MTLNOVEL Chapter 22: Chapter 573 – Killing Formation
Chapter 573 – Killing Formation
Second-Rank Earthfire Formation!
And it exceeded expectations—a Thirteen-Pattern Formation!
Mo Hua's eyes lit up.
As expected, luck is a conserved quantity. No matter how bad your luck is, eventually the tide turns.
Even though it wasn't a Fourteen-Pattern formation, Mo Hua was already very satisfied.
Moreover, the Earthfire Formation was related to the earth—and it was a killing formation!
That matched Mo Hua's current needs perfectly.
Without delay, Mo Hua copied down the Second-Rank Earthfire Formation diagram, studying it carefully, calculating its variations, and immersing himself in understanding it.
The Second-Rank Earthfire Formation shared the same foundational structure as the First-Rank version.
Its formation patterns were Second-Rank Fire-type.
The formation core's layout was an upgraded and expanded version of the First-Rank Earthfire Formation—refined to accommodate more, stronger, and deeper-level formation patterns.
Mo Hua was already intimately familiar with the First-Rank Earthfire Formation, so learning the Second-Rank one was twice the result with half the effort.
It didn't take long before he had fully memorized the formation diagram.
That night, on the Dao Tablet, Mo Hua began formal practice.
As always, the beginning is the hardest.
Upgrading from First-Rank to Second-Rank meant starting fresh in many areas, so progress was a bit slow.
But Mo Hua had already learned two Second-Rank formations—he was already in the door. His understanding of Second-Rank formations was steadily maturing.
Even more importantly, the Earthfire Formation was part of the Five Element Formation series, and Mo Hua had reverse-deduced it from the Five Element Source Pattern.
And if there was anything he specialized in—it was Five Element Formations.
So learning this one was much easier than before.
After practicing it four or five times, Mo Hua successfully drew out the full Thirteen-Pattern Second-Rank Earthfire Formation.
When activated, a flash of red light appeared—firelight flowed within the formation, brimming with a powerful formation aura.
This was a Second-Rank Formation!
And not just any Second-Rank Formation.
Thirteen-Pattern Second-Rank formations were basically the strongest and most complex formations that a beginner Second-Rank formation master could control.
If he learned a few more Thirteen-Pattern formations, Mo Hua could likely go get officially ranked as a Second-Rank Formation Master.
"I just don't know if Tongxian City even has a way to certify Second-Rank Formation Masters…"
Mo Hua practiced the Earthfire Formation on the Dao Tablet another ten times to be sure—each stroke memorized, each line and core crystal clear—before finally stopping.
After a short rest, he started thinking again.
"I've learned the Second-Rank Earthfire Formation now, but without spiritual ink, I can't draw it… and I don't know how powerful it really is."
As a cultivator, one must always have a clear grasp of their spells and formation power.
That way, they wouldn't misjudge situations in battle.
If the time calls for a kill, and the enemy is within their strength range, they mustn't hesitate and let them escape.
Likewise, if they're weaker, they shouldn't foolishly believe they're stronger and rush in, only to throw their life away.
Both mistakes were fatal.
Accurate judgment. Decisive action.
That was the foundation of being a demon-hunter.
Mo Hua nodded.
When he used to go into the mountains to hunt beasts, his father, Mo Shan, had told him this many times:
"If you have the upper hand—strike and kill, no mercy.
If you're outmatched—run. No hesitation."
So now, he needed to actually draw the Earthfire Formation and test it, just to get a feel for its power.
That way, the next time he met a real opponent, he could make the right call: fight or flee.
"Spiritual ink…"
Within Tongxian City, Mo Hua had already gathered nearly all the Second-Rank spiritual ink that was available.
Even if he could still buy some here and there, he couldn't afford it long-term.
With how fast he learned and practiced formations, his spiritual ink was being used up like water.
It was a bottomless pit—no amount of spirit stones could fill it.
Since he couldn't buy more, he'd have to make it himself.
But to do that, he'd need Second-Rank demon beast blood…
Mo Hua thought for a moment and came up with a plan—he had his mother prepare several bags of dried fish, seasoned in all sorts of ways: spicy, five-spice, fragrant.
Early the next morning, Mo Hua slung the bags over his shoulder and returned to Black Mountain to find the big tiger.
