Chapter 582: Opening the Box

The sword move exhausted his strength and missed, and Jiang Laoda, with his spiritual power depleted, knew he was undoubtedly going to die.

And Mo Hua, indeed, did not give him the slightest chance, nor the slightest mercy. Fireball techniques were frequently cast, finishing off the dying Jiang Laoda.

Up to this point, this group of human traffickers had been completely wiped out.

Everything around was a mess, scorched black. The thatched hut had been broken by an imperial sword, and grass debris was everywhere.

Mo Hua nodded and decided to slip away.

According to the conversation between Jiang Laoda and the fat shopkeeper, their accomplices would still come over after an hour.

If he were to run into them, the situation wouldn't be too good.

However, there was still a little time, and Mo Hua wanted to "clean up" a bit more.

First, he needed to erase some traces of the array. Although he couldn't completely eliminate them, he needed to confuse and cover up the methods of "Shen Shi Yu Mo" and "Hua Di Wei Zhen."

Not all array masters could set up arrays using the ground as a medium.

This clue could not be left behind.

The traces of spells... didn't matter as much.

The second-grade fireball technique was a common street spell. As long as one had a fire-element spiritual root, anyone could learn and use it.

Others wouldn't be overly suspicious.

Of course, the main reason was that the traces of the fireball technique were too obvious.

These more than ten human traffickers were either finished off by Mo Hua's fireball technique or were heavily injured by his fireball technique.

Even if Mo Hua wanted to cover it up, he simply couldn't.

For the rest, Mo Hua checked everything once, leaving no other traces.

Afterward, Mo Hua began to search the storage bags.

A horse without night feed won't grow fat; a person without ill-gotten gains won't get rich.

It wasn't right to casually search others' storage bags.

Mo Hua was a proper young cultivator and didn't want to do this "killing and robbing" thing, but these human traffickers were originally not good people, and they were fat meat delivered to his door. It would be a shame not to take a bit.

Moreover, to kill them, he had wasted second-grade spiritual ink and consumed over a hundred spirit stones. These costs all needed to be recovered from them.

As a young cultivator, it wasn't easy for him to earn spirit stones.

"Not to get rich, just to break even!"

Mo Hua nodded, then excitedly began searching for these human traffickers' storage bags.

Inside these storage bags, there were killing-type spiritual tools, scheming talismans, some common pills, and some pills that didn't look proper and he didn't know what they were for.

Mo Hua originally wanted to take everything.

But after thinking for a bit, he hesitated.

"Many of these are probably stolen goods. Even if not stolen goods, most are likely not clean..."

If he took them, he might leave a handle...

Be it "Xun Tu Zhui Ren," tracking, investigating, or hunting down...

Moreover, since they were stolen goods, what use would they be to him if he took them?

Most stolen goods were second-hand. When he reached the border of Qianxue State, they wouldn't be easy to sell.

If he were in Tongxian City, with the endorsement of the Zhouzhang Si and Elder Yu backing him, even if he didn't sell them, the demon hunters could digest them.

But in the unfamiliar Qian State, it was hard to say...

Greed for small advantages could lead to big losses.

"As a mature cultivator, one needs to learn to restrain one's desires..."

Mo Hua silently said in his heart, then left the spiritual tools, pills, and talismans in their storage bags, not putting them into his own waist bag.

However, spirit stones didn't need to be left behind.

Spirit stones were clean.

It was the cultivators who were dirty.

Next, he would enter school, and there would be many places where he would need spirit stones...

Mo Hua then put these human traffickers' spirit stones into his own storage bag, but afterward, he was stunned again.

Still not right...

Spiritual tools, talismans, and pills were all there, but the spirit stones were all gone.

This was also very suspicious.

It would explain that the cultivator who killed these human traffickers was a "small money-grubber"?

"There's still a little risk..."

He couldn't not take them, but he also couldn't take all of them...

Mo Hua frowned, thought for a moment, and finally could only bear the heartache and leave half of the spirit stones behind.

