Chapter 440: Instructor Yan
Chapter 440: Instructor Yan
"Instructor Yan is... drawing array formations for the Zombie Village?" Mo Hua's little face furrowed with worry.
Could Instructor Yan have turned bad?
He wanted to get to the bottom of this, so he released his spiritual sense to check if anyone in the Zombie Village was drawing array formations.
As his vast spiritual sense spread, the Zombie Village began to dissolve at its edges.
In the ensuing whiteness, faint blue, white, and dark gray qi entwined and intermingled.
This was the true nature of spiritual energy hidden beneath the surface of the world.
Or perhaps, it was just another layer of facade.
Mo Hua calmed his breath and focused his mind, searching room by room and examining each cultivator within.
After a short while, he finally made a discovery.
In a secluded and narrow room, a lone cultivator resided. With a cultivation base at the ninth layer of Qi Refining, he sat at a table, intently drawing an array formation.
From the tip of his brush, intricate array patterns emerged, and the formation under his brush gradually took shape.
It seemed to be a Spirit Gathering Array.
As Mo Hua spied on him with his spiritual sense, the cultivator seemed to sense something. He paused, looked around, and then appeared confused.
"Is someone there?"
"No, it's impossible for outsiders to be here in the Zombie Village..."
"But..."
He frowned deeply.
He had indeed sensed a faint trace of a familiar presence just now.
It felt like someone he knew, but when he tried to discern it further, there was no trace to be found.
"Must be my imagination..."
He shook his head, as if remembering something, he sighed softly and continued drawing the array formation.
Mo Hua opened his eyes.
It was Instructor Yan's aura! After a moment of thought, he concealed himself and, using his nimble body technique, tiptoed onto the roof of a nearby building. Lying on his stomach, he poked his little head out to peer into the room.
The small room had a simple layout, containing only a bed, a table, and a chair.
The rest of the space was filled with books and charts on array formations, as well as brushes, ink, and other tools related to the art.
Inside, a man dressed simply with a straight posture was drawing an array formation.
His expression was solemn, carrying a hint of fatigue, but his eyes held determination.
It was indeed the familiar Instructor Yan!
Mo Hua's heart stirred with emotion.
Ever since Instructor Yan left Tongxian City, Mo Hua hadn't seen him.
Instructor Yan had been his mentor in array formations, and Mo Hua occasionally thought of him with gratitude.
He wondered how Instructor Yan had been doing, if his path had been smooth, if he had improved in his array mastery, and if he had found a cultivation partner...
Later, when he heard about Instructor Yan's disappearance in the mines near Nanyue City, Mo Hua had been worried.
Now, seeing Instructor Yan safe and sound, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Mo Hua thought for a moment and decided not to rush to meet Instructor Yan. Instead, he chose to observe him first to understand what he was up to.
Times change, and so do people's hearts.
Mo Hua wasn't sure if the current Instructor Yan was the same person he knew from before.
He needed to find out if Instructor Yan was truly helping the Zombie Village for nefarious purposes.
Calming his mind, Mo Hua kept a straight face as he secretly observed.
Instructor Yan continued to draw the array formation with seriousness and meticulousness, unaware that he was being "spied on" by his former student.
After finishing the formation, Instructor Yan studied an array formation manual for a while, perused some charts, and made notes.
Mo Hua nodded slightly, remembering how Instructor Yan had taught him the same way.
Studying array formations required diligence.
One had to look, learn, think, and memorize a lot.
Instructor Yan browsed the manual for a while, but his peace was soon disturbed.
A corpse cultivator clad in gray, with a deathly pale face, knocked on Instructor Yan's door.
"Mr. Yan."
Instructor Yan frowned, his face showing displeasure. He didn't like being interrupted while studying array formations, but he still got up and opened the door, his tone indifferent as he asked, "What is it?"
The corpse cultivator said, "The array formation on the west side of the village is damaged..."
Mo Hua knew about this because he was the one who had deliberately sabotaged it!
Instructor Yan frowned, "Damaged?"
The corpse cultivator cupped his hands and said, "Please come and take a look, Mr. Yan."
Although the corpse cultivator said "please," his expression remained cold, and he didn't seem to be actually inviting Instructor Yan but rather expecting him to comply.
Instructor Yan nodded, "Wait a moment."
He stepped back into the room, gathered a few brushes and ink bottles, found a specific array chart, put them all into his storage bag, and then said to the corpse cultivator, "Let's go."
Led by the corpse cultivator, Instructor Yan left the room.
Before leaving, Instructor Yan locked the door and activated an array formation, seemingly not wanting others to enter the room.
But no array formation could keep Mo Hua out.
After Instructor Yan left, Mo Hua quietly dispelled the formation on the roof and lightly hopped down into the room.
Without touching anything, he quickly scanned the room, using the residual aura and the type of array patterns to deduce what kind of formations Instructor Yan had been drawing.
Most of the array formations in the room were Five Elements Arrays, which Mo Hua was very familiar with, so he could tell their general purpose at a glance.
They were standard and orthodox formations, not evil in nature.
Additionally, there were a few rare formations, but they didn't seem particularly challenging either.
