Immortality Through Array Formations

Chapter 285: Chapter 284 Contemplation Map_1

Mo Hua’s mind raced, endlessly pondering:

“The third Householder’s divine sense is strong, and his formation skills have reached such a level—could it be that he also relied on a Contemplation Map?”

“If I obtained a Contemplation Map, would I also be able to strengthen my divine sense?”

Having learned Heaven Yan Jue, Mo Hua needed to possess the divine sense of a Foundation Building Cultivator before he could break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm.

He had a Taoist Stele and practiced formations every day, honing his Sea of Consciousness; his divine sense was already growing very fast.

But this was still far from enough.

The disparity between the divine senses of the Qi Refinement Realm and the Foundation Establishment Realm was too great, and the further one progressed, the more difficult it became, with the growth of divine sense also slowing.

Mo Hua did not know how much longer it would take before he possessed the divine sense of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator and could make his breakthrough.

He had asked Mr. Zhuang.

Mr. Zhuang did not give a clear answer, but from the gentleman’s expression, it seemed rather pessimistic.

“If I could comprehend the Contemplation Map and enhance my divine sense, could I establish my foundation faster?”

Mo Hua felt a rush of excitement in his heart.

Being able to establish his foundation sooner, he would be able to learn Second-Grade formations and become a Second Grade Formation Master earlier.

The cultivation and abilities of Foundation Building Cultivators and Second Grade Formation Masters were unmatched by those of Qi Refinement Cultivators and First Grade Formation Masters.

Mo Hua indulged in a moment of aspiration, but then fell into a bit of dejection.

The Contemplation Map was in the hands of the third Householder, a Foundation Establishment Evil Cultivator and an Evil Formation Master; it was impossible for Mo Hua to forcibly take it.

Stratagems were useless as well.

He could still plot against a Qi Refinement Cultivator.

In front of a Foundation Building Cultivator, his schemes were nothing but low-grade tricks that wouldn’t hold water.

Cultivation was the foundation of a cultivator, and in the face of the gaping chasm of realms, petty strategies were to little avail.

Furrowing his brow, Mo Hua found himself at a loss.

Then he realized that the most pressing issue was not whether he could obtain the Contemplation Map, but whether he could safely get out.

If the third Householder did not leave or closed the main door when leaving, Mo Hua would be trapped to death in this bloody pill room.

He had not researched evil formations and did not know if he could unlock them.

If he couldn’t, he figured he would have to stay there indefinitely, keeping company with the White Bone Pill Furnace and the foolish Pig Monster.

Mo Hua thought long and hard, but still, he was without a solution.

Since there was no solution, he could only wait patiently.

Waiting patiently for an opportunity was also one of the essential qualities of a Monster Hunter.

Not only was Mo Hua a Monster Hunter, but he was also a Formation Master.

He could keep his composure, drawing formations all day long, so waiting patiently for a chance to escape didn’t seem too difficult.

Mo Hua lay on the beam, motionless, waiting patiently.

Time passed, and suddenly, someone else approached from outside the door.

A jolt of alarm struck Mo Hua’s heart, “It couldn’t be the fourth Householder coming back…”

If that were the case, it would be troublesome.

With the deep divine sense of the third Householder and the keen perception of the fourth, the risk of Mo Hua’s Concealment Technique being detected would be even greater.

Mo Hua watched intently.

Before long, a figure appeared at the door; it was that old Evil Cultivator from the entrance, not the fourth Householder.

Mo Hua breathed a sigh of relief.

The old Evil Cultivator respectfully stood at the door for a while.

The third Householder noticed and carefully put away the Contemplation Map before slowly saying,

“Come in.”

The old Evil Cultivator entered, walked up to the third Householder, and said something in a low voice.

Mo Hua could not make out the words clearly; he only caught some blurred phrases, like “some movement from the Monster Hunters…” “…trouble on the Inner Mountain…” and “fear the fourth Householder causing issues…”

Mo Hua felt a mix of surprise and confusion, “What could go wrong on the Inner Mountain?”

