Chapter 1449: Blazing Inferno
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Chapter 1447: Blazing Inferno
Within the minor blessed land.
On the empty ground where the last formation experiment was conducted.
Bai Zixi stood to the side, using her snow-white hands to mix a fiery red Spirit Ink.
Mo Hua held a brush, concentrating on drawing the formation pattern. Xiao Ju busied herself with small chores like serving tea and water.
The three gathered together, each attending to their own duties, creating a harmonious and pleasant scene.
As Bai Zixi mixed the Spirit Ink, she kept an eye on the formation pattern on the ground, checking for any mistakes or omissions.
Occasionally, she would look up at the figure of her Little Junior Brother, so focused on drawing the formation.
Watching his slender and elegant fingers, his composed and natural demeanor as he set brush to paper, and those eyes bright as stars, her gaze would slightly focus, lost in unknown thoughts.
Mo Hua, however, was quite absorbed and didn’t notice his little senior sister’s “surreptitious” glances.
It wasn’t until he finished drawing the formation and turned sharply that their eyes met, causing both to startle slightly.
Mo Hua asked, “Senior Sister, is something wrong?”
Why have you been staring at me?
For some reason, Bai Zixi felt a slight fluster in her heart and said, “You have ink on your face.”
“Ink on my face?”
Mo Hua was stunned. That couldn’t be. After drawing formations for so many years, how could he possibly get ink on his face?
Not like when he was a child.
Moreover, this was such precious Third-grade High-tier Spirit Ink.
This ink was more valuable than his face.
Mo Hua couldn’t help but wipe his face with his hand.
As a result, two streaks of ink were smeared onto his originally ink-free face.
Bai Zixi pursed her lips, but a glimmer of light shone in her eyes.
Mo Hua could tell she was laughing at him, and his gaze grew suspicious.
Could it be that Little Senior Sister was tricking me? There wasn’t any ink on my face originally?
That shouldn’t be the case… Little Senior Sister probably isn’t the type to be so improper.
Mo Hua frowned and called Xiao Ju over, asking, “Is there ink on my face?”
Xiao Ju trotted over, glanced at Mo Hua, and said disdainfully, “Of course there is. For someone your age to still get ink on your face, you really are something.”
Mo Hua was taken aback.
Bai Zixi lightly covered the corner of her mouth with her hand, her already ice-crystal-clear eyes growing even brighter.
Mo Hua was bewildered, suddenly feeling that his usually aloof little senior sister seemed a bit more lively today?
Mo Hua was momentarily distracted, then said helplessly after a moment, “We’re testing the formation. We should be more serious.”
Bai Zixi pursed her lips, her eyes bright, and softly uttered an “Mmm.”
This lazy sound carried a gentle tone.
Mo Hua felt his concentration wavering somewhat. Only after a moment did he rein in his wandering thoughts and begin to activate the formation.
Attending to serious business was more important.
The procedure for the formation experiment remained the same as before.
Following the plan, Mo Hua manipulated the Golden Stone Puppet to walk into the prepared Blazing Inferno Killing Formation.
Then, in an instant, blood-red light filled with killing intent flowed like molten lava. Concentrated flames, within the formation’s range, oscillated back and forth at an extremely high frequency in a very short time, annihilating everything within the formation.
The Golden Stone Puppet had its legs severed by the Blazing Inferno Killing Formation almost in the blink of an eye.
Mo Hua was startled and quickly deactivated the formation. After frowning for a moment, he turned to look at his little senior sister. Both their eyes clearly held surprise.
Both he and his senior sister were considered formation geniuses and had long held mental estimations of the power of a Third-grade High-tier Killing Formation.
However, the actual effect of the Blazing Inferno Killing Formation before their eyes still took them somewhat by surprise.
In itself, a Third-grade High-tier Killing Formation was already quite powerful.
But this Third-grade Blazing Inferno Killing Formation seemed to possess even greater destructive force than ordinary killing formations.