The moment it smelled the fish, the tiger's eyes lit up—but then it pretended to be aloof, letting out a single majestic growl, like "Awooo!" to say "I'm a tiger, I don't actually like fish."
"Mm-hmm," Mo Hua nodded quickly, "I understand."
Then he sneakily slipped the fish to the tiger.
The big tiger was very pleased.
Mo Hua asked,
"Big Tiger, do you have any 'enemies' in the deep mountains?"
"Oh wait—not human enemies… I mean demon beast enemies?"
The tiger couldn't talk, but it was smart enough. It seemed to understand the general idea of what Mo Hua was saying.
When it heard "enemies," it nodded slightly, then looked at Mo Hua, puzzled.
Mo Hua patted his chest.
"I'll help you take revenge!"
The tiger blinked—then glanced at Mo Hua, this little speck of a human compared to its massive body, clearly skeptical.
"Don't worry, I'm really strong…"
The tiger ignored him and went back to sleep.
Mo Hua pestered it non-stop, using dried fish as bait, until the tiger finally agreed.
In Black Mountain, Second-Rank demon beasts had no natural predators.
Only other Second-Rank demon beasts could challenge them.
So Mo Hua decided to team up with the big tiger—hunt another Second-Rank demon beast together. The tiger could eat the meat, and he would extract the blood to make ink for drawing formations.
Thus, a small cultivator and a big tiger began their sneaky alliance of mischief…
The tiger's enemy was a Second-Rank Kui Wood Wolf.
It led Mo Hua near the wolf's den and crouched low in the grass, eyes gleaming, full of restrained rage.
The wolf's den was wide and damp but not very deep.
Inside, there were scraps of beast carcasses—and even remains of human cultivators.
The Kui Wood Wolf was inside, chewing on some unknown bloody meat.
This Second-Rank beast had thick demon energy and a massive body.
Its fur was dark green, its claws and fangs sharp, coated with a pale green demon aura.
Kui Wood Wolves were wood-type—and their demon power was poisonous. A single wound would allow the demon toxin to invade the body, spreading and festering, extremely hard to expel.
Mo Hua had no idea what grudge the tiger had with this wolf.
Maybe it was bullied when it was young?
Normally, tigers were stronger than wolves.
But this Kui Wood Wolf had clearly lived longer. Though it was just at early Second-Rank, its aura was terrifying, its eyes crafty, and its fur darker and more ominous.
Most importantly—its teeth.
They were stained with dried blood—so dark red they were nearly black. Clearly, it had eaten plenty of people before. Even its breath stank of rotting flesh.
Mo Hua considered the situation.
He was still early Foundation Establishment. His formation mastery wasn't complete, his combat skills weren't solid, and he lacked structure.
So—this fight would have to be a head-on brawl.
Of course, the tiger would do most of the work.
He would just add a few clever tricks—and sneak in the final strike if needed.
As a demon hunter, Mo Hua understood the habits of beasts very well—including Kui Wood Wolves.
He spent some time inspecting nearby fur patches and blood trails, and he deduced the wolf's movement patterns and daily behavior.
He sprinkled herbal powder on its common paths to mask any scents, and set up a concealment formation where the tiger could ambush it.
As for himself—he ran far away, found a pit behind a giant boulder, used divine sense to set up another concealment formation, and then drew a Thirteen-Pattern First-Rank Fire Source Trap Formation into the ground.
After that, human and tiger waited patiently.
An hour later, the Kui Wood Wolf, belly full, stepped out of its den for a leisurely walk to digest.
This was its territory.
To it, anything alive—beast or human—was just food.
It strolled along the dead-silent mountain path. Nothing seemed out of place. No sounds, no disturbances.
]At that moment, a sudden gust of wind howled through the air.
From the seemingly empty roadside void, a massive tiger suddenly leapt out!
With jaws wide and eyes gleaming with a sinister gleam, it struck with ferocity and precision, lunging straight for the Kui Wood Wolf's throat.
The wolf's vertical pupils widened in fear and fury—it twisted to dodge, but not fast enough. The tiger bit down hard on its forearm, tearing out a bloody gash.
