Chapter 1007: 652 Chapter – Stealing Home_3 Chapter 1007: 652 Chapter – Stealing Home_3 It wouldn’t go as far as using small fireballs to attack people every day… Still, Mo Hua wasn’t discouraged. While he personally couldn’t master the original Meteor Fire Skill, analyzing the spell structure and the principles behind its formulation shouldn’t be a problem. This had always been his plan. As this thought crossed his mind, Mo Hua froze, then felt a surge of alarm deep in his heart. He had nearly forgotten a critical issue. If Fire Buddha were captured or killed now, his Meteor Fire Skill would fall into the hands of the Taoist Court; Mo Hua would never be able to obtain it in his lifetime… What to do? *Could he really resort to underhanded tactics to secretly help Fire Buddha escape?* *But what if Fire Buddha escaped and killed more people afterward? Then the guilt would fall squarely on him.* *And given the current circumstances, could Uncle Gu even defeat Fire Buddha? That’s still uncertain…* They were in the territory of the Second Grade Immortal City; Uncle Gu wouldn’t dare to unleash his full powers here. Simply letting Fire Buddha slip away clearly wasn’t an option either. Mo Hua glanced at Fire Buddha, who was engulfed in raging flames and locked in fierce combat. Slowly, his brows began to furrow. “Does Fire Buddha carry the spell for Meteor Fire Skill on him?” If he did, wasn’t it nearly impossible for Mo Hua to get his hands on it? If he didn’t carry it, then where could it be hidden? Mo Hua shifted his gaze away and began subtly inspecting the grand palace. The palace was imposing and majestic, yet ancient and eerie, as if it were used for congregations and worship by demon cultivators. But based on Mo Hua’s instincts and experience, he felt that there must be a place similar to an altar hidden within this palace… Many of the corpse cultivators, evil cultivators, and demon cultivators Mo Hua knew tended to favor setting up altars in their domains. Fire Buddha likely wouldn’t be an exception. And considering Fire Buddha’s secretive and deceitful persona, if he had gone to the trouble of barricading everyone and engaging in this brutal battle, it meant this palace wasn’t the true center of its mysteries. There must be another, deeper layer of secrets hidden within this grand palace… *Should I search for it myself?* After all, he wasn’t much help in the ongoing fight here. Mo Hua discreetly glanced at Fire Buddha again. Upon seeing him and Uncle Gu locked in an intense, bloodthirsty struggle, Mo Hua nodded slowly. Relying on his Concealment Technique, Mo Hua moved about unnoticed. Without revealing his presence, he slipped past Fire Buddha and the other demon cultivators, heading deeper into the palace… Let them continue their fight. He had a house to raid… The palace was immense, with its rear sections barely illuminated, shrouding them in faint darkness. Yet, even after reaching the very end, Mo Hua found nothing suspicious—except for one spot: an enormous mural carved into the deepest wall. In the dim ambient light of the Demon Palace, Mo Hua could just make out the mural. Etched within it were countless peaks of the Barbaric Wilderness Mountains, brimming with thorns, treacherous terrain, and teeming with demon monsters. “Is this… the Map of the Barbaric Wilderness Mountains?” “What does it mean…” Mo Hua frowned, unable to discern its significance. He scanned the surroundings again, finding only this mural intact; all other statues, structures, or decorations had either been removed or destroyed, leaving no other clues. The solitary lead might just be this striking and expansive mural. “A mural, huh…” Another thought came to Mo Hua: the mural in the stone palace hall of the Lu Family’s Corpse Mountain, located in South Yue City of Li State. That mural depicted the zombified head of the Lu Family Old Ancestor. The zombie’s gaping mouth turned out to be the entrance to an altar. Generally, with corpse cultivators and demon cultivators, their methods often followed discernible patterns… “So does this mural hide another entrance?” Having seen such things before truly proved advantageous… Mo Hua extended his Divine Sense, carefully probing the mural for signs of formations. Every inch of the mural came under Mo Hua’s scrutiny: the grotesque and twisted figures of demon monsters, the perilous crags and sharp peaks, the dark and eerie woodlands… Yet despite combing through it thoroughly, no trace of a formation’s presence surfaced. Mo Hua froze. “No formations?” *Perhaps that makes sense…* *The best defense against formations is simply not to draw any.* *Without formations, even the most adept Formation Masters wouldn’t be able to spot any flaws or weaknesses within them.* Though absent of formations, the mural seemed to emanate another kind of presence. Mo Hua shut his eyes and concentrated. Sure enough, faint hints of an exceedingly discrete yet vaguely familiar aura reached his senses. Following this faint trace, Mo Hua arrived at a corner. This section of the mural was notably simple, depicting only a few patches of grass, several scattered trees, and one narrow mountain path. The mountain path snaked backward, meandering through the dense forest, seemingly connecting the entire expanse of the Barbaric Wilderness Mountains. And this spot appeared to be the starting point of the mountain path—the entrance embedded within the mural. Mo Hua deliberated for a moment, then decided to reach out and push it gently. As his hand pressed against it, the entire world seemed to flip upside down. A rush of barbaric energy surged forth, as though the scenery within the mural had come alive. When Mo Hua opened his eyes again, he realized he was now standing amidst a mountain. *An uneasy chill ran through his heart as he scanned his surroundings. That’s when he noticed that this mountain wasn’t real—it was a fake mountain.* It appeared to have been deliberately carved, yet its scale was impressive. The entire Demon Palace had been constructed atop this artificial mountain. The layout of the false mountain—with its terrain and natural features—mirrored the depiction of the Barbaric Wilderness Mountains on the mural outside. It seemed as though the fake mountain was modeled after the Barbaric Wilderness Mountains. Mo Hua observed the undulating peaks and ridges more closely, soon discovering that this mountain eerily mirrored the configuration of the Heaven’s Mystery Formation. Its internal mountain structures perfectly corresponded with the labyrinthine maze outside. The palace felt like a “mystery within a mystery, a formation within a formation.” “This Demon Palace sure hides a lot of peculiar things…” *Mo Hua found himself momentarily at a loss.* *Were these elaborate constructs really built under Fire Buddha’s supervision?* *What exactly was the purpose of the Demon Palace’s construction?* *Sacrificial rituals? But how?* *And what role did Fire Buddha play in all of this? What had he done here?* Unable to make sense of it, Mo Hua shook his head and continued deeper into the mountain. Since the configuration matched that of the Heaven’s Mystery Formation, the intricate pathways of this artificial mountain posed no challenge to Mo Hua. Within the fake mountain’s terrain, each peak, each stone, every patch of grass and tree carried an air of eeriness. Yet, to Mo Hua, they were nothing more than superficial oddities. Still concealed, Mo Hua pressed onward deeper into the mountain. After about the time it takes to brew a pot of tea, he reached the center of the fake mountain. As Mo Hua expected, the heart of the fake mountain’s mystery formation contained an altar.