Mo Hua gradually figured it out.
Why, when Big Black Mountain Stronghold was breached and the Pill Furnace broken, the pig had vanished without a trace or a large pool of blood on the ground. It indicated that the pig had been moved beforehand and had never reappeared since then.
Of the Evil Cultivitors in Black Mountain Stronghold, those who weren’t killed were captured, none managed to escape, except for this pig.
This suggested that the pig was extremely important, far more than Black Mountain Stronghold and all the Evil Cultivitors.
And everyone, including Mo Hua, had overlooked this fact.
Why did the Evil Cultivitors feed people to that pig? Because that pig was the actual furnace for Alchemy.
Feeding people to the pig was tantamount to tossing humans into the Pill Furnace as ingredients.
The continuous feeding of people to the pig by Black Mountain Stronghold suggested that the pill was still in the process of being refined.
Or to put it another way, the Lifespan Transformation Elixir might have been in the making for a very long time and may even have been completed.
After all, no one knew how long Black Mountain Stronghold had been feeding people to the pig.
If it had been for over a hundred years, then the efficacy of the Lifespan Transformation could already be enormous!
A chill surged through his heart as Mo Hua’s expression fluctuated.
Observing his demeanor, Bai Zixi asked with confusion, "What’s wrong?"
Coming back to his senses, Mo Hua hurriedly said, "I’ve remembered something, something very urgent!"
No sooner had he spoken than he ran down the mountain.
"Are we not fighting anymore?" Bai Zisheng called after him with a tinge of regret.
Mo Hua waved his hand, "We’ll talk about it later..."
Using the Water Passing Step, Mo Hua quickly disappeared from sight, leaving Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi looking at each other, unsure of what had just happened.
Mo Hua found Leader Yang and noticed that Zhang Lan was there too, and he blurted out, "The pig!"
Zhang Lan and the others were startled, "You’re not cursing us, are you..."
Out of breath, Mo Hua shook his head and managed to say in broken sentences:
"That pig... is... the Pill Furnace!"
Zhang Lan and Leader Yang both looked stunned, pondered for a moment, and their expressions changed dramatically!
"What did you say?!"
After catching his breath, Mo Hua spoke with a grave tone:
"Flesh serves as the Formation media, bloodstains as the Formation Patterns, Demon Core as the Formation eye, bones comprise the Formation Pivot..."
"So that pig is the actual furnace for concocting the Lifespan Transformation Elixir! And it may well have been refining for over a century."
Leader Yang’s pupils shrank drastically, and he glanced at Zhang Lan, "Doesn’t that mean..."
Zhang Lan blurted out, "The pill... is about to be refined?!"
Leader Yang’s face darkened, and he immediately called over a Taoist Soldier, commanding sternly:
"Quick, go and invite Elder Yu, Court Leader Zhou, and Family Head An. Tell them to come over at once, we have an emergency on our hands to discuss!"
The Taoist Soldier acknowledged the order and set off posthaste. In less than half an hour, everyone had gathered together.
Leader Yang repeated Mo Hua’s words, and everyone’s color drained from their faces, their hearts filled with alarm.
"Where is the Patriarch of the Qian Family now?"
"At Big Black Mountain."
Leader Yang looked towards the blank spaces on the map.
The blank spaces on the map were areas that hadn’t been searched, which means... the lairs of Second Grade Monster Beasts!
The expressions of everyone became grave.
Second Grade Monster Beasts were powerful, and their lairs were deep and perilous.
Monster Beasts of the same realm were much stronger than cultivators.
Even Leader Yang, who was at the Foundation Establishment Stage, leading Taoist Soldiers into the lair, would likely suffer numerous casualties if they enraged a Second Grade Monster Beast.
"How could the Patriarch of the Qian Family think of this method?" Court Leader Zhou frowned.
Elder Yu sighed, "Before he made his fortune, the Patriarch of the Qian Family was also a Monster Hunter."
Thus, using the Monster Beast’s lair to fake the Chief Elder’s death, using Monster Beasts as Pill Furnaces to cultivate Pills, all of these, bore some hallmarks of a Monster Hunter’s practices.
Court Leader Zhou said with regret, "The Patriarch of the Qian Family indeed has clever means; it’s just a pity, they were not used for the Righteous Dao."
"Any clues from the third Householder?" asked Elder Yu.
"He’s tight-lipped, not saying anything," said Leader Yang.
"So what do we do?" Zhang Lan frowned, "Shall we search the Second Grade Monster Beasts’ lairs?"
If they went to search, the loss would be heavy, possibly costing many lives.
But if they didn’t search, once the Patriarch of the Qian Family successfully refined the Lifespan Transformation Elixir, the number of cultivators dying at his hands could be even more.
Whichever option they chose, it was a difficult decision.
Mo Hua thought for a moment and said, "How about I go take a look."
Everyone was slightly stunned, with Leader Yang asking, "What are you going to look at?"
"I’m going to look at the Formations."
"Formations?" Leader Yang was somewhat puzzled.
Mo Hua nodded, explaining:
"The Patriarch of the Qian Family relies on Formations for his actions, whether establishing Black Mountain Stronghold or using cultivators to refine Pills—all have traces of Formations."
"If he’s hiding in the lair of a Monster Beast in these deep mountains, he would definitely have set up some Formations around, whether to hide, for early warning, or for defense."
"I can see the traces of Formations."
"If there are traces of Formations in the lair of Second Grade Monster Beasts, then it means a cultivator definitely has been in there. And someone who can enter the lair of a Second Grade Monster Beast in the deep mountains, that person is most likely the Patriarch of the Qian Family!"
On hearing this, everyone’s eyes lit up, and they agreed:
"It’s worth a try!"
Elder Yu said, "I’ll go with you."
He was a bit concerned for Mo Hua and didn’t want him to take risks.
Leader Yang shook his head, "We few at Foundation Establishment will all go together."
Although Mo Hua was skilled at concealment and acted with astuteness, it didn’t mean he wouldn’t encounter danger.
And in searching for the Second Grade Monster Beasts’ lairs, the dangers faced were either the Second Grade Monster Beasts or, facing the Patriarch of the Qian Family himself.
Leader Yang was also hoping to get Mo Hua to join his Yang Family; viewing Mo Hua, albeit presumptuously, as ’his person’, he was therefore even less willing to let him get hurt.
"Sure!" everyone nodded in agreement.
So a group of Foundation Building Cultivators surrounded Mo Hua, protecting him as they searched in the deep mountains for the lairs of Second Grade Monster Beasts...