Chapter 467: Bad Thing

Mo Hua followed Lu Chengyun to the Lu family. On the surface, Lu Chengyun treated Mo Hua very well, being considerate, thoughtful, and meticulous, but he didn't allow Mo Hua to leave the Lu family and imposed various restrictions, essentially amounting to "soft imprisonment."

Mo Hua then approached Lu Chengyun and said he wanted to go home for a visit.

"I'll go and come back quickly, just to tell my little senior brother and little senior sister so they don't worry."

Lu Chengyun took out paper and a brush. "No need for such trouble. Little Master, write a letter, and I'll have someone deliver it."

Mo Hua waved his hands repeatedly. "If I write a letter, my senior brother and senior sister might not believe it. It's better if I go back personally."

Lu Chengyun shook his head.

"Little Master has a resourceful mind and many ideas. I have to be cautious. Writing a letter is best."

Mo Hua muttered, "The Lu family master is a bit too cautious..."

"A little caution is good." Lu Chengyun looked at Mo Hua and slowly smiled.

"This time, I set up the manifestation array and mobilized several Foundation Establishment elders. Only then was I able to invite Little Master..."

"If I let Little Master go back, with preparations, I really might not be able to find you, much less invite you."

Mo Hua was helpless. "Alright, I'll write a letter."

Mo Hua then picked up the brush and, on the Lu family's letter paper, wrote a letter to Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi. The letter didn't say much, only that he had received a grand invitation from the Lu family master and would be a guest at the Lu family for a while, asking them not to worry, to eat on time three meals a day, but that they would have to cook the meals themselves.

Mo Hua didn't mention the matter of Mister Zhuang. He had discovered that Lu Chengyun seemed unaware that the three of them were traveling with their master. Mo Hua even speculated that in Lu Chengyun's perception, it was quite possible that the person of Mister Zhuang didn't even exist. This matter was a bit inconceivable, but his master, it seemed, was also not incapable of doing such a thing...

After the letter was written, he handed it to Lu Chengyun. Lu Chengyun didn't even look at it before calling a servant and instructing them to deliver the letter to Mo Hua's cave mansion. It seemed that as long as Mo Hua was kept, whatever was written in Mo Hua's letter didn't matter.

Afterward, Mo Hua stayed at the Lu family for several days. Lu Chengyun provided Mo Hua with good food and drink. Even the servants were young and beautiful maidservants. Mo Hua also sat beside Lu Chengyun at some of the Lu family's evening banquets. During the banquets, some of the Lu family's female cultivators, in full bloom with heavy makeup, each with her own charm, looked at Mo Hua with rippling gazes. Mo Hua also looked back at them frankly.

After looking around, Mo Hua silently compared them in his heart and felt they were all not as good-looking as his little senior sister, then lost interest and ate the food self-indulgently. To be fair, the Lu family's meals were quite good. He just thought that these delicacies from the mountains and seas were all exchanged for with the lives of mine cultivators, for the enjoyment of the Lu family. Mo Hua ate with a bit of tastelessness in his mouth. Even eating cooked meat, he still felt a bloody taste.

Several days later, one evening, Lu Chengyun found Mo Hua, his figure hidden in the night, unable to discern his mood, his tone also faint.

"Little Master, I'm taking you to a place."

Mo Hua couldn't help but ask:

"What place?"

Lu Chengyun smiled a little, but also seemed not to have smiled. "A place you want to go."

Mo Hua was a bit doubtful but still followed Lu Chengyun out. Lu Chengyun walked in front, with Mo Hua following him, and two Foundation Establishment elders following behind Mo Hua. Mo Hua still remembered these two Foundation Establishment elders. In their hands were spirit tools for detecting hidden compasses.

The group left the Lu family, exited South Yue City, and arrived at the Lu family's mine. It was precisely the mine where the five mine cultivators had died tragically at the beginning, and also the gloomy and violent mine at night. Similarly, it was also the strictly guarded mine that Mo Hua had tried to sneak into a few days prior but couldn't. If Mo Hua's guess was correct, there were zombies hidden inside this mine. Lu Chengyun's schemes and calculations were also all hidden in this mine. Of course, the complete spirit pivot array diagram must also exist in this mine.

There were still Lu family cultivators guarding the mine. Lu Chengyun arrived at the mine gate but didn't go in. Instead, he took Mo Hua and walked a circle around the mine's periphery, finally arriving at a desolate area and stopping at a large rock. It was already late at night by this time. The mountainside was gloomy and eerily quiet, with a biting cold wind blowing. The large rock stood grimly, emitting a cold corpse qi. Mo Hua was startled. Could this large rock be the gate?

Mo Hua looked around, frowning. This large rock was naturally formed, without any marks of axes or chisels, not like a gate. He then released his divine sense to probe. There was no illusion array nearby either.

Just then, Lu Chengyun took out a strange bell. The bell was black all over, like wood yet not wood, like iron yet not iron. He gently shook it, and the bell sound was low and deep, without the crispness of metal, instead seeming muffled, like a dead person's heart beating. The bell sound rang, and a moment later, the large stone trembled. Mo Hua's gaze was shocked. This large stone actually seemed to be forcibly lifted by someone with great strength, revealing a deep mountain path behind it. Behind the mountain path, the corpse qi was even heavier, thick as if dripping.

