The Quest for Immortality

Mo Hua was shaken to the core, momentarily at a loss for words.

The secret of the Qian family’s patriarch had been discovered by Qian Xing. He didn’t want to kill his great-grandson, but he feared he would reveal the secret. Thus, he decided to tell Qian Xing some of the truth, intending to groom him as the next head of the Qian family.

A head of the Qian family who saw others as mere animals.

After speaking, Qian Xing’s expression suddenly turned fearful. ”Mo Hua, save me!”

Why hadn’t his great-grandfather aged, yet pretended to be old and frail?

Why, after killing someone, did he feed the body to the pigs?

Why did he warn him not to speak of this, even harboring a momentary intent to kill his great-grandson?

Qian Xing didn’t know and didn’t dare to ask or inquire. But he knew there was an unspeakable secret behind all this.

He didn’t know, but Mo Hua certainly did!

Since Mo Hua knew, he would surely have a way.

He had been bested by Mo Hua many times and knew Mo Hua was clever and hard to deal with. In other words, he would surely have the ability to help him!

If the patriarch found out he had spoken of this, he would undoubtedly be killed!

Even if he weren’t killed, he would no longer have a place in the Qian family.

Mo Hua looked at Qian Xing and suddenly said:

”Pretend you know nothing.”

”Pretend?” Qian Xing was stunned, then shook his head vigorously. ”No, the patriarch will see through me. I can’t hide it from him!”

Mo Hua said, ”Then don’t pretend. Just faint.”

”What do you mean...”

Mo Hua pointed to several Qian family disciples around them. ”Didn’t they all just faint?”

Qian Xing was slightly taken aback.

Mo Hua continued, ”You came to trouble me, which is reasonable; you overestimated yourself and weren’t my match, which is also reasonable; I knocked you out, so you know nothing, and no one will suspect you. This is also reasonable...”

Qian Xing tugged at the corners of his mouth. ”How long will I be out?”

”Three or four days. When you wake up, act crazy and pretend you’re ill. Stay in your room.” Mo Hua advised.

”What about after that?” Qian Xing was still uneasy.

Mo Hua’s eyes narrowed slightly. ”After that, you need not worry. Your patriarch won’t trouble you.”

Qian Xing was puzzled. ”What are you planning? The patriarch is powerful, you can’t handle him.”

Mo Hua looked at him silently. ”Do you want to know?”

Qian Xing was about to nod but then reacted and said in horror:

”Don’t tell me! Please don’t tell me!”

Mo Hua looked at him with satisfaction. ”As long as you say nothing, no one will know what you said.”

”Alright!” Qian Xing nodded repeatedly.

At this point, he had no other choice.

The biggest mistake he’d ever made was knowing something he shouldn’t.

He didn’t want to make that mistake again.

Qian Xing leaned his head towards Mo Hua, gritting his teeth and said:

”Do it, hit me hard, let me be out longer. I don’t want to know anything!”

Mo Hua didn’t hesitate, raising the Qianjun Stick and striking Qian Xing on the head with a clang.

Qian Xing wobbled and fell down.

Mo Hua added a few more strikes to ensure he wouldn’t kill him but would keep him unconscious for several days.

This was the best solution Mo Hua could think of at the moment.

He couldn’t kill Qian Xing. Killing him would complicate things with the Dao Court and the Qian family, and might alert others.

Letting him go back was out of the question.

His thoughts couldn’t be hidden from the patriarch. If he revealed anything, the patriarch would easily figure out what Mo Hua knew.

He had to knock him out and then figure out a way to deal with the patriarch in the meantime!

Mo Hua set off a firework, and soon, some demon hunters arrived. Seeing the scattered Qian family disciples lying around, they were momentarily stunned.

Mo Hua briefly explained the situation and asked the demon hunters to send these people back to the Qian family.

Then he returned to Tongxian City and found Elder Yu, asking him to secretly summon a few people for an urgent matter.

Elder Yu, though puzzled, did as Mo Hua asked.

Soon, Zhang Lan from the Dao Court, Yang Jiyong from the Dao Soldiers Division, and Mo Hua’s father Mo Shan were all gathered in Elder Yu’s living room.

