Immortality Through Array Formations (The Quest for Immortality)

Chapter 911: Roleplay

Mo Hua couldn't wait—he immediately began studying the token.

Before that, though, he spent some time resetting his "Thunder-Magnetic Figurine," scrubbing it clean of all the Secondary Thunder Runes left behind by that black-robed array master.

Once he ensured the figurine was sparkling clean, Mo Hua finally relaxed.

Then, as before, he attempted to interface the Thunder-Magnetic Figurine with the black-robed array master's Guest Elder Token.

To his surprise, the figurine infiltrated the token's structure with zero resistance.

This Guest Elder Token was essentially "open-source."

Even the internal permissions were fully accessible.

Mo Hua thought for a moment—then understood.

Technically speaking, the black-robed array master wasn't a true member of the Demon Sect.

After the "traitor" incident within the sect, paranoia had run rampant. Some suspected the very core of their demon tokens had been compromised. So they specifically hired this array master to investigate the issue.

Naturally, to audit the Demon Tokens, the array master needed a token interface.

This Guest Elder Token had been custom-made to give him access to the Primordial Magnetic Compound Array, enabling him to investigate anomalies in the Thunder-Magnetic transmission—specifically the one tied to Mo Hua's figurine.

And since this black-robed array master was also a "tech guy" like Mo Hua, he had, of course, left all the permissions open for his own convenience.

In the end, he hadn't even destroyed the token before dying, essentially leaving the entire gateway wide open for Mo Hua to stroll right in.

Mo Hua felt a twinge of regret.

"If I'd known this guy was so considerate, I would've let him die a little more… clear-headed."

Being beaten to death in confusion—poor guy probably went to the afterlife still wondering what happened.

With a sigh of lament, Mo Hua began digging into this array master's legacy.

But after a while, his brow furrowed.

Each permission gate was embedded with special Thunder-Magnetic runes, and many of them were third-grade—well beyond his current skill level.

Even the few second-grade ones were rather obscure.

Most likely, they were part of the array master's own Thunder-Magnetic inheritance—too specialized for Mo Hua to understand.

"Looks like this'll take some time…"

Mo Hua muttered internally and focused again—just as a magnetic rune on the token quivered.

A message arrived.

Mo Hua blinked.

"Someone messaged me?"

"Wait, no—it's a message for that dead array master… from the Demon Sect?"

His heart tensed. He looked at the message:

"Mister Yuan, forgive the intrusion. Any progress on the investigation?"

Mister Yuan?

That name felt oddly familiar.

Then it hit him—back in the Bìshan Demonic Grotto, the Fire Buddha's lair, there had been an array master specialized in Primordial Magnetism also surnamed Yuan. The Fire Buddha had called him "Master Yuan."

"So they're both 'Yuan'—could they be from the same family? Or the same sect, same lineage?"

Mo Hua muttered.

Come to think of it… that Master Yuan had also been tracked down by Mo Hua, then unceremoniously beaten to death by Uncle Gu and the Gu brothers, Gu An and Gu Quan.

Both array masters had died the same way… beaten like NPCs in a beginner dungeon.

While Mo Hua was still lost in thought, another message came through:

"Mister Yuan?"

The other side was getting suspicious at his silence.

Mo Hua snapped back to reality. He hadn't decided on a response yet, so he replied with a safe filler:

"Busy."

Sure enough, the other party replied:

"My apologies for disturbing you. I'll check back later."

Little did they know—the current "Mister Yuan" was no longer that Mister Yuan.

He was, in fact… Mister Mo.

Mo Hua responded with a cool:

"Mm."

No further messages came.

Mo Hua exhaled in relief, then began planning:

"I have to cover this up. Can't let the Demon Sect realize that 'Mister Yuan' is already dead…"

"Also, I need to stall for time on the Thunder-Magnetic array investigation."

After all, the original Mister Yuan was dead—no one could investigate him anymore.

And the Guest Elder Token that linked to the array system was now in Mo Hua's hands.

How could he investigate himself?

He nearly sent a reply:

"The Primordial Magnetic Array has been thoroughly checked. The foundational magnetic runes are intact. Thunder-Magnetic signals functioning normally…"

But he paused and shook his head—too obvious.

Put yourself in their shoes—if the Demon Sect had called in Mister Yuan, it meant they were suspicious.

If Mister Yuan had already spent this long investigating, only to suddenly claim "no problems," it would make them doubt his competence—or suspect something was hidden.

"No, can't say that…"

Mo Hua thought a moment, then carefully rewrote:

"Apologies for the delay.

Today I detected a strange secondary thunder current hidden within the Primordial Magnetic Sea. It's subtle and cautious—occasionally surfaces, then submerges again. I've found some clues, but will need more time to trace it…"

He sounded very professional.

Most people wouldn't understand any of that—unless they were Thunder-Magnetic specialists.

And the best part? Most of it was true.

No need to lie about things already on the surface.

The response came quickly:

"As expected of Mister Yuan! I leave this matter in your capable hands. Once resolved, our sect will reward you generously."

