Chapter 618: Eagle Snatches Bird
Chapter 618: Eagle Snatches Bird
Half a day later.
At Canglang Mountain, on the path of Luopan Mountain.
Mo Hua and his companions arrived at a rugged mountain spot beside the mountain road.
This was where the three family disciples met their demise.
Their bodies had been collected, but some stones, as well as the grass and trees, still bore faint traces of blood.
These bloodstains were fairly concentrated, indicating that the victims had not panicked or struggled. They had been instantly killed by a single strike, their blood draining out as they fell stiffly to the ground.
Moreover, according to people from the Daotingsi, the deceased disciples had their bellies slit open after death, resulting in rather tragic deaths.
Of course, to Mo Hua, this was not a big deal.
As a demon hunter, he had witnessed many bloody scenes since childhood.
Mo Hua curiously stared at the stones on the ground, his expression perplexed.
Murong Caiyun asked, "What are you looking at, junior brother?"
Mo Hua speculated, "Based on my experience, this Yin Lao'er definitely didn't kill these disciples on a whim..."
"He must have been tailing them for a while, waiting for them to reach this remote location before making his move and killing them instantly..."
"After killing them, he slit their bellies open..."
"Either this is Yin Lao'er's habit..."
"...or he's trying to cover something up."
Mo Hua propped his chin in a "professional" manner.
Murong Caiyun and the others wore subtle expressions.
"Your experience..."
"Junior brother, do you often do this sort of thing?"
Mo Hua nodded, then suddenly realized what she was implying and shook his head. "I'm a proper cultivator! How could I possibly be a murderer and robber?!"
"Don't slander me!"
"Alright..."
Murong Caiyun didn't press further. She knew that her junior brother was quirky and sometimes had mischievous ideas, so asking him was pointless.
"Can you discern Yin Lao'er's whereabouts?" Murong Caiyun asked the group.
Ouyang Feng scanned the area with his spiritual sense and shook his head slightly. "After a few days, the residual spiritual power is too faint to discern anything..."
Shangguan Xu added, "And this is in the mountains, where mountain winds, mist, miasma, and demonic energy intertwine, making it even harder to distinguish a cultivator's spiritual power traces."
"Perhaps that's why Yin Lao'er chose to strike here," Murong Caiyun frowned.
This meant they had lost the trail and would have difficulty pursuing the investigation.
Mo Hua also knitted his brows.
Like the others, his spiritual sense only detected the faint residual spiritual power mixed with the miasma and demonic energy unique to the mountains, making it rather chaotic.
Although Mo Hua possessed keen spiritual sense and could differentiate these auras, it was still of no use.
The spiritual power traces left by Yin Lao'er were indeed too faint.
At this rate, they had no way of knowing where Yin Lao'er had fled to.
"The traces are too faint..." Mo Hua's heart suddenly skipped a beat as he unconsciously thought of the secondary thunder pattern.
Some things do exist between heaven and earth, but cultivators with weak spiritual sense may not be able to perceive them.
Just like the secondary thunder pattern—infused within the magnetic flow, its intricate patterns were extremely subtle and elusive.
Ordinary cultivators might not be able to detect it, but that didn't mean the secondary thunder pattern didn't exist.
Similarly, faint traces didn't necessarily mean there were no clues...
In the grand scheme of the universe, all things are born from the same essence.
Spiritual power is one of those things.
And formations encompass the principles of all things in the universe.
So, if formations can be calculated, can't the same be done for all things in the universe, including the trajectory of a cultivator's spiritual power?
Mo Hua's thoughts stirred, and he secretly began to use the heavenly mechanism calculation to sense that faint trace of spiritual power.
However, after a moment, he still couldn't sense anything...
The spiritual power remained unchanged.
But Mo Hua was persistent.
He believed that there must be some secret hidden within the spiritual power. Just because he couldn't perceive it didn't mean it didn't exist; it only meant that his spiritual sense and computational power were insufficient...
Mo Hua's pupils darkened slightly as he activated the Heavenly Mechanism Art again, forcibly amplifying his heavenly mechanism calculation.
After a dozen breaths, Mo Hua's expression changed.
He discovered that the faint trace of spiritual power left by Yin Lao'er had started to transform in a peculiar manner.
