Chapter 439: The Walking Corpse Stronghold

Mo Hua took out the map of the desolate mountains near Nanyue City.

Although called a map, its material was coarse, the lines simple, only roughly sketching some of the mountain shapes, with nothing else.

This part of the desolate mountains was rarely visited by humans, so there were no detailed maps.

The one Mo Hua held had been obtained from Situ Fang earlier—it was a topographical map of the mountains and rivers recorded by the Dao Court Division of Nanyue City.

Mo Hua recalled the light-point trajectory on his South-Pointing Compass and marked Zhang Quan’s movements on the map.

Zhang Quan’s path seemed chaotic, but all his routes were concentrated east of the mountains, between two peaks.

He came here to return to his lair.

So his place for refining and hiding corpses must be nearby.

To avoid being followed, he certainly wouldn’t linger near his lair.

Therefore, his lair was most likely west of where he lingered, separated by a large mountain, visible from a distance.

Mo Hua voiced his speculation.

Bai Zisheng asked in puzzlement,

“How do you know that?”

Mo Hua said,

“I’m a demon hunter. I track beasts in the mountains all the time; this is basic for a demon hunter.”

“But Zhang Quan isn’t a beast.”

“Close enough. He’s hardly human either—probably behaves a lot like a beast.”

Bai Zisheng nodded, then asked,

“And what if you’re wrong?”

“If I’m wrong, I’m wrong. Doesn’t really matter,” Mo Hua said indifferently.

Bai Zisheng sighed,

“Alright… at least we have a direction; better than none.”

The three of them temporarily left Zhang Quan behind, crossed a mountain range, and searched west of the desolate mountains for his hiding place.

Mo Hua wasn’t worried about Zhang Quan.

With the South-Pointing Compass, Zhang Quan couldn’t escape his control. They could ignore him for now, letting him play hide-and-seek with himself.

Once they found his hiding spot, they could even turn the tables and lie in wait to trap him.

West of the Nanyue desolate mountains, there was nothing remarkable: yellowed grass, low trees, dry rocks, and steep peaks.

The three searched together for a while, then split up, yet still found nothing.

On the surface, there were only barren grass and stones.

Further out, the mountains continued, but they were distant, and the area too large to search thoroughly.

Bai Zisheng asked,

“Nothing?”

Mo Hua shook his head,

“Not necessarily. We’ve only done the first search.”

A demon hunter never searches a mountain just once.

The first pass is just to get a general sense of the terrain, imprint it in the Sea of Consciousness, then compare it to the map to get a clearer route.

Then, using experience, one selects routes and searches carefully.

Mo Hua recalled the terrain, speculating which places could be used to refine corpses or hide, which spots had unusual formations or suspicious energy…

He then took out a brush, drew a route, and continued searching.

This time, Mo Hua searched meticulously.

At each location, he sat cross-legged, released his Divine Sense, sensing the flow of thin spiritual energy and the movement of various auras among the mountains.

At the same time, he calculated in his mind to detect any traces of formations.

Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi stayed close, protecting him from any surprise attacks by cultivators or beasts.

After searching, Mo Hua opened his eyes and moved to the next spot, going place by place.

The search was tedious.

It required calculation, consuming a lot of Divine Sense.

Fortunately, Mo Hua was patient, had a strong Divine Sense, and practiced meditation, so his energy recovered quickly.

As they moved, among a cluster of barren rocks, Mo Hua suddenly exclaimed,

“Huh?”

Bai Zisheng’s eyes lit up,

“Found something?”

Mo Hua nodded slightly,

“There’s a formation.”

Bai Zisheng released his Divine Sense and scanned, but saw nothing,

“Where?”

Mo Hua pointed at the cluster of bare rocks,

“These are all part of a formation.”

Bai Zisheng looked at the rocks—large, smooth, and numerous, stacked together, blocking the entire face of a peak.

“What kind of formation is this?”

Mo Hua shook his head,

“I’m not sure… looks like some kind of earth-based illusion. Wait a moment…”

He sat cross-legged again, eyes closed, deep in thought, drawing on the ground with a stick.

Half an hour later, he opened his eyes and pointed at the pattern,

“The formation pattern looks like this.”

Bai Zisheng’s jaw dropped,

“You even figured out the pattern?”

Mo Hua corrected him,

“It’s ‘calculated,’ not ‘figured out.’”

“Calculated” made him sound professional—a first-rank minor formation master with deep mastery.

“Figured out” would seem amateurish, like a guess.

Bai Zisheng clicked his tongue in admiration,

“Your master taught you this kind of calculation?”

Mo Hua nodded.

Bai Zisheng was envious.

With Divine Sense calculation, one could see through formations.

The formation master in these mountains hid his tracks with the formation, but to Mo Hua, it was clear as day.

He could even derive the exact pattern from his calculations.

Truly sneaky…

Bai Zisheng sighed.

Too bad his own Divine Sense wasn’t enough to learn it yet.

