Chapter 306: The Mist Forest

Commander Yang deployed three squads of Dao Soldiers — all heavily armed, armored, and of deep cultivation.

He barked in a sharp tone, “This mission — you must ensure Mister Mo’s safety. Otherwise, you’ll answer to military law!”

“Yes, sir!” the Dao Soldiers responded in unison.

Commander Yang personally led the vanguard, with the three squads flanking him to guard Mo Hua as they advanced toward the fog-shrouded depths of the mountains. Mo Hua and Zhang Lan followed behind.

On the way, Mo Hua whispered, “Uncle Zhang, are you and Commander Yang close?”

“Fairly.”

“You two seem to get along really well.”

“Nonsense.” Zhang Lan pursed his lips. “How are we ‘getting along’ well?”

“Just looks that way.”

Zhang Lan gave him a sideways glare. “Our Zhang Clan and the Yang Clan have long been related by marriage. The elders visit each other often. He and I are of the same generation — grew up together — and have never gotten along.”

“Doesn’t seem like that to me,” Mo Hua thought silently. “You two bicker like you’re having fun…”

Zhang Lan narrowed his eyes. “You’re bad-mouthing me in your head, aren’t you?”

Mo Hua shook his head. “No.”

Zhang Lan snorted lightly.

Mo Hua then asked, “Uncle Zhang, since you’re the same age and knew each other since childhood, how come Commander Yang has already reached Foundation Establishment while you’re still at the ninth layer of Qi-Refining? Is your talent worse than his?”

“You know nothing,” Zhang Lan lowered his voice. “I’m accumulating deeply to burst forth later — not seeking short-term gains, but aiming for the long road of the Dao.”

Mo Hua muttered under his breath, “Doesn’t look that way…”

Zhang Lan angrily pinched his cheek. “Mere Foundation Establishment? If I wished, I could break through tomorrow!”

Mo Hua was clearly skeptical. “Foundation Establishment isn’t cabbage. You can’t just pick one whenever you want.”

“That’s difficult for loose cultivators,” Zhang Lan retorted, “but for clan disciples, Foundation Establishment is trivial. What truly matters is tempering one’s Dao Foundation during Qi-Refining.”

Mo Hua nodded — that was what Mister Zhuang and Zi Sheng, Zi Xi had said as well.

“But…” Mo Hua couldn’t help adding, “you’ve been tempering it too long…”

He’s been “tempering” into his thirties…

Zhang Lan sighed. “Some things are beyond my control.”

Mo Hua leaned closer, concerned. “Uncle Zhang, if something’s bothering you, you can tell me — I’ll keep your secret.”

Zhang Lan glanced at him. “You just want to hear a story, don’t you?”

Mo Hua smiled sheepishly.

Zhang Lan shook his head, half-helpless. “Nothing serious. It’s just… once I reach Foundation Establishment, the clan will force a marriage alliance. I’d have to wed a woman I don’t like.”

“Do you have someone you like?” Mo Hua asked.

Zhang Lan ruffled his hair. “You’re still too young. Focus on cultivation and formation studies.”

“I am focused,” Mo Hua said earnestly. “It’s just boring on the road, so I’m talking to pass the time.”

Zhang Lan’s face darkened — apparently he was only good for entertainment now…

The two chatted idly all the way until they reached the edge of the Mist Forest, where the group concealed themselves behind a massive boulder.

Mo Hua poked his small head out, observing the opposite side for a while. Then he extended his Divine-Sense, borrowing the perceptual vision of his Spirit-Pivot to sense lingering traces of spiritual energy.

The moment his Divine-Sense spread out, Commander Yang froze, then shook his head in disbelief. “Impossible…” he muttered inwardly.

After a time, Mo Hua retracted his Divine-Sense and nodded.

“The fog formations have indeed shifted — and there are more of them now.”

Zhang Lan’s gaze sharpened. “Have they discovered something?”

