Chapter 271: The Cliffside Path
Chapter 271: The Cliffside Path
That evening, Mo Hua continued to practice the Concealment Array and the Reverse Spirit Array on the Dao Tablet in his sea of consciousness.
He was already familiar with the Concealment Array and was just reviewing it.
The Reverse Spirit Array was extremely difficult, requiring ten spiritual senses to complete. Mo Hua couldn't draw it yet, but he used it to practice his array skills and refine his spiritual sense.
The next morning, he got up early and cultivated for a full hour as part of his routine.
After a quick breakfast, he set out for Da Hei Mountain. Passing through the outer mountains and into the inner mountains, he arrived once again at the edge of the cliff.
The cliff stood tall and imposing, with clouds and mist swirling beneath it, shrouding its depths in mystery.
Mo Hua sat down cross-legged at the edge of the cliff, closed his eyes, and released his spiritual sense, scanning downward.
With prior prediction, his purpose was clearer, and his perception was more careful.
After a moment, Mo Hua opened his eyes, a hint of confusion in them.
There was still nothing.
If his guess was correct, these criminal cultivators were using a concealment array to hide, most likely beneath this cliff.
But at this moment, the cliff loomed deep and bottomless.
Within the range of Mo Hua's spiritual sense, there were no human figures or unusual auras.
This was a bit strange.
If not under the cliff, could they be on the opposite side?
Mo Hua looked in that direction.
The opposite side was a deep mountain, shrouded in thick clouds and mist, filled with poisonous miasma, and exuding a dangerous and unpredictable aura. Moreover, the cliffs were obscured by the miasma, making it impossible to see the edge.
Since nothing could be seen anyway, it seemed unnecessary to use an array to hide.
"If they're not under the cliff or on the opposite side, could they be between the cliffs?" Mo Hua muttered to himself, and then he extended his spiritual sense to probe the area between the cliffs.
The mist and poisonous miasma from both sides of the cliffs intertwined, making it difficult to perceive clearly for a while.
As he continued to look, Mo Hua suddenly opened his eyes wide.
There really was something there! Mo Hua's heart skipped a beat, and then he closed his eyes again, calming his mind and focusing his spirit sense to the utmost, trying to ignore the interference of the mountain's miasma and perceive with all his might.
In the hazy perception, Mo Hua finally discovered a path leading to the opposite cliff.
When he realized what this path was, Mo Hua was shocked.
It wasn't a mountain path but a toppled peak!
The peak was slender, and the mountain rocks were tough. It had toppled from the opposite side, spanning the two cliffs and forming a natural stone bridge.
An array master had set up a concealment array on the peak, hiding its traces, and taking advantage of the natural miasma between the cliffs to confuse spiritual sense perception.
This peak had become an extremely well-hidden, unknown secret path, standing above a deep abyss and connecting the two cliffs.
Using the natural terrain and mountain mist as a cover, it left no traces, unknown to both gods and ghosts.
Mo Hua was stunned.
Immediately, a thought came to his mind, "This array master is a master!"
He had just learned the Concealment Array himself, but this master had set up this concealment array on the mountain rocks, and the level of skill was obviously higher than his own.
Since Mo Hua had learned the art of arrays, apart from the unfathomable Mr. Zhuang, this was the first time he had encountered an array master with a higher level of skill than himself.
Mo Hua couldn't help but be curious about who this array master was.
Setting up arrays for criminal cultivators and hiding their tracks, could this person also be a criminal cultivator? Mo Hua felt a bit disappointed. It was a pity that someone with such array skills would choose to aid these evildoers in their murderous and plundering ways.
What should he do now?
Mo Hua frowned.
Now that he had discovered the traces of these criminal cultivators, he naturally wanted to find out more.
But Mo Hua couldn't possibly take on this risk alone.
After all, no one knew how many criminal cultivators there were, what their cultivation levels were, how evil they had become, or what their intentions were for holing up in the deep mountains.
Mo Hua planned to go back and inform Elder Yu first and then report to the Dao Court.
With the help of the hunters and the Dao Court, they would have the numbers and strength to wipe out this group of criminal cultivators in one fell swoop.
