Chapter 477: The Little Zombie
Chapter 477: The Little Zombie
Mo Hua wanted to sneak into the altar of the Ten Thousand Corpse Formation without Land-Riding Cloud and Zhang Quan knowing. He had to pass through two doors.
One was the door to the hall.
The other was the mural inside the hall.
The door to the hall was manageable, but the mural was more tricky.
Firstly, he didn't know the intricate hand seals and incantations that Zhang Quan used to open it.
And Zhang Quan wasn't going to divulge those secrets.
Even if Zhang Quan told him, Mo Hua wasn't sure if he could replicate the process and successfully open the mural.
That zombie mural, like the dried ink folding screen in the Walking Corpse Village, was probably a type of spiritual artifact used as a lock.
And if it was a spiritual artifact, it would likely contain a formation.
This type of formation was not one of the five elemental formations and fell outside Mo Hua's expertise.
Even if Mo Hua wanted to unravel it, he wouldn't know where to start.
And even if he could, Land-Riding Cloud would surely find out.
He had noticed when Mo Hua dismantled the Visible Dust Formation at the entrance, so there was no way he wouldn't notice if Mo Hua tampered with this more intricate and confidential lock formation on the zombie mural at the entrance to the Ten Thousand Corpse Formation.
Forcibly breaking the formation was out of the question.
In the Walking Corpse Village, Mo Hua had smashed the folding screen with his thousand-catty rod.
But this place was different from the Walking Corpse Village; he couldn't just smash things and run.
Besides, with the Corpse Mine sealed, he had no way to escape.
If he smashed the mural and broke into the altar, even if Land-Riding Cloud was as dumb as a pig, he would know that Mo Hua was up to no good.
"What should I do?"
Mo Hua was stumped.
How could he get past the mural and enter the Ten Thousand Corpse Altar? He thought about this whenever he had free time.
But no matter how long he thought about it, he couldn't come up with a good idea. Then one day, after entering the mural, he discovered that Zhang Quan had used a mechanism to close the door.
Mo Hua was taken aback.
A mechanism?
This mural had a mechanism?
He hadn't noticed it before.
Mo Hua looked at it a few more times and realized that the mechanism was a simple stone gate. It was so ordinary that he hadn't even realized it was there when Zhang Quan wasn't using it.
Mo Hua frowned.
This meant that it was difficult to enter from the outside.
One needed to know the secret, perform the right hand seals, and recite the correct incantations to activate the mural and reveal the huge mouth of the zombie.
However, exiting from the inside was simple—all one had to do was pull down the gate.
It prevented entry but not exit...
Mo Hua thought about it and felt that it made sense.
The only people who could enter were Land-Riding Cloud and Zhang Quan.
Even Mo Hua, as a half-outsider, was always under their watchful eyes, so there was nothing to worry about.
Therefore, they only needed to guard against outsiders trying to enter and didn't need to worry about those who were already inside.
It was reasonable to set up obstacles outside, but it would be redundant to do so inside.
Mo Hua was a formation master, and his mind was always focused on intricate formations. He hadn't expected that there would be such a simple mechanism.
This was a case of not seeing what was right under his nose.
Mo Hua nodded to himself, reminding himself not to be biased just because he was a formation master.
Just because he specialized in formations didn't mean he should overlook other possibilities.
Sometimes, complex problems could have simple solutions.
To enter the Ten Thousand Corpse Altar, all he needed to do was find someone to pull down the gate...
But Mo Hua hesitated again.
This problem seemed simple, but...
How would he pull the gate?
Who would do it for him? He certainly couldn't ask Land-Riding Cloud for help.
Mo Hua thought about it some more and then remembered that he was a formation master. Most of the time, he could only rely on formations...
This seemingly simple problem seemed to require a complex formation to solve.
...
In the following days, Mo Hua kept looking for opportunities.
Finally, on this day, Land-Riding Cloud had only drawn half of his formation when he had to leave temporarily.
Mo Hua immediately stood up and moved away from Zhang Quan.
Zhang Quan frowned. "What are you doing?"
"Staying away from you," Mo Hua replied.
Zhang Quan's gaze turned icy. "What do you mean?"
"I'm afraid you'll harm me." Mo Hua stated bluntly.
Zhang Quan hated him, and it wasn't a recent development. Even a blind man could see that.
Zhang Quan coldly hmphed. "I'm not that petty."
"That's hard to say," Mo Hua countered. "You can't judge a book by its cover. Your face alone suggests deceit, and your heart must be full of malicious intentions."
