Chapter 946: The Old Man in Common Clothes

On the isolated mountain above, abandoned wells were everywhere, a desolate landscape.

In the city, thin and weak orphans, carrying bamboo baskets, bent at the waist, on the dark black ground, with dirty little hands, piece by piece pried rough ore.

Only like this could they survive.

Beside them, the hidden figure of Mo Hua quietly walked past, his expression somewhat low-spirited.

Fortunately, the Gu Master remembered his instructions and painted a Grade 1 wind pattern on all of these orphans' bamboo baskets, somewhat reducing their burden and not letting these orphans be oppressed by the heavy ore, resulting in bruises all over their bodies.

Currently, this was all he could do.

Mo Hua sighed, passed through the ore-picking orphans, and went directly toward the Shen family's mountaintop.

The entire isolated mountain, other places, he had basically all strolled through once, only the Shen family's piece of mountaintop he hadn't been to.

That piece of mountaintop definitely held strangeness.

Mo Hua thought of going to see while hidden.

After walking a while longer, his vision suddenly opened up, and the Shen family's continuous mines appeared in front of his eyes.

These mines were large and magnificent, almost occupying half of the isolated mountain's body, and the planning was relatively neat, the mine wells wide and broad.

These were the traces left by the excavation of large spirit tools.

Around the Shen family's mines, a complete circle of alert arrays was laid out, and inside the mines, there were still some stationed Shen family cultivators, occasionally patrolling the surroundings.

The array was Grade 2, and the Shen family cultivators were only at the Foundation Establishment stage.

These were abandoned mines, no ore was being mined, and they were no longer profitable, so it was naturally impossible to send Golden Core elders to be stationed.

Even having Foundation Establishment stationed was already considered luxurious.

But Foundation Establishment cultivators fundamentally could not block Mo Hua, not to mention those Grade 2 arrays.

Mo Hua drew his fingers, and a flash of ink color appeared, and the array at the mine boundary was cracked, opening a gap by itself.

Mo Hua passed through the gap and walked near the Shen family's mines.

Just as he stepped onto the land of the mines, Mo Hua's eyes suddenly darkened, as if countless wails of despair rose, but in a blink of an eye, they all disappeared again. Mo Hua opened his eyes and looked around; the surroundings were ordinary, without any abnormality.

The sunlight overhead was still bright.

But Mo Hua always felt that the sunlight shining on his body was somewhat ice-cold.

Mo Hua's face darkened slightly, stepping on the mountain stones, avoiding the patrolling Shen family cultivators and the scattered traps and arrays nearby, strolling around the Shen family's mines.

Most of the mountaintops, he had all stepped on once.

Between the mountain mine wells, they were excavated very deep, and most were sealed, making it impossible to enter deeply. He could only roughly take a look.

But after looking for a long time, he still gained nothing.

With his divine sense and cause-and-effect perception, he actually didn't see a single clue.

"How could there not be a single clue..."

Mo Hua's eyebrows furrowed tightly.

Seeing that the sky was getting late and the sun was gradually setting, he first left the Shen family's mines.

Arriving at the edge of the mines, Mo Hua pointed his finger, and the ink patterns interwoven again, repairing the cracked array and covering his tracks.

Then he came to a nearby mountain peak, climbed high and looked far, taking in the entire Shen family's mines.

As he looked, Mo Hua suddenly remembered the words Xie Ling had said to him:

"Cultivate the technique of Feng Shui, sense the energy mechanisms of heaven and earth, distinguish the energy veins of mountains and rivers, determine life and death and burial..."

"Heaven and earth energy mechanisms, mountains and rivers energy veins... what exactly is that?"

Mo Hua slowly closed his eyes, released his divine sense, calmed his heart, abandoned the small self, and held the belief of 'heaven and human as one' in his heart, sensing heaven and earth, seeking that so-called heaven and earth energy mechanism and mountains and rivers energy veins.

All things in the world dissipated.

The vast sky overlooked the common people, and the great earth was vast and boundless.

A profound sense arose spontaneously.

Between heaven and earth, there was indeed a wisp of white energy mechanism.

Mo Hua vaguely felt that he seemed to have sensed something, but he didn't know if he had sensed it correctly.

Holding a one-in-ten-thousand idea, Mo Hua followed this wisp of energy mechanism and moved forward.

The energy mechanism undulated along the mountain veins, ethereal and uncertain.

Mo Hua also followed the energy mechanism, traveling in the mountains.

After walking a complete circle, the energy mechanism disappeared. Mo Hua fixed his gaze and looked; the surrounding mountain scenery was relatively strange, but still barren and looked ordinary.

