Chapter 813: Mechanism

The station was searched thoroughly.

They found a small alchemy furnace used for brewing poison pills, some toxic herbs, and poisoned ji anqi.

In addition, there were several evil artifacts and several sets of white bones—unknown vengeful souls who had died at the hands of these bandit cultivators, their flesh completely scraped off to be used in pill-making.

This group of bandit cultivators was also quite diverse in composition.

Some were murderers and highway robbers; others were alchemists who had betrayed their sects; still others were cultivators who had taken up the dark path mid-journey.

They were wanted by the Dao Ting Si, fleeing across the lands, until they were gathered here by Shui Yanluo.

But they knew little of Shui Yanluo's affairs, and had been subjected to an unknown silencing technique—most still could not speak of them.

All one could do was guess and verify, but direct questioning yielded nothing.

Mo Hua and the others had no choice but to investigate themselves.

After another search, beyond the station itself, the most suspicious location was the carriage near the stable.

Gu An found some flower petals near the carriage.

These petals lay scattered on the ground, crushed under wheel ruts and mixed with dirt, filthy and muddied.

But Mo Hua recognized them at a glance:

"These are flowers from Baihua Valley—I just don't know their names."

The flowers of Baihua Valley were a riot of colors and countless varieties; he couldn't name them, but he could still recall their general appearance.

Gu Changhuai nodded slightly, then asked Mo Hua with a hint of surprise:

"How do you know these are from Baihua Valley… have you been inside?"

"Mm…"

Mo Hua nodded instinctively, then suddenly realized—he could never let anyone know he had disguised himself in Baihua Valley's robe, posing as a junior sister to infiltrate the valley!

"No! I've never been there! One of my senior sisters in Baihua Valley grew some of these flowers—I happened to see them!"

Mo Hua felt a twinge of guilt.

"Oh," Gu Changhuai said coolly.

He didn't suspect.

Because Baihua Valley forbade all male cultivators from entering—no matter how skilled Mo Hua was, he could never have slipped inside.

Gu Changhuai fell into thought.

Flowers from Baihua Valley.

Hua Ruyu's carriage.

This suggested, then, that Hua Ruyu's carriage had indeed come to this station.

That was strange…

Gu Changhuai said: "Bring one of them over for questioning."

"Yes," Gu An replied, returning to the station and selecting a weak-looking, talkative bandit cultivator, dragging him before Gu Changhuai.

"I'll ask you," Gu Changhuai said calmly, "has a carriage often stopped here?"

The bandit cultivator looked panicked and said nothing.

Gu Changhuai's expression was cold: "Confess honestly, or I have countless ways to make you wish for death but be unable to die."

He was a Jin Dan cultivator, and a Gu Diansi of the Dao Ting Si—he had captured or killed countless criminal cultivators; his demeanor alone carried a commanding aura.

The bandit cultivator trembled, voice shaking: "Y-yes… there was a carriage…"

Gu Changhuai asked: "What kind of carriage?"

"A luxurious, pink one, painted with floral patterns," the bandit described.

"Who was in the carriage?"

"I… I don't know…"

Gu Changhuai frowned. "How could you not know?"

The bandit said: "Every ten days or so, that flower carriage would come—but Brother… "

"Which brother? Shui Yanluo?" Gu Changhuai asked.

"Yes, the brothers on the road all call him that," the bandit said, face pale. "He ordered us that whenever that carriage arrived, we were to hide inside the station, not step outside, see nothing, hear nothing—or…"

The bandit swallowed hard. "Or if you saw something you weren't meant to see, your soul would be snatched away—you'd die for sure."

Soul snatched away? Death certain?

Gu Changhuai frowned.

Gu An and Gu Quan froze, expressions puzzled.

Only Mo Hua seemed thoughtful.

Gu Changhuai asked a few more questions, but learned nothing else, then ordered Gu An to return the bandit to the station and lock him up.

Gu Changhuai paused, then summarized:

"First, the evidence isn't conclusive, so many things remain uncertain—but we can make assumptions…"

"Assume that woman's carriage did stop here—this means something crucial must have occurred at or near this station that required her presence."

"And in this stable, there is another carriage…"

Gu Quan nodded: "I just checked the wheel tracks and some faint traces with Brother—I can reasonably conclude someone drove here, got off the flower carriage, switched to this station's carriage, and then went somewhere."

All eyes turned to the only carriage inside the station.

Externally, it looked plain—no decorations, utterly unremarkable, like any cheap carriage found on the street.

But upon closer inspection, its materials were extraordinary.

Though unadorned, it was unusually sturdy.

Moreover, the carriage was sealed.

The door was also sealed.

From outside, it was impossible to tell what was happening inside the carriage.