Mo Hua replied with another frosty:

"Mm."

But inwardly, he thought:

"With how the Demon Sect operates, you really think they'll reward me after this?"

More likely… they'd try to track him down.

Either kill him to silence him—or force him into slavery, making him draw formations for the rest of his life.

Compared to that, Mo Hua thought, he was the kinder one. At least he gave the black-robed array master a swift death.

He sighed.

"Moral of the story: array masters must walk the righteous path. Never mix with demonic cultivators. Or one day, you won't even know how you died."

He took the lesson to heart.

No more messages came from the Demon Sect—Mo Hua had successfully muddled through.

Still, he had to stay careful…

He sent a transmission to Gu Changhuai:

"Uncle Gu, the matter of the black-robed array master's death at the hands of the Dao Enforcement Division must remain strictly confidential for now."

From the looks of it, the Demon Sect had been communicating with him via a single private line.

The black-robed array master had hidden himself well—so long as no one leaked anything, they wouldn't know he was dead.

Gu Changhuai replied simply:

"Understood."

Mo Hua trusted Uncle Gu.

With that secured, the rest would be easier.

Now, with both the problem and the solution in his hands, Mo Hua could "play both sides"—and the Demon Sect would never suspect a thing.

Time to plan the next steps.

First and foremost: keep killing demonic cultivators.

Just two more Golden Core demons, and he'd reach late Foundation Establishment.

But the Bloodthirsty Demon Sect had gotten wary.

He could no longer extract much intel from disciple tokens.

That left only the Guest Elder Token.

It had lots of permissions—but most he hadn't figured out yet.

And the biggest issue was… the target on its back.

There were hundreds, even thousands, of disciple tokens—one more or less wouldn't be noticed.

But Elder Tokens were rare. Any strange behavior would instantly raise alarms.

Especially this one—belonging to a high-level Thunder-Magnetic array master. The Demon Sect would definitely be watching it closely.

So in reality, the Guest Elder Token wasn't that usable right now. Too risky.

"If I can't hack the permissions… then maybe it's time to go full… 'roleplay'?"

Mo Hua pondered.

"I'll act as 'Mister Yuan' myself. Stir up trouble in the background. Trap a few Golden Core demons. Boom—mission accomplished."

He nodded slightly.

If he wanted to play the part, then step one was to make people believe.

Make the Demon Sect truly believe "Mister Yuan" was still working for them. Only then could he act in secret, sabotage their plans, and avoid suspicion.

Because if he lost their trust, then the moment anything went wrong, he'd be the first suspect.

"Gotta win their trust first…"

That… was going to be tricky.

Mo Hua figured he'd need the cooperation of the Dao Enforcement Division—especially Uncle Gu's support.

After two days of contemplation, he had a rough plan in mind.

He sent a message to Gu Changhuai:

"Uncle Gu, the Demon Sect's on alert. It's harder to dig out intel now. I'll need your help running a few staged scenes—to win their trust."

"Staged scenes?" Gu Changhuai paused.

Mo Hua briefly explained his plan.

Gu Changhuai was silent for a beat, then sighed:

"Alright."

After that, Mo Hua resumed his usual operation—dual-wielding the Guest Elder Token and Disciple Tokens to steal intelligence from the Demon Sect.

Of course, intel from elders had become scarce. Most of it now came from ordinary disciples, related to "blood feasts" or "transference rituals."

The Demon Sect thrived on blood. Their cultivation required draining the fresh blood of other cultivators. If they went too long without it, they'd become agitated, and might even lose control, falling into madness or qi deviation.

And this blood-sucking worked top-down:

Elder-level Golden Core cultivators could sustain their practice by feeding on disciples' blood.

Lower-ranking disciples, having no one beneath them to feed on, were forced to go outside and kill.

If they got caught by the Dao Enforcement Division—dead.

If they failed to drink blood and lost control—also dead.

So when things got hot, the elders could lay low.

But those ordinary blood-hungry disciples? Once the urge hit—they couldn't hold back.

They'd keep killing, keep feasting, and even organize large-scale blood feasts.

Mo Hua picked out one such feast—sizable enough—and leaked the intel to the Dao Enforcement Division. Uncle Gu would lead the ambush.

Then, he sent a message to the Demon Sect's Elder You.

This Elder You was the one who'd previously messaged him—or rather, the now-dead "Mister Yuan"—asking about the Thunder-Magnetic investigation progress.

Mo Hua had since verified Elder You's identity. He bore the Four-Symbol Dog Sigil, and matched what Mo Hua had previously uncovered: this was the so-called "Dog-Headed Strategist."

Though not particularly powerful in cultivation, he was a trusted aide of the sect leader—brilliant at scheming and moving behind the scenes.

Within the Demon Sect, he was often called "Elder Dog" due to the sigil—but his true surname was You.

Even within the sect, very few high-ranking members knew his real name.

Mo Hua messaged:

"Elder You, I've identified the issue. There's a problem in the Primordial Magnetic formation."

