Chapter 443

Zhang Quan probably knew he was being watched, so for safety's sake, he dared not rashly enter the Corpse Village, fearing he'd be inviting the wolf inside.

He dared not even rashly "deliver corpses," afraid of leaking secrets.

But he didn't know—the wolf had already entered the house, and right now, it was watching him from the roof.

Mo Hua crouched on the beam, furrowed his brows, thought for a moment, and decided to give Zhang Quan one more chance.

If Zhang Quan delivered corpses during this time, he could still live a little longer.

Otherwise, Mo Hua would strike immediately.

Report to Dao Ting Si, gather forces, storm the Corpse Village, capture Zhang Quan, lock him in the Dao Prison, torture him mercilessly, beat him senseless, then kill him—to give justice to the mining cultivators who died in his hands and the female cultivators of Baihua Tower!

Mo Hua thought this with vicious intent.

Zhang Quan was speaking with a corpse cultivator when suddenly he felt a chill down his back.

He looked around, saw nothing, and frowned.

"Boss, what's wrong?" the corpse cultivator asked.

Zhang Quan momentarily spaced out, shook his head, "Nothing…"

But inside, he remained deeply wary.

It felt as if a powerful spiritual sense was coldly observing him.

"Just an illusion…"

Perhaps after all these days of hiding, constantly on edge, he'd become jumpy at every sound.

Zhang Quan comforted himself.

Seeing Zhang Quan's reaction, Mo Hua felt some doubt.

He'd only thought of killing Zhang Quan in his mind—and yet Zhang Quan had reacted?

Was Zhang Quan overly perceptive, or could a spiritual sense itself intimidate or frighten others?

If a spiritual sense grew strong enough, could it directly coalesce into lethal force?

In Mo Hua's memory, he'd never seen a cultivator kill with spiritual sense alone.

The green-faced imp in the visualization diagram could parasitize the spiritual sea and devour spiritual sense—that counted as spiritual sense killing.

But that was because it was inherently a demonic, evil thought, capable of invading the spiritual sea and harming spiritual sense.

Ordinary cultivators seemed unable to use such a method…

Mo Hua filed this question away, planning to ask Mr. Zhuang later when he had time; for now, he must keep watching Zhang Quan.

But in the days that followed, Zhang Quan remained as cautious as ever, revealing not a single clue.

Mo Hua grew impatient.

Just as he was considering whether to strike immediately and storm the Corpse Village, or wait a little longer for other clues—

Zhang Quan discovered the needle inside his body.

It was the South Needle from the Si Nan Zi Mu Array.

Mo Hua had made it, drawn the array on it, and given it to Bai Jisheng.

Bai Jisheng had slipped it into Zhang Quan during their fight.

Three child needles had been inserted: one in his clothes, one in his hair, one inside his wound.

Zhang Quan had found the first two; the third remained undiscovered.

Zhang Quan had taken Corpse Blood Pills, fought repeatedly, fled in disarray, and was covered in wounds.

Back in the village, with countless duties, he could only rest briefly—his injuries healed slowly.

One day, while cleaning his wounds, he suddenly felt something strange: some meridians felt sluggish, as if something was lodged within his flesh.

Zhang Quan pulled out a dagger, reopened the wound, and plucked out the thin silver-white needle from between his flesh and blood.

Mo Hua watched him pull out the needle and sighed.

But Zhang Quan sucked in a sharp breath.

What the hell—another one?!

When the hell had this one been inserted?

Zhang Quan's heart turned cold, his expression stunned.

"That little ghost… doesn't he already know my location?"

Or worse—hasn't he already slipped into the Corpse Village?!

Zhang Quan leapt to his feet, terrified.

The Corpse Village had been discovered—and possibly, someone had already infiltrated it secretly!

That little ghost's concealment technique was extremely refined.

Such an unbelievable thing wasn't impossible.

Zhang Quan immediately shouted:

"Someone!"

A corpse cultivator entered, bowing, "Boss."

Zhang Quan pointed at him, voice trembling slightly:

"Put the entire village on lockdown! Then search!"

"Search every inch—inside and out, top to bottom—find out if anyone has infiltrated!"

The corpse cultivator looked stunned, "This…"

Zhang Quan, frantic, kicked him, "Go do it, you bastard!"

