Chapter 306: Mist Forest
Chapter 306: Mist Forest
Yang Tongling assembled three squads of dao soldiers, all of them well-equipped and with profound cultivation.
Yang Tongling gave them strict orders, "This mission's top priority is to ensure Mr. Mo's safety. Anyone who fails in this task will face military discipline!"
"Yes!" The dao soldiers acknowledged in unison.
After that, Yang Tongling took the lead, escorting Mo Hua and Zhang Lan towards the Mist Forest in the depths of the mountains. Mo Hua and Zhang Lan brought up the rear.
Along the way, Mo Hua quietly asked Zhang Lan, "Uncle Zhang, are you and Commander Yang very close?"
"I guess so," Zhang Lan replied.
"You two seem to have a great relationship," Mo Hua commented.
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Zhang Lan turned his head, "Where do you see that we have a good relationship?"
"You just seem to," Mo Hua said.
Zhang Lan gave Mo Hua a slight glare and explained, "Our Zhang family and Yang family have had a long history of intermarriages. Our elders are related, so we often interact. We're of similar age and have known each other since we were young, but we've also been at odds since then."
"I think you two bicker quite happily and don't seem to be at odds at all..." Mo Hua thought to himself.
Zhang Lan glanced at Mo Hua, "Are you saying something bad about me in your heart?"
Mo Hua shook his head, "No."
Zhang Lan let out a soft hum.
Mo Hua then asked, "Uncle Zhang, since you're of similar age and have known each other for so long, why is it that Commander Yang has already reached the Foundation Establishment stage, while you're still at the ninth layer of Qi Refining? Is your talent inferior to his?"
"You know nothing," Zhang Lan said in a low voice, "My cultivation is a case of 'slow and steady wins the race'. I'm not seeking momentary satisfaction but aiming for a more distant and profound path."
"Can't tell..." Mo Hua mumbled softly.
Zhang Lan pinched Mo Hua's little face, annoyed, "It's just the Foundation Establishment stage. If I wanted to, I could achieve it tomorrow."
Mo Hua obviously didn't believe it, "Foundation Establishment isn't like buying cabbage. How can it be that easy?"
"That's only difficult for solitary cultivators. For sect disciples like us, reaching Foundation Establishment is as easy as pie. The hard part is refining our foundation during the Qi Refining stage," Zhang Lan explained.
Mo Hua nodded. Mister Zhuang, Zi Sheng, and Zi Xi had also said something similar.
"But..." Mo Hua couldn't help but ask, "Haven't you been refining for too long?"
He had been refining his foundation until his thirties...
Zhang Lan sighed, "It's not up to me."
Mo Hua quietly moved closer to Zhang Lan and asked with concern, "Uncle Zhang, if you have any worries, feel free to share them with me. I can keep secrets."
Zhang Lan glanced at Mo Hua, "You just want to hear a story, don't you..."
Mo Hua smiled shyly.
Zhang Lan shook his head helplessly, "It's not that big of a deal. It's just that once I reach Foundation Establishment, I'll have to marry a woman I don't like for the sake of the clan's arranged marriage."
"Do you have someone you like?" Mo Hua asked.
Zhang Lan scratched his head, "You're still young. Don't ask about these things. Focus on your cultivation and studying formations instead."
"I'm very dedicated to my cultivation," Mo Hua said, "I'm just chatting with you to pass the time because the journey is boring."
Zhang Lan's face darkened, and he felt a mix of exasperation and amusement, "So I'm just here to help you pass the time, huh..."
The two continued to chat along the way.
When they reached the edge of the Mist Forest, the group found shelter under a huge boulder.
Mo Hua poked his little head out and looked towards the opposite side for a while, and then released his spiritual sense, using the White Void spiritual sense vision to perceive the residual spiritual energy across the forest.
The moment Mo Hua released his spiritual sense, Yang Tongling stiffened and then shook his head, muttering to himself, "Impossible..."
After a while, Mo Hua retracted his spiritual sense and nodded, "The position of the mist formation has indeed changed, and the number of formations has also increased."
Zhang Lan's eyes narrowed slightly, "Do you think they've noticed something?"
Yang Tongling's expression turned resolute, "If they haven't noticed us, we'll take them by surprise. If they have, then we'll engage them head-on and annihilate them all! Either way, our goal remains the same."