After the old Evil Cultivator finished speaking, the third Householder furrowed his brow and said,

“I understand, I will take a look.”

The old Evil Cultivator bowed and respectfully retreated.

The third Householder sat cross-legged, pondering for a moment, then also stood up and headed out.

However, halfway to the door, he turned back, paced two steps inside the pill room as if feeling uncertain, then took the Contemplation Map out from his Storage Bag with great care.

The third Householder lifted the meditation cushion he sat on and pointed to the ground, causing the formation patterns on the floor to flash. The stone slab sank, revealing a hidden compartment below.

After hiding the Contemplation Map in the hidden compartment and resealing it with the formation, the third Householder nodded slightly, satisfied with the arrangement.

Going out tonight, if any conflict arose, losing the Contemplation Map could be akin to gouging out his heart, a fate more painful than death.

The bloody pill room, nestled deep within the Black Mountain Stronghold, was a place no one dared to visit on ordinary days.

Even if someone did come, no one would know about the hidden compartment beneath the cushion, let alone that the Contemplation Map was inside it.

In this Black Mountain Stronghold, it was even less likely that anyone could unlock the formation.

Assured in his preparations, the third Householder finally felt completely at ease.

He got up and left, stepping out of the pill room, and before exiting, he also sealed the Blood Formation and closed the Beast Gate.

With the rise of a heavy and grating sound, the Bronze Blood Formation Beast Gate was thoroughly shut.

The pill room plunged into dead silence, with the red hues growing even denser.

While the third Householder left feeling secure, he was unaware that everything he did had been witnessed by Mo Hua from the beam above.

Mo Hua waited a while to ensure that the pill room was empty, and that the third Householder had truly left, then stealthily climbed down from the beam.

Mo Hua first approached the Bronze Beast Gate.

The Beast Gate had been sealed shut, and the formation activated.

Mo Hua had no key—meaning the white skull—and naturally could not open the gate.

Even if he had the key, it wouldn’t open from the inside.

Mo Hua then examined the formation with his divine sense and let out a sigh.

All the patterns drawn on the main gate were Evil Formations, which Mo Hua knew nothing about, much less how to solve them.

“It seems I can’t leave for now…”

Mo Hua sighed again.

Since he couldn’t leave, he might as well take a look at the third Householder’s map.

Mo Hua braced himself and immediately returned to the pill room.

In the pill room, the white bone pill furnace emitted a sinister glow, and a massive pig monster was streaked with blood.

Mo Hua found the position where the third householder contemplated and lifted the meditation cushion there.

Under the cushion, there was nothing.

But with his divine sense, Mo Hua could see the interwoven patterns of the formation.

The tricks of a formation master might deceive an ordinary cultivator, but not Mo Hua, who was also a formation master.

Unless there was a significant gap in their understanding of formations.

The third householder was indeed a foundation building cultivator, but he was also a first-grade formation master.

In terms of formation knowledge, he and Mo Hua were on par; in some areas, he was stronger than Mo Hua, while in others, he was not as skilled as Mo Hua.

Mo Hua checked the formation that the third householder used to seal the hidden compartment.

It was a concealment formation coupled with some compound metal and stone formations.

The concealment formation was for hiding, while the compound metal and stone formations were for reinforcement.

“As long as it’s not an evil formation, that’s good,” Mo Hua murmured to himself.

The third householder probably thought that the evil formation was too conspicuous and not suitable for hiding something, so he used a concealment formation paired with compound formations to obscure and seal the hidden compartment.

After all, near Tongxian City, formation masters capable of creating concealment and compound formations are as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.

And there were almost none who could unravel these formations.

But Mo Hua was an exception.

When dealing with evil formations, Mo Hua had no solution, but if it was a regular formation, especially a first-grade Five Elements Formation, he could solve it without much effort.

It took Mo Hua only a moment to undo the carefully arranged formations by the third householder, even preserving the integrity of the original formations without any damage to the hidden compartment.