Mo Hua had made up his mind and was about to leave, but as he turned, he paused and frowned again.
This plan seemed problematic as well.
Going back for help meant that a large group of people would be entering the mountains, which would undoubtedly alert the criminal cultivators and give them time to prepare.
Mo Hua had quite a good relationship with the Dao Court and an even deeper connection with the hunters.
This was something Mo Hua did not want to see.
Moreover, without knowing the criminal cultivators' strength and capabilities, it would be reckless to take action, and the odds of success would not be in their favor.
If they let the criminals escape, it would be fundamentally impossible to uproot them in the future.
Furthermore, everything up to this point was merely Mo Hua's speculation.
Although there was a seven to eight out of ten chance that his guess was correct, without seeing it with his own eyes, he couldn't be absolutely certain.
What if there weren't any criminal cultivators behind the cliff?
What if there was a hermit master like Mr. Zhuang, or a reclusive high-level formation master? If he gathered a group of cultivators and went over there, he would undoubtedly be making enemies.
Mo Hua felt conflicted.
After much thought, it seemed that the best option was for him to "take the risk alone"...
He had strong spiritual sense and could detect dangers early on. With the Water-Walking Technique, most cultivators wouldn't be able to follow him, and most importantly, he could now conceal himself.
He was the only hunter in Transcendent City who could do so.
With the Concealment Technique and the Concealment Array, his stealth capabilities were even stronger than those of a typical concealment technique, and a distracted Foundation Establishment cultivator might not be able to see through it.
If there was a master on the opposite side, they probably wouldn't bother with a minor cultivator like him.
And if the criminals were indeed there, his stealthy approach wouldn't alert them.
Just as they were killing and plundering without anyone's knowledge, he would quietly investigate their true strength.
Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be imperiled in a hundred battles.
Once he had a clear understanding of their capabilities, it would be easier to devise countermeasures.
Mo Hua nodded.
By taking a little risk himself, he could potentially save the lives of many hunters and members of the Dao Court. This risk was worth taking.
All he had to do was to be extra careful, quietly go over and take a look, roughly confirm the situation on the other side, and then sneak back.
The criminals on the other side might not even realize he was there.
After all, his Concealment Technique and Concealment Array weren't learned in vain.
Mo Hua gradually made up his mind:
"First, I'll use the Concealment Technique to sneak over and investigate their true strength, and then I'll sneak back."
This way, he wouldn't alert the criminals, nor would he take on too much risk.
Mo Hua picked up a handful of pebbles nearby, found a twig, and then opened his storage bag to take out a bottle of spirit ink. He used his spiritual sense to get a feel for it and poured the spirit ink down from the edge of the cliff.
The golden spirit ink flowed down, and after a moment, it was as if something was blocking it, causing it to splatter and condense into a blot of ink in the air.
"There really is a path."
Mo Hua nodded, and then casually threw a few pebbles, confirming that they also fell in mid-air without sinking into the abyss, which finally put his mind at ease.
Mo Hua first activated the Concealment Array, then urged his Concealment Technique, hiding his figure, and finally, he performed the Water-Walking Technique, leaping lightly from the cliff into the clouds and mist.
After a moment, Mo Hua felt a slight numbness in his feet as he landed on the invisible stone path.
The spirit ink he had poured earlier and the pebbles he had thrown were at his feet.
Mo Hua breathed a sigh of relief.
Although he knew there was a path, actually jumping down from the cliff still made his heart pound and his face turn pale.
When he looked down, his limbs went weak.
Below the cliff was a bottomless abyss, and falling would mean certain death.
At that moment, he felt as if he were standing in mid-air above the abyss.
Mo Hua took a deep breath and thought to himself:
"Don't look down, don't look down..."
Mustering his courage, he took a step forward and began walking, testing the way with the twig as he went.
In the mist-shrouded space between the two cliffs, on an invisible mountain path, a concealed little cultivator quietly took one step at a time toward the opposite side.
For two to three hundred years, the hunters had not discovered the hidden mountain path, and at this moment, the criminal cultivators had not detected the hidden Mo Hua.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