Most unusual was that the fluctuations of this killing formation were not extensive; instead, it concentrated highly destructive fire spiritual power within a small range, creating high-frequency oscillations back and forth to achieve spiritual strangulation.
Constructing this “strangulation” type of formation with metal or water spiritual power was relatively easier.
Because metal spiritual power was sharp, and water spiritual power was gentle, both naturally suited for strangulation formation patterns.
But fire spiritual power, with its explosive nature, was prone to combustion and detonation, fierce and difficult to tame.
Like the fire formations Mo Hua had used before, most were of the “explosive” type, large in scale and crude in the release of spiritual power.
Yet the Blazing Inferno Killing Formation before them was precisely the opposite.
This formation pattern “regulated” the explosive fire spiritual power with seamless precision, controlling it perfectly.
Thus, within a small range, its killing power was more concentrated, more precise, and even more potent.
This seemingly “ordinary” variation in formation patterns actually contained profound mastery of array formations.
It also required a sufficiently deep understanding of the changes in the Five Elements’ fire spiritual power to tame the violent fire spiritual power to this extent through formation patterns.
These variations in formations could not be discerned from paper alone.
Mo Hua was already not very familiar with Third-grade Formations, and without personally testing it, he hadn’t expected the Blazing Inferno Killing Formation to be so powerful.
Bai Zixi couldn’t help but ask Mo Hua, “Little Junior Brother, where did you get this formation?”
Mo Hua said, “I stole…”
“Stole?”
“No,” Mo Hua corrected, “I openly observed it.”
Bai Zixi looked at him suspiciously, “A Third-grade High-tier Formation, and someone just let you look at it casually?”
Mo Hua replied, “It wasn’t that casual.”
Bai Zixi didn’t press further. After a moment of thought, she said slowly: “The origin of this formation probably has some shady aspects; you should be careful.”
Mo Hua also realized this issue.
The formations Elder Tian had asked Fortune Pavilion to find might all have questionable origins.
Earth Coffin, Blazing Inferno, Water Concealment.
If there was a chance in the future, they might need to investigate further.
Bai Zixi then took out five bottles and handed them to Mo Hua, saying, “For you.”
Mo Hua took them and saw they were five bottles of fire-attribute Spirit Ink, all of high quality. He hesitated, “Senior Sister, this… isn’t appropriate.”
Bai Zixi said calmly but firmly, “I am your senior sister; if I give it to you, you take it.”
Unable to refuse, Mo Hua gave a soft “mm” and, suppressing a bit of shame, accepted the five bottles of Spirit Ink.
Next, he was going to rob Elder Tian’s tomb, and who knew what was inside. If he encountered a powerful enemy and couldn’t use the Divine-Slaying Sword, he would inevitably have to rely on formations to maneuver. In that case, this Third-grade High-tier Spirit Ink would be crucial.
Clearly, Little Senior Sister had guessed that he was in dire need of Spirit Ink, which was why she gave him five bottles at once.
This “soft living” made Mo Hua feel somewhat conflicted.
Bai Zixi glanced at Mo Hua again and asked, “When are you leaving?”
Mo Hua said, “In three days.”
Bai Zixi didn’t say much, only adding, “Remember to come back safely.”
She didn’t want the day to come when her little junior brother suddenly disappeared from before her eyes, never to be heard from again.
Mo Hua nodded, “Senior Sister, don’t worry, I will definitely return.”
Three more days passed, and on the appointed day, Mo Hua, fully prepared, went to the private residence Manager Zhao had designated for their meeting.
It was the same familiar little private house.
Manager Zhao was anxiously waiting. When Mo Hua entered the room, Manager Zhao first beamed with joy, then froze, pointing at Mo Hua’s face and asking: “What is this?”
Mo Hua replied, “Black-Faced Fiend.”
Manager Zhao was speechless. “What Black-Faced Fiend?”
Mo Hua was wearing a black mask on his face, painted with a ghostly visage—somewhat ugly and fierce. He had drawn it based on the Earth Ghost he had seen that day.