Mo Hua nodded to himself, feeling impressed:

“The solution to the formation that Mr. Zhuang taught me is really useful.”

Otherwise, his infiltration into Black Mountain Stronghold wouldn’t have been so easy.

After unlocking the formations, Mo Hua opened the hidden compartment and carefully extracted the contemplation map within.

The contemplation map was somewhat ancient, the paper looked like both paper and skin, folded together so that the contents could not be seen.

Mo Hua wanted to open it and take a quick look, but suddenly he hesitated.

He remembered what Mr. Zhuang had told him:

“Contemplation maps are extremely rare and harbor dangers; you shouldn’t touch them unless absolutely necessary…”

A chill went through Mo Hua’s heart.

If he were to heed Mr. Zhuang’s words, rashly opening this contemplation map might expose him to unforeseen dangers.

Mo Hua always remembered Mr. Zhuang’s words.

If Mr. Zhuang said that the contemplation map harbored dangers, then it was best not to touch it until the situation was clear.

But now that the contemplation map was in his hands, should he return it?

Mo Hua hesitated.

If the third householder contemplated this map again, it would enhance his divine sense, allow him to learn more evil formations, and continue to commit wrongdoings, doing even more evil deeds.

Even if Mo Hua didn’t keep the map, he couldn’t let it fall into the third householder’s hands again.

“What should I do?”

Mo Hua pondered for a moment, then his eyes lit up.

If the map was dangerous, then he wouldn’t look at it now. He would keep the contemplation map and ask Mr. Zhuang about it when he returned.

Mr. Zhuang was well-versed and knowledgeable, and if the gentleman said there was no issue, then he’d contemplate the map.

If the gentleman said the map was problematic, then he’d throw it into the artifact furnace and burn it, ending the matter once and for all.

Mo Hua nodded, thinking this was the safest approach, and decided to put the contemplation map into his storage bag first.

But as he was handling the contemplation map, the corner of his eye inadvertently caught a glimpse of a corner of it.

It was a moss-covered rock.

Seeing the rock, Mo Hua felt slightly puzzled.

Then, he couldn’t help himself, and gradually, little by little, he unfolded the contemplation map.

By the time Mo Hua snapped back to his senses, he was alarmed.

“What am I doing?!”

Mo Hua broke into a cold sweat.

He had not thought of anything nor done anything, and yet it was as if someone was controlling him, opening the contemplation map.

With gritted teeth, Mo Hua attempted to fold the map back up, but it was too late.

The contemplation map was fully unfolded.

A complete contemplation map was laid bare before Mo Hua’s eyes!

Mo Hua also saw what was depicted on the map.

It was a landscape painting with figures.

In the distance, there were green mountains; nearby, a flowing stream; the stream moistened the moss, and the moss climbed up the rocks.

On top of the rocks, a tiny Taoist child sat as if reciting scriptures.

It was a tranquil, serene image of an immortal’s abode.

Mo Hua was stunned.

Was this the contemplation map?

What did this map mean?

As Mo Hua pondered, suddenly he noticed that the little Taoist child seemed to come to life and smiled at him.

The smile was innocent and bright.

Mo Hua was startled, yet he couldn’t help but smile back a bit.

His smile was innocent and pure, somewhat similar to that of the little Taoist child.

But then, a chill ran through Mo Hua’s heart, and the smile on his face gradually faded away.

Because he realized that the little Taoist child’s innocent smile had imperceptibly taken on a hint of malevolence.

The malevolence gradually became eerie.

The little Taoist child’s smile turned more and more bizarre, more and more fierce.

Suddenly, his skin peeled off like paper, revealing a green-faced, fanged little ghost underneath.

The little green-faced ghost, with eyes like bronze bells, stared intently at Mo Hua as if he had seen a rare treasure, with a covetous look.

Seizing Mo Hua’s moment of distraction, it leaped out from the painting, shrinking to the size of a palm, and lunged toward Mo Hua’s forehead, its hand like a sharp claw, tearing through the sea of consciousness’ wall, and burrowed into Mo Hua’s sea of consciousness.