Lu Chengyun looked at the shocked Mo Hua, smiled slightly, and said softly:

"Little Master, please."

Mo Hua came back to his senses, nodded, and then followed Lu Chengyun, walking towards the dark depths. The rotten corpse qi made Mo Hua feel a moment of dizziness and suffocation. A moment later, the intense smell dispersed, and the area in front suddenly opened up. Mo Hua focused his eyes and his expression was even more shocked. Behind this large stone was a mine shaft. But this mine shaft was a mine of the dead. In the mine shaft, there were coffins everywhere, and a heavy dead qi settled.

Mo Hua then turned back to look at the cave entrance. This naturally formed large stone was the gate, with thick chains fixed to the stone. The chains coiled and extended to an iron turntable. At the iron turntable, there were two large iron corpses. It was these two iron corpses that, under the control of the black control corpse bell just now, pushed the iron turntable, driving the chains, and lifted the large stone gate.

Mo Hua frowned tightly. This large stone was huge and heavy. These two large iron corpses could push the turntable and lift the gate, their strength must be very great, and their killing power was also very strong. But such two powerful iron corpses were actually used by Lu Chengyun to open a door. Was it because the number of iron corpses in this corpse mine was extremely large, and these two were not needed for fighting? Or because this gate was extremely important? Inside the door was a forbidden area that one must stop, absolutely not allowing outsiders to discover, much less allowing outsiders to intrude arbitrarily.

After several people entered the mine shaft, Lu Chengyun shook the bell again. The two iron corpses, under its control, began to turn the wheel in reverse. Behind Mo Hua, accompanied by creaking iron chain sounds, the large stone gate slowly fell down again, completely isolating the inside and outside. Even the cold moonlight couldn't find this dead silent corpse mine. Mo Hua was also left in this sealed and dead silent mine shaft.

A Lu family elder lit a lantern. In the dark mine shaft, there was then this point of pale yellow light. The lantern light illuminated Lu Chengyun's face, which was bright and dark. He looked at Mo Hua, a strange ambition faintly showing in his gaze, his voice also with suppressed excitement.

"Little Master, this mine shaft is Lu's painstaking effort, and also the great undertaking of my Lu family!"

Mo Hua's heart was shocked, but he still frowned and asked:

"Lu family master, what exactly do you want me to help you do?"

"No hurry," Lu Chengyun smiled faintly. "Before this, we first meet an old friend."

"Old friend?"

The Lu family elder, carrying the lantern, led the way. Mo Hua then followed Lu Chengyun, walking slowly in the dark mine shaft. They finally walked to a mountain cave. The mountain cave had a door, with layers of arrays carved on it. The array patterns looked unclear, but under the light, they presented a faint blood color. Mo Hua then knew that this was an evil array.

Lu Chengyun took out a stone talisman and embedded it into the lock, resolving the array. The Lu family elder pushed open the stone door, and the group entered the cave. The cave was much brighter inside, with many stone rooms. Fire arrays were painted on the stone rooms. Inside the stone rooms, there were also some cultivators, wearing gray clothes, with pale faces and corpse qi on their bodies. It looked like they were all corpse cultivators. These corpse cultivators, upon seeing Lu Chengyun, all bowed their heads. Lu Chengyun nodded slightly, bringing Mo Hua, and they walked all the way to a large hall inside.

In the middle of the large hall, there was a stone table, but it was more exquisitely carved. The surrounding furnishings were complete and quite particular, with skull heads, white bones, and coffin nails, emitting an air of gloomy and dead silent beauty. The large hall was gloomy, with coffins around, and a cultivator sitting in the middle, his figure dry and thin, his body full of scars, obviously heavily injured and not healed, his face gloomy and pale. It was indeed Zhang Quan. He could indeed be considered Mo Hua's "old friend".

Mo Hua thought to himself, "As expected."

Zhang Quan was not dead! A centipede dies but does not stiffen. Mo Hua just felt that Zhang Quan was not that easy to die. Moreover, the Zhang family had an inheritance, generations proficient in refining corpses, and to Lu Chengyun, he was also a rare "talent". Lu Chengyun would not so easily just let him die.

Zhang Quan saw Lu Chengyun, stood up and cupped his hands in a bow, his attitude respectful. After bowing, Zhang Quan was just about to say something. The firelight in the hall flashed, and he quickly glanced, suddenly seeing the small Mo Hua beside Lu Chengyun. He still thought he had seen wrong. Zhang Quan blinked his eyes, and when he recognized Mo Hua's small face, his eyes almost popped out with anger. He pointed at Mo Hua, his hand even trembling, "Lu family master, this..."

Where did Zhang Quan need an introduction? Mo Hua's eyebrows and eyes, and every frown and smile of his, were like branding irons, branded in his sea of consciousness. Every time he thought about it, he felt a kind of enduring branding-like hatred and pain. His first half of his life, his only wish, was to refine the best zombie in the world. The latter half of his life was to let this zombie eat Mo Hua.

