Chapter 449

Mo Hua searched the Corpse Village from top to bottom again.

All formations were dismantled, not a single one left.

All storage rooms were opened, not a single one missed.

All secret chambers were exposed, not a single one overlooked…

Mo Hua unearthed many items.

Spirit stones, spirit artifacts, and pills—Mo Hua mostly didn't take them.

These were spoils of war, meant to be divided among everyone.

Moreover, some spirit artifacts and pills were tainted with malevolent energy, impure and unclean; Mo Hua had no use for them.

The spoils from the Corpse Village clearance would be inventoried by the Situ Clan, then reported to Dao Ting Si, which would then award rewards based on merit.

In the end, a portion would certainly reach Mo Hua's hands.

Though there were layers of deductions, the spirit stones he received wouldn't be much, but at least they were officially accounted for.

And he would also gain merit points.

Merit points from Dao Ting Si were more valuable than spirit stones.

But apart from spirit stones and pills, Mo Hua took without hesitation any strange and unusual items.

Especially those related to formations.

Better to kill the wrong than let the right go—Mo Hua took them all.

The Corpse Village contained an Absolute Formation.

Mo Hua suspected the Absolute Formation was painted onto the Corpse-Control Bell.

Now that he had the Corpse-Control Bell in hand, he hadn't yet had time to examine it closely.

He didn't know whether the copper bell truly contained the Absolute Formation.

But to be safe, he needed a backup plan.

Even if the Absolute Formation wasn't inside the bell, it was somewhere in the Corpse Village.

So Mo Hua collected every object in the Corpse Village that bore a formation, to avoid omissions when later analyzing the Absolute Formation.

Besides that, the Corpse Village also bore other formations.

For instance, the withered ink screen bore a formation that fell outside the Five Phases, entering a domain Mo Hua didn't understand.

There were many similar objects in the village.

The formations on these objects all had wildly different styles.

Clearly not painted by Yan Jixi, but no one knew who had painted them.

So to broaden his knowledge of formations, increase his experience, and enhance his understanding, Mo Hua decided to take all these objects back, dismantle them one by one, and study them carefully.

Mo Hua rummaged as he collected.

But his storage bag was too small; after a while, it was full.

Mo Hua grew troubled.

Bai Zi Xi took out a brand-new storage bag, embroidered with auspicious clouds and phoenix patterns, and said crisply:

"This bag is big."

Mo Hua's eyes lit up, and he smiled warmly:

"Thank you, little senior sister!"

With that, Mo Hua had no further worries; he extended his spiritual sense, rummaging through the village while selecting items bearing formations.

He placed each selected item into Bai Zi Xi's storage bag.

Thus, Mo Hua selected, and Bai Zi Xi stored.

The two wandered through the entire village, ransacking the Corpse Village once more.

Until dawn broke, they returned fully laden, stuffing a top-grade storage bag to bursting.

Meanwhile, Situ Fang and the Situ Clan's cultivators had nearly finished clearing the Corpse Village.

Mo Hua left all the spirit stones for them.

The Situ Clan had mobilized heavily for this operation.

Mobilizing manpower required a great deal of spirit stones.

Though the battle went smoothly, some cultivators were inevitably wounded or killed, and these casualties required spirit stone compensation.

Later, everyone gathered together.

Situ Fang and the two Situ Clan elders thanked Mo Hua and the other two.

Without Mo Hua's trio's help, their casualties would have been far greater, and whether they could have successfully stormed the Corpse Village remained uncertain.

After all, the village's formations were tightly sealed, and the Iron Corpses were impervious to blades and spears; direct combat was extremely difficult.

Mo Hua waved his hand and said, "No need for thanks."

Then he asked, "What's next?"

Situ Jin stroked his beard, thought for a moment, and told Mo Hua honestly without concealment:

"After we inventory everything, we won't report through Nanyue City's Dao Ting Si. Instead, we'll use the Situ Clan's connections to report to Dao Ting Si under the name of neighboring Nanshan City's Dao Ting Si."

"Nanshan City's Dao Ting Si?"

Situ Jin nodded. "The head of Nanshan City's Dao Ting Si, his wife, is surnamed Situ."

Mo Hua understood.

Situ Jin continued: "This merit will bypass Nanyue City's Dao Ting Si and be credited to Young Lady Fang."

"Of course," Situ Jin looked at Mo Hua and added, "Mr. Xiao will also be credited, not just with spirit stones, but with merit points from Dao Ting Si."

"As for how much merit, that depends on how Dao Ting Si handles it."

After all, wherever there are people, there is division of interests.

In a place like Dao Ting Si, even clear water flowing through would yield three layers of oil.

Situ Jin added, "Besides this, the Situ family has some modest gifts for the young master…"

After all, this time, thanks to Mo Hua, they had the chance to earn this merit.

Merit, at times, cannot be bought with spirit stones.

With this merit, Young Lady Fang will also gain greater favor from the family.

Among their branch, there are few talented young ones; Situ Fang studies diligently and works earnestly, making her one of the standout ones.

So Situ Jin was truly grateful to Mo Hua.

"No, no, Elder, you're too kind…"

Mo Hua bowed humbly, yet couldn't help asking curiously:

"What sort of modest gift are you giving me…?"

Situ Jin paused, unable to suppress a chuckle.

This young master has an open heart—he truly is a straightforward man.

