Chapter 409: The State of Death

"What's going on with this cave?" Sister Situ asked coldly.

The Lu family cultivator's face was pale, but his mouth was still stubborn. "This is a mine shaft. There are caves inside. Isn't that perfectly normal?"

But there was a slight tremor in his voice.

"Let's go in and take a look," Mo Hua said calmly, ignoring him.

Panic flashed through the Lu family cultivator's eyes. He hurriedly stepped in front of the cave entrance, spread his arms, and blocked everyone:

"This shaft is a secret of my Lu family mine. Unauthorized persons are not permitted to—"

Bai Zisheng simply kicked him straight into the cave.

Mo Hua nodded and said, "He's a Lu family cultivator, and he went in first. We have no choice—we can only follow him in."

Sister Situ stared blankly at the two of them.

She thought to herself, these two really are senior and junior brothers of the same sect…

Birds of a feather flock together.

Mo Hua strode openly into the mine cave.

The others followed him in as well.

Once inside, Sister Situ silently stayed by Mo Hua's side.

She knew Mo Hua was congenitally frail and was not a body cultivator. If anyone or anything got close to him, he would be in great danger.

If she stuck close, should anything unexpected happen, she could protect Mo Hua.

Mo Hua had ventured into the mine shaft to help her, and she didn't want him to come to any harm.

The Lu family cultivator, who had fallen flat on his face, climbed up from the ground and raged:

"You… cough…"

He spat, 吐出 the mud in his mouth, then continued, "This is too much bullying! I shall report this to the family head…"

"Cut the crap!" Bai Zisheng kicked him again. "Lead the way!"

The Lu family cultivator fumed, "Don't even think about it! I will never lead the way!"

Because he actually didn't know the way either.

Mo Hua looked around and said, "Follow me."

Saying this, he took the lead and walked deeper into the shaft.

The others exchanged glances, then followed Mo Hua inside.

The Lu family cultivator's expression flickered between dark and light.

Could this little brat be a traitor to their Lu family?

How else could he be so familiar with this mine shaft?

He himself wasn't entirely sure what was inside this mine cave, and he certainly didn't dare go deeper.

Yet he also didn't dare let the Gu Diansi of the Dao Ting Si roam freely through this mine shaft inspecting things.

Otherwise, when the family above investigated, he definitely wouldn't be able to escape the consequences.

After much hesitation, the Lu family cultivator could only grit his teeth and steel himself, following them deeper inside…

…

Inside the shaft, just as outside, it was damp and gloomy, carrying a foul atmosphere.

But there was also an added whiff of rot, a hint of death, and a bone-piercing chill.

Moreover, formations were laid out all around.

Mo Hua walked while using his divine sense to sense the formations on the stone walls, and was slightly startled.

Most of the formations inside the shaft were actually first-grade formations.

Not only that, these first-grade formations also formed a complete set, echoing one another—a complex first-grade composite formation.

This composite formation was exquisitely designed, the brushwork practiced, and it used top-grade spiritual ink—utterly different from the crude formations on the outer perimeter.

It was clearly the work of a first-grade array master, even a senior one.

It seemed the Lu family did have array masters, and could afford to hire them.

That was very strange…

Mo Hua slowed his pace and began using his divine sense to deduce the array patterns, distinguishing the types of formations.

After a moment, he had a rough idea in his heart.

This composite formation included earth-stone formations, warning formations, soundproofing formations, and several other mutually supportive formations.

The earth-stone formation was for reinforcement, the warning formation for prevention, the soundproofing formation to block out noise…

Mo Hua furrowed his brow slightly.

What was the Lu family's purpose in digging this mine shaft and laying such a complete set of formations?

Mo Hua extended his divine sense a bit further.

Within the range of his divine sense, what he perceived was the mixed, jumbled aura inside the mine shaft.

There was the aura of earth and stone, the aura of filth, and the aura of formations.

These auras mingled together, forming a natural barrier that obstructed the perception of divine sense.

With everything present, it was the same as nothing at all…

Besides that, there were no other discoveries.

Mo Hua could only continue walking forward.

As they walked, several branching cave entrances appeared ahead.

At the same time, a pungent smell drifted over.

Like the heavy stench of rotting flesh.

Everyone frowned and covered their noses with their sleeves.

The Lu family cultivator was even worse—he immediately clutched his stomach, leaned against the wall, and vomited.

