Chapter 450: Opening the Coffin
Chapter 450: Opening the Coffin
Upon hearing Mo Hua's words and witnessing the hardships of the miners first-hand, Bai Zi Sheng and Bai Zi Xi furrowed their brows, a somber mood settling over them.
A moment of heavy silence enveloped the group.
After a moment of thought, Mo Hua suddenly pointed northward and said, "Let's first take a trip to the forest over there."
Bai Zi Sheng asked in surprise, "What for?"
"You wanted to eat wild boar, didn't you? There's one over there. We can catch it and cook it for you," Mo Hua replied.
Bai Zi Sheng paused, then his face lit up with joy, and he couldn't help but pat Mo Hua on the shoulder. "You truly are my good junior brother!"
A gentle smile appeared on Bai Zi Xi's face as well.
The trio ventured into the forest and soon captured a wild boar.
A late-stage first-rank boar was no match for the three of them.
After capturing the boar, Mo Hua brought it back, cleaned and prepared the meat according to his mother's teachings, removing any unpleasant odors and blood, and adding spices for flavor. He then placed it in a pot to stew.
The meat was tough and chewy, requiring a long cooking time.
It took a full day for the aroma to permeate the air.
Mo Hua skillfully cut the meat, arranged it on a dish, and served it to Yan Jiaoxie and Zhuang Xianzhi as an accompaniment to their wine.
Yan Jiaoxie was also temporarily staying in the cave abode.
Whenever he had free time, he would pay a visit to Zhuang Xianzhi.
The two men sat in the courtyard, enjoying the breeze while drinking and chatting about past events in the Lingyin Sect and the rise and fall of the greater Lingyin Sect.
Yan Jiaoxie couldn't stop praising the boar meat.
He never expected that Mo Hua, in addition to his prowess in array formation, would also be quite skilled in culinary arts.
Zhuang Xianzhi tasted a piece and gently nodded his approval.
Although the flavor fell short of the dishes they had in Tongxian City, it still brought a sense of warmth to his heart, as it was prepared by his beloved disciple.
Under the large tree in the courtyard, Mo Hua, Bai Zi Sheng, and Bai Zi Xi sat side by side.
Bai Zi Sheng devoured the meat with gusto, seemingly wanting to finish the entire boar by himself.
In contrast, Bai Zi Xi ate with grace and elegance, her every movement exuding refinement and beauty.
Mo Hua took a few bites and nodded in satisfaction.
The weather was hot, but the shade under the tree provided a welcome respite from the heat.
A gentle breeze blew through the trees, stirring the dappled shadows.
Mo Hua suddenly felt that this kind of life wasn't so bad...
He had his master, his senior brother, and his senior sister.
And there were visitors like Yan Jiaoxie, an old acquaintance, who dropped by from time to time.
However, he wondered how long this peaceful life would last...
...
After their fill, Mo Hua turned his attention to the task at hand.
He needed to deduce the Ling Shu array patterns and comprehend the Ling Shu array method. By studying this first-rank twelve-pattern array, he could temper his spiritual sense and push it to the next level, reaching the thirteen-pattern threshold of the early Qi Refining stage.
Thirteen patterns represented the limit of a Qi Refining cultivator's spiritual sense.
Mo Hua could take a crucial step towards the Foundation Establishment stage.
The Ling Shu array required careful deduction.
The first step was to research Zhang Quan's corpse-controlling bell.
The corpse-controlling bell was a sinister magic treasure; on the surface, it appeared seamless, but the array was hidden within.
Mo Hua didn't know much about artifact refinement and was at a loss as to how to dismantle it.
Finally, it was Bai Zi Xi who, after perusing some cultivation manuals, figured out the disassembly method.
Dismantling the bell was a complicated process that required extensive knowledge of artifact refinement and some special techniques.
Bai Zi Xi patiently explained the process to Mo Hua, but he still found it bewildering.
Aside from arrays, Mo Hua wasn't particularly adept in other aspects of cultivation, falling far behind Bai Zi Xi.
Thus, the task of dismantling the bell fell to Bai Zi Xi.
Bai Zi Xi retrieved a small artifact furnace from somewhere; it was exquisitely crafted and made of expensive materials, and the fire within was refined like mercury.
She then took out a set of artifact refining tools from her storage bag.
There were golden scissors, silver tweezers, jade needles, and more.
Mo Hua had never seen such refining tools before.
The only thing he had seen was the large hammer...
The iron hammer that Master Chen had wielded during artifact refinement.
Bai Zi Xi explained to Mo Hua, "The tools used in artifact refinement vary depending on the type of artifact. For weapons like swords and spears, a hammer is usually used. For more delicate artifacts like rings and pendants, the tools are much finer."
"I see," Mo Hua said, nodding admiringly.
Bai Zi Xi then proceeded to demonstrate how to dismantle the corpse-controlling bell.
She placed the bell in the furnace to heat it up, removing it once it reached the right temperature. Then, with her fair and delicate hands, she skillfully used the golden scissors, silver tweezers, and jade needles to separate the inner and outer layers of the bell.
Bai Zi Xi worked with ease and precision.
Mo Hua watched, still perplexed.
He lifted his head, about to ask a question, when he noticed Bai Zi Xi's eyes, as clear as autumn water, focused on her task. Her long eyelashes fluttered slightly as she blinked.
Mo Hua found himself transfixed by her beauty, momentarily forgetting what he wanted to ask.
After a while, Bai Zi Xi finished dismantling the bell and looked up at Mo Hua, her voice soft and melodic, "Do you understand now?"
