Mo Hua frowned, pondering the situation. The third Householder of Black Mountain Stronghold had seen him before. If the Householder informed the Patriarch of the Qian Family about his entry into Black Mountain Stronghold and provided a portrait, then the Patriarch would naturally recognize him. Having caused so much trouble for the Qian Family, and being a talented Junior Formation Master, it was impossible for the Patriarch of the Qian Family not to know his face. The Formation of the Black Mountain Stronghold had been tampered with. Mo Hua had entered Black Mountain Stronghold, and Mo Hua was a Junior Formation Master. The Patriarch of the Qian Family would inevitably put two and two together, putting all the blame on Mo Hua for these events. But as it stood, the Patriarch of the Qian Family seemed unaware. Why? Mo Hua’s gaze grew sharp. The only possibility was that the third Householder had only mentioned that the Formation of the Black Mountain Stronghold had been tampered with, but omitted the fact that he had encountered Mo Hua. The tampering with the Formation had made the Patriarch of the Qian Family wary. Black Mountain Stronghold had taken defensive measures. What they hadn’t anticipated, however, was for the Taoist Court to take direct action, petitioning for the deployment of Taoist Soldiers to annihilate Black Mountain Stronghold. Their defenses were utterly futile in the end. Since the third Householder kept the encounter with Mo Hua a secret, the Patriarch of the Qian Family did not suspect Mo Hua. Although Mo Hua was a Formation Master, he was also just a young cultivator in his teens with a low realm of power, and the Concealment Technique and Water Passing Step he had learned were unknown to the Patriarch of the Qian Family. Given only the incident of the Formation being tampered with, the Patriarch of the Qian Family would never think that it had anything to do with Mo Hua, even if he racked his brain. So, in the eyes of the Patriarch of the Qian Family, Black Mountain Stronghold had indeed been inexplicably exposed and suddenly crushed by the Taoist Soldiers. "But why did the third Householder not disclose the fact that he saw me?" Could it be that this third Householder was actually an informant? Mo Hua was somewhat puzzled. The Patriarch of the Qian Family was unaware of the instigating Mo Hua behind the scenes, and Elder Yu and the others would have preferred it that way. They were certainly not inclined to reveal Mo Hua’s involvement. Elder Yu only said in a cold voice, "The nets of heaven are wide, but let nothing slip through. Men do their deeds, but heaven watches. Your evil deeds are many; you deserved this fate!" The Patriarch of the Qian Family smiled faintly, "Unfortunately, this retribution has come a bit late. Had it come sooner, perhaps not so many would have died." The crowd was furious. "There’s no need for idle chatter," Leader Yang pointed his spear and shouted commandingly, "Attack!" The Taoist Soldiers behind him cried out in unison, "Attack!" Following the point of his spear, they charged at the Patriarch of the Qian Family. The encirclement and attack on the Patriarch of the Qian Family began in earnest. During the attack, not a single disciple of the Qian Family lifted a finger to help. This was expected, yet the complete absence of assistance still surprised everyone. To stand against the Taoist Soldiers would be to defy the Taoist Court. The Qian Family was unwilling to commit such a grave offense, and at the critical moment of life and death, nobody in the Qian Family cared about their Patriarch. The Monster Hunters, officials from the Taoist Court, and the Qi Refinement cultivators from the An Family, for the most part, did not intervene. They stood watch over the Qian Family disciples as a deterrent, preventing any of the Qian Family members from harboring a change of heart or stirring up trouble. The main force attempting to kill the Patriarch of the Qian Family consisted of Elder Yu and four other cultivators in the initial stage of Foundation Establishment, as well as several hundred Taoist Soldiers under Leader Yang’s command. Mo Hua truly witnessed the scene of the Taoist Soldiers in battle for the first time. A squad of ten Taoist Soldiers, of similar Spiritual Roots and practicing the same Cultivation Technique, wearing standard-issue armor and wielding sharp spears, resonated their Spiritual Power through Formation Patterns. Their morale instantly surged. When they attacked, their movements