The Quest for Immortality

The cleanup at the mine was taken over by the Taoist Court.

Cleaning up the mine, dealing with the walking corpses, confiscating the coffins, and subsequent investigations—these tasks were all entrusted to Situ Fang.

Observing the chaotic scene, Situ Fang was also secretly shocked.

That so many zombies could be subdued and Zhang Quan driven into panicked flight...

You have to understand, Zhang Quan was a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

Now it appeared that the matter of the Corpse Cultivator who had entered the Demon Path and refined an Iron Corpse was very dangerous and quite troublesome...

Yet he was still beaten to the point of revealing his trump cards and fleeing in disarray.

The capabilities of these few young cultivators from Mo Hua were much greater than she had expected.

Then Situ Fang felt a bit helpless.

They were the Taoist Court Officials, yet when it came to the pursuit of Zhang Quan, Mo Hua and his people always took a step ahead, leaving them only to wrap things up.

And now the cultivators of the Taoist Court were indeed wrapping things up.

Mo Hua, on the other hand, strolled around with his hands behind his back, casually pointing here and there, seemingly like a little ”Supervisor” in action.

Watching this, Situ Fang couldn’t help but feel a mix of amusement and frustration.

After a while, when Mo Hua wandered over, Situ Fang was about to give him a piece of her mind.

The Taoist Court of South Yue City wasn’t established just to clean up messes!

But before she could voice her thought, Mo Hua, sensing that something was amiss, immediately called out sweetly, ”Sister Situ,” and then sincerely said,

”Thank goodness you were here to help out a lot!”

After saying that, he patted his little chest, looking genuinely relieved.

”So many zombies, they really scared me.”

Situ Fang’s expression was complex, unable to say anything.

Which part of you looked scared? Just now, when you were staring at the formations on the zombies’ bodies, your face was more excited than anyone else’s.

So Situ Fang could only sigh helplessly again.

Seeing she wasn’t angry, Mo Hua quickly changed the subject, asking,

”Sister Situ, is this matter very serious?”

Situ Fang was slightly startled, her expression becoming grave as she nodded and said,

”Very serious.”

Then looking at the coffins and walking corpses all around, she couldn’t help but sigh,

”And it seems to be getting more serious...”

Mining Cultivators disappearing, hoodlums murdering, Zhang Quan buying corpses, and now brazenly engaging in Demon Path activities, extensively refining corpses...

Situ Fang’s face grew increasingly somber.

She had begun to guess that what lay before her was likely just the tip of the iceberg.

If just the tip of the iceberg had resulted in so many deaths and refined corpses,

What about the entire iceberg?

How many more would die, how many more corpses would be refined?

Just thinking about it made Situ Fang feel a chilling dread.

This could potentially be South Yue City’s largest case in hundreds, or even a nearly a thousand, years.

Mo Hua’s gaze flickered as he asked,

”Has the Court Leader of South Yue City said anything about this case?”

Situ Fang paused, then shook her head with a complex expression,

”The Court Leader hasn’t said anything. I suppose he wants to keep things quiet. After all, if the situation gets blown up, he’ll have to take responsibility. The best approach would be to play down major issues and dissolve the minor ones...”

Such a serious matter, and still it could be diminished and dissolved...

Mo Hua clicked his tongue and whispered quietly,

”Has he been involved in corruption and embezzlement, I wonder...”

Situ Fang gave Mo Hua a slight glare, ”Don’t put it so bluntly.”

Mo Hua then softened his wording, ”Could it be that he’s succumbed to ’irresistible courtesies’?”

Situ Fang was taken aback for a moment, ”Who taught you to speak like that?”

”Uncle Zhang...”

Situ Fang was at a loss for words, ”Couldn’t he teach you something more appropriate...”

He had taught something good too.

The Water Passing Step movement technique that Mo Hua used was taught by Zhang Lan.

But on that matter, Zhang Lan had told Mo Hua not to mention it, so Mo Hua had no choice but to nod and say,

”He didn’t teach me anything good!”

Situ Fang silently took note, planning to go back and complain to a few uncles and elders of the Zhang Family.

She would accuse Zhang Lan of speaking irresponsibly and leading children astray outside.

Unaware of Situ Fang’s thoughts, Mo Hua asked again,

”Sister Situ, what kind of person is the Court Leader of South Yue City?”

”What kind of person?” Situ Fang was briefly taken aback.

”Like...” Mo Hua thought for a moment and came up with several descriptors, ”Is he sly or cunning, greedy or not, deep or shallow, bad-natured or not...”

”Not a single good word in there...”

”I don’t think he’s a good person, so I didn’t use good words.”

Situ Fang felt helpless but thought it best to tell Mo Hua,

”The Court Leader of South Yue City, his surname is Qian...”

”Qian?”

”Yes.” Situ Fang nodded, ”Coincidentally, his surname is Qian too, but he likely has no marital ties to the Qian Family of Tongxian City.”

”The Court Leader, he...”

Situ Fang hesitated before lowering her voice and saying,

”It’s not that he’s outright bad, just greedy for wealth and pleasure-loving, coveting enjoyment, and not really concerned with the affairs of the Taoist Court...”