The corpse cultivator finally cried out in alarm, "Yes!"

"Wait."

Zhang Quan called him back, then took out a wooden box, placed the fine needle inside, and handed the box to the corpse cultivator, ordering:

"Find someone to throw this box far away… no, throw it into a river—into a river with swift currents—let it drift downstream…"

"Yes!" The corpse cultivator bowed and left.

In but a moment, the entire Corpse Village erupted into chaos.

Corpse cultivators, accompanied by bandits, patrolled and searched.

Every room, every coffin, every corner, was thoroughly examined.

Mo Hua shook his head, feeling a faint regret.

He wasn't afraid Zhang Quan would discover him.

Among all the cultivators in the Corpse Village combined, none had spiritual sense stronger than his; naturally, none could pierce his concealment.

Moreover, the Corpse Village was a mountain fortress, filled with many buildings, each adorned with arrays.

In such a place thick with arrays, Mo Hua, skilled in drawing and dismantling them, moved like a fish in water—he had an innate advantage and had no fear of their search.

What Mo Hua regretted was that this had alarmed the snake; Zhang Quan would surely no longer deliver corpses.

He would thus never learn who had drawn the array for the corpse cultivation.

And with the village now on high alert and corpse cultivators wary, dismantling the village would require more Zhou Zhe.

Mo Hua frowned, calculating what to do next.

Yet Zhang Quan remained suspicious, paranoid.

For an instant, he even fancied that Mo Hua hadn't just infiltrated the Corpse Village—he had entered his very secret chamber, and now lurked somewhere unseen, watching him.

Zhang Quan broke into a cold sweat, shaking his head repeatedly.

Impossible!

That brat might be cunning, but he couldn't possibly be this absurd.

At most, he'd reached the village's outer edges…

Or perhaps he only knew the general location and hadn't yet arrived…

At this moment, Zhang Quan both hoped the corpse cultivators would find Mo Hua's trail—and hoped they wouldn't.

Soon, a subordinate reported: "Boss, we've found traces."

Zhang Quan startled, "What traces?"

"The array seems to have been tampered with."

"An array?!"

Zhang Quan's eyes flew wide open.

That brat truly knows arrays!

"Quick, take me there."

Zhang Quan followed the corpse cultivator out the door.

On the beam above, Mo Hua rubbed his chin, pondering: "Where did I leave any trace?"

Mo Hua remembered his actions had been clean this time.

Curious, he quietly followed behind, intending to see where he'd slipped up—so he could take note, plug the leak, and improve his technique next time.

The Corpse Village was in a frenzy, searching for Mo Hua.

Yet Mo Hua followed closely behind Zhang Quan, walking atop the village's rooftops, all the way to a wall.

The array on the wall indeed bore signs of alteration.

Mo Hua glanced at it, his expression clearing.

He had indeed dismantled the array's patterns here and redrawn a few lines—but he'd been careless, omitting several strokes; normally it wouldn't matter, but upon close inspection, the flaw was exposed.

Mo Hua took this as a warning.

Arrays are precise; even the most basic array demands meticulous attention—no carelessness allowed.

Mo Hua understood, but Zhang Quan did not.

He frowned and asked, "What… was tampered with here?"

The corpse cultivators exchanged glances.

How would they know?

They were corpse cultivators—they cultivated corpses, not arrays…

Zhang Quan cursed, "Useless fools! Go fetch Mr. Yan."

After a while, someone brought Mr. Yan.

Mr. Yan glanced at it and asked calmly, "What's wrong with this array?"

Zhang Quan asked, "Was it tampered with?"

Mr. Yan nodded, "I noticed this array was old, so I reinforced it."

Zhang Quan frowned, "Did you draw it?"

"Yes." Mr. Yan nodded, then asked puzzled,

"What's wrong with this array?"

This question left Zhang Quan speechless.

If he knew what was wrong with the array, he wouldn't have asked Mr. Yan.

Yet instinctively, he still felt something odd about it.

At that moment, a corpse cultivator suddenly said, "If you say you reinforced it, why is this wall so fragile?"

He slashed at the wall—the blade left a clear cut mark.

This was because Mo Hua had dismantled the array; with the original array now nullified, the wall lost its reinforcement and left a mark as easily as that.

