Immortality Through Array Formations (The Quest for Immortality)

Chapter 973: Destroying the Evidence

Elder Xun frowned slightly.

"See what?"

All he could see was Mo Hua staring into an empty corner, seemingly dazed.

Mo Hua turned to look at Master Gu and Fan Jin.

The two also shook their heads in confusion. They had no idea what Mo Hua was looking at either.

Suddenly, Mo Hua's heart trembled.

Right!

Divine Concealment!

The lifebound divine statue had Divine Concealment—normal cultivators couldn't see it. Just like the Dragon Bone Statue in the Dragon King Temple!

If this statue had Divine Concealment, then it must be Lord Huangshan's lifebound divine statue. No mistake!

Mo Hua was overjoyed.

He quickly pulled out a black cloth, wrapped the statue carefully, then turned to Elder Xun and said:

"Elder Xun, help me carry this."

Lifebound divine statues couldn't be stored in storage bags.

Elder Xun looked at the empty cloth bundle, then at Mo Hua's serious expression. His feelings were complicated, but he didn't question it.

"Alright…"

And so, Elder Xun carried Lord Huangshan's statue on his back.

…Though he had no idea what he was actually carrying.

Strangely, Elder Xun even felt like he wasn't carrying anything at all—like his back was completely empty.

Master Gu and Supervisor Fan also seemed oblivious to the statue's presence, as if it didn't exist.

Only then did Mo Hua breathe a sigh of relief.

He had found it.

A lifebound statue was as vital to a god as their very existence.

That Lord Huangshan entrusted Mo Hua with carrying his statue out of Lone Mountain meant two things—one, he had no other choice, and two, it showed a profound trust in Mo Hua.

Thankfully, Mo Hua hadn't let him down.

"Let's go back…" Mo Hua said.

"Alright." Elder Xun nodded.

The group headed for the exit of the divine hall. Just as they were about to step through the door, Mo Hua suddenly sensed something and turned to look back.

And saw it—

Mister Tu's ritual blade slashing across Shen Shouxing's throat, his pale claws piercing Shen's chest.

Shen Shouxing bled out, collapsing slowly. No breath remained.

Even in death, his gaze was twisted with madness and hatred—longing to tear Tu apart, to devour his flesh and drink his blood.

"Shen Shouxing… is dead…"

Mo Hua furrowed his brows, feeling strangely conflicted.

Shen Shouxing had been the real power behind the Shen clan—the main culprit responsible for burying over a hundred thousand rogue cultivators beneath Lone Mountain.

But he had also been a puppet.

A puppet of the noble families.

A puppet of his own ambition and greed.

He spent a lifetime chasing power and glory—only for it all to vanish with his death. Dust to dust.

And yet, Mo Hua still felt a strange unease about Shen Shouxing's death.

It felt… wrong.

Like there were loose threads of karma left unresolved.

"Why… do I feel like this?" Mo Hua wondered.

Just then, Mister Tu—freshly soaked in blood—turned his head to look at Mo Hua.

His eyes were like those of a monster—savage and cruel.

Mo Hua's gaze was clear as water, calm and unfathomably deep.

The longer Mister Tu looked, the more he felt that this boy wasn't simple.

That sword cultivator from the Great Void Sect—Xun—might be unfathomable, but this young disciple? Something was off about him too.

But… he was just Foundation Establishment.

What kind of threat could a Foundation cultivator pose?

No matter how strange he was, he couldn't shake the heavens.

But Mo Hua, meeting Mister Tu's eyes, felt a rising killing intent in his heart.

Shen Shouxing was dead.

All that was left… was Mister Tu.

The human skin of Shentu Ao, and with it, the complete Four Symbols Azure Dragon Formation, was in his hands.

If they killed him—they'd get the formation.

The dragon of the Great Wilderness required the bloodline of its royal descendants.

And Mo Hua's own bloodline might not be enough to control the Azure Dragon's power—so this formation might not suit him as a lifebound formation.

Still—it was worth trying.

And even if he couldn't use it, a Grade-2, 21-rune Four Symbols Divine Beast Formation was still an unmatched treasure for any array master.

Of everyone who had entered Lone Mountain's tomb, most were already dead.

On Mo Hua's side, he still had Elder Xun, Master Gu, and Supervisor Fan—three Golden Core experts.

If they worked together, and he assisted from the side to counter Mister Tu's evil thoughts, they had a high chance of killing him.

And then… the Azure Dragon Formation would be his.

In just a few breaths, Mo Hua weighed all the factors and came to a decision.

"Elder Xun…"

Mo Hua turned and opened his mouth to speak.

