The Quest for Immortality

Xun Ziyou nodded slightly.

Elder Master Xun glanced at Xun Ziyou and instructed:

”You just focus on ensuring Mo Hua’s safety. Let him figure out the formations on his own, research them by himself, and ponder them in his own way; you don’t need to interfere.”

”Understood.”

Xun Ziyou bowed in respect.

...

The next day, Mo Hua went to Refining Demon Mountain early in the morning.

At this time, Elder Xun had just prepared the tea.

Mo Hua drank tea with Elder Xun, and then they set off together, reaching the dense forest, continuing along the path explored the previous day, venturing deeper.

As Mo Hua walked, he searched for trees, inferred, and recorded Formation Patterns.

Xun Ziyou couldn’t understand anyway, so he focused on protection.

However, now that his role as a bodyguard had changed from covert to overt, he didn’t have to be as cautious and sneaky, which eased his worries and relaxed him quite a bit.

Like this, until the setting sun fell behind the mountains, painting the sky with clouds, and night began to descend.

Mo Hua recorded over twenty hand-copied Divine Formation Patterns.

These Patterns are materials. By inferring and studying them, one can deepen their understanding of the Divine Formation, thus restoring the original appearance of the formation.

”It’s late, let’s go back.” Xun Ziyou said.

”Mm.” Mo Hua nodded.

The two of them walked back along the mountain path.

The sun gradually set behind the mountains, the forest quiet and serene, and Mo Hua feeling relaxed, chatted intermittently with Elder Xun Ziyou as they walked.

Asking questions like: ”Elder, where is your hometown?”

”How many generations removed are you from Elder Master Xun?”

”Are you married?”

”Do you have children?”

”Our Taixu Gate, a late-stage Golden Core Elder, how many Spirit Stones is the monthly stipend, and are there any other benefits?”

...questions like these.

Xun Ziyou sighed, finding himself helpless against Mo Hua, only answering some of the questions he deemed fit to respond.

For those inconvenient to answer, he pretended not to hear.

Walking for a while, suddenly a sharp cry rang out:

”Mo Hua!!”

Both Mo Hua and Xun Ziyou were startled, turning their heads to see, not far away, a fair-skinned, handsome young man wearing a splendid gold Taoist Robe, eyes blazing with anger, glaring in their direction.

Mo Hua recognized him.

It was the fair-faced disciple from the Sever Gold Sect, Song Jian.

As soon as Song Jian saw Mo Hua, he couldn’t look away, his eyes fixedly staring at Mo Hua, shouting angrily:

”I finally found you!”

”Mo Hua, I’ve been looking for you for a long time!”

”You got people to gang up on me, took my Spirit Sword, destroyed my efforts, and lied to me! You found a big guy to fight me while watching on the sidelines, to mock me!”

”These grudges, I will never forget as long as I live!”

”Today, I will wipe away the humilation and make you...”

A Sever Gold Sect disciple at the side tugged at Song Jian’s sleeve.

Song Jian impatiently shook it off.

The disciple tugged again.

Song Jian, slightly annoyed, turned his head and asked, ”What is it?”

The Sever Gold Sect disciple beside him gave Song Jian a look and glanced toward Mo Hua’s side.

Song Jian, not understanding, followed his gaze and only then realized there was an elder with an impassive face standing beside Mo Hua.

Taixu Sect Golden Core Elder!

Song Jian felt a chill in his heart.

During these days, he had been searching high and low for Mo Hua all over the mountain but never came across him.

Today, he finally met up with him, and in his rage and joy, he hadn’t noticed that an elder from Taixu Sect was standing by Mo Hua’s side.

Moreover, a Golden Core Elder!

Song Jian was dumbfounded.

His arrogant demeanor wilted instantly.

Even if he were bolder, he wouldn’t dare to trouble Mo Hua in the presence of a Taixu Sect Golden Core Elder.

”Elder...Elder, hello...”

Song Jian said quietly.

A group of Sever Gold Sect disciples, timidly followed suit, bowing to Xun Ziyou.

”Mm.” Xun Ziyou nodded slightly, saying plainly, ”Between disciples, be gentle and courteous. Even if you’re not from the same sect, you mustn’t provoke fights.”

”Understood...”

Song Jian replied unwillingly.

”Alright,” Xun Ziyou, not making things difficult for them, said, ”It’s late, go back early.”

Song Jian and the others, as if relieved from a burden, paid their respects, and quickly departed in groups, saying, ”Elder, farewell.”

Xun Ziyou shook his head.

After getting a distance away, a Sever Gold Sect disciple said:

”Young master, what should we do now?”

