Chapter 582

The sword technique, unleashed with all his strength, missed its mark; Jiang Laoda's spiritual energy was exhausted, and he knew death was inevitable.

Mo Hua, as expected, gave him not the slightest chance, nor the slightest mercy, repeatedly firing fireball spells to finish off the dying Jiang Laoda.

Thus, the entire gang of human traffickers was wiped out.

Around him, the scene was a wasteland of charred ruin; the thatched hut had been torn apart by sword qi, and straw shreds littered the ground.

Mo Hua nodded, deciding to leave.

According to the conversation between Jiang Laoda and the fat shopkeeper, their accomplices would arrive in an hour.

If they ran into them, the situation would not be good.

But there was still some time left; Mo Hua needed to do a bit more "clean-up."

First, he had to smudge away part of the array's traces; though he couldn't erase them completely, he had to confuse them and conceal the methods of "spiritual awareness controlling ink" and "painting arrays upon the ground."

Not all array masters could use the earth as a medium to form arrays.

This clue could not be left behind.

The traces of spells… didn't matter much.

Second-rank fireball spell was a common technique; anyone with a fire-affinity spiritual root could learn and use it.

Others wouldn't suspect too much.

Of course, mainly because the traces of the fireball spell were too obvious.

These dozen or so human traffickers had either been finished off by Mo Hua's fireball spells or been severely wounded by them.

Even if Mo Hua wanted to conceal it, he couldn't possibly hide it.

He checked everything else, leaving no other traces.

Then, Mo Hua began rummaging through their storage bags.

Horses don't grow fat without night grass; people don't get rich without unexpected wealth.

Randomly rifling through others' storage bags was wrong.

Mo Hua was a proper young cultivator and didn't want to do such "murder-and-plunder" deeds, but these human traffickers weren't good people to begin with, and they'd handed themselves over like fat prey—he'd feel guilty if he didn't take something.

Besides, he'd wasted second-rank spiritual ink to kill them and consumed over a hundred spiritual stones; these costs had to be recouped from them.

As a lowly cultivator, earning spiritual stones wasn't easy.

"It's not about getting rich—just about breaking even!"

Mo Hua nodded, then eagerly began searching through the traffickers' storage bags.

The storage bags contained everything: killing weapons, treacherous talismans, some common pills, and pills that looked suspicious, their purpose unknown.

Mo Hua had initially planned to take everything without discrimination.

But after thinking it over, he hesitated.

"Most of these are probably stolen goods; even if not stolen, most are tainted…"

If he took them, would he leave behind evidence…

Be tracked down, investigated, or hunted…

And if they were stolen goods, what use would they be to him anyway?

Most stolen goods were secondhand and hard to sell in Qian Xue Province.

In Xiancheng, with Zhou Zhangsi's backing and Elder Yu's cover, even if he didn't sell them, the Hunter Association could absorb them internally.

But in unfamiliar Qian Province, it was uncertain…

Greed for small gains might lead to great loss.

"As a mature cultivator, one must learn to restrain one's desires…"

Mo Hua silently told himself, then left behind the weapons, pills, and talismans in their storage bags, not putting a single item into his own.

But spiritual stones didn't need to be left.

Spiritual stones were clean.

It was the cultivators who were dirty.

He'd need spiritual stones soon for enrollment…

Mo Hua stuffed the traffickers' spiritual stones into his own storage bag, but then he froze.

Still not right…

The weapons, talismans, and pills were all still there, but the spiritual stones were gone.

That was suspicious too.

It would suggest the cultivator who killed these traffickers was a "petty greedhead"?

"There's still a bit of risk…"

He couldn't leave them all, but he couldn't take them all…

Mo Hua frowned, thought for a moment, and finally, gritting his teeth, left behind half the spiritual stones.

Taking only half the spiritual stones was the safest option.

But these traffickers were all Foundation Establishment cultivators, engaged in life-or-death trade; they carried plenty of spiritual stones—even half amounted to nearly five thousand.

Five thousand spiritual stones was no small sum.

Mo Hua's heart felt slightly better.

Finally, there was Jiang Laoda's storage bag.

Mo Hua's eyes lit up.

He turned Jiang Laoda's storage bag inside out, finding three spiritual swords, five bottles of pills, several secret manuals, and two jade slips.

Spiritual swords…

Mo Hua coveted them, but he couldn't keep them.

Staying behind is a disaster.

He doesn't need the pills either.

The secret manuals…

Mo Hua flipped through them—they were some body-refining techniques and Dao methods, which he couldn't use, and couldn't take away either.

Mo Hua felt a hint of regret, and some confusion.

Where's the Sword-riding Art?

