Immortality Through Array Formations

Mo Shan looked at Mo Hua and said, “These are lessons summarized from the life and blood of monster hunters over tens of thousands of years. Learn them well. Even if you don’t become a monster hunter in the future, they will undoubtedly be useful.”

Mo Hua’s little face was serious as she nodded solemnly.

“The first point of monster hunting is not to kill monster beasts but to familiarize yourself with the terrain.”

“Big Black Mountain’s topography is complex, crisscrossed with various landforms. You need to familiarize yourself with the paths, know where there are peaks, where there are cliffs, where there are caves, where monster beasts roam, where miasma is dense, and which spirit grasses are poisonous…”

“If you know these well, even if your cultivation is not enough when you encounter danger, you will know how to avoid it and not lose your life.”

“Conversely, if you don’t know the terrain, the geography, if you are not poisoned by miasma or by toxic plants, or you accidentally enter a beast’s den, even if your cultivation is high, it will be very difficult to walk out of Big Black Mountain alive.”

“I will take you around the outer mountain, and you must remember the terrain, the locations of small streams, miasma, venomous marshes, and thick forests…”

After he finished speaking, Mo Shan walked along the mountain path.

Mo Hua followed closely behind, memorizing the path under her feet and the scenery along the way.

When they encountered dangerous places, Mo Shan would specifically stop and explain them to Mo Hua carefully.

For example, where the miasma was thin, which mountain tops had dense miasma, and in places where the miasma was thick, one should not stay for more than half an hour, or the miasma would invade the body, causing confusion and dizziness.

Some thick forests would produce heavy fog; if one accidentally wandered in, they would lose their way. Unless the sun was high at noon and the mountain fog dissipated, they would never be able to find their way out.

There were also venomous marshes home to some highly poisonous monster beasts whose skin color changed with the plants, requiring careful vigilance.

And which mountain peaks would have big demons roaming, and what signs would indicate a big demon’s presence…

Walking from morning to night like this, they only covered a small part of Big Black Mountain’s outer mountain.

When evening came and the sky darkened, Mo Shan brought Mo Hua to a small campsite on the mountainside.

The camp was a small cave with its entrance concealed by grass and wood, sealed off with an iron gate. A simple formation was painted on the door to prevent monster beasts from attacking.

The camp was not large, but it had some dry food, miscellaneous herbs, and a few crude stone beds.

“This is a temporary campsite for monster hunters to rest or stay overnight. It’s very rudimentary, but it’s enough to take shelter,”

Mo Shan then pointed to the iron gate and said, “There is a formation on the door. It’s not good, but usable. If you are chased by monster beasts and have nowhere to hide, you can take refuge in the camp, activate the formation, and most monster beasts won’t be able to get in.”

Mo Hua nodded her head.

Father and son spent the night in the camp.

The next day at dawn, they got up and continued along the mountain path.

As Mo Shan walked, he explained.

In this manner, after spending days and nights in Big Black Mountain, it took a full seven days for Mo Shan to finally lead Mo Hua around the entirety of Big Black Mountain’s outer mountain.

After returning home, Mo Hua felt sore all over, her calves were swollen, and she felt dizzy and had a swelling headache due to the miasma she had inhaled, even though she had taken a Miasma Repelling Pill, her forehead still throbbed with pain.

Liu Ruhua asked Old Mr. Feng to prepare Clearing Mind Soup, which Mo Hua drank, and then she applied anti-swelling herbal medicine on her body. Seeing Mo Hua’s pale complexion, she felt very heartbroken and complained to Mo Shan,

“You could have taught her slowly. There was no need to stay in the mountains for seven days and go through so much hardship.”

Seeing his wife angry, Mo Shan whispered an explanation: “These hardships would have to be faced sooner or later. If she suffers a bit now, it will be easier for her in the future.”

Liu Ruhua understood this but was still upset. At night, she only gave Mo Shan some plain porridge and steamed buns, not even a dish of pickles.

Mo Shan could only laugh and cry at the situation.

Two days later, Mo Hua had recovered, her body no longer ailment-ridden.

Thinking that it had been almost ten days since she last visited Forgetful Residence, Mo Hua brought some meat and wine to pay respects to Mr. Zhuang, explaining the reasons for her absence.

