Chapter 354: Raiding the Family
The An family donated hundreds of thousands of spirit stones. Through Mo Hua’s coordination, these stones were sent to the Dao Court Division and piled up in their storage, reserved for unified use when building the grand formation.
The An family received the gratitude of Elder Yu, the Dao Court Division, and the Dao Military Division, as well as Mo Hua’s personal favor.
However, the spirit stones were still insufficient.
Frowning, Mo Hua studied the jade scroll of the grand formation and calculated the required spirit stones, only to find a shortfall of several hundred thousand. He couldn’t help but wonder:
Does a typical grand formation really require this many spirit stones?
Mo Hua had a good memory; he remembered Mister Zhuang saying that using all the stones from a small spirit mine could probably build a small-scale grand formation.
That was without accounting for craftsmen’s wages or the spirit stone consumption during the formation’s operation.
Yet now, even with the spirit stones from multiple small mines, the budget was still insufficient.
Is this really a top-grade, ten-pattern grand formation?
“Would Mister Zhuang lie to me…” Mo Hua muttered to himself.
But at this point, worrying about it was meaningless.
On the contrary, the higher the formation’s grade, the stronger its power, and the more certain the hunt against Feng Xi would be.
Mo Hua now hoped the formation’s grade would be even higher.
After all, he had already learned how to construct it.
The biggest problem now was how to make up the shortfall of several hundred thousand spirit stones.
Mo Hua thought for a moment, then went to see Commander Yang of the Dao Military Division:
“Uncle Yang, we don’t have enough spirit stones.”
Sighing, Yang Commander replied with some helplessness:
“We’ve gathered all the spirit stones we could. The Qian family already delivered theirs, the An family donated theirs, the wandering cultivators gave what they could, and the Dao Court Division applied for some, but not much…”
As Yang Commander went on calculating, he suddenly looked up, noticing Mo Hua’s calm demeanor, his lack of urgency, and curiosity prompted him to ask:
“Do you already have an idea?”
Mo Hua smiled.
Yang Commander was a bit taken aback. “You really have an idea? This is hundreds of thousands of spirit stones.”
Mo Hua lowered his voice and said:
“We can raid a family…”
“Raid a family?” Yang Commander was stunned. “The Qian family already turned over their spirit stones. Raiding them again doesn’t seem right.”
“Not the Qian family.”
Yang Commander paused, studying Mo Hua’s gaze, sensing a hint of caution:
“Don’t tell me… the An family? They donated a lot, but there must still be some left. If we take them, we might get some extra, but…”
But the methods involved—first courtesy, then force; first trickery, then slaughter; leaving nothing behind—were ruthless.
Yang Commander looked at Mo Hua, a chill rising in his heart. He hadn’t expected Mo Hua’s heart to be so cold.
Mo Hua rolled his eyes. “Where are you getting that idea from? There’s no way I’d raid the An family…”
Yang Commander exhaled in relief.
Right, Mo Hua wasn’t that kind of person.
“Then who do you plan to raid?” Yang Commander asked curiously.
Mo Hua pulled a finely crafted, high-value jade token from his storage pouch.
Yang Commander was momentarily surprised. “A family jade token?”
Mo Hua nodded, then turned it over. On the front was engraved the character “Kong.”
The Kong family…
Yang Commander thought for a moment, confused. “The Kong family in Tōngxiān City?”
“Not Tōngxiān City. The Kong family in Qingxuan City.”
Mo Hua’s expression grew serious, his gaze hardening with a glint of frost.
Seeing this, Yang Commander whispered, “Did they offend you?”
Mo Hua shook his head. “Not exactly… they’ve just done too many evil deeds themselves.”
He recounted to Yang Commander the misdeeds of the Kong family in Qingxuan City: bribing the local Dao Court Division, conspiring with others to commit murder, and the fate of Ji Qingbai’s family…
Yang Commander, a man of integrity, was furious. “This is outrageous!”
Then he hesitated. “This jade token…”
Mo Hua explained: “This belongs to Kong Sheng, a direct descendant of the Kong family, who commits evil daily and is no good… I discovered him while infiltrating the Black Mountain Bandits. He’s closely allied with the evil cultivators, so it’s clear the Kong family colluded with them.”
The evil cultivators had kept Kong Sheng in a private room and even fed him, proving their close relationship.
Kong Sheng attempted a deal with the evil cultivators to save his life—claiming collusion was no exaggeration.
Mo Hua spun a plausible story.
Yang Commander asked, “Then how did this jade token end up with you?”
“I picked it up!”
Yang Commander raised an eyebrow. “Picked it up?”
