Chapter 763: Heavenly Mechanism

Grand Void Gate.

Mo Hua cultivated during class, silently waiting.

Waiting for Elder Xun Ziyou to come to him.

Logically, the matter of the demonic cultivators—I told Senior Song, and Senior Song told Elder Xun.

Elder Xun Ziyou is the duty elder of Demon Refining Mountain.

Morally and rationally, he should have come to question me, to inquire about the details.

After all, demonic cultivators are no trivial matter, especially within Demon Refining Mountain.

But Mo Hua waited a long time, and nothing happened.

The entire sect seemed to treat it as if it meant nothing.

Elder Xun Ziyou never came to see him at all.

Mo Hua rubbed his chin, lost in thought.

His not coming to me suggests two possibilities:

First, this Elder Xun is a "slacker," negligent in duty, utterly indifferent to matters of Demon Refining Mountain, only wanting to get by with perfunctory efforts.

But that's impossible.

The matter of demonic cultivators is extremely grave; even if Elder Xun were utterly negligent, he could not possibly fail to recognize the seriousness of this issue.

Moreover, he bears the surname Xun—he is a descendant of Elder Xun.

Given Elder Xun's stern character, if this Elder Xun were truly so lazy, he would not even qualify to be an elder.

Then there is the other possibility:

Elder Xun already knew about the demonic cultivators.

Even… he has been watching from the sidelines all along.

Since he already knew, there was no need to come ask me.

This, to some extent, confirms Mo Hua's suspicion.

Mo Hua's eyes flickered slightly, and he began to ponder…

Demon Refining Mountain, main hall.

It was again the ten-day break; disciples from all sects entered the mountain to hunt demons.

Elder Xun Ziyou had arrived early for duty.

As per tradition, an hour later, Mo Hua would arrive at the mountain gate, then enter the mountain leisurely, either in small groups or alone.

Once inside, he would either hunt demons, practice swordplay, or tinker with strange and peculiar things.

Before then, he had a little time to brew tea, admire the mountain view, and read the official bulletins issued by Dao Ting Si, to see how the war in the Wilds was progressing.

Elder Xun Ziyou entered the mountain gate, brewed tea, sat down, glanced out the window—and his hand jerked, spilling tea all over the floor.

A handsome head hung outside the window.

Mo Hua was crouched on the windowsill, staring at him intently.

Elder Xun Ziyou took a deep breath, his eyelid twitching, and said irritably: "What are you doing, boy, so early in the morning?"

He had been brewing tea, relaxed and at ease, utterly unaware that Mo Hua was crouched at the window.

Mo Hua propped his hands on the windowsill, solemnly said:

"Elder Xun, I have something very important to tell you!"

Elder Xun Ziyou froze, sighed softly, and gestured: "Come in."

Mo Hua leapt down from the windowsill and entered the room.

"Tea?" Elder Xun Ziyou asked.

Mo Hua nodded.

"Sit," Elder Xun Ziyou said, then poured Mo Hua a cup himself. "Speak. What's this important matter?"

Mo Hua sipped the tea, found it good but too hot, quietly set the cup down, then looked grave and cut straight to the point:

"Elder Xun, there are dangerous demonic cultivators inside Demon Refining Mountain!"

Elder Xun Ziyou was stunned.

So that's all it was? Acting so dramatically.

"Oh," Elder Xun Ziyou replied lightly.

"Elder, you already knew?"

Mo Hua's gaze burned bright, clear and piercing, fixed on Elder Xun Ziyou's expression.

For some reason, Elder Xun Ziyou felt uneasy under Mo Hua's stare, and instinctively blurted:

"I didn't know yet…"

"But," Mo Hua's eyes lit up, "didn't Senior Song tell you?"

Elder Xun Ziyou froze.

Oh no, I forgot about that…

Senior Song had mentioned it to me.

But I already knew the whole story clearly, so I just brushed it off and didn't take it seriously.

Now it contradicts itself.