That technique Jiang Laoda used—don't know its name, but it was majestic, shimmering with Jin Guang, splitting the thatched hut clean in two—where's that Sword-riding Art?

He didn't truly want to learn it…

Some Sword Arts require compatibility with specific cultivation methods, profound sword techniques, expensive Spirit Swords, and massive Spirit energy to unleash their full killing power.

Even if Mo Hua obtained the Sword Art, he might not be able to learn it, and certainly couldn't afford a Spirit Sword.

But not learning doesn't mean not studying.

Knowing yourself and knowing the enemy—studying the methods and principles of "Sword-riding" is still worthwhile.

Next time he encounters a Sword Cultivator, he'll have some defense.

Mo Hua flipped through everything again, and finally his gaze settled on the two jade slips.

Both jade slips were sealed; his Divine Sense couldn't penetrate them—clearly, their contents were extremely valuable.

"I wonder if the Sword-riding technique is hidden inside…"

"Take them or not…"

Mo Hua was torn.

After thinking it over, he decided to secretly "embezzle" the two jade slips.

Jade slips are different from Spirit Weapons and pills—they're everywhere, and usually contain secrets and methods; no one bothers to check.

It's normal for a cultivator's Storage Bag to contain jade slips; it's also normal if it doesn't.

If I take them and don't show them to anyone, there's no problem.

Storing the two jade slips inside the "Na Zi Ring" my master gave me would also block their aura—very safe.

Besides, Mo Hua really wanted to know if that "Jin Guang" Sword-riding technique was hidden inside these two jade slips.

Mo Hua made up his mind; his small hand moved, and the two jade slips vanished into the Na Zi Ring.

Then he re-collected the miscellaneous items, stuffed them back into Jiang Laoda's Storage Bag, and returned the bag to its original place, shoving it into Jiang Laoda's arms.

Mo Hua even cast a Fireball Technique to make the Storage Bag look like it had been "battle-damaged."

After finishing all this, Mo Hua clapped his hands, nodded, and felt thoroughly satisfied.

The bad guy was dead.

Spirit Stones were earned.

And he'd acquired two jade slips, whose contents were unknown.

Time to slip away…

Mo Hua checked once more, confirmed there were no oversights, then released his Divine Sense, observing the scene from a bystander's perspective.

He confirmed these dozen or so people had died with no connection to him.

No one would link him to this.

Only then did Mo Hua relax—and suddenly feel grateful.

"Thanks to Uncle Zhang Lan…"

"It was Dao Ting Si's Uncle Zhang Lan who taught me how to destroy corpses and conceal traces—no, who taught me to cover my tracks!"

He hadn't wasted Uncle Zhang Lan's teachings!

Mo Hua nodded.

Then he retracted his Divine Sense and turned to leave—but as he turned, he suddenly froze.

He had the feeling he'd forgotten something…

Mo Hua frowned, carefully recalling every detail of the journey; the more he thought, the stranger it felt—and suddenly he remembered: this group of cultivators had been pushing a cart, with several Storage Boxes on it…

Where were those Storage Boxes?

Mo Hua's gaze sharpened; he swept his Divine Sense—and let out a surprised sound.

His Divine Sense… couldn't sense them?

"No, not that his Divine Sense couldn't sense them—rather, the aura of these boxes had been concealed, making them hard to detect…"

"Something's wrong…"

Mo Hua's gaze slowly brightened.

He extended his Divine Sense to its limit, even employing the calculation method his master had taught him to trace the clues of Spirit energy.

Finally, after a moment, Mo Hua's Divine Sense stirred—he found the Storage Boxes.

The Storage Boxes were still inside the eatery.

Jiang Laoda had placed them in the corner, so they weren't affected when the Earth Fire Array exploded; then the eatery was split open by sword qi, and straw and Liang Mu scattered, covering the boxes.

Mo Hua hadn't noticed them at first.

Mo Hua struggled to dig the Storage Boxes out from the corner of the eatery.

Jiang Laoda had carried these Storage Boxes all along, even using special methods to Liao Zheyan their aura—Mo Hua had almost missed them.

There must be something major inside…

"What's inside these boxes?"

Could it be Jiang Laoda's real fortune?

Mo Hua's spirits lifted.

The storage box had a lock, and the lock bore an array, but it wasn't difficult—especially for Mo Hua.

Mo Hua released his spiritual sense, confirmed the storage box contained no Ji Anqi or other traps, then carefully unraveled the array patterns and opened the box.

When the storage box opened, Mo Hua looked inside and suddenly froze.

"Empty?"

There was nothing inside…

What's going on?

Mo Hua frowned, tapped a finger, and ink patterns appeared; he opened another storage box.

But inside was just as empty…

Mo Hua turned his gaze to the third storage box.

