Chapter 269: Concealment
Mo Hua really wanted to master the Spirit-Reversal Formation.
However, that formation was a Ten-Rune Array, requiring Divine-Sense at the Foundation Establishment realm to learn. By the time he reached that level, he'd likely already be at the brink of Foundation Establishment himself.
*Mister Zhuang's probably just trying to brush me off again… selling me dreams,* Mo Hua thought silently.
Then he noticed Mister Zhuang looking at him with that faint, knowing smile. Mo Hua's heart skipped a beat, his private grumbling had been sensed *again*.
He had no idea how Mister Zhuang managed to do that.
Mo Hua could only chuckle awkwardly.
"Sir, please rest well. I won't disturb you further."
Leaving the Forgetful Meditation Abode, he immediately pulled out the *Concealment Formation* and began studying it with full focus.
The Concealment Formation belonged to the Water-type formations, though its effects were quite unlike most Water arrays.
Thus, its formation core and runes differed as well—more intricate, more mysterious.
But Mo Hua already possessed sufficiently strong Divine-Sense. All that was left was practice.
Repetition made mastery. Draw it dozens, even hundreds of times, and no matter how complex the formation, he'd know it like the back of his hand.
Besides, he had the Dao Monument, knew the Meditation Technique, and cultivated the *Celestial Evolution Art.*
Within just a few days, he could practice the formation nearly a hundred times.
Others would need months for the same progress—half a year if their aptitude was poor.
Mo Hua's speed in learning formations far surpassed the norm.
After three days, he had already mastered the Concealment Formation.
He drew the formation on paper and infused it with a wisp of spiritual power—and the entire sheet vanished from sight.
When he swept his Divine-Sense across it, he could still faintly detect the array's presence, but its runes were blurred under the flow of Water-elemental energy.
A sheet of paper was lifeless—it couldn't fool Divine-Sense.
However, if a cultivator used the Concealment Technique on themselves, then hid their aura with Divine-Sense, others—unless their Divine-Sense was far stronger—wouldn't be able to detect them at all.
That was how Diao Laosan had managed to cause chaos for so long despite his mediocre skills—his only real advantage was the Concealment Technique.
Unfortunately, he ran into Mo Hua, whose Divine-Sense was far from ordinary.
Bad luck for him—and poetic justice, too.
Diao Laosan's Divine-Sense was weak, yet even then, his concealment was hard to see through. For Mo Hua, whose Divine-Sense was exceptionally powerful, it would be child's play.
Mo Hua drew the Concealment Formation onto his Dao robe.
Ordinary Dao robes were soft and flexible—not ideal for formation drawing.
In other words, robes that *could* hold formations were expensive.
Although Mo Hua wasn't short on spirit stones now, he still didn't like to waste them.
Once he reached Foundation Establishment, his daily spiritual expenses would multiply severalfold—it was best to save where he could.
He bought half a bolt of special cloth suitable for formation drawing—quite costly, at a hundred spirit stones.
He inscribed the Concealment Formation on the cloth, then asked his mother to sew it into the inner lining of his robe. That way, the array could function properly without wasting spirit stones.
When Mo Hua tested it, he discovered a small flaw.
The areas covered by the robe were perfectly hidden, but the parts exposed—his hands and face—still showed faint bluish outlines.
That was within his expectations.
After all, a robe that could conceal completely was considered a spiritual artifact—exceptionally rare and expensive. In all of Tōngxiān City, not a single one was available.
Such robes required the finest materials and meticulous craftsmanship—not something Mo Hua could replicate by painting on ordinary cloth.
You get what you pay for. Mo Hua understood that well enough.
He called his mother to help him check the result.
Liu Ruhua smiled softly, amused by his confident demeanor, and watched from the side.
Mo Hua put on his robe, activated the array, then performed the Concealment Technique himself.
The two concealments overlapped—like a flowing, invisible stream of water enveloping him. Mo Hua's figure vanished entirely.
Liu Ruhua gasped, covering her mouth.
"He's really gone…"
An empty space in front of her spoke: "Mother, can you see me?"
Liu Ruhua nodded slowly. "No… truly can't."
"What if you use your Divine-Sense?"
She focused, then shook her head again. "Nothing at all."
Mo Hua revealed himself, grinning brightly.
Liu Ruhua smiled too, but her brow soon furrowed as she reminded him,
"The Concealment Technique is impressive, but don't use it for mischief, understand?"
"Don't worry, Mother," Mo Hua replied cheerfully.
Still not fully assured, he tested it again—with his father Mo Shan, Zhang Lan, and the Bai siblings, Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi.
None of them could see through his concealment.
Mo Shan was surprised, but also relieved.
With Concealment Technique and Flowing-Water Step, Mo Hua's self-defense was more than sufficient for a Qi-Refining cultivator.
As a father, he could finally worry a little less about his son's safety in the inner mountains.
Zhang Lan, on the other hand, found the whole thing deeply troubling.
Mo Hua's techniques were getting stranger and harder to counter by the day.
Flowing-Water Step made him untouchable, Water Prison Technique made escape impossible, and now this Concealment Technique—made him *invisible.*
Not just invisible to the eye—even the most extended Divine-Sense couldn't sense his presence.
Normally, cultivators who practiced concealment left small flaws that could be detected by stronger Divine-Sense.
But Mo Hua's Divine-Sense was already abnormally powerful. Who could possibly see through him now?
Would it take a Foundation Establishment cultivator to deal with a mere seventh-layer Qi-Refining junior?
Zhang Lan rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on.
Then he remembered—he was Mo Hua's friend, not his enemy.
Why would he need to counter him? If anything, having Mo Hua on his side was an advantage.
That thought instantly calmed him.
Bai Zisheng's jaw dropped, full of envy.
If *he* knew the Concealment Technique, he could sneak past Aunt Xue and go play whenever he wanted.
Bai Zixi, too, looked surprised, her brows lightly furrowed as she said something almost identical to Liu Ruhua:
"You mustn't use this for anything bad."
Mo Hua didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Qi-Refining cultivators like his father, Zhang Lan, and the Bai siblings—all unable to pierce his concealment.
He nodded to himself, quite pleased with the result.
Then a thought struck him.
"If Qi-Refining cultivators can't see through it… could Foundation Establishment ones?"
Maybe he should test that.
There weren't many Foundation Establishment cultivators in Tōngxiān City. The one he was most familiar with was Elder Yu.
So Mo Hua activated the Concealment Technique, turned on the Concealment Formation, and in broad daylight, sneaked his way to Elder Yu's home.
Elder Yu had just finished speaking with another cultivator and was now sitting alone in his parlor, sipping tea.
Mo Hua crept in quietly and sat on a chair near the door, keeping some distance from him.
Elder Yu didn't react.
Mo Hua edged closer.
Still nothing. Elder Yu calmly drank his tea.
Mo Hua moved closer again—now only two seats away.
He stared at Elder Yu, thinking smugly, *Now you'll definitely notice me, right?*
But Elder Yu merely took another sip, utterly unbothered.
Mo Hua's heart leapt with joy. He hadn't expected the concealment to be *this* effective.
Even a Foundation Establishment cultivator couldn't see through it!
Just then, Elder Yu suddenly lifted his head, eyes twinkling with mischief, a smile playing on his lips.
"Having fun, are you?"
*(End of Chapter)*