Chapter 476: The Battle Diagram
Chapter 476: The Battle Diagram
The best sparring partner, of course, was still the ancestral diagram that Zhang Quan had, the one with all the zombie ancestors of the Zhang family.
Mo Hua had now mastered the Divine Killing Technique.
Aside from the dignified and respectable elder ancestor of the Zhang family, none of the other "people" in the diagram, whether they were seated disciples or elders, were a match for him.
Zhang Quan's elder ancestor probably wasn't an opponent either.
However, according to the iron corpse elder who was "eaten" by Mo Hua, the Zhang family's elder ancestor had lived for a long time, was treacherous, and had many tricks up his sleeve. Thus, Mo Hua couldn't afford to be too arrogant and needed to find a way to slowly plot against him without rushing things.
The current problem was, where was the diagram?
Mo Hua rested his chin in thought.
He had returned the diagram to Zhang Quan back then.
So it should be with Zhang Quan?
Where would Zhang Quan keep it? Would he carry it with him at all times? Or would he build another altar to worship it?
Or perhaps... he had given it to Lu Chengyun?
Mo Hua remembered that when he took out the ancestor diagram, Zhang Quan was excited, and there was a hint of greed in Lu Chengyun's eyes as well.
The ancestor diagram was a visualization diagram.
Spiritual consciousness was the vital link for formation masters, and visualization diagrams could enhance one's spiritual consciousness.
Regardless of what was in the diagram, whether it was righteous or evil, good or bad, visualization diagrams were extremely tempting for formation masters.
Lu Chengyun wouldn't be able to resist the temptation.
Moreover, since he and Zhang Quan had colluded for so long, it was likely that he had seen this visualization diagram before.
It was just that the diagram was Zhang Quan's ancestor diagram, and it was needed for the refinement of corpses, so Lu Chengyun couldn't forcefully take it.
Mo Hua thought about it and felt that the only way now was to follow Zhang Quan.
To see if the diagram was still with him.
If it was, where did he hide it?
If not, who did he give it to?
Mo Hua had learned the Ling Shu formation of the Twelve Patterns, and his spiritual consciousness was now at the pinnacle of the Twelve Patterns, just one step away from the Thirteen Patterns.
But this step was like standing at the threshold.
To cross it, he would need some more time or a stroke of luck.
At the pinnacle of the Twelve Patterns, his spiritual consciousness was already very strong.
It was also more difficult for others to detect him when he was hiding.
If he were to follow Lu Chengyun, he would have to be extra careful.
Following Zhang Quan, on the other hand, would be as easy as pie.
He just needed to find the right timing, avoiding Lu Chengyun's spiritual consciousness, as well as being careful to stay clear of the Xian Chen formation and the Xian Ying formation in the stone temple.
The Xian Chen formation and the Xian Ying formation were fine, but the problem was Lu Chengyun.
Lu Chengyun's spiritual consciousness was not weak, he understood formation techniques, and he was also very suspicious.
Fortunately, after Mo Hua established the array core of the Wan Shi formation, Lu Chengyun had more trust in him.
And ever since Mo Hua saw the Ling Shu formation diagram and exclaimed in "shock", saying things like "this is so difficult", "I can't understand it", and "I can't learn this", Lu Chengyun's guard against him had greatly lessened.
He no longer probed with his spiritual consciousness from time to time to guard against Mo Hua.
Mo Hua had more "free time" now.
In the following four to five days, whenever Mo Hua had time, he would hide and keep an eye on Zhang Quan, gradually figuring out his daily routine.
Zhang Quan's daily routine was very regular, and what he did was quite clear.
Most of the day, he was working on the Wan Shi formation.
The Wan Shi formation required a large number of corpse refinement coffins, which Zhang Quan refined himself, and then had some evil formation masters, or Lu Chengyun, draw evil formations on them before arranging them within the Wan Shi formation.
Low-end formations were handled by other evil formation masters.
For the high-end ones, like the iron coffins for refining iron corpses, Lu Chengyun would personally draw the formations.
As for the coffins, Zhang Quan was in full charge.
After all, he was from a coffin shop, so coffin refinement and nurturing were his forte.
Zhang Quan would also inspect the stone temple regularly.
He would check if there were any issues with the wooden and iron coffins used for corpse refinement, if any of the zombies had undergone corpse transformation, lost control, lacked corpse qi, or displayed any other abnormalities, etc.
In short, he dealt with corpses all day long.
Zhang Quan also had a stone chamber.
This stone chamber was more spacious, but the furnishings and decorations were far inferior to Mo Hua's.
Around the chamber were various objects used for corpse refinement.
The air inside the chamber also carried a putrid smell of decaying corpses.
Zhang Quan refined corpses day in and day out, so he was used to the smell and didn't mind it.
In his stone chamber, Zhang Quan would either sleep, meditate, or act as if he had gone insane, displaying worrying mental states, and no one knew what he was thinking.
Sometimes he would mutter to himself, his temper would flare up, and he would shout out loud.
He seemed to have lost his sanity.
Mo Hua was very confused by this behavior.
"Could it be that refining corpses all the time has caused his brain to be eaten by zombies..."
Mo Hua sneered inwardly.
But after thinking about it, he felt that it wasn't that simple.
It seemed more like a sign of humanity gradually fading away after falling into demonic ways...
Not knowing if one is still human, not knowing what one is doing, having only evil thoughts, and having a mind filled with filth.