But just as he was about to unravel the array patterns, he paused, his expression startled.

"This… isn't a storage box…"

Though it looked identical, its material and construction were entirely different.

This was a box, sealed off by an array, appearing ordinary…

Mo Hua's eyes flickered slightly.

Storage boxes, like storage pouches, harness the profound principle of void energy, yet their application is extremely crude, allowing them to contain several times their own volume.

But this kind of space repels "living souls."

Storage boxes cannot contain humans or any other living beings.

Memories of Jiang Laoda's strange remarks along the way surfaced again in Mo Hua's mind.

"Adding unnecessary complications…"

"One is sold, two are sold…"

"Take the brat along too…"

At first, Mo Hua assumed they had already kidnapped other cultivators, and his own capture was merely incidental.

But along the way, he saw no trace of kidnapped cultivators.

And their luggage consisted of storage boxes, which cannot hold living things.

So Mo Hua never suspected.

He had previously thought Jiang Laoda's group were the ones responsible for "receiving the goods."

Others kidnapped the cultivators; they were assigned to guard and transport them.

This trip, they hadn't yet received their "cargo"…

But now, among their "luggage," there was one box that wasn't a storage box…

And they had deliberately confused things, to conceal it.

Then what could be inside this box…?

Mo Hua's heart leapt.

He examined the box closely and realized the markings on it were Second-Rank arrays—and not just one.

There was a defensive array to prevent the box from being damaged;

a sealing array to prevent others from peering inside;

and lock arrays to seal the box shut, preventing it from being opened…

…

Too "professional"…

Was this "box" custom-made specifically for kidnapping cultivators?

After all this effort, who exactly were they kidnapping?

Mo Hua frowned and sighed.

More trouble…

What should he do now?

The box might contain a living, kidnapped cultivator.

The box was sealed with arrays.

These were Second-Rank arrays—seemingly solvable, but likely to take time; he didn't know if he had enough…

If he didn't open it…

The kidnapped cultivator would remain trapped inside.

The box was heavy and conspicuous; he couldn't carry it away.

If he ignored it, within half an hour, another group of traffickers would arrive and take the box away…

If they only demanded ransom, it would be better—he could pay and avoid disaster.

But if sold to dark cultivators or demonic cultivators, to be refined into pills, turned into medicine, used to cultivate dark arts or forge dark artifacts…

The child's parents and relatives would never see their child again, not even know if he was alive or dead—hope vanished, filled with agony and despair…

Mo Hua felt pity.

"Fine, I'll try…"

Within two or three quarters of an hour, if I can unlock it, I'll save the child; if I can't, then there's nothing I can do…

Mo Hua sat in meditation, restored a bit of his spiritual sense, then focused entirely on unraveling the arrays on the box.

The box bore four arrays.

Three of them were the Five Elements arrays Mo Hua knew.

But the ones Mo Hua knew were First-Rank; the arrays on this box were Second-Rank.

But all were below twelve patterns, relatively simple.

Mo Hua guessed and guessed, combined derivation with calculation, and in just fifteen minutes, he unraveled all three arrays.

Mo Hua admitted there was a touch of luck involved.

But luck is also part of an array master's skill.

Now only the final array remained…

After studying the array, Mo Hua frowned.

This was… an array type he had never seen before…

He could only judge, based on experience, from the flow of the array patterns and the array's pivot, that this was a special "lock"-type array.

But what category, what system this array belonged to, Mo Hua had no idea at all.

Mo Hua scratched his head.

"What to do…"

Even a clever housewife cannot cook without rice.

A completely unfamiliar array category, unknown patterns, uncomprehended pivot, unclear principles—how could one possibly solve this?

Mo Hua grew anxious, but he forced himself to calm down, then proceeded step by step, thinking slowly…

To solve an array, one must first know how to draw it…

To draw an array, one must first obtain its array diagram…

Array diagram…

Derivation…

Mo Hua froze—using the array's spiritual traces to derive specific patterns was the mental derivation method his master taught him, which was…

The foundation of Celestial Mechanism Derivation.

Now, the spiritual traces of this "lock"-type array, his mental awareness could perceive—next…

Derive the array's patterns first?

Learn the patterns now, solve the array now?

Mo Hua blinked, "Can this even work…?"

He glanced again at the box before him, thinking of the young cultivator trapped inside, whose life or death was unknown, his parents trembling with worry, frantic with dread…

Mo Hua sighed helplessly.

"I'll give it a try…"

Mo Hua sat cross-legged, held his breath, focused his mind, and began using the Celestial Mechanism Derivation method to derive the patterns of this unknown "lock" array from its spiritual traces…

At first, it was awkward.

