Chapter 826: Eight Trigrams, Eight Gates
"Leave it to you?" Magistrate Xia looked at Mo Hua in surprise, blurting out, "You're a formation master?"
"Do I not look like one?" Mo Hua replied casually.
Magistrate Xia examined him and shook her head slightly.
Mo Hua was just too young.
Truly accomplished formation masters were, if not already white-haired, at least middle-aged.
Even among prodigious youths in the formation arts, although some possessed remarkable talent, they often suffered from a lack of experience.
Without enough real-world exposure, most could only talk theory on paper.
Yet the formation challenges encountered in Dao Court investigations were always practical problems.
Solving them usually required experience more than talent.
And the formations involved this time were quite complex—integrated into the island itself, entangled with the defense and offense of numerous cultivators. This required a depth of experience and knowledge in formations far beyond basic skills.
As for Mo Hua…
Magistrate Xia furrowed her brow as she studied him.
If he hadn't said he was a formation master, no one would've guessed.
And besides, as a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, even if he had some formation talent, at best he could draw low-tier second-grade formations—maybe twelve or thirteen-pattern types.
Those weren't going to be very useful here.
And that wasn't even the full issue…
Magistrate Xia sighed, "Laying formations and capturing water bandits isn't as simple as knowing how to draw a few diagrams."
"Given the situation, we'll likely also need a batch of custom-made formation mediums, tailored to the array design…"
Mo Hua's eyes lit up. "I have connections for that too!"
"You…" Magistrate Xia frowned. "Aren't you just a rogue cultivator?"
"I am," Mo Hua nodded, "but I have good social skills. I happen to know a little more than a few people—including a third-grade artifact refiner."
Magistrate Xia fell silent and glanced at Gu Changhuai—who was calmly sipping tea. Judging by his relaxed attitude, it seemed he accepted everything Mo Hua had just said without protest, and that surprised her even more.
Gu Changhuai was known for his bad temper and arrogant nature—especially his cutting tongue.
Yet now, he didn't show even a hint of doubt toward Mo Hua's words.
Which could only mean one thing—when it came to Mo Hua's ability in formation arts, Gu Changhuai completely trusted him…
This baffled Magistrate Xia.
What kind of formation ability must a mere mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator possess to earn the respect of a noble-born Dao Court officer like Gu Changhuai—a Gold Core cultivator in a fifth-grade Dao Court?
She really wanted to trust Mo Hua—to see whether he was truly capable.
But this matter was too critical.
If anything went wrong, there'd be no explaining it to her uncle.
Sensing her hesitation, Mo Hua said understandingly:
"Sister Xia, how about this—I'll take some time to draw up the formation plans first and send them to you. If you think they're solid, then I'll proceed with getting the formation mediums and setting everything up."
Magistrate Xia hesitated, then nodded. "That works, but we might not have much time."
"One day," Mo Hua said confidently. "I'll send it to you tomorrow."
"One day?" She blinked, clearly skeptical. "That's not enough time…"
"One day is plenty!" Mo Hua insisted.
Capturing Water Yama was also a serious matter for him. He couldn't trust anyone else with it.
Finally, Magistrate Xia slowly nodded. "Alright. I'll review the array plans once you finish."
She left herself some leeway—not fully committing.
Mo Hua didn't mind. But then he added, "One more thing… Custom gear might cost quite a bit of spirit stones."
Magistrate Xia replied, "The Dao Court will reimburse."
Mo Hua's eyes sparkled. He smiled brightly. "Great!"
Another fat order for Master Gu's business.
Without wasting time, Mo Hua said his goodbyes and returned to the Great Void Sect to start designing the water bandit hunting formation plans.
Magistrate Xia watched him go, then turned to Gu Changhuai and asked:
"You really trust Mo Hua with the formation planning?"
Gu Changhuai raised an eyebrow.
Well, what else was he supposed to do?
He couldn't draw arrays. If not Mo Hua, then who?
Of course, he didn't say that out loud—it would've killed his pride.
Instead, he asked, "Does your Xia family have any reliable formation masters in Qianxue Province?"
Magistrate Xia nodded. "Yes. Our family trains its own formation experts."
"Third-grade?"
"Third-grade are hard to hire. For something like this, second-grade is sufficient," she replied.
