Chapter 778: The Stone Hall of the Array
Chapter 778: The Stone Hall of the Array
Mo Hua originally thought that the Refining Demon Chart would be a single painting, similar to the Visualization Chart he had seen before. However, he was surprised to find that it was a grand and majestic mural.
From a distance, the blood fog obscured the vision, making it slightly blurred.
But one could vaguely make out the depiction of a mountain range and countless ferocious demons on the mural.
"I need to take a closer look..." Mo Hua thought to himself.
He turned his head and looked at the white-boned broken sword in his hand, asking in a low voice, "Sword Bone, how do I get closer?"
The "Sword Demon," named Jian Goutou, hesitated with a hint of fear in his voice as if he was extremely wary of this "Refining Demon Chart." Nonetheless, he answered honestly:
"There are demon cultivators guarding the periphery of the Refining Demon Chart. Avoid them, circle around to the back, and you'll find a stone bridge. After crossing the bridge, there's also a thorny stone forest to navigate through..."
His instructions were detailed.
Mo Hua remembered them one by one and then followed them precisely.
At the same time, he made up his mind that if this "good-for-nothing bone" dared to play any tricks, he would dismantle Jian Goutou and swallow him whole as a snack.
After all, Jian Goutou had been a treacherous old scoundrel in his previous life.
Fortunately, Jian Goutou behaved.
The directions he provided were accurate.
Although it took some twists and turns, Mo Hua successfully reached the Refining Demon Chart without any obstacles.
The smoothness of his journey surprised Mo Hua.
He frowned and asked, "Why is the defense around the Refining Demon Chart so lax? It was too easy to get here."
Jian Goutou thought to himself, "That's because I'm guiding you..."
And to be fair, it wasn't exactly easy.
After all, to infiltrate this place, one would need a clear understanding of the surrounding terrain, exceptional stealth skills, a thorough knowledge of demon cultivators' habits, agile movements, and a bold yet cautious demeanor.
"This little ancestor is quite skilled in stealth and infiltration, moving across walls with ease. I wonder how many times he's stolen chickens and dogs in the past..." Jian Goutou silently criticized.
Of course, on the surface, he could only flatter with a guilty conscience:
"It's all thanks to Young Master's agile movements, exquisite stealth techniques, and bold yet cautious approach that you were able to get here without any difficulties."
"Hmm." Mo Hua nodded.
This Jian Goutou had a way with words.
"Also..." Jian Goutou continued, "The Refining Demon Chart is a place of punishment for demon cultivators. Countless demon cultivators have perished here, enduring the agony of having their souls devoured by countless demons. So, when they get close, they are filled with fear and often hear the delirious whispers and roars of the demons."
"Therefore, even the demon cultivators on guard only dare to stay on the outskirts and never dare to truly approach the Refining Demon Chart."
"I see..." Mo Hua nodded slightly.
"The delirious whispers of the demons..."
He leaned closer to the Refining Demon Chart and listened intently for a moment before asking in confusion, "Where are the delirious whispers? I can't hear anything."
Jian Goutou was taken aback. He gathered his courage and sensed the surroundings for a moment, only to be surprised.
There was nothing...
He had clearly heard them when he secretly approached in the past.
The endless demons' howls and roars, their hideous and terrifying forms, made one's soul tremble.
Why was it silent now?
He stole a glance at Mo Hua and thought, "Could it be that these demons are actually afraid of this little ancestor and dare not make a sound?"
That seemed highly improbable...
There were limits to absurdity.
Jian Goutou shook his head, laughing at the thought.
"Perhaps the time is not yet right, and the demons are dormant," he said.
"Oh." Mo Hua stared at the Refining Demon Chart for a moment before asking, "By the way, where are the array patterns?"
"Array patterns?" Jian Goutou was taken aback.
"The array pattern that took you over two hundred years to master," Mo Hua said, "Didn't you say you learned it from the Refining Demon Chart?"
Jian Goutou hesitated for a moment, sensing the Refining Demon Chart, and then slowly frowned, "It seems to be sealed..."
"Sealed?" Mo Hua was slightly taken aback.
"Yes..." Jian Goutou said, "Two hundred years ago, the Refining Demon Chart didn't seem to be completely constructed yet, and some array patterns were exposed. But now..."
Jian Goutou glanced at the Refining Demon Chart, his tone turning slightly solemn, "...this chart seems to be fully completed, and all the array patterns are sealed."
Mo Hua's expression turned slightly displeased.