Commander Yang’s expression turned steely. “If they haven’t, we strike swiftly and secretly. If they have, then we fight head-on and exterminate them all. Either way — our task remains the same.”

Mo Hua nodded thoughtfully, then said,

“Commander Yang, you stay here with your men. I’ll go in first. If I don’t encounter any evil cultivators, I’ll draw a path map through the mist forest. If I do find one, I’ll come back and alert you. We can ambush and capture him — interrogate him for intel.”

Commander Yang frowned and immediately refused.

“Too dangerous. I’ll go with you.”

Mo Hua shook his head. “If we go together, we’ll alert them — the enemy is hidden, we’re exposed. If I go alone, it’s the opposite — they’re exposed, I’m hidden.”

Commander Yang blinked. “How does you going alone make you hidden—”

Before he finished, Mo Hua vanished under his nose — utterly silent, not a trace remaining.

Commander Yang stared, dumbfounded. “Invisibility Art?!”

Zhang Lan nodded.

Commander Yang frowned. “Invisibility Arts have flaws — they can be seen by Divine-Sense …”

He trailed off mid-sentence.

Because when he extended his Divine-Sense, Mo Hua’s presence was nowhere in sight.

The realization hit — his eyes widened, voice trembling slightly:

“Foundation-Establishment Divine-Sense?!”

Zhang Lan feigned calm, patting his shoulder. “If you panic like that, what kind of commander are you? Next time, don’t say you know me — it’s embarrassing.”

“Get lost,” Commander Yang hissed. “I’ve never seen a Qi-Refining cultivator with Divine-Sense of Foundation strength!”

“Well, now you have.”

Commander Yang’s shock didn’t fade. “How in the heavens did he do that…”

“Don’t ask.”

Then Zhang Lan’s tone turned serious. “This must never be spoken of. Mo Hua’s background isn’t high — people would envy him.”

Commander Yang shot him a look. “Relax. I’m not you — I can keep things in order.”

He then turned to the Dao Soldiers.

“What Captain Zhang and I discussed just now is classified. Whatever you heard stays buried in your hearts — not a word to anyone.”

His tone was severe; the Dao Soldiers, all his trusted men, stiffened and saluted.

“We obey the Commander’s orders!”

Zhang Lan nodded approvingly. “Not bad — you actually sound like a commander now.”

Commander Yang rolled his eyes and ignored him.

Meanwhile, Mo Hua — body hidden, aura vanished — slipped quietly into the Mist Forest.

The fog formations were denser, the mist thicker, but that didn’t hinder him in the least.

As Mister Zhuang had said: All things have an outward form and an inner truth.

Here, the fog was the outward form — the formations were the truth beneath.

Having already mastered the first-grade, ten-rune Reverse-Spirit Formation, ordinary first-grade, nine-rune fog arrays appeared crude to Mo Hua now.

A few glances were enough for him to grasp their entire structure.

Using Flowing-Water Step, Mo Hua leapt up a tall tree, took out brush and paper, and began marking the positions of each fog formation.

From the outer perimeter inward, stroke by stroke, he sketched the Mist Forest’s layout.

Following the fog formations’ trail, he reached the gate of Black Mountain Stronghold — without meeting a single evil cultivator along the way.

Mo Hua frowned.

Among the stronghold’s demonic cultivators, only the Third Master was a first-grade formation master — these fog arrays were his work.

He had re-laid the arrays. So, had he discovered something?

But what exactly?

The dug-out wall sections?

The formations secretly dismantled piece by piece?

Or perhaps Mo Hua’s true identity?

Unable to reason it out, Mo Hua set the thought aside. Once the Dao Soldiers crushed the stronghold and annihilated its inhabitants, everything would become clear.

There was no need to enter Black Mountain Stronghold again — completing the Mist Forest map was enough.

He turned to leave.

But before departing, Mo Hua looked back once more at the looming stronghold.

A long-standing question resurfaced in his mind:

Such a massive Black Mountain Stronghold… just how was it built in the first place?

(End of Chapter)