Zhang Quan's eyes turned cold. "Little brat, you'd better not push me too far."
"What will you do if I do?" Mo Hua challenged.
Mo Hua coldly hmphed and then, right in front of Zhang Quan, performed the Concealment Technique, causing his figure to gradually disappear.
Zhang Quan was first stunned, then startled.
What was this little brat up to? He looked around several times but couldn't spot Mo Hua.
He scanned the area with his spiritual sense but still found no trace of Mo Hua.
After waiting for a while, there was still no movement or sign of Mo Hua.
It seemed that he had simply concealed himself to avoid being discovered by Zhang Quan.
Zhang Quan cursed inwardly:
"This little brat, his guard is so heavy. He doesn't give himself any opportunities!"
Zhang Quan gritted his teeth and called out to his surroundings:
"Where are you?"
"Come out!"
"I won't make things difficult for you. I listen to Land-Riding Cloud, so you can rest assured..."
"Come out quickly..."
...
Of course, Mo Hua didn't pay him any heed.
At this moment, in a remote corner of the Ten Thousand Corpse Formation, the invisible Mo Hua quietly opened a coffin.
Although the Ten Thousand Corpse Formation was only a derivative formation, it was based on the grand Ten Thousand Corpse Grand Formation and was thus quite large in scale.
There were many coffins arranged within the formation, and above the formation was a luxurious altar.
Mo Hua was young and small in stature, and with his concealed figure and hidden aura, he could hide among the coffins and altar without Zhang Quan noticing.
Inside the coffin was a little zombie that Mo Hua had observed for several days and specifically chosen.
This Walking Corpse wasn't very old, probably only seventeen or eighteen years old. Zhang Quan had recently refined it, and the spirit meridian formation on its chest was still new, with fresh formation patterns.
A seventeen or eighteen-year-old cultivator...
Mo Hua wondered if they had died unjustly, been killed by a Corpse Cultivator, or harmed by the Land Family.
After death, they were turned into zombies, forced to commit evil deeds.
Mo Hua sighed softly in his heart.
Time was limited, so Mo Hua didn't dwell on it further. He calmed himself and started to tamper with the spirit meridian formation near the little zombie's heart.
Within the spirit meridian formation were some unique formation patterns that Mo Hua hadn't noticed before.
This was because the spirit meridian formations he usually drew were mostly of a similar type.
It was only after seeing the complete spirit meridian formation diagram and secretly observing Land-Riding Cloud drawing formations over these past days that he realized his previous understanding of the spirit meridian formation was somewhat lacking.
Different spiritual pivot arrays, or unique ones within the same category, possessed distinct and peculiar array patterns.
Mo Hua had noticed this before, but he hadn't thought deeply about it.
This was because these array patterns didn't seem to carry any special significance.
No matter how they were drawn, they didn't seem to affect the operation of the spiritual pivot array.
But after days of research and comparing them with most of the spiritual pivot arrays within the Ten Thousand Corpse Formation, Mo Hua gradually realized something.
These array patterns were extremely important as they served as a means of identifying the identity of a spiritual pivot array.
They were similar to a type of "encoding" for the arrays.
The same spiritual pivot array would have the same category of sequence array patterns, or in other words, the same "encoding."
Arrays within the same category would have identical main patterns, but they would differ in the details—either through the addition or subtraction of strokes or the reversal of directions—which served to distinguish their sequence.
Only with similar "encoding" could the spiritual pivot arrays be controlled through layered authority.
The walking corpses, iron corpses, and the zombies within the bronze coffins all used the same category of "encoding" array patterns. They were merely layered and divided by authority, allowing for unified control.
However, the little tigers that Mo Hua drew were different.
Initially, Mo Hua had indeed copied the array patterns from the walking corpses and iron corpses.
But Land-Riding Cloud used unorthodox array techniques, while Mo Hua employed orthodox methods.
As a result, there was an inherent difference between the sequence array patterns of their arrays.
Land-Riding Cloud could control the zombies, but he couldn't control Mo Hua's little tigers.
And while Mo Hua could control his little tigers, he couldn't control the zombies within the Corpse Mine.
Unless... he altered the array patterns on the zombies.
Changing the sequence array patterns meant altering the encoding, which was equivalent to modifying their access privileges.
Mo Hua's plan was to alter the special sequence array pattern on the little zombie, which was used to distinguish authority and identify its status.
Mo Hua chose just one little walking corpse.
A walking corpse wasn't an iron corpse.
