Chapter 828: Pulling a Tiger's Tooth
Chapter 828: Pulling a Tiger's Tooth
Mo Hua was not worried about the situation on the island.
Firstly, for this operation, he was merely "borrowing strength"—the strength of Daoting, to surround and suppress these aquatic bandits.
It wasn't yet time for him to worry about the Xia family.
Secondly, he was confident because of the array.
The array on the island utilized the principles of the Eight Trigrams and Eight Gates, and while it was ingeniously conceived, the array master who set it up lacked skill and resources, given the remote and desolate nature of the island. As a result, the deployed array was rather crude.
The layout was based on the Eight Gates as a framework, but the inner Eight Trigrams array was shoddy and incomplete.
It had the Eight Gates, but lacked the Eight Trigrams.
It was extremely difficult to gather a complete set of the eight categories of Eight Trigrams arrays.
The Li Fire, Kan Water, and Gen Mountain arrays were somewhat similar to common Five Elements arrays and thus easier to learn.
However, the other Trigrams, like the Zhen Trigram symbolizing thunder, the Sun Trigram symbolizing wind, the Kun Trigram symbolizing earth, and the Qian Trigram symbolizing heaven, were vastly different from the Five Elements formations and their principles were profound and inscrutable. The array diagrams for these Trigrams were also extremely rare, and there were very few corresponding inheritances.
Apart from a few simple Sun arrays, such as the Zhen, Qian, and Kun arrays, even Elder Xun didn't have a single page of array diagrams to impart.
If Mo Hua couldn't obtain them, it was even less likely that the other disciples of Tai Xu Gate would have access to them.
Similarly, among these bandits, even within the Gui Water Gate, there wouldn't be a second-rate array master who could truly master all the Eight Trigrams arrays.
And the Eight Gates and Eight Trigrams array on this water island was already incomplete.
Due to the lack of a full set of Trigrams, most of the arrays within were actually supplemented by other Five Elements arrays.
In some areas, there weren't even any supplementary arrays.
This was the conclusion Mo Hua reached after pondering and then seeking guidance from Elder Xun Zi Xian.
According to Elder Xun Zi Xian, the true "Eight Gates and Eight Trigrams" array was easy to learn but difficult to master. The basic structure wasn't complicated, but it had countless variations, and it was a type of array that could only be truly grasped by an "expert."
Mo Hua intended to become an expert in arrays.
Therefore, he wanted to study and improve upon this array.
The array on the small island was rough and imperfect.
However, by making gradual improvements based on this foundation, perfecting the Eight Trigrams, and adding various changes to the Eight Gates, especially the circulation of the Life Gate and Death Gate, he could gradually unleash the full power of the array.
This array, when deployed on this small island, was a waste of its potential. Only in his hands could it be fully utilized.
Mo Hua nodded.
Time ticked by, and the night deepened.
In the thick darkness, a viscous, bloody aura permeated the air.
The array on the small island followed the trajectory of Mo Hua's deductions, and the Eight Gates changed continuously according to his predictions.
The Daoting executives carried out the plan, surrounding and attacking the bandits.
Soon, the bandits showed signs of defeat.
Some of the bandits escaped from the island, heading out through the Life Gate.
But as soon as they stepped out, the ground beneath their feet, which had been empty moments ago, suddenly turned into muddy water, transforming into a quagmire that trapped them.
At the same time, the quagmire turned into a vortex, as if invisible hands were dragging the bandits into the depths of the mire.
"Motherfcker, who set up this trap..."
The bandit couldn't finish his sentence as the mire sealed his mouth, leaving him unable to gain leverage to struggle free. His desperate writhing was futile.
The Daoting cultivators caught up and ended their lives one by one.
Eight Trigrams Dui Trigram Array—
Quagmire Array.
This was the array Mo Hua deemed most suitable for the small island after careful consideration.
There was earth on the island, with water beside it, and the fusion of water and earth gave birth to a marsh.