This wisp of energy mechanism had led him to a dead end.

Mo Hua shook his head.

"Indeed, where could there be such a cheap thing, something you can learn without learning anything..."

Mo Hua turned to leave, but just as he turned his head, he caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye and discovered a person sitting on the mountain slope below in the distance.

This person was an old man, wearing cloth clothes, who did not look like a mine cultivator.

Mo Hua thought for a moment, withdrew his hidden technique, and walked toward the cloth-clothed old man.

Walking closer, he saw clearly. Mo Hua then discovered that the old man's body was dry and thin, his face slightly dark, his eyes contained sharp light, and his cultivation was probably at the peak of Foundation Establishment.

The old man was just sitting cross-legged on a mountain stone, gazing at the distant mountains, not knowing what he was thinking.

Seeing someone approach, he wrinkled his eyebrows, turned his face and looked, then saw a talented Mo Hua. After some surprise, his eyes brightened, and he opened his mouth to say:

"In this mountainous and wild place, remote and uninhabited, to actually meet a young friend, it is truly fate."

His voice was hoarse but full of harmony.

Mo Hua seemed to also relax, and asked: "Senior, what are you doing here?"

"I am looking at the mountain," the old man said.

"Looking at the mountain?" Mo Hua looked around, somewhat not understanding, "These surrounding mountains are barren and dry, bare and bald, what is there to look at?"

The old man shook his head, "All things in the world, the outside has appearance, the inside has the way. Majestic mountains, dangerous mountains and evil waters, barren mountains and dry waters, are all appearances, are mountain forms. But under the mountain form, there is still mountain potential, and under the mountain potential, there exist ground veins."

Ground veins...

Mo Hua was startled and praised, "Old senior, you truly know a lot."

"Overpraised," the old man said indifferently, then thought for a moment and said again, "May I know, young friend, where are you from? Why are you alone, coming to this barren mountain and wild ridge?"

Mo Hua cupped his hands and said: "I am a disciple of a small sect nearby, following my master to seek knowledge, passing through Isolated Mountain, then entering the mountain to take a look. Unexpectedly, one time I was careless and walked the wrong mountain road, then arrived at this place and met senior."

The old man's wrinkled face revealed a hint of a smile, "Then it seems, young friend and I truly have fate."

"Indeed we have fate," Mo Hua nodded, then also sat down cross-legged, learning from the old man to look into the distance, but in the distance there were only barren mountains and nothing else.

Mo Hua withdrew his gaze, turned his head again, and leaned forward, looking at what was in front of the old man.

In front of the old man was a patch of mud and sand, and on the mud and sand were drawn several patterns.

Mo Hua said in surprise: "Old senior, are you an Array Master?"

The old man's eyebrows raised, "Young brother, you also understand arrays?"

Mo Hua said shyly: "I understand a little bit."

The old man became interested, "Where is young brother's master from?"

"I dare not say 'master from'," Mo Hua said humbly, "Just from the sect's teaching place, picking up a bit here and there, learning some superficial knowledge."

The old man nodded and praised: "Nowadays, people in the world are boastful, admiring empty names, learning one part yet bragging it into ten parts. Young friend's sect origin, to be so humble, is truly rare and valuable."

Mo Hua was a bit embarrassed, "Senior overpraises."

Then he looked at the array patterns on the mud and sand in front of the old man again, and asked more humbly:

"Old senior, these array patterns, I seem to have never seen, the sect also does not teach them, they look very profound, may I know what their points are?"

The old man looked at Mo Hua deeply.

Mo Hua also looked at the old man, his eyes filled with clarity.

Perhaps influenced by this 'clear' temperament, the old man's heart for cherishing talent suddenly rose, and he stroked his beard and said:

"Meeting is fate, today I will teach you some, even the Four Great Sects and Eight Great Gates may not be able to collect, secretly passed down array dao inheritance."

Mo Hua opened his mouth, his face pure, full of shock.

The old man pointed to the ground patterns and asked Mo Hua: "Can you tell what these array patterns are?"

Mo Hua pondered for a moment, "A bit like five elements earth system array patterns... but not completely alike."

The old man nodded, "Correct, this is a ground array."

Ground array...

Mo Hua's expression changed, this time he was truly somewhat shocked.

"Senior, what exactly is this ground array used for?" Mo Hua humbly sought guidance.

"Ground arrays have many categories, and many uses," the old man said, "But the most common ones are related to this great earth."

The old man pointed to the abandoned mines in front, "For example, inside the mountains in front, many ground arrays are buried."