There weren’t many people, but all the key forces were present.

Everyone looked at Mo Hua with solemn expressions, unsure of what he was going to say.

Mo Hua released his spiritual sense and, seeing no other cultivators around, lowered his voice and said:

”Qian Xing came to trouble me...”

Zhang Lan was startled. ”Did you kill him?”

Mo Hua was speechless. ”No.”

Zhang Lan breathed a sigh of relief. ”You sounded so serious, I thought you killed him and needed us to clean up the mess...”

Mo Hua’s expression was complicated. ”I’m not that kind of person...”

Zhang Lan thought to himself, who knows what you’re capable of?

”What did you do to Qian Xing?” Zhang Lan asked again.

”I knocked him out.”

”That’s it?”

”And injured four or five other Qian family disciples.” Mo Hua added.

”You did it alone?”

Mo Hua nodded.

Zhang Lan was surprised. ”You’re that powerful now?”

Mo Hua modestly said, ”I’m alright.”

”Then why did you call us?”

”Qian Xing will be out for three or four days.”

Zhang Lan nodded.

”During these three or four days, we need to find a way to deal with the Qian family’s patriarch!” Mo Hua said firmly.

The living room fell silent.

Everyone looked at each other, momentarily unsure of what to say.

Zhang Lan wondered if he had misheard, ”Qian Xing being knocked out, and dealing with the Qian family’s patriarch, what’s the connection?”

Mo Hua explained, ”The Qian family’s patriarch once killed a cultivator, then took the body to Heishan Stronghold and fed it to the pig in the pill room.”

Zhang Lan’s expression changed dramatically. ”How do you know?”

”Qian Xing told me.” Mo Hua replied.

”Why would he tell you this?”

Zhang Lan found it incredible.

Mo Hua said, ”It’s complicated, but with Qian Xing unconscious, we can strike first. If he wakes up and the patriarch finds out, we won’t have a chance.”

Zhang Lan thought for a moment and looked at Yang Jiyong. ”What does the Dao Soldiers Division say?”

Yang Jiyong pondered, ”I trust Mo Hua, but we need solid evidence to mobilize the Dao soldiers.”

Mo Shan frowned, ”Besides, there’s another problem. What is the Qian family’s patriarch’s identity in Heishan Stronghold?”

Zhang Lan nodded. ”If we can’t figure out his identity, even if we catch him, it’s hard to convict him.”

”Is he the head of Heishan Stronghold?”

Elder Yu shook his head. ”No, the aura doesn’t match.”

”That’s strange.” Zhang Lan was puzzled. ”If the Qian family’s patriarch had been to the pill room and consumed Longevity Pills, he must be a core member of Heishan Stronghold, with a significant identity. But the four leaders don’t include him.”

Everyone felt there was a deeper mystery.

The Qian family’s patriarch was clearly connected to Heishan Stronghold, but none of the known identities matched.

Mo Hua thought for a moment and suddenly questioned, ”Does the leader of Heishan Stronghold have to be the head?”

Elder Yu was taken aback. ”You mean...”

Mo Hua said, ”Usually, the leader of a stronghold could also be called the ’Stronghold Master,’ right?”

Zhang Lan frowned, ”If the Qian family’s patriarch is the Stronghold Master, then who is the head?”

The Qian family’s patriarch being the Stronghold Master couldn’t possibly appoint someone unrelated as the head, the visible leader of Heishan Stronghold.

Elder Yu suddenly remembered something and stood up abruptly, ”The head...”

”Elder?” Mo Hua looked at Elder Yu in confusion.

Elder Yu’s pupils shrank, his expression shocked:

”The head... could be... the Great Elder of the Qian family!”

Mo Hua was shocked. ”Isn’t the Great Elder of the Qian family...”

Elder Yu nodded, ”Yes, the one who supposedly died in the deep mountains over two hundred years ago, the Great Elder of the Qian family!”

Everyone was stunned!

If that were the case, Heishan Stronghold was essentially another Qian family!

A hidden, secretive Qian family not bound by blood ties!