Chapter 417 - Cave Abode

Chapter 417: Chapter 412: Cave Abode

Lu Ming was tormented by Mo Hua and became completely docile.

Situ Fang was a bit startled, she kept sneaking glances at Mo Hua on the way back, filled with confusion.

Mo Hua seemed so innocent and naive.

How could he be so skilled at framing, threatening, interrogating, and coercing…

Who taught him all this?

The group left the Lu Family’s mine.

The ensuing matters were to be handled by the Taoist Court.

The cause of the mining cultivator’s death, whether or not he was killed by a cultivator, the identity of the murderer, and the subsequent compensation, all were left to the Taoist Court to deal with.

Situ Fang sighed with relief and said to Mo Hua,

“Thank you for this time, I’ll treat you to something delicious when I’m free!”

“Thank you, Sister Situ!”

Mo Hua thought for a moment, then quietly said, “Sister Situ, if the Taoist Court finds any clues about the murderer, could you tell me?”

Situ Fang slightly furrowed her brows.

Investigations by the Taoist Court were usually kept confidential.

However, Mo Hua had been a great help in this case, and without him, they wouldn’t have found even the body of the mining cultivator. Telling him seemed harmless.

With this thought, Situ Fang suddenly asked with some curiosity,

“How did you find that mine tunnel?”

She had wanted to ask when they were at the mine.

Why would there be a formation on an ordinary-looking rock wall?

And how did Mo Hua know that behind the rock wall was a cave?

Mo Hua modestly said, “I just have slightly stronger divine sense, and I know a little bit about formations, and I happened to discover it.”

Situ Fang’s expression was complex, and for a moment, she couldn’t tell whether Mo Hua was being truthful.

But she didn’t probe further, simply nodding and saying,

“I understand. If there’s a clue, I’ll secretly tell you.”

Mo Hua smiled and said, “Thank you, Sister Situ.”

Afterward, everyone bid farewell.

Before leaving, Mo Hua gave Lu Ming a meaningful look, “You understand what should be said and what shouldn’t, right?”

Lu Ming shivered with fear, nodding repeatedly, “I understand, I understand!”

Mo Hua nodded in satisfaction.

After leaving the Lu Family’s mine, Mo Hua and the others returned to the Nanyue Inn and reported the incident at the mine to Mr. Zhuang.

Mr. Zhuang frowned and remained silent.

In a low voice, Mo Hua said, “Master, I suspect the murderer has clues to the Ultimate Formation on him.”

Mr. Zhuang smiled faintly and asked, “How did you come to that conclusion?”

“The deceased mining cultivator seems to have a trace of the Ultimate Formation’s aura…”

Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi looked at each other in bewilderment; they lacked divine sense calculation and hadn’t noticed anything.

“Do you know what Ultimate Formation it is?” Mr. Zhuang asked again.

Mo Hua shook his head, looking somewhat disappointed, and said, “The aura is too faint, and the traces of the formation are shallow, I can’t calculate it…”

“But…” Mo Hua recalled something, his expression becoming one of startled doubt, “This trace of the Ultimate Formation’s aura is somewhat malevolent…”

“Malevolent…”

Mr. Zhuang’s gaze became inscrutable.

“Master, are there Ultimate Formations within evil formations as well?” Mo Hua asked.

Mr. Zhuang nodded, “In this world, where there’s righteousness, there’s evil, and formations are no different.”

“How is a malevolent Ultimate Formation different from regular Ultimate Formations?”

Observing the curious Mo Hua, Mr. Zhuang suddenly said with a smile,

“That kind of question, if you can figure it out yourself, then I won’t tell you.”

“Figure it out myself?”

Mo Hua was taken aback and muttered quietly, “But I haven’t figured it out…”

Mr. Zhuang said with a laugh, “If you can find this Ultimate Formation, you’ll naturally understand.”

Mo Hua’s eyes lit up, “So, Master, there really is an Ultimate Formation hidden in South Yue City, isn’t there?”

Mr. Zhuang was taken aback, then replied with an ambiguous smile,

“Who knows? I haven’t left the inn, how could I know…”

Mo Hua’s eyes flickered, staring at Mr. Zhuang, then gradually became certain in his heart.

There must be one!

Whenever Mr. Zhuang showed this kind of teasing expression, it meant it was true.

Mr. Zhuang shook his head slightly and patted Mo Hua’s head, “We might have to stay here longer, find a cave dwelling to settle in. The inn is noisy and not very convenient.”

“A cave dwelling?” Mo Hua was somewhat astonished.

He had never lived in a cave dwelling.

Cave dwellings in the Cultivation World were generally very expensive.

In Tongxian City, only prominent or well-backed cultivators could afford the spirit stones to buy a cave dwelling.

Like Master Luo, a first-grade Formation Master, and the An Family’s patriarch, Old Master An.

Although Mo Hua himself was also a first-grade Formation Master, he wasn’t as “corrupt” as Master Luo; when drawing formations for people, he charged very few spirit stones.

If he was dealing with loose cultivators like those from East Mountain Village, he even did it for free as long as they provided their own spiritual ink.

He just treated it as free practice for drawing formations.

So although he was not lacking in spirit stones now, he was also far from being wealthy.

“A cave mansion, that must be expensive…” Mo Hua said weakly.