The group circled the carriage several times but found nothing; Gu Changhuai then reached out, gathering spiritual energy, intending to forcibly break open the sealed door.

But the instant his palm touched the carriage, a flash of light appeared on the door.

The carriage shuddered, nearly destroying itself.

Fortunately, Gu Changhuai had some experience—he retracted his hand the moment he saw the light, preventing the carriage from exploding.

"It's a self-destruct array…" Gu Changhuai murmured.

Gu An and Gu Quan looked solemn, then simultaneously turned to Mo Hua.

Gu Changhuai also glanced at Mo Hua.

Among the group, Mo Hua was the best at arrays.

Although Gu Changhuai was a Jin Dan cultivator, in arrays he was far inferior to Mo Hua.

Mo Hua immediately puffed out his chest and lifted his head:

"Let me take a look…"

He touched the doorframe, his back to Gu Changhuai, eyes deep, using Devious Calculation to amplify his Devious Calculation and deduce the array patterns inside the carriage.

Gu Changhuai's expression hardened—he sensed Mo Hua's aura had changed, becoming deeper and more peculiar—but he had grown somewhat accustomed to it, so he said nothing.

After a moment, Mo Hua declared:

"The carriage has a lock array and a self-destruct array—it's a compound array…"

Based on the array patterns, tracing the flow of spiritual energy along the lines, he found the "keyhole" in the lower-right corner, hidden within an ornate wood grain.

This hole blended seamlessly with the wood grain, making it extremely hard to detect.

Mo Hua deduced:

"Hua Ruyu must have a key."

"Only with the key can you open this door; if you force it open without the key, the array will reverse and the carriage will self-destruct…"

Gu An's expression grew solemn. "Then we'll have to return and find a way to get Hua Ruyu's key?"

"No," Mo Hua said calmly. "Using a key to unlock an array is what cultivators do. For an array master, knowing the principle of the lock makes the key unnecessary."

Mo Hua's tone was ordinary, but a hint of uncontainable pride lingered in his eyes.

Gu An and Gu Quan's expressions brightened, nodding in praise:

"No wonder he's Young Master Mo."

But Gu Changhuai still had reservations. "This array is probably high-grade. Are you sure it's safe?"

His earlier punch, through the backlash, had told him these arrays were far from simple.

"They're both second-rank arrays. No problem," Mo Hua said.

Gu Changhuai hesitated. "Even among second-rank arrays, there are low, middle, and high tiers—and even high-tier has three thresholds: seventeenth, eighteenth, nineteenth. You're only Foundation Establishment mid-stage…"

"No issue," Mo Hua smiled. "I just went a little 'beyond the syllabus.'"

Seeing Mo Hua's confident demeanor, Gu Changhuai stopped pressing.

As a Gu Diansi of the Dao Ting Si, with hundreds of subordinate Zhisi under him, Gu Changhuai knew that professional tasks must be entrusted to professionals.

Array matters, naturally, could only be entrusted to the most professional person present: Mo Hua.

He stood aside silently watching.

Mo Hua stared at the carriage, raised a finger—but halfway, he suddenly remembered something, and calmly pulled out brush and ink to paint something on the door.

As he painted, Gu Changhuai's brow twitched.

He assumed Mo Hua was dismantling the array.

He didn't fully understand how, but at least he could count the array lines.

Eighteen lines!

He was dismantling an eighteen-line array!

A Foundation Establishment mid-stage cultivator, dismantling an eighteen-line array.

Even Gu Changhuai, accustomed to Mo Hua's inexplicable feats, now felt his composure slipping.

"Eighteen lines…"

Gu Changhuai drew in a sharp breath.

Even some Foundation Establishment peak veteran array masters, with weaker spiritual senses, couldn't draw an eighteen-line array, let alone dismantle one.

This was far more than just "beyond the syllabus"…

Gu Changhuai's emotions churned.

On the other side, Mo Hua remained focused on dismantling the array.

After painting the dismantling array lines, he infused spiritual energy to activate them—golden light flashed, the lines reversed and canceled each other out.

The second-rank lock array was neutralized by Mo Hua.

Then Mo Hua drew a circle on the door and turned to Gu Changhuai. "Uncle Gu, punch here."

Gu Changhuai snapped back to attention and nodded.

He stepped forward and delivered a light punch—the door shattered open, yet the carriage remained intact, not self-destructing.

Mo Hua reached through the hole, fumbling behind, and with a creak, opened the carriage door.

Inside the carriage: dim, dark.

When the door opened, a sliver of light streamed in.

Mo Hua squinted and saw it was empty—no one inside, only a few cushions.

A faint, long-forgotten scent of rouge lingered in the air.