"Then there you go," Gu Changhuai said flatly. "If it's just a second-grade formation master, you might as well stick with Mo Hua. If he can't solve it, odds are the others won't either."
Magistrate Xia blinked.
Gu Changhuai left after speaking, not saying another word.
Magistrate Xia quietly watched him walk away, her expression shifting slightly.
She had originally assumed Mo Hua was one of Gu Changhuai's nephews or junior relatives—explaining why Gu, despite his foul temper, was surprisingly patient with him.
But now she realized the truth might be far different.
Gu Changhuai didn't just tolerate Mo Hua—he probably valued him deeply, maybe even treated him as an equal…
Still, Magistrate Xia couldn't stake the success of such a crucial mission on a young cultivator she'd only met a few times.
So when she returned, she contacted a few of the Xia family's second-grade formation masters.
She didn't explain the situation in detail—just showed them the island's surrounding formation layout.
But before any of them could figure out a solution…
Mo Hua had already passed a finalized formation blueprint to her—through Gu Changhuai.
Magistrate Xia took one glance—and her pupils contracted sharply.
Once Mo Hua finished class, she arranged to meet him in Tai Xu City.
There, Mo Hua explained his design:
"I spent some time researching after I got back. I also checked some formation texts and confirmed a few things with the sect instructors…"
"The island's formation is a specialized variant of the Eight Trigrams, Eight Gates array."
"This formation follows the post-heaven Bagua positions—Li above, Kan below, Zhen left, Dui right, Xun and Kun as shoulders, Gen and Qian as feet. Each trigram governs a direction, and every direction contains its own Bagua array and a corresponding 'gate'."
"The setup creates a structure that integrates defense, entrapment, and escape."
"If enemies can't break in, the formation serves as defense."
"If they do break in, the array triggers confusion—positions shift, trigrams rotate—and the intruders get trapped in a maze-like formation."
"And even if that fails, there's still escape."
"This array leaves eight gates. The 'life gate' constantly shifts between them. In other words, they have eight potential escape routes, enough to help them flee in chaos."
"So to crack it, there are three key points: First, find a way in. Second, don't get trapped. Third, seal the life gate—don't let anyone escape."
Mo Hua spoke clearly and with calm confidence.
Magistrate Xia stared at him, slightly dazed.
She actually did know some formation arts—much more than Gu Changhuai, in fact.
She could draw most mid-tier second-grade formations.
She even knew a few high-tier ones, though she wasn't too proficient in them.
But listening to Mo Hua's explanation…
She felt like everything she'd learned had been for nothing.
This level of understanding required not only mastery of second-grade formations, but also a deep comprehension of Bagua theory.
Without that, never mind deducing the rotating life gate—even recognizing which trigrams were used in the formation would take considerable effort.
Magistrate Xia finally believed that Mo Hua wasn't lying.
But at the same time, she found it hard to accept.
Since when did disciples of sects in Qianxue Province have formation skills this advanced?
Even in Dao Province, such a level would count as a one-in-ten-thousand genius in the Dao of Formations.
Even in the long-established, well-resourced Xia family, there were only a few disciples who had reached this level at his age.
Magistrate Xia stood there dazed for a moment, then sighed softly.
She turned back, gave Mo Hua a serious look, and nodded.
"Alright, I'll leave the formations to you. But there are only three days to prepare the custom spiritual artifacts—will you be able to make it?"
Mo Hua replied, "The timeline is tight, but I should make it."
Magistrate Xia nodded. "I'll go mobilize the personnel. If everything's ready on your end, we'll move in three days."
"Mm!" Mo Hua nodded.
…
After that, Mo Hua discussed a few more formation details with Magistrate Xia, then returned to the sect.
The first thing he did upon returning was to request leave from Venerable Elder Xun.
Elder Xun seemed to know what was going on and didn't ask much. He only reminded him, "Be careful. Don't take unnecessary risks."
"Got it, Elder," Mo Hua promised.
This time, he was just tagging along with the Dao Court—not being sent on a suicide mission.
Once leave was approved, Mo Hua made a trip to Lone Mountain City to find Master Gu.
"I've got a big order. I need you to forge some spiritual artifacts—iron chains, water nets, traps, that sort of thing. As many as you can produce in two days."
Mo Hua had already given Master Gu a heads-up. Master Gu wasn't surprised and only asked, "Is it urgent?"
"Very."
"Alright."