Mo Hua's heart stirred, then he pretended not to know and asked: "Your meaning is, mine excavation needs to use ground arrays?"

"No." The old man shook his head.

"Then... probing for ore veins needs to use ground arrays?"

"Also not."

"Then..." Mo Hua wrinkled his eyebrows.

The old man's expression was solemn, and he said in a low voice: "It is for burial."

Mo Hua murmured, "Burial..."

"Correct," the old man looked at the distant mountains, and said with a sigh in his tone, "The great earth is inclusive of all things, not only inclusive of the living, but also of the dead."

"When people are alive, they are born on the great earth, and after death, they sleep beneath the great earth."

"But the living do not let the dead rest in peace."

"If the dead want peace, they need to build a burial and draw arrays. Borrowing the power of the array, the burial will be hidden in the ground veins, merged into the great earth, affinity dao essence, and get the protection of heaven and earth, thereby being far away from the cause-and-effect entanglements of the living."

"This kind of array is a ground array."

"Ground array..." Mo Hua was absent-minded, then suddenly realized, and said with some surprise, "You mean, inside the mountains in front, a ground array is buried, doesn't that mean... inside the mines in front, a burial is buried?"

The old man nodded, "Correct."

"But..." Mo Hua wrinkled his eyebrows, "In front are mines, right? Mine wells are dense, how could there be a burial?"

"Moreover, those mountain shapes are ordinary. If a burial is built, how is it possible to not see even a single point?"

The old man said with a smile: "Outsiders look at the lively, insiders look at the way. Under the impetuous appearance, a deep way is hidden; outsiders know nothing, naturally they see nothing."

"Insider..." Mo Hua's heart muttered, and he asked softly: "Senior, what exactly do you do?"

The old man smiled gently, not answering.

Mo Hua's expression was somewhat uneasy, then he quietly began to think, but as soon as he turned around, he discovered three people walking in the distance.

The three people were not tall, wearing cloth clothes, and their clothes were stained with some earthy smell.

They all deliberately restrained their breaths, but Mo Hua could perceive that these three people were uniformly at the Golden Core stage, and their spiritual power breath was somewhat strange.

Mo Hua then stood up, cupped his hands, and said:

"Listening to senior's speech, I have benefited greatly. The sky is getting late, and my teacher should be looking for me, so junior will leave first."

The old man shook his head and said, "You cannot leave."

Mo Hua's face changed slightly, "Senior, what do you mean by this?"

"Without reason, why do you think I wanted to tell you so many things?"

"This... isn't it because we have fate?"

The cloth-clothed old man laughed, "Young brother, you are young, I will teach you one thing: walking in the cultivation world, do not speak to strangers."

"The cultivation world is dangerous, you fundamentally do not know what kind of person is speaking with you."

"You also fundamentally do not know what plot they have."

"Just like now, you also fundamentally do not know what kind of person I am..."

The cloth-clothed old man's breath changed, without a trace of kindness, and his face revealed a sinister smile like that of a vulture.

Mo Hua wanted to run, but in a flash, the three Golden Cores had already surrounded him, sealing off his escape routes.

"Really throwing oneself into the net."

"We searched outside for half a day and didn't find any good goods. Unexpectedly, there is still a fool who delivers himself to the door."

"Mister Pi's luck is really good..."

"Fine skin and tender flesh, cultivation is not low, the quality is really good..."

Mo Hua's expression was panicked, "I... I am a disciple of a sect, the sect elders are in the city, if you lay a hand on me, are you not afraid of offending the elders?"

Several people were unmoved.

One of them scoffed, "What kind of good sect can there be near Isolated Mountain City? Moreover, looking at your body's spiritual power, even if you die, you are only a middle-grade spirit root. With this little bit of qualification, what good sect can you join?"

Mo Hua's heart was somewhat unhappy.

However, three Golden Cores and one peak Foundation Establishment. If they really fought, he would definitely not be their opponent.

"First slip away, then call people to come, think of a way to catch these thieves, throw them into the Dao Prison, slowly torture them, and ask their intentions clearly..."

Mo Hua gradually made up his mind, but on the surface, he still maintained a panicked appearance:

"I... I am just a Foundation Establishment disciple, catching me is of no use."

Mo Hua released his divine sense, looking for the flaws of several people, intending to use the water shadow illusion body to escape.

"How is it of no use? You may be of great use, without you, we..."

"Shut up, what nonsense are you talking about? Catch the person first."

Several people were about to move, but were stopped by the old man, "Wait, this little ghost has fine skin and tender flesh, once you move, he might be injured, or accidentally killed, then he'll be of no use..."

"I'll be careful."

"Be careful also won't... you several people, rough hands and feet."

