The Quest for Immortality

Even for a moment, he felt as if Mo Hua had not only infiltrated the Corpse Walking Stronghold but even entered his secret chamber, currently hidden somewhere, silently observing him.

Zhang Quan broke out in a cold sweat, shaking his head repeatedly.

Impossible!

No matter how cunning that kid was, he couldn’t possibly be that outrageous.

At most, he might have reached the outskirts of the stronghold…

Or perhaps, he only knew the general location and hadn’t had the time to follow...

At this moment, Zhang Quan both hoped that the corpse cultivators would find traces of Mo Hua and hoped they wouldn’t.

Soon, a subordinate came to report, ”Householder, there are traces.”

Zhang Quan was startled, ”What kind of traces?”

”The Formation seems to have been tampered with.”

”Formation?!”

Zhang Quan suddenly widened his eyes.

That kid, indeed knew about Formations!

”Quick, take me to see.”

Zhang Quan followed the corpse cultivator out the door.

Mo Hua, hiding above a beam, touched his chin and pondered, ”Where have I left any traces?”

Mo Hua remembered his actions had been quite clean this time.

Curious, he quietly followed to see for himself where he had slipped up so that he could pay attention to it next time, fix the oversight, and improve his technique.

A noisy group from Corpse Walking Stronghold was searching for Mo Hua.

And Mo Hua was following not far behind Zhang Quan, stepping on the rooftops of Corpse Walking Stronghold, all the way to a wall.

There were indeed traces of alteration on the wall’s Formation.

Mo Hua looked at it and came to a realization.

He had indeed solved the Formation Patterns here and had redrawn some, but he had been somewhat careless, omitting a few Patterns. It wouldn’t be noticeable ordinarily, but upon closer inspection, it gave him away.

Mo Hua took this to heart.

Formation work is precise; even the simplest Formation must be done meticulously and cannot be treated carelessly.

Mo Hua understood, but Zhang Quan did not.

He frowned and said, ”This… what’s been tampered with?”

The corpse cultivators looked at each other.

How could they know?

They were corpse cultivators, adepts in Corpse Refinement, not in Formation Painting…

Zhang Quan cursed, ”A bunch of good-for-nothings! Call Mr. Yan to have a look.”

After a while, someone brought Instructor Yan over.

Instructor Yan glanced at it and asked indifferently, ”What’s wrong with this Formation?”

Enjoy new stories from empire

Zhang Quan asked, ”Has someone tampered with it?”

Instructor Yan nodded, ”I saw that this Formation was old, so I reinforced it.”

Zhang Quan frowned, ”You drew it?”

”Yes,” Instructor Yan nodded, then said, puzzled:

”Is there a problem with this Formation?”

This question stumped Zhang Quan.

If he knew what was wrong with this Formation, he wouldn’t have asked Instructor Yan.

But his instincts still told him that there was something strange about this Formation.

At that moment, a corpse cultivator suddenly said, ”If you claim it’s for reinforcement, why is this wall so easily damaged?”

After speaking, he struck the wall with a slash, and an obvious cut appeared.

This was because Mo Hua had solved the Formation; the original Formation was no longer effective, and the wall, without the Formation’s reinforcement, was easily marked.

Instructor Yan wasn’t flustered at all, but just glanced at the corpse cultivator lightly, ”How can it take effect if I haven’t finished drawing?”

The corpse cultivator was taken aback.

Instructor Yan then pointed at the cut on the wall and said, ”Later, you fix this wall. Make it look exactly how it was before the slash, otherwise, I won’t be able to draw the Formation.”

The corpse cultivator, awkward and not knowing what to say.

Zhang Quan glared fiercely at the corpse cultivator and said to Instructor Yan with a clasped fist:

”My subordinate was rash, I apologize for the offense. Please don’t take it to heart, Mr. Yan.”

Instructor Yan nodded slightly.

Zhang Quan hesitated for a moment, his gaze flickering slightly, before he asked:

”Mr. Yan, do you think there could be someone sneaking into the stronghold?”

Instructor Yan frowned, ”How would they sneak in?”