I cannot reveal that I've been following Mo Hua, so I cannot claim to know about the demonic cultivators.

But Senior Song did mention it to me, so I "should" already know about the demonic cultivators.

Elder Xun Ziyou's head ached.

Damn it—I've been trapped by this kid!

He quickly weighed his options, then said solemnly:

"Elder Song did mention it, but this matter is too dangerous—it's not something for you disciples to concern yourselves with, so I cannot tell you."

Xun Ziyou looked up at the sky again. "It's getting late; you'd better enter the mountains soon—go early and return early…"

Xun Ziyou wanted to get Mo Hua out of his sight as soon as possible.

"Mm." Mo Hua nodded, drained his teacup, and stood to leave.

Xun Ziyou exhaled in relief.

This child, so young, how could he be as shrewd as an "old fox"? Just talking to him made one's nerves twitch.

But at least, he'd managed to fool him for now.

Xun Ziyou silently thought to himself.

Yet Mo Hua had only walked halfway when he turned back, his gaze deep and thoughtful as he stared at him.

Xun Ziyou's heart tightened. "What now?"

Mo Hua paused, then asked:

"Elder Xun, the demonic cultivator vanished into this forest—shall I go check it out? Will you come with me?"

Xun Ziyou's eyelid twitched; he hesitated a moment, then sighed.

"Fine."

This child has too many tricks—if he insists on going, I can't stop him.

Better to go with him than risk him wandering off alone.

Besides, Mo Hua formally invited me.

I'm accompanying him as Elder Xun, on official business to investigate the demonic cultivator.

Not as some covert bodyguard.

So this isn't leaking secrets—it doesn't violate the Ancestor's orders.

Xun Ziyou reasoned with himself.

"Elder Xun, let's go."

Mo Hua spoke, then strode ahead with casual confidence.

Xun Ziyou followed behind, watching Mo Hua's open, unguarded back, feeling increasingly puzzled.

Could this child… have guessed my true identity?

No… surely not…

Xun Ziyou frowned.

Within the Demon Refining Mountains.

Mo Hua led the way; after about half an hour, the two arrived at the dense forest.

Now that he had a "bodyguard," Mo Hua felt far more confident.

Looking at the forest before him, Xun Ziyou tried to play along. "Are you certain the demonic cultivator truly entered this forest?"

Mo Hua stared at him silently.

Xun Ziyou felt embarrassed under Mo Hua's gaze and sighed inwardly.

Forget it…

He asked, "Can you find the demonic cultivator?"

Mo Hua shook his head. "Not yet."

His gaze stretched across the thick forest. "This forest is sealed by an array. First, we must reconstruct the array, study it, before we can find the path into the deeper woods—or locate the demonic cultivator."

Xun Ziyou nodded slightly, thinking his suspicions were correct.

Indeed, an array had been set here, obscuring spiritual sense.

Xun Ziyou asked, "Do you know what kind of array is set in this forest?"

Mo Hua nodded. "It's a special Divine Path array—through its underlying array patterns, it transforms spiritual sense into a different form, suppressing, restraining, and sealing spiritual power…"

Xun Ziyou looked utterly baffled.

Divine Path array?

In the existing systems of Yin-Yang, Three Talents, Four Symbols, Five Phases, Six Lines, Seven Stars, and Eight Trigrams, where does a "Divine Path" array come from?

Though I'm no array expert, I'm not ignorant of arrays.

Besides, my Ancestor is one of the top five-grade array masters in Grand Void Gate—rare even across the entire Qianxue Continent.

Even if I've never eaten pork, I've seen pigs run.

I can't draw arrays, but I know their origins.

Yet since I began my cultivation, I've never heard the term "Divine Path array."

Not even my Ancestor ever mentioned it.

Xun Ziyou stared at Mo Hua, who spoke with such confidence, nearly convinced the Foundation Establishment disciple was seriously pulling his leg…

As Mo Hua spoke, he glanced up at Xun Ziyou and noticed his strange expression. He realized something and asked:

"Elder, have you heard of Divine Path arrays?"