Only taking away half of the spirit stones was the safest way.

However, these human traffickers were all Foundation Establishment cultivators doing a life-threatening business. They carried quite a few spirit stones. Even if he only took half, Mo Hua still collected nearly five thousand spirit stones.

Five thousand spirit stones was not a small number.

Mo Hua's heart felt slightly better.

Finally, it was Jiang Laoda's storage bag.

Mo Hua's eyes lit up.

He searched the bottom of Jiang Laoda's storage bag and found three spiritual swords, five bottles of pills, several secret manuals, and two jade slips.

Spiritual swords...

Although Mo Hua coveted them, he couldn't leave them.

Leaving them behind would be a disaster.

He also didn't use the pills.

Secret manuals...

Mo Hua flipped through them a bit. They were some body refinement techniques and Dao methods. He also didn't use them and similarly couldn't take them away.

Mo Hua felt a bit regretful and at the same time a bit doubtful.

The imperial sword formula, huh?

Jiang Laoda's style, he didn't know what it was called, but the imperial sword formula he used was majestic, with golden light flashing, splitting the thatched hut in two, huh?

He didn't really want to learn it...

Some sword formulas required matching specific techniques and profound sword methods, as well as precious spiritual swords, and consumed a large amount of spiritual power to display powerful killing power.

Even if Mo Hua got the sword formula, he wouldn't necessarily be able to learn it, much less afford a spiritual sword.

But not learning didn't mean not researching.

Knowing oneself and the enemy, it was good to research the method and principle of "imperial sword."

In the future, when he encountered sword cultivators again, he would also have a precaution.

Mo Hua searched again, and finally his gaze fell on the two jade slips.

These two jade slips were both sealed, and divine sense could not see through them. Obviously, the contents inside were extremely precious.

"I wonder if the law formula of the imperial sword is hidden inside..."

"To take or not to take..."

Mo Hua was a bit conflicted.

He thought for a bit and decided to secretly "embezzle" the two jade slips.

Jade slips, unlike spiritual tools and pills, were found everywhere, and generally involved some secrets and methods that others wouldn't check.

It was very normal for cultivators' storage bags to contain jade slips, and it was not strange if they didn't.

As long as he took them away and didn't show them to people, there would be no problem.

He would hide the two jade slips in the "Nazhi Ring" that his Master gave him, which could isolate breath and was also very safe.

Moreover, Mo Hua really wanted to know if that "golden flashing" imperial sword law formula was hidden inside these two jade slips.

Mo Hua made up his mind, and with a small hand movement, the two jade slips were taken into the Nazhi Ring.

Then he reorganized some miscellaneous things and put them back into Jiang Laoda's storage bag. Then he returned the storage bag to its original owner in the original way, stuffing it into Jiang Laoda's embrace.

Mo Hua even added a record of a fireball technique to make the storage bag appear "battle-damaged."

After doing all this, Mo Hua patted his hands, nodded, and felt satisfied in his heart.

Bad people were killed.

Spirit stones were earned.

He also got two jade slips whose contents he didn't know.

He could slip away...

Mo Hua checked again, confirmed there were no omissions, then released his divine sense and reviewed the scene from a bystander's perspective.

He confirmed that the deaths of these more than ten people had nothing to do with him.

It also wouldn't lead people to associate them with him.

Mo Hua then felt relieved and immediately felt grateful.

"Thanks to Uncle Zhang Lan..."

"It was Uncle Zhang Lan of the Dao Ting Si who taught me how to destroy bodies and... no, he taught me how to cover up traces!"

He hadn't let down Uncle Zhang Lan's teaching!

Mo Hua nodded.

After he withdrew his divine sense, he turned to leave, but as soon as he turned, he was suddenly stunned again.

He always felt that he seemed to have overlooked something...

Mo Hua frowned, carefully recalling the details of the journey. The more he thought, the stranger it became, and he suddenly remembered that this group of cultivators had been pushing a cart the whole way, and on the cart were several storage boxes...