Most of the bandits were trapped by the Quagmire Array, struggling in vain before ultimately being beheaded by the Daoting executives.
The bandits who escaped from the Quagmire Array and jumped into the river were then entangled by fishing nets.
The nets were reinforced by arrays, making them extremely sturdy and difficult to break free from. They also had barbs coated with poison, so once someone was caught, they were as good as dead.
If they were unlucky enough to stumble upon the "Death Gate" that Mo Hua had prepared, they would be devoured by the numerous water demons.
With Mo Hua's meticulous preparations, the bandits had almost no chance of survival.
The battle raged on.
The corpses of bandits piled up on the island.
Mo Hua estimated the time and figured that most of the bandits were dead, and the scale of the chaotic battle had diminished. He believed that the threat on the island should be minimal by now, so he quietly made his way there.
The soil on the island was soaked with blood, making it sticky and bloody underfoot.
Bandit corpses were strewn everywhere.
Mo Hua deployed the Minor Five Elements Concealment Technique, released his spiritual sense, and crossed the Kan Gate, heading deeper into the bandits' stronghold.
Along the way, whenever he encountered a bandit pretending to be dead, he casually sent a Fireball Technique their way, sending them to their deaths, like a "little Yama" reaping lives.
Inside the stronghold, the scene was one of chaos.
The battle still raged on.
Firelight, blood, and mud intermingled with the bodies lying haphazardly on the ground and the dense footprints, creating a macabre scene.
Mo Hua made a rough estimate and deduced the approximate locations of Gu Chang Huai, Xia Dian Shi, and the large group of executives.
After all, the route they took to break the array was one that he had planned himself.
However, he didn't need to follow that path himself.
At this point, no one understood the arrays in the stronghold better than him, not even the bandit leader, Shui Yanluo.
Within his spiritual sense, the changes in the arrays were clear and distinct.
Mo Hua's gaze deepened as he sensed the flow of the arrays, then he found a direction and headed towards the core of the array.
Along the way, there were some miscellaneous trapping and killing arrays.
But in Mo Hua's eyes, these small trapping and killing arrays were extremely crude and couldn't trap or harm him at all.
Mo Hua easily bypassed these arrays, continued on stealthily, avoided the scattered bandits, and took care of a few severely injured ones before reaching the center of the stronghold.
Since everything was proceeding according to plan so far, the timing was just right for him to do some extra things.
If Mo Hua's guess was correct, Shui Yanluo should be at the center of the small island's array.
Even if Shui Yanluo wasn't there, this place was still the control center of the array and the key to the entire stronghold, so there must be some secrets hidden here.
He could sneak in first and see if he could take advantage of the chaos to fish for some benefits.
This Shui Yanluo, who carried the inheritance of the Water Prison Gate, was a treasure trove, and Mo Hua couldn't let this opportunity slip by.
However, this operation to surround and suppress the bandits was led by Xia Dian Shi, with the Xiao family also involved. Gu Chang Huai couldn't pull any strings, and neither could Mo Hua use any backdoor connections.
If Shui Yanluo were to be captured and fell into the Xia family's hands, then he wouldn't get any share of the treasures Shui Yanluo possessed.
At most, he would be given some spirit stones and merits afterward.
While spirit stones were good, he didn't lack them at the moment.
Merit points were even more abundant for Mo Hua.
What he truly coveted, however, were the treasures that Shui Yanluo possessed—things that couldn't be exchanged for spirit stones or merit points.
Thus, to get a taste of the "meat," one had to learn to seize the opportunity.
And if there wasn't an opportunity, one had to create it.
The present moment was such an "opportunity" that Mo Hua had meticulously crafted by leveraging his understanding of the Eight Gates and Eight Trigrams array and his suggestions for Xia Dian Shi's encirclement plan.
Currently, most of the aquatic bandits were dead.
The array couldn't stop him.
Shui Yanluo, besieged by the Daoting cultivators, would be too busy evading capture to notice him.
