Immortality Through Array Formations Chapter 2145 - 1010: Shi Tiangang (2)

Shi Tiangang remained completely oblivious to what was unfolding.

Yet the onlookers perceived everything with perfect clarity.

Beyond the sword arena, suspended over the Fan Tian painting, virtually every cultivator observing the duel could make out the details sharply.

Mo Hua wasn't relying on any sophisticated movement skill whatsoever.

Throughout, his footwork stayed as the simplest Flowing Water Step.

That said, he layered the Concealment Technique right onto the Flowing Water Step!

Shi Tiangang chased relentlessly, while Mo Hua evaded, and when evasion grew tough, he'd slip into the underbrush, duck behind massive rocks, or weave past towering trees.

By leveraging the rugged boulders and dense woodland for cover, he secretly activated the Concealment Technique, faded from view without a trace, and casually looped back to position himself behind Shi Tiangang.

After that, he'd drop the concealment, expose his form once more, and resume drawing Shi Tiangang deeper into the pursuit.

In truth, this approach wasn't particularly ingenious.

It merely combined the foundational Flowing Water Step with the sneaky Concealment Technique.

Those watching from outside grasped the method instantly.

However, Shi Tiangang, immersed in the chase, acted like a fool blinded by his own assumptions, flailing about aimlessly like a fly without direction, blind to Mo Hua's deceptions.

The onlookers felt frustration on his behalf.

"Concealment Technique!"

"How does this Shi Tiangang fail to spot such a straightforward ploy?"

"Getting spun around by the Concealment Technique like this, what a massive presence, truly acting the part of a gleaming idiot..."

The majority of cultivators felt a mix of irritation and worry.

Irritated by Mo Hua's sly maneuvers, worried over Shi Tiangang's lack of insight.

Still, certain Daoist elders observing the clash knitted their brows thoughtfully.

In particular, those elders from diverse sects who had researched the Concealment Technique, practiced it, and explored its depths, appeared contemplative after brief reflection.

They recognized the matter wasn't quite so straightforward.

It wasn't that Shi Tiangang overlooked it; rather, Mo Hua's deployment of the Concealment Technique proved far too unorthodox.

Typically, when cultivators invoke the Concealment Technique—be it for entering or exiting—they need time to cast the spell and go through a slow fading process.

Mo Hua stood apart in this regard.

His activation of concealment happened at blinding speed, with the fading phase so minimal it could be overlooked; in an instant, he vanished entirely.

Furthermore, he always timed his concealment with natural cover from rocks and trees to block lines of sight.

His handling of the Concealment Technique left absolutely no hints behind.

Shi Tiangang's failure to pierce it right away made perfect sense.

Without the Fan Tian painting revealing Mo Hua's actions in vivid detail, even some of the attending Daoist Law elders might have missed spotting Mo Hua's peculiar ploy at first glance.

"This young one's grasp of spells is genuinely... extraordinary..."

"Hmm, he's sharp-witted, with keen insight, naturally gifted in Taoist Skills."

"Fortunately, his Spiritual Root is weak, his Spiritual Power limited; otherwise... should he master even one or two elite Daoist Magics, paired with his bizarre Divine Sense and this profound spell comprehension, it would be downright frightening..."

"Absolutely..."

Various elders exchanged hushed thoughts in quiet awe.

One elder then inquired:

"Yet this Shi Tiangang—why hasn't he picked up on the irregularity?"

"No matter how craftily the Concealment Technique is wielded, it's still just a Concealment Technique at heart. This Mo Hua kid, darting about in hiding, is sure to leave some clues."

"Missing it at the start is forgivable."

"But after all this cat-and-mouse play dragging on without catching on, it's tough to excuse..."

Or could it be that the body cultivators from the Vajra Sect boast only brute strength, with brains as simple as stone?

Naturally, such notions lingered only in their thoughts; voicing them aloud would stir trouble.

Vajra Sect body cultivators were hulking brutes with fists like iron bowls, not the sort to cross lightly.

At the same time, within the sword arena.

Shi Tiangang's thoughts still hadn't clicked into place.

For there was a detail that most Daoist elders viewing via the Fan Tian painting had overlooked in that brief span.

Mo Hua's technique wasn't merely a plain Concealment Technique.

It was, in fact, the Minor Five Elements Stealth Skill.

The Minor Five Elements Stealth allowed blending into the Five Elements, vanishing amid the natural world.

This had once been a signature Ultimate Technique of the Five Hidden Sect, among the Qian Learning Hundred Gates.

Yet the Five Hidden Sect had faded long ago, withdrawing from the Qian Learning State Boundary to parts unknown, perhaps even perishing entirely.

Its lone inheritor, the Hidden elder-second, fell into villainy and wound up passing the skill to Mo Hua.

Mo Hua had shattered his schemes, thereby claiming this Stealth Technique.

Thanks to his special gifts, Mo Hua's execution of the Minor Five Elements Stealth Skill likely outshone even the sect's original practitioners by multiples.

Armed with potent Divine Sense, a Five Elements Spiritual Root, and command over Five Elements Formations, he masked his presence through the ambient elements, while countless "daring" escapades from dodging peril sharpened his hiding prowess.

Shi Tiangang stood no chance of sensing him.

Even a different Initial Golden Core cultivator might struggle to uncover Mo Hua's Stealth Technique.

Should Mo Hua genuinely aim to flee, he could simply vanish into concealment, leaving Shi Tiangang clueless.

The occasional glimpses he granted served only to hold Shi Tiangang in place, baiting him onward.

This let Xiaoxiao and the rest more effectively take down the other Vajra Sect disciples.

In the woods, the pair continued their pursuit and evasion.

A few more cycles went by, and Shi Tiangang remained clueless about Mo Hua's concealment, not even suspecting the use of a Concealment Technique.

Still, he felt an odd vibe.

Mo Hua's motions struck him as profoundly eerie, flickering in and out like a specter, popping up here then there without warning.

What's more, his aura would abruptly dissolve.

It scarcely resembled a proper movement technique; it felt more like a deliberate "ruse."

And he himself was the "plaything" in it all.