Song Jian gritted his teeth and said, ”Despicable Mo Hua! Utterly shameless! He actually carries a Golden Core Elder with him!”

A disciple whispered, ”A Golden Core Elder is not someone you can just carry along...”

Especially in the Refining Demon Mountain.

”This Mo Hua seems to hold a high status in the Sect, probably not easy to offend...”

”Should we still give him trouble?”

The disciples of the Song family hesitated.

”Nonsense!” Song Jian shouted angrily, ”If this revenge is not taken, I won’t be able to swallow this bitterness for the rest of my life!”

”How to take revenge?” a disciple asked in a low voice.

Song Jian thought for a moment, but couldn’t come up with any way to punish Mo Hua. As he looked up and saw everyone staring at him, he became somewhat angry and embarrassed:

”I have my own way! Why ask so many questions?”

”Yes, yes...”

The disciples of the Song family were submissive and hesitant.

Song Jian, feeling irritated, said, ”Let’s go back first. As for that scoundrel Mo Hua, we will plan carefully. As long as he continues to loiter in this mountain, one day he will fall into my hands!”

”And what about this Elder...”

”The Elders of the Taixu Sect, how could they be so idle as to follow him every day?”

”What if they really... follow him every day?”

Song Jian was furious: ”Are you trying to argue with me?”

The disciple dared not speak.

Song Jian sneered, ”Even if there is an Elder following every day, there will always be times of negligence. As long as you keep an eye on it, there will always be a chance to strike.”

”Yes, the young master is wise...”

This kind of half-hearted flattery, Song Jian disdained.

He glanced in the direction where Mo Hua had left, feeling unwilling yet helpless, and finally said coldly:

”Let’s go back!”

”Yes.”

Song Jian led the group down the mountain.

However, he didn’t notice that while he was watching Mo Hua, a pair of shadowy eyes in the dark forest were also watching him coldly.

...

On the other side, Mo Hua curiously asked Xun Ziyou, ”Elder, is the Song family and the Jin family at odds within the Sever Gold Sect?”

”Yes,” Xun Ziyou nodded, ”Within the Sect, power struggles and family factions are rampant, not just in the Sever Gold Sect, but in other Sects as well, it’s a common occurrence.”

”Oh...”

Mo Hua seemed contemplative.

”By the way,” Xun Ziyou added, ”that young man from the Song family seems to hold a deep grudge against you. Be careful in the mountains.”

Mo Hua waved his hand, ”It’s nothing, just a child.”

Xun Ziyou paused, momentarily speechless.

You yourself are even younger than him...

After walking a while further, a cunning glint flashed in Mo Hua’s eyes. He whispered, ”By the way, Elder Xun, I have a small request...”

Xun Ziyou felt a tightness in his heart.

Seeing this crafty fox-like expression, surely the request wouldn’t be small.

Xun Ziyou responded somewhat warily, ”Go ahead, let’s hear it.”

Mo Hua said, ”Can I take a few days off?”

”Take a leave?”

”Yes.” Mo Hua nodded seriously, ”Monster cultivators harbor ill intentions, hiding in this dense forest. If they are not uprooted soon, it might lead to great harm.”

”Therefore, I want to take a leave, to restore the formations in this dense forest early, so we can catch the monster cultivators and bring peace back to the Refining Demon Mountain.”

Xun Ziyou’s expression was complicated.

If he hadn’t been closely following Mo Hua’s actions during this period, he might have almost believed him.

This child really has countless schemes in his belly.

It certainly can’t be that simple!

However, the Ancestor had instructed, ”Let him investigate formations by himself, learn by himself, ponder by himself...”

There are some things that Mo Hua surely hasn’t been honest about, but learning formations is indeed a fact.

Xun Ziyou hesitated for a moment, then sighed:

”Alright, I’ll go talk to Elder Song.”

The issue of the monster cultivators can’t be delayed.

And since Mo Hua wishes to learn about formations, he naturally should be helped a bit.

Mo Hua beamed and said:

”Thank you, Elder Xun!”

As expected from a Taixu Sect Elder, efficient in work, even taking a leave became much simpler.

Though Uncle Gu Changhuai is also good, when it comes to helping me take leave, he’s far inferior to Elder Xun.

Mo Hua silently compared in his heart.

Afterwards, Elder Xun indeed smoothly got leave for Mo Hua.

And Mo Hua could wholeheartedly focus on studying the Divine Tao Array in the dense forest.

His research into the Divine Tao Array gradually deepened, and as he continued to copy the formation, he naturally got closer and closer to the depths of the dense forest.

Soon, he discovered traces of the monster cultivators in the dense forest.

A blood-red creek, with dried monster blood around it, and besides that, a large amount of monster beast bones and remains...