This was his chance to strike unseen in the chaos.
Moreover, in about half an hour, Gu Chenhui and Xia Dian Shi would lead the Daoting cultivators to assault this place.
That would be his backup plan.
Should anything unexpected happen, he would only need to stall for half an hour until they arrived to rescue him.
Whether he could savor the "meat" depended on this half-hour window.
Mo Hua's eyes narrowed slightly, gleaming with a hunter's intent in the darkness of the night.
He stealthily made his way toward the center of the bandits' base.
At the heart of the base stood a stone stronghold encircled by wooden fences.
This seemed to be the leader's residence, the meeting place for the aquatic bandits, and the core of the Eight Gates and Eight Trigrams array's protection.
Numerous bandits were stationed around the stronghold, and some defensive arrays had been set up.
However, these arrays weren't sophisticated.
More importantly, they hadn't deliberately deployed arrays like the Revealing Light or Dust Manifestation, specifically designed to counter stealth techniques.
Ordinarily, they wouldn't have needed them.
But the current situation was unusual.
Mo Hua, with his exquisite Minor Five Elements Concealment Technique, moved through the stone stronghold like a ghost, unseen by anyone.
Upon entering the stronghold, Mo Hua's eyes landed on Shui Yanluo, who was in the main hall.
Shui Yanluo was discussing something with several aquatic bandit lieutenants at the table in the center of the hall.
It was more of an argument than a discussion.
"...Who brought those Daoting bastards here?!"
"How the hell would I know?"
"There must be a traitor among us!"
"I don't recognize the route they took through the river. It's treacherous, and I got lost."
"I refuse to believe they could've found their way into our base without an inside man guiding those dogs!"
"And what about the arrays...?"
"...weren't they supposed to be impenetrable? How come they're as flimsy as paper?"
"Every move we make is according to their plan."
"What's the point of talking about this now? We need to focus on fighting them off!"
"We must first settle internal issues before dealing with external threats. Do you understand?"
...
The group argued loudly, each voicing their opinions.
"Enough!"
Shui Yanluo, with his pale skin and rebellious eyebrows, exuded a chilling aura from his high seat.
Apparently, Shui Yanluo commanded great respect among the bandits, as they immediately fell silent and dared not utter another word.
After a moment, someone finally spoke up in a low voice, "Big Brother, the Daoting cultivators are almost here. What should we do now?"
"Kill those bastards!" someone shouted.
"How do you plan to do that? They have a Golden Core cultivator," a bandit beside him sneered.
"So what? This is a second-rate state, and if we really go all out, who knows who'll die..."
"What are you bragging about? Can you kill a Golden Core cultivator and show me?"
"You son of a bitch, you look down on me..."
...
The group of fierce bandits soon devolved into another argument.
Shui Yanluo's face turned frosty, and he cursed inwardly. These idiots only knew how to fight and kill; they had no brains.
"Enough!" Shui Yanluo snapped impatiently. "We can always make a comeback as long as we survive. I have a backup plan, and we'll leave through the secret passage."
"Big Brother, how can we do that? We've lost many brothers, and it would be too shameful if we just ran away now..."
Shui Yanluo lashed out with a sinister water punishment whip, leaving a bloody mark on the face of the bandit who had spoken.
"Can't you hear me?" Shui Yanluo's eyes turned icy.
The bandit immediately cowered and dared not speak another word, and the others fell silent as well.
Shui Yanluo nodded slightly, his eyes cold, "We will avenge our brothers' deaths, but not right now. Our priority is to evade the brunt of their attack. We'll settle the score later."
"Yes!"
"As you command, Big Brother!"
"We'll do as you say, Big Brother!"
...
The bandits chorused their agreement.
"You may leave now," Shui Yanluo said. "You have one incense stick's worth of time to gather your belongings, and then we'll depart."
"Yes!"
The group of bandits rose and bid their farewells, gradually exiting the hall.
Soon, only Shui Yanluo remained in the hall.
