The Quest for Immortality

Chapter 843 -603: Suppress and Kill_3

He swept with his Divine Sense and peered with Calculation, but found no trace.

”It seems we can only wait to search Bald Eagle’s body later

Soon enough, everyone gathered their findings, bringing all the Storage Bags together.

People like Ouyang Feng, who came from Noble Clans, didn’t care much for many items and were sloppy in their search, picking only a few conspicuous things.

Mo Hua was different; he searched meticulously.

Anything the slightest bit odd, he collected, laying it out before him, piling up a small heap.

...

Now the entire cave area was clean, as if locusts had swept through.

Shangguan Xu said, “Junior Brother, most of these… seem pretty useless

”Just in case,” Mo Hua replied, “in case there were any Formation, any Formation Patterns left behind, checking them now could lead us to any fish that escaped the net.”

”Alright then

They realized that this Junior Brother was quite fixated on Formations, truly not letting even the smallest clue slip by…

Then they began to deal with the spoils of the battle.

Mo Hua indeed managed to extract some fragmented Formation Patterns from these odds and ends.

It was unclear where they were from, but Mo Hua carefully noted each one down.

And that was it.

The rest were Spirit Stones, Spiritual Artifacts, Pills, and other common things that Cultivators would have.

Some books and Jade Slips were also nothing out of the ordinary.

Murong Caiyun took charge of these.

The Spirit Stones were evenly divided among the group.

These Sin Cultivators had done many evil deeds; the Spirit Stones they carried amounted to quite a sum.

But this was only for Mo Hua.

For Murong Caiyun and the others, being from Noble Clans, they were not short of Spirit Stones, so their expressions were unchanged when they received their share.

Among the group, only Mo Hua’s face broke into a smile, very pleased.

Twenty-three thousand Spirit Stones!

Enough for his own use for a very, very long time.

Indeed, in Qian State where Spirit Stones were spent plentifully, one could also “earn” a lot.

Mo Hua gleefully stored away the Spirit Stones.

The remaining items could not be divided so easily.

Moreover, they were all illegally obtained and difficult to handle.

As was customary, they had to be handed over to the Taoist Court first, recorded in the ledger, then converted into Merit Points, which everyone could then distribute according to the situation.

For Sect Disciples, Merit Points were more important than Spirit Stones.

These items were soon tallied and dealt with.

But Mo Hua was somewhat disappointed.

Whether it was the items he collected individually or those the group gathered together, there were only fragmented Formation Patterns, no complete, official Four Symbols Formation Diagrams.

Especially the Formation that Bald Eagle had painted on his bald head.

As the sky grew dark and the mountain winds turned piercingly cold.

Everyone got ready to leave, and Mo Hua thought it over before delicately expressing his request.

”Senior Sister Murong, could I take a look at the Formation on Bald Eagle’s head?”

Bald Eagle’s corpse had been enclosed in a simple coffin for preservation.

This was to be submitted to the Taoist Court to claim the bounty and exchange for Merit Points.

Mo Hua didn’t get a chance to examine the Formation on his head in detail.

Murong Caiyun frowned slightly, weighing her words:

”You… know what Formation that is, right?”

Mo Hua nodded, “It should be a Four Symbols Formation.”

Murong Caiyun sighed, “This should… not be ordinary, or rather, not a normal Four Symbols Formation

”Even if a Four Symbols Formation used Beast Patterns, it wouldn’t be this bizarre and ferocious

”Otherwise, the entire category of Four Symbols Formations would be classified as ‘Evil Formations’ or ‘Demon Formations’ and completely banned by the Taoist Court.”

”This Four Symbols Formation of Bald Eagle, blended with demonic power, fused with flesh and blood, likely involved some unorthodox techniques

”Junior Brother, it’s best not to learn it

”Mmm, mmm.” Mo Hua nodded but still said, “I’m not learning it, just want to research it a bit, to ‘critique’ it

Critique…

This Junior Brother really had a way with words…

Murong Caiyun still hesitated.

Then Mo Hua said, “I mainly want to take it back to show Elder Master Xun.”

Mo Hua brought up “Elder Master Xun” again.

This tactic proved effective.

As soon as Murong Caiyun heard Elder Master Xun, her expression paused, then relaxed slightly, and she slowly nodded, saying:

”Since that’s the case, then take a look

So the group reopened the coffin that had sealed the Bald Eagle.

Due to excessively absorbing the Four Symbols Formation, his demonic power expanded, his flesh morphed, and after being suppressed to death by Taixu Gate’s Superior Technique, the Five Elements Radiant Jue, his remains were also struck by a Fireball Technique by Mo Hua.

