Chapter 88: Guidance

Mo Hua sighed, "I originally thought Qian Xing, though arrogant and bullying, was merely a spoiled brat who bullied people—never imagined he could do such vile things behind the scenes..."

Zhang Lan, upon hearing this, narrowed his eyes and said seriously, "Mo Hua, you've often heard the saying 'human hearts are treacherous,' haven't you?"

Mo Hua nodded.

"The treachery of human hearts is sometimes invisible. Evil people don't write 'evil' on their faces. Many despicable individuals appear no different from ordinary people—even more virtuous than most."

"What people let others see is mostly what's visible; what lurks in the hidden places, what dark secrets they harbor—that's unknown..."

Mo Hua was deeply shaken—he never expected the perpetually idle Zhang Lan could speak such words.

"So that means, for someone like Qian Xing, nothing visible is good, let alone what's hidden—any evil he does shouldn't surprise us."

Zhang Lan glanced at Mo Hua in surprise, "Not bad—you think fast."

"What a pity..."

Seeing Mo Hua looked regretful, Zhang Lan asked, "What's a pity?"

"The array's power is still too weak..."

It didn't explode into heavy pieces, Qian Xing.

Zhang Lan nodded—he thought the same.

"Though it didn't kill him, he's badly injured. The Qian family is scrambling to hire first-rank or higher alchemists to heal him—I doubt they'll succeed. Personally, I say don't bother—it's just wasting pills."

Zhang Lan spoke, then suddenly remembered something and asked, "If Qian Xing recovers, does he know it was you who did it?"

"I splashed spirit ink into his eyes—he probably can't see."

"Oh?" Zhang Lan thought, you just admitted it.

Mo Hua gazed at the sky, pretending he hadn't said a word.

"But what if he finds out?"

Mo Hua thought a moment and said, "If he finds out, given his pride, he won't tell his family—being injured by a Qi Condensation fourth-layer cultivator would be too humiliating."

"Then what if he seeks revenge privately?" Zhang Lan asked.

"Then I'm even less afraid—he got ambushed once, why not twice? First time he got lucky; second time, maybe not..." Mo Hua sneered.

He never sought trouble, but he never feared it either. Before, it was sudden—he took a beating. But if he had time to prepare, he wouldn't fear Qian Xing at all.

Zhang Lan blinked, "How can you be sure his luck will run out the second time?"

Mo Hua pretended not to hear.

Zhang Lan whispered, "Even with the ground-fire array, you only managed to severely injure him—you still can't kill him. You're only Qi Condensation fourth-layer, and you don't have other methods, do you..."

Qi Condensation fourth-layer, and you don't know any spells. Even if you did, their power would be weak.

Mo Hua isn't suited for body refinement—close combat would be suicide.

As for arrays, a Qi Condensation fourth-layer cultivator drawing a ground-fire array with seven array lines is already near the limit—even if there were stronger arrays, they wouldn't be much more powerful.

Even if such arrays existed, they'd be secret arrays hoarded by great families, never casually passed on.

Zhang Lan couldn't imagine any other method Mo Hua might have.

"You're not thinking of recruiting those alchemy apprentices to beat Qian Xing to death, are you..." Zhang Lan suddenly said.

Mo Hua looked at Zhang Lan with a hint of disdain and whispered, "One ground-fire array injured him—two ground-fire arrays, wouldn't that kill him?"

Zhang Lan: "..."

He was used to thinking from a cultivator's professional perspective—he hadn't considered such a simple, straightforward solution.

Mo Hua leaned close to Zhang Lan and lowered his voice, "I've already planned it: just as you said—after the explosion, wash the ashes away with water, then press a spirit stone into the spot to confuse the spiritual energy—so they won't know I used an array."

Zhang Lan nodded, then suddenly realized something was off, "Wait—what do you mean 'just as you said'?"

Mo Hua smiled sheepishly, "Isn't this thanks to your advice just now?"

Zhang Lan blurted, "I didn't advise you!"

"Fine, fine, you didn't advise me."

