Immortality Through Array Formations (The Quest for Immortality)

Chapter 950: Tomb Exploration

The tomb was dark, damp, and ominous, filled with a suffocating and oppressive atmosphere.

The corridor ahead was pitch-black and deep, its length unknown, its end uncertain.

Mo Hua, holding a compass in hand, led the group forward through the cramped darkness.

Gray Second Master and the others constantly scanned their surroundings, remaining alert for the eerie corpse fiends lurking within the tomb.

Along the way, a few corpse fiends did appear — not many, usually just one or two — leaping silently from the shadows, aiming for the heads of the living.

But because everyone was mentally prepared, and with seven Golden Core experts watching each other's blind spots,

these corpse fiends were quickly dealt with every time they appeared.

No one got bitten.

Mo Hua felt a bit disappointed.

No one being bitten meant fewer observation samples, and that left his plan of using demonic poisoning with corpse fiends short of data.

He wasn't sure if anyone had attempted such a thing before.

But even if one were to attempt it, it would be no easy feat.

Just sealing, storing, raising, cultivating, breeding poison, and administering it through corpse fiends would take extensive research.

So ideally, he needed someone to get bitten a few times, so when symptoms appeared, he'd have a few solid references.

Still, they were all in a cooperative phase of tomb exploration for now. The actual burial chamber hadn't been found yet — no need to rush.

And so, Mo Hua set those thoughts aside and focused on leading the way.

The corridor stretched endlessly. After walking for who knows how long, the tunnel suddenly opened up.

The scene ahead changed.

Mo Hua, at the front, stopped immediately and quietly moved back toward the center of the group — ensuring he was surrounded by Golden Core cultivators before carefully looking ahead.

The corridor led to a wide stone chamber.

The chamber was plain, with murals carved into its surrounding walls.

These murals were roughly carved and depicted scenes of ox-headed and horse-faced underworld enforcers, wearing Dao-Ting Court robes, capturing, punishing, and executing criminals.

Mo Hua examined them carefully, then scanned them with his divine sense, frowning slightly.

These murals… really were just murals.

They weren't visualization diagrams, nor did they contain formations or hidden mechanisms. Nothing mystical.

Yet despite that, the imagery — the underworld enforcers, the tortures — gave Mo Hua an extremely disturbing feeling.

He had a vague sense that…

These murals seemed to be copies, traced from some original source.

But whoever carved them had no understanding of their deeper meaning. They just replicated the surface design and etched them into the tomb's walls to fill space.

Even as mere copies, they exuded a suffocating and eerie aura.

If he were to see the originals... they might be far more terrifying.

Mo Hua's frown deepened, and his expression turned grim.

Gray Second Master, however, looked thrilled when he saw the murals. He turned to the others and said:

"These are the murals on the outer edge of the underground palace. We've reached the palace."

"Once we pass through the palace and reach the inner burial chamber, we'll find the coffin. That's where the real tomb treasures are buried."

"All we have to do is enter the chamber, take the loot, and head back the way we came. Mission accomplished."

Everyone's eyes gleamed with anticipation.

Mo Hua, after thinking for a moment, finally voiced the question in his heart:

"Whose tomb... are we even robbing? And what's buried in it?"

He lowered his voice, but everyone could hear him clearly.

Yet all the cultivators present acted as if they hadn't heard anything.

No one answered.

Mo Hua was left awkwardly talking to himself and gave a little snort.

"It's getting late. Let's move on," said Gray Second Master. He paused slightly, then added with a serious expression:

"But now that we're here, I must warn everyone: the underground palace is designed to protect the burial chamber. It's filled with killing formations and deadly traps. We must proceed with extreme caution."

The black-robed young lord nodded.

The group then stepped past the murals at the edge of the palace and continued forward for about a hundred paces.

The structure of the walls changed, and in front of the vast hall, five forked paths appeared.

"These forks are meant to confuse intruders and protect the tomb," Gray Second Master explained.

The black-robed young lord nodded slightly.

"Which path do we take?"

Gray Second Master and his group paused, then turned their eyes toward Mo Hua.

Originally, this task of identifying the correct path would've fallen to Mr. Pi, the geomantic formation expert.

But now that Mr. Pi was dead, the job naturally landed on the only remaining formation master — Mo Hua.

Even if… his geomancy was self-taught.

Mo Hua wore a thoughtful expression.

This was also his first time tomb-robb—ahem—being forced into tomb exploration.

There were many things he wasn't too clear on.

Especially the application of geomantic formations — much of it was entirely new to him, and he had little experience.

The five forks ahead, as far as his divine sense could tell, were almost identical.