Upon seeing Mo Hua’s expression, Mr. Zhuang revealed a smile and kindly said,

“As a first-grade Formation Master, it would actually be strange if you didn’t live in a cave mansion.”

“But…”

“Don’t worry about spirit stones,” Mr. Zhuang said. “You can go and choose a cave mansion in the city with your senior brothers and sisters later.”

Since Mr. Zhuang had spoken, Mo Hua could only nod and then asked,

“What kind of cave mansion should we pick?”

“Look at the spiritual energy, the location, the formations, the Five Elements,” Mr. Zhuang answered.

Mo Hua was initially stunned, but then gradually grasped what his master was implying.

The master was testing him.

On the surface, it was about choosing a cave mansion, but in reality, it was a test of his understanding and comprehension of formations, spiritual energy, and various principles of Tao cultivation.

“Understood, Master.”

In the afternoon, when he had some free time, Mo Hua followed Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi to the streets of South Yue City, looking to rent a cave mansion.

Buying one would be too expensive, and since they were only staying temporarily, renting was sufficient.

Mo Hua had never lived in a cave mansion, but he knew well how to find one and the intricacies involved.

Having grown up in Tongxian City, he had always been popular among cultivators of the same age like Da’hu and Dazhu.

After becoming a Formation Master, he had built an extensive network among the adults as well.

Having been exposed to the ways of the lower-ranking cultivators, he was familiar with them.

Although South Yue City was not Tongxian City, the rules and customs of the loose cultivators at the bottom were much the same.

Generally speaking, renting or purchasing a cave mansion relied on the services of a housing agency.

The intermediaries at a housing agency were generally called housing agency workers.

Mo Hua arrived at a housing agency and found a shrewd worker, expressing his intention to rent a cave mansion.

The worker was confused and somewhat indifferent when he saw the three children, Mo Hua included.

He thought Mo Hua was joking with him.

Three kids, renting a cave mansion?

Mo Hua handed over a spirit stone to him.

The worker was surprised, weighed the spirit stone in his hand, and immediately plastered a smile on his face:

“Dear young friends, what kind of cave mansion would you like to see?”

Whether these three kids rented or not, he had gotten his hands on the spirit stone.

It didn’t matter if they didn’t buy.

It was as if he had earned a spirit stone just for accompanying the children on a walk, and that wasn’t a loss either.

Unsure of what kind of cave mansion he wanted, Mo Hua said, “Just show us around.”

“Alright!”

The worker then enthusiastically led the way, taking them on a tour of the cave mansions listed in the housing agency’s registry.

As the worker led the way, he talked non-stop:

“This cave mansion is great, spacious and roomy…”

“This cave mansion is also good, compact and exquisite…”

“This cave mansion is great, located high up, very majestic…”

“This cave mansion is also good, located low, very low-key…”

Anyway, everything was good according to him; big meant “spacious,” small meant “exquisite,” high meant “majestic,” and low meant “low-key.” There was always something positive to say…

Mo Hua silently took note, thinking that he should learn this way of talking.

Once learned, he could also praise others with such blatant flattery.

At first, the worker retained some pretense, but then he realized that his clients were three children – deceiving them felt pointless.

Furthermore, it wasn’t certain if they would rent or not, so gradually he started to relax and speak some blunt truths…

“This cave mansion is good, but it’s just for show; it looks nice but is uncomfortable to live in…”

“This one, forget it, it’s shoddy workmanship…”

“It’s a pity about this cave mansion; the rockery and waters are fake, but the formations are complete. The only issue is that someone died here…”

“How did they die?” Mo Hua’s curiosity was piqued.

“Not clear on that…” the worker shook his head and explained, “Some say it was death from deviating during cultivation practice, their veins broken; some say it was an enemy seeking revenge, hacking them to death; others say they offended the Lu Family and were killed, then thrown into a mining pit…”

“Did the Lu Family really do that kind of thing?”

“That is…” The worker hesitated before abruptly realizing his blunder, then awkwardly chuckled, “Just rumors, nothing more than rumors…”

Moving on to the next cave mansion, he said:

“This cave mansion is also nice, elegant and luxurious in layout, the garden is equipped with the Flower Wood Formation; when activated by spirit stones, the garden blooms with clusters of flowers, fragrant and pleasing to the eye, a feast of beauty. But this one is better off not rented…”

“Why?”

The worker spoke in a hushed tone, “This belongs to a Court Leader from the Taoist Court, used for keeping a mistress…”

Mo Hua was shocked, “You know about this?”

The worker curled his lip, “These kinds of rumors, outsiders may not know, but we insiders hear them all the time until our ears grow calluses.”

Bai Zisheng also asked, “And then what happened?”

The worker appeared to revel in the misfortune, “The affair got exposed, didn’t it? The Court Leader’s wife caught the mistress in the act, tore up the mistress’s face, and even applied poison to the wounds, ensuring that she would be disfigured for life.”

“The Court Leader tried to intervene but failed, and he too ended up with his body all torn up…”

Mo Hua was stunned and after a while, couldn’t help but exclaim,

“The life of a cultivator in South Yue City is quite colorful…”

The worker hummed lightly, “To those who are well-fed and warm, thoughts turn to lust; these cultivators of such status are not worried about food and drink, people give them spirit stones, so naturally they seek ways to find enjoyment. There’s plenty of such messy affairs around…”