"Quite a few."
Mo Hua briefly counted. There were Monster Hunters, Taoist Court, and also the Taoist soldiers Court.
Without hesitation, Old Master An said, "Good, count the An Family in on this matter!"
"As long as that old dog of the Qian Family doesn’t die, Tongxian City will never be at peace!"
Mo Hua originally intended only to inquire about some information, to find evidence proving the association between the Patriarch of the Qian Family and the Black Mountain Stronghold.
He hadn’t expected the An Family to have such deep-seated grievances with the Qian Family, and that Old Master An was willing to lend a hand, which was an unexpected joy.
After Mo Hua reported the matter to Elder Yu, Elder Yu also breathed a sigh of relief.
Though the An Family’s influence was modest, they were still the second-ranking clan in Tongxian City. With their help, they had a bit more confidence in dealing with the Qian Family.
Another two hours passed, and Zhang Lan and Mo Shan returned as well.
Elder Yu asked, "How did the questioning go?"
Zhang Lan nodded. "We sent someone to pose as Evil Cultivators, and talked with the second-in-command. He showed no reaction to other topics."
"But when we mentioned ’the Householder is already dead,’ the second-in-command opened his eyes and sneered, saying that’s impossible; when we said ’the Camp Leader is also dead,’ he scoffed again, saying that’s even more impossible."
"From this, it’s clear that there is indeed a Camp Leader in the Black Mountain Stronghold, and he is not the same person as the Householder!"
After sharing Old Master An’s words, Mo Hua asked Leader Yang, "Are these evidences sufficient?"
Yang Jiyong pondered, "They aren’t fully conclusive, but they are enough. When it comes to Evil Cultivators, it’s better to wrongly kill than to let one escape; delaying any longer and letting the Qian Family become aware would mean missing our chance."
Elder Yu nodded in agreement. "Whether the Camp Leader of Black Mountain Stronghold is the Patriarch of the Qian Family, we will know as soon as we make a move."
"If it is him, we will execute him on the spot!"
"If not, I will apologize to the Qian Family. Anyway, I have thick skin. I have not spared them from my harsh words on regular days, so apologizing now won’t be a loss."
Yang Jiyong nodded, "Alright then, let’s finalize the plan to move against the Qian Family and eliminate the Patriarch of the Qian Family!"
The whole following day, everyone discussed strategies together.
By evening, Old Master An, dressed in black, also came quietly.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Old Master An disclosed some secrets of the Qian Family that were not known to the public—about the Qian Family’s terrain, as well as the cultivation techniques, Taoist skills, and the preferred fighting methods of the Patriarch of the Qian Family.
Mo Hua listened attentively from the side.
He did not understand Foundation Building Cultivators, was not familiar with the manipulation of spiritual energy above Foundation Establishment, and had no idea how to kill a Foundation Building Cultivator.
His own skills could not harm those at the Foundation Building level.
The only thing that might be lethal to a Foundation Building individual was causing a Compound Formation to collapse through Divine Sense Calculation.
However, the calculations for such a Compound Formation took time, and Mo Hua, busy with investigating the Patriarch of the Qian Family, had not yet finished the calculations, nor had he actually used them, so it was of no use for the time being.
Now, all Mo Hua could do was to listen and learn:
How to design an execution of a powerful enemy cultivator.
How to estimate the enemy’s strength, including their cultivation, cultivation techniques, Taoist skills, spiritual artifacts, and so on.
What strength his own side needed to successfully execute the plan.
How to arrange manpower, how to deploy them, how to exploit the enemy’s weakness and attack their shortcomings, and how to minimize casualties to the greatest extent.
Whether it was Yang Jiyong, the leader of the Taoist soldiers, or Zhang Lan with his profound family learning, or the experienced Elder Yu, as well as battle-hardened Mo Shan, they were all fairly adept at this kind of thing, each with their own strengths.
In discussing the plan, each expressed their opinions, playing to their strengths and compensating for each other’s weaknesses.
Mo Hua watched and listened silently, memorizing everything, pondering and adapting it for his own use.
He might not need it now, but one day in the future, it might come in handy.
Two days and one night later, everything was settled.
The plan to eliminate the Patriarch of the Qian Family officially began.