Because every derived pattern was unfamiliar.

Mo Hua tried hard to ignore the external forms of the patterns and instead sought to comprehend their internal spiritual energy patterns; gradually, these patterns became vivid and familiar in his eyes.

These lines no longer seemed like foreign strokes, but rather tracks left by the operation of the Dao…

The five-element arrays were like this.

The Absolute Arrays were like this.

Perhaps all array categories were like this…

Mo Hua gained a sudden insight, but his mental awareness did not stop—it calculated faster and faster, and the patterns slowly manifested in his mind's sea.

But it was still not fast enough…

It needed to be even faster…

Mo Hua frowned, then suddenly froze—an idea struck him: if he reinforced Celestial Mechanism Derivation with Celestial Mechanism Deception, splitting his mental awareness to derive simultaneously, wouldn't it be faster…?

Mo Hua pondered for a moment, but the situation was urgent—he had no time to hesitate.

He could only try first…

Use Uncle's Celestial Mechanism Deception to reinforce Master's Celestial Mechanism Derivation!

Mo Hua's pupils darkened, his mental awareness took form, draped in a "Dao robe," and under the enhancement of the Deceptive Dao, he used Celestial Mechanism Derivation to deduce the patterns of the unknown lock array.

But as soon as he began derivation, his mind's sea erupted in searing pain.

As if the two methods repelled each other, generating jagged edges that pulled and sawed his mental awareness, slicing it apart bit by bit, tearing it to shreds.

Fortunately, Mo Hua's mental awareness had undergone a transformation—dense as mercury; though fragmented by the conflicting methods, his spirit remained intact, unharmed at its core.

Mo Hua could endure this agony.

In comparison, the speed of pattern derivation surged forward, more than doubling.

Mo Hua's heart rejoiced, and gradually, this joy offset the pain in his mental awareness.

After a cup of tea, Mo Hua finally fully derived the unfamiliar patterns.

But his mental awareness was nearly exhausted.

Lingering pain remained in his mind's sea.

Celestial Mechanism Deception was useful, but its drain on mental awareness was still too great…

At this moment, Mo Hua had no time for reflection.

He had to hurry and break the array.

Mo Hua canceled Celestial Mechanism Deception; the deceptive shadows in his eyes faded, and the Dao robe over his mental awareness dissolved.

But as the "Dao robe" vanished, faint cracks suddenly appeared upon the illusory afterimage…

Like the Dao's laws themselves being torn apart…

Yet Mo Hua, lost in thought, did not notice these cracks…

His attention was entirely fixed on the array before him.

This was a second-rank, thirteen-stroke array of unknown category.

Like a brand-new door to the art of arrays.

"The art of arrays is truly vast and profound…"

Mo Hua sighed, then set his thoughts aside.

He now had to dismantle the array.

But in truth, he could not dismantle it.

Because even if he knew the array strokes, he could not learn them in such a short time, let alone dismantle them.

What he had to do was still "guess."

Mo Hua had rich experience in dismantling arrays; from past experience, not all array dismantling required an extremely deep understanding of arrays.

Sometimes, guessing was acceptable.

But one had to know how to guess.

One had to guess according to array principles.

One could not guess blindly.

Mo Hua broke the complete lock array into parts, examining each array stroke separately, and classified the mutually opposing strokes by experience and intuition.

Then he drew a few simple trials on the ground.

Some guesses were right, some were wrong.

He kept the correct ones, and retried the wrong ones.

After several rounds of this, he identified several sets of strokes with "life-destruction" relationships.

There were also a few strokes Mo Hua could not find any life-destruction relationship for.

Most likely, the "life-destruction strokes" for these were not part of this array itself.

But that was enough.

Mo Hua estimated the time—still over a quarter-hour left; no time for perfect, thorough study.

Mo Hua began by dismantling the array strokes.

For every stroke with a life-destruction relationship, Mo Hua dismantled it.

The lock array dimmed slightly, but did not fail.

Mo Hua then studied the array pivot, altered it by intuition; reversed the flow of Qi according to the array's eye; then returned to fiddle with the array strokes again…

After several rounds of this, Mo Hua, relying on his extraordinary array "intuition," clumsily and half-blindly broke this special "lock" array…

The array on the box went completely dark.

The box lost its "lock."

Mo Hua immediately opened the box.

Inside the box, there was indeed a small figure.

Much smaller than Mo Hua.

It was a boy, about four or five years old, fair and clean-faced, with refined features, dressed in quiet yet luxurious brocade robes.

Perhaps the sound of opening the box was loud, or perhaps he had heard the earlier battle.

The child opened his watery eyes and looked at Mo Hua with a hint of fear.

Thank you to Wind's Chocolate for the tip.

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