Mo Hua glanced at him with faint disdain, then swept his spiritual sense around and found the cave entrance split into branches, but none were deep or dangerous; he said:

"Let's split up and search."

Sister Situ and the others nodded, separated, and entered each cave entrance one by one to inspect.

These cave entrances all looked freshly dug.

The arrays on them were newly drawn.

Mo Hua walked through several entrances, then suddenly froze, his pupils shrinking, his brows deeply furrowed.

He found the few mining cultivators.

They were indeed dead, leaving only their corpses.

But this hardly seemed to qualify as corpses…

Inside the small cave, limbs lay scattered, flesh and blood a bloody mess, the ground awash in blood.

The blood had congealed, then, due to dampness, turned semi-sticky and thick, emitting a powerful stench of decay that made one gag.

These mining cultivators died in a bloody, brutal manner.

As if something had gnawed on them…

A chill seeped into Mo Hua's heart.

After a while, Sister Situ also entered.

Seeing this scene, her expression turned shocked.

Then came a wave of nausea; she covered her face with her sleeve and couldn't help vomiting a few times.

Bai Zisheng also entered.

He held it in for a few moments, but ultimately couldn't—"Wah!"—he vomited.

Bai Zi Xi heard the noise and walked toward this direction.

Mo Hua heard footsteps, saw Bai Zi Xi enter, and quickly extended his small hand to cover her eyes.

Bai Zi Xi froze, puzzled:

"What's wrong?"

"Don't look," Mo Hua said.

"Why not?"

"You'll have nightmares…"

"Mm." Bai Zi Xi understood, nodded quietly, and let Mo Hua keep his hand over her eyes.

Finally, the Lu family cultivator came in.

He had already vomited once; seeing this scene, his face twisted in terror, he curled up against the stone wall, nearly vomiting his intestines out…

Sister Situ frowned: "Let's move somewhere else to talk."

Mo Hua nodded.

So everyone turned back; Bai Zisheng grabbed the Lu family cultivator by the collar and dragged him along.

Until they reached a slightly more open area.

Everyone finally exhaled in relief.

Though the smell here wasn't pleasant either, compared to the decay at the cave entrance, it was almost "refreshing and pleasant"…

Bai Zisheng took a long time to recover; seeing Mo Hua as if nothing had happened, he couldn't help asking:

"Didn't you vomit?"

"I'm fine…"

Mo Hua nodded.

He wasn't just an array master—he was also a demon hunter.

Though young, he had spent a long time in Great Heishan, seen demons kill people, and witnessed the bloody scenes of demons devouring humans, so he could barely endure it.

Bai Zisheng pulled at his lips, speechless.

Sister Situ also regained her composure and sighed:

"Those mining cultivators are still dead…"

Though she had expected it, her heart still felt heavy.

"How did they die?"

Bai Zisheng frowned, "Did some demon in the cave eat them?"

Mo Hua frowned and shook his head, "Unlikely. Demon teeth are usually long, and they devour humans by tearing, leaving little behind."

"This looks more like… something gnawed or hollowed them out…"

Mo Hua's wording was precise.

Bai Zisheng looked at Mo Hua with a complex expression.

Even Sister Situ's gaze toward Mo Hua held surprise.

This child—do you really have to know so much about this?

What normal cultivator studies this?

Sister Situ helplessly shook her head, "Dao Ting Si has coroners who can examine corpses. Let them come later—they'll know exactly how these mining cultivators died."

Then she turned to Mo Hua and said with concern:

"You should all return first. This place is filthy; you children shouldn't stay here long."

"Mm." Mo Hua nodded.

Having found the missing miner-cultivator, his task could be considered complete.

But before that, there was still one more thing to do.

He pointed at that Lu family cultivator and said:

"Interrogate him, see if he knows anything."

This Lu family cultivator was a slippery one.

Under normal circumstances, he might not talk if asked.

But now he had seen the miner's gruesome death, his mind and spirit utterly shaken, the whole person vomiting until he was a mess, his mental defenses broken — this was the perfect time to interrogate him.

He might be able to extract some useful information.

Mo Hua wanted to know why the miner-cultivator had died.

He also wanted to know what this mine shaft was actually used for.

Besides that, there was the most eerie point of all…

Mo Hua furrowed his brow, a cold glint gathering in his eyes.

Just now, in the well-shaft, he had actually sensed a trace of an Absolute Formation's aura from the brutally slain miner-cultivator…

Only this trace of aura carried a certain sinister quality.

(End of chapter)