Several array charts on the table showed signs of long-term use.
After examining a few of the array formations Instructor Yan had drawn, Mo Hua nodded slightly. He initially judged that Instructor Yan had indeed reached the level of a First-Rank Array Master.
However, he was disappointed that Instructor Yan's knowledge was not broad enough.
If the assessment array was particularly obscure or tricky, the difficulty of attaining a rank would be greatly increased.
In that case, one would need a bit of luck or a fortuitous opportunity.
Aside from that, there were no Immortal Arrays or Evil Arrays.
Mo Hua felt both disappointed and relieved.
He was disappointed that there were no clues about the Immortal Arrays.
But he was relieved that Instructor Yan had not mastered any Immortal Arrays, nor had he colluded with the Corpse Cultivators by drawing Evil Arrays to help them refine and nurture their corpses.
Mo Hua guessed that Instructor Yan might have been coerced.
Perhaps his identity as an array master had saved his life, and because of that, the Corpse Cultivators had forced him to join the Corpse Village, compelling him to draw arrays for their encampment.
After all, regardless of where one went, array masters were always rare and valuable cultivators.
This was especially true for someone like Instructor Yan, whose skill was almost at the First-Rank level.
However, these were just his speculations, and he wouldn't know the truth until he asked.
Mo Hua found a stool and sat down in a corner, hiding himself as he quietly waited for Instructor Yan to return.
Half an hour later, Instructor Yan came back.
The Corpse Cultivator escorted Instructor Yan to the door and watched as he entered the room before turning to leave.
Instructor Yan sighed as he stepped inside, then returned to the table and continued studying the array manual.
As he studied, Instructor Yan murmured, "How could an array formation break like that?"
Suddenly, his expression turned stern as he sensed something amiss.
Array formations wouldn't just break without a reason.
Then, Instructor Yan's eyes widened in surprise, and his pupils contracted.
He felt that someone had been in his room!
He immediately stood up and swept the room with his spiritual sense, but he found nothing.
Although the table, chairs, and books seemed untouched, he had a strong intuition that someone had been there and had looked through his things.
Who could it be? And why?
Instructor Yan's brows furrowed, and his expression turned solemn.
Just then, a small hand gently patted Instructor Yan's shoulder.
Instructor Yan's heart sank, and he felt a tingling sensation on his scalp.
Someone was in the room?
And this person was standing right behind him at this very moment?!
As Instructor Yan's heart pounded with uncertainty, he heard a crisp voice ask, "Instructor Yan, what are you doing, acting like a thief?"
The voice belonged to a child, crisp and pleasant.
And it was extremely familiar...
Instructor Yan spun around, his mouth hanging agape. It took him a moment to find his voice and exclaim, "Mo... Mo Hua?!"
Mo Hua smiled brightly, "Instructor Yan, long time no see."
Instructor Yan was completely stunned.
He blinked, looking at Mo Hua.
Mo Hua still looked the same as he remembered, exquisite and adorable, with clear and bright eyes. He had just grown a little taller and looked a few years older.
His eyes shone with a brilliant light, and they seemed to hold a depth that suggested an unfathomable wisdom, like a deep and lustrous jade stone.
Instructor Yan blinked again, looking at Mo Hua, and then heaved a sigh of relief.
"So it was just a dream..."
When one grew older, they often reminisced about the past.
It seemed that he had been thinking about Tongxian City and Mo Hua again...
Instructor Yan's heart calmed, and his expression turned pensive.
Mo Hua felt a mix of speechlessness and helplessness as he said, "Instructor Yan, it's me. I came to find you."
Instructor Yan was slightly dazed.
Speaking of dreams...
Mo Hua's voice was exceptionally clear.
And Mo Hua's expression was incredibly vivid.
He focused his gaze, and it seemed as if he could see Mo Hua's delicate little face, as fragile as if it could be popped by a balloon.
Instructor Yan looked up and saw that although the mountain was shrouded in darkness and cold, there was indeed sunlight hanging high between the cliffs.
In broad daylight, how could one be dreaming?
Instructor Yan was taken aback, and his hand trembled slightly as he gently placed it on Mo Hua's shoulder, his voice filled with disbelief, "Is it... really Mo Hua?"
Instructor Yan's voice trembled, and there was a hint of moisture in the corners of his eyes.
He never imagined that in his lifetime, he would have the chance to see Mo Hua, his student, again...
Mo Hua was also moved, and he nodded, "It's me!"
Instructor Yan's expression turned stern, and he asked worriedly, "But how... how did you get here?"
"I came to find you."
Instructor Yan was taken aback, "You came to find me?"
Mo Hua said, "Not just to find you, but also to find Zhang Quan, the zombies, and... to find an array formation."
Instructor Yan was confused, but then he seemed to recall something, and his eyes widened in shock, "You're also looking for... the Spirit Pivot Array?"
Mo Hua nodded, confirming his suspicion.
It seemed that the array on the zombie was indeed the Immortal Array passed down by the Little Spirit-Concealing Sect, originating from the Great Spirit-Concealing Sect a thousand years ago:
The Spirit Pivot Array!
(End of Chapter)
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