Chapter 811: The Mechanism
Chapter 811: The Mechanism
The inn was thoroughly searched.
A small pill furnace for refining poison pills, some poisonous herbs, and hidden weapons coated with poison were discovered.
In addition, there were several evil artifacts and a number of human skeletons. It seemed that these bandits had obtained the remains of some unknown vengeful spirits, scraping off their flesh and using it for pill refining.
This group of bandit cultivators had diverse backgrounds.
Some were murderers and robbers, others were Elixir Masters who had betrayed their sects, and still, others were cultivators who had taken up the sinister path midway through their journey.
They were wanted by the Taoist Court and were constantly on the run until they were gathered here by the Water Yanluo.
However, they didn't know much about Water Yanluo, and most of them were unable to speak due to an unknown silencing technique.
All they could do was make guesses, and when questioned, they remained tight-lipped.
Mo Hua and the others had no choice but to investigate on their own.
After another round of searching, apart from the inn itself, the most suspicious place was a carriage near the stable outside the inn.
Gu An found some petals near the carriage.
These petals, scattered on the ground, had been crushed by carriage wheels and mixed with mud, making them dirty.
But Mo Hua recognized them at a glance.
"These flowers are from the Hundred Flower Valley, although I don't know their names."
The flowers in the Hundred Flower Valley were vibrant and diverse, and while he couldn't identify them all, he could remember their general appearance.
Gu Changhuai nodded slightly, then frowned in surprise and asked Mo Hua, "How do you know they're from the Hundred Flower Valley... Have you been there?"
"Um..."
Mo Hua nodded subconsciously, but then suddenly realized that he must never let anyone know that he had disguised himself as a little junior sister and infiltrated the Hundred Flower Valley. "No! I've never been there! I have a senior sister who cultivates there, and she grows some flowers, which I happened to have seen before!"
Mo Hua felt a little guilty.
"Oh," Gu Changhuai said indifferently.
He didn't seem suspicious.
After all, the Hundred Flower Valley strictly prohibited male cultivators from entering, and no matter how talented Mo Hua was, it would be impossible for him to infiltrate the valley.
Gu Changhuai fell into deep thought.
Flowers from the Hundred Flower Valley.
A carriage owned by Hua Ruyu.
This seemed to suggest that Hua Ruyu's carriage had indeed stopped at this inn.
Things were getting intriguing...
"Bring one of them here for questioning," Gu Changhuai ordered.
"Yes," Gu An replied and returned to the inn. He picked out a bandit cultivator who looked timid and talkative and dragged him in front of Gu Changhuai.
"Let me ask you," Gu Changhuai said calmly, "does a carriage often stop here?"
The bandit cultivator's expression was flustered, and he didn't say a word.
Gu Changhuai's face turned cold. "Cooperate, or I have plenty of ways to make you wish for death."
As a Golden Core cultivator and an official of the Taoist Court, he had dealt with countless criminal cultivators, and his solemn expression carried an intimidating aura.
The bandit cultivator's face was filled with terror, and he said in a trembling voice, "There... there is a carriage..."
"What kind of carriage is it?" Gu Changhuai asked.
"It's a gorgeous, pink carriage adorned with intricate patterns," the bandit cultivator described.
"Who sits in that carriage?"
"I... I don't know..."
Gu Changhuai frowned. "How can you not know?"
The bandit cultivator explained, "Every ten days or so, that flowery carriage would arrive, but Big Brother... "
"Which Big Brother? Water Yanluo?" Gu Changhuai asked.
"Yes, that's the title we brothers on the path use to address Big Brother," the bandit cultivator said, his face turning slightly pale. "Big Brother instructed us that whenever that carriage comes, we must all hide in the inn and not go outside. We must not see or hear anything, or else..."
The bandit cultivator swallowed, "Or else, if we see something we're not supposed to, our souls will be taken away, and we will surely die."
"Souls taken away, surely dead?" Gu Changhuai frowned.
Gu An and Gu Quan were puzzled, but Mo Hua seemed to have an idea.
Gu Changhuai asked a few more questions but couldn't get any more information, so he had Gu An take the bandit cultivator back to the inn and lock him up.
Gu Changhuai pondered for a moment and concluded, "First of all, the evidence is not conclusive, so many things cannot be determined yet, but we can make assumptions..."
"Let's assume that the woman's carriage did stop here. This suggests that there must be something of great importance happening either in this inn or its surroundings that requires her presence."
"And there's another carriage in the stable..."
Gu Quan nodded. "My brother and I just examined the carriage tracks and some other traces. We can assume that someone drove here, got off the flowery carriage, switched to the one in the inn, and then went somewhere else."
