Golden Core is a Star, and You Call This Cultivation?
Chapter 328: Interrogation

The interior of the cave was a complete mess. Several formations had been destroyed, books and formation disks were shattered into fragments by spiritual energy, and the walls were riddled with holes. The vats of blood had been overturned, spilling their contents all over the ground.

The Third Leader was pinned against the wall by a long spear that pierced his shoulder, immobilizing him. His hands and feet were locked in silver manacles.

These manacles were specialized tools used by the Dao Soldiers—a Grade Two spiritual artifact engraved with a Spirit-Locking Formation, specifically designed to restrain prisoners.

Commander Yang, as a scion of a noble family and a seasoned leader of the Dao Soldiers, had extensive combat experience and personal strength far surpassing that of the Third Leader.

The Third Leader’s only real skill lay in formations.

But with Mo Hua’s help, even that advantage had been completely neutralized, rendering the Third Leader’s formations useless. Naturally, he was no match for Commander Yang.

After a mere ten exchanges, the Third Leader was captured.

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When Mo Hua entered the cave, the Third Leader immediately widened his eyes in shock and exclaimed, “It’s you?!”

Mo Hua nodded. “It’s me.”

The Third Leader struggled to rise, but Commander Yang pressed him back down with one hand, leaving him unable to move.

The Third Leader winced in pain and gave up struggling. Still, disbelief was etched on his face as he said, “You… you’re really a formation master?”

“Figured it out?” Mo Hua did not deny it.

The Third Leader’s eyes twitched as a chill ran through his heart.

Everything suddenly became clear.

So it was this boy who had infiltrated Black Mountain Fortress, dismantled his formations, and destroyed his visualization diagram.

It was all his doing!

Yet, it still felt impossible to him. “How can it be? How could you possess such strong spiritual sense?”

A mere Qi Refining cultivator with spiritual sense on par with a Foundation Establishment expert—it defied everything he knew about cultivation.

Mo Hua gave a faint smile but did not answer.

He had no intention of revealing anything about his background.

If the Third Leader wanted to guess, he could guess all he wanted.

The Third Leader’s expression shifted, eventually settling into one of bitter resentment. After a pause, as if driven by stubbornness, he asked again, “You really broke through my formations?” ɽ

“You could say that,” Mo Hua replied casually.

This answer made the Third Leader’s face go pale. He looked utterly defeated, as though his very soul had been crushed.

Having a stronger spiritual sense could be chalked up to natural talent. But being able to break through his formations meant that this young boy’s knowledge of formations far surpassed his own.

A ten-something-year-old boy who was already far ahead of him in formation mastery?

The Third Leader’s inner resolve wavered; his Dao Heart began to crack.

“This is impossible!”

Such a person shouldn’t exist in a remote, insignificant place like this. Such a genius would surely belong to some ancient sect or a great family. How could he be a humble rogue cultivator from a backwater town?

The Third Leader looked at Mo Hua with a gaze that transformed from disbelief to despair, and finally, to bitter jealousy and hatred.

“You lucky little bastard—”

Before he could finish cursing, Mo Hua pulled out his trusty Thousand-Jin Staff and smacked him across the face.

“Bang!”

Mo Hua snorted coldly. “You still don’t understand your situation, do you?”

Commander Yang also frowned, driving his spear deeper into the Third Leader’s shoulder. The weapon’s spiritual energy surged, gnawing at the man’s flesh.

The pain brought the Third Leader back to his senses.

It dawned on him that this boy wasn’t someone to mess with.

This was the same boy who had dared to sneak into Black Mountain Fortress, maintain his composure even after being discovered, and successfully trick several demonic cultivators to their deaths.

Such daring and intelligence were not traits of an ordinary person.

If he wasn’t some old demonic spirit possessing a young body, then he was undoubtedly a clever and calculating prodigy—a cunning little monster.

Offending someone like this was unwise.

Suppressing his jealousy and anger, the Third Leader forced himself to calm down.

Seeing that the Third Leader was behaving, Mo Hua refrained from further beating him.

After all, with his frail body, even wielding the Thousand-Jin Staff wouldn’t do much physical damage to a Foundation Establishment cultivator. The most he could do was vent his irritation.

Mo Hua asked about the matter that puzzled him the most.

“You didn’t tell your Leader about me, did you?”

“No,” the Third Leader replied.

“Why not?” Mo Hua asked, puzzled.

The Third Leader hesitated.

Mo Hua snorted coldly. “Don’t make me lose my patience.”

He raised the Thousand-Jin Staff again, ready to strike.

“Alright, I’ll talk!” the Third Leader shouted.

He had no intention of being humiliated by a mere boy.

Mo Hua put down the staff. “Go on, then.”

