Chapter 444: Attacking the Stronghold

Instructor Yan looked at Mo Hua's array formation and felt a shock in his heart.

Mo Hua, in turn, looked at Instructor Yan and felt equally shocked.

That square-faced Instructor Yan, when he lied, didn't even blink.

Not only did he tell a lie and deceive Zhang Quan, he also covered for himself, dispelling Zhang Quan's misgivings.

Truly, one cannot judge a person by their appearance.

Mo Hua realized he had underestimated Instructor Yan.

But would Instructor Yan really help Zhang Quan set up a Dust-Displaying Array?

Mo Hua was a little curious.

If a Dust-Displaying Array were truly set up inside the Walking Corpse Stronghold, although he could still find a way to sneak in, it would cost him a great deal more trouble.

Once Instructor Yan went back, he began preparing the "Dust-Displaying Array."

Mo Hua followed him back, and at one glance understood.

What Instructor Yan prepared was not a Dust-Displaying Array at all, but rather a rather obscure and not very useful five-pattern earth-type array formation.

When this array activated, it would also kick up some dust, but it had no effect of revealing the hidden at all.

It looked like one, but in fact it was nothing of the sort.

Instructor Yan was relying on the fact that most of the cultivators in the Walking Corpse Stronghold were "array-blind," and only then did he brazenly deceive them…

Mo Hua's little face grew solemn as he summed it up in his heart:

Sure enough, one must read more books, broaden one's horizons, and learn more Dao-cultivation knowledge.

This way, when you brazenly deceive others, they won't even notice.

Otherwise, you'd be fooled like a fool and not even know it.

Mo Hua then felt a little worried again.

What Instructor Yan did carried risk.

Once discovered, if Zhang Quan grew suspicious, or even bore a grudge, it would be very hard for Instructor Yan to escape, and he might even face danger to his life.

Instructor Yan took this risk in order to cover for him…

He had to rescue Instructor Yan as soon as possible, then wipe out the Walking Corpse Stronghold, seize Zhang Quan, and snatch his bell.

Mo Hua nodded, then, without anyone noticing, quietly left the Walking Corpse Stronghold.

After leaving the Walking Corpse Stronghold, Mo Hua found Bai Zixi nearby.

Bai Zixi was hugging her knees, sitting under a rock, her slender fingers pinching a twig, drawing something on the ground, occasionally lifting her head to glance toward the Walking Corpse Stronghold.

As Mo Hua approached in stealth, Bai Zixi suddenly raised her head, looked toward the empty space, and said in a lilting voice:

"Junior Brother?"

Mo Hua revealed his form and asked in confusion:

"Senior Sister, can you see through my concealment technique now?"

Bai Zixi shook her head. "I guessed."

Mo Hua clearly didn't believe it, but he didn't press further; instead, his gaze shifted and he glanced at the ground.

He remembered Senior Sister had been drawing something on the ground just now.

The ground was covered with a layer of fine, soft soil.

What Bai Zixi had drawn on it was a pile of little smiling faces, one next to another, with eyes but no eyebrows, mouths but no noses.

"Senior Sister, what is this you've drawn?" Mo Hua asked curiously.

Bai Zixi pointed at Mo Hua. "You."

Mo Hua was taken aback. "Me?"

"Mm." Bai Zixi nodded slightly and said, "I draw one every hour. I want to see how long you can make me wait."

Mo Hua felt a little sheepish. While he was inside eavesdropping, the time had不知不觉 slipped by, and he had forgotten that Senior Sister was still outside providing support.

Then Mo Hua looked at the little faces on the ground and muttered softly:

"I'm not this ugly…"

Bai Zixi's willow brows knit slightly, and she said with a touch of annoyance:

"You think I draw ugly?"

Mo Hua shook his head repeatedly. "Not ugly, not ugly."

Only then did Bai Zixi nod in satisfaction and ask:

"Did you get all the information?"

Mo Hua thought for a moment and replied, "I learned some things, but I was discovered. We can only think of a way to strike first."