Master Gu nodded and immediately began issuing orders: "Everyone in the smithy—drop what you're doing. Follow Young Master Mo's instructions. Work day and night. Push out this batch of spiritual artifacts and formation mediums as fast as possible."
"The fires don't go out, and the forges don't go unmanned!"
The burly disciples of the smithy all responded in unison:
"Yes, sir!"
They all owed Mo Hua a great debt.
If not for the forging jobs Mo Hua brought them, many of them would still be starving and jobless like before.
Nowadays, they had constant work, enough money in their pockets, and even got to enjoy some meat and wine every now and then—all thanks to Mo Hua.
So when they heard he needed help, every single one of them gave it their all.
Not to mention—this was a massive job. If completed, it would earn them a fortune in spirit stones.
The smithy roared to life.
Everyone rushed against the clock, working tirelessly. Two days later, they had produced over 150 sets of formation mediums and spiritual tools.
Mo Hua then spent the night personally drawing formations on each one.
Since the items varied in size, type, and grade, the formations etched on them were all different. In total, while he didn't have to draw 150 unique diagrams, there were still 80 or 90 different ones.
He worked for a full day and night.
By the end, his head was pounding, his spiritual sense nearly exhausted, and his sea of consciousness throbbed in pain.
But he managed to finish everything on time.
After verifying every single formation and finding no issues, Mo Hua contacted Magistrate Xia.
When she arrived at the smithy and checked the goods herself, she found the formation mediums precise, the formations flawlessly inscribed—each stroke as perfect as if machine-carved.
She couldn't help but marvel aloud.
But also… she was confused:
"Forging tools using the same mold would result in identical artifacts—but how are these formation diagrams all exactly the same, stroke for stroke?"
Because they were all drawn by the same person…
Mo Hua thought silently.
But on the surface, he replied, "Maybe because they were all drawn by formation masters trained by the same teacher?"
"I see…"
Magistrate Xia nodded thoughtfully.
She had no idea that Mo Hua had personally drawn all these in such a short span.
With formations and tools ready, and Xia's personnel assembled, all preparations were complete.
Three days later, under the cover of night, the group set out for the Yan Shui River.
Naturally, Mo Hua came along.
Magistrate Xia tried to dissuade him, "This operation is going to be a chaotic battle with water bandits—it'll be dangerous. You'd best stay out of it."
"If I don't go, who's going to lead you there?" Mo Hua asked.
"Well…" Magistrate Xia hesitated, then asked doubtfully, "That little river spirit? Can't it guide us?"
"You can't see it, remember?" Mo Hua said. "If you can't see it, how's it supposed to lead you?"
Magistrate Xia was speechless.
While she could vaguely remember the path, with a battle looming, there couldn't be any mistakes. Relying on memory alone wasn't reliable.
"…Fine. You can come—but be careful," Magistrate Xia finally relented.
"Don't worry, Sister Xia," Mo Hua said with a grin.
He'd prepared everything thoroughly. Unless something went horribly wrong, he'd be fine.
Gu Changhuai, standing nearby, didn't try to talk him out of it either.
He and Mo Hua had enough history that he knew this kid's personality—if Mo Hua set his mind to something, no one could talk him out of it.
As for Mo Hua's safety…
Gu Changhuai still clearly remembered how Fire Buddha died.
With everything in place, the team traveled through the night, arriving at a desolate river dock beside the Yan Shui River.
Before long, groups of cultivators began to arrive.
They were all dressed in black, faces covered, movements silent and steady. Each group arrived separately and respectfully saluted Magistrate Xia.
They were cultivators of the Xia family.
To avoid attracting attention, they hadn't traveled together. Instead, they had scattered in advance and regrouped at the dock after nightfall.
Soon, a large number of cultivators had gathered.
Roughly over 300.
About 200 were from the Xia family.
Fewer than 100 were from the Gu family.
Without exception, they all possessed water-aligned spiritual roots and were skilled in water-elemental techniques and movement arts.
Finding cultivators was easy—but finding ones specifically with water affinity and aquatic expertise? That was far more difficult.
In the Gu family, only about 80 met the requirements.
The rest either didn't qualify or were tied up with other duties.
The Xia family, on the other hand, had far greater reach.
Even in Qianxue Province territory, they were able to mobilize over 200 skilled cultivators—each with strong cultivation and rich combat experience.
