Chapter 438: Hiding

The traitor of the Small Spirit Hidden Sect betrayed his master and ancestors, and very likely fell into the demonic path, refining corpses for others.

As for Instructor Yan... if he was burning with revenge and willing to use any means, it's also possible he could have taken a wrong step.

Mo Hua sighed, deeply worried about Instructor Yan.

He hoped Instructor Yan was safe and sound, and at the same time hoped Instructor Yan wouldn't, in a moment of obsession, go astray and do something terrible.

Instructor Yan was upright, true enough, but even the most upright person can have moments of rage where they stop caring how they get what they want.

Bai Zisheng asked, "Are we going to find Zhang Quan?"

Mo Hua nodded. "We have to."

Right now, every clue led to Zhang Quan.

The mining cultivator's death, the corpse-refining method, the place where the corpses were hidden, the complete array diagram of the Absolute Formation, and Instructor Yan's whereabouts.

All of these were likely tied to Zhang Quan.

Bai Zisheng's eyes lit up. He rubbed his fists together. "Then let's go soon. I want to slaughter him!"

These past few days, every time he thought of what Zhang Quan had done refining corpses, it made his blood boil.

Bai Zisheng had specifically learned a few Daoist techniques, preparing to use Zhang Quan for practice.

Then he grew a little worried:

"After so many days, can we still find him?"

"Hard to say, but we still have a lead."

Mo Hua nodded, then took out the Sinan mother-child compass.

On the compass, of the original three bright dots, only one remained now.

This meant one Sinan child needle was still on Zhang Quan.

It was possible the needle was hidden well enough that Zhang Quan hadn't noticed it.

Or it was possible he had noticed but deliberately kept it, to lure Mo Hua there and set an ambush.

Either way, Mo Hua had to go take a look.

He put the corpse back into the coffin, then drew a Golden Lock Formation and a Cold Ice Formation on the coffin, to lock the coffin shut and use the Cold Ice Formation to refrigerate the walking corpse.

To prevent the walking corpse from escaping or rotting.

The next morning, Mo Hua called Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi. The three of them left Tongxian City, hid their figures in an uninhabited spot, then used movement techniques to head toward a large stretch of barren mountains on the west side of Chengxi in Nanyue City.

Mo Hua had looked at the map of Nanyue City.

The bright dot on the Sinan mother array compass corresponded to the barren mountains west of the city.

These barren mountains resembled mining mountains, but there were no minerals to dig, nor any other resources, so cultivators rarely came—a desolate stretch.

The grass and trees on the mountains were short, mostly pale green or grayish brown.

The exposed mountain rock was dry and whitish.

Wild grass took root in the cracks of the rock.

Occasionally, some unknown demon beast would let out a strange cry from somewhere, echoing through the empty mountains.

Mo Hua crouched behind a large rock, staring at the Sinan compass.

Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi leaned in to look as well.

The bright dot on the compass moved very suspiciously, wandering through the mountains, darting east then west, as if hiding from something, or deliberately concealing itself—no pattern at all.

What was this Zhang Quan doing?

The three exchanged glances, all a bit baffled.

"Is it a trap?" Bai Zisheng said.

"If it were a trap, he'd stop and set an ambush, right? What's the point of running around?"

"Fair point..." Bai Zisheng nodded, then guessed:

"Could it be that he found the needle, took it off, and stuck it on some demon beast like a wild boar?"

Mo Hua rubbed his chin. "It's possible..."

Bai Zisheng said, "Let's go take a look. If it's Zhang Quan, we'll grab him. If it's a wild boar, we'll see if it eats meat or grass..."

Mo Hua was taken aback. "What does it matter if it eats meat or grass?"

"If it eats meat, we slaughter it and that's that, no need to bother. If it eats grass, after slaughtering it we have to take it back—I want pork..."

Bai Zisheng looked at Mo Hua with eager anticipation.

Bai Zixi let out a small sigh.

Mo Hua's expression was also hard to describe. "I won't cook it for you."

Bai Zisheng said with full conviction:

"I honestly don't care either way. It's mainly about showing filial respect to Master..."

"I slaughter the pig, you stew the meat, then we offer it to Master. But Master definitely can't finish it, and as his disciple, naturally I have to help shoulder the burden..."

Bai Zisheng's little scheme was clicking away loudly.

Mo Hua said, "Can't you do it yourself?"

"If you make it, it's filial respect to Master. If I make it, it's poisoning Master..."

Bai Zisheng had a pretty clear sense of his own cooking skills.

"Fine..."

Mo Hua nodded.

The food in Nanyue City was indeed mediocre, and these past days Mr. Zhuang hadn't eaten much either.

Bai Zisheng was overjoyed and quickly said:

"Then let's set off right away."

The three concealed their bodies and used the south-pointing compass to locate the position of the glow.

Soon, they found the glow's location in the shrubs beneath a hillside.

Hidden in the shrubs was Zhang Quan, not a wild boar.