"Alright."

Bai Zixi glanced at Mo Hua, then wiped away all the little faces on the ground, and said, "Let's go."

"Mm."

Mo Hua nodded, but before leaving, glanced at the ground again.

There was still one smiling face left on the ground, with simple lines, natural strokes, and a smile sketched at the corner of its mouth, innocent and pure.

Just looking at it filled one's heart with happiness.

Mo Hua couldn't help wondering, when Senior Sister drew these little faces, what was she thinking in her heart?

When she drew these little faces, what expression did she wear?

Was it like these little faces, with a smile lingering at the corner of her mouth?

What did Senior Sister look like when she smiled?

Mo Hua was a little lost in thought.

"Little brother?"

Bai Zi Xi turned around and saw Mo Hua standing still, so he called out.

"Oh."

Mo Hua snapped out of it, squinted and smiled, then used his body technique to immediately catch up.

After leaving the Corpse Village, Mo Hua found Sister Situ.

Bai Zixi had already told Sister Situ everything.

Sister Situ said: "I've sent a letter to my family and informed Elder Jin. The clan has agreed to eradicate the Corpse Village…"

"This matter will be carried out under the name of Dao Ting Si, but the actual forces deployed will be from my Situ family."

Mo Hua nodded.

Dao Ting Si's forces are unreliable, and they certainly don't have enough manpower to eradicate the Corpse Village.

But the Situ family…

Mo Hua asked again: "How many cultivators will the Situ family mobilize?"

"Over two hundred."

Mo Hua was slightly startled. "That many?"

Nanyue City is just a small Xiancheng, and Sister Situ is only here for training—yet she can mobilize so many cultivators.

And these aren't ordinary cultivators—they're skilled in combat, capable of participating in eradication, and proficient in Dao techniques.

Sister Situ said: "I used my father's connections."

Mo Hua asked doubtfully: "Isn't this a bit excessive…"

"Two hundred cultivators isn't that much…" Sister Situ said.

"No," Mo Hua thought for a moment, then spoke more plainly:

"This matter brings little benefit to the Situ family…"

Among clans, family customs vary greatly.

Some clans are purely profit-driven, exploiting and oppressing others, using power to bully.

But some clans uphold upright customs; their disciples despise evil, and if any disciple violates ancestral teachings or strays from the path, they are severely punished.

Some are even erased from the clan genealogy and expelled from the family.

Yet even if the Situ family is the most upright, it's unlikely they'd mobilize so many resources for something as unrelated as the Corpse Village in Nanyue City.

Sister Situ hesitated, then decided there was no need to hide it, and told Mo Hua:

"It brings little benefit to the Situ family, but it benefits me."

Mo Hua didn't quite understand.

Sister Situ explained:

"A clan disciple's status isn't determined solely by cultivation level or talent."

"Clan disciples' training missions are also a form of evaluation."

"Whoever performs well during training, achieves great merit, and accomplishes much is valued more, and their future status within the clan will be higher."

"This time, my father arranged this for my future, using his connections to mobilize some clan forces."

"If we succeed in eradicating the Corpse Village, the Situ family will bypass Nanyue City's Dao Ting Si and report directly to Dao Ting."

Of course, this is only part of the reason.

Sister Situ glanced at Mo Hua and the other two.

His father's agreement was, to some extent, also due to the respect owed to Mo Hua and the others.

A cultivator with limitless potential as a Formation Master, plus two scions of great clans—even if not actively courted, one must maintain good relations.

Thinking of this, Sister Situ felt a pang of shame and said:

"So… I have my own motives in this matter…"

Mo Hua nodded, understood, but didn't care—he said firmly:

"As long as we eradicate the Corpse Village, it's a good deed. If you do a good deed and gain some benefit, it's only natural."

"Uncle Zhang Lan once told me: in this world, some people do evil, seize benefits, and are still praised; others do good, gain a little benefit, and are criticized…"

"That's wrong."

"Everyone has selfish motives, so Sister Situ, you don't need to feel guilty about this."