Even if he could learn, he probably wouldn’t master it, and even if he did, he wouldn’t use it as well as Mo Hua.

In formations, Mo Hua had always seemed like a “little genius” in his eyes…

Mo Hua suddenly glared at Bai Zisheng,

“Talking bad about me again?”

Bai Zisheng was helpless,

“I was praising you in my heart…”

Mo Hua snorted lightly,

“Think I’ll believe that?”

Bai Zisheng sighed, apologized, then quickly changed the subject,

“How do we break this formation?”

Mo Hua said,

“No need to break it, it’s just a disguise.”

After scanning with Divine Sense, he said,

“Follow me.”

Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi nodded.

Mo Hua walked to the bare rocks and lightly reached out, his fingers sinking into the stone.

He continued forward, walking straight into the rocks.

Bai Zisheng was startled, and Bai Zixi slightly surprised.

These barren rocks were an illusion, not real objects.

The two exchanged a glance and followed him inside.

Inside the rocks, it was pitch black, but Mo Hua seemed completely aware, leading them confidently.

After a short while, a stone gate appeared ahead.

The gate was gloomy, exuding deathly aura, with a faint stench of decay.

Three weathered characters were carved on it:

Walking Corpse Stronghold.

Mo Hua frowned, Walking Corpse Stronghold?

The three didn’t enter immediately. They hid nearby behind a large stone, crouching together.

“Another mountain stronghold…”

“Of course it’s a mountain stronghold if it’s in the mountains,” Bai Zixi said.

“Walking Corpse Stronghold… could it be used to refine corpses?”

“Possibly.”

“This might be a bit troublesome…”

“What’s wrong?”

Mo Hua thought for a moment,

“Since it’s a stronghold, there won’t be just one cultivator inside, but many…”

“And Zhang Quan isn’t alone; he should be a leader, at least in charge.”

Bai Zisheng asked,

“So do we just rush in and kill them all?”

Mo Hua sighed,

“Do you think you could?”

“How would we know if we don’t try?”

Bai Zisheng’s eyes shone, eager to charge in and wipe out the stronghold.

Bai Zixi quietly pinched his arm, and he calmed down.

Mo Hua said,

“You have to plan ahead, can’t act rashly. I’ll sneak in first, see the situation, then decide.”

“Alone?”

“Yes,” Mo Hua nodded. “I’m familiar with this.”

He had once infiltrated the Black Mountain Stronghold alone, undetected.

Back then it was dangerous.

Now it was different.

His Divine Sense was deeper, concealment stronger, and his formations far exceeded a normal first-rank formation master. Even if a Foundation Establishment cultivator were present, he needn’t fear.

Though he couldn’t defeat a Foundation Establishment cultivator in combat, his concealment made him invisible to them.

Bai Zixi objected,

“We’ll go together!”

Bai Zisheng nodded in agreement.

Mo Hua shook his head,

“You two can’t conceal well enough; a Foundation Establishment cultivator will see through it.”

Bai Zixi still looked uneasy.

Mo Hua said,

“I’ll go in. You stay here as backup. If anything goes wrong, I’ll set off fireworks, and you rush in to help.”

Although he said this, it was unlikely to be necessary.

Bai Zixi thought for a moment and nodded reluctantly.

Bai Zisheng, slightly disappointed, reminded them,

“If anything happens, don’t be afraid—set off fireworks, and I’ll rush in… no, to protect you!”

He was still thinking about fighting.

Mo Hua was helpless.

He said nothing further, concealed himself, and quietly entered the stronghold.

Before entering, he released his Divine Sense to locate the cultivators at the gate, then quietly avoided them and snuck in.

He found a hidden spot, maximizing his Divine Sense, probing briefly each time, then retracting it—like a dragonfly skimming water, leaving no trace.

After three or four rounds of this, with no abnormalities, Mo Hua relaxed slightly.

It seemed there were no Foundation Establishment cultivators inside.

Or, if there were, their Divine Sense wasn’t strong enough to detect him.

His mind became calm.

He began observing the layout of the stronghold and the cultivators inside.

The Walking Corpse Stronghold was built into the mountain, simple in layout, with wooden huts and dug-out caves.

What stood out was the thick corpse aura and the many deathly energies.

A brief sweep with Divine Sense revealed numerous coffins.

Most were wooden, but a few, emitting heavier corpse aura, were made of refined iron, preserved by evil formations.

These contained stronger iron corpses.

The stronghold had many dead, few living.

The living cultivators weren’t all corpse cultivators.

Only a few cultivators could control corpses, wearing gray robes, pale-skinned.

Most others looked more like bandits.

Mo Hua was somewhat surprised.

Besides that, there were formations.

As expected, the surroundings were protected by multiple formations.

Most were below first-rank level, ranging from seven to nine lines.

Mo Hua analyzed several, and suddenly froze.

He recognized the brushwork.

Neat, precise, somewhat rigid.

When he learned formations at Tōngxiān Sect, these had been the standard patterns.

This was… Instructor Yan’s formation…