The Kui Wood Wolf's eyes turned blood-red, its fur bristled, and it bared its crimson fangs. But in its gaze, there was a flicker of confusion.
It couldn't understand—how had this Second-Rank tiger demon appeared right next to it so suddenly?
But the tiger wasn't giving it time to think. Seizing the advantage, it let out a roar and pounced again, eyes blazing with killing intent.
The two Second-Rank demon beasts clashed in a violent melee, the battle roaring to life with ferocious intensity.
Demonic energy exploded outward, howls shook the mountains, and a terrifying aura spread in all directions.
Nearby birds and beasts scattered in terror. Even distant demon hunters paled and quickly sent warning messages:
"Two Second-Rank demon beasts are fighting! Evacuate immediately!"
Tiger and wolf fought tooth and claw. But before long, the tiger began to fall behind.
Even with the ambush advantage and the initial injury it inflicted, it was still young and lacked experience—it wasn't a match for the seasoned Kui Wood Wolf.
From afar, Mo Hua saw his chance.
He first closed his eyes, using his Fourteen-Pattern divine sense to lock tightly onto the Second-Rank Kui Wood Wolf.
Then he opened them, formed a seal with his fingers, and cast a Second-Rank Fireball Technique—while simultaneously activating the Fire Source Trap Formation beneath his feet.
The formation pulsed with flowing firelight.
Subtle, arcane energy gathered from the formation and surged into Mo Hua's body, stimulating his meridians, causing his spiritual energy to boil and spike with power.
Five Element Amplification—spiritual power surged!
Mo Hua pointed—his fireball condensed. The spiritual power had become almost liquid, as if mercury forged from fire.
With a flick of thought, the fireball whooshed forth—racing straight for the Kui Wood Wolf he had locked onto with his divine sense!
The wolf was still locked in combat with the tiger.
Suddenly—a flash of roaring flame—a swift, savage fireball struck its waist!
The Second-Rank Fireball, empowered by the Fire Source Trap Formation, exploded with tremendous force.
The blaze erupted—skin split, fur scorched black, and a serious wound opened up.
The Kui Wood Wolf howled in rage.
Even the tiger froze for a moment—it hadn't expected such a tiny fireball to pack that much punch.
In all of Second-Rank Tongxian City and the Black Mountain region, very few cultivators could cast such a powerful spell.
After all, Foundation Establishment cultivators were rare, and among them, even fewer cultivated pure spell arts.
But the tiger only paused briefly before recovering, eyes gleaming with excitement. It licked its lips and lunged at the wolf again.
Now, the tiger would fight up close, drawing attention and keeping pressure on.
While Mo Hua, from afar, continued firing fireballs one after another—relentlessly chipping away at the wolf's defenses.
With divine sense to lock on and the Fire Source Formation to empower him, Mo Hua's fireballs were accurate, vicious, and deadly.
He was well hidden, protected by a boulder and a concealment formation—no chance of being discovered or chased.
The Kui Wood Wolf was furious.
Assailed from both sides—close by the tiger and far by Mo Hua—its injuries piled up quickly.
It wanted to kill the tiger, but the fireballs kept interrupting.
It wanted to retreat, but the tiger wouldn't let it go.
Even now, it didn't know what was attacking it—or who. Was it a human cultivator? Another demon beast? And what kind of disgusting fire technique was this?!
Time passed.
The Kui Wood Wolf, heavily wounded, began to fight like a trapped beast.
The tiger no longer pressed too hard—it focused on stalling, exchanging minor wounds to prevent the wolf's escape.
Meanwhile, Mo Hua's fireballs came faster, sharper, more precise, and increasingly fluid.
The wolf tried to flee—but couldn't.
It tried to play dead—but in front of a clever tiger and a cunning Mo Hua, that trick was hopelessly naïve.
And so, the mighty Second-Rank Kui Wood Wolf—was slowly worn down, caught in a pincer attack, consumed bite by bite… and eventually killed.
This was the first time Mo Hua had ever slain a Second-Rank demon beast!
Though the tiger did most of the heavy lifting, Mo Hua's role was still crucial.
Once the wolf was dead, man and beast got to splitting the spoils.
Mo Hua began by using Blood Extraction Technique to draw out the Kui Wood Wolf's demonic blood.