Elder You replied swiftly:

"Many thanks, Mister Yuan. May I ask, what exactly is the issue?"

Mo Hua:

"There's a subtle Thunder-Magnetic current hidden deep within the compound array. It seems to be stealing intel and transmitting it out."

Elder You:

"Could you elaborate?"

Mo Hua:

"In short, someone is leaking internal sect secrets using an advanced Thunder-Magnetic technique. They transmit coded signals externally, which can be received and decoded into text using matching magnetic arrays."

Elder You nodded slightly.

This aligned with his prior suspicions.

The sect's traitor wasn't using conventional means to communicate with the Dao Enforcement Division—they were employing extremely high-level Thunder-Magnetic techniques to leak intel.

Still, You was a suspicious man. He asked:

"Mister Yuan, do you know who the leaker is?"

Unaware, of course, that he was chatting with the very traitor.

Mo Hua replied:

"Not yet. The clues are scarce. I only managed to extract one fragment of magnetic script."

"Magnetic script?" Elder You asked.

Mo Hua sent him a snippet.

Elder You looked at it—then after a long pause, finally said:

"Mister Yuan… I can't read this."

From this, Mo Hua judged: this Elder You wasn't a Thunder-Magnetic array master.

He had likely studied the principles, maybe worked alongside some, but had never personally practiced the craft. He understood in theory, but not in practice.

Basically, a classic "cloud cultivator"—the kind who read about formations but never touched a brush.

Mo Hua gauged his level, then sent over a set of "magnetic annotation notes."

"These are magnetic script annotations. Elder You can compare them and try decoding the message. I still need to monitor the array—no time to assist directly."

He made himself look busy.

By dumping the decoding process onto Elder You, he gave the latter a sense of agency.

People trust what they uncover more than what they're simply told.

"Very well…" Elder You, having no choice, rolled up his sleeves and got to work.

It was agonizing.

He wasn't a magnetic master. Those near-identical, subtly varied scripts swam before his eyes in dense, nauseating waves.

His scalp tingled.

"Array masters are truly obsessive lunatics…" he muttered to himself.

Still, he persevered—and after much mental suffering, he finally decoded the message.

It revealed intel about an upcoming blood feast.

Elder You's heart skipped a beat.

Confirmed!

Someone really was leaking the Demon Sect's secrets.

He frowned, then sent the decoded text to Mo Hua:

"Mister Yuan, may I confirm—was this decoding accurate?"

Mo Hua replied irritably:

"Didn't I give you the notes? Whatever you decoded is correct."

Elder You:

"So the traitor leaked intel about an upcoming blood feast to the Dao Enforcement Division…"

"Oh," Mo Hua responded casually, uninterested.

Elder You got the hint—and didn't probe further.

The problem had been identified. The magnetic script was found. Mister Yuan had done his part. Everything else… was someone else's responsibility.

Array masters were known for being eccentric.

Especially those with real talent—they were expected to be cold and aloof.

Elder You began planning his next move.

The rest unfolded smoothly.

First, Mo Hua leaked the feast intel to the Dao Enforcement Division, prompting a raid.

Then he turned around and leaked it back to the Demon Sect—so they could evade the raid.

The result?

The two sides clashed briefly—but nothing came of it.

The Dao Enforcement Division chased shadows.

The Demon Sect avoided the trap.

Both sides walked away convinced the intel was real.

Gu Changhuai, playing his part, furiously ordered the blood feast site burned to ashes.

Of course, his rage was all for show.

He had been one of the few fully briefed on Mo Hua's plan.

His anger helped sell the illusion—that the Dao Enforcement Division had truly been caught off guard, and that the escaped demon disciples had done so against all odds.

The survivors reported back to Elder You.

Even he couldn't help nodding in satisfaction.

Ever since the traitor scandal began, this was the first time the Demon Sect had disrupted the Dao Enforcement Division's plans.

The Path of Magnetism was truly profound. His efforts decoding the script had not been in vain.

"This Mister Yuan truly has skill…"

"After this mission, I must find a way to recruit him to our cause…"

Elder You admired talent—and grew ever more respectful toward Mo Hua's fake identity.

Mo Hua, for his part, continued to serve the Demon Sect "loyally."

He knew that trust was not built in a day.

Only through repeated collaboration could he cultivate deeper ties with Elder You.

And more importantly, reinforce Elder You's belief in the existence of a genuine traitor within their midst.

So, once again, Mo Hua intercepted magnetic transmissions—leaked by himself, to the Dao Enforcement Division.

Then he sent those exact scripts to Elder You—complete with annotations—for him to decode "on his own."

Each time, Elder You felt the thrill of discovery.

The illusion deepened.

He began to believe—not in Mo Hua—but in himself.

That it was his own insight, diligence, and effort that had uncovered the truth.

The truth, in his mind, was earned—not given.

And thus, the seed was planted:

"These magnetic scripts came from Mister Yuan… …but I, Elder You, deciphered them myself."

(End of this Chapter)