Chapter 152 Mediation (First Update)_1 After the battle ended, Monster Hunters were clearing the battlefield. Injured Monster Hunters would receive treatment. The Cultivators from the Qian Family would be stripped of their storage bags and spiritual artifacts, then thrown outside; whether they lived or died would depend on whether the Qian Family was willing to rescue them. In addition, all of the seized spoils of war had to be submitted, categorized uniformly, and then distributed according to the merit and needs of the Cultivators. Inside the mine, Elder Yu found a large rock to sit on. Monster Hunters came up one after another, handing over the captured storage bags to Elder Yu. Mo Hua, with his arms full of storage bags, walked up to Elder Yu, ready to hand them over. Elder Yu was taken aback, “What are you doing?” “Handing them over,” Mo Hua replied. Elder Yu gave him a slight glare, “Kid, what are you joining the commotion for? Keep them and have fun yourself.” “Oh,” Mo Hua sat down to the side. After a while, Elder Yu still couldn’t resist his curiosity and asked: “Where did you get all these storage bags from?” Mo Hua replied somewhat bashfully, “I picked them up down the mountain.” “Picked them up?” “Yeah,” Mo Hua explained, “If a Cultivator from the Qian Family escaped and was alone, I’d take them down and then take their storage bag.” Elder Yu stared, thinking to himself what on earth you’re talking about. Even if a Cultivator from the Qian Family was alone, they were bonafide late-stage Qi Refinement Cultivators. How could you, a child in your teens, take them down? And you speak of it so lightly, as if it’s as simple as eating candied hawthorn… Elder Yu frowned and then asked, “Have you learned any spells?” “Yeah, I learned the Fireball Technique,” Mo Hua said. “Oh,” replied Elder Yu, nodding his head as if that made more sense. But then his brow furrowed again. That’s not right, the Fireball Technique isn’t that effective in taking down an enemy. Casting a spell requires condensing Qi. If it isn’t practiced well, there’s still the question of whether you can hit someone or not… Elder Yu wanted to ask more, but other Monster Hunters had come up to submit their storage bags, so he never got the chance to ask. “Elder Yu, am I really not supposed to submit these?” Mo Hua asked stealthily. “The ones you picked up outside the mines count as your own skill. Besides, we’re not so desperate as to take a child’s belongings,” Elder Yu replied. “Thank you, Elder Yu!” Mo Hua gratefully accepted. Afterwards, when the mine was well-organized, Elder Yu assigned people to guard it, and then allowed the injured Monster Hunters to return for recuperation. Mo Shan also went back, but he hadn’t been injured. Wearing rattan armor embellished with the Golden Armor Formation, not even the monster beasts could tear through it, let alone the swords and knives of the ordinary Qi Refinement Cultivators. He was to escort Mo Hua back home since Mo Hua was now considered “loaded.” After getting home, Mo Hua shut the door, threw the storage bags he held on the table, and then began to open them one by one. Mo Shan watched, his expression somewhat complex. He didn’t know how his son managed to pick up so many storage bags through “picking up opportunities…” There were around a dozen storage bags, and they contained a wide variety of items. Typically, these included spirit stones, spiritual artifacts, pills, Taoist robes, among other miscellaneous trinkets of little value. There were also a few garishly colored booklets, illustrated with flirty female Cultivators engaged in odd activities. Mo Hua had just flipped them open and hadn’t had the chance to look closely when Mo Shan confiscated them. Mo Hua felt a bit regretful, “I wonder what exactly was illustrated in there…” The dozen or so storage bags were quickly accounted for. Just the spirit stones alone numbered three to four hundred pieces, and together with some unprocessed spiritual mine stones, plus pills and spiritual artifacts, it was estimated they could be worth a total of five to six hundred spirit stones. Five to six hundred spirit stones! Mo Hua couldn’t help but marvel. No wonder people often say, “Horses won’t get fat without grazing at night, people won’t get rich without a windfall.” However, it was better not to engage in such dealings if possible. Mo Hua still wanted to be a law-abiding, good Cultivator. That is unless he encountered foolish goons from the Qian Family who were both bad and stupid enough to fall right into his hands… All of the spirit