Chapter 270: Discovery

Mo Hua revealed himself and asked in surprise, "When did you see me?"

Elder Yu gave a half-smile, "From the moment you stepped in."

Mo Hua's face looked a bit disheartened—it seemed he still couldn’t evade the perception of a Foundation Building Cultivator.

"Was it your spiritual sense that detected me?" Mo Hua asked again.

Elder Yu shook his head slightly. "No, I heard you."

Mo Hua was taken aback. "Heard me?"

"That's right," Elder Yu replied. "I've been a Demon Hunter for many years, spending most of my time in the mountains hunting yao beasts. I'm sensitive to even the slightest sound or movement."

"Moreover, this is my home. I often sit in this very hall, drinking tea. If the hall is usually empty and suddenly there’s someone else’s presence, how could I not notice?"

Elder Yu explained with a gentle smile as he looked at Mo Hua.

Mo Hua nodded, thinking it made sense. He then paused, and his eyes lit up.

"Then if the environment was more chaotic and I stayed perfectly still, making no sound, would you still be able to find me?"

"Well…"

Elder Yu stroked his beard, hesitating slightly.

To admit he couldn’t detect someone would be a loss of face for a Foundation Building Elder.

But to say with certainty that he could discover Mo Hua wasn’t entirely accurate, either.

When Mo Hua had initially entered the room, he hadn't noticed him at all.

It wasn’t until Mo Hua moved—albeit very quietly—that he caught the faint sound of footsteps reaching his ears.

He had used sound to locate Mo Hua, then swept the area with his spiritual sense, only to detect a faintly blurred figure—a little cultivator skilled in concealment.

The aura was very familiar.

And apart from Mo Hua, there was no one else around who could use Concealment Techniques, was young, and dared to sneak into his hall.

Elder Yu had decided to pretend he hadn’t noticed, amusing himself by letting Mo Hua play around for a while.

But looking back, had it not been for the sound that prompted him to sweep the area with his spiritual sense, he might not have detected Mo Hua at all.

Elder Yu furrowed his brows, contemplating, and finally admitted, "It’s hard to say."

Mo Hua’s eyes lit up. "Elder Yu, how about we test it?"

Elder Yu was about to say, "I have other matters to attend to," but when he saw the eager expression in Mo Hua's eyes, he left that thought unspoken.

"Well, it’s nothing urgent. Let’s consider this a break and play along with the boy," Elder Yu thought, secretly curious about just how effective Mo Hua’s Concealment Technique truly was.

"All right, let’s find a place to test it and see if I can detect you," Elder Yu agreed with a smile.

They headed outside Tongxian City, finding a secluded spot at the base of a mountain.

Here, the trees were dense, and the vegetation thick.

"I'll go hide in the woods first, and then you can come find me."

Mo Hua finished speaking and disappeared into the forest, crouching behind a bush behind a large tree. He then activated his Concealment Technique, becoming perfectly still and silent.

After counting to fifteen, Elder Yu entered the forest, extending his spiritual sense, frowning when he noticed he couldn’t immediately locate Mo Hua.

With no choice but to calm himself, Elder Yu began searching methodically from the edge of the forest, examining every bush.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Elder Yu finally sensed a faint presence behind a large tree.

Elder Yu raised an eyebrow, relieved inwardly.

At least he had found him; otherwise, it would have been quite embarrassing.

Elder Yu cleared his throat and called out, feigning nonchalance, "You can come out now."

Mo Hua reappeared, not looking disappointed at all. In fact, he seemed expectant as he asked Elder Yu, "Elder, how was the Concealment Technique?"

Mo Hua had expected to be discovered. He merely wanted to gauge how effective the Concealment Technique would be against a Foundation Building Cultivator.

"Impressive," Elder Yu nodded approvingly. "As long as you remain still and silent, most Foundation Building Cultivators wouldn’t notice you unless they specifically swept the area with their spiritual sense."