Mo Hua nodded. “The evil cultivators killed Kong Sheng and fed him to pigs. I just… picked it up along the way.”
Yang Commander pondered, “If Kong Sheng colluded with the Black Mountain Bandits, why would the evil cultivators kill him and feed him to pigs?”
Mo Hua offered an explanation: “Evil cultivators don’t follow rules. They love killing their own people; black-on-black conflicts aren’t impossible…”
Yang Commander found the reasoning sound.
After all, if evil cultivators acted logically, they wouldn’t be evil cultivators.
“Alright…”
Yang Commander knew Mo Hua was hiding some details, but he didn’t mind.
Having the jade token proved that Kong Sheng was indeed with the Black Mountain Bandits, implicating the Kong family.
Once verified in Qingxuan City, a list of the Kong family’s crimes could be prepared, and the Dao Military Division could raid them directly. Any resistance would be met with suppression.
Such local powers were usually difficult for the Dao Military Division to interfere with, but in times of disaster, procedures could be relaxed.
As long as the reasoning was defensible, the paperwork could be completed afterward.
Yang Commander weighed the jade token in his hand and nodded.
Then he looked at Mo Hua curiously: “You’ve kept this jade token for so long… were you planning to use it against the Kong family?”
Previously, the timing wasn’t right, and it was useless. Now, in an emergency, it could serve its purpose.
Mo Hua replied seriously:
“This is just the way of heaven—nothing escapes justice. The Kong family violated Dao Court law and is being raided by the Dao Military Division. It’s all perfectly reasonable. What does it have to do with me? I didn’t do a thing…”
He neatly absolved himself of responsibility.
Yang Commander paused, then shook his head helplessly, thinking:
This child is clever and cunning. Hopefully, he doesn’t go astray into the path of evil, or it’ll be trouble.
“Seems we still need to find a way to get him to join the Yang family. Their household follows proper morals, and under their influence, Mo Hua won’t stray.”
Yang Commander ran the thought through his mind and concluded that was the best solution.
After that, Mo Hua didn’t need to worry about it.
Yang Commander personally led the Dao Military Division to Qingxuan City and raided the Kong family. The result surprised Mo Hua.
The Kong family wasn’t just raided—they were wiped out.
According to Yang Commander, they initially only surrounded the Kong family to question them about their crimes, but the Kong family’s disciples struck first, arrogantly attacking the Dao Military.
Some other Kong family disciples even egged them on.
Meanwhile, others who realized what this meant turned pale and fled for their lives.
The Dao Military symbolized the authority of the Dao Court.
Attacking them without cause was equivalent to rebelling against the Dao Court.
Yang Commander, his expression as cold as still water, didn’t hold back. Pointing with his spear, his troops formed a dragon-like formation and began suppressing the Kong family disciples.
The Kong family had only two early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators. Having tyrannized for years and unfamiliar with dueling techniques, they were no match for Yang Commander and his troops.
One of the Kong family’s Foundation Establishment elders was pierced through the chest by Yang Commander’s spear within a few rounds and kicked to the ground, barely alive.
The Kong family patriarch, realizing he was outmatched, fled immediately.
The remaining disciples were instantly routed.
Though the Dao Military didn’t have many troops, enough to defeat the Kong family, they couldn’t prevent their scattering.
Unexpectedly, the situation shifted again.
Wandering cultivators in Qingxuan City held deep grudges against the Kong family.
Having been oppressed and powerless, they had shed countless tears and blood over the years.
But the Kong family had Foundation Establishment cultivators to protect them, so these wandering cultivators had been helpless.
Now, with the two Kong Foundation Establishment cultivators defeated—one dead, one fled—centuries of resentment erupted alongside their boundless rage.
The wandering cultivators’ eyes turned red as they began slaughtering the Kong family disciples.
Any Kong family disciple wearing the family’s attire who tried to flee would be dragged down by the wandering cultivators, then hacked to death by others.
The Kong family patriarch could have escaped but was blocked.
Although a Foundation Establishment cultivator, unafraid of these Qi-refining wandering cultivators, he was overwhelmed by their sheer recklessness. Wave after wave surged at him.
Many cultivators didn’t even use Dao techniques. Relying solely on their bloodlust, they threw themselves at the patriarch, trying to bite him or hold him down with their lives to prevent escape.
The patriarch killed one, another rushed forward. He killed one, another attacked. This continued for over ten, and instead of intimidating the wandering cultivators, it fueled their rage and ferocity.
They clung desperately, cursing:
“Return my son’s life!”
“My parents were killed by you beasts!”
“Kong family dog, you deserve to die! Even if I die, I’ll eat your flesh and drink your blood!”
…