"Really troublesome."

"Nonsense, the supply for that thing, there are many things to pay attention to, it needs essence qi spirit, skin, blood, flesh, bones, all complete and intact, cannot be injured in the slightest, otherwise it may not be able to open the door..."

"In this barren mountain and wild ridge, it's hard to encounter one, in case he is accidentally killed, where can we find another?"

"Also..."

Mo Hua's actions paused, his eyebrows slightly wrinkled.

The cloth-clothed old man then looked at Mo Hua, his tone eased a bit:

"Young friend, you are young, we will not make things difficult for you. Like this, you be obedient and help us with a favor. After the matter is done, we will let you go, and will also give you a generous gift, guaranteeing you a lifetime of worry-free clothing and food, worry-free spirit stones, and cultivation achievements."

Mo Hua shook his head: "I don't believe you."

"Boy, do you not understand the situation..." One person laughed coldly, then wanted to move towards Mo Hua.

The old man stopped him with a severe gaze, then looked at Mo Hua and said slowly:

"Young brother, I'll tell you the truth, in this situation, you have no other choice..."

"Either we kill you now, throw your corpse into the mine well, and be eaten clean by the mountain demons, and your dad, mom, and sect elders will never find you."

"Either, you follow us for a trip, help us with a small favor, and after the matter is done, I guarantee you will not die and will also give you benefits."

Mo Hua heard that his own corpse would be thrown into the mine well, his face turned pale, and after being afraid for a while, he finally seemed to accept his fate and asked:

"You... aren't you deceiving me?"

"Not deceiving you."

"After the matter is done, will you really give me benefits?"

The old man turned his head and said to one of the big men: "Take out some things."

The big man was slightly startled, "What?"

"Dug up from below, just take one out casually," the old man said.

The big man was a bit unwilling, but still fumbled in his sleeve, took out a small piece of jade, and threw it to Mo Hua.

Mo Hua received it and found that this piece of jade was the color of ink jade, cold to the touch, and still stained with a damp and cold yin qi and death qi.

"This is just a small part, if you are obedient and do things steadily and well, there will be more benefits later," the old man said.

Mo Hua believed him this time, he received the jade piece, nodded and said: "Okay."

The old man's expression was satisfied, he nodded, then said to the big man beside him: "Take out a pair of shackles and cuff him."

Mo Hua was startled, "Why do you want to cuff me?"

"You are not afraid, this is to prevent the unexpected," the old man said, "If you are truly obedient, we will unlock it after the matter is done."

"Oh..."

That big man then took out a pair of heavy shackles, intending to put them on Mo Hua's body.

Mo Hua's eyelids jumped.

Grade 3 shackles?!

"No, if I'm cuffed with this, I definitely can't escape, life and death are all in their hands..." Mo Hua thought, "I still need to escape first, then look for an opportunity to act."

But before he could truly escape, the cloth-clothed old man immediately wrinkled his eyebrows and said: "What are you using Grade 3 shackles for? Do you want to tire him to death?"

"Didn't I say? Skin, blood, bones, flesh, all cannot be damaged. He is just Foundation Establishment, change it to Grade 2."

"Okay." That big man said, then changed to a pair of Grade 2 shackles.

Mo Hua was silent for a moment, then stretched out his hand and obediently let this group of people cuff him.

"Let's go," the old man said.

So the old man led the way, and a group of five people walked toward an abandoned mine well not far away.

Around the mine well, there were half-new, half-old stone chips that had been dug out, and also narrow, long pickaxe marks.

Mo Hua's heart stirred.

These traces were almost identical to those he had seen on Isolated Mountain before. These several people did seem to be that group of tomb robbers.

"They are really finding a burial inside the mines?"

"They are bringing themselves to go down into the tomb?"

"But why must they bring themselves? And it requires essence qi spirit, skin, blood, flesh, bones, complete and intact, could it be..."

Mo Hua's gaze slightly condensed.

Approaching the entrance of the mine well, several people took out spirit tools, preparing to excavate something, but before they moved, one of the Golden Cores said:

"Wait, someone!"

The crowd's hearts were startled, they all turned around, followed the sound and looked, then saw not far away, a group of people indeed walking over.

The person in front was a young master, dressed luxuriously, his face arrogant and full of anger.

This person Mo Hua recognized, it was exactly Shen Qing Sheng.

Behind him, five or six Shen family cultivators surrounded him.

And Shen Qing Sheng, separated far away, then saw Mo Hua, immediately pointed with his hand, and said in a sharp voice:

"Surname Mo! Finally let this old son catch you, today you are dead for sure!"