The Quest for Immortality

Mo Hua quietly shared her suspicions with Situ Fang.

Situ Fang was slightly stunned, then her brows furrowed tightly. She realized something was not right and, recalling the situation at that time, she slowly said,

”Those burly men, dressed in the miners’ clothes with rough hands and dark skin, I thought they were the family of these missing miners, or at least relatives or friends.”

”It was them who were causing trouble all along, demanding a huge compensation from the Lu Family.”

”But now that the matter has settled and the Lu Family has given the compensation, they have suddenly disappeared. They didn’t even show up for something like the burial, which is very strange...”

Situ Fang remarked after some thought, ”I will ask the miners’ families again.”

Mo Hua shook her head, ”They may not dare to speak.”

Seeing their demeanor just now, all meek and compliant, they must be afraid of retaliation and hence don’t dare to say much.

Situ Fang then said, ”Then I’ll ask the local miners about their identities.”

”The miners might not tell the truth either,” Mo Hua said.

After all, they don’t hold much affection for the Taoist Court either.

”Then...”

Mo Hua’s eyes flashed as she said, ”Let me handle this, Sister Situ. You draw the portraits of those few burly men…”

”Leave it to you?” Situ Fang was astonished.

”Yes,” Mo Hua nodded, ”I know who to find.”

Situ Fang hesitated, ”You are here for the first time in South Yue City, right? How do you know so many cultivators?”

Mo Hua replied modestly, ”I am quite well-received...”

Situ Fang was at a loss for words for a moment.

”Alright then.”

Situ Fang sighed and, following her memory, drew the appearances of the few burly men, albeit a bit awkwardly with the brush.

Mo Hua took the drawing, and following her instructions, added a few touches.

Situ Fang’s eyes brightened, ”This is how they look; you are really good at this.”

Mo Hua smiled.

As a Formation Master who deals with formation patterns every day, sketching portraits is quite simple.

Mo Hua carefully stored the portraits and then sneakily slipped away to the Lu Family mines. Hiding in plain sight, she sat on a boulder, waiting for the opportunity to arise.

As evening approached, there was a shift change for the overseers.

A Lu Family cultivator in the middle phase of Qi refinement walked out of the mine, full of arrogance.

Mo Hua called out, ”Lu Ming.”

The cultivator named Lu Ming paused, looking around; no one was in sight, and his expression was one of confusion as he muttered,

”Weird, who’s calling my name...”

He continued walking.

Not far ahead, he heard his name being called again.

It was a young, clear, child-like voice.

Lu Ming was taken aback and looked around once more, but still, no one was there.

The arrogance on his face slowly faded, replaced by extreme solemnity and tension.

”Damn it...”

All the cultivators guarding the mine knew that the mine was dangerous and eerie at night.

But now it was only evening, not yet dark...

Could it be...

Lu Ming began to sweat with fear.

He was so scared that he turned to run, but after staggering only a few steps, he found himself immobilized.

Blue watery spiritual power chains wrapped around him, leaving him unable to move.

The feeling was familiar, and Lu Ming quickly realized what was happening.

He turned his head and, sure enough, saw a young cultivator sitting leisurely on another big stone.

The young cultivator was even waving his little hand at him.

Lu Ming felt like crying without tears.

He was only in the middle phase of Qi refinement, while this young cultivator was already in the later phase.

Not only that, this little cultivator also knew formations, and his spells were very peculiar.

Knowing he couldn’t escape, Lu Ming had no choice but to reluctantly approach Mo Hua. As he came face to face with Mo Hua, he forced a smile and said,

”Young... Young Master, how come you’re here?”

Mo Hua replied, ”I’ve come to find you.”

Lu Ming’s eyelid twitched, ”To find me... for what?”

Mo Hua’s smile held a hint of amusement as she said,

”Did you, perhaps, tell your family head about my affairs?”

Lu Ming went pale, ”No, I didn’t!”

”Tell the truth.”

Lu Ming fell silent.

”If you tell the truth, I won’t trouble you,” Mo Hua said.

Then she smiled with a hint of malice, ”But if you lie, the things in this mine will have a good feast tonight...”

Remembering the death of the few miners, Lu Ming shivered and immediately confessed,

”I didn’t want to say anything, but when the family head asked me, I... I didn’t dare not to speak...”

”What did you say exactly?”

Lu Ming replied weakly, ”I just said you know formations, that you found the mining tunnel, and then you found the bodies of the miners inside. I didn’t say anything else...”

”I dare not say...”

Because the other matter is related to the Lu Family.

These matters, it was he who had leaked them out.

If the Family Head knew he’d leaked the news, especially about the mine, he certainly wouldn’t let him off.

