Search

Elder Yu finished speaking and led everyone into the Great Black Mountain.

At a campsite near the outer mountain entrance, the group met up with Yu Chengyi.

Elder Yu asked, "How did it go?"

Yu Chengyi's clothes were damp from the rain, his face slightly pale, brows furrowed tightly.

"The rain was too heavy. After it passed, there were no traces left in the mountain. We have no idea where he might have gone."

Elder Yu sighed heavily. "This complicates things."

The Great Black Mountain is vast. Even just exploring one side could take seven or eight days. If they searched meticulously, it would take even longer.

If Old Zhao is safe, that's good. But if something serious has happened, the outcome might not be good.

The demon hunters at the camp all wore worried expressions.

"Uncle Zhao entered the mountain from where?"

A clear and youthful voice sounded from the crowd.

Everyone turned to see Mo Hua following behind Mo Shan.

Though Mo Hua was young, he was quite familiar with most of the demon hunters present, who often called him "Little Formation Master." So, no one overlooked him due to his age.

Yu Chengyi quickly called Mo Hua over and spread out a map, pointing to a mountain path.

"Old Zhao entered the mountain from this pass in the evening."

Mo Hua glanced at it, closed the map, and then took out his own hand-drawn map from his storage bag.

Mo Hua spread out his map, and everyone was somewhat stunned when they looked at it.

This map was incredibly detailed, not only marking the mountain paths, poisonous swamps, and miasma zones but also indicating points for herbs, spiritual grasses, and minerals.

At a glance, it was densely packed with information. If space allowed, Mo Hua seemed like he would note down every tree in every forest and describe each one in detail.

Mo Hua pointed to a spot on his map. "Is it here?"

Yu Chengyi nodded.

Mo Hua compared the maps, found the nearest stone needle, and then took out a compass with a Southern Pointer Array inscribed on it. After comparing it, his brows gradually furrowed.

Yu Chengyi felt a pang of worry and asked, "What's wrong?"

Mo Hua pointed to a few spots on the map. "There were spiritual power fluctuations here."

"What does that mean?"

"It means someone has interfered here."

Everyone exchanged looks, momentarily taken aback.

"You can tell all this?" one demon hunter couldn't help but ask.

Mo Hua nodded. "This is a Southern Pointer Array. I placed stone needles in the mountains. If there's any spiritual power fluctuation nearby, this compass can detect it."

Everyone was surprised and looked at Mo Hua with much more respect.

Elder Yu's expression cleared slightly. "There's no time to lose. Let's go there now!"

Without further delay, everyone set off immediately. Mo Shan quietly reminded, "Be careful," and silently followed behind Mo Hua.

After a cup of tea's time, they arrived at the location Mo Hua had mentioned.

It was a small hillside. Below was a narrow mountain path, above was a forest, and to the right was a cliff.

Mo Hua found the stone needle and noticed that the array patterns on it were dim and distorted, likely due to excessive spiritual power fluctuations.

"How is it?" Yu Chengyi asked nervously.

Mo Hua nodded. "Indeed, someone has intervened here. Their cultivation is not low, and their actions were not subtle. There should be traces nearby."

Yu Chengyi instructed, "Spread out and search nearby."

Before long, someone shouted, "Over here!"

Everyone rushed over and found that the ground was cracked and shattered, some trees were snapped in half, and on the nearby rock wall, there was a slanting palm print with faint traces of earthy spiritual power remaining.

Yu Chengyi looked and said, "Mountain Splitting Palm, it's Old Zhao."

Mo Shan also stepped forward, wiped the stone wall with his fingers, sniffed it near his nose, his gaze turned cold, and he said:

"There's bloodstains, washed away by the heavy rain."

The expressions of the crowd became solemn.

Elder Yu asked Mo Hua, "Are there any other traces?"

Mo Hua looked at the compass and found that many points on it were dim, some even disappeared. He shook his head:

"It's been a while, and the spiritual power fluctuations have weakened too much to distinguish."

The Southern Pointer Array had a time limit. At the beginning of the spiritual power fluctuation, the points would be bright, but over time, they would gradually dim until they disappeared.

