Chapter 330: Collapse

Mo Hua relayed the matter to Zhang Lan and Commander Yang — both of whom were born into prominent families and might know something.

“Lifespan-Conversion Essence Elixir?”

Zhang Lan gradually furrowed his brows, his expression growing grave. “I’ve never heard of such a pill.”

He looked toward Commander Yang, who shook his head as well. “Nor have I.”

Mo Hua was surprised. For such a pill to be so obscure that even these two hadn’t heard of it—it must be exceedingly rare.

Zhang Lan said, “Copy down the diagrams of the pill furnace and those herbs. I’ll send them back to my clan to inquire.”

Commander Yang added, “Give me a copy too. I’ll ask my people as well.”

Mo Hua copied the drawings for both of them. “How long will a reply take?” he asked.

Zhang Lan thought for a moment. “Hard to say. If things go smoothly, less than a week. If not… half a month, perhaps. With our cultivation still low, most transmission methods are unavailable. It’ll take time.”

Mo Hua nodded.

Six days later, Zhang Lan received a reply from his clan.

He sought Mo Hua out, his expression somber. “This isn’t an ordinary demonic pill.”

“The Lifespan-Conversion Essence Elixir refines a cultivator’s lifespan and converts it into medicinal power—it’s a secret of certain grand Demonic Sects. A true demonic art!”

“These few herbs—Soul-Refining Grass, Withered-Life Vine—are indeed used for refining such a pill.”

A chill coursed through Mo Hua’s heart. “How could the Qian Family’s Patriarch have such a pill recipe?”

Zhang Lan shook his head. “Perhaps he stumbled upon it by chance. Or someone deliberately gave it to him. Too few clues to tell.”

The next day, Commander Yang’s clan also sent word.

Their message was similar to Zhang Lan’s, but with an added detail:

“Even within the Demonic Sects, the Lifespan-Conversion Essence Elixir is an extremely precious pill. Its refining method is top secret and never easily spread.

To craft it, one must first commit immense slaughter—refining people into Longevity Pills, then using those pills as primers, with human blood and flesh as ingredients.

One must kill and refine continuously for decades, even centuries, before a single furnace of this pill can be completed.

Thus, even for a Demonic Sect, producing such a pill is a grueling, long-term endeavor.”

Mo Hua felt a creeping coldness rise within him.

Everything matched the Qian Patriarch’s actions.

He had built Black Mountain Stronghold, harbored evil cultivators, and slaughtered people to refine pills—first Longevity Pills for himself and the Qian Elder to extend their lives; later, using those very pills as primers to refine Lifespan-Conversion Essence Elixirs.

Mo Hua had once asked Elder Feng — Longevity Pills could indeed extend life, but only for so long.

Over time, their medicinal potency would weaken, extending life for shorter and shorter spans, until finally they lost effect entirely.

Thus, the Qian Patriarch couldn’t rely on them forever.

His true plan had been to cling to life long enough—perhaps a hundred more years—until the Lifespan-Conversion Essence Elixir was completed. Then, consuming it, he could enhance his cultivation and break through to the late Foundation Establishment stage.

Such a breakthrough would grant another century of life!

And at that stage, he’d no longer be confined to Tōngxiān City. He could venture to higher provinces and seek the path to Core Formation.

A hundred years—enough for anything to happen.

Zhang Lan and Commander Yang had clearly reached the same realization; both looked stunned.

“But there’s a problem,” Zhang Lan mused. “The pill furnace in Black Mountain Stronghold was destroyed. Doesn’t that mean the pill itself is gone as well?”

Commander Yang nodded slowly. “Seems so…”

Yet no one looked relieved.

The Qian Patriarch was far too cunning for things to be that simple.

“Does the Qian Family have other pill furnaces?” Mo Hua asked.

Zhang Lan nodded. “Yes. There were a few in the Patriarch’s personal cave abode, though all were destroyed during the siege.”

“What about the other furnaces in the Qian estate?”

“You mean… the ones that appear to be normal furnaces?”

Mo Hua nodded again.