Sister Situ froze slightly, her heart eased a little, then she asked in surprise:

"Did Uncle Zhang Lan really say that to you?"

Mo Hua nodded vigorously, trying to salvage Zhang Lan's image:

"Uncle Zhang isn't always idle, frivolous, and irresponsible…"

Sister Situ fell silent.

Are you complimenting him—or insulting him…

Then Sister Situ remembered something and frowned again:

"I just wonder how strong the Corpse Village is… Will the Situ family's two hundred cultivators be enough to eradicate it?"

Mo Hua thought for a moment and said: "It's a bit勉强."

Sister Situ asked: "How do you know?"

"I went inside and counted how many coffins there were," Mo Hua said matter-of-factly.

Sister Situ was stunned, opened her mouth to speak, then closed it, and finally sighed helplessly:

"You've got real guts."

And real skill too.

The Shanzhai where corpse cultivators train corpses can be infiltrated to probe their secrets.

Situ Fang looked at Mo Hua, who was barely a child, her gaze growing ever more incredulous.

Mo Hua did not know what Situ Fang was thinking, but he counted off on his fingers, listing the strength of the Corpse Corps Shanzhai for her:

"I've figured it all out…"

"In the Corpse Corps Shanzhai, there is only one Foundation Establishment cultivator: Zhang Quan."

"But there are four or five Iron Corpses."

"These Iron Corpses are slightly weaker than Foundation Establishment cultivators, but their skin is as hard as iron; in actual combat, they won't be at a disadvantage."

"Besides, the number of living people in the Corpse Corps Shanzhai isn't large—only a little over two hundred."

"Some of them are bandits, who bully the weak and fear the strong, easy to deal with."

"The rest are corpse cultivators…"

"The corpse cultivators who train corpses themselves have average cultivation and Dao techniques, just like Zhang Quan, but the problem is, they can control corpses…"

"Once a corpse cultivator controls a corpse, even if each controls only two or three, the Corpse Corps Shanzhai's strength will double or even triple—that's when trouble really starts."

"Besides that, the Shanzhai also has arrays; these arrays, although…"

Mo Hua had wanted to say "not very sophisticated," but then remembered that these arrays were drawn by Teacher Yan.

Teacher Yan already possesses the skill of a first-grade array master; in a typical second-grade prefecture, such array expertise is already remarkable.

Mo Hua changed his words: "Although… they're still troublesome. With the arrays' reinforcement, the entire Shanzhai is easy to defend and hard to attack; a forced assault would certainly result in heavy casualties…"

…

Mo Hua had stripped the Corpse Corps Shanzhai bare of all its secrets.

Situ Fang opened her mouth wide, at a loss for words.

If she didn't know Mo Hua, she might have thought he was the "Shanzhai Lord" of the Corpse Corps Shanzhai himself.

What on earth had this child done?

How could he have probed the Corpse Corps Shanzhai so thoroughly?

But this must involve Mo Hua's Divine Art or Dao technique; Situ Fang felt it was better not to ask.

For Mo Hua's sake, the fewer people who knew, the safer—he included herself.

Then Situ Fang frowned again.

If one added it all up, annihilating the Corpse Corps Shanzhai wasn't just "barely possible"—the chance of victory was extremely low.

Even with the Dao Ting Si of Nan Yue City added, it wouldn't help.

And even if they won, it would be a pyrrhic victory, with countless Situ family cultivators likely dying.

Situ Fang felt reluctant.

These cultivators had been mobilized only because her father had pulled strings.

Though they were all Qi Condensation cultivators, a Qi Condensation life was still a life.

In the future, they might all reach Foundation Establishment, even attain Jin Dan, and become assets to the family.

If they all perished here at the Corpse Corps Shanzhai…

Situ Fang frowned, then noticed Mo Hua's relaxed expression, and asked curiously:

"Do you have another plan?"

Mo Hua's big eyes flickered, and he smiled brightly, nodding: "I do!"

(End of Chapter)