If I hadn't come, you wouldn't have been finished.
Now that I'm here, you're suddenly done.
Are you deliberately preventing me from learning?
"Can this chart be blown up?" Mo Hua asked.
Jian Goutou shuddered in fear and quickly said, "My little ancestor, please don't cause any trouble!"
"If it's really blown up, it would be a disaster of unimaginable proportions!"
No one knew what terrifying consequences would unfold if the Refining Demon Chart were destroyed.
Moreover, once the demon cultivators noticed the destruction of the Refining Demon Chart, they would surely raise their guard. Even with the most exquisite stealth techniques and cautious actions, the chances of survival would be slim.
"I was just joking," Mo Hua said.
This Jian Goutou was getting old; there was a generation gap, and he couldn't even take a lighthearted joke.
"Then, can I enter this Refining Demon Chart?" Mo Hua asked.
He didn't have any other intentions; he just wanted to go in and count how many demons were inside.
"Enter?"
Jian Goutou was confused, unsure what Mo Hua was trying to achieve.
What good could there be inside the Refining Demon Chart? Others would avoid it at all costs, but he wanted to go in?
He had a daring heart indeed.
What was the point of entering? Was it to suffer the agony of having one's body devoured by countless demons, resulting in the soul's dispersal and eternal damnation? Or did he truly believe that by winning over a Sword Demon like himself, he had become invincible and no longer feared the myriad of demons within the chart?
Jian Goutou sneered inwardly.
Just as he was about to open his mouth to dissuade Mo Hua, he paused, and the demonic thoughts in his heart surged uncontrollably.
"This little ancestor... Pui! This little brat!"
"It's a good thing that this brat is so ignorant and arrogant."
"As long as I find a way to send him into the Refining Demon Chart, whether his divine consciousness perishes inside or gets trapped, I can find a way to escape. I might even 'usurp his nest,' gain a fresh, young, and healthy physical body, and it wouldn't be impossible..."
A yearning desire grew in his heart.
Jian Goutou maintained a respectful tone, pretending that nothing was amiss, "As far as I know, there are only two ways to enter the Refining Demon Chart.
"And the other way?" Mo Hua asked, his eyes narrowing.
"The other method is through sacrifice..." Jian Goutou replied, his tone grave.
"Sacrifice?" Mo Hua was taken aback.
"Indeed," Jian Goutou nodded. "Through a certain type of ritual, one can be sacrificed to the Refining Demon Chart."
"But I've never witnessed such a 'ritual,' nor do I know the specifics of how it's performed," he added. "Sacrifices are rarely performed within Myriad Demon Valley, and ordinary demon cultivators don't have the qualifications for it anyway..."
Mo Hua frowned. This presented a problem.
He couldn't enter the Refining Demon Chart without meeting certain conditions.
If he chose the path of torture, his life would be at stake, and the pain might be unbearable.
As for sacrifice, he had no knowledge of the ritual and certainly didn't consider himself worthy of being a "sacrifice."
It was like having food in a pot but being unable to eat it because the lid was on tight. Mo Hua felt frustrated.
"Let's take a look around the vicinity. Perhaps there are other clues that will allow me to quietly 'infiltrate' the Refining Demon Chart..." Mo Hua muttered to himself.
With a slight stir of his divine consciousness, a plan formed in his mind. Reluctantly, he tore his gaze away from the Refining Demon Chart and quietly turned to leave.
However, just as he had moved away a few dozen paces, a faint, strange sound caught his attention.
He turned his head, listening intently.
It was then that he realized the sound was coming from within the Refining Demon Chart.
It sounded like a mixture of shouts and cries from various demons, chaotic and boisterous, filled with arrogance and a hint of scorn.
They seemed to be mocking him.
Mo Hua's eyes turned cold. "A bunch of worthless bones," he muttered. "Just you wait, I'll enter and count each of your heads personally."
...
After quietly leaving the area, Mo Hua began to explore the surroundings.
The Refining Demon Chart was a massive mural that exuded an air of mystery. However, at its core, it was a type of cultivation structure.
It utilized a mural as a medium, an array as its framework, and spiritual energy as its guide.
Admittedly, the methods employed were bloody and unorthodox, and they involved some array categories that Mo Hua was unfamiliar with.
Nevertheless, the fundamental process remained unchanged.
Constructing such a chart required a significant amount of manpower, a vast array of materials, and, most importantly, a well-designed array.
It was a project that would span many years.
