Chapter 438 - Zhang Quan

Chapter 438: Chapter 431 Zhang Quan

Mo Hua felt that this matter was shrouded in deep suspicion; despite much thought, he found no clue.

If only he could catch the gray-robed cultivator.

Then everything could break through.

After the battle at Hundred Flower Tower, Mo Hua had almost figured out the gray-robed cultivator’s trump cards.

It would be a lot easier to trap him next time.

On the way back, Mo Hua pondered over his worries, and then he sighed.

These days, his routine cultivation had resulted in a steady increase in cultivation.

But the enhancement of Divine Sense had halted at Thirteen Stripes, proving difficult to make any further progress.

First, it was because there were no formations of Thirteen Stripes for him to learn, which slowed the growth of Divine Sense;

Second, it was because of the Taoist Stele.

Ever since Mo Hua used the Taoist Stele to comprehend the Taoist Meaning, the stele had overloaded, and it had not fully recovered even now.

The amount of formation practice Mo Hua did every day was greatly reduced, and the growth of Divine Sense was also negligible.

At this rate, it was possible that Divine Sense wouldn’t break through Thirteen Stripes by the time of Foundation Establishment.

The slow recovery of the Taoist Stele and the scarcity of First Grade, Thirteen Stripes formations made them hard to find.

Mo Hua had

Currently, his only lead was to find Instructor Yan.

But where exactly was Instructor Yan?

Mo Hua sighed again.

Bai Zisheng appeared somewhat surprised and asked,

“Mo Hua, are you troubled by something?”

Mo Hua nodded, “The growth of Divine Sense is too slow…”

Without finding Instructor Yan, he couldn’t find the Ultimate Formation; without the Ultimate Formation, he couldn’t temper Divine Sense. And without tempering Divine Sense, he couldn’t Prove the Dao with Divine Sense as Mr. Zhuang had said.

To cultivate the ultimate Divine Sense, to exhaust the possibilities of formations, to aspire to dominate the Great Dao.

Mo Hua’s current Divine Sense was still far from the standard given by Mr. Zhuang.

“How much is your Divine Sense now?”

Bai Zisheng curiously asked.

He only knew that Mo Hua’s Divine Sense was strong, up to the standard of Foundation Establishment, but he had never asked how strong it was.

The Ultimate Formations that Mo Hua studied were ones he had not studied, nor could he possibly learn or even hope to understand.

Mo Hua muttered, “Just twelve stripes…”

Bai Zisheng was taken aback, “How many?”

“Twelve…”

Bai Zisheng fell silent.

Just twelve stripes…

This was almost at the limit of Divine Sense for the early stage of Foundation Establishment.

Generally, with ten stripes of Divine Sense, Formation Masters at the realm of Foundation Establishment can attempt to learn Second-Grade formations.

Most Second Rank Formation Masters also start with Divine Sense around eleven or twelve stripes.

This was the first time Bai Zisheng had heard of a Qi Refinement cultivator managing to possess twelve stripes of Divine Sense.

And it seemed Mo Hua was quite displeased with it.

He acted reluctantly and unsatisfied.

Lucky and still acting coy!

Bai Zisheng felt so annoyed that he couldn’t help but scratch Mo Hua’s head.

Even Bai Zixi, standing by, couldn’t restrain herself and joined Bai Zisheng in ruffling Mo Hua’s hair.

Mo Hua felt somewhat helpless.

But after all, since he was the junior brother, he decided not to fuss over it with his junior brother and junior sister.

After the group returned to the cave dwelling,

Mo Hua took out a Compass Mother Formation Disk.

This disk depicted a Compass Mother Formation.

And the corresponding Compass Child Formations, Mo Hua had inscribed with a technique of fine carving on fine needles made of refined iron.

Mo Hua had given these needles to Bai Zisheng in advance, instructing him to imperceptibly stick them into the gray-robed cultivator’s clothing, or on his body, during their fight.

In this way, by referencing the Compass Mother Formation, he could determine the child formation’s position, which would allow him to track down the gray-robed cultivator’s whereabouts.

This gray-robed cultivator, who had hired assassins to kill mining cultivators and then bought their corpses, was surely up to no good.

The Pill that he consumed today to transform and increase his strength, which was bloody and maleficent, was likely refined from those corpses.

Over these years, who knows how many mining cultivators have died because of this.

Not to mention how many mining cultivator families had been torn apart because of it.

Mining cultivators already lived a tough life, earning a living was not easy, and yet they fell victim to such twisted and evil schemes, dying without a whole corpse.

Mo Hua’s face went cold.

So this gray-robed cultivator, he must be slaughtered!

But before slaughtering him, Mo Hua wanted to ask if he knew about Instructor Yan’s whereabouts.

Instructor Yan had disappeared in the mines.

The worst-case scenario was that he had been killed by people like Wang Lai, and his body sold to the gray-robed cultivator.

There was also a possibility that Instructor Yan had discovered something, and by following the trail, had investigated further…

If so, Instructor Yan likely had some interactions with the gray-robed cultivator.