Therefore, his corpse hardly resembled a human anymore.

However, the Formation Patterns on his body remained intact, as if…

Mo Hua felt a stirring within.

Did they have their own “life”?

Life…

Mo Hua shuddered at the thought and concentrated on examining this Formation…

This Four Symbols Formation did not seem “painted” on but more like it parasitically attached itself.

The Formation itself was incredibly stable. Even with the overuse and having endured a powerful Spell, it maintained the patterns and the Formation Pivot’s structure unchanged.

Mo Hua took out paper and brush, gave it some thought, and then began to observe and record.

After nearly half an hour, he had completely documented the Formation Diagram of the Four Symbols Formation from the Bald Eagle’s head.

Murong Caiyun and the others waited patiently by his side.

It wasn’t until Mo Hua finished recording the Formation and stowed away the Formation Diagram that the group got up and hurried through the night to reach Diancang City.

To prevent complications, they first went to the Taoist Court, turned in the Bald Eagle’s remains, and briefly explained the cause and effect.

Of course, they only slightly touched on the details of how the Bald Eagle was killed, the related Spells and Formations; after all, the Taoist Court would not inquire too closely into the specifics of the Cultivator’s techniques and heritage.

What followed was the responsibility of the Taoist Court.

How to inventory the ill-gotten gains, how to calculate Merit Points, how to publicly condemn the dead Bald Eagle.

Moreover, although the Bald Eagle was dead and his remains delivered to the Taoist Court, several Sin Cultivators under him, also with notorious records, had case files in the Taoist Court.

These Sin Cultivators died on Mount Diancang.

The Enforcement Leader from the Taoist Court would need to go collect the remains, check them against the wanted list, close each case accordingly, and possibly calculate some Merit Points.

These matters would be handled one by one by the Taoist Court.

As for Mo Hua and his companions, their task was now complete.

After concluding the matter, everyone rested temporarily in an inn in Diancang City to rest and would return to Taixu Gate the following morning.

Despite a day of toil, Mo Hua still practiced Formation techniques at the Taoist Stele all night.

The practice focused on common Formations, aimed at enhancing his Divine Sense.

As for the Four Symbols Formation, to avoid any accidents, Mo Hua planned to study it carefully after returning to the Sect.

If there were any problems, Elder Master Xun would be there to take care of them.

Waking up the next day, everyone was in high spirits and decided to stay half a day longer to relax a little.

Mo Hua also felt the opportunity was too good to pass up, so he followed his senior brothers and sisters, freeloaded on food and drinks, played around Diancang City for half a day, and bought some novel things.

In the afternoon, they were set to start their journey back to the Sect.

Before leaving, Murong Caiyun and Ouyang Feng went to the Taoist Court in Diancang City once more to handle some simple procedures and added some details to their account of events, thus formally concluding their assignment.

When they returned, Murong Caiyun was carrying a Storage Bag, marked with the seal of the Taoist Court.

Opening the Storage Bag, Murong Caiyun said, “This is what the Taoist Court gave back

”It’s also from the possessions of those few Sin Cultivators under Bald Eagle, but they are of no use, couldn’t be converted into Merit Points, so they were returned to us

”Take a look and take whatever you want

Murong Caiyun turned over items one by one, including some common Pills, some damaged Spiritual Artifacts, and some calligraphy and paintings…

Indeed, none of them were particularly valuable.

Suddenly, Mo Hua, with a keen eye, spotted a Token.

He quickly asked, “Senior Sister Murong, what is this Token for?”

Murong Caiyun looked and hesitated,

”This seems to be… a Letter Token

”A Letter Token?”

Murong Caiyun nodded, “It’s used by Cultivators to pass written messages to one another, similar to our Sect Token, but much cruder in function

Mo Hua was puzzled, “This was also on Bald Eagle and his people? Why didn’t I find it before

Murong Caiyun smiled,

”Searching is something the Taoist Court is much more experienced in. There are methods only they know; it’s normal that we couldn’t find it

Mo Hua nodded and asked further, “Then, is there any important information in this Letter Token?”

Murong Caiyun slightly extended her Divine Sense to check, then shook her head, “It looks like a fairly ordinary Letter Token, nothing special, and the text inside has been wiped clean

Mo Hua was surprised, “Wiped clean?”

Murong Caiyun nodded, “Now, it’s blank; there’s nothing left

”It’s just unclear whether the message was wiped by Bald Eagle just before he died or by the Taoist Court

Mo Hua’s eyes lit up, and he said with anticipation,

”Senior Sister, could I have this Token to play with?”