Zhang Quan was momentarily stunned, ”This...”

Instructor Yan said displeasedly: ”Both inside and outside the stronghold are covered by the formations I have laid. Unless the formations are broken, not even a mosquito could fly in, let alone a cultivator.”

Zhang Quan said, ”What if that person’s proficiency in formation is somewhat profound...”

Instructor Yan’s expression turned solemn as he spoke coldly:

”Are you implying that I, Yan, am not skilled enough? That my formations are inferior to someone else’s?”

Zhang Quan gave an awkward smile, ”Why would you say that, sir...”

Instructor Yan huffed disdainfully and said with arrogance:

”Not to boast, but although I am not yet recognized with an official assessment, my prowess is already that of a first-rank Formation Master. In South Yue City, although there are cultivators with formation skills surpassing mine, it is utterly impossible for anyone to break my formations without making any noise!”

After he finished speaking, he glanced at Zhang Quan, ”Householder, could it be that you look down upon me, Yan?”

The temperament of a Formation Master is indeed unbearably foul and rigid, and they are particularly difficult to offend.

Zhang Quan grumbled to himself internally, but still politely said on the surface:

”Mr. Yan is taking my words too seriously. I’m just preparing for every possibility.”

However, since Instructor Yan said as much, Zhang Quan also felt reassured.

Then he kicked the corpse cultivator with his foot, ”Apologize to Mr. Yan.”

The corpse cultivator could only bow and say, ”Please forgive me, Mr. Yan.”

Instructor Yan’s countenance slightly cleared.

Seeing this, Zhang Quan then smiled and said, ”Sir, I would like to ask you a question.”

Instructor Yan nodded, ”Householder, please speak.”

Zhang Quan said, ”Suppose someone is adept at concealment and wants to infiltrate Corpse Walking Stronghold, how should we defend against it?”

Instructor Yan was inwardly startled, but his expression remained normal as he said casually:

”Such trivial concealing techniques are hardly worth mentioning.”

Zhang Quan’s face brightened, ”Please enlighten me, sir.”

Instructor Yan said, ”The Expose Shadow Formation would be best, for under it, no cultivator can hide, and all forms of concealment unravel themselves.”

”However, this Expose Shadow Formation is quite challenging, and the stronghold doesn’t possess the necessary Spiritual Ink for it. Moreover, it’s quite cumbersome to set up and hence not very feasible.”

”The best method would be to use the Expose Dust Formation.”

”Set it up at the stronghold’s main gate and around its periphery. Any cultivator who sneaks in would reveal their tracks...”

”Excellent!” Zhang Quan praised, ”You truly live up to your reputation, Mr. Yan.”

Zhang Quan had not heard of the Expose Shadow Formation, but he was familiar with the Expose Dust Formation.

Hundred Flower Tower had numerous Expose Dust Formations deployed to prevent those with peculiar proclivities from spying on intimate affairs.

Zhang Quan said, ”May I ask if Mr. Yan could set up some Expose Dust Formations around the stronghold?”

Instructor Yan feigned ignorance:

”Set up Expose Dust Formations to guard against whom?”

Zhang Quan replied with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile, ”That’s not something you need to worry about, sir.”

Instructor Yan showed slight displeasure, pondered for a moment, but made up his mind and slowly nodded:

”Since the Householder has commanded, I shall naturally comply.”

Zhang Quan breathed a sigh of relief, showing a pleased expression:

”Then I’ll have to trouble you, Mr. Yan.”

Instructor Yan also gave a bow.

Having handled Zhang Quan, Instructor Yan also let out a slight sigh of relief.

Afterward, he looked at the formation on the wall, his expression becoming distant.

This is... deciphering the formation, right?

Mo Hua, this child, can even decipher formations?

And looking at his technique, so effortless and obviously very proficient, he must have devoted great effort to this.

Instructor Yan became somewhat dazed.

The formation that he had painstakingly and sincerely painted was casually solved by this child...

Instructor Yan shook his head, feeling both shocked and comforted, and couldn’t help murmuring to himself:

”To what extent has Mo Hua’s skill in formations actually reached?”