Elder Yu and the others frowned.

Mo Hua also felt anxious. Suddenly, a thought struck him and he asked:

"Uncle Yu, when did Old Zhao enter the mountain?"

Yu Chengyi thought for a moment and said, "It was around mid Rooster hour(6:00 pm), about an hour ago."

Mo Hua's eyes brightened. His memory as a Formation Master was exceptional. He had glanced at the compass before dinner. Though he hadn't paid much attention, some impressions remained in his mind.

He spread out the map again and marked a few points.

"These points, they indicate battles after mid Rooster hour, but it may not necessarily be Old Zhao. It could also be other cultivators or monsters. Moreover, these points may not be accurate..."

"It's okay," Elder Yu said. "Having a direction is better than searching blindly."

Elder Yu patted Mo Hua on the shoulder. "You've done your best. If we still can't find him, it might be Old Zhao's fate."

Mo Hua nodded with a somewhat subdued mood.

"Are there any other clues?" Elder Yu asked.

Mo Hua looked at the map again and drew several lines.

"On these roads, there have been continuous spiritual power fluctuations. We should search them carefully."

Elder Yu's gaze hardened, and the hearts of the other demon hunters were also raised.

Continuous spiritual power fluctuations meant ongoing battles. This implied that someone was being pursued all the way!

Was it a monster pursuing him, or a cultivator?

Elder Yu's expression became serious. He decisively said:

"Split up. Three people for the smaller points, five for the larger ones, and more than ten for each of these lines. Be cautious and safe. If you find anything, signal immediately."

Elder Yu gave orders swiftly, and the demon hunters dispersed quickly in all directions.

Elder Yu reminded Mo Hua again, "Stay close to your dad and don't get separated."

"Okay," Mo Hua nodded.

As night fell, they searched for the missing demon hunter in the rain-soaked Great Black Mountain.

An hour later, they found more signs of battles, even fragments of vine armor, but still no sign of the missing person.

Mo Hua marked all the battle points on the map.

Then, he frowned and contemplated.

With signs of battle and being pursued all the way, the person must be seriously injured and might not have been able to run far. They should be near these mountain paths marked on the map.

But with so many people, why hadn't they found him yet?

They should have found a living person or at least a corpse...

Mo Hua couldn't understand. He turned to Mo Shan standing behind him and asked, "Dad, how did you search for people?"

"How did we search?"

"I mean, did you use spiritual senses to search?"

Mo Shan thought for a moment and said, "We observe traces with our eyes, listen for sounds, smell for bloodstains, and use spiritual senses for basic perception."

This method of searching seemed reasonable...

Mo Hua nodded, then suddenly thought, what if he abandoned his five senses and solely relied on his spiritual senses for perception?

Mo Hua's eyes lit up. He closed his eyes and released his spiritual senses.

Instantly, everything around him turned into a virtual blank.

In the darkness of night, the mountains, forests, rivers, and cultivators all lost their outlines and original colors, turning into faint spiritual shadows.

The spiritual shadows of natural objects were mainly in light blue, while the spiritual shadows of cultivators varied in color according to their spiritual roots and the attributes of their practiced techniques.

Things in the spiritual sense were clearly delineated.

Mo Hua further abandoned his five senses and pushed his spiritual senses to the limit.

The boundaries of perception expanded further, and the perceived spiritual shadows became clearer.

"Nothing..."

Mo Hua opened his eyes, walked to the next intersection, closed his eyes again, and released his spiritual senses.

Mo Shan didn't know what Mo Hua was doing but didn't interrupt, silently following behind his son.

"Nothing."

"Nothing..."

Mo Hua continued walking, continued to release his spiritual senses. After passing several cliffs like this, Mo Hua suddenly stopped.

Mo Shan's heart tightened. He saw Mo Hua suddenly open his eyes, point to a place not far away on a cliff:

"There's someone there!"

Mo Shan and several nearby demon hunters immediately rushed forward, pushing aside bushes and shining torches.

Below the cliff, entangled in branches, was the barely alive Old Zhao!

(End of the Chapter)