Chapter 284: The Contemplation Map

Mo Hua's mind raced, pondering endlessly:

"This Third Master's spiritual sense is strong; his array skills have reached this level—could he also be relying on the Contemplation Map?"

"If I obtained the Contemplation Map, could I also strengthen my spiritual sense?"

Mo Hua had learned the Great Expansion Scripture, which required a Foundation Establishment-level spiritual sense to break through to the Foundation Establishment realm.

He possessed the Dao Stele, practiced arrays daily, honed his spirit sea, and his spiritual sense had grown rapidly.

But it was still far from enough.

The gap between Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment spiritual sense was enormous, and the further one progressed, the harder it became, the slower the spiritual sense grew.

Mo Hua did not know how long it would take before he possessed a Foundation Establishment-level spiritual sense and could break through.

He had asked Mr. Zhuang.

Mr. Zhuang gave no clear answer, but from the man's expression, Mo Hua sensed he was not optimistic.

If studying the Contemplation Map could strengthen spiritual sense, could he accelerate his Foundation Establishment breakthrough?

Mo Hua felt a flicker of excitement.

If he could break through sooner, he could learn second-rank arrays and become a second-rank array master.

The cultivation and abilities of a Foundation Establishment cultivator and a second-rank array master were incomparable to those of a Qi Condensation cultivator and a first-rank array master.

Mo Hua fantasized for a moment, then sank into dejection.

The Contemplation Map was in the hands of the Third Master, a Foundation Establishment evil cultivator and an evil array master; Mo Hua could not possibly seize it by force.

Planning would be useless.

He could scheme against Qi Condensation cultivators.

Before a Foundation Establishment cultivator, his schemes were nothing but petty tricks unfit for the light of day.

Cultivation was the foundation of a cultivator; before the chasm of realms, petty stratagems achieved little.

Mo Hua frowned, at a loss for what to do.

Then he realized the greatest problem before him was not whether he could obtain the Contemplation Map, but whether he could escape alive.

If the Third Master did not leave, or if he left and sealed the main gate, Mo Hua would be trapped to die in this blood-colored alchemy chamber.

He had never studied evil arrays; he did not know if he could unravel them.

If he could not, he would likely remain here forever, in company with the white-bone alchemy furnace and the dazed pig demon.

Mo Hua thought long and hard, yet found no solution.

Since there was no solution, he could only wait patiently.

Patiently awaiting opportunity was one of the essential qualities of a demon hunter.

Mo Hua was not only a demon hunter, but also an array master.

He could endure patience to draw arrays for an entire day; waiting patiently for a chance to escape was nothing.

Mo Hua lay motionless on the ceiling beam, waiting patiently.

After an indeterminate time, someone approached the door again.

Mo Hua's heart jolted—"Could it be the Fourth Master returning…?"

If so, trouble would follow.

The Third Master had profound spiritual sense; the Fourth Master had keen perception. If both were present, Mo Hua's concealment technique risked exposure.

Mo Hua focused intently.

Soon, a shadow appeared at the door—it was the old evil cultivator from the entrance, not the Fourth Master.

Mo Hua exhaled in relief.

The old evil cultivator stood respectfully at the door for a moment.

The Third Master sensed him, carefully put away the Contemplation Map, and said slowly:

"Enter."

The old evil cultivator entered, stepped forward to the Third Master's side, and whispered something.

Mo Hua could not make out the words clearly, only catching fragments: "The demon hunters are stirring…", "…something happened in the inner mountain…", "…fearing the Fourth Master will cause trouble…"

Mo Hua was surprised and puzzled—"What could possibly happen in the inner mountain?"

After the old evil cultivator finished speaking, the Third Master frowned and said:

"Understood. I'll go see."

The old evil cultivator bowed, then withdrew respectfully.

The Third Master sat in place, pondered briefly, then rose and stepped out.

But halfway, he turned back, paced twice inside the alchemy chamber, as if uneasy, then took out the Contemplation Map again and cherished and valued it as he withdrew it from his storage bag.

The Third Master lifted the meditation cushion, pointed his finger at the ground, and the array pattern on the floor flashed—the stone slab sank downward, revealing a hidden compartment.

He placed the Contemplation Map inside the compartment, resealed it with an array, then nodded slightly, satisfied.

Tonight's outing might bring conflict.

If he lost the Contemplation Map by accident, it would be like having his heart and liver gouged out—worse than death.

This blood-colored alchemy chamber lay deep within Great Heishan, where no one dared come in ordinary times.

Even if someone came, no one knew the meditation cushion concealed a hidden compartment, let alone that the Contemplation Map was inside.

In Great Heishan, no one could possibly unravel this array.

The Third Master weighed all this, and finally felt at ease.

He rose and left, sealing the blood array and locking the beast gate before stepping out.

With a heavy, grating screech, the bronze blood array beast gate slammed shut completely.

The alchemy chamber fell into utter silence, the blood hue deepening further.

The third manager departed in peace, unaware that every action he had taken was watched in full by Mo Hua, who had been hiding on the rafters.

Mo Hua waited a while, confirmed no one remained in the alchemy chamber and that the third manager had left for good, then quietly descended from the rafters.

Mo Hua first approached the bronze beast gate.

The beast gate had been sealed, and the array had been activated.

Mo Hua had no key—the white skull—so naturally, he could not open the gate.

But even if he had the key, he still could not open it from the inside.

Mo Hua examined the array again with his spiritual sense, and sighed.

The entire gate was painted with demonic arrays, which Mo Hua understood nothing about, let alone knew how to dismantle.