"Over three hundred... should be enough..."
Mo Hua thought silently to himself.
However, Magistrate Xia remained calm and composed, as if still waiting for something.
Mo Hua couldn't help but ask, "Sister Xia, are we expecting more people?"
Magistrate Xia had originally been against Mo Hua calling her "sister," but after hearing it so many times, she had grown used to it and no longer minded.
She nodded. "Yes, there are still more coming."
Mo Hua frowned, puzzled.
Who else would be coming?
But Magistrate Xia didn't explain, so he had no choice but to wait quietly. After a short while, shadows moved through the night—a new group of cultivators arrived.
They moved silently under cover of darkness, heading straight for the river dock.
Magistrate Xia's expression remained neutral—it was clear she had expected this.
As they reached the dock, the leader removed his mask and bowed respectfully to her. "Greetings, Magistrate Xia."
This man looked young, but had the cultivation of someone at the peak of the Foundation Establishment realm.
Mo Hua glanced at his face—and his pupils instantly contracted.
This person was—
Xiao Tianquan?!
The Xiao family's direct-line genius in the Dao Court—the infamous "Howling Celestial Hound"!
Mo Hua's thoughts went into chaos.
"Why is Xiao Tianquan here? Did he betray the Xiao family? No… wait…"
He looked more closely at the group behind Xiao Tianquan. Their expressions, bearing, and movements all carried the distinct air of Dao Court enforcers.
These were all Xiao family officials.
Mo Hua's eyelid twitched as he turned to look at Gu Changhuai.
Gu Changhuai was frowning deeply, his expression grave. Clearly, he hadn't expected their reinforcements to be people from the Xiao family either.
Magistrate Xia, however, simply nodded and asked, "Is everyone here?"
Xiao Tianquan replied respectfully, "Reporting to the Magistrate—112 members of the Xiao family have arrived in full. Awaiting your command."
"Good," Magistrate Xia nodded. "You all know the plan. In a moment, we'll board the ships and proceed deep into the Yan Shui River to root out the water bandits and eliminate this threat."
Xiao Tianquan cupped his hands. "As you command!"
Then he lifted his gaze and shot a sharp look at Gu Changhuai—but said nothing—and turned to pass instructions to his people.
Gu Changhuai's expression darkened, but he too said nothing.
The operation began. The Xia family cultivators released over thirty spirit boats into the river.
Everyone boarded in an orderly fashion.
Magistrate Xia's vessel led the fleet, with Gu Changhuai aboard as well.
Mo Hua, who would be leading the way, naturally rode on the same boat.
As for Xiao Tianquan, it was clear he wanted to be on the lead boat too.
Magistrate Xia hesitated slightly, then said:
"Sir Xiao, I'll trouble you to bring up the rear and cover our flank."
Xiao Tianquan gave a tactful nod and respectfully cupped his hands. "Understood." He then went to board one of the boats at the back.
With everyone aboard, the thirty-plus spirit boats quietly set out under the cover of night.
Mo Hua led from the front.
The rest followed behind.
The night was tranquil, the river's surface calm, broken only by the gentle sound of flowing water as the boats glided forward.
The journey was silent for a while. Halfway along the river, Gu Changhuai finally couldn't hold back his question:
"Why the Xiao family?"
His voice was quiet, but it carried both confusion and a hint of interrogation.
Mo Hua immediately perked up his ears.
"What's wrong with the Xiao family?"
Magistrate Xia replied evenly, unconcerned.
Gu Changhuai frowned. "You really don't know?"
The Yin Water Sect and the Xiao family were like grasshoppers on the same rope—tightly bound together.
Magistrate Xia was silent for a moment—clearly, there were things she couldn't say.
But as she looked into Gu Changhuai's clear, questioning eyes, she hesitated for a few seconds before finally speaking in a low voice:
"…The Xiao family has already defected to the Xia family."
"This whole matter actually began with the Xiao family secretly reporting the Yin Water Sect's misdeeds to my uncle. That's how the Dao Court got involved and began investigating the Yin Water Sect."
Gu Changhuai's eyes widened slightly.
And up front, Mo Hua—eavesdropping intently—sucked in a cold breath.
Good heavens. The Xiao family really flipped.
Just a while ago, they were still being lovey-dovey with the Yin Water Sect, and now they've turned around and stabbed them in the back.
(End of this Chapter)