The concrete spiritual power began to generate illusory patterns that seemed to be linked like a chain of cause and effect...
These patterns resembled the chains of cause and effect that the terrifying nightmares coveting Yu'er, those twisted demons and devils, had dragged along as they crawled out of the void—they were strikingly similar.
The only difference was that the chains of cause and effect associated with the demons were grayish-black and exuded an evil, putrid aura.
The traces of cause and effect that Mo Hua witnessed now were light blue, with intricate patterns that intertwined in a cyclic manner.
Mo Hua was stunned.
Could this be...
The true heavenly mechanism calculation?
The heavenly mechanism calculation fathoms the universe and penetrates the ultimate truth...
Starting from the formation manifested by the Great Dao, then to the essence of the formation—spiritual power;
Spanning across the universe, encompassing the spiritual power auras of all things;
And even the causal fate of all people and matters in the world, ultimately calculating the heavenly mechanism and comprehending the Heavenly Dao?
This... this was the true Heavenly Mechanism Calculation?!
Mo Hua felt his mind and spirit clear, his thoughts suddenly broadening. In that instant, he seemed to have a fleeting insight into the heavenly mechanism.
But it was only a fleeting moment. As his spiritual sense diminished, that fleeting insight gradually faded, and the heavenly mechanism patterns and causal traces in his spiritual sense vision also receded.
"Not good..."
Mo Hua's heart chilled, and he quickly seized the opportunity to continue deducing Yin Lao'er's spiritual power.
Everyone was taken aback for a moment.
Murong Caiyun looked at Mo Hua with a puzzled expression and asked, "How do you know?"
Mo Hua thought for a moment and came up with a reason. With a serious face, he replied, "If I were the murderer, I would run in that direction too!"
"..."
The group was left speechless for a moment.
Ouyang Feng let out a soft laugh and said gently, "Alright, then let's listen to you, our 'little murderer.' Let's go and take a look..."
Murong Caiyun sighed, "I guess we have no other choice."
After all, they had no other leads at the moment, so they might as well follow Mo Hua's suggestion and head west towards Canglang Mountain.
Moreover, she felt that her junior disciple had a keen intuition when it came to these "inexplicable" matters.
Thus, Murong Caiyun and her companions set off towards the west of Canglang Mountain.
Mo Hua walked at the back, turning to glance at the bloodstains on the ground once more, as well as the lingering traces of spiritual power above them.
These traces were deduced through the heavenly mechanism calculation, revealing a wisp of causal 'qi' within the spiritual power, but not the true 'heavenly mechanism' itself.
However, this wisp of 'qi' was likely a sign of the 'heavenly mechanism.'
With his limited spiritual sense, Mo Hua could only perceive the 'qi.'
But if he continued to persevere and refine his calculations, there would come a day when his calculations would reach perfection, his spiritual sense would elevate, and he would be able to unravel the secrets of spiritual power, ultimately deducing the true and grand heavenly mechanism that encompassed the myriad phenomena and the destiny of the universe.
Mo Hua's eyes sparkled with brilliance, and his pupils shone with intricate heavenly mechanism patterns, like stars in the night sky.
As he turned away, the glow in his eyes faded, settling into a deeper clarity in the depths of his gaze.
His vision became even sharper and more profound.
...
West of Luopan Mountain was the heart of Canglang Mountain, a place of complex terrain with rugged rocks, streams, swamps, thick layers of soil mixed with fallen leaves, and dense forests shrouded in mist and miasma.
After traveling for several dozen li, the group finally discovered something unusual.
A venomous snake, as thick as an arm, lay cut in half at the waist. The wound was smooth, indicating that the spiritual weapon used to kill it was extremely sharp, most likely a dagger.
The snake was of the second grade and in its early stages, but it had died swiftly and cleanly, without any signs of a struggle, suggesting that it had not sensed anything before its demise...
"Yin Lao'er..."
The group's eyes turned cold as they glanced at Mo Hua.
Mo Hua nodded, "My guess was right!"
Murong Caiyun smiled faintly and praised him meaningfully, "Indeed, it was a very accurate guess."
