The Quest for Immortality

Jia Ren couldn’t help himself; he let out a hoarse wail.

Mo Hua’s sympathetic little face said, ”If you don’t speak, the pain will only get worse...”

Then, quietly, he increased the spiritual power supply to the ”Iron Board” Formation...

Jia Ren’s facial features were all contorting.

After an unknown time, under the dual torment of the pain brought by the Iron Board and the frustration brought by Mo Hua, Jia Ren’s Daoist heart finally collapsed.

His voice trembling, Jia Ren resignedly said,

”I... I’ll speak! I’ll speak…”

He could die to end it all, but he couldn’t bear this anger and pain.

Mo Hua’s expression brightened.

Jia Ren’s willingness to speak proved that his optimizations and modifications to the ”Iron Board” over this period were highly effective.

And, it had gained the approval of the first experiencer!

Gu Changhuai picked Jia Ren up, and Mo Hua repeated some previous questions.

”Where is the Fire Buddha?”

”Why extinguish the Xie family completely?”

Jia Ren, breaking out in cold sweat, gritted his teeth, ”These... I can’t say…”

Mo Hua’s face hardened, ”You dare to play games with me?”

Jia Ren felt a cold sweat on his back and pain in his knees, hastily saying, ”No, I dare not…”

He swallowed hard, ”These... I can’t say…”

Mo Hua frowned, ”What do you mean?”

Gu Changhuai’s gaze sharpened, ”A Silence Curse…”

Mo Hua puzzled, ”Silence Curse?”

Gu Changhuai explained, ”It’s a sinister spell cast in the form of a spiritual curse skill that prevents a cultivator from speaking certain words. Violating this will cause the spell to backlash, injuring the throat and even the Sea of Consciousness…”

”Such a spell exists…”

Mo Hua was shocked, then quickly thought,

”What if he writes it down?”

Silence curse silences speech; it doesn’t forbid writing.

Gu Changhuai shook his head, ”Writing won’t work either…”

”If it was so simple that it had loopholes for you to exploit, wouldn’t that make the spell stupid?”

”The purpose of a Silence Curse is to ensure cultivators keep secrets, not revealing them by speech or writing.”

Mo Hua nodded, ”Makes sense…”

They could only try indirect questioning about things unrelated to ”Fire Buddha,” ”Xie family,” and ”extermination.”

After some thought, Mo Hua asked Jia Ren:

”Where is your real Storage Bag hidden?”

Jia Ren started, his eyes trembling.

Gu Changhuai was also surprised.

Seeing Jia Ren reluctant to speak, Mo Hua’s gaze became increasingly dangerous.

Jia Ren, his expression somber, finally sighed, ”Bishan City, the rouge shop, behind the secret room, the third hidden compartment…”

”Rouge shop, secret room, hidden compartment…”

Mo Hua quietly took note, and as he turned his head, he caught a glimpse of a cold gleam in Jia Ren’s eyes.

That gleam vanished in a flash.

He again appeared utterly fearful.

Mo Hua inwardly scoffed.

”Playing such tricks in front of me…”

Soon, several Dao Court Canon officials arrived.

They were not from Bishan City, but from the Qianxue State Boundary.

And they weren’t just any officials; they all had the surname Gu.

Although the Gu family was only a fourth-grade family, their status in the Qianxue State Boundary was not low because many of their family members had served in the Dao Court Canon over generations.

Connections spread throughout Qian State.

And although Gu Changhuai had a bad temper, having grown up in a Dao Court family, he had a strong ability in criminal investigations, backed by his family, thus holding high prestige in the Dao Court Canon.

The matter of the Fire Buddha was extremely confidential.

Gu Changhuai still didn’t trust other officials to get involved, he only trusted his own family members.

These officials came forward and saluted Gu Changhuai:

”Young Master.”

Gu Changhuai nodded slightly and pointing at Jia Ren, instructed, ”Watch him, don’t let him escape, and certainly don’t let him die.”

”Yes!”

The Gu family officials obliged.

Gu Changhuai nodded, then returned with Mo Hua to the rouge shop in Bishan City.

Both of them released their Divine Sense, confirming there was no one else around, and then stepped inside.

Inside the rouge shop, the furnishings were neat but simple.

The air was filled with the fragrance of rouge, which after a while, acquired a strange odor.

Behind the rouge shop was a screen, and behind that, a secret room.

Hidden, but not enough to fool the duo.

Gu Changhuai, a Golden Core Cultivator and Dao Court Canon, was skilled and experienced.

Mo Hua’s Divine Sense was strong, he was an expert in formations, and particularly adept at finding secret rooms.

However, there was a formation above the secret room.

It looked like a Second Grade formation, meant to seal the secret door.

The formation wasn’t sophisticated, but there might be a catch.

Expert in criminal investigations but not in formations, Gu Changhuai hesitated whether to call some formation masters from the Dao Court Canon to check if the formation held any traps...

But in the blink of an eye, Mo Hua had already taken out a brush, dipped it in ink, and drew some Formation Patterns outside the secret room.

Then, the multicolored patterns on the secret door suddenly lit up, then faded one by one.

The sealing formation was broken.

The door to the secret room also opened.

The technique was too quick, too skilled...

He hadn’t even seen clearly what Mo Hua had actually drawn...

Gu Changhuai looked at Mo Hua in astonishment, ”Breaking formations...you can do that too?”

Mo Hua nodded, ”This is simple.”

He had started learning to break formations since the Qi Refinement Realm, used them often, and had become very proficient.

Moreover, to be low-key, he hadn’t used Divine Sense Control Ink but had seriously used a brush dipped in ink, resolving it stroke by stroke.

Otherwise, with just a tap of his finger, the formation would have been broken…