Mo Hua slipped in quietly, flipped through the cushions, and found two handkerchiefs, a sachet, some fine fragments of incense—likely flower pollen from the sachet—and traces resembling cosmetic powder.

"Many women have sat in this carriage…"

Mo Hua thought silently.

Moreover, the mingled scents were chaotic and clearly did not come from the same group of women.

This Hua Ruyu, publicly a teacher of Huagude Sect, was likely engaged in some illicit trade behind the scenes.

Mo Hua glanced at Gu Changhuai.

Gu Changhuai's expression was cold, his gaze sharp—he had clearly realized this too.

Yet…

Gu Changhuai frowned.

This woman, Hua Ruyu, was extremely cautious and left few traces in this carriage.

The trail ended here.

They still knew nothing about where this carriage would go or who it was transporting…

Mo Hua also frowned.

He studied the carriage again for a moment, then suddenly froze, sensing something odd. He crouched on the ground and tapped the floorboards one by one.

When he tapped a plank near the front of the carriage, a hollow echo rang from within.

After lifting the plank, he discovered an array still lingering inside.

He examined the array's markings and immediately brightened.

Gu Changhuai asked, "What is this?"

Mo Hua said, "It's the internal propulsion array of the carriage."

Seeing Gu Changhuai didn't understand, Mo Hua explained:

"This carriage has a frame but no reins—I found it strange before, but now, seeing the array, I understand: this carriage looks like a horse-drawn vehicle, but it's not truly a 'horse' carriage."

"This vehicle doesn't rely on horses to pull it; instead, it uses mechanism arts, embedding a complex array to propel itself forward."

"The array hidden beneath this plank is precisely that embedded mechanical propulsion complex array."

Gu Changhuai paused in thought, his heart leaping, "Does that mean…?"

"Yes." Mo Hua nodded. "Once activated, the complex array's spiritual energy flows, automatically turning the mechanisms to drive the carriage forward."

"And embedded within this complex array is another array—the Yuan Ci Si Nan Array."

"This Si Nan Array is used for positioning."

"The carriage will follow the Yuan Ci Si Nan Array's guidance and take us automatically to our destination…"

Mo Hua explained with clear logic.

Gu Changhuai and the other two were slightly stunned, then inwardly awed.

This was array art—encompassing all phenomena of the world.

This was why array masters, through arrays, comprehended and mastered all kinds of knowledge and abilities…

"Can this carriage move now?" Gu Changhuai asked, his expression solemn.

Mo Hua said, "It's a new complex array system—I need some time to study it carefully."

"Alright." Gu Changhuai nodded.

Then Gu Changhuai and the other two held their breath, making not a single sound to avoid disturbing Mo Hua.

Mo Hua, meanwhile, focused intently on studying the complex array that combined the Yuan Ci Si Nan Array and the mechanical propulsion array.

The Yuan Ci Si Nan Array, Mo Hua was barely familiar with.

But mechanical propulsion arrays—he had never truly encountered them before.

Yet he had studied the First-Rank Twelve-Emblem masterpiece of the Xiao Lingyin Sect—the Ling Shu Jue Zhen.

The Ling Shu Jue Zhen involved array sequences, spiritual thread manipulation, and bore a similar essence to mechanism arts.

In Nanyue City, Mo Hua had used the Ling Shu Jue Zhen to build "Wooden Ox and Flowing Horse" devices for impoverished mining cultivators, to save labor in transporting ore.

So he understood the general principles of array mechanics.

With limited time, he didn't need mastery—only to reactivate the array.

The array before him was dim and lifeless—clearly inactive.

Mo Hua studied it carefully.

After about half an hour, his eyes lit up—he gradually grasped the pattern.

This mechanical complex array, like the carriage's door, shared the same key to activate it.

But Mo Hua had dismantled the door's array, and the lock was broken—so the control entry point of this mechanical complex array was also destroyed.

Since the "entry" was gone, the array could not activate; its core could not receive power; the mechanical propulsion array failed; the carriage could not move.

"Then we must alter the array's core structure—sever the original entry, externally attach a new opening-closing array pattern, and build a new spirit-collecting array to serve as the core, embedded within the complex array to power the original mechanical array…"

Mo Hua muttered to himself, speaking words Gu Changhuai and the others couldn't understand at all.

Then Mo Hua took out ink and brush and began reconstructing the array step by step according to his plan.

Gu Changhuai and the other three watched intently.

But they had no idea what they were even looking at…

After about an incense stick's time, Mo Hua finally finished drawing the array, checked it once more, and let out a sigh of relief.

"It should be about right…"

Mo Hua reached into his storage pouch to retrieve spirit stones.

But halfway through, he quietly put them back and extended his hand toward Gu Changhuai.