Situ Jin smiled, "Spirit stones and such mundane things may not interest you; the Situ family will prepare some ancestral array texts for you, to foster goodwill…"

Mo Hua wanted to say that he very much liked mundane things like spirit stones.

But saying that would make him lose face.

So Mo Hua didn't say it.

Still, he was pleased to receive array teachings.

He wondered what array texts the Situ family would give him.

Mo Hua bowed in thanks:

"Thank you, Elder, and thank you, Sister Situ!"

Situ Fang, seeing Mo Hua accept their family's goodwill, smiled and nodded.

Afterwards, Zhang Quan was detained by Situ Jin and sent to Dao Ting Si.

All the walking corpses and coffins were inventoried and handed over to Dao Ting Si for disposal.

The Corpse-Refining Coffins are demonic artifacts and must be destroyed.

Zombies are highly dangerous; once out of control, they go berserk, wandering and devouring the flesh of the living.

Corpse poison also easily causes cultivators to turn into zombies.

Thus, zombies are generally burned by Dao Ting Si in unison, leaving no lingering threat.

But these matters had little to do with Mo Hua.

Situ Fang still had cleanup tasks to handle and needed to wait for Nanshan City's Dao Ting Si to arrive for handover; she would be very busy soon.

Yan Jiaxi had already been sent back to Nanyue City by the Situ family's cultivators.

With the Walking Corpse Village resolved, Mo Hua took his leave and returned with Bai Zisheng and Bai Zi Xi.

The sky had now brightened, morning clouds streaked across the heavens, spilling light upon the path.

The three walked side by side, stepping on rocky terrain, bathed in dawn's glow, gazing at the mountain scenery—though desolate, it held a certain wild charm—as they made their way back.

Along the way, Bai Zisheng lamented:

"We didn't manage to kill Zhang Quan…"

He had wanted to end him with a spear while Zhang Quan was unconscious, but Mo Hua stopped him.

"Zhang Quan has someone behind him—we must keep him alive to find out who it is," Mo Hua said.

"Zhang Quan won't talk."

"Then he won't have a choice."

Bai Zisheng asked, "You don't plan to interrogate Zhang Quan yourself, do you?"

Mo Hua nodded.

Bai Zisheng hesitated, "You shouldn't go…"

Mo Hua frowned, "Why not?"

Bai Zisheng said, "You enraged him to that state—he'd rather die, even if cut to pieces, than tell you anything."

Mo Hua was stunned, "His temper isn't that petty, is it?"

Bai Zisheng was speechless: "I think his temper is already generous—if it were any smaller, he'd have choked to death from your provocation already…"

Mo Hua frowned and murmured doubtfully:

"Am I really that annoying?"

Why hadn't he noticed it himself?

Bai Zisheng sighed, "It's precisely your innocent-looking face when you provoke people that's the most infuriating."

Mo Hua didn't believe it and turned to Bai Zi Xi:

"Little sister, am I annoying?"

Bai Zi Xi's beautiful eyes flickered slightly as she whispered,

"Not too bad."

Mo Hua nodded, thinking Little Sister was right.

Bai Zisheng glanced at his sister and could only shake his head helplessly.

…

The three walked side by side for a while longer when Bai Zisheng suddenly remembered something and asked again:

"How many zombies were there in the Walking Corpse Village?"

Mo Hua said without hesitation: "Five iron corpses, six hundred and thirty-seven walking corpses."

"You actually counted them?"

"Of course," Mo Hua nodded.

He probably knew more about how many zombies were in Walking Corpse Village than Zhang Quan himself.

Bai Zisheng clicked his tongue. "So many…"

But Mo Hua shook his head. "No, not enough…"

Bai Zisheng blinked in surprise. "Not enough?"

Mo Hua nodded. "Not enough!"

Bai Zisheng looked puzzled.

Mo Hua explained: "Zhang Quan's corpse-refining method is ancestral. He buys corpses to refine them—sometimes for decades, sometimes for over a century. Over the years, the number of corpses he's turned into zombies can't possibly be just this few…"

"And he's not working alone. He built Walking Corpse Village. Bandits kill people, mining cultivators buy corpses, and a couple hundred corpse cultivators are all refining zombies. Day by day, year by year, the total number of zombies produced is far from small."

Bai Zisheng frowned. "Does he have other places to hide corpses?"

"Not just hide—possibly sell them."

Mo Hua remembered Zhang Quan's mention of "delivering corpses."

He wouldn't refine corpses just to "give" them away—there must be some kind of transaction involved.

But these matters were still shrouded in fog, with no clues to follow.

Bai Zisheng sighed. "The water here runs deep…"

Mo Hua nodded, his gaze drifting to the other side.

They had now reached Nan Yue City; on the other side of the road lay the mine.

It was morning; the morning glow had faded, and the sunlight turned scorching.

The mine was baked hot.

The mining cultivators began work under the blazing sun.

With the sun beating down on their heads and scorching rocks beneath their feet, their bodies—crisscrossed with whip marks—were baked pitch-black, their hands cracked, their backs bent, laboring in grim numbness under the overseers' curses.

They were alive, yet each breath they took was excruciatingly hard.

Like people drowning in deep water, suffocating, unable to draw air.

Mo Hua's gaze flickered; he murmured softly:

"The water in Nan Yue City runs deep…"

"That's why these mining cultivators live in such torment…"

(End of Chapter)