Xun Ziyou was caught off guard.

He hesitated internally, then coughed lightly and nodded calmly. "I've heard of them… vaguely."

Mo Hua nodded approvingly. "No wonder you're an Elder—you know so much."

Xun Ziyou felt no joy at all.

Here he was, a late-stage Jin Dan Elder, reduced to lying to maintain face before a disciple.

Mo Hua, unaware of Xun Ziyou's inner turmoil, continued:

"I don't yet know exactly what this Divine Path array looks like—I must go into these woods, find where the array was laid, carefully copy down the array patterns, and then study them further..."

Hearing this, Elder Xun Ziyou felt a deep sense of emotion.

A professional array master must be something like this...

Elder Xun Ziyou nodded and said, "Very well, I'll go in with you. You focus solely on finding the array—don't worry about anything else."

Mo Hua smiled brightly. "Thank you, Elder Xun!"

With a late-stage Jin Dan as his "bodyguard," he felt far more at ease—and could now openly "harvest"!

Mo Hua stepped forward and entered the woods.

Elder Xun Ziyou followed behind.

The two wandered for nearly half an hour, but Mo Hua's brow slowly furrowed.

"There's nothing..."

In his perception, the Divine Path array was everywhere in the woods, yet after searching thoroughly, he found not a single array medium.

Not only Mo Hua, but Elder Xun Ziyou was also deeply puzzled.

They said there was an array—but where was the array?

The entire forest was empty; his spiritual sense swept back and forth, yet found nothing at all.

Elder Xun Ziyou turned his gaze toward Mo Hua, about to speak, when Mo Hua suddenly froze, turned, and walked to a massive tree, his expression thoughtful.

Elder Xun Ziyou also stepped closer and examined the tree.

It was a second-rank ancient tree, several hundred years old, its bark mottled, its branches towering high, roughly five men's arms wide.

"Is there something wrong with this tree?"

"Yes," Mo Hua nodded firmly. "If I'm not mistaken, the array is hidden inside—and not in any ordinary way."

If it were an ordinary hiding method, my experience would have revealed it long ago.

Mo Hua pondered: "Perhaps... these arrays were carved into the tree when it was still young, and over time, as the tree grew, the array fused with it, its energy becoming one with the tree's—so others couldn't detect it."

Elder Xun Ziyou was inwardly startled.

Could such an exquisitely crafted arraying technique even exist?

And this child, Mo Hua, could actually perceive it?

And furthermore...

Elder Xun Ziyou's gaze sharpened.

If this were true, it meant someone had begun laying such arrays in this Demon Refining Mountain hundreds of years ago.

Mo Hua clearly realized this too, and asked:

"Elder Xun, can you tell how many years old these trees are?"

He had never planted trees himself and didn't know.

But Elder Xun was an elder of the Demon Refining Mountain—he should know more than he did.

Elder Xun Ziyou looked again at the towering tree, thought for a moment, then said slowly:

"Judging by its appearance, it's probably four or five hundred years old..."

"Four or five hundred years..." Mo Hua frowned.

That was an extremely distant time.

Seeing Mo Hua's furrowed brow, Elder Xun Ziyou asked, "Are you trying to say something?"

Mo Hua thought for a moment, then nodded:

"Four or five hundred years means someone began laying plans very, very long ago—laying Divine Path arrays in this forest, concealing their traces, and providing shelter for demonic cultivators."

"But I don't know why they did this..."

Elder Xun Ziyou's expression turned solemn, lost in thought.

Mo Hua glanced at Elder Xun Ziyou, thinking he could only hint this much.

He couldn't say anything more.

Elder Xun Ziyou silently committed this to memory, planning to investigate thoroughly upon returning.

But the immediate priority was still Mo Hua's so-called "Divine Path array."