Even the formation structure and the aura of the arrays inside felt the same. Mo Hua couldn't immediately tell which one led to the true burial chamber.

"Give me a moment… I need to study," Mo Hua said.

Gray Second Master's eye twitched.

The black-robed young lord looked at Mo Hua with even stranger eyes.

But Mo Hua ignored them and began rummaging through Mr. Pi's storage pouch.

Inside were formation books, formation diagrams, and some miscellaneous notes and journals.

Those journals contained Mr. Pi's tomb-raiding insights.

Most of it covered the relationship between formations and tomb architecture — especially five-element formations, eight trigram formations, and hidden geomantic arrays.

Including how to resolve problems using those arrays...

Mo Hua had a strong divine sense and quick mind, so he read fast. His fingers flipped through pages at lightning speed.

Very quickly, he skimmed all relevant materials and had a general understanding.

This was a "false array" setup commonly used in tomb formations.

Of the five paths, four were decoys — they looked like proper formations, but they were hollow and non-functional. Only one path was real.

This was a classic geomantic trick.

Mo Hua nodded to himself and began using the methods outlined in Mr. Pi's notes — tracing the breath of the earth through formation resonance — to distinguish true from false.

Truth be told, Mr. Pi's death had been quite useful.

If he hadn't died, Mo Hua would never have gotten these formation books and jade slips — and wouldn't have figured out the trick here.

Now that he understood the logic, the rest was easier.

Using his powerful divine sense, Mo Hua ran a brief deduction and soon distinguished the real path.

He pointed to the far-right passage and said,

"This one."

"You calculated it?"

"Mm."

"You're sure?" Gray Second Master still had reservations.

Even though he admired Mo Hua's talent and had plans to make use of it...

Talent was still just talent.

Watching Mo Hua learning-on-the-go, guessing as he went, gave him no sense of security.

"It's this one," Mo Hua said with a shrug, like he didn't care whether they believed him or not.

Gray Second Master frowned.

The black-robed young lord looked at Mo Hua with a curious gleam and said slowly,

"This young brother has led us well so far — no mistakes in positioning or formation-breaking. I believe his judgment is sound. Let's proceed."

Mo Hua looked at the young lord, surprised.

The young lord gave a small, faint smile.

Mo Hua was momentarily stunned, his heart sinking slightly — something felt off.

Gray Second Master hesitated, then finally nodded.

They had no better option. Mo Hua was a formation master, and this was his calculated pick.

If they didn't trust him, they'd have to guess themselves — and that was definitely riskier.

"Alright," said Gray Second Master.

So the group followed Mo Hua's chosen path.

As they entered the corridor, the atmosphere changed.

The stone walls were sturdier, etched with scenes of torture and imprisonment, and the overall mood turned solemn and foreboding.

Everyone grew even more cautious.

But surprisingly, there were no traps or mechanisms inside — the passage was oddly safe.

They walked all the way to the end… only to find a smooth, blank stone wall.

There was no exit.

Gray Second Master stepped forward, tapped on the wall, then punched it.

A formation lit up briefly — and shattered.

His fist punched straight through the stone… but behind it was just solid mountain. No passage, no room.

"It's a dead end," Gray Second Master said, turning around.

And once again, all eyes fell on Mo Hua.

Mo Hua rubbed his chin and muttered,

"A dead end…? Did I miscalculate?"

"So what now?"

"Let me take another look…"

Mo Hua inspected the surroundings again. He found that while the formation here was correctly calculated, the structure behind it was indeed solid mountain — a genuine dead end.

"Even a wise man can slip, even the best horse can stumble,"

Mo Hua said calmly, not the least bit embarrassed about his miscalculation.

Gray Second Master and the others couldn't really blame him.

After all, their "professional" — Mr. Pi — was already dead.

Mo Hua had been thrust into the role under pressure. That he could calculate anything at all was already impressive.

"Let's head back," Gray Second Master said.

So the group retraced their steps and returned to the fork in the road.

"Which path this time?"

Mo Hua used Mr. Pi's tomb-raiding notes to re-calculate, running another deduction — but no matter how many times he checked, he was certain his original choice was correct.

Seeing Mo Hua hesitate and take too long, Gray Second Master began to suspect the young man's formation calculations had lost accuracy, and his patience wore thin.

"We can't keep wasting time like this. Let's try the middle path."

"If it's a dead end, we'll come back and try another. There are only five paths — even if we test each one, it's not that big a deal."

Gray Second Master added,

"Lone Mountain City is a Grade-Three territory. We've got seven Golden Core cultivators. Even if we encounter danger, we should be able to handle it."

Mo Hua had nothing to say to that.

If it had been a Five Elements or Eight Trigram formation, he'd have been completely confident.

