Chapter 328: Interrogation
The cave was in complete disarray. Parts of the formation had been destroyed; several formation disks and books had been shredded by spiritual force. The walls bore several deep craters, and blood splattered from overturned jars covered the ground.
The Third Boss was pinned against the wall, his shoulder pierced through by a long spear. His limbs were shackled with silver restraints — the special shackles of the Dao Soldier Division, a second-grade spiritual artifact engraved with a Spirit-Locking Formation, specifically designed to bind criminals.
Commander Yang, born of an aristocratic clan and a battle-hardened leader of the Dao Soldiers, was far superior to the Third Boss in both strength and combat experience.
The only thing the Third Boss excelled at was formations.
But with Mo Hua’s help, even that advantage was useless — his formations were easily countered. He stood no chance against Commander Yang.
After ten or so exchanges, he was subdued.
Mo Hua stepped into the cave.
When the Third Boss saw him, his eyes widened in shock. “You?!”
Mo Hua nodded. “It’s me.”
The Third Boss struggled to rise, but Commander Yang slammed a hand on his head, forcing him still.
Pain flared across his body, and the Third Boss stopped resisting, disbelief written across his face.
“You’re actually… a formation master?”
“You figured it out?” Mo Hua didn’t deny it.
The Third Boss’s eyelids twitched as dread crept through his chest.
Everything suddenly made sense — the one who infiltrated Black Mountain Stronghold, who dismantled his formations, who destroyed his visualization diagram…
It was this little brat!
Yet he still found it unbelievable. “Impossible… how could you have such powerful Divine-Sense?”
A mere Qi-Refining cultivator possessing Divine-Sense comparable to Foundation Establishment — it defied all logic!
Mo Hua smiled faintly but offered no reply.
He had no intention of exposing his secrets.
Let the man keep guessing.
The Third Boss’s expression shifted rapidly, until finally, unwillingness flashed in his eyes. “You really did unravel my formation?”
“Something like that,” Mo Hua said casually.
But that offhand answer seemed to crush what little spirit the Third Boss had left. His face turned ashen; his eyes went hollow.
Perhaps Mo Hua’s strong Divine-Sense could be chalked up to talent — but being able to dismantle his formation? That meant Mo Hua’s comprehension of formation arts far surpassed his own.
A ten-something-year-old cultivator… and his formation mastery far surpassed his own…
The Third Boss’s Dao-heart began to fracture.
Impossible.
Even if such a monster existed, he should belong to the great Daoist clans or ancient sects — not some backwater brat from a remote region!
His gaze toward Mo Hua changed from disbelief to despair, then twisted into envy and hatred.
“You lucky little bas—”
Before he could finish, Mo Hua swung his Thousand-Catty Staff and smacked him across the face.
Mo Hua snorted coldly. “You still don’t understand your situation.”
Commander Yang frowned and thrust his spear deeper, the violent spiritual force corroding the man’s flesh.
The pain snapped the Third Boss back to reality.
He suddenly realized — this little brat wasn’t someone to be trifled with.
This kid had infiltrated Black Mountain Stronghold, deceived him face-to-face after being discovered, and even used him as a pawn to lure and kill several evil cultivators…
Such nerve and cunning — absolutely terrifying.
Even if he wasn’t some old demon possessing a new body, he was at least a schemer with demonic-level intellect.
To provoke such a person… not wise.
Suppressing his hatred, the Third Boss forced himself to calm down.
Seeing him finally behave, Mo Hua stopped hitting him.
Of course, with Mo Hua’s frail physique, even swinging the Thousand-Catty Staff was enough to nearly dislocate his shoulder — the blows barely hurt the man, serving only to vent some irritation.
Mo Hua got to the point.
“You didn’t tell your Stronghold Master about me?”
“No.”
“Why?” Mo Hua frowned.
The Third Boss hesitated.
Mo Hua’s voice turned cold. “Don’t make me repeat myself.”
He lifted his staff again, clearly intent on smacking him for emphasis rather than injury.
The Third Boss gritted his teeth. “Fine! I’ll talk!”
He wasn’t about to let a brat humiliate him.
Mo Hua lowered his staff. “Speak.”
The Third Boss hesitated, then said, “I noticed the formations in the stronghold had been tampered with. I suspected you, but I wasn’t sure. After all, dismantling a formation isn’t something an ordinary formation master can do.”
