Chapter 303: Commander Yang

Zhang Lan had previously resolved not to let Mo Hua enter the mountains, but now that he needed Mo Hua's help, he felt somewhat awkward.

Mo Hua didn't care; whatever Zhang Lan asked of him was surely related to wiping out Great Heishan.

As long as he could wipe out Great Heishan and kill all the evil cultivators inside, he was more than willing to help.

Zhang Lan brought Mo Hua into the inner mountains, arriving at a desolate mountain peak.

The area around the peak was pitted and uneven, bearing traces of past battles among cultivators, though these marks were old; several excavated mine shafts still remained on the peak.

Mo Hua was somewhat surprised.

This peak was Wuming Peak.

It was the very peak they had once fought the Qian family over for the small spiritual mine.

The battle traces around it were left from when the Hunter Corps clashed with the Qian family's cultivators—though most were from his own Earthfire Array explosions.

He never expected the Dao Soldiers had secretly stationed here.

"The difference is tiny—he's so young, does he even have any dignity?"

Zhang Lan spoke loudly, but Mo Hua still heard him, and asked:

"Look at how he acts like he's seen the world—is he really a first-rank array master at ten or eleven? Is he really that easily shocked?"

Behind the sand table stood the same burly, stern Foundation Establishment commander.

Commander Yang cursed Zhang Lan again: "Bullshit! Where in the cultivation world is there such a rare genius array master? Eleven years old and first-rank? And he just happens to stumble upon one?"

Zhang Lan spoke with an air of disdain, raising his voice:

Commander Yang took a sip of tea, then asked:

Among the bushes and scattered rocks beyond the mine shafts, numerous Dao Soldiers in standardized armor stood with long spears, alert and watchful.

Judging by his age, he can't have studied array arts for long, …

"Uncle Zhang, do you know him?"

Zhang Lan shoved Mo Hua backward and said, "Here he is."

And he's a Foundation Establishment cultivator!

Mo Hua had already sensed these Dao Soldiers with his spiritual sense, so he wasn't surprised.

The Foundation Establishment commander cleared his throat, pretending nothing had just happened, and asked Mo Hua as kindly as possible:

Zhang Lan and Mo Hua reached the foot of the mountain; Mo Hua's spiritual sense could already perceive shadowy figures inside the mine shafts.

Only now did the Foundation Establishment commander realize that, in front of this child, him—a Foundation Establishment cultivator—arguing with Zhang Lan—a Qi Condensation cultivator—was truly embarrassing.

"How far have you gotten in array arts?"

"Bullshit!"

Zhang Lan's tone was sharp, but inside he couldn't help but rejoice.

Zhang Lan smiled and said to Mo Hua, "Show Commander Yang your rank token."

These two adults, when they argue, are far more seasoned than you.

Commander Yang stared in disbelief, then cursed again:

"Didn't you say you were bringing an array master? Where is he?"

"Brother, is he really an array master?"

In the center of the sand table lay a tactical map of Great Heishan.

"Sort of," Zhang Lan said, unwilling to elaborate, and told Mo Hua, "Go down."

His face, Fang Zheng, might be used to being gentle, so it didn't look particularly kind—instead, it resembled a scheming uncle…

At the same time, at the mountain's mid-slope, a cave entrance opened, and a tall, burly cultivator with a square face and stern gaze suddenly appeared.

Commander Yang nodded at Zhang Lan in greeting, then frowned without hesitation:

Mo Hua remembered that when they fought the Qian family for the spiritual mine, Elder Yu had lived in that stone chamber, and next to it was another large stone chamber.

Commander Yang glanced at the young Mo Hua, then at the sand table's map—its lines strict, profound yet simple, containing numerous first-rank array formations—and sighed silently.

The stone chamber was too small to sleep in or hold meetings.

"Zhang Lan! I'm not hitting you because you're now Foundation Establishment and beating you would be unfair. But if you keep mocking me, I won't tolerate it anymore!"

"I'm Yang. Call me 'Commander Yang.'"

The sand table looked just like Great Heishan.

The Foundation Establishment cultivator's eyelid twitched, then said slowly:

"Nonsense! I was cursing him—he's the one stirring up trouble!"