Those several storage boxes, huh?

Mo Hua's gaze slightly condensed, and he let out a surprised "eh" with a sweep of his divine sense.

Divine sense... can't perceive them?

"No, it's not that divine sense can't perceive them, but the aura of these few boxes is hidden, making it difficult for divine sense to perceive..."

"Something's wrong..."

Mo Hua's gaze gradually brightened.

He extended his divine sense to the extreme, even using the derivation and calculation method his Master taught him to perceive the clues of spiritual power.

Finally, after a moment, Mo Hua's divine sense moved slightly and found where the storage boxes were.

The storage boxes were still inside the eatery.

Jiang Laoda had placed them in the corner, so they were not affected when the ground fire array exploded. Then the eatery was split open by the sword energy, and thatched grass and beams were scattered, covering up these several storage boxes.

Mo Hua hadn't discovered them for a while.

Mo Hua, with some effort, dug out these several storage boxes from the corner of the eatery.

These several storage boxes were carried by Jiang Laoda all the way, and he even used special means to hide their aura, so Mo Hua almost didn't detect them.

There was definitely a big problem...

"What exactly is in these boxes?"

Perhaps it was Jiang Laoda's true family wealth?

Mo Hua's spirit vibrated.

There were locks on the storage boxes, and arrays on the locks, but they were not difficult, especially for Mo Hua.

Mo Hua released his divine sense, confirmed that there were no hidden weapons or other mechanisms in the storage boxes, then carefully unlocked the array patterns and opened the storage boxes.

When the storage boxes were opened, Mo Hua took a look and was suddenly stunned.

"Empty?"

There was nothing inside...

How could this be?

Mo Hua frowned. He pointed his finger, and ink patterns appeared, opening another storage box.

But it was also empty inside...

Mo Hua then turned his gaze to the third storage box.

But just as he was about to unlock the array patterns, Mo Hua was stunned, his expression somewhat astonished.

"This... is not a storage box..."

Although they looked the same, the material and structure were completely different.

This was a box that was isolated by an array and looked ordinary...

Mo Hua's eyes lightened slightly.

Storage boxes, like storage bags, contained the extremely profound principle of void power, but the application was very crude. They could hold several times the space of the things inside.

But this space repelled "living souls."

Storage boxes could not hold people or any other living things.

All the strange words Jiang Laoda had said along the way floated back into Mo Hua's mind.

"Extra branches..."

"Sell one, sell two..."

"Sell that little ghost together..."

Mo Hua initially thought that they had already abducted other cultivators and were just incidentally abducting him.

But there were no abducted cultivators along the way.

Moreover, their luggage consisted of storage boxes, which could not hold living people.

Mo Hua also didn't suspect anything.

He had previously thought that Jiang Laoda's group was responsible for "receiving goods."

Other cultivators went to abduct, and they were responsible for guarding and "transporting."

They hadn't received "goods" on this trip...

But now, inside their "luggage," there was one box that was not a "storage box"...

Moreover, it was specially disguised to confuse and cover up.

Then what was contained in this box was perhaps just...

Mo Hua's heart skipped a beat.

He carefully examined the box again and discovered that the box was actually drawn with second-grade arrays, and not just one.

There was a defense array to prevent the box from being damaged;

There was an isolation array to prevent being peeped at;

There was also a lock-type array to lock the box tightly and prevent it from being opened...

Too "professional"...

This "box" was perhaps specially customized for abducting cultivators?

With so much trouble, who exactly were they abducting?

Mo Hua frowned and sighed.

More trouble again...

What to do now?

Inside the box, it was possible that one, abducted, living cultivator was shut.

On the box, there were sealed arrays.

These arrays were second-grade arrays. They looked like they could be unlocked, but it would probably take some time. He didn't know if he would have enough time...

If he didn't unlock them...

This abducted cultivator would always be shut inside the box.

The box was very heavy and conspicuous, and he couldn't take it away.

If he ignored it, in less than half an hour, another batch of human traffickers would come over and take this box away...

