Chapter 443: Discovery
Chapter 443: Discovery
Zhang Quan probably knew he was being watched, so he didn't dare enter the Corpse Fortress rashly, fearing that he would be bringing wolves into his house.
He was even more afraid to rashly "send corpses," as he was concerned about leaking secrets.
But he didn't know that the "wolf" was already in his house, watching him from his rooftop at this very moment.
Mo Hua lay on the beam, furrowing his brows as he thought for a moment before deciding to give Zhang Quan one last chance.
During this period, if Zhang Quan sent corpses, he would be able to live a little longer.
Otherwise, Mo Hua would make his move immediately.
He would report to the Taoist Court, gather a group of people, raid the Walking Corpse Fortress, capture Zhang Quan, throw him into the Daoist prison, force a confession through harsh torture, give him a good beating, and then kill him. This would provide an explanation to the cultivators who had died at his hands, as well as to the female cultivators of the Hundred Flowers Tower!
Mo Hua had vicious thoughts swirling in his mind.
Zhang Quan was talking to a corpse cultivator when he suddenly felt a chill down his spine.
He looked around but saw nothing, and he couldn't help but frown.
"What's wrong, boss?" asked the corpse cultivator.
Zhang Quan was slightly distracted and shook his head. "It's nothing..."
But in his heart, he was still apprehensive.
It felt as if a powerful divine sense was coldly watching him.
"Must be my imagination..."
Perhaps he had become too nervous from hiding and fleeing lately, so he was now seeing danger at every turn.
Zhang Quan tried to reassure himself.
Seeing Zhang Quan's reaction, Mo Hua also became puzzled.
He had only thought about killing Zhang Quan, yet Zhang Quan seemed to have sensed something.
Was Zhang Quan's intuition too sharp, or could divine sense itself instill fear or intimidation in others? If one's divine sense became strong enough, could it even directly condense killing intent?
Mo Hua couldn't recall any examples of cultivators killing with their divine sense.
The little blue-faced demon in the visualization picture could parasitize one's sea of consciousness and devour their divine sense, which could be considered killing with divine sense.
But that was because it was an insidious evil thought to begin with, allowing it to invade the sea of consciousness and harm one's divine sense.
Ordinary cultivators didn't seem to be able to use this method...
Mo Hua kept this doubt in mind, thinking that he would ask Mr. Zhuang about it later when he had the time. For now, he needed to keep an eye on Zhang Quan.
However, in the following days, Zhang Quan remained as cautious as ever, not revealing a single clue.
Mo Hua was getting impatient.
Just as he was considering whether to make a move directly and raid the Walking Corpse Fortress or wait a little longer to see if there were any other clues, Zhang Quan discovered the needle in his body.
It was the child needle from the South Pointing Mother and Child Array.
Mo Hua had made it, set up the array, and given it to Bai Zisheng.
During his battle with Zhang Quan, Bai Zisheng had taken the opportunity to stab him with the needle.
There were three child needles in total: one on his clothes, one in his hair, and one in his wound.
Zhang Quan had discovered the first two, but not the third.
After taking the Corpse Blood Pill, Zhang Quan had fought fiercely and fled in a sorry state, covered in wounds.
Upon returning to the fortress, he had many things to deal with and could only tend to his injuries briefly, so his recovery was slower.
On this day, as Zhang Quan was cleaning his wounds, he suddenly felt something amiss. Some of his meridians felt slightly blocked, as if there was something mixed in with his flesh and blood.
Zhang Quan took out a dagger, reopened the wound, and fished out the silver-white fine needle from within his flesh.
Mo Hua watched as he pulled out the needle and sighed.
But Zhang Quan inhaled sharply, his breath turning cold.
How the hell is there another one?!
When did this needle get in? Zhang Quan's heart froze, and his expression was one of shock.
"Could that little brat have already found my location?"
Or... could he have... already snuck into the Walking Corpse Fortress?!
Zhang Quan stood up immediately, his heart pounding with fear.
The Walking Corpse Fortress had been discovered, and there was even a possibility that someone had secretly snuck in!
That little brat's stealth techniques were extremely clever.
This kind of inconceivable thing was not impossible.
Zhang Quan immediately shouted, "Come here!"
A corpse cultivator walked in and bowed, "Boss."
Zhang Quan pointed at him, his voice trembling slightly, "Lock down the entire fortress! Then start searching!"
"Search every inch of this fortress, inside and out, and leave no corner untouched! See if anyone has sneaked in!"
The corpse cultivator was taken aback, "This..."
Zhang Quan was anxious, and he kicked the man, "Get going, now!"
The corpse cultivator hurriedly said, "Yes."
"Wait."
