The Quest for Immortality

After exchanging a few pleasantries, both sides parted ways.

Mo Hua bid farewell to Ouyang Feng, then strolled through the mountains for a while. He picked out a grey-headed eagle, summoned a flying sword to slaughter it, and proceeded to dissect its materials.

As night fell, Mo Hua descended the mountain and exchanged the materials at the mountain gate for merit points.

Solo Sword Control—he killed two avian Monster Beasts and earned nearly 1,800 merit points.

Mo Hua was deeply satisfied.

However, as he descended the mountain, he glanced back at the Refining Demon Mountain and noticed that not only the mountain gate was bustling with activity, but there were also significantly more disciples hunting Monster Beasts within the mountain itself.

”Getting livelier by the day...”

Mo Hua smiled faintly, reflecting to himself.

After Mo Hua left, a figure emerged at the mountain gate after some time.

The disciple guarding the gate immediately cupped his hands and greeted:

”Elder Xun.”

”Mm.”

Xun Ziyou nodded in acknowledgment.

A Tai’a Sect Elder stationed at the mountain gate, who was familiar with Xun Ziyou and shared a decent relationship with him, couldn’t help but remark with curiosity:

”Ziyou, how come you’ve been heading into the mountains so often lately? This isn’t like you...”

He knew Xun Ziyou was naturally a lazy man.

Usually, he’d lounge at the mountain gate, drinking tea, enjoying the breeze, and chatting. If there weren’t any pressing matters, he was reluctant to budge.

Yet unexpectedly, he had changed his habits recently, practically living in the mountains.

Xun Ziyou let out a deep sigh, feeling helpless.

There was no other choice—”Little ancestor” had gone into the mountains, so he had to follow too.

He wouldn’t even mind running his legs off.

But if that little ancestor were to lose a single strand of hair, it would spell big trouble for him.

Xun Ziyou sat down wearily, poured himself a cup of hot tea, and tried to steady his nerves.

For some reason, every time Mo Hua entered the mountains, he couldn’t help but feel a little on edge.

Especially that Sword Control—it made his heart tremble.

He never expected that this ”little ancestor,” who clearly did not engage in Sword Cultivation and wasn’t a Sword Cultivator, could come up with such a technique. Strictly speaking, it was a type of ”pseudo-swordsmanship,” seemingly half-baked yet inexplicably and astonishingly effective.

Was the boy just daringly imaginative?

Or had his own mindset grown overly conservative with age?

What made it even more astonishing was this Sword Control Technique—it was incredibly fast, covered long distances, consumed minimal Spiritual Power, and didn’t rely on Sword Qi mastery.

It was truly absurd.

A Foundation Building Middle Stage cultivator commanding a sword for 170 to 180 zhang without the slightest degradation in speed or accuracy—what kind of concept was that?!

Xun Ziyou’s eyelid twitched uncontrollably.

Fortunately, this little ancestor’s Spirit Sword was mediocre, and he had yet to figure out how to construct a Sword Array.

Otherwise, at the Foundation Establishment Realm, he would truly be an unstoppable force.

If this type of Sword Control were perfected, a single sword could strike in a flash—others might lose their lives before even catching sight of his shadow.

Xun Ziyou was both astonished and awed.

The ancestor deserves to be called the ancestor; truly keen-eyed and farsighted.

To perceive Mo Hua’s exceptional nature from such seemingly ”waste-like” mid-lower grade Spiritual Root qualifications—it’s clear that experience comes with age...

Xun Ziyou shook his head and took another sip of tea.

”There are too many Taixu Sect disciples in the mountains—I should keep a watchful eye.”

He casually made up an excuse.

The Tai’a Sect Elder found no reason to doubt him and nodded in agreement:

”That much is true...”

Within Refining Demon Mountain, the peaks of several Outer Mountains were now crowded with Taixu Sect disciples.

It was indeed worth keeping an eye on.

”Speaking of which,” the Tai’a Sect Elder mused curiously, ”the disciples from your sect this year seem peculiar—completely different from the demeanor of previous batches...”

Xun Ziyou held his cup of tea, paused mid-sip, and sighed inwardly:

That’s all because of Mo Hua!

He managed to shift the entire batch’s culture and energy.

Previously, Taixu Sect disciples had never been like this...

While the overall Sect atmosphere remained relatively harmonious, every disciple—especially those of prominent families—was arrogant, proud, and unwilling to submit to one another.

In Refining Demon Mountain, they would compete fiercely against each other, refusing to be outdone.

But now, every disciple seemed exceptionally disciplined, uniform in appearance, wearing similar armor, wielding identical Spiritual Artifacts, and following the same ”strategy” to hunt Monster Beasts in organized groups.

Even the regular cultivation and daily affairs in the Sect ran more harmoniously, largely thanks to this ”Junior Brother” maintaining order and having a steady influence.

On the contrary, other sects hadn’t changed much.

Their disciples were still preoccupied with standing out, competing against other Heavenly Prides, and striving to carve out their futures.

As Xun Ziyou reflected on Mo Hua’s calm and approachable demeanor, a sentence suddenly surfaced in his mind:

”Water benefits all things and does not contend; because it does not contend, none can contend with it...”

Killing as sharp as a sword, calm as gentle water.

Xun Ziyou pondered deeply, internally shaken.

The Tai’a Sect Elder noticed Xun Ziyou’s prolonged silence and looked at him questioningly.

Detecting this gaze, Xun Ziyou ambiguously replied: ”That, I wouldn’t know either...”

”However, it’s worth noting that formations and Spiritual Artifacts are meant to serve their purpose. To maximize their use and potential is a form of skill in itself.”

The Tai’a Sect Elder deliberated for a moment before nodding slightly:

”What you say does make sense.”

Xun Ziyou suddenly remembered something and said to the Tai’a Sect Elder:

”Some of your Tai’a Sect disciples have been growing closer to Sever Gold Sect in recent times, it seems?”

The Tai’a Sect Elder silently glanced at Xun Ziyou, his gaze carrying subtle implications.

Xun Ziyou froze momentarily and frowned: ”What are you planning?”

The Tai’a Sect Elder’s expression remained unreadable.

Xun Ziyou understood instantly.

The two stood up and entered the inner chamber, activating the Sound Isolation Formation.

The Tai’a Sect Elder surveyed his surroundings, then lowered his voice:

”Ziyou, you and I have been close for years. I won’t hide it from you, but these words—you should only hear them in this room. Do not let them spread elsewhere.”