Based on his experience and habits as an array master who had constructed grand arrays before, Mo Hua was certain that there would be a secret chamber nearby for the array master to work on the array.
Furthermore, according to Elder Xun Zijian's speculation, the array constructions within Myriad Demon Valley formed a cohesive whole, with the divine sense arrays being a continuous lineage.
Since there were divine sense arrays on the Refining Demon Chart, it was highly likely that this chart was the very heart of Myriad Demon Valley.
The divine sense arrays were the core of the Refining Demon Chart.
If he could find a way to understand the divine sense arrays and learn their legacy, he would likely be able to unravel the secrets of the Refining Demon Chart and, consequently, gain control over all of Myriad Demon Valley.
Of course, these were just speculations.
What exactly was the legacy of the divine sense arrays?
And what role did the Refining Demon Chart, as the heart of Myriad Demon Valley, truly play?
There were probably still profound and intricate array principles waiting to be discovered and studied.
"I should be able to learn something valuable..." Mo Hua nodded to himself.
He circled the enormous mural of the Refining Demon Chart twice more and eventually found a suspicious location nearby.
It was a massive stone hall.
The hall exuded a strong array aura.
With a glance, Mo Hua could tell that this was the array stone hall of Myriad Demon Valley.
It was typically used to store array mediums, hoard array ink, design array diagrams, and serve as a place for array masters to research, rest, and draw arrays.
The massive doors were tightly shut and locked, and it seemed like no one was inside.
Moreover, there were no demon cultivators guarding the area.
Just like the Refining Demon Chart, this array stone hall seemed to be a "forbidden zone" that even demon cultivators dared not approach.
"Should I take a look inside?" Mo Hua wondered, his heart stirring.
He released his divine sense and carefully probed the area, but he couldn't detect any signs of life or the presence of demon cultivators.
It seemed safe.
However, one could never be too sure with cultivators' senses; sometimes, they could be unreliable...
Mo Hua thought for a moment, then took out a copper coin and used the Heavenly Machine Derivation technique to perform a slight divination.
This divination didn't grant him the profound insight he had experienced during his initial divination of fortune and misfortune, where he had witnessed the gathering of myriad causes and effects, resembling a flowing river that spanned the heavens and the earth.
Instead, he only felt a slight touch of causal influence.
The movement was minuscule.
Perhaps the "newbie benefits" were gone, and from now on, his divinations would depend solely on his own understanding of the heavenly mechanism.
But that was fine, too.
The grand spectacle from before had been a bit overwhelming.
He tossed the coin into the air, and it landed in his palm, revealing the positive side.
This indicated that there was no danger inside.
Mo Hua's heart raced with anticipation. "The Heavenly Machine Derivation technique is indeed useful. If I can truly master it like my master and gain insight into the heavenly mechanism, controlling cause and effect, and navigating toward fortune and away from misfortune, that would be incredible..."
He put away the coin and approached the stone hall's massive doors.
The doors were secured by an enormous beast-shaped lock, adorned with the Four Symbols Dog Tooth pattern.
"This is a special array lock used in Myriad Demon Valley," Jian Goutou explained. "With this lock in place, you won't be able to open the doors. It's best to look for another way..."
But before he could finish his sentence, Mo Hua had already started pushing the doors open.
To Jian Goutou's astonishment, the doors offered no resistance and swung open effortlessly.
He stared, wide-eyed, and then noticed that the array on the lock had been completely undone.
In just a few breaths' time while they were talking... Had this little ancestor also mastered arrays to such a high degree?!
Then, Jian Goutou suddenly recalled how this little ancestor had used arrays to blow him to bits during their previous encounter.
"This won't do. I must find a way to escape from his grasp as soon as possible. Otherwise, even if I become the Sword Demon, I'll be forever suppressed by him, never to rise again," Jian Goutou thought to himself.
Ignoring the thoughts of the Sword Demon, Mo Hua erased the traces on the door lock, quietly closed the massive doors, and then turned around and walked into the stone hall of the array.
The stone hall of the array was spacious and magnificent.
Just as Mo Hua had expected.
Inside were stockpiled a large number of array materials, as well as array diagrams.
However, most of these materials were made from the skin, bones, and blood of creatures that were either human or demon beasts.
The array diagrams were chaotic and complex, but they all seemed to be related to the Four Symbols Demon Pattern, filled with strangeness and oddity.
In the center of the great hall stood a huge stone table, presumably used for drawing arrays.
Apart from that, there were only some array-related tools.