“You’re far too young — it seemed impossible you’d have such mastery.”
“But later, when I sensed how powerful your Divine-Sense was, I started to think… it really might be you.”
“Then why not tell your Stronghold Master?” Mo Hua asked.
The Third Boss sneered. “If I told him and he caught you, all your secrets would belong to him.”
“But if I stayed silent and caught you myself, I could probe the secret of your Divine-Sense, force you to reveal your formation methods, and use them to strengthen my own Divine-Sense. My formation skills would soar overnight.”
“If it were you, which would you choose?” he asked pointedly.
Mo Hua rubbed his chin.
That… actually made sense.
Self-interest came first — especially for an evil cultivator like this one.
“Also,” the Third Boss continued, eyes narrowing, “I feared you’d defect to the Stronghold Master.”
Mo Hua blinked. “Defect to him?”
The Third Boss’s voice grew cold. “I saw your technique when you broke my formation. Frankly, it made me ashamed — and afraid.”
“So young, yet possessing such profound Divine-Sense and mastery over formations.”
“If the Stronghold Master found out, he’d definitely try to recruit you. And if you refused, he’d use any means — threats, coercion — to make you a member of Black Mountain Stronghold.”
“And once you joined, there’d be two formation masters in the stronghold. You should understand — two tigers can’t share one mountain.”
“With your talent, he’d eventually kill me himself just to please you.”
“…Is it really that exaggerated?”
Mo Hua was a bit taken aback. He hadn’t realized he was that valuable.
The Third Boss chuckled bitterly. “I’ve followed the Stronghold Master for years. I know him well — he cherishes talent when it’s useful, and discards it the instant it isn’t.”
Mo Hua nodded slightly.
That did match his impression of the Qian Family’s old ancestor.
The Third Boss continued, but then suddenly froze, his expression changing. “Wait—how do you know there’s a Stronghold Master?”
Mo Hua blinked.
…Was this guy just now realizing that?
Judging by his reaction, he clearly didn’t know the Qian Family Patriarch’s identity had already been exposed — nor that he’d been besieged and gravely wounded by the Dao Soldiers.
In other words, the Third Boss had been hiding here without any contact with his master.
“Your Stronghold Master’s already been slaughtered!” Mo Hua bluffed.
The Third Boss’s eyes widened as if struck by lightning. Then he calmed down and sneered. “Impossible.”
“Why not?” Mo Hua asked.
The Third Boss smirked but refused to answer.
“What were you using those evil formations for?” Mo Hua pressed.
The Third Boss shut his eyes, lips sealed. Even when Commander Yang drove the spear deeper and twisted spiritual power through the wound, he endured in silence.
Clearly, it was a secret he would not easily divulge.
Commander Yang said, “Take him back. We’ll throw him into the Dao Prison and interrogate him properly.”
Mo Hua nodded — that was all they could do for now.
Commander Yang pulled the spear free and prepared to escort the prisoner back to Tōngxiān City. Just as they were leaving, the Third Boss suddenly asked,
“What really happened to the Stronghold Master?”
Mo Hua thought for a moment, then decided not to hide it.
“His identity was exposed. The Dao Soldiers surrounded him. He was badly wounded and fled. Probably won’t cause any more trouble.”
The Third Boss’s face showed disappointment.
He had likely been dreaming that the old patriarch would return, rally him again, and rebuild Black Mountain Stronghold.
Wishful thinking.
Mo Hua snorted inwardly.
As Commander Yang dragged the Third Boss away, the man looked utterly dejected—yet as he turned, a faint, twisted smile curled at his lips.
It was subtle, but Mo Hua’s sharp Divine-Sense caught it.
That sly bastard… what was he smiling about?
Mo Hua frowned.
He searched the entire cave again from top to bottom but found nothing unusual.
He and Commander Yang had already checked the Third Boss’s storage pouch earlier — only some spirit stones, blood ink, a few Life-Extending Pills, and a damaged visualization diagram.
The diagram was missing the green-faced little ghost — the Little Immortal Child Mo Hua had devoured.
Among all the items, only one drew Mo Hua’s lingering attention — the sinister formation the Third Boss had been drawing.
That formation… what exactly was it for?
(End of Chapter)