Chapter 272: Asking for Directions
Chapter 272: Asking for Directions
On the invisible path between the cliffs, Mo Hua proceeded with caution.
After a while, Mo Hua finally reached the other side.
As he climbed up the cliff and set foot on solid ground, the mist surrounding him suddenly grew thicker, and the poisonous miasma intensified, causing his head to spin.
Mo Hua quickly took out and consumed two pills to counteract the miasma, channeling his spiritual energy to refine the medicinal effects. Only then did he feel some relief.
He looked around and found himself in a small grove, with no other people in sight.
Aside from the heavier mist and more potent poison, it was no different from the inner mountains.
"Where are those criminal cultivators? Could it be they're not here?"
Mo Hua muttered to himself.
He cautiously wandered around for a while, but with the sunlight obscured by the thick fog, he soon became disoriented and couldn't determine his location.
More importantly, there were no signs of any cultivators at all.
Mo Hua sat down on the ground, feeling perplexed.
"Did I guess wrong? No, that shouldn't be it..."
As he thought about it, he suddenly felt something was amiss.
On the other side of the cliff, the sun had been shining brightly, and the mist hadn't been that dense. But after crossing the stone path and entering the deep mountains, why had the fog become so thick?
The sunlight on both sides hadn't differed much, so even if the mist was heavier, it shouldn't have been this dense.
Mo Hua released his spiritual sense and examined the area more carefully, only to furrow his brows.
Hidden within the mist, he could make out traces of spiritual energy intertwining like intricate patterns, condensed all around him.
Ordinary cultivators might not have noticed, but Mo Hua instantly recognized these as array patterns drawn by an array master!
Realization dawned on him.
The dense fog in the deep mountains wasn't naturally occurring—it was the work of an array master's array, causing the fog to linger and thicken, making it impossible to see one's hand in front of their face.
Mo Hua's spirits lifted, and he followed the trail of the array patterns until he reached a large tree. He took out a dagger and peeled back the dry bark, revealing an array hidden beneath.
As he suspected, inside the bark was a nine-patterned first-grade array, primarily focused on water-based techniques. The brushwork was somewhat unusual, and the structure was unfamiliar to him.
Although Mo Hua hadn't seen this particular array before, he surmised that it was a mist array.
The purpose of this array was to condense water vapor and suspend it above the ground and among the trees, creating a lingering fog that wouldn't dissipate easily.
Intrigued, Mo Hua took out some paper and a brush and began to carefully copy the array, stroke by stroke, as he couldn't see anyone else around.
Usually, when learning an array, it was best to use an array diagram.
These diagrams provided detailed information about the array, including the order of brushstrokes, ink proportions, type of array patterns, structure of the array's core, and other pertinent notes.
Reverse-engineering an existing array to deduce its creation method was a challenging task.
However, no matter how difficult it might be, it was still just an ordinary first-grade array. The array patterns were somewhat special, but they fell within the scope of the five-element arrays, which posed no problem for Mo Hua.
After drawing the array five or six times, Mo Hua had a good grasp of its intricacies.
While the dense fog could be deceiving, the underlying array was fixed and couldn't lie. It couldn't deceive others, especially not Mo Hua.
Not only was the array hidden within the tree bark, but it was also scattered across the surrounding ground, rocks, and bushes.
Based on the placement of the mist array, he could roughly deduce the path through the fog.
With this realization, Mo Hua's eyes lit up, and he felt a sense of clarity.
He didn't need to worry about the fog; as long as he used the mist array as a landmark, he wouldn't get lost.
The array master who had set up the mist array intended to confuse others by obscuring their sense of direction.
However, their array had inadvertently provided Mo Hua with a sense of direction.
Mo Hua put away his paper and brush, released his spiritual sense to perceive the mist array's location, and began to venture deeper into the mountains.
As he walked, a sudden thought occurred to him—just as others could set up arrays, so could he.
He still had some stone needles in his storage bag, each inscribed with a variation of the Compass Array, leftovers from his time in the inner mountains. He could use them now to mark his path.
In case of any unexpected situations, he would be able to know in advance.
It was always better to be prepared for any eventuality.
So, as Mo Hua followed the trail of the mist array, he also surreptitiously placed the stone needles in hidden locations along the way.
As he continued on his way, he gradually became familiar with the path through the misty forest.
However, after walking for a long time, he still hadn't come across any traces of the criminal cultivators.
Mo Hua frowned, wondering if he had overlooked something or if the criminal cultivators were exceptionally good at hiding.
Should he turn back and come again another time?
Just as he was deliberating, he heard the sound of approaching footsteps.
Mo Hua's heart skipped a beat. Seeing no rocks or dense foliage around to hide behind, he quickly climbed up a nearby tree using the Light as a Feather technique.
Perched on a branch, he realized that he had also cast an invisibility spell on himself, ensuring that ordinary Qi Refining cultivators wouldn't be able to see or sense him with their spiritual sense.
Nevertheless, it was always better to be safe than sorry.
What if the approaching person was a Foundation Establishment cultivator?
