Chapter 271: The Path Between the Cliffs
That night, after returning home, Mo Hua once again practiced the Concealment Formation and the Spirit-Reversal Formation upon the Dao Monument within his Sea of Consciousness, training throughout the night.
He was already familiar with the Concealment Formation and merely reviewed it for proficiency.
The Spirit-Reversal Formation, however, was exceedingly difficult. A complete version required ten divine-sense runes—something Mo Hua could not yet draw. For now, he used it merely for formation practice and to temper his Divine-Sense.
The next morning, he rose early as usual and cultivated for one hour.
After a quick breakfast, he set off toward Mount Dahei. Crossing the outer range and entering the inner mountains, he came once again to that very cliff.
The precipice was sheer, rising thousands of fathoms, its depths shrouded in swirling mist, unfathomable and vast.
Mo Hua sat cross-legged at the cliff's edge, closed his eyes, and extended his Divine-Sense downward.
This time, he had a clear goal in mind; his perception was more focused and precise.
After a while, he opened his eyes, a trace of doubt flashing within them.
Still nothing.
If his suspicions were correct, those Criminal Cultivators must have used Concealment Formations to hide themselves—most likely beneath this very cliff.
Yet now, the abyss stretched endlessly below, and within the range of his Divine-Sense, there was neither a figure nor any abnormal aura.
That was… peculiar.
If not below the cliff, could it be… across from it?
Mo Hua turned his gaze to the opposite side.
There lay a range of deep mountains, veiled in dense clouds and miasma, their aura dangerous and unpredictable. The thick mist concealed even the edge of the opposite cliff.
With such obscurity, there seemed little need for a Concealment Formation at all.
"Not below, not across… could it be *between* the cliffs?"
Mo Hua muttered to himself, then sent his Divine-Sense probing into the space between.
Between the cliffs, mist and foul mountain vapors intertwined, clouding his perception.
As he focused, suddenly—his eyes snapped open.
There *was* something there!
Startled, he immediately calmed his mind, closed his eyes again, and pushed his Divine-Sense to its utmost limit, filtering out the interference of the mountain miasma to sense more clearly.
Amid the haze, Mo Hua finally discerned… a path leading toward the opposite cliff.
But when he realized what that "path" truly was, shock rippled through him.
It wasn't a mountain path at all—but a toppled mountain peak!
The peak, narrow yet sturdy, had fallen from the opposite side, forming a natural stone bridge suspended between the two cliffs.
Someone had laid a Concealment Formation upon it, masking its presence and leveraging the natural mountain mist to further obscure Divine-Sense detection.
Thus, this fallen peak had become a secret passage—hidden, silent, stretching across the abyss, unseen by all.
Using the earth and stone as the formation's medium, the mist as its veil—utterly seamless, undetectable, divine in subtlety.
Mo Hua's heart trembled in awe.
He thought to himself, *"This formation master is an expert!"*
He had only recently learned the Concealment Formation, yet this formation had been laid long ago, and with far greater mastery than his own.
Since mastering formation arts, apart from the unfathomable Mister Zhuang, this was the first time Mo Hua had encountered another formation master whose skill surpassed his own.
Curiosity flickered within him. *Who could this person be?*
A formation master who crafted such arrays for Criminal Cultivators to hide their presence—could it be that this one was also a Criminal Cultivator?
What a pity, Mo Hua thought. To study the profound art of formations, yet choose to aid murderers and thieves—such talent wasted.
What should he do next?
He frowned.
Now that he had found traces of the Criminal Cultivators, it was only right to investigate further.
But venturing alone was dangerous.
No one knew how many of them there were, how powerful, or what schemes they plotted in these secluded mountains.
Mo Hua decided it would be best to return first, report to Elder Yu, and inform the Dao Court Division.
With the Demon Hunters and the Dao Court's assistance, they could surround and annihilate the entire group at once.
Having reached a decision, Mo Hua turned to leave—but then paused again, his brows knitting tighter.