Zhang Quan stopped him again, then took out a wooden box, placed the fine needle inside, and handed the box to the corpse cultivator. He ordered, "Find someone to throw this wooden box far, far away... no, throw it into a river with rapid currents, and let it drift downstream..."
"Yes!" The corpse cultivator took the order and left.
In just a short moment, the entire Walking Corpse Fortress was in an uproar.
The corpse cultivators and bandits patrolled and searched together.
They left no stone unturned, checking every room, coffin, and corner.
Mo Hua shook his head, feeling a bit regretful.
He wasn't afraid of Zhang Quan discovering him.
With all the cultivators in the Walking Corpse Fortress combined, none of them had a divine sense stronger than his, so they naturally couldn't see through his stealth.
Moreover, the Walking Corpse Fortress was a mountain stronghold, filled with buildings and arrays.
In a place with so many arrays, Mo Hua, who was skilled in both drawing and dismantling arrays, had the advantage, and he wasn't worried about them finding him.
What Mo Hua regretted was that he had now scared away the snake in the grass. Zhang Quan would definitely not send any more corpses, and he wouldn't be able to find out who had been drawing the corpse refining arrays for him.
Furthermore, with the fortress on high alert and the corpse cultivators on guard, it would be more troublesome to destroy the stronghold.
Mo Hua frowned, pondering his next move.
Zhang Quan, on the other hand, was still suspicious and nervous.
For a moment, he even felt that Mo Hua had not only sneaked into the Walking Corpse Fortress but had also entered his secret room and was now secretly watching him from somewhere.
Zhang Quan broke out in a cold sweat and shook his head repeatedly.
Impossible!
That little brat might be cunning, but he couldn't be so outrageous.
At most, he could have reached the outskirts of the fortress...
Or maybe he only knew the general location and hadn't had time to catch up...
At this moment, Zhang Quan both hoped that the corpse cultivators would find Mo Hua's traces and hoped that they wouldn't.
Soon, a subordinate came to report, "Boss, we've found some traces."
Zhang Quan was startled, "What kind of traces?"
"It seems that someone has tampered with the arrays."
"The arrays?!"
Zhang Quan's eyes widened in shock.
That little brat really does know arrays!
"Quick, take me to see."
Mo Hua recalled that he had been rather careful this time and was curious as to where he had made a mistake. He decided to follow quietly and observe, hoping to identify his oversight so that he could improve his techniques in the future.
The group of corpse cultivators in the Walking Corpse Fortress was in an uproar as they searched for Mo Hua.
Mo Hua followed closely behind Zhang Quan, treading on the roofs of the fortress. He stopped when they reached a wall.
There were indeed signs of tampering on the array drawn on the wall.
Mo Hua took a glance and understood immediately.
He had indeed undone the array patterns here and redrawn them, but he had been a little careless, omitting a few strokes. Normally, it wouldn't have mattered, but under close inspection, his modifications were exposed.
Mo Hua took this as a lesson and reminded himself to be more meticulous in the future.
Array formations were intricate and complex, and even the most basic arrays required precision and attention to detail.
While Mo Hua quickly understood his mistake, Zhang Quan was still perplexed.
He frowned and asked, "What... what happened here?"
The corpse cultivators looked at each other, equally confused.
How would they know?
They were corpse cultivators, skilled in refining corpses, not in drawing arrays...
Zhang Quan cursed, "A bunch of useless idiots! Go get Mr. Yan!"
After a while, someone brought Yan Jiaoxiu over.
Yan Jiaoxiu glanced at the array and asked calmly, "What's wrong with this array?"
"Has this array been tampered with?" Zhang Quan inquired.
Yan Jiaoxiu nodded, "I noticed that this array was old and fragile, so I reinforced it."
Zhang Quan furrowed his brows, "Did you draw it?"
"Yes." Yan Jiaoxiu nodded, then asked, puzzled, "Is there a problem with this array?"
This question left Zhang Quan speechless.
If he had known there was a problem with the array, he wouldn't have asked Yan Jiaoxiu in the first place.
However, his intuition told him that something was amiss with this array.
At that moment, one of the corpse cultivators suddenly spoke up, "If you say this is for reinforcement, why is this wall so easily damaged?"
As he finished his sentence, he slashed at the wall, leaving a noticeable mark on it.
This was because Mo Hua had undone the array, causing it to lose its effectiveness. Without the array's empowerment, the wall was easily scarred.
Yan Jiaoxiu remained unperturbed and merely glanced at the corpse cultivator, "I haven't finished drawing the array yet. How could it be effective?"
The corpse cultivator was taken aback.
Yan Jiaoxiu then pointed at the sword mark on the wall and said, "Afterward, you fill in this wall. Make sure to restore it to its original state before the slash. Otherwise, I won't be able to draw the array properly."