Now that he was Foundation Establishment and could use divine sense to manipulate objects—and even control ink—this process was much faster.
The wolf's blood was red with a faint green tint, and Mo Hua guided it with divine sense into jade bottles he had prepared in advance.
He managed to extract twenty bottles!
After that, the blood began to darken and congeal—the quality dropped sharply, and further extraction became difficult.
Mo Hua carefully stored the twenty bottles of Second-Rank demon blood in his storage pouch, grinning from ear to ear.
"Twenty bottles! That's enough to make a lot of spiritual ink—more than enough for a while."
He was quite satisfied.
Next came the tiger's turn to eat.
It dragged the wolf carcass into its cave and began devouring it slowly.
Mo Hua noticed the tiger was covered in wounds, so he took out some pills, ground them into powder, and applied them.
As the tiger gnawed on meat, Mo Hua climbed onto its back and carefully sprinkled the cool medicinal powder over its wounds, stopping the bleeding and neutralizing the toxins.
The Kui Wood Wolf's demonic energy carried venom—harmless to a Second-Rank tiger demon, but still worth treating to avoid future complications.
The tiger munched away, enjoying the sensation of the cool powder soothing its wounds, and couldn't help but squint happily, its massive head swaying in rhythm.
Just then, Mo Hua turned and noticed something… odd in the tiger's mouth.
It was a round, blood-red, green-streaked, faintly pulsing orb—like a heart, still twitching slightly.
"Is that… a demon core?" Mo Hua was stunned.
This was his first time seeing a demon core.
Only demon beasts with rare bloodlines were born with cores—but such creatures were extremely rare.
Typically, a demon beast in the First Rank nurtured its bloodline.
In the Second Rank, it developed a nascent core.
Only in the Third Rank would it fully form a true inner core.
A demon core was like a cultivator's dantian—it held all the demon beast's power.
This one clearly belonged to the Kui Wood Wolf. Though not fully formed, it had the shape—it was a core embryo.
Mo Hua stared at it curiously.
And then, the tiger—without hesitation—swallowed it whole.
Immediately, its aura surged, its demonic energy thickened, and even its fur darkened by a shade.
Mo Hua gasped.
"This tiger… is cultivating by eating inner cores?"
He frowned, a bit confused.
As far as he knew, demon beasts did eat cores—but it was usually just raw consumption, without any visible benefits like this.
And then he remembered—back at Black Mountain Stronghold, that second-in-command who used to drink the tiger's blood when no human blood was available…
"Said this tiger had a rare bloodline… innate talent beyond ordinary…"
Eating a core and gaining power…
No wonder it had progressed so quickly.
No wonder it grew from a little cub into a huge tiger in such a short time.
Mo Hua silently took note in his heart.
Mo Hua silently made a mental note.
In the future, once he gained more experience, he had to find out just what breed of demon beast this tiger actually was.
Swallowing inner cores and growing stronger each time…
If it kept eating like that, wouldn't it become unstoppable?
Mo Hua shook his head.
For now, he put the matter of the big tiger aside. Next on the agenda: preparing spiritual ink and learning how to control it with divine sense to draw a Second-Rank Earthfire Formation.
If the Earthfire Formation turned out to be powerful enough, and he could draw it fast enough—it would become a lethal trump card for him at early Foundation Establishment.
And with that, future hunts for Second-Rank demon beasts would be much easier.
No more relying on the tiger to trade wounds to stall the beast, while he slowly whittled it down with fireballs—such a messy, exhausting ordeal just to kill one…
Mo Hua began by trying to concoct spiritual ink.
He didn't have the actual recipe for Second-Rank ink.
So, he had to adapt the First-Rank spiritual ink formula his senior sister had given him—making tweaks here and there, cobbling it together as best he could.
The ingredients were different, but the principles were the same.
Mo Hua wasn't aiming for perfection—just something usable.
There was another issue.
The Kui Wood Wolf was a Second-Rank Wood-type beast, and its blood carried strong wood attributes—not ideal for drawing an Earthfire Formation, which was fire-based.
Fire-type beast blood would've been ideal.
But luckily, in the Five Elements cycle, wood generates fire, so the two weren't strictly incompatible.