Regardless of the circumstances, Mo Hua needed confirmation.

However, on the Compass Mother Formation Disk, there was no light indicating the gray-robed cultivator’s presence.

“Is it broken?”

Bai Zisheng furrowed his brows.

Mo Hua checked the formation and shook his head, “It’s not broken.”

“So, that means… he discovered your Compass Child Formation Needles?”

“Even if he did discover them, if the needles were discarded or damaged, the compass would have shown some reaction.”

Bai Zixi thought for a moment and then slowly said,

“Because of the Escape Technique?”

Mo Hua was startled and then understood.

The gray-clothed cultivator knew the Escape Technique and could burrow into the ground, shielding the aura of the Formation and affecting the connection between the Compass Mother and Child Formations.

If nothing appeared on the Mother Formation, it meant he was either still in the tunnels and hadn’t come out,

or the gray-clothed cultivator had used the Escape Technique and was somewhere underground.

Mo Hua thought for a while and then said,

“Let’s wait.”

As a Monster Hunter, hunting prey required ample patience.

This was something his father Mo Shan had taught him.

Two days later, Situ Fang came over and told Mo Hua that the Taoist Court had identified the gray-clothed cultivator’s identity.

“This man is named Zhang Quan, a cultivator from South Yue City. His family has been in the longevity material business for generations…”

“Longevity material?” Mo Hua was slightly startled.

“That’s coffins.”

“Oh,” Mo Hua understood.

Being in the coffin business…

It did match the image, temperament, and actions of the gray-clothed cultivator quite well.

Situ Fang continued,

“Thirty years ago, Zhang Quan’s parents died, and he took over the coffin shop alone…”

“Zhang Quan’s aura is somewhat gloomy; he does not converse with fellow cultivators, but since he’s in the business of death, everyone has come to accept it as normal.”

“Zhang Quan occasionally gambles and frequents brothels…”

“I asked a few female cultivators from the Hundred Flower Tower, and from what they say, Zhang Quan often stays at brothels but rarely shows his true face.”

“Cultivators who knew Zhang Quan also had no idea that he actually was a Foundation Building Cultivator.”

Mo Hua asked, “Have you been to Zhang Quan’s residence?”

Situ Fang nodded, “We have. The shop was closed. We broke in and found that all the coffins inside had been burned, and other objects had been destroyed as well.”

“It’s uncertain whether he did it himself or if he has an accomplice helping him destroy evidence of his crimes.”

“The current question is, what exactly is he using the corpses he buys for?”

“Is the pill he took that day made from those corpses?”

“If so, where did he refine it, where is the pill furnace, how did he get the pill recipe, through what channels did he purchase the herbs for refining Evil Pills?”

“Did he refine them himself, or is someone helping him do it?”

“Besides, does he have any other unspeakable purposes…”

After Situ Fang finished explaining everything, she sighed,

“The Taoist Court has issued a warrant. If we catch him, these things should come to light.”

Then she looked at Mo Hua, still a bit worried,

“Be careful these days.”

“That day at the Hundred Flower Tower, he tried everything he could to kill you. Now that he has escaped to the shadows, he might make a move against you…”

Mo Hua nodded, “Mhm, I am aware.”

Still, Situ Fang felt uneasy.

Mo Hua then said, “Don’t worry, I’m with my Senior Brother and Sister; they’ll protect me.”

Relieved, Situ Fang chatted for a moment, drank a few cups of tea, and then left.

But Mo Hua’s gaze grew sharp.

His own Divine Sense was strong, and he knew the Concealment Technique; it was impossible for Zhang Quan to find him.

And now, it wasn’t him looking for Mo Hua, but Mo Hua who was searching for him.

Young Mo Hua was the hunter, and this Foundation Establishment Stage Zhang Quan was the prey.

In the following days, whenever Mo Hua had time, he would take out the Compass Disk and check for any movements.

Three days later in the afternoon, lights finally appeared on the compass.

Two light points shone together, but another was somewhat dim.

It seemed that Zhang Quan had found a needle, so he twisted it off and threw it away.

The other two needles, he had not found, so they should still be on his person.

Mo Hua’s spirits lifted.

Finally, he had made a mistake…

Mo Hua then took out a map of South Yue City and saw that the location of the lights was in a deserted mine outside the city.

There were many mines outside South Yue City.

Some belonged to the Lu Family, some to South Yue Sect, some to the Taoist Court, and others were occupied by deceased individuals or various other clans and sects.

Some mines were actively being extracted from; some had not been mined due to various reasons;

And some mines were exhausted and abandoned.

The place where Zhang Quan was hiding was one such abandoned mine.

Mo Hua and his two companions, cloaked and concealed, left South Yue City and headed to the mine where Zhang Quan was hiding.

It was a small and unkempt mine.

Being abandoned, it lacked any sign of life.

Instead, the area was permeated with the stale stench of death.

With a sweep of his Divine Sense, Mo Hua’s gaze grew cold.

Inside the mine, there were several sinister auras.

Perhaps the corpses of the mining cultivators that Zhang Quan had purchased were hidden here.