Mo Hua, feeling a bit embarrassed, averted his gaze. "Yes, I understand..."
Bai Zi Xi nodded, satisfied.
With the bell dismantled, Mo Hua focused his mind and settled into studying the array on the bell.
However, his brow soon furrowed in confusion.
The array on the corpse-controlling bell was not an absolute array...
It was based on the five elements, with water as the primary element, transforming water into blood. It was an array formed by human blood, used to control the iron corpse.
"Isn't that right?" Bai Zi Xi asked.
"Mhm," Mo Hua nodded.
Bai Zi Xi suggested, "Do you want to take a look at the other formations in the Zombie Village?"
"Okay."
So Bai Zi Xi opened her storage bag and had Bai Zi Sheng help her lay out all the formation-related objects, big and small, that they had collected from the Zombie Village, in the courtyard.
Mo Hua breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, he had prepared for this beforehand.
If the complete Ling Shu absolute array wasn't in the corpse-controlling bell, then it had to be in the Zombie Village.
Now that he had brought all the formation secrets of the Zombie Village here, he refused to believe that he still couldn't find it.
And so, Mo Hua began to search through them one by one.
Those with simplistic formations that could be seen through at a glance were tossed back into the storage bag.
For those with rare formations, Mo Hua would make a note of the formation patterns.
For some objects where the formations were hidden deeply and abstrusely, he would mark them separately for later disassembly and thorough research.
Bai Zi Sheng and Bai Zi Xi also lent a hand.
While their spiritual sense wasn't sufficient to learn the absolute formation, they could still differentiate between them.
And so, they continued to sift through the items all day.
Yet, they still found nothing.
Mo Hua obtained some obscure and rare formations, but these weren't the absolute formation.
"How odd..."
Mo Hua frowned.
"Could it be that this formation isn't in the Zombie Village?" Bai Zi Sheng asked.
Mo Hua thought for a moment and shook his head, "Not very likely..."
Formations were meant to be used.
The spiritual pivot formation on the walking corpse was incomplete, so it was unlikely that there would be a formation on the corpse that didn't correspond to the means of controlling it.
"Is it possible that we missed something?"
Mo Hua muttered to himself.
"Everything in the Zombie Village that had anything to do with formations, wasn't it all brought here by you?" Bai Zi Sheng asked in confusion, "What could we have possibly missed?"
What could they have missed?
Mo Hua replayed the events that led to his encounter with Zhang Quan in his mind once more.
Hundred Flowers Tower, Earth Escape Technique, Corpse Blood Pill, Corpse Nourishing Coffin, Walking Corpse, Iron Corpse, Corpse-controlling Bell, Zombie Village, Zhang Clan's ancestor...
After going through it several times in his head, Mo Hua suddenly exclaimed, "The Iron Corpse!"
"Iron Corpse?" Bai Zi Sheng asked, perplexed.
"Mhm." Mo Hua nodded and quickly added, "There's a spiritual pivot formation on the walking corpse, so naturally, there should be one on the iron corpse as well..."
"I had originally thought that both the walking corpse and the iron corpse were controlled by the corpse-controlling bell."
"So the formation patterns on their bodies should be the same, with perhaps some differences in the strength of the formations."
"But now that there's no spiritual pivot formation on the corpse-controlling bell, it's highly likely that the controlling formation is painted on the iron corpse!"
"Zhang Quan must be using the corpse-controlling bell to control the iron corpse, and then using the spiritual pivot formation on the iron corpse to radiate control over more walking corpses!"
Bai Zi Xi's eyes widened in surprise.
Bai Zi Sheng also gaped, "How did you figure that out?"
Mo Hua explained, "Once you understand the principles of formations, everything becomes interconnected. The more formations you learn, the easier it is to make such connections."
Bai Zi Sheng pondered, "That's very possible."
"Where's the iron corpse?" Mo Hua asked.
"In the Dao Court," came the reply.
Mo Hua stood up immediately and said, "We mustn't delay, let's go find Sister Situ and ask for an iron corpse."
And so, Mo Hua, along with Bai Zi Sheng and Bai Zi Xi, went to find Situ Fang.
Steward Fang looked at them in surprise, "What do you want an Iron Corpse for?"
Mo Hua replied, "For research purposes."
Situfang was bewildered.
Was this something that could be researched?
Research? Surely, they weren't planning to research corpse refinement.
Mo Hua explained, "It's related to formations."
Situfang paused, understanding a little, but still frowned, "It's very dangerous."
"Don't worry," Mo Hua assured her, "I'm a formation master. I'll draw some extra formations to ensure that even if it runs amok, it won't cause any trouble."
After he finished speaking, Mo Hua added, "I'll return it after I'm done researching."
Situfang hesitated for a moment before nodding, "Alright, but you must keep a low profile and not let others know about this."
Mo Hua smiled, "Thank you, Sister Situ!"
His smile was clear and sincere.
Stewardess Fang shook her head helplessly. She really had no way of refusing Mo Hua.
There were a total of five iron corpses in the Zombie Village.
Situfang gave one to Mo Hua
The iron corpse was kept in a coffin, which needed to be transported by carriage.
Mo Hua sweet-talked and coaxed Snowy for a long time before he was able to secretly bring the coffin containing the iron corpse out of the Dao Court and back to the cave abode.
It was still in the same side room.
Mo Hua reinforced the formations once more.
Since he had to imprison an iron corpse, he had to be even more careful. The formations Mo Hua used this time were all at least first-grade compound formations.
The formations spread like a spider web, covering every corner of the room.
After the preparations were complete, Mo Hua was ready to open the coffin.
(End of Chapter)
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