Mo Hua explained, “Since the alias is ‘Black-Faced Fiend,’ naturally I should wear a mask to match the image.”
Manager Zhao didn’t know what to say.
When he first met Mo Hua, he had been astonished, thinking Mo Hua was an elegant, aloof noble young master.
Later, he felt this was a straightforward and kind-hearted youth.
Now, after more contact, he sensed a hint of “playfulness” in this Young Master Mo, always doing strange and baffling things.
Manager Zhao felt weary.
Mo Hua asked, “Is it not acceptable?”
Manager Zhao sighed. “It’s fine.”
With the ghost mask already on Mo Hua’s face, what else could he do?
Manager Zhao then added, “Since we’re putting on a show, let’s go all the way. With this mask on, act cold and aloof. Never reveal your identity in front of outsiders.”
Mo Hua nodded. “Alright.”
Manager Zhao poured a cup of tea for Mo Hua, and the two drank tea in the courtyard. After a while, someone knocked on the door.
Manager Zhao went to open it and ushered in four people.
Mo Hua glanced up and saw that these four were all extraordinary.
One was a burly man, agile and robust; one a middle-aged cultivator with a fair face and a smile; one a skinny man, all skin and bones; and one a short man, sturdy as iron.
Moreover, they all looked unfamiliar, unlike local cultivators.
Mo Hua’s gaze paused slightly.
When these four saw Mo Hua, especially his “ghost face” mask, they were also taken aback.
Manager Zhao introduced, “This is Mo…”
He coughed and corrected himself, “This is… ‘Brother Black-Faced Fiend.’ He is the Grave Head for this job, and the Document was issued by him. He will lead you on this journey.”
The four men felt a chill, seeing Mo Hua’s mask and thinking he didn’t seem easy to deal with. They cupped their hands in greeting, saying: “Brother Black-Faced Fiend.”
Mo Hua, acting as the “leader” for the first time, nodded with feigned solemnity and cupped his hands in return. “Greetings, everyone.”
He deliberately made his voice hoarse, but it still carried a hint of clarity and pleasantness. Combined with his slender, scholarly figure, the newcomers couldn’t help but exchange glances.
The burly man frowned at Manager Zhao and said, “Manager, is this person really the leader? Don’t fool us brothers.”
What kind of leader looked so frail and wore a ghost mask to scare people?
Manager Zhao sighed inwardly, but on the surface, he had to uphold Mo Hua’s “dignity.” He put on a stern face and said: “Why would I lie to you? This Black-Faced Fiend is the real deal.”
“He issued the Document, he passed the lead, and without him spearheading this, you wouldn’t have this job.”
“After all these years in the business, haven’t you learned not to judge by appearances?”
At these words, the four men’s expressions changed, and they cupped their hands toward Mo Hua, saying, “We were blind. Please forgive us, Brother.”
Mo Hua nodded.
Manager Zhao then introduced each person to Mo Hua one by one. “This burly man is called Iron Mountain Tiger. This one with a fair and scholarly face is named ‘Smiling Face.’ The other two are known as ‘Skinny Cicada’ and ‘Pangolin.'”
Mo Hua nodded in greeting to each of them, committing their names to memory.
Afterward, Manager Zhao spoke briefly, admonishing these men: “Once you’re underground, listen to Big Brother Black-Faced Fiend. Don’t act recklessly. If you break the rules and ruin things, you won’t find a bite to eat in this Houtu City territory. And I, Zhao Dongming, will never let you off.”
Manager Zhao’s gaze was cold, his words leaving no room for leniency.
Iron Mountain Tiger and the other three wore serious expressions and nodded in agreement.
Once he finished speaking, Manager Zhao pulled “Black-Faced Fiend” Mo Hua aside into a small dark room for a private conversation.
Facing Mo Hua, Manager Zhao’s tone softened slightly as he sighed, “After all, this is your first time as a Grave Head. Be careful in everything you do.”
Mo Hua nodded. “Don’t worry, Manager Zhao.”