stones in the storage bags were given to Mo Hua by Mo Shan, for Mo Hua to cultivate and learn about Formations. The rest of the items such as spiritual artifacts, pills, Taoist robes, and rattan armor, Mo Shan took for himself. The Qian Family had suffered a major setback and certainly wouldn’t just let things slide. From now on, it was expected that they would face a ferocious counterattack from the Qian Family. These spiritual artifacts and pills would all be of great use. However, before the Qian Family could retaliate, it was the Daoist Court that came knocking first. After all, the conflict between the Monster Hunter and the Qian Family had caused numerous casualties. Both morally and logically, the Daoist Court could not remain indifferent. The Court Leader of the Daoist Court personally sought out Elder Yu. Mo Hua heard about it and followed his father to join in the commotion. Elder Yu and the Court Leader talked in the room for a long time. No one knew what they discussed, but when they came out, both of their expressions were not good. It looked like they parted on bad terms. What did they talk about? Mo Hua was extremely curious, but he knew if he asked, Elder Yu definitely would not tell him. Just then, he noticed Zhang Lan who was following behind the Court Leader. Zhang Lan was a Canon of the Daoist Court, holding a significant position, and as a clan member, his attendance in such important matters was to be expected. As Zhang Lan walked, he sensed a familiar gaze upon him. Turning his head, sure enough, it was Mo Hua. Mo Hua winked at him. Zhang Lan sighed inwardly, pretended not to see, and walked away. In the afternoon, he found some free time and went to drink at Mo Hua’s family’s restaurant. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢 Mo Hua personally poured him wine, looking at him eagerly. Zhang Lan, having no choice, said, “Out with it, what do you want to know?” Mo Hua’s eyes lit up, “What were Elder Yu and your Court Leader talking about this morning?” Zhang Lan coughed softly, lowering his voice: “You know about the spiritual mines, right?” Mo Hua nodded. Though it was expected, Zhang Lan was still somewhat surprised, “How much do you know?” “I know what I need to,” Mo Hua replied, “The day the spiritual mines were seized, I was there too.” And he had picked up a dozen storage bags… Of course, Mo Hua didn’t say this out loud. Zhang Lan was a cultivator of the Daoist Court after all, with his own stance, and Mo Hua couldn’t make it difficult for him. Mo Hua was very “considerate” in thinking of Zhang Lan. Zhang Lan sighed, “You really have some nerve.” To dare to get involved in a cultivator melee… Zhang Lan said, “Since you already know, I’ll get straight to the point. With such a big incident, both sides have casualties. The Court Leader certainly wants to calm things down, and the Qian Family agrees, but their condition is for you to hand over the spiritual mines so they won’t pursue the matter further…” Mo Hua snorted, “They wish!” “That’s what your Elder Yu said too,” spoke Zhang Lan. Naturally, as he said this, he also mixed in a lot of foul language. Some of the language was so crude that Zhang Lan had never even heard of it. Zhang Lan had seen many Foundation Building cultivators, and although Elder Yu was not the highest in cultivation, he certainly was the fiercest when it came to swearing. “What will happen next?” Mo Hua asked. Zhang Lan sighed, “Not much can be done now. At this point, the Daoist Court can no longer intervene.” “Ah?” Mo Hua looked puzzled. Does that mean the Daoist Court is really that powerless? Zhang Lan explained helplessly, “The Daoist Court only has so many cultivators. They can maintain the Taoist Law and catch a couple of sin cultivators, but they can’t manage conflicts between two major forces.” Zhang Lan added, “At least the Daoist Court in Tongxian City can’t handle it. They can only mediate, asking everyone to follow the usual rules.” Mo Hua asked, “What are the ‘usual’ rules?” Zhang Lan’s expression grew more serious as he spoke softly: “It means taking Nameless Peak as the boundary. Outside Nameless Peak, you cannot kill without reason; but on Nameless Peak, you fight whoever you need to fight, kill whoever you need to kill, until both sides have had enough…” “No one other than yourselves will know about the deaths there, the Daoist Court will turn a blind eye, and it won’t be reported up to the Court.” Violent and barbaric. Hearing this, Mo Hua’s gaze also became sharp. That is to say, the real battle would only begin from now on…