Then, her expression turned solemn as she looked at the remains of the snake and said softly, "The snake's blood is only half-dried, indicating that it didn't die too long ago. Yin Lao'er is likely still in the mountains."
"According to the information from the Guodian Division, this person is skilled in stealth, has a cunning nature, and is ruthless in his actions. Everyone, please be extra cautious."
The group nodded gravely in agreement.
They began their search for Yin Lao'er in the depths of the mountain.
If they could capture him, they would, but if not, they would have to resort to killing him.
This was the principle they had agreed upon beforehand for dealing with all criminal cultivators.
As per Mo Hua's suggestion, they also had a plan for how to capture him...
Mo Hua had prepared a large number of mini yuan magnetic arrays, setting them up as they searched the mountain.
Canglang Mountain was quite vast, and the deeper they ventured, the more treacherous the terrain became.
While these mini yuan magnetic arrays might not be able to completely monitor every movement in the mountain, they would at least provide some form of positioning.
They could be used to discern directions, locate people, track fugitives, or even provide mutual assistance if needed.
The only downside was that they were a bit expensive.
A single mini yuan magnetic array wasn't costly, but using a large number of them drove up the cost.
Fortunately, Senior Sister Murong had offered to "reimburse" him.
She would convert the value of the arrays into spirit stones and pay him accordingly.
For disciples from aristocratic families, spirit stones were not a rare commodity, and earning merit made it all worthwhile.
With Senior Sister Murong's promise of reimbursement, Mo Hua became even more "reckless" in his array deployment, scattering the mini yuan magnetic arrays along their path, effectively turning half of Canglang Mountain into a "yuan magnetic web."
For Yin Lao'er, the "moth," staying out of the web was his best option, for once he entered, escape would be next to impossible...
Hua Qianqian watched as Mo Hua set up the arrays along the way, holding several compasses in her hands. She couldn't help but express her concern, "Mo Hua, are you able to manage so many arrays with your spiritual sense?"
The more mini yuan magnetic arrays they deployed, and the wider their coverage, the more taxing it would be on his spiritual sense to monitor them...
"It's fine," Mo Hua replied humbly, "My spiritual sense is quite strong, so it's not a problem..."
Hua Qianqian still looked worried.
A moment later, Mo Hua suddenly paused, pointing at a floating point on one of the compasses, "There's someone here!"
The group was taken aback but soon wore relieved expressions.
Deep within Canglang Mountain, there were no inhabitants, so the presence of someone there was most likely Yin Lao'er.
"Let's go and take a look," Murong Caiyun said.
"Okay," Mo Hua nodded.
The group soon arrived at the location indicated by the compass.
It was a small grove, and at the base of a large tree, Mo Hua had buried one of his mini yuan magnetic arrays.
The monkey demon resembled a human.
Its manner of death was almost identical to that of the three disciples.
It was indeed Yin Lao'er's doing!
Murong Caiyun released her spiritual sense, seeing no other cultivators nearby, and asked Mo Hua, "Do you know where he is?"
Mo Hua glanced at the yuan magnetic compass and pointed to the right, "He's over there."
"Good."
Murong Caiyun nodded.
The group continued their pursuit, reaching a small stream, but once again, Yin Lao'er's trail went cold. Mo Hua consulted the compass and pointed in another direction...
In this manner, although they couldn't find Yin Lao'er, they managed to keep him firmly in their sights.
Moreover, they could all sense that they were getting closer and closer to Yin Lao'er.
If they continued the chase, they would undoubtedly catch up to him.
With this in mind, Murong Caiyun's gaze towards Mo Hua became even more solemn.
Mo Hua's ability to set up arrays, search the mountains, and track was truly formidable...
This was especially impressive considering that Yin Lao'er was skilled in stealth and naturally cautious, which was why the pursuit had lasted so long.
If it had been an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator, Mo Hua would have "caught" them long ago.
The group silently admired Mo Hua's skills even more.
Mo Hua, for his part, was wholly focused, his attention divided between the compass and recalling the terrain of Canglang Mountain, guessing where exactly Yin Lao'er was hiding.
He felt that it wouldn't be long before they confronted each other.
The pursuit continued...
Indeed, after more than an hour, they caught up with Yin Lao'er.
The short and skinny Yin Lao'er, with his stern face, was grilling something in front of a boulder.
