Chapter 134: Searching for a Missing Man
After Elder Yu finished speaking, he led the group into Black Mountain.
At a camp near the outer mountain's entrance, they met up with Yu Chengyi.
Elder Yu asked, "How is it?"
Yu Chengyi's clothes were damp with rain and dew, his face pale, brows deeply furrowed.
"The rain was too heavy. After that downpour, every trace in the mountain's gone. We have no idea where he went."
Elder Yu sighed heavily. "That's troublesome…"
Black Mountain was vast. Even the outer range alone would take seven or eight days to traverse once, and if they were to search carefully, it'd take much longer.
If Old Zhao was unharmed, all would be well. But if something had happened… the chances of survival were slim.
The Demon Hunters in the camp all wore grim expressions.
"Where did Uncle Zhao enter the mountain?"
A clear, childish voice rang out from the crowd.
Everyone turned toward the sound and saw Mo Hua standing behind Mo Shan.
Although Mo Hua was young, he was familiar with most of the Demon Hunters there. They all called him "Little Formation Master," so no one dismissed him because of his age.
Yu Chengyi quickly beckoned him over, spread out a map, and pointed to a mountain path.
"Old Zhao entered the mountain at this pass around dusk."
Mo Hua glanced at the map, folded it up, then took out his own.
When he spread his map open, everyone was dumbfounded.
This map was far too detailed, not only did it mark paths, poison swamps, and miasma zones, but even the locations of herbs, ores, and spices were annotated.
It was covered in dense markings; had there been more room, it looked as if Mo Hua would've drawn every single tree and written what each one looked like.
Mo Hua pointed to a spot on his map. "Was it here?"
Yu Chengyi nodded.
Mo Hua checked the map again, found the nearest stone needle location, then took out the compass that held the Compass Mother Array, compared the readings, and slowly frowned.
Yu Chengyi's heart tightened. "What's wrong?"
Mo Hua pointed to several places on the map. "There were spiritual power fluctuations here."
"What do you mean?"
"It means, someone fought here!"
The crowd exchanged startled looks, shocked.
"You can tell that?" one Demon Hunter couldn't help asking.
Mo Hua nodded. "This is a Compass Mother-and-Child Formation. I planted stone needles throughout the mountains. If there are spiritual power fluctuations nearby, they'll show up on this compass."
Everyone was stunned. Their expressions grew far more serious as they looked at Mo Hua.
Elder Yu's face lightened slightly. "No time to waste, let's move out!"
Without hesitation, everyone departed. Mo Shan gave a brief "Be careful," then silently followed behind his son.
After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, they reached the spot Mo Hua had indicated.
It was a small hill slope. Downward was a narrow path; upward, a stretch of forest; to the right, a cliff.
Mo Hua found the stone needle, its array lines faint and distorted, showing that the spiritual power fluctuation had been strong.
"How is it?" Yu Chengyi asked tensely.
Mo Hua nodded. "Someone definitely fought here. Their cultivation wasn't low, and the disturbance was large. There should be traces nearby."
Yu Chengyi immediately ordered, "Spread out, search the area."
Before long, someone shouted, "Over here!"
They rushed over. The ground stones were cracked and splintered, several trees broken clean in half, and on a nearby rock wall was a deep diagonal palm print, faintly radiating earth-element spiritual power.
Yu Chengyi's eyes hardened. "That's the Mountain-Splitting Palm. It's Old Zhao."
Mo Shan stepped forward, wiped the rock with his fingers, sniffed lightly, and his gaze went cold.
"There's blood. The rain washed most of it away."
The crowd's expressions grew grave.
Elder Yu turned to Mo Hua. "Any other signs?"
Mo Hua looked at the compass, many light points had dimmed or vanished. He shook his head.
"It's been too long. The spiritual ripples are too faint to distinguish anymore."
The Compass Mother-and-Child Formation had a time limit. When a fluctuation first occurred, the light point was bright; as time passed, it faded and eventually disappeared.