Something about that plan felt… wrong.
If he returned and gathered a large force, their entry into the mountains would surely alert the enemy.
Even if they had the advantage in numbers—what if the Criminal Cultivators had more?
They had been lurking here for two or three centuries, recruiting villains—surely their power was considerable.
If they used the terrain for an ambush, many Demon Hunters and Dao Court members might die.
Mo Hua had strong ties with both groups—such losses were the last thing he wanted to see.
Moreover, charging in blindly without knowing the enemy's strength would be reckless.
If the Criminal Cultivators fled, rooting them out later would be near impossible.
And besides, everything so far was only his speculation.
Even if he was seventy or eighty percent certain, without seeing it with his own eyes, he couldn't be sure.
What if it wasn't Criminal Cultivators behind the cliff?
What if it was a reclusive master like Mister Zhuang—or a solitary, eccentric formation expert?
If he led a group of cultivators to their doorstep, that would be an offense, not justice.
Mo Hua's thoughts tangled in indecision.
After much deliberation, he realized—the best solution might indeed be to "take the risk alone."
His Divine-Sense was strong; he could sense danger early. With the Flowing-Water Step, he could evade most threats. More importantly—he could conceal himself.
He was the only cultivator among all the Demon Hunters of Tōngxiān City capable of true concealment.
By combining the Concealment Art with the Concealment Formation, his invisibility surpassed ordinary stealth techniques—so much so that even a Foundation Establishment cultivator might not detect him if unprepared.
If the one opposite was a high-level expert, they wouldn't bother with a minor cultivator like him.
If they were indeed Criminal Cultivators, his stealth would ensure they never noticed.
They could kill and rob in secret—so he could just as secretly uncover their truth.
*Know your enemy, know yourself—never suffer defeat.*
Once he discerned the truth, he could plan accordingly.
Mo Hua nodded slightly.
If taking a small risk meant saving many lives among the Demon Hunters and Dao Court, it was worth it.
He would proceed carefully—just a quick look to confirm what lay beyond, then slip back quietly.
The Criminal Cultivators across might not even notice him.
After all, his concealment arts and formations were not for show.
Having made up his mind, Mo Hua thought:
**"I'll sneak over under concealment, investigate, then quietly retreat."**
That way, he would avoid alerting the enemy and minimize danger.
He gathered a handful of pebbles and a tree branch nearby, then took out a bottle of spirit ink from his Storage Ring. After briefly sensing with his Divine-Sense, he poured the golden spirit ink over the cliff edge.
The golden ink cascaded downward—then suddenly splashed outward in midair, as though striking something unseen, forming faint traces suspended in the mist.
"There really is a path."
Mo Hua nodded in confirmation. He tossed a few pebbles downward; they too landed in midair, not falling into the abyss. Only then did he relax.
Activating a Concealment Formation, he then cast the Concealment Art, vanishing from sight. Finally, he performed the Flowing-Water Step, leaping lightly from the cliff into the clouds below.
Moments later, his feet tingled slightly—he had landed on the invisible stone bridge.
The golden ink and pebbles he had dropped earlier lay right by his feet.
Mo Hua exhaled softly in relief.
Even knowing there was a path, leaping from a cliff was still nerve-wracking.
He glanced downward—and immediately felt his legs go weak, his face pale.
Beneath him yawned a bottomless abyss. One misstep would mean certain death.
At this moment, he was standing seemingly upon nothing—suspended over the endless void.
Mo Hua took a deep breath and told himself:
*"Don't look down… don't look down…"*
Then, summoning his courage, he began to walk forward—one careful step at a time, using the tree branch to probe the way ahead.
Between the two mist-shrouded cliffs, upon a hidden mountain path, an invisible young cultivator advanced silently—step by cautious step—toward the opposite side.
For two or three hundred years, no Demon Hunter had discovered this hidden road. And now, the Criminal Cultivators, too, failed to notice the concealed Mo Hua.
(End of Chapter)