There were numerous walking corpses within the Corpse Mine, and thus, there were numerous base-level spiritual pivot array patterns as well.
One more or one less wouldn't be noticed by Land-Riding Cloud.
Of course, the more important reason was that Land-Riding Cloud would never imagine that another cultivator could learn the spiritual pivot array and secretly infiltrate the Corpse Mine, tampering with his array "encoding" within the Ten Thousand Corpse Formation.
It was easy for those who knew how, but impossible for those who didn't.
For Mo Hua, altering a base-level spiritual pivot array pattern was as simple as pie.
With a slight movement of his small hand and a few quick strokes, he modified the array pattern.
He had effectively removed this little zombie from the spiritual pivot sequence of the Ten Thousand Corpse Formation.
Then, he added another array pattern.
This new pattern was the same sequence array that he had used on his little tigers.
By changing this array pattern, the little zombie was now under the control of the spiritual pivot array on Mo Hua's big tiger, just like the little tigers.
On the surface, it still appeared to be a zombie.
However, within the spiritual pivot sequence, it was no longer a "little zombie" but had become a "little tiger."
After altering the array pattern, Mo Hua nonchalantly returned to his original position, picked up his brush, and continued drawing the array eye for the Ten Thousand Corpse Restoration Formation.
He deliberately took his time with this array eye, dragging out the process and buying himself more time.
Now, he was finally nearing completion.
Zhang Quan was still calling for Mo Hua to "come out," but when he looked again, Mo Hua was already back at his original spot, focusing intently on drawing the array.
Zhang Quan's gaze sharpened. "You're not running anymore?"
Mo Hua scoffed, "Why would I run? You dare not lay a finger on me."
Zhang Quan's anger rose, "Then what were you doing just now...?"
Mo Hua smiled slyly, "I was just bored and messing with you."
Then he pouted, "Who knew you were so dull and stupid, like an idiot, unable to even find me. It was so boring."
Zhang Quan was about to fly into a rage.
Just then, Land-Riding Cloud appeared at the door.
Zhang Quan had no choice but to suppress his anger. He was about to speak ill of Mo Hua to Land-Riding Cloud, but then he remembered that Land-Riding Cloud wouldn't believe anything negative about Mo Hua.
And indeed, Mo Hua didn't seem to have done anything...
Was he just playing hide-and-seek with his invisibility?
Zhang Quan felt ashamed to even voice such a thought.
So, he could only begrudgingly keep quiet.
Land-Riding Cloud noticed their tense expressions but didn't find it unusual. He acted as if nothing had happened.
Meanwhile, in a remote corner of the Ten Thousand Corpse Formation, within an ordinary coffin, the array pattern on a little walking corpse had been tampered with.
There was no way for Land-Riding Cloud to know about this.
Later that night, Mo Hua freed himself from Land-Riding Cloud's divine sense surveillance and once again concealed himself as he quietly made his way to the main hall.
The door to the hall was locked.
Mo Hua released his divine sense, ensuring that no one was around, and then he used his divine sense to secretly manipulate the big tiger.
The big tiger had been left in a corner of the hall during the day by Mo Hua.
Now, under Mo Hua's divine sense guidance, it jumped onto the door, unlatched it, and opened it for him.
The door to the hall was simple.
Opening it from the inside wouldn't trigger any array.
Mo Hua entered the hall and made his way to the mural.
Then, he used his divine sense to control the big tiger, utilizing the spiritual pivot array on it to activate the spiritual pivot array on the little zombie within the Ten Thousand Corpse Formation.
Since their sequence array patterns matched and their "encoding" was the same, the big tiger could control the little zombie.
This indirect control was even more covert and less likely to be noticed by Land-Riding Cloud.
After a while, Mo Hua's divine sense stirred slightly.
He could sense the connection between himself and the array on the little zombie.
Mo Hua controlled the little zombie to push open the coffin lid, slowly climb out, and then make its way to the entrance, where it pulled on the gate.
At the same time, the ink on the mural blended together chaotically, forming distinct layers that gradually transformed into a half-human, half-zombie face.
This face was stern and cruel, its eyes greedy and exuding a sinister and terrifying aura.
The gaping mouth of this face formed the entrance to the mural.
Mo Hua stared at this face for a while, silently committing it to memory, before his eyes lit up, and he stepped into the Ten Thousand Corpse Altar.
Within was the Ten Thousand Corpse Restoration Formation, the golden altar, and the bronze coffins...
During the day, with people watching, his movements were restricted.
But now, in the stillness of the night, he could act as he pleased without anyone knowing.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