Elder Xun Ziyou asked Mo Hua:

"Shall I chop down the tree so you can see the array inside?"

"No," Mo Hua said. "It would create too much disturbance. The forest's arrays are likely linked by spiritual awareness as eyes and trees as pivots, mutually resonant—pull one thread and the whole system moves. If we cut the tree, it might disrupt the flow of spiritual awareness and feedback to the array pivot, alerting the enemy."

"There's also a possibility: the trees, as array media, are perfectly fused with the arrays—if the tree is severed, the array inside may simply cease to function..."

Elder Xun Ziyou nodded, half-understanding.

The child's words were somewhat profound—he didn't fully grasp them.

All he knew was: don't cut the tree.

"Then what will you do?" Elder Xun Ziyou asked.

If you can't cut the tree or see the array patterns, how can you learn the array?

"I just need to look," Mo Hua replied.

"Look?"

Elder Xun Ziyou blinked in surprise.

How do you look?

As Elder Xun Ziyou puzzled over this, he saw Mo Hua sit cross-legged, pull out paper and brush, and stare fixedly at the great tree.

At the same time, Mo Hua emitted a strange, mysterious aura.

It was utterly unlike the energy he had previously projected.

Xun Ziyou's pupils shrank slightly.

This aura…

Elder Xun Ziyou was essentially "one of us," so Mo Hua didn't hide his methods.

Of course, Elder Xun Ziyou wasn't an Array Master and didn't walk the path of spiritual perception cultivation, so even if Mo Hua used spiritual perception techniques, Elder Xun Ziyou likely couldn't discern their essence.

Mo Hua fused Heavenly Mechanism Deception with Heavenly Mechanism Derivation; his gaze split cleanly into black and white, then merged as one, fixing intently on the tree, penetrating the array aura inseparable from the tree.

These auras were wrapped deep within the tree's wood qi.

Layers of barriers cloaked them above.

Mo Hua slowly derived, his spiritual perception seeping through layer by layer.

Finally, after an unknown length of time, Mo Hua sensed faint white auras.

These auras were neither plant spirit qi nor array spiritual power—they were spiritual perception auras.

But these spiritual perception auras were faint white, mist-like, mere ordinary cultivator spiritual perception, never transformed.

Moreover, though faint white, these spiritual perception auras were icy cold, appearing strangely sinister.

Clearly, the cultivator who drew these arrays was no upright person.

And among them lingered even a trace of Great Wilderness Demigod's aura.

This trace was extremely subtle, nearly imperceptible.

Had Mo Hua not spent so long dealing with the Great Wilderness Demigod—having consumed the Devotee, the Divine Corpse, the Demigod's avatar, and swallowed much of the Demigod's divine marrow—

he wouldn't have sensed it at all.

"So it's true… On the surface, there's not a single trace of the Great Wilderness Demigod, yet beneath the surface, His shadow is everywhere…"

Mo Hua sighed softly in his heart.

Then he calmed himself, beginning to derive while recording the array patterns.

Xun Ziyou stood silently behind him, keeping watch over the nearby mountains and forests for any demonic or demonic cultivators emerging, or dangerous beasts appearing that might threaten Mo Hua's safety.

At the same time, he stole glances at what Mo Hua was writing.

But soon he realized he couldn't understand it…

These were extremely unusual array patterns, utterly unlike any array system he knew.

Each stroke and line formed its own system, capable of constructing a complete array logic.

Yet to his eyes, they made no sense whatsoever.

Xun Ziyou suddenly felt a pang of relief.

Good thing I never stubbornly tried to learn arrays when I began cultivation, never followed the Ancestor's orders to become an Array Master.

Otherwise, after studying arrays all these years, I'd find myself unable to comprehend an array drawn by a second-rank novice Array Master—my Dao heart would shatter.

Xun Ziyou sighed deeply, cast one long look at Mo Hua, then set aside his thoughts and stopped watching what Mo Hua drew—since he couldn't understand it anyway—and devoted all his focus to guarding the surroundings for hidden dangers.

