Chapter 233: Chapter 232 Flourishing_1 Using an Earth Fire Formation to hunt Monster Beasts indeed doubles the efficiency. This time, hunting the Red-eyed Demon Sheep seemed to have some setbacks, but it was much easier than their previous hunts. Previously, hunting a monster in its prime required them to surround and kill the monster, and if the monster fled, they would have to chase it for at least a day, sometimes even several days. Now, the Red-eyed Demon Sheep was directly bombed into a serious injury, its offensive power weakened a lot, and its demonic power also declined, making it much easier to handle. Generally, they could wear it down to death within two hours. Still, they needed to be wary of the monster playing dead, just in case. But for Monster Hunters, this was considered mandatory training, so it didn’t really have much impact. After staying at the camp for one night, the group returned to Tongxian City the next day. Yu Chengyi went to find Elder Yu, talked for a few sentences, and gained Elder Yu’s approval. During the following period, Yu Chengyi began teaching other late-stage Qi Refinement Monster Hunters how to use the Earth Fire Formation for hunting. How to set traps, how to place the Formation, how to activate the Formation, then how to surround and kill the monster beast, and finally, how to finish the job. These processes were very familiar to the middle-phase Qi Refinement Monster Hunters, because they had often used the Earth Fire Formations drawn by Mo Hua in their previous hunts. But because the previous Earth Fire Formations only had seven Formation Patterns, they weren’t powerful enough, so the late-stage Qi Refinement Monster Hunters had not used them. Now, with Mo Hua’s Formation painting skills improved, he was able to draw a first-grade Earth Fire Formation. Therefore, all Monster Hunters, including those at the late stage of Qi Refinement, had to learn to use the Formation. Additionally, Monster Hunters also started wearing iron armor. Some were taken from the Qian Family previously, and some were reluctantly bought by Elder Yu, who then asked the craftsmen at the Refinery Shop to forge them personally. The Artifact Furnace at the Refinery Shop was a first-grade Artifact Furnace, with a first-grade Melting Fire Compound Formation drawn on it, producing a pure fire that made the iron armor far superior in quality to ordinary iron armor. Mo Hua also took the time to draw the Golden Armor Formation onto each set of iron armor. A Monster Hunter wearing iron armor with the Golden Armor Formation painted on it had a defense that was not inferior to that of an average first-grade late-phase Monster Beast. This batch of iron armor was given priority to the Monster Hunters at the peak of the Qi Refining Ninth Level. Mo Shan naturally got a set as well. In addition to that, Mo Hua also learned the first-grade Gold Blade Formation. The Gold Blade Formation was a Golden Series Formation Method, which when drawn on swords or knives, could enhance their sharpness. This way, the Monster Hunters were even more skilled at hunting Monster Beasts. Naturally, Mo Hua drew the first Gold Blade Formation on Mo Shan’s knife. With the first-grade Earth Fire Formation for ambush, the first-grade Golden Armor Formation for defense, and the first-grade Gold Blade Formation for attack, along with the Compass Parent-Child Compound Formation for detection and early warning. Now that Mo Shan would go into the Inner Mountain to hunt monsters again, Mo Hua felt much more at ease. Not only Mo Shan, but as the Refinery Shop and Alchemist’s Business grew stronger and the income from the Spirit Stones increased, these formations would gradually be available to all Monster Hunters. From this point on, all Monster Hunter activities became closely associated with formation arrays. Formations were also widely applied in the Monster Hunters’ hunts, making hunting safer, more convenient, and more efficient. Now, all the Monster Hunters in Big Black Mountain came to know Mo Hua. The armors they wore, the weapons they used, the traps they set, were all outfitted with Formation Patterns drawn by Mo Hua. Because they had experienced it themselves, they understood just how important formations were. Thanks to these formations, hunting monsters now was vastly different from before. With the enhancements of formations, they didn’t have to worry about getting injured at every turn, nor did they have to fear that a moment’s negligence could lead to being eaten by monsters. Their families also did not have to be constantly anxious, fearing that they would enter the mountains in one piece but return drenched in blood. Mo Hua could now comfortably focus his thoughts on