But as he did—a deep black shadow suddenly spread across Elder Xun's forehead.

At the same time, Mo Hua was gripped by a wave of inexplicable terror.

It felt as though—if he spoke the next words, if he voiced his request—Elder Xun would die here.

Die miserably. Without peace.

Mo Hua's pupils trembled. His breath caught in his throat.

"Mo Hua? What's wrong?" Elder Xun asked. "Did you have something you needed me to do?"

Mo Hua's heart was pounding. The fear swelled.

He quickly shook his head.

"No!"

"You're sure?"

"No!" Mo Hua said firmly.

"…Alright," Elder Xun nodded.

And as Mo Hua said "no," he could clearly see the blackness fading from Elder Xun's forehead.

Only then did the stone weighing on Mo Hua's heart slowly settle.

He grabbed Elder Xun's arm tightly.

"Elder Xun, let's go! Now!"

Elder Xun glanced back at Mister Tu, brows furrowed.

"That creature is clearly demonic. The timing's perfect—should we just finish him off?"

Mo Hua's breath hitched again.

"Go!!" he said anxiously.

If Elder Xun tried to kill Mister Tu now, he would get tangled in unknown karma—and likely die.

Seeing Mo Hua's urgency and tension, Elder Xun nodded, thinking:

In a world this vast, nothing's more important than Mo Hua's safety.

Now isn't the time to stir up trouble.

"Alright."

So without further hesitation, under Mo Hua's urging, the group left without looking back.

Mister Tu stared at their retreating backs, lost in thought.

"Should I undo the evil seal… and kill them here in the depths of Lone Mountain?"

"That sword cultivator might be hard to deal with. But that Foundation brat… he's odd. Better to kill him now and cut off future trouble."

"Yes… kill him…"

He couldn't help but take a step forward.

But suddenly—BOOM!

The earth shook. Flames roared and exploded in the distance.

"The Shen family? They're making their move?"

Mister Tu frowned, a dark hatred brewing in his heart.

Everything had been calculated so precisely.

And yet at the final moment—something went wrong.

The Divine Lord's Divine Embryo was gone.

Lone Mountain lost its protection.

The evil mist dispersed, exposing the hidden karmic ties.

The Shen Clan must have figured out something was off.

And not just them—other noble families and sects had caught the scent and were starting to close in too.

"Forget it. What I wanted… is already in hand."

Mister Tu's bloodstained eyes swept coldly across the crowd.

"Once the Divine Lord descends, everyone will die anyway. Sooner or later, what difference does it make…"

After speaking, his twisted humanoid shell contorted.

His human skin regrew, transforming him into an ordinary-looking elder of the Shen Clan. Then, he casually walked out of the divine temple.

Inside the Mass Grave Pit—

Elder Xun Ziyou and the others were hiding in the shadows.

In front of them was a large group of Shen Clan cultivators, busily arranging fire arrays, igniting fire talismans, and using various flame-based formations to burn the corpses in the pit.

Flames roared, thick smoke billowed.

Explosions echoed everywhere, firelight flickered wildly.

The stench of burning flesh surged forth with the smoke—only to be dissolved by a Cleansing Rain Array.

The Shen Clan was destroying evidence.

Master Gu clenched his fists, his anger boiling.

"The Shen Clan is truly… beyond redemption."

Fan Jin shook his head and glanced around. Shen cultivators were scattered all over the place.

"There are too many of them… Should we fight our way out?"

Elder Xun Ziyou shook his head.

"Too many. We can't fight. We'll have to sneak out."

If they fought, the Shen Clan's Golden Core cultivators would swarm them.

The whole point of burning the corpses was to cover up the truth.

If they were discovered, the Shen Clan would surely kill to silence them.

Thankfully, the mass grave was huge. There were countless corpses of miner-cultivators—destroying the evidence was a major undertaking.

And right now, the Shen Clan's full attention was on the corpse burning.

Add to that the continuous explosions and chaotic firelight—it wasn't hard to sneak away in the confusion.

Elder Xun Ziyou picked a small group of Shen cultivators who were isolated—and killed them cleanly.

Those sent to destroy evidence were likely trusted inner members—definitely involved in the mining crimes. There were no innocents among them, so Elder Xun showed no mercy.

They stripped the bodies, took their robes and Shen Clan tokens, dumped the corpses into the pit, and burned them together with the miner-cultivators using fire talismans.

Then they disguised themselves in the Shen Clan's clothing and blended into the crowd, making their way toward the tomb exit.

Elder Xun Ziyou was a sect elder, Fan Jin was a Supervisor, and Master Gu was the head of a refining hall—none of them were low-status nobodies.