The corpse cultivator was left speechless.
Zhang Quan glared at him and then bowed to Yan Jiaoxiu, "My subordinate was reckless. Please forgive his offense, Mr. Yan."
Yan Jiaoxiu nodded slightly.
Zhang Quan hesitated for a moment, his eyes flickering, and then asked, "Mr. Yan, do you think it's possible for someone to sneak into our Walking Corpse Fortress undetected?"
Yan Jiaoxiu frowned, "How could they sneak in?"
Zhang Quan was slightly taken aback, "Well..."
Yan Jiaoxiu's expression turned displeased, "There are arrays both inside and outside this fortress. Unless the arrays are broken, not even a mosquito can fly in, let alone a cultivator."
Zhang Quan said, "What if that person has a profound understanding of arrays?"
Yan Jiaoxiu's expression turned solemn, and he said coldly, "Are you implying that my array skills are lacking, and my arrays are inferior to others?"
Zhang Quan forced a smile, "Mr. Yan, you misunderstand. I'm just being cautious."
Yan Jiaoxiu gave a cold hmph and said arrogantly, "I'm not boasting, but even though I haven't reached the official rank yet, I possess the skills of a first-rate array master. There are cultivators in Nan Yue City whose array skills surpass mine, but for someone to break my arrays without me noticing is absolutely impossible!"
After saying this, he glanced at Zhang Quan, "Are you looking down on me, Mr. Zhang?"
Array masters were indeed known for their stubborn and proud personalities, and it was difficult to get on their good side.
Zhang Quan cursed in his heart but maintained a polite demeanor as he said, "Mr. Yan, you're overthinking this. I'm just being cautious."
However, after hearing Yan Jiaoxiu's assurance, Zhang Quan felt relieved.
Then he kicked the corpse cultivator, "Apologize to Mr. Yan!"
The corpse cultivator had no choice but to bow and say, "Please forgive me, Mr. Yan."
Yan Jiaoxiu's expression softened slightly.
Seeing this, Zhang Quan smiled and said, "Mr. Yan, I have a question I'd like to ask."
Yan Jiaoxiu nodded, "Please go ahead, Mr. Zhang."
Zhang Quan asked, "If there's someone skilled in stealth who wants to infiltrate our Walking Corpse Fortress, how should we guard against them?"
Yan Jiaoxiu was slightly startled inwardly, but his expression remained unchanged as he said casually, "Stealth techniques are nothing to be concerned about."
Zhang Quan's face lit up, "Please enlighten me, Mr. Yan."
Yan Jiaoxiu said, "The best countermeasure is to use a Revelation Array. Under the Revelation Array, cultivators have nowhere to hide, and their stealth techniques will be rendered useless."
"However, the Revelation Array is rather difficult to set up, and we don't have the corresponding spirit ink in the fortress. It would also be too obvious and inconvenient to set up, so it's not very practical."
"The best method is to use the Dust Revelation Array."
"Set it up at the main gate and around the fortress. Any cultivator attempting to sneak in will be detected..."
"Well done, Mr. Yan!" Zhang Quan praised, "As expected of you."
Zhang Quan had never heard of the Revelation Array, but he was familiar with the Dust Revelation Array.
The Hundred Flowers Tower had many Dust Revelation Arrays to prevent those with peculiar fetishes from peeping into the private affairs of the ladies.
Zhang Quan asked, "May I trouble Mr. Yan to set up some Dust Revelation Arrays in our fortress?"
Yan Jiaoxiu pretended to be curious and asked, "Why do you want to set up the Dust Revelation Array? Who are you trying to guard against?"
Zhang Quan smiled without really smiling, "That's not something you need to concern yourself with, Mr. Yan."
Yan Jiaoxiu revealed a hint of displeasure but eventually nodded slowly, "Since you've instructed me to do so, I will naturally obey."
Zhang Quan heaved a sigh of relief and said with a happy expression, "Then I'll have to trouble you, Mr. Yan."
Yan Jiaoxiu also cupped his hands in a polite gesture.
After sending Zhang Quan away, Yan Jiaoxiu also breathed a sigh of relief.
Then he looked at the array on the wall, his expression turning pensive.
Someone had undone this array...
Had Mo Hua, that child, learned how to undo arrays?
Moreover, from his technique, it seemed that he was very skilled and must have put in a lot of effort to reach this level of proficiency.
Yan Jiaoxiu was a little dazed.
The array he had drawn with care had been easily undone by this child...
Yan Jiaoxiu shook his head, feeling both surprised and pleased. He couldn't help but mutter,
"I wonder how proficient Mo Hua has become in array formations..."
(End of Chapter)
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