Earlier, he'd thought the Ancestor was overreacting, assigning a late Jin Dan cultivator like himself to secretly watch over a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Now, seeing such array talent, the Ancestor hadn't even sent a Liu Yuhua to secretly protect him—that was already generous…

After a stick of incense passed, Mo Hua had recorded roughly seven or eight tenths of the divine array on the tree, then put away his brush and ink, stood up, and said:

"Let's go ahead."

Xun Ziyou glanced around, nodded.

Mo Hua walked ahead, surveyed left and right, found another large tree, sat down again, and began deriving and recording array patterns one by one.

Xun Ziyou continued guarding beside him.

They spent the entire day deriving; Mo Hua recorded a thick stack of array patterns.

Throughout, all remained calm—no demonic cultivators, no other dangers.

The sun set behind Luoshan; dusk neared.

Xun Ziyou said, "Let's head back."

"Alright," Mo Hua agreed.

Before uncovering the secret deep within this forest, it was best not to spend the night among the trees.

The two turned back.

Xun Ziyou escorted Mo Hua all the way to the mountain gate, bidding him farewell: "I'll remain in the mountains—you return to the sect yourself, watch your step."

"Mm," Mo Hua nodded.

Xun Ziyou paused a moment, then added: "Tomorrow's still a rest day—if you want to enter the forest again to copy arrays, come find me. I'll take you in."

Mo Hua's eyes lit up, smiling: "Thank you, Elder Xun!"

Elder Xun gave a slight nod.

Then Mo Hua departed alone from Lianyao Mountain, heading toward Grand Void Gate.

As he walked, Mo Hua felt anticipation building.

He wanted to return to the sect quickly, classify and study the thick stack of divine array patterns he'd copied, and see if he could reconstruct the complete divine array hidden within the forest.

Moreover, this divine array was clearly far more profound than the one he'd obtained earlier in the small fishing village.

If his guess was right, this array's function would be immensely useful to him!

Mo Hua smiled faintly, his steps light, but before reaching Grand Void Gate, he met someone familiar on the road.

It was Ouyang Mu.

With Ouyang Mu was another Ta'i Gate disciple, seemingly a year senior—tall and thin, with a long face.

Mo Hua greeted: "Little Wood."

Ouyang Mu turned upon hearing this, saw Mo Hua, his expression brightening instantly, and called back:

"Senior Mo."

The tall-faced disciple of Tai'e Sect beside him glanced over, his expression slightly surprised.

Mo Hua drew near, and Ouyang Mu introduced:

"This is our Tai'e Sect's Senior Brother Ma—he's from the same cohort as my elder brother."

Mo Hua then remembered: when he had just entered the Demon Refining Mountains and met Senior Brother Feng, he had seen this Tai'e Sect "Senior Brother Ma."

Mo Hua greeted him according to customary etiquette.

Senior Brother Ma returned the greeting.

"Senior Brother Ma, at my elder brother's request, brought me some pills for cultivation, spiritual artifacts, and jade slips…"

Ouyang Mu said with a smile.

Despite having such an outstanding elder brother, being constantly compared to him placed great pressure on Ouyang Mu and earned him many cold glances.

Yet he still held deep respect and admiration for his elder brother.

Ouyang Mu had just emerged from the Demon Refining Mountains and was returning to Yaohui Sect, coincidentally heading the same way.

Mo Hua walked a stretch with Ouyang Mu, chatting about trivial matters from the Demon Refining Mountains.

Senior Brother Ma, by contrast, spoke little, his gaze only carrying a hint of caution.

At the crossroad, Mo Hua bid them farewell.

Ouyang Mu and Senior Brother Ma returned to Tai'e Sect.

Mo Hua entered Grand Void Gate.

Yet as soon as he passed through the mountain gate, his expression gradually grew cold, his eyes now carrying a solemn air.

Just now, he had sensed a trace of…

the aura of the Evil God.

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