Everyone turned their attention to the lone carriage inside the inn.
From the outside, it looked plain and unadorned, a cheap carriage that could be found anywhere on the streets.
But upon closer inspection, one would find that the materials used for the carriage were extraordinary.
Although it wasn't glamorous, it was unusually sturdy.
Moreover, the carriage was enclosed and locked.
There was no way to tell what was inside from the outside.
The group circled the carriage a few times but still found nothing. Gu Changhuai then extended his hand, gathered his spiritual power, and attempted to forcibly break open the locked door.
However, as soon as his palm touched the carriage, a light flashed on the door.
The carriage trembled, almost self-destructing.
Fortunately, Gu Changhuai was experienced, and as soon as he saw the flash, he withdrew his hand, preventing the carriage from exploding.
"It's a self-destructing array..." Gu Changhuai murmured.
Gu An and Gu Quan's expressions turned solemn, and they both looked at Mo Hua simultaneously.
Gu Changhuai also glanced at Mo Hua.
Among them, Mo Hua was the most skilled in arrays.
Although Gu Changhuai was a Golden Core cultivator, he was far inferior to Mo Hua when it came to arrays.
Mo Hua immediately straightened his chest and stepped forward.
"Let me take a look..."
He touched the door frame with his hand, turned his back to Gu Changhuai, and with profound eyes, he used his unique calculation ability to analyze and deduce the array patterns inside the carriage.
Gu Changhuai's expression turned slightly solemn as he sensed the change in Mo Hua's aura, which had become even more profound and enigmatic. However, he was gradually getting used to it, so he didn't say anything.
After a moment, Mo Hua concluded, "There's a locking array and a self-destructing array on the carriage, and it's a composite array..."
Based on the array patterns, he followed the trajectory of the spiritual power flow and found the "keyhole" in the lower right corner of the door, hidden within an intricately carved wooden pattern.
"A key is needed to open this door. Forcing it without one would disrupt the array, causing the carriage to self-destruct." Gu An's expression turned solemn. "So, we need to find a way to get the key from Hua Ruyu?"
"There's no need." Mo Hua remained calm. "Using a key to unlock an array is something cultivators do. For an array master, understanding the principles of the array makes the key unnecessary."
There was a hint of pride in Mo Hua's tone, despite his casual demeanor.
Gu An and Gu Quan were delighted, nodding in admiration. "As expected of Young Master Mo!"
However, Gu Changhuai still had his concerns. "This array doesn't seem ordinary. Are you sure it won't be a problem?"
From the feedback he felt when he tried to force the door open earlier, Gu Changhuai suspected that these arrays were not as simple as they seemed.
"They are second-grade arrays, nothing to worry about," Mo Hua assured them.
Gu Changhuai frowned. "Second-grade arrays also have levels—lower, middle, and upper. Even among the upper-grade ones, there are seventeen to nineteen layers. And you're only at the mid-stage of the Foundation Establishment, right...?"
"It's fine," Mo Hua said with a smile. "I went a little 'beyond the curriculum' in my studies."
Seeing Mo Hua's confident demeanor, Gu Changhuai decided not to press the issue further.
As the Chief of the Law Court's Administrative Department, Gu Changhuai oversaw hundreds of officials, and he knew that specialized tasks should be left to the experts.
Array mastery was a specialized field, and Mo Hua was undoubtedly the expert among them.
So, he stood aside and watched quietly.
Mo Hua studied the carriage for a moment, then reached out to touch it. Halfway through, he paused, remembering something. He took out his brush and ink and drew something on the carriage door.
As Mo Hua drew, Gu Changhuai's eyebrows rose in surprise.
He guessed that Mo Hua was attempting to unravel the array.
While he couldn't quite follow the specifics, he could at least count the number of array lines.
Eighteen lines!
This young man before him was attempting to unravel an array with eighteen lines, and he was only at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment.
Even Gu Changhuai, who had witnessed Mo Hua's extraordinary abilities, found it hard to remain calm.
"Eighteen lines..." Gu Changhuai murmured, taking a sharp intake of breath.
Some peak-stage Foundation Establishment array masters with slightly weaker spiritual senses might not be able to create or unravel an array with eighteen lines, let alone someone at the mid-stage.
This was far beyond simply "going beyond the curriculum"...
Gu Changhuai's mind raced with excitement.
On the other hand, Mo Hua remained focused on unraveling the array.
After drawing the unraveling array lines, he infused them with spiritual power, causing a flash of golden light. The array lines interacted with each other, canceling each other out.
The second-grade lock array was rendered useless by Mo Hua's skill.
Next, Mo Hua drew a circle on the door and turned to Gu Changhuai. "Uncle Gu, punch right here."