Commander Yang immediately said, “I’ll send Dao Soldiers to confiscate and destroy every single furnace in the Qian household—none left standing!”

Zhang Lan added, “And I’ll speak to the supervisory division. Every private, sect, or family-owned alchemy furnace in Tōngxiān City must be reported and inspected. Not one can be missed.”

After some thought, he turned to Commander Yang. “The Black Mountain Stronghold must be searched again—thoroughly.”

“I’ll lead the team myself,” Commander Yang vowed. “Three feet of earth won’t hide it from us!”

“As long as we find and destroy that furnace, and stop him from refining the pill, he’ll be powerless to stir up trouble.”

Mo Hua frowned, feeling as though something crucial still eluded him—something important.

Zhang Lan, mistaking his pensive silence for worry, reassured him:

“Don’t fret. No matter how deep his schemes run, once they’re out in the open, they lose their power.”

Mo Hua still felt uneasy but nodded nonetheless.

From then on, the investigations—seizing Qian furnaces, searching Black Mountain Stronghold—proceeded steadily under the Dao Court’s divisions.

Unable to help much, Mo Hua turned his focus back to his work: deciphering the Composite Formation’s Collapse.

It took nearly a month of intermittent effort, delayed by all the turmoil, but at last, he finished deriving it.

He was curious—could this “collapse” truly injure a Foundation Establishment cultivator?

He wanted to test it.

But, naturally, no Foundation cultivator would volunteer to be his test subject.

Even a second-grade beast would be dangerous; Mo Hua wasn’t sure if his Invisibility Technique could fool a second-grade beast’s senses.

Unlike humans, beasts had sharper senses: sight, spiritual perception, even smell. Some excelled at detecting Qi, others at blood scent.

So even if his invisibility could fool one species, it might fail against another.

Rushing in blind was no different from tying a noose around his own neck.

Thus, a peak first-grade beast was the upper limit he could safely test against.

If things went wrong, at least he could still run.

Mo Hua set up his formation — a first-grade Earthfire Composite Array.

The destructive power of a collapsing array didn’t depend on its type, but on its strength: the caster’s Divine-Sense, the density of spiritual power, and the number of array lines.

Any array, when forced to collapse with enough power, could unleash devastating force.

He chose the Earthfire Array as a control case.

Previously, a triggered Earthfire Composite Array had been enough to heavily injure a peak first-grade beast.

Now he wanted to see how much stronger its collapse would be.

Would it surpass the explosion of the array itself—and by how much?

Everything was ready.

In his vision appeared a black-furred bear — a Black-Bristled Ursine.

Its bristled fur gleamed like spikes, eyes round as bronze bells, and its massive frame radiated brute force — one of the most formidable beasts in the Great Black Mountain, feared even by seasoned monster hunters.

But Mo Hua felt no fear.

Fear came only from weakness.

Though not powerful yet, even a Foundation Establishment cultivator could no longer easily take his life — much less a first-grade beast.

He might not be able to kill it outright, but neither could it kill him.

That was about to change.

He was here to test whether his array mastery—and the destructive force of collapse—could slay a peak first-grade beast outright.

Trap laid. Array primed. Traces hidden. The air masked with Beast-Luring Grass.

Everything in place.

The Black-Bristled Ursine lumbered forward, unconcerned.

Few beings in this mountain could threaten it. It killed what it wished, ate what it wanted.

Sensing no danger, it walked right into the trap.

At that instant—the array flared.

Spiritual power reversed—then imploded.

Collapse.

Mo Hua’s pupils contracted sharply.

Just like when a single array collapsed before—spiritual energy unraveled, silent and still.

But this time, the scope was far greater. The reverse surge engulfed half the bear’s body.

In the next heartbeat, half its form vanished—disintegrated into black ash, utterly annihilated.

It was as though the void itself had been crushed in an invisible hand—crushing beast and space alike into nothingness.

The mighty Black-Bristled Ursine fell with a thunderous thud—dead on the spot.

Mo Hua’s expression trembled, eyes wide, and he murmured to himself:

“So this… is the true Collapse of the Formation…”

The true power of the Great Dao’s annihilation.

(End of Chapter)