Zhang Quan had been hiding here for a long time, thinking about killing Mo Hua every day. But he never thought that he could actually see the lively Mo Hua in this corpse mine. Zhang Quan couldn't help but glare angrily, and immediately wanted to make a move and kill Mo Hua. Detecting Zhang Quan's killing intent, Mo Hua immediately hid behind Lu Chengyun, stuck out his small head, and stuck out his tongue at Zhang Quan. Zhang Quan almost fainted from anger again.

He lost control of his mind and finally couldn't bear it, striking a palm towards Mo Hua. The palm power was thick, the spiritual power condensed, intending to kill Mo Hua. But this palm was halfway there when it was blocked by Lu Chengyun.

"Brother Zhang, don't be impulsive."

Lu Chengyun's expression was mild, his tone ice-cold. Zhang Quan felt fear in his heart and calmed down, but the remaining anger hadn't dissipated. He said sternly:

"Family Master, this little ghost he..."

Lu Chengyun said faintly: "I know, you have grievances, but that is all in the past..."

Zhang Quan said incredulously: "Why?"

Lu Chengyun slowly said: "Because our great undertaking needs the help of Little Master. Now Little Master Mo Hua is our honored guest, so he cannot be offended."

Mo Hua also nodded at the side: "Exactly! Exactly!"

Zhang Quan was so angry he could die, but also helpless. He looked at the cold-faced Lu Chengyun, his gaze forbearing, finally his face turned red for a while, then white for a while, and he gritted his teeth and said: "Good, I can let it go!"

After Zhang Quan finished speaking, he pointed at Mo Hua: "But, he must return the things he stole from me!"

Mo Hua still pretended to be foolish. "I don't remember stealing your things."

Zhang Quan hated so much his teeth itched. "On the altar!"

"Oh." Mo Hua blinked his eyes. "Those things were yours ah. I saw no one wanted them, so I just took them casually. Even if it's garbage, you can't waste it, right?"

Zhang Quan had a breath stuck in his throat and couldn't speak. Lu Chengyun was helpless. "Little Master, don't provoke him."

Mo Hua then didn't speak. Lu Chengyun sighed and said again: "It seems there was a misunderstanding. How about returning the things to their original owner, and both sides let go of past grievances, Little Master, what do you think?"

Mo Hua hesitated for a moment, nodded, and said to Zhang Quan: "Alright, this is giving face to the Lu family master."

Mo Hua began to rummage through his storage bag with his head down. In the corner of the storage bag, he found the dismantled control corpse bell, in seven or eight pieces. This control corpse bell, after little senior sister dismantled it, just wasn't put back together. There were also no good arrays inside, so Mo Hua just forgot about it.

Mo Hua held these fragmented control corpse bell pieces in his two hands, dropping them on the table with a flap-flap sound. Zhang Quan looked foolish.

"This is... my control corpse bell?"

Blood rope, strange patterns, bell body, bell... dismantled into seven or eight pieces, like being "dismembered". Zhang Quan glared angrily at Mo Hua: "How did you dismantle it?"

Mo Hua thought to himself, it wasn't me who dismantled it, it was little senior sister. But little senior sister dismantling it and me dismantling it seemed similar. Mo Hua then said: "I thought it was fun, so I dismantled it to research..."

Zhang Quan felt his scalp tingle. After a long while, he recovered and said word by word: "And... my ancestor chart!"

Lu Chengyun heard this and his expression also froze, a hint of greed slightly exposed in his gaze. Mo Hua was somewhat unwilling, but also knew that at this time he couldn't lose the big for the small, so he reluctantly took out that bundle of ancestor charts. Zhang Quan felt both guilty and wildly joyful. Guilty because his momentary negligence had lost the old ancestor and disgraced his ancestors. Wildly joyful because it was now lost and found, and he could finally console the spirit of the old ancestor in heaven.

Zhang Quan immediately snatched the ancestor chart and opened it to look, his face beaming with a smile. No mistake, it was his ancestor chart. But as he looked, the smile on his face just stiffened. Something was wrong... How did it seem like some people were missing in this chart? Where were the people? Where did they go?

Zhang Quan looked at Mo Hua incredulously. "Where are my Zhang family's ancestors?"

Mo Hua pointed at the chart in his hand. "Aren't they staying in the chart?"

Zhang Quan said angrily: "How come several are missing?"

Mo Hua pursed his mouth. "How would I know?"

Zhang Quan hated: "The chart was in your hand, how could you not know?"

Mo Hua thought for a moment and said: "Perhaps they went to visit neighbors..."

Zhang Quan's mouth widened. "Visit... neighbors?"

"Um." Mo Hua nodded, with a face of matter-of-factness. "They've stayed for a long time, so they just wanted to move around. Isn't that very normal?"

"Only, the cultivation world is very dangerous. If they go visiting, they might not be able to come back. If they encounter dangers and are eaten by some 'bad things', it's also possible..."

This chapter is a bit longer, so it was written a bit later.

(End of this chapter)