And at the very back of the great hall stood a terrifying and majestic statue of a horned demon!
Mo Hua's heart skipped a beat as he gazed upon it.
Horns!
The Evil God of the Great Wilderness!
Having dealt with the Great Wilderness Evil God for so long, he naturally knew that these horns symbolized, to some extent, this evil god!
"Finally, I've caught a glimpse of the Evil God's 'little braid'!"
Mo Hua strode towards the statue.
The Sword Demon inhabiting the broken sword suddenly felt immense fear and quickly said, "No, Ancestor, don't go over there!"
But Mo Hua paid no heed and approached the statue, looking at it from left to right, even reaching out to touch it, and then sighed in disappointment.
"It's a fake..."
There were no evil thoughts parasitizing it, let alone the presence of the Evil God.
The Sword Demon, on the other hand, broke out in a cold sweat—even though it was just bones and couldn't sweat, it was still terrified.
Mo Hua then looked behind the statue and his eyes lit up.
"An altar!"
Behind the huge statue of the horned demon was a small altar.
On the altar was a sheep skull, surrounded by some offerings and eerie green candles.
Upon seeing the altar, Jian Goutou's pupils shook with fear, and his whole body of bones trembled, "No......don't......"
But before he could finish, Mo Hua had already lightly leaped onto the altar, touching the sheep skull and sniffing the offerings, frowning slightly.
"This one's also fake?"
What did that mean?
Mo Hua was a bit puzzled.
The Myriad Demon Valley was such a huge demon valley with countless demon beasts and demon cultivators. They had gone through so much trouble to set up such a complex array.
Yet, they didn't truly worship the Evil God? Even if it was just a polluted deity, an incarnation of the Evil God, or even a divine corpse would do.
Could it be...
Mo Hua wondered.
The Myriad Demon Valley is located in the Refining Demon Mountain.
Since the Refining Demon Mountain is within the Five-Star Qianxue State, there are too many powerful cultivators in the state, so the Evil God dare not descend with his true body yet? Hence, they could only set up a superficial altar?
Mo Hua thought this was highly possible.
He searched around the stone hall, hoping to find other clues, especially those related to the divine sense array.
However, he was acting in secret and was afraid of being discovered, so he couldn't search thoroughly or dig too deeply, which resulted in very few findings.
As he was searching, a voice came from the broken sword, "Someone's coming!"
Mo Hua also sensed the approaching presence and quickly scanned the surroundings to ensure he hadn't left any obvious traces. Satisfied, he turned back and grabbed the sheep skull from the center of the altar, placing it under him as he sat on top of it.
At the same time, the massive doors of the stone hall opened.
A black-robed figure stood at the entrance, tall and imposing.
"This person is the 'leader,'" Jian Goutou whispered.
Mo Hua was slightly taken aback.
The black-robed leader wore a cloak that obscured most of his face, making it difficult to discern his features. However, from his aura, it was clear that he was no ordinary demon cultivator.
In fact, he seemed more like a "sect disciple" rather than a demon cultivator.
And not just any sect disciple, but one with a high status, akin to the esteemed "senior brother" of a sect.
Following the black-robed leader was another person.
This person was also tall, but he stooped slightly, displaying a respectful attitude.
Mo Hua recognized him as the one who had taken his pig demon, the newly appointed "manager" of the Myriad Demon Prison, Jin Gui, the senior brother of the Duan Jinmen sect.
At the same time, Mo Hua surmised, "This Jin Gui from the Duan Jinmen sect is so respectful to the black-robed leader, and they seem quite familiar with each other."
"Could this black-robed leader also be from the Duan Jinmen sect?"
On the other side, the black-robed leader and Jin Gui walked into the stone hall, deep in discussion.
They continued their conversation as they walked to the center of the great hall, whispering about some confidential matter.
Their attention was solely on their discussion, and they didn't notice that someone had already intruded into the hall, nor did they detect Mo Hua hiding behind the statue.
"...What happened?"
"Something unusual..."
"I failed to accomplish the task, and I have no way to report back to the young master..."
"Senior Brother..."
"Don't call me Senior Brother."
...
Hearing this, Mo Hua was slightly startled and thought, "As I suspected."
Duan Jinmen...
Things were not looking good.
In the great hall, the two continued their conversation.
Mo Hua couldn't help but prick up his ears, eager to hear more secrets. However, his current posture was a bit uncomfortable.
He turned back and grabbed the sheep skull from the altar, placing it under him as he sat atop it.
(End of Chapter)
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