were synchronized, their spears struck like dragons, aiming at the Patriarch of the Qian Family, and they retreated immediately after striking, not engaging in prolonged combat. At the same time, another squad of Taoist Soldiers launched their attacks in succession, forming a cycle of relentless assault, never-ending and giving the Patriarch of the Qian Family no chance to catch his breath. The Patriarch of the Qian Family was wrapped in dense Blood Qi. As his hands moved, he drew streaks of blood in the air, neutralizing these attacks. However, over time, he began to struggle to cope. Leader Yang, Elder Yu, Old Master An, and Court Leader Zhou coordinated with the Taoist Soldiers, simultaneously attacking, trying to exhaust the Patriarch of the Qian Family to death. But after a long struggle, the Patriarch of the Qian Family was still full of vigor. Elder Yu could not help but yell angrily, "Old Dog Qian, how many people have you killed, and how many Human Life Pills have you consumed?!" The Patriarch of the Qian Family just sneered without responding. The assault intensified. Several Foundation Building cultivators tenaciously held the Patriarch of the Qian Family down, preventing him from escaping. Leader Yang, leading the Taoist Soldiers, maintained a relentless offensive, gradually depleting the Patriarch of the Qian Family’s Spiritual Power and aggravating his injuries, causing his Blood Qi to leak away. Mo Hua watched anxiously and urgently, while also coming to a realization. The law of the strong prevailing over the weak is the law of the Heavenly Dao. Yet the accumulation of the weak overcoming the strong is equally a law of the Heavenly Dao. When individual cultivators lack strength, they can employ this method of unity and concerted effort to fight against a formidable enemy. Just like a Formation, where each stroke accumulates into Formation Patterns, forming a powerful Formation, and thus resulting in extraordinary might. Human strength sometimes has its limits, but with enough people and a unified will, power can be endless and inexhaustible. The fight to the death continued, and after several hours, the Taoist Soldiers started to suffer casualties, with Elder Yu and the others sustaining severe injuries. But at last, the Patriarch of the Qian Family weakened, his Blood Qi unable to sustain him. The Patriarch of the Qian Family attempted several times to break through the encirclement, but each time Elder Yu and the others desperately blocked him, while the Taoist Soldiers contained him, plunging him once more into a dire situation of being besieged on all sides. The demeanor of the Qian Family’s Patriarch was no longer as relaxed as before, but rather grew more tyrannical, with increasingly dense Blood Qi surrounding him. His eyes, infused with a crimson ferocity, resembled that of a trapped beast fighting for its life. Just when everyone thought that if the battle dragged on, they would be able to kill the Patriarch of the Qian Family, an unexpected change occurred. A profound aura suddenly emerged from a corner of the Qian Family’s side and charged towards the battlefield. Elder Yu recognized the newcomer and cried out in shock and anger, "Chief Elder!" The arrival was none other than the Chief Elder of the Qian Family, also the Householder of the Black Mountain Stronghold! The Qian Family was thrown into a commotion once again. "Chief Elder?" "Wasn’t the Chief Elder dead?" "What exactly is going on?" Only now did these Qian Family disciples realize that their Qian Family had so many secrets, and they, members of the Qian Family, were utterly oblivious. Upon the appearance of the Chief Elder, the Patriarch of the Qian Family tried to seize the opportunity to flee. He pushed back Leader Yang with a palm strike, dodged the long spears of the Taoist Soldiers, and with a backhand tear, horrifying bloody marks congealed, slicing through a group of Taoist Soldiers, killing several of them on the spot. Leader Yang was beside himself with rage. Although these Taoist Soldiers were his subordinates, they were also his brothers-in-arms. "Old fool, die!" Leader Yang exerted all his strength, channeling golden Spiritual Power into his long spear. The spear trembled, bursting with dazzling light and gathering a terrifying force. The Patriarch of the Qian Family’s expression trembled, "High-grade Taoist Skill?" He tried to escape, but another group of Taoist Soldiers tangled up with him, preventing his departure. Moments later, Leader Yang’s