His expression remained stony, and after a moment, he spat out a curse under his breath, muttering, "So, there really was a Daoting spy among us..."
Although his voice was soft, Mo Hua, hidden in the corner, heard his words clearly.
Mo Hua frowned.
What did that mean? Did Shui Yanluo get wind of something beforehand? But he didn't seem too concerned, so he must not have believed it fully and thus didn't take extra precautions.
Who informed him? Mo Hua wondered as Shui Yanluo stood up and walked toward the inner stone chamber within the hall.
Mo Hua followed quietly.
Based on his experience, Shui Yanluo was most likely gathering his belongings to prepare for his escape.
With the Daoting cultivators at their doorstep, he would only be packing items crucial for his survival.
Mo Hua trailed behind Shui Yanluo as he entered the stone chamber.
There was a secret room within the chamber.
Shui Yanluo opened the door to the secret room right in front of Mo Hua and stepped inside.
Perhaps due to the imminent threat of the Daoting cultivators, Shui Yanluo was anxious and distracted, failing to notice Mo Hua quietly following him.
However, once inside the secret room, Mo Hua was surprised.
This secret room was nothing like what he had imagined.
In his mind, there should have been an altar within, and all he needed to do was figure out a way to get rid of Shui Yanluo, take his place on the altar, and then place his "order."
After that, he could look forward to a feast upon his return to the sect, and his nineteen spiritual sense threads would advance even further.
But there was no altar in this secret room, nor were there any statues of evil gods.
It was merely a simple storage room filled with various spirit stones, pills, and looted items.
Mo Hua was greatly disappointed.
Although this secret room contained the spoils of Shui Yanluo's years of plundering and was worth a fortune, it couldn't compare to the real altar.
As Mo Hua stood there, disappointed, his pupils suddenly contracted.
He saw Shui Yanluo walk straight to the back of the secret room, completely ignoring the room full of treasures. Shui Yanluo turned a candlestick, and from a hidden compartment in the wall, he retrieved a box.
The box was wrapped in black cloth.
A surge of icy and sinister energy, filled with malevolent intent, instantly emanated from it.
"The box..."
Mo Hua's heart skipped a beat.
The usually solemn and aloof Shui Yanluo showed an unusually excited expression upon seeing this box. His eyes sparkled with enthusiasm, and even his hands, which held the box, were slightly trembling.
It seemed that this box was extremely important to him.
Shui Yanluo carefully unwrapped the black cloth, revealing a light blue jade box underneath.
Engraved on the jade box was a stern and icy illustration of a Daoist prison.
The illustration depicted a prison filled with various torture devices, each with a prisoner enduring excruciating pain and torment, wailing, struggling, and desperately crying for help.
The jade box was light blue, but the illustration was bloody and seemed to embody cruel intentions and icy killing intent.
Shui Yanluo glanced at it and became entranced.
It was as if the prisoners in the illustration, suffering endless torture and dying in despair, were the most beautiful sight in the world to him.
He couldn't help but caress the jade box lovingly. After a while, he remembered the imminent danger and the need to escape.
Shui Yanluo carefully inspected the jade box once more, checking for any damage or abnormalities. Only after confirming that it was intact did he feel relieved.
He covered the jade box with the black cloth again and was about to put it into his storage bag...
Just then, a chilling sensation ran up his spine.
A sinister and extremely cruel killing intent rose from behind him.
Shui Yanluo's heart trembled, and he clenched his teeth.
"Someone... is trying to kill me?!"
As the omen of death loomed, he bit his teeth so hard that they bled, channeling all his spiritual power to the extreme. He dodged the killing intent behind him and, at the same time, whipped backward with all his might.
His efforts paid off.
The killing intent behind him dissipated.
Shui Yanluo reacted swiftly, and his whip attack was vicious and swift, forcing the ambusher to withdraw their unformed spell and dodge.
Shui Yanluo caught a glimpse of flickering embers in the corner of his eye.