Especially Elder Xun—his presence was imposing. Dressed in Shen Clan robes, with the pressure of a late-stage Golden Core cultivator, no one dared question him.

The only one who might give them away… was Mo Hua.

He was too short.

Wearing a Shen Clan cultivator's robe made him look like a child trying on his father's clothes. The sleeves dragged on the floor.

But the tomb was dim, smoke filled the air, firelight flickered—no one noticed him as he walked beside Elder Xun and the others.

Mo Hua didn't use any concealment technique.

Because there were too many Shen Golden Cores around. Their divine sense outclassed his—if caught using concealment, it would draw suspicion.

Better to just walk openly.

So, led by Elder Xun Ziyou, they pretended to be Shen cultivators, casually throwing fire talismans and triggering formations to add to the chaos—then slipped away.

Mo Hua added his own mischief: secretly triggering explosions in Shen Clan formations, or subtly rewriting array runes to make them misfire and injure fellow Shen cultivators.

The chaos intensified.

In that growing confusion, Elder Xun led Mo Hua and the others out of the mass grave, up into the main burial passage.

Once they were in the tomb's corridors, it became easier.

Mo Hua had walked this path before, compass in hand—he knew it well.

He discreetly guided them, helping Elder Xun's group avoid most Shen cultivators.

Those they couldn't avoid—they killed outright.

Step by step, they reached the tomb's entrance.

But the entrance was heavily guarded by Shen cultivators—they couldn't leave that way.

Mo Hua thought for a moment, then led them to a side tunnel about half a mile away. There, he dispelled a formation, and Elder Xun used his Golden Core power to blast through the stone wall—and finally, they escaped Lone Mountain's tomb.

But even outside, the place was swarming with Shen cultivators.

Fortunately, with all the fire explosions and mountain tremors happening below, the noise of Elder Xun blasting the wall didn't stand out.

Still, their sudden appearance drew the attention of some nearby Shen cultivators.

Two Shen Golden Cores looked over, hesitating—perhaps about to question them.

Elder Xun released his aura, his face cold and impatient.

"What's the situation outside?"

His powerful, composed aura stunned the two Shen cultivators. Seeing the ash and burn marks on his robe, they figured he must be a core elder tasked with overseeing the body burning—checking in on the situation aboveground.

The Shen Clan was too massive. Not every Golden Core cultivator was well-known—even less so the core elders of the main lineage.

One of them cupped his fists respectfully:

"Reporting to Elder: Cultivators from other sects and noble houses have arrived."

The other gritted his teeth:

"Those shameless parasites! Buzzing around like flies, trying to pry into our Shen Clan's secrets—plotting to undermine our foundation."

Flies don't bite eggs without cracks, Mo Hua sneered silently.

If your Shen Clan weren't such a rotten egg, no one would swarm you.

"Outrageous," Elder Xun snorted coldly, waving his hand. "Go back to your duties. I'll take a look around."

"Yes, Elder." The two Golden Cores left respectfully.

Elder Xun then led Mo Hua forward.

But they had barely walked a few steps before they saw it—

A huge crowd had completely surrounded the mountain.

There were Shen Clan cultivators… and also many other noble houses and sects.

And judging by their aura, none of them were pushovers.

Any force daring to show up here, trying to take a bite out of the Shen Clan, naturally had power and heritage on par with them.

Now the Shen Clan had activated a defensive formation to guard the mine. The outsiders blocked the path beyond.

The two sides faced off—clearly divided.

"This… is going to be troublesome…" Elder Xun frowned.

Under this situation, they couldn't just sneak through. And between them and the other forces—stood a Grade-3 formation.

Mo Hua also frowned, troubled.

As he scanned the surroundings, his eyes suddenly lit up.

He spotted a familiar figure in the distant crowd.

The elders from the Great Void Sect were here.

At the front was a man with a jade-like face and scholarly demeanor. His eyes were calm—but carried a hint of worry.

It was Elder Xun Zixian.

At the same moment Mo Hua looked at him—Xun Zixian froze.

He sensed a familiar gaze from the crowd—one that carried a thread of divine sense unlike any other.

"That feeling is…"

Xun Zixian's eyes narrowed as he followed the gaze—and spotted Mo Hua's head poking out from a crowd of Shen cultivators.

Mo Hua was right there— And beside him… was Xun Ziyou.

"Mo Hua!"

Elder Xun Zixian's pupils contracted sharply.

"Found him!"

Staring at the clearly divided standoff and the figures of Mo Hua and the others mixed among the Shen Clan's cultivators, Elder Xun Zixian hesitated only a moment. Then, without warning, he took out a jade talisman and smashed it directly onto the Shen Clan's formation.