After they took it away, if they just demanded ransom, it would be good, just lose money to avoid disaster.

But if they were sold to some evil cultivators or demonic cultivators, refined into pills, made into medicine, used to cultivate evil arts, refine evil tools...

The parents and relatives of this child would never see their child in their lifetime, not even knowing whether their child was alive or dead, hope dim, pain and despair...

Mo Hua's heart felt intolerant.

"Forget it, I'll try..."

In two quarters, no, within three quarters of an hour, if he could unlock it, he would save this child. If he couldn't, then there was nothing he could do...

Mo Hua first sat in meditation to restore some divine sense, then began to wholeheartedly unlock the arrays on the box.

There were a total of four arrays on the box.

Among them, three were the familiar Five Elements Arrays to Mo Hua.

Only, the ones Mo Hua was familiar with were first-grade, while the arrays on the box at this time were second-grade.

But they were all below twelve patterns and were still considered simple.

Mo Hua combined guessing and deriving, and only spent one quarter of an hour to unlock all three of these arrays.

Mo Hua admitted that there was a bit of luck involved.

But luck was also part of an array master's strength.

Now, only the last array was left.

After looking at the array, Mo Hua frowned.

This was... an array type he had never seen before...

He could only judge from experience, based on the direction of the array patterns and the hub of the array, that this was a special "lock" type array.

But what category this array belonged to, what system it was, Mo Hua completely did not understand.

Mo Hua scratched his head.

"What to do..."

A good cook cannot make a meal without rice.

If he didn't understand the array category, didn't know the array patterns, didn't understand the array hub, and wasn't clear about the array's principles, how could he unlock it?

Mo Hua was a bit anxious, but still tried to calm his mood, then step by step, little by little, he thought...

To unlock an array, one first needs to know how to draw the array...

To draw an array, one first needs to get the array diagram...

Array diagram...

Derivation and calculation...

Mo Hua was stunned. Deriving specific array patterns through the spiritual traces of the array was the Shenshi Derivation and Calculation method that his Master taught him, that is...

The foundation of the Heavenly Mechanism Derivation and Calculation.

Now, his divine sense could perceive the spiritual traces of this "lock" type array. Next...

First derive and calculate the array patterns of this array?

Learn the array patterns on the spot, and unlock the array on the spot?

Mo Hua was stunned. "This can work, huh..."

He looked at the box in front of him again, thinking about the unknown fate of the young cultivator shut inside, his parents anxious like fire for this...

Mo Hua felt a bit helpless.

"Try it..."

Mo Hua sat cross-legged, held his breath and concentrated, and began to derive the array patterns of this "lock" type array according to the method of Heavenly Mechanism Derivation and Calculation and the spiritual traces of the array...

At first, it was a bit clumsy.

Because the array patterns he derived were all strange.

Mo Hua tried to ignore the external form of the array patterns and comprehend the internal spiritual power rules. Gradually, these array patterns in his eyes became vivid and familiar.

These patterns no longer seemed like strange lines, but the tracks left by the operation of the Great Dao...

This was true for Five Elements Arrays.

This was true for Jue Arrays.

Perhaps all array categories were like this...

Mo Hua had some enlightenment in his heart, but his divine sense did not stop. The more he calculated, the faster he became, and the array patterns gradually materialized in Mo Hua's sea of consciousness.

But, it was still not fast enough...

He needed to calculate even faster...

Mo Hua frowned, suddenly stunned, and had a sudden thought. If he used "Tianji Qi Suan" to strengthen "Tianji Yan Suan," and split his divine sense to derive and calculate simultaneously, wouldn't it be faster...

Mo Hua thought for a while, but the situation was urgent, and he had no time to hesitate.

He could only try first...

Use Uncle-Master's Tianji Qi Suan to strengthen Master's Tianji Yan Suan!

Mo Hua's pupils darkened, his divine sense turned into shadows, and he put on the "Dao Robe." Under the 加持 of the strange Dao, he used the method of Tianji Yan Suan to derive and calculate the array patterns of this unknown lock array.