"Uncle Gu, I need spirit stones."

This is official business; the spirit stones spent should be reimbursed.

Gu Changhuai was also generous. He took out a storage bag and tossed it straight to Mo Hua.

Mo Hua took the storage bag, drew out spirit stones, crushed them, and placed them on the Spirit-Gathering Array, letting the array absorb spiritual power to serve as the array eye and energize the mechanism array.

The Spirit-Gathering Array absorbed the spiritual power, its blue glow luminous and moist.

Mo Hua's mind stirred, and through the interface he had constructed, he activated the array.

A stream of pure spiritual power flowed out from the Spirit-Gathering Array and merged into the mechanism array built into the carriage.

Then the carriage shuddered, swayed unsteadily, and began to move on its own.

The few of them immediately steadied themselves against the carriage cabin.

Gu Changhuai also casually steadied the wobbling Mo Hua.

The carriage, trembling, made a turn and swung around.

The Lodestone Compass Array lit up and fixed a direction.

The carriage then followed that direction, as if guided by some unseen force, and drove forward on its own.

"Gu Diansi, we…" Gu An's expression was somewhat worried.

Gu Changhuai thought for a moment, then said, "We'll just sit inside the carriage and follow it, see where this thing actually stops…"

"Yes." Gu An and Gu Quan nodded.

The carriage creaked along in silence.

Mo Hua picked out a meditation cushion and sat down obediently.

He also wanted to see where exactly the Lodestone Compass Array was pointing, and where this carriage would take him.

Best case, it would take him straight to the evil god's stronghold.

The moment he stepped off, he'd see an altar—perfect.

Of course, Mo Hua was only daydreaming.

He knew there was no way he'd get that lucky…

Mo Hua took out some more spirit stones, crushed them, and recharged the Spirit-Gathering Array.

These spirit stones should be enough.

But there were still quite a few spirit stones left in the storage bag.

Mo Hua had originally wanted to return the storage bag to Uncle Gu, but on second thought—Uncle Gu had a big family and deep pockets; if he gave something and Mo Hua returned it, wouldn't that be slapping his face, looking down on him, a mere Gu Diansi of the Dao Ting Si?

Mo Hua nodded silently to himself and tucked the spirit stones into his own robe.

This counts as hardship pay.

Though he hadn't taken the official exam, he was, after all, a proper "quasi" second-rank high-tier array master—helping out and taking some spirit stones as compensation was perfectly reasonable.

Mo Hua's conscience settled comfortably.

The mechanism array turned, and the carriage creaked along on its own.

The cabin was sealed; the air inside was stuffy.

Mo Hua sat in the carriage, heading toward an unknown place, and couldn't help feeling a little nervous—but thinking that Gu Changhuai was beside him, he felt much more at ease.

This was second-rank territory, and this carriage didn't look like it could go very far, so as long as he clung tight to Uncle Gu's thigh, he'd be perfectly safe.

Mo Hua set his mind at rest, then turned his head and felt a bit bored, so he turned his attention back to the mechanism array inside the cabin.

This was his first time seeing a real "mechanism array."

This was yet another array system with an unusual structure.

The mechanism array in the carriage seemed to share some common ground with the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams arrays he'd seen before, including the Lingshu Extreme Array.

But on closer examination, there seemed to be quite a few differences.

"If I get the chance later, I should find a way to learn mechanism arrays too…"

If he mastered mechanism arrays and merged them into the Lingshu Extreme Array, coordinating the two, he might just be able to build himself an "army of puppets"…

Mo Hua couldn't help indulging in the fantasy.

And so, Mo Hua thought on one side, the mechanism array flowed on the other, and the carriage rolled on…

After an unknown length of time, the carriage suddenly stopped.

It seemed they had reached their destination.

The faces of the few of them grew slightly solemn.

Gu An gave Gu Changhuai a questioning look and said softly, "Should we get off?"

Gu Changhuai gave a slight shake of his head.

"Wait and see how things develop."

The group stayed in the carriage and waited, making no rash moves.

After another moment, accompanied by the sound of water and the bump of a boat's eaves against something, it seemed something had come ashore.

At the same time, a clear, bright male voice rang out:

"It's not the fifteenth yet—why have you brought people already?"

Inside the carriage, Gu Changhuai and the others said nothing.

The atmosphere grew somewhat heavy for a moment.

The man outside, somewhat puzzled, said, "Why aren't you talking? Angry? It's not like you before to…"

Before the man could finish, he suddenly sensed something was wrong.

His face changed, and a strange, murderous aura emanated from him, as if soaked in icy blood and cruel killing intent.

Sensing this aura, Mo Hua's pupils contracted slightly.

This aura…

Could this man not be...

Water Yama?! \

yifan

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