The talisman flashed, dissolving a massive section of array patterns, tearing open a huge gap in the Shen Clan's formation.

Elder Xun Zixian, with profound roots, extraordinary talent, and personally taught by Venerable Elder Xun, wasn't just one of the best formation masters in the Great Void Sect—he was among the best in all of Qianxue Province.

So a Grade-3 formation like the one the Shen Clan had set up? He could break it with a flick of the wrist.

This move caught everyone completely off guard.

Even the surrounding cultivators were momentarily stunned.

A high-ranking Shen Clan elder roared in fury:

"Xun Zixian! What's the meaning of this?

Does the Great Void Sect intend to make enemies of the Shen Clan?!"

Xun Zixian didn't even lift his eyelids.

"Oops. My hand slipped."

The Shen elder froze—his chest heaving with anger.

Your hand slipped?! That's your excuse for shattering our formation?!

You bastard—don't you even want a shred of dignity?!

But there was no time to argue over whether that was a "real slip" or a very intentional one—because the moment that gap appeared, all the cultivators who had been wary just moments before suddenly became restless.

Tension skyrocketed.

A burly man shouted loudly:

"The Ao Clan has marriage ties with the Shen Clan!

I have a brother-in-law who went missing here.

As his brother-in-law, I'm going in to look for him—perfectly reasonable, right?"

And with that, he charged through the gap.

The floodgates opened.

"I had a Dao companion who was a Shen elder—heard he's gone missing too, I'm going in."

"My nephew was with the Shen Clan..."

"My grandpa's surname was Shen…"

"My lover's cousin's dog once walked past your front gate…"

Whatever random excuse they could think of—they all rushed in.

Law doesn't punish the masses.

As long as the crowd was big and chaotic enough, they weren't afraid of the Shen Clan retaliating.

In fact, the more desperate the Shen Clan acted, the more obvious it became—they were hiding something huge.

For the usually careful and cautious Shen Clan, this was a once-in-a-lifetime scandal.

And for all the other noble families?

A perfect chance to kick them while they were down and tear off a piece of their fat flesh.

The scene descended into chaos.

The Shen Clan wanted to stop them—but didn't dare go too far.

If someone died, it could spark a full-blown war.

Amid this chaos, no one noticed that Mo Hua and his group had quietly shed their Shen Clan robes, changed into plain traveling clothes, and blended naturally into the crowd, slipping into the ranks of the Great Void Sect.

Elder Xun Zixian immediately pulled Mo Hua to his side.

He checked his pulse, examined his meridians, and stared into his eyes.

Only after checking several times did he let out a breath.

"Are you alright?"

"Mm!" Mo Hua nodded.

Elder Xun Ziyou chimed in from the side:

"Check me too!"

Xun Zixian ignored him completely.

"As long as you're fine. This isn't the place to talk. Let's go."

"Shouldn't we stay and observe the situation?" Mo Hua asked.

Xun Zixian shook his head.

"The situation's too chaotic. We can't stay long."

Besides, the Old Ancestor's order was to rescue Mo Hua.

Now that Mo Hua was safe, that was more important than anything else.

The Shen Clan's problems could wait.

Mo Hua nodded in agreement.

After all, he was still carrying both the Great Wilderness Dragon Vein and Lord Huangshan's True Idol.

Both were unimaginably valuable.

He needed to return quickly and hide them—there could be no complications.

As for the Shen Clan's dirty laundry?

Now that the hole was poked open, let the other sects and families tear it apart.

The more chaos, the better…

And so, Elder Xun Zixian led a group of Great Void elders to escort Mo Hua and the others safely away from the Shen Clan's mine.

Just before leaving, Mo Hua glanced back at Lone Mountain—his heart stirring with an unexplainable unease.

He couldn't shake the feeling that some unresolved karmic thread still lingered in Lone Mountain.

Something incredibly dangerous…

Something immense and terrifying.

"What could it be…" Mo Hua frowned, shook his head, and left Lone Mountain with the Great Void Sect.

Meanwhile, within the mine, the conflict between the Shen Clan and the other noble families escalated.

Chaos reigned. Cultivators clashed. Spiritual energies collided.

Deep beneath Lone Mountain, in the temple at its heart—

The grand hall was slowly collapsing.

Stones crumbled.

The floor was soaked in blood.

Corpses lay torn and scattered.

And in the dead silence, The corpse of Shen Shouxing— Suddenly opened its eyes. In his gaze—was nothing but blackness.

(End of this Chapter)