The Third Leader hesitated for a moment before explaining, “I noticed that someone had tampered with the formations in Black Mountain Fortress. I suspected it was you but wasn’t entirely certain. After all, dismantling formations isn’t something most formation masters can do.”

“You’re too young. It shouldn’t be possible for someone your age to have this level of expertise in formations.”

“But then I thought about your abnormally strong spiritual sense and realized it was probably you.”

“Yet you didn’t report it to your Leader?” Mo Hua pressed.

The Third Leader sneered. “If I told the Leader, you’d fall into his hands, and all your secrets would belong to him.”

“But if I didn’t tell him and managed to capture you myself, I could discover the secrets of your spiritual sense, extract your methods for dismantling formations, and use them to enhance my own abilities. My formation skills could soar to new heights.”

He added coldly, “If you were me, what would you choose?”

Mo Hua scratched his chin, acknowledging that the reasoning made sense.

“Besides,” the Third Leader continued, fixing Mo Hua with a sharp gaze, “I was also afraid that you might side with the Leader.”

“Side with the Leader?” Mo Hua blinked, taken aback.

The Third Leader sneered. “I saw how easily you dismantled my formations. To be honest, it made me feel inadequate and even afraid.

“With spiritual sense as strong as yours and such profound mastery of formations at such a young age, if the Leader knew about you, he’d stop at nothing to recruit you.

“Even if you were unwilling, he’d find ways to coerce you—threats, bribes, anything. You’d become a demonic cultivator under his banner.”

The Third Leader continued bitterly, “And once you joined Black Mountain Fortress, there would be two formation masters. The old adage, ‘two tigers cannot share one mountain,’ applies here as well. You’re so young, with boundless potential in formations. If you ever decided to kill me, the Leader would probably even help you do it.”

“That’s… a bit dramatic, don’t you think?” Mo Hua murmured, startled.

He hadn’t realized his presence could have such a ripple effect.

The Third Leader smirked coldly. “I’ve served the Leader for years. I know exactly what kind of person he is. As long as you have value, he’ll give you whatever you want. But the moment you’re no longer useful, he’ll discard you without a second thought.”

Mo Hua nodded slightly. This assessment aligned with his own impression of the Qian patriarch.

The Third Leader, realizing he’d said too much, abruptly froze. His face paled as he demanded, “Wait—how do you know about the Leader?”

Mo Hua was momentarily speechless.

The man was so slow to realize...

Judging from his reaction, the Third Leader clearly didn’t know that the Qian patriarch’s identity had been exposed, nor that he had been ambushed by Dao Soldiers and forced to flee, severely injured.

In other words, the Third Leader had no contact with the Qian patriarch while hiding in this cave.

“Your Leader’s already dead!” Mo Hua bluffed.

The Third Leader flinched as if struck by lightning. After a pause, he calmed down and sneered. “Impossible.”

“Why?” Mo Hua asked curiously.

The Third Leader refused to answer.

Mo Hua shifted his focus. “What were those demonic formations you were drawing for?”

The Third Leader closed his eyes and remained silent. Even when Commander Yang drove the spear deeper, twisting it to intensify the pain, the Third Leader gritted his teeth and refused to speak.

It was clear the matter was highly sensitive, and he wasn’t going to reveal anything easily.

Commander Yang sighed. “We’ll take him back and throw him in the Dao Prison. Interrogate him there.”

Mo Hua nodded. At this point, it seemed like the only option.

Commander Yang withdrew his spear and prepared to escort the Third Leader back to Tongxian City. As they were about to leave, the Third Leader suddenly asked, “What happened to the Leader?”

Mo Hua thought for a moment before answering honestly.

“His identity was exposed. He was ambushed and severely injured but managed to escape. He’s not in any position to cause trouble now.”

The Third Leader’s face darkened with disappointment.

He had probably been hoping the Qian patriarch would regroup, return for him, and help reestablish Black Mountain Fortress.

What wishful thinking.

Mo Hua scoffed silently.

As the Third Leader was being escorted out by Commander Yang, a faint, eerie smirk flickered across his face—subtle but unmistakable.

If not for Mo Hua’s sharp spiritual sense, he wouldn’t have noticed it.

What is this old schemer laughing about?

Mo Hua frowned deeply.

Returning to the cave, Mo Hua reexamined everything thoroughly.

There was nothing particularly unusual.

He and Commander Yang had already searched the Third Leader’s storage bag, which contained only some spirit stones, blood ink, human longevity pills, and a partially damaged visualization diagram.

The diagram was missing the green-faced demon boy—a feature Mo Hua had “eaten” earlier.

The only thing that stood out was the demonic formation the Third Leader had been drawing.

What was its purpose?

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