Although only residual traces remained, they gave him an intense sense of oppression.
He felt that if the spell had been successfully cast, and he hadn't dodged in time, he would have perished on the spot.
"What kind of spell is this?!"
Shui Yanluo's eyes trembled with fear.
Also, who is ambushing me?!
Shui Yanluo's initial fear turned into intense anger.
He was so close! Just a little more, and he would have fallen into the trap!
Shui Yanluo released his aura to the extreme, his muscles bulging, and sinister water energy coursing through his meridians. His eyes emanated killing intent.
But before he could pinpoint the ambusher's location, he felt another surge of killing intent from behind.
Twisted flames ignited.
A slight burning sensation sent chills down his spine.
Shui Yanluo was startled and quickly dodged again, whipping backward with his other hand.
The flames went out.
The spell had been interrupted again.
That terrifying spell had failed to materialize.
Shui Yanluo breathed a sigh of relief.
However, the coward hiding in the shadows seemed frustrated and impatient after two failed attempts.
Sensing this, Shui Yanluo snarled, "You despicable creature, how dare you try to pull a tiger's tooth! You have guts, I'll give you that! Even with a formidable enemy at our doorstep, I will catch you and subject you to the most excruciating tortures until you die!"
Shui Yanluo's eyes were filled with murderous intent.
This ambusher only knew how to hide and strike from the shadows, and their frontal attacks were not a threat.
As long as he stayed vigilant and caught them off guard, they would undoubtedly perish.
But before he could think further, a faint red light appeared in the dim secret room.
"Behind me again!"
Shui Yanluo sneered.
Having experienced two ambushes, he felt he had a good grasp of the ambusher's tactics and immediately channeled his sinister spiritual power toward his back.
However, this attack was slightly different.
The flames condensed extremely quickly, and in the blink of an eye, the spell was formed. Shui Yanluo felt the heat on his back, and a slight burning sensation spread.
Shui Yanluo was startled but soon calmed down.
The burning sensation on his back was mild, and the injury was negligible. It seemed like an ordinary fireball spell, not the terrifying fire-based spell that had unnerved him earlier.
"What does this mean?"
This fireball spell was nothing more than an itch.
Just then, another fireball spell hit his arm.
His arm felt numb and slightly burned, but that was it.
Shui Yanluo didn't even bother to check his injury and instead scoffed, "Do you think you can kill me with these weak spells?"
However, there was no response from the ambusher.
Shui Yanluo frowned.
"Did they run away?"
Had they given up so easily? What a coward...
A sneer curled the corners of Shui Yanluo's mouth.
But the next moment, he realized something was amiss...
The fireball spell that hit his arm caused a mild burning sensation and numbed his senses. But as the numbness wore off, he suddenly realized that something felt lighter in his hand...
It felt significantly lighter! Shui Yanluo's pupils contracted, and he looked down, his heart pounding.
He still held the black cloth, which contained the jade box. Even in the heat of battle, he hadn't let go of it.
But now, there was a slit in the black cloth, and the jade box...
Was gone?!
Shui Yanluo's lips turned white, and he trembled with rage.
He instantly understood what had happened!
First, they used a terrifying spell to create an intense sense of crisis, ensuring he couldn't afford any distractions.
Then, they used ordinary spells to make him complacent and careless.
Finally, they struck with an extremely fast fireball spell, hitting his left arm.
While he was distracted by the burning sensation and his senses were numbed, they cut the black cloth and stole the jade box in the span of a few breaths!
Shui Yanluo lost his composure, his eyes turning scarlet.
"Damn thief!"
"I will tear you into pieces and crush your bones into dust!"
At that moment, outside the stone stronghold.
Mo Hua, knowing when to retreat, had used the Flowing Water Steps to its fullest potential. He was now running with the jade box in his arms, his eyes sparkling with excitement.
What a great find!
I've struck gold!
Keep running!
He then set off a firework signal and shouted toward the distance, "Uncle Gu, save me!"
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
