271 Asking for Directions_1
Between the cliffs, on the invisible path, Mo Hua carefully made his way.
After the time it took to brew a pot of tea, Mo Hua finally reached the opposite side.
As he climbed onto the opposite cliff and his feet touched the ground, the fog around him suddenly thickened, and the miasma intensified, causing dizziness and a feeling of congestion.
Mo Hua quickly took out two Miasma Repelling Pills and swallowed them, circulating his Spiritual Power to assimilate the medicine’s effect, which made him feel somewhat better.
Looking around, he found himself in a small forest with no one else in sight.
Apart from the heavier fog and more potent poison, it was not much different from the Inner Mountain.
“Where are those Sin Cultivators? Could they not be here?”
Mo Hua muttered to himself.
Mo Hua walked around cautiously for a while, and found that the sunlight was obscured by the thick fog, making the forest hazy and indistinct, so much so that he could no longer discern his bearings and had no idea where he was.
Most crucially, there was no trace of any cultivator.
Mo Hua sat on the ground, somewhat puzzled.
Could it be that he had guessed wrong?
That shouldn’t be the case…
Mo Hua pondered for a while and then suddenly found it strange.
On the other side of the mountain cliff, the sunlight was bright, and the fog was not very thick, but on this deep mountain side, just divided by a stone path, why was the fog so dense?
The difference in sunlight on both sides was not significant; logically speaking, even if the fog was slightly thicker, it shouldn’t reach such a level of density.
Mo Hua released his Divine Sense and took a closer look, his brow suddenly furrowing.
In the fog, there was a faint interweaving of Spiritual Power, like patterns, condensed around.
An ordinary cultivator might not notice it, but Mo Hua could tell at a glance that these were Formation Patterns drawn by a Formation Master!
Mo Hua had an epiphany.
This dense fog in the deep mountains was not naturally so heavy; it was the mischief of a Formation Master’s Formation, which made the deep mountain fog so thick that one could not see their own hand in front of them.
Mo Hua’s spirits uplifted, and following the positions of the Formation Patterns, he found a large tree and took out a dagger to chip away at the bark.
The dry bark was chipped away, and inside there indeed was a Formation hidden.
The Formation with nine patterns was a first-grade Formation Method, with its Patterns mainly of the Water Series. The penmanship showed some variations, and the style looked somewhat unfamiliar.
Mo Hua had never seen it before, but he guessed it should be a Fog Formation.
The purpose of the Formation was to condense moisture and let it hover over the land and between the trees, creating fog that does not easily disperse.
Mo Hua found this novel and seeing no one around, took out paper and a brush. He began to copy the Formation, carefully reproducing each stroke.
Ordinarily, the best method to learn a Formation is to use a Formation Diagram.
On a Formation Diagram, there are detailed Formation Patterns, including the sequence of strokes, the proportion of ink used, types of Formation Patterns, the structure of the Formation Pivot, and other points of attention.
To deduce the drawing method of a Formation from an existing one is a quite difficult task.
But no matter how difficult, it was merely an ordinary first-grade Formation Method. Although the Patterns were somewhat special, they were still within the scope of the Five Elements Formation and were not much of a challenge to Mo Hua.
After drawing it five or six times, Mo Hua had mastered most of it and had a good grasp of it in his heart.
The thick fog could deceive people, but the laid-out Formation was fixed and could not deceive, especially not Mo Hua.
Not only inside this bark, but all around on the ground, the rocks, and within the bushes, were sparsely scattered with this same Formation.
Based on the position of the laid-out Fog Formation, he could roughly infer the paths within the fog.
With this thought, Mo Hua’s vision suddenly cleared.
He did not need to concern himself with the fog; as long as he used the Fog Formation within the fog as a guide, he would not get lost.
The Formation Master who laid out the Fog Formation intended to use the dense fog to confuse directions.
However, instead, his Fog Formation allowed Mo Hua to find his way.
Mo Hua put away his paper and brush, released his Divine Sense to sense the position of the Fog Formation, and started to make his way deeper into the mountain.
After a few steps, Mo Hua suddenly thought: others can set up Formations, and so can he.
In his Storage Bag, there were still some stone needles painted with the Compass Child Formation left unused from the Inner Mountain; it was the perfect time to scatter them along the way.
Should any unforeseen incident arise, he would be warned in advance.
Preparation ensures success, and lack of it leads to failure.
Having a contingency plan is always better than being caught off guard when danger strikes.
Thus, as Mo Hua walked along following the position of the Fog Formation, he stealthily planted the Compass Child stone needles in concealed spots.
As he walked, Mo Hua became increasingly familiar with the paths within the Foggy Forest.
However, despite walking for a long time, he still did not encounter any trace of the Sin Cultivators.
Mo Hua furrowed his brows. Had he overlooked something? Or were these Sin Cultivators hiding particularly well?