Master Yan wasn't fazed at all; he glanced coolly at the corpse cultivator. "I haven't finished drawing it yet—how could it activate?"

The corpse cultivator froze.

Master Yan pointed again at the knife marks on the wall. "Later, repair this wall exactly as it was before the cuts—otherwise, I can't draw the array."

The corpse cultivator stammered, at a loss for words.

Zhang Quan shot the corpse cultivator a furious glare, then bowed to Master Yan.

"My subordinate acted rashly—my apologies. Please, Master Yan, don't take offense."

Master Yan gave a slight nod.

After a moment's hesitation, Zhang Quan's eyes flickered, and he asked again:

"Master Yan, could someone have sneaked into this Shanzhai without us knowing?"

Master Yan frowned. "How could they sneak in?"

Zhang Quan hesitated. "This…"

Master Yan snapped irritably: "Inside and outside this fortress, I've laid arrays. As long as the arrays remain intact, not even a mosquito can fly in—let alone a cultivator!"

Zhang Quan said, "That person's array expertise is quite profound…"

Master Yan's expression turned stern, his voice cold:

"Are you implying, Master Zhang, that I, Yan, am unskilled? That my arraycraft is inferior to someone else's?"

Zhang Quan forced a nervous laugh. "Master, why would you say such a thing…"

Master Yan snorted, his demeanor haughty:

"I won't boast, but though my grade is not yet determined, I've already reached the level of a First-Rank Array Master. In Nan Yue City, there are certainly cultivators with better arraycraft than mine—but none could break my arrays silently. It's impossible!"

He glanced at Zhang Quan. "Master Zhang, do you look down on me, Yan?"

Array Masters' tempers were indeed foul and stubborn—and yet, they couldn't be offended.

Zhang Quan grumbled inwardly, but outwardly remained courteous:

"Master Yan, you overstate it—I'm merely being cautious."

But now that Master Yan had said this, Zhang Quan felt reassured.

He kicked the corpse cultivator. "Apologize to Master Yan."

The corpse cultivator hung his head. "Please, Master Yan, forgive me."

Master Yan's expression softened slightly.

Seeing this, Zhang Quan smiled. "Master, I'd like to ask you a question."

Master Yan nodded. "Master Zhang, speak."

Zhang Quan said: "Suppose someone excels at concealment and wants to infiltrate my Corpse Fortress—how should we guard against it?"

Master Yan was slightly startled inside, but his expression remained calm. He dismissed it lightly:

"Such a trivial concealment trick—hardly worth mentioning."

Zhang Quan's face lit up. "Please, Master, instruct me."

Master Yan said: "The best method is the Revealing Array—it renders cultivators visible, and concealment dissolves on its own."

"But the Revealing Array is difficult to set up. There's no corresponding Spirit Ink in the fortress, and its scale is too large—it's inconvenient to deploy."

"The best solution is the Revealing Dust Array."

"Place it around the fortress gate and perimeter—any cultivator attempting concealment will be exposed…"

"Excellent!" Zhang Quan praised. "No wonder you're Master Yan."

He'd never heard of the Revealing Array, but he knew the Revealing Dust Array.

The Hundred Flowers Pavilion had many Revealing Dust Arrays, to deter lecherous patrons from spying on intimate moments.

Zhang Quan asked: "Could you possibly install some Revealing Dust Arrays within the fortress?"

Master Yan feigned ignorance:

"Why install the Revealing Dust Array? Who are you guarding against?"

Zhang Quan smiled faintly. "Master, you needn't concern yourself with that."

Master Yan showed slight displeasure, thought for a moment, then slowly nodded.

"Since Master Zhang has ordered it, I shall comply."

Zhang Quan exhaled in relief, his face brightening.

"Then I'm in your debt, Master Yan."

Master Yan returned the bow.

After seeing Zhang Quan off, Master Yan also exhaled softly.

Then he stared at the array on the wall, his expression distant.

This… was a Disassembly Array?

Could Mo Hua really have learned Disassembly Arrays?

And the technique—he handled it effortlessly, clearly highly skilled. He must have trained relentlessly.

Master Yan was lost in thought.

His own painstakingly drawn array had been undone so easily by this child…

Master Yan shook his head, stunned yet heartened, murmuring inwardly:

"Just how far has Mo Hua's arraycraft advanced?"

(End of Chapter)