Mo Hua nodded.

Being skilled in Formation, discovering the mine was something he couldn’t hide. The Lu Family Head knowing about it wasn’t really a big deal.

As long as he didn’t know that Mo Hua was interested in the mine, that was fine.

”Alright, let’s talk about the main issue.”

Mo Hua took out the portraits of those few men drawn by Situ Fang and asked:

”Do you recognize these men?”

Lu Ming looked over the portraits one by one, shook his head, and said:

”I don’t recognize any of them.”

Mo Hua’s gaze tightened.

He picked out three portraits and said to Lu Ming:

”You lied, you recognize these three portraits.”

Lu Ming’s mouth gaped open, ”This... this...”

How did he see through him?

Could this junior cultivator actually read minds?

Mo Hua couldn’t read minds.

It was just that when Lu Ming looked at those three portraits, although his expression remained unchanged, there were slight fluctuations in his Divine Sense.

Such minute fluctuations couldn’t escape Mo Hua’s perception.

One’s expression may deceive but Divine Sense would not.

Therefore, Lu Ming certainly knew these three men.

Mo Hua’s crisp voice carried a hint of chill as he warned:

”I may be young, but I have a bad temper.”

”You’ve lied to me once, I’ll remember that, but if you lie to me again...”

Mo Hua spread a bright smile, ”I’ll make sure you never have the chance to lie to anyone ever again!”

In Mo Hua’s innocent smile, there was a hint of maliciousness.

He seemed like an Immortal child from under the seat of an Immortal, yet also like a little demon from the Underworld beckoning souls...

Lu Ming shuddered again, bitterness in his heart:

What exactly is this little ancestor’s identity?

Mo Hua patted the three portraits with his small hand, ”Tell me, who are these three?”

Lu Ming sighed and said dispiritedly, ”They’re Mining Cultivators...”

”Mining Cultivators?”

”To say they’re Mining Cultivators isn’t exactly right either...”

Lu Ming explained, ”They are actually local ruffians from the city. Usually, they loiter for descendants of the Noble Families, bullying people by flaunting power; or they extort small merchants, exploiting locals; or they rob on the outskirts of the city to scrape up some Spirit Stones...”

”With Spirit Stones in hand, they squander in indulgences, gambling and visiting brothels.”

”Only when they have no Spirit Stones left do they go to the mines to dig for a day or two...”

”So although they are Mining Cultivators, they aren’t really Mining Cultivators...”

Mo Hua frowned, ”Do they also help wronged Mining Cultivators claim Spirit Stones?”

Lu Ming was a bit surprised, ”How did you know?”

Seeing Mo Hua ignoring him, Lu Ming had no choice but to explain,

”If a Mining Cultivator encounters misfortune, they will inform the family of the Mining Cultivator and then take it upon themselves to claim the Spirit Stones for them.”

”The Spirit Stones they claim, they keep the lion’s share, and only the rest gets to the hands of the Mining Cultivator’s family.”

”Doesn’t anyone deal with them?” Mo Hua inquired.

”It’s useless,” Lu Ming said, ”They have quite a few people, and they are ruthless in their actions. Once involved with them, they’re like clingy dogs that you can’t shake off...”

”The higher-up cultivators don’t bother with them and the lower-class Mining Cultivators dare not speak out against them.”

Mo Hua pondered for a moment and then asked:

”How do you know them?”

Lu Ming hesitated to speak.

Mo Hua said, ”Tell the truth, I won’t blame you.”

Only then did Lu Ming sheepishly speak, ”I’ve accepted Spirit Stones from them, giving them some conveniences here at the mine...”

Mo Hua’s gaze sharpened, ”What conveniences?”

Lu Ming hurriedly replied, ”Nothing much, just that they come and go as they please, and if there’s an issue, I would just turn a blind eye...”

Mo Hua’s brows furrowed, a hint of doubt in his heart.

These ruffians themselves hardly ever mined, so why bribe for such privileges?

And what exactly were they doing that they needed the mine supervisor to ”turn a blind eye”...

Mo Hua had a vague guess in his heart, and his gaze became icy.

Although the Loose Cultivators of Tongxian City were poor, the ones at the bottom supported each other.

But in South Yue City, some Loose Cultivators, despite being at the bottom and weak themselves, indulged in trampling over those even weaker.

”What are the names of these three cultivators?” Mo Hua asked coldly.

Lu Ming replied, ”The tall one is named Wang Hu, the one with half his hair burned off is Tang Huzi...”

”The one leading them, with the scar on his face, is named Wang Lai, but privately everyone calls him ’Cheeky Wang’...”