"What's 'fine'? I didn't advise you—I didn't!"

Mo Hua comforted him, "I was just joking—I'm just a Qi Condensation fourth-layer little cultivator; how could I possibly do something so dangerous?"

"Forget it, forget it, let's drop it."

Zhang Lan waved his hand—he didn't want to say more, or he might end up the mastermind.

He'd originally worried about Mo Hua, but now he thought he should worry more about Qian Xing.

The Qian family likely won't want to escalate this—they're in the wrong to begin with. They bullied someone, failed, and got blown up into pieces. If word got out, they'd be the ones humiliated.

If they dug too deep and exposed Qian Xing's secret misdeeds, Dao Ting Si would have plenty to answer for.

As long as the Qian family doesn't act, even if Qian Xing seeks private revenge, Mo Hua just needs to be careful—he won't suffer much.

Mo Hua's only real concern was the Qian family; as for Qian Xing, he called him a waste on the surface, but inwardly always saw him as one. As long as he wasn't ambushed unexpectedly or attacked without warning, with preparation, dealing with Qian Xing wasn't hard.

"By the way, you study arrays—do you have a master?" Zhang Lan had always wanted to ask this.

Among the hundred arts of cultivation, arrays are the hardest to master; the examinations and rankings for array masters are the strictest.

Most cultivators studying arrays have a lineage—self-taught mastery simply doesn't exist.

Even the most gifted array masters need guidance—otherwise, even the basic array lines would take years to learn and comprehend, let alone the vast ocean of array techniques.

Mo Hua is a lone cultivator, not trained in any sect, yet his array skill is not low—besides his own diligence, Zhang Lan guessed he must have a master guiding him.

"Not a master—just Mr. I'm only a registered disciple of Mr.," Mo Hua didn't hide it.

"What is this Mr.'s name?" Zhang Lan asked.

Mo Hua shook his head, "Mr. lives in seclusion, prefers quiet, and refuses to reveal his name."

Zhang Lan nodded—there are many such cultivators in the cultivation world, eccentric, disliking socializing, choosing secluded places to do what they love.

For Mo Hua to meet him is his fortune.

He didn't press further—everything has its limits. To ask more would be meddling. Some sages most dislike being probed into.

"But… this Mr. didn't take you as a disciple?"

Zhang Lan still couldn't help asking. He felt that the child Mo Hua was quite good—diligent, hardworking, and with high comprehension. The only thing was that sometimes when he spoke, he could be rather infuriating. Zhang Lan himself wasn't skilled in array formations; otherwise, he would have wanted to take Mo Hua as a disciple.

Mo Hua said, "My talent is actually quite ordinary. Mr. Baili Moxiang is willing to teach me array formations, and I'm already very happy about it."

Zhang Lan nodded, said nothing more. After finishing the meat and the wine, he gave Mo Hua a few more instructions, then left the eatery.

After leaving the eatery and walking along the road, a gentle breeze brushed his face, dispersing the slight tipsiness of the wine, and he became much more clear-headed.

Zhang Lan suddenly thought of a question: "Qi Refining fourth layer, draw seven formation patterns, Earth Fire Formation… this kind of talent is called quite ordinary?"

"How many formation patterns could I draw at Qi Refining fourth layer? Four? No, no matter what, I should be able to draw five or six, right? This child Mo Hua can already draw seven…"

"He's going to be an array master, so drawing seven is normal. I'm not going to be an array master, just learning casually. Drawing five or six shouldn't be excessive…" Zhang Lan nodded.

"But, how many formation patterns can an ordinary Qi Refining fourth-layer array master draw? Is it four?"

Zhang Lan thought for a moment, then shook his head again—still no clue.

Back when he was at the clan school, he had hated drawing array formations the most. His divine sense depleted extremely quickly, and as he drew, his head would start aching, so he had never paid much attention to this sort of thing at all.

"When I have time, I'll write a letter back and ask the clan how many formation patterns disciples at Qi Refining fourth layer can draw…"

Zhang Lan thought silently.