Immortality Through Array Formations Chapter 1979 - 956: Ten Thousand Corpses Sealing the Coffin (Part 2)
Previously on Immortality Through Array Formations...
The path of Tao cultivation involves far more than mere slaughter and violence.
A cultivator's true power is also measured by their breadth of vision and depth of experience.
Mo Hua exemplified this as he observed Mr. Hui. He watched closely as the man established the altar and deployed his techniques, activating the Taoist Seal Formation and the Yellow Jade Ancient Talisman while performing a series of flashy secret arts using the Eight Diagrams Step.
While some of these secret techniques might have possessed genuine utility, Mo Hua suspected otherwise.
He surmised that a portion of these "rituals" were actually superficial fluff, designed to mask the process and ensure the true inheritance remained hidden from prying eyes.
This was especially true regarding spectators like Mo Hua.
Furthermore, the defensive measures of the Maoshan methods were quite formidable.
To Mo Hua's eyes, every aspect of the Maoshan Taoist Skill—aside from the formation components—remained utterly incomprehensible.
Nevertheless, the efficacy of Mr. Hui’s Maoshan Taoist Skill was undeniable.
As the rituals progressed, Mr. Hui successfully drew upon the strange energies surrounding the copper coffin.
The oppressive, deathly aura that saturated the area began to be purged away.
Twisting karmic bonds started to rotate, uncoupling from one another before disintegrating entirely...
Mo Hua could almost perceive a thin veil of mist evaporating with his naked eye, as a karmic aura, stained with the hue of pitch-black blood, began to permeate the air.
It felt as though a portal to a terrestrial purgatory was being wrenched open.
The earth vibrated with a low tremor, causing jagged stones to crumble into dust.
The massive, shimmering yellow copper coffin began to liquefy. Molten copper spilled across the floor, tracing the lines of a grand inscription.
Suddenly, the inscription shattered, and the floor beneath gave way.
A massive, void-like pit was revealed beneath the site of the melted copper coffin.
The giant copper coffin had served as a "lock."
With the lock now dissolved, the entrance to the deeper reaches of the tomb stood open...
Mo Hua gasped as he witnessed the magnificent yet terrifying Maoshan Taoist Skill and the dark, ominous abyss that radiated a chill reminiscent of the Nine Nether lands.
"The ground gate to the tomb is now open," Mr. Hui stated, wiping beads of cold sweat from his brow. He let out a long breath and offered a bow to the elder in black robes.
"You have my thanks." The elder in black robes circulated Qi to his eyes, peering deep into the eerie pit.
The moment the elder turned his gaze away, Mr. Hui moved with lightning speed, pressing a Jade Talisman against his own forehead.
The Jade Talisman burst into light as it shattered, and Mr. Hui’s form vanished instantly.
Startled, the elder in black robes reacted by flicking his sleeve, launching a blood-red bone needle toward an empty space several yards distant.
The needle struck an indistinct shadow.
The shadow flickered and collapsed to the ground.
The elder in black robes scowled. "A Maoshan Substitute Escape Talisman?"
Even as he spoke, the figure pinned by the bone needle reverted to its true shape: a simple wooden puppet.
"A decoy? A puppet?"
Mo Hua was momentarily stunned, but a sudden chill ran down his spine. He looked up to find a large hand looming over him.
Wrapped in an earthy aura, the hand reached out to seize him.
"Mr. Hui? He's trying to kidnap me?"
Mo Hua remained motionless, perfectly feigning an inability to react or escape.
Suddenly, a flash of blood-colored sword light descended.
"Young Master Xuan," who had been standing barely two yards away, had clearly been monitoring Mo Hua’s every move. He unsheathed his blade in a blur, sending a streak of crimson light toward Mr. Hui’s reaching palm.
Mr. Hui was forced to retract his hand.
Though he wished to press the attack and secure Mo Hua, Young Master Xuan had already stepped forward, positioning himself as a shield in front of the boy.
Mr. Hui cursed silently.
His original plan had been to snatch Mo Hua and flee together.
He had successfully deceived the elder in black robes using the Maoshan Substitute Escape Technique, but he hadn't expected the interference of this black-robed youth, Young Master Xuan.
With only a few heartbeats available to make his escape, he had to abandon his attempt to take Mo Hua and flee on his own.
He had no intention of entering that dismal underground abyss.
His experience told him that venturing down there was a one-way trip to the grave.
Therefore, the moment his Maoshan Taoist Skill melted the coffin and opened the path, Mr. Hui’s only thought was flight.
The gate was open; he was no longer necessary to the group.
He gambled that once he cleared the underground palace, those powerful Demon Cultivators wouldn't bother to hunt him down.
If they intended to explore the tomb further, they wouldn't waste precious time chasing him.
Before departing, however, Mr. Hui had hoped to take Mo Hua with him.
In this era, talent was the most valuable currency.
Tomb loot was a one-time gain, but controlling a Formation Master meant a lifetime of wealth and opportunity.
It was a shame the youth in black had ruined his scheme.
Being a man of decisive action, Mr. Hui didn't waste a second lamenting his failure. He formed a hand seal and stomped the ground, his body sinking into the earth as he vanished completely.
This was undoubtedly the Earth Escape Skill of the Maoshan Taoists.
The elder in black robes let out a cold sneer. His eyes narrowed as he released the full pressure of his Divine Sense.
The elder’s Divine Sense was overwhelmingly powerful; Mo Hua felt as though he were drowning in a sea of blood, his lungs tightening with a sense of suffocation.
In an instant, the elder locked onto Mr. Hui’s position.
He made a grasping motion in the air, summoning threads of blood that wove themselves into a spear before lancing into a distant patch of soil.
When the blood spear was retracted, it dragged a body out with it.
It was Mr. Hui, caught mid-escape.
The blood spear had skewered Mr. Hui’s shoulder. Gritting his teeth against the agony, he reached for a blade, intending to hack off his own arm to get away.
But before he could strike, a monster cultivator as massive as a Bear Pi materialized behind him, pinning Mr. Hui’s shoulder with a paw-like hand.
The sickening crunch of breaking bone echoed through the chamber.
The dagger slipped from his nerveless fingers. His face turning a deathly pale, a paralyzed Mr. Hui began to beg, "Senior, please, show mercy!"