Spiritual Power was fully amassed, his aura erupted, and then he merged with his spear, the spear striking like a dragon and, in an instant, reached the Patriarch of the Qian Family, the spear, carrying massive force, piercing straight through the Patriarch’s chest. The golden light wrapped around the spear flickered on and off, constantly eroding the Patriarch’s Blood Qi and extinguishing his life force. Just as the Patriarch of the Qian Family was on the brink of death under the spear. At the critical moment, the Chief Elder’s expression darkened, he forcibly took a blade from Elder Yu and clashed with a palm strike against Old Master An, taking advantage of the force to retreat backward. Ignoring his own injuries, he charged at Leader Yang and used an eerie palm force to force back Leader Yang. Leader Yang had no choice but to retract his move and withdraw. The Patriarch of the Qian Family finally had a moment to breathe, swallowed two blood-red pills, and his chest flesh squirmed as his wounds gradually closed. However, such pills were only a temporary fix and not a complete cure. If the fight dragged on, he would surely die! He must escape... The Patriarch of the Qian Family exerted all his strength to activate a bloody escape technique, seeking to break out and flee once again. Leader Yang wanted to take action to keep the Patriarch down, but his prior use of the Taoist Skill had fully depleted his Spiritual Power. That spear technique, named Radiant Golden Spear, was a secret spear technique of the Yang Family, also a high-grade second-rate Taoist Skill. High-grade Taoist Skills are powerful but consume a lot of Spiritual Power and require a long charging time. One must seize the moment for a triumphant strike, or else they would either miss or be left in a vulnerable state due to the excessive depletion of Spiritual Power. His earlier spear technique took advantage of the fact that the Patriarch of the Qian Family couldn’t escape, hitting him accurately. However, since the Patriarch was at the Middle Phase of Foundation Building and had consumed Human Life Pills, enhancing his Blood Qi, he sustained severe injuries but did not die. Elder Yu and others sought to stop the Patriarch, but they were halted by the Chief Elder’s intervention. Other squads of first-rank Taoist Soldiers couldn’t stop the Patriarch either and could only try their best to thrust their spears, leaving more wounds on the Patriarch’s body. As the Patriarch of the Qian Family broke through the encirclement, he turned back silently, his blood-red eyes glancing at the Chief Elder, taking in everyone present before, without a word, transforming into a bloody escape light and directly charging out through the gates of Tongxian City. He fled towards Big Black Mountain! Everyone was already exhausted from the prolonged battle, powerless to stop him, and could only let the Patriarch of the Qian Family escape. But the Chief Elder of the Qian Family was left behind. The Chief Elder had no intention of fleeing, instead fighting until he had nothing left, until his life force was completely drained, finally half-kneeling on the ground, blood spilling everywhere. Elder Yu silently looked at him and sighed, "Was it worth it?" The Chief Elder, expressionless, replied with self-mockery, "A man on the verge of death, who should have died long ago, whatever he does is worth it." After he finished speaking, he slowly closed his eyes. This Chief Elder of the Qian Family, who had "died" long ago, had now truly passed away. The encirclement was thus concluded. Many were badly injured, and some had even died at the hands of the Patriarch of the Qian Family. Meanwhile, the Patriarch had escaped with severe injuries, heading towards Big Black Mountain. Mo Hua sat cross-legged on the rooftop, watching all of this from a distance. His heart felt both pity and sorrow. Pity that they weren’t able to kill the Patriarch of the Qian Family, and sorrow for the bloodshed and sacrifices made in the encirclement attempt. Mo Hua couldn’t help but think: "If I were a second-rank Formation Master, could I have completely trapped the Patriarch of the Qian Family with a second-grade formation and avoided so many casualties?" Mo Hua let out a small sigh. It seemed that his abilities were still lacking, and his mastery of formations needed further enhancement. The path of Tao Cultivation is long and arduous, formations profound and intricate; there is still so much to learn. As of now, I’m still not strong enough...