Seeing that Mo Hua still looked a little pale, Mr. Zhuang told her to go back and rest, saying that he did not have so many rules there, and for her not to worry.

Mo Hua also brought some crisp pastries and pine nuts for Old Kui, and afterwards, she brought some snacks and fruit wine for the siblings of the Bai Family.

Bai Zisheng heard that Mo Hua could enter Big Black Mountain for monster hunting and was exceedingly envious.

He was strictly supervised by Aunt Xue, let alone hunting monsters, even wandering around was difficult.

Mo Hua sympathetically patted his shoulder but was powerless to help.

A few days later, Mo Shan took Mo Hua into Big Black Mountain again.

This time, there was no need to explain everything in great detail, only to become familiar with the terrain and topography, so it only took three or four days to traverse the outer mountains.

Whenever Mo Shan had free time, he would take Mo Hua for a walk in the mountains.

Mo Hua became more and more familiar with the outer areas of Big Black Mountain.

When Mo Shan felt it was about time, he took Mo Hua to a cliff on the outer mountain.

The cliff was steep, the strange rocks rugged, and looking down, one could have a clear view of the scenery at the waist of the mountain.

After confirming the surrounding safety, Mo Shan said to Mo Hua, “Now that you’re quite familiar with the outer mountain, I’ll teach you what to pay attention to when dealing with monster beasts.”

Mo Hua sat cross-legged on a rock, listening attentively.

“The code of conduct for a Monster Hunter: first is to ‘know thyself and thy enemy,’ and second is to ‘foresee and be established.’

“‘Know thyself and thy enemy’ means that you must recognize your own strength. Whether your cultivation is profound, what spells, martial arts, spiritual artifacts, and other techniques you have. At the same time, you need to be familiar with monster beasts, including their realm, blood qi, demonic power, and habits. Where the monster beast is strong, where it is weak, whether it is treacherous, whether it might feign death, and so on.”

“Afterward, weigh each other’s strength. If you can kill it, then act; if you can’t, avoid reckless actions.”

“If, during the fight to the death, you discover an unexpected change, a monster beast you thought you could kill can no longer be killed, you must plan early and withdraw in time. Otherwise, once your spiritual power is exhausted, you will be the one who dies.”

“‘Foresee and be established’ is about being prepared before it rains, and making thorough plans beforehand for everything. Especially when facing powerful monster beasts, whether you can kill them, what you will use to kill them, how to kill them, and what to do in case of an emergency—all these need to be considered in advance.”

“If you don’t plan ahead and act rashly, once a mistake is made, casualties are inevitable.”

Mo Shan explained in detail at great length.

Mo Hua listened intently, grasping the nuances.

“For now, just listen. Once you’ve faced monster beasts enough times, you will naturally understand,” Mo Shan added.

Mo Hua nodded.

“There’s another point you need to remember,” Mo Shan advised, “no matter what happens, if you don’t need to take action, don’t, but once you do, it must be ruthless!”

“Ruthless?” Mo Hua was somewhat surprised.

“Monster Hunters make monster beasts their enemy. If you’re not ruthless, the monster beasts will be. If you don’t kill them, you will be the one killed by them.”

“But what does it mean to be ruthless?”

Mo Shan raised his eyebrows slightly and said,

“When not acting, do not reveal any intent to kill. When the time comes to act, don’t hesitate at all.”

“As soon as the opponent shows a weakness, strike first and hard, aiming for a lethal blow, and do not give the opponent a chance to fight back.”

“An opponent who does not act is the best kind of opponent!”

Mo Hua was somewhat shocked by these words coming from his father, a man with bushy eyebrows and large eyes.

After hesitating a moment, Mo Hua couldn’t help but ask for confirmation, “Isn’t that a bit… unsportsmanlike?”

Mo Shan’s expression became stern as he said seriously, “For a Monster Hunter, there is no victory or defeat, only life and death. A victory, no matter how unsportsmanlike, is still a life. A defeat, no matter how glorious, is still death.”

After speaking, Mo Shan patted Mo Hua on the head,

“A Loose Cultivator’s life is not easy; if you can live, you should do your best to stay alive.”