Given the limited materials, Mo Hua wasn't chasing perfection—"good enough to work" was fine.
With a mix-and-match approach, Mo Hua spent two full days and finally managed to concoct a few bottles of Second-Rank spiritual ink.
He first used it to draw a Second-Rank Thorn Formation, just to test the ink.
Surprisingly—it worked! The effect was decent—only slightly weaker than expected. All in all, it was acceptable.
Then, he moved on to the real task: drawing the Earthfire Formation.
He chose the same deep mountain area, near the big tiger's cave, but slightly farther away this time.
Then, Mo Hua took a deep breath, focused his divine sense, and began.
Mind as brush. Earth as canvas.
He began drawing this aggressive, deadly Second-Rank formation.
It was still a bit rough—he wasn't fully proficient, so his drawing speed was slow, and he struggled a bit.
He even failed a few times in the middle—wasting a bottle or two of spiritual ink.
That hurt.
With a pained heart, Mo Hua sat down to meditate, calmed his mind, and then started over.
Red and green spiritual ink floated midair, responding to Mo Hua's divine sense. It hovered, then slowly flowed down into the earth, forming the foundation of a complex formation...
The big tiger watched Mo Hua with a curious expression.
The little guy had such a serious look on his face, fiddling around for ages—but there was no sound, no reaction. The tiger blinked and stared harder.
Eventually—after many failed attempts—Mo Hua completed the Earthfire Formation.
He had used up more than half of his divine sense. His face was pale, but his eyes were filled with excitement.
Time to test it.
This formation was dangerous.
So naturally, Mo Hua ran far away, all the way to the tiger's side. Then he focused his mind, lightly activated the formation with a flicker of divine sense—and triggered the Second-Rank, Thirteen-Pattern Earthfire Formation.
Three breaths passed. Nothing happened.
Mo Hua blinked.
"Did I mess up?"
Impossible. He'd checked it multiple times.
If there was a mistake, he would've noticed it himself…
"Wait… could it be the ink?"
"Maybe because it wasn't fire-type ink? Cheap ingredients? Sloppy methods? Could it be… poor spiritual conductivity?"
Just as he was puzzling it out, his divine sense stirred—his expression changed.
He sensed the pile of nearly a hundred spirit stones stacked at the formation's core—suddenly evaporated into nothingness.
Then the Earthfire Formation lit up—blazing red, blindingly bright.
Spiritual energy surged like molten copper.
BOOM!
A thunderous explosion followed, fierce and scorching spiritual energy detonated outward.
Heatwaves swept in every direction.
Nearby plants turned to ash, mountain rocks melted.
At the center of the blast, energy churned and raged—like magma from deep within the earth—unleashing terrifying destructive force.
The tiger leapt in shock, instinctively backing away. Its fur stood on end, claws dug deep into the ground as it stared wide-eyed at the eruption.
Even after the blast had ended, spiritual energy dispersed, and the entire area was scorched and ruined—the tiger still hadn't recovered.
It slowly turned its massive head, looking at the little Mo Hua beside it—its huge eyes full of disbelief.
It just couldn't understand—how could such a tiny little human cause such a terrifying explosion?
Mo Hua, too, was stunned.
He murmured in awe:
"So this is… the power of a Thirteen-Pattern Second-Rank Earthfire Formation…"
Array formations embodied the principles of the Dao.
The higher the rank, the greater the power.
And this Second-Rank killing formation far exceeded his expectations.
With its current power, the Thirteen-Pattern Earthfire Formation could severely injure any early Foundation Establishment cultivator!
Mo Hua furrowed his brow in thought.
"Drawing directly into the earth… is even stronger than I imagined."
"Especially killing formations!"
Formation power was immense—but setting them up was troublesome.
But if he could remove those restrictions—if he could, with just a single thought, draw into the earth and summon Earthfire…
Then in real combat, it would be just like drawing formations in his Sea of Consciousness.
Setting up a formation would be no different from casting a spell.
Even if his spiritual power wasn't that strong, relying on divine sense to set up formations in battle would give him enough defensive power, deterrent power, and lethal force to hold his own.
The only condition—he had to be fast enough.
The faster he drew, the stronger he became—able to catch enemies off guard and bury them in a sea of flames.
(End of Chapter)