Mo Hua roughly understood and said, ”So he’s incompetent.”

”You can’t really say he’s incompetent...”

”So he only has the ability to amass wealth and enjoy himself?”

Situ Fang nodded, ”Pretty much.”

Mo Hua thought for a moment, then added, ”In that case, your Court Leader must have also accepted quite a few Spirit Stones from the Lu Family...”

Situ Fang shook her head, ”I have no evidence, I can’t just say anything. But logically speaking, it’s impossible that he hasn’t received any.”

Mo Hua nodded, mulling over something in his mind.

Situ Fang grew curious, ”Why do you ask this?”

Mo Hua’s eyes shifted, and he replied with a sly smile, ”Oh, it’s nothing.”

Situ Fang couldn’t figure out what Mo Hua was alluding to, and couldn’t help but ruffle Mo Hua’s hair in exasperation,

”Aren’t you afraid of zombies? You should hurry back.”

”Mm-hmm.”

Mo Hua bid farewell to Situ Fang with a smile and then departed.

After Mo Hua left, he did not go back but went to the other end of the mine and sat on a large rock, seemingly waiting for something.

A quarter of an hour later, Bai Zisheng came along with Big White, dragging a horse cart with him.

This horse cart was new, fairly simple, and was used by cultivators to transport goods and store cargo boxes.

Mo Hua waved, the cart stopped, and Bai Zisheng asked,

”You weren’t discovered, right?”

”Yeah.”

Mo Hua nodded, then ran behind the big rock, deactivated the Concealment Formation, revealing two coffins concealed beneath the formation.

Each of these coffins contained several Walking Corpses.

The formations on the chests of these corpses were relatively intact.

Mo Hua wanted to take them back for thorough research.

This matter had to be concealed not just from the Taoist Court but also from other cultivators, to prevent astute individuals from guessing their intentions.

Although it might be an unnecessary precaution, being careful and meticulous in their actions was always safe.

Bai Zisheng lifted the coffins onto the cart.

Mo Hua cast a Concealment Formation, and the coffins disappeared from sight, hidden from others.

But Big White was discontent.

Big White was very reluctant to pull the cart with zombie coffins, those defiled objects.

After a long time coaxing and offering some Spirit Grass to Big White, it finally relented for the sake of Mo Hua and the Spirit Grass.

So Bai Zisheng drove the cart, with Mo Hua and Bai Zixi sitting inside, watching over the coffins.

The three of them stealthily took away the coffins and zombies without anyone else knowing.

When entering the city, they were interrogated by the Enforcement Leader.

Mo Hua was acquainted with that Enforcement Leader, greeted him, and then handed him two Spirit Stones to get himself a drink.

The Enforcement Leader glanced carelessly and then politely let them through.

Once the horse cart entered the dwelling, Mo Hua found a quiet, secluded, and cool side room. After drawing Concealment, Defence, and Control Formations around it, he finally placed the coffins inside.

”Should we tell Master?” Bai Zisheng quietly asked.

Mo Hua thought for a moment and nodded, ”We should!”

Mr. Zhuang was sure to know about their actions.

But knowing was one thing; they also had to dutifully inform Mr. Zhuang.

Respecting the master and valuing the way was the disciples’ duty.

Mo Hua went to find Mr. Zhuang.

Before Mo Hua could speak, Mr. Zhuang waved his hand, ”Study it carefully, and make sure to handle the aftermath cleanly. Such defiled objects should not be kept for long.”

Mo Hua’s eyes brightened, ”Yes, Master!”

Mr. Zhuang indeed knew.

But Mo Hua didn’t rush to start his research; he wanted to make some preparations first, reinforce the formations further, to prevent any mistakes that might let the zombies escape, dirty the courtyard, and disturb Mr. Zhuang’s peace.

Little did he know, before Mo Hua could get ready, Situ Fang came to him the next day, appearing guilt-stricken, as if she had something difficult to say.

Mo Hua asked puzzled,

”Sister Situ, what’s happened?”

Situ Fang looked somewhat remorseful, and after hesitating for a moment, she finally said,

”They’re all gone...”

Mo Hua was surprised, ”What’s all gone?”

”The zombies, the coffins, and all the evidence at the scene... Everything’s gone...”

Situ Fang said through gritted teeth.

Mo Hua frowned, ”What happened?”

Situ Fang’s eyes held a cold spark, ”The Court Leader... he claimed that the zombies were filthy and feared they might cause a corpse calamity, bringing disaster to all sides. Thus, he burned all the zombies, the coffins were all destroyed, and all evidence was reduced to ashes...”

”By the time I found out, it was too late... Nothing was left.”

Situ Fang’s voice was hoarse, filled with deep self-reproach.

Mo Hua’s gaze flickered.

The Court Leader of the Taoist Court, huh...

He patted Situ Fang’s shoulder, sighed like an old soul, and comforted her earnestly,

”Life hardly ever goes as we wish, and some ups and downs are inevitable. We need to look ahead. Those zombies and such, if they’re gone, then they’re gone...”

After all, I have them all.