The footsteps drew nearer, and through the fog, he could make out two figures walking and talking to each other.
"Brother, is this the right path? You're not leading me astray, are you?"
"Don't worry, it's the right way."
"This fog is damn thick... We've been walking for so long..."
"If the fog wasn't thick, we'd be discovered, wouldn't we?"
"... Can we even get in?"
As they drew closer, Mo Hua could make out two cultivators, one fat and the other thin, both in the later stages of Qi Refining.
Mo Hua breathed a sigh of relief. As long as they weren't Foundation Establishment cultivators, he could handle them.
Even if these Qi Refining cultivators saw through his concealment technique, he had ways to deal with them.
Moreover, unless they possessed the divine sense of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, there was no way they could see through his concealment art.
Mo Hua took a closer look and noticed that the mist obscured their faces, but he could make out their different clothing styles and hear their distinct voices—one sharp and the other carefree. Their sneaky behavior suggested they weren't good people.
"Could they be criminal cultivators?"
Mo Hua's eyes lit up. If they were criminal cultivators, then he might have a lead.
Even if they weren't from deep within the mountains, they must know the way there.
The fat and thin cultivators walked side by side, and Mo Hua quietly climbed down from the tree, carefully following them.
The two walked and chatted, unaware that someone was tailing them.
They wandered through the misty forest, occasionally checking a map or pointing out a path. After turning through several mountain passes, they stopped in front of a large tree stump.
"Is this the place?" the thin cultivator asked.
"Yes," the fat cultivator nodded.
"What now?"
"We wait."
"Wait for what?"
"For the hour of midnight."
Mo Hua's heart skipped a beat as he recalled the phrase: "At midnight, ask for directions."
It seemed that these two were outsiders who intended to seek refuge with the criminal cultivators in the deep mountains.
Mo Hua frowned. Did he have to keep waiting with them?
It was getting late, and he wanted to return soon.
But now that he had come this far, if he didn't follow them, the trail would go cold, and he might never get another chance like this.
"I'll wait, then..."
So, Mo Hua patiently waited with them.
As noon approached, the fat and thin cultivators grew bored and hungry. They took out some dry food to eat.
The thin cultivator took a few bites and couldn't help but spit it out. "It's so dry and hard, like eating bird droppings! This is truly suffering!"
The fat cultivator glanced at him indifferently. "At least we have something to eat. Otherwise, do you want to go back to the Path Imprisonment and eat prison food?"
The thin cultivator forced a smile. "I can't eat prison food for long before I end up eating the meal for the beheaded."
The fat cultivator shook his head.
Suddenly, the thin cultivator asked, "Brother, how many lives do you have on your head?"
The fat cultivator thought for a moment, then raised his eyebrows. "Six, I suppose."
The thin cultivator gave him a thumbs-up. "You're amazing, brother! I only have four."
He then started counting. "An old man over a hundred years old, a cultivator in his thirties, a female cultivator, and her child."
The fat cultivator was slightly taken aback. "You count the child, too?"
"If I don't, it's only three. I wouldn't want to shame you, brother."
"It doesn't matter." The fat cultivator patted his shoulder. "From now on, follow me. Once we enter these deep mountains, you'll have whatever you desire. No one will look down on you."
The thin cultivator was delighted. "Then I'll rely on you, brother!"
The fat cultivator took out a parcel containing a piece of dried meat and a flask of wine.
"I've been saving these. We, brothers, are destined to meet and escape the clutches of the Path Court's hounds. We've traveled far to reach these deep mountains, and now our suffering will be rewarded. Let's celebrate!"
The thin cultivator's eyes lit up. "Brother, you always think of everything."
They shared the meat and wine, but their hunger and thirst were not fully satisfied, yet they felt content.
After they finished eating, the fat cultivator noticed that it was already noon and suddenly frowned, pointing to one side. "There seems to be something over there by that tree stump."
The thin cultivator, slightly drunk, looked puzzled and walked forward to check.
The fat cultivator quietly moved behind the thin cultivator. Taking advantage of his inebriated state, he swiftly drew his sword and stabbed him through the heart.
As the thin cultivator was wondering about the situation, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest. Looking down, he saw the tip of a sword protruding from his chest, his heart meridians pierced. The sword was then withdrawn, and blood gushed out.
He slowly turned around, his face showing disbelief.
The fat cultivator remained calm. "My good brother, consider this meal of wine and meat as your final meal."
The thin cultivator's eyes showed sorrow and anger, and he tried to struggle, but the fat cultivator gripped his throat and pressed him against the wooden stump, beheading him with a swift stroke of the sword.
The head rolled to the ground, splattering blood everywhere, including on the fat cultivator's clothes.
He didn't seem to mind at all.
"We were all brothers once. You drank my wine and ate my meat, so it's not too much to ask to borrow your head. Don't you agree?"
After saying this, he walked forward, picked up the headless corpse, and threw the head toward the distant, dark mountain wall.
The sound of the head hitting the ground echoed, and the mountain wall disappeared.
A bloody and eerie mountain gate appeared, with three ancient characters: "Black Mountain Fortress."
(End of Chapter)
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