But this tomb used mostly geomantic formations, which he wasn't well-versed in — he was learning as he went. So even he wasn't entirely sure if he'd made a mistake or not.

Since he couldn't be certain, the decision fell back to the more "experienced" tomb robber — Gray Second Master.

So, Gray Second Master led the group into the central tunnel.

Mo Hua finally got a bit of a break.

No longer needing to lead, he didn't have to walk in front.

He found a nice, safe position in the group — somewhere in the middle, surrounded on all sides — ensuring that if danger struck, someone else would take the hit first.

The middle passage looked nearly identical to the far-right one Mo Hua had chosen.

But after a while, suddenly — from within the darkness — a blinding burst of fiery light erupted.

Countless sharp crossbow bolts formed entirely of blazing fire shot out like a rainstorm, all aimed directly at Gray Second Master in the front.

These fire bolts were terrifyingly fast.

Caught off guard, Gray Second Master hastily crossed his arms and summoned a shield of earth, blocking in front of him.

The fiery rain pounded violently against the shield — spiritual energy clashed, fire danced and blazed in the darkness, creating a blinding spectacle.

And it wasn't just Gray Second Master — the others were hit too.

The searing flames surged forward, sweeping toward everyone.

Stone conjured a layer of rock armor on his body, Rat twisted and slipped through with strange, evasive movements, and the black-clad cultivators each used their own methods to shield themselves from the storm of fire.

This was a Grade-Three Fire Rain Trap — extremely powerful.

Mo Hua had sensed something earlier and knew he couldn't withstand it — so he had long since hidden behind two of the tallest black-robed cultivators.

Those two stood like mountains, unmoving in the inferno.

Once the firestorm ended and the smoke cleared, Mo Hua peeked his head out.

Up front, Gray Second Master and the others looked rather ragged from the fire barrage.

Even the four black-robed cultivators had scorch marks on their robes.

Gray Second Master dismissed his earth shield and took a deep breath — clearly, dealing with that fire rain hadn't been easy.

Yet his expression was not alarmed, but delighted.

"There's a trap in the tunnel — that means we're on the right path."

He turned and instructed,

"Everyone be careful. Let's keep moving."

The group continued forward.

Along the way, they encountered more traps in quick succession — poison gas, quicksand, stone coffins, miasma, blade formations...

All sorts of deadly mechanisms lined the path — exotic, treacherous, malicious, and near-impossible to defend against.

But Gray Second Master and his crew were seasoned professionals.

Tomb traps were nothing new for these veteran grave robbers.

So while it kept them constantly on edge, they could still handle it, albeit with great caution and tension.

After navigating through a variety of traps, Gray Second Master frowned and muttered,

"Strange… There's nothing unusual about the flooring — how are these traps being triggered?"

He was puzzled, but Mo Hua wasn't.

These traps were tied to the geomantic array in the tomb.

They were triggered by sensing — as soon as someone walked over a specific area, the formation would activate the trap.

This was far more advanced than normal tomb mechanism techniques. It delved into higher-level geomantic control.

So it was no surprise Gray Second Master couldn't figure it out.

In truth, once you understood the formation, deactivating the traps wasn't even that difficult.

But Mo Hua said nothing — and did nothing.

A formation master must know how to keep secrets.

As long as he was the only one who understood the arrays, then no matter what he did or said — right or wrong — only he would know.

If he wanted to kill, deceive, or betray, it would all be at his discretion.

This was something Mr. Pi had taught him not long ago.

Mr. Pi had been around the cultivation world for years and was full of street wisdom.

Mo Hua agreed with him wholeheartedly.

Besides, Mo Hua was genuinely curious — he wanted to see what kinds of traps were used in ancient tombs. That way, if he ever had to face them alone in the future, he'd be more prepared.

So the group continued down the tomb path, triggering trap after trap, while heading deeper into the tunnel.

But even after walking for ages… there was still no end in sight.

And the deeper they went, the narrower the tunnel became — more and more forks began to appear. Eventually, they were so deep and turned around that when they stopped to look around…

They had no idea where they were anymore.

Gray Second Master was finally forced to stop and say grimly:

"Something's not right… This path isn't correct either…"

"So what now?" Rat asked. "Do we go back?"

"Go back?"

The black-robed young master glanced around with a frown.

"With so many forks… how exactly do we get back?"

Everyone hesitated for a moment — and then, as if by silent agreement, all turned their gaze to Mo Hua.

After all, he was the only formation master among them.

At that moment, Mo Hua fully realized why Mr. Pi had always insisted on the principle of "only one formation master per tomb raid."

Cultivators relied on cultivation as their foundation — but cultivation was just cultivation.

For most cultivators, high cultivation simply meant greater killing power or destructive capability.

But many problems couldn't be solved by brute force alone.

That's where a formation master was different.

Array formations reflected the heavenly Dao, encompassing all principles.

A skilled formation master could perceive the greater truths and resolve problems that most ordinary cultivators couldn't even begin to comprehend.

The moment something went wrong, everyone would come begging you for answers.

Mo Hua sighed and, with a show of difficulty, took out Mr. Pi's compass.

Then he began discerning the correct direction based on the geomantic energy flows.

After a moment, he pointed to the path on the left:

"This way."

The others had no choice but to obediently follow him.

Along the way, the side passages gradually narrowed.

They encountered some already-triggered traps — a clear sign they were on the way back.

Gray Second Master sighed in relief, and his gaze toward Mo Hua grew more and more fervent.

Mo Hua continued tracing the geomantic flows, leading the group further along.

Just as they were about to exit the forked path, Mo Hua's expression suddenly changed — he stopped in his tracks.

"What is it?" Gray Second Master asked.

Mo Hua's face looked grim.

"There's… something…"

Gray Second Master froze, then immediately understood.

"Corpse fiends!"

Everyone tensed up, their expressions sharpening with alert.

Mo Hua also quietly retreated to the back of the group.

Moments later, from within the pitch-black fork ahead — deep in that suffocating darkness — a head silently emerged.

It was grotesque and misshapen, its features warped and crushed together. Its mouth had three gaping slits, resembling the fangs of a subterranean worm.

That monstrous head opened its three-part mouth wide, revealing wriggling, meaty fangs — like a flesh-colored man-eating flower.

Gray Second Master felt nauseated at the sight.

He could still remember — all too vividly — the last time a corpse fiend had chewed someone's face off. He had no desire to go through that again.

He drew his blade and prepared to strike the monster down.

But halfway through the swing — he froze.

His pupils shrank.

His face turned pale.

Because what bloomed before him…

was not just one man-eating flower.

It was a whole bouquet.

Flesh-pink gums, pale white fangs — blooming one after another in the darkness.

A quick glance revealed there were at least twenty.

Everyone's faces changed.

"Retreat!" Gray Second Master shouted.

The words had barely left his mouth when the swarm of reeking, bloodthirsty corpse fiends pounced at their heads, mouths gaping.

Gray Second Master slashed down, severing a fiend's arm.

Stone punched one in the face, launching it backwards.

The others unleashed swords, blades, and spells, repelling or killing the charging monsters one after another.

But unless they were completely destroyed, even the faintest wisp of demonic qi could keep a corpse fiend going — they would keep coming.

The group had no choice but to fight while retreating, falling back into the twisted maze of forked tunnels.

More corpse fiends surged from the dark like a tidal wave, endless and overwhelming.

The air was filled with rotting flesh, blood, broken limbs, flashes of blades, bursts of magic, and utter chaos.

Mo Hua could only do his best to hide in the crowd, letting the Golden Core cultivators act as his human shields against the…

"Corpse tide."

But with the twisted tunnels, narrow passages, and too many enemies, the group was soon scattered in the chaos.

Mo Hua dodged a few pouncing corpse fiends with his movement technique, blasted a few away with fireball spells — and when he turned around…

He realized — he was alone.

"Crap… Got separated?"

Panic flickered in Mo Hua's heart.

He couldn't afford to be alone — without the others, he'd lose his Golden Core meat shields.

"I need to regroup with them," he muttered to himself.

Fortunately, they hadn't been separated for long, and many of the corpse fiends had been killed — so he could still faintly sense the aura of nearby people.

Following that trail while dodging monsters and avoiding traps, Mo Hua crept forward.

Soon, he saw someone up ahead.

It was the tomb thief named Rat (Haozi).

Rat was locked in battle with a few corpse fiends — his spiritual tool appeared to be a shovel, useful for digging, but also capable of cleaving enemies.

After a dozen rounds of combat, Rat hacked the fiends to death.

The area fell briefly silent.

He turned and saw Mo Hua approaching.

"Where are the others?" he asked.

Mo Hua shook his head.

"We need to regroup with them — somehow."

"Alright." Rat nodded.

The two of them began making their way deeper into the tunnels, searching for signs of the others.

But as they walked, Mo Hua suddenly felt a chill — and immediately dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding a large, thick hand that had grabbed at him.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Mo Hua shouted.

The attacker was… Rat.

Rat's face had turned sinister.

A sickly blue hue crept across his brow.

His narrow eyes were fixed on Mo Hua like a predator.

One hand reached for Mo Hua's shoulder while his voice rasped eerily:

"Give me… that thing…"

(End of this Chapter)