These cultivators had steady qi, disciplined and well-trained—they must be the Dao Soldiers dispatched by the Dao Court.

The Dao Soldiers, seemingly recognizing Zhang Lan, all bowed and greeted: "Commandant Zhang!"

One Dao Soldier stepped forward and led Zhang Lan and Mo Hua to a stone chamber inside the mine shaft.

Around the chamber were placed a suit of silver armor and a red-tasseled long spear; in the center stood a large table, upon which rested a sand table and a map.

Back then, I lived in that warm, comfortable large stone chamber next door, eating beef every day and drawing array formations.

He naturally didn't believe it.

Suddenly Mo Hua tensed—someone had sensed his spiritual sense!

Mo Hua was stunned.

Zhang Lan and the commander argued for a while, grew thirsty, and sat down to drink tea.

It was Zhang Lan's fault—he never acted properly, and before long they were bickering again.

Mo Hua didn't know how to address him, so Zhang Lan spoke up:

"Nonsense! Didn't the official report to Xiancheng's Gu Diansi clearly state: 'Gu Ming, at great personal risk, infiltrated the tiger's den, gathered intelligence on Great Heishan, and painstakingly drew the array map of Gu Mingke'? Now how is it suddenly this child's work?"

Mo Hua spoke clearly: "Commander Yang, Uncle Zhang is right—I am an array master."

Mo Hua froze for a moment, then realized what kind of waist token Zhang Lan meant, and pulled out the bronze waist token given to him by Dao Ting Si from his storage pouch.

That Zhang Lan, truly a curse upon the world—he'd entrust such an important matter to a child.

Zhang Lan smirked: "See? This bronze waist token—I'm a cultivator of Dao Ting Si. The maps I drew—are they not the same maps Dao Ting Si drew?"

When he spotted Zhang Lan and Mo Hua at the mountain's foot, his expression eased slightly; he gave Zhang Lan a slight nod, then turned and walked into the cave.

Commander Yang scolded Zhang Lan: "How can a child that small know even a single formation? Does he really think I know nothing about formations?"

Commander Yang stared, stunned.

Seeing this, Zhang Lan suddenly felt a surge of irritation; he raised an eyebrow and sneered:

Commander Yang said: "I don't believe it. Show me the formation diagram that child drew."

Zhang Lan snorted: "You don't recognize Taishan? Open your eyes and look—this child is a genuine formation master. I'm busy with affairs daily; if it weren't for your face, he wouldn't even come!"

The small stone chamber's layout had not changed, but its furnishings were entirely different.

But there was no time to care now—who else understands formations? Not just me—among all these Dao soldiers here, not one hand's worth can read the formation runes.

Commander Yang was speechless, and could only say:

Upon hearing this, Commander Yang spat out his tea directly, drenching the sand table and maps behind him.

The Foundation Establishment commander blinked, then glared and bellowed:

Zhang Lan pointed to a diagram in the center of the sand table: "Is this like a woman?"

Mo Hua nodded.

……

Mo Hua humbly said: "I haven't learned much—just barely reached First Rank…"

"How old are you? Women bloom at eighty-one; you're at the prime of youth—tall, elegant, and charming…"

He looked solemn, extended his spiritual sense, his gaze sharp and edged with a hint of killing intent.

Zhang Lan remained calm and composed, as if he were a regular patron here.

Yet he hadn't expected this place to now serve as a temporary encampment for Dao soldiers.

The Foundation Establishment commander nodded, sighing inwardly.

"Is scolding me any different from scolding your mother?" Zhang Lan retorted boldly.

Zhang Lan waved it off: "Don't believe it, then."

Zhang Lan remained unfazed: "I'll write a letter to my mother right now, telling her you called me 'a pile of dog shit'—see if she doesn't peel your skin off…"

Commander Yang frowned: "If the map was drawn by this child, it should count as a contribution—why not record it directly?"

"The bronze waist token is merely a designation…"

Zhang Lan sneered: "Who'd believe it if you wrote it down? Do you believe it?"

Any cultivator with even a shred of Daoist knowledge wouldn't believe it.

"Designation still falls under Dao Ting Si."

"You've reached Foundation Establishment and now you're putting on airs…"