"Looks like I can't get out for now…"

Mo Hua sighed again.

Since he couldn't get out, he might as well take a look at the third manager's contemplation map.

Mo Hua rallied his spirits and immediately returned to the alchemy chamber.

Inside the alchemy chamber stood a white-bone alchemy furnace, its flames eerie and cold; a massive boar demon, its body covered in bloodstains.

Mo Hua found the spot where the third manager had sat for contemplation and lifted the mat.

Beneath the mat, there was nothing.

But when Mo Hua observed with his spiritual sense, he could see the interwoven patterns of the array.

An array master's trickery could fool ordinary cultivators, but not another array master like Mo Hua.

Unless their array expertise differed vastly.

The third manager was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, but also a Rank One array master.

In array expertise, he and Mo Hua were evenly matched; in some areas he was slightly stronger than Mo Hua, in others weaker.

Mo Hua examined the array the third manager had used to seal the hidden compartment.

It was a concealment array combined with some Jin Shi replication arrays.

The concealment array hid the compartment; the Jin Shi replication arrays reinforced it.

"At least it's not a demonic array," Mo Hua murmured silently.

The third manager must have thought demonic arrays were too conspicuous to hide something, so he used a concealment array paired with replication arrays to conceal and seal the compartment.

After all, near Xiancheng, Rank One array masters capable of painting concealment and replication arrays were as rare as phoenix feathers.

Those who could dismantle these arrays were virtually nonexistent.

But Mo Hua was an exception.

For demonic arrays, Mo Hua had no solution; but for orthodox arrays—especially Rank One Five Element arrays—he could dismantle them effortlessly.

In a flash, Mo Hua dismantled the third manager's carefully arranged array, preserving its original structure intact, leaving not a single scratch on the hidden compartment.

Mo Hua nodded inwardly, thinking to himself:

"Master Zhuang's method for dismantling arrays is truly effective."

Otherwise, his infiltration into Great Heishan wouldn't have been so easy.

After dismantling the array, Mo Hua opened the hidden compartment and carefully removed the contemplation map inside.

The contemplation map was ancient; its parchment seemed both paper and hide, folded tightly, concealing its contents.

Mo Hua wanted to unfold it and take a glance—but suddenly froze.

He remembered the words Master Zhuang had told him:

"Contemplation maps are exceedingly rare and contain great danger. Under normal circumstances, you should never touch them…"

Mo Hua's heart tightened.

If Master Zhuang's words were true, opening this contemplation map recklessly might bring unforeseen peril.

Mo Hua had always kept Master Zhuang's words firmly in mind.

If Master Zhuang said contemplation maps contained danger, then until he understood the risk, he should leave it untouched.

But the map was already in his hands—should he return it?

Mo Hua hesitated.

The third manager contemplated this map to strengthen his spiritual sense, learned more demonic arrays, and would continue committing evil deeds.

Even if Mo Hua didn't keep it, the map must never return to the third manager's hands.

"What should I do?"

Mo Hua thought for a moment, then his eyes suddenly lit up.

Since the map was dangerous, he wouldn't look at it now—he'd store it away and ask Master Zhuang when he returned.

Master Zhuang had seen much; if the master said it was safe, Mo Hua would then study the map.

If the master said it was dangerous, he'd throw it into the refining furnace and be done with it.

Mo Hua nodded, deciding this was the safest course, and prepared to store the contemplation map in his storage pouch.

But as he turned the map, his peripheral vision accidentally caught a corner of it.

It was a patch of moss-covered rocks.

Seeing the rocks, Mo Hua felt a flicker of confusion.

Then, without realizing it, he slowly, gently unfolded the contemplation map.

When Mo Hua finally came to his senses, he was filled with horror.

"What am I doing?!"

Mo Hua broke into a cold sweat.

He had thought nothing, done nothing—and yet it felt as if someone had controlled him, forcing him to open the contemplation map.

Mo Hua gritted his teeth, trying to close the contemplation map, but it was already too late.

The contemplation map had fully unfolded.

A complete contemplation map, every detail laid bare, appeared before Mo Hua's eyes!

Mo Hua also saw what the painting depicted.

It was a landscape figure painting.

In the distance stood Qingshan; nearby flowed a stream, its waters soaking moss that clung to the rocky cliffs.

Upon the cliff sat a tiny Daoist acolyte, as if reciting scriptures.

A serene and tranquil immortal aura pervaded the scene.

Mo Hua froze.

Is this the contemplation map?

What does this painting mean?

As Mo Hua pondered, he suddenly realized the little Daoist acolyte seemed to come alive, smiling at him.

The smile was innocent and radiant.

Mo Hua was startled, yet couldn't help smiling back.

His smile was innocent and pure, strikingly similar to the little Daoist acolyte's.

But then Mo Hua's heart turned cold, and the smile on his face slowly faded.

For he noticed the little Daoist acolyte's innocent smile had, without his noticing, acquired a tinge of malevolence.

The malevolence grew increasingly strange.

The little Daoist acolyte smiled more and more strangely, and the strangeness turned ever more monstrous.

Suddenly, his human skin peeled away like paper, and beneath it crawled forth a green-faced, fanged imp.

The green-faced imp's eyes, like bronze bells, locked onto Mo Hua with ravenous hunger, as if he were a rare treasure.

While Mo Hua was stunned, it leapt up, leaping out of the painting, shrinking to the size of a palm, and lunged at Mo Hua's third eye, claws like daggers, tearing open the mind wall and burrowing into Mo Hua's mind sea.