In the moment that Mo Hua and the others caught up to him, he became aware of their presence.
However, instead of fleeing or hiding, he slowly stood up and stared at Murong Caiyun and the others with cold eyes. His voice was hoarse and confused as he asked, "How do you know I'm here?"
Murong Caiyun, of course, did not answer him directly but said sternly, "Yin Lao'er, you have slaughtered cultivators and your crimes are numerous. If you don't surrender, don't blame us for being impolite..."
Yin Lao'er sneered, "Impolite? With just the four of you?"
Murong Caiyun was taken aback.
Four?
She looked around and realized that Mo Hua had somehow, at some point, stealthily disappeared without a trace...
So, Yin Lao'er could only see the four of them.
"Clever..."
Murong Caiyun was impressed, but her eyes turned cold as she said, "The four of us are enough!"
Yin Lao'er coldly laughed, then cut off a piece of grilled meat and popped it into his mouth, chewing loudly. He then said disdainfully, "You're overestimating yourselves if you think you can catch me. Maybe in your next life..."
As he spoke, his figure gradually faded until he completely disappeared before their eyes.
In the moment that his figure faded, Murong Caiyun had already condensed a spell, and a five-colored spiritual light shot towards him, shattering the rocks where he had been standing, but there was no sign of Yin Lao'er.
Ouyang Feng and Shangguan Xu also surrounded him, but they too failed to capture him.
Yin Lao'er had used the Small Five Elements Concealment Technique to escape unnoticed.
Murong Caiyun frowned.
Just then, a light and crisp voice rang in her ear, "Senior Sister, to the right, by the stream..."
Murong Caiyun followed the voice and indeed saw a faint footprint by the stream. She immediately pointed, and a beam of light shot out.
Yin Lao'er blocked the beam with his dagger, but he was also forced to reveal himself, confusion evident on his face.
Murong Caiyun's eyes narrowed, and she said, "Chase!"
Ouyang Feng and the others nodded and pursued Yin Lao'er, using their movement techniques.
Seeing this, Yin Lao'er let out a cold laugh and then disappeared again.
Murong Caiyun chased him for a while but lost his trail. Just as she paused, she heard Mo Hua's voice, "He went into the bushes..."
Ouyang Feng and the others also heard this.
They exchanged glances, their expressions filled with surprise, before nodding to each other and continuing their pursuit of Yin Lao'er...
Yin Lao'er crawled through the bushes, crossed the stream, climbed over a cliff, and eventually arrived at a desolate forest.
He hid himself and climbed up a large tree, his eyes narrowing as he looked back the way he had come, his brow furrowed deeply.
Why can't I shake them off? What's going on...
These sect disciples were only in their twenties and shouldn't have been able to see through his concealment, yet they kept catching up to him.
They didn't seem to have any means of breaking his invisibility.
He had carefully inspected his clothes and storage bag along the way, but there were no "tracking" spiritual items on him.
How were they tracking him?
There was also another crucial question that Yin Lao'er couldn't figure out.
How did they know he was hiding in this deep mountain area west of Canglang Mountain?
He hadn't left any traces...
Unless...
Yin Lao'er's heart trembled, "Is there a powerful cultivator who can calculate the heavens' secrets and predict my fate, locking onto my position..."
Yin Lao'er's heart turned cold as he pondered this for a moment, then shook his head.
Impossible...
"Why would such a powerful being bother with a small fry like me?
But as he continued to play, Old Yin soon realized something was amiss.
He discovered the mini yuan magnetic arrays.
These arrays were cleverly arranged and covertly placed, the handiwork of an extremely experienced second-rate array master.
And deep within the mountains, these arrays seemed to be everywhere...
Old Yin felt as if he were a bird, and Canglang Mountain was a vast net.
There seemed to be an invisible, cunning, and malicious hand behind all of this, slowly tightening the net, intending to capture him like a helpless bird!
It wasn't him playing with these brats.
He was the one being "played."
Old Yin's expression darkened, and a murderous intent arose within him.
How dare they! Do they really think I'm an easy target to be toyed with?!
Old Yin's face twitched, and he felt a strong urge to kill.
However, he restrained himself.