How could Manager Zhao possibly not worry? After hesitating for a long time, he finally couldn’t help but ask, “This time, can you bring a few living people back?”
Mo Hua asked, “What do you mean by ‘bring a few living people back’?”
Manager Zhao smiled bitterly. “I mean, don’t let them all die again.”
Mo Hua was speechless. “That’s not something I can decide. If their luck is too terrible, if they scheme against each other and kill one another… what can I, a Formation Master, do about it?”
Manager Zhao said, “I know, I know all that… It’s just, can you try your best to let one or two survive? Even just one would be enough.”
“Just one.”
Manager Zhao was practically begging Mo Hua. “If they all die again, my reputation in this line of work will truly be beyond saving.”
If his own reputation were completely ruined, even this “Black-Faced Fiend” persona of yours wouldn’t be able to recruit anyone.
Mo Hua sighed. “I’ll… try my best. But there’s nothing I can do. You know this, Manager Zhao—I’m just a Formation Master who can’t even tie up a chicken.”
Manager Zhao nodded repeatedly. “I understand.”
He didn’t truly expect Mo Hua to save anyone. After all, Mo Hua was only at the early Golden Core stage and was merely a Formation Master who knew a couple of spells. How capable could he be?
He just hoped that, by some chance, Mo Hua might actively tone down his “deathly aura” a bit and avoid dooming others.
After all, three strikes and you’re out. If they all died again this time, he really wouldn’t know how to explain it.
Everyone would think he, Zhao Dongming, was a heartless scoundrel.
After giving his instructions, Manager Zhao said, “Alright, it’s getting late. Time to set off.”
Mo Hua nodded. “Alright.”
As usual, Mo Hua, Iron Mountain Tiger, Smiling Face, and the others—five in total—left Manager Zhao’s private residence.
Only after the group had gone far away did the deeply troubled Manager Zhao slap his thigh in regret. “Damn it, I forgot to offer incense to Lord Ksitigarbha for a safe journey.”
After all these years, this tradition couldn’t be broken.
But then he thought again, shaking his head with a sigh. “Forget it. Even if incense is offered, those who are meant to die will still die.”
If you’re truly fated to die, even Lord Ksitigarbha won’t be able to save you.
It all depends on whether “Grandpa Black-Faced Fiend” decides to doom you or not.
A plain carriage headed northeast.
Inside the carriage, all five remained silent.
As the leader, Mo Hua maintained the imposing demeanor of “Black-Faced Fiend” by staying cold and silent.
The carriage traveled on with the rhythmic clip-clop of hooves. Suddenly, Mo Hua’s Divine Thought trembled faintly, sensing something unusual.
His gaze sharpened slightly as he surveyed his surroundings, yet he detected no unusual movements.
Iron Mountain Tiger, Smiling Face, Skinny Cicada, and Pangolin—all four of them—were resting with their eyes closed. No one spoke, nor was there any exchange of glances.
Mo Hua felt something was off, but he couldn’t pinpoint what it was.
He decided to fully release his Divine-Sense, allowing his monstrously powerful yet subtle Divine-Sense to envelop the entire carriage.
This time, he indeed noticed something amiss.
In the air, there were faint, blue, lightning-like patterns.
All around, subtle traces of Magnetic Runes were scattered.
This meant someone was using Primordial Magnetic Message Transmission.
Mo Hua’s heart stirred, and his gaze intensified.
Were these four people on the carriage using Message Transmission Tokens to exchange private messages right in front of him?
What were they discussing?
Mo Hua was curious, but since they were using Message Transmission Tokens for private conversations, it seemed there was no way to eavesdrop.
He decided to ignore it, closed his eyes again, and continued to rest.
Yet, moments later, he slowly opened his eyes once more, a subtle glint flashing within them.
Wait…
Primordial Magnetic signals, Thunder-Magnetic patterns… It seemed he wasn’t entirely without a way to “listen in.”
After all, using Magnetic Rune Message Transmission right in front of him, a Thunder-Magnetic Formation Master, was somewhat disrespectful.