Mo Hua’s face lit up with joy.

"But," Elder Yu added a reminder, "Foundation Building Cultivators’ spiritual senses vary in strength. Just because I couldn’t detect you doesn’t mean others won’t. You still need to be careful."

Mo Hua replied earnestly, "Understood, Elder."

Elder Yu nodded and couldn’t help but marvel inwardly.

To be able to hide so effectively, Mo Hua’s spiritual sense must be quite strong…

Could it almost be approaching the Foundation Building level?…

As Elder Yu pondered, he suddenly remembered something and asked, "How did you learn the Concealment Technique?"

He had been curious before but hadn’t gotten the chance to ask.

If he recalled correctly, Concealment Techniques should only be accessible to those with a single water spiritual root or the extremely rare yin spiritual root.

Mo Hua, with his Lesser Five Elements Spiritual Roots, shouldn’t be able to learn Concealment Techniques.

Mo Hua gave a sly smile, "I drew an array."

"Oh," Elder Yu nodded, understanding now.

Mo Hua was an Array Master, so naturally, he would resolve issues through arrays.

"Is this array particularly rare?" Elder Yu asked.

In his memory, he had never heard of an Array Master capable of drawing a Concealment Array, nor had he seen a concealment artifact.

Only a handful of cultivators knew Concealment Techniques, like Diao Laosan, but such cultivators were rare.

Mo Hua nodded, "Yes, it’s difficult to learn."

Although the Concealment Array was a Nine-Layered Pattern, its intricate strokes required a spiritual sense nearly at the level of Nine and a Half Layers.

Most First-Grade Array Masters lacked the necessary spiritual sense, which made learning it rare.

Elder Yu nodded slightly.

If Mo Hua said it was difficult, then it certainly was, explaining why Elder Yu had never seen it before.

…

"With this array activated, can no one see you at all?" Elder Yu asked with newfound curiosity.

Mo Hua activated the Concealment Array by itself, which made him invisible, although his hands and head remained faintly visible.

Seeing this, Elder Yu was somewhat disappointed, "This array still has flaws; the concealment effect isn’t flawless."

"Yes," Mo Hua agreed, "that’s why I only partially learned the Concealment Technique and paired it with this flawed Concealment Array to remain hidden."

Neither method was perfect alone, but together, they provided adequate concealment.

"This is a double-layered concealment… well, more like one and a half layers," Mo Hua said.

Elder Yu stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Using both, the effect seems even better than just the Concealment Technique alone, especially at night."

In the dimness of night, even if someone detected one layer, Mo Hua would still have a second one, which could easily go unnoticed.

Most cultivators wouldn’t expect someone to have two layers of concealment.

Mo Hua chuckled proudly.

Even Elder Yu, a Foundation Building Elder, praised his concealment methods, which made all his effort feel worthwhile.

As they continued talking, the sky began to darken, and Elder Yu suddenly remembered something and clapped his hand to his forehead, "I forgot, there’s something I haven’t done."

"Is it important?"

"Just a minor thing," Elder Yu smiled. "It’s getting late. Let’s head back."

"Okay."

Elder Yu led Mo Hua back, and upon reaching the entrance to South Street, Elder Yu reminded Mo Hua of a few things before heading to the Artifact Crafting Shop.

Mo Hua, now alone, headed home in a cheerful mood.

Learning Concealment Techniques gave him more options, whether for ambushes, escaping, or striking from the shadows.

After all, no one could see him.

Mo Hua couldn’t help but laugh, humming a little tune as he walked. Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he stopped in his tracks, a chill running through him.

Invisible…

Elder Yu’s earlier words echoed in his ears:

"With this array active, can no one see you at all…"

Hidden by the array… invisible…

In Mo Hua’s mind, the image of that cliff and the bottomless abyss below it suddenly resurfaced.

"Could it… be hidden by a Concealment Array?" Mo Hua murmured, his pupils narrowing as he spoke.