Chapter 470: Little Tiger

"I need to go see the mine someday…"

Mo Hua thought silently to himself.

He wanted to know what these corpses were doing inside the mine.

But he couldn't get out yet.

Mo Hua left the Shi Dian's main gate, wandered briefly, then returned to sleep peacefully.

In the following days, Mo Hua used his complete concealment technique to secretly survey the general layout of Shi Dian, keeping it hidden from Lu Chengyun.

The zombies here were indeed numerous and extremely powerful.

Even stronger than the openly displayed strength of the Lu family.

If one day the Lu family removed Lu Chengyun as patriarch…

With a single command from Lu Chengyun, he could control the iron corpses and walking corpses to wipe out the entire Lu family…

Mo Hua frowned in thought.

Could it be that the Lu family's ancestral elder kept Lu Chengyun as patriarch precisely because he feared this?

But that didn't quite make sense.

Building such a massive Shi Dian, forging so many corpses…

Required many body cultivators, array masters, corpse cultivators, corpse-refining herbs, coffins, corpse-controlling bells, corpses…

All of this, converted into manpower and Xi Wuli, was no small amount.

Without the Lu family's support, Lu Chengyun could never have built it.

There must be secrets between the Lu family's ancestral elder and Lu Chengyun…

But the clues were too few; Mo Hua could not guess yet.

Mo Hua considered it time to contact his junior brother and junior sister.

Inner and outer coordination would make operations easier.

If anything went wrong, they could help him.

Mo Hua took out a map, depicting the topography of the Lu family's mine.

He took another sheet of paper and, from memory, sketched the entrance to the corpse mine and the approximate location of Shi Dian.

Comparing the two, he roughly deduced Shi Dian's position within the mine.

Then, based on that position, he estimated where the rock wall was thinnest, so he could dig out.

First, his own room wouldn't do.

Mo Hua glanced at the map and saw that his stone chamber lay deep within Shi Dian, farthest from the outer rock, meaning digging out would take the most time.

Moreover, the surrounding area was filled with arrays—digging would trigger them immediately.

These arrays could not be triggered.

Lu Chengyun was also an array master, and his array expertise was considerable.

If he hadn't noticed me yet, I could tamper with the arrays subtly—he might not realize it right away.

But now, under his very eyes, I dare not tamper with the arrays; Lu Chengyun would surely notice.

Mo Hua also suspected that the arrays within Shi Dian were interconnected.

Lu Chengyun must be using some method to monitor the entire Shi Dian's array network.

Otherwise, I wouldn't have been discovered the moment I unsealed the Xian Chen Array.

Unsealing the Xian Chen Array was intentional—I let Lu Chengyun find me.

Now, digging a tunnel must not let Lu Chengyun discover it.

After evading Lu Chengyun at night, Mo Hua stealthily slipped to several stone chambers on the right side of Shi Dian.

These chambers were empty, clearly newly excavated, unoccupied, and held no coffins.

According to Mo Hua's comparison and deduction, these chambers were closest to the outer rock wall of the mine, easiest to dig through, and—rarely—had very few arrays.

They were, in Mo Hua's estimation, the weakest array point in the entire Shi Dian.

A small tunnel would be enough.

Mo Hua pulled out a small tiger.

It was a wooden puppet, given to him by Puppet Old Man, made of wood-like material but exceptionally tough.

On the small tiger's body, Mo Hua had painted the Ling Shu Array.

The Ling Shu Array was for control.

In addition, on its limbs and teeth, Mo Hua had painted the Rui Jin Array, making the puppet's limbs and fangs razor-sharp, capable of piercing mountains and carving paths as easily as flipping a hand.

Mo Hua intended to use the small tiger to deliver a message.

He himself could not leave yet.

So a small tunnel was sufficient.

Mo Hua found a hidden corner, placed the small tiger down, then used his spiritual sense to control the Ling Shu Array on the puppet, using the array to guide the small tiger in digging through the rock.

The arrays on the small tiger glowed faintly, and it came alive, circling Mo Hua several times before finding a wall corner, its tiny paws scratching—fine stones tumbled down, and soon a tunnel the size of a fist was dug.

The small tiger crawled inside and continued digging outward.

Inside the tunnel, fragments and rock dust continuously fell.

Mo Hua thought for a moment, then painted a concealed earth array to dissolve all the debris, preventing discovery.

Afterward, Mo Hua returned to his room.

Whether day or night, as long as Lu Chengyun was not spying on him, Mo Hua controlled the small tiger from afar with his spiritual sense, guiding it to dig the tunnel.

In the deathly silent corpse mine, amid black-gray rock.

The small tiger dug and dug, gradually digging farther and farther.