Gu Changhuai snapped out of his thoughts and nodded.
He stepped forward and delivered a gentle yet powerful punch to the circle, creating a hole in the door. However, the carriage remained intact, with no signs of self-destruction.
Mo Hua reached through the hole, fumbling inside for something. There was a creaking sound, and then he opened the carriage door.
The interior of the carriage was dark and musty.
A shaft of light entered through the open door, illuminating the space within.
Mo Hua narrowed his eyes, taking in the empty carriage with only a few cushions inside. He detected a faint scent of perfume that seemed to have been sealed away for a long time, giving it a slightly stale smell.
Mo Hua carefully stepped into the carriage, lifting the cushions to reveal two handkerchiefs, a scented pouch, some fine spices that might have come from the scented pouch, and traces of powder.
"Many women have ridden in this carriage..." Mo Hua thought to himself.
Moreover, the mix of various scents indicated that these women were not all from the same group.
This Hua Ruyu, who was publicly known as an instructor of the Hundred Flower Valley, seemed to be involved in some shady business.
Mo Hua glanced at Gu Changhuai.
Gu Changhuai's expression was cold, his eyes sharp, clearly having come to the same conclusion.
However...
Gu Changhuai frowned.
Hua Ruyu was a cautious woman, and she hadn't left much evidence in the carriage.
The trail had gone cold once again.
They still had no idea where this carriage was headed, who it was transporting, or anything else about it...
Mo Hua's brow furrowed as well.
He examined the carriage for a while longer, then paused, sensing something amiss. He crouched down and started tapping on the carriage floor, testing each wooden plank.
When he reached one near the front of the carriage, he heard a hollow sound.
Lifting the plank, Mo Hua discovered another array hidden underneath.
His eyes lit up as he examined the array lines, immediately understanding its purpose.
Gu Changhuai asked curiously, "What is that?"
"It's an internal propulsion array for the carriage," Mo Hua explained.
Seeing that Gu Changhuai didn't quite understand, Mo Hua elaborated, "This carriage has no reins or ropes, which I found strange. Now that I see this array, it makes sense. While it looks like a horse-drawn carriage, it's not actually pulled by horses."
"This carriage doesn't require horses. Instead, it utilizes a set of organ techniques and a complex array to propel itself forward."
"The array hidden under this wooden plank is part of the complex array that powers the carriage's movement."
Gu Changhuai pondered this information, his heart skipping a beat as he realized the implications. "Does that mean...?"
"Yes," Mo Hua nodded. "Once the complex array is activated, the spiritual power flows and interacts with the organ techniques, causing the carriage to move on its own."
"Moreover, embedded within this complex array is a yuan-magnetic compass array."
"This compass array is used for positioning."
"The carriage will follow the directions provided by the yuan-magnetic compass array and take us to our destination automatically..."
Mo Hua explained his deductions clearly and logically.
Gu Changhuai, Gu An, and Gu Quan were astonished, their hearts filled with awe.
This was the power of arrays, encompassing all the phenomena of the world.
And this was the capability of an array master, to comprehend and control various knowledge and abilities through the understanding of arrays...
"Can this carriage move now?" Gu Changhuai asked, his expression turning solemn.
"This is a new type of complex array, and I'll need some time to study it," Mo Hua replied.
"Alright," Gu Changhuai nodded.
The three of them held their breaths, careful not to make a sound that might disturb Mo Hua's concentration.
Mo Hua focused intently, studying this complex array that incorporated both the yuan-magnetic compass array and the organ-driven propulsion array.
While he was somewhat familiar with the yuan-magnetic compass array,
In Nan Yue City, Mo Hua had also used the Ling Shu Absolute Array to create "wooden oxen and flowing horses" to help impoverished miners conserve manpower and transport ore.
Thus, he had a general understanding of the array's principles.
With limited time, he didn't need to strive for expertise; he only needed to reactivate the array.
The array before him was dim and clearly malfunctioning.
Mo Hua carefully pondered over it.
After about half an hour, his eyes lit up as he gradually understood the mechanism.
This mechanism-embedded array shared the same key as the carriage door.
However, since Mo Hua had dismantled the array on the door and the lock was broken, the control entry point for this mechanism-embedded array was also destroyed.
Without the "entry point" to intervene, the array naturally couldn't be activated, the array core couldn't supply power, the mechanism-driven array failed, and the carriage couldn't move.
"In that case, I need to change the array structure, cut off the original entry point, externally connect the opening and closing array patterns, and create my own spirit gathering array to serve as the array core, embedding it into the composite array to empower the original mechanism array..."
Mo Hua mumbled to himself, speaking in a language that Gu Changhuai and the others couldn't understand.