It seemed the array needle was still on Zhang Quan, not stuck on the pig.

Bai Zisheng felt a flicker of relief, yet also a touch of regret.

Zhang Quan crouched in the shrubs, his gaze sweeping everywhere, as if on guard against something.

Mo Hua and the others concealed their bodies and watched from afar.

After a while, Zhang Quan crept silently into the forest, then twisted left and right until he vanished.

Mo Hua glanced at the compass and pointed in one direction.

Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi followed him to another hilltop; looking down, they saw Zhang Quan emerge from a cave entrance, glance warily around, then leave behind an array.

From afar, Mo Hua could not make out the array.

But based on the array's spiritual energy calculations, it appeared to be a trap array, around first-rank, seven to eight runes—subtle, yet low in rank.

After setting the array, Zhang Quan descended the mountain path.

After walking a while, he circled onto a narrow trail, slipped into the forest again, found another cave, and set another array…

He repeated this cycle endlessly, tireless and purposeless.

Mo Hua frowned. "What is he doing…?"

Bai Zisheng thought for a moment. "It seems he's on guard against something—probably fears being followed."

"Guarded against whom?"

Mo Hua didn't understand.

Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi pondered briefly, then both glanced at him in silence.

Mo Hua froze. "Me?"

Bai Zixi said: "You can conceal yourself. He probably fears you're hiding and trailing him."

Mo Hua clicked his tongue. "He's got serious paranoia."

Meanwhile, Zhang Quan was in turmoil.

"Why? Why isn't it there?"

In recent days, he had vaguely sensed something was wrong.

It felt as if he were being watched.

Every move he made was under someone else's control.

Yet he searched every inch of himself and found nothing suspicious.

Zhang Quan could not fathom it.

But his instinct, honed by years of walking in darkness, never lied to him.

Someone was definitely trailing him!

But who could follow him so silently, so unseen?

After a moment's thought, Zhang Quan had his answer:

That brat!

That brat who excels at concealment—even Foundation Establishment spiritual senses couldn't detect him!

Among all the cultivators he knew, only he could trail him so stealthily, leaving no trace, like a parasite clinging to his bones.

"Damn persistent ghost!"

Zhang Quan cursed inwardly.

He couldn't let that brat follow him!

Zhang Quan released his spiritual sense, yet no matter how hard he searched, he found no trace of any cultivator—because, at first, no one had been following him.

But his unease remained, so he tried every trick, winding through caves and forests.

He set more arrays to test whether anyone was trailing him.

Yet the arrays remained untouched, undisturbed.

Zhang Quan was baffled.

Had he guessed wrong—or was that brat simply too cunning, too shadowy for him to detect?

…

Mo Hua also frowned.

Bai Zisheng asked: "Are you thinking up another scheme?"

"I'm not thinking up any schemes!"

Bai Zisheng snorted. "You can fool others, but you think you can fool your senior brother?"

Mo Hua ignored him and said, puzzled:

"This Zhang Quan is far too wary."

Bai Zisheng pondered, then said slowly:

"He's suffered so much, looked so ragged—being cautious isn't unreasonable."

"Cautious, yes—but he's excessive."

Bai Zisheng glanced at Zhang Quan; from afar, his expression was unclear, but his movements seemed overly furtive.

Bai Zixi's gaze sharpened. "Afraid of something being discovered?"

Mo Hua nodded slightly, then looked up, scanning the surroundings.

Around them stretched endless barren mountains, stretching beyond sight.

This place looked desolate, yet surrounded by mountains that concealed its true nature.

"What are they afraid of being discovered?"

Mo Hua and the other two frowned in thought, then suddenly lifted their heads together, eyes brightening as they all understood.

"It's where he cultivates and hides his corpses!"

Mo Hua said: "Let's follow him quietly, without alerting him."

Bai Zisheng and Bai Zi Xi both nodded.

The three of them kept watch on Zhang Quan, hoping he would lead them, so they could trace the vine to find his corpse nest.

But Zhang Quan's patience was even more extreme than they'd imagined.

Another three or four full days passed, and he still wandered through the mountains, darting east and west, constantly testing the terrain with arrays and trail markers.

Mo Hua found it annoying just watching, yet Zhang Quan carried on with meticulous precision.

"This Zhang Quan is too good at playing it safe…"

Bai Zisheng grumbled.

And it looked like he could keep playing it safe for a long time still.

But Mo Hua's gaze grew slightly darker.

The more cautious Zhang Quan was, the more it proved that the place where he cultivated and hid his corpses concealed a great secret—no slightest oversight could be allowed.

That's why he dared not take even the tiniest risk.

Any slightest concern had to be completely eliminated.

Mo Hua pondered for a moment, then said:

"We're not following him anymore!"

Bai Zisheng blinked in surprise, "Why stop following him?"

Mo Hua glanced at the distant desolate mountains, his small eyebrows lifting slightly, and said:

"We've reached the doorstep—we can find it ourselves. We don't need him to lead us."

(End of Chapter)