CHAPTER 1550: CHAPTER 824: RIVER BANDITS (PART 3)

It’s as if...

From a familiar young man, he turned into an unknowable evil monster.

At the same time, a mysterious aura spread from Mo Hua.

Moments later, the strange atmosphere dissipated, and Mo Hua’s expression returned to normal. He pointed to a waterway in front of him and said, "Turn right at the middle, and you can find the owner of the broken sword..."

Xia Canonical Official’s expression slightly shook.

"So this is... finding the way?"

She looked puzzled, thought for a moment, and then her pupils shrank as she exclaimed:

"Heavenly Mechanism Skill?!"

Gu Changhuai was also startled upon hearing this, and quickly looked at Mo Hua.

Mo Hua, however, asked in confusion, "What is the Heavenly Mechanism Skill?"

Xia Canonical Official looked into Mo Hua’s clear eyes, a little surprised, "You don’t know what the Heavenly Mechanism Skill is?"

Mo Hua nodded.

He actually knew a little bit.

But what he knew was something he had guessed and cobbled together, summarized purely from experience.

It’s a wild method, not something elegant or respectable.

The true, systematic, academic Heavenly Mechanism Skill, he had no idea about.

So claiming not to know what the Heavenly Mechanism Skill is wasn’t a false statement.

Xia Canonical Official frowned, "Then what were you just using?"

Mo Hua blinked, "It’s something I learned back home in Li State from an old Taoist who was passing by, wearing tattered clothes but kind-hearted and benevolent-faced."

"It’s a divination pathfinding method that can use divine sense perception to ’divine’ the correct path, making it easier to find people or things lost in the mountains."

Mo Hua spoke with great seriousness.

Xia Canonical Official herself was also clueless about the Heavenly Mechanism Skill, having heard only a little about it, and after some thought, found Mo Hua’s words reasonable.

The so-called "divination pathfinding method" should be some folk-level, lower-tier Heavenly Mechanism Technique circulated among lower-level cultivators.

Occasionally, it can perceive some minor causes and effects, but compared to true Heavenly Mechanism Skill, it’s like clouds and mud.

As for the old Taoist, shabby clothes, kind-hearted, benevolent face...

That also seemed plausible.

There are indeed many experts or quirky alchemists in the cultivation world who like traveling.

It’s normal for them to master some strange spell points.

Xia Canonical Official secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

She thought, how could someone at the mere Foundation Establishment Realm learn the Heavenly Mechanism Skill...

But Xia Canonical Official still cautioned Mo Hua:

"This kind of spell point, don’t use it recklessly in front of others in the future, nor divine carelessly..."

"Why?" Mo Hua asked.

Xia Canonical Official said solemnly:

"Even though it’s just a simple minor causal spell point, the word ’cause and effect’ is involved, which can overly deplete divine thought, and it’s easy to cause fluctuations in one’s own fortune. The most severe is that if you ’divine’ the cause and effect of some powerful cultivators, you might provoke experts and suffer causal backlash, and you are only at Foundation Establishment..."

Xia Canonical Official looked at Mo Hua with concern, "...This severe causal backlash is something you, a child, cannot withstand."

There is actually causal backlash...

Mo Hua felt a chill in his heart, nodded solemnly.

He then thought about how, along the way, he seemed to have calculated a lot of causes and effects, yet he hadn’t seemed to provoke any "experts" or suffer any causal backlash.

He didn’t know whether he was lucky, or if his master had secretly arranged some means of protection.

In any case, he decided to be more cautious in the future.

However, for now, the matter of the Water Yama should be fine, at least regarding causes and effects, there shouldn’t be too many concerns.

After that, the three drove the boat, quietly moving forward along the waterway divined by Mo Hua.

The further they went, the more complex the river became, making it harder to discern direction.

This area was downstream, with silt accumulation, and occasionally there were shoals overgrown with waist-high weeds.

So, as the small boat moved forward, it often had to stop.

Mo Hua would take out the broken sword and divine again, then re-determine the direction.

Xia Canonical Official silently watched Mo Hua, feeling more and more puzzled as she did.

All heavenly mechanism causality and even divine thought skills consume divine sense, especially those involving the heavenly mechanism path and causal calculations, which consume even more divine sense.

But this young boy, after so many divinations along the way, still hadn’t exhausted his divine sense.

Just how deep was his divine sense?

Xia Canonical Official was a little shocked.

Of course, no matter how strong Mo Hua’s divine sense was, it couldn’t be used indefinitely.

Moreover, such calculations involve two types of heavenly mechanism algorithms, which are quite difficult.

After a few more calculations, Mo Hua’s divine sense was almost depleted.

But in front of them were still clumps of water plants, and the surroundings were dim and obscure, with no sign of people or any other clues.

Mo Hua then patiently sat down for meditation, to recover his divine sense.

About an hour later, Mo Hua opened his eyes, with his divine sense mostly restored.

But he didn’t dare to calculate anymore.

Heavenly secret tricky calculations amplify heavenly secret calculations, which damage the Sea of Consciousness.

He had already calculated too many times, and his Sea of Consciousness felt faintly painful.

Divine sense can be restored through meditation, but damage to the Sea of Consciousness cannot.

Furthermore, waterways are different from land routes, especially in such complex water zones, where pathfinding through heavenly secret calculations is much more challenging.

Mo Hua sighed.

This Water Yama really knows how to find a place to hide.

Gu Changhuai saw Mo Hua’s face slightly pale and asked softly, "Are you okay?"

Mo Hua nodded, "It’s okay, it’s just..."

He looked at the water plants, mud flats, and shallows before him, the mixed and varied waterways, and said helplessly:

"It seems it won’t work today..."

Xia Canonical Official looked up at the sky and said:

"It’s getting late, and if these water bandits are active at night, we’ll easily be discovered if we delay until evening."

"Moreover, at night it’s pitch black, the river is dangerous, and water demons appear, which might be risky..."

There was nothing for the two Golden Cores to fear.

The danger was for Mo Hua.

After all, Mo Hua was only at the Foundation Building Middle Stage, with weak Blood Qi, and facing dangers at night, he might not survive.

Gu Changhuai then said, "Let’s head back first, and return tomorrow."

Mo Hua nodded.

But he felt somewhat reluctant in his heart.

Having come this far, they now had to turn back.

Although they could return tomorrow, some things are better done sooner rather than later, who knows what might change after a day.

As Mo Hua was pondering this, Gu Changhuai had already turned the boat around, and the small boat drifted leisurely back the way they came.

After a moment of sailing, Mo Hua suddenly froze, as if sensing something unusual, and quickly closed his eyes, extending his divine sense to its fullest to perceive everything around.

Soon, a faint, intermittent sound reached his ears.

"Benefactor..."

Mo Hua paused, and following the sound, he looked down.

He then discovered along the edge of the boat, a small silver fish, frantically wagging its tail, chasing after his small boat.

"...Little Silver Fish?"