Leader Yang still disagreed.
Mo Hua added, "Uncle Yang, you don’t know what formations are deployed inside. If you rush in recklessly, you’ll either fall into a trap or startle the snake, allowing him to escape."
"Do you know what formation is inside?" Leader Yang asked doubtfully.
"I just need to take a quick look, and I’ll know," Mo Hua said.
Leader Yang hesitated.
He couldn’t recall other Formation Masters having such ability...
To know the deployed formation just by looking?
However, seeing Mo Hua’s confident demeanor, he should have been sure of himself.
"Alright then," Leader Yang nodded, "I’ll wait here. If you run into danger, just shout, and I’ll rush in to save you!"
"Okay!" Mo Hua nodded.
Afterwards, Mo Hua employed the Concealment Technique and disappeared from before Leader Yang’s eyes.
Leader Yang sighed. Although he had seen the Concealment Technique many times, he still found it unbelievable.
He was only in the Qi Refinement Realm, yet he could already evade the perception of Foundation Building Cultivators...
"I’ll have to go back and see if there’s a suitable, beautiful, and gentle young lady in the clan; I need to find a way to lure Mo Hua to my Yang Family..."
The straight-browed Leader Yang couldn’t help but come up with some sneaky ideas...
With his figure concealed, Mo Hua stepped along the hidden stairs beside the cliff and entered the concealed cave.
The cave was surrounded by Formations, including the Concealment Formation, as well as some early warning, trap, and defense formations.
Using Divine Sense Calculation, Mo Hua knew the range of the Formations and the types of Formation Patterns, and he deftly avoided each one without leaving a trace.
The process was much easier than Mo Hua had anticipated.
Mo Hua couldn’t help but praise the Calculation Method that Mr. Zhuang had taught him for its effectiveness.
Especially against Formation Masters, he could see through the details of their Formations at a glance.
The cave was rather spacious and dim, lit only by the faint Bright Fire Formation.
In the dim firelight, one could see Formation Books, Array Plates, brushes, and ink scattered around; there were also materials for Alchemy Furnaces and several large vats filled with human blood.
And there, that third Householder was sitting before a stone table, concentrating on drawing something.
Mo Hua quietly executed the Water Passing Step, making as little sound as possible, and tiptoed closer, just enough to see the tabletop without drawing the third Householder’s attention.
The engrossed third Householder had no idea that despite hiding in such a secluded cave, he still couldn’t escape Mo Hua’s "prying eyes."
Mo Hua craned his neck curiously to take a closer look at the third Householder, hoping to find out what he was actually doing.
After a while, he understood.
The third Householder was drawing a Formation, and it was an Evil Formation at that!
It was an Evil Formation again...
Mo Hua’s heart grew cautious, and he became more alert, wanting to see what the Evil Formation actually looked like.
After a while, Mo Hua felt somewhat disappointed.
Indeed, as Bai Zixi had said, the Evil Formation belonged to the dubious and unorthodox practices but wasn’t any profound knowledge of Formation art.
The Evil Formation derived from orthodox Formations. In the pursuit of quick success, it changed the Formation media, brushes, ink, and some Formation Pivot structures.
Using flesh and blood as the Formation media could save on Divine Sense; using human blood as ink could enhance the power of the Formation. However, the essence of the Formation Patterns were oversimplified, cutting corners and thus shallow.
The so-called Evil Formation was more like a "shortcut" in the practice of Formations,
a "quick-fix" approach to Formation arts.
Though they seemed profound and terrifying, the true "Dao" behind them was crude, superficial, and scarcely commendable.
Whether in the practice of Tao Cultivation or in Formation arts, seeking quick success may lead to a faster start, but ultimately, it is impossible to go far or to comprehend the ultimate Great Dao.
Mo Hua tried to perform the Calculation in his mind again, and the patterns of the Evil Formation clearly emerged in his thoughts.
No wonder Bai Zixi said he might "learn it in one go."
Mo Hua lost interest.
The insidious, evil tricks of the Evil Formation might look fierce, but in reality were not very interesting.
The technical content was too low...
Mo Hua didn’t bother to continue watching and tiptoed out.
Outside the cave, Leader Yang was on full alert, staring intently at the cave entrance.
Suddenly Mo Hua appeared beside him, giving him a start.
"When did you come out?"
"Just now..."
Leader Yang coughed to cover his embarrassment and asked with feigned composure, "Is the third Householder inside?"
Mo Hua nodded, "He is inside. There’s a secret passageway. You go in and catch him; don’t let him escape!"
Mo Hua took out some paper and a pen and drew a rough map of the cave, marking everything clearly.
Where the Formations were, what they were, their function, the safest way to go to avoid traps and not alarm anyone, what mechanisms were inside the cave, and where the secret passageway was...
Mo Hua told Leader Yang all of it.
Leader Yang couldn’t help but be impressed.
He even wanted to keep Mo Hua like a Magical Treasure on him at all times.
With him around, conducting military operations would be so much easier!
But Leader Yang knew that this was just wishful thinking.
Such a fanciful notion was utterly impossible.
Having memorized the route, Leader Yang followed in Mo Hua’s footsteps, sneaking into the cave. Soon after, the cave echoed with sounds of a scuffle and the third Householder’s cries of alarm and anger.
Some time passed, and the noises subsided.
Inside the cave, Leader Yang called out, "Mo Hua!"
Mo Hua knew then that the third Householder had been subdued. Revitalized, he swaggered back into the cave.