Zhang Quan would alternate between bouts of insanity and calmness, and after a few times, he would calm down, but his gaze would become more cruel.
Occasionally, Zhang Quan would also take out a diagram to look at.
At first, Mo Hua was very excited.
He thought that Zhang Quan had taken out the ancestor diagram.
While one might glance at it once out of curiosity, Zhang Quan seemed to be obsessed with it.
Mo Hua felt disappointed and a bit frustrated, as if he had failed to mold a promising disciple.
"Where is your visualization diagram? Where is your ancestor?"
He shook his head in dismay, thinking that Zhang Quan had abandoned his ancestors in favor of these lewd images.
Day after day, he indulged in such debauchery, forsaking his own lineage.
If Mo Hua were one of Zhang Quan's ancestors, he would have chastised him as an unfilial descendant and given him a good beating.
After indulging in these inappropriate diagrams, Zhang Quan would occasionally fly into a rage, tearing them to shreds as if possessed, and cursing aloud:
"This damn place doesn't even have a single woman!"
"And I can't leave..."
"Damn it..."
His eyes would turn red with bloodshot veins, and his expression would become frightening, akin to that of a zombie.
Mo Hua frowned slightly, gradually understanding the situation.
As a cultivator who practiced demonic arts, one's humanity gradually eroded.
Zhang Quan, immersed in the Corpse Path, dealt with corpses, zombies, and the undead daily, twisting his mind and fostering evil thoughts. He craved human warmth and an outlet for his dark desires.
While he managed to keep it together in public, when alone, his lustful nature took over.
Hence, his frequent visits to the brothel, not solely driven by his lust but also by the influence of his demonic cultivation.
And so, the female cultivators of the Hundred Flowers Tower fell victim to his cruel desires, as described by Qing Lan.
Many of them met their demise at his hands, and with the brothel owned by the Lu family, and Zhang Quan working for Lu Chengyun, these deaths were easily swept under the rug.
Born into poverty, forced into prostitution, dying in disgrace, and not even granted a proper burial...
Mo Hua glanced coldly at Zhang Quan, his heart echoing with a silent vow:
"I'll make sure to end you someday!"
Zhang Quan, sitting in the stone chamber, suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
He stood up immediately, looking around warily.
"Who's there?"
He released his spiritual sense, but found no one in the vicinity.
However, that chilling sensation and the feeling of being watched were all too familiar.
"Is it that little ghost again?"
Zhang Quan, at the Foundation Establishment stage, felt a tinge of panic.
Mo Hua had managed to unnerve him with his unpredictable appearances.
Once that little ghost set his sights on someone, he was like a bone-boring maggot, impossible to shake off.
Zhang Quan scanned the area once more, checking the formations, only to find that neither the Manifestation Formation nor the Dust Formation had been triggered. Relieved, he breathed, "I must be overthinking things..."
"This is the Corpse Mine, and Lu Chengyun is here. Even if it's that little ghost, he shouldn't be able to cause any trouble."
"No matter how powerful he is, he can't just waltz into the Corpse Mine like it's his backyard."
"The formations here were set up by Lu Chengyun himself; this isn't the Zombie Village..."
Mentioning the Zombie Village caused Zhang Quan's heart to ache.
It had been his stronghold, built up over decades, only to be wiped out mysteriously.
Later, after faking his death, Zhang Quan was rescued by Lu Chengyun, and he even managed to sneak back to the village once.
But to his dismay, every secret chamber, mechanism, hidden door, and passage had been discovered, and everything of value had been looted.
It was as if a swarm of locusts had devoured everything, leaving him not even a single coffin board.
Zhang Quan needed not guess who was responsible; the smiling face of Mo Hua appeared in his mind.
Zhang Quan's face contorted with rage, and he quickly admonished himself:
"Don't think about it, don't think about it..."
Thinking too much about it would only drive him mad with anger.
Zhang Quan calmed himself, regaining a semblance of rationality.
However, with this new concern, he dared not continue with his other activities and could only meditate on his bed.
Mo Hua watched for a while longer, then shook his head.
While Zhang Quan possessed "diagrams," they weren't the ones he sought.
Moreover, it was highly possible that the Ancestral Diagram wasn't even in Zhang Quan's possession.
If he had it, he would have at least set up an altar to venerate it, offering incense when he had the time, as a way of paying respects to his ancestors.
Instead, Zhang Quan spent his free time looking at diagrams of unclothed people fighting.
Where was the Ancestral Diagram, then?
Was it with Lu Chengyun?
Or was it still with Zhang Quan, hidden in a place Mo Hua hadn't discovered yet?
Mo Hua's thoughts turned to the altar above the Myriad Corpse Formation.
Something was placed there, covered by a yellow cloth, its contents unknown.
Could Zhang Quan have placed the diagram on that extravagant and lavish altar?
"I need to take a look..."
Mo Hua pondered.
Whether the Ancestral Diagram was on that altar or not, he had to find a way to enter the Myriad Corpse Formation when no one was around and investigate further.
During the day, with Lu Chengyun keeping watch, it was challenging to pull off any covert actions.
But when alone, he could explore without hindrance.
He wanted to study the formations, decipher the complete formation patterns of the Myriad Corpse Formation, check if anything was hidden in the corners, and examine what was on the altar...
"But how do I get in?"
Mo Hua frowned, deep in thought, before his eyes lit up with an idea.
The Ling Shu Formation...
(End of Chapter)
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