This was not the time for unnecessary complications.
These sect disciples likely held significant identities, and killing them would bring trouble.
And if he were to be caught by them and handed over to the Daotingsi, the consequences would be even more severe...
Moreover, there was also the "hidden hand" lurking in the shadows, watching his every move.
Old Yin suppressed his anger and continued to flee through Canglang Mountain.
But no matter how he tried to escape, he couldn't seem to shake off the pursuit of the sect disciples.
After evading them for half a day, crawling through bushes, wading through streams, slogging through swamps, and even smearing himself with demon feces, Old Yin finally lost his patience.
A strong murderous intent surged within him.
"Good! You bunch of little brats!"
"Do you really think I'm afraid to kill you?!"
These mere Foundation Establishment cultivators, still in their sects' care and without any real-world experience, dared to surround and attack him...
Old Yin's eyes glinted with a crimson light.
"I'll make you all die miserable deaths..."
"As for those two female disciples, I'll kill them first and then have some fun with their bodies..."
He hid his presence and stealthily approached them, intending to kill them one by one with a single strike.
Their numbers wouldn't matter then.
After all, he had killed before...
Just as they drew near, Old Yin let out an evil laugh and once again activated the Small Five Elements Concealment Technique, completely erasing his presence, and even his spiritual power became barely perceptible.
For a moment, even Mo Hua, who had been closely tracking him, couldn't detect his figure.
Old Yin... had completely vanished...
Mo Hua's heart chilled.
So this was... the Small Five Elements Concealment Technique? It could even erase one's spiritual presence?
Mo Hua released his spiritual sense to its fullest extent, his eyes narrowing.
He could barely perceive faint shadows, but this perception was intermittent and difficult to grasp.
Old Yin's figure had dissipated, and his spiritual power had faded to near nothingness, leaving only vague traces.
However, Mo Hua suddenly sensed a chilling killing intent.
He immediately shouted, "Senior Sister Murong, behind you!"
Murong Caiyun, who had been stealthily searching for Old Yin in the mountains, paled upon hearing Mo Hua's warning, her heart filling with a sense of crisis. Without hesitation, she crushed a talisman in her hand.
A Golden Bell Talisman! A faint golden light condensed into a protective bell around her.
At the same time, a sharp dagger, imbued with water poison, suddenly appeared and slashed towards Murong Caiyun's neck.
But it only slashed against the golden light radiating from the bell.
The golden light gradually faded under the dagger's relentless assault, and the dagger inched closer to its target.
The Golden Bell Talisman couldn't hold on for long, but it bought Murong Caiyun a brief moment. She quickly used a movement technique to retreat.
Ouyang Feng stepped in front of Murong Caiyun, his sword piercing towards the dagger.
Shangguan Xu also slashed with his sword, attacking from behind.
Hua Qianqian released a barrage of Hundred Flower Spirit Needles, sealing off any escape routes.
Old Yin snarled and twisted his body, narrowly dodging the two sword strikes, but not before a spirit needle pierced his shoulder.
Old Yin fled, once again employing the concealment technique to vanish without a trace.
He moved silently, without a sound.
Ouyang Feng and the others remained vigilant, their expressions grave, fully prepared for Old Yin's sneak attack.
But the mountain forest remained silent, with only the rustling of dead leaves.
Just then, Murong Caiyun's face drained of color as she looked into the distance, and she cried out in alarm, "Mo Hua!"
Under a large tree in the distance, where there had been nothing a moment ago, a swift and sinister dagger suddenly appeared, imbued with cold spiritual power, and lunged forward.
As the dagger struck, a faint blue watery figure seemed to materialize out of thin air.
The water flowed without form, its shadows overlapping.
A light and agile figure emerged from beneath the dagger, like a receding river, gracefully retreating.
Second-rate Flowing Water Step! Mo Hua had used the Flowing Water Step to dodge the attack, but his figure was now exposed.
On the other side, Old Yin, who had been holding the dagger, also revealed himself, his eyes widening in disbelief...
The "hidden hand" lurking in the shadows, setting up a yuan magnetic net in Canglang Mountain, like an eagle capturing a bird, watching his every move, and driving him into a corner...
Was this mastermind a mere child?!
(End of Chapter)
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