swollen shut, but his right eye still worked. Through the night haze, he could just barely make out the attackers—not their faces, but the big battle axe, spiritual sword, and long spear they wielded.
In that instant, realization struck.
"You… You're—!"
Those damned brats from the Great Void Sect!
But before he could finish shouting, Hao Xuan slammed a staff down on his head and knocked him out cold. Then he calmly walked over to the other Broken Gold disciple and did the same.
Senior Brother's orders.
When ambushing someone, it had to be clean, decisive, and leave no room for retaliation.
Hao Xuan took that to heart.
And so, on that shadowy forest path under the faint moonlight, only Guo Jianglong remained conscious.
He had also realized by now—these masked cultivators were the same hateful little sect brats who ambushed him earlier!
That only confirmed his suspicions even further.
Fishing nets, traps, precision timing, relentless pursuit.
Now, under cover of night, they'd even pulled a sneak attack in return.
No way these kids planned all that on their own. Someone had to be calling the shots behind the scenes.
Guo Jianglong's lips were stained with blood, his gaze heavy, teeth clenched as he growled:
"Who sent you?! Who's behind this?!"
Cheng Mo and the others remained silent, faces covered in black cloth. They surrounded Guo Jianglong like four little bandits.
A moment later, footsteps echoed on the quiet road.
The mastermind was coming!
Guo Jianglong's heart trembled. He looked up—only to see no one.
Confused, he narrowed his eyes—when suddenly, his pupils shrank.
From a patch of empty air, a shadowy figure silently emerged.
"A kid?"
"…No. Not a kid."
The figure was small, seemingly weak. His face hidden in darkness, body melted into the night.
He looked like a child cultivator—but gave off an eerie pressure, a strange sense of spiritual oppression… almost like a young monster.
Guo Jianglong knew all too well—some beings that looked human… weren't.
Some of them harbored terrifying entities inside.
He shivered slightly.
This newcomer also wore a black cloth over his face—no features visible.
And in truth, Guo Jianglong wasn't even sure if there were human features beneath that mask… or something far worse.
Because no true child cultivator could possess such a calculating, predatory air.
Then, Guo Jianglong realized—the one who looked like a child was using a cold and silent divine sense to scrutinize him…
His unease grew heavier by the second.
Then he heard it—a strange, childish voice. Crisp but cruel. Innocent but chilling:
"Break his arms and legs. Take him with us."
Guo Jianglong's eyes widened in horror. He tried to move, to resist—only to feel blinding pain shoot through his limbs.
It was true—his arms and legs had been broken.
Then something slammed into the back of his head—and everything went black.
——
Cheng Mo scratched his chin uncertainly. "…Wasn't that… a bit too cruel?"
Mo Hua answered seriously: "Showing mercy to evil is the true cruelty. When dealing with villains, you must strike hard."
Cheng Mo thought about it… then nodded. "Yeah, that makes sense."
Situ Jian and the others also considered it and nodded thoughtfully. That sounded like something Mo Hua had learned from his Dao Court uncle, the Magistrate.
The Dao Court handled criminal cultivators daily—they were seasoned. If they did things this way, it must be right.
With that, their business was done—Guo Jianglong was in custody.
Cheng Mo's group tossed the two Broken Gold disciples into the bushes.
They were battered and unconscious, but not fatally wounded. They'd wake up eventually.
Then, they prepared to escort Guo Jianglong to the Dao Court and collect their reward.
Mo Hua had originally planned to interrogate Guo Jianglong using his "Iron Array Slab," see if he could squeeze out some information.
But after thinking it over, he let it go.
That golden young master had explicitly told Guo Jianglong to keep his mouth shut. Even torture might not crack him—and it could even drive him to suicide.
Guo Jianglong was on the list.
That list of criminal cultivators—many were dead, others had fled. Not many remained.
And this Guo Jianglong clearly held value. Better to preserve him—he might be used to bait a bigger fish later.
Also, using arrays to extract confessions would be too flashy.
Mo Hua didn't want to leave a lasting impression on Guo Jianglong.
As for his storage pouch?
Mo Hua checked—it didn't contain anything critical. No message tokens or confidential jade slips.
Either Guo Jianglong didn't dare carry such items in this tense climate…
Or the golden young master had already confiscated them.
That said, one item did catch Mo Hua's interest: Guo Jianglong's water-based cultivation technique—"White Wave Manual".
It was actually a complete system.
Besides the core technique, it included a supporting movement art and a few secret methods for avoiding water-type monsters.
Mo Hua couldn't cultivate the main technique—but the movement art and secrets? Very worth studying.
Cheng Mo and the others didn't need those things, so Mo Hua shamelessly "pocketed" them.
And with that, the broken-limbed Guo Jianglong was delivered to the Dao Court.
Paperwork done, reward handed in—to avoid further trouble or running into more Broken Gold members, the group boarded a carriage and began their journey back to the Great Void Sect.
——
Inside the carriage, though tired, everyone was visibly excited.
Despite the complications, they'd taken revenge, captured Guo Jianglong, and earned their contribution points.
And they weren't afraid of the Broken Gold Sect.