Then, Mo Hua took out his brush and ink and began to redraw the array according to his ideas, step by step.
Gu Changhuai and the others watched intently, but they had no idea what they were looking at...
After about an incense stick's worth of time, Mo Hua finally finished redrawing the array and checked it over before heaving a sigh of relief.
"It should be fine now..."
Mo Hua reached into his storage bag for a spirit stone.
But halfway through, he quietly put the spirit stone back and instead asked Gu Changhuai, "Uncle Gu, I need a spirit stone."
This was official business, and the spirit stones used would be reimbursed.
Gu Changhuai wasn't stingy either. He took out a storage bag and handed it directly to Mo Hua.
Mo Hua took a spirit stone from the bag, crushed it, and placed it on the spirit gathering array to absorb spiritual power and act as the array core, providing power to the mechanism array.
The spirit gathering array absorbed the spiritual power and emitted a lustrous blue light.
Mo Hua willed it, and through the interface he had created, he activated the array.
A stream of pure spiritual power flowed from the spirit gathering array into the carriage's built-in mechanism-embedded array.
The carriage trembled and began to move on its own.
The three men quickly steadied the carriage.
Gu Changhuai also steadied the wobbly Mo Hua.
As the carriage trembled, it turned and changed direction.
The yuan-magnetic compass array lit up and set a course.
The carriage then moved forward on its own as if guided by some mysterious force.
"Uncle Gu, should we..." Gu An's expression was somewhat worried.
Gu Changhuai pondered for a moment and said, "Let's stay in the carriage and see where it takes us..."
"Yes," Gu An and Gu Quan nodded.
The carriage moved forward with a creaking sound.
Mo Hua picked a meditation cushion and sat down obediently.
He also wanted to see where the yuan-magnetic compass array was pointing and where this carriage would take him.
He hoped it would lead him directly to the evil god's base.
He could only wish, though.
Mo Hua knew that such a perfect scenario was unlikely...
Mo Hua took out some more spirit stones, crushed them, and charged the spirit gathering array.
These spirit stones should be enough.
But there were still quite a few left in the storage bag.
Mo Hua had originally intended to return the storage bag to Uncle Gu, but then he changed his mind, thinking that since Uncle Gu was a man of means and status, giving him something only to have it returned would be disrespectful and an insult to his position as the Chief Judge of the Taoist Court.
Mo Hua nodded to himself and pocketed the spirit stones.
This was his hard-earned fee.
Even though he hadn't undergone an assessment, it was only right for him to receive some compensation as a quasi-second-grade high-rank array master.
Mo Hua felt justified in his actions.
The mechanism array turned, and the carriage moved forward with a creaking sound.
The interior of the carriage was enclosed and stuffy.
Mo Hua sat inside, heading towards an unknown destination, feeling a little nervous. However, with Gu Changhuai by his side, he felt much more at ease.
This was a second-grade realm, and the carriage probably couldn't go too far. As long as he stayed close to Uncle Gu, he would be safe.
Mo Hua relaxed and turned his head, feeling a bit bored. He then shifted his attention back to the mechanism-embedded array inside the carriage.
This was the first time he had encountered a genuine "mechanism array."
It was yet another unique array system.
The mechanism array inside the carriage seemed to share some similarities with the five elements, the eight trigrams, and even the Ling Shu Absolute Array, but upon closer scrutiny, there were also significant differences.
"I should find an opportunity to learn about mechanism arrays in the future..."
If he could combine mechanism arrays with the Ling Shu Absolute Array and integrate them, he might even be able to create an army of puppets...
Mo Hua's mind wandered with excitement.
As he thought, the mechanism array continued to turn, and the carriage kept moving...
After an unknown amount of time, the carriage suddenly stopped.
It seemed to have reached its destination.
The three men's faces turned solemn.
Gu An glanced at Gu Changhuai and asked quietly, "Should we get down?"
Gu Changhuai shook his head slightly.
"Let's wait and see."
The group remained in the carriage, not daring to act rashly.
After a while, accompanied by the sound of water and the bumping of a ship against the shore, something seemed to have docked.
At the same time, a clear male voice sounded:
"You're early. It's not the fifteenth yet. Why did you bring people here already?"
Gu Changhuai and the others in the carriage remained silent.
The atmosphere became somewhat awkward.
The man outside was confused. "Why aren't you talking? Are you angry? You were the one who..."
Before he could finish, the man suddenly realized something was amiss.
His face changed, and a strange, chilling aura emanated from him, as if soaked in icy blood and filled with cruel intent.
Upon sensing this aura, Mo Hua's pupils constricted.
This aura...
Could this man be...
Water Yanluo?!
(End of Chapter)
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