Everyone frowned.
Mo Hua grew anxious, then suddenly had a flash of inspiration.
"Uncle Yu, when did Uncle Zhao enter the mountain?"
Yu Chengyi thought for a moment. "Around mid-You hour (about 7–9 p.m.), maybe an hour past that."
Mo Hua's eyes brightened. With a formation master's sharp memory, he recalled glancing at the compass before dinner. He hadn't paid close attention then, but faint impressions remained in his mind.
He spread the map open again and marked several new points.
"These points, there were battles after You hour. Not necessarily Uncle Zhao, it could've been other cultivators or beasts. And the positions might not be precise…"
"No matter," Elder Yu said. "A direction is better than searching blindly."
He patted Mo Hua's shoulder. "You've done all you can. If we still can't find him… that's Old Zhao's fate."
Mo Hua nodded slightly, feeling heavy.
"Any other clues?" Elder Yu asked.
Mo Hua studied the map again, then drew several connecting lines.
"These paths show continuous spiritual fluctuations. You might want to search along them carefully."
Elder Yu's gaze sharpened. The hearts of the other Demon Hunters also tensed.
Continuous fluctuations meant continuous fighting, which meant someone had been chased all the way.
But by what? A beast, or a cultivator?
Elder Yu's expression grew solemn. "Split up! Small groups of three, larger ones five. Each of these paths gets at least ten people. Be careful, signal with whistles if you find anything!"
At his command, the Demon Hunters scattered swiftly in all directions.
Elder Yu added to Mo Hua, "Stay with your father, don't wander off."
"Mm." Mo Hua nodded.
As night fell, the group searched through the rain-soaked Black Mountain for the missing hunter.
An hour later, they found more battle traces—and even fragments of vine armor—but still no sign of the man himself.
Mo Hua marked every battle site on his map.
Then, staring at the map, he frowned in thought.
There were plenty of signs of fighting, being chased all the way, surely wounded heavily. He shouldn't have gotten far. He should still be somewhere near these mountain paths.
But with so many searching, why hadn't anyone found him?
Alive or dead, there should at least be a body!
Mo Hua puzzled over it, then asked Mo Shan, "Dad, when you're searching for someone—how do you do it?"
"How?"
"I mean, do you use Divine-Sense to search?"
Mo Shan thought a moment. "We use our eyes for traces, ears for sounds, noses for blood scent. Divine-Sense, just for basic sensing."
That method seemed fine…
Mo Hua nodded thoughtfully. Then an idea flashed.
What if he discarded his five senses and relied solely on Divine-Sense?
His eyes lit up. He closed them and released his Divine-Sense.
The world around him turned pale and ethereal.
The mountains, trees, rivers, and cultivators of the night lost their outlines and colors, becoming faint spiritual silhouettes.
Everything in heaven and earth had a spiritual shadow, mostly light blue for the natural world, while cultivators' shadows varied according to their spiritual roots and techniques, each showing a distinct Five-Element hue.
Within his Divine-Sense, everything became sharply defined.
Mo Hua pushed further, cutting off all five senses, extending his Divine-Sense to the limit.
His perception expanded outward; the spiritual shadows grew clearer.
"Nothing…"
Mo Hua opened his eyes, moved to the next mountain path, closed them again, and spread out his Divine-Sense.
Mo Shan didn't know what his son was doing, but didn't interrupt, just followed silently behind.
"Nothing."
"Still nothing…"
Mo Hua continued walking, extending his Divine-Sense again and again. After several cliffs, he suddenly stopped.
Mo Shan's heart tensed, then saw Mo Hua's eyes snap open as he pointed toward a nearby cliff.
"There's someone there!"
Mo Shan and several Demon Hunters leapt forward at once, parting the brush. Torchlight flashed.
Beneath the cliff, tangled in branches, was the barely breathing Old Zhao!
(End of Chapter)