Sure, outside the sect, they were outnumbered and had to back down.
But back within Qianxue Prefecture's borders, everyone had their own sect, their own family. Inside the sect, with elders and instructors overseeing things, the Broken Gold Sect wouldn't dare make trouble.
Thinking of this mission, Cheng Mo felt a little embarrassed and said:
"Mo Hua… why don't you take 200 points? We're good with 100 each."
The others all nodded in agreement.
Without Mo Hua, they probably wouldn't have earned anything.
Mo Hua shook his head. "We agreed on 120 each—my word is my bond. Besides, I couldn't have caught Guo Jianglong without your help."
The others were moved by his words.
Yang Qianjun looked at Mo Hua with even more admiration.
"Alright then," Cheng Mo grinned. "Once we're back, we're treating you to a feast!"
"Mm-hmm!"
When it came to food, Mo Hua never said no.
As the night deepened, the carriage rocked gently.
The others, exhausted, sat down cross-legged to rest and recover.
Mo Hua sat by the window, staring out at the hazy night.
His thoughts were a storm.
Guo Jianglong knew that golden young master—and judging by their conversation, they were very close.
Guo Jianglong mentioned a Blood Oath List…
Could it be the same list Mo Hua had gotten from Boss Jiang?
The list of criminal cultivators?
Then… that list really wasn't Boss Jiang's?
If not his… then where did he get it?
Mo Hua furrowed his brow, thinking back to every detail of meeting Boss Jiang, replaying every word and scene.
Gradually, a suspicion took shape in his heart:
Boss Jiang probably stole it.
He had once been a Broken Gold disciple—but likely a fringe one, denied access to core sword arts. Out of resentment, he'd tried to steal them.
And if he were to steal something, it would have to be from a core disciple.
He had unintentionally stolen two jade slips—One was the "Broken Gold Sword Command Technique", and the other was the "Blood Oath List".
Both were inheritance jade slips of the Broken Gold Sect. The sealing runes on them—Boss Jiang, being a disciple of the sect, likely had a way to break them.
However, the encrypted patterns inside the Blood Oath List were another matter entirely. Boss Jiang definitely couldn't crack those.
Without unlocking those patterns, the list remained invisible.
So, Boss Jiang probably assumed the jade slip labeled "List" was just a blank one sealed for show.
Which is why he…
Wrote a diary in it.
As for the actual "list," he may have had no clue at all.
He probably died never knowing he had written his daily thoughts and feelings into one of the most confidential and dangerous encrypted slips—the Blood Oath List…
But then came another question—Whose jade slips had Boss Jiang stolen?
Mo Hua's gaze sharpened.
Could it be… that "Golden Young Master"?
Based on experience, Mo Hua began to piece the puzzle together:
Both the Broken Gold Sword Technique and the Blood Oath List were top-tier jade slips—not something common disciples would ever lay hands on.
And that "Golden Young Master" was clearly not a common disciple.
Having the jade slips in his possession would make perfect sense.
So for Boss Jiang to steal from him, perhaps the two of them had some degree of familiarity.
Maybe Boss Jiang once worked for the Golden Young Master.
But with his low cultivation, Boss Jiang had always been a fringe figure. In his frustration and ambition to rise, he took a risk—and stole the Golden Young Master's sword art, gaining a trump card of his own. Then he went rogue and started his own shady business.
Which would explain why Boss Jiang never used the Broken Gold Sword Art unless forced—it was a last-resort technique.
And as for the Blood Oath List, he was completely clueless about its significance. Ignorance is bliss, after all—so he never gave himself away.
Then, another suspicion rose in Mo Hua's mind.
After going rogue, Boss Jiang had gathered a group of "brothers" and started trafficking cultivators.
Did the Golden Young Master know?
If not, it would be surprising…
But if he did know—did he allow it?
Or worse…
Mo Hua's eyes darkened.
What if Boss Jiang's rebellion had happened under the Golden Young Master's instructions?
What if this whole "trafficking ring" was a scheme planted and supported by him from the start?
Perhaps the Golden Young Master never even realized Boss Jiang had stolen from him.
To someone as arrogant as him, Boss Jiang was always just a disposable underling, a "dog" used to move product—nothing more.
And if Boss Jiang's trafficking was supported by the Golden Young Master behind the scenes…
Then could that Golden Young Master be one of those black-robed human traffickers?
—
Mo Hua's expression grew increasingly grim.
A core disciple of the Broken Gold Sect, one of Qianxue Prefecture's Twelve Major Sects, a clan-born prodigy… possibly acting as a black-market puppetmaster…
And behind him, there were mentions of other "Young Masters"…
Did the Broken Gold Sect know?
What about the other sects? Were they aware?
What about the noble clans of Qian Prefecture?
And among those clans, the patriarchs who pried into fate and secrets—could none of them see this?
Mo Hua furrowed his brows tightly, turning to look out into the deep black night beyond the carriage window.
He had a creeping feeling:
A massive conspiracy was quietly taking shape…
And beneath the glittering facade of Qianxue Prefecture's prosperity, its darkest shadows… were beginning to emerge.
(End of this Chapter)