Mo Hua nodded, thought for a moment, and then said, "Commander Yang, you guys stay here. I'll go in first to take a look. If I don't encounter any evil cultivators, I'll draw a map of the Mist Forest. If I do find any evil cultivators, I'll come back and get you, and we'll capture them quietly. Then we can take them back and interrogate them to see if we can get any information out of them."
Yang Tongling didn't understand. "How will you be in the dark if you go alone?"
Before he could finish his sentence, Mo Hua disappeared right before his eyes, without a sound or a trace.
Yang Tongling looked at Zhang Lan in disbelief. "He knows the Invisibility Technique?"
Zhang Lan nodded.
Yang Tongling frowned and thought for a moment, but still shook his head. "The Invisibility Technique has its flaws and can be detected by spiritual sense..."
As he spoke, he suddenly froze.
He released his spiritual sense, but to his astonishment, Mo Hua's figure was nowhere to be found in his spiritual perception.
Connecting this with his previous guess, Yang Tongling's eyes widened, and he said in a trembling voice, "Foundation Establishment spiritual sense?!"
Zhang Lan nodded again, feigning calmness, and patted Yang Tongling on the shoulder. "With your jumpy behavior, how can you be a competent commander? If word gets out, don't say that you know me. I can't afford to lose face..."
"Get lost!" Yang Tongling whispered angrily. "Where have I ever seen a Qi Refining cultivator with Foundation Establishment spiritual sense?"
"Well, you're seeing it now, aren't you?"
Yang Tongling's eyes still held a look of shock as he muttered, "How did he do it...?"
"Don't ask about that," Zhang Lan said.
Zhang Lan suddenly thought of something and solemnly instructed, "Whatever happens, don't tell anyone about this. Mo Hua comes from a questionable background, and he might become a target of jealousy."
Yang Tongling glanced at Zhang Lan and assured, "Don't worry. I'm not like you, acting recklessly without a care."
After saying this, Yang Tongling looked around and addressed the nearby dao soldiers, "What Commander Zhang and I just discussed is confidential. If any of you heard it, let it rot in your hearts, and don't reveal a word of it."
With a stern expression, Yang Tongling ensured the secrecy of the matter. The dao soldiers, being his trusted aides, solemnly bowed and pledged, "We will obey the commander's order!"
Zhang Lan nodded in approval. "You know, you're starting to look the part of a commander now..."
Yang Tongling rolled his eyes at Zhang Lan without responding.
Meanwhile, Mo Hua, concealed from sight, silently entered the Mist Forest.
The mist arrays were denser, and the fog was thicker, but these posed no hindrance to Mo Hua.
According to Mister Zhuang's teachings, all things have an apparent aspect and an intrinsic aspect.
In the case of the Mist Forest, the fog was the apparent aspect, while the arrays were the intrinsic aspect.
Having already mastered the Reverse Spirit Array of One Pattern and Ten Lines, Mo Hua considered the ordinary First Grade mist arrays to be relatively "rudimentary."
With a few quick glances, Mo Hua comprehended the arrays within the Mist Forest.
Using the Flowing Water Step, Mo Hua climbed up a tree, took out some paper and a brush, and began marking the positions of the mist arrays.
From the outside in, Mo Hua meticulously drew out the path through the deep mountains.
Following the outer edge of the Mist Forest and the locations of the mist arrays, he made his way to the entrance of the Black Mountain Fortress without encountering a single evil cultivator.
Mo Hua frowned, puzzled.
Among the evil cultivators of the Black Mountain Fortress, only the Third Master was a First Grade array master, and these mist arrays were set up by him personally.
The Third Master must have discovered something to renovate the mist arrays. But what exactly did he find out?
Did he discover the broken corner of the wall?
Did he realize that their arrays had been dismantled?
Or did he find out Mo Hua's identity?
Mo Hua couldn't figure it out for the time being, so he decided to put it aside. Anyway, once the dao soldiers broke into the Black Mountain Fortress and annihilated the evil cultivators, everything would become clear.
There was no need to return to the Black Mountain Fortress, as drawing the map of the Mist Forest had already accomplished their goal.
Mo Hua stood up and prepared to leave.
Before turning to go, he glanced back at the Black Mountain Fortress once more.
A long-standing question resurfaced in his mind: How was such a large Black Mountain Fortress built in the first place?
(End of Chapter)
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