achieving his Foundation Establishment. Mo Hua wasn’t short on Spiritual Stones for the time being, whether it was the Fulu Building, the Refinery Shops and Alchemist’s Businesses in Southern City, or the Spiritual mines they occupied, he had a significant share in each of them. Moreover, his parents had saved up quite a lot of Spirit Stones for him, saying they were for his future cultivation and for when he gets a wife. The most pressing issue for Mo Hua now, however, was Divine Sense. If he wanted to establish his Foundation, he would need to strengthen his Divine Sense, which meant he would have to draw more formations, and to draw more formations, he must get more Monster Blood to mix the Spiritual Ink. Previously, when he was in the Outer Mountain, he used formations to hunt and kill Monster Beasts, saving up nearly a thousand bottles of Spiritual Ink. Later, while defending the Spiritual mines and setting up the Refinery Shop and Alchemist’s Business, as well as refining Artifact Furnaces and other miscellaneous uses, Mo Hua drew many formations, and now he was almost out of them. Foundation Establishment was still quite a way off, but foreseeable future needs for Drawing Formations or solving formations would also not be small, so Mo Hua had to start saving up some again. And the blood of rank-one late-phase Monster Beasts would make the formations he drew even more powerful. Mo Hua began to wander around the Inner Mountain again. While updating the Map, he dug some herbs for Old Mr. Feng, found some ores for Master Chen, and for his mother’s research into diet, he gathered some spices. Most importantly, he kept an eye on the Compass for any signs of battles happening. Once a light flashed on the Compass, Mo Hua would determine the direction and immediately rush over. The late-phase rank-one Monster Beasts were hard to kill. Even with the help of the Earth Fire Formation, hunting them required quite an effort. By the time Mo Hua arrived, the timing was just right, and in most cases, there was even time to spare. He didn’t need to join the fight, only to find a safe place to hide and wait for the Monster Hunting to end, then come out and draw some Monster Blood with a small bottle. Occasionally, there would be tense battles or a Monster Beast faking death; in those cases, he would cast a few Fireball Techniques, either to harass the Monster Beasts or to test whether they were really dead. Since he had a breakthrough in his cultivation, and his Heaven Yan Jue had improved, Mo Hua’s Fireball Technique was now faster, more accurate, and more powerful. He could form a Fireball Technique the moment he thought of it. As Monster Hunters were at a standoff with Monster Beasts, Mo Hua’s Fireball Technique could provide a lot of help. Most Monster Hunters were very grateful to Mo Hua and quite enthusiastic. Generally, the Monster Hunters’ prey was not to be touched by others, but Mo Hua was an exception. The Monster Beasts belonged to them, but all of the Monster Blood was Mo Hua’s. Some Monster Hunters, after killing a Monster Beast, wouldn’t immediately strip the materials but would wait for a while for Mo Hua to come over to bleed it. If Mo Hua didn’t show up, they would be rather upset, feeling that it was a pity to waste the Monster Blood. In this way, Mo Hua was thriving in the Inner Mountain. Being one of the Monster Hunters, his fortunes were tied to theirs, for better or worse. With so many Monster Hunters helping him, his activities in the Inner Mountain naturally became much more convenient. The Inner Mountain was far more dangerous than Outer Mountain. But with formations at his disposal, Mo Hua felt that the Inner Mountain and the Outer Mountain were not so different after all. Gradually, Mo Hua stockpiled more and more Spiritual Ink, and the strength of the Monster Hunters also grew. With the help of formations, while their cultivations might not have increased, their combat power had significantly improved, and the time spent on Monster Hunting greatly decreased. At the same time, the materials of the rank-one late-phase Monster Beasts obtained from Monster Hunting also increased. These materials were sent to the Refinery Shop and Alchemist’s Business in Southern City, where they were refined into Spiritual Artifacts and Pills, then sold to cultivators in the city or to foreign merchants, earning a substantial amount of Spirit Stones. These Spirit Stones were then distributed proportionally among the Loose Cultivators. The Loose Cultivators of Tongxian City gradually became wealthier, and the entire city prospered without anyone noticing. And as Tongxian City prospered, more and more cultivators of various stripes and unclear origins began to arrive…