A few days later, Mo Hua's spiritual sense suddenly lightened, realizing there was nothing left to dig out.

"I've dug through!"

Mo Hua's heart leapt with joy.

After that, Mo Hua had the little tiger lie hidden in the grass, waiting for Little Brother or Little Sister to find it.

They would certainly know if I left Xiancheng.

If they're looking for me, they'll likely search near the mine.

This little tiger was crafted by Old Gui, and I've handled it many times; Little Brother and Little Sister are very familiar with it—once their spiritual sense sweeps over it, they'll spot it.

This side of the mine is open, so the chance of another cultivator finding it is low.

Mo Hua waited until dawn.

Then, with a slight stir of his spiritual sense, he discovered the little tiger had been picked up—and the person's aura was familiar.

Either Little Brother or Little Sister.

After the little tiger was picked up, something seemed to be stuffed into its body; moments later, it was tossed back onto the mountain path.

Mo Hua controlled the little tiger to crawl back.

The little tiger crawled to the cave entrance and waited quietly.

Only after Zi Shi passed, when Lu Chengyun's spiritual sense departed, did Mo Hua conceal his form, approach the cave entrance, and pick up the little tiger, covered in dust and grime.

On the little tiger's belly was a folded note.

Mo Hua unfolded the note; the handwriting was elegant and beautiful, bearing one sentence:

"Where did you go?"

Behind the words was a simple sketch.

It depicted a small face, with a stick tapping its head.

This drawing was clearly Little Sister's—this little face was Mo Hua, whom she had drawn before.

The Mo Hua in the drawing had his little head being tapped.

It seemed Little Sister was a bit angry…

Mo Hua sighed helplessly, slipped his pre-written note into the little tiger's body; it detailed the entire sequence of events, including the Corpse Mine and Shi Dian.

The note also bore a small array—if anyone else picked it up, Mo Hua would trigger it to burn itself.

Mo Hua placed the little tiger back at the cave entrance.

The little tiger pūchī pūchī, began climbing upward again.

The next night, the little tiger hūchī hūchī crawled back.

Mo Hua retrieved the little tiger again and saw a new note:

"Understood."

Behind it was another small face, expression unreadable.

But it seemed she was no longer angry…

Mo Hua exhaled softly, left the little tiger on the mountain path, to relay messages between him and Little Sister.

Mo Hua himself would not act rashly for now.

Meanwhile, Little Brother and Little Sister outside could be prepared, and make preliminary arrangements.

Two more days passed, and Lu Chengyun finally found Mo Hua, bowing politely:

"I have prepared everything. Please, Young Master, assist me."

Mo Hua's eyes brightened slightly and asked:

"What favor does the Patriarch wish me to perform?"

"Young Master, follow me."

Lu Chengyun gestured with a "after you" motion.

Mo Hua followed him out, walked through the corridors of Shi Dian, turned several corners, and arrived at the previous great hall.

Zhang Quan was also inside; he glanced at Mo Hua and snorted coldly.

But he said nothing, and dared not attack Mo Hua.

Mo Hua also "huffed," as a reply, while internally plotting how to trick Zhang Quan, then steal his Laozu.

Lu Chengyun noticed their discord, yet both held back—no blows, no words—and nodded slightly.

"Brother Zhang, open the door."

Zhang Quan's gaze sharpened; he nodded: "Alright."

Mo Hua froze, puzzled inside.

"Open a door? What door?"

Where was there a door here?

Mo Hua frowned, then saw Zhang Quan walk to a massive wall.

The wall bore murals: grotesque, cruel zombies, terrified cultivators, countless overturned coffins, and hands reaching out from within.

Zhang Quan chanted incantations and formed hand seals before the mural.

Mo Hua blinked in surprise.

His movements looked familiar.

Similar to those he performed before the screen in the Corpse Village, but more complex, with longer incantations.

So this mural, like the screen, is an entrance to a secret chamber?

Indeed, moments later, the lines of the mural twisted and merged into a pool of ink; the ink gradually clarified into layers, forming a half-human, half-zombie face.

This human face was stern and cruel, its gaze greedy.

And because it had become a corpse, it exuded a ferocious and terrifying air.

Once the half-human, half-corpse face manifested, it opened its great maw, stretching wider and wider, until finally the entire face became one blood-filled gaping mouth.

The fangs on either side of the great maw were razor-sharp, and the upper and lower teeth were as pointed as a demon beast's.

This mouth was the entrance.

Lu Chengyun said, "Young Mr., after you!"

Saying so, he walked toward the mural on his own.

Mo Hua hesitated a moment, then followed behind him and walked into the corpse's blood-filled gaping mouth.

Thanks to reader chanso for the tip~

(End of chapter)