But as soon as he began to derive and calculate, a burst of stabbing pain came from his sea of consciousness.

It seemed as if the two methods repelled each other, giving rise to serrations, pulling back and forth, gradually cutting and tearing Mo Hua's divine sense bit by bit.

Fortunately, the quality of Mo Hua's divine sense had changed, condensed like mercury. Although his divine thoughts were finely fragmented due to the repulsion of the two algorithms, his spirit did not scatter even though his form scattered, so the fundamental was not hurt.

Mo Hua could also endure this kind of severe pain.

Compared to this, the speed of array pattern derivation had suddenly increased, not just by one level.

The joy in Mo Hua's heart also gradually offset the pain in his divine sense.

After a cup of tea, Mo Hua finally completely derived and calculated these strange array patterns.

But his divine sense was almost completely depleted again.

There was also lingering pain in his sea of consciousness.

Although Tianji Qi Suan was useful, the consumption of divine sense was still too great...

At this moment, Mo Hua had no time to sigh.

He needed to seize the time and quickly break the array.

Mo Hua canceled "Tianji Qi Suan," the strange shadows at the bottom of his eyes gradually receded, and the Dao Robe on his divine sense also gradually dissipated.

But when this "Dao Robe" dissipated, suddenly, silk threads of cracks appeared on the illusory heavy shadow above...

As if the rules of the Great Dao were being torn apart...

But Mo Hua, with thoughts in his heart, did not detect these cracks...

His attention was all on the array in front of him.

This was a second-grade thirteen-pattern array of an unknown category.

It was just like a door, a brand new array door.

"Arrays are indeed vast and profound..."

Mo Hua sighed, then gathered his thoughts.

He needed to unlock the array now.

But in fact, he still couldn't "unlock" it.

Because even if he knew the array patterns, he couldn't learn them in a short time, let alone unlock them.

What he needed to do was still to "guess."

Mo Hua had rich experience in "unlocking arrays." According to past experience, not all unlocked arrays required you to have extremely profound knowledge of arrays.

Occasionally "guessing" a bit was also possible.

But you needed to know how to "guess."

You needed to guess according to the array's principles.

You couldn't guess blindly.

Mo Hua broke down this complete lock array into parts, disassembled it into different array patterns to see, and relied on experience and intuition to classify the mutually restraining array patterns within.

Then he simply drew on the ground several times and tried it out.

Some were guessed correctly, some were guessed incorrectly.

Retain the correct guesses, retry the incorrect ones.

After several attempts like this, he finally tried out several groups of array patterns with "generation and restraint" relationships.

There were also several array patterns whose generation and restraint relationships Mo Hua could not try out.

It was highly probable that the "generation and restraint array patterns" of these array patterns were not included in this array itself.

But this was enough.

Mo Hua estimated the time and probably had a little over a quarter of an hour left. There was no time for him to perfect and research thoroughly.

Mo Hua first unlocked the array patterns.

Wherever there were array patterns with generation and restraint relationships, Mo Hua unlocked them all.

The lock array dimmed a bit, but it was not invalid.

Mo Hua looked at the array hub again, relied on his intuition, and modified the array hub a bit; then according to the array eye, reversed some spiritual power flow; then turned back and fiddled with the array patterns...

Like this, after fiddling three or two times, Mo Hua relied on his outstanding array "intuition" and, in a somewhat "confused" manner, messed up this special "lock" array...

The array on the box completely dimmed.

The box was also no longer "locked."

Mo Hua immediately opened the box.

Inside the box, there was indeed a small figure.

Much smaller than Mo Hua.

It was a small boy, probably only four or five years old, fair and clean, with handsome eyebrows and eyes, wearing low-key but luxurious brocade clothes.

It seemed the movement of opening the box was big, and he also seemed to have heard the battle just now.

The small child opened his watery eyes and looked at Mo Hua with some fear.

Thank you Feng Zhi Chocolate for the reward.