Chapter 811: The Mechanism
The relay station was thoroughly searched.
They uncovered a small pill furnace used for concocting poison pills, various toxic herbs, and poisoned hidden weapons.
In addition, they found several sinister artifacts and a number of skeletons—no one could say who they had once been. Judging by the condition, these poor souls had died at the hands of the outlaw cultivators; their flesh had been scraped clean to be used in alchemy.
These outlaw cultivators came from all sorts of backgrounds.
Some were highway bandits who killed and looted. Others were disgraced alchemists who had betrayed their sects. A few were rogue cultivators who had fallen into demonic paths mid-journey.
All of them had been on the run from the Dao Court's pursuit, and eventually gathered here under Water Yama's lead.
But even so, they didn't seem to know much about Water Yama's deeper plans. Most of them had been bound by some kind of unknown silence restriction—they literally couldn't speak about it.
Mo Hua and the others could only try guessing and cross-verifying, but it was impossible to get direct answers.
Left with no choice, they began investigating on their own.
After another sweep, the most suspicious location—aside from the station itself—was the carriage parked near the stables.
Near the carriage, Gu An found a few flower petals.
The petals had been trampled into the dirt by wagon wheels and mixed with mud, looking grimy and unremarkable.
But Mo Hua immediately recognized them:
"These flowers are from the Hundred Flowers Valley. I don't know the exact name, but I'm sure they're from there."
The valley had countless vibrant varieties of flowers. Mo Hua couldn't name them all, but their general appearance was still fresh in his memory.
Gu Changhuai nodded, then asked with mild surprise:
"How do you know they're from the Hundred Flowers Valley… Have you been there?"
"Mm…" Mo Hua nodded reflexively—then froze halfway through.
He suddenly remembered: the whole sneaking-into-Hundred-Flowers-Valley-while-disguised-as-a-junior-sister thing absolutely could not be exposed!
"No! I haven't been there! It's just… I have a senior sister in the Hundred Flowers Valley, and she grows some flowers. I happened to see them before!"
…Mo Hua was clearly a little guilty.
"Oh." Gu Changhuai replied mildly.
He didn't suspect anything.
After all, the Hundred Flowers Valley forbade all male cultivators from entering. No matter how skilled Mo Hua was, it should have been impossible for him to sneak in.
Gu Changhuai mulled over the situation.
Flowers from Hundred Flowers Valley…
A carriage once used by Hua Ruyu…
That strongly suggested Hua Ruyu's carriage had indeed stopped at this relay station.
And that… was strange.
Gu Changhuai said:
"Bring one of them over. Let's ask."
"Yes." Gu An obeyed, returned to the building, and dragged out one of the more timid and talkative outlaws.
"Let me ask you something," Gu Changhuai said coldly.
"Has a certain carriage been stopping here often?"
The outlaw looked panicked and didn't answer.
Gu Changhuai's gaze turned icy.
"Speak honestly. Otherwise, I have plenty of ways to make you beg for death and be denied even that."
As a Dao Court Inspector and a Golden Core cultivator, Gu Changhuai had captured or executed countless criminals. His chilling authority was undeniable.
The outlaw paled and trembled:
"Y-Yes… There has been a carriage…"
"What kind of carriage?"
"Luxurious… pink… decorated with floral patterns."
"Who rode inside it?"
"I—I don't know…"
Gu Changhuai frowned.
"Why wouldn't you know?"
"Every ten to fifteen days, the flower carriage would arrive. But Big Bro…"
"Which Big Bro? Water Yama?" Gu Changhuai asked.
"Yes, that's the name everyone on the streets uses for him," the outlaw said, clearly uneasy.
"Big Bro ordered us that once the carriage arrived, everyone had to hide in the station. No peeking, no listening. If anyone saw or heard what they shouldn't…"
He swallowed hard.
"Then their soul would be taken—and they would die, guaranteed."
Soul taken? Certain death?!
Gu Changhuai's brow furrowed.
Gu An and Gu Quan both looked confused.
Only Mo Hua seemed lost in thought.
After a few more fruitless questions, Gu Changhuai had Gu An take the man back and lock him up again.
Gu Changhuai mused aloud:
"We don't have concrete evidence yet, so nothing's certain. But we can form some hypotheses…"
"If that woman's carriage really did stop here, then there must be something important—here or nearby—that required her attention."
"And now, in the stable… there's another carriage…"
Gu Quan added:
"My brother and I examined the wheel tracks and found other clues. It seems someone arrived in the flower carriage, got off, and switched into this other one—then went elsewhere."
All eyes turned to the ordinary-looking carriage in the station.
It was plain, undecorated, the kind of cheap ride you'd see everywhere.
But on closer inspection, the materials used were far from ordinary.
Though unassuming, it was extremely sturdy.
And—completely enclosed.
The door was tightly sealed.
There was no way to tell what was inside from the outside.
They circled the carriage several times but still found nothing. Gu Changhuai gathered spiritual energy and prepared to force the door open.
But the moment his palm touched the carriage—
A flash of light.
The entire carriage trembled—on the verge of self-destruction.
Luckily, Gu Changhuai reacted quickly and withdrew his hand just in time to avoid triggering the array.
"A self-destruction array…" he murmured.
Gu An and Gu Quan's faces turned grave.
They both turned, almost in unison, to look at Mo Hua.
Gu Changhuai also looked toward him.
Among them, Mo Hua was the most skilled in formations.
Even though Gu Changhuai was a Golden Core cultivator, he was nowhere near Mo Hua in terms of array mastery.
Mo Hua immediately puffed up and said:
"Let me take a look."
He placed a hand on the door frame, then turned his back to Gu Changhuai. His gaze turned deep as he invoked mystic deduction techniques, analyzing the array patterns within the carriage.
Gu Changhuai narrowed his eyes.
He could sense the change in Mo Hua's aura—profound, eerie.
But he was growing used to it… so he said nothing.
After a moment, Mo Hua concluded:
"There's a locking formation and a self-destruct array—it's a compound formation."
Following the energy pathways, he traced the spiritual flows and eventually found a hidden keyhole in the lower-right corner of the door, camouflaged within a decorative wood carving.
"Hua Ruyu must have the key," Mo Hua said.
"The lock can only be opened with the key. Force it, and the array will trigger—boom."
Gu An frowned.
"Then… do we need to go back and somehow get Hua Ruyu's key?"
"No need," Mo Hua replied calmly.
"Using a key is something a cultivator would do. But for a formation master—once you understand the mechanism—the key is unnecessary."
His tone was casual, but his eyes betrayed a flicker of pride.
Gu An and Gu Quan looked thrilled and praised him:
"As expected of Young Master Mo!"
But Gu Changhuai still had reservations:
"This formation is high-grade. Are you sure it's safe?"
When he had struck earlier, the reactive force had already told him—it was no simple array.
"It's just a second-grade formation. No problem," Mo Hua replied.
Gu Changhuai frowned.
"Even second-grade formations have tiers—low, mid, and high. At the top, there's rank 17, 18, 19… And you're only mid Foundation Establishment…"
"It's fine," Mo Hua grinned.
"I just 'overachieved' a little."
Gu Changhuai looked at Mo Hua's confident expression and didn't press further.
As a Dao Court Inspector, with hundreds of subordinates, Gu Changhuai knew all too well:
"When it comes to specialized skills—leave it to the specialist."
And in this matter, Mo Hua was clearly the specialist.
So he simply stepped aside and watched.
Mo Hua stared at the carriage, lifted a finger, then stopped halfway, remembering something.
Only then did he obediently pull out brush and ink and start drawing on the carriage door.
As he painted, Gu Changhuai's forehead twitched.
He'd guessed Mo Hua was breaking the array.
He couldn't understand the details, but at least he could count the formation lines.
Eighteen Patterns!
He was deciphering an eighteen-pattern formation!
A mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator… cracking an eighteen-pattern array.
Even Gu Changhuai, who had grown used to Mo Hua's many unthinkable feats, found it hard to stay calm this time.
"Eighteen patterns…"
Gu Changhuai sucked in a sharp breath.
Some senior formation masters at the peak of Foundation Establishment couldn't even draw an eighteen-pattern formation if their spiritual sense wasn't sharp enough—let alone resolve one!
This went far, far beyond mere "overachievement"...
His thoughts churned wildly.
On the other side, Mo Hua remained focused on disarming the array.
He completed drawing the disarming formation, then channeled his spiritual power into it. With a flash of golden light, the formation patterns inverted and canceled each other out.
The second-grade locking array on the carriage door—neutralized.
Then Mo Hua drew a circle on the door, turned to Gu Changhuai, and said:
"Uncle Gu, give this spot a punch."
Gu Changhuai snapped out of his daze and nodded.
He stepped forward and gently struck the marked spot. The door was blown open with a hole, yet the carriage remained intact—no self-destruction triggered.
Mo Hua reached inside through the hole, felt around for a moment, and with a creak—unlocked the door.
Inside, the carriage was dim and shadowed.
Once the door opened, a ray of light shone inside.
Mo Hua squinted—there was no one. Just a few cushions.
A faint but lingering scent of old rouge and powder drifted through the air, clearly sealed in for some time.
He stepped in carefully, rummaged through the cushions, and found two handkerchiefs, a sachet, bits of crushed incense petals, and traces of face powder.
"Quite a few women have ridden in this carriage…"
Mo Hua thought to himself.
The scents were mixed, disordered. Clearly not from the same person or even the same group.
This Hua Ruyu, publicly a Hundred Flowers Valley instructor… was probably involved in some shady, unspeakable dealings in secret.
Mo Hua glanced at Gu Changhuai.
Gu Changhuai's expression had turned cold and sharp—he clearly realized it too.
But…
Gu Changhuai frowned.
That woman, Hua Ruyu, was extremely cautious. She had left behind very few traces in the carriage.
And just like that, the clues ran cold again.
They still didn't know where this carriage had been, who it had transported, or what it was really used for.
Mo Hua also frowned.
He examined the carriage again, when suddenly he paused. He noticed something odd, crouched down, and began tapping on the floorboards.
When he knocked on one particular board near the front—it sounded hollow.
Lifting it, he discovered a hidden formation embedded underneath.
As he studied the array patterns, his eyes lit up.
Gu Changhuai asked:
"What is it?"
"It's the carriage's internal propulsion array," Mo Hua said.
Seeing Gu Changhuai's puzzled look, Mo Hua explained:
"The carriage has no reins or harness. I found that strange earlier. Now that I see this formation, it makes sense—it looks like a carriage, but technically, it isn't a 'horse' carriage."
"This vehicle doesn't use horses. Instead, it's powered by internal mechanisms, embedded with a compound array to move it forward."
"The array hidden under this plank is the mechanism-driving formation embedded within."
Gu Changhuai's eyes flashed.
"Then does that mean…"
"Yes," Mo Hua nodded.
"Once the compound array is activated, spiritual power will circulate within and automatically drive the mechanism that moves the carriage."
"And this array also includes a 'Primordial Magnetic Compass Array.'"
"That compass array is used for navigation."
"Once activated, the carriage will follow the magnetic positioning and take us directly to its intended destination…"
Mo Hua spoke with clear, precise logic.
The three men with him were visibly stunned—and deeply impressed.
This was the power of formations—able to encompass all facets of the world.
And this was a formation master—one who mastered and applied knowledge across all domains through arrays.
"Can the carriage be moved now?" Gu Changhuai asked solemnly.
"It's a new kind of compound array system," Mo Hua replied.
"I'll need some time to study it."
"Very well," Gu Changhuai nodded.
He and the others held their breath, not daring to make a sound, for fear of disturbing Mo Hua's focus.
Mo Hua focused all his attention on studying the combined mechanism-propulsion and magnetic-compass array.
He was at least somewhat familiar with the Primordial Magnetic Compass Array.
But mechanism-type propulsion formations—those he hadn't really worked with before.
However, he had studied a one-grade, twelve-pattern technique from the Little Spirit Hidden Sect called the Ling Pivot Absolute Array (灵枢绝阵).
That array dealt with sequence-based formations and fine spiritual thread manipulation—conceptually similar to mechanism-based arts.
Back in Nanyue City, Mo Hua had used that same array to build "wooden oxen and flowing horses" to help poor mining cultivators haul ore and reduce manual labor.
So, he understood the general principles.
Time was short—he didn't need to master the system—just find a way to reactivate the formation.
Right now, the array in front of him was completely dim—clearly inert.
Mo Hua studied it carefully.
Roughly half an hour passed before his eyes lit up—he was beginning to piece it together.
This mechanism compound array, like the door, had originally shared a single key-based control system.
But since Mo Hua had dismantled the door's array, the lock mechanism was destroyed. The internal array had lost its activation link.
With the original "entry point" gone, the array couldn't initiate. The core couldn't receive energy, so the mechanism failed—and the carriage wouldn't move.
"In that case, I'll need to restructure the array's core, sever the original input, graft on an external activation node, and create a new spirit-gathering array to act as the energy source and embed that into the original mechanism array…"
Mo Hua muttered to himself in a string of completely unintelligible terms.
Then he pulled out brush and ink, and began reconstructing the formation according to his design—step by step.
Gu Changhuai and the others watched with intense focus.
Though, to be honest, none of them really understood what they were watching…
After roughly the time it took for one stick of incense to burn, Mo Hua finally completed the array.
He then carefully inspected his work—then let out a quiet sigh of relief.
"That should do it…"
Mo Hua reached into his storage pouch for some spirit stones.
But halfway through, he quietly stuffed them back—then turned and extended his hand toward Gu Changhuai:
"Uncle Gu, we'll need some spirit stones."
This was official business, after all. Spirit stone expenses ought to be reimbursed.
Gu Changhuai wasn't stingy. He tossed a storage pouch straight to Mo Hua.
Mo Hua caught it, pulled out a few spirit stones, and crushed them onto the spirit-gathering formation, feeding it spiritual energy to act as the array's core and power the mechanism formation.
The spirit-gathering formation glowed a soft blue as it absorbed the energy.
Mo Hua activated the array through the interface he had constructed.
A stream of pure spiritual energy flowed from the gathering array and into the carriage's internal mechanism formation.
The carriage trembled, creaked, and slowly began to move on its own.
The group immediately grabbed hold of the carriage walls.
Gu Changhuai even reached out to steady Mo Hua, who was swaying from the jolt.
The carriage turned, pivoting around.
The Primordial Magnetic Compass Array lit up, locking onto a direction.
Then, as if guided by unseen hands, the carriage began rolling forward entirely on its own.
"Sir… should we…" Gu An asked, a little uneasy.
Gu Changhuai pondered briefly, then said,
"Let's ride along. See where this carriage ends up…"
"Yes," Gu An and Gu Quan both nodded.
The carriage creaked along steadily.
Mo Hua picked a cushion and sat obediently.
He was also curious where the compass array was guiding them—and where this mysterious carriage would ultimately lead.
Ideally, it'd take them straight to the evil god's hideout.
And if he could step out and immediately see a sacrificial altar—that would be perfect.
Of course… Mo Hua was just fantasizing.
He knew better than to expect things to be that easy.
He crushed a few more spirit stones and recharged the spirit-gathering formation.
That should be enough to last.
There were still a good number of spirit stones left in the pouch.
Mo Hua was about to return the pouch to Uncle Gu… but then paused.
Gu Changhuai was a wealthy, influential man. If he gave someone something and they tried to return it—wouldn't that be disrespectful? Wouldn't that make it seem like Mo Hua looked down on a dignified Commander of the Dao Tribunal?
Mo Hua gave a silent, thoughtful nod—and tucked the spirit stones into his robe.
Hardship fee, he figured.
Sure, there hadn't been a formal contract—but he was a "quasi" second-grade high-rank formation master. Lending a hand and receiving some compensation was only right.
Mo Hua felt zero guilt.
The mechanism formation hummed as the carriage kept rolling on its own, creaking steadily.
It was sealed inside, with a heavy stillness all around.
Mo Hua sat quietly, headed toward some unknown destination. He couldn't help feeling a little nervous.
But knowing Gu Changhuai was beside him… that helped ease his mind.
This was second-grade territory. Judging by the looks of this carriage, it probably couldn't travel too far. As long as he clung tightly to Uncle Gu's thigh, he'd be fine.
Feeling reassured, Mo Hua turned away from the anxiety—then got bored—and turned his attention back to the mechanism compound array inside the carriage.
It was his first time seeing a genuine mechanism array in action.
This was yet another specialized formation system—one with its own unique structure.
The carriage's internal mechanism array shared some common traits with things like the Five Elements or Eight Trigrams formations… even with the Ling Pivot Absolute Array.
But on closer analysis, there were notable differences.
"I need to find time to study mechanism arrays in the future…"
If he could learn them and integrate them into the Ling Pivot Absolute Array… who knows, maybe he could craft an entire puppet army someday.
Mo Hua couldn't help but daydream.
And so, as he dreamed, the array spun, and the carriage creaked forward…
Who knew how long passed—until suddenly, the carriage came to a stop.
It seemed they had arrived.
Everyone's expressions grew slightly serious.
Gu An gave Gu Changhuai a questioning look and whispered:
"Should we get out?"
Gu Changhuai gently shook his head.
"Let's observe the situation."
So they waited quietly inside the carriage, not making any rash moves.
After a short while, they heard the sound of flowing water… and the clinking of boat hulls against a dock—it sounded like something had just pulled ashore.
At the same time, a clear male voice called out:
"It's not the fifteenth yet—why'd you bring people over already?"
No one inside the carriage responded.
A tense silence fell.
Outside, the man sounded confused.
"Why aren't you saying anything? Angry? But last time you—"
He didn't finish.
He suddenly realized something was off.
His expression changed. A wave of killing intent emanated from him—cold as icy blood, sharp with cruelty and menace.
Sensing it, Mo Hua's pupils contracted.
That aura… Could this man be— Shui Yanluo?!
(End of this Chapter)