The Quest for Immortality

Mo Hua roughly understood why this man had no friends.

Though talented, his personality was aloof and prideful, always eager to fight.

And his mind seemed a bit peculiar...

”Not interested.” Mo Hua shook his head.

”Why not?” Ling Huxiao asked in confusion.

Mo Hua replied confidently: ”If there’s no benefit in it, why should I bother?”

After all, he was very busy.

Sparring in this child’s-play manner was a complete waste of time.

With this time, he could be cultivating, studying formations, practicing sword control, hunting monster beasts, or earning merit points instead...

Ling Huxiao froze for a moment, feeling frustrated, then angrily said:

”A sword cultivator asking for a duel should always be fearless and undaunted! Only by moving forward and defeating strong foes can one temper the ultimate swordsmanship and forge a powerful sword heart...”

Mo Hua said indifferently: ”I’m not a sword cultivator. The ultimate swordsmanship and powerful sword heart have nothing to do with me...”

”But didn’t you learn swordsmanship too?”

”I just picked it up casually—I’m not relying on it to make a living...”

Ling Huxiao was dumbstruck.

He found that Mo Hua was someone you couldn’t sway with anything—absolutely pragmatic. Mo Hua couldn’t understand the prideful pursuit of a sword cultivator. This made Ling Huxiao somewhat resentful, angry for a long while, before coldly squeezing out a few words:

”If we walk different paths, we shouldn’t seek common ground!”

”Alright.” Mo Hua half-heartedly nodded.

The two fell into silence.

Seeing the hour growing late, Mo Hua glanced at Ling Huxiao, then at the Demon Wooden Eagle nearby. After thinking for a moment, he said:

”Do you want this eagle? I’ll split it with you.”

Ling Huxiao paused, then shook his head, ”I said it’s yours—I don’t need it!”

Mo Hua said: ”While I injured the eagle, you delivered the finishing blow. Strictly speaking, we killed it together. So you should get a share.”

”I dislike taking losses, but I don’t want to take advantage of others either.”

”Half each—fair and square.”

Ling Huxiao fell silent.

Mo Hua thought for a moment and added: ”Are you sure you don’t want it? This is a second-grade middle-stage monster beast, and a flying type. Converted to merit points, it’s worth around two or three thousand points. Split in half, that’d be roughly over a thousand points for each of us.”

”Over a thousand merit points.”

Over a thousand merit points?!

Ling Huxiao’s heart skipped a beat; he immediately felt tempted.

He didn’t know much about flying monster beasts or their grades.

But earlier, when he unleashed Chongxu Sword Qi to forcefully kill this beast, he clearly felt unprecedented pressure.

Judging by that, the monster beast’s grade must be high, likely between primary rank and middle stage.

But he hadn’t expected that it was indeed a second-grade middle-stage flying beast!

And this seemingly unremarkable junior disciple from the Taixu Gate named ”Mo Hua,” with only mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation, had somehow used his family’s swordsmanship to inflict heavy damage on a sky-bound eagle demon, causing it to crash to the ground...

As Ling Huxiao thought about it more carefully, the longer he thought, the more astonished he felt.

At the same time, he felt a surge of passion and excitement against a strong foe.

He spoke again, ”Fight me in a duel.”

”Maybe another time...”

Mo Hua wasn’t interested, brushing him off casually.

Then he asked once more, ”Do you still want these thousand merit points or not?”

Ling Huxiao was silent again.

Seeing his expression, Mo Hua could tell he wanted them.

Being alone, Ling Huxiao’s efficiency in hunting monster beasts and earning merit points certainly couldn’t be very high.

Over a thousand merit points was undoubtedly a fortune.

But with his prideful personality, he might not be willing to ask outright.

Mo Hua sighed, ”Skin the eagle and debone it. Afterward, we’ll head together to the mountain gates to exchange for merit points—half for each of us.”

Ling Huxiao said nothing. After a brief moment of silence, he quietly began to work, skinning and deboning the Demon Wooden Eagle...

Those thousand merit points were too tempting—he couldn’t refuse.

Once Ling Huxiao processed the beast materials and put them in a storage bag, he handed it to Mo Hua.

Mo Hua accepted it and tucked it into his coat before saying to Ling Huxiao:

”Let’s go—down the mountain together.”

Without waiting for Ling Huxiao’s response, he strode forward, swaggering down the mountain.

Ling Huxiao hesitated for a moment as he watched Mo Hua’s retreating figure, then quietly followed...

...

After the two left, in the nearby wilderness, a cultivator slowly revealed himself.

He watched the pair’s fading silhouettes, deep in thought.

A moment later, he suddenly froze and turned to his right. Only then did he realize that, at some point, a second figure had silently appeared beside him.

The two who had suddenly met startled each other.

They stared at each other, their expressions subtly shifting.

”Ziyou?”

”Xuan Jian?”

”What are you doing here?”

The two asked simultaneously, and then immediately became mutually aware of the situation.

Xun Ziyou said, ”Your Chongxu sect’s ancestor sent you to secretly watch over that Sword Dao genius from your Chongxu sect?”

The Chongxu Elder known as ”Xuan Jian” sighed and said, ”Sword Heart Clarity—once in every five hundred years. Of course, the ancestor treasures him.”

”The issue is that he’s reclusive and works alone. If I don’t keep an eye on him, he could die in these mountains and be devoured by monster beasts, bones and all, and no one would even know...”

”True...” Xun Ziyou nodded in agreement.

A Sword Dao genius seen once in five hundred years—if Taixu Gate had one, they’d treasure him too.

Though Refining Demon Mountain served as a training ground, officially requiring disciples to face life-and-death situations to develop crisis-handling skills, such rare talents were exceptions. If someone like that truly perished here, it would be an immense loss for the sect.

The Chongxu Elder asked Xun Ziyou, ”And you? What are you here for?”

Xun Ziyou’s gaze shifted slightly, ”Oh, I just... happened to be wandering by.”

The Chongxu Elder frowned, ”